Last minute trip! Live trip report attempt :o).

[crazybones27]

Hi Everyone! I'm going to attempt my first live trip report so here goes.

It's again myself, hubby, DD(3), and DS(1) on this trip. I called last minute (April) for this trip. We had returned from our trip in April and the hubby wanted to go back immediately so to the phones I went. I was able to score a studio at SSR for 4 nights and 1bdrm Std at AKV Jambo for 2 nights. Then later after adding on BLT points to our contracts I added another night in a Lake View studio at BLT lol.

So we left on Friday for our drive down. We left around 3pm this time to hopefully get a little further before the next morning hit and the kids would be awake. We got out at 3:15 which wasn't bad, and off we went. We hit traffic around DC which was expect. Sorry I'm driving from NJ lol. Then we hit traffic somewhere else I don't remember lol. Either way we wante to hit the Potomac Mills mall in Va by 7:30 at the latest and we didn't get there till at least 8:30. We got out to stretch our legs and let the kids run around a bit till they were closing. Grabbed some food and off we went again. Unfortunately our DD gets carsick unless I'm driving so you can imagine how tired I might be right now lol. Well as soon as the kids fall asleep the hubby and I switch and he starts driving. Unfortunately around 12am I couldn't get comfortable, I wasn't feeling great, and I told him I can't help it, but we're gonna have to get a room. In the end this was the best decision since we all slept better in a bed!! By morning I was feeling better. I was just probably over tired. And off we went again. We drove, and drove, and drove. The hubby was able to drive for 2hrs yesterday while the kids napped which meant yup I was behind the wheel for all the other times lol. It was ok though. We stopped at rest stops here and there. Played with bubbles, kicked a ball, used chalk, etc.

So last night we made at 6pm we stopped off at a Cracker Barrel close to the end of South Carolina I believe. This was the worst cracker barrel we have EVER been too. I won't go in to it, but we just had no clue what was going on at that place yesterday. We actually stopped off in Savannah just to go to the Super Walmart they have to pick up stuff we'd need for the week. It was about 9:30 and we were praaaaying the kids would fall asleep soon and thankfully they did! The hubby and I switched drivers yet again lol. Unfortunately we had a problem since we realized we were due to arrive in Orlando at 2am! Well we found there was a rest stop before we were due to get on Rt 4. So we shot for that thinking we'd sleep till 5 am or so and then just drive the 1hr or so it would take us to get here. Yeah sure lol. Our DS woke up before we even got to the rest stop and didn't fall back to sleep till 3:30am. We got to the rest stop at 2 due to the children delaying us a little earlier lol. We actually had to leave the rest stop because our DS just would NOT go back to sleep UUUGGGH! Our DD whom he woke up passed right back out as soon as the key hit the ignition lol.

By 3:30 we were only about 30-45 mins away from Disney. Last time I checked we were dead tired and couldn't check in THAT early lol. So we found a place to pull over and sleep. We were soooooo tired OMG! I woke up before 6 and told the hubby I wanted to get a move on before the kids fully woke up. They woke up about 10 mins before we hit Disney which was great timing!

Finally it's 7am on check in day and we pull up to the SSR security gate. We tell the nice guard we're checking in, he gives us a little map, and says "Welcome Aboard"! Now I know I'm exhausted, but I KNEW I heard him right LOL. The hubby and I look at each other and just laugh because obviously he must have worked on one of the boats LOL.

