Even miracles take a little time... the canceled trip that finally happened! September 2022 Trip Report

[MamaMouse0920]

Good morning and happy first second day of fall, everyone! <-- I just realized I posted my Trip Report in the "completed trip reports" section which is apparently a big no-no, whoops! So I am re-posting it here, the next day, and hoping I don't get in trouble. Sorry guys!

We are officially home and settled after our wonderful 7 day trip to Disney World, and I can't wait to share all the amazing details in my very first Trip Report! Before we get started, I invite you to read my rambling thoughts and attempts at staying organized, which can be found in my Pre-Trip Report HERE. If you don't feel like reading (an unfortunate predicament, cause this TR is going to be a long one folks!) no worries, I am basically going to be copying/pasting the introductions and background info below. Apologies for the redundancy if you've been following along since the beginning! Feel free to skip this first posting and wait til I get to the good stuff in my next update.

That's me, Bethany! I'm 30 years old, and work at the VA Hospital in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I went to school for Physical Therapy (which is where I met my DH!) but sadly the pandemic (+ one surprise pregnancy.. looking at you DS2!) had other plans for me & after a career change I now facilitate the onboarding of nursing students, med students, and some residents & fellows entering the VA. My favorite park is Magic Kingdom, my favorite Disney character is Olaf but my favorite princess is Belle. I'm sarcastic and LOVE witty banter. I have the sense of humor of a 12 year old boy, and a matching potty mouth. I am a HUGE planner, very Type A, and love carbs & coffee.

That handsome fella on the right is my DH, Matt. He is about to turn 40 (read: OLD) and is the love of my life. We met 10 years ago in college- I walked up to him one day, introduced myself and the rest is history. We moved in together after 2 months of dating, got engaged after 11 months, and were married the following year. We share a love for Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean, the Minnesota Vikings, and now our 2 perfect kids. Prior to this trip, he had only been to WDW once when he was around 10, and doesn't remember much of that visit at all. His favorite Disney movie is Ratatouille & his favorite princess is Merida. Side note: see that super cool looking robot between us? That is called a ReWalk and it is a robotic walking device intended to allow paralyzed individuals the ability to walk again. Pretty cool, huh? We worked on a research study at the VA together for 3 years and in this picture, we're showing it off at the Minnesota State Fair in 2018 (yes- me large & in charge about 7 months pregnant at the time. This time looking at you, DD3!).

Which brings us to our DD3 and DS2. They are sweet, silly, & wild- an inseparable pair of giggling maniacs! But they are truly the light of our lives and are as big of Disney fans as they come. Every birthday party and Halloween is centered around Disney, and we do weekly themed "dinner & a movie" nights, all of which are Disney movies. They both change their mind more than they change their underwear (diapers, for DS2, but you get it), but DD3's current favorite movie is Mulan & DS2's is Monster's Inc. Character wise, DD3 loves Princess Belle and DS2 loves Buzz and Elsa.

Also joining us on this trip is my MIL & FIL . They are 74 (MIL) & 82 (FIL), retired snowbirds who split their time in MN & FL (Ft. Myers area). They aren't big Disney fans BUT I suppose more importantly they are fans of our kids and came along just for that reason. Prior to the trip, they said they weren't planning to ride any rides, but they in fact did join us on the 'no height requirement' attractions and MIL even partook on Barnstormer, LOL! Even after the trip I'm not sure they could list a favorite character, but they both LOVED the Little Mermaid ride, so we'll go with Ariel

Now, for the obligatory "what" "when" "where" and "why".

• What: 5 park days. No Park Hopper. 2 rest days for the kids & in-laws (Matt & I took one park day to ourselves as a day-date!). Memory Maker & Genie+ purchased ahead of time (for all 5 days, prior to the change).
• When: September 7th-14th, 2022. Schools are back in session and our kids aren’t school age yet so we chose this time hoping that crowds would be low. Luckily, we were right!
• Where: Stayed offsite at Wyndham Bonnet Creek (needed the space for 2 rambunctious toddlers & 80 year old in-laws). It. Was. AMAZING. 10000/10 recommend!
• Why: This seems like the silliest of all the bullet points. Does one ever need a reason to visit Mickey & his pals?! Me thinks no, but I will humor all of you anyway. We were initially supposed to go September 2021. My husband and I, working for the government in a hospital were among the first to be vaccinated back in December 2020. Our kids were obviously too young to get the vaxx, but cases were looking good when we booked and we were feeling somewhat ready to bring our kids back into the world. In a way, they both are COVID babies (DS2 is the definition of a COVID baby, since he was born in the thick of it- May 2020, but even DD3 has lived a pretty sheltered life since she was only a little over 1yo when the world shut down) and as a result have not explored much of the world. The month before COVID (Dec 2019) we were able to take just DD3 (I was about 4 months pregnant with DS2 at the time) on her first vacation- to good ol’ Florida. Not Orlando, but Sanibel Island where I spent a lot of my summers as a child/teen. See, Florida holds a special place in both mine & my DH hearts. For him, it is because he used to live there when he was in his early 20’s (Ft Myers Beach area). He didn’t go the typical college route, and instead on quite a whim decided to just up and move to Florida after a friend bet he wouldn’t. Single, young, no real responsibilities… why not?! He moved home about 3 years later after 3 family members pass away in quick succession and felt he needed to be home with his parents. For me, Florida has always felt like home. My grandma lived in Orlando (has since moved further south, but is still in FL), worked for Northwest (now Delta) Airlines, and even had a part time job working at The Disney Store in the airport. So, seeing as we stayed for free, flew for basically free, and got into WDW at a discounted rate… My mom, being the absolute saint that she is, brought me and my 3 younger siblings to Florida, including WDW, probably 5-7 times a year. I grew up at Disney World, quite literally. Aside from Disney trips, we’ve done countless stays on Sanibel Island, trips to the Everglades and the Keys, Daytona/Cocoa Beach, cruises out of Ft. Lauderdale… pretty much everywhere except Miami (I would love to go!). Since turning into a grown-up (10/10 do NOT recommend, by the way), I’ve still made at least yearly trips to Florida, but prior to this trip I had not been to Disney in almost 15 years. So, this trip was not only my first time back in over a decade, but my first time as an adult and even more importantly – as a mom! Of course there have been MASSIVE changes, but I did my research (remember, Type A mega planner) & there aren't enough words to express how amazing it was to return "home", and to be able to pass along the magic of Disney to my sweet babies.

Anyway, WOW I’ve gone off topic here. The point I was trying to make is that we were SUPPOSED to visit the castle in September of 2021. COVID numbers were looking halfway decent, we were feeling like the pandemic was finally at an end (HA! Jokes on us) and we figured why not? We love to travel and our poor, sheltered kids were way overdue to join us. Then, a few short months later, the Delta variant reared its ugly head. Orlando was the epicenter. We watched the cases in Orange County go up, and up, and up. By the thousands. We could not justify bringing our unvaccinated kids, or our at-risk elderly parents, there. So, after LOTS of soul searching, LOTS of phone calls, LOTS of tears (seriously, lots of tears), we made the gut-wrenching decision to postpone. In a sick, twisted turn of events, we all 4 ended up with COVID the entire month of November 2021 anyway, so in hindsight we should have just gone and not lost out on all that money ☹ It was not funny at the time, and DD3 was very sick and nearly hospitalized after countless doctors visits, needle pokes, chest x-rays, 14 days of being very sick, with 7 straight days of a high fever, but we can look back and shake our heads chuckling at the irony. We opted to nix our trip to the Happiest Place on Earth to avoid the ‘vid, and then ended up getting it from our daycare provider less than 2 months later. Sigh. That’s life for ya!

Up next: Day 0 - travel day!

 

[MamaMouse0920]

9/7/2022 - Travel/Arrival Day!

The night before we left was just like any other day - we made dinner, cleaned up, gave the kids a bath, and put the final sticker on our Disney Countdown. The kids were so excited! DD3 even got to have her nails done, something she asks for ALL. THE. TIME. I often turn her down (mean mom, I know) because homegirl can't sit still long enough for the nail polish to dry and it always gets smudged and as a result I have nail polish smears all over my bathroom.... but for this special occasion, she got her fingers & toes painted- complete with glitter & Mickey Mouse decals! We fancy.

I didn't get a picture of DD3's, but here are mine & aside from the poor lighting & obvious amateur/messy look, I really like the way they turned out!!

We tried to keep the kids up a little later that night and wake them up a little earlier than usual the next morning in the hopes that they would be tired for our 10am flight. Spoiler alert, it made zero difference & the kids were wide awake the whole plane ride. Like this, but without the Mountain Dew.

Even though my alarm was set for 6:00am, I woke up around 4:30am in a panic - immediately checking my email and the Delta app to see if there was an alert about our flights being canceled or delayed. Thankfully, there were none! I didn't even bother to go back to sleep (too excited!) so I resigned to taking advantage of the peace & quiet of a sleeping house. I made sure everything was ready for us to go (thermostat set, Ring doorbell ON, things unplugged, etc.) and prepared all the snacks for the plane. I quietly brought all the luggage downstairs and did another once-over, making sure we didn't forget anything. Eventually I got myself ready, and at 6:30am I went in to wake the kids up. I woke them up with an excited "WE'RE GOING TO DISNEY WORLD GUYS!!!!" and I think that is the first and only morning in their lives that they have gotten up, dressed, teeth & hair brushed without a fight

My parents live about 3 minutes away from us and my mom graciously offered to take us to the airport that morning on her way to work. She picked us up at 7:30am and after loading up the van we were on our way! We got to the airport right away (it's only a 15 minute drive from the suburb we live in to MSP), and grandma entertained the kids by helping them climb up on these giant ball things while Matt & I un-installed their car seats from the van and got everything all set up for the trek through the airport.

We had one carry on suitcase, 2 backpacks, a small lunchbox full of snacks (attached to my backpack in picture below), 4 empty stainless steel water bottles, DD3 had her little traveling backpack, and then I also had my small Minnie backpack which I was hoping DS2 would carry.... but that did not happen so I ended up with that as well We also had the two kids' car seats since obviously we would need them for the rental van. Needless to say, navigating the airport with the aforementioned luggage, 2 car seats, 2 toddlers, 2 stuffed animals the kids insisted on bringing & little sleep was not very fun but we made it work! Before saying goodbye, grandma snapped this family photo on her very old iPhone (I think it's a 7! ) but I love it nonetheless.

After somehow making it through security (we almost left without our car seats!), we passed one of those large golf-cart looking things that you see whizzing past you in the airport. DS2 asked if we could ride it, to which I replied "no, that's not for us. I wish it was though!". The driver overheard us and told us to hop on. It was our first "ride" of the trip! It was such a nice surprise, and a huge help since our gate ended up being one of the further ones away. I'd say we got Pixie Dusted!

