Once, Twice, Three Times to Disney!?! - Updated (finally!) 7/22

[DisneyParkLover]

Hello and welcome to my third DisBoards trip report! For those of you who don't know me, I'm Katie (DisneyParkLover). This trip report will be a hodgepodge of sorts. It will primarily serve as a three-in-one trip report for the three trips we made to Disney in 2015. (Three? Are we crazy?!?!) But I will also include you guys in real life updates on what is going on with our family and do a little pre-trip reporting for the two possible trips we have planned for 2016! So if all that sounds like your cup of tea, please join along!

 

[DisneyParkLover]

The Cast of Characters

Starring:



This is my son Luke! He is the star of all of my trip reports so far and this one will be no different. He loves Disney! He loves the rides, the characters, the fireworks - everything! His favorite characters are Mickey and the Disney Junior characters. Not sure on favorite ride - he loves Dumbo, it's a small world, and Astro Orbiter. He is a (mostly) easygoing toddler. He is currently 2 1/2 and he was 22 months, 24 months, and 27 months on our trips.

Supporting Actors/Actresses:




That's me and DH (and the side of Luke's head! ). I'm Katie, a 32 year old nurse practitioner. I can't pick a favorite ride. I love Soarin', Haunted Mansion, Rock N Roller Coaster, Splash, Everest...and so many more! My favorite character is Winnie the Pooh. My favorite park is Epcot.

My DH is James. James is a 36 year old chemical engineer. His favorite ride is Tower of Terror. His favorite park is also Epcot. He doesn't have a favorite character.




Next up are my parents who will join us on two of our three adventures. DM or "Gaga" is a jack of all trades - stay at home mom, retired respiratory therapist, and current condo manager (and the one who basically keeps everything running in our family!). Her favorite park is Epcot and her favorite ride is Soarin'. She has a soft spot for Eeyore!

DF, or "Gompa" is a computer software engineer. He loves Tigger and Tower of Terror! His favorite park is Epcot (sensing a theme?). He also loves dining options heavy on protein and so you will definitely see his influence in some of our choices!


Smaller Roles:

You will see some appearances of M and her family during our October trip. Those of you who read it may remember them from my first trip report. We did not intentionally plan to go at the same time, but had some overlap (just like we did on Luke's first trip!). Great minds think alike I guess. She and her husband have three wonderful boys and we get to spend a little bit of time with all of them on this trip!

 

[DisneyParkLover]

Chapter Links

Trip #1 - May 2015

Travel Day
Day 1 - Taking a Walk on the Wild Side!
Day 1 - Animal hugs and braving the Yeti
Day 1 - Afternoon of Dino Fun

Life Update!!!!
Another real life update - our house story
Gender Reveal

Day 2 - A Morning at MK with a Premature Ending
Day 2 - An abbreviated afternoon with a decreased travel party

Day 3 - Up with the sun to get to Epcot!
Day 3 - Enjoying the Flower & Garden Festival
Day 3 - Future World Fun and the Best Dinner Ever

Day 4 - Mother's Day at Disney
Day 4 - A spur of the moment plan change

Day 5 - The Saddest Day at Disney
Day 5 - The Finale

Trip 1 - A Summary
Life update with nursery photos


Trip #2 - The Three Musketeers Brave July!

Travel Day
A Rope-droppin' Morning at Magic Kingdom

Baby is here!!

Life update: Newborn Portraits

Luke's First Roller Coaster
A Lazy Morning at Epcot
A Character-Filled Afternoon
A Character-Filled Afternoon (Part 2)
"Why yes, I'd love some rum with my dole whip!"
The One Where It All Falls Apart
Our Last Day at Disney
Our Last Day at Disney (Part 2)

Trip #3
Goin' Deluxe
Life's a Beach (Club)!

 

[DisneyParkLover]

The story of how all these trips came to be

Trip #1 (chronologically) was also the trip we planned first. The whole point of the trip was to go with my brother and sister-in-law and their daughter. My bro and SIL came with us on our adults only trip back in 2008. Here is a picture of all of us together on that trip:




But while they had gotten to experience the joy and magic that is Disney, their daughter never had! They were firmly planted in the "wait until she can remember" camp. And while I don't feel the same I can certainly understand and respect those that do. (Especially since most people don't go quite as often as we do.) So wait we did. Until finally at age 6, my SIL thought it would be a good age to take her.

