Just Back From POR - 9/27 Thru 10/4 MORE THAN JUST A VACATION-VALUABLE LESSONS

[twotommygirl]

Let me start by saying that all in all, it was a wonderful vacation. It started perfectly and gradually, as the crowds grew, minor annoyances started. This trip was booked only 1 1/2 months in advance. Actually, I booked it at 9:45 p.m. with only 15 minutes left to be eligible for the free dining plan. The cast consists of me, Mom-38, DH-42, DS-9, DS2-6, and DD-4. We arrived at the airport 2 hours early as I was a little nervous about the open seating on Southwest and wanted to be sure we were all able to be together. This ended up being a non-issue and we had a wonderful, surprisingly quiet flight - for a flight to Orlando. During the flight I pulled out my vacation information and realized, uh-oh, I never put the ME luggage tags on my luggage. Back to "worry mode". After landing, we had no problem finding an ME CM. After anxiously spewing out my problem all in one breath, he smiled at me and said it would be no problem. Just tell the CM when I was checking in at the ME desk. All the way to the desk, I felt that spousal disapproval look burning a hole in the side of my face. I wouldn't look at him or acknowledge how nervous I was. When I got up to the desk I learned that I was not the first nimrod to make this mistake and it would be no problem, they were ready for problems such as this. (But wait, I get him back double on the way home.) We then proceeded to the line for our hotel where we waited for approx. 10 minutes. We were then loaded onto a very nice, airconditioned, foot-rested, bus. Yes, they have fold away foot rests. Ahhhh. We were the last of 3 stops, but who cared. The bus was only 1/4 full and they were showing a wonderful Disney promo to sike us up for our trip. After two short stops, we arrived at POR. Upon checkin, I had my choice of rooms based on my preferences. We actually got the same room we were in and loved 2 years ago. We admired the changes to the decor. After dropping our carryons, we headed to the food court. By this time it was approx. 3:45 and we were surprized at how empty it was. We were more surprized at how much free food we got! If nothing else, the free dining plan was a great promo for the program as I will definitely purchase it next time. We then took a leisurely stroll back to our room and WA-LA, there was my untagged luggage! See honey, I knew it would be alright. (I still got the speech on being efficient-Ya, ya, ya, blah, blah, blah) But wait again, Oh how I get him back later. As a prelude to that story let me just say, we are still awaiting the arrival of my luggage. We freshen up and head to Magic Kingdom. The bus arrived just as we did at the bus stop and it was empty. Oh, what a beautiful day it was turning out to be. We sailed right thru securiity and before you knew it ........what the?.......where the?...... what happened to all the people? We each picked a favorite ride and walked on every one of them, some multiple times. Now I have been to Disney in all seasons, but I have never seen the park like this. We got an awesome spot to view the fireworks. Yeah, it started to drizzle a bit, but who cared? A little water wasn't going to spoil this day. After the fireworks, we walked - yes, walked like human beings - to the monorail and made it with time to spare at our Chef Mickey's PS for 9:00. Again, we were seated right away. We didn't even have time for the picture which was fine with me. I have naturally curley hair and after the humidity shock and then the drizzle, let's just say I wasn't looking picture-ready. We had a pleasant, relaxing dinner - which is not a word I would normally use for Chef Mickeys. But it really was relaxing. We had an uneventful trip back to POR, where my husband and children took a late night dip while I showered and unpacked our belongings. We settled in to bed that night, happier than you could imagine. Could this trip really be this good?

 

[babytrees]

you've got me hooked!!!

can't wait to hear/see the rest of the story!!!

 

[Delilah Bleu]

great so far!

 

[twotommygirl]

