**COMPLETED** Trip Report of the not Surprise trip to FTW changed to YC & ASSp

[daisyduck7]

Hello everyone ! Well, I have made it no secret that I seem to have enjoyed this trip better , but I have surprised myself by the fact that I am dreaming about the next trip ! Yeah, I have dreamed about two times already. I am already trying to figure how long it will take to save up enough to go, and who I will be going with. I mean, there is no question that I will be with my DD,her DH, all the kiddies, , but I would also like for someone who has never been to WDWto have an oppiortunity to go. So, I have been talking to my niece about her, her husband, and their three kids , because, they would have a wonderful time ! They'll be at WDW!!! !!!!!!! Gotta go for now, duty calls, talk to you later.

 

[daisyduck7]

I can't believe I am already looking forward to my next trip.......oh yes, I can, I mean we are so talkin' WDW here !!!!!!! I had half way thought about taking another cruise sometime in February 09, but the more I thought about it, the easier it was to talk myself OUT of it, and instead start saving for the next WDW trip. That will be ssooooo much more FUN. I mean, it can be done the same way as this time. Drive down to the Florida line, stop, get a room, then the next morning, go the rest of the way, and spend the next few days seeing all the wonderful sight and sounds, not to mention all the characters, especially my favorites, , riding the things I didn't ride this time, see all the shows that I didn't see this time, and I'll have just about 9 or 10 months to save and plan. That should be long enough. Any suggestions, anyone? Gotta getback to work, bye ya'll I'll be watching for suggestions.

 

[debraW76]

On day 4 we had to pack up and move me, hubby, 5 kids, a baby, Grandma and all of our clothes, toys, strollers, blankies, food, toiletries, and souvineers already accumulated from the luxurious yacht club to the All Star Sports. I will never, **Never** book a vacation where I have to move midway through it. I felt it took up a bit of our day and on a 7 night vacation that is just too much time.

First, I got up early and washed our clothes. Then it took us 2 hours to get everything packed up. We used luggage services for some of our stuff and loaded everything else in our van (30 minutes). Then we drove over to the Sports (30 minutes), took another hour to check in. Unpacked our stuff from the van (30 minutes). Then waited an hour for our stuff to be delivered from luggage services. By then it was 3:00 and we had to get ready for the Halloween party.

Plus there was a few hours between the checkout time at the YC (11:00) and the check-in time at the Sports. During this time we went to downtown disney to use up our remaining snack credits at Goofy's candy company. First we stopped at McDonald's and got the kids lunch. Then we went to Earl of Sandwich for the grown ups. The sandwiches were really good. Then we went to Goofy's candy company and spent some of our snack credits. Then the kids all got some souvineers. It started raining so we headed back to the van and drove to the sports to check-in.

Just like the Yacht club had their own unique smell in the lobby reflecting the resort - the Sports had their own smell. It was something between a men's locker room and a bus station. Seriously the exhaust from the buses smelled like it was funnelled straight into the lobby.

THe staff at the Sports was very friendly and professional. They didn't know me by name like at the yacht club but it was still a pleasant experience. We witnessed a verbal fight between a mother and daughter at the counter and the lady helping them just stood and smiled in her best Disney smile. When it was our turn she checked us in without any troubles. Issued us new KTTW cards, renewed our meal credits and gave us our room assignments. She had it noted that we needed connecting rooms and it was granted without any problems. She also saw our request for a fridge for my mothers meds and said it would be delivered as soon as we were in our rooms.

The one thing that surprised me is that when we got our new cards, we all had one day park tickets on them. I think this is a gliche in their system. We only purchased one day tickets to get the free dining as we already had existing tickets from a previous trip. My mom and niece had to upgrade theirs to 4 days at gues relations without any problems. Since we changed resorts they had to issue us new cards for our new rooms and also add our dining credits. In order to do this I guess they had to add one day park ticket so guess what? We now have one day of unused park ticket each to save for our next vacation!!! Thanks Mickey! I guess we'll see you again sometime!

