OF COURSE I promise to read it!!! If you don't write one I may just go into withdrawls. You wouldn't want that now, would ya??? I love all your tips and Diseny ideas so I'm really looking forward to your next pre-trippie!!!
Hmm...withdrawls, really? Could I bribe you for more picture hints?
I also wanted to say I am SOOOOOO happy for you that you got to spend all that time with your Dad!!! I am sure he treasured every moment just as you did. What a wonderful gift for you to be able to see your Dad hold your littlest prince!!!! I can only imagine how excited the older ones were to see their Grandpa too. Ohh I am so happy you had a wonderful time. Family is so precious!!!!
Seeing the all of the boys with my dad, it really was a wonderful time and a very precious gift. The only bad thing was we eventually had to leave again and I don't know how long it will be before we are able to make it back up to visit him again.
Jay....so glad to see you back dissing....know how busy it can be with a newborn! Wish we were closer so we can obsess over Disney. We too are contemplating another trip to the world around labor day. YES, do-do a Pre-trippie, we sooooo enjoyed reading your trip report and learned so very much from it! Take care and hang in there, Prince will grow up before you know it!
Lucky you!! I think the week after Labor Day is tops as far as a great time to visit WDW!!
And you are right, the little prince is growing right before my very eyes. We had him back to the doctor on Friday and found out the "little" guy (and I use that term very loosely
) was already 10 lbs 10 oz!! So much for the boy that spent his first night in NICU in part because he didn't know how to eat. When he caught on, he went all out!! Being as he lost so much weight in the first two weeks (he was down a full pound) it means that he has gained a pound a week in the past month!!
Jay,
What WONDERFUL news about your Dad!
I just wanted to tell you that I have saved EVERY single one of those little envelopes and the pages of charges within! They are a walk down Memory Lane.
And it's getting to be quite a long walk -- lots and lots of envelopes!
I must admit it's good to know that I am not alone in my madness.
Do you ever pull them out and look back?
Yes, do a pretrip! You are such a good writer and you bring back so many great WDW memories when I read your reports.
It must have been so sweet to see your dad with your newest little guy, I'm glad for you!
Thanks for your very nice comments. I am planning a pretrip report, I need a place to keep my planning straight and an outlet for my built up excited energy, I am going to try to pull off a few surprises again and I think the only way that will work is if I can talk about them with somebody!
My mouth is too big to just keep it shut period!!
So glad to hear your Dad's doing better. How great for him to hold the new prince. I'm sure you were just busting your buttons with pride & joy.
B
Hi Barb, hope you are doing well! I am pretty sure my buttons were a burstin'!
It's good to "see" you jay!! And, I'm so glad to hear that your dad is improving!
I'm chiming in begging for a pre-trippee too! I'm addicted to jaycns Disney updates!!
HA HA HA. I promise to start that trip report, I will need to mine the imaginations of my fellow DISers, I need to plan another trip of a lifetime!
I couldn't do it without the help of my wise DISer friends. Seriously, I don't know how people get half as much out of a Disney vacation without using the DIS to plan!
I'm glad I was able to make you laugh; your TR has definitely made me smile a lot! I like how you're waiting until his character comes shining through to give him a nickname; if he's anything like my kid brother, he'll be running around with the "big guys" by the time he's a year old. I was 10.5 and my other brother was almost 8 when the "little guy" was born, and I swear the kid hasn't slowed down since he began crawling. We're a fairly active family; he went on his first hike when he was 3 weeks old, and he did his first BIG bike ride when he was 6 (we biked between 2 towns that are a 20minute drive away from each other, and he did the WHOLE THING!). I can't wait to hear all about your frist trip to Disney as a family of 6 and see how Stitch, Goofy and Aladdin introduce their baby brother to the World.
OH I cannot wait to see that! Watching the boys play host to their newest brother will make for some priceless vacation memories! WOW, that is quite a bike trip for a six year old. I bet your family has a blast doing those things together!
Pretrip!
Glad to hear your Dad's doing better!
Thanks! I am too!!
SO glad you're back, Jay, and WONDERFUL news about your DAD!
(ps - your PM box is full, dear. Please either empty it or email me, will you? Thanks!)
Yes ma'am!
PM sent! And box cleared out!!
Wow - I just happen to come along your report. I have been reading it for the last week. I must say it is wonderful. You make me want to come along. Thank you for sharing your wonderful stories and family with me.
Thank you for reading it. I love reliving the magic by writing about it. It just took me a few months longer then normal this year.
Jay, I know I have asked your opinion on resorts before but now my DH is asking to stay at the Poly. How did that rank with the CR and AKL in your book? Your new little man is so cute!!!! Just had to add that in there.
Hmmm...the Poly. It's beautiful. They have GREAT table service places...both Kona and O'hana are tops in my book. They have some of the biggest rooms on property and when we were there in September 2006 we were the first to stay there after the rehab, so they are still fairly recently redone. The rooms are so nicely decorated. I love the turtles on the bedspread and the hidden Mickey's found throughout the resort.
I loved getting a lei when we arrived and again when we returned some nights. Being able to walk over to the TTC and hop a monorail directly to EPCOT or to grab on to MK right from the main building was very convenient. The beach...ahhh, sitting on the beach (or laying in a hammock there) was very peaceful. Watching the fireworks from the beach there is a very special experience in and of itself.
Capt. Hook's is a great counter service place. I love the breakfast platter you can get there and the Tonga Toast (yum bananas!).
If you are looking for lush and tropical, you cannot go wrong.
BUT...all of that said, both AKL and CR appeal to our family more. AKL is hands down the most appealing to our family theme wise. Having the big pool, the hot tubs, the beautiful paths around the resort, the animals, the fire pit (LOVE that fire pit!). Heck, even the smell upon entering AKL. It's just spot on for an African game lodge (or at least a Disneyfied version). The rooms at the Poly are way bigger then those at AKL, however, the view at AKL...ahhhh, the animals!
I thought the CMs at AKL were more friendly and the entire resort seemed more clean. **I will say that the time we spent at the POLY was full of mishaps that I think were due entirely (or almost entirely) to the rehab that they were trying to wrap up. They were having electrical problems, problems with staffing and who knows what else, I am sure that all tainted the overall impression I got of the resort. **
If I were to pick a monorail resort, I would chose the Poly last, however, that is not "insult". We are just a family of CR lovers (and the CR has hot tubs, we love hot tubs). Even though the CR is not overly themed, we have never missed one there. It doesn't feel like it needs one, it just feels alive with the energy of Disney to me. The views, the nightly water parade, having the monorail run into the resort, the great arcade (important to my boys), Chef Mickey's, Cali Grill, watching the fireworks from the fire escape or a balcony or the Cali Grill. I love the way they redid the rooms at the CR. They were redone during the same time frame as those at the Poly. I think they are soothing and just amazingly relaxing.
If I were to pick a place to stay out of the three you mentioned, I would pick AKL or the CR first (if AKL was on the monorail, it would be first 8 times out of 10). However, I do plan to stay at the Poly again. Sorry, I just babbled a lot and said very little.
UP NEXT, the final trip installment.