OK, so we had a wonderful first day and we all slept like babies. We get up the next morning, well rested and ready for a fun day at Animal Kingdom. We have 8:10 PS at Boatwrights, because breakfast is the most important meal. Now, what you must understand is that my husband and my boys love their breakfast. When we stayed at POR 2 years ago, my husband had sweetpotato pancakes on the first day and that was what he wanted every day. My older son loved the ham scram breakfast and my little guy loved the Mickey pancakes. So I send my guys off to secure our seating while I try to frizz control my hair in preparation for another humid Florida day. I finish up and take a nice stroll to the restaurant with my daughter. We are just soaking up the happiness and enjoying each other's company looking at the beautiful landscaping that is POR. When we get to the restaurant, my 3 guys are all looking at me with "the look". You know the one I mean. They all have their heads tilted to the side as if to say, "You've got to be kidding me, right?" After 2 years of waiting for their favorite breakfasts, the freakin grill is broken. OK, ok, don't worry guys. After all we are having a great trip and we can't let this ruin our day. They each pick another choice that doesn't consist of food that needs a grill, and unhappily, they eat their breakfast. Then we head out to the bus to go to Animal Kingdom. When we get there, again, we sail right thru security and are in the park in no time. Now the day is a bit hotter and sunnier and they don't have as many air conditioned attractions, but hey, we're at Disney. What you have to now understand is that while I am in Disney Mode - ready to move quickly and see all the important things first, my husband is the opposite. He wants to casually stroll, looking at all the animals on the trail. Sometimes I wish I could be more like him. He teaches my kids to stop and smell the roses. But you can smell the roses everday at home. All the while the Disney anxiety is building in me. Doesn't he know people write books on strategies of how to most efficiently move thru the parks? We live on Long Island, around the corner from a game farm for god's sake, move it. OK, so tension is building in me. We head right over to Bug's Life. I have never before walked right in to the theatre, so that was nice. Until the baby in front of us got spooked and screamed bloody murder throughout the whole thing. We then head over to see Lion King. Again, we walk right in and a CM is directing us to move toward the top of the bleachers. Well the woman directly in front of us in line decides it's not fair that we should have to push our way up through the bleachers when the there are empty ones across the room. The CM is trying to explain that they need to save those for late arrivals and this very unhappy woman picks this time to explain how she feels she is being punished for coming early and doesn't understand blah blah blah. Now the line is starting to push a little from behind us so I decide to walk around this little spectacle and climb up to my position in the bleachers, which was in the Lion section. It's at this point that the woman says, "Oh, and now you're just going to let these people cut me." I stopped and opened my mouth but thought better of it. I must say the CM handled the situation perfectly and with much patience. With a roll of her eyes in my direction, she pointed to my seat and wouldn't you know it, this woman sat directly in front of me. I do so enjoy this show and tried really hard to ignore her, but she then proceeded to judge the whole show. Really people, I just don't get it. It was at this time that I decided my aura must be negative and I took up my husband's attitude and you know what? We went on to have a most enjoyable day and got to see all the attractions we wanted there. At one point we were walking and this ivy wrapped around a tree started moving, then came to life. AMAZING. It was the most beautiful green ivy woman on stilts. Now had I been rushing thru to the next attraction, I may have missed her. We missed our PS's for both lunch and dinner and opted to wing it. Eating at the cafeteria type restaurant in Africa for lunch and Boatwrights for dinner. That dining plan really is wonderful. OK, so it started shaky, but ended perfectly with another late night swim with my family at our quiet pool. We all nestled in to our happy little slumber, until about 5:00 a.m. when my 6 year old couldn't stop coughing.

 

[fizz13]

Tell me DS6 isn't going to get sick and dampen this perfect disney vacation? Really loving the report (and the crowds),

Claire xx

 

[twotommygirl]

Thanx Claire.

So yes, back to the coughing. It is about 5 a.m. and my little guy has this persistant cough. I sneak over to him and feel he is not warm or anything, let me get him out of here before he wakes up the rest of the clan. So I grab the bag of laundry, some quarters and detergent, and my sons backpack filled with work from his teacher, and we we head down to our quiet pool. As much as I hated getting out of that bed, let me tell how much I really enjoyed this time I had with him. I threw in some laundry and parked at one of the tables and did some homework with him while the sun came up on a beautiful, warm morning. My life at home is hectic with three kids, sports, and my husband's business. I don't ever get the time to just sit and enjoy them one on one, but that is something I learned to change on this trip. While sitting there, a very extremely attractive woman came down to the pool - approx. 60 years young - and quietly swam about 20 laps back and forth. As I was sitting there admiring her and her dedication to what must be her morning routine, she exited the pool and with a big smile on her face told me how she so envied where I was at in my life. "That's so funny" , I said to her, "I was just thinking the same about you." She told me she was once younger, running with her children, never having time for herself. Now she had all the time in the world. She had done things right and raised successful children, had plenty of time and money to do whatever she wanted, found this new appreciation for herself and desire to really care for herself, but that she would give anything to be sitting where I was sitting. There with her little boy at 5:30 a.m., just talking to him and really enjoying his company. Boy did I get more than I bargained for on this trip. Again, had I not gotten up and left the room, I never would have met that woman and received her lesson to me.

