Is That Real Chocolate? (May 2016 Trip Report)- UPDATE-2017 INVITE!

[CaliTex]

Hey you! Love your updates!

LOove, LoOoove, loooove the photos of Maine--feel 20 degrees cooler just looking at them!

Really thinking we need to do a split stay next year between WL and BC--that pool just looks like too much fun to miss.

Awww....first day of school...always bittersweet for me. This year I played hooky from work and on the Friday before school started I took 2 of the grands to the pool and out for ice cream. We decided it has to be our new tradition. It was so wonderful to have them say, "Grandma, we had so much fun!"

Now just waiting for our December Disney trip. It's very sloooooowwww to get here!

 

[luvflorida]

Hey you! Love your updates!

LOove, LoOoove, loooove the photos of Maine--feel 20 degrees cooler just looking at them!

Really thinking we need to do a split stay next year between WL and BC--that pool just looks like too much fun to miss.

Awww....first day of school...always bittersweet for me. This year I played hooky from work and on the Friday before school started I took 2 of the grands to the pool and out for ice cream. We decided it has to be our new tradition. It was so wonderful to have them say, "Grandma, we had so much fun!"

Now just waiting for our December Disney trip. It's very sloooooowwww to get here!

Thanks! Yes, Maine is a great place to be in the summer. It was so nice to get out of temps in the hundreds in exchange for temps in the 80s! Phoenix is lovely from October to the end of May, but the summers are brutal! It's always nice to go back East for a bit. Always, as soon as we land in Boston, we know we are back home, and it feels like we've never left!

Sounds like you had fun with your grandkids! It's always nice to start new traditions!

December will be here before you know it! I've never been to WDW or Disneyland in December, but would love to go at that time of year! Are you planning on doing a trip report?

 

[luvflorida]

Day Seven- continued

Our first stop in Epcot was the Character Spot in Future World. Vanessa and Harrison really enjoyed meeting characters this trip, so we figured it would be a great way to end our trip. Carter wasn't interested in meeting characters, so he and Daniel headed off to Test Track and other attractions. So Megan, Larry and I got in line with Vanessa and Harry and we waited...and waited...and waited. The line didn't seem very long, but it moved sooooooooooooo slow! Seemed to take forever! Thankfully, there were monitors showing cartoons, so that helped to keep the kids entertained!

Finally! Mickey Mouse was up first, but Harry wasn't interested in meeting the mouse. He could see Goofy in the next section and he only had eyes for him! So, only Vanessa went over to Mickey.

Love this one! So cute!

Harry just loved Goofy and both grandkids thought Goofy was hilarious!

A kiss on the nose for Minnie!

Minnie is always a favorite!

 

[luvflorida]

After the Character Spot, we met up with Carter and Daniel. Buy now it was late afternoon, and we figured it was best to call it a day and head to the airport. Larry and I said our goodbyes to Megan, Daniel and the kids as they headed back to the Beach Club to catch the Magical Express. We would all meet up later at the airport. Our car was parked at the Magic Kingdom parking lot, so Larry and I headed out of Epcot and over to catch the monorail to the TTC.

A few more topiary pics on our way out.

Now here is where Larry and I made a decision that nearly caused us to miss our flight later that evening! We decided since we were heading back to the Magic Kingdom area, that we had time to make one last trek up and down Main Street. We had plenty of time to hit a few shops, right?!?!?

Coming up...
Our dash to the airport

The answer to the third, and final, question in Post #1

Why Harry ended up wearing a pair of Vanessa's shorts

Why everyone seated near us in the back of the plane started snickering, then laughing, after misunderstanding something Harry said (not once, but over and over!)

And some final thoughts on our very magical, wonderful trip!

 

[buzzrelly]

Joining in, but I had to leave off on page one since I have to go to work. Can't wait to read more! Your grandchildren are adorable, by the way! And I love the pic of your house in Maine in the snow…very New England-y, spoken from a CT girl

 

[npaige611]

Thank you for posting. It was such a fun journey!

 

[CaliTex]

Can't wait until the next installment! So many cliffhangers!

The kids are so cute. Love those photos with the characters.

Waiting for this vacation seems making this time--I'm not sure why...I know that time will fly, and looking forward to a trip is part of the fun, but its still .

Oh, gee, I don't know about the trip report...but I have enjoyed reading yours!

 

[MomtoCandE]

Love reading your trip report! Can't wait to read the end.

 

[jessicar82]

A little late to the party but joining in now! I love how close you are with your family!

 

[ariane37]

I'm caught up! We're just back from a quick trip to WDW so I fell a little behind Love your pictures from Maine. My parents took us there once on vacation years ago, mainly because I wanted to find the home of my favorite author Stephen King, which I did lol. I've lived in NY my whole life so 45 years now and I can't imagine NOT living here, and especially moving across the country, but that's DH's plan once our kids are done with high school........if I end up closer to Disney I guess I'll be ok!
So far your trip has been fantastic - can't wait to hear about the race to the airport and the rest of the ending!

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

I realize there is probably only one more post before your trip report ends but I just stumbled upon it and read the whole thing through.

