nu2wdisneyw
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2008
- Messages
- 440
Alright so let begin this party!!
We are home…OBIVIOUSLY! If you followed me over from my PTR, I am so glad that you joined me!! If you are new to my TR, then let me start by saying welcome!! I am glad that you are here to join me and my family as we relive the memories of our trip.
So let’s start with the introductions:
Theres me of course, Stephanie…Tink is my favorite character!! I absolutely LOVE her!!
My DH…Jeff. Sometimes he acts like Grumpy…but his favorite would be the Mouse himself!
DS10…Not sure on his favorite character…he is going through that stage where he is trying to himself out as a young GROWING boy!
DS5…He LOVES Mickey too!! Wasn’t happy until he saw him. He also like Peter Pan and Goofy! Oh yeah, he may have a little bit of a crush on Minnie!!
So there you have our cast of characters…now lets get to the details of the trip:
Who: Well I just told you that
When: August 29 – September 5
Where: Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
How: Mommy made it happen.
Now that the particulars are out of the way….let get started with the trip.
So because we were
we headed out on the 28th. Needless to say with all of the planning that I had already done, I still had a lot to do that day. 
Last minute shopping, packing and cleaning. I am such a procrastinator…I just think that I work better under pressure!! The original plan was to head out by 1 am, since mapquest timed it as a 13 ½ hr drive. Yeah even though we have a GPS, we still print of mapquest direction….crazy right! Well DH was very tired and he does all of the driving, so we decided to leave later, so that he could sleep a little more. So with the car packed and the house cleaned we headed out from VA around 5:15 am. Much later than anticipated…but I was okay with it because I knew that we had a funfilled week planned! I got the boys in the car, they were wondering where we were going. Instantly they thought we were going to Grandmas!! PERFECT!! 
Here are a couple of pictures of them getting settled in the car:
Now I do NO driving…my DH calls me spoiled!! But this is why I am in charge of making sure that everything is packed and in order before we leave. The drive wasn’t bad at all. I went to sleep of course…had hadn’t been to sleep since I woke up the previous morning…I was VERY tired. The boys went right to sleep. I woke up around 9 am and realized that Jeffery had just woke up too. I gave him a sandwich because he was hungry (we almost never stop on the road when we drive, I pack sandwiches, snacks and drinks all the time). After eating be got his PSP and kept himself entertained. I played on my BBerry…actually was able to read some threads on the DIS! Jahlil woke up when we stopped for gas around 9:45. Everyone got out, stretched their legs and went to the rest room…
The three of my boys:
And me waiting for them to come out of the restroom:
My little ones...still thinking we are going to grandmas:
Now the rest of the ride gets a little foggy…bear with me it was a long drive. I know that the boys played their games and DS5 watched a couple of movies. I dozed off and on and DH talked on his phone. DS10 started to ask a lot of questions…and I was dying to show them the surprise video…but I packed it in the back of the truck!?!? Here is the final video that I had for them to watch:
We stopped for gas a couple of more times…DS5 went back to sleep. Jeffery was reading EVERY road sign. Then is happened we saw a road sign that said Miami/Orlando. Then I heard this, “Are we going to Miami?” My response “Yes we are going to Miami..” I know a little white lie…it didn’t hurt! The last time we stopped for gas was right outside of Orlando. While the boys were in the rest room I set up the video for them. Here is a video of them watching it:
Not quite the response, I thought I would get. But for children that have never experienced the real Disney experience…they didn’t really know what to get excited for. Here are a few more pictures of the drive:
OMG we are ALMOST THERE!!!!
WE ARE HERE!!
We arrive at SSR at 5:23pm, GREAT timing. I already did online check-in…so check was a breeze. We got our welcome packet, our "Welcome Home" from the CM's that we met and off to our room we went. I requested Congress park…I like the section. But I would have liked it more if we were on the 4th floor and really could see DTD. Here is our room (you can see I started to unpack):
A Hidden Mickey:
My baby now showing some excitement...I love the innocence of this picture:
Looking at the stuff I made for them...courtesy of the DISign boards:
The view from our room...not so good picture:
This night we took it easy. DH and DS10 went to get something to eat. DH had to have Zaxbys…he loves their wings. We use to get it all the time when we lived in GA, but they don’t have them where we are. The fact that they had them in Orlando, that’s what we had to have so he would get it out of his system. We all took showers and baths and got ready for bed for our EARLY morning (so we thought) in AK the next day!!
Up next: Day 1…Animal Kingdom
We are home…OBIVIOUSLY! If you followed me over from my PTR, I am so glad that you joined me!! If you are new to my TR, then let me start by saying welcome!! I am glad that you are here to join me and my family as we relive the memories of our trip.
So let’s start with the introductions:
Theres me of course, Stephanie…Tink is my favorite character!! I absolutely LOVE her!!
