From the World of Adults to the World of Kids, Fifth Birthday Trip is Over!!

[kmedina]

Hope Connor's birthday lunch at WCT would be a memorable one. It will be nice for you and your family to get your room for your vacation.

I think that xander will appreciate disney alot when he gets plder. You should get a membership with DVc for all those Disney trips that you plan on doing in the future. That is a long time and hope that you and Crap have a great anniversary trip next year wherever you go.

It was just bad timing that day at CRT. I wish that the people at the park would be more nice to the CMs & other people.


I'm at work right now and I will read the rest of your tr later tonight.

Thanks. I hope Connor's birthday lunch is memorable too. DH and I need to make a decision on the room soon.

I hope Xander stays into it. We need a few more years before we invest in DVC. The startup is over 20k now. Madness.

I agree that people should be more nice to cast members. The party in front of me and the party behind me could have been a lot nicer.

I had Logan beside me while I read the last 2 updates (CRT and the Christmas party!) he was so excited and asking tons of questions! I'm loving these reports as a way to get him prepared for the trip! ALthough he insists Connor's name is John! LOL

It looks like the boys had a great time!

Its too bad you had to buy the hoodie, things like that always happen to me too, the one time I don't bring a sweater it would rain! LOL

I love the photos of Xander dancing he looks so happy!

I am glad Logan is enjoying it as well. Reading trip reports is awesome for me too. They give me ideas and tips I can apply to the next trip. Plus, I like getting to know the people who are along with me for the writing journey. It is fun to join them as well. That is cute that he calls Connor, John. Some people (like Crap) use fake names in trip reports, so it would be even funnier if his name was really John.

Both boys really had a great time at CRT and the Christmas party. I would recommend either for boys. Ellie is still young, but I would say take Logan anyway if you get the chance.

I was unhappy about buying it. Even though Crap teased me that I would never wear it again after that night, I really have worn it a lot since then. Maybe, I am not the most fashionable person though.

Xander loves to dance. I am going to sign him up for dance and art classes once he starts kindergarten. We've tried art classes before, but the teacher suggested I wait until he is a little older. He does swimming right now, and I want him to focus on that through the summer before we try dance.

That's a good point. It really is about perspective. I work at a pretty expensive restaurant, and we go out in Chicago often enough that the TS prices don't really shock me. I guess it's the QS that get to me, but just because I don't really enjoy that type of food (like the bad burgers and chicken finger type places). In the end I always just figure that there's no point in worrying about it because its the price you pay for being there. Can't be changed. DH and I have discussed DVC, and neither of us feels like it would be a good fit because when we're on vacation we have no intention of making meals in the room or doing laundry. I would have considered it when they still allowed you to customize your DDP during the trip though. We love DDP because we can pay up front and then never think about prices again. I do think that most things are pretty reasonable, like $25 for a T-shirt is pretty common. But you are right, those crayons were highway robbery, and the price of the hoodies shocked me. I would expect $45 or so, but $60? I'd be wearing it all the time too!!!

My DH would have been fuming if it took him that long. I am the one who possesses all of the patience in our family

We try to do Wishes from right in front once too. The rest of the time, we're just glad that we saw it. But, wait until you hear how we got the best seat in the house on this trip. It was nuts!!

I think people overcharge tourists on food, because they know most people will pay it. My brother and sister left Magic Mountain once with their families to get quick service food for lunch across the street. Sure they saved some money, but they disappeared from the park for almost three hours. It seemed like a ticket and time waste to me. Souvenirs tend to be more reasonable, because people do not have to buy these. Most people would not spend $15 for crayons. That's what we get for promising them to him before checking the price. The update on the crayons now is that there is only one that is not broken.

I do not cook much even when I am at home, since I am a terrible cook. That must be another right brained talent I do not have. Laundry on vacation is not my thing either. That said, I still want to invest in DVC. The studios do not have washers or full kitchens anyway. We would mostly stay in studios until/unless we reach a point where we can no longer. They have a four person max, I think. Our plan is to have at least one more kid. If that kid is a boy and as easy as Connor, I may be talked into a fourth kid. Hopefully, the third kid will be a girl though. Once we reach the point where we have to get bigger rooms, I may cook a meal or wash some clothes. I doubt it though, since that is not my idea of a vacation. Staying in a nice room for peanuts (once you reach the breakeven point) sounds heavenly to me. While I love to be pampered, I like nothing more than a good deal.

I think the dining plan can still be added to original contracts just not resales. That would stink for the ones that are already sold out, like Beach Club and others. When I have the 20k, I will look into it a little more and learn all of the detailed rules.

Crap has the patience here. I am impatient. He balances me well. His patience also comes with procrastination though, which drives me mad. I love to plan things out and get things done.

I am excited to read about where you watched Wishes from. Hopefully, it was an awesome spot.

 

[kmedina]

Those are very nice pictures of Xander dancing with Woody during MVMCP.

During my day during MVMCP, most of my group brought sweatshirts and long pants while I was one of the crazy people of just wearing shirts and shorts that night. But we were lucky that it wasn't cold that night. Just like you, I was looking around the MK for MVMCP souvenirs. There were not too many stores that had the MVMCP souvenirs then the Emporium at MS. Even I didn't get the shirt size that I want when I did MVMCP. If you want to get the right souvenirs during the party, I would do it first thing when it starts or run the risk of not getting it at the end of the party.

