Disney Bells and Pixie Dust! Our Practically Perfect Vacation!*Thanks for reading!

[Poohtigeey]

Hi everyone! Welcome to my trip report! For those of you who have been following my pre trip plans it was fun getting to know you, and now on to the good stuff! If you’re just joining us I’m glad you’ve hopped on for the ride. It was a wild one! Just a quick intro:

My names Monica. I LOVE Disney, and am impressed with pretty much everything they do! I’m easily amused and am fascinated by the lights in the pavement at Epcot! Our previous trips were in ‘96, Honeymoon ‘98, and our last trip was in ‘04. I am a planner and really got into planning this trip!

My husband is Dave. He likes Disney, but he also likes to relax which doesn’t happen on our trips! Dave likes to sleep and loves to eat!

My son is Hunter. He just turned 6. He was almost 3 last trip so this trip was a huge deal for him! He was going to be able to ride the big rides and maybe Rock n Roller Coaster and Primeval Whirl if he was 48”. He is very friendly and talkative. Super energetic with no fear!

My daughter Megan turned 2 on the trip. Also no fear, but I wasn’t sure how she’d react to the characters. She’s a very silly girl and Hunter is her idol!

My mom, Peggy also goes with us on vacation. She is a big help and also LOVES Disney! She just loves to see her Grandchildren have fun!

BTW, if you find us so fascinating that you want to know more I have a very long PTR. The links in my siggie. Maybe if you get snowed in some weekend, or catch the flu and you need something to read!

Now, on with the show!




Our journey began on Friday December 7th. Since we don’t own a van we rented one and it was $300 cheaper to pick it up at the airport! So off to the airport we went! My mom was supposed to help drive, but at the last minute I found out that she no longer had AAA, and we’d have to pay extra for her so we decided we didn’t need her to drive. That’s Ok. I like being in control anyways, and someone else driving annoys me! So we get to the airport around 4:30 and proceed to drive around looking for Hertz rental car pick up. We kept seeing signs that said, “Car rental return”, but not pick up. We pull over, call Hertz, and guess what! They’re right across the street! The sign should say, “Car rental/return”. I guess they ran out of paint and couldn’t put it that very necessary slash! So we check in, and get our van assignment, and are told where it’s parked. We hike all the way across the parking lot in the cold, and no van! So we walk all the way back to the check in office. I put Megan in the car to change her diaper and Dave goes in to find out what’s going on. So 15 minutes later Dave comes back out. They lost our van! No one knew where it was so they had to quickly find another one. Wait 5 minutes and a pretty marroon Hundai Entourage came careening around the corner dripping wet from its quicky car wash. Van dilemma solved! Dave and Hunter hop in the van and leave. I’m in the car with Megan. DAVE JUST LEFT ME AT THE AIRPORT! So I mudder a few choice words and attempt to navigate my way out of the airport maze. Merge across 3 lanes and I’m out! Yay! OOPS! I missed the freeway! Turn around. Call Dave a butt. Megan says, “Daddy butt”., “Daddy butt”. Dave calls. He got lost in the airport maze and I’m ahead of him! Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha!!! So Megan and I head to Target for something. (I don’t remember what). I’m putting Megan into the car and I hear an explosion! I look up and a van is coming to a stop with a flat tire, dangling mirror, and big scrape down the side. Question: How do you not see those HUGE poles in Target’s parking lot? I felt bad for her, but oh my goodness! We head home, finish packing, and Dave went to work. (He works 3rd shift). I was up until 1:00 or so, and slept pretty well. The excitement was taking over. WE WERE GOING TO DISNEY!

Sorry no pics yet. It gets better, I promise! Next up: Was that a wolf? And “STOP YELLING AT ME”!

Ok, you twisted my arm! Here’s a sneak peak!

