plutoisinwdw
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Jan 1, 2005
- Messages
- 3
While meltdowns occured, the wrath of picky eaters was felt, and the wallet was emptied on more than one occasion, I now can't imagine traveling to Disney World without kids! And though I have returned with more than I left with...most of which I can't really use, ( I don't think that santa hat with mickey ears follows my work dress-code...just a guess though) the most important part of this vacation were the memories I brought back (and that huge rock on my finger 
)
Cast:
The Parents:
Paps and Norah...straight from the fields of Ireland, have never been to Disney World...by far the funniest couple...
Their Kids:
Erin(27)...with husband Ayden(28)---> 4 kids
Briggs(25)...with gf Steph(23)
Matt(23)...with gf "me"(22)
Brady(23)...with gf Keri(23)
Mike(21)
Their grandkids aka stars of the trip:
Riley(4)
Griffin(2)
Baily(2)
Caylib(10m)
ok...can you follow that? If you didn't catch on to it...were traveling with 2 sets of twins...I think that caused a lot of confusion amoungst CMs...
Ok so where should we begin? I guess we could start from the beginning...if you don't want to read everything...I have broken things into parts...scroll down to find the title your interested in...ok...since thats out lets begin!
Pre-trip...
This trip has been about 6 months in the making...which may seem like a lot of time to plan...but when its for 15 people...nearly half of which have never been before...it gets a little on the tricky side! First issue was amount of time to spend...we decided on the 2 1/2 weeks at Disney World
by far the longest trip in my travel log! Another week would be spent at a vacation home in the area visiting friends and the other theme parks. Next came the resorts...
Erin knew she wanted a villa...a kitchen was a must with the kids...as well as a good location and pool...
Paps and Nora didn't care...as long as they were close to there grandbabies...
The adults all agreed that we wanted a good location to entertainment and a really good pool...
We all agreed on the Y&BC...it seemed like a perfect fit...the puzzle soon broke though when I read SAB was going to have some rehab done...Since I didn't know what that fully ment...I scratched that...fearing that we could have pool issues! So instead we focused on the Boardwalk...Erin booked a two bedroom villa for her and the kids...and a studio for Paps and Norah...the rest of us ended up resort hopping...combined we stayed at GF, POLY, WL, PC, and SSR! I'll comment on all...just scroll down if you want to read about them now!
Travel...
Equipped with bags of Cherios, boxes of animal crackers, and McDonalds we boarded our very early flight from RDU to Orlando! We seemed to have a lot of young kids on our flight, in fact I think the majority of passengers were under four feet! None the less the flight was smoothless...there were no screechers, screemers, whiners, or kickers!
We headed off to baggage claim...somehow losing Paps and Norah on the way...don't worry folks...we found them about 10 mintutes later buying matching tee-shirts in the disney store! Ok...so once we were all reunited...we waited and waited and waited for our bags...then realized we were at the wrong baggage thingy! By the time we reached the right belt our bags were the only ones left...one of the airport guys actually asked us for ID to compare it to the name tags on the luggage...I'm sure we looked really foolish picking all those bags up (carseats, strollers, golf clubs, and 3 weeks worth of clothing for 15 people equals a whole lot of bags)...he probably thought we were stealing them or something! After a few laughs with the airport attendents...we went to pick up our rental cars! There was a big mistake made on our reservation...they somehow wanted us to fit 15 people with luggage into 3 5-person cars! We explained...and showed our printed out reservation that we had booked 4 vehicles, none of which was a 5-person car...they did some clicking on thier keyboard...and found the vehicles we booked and paid for! So 2 boxes of Cherrios, 4 Advil, and one Grande mocha-chi-something later...we were finally on our way to Disney World!
Boardwalk Villas
I went with Erin, Ayden, and the kids to check-in. They were absolutely amazed at the resort! Believe me...pictures don't do this resort area justice. Riley really liked the CM's pins...and I was stunned to see one of them give her a pin off their lanyard...she was so suprised "fo me?"...check-in was a breeze...and we asked if there was any available rooms...the CM...now staring at the twins passed out in their stroller...and the baby asleep in my arms...said "I think we can arrange that!"...they ended up with a really great room...over looking the MGM water way...the area was really quiet...and the view was wonderful! Paps and Norah's room overlooked the boarwalk area....you could see a little bit of the higher fireworks...and you could definately hear them!