You got to do a lot of rides that night. Glad to see that Xander went on BTMRR.

That was really nice of the CM to let you ride Carpets again after there was no one in the queue.

Great pictures with Genie and Jasmine at the character greeting.

One of your castle pics from MS is a very nice one which there weren't anyone in the picture. I was kind of surprise to see in that pic that there were no people in it.

Glad that you got to see MMY which has the Holiday segment in the middle of the show. It was nice to see the Holiday segment of MMY. You should think of seeing MMY at DL IASW. I know that you checked out my MMY pictures at IASW on my last two trips and you should see it in person. Cinderella is very nice, but I would still pick IASW MMY over Cinderella's castle MMY.

Very nice pics of Holiday Wishes that night. I like Wishes & Holiday Wishes fireworks at the MK during my visit. It is so fun watching the nighttime shows at the Disney parks and would have no problem watching the fireworks, Illuminations, F!, etc. over and over again every night at WDW.

I remember the same thing when Holiday Wishes was over and the guests around us tried to leave the park, but I stayed around the Hub to watch Celebrate the Season in front of Cinderella Castle while everyone else decided to go on some rides. It wasn't worth it to leave the park after the fireworks since I knew that it would be a nightmare. I'm sorry that you didn't get a MVMCP souvenir that day. I know what it felt like not getting what I wanted during MVMCP. As I said above before, if you want to get the souvenir that you want during a exclusive event, you have to get it when the party starts and have to carry it with you the whole time. Even with the expensive souvenirs during MVMCP, I was fortunate that they accepted my Premier AP for the merchandise. Even though I was not happy to get the shirt size I want, but I did get something during the party which was a shirt and the MVMCP pin.

You did tell me that the monorail wasn't running during the party. Just as you said that after regular hours are over, the express line was shut down even during the party. They should have the express line running during MVMCP. Just like when you were leaving the MK during MVMCP, it was just a nightmare getting out of the MK.

Thank you. Xander refuses to dance with Woody or anyone. He was happy to dance and happy to see Woody though.

Lesson learned. I will do my shopping right when the event starts next time. We are going to the Halloween party in 2013. Crap can find a character line right at 7pm while I buy the souvenirs.

The funny thing about BTMRR is that Xander wanted to ride "the train." Crap tricked him into riding ToT at DCA by calling it the elevator ride. This time, he tricked him into riding something he already tried and did not like at Dl by calling it a train. Xander loves trains. He did not like this at Dl or WDW. I do not know if he remembers that it was the same ride though.

Riding the Magic Carpets without exiting was pretty cool. That is the only time we've ever done that at Disney.

Thanks. I love the Genie.

You caught no people in the background, huh. That is one of the two pictures that we did not take. They were stock photos from my Photopass CD. Crap did not get a pictures of those things, so I used the photos from our disk. I wish we were allowed in the park when no one else was there. You have a keen eye, because this is the only update that I used Photopass pictures that we were not even in.

I am looking forward to watching MMY on IASW. Your video was awesome, and I have been looking forward to it ever since I watched it. It does appear to be neater on IASW than Cinderella's Castle. Once I see it in person for myself, I will have to let you know. 2011 was one of the only years in my life that we never went to Disneyland. Our WDW/DCL trip combined with having Connor was so costly that I needed the whole year to save for it.

I love all of the night time shows. Crap does not usually like to watch them due to the madness. It is nice when we do.

I did not want to leave the park after Holiday Wishes or right after any night time show for that matter. Crap is the one who always wants to go. If we would have stayed a half an hour longer, it probably would have been easier to exit. We probably would have caught the first boat too. I really am bummed that I did not get a MVMCP souvenir. They had some ugly things left and some hideous clothes that were way to small or way too manly for me. There were very expensive pins, but I am not into that. The reasonable priced pins and better items were gone within the first ten minutes the lady said. I saw one decent shirt that was like $35 in 24 mos. That would have fit Connor in about 1.5 years, but there was not one in Xander's size.

Neither monorail was running when we left. There was a cast member blocking the entrance to the monorails at the bottom that sent everyone away. He said it was down. I was not expecting to ride it anyway, because I had seen the threads from the Halloween parties. We were lucky to get on the second boat, so it was not too bad. The same thing happened when we left Epcot. A CM blocked the entrance and said it was down. That was over two hours after the regular park closing time. Down is vague. It could have been broken both times or just truly down, since the park had been closed to the regular guests for hours. The morning we went to Epcot, it was definitely broken. They were clear about that one. No buses were running either, so it is obvious they were not prepared for it. Buses were running when we left Epcot, because we caught one.

 

[Imagineer5]

Good to hear you'll continue on with your DCL experience! WoohoO!

How did Connor do during the fireworks???

Loved your MVMCP time - reminds me that if we want MNSSHP merchandise to do it early, when we go in October. Luckily the character lines are something we don't have to do this time.

When is your next trip planned for?

 

[kmedina]

Good to hear you'll continue on with your DCL experience! WoohoO!

How did Connor do during the fireworks???

