Just Keep Swimming - a January 2019 TR (Complete & new TR link 8/26)

[cinderaimee]

Having your plans FOILED seems appropriate for this ride.

Sneaky husband! You deserve some solo churros to make up for this.

Even better, I'm going to eat all the popcorn in Disney World and he won't be there to stop me!

Sounds like a great afternoon/evening at MK!

It was wonderful!

Loving your report! I'm so sorry your blaster didn't work I don't know if you had time, but I'm 100% sure they would have let you ride again if you told them what happened, just for future reference

Ding dang, I didn't even think to complain about it. I have a rematch planned with Zurg in August so I'll keep that in mind.

Thanks for reading and commenting!

 

[cinderaimee]

Friday, January 19 - Animal Kingdom (Part 1)

Today is our final park day and we had planned it to be an AK day. I don't know if I talked about this earlier in the report, but on our last trip we did two MK days - our first and last days of the trip. I decided after that trip I'd prefer to do MK in the middle of the trip - the first day of the trip I'm still getting my bearings and the last day is just too bittersweet, so I like doing MK in the middle.

The kids had another breakfast in the room and I think I did a load of laundry before we went out to the park. Our first FP of the day was for FOP at 9:30 and I have us entering the park at just about 10:00. The Christmas decorations were finally down and a Lion King photo op had been put up, so we took some pictures here.

Then we headed straight back to Pandora.

(we were happy we did not have to wait in this line!)

DS2 did not enjoy FOP the first day and was insisting he did not want to ride it again. So DH and I did what good parents do... and made him ride it anyway.

He was saying he was scared in line and in the pre-show rooms, but he went along with it. When he got on the ride, he was still saying he didn't want to ride, but he wasn't hysterical or being forced onto the ride or anything. We just kept telling him if he didn't like it, he could just close his eyes. Then, once the ride started and the banshee did the first big dive down DS2 yelled "I LOVE THIS!" ! So I'm glad he gave it another chance because he definitely enjoyed it much more the second time.

After the ride, I experienced one of the most aggravating moments of the trip. I was so happy that the kids had liked the ride and was trying to talk to them about it as we walked out and the first thing DS1 says when we get outside is "Can we get a toy?"

Then we get into the dump shop and they start asking for anything and everything they see and DS2 throws an absolute fit because I say he can't get something. I ended up dragging the kids out of the store, putting them in the stroller and telling them (in probably not the kindest words) that I had worked really hard to take them on this trip, that they should feel lucky to even be in Disney World and if they continued to ask for every single toy or treat they laid eyes on, we would just go back to the hotel room because I was tired of hearing it.

Children thoroughly scolded, we headed for our next FP as we were already well inside the window - KS.

Obligatory animal pictures!

While we were in line, DH and I decided we were super hungry, as we hadn't eaten anything yet and put in a mobile order at the Harambe Market simply because it was the closest QS to the safari.

I can't remember exactly everything we had to eat at this point, but I know DH and I shared some kind of chicken on rice dish and DS got the world's smallest corndog off the kid's menu.

There weren't any options on the menu here that DS2 would eat, so after we picked up that food, we headed over to Restaurantosaurus for an order of chicken nuggets and fries and DH and I also split a burger. While we were eating, DS1 bit into an extra crunchy chicken nugget and a tooth that had been loose for a few weeks just popped out!

We made sure to wrap it up carefully and put it in a safe part of my purse so he could leave it for the tooth fairy, although he was a bit concerned the tooth fairy wouldn't know to come to our hotel room.

I really liked Restaurantosaurus! There was an absolutely gigantic line to order and mobile ordering was so easy and quick. All the themeing inside was great, but we decided to eat outside where it was a little quieter - on the Pterodactyl Pterrace (I kept pointing that out on the sign out to the kids and DH and no one cared except me - I appreciate the cleverness, Disney!)

Two lunch stops later, we were ready to continue on with our last day at AK!

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

Ugh to kids throwing fits! I get it, it's part off growing up, but it's so frustrating.

So cool that he lost his tooth in Disney! I feel like that's a good story to have.

 

[missangelalexis]

I'm glad DS enjoyed FoP more this time!!

Ah sorry about the frustrating moment with the kids

 

[cinderaimee]

Real Life/August trip updates

Well it seems I took a few weeks off my Trip Report, but we've had a super busy month with DS1's birthday and packing up and moving to our new house!

