Leaving the Disney-Hater at Home: A Dorky Disboutiquing Diser Sista Trip Report 6/4

[HeatherSue]

If you have a whole lot of time on your hands, you can start by reading my first trip report:
Dorky Disboutiquing DiserSistasestination Disney HeatherSue's(best)version
It's a monster of a trip report with 14 days and 15 family members!
And if you have even MORE time on your hands, you can read my sister's version of the same trip:
Dorky Disboutiquing DiserSistasestination DisneyTeresajoys(true)version
But, if you have a reasonable amount of time, come and join me on my latest adventure!
----------------------------------------

Where do I begin? Oh yes, my husband, the Disney-hater.

This is my husband, Henry. He hates Disney, really hates it! Up until now I've been able to convince him to go to Disney every 3-4 years.

But, I couldn't stand the thought of waiting that long after our trip in May 2008. So, when I couldn't convince him to use our skymiles for a Disney trip in 2009, I decided to ask my mom to come along.

She agreed!! For some reason it took some convincing, even though I offered to pay for the room and her flight.

Hmmm....could it have something to do with the fact that she'd have to help me out with these two??

They sure look sweet, don't they? But, you never know what you're going to get when they're tired or feeling silly!

I suppose I should make some more formal introductions:

Me:

Heather- 34 years old, stay at home mom. I worked as a nanny and at my mom's home day care before I had kids. I LOVE Disney!! But, as I am married to the Disney-hater, I don't get to go as often as I'd like. I also love to sew, read (but haven't read anything in a while), and watch tv (thought I'd be honest here). I knew that Sawyer was at a magical age to take to Disney right now and I didn't want to miss out on that window of time! I was so right! This was a very special trip and I loved spending time with my mom and kids.


Mom:

Barbara, 65 years old. Mother of 3, grandmother of 7, retired from home day care and is now the overworked caretaker of my 90 year old grandma. Mom and Dad live right next door to me. Mom is a child at heart and instilled her love of Disney on all of us. She loves spending time with her grandchildren. She is the best Mom and Grandma in the world. Seriously! I think she was worried about going on this trip because Tessa was quite a handful when we took our last trip together without husbands (in 2/06). But, I think she was pleasantly surprised by the kid's behavior on this trip!


Tessa:

5 5/6 years old and in kindergarten. All of these years of brainwashing have finally paid off as Tessa has finally requested a Disney themed party for her 6th birthday! She loves Ariel, Dumbo the ride, and says she loves Hannah Montana (although she never watches it). She found the joy of pin trading on this trip, and continued her love of collecting autographs. When I asked her, she said the most important thing about her is that she loves her Mommy. She also said that she is a dog lover and a cat lover. She likes to go outside with her daddy and play with her brother.

Sawyer:

2 1/2 years old and my little snuggle bunny. He is definitely a boy and every toy he has, he will turn it into a gun. He barely talks, but he tells several knock-knock jokes that either center around Papa John (my dad) or Poop. Sawyer changed a lot from our trip in May when he was not quite 2 years old. He was so much easier!! He loved absolutely everything and I can't recall a single meltdown (or very few as compared to our last trip)! He really is a happy go lucky little guy and he loves his family. He also loves our dogs, but the feeling is not quite mutual. When asked what his favorite thing about our trip was, he'll say "Pan!" Sometimes that's followed by the word "Poopy" if he's hoping for laugh.

There is another character in this trip report,
The Disboutiquers: This is a very large group of women and one man who like to sew Disney clothing for their kids and others. We have our very own thread here on the disboards. Actually, we're on thread #11 as I type this. We talk about sewing, life, and just support each other in general. I've been a part of this group since June of '07 and I have made some wonderful friendships. These women and man have really enriched my life and I'm thankful to have them. I've never seen another group on the internet who was friendlier. When I mentioned that I was taking a trip in February, a bunch of them decided to take a trip in February, too!! We all decided to meet up on Feb. 8 at Epcot!!!

Plus, there was my fellow dorky disboutiquing diser sista, Teresa. Even though she wasn't able to go with us, she was there in our hearts.