Loved your MVMCP time - reminds me that if we want MNSSHP merchandise to do it early, when we go in October. Luckily the character lines are something we don't have to do this time.

When is your next trip planned for?

We had a great time on the cruise, so I am actually happy to write about it.

Connor slept through Holiday Wishes. He slept through fireworks most of the week. Whenever he was awake, he did great. Xander always did great with fireworks as a baby too.

We had a great time at MVMCP and learned a lot. Next time, we will have a better plan on attack. I just want to hit at least one charcter line each party, since they put our special characters for the parties.

We are going to Disneyland next month for Connor's first birthday. Our next Disneyworld trip will be in October 2013 for our ten year wedding anniversary.

 

[mvf-m11c]

Thank you. Xander refuses to dance with Woody or anyone. He was happy to dance and happy to see Woody though.

Lesson learned. I will do my shopping right when the event starts next time. We are going to the Halloween party in 2013. Crap can find a character line right at 7pm while I buy the souvenirs.

The funny thing about BTMRR is that Xander wanted to ride "the train." Crap tricked him into riding ToT at DCA by calling it the elevator ride. This time, he tricked him into riding something he already tried and did not like at Dl by calling it a train. Xander loves trains. He did not like this at Dl or WDW. I do not know if he remembers that it was the same ride though.

Riding the Magic Carpets without exiting was pretty cool. That is the only time we've ever done that at Disney.

Thanks. I love the Genie.

You caught no people in the background, huh. That is one of the two pictures that we did not take. They were stock photos from my Photopass CD. Crap did not get a pictures of those things, so I used the photos from our disk. I wish we were allowed in the park when no one else was there. You have a keen eye, because this is the only update that I used Photopass pictures that we were not even in.

I am looking forward to watching MMY on IASW. Your video was awesome, and I have been looking forward to it ever since I watched it. It does appear to be neater on IASW than Cinderella's Castle. Once I see it in person for myself, I will have to let you know. 2011 was one of the only years in my life that we never went to Disneyland. Our WDW/DCL trip combined with having Connor was so costly that I needed the whole year to save for it.

I love all of the night time shows. Crap does not usually like to watch them due to the madness. It is nice when we do.

I did not want to leave the park after Holiday Wishes or right after any night time show for that matter. Crap is the one who always wants to go. If we would have stayed a half an hour longer, it probably would have been easier to exit. We probably would have caught the first boat too. I really am bummed that I did not get a MVMCP souvenir. They had some ugly things left and some hideous clothes that were way to small or way too manly for me. There were very expensive pins, but I am not into that. The reasonable priced pins and better items were gone within the first ten minutes the lady said. I saw one decent shirt that was like $35 in 24 mos. That would have fit Connor in about 1.5 years, but there was not one in Xander's size.

Neither monorail was running when we left. There was a cast member blocking the entrance to the monorails at the bottom that sent everyone away. He said it was down. I was not expecting to ride it anyway, because I had seen the threads from the Halloween parties. We were lucky to get on the second boat, so it was not too bad. The same thing happened when we left Epcot. A CM blocked the entrance and said it was down. That was over two hours after the regular park closing time. Down is vague. It could have been broken both times or just truly down, since the park had been closed to the regular guests for hours. The morning we went to Epcot, it was definitely broken. They were clear about that one. No buses were running either, so it is obvious they were not prepared for it. Buses were running when we left Epcot, because we caught one.

Learning from your mistakes and using them on the next trip will get you all the things done during the MNSSHP next year.

Very interesting to hear that Crap tricked Xander into riding ToT at DCA as the elevator ride. Just like Xander, I like trains. I can understand that he wants to ride trains during the trip and see's something like that and wants to ride it. I would assume that when you go on your next trip that he will want to ride all the train rides except for BTMRR.

Okay. I would have been very impressed that you got a picture of Cinderella Castle from MS with no guests in the picture. That is a very nice photo from your Photopass CD.

Thank you that you like my MMY videos. IASW MMY looks way better then Cinderella Castle MMY. I will be looking forward to hear your opinion of MMY at IASW during your upcoming trip. When you see MMY at DL, I would do the 2nd show instead of the first show since the first show gets more people then the 2nd one. Even though you didn't go to DL last year, it seem to me that it was worth it to go to WDW/DCL.

It is madness when watching a nighttime show. But they are so much fun to watch that waiting for a good spot is worth it. Some people are not patient to wait for the fireworks, etc. and try to get in the good area the last second which really bothers me a lot. They should understand that if you want a very good spot, you have to stake out awhile in order to get it.

I would never leave the park when the fireworks is over since it does draw huge crowds of people that want to leave. It would be nice if they would have more MVMCP souvenirs just in case that people want to buy. During those two parties that I attended back in 2010 & 2011, they were mostly all out of the souvenirs at nighttime. They need to stock up really well for these events which guests like to buy more then the standard park souvenirs.

I see. That does make sense of not having the monorails running during the parties. It was just bad that the monorails were not running during your trip. Since they have 12 monorails running on three different lines, they should have no problem running them. But they have to move the monorails on the other lines to get it back to the roundhouse. I did see that a couple of times during my trip where it did took quite a while to get on the monorails off the specific lines and back to the roundhouse which is on the express line.

