'OHANA means CHUNKY! An Aug 2017 Family TR THE END 4/26 - The Last Day and Trip Epilogue!

[dolewhipdreams]

Finally joining in!

Wow, so much going on. I can't imagine planning for a group of that size- I get stressed out planning a Disney trip for two adults!

I LOVE CS's outfits. I definitely am looking forward to seeing them all

Your nieces have the cutest smiles. So adorable.

I love your haircut! I bet it felt great in all that hot weather. Speaking of weather- great tip on the microfiber towel. There's a decent amount of rain in our forecast for this weekend so I'll definitely bring one along.

 

[chunkymonkey]

Aww. Eva's sweet little face on 7DMT! I've never been on it. Is it on par with Big Thunder? I'm not a thrill ride person but I was thinking I'd give this a try. Maybe not...

Big Thunder is probably the closest ride to it but it's much smoother and less crazy. BTMRR jerks you around more. I personally like the swinging cars, but don't sit in the back if you don't want to "feel" it.

Making a note to pack a micro fiber towel. You are full of good tips!!

Thanks, I just did what I had to do to SURVIVE the heat and humidity!

Ugh on the rain but you really accomplished quite a lot on your first day and it's not over yet!

Yes the rain, it was a lot of rain that day. The most we had all week though, but it wasn't the only time it rained.

I am pretty excited about this for our upcoming trip. Being able to skip long security lines and just deal with the people from the Poly seems much better!

I think you will really enjoy not having to go through the MK bag lines... Just an FYI, when we walked from the Poly to the TTC to go to Epcot, we did a bag check at TTC AND at EPCOT. We were so annoyed at the double check. I don't' know why they had to do that. Maybe if you take the monorail to the TTC and just switch you may not have to? Not sure as all the monorail lines to Epcot had to go through the bag check again it seemed. Sigh.

Yum! I just told Will that I was wanting to go back to Crystal Palace after looking at your TR. We still haven't been back since our honeymoon, and I'm thinking another trip is in order.

I think so too

Haha, good strategy! I can't imagine waiting standby for Peter Pan - it's just so insane all the time.

Distraction was key on this trip, LOL.

Love the pictures, and love your awesome people-managing skills. I will remember not to take small children on the back of the mine train just in case that becomes relevant But I'm pretty sure you are good with your cool Aunt status - I mean, you're in Disney!

Can't wait to read more to tide me over until our trip in 36 days

Haha unless the kids are super thrill ride seekers, I would probably just stick to the front. Surprisingly after many times on the mine train for Steve and I we have never sat in the last 2 cars, it's always been middle or front I think because I don't recall the car swinging that wildly before.

My Cool Aunt status...short-lived as it was, was pretty nice to have, LOL.

Finally joining in!

Wow, so much going on. I can't imagine planning for a group of that size- I get stressed out planning a Disney trip for two adults!

It was a challenge for sure! It was important for me that everyone has a good time though so they would return in the future! Hopefully NOT in August.

I LOVE CS's outfits. I definitely am looking forward to seeing them all

Your nieces have the cutest smiles. So adorable.

Haha she has many good outfits this trip. She got a TON of compliments just walking around.

Thank you! They are really cute when they are not crying, haha.

I love your haircut! I bet it felt great in all that hot weather. Speaking of weather- great tip on the microfiber towel. There's a decent amount of rain in our forecast for this weekend so I'll definitely bring one along.

Thank you! It was a relief to be rid of the hair, although I do like long hair, ultimately it is more practical for me.
Hope to see you this weekend! Definitely bringing the towel back, LOL.

 

[KathyM2]

Trying to keep up around here But I love love love all the family pics of the big group, such fun!!

I think we took up an entire boat!

That is hilarious but also must have been a blast!!

Thankfully the kids didn't know the difference between fast spinning and SUPER FAST spinning so I was able to control the revolutions at manageable rotations per second...

Ugh...good thing you could probably slow it down lol

 

[PlutosRHM55]

Wow, what a crazy, fun-filled morning! Sorry to hear the little ones haven't learned the concept of adults needing as much sleep as is possible, but hey you're in Disney, you might as well be awake the entire vacation jk lol

I LOVE your sister's Mickey Mouse Disneybound! I'd be wanting to take all the pics if I looked like that. So understandable her wanting to do that rather than eat lol

I love all the big Fam photos with the characters! So memorable. Bless the character attendant for letting Piglet give you all the autographs. You have a pretty good convincer on your hands for sure.

