Easter, Grand Gathering, and Amtrak...our Magical April 2009 Vacation

[cmaee]

I know this report is MONTHS late in getting started, but better late than never, right? I am going through some Disney withdrawal, so I thought it would be great to share our recent trip to WDW from this past April. Our travel dates were April 11-18, 2009. Easter was April 12th. We had a fantastic time and we will never be scared to travel to WDW for the “busiest time of the year” again. We were planning on being at WDW this Easter as well, but some things happened that made us decide to push back our trip a year. We will be heading back to WDW for Easter 2011.

Our cast:

DH, DD(2), DS(6), DS(5), and me – the ages of the kids at the time of our trip


We were a part of a Grand Gathering. Two of my brothers and their families (Bro 1 & Bro 2) joined us for 7 nights and 8 days of Disney fun. My brothers arrived the day before we did and departed a day before we did. We thoroughly enjoyed vacationing with them. We live so far away from each other that our kids really never get to see each other. It was fun to see the cousin’s play and get to know each other.

Pre-trip Background:

We decided to go Easter week due to my DH’s work schedule. He is a principal, so he is limited on when we can vacation…only during school breaks. My brothers were fine with going during school breaks, so we chose Easter week. We knew that there were going to be large crowds, but we wanted to avoid the summer heat and humidity. Bro 2’s wife had a TourGuideMike membership, so she planned which park we would go to each day.

We decided in August 2008 that we were going to go and we all booked our vacations. We were originally going to be staying at Pop Century. We planned for months and waited anxiously for our dining window to open up for reservations. Bro 1 and his family were going for the first time, so they opted to do the DDP as did we. We had done it the year before and loved it, so we encouraged them to do it as well. Bro 2 and family chose the QSDP. They have been to Disney more times than I can remember and they didn’t feel like they were going to miss out on anything by skipping a meal with us each night. We were envious of how much freedom they had. They never had to consider in an ADR time, so we are learning from them….next time we go, we are doing QSDP.

After our dining reservations could finally be made, we thought we were all set. On a lark, when I should have honestly been working, I went to the Disney website and put in our dates using the 4/3 deal. Those dates were supposed to be blacked-out, but it ran it through and gave us a rate for Coronado Springs and it was about $400 cheaper than staying at Pop Century w/o the deal. I was a little shocked, so I grabbed the phone and called Bro 2 and told him what I had just seen. He went to Disney’s website and it pulled up the same deal as I did. Since we were in a Grand Gathering, I called the Grand Gathering line and had them change us all over to Coronado Springs. We were so glad we did. We kind of made the decision to move resorts with out talking to Bro 1, but he was fine with it. Thankfully, because we weren’t changing back!

We decided that our family was going to be taking the Amtrak train to Orlando. I figured up that it would not cost any more money to do that than it would to drive. We would most likely have had to stop for a hotel each way and I really wasn’t looking forward to driving all that distance. The previous year we had drove and our DD, who granted was a lot younger (15 months), screamed/cried for 6 hours on the drive home. Not exactly the best memory of our first family trip to WDW. So, I booked our train tickets and started researching Amtrak.

Throughout the entire planning process we kept our trip secret from our kids. I made a video and played it two weeks before we left. They were so excited and could hardly wait those two weeks.

Next Up: Travel Night/Day

 

[cmaee]

Travel Night/Day:

We were leaving on Good Friday (April 10), and for some reason, they had school that day. As soon as school was over and DH had said “Goodbye” to his staff, we were on the road headed to the Amtrak station. Our train was scheduled to leave around 9:30 pm and arrive in Orlando on April 11th around 10:30 am.

We live quite a distance from the Amtrak station, but we made good time. We went through a drive-thru for dinner, so that helped with our time. We arrived at 7:30. We were there quite early. The train station had free parking for extended days, but we decided that we would rather not have our van parked there unattended for over a week. We have some dear friends who live close by who met us and took our van back to their house for the week. We had told them to meet us around 8:30, so we had a little bit of a wait.

Here are the kiddos in the van:

DD with her new Disney Crocs.