We are now mostly unpacked, except for the kid's playroom, which we hope to get done this weekend coming up. We also have some more things in storage at the old house that need to be brought over and dealt with at some point - we have a family member renting the old house for the time being so we're not in a huge rush.

We have noticed that our old furniture in our new house leaves it looking a bit sparse.

I do have some chairs for the kitchen counter on the way, plus we still have to call the piano mover to bring our piano from the old house and we've got to figure out what we want to put on the walls and maybe some kind of window treatments... still a long way to go but we love all the space and light.

Other things going on this summer... DS1 turned 7 and got to spend a day at work with me, which meant a little tour of DC.

DS2 started swimming lessons and loves it so much, he's always been a little fish.

Just a few updates to the August trip - our Magic Bands have been delivered, and Disney found a way to get another $10 out of me - when I saw I had the option to upgrade to a SE band I just had to have it.

I was watching the August hours for updates and when I saw they had changed AK from an 8:00 closing to 9:30 on our day there, I stalked MDE until they released FP's for the new hours and I was able to switch our NRJ FP to FOP!

Now, of course I am stalking MDE for an earlier FOP time and lord knows I will be all over that modify button the day of. We're 25 days out now and the final payment has been made and ME tags have been delivered so all that's left to do is wait and also try to finish this TR before then

 

[kclark9830]

How exciting about the FOP FP! Hooray!

 

[cinderaimee]

Friday, January 19 - Animal Kingdom (Part 2)

Where I last left off, we had just finished up lunch at Restaurantosaurs. Our next FP had originally been for EE, but the kids really did not like it the first day and I asked them what they'd rather do again instead, so we ended up modifying it to... (dramatic pause) the Up bird show.

Yep, out of all the attractions we did on the first day, the one the kids wanted to do again more than anything was the bird show. Cool. Reminiscent of our first family trip in 2016 when I switched our second 7DMT FP for Winnie the Pooh. (Decisions like this are why I'm going without them in August)

We still had a little time to kill before the show started, so we decided to do the animal trails. I don't know if I mentioned it before but the park was CROWDED this day. It was the Friday of MLK weekend and it was the most crowded of any park the whole trip. It was terrible. We were walking past the Nemo theater at the same time a show let out and it was completely shoulder-to-shoulder people all the way to Everest. The kids really enjoyed the trails and we let them take as long as they wanted at each exhibit.

Pictures offered without comment and it's been too long and I can't even remember which exhibit is from which trail at this point.

It looks like we did the Tiger trail first and the Gorillas second. At the beginning of the Tiger trail they had laminated guide maps you could use and I remember my kids loved those maps and trying to find all the different animals.

On our way out of the Gorilla trail, DS1 asked me if we could ride the safari ride again and I told him I could try to get another Fastpass. Walking next to me was a couple and the wife overheard our conversation and says really loudly and obnoxiously, "Honey, can we get a Fastpass for the safari?" and the husband replies "Nope, they're all out of safari Fastpasses for today." And then the lady looks over at me and SMIRKS, which I interpreted as a challenge. And if you've learned anything about me on this TR, it's that I don't like to lose at anything.

So no way was I going to let this lady win and not get another safari FP. (look, I know that is not logical and she wouldn't even be around to see it, but I had to beat her at Fastpasses)

Luckily, our next stop was to use our 3rd FP of the day to tap into the bird show, and it also gave me a chance to do the FP refresh for a solid half an hour. Was it successful?

Of course it was. I hope that snotty lady learned her lesson.

At this point, it was about 5pm and we had had just about enough of the crowds and there wasn't anything left we really wanted to ride or do so we decided to walk through Pandora one more time and head out.

We got a Night Blossom drink and a pineapple lumpia to share and they were both really good!

We did some shopping on our way out and let the boys pick their one thing for the day. I think they both picked character toy sets but I can't remember which ones now.

I had originally booked brunch on our departure day at Homecomin in DS, but we decided that morning that we didn't really want to be tied to an ADR time when trying to pack and get out of the room the next morning, but we still had our last TS credit left so we made a reservation for dinner at WCC. So after we got back to WL we relaxed in our room for a bit and then headed down for dinner.