After getting all of our stuff to our rooms we tried to get the kids to lay down for a nap. Most of them were tired and napped without any problems. The others refused to lay down and got into a lot of trouble. I took a quick 15 minute nap and then started calling luggage services to get our bags that had our costumes delivered. They said our stuff was loaded and they were just waiting on a runner to get back. I said I really didn't mind retreiving it myself that it was more important that we get it on time than have it delivered. She said by the time I got there she could have it on its way so I waited. 30 minutes later I called back and she said she was still waiting on a runner. I asked again if I could just come and get it and she said sure, but someone should be back real soon. I told her I would come anyway. So I went to get it and she was right. As soon as I arrived a runner came back so I just walked with him back to the room.

By the time I got back everyone was waking up. The kids got dressed in their costumes and we headed to the Halloween party. In our party we had a race car driver, Jasmine, a witch, a karate kid, and spiderman. The baby and grown ups decided not to dress out because I was afraid our costumes would be too hot. Grandma decided to stay back at the resort as my touring plans had already taken a toll on her.

We arrived at the MNSSHP around 5:30. The greeters really got us into the Halloween spirit by welcoming us. We found returning a stroller that was leaving and asked if we could use it. Boy was that nice. Having an extra stroller for the kids to sit allowed us to stay in the parks at least an hour longer than what we would have without it. We went to adventureland and rode Jungle Cruise and Aladdin. Hit a few trick or treat stations and headed to Frontierland. Zeta took the big kids on Splash Mountain Falls while I reserved us a spot for the first parade.

The Halloween Parade was incredible. We didn't get to see the Headless Horseman as he didn't make an appearance. Sorry to say that I wasn't surprised as I had already read other's reviews about it. It might have bene better had I not known what was going to happen. Either way here are some pics of the parade

This is our crew (backside)

MNSSHP-Continued

 

[debraW76]

After the parade we rode Big Thunder Mountain Railroad a couple of times then Haunted Mansion. We saw Cinderella's Coach from afar but the line was a bit long so skipped it hoping we could catch it again but we never did. Soon we were close to the castle and it was nearing fireworks time so we camped out and got refreshments: Funnel cakes and floats Yummie!!! (I love free dining!!!)

We were near Sleepy Hollow in Liberty Square. We did not have the best spot for fireworks but still a good view. Some were blocked by the castle since we were on the side and not in the front. But the fireworks were still incredible. So much that I forgot to take any pictures!! There was one point where fireworks went off all around the park at exactly the same time. The casle was lit in greens and purples. Next time I will make staking out a spot for fireworks a priority.

When the fireworks was over DH asked for his funnel cake of which I realized I had eaten all of it. Oops.

After the fireworks we went through fantasyland and rode space mountain a couple times, stopping to get candy here and there. I felt like Cinderella in that we were having so much fun I forgot to check the time. When I did check it was nearly midnight! Honey, we need to get the kids back in bed - so we left the park and headed back to our rooms. Grandma was in bed but still awake - she doesn't sleep good away from home. Its a good thing to cause the kdis were LOUD. THey were so excited about everything we saw that night. AFter getting everyone in pajamas we all slept really hard.

Day 5-Typhoon Lagoon & Planet Hollywood

 

[daisyduck7]

Yeah, I was still awake, because, like DDsaid, I don't sleep real well away from home. I always try to have a good book to read, or some of my favorite magazines, or sometimes, a pad and pen to write down scrapbooking ideas. She was telling the truth about how tired everyone was. I mean, the kids were still a little wired , but wound down pretty quick, and went on to bed. DD's DH was snoring, but it didn't bother me at all, because my DH used to snore, like REALLY LOUD, but I hadn't heard snoring like that since he went Home to be with the Lord 8 years ago. Nope, her DH's snoring was like musicto my ears. I went to sleep, and slept solid the rest of the night, and woke up rested, and ready to roll to one of the parks. Yeah, I am looking forward to going again, and with hind sight being 20/20 the way it is, I will be a little more prepared myself the next time, about which places I enjoyed the most, which rides and shows I want to catch next time, and save in advance for the motorized chair every day, so I can go farther, especially the MNSSHP, hold out longer, and not having my family worry that some things may be too much for me. Talk to everyone later. Keep those cards and letters coming, cuz I surely do enjoy reading them. Bye, ya'll

 

[marshmallow]

It sounds like it was a lot of fun! It's nice that there is a way for family to enjoy Halloween together.
Fireworks are best enjoyed and let someone take the pictures. I find that if I am taking pictures I miss the experiance.

