Party of 5's First family trip to WDW! Just back from POR 6/16 *update 8/13 thoughts

[lmillercrew]

Yes! a post!

 

[cjhinch]

I am so happy that you have started your TR!! I can't wait to read all about your trip......your kids look so happy to be there!

 

[ampc3]

Yeah! I'm finally getting in on a TR as it starts. Keep up the good work. Your pretrip report is great and I think I need to take a trip to the Home Depot for those Mickey heads! Looking forward to your next installment! I also got us matching shirts but DH doesn't know yet!!!

Yes Home depot must often wonder where all there mickey heads go?? I am soo jealous you get to stay at the POLY!!

Cute Pictures!! Riverside has such a cool pool! Looking forward to hearing about Ohana!

The kids really enjoyed the pool and Ohana's was yummy!!

Cute pics, thanks for posting!

Thanks!

Oh welcome back! Your kids are so so so cute! Eeek on the 9 hour drive but glad you got there with time to relax and swim!

Can't wait to hear about Ohana, we love it there!

Allyson

Thanks! I don't know where we went wrong on the time frame, but DH didn't want to drive over 70 to save on gas...

Yes! a post!

Thanks!

I am so happy that you have started your TR!! I can't wait to read all about your trip......your kids look so happy to be there!

Thanks , the kids were soo excited to be there!! Being in a hotel is a huge treat for them, let alone DISNEY

 

[ampc3]

So were did I leave off?? Oh yes, we went and swam for about an hour then came back to our room in bldg 18.

We started to unpack and get the room situated and put our food away etc.. At this point we discovered 2 things. #1 we weren’t sure the fridge was working right, nothing seemed cold so we called for maintance to come take a look.

#2 This is a funny story… When we were driving down I kept thinking I know I am forgetting something … Then I remembered what I thought I forgot to do…. I asked DH who put Joey’s clothes, that I packed, in his suitcase.. “Honey do you remember packing any underwear for Joey?” Dh “umm.. I think a saw a pair”… ok that’s it, that is WHAT I FORGOT to do…. Pack Joey underwear!!! I did laundry and meant to go back in his room to get the underwear and NEVER did…. Oops… Now Joey over hears this, and is panicking that he only has one pair (well really 2 pairs) So I said well I guess tomorrow we will be going to Walmart after all to get some underwear! It was pretty funny.

So after we unpacked and got ready we decided to drive to the Poly b/c time was running short it was 5:45 and I knew we wouldn’t have enough time to catch a bus and do the transfer.. So off we go to the Poly… I had every intention of getting pictures when we first got there outside, but never did


So we go to check in @ Ohana’s and the line to do so is pretty long. I remember that ILUVXU and her family had ressies around the same time. I remembered what her kiddos looked like from her PTR, and knew she was pregnant. I spotted them right away on the couches waiting for their table to be called..
When I tried to explain to my DH that I “knew” her he looked at me like I had 3 heads, A look I got several more times through out the trip until he finally understood the whole “dis world”….

Anyway by the time I got done checking in at the podium, they must have already been called for there table b/c I didn’t see her/them again until almost leaving.

This was us being silly waiting for our table!

So we waited about 15min for our table to be called, our host showed us around and explained the menu etc.. showed us to our table a nice window view… again don’t know why I didn’t do pictures… This will be a trend through out my trip thinking now why I didn’t get a picture of this or that. (we did get some tho)

Our server was very nice and attentive (can’t remember her name now)We ordered drinks, I tried the Mai Tai which was just ok. I also ordered the chicken nugget plate for Emma thinking she would only eat the bread that came out. I really thought Lauren and Joey would love the food, they love salad and wings and Shrimp.. But not so much… They ALL loved the bread and ate a lot of that, they didn’t care for the salad dressing , they hated the sauce on the wings. They thought the Shrimp were too spicy.. So it killed me to pay what we did (remember we weren’t on the DDP) b/c all they really ate was the bread, they didn’t even really like the dessert..

Now DH and I on the other hand really liked the food, I am not going to say I loved it, but I did enjoy it and would probably go back. I think DH enjoyed it more than me b/c he actually got to “enjoy” his meal! I was VERY busy cutting up everyone else’s food and peeling everyone’s shrimp!!! I didn’t care for the wings either but really liked the pot stickers. We all liked the noodles and even had some green veggies.. We LOVED the shrimp (although A LOT of work to eat them) and the steak was very good as was the pork. I loved the dessert also yummy!!!