We had a nice dinner but I remember us all being a bit grouchy and not enjoying all the antics as much as we could have. The last night blues were hitting us hard. DH and I both got the AYCTE skillet they do and all the food was really good.

They had Lincoln Logs in the waiting area and my kids thought these were the best toys ever.

I can't remember what he was put in jail for. I think he left some vegetables on his plate.

Then, while we were at dinner I glanced at my email and saw that our flight home had been cancelled.

Luckily, there are like 80 flights a day from Orlando to BWI so I was able to get us on the next flight an hour after our original reservation, and I called the Magical Express line and they moved us to a later bus, so it wasn't a big deal in the end. There were a few minutes there where I was secretly hoping we would be stuck in WDW an extra night, but no such luck.

Crisis averted, we hung out in FG's room for a bit for a few drinks for the last time, and then went to our room and stayed up a little late doing the last of the laundry and packing before the last night of vacation sleep.

Tomorrow we still have some time at the resort and DS and we miiiiiight get kicked out of a pool.

 

[disneyAndi14]

So glad you won the FP game with snooty lady

 

[ksinniger]

Looks like my daughter and I will be in AK the same day as you, and our FOP FP is from 6:45-7:45, which was the earliest I could get at 60+2 days out. We weren't able to get SDD (for the day before at 60+1), but I'm thinking we'll do that at the end of the night anyway so we can see TSL all lit up and pretty.

 

[MimiMoments]

I have really been enjoying your trip report. Your boys are so adorable.
And, I totally get how you wanted to "show" snarky snotty lady "oh, watch me get a Safari FPP!" lol . I hope she and her husband walked by and saw you going in to the Safari FP line.

Looks like we are going to be at WDW at the same time in August!
Congrats on getting the FoP FP. How fun was that? I was trying to modify an AK FP time over a month ago and a FoP came up for 2:45 pm. Yes please! Now I'm trying to modify it for an earlier time.

Can't wait to hear what happens at the pool!

 

[missangelalexis]

Congrats on moving into the new house!

Glad you were able to get a FoP FP for your trip!

Wow that lady making the comment of FPs for KS was such a snot! Glad you were able to get one so you can internally rub it in her face!!

 

[cinderaimee]

How exciting about the FOP FP! Hooray!

Yes! That was the only one I couldn't pick up on FP day so I'm super happy with it!

So glad you won the FP game with snooty lady

Looks like my daughter and I will be in AK the same day as you, and our FOP FP is from 6:45-7:45, which was the earliest I could get at 60+2 days out. We weren't able to get SDD (for the day before at 60+1), but I'm thinking we'll do that at the end of the night anyway so we can see TSL all lit up and pretty.

Fun!! Our HS day was 60+4 and the earliest SDD I could get was 6:30, it's a toughie! But I think you have a good plan to do it at night!

I have really been enjoying your trip report. Your boys are so adorable.

Thank you!

I totally get how you wanted to "show" snarky snotty lady "oh, watch me get a Safari FPP!" lol . I hope she and her husband walked by and saw you going in to the Safari FP line.

Oh, in my head I was like:

Like this is not my first FP rodeo. Did she realize I got a same day SDD FP a couple of days prior? Try and tell me I can't get a safari FP, I don't think so.

Looks like we are going to be at WDW at the same time in August!
Congrats on getting the FoP FP. How fun was that? I was trying to modify an AK FP time over a month ago and a FoP came up for 2:45 pm. Yes please! Now I'm trying to modify it for an earlier time.

That's an awesome find!

Can't wait to hear what happens at the pool!

omg, it was pretty embarrassing!

Congrats on moving into the new house!

Thank you!

Wow that lady making the comment of FPs for KS was such a snot! Glad you were able to get one so you can internally rub it in her face!!

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

Ugh. I'm not sure I would have stomached switching an EE FP for Up! You're a good mom v

Of course it was. I hope that snotty lady learned her lesson.

Oh man, I would never have been able to sit quietly by. If someone snottily said to me (without saying it to me) that we couldn't get a certain fp, I'm pretty sure I would have had to say to hubby without saying to hubby how great it is knowing the fp tricks to get fps that other people think are gone for the day. I would also have likely started listing my earlier victories to prove my point.

Then, while we were at dinner I glanced at my email and saw that our flight home had been cancelled

Oh no! Glad it was a quick resolution, though it must have been stressful in the moment.