Once we were settled at the gate, Matt went to get us coffee & breakfast. The closest fast food place was Chick Fil A so we got a couple things of nuggets & hash browns which we all happily shared as we waited to board. Shortly after finishing up, they started calling for early boarding. This is the system we've come up with for traveling with kids: DH takes advantage of the early boarding "for those who need a little extra time" and installs the car seats & wipes down our area. This way he doesn't have the pressure of trying to install car seats while someone impatiently waits for their seat & holds up the entire line of traffic. I stay behind at the gate with both kids, using this time to get DS2's diaper changed & take DD3 to the restroom one last time before boarding. I usually wait & try to be one of the last people on the plane (for the sake of the kids as well as our surrounding passengers- why force the kids to be stuck in that metal tube for any longer than necessary?!). As we got to our seats (DH + DS2 on one side of the aisle, me + DD3 on the other side of the aisle), Matt informs me that they made him check our carry on. What!! He was among the first passengers on the plane, you can't tell me there already wasn't room in any of the overhead storage.... the whole point of NOT bringing a checked bag was to avoid needing to mess around with the baggage claim at MCO at all! Plus, since I knew we would have it with us, I packed our "emergency" clothes in case of puke or spills in that carry on.. guess I wouldn't have that as a back-up option anymore! Sigh. Oh well, nothing we could do about it now- our little carry on was likely already on its way down to the belly of the plane.

The flight was mostly uneventful, neither kid slept but both were pretty good all things considered. I definitely had the better deal with the seating arrangements though, since DS2 is prone to motion sickness and we (Matt) opted to skip the Dramamine ("he won't need it") prior to the flight.

Toward the end of the flight they announced there would be turbulence- and actually they made it sound sort of scary, the way they told the flight attendants to stop what they're doing and sit down immediately but there ended up being none. DS2 started saying his tummy hurt and Matt got the puke bag out and was ready but never ended up needing it. Still stressful though.. being on high-alert and ready for chunks can be draining.

We debarked the plane (yay, Florida!) and headed toward baggage claim. We took the "fake-o-rail" which was exciting for the kids even though we were in a middle car and they couldn't really see anything.

I remember being young and feeling like the happiest kid in the world when I got to be in the first car, seated on the little bench thing and feeling like I was flying. MCO is one of my favorite airports- just for the nostalgia factor! Unfortunately we didn't get to explore much of it this trip, but next time I think I may factor in extra time to check out the new Disney Store.

As we approach the carousel around 2:15 FL time, I realize that DD3 had not peed since she woke up at 6:30am!!! I changed DS2's diaper at the gate but forgot to take DD3 (and myself obviously) to the restroom! I immediately rush her to the restroom in baggage claim where she had a minor meltdown not wanting to go (she is afraid of public restrooms/loud automatic flushing toilets) but eventually she went & I sent a quick "thank you" to the bladder gods for 1) her not having an accident on the plane and 2) to hopefully not cause a UTI from holding her pee in for so long. As we get out of the restroom, I see that Matt had collected our suitcase but I can tell he is visibly upset. Turns out his parents couldn't find the Orlando airport.... It took almost 2 hours (I am not kidding) of Matt talking them through Apple Maps, trying to ascertain where they were and giving them step by step instructions to get them to us. We texted them the address, we sent them pins of our location, we told them "follow the three thousand signs that say 'Orlando International Airport'" but nothing worked. Come to find out later, Matt's mom had somehow uninstalled Apple Maps, so all the pins & addresses we sent them were useless. They were getting irate with him (lots of swearing and hang ups) as though it was his fault, he was getting frustrated with them, and I think (though Matt would hesitate to admit it) we were starting to get concerns about the safety of their driving. I was doing my best to stay calm, and since the kids were getting restless outside in the muggy heat I decided to take them back inside to an empty carousel and let them stretch their legs and play with the toys I had packed in my backpack while Matt talked them through getting to the airport. Since this took nearly 2 hours as I mentioned, I used this time to make sure our Park Reservations were how we wanted them, cancel the "back up" ADRs I made in the event of our flight being canceled, as well as finalized my Canva phone wallpapers for the rest of the trip (see Pre-Trip Report for more info on those ).

When they finally found the airport and we loaded our stuff in the van, the kids were excited to see their grandparents but all the adults were terse. It didn't take long after driving away that the kids finally fell asleep- it was about 4:30pm FL time, so they were long overdue for a nap.

Because of the huge delay getting picked up, shortly after starting the 30 minute drive from MCO to the hotel I received a text that our Walmart grocery delivery was 4 miles away from the resort. UH OH! The driver may be 4 miles away, but we are 20 miles away.... big problem!! I immediately called the driver to explain our situation, but unfortunately he didn't speak English. He did manage to get across to me that I could text him & it would translate, so we hung up and I tried that... however it automatically kicked back saying I could not text this number. I called Wyndham asking if they could accept our groceries on our behalf until we got there in 20 mins (it had to be signed for since we had ordered beer), but they said no. So we were panicking. I was already upset about being 2 hours late, and the idea of our raw chicken sitting outside in 93 degree temps (or worse- going back to Walmart and not having anything to eat!) was about to be the straw that broke the camel's back. Despite everything, I remained calm as Matt & I talked through what we were going to do. I got a call from Walmart (not the driver) saying that our delivery was ready for us outside our resort- so I explained the situation to him. He was very nice! He said that he would relay this information to the driver (they must have translators). He called me back a few minutes later and said that the driver was fine with waiting and told me what kind of car he was driving so we could look for him. We got there as quickly as we could & finally met him - apologizing PROFUSELY for our tardiness! I ran inside to check in while Matt helped bellhop services load up a cart with our groceries & luggage. Prior to my in-laws driving from MN > FL for the winter, we had given them 2 carry on suitcases filled with our stuff for Disney. We knew that not all of it would be able to return with us when we flew back home, but anything that they could take (that we could live without til they return to MN in the Spring) was a big help. So the cart contained all of the groceries, our 3 carry ons, our 2 large backpacks, DD3s small backpack, and everything MIL & FIL brought for themselves (which was like 3 duffle bags I think).

After entering the lobby & waiting in a small line, it was my turn to approach the Check In desk. I had been forewarned (with this being a Timeshare and all) that they pester you about attending the presentation not immediately at check in, but afterward when they send you to a special little desk to get a parking permit. Being armed with this information, I knew I would avoid that little desk since I hate confrontation and am such a people pleaser that I would be uncomfortable telling them no. Not that I wouldn't do it (trust me, I am well aware how awful Timeshares can be), but I just hate the awkwardness. Matt joined me about halfway through the check in process (the kids staying in the car with their grandparents) and as we were wrapping up the guy told me that we will be issued wristbands which function as our room keys and get us into all the amenities like the pools. He told us to "head over to that desk over there to get your wristbands". Sigh- that seems pretty unavoidable. I may not need a parking permit, but I definitely need a room key. So we leave the check in desk, me trying to silently communicate with my eyes to Matt about what was about to happen so we'd be on the same page & a united front against the over-the-top Timeshare sales tactics.

We begrudgingly make our way over to the special desk and of course the kid (I say kid and mean it, he couldn't have been older than 18!) is super nice and charismatic. Him & DH strike up a lengthy conversation about their Fantasy Football drafts and I'm ready to kick Matt because we have toddlers, crabby in-laws, and melting groceries waiting for us. The kid tried to offer us a "brief" 30 min presentation but we nipped it in the bud - if not verbally then definitely with my body language since I already had one foot out that door and it was probably very apparent by my brevity in conversation that I was needing to go PRONTO.

After getting our room number & wristbands we hauled you-know-what to get to our room (tower 6 - room 6219 on the second floor). We made it, yay! But no bellhop with our luggage or groceries, boo! Now I'm really thinking that we will need to throw away that raw chicken, pork chops, sausage, eggs, milk/cheese/yogurt/deli meat etc. since it's been over an hour and a half since it had left the coolers of Walmart. While we wait for it to be delivered to our room, we explore our new home for the next week. It was a BEAUTIFUL 2 bedroom suite- when you enter, to your left is the "dining room", which had a huge, very nice looking 8 person table. From there was the kitchen, complete with everything you would need - a stove/oven/microwave/fridge/dishwasher, all the pots/pans/cutlery/dishes you would need, a coffee maker, a blender, washcloths & hand towels, sponges, dish soap, salt/pepper, everything. From the kitchen you could overlook the living room, which had a nice size couch (I believe it is a hide-a-bed) and armchair, with a coffee table. This connected to the patio which contained 2 chairs and a small table and overlooked the pirate themed pool. And to the left of that was the "Master Bedroom", which had a connecting bathroom. Turning right from entering the front door was the in-unit laundry (hidden in a little closet), the 2nd bedroom as well as the second bathroom. There was some noted bitterness when it became apparent that Matt, myself, and the two kids would be taking the "master" bedroom which contained 1 king, and that the in-laws would be taking the second bedroom, which contained 2 full size beds.. Though I don't think anyone reading this would question why I thought that would be the better fit for the situation... Both rooms had their own bathrooms, so I really didn't understand why she was upset by this but I chose not to say engage in it- nor did I concede and switch rooms Here are some photos from the website (not my photos), however our suite was recently renovated (November 2021 I believe) so everything was more modernized than what you see pictured here.





When the luggage & groceries arrive, I am delighted to discover that thankfully, it's all still cold! I'm not sure if bell services has a roll-in fridge or something?? But either way the food was fine and we didn't get food poisoning so I am happy! The bellhop was SO unbelievably nice, even helped us unload our groceries instead of just handing us the bags and leaving.

