Ooh, the monorail DOES smell funny... (almost finished!) [11/30-12/17, 2010]

[bumbershoot]

Hello, I am a trip report. I have no name b/c my writer can't make up her mind. Silly writer. Plus, she's not really sure of the direction, the focus, of this report, other than the fact that it will recount the things she and her family did in Orlando for a few recent weeks.

So expect the title to change names. The writer and I apologize in advance if you should lose track of the title and want to find the silly thing again.


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And now, to the writer of this probable tome (if past DLR reports are any indication of how much I can write about very little).


I am Molly, a homeschooling mamacita (might be the first time I've ever used that word to refer to myself) with a 6 year old boy-child. He's an "only", but a really good one, and if he is "all" we get, kidlet-wise, he's the perfect little dude for us!

[I should mention right now that we're always happy to have another kiddo and do not feel like it's too late at all...my cousin's husband put his foot firmly into his mouth during our trip, because my cousin hadn't shared our continued baby hopes with him, and I don't want any of my readers to do the same, b/c he seemed very embarrassed (though I was VERY nice about it) and I would hate for any of you nice people to feel like he did.]

The hubster is Robert. I might be the budget-watcher, the one that made our money create this trip, but he's the one that made the money. Yay him! He also helps with the homeschooling. And the dishes. And cooking. Hmm, what is it I actually do around here? He might need to renegotiate his contract soon. Hmm.

Eamon is our son. His name is said sort of like Aidan but not. OK that makes more sense when you hear it. It starts with the "a" of the "Ai" part of Aidan. Then you end it with an "un" like you say the "an" part of Aidan. But of course there's an M in there instead of a D. It's not like "amen", no matter how you say that word. Unless you say it strangely, of course. Anyway, he's an active dude, taking all sorts of classes at the Y. He loves friends and cousins. He's ALL about the cousins, even when he hasn't met them yet!


We've been visiting Disneyland since he was 17 months old. Just a one day trip then and the year after, on a longer trip to visit my San Diego-dwelling brother and his wife. In 2007 we decided we wanted more, and so 2 full years of having DLR APs and taking several trips, including 3 solo trips for me, ensued.

I have family that lives on the east coast of Florida, along with a cousin who was raised in Orlando and still lives there, and another in Tampa. We'd wanted to visit them for a long time, and got into wanting to see WDW shortly after getting all into Disneyland/DCA. We had a couple start-stops in WDW planning; some stops were had almost immediately after starting! With our budget, it's just hard to do DLR and WDW at the same time.

So after our trip last year to DLR (I should mention that we bought into DVC in March 2009), we called a halt to those trips. All funds were poured into paying off our car (finished! 2 years early) and towards this trip. All vacations were called to a halt to make sure we had the funds AND the vacation time for our epic trip.

Well, except that Robert travels as part of his job, so he got to take care of the travel bug that way. And my lovely brother and his handsome wife (or the other way around) are quite generous AND love their nephew, so they've had me and Eamon down a few times. All that in mind, however, it's still very difficult for a travel-loving family to not take full vacations for OVER a year! After all, Robert's still working on work trips, and I'm the solo parent when I'm at my brother's (they are blissfully childfree, and while my brother has incredible insight about kids and especially Eamon, they aren't going to actually take over for more than the time it would take me to work out and shower). Not a breezy time for anyone but the boy.


OK so here we are! Obviously we're back from WDW and Universal, so this trip happened! So let's get to it. Or as they say on Disaster, "and we're....movin' on"!

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long and boring pretrip journal

extra cast of characters

flying

driving

checking in

settling in

December 1 A & B

December 2 A & B & C & D at Hollywood Studios

December 3 A & B & C at Epcot

December 4 A & B & C + forgotten pictures on resort-exploration and DownTownDisney day

December 5 A & B & C at Magic Kingdom

December 6 A & B at Animal Kingdom

December 7 at Epcot, and thoughts about the showcases

December 8 at DHS, with Brown Derby tastiness!

December 9 A & B & C at AK!

December 10 A & B & C & D at Universal's Islands of Adventure!

December 11 A & B at Universal's Universal Studios! (lol)

December 12 A & B back at IOA!

December 13 A & B & C at Universal/IOA, and D Jambo House

December 14 at Jambo, with family

December 15 At Epcot, with other family!

