Our 4 years and 2 kids later Disneymoon TR!!! Update 7/16 Chapter 3

[flickchick313]

Welcome to my very first TR!!
I am very excited to attempt a TR and I hope that you will join me for our very belated Disneymoon TR.

July 2, 2006 DH and I got married here in Las Vegas. We had originally planned our honeymoon to WDW 4 long years ago for after our wedding, but life interferred and we had to cancel it. Finally almost 4 years later (and two kids hahaha) we were able to go on the Disneymoon we had planned so long ago. This is why I have chosen the title.

Now onto the introductions......

I am Laura, pretty new here to the disboards and still learning my way around the site, but I am absolutely loving it. I am 27 and totally in love with Disney. I grew up in MA and then family slowly started moving to CA and my parents and I followed when I graduated high school (although I ended up in Vegas for college and never left because I fell in love ). I have been to WDW 3 times, my very first time when I was 5 and the last time I went before this trip was when I was 10. Since then all my trips have been to DLR and now have annual passes there so we can take the kids often when we visit the family in CA.

DH is Andrew, grew up in CA and going to DLR. He has never been to WDW and was so excited for this trip. He is also a big Disney fan. He had almost the whole animated movie collection before we met and he is so protective of those movies hahaha. Fun fact about us is My family and I are from MA and are ofcourse big Red Sox fans, well DH lived in NYC for a little while and is a big Yankees fan so it makes for some fun and interesting family gatherings.

Here is a picture of us.....

Now before you start feeling bad for my babies I should say that they are going on their own fun vacation with Grandma and Grandpa (my parents). They went to Treasure Island in FL for a week of fun and sun at the beach. I will include them all in the intros because I will be talking about them quite a few times through out the TR.

Jacob is our oldest he is 3 and Dylan is the baby and he is almost 2. My mom Karen and my dad Rick are wrapped around their little fingers so they got spoiled alot during their week with Grandma and Grandpa.

Here is picture of them....

The boys...Jacob is on the left, Dylan is on the right

My dad and the boys

My mom and the boys

Ok, onto the when and where of the trip....

We went May 29- June 5 2010. Though the trip really began on 5/28 with our crazy road trip to meet up with my parents in CA for our flgiht out of LAX.

We stayed at Pop Century with fingers crossed for a lake view room. (stay tuned to find out what happens with that )

I will warn you that I took alot of pictures but my camera seemed to be in a bad mood during the trip because when I took the picures they looked good on the little screen on the camera but at home on my computer not so much! We had an amazing time with some little surprises and a few bumps in the road but it will be a trip we will always remember and probably our last trip without the kids for a long, long, long time because we missed them terribly.

If this inrtoduction to my TR sounds interesting to you I hope you will join me on my journey down memory lane, and please remember it is my first TR and I am new to the disboards so I may not get all the abbreviations and things correct (and please feel free to let me know when I make a mistake ) I am super excited to begin


Up next: Road trip to CA and travel to FL!!! will we ever make it??!!....

 

[Zarabear]

Tuning in!! Can't wait to hear of your adventure, I hope you had fun and that it was EVERYTHING that you dreamed of for your Disneymoon.


~Rachal

 

[MylilTink]

Your boys are cute!

I'm riding along for the readi g too!

 

[Princess116]

joining in!!!

 

[flickchick313]

Thanks for joining in woohoo!!!

 

[Goofy442]

Can't wait to hear how it all went.

 

[Nermel9]

I am definitely in! I just went on a Disneymoon in May AND I'm a fellow Red Sox fan so we already have lots in common! Can't wait to read about your trip!

 

[flickchick313]

Chapter 1, Fri May 28, 2010: On the road again!
After a 10 day stretch of work I was more than excited for our adventure to begin. We woke up fairly early out of excitement and actually had to wake the boys up this morning. I had a few errands to run before we left so i headed off to do those before we packed up the car and hit the road. When I got back to the house we packed the car and the boys were getting antsy to get out of their high chairs and go have some fun.

Here they are excited to go.

By the time we finished it was about 10 am and we were ready to go. Now DH and I had been debating this as well as I had been debating this with my mother that we are traveling on friday of Memorial Day weekend which means there will be a good amount of traffic. Well it was also payday and Dh's company doesn't have direct deposit and the office didn't open until noon for us to pick up the check which means we wouldn't get on the road until 1pm and we had to be at my parents by 6pm for 6:30 shuttle pick up to the airport. I thought we would still have plenty of time to wait for the check and not have to transfer any money from savings but alas I was vetoed and we left without it.

We hit the road at 10am and traffic really wasn't bad at all. By noon we are just outside of Barstow, Ca which is the halfway mark. It took us only 2 hours to get there which is about 15 minutes longer than it usually takes us on a non holiday weekend. So I am thinking, to myself ofcourse , that we should have just waited. Then my phone rings and the nightmare begins.