Quick pause in the TR while I explain my thought process for food/groceries when traveling with young kids. I knew a loooong time ago that if I stopped at a QS every time one of my kids said the words "I'm hungry" I'd be broke in no time. So it was my plan to have tons of snack options readily available for them at all times. I also knew there were a few days that we would not be at the parks at all and would need to make lunch & dinner at the resort. I tried to pick dinner ideas that were a tad on the healthier side, and nothing at all resuming the typical theme park food (burgers, brats, pizza, etc.) that we would be eating the whole week- hopefully a nice change of pace from what we'd been eating at the parks. I also wanted things that didn't have a ton of ingredients since we obviously weren't at home with our spice cabinet and fridge full of condiments. Here is what I planned:

Breakfast ideas: hard boiled eggs, breakfast sausage, muffins, bananas, cheerios, toast
Lunch ideas: PB&J/deli meat sandwiches
Dinner ideas: Wednesday: grilled chicken (green beans, mac & cheese); Saturday: Spaghetti & meatballs (garlic bread, broccoli); Sunday: grilled pork chops (mashed potatoes, leftover veggies)
Snack ideas: fruit (bananas, oranges, apples), veggies (cucumbers, carrots), granola bars, pretzels, dried fruit, applesauce & yogurt pouches

So my grocery list for my Walmart delivery looked like this:

Produce
Bananas
Oranges
Carrots
Cucumber
Apples
Broccoli
Green beans

Dairy
Milk
Yogurt pouches
Coffee creamer
Cheese slices
Eggs

Deli/Meat
Deli meat
4 chicken breasts
4 pork chops
Chicken sausage/breakfast sausage

Grocery
Goldfish
Craisins/dried fruit
Pretzels
Granola bars – NOTHING MELTY
Applesauce pouches
Cheerios
Coffee
Sandwich bread
Spaghetti noodles
Spaghetti sauce
Box of mac & cheese (Kraft)
Packet of instant mashed potatoes

Frozen
Meatballs
Garlic bread

Then every night before bed, I would make sure that the kids snack bags were filled with pre-portioned snacks. Ziploc baggies of pretzels, Ziploc baggies of cheerios w/ dried fruit, etc. Then in our insulated lunchbox, alongside a couple of frozen water bottles (some water dumped out before freezing, obviously) I'd have the yogurt pouches, sliced apples & veggies, etc. The kids never went hungry & I felt a lot better about what they were eating all day- as did my wallet!!!! We actually only spent about $250 on food/drinks in the parks for the 4 of us throughout the whole trip, despite budgeting for $500. Win! Anyway, back to the TR.

Shortly after the Bellhop left, I remembered that we had rented a double stroller & a scooter (for FIL) that should have been dropped off at the resort this morning, and we forgot to grab it when we were downstairs! So we called down to confirm it was there... but they didn't have it. They looked again and again over the course of 30 minutes (this resort has 6 buildings, so lots of places it could be) & finally they found the scooter, but no stroller. What?! I called the rental company, Kingdom Strollers, in a panic. They got back to me within 20 minutes and said that traffic was bad but that it would be dropped off within the hour. Whew! An hour later Matt ran down to get it (FIL+MIL had volunteered earlier to get the scooter- I think desperate already for a break from us and the kids... not a good omen for the remaining 7 days!). By this time, the kids were acting crazy and we were all starving. We hadn't really eaten, aside from airplane snacks, since the ChickFilA nuggets that morning. The initial plan was to arrive to the hotel around 2:45pm and swim then grill chicken on one of the resorts community grills. However by this time it was already 7pm so my MIL just cooked the chicken breasts on the stove, and the kids didn't get to go swimming at all We ate, the kids watched a movie (Minions) while Matt & I scrambled to get everything ready for the next day which was our first park day- Magic Kingdom! We assembled the stroller, unpacked our clothes, did food prep (sliced the vegetables & fruit, put the snacks in Ziploc bags etc.), readied our park bags, charged all our portable fans, and laid out our clothes for the next day. The kids went to bed around 9pm (8pm our time) and I stayed up until 11:30pm getting everything organized and ready. #momlife amiright?!

Overall it turned out to be a pretty stressful travel day once we arrived in Florida, but I'm very proud of Matt & I for not fighting with each other (I think I speak for all married couples when I say it is super easy to take out your frustrations on your SO- even when you full well know that none of it is their fault), and that we were just happy to be on vacation together. We couldn't wait for the next day, and I don't think I fell asleep until after midnight, even though my alarm was set for 5:30am! Too excited to finally walk down Main Street again!

TOTAL STEPS: 13,442

Up next: Park Day 1- Magic Kingdom!

 

[MamaMouse0920]

9/8/22 - Park Day 1 (Magic Kingdom!)

With my alarm set for 5:30am, I woke up and flew out of bed (well maybe not flew, but it sure is easier to wake up early when you're heading to Disney World!), got myself ready & then woke Matt up. The whole trip we tried to let the kids sleep in as much as possible so we would make sure that Matt & I were fully dressed & ready before waking them. This not only helped by offering their little bodies as much rest as time would allow, but also made for a smoother 'getting ready' routine, since DH and I could divide & conquer- he takes a kid, I take a kid, and we're done in half the time. After all 4 of us were ready (in-laws were on their own half of the suite and doing their own thing getting ready), I got the kids seated at the dining table to get a light breakfast in them (MIL had made & brought muffins and waffles, so those were our most common breakfasts before heading to the parks each day) then Matt & I ran down to the car to figure out the Tetris game of fitting all our stuff in the trunk. If you're keeping track, in one minivan we needed to fit:
- 1 ECV
- 1 double stroller
- everything that goes IN/ON the stroller & scooter (backpacks & bags galore- water bottles & ponchos and fans, snacks & frozen water bottles, cooling towels & knickknacks to entertain the kids in the event of long lines, sunscreen, extra outfits in case of spills/accidents, diapers & wipes, ears and sunglasses and hats.... literally everything but the kitchen sink, it felt like)

Matt was stressed about this because at first glance it did NOT appear that this was going to work, but somehow we managed to figure it out. What ended up working was putting one of the three backrow seats down, then taking apart the ECV. The basket was removable so we needed to take that off, take the seat & handles completely off, then spin the little knob that loosened the steering column (this didn't come off, but did fold down) and collapse that down onto the base. Matt and I then lifted (that thing was HEAVY!) the base + steering column into the trunk itself. Then we would collapse the double stroller and strategically place that on top of the ECV base. Once those two items were securely placed in the trunk, we could fill in available space with the seat + armrests of the scooter (this usually went on the folded-down seat from the third row), the basket, and our large backpacks. What didn't fit in the trunk then went on the floor of the van.

After winning that game of Tetris, we headed back into the lobby of the hotel to fill our water bottles with ice & then top off with water. At 6:58am, I happened to glance at my phone and realized: "HOLY MOTHER OF PEARL, I COMPLETELY FORGOT ABOUT LIGHTNING LANE SELECTIONS!" I panicked!! Like literally my hands were shaking as I quickly edited my selections to show only Peter Pan (why that ride is so popular/hard to get is completely beyond me to be honest) and by the time I did that it was 7:00am. I hit refresh, and secured a LL for 9:40 (official park opening was 9:00am). Because I was hidden away in a little corner of the hotel where the ice/vending machines were, I had crappy service & as a result it took a little bit of time to load each step, but I was still very happy with my luck!

A little after 7am, Matt & I returned to the room to gather the kids & the grandparents and head down to the car. There were lots of negative comments (a theme throughout the trip) that I overpacked, and I even got made fun of for my Mickey ears but you know this Disney obsessed mama let it roll right off her back! We left a little later than I intended, maybe 15 minutes later? But I was thrilled to be on our way to my happy place. After a short 10-15 minute drive, we arrive to the Magic Kingdom parking lot!!! I am almost in tears by this point, I am so excited!! As we pull up to the parking attendant who collects the $$, more negative comments were made about the price to park ($25). Keeping in mind that this information has been discussed for the last 2 years, none of this is new information... I'm not sure why the negativity continues but alas, it does. We paid & went to find the handicap parking which is literally right next to the entrance so that was super nice! We then had to reverse Tetris take everything out of the trunk, reassemble the ECV, unload the stroller from the van, then load the stroller with all our stuff (& kids, obviously). Thinking I knew about the security/bag check process (turns out I didn't, as they varied COMPLETELY day to day, park to park, even hour to hour) I purposefully did not put any bags in the stroller. I carried them all (seriously, like 7), with MIL carrying her single backpack. The CM directed Matt & FIL to the ECV/stroller lane, and MIL and I to the bag check line. MIL just walked right through, not stopping to have her backpack checked. I'm not sure how or why, but no one stopped her. Once I was through getting all of my bags checked (they are pretty speedy so it's not a huge time-sucker), she commented "weird how they only want to look through some bags and didn't care about mine!" I said "well, no, they told you to get in the same line I was in but you didn't". She argued that he told her to go straight through without having her backpack checked. Another theme for the trip: I chose to not engage and argue with her. We were through security and that's all that mattered.

We decided to take the ferry since it seemed easier with the stroller & scooter, plus more COVID safe. I wasn't sure if it was "first on last off" or what so even though we were one of the first people on the ship we didn't go straight to the very front (there were people who ran to get to the front though, so that should have tipped me off that it is first on, first off), and instead parked ourselves off to the side. Every ferry ride after that, if we were the first ones on we made our way to the front so we could hurry off as soon as it was at port. Another mistake we made on that first day that we learned & changed our plan the subsequent days: we should have used the lengthy waiting around time (waiting for the ferry to fill up, waiting for it to leave, the ride to MK, the process to dock, etc.) to apply sunscreen. Instead we just stood there, thinking we'd be taking off any second so why get started now? The ferry left at 8:20am, so way later than I had hoped.

Once we got to Magic Kingdom we entered via our Magic Bands with no problems (me using my finger to pair with DD3's Magic Band- HIGHLY recommend doing this if you have littles). We were finally walking down Main Street!!

The kids kept pointing out all the pumpkins - they were amazed with all the fall decor They cared more about those than the castle!!! Whose kids are these?!

We stopped at a PhotoPass Photographer to get our picture taken in front of the castle but they turned out awful. Not the photographers fault, but DD3's hat was covering her entire face, DS2 is halfway out of the picture and we all just looked awful. I had straightened my hair and not even an hour later it was already frizzy & wavy (again, obviously none of this is the photographers fault!) but it was so bad I honestly didn't even save it when it showed up in my Memory Maker photos. I also felt some resentment from MIL when I asked for a photo with just me, DH & our kids without the in-laws... I don't think that's so out-of-this-world to ask for but apparently it was mildly upsetting to her so I tried to be mindful of that for future photo opportunities. Matt did snap this pic of me & DS2 though that isn't as bad as the PhotoPass picture, but you can see what I mean about the hair! That was the first and only day I ever left my hair down- every day following this one you will find it up in a ponytail

It was now after 8:30am (which was the Disney+ Day early entry for subscribers) and we were stopped twice by two separate CM asking for proof of Disney+ subscription. All I had to do was pull up the app and show them the home page, and they let us through. The second one took a little bit of time since I wasn't prepared, but once we were through we made our way over to Adventureland. Our first ride was Jungle Cruise, which had a posted wait time of 15 mins but it was a walk on (every picture we took was, as a result, blurry since we were trying to walk quickly through the queue!). Matt & I pointed out all the fun details to the kids as we walked by.

