Escape From School to Crazy Christmas Crowds - A December 2017 Trip Report - Finished 5/20

[cstorm65]

ESCAPE FROM SCHOOL TO CRAZY CHRISTMAS CROWDS

Here we go folks! It’s time for another adventure for our crazy crew. This will be our family’s 6th trip to Walt Disney World, but this will be our first time going some time other than the summer! We went at Christmas, which was very different for us, but so awesome! What was even more awesome is that my parents were able to join us for the trip, although I won’t be posting them in many pics just because I don’t know if they’d like it or not! The boys were thrilled to have their grandparents there though, although we didn’t tell them until they got there the day after we did.

DISCLAIMER #1: I am slow at trip reports for those of you who have followed our trips in the past, but I do always finish at some point. We have a crazy busy life. I’m a head high school football coach and athletic director so some times of year are super busy and I don’t have a lot of time to update. But other times are slower and I keep things going.

DISCLAIMER #2: This trip was December 2017, not the current holiday season...yes, that’s how far behind I am. (And we have another trip already in the trip report queue after this one.)

DISCLAIMER #3: I’m going to warn you now that since the grandparents were with us I didn’t do quite as good of a job documenting this trip with photos. I’ve still got over 600 pictures for the trip, just not quite as many per day as I would normally. Who knows...maybe this will help me move this report along a little bit!

DISCLAIMER #4: I’m going to use the introductions I’ve used in the past so I can get this report going, so if you’ve read in the past you can move on to day #1!!

So...here we go! Please comment as I go as that makes it so much more fun! Finally, here is a link to the previous trip reports for our other trips.

Link to Previous Trip Reports

Introductions

I will start by introducing myself, I’m Jon.

I am a high school football coach and athletic director and love the job I get to do every day. I’ve been teaching and coaching at the same school for ten years and just finished my first season as the head football coach. Anyway, I honestly think I have the best job in the world. Being able to make a positive impact on kids every day is something I love doing. It certainly has its challenges, but overall I wouldn’t want to be doing anything else.

Favorite Character: Goofy
Favorite Ride: Flight of Passage (Used to be Expedition Everest)
Favorite Show: Festival of the Lion King
Favorite Movie: The Lion King
Favorite Restaurant: ‘Ohana

Now for my best friend and wife, April.

April loves our family vacations as well as almost any time we get to spend together. We have developed a love for Disney and vacationing together and it is something she cherishes. She is a school psychologist by day and an incredible mother and wife by night. She works in the same school district I do and she gets to come over to my classroom for lunch every day, which really is nice. She loves her job working with kids as well and she is awesome at it.

Favorite Character: Ariel
Favorite Ride: Rock 'n Roller Coaster
Favorite Show: Festival of the Lion King
Favorite Movie: Little Mermaid
Favorite Restaurant: Whispering Canyon Cafe

Next up is DS5.

It seems like just yesterday that he was born and came into our family, but I’m sure all of you with kids think it goes fast too! He loves to run, play, hit things, throw balls, and many other things most little boys love to do. He has a great personality and is a good kid most of the time. In addition to all of these things DS loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, the Ninja Turtles, Power Rangers, and all of the super heros. Anyway, he is an awesome kid and is now a great big brother.

This will be the 2nd trip for the newest member of our family, DS1, who turned two about a week after this trip.

He was 23 months old during our trip which is a little older than DS5 was on his first trip. DS1 is an incredibly sweet little boy who LOVES his mommy, but man is he awnry! DS5 was always kind of a daddy’s boy, but DS1 has certainly taken the other side. He just loves to sit and play with his mom. He loves playing with any type of ball and he also loves to sit and watch basketball on TV, go figure! He’s not much into watching cartoons on TV yet which is a good thing I think, but he does love his Mickey Mouse stuffed animal. He just grabs it and hugs it sometimes and won’t let it go. It has to be in his bed when he sleeps along with the Olaf stuffed animal that his grandma bought him on the trip we are about to re-live.

Well, that’s who we are. Stand by for Day 1.