My dad calls to tell me that a tank truck has crashed and is on fire on the 91fwy and the whole fwy is closed . The 91 is our direct route to the OC I have no clue what other way to go. So my dad does some research and calls me back and says I have to go out of the way on one fwy and then cut back on another and then hit the 5 fwy. The way we went we probably should have just went straight to the airport and not to my parents but we didn't so finally after 4 hours and alot of traffic later we arrived at my parents.
The normal drive time is about 31/2-4 hrs and this took us 6. Needless to say I got alot of I told you so's from the peanut gallery about how it was a good thing we didn't wait to get the check

We were supposed to make a pit stop at my aunt's house so the boys could see their cousins but with the traffic they were nice enough to meet us at my parents house. Here are some pics of the fun that ensued while we waited for the shuttle and my parents frantically finished packing. This is how my mom looked she's always nervous nelly she's going to forget something and this time more so because they were going to have the boys all week alone

Daddy and Dylan

Jacob and his cousin Paige

Dylan w/ his Nana (great grandmother)

Jacob w/ cousin Brad and Paige

Dylan on the swing

Jacob and cousin Molly (sorry it's blurry)

Up Next: A pit atop at Disneyland!?!.......

 

[flickchick313]

I am definitely in! I just went on a Disneymoon in May AND I'm a fellow Red Sox fan so we already have lots in common! Can't wait to read about your trip!

Congratulations on you marriage and disneymoon!!! I see you have a TR so I am going to start reading!!! Can't wait to hear about your trip!

Oh yeah and GO REDSOX!!!!!

 

[Zarabear]

Your boys looks SO super excited!!!

Can't wait to see how the rest of your belated Disneymoon goes!

~Rachal

 

[flickchick313]

Your boys looks SO super excited!!!

Can't wait to see how the rest of your belated Disneymoon goes!

~Rachal

working on an update tonight, I love doing a TR I get to relive the vacation!!

 

[Queenofallthings]

Joining in and can't wait to read more!!! You have an adorable family

 

[flickchick313]

Joining in and can't wait to read more!!! You have an adorable family

Thank you, and glad that your joining in. Things got kinda busy around here so i plan on getting an update done tomorrow afternoon for sure!!

 

[shelbys mommy]

I'm in! Your boys are so cute! I can't wait to read more!!!!

 

[flickchick313]

I'm in! Your boys are so cute! I can't wait to read more!!!!

Thank you, I am going to do an update right now!

 

[flickchick313]

Chapter 2: More traveling and we finally hit WDW!!
So we left off at my Parents house. The cousins said their goodbyes and we changed the boys into PJ's for the plane ride. All that was left was to wait for our shuttle to the airport which is supposed to arrive at 6:30p. Well it was now 6:45p and my Mom starts getting antsy and makes a call to the company, as soon as she gets them on the phone the shuttle pulls up to the house she's such a worry wart, I like to call her twitchy

There are 6 of us 2 of them being kids with car seats so it takes us a little while to load up this van but we get it and we are off. Things are going good until we notice the direction the van is going. So Mom asks which way we are going to the airport and the driver tells us that we are picking up 2 people first. This makes my mom start to worry again it is now 7:30p and their flight with the boys is at 10:30pm there is quite a bit of traffic since it's a holiday weekend so i kind of understand her worry but my Dad just tells her to keep quiet there is not much we can do, and we continue on. Next thing you know we are exiting and things are looking very familiar because the people we are picking up are here............

The Paradise Pier Hotel at Disneyland!! I was so excited to see Disneyland it just got us that much more excited about our trip and I couldn't wait to get to WDW!!!

After all her worrying we made it to the airport in plenty of time. We had a different flight from my parents and the boys so we got off with them at their terminal and helped them get to security with the boys and said a lengthy goodbye to our babies. This was our first time being away from them for more than a night so I must have hugged and kissed them a million times. After they were gone Dh and I still had about 3 hours until our flight so we walked over to our terminal at LAX and checked in. Once we got through security we saw where our gate was and then were on a mission to eat, after all of that traffic we hadn't eaten since about 11am and were starving. We found Ruby's Diner and ordered some burgers.

Then it was just sit and wait, which time actually went by quite fast and it was time to board at midnight. We had a stop over in Houston the first flgiht was about 3 hours and we both kind of dozed in and out of sleep for the flight. Finally we arrived in Houston and had about 2 hrs before our flight to MCO. Here we are waiting for the next flight...

Can you tell we're tired??!!

Finally it was time to board and we were off on the last 2 hrs of the trip, I was so tired I was in and out of sleep to whole time, but DH couldn't sleep.
We began our decent and I finally was able to keep my eyes open. Before we knew it we were off the plane on our way to Magical Express!!

We were able to walk right in line for the POP/CBR bus line and there were only like 6 people in front of us so I knew we would get right on the next bus. I have to say I was so excited to get on one of those beautifully mickey mouse decorated Magical Express busses and what pulls up for us is a bright yellow Mears bus not decorated with my beloved Mickey at all

As disappointed as I was Dh told me it was no big deal, so i sucked it up and got excited again. We load onto the bus and the driver makes andannouncement, No video will be shown I know it is silly but I kept hearing about people getting to watch a video about WDW on their trip from the airport on the ME and I was excited to watch it so I was disapointed to hear that we would not be watching it Oh well next time I guess.
I just took in the sights of the drive and finally we saw this...