They LOVED the little caged tarantula that jumps and moves - so did the adults nearby! It was quite funny hearing their squeals and giggles each time he jumped. Keeping with the theme of bad pictures, I snapped this beauty as we walked through the queue:

Sigh. Maybe someday we'll learn how to take a nice picture! I think DD3 was already a little overwhelmed by everything going on. I think people would argue that overall crowds were low by Disney standards but I'd still say it was busy. I think maybe Disney+ Day drew in some more people? It also was not a MNSSHP day so that could account for some higher crowds too. We got on our boat a little before 9am and our skipper was funny- we had a great trek. After Jungle Cruise we headed to Fantasyland after stopping at the bathrooms. FIL had to go to the bathroom so I took DD3 for a potty break as well to be safe. While waiting for FIL (he is very slow moving and we had to wait for him often), I used this time to apply sunscreen. It was super cloudy that morning, but we know enough about the Florida sun to not let that fool us into thinking we didn't need sunscreen. I'm actually quite proud to say that not one of us had ANY sunburn throughout the entire trip. Matt & I, impressed with our parenting win:

Sunscreen applied, we headed to redeem our LL for Peter Pan. Because of the route we entered Fantasyland, we actually passed Peter Pan to get to where we needed to park our stroller (by the Carousel). We left MIL & FIL at the ride entrance, showing them where they could park the ECV, and walked over to the carousel to park our stroller. When the 4 of us returned to the scooter parking, MIL & FIL were nowhere to be found. We then realized we hadn't told them (or reminded them, I should say) how Lightning Lanes & Magic Bands work... so we assumed they went in the standby lane without us. We tapped into our LL while Matt called them. They said they didn't know where Peter Pan was....??? Uh.... So they had not entered the standby lane, but I to this day have NO idea where they had gone. Matt quickly tried talking them through entering the Lightning Lane via their magic bands. At that point it was time to get on our ship, so we had to ride without them.

The kids seemed a little afraid at first, but eventually came to enjoy it. They've seen Peter Pan, but along with a lot of the "older" Disney movies, it doesn't hold their attention very long compared to the newer ones (I'm just thankful they like Disney's movies from my generation- Lion King, Aladdin, Little Mermaid.. Making this 90's baby proud!). After we got off and met up with MIL & FIL, they squabbled a bit with Matt about the confusion but DD3 had her heart set on riding the carousel (since seeing it when we parked the stroller), and was basically pulling us in that direction so we nipped the argument in the bud. The 4 of us arrived at the entrance to the line, only to look behind us and realize they once again had disappeared. We hovered awkwardly near the entrance to the queue, waiting for FIL & MIL to find us & join us. Once they did, my FIL made a comment that he was going to ride his own horse. Horrified & quite honestly thinking he was joking, I laughed and replied "no you're not!!" He said "I may be old but I'm still pretty limber!" and sure enough, his 82 year old self managed to climb on a horse a few rows ahead of us and I think he had a blast!

After the ride was over, FIL got stuck trying to get down and Matt & MIL had to go and help him. This was one instance where in the moment I was frustrated (I'm thinking "I told you so!" and annoyed that 1) he could have been badly hurt and 2) it is an inconvenience to the CM who has to wait to let the new batch of riders on until everyone gets off, this obviously slowing everything down) but upon thinking about it later I probably shouldn't have been. I really was trying hard this trip to not let anything bother me and take away from the magic I wanted my kids to experience, but in the moment it is hard! I just wanted everything to be perfect for everyone (including our hard working CM!) and truly I think I put a little too much pressure on myself.

Anyway, after the carousel the kids were hungry & everyone was already feeling the effects of the heat (despite it only being barely 10am), so we stopped into Cosmic Rays. Now that I'm typing this out, I can NOT for the life of me figure out why we picked there? It was not exactly nearby, and I know I wanted to get the kids on Barnstormer to test out their first roller coaster experience before moving on to any of the bigger rides... so maybe we were just walking aimlessly at that point? Regardless, Cosmic Rays is where we ended up. Unfortunately it wasn't even open (to ordering food, that is. We could sit in there and enjoy the AC, but could not order food). I really wanted to try one of the Nutella waffles so we left the kids to cool down with their grandparents and Matt & I went to get one, hoping to bring it back for the kids to enjoy with us. We hoofed it all the way to Liberty Square but the line was crazy-long, so we abandoned our waffle quest and ran back to Cosmic Rays. SO much back and forth with nothing to show for it! It was 10:30 by that point, which was Cosmic Rays official opening time so we ordered a cheeseburger & kids chicken tender meal to share. Despite their claim of being hungry, the kids only ate the fries & the apple slices that came with the kids meal, so Matt & I shared the rest.

Feeling cooled down & refueled, we headed over to Barnstormer. We had been measuring the kids at home without shoes on, DS2 measuring at 36" and DD3 at 42.5", so we felt confident that DS2 would be able to ride, but still you truly just don't know until you get there. I feel like you hear so many comments from parents of "we JUST had him measured at the doctors office so he was all excited to ride, only to have the CM turn us away!" Bearing that in mind, we approached the measuring stick & he not only was tall enough but even bonked his head on it so he got to ride!! Yay! At 11:00am, DD3 & DS2 rode their first ever roller coasters and LOVED it. DH was with DS2 and I rode with DD3. We both took videos of their faces the entire ride, and it is the most adorable thing ever. The smiles & giggles and screams, it was a definite highlight of the trip & definitely a Core Memory.

I can't seem to figure out how to attach the videos here, anyone have any insight??

Regardless, I've maxed out the allowed pictures for one post so I'll end here & continue in next post.

 

[MamaMouse0920]

9/8/22 - Park Day 1 (Magic Kingdom!) - continued

Where we last left off, both kids got to ride the Barnstormer (still can't figure out how to share a video!) for their first ever roller coasters. And they both LOVED it- which I am so happy about! I am a big roller coaster/ride lover.. Matt used to be but the last few years they've started to make him feel sick so I lost my ride buddy Needless to say I'm thrilled that it seems like I have 2 kids who so far seem to love rides as much as their mama! Immediately after Barnstormer we headed to Dumbo since it's right next door. Matt wanted DS2 to ride with MIL & FIL which if I'm being honest made me a tad nervous- he is SO squirmy and is an escape artist but MIL said they would make sure he was secure. So DD3 rode with me & Matt, while DS2 rode in an elephant with MIL & FIL. They were exactly opposite of us so we could see them the whole time- DS2 had a blast! It was adorable getting to see his excited face from across the ride.

After getting off Dumbo, we decided to head over to Little Mermaid and it wasn't until we were in line (around 11:35am) that I checked my watch & realized we needed to be at the Harmony Barber Shop in 25 minutes! We were on the ride at 11:45 (this time DD3 with the in laws and DS2 with us). It broke down briefly (ironically we stopped right in front of Ursula, so it was perfect when Sebastian came on saying that we were broken down and that it was probably that pesky Sea Witch who was to blame ) it was back up and running pretty quickly, but after that interruption I told Matt that we will have to power walk to get to Main Street and that I didn't know what we were going to do about his parents since they would definitely not be able to keep up. We agreed that we just needed to get the kids to the Barbershop for their appointment, and that his parents could meet us there and they could take their time to get there. While walking off the ride, I quickly explained to them what the problem was and how we needed to get there quickly for fear that we would miss our (highly coveted, difficult to get) appointment. I told them exactly where it was but I think they were bearing in mind the issue with Peter Pan and didn't trust that they'd be able to find it... so they just did their best to keep up. Matt's mom looked like she was close to falling several times since she was nearly running to keep up but thankfully she made it okay. I felt bad that they had to race but I wish they had taken us up on our offer to split up! To make matters worse, I had inadvertently scheduled the haircuts for the exact time of the parade... you know, the parade ON MAIN STREET which is where we were trying to get! Oops! So not only were we running late, but we were battling parade crowds too. We made it JUST in time, whew!! The ladies in the salon were so sweet- DD3 and DS2 both got their haircuts at the same time, despite technically their appointments being scheduled 20 minutes apart. This was DD3's first EVER haircut however it never entered my mind that she may be scared.. she had been with DS2 for his haircuts in the past (this was his 3rd or 4th I believe, so not too special for him but we figured with his sister getting her haircut at the Most Magical Place on Earth, why shouldn't he? Plus it was $1 cheaper than the local kids salon at home ) and she had seen him sit there calmly and get his haircut.. but there was a baby (maybe 9 months old?) getting his first haircut and was NOT happy about it, poor thing was screaming! I think witnessing this was starting to get to her and she became a little tearful and nervous. The salon ladies however are absolute pros and immediately whipped out their arsenal of tools at the ready to keep kids happy- first bubbles, then a light up spinning Elsa toy which was a hit with DD3!

Not to be left out, DS2 also was given a spinning Buzz toy even though he wasn't crying or upset at all and let me tell you, he was OBSESSED with that Buzz toy.

Side note, I had that same exact spinning Buzz toy secretly packed in the bottom of the stroller basket at that very moment. It was mine (or one of my siblings) from growing up and visiting WDW! Crazy that it was still in circulation all these years later. I'm thankful my mom had the foresight to keep it, and that I could pass it along to my own kids years later! I had it stashed away, hidden to be used in the event of an emergency meltdown, but after seeing his face light up in the barbershop I decided to just give it to them later that day and they played with it the rest of the trip.

First haircut COMPLETE, she was given her very own set of Mickey Ears (with "my 1st haircut" embroidered on the back!) & we happily paid (with a very generous tip for both those wonderful ladies since we were so thrilled with the entire experience) and then headed outside to watch the last few minutes of the parade.

I forgot to mention, the accidental timing of my scheduling the haircuts for the same time as the parade actually ended up being a really good call, because the barbershop windows face out to where the parade ends. So the kids had the best seats in the house to view it! They were in the AC, being pampered (lol), and sitting on a nice cushy barbershop seat while the rest of the peasants had to sit outside in the 95 degree sun while sitting on a hard curb. Ha! So, what was once a "doh!" mistake, turned into a secret Disney "hack". Schedule the haircuts for 12:20 if you want a great seat for the parade! Follow me for more Disney mistakes hacks. This was the kids first time seeing Mickey, Goofy, Donald, Daisy, and a few others "face to face" and it was perfect! I once again found myself in tears, feeling so lucky to be there with my babies, experiencing the magic through their eyes. They waved excitedly at every character who passed by, and the floats themselves are so detailed & fascinating to look at. I wish I could know what was going on in their little minds while they were watching all this! I tried to take a video, capturing both the kids' faces & reactions as well as snippets of the parade itself, but it's really hard to switch back and forth... plus I feel like I just got very unflattering angles of myself since they were both sitting on my lap If anyone has any tips for taking video of your kids/the parade please share them with me for next time! I would love to not have to look at my several chins & concentrating, sweaty face while I re-watch the videos

After the parade was over, we headed to the monorail to get over to the Contemporary for our 1:35 lunch ADR at Steakhouse 71. This was our first go on the monorail since we had taken the ferry that morning - so we were a little unsure of the process with an ECV. We let the CM know at the top of the ramp that we had a scooter and they had us wait in a specific spot. While waiting, we met two twin female CM who just loved chatting with FIL. They were so funny and thought he was just a hoot! They were 53 (and a half, which I know because DD3 loudly informed them "I'm 3 and a half!" to which they replied they were 53 and a half ) and had been working there for the last 28 years, always together. It was really fun chatting with them! If you're ever at MK look out for our friends- I think their names were Lynette & Jeanette. We visited with them a few times over the course of the week each time more pleasant than the last.