Yay for PPF and Small World! Always so nice having those right next to each other. Your day is definitely starting on a very magical note.

What a cool auntie you are for riding the teacups (and getting away with it with those sly moves)! I feel this is mean, but I'm kinda dying at your ride photo on 7DMT. Like that could honestly be a meme especially with your description.

Lol, Daisy what a flirt! She always trying to steal the men, even if she has the best one there is (aka Donald).

I've never done the pressed penny thing before. I've done so much collecting when it comes to Disney, but never those. Seeing the pouches you can put them in makes it very enticing. Oh, now my wallet's crying lol

I'm glad you managed to make the most of a very wet day, especially with it being humid and "un-dryable". I'll have to take note on packing a towel, although I've known Disney to be pretty good about drying things off (I should know, I was one of many cast members who usually had to do it, good times).

Looking forward to hearing about Tusker House!

 

[Tracy161]

I am still the Cool Aunt right?

Rule 1 of Cool Aunt Club. Your status is never revoked! No matter what!

Guess who got suckered into doing the tea cups, the one ride she hates, but because she wants to maintain Cool Aunt status, she goes along with it...

Uh oh. I don't care if I was wearing Scopolomaine patches behind each ear, this girl will NEVER get on that ride!

Who needs Mine Train when you have Mickey ice cream bars?

Agreed!

Ugh, sorry to hear about the rain! I packed one of those towels, too Ya just never know when you might need it.

 

[Raeven]

Already on page 6 and we're only halfway thought Day 1! Whew!

Every time I come back to comment this Tr's grown by like 2 pages

So I think from this picture, you can tell I may have lost my Cool Aunt status.

Oh no everyone looks so panicked besides you!

I luckily had a small microfiber towel in my bag, which came in very handy over the week, let me tell you.

Ooo good idea. We recently switched our bath towels to microfiber ones after reading some reviews, and they've been amazing. It was weird at first because they're a totally different texture than any others we had, but they dry so fast!

 

[Ruth B]

Just found your report.
What a amazing trip! I love your sisters Mickey outfit

 

[anniebean]

I LOVE CS's Mickey dress!! I got a Minnie one for our upcoming trip, but I like hers way better.

Poor little Eva!! She looks so scared!

 

[schmass]

Glad I finally made it over here! What a fun, exhausting, wet start to your trip! I completely forgot about those microfiber towels. I will have to start adding them to our packing list from now on.

How nice that you were all staying at the Poly, and all so close to each other. I love that resort!

I'm glad that the Crystal Palace breakfast was a success even after your late night.

 

[DisBride572011]

I silently followed along on your last trip report and am looking forward to this one!

 

[chunkymonkey]

Trying to keep up around here But I love love love all the family pics of the big group, such fun!!

Thank you! As you can see, we were a large bunch, LOL

That is hilarious but also must have been a blast!!

Yeah we took up a lot of boats haha.

Ugh...good thing you could probably slow it down lol

It was NOT my cup of tea (pun intended, LOL)

Wow, what a crazy, fun-filled morning! Sorry to hear the little ones haven't learned the concept of adults needing as much sleep as is possible, but hey you're in Disney, you might as well be awake the entire vacation jk lol

Hey, that is my mantra at Disney but didn't want to scare everyone away on the first day. It is a "vacation" after all. At least the kids kept everyone awake!

I LOVE your sister's Mickey Mouse Disneybound! I'd be wanting to take all the pics if I looked like that. So understandable her wanting to do that rather than eat lol

Thanks! It's her thing. She loves dressing up and taking pictures. She has hundreds of pictures of just her, LOL

I love all the big Fam photos with the characters! So memorable. Bless the character attendant for letting Piglet give you all the autographs. You have a pretty good convincer on your hands for sure.

Thank you! It was a great start to our day. Everyone was happy with food, characters and autographs. Whew. One thing down, 267 more to go! hahaha.

Yay for PPF and Small World! Always so nice having those right next to each other. Your day is definitely starting on a very magical note.

I thought it would be the perfect way to ease all the kids on the rides.

What a cool auntie you are for riding the teacups (and getting away with it with those sly moves)! I feel this is mean, but I'm kinda dying at your ride photo on 7DMT. Like that could honestly be a meme especially with your description.

Haha no you are right, it's a freakin hilarious picture. I mean I'm gonna show this to her when she turns like 10 and we'll see if she still wants to go on Mine Train again. I may have to bribe her.

