MINMATES Trip Report: Pre-trip Drama
I think Im Gonna Be sick
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=8284795#post8284795
MINMATES Trip Report: (Day 1) I Need A Vacation! http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=8284821#post8284821
MINMATES Trip Report: Day 2 (Pt.1) Lions & Tarzan & Mickey, Oh My! http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=8288435#post8288435
MINMATES Trip Report: Day 2 (Pt.2) Visiting WDW-One Potty At A Time! http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=792642
MINMATES Trip Report: Day 2 (Pt.3) Magic Kingdom Nirvana
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=8301761#post8301761
MINMATES Trip Report: Day 3 (PT 1) POOL Is One Letter Short of POO!
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=792687
MINMATES Trip Report: Day 3 (PT 2) Dont Rain On My Parade!
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=792750
MINMATES Trip Report: Day 4 Out of the Ashes Rises the Phoenix: A Perfect Day
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=8304118#post8304118
ME (minmate)
DH -- Joe
DD6 Cali
DD5 Meg
DS4 Buddy
DD2 Jay Jay
4/5-4/12 7 nights at Pop Century
SAT 4/9
I forgot to mention that my dad was supposed to be coming out today. He wanted to spend some time with the kids and check out DVC with me. He called Friday night to let me know that there was a ticket snafu when printing out his boarding passes. Northwest had lost his reservation. The bottom line was that his $400 ticket (which I thought was hefty to begin with) had now turned into a $1600 ticket. He said hed still come out if we wanted him to. Of course, we wanted to see him. He lives in Minnesota and we live in Massachusetts. It would have been great. But it wasnt a wedding or a funeral. For $1600 we could plan ahead and fly out to see him in MN and do Camp Snoopy or we could do a whole other budget trip to WDW on THAT for crying out loud! So the plan to see Gramps was canned. The kids were a bit bummed but happy at the prospect of going to Camp Snoopy and sliding down the spoon slide in Cereal Adventure. Geesh, were on one vacation, talking about another to MN, wishing for another to WDW and later in the week my dad offers Joe and I two airline tix if we can use them before June is that a third potential trip there? No wonder our vacation fund is always bone dry! Im suspecting the airline tix were compensation from Northwest but that whole thing hasnt grown wings yet.
Cali and Meg earned the right to plan this day. It was our free day. We let everyone sleep in til they couldnt sleep any more! Hold onto your nightcaps ladies and gentleman. We were in WDW and guess how late we slept in any guesses? Cmon, no peeking, just guess 5 days into our trip, with lots of past bedtime late nights, how long do you think the kids slept in until? Okay, I give, 8 am. Yippee! But it was a leisurely 8 am, if you know what I mean. I coaxed them for a morning snuggle and finally, they convinced me to get out of bed (Im not a morning person). First order of business for the day was swimming. Kids choice. We dressed and headed for the bowling pin pool kids choice. It was a good one because Joe (what a guy!) grabbed the dirty laundry suitcase and did the wash. It was right next to the pool so it worked out nicely. The pool was quiet, sparsely populated. I sit on the side and relaxed a bit with Joe. I know some people may think its incredibly reckless to let a 2yo swim without an adult in the water, but 1) she had a life jacket on and 2) she is incredibly confident. She is typically a good listener too. If I ask her to stay close to the edge by me, she does. I just pull my chair close to the pool, just in case. And if its any concession, I used to be a lifeguard and Im a swim instructor, so I feel justified in my choices.
At any rate, a pair of ducks decided to join the kids in the water for a morning swim. It was really unexpected and cute until the rest of the swimmers in the pool chased them away.
We decide to head over to the Goofy sprayers and as I remind JayJay to walk not run she half-turns her head to listen to my bidding, thereby throwing herself off-balance and of course, she trips and falls smack on her face. Are we keeping score of how many times this kid gets hurt? I wonder if I had just overlooked the fact that she was running if she wouldve fallen in the first place. You know, Im learning that as a mother, you can never win. Somehow, some way, if you let it, it (the bad stuff that happens to your kids) will always be your fault. Now her knee is bleeding and all I have to stop it is the stark white towels from our room. Sorry Micekeepers!