Up Next: Day 1 Part 1​

 

[cstorm65]

Table of Contents

Day 1 - Part 1 - Why Did We Get Up This Early?
Day 1 - Part 2 - Your Room Is......Not Quite Ready
Day 1 - Part 3 - Will Our Room Ever Be Ready?
Day 1 - Part 4 - "More Applesauce Please"
Day 1 - Part 5 - "Those Are Some Good Chicken Wings"

Day 2 - Part 1 - The Great Bag Check Nightmare
Day 2 - Part 2 - I Always Pick the Wrong Seat
Day 2 - Part 3 - Cream Cheese Pretzel…”I Want One”
Day 2 - Part 4 - “That’s A Big Bear”
Day 2 - Part 5 - The Best Mac ‘n Cheese Ever

Day 3 - Part 1 - A Beautiful Morning at All Star Sports
Day 3 - Part 2 - "We Will Need Biscuits & Gravy for Everyone Else"
Day 3 - Part 3 - "Wow! We Need to Do That Again"
Day 3 - Part 4 - Minnie...Let Me Sit On Your Leg
Day 3 - Part 4 - Us vs. Christmas Crowds

Day 4 - Part 1 - Wow, It Really Does Pay Off to Get Here Early
Day 4 - Part 2 - Cream Cheese Pretzels...Yes, Again!
Day 4 - Part 3 - "My Olaf"
Day 4 - Part 4 - That's a Lot of People with FP's
Day 4 - Part 5 - I've Never Seen a FP Line This Long

Day 5 - Part 1 - Who Needs 2018 Merchandise in 2017?
Day 5 - Part 2 - Meeting Our Daring Heroes
Day 5 - Part 3 - Let Me See if My Head is Still Attached
Day 5 - Part 4 - The Best Meal Ever

Day 6 - Part 1 - Nothing Worse Than Being Sick at Disney
Day 6 - Part 2 - "This Toy is Exactly What I Wanted"
Day 6 - Part 3 - "Why Don't They Have Fastpass at the Urgent Care"
Day 6 - Part 4 - "Jon...That Was Incredible!"
Day 6 - Part 5 - "You Do Have Animals on Your Animal Tour?"

Day 7 - Part 1 - We Need a Break From the Christmas Crowds
Day 7 - Part 2 - Extremely Underrated Counter Service Meal
Day 7 - Part 3 - "We Might Need the Diaper Bag"
Day 7 - Part 4 - "Daddy, Why Does the Sword Never Come Out?"

Day 8 - Part 1 - This Monorail is Taking Forever
​

 

[cstorm65]

Past Trips and Trip Reports

Current Trip Report
December 2017 - Escape from School to Crazy Christmas Crowds

Past Trip Reports
July 2017 - Escape From Craziness to Pandora, Po Boys, and Oppressive Heat
June/July 2014 - Escape from Real Life to Paradise: A New Trip with New Memories
June 2013 - Escape from Tornado Alley to Food, Tropical Storms, Mickey and More Food
June 2011 - "Can Two Thrill Ride Junkies Love Disneyworld?"

Past Pre-Trip Reports
June 2018 - Let's Put These AP's to Use! A June 2018 PTR
July 2017 - Our First Trip As a Family of Four!
June 2015 - We’re Going For the Record...A Record Number of Resort Changes!

Past Trips
June 2018 - WDW Dolphin/Yacht Club Resort
December 2017 - All Star Sports (Trip Report)
July 2017 - Pop Century/Port Orleans French Quarter (Trip Report)
June 2015 - Pop Century/Coronado Springs Resort
June/July 2014 - Disney Dream Cruise/Wilderness Lodge (Trip Report)
June 2013 - Pop Century/Universal Royal Pacific/Boardwalk Villas (Trip Report)
June 2011 - Caribbean Beach Resort (Trip Report)
July 2008 - Offsite

Upcoming Trips
June/July 2019 - Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas Western Caribbean Cruise
July 2020 - TBA "First Trip as DVC Owners"

 

[rdkeim]

Following!

 

[starousse]

Just finished your last one and was gonna ask when the next one was, and here it is. Following along!

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

I love seeing how much the boys have grown since your last trip report.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

I am here!!!!

 

[disneyAndi14]

I’m reading along, excited for more!

 

[SweetSerenity]

I followed your last report so I'm in.

 

[DLo]

Popping over from your last TR. looking forward to reading more about your adventures

 

[Lesley Wake]

Following along!

 

[cstorm65]

Let me just start by saying I'm glad you are all here and reading. I was looking through the pictures from this trip with DS1 yesterday and it got me excited to re-live it again. Thanks for following along!

Following!

Awesome! Thanks for reading along!

Just finished your last one and was gonna ask when the next one was, and here it is. Following along!

It is here! Don't worry. I have two back logged trips that need to be reported on, so I've got plenty of material...or cute pics of the kids, however you want to look at it!

I love seeing how much the boys have grown since your last trip report.

Thanks for following along! They are growing so fast.

I am here!!!!

Thanks for being here and always following along!

I’m reading along, excited for more!

Awesome! Thanks for reading!