December 16 at DHS

December 17 A & B & C back at MK

A few Photopass pictures

 

[Princess Mags]

Cool first poster can't wait to read about your trip! Oh and by the way I love your son's name... It's really awesome and original without being too out there

 

[kaoden39]

Hi Molly!! I am here!!

 

[bumbershoot]

Wowie, my first person! Welcome!

While at WDW, we finally met another Eamon. Robert was in the shop at Expedition Everest and heard a woman saying something to an Eamon. Ooh was he confused. He actually brought them outside to meet us, and both boys thought it was really cool to meet another without having to go to Ireland!

The story behind the name is that I'd always wanted an Aidan, after I saw Benny and Joon and fell madly in love with Aidan Quinn. But then...everyone else used the name before I got a chance to, and I just couldn't do it. We found "Eamonn" in a Celtic Baby Names book, and loved it. Should mention that we were watching lots of Lord of the Rings, and loved Eomer and Eowyn's names, but couldn't do that either.

So we had a list of names we liked, and I named him from that list when the time came. Turns out I should have named him Angus though; that was from Robert's list of boy names, but I thought it sounded too rough and tumble for the little dude I had...but as he got older, I could see that it would have been great. Same with Hamish; that name is of a character in Braveheart, Wallace's big burly (but sweet) friend. Would have been GREAT for Eamon. Not that E is big or burly, but he ACTS it.



I'll get back to the report soon. Right now the little not-Angus not-Hamish is in need of food, and it falls to me as Robert is trying to fix my Macbook, which got a beer rudely spilled into it last night. I could continue to ignore the food situation, but I am in the living room and somehow Phantom Menace was put on and then left by the watchers (Eamon and Robert), and I just don't like it enough to stay in the room until the watchers come back!



Hi Michele!

 

[Sherry E]

I'm here too!!

 

[bumbershoot]

Woohoo!

 

[kaoden39]

It's getting to be a real party here!!

 

[Casey's Mommie]

I've always loved reading your trip reports, bumbershoot! Looking forward to reading all about WDW!

 

[bumbershoot]

Yay, another reader!


Good news for those coming from my pre-trip report...my computer is limping, but sort of on. Might not ultimately make it, but at least it isn't entirely gone yet.

(and this Dell of Robert's is still awful. I should have "let" him (and by that I mean I should have just ordered it without asking anything like "I've never heard of that brand, is it a real computer brand?") buy the Acer!)

 

[kaoden39]

I have heard good things about the Acer computers. Good luck with your little baby.

 

[LisaKeys]

Looking forward to reading your TR!
And I love my Acer Aspire Laptop!!!

 

[QueenDoOver]

Me too! Patiently waiting!

 

[bumbershoot]

As an overview of the trip planning....there were things the trip was supposed to be. Many of those things did NOT happen.

While planning, Vero Beach was considered to start off the trip. But I just couldn't work out how to get there without losing a large chunk of time (doubled by reversing it).

While planning right up until the end, right into the middle of the trip, actually, we had plans to go to Dinosaur World...that plan was just pushed off the planning board. It was a bummer, but on the other hand, I hadn't really realized how dinosaur-heavy both WDW and Universal would be. After seeing a *moving* triceratops and triceratops baby in Jurassic Park, who would want a mere fiberglass shell of one? (though honestly that day happened after the plan had been tabled)

The other thing dumped from the plan was Orangeworld, the big orange-shaped citrus store. Couldn't find a time, couldn't find the interest in the guys...

So those are the things that weren't done.

What was done, you ask? Ah, that would be telling too soon.

But we did have two nights at Caribbean Beach Resort to try to sleep off some jet lag. Then we met family and had a 2 bedroom villa at Old Key West. After that time (stressful. and fabulous at the exact same time) they did go back home and we moved to a 1 bedroom villa at Old Key West. Then we moved to Universal's Royal Pacific Resort, Club Level floor. And lastly we went on back to Animal Kingdom Lodge in another 1 bedroom villa, but at Jambo, not Kidani Village (where most of the villas are).

OK that all sounds really fancy, but almost all of it was thanks to nearly 3 years' worth of DVC points. Which means we will have to borrow from 2012 points if we want to do anything close to this next year. And if we do that, well...we'll have to do other things for vacation LOL.