Links:
And we're off, no wait. Now we're off. No, wait...
Are we ever going to make it to a park?!
A Duck, A Lizard, and a Weirdo
PARTYTIME and a Sleeping Beauty
A cussin CM and Hunter takes on The Tower!
An unexpexted DIS meet and me without my lime green Mickey heads!
Sparkling lights and our dirty little secret!
The Yeti. Need I say more?
Those crazy characters!
Look out Hunter! Giraffe tongue at 2:00!
I'll have an elephant trunk with a side of zebra legs
It looks like the beginning of the best day ever!
Our shirts, and other projects
A Crystal Palace Celebration!
You want me to buy you WHAT?!
Fast Pass rules and standby drools!
An AMAZING night
Megan attacks the characters!
Turtle Talk with Hunter and Soarin with a dog! Pg 44
The incident heard round The World! Pg 45
A beautiful program bores Hunter into a coma. Pg.47
My Disney dream come true! Pg 49
Tinkerific 2!! Pg 50
A DISer make a mistake?! Pg 52
Magical Moments with the Princesses. Pg 53
A Chef Mickey Celebration! Pg 55
Christmastime at the Grand Floridian. Pg 55
A new favorite attraction and a new friend Pg 57
The end to a perfect vacation. Pg 58
Thanks for the memories! Pg 61

 

[scottny]

sounds like a good beginning to me. a little drama at the airport/rental agent. I thought the van that hit at Target was the rental.
Can't wait for the rest.

 

[mrsksomeday]

YAY!!! You started your TR. I love that you got out of the airport maze before Dave . Little kids can be just like parrots, repeating everything you DON'T want them to say .

That picture is GREAT!!! Can't wait to read more .

(I also swear I will add an installment to my TR, have just been really busy)

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

I'm in! I have seen you around the boards so I thought I would check out your TR. Can't wait.

 

[mkluvsmickey]

Yay, you started! I'm impressed you got to this so quickly!

Great start with the rental car drama. Can't wait for more!!

Cute pic too!

 

[KimmyDisneyNerd]

As always LATE to the party! I totally thought you were talking about the rental van too. I was like, she didn't mention that but maybe I wasn't listening cause I was looking at the twinkling lights
I love that Hunter is wearing CROCS in that pic, how amusing. I knew he had good taste!

BTW did your christmas card pics come out?

 

[roxannensteve]

Not a good 1st day for you either but I just knw from your title, things will get better. Great start to your TR

 

[KimmyDisneyNerd]

I would just like to take a moment to let you know that I HAVE started my TR. Thank you, very much.
Shameless plug Maybe...

 

[lovebuzzandwoody]

Great start Monica! Love the family picture! Why didn't I think to hop in those pictures with the kids? Clearly you had this picture thing nailed way better than I did! I'm an idiot and now I need to go back to Disney! Oh DARN!

Heading to Kimmy's TR!!!!!!

 

[Poohtigeey]

sounds like a good beginning to me. a little drama at the airport/rental agent. I thought the van that hit at Target was the rental.
Can't wait for the rest.

Oh no! I didn't realize I made it sound like our rental van! I think I would have had to kill Dave! Maybe it was our missing rental!

YAY!!! You started your TR. I love that you got out of the airport maze before Dave . Little kids can be just like parrots, repeating everything you DON'T want them to say .

That picture is GREAT!!! Can't wait to read more .

(I also swear I will add an installment to my TR, have just been really busy)

Yeah, Megan's vocabualary doubled on the trip! It was pretty funny though. "Hey Dave. Just ignore Megan if she happens to call you a butt!"

I'm in! I have seen you around the boards so I thought I would check out your TR. Can't wait.

Welcome! The beginnings a little boring, but it gets better. I promise!

Yay, you started! I'm impressed you got to this so quickly!

Great start with the rental car drama. Can't wait for more!!

Cute pic too!

I'm constantly writing it in my head and even dreaming about it, so I figured I'd get started! Never mind that I still don't have my tree up or Christmas cards done!

As always LATE to the party! I totally thought you were talking about the rental van too. I was like, she didn't mention that but maybe I wasn't listening cause I was looking at the twinkling lights
I love that Hunter is wearing CROCS in that pic, how amusing. I knew he had good taste!

BTW did your christmas card pics come out?

OOPS! I gave something away in that picture! There's a story to those dumb shoes! You'll just have to wait and see on the Christmas card!

Not a good 1st day for you either but I just knw from your title, things will get better. Great start to your TR

The traveling part is very stressful! Glad you're here!