The kids enjoyed doing the hula and the coconut races but had to help Emma, it was harder than it looked…

After finishing the coconut races I literally ran into ILUVXU said hello, as they were on there way out I believe… I was the strange women asking you your name~hehe

When we got back to the table we did dessert and then I had a little something special set up for DH for his bday since it was the day before.
HE HATES to have ANY type of attention but they sang to him and another person behind us and brought him out a birthday cupcake…

Then after dinner we went out to check out the pool and the beach area. The pool was very neat, I would LOVE to stay at the POLY some time, it seems really beautiful. The kids played on the sand for awhile then as we were getting ready to leave we noticed they were getting ready for the Electrical water parade so we stayed for that. Was cute and quick, again don’t know why I didn’t get any pictures…

Here is a picture of the kids on the beach… This is a fav of mine even though it is kindof blurry.

We drove back to our hotel, we must have taken a wrong turn somewhere b/c we ended up driving around for awhile before we found our way back to POR… We had a very early morning planned the next day so off to bed I think it was about 10:30.

Next up: our First Full day at the parks…. Special wishes, a Dis spotting ???maybe?? and a little detour…

 

[Charleston Princess]

Oh, no about Joey's underwear!!! A couple of years ago we went to Hilton Head with family and SIL found out she forgot to pack underwear for herself. After much joking by my BIL, he went to unpack and found he forgot his too! Needless to say, there was a trip to Walmart that night!

What a wonderfully relaxing start to your vacation!!! We love the Polynesian!!! You guys look like you are having a blast!

Can't wait to hear about Epcot and compare notes!

 

[MegansMom]

Another great installment!! The pictures of you all are SO great!! What a beautiful family you have!! I love the cupcake pic w/your DH--you can see the little kid in him coming out!!! ;o) I can't WAIT to read all about your next day!!! ;o)

 

[nts4wdw]

So sorry about the underwear!! I am always afraid I'll forget something like that! My kids would never let me hear the end of it.
Looks like you had fun at Ohana! We love the Poly! Great pictures all around.

 

[IluvXU]

Yes a sighting of me and my bulging belly. So funny that your kids did not like the food, my picky one Hannah ate the entire plate of potstickers.... I was shocked. Emily literally picked up the loaf of bread and started in on that. We ordered a kid's plate for Hannah... thinking she wouldn't touch the regular food, but she ate it!

Love the beach pictures... we were all done after that meal. Let's just say I should have napped before dinner and well I found an unpleasant odor again in a bathroom that is why I was such a mess when I saw you... dazed and had to get out of there!

 

[princesslily]

more please

 

[ampc3]

Oh, no about Joey's underwear!!! A couple of years ago we went to Hilton Head with family and SIL found out she forgot to pack underwear for herself. After much joking by my BIL, he went to unpack and found he forgot his too! Needless to say, there was a trip to Walmart that night!



What a wonderfully relaxing start to your vacation!!! We love the Polynesian!!! You guys look like you are having a blast!

Can't wait to hear about Epcot and compare notes!

That is soo funny,, It was pretty funny to us (not so much Joey) when we discovered what I forgot to do Yes I loved the Poly also, it was alot of fun great way to start the trip I think.

Epcot was another hard park for me to plan, we didn't get to do half of what I had hoped.. Next time will set more time aside for sure

Another great installment!! The pictures of you all are SO great!! What a beautiful family you have!! I love the cupcake pic w/your DH--you can see the little kid in him coming out!!! ;o) I can't WAIT to read all about your next day!!! ;o)

Thanks so much! Yes DH did really enjoy the trip and his little bday surprise

So sorry about the underwear!! I am always afraid I'll forget something like that! My kids would never let me hear the end of it.
Looks like you had fun at Ohana! We love the Poly! Great pictures all around.

Well Joey wasn't to thrilled about it believe me, he didn't find the humor like we did.. We did have fun at Ohana.

Yes a sighting of me and my bulging belly. So funny that your kids did not like the food, my picky one Hannah ate the entire plate of potstickers.... I was shocked. Emily literally picked up the loaf of bread and started in on that. We ordered a kid's plate for Hannah... thinking she wouldn't touch the regular food, but she ate it!

Love the beach pictures... we were all done after that meal. Let's just say I should have napped before dinner and well I found an unpleasant odor again in a bathroom that is why I was such a mess when I saw you... dazed and had to get out of there!

I was surprised they didn't like it too, I really thought they would. Yes they could have just eaten that bread all week and been very happy! Sorry to hear you had another unpleasant experience in the bathroom.. I never did go in there that night.. Glad we "ran" into each other tho.. your kids are soo cute!

more please

Thanks for joining!

 

[SmithFamily2003]

Just found your trip report! Can't wait for the next installment!

 

[timandlesley]

Hey, I made it over! Sorry things have been so crazy. What a great TR so far, I'm enjoying it. Kids are adorable. The POR pool looks like fun. Glad you guys liked OHana's. That's funny you ran into ILUVXU, she lives right by me and has come over to the house before, very nice family! Looking forward to more.
Lesley

 

[IlovemythreeC's]

Oh my goodness- ya'll have the most darling children! We are loving this!

