Intro and Pre-Trip - Day 7 Added

[pozey]

Intro and pre-trip planning.

Who:
Me – Disney lover and planner of all trips – Disney and otherwise. 6th trip to Disney with DW. About 10th trip altogether.
DW – Disney lover. Doesn’t necessarily like to follow all my plans. 6th trip to Disney - all with me.
DS(9) – Loves all rides. 3rd trip to Disney.
DS(6) – Ride weenie. 3rd trip to Disney.
DD(2) – First trip to Disney. Loves Mickey. Not sure how she is going to handle the characters in person.

Our flight is scheduled to depart on Wednesday, June 8th at 7:15 a.m. I was going to work till about 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday the 7th and then spend the rest of Tuesday to finish packing, run the rest of any remaining errands, and then mow the yard. Also, DS(6) had an appointment with the doctor to see if he gets the cast off his arm.

Well, those plans went out the window when DS(9)’s swim team coach called and said they were having a swim meet Tuesday at 7:00 p.m.

Work was incredibly hectic Tuesday. I was being pulled in 137 different directions and I was still being called and very busy at 2:00 p.m. So, I just told everyone I had to go. I left work at 2:15. I went to pick up both DS and took DS(6) to the doctor. He got his cast off!! Yea!!

Now I need to SPEED home and pick up our dog to take him to the kennel. Next, a quick stop at the bank. Man, I’m doing a lot of driving around today! I should have taken a vacation day to get ready for vacation!!

Next we met DW and DD and had a bite to eat before going to DS(9)’s swim meet. This was his first year on the swim team and this was his first meet. He swam in 3 different races – 50 yard freestyle (came in 3rd), 50 yard backstroke (2nd), and 50 yard butterfly (he won!).

So, now it is now back home to finish packing…..woops…..got to go by Blockbuster to return a movie. We drop off the movie and I see my neighbor’s son. He mows yards during the summer. So, I run over and ask him if he would mow my yard once while we are gone. He says no problem. Whew!! Now at least I won’t come home to a jungle!

We get home and we begin to finish the packing. We had already packed most everything over the weekend, so all we have left is a few clothes and toiletries. We send the kids up to bed and DW and I finish up the suitcases. I get a call from work and I need to dial in from home to check on some things. I finish up working about midnight and DW has pretty much finished the packing.

The alarm is set for 3:00 a.m. and we want to leave for the airport by 5:30 a.m.

Off to bed dreaming of Disney……

Next up…..Day 1 – Departure and Arrival


EDIT: Added DAY 1 to this thread because I can't start a new thread.....
Edit - Day 3 Added...
Edit - Day 4 Added...
Edit - Day 5 Added...
Edit - Day 6 Added...

 

[Nanajo1]

The best laid plans often go awry... glad you got back on track. I'm looking forward to your report.

 

[jjk]

WOW that was hectic looking forward to reading next installment

 

[dismom9761]

I loved reading the first report and look forward to more.I absolutely agree about needing a day to get ready to go.

 

[bigsis1970]

Wow a super busy day!!! hopefully you will get a little relaxing time soon. Can't wait to read more.. Michelle

 

[Alicnwondrln]

nice start i cant wait to read more

 

[pozey]

Day 1 – Departure and Arrival

The alarm goes off at 3:00 a.m. DW gets up and showers. I start finishing up the suitcases and start loading them into the car. After DW is done showering, I take a shower. The kids got a bath before bed last night, so all we need to do is wake them and get them dressed before leaving.

We are all packed and headed for the airport by 5:30 a.m. for our 7:15 a.m. flight. We stop and grab some sausage, egg, and cheese biscuits for breakfast.

We park at the airport parking and the shuttle takes us over to the terminal. We are flying Delta, and I had pre-checked us in on the Delta.com website, so we already have boarding passes, we just need to check our luggage. This goes swiftly and we head towards the security line. Man! Look at the security line! The line is huge. And it is 6:20 a.m. on a WEDNESDAY!

It takes us about 15 minutes to get through security.