-----------------------------------------------------

Part 1: Getting there
Part 2: Sawyer has a homecoming!
Part 2.5: My Disney cookie jar collection
Part 3: Dissing Pooh at his own restaurant
Part 4: Let's shoot Grandma! MUWAHAHAHA!!!!
Part 5: No, it is NOT better than home!
Part 6: How to get free stuff at the Sci Fi Drive-In Theater
Special presentation: The Ugliest Doll in the Universe
Part 7: True Love at Mickey D's
Part 8: There really ARE others, just like me!
Part 9: I can't spend our last day at Disney in the hotel room!​

 

[HeatherSue]

Let's start this baby off on the night before we were going to leave for Disney. The kids put their final stickers on our countdown calendar and could hardly believe that there were ZERO days left!

I guess you can't really see my super-cool magnet collection in this picture. But, rest assured that they are just that- SUPER-cool.

I put the kids to bed in their clothes because we had an early flight and would have to leave the house by 5:00am. I surprised myself by actually falling to sleep within a reasonable amount of time and I woke up to the sound of music at 4:00am. My wonderful, Disney-hating, husband wanted to drive us to the airport so he could say goodbye, so he got up shortly after me. I already had most everything packed and out in the car so I could just hop in the shower, pack up my everyday stuff, get the kids, and go.

I couldn't believe how chipper the kids were when I woke them up. They were SO excited! Getting their shoes on:

Henry was sobbing as he was going to miss us SOOO much!

Okay, maybe he wasn't sobbing. But, he was a little teary eyed, right? No? Well, I still think he was sad deep down inside.

While we're here, did you notice my super-cool Disney cookie jar collection up on top of my kitchen cabinets?

We were all ready right on time. We gave our fairly obnoxious schnauzers a pat on the head and were on our way.

We swung by to pick up my mom, right next door. She's so cute that she was waiting outside for us. In the COLD! This was one of the most miserable winters in my memory. It has been SO cold and we've had SO much snow! I was ready to get out of here!

As we were driving off, I could see my dad at the front door, waving. I felt so sad for him. We weren't leaving him all alone. We were leaving him with my GRANDMA!!! Poor dad!

Our local airport is only about 15 minutes from the house, so it was a pretty short drive. It's also a tiny little airport, so it only took a few minutes to check our bags and such. When it was time to say goodbye to Henry, I got a little teary-eyed. I probably would have cried if I wasn't afraid that the kids would get upset. I'm SURE I saw a tear in his eye as well.

Well, I KNOW I saw tears in Tessa's eyes- lots of them. The poor thing was sobbing over leaving her daddy. It was pitiful. People in line at security were looking at me suspiciously. I finally got her to calm down when I told her that the security people might not let us get on the airplane if they think I had kidnapped her.

So, we set about the business of taking off our shoes, folding up the stroller, sending the carseat through, taking the laptop out of the bag, putting all 6 carry ons on the conveyor, and then stepping through the metal detector, one at a time. I was the first to go through and I set the darn thing off. Ugh! I took off my watch and I passed through the 2nd time. I then coaxed the kids to come on through, one at a time. They passed through without arousing suspicions from the TSA.

As we came out the other side, my bag was being searched due to questionable cargo. The inspector assured himself that the string cheese was less than 3oz and didn't look combustible and allowed me to pass through with no further incident.

We then set about the business of unfolding the stroller, putting the carseat on top of it, putting the laptop back in the bag, pulling off all 6 carry-ons, and then putting our shoes back on. All while trying not to hold up the line behind us. I must say, I'm pretty darn good at that! Not only am I a packing savant, but I'm also an airport security efficiency savant! I had the kids ready and everything off the conveyor before my mom could get her shoes on. Yes, I'm THAT good!

Once we got to the gait area (which is about 10 steps from security in this tiny airport), we needed to use the potty. Sawyer insisted on following Tessa and I into the bathroom and then proceeded to scream the whole time he was in there because he didn't actually want to go in the stall with me (and I wasn't going to let him run around the bathroom).

When we got out, it was time to board already! Sawyer was still having residual bathroom tears and really didn't want to go out to the airplane. Once I saw that we had to walk a LONG way OUTSIDE in the COLD, I didn't want to either! I took a picture of this part of our journey, but I can't find it anywhere! But, rest assured, it was a really long walk to our little airplane, in the COLD.

Once there, we had to go up a very steep set of narrow stairs. Sawyer was scared by the noise of the airplane and the weird situation with the stairs. So, I had a crying Sawyer and his car seat, plus our backpacks to try and get up there. Let's just say it was a daunting task. He was NOT going to do it! So, I had to take his carseat up first and then come back down to get him.