So of course you know the room wasn't ready upon check in but we were able to get a room in the Springs section like we wanted ! So now what do we do. We could swim, we could go to DTD, we could go to HS what to do. Well... we got breakfast at Artist P's. Grabbed a change of clothes and headed to DTD. We went into EVERY store that had a Vinylmation trading box. This is my DH's new OBSESSION!!! He got into collecting these things on our last trip and it's been down hill since then lol. Our DD was having a great time picking numbers to get vinyls from the boxes so I enjoyed that. I finally got my DD's minnie dress I wanted in her size so all seemed to be shaping up well. By 12pm sitting down at Earl of Sandwich I'm ready to drop cause I just want our room lol. We left DTD at 2pm and headed back to SSR to inquire if "possibly" the room was ready. And no it wasn't. So off to HS we went. OMG of course we have to get there during a parade and we CAN'T move with our stroller. We made it through. Walked almost the whole park browsing the shops when finally our text came in at 3:45 with our room number. YAAAAAY!!! You'd think though we would have left. Noooooooo we didn't. The DH had to meet up with someone at 4! So they showed up RIGHT on time which was WONDERFUL!! And then we left not to long after.

So here we are finally in our room. We bring up everything and get changed into our bathing suits, grab our room keys and refill mugs and head for the pool. Finally at 7pm the air is colder and the pool which the water is warm it's not bearble to NOT be in the water if you're wet lol. So we dry up, grab some grub, and head back to the room. So here we are now... DS is passed out finally and DD is holding on for dear life to NOT fall asleep. I have NO CLUE how I made it through this entire day on 2 hrs sleep let alone a bad 2 hrs sleep lol.

As for the room it was clean and we are very happy with it. The location is what we wanted. We're not on the bottom floor which is great. The only snag was I was surprised to see I had to put all the sheets on the pull-out. That one threw me for a loop, but I got it done lol.

Thanks to all for reading. Sorry it's long winded, but I really am that type of person lol. Also if any part of it didn't make sense I apologize because I'm still only running off those 2hrs sleep LOL.

 

[Sandisw]

Have a great time and sweet magical dreams!!!

 

[dapod423]

I'm following ya right along!

 

[kikiq]

Always love those last minute trips that work out. I'm along for the "ride".

 

[parlay]

You poor thing! Having driven your route, that DC traffic at evening rush is awful! That next jam up was probably Richmond! We have usually done the drive starting at 3am and pulling into Disney by 7pm - but we're getting a little older and need to stop to stretch a little more frequently. We recently drove to South Carolina, and driving straight thru required a day to recooperate. Hopefully you'll be recouperated by tomorrow! Great start!

 

[crazybones27]

Thanks everyone ! Well the kids didn't listen to mommy when she said sleep till 10 cause we were up at 7:15am lol. Oh well what can you do lol. It is a slow morning though. The kids aren't moving as fast as they normally are. I'm not sure where we're headed today, but most likely we won't be heading out till after 12 due to just how slow we're moving lol.

You poor thing! Having driven your route, that DC traffic at evening rush is awful! That next jam up was probably Richmond! We have usually done the drive starting at 3am and pulling into Disney by 7pm - but we're getting a little older and need to stop to stretch a little more frequently. We recently drove to South Carolina, and driving straight thru required a day to recooperate. Hopefully you'll be recouperated by tomorrow! Great start!

We've driven a few times now, but we always leave when the kids are due for bed so we can get as far as we can while they're sleeping. We thought this time around if we could get to Virginia before bed time then we could get to at least Savannah while they were sleeping which probably would have worked if I was feeling well. All in all though the drive worked out. Our DD didn't need any dramamine and made it the whole way without getting car sick so that's always a HUGE bonus!!

It's a fairly cool morning, but it's going to get up to at least 92 later. Man do I wish we had the energy to get out early today lol. I'll update later on our comings and goings as soon as I know what we've done LOL.

Oh by the way... GOOD MORNING ALL LOL .

 

[burnsoc]

Love those last minute trips! Glad you made it there. Can't wait to read more.

 

[Candy Orlando]

Good Morning! Welcome Home! Have Fun!

 

[Cee]

OMG, I don't know how you did it!

BTW, I live just a few exits before the Potomac Mills Mall. That place is VAST. Next time, go to the IKEA which is right next door. That place is great for wandering about also.

Have the time of your life!

 

[parlay]

Good Morning! Slow is good! Can't wait to hear about your day, I'm guessing you are watching fireworks or getting ready to soon!