I've lost track of where I was going with all of that, and Robert's trying to get me to watch Psych (our DVR is beyond full), so I might as well post this.

 

[kaoden39]

Staying at the Caribbean Beach Resort is something I have always wanted to do.

 

[Brady's Mom]

I'm here, too! Glad to see you've had some time to start telling your story! Can't wait to read more.

 

[kaoden39]

This is where all the cool kids are obviously!!

 

[DLR29]

Darn I just barely missed the first page. Oh well, I'm here too!

 

[bumbershoot]

What a lovely audience!

In true Molly style (omg what is WRONG with this Dell? it skips around from one line to another randomly) I'm multi-tasking. E is next to me, doing his learning work. Reading comprehension. Which right now is taking form as drawing things into a picture to make it match the story. Which right now means he's pretty much drawing the scene from Twister at Universal, as it's a farm scene with a scared cow and the picture is called A Stormy Day. Learning work and our trip collide.

For those who followed me, I still have very little voice. So that's about 7 days. Very weird. I'd get more worried except that my aunt lost hers before me, and Robert's voice is scratchy as well. I'm just exceptional in how long it's taking.
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I've already introduced our little family of 3, but there were more relatives coming in. I'm not sure what I'll be saying about them, but I should mention them anyway.

Syl, my aunt. Mom's sister. She's a good person who cares and has a huge heart, but it often comes across in really over the top worry. She was way too concerned with my (let me repeat MY) choices and decisions when I was pregnant, and I foolishly wanted her here to be my pseudo mom, it did not (let me repeat NOT) go well. She was NOT my mom. And I didn't have the relationship with her to tell her to buzz off. She has a very volatile relationship with her daughter, but on the other hand her daughter relies on her quite a bit for help with the kids. It's a relationship best left to them, and just ignore it when it doesn't concern you.

A, my cousin. A nice person. Loves Disney.

Sh, her husband. I'd never met him before. Robert had only met Syl, not even my cousin. Turns out he's super-great. My aunt talks about him strangely; I think she still sees him as a clueless coltish very young man (he and A married at 22 after courting for a couple years) and doesn't see the man he actually is. ADORES Disney and is very enthusiastic, even when he's wrong about something. He and I got along swimmingly.

Mr Boy will be the name for their 8 year old son. They called him Mister Baby when he was new, and he's an E as well so that would get confusing, so Mr Boy. A good kid, recently taken from school to be homeschooled. For the best, but the school was also a part of the decision and they were NOT nice about it and the family is still reeling. He's got some issues, his parents don't totally understand them, his grandma seems embarrassed about them...I think that he and I got along the best of everyone. He would maintain eye contact with me and stayed focused when we talked for the most part, and if he lost focus I could call him back without being a jerk about (*cough* Syl *cough*).

Lady, what they actually call their daughter (nickname, of course). Sometimes it sounds funny, as she's only 3, but it's what they've called her since she was new. She is a kick in the pants. FULL of energy and personality and LOVE. Annnnd reacts pretty strongly to corn syrup products just like my E. Also has a new peanut allergy that her father MUST become more aware of.



Later on we met up with another of my cousins, the daughter of my mom's brother. He was a teen in Florida b/c of his older parents retiring while he was still in school, and then he just stayed. Youngest person at the time to pass the Florida bar exams, that's his claim to fame. His older daughter (first daughter) is L. She's nice and really sarcastic, and it was the second time we've met as full-fledged adults. We got along great the first time, and this time was a bit weirder...she's all into psychology and did a wee bit of armchair stuff with DS (which is interesting b/c she's ignoring something pretty big with her child while we were actually trying to prevent the things she ended up talking about), but anyway, she's a good person too.

L's husband who I barely talked to, nice guy, knows the ins and outs of fastpasses, so that's good.

And their daughter W, a tiny mite of a thing, nearly 5...if I can find some sort of software to cover her face I'll show a cute pic of her and E. Smaller than Lady, and Lady is only 3 and is small for 3. Because she's little, one is constantly surprised by the mature things she says, and since we didn't even spend two full days with their family of 3, I never quite got used to it. My failing entirely!