 

[kmedina]

Learning from your mistakes and using them on the next trip will get you all the things done during the MNSSHP next year.

Very interesting to hear that Crap tricked Xander into riding ToT at DCA as the elevator ride. Just like Xander, I like trains. I can understand that he wants to ride trains during the trip and see's something like that and wants to ride it. I would assume that when you go on your next trip that he will want to ride all the train rides except for BTMRR.

Okay. I would have been very impressed that you got a picture of Cinderella Castle from MS with no guests in the picture. That is a very nice photo from your Photopass CD.

Thank you that you like my MMY videos. IASW MMY looks way better then Cinderella Castle MMY. I will be looking forward to hear your opinion of MMY at IASW during your upcoming trip. When you see MMY at DL, I would do the 2nd show instead of the first show since the first show gets more people then the 2nd one. Even though you didn't go to DL last year, it seem to me that it was worth it to go to WDW/DCL.

It is madness when watching a nighttime show. But they are so much fun to watch that waiting for a good spot is worth it. Some people are not patient to wait for the fireworks, etc. and try to get in the good area the last second which really bothers me a lot. They should understand that if you want a very good spot, you have to stake out awhile in order to get it.

I would never leave the park when the fireworks is over since it does draw huge crowds of people that want to leave. It would be nice if they would have more MVMCP souvenirs just in case that people want to buy. During those two parties that I attended back in 2010 & 2011, they were mostly all out of the souvenirs at nighttime. They need to stock up really well for these events which guests like to buy more then the standard park souvenirs.

I see. That does make sense of not having the monorails running during the parties. It was just bad that the monorails were not running during your trip. Since they have 12 monorails running on three different lines, they should have no problem running them. But they have to move the monorails on the other lines to get it back to the roundhouse. I did see that a couple of times during my trip where it did took quite a while to get on the monorails off the specific lines and back to the roundhouse which is on the express line.

I am so excited for MNSSHP, because we opted not to do it on our honeymoon. Doing it right on our anniversary trip will be nice redemption.

I do not think Xander will be riding BTMRR for a while. He did not like it. It is funny about ToT. After riding it, he said I like elevators but not elevator rides. When we went to WDW, he was clear that he did not want to ride the elevator ride. Crap is trying to talk him into riding it at Dl. We'll see if he is brave enough to ride it again.

The CD had some very nice stock photos. I love the ones from the Christmas Parade. We did not watch the parade, so I did not want to post any pictures of it here.

I do think our WDW/DCL trip was worth a one year break from Disneyland, but it seems odd that Connor will be one before he ever goes to Disneyland. Xander went twice by six months old. IASW seems to show off the images better, and it has a wider base. It seems like there are more pictures even though there may not be. They definitely look clearer. When I finally see it live, I know I will love it.

I agree on people needing to take an open spot in the back for night time shows when they arrive late. Squeezing through tight spaces bumping into people and standing in front of someone who has been there for a long time is rude. We hardly ever watch, because neither of us like waiting a long time for a spot. If we happen upon a decent spot without rudely stealing it, we will watch. Our spot for Holiday Wishes was not bad considering we did not get there super early although the people who did not plan and pushed through got better spots than we did. We are not going to be rude though, so we would rather have a slightly less appealing spot than steal a better spot from someone else.

I wish DH would stop trying to leave right after the night time shows are over. He tried that after Illuminations, and I fought him off. Then, he tried it again after the dessert paty, and I fought him off. When he tried it after the Christmas party one, I figured I had to give him one of three. Our to do list was complete anyway, so it was not too bad. Disney really should put more merchandise out. It seems obvious that they would sell more if they put more out. Why don't they want to sell more? Maybe, they want to make the items more exclusive.

The monorail situation is dumb. Who knows why they do not run them more? It seems like they are trying to save money. Only getting to ride it twice while staying at a deluxe for a week is nuts though.

 

[kmedina]

We woke up early the next morning to pack up the room. Connor was awake as usual, but Xander was still sleeping. Knowing we would likely buy a lot of souvenirs, we brought a bag just for them. Turns out, we needed more space than that bag even provided. Xander had a large shopping budget from birthday money that we actually went a little over on. On a previous trip, we had to buy a $150 suitcase from the gift shop in order to pack our stuff at the last minute and make it home. This time, we got creative to get all of our bags ready. I used the Build a Dino box for the Christmas Ornaments, which I would take with me as a carry on for the airplane. We could not buy too much on the ship unless we bought an extra bag there. I will touch more on that in the cruise report, because we did participate in the fish extenders.

After packing up the room, we called to have a bellman come get our stuff. We were told that it would take a while. Since we still had one last breakfast reservation, we were told to leave the tip under the bags and go down to eat. Our reservation was for 10am at The Grand Floridian Café. Even though we arrived a little early, we were seated pretty quickly. It took no time at all for our waitress to get our orders. Before we knew it, our food was already ready. Xander loved his Mickey pancake. Crap and I thought our meals for good too. Even though we used our final dining plan credits here, we were very impressed with the prices here. This is a great place to get a good meal at a decent price.