 

[Disneyfreak616]

Yayyy!!! I love live TR's!!!

 

[crazybones27]

Sorry I haven't updated since yesterday, but we got in really late last night and just got up and out this morning.

Yesterday morning was a late start since we were all moving sorta slowly. We went to Artist P's for breakfast around 10:30. We enjoyed our food and our DD(3) drew a picture of a rainbow(mommy started it lol) and they hung it up on the board for all to see. She was so happy with that and we thought it was really cool. After filling our bellies and mugs we headed out to Epcot. We asked the kids "where do you want to go" and DD said "the big ball" so off we went.

Upon arrival at Epcot DD wanted to ride Spaceship Earth, but the line was sooo long that we had to skip it for that time. Seriously I don't know how that ride backs up some times lol. So we headed right over to Nemo since we wanted to get her on her second choice no matter the line lol. I LOVE walking into the Nemo ride just for the cool blast you get as soon as the door opens. Seriously it's one of the best AC'd places here LOL. Nemo was calling for a 20 mins wait and as we were half way up I realized I forgot my phone in the stroller so I left the hubby with the kids to ride so I could go get it. I tried to get back to them, but opted our after I felt like I was pushing through so many people. I hate doing that so I said forget it I'll meet them on the other side. Nemo was at max a 10 min wait for them. The line was moving so well that I got in just as they were walking off.

After Nemo we headed towards the Mexico Pavilion to do the Donald ride cause the DD was asking for it. We strolled through each shop we could for some AC since it was HOT lol. We decided to hit Innoventions real quick where DD and I did one of the things where it puts you in a video game. It was my 1st time doing it and I LOVED it!! We look so funny in this game and I had it email to me so I could share it with family! We started our way over to Mexico thinking the kids were falling asleep and low and behold we hear "DONALD RIDE" from the stroller. So off we went lol. The kids really enjoy the boat ride and the songs. The only bad part about the ride was a guy directly behind me who was nice enough to answer his cell phone and speak very loudly. Thankfully this ride sings very loudly also .

So after Donald we walked around the showcase hitting each shop. You could tell a lot of people were doing the same thing. We were having some good luck with our Vinyl trading and our DD was love it! She LOVES picking out the #'s on the mystery boxes. I'd say by the time we hit the America Pavilion the kids had FINALLY passed out. It was about 3 or 4 at this time so we just kept walking around enjoying the peace and quiet. We got a snow cone from the little kiosk in front of Japan to share. We really enjoyed it since we've never gotten one in Disney before. It also hit the spot on the hot day. I don't know WHY but everytime we walk the showcase we're always heading in the direction of the sun and not away from it lol. By the time we got back around to the front it was 5 and we had decided it was pretty late to head back to the hotel since we wouldn't get there till 6 and cleaning up and then doing dinner would be to late so we decided to do some resort monorail hopping. The kids were still asleep so why not!

Disney is the only place I allow schedules to go out the window with napping. It's so hot you can never tell when they'll fall asleep or whatever. So off to monorail we went. We hit the Poly first and walked around. Hit the gift shop to trade and while there our DS woke up. He's always a happy butt when he gets up. Lord know he doesn't get that from me ! Next stop the Grand Floridian. We listened to the band play while watching our DS dance and entertain people. He's so animated with his dancing lol. From there we hit Contemporary. More strolling around till DD woke up. We decided to eat at the Contempo Cafe which was a first for us and we really enjoyed it! I know a lot of people don't like the dining plan but it works out so well for us. This is our first time with the Quick Service and we're really enjoying the extra snacks. But back to the Contempo... hubby got some lime chicken thing with stuff on it (lol sorry I don't remember what it was called), and I got the vegetable bake which I really enjoyed. The hubby loved the homemade potato chips! Kids got a kids pizza(how exciting lol). They loved watching the monorail drive through the hotel.