Then the first stop was ours at Pop Century

Up Next: Who needs a king bed , and we finally make it to MK!!

 

[shelbys mommy]

That stinks that you didn't get the Mickey Bus or a video! But hey you are there now!!!! Can't wait to read more!!!

 

[Queenofallthings]

So excited for you....I love arrival day!!! I was disappointed the first time we took ME and we didn't have the video either, but what was funny was the next time we had the video I didn't watch it because I was too busy looking out the windows at the sights I now knew to be my beloved second home

 

[flickchick313]

That stinks that you didn't get the Mickey Bus or a video! But hey you are there now!!!! Can't wait to read more!!!

I was so disappointed about the bus but I got over it, I was jsut so happy to be there!

So excited for you....I love arrival day!!! I was disappointed the first time we took ME and we didn't have the video either, but what was funny was the next time we had the video I didn't watch it because I was too busy looking out the windows at the sights I now knew to be my beloved second home

I am thinking the same thing will happen to me the next time we go, since i know what to look for on the drive there to tell how much closer we are getting. It's funny how that work



well been a bit hectic around here the past week but i should have an update tonight or tomorrow!

 

[flickchick313]

Chapter 3: MK Finally!!!
So we finally arrive at POP and get off the bus and head towards check in. We waited only a few minutes and it was our turn to check in The CM that checked us in was this little old lady probably in her 80's and boy was she funny and cute. She was very nice and honest I asked her what the chances were of getting a lake view room and she said with a smile slim since they were totally booked. She said you can wait and see or I have a room ready right now for you. We of course decided just to take the room that was ready which was in the 70's building facing the Computer Pool. She gave us our buttons and all our info and we were off to our room. We got a little bit lost along the way but we finally made it, open the door to the room and find...........................................................................






2 beds!! Ummmm it's our honeymoon why would they give us 2 beds Now when I booked the trip the cheapest deal I found was through hotels.com and I booked through them a king bed. So when I call the front desk about the room mix up they inform me that I didn't pay for a king bed it was just a request and they do not have any king rooms available. The CM on the phone was kind of rude as well, finally she said she would have someone call me when they have a king room available and we could switch rooms. They actually ended up leaving us a message while we were gone saying that we could switch rooms the next day but we had decided we were already settled and we loved the location of our room since we were fairly close to the busses so we called them back in the morning and thanked them but decided to stay. The moral of this part of the story is beware when booking through non disney sites/services becase atleast the one I used did not specify that it was just a request and not a guarantee!!

So once I got over the shock of the beds we showered, changed and headed out to MK. The bus arrived shortly after we got in line, which there really was no line and we were on our way finally!!

Not too much longer and we made it to MK and walked through the turnstiles! On our way in a very nice couple stopped us and asked if we wanted their fastpasses for BTMRR since they were on their way out. We happily accepted and thanked them. We then just took our time and strolled slowly down mainstreet taking everything in (I was so busy looking around I forgot to take pictures oops!) Finally we made our way to the end of main street and saw the castle.....

Not only were we in awe of how much bigger it is than at DLR but at the differences between the two parks central hub and the lands I didn't remember it being that different when I went as a kid.

After takling it all in we decided to head over and see if there were anymore FP's for space mountain.

After we got our FP's we wanted to get a snack because we weren't eating dinner until 8pm at the Spirit of Aloha show. We couldn't decide what to get so we ended up on TTA...

This is us on the ride.

After TTA we went over to Stitch's Great Escape. After that we finally decided to just eat something at Cosmic Ray's. We each got a hot dog and found a table by......

Sonny Eclipse! it was a nice lunch especially watching Sonny!!

We then started to do some more exploring and strolled into Fantasy Land, it was pretty busy there so we just looked around and took some pictures.....

We found our way over to The Haunted Mansion and decided to ride...

I really enjoyed the differences in HM at WDW from DLR!!
After that we walked through Frontierland and went on BTMRR using the FP's we were given earlier. The very nice CM must have seen our just married buttons and let us keep the FP's for another ride later that made DH happy

After BTMRR we went over to Adventure Land, on the way we ran into Woody & Jessie....

Then we rode Pirates. This ride kind of disapponted both of us, only because the one at DLR is longer and has some more scenes to it. I mean we still loved it but just like DLR's better.
When we got out of Pirates we were exploring the store when it started raining hard. You can see in the picture of the castle how ugly it was looking outside and the rain finally hit...

This second pic you can really see how hard it was coming down!

The rain started to slow down so we walked fast through adventure land made it only to the store by Alladins Carpet ride and had to take shelter again because it started pouring again. By this time we had decided to just slowly make our way over to Poly since it didn't look like the rain was stopping anytime soon, I was worried they would cancel the show.

Continued....