After about 1 1/2 hours, we went back to the room with fresh laundry and a fresh new attitude. We all showered and dressed and went to Boatwrights for our 8:20 ps. Unfortunately, the damn grill still wasn't fixed. My husband actually offered to fix it himself as he is quite handy that way, but they said they were waiting for a part. We head on over to MGM. Again, the bus pulled up as we arrived and we walked right on. We once again sail thru security and again have no problem seeing all the attractions we wanted to and more. The only line we had to wait on was the backlot tour, but that was only 20 minutes. We skipped our PS at Primetime because my DS6 wanted to see the stunt show. No big deal, I'm a new person. We could grab a bite to eat anywhere. I don't want to mention that it wouldn't have killed me to miss a meal. With this dining plan I actually gained 5 lbs. - after walking a total of about 200 miles this week! On our way to Beauty and the Beast, we stop across the way and get some burgers for lunch. With this dining plan you also have to take a desert. I'm a nut for chocolate, and that cake they have at Disney is incredible. So once again, we walk right in to Beauty and the Beast (which I could not believe) and secure perfect seats approx. 4 rows up- my daughter was in heaven. We hit TOT and RnR and decide to just walk around and experience other attractions that weren't on our list since we had some time to kill before our ps at Hollywood & Vine for the Fantasmic package. Yes folks, that burger wasn't even digested and we had to eat again. That was without the snack we each still had to get. Ok, ok, I know - we didn't need to get the snack but this was like being on a cruise. So much food available and you don't want to skip anything. We did, however, still end up leaving 11 snacks left after all was said and done. But I'm getting ahead of myself here. We get to our ps and choke down more food before heading over to Fantasmic. We actually had time to just sit on a bench and people watch for a while. This was a new occurence, being how busy our lives are, and was quite interesting. I could comment more, but don't want to get flamed. So into Fantasmic we go with about 45 min. before the show starts. We didn't even need our priority ticket because there was so much space, we just sat in the middle by ourselves for the longest time. At this time we notice a family from our town with 3 kids, all the same ages as ours, and call out to them. This is when things got a bit crazy as they were all excited to see one another. I'm sure the people around us were getting annoyed. Too bad, we were in Disney and my kids were always so well behaved, let them get a little nuts with their friends. This disturbed my husband more than anyone because he is the disciplinarian and goes thru great lengths to teach my kids proper behavior. Anyway, after 45 min. is up they make an announcement that due to the weather, the show is delayed and may be cancelled. After another 15 minutes they cancel the show and give us a little taste of what it would have been like. No big deal since we have seen it already. Just a little disappointing since we hung around waiting for so long and we could have left way before - saving some valuable Disney time. Oh well. Back to POR, right on the bus - no problem. We get back, stop by Fulton's for cough medicine just in case, and head off for our nightly swim before going to bed. What a nice day, even though it didn't work out perfectly. My DS6 takes the cough medicine and we all get a peaceful sleep. Ah, this is too good to be true.

 

[bigsis1970]

nice report so far.I was at the Pop from 9-29 to 10-2 on my very first solo Trip! I actually felt like I had time to not be commando - for some reason I feel we MUST do it all / See it all even though we now have been 5 times together ! I love when i can sneak some 1x1 time alone with each of my kids and in Disney what a treat for you ( I am thinking I might plan a trip alone w/ each child next year - they will be turning 10 & 13 so big deal birthdays.) can't wait to read more and i hope they fixed the grill!!!

 

[twotommygirl]

bigsis1970 - I totally agree with your one on one plan. I, too, am in the process of making the one on one plan a priority. My relationship with my middle guy has changed dramatically, and so has he. This is one vacation to remember. And yes, the grill does eventually get fixed. Stay tuned.

 

[bowsi]

Great trip report so far! I'm really enjoying reading it. We're (husband, five year old son and myself) are leaving in nine days for WDW. Last year, when we were there, I was in total "commando" mode and ended up being and making everyone miserable for a couple of days. This year, I'm not going to allow that to happen - I'm really, really looking forward to letting those great moments happen (such as what you described) rather than rushing to see everything.

 

[tiki23]

Thanks for sharing! Looking forward to the next installment.

 

[fizz13]

Phew, I could see the trip doing a 180 for a moment. Somehow I dont't think missing fantasmic was a big deal to you guys, you seem to have your positive outlook on life (or vacation) sorted. Will look forward to more,

Claire xx

 

[LorieR]

Great report! Can't wait for more.... Meeting that 60-ish woman at the pool -- I truly believe there are no coincidences in life!