Lol, Daisy what a flirt! She always trying to steal the men, even if she has the best one there is (aka Donald).

I LOOOOVE Donald. I'm gonna have to get a picture with him this weekend because I kept missing him in Mexico last week, or the line was too crazy.

I've never done the pressed penny thing before. I've done so much collecting when it comes to Disney, but never those. Seeing the pouches you can put them in makes it very enticing. Oh, now my wallet's crying lol

I actually think it's one of the more inexpensive souvenirs, because you get lots of enjoyment of the time spent hunting for pennies for a fraction of a cost of say, a plush mickey, or a dooney, LOL.

I'm glad you managed to make the most of a very wet day, especially with it being humid and "un-dryable". I'll have to take note on packing a towel, although I've known Disney to be pretty good about drying things off (I should know, I was one of many cast members who usually had to do it, good times).

Aww thank you for being the one drying everything!! It's hard to keep things dry all the time though, especially on the train where people are getting on and off at all times. I have no problem whipping out my trusty microfiber towel and whisking away those pesky drops of rain.

Looking forward to hearing about Tusker House!

Coming soon!

Rule 1 of Cool Aunt Club. Your status is never revoked! No matter what!

That's going in our charter!! Lifetime Cool Aunt Status!

Uh oh. I don't care if I was wearing Scopolomaine patches behind each ear, this girl will NEVER get on that ride!

Hahaha I'm just a sucker.

Agreed!

Ugh, sorry to hear about the rain! I packed one of those towels, too Ya just never know when you might need it.

It was just so...wet that first afternoon. And yay those towels came in a lot handier than I thought they would!

Every time I come back to comment this Tr's grown by like 2 pages

Yeah it's pretty insane! It's fun to read everyone's comments though (for me)!

Oh no everyone looks so panicked besides you!

Haha the twins have never been on this ride and didn't know what to expect.

Ooo good idea. We recently switched our bath towels to microfiber ones after reading some reviews, and they've been amazing. It was weird at first because they're a totally different texture than any others we had, but they dry so fast!

I love that they dry so fast, it's so convenient!

Just found your report.
What a amazing trip! I love your sisters Mickey outfit

Thank you for reading!
Yeah my sister...the fashionista

 

[chunkymonkey]

I LOVE CS's Mickey dress!! I got a Minnie one for our upcoming trip, but I like hers way better.

Poor little Eva!! She looks so scared!

She has a Minnie one too...she wears it later on I think...I can't keep up with her outfits!
Yes poor Eva...she was freaked out!

Glad I finally made it over here! What a fun, exhausting, wet start to your trip! I completely forgot about those microfiber towels. I will have to start adding them to our packing list from now on.

How nice that you were all staying at the Poly, and all so close to each other. I love that resort!

I'm glad that the Crystal Palace breakfast was a success even after your late night.

Yay! Great to see you here!
It was an insane arrival and the first day wasn't even over and it's been non-stop so far!
The towels came in hand, at least for me, plus they are so lightweight!

I silently followed along on your last trip report and am looking forward to this one!

Thank you so much for following! Welcome!

 

[Neverland_Girl]

I thought I was so behind looking at how many pages you're on, but I only missed two updates!

I also remembered to leave a mousekeeping envelope. My sister hand-makes these for our trip and she handed a bunch of them to every one else too. Each envelope is a different Disney print which is very cute.

These are adorable and such a good idea! We usually just leave the dollar bills and spare change we've accumulated from the trip on the last day.

To my surprise monorail bag check was not too bad. They still had to check like every stroller and bag but it wasn't as painful as I thought it would be because there were far fewer people on line. The best part was being able to skip the park bag check lines which are usually much worse!

We're staying at the Poly for the 1st time in Feb/Mar and I am so excited about this feature

CS is already killing the outfit game! She's the Disbounding Queen. These are great pictures!

We had a great time at CP. It was our first real meal after our long travel night and airplane food. It was also the first character experience and most of the kids loved it. I thought it was a nice relaxing way to "ease" everyone into the Disney experience! It took an hour and a half total for breakfast - and I had to usher everyone out because our FP for our very first ride, Peter Pan, was about to expire. On to Fantasyland!

We're trying this in Feb/Mar too and I've heard really good things about it. Tigger was my favorite character growing up so I'm going to try to find an old picture of me as a little kid wearing my tigger costume and get him to sign it.

So I think from this picture, you can tell I may have lost my Cool Aunt status.

