Mom, Dad isn't listening! WDW in July, another great trip! Updated final chapter

[declansdad]

Hello all,

We been back about a month now and things are starting to slow down so I thought it would be a good time to start on another family trip report. I hope that I can get through it without too much delay and keep you interested should you decide to follow along. There will be lots of pictures and some commentary that I hope you will enjoy.

The Cast

Some of you may have read our past reports so you know the players but just in case...

Declan, our son. He is 12 years old sport fanatic. He plays soccer and basketball mostly but added a bit of volleyball in this past winter. As a dad, I am happy with whatever he plays but it made me proud to see him on the volleyball court.


IMG_8313 by declansdadca, on Flickr

DW or pooksma here on the Dis. She is a French Immersion Math teacher by day and has put up with me for about 20 years give or take. Somehow I convinced her to marry me and we celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary on this trip.

As for me, I live the dream. Not only to I have a wonderful family, I get to work in the provincial amateur sport system every day and meet some truly gifted people throughout the province.


IMG_8299 by declansdadca, on Flickr

This is one of the few pictures you will see of either of us in this report. I am usually behind the camera and DW prefers not to be in the pictures at all. A shame I tell her but I know what is best for me so few if any pictures of DW.


The Trip

As some of you may know in March we did the 4 day cruise on the Disney Dream as well as a 1 day visit to MK with DWs parents in March. We had talked about a July trip as well but decided to put it off until next year as this was going to be a busy summer and 2 Florida trips (3 for me) in less than 5 months would be a lot. At the end of March I returned to Kissimmee to drive my FIL back while MIL flew. I think I received a message from DW saying she was looking at prices again and maybe we should do the trip in July. As I was actually at Pop Century meeting up with a long-time Dis friend, MeMom, I decided to look around AoA because that was one of the resorts we were considering. In order to help with the decision I texted a couple pictures from the Little Mermaid section back to pooksma to help with the decision. Pics from that Day.



By the time I returned from Florida a week later it was decided that the trip was a go but it would be a surprise for DS. We did look at different options for the trip, AoA, POFQ, Pop, 7 day, 10 day, split stay but in the end we decided on July 16th to 23rd at Pop Century with a 6 day park hopper and the quick service dining plan.

A quick message to our fantastic TA, Liz, and we were all booked. WE only wanted on ADR and she took care of that for us so there wasn’t much other planning to do. Just had to make sure we kept it a secret until the day we left.

More to come later, have to head out for a bit.

 

[declansdad]

Chapter 1 What was supposed to take a day.......

Chapter 2 Seeing new places before arriving at the World!

Chapter 3 A relaxing morning at AK.

Chapter 4 Off to DHS we go??

Chapter 5 A morning at MK and my first at the World DisDad meet.

Chapter 6 A mistake that I will never be allowed to forget

Chapter 7 Cross one off the bucket list

Chapter 8 a relaxing evening at EPCOT

Chapter 9 A costly trip to EPCOT, almost!

Chapter 10 Lets just stay at the resort.

Chapter 11 – The Tradition continues

Chapter 12 – The Final Countdown

 

[Queenofallthings]

HERE HERE HERE....I was beginning to wonder if you weren't doing a TR....so glad you are!!!Love the pictures of you guys and it's so nice to see my beautiful friend again, it's been far too long since I've seen her face! The fact that you're having our favourite drinks is quite spectacular as well!!!!

 

[MEK]

Subbing in. Isn't it amazing how that extra trip just seems to fall into place!

 

[declansdad]

HERE HERE HERE....I was beginning to wonder if you weren't doing a TR....so glad you are!!!Love the pictures of you guys and it's so nice to see my beautiful friend again, it's been far too long since I've seen her face! The fact that you're having our favourite drinks is quite spectacular as well!!!!

I was only home for about a week before leaving for the Canada Games. I took everything with me to start a report but it just didn't work out. Today was the first time I could really sit down and get a start.

Thought you would like the GGS, hit it on the first day.

 

[declansdad]

Subbing in. Isn't it amazing how that extra trip just seems to fall into place!

If we could only find a way of going every 4 or 5 months it would be great.

 

[MeMom]

IMG_8299 by declansdadca, on Flickr

This is one of the few pictures you will see of either of us in this report. I am usually behind the camera and DW prefers not to be in the pictures at all. A shame I tell her but I know what is best for me so few if any pictures of DW.

Good picture of the sweethearts. Are you already thinking about what kind of trip you might do for your 20th?

As I was actually at Pop Century meeting up with a long-time Dis friend, MeMom, I decided to look around AoA because that was one of the resorts we were considering. In order to help with the decision I texted a couple pictures from the Little Mermaid section back to pooksma to help with the decision.

So glad we finally crossed paths! Now we need to make it happen again with Ma and Declan and maybe more DIS friends.