Well, the flight from Tulsa to Atlanta was smooth and the flight from Atlanta to Orlando was smooth. We arrived in Orlando right at 1:00 p.m. I still needed to buy my AP at the Disney Store at the airport, so that is where we headed first. I bought my AP and we went out to find our way to Magical Express.

We had never received our ME luggage tags, so I asked the lady with the white gloves what where we needed to go. She said we could either get our own luggage and bring it, or give them our information and they would bring it. The heck with getting our own luggage!!

We gave them the information and got 3 vouchers for a lanyard and pin. We headed over to the line for the bus to the Polynesian. The bus we put on wasn’t one of the Disney busses, it was a Mears bus – which was very mildly disappointing. We waited about 10 minutes for everyone to board and then we were on our way! The first stop ME took was at the Contemporary and the Poly was next.

I went up to check in while the rest of the crew headed towards the bathrooms. Check-in was a breeze. In fact, the girl checking us in noticed that I was wearing a University of Oklahoma shirt. She said she was from Oklahoma and went to OU as well….small world after all……

After checking in, I called the Disney Dining Experience number to get a DDE Card. Took about 5 minutes to order. They said I could get a letter at the Guest Services window at Epcot after 5:30 p.m. Bummer…our PS for Rose and Crown was at 5:00 p.m.

Our room was ready and she told us we were in the Tahiti Longhouse on the 1st floor. I had requested Tahiti, but a 3rd floor room with a balcony. I asked if there were any 3rd floor rooms available and she told me no. Minor disappointment, but hey….we’re at Disney. She gave us our room keys and we were on our way. Our luggage was to arrive later, and we just wanted to drop off our carry-on bags and head out to the parks.

We get to our room and were pleasantly (to put it mildly) surprised at the size of the room. There were 2 queen beds and a daybed. The bathroom was good sized as well. We loved our room.

I go out on the patio and again I am mildly disappointed with the view. Just outside the room is a collection of trees, shrubs, and plants that block about ¾ of the view of the Magical Kingdom. We can pretty much see Space Mountain clearly, but to get a view of Cinderella’s Castle, we had to walk out on the grass and to the right about 10 feet to see the castle. Again, just a mild disappointment. I would have loved to have just stepped out and had a clear view of the castle. But we were just 20 – 25 feet away from the beach.

So, after checking out the room, we had plans to go to Epcot. We have a 5:00 p.m. PS for Rose and Crown. We take the 5 minute walk over to the TTC and hop on the Epcot monorail. We get to Epcot around 3:30 – 3:45. DS(6) wants to go on Test Track as he loves fast cars. I tell him that I will get fastpasses so we can ride it later. I run get fastpasses for Test Track and then we decide to go on Spaceship Earth. It is a walkon. After riding Spaceship Earth. We stroll back to World Showcase and check in at Rose and Crown. It is about 4:50. The hostess tells me it will be about a 10 minute wait. She gives me the beeper thing and we find a bench and have a sit. We ended up waiting probably 15 – 20 minutes before our table was ready. And then they sit us OUTSIDE. I guess I should have told them we wanted to sit inside where it was COOL!! We still couldn’t understand why it took that long to seat us because there were several empty tables outside. I never did go inside, so I don’t even know what the restaurant looks like inside.

No matter….we’re at Disney….

Once we were seated, it took the waitress another 5 minutes or so to get our drink order. Me and the kids all had Cokes and DW ordered an ice tea. Within 2 minutes of receiving our drinks, all the ice in the drinks was melted. DW said her tea was the worst she’d ever had. Nonetheless, we were thirsty and the drinks were downed quickly (except for the tea). Waitress took our dinner order. DW had the Bangers and Mash, I had the Cottage Pie, DS(9) had grilled chicken, DS(6) had the Fish and Chips, and DD(2) had Mac and Cheese. Our entire group all had empty glasses by now with no refills in sight. Our food was brought out and still we had empty glasses. Finally we got refills. My refill lasted all of 45 seconds.