So this trip came into being solely to be my niece's first trip. While we usually travel in fall, my SIL wanted spring. She actually wanted to go over my niece's birthday, but since it fell over Spring Break, we compromised and did the first week of May instead.

So the dates were set. Check one! Now we just needed a place. Since we had a bigger group we decided it would be cheaper and easier to stay offsite. So I researched several options at HomeAway and VRBO and came up with a lovely (and cheap!) option very close to Disney property. I will need to search through all my old emails to get the name of the place, so I will add that in later. But the important thing is, the place was booked. Check two! Then flights were booked (DH, Luke, and I flew in while my parents drove down.) Check three! And then it was somewhere around this time that my DB and SIL decided they weren't coming.

But the trip was planned, so we decided we were going with or without them!

Details Trip #1:

Dates: May 6-11
Place: 3 bedroom offsite condo
Who: me, DH, Luke, and my parents
Transportation: combination of driving and flying


So that takes care of trip #1. But after my DB and SIL cancelled, we started thinking about our beloved fall trip. We were excited about spring of course, but we were going to miss fall weather, fall crowds, Food & Wine, and staying on site. So talk of adding on a fall trip began. "We could upgrade to an annual pass!" "We could get Tables in Winderland!" And let's face it, once we started talking about it, it was going to happen!

So we began planning what is chronologically trip #3. Since we were planning to get annual passes, we decided against doing free dining. It didn't make sense with the added ticket cost. And since we weren't planning for free dining, that opened up more lodging options and date options.

We picked the last week in October because we thought it would give us the best combination of weather and crowds. We used a couple of the popular websites to determine what weeks might be busier due to free dining, Jersey week, etc. and worked around them. Check one!

I had heard about DVC point rental here on the DIS and started looking into it. I think the rest of my family was a little unsure, but I convinced them to trust me. I knew we wanted to be near Epcot since it is everyone's favorite park and we were going for Food & Wine. So I requested two standard view rooms at Boardwalk. And they were completely booked (and this was at 11 months to the day!).

This put a little kink in my plans. The agent emailed me that she could get us two rooms at Beach Club, but that was more than I had anticipated spending. So I went to the rest of my family and together we made the decision to go for it! So we reserved the rooms! Check two!

We had already decided we would all drive down for this trip, so that was set too. Check three!

Details Trip #3:

Dates: October 23 - November 1
Place: Beach Club Villas in two deluxe studios
Who: me, DH, Luke, and my parents
Transportation: driving to get to WDW, mix of driving and Disney transportation while there




So we had two trips planned and we were set. Until...

DH and I had been talking about going somewhere just the two of us. We had gone to Gatlinburg just the two of us in December and it had been nice to have some couple time. But we also wanted to do something with just our little family. So we threw around some possible ideas for trips for just the two of us or trips for the three of us.

In the end, it wound up being DH that mentioned Disney! (Shocking but true!) So I started looking into it. I didn't feel like we needed another couple's trip since we had recently had the one to Gatlinburg. So we looked at the options for our little family, and Disney just made sense. We had points for the flights, we already had annual passes. So the only expense would be lodging, and the cost of value resorts was super cheap with the passholders discount. When we realized we could do Disney cheaper than we could the beach, our minds were made up.

We picked a long weekend right after Luke's second birthday. We knew it would be hot and crowded, but the timing worked well for both of us to take a long weekend off work and it was nice that we were able to make it work around Luke's birthday.

We knew we would be flying because of the points, so we decided to get a preferred room to be close to Disney transportation. We found a great deal at the All Stars, and we picked Sports because we had never been stayed there and thought Luke would like it!

Details Trip #2:

Dates: July 24 - July 27
Place: All Stars Sports preferred room
Who: me, DH, and Luke
Transportation: flying there and back, all Disney transportation while we are there


So there you have it! If you stuck around for all of that, thanks! If not, I can't really blame you! I promise there more exciting posts with lots of pictures coming soon!

 

[DisneyParkLover]

Travel Day

It was finally here! Our travel day for our spring Disney trip! When we fly, we primarily use Southwest. The rates are cheaper and both DH and I have Southwest cards that we use to earn points. The only downside to that is the closest Southwest airport is about an hour and a half away. Fortunately, I was able to get a later flight so that I was still able to work a full day on that day (a Wednesday). We were all packed and ready to go, so as soon as I left work we headed for the airport! We made good time and parked the car and headed into the airport. We didn't run into any problems with security, which I was very thankful for. Having experienced a missed flight due to hang ups with security, I am always a little worried. I brought Luke's birth certificate because we had not purchased him a seat (required for 2 and over, but he was only 22 months). Since he is tall for his age, I thought they may question his birth date, but no one asked to see it.