Once the monorail arrived, they placed a ramp down on the open monorail & FIL drove right up into the car. Matt would then push the stroller up the ramp, though I think technically he's not supposed to do this (at least, I don't see them doling out the ramp for other parents with strollers, so they must be expected to just lift it up the 6" gap between monorail & monorail station), but he did it all week without getting told to stop. It took us a few tries to get the positioning figured out, but we eventually discovered just how far forward FIL would have to drive his scooter so that the stroller would fit just behind it (pretty stinking far! There were several times I drew a sharp breath, waiting for him to drive right out the other end of the monorail and crash, but thankfully it never happened). The CM at MK must then communicate with the CM at the Contemporary, because they knew exactly which car of the monorail needed the ramp and had it ready when we arrived. We were about 45 minutes early to our ADR, but I checked in anyway and they said they would let us know if our table became ready early but she didn't seem too confident that we would be seated any time soon. Due to this, I told the troops to get comfy and that I would use this time to reorganize our stroller since it was looking like a tornado had hit it. As soon as everyone sat down, I got the text that our table was ready!

When I booked this ADR 60 days prior, I specifically picked the time (1:35pm) because I was hoping both kids would be napping peacefully in the stroller, and the 4 adults could have a leisurely lunch, sipping cocktails and laughing modestly, reveling in the absolute delight of what a perfect day it had been, gazing with complete adoration at our angelic babies sleeping faces................................................................................. to which my kids said:

Of course that didn't happen, and instead it was chaos. DS2 was acting like the biggest turd ever to live, refusing to sit still, wanting to climb all over the table (and under it), grabbing forks and knives and anything within reach. We eventually had to separate the two kids because he was bothering DD3 too much so she went to sit with MIL. FIL of course thinks that Matt and I are the worst parents to walk the earth for this behavior because back in his day children simply did NOT behave as... well.. children... So it was that moment that I decided to pull out the big guns. The fidget toys. We're not big on technology/tablets so the idea of anything like that never really occurred to me but I had bought a pack of tiny little fidget toys on Amazon and had them packed in my Minnie bag for just such occasions. And thankfully to an extent, it worked. It at least kept him semi-occupied so we could eat in relative peace. I decided after all that I deserved a cocktail so I ordered the Vodka Gimlet, Matt ordered a local IPA (not sure on the name). The gimlet was a bit tart (like sweet & sour mix tart) but overall very refreshing. For lunch, I ordered French onion soup & the wedge salad. Matt had ordered a steak that was not on the lunch menu (seriously what steakhouse doesn't offer steak during lunch?!), and MIL & FIL shared a turkey club sandwich. Everything was absolutely delicious, and my oh my- the portions were HUGE! I was not expecting this at all. I ordered two appetizers and didn't finish either of them, my in laws struggled to eat their shared sandwich. The kids' lunch (they shared chicken tenders with parmesan fries & broccoli) basically went untouched except for a few bites, what a waste. Obviously we couldn't take any of it with us since we were headed back to MK. What a bummer! I hate wasting food, but I know I would have been miserable if I forced myself to finish my meal so we left a lot of it behind.

By this point it was 2:30pm and neither kid had napped and IT. WAS. SHOWING. They were so crabby & unruly and Matt and I were just feeling like failures. Our kids are good kids, and even though I should know by now to not care about what other people think, it still bothers me when people pass judgement when our kids are acting like kids. Especially tired, hot, overstimulated kids at that! To make matters worse, we overheard people coming in to the Contemporary mentioning a storm coming so I had Matt check the radar... and sure enough a big storm was coming probably within the next hour. Matt is a bit of a weather nerd (I have been known to refer to him as WeatherMatt.. get it.. like weatherman, but his name is Matt............. you get it) so before you hit me with "Oh Bethany, don't you know it rains EVERY day in Florida in the rainy season? It will be done raining within an hour!", yes I do know all of that. But I also trust Matt and his weather tracking skills and when he says this is not just some passing rainclouds, I listen. Also, it was precisely that moment that we realized.... Kingdom Strollers had forgotten our stroller's rain cover!!!!!!!!!!!! I quickly emailed them and they responded apologizing and saying that they would again have someone drop it off at our hotel lobby in the next 30-40 minutes.... not very helpful since we were at Magic Kingdom, but hey what can you do. We sat in the lobby of the Contemporary hemming and hawing for the next 10 minutes when I made the executive decision that we would head back to MK. It's only 2:45pm and we have a whole day ahead of us! Matt & I had our heavy duty ponchos (more like knee-length rain jackets), and we could take refuge somewhere inside on Main Street until it lightens up enough to make our way to an indoor attraction... hopefully not drenching the kids in the process. As we headed to the 4th floor of the Contemporary, we were greeted by security and metal detectors. We did not realize the level of security we had to go through to get back on the monorail from the Contemporary, but I suppose it makes sense since you are bypassing the security of the TTC. It was a nightmare since everyone was full & tired and crabby, plus the level of disorganization the stroller was in made it 10x worse, but the CM was very sweet and patient. While on the monorail back to MK, we discovered it makes 3+ stops (this surprised us since the trip from MK > Contemporary we had no stops), but this actually worked out for the best since the quiet car (a perk of having an ECV & double stroller - it takes up the entire car! We never had to share a car with strangers, which was nice!) and the soothing back and forth motion of the monorail eventually put both kids to sleep in the stroller. During our monorail ride, it started to rain. After debarking, we hung out in the station and quickly dug out our ponchos and switched from our tennis shoes to our sandals. FIL's poncho (they had the traditional plastic kind) was large enough to cover both the power portion on the front of the scooter as well as our backpacks hanging off the back.

I could tell I was the only one who wanted to go back to the park, even Matt I think was wanting to call it a day but the selfishness in me tried to ignore it & persevere. In the walk from the monorail station to the tapstiles to enter the park, we somehow got separated from MIL & FIL (a common theme, you can see). Matt & I scanned in, and I had to carefully pry DD3's Magic Band off her sleeping wrist) to scan her in as well. Thank goodness I used my own finger with her magic band!!! We got through and waited for the in laws under a tree before entering the park. FIL had issues figuring out how to use his Magic Band throughout the entire trip (he tried to scan in using his watch, for instance) and it was taking them a while to get through. Matt eventually left me & the kids to go investigate what was going on and he said that his dad was yelling at his mom (Matt was mortified), so tensions were definitely high. Plus it was thundering and lightning, and even though I told them that Disney World has lightning rods throughout the park, MIL still said "I'm not going in there if there's any lightning" and then made comments how "just last week there were 8 people under a tree and it was struck by lightning and 7 of them died" ........... while we are standing under the tree. At that moment I decided to call it. I'm sure everyone would have followed me wherever I took them, but deep down I knew I was the only one who really wanted to go in.. and I knew it wouldn't be fun dragging anyone around a theme park they didn't want to be in. So we called it a day, and despite literally just scanning in moments ago, we exited the park. Hopped right back on the monorail and headed to the parking lot. It was coming down pretty hard for the rest of the night so I don't necessarily regret the decision, just a huge bummer since it was our first park day and we barely got anything done. To recap, we rode: Jungle Cruise, Peter Pan, the Carousel, Barnstormer, Dumbo, and Little Mermaid. The haircuts & our lunch ADR ate up some park time too, and the racing around, zig zagging through the park and everything just made it feel like not a good day.

As we were driving back to the resort, I explained to the others my dilemma about how we didn't get much done and how our only remaining MK day was a MNSSHP day so it was already going to be shortened and how I really felt like we were robbing the kids of the one park that is most suited for them. I told them I kind of felt like switching our reservation for the next day from Animal Kingdom to Magic Kingdom. Everyone agreed (not that anyone would have disagreed with me since I was the sole planner and no one knew anything else). I was sad to miss Animal Kingdom this trip, but I knew we needed more time in Magic Kingdom. So I switched our reservations for the next day- thankfully there was Magic Kingdom availability!

We returned to the resort and it took Matt & I 3 trips, in the rain, to get everything from the car to the hotel room. We were all soaked and cold and crabby. We called down to the front desk to see if they had the rain cover that was dropped off for us, but they said no. So I emailed Kingdom Strollers, again, inquiring. They confirmed that yes, they did drop it off. Odd.... so I call Bell Services again, who literally drop what they're doing and go on a hunt for this rain cover. They stop at our room to give us updates, they call to give us updates, and eventually the guy says "you know what, I'm going to call over to the Grand to see if it was dropped off over there" I'm thinking "wow thats above and beyond, but it's not likely since Kingdom Strollers already has made 2 trips out here just yesterday (one to drop off the ECV and the other to drop off the stroller), I doubt they would have just forgotten which resort we were staying at" but sure enough! That's where it was. So the bellhop literally walked over to the Grand and delivered it to us. What a guy!!!!! Seriously when I say this place is amazing, it truly is.

This helped cheer me up, as well as Matt & I getting a couple of beers & sitting on the balcony while the kids played with a bubble wand I had brought from home (an Amazon one, nothing fancy). It had broken in transit (still functioning, just wobbly) and I decided not to drag it to the parks the rest of the trip so this rainy afternoon seemed like a great time to bust it out. They had a blast with it and watching them play and have so much fun put the four of us at least in a better mood. Oftentimes when we returned from the parks, the in-laws retreated immediately to their room so I can't speak for them on whether or not their afternoon turned around, but I was at least glad the four of us didn't end our day on a bad note.

Overall the day was not at all how I envisioned our first day to go, and combined with the stress of our arrival day the day before & the obvious continued tension between us & my in laws... we were not off to a great start to our trip! But we took advantage of the downtime and caught up on some sleep with an early bedtime- we were all in bed by 8:30! Before crawling in bed though, I condensed our park bag contents/stroller and WAAAAAY cut down on the amount of things we'd bring to the parks moving forward- something I think everyone was happy about!

TOTAL STEPS: 13,362.

Up next: Park Day 2- Animal Kingdom Magic Kingdom, take 2!

 

[MinnieFan4ever]

The stress of traveling with older in-laws is REAL! Been there. Your such a trooper. I hope the rest of the week goes smoothly for you. I’m at the edge of my seat waiting to hear.
(I was actually shaking my head that is was ”your”fault they couldn’t find the airport ).

 

[JAMIESMITH]

Following along! Bummer that you missed out on AK. It is my favorite park.

 

[erinch]

Wow. Thank you for writi g this. Mine are now 34 and 27 and I remember those days like yesterday. Glad FIL got his horse!

 

[MamaMouse0920]

Following along! Bummer that you missed out on AK. It is my favorite park.