Joe meanders between the sprayers, the food court and the laundry. How can you not love a man that agrees to subject himself to everything I put him through, all the adventures I come up with, is totally good-natured about the pitfalls, never says anything negative about snafus, remains calm in the face of crisis, AND does the laundry on vacation even!
Next stop on the kids list was to walk around the resort. Wed stayed in the 70s building last time when we came with just Cali and Meg. They liked all the larger-than-life stuff over there and felt a sense of grown-upness here let me show you something cool, little brother and sister when we ventured over that way. We pit-stopped at the potato heads which was a fun find last year. Then we found our way over to the playground. After awhile, I went to guest services to check on our bill, our dining plan points and the cost of upgrading to non-expiration for our tickets. Wed purchased 7-day hoppers and werent going to be using all of the days. I wanted to see if it was worth upgrading and how much it would cost. I quickly browsed through the gift shop, sans kids and came up with a few purchases. Then, I called Joe and they were still at the playground. I told them to meet me at the tables between the 80 and the 90. These are the big numbers outside of the food court. He called back momentarily and was flustered because he couldnt find me. Thats because I was sitting between the 70 and the 80. Apparently, I dont know my numbers! He teased me about that for the next few days. I guess I deserved it. By now it was noon and the kids had decided theyd done everything they wanted to do today and wanted to go into a park. We really didnt want use a ticket for half a day. Plus, we had tentative plans to meet Jim, from DVC to check it out. Joe and I just laughed at the anomalies of our family. The traditional advice for families with kids our age is to keep them on a routine, take swim/nap breaks and build in rest/non-park days. While the kids loved to swim, they only napped one day and yes, they actually fared great that night. But they seemed to break every mold possible. These are not laze around kinds of kids. I think weve got a lot of years of active vacationing in our future!
We grabbed lunch in the food court then headed over to the arcade via the gift shop. It is becoming a tradition for us to take pictures with silly hats on. Standing in the gift shop, we did this yet again. We always get one of Meg that is too big for her and covers her whole face, down to her neck. I imagined if we continue this tradition, the day will come that her head will actually fit in the hat. But I pushed that thought away and snapped my beloved pics.
Joe discovered in reading some info I picked up from the DVC desk at POP that they offer complimentary babysitting at the DVC meeting. We call Jim, our DVC rep and ask if he can arrange this. He does and so the kids choice day gets cut a bit short and after the arcade we all go back to the room to get ready for our DVC meeting. The van comes to pick us up and takes us to Saratoga Springs Resort to the DVC sales office. We check the kids into the child area. Now, understand, we do this kind of thing everyday at our local Y, where I work and also workout. I think it was just too much of a transition for Buddy to handle because he whined and didnt take to the child area very well. The girls did. Cali was excited to get to play Kingdom Hearts. JayJay found toys and barely looked up to bid us farewell and Meg was busy at the coloring table. Secure in the fact that Buddy would survive, we left and met with Jim. He didnt really have to sell me on the idea of DVC. Joe had questions though and still does question the overall value of this deal. Ultimately, if we did this, it would be in the future or with the help of my dad. So, really, he couldve skipped a lot of the informational stuff. I have gotten a lot of info that Ive gleaned from other DVC members and from the DIS. The only real urgency to checking into this right now is the free closing costs and the discount on points. We were wowed by the difference in accommodations compared to the POP. While Im not sure how well this plan would match our needs and budget, it was two kid-free hours. I felt a bit guilty when I realized the time because I was feeling so relaxed! We met back up with the kids and were treated to free ice cream at the DVC. Then, our van driver patiently waited while we took advantage of the bathrooms (of course). We decided to head to the Boardwalk. I was under the impression this place would be more hopping. Maybe it was too early around 5ish. The kids ran around on the lawn in the courtyard while I found a potty for Cali. I was surprised by the pool area. The pics Ive seen make it look more impressive than it did in real life. It was also crowded and hard to navigate. After all the internal jealousy over not staying at a hotel with a hot tub, I couldnt believe I was actually thinking I liked the POP pool areas better! Then Joe took Buddy to the bathroom, because at this point in the vacation I think it was just a game to the kids to see how much time we can spend in the bathroom. Apparently Joe found a different bathroom than I did because he never saw the pool area. I called my dad and relayed all the DVC info to him. We headed down the boardwalk in search of something. It wasnt the kids, but Joe who was restless here. We slipped into the ESPN arcade for awhile. Two of the 2-player games we tried to play werent working properly and Joe put money into one of the Basketball hoops without realizing someone had gotten all the balls stuck in the basket and there was no way to get them out. Wed bugged the attendant enough with the other broken games that we just decided to leave. Again, I was surprised to discover I was liking the POP arcade better. It was bigger too by the way.