 

[debraW76]

It sounds like it was a lot of fun! It's nice that there is a way for family to enjoy Halloween together.
Fireworks are best enjoyed and let someone take the pictures. I find that if I am taking pictures I miss the experiance.

I gotta tell you that I had some hesitation about forking out the extra $300 for the MNSHHP. But that wound up being the highlight of our trip. I am a ride person and didn't understand paying that kind of money for some candy, parade and fireworks. But boy was I surprised! It was a parade like no other. And the fireworks! Oh, the fireworks! They absolutely took my breath away. And the rides that we did ride we walked right on, with the exception of Haunted Mansion because everyone had to ride that.

If we ever go during a hard ticket event (MNSSHP, MVMCP, or Pirates and Princess party) Then we will definitely go to the party. Even if we have to give up something else to come up with the money. It was absolutely worth it.

 

[debraW76]

After staying out until midnight the night before, we slept in to catch up on some much needed rest. When we did get up we put on our swim suits and headed over to Typhoon Lagoon. But first we went back to the Yacht club (because we missed it so much) to eat breakfast at the Captain's Grill. We all had the buffet and it was yummy. They had fruit, mickey waffles, cereals, egg dishes, bacon, biscuits, plus made to order omelettes, danishes, muffins, frittatta, and my favorite - though I have never had it for breakfast - Bread Pudding!

We were seated at a very large round table. I loved it because we could all see each other. At home we have a long traditional dining table and also a rectangle table in the kitchen. It is always a fight over who sits at the end and on which side and next to whom. I always said a round table would fix all that because just like Arthur's table in Camelot, we would all be equals and it would give them less to fight about. However, it is very rare that you see a round table big enough to sit our crowd of 7 plus once a week Rho and Mimi (Zeta's mom) eat dinner with us. Occassionaly we have Mimi's friend, and Zeta's brother which makes 11. Then of course Christmas, Thanksgiving when it is even more. So we need a large table to seat everyone. So when our server seated us at the large round table in the middle of the dining room, I got a glimpse of what our dinners might be like in our own home with a round table.

After breakfast we wondered in the lobby for some more photos before heading to TL. This was our first trip to a Disney water park and Disney did not disappoint.

THis is Chi and Alpha

After establishing our base camp the older 4 hit the slides. Delta was happy on the kiddie slide and slid down about 20 times the first hour. Baby Tau was happy as long as I was holding him. Omicron wanted me to ride some slides with him so Zeta and I took turns with the baby to ride the big slides.

After a few hours in the park we headed back to the room to get ready for dinner at Planet Hollywood. This was a kid pick restaurant from our last trip. Something about eating in the planet intrigued them. We were late for our ressie but were still seated in a timely manner.

I had the LA Lasagna and it was delicious. Imagine lasagna filling stuffed in pasta and DEEP FRIED. I could only eat half though. THe kids had the usual - hot dogs or chicken. I can't remember what Rho or Zeta had but I think they liked it. In the middle of dinner they started playing the Cha Cha Slide and Nu and CHi had to get up and dance. It was loud so we couldn't really hear what the kids were saying which was a blessing.

After dinner we walked around DTD a bit before heading home. I had wanted to stay longer but the kids were wearing out fast. Plus We had another big day ahead of us so we went back to our rooms.

Day 6 - Animal Kingdom

 

[lisalonglash]

Loving your TR report, Debra! Makes me miss Disney again though

Can't wait for your next update

 

[debraW76]

Thanks Lisa, I'm hoping I can add day 6 today during lunch. We will see...

 

[debraW76]

I have lots of pics of Animal Kingdom so I will break this day down into many posts.

