Disney with 4 kids and a dog and we only lost one of them!!

[Shan-man]

Eliza!!!! You are NO FUN AT ALL! You have to sucker the newbie into trying it! Good Grief! LOL

...and I'd describe it as thin Rhobutussin.

 

[mouseketeer_mom]

...and I'd describe it as thin Rhobutussin.

EWWWW!

 

[bellebud]

i just found your report and i'm really loving it!!! you and your dh are the BEST aunt and uncle ever!! are your dn/dn/dn sisters/brother? How wonderful for your dd to have her cousins w/ her!

I had tears in my eyes when you found scooter! That must have been SOOO horrible! Poor doggie!

I love all your pics w/ your report too! it really makes it more personal putting faces to the names - and the kids are all SO cute!

 

[elizablake]

Eliza!!!! You are NO FUN AT ALL! You have to sucker the newbie into trying it! Good Grief! LOL

...and I'd describe it as thin Rhobutussin.

Oops! I mean... it's great. Try the Beverly! I'm having a few cases shipped from France.

 

[liv luvs disney]

elizablake, I was out of town for 8 days without access to a computer! I was so glad to get home and read the rest of your TR. Thanks for sharing.

 

[elizablake]

i just found your report and i'm really loving it!!! you and your dh are the BEST aunt and uncle ever!! are your dn/dn/dn sisters/brother? How wonderful for your dd to have her cousins w/ her!

I had tears in my eyes when you found scooter! That must have been SOOO horrible! Poor doggie!

I love all your pics w/ your report too! it really makes it more personal putting faces to the names - and the kids are all SO cute!

Thank you. They are my husband's brother's kids. Their mother is my best friend from high school. We've always been lucky enough to be close to the kids. With the two oldest getting close to the pre-teen phase, I worry they won't want to hang with their aunt and uncle as much. We were so fortunate to be able to fit this trip in before they are too cool for it.

 

[Tri-circle-D]

elizablake-

Please forgive me for intruding into your trip report, but I have something that I wanted to share here on the camping board, and somehow I feel this is the most appropriate place to post it.

Earlier this month, Mrs. TCD and I received a thank you note from a young man to whom we had sent a college graduation card and a small gift card. We have known this young man for quite a while. Back in the day, our youngest DD's had a best friend who had two older brothers. We used to camp and do other things with that family. This young man lived in their neighborhood. He was a few years older than this family's boys, but he hung out at their house all the time. He was kind of a chubby kid, and awkward. His parents both worked, and they were kind of hard on him. He was always on a diet, but when he was at our friend's house, it seemed like all he did was eat.

So, anyway, when we used to go camping and other things, this boy would often tag along. In this thank you note, he is referring to some of the things that we did together. The chocolate under the pillow thing refers to a weekend trip where we had made smores. The next day, Mrs. TCD was making beds, and she finds a Hershey Bar under the boy's pillow. He loved to eat!

So, anyway, here is the note:

The funny thing is, although I remember this boy being along on some of our trips, I really don't have any specific recall of these things that he mentions. I always cook a big breakfast at least one morning when we camp at the Fort. It's not a big deal to me or my family, but it apparently made a lasting impression on this young man. I mean, here this young man is graduating from college, and he remembers something that he did with our family that he did back when he was in middle school. And to us, it was no big deal.

My point is that those of us who have the opportunity to take young folks to the Fort should do so whenever we can! We have also taken an occasional niece or nephew to the Fort. Whenever I see the one nephew, he always talks about his visit to WDW. Things that seem insignificant and routine to some of us who are able to visit the Fort regularly can have a big impact on young folks who don't get that opportunity.

Oh, and I should tell you the rest of the story. This chubby little kid is now over 6 ft. tall, and looks like he is made of solid muscle. He really has his act together, and he plans on going to medical school. Hopefully he will be a cardiologist or something, and he will be able to take care of me in my old age (I have eaten a lot of bacon and eggs at the Fort).

So, elizablake, I again applaud you for bringing the cousins along on your trip. And to anyone else who is reading along, if you ever get the chance, you should do the same!

TCD

OK, I do remember the golf cart chases. But we had better not talk about that here.

 

[kaguilbeau]

TCD - thank you for sharing that. You and your wife truly have done a wonderful thing. Not all families/spouses are able to open their doors to others on trips - always afraid of inconveniences, etc.

You can feel really proud!

 

[elizablake]

TCD- What a sweet letter and story! The small things seem to make the biggest impressions on kids. Though I'm sure you are an incredible cook, he probably remembers the breakfast because it was associated with all the fun of the trip.

You and Mrs. TCD should pat yourselves on the back for including other kids when they were young. Now you have proof of how special it was for them.