We decided to take the boat over to Beach Club. I figured wed try to get into Beaches and Cream. We never made it that far. Buddy had a fit and not even the pirate ship from Stormalong Bay could pull him out of it. I dont know, maybe he was just tired. I dont really know what this change in the wind was all about. I was just wishing I could have a nice cold drink right about then. The kids played on the beach for awhile where we also watched from a safe distance a momma duck sitting on her eggs. She was in a heated stare down contest with another duck who was getting too close for comfort and she even snapped at it . We all liked this little nature moment. I guess today, for us was "just ducky" -- we had ducks in the pool with us in the morning and ducks on the beach with us at night. I took Cali to the bathroom on the other side of the bar/grill (dont know what its called) by SAB which drew out my hankerin for something grown-up to sip on. But I didnt have the magic cards to get anything. Again, I have to say that I was unimpressed. All the talk about how great SAB is. It just looked dingy to me and the deck area and pool looked crowded. By then, I was having such mixed feelings about DVC. I like the premise of it. I feel that the location of SSR is a drawback for us as MK and MGM are our key destinations (at least right now). I like the location of Boardwalk and Beach Club but they looked crowded and run-down compared to all the other resorts Ive seen (from the outside grounds not necessarily in the rooms) over the past year. These include: Pop, Poly, GF, WL, Contemporary.
We ended up heading back to Pop. JayJay fell asleep by 6:30 and slept until the next morning. I practiced more of my juggling abilities by trying to bring back 4 peoples worth of food on one tray for dinner. Joe watched tv and I cant really remember what I did. I suppose I mentally mapped out Sundays adventures. Wed pretty much decided to upgrade our tix to non-expiring and not go in the park Monday or Tuesday. That meant Sunday was our last park day. I really wanted it to be a good day.
MINMATES Trip Report: (Day 1) I Need A Vacation! http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=8284821#post8284821
MINMATES Trip Report: Day 2 (Pt.1) Lions & Tarzan & Mickey, Oh My! http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=8288435#post8288435
MINMATES Trip Report: Day 2 (Pt.2) Visiting WDW-One Potty At A Time! http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=792642
MINMATES Trip Report: Day 2 (Pt.3) Magic Kingdom Nirvana
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=8301761#post8301761
MINMATES Trip Report: Day 3 (PT 1) POOL Is One Letter Short of POO!
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=792687
MINMATES Trip Report: Day 3 (PT 2) Dont Rain On My Parade!
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=792750
MINMATES Trip Report: Day 4 Out of the Ashes Rises the Phoenix: A Perfect Day
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=8304118#post8304118
ME (minmate)
DH -- Joe
DD6 Cali
DD5 Meg
DS4 Buddy
DD2 Jay Jay
4/5-4/12 7 nights at Pop Century
SAT 4/9
I forgot to mention that my dad was supposed to be coming out today. He wanted to spend some time with the kids and check out DVC with me. He called Friday night to let me know that there was a ticket snafu when printing out his boarding passes. Northwest had lost his reservation. The bottom line was that his $400 ticket (which I thought was hefty to begin with) had now turned into a $1600 ticket. He said hed still come out if we wanted him to. Of course, we wanted to see him. He lives in Minnesota and we live in Massachusetts. It would have been great. But it wasnt a wedding or a funeral. For $1600 we could plan ahead and fly out to see him in MN and do Camp Snoopy or we could do a whole other budget trip to WDW on THAT for crying out loud! So the plan to see Gramps was canned. The kids were a bit bummed but happy at the prospect of going to Camp Snoopy and sliding down the spoon slide in Cereal Adventure. Geesh, were on one vacation, talking about another to MN, wishing for another to WDW and later in the week my dad offers Joe and I two airline tix if we can use them before June is that a third potential trip there? No wonder our vacation fund is always bone dry! Im suspecting the airline tix were compensation from Northwest but that whole thing hasnt grown wings yet.