DS(5)

DS(6)

Waiting patiently in the parking lot at Amtrak

Our friends arrived and so we were ready to check-in and get ready for our train ride. When we were checking in, the attendant realized that they charged us too much for our tickets when we purchased them months ago. What I thought was already a decent price was discounted another $30. They had charged one of our kids as an adult, and kids get to travel half-price. We were excited about that. Great way to start a vacation.

We were in Coach and perhaps the best thing about riding Amtrak is that you can bring your own food and drinks with you. We took a soft-sided cooler filled with pop, water, and juice boxes. I froze half of the waters and juice boxes to keep the drinks colder for as long as possible. We had a snack bag with all kids of treats for the train ride. There was a dining car on the train, but we didn’t know what kinds of food would be on it and how much it would cost. We were glad we had packed those snacks.

The train station is quite small without a whole lot to look at. We decided to go ahead and get the kiddos changed into their PJ’s for the train ride. The train station started to fill up about a half hour before we were supposed to depart. Around 9:30, the attendant came over the intercom and announced that the train was delayed…about 45 minutes late. Okay, not the best news, but I knew from my research that is was entirely possible for delays. Well, those 45 minutes turned out being even longer. We didn’t board our train until almost midnight!

The boarding procedure was a bit unusual to me. Coach has no assigned seating, so the conductors will assign you a seat when you board the train. They start calling out the sizes of parties, starting with the largest groups. Thankfully, there was only one group larger than us who boarded first. We were assigned a row of seats (4) and one seat behind our row. We didn’t intend on using that seat, as we weren’t comfortable with our kids being in a seat by themselves. My DH and DS(5) were in one side, with DS(5) at the window. DS(6), DD, and I were in the other side, with DS(6) at the window and DD in the middle. It wasn’t too bad, but if my kids were any larger, there is no way we could have done that. The seats recline a little, but not much. By the time we got on the train, our kids were exhausted. Everyone else on the train was sleeping, so we were trying to be as quiet as possible…not exactly an easy feat at times with three young kids. The kids were asleep within moments and we were off.

The rest you get in coach on a train is adequate, but not enough to not still feel tired when you wake up. Thankfully, our kids slept through the night. We woke up the next morning with dawn…the sun was bright and my kids are early risers no matter when they go to bed the night before. We packed away the blankets and pillows and were ready for breakfast. Everyone else in our car was still sleeping, so we set the kids up on the DVD player with their headphones and I tried to get a few more Zzzz’s in.

Here are some pictures of us on the train that next morning

We made it to Orlando a little before noon. We didn’t have anymore delays, so we were glad to be there. We had already arranged taxi service from the Amtrak station to Coronado Spring, so we called them and told them what time the train should be arriving. We met up with our driver and he and DH collected our luggage from the train while I got the kids situated in the van. Our taxi service included a 30 minute stop at a grocery store, so we had him stop so I could get some water and breakfast foods for the week. I was the only one that went in and when I got back in the van, I saw this:

DD was SO tired, but would not fall asleep. She cried for most of the drive to Coronado Springs. I felt bad for our driver, but he didn’t seem to notice it at all.

Next up: Check-In and Meeting up with Bro 1 and 2

 

[reyasmommy]

Hello..... How fun that you got to celebrate with your brothers and their families. Doesn't get any better then that.

We normally drive to Orlando from Colorado each time we go, and it's always gone smoothly with my DD because of the lovely DVD player in the car. That's the key. But this year we're flying, which is probably the best idea since there will be 4 children,one of which is 10 weeks old.

I'm nervous that he'll cry and scream the whole flight though and people will hate us.... cross your fingers for me that, that doesn't happen.

I look forward to reading more about your trip.

 

[reyasmommy]

Your DD is so cute.....love the curls.

 

[cmaee]

Hello..... How fun that you got to celebrate with your brothers and their families. Doesn't get any better then that.

We normally drive to Orlando from Colorado each time we go, and it's always gone smoothly with my DD because of the lovely DVD player in the car. That's the key. But this year we're flying, which is probably the best idea since there will be 4 children,one of which is 10 weeks old.

I'm nervous that he'll cry and scream the whole flight though and people will hate us.... cross your fingers for me that, that doesn't happen.

I look forward to reading more about your trip.