When I got up to the top, something AMAZING happened! The flight attendant had grabbed my car seat and was walking down the aisle with it. She was HELPING me!!! With a CAR SEAT!!! I have never, in all of my experience on airplanes, had a flight attendant help me carry anything, especially a car seat. They usually look at me with disdain and exasperation when they see I've brought a car seat. Silly me, wanting my child to be as safe as the other passengers on the plane.

Once I got over the shock, I followed her and thanked her profusely for helping me with the seat. She smiled graciously and said that it looked like I had my hands full. Wow, what a great start to our vacation!

Sawyer calmed down quickly and was really very good on the flight. He kept kicking the seat in front of us, but he couldn't really help it. There just wasn't enough room between his seat and the seat in front of him. Tessa sat with mom on the other side of the aisle and was equally good.

This was only a 20 minute flight and we arrived in Detroit very quickly.

To get to the correct concourse at DTW, you have to go down this really long underground tunnel. The tunnel has moving walkways and these really psychadelic lights all along the walls and some really creepy music. Look, I found some pictures online:

Since I thought it was kind of creepy, I did what every other mother would do and I started singing "There's no earthly way of knowing which direction we are going. There's no knowing where we're rowing, or which way the river's flowing" If you don't know what I'm talking about, here's a clip from Willy Wonka:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Zail7Gdqro&feature=related

Yes, that's one seriously creepy tunnel. However, my children and mother totally missed my Willy Wonka reference. Which I guess is a good thing.

When we finally got to our gate, I took a look at our seat assignments....and....I.....totally....FREAKED!!!! NONE of us were sitting together!! They had Sawyer sitting in between some people, Tessa sitting in another row, and Mom and I in different rows entirely. I've never seen such a thing!

I'd tried to choose our seat assignments online ahead of time and wasn't able to do it. So, I called customer service and they said that seats are assigned at check-in. I expressed concern that I would be seperated from my children and he said that they ALWAYS make sure that parents and children are seated together.

Well, I guess he was wrong. I calmed myself down and waited for the Northwest person to show up at the desk at the gate, so I could switch our seat assignments. When she got there, I went up and explained the situation. She said "I have a wish list a mile long and I'm not going to be changing your seat assignment." I explained again that I had a 5 year old and a 2 year old. She said "You'll just have to try and get someone to switch with you once you board." WHAT?? She flat-out refused to help me.

Many people have since told me that it's illegal to split up parents from their young children on an airplane. But, I don't know if that's true.

So, not only did I have the stress of flying with 2 young children, but I had the stress of trying to figure out how I'm going to board with the 2 kids, my mom, 6 carry-ons and a car seat, without knowing which seats we're going to sit in!

I decided I was going to try and fix this BEFORE I got on the plane. So, I went to every person in the waiting area asking them if they were in row 8. I was trying to find 2 people that would switch seats so I could at least sit by my kids. I assumed these people wouldn't be together since Sawyer was seated in a middle seat, with 1 person on either side.

I finally found a man who was supposed to sit in the seat next to Sawyer. Apparently, he was split up from his wife and she was sitting several rows ahead of him. He was very sympathetic and agreed to switch with me. I tried to find another person to switch with me, but couldn't find the elusive passenger in 8C.

Once on board, I carried Sawyer's car seat and guided Sawyer and Tessa to row 8 where I came upon a nice looking woman. I told her that I had been seperated from my children and asked her if she would be willing to swap seats. She begrudgingly agreed, but almost changed her mind once she found out the seat I was switching her with was in the middle of 2 strangers. But, she did go ahead and switch with me. I thanked her and then thanked her again.

I am still mad that I had to do this!!!! I got my tickets 6 months ahead of time. Why was I not given seats with the rest of my family??? Why should I have to beg passengers to trade seats with me?

Once we were seated (mom was in front of Sawyer, so he could kick her seat), we noticed this kind of mayhem going on all around us. Parents and children were split up all over the airplane. No two traveling companions seemed to be seated together. I have never seen so many people switching seats and moving bags and such. There were SO many nice people on that airplane that were willing to inconvenience themselves for other people.

You think that's enough drama for one boarding? Well, NO! I have more!!

When everyone was FINALLY settled and all buckled up, 2 guys in workman-type uniforms and tools boarded the airplane and walked to the back. We sat and waited for about 20 minutes with no explanation. Then, the guys got off the airplane and the pilot announced that they had been fixing a door. I later found out that it was the bathroom door, which they didn't fix. They just locked it so we only had 1 bathroom for 200+ people and lots of children on a 3 hour flight.