That’s why we always try to make family vacations a priority. My parents didn't have much money when we were young but they always managed to fit a few weekend getaways into the budget. We hardly traveled the world- mostly camping trips to the N. Ga Mountains but my earliest and best memories are of those weekends. I have very few memories of my grandfather but I remember him yelling, "Go higher! Go higher!" while we rode Dumbo like it was yesterday.

I agree. The more the merrier!

 

[elizablake]

We couldn’t believe the week had gone by so quickly! It was our last full day. We discussed where to go and it was unanimous, everyone wanted Animal Kingdom. We also decided to go to MK one more time Sat morning before leaving.
We got to the park about 8:30. Expedition Everest and the Safari were at the top of our list. The boys went straight to Everest while the girls and I went to the Safari. They were supposed to pick up FPs and meet us but they decided to stay at Everest instead.

DN(7) waiting for rope drop.

Of course, about 2 minutes later she had a complete meltdown for no reason and cried all the way to Safari. Poor dear, she is very emotional and dramatic. Plus, I know all the kids were getting tired by this point in the trip. Aunt B has been known to have a few inappropriate outbursts so I can't exactly fault her. She did pull it together once we reached the ride though.

So the girls and I set out on our two week African safari.

Ummmm....DN(11), you wouldn't be so hot if you would just WEAR THE SHORTS you packed

Cute baby elephant:

Love this photo.

These critters scare me

We all loved it. On the way to Asia, we stopped to meet Flick. Yet again, DD(4) is grabbing characters in inappropriate places.

We met at Expedition Everest. The guys had ridden it 4 times! AK seemed much less crowded than Sunday.

We got FPs for Kali River Rapids and we walked toward Dinoland.

All the kids said, "Oh no! That bird escaped!"

 

[elizablake]

DH, DN(10) and DN(11) went to ride Dinosaur. DD(4), DN(7) and I went to meet Winnie the Pooh, Tiger, and Eeyore. There was barely a line.

Bouncing with Tiger:

We went Camp Minnie and Mickey. We stopped by a dance party with characters but I didn’t get the name of it.

We didn't stay long. We were on a mission to meet as many characters as we could before DH came back and ruined our fun. Minnie was next.

The rest of the group met back up with us to see the 12:00 Lion King show. First we all met Donald and Goofy.

 

[bellebud]

Thank you. They are my husband's brother's kids. Their mother is my best friend from high school. We've always been lucky enough to be close to the kids. With the two oldest getting close to the pre-teen phase, I worry they won't want to hang with their aunt and uncle as much. We were so fortunate to be able to fit this trip in before they are too cool for it.

hey! my dh's brother recently married my best friend (best friends since 4th grade!). She was married before and has 1 boy, who has always called me 'aunt' anyway, and now I *really* am his auntie! he's the same age as my dd (so they've been 'cousins' anyway since birth!) He's over my house as I type this (along w/ dh's other brothers kids)... we're having a big cousins playdate today. It's awesome, isn't it?! OH, and my name is Elizabeth (i'm guessing that's your name). how funny!

 

[jenelope]

This is such a great trip report! I was so scared for poor Scooter when he was lost! (Thanks for that hint that all had turned out well.) It really makes me wish I was going to the Fort again soon. I'm going to WDW in October, but on my DVC points. Your TR is also making me very excited for the trip I have planned next year with my niece! I hope we have as much fun as your family clearly has!

Can't wait to read more!

 

[CruisingCamper]

I have really enjoyed reading your trip report!

Great Report!!! Thanks for taking the time to write it! I don't know how you remember all those details!

Did you keep a journal everyday or something?

 

[elizablake]

Did you keep a journal everyday or something?

No, for some reason I can remember all the details of our vacations but I forget simple things like paying a bill or returning an e-mail at work. For example, I forgot my glasses today.

 

[elizablake]

Oops...I totally dropped the ball on my trip report. Life has been super busy lately!

When I left off we were at Animal Kingdom and waiting in line for the 12:00 Festival of the Lion King. DN(7) was super tired and grumpy all day. While waiting in line DN(10) thought it would be a good time to annoy her. I didn't see what he did to start it but she retaliated by punching him in the arm. Which she knows in always unacceptable while hanging with her aunt and uncle. I pulled her aside for a stern talking to which is usually enough for my sensitive niece. Apparently she was super sensitive at the moment because she launched into a hysterical fit/breakdown like I have never seen! I just stood there like an idiot. I didn't know what to do. People started to gather around and one lady said, "I'm a nurse, is she OK?" I think the nurse had mistaken her fit for a seizure or something. Luckily DH came to the rescue and carried her away from the crowd. He sat with her on a bench and let her calm herself down. He said 2 different CM's stopped to check on her. When DH and DN(7) joined us again she was smiling and acting like nothing happened. OK...whatever...just never do that in public again.

We waited a few more minutes to enter the theater. Unlike Nemo, we were not let into the theater until about 5 minutes before the show.