The resort staff was amazing...since it was a DVC resort...I wasn't expecting much...but CMs went out of there way to make you feel at home...rarely did they have any problems...noise was minimal...even the room facing the boardwalk! The pool was fantastic...everybody enjoyed it...it would get busy in the afternoon...but the kids were usually napping then.
The room itself were wonderful...the fridge held enough...and the set up was great. the kitchen was convient and having the kids in a seperate bedroom made it easier for Erin and Ayden to stay occupied during nap time and bedtime.
Wilderness Lodge
My first time stying here...and it won't be my last! The resort was decked out for christmas...and it reminded me of Christmas up north when I was a kid...we had two adjoining rooms overlooking the pool and Bay lake...and it was absolutely wonderful. CMs were fantastic to say the least. One of the biggest questions I had was about refillable mugs...we would be staying at 3 different resorts...and really only wanted to buy one mug...she wasn't able to answer my question...but she made a few phone calls...and found an answer to my question. I was suprised...she could have just said "I don't know"...and left it at that!
The rooms are great...we had one with a queen and a set of bunk beds...which we asked for...and the other with two queens. 21yo Mike loved the bunk beds...he made a fort/cave out of the bottom bunk (complete with a sign "No universal characters allowed...but girls are welcome) the maids even placed all of the stuffed animals (yes we brought our teddy bears) with a book and a flashlight in there one day...it was really cute. To be honest...it was a really cool looking fort...the kids liked it too!
We could hear wishes at night but couldn't really see it!
Here's where the trip really picks up! Are we following along ok? Feel free to take a bathroom break at this point...be sure to come back soon though...the best parts are coming up...
)Cast:
The Parents:
Paps and Norah...straight from the fields of Ireland, have never been to Disney World...by far the funniest couple...
Their Kids:
Erin(27)...with husband Ayden(28)---> 4 kids
Briggs(25)...with gf Steph(23)
Matt(23)...with gf "me"(22)
Brady(23)...with gf Keri(23)
Mike(21)
Their grandkids aka stars of the trip:
Riley(4) Griffin(2) Baily(2) Caylib(10m)ok...can you follow that? If you didn't catch on to it...were traveling with 2 sets of twins...I think that caused a lot of confusion amoungst CMs...
Ok so where should we begin? I guess we could start from the beginning...if you don't want to read everything...I have broken things into parts...scroll down to find the title your interested in...ok...since thats out lets begin!
Pre-trip...
This trip has been about 6 months in the making...which may seem like a lot of time to plan...but when its for 15 people...nearly half of which have never been before...it gets a little on the tricky side! First issue was amount of time to spend...we decided on the 2 1/2 weeks at Disney World
by far the longest trip in my travel log! Another week would be spent at a vacation home in the area visiting friends and the other theme parks. Next came the resorts...Erin knew she wanted a villa...a kitchen was a must with the kids...as well as a good location and pool...
Paps and Nora didn't care...as long as they were close to there grandbabies...
The adults all agreed that we wanted a good location to entertainment and a really good pool...
We all agreed on the Y&BC...it seemed like a perfect fit...the puzzle soon broke though when I read SAB was going to have some rehab done...Since I didn't know what that fully ment...I scratched that...fearing that we could have pool issues! So instead we focused on the Boardwalk...Erin booked a two bedroom villa for her and the kids...and a studio for Paps and Norah...the rest of us ended up resort hopping...combined we stayed at GF, POLY, WL, PC, and SSR! I'll comment on all...just scroll down if you want to read about them now!
Travel...
Equipped with bags of Cherios, boxes of animal crackers, and McDonalds we boarded our very early flight from RDU to Orlando! We seemed to have a lot of young kids on our flight, in fact I think the majority of passengers were under four feet! None the less the flight was smoothless...there were no screechers, screemers, whiners, or kickers!