I would just like to take a moment to let you know that I HAVE started my TR. Thank you, very much.
Shameless plug Maybe...

Pimp away Kimmy!

Great start Monica! Love the family picture! Why didn't I think to hop in those pictures with the kids? Clearly you had this picture thing nailed way better than I did! I'm an idiot and now I need to go back to Disney! Oh DARN!

Heading to Kimmy's TR!!!!!!

Well, the group picture wasn't my idea. Dave wasn't going to get in, but someone MADE him....
(Like my cliffhangers?)

 

[lovebuzzandwoody]

Cliffhangers are good!

I'm going to guess about the shoes though. Did he moan and complain for 3 days that his feet hurt and you bought him crocs to see if they really are the best shoes for Disney like everyone says just to shut him up??? OH.... wait... that was MY DAUGHTER!

Now I gave something away on your TR!

 

[mkluvsmickey]

Cliffhangers are good!

I'm going to guess about the shoes though. Did he moan and complain for 3 days that his feet hurt and you bought him crocs to see if they really are the best shoes for Disney like everyone says just to shut him up??? OH.... wait... that was MY DAUGHTER!

Now I gave something away on your TR!

LOL - that was Samantha too! She loves her crocs now and makes a point to tell me her feet never hurt at Disney anymore!

 

[OhioTony]

Great start Monica! Glad you made it safely home!

I felt bad asking for snow days here while you were heading home because apparently it worked! My kids school was closed on Friday with even more ice and snow over the weekend! I hope the drive wasn't too bad for you but I guess we have alot more reading to do before we find out, huh?

Well, it bites that we were a mere yards apart from one another and still couldn't connect! Now that we are 20 miles away from one another the chances are even slimmer! Hopefully we will both show up at the Dis meet in January!

Can't wait for more!

Lynn

 

[Sleeping*Beauty]

I also thought you had wrecked the rental van. Shows what good readers we are. Can't wait to here all about your trip.

 

[coles1mom]

After much

I found ya. On with the show.

Judi

 

[OhMari]

Do you guys live in Chicago, O'hare is a maze trying to get out of the airport. You could go around in circles for ever.

 

[Poohtigeey]

Great start Monica! Glad you made it safely home!

I felt bad asking for snow days here while you were heading home because apparently it worked! My kids school was closed on Friday with even more ice and snow over the weekend! I hope the drive wasn't too bad for you but I guess we have alot more reading to do before we find out, huh?

Well, it bites that we were a mere yards apart from one another and still couldn't connect! Now that we are 20 miles away from one another the chances are even slimmer! Hopefully we will both show up at the Dis meet in January!

Can't wait for more!

Lynn

We missed the big snow by a day! I felt awful that I messed up our plans to meet! I already had the alarm set for 6:45 and we still couldn't make it! We will meet sometime!

I also thought you had wrecked the rental van. Shows what good readers we are. Can't wait to here all about your trip.

Welcome! I'll try to proof read better in the future!

After much

I found ya. On with the show.

Judi

Sorry! My computer has refreshing issues which sometimes effects links. I'll fix it on Saturday when I'm at work. Glad ya found me Judi!

Do you guys live in Chicago, O'hare is a maze trying to get out of the airport. You could go around in circles for ever.

Hello! It's Cincinnati which is pretty big I think. I just tend to panic when I don't know where to go! This happened alot on this trip! And you know, the whole time we were there we didn't see one plane! Cincinnati is very expensive to fly out of. Not many people around here actually use that airport!

 

[Poohtigeey]

On with installment 2! I’m trying to get to the good part! So we left off with me having sweet Disney dreams and a very nice rental van sittin in the driveway. (I haven’t had the desire to get a van, but I loved this van!) Anyways, I got up early and tried to get some more stuff done before I left for work. I dropped the kids off at my mom’s house, paid a bill and got to work a little late. Oh well! Worked 9-5 with Disney on the brain! Finally 5:00 creaped up and I was outta there! I headed to Kroger’s to get some travel snacks, a light timer, and a new curling iron. Went home to pack up and head out! Dave attempted to pack a ton of crap into a little bit of space. He was not happy by the time he was finished! While Dave packed up I fixed my hair and painted my nails! Had to look good for all of those rest stops and Disney check in! Around 7:00 the phone rang and it was my mom. “Hunter’s wondering when you’re coming.” He was getting very anxious! So finally at 7:20pm we were all packed up, light timer set, water turned off, heat turned down, all doors locked, and we’re off!