Festival of the Lion King is my favorite show at AK. All the kids loved it.

Festival of the Lion King is a must do! All 4 kids didn't move an inch the whole show and DH didn't fall asleep (sign of a great show).

After the show, the big kids went with DH to use their Dinosaur Fps and DD(4) and I slowly made our way to Dinoland, stopping to meet Lilo and Stitch along the way. Stitch was soooo cute he chased me around and stole my camera.

Good luck getting that pen from Stitch.

FYI, there is a short cut to Dinosaur by Primevil whirl. It's on the map. You walk between two gift shops and come out by the exit of Dinosaur.

We all met up and headed toward Everest where we used our FPs. Then we made the short walk to KRR. We got another set of FPs and got in line to use our first set. Unfortunatley, the ride was shut down. CMs didn’t know when it would be working again. We decided to see It’s Tough to be a Bug. Last time DD(4) was scared to death but she said she wanted to try it again only in my lap this time. She did fine and the older kids liked it. It’s OK but not my favorite show. I liked getting to see the Tree of Life close up.


Afterwards, the kids were getting cranky and wanted to swim so we decided to leave without riding KRR. We gave away our 12 FPs on our way out. Next time we will save about $1500 going to the parks and just stay all day at the pool.

 

[elizablake]

Swimming Friday afternoon and evening:

DH must have thown them in the air 50 times:

 

[elizablake]

We spent extra time at the pool Friday evening since it was our last night. The kids all went to sleep early. DH and I discussed our trip home. One option was to let the kids sleep in, go to the pool one more time and begin our drive home at check out time. The second option was to pack the RV in the AM, check out and make it to rope drop at the MK, and leave about noon to begin our trip home. We decided on MK since the girls wanted to meet Ariel and ride Dumbo.

I woke up super early to finish packing the RV and make breakfast for the kids. We parked at the TTC rather than leaving our RV at the overflow lot and then having to ride one bus, one boat and one monorail to MK. Our parking spot was super close so we were on the monorail in no time:

DN(10) had met a friend earlier in the week. Him and his father planned to go to MK the next day too, so we called in the morning and met them at Dumbo. We must have walked slowly since Dumbo had a 20 minute wait by the time we got in line. In fact, DH had gone all the way to Splash Mountain and still arrived right after us. It worked out because we needed 20 minutes to figure out elephant seating arrangements. DD(4) ended up with me, DN(7) with DH, DN(11) with DN(10)’s friend’s father and DN(10) with his friend. Dumbo is the best!

The boys didn’t want to meet Ariel so the fathers took them to Frontierland while DN(7), DN(11), and DD(4) and headed for Ariel’s Grotto.

We met the lovely mermaid with only a few minutes wait and headed for the tea cups for one last spin. First we got Alice’s autograph.

DD(11) skipped the tea cups because she gets nauseous.

The 10:00 showing of Belle’s story time was about to begin so we grabbed a seat. Belle’s helpers asked DN(7) if she wanted to be in the show but she was too shy. DD(4) jumped at the opportunity and got to play chip, her favorite.

The boys had ridden Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad by now and were getting on the train Toontown. We went to meet them. DD(7) and I got to ride Goofy’s Barnstormer together.

Then all the kids played on Donald’s boat while the adults got to sit down for a minute.

A few characters showed up behind Mickey’s tent.

The kids wanted to ride Tomorrowland Speedway and the line was only 30 minutes.

The wait for Buzz was too long so we walked to Haunted Mansion, DN(11)’s favorite. We rode it twice and then took the boat to Tom Sawyer’s island.

 

[elizablake]

I blocked DN(10) friend's face because I'm not sure his father wants photos posted of him:

Next was Splash Mountain with our FPs. DN(11) made it all the way to the front before she chickened out.

I wanted to ride Pirates of the Caribbean and we met Peter Pan by the entrance. Notice DN(7) is missing from the picture? She is hiding behind me. Peter Pan scared her to death.

One last photo in front of the castle and we were on our way out.

We stopped at Main Street Bakery to let the kids spend the rest of their money. I got banana bread pudding, it was sooooo good.

As we walked down Main Street, DN(7) mentioned that she wished we had been able to meet Snow White. Guess who was by Exposition Hall! Snow White!

It was about 3:00 when we finally left. The ride home was long and boring. The kids slept the entire way. In fact, the kids slept till the next morning. I guess we wore them out.

I think my neices and nephew really enjoyed the trip. Just last weekend the kids went camping with us and were talking about rides and shows they saw. They didn’t seem to notice the lack of character meals or water parks. We are really glad that we got to share Disney with them and maybe the trip will buy us a couple of visits in the nursing home in 40 years.

 

[bellebud]

what a great trip report! thanks so much for sharing it with us! you and your dh are so wonderful to take your nieces and nephew w/ you. they are lucky kids!!!