Cali and Meg earned the right to plan this day. It was our free day. We let everyone sleep in til they couldnt sleep any more! Hold onto your nightcaps ladies and gentleman. We were in WDW and guess how late we slept in any guesses? Cmon, no peeking, just guess 5 days into our trip, with lots of past bedtime late nights, how long do you think the kids slept in until? Okay, I give, 8 am. Yippee! But it was a leisurely 8 am, if you know what I mean. I coaxed them for a morning snuggle and finally, they convinced me to get out of bed (Im not a morning person). First order of business for the day was swimming. Kids choice. We dressed and headed for the bowling pin pool kids choice. It was a good one because Joe (what a guy!) grabbed the dirty laundry suitcase and did the wash. It was right next to the pool so it worked out nicely. The pool was quiet, sparsely populated. I sit on the side and relaxed a bit with Joe. I know some people may think its incredibly reckless to let a 2yo swim without an adult in the water, but 1) she had a life jacket on and 2) she is incredibly confident. She is typically a good listener too. If I ask her to stay close to the edge by me, she does. I just pull my chair close to the pool, just in case. And if its any concession, I used to be a lifeguard and Im a swim instructor, so I feel justified in my choices.
At any rate, a pair of ducks decided to join the kids in the water for a morning swim. It was really unexpected and cute until the rest of the swimmers in the pool chased them away.
We decide to head over to the Goofy sprayers and as I remind JayJay to walk not run she half-turns her head to listen to my bidding, thereby throwing herself off-balance and of course, she trips and falls smack on her face. Are we keeping score of how many times this kid gets hurt? I wonder if I had just overlooked the fact that she was running if she wouldve fallen in the first place. You know, Im learning that as a mother, you can never win. Somehow, some way, if you let it, it (the bad stuff that happens to your kids) will always be your fault. Now her knee is bleeding and all I have to stop it is the stark white towels from our room. Sorry Micekeepers!
Joe meanders between the sprayers, the food court and the laundry. How can you not love a man that agrees to subject himself to everything I put him through, all the adventures I come up with, is totally good-natured about the pitfalls, never says anything negative about snafus, remains calm in the face of crisis, AND does the laundry on vacation even!
Next stop on the kids list was to walk around the resort. Wed stayed in the 70s building last time when we came with just Cali and Meg. They liked all the larger-than-life stuff over there and felt a sense of grown-upness here let me show you something cool, little brother and sister when we ventured over that way. We pit-stopped at the potato heads which was a fun find last year. Then we found our way over to the playground. After awhile, I went to guest services to check on our bill, our dining plan points and the cost of upgrading to non-expiration for our tickets. Wed purchased 7-day hoppers and werent going to be using all of the days. I wanted to see if it was worth upgrading and how much it would cost. I quickly browsed through the gift shop, sans kids and came up with a few purchases. Then, I called Joe and they were still at the playground. I told them to meet me at the tables between the 80 and the 90. These are the big numbers outside of the food court. He called back momentarily and was flustered because he couldnt find me. Thats because I was sitting between the 70 and the 80. Apparently, I dont know my numbers! He teased me about that for the next few days. I guess I deserved it. By now it was noon and the kids had decided theyd done everything they wanted to do today and wanted to go into a park. We really didnt want use a ticket for half a day. Plus, we had tentative plans to meet Jim, from DVC to check it out. Joe and I just laughed at the anomalies of our family. The traditional advice for families with kids our age is to keep them on a routine, take swim/nap breaks and build in rest/non-park days. While the kids loved to swim, they only napped one day and yes, they actually fared great that night. But they seemed to break every mold possible. These are not laze around kinds of kids. I think weve got a lot of years of active vacationing in our future!
We grabbed lunch in the food court then headed over to the arcade via the gift shop. It is becoming a tradition for us to take pictures with silly hats on. Standing in the gift shop, we did this yet again. We always get one of Meg that is too big for her and covers her whole face, down to her neck. I imagined if we continue this tradition, the day will come that her head will actually fit in the hat. But I pushed that thought away and snapped my beloved pics.