I was (/am) super bummed as well. My kids are obsessed with animals so I know they would have had a blast Next trip we are making it a priority, for sure!!

 

[MamaMouse0920]

Wow. Thank you for writi g this. Mine are now 34 and 27 and I remember those days like yesterday. Glad FIL got his horse!

I try to remind myself that the days are long but the years are short - not just with the children but with my in-laws as well! Time is so precious & goes way too fast.

 

[MamaMouse0920]

9/9/22 - Park Day 2 (Magic Kingdom, take 2!)

I woke up again at 5:30am, and despite the early bedtime the night before I was still soooooo tired. My eyes were crazy puffy and I needed coffee pronto. The day before, we brought a big mug of coffee to sip on throughout the day but the travel mug we brought worked too well- the coffee was still burning hot til after noon! Burning hot coffee + 95 degree temps do not mesh, so Matt & I agreed that we would no longer bring coffee to the parks & would instead buy one as soon as we arrived. Even though we had just said we weren't going to make any more, I knew I wouldn't survive the morning without at least one cup so I made a quick batch to sip on while I was getting ready. After Matt & I were both fully dressed and ready (I had to improvise on the outfits - I obviously had not planned on a third MK day so I just scraped together some random tops & bottoms and made it work. I was sad to have not gotten to wear any of our fun safari themed gear for our AK day!! ) we woke the kids up and got them ready as well, with another breakfast of waffles & muffins.

Since I had cut down on our park bag contents, it was pretty smooth sailing that morning getting through security. And this time, for some reason they didn't look in any of our bags??? Like I mentioned in my last post, the security/bag check process varied SO much this trip. Anyway, everyone was in great spirits and it truly felt like THIS was how our trip should have started. We took the ferry and were able to be parked directly in the middle in the very front of the ship- the kids pretended they were steering & driving us to Magic Kingdom


A better family picture in front of the castle. Poor DS2 doesn't seem too thrilled though, lol!




This was a MNSSHP day and man-oh-man, crowds were literally non existent. Like ghost town status- check the background of our PhotoPass pictures! Every single wait was 5 minutes, but that whole morning we stupidly used our LLs anyway (more on that later).



With it being a MNSSHP day, the park opened early (8:00am) and we were held for just a few minutes outside of Adventureland since we were a little early. I killed time by snapping this quick pic. We were among the first to line up outside Adventureland and you can tell again that the crowds were low - there's no one in line behind us! That day we utilized our same rope drop strategy as the day before: head straight to Jungle Cruise. We actually wanted to do Pirates since we didn't get to the day before, but it was closed immediately upon opening- something DD3 was secretly pleased about because I think she was a little nervous. After parking the ECV & stroller at the top of the little hill before going down to Jungle Cruise, we entered the queue right behind a big family that hadn't parked their stroller. It looked as though they thought they could bring the stroller in the line? So the whole family entered the queue while the dad (or Grandpa? I'm not sure. He appeared to be in his 50s) went to park the stroller. I entered the standby lane with DD3, she was literally pulling me to see the fruit at the very beginning of the queue, and as we weaved through the lanes eventually I hear Matt say "Bethany, wait and let this guy through, he's pushing us to get to his group". I stop to let the guy I can hear huffing & puffing pass me, and as he squeezes past me he yells "I was NOT pushing, so don't even go there with that bulls***!" Matt didn't respond but the guy would not let it go, yelling "don't start with me" and "don't give me that s***" "don't make that s*** up" several times. It was actually kind of scary, I don't think I've ever been yelled at by a total stranger in public before- least of all with my kids. After that, I tried to keep my distance as we made our way toward the boats since clearly this guy was unstable. He would not let it go, the whole queue! I was annoyed with Matt for making the comment in the first place, even though he was not wrong - the guy WAS pushing and absolutely breathing down everyone's necks, literally huffing and puffing... and Matt's comment wasn't even that bad. He didn't call him names, he didn't say it in a snarky voice or anything, just said the guy was pushing through to get to his family. I didn't like that Matt started an unnecessary confrontation with someone without knowing how they were going to react. It's the exact reason why you don't ever engage in road rage, you simply DON'T know what the other person is going to do... if they have a gun in their car, if they're mentally unstable, etc. It's best to just let things go, and go about your day. So I was a little annoyed with Matt & it was super awkward sharing a boat with that same family. The wife tried to make eye contact with me a couple times (from my sideways glances it looked as though she was just as upset with her husband as I was with mine) but I did not smile at her or give her any sort of validation. I wasn't about to let her think it's okay for her husband to act like a psycho in front of other people's children. I tried hard to not let this experience first thing in the morning ruin my cruise, but to make matters worse about halfway through the trek Matt got scolded by the skipper because DS2 was trying to stand up on his lap. We were seated directly next to the engine and could hardly hear the skipper at all, so he had to say like 10x "please keep children seated or in your lap". I even looked at the young kid behind me thinking the skipper was referring to him before I embarrassingly realized it was my own kid who wasn't behaving. Whoops!

After Jungle Cruise we headed for our first LL which was Big Thunder Mountain, even though when we got there we realized it had a posted 5 minute stand by. Because he isn't tall enough yet, we left DS2 with his grandparents. Don't feel too bad for him though, he got to cruise around with FIL on the scooter so I don't know if he even realized we were gone! It was really nice having the alone time with DD3. I often feel massive "mom guilt" because our kids are so close together in age. It felt like I hardly had any time with her before her brother came along, and ever since then she's been sharing our attention... so any alone time I get with either of my kids is very nice & I cherish the one on one time.



We had been showing the kids POV ride videos on YouTube since we started planning our 2021 trip, so DD3 kind of knew what to expect, but only to an extent. She had been saying she wanted to ride every single ride we showed her - even Tower of Terror - and after the success of Barnstormer the day before I wasn't super worried about how she would handle Big Thunder or Splash. After weaving through the quick queue, we told the CM that there were three of us and they let us all squeeze into one row which was a nice surprise. With me & DH acting as book ends, we squeezed DD3 between us and off we went on the wildest ride in the wilderness! DD3 LOVED it, she was giggling and screaming the entire time. It is obvious she is a little adrenaline junkie like her mama!

Immediately after BTM, we used a LL for Splash Mountain, which also had a 5 minute wait. FIL & MIL were still off with DS2 so we figured one more ride would be fine. We were again able to squeeze the three of us in one row, and DD3 loved Splash even more! She loved both BTM & Splash so much that it's tough to say which of the two were her favorite, but I think if she had to choose it would be Splash Mountain. Sadly you can't see her in the ride photo, but trust me when I say she has a HUGE smile on her face.



After getting off Big Thunder & Splash (DD3 begging to go again) we reunited with the rest of the crew & made our way toward Liberty Square, stopping for iced coffee & donuts at Westward Ho.



Iced coffee on 95 degree Disney days hits different! The only problem was that they don't give you lids, and we had left our travel mug at the resort... it would have been nice to be able to pour our coffees in there and hop on our next ride! Instead, we had to chug as much as we could and then carefully place our open cups inside one of the over-the-door shoe organizer compartments (see Pre-Trip report for details on how I made that- it was a lifesaver this trip!!! Must have if you bring a stroller, in my opinion) and hope to god no passing bird decided to drop a turd in our open coffees.

I've met my max allotment of photos so I'll stop here!

 

[MamaMouse0920]

9/9/22 - Park Day 2 (Magic Kingdom, take 2!), continued

Iced coffees semi-stored away, we waited outside the Memento Mori while FIL parked his ECV. In that time, DS2 jumped in every puddle he could find resulting in some wet shorts. It was already starting to get warm at that point (a little before 9:30am) so I don't think he minded much. Also while we were waiting, a Memento Mori CM that kind of looked like a skinny Santa Claus stepped outside just behind where DD3 is standing and absolutely ooh-d & aah-d over DD3's Belle dress. "Oh, Princess! I didn't know you would be here today!" etc. It was very cute but I think DD3 was a little taken aback by the attention



After FIL joined us, we scanned in to our LL (I love the sound the Tapstiles make at Haunted Mansion!) and made our way to the mansion doors. We told the CM we'd like to skip the stretching room, please (#1, I was afraid the kids would get scared and ruin the experience for others and #2 we were still trying to be COVID-conscious and "filling in all the available space" in that tiny room is the exact opposite). I knew it was an option to skip it, but I had never done it before so that was my first time. They lead you through this tiny hallway which is just as ornately decorated and themed as the rest of the attraction but it was all dedicated to CM (locker rooms, maybe?) and it was really cool to see "behind the scenes". As we approached the Doom Buggies, Matt again tried to get at least one of the kids to ride with his parents but this time neither one of them was having it. They clung to me like little barnacles- a little bit scared of the dark and spooky vibes... so the four of us shared a Buggy, again with Matt & I acting as book ends. At home, Muppets Haunted Mansion is one of their favorite movies (we must have watched it 300x last October as we geared up for Halloween) so Matt and I kept making references to that movie to keep them from being scared. Singing "follow the floating candelabra!" when we saw them throughout the mansion, asking where Pepe is when we approached Constance Hatchaway's attic, singing the Grim Grinning Ghosts song etc. They were actually doing okay with it until the ride broke down at the very end in the graveyard, and we were stopped right in front of a tombstone with a creepy head that pops out at you every 10-15 seconds. I just told them to close their eyes until we resumed moving and they were fine. Unfortunately I didn't get any ride pictures for this one, which actually happened a couple times throughout the trip! Bummer, but I wasn't about to waste any park time trying to investigate, especially considering how poorly my kids photograph anyway

After Haunted Mansion we made our way to Fantasyland, stopping at the Tangled bathrooms for a potty break and to quickly reapply sunscreen since it had been 2 hours since we last applied. 'It's a Small World' had a 5 minute wait but we still used a LL (I think my theory for the day was that I paid the $15 per person, so we may as well use it even if it only saved us 1 minute lol) and hopped on. The queue made me a little nervous with FIL since it's a downward ramp and I'm not sure why but those floors ALWAYS seem to be wet. I warned him about how slippery it was though and he made it down to the boats without incident.





DS2 was excited to see all the colors & figurines, but about 1/4 of the way through he fell asleep on MIL's lap. Yay for napping!



After the ride I tried to hurry out of the boat so I could gently pick him up from MILs lap to try to keep him napping but as fate would have it, he of course woke up so he only got about a 5 minute nap overall. With him now wide awake, we headed to the carousel since for some reason that was an obvious favorite for both kids. FIL & MIL both opted to sit this one out, so the 4 of us rode alone.



