Our February School Vacation Trip to Disney:In Sickness and In Health!

[KayW]

Our Disney trip in 2009 all started because of a really bad flight at the end of our 2008 trip. We had gone 30 minutes out of Orlando when we had to be turned around and Delta cancelling the flight. Needless to say we got home 6 hours AFTER our scheduled time and with a cranky 3 year old it was not fun. Delta gave each of us $100 voucher so we figured, what the heck we'll go next year!

So let me introduce the main characters in my little story:

Dad-46 (don't tell him I told you his real age!) Math teacher college tennis coach, and a very good planner. He likes to research Disney and will come home from work with printouts of the same pages that I had also been reading.

Mom (me)-35 (yes we have an 11 year difference-sometimes it is good and sometimes it isn't but we make it work) 6th grade teacher Student Council Advisor, love Disney music especially the Lion King. I actually get teary when I hear the opening music. Must be the memory of seeing it on the big screen.

DD-4 She loves 4 things Ariel purple, Cats and Yoda Yes my child is strange with her Yoda obsession, but hey she picked a good one. We do the Disney trips for her and she loves every minute of it!

We live in MA where we have snow and it is cold right now. February break is the perfect time to go. We were worried this year that school vacation may have been cancelled due to that HUGE ice storm in December, but our schools made other arrangements and FEb. vacation was on!

We picked POP Century again and decided to try the DDP.

OUr dates in Disney 2/15-2/20.

ADRs:
2/15 Chef Mickey's
2/16 Boma
2/17 Princess Storybook
2/18 Crystal Palace
2/19 1900 Park Faire

Back later with more!

 

[KayW]

Our trip planning began in April of 2008. DH and I started researching flights and discovered that even with our $100 vouchers, flights with Delta would be double everyone else. So we found a great flight out of CT (about an hour plus from our house) and went with it. There was 1 stop in Washington DC which I felt was doable since it is a good 1/2 way point. Then we waited.....

Within the next month or so we booked our package. POP Century was selected as was a preferred room. We liked being on the 4th floor although the stair climbs in the evening were not always fun! By August we decided to go with the DDP. My SIL had booked a trip with it and raved about its benefits. Why not...we could do character dinners and not feel like we were spending a ton.

Then the ADR system switched. I was planning on calling in sick on the day I could call, but was able to make all my ADRs a couple days before. Took no time and got some great times!

Then we waited.......

 

[KayW]

And we waited....

We had the great Ice Storm in December which knocked out our power for 7 days. Not fun. Then the fear of not having Feb. vacation loomed over us. That worked out!

Then the fear of the flu hit. I avoided every sniffling, runny nosed, hacking kid I could!

When we heard about the 4/3 deal my husband called to see how we could benefit from it. We had already bought our plane tickets and was not going to change them. I don't like risking not getting back in time. Disney offered us a free day at the parks, one of our nights free, and the $200 GC. Free money-Love it!

And then we waited....

 

[KayW]

February came and we were psyched to go!

2/14ay before we leave!

Grandma throws a Valentine's Day party. My list to do was part way finished. Most of the packing was done minus the last minute toiletries. Clothes for the next day were out and ready to go. We got all of our clothing in two carry ons. I'm a great packer!

I checked our flights and all was set. I set the alarm for 5 and we went to bed at our regular time.

2/15: Day we leave!
Of course "I'm too excited to sleep" kicked in about 4. I checked emails and killed time until the alarm went off. My ILs were coming at 6:30. I was all set by 6. I was just going through the paper when I saw them pull in. I glanced at the clock and saw that is was 6:15!!! A little early but ok. We got in the car and off we went.

My DD, Brenna, kept everyone entertained this trip. She sang, talked, played Guess What I Am.

The airport was a breeze. In and out in record time. We only have to wait for my DH's CPAP to be checked, but other than that security went smoothly. Stopped at McDonald's for some breakfast and then sat at the terminal.

The flights were quick and uneventful. Drinks and music kept us all occupied.
When the plane landed in FL I got up to get my stuff, saw this woman behind me, and instantly recognized her as a member of the college marching band I was in. Her husband was also in the band and was one of my first "greeters" when I was a freshman. I walked by them twice on the flight and never noticed. It truly is a small world!