After dinner we walked over to MK for a quick Vinyl trading trip. We weren't looking to do more then that. It was getting late, close to 8, at that time and we just wanted to see what MK's shops had to offer for trading. The hubby is ALL about this trading stuff so I'm just going along with it for now lol. We talked with some very nice CM's in each shop who you could tell were just generally happy to be there . My kids have been showered with SO MANY stickers this trip it's amazing!!

So now you'd think it's almost 9 and they'd go back to the room. It's late, we drove a long way the day before, and everyone should get some sleep. Nope lol! We headed to DTD so the hubby could hit D-Street. He knows I love him when I tell him at we can go if he wants too lol. SO off we went to DTD. Yes I was ready to drop but we were just having such a great day that I didn't care. We arrived at 9:30 and went straight to D-street. The hubby always has me pick out the blind boxes since I'm better at it them him probably because I really don't care what's in the box and I always wind up with good pics. Well... this time was no different lol. I picked 2 holiday 2 and 2 park 6's. I got pulled the chaser out of the holiday series which made the hubby VERY VERY happy lol.

At 10 the kids passed out in the stroller and we decided we'd walk over to World of Disney since the hubby would walk back to SSR since the kids passed out. We didn't want to disturb them by putting them back in the car. While standing in front of pin traders who goes walking past us but Ray Park. He played Darth Maul in Star Wars. All of a sudden the hubby yells out "Hey, it's Ray Park!" Not really an unexpected sighting since he's here for the last two Star Wars weekends, but it was still fun to see him walking around. And man was he BOOKING it! LOL

So all in all once we got back to the room it was a good day. I probably fell asleep as my head was hitting the pillow. The kids were snoring, the hubby was happy, and I was just happy to be here lol. Now on to Tuesday lol.

 

[crazybones27]

So today is Tuesday. We woke up early enough but still moving slowly. We got out at about 10 grabbed some easy things to eat in the car and headed to MK. We got there around 11 I'd say and boy was it crowded. I mean not right on top of each other busy, but busy enough. The lines were at least 30 mins long for things, but that didn't bother us really. We just wanted to enjoy whatever the kids wanted too. DD wanted to do Buzz so as we were walking to get online she saw the people mover so we had to run to that instead lol. Hey I didn't mind it was a get right on ride that creates a lot of nice wind !

We didn't do Buzz since the line had gotten longer. We headed for Frontierland and on the way the kids passed out in the stroller so like any parent what do you do... you have LUNCH without interruption lol. We hit Pecos Bills which was very crowded and they had signs out that said you couldn't sit down unless you had your food. They had cast members every five feet holding signs up that said Sheriff. After about 10 mins of waiting the hubby came with the food which meant we could finally sit down. It was nice because they were helping people find a seat and we had two sleeping kids in a double stroller. This was a huge life saver because I hate finding a seat with a stroller and sleeping kids lol. We had decided that we were going to head back to the hotel after lunch and it was good we did.

We're here now in the room just relaxing, enjoying the ac, letting the kids play and watch some movies. We'll head back to MK later since we found a CM who was looking for a Vinyl we have and we promised him we'd bring it to him today. He was so nice to us last night with trading and he gave me the Premium Annual Pass discount instead of the regular one. I told him I'd find him where he told me he'd be.

So for now that's our day. I'll update more later tonight or tomorrow morning. Thanks again to everyone following along and reading. I'm sure there's stuff I forgot, but that's what I have for now .

 

[MinnieFan4ever]

Sounds like a great trip.

 

[NatashaDisneyCM]

So today is Tuesday. We woke up early enough but still moving slowly. We got out at about 10 grabbed some easy things to eat in the car and headed to MK. We got there around 11 I'd say and boy was it crowded. I mean not right on top of each other busy, but busy enough. The lines were at least 30 mins long for things, but that didn't bother us really. We just wanted to enjoy whatever the kids wanted too. DD wanted to do Buzz so as we were walking to get online she saw the people mover so we had to run to that instead lol. Hey I didn't mind it was a get right on ride that creates a lot of nice wind !