What an amazing trip! The conference and how special they treated your daughter and the family members is awesome. It's nice to see the surprise pixie dust for the kids every night.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading along. Your family is beautiful. I have the same kind of relationship with my parents and kids as you do. I look forward to the day I am able to bring my grandchildren to Disney (I don't have any yet).

I hope you'll write another trip report as I've truly enjoyed this one so much.

 

[buzzrelly]

I'm all caught up…what a great trip, and trip report! Looks like you all had a wonderful time! I love how you bring each of the grandkids on a special trip before kindergarten. Those are the kind of memories they'll be talking about for years and years. You've got me hanging on the edge of my seat waiting to see what happened to almost make you miss your plane

 

[gr8leg8]

This one is my favorite. How stunning!

 

[luvflorida]

Joining in, but I had to leave off on page one since I have to go to work. Can't wait to read more! Your grandchildren are adorable, by the way! And I love the pic of your house in Maine in the snow…very New England-y, spoken from a CT girl

Hi to a fellow New Englander! I do miss our house in Maine, but not the snow, even though it is pretty!

Thank you for posting. It was such a fun journey!

Thanks for reading along! I'm kind of sorry it's coming to an end. I've enjoyed reliving the trip!

Can't wait until the next installment! So many cliffhangers!

The kids are so cute. Love those photos with the characters.

Waiting for this vacation seems making this time--I'm not sure why...I know that time will fly, and looking forward to a trip is part of the fun, but its still .

Oh, gee, I don't know about the trip report...but I have enjoyed reading yours!

Next installment coming up! I hope you do a trip report!

Love reading your trip report! Can't wait to read the end.

Thank you!

A little late to the party but joining in now! I love how close you are with your family!

Thanks for joining in! Yes, I feel very fortunate that we are able to live so close to all our kids and grandkids. I love family gatherings and especially love going places as a family!

I'm caught up! We're just back from a quick trip to WDW so I fell a little behind Love your pictures from Maine. My parents took us there once on vacation years ago, mainly because I wanted to find the home of my favorite author Stephen King, which I did lol. I've lived in NY my whole life so 45 years now and I can't imagine NOT living here, and especially moving across the country, but that's DH's plan once our kids are done with high school........if I end up closer to Disney I guess I'll be ok!
So far your trip has been fantastic - can't wait to hear about the race to the airport and the rest of the ending!

Stephen King's house is something to see! It's very "Stephen King"! LOL! There are some interesting tours in Bangor that include driving by his house and places that inspired scenes from his book, IT. There are times when I really miss New England, but it is kind of neat to live only five hours away from Disneyland. Great for weekend trips!

I realize there is probably only one more post before your trip report ends but I just stumbled upon it and read the whole thing through.

What an amazing trip! The conference and how special they treated your daughter and the family members is awesome. It's nice to see the surprise pixie dust for the kids every night.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading along. Your family is beautiful. I have the same kind of relationship with my parents and kids as you do. I look forward to the day I am able to bring my grandchildren to Disney (I don't have any yet).

I hope you'll write another trip report as I've truly enjoyed this one so much.

Thank you so much! I truly believe nobody can really understand the love one feels for a grandchild until they have one of their own. It is a love like no other! Makes growing older worth every minute! I've thoroughly enjoyed writing this trip report, and will certainly think about doing others for future trips. If you're interested, I provided links in this report to previous trip reports I've done. Thanks again, for your kind words!

I'm all caught up…what a great trip, and trip report! Looks like you all had a wonderful time! I love how you bring each of the grandkids on a special trip before kindergarten. Those are the kind of memories they'll be talking about for years and years. You've got me hanging on the edge of my seat waiting to see what happened to almost make you miss your plane

I was on pins and needles on our trek to the airport! I was so sure we would miss our flight!

This one is my favorite. How stunning!

Thank you! That's one of my favorites, too!

 

[luvflorida]

So, this trip report is winding down! I've really enjoyed sharing and reliving the memories and magic!


I left off with Megan, Daniel and the kids heading back to the Beach Club to catch the Magical Express to the airport, and Larry and I taking the monorail back to the Magic Kingdom.

Like I mentioned before, I was so afraid of Megan and Daniel not getting to the airport in time. They are usually pretty easy-going about such things, and I could picture them deciding to stick around the Parks longer than they should, and not allow enough time to catch the bus and get to the airport. However, they were smart and left in plenty of time! It was Larry and me that I should have worried about!

Now, I am usually a very punctual person and I hate being late for anything. Trying to get somewhere in a hurry with the possibility of not making it, is stuff my nightmares are made of! Anyway, I was keeping track of the time, and I told Larry I was sure we had time to go back in the Magic Kingdom and do a bit of last-minute shopping on Main Street. I wanted to get t-shirts for the grandkids and had found a cute one for Vanessa at Epcot, but not for the grandsons.

Larry and I took the monorail over to the Magic Kingdom and spent time looking in a few shops on Main Street. I did manage to find t-shirts for Carter and Harrison. We looked around a bit longer, then decided we better head out. Now, I knew we had enough time to get to the airport and wasn't worried. However, what I didn't know was that everything from that point on was going to conspire against us!