We headed off to baggage claim...somehow losing Paps and Norah on the way...don't worry folks...we found them about 10 mintutes later buying matching tee-shirts in the disney store! Ok...so once we were all reunited...we waited and waited and waited for our bags...then realized we were at the wrong baggage thingy! By the time we reached the right belt our bags were the only ones left...one of the airport guys actually asked us for ID to compare it to the name tags on the luggage...I'm sure we looked really foolish picking all those bags up (carseats, strollers, golf clubs, and 3 weeks worth of clothing for 15 people equals a whole lot of bags)...he probably thought we were stealing them or something! After a few laughs with the airport attendents...we went to pick up our rental cars! There was a big mistake made on our reservation...they somehow wanted us to fit 15 people with luggage into 3 5-person cars! We explained...and showed our printed out reservation that we had booked 4 vehicles, none of which was a 5-person car...they did some clicking on thier keyboard...and found the vehicles we booked and paid for! So 2 boxes of Cherrios, 4 Advil, and one Grande mocha-chi-something later...we were finally on our way to Disney World!
Boardwalk Villas
I went with Erin, Ayden, and the kids to check-in. They were absolutely amazed at the resort! Believe me...pictures don't do this resort area justice. Riley really liked the CM's pins...and I was stunned to see one of them give her a pin off their lanyard...she was so suprised "fo me?"...check-in was a breeze...and we asked if there was any available rooms...the CM...now staring at the twins passed out in their stroller...and the baby asleep in my arms...said "I think we can arrange that!"...they ended up with a really great room...over looking the MGM water way...the area was really quiet...and the view was wonderful! Paps and Norah's room overlooked the boarwalk area....you could see a little bit of the higher fireworks...and you could definately hear them!
The resort staff was amazing...since it was a DVC resort...I wasn't expecting much...but CMs went out of there way to make you feel at home...rarely did they have any problems...noise was minimal...even the room facing the boardwalk! The pool was fantastic...everybody enjoyed it...it would get busy in the afternoon...but the kids were usually napping then.
The room itself were wonderful...the fridge held enough...and the set up was great. the kitchen was convient and having the kids in a seperate bedroom made it easier for Erin and Ayden to stay occupied during nap time and bedtime.
Wilderness Lodge
My first time stying here...and it won't be my last! The resort was decked out for christmas...and it reminded me of Christmas up north when I was a kid...we had two adjoining rooms overlooking the pool and Bay lake...and it was absolutely wonderful. CMs were fantastic to say the least. One of the biggest questions I had was about refillable mugs...we would be staying at 3 different resorts...and really only wanted to buy one mug...she wasn't able to answer my question...but she made a few phone calls...and found an answer to my question. I was suprised...she could have just said "I don't know"...and left it at that!
The rooms are great...we had one with a queen and a set of bunk beds...which we asked for...and the other with two queens. 21yo Mike loved the bunk beds...he made a fort/cave out of the bottom bunk (complete with a sign "No universal characters allowed...but girls are welcome) the maids even placed all of the stuffed animals (yes we brought our teddy bears) with a book and a flashlight in there one day...it was really cute. To be honest...it was a really cool looking fort...the kids liked it too!
We could hear wishes at night but couldn't really see it!
Here's where the trip really picks up! Are we following along ok? Feel free to take a bathroom break at this point...be sure to come back soon though...the best parts are coming up...
Feel refreshed...SUPER...lets continue...
Team Mickey 
....After about 10mins of listening to them talk about the different types of golf balls (they're all round and white!)...the girls decided it would be best to move along! So we split up...and head for the chocolate store! 
We got ourselves some hot chocolate...and then headed to the Rainforest cafe to have dinner with everybody! That place is so cool...its really neat how they create that thunderstorm. We were seated by the gorillas (I think)...and for a while the kids thought they were real...but there not! The food was really good and theres a lot of cute stuff in the gift shop! The fish tank was really neat...we saw a "real" nemo 
! 
VROOM! 