We didn't do Buzz since the line had gotten longer. We headed for Frontierland and on the way the kids passed out in the stroller so like any parent what do you do... you have LUNCH without interruption lol. We hit Pecos Bills which was very crowded and they had signs out that said you couldn't sit down unless you had your food. They had cast members every five feet holding signs up that said Sheriff. After about 10 mins of waiting the hubby came with the food which meant we could finally sit down. It was nice because they were helping people find a seat and we had two sleeping kids in a double stroller. This was a huge life saver because I hate finding a seat with a stroller and sleeping kids lol. We had decided that we were going to head back to the hotel after lunch and it was good we did.

We're here now in the room just relaxing, enjoying the ac, letting the kids play and watch some movies. We'll head back to MK later since we found a CM who was looking for a Vinyl we have and we promised him we'd bring it to him today. He was so nice to us last night with trading and he gave me the Premium Annual Pass discount instead of the regular one. I told him I'd find him where he told me he'd be.

So for now that's our day. I'll update more later tonight or tomorrow morning. Thanks again to everyone following along and reading. I'm sure there's stuff I forgot, but that's what I have for now .

I just got back to BLT after going at 1 to MK, I found it to be pretty easy!! I asked at the gate where everyone was, the lady said to me, she thought it was an easy slower day today also! Maybe it cleared a bit before I got there!

I am in my room. Heading to MK for the later hours tonight, after doing the top lounge at Bay Lake!!! They open at 5 till 12!! I got to take photos of that!

 

[crazybones27]

Ok well I tried to make it a live trip report and it just didn't work. With the times we got up and out and got in getting on the comp was nearly impossible. I apologize for not being able to follow through with it, but I will finish it now.

Tusaday afternoon- We headed back to MK around 6pm. We ate and headed over to the gift shops by splash mountain looking for the CM we were going to trade our vinyl with. We found him and he was SUPER excited! He was nervous because they rotate the CM's through out the park so much that he was afraid they'd move him and we wouldn't find him. I was happy to be spreading some pixie dust on a CM for once instead of the other way around. . We headed did some walking around letting the kids lead and wound up around Winnie The Pooh. We let them play in the queue till they got bored and were ready to wait in line for the ride. After that we headed over to It's A Small World where DD and I went on by ourselves and hubby and DS stayed behind. Wishes was about to go off as soon as we were getting off the ride and we darted for the nearest store. DD isn't crazy over fireworks. The kids fell asleep and mommy and daddy enjoyed some quiet time till we left for the hotel. We didn't do a ton but we enjoyed the day.

 

[crazybones27]

We tried to get out early but we didn't get out till 10. We headed to Animal Kingdom and boy that park is always the hottest one which is why we wanted to get there early. We grabbed some bagels from Artist P's and off we went. I LOVE having a AAA diamond parking pass!! It was worth buying my DD's ticket through them just for that.

Anyway we headed directly for the dig site after hitting the few shops the hubby HAD to hit for trading. We've never done it before so I definitely wanted to go. Lemme say it's SO easy to lose your kid in the play areas in there. My hubby and I couldn't keep up with our kids! That was until we found the digging side of the dig site. It was SO nice in there. Completely shaded with fans! We were also grateful the sand was more like gravel and not sand!

From there we hit up Flame Tree BBQ! This is a must EVERY TRIP. And as always we weren't disappointed! I wound up getting an additional fruit plate after using my QS meal on the half chicken. Someone had it and it looked so good and it was well worth me paying for!

By this time the kids bellies were full and you could see the glaze coming over there eyes. We rode the flying dinosaurs and the kids were ooout. So we headed out to the hotel to cool off. We hit the pool after naps and hit DTD again. Another day that doesnt seem like we did a lot but we fit more in that I'm sure I'm forgetting lol. This is why I wanted to try live so I wouldn't forget lol.