Lorie

 

[teentoddlermom]

This is a really sweet essay you're writing and you have looped me in! Can't wait till the next installment! I totally agree with you about the too much food on the Dining Plan. I gained 5 pounds when we went in August and I am still struggling to take it off! Ugh. However, I wouldn't trade our trip for anything!
Thanks for writing!

 

[monarchsfan16]

I'm really enjoying your report so far. Keep it coming

 

[airplane]

Great report so far. I always enjoy reading about families who had no lines on their trips! Can't wait for more.

 

[twotommygirl]

Thanx so much everyone, for your kind comments and for taking time out from your day to read my story. OK so it seems as though I am looking like some Mary Poppins wannabee. To bring you all back to who I really am, I want to tell you about a little game we made up while on this trip. If your not really interested, just stop here and wait till I pick back up on my story. This really needs to be told before I go on because as Disney gets more crowded, more negative things start happening. The game is called the "Lemonade Game". We named it this because the way you play is by taking the real "lemons" out of the crowd and making lemonade out of them. Previously, I was always busy with my kids and too busy to pay attention to others around me, other than those who were MAJOR DISTURBANCES. Being that my kids are older - 9,6, and 4 and are well-behaved, I now have plenty of time to really watch people. Now previously, these people would have dampened my spirits and changed my mood. But the "new, more relaxed me" came up with a game with my husband where we labled all the different types of people. Now, I know you must have done it too - maybe not out loud, but to yourself. Well, we really had fun picking them out. You know - the "pushy moms" who are on a mission to get all their money out of this trip and push their kids to the front of everything. Or the "sour seniors" who are the seniors that come to Disney without children and are annoyed by any child who cries or gets in their way (why they come to Disney is a mystery to me). Well one type we ran into quite frequently were the "casual cutters". The ones who survey a line as they approach, be it at a bus stop or while waiting for theatre doors to open, and casually stroll up to where they think the doors will open. Now you can break them down yet again into 2 groups. The first ones we like to call the "cute casual cutters". This type always wears a pleasant smile - a facade - to distract you into thinking how nice they must be, they don't realize there cutting. This type will usually make pleasant small-talk with those around them. The second type, which we like to call the "crabby casual cutters" , will put on a mean face. A face that says "don't mess with me". They try to make you think that if you tell them there's a line- you might cause a raucous. (Therefore, they are intimidating you.) The worst mistake they can make is getting in front of a "pushy mom". I've seen it happen and it isn't pretty. I swear, pay more attention and you'll notice. Now, instead of getting mad you'll remember this and it will make you laugh. People really are silly and predictable. Try the Lemonade Game next time your in a situation such as Disney, its a blast. Ok, so do you still think I'm sweet? If so, keep tuning in. I ran out of time for my next day, but I'll be back soon. If you hate these reports that ramble, tune out. I am doing this all off my head, not in writing, and I am having so much fun, I'm actually chuckling remember these people.

 

[bigsis1970]

after have been on my first SOLO trip -- I can totally relate, I just let them cut in no matter which crowd they happened to fall into! hee hee .. Michelle

 

[MOMOFMNM]

To the OP what day were you at MGM?? The same thing happened to us on Sept 29...

I loved MGM but missed Fantasmic since we only had 4 day non hoppers for this trip

 

[twotommygirl]

BINGO, THAT WAS THE DAY. Did you happen to be seated towards the middle near a group of 5 who then merged with another group of 5 and all hell broke loose? One of the moms, that would be me, is said to resemble "The Nanny" Fran Drescher. If so, that would be me!

 

[MOMOFMNM]

I don't know...we were front center...we THE ONE TIME ON THE TRIP MY DH WOULD ALLOW IT...got to the show 1 hr early...every other day, no rail and poncho RIGHT??? This day was 20% shower chance...NO PONCHO FOR US I WAS SOOOO STUPID!!! AND MAD!!!! I could not beleive how dumb I was to forget our ponchos and sit out in the rain for 30 mins, did you also get that RIGHT AFTER they cancelled the show, LIKE RIGHT AS WE WERE walking out of the arena, THE RAIN GOES AWAY????? I can laugh now but I was devestated that night, the next trip we will get PH's and Fantasmic will be top on my list!! I am still in need of antidepressants because of it!!

That was a crazy night wan't it??

I looked so stupid having my whole family without ponchos...they were sitting back at the poly...all dry!!!!