Fingers crossed! I had a business trip to take when my oldest DS was 12 weeks old, so I took him with me. We were going to my childhood hometown, so I had family who were anxious to meet him. Anyway, I had been told to make sure that I either nurse, give him a bottle, or give him a pacifier during take-off to help with his ears. It worked like a charm for me. I hope that your flight is very uneventful.

Your DD is so cute.....love the curls.

Thanks. Her curls are adorable....until I have to brush her hair and then OMGoodness!

 

[cmaee]

We finally made it to Coronado Springs! Our driver was in a rush, so we felt stressed getting all of our stuff out and over to Luggage Services since our room was not ready. I had thought I prepaid for the taxi ride when I reserved the service, but I guess it was just a guarantee, so he had to run our credit card on his machine and handed us back our card. We arrived around 1:00 and I had done the online check-in procedure before we left and that made check-in a breeze.

We tried calling Bro 2’s cell phone, but we kept getting his voice mail, so we decided that we would stroll around the resort and stop in at the gift shop for a few purchases. We had to stop at the gift shop to get our kids their autograph books. They literally had 2 options, but it took my kiddos FOREVER to decide on which one they wanted. They ended up all picking the same standard blue autograph book. After that lengthy gift shop visit, we headed outside to walk around the lake. Coronado Springs is a beautiful resort. I was so pleased that we were able to upgrade with the 4/3 deal. We hadn’t made it far before Bro 2 was calling to tell us that they were back in their rooms and they were going swimming. Well, our swimsuits were in Luggage Services, so we went back to Luggage Services and had all of our luggage brought out and up to Bro 2’s room. We figured we would be close by to their room and that would save us having to deal with it later. The water was perfect and we LOVED the pool at Coronado Springs. I think our boys went down the slide no less than 30 times that afternoon. We had to head back to the room and get ready because we had dinner reservations at 5:30 at Chef Mickey’s!

When we got back to Bro 2’s room, we called the resort line and they told us were going to be in the room next to Bro 1. We were all in a row….our room, Bro 1, and Bro 2…extremely convenient. Bro 1 and Bro 2 had an adjoining room, so that was a great benefit. We moved our stuff next door and then headed out to Chef Mickey’s.

At the bus stop waiting for the MK bus.

When we got onto the bus, our DD, who had not had a nap yet today, decided that it was time to go to sleep….and fell sound asleep…although, not until she had screamed for at least 5 minutes. Thankfully we were the only ones on the bus, so no one else had to hear her other then my family and the bus driver.

When we got to the MK, Bro 2 and his family went on in to eat at a QS place and ride a few rides. Bro 1 and my family went up the ramp to the monorail and rode over to the Contemporary for dinner. We got there around 5:15 and we seated within moments.

Goofy was first to arrive at our table:

No, I have no clue why DS(5) is making that face.

Donald arrived

Minnie was next and I was so disappointed our DD was asleep when she arrived…especially since they were dressed alike.

DS(6) was not to thrilled about getting kissed by Minnie.

At least we got a few pictures with DD and Minnie.

Pluto was next. DS(5) was ready for him. He had been pulling off bits of his roll to feed to Pluto when he arrived.

Finally, the leader of the pack arrived..... M I C K E Y M O U S E!!!

Time for a celebration.

Dinner was over so we headed to the Magic Kingdom to meet up with Bro 2. When we met up with them, we noticed that our nephew had fallen asleep too.

Bro 2 and wife are pros at the Fastpass system. They had been collecting them all day, so they had a bunch that we could use too. With the Rider Switches we got for the youngest two in our group, we were able to all ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin, and Splash Mountain that first night. We were alittle tired, so we decided to call it quits and head back for an early night. We were going to be up early to spend Easter at the Animal Kingdom.

 

[reyasmommy]

.

At least we got a few pictures with dd and minnie.

omg!!!! Tooooooo cute!!!

 

[reyasmommy]

Don't know why the pictures didn't show up.....But anyway the pictures with DD and Minnie were adorable.

 

[lillylynnb]

I second that they are soooo cute i cant believe she sleep but then again i would have too!!!!!!

 

[Kimmy]

Can't wait to hear about your trip! We are planning on an Easter trip in 2011. Your kids are so cute!