After making through security, we quickly found our gate. We still had a while until our flight, so Luke entertained himself by watching all the planes come and go. He really loved seeing the planes! He also had some snacks and drinks to pass the time.




Before long, we boarded our flight and even though we hadn't purchased Luke a set, the plane was not full and so he wound up getting one! He liked sitting in his own seat (for a little while!) and he sat peacefully snacking and coloring while we waited for takeoff.




I was worried about takeoff, but I shouldn't have been! Luke loved that part and kept asking for "more, more!" Before too long, he was bored with his own seat and wanted to sit in Mama's lap.




The flight was in two parts with a layover, so the first part of our flight was very short. During the layover, we grabbed a light dinner in the airport. Luke and I shared cheese and fruit while DH got a sandwich. Nothing fancy, but it filled our tummies. I had hoped Luke would sleep during the second flight, but the seats had TVs in them, and he was delighted to find he could watch "Ickey" on the plane.









Fortunately, the screen kept him pretty well entertained so he did well throughout the flight. And of course, about 5 minutes before we are supposed to land I see this....




Of course! I try to get him to sleep the whole flight and then he falls asleep 5 minutes before we land! Silly toddler! He woke up as soon as we got off the plane. My parents (who had driven down) graciously picked us up at the airport, so we boarded to fake-o-rail to head towards the exit.




Doesn't Luke look terribly excited?! Well, that's pretty typical for being woken up after a 5 minute nap! We drove to our resort and finally fell into bed around midnight. We needed our rest, we had a big day at Disney ahead of us!

 

[DisneyParkLover]

Taking a walk on the wild side!

We were up at 7 for our first Disney day. (And for the record, this is sleeping in for us! We are all pretty early risers.) We weren't in too big a rush (love FP+ for that!), so we had a light breakfast in the condo. If I recall correctly, we packed cereal and snacks and had my parents pick up milk and perishables for us when they arrived.

I should probably add here that Luke had his first stomach virus the week before we left. He threw up for about 24 hours, then still felt pretty bad for two days after that. And even once he felt better, he still had a delicate stomach. So I knew what to expect when I got the stomach virus a few days later (and just a couple days before we left!). Mine ran the same course so I was just feeling better when we left. The doctor said we were safe to travel as we were no longer contagious. However people we had already exposed could still manifest symptoms. (Some foreshadowing here!)

So all this backstory was just to explain that Luke and I still had sensitive tummies and so we didn't have much appetite this morning.

After a quick breakfast, we headed out to our first park - Animal Kingdom! A couple photos on the drive in:






Our resort was not far from Disney, so within a few minutes we were there!








I love this park! Love the theming, love the lush vegetation, and love the animals. This alternates with
Magic Kingdom as being my second favorite park (sorry DHS, you are in dead last!).

My notes say we arrived at AK at 9, and I remember that we were just a few minutes after rope drop. We took a few pictures in front of the Tree of Life.






Our first stop was It's Tough to be a Bug. I really like this show and it is a must do. I was worried Luke would be afraid, but we warned him what was coming and he did very well.






Our next stop was for our first fastpasses of the day - Kilimanjaro Safari!



As usual I took about 4 billion pictures on the safari, but to spare everyone intense boredom, I will just post a couple favorites.







And a selfie...




All right, I am going to leave off there for now. Next up we will be getting up close and personal with some of the Animal Kingdom residents!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Joining in - thanks for the shout-out in my TR! That is awesome that you had 3 trips last year and is amazing how Disney math works where at some point you would be foolish to not get Annual Passes ... and then when you have them, well you'd be foolish to not add a third trip!

Bummer that your Brother and his family wound up not going though

Nice that it worked out to have a seat for Luke anyway - and I see him perusing the cocktail menu ... clearly he is a fan of Food and Wine as well

uh-oh, I don't like that stomach bug foreshadowing!

I love the theming of Animal Kingdom - just so much detail! I think after visiting the San Diego Zoo safari last fall - which is similar to AK but with much less theming (and effort to hid fences, etc.) it makes me appreciate AK that much more

Yeah, pretty much a Disney rule that you have to take a billion pictures on the safari no matter how many times you have ridden it in the past

 

[Magnolia85]

Joining in!!