So, it was time to start taxi-ing. Yay!! We sat for another 10 minutes or so and then pulled away from the gate. Then, we pulled back into the gate. The pilot announced that there seemed to be a fuel leak and they wanted to check it out. YIKES!!! So, we sat and sat and sat and sat. Then, the pilot announces that they want to run the engines for 5 minutes to make sure that they weren't leaking TOO much fuel. TOO much fuel?? Isn't any amount of fuel leakage TOO much???

They turned on the engines and my mom, who was sitting at the window, reported huge amounts of fuel gushing out of the engine. GREAT!

But, the pilot came back on shortly thereafter and announced that the fuel leak was fixed and that we would be departing momentarily.

So, 1 1/2 hours after we boarded the airplane, we were finally ready to take off! Yay!

Or so we thought. We taxied for a while and then the pilot announces that we need to de-ice. He said it would only take a minute.

Twenty minutes later, we are still de-icing...

Let me explain, I do not mind at all that they took all of these safety precautions. I am grateful for them. But, I hate not knowing how long I will be sitting idle. I just want to know approximately how long this will take. I didn't expect to sit in the airplane for 2 hours before we left the ground, so I was really antsy. If I had known, it wouldn't have been so bad. Or, if he had explained the whole door thing ahead of time, or not said that it would just take a minute to de-ice when it took closer to 1/2 hour.

FINALLY, we are actually ready to take off. We are third in line for take-off to be exact. This time, we actually take off!

The good news is that the kids were being really good this whole time. I was so proud of them! Actually, most of the kids on the airplane were being really good.

After we were in the air, I broke out the laptop and stuck in a movie. Then, I plugged in the ONE headphone??? I had never stopped to consider that there was only one headphone jack in the laptop. So, they couldn't both hear it at once. There is a new rule that you can't have any electronic device on unless you're using headphones, so as not to bother the passengers around you. We also had a small DVD player that I planned on using after the battery died on the laptop (it only lasted an hour). Sawyer didn't seem to mind that he couldn't hear Finding Nemo, though. He was content to watch it.

After a while, Tessa started playing her Leapster and Sawyer watched the movie- WITH SOUND!

They were happy as could be. The chicken flavored crackers in the photos were NOT a big hit.

Look, I was there, too!! Yes, I'm sharing a terrible picture of myself, wearing glasses.

Sadly, my mom doesn't take very many pictures, so most pictures of me on this trip are going to be self-portraits.

The flight was about 2 1/2 hours long (they shaved some time off since we were so late). The kids were great! We got off the airplane with no issues and headed on out to find the Magical Express!!!

We were all SOOO excited to be there! The kids stopped at this wall that looked like it had fish swimming on it. When they touched it, it looked like water rippling. So, we let them play for a few minutes.

Then, we headed to the monorail-type thing that takes you to the baggage and transportation area.

Mom was much more excited than she let on in this picture.


NEXT

 

[HeatherSue]

Sawyer and Tessa were so proud to be able to help us with the rolling bags. They pulled them all over the airport for us!

We walked for quite a while and then we found the MAGICAL EXPRESS desk!!! Yay!! Mom and the kids went to the waiting area while I took the stroller, piled high with the carseat and bags to check in at the desk. When, I got there, a very unfriendly woman with a very large white hand told me that I couldn't bring the stroller in and that I needed to hand it off to someone else in my party. I told her that my mom had both of the kids and that I didn't want her to have to keep track of our stuff, too. But, the snotty woman with the big white hand insisted that there wasn't room for me to push my stroller up to the desk. So, I took it over to mom.

They were sort of snotty at the check-in desk, too. I asked a question about something and they shoved a paper at me and said "Here. This will answer any questions you might have. Just follow the red carpet to the Magical Express."

I was not going to let these people ruin my day, so I just smiled and said "Thank you." Then, I waved mom and the kids over to the red carpet!

There was a very nice man there with a big white hand who called us all by name and said "Welcome!" He directed us to the front of the queue where we waited for a bus assignment.

A very rude woman with a big white hand told us to go to a bus outside.

Once at the bus, a very nice woman with a big white hand told us that we needed to go down to a different bus.