 

[cmaee]

I second that they are soooo cute i cant believe she sleep but then again i would have too!!!!!!

Thanks. She is an extremely sound sleeper, so once she is asleep, nothing can wake her up. I was sad she missed all the characters, but she really needed the sleep.

Can't wait to hear about your trip! We are planning on an Easter trip in 2011. Your kids are so cute!

Thanks. We had a great time at Easter. I was really nervous about how the crowds were going to be....especially after reading about how many times the parks closed the previous week, but we honestly had a fantastic time and would not hesitate to go back at the same time again. We were hoping to be there again this year for Easter, but that's not working out...but we will be there for Easter 2011. I can't wait!

 

[reyasmommy]

You're so lucky for DD is such a sound sleeper. My son is the complete opposite.

If I barely touch him with my finger ((to make sure he's still breathing)) HE WAKES up.... If he's sleeping in the car, and I stop at a stop light... HE WAKES UP.

He's only 10 weeks old, so I'm hoping he grows out of it really quick. Our trip is going to be interesting to say the least.

 

[cmaee]

Today was Easter Sunday and we were headed to the Animal Kingdom. I was really excited because today was another character meal and our DD was going to be awake for it! We had Donald’s Safari Breakfast scheduled for 10:30. We were planning on that being our early lunch. Our kids usually eat lunch around 11:00 anyway, so that wasn’t too early for them. It was also going to be just my immediate family, as Bro 1 opted to go to the Askerhaus their first night at Disney.

We left our hotel at 7:00 because the park opened at 8:00 am. We are rope drop kind of people. I know how much you can get done in the parks before the sleep-in crowd arrives so we were anxious to get to the Animal Kingdom. Bro 1 was most looking forward to this park. He had been reading about it and was excited about all that they would see here.

We entered the park and walked over the bridge and waited with the rest of the crowd for the opening show. As soon as the opening was over, Bro 1 & 2 along with my DH went with the crowds to get Fastpasses for Kilimanjaro Safari while the sis-in-laws and I took all the kids to Dinoland to ride Triceratop Spin. We were shocked at how empty it was. We rode twice without having to get off because the crowds were not there. Granted it was just after 8:00, but still, it was Easter…at Disney World…it was supposed to be wall-to-wall people. After our 2nd time on Triceratop Spin, DH and the Bro’s made to where we were.

We decided that we would go ride Dinosaur before the lines got long. We had to do two Rider Switches for our youngest two. Bro 1 and I opted to wait with the younger kids while the rest when on the ride. We walked over to the exit from the Dinosaur ride and let the younger kids chase each other for a few moments. We were noticing all of the young kids exiting the ride in tears and we started to question whether our kids should have ridden the ride or not. Finally, our group emerged from the ride and none were worse for the wear…except DS (6) kept telling me it was “Seriously scary Mom”. With our Rider Switch’s we could have took all the older kids back on the ride with Bro 1 and I, but only my boys opted to ride it again. When we were loading onto the ride, my DS’s wanted to be on either side of me and DS(6) insisted he be in the middle. We ended up in the front row from left to right…DS(5), me, DS(6), and Bro 1. DS(6) said he was going to close his eyes the entire time and he did. Every time I looked over at him, his eyes were closed and he was gripping the front handle bar until his knuckles were white. DS(5) would pull my arm up and over his eyes whenever something scary happened…pretty much the entire ride. The ride was incredibly jerky and it was hard to keep my balance in my seat since one arm was in front of DS(5)’s eyes most of the time. When we got to the end where the dinosaur roars down at you from the right I was not expecting that. I grabbed both of the boys and pulled them in to as I was ducking. I wish I had bought the picture at the end of the ride. Bro 1 couldn’t stop laughing when he saw that.

Here are some pictures from DinoLand.

While Bro 1 and I were in the Dinosaur ride, it was time for us to collect another Fastpass. Bro 2 took all our cards and walked to Expedition Everest to get Fastpasses and said he would meet us at Kilimanjaro Safari. When we exited the ride, we walked over to Kilimanjaro Safari to use our Fastpass. At this point, one of our nieces starting feel sick, so Bro 2 went back to the hotel with her and said they would come back when she felt better. When we got to Kilimanjaro Safari, we noticed the wait-time was only 10 minutes, so we kept our Fastpass and went on the ride. It was great in the morning to see all the animals. I won’t bore you with all of the photos I took, but here a few of my favorites.