If we could only find a way of going every 4 or 5 months it would be great.

My ideal Disney trip schedule would be four trips a year - spring break, summer, October, and Christmas. I'd be okay with doing Christmas once every 2-3 years or maybe just for 4-5 days yearly, but I'd still want to have week long trips for fall and spring breaks and then a 12-14 day summer trip.

That's not too much to wish, is it?

 

[declansdad]

Good picture of the sweethearts. Are you already thinking about what kind of trip you might do for your 20th?

I like it and would love to post more of Pooksma but I know better. Haven't given it much serious thought yet, just looking at next year.

So glad we finally crossed paths! Now we need to make it happen again with Ma and Declan and maybe more DIS friends.

I agree completely, sometime we will be there at the same time.

My ideal Disney trip schedule would be four trips a year - spring break, summer, October, and Christmas. I'd be okay with doing Christmas once every 2-3 years or maybe just for 4-5 days yearly, but I'd still want to have week long trips for fall and spring breaks and then a 12-14 day summer trip.

That's not too much to wish, is it?

Not too much at all.

 

[Disney9.9.10]

Joining in!

 

[declansdad]

Joining in!

Welcome aboard.

The first chapter should be up tonight.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

I'm in!

 

[wiigirl]

Following along!

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

Thanks for the heads up…
I do believe I’ll follow right along with this one.


btw: Nice title

 

[declansdad]

I'm in!

Good to see you.

Still trying to catch up on your latest adventure.

 

[declansdad]

Following along!

Thanks for the heads up…
I do believe I’ll follow right along with this one.


btw: Nice title

Thanks for tagging along.

Explanation for the title is coming soon. We had a few to choose from.

 

[declansdad]

Chapter 1  What was supposed to take a day.......


July 16th  THE BIG DAY!! We were finally able to let Declan in on the trip. We had managed to keep it a secret since booking in April. It was getting difficult after the end of the school year with the Lets go here and the Lets do this. I think we were both close to saying Listen were not doing that because we are going to WDW in a couple of weeks! but we managed to keep quiet.

So at 7:30 am we both went in to his room and woke him up. I told him I decided to take the day off so we could go for a drive.

Where to? said Declan

Portland (Maine) said I

Why? said Declan

To which we both replied, BECAUSE WERE GOING TO DISNEYWORLD!!!!!!!

I have never seen him get out of bed so fast in his entire life.

He next wanted to know when we were leaving and we said in an hour or so, bags are packed and waiting. So after last minute packing, breakfast and some errands we were on the way around 11 am.


Our flight was for about 6:10 pm so we had lots of time to make the drive as we gain an hour when we cross the border. Around 2 pm (Maine time) we were stopping in Augusta for some lunch at Panera Bread. I turned my phone back on and immediately I had a voice mail. Thought that was quick, been gone less than a day and somebody at work is looking for me. Not the case. The message was from Southwest telling me our flight was going to be delayed and would now leave Portland at 6:40. NOT GOOD! We only at 40 minutes to make the connection in Baltimore and the delay just ate up 30 minutes.


Made a call to their toll free number and the agent confirm there was a possible delay but had no other information at that time. He said to call back in an hour and he would be able to provide more info. I said I will be at the airport in an hour so I will check it out there.

Arriving at the airport there was still a delay but we were now at 6:30 and the ticket agent thought we would be ok but there would be more info at the gate if there was a problem. So we headed for the gate and waited. I should mention that this was our first flight with Southwest.

The next change that popped up said 6:50 departure; now I knew werent making the connection but there still was no agent at the gate to help. Finally an agent showed up and announced there was a delay but they werent actually sure how long yet. Eventually they announced the plane had just left Baltimore but since it was now 6 pm and still not in Portland, we werent making the connection. They did, however, say it was mechanical and they would put us up for the night and book us another flight.


Before boarding they called me up to the desk, booked us on a flight out of Baltimore the next morning and also gave us each a $200 voucher for a future flight. Arriving in Baltimore we were shuttled to the Red Roof Inn for the night. We walked to a nearby Chillis for some food and turn in.

Coming up in Chapter 2  where the trip report name comes from.


Have to take Declan to soccer so Chapter 2 will come later tonight.

 

[declansdad]

Chapter 2 Seeing new places before arriving at the World!


Day 2 of the trips starts with a 5 am wakeup call so that we can catch the 5:40 shuttle for the 8 am flight out of Baltimore. Heading through security was easy for Declan and Pooksma but the TSA agent seemed to take a bit longer with my passport.

You were born in Moncton? She asks.

Yes, I answer wondering where this was headed.

My family is from Shediac, she says.

Wow! Who would have thought I would have a TSA agent in Baltimore whose family is from a small town about 20 minutes away from where I grew up in Canada. It is a Small World.

