Party of 13 in the Most Magical Place on Earth a March 2018 trip Update: 7/23/2018

[mommaof3boys]

to my first ever trip report! We've been back from Disney less than a week, and I already miss it.

PhotoPass_Visiting_MK_410179844043 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr​

When: March 18-23
Where: Wyndham Bonnet Creek in a 4 bedroom presidential unit
Transportation: We drove from Kansas


The Cast of characters for this trip!

Me: I am Katie. I'm a 36 year old mom of 4. I am an Early Childhood special education teacher. This is my 4th trip to Disney, 3rd with kids.

Favorite Characters: Minnie Mouse, Belle and Ariel
Favorite Park: Magic Kingdom
Favorite Rides: Peter Pan and Its a Small World
Favorite Foods: Nachos in Mexico and Dole Whip

Peter: He is my husband of 12 years and an architect. This is also his 4th trip to Disney. It was our 3rd trip together with our kids.

Favorite Character: Donald Duck
Favorite Park: Epcot
Favorite Rides: Soarin and Big Thunder Mountain
Favorite Foods: Nachos in Mexico and Sushi from Japan

PhotoPass_Visiting_EPCOT_410256236294 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

Trent is 11. This was his 3rd trip.

Favorite Characters: Woody and Goofy
Favorite Rides: 7 dwarves and Big Thunder
Favorite Food: King Triton's shipwreck al Forno at the Bon Voyage breakfast

PhotoPass_Visiting_EPCOT_410264634294 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

Brody is 10. This was his 3rd trip.

Favorite Character: Stitch
Favorite Ride: 7 dwarves
Favorite Food: Lobster Roll at Columbia Harbor House

PhotoPass_Visiting_EPCOT_410209371624 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

Ronan is 6. This was his 3rd trip.

Favorite Character: Mickey Mouse
Favorite Ride: Figment
Favorite Food: Mickey Ice Cream Bar or Popcorn

PhotoPass_Visiting_STUDIO_410247976194 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

Annabelle is 4. This was her second trip.

Favorite Characters: Minnie Mouse, Ariel, Belle, and Rapunzel
Favorite Ride: Peoplemover
Favorite Food: Mickey Ice Cream Bar

PhotoPass_Visiting_STUDIO_410247919874 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

We were joined on this trip by my parents, Mimi and Granddad. They have also gone on our other family trips to Disney. They only did 3 park days. On the other days, they played golf and went on a wine tour.

PhotoPass_Visiting_EPCOT_410215176310 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

My brother's family also joined us on this trip and our past trips. His family is himself, Brett, his wife, Haley, and his kids Jackson 8, Avery 6, and Abby 5.

PhotoPass_Visiting_MK_410179836540 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

All 13 of us!
PhotoPass_Visiting_MK_410299617731 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

We had a magical trip! I think we were able to accomplish a good mix of time with our individual families, as well as time with the grandparents, and time with the whole big family. Thanks for following along.

 

[mommaof3boys]

reserved

 

[Lesley Wake]

Following along! Hope everything worked out well!

 

[jhoannam]

Following along!

 

[jchurch0409]

Following along!

 

[jrmint427]

Following along!

 

[disneyshakeygirl]

I’m here too!

 

[kswildcatsX5]

It was a wonderful trip!!!

 

[PAsFab5]

Following along!!!

Going on a 13 person Family trip too in 21 days so I am very interested to hear how this worked out for you!!!!

 

[pattyw]

Can't wait to read about your trip! Beautiful family!

 

[mommaof3boys]

Following along! Hope everything worked out well!

Thanks for joining in!

Following along!

Thanks for joining along!

Following along!

Thanks for joining in!

Following along!

Thanks for joining!

I’m here too!

Thanks for joining!

It was a wonderful trip!!!

I'm so sad it's over. You will have to help me tell all the details!

Following along!!!

Going on a 13 person Family trip too in 21 days so I am very interested to hear how this worked out for you!!!!

Thanks for joining! You will have a great time. I'm so glad all of the cousins get to experience Disney together.

Can't wait to read about your trip! Beautiful family!

Thanks for joining!

 

[bluejasmine]

yay Im here!

 

[mommaof3boys]

March 15 Travel Day 1
​

On Thursday, March 15, I had taken the day off of work to finish packing the car and cleaning up the house. Peter went to work and the kids went to school. I had to get up at my usual wake up time to get the kids around and off to school. I take my two middle boys to my brother Brett's house. His wife, Haley, gets them and her two oldest kids onto the bus. I pick up their youngest and take her and my youngest with me to my School. This is our daily routine. On this day the only difference, I just dropped the two girls and didn't have to stay for work

I dropped Abby and Annabelle off at school at 7:40 then headed home to get busy. I had been packing for weeks in advance, so everything was pretty much ready to go. I just had to pack the last of the cosmetics and makes sure the car snacks were all in the car. I painted my nails and showered. Brett normally takes the girls from preschool to daycare, but since I was off for the day, I went and picked them up. I took Abby to daycare and took Annabelle home with me. She insisted on getting matching nails, so I painted her nails . We ate lunch and just hung around the house the rest of the afternoon.