Joe discovered in reading some info I picked up from the DVC desk at POP that they offer complimentary babysitting at the DVC meeting. We call Jim, our DVC rep and ask if he can arrange this. He does and so the kids choice day gets cut a bit short and after the arcade we all go back to the room to get ready for our DVC meeting. The van comes to pick us up and takes us to Saratoga Springs Resort to the DVC sales office. We check the kids into the child area. Now, understand, we do this kind of thing everyday at our local Y, where I work and also workout. I think it was just too much of a transition for Buddy to handle because he whined and didnt take to the child area very well. The girls did. Cali was excited to get to play Kingdom Hearts. JayJay found toys and barely looked up to bid us farewell and Meg was busy at the coloring table. Secure in the fact that Buddy would survive, we left and met with Jim. He didnt really have to sell me on the idea of DVC. Joe had questions though and still does question the overall value of this deal. Ultimately, if we did this, it would be in the future or with the help of my dad. So, really, he couldve skipped a lot of the informational stuff. I have gotten a lot of info that Ive gleaned from other DVC members and from the DIS. The only real urgency to checking into this right now is the free closing costs and the discount on points. We were wowed by the difference in accommodations compared to the POP. While Im not sure how well this plan would match our needs and budget, it was two kid-free hours. I felt a bit guilty when I realized the time because I was feeling so relaxed! We met back up with the kids and were treated to free ice cream at the DVC. Then, our van driver patiently waited while we took advantage of the bathrooms (of course). We decided to head to the Boardwalk. I was under the impression this place would be more hopping. Maybe it was too early around 5ish. The kids ran around on the lawn in the courtyard while I found a potty for Cali. I was surprised by the pool area. The pics Ive seen make it look more impressive than it did in real life. It was also crowded and hard to navigate. After all the internal jealousy over not staying at a hotel with a hot tub, I couldnt believe I was actually thinking I liked the POP pool areas better! Then Joe took Buddy to the bathroom, because at this point in the vacation I think it was just a game to the kids to see how much time we can spend in the bathroom. Apparently Joe found a different bathroom than I did because he never saw the pool area. I called my dad and relayed all the DVC info to him. We headed down the boardwalk in search of something. It wasnt the kids, but Joe who was restless here. We slipped into the ESPN arcade for awhile. Two of the 2-player games we tried to play werent working properly and Joe put money into one of the Basketball hoops without realizing someone had gotten all the balls stuck in the basket and there was no way to get them out. Wed bugged the attendant enough with the other broken games that we just decided to leave. Again, I was surprised to discover I was liking the POP arcade better. It was bigger too by the way.
We decided to take the boat over to Beach Club. I figured wed try to get into Beaches and Cream. We never made it that far. Buddy had a fit and not even the pirate ship from Stormalong Bay could pull him out of it. I dont know, maybe he was just tired. I dont really know what this change in the wind was all about. I was just wishing I could have a nice cold drink right about then. The kids played on the beach for awhile where we also watched from a safe distance a momma duck sitting on her eggs. She was in a heated stare down contest with another duck who was getting too close for comfort and she even snapped at it . We all liked this little nature moment. I guess today, for us was "just ducky" -- we had ducks in the pool with us in the morning and ducks on the beach with us at night. I took Cali to the bathroom on the other side of the bar/grill (dont know what its called) by SAB which drew out my hankerin for something grown-up to sip on. But I didnt have the magic cards to get anything. Again, I have to say that I was unimpressed. All the talk about how great SAB is. It just looked dingy to me and the deck area and pool looked crowded. By then, I was having such mixed feelings about DVC. I like the premise of it. I feel that the location of SSR is a drawback for us as MK and MGM are our key destinations (at least right now). I like the location of Boardwalk and Beach Club but they looked crowded and run-down compared to all the other resorts Ive seen (from the outside grounds not necessarily in the rooms) over the past year. These include: Pop, Poly, GF, WL, Contemporary.
We ended up heading back to Pop. JayJay fell asleep by 6:30 and slept until the next morning. I practiced more of my juggling abilities by trying to bring back 4 peoples worth of food on one tray for dinner. Joe watched tv and I cant really remember what I did. I suppose I mentally mapped out Sundays adventures. Wed pretty much decided to upgrade our tix to non-expiring and not go in the park Monday or Tuesday. That meant Sunday was our last park day. I really wanted it to be a good day.