I followed your last report so I'm in.

Thanks for coming over!

Popping over from your last TR. looking forward to reading more about your adventures

Thanks! Definitely have some info to report on!

Following along!

Thanks for reading!!

 

[Bama Mom]

following along

 

[amberdc1987]

I'm here for the ride. Can't wait!!

 

[cstorm65]

following along

I'm here for the ride. Can't wait!!

Thank you all! Appreciate you being here and commenting!!

 

[cstorm65]

Day 1 - Part 1 - Why Did We Get Up This Early Again?

Who’s ready for another adventure! We certainly were before this trip, especially since it was our first trip not in the summer. We were super excited about a Christmastime trip as well. We had this year circled to go at Christmas. DW and I are both in education and this special year our school let out for Christmas break on December 15 which is way earlier than normal. Since we had annual passes we figured this was the perfect time to visit during Christmas because we could get an entire week long trip out of the way and be back home before Christmas day. So, on December 17 we headed south, although we were all forced to wake up a little earlier than we wanted...3 AM.

Our flight was scheduled to leave at 6:10 and I will always plan on being two hours ahead of time, especially since flying with a lap child always seems to take a little longer at check in. With that said this was our last trip with DS1 as a lap child. He would be turning two about 6 days after this trip ended, so we were taking advantage of one last time not having to pay for his flights.

Anyways, we struggled out of bed at 3:00...well DW and I struggled out of bed, we were basically going to put the boys in the car as is with the exception of throwing some clothes on DS5. So, we stumbled around trying to be quiet and not wake them and managed to get the car loaded and ready by 3:30. We got DS5 up and dressed and to the car and were ready to roll out by 3:40. We also managed to not forget DS1 since we were just leaving him in his pajamas so we really didn’t have to do anything except move him to the car seat.

We arrived at the airport at 4:05, almost perfect timing I should say! We snapped a quick family selfie...sorry for the bad quality.

We ended up at check in about 4:10 only to find a long line at the Southwest counter and no workers there. Turns out they didn’t open until 4:30 am to check people in. I could tell DW wanted to say something about 20 more minutes of sleep, so I just did it for her saying, “Why did we get up this early again?” She was not amused!

We passed the time by using every parenting skill in the book to keep the boys on the stroller, otherwise we would have been chasing them all over the Oklahoma City airport.

DS1 did about fall out of the stroller, but he didn’t, so we’ll count that as a parenting win!

We managed to get check in once the counters opened, but we didn’t get through security until around 5:10 and we were set to board around 5:40. We made it to our gate:

And then DS5 and I went in search of a little bite to eat for the boys and some milk. If you’ve read our reports before I sometimes have to resort to the black market to find milk after security at the OKC airport. Luckily, the spot I found it last time had some again and we got some fruit loops for them to share as well.

We were planning on eating breakfast in Houston during out layover as we had about two hours to waste there. So we ate the snack of fruit loops and then waited the last few minutes before boarding.

We boarded in no time and took off right on time at 6:10 on our way to Houston. DW was out in no time and DS5 settled in watching a movie on his tablet.

And we all were thankful the lap child decided to do this about three minutes of the ground!

We settled in for a nice 80 minute flight down to Houston.

DS1 woke up about five minutes before we landed and the boys watched us touch down.

We were at Houston Hobby at 7:30 and went to grab some breakfast.

We had been through this airport before and we love the breakfast burritos from the Pappasito’s location in the food court area. I got a couple of egg and potato burritos and they were great.

DS5 loved it!

We found the gate for our flight to Orlando and the boys settled in looking out the window and watching some videos on DW’s phone.

We boarded at 9:00 and left right on time at 9:25 bound for Orlando. DS5 did this for the entire flight, the early morning finally caught up with him.

DS1 sat with me for most of this flight and we looked at pictures on my phone. He loves doing this and could do it all day! It thankfully kept him quiet until we were on the ground.

We touched down right on time in Orlando at 12:30 PM. It was time!

Up Next: Your Room Is…...Not Quite Ready​

 

[disneyAndi14]

Those early morning flights can be a pain but the pay off is great, arriving in Disney early enough for a fun day!

The kids look like they traveled pretty good this early morning, so cute!

 

[buteraa]

Yay another trip report. Your kids are so adorable and they grew from your last trip report! Looking forward to more.

 

[amberdc1987]

That's awesome that your youngest co-operated so well on both flights. That's a feat for anyone so early in the morning, much less a 1 yr old.

 

[DLo]

Hopping over from your last TR. looking forward to reading more about your adventures.