Once at that bus stop, a very rude man without a big white hand got on his walkie talkie and argued with someone about taking "all these people". He rudely told us to show him our boarding passes and then said we were all set. We had the stroller and another bigger carry-on, so we didnt' know what to do with them.

We saw where the luggage compartment was open, so mom started loading her stuff into it. The mean man without the big hand came over and yelled at her and said "You don't even know where you're going!" I stepped in and told him he didn't need to be rude and that no one told us where to put our bags. He said "You're not supposed to put them in the bus. We have to do that." So, I said "That's why you need to tell people these things."

In the meantime, there was a frantic woman standing by the bus. She said to us "Good luck getting a room! I booked this vacation 6 months in advance and when I got to the hotel, there was no room for us!"

Oh great! Now I'm panicking about THAT!

We got on the bus and waited for quite a while for it to go. It was already packed full when we got on. So, the kids and I shared 2 seats.

The bus driver (the mean man without the big hand) didn't talk with us at all and didn't even play Disney music on the way to Pop Century. But, we were excited and we weren't going to let these jerky people ruin our vacation.

Hold onto your seats, people. I am about to drop a bomb.....




















THESE WERE THE LAST JERKY CMs WE ENCOUNTERED ON OUR TRIP!!!!






You're shocked, I KNOW! After our last trip, I was resigned to the fact that we would have to put up with the grumpy CMs for this trip, too. But, that didn't happen! I might think of a couple more as we go, but the vast majority of CMs were in a chipper mood on this trip!

Where were we, oh yes. We were crammed into a bus with a BUNCH of other people and we see THIS!!

Okay, you can't see much in this picture. But, it was the welcome to Disney World sign!

Eventually, we pulled up to Pop Century. Tessa was literally bouncing in her seat. So, Sawyer had to bounce in his seat. So, they almost bounced me out of my seat. But, that was okay because I was bouncing in my seat, too!! Mom wasn't bouncing (since she was sitting by a stranger), but she wanted to, I just know it!

I dropped mom and the kids off at the wonderful video viewing area and I went to check in.

I had the sweetest CM named Gwen from China. She was "earning her ears", but she did a great job. When she gave me my room assignment, it was in the 70's building, on the 4th floor (we'd requested first floor because of my mom's knees). The last I knew, preferred rooms were only in the 60's building. So, I told her I'd paid for a preferred room. She said that the 70's building is a preferred building now and so are several of the others. Oookay...that's stupid. I didn't tell her that because she was being very nice about it.

I asked if we could have a room in the 60's building. Tourguide Mike doesn't have a clue what he's talking about when he says the CMs at check-in have nothing to do with room assignment. This woman was new and she was able to get us a room in the 60's building, first floor, close to the main building. It wasn't poolside, but I actually preferred that because I was paranoid about Sawyer sneaking out of the room and falling in the pool.

She gave me my keys, a map, and my $200 gift card- YEE-HAW!!! I picked up the kids and mom and we were off to find our room!

Would you just look at those awesome sparkly floors!?

We found our room, 4116, on the back side of the Playdough 60's building. We were the 4th room down. Very nice! We assumed this was going to be a quiet room since it wasn't even poolside (and our poolside room had been remarkably quiet on our first trip in 2/2006).

First things first- potty break. Take a look at this soap!!

The rooms at Pop are pretty unremarkable, so we didn't spend too much time in here before we decided to get something to eat in the food court.

It was kind of chilly, but we noticed people swimming in the pool.

Wait, did you catch that?

That lifeguard looks like she's ready to go on a ski trip!

I just love this picture!

Sawyer and Tessa were so excited, they were skipping their way up the steps.

We ordered a pizza because it would make a fairly cheap meal for a family of 4. Plus, we were doing a fridge swap (Marcia's Poppin' Fridge Swap), so we could keep our leftovers. Unfortunately, Tessa HATED the pizza. Sawyer didn't like it much either. My kids aren't usually picky when it comes to pizza, but I guess the sauce was too tomatoey. I liked it and so did mom.

I had brought my old Pop Century mug from the last time we were here, but I decided I'd buy a new one for Tessa and Sawyer. Mom surprised me and bought me my very own new mug, so we each had the new ones. I was a little disappointed that they were still the Year of a Million Dreams themed. But, they were cute.

Little did I know that these mugs were going to see a LOT of hot chocolate on this trip...