We boarded the plane and found 3 seats together and we were off. First stop was the huge airport knows as Greenville/Spartanburg International. It looked like a nice place; well at least what you could see looking out the window of a plane.

Wasnt long before we were back in the air and headed for Orlando. We landed with no problems and picked up our one bag. We didnt check it for ME the night before because we were scheduled to land around 10:30 PM and didnt want the bag showing up at the room in the middle of the night. We found the ME counter and were on the bus around noon.

There was a dad and a little girl sitting behind us on one side of the bus and the mom on the other. The little girl was about three or so and didnt really want to sit in the seat. The dad was trying a number of things to keep her attention but he wasnt having much success. At one point she took her shoes off, unbuckled her seatbelt and said she was going to sit with her mother. At this point she proceeded to tell her mother numerous times, Mom, Dad isnt listening.

That became one of our running jokes throughout the trip and the one line we picked to be the title of this report. A close second was this overheard gem I thought we were going to Disney but ended up at EPCOT instead.

So it wasnt long before we arrived at our stop.


IMG_8212 by declansdadca, on Flickr

We waited maybe 5 minutes to check in but at the counter they had a little glitch. She had trouble finding our reservation at first until I told her we were supposed to check in the night before but missed a connecting flight. She quickly found it, said that she sees they were called (thanks Liz) and that our Garden Grocery order was Luggage services. I also asked her about the refrigerator and she said sorry. I asked about the credit and she said someone has been doing their research, yes there would be a $15 per night credit applied to our account (more on this later). She gave us our KTTW cards and off we head to the 70s section to find out room.

Entering the room there message indicator was blinking on the phone. We play the message and it was a happy anniversary message from the Mouse himself. This was our first time in the 70s and it was a great location. We were very close to Classic Hall and the bus stops. No long walks here!

After unpacking, getting some food and picking up our groceries we were off to our first Park of the trip around 3 pm


IMG_8214 by declansdadca, on Flickr

We headed directly to TT to see the new version. The wait was posted as 60 minutes but really only was about 40. This was to be a recurring theme for the trip. The new queue is certainly less busy. There isnt as much to see but it was interesting. Oh and it did start to rain just as we entered the queue, luckily we were under the canopy and managed to stay dry.


IMG_8234 by declansdadca, on Flickr


IMG_8230 by declansdadca, on Flickr


IMG_8269 by declansdadca, on Flickr

Continued Next Post

 

[declansdad]

It wasn’t long before we were entering


IMG_8272 by declansdadca, on Flickr

And Declan got to work


IMG_8273 by declansdadca, on Flickr

Designing this


IMG_8274 by declansdadca, on Flickr

Then on to test out his creation. The new version of TT is certainly more visibly appealing but the ride is still the same so overall the only real changes were the queue and the visuals. The fun outside part is still the same though and that makes the wait worth it.

After TT we headed for the World Showcase. The plan for this trip was for a more relaxed pace so we weren’t going to push lots of rides if the lines we long.

Come with me as we tour the WS, we may even stop for a ride.


IMG_8279 by declansdadca, on Flickr


IMG_8280 by declansdadca, on Flickr


IMG_8283 by declansdadca, on Flickr


IMG_8282 by declansdadca, on Flickr


IMG_8293 by declansdadca, on Flickr


IMG_8295 by declansdadca, on Flickr


IMG_8300 by declansdadca, on Flickr

About this time we stopped for a Grey Goose Slushie and thought of our Dis Firnds from the ‘Peg and then Declan tried his hand at:


IMG_8301 by declansdadca, on Flickr

While Pooksma and Declan tried to solve the mystery in the UK, I felt a but artsy


IMG_8306 by declansdadca, on Flickr

And then I picked up some fish and chips for us to munch on before continuing on towards our homeland.


IMG_8315 by declansdadca, on Flickr

We finished up the day with a Mission to Mars (Orange for Declan and I) and a ride through history on SSE. After that we headed for the bus and were back to the resort around 9 pm. It was time to call it a night.

Chapter 3 will bring us very close to one of the many tour groups.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Sorry about the trouble with the airplanes. Usually Southwest works out well for me (better than other airlines) but this must have been frustrating.

I like the source of the title, but the alternate one made me laugh too.

Nice pictures! Still curious about the new Test Track. It looks like it doesn't tell as much of a story now like the old one did.

 

[declansdad]

Sorry about the trouble with the airplanes. Usually Southwest works out well for me (better than other airlines) but this must have been frustrating.

I like the source of the title, but the alternate one made me laugh too.

Nice pictures! Still curious about the new Test Track. It looks like it doesn't tell as much of a story now like the old one did.

It was frustrating while we were sitting in Portland with no real updates but it all worked out in the end and only put us behind about half a day.

You're right that the story is missing to the updated TT. I hadn't thought of that. They do "test" your design but it goes by so quick you may not notice it.