Magical Express was crazy!! The past two times when we got to MCO I walked right up to the counter. This year-25 minute wait. I had heard about the line, but never thought I Would see it. The wait for the bus wasn't long and POP is the first one to be dropped off.

We checked in and went to our room. No 60s building like we requested, but was in the 70's building on the Big WHeel side. I liked that we faced the playground. We changed into shorts and were much happier. THe weather was warm, but overcast.

We then went to get a snack and our refillable mugs. I picked red and DH picked yellow. We got a fruit bowl, veggies and dip, and nachos. Not the bets, but enough to fill us up until Chef Mickey's that night!

I have to upload some pics and then I will be back!

 

[wigdoutdismom]

I'm in! Can't wait to read more....
I love it that you and your husband both teach, it's the same with my husband and I!

 

[KayW]

Yeah a fellow teacher!!! It must be nice to have the March break vs our Feb and April break. With both of us being teachers we take the summer to relax together at the beach and do those things we can't do during the school year.

I've got my pics of my camera and need to load them onto Shutterfly.

A brief overview of our schedule:

2/15: Chef Mickey's and hopefully Wishes
2/16: Animal Kingdom (EMH) and Boma
2/17: EPCOT (EMH) and Princess Storybook
2/18: MK and Crystal Palace
2/19: MK (EMH) and 1900 Park Faire

 

[princess&her4princes]

I'm here! Can't wait to hear all about it!!!

 

[VanniGirl]

Looking forward to reading more!

 

[KayW]

Thanks all! I am going to do some more updating today once all the laundry is done. We have some snow coming in which should be interesting. I also have to get some pics onto my Shutterfly account.

 

[KayW]

After we finished our snack, we went back up to the room to pack our stuff, put our mugs away, and get ready to head to the MK to catch the monorail for Chef Mickey's. We were very excited to eat there. After all of our research we were really looking forward to the food, desserts, and characters.

We waited in line for the bus and Brenna introduced herself to almost everyone. My usually shy child was talking up a storm to everyone!!!

Upon arriving at the MK we had to remind Brenna we weren't going to the park, but stopping there to get the monorail. It was about 6:30 so we decided to ride the monorail all the way around. Our ressie was at 7:45 so we had plenty of time to kill. On the monorail we checked out the big 3 hotels and loved everyone of them. On our 2nd stop at the Contemporary we got off and poked around the gift shops. Brenna fell in LOVE with a baby Marie (from the Aristocats) and had to have it. We convinced her to wait until later in the trip in case she saw something she liked better. The tears!!!!! I got her calmed down by reminding her that kitties can't come into restaurants. She laughed and was OK.

We checked in about 7:20 or so. We bypassed the picture because I wasn't going to buy it anyway. While we waited I took a pic of the entrance:

Brenna took a couple of pics of me, but they were typical of a 4 year old. I was only a nose and mouth! :lol:

About 7:30 our little buzzer went off. Woo hoo!! Time to eat!

The characters were in our section when we got there. We placed our drink orders (diet Coke, Sprite Zero, and chocolate milk). Brenna and I waited for the characters while DH went to get his dinner. He came back with I swear a meat platter-ribs, chicken, prime rib, and some mashed potatoes. He also got food for Brenna-chicken nuggets, pizza, and macaroni and cheese.

I got a few pics of her with the characters. I love her shy expression. THe first pic is before the characters.

I enjoyed some ribs, prime rib, green beans, mashed potatoes, salad. The desserts were ok. The ice cream was mush as it was coming out, but we all enjoyed a little. The Mickey chocolate desserts were great, but too sweet!

Coming soon....the sickness!

 

[princess&her4princes]

Cute pics of Brenna, she's adorable!!! Love the character pics with her!! Looks like she was having fun. I had to laugh about the kitty not going to the resteraunt with you....sounds like something I would have told the boys!!

Oh no..sickness?? What happened??

 

[queenof3]

Hi! Where in Central MA are you from? My husband and I are both teachers from Central MA too!

 

[KayW]

Just wait until you hear about the flu bug that hit!

 

[KayW]

Hi! Where in Central MA are you from? My husband and I are both teachers from Central MA too!