After we were full, I waddled over to luggage services to pick up the fridge. After quite a long wait, I was told that they didn't have the refrigerator. I told her that it had to be there and that it should be in a cardboard box with a lime green paper taped to it, with my name on all 4 sides. She went back and looked again and came back out saying "Sorry, it's not there!" She could see that I was worried, so she said I could come back and look for it myself. I was shocked that she let me do that!

I went back there and sure enough, there were no fridges with my name on them, nor were there any fridges in a box with lime green paper taped to it. There was a guy back there that was being really helpful and he pulled one down that wasn't in a box and then started putting it back up saying "This one just says Mar-see-uh" I said "Wait! That's the one!" Sure enough, it had "Marcia's Poppin' Fridge Swap" written on it, along with Marcia's phone number. YAY! I was so appreciative that they were so helpful and that they let me take it, even though it didn't have my name on it!

I hauled the refrigerator back to our room (it was bigger than expected) and then opened it up. PEEEEE-UUUUUUU!!!!!! Whoever had this fridge last did NOT clean it out at all!! It smelled like rotten food and beer. Plus, it had what appeared to be beer spilled in it. It was also missing the box (obviously) and the disinfecting wipes and tape that were supposed to be inside of it. Someone did not follow the rules of Marcia's Poppin' Fridge Swap!

Mom and I managed to get most of the stink out and cleaned it up pretty well with soap and a washcloth. Then, we stuck our pizza, string cheese, and yogurt in it (we'd packed a bunch of string cheese and yogurt in our checked backage in a little soft sided cooler).

With the fridge drama over, we decided to get the kids dressed in their Disney outfits and head on over to THE MAGIC KINGDOM- my most favoritest of all the parks!!

This picture was taken at home, but you get the idea of what they were wearing anyway.

Up next: Sawyer has a homecoming!

 

[k_reile]

what airline did you fly?? That all sounds horrible!! We flew southwest last time to orlando and it was great and we got to pick our own seats. I think we will do that again since we will be going with DS who will be 16 mos.

 

[HeatherSue]

what airline did you fly?? That all sounds horrible!! We flew southwest last time to orlando and it was great and we got to pick our own seats. I think we will do that again since we will be going with DS who will be 16 mos.

Northwest- UGH!! I flew with Northwest a while back and said NEVER again. Then, I booked this flight on Delta. But, when they merged, they ended up changing us to a Northwest flight. I like how Southwest lets you choose your own seats as you get on.

Thanks for reading!

 

[eeyore3847]

lovethe TR so far... I am subscribing!!

 

[k_reile]

Northwest- UGH!! I flew with Northwest a while back and said NEVER again. Then, I booked this flight on Delta. But, when they merged, they ended up changing us to a Northwest flight. I like how Southwest lets you choose your own seats as you get on.

Thanks for reading!

I Hate Delta. Everytime I have flown with them they have lost my luggage. Twice on one trip. After they lost it the 2nd time (on our way back) they guy at the airport shuttle told us what Delta means.

D- Don't
E- Expect
L- Luggage
T- To
A- Arrive

its funny cause its true!

 

[HeatherSue]

lovethe TR so far... I am subscribing!!

Hey Lori!! Long time, no see!

I Hate Delta. Everytime I have flown with them they have lost my luggage. Twice on one trip. After they lost it the 2nd time (on our way back) they guy at the airport shuttle told us what Delta means.

D- Don't
E- Expect
L- Luggage
T- To
A- Arrive

its funny cause its true!

So funny! I guess now that they've merged, we have no idea what to expect!

 

[ZOOMAMA]

Can't wait to hear more! Love all the pics too! I clicked on your homepage, which made me feel vaguely stalker-ish BTW, your family is just too cute. Except for Henry, who is slightly less cute for being a HATER!

 

[jenb1023]

Woo-hoo - a new DDD sista report!

I cannot believe that about the airline and the seats! I flew Delta once and they lost my luggage but I thought it must just be a fluke so I got an American Express Delta skymiles card several months ago. Now you posted this and I am going . This is why I love my Capitol One rewards card - you can book with any airline.

We stayed at Pop in November and I was surprised at how much we liked it.

I have a semi-Disney hater at home too so if I want to go any time soon it might be a mom and dd trip.

Can't wait to read more!
Jen

 

[jham]

You are such the best TR writer! I'm really impressed that you got the early morning getting ready to go to the airport photos! I'm lucky I didn't leave a kid behind, let alone get photos! I woke up at 4am for our flight too! I DID notice your super-cool Disney cookie jar collection! And I'm jealous!