After the Carousel the kids attempted to pull the Sword from the Stone (no luck) and everyone was getting warm so we opted for an AC break via Philharmagic. DD3 was getting crabby by this point (11am), especially as we waited for the doors to open. LL did not get us any special seating, as you meet in that same big room, but we ended up with decent seats right in the middle anyway with adequate spacing between groups so you didn't feel crammed in like sardines. Both kids LOVED the show, laughing and reaching to grab the 3D items in front of them. The grandparents loved it I think even more than the kids, so that was nice as I felt like I finally had provided them with an experience they enjoyed!! I patted myself on the back a little bit.



After our show was done & 3D glasses returned, we headed toward Main Street to attempt to get the kids to nap on the monorail.. seeing as we had such success with it yesterday. We once again however accidentally timed our departure with the parade (seriously what is my deal??! Do I not own a watch?!) and had to battle the crowds once again. At the last second as we neared Casey's I saw the "Baby Care Center" sign and thought "oh yeah! Let's try to get them to nap in there!" but 100 other families had the same idea and it was absolute chaos inside. As we approached the Baby Care Center I advised MIL & FIL to grab a seat on the bench since I didn't know if they would be allowed in... it already felt like we were kind of abusing the system since I was no longer breastfeeding either child, and I definitely didn't feel it would be appropriate for them to be in there with other nursing mothers and people changing their kids diapers, etc. since they don't have young children at all. I don't know, maybe it wouldn't have been a big deal? But I was hoping to avoid them going in just to get kicked out (again, hate confrontation!) so I had them just hang out outside, which again I think upset them ("what are we supposed to do, just sit here?") but I know being asked to leave would have upset them more. As I mentioned it was total chaos inside, so to avoid it looking like we only went in to ditch the heat, I had Matt run to the stroller parked outside and grab a diaper + wipe to change DS2's diaper. He was crabby (it was a lot of scrambling & back and forth with parking the stroller etc, so I get why he was frustrated) but went and grabbed it while I set up DD3 in one of the chairs in front of the TV. Turns out the entire place was filled with family members, so I probably could have had MIL & FIL in there but I still don't know if it would be considered rude to the parents of TRUE babies who utilize the center. When I went to change DS2's diaper, I discovered it was completely dry. We had changed him at the Tangled bathrooms earlier but still Matt & I agreed we needed to push more fluids from then on. After ditching the busy Baby Care Center (in-laws less than thrilled that they sat down just to be told "never mind, we're outta here!") we decided to go the monorail route. This ended up being 50% successful, since DD3 did fall asleep but DS2 was crazy unruly so we just did one lap from MK > Contemporary > MK. DD3 stayed asleep for quite some time actually, so we headed to Tomorrowland for the first time this trip.

We weren't exactly sure what to do with a sleeping DD3 (I wish there were more rides/shows that you could bring a stroller into!) so I volunteered to stay behind with her while the others headed into Monsters Inc Laugh Floor. They said it was cute, but nothing too special and definitely not COVID friendly! While they were inside, I wandered around Tomorrowland pushing a half empty stroller and mobile ordered a pretzel w/ cheese & a blue raspberry slushie from The Lunching Pad. As I sat down and sipped on that, I refilled all our water bottles & attempted to activate the cooling towels but was struggling with only having one hand to pour and the other to hold the towels. The water just poured off the towels so I gave up for now - unfortunate because it was after 12:00pm and HOT! When everyone exited the show, DD3 was still conked out so we hemmed and hawed again as to what to do. It's clear that I am the "leader" of the group and without my definitive "let's do this" we just kind of stand around wondering what to do until I make the executive decision. MIL had been promising the kids ice cream the last 2 days and when FIL had to use the restroom, we just happened to notice we were sitting outside a QS that offered soft-serve ice cream. DD3 was starting to stir so I knew she would be waking soon, so MIL went to get 3 ice creams which we shared. It was around 1:35pm by the time DD3 fully woke up, so I offered her the now slightly stale cold pretzel & cheese and some ice cream as a late lunch/snack.



Bellies full & 1 of us rested, we booked a LL for Buzz Lightyear which was a blast, since my kids (DS2 especially) are Buzz obsessed.


Think they're related?

After defending the galaxy (and getting to see the REAL Buzz up on a stage after exiting the ride!) we headed to Tomorrowland Speedway, which the kids had been excited for. In our talks in the weeks leading up to the trip, the kids had said they wanted the driving arrangements to be as follows: DS2 with FIL & DD3 with MIL, Matt and I then stuck with each other But at the last minute the kids ditched their grandparents and wanted to ride with mom & dad instead so I was driven around by DD3 and Matt driven around by DS2.



It was fun but man, those two are crazy drivers! I again took video and it is hilarious, but can't seem to figure out how to upload it here so you will just have to use your imagination. If you've done this attraction you probably know how impossible it is to steer even as a fully capable driver, so putting a 3 year old behind the wheel.... lets just say I now know what it feels like to be a pinball! At the end of the track as you're pulling up to park your car, DD3 and I got stuck in traffic and ended up sitting in the same spot for about 15 minutes. Everyone else was already off the ride but we were just stuck there. I tried to FaceTime my mom at that point but those darn engines are so loud we couldn't hear anything so I ended up hanging up and telling her we'd call her later. As we were just sitting there with nothing to do, I looked around and started to notice the skies were getting super dark and the wind was really picking up. I called Matt & told him to prepare the stroller for the rain. The rain was moving in QUICK!

I've once again maxed out the pictures so I'll pause here. Stay tuned for our first in-park encounter with the rain!

 

[MamaMouse0920]

9/9/22 - Park Day 2 (Magic Kingdom, take 2!), continued

Like I've mentioned I can't figure out posting videos, but here's one picture I took of DD3 while driving her car:


After finally getting freed from our cars, DD3 and I raced to meet the others near Cosmic Rays to beat the rain. Matt & I quickly switched our footwear from tennis shoes to sandals & donned our ponchos. We put the kids in the stroller and covered them with the plastic rain cover (it was not tight and they could breathe, don't worry!) and we felt pretty good about heading into the rain. At some point, I had booked us a LL for Winnie the Pooh so we headed that way and the rain was really coming down! We raced through to outdoor portion of the queue, trying to quickly get to the indoor portion to get out of the rain but we stopped juuuuuust outside where the line starts to be covered. The family in front of us was taking up tons of space inside the building while we sat outside getting rained on (keeping in mind the kids didn't have rain gear since we knew they'd be protected by the stroller). I tried holding them under my poncho but eventually asked the mom close to me super nicely "do you think you could move forward a tiny bit so we can fit inside?" She did not respond or acknowledge me at all but made a slightly snarky comment to the rest of her group about it. I didn't care, I feel like that's kind of common courtesy.... 'fill all available space' so children aren't sitting outside getting rained on. We waited in this line (even though it was the LL lane) for a long time, so we again tried FaceTiming my mom but once again all for nothing because it was too loud inside the queue and we couldn't hear anything. It wasn't long before we realized that the honey pots weren't moving... the ride had broken down. We stood in line not moving for a while, maybe 20 minutes? I actually had to break into my emergency stash of treats to keep the kids from going wild. They eventually announced that the ride was in fact down- they scanned our magic bands and we were issued a redemption experience for the LL. I did NOT realize that that counted as us booking Winnie the Pooh, so after we later used our redemption experience to ride Splash Mountain again, it meant we couldn't book Winnie the Pooh because we technically had already. Oops, but lesson learned. We had one more full day at MK coming up so we just knew we'd have to ride Winnie the Pooh then. At some point in that lengthy wait, it had stopped raining hard and was just drizzling. This would continue for the rest of the afternoon- off and on drizzling- so we kept our ponchos out but really didn't need them. So after we ditched Pooh, we headed toward Little Mermaid again since the kids & even my in-laws really liked it. The kids wanted to walk & jump in puddles so we held their hands and splashed our way to Little Mermaid.


On our way, we passed Gaston's Tavern and I commented to the group how we should stop afterward to try Lefou's Brew. I explained what the drink was and MIL made a disgusted face and said that it sounds revoltingly sweet and that she'd definitely pass. Cue the internal sigh & eye roll from me. Negativity & me do NOT mix, especially at Disney! We're at the happiest place on earth people, let's act like it! So around 2pm & after Little Mermaid I got my Lefou's Brew- the 4 of us loved it! I offered for my MIL to try it, telling her how it's not too sweet at all and very refreshing but she declined. They instead got an OJ and of course complained how the tiny bottle cost more than a full size jug of OJ outside of Disney World. Eventually DD3 and I explored the tavern & I took his pic of 'Belle' sitting in Gaston's chair. Gasp!



After our short inside rest/drink break + one potty break for DD3 & I, we headed to our late Peter Pan LL which was as uneventful as always (I'm sorry, I just do NOT understand the hype for that ride! Except maaaybe for the nostalgia factor... but other than that I just don't get it ). I think we may have squeezed in our redemption experience at Splash at that point as well, but honestly I just can't remember when that was and I have no photographic evidence to jog my memory.

After Peter Pan, around 3:45pm we headed to finally ride Pirates of the Caribbean- a favorite of mine & Matt's. As we were walking along the queue of Pirates, the kids & I were talking about becoming pirates and what we would do with the treasure we would find. DD3 declared that she's the captain "so she gets to tell us what to do". Aye, aye, captain!

Whatever you say, girlfriend!

During the ride they were a little scared during the dark parts but we made it a fun game trying to look for Jack Sparrow. After we were done, we headed over to the Magic Carpets and guess who was walking toward us- Jack Sparrow himself!! The kids were SO unbelievably excited. They talked to him for a few seconds but the CM explained that he's just walking through looking for his hat and that it wasn't a formal meet & greet. The kids were totally star struck- it was adorable and I wish I recorded it. We continued toward the carpets & DD3 had fun playing with the misting/water spouting tiki heads near the Tiki Room & Jungle Cruise. Matt got a little huffy with me because I was walking ahead of the group with DD3 (as usual, since I walk at a faster pace and I physically do not seem to be able to walk slow enough to match my in-laws pace.. plus DD3 is so excited to see everything she often would be pulling me through the park!) and after seeing DD3 playing in that tiki head circle, of course DS2 wanted to as well. But at that point, DD3 and I were already at the entrance to the queue so Matt had to drag DS2 out of there which resulted in a minor meltdown. I apologized and made a mental note to try harder to go slow, but it is really hard! The kids once again wanted to ride with mom & dad so my in laws had to have their own carpet. I could tell it really bothered Matt that the kids often didn't want to ride with them (though he never said it out loud) and I did feel bad that they frequently had to ride alone, but I knew if I forced the kids to ride with them that would not be any better for anyone. So the 4 of us rode in our carpet & the grandparents in the one behind us. The kids were in charge of the up/down/tipping joysticks, yikes!