Uh oh! More Central MA teachers!! We live in Rutland.

 

[VanniGirl]

Your daughter is adorable - looking forward to more!

 

[MadiMouse]

Great report so far! I really hate being sick while on vacation, especially at the happiest place on earth. My DH and I had food poisoning while we were at DLR and we had to stay in the room for a whole day! It was horrible. I really hope you were able to enjoy Disney!

 

[KayW]

2/16 Animal Kingdom (EMH) Dinner at Boma

In my usual fashion I woke up at my regular time (5:30). I laid around for a while and decided to get up and shower. We really wanted to be at AK for EMH. Took my shower. My DH and DD were still in bed!!! My DH then tells me he is sick. I had heard him get up in the night, but thought nothing of it. I was hoping that is was the "I just ate too much, let me walk around a little" type of sick, but he didn't even want to get out of bed. Brenna and I headed down to breakfast where we both had the egg platters. She doesn't like the meats so she enjoyed my biscuit. I quickly learned the DDP and got water (for later), apple juice (for Brenna later), and Brenna got a milk. I "drank" the coffee from my mug. Horrible stuff!

We went back to the room and DH told us to go ahead with our plans. The two of us went to the bus where we waited the longest of any time the whole trip (about 30 minutes) There was something wrong with the timing.

We got to AK about 8:15 and immediately went to the safari ride. We sat in the front row. I love seeing all the different animals. I teach world geo so I cover a lot of information on them during our study of the countries. Brenna loved the ride too. In the back of my mind I felt bad because the safari is DH's absolute favorite thing to do so I took a lot of pics.

After the safari we walked through Panganini Forest. Lots of animals out. The meer cat was so cute. Brenna kept asking to see the Tree Lady (Divine), but she wasn't coming out until later.

We then headed to It's Tough to Be a Bug. Now last year, Brenna "watched" the whole show curled up in a ball on the bench. Determined to watch it this year she went in, but wouldn't wear the glasses. Fine, no big deal. She liked the beginning, the stink bug, but when the scary stuff came, she went right back to the curled up in a ball position. Too much for my little cutie!

We left there and headed into Asia. I wanted to avoid Dinoland since I didn't want to ride that spinning Triceratops ride again. I suggested Nemo and she was game. Last year we waited in line almost back to Dino land. This year, we were maybe 50th in line!!! Now we waited almost 30 minutes inside the theater, but we were up front and about 4 people away from the center stage. There were lots of families and we all chatted. It's neat to hear where everyone is from, where they are staying etc.

The show is just amazing!!! I loved watching the Travel CHannel special with it in it and the puppetry and talent is awesome! The songs just make me want to cry. I really feel for Marlin in this show more so then in the movie. My favorite part is the turtles. The guy playing Crush was unbelievable. The man playing Marlin was the same as last year, but everyone else was new. Dory cracks me up and she is Brenna's favorite. Like me Brenna loves the music, the songs, the colors. She was disappointed when no bubbles landed near her to pop, but being able to see the puppets that close made up for it. Last year we were in the back bleachers and it was hard to see the true beauty of the puppets.

I decided it was time to head back to see if daddy was feeling better. Brenna had done great walking the park. I didn't get a stroller since I thought hey it's just the two of us we can take our time. We made the long walk back to the bus and boarded.

Will daddy be better? What happens next? Stay tuned for more!!!

 

[Disneychix]

Sorry your DH was ill. That's great that you had a wonderful morning with DD though!

Can't wait for more!!

 

[KayW]

Thanks! I am back to work now so I will try and update a little each night.

I'm trying think of some funny things that happened that I might have missed. A good one was when we were driving to the airport. We were driving past a billboard and Brenna said "look GEICO". I looked up and figured the gecko was on it. Nope! I said how did you know that was Geico? She said she saw the G. Smarty pants! My FIL asked her what do you know about Geico figuring she would mention the gecko. Nope. She says "it helps you save money!" I laughed so hard with that one!

SHe introduced herself to everyone around. Normally she won't say anything if she doesn't really know you, but not in Disney. I think everyone knew her!

 

[VanniGirl]

I hope your DH gets to feeling better!

Looking forwrd to more.