My DH…Jeff. Sometimes he acts like Grumpy…but his favorite would be the Mouse himself!
DS10…Not sure on his favorite character…he is going through that stage where he is trying to himself out as a young GROWING boy!
DS5…He LOVES Mickey too!! Wasn’t happy until he saw him. He also like Peter Pan and Goofy! Oh yeah, he may have a little bit of a crush on Minnie!!
So there you have our cast of characters…now lets get to the details of the trip:
Who: Well I just told you that
When: August 29 – September 5
Where: Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
How: Mommy made it happen.
Now that the particulars are out of the way….let get started with the trip.
So because we were
we headed out on the 28th. Needless to say with all of the planning that I had already done, I still had a lot to do that day. Last minute shopping, packing and cleaning. I am such a procrastinator…I just think that I work better under pressure!! The original plan was to head out by 1 am, since mapquest timed it as a 13 ½ hr drive. Yeah even though we have a GPS, we still print of mapquest direction….crazy right! Well DH was very tired and he does all of the driving, so we decided to leave later, so that he could sleep a little more. So with the car packed and the house cleaned we headed out from VA around 5:15 am. Much later than anticipated…but I was okay with it because I knew that we had a funfilled week planned! I got the boys in the car, they were wondering where we were going. Instantly they thought we were going to Grandmas!! PERFECT!! Here are a couple of pictures of them getting settled in the car:
Now I do NO driving…my DH calls me spoiled!! But this is why I am in charge of making sure that everything is packed and in order before we leave. The drive wasn’t bad at all. I went to sleep of course…had hadn’t been to sleep since I woke up the previous morning…I was VERY tired. The boys went right to sleep. I woke up around 9 am and realized that Jeffery had just woke up too. I gave him a sandwich because he was hungry (we almost never stop on the road when we drive, I pack sandwiches, snacks and drinks all the time). After eating be got his PSP and kept himself entertained. I played on my BBerry…actually was able to read some threads on the DIS! Jahlil woke up when we stopped for gas around 9:45. Everyone got out, stretched their legs and went to the rest room…
The three of my boys:
And me waiting for them to come out of the restroom:
My little ones...still thinking we are going to grandmas:
Now the rest of the ride gets a little foggy…bear with me it was a long drive. I know that the boys played their games and DS5 watched a couple of movies. I dozed off and on and DH talked on his phone. DS10 started to ask a lot of questions…and I was dying to show them the surprise video…but I packed it in the back of the truck!?!? Here is the final video that I had for them to watch:
We stopped for gas a couple of more times…DS5 went back to sleep. Jeffery was reading EVERY road sign. Then is happened we saw a road sign that said Miami/Orlando. Then I heard this, “Are we going to Miami?” My response “Yes we are going to Miami..” I know a little white lie…it didn’t hurt! The last time we stopped for gas was right outside of Orlando. While the boys were in the rest room I set up the video for them. Here is a video of them watching it:
Not quite the response, I thought I would get. But for children that have never experienced the real Disney experience…they didn’t really know what to get excited for. Here are a few more pictures of the drive:
OMG we are ALMOST THERE!!!!
WE ARE HERE!!
We arrive at SSR at 5:23pm, GREAT timing. I already did online check-in…so check was a breeze. We got our welcome packet, our "Welcome Home" from the CM's that we met and off to our room we went. I requested Congress park…I like the section. But I would have liked it more if we were on the 4th floor and really could see DTD. Here is our room (you can see I started to unpack):
A Hidden Mickey:
My baby now showing some excitement...I love the innocence of this picture:
Looking at the stuff I made for them...courtesy of the DISign boards:
The view from our room...not so good picture:
This night we took it easy. DH and DS10 went to get something to eat. DH had to have Zaxbys…he loves their wings. We use to get it all the time when we lived in GA, but they don’t have them where we are. The fact that they had them in Orlando, that’s what we had to have so he would get it out of his system. We all took showers and baths and got ready for bed for our EARLY morning (so we thought) in AK the next day!!
Up next: Day 1…Animal Kingdom
...thanks for the compliment about the boys. Yes, they can act like they like each other sometimes! 
Looks like you had great traveling weather, too.
So cool
I am sure if we try to surprise them again next year, the reaction will be a little different! 
) and I am anxious since we leave so soon! I actually packed most my stuff last night & my son's the other night. (this is so new for me I am usually do this all at the last minute) This is our 1st trip to WDW!!
We usually go to DL every year. I was stressed & wasn't too excited for the trip then I convinced my sister to do MNSSP & whooohooo now I'm 
for our trip to start! 
We are not going to tell the boys about it. (it's my sister n nephew (12) & me n my son (14) going on the trip) My son's bday is Oct 29 so we luv halloween so i think he will like MNSSP
during the whole watching the surprise video thing....