Breakfast was so fast that we were in and out of there in less than an hour. It was still before 11am. We arranged for FL Tours to pick us up at 11:30am for a ride to the Disney Dream. Since we had time to spare, we decided to spend it in Gasparilla Games. Xander was on the pirate cruise for the brief amount of time we spent there, so he had not been there yet. He adores arcades and our vacation package did give some game credits. None of our package discounts or offers came in handy throughout our trip, so it was nice to redeem the arcade credit. It was good for 100 points, which got him two games. I purchased two additional ones, so we could play a little more.

I decided it was time to go after that. It was still a little early but we could just wait out font on a bench. We arrived up front around 11:15am. Crap asked a bellman to bring our bags out. The weather was a little cold (not as cold as the previous evening). Every time the wind blew, Xander and Connor leaned into me a little more. Bells services arrived with the bags around 11:25am. They placed them kind of far from where we were sitting, so Crap stood with them and waited there. Time was moving slowly. Around 11:40am, I asked Crap to call and see if someone was on the way. It took him a while to get through. When he finally did, he was told that our driver had been pulled over but is on his way.

Our driver arrived two minutes to noon, so he was almost 30 minutes late. We were really cold, since we had barely moved for 45 minutes. It felt nice to climb inside. I was sad as we were driving away, because our WDW trip was over. None of us had ever cruised before, so we were excited about what was to come. Crap loved our stay at the Grand Floridian and suggested we make that our regular WDW hotel. Even though I loved our stay, I want to try the others. In addition to that, we will go far less often if we have to save for a GF stay each trip. Someday, we will go back to the Grand Floridian. It just will not be as soon as Crap thinks it will be.

Summary
Total Monorail rides -2 (6 attempts)
Total Fastpasses- 10 (one was given by a CM, so we only got 9 the old fashioned way)
Total Sit-Down Meals- 16 (6 two credit meals, 9 one credit meals and the dessert party)
Total Meltdowns- 0 (none of our small hiccups turned into meltdowns!)
Total Parks- 4 (once at each but twice at MK)
Total Blowouts- 7 (two did not require a full outfit change)
Total stops to nurse- Too many to count
Total Bathroom stops- Too many to count
Total happy, grateful family members- 4 (it got even better on the cruise believe it or not)

We enjoyed the trip so much despite some very small hiccups. It was by far our best WDW trip ever. Thank you so much for reading along. I had a great time writing it and am very grateful to Shannon for talking me into doing it. It was cool to make some new friends in a box (term stolen from another DIS member to refer to non 3D friends) along the way. Those who are continuing on the journey can meet me here to read about the Dream: Once Upon a Dream, We Took Our Firsy Cruise

 

[dara00]

I really enjoyed reading your report! and I'm following you to the cruise report too!

 

[kmedina]

I really enjoyed reading your report! and I'm following you to the cruise report too!

Thanks. I enjoyed having you along for the ride. It was nice reading your report as well and getting to know more about your family. The cruise was amazing, so I am happy to have you read about it as well.

 

[MrsTeddy]

I really enjoyed your report and reading about your sweet boys! I'm heading over to the cruise report, I hope I can use it as ammo to convince DH that our kids aren't too young to cruise next year-so make it good!

I've enjoyed getting to know you too! Its funny how that can happen on the internet!

 

[kmedina]

I really enjoyed your report and reading about your sweet boys! I'm heading over to the cruise report, I hope I can use it as ammo to convince DH that our kids aren't too young to cruise next year-so make it good!

I've enjoyed getting to know you too! Its funny how that can happen on the internet!

Thank you. I am really looking forward to reading about your upcoming trip with your beautiful children. Cruising is by far the easiest vacation with kids ever! You will be cruising for sure once you and DH read it.

I feel like I know you too. It really is cool meeting people you geniunely like on here but will probably never meet in real life. If not for the DIS, I would not know you or any of the other wonderful people I met here.

 

[shan23877]

Loved the TR, you did great!!!! So glad that Crap decided to let you post pics because you got some really amazing ones.

We always take an extra bag for souvenirs too, and on the April trip we had to get really creative. Stuffed animals were crammed into every available bag!

Grand Floridian Cafe sounds good. Did you guys get the famous lobster eggs benedict?

I loved the summary too. Nice way to wrap things up.

Already subbed to the cruise TR. Gonna hop over and get caught up there next!

 

[kmedina]

Loved the TR, you did great!!!! So glad that Crap decided to let you post pics because you got some really amazing ones.

We always take an extra bag for souvenirs too, and on the April trip we had to get really creative. Stuffed animals were crammed into every available bag!

Grand Floridian Cafe sounds good. Did you guys get the famous lobster eggs benedict?

I loved the summary too. Nice way to wrap things up.

Already subbed to the cruise TR. Gonna hop over and get caught up there next!

Thank you. That means a lot coming from you, because I really loved your first one and anxiously await updates on your current one. When I cried at Maddie's surprise reaction, I thought these are awesome people. It is cool that I am getting to see this. I am glad he let me post pictures too. Up until the night before I started, he was still reluctant.

We squeezed that build a Dino into a different bag with the stuffed animals Xander won at AK. Those things really squish down. Next time, we may need two bags if Xander gets a shopping budget like that again and we do fish extenders on the cruise.

The Grand Floridian Cafe was great. The food was good, the prices were reasonable, the service was fast and excellent. I do not like seafood. Crap cannot remember what he ordered.