Poor Eva! Hopefully she isn't scarred for too long!

 

[Tracy161]

That's going in our charter!! Lifetime Cool Aunt Status!

Absolutely!!!

 

[Duffy Lover]

Holy moly! What a trip and crew! I can tell you are a mega planner... And you have a lovely family. I can't wait to read more. Will you share Poly room and view pics?

 

[ariane37]

Chunkysis reminded everyone to bring their 1) Autograph books 2) Sharpies 3) Pennies and quarters for the pressed penny machines. She was on top of that every day.

Ha! At least you got to knock 3 things of your "remind" list!

The PP Photographer was very impressed with CS's outfit so she made her knee on the ground in the center. LOL.

I know I said this already but I LOVE all her outfits and this one is beautiful! SHE looks beautiful

It was hot. Definitely humid,

Um, YES, yes it was

of course takes us 10 minutes to figure out where everyone wanted to sit as some of the kids wanted to sit next to each other and their parent and since this isn't Twister, not every kid can have their wish.

Oh man, how true! Of course here nobody ever wants to sit by their parents. When my stepsons and nephew are here we have 1. everyone wanting one of my stepsons on one side and 2. Nana on the other. Doesn't work when it's 5 boys wanting it this way!

Of course nothing is that quick...we have to make sure all the kids go to the bathroom, we have to get everything packed up, have to get the stroller. Have to figure out who actually wants to ride the stroller or who wants to be carried and who wants to walk.

Love this too! Again the most young children I've gone on vacation or to a place like the Bronx Zoo was is 5 but that's enough

I think we took up an entire boat!

The Chunky boat!

Sienna making sure Uncle Steve was really there:

You are in the back of the train.

It swings madly from side to side and you can feel the movement more from the back.

I actually prefer being in the back because I think that's the ONLY place you feel the cars swing, but I can see how that would be a bit scary for a child on their first roller coaster. But kudos to Eva for doing it and bouncing back quick!

 

[chunkymonkey]

Here's another example of the "Chunky Boat" as @ariane37 put it. Great name! We had plenty of Chunky boat rides throughout our trip!
This pictures is from Kelly and it shows all of us on IASW!

Not sure why Eva has the pouty face but she did enjoy the ride!

Aug 12 - Day 1 Part 3: And I'm back in the game...

When we got back to the Poly we already quite wet so took turns and hopped into the shower. The thing about the Poly bathrooms is that the are fully enclosed, with the sinks, toilet and bathtub/shower in the same room so it was hard to get ready sometimes. Just something to note in case you're look for something where the sinks are outside the room. Sorry I don't have pictures of the room as it was the last thing I was thinking of when we arrived at 1am, and by now the room was already a bonafide mess and we'd been there for less than 24 hours. Haha.

Some of the kids were napping and some were wide awake. The connecting door was open as usual and Caylee and Bryan were in and out. We had maybe an hour to kill before we had to leave for dinner, so we just sat and chatted. Our room became the "hub" of all activity. Chunky Central , if you will, as we were right smack in the middle of Caylee and Bryan's room and Sophie and Mimi's room and right above Eva and Sienna. It's probably a good thing their room was not next to ours as well since Sienna would never have been able to sleep!

We had a 6:50pm dinner at Tusker so at 5:40pm I had to rally everyone up to head to the bus stop, which of course took 15 minutes before we were all there, which made us right on schedule! I was beginning to get the hang of this! We waited for a bus, not sure how quickly one came, but since I don't remember a bad experience it probably came in a reasonable time. Soon we were off to AK!! It was incredibly cloudy and raining on and off when we arrived.

I pointed out the Tree of Life to everyone and herded them towards Africa. It was a light rain and we put on our ponchos and stroller covers. But literally by the time we got to Tusker House, it was POURING. We checked in and got a pager and just waited around for a while under the covered area. It was still so wet. It's like you couldn't get rid of that layer of humidity that clung to you, and it was worse under a poncho. So glad to take it off! It was a bit annoying we had to wait so long for a table when we had an ADR but I think we waited close to 20 minutes, with the kids sitting in their strollers. Finally we were buzzed. It was time to eat!!

For us Tusker was a sanctuary from the rain! We were brought into the room that is to the left of the buffet when first walking in. Everyone got settled around a very long table and the kids played musical chairs again. Haha.I think we ended up with adults at either ends of the tables and the kids in the middle.

This is where I also happened to have my first DISMeet of the trip!
The incredible @soniam!!!