 

[cinderaimee]

Ugh. I'm not sure I would have stomached switching an EE FP for Up! You're a good mom

It was definitely a little painful!

Oh man, I would never have been able to sit quietly by.

It was honestly just so funny to me that she was SO sure that ALL the safari FP's were gone that she felt like she had to make that comment, when she probably could have got one for herself if she knew how the system worked even a little bit.

 

[cinderaimee]

Saturday, January 19 - Disney Springs & Departure Day

We have arrived at the final day of our trip! It honestly went so fast and even though we had almost twice as many park days as our first trip - 8 full days versus 4 1/2, it still seemed like there was so much we didn't get done and it all just flew by in a blur.

Our plan for the day was breakfast - swim - check out - Disney Springs - DME to the airport. We knew we were on a pretty tight timeline if we wanted to swim before we had to check out at 11 - I called to ask about a late check out but they didn't have any available, so DH and I packed up just about the whole room before we went to sleep the night before.

We dressed in our swimsuits and went down to Roaring Fork for breakfast. We had a few QS credits left and I think four extra child TS credits - we had treated FG and her DH at 'Ohana and Teppan Edo using our dining plan. At Roaring Fork they let us use the child TS credits to order a QS meal, which is not a great use of the dining plan, but better than letting it go to waste. We got another one of the amazing bagel sandwiches (with flavorless potatoes), Mickey waffles and a breakfast platter.

Not that anyone asked my opinion but while I loved the room at WL so much, between the two resorts we stayed at this trip, I think I definitely prefer Centertown Market at CBR over Roaring Fork. I think the food was better at Centertown, it was bigger and obviously brand new, plus it had the Coke Freestyle machines. At WL they have the old fountains which have pretty limited choices for kids - I think blue Powerade and lemonade were the only non-soda options.

ANYWAY, we ate our breakfast quickly and then headed for the pool around 9:30. The night before, we tried to figure out the pool hours, but couldn't find it anywhere in the resort leaflets in our room or on the website, so we figured we'd go to the main pool to check and if it wasn't open yet we could go to the Boulder Ridge pool.

At CBR, they had big signs that said "POOL CLOSED" that they put up in front of the gates of the pool when it was closed. So we approached the pool and didn't see any sign saying the pool was closed, didn't see any hours posted, but also didn't see any lifeguards or people in the pool, either. We tried the gate and it opened - the slide was running, the hot tub was bubbling and the splash area was splashing. There was no indication to us that the pool was closed, so we jumped on in.

At 9:50, the lifeguards showed up, and one came over to us and said "I'm sorry, but the pool is not open yet so we need you to get out until it's open. Also, how did you get in here?" We showed them the gate we came in and that it was unlocked and they said it should have been locked.

Even though we'd only have to wait a few minutes, we decided to head over to the Boulder Ridge pool instead. DH was really annoyed because the lifeguards were acting like we had done something wrong when it was an honest mistake.

The Boulder Ridge pool was fun, we ended up staying in the hot tub mostly since it was not a very warm morning (I think in the 70's), and the hot tub was big and deep enough for the kids to actually swim in, and no one else was there but us. At about 10:40, we made a mad dash back up to the room. We threw the bathing suits in the dryer, took a quick shower and got dressed, very quickly finished packing and threw the (mostly dry) bathing suits in the suitcase just at 11:00.

Next, we headed down to the airline check in to get rid of our big bags and get our boarding passes, which was super easy. While I finished that up, DH took our carry on bags to Bell Services. Then it was on to Disney Springs.

Finally, some pictures!

Stopped by the Lego store...

(DS2 wanted nothing to do with pictures at this point)

(here's DS1 in the same spot in 2016 )

2019

2016

Omg, my babies

We stopped by a bunch of stores - World of Disney (DS2 became attached to a ridiculous Cheshire Cat stuffed animal and wouldn't leave without it), Basin, the Christmas Store (my sister has a Christmas tree of only Toy Story ornaments, so I had to get her one!), Pandora for a charm for MIL, and a bunch of stores looking for something for FIL and BIL. At one point, the kids and I got some Mickey bars and hung out on some benches while DH shopped for his family because I couldn't deal with the kids in the stores anymore.

We finished up our shopping and headed back to the resort. We used up our last meal credits on lunch at Geyser Point - DH got another bison burger (he still talks about how good it was!), and the boys got kid's burgers. We sat at one of the tables near the geyser and actually got to see it go off for the first time, even though we'd been at the resort for 6 days.