Thanks. I kept thinking I was forgetting important information in the summary. Glad you liked it.

I am glad you are going to read the cruise. Anyone who reads it will take a cruise in the near future, because it really was quite awesome.

 

[mvf-m11c]

I am so excited for MNSSHP, because we opted not to do it on our honeymoon. Doing it right on our anniversary trip will be nice redemption.

I do not think Xander will be riding BTMRR for a while. He did not like it. It is funny about ToT. After riding it, he said I like elevators but not elevator rides. When we went to WDW, he was clear that he did not want to ride the elevator ride. Crap is trying to talk him into riding it at Dl. We'll see if he is brave enough to ride it again.

The CD had some very nice stock photos. I love the ones from the Christmas Parade. We did not watch the parade, so I did not want to post any pictures of it here.

I do think our WDW/DCL trip was worth a one year break from Disneyland, but it seems odd that Connor will be one before he ever goes to Disneyland. Xander went twice by six months old. IASW seems to show off the images better, and it has a wider base. It seems like there are more pictures even though there may not be. They definitely look clearer. When I finally see it live, I know I will love it.

I agree on people needing to take an open spot in the back for night time shows when they arrive late. Squeezing through tight spaces bumping into people and standing in front of someone who has been there for a long time is rude. We hardly ever watch, because neither of us like waiting a long time for a spot. If we happen upon a decent spot without rudely stealing it, we will watch. Our spot for Holiday Wishes was not bad considering we did not get there super early although the people who did not plan and pushed through got better spots than we did. We are not going to be rude though, so we would rather have a slightly less appealing spot than steal a better spot from someone else.

I wish DH would stop trying to leave right after the night time shows are over. He tried that after Illuminations, and I fought him off. Then, he tried it again after the dessert paty, and I fought him off. When he tried it after the Christmas party one, I figured I had to give him one of three. Our to do list was complete anyway, so it was not too bad. Disney really should put more merchandise out. It seems obvious that they would sell more if they put more out. Why don't they want to sell more? Maybe, they want to make the items more exclusive.

The monorail situation is dumb. Who knows why they do not run them more? It seems like they are trying to save money. Only getting to ride it twice while staying at a deluxe for a week is nuts though.

Doing MNSSHP for your anniversary is a good choice to have it.

I haven't rode ToT at DL or WDW in a long time when it ToT opened at DL back in 2004. Hopefully Xander will ride ToT on your upcoming trip.

I barely do any Photopass on any of my trips, but I think that we should do one when CL/BVS opens this summer when we go on our trips. I would say that those would be great Christmas card pictures.

Glad to hear that your trip to WDW/DCL was worth it even missing DL last year. Why do you think that it is odd for Connor to be one before he goes to DL? IASW MMY is wider then Cinderella Castle MMY, and I believe it shows more pics of the guests on the show. If you plan on seeing the 2nd show at night, you can get there with about 10 minutes until the show and get a good front row spot at the railing of IASW.

You did get a very nice spot for the MMY and the fireworks during MVMCP. I understand that you don't to wait that long for the fireworks or any show while you could spend your time going on rides, shopping etc. I am just one of those people who appreciate the nighttime shows at the Disney parks and would sacrifice 1 to 2 hours for that good spot. It might be disappointing that I waited that long for the fireworks at DL for an example and all of a sudden the fireworks is canceled due to high winds. But you do take a gamble on those kind of shows at night.

Good thing that you fought off your DH from leaving the park when the nighttime shows are over or you would be in the big crowds. When you do a nighttime show at any of the Disney parks, I would stop at the stores or get a dessert at one of the quick counter restaurants before you leave the parks. I always do that every time when I am at DL except for the first show of WoC. When the first show of WoC is over, we sprint on over to DL in order to see the 2nd show of F! or see the 2nd show of MMY.

Disney should sell more of those exclusive merchandise for those events since they do draw a lot of attention to the guests who are attending the event. Disney doesn't make too many exclusive merchandise which is disappointing, but they should make more for those events. Hopefully when you and Crap go to MNSSHP next year, they will have the merchandise available when the party begins at 7pm.

I would have guess that it was to save money since running the monorails is not that cheap. That was disappointing of only riding it twice while you were staying at the GF.


That is a lot of souvenirs to bring back after a fine trip. I see that you got the monorail train set as one of your souvenirs.

A nice way to eat at the GF Cafe for breakfast on the last day.

I did enjoy your pics from your TR and Crap saying lets make this as our hotel destination for future WDW is nice. When I stayed at the Contemporary back in 96, I said the same thing to my dad and make this as our main hotel when we go back to WDW. I haven't stayed on property since 2001 and I have been back to WDW 5 times since 2006. My dad have a timeshares at some resorts which saves us a lot of money so even though I haven't been on property for a long time, I would trade that in order to keep going to WDW in the future.

A very nice TR and I will head on over to your DCL TR.

 

[kmedina]

Doing MNSSHP for your anniversary is a good choice to have it.

I haven't rode ToT at DL or WDW in a long time when it ToT opened at DL back in 2004. Hopefully Xander will ride ToT on your upcoming trip.

I barely do any Photopass on any of my trips, but I think that we should do one when CL/BVS opens this summer when we go on our trips. I would say that those would be great Christmas card pictures.