When we exited the ride, it was a little after 10:00, so we decided to check-in a few minutes early at the Tusker House while Bro 1 and kids went around the Pangini Trail and over to Rafiki’s Station. We waited FOREVER for our table. Finally, at 10:50 I asked DH to just check and see how much longer. He grumbled at me asking me to do this but I was getting concerned if we were seated any later that we would miss the characters. I am glad he asked because they had somehow skipped us. They apologized and got us in immediately. I was so excited for our DD to see the characters…especially Daisy…her favorite.

On a side note…something happened to our camera settings while we were at the Tusker House and we couldn’t figure out how to change them back, so the photos aren’t that great.

Goofy was first to arrive and scared our DD so bad she couldn’t bury herself any farther into DH’s chest.

Donald was next…same reaction from DD.

Daisy was next…would DD be excited?

Uh, No…

This was the conversation DH was having with DD.

DH – Look. It’s Daisy!

DD – NO!

DH – You love Daisy. She wants to say Hi.

DD – I DON’T LIKE DAISY!

Um, okay…maybe next year.

Anyway, at least the boys liked her.

Finally, Mickey.

When we finally left the Tusker House it was almost noon, so we knew the rest of our group was going to be at lunch at Flame Tree BBQ. We decided to walk the long way around since we had time.

We saw Baloo and King Louie on our way and DS(5) LOVES them, so we stopped for him to say Hi. DS(6) didn’t want to and we certainly weren’t going to take DD over either, so DH waited with them by the drum set area while I waited in line with DS(5). DS(5) LOVES and I mean LOVES the movie Jungle Book. He wants to be Mowgli. Anyway, while we waiting in line, I noticed this younger boy creeping up his way up on the right. His parents kept telling him to come back with them, but he really just wanted a closer look. He walked up off the curb and into the scrubs/bush area. The CM in front of line started yelling at the kid to get off and back in line. King Louie noticed this and he bounded over and was slapping his hands together really loud at this little boy and it scared him to pieces. He started crying and I felt really bad for him. He and his parents quickly exited the line.

When it was DS(5)’s turn, he went up to Baloo singing “Bare Necessities”. He really thought Baloo was going to join in and throw him up on his shoulders like he does Mowgli. Now a thing to know about DS(5) is that he as a speech issue, so it is difficult for others to understand him at times….especially when he is trying to say necessities. Baloo looked at him like “What is wrong with this kid”, so I told him he wanted to sing “Bare Necessities” with him. Then he patted him on the head and King Louie laughed.

After we met up with DH, DD, and DS(6), we decided it was time to meet up with the rest of our group. We called Bro 1 and found out they were still eating at Flame Tree, so we headed over there. When we arrived, Bro 2 and niece were there too. She had just got a little overheated and was ready to go. After they finished their lunch, we headed over to ride Expedition Everest. We were able to do 3 Rider Switches since 3 kids were too short to ride. My boys and DH went on the ride first while sis-in-law 1 and I waited with the younger kids. When they exited the ride, our oldest niece did not want to ride again, so we rode it the second time while DH sat the kids who couldn’t or wouldn’t ride it. This was my first time riding the ride and I was so excited. I rode beside DS(5) because he had rode with Bro 2 the first ride while DS(6) had ridden with my DH. DS(6) was riding with Bro 2 and was a little nervous this time. Bro 2 was trying to make him loosen up, so he told DS(6) that he was probably going to scream like a girl and proceeded to scream and my DS(6) looked at him and asked him to stop because he was scaring him. Bro 2 felt bad and promised he wouldn’t scream anymore. That was an amazing ride. We would end up riding a ton that day. My kids rode it 6 times and my DH and I each rode 3 times. Who would have thought you could do that on Easter? When you use Fastpasses and Rider Switch’s you can get a lot of rides in.

Here we are in front of Expedition Everest.

Again, I don’t know why DS(5) is making that face…but at least he is consistent with it.