We had fun on the carpets and I wanted to ride again (it's a walk on!) but it was about 4:30pm by that time and everyone else was hot & tired & crabby. It was quite easy to tell when my in laws were ready to tap out every day (usually by noon). They endured though and never said that they wanted to leave with the exception of DHS day. We had a quick dinner at Pecos Bill (maybe that's when we re-rode Splash?) & started to make our way out of the parks around 5:30pm, since it was closing at 6pm anyway. There was a big crowd of people doing the same so getting on the monorail was a bit of a slog. We made it back to the hotel by 6:30pm & just hung around watching movies & cleaning/organizing our park bag contents. The next day was me & DH day-date at Epcot, so no alarms set for the next morning. Yahoo!

I'd say the biggest flaw/mistake we made this day was wasting a LL in the morning when the stand by wait times were 5-10 minutes. As I mentioned earlier I think I was doing this because we were right there, there was a LL available, and I wanted to feel like I was 'getting my money's worth' with the Genie+. Come noon, however, when crowds are higher and wait times are longer, and the kids are begging to re-ride rides we've already used a LL on...... well it bit me in the butt since I had wasted it early in the morning. I vowed to not make that mistake again for future park days! I also started better utilizing the splitting of our LL selections- initially I was just booking all 5 (DS2 did not have a valid park ticket so was not included in any LL selections) of us for the ride, even if I knew MIL & FIL would not be riding it. Future park days, I would NOT book MIL & FIL, so that we could book theirs later & ride again. This worked particularly well for Slinky Dog Dash, as well as Big Thunder & Splash Mountain since those were DD3's favorites and got to ride them multiple times a day, using Stand By in the mornings, then our magic bands mid morning/early afternoon, and then at the end of the day with MIL & FILs magic bands since they hadn't booked a LL for that ride yet. Win/Win!

Overall the day was so magical it more than made up for the stressfulness/disappointment of the day before (and I don't want to act like our Park Day 1 didn't have any magic - the haircuts & parade & wonder my kids experienced first entering the park was still very special and I'll cherish the memories forever!) and I am so glad we got an extra day in that park as a do-over THIS was the vacation I signed up for!

TOTAL STEPS: 21,192

Up next: Park Day 3- Epcot (Mom & Dad solo date, rest day for everyone else)

 

[snikki]

Your day 2 looks to be working like magic! It really made up for day 1.

Can't wait to hear about your date day with DH!

 

[ambula603]

I am loving your trip report! You sound like me - are you an Enneagram 9? Hates conflict and negativity, wants to keep the peace!? Just hearing of the rude people around you got my heart rate up. I HATE THAT, especially in my happy Disney bubble! I want everyone to be happy at WDW. I know that is impossible but FAKE IT. At least around me, ha!

We invited my parents for my daughter's first trip - they were 6.5 and 4. NEVER AGAIN. I couldn't make everyone happy and so I was miserable most of the time. I mean, our trip was wonderful but I couldn't stand the negative comments and the fact that the overall planning of the trip rested on my shoulders. And they were MY parents, so I cannot imagine the balance when they are your in-laws!

That being said, it sounds like you are handling it so well and that your trip is going great. Can't wait to read more!

 

[MamaMouse0920]

I am loving your trip report! You sound like me - are you an Enneagram 9? Hates conflict and negativity, wants to keep the peace!? Just hearing of the rude people around you got my heart rate up. I HATE THAT, especially in my happy Disney bubble! I want everyone to be happy at WDW. I know that is impossible but FAKE IT. At least around me, ha!

Yes precisely!! You hit the nail on the head- I just want everyone to be happy! And I don't remember which Enneagram I am, I haven't taken one of those personality tests probably since college... but I think you've just spurred me to re-test!

We invited my parents for my daughter's first trip - they were 6.5 and 4. NEVER AGAIN. I couldn't make everyone happy and so I was miserable most of the time. I mean, our trip was wonderful but I couldn't stand the negative comments and the fact that the overall planning of the trip rested on my shoulders. And they were MY parents, so I cannot imagine the balance when they are your in-laws!

Yes yes yes! After returning home I told Matt I don't think I want to travel with anyone outside of our immediate family ever again unless it's with my parents (my mom is the exact same as me, so we are peas in a pod and plan very well together). While planning this trip, I tried to get together with my in-laws several times to sit with them and look at rides/attractions, study park maps, check out menus, etc.. It didn't happen ("oh we don't care" .... BUT YOU DO!). I feel like it at least would have taken some of the responsibility & planning off of me! Oh well, it's all behind us now and I don't think they'd want to travel with us ever again either

 

[maleficent55]

I stumbled upon your trip report and I'm having fun reading it. We are doing in November (me and my daughters first time, my husband and in laws went but it's been 20+ years).

All the little details are getting me excited and giving me tips/tricks.

luckily we travel very well with my in laws. We've already done Disneyland with them twice, I'm a type A and they go along with ALL of it and never complain. They like thrill rides, too.

 

[snikki]

I’ve never traveled to WDW with anyone other than my immediate family and most likely never will. I’ve done other vacations with friends and family and it’s worked great. But I like to do WDW my way and I don’t want to hear anyone complaining other than my kids. Lol. It’s also such a plan heavy trip I don’t want to deal with the stress.

 

[MamaMouse0920]

I stumbled upon your trip report and I'm having fun reading it. We are doing in November (me and my daughters first time, my husband and in laws went but it's been 20+ years).

All the little details are getting me excited and giving me tips/tricks.

luckily we travel very well with my in laws. We've already done Disneyland with them twice, I'm a type A and they go along with ALL of it and never complain. They like thrill rides, too.

Ooooh, have the best time!!! I have the Disney Blues real bad, I can't wait to plan our next trip!! So jealous! I'm also jealous you travel well with your in-laws

 

[MamaMouse0920]

I’ve never traveled to WDW with anyone other than my immediate family and most likely never will. I’ve done other vacations with friends and family and it’s worked great. But I like to do WDW my way and I don’t want to hear anyone complaining other than my kids. Lol. It’s also such a plan heavy trip I don’t want to deal with the stress.

Yes this!!!! Never again for me either, lol!! I think I could do something like Vegas or a beach vacation with others outside of my immediately family but WDW is too tough.

 

[MamaMouse0920]

9/10/22 - Park Day 3 (Epcot)

We didn't have an alarm set, but I still woke up around 6:30am & got ready. At 7am, I snagged a LL for Remy's right at park open (8:30am) as well as a spot in the virtual queue for Guardians of the Galaxy!! We were in Boarding Group 90, with an estimated call back time of 2:40pm. Score!!! I was so so happy. We realized the day before that we'd need to call an Uber, since MIL no longer was willing to drop us off & pick us up (and we were fine with that, the idea of her driving with the kids in the car was not something we were comfortable with). It had been probably 4 years (for sure pre-kids, anyway) since we've taken an Uber and we didn't have the app on our phones, so I was finishing getting ready while Matt quickly downloaded the app and requested a ride. I figured we'd have at LEAST 15 minutes for it to get here, but as soon as Matt requested the ride it said the driver was already 400 feet away!!! WHAT. He must have just dropped someone off when Matt requested a ride!! So we had to haul you-know-what to finish getting ready & race down to the lobby. It was hard to downsize from a double stroller & ECV with bags & backpacks galore to one tiny backpack. I ended up filling my Minnie backpack with the neck fan, 2 cheap Dollar Tree ponchos, a small thing of sunscreen, 2 granola bars, my Mickey wallet, & the mini misting fan (see Pre-Trip report for details/pictures on all these items). On the outside of my tiny backpack, I used a couple carabiners to attach 2 cooling towels (which we didn't use that day), my hat (also never used) & DD3's water bottle since it was smaller. I felt like I was going backpacking through the mountains! I also had my fanny pack which had some Dramamine, my phone, our Pixie Dusting stickers (again see Pre-Trip report for details), a pack of gum, Chapstick, and our Disney Gift Cards.

Our Uber came right away and he was super nice. Him & Matt talked the whole time about golf. Once dropped off, security & entering the park was a breeze- it's crazy what only having two adults, no kids or strollers or scooters or elderly grandparents with you does! We were outside Spaceship Earth waiting for rope drop in no time. We snapped this picture while we waited, eager to start our kid-free adventure.



The crowds were heavier at this park compared to MK, and I know that weekends are the worst time to go to Epcot (especially during a festival- this trip was during Food & Wine), but we didn't have a choice due to how our park days fell & wanting to space out park days & rest days, etc. Aside from knowing that little tidbit about crowds on the weekends, I'll admit that Epcot is probably the park I was least-prepared for. I knew which LLs to shoot for, which drinks I wanted to try, but I did not know the layout at all. I had only been there once, 10+ years ago. So I realized, right at rope drop, that I had no idea where I was leading Matt. Talk about the blind leading the blind! We basically just followed the mass of people until we saw our first signs directing us toward the World Showcase. We were heading for France since our first LL was at 8:30 for Remy's. We FINALLY get there (holy moly was this park a lot of walking!) and............... ride is down. No idea when or if it would be back up. We couldn't decide what to do- stick around in hopes it would be back up soon? We had learned from the Winnie the Pooh mishap the day before that if we're issued a redemption experience, we have to use it on THAT ride if we want to ride it without the long lines, so we knew we needed to hoard that redemption experience. Unfortunately, it didn't show up in My Day for about 45 minutes! After about 15 minutes of deliberating, we decided to move on for now. So we headed in the direction of Morocco & stopped at one of the booths (Belgium) and got an iced coffee & waffle while we figured out our plan.



We decided to book a LL for Soarin', so we backtracked past the International Gateway, through UK & Canada (stopping to take a selfie):


We loved Soarin'! I joked to Matt that it feels like that ride is the closest we'll get to a lot of those places, lol!! After the ride, and really throughout the whole day, we stopped at every PhotoPass Photographer we saw. The first one we stopped at was so cute, he asked how long we've been together, and said that if we're lucky we may be able to get a picture with the monorail behind us.




He told us when to kiss, and he was SO excited!!! He kept saying "keep kissing!!!!!" and when he got the shot he had to show us a sneak peek on his little tablet thing. The picture is great (my new background on my phone!) but honestly what was even more sweet was how excited the photographer was. He said it was the first time he'd ever been able to get that shot! Here it is:



After Soarin' earlier in the morning, I booked a LL for Frozen (the first time that whole trip I'd triggered the 120 minute rule) for 11:20am. It was 10:00am by this point, & we decided to officially start our our 'drinking around the world' challenge. We weren't taking the challenge too seriously, and did not attempt a drink at every single country, but it was still fun! We were livin' kid-free for the day & didn't have a care in the world. We of course started with a margarita in Mexico.


Matt approves.



We checked out the Mexico pavilion & wandered around the shops. We didn't think they'd let us on Gran Fiesta with our drink, so we skipped it.


Matt loves skulls & anything remotely related to pirates (see if you can spot his two skull tattoos throughout our pictures!)

I've met my 10 photo limit, so I'll pause here!