Glad to hear that your trip to WDW/DCL was worth it even missing DL last year. Why do you think that it is odd for Connor to be one before he goes to DL? IASW MMY is wider then Cinderella Castle MMY, and I believe it shows more pics of the guests on the show. If you plan on seeing the 2nd show at night, you can get there with about 10 minutes until the show and get a good front row spot at the railing of IASW.

You did get a very nice spot for the MMY and the fireworks during MVMCP. I understand that you don't to wait that long for the fireworks or any show while you could spend your time going on rides, shopping etc. I am just one of those people who appreciate the nighttime shows at the Disney parks and would sacrifice 1 to 2 hours for that good spot. It might be disappointing that I waited that long for the fireworks at DL for an example and all of a sudden the fireworks is canceled due to high winds. But you do take a gamble on those kind of shows at night.

Good thing that you fought off your DH from leaving the park when the nighttime shows are over or you would be in the big crowds. When you do a nighttime show at any of the Disney parks, I would stop at the stores or get a dessert at one of the quick counter restaurants before you leave the parks. I always do that every time when I am at DL except for the first show of WoC. When the first show of WoC is over, we sprint on over to DL in order to see the 2nd show of F! or see the 2nd show of MMY.

Disney should sell more of those exclusive merchandise for those events since they do draw a lot of attention to the guests who are attending the event. Disney doesn't make too many exclusive merchandise which is disappointing, but they should make more for those events. Hopefully when you and Crap go to MNSSHP next year, they will have the merchandise available when the party begins at 7pm.

I would have guess that it was to save money since running the monorails is not that cheap. That was disappointing of only riding it twice while you were staying at the GF.


That is a lot of souvenirs to bring back after a fine trip. I see that you got the monorail train set as one of your souvenirs.

A nice way to eat at the GF Cafe for breakfast on the last day.

I did enjoy your pics from your TR and Crap saying lets make this as our hotel destination for future WDW is nice. When I stayed at the Contemporary back in 96, I said the same thing to my dad and make this as our main hotel when we go back to WDW. I haven't stayed on property since 2001 and I have been back to WDW 5 times since 2006. My dad have a timeshares at some resorts which saves us a lot of money so even though I haven't been on property for a long time, I would trade that in order to keep going to WDW in the future.

A very nice TR and I will head on over to your DCL TR.

I know I am crazy, but I want to do the party on Halloween. It will be the first year we are away for that holiday, so I want the boys to still trick or treat that evening. Someone said there is no trick or treating at Downtown Disney anymore. On our anniversary, we are going to finally dine at Victoria and Albert's. Crap really wants to eat there, but I am such a picky eater. If I have a hard time finding something I like there, I will buy QS after we leave.

We did ToT at DCA in 2010 but have not done it at WDW since 2003. I will be shocked if Xander rides it. This will be the first trip that we spend more time at DCA than Dl, so he should have time if he wants to.

I do not do much Photopass at Dl either. This trip, we may. We always buy a few prints, but I heard they offer the CDs now. If we get enough pictures, I will buy the CD. There is no discount for pre-buying either, so we can view all of the photos before deciding.

We will probably watch the second showing of MMY on Sat night. I think it is odd that Connor has not been to Disneyland yet, because there are not many kids in my family that never went as an infant. Connor is an anomaly. Only one other than Connor made it to WDW before the age of one though, so he is an anomaly on the front too.

I was shocked with the spot we found for MMY and Holiday Wishes, since we were not super early to the area. It was slightly obstructed though despite the pictures Crap took not really showing it. The people who got there early probably noticed the obstruction and moved on. When we watched Illuminations, we were behind a large tree. This was a huge step up from that. You're right about not getting great spots unless you're early, because both times we did not pay for special seating we had obstructed views. We are not the push people out of the way type. There was only one time that we waited 1-2 hours for a spot. We were at Dl with my FIL and our stepbrother wanted to watch Fantasmic. It was awesome to watch it but not worth the time. Crap and I quickly agreed that we would never do that again.

I would never leave right after a show if Crap did not make us. He used to have more energy than I did. A few trips ago, he just started wanting to leave early all the time.

I will be at the Main Street stores right at 7pm when we attend MNSSHP. That way, if they skimp on the amount of merchandise again, I will still get something.

We better get to ride the monorail more next trip. I am hoping to stay at the Poly.

Xander bought a lot of stuff thanks to his birthday money. He always buys a monorail toy. It is one of his favorite things to do at Disney. Last time, he got a matchbox like one that was less than $20. This time, he stepped it up. I do not remember what it cost though.

I was impressed with the Grand Floridian Cafe. It is a great restaurant to eat at for an OOP meal. We used credits for it, since we were on the deluxe dining plan. Next trip, I want to get the regular plan to try V&A, T-Rex and others.

Thank you. I enjoyed having you here. You've taught me a lot, so I feel like a more informed consumer. DH will not get to stay at the GF again for a while. You made it back to the Contemporary before he will get back to the GF. Unless the rumors about the spa area getting a new DVC property, we may never stay there again. At some point, we will be DVC members and are unlikely to stay at any resort that does not have a DVC property. Until we get DVC, I do not want to stay at any that have them. Thus the reason I want to try the Poly next trip instead of the Contemporary.