We were getting quite hot now, so we decided it was time to ride Kali River Rapids…Bro 2 had gone and got Fastpasses for my DH, DS(5), DS(6), himself, and his daughter. No one else wanted to ride it, so we waited for them after we had walked around for a bit. Here are some photos of them passing under us at the end of the ride.

At this point, our oldest niece really wanted to ride Primeval Whirl, so she and sis-in-law 2 rode the ride. My DD and nephew fell asleep, so DH and Bro 1 waited on the bench while I took the boys and our other niece onto Triceratop Spin again…and again. We ended up riding it 3 times practically in a row. There was no line to speak of, so we rode until they decided they didn’t want to anymore. When we were going around, I noticed that my DH had decided to join our DD and nephew with a nap…I swear he can asleep anywhere…in his defense, we were still tired from the train ride and not as much sleep as we should have had the previous night.

After our niece and sis-in-law made it off of Primeval Whirl, we went back to Kilimanjaro Safari to use our Fastpass. Since DD and our nephew were still sleeping, I and sis-in-law 1 opted to sit out of the ride. We were going to get Fastpasses for Kali River Rapids again, but just as it was time for us to get another pass, they ran out of Fast Passes for the day. We met up with our group to watch It’s Tough To Be a Bug. The young ones had woke up, so we were all set to watch it. The previous day, my Bro’s had learned that my nephew did not like any of the dark rides, so he did not go into the ride. We took our DD because we thought she would do fine…and she did. She sat on DH’s lap, so she missed some of the special effects. It was cute and nothing scared the kids, so we were glad we did it. After this we decided we should try and find a good spot to watch the parade. I had heard great things about it, so I was anxious to a good spot. We ended up sitting right off of the bridge and before you can turn right to go to Asia. I thought it was a great spot.

After the parade, we had one last set of Fastpasses/Rider Switches we could use at Expedition Everest, so we went back on it for the 5th and 6th time for the day for my kids (DH’s and my 3rd). After the ride, the kids were hot and really wanted to go swimming so we decided to call it a day. Bro 1 and sis-in-law wanted their kids to get the Tigers, as we hadn’t made it there yet, but their oldest DD didn’t want to go…she wanted to so swimming, so we took her with us and we headed back to the hotel.

We all had a good time splashing and playing in the pool. We ended up staying at the resort that night and ate at the Pepper Market. It was really good, but REALLY confusing. We ended up eating a few more times this trip and after a while, we got the hang of how it was supposed to work.

We had an early evening because on Monday was our family’s first full day at the Magic Kingdom.

Next Up: April 13 – Magic Kingdom

 

[cmaee]

You're so lucky for DD is such a sound sleeper. My son is the complete opposite.

If I barely touch him with my finger ((to make sure he's still breathing)) HE WAKES up.... If he's sleeping in the car, and I stop at a stop light... HE WAKES UP.

He's only 10 weeks old, so I'm hoping he grows out of it really quick. Our trip is going to be interesting to say the least.

Oh my. I am so thankful all of my kids are sound sleepers. I don't know if this is why they are or not, but when they were little I never stopped all sounds during naptime or bedtime. I wouldn't run the vacuum by their crib, but I wouldn't tip-toe either. I don't know if they just got used to noise in the background or what.

I hope he can rest while you guys are still touring the park.

A dear friend took their son to Disney this past fall when he was 12 weeks and she "wore" him most of the time. I don't know what you call it, but she had this wrap thing that she put him in that kept him tight against her and he was able to sleep in that.

 

[BuzzandAriel'smom]

Looking forward to hearing the rest of your TR. We are headed to the mouse in a month and will be there the weekend of Easter and all week after. Glad to hear you had such good experiences thus far. We are headed to MK on the day before easter and to Chef Mickey's that night and are hoping the park doesn't close to capacity because that is the night we want to see Wishes. We do have a back up plan, watching them from Poly, but it would be nice to see them from Main Street. We'll see!

We are early morning RDers also so I am hoping that strategy will serve us well again. One time we rode BTMRR 6 times in a row without waiting! That was a good disney morning!

 

[KatMark]

I love the autograph book story...leave it to kids to think and think and then pick the "standard" one. Your children are precious and I love the sleepy pictures. I'm so glad that you enjoyed CSR and that the kids loved the pool. It is our favorite.