Soon, it was time to say goodbye to this lobby

and this stroller (ridiculous cat pictured) - we dropped it off with Bell Services for the rental company to pick up, and got our carry on bags.

We had a handful of snack credits left, so we picked out a few more things from the gift shop and then it was time to head out to catch the Magical Express. At the airport, the security line was insane. I think we waited almost 45 minutes, which is a lot of fun with kids. Eventually we got through to our gate and found out that our flight was delayed by about 30 minutes so we were still super early. We had some McDonald's and as hard as it was to wait, we stuck to our "no screens until we're on the plane" rule.

Then we boarded the plane - family boarding with Southwest again. This was a completely full flight due to the cancellation of the earlier flight, but we were still able to get a row of three on one side and DH sat across the aisle. We had a nice quiet flight home - DS2 fell asleep after takeoff and DS1 watched movies.

Much better than our nightmare trip home in 2016 where DS2 screamed for 80% of the flight. Soon we were back in Maryland and the freezing weather. I was glad we had decided to "splurge" and park in the $12/day garage versus the $10/day lot because it had snowed over a foot while we were gone and clearing that off the car would have been terrible. A short drive later, we were home.

Wrap up/Future plans

Looking back at this trip, we really had the best time and there's not much I would have done differently. January was an amazing time to visit, especially weather-wise. It was warm enough that it was a great break from the winter in DC, but not humid or so hot that we were sweating or uncomfortable. We did not experience a single day of rain the whole time we were there, mostly just amazing blue skies all day.

This was our first time being on a dining plan and I really loved it! Even if it didn't save money, I really enjoyed the freedom of having or food pre-paid and not worrying about how much every little snack was costing, or having to stomach a bill for a $200 character lunch.

If you've been following along, you know I'm heading back in 17 days for a girl's trip with my sisters, which is super exciting! DH and the kids have fun plans while we're gone and the kids have seem to mostly accept that I am going to Disney without them, but DH is pretty jealous. Right now I think we are hoping to go back during free dining in 2020, unless I find the weather too miserable in the summer. Fairy Godmother has also said that she and her DH will probably not be returning to WDW due to their age and health issues so in 2021 she might use her points to rent us a Copper Creek Cabin, which would be so incredible.

I'll probably continue to update this thread with August plans and a link to that TR when I get back. I promise I will have a lot more picture since I won't have a stroller to push or small people to constantly worry about

Thanks everyone who followed along and commented! I've really enjoyed writing this and I hope it's been fun to read. See ya real soon!

 

[missangelalexis]

What a weird situation at the pool! But it sounds like a good last day! I enjoyed following along and reading your TR!!

Exciting that you will be back very soon!

 

[disgeek009]

DH was really annoyed because the lifeguards were acting like we had done something wrong when it was an honest mistake.

Bad vibes.

At one point, the kids and I got some Mickey bars and hung out on some benches while DH shopped for his family because I couldn't deal with the kids in the stores anymore.

Good decision! This sounds great right now (as I read this at work).

At the airport, the security line was insane. I think we waited almost 45 minutes, which is a lot of fun with kids.

Yikes! My first thought was, "this is why God invented ipads." then...

We had some McDonald's and as hard as it was to wait, we stuck to our "no screens until we're on the plane" rule.

I read this and am impressed! Well done! I always think no ipad, no ipad, but then my impatience gets the better of me.

Thanks for the great trip report. Will definitely follow along on the next one!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Enjoyed your report, Have fun in August, maybe we will run into each other!

 

[cinderaimee]

What a weird situation at the pool! But it sounds like a good last day! I enjoyed following along and reading your TR!!

Exciting that you will be back very soon!

Thank you for following along!

Bad vibes

Yeah, it was just strange!

I read this and am impressed! Well done! I always think no ipad, no ipad, but then my impatience gets the better of me.

When they get older they’re a little easier to reason with! We played A LOT of “I Spy”!

Thanks for the great trip report. Will definitely follow along on the next one!

Thank you for following along and commenting!

Enjoyed your report, Have fun in August, maybe we will run into each other!

Thanks for following along a commenting! I’ll keep my eyes peeled for you at Epcot!

 

[kclark9830]

Loved following along!