She was having dinner with her DH and DS and was on their way out. It was their only day at the parks because they had just gotten off a Disney cruise. It was great we got to meet for the first time in person today! Sorry I was a bit of a hot mess that day (well, this was a trend that continued every day). LOL. See you this fall @soniam!

Once we had finally settled in we all got our drink orders: iced tea for me, CS, and Kelly, diet cokes for almost everyone else, and lemonades and juices for the kids. Oh we also got some beers as well. The CM told us we would soon get our first guest so just wait before we went up to get food. Chunkysis made sure the Autograph books were out, sharpies opened and ready! These pics are from a bunch of cameras so sorry they are all like a different size.

Love you Daisy!!

I love how Sienna is so invested in the whole character dining thing.

I tried to get Caylee in the pictures but she was not having it. So I settled for a picture with her.

and I got myself a Daisy selfie

Then Goofy was right behind Daisy...

Hmm Sienna is taking this character dining thing very seriously!

And a goofy Selfie for me

I look like I have a mohawk from the lamp behind me!

The people who didn't want pictures just went up to get food (i.e. Steve), and some of the parents went to get food for the kids.

Next up Mickey! Oh look who's awake.

It was hard to take pictures sometimes as it was a bit tight as our table was so big it took up most of the room.

Check out CS's dress:

I'm just warning you all now I have the same food dress that I'm going to be wearing at Food and Wine! So you probably shouldn't meet me while hungry. Actually I get hungry looking at this picture. Where's my Mickey pretzel!?!

It's the man of the hour, Donald!!

And one more selfie

OK now it was really time for food...and food we did get...

There was also a carving station with salmon and I think a pork roast...I can't remember, but the salmon was good.

Some desserts:

This bread pudding was quite good.

I got one of the pink cakes above but couldn't really eat it, it was too sweet.

Sorry I don't have pictures of our plates of food. I was distracted and just started eating. Everyone really enjoyed the food. I think they were surprised by the selection of more exotic offerings than your usual buffet. Everyone ate a lot too, I guess they were hungry as most people skipped lunch since breakfast was so filling. As we were winding down I got a chance to sit next to Eva.

Me: Eva what's was your favorite thing you rode today
Eva (I kid you not): The roller coaster!
Me (bewildered): Really?
Eva: Yes (pauses for a bit)
Eva: Auntie Su-Lynn, I'm having a really great time.
Me (bewildered again): Really?
Eva: Yes!

AWWWWW my heart just melted...and I'm BACK to COOL AUNT status again!!

The Cool Aunt with Eva and Sophie

After we paid our bill, which included 20%off with our TIW card, we decided what we were going to do. My sisters would go back to the Poly as their kids were not interested in seeing Pandora in the rain, and Kelly's family and us would head to catch a glimpse of Pandora at night. It would be our only opportunity to do so that week and I just wanted to take a few pictures. So we headed to Pandora while my sisters and their DHs and kids went back to the bus stop. It was still raining pretty hard. Blech.

Here's some pictures of Pandora at night. It was actually not as brightly lit as I thought it would be. It just kinda has a glow. It was hard to see walking around. I mostly saw the UV paint on the ground.

To end the night we got some drinks from Pongu Pongu. Kelly and I got the blood orange margaritas and the girls got the Night Blossoms with the glow cubes. We browsed the gift shop a bit and saw the banshees that people were lining up to buy. No thank you, I'd rather save my 69 dollars for something else.

We were wet and tired, but the drinks perked us up a bit and gave us the energy to walk around for a bit in the stores, get some pressed pennies and walk back to the bus. Soon we were back in the Poly and crashed for the night. Whew, what a crazy first day so far but the rain didn't dampen anyone's spirits and I was back in business as Cool Aunt. So we're good.

Coming up...do we get to ride TGMR before it closes?​

 

[MamaCoop]

OMG little Sienna was crashed out! That is so adorable!

I am sorry about the weather but at least it was Disney!

So awesome that you are back to being the Cool Aunt!!! (well... you really didn't lose it!)

 

[KathyM2]

I know what you mean about Pandora not being as bright as expected at night...still super cool of course!

The food at Tusker for dinner looked pretty good, have only been there for breakfast. Not a big fan of buffets but looked like some different options!

 

[rdkeim]

Great update! I'm glad you didn't let the rain dampen your spirits. I'm anxious to see Pandora at night - hoping I can score a FP for FOP!