I should mention that my cousin A grew up most of her life in coastal FL, and her kids are from there. Sh is from the northeast, and then cousin L and her small family are all FROM Orlando. L's sister was supposed to visit, but I'm not even sure I've ever met her, and she lives in Tampa, and she's not a big "mouse" fan...so the urge was pretty low on her part to meet up. Just never found the time.



So those are the players in our trip!

 

[kaoden39]

Oh wow. You have quite an interesting cast of characters Molly. I can hardly wait to read it all.

 

[bumbershoot]

Our flight day was November 30. At sick and wrong in the morning. Robert had a credit through hotels.com, and we decided to use that to get a seatac hotel. That way we'd get an extra maybe-one-hour of sleep. Maybe. I'm not sure it worked.

It was really complicated, and although we liked the Radisson just across from the airport, if we were going to do it again I would get to the hotel much earlier than we did. The way it worked out for us, it was just another stressor, more packing and unpacking, and, well, let's just face it, more TIPS.

Tips were HUGE this trip. I wanted to be generous. Dollars were being thrown around like never before. And I hated it. Hated it! But that's perhaps another story, or just the conglomeration of all the tipping. We didn't tip on our way in. Came in, unloaded the car, got a pizza from somewhere, Robert took the car home, took the bus back (this had NOT been the plan), we went to sleep.

The tipping started the next morning with the shuttle driver. We'll say that we know $1 per bag is the general idea. We'll also say that we had a LOT of bags, most of them small and light. So maybe there was some fudging. But there was a whole lot LESS fudging than there normally is with us.

Got to the airport, wandered around cluelessly (not really, but all I remember is getting there and then getting coffee after we got through security). After all the worry, I was never asked to be extra-radiated or strip-searched or anything like that. Security was a breeze both ways, except for...well, we'll leave that until the last day.

Mmm, coffee from Dilettante....

The way things worked out, we didn't have much time at the gate at all. Took off, lovely view, saw the sunrise. Landed in Vegas, where there are birds in the terminal. They had a veggie burger at their Burger King, but they weren't serving lunch until just after our plane took off. I opted for some nasty french toast stick thing that was just hideous, and fish-tasting hashbrown things...gah. E had a pretzel and Robert had some no-meat breakfast sandwich thing that I gazed at in wonder, wishing I'd had THAT.

George Lucas is a genius. A rich, rolling in it, genius. He's even licensed Star Wars to slot machine makers! If E had been younger, it would have taken everything we had to keep him from leaping up onto the chair for those slot machines and getting us kicked out for it.

The flight took off, we saw the Luxor (where I will stay once Vegas goes smoke-free), we flew. And flew and flew and flew. And flew. Got some pretty shots of the ground from my seat. Over 4 hours later we were finally approaching our destination.

You know those ads with Dumbo flying in the clouds and the clouds are huge and fluffy and amazing? And when you haven't been to Florida, or haven't been there in awhile, or when you were going there you were taking red-eye flights because you were a 20 year old college student and could take those flights and still survive the next day, well when you haven't been there, what you don't realize is that those clouds are in the ads because those clouds are in the Florida sky!

Amazing huge tall fluffy you-can-walk-on-them clouds. One even looked like Dopey, and another like Grumpy. Seriously I can see why people start to think Disney has a dome over Orlando, because what the heck??? How do those clouds look like that without help????

Sunset came in fast. So sunrise and sunset on the same day while on a plane. Sigh.

Landed, wowie that is a BIG airport!!!!! I've been through Chicago (first red-eye to Miami stopped at 1am at O'Hare), I know big airports, but wowza.

Gathered our 200 bags (we *could have had* 2 checked bags, one carryon, and one personal item EACH, plus the stroller and carseat....instead, we had only 4 checked bags total, and the rest of that), found a cart or two, made our way to the National rental car's "Emerald Aisle".

I'm going to halt there b/c dinner is on the stove, and I figure I got us to an airport, through the skies, and to the parking garage...good transition point.

Sure do wish I had some from-the-plane pictures to share, but I'm still working on getting them to photobucket while using this unfamiliar computer...


Here's a photo. Just one. Not of fluffy clouds; I was too blown away by them to drag the camera out, plus I think we were in our slow descent and everything was put away by then.