IMG_6269 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

I picked the boys up from school at 3. At this point, I was hoping Peter would get off work early. He works 45 minutes away, and I was anxious to get on the road . He text around 4 that he would not be home early and might even have to work late . Brett and family were on the road at 3:30 which made me even more anxious to get going. I made the kids dinner, and we waited on Peter.

We were finally on the road at 6:15.
IMG_6271 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

IMG_6274 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

It was a pretty uneventful drive. 15 minutes down the road Annabelle was already asleep.
IMG_6272 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

Our original plan was to stop in Springfield, MO for the night. We were making good time and the kids were being good. Peter wanted to see if we could get farther down the road before stopping. We only had to make one pit stop for bathroom and to top off the tank. We ended up stopping for the night in West Plains, MO at midnight.

Coming up Travel Day 2

 

[mommaof3boys]

yay Im here!

Welcome along! Thanks for joining in!

 

[lauren_elizabeth]

Joining along! I love big family trips!

 

[mommaof3boys]

Joining along! I love big family trips!

Thanks for joining in! Traveling with a big group is lots of fun.

 

[mommaof3boys]

March 16: Travel Day 2
​

This day started bright and early. Peter never sleeps well in hotels. He was up ready to go EARLY! So early the free breakfast wasn't even out at the hotel . I got up and got around. I went and got the kids some cereal from the breakfast area and myself a bagel. I'm sure the hotel worker thought I was nuts for being up that early. She had just checked me into the hotel 5 hours earlier.

I took the breakfast goodies back to the room. The kids were not as excited to get up and on the road as we were. They struggled to get up. Finally, the kids ate and got dressed. Ronan did a little trip journaling of his own.

IMG_6276 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

IMG_6278 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

We were on the road at 6:15.

IMG_6280 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr
Early morning view!

Around 7:15 we passed a house fire. About 5 minutes later, Annabelle started puking. I tried to catch it in a Walmart sack. That was half effective . There was no where to pull over to clean her up. I climbed into the back seat and did my best. At this point, we didn't know if she was sick or just car sick from the winding Arkansas roads. We were really hoping car sick! We finally found a place to stop. I got Annabelle changed into clean clothes. She reported that she was feeling much better and hungry. I was hesitant to let her eat much, so I gave her a little applesauce.

IMG_6287 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

We got back on the road and didn't stop again until it was time for lunch. It was a Friday during Lent, so we couldn't eat meat. Nothing really sounded great to stop and eat. We ended up stopping at a Walmart and buying bags of lettuce, salad dressing, etc. and cheese pizza and nacho lunchables for the kids. We ate in the car.

IMG_6290 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr



We had an uneventful day of driving. Annabelle slept for 4 hours, and Ronan slept for 3 hours.

IMG_6301 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

IMG_6302 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

We stopped for dinner at a Captain D's in Ozark, AL. We do not have these in Kansas. I would compare it to Long John Silver's, but you get more food at Captain D's. We ordered way too much!

IMG_6303 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

After dinner, I drove for awhile. The early morning was catching up to Peter.

We stopped in Tallahassee for the night around 8:45. My parents were also in Tallahassee staying at a hotel next door to ours. They had been traveling on their own. They live 2.5 hours east of us. They had left Thursday morning and had been sightseeing on their drive down. When we got to our hotel, they were out at dinner. I got the kids showered and to bed around 9:30. I checked my phone and saw that I had missed a bunch of calls from my mom, so I called her back. They had been sitting at a red light going back to their hotel and a motorcycle rear ended them. The guy flew over their car. My mom and dad got out of the car to check on him. He got up and started picking up his belongings. He then went to get on his bike. My dad told him to leave the bike alone and wait for the police. At this time, my dad walked around to get the license plate in case the guy took off. He tried a few times to start the bike but couldn't get it started. The guy ran off on foot. The police got there, and they made a report. The guy had dropped his cell phone, a jump drive, a bottle of Coke, and a cinnamon roll , such weird things to be carrying while riding a motorcycle. Later on our Disney trip, my parents got a call from the police. They found the guy, and of course, he did not have insurance. That was exciting end to our day!

We traveled through Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama and Florida on this day.

 

[mamamelody2]

Joining in! We went on a 13-member extended family trip to WDW September 2016. It was very fun, but it inspired me to do a trip with just DH and I last year. LOL. Two totally different trips!

That is crazy on the motorcycle guy! Glad it didn't impact your parents much.

 

[pattyw]

Wish we lived closer to Florida so we could drive. I mean- we could but we're like 1200 miles away. 18 hours of driving!! You're almost there!!

 

[SCSteve]

Wow, such excitement and you did not even get to WDW yet! Following along...