How I Survived 11 Days at WDW with a Disney-Resistant Husband **2/20 THE END **

[edk35]

Keep em coming!!! Great trip report!!! We are DVC members and have stayed at BCV twice and LOVED it both times. Can't wait to hear all about your stay!!!!

 

[ladybugmom]

YAY that Declan was able to ride all of the rides!! How fun to experience them as a complete family this time!! I was hoping that Claire would be 40 inches for this last trip but she was just under!! Hopefully by November she'll hit the mark!! It will make park touring much easier for sure!! LOVE BTMRR!! GREAT ride pics from SM!!!

 

[SoonerGirl]

I'm so glad Declan liked Splash and BTMRR! He sounds like my youngest - he was 4 on his first trip and he rode everything he was tall enough for and loved them all, no fear for him!

Can't wait to see your pics from the BC!

 

[declansdad]

Our Declan had his first coaster ride on BTMRR as well. He has been a thrill-ride junkie ever since.

 

[Queenofallthings]

That update brought a smile to my face...you made me feel like I was right there.

I love the pics from Splash Mountain....when we went in January it was down for refurbishment, but I know it will be open next August when we go

 

[dismagiclover]

for Declan conquering the mountains! That is awesome that he loves the thrill rides. I took my kids on Splash for the first time last year and my DD(then 9) informed me she will never go on it again

 

[The4bits]

I love reading your TR. Our son will be 5 when we head to WDW and I love hearing all about Declan and conquering the rides. I know my son will love it as much as Declan. At least I hope so.

 

[micandminforever]

Wonderful pictures of Splash Mountain and Frontierland. It was great that your family was able to ride the mountains together.

 

[Christyo72]

Great update! I felt as though I was right there. Actually, Splash Mountain would be awesome today; it sure is hot and humid around here!

 

[irishdancer86]

hi, joining in and really enjoyed the report so far!

Crystal Palace looked lovely and it is so cool you are enjoying all the rides you love as a family...

looking forward to reading more and seeing the one photopass pic!

 

[jenniferkeala808]

great update! What a brave soul Declan is! such a great sport! You got some great pics on all rides! And i love both SM pics! So cute! Can't wait to hear about your arrival at BC!

 

[kschafer]

Hooray for riding the coasters as a family for the first time!!! Looks like you are having a great morning, what a relief after the stress of the previous evening!

 

[Kelly in NY]

great updates! looking forward to the next ones!

 

[BippityBoo]

GREAT update!!! So happy that Declan can ride now I can not wait for my whole family to ride again. What a great day for you!!

I totally agree about Big Thunder Mountain! Best introduction for young children. Can you believe I never have gotten on Splash?! It is always closed for us. CANT WAIT TO RIDE! Your pics make it look so much fun

 

[nat1234]

Great update and wonderful pictures. What a big man your DS is. I'm with your daughter, I'm not so sure about that last big drop.

 

[cdotla]

Keep em coming!!! Great trip report!!! We are DVC members and have stayed at BCV twice and LOVED it both times. Can't wait to hear all about your stay!!!!

Thanks! Yes...there will be no suspense here... BCVs were a dream!

YAY that Declan was able to ride all of the rides!! How fun to experience them as a complete family this time!! I was hoping that Claire would be 40 inches for this last trip but she was just under!! Hopefully by November she'll hit the mark!! It will make park touring much easier for sure!! LOVE BTMRR!! GREAT ride pics from SM!!!

Oh, hopefully Claire will reach that 40 inches! We were so close too on our last trip but Declan didn't quite make it! To go from under 40 inches on his last trip 2 years ago, to now at 44 inches being able to ride so many rides was just awesome!

I'm so glad Declan liked Splash and BTMRR! He sounds like my youngest - he was 4 on his first trip and he rode everything he was tall enough for and loved them all, no fear for him!

Can't wait to see your pics from the BC!

Yes - it was great that Declan could experience everything with us! Beach Club is coming up next! Unfortunately it wasn't til I got home that I realized I didn't take a whole lot of photos of it! Oh well! I will certainly post what I have!

Our Declan had his first coaster ride on BTMRR as well. He has been a thrill-ride junkie ever since.

I think our Declans would have a lot in common then!

That update brought a smile to my face...you made me feel like I was right there.

I love the pics from Splash Mountain....when we went in January it was down for refurbishment, but I know it will be open next August when we go

Awww...thank you! That is a great compliment as that is what I always aim for in writing these. I want to be able to go back and re-live the moments myself in 5, 10, 20 years from now!

Given the report of the weather from your trip, you probably would not have wanted to ride Splash anyway, even if it was open!

At least your next trip will be a warm weather one! You will be going from one extreme in temperature to the other!

 

[cdotla]

for Declan conquering the mountains! That is awesome that he loves the thrill rides. I took my kids on Splash for the first time last year and my DD(then 9) informed me she will never go on it again

Ha, ha, ha! Yes, Katie was not so keen on this trip on doing Splash or Test Track. Even though we reminded her that she loved them in the past! She had to be "strongly" encouraged...but, ended up LOVING them! "Can we do it again" kinda love!

She was also hesitant to do Tower of Terror. She did it on our 1st trip when she had just turned 4yrs old and hated it. The last 3 trips we took she sat it out. DH and I assumed by now, at age 7, she would probably like it. We thought wrong. Nothing overly dramatic - no tears or screaming. Just silently pushing her fingernails into DH's arm during the drop sequences. It just isn't her thing.