As for the food….we all thought the food as delicious, but not enough of it. DW enjoyed her meal and I thought the Cottage Pie was wonderful. I could have had seconds… DD(2) was not very hungry and ate very little of her mac and cheese. So, DW and I share her leftovers. Both DS’s enjoyed their dinner and finished everything. We waited (and waited) for the waitress to bring the check. Finally she brought the check. And of course, I needed change. Since I wasn’t able to pick up my DDE letter yet, I didn’t get the 20% discount. DW and kids decided to go over to the shops across from Rose and Crown while I waited (and waited…and waited) for change. It probably took 10 minutes for the waitress to bring me my change. Whew!! I’m outta there! Now to go find DW and the kids before they graduate college! I found them over in the little maze thing. The kids had fun going through the maze.

Dinner was kind of a disappointment at the Rose and Crown. Food was very good, but the service was very slow. And DW still talks about how awful the tea was.

After the kids played in the maze, we stroll around World Showcase toward Test Track. DW and the DS’s are going to ride first. Using fastpasses and child swap, we both will get to ride it fairly quickly and the boys will get to ride it twice. While they go on it, DD and I go over to the shop and buy a Pal Mickey. The salesperson was very kind to go ahead and take him out of the box and put his batteries in. But he was kind of slow. I was thinking DW and the boys might be getting out of the ride any minute and wonder where I was. Well, they were coming off the ride just as I was coming back over. So, me and the boys get to ride. Woo hoo. Love Test Track!! After Test Track, it was about 7:45, so we decide to find us a place to watch Illuminations. I tell DW to take DD and DS(6) and go over to the bridge by the International Gateway and wait for me there while me and DS(9) go grab the DDE letter. We go get that and go back to meet up with the rest. DW has found us a very nice spot on the bridge. I go grab a couple of waters and we sit back and enjoy the show. Illuminations is GREAT as always! The kids loved it as well.

We now all head back toward the front of the park to catch the monorail back to the Poly. Once back at the Poly, there are all of our suitcases right in our room!! Loved Magical Express!

Gave the kids a bath and everyone was sound asleep before their heads hit the pillow.

What a wonderful day. Yes, there were some minor disappointments, but all-in-all it was a pretty good start!

Tomorrow….Day 2 – Magic Kingdom and a VERY expensive mistake…..

 

[roberrl187]

Sounds like a great start to a vacation. I'm looking forward to more.

 

[dismom9761]

I 'm sorry you had bad service at your 1st meal.I hope it got better.Can't wait to hear more.

 

[Nanajo1]

Great first day. Thanks for posting.

 

[MazdaUK]

You thought the portions were small? DON'T come to the UK - that's probably supposed to be part of the Brit experience (And you wouldn't like the prices- expect Disney prices in a normal High St eaterie )

Dh is a big eater but even he was regularly defeated by your portion sizes

 

[pozey]

I wouldn't consider our family "big" eaters, but on occasion we can be.

I guess, in retrospect, the portion size was just about right. It was very tasty, and maybe it just left us wanting more. We were full, but not stuffed, and we didn't order a dessert. We will sometimes share a dessert.

Now my DS(9) can put away food when he gets the notion...

And DS(6) can seriously put away some spaghetti.

 

[bigsis1970]

Oh can't wait for the next installment ! I love Illuminations -- Epcot is our fave park.. Michelle

 

[pozey]

I am unable to make NEW posts, so I guess I will just have to keep adding to this one.....


Day 2 – Magic Kingdom, CRT, and a VERY expensive mistake (Part 1)

Alright! Today is our Magic Kingdom day, complete with breakfast at Cinderella’s Royal Table…

Our CRT breakfast is at 9:00 a.m., so I have a wake up call set for 5:45. I get up and shower and get all cleaned up to see the beautiful princesses….er…I mean take my cute little DD(2) (and my sons) to meet the princesses….yeah, that’s it…..

DW wakes up and hops in the shower after I am done. We wake the kids up around 7:15, and they get dressed up. By 8:00 a.m., we take a walk up to the Great Ceremonial House to catch the monorail to the Magic Kingdom.