I start to back down the driveway and there’s a rapid beeping getting faster and faster. I stop. “What is that?!” Well, eventually we figured out it’s a backup warning on the van. Apparently I was too close to the mailbox. We had so much stuff piled in there I couldn’t see very well. (Make a mental note. This is relevant later.) As we’re driving to my MIL’s to drop off our bunny I see something walking towards us on the side of the road. I yell, “Look, it’s a wolf!” Dave informs me we don’t have wolves near us, and it was probably a coyote. I still think it was a wolf. It was HUGE! Creature sighting #1.

Drop off bunny, pick up kids and my mom. Here comes my mom with bag after bag to load in the car. Dave had already picked up her luggage and packed it in the van so this was all extra. I thought Dave was going to lose it right there in my mom’s driveway! Dave’s very calm most of the time, but this was about to push him over the edge. Pack it all in and now we’re really off! No, wait. I have to find a mailbox to mail out our bills. Oh, and we didn’t eat dinner so we drove thru Burger King. Sat in the parking lot to eat. Megan proceeds to flip her white security blanket into Dave’s ketchup. Clean that up. Now we’re off! 9:00 pm. I had hoped to be on the road by 7:30! Oh well! Headed towards I75, it came upon me quicker than I thought.

Me: “Oh no! There it is. I can’t see. Can I get over?”
Mom: “NO! There’s a car. Don’t get over!”
Dave: “You’re clear. Get over!”
Mom: “NO!”
Me: “I CAN’T SEE! CAN I GET OVER?”
Dave: “Go now! Go now!”
Me: “STOP YELLING AT ME!!!!”

Missed the ramp. Turn around. Are you seeing a pattern on our lack of navigating skills? And this is an area we’re familiar with! The kids did great and slept most of the time. Hunter would occasionally wake up and ask what state we were in. Megan would wake up and giggle and jabber something. Then go back to sleep. She really enjoyed this adventure! We had heavy rain in Kentucky, HORRIBLE fog in Tennessee, and strong winds and rain in Georgia. Dave and I took turns driving which worked out fine. I don’t sleep great in cars, but Dave can sleep anywhere! We proceed to see deer, A GOOSE eating on the side of the freeway, an opposum (Dave says he didn't know opposum started with an "O"!), and a wild turkey. (No, not the 2 wild turkeys traveling with us!)

So around 7:30am we were somewhere around the boarder of Georgia and Florida and we stopped at a rest stop for some food. We changed the kids out of their pjs, but all I had packed in the little carry on was shorts and a tee shirt. Well it was still chilly in Georgia, but the kids didn’t seem to care. They were ready to stretch their legs! The worker at the rest stop must have been thinking, “Dumb tourists!” The kids were dancing around and running laps from the van to the tree.

My crazy dancing kids!

We made many stops it seemed. One time we made a stop, got back on the road, drove 10 minutes, and Megan yells, “I gotta go!” So we stop again. Oh the trials of traveling with a toddler! We FINALLY get to the Florida turnpike, and as I predicted, missed our exit. Just like last time! I still don’t know what we’re doing wrong! So I’m riding with the map, Dave’s griping at me to tell him where to go. (I bit my tongue and didn’t tell him!) So I finally get us onto International Drive then see where we need to go. All is well. As we approach the Disney World sign I’ve got the video camera in one hand and the digital in the other. I go to take that famous picture and I TURN THE CAMERA OFF INSTEAD! OOPS! Follow the signs to Port Orleans Riverside, and we are HOME!

Next up: Our room and our first detour from THE PLAN!

 

[mkluvsmickey]

Love the pics of the Hunter and Megan at the rest stop - looks like they were having a blast! Great update - now on to the good stuff!

 

[coles1mom]

Turkeys Oh yeah. Kentucky Wild Turkey bourbon 101 proof.
Just needed to sip a little more to find them there exits.

Good job Next

Judi