Rho decided to stay back and take a later bus. Zeta and I took all of the kids and arrived about 20 minutes before they opened. We took our time walking to Camp Minnie Mickey to enjoy the first performance of the Lion King. I saw the Lion King in 2004 but Zeta and the kids had not and Chi didn't remember it. On our trip in 2006 we skipped it and I wanted to make sure we saw it this time. Not taking any chances I made sure we were there for the first performance. This is my favorite show in all of DisneyWorld (not including the night time firework shows). I loved the monkeys, the boys loved the fire dance and the girls like the bird ballet portion.

The first show started at 9:30. We arrived about 10 minutes early. It was only half full and we had three rows to ourselves. This allowed the kids to be able to move without us worrying about bothering anyone else and also it ensured all of the kids had perfect views. We were in the elephant section.

Timon

The monkeys flipping around...

And the birds

Zeta wasn't excited about going because he just doesn't like live shows as much. But afterwards he did tell me he really enjoyed it and was very impressed.

Day 6 - Continued, more AK

 

[debraW76]

After the Lion King we headed to Africa. I Got FP for the Safaris while the kids made music with Mor Thiam. We loved his show. He would play for a minute then yell STOP, wait, something happened, something happened. Then he would grab a kid in the audience and tell them they needed to play a certain instrument. He would briefly show them what to do then he would say ok play. He would play with the one kid for a minute, then yell stop again. He did this over and over until he had a whole band of kids playing. Then he yelled stop, and said something happened. He walked towards me and grabbed my hand, pulled me to the center and said 'now mamma, dance'. I was so embarressed but I knew it would be a great story.

Here we are with Mor Thiam. Delta and Omicron are in the light blue shirts with the dark blue trim. I am holding baby Tau.

Then Chi joined in

Day 6 continued, sorry I had lots of pics of AK

 

[debraW76]

After our 10 minutes of being African Rock Stars, we took a walking tour of the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail. This was a first for all of us and it was just OK in my opinion. The kids enjoyed the animals but not the walking. In fact they were all getting tired and were starting to fight over who got to ride in the stroller with the baby. Zeta and I were tired of figuring out whose turn it was.

About halfway Grandma Rho called and said she was in the park. I asked her to check on our ressie at the Tusker House as we were all getting a little cranky and could use some fuel. They said it would still be a few minutes so we rode the Safaris with our fast passes.

Tyler was asleep and slept through the whole Safaris.

Last time, Chi cried for about an hour because she couldn't see the lion on the rock. I made sure she got to see it this time.

We had to stop to wait on the ostrich to cross the road...

Still Day 6 - Last one I promise

 

[debraW76]

After the Safaris we met up with Rho at the Tusker House. We were still a few minutes early but the seated us within 5 minutes. Tusker House serves a buffet of African dishes - but nothing really wierd. I tried nearly everything and there was nothing that I just didn't like. They had a child buffet table that was lower to the ground. It had braed and PB & J for making sandwiches, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, and a few other things typical of children's menus. There were servers helping them so we kinda let the kids fix their own plate. That is until Omicron came back with a plate of just jelly.

I said "Omicron, what is that?" and he just stared at me blankly. So I continued "Because it looks like a plate full of jelly".
He reminded me that I said that he had to have some protein and he thought PB&J sandwiches had protein in them. I explained that it does because of the peanut butter, not the jelly.

After that they were supervised when getting food.

After we ate, the kids practiced sticking spoons to their noses while we 'paid' for our meal. Then Zeta and Alpha headed over to Asia to get FP for Mt. Everest while the rest of us walked towards the Entrance. Rho bought all of the kids lanyards and some bought a pin with their souvineer money. Rho decided she wanted to stay back to watch the Lion King after I told her how much we enjoyed it.

We met back up with Alpha and Zeta and went back to our rooms for a break. It was extra magic hours at Animal Kingdom so we headed back around 5. This was the only extra magic hour we took advantage of and I was really glad we did. We arrived just as most were leaving. I had wanted to arrive at 4 to see the parade but we needed the rest more.

We saw Nemo, rode Mt. Everest, then headed back to Dinoland to eat dinner. The little ones played at the Boneyard with Zeta while I took the bigger ones to ride Dinosoar. Then we all went back to Everest and rode again since the line was only 10 minutes long (actual wait was about 3 minutes). We did this about three more times then rode Kali River Rapids then went back to Mt Everest and rode until they closed the line down. The big kids all rode about 9 or 10 times while Zeta and I had to take turns so we only got to ride about half as much.