So I will be sitting that one out with her on any future trips!

I love reading your TR. Our son will be 5 when we head to WDW and I love hearing all about Declan and conquering the rides. I know my son will love it as much as Declan. At least I hope so.

I am sure you will have a blast with your son on the rides. It was such a treat this trip being able to tour the parks and everyone getting to enjoy all the rides!

Wonderful pictures of Splash Mountain and Frontierland. It was great that your family was able to ride the mountains together.

Thank you! Yes, it totally made touring that much more fun! No one had to feel guilty in line, wondering how the parent who was killing time with the "Under 40 inches" child was making out!

Great update! I felt as though I was right there. Actually, Splash Mountain would be awesome today; it sure is hot and humid around here!

Thank you! I love hearing that!!! And yes, riding Splash today would be nice too!

hi, joining in and really enjoyed the report so far!

Crystal Palace looked lovely and it is so cool you are enjoying all the rides you love as a family...

looking forward to reading more and seeing the one photopass pic!

Thanks for posting and Welcome!

about the Photopass! I actually still haven't received it...hopefully next week!

Although DH ended up only stopping in the Parks once for a photopass shot, the kids each have 2 from their visit with Lighting McQueen and Mater at HS.

Also, we ended up getting a surprise photopass shot at the BC from the resident photopass photographer there, who was AWESOME!!! More on that shortly!

So in the end, we actually got 2 family photopass pics - one at the MK within 2 mins of entering the Parks the very 1st day (followed by a hundred refusals thereafter to take pics), and a 2nd family pic at the Beach Club!

 

[cdotla]

great update! What a brave soul Declan is! such a great sport! You got some great pics on all rides! And i love both SM pics! So cute! Can't wait to hear about your arrival at BC!

Thank you! I wish I had taken a still photo of us actually riding BTM, but it is hard when you are trying to balance videos and photos at the same time.

I wish DH appreciated photos and video like I do, as I would sure love to have him take over the video. However, when I see the end product on the times I do ask him to take over, I happily go back to juggling both!

Hooray for riding the coasters as a family for the first time!!! Looks like you are having a great morning, what a relief after the stress of the previous evening!

Yes, it certainly was a great morning for us at the Magic Kingdom! Honestly, it could not have gotten any better. (Unless DH had indulged me in a few more Castle family photos!)

great updates! looking forward to the next ones!

Thank you!

GREAT update!!! So happy that Declan can ride now I can not wait for my whole family to ride again. What a great day for you!!

I totally agree about Big Thunder Mountain! Best introduction for young children. Can you believe I never have gotten on Splash?! It is always closed for us. CANT WAIT TO RIDE! Your pics make it look so much fun

Splash is a highlight for sure! Hopefully you can experience it in December!

Great update and wonderful pictures. What a big man your DS is. I'm with your daughter, I'm not so sure about that last big drop.

Katie was definitely a bit nervous for the drop on our 1st ride. But by ride #2 she was a pro!

 

[LilAnn]

What fabulous pictures as always! I think the ride photos are pretty great too, looks like you are having a blast! I'm so glad that you had a fun morning considering the not-so-great start the night before. Your descriptions and photos really do make us feel like we are right there again.

 

[cdotla]

Goodbye Contemporary!

With a wonderful morning in the Magic Kingdom behind us, we headed out through the exit turnstiles to take our nice, leisurely 5 minute stroll back to the Contemporary.

By this point, it was nearing 11am, our official check-out time. However, I still wanted to try out the pool. When Katie and I had stayed at the Contemporary last year, we somehow never managed to get to the pool. This time I really wanted to try it out and also wanted to see if the kids would try the slide. On all of our previous trips, they have been too hesitant to do slides. However, after a year of private swimming lessons, they were each now swimming, and their comfort levels in the water were significantly improved.

DH was initially hesitant to do so as we were about 15 minutes away from check-out time. I reassured him that we would only go for a quick dip, and 1 or 2 rides on the slide and would then leave. I also assured him that there is generally a 1 hour "grace" period where we would not be charged for another night in the event we weren't out the door at exactly 11am.

Everything in our room was already packed and ready to go (which I made sure to do before we headed out that morning). And the room was in absolute immaculate condition.

DH was hesitant to transport wet bathing suits over to the Beach Club, but I had a large plastic bag from our giftshop purchases the night before all ready for the wet suits.

So with that, we put on our bathing suits and were back out the door in about 2 minutes.

What a good call this was! The kids took to the pool like fish out of the water. Before DH and I could grab some towels and kick off our shoes, they were splashing and laughing in the water, having a grand ol' time.

After we all took a quick dip, I convinced them both to climb the steps with me to the slide. Admittedly, it is a rather tall structure and somewhat imposing for your first water slide. But I knew they could do it.

In the past, Chris & I have tried to get the kids to do slides, only to walk them up to the top and have them turn around and come back down.

While I would have loved to go down the slide with them, which may have made them less fearful, I knew that this was against the rules at the Disney pools. So I was fully prepared that one or both of my kids might chicken out.

Well, they both did it! And loved it!!!

And of course, wanted to do it again, and again, and again!!!

Finally, after threating life and limb, and assuring them that we would be heading over immediately to an even better pool at Stormalong Bay, we were able to drag our little fish out of the water and back to the room where we quickly changed into some dry clothes and got out the door about 35 minutes after our check-out time.

UP NEXT: Hello Beach Club!