We are at the Magic Kingdom by 8:25. We breeze through the turnstiles and are quickly on Main Street USA. We practically have it all to ourselves. We take the obligatory picture with the Castle in the background. I take a few more pictures on the walk toward the castle.

We check in early for our PS and are told to go inside and wait to be called upstairs. The Fairy Godmother is sitting in her chair. DD(2) wants no part of taking a picture with her, but the boys will. I was afraid that DD(2) wasn’t going to want to get too close to the characters – even face characters – and I was right. We wait about 10 minutes before we are called upstairs. We are given a PERFECT table next to the windows looking out into Fantasyland. Just as we sit down, the beautiful Princesses go take a break. (I assume that they just wanted to freshen up before meeting me….er…I mean that they were taking their scheduled break)

This gave us plenty of time to actually eat some breakfast. Breakfast was good. My only complaint was that they gave DD(2) some French Toast Sticks and they were a little bit on the hard side. She ate a little bit of them, but rather ate some of my eggs.

Back come the Princesses to see me….uhh….to see everyone….

First to visit the table was Snow White. The boys were not doing autographs this time around, so we just did photos. They jumped up at the chance to get near a beautiful princess (where on earth do they get that?). And DD(2) actually let me take a picture with Snow White. This was the one and ONLY picture she took with a character.

The beautiful Princess Aurora came next, followed very closely by Belle, and Mary Poppins. The boys happily posed with each of the princesses.

Then DD squeals “Cinderella” and points (of course Cinderella was clear across the room). Soon “Cindy” as she lets me call her…graces us with her presence at our table. I ask DD if she wants to give Cindy a hug and she says “no”. I ask if she wants to take a picture with the beautiful princess, again she says “no”. The boys get up….woops….they are already up there with Cinderella…..and I take a couple of pictures. Cindy waves by to me….er….DD and walks away….DD perks up and yells “bye!”

So, we finish up our breakfast and head downstairs. We get ready to go out into Fantasyland, but wait….I had forgotten my sunglasses on the table…..So I run back upstairs and they had already cleaned off the table….no sunglasses…..I ask our waitress…she didn’t recall seeing them….they disappeared……hmmmm…..I’m betting one of those Princesses kept them as a memento from me…..

Oh well…..out to Fantasyland we go…..

The line for Dumbo is pretty short, so we hop on that crazy flying elephant…wait time was probably 10 minutes. I ran over and got a fastpass for Pooh. I’m not sure in what order we rode them, but we did Snow White’s Scary Adventures, Small World, Peter Pan, Mickey’s Philharmagic, and finally Pooh. All rides were 10 minute waits or less. Mickey’s Philharmagic is AWSOME!!

When we got off Pooh, we wanted to head over and ride the 2 mountains…Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. It was beginning to rain , and as we were walking by Haunted Mansion, we noticed it was a 5 minute wait. So, we ducked in to see the ghosts… When we got out, it was still sprinkling a little, but we walked anyway.

I got fastpasses for Splash and we walked over to BTMRR. It was a 10 minute wait. We got a child swap ticket and DW went with both DS. DD and I strolled around a bit and then just happened to walk up to the hill and I took a picture of DW and the boys ride by on the train. When they got off, the boys and I used the child swap ticket and rode.

When we got off, we had about 10 minutes before our fastpass time, so we got some water to drink.

DW and the boys used the fastpasses and we got another child swap ticket for Splash Mountain. They seemed to take forever. I went over and waited to take a picture of them coming down the hill. I waited and waited….but never saw them….so I thought I better wait near the exit. After a little while, they came off. Now it was my turn to ride with the boys….After riding, we looked at the picture and DS(6) had the most priceless look on his face. He had his arms up in the air, but the look on his face was sheer terror !! I just had to buy it!!