I will see you over on the DL report. Thanks again for giving me so much great information. You're one of the nicest and most helpful people I've met on the boards.

 

[pharmjenn]

Wow that was a lot of stuff on that bed to fit into suitcases. Did you bring all that with you on the cruise? I really enjoyed your trip report, and will be following you over to your cruise report as well. I just got vacation approval for December and we will be heading through the Panama Canal on a 14 night Wonder cruise. So it will be so much fun to read all the things you guys did on your cruise.

 

[kmedina]

Wow that was a lot of stuff on that bed to fit into suitcases. Did you bring all that with you on the cruise? I really enjoyed your trip report, and will be following you over to your cruise report as well. I just got vacation approval for December and we will be heading through the Panama Canal on a 14 night Wonder cruise. So it will be so much fun to read all the things you guys did on your cruise.

I enjoyed having you along for the ride. Xander got a lot off stuff with his birthday money. That stuff combined with the fish extenders stuff was very difficult to pack even though we brought an extra bag. It was our first cruise, so we started with a 3 day. Your 14 day trip sounds amazing. Next time, we really need to do a longer cruise. Three days was not enough time. December is an awesome to cruise. The weather was lovely, the prices were great and it is out of storm season. I'll see you over on the other thread.

 

[Imagineer5]

Aw so happy to get to continue reading about DCL, I too am interested in how it was with such a little one, as I plan to wait until Aria is old enough to go to the kids club to cruise. But you might just sway me otherwise!

The last day is always so sad - way to do it by getting to go on a cruise!!

Did the bell services seriously tell you to leave the tip with the bags in the room while you went to breakfast?! I mean, of course we'd tip anyone doing that job BUT I can't imagine being told to leave a tip!

 

[kmedina]

Aw so happy to get to continue reading about DCL, I too am interested in how it was with such a little one, as I plan to wait until Aria is old enough to go to the kids club to cruise. But you might just sway me otherwise!

The last day is always so sad - way to do it by getting to go on a cruise!!

Did the bell services seriously tell you to leave the tip with the bags in the room while you went to breakfast?! I mean, of course we'd tip anyone doing that job BUT I can't imagine being told to leave a tip!

Cruising was so easy and awesome. The nursery for kids under 3 and the club for older kids were both amazing. If you read the cruise report, you will most likely be taking your own cruise soon.

It was sad when we were pulling away, but we were exctied about the cruise too. Cruising was such a relaxing way to wind down an action packed WDW trip.

Crap and I are actually pretty good tippers. We usually start at 20% and only deduct for major things. For exceptional service, we add to the 20%. When it comes to bells, we usually tip more than the standard $1-$2 a bag. This reminded me of a time we took everyone out to lunch for my MILs birthday. Our waitress said to Crap that they usually add an 18% tip to the bill for large parties, but she left the tip off. She said people usually tip more when she does not ring up the required 18%. Crap is in the service industry, so he did not like that comment. He did however still tip her over 25%. We add to the 18% when needed, so her comment is not why he gave the extra 7%. Prior to that comment, she actually did a good job.

He seriously said that. It made me laugh, because I could not believe he was so direct. I said, "We have a 10am reservation for breakfast. Do we need to be in the room when the bags are picked up?" He said, "Just leave your bags by the door. Put the tip under the bags. Go to breakfast. Call us when you're ready to pick them up." Maybe, they were used to people not leaving tips when they were not in the room. If he had not told me to leave it under the bags, I probably would have left it on top of the bags.

 

[Imagineer5]

Cruising was so easy and awesome. The nursery for kids under 3 and the club for older kids were both amazing. If you read the cruise report, you will most likely be taking your own cruise soon.

It was sad when we were pulling away, but we were exctied about the cruise too. Cruising was such a relaxing way to wind down an action packed WDW trip.

Crap and I are actually pretty good tippers. We usually start at 20% and only deduct for major things. For exceptional service, we add to the 20%. When it comes to bells, we usually tip more than the standard $1-$2 a bag. This reminded me of a time we took everyone out to lunch for my MILs birthday. Our waitress said to Crap that they usually add an 18% tip to the bill for large parties, but she left the tip off. She said people usually tip more when she does not ring up the required 18%. Crap is in the service industry, so he did not like that comment. He did however still tip her over 25%. We add to the 18% when needed, so her comment is not why he gave the extra 7%. Prior to that comment, she actually did a good job.

He seriously said that. It made me laugh, because I could not believe he was so direct. I said, "We have a 10am reservation for breakfast. Do we need to be in the room when the bags are picked up?" He said, "Just leave your bags by the door. Put the tip under the bags. Go to breakfast. Call us when you're ready to pick them up." Maybe, they were used to people not leaving tips when they were not in the room. If he had not told me to leave it under the bags, I probably would have left it on top of the bags.

WOW to Disney service actually telling you to leave the tip, and to that waitress stating she doesn't like to put the automatic 18% on so that she gets more. WOW! We are good tippers too, but I get really annoyed when it is expected to go above and beyond. I've never heard anyone say that about the 18% (though, I can imagine it is true, as we generally leave 20% for regular service, and more if it is better).

Anyway yeah looking forward to reading more on your cruise TR!