To begin with, when we walked out of the Magic Kingdom and headed toward the monorail station, there was a sign and a cast member directing everyone toward the ferry. For some reason, the monorail was not running. Okay, so we'd take the ferry. It was after four by now, so of course, many other people were also leaving the Park. There was a large crowd already waiting to board the ferry. So we waited...and waited. Finally, we boarded the ferry. While we traveled across the lagoon, Larry and I kept creeping through the crowd and trying to get as close to the front as possible so we could exit quickly. Let me tell you, when you're in a hurry, that ferry boat seems to take forever to get across to the other side!

As soon as we got off the boat we walked over and got in line for the tram. The lines were long, and our car wasn't that far back in the parking lot, so we decided to walk. Of course, the tram beat us!

Yay! At least we were now on our way to the airport! But, wait! What is all this!?!?! It was after five on a weekday. Of course, rush hour on the highway. Yikes! We drove, we crawled, we stopped and started. And I was frantic! I was sure we were going to miss our flight!

Finally, we arrived at the airport! With little time to spare, we returned the rental car and practically ran to security. Of course, the security lines were loooooong! By now, I was resigned to the fact that we were probably not going to make our flight. Megan had been texting back and forth and trying to keep up with where we were. She was also amazed that WE were the ones not already at the airport! Anyway, to make a long story short (I know, too late!) Larry and I got through security and made it to our gate with about fifteen minutes to spare before boarding! Phew! Megan, Daniel and the kids arrived a few hours before us and were relaxing with books and iphones. They had grabbed some food from Wendy's and snacks for the plane. I will never again NOT take into consideration the things that can lead to delays on the way to an airport!

 

[luvflorida]

And on to the answer to question #3- We all boarded the plane, took our seats and let out a sigh of relief! As the engines are revving up, and the plane starts down the runway and takes off, we hear this exasperated groan from Vanessa. We look over and see that she has her hands by her ears and a very unhappy look on her face. She then looks at everyone and says, in an angry voice- "WHY do they DO this to KIDS!" Her ears were okay, it was just the noise she didn't like, but the way she said it was too funny, and it was hard not to laugh!

Now, this next picture goes along with another airplane story.
Harry loved the walkways that go from the gate to the plane and every time he went up or down one of them, he turned around to go again. In the photo above, he had already walked partway down, then turned back and walked in front of Megan. Harry called these walkways "bridges".

When we landed in Phoenix and were preparing to exit the plane, Harry got all excited because he knew he was going to walk on another "bridge". We were in the back of the plane, so it took awhile for us to get off and Harry started saying (quite loudly!): "Bridges! Bridges!" That's great, but remember, he's just a little guy (two at the time) and doesn't speak clearly or say all his sounds correctly. So, he tends to leave out the letter "r" and his "dg" sounds like "ch". As a result, it sounded exactly like he was saying the b-word that rhymes with witches! We start to hear a few snickers from nearby passengers, so of course, all of us are trying to keep Harry quiet. Except for Carter who is laughing hysterically, which only makes Harry more excited about repeating "bridges!" Larry says to Harry: "Oh, you mean, bridges!" Harry's response: "Yeah! You, me, bridges!" Which of course, sounded like, "You, me, and the word that rhymes with witches. By now, everyone around us was laughing! Several passengers, all in good fun, wondered aloud how he knew such words and that they bet we'd be glad when he learned to say his "r's". Someone remarked: "Suuuuuuuuure he means bridges!"

Then, to top it off, during the flight, Megan had somehow managed to spill a soda on Harry's shorts. Fortunately, she had another pair with her. Unfortunately, they belonged to Vanessa! So, poor Harry had to wear an overly large pair of shorts off the plane!

What a day!

 

[luvflorida]

Here we are at baggage claim. The kids are waiting with their carry-on bags, and you can clearly see that Vanessa is done with this trip!

However, Carter still had plenty of energy and spent time arranging their bags in a pleasing circle formation. Also, take note of Harry's (Vanessa's) shorts!

And, now they're done!

We finally retrieved all our luggage and made it over to the airport parking area. We were all exhausted! Larry and I said goodbye to Megan, Daniel and the kids. They headed off in their car and we left in ours. Larry and I were starving, so we stopped where we usually stop on our trips back from the airport to the house.

Next up- some final thoughts on our trip! And, maybe a few baby pics! Our fourth grandbaby is due to arrive any day now!

 

[DisneyCAL]

Glad you made it to the plane! My son at that age said the B word as well for Bridge and the f word for fox. At least he wasn't pointing through the line of people and saying that, lol. Thank you for writing this trip report and best of luck with the new grandbaby.

 

[princessemsmom]

Loved reading your trip report. We go to Disney every year in May and were there a few days after you left! Thank you for sharing all the stories and cute pics of your grandkids! They are adorable!

 

[buzzrelly]

Oh my gosh! Love the update! I would have been screaming and freaking out if I cut it THAT close to getting on our flight MCO has the WORST security lines…I can just imagine what you must've felt like!

Poor Harry…he probably didn't know why everyone was making such a fuss about him wanting to see the "bridges!"

Good luck with the new grand baby! Can't wait to see some pics!