It was approaching 1:00 p.m. now, so we decided to take the train back to the front of the park and go back to the Poly to let the boys swim and DD (and DW) take a nap. Just as we make this decision…..the sky opens up and the rain came down…..HARD!! So, we run up the ramp to the train station and the train had just pulled in. So, we wait, and wait…Apparently the train isn’t going to run if it is raining this hard. Either that or it doesn’t run when there is lightning in the area….because we can hear the thunder. We wait for about 10 – 15 minutes, and it ain’t letting up. And the train doesn’t look like it is going anywhere soon, so we make the decision to just go. The rain has dropped down to just a steady, light rain by now. The boys are wearing their rain jackets that I bought, but it just way too hot for me and DW….we just decide to get a little wet. The rain pretty much stops soon after we make the decision to walk.

We hop the monorail back to the Poly. We go back to the room and dry off a little. I go up to Captain Cook’s to buy a couple of refillable mugs and bring back some drinks in them.

When I return DW says she and DD are going to take a nap and me and the boys can go swim. Our plans were to relax for a couple hours, go have dinner at Whispering Canyon at 5:00 p.m., and then head back to Magic Kingdom for SpectroMagic and WISHES……OR SO THAT WAS THE PLAN…..

Then it happened…….

Part 2 coming.....

 

[dismom9761]

I am raeally enjoying the reports.Keep them coming

 

[bigsis1970]

EEKs you just left us hanging !!!! ah the maker of a great writer !!! give us more please .. Michelle

 

[imsorry]

Hurry! Can't wait to see what happens next!

 

[pozey]

Day 2 – Magic Kingdom, CRT, and a VERY expensive mistake (Part 2)

Okay...where was I?? Oh yeah....
Then it happened…….

DW asks me to get out this certain outfit for DD to wear later…..So, I look in the drawers where we had unpacked everything….not there ….So, I look in each suitcase…..each suitcase is EMPTY!! WHERE ARE DD’s CLOTHES???? The only clothes for DD are the ones she wore and the ones that were in the carry on bag. Where was her suitcase with all of her clothes???

Well, apparently her suitcase was still sitting on her bed……at HOME….in OKLAHOMA!!

DW just starts crying….how could we leave an entire suitcase?? Long story short (what am I saying? There’s nothing about this story that’s short…) We had brought all the suitcases downstairs the night before we were to leave, but forgot hers.

The only people in the world who have keys to our house (besides us of course), are DW’s sister, who lives just a few miles away from us, and DW’s parents, who live about 2 hours away from us. Unfortunately, DW’s sister and her family are in Pensacola, Florida right now.

DW is still in tears and obviously not very happy with me… So, I decide to take a walk. I go out and call DW’s parents. I tell them the situation and what the solution would be. I ask them if they would go to our house, get the suitcase and UPS it to us. I go to the Great Ceremonial House and ask one of the Cast Members if I could have a package sent to me. Of course I could. I get the mailing address and call DW’s parents back. I tell them the address. They can’t do it until tomorrow. Tomorrow happens to be on a Friday. UPS doesn’t deliver on Saturday, unless you pay extra. So, they say they will send the suitcase. Next Day Air, Saturday Delivery – Cost ……$200. Yep….2 bills. Oh, well…..DD can’t run around nekkid….. So they send it.....

So, what to do until then? I go into the shops an outfit for her to wear for tomorrow.

I go back to the room and tell DW what the situation is. She has clothes to wear for Friday, we can buy her 1 more outfit to wear Saturday, and by Saturday afternoon all of her clothes will be here.

DW was still a little bit upset, but the resolution to the problem seemed to console her a little.

By now, the time was approaching 4:15 p.m. DW was very reluctant about going to dinner at Whispering Canyon. But the boys and I finally convinced her to go ahead and go. We get cleaned up and ready to go.

We hop on the monorail over to Magic Kingdom and get on the boat that goes to the Wilderness Lodge. We had stayed at the Wilderness Lodge on our previous 2 trips, and DW loves it. She was somewhat disappointed that we didn’t stay here this trip.

I just love the smell of the Wilderness Lodge. The aroma coming from the Whispering Canyon is wonderful. And the lobby is breathtaking.

We are a few minutes late for our PS, but the hostess says she would seat us immediately. I had to take DS(6) to the bathroom and I made sure to check out the color of the soap!!

We had a wonderful server, but I cannot for the life of me remember his name. I am terrible about that. The place is busy, but not packed. There are shouts of “ketchup!” ringing throughout the meal.