I too am an airport security efficiency savant if I do say so myself! I got myself, 4 kiddos, a stroller and 8 carry-ons through and shoes back on all while DH was parking the car!

That is a loooong weird tunnel! Lily really wants to go in it.

I would also FREAK at the seating assignment mess. I always pick my own seats and if they try to switch me I pull out my printout and argue. But then I've never flown Northwest...I hate mechanical delays!

We had the BEST ever ME driver on our way back to the airport...hmmm, maybe I should save some of this for a TR I'm so happy they were the last jerky CMs of the trip!!!

That was a lifeguard? He looks like he's from HAZMAT! If I had known they still had the same mugs I'dve brought ours from last year! Although my resort had finally ran out of the old ones and had cute new red ones.

Can't wait to read more!

ETA: I usually fly Delta (we live in a hub city, and I used to work for them) and they DO seem to frequently lose our luggage, but not for very long, We usually get it delivered a few hours later, although once our doorbell rang at 2am thanks to the late luggage delivery guy. I did not enjoy that. I think DH told them to deliver it asap because he had put his car keys in it.

 

[karebear1]

OK Heather.... I'm hooked for now........ but this TR better not take 5 months to finish!! I'm just sayin.......

LOVE the close ups of the kids- they're just too darn cute!

 

[HeatherSue]

Can't wait to hear more! Love all the pics too! I clicked on your homepage, which made me feel vaguely stalker-ish BTW, your family is just too cute. Except for Henry, who is slightly less cute for being a HATER!

Thank you!! Henry can't help it that he's a hater. His mommy and daddy never took him to Disney as a child. Plus, he loved He-Man. He really does make up for it by being a wonderful husband and father.

Woo-hoo - a new DDD sista report!

I cannot believe that about the airline and the seats! I flew Delta once and they lost my luggage but I thought it must just be a fluke so I got an American Express Delta skymiles card several months ago. Now you posted this and I am going . This is why I love my Capitol One rewards card - you can book with any airline.

We stayed at Pop in November and I was surprised at how much we liked it.

I have a semi-Disney hater at home too so if I want to go any time soon it might be a mom and dd trip.

Can't wait to read more!
Jen

Thanks for joining me, and for even sounding excited about it! I love Pop!!
Especially when the room was about $320 for the week (buy 4, get 3 free)- $200 gift card, so a total of around $120/week!!

You are such the best TR writer! I'm really impressed that you got the early morning getting ready to go to the airport photos! I'm lucky I didn't leave a kid behind, let alone get photos! I woke up at 4am for our flight too! I DID notice your super-cool Disney cookie jar collection! And I'm jealous!

I too am an airport security efficiency savant if I do say so myself! I got myself, 4 kiddos, a stroller and 8 carry-ons through and shoes back on all while DH was parking the car!

That is a loooong weird tunnel! Lily really wants to go in it.

I would also FREAK at the seating assignment mess. I always pick my own seats and if they try to switch me I pull out my printout and argue. But then I've never flown Northwest...I hate mechanical delays!

We had the BEST every ME driver on our way back to the airport...hmmm, maybe I should save some of this for a TR I'm so happy they were the last jerky CMs of the trip!!!

That was a lifeguard? He looks like he's from HAZMAT! If I had known they still had the same mugs I'dve brought ours from last year! Although my resort had finally ran out of the old ones and had cute new red ones.

Can't wait to read more!

ETA: I usually fly Delta (we live in a hub city, and I used to work for them) and they DO seem to frequently lose our luggage, but not for very long, We usually get it delivered a few hours later, although once our doorbell rang at 2am thanks to the late luggage delivery guy. I did not enjoy that. I think DH told them to deliver it asap because he had put his car keys in it.

Thank you for being impressed with my trip report picture taking skilz. I am incredibly impressed that you are also an airport security savant! You got all 4 kids and yourself through before Mike parked the car??

OK Heather.... I'm hooked for now........ but this TR better not take 5 months to finish!! I'm just sayin.......

LOVE the close ups of the kids- they're just too darn cute!

I make no promises! But, this trip was 1/2 as long, with about 1/4 of the people, so it should go much faster!

You're pretty cute yourself, lady!