 

[schmass]

Great start! I read your first TR, when Luke was a tiny baby! I have a DS that is 2 months older than Luke. It is so cute seeing them at Disney at all the different ages. We were there about 2 weeks before your May trip.

LOL at Luke falling asleep right before the plane landed. Rory (my DS) did this ALL the time during our April trip.

 

[DisneyParkLover]

Joining in - thanks for the shout-out in my TR! That is awesome that you had 3 trips last year and is amazing how Disney math works where at some point you would be foolish to not get Annual Passes ... and then when you have them, well you'd be foolish to not add a third trip!

I swear, when we scheduled that third trip people thought we were insane! But when I showed them the math, they agreed with the logic.

And proud to say that I have been binge reading and am almost caught up on your trip report! I am enjoying it so much that I am thinking we should work a San Diego/Disneyland trip in down the road!

Bummer that your Brother and his family wound up not going though

I know. We are hoping they may join us on our fall trip this year, but only time will tell!

Nice that it worked out to have a seat for Luke anyway - and I see him perusing the cocktail menu ... clearly he is a fan of Food and Wine as well

He enjoys the wandering around, but not much of the food! He went from baby who will eat anything to toddler who will eat like 3 different things. We brought Gerber Graduates for our May and July trips. They worked great! No refrigeration required, could take them to the parks and Luke could eat one while we ate. Luke loved them in May and July, so we bought a bunch for October. He wouldn't touch the things. Ugh, toddlers!

uh-oh, I don't like that stomach bug foreshadowing!

Yeah. I'm not gonna lie to you. It wasn't good.

I love the theming of Animal Kingdom - just so much detail! I think after visiting the San Diego Zoo safari last fall - which is similar to AK but with much less theming (and effort to hid fences, etc.) it makes me appreciate AK that much more

Just love AK!

Yeah, pretty much a Disney rule that you have to take a billion pictures on the safari no matter how many times you have ridden it in the past

Yep. I'm the same way at our local zoo. I must have a thousand pictures of the same animals!

Joining in!!

Thanks for joining!

Great start! I read your first TR, when Luke was a tiny baby! I have a DS that is 2 months older than Luke. It is so cute seeing them at Disney at all the different ages. We were there about 2 weeks before your May trip.

LOL at Luke falling asleep right before the plane landed. Rory (my DS) did this ALL the time during our April trip.

Glad to have you joining in again! Luke is notorious for falling asleep in the car 5 minutes before we arrive at our destination, so I shouldn't have been surprised!

 

[DisneyParkLover]

 

[heaven2dc]

Congratulations! What a cute announcement!

Enjoying your trip report - can't wait to read more!

 

[TinkLoverSam]

Congrats!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Congratulations! Great news!

 

[DisneyParkLover]

Congratulations! What a cute announcement!

Enjoying your trip report - can't wait to read more!

Thank you and welcome!

Congrats!

Thank you!

Congratulations! Great news!

View attachment 152330

Thanks! I love the button! Now I want to actually have a button like that!

 

[I_Luv_Stitch]

Congratulations, what great news!

 

[DisneyParkLover]

Congratulations, what great news!

Thank you! We just posted this photo on Facebook to announce the pregnancy. With our Disney addiction, it seemed like the perfect announcement!

 

[khertz]

I read your past two reports, so of course I'm in for this one! And congrats on the new addition!!

 

[Dugette]

Can't wait to hear about all your trips!

And then it was somewhere around this time that my DB and SIL decided they weren't coming.

What a bummer...especially for their daughter! Glad you still went and got three trips out of the APs, though.

I had hoped Luke would sleep during the second flight, but the seats had TVs in them, and he was delighted to find he could watch "Ickey" on the plane.

I wish all planes had that feature. We've happened upon a couple and Izzy LOVES that, which means I LOVE the lack of need to entertain her. Of course, we call that show "Minnie" around here.

The doctor said we were safe to travel as we were no longer contagious. However people we had already exposed could still manifest symptoms. (Some foreshadowing here!)

Glad the two of you were feeling somewhat better, at least.

Too cute in his bug glasses!

Congratulations on your new mouseketeer!

 

[Kiren]

Aw! That's such an awesome way to announce! Congratulations! My step son has been asking DH and I for a "sister or brother" soon. We keep telling him we need a bigger house! He's almost six!