The kids were all having so much fun that they forgot how tired they were. Walking through the park between KRR and Everest with the kids laughing and cutting up was one of my favorite memories. For just a few minutes everyone was happy.

The park closed at 10 and we waited until then before we even started walking to the exit.

Day 7 - EPCOT

 

[debraW76]

We slept in - well I let Zeta sleep in as the kids woke me up early. We went to the End Zone food court and had breakfast. Then Zeta took them to the pool (I was still a tad sun burned from the water parks and couldn't stand the heat). I also had a sore throat and was coughing. After we got home I found out I had bronchitus but we were going to EPCOT and I was not going to let a little cold get in my way.

We took the bus to EPCOT around noon and headed straight to TEST TRAK to get FP. Omicron and Delta watched you tube videos of the ride from home before we left and this was on their must do list. After getting our FP, I took the big kids to Mission Space. Zeta was still nauseaus from Star Tours so he opted not to ride anymore simulation rides. We did the spinning side. It took me a while to recover.

Then we went back to Test Track and used our FP. THen we crossed the park and saw the Honey I shrunk the Audience and Figment. I wanted to ride Soarin but the line was an hour and we had not stood in line over 30 minutes the whole trip so why start now

The gang was getting hungry and we missed our ADR at Coral Reef by 4 hours. So the nice CM at the Garden Grill helped us find a table at the Biergarten in Germany. This was the kids favorite restauraunt. But not because of the food - in fact they only ate bread. But they loved the show! Here is a pic of all of them dancing in a circle. This was my favorite memory of the whole trip

Day 7 - EPCOT Continued

 

[daisyduck7]

What does Extreme Makeover - Home Edition have to do with WDW you ask ? Well, normally notta lotta, except Ty seems to send a lot of families on a vacation to WDW while their new home is being worked on.(Isn't he just too cute?) Anyhow, where was I, oh, yeah, WDW and Makeover.......Since Thanksgiving, that show has been on the CMT, with the theme of Thanks for giving, and getting into the Christmas spirit, yes, I said CHRISTMAS,not holidays. The shows are re-runs, and I have seen this particular show 3 times in 2 weeks. It is a 2 hour special, and one of the profies is a family revisited that wants to do something really special for children that can't get out in daylight because they are so alergic to the sun, have a history of skin cancers due to exposure to the sun, or whatever that they can only get out after the sun goes down or they must be totally covered up. Well, Ty meets up with some one in authority at WDW, and they open up the park at midnight for all these kids and their families, the mayor meets them at the gate, and all the Princesses are waiting just inside. All the dwarves are out, all the rides are running, and these kids have the absolute best time of their lives. Now I said all that to ask this, Is this not just the greatest thing you have ever heard of ? How can we not get excited about a place that opens up for one whole night for these kids and their families. DREAMS CAN COME TRUE !!!!!!! I'll be seeing every one later Bye, now

 

[daisyduck7]

I'm baaaack! Well, hello, everyone. Long time, no hear from. My DD called me the other day and said that some one has asked them to go to WDW in May or maybe June. That was all she said.......just kinda left me and the subject hanging in thin air . She hasn't said another word about it. WELLLLL, are ya goin',hunh? Hunh? Are ya? I know. I can mention it to just one of the kids, or to her DH, then just sit back and watch.......uummmmm, oooohhh about half an hour or so and I'll know just how seriously she might be considering the trip. Any suggestions, any one? I'll be watching Keep those cards, letters, and comments coming. Bye,Ya'll

 

[debraW76]

Yes, we are going back this June. I started a pre-trippie here

 

[jcc0621]

Yes, we are going back this June. I started a pre-trippie here

I'll read that too, but are you gonna finish this one

 

[debraW76]

I'll read that too, but are you gonna finish this one

OMG! I thought this was finished !!!!
I am sooooo embarrassed.

Let me read to see where I ended and maybe I can finish it up!!