 

[abc123mom]

Great start. My oldest daughter is also 5 1/2 like Tessa. When I asked her what kind of birthday she might want next year she said, "Hanna Damanna." She obviously doesn't watch it, since she didn't even get her name right. When I asked her who that was she said, "I dunno." Silly girl!

Sorry to hear about all the plane trouble. We had the same issue last year on our way to Disney. My husband and I and our 3 kids (age 4 and under) were spread throughout the plane. The ticket counter person and gate check-in person both refused to help us. We got lucky and had an AWESOME flight attendant who just said, "Hang on, I'll take care of this." She moved people all around until she had us all in a row together near the front of the plane... her!

Can't wait to hear more.

 

[jessica52877]

I made it! I made it!

So, I did notice the cookie jar collection too! In fact, I even stopped to study it (and figure out what it was, i could clearly see that it wasn't snowglobes).

You are the best TR writer, although a bit slow! I love the pictures before you actually get there. I am not good at that part.

BUT, I will also call myself an airport security efficiency savant if I do say so myself! When Lin is with me, he might as well not be because he is like another kid. It is usually just Dallas and I though.

Jeanne, I didn't realize SLC (is that the initials and where you fly out of?) is a Delta hub too, so maybe airfare from here to there would be really cheap! Checking that out!

Our resort finally changed mugs the last day or two we were there. The new ones weren't much cuter but I really didn't care for the YOAMD mugs at all! We did bring our old one (shhh, don't tell) and I think we used it all of 2x maybe.

I will get my ready while I wait for the next installment!

 

[minnie2]

Great start!
We have those mugs too and on our trip they also saw A LOT of hot coco!

i seriously need to get my mind out of the gutter because when i saw the guy in the hasmat suit I thought something else!

Couldn't watch the willy wonka video because it

 

[HeatherSue]

Great start. My oldest daughter is also 5 1/2 like Tessa. When I asked her what kind of birthday she might want next year she said, "Hanna Damanna." She obviously doesn't watch it, since she didn't even get her name right. When I asked her who that was she said, "I dunno." Silly girl!

Sorry to hear about all the plane trouble. We had the same issue last year on our way to Disney. My husband and I and our 3 kids (age 4 and under) were spread throughout the plane. The ticket counter person and gate check-in person both refused to help us. We got lucky and had an AWESOME flight attendant who just said, "Hang on, I'll take care of this." She moved people all around until she had us all in a row together near the front of the plane... her!

Can't wait to hear more.

Hanna Damanna! LOL! Damannas in pajamas are coming down the stairs... Did anyone ever have to watch that horrible show, Bananas in Pajamas? Sorry, that just reminded me of it!

I made it! I made it!

So, I did notice the cookie jar collection too! In fact, I even stopped to study it (and figure out what it was, i could clearly see that it wasn't snowglobes).

You are the best TR writer, although a bit slow! I love the pictures before you actually get there. I am not good at that part.

BUT, I will also call myself an airport security efficiency savant if I do say so myself! When Lin is with me, he might as well not be because he is like another kid. It is usually just Dallas and I though.

Jeanne, I didn't realize SLC (is that the initials and where you fly out of?) is a Delta hub too, so maybe airfare from here to there would be really cheap! Checking that out!

Our resort finally changed mugs the last day or two we were there. The new ones weren't much cuter but I really didn't care for the YOAMD mugs at all! We did bring our old one (shhh, don't tell) and I think we used it all of 2x maybe.

I will get my ready while I wait for the next installment!

Our resort changed mugs the last day, too. The new ones were cute!

I know what you mean about husbnads being like another kid while traveling. I swear it takes me longer to get through security with Henry. I always end up standing around waiting for him to get his shoes on AFTER I've done everything else.

I'm glad you like my cookie jars! There's a cushion one with Cinderella's shoe on it on disneyshopping.com that I REALLY want!!

Great start!
We have those mugs too and on our trip they also saw A LOT of hot coco!

i seriously need to get my mind out of the gutter because when i saw the guy in the hasmat suit I thought something else!

Couldn't watch the willy wonka video because it

I don't get the hasmat comment! You'll have to PM me!

I totally agree about that Willy Wonka video!

 

[Dreamer & Wisher]

Great start so far!

 

[jeniamt]

Loving the TR so far! More photos please!! What is the fridge swap thing? I've never heard of that.

 

[snubie]

I think we need a closer picture of the cookie jar collection.

I will be sure to keep reading this TR. Can't wait until you meet some dissers.