I ordered the all-you-care-to-eat skillet. DW ordered the grouper. DS(9) ordered a cheeseburger, DS(6) had chicken fingers (do chickens HAVE fingers?), and DD(2) had mac and cheese.

The dinner was delicious! The ribs were great, chicken was good, sausage was good, and the pulled pork was awesome. DW snuck a rib or two and some sausage off my plate as well. She enjoyed her fish (and my ribs). I had seconds on the ribs and pulled pork. I made sure not to order any more beans after seeing what they did to the guy at another table....

The boys got to participate in the pony race, and of course they asked for ketchup!! I think we had every bottle in the place on our table at one time. And for some reason they stayed there for way too long!! Nobody wanted ketchup after we had it?! Finally someone else wanted ketchup and the kids got to deliver it to them!!

Our server made bandanas for the kids. He was playful with us, but he never went overboard. At the table next to us, there were 2 people with birthdays. So, he brought them over a piece of cake each and then announced the birthdays to the room and everyone sang Happy Birthday. Right as the song ended, he grabbed one of the cakes with his bare hand and shoved it in his own mouth. The little boy’s mouth dropped open. It was funny.

Anyway, after dinner, we went back out to catch the boat back over to Magic Kingdom. DW wanted to find another outfit for DD. So, we went in some of the shops on Main Street. We were scheduled to meet up with some other TGM folks at Frontierland to watch Spectromagic, but DW still wasn’t completely over her “shock” of - shall we just call it “the suitcase incident”. So, instead we went to Tomorrowland and got a fastpass for Buzz and decided to check out the line for Space Mountain. Wow! Stand by for Space was 15 minutes! Let’s go! We get a child swap ticket and DW, DS(9), and DS(6) (after lots of coaxing…) head on in. DD and I go over and watch the cars race (and I use that term loosely) around the track at the Tomorrowland Speedway. She loved to watch them and would wave.

Well, about 5 minutes later, I notice people start coming back out of the entrance to Space Mountain. I knew what that meant……ride is down. They are disappointed. And I am disappointed because we will never get DS(6) to go on it for the rest of the trip.

So, we walk over to Stitch and see that it is a 10 minute wait. Cool, let’s go…. This time it is me and the 2 boys. Well, I usually don’t EVER say this, but…..I didn’t care for this attraction at all…..and that’s all I will say about that….

When we come out, we see DW and DD over on the bridge watching the Spectromagic Parade. We are quite a ways away, but can get a pretty good glimpse of it. We watch for a little while, then decide we will see it up close later in the week.

We go back and use our fastpasses for Buzz. I can’t recall everyone’s score, but let’s just say we know who the best sharpshooter in this family is……(me)…..

We decide to go ahead and head back to the Poly and call it a day….

We make our way back down Main Street and decide to take the boat back to the Poly. Just after we board, the Wishes fireworks begin. First stop at the GF and then over to the Poly. The captain says he will hurry so to get us to the boat dock before the finale. He does…just in time. We watch the rest there on the dock.

We walk back to the room and DW starts a bath for the kiddos…..I take the refillable mugs to Captain Cooks for some drinks. Here’s a tip……First off….fill up a mug….then take a big drink of it yourself….you’re hot….you walked all the way over here….you deserve it….then fill it back up. Also…..don’t put any ice in the mug…..you can get ice back at the room……you’ll thank me later…..

Anyway….another long and Disney day. Sure, there was a bump in the road…..but hey…..I’m still on vacation……A costly mistake that I will Never make again….

Coming up……Day 3 – A visit to the porcelain god, Epcot, and “Look at the size of that thing! I’ve seen pictures, but this is the first time I’ve seen one in person!”

 

[Nanajo1]

You could have spent $200 on princess costumes! Thanks for day 2.
Looking forward to the next installment.
BTW I like it when all the days are continued on the same post.

 

[MazdaUK]

You're 10 minute from the premium outlets! You could have spent $150 on a complete new wardrobe for DD plus a little something or two for DW to make up for the trauma