 

[ampc3]

Just found your trip report! Can't wait for the next installment!

Thanks for coming along!

Hey, I made it over! Sorry things have been so crazy. What a great TR so far, I'm enjoying it. Kids are adorable. The POR pool looks like fun. Glad you guys liked OHana's. That's funny you ran into ILUVXU, she lives right by me and has come over to the house before, very nice family! Looking forward to more.
Lesley

Hey Lesley thanks for stopping over Your TR is probably a full time job That is so neat you two personally know each other We did enjoy Ohana's..

 

[ampc3]

Oh my goodness- ya'll have the most darling children! We are loving this!

Thanks so much! We think they are cute too, but they definitly have there moments...

 

[ampc3]

Monday, June 9, Day 2 First full day:

I scheduled the wake up call for 6:40, and that time came around wayy to quick! When the phone rang no one moved to get it, So I climbed over Emma to push the speaker button so they could all hear the joys of stitch!

Needless to say no one was very happy with stitch and his early morning wake up… but we had places to go people, shake a leg .. The girls had an early ADR @ BBB for 8o am. My plan was to be out at the bus stop by 7:15 figuring it took about 20 min or so to get there. Keep in mind this was our first day using the buses , I had no idea what to expect and POR doesn’t get the best bus reviews!

I got everyone up and had the girls put their dress up outfits on . They had some snacks , pop tarts etc . I got the backpack packed with all our gear. We were out at the stop @7:20 There was bus after bus for HS, but no MK bus to been seen. I was getting alittle panicked at 7:30 when there was STILL no bus! This wasn’t starting my first day plan out well. Finally at about 7:40 our bus came and it was already full (they stop at FQ first) but we were able to get a seat.

We rushed off the bus and ran to the bag check and quickly went thru the character breakfast line into the park. I didn’t even stop to get a stroller, we figured Emma could manage the first part of the day just fine. I wanted to take it all in and see Emma’s face seeing the castle and all, but I was so worried about our ADR since we were already 5 min late.

However I did manage to take a photo of them in front of the castle with hardly anyone around, that is the nicest thing about those early ARD’s.. I regret that I was in such a hurry I missed some of the “magic” with my kids then.

When we got to BBB to check in there were a few a head of me, but it went pretty fast. I asked for the girls to be able to sit together and since we were the first appointment it wasn’t a problem. I had shown pictures to the girls of what the hairdos look like etc, but they were in awe of the castle itself and just taking it all in, I don’t think they really knew what to expect.

It really is neat in there, and quite the set up!

The FGIT were great with the girls and told them they could pick out what they wanted. I knew I wanted Emma to have the Fairy Tale Princess , and Lauren said she wanted the Disney Diva but was secretly hoping she would have chosen the Fairy tale look also. Lauren started to pick out the blond hair extensions and her FGIT was saying what a great choice since it was her day , she could be whatever she wanted etc… I don’t know if I should have done this or not, I felt alittle bad afterwards (but quickly got over it) I talked her out of the blond hair extensions and convinced her to get her same hair color.

They each had 2 fgit working on them at some point, it took about 35 min and they took a lot of pictures. I wanted to make sure we were done and out for Rope Drop b/c I had a surprise for Lauren when we were done.

They loved the experience and although it was a lot of $$$ I think everyone with a little girl should experience it at least once. They really loved it and all the attention they got.

Here are the final looks:

So after we paid, we were right out front for the RD into fantasyland! SCORE.. The little girl next to us and her mom got chosen for the family of the day to open up Fantasyland and ride Dumbo first! I don’t think my kids had any clue tho what was happening. We also got to see the fairy godmother.

Here is were my surprise takes place….Lauren is obsessed right now with Tinkerbell and the whole fairy thing. So I knew my only chance of getting to “wake up tink” would be if we were upfront for RD and this would have been our only chance.

I didn’t say a word to the kids b/c I didn’t want to disappoint them if it didn’t work, but I probably should have said something to Lauren b/c it all happened so fast and she didn’t have a clue what was going on…

Anyway so when they dropped the rope I told Lauren and family to follow me (my DH didn’t have a clue either what I was doing) I made a beeline for Tinks Treasure . Here is were it could have gotten really ugly!!!

Lauren and I were the first ones in the store with out question (yes we practically ran there) I found the CM and asked if “tink was awake yet” The CM looked at me like I again, had 3 heads…. At this point now another little girl is in the store without her mom and 3 other families are behind me asking if they can wake up tink!!! I am trying to keep my cool b/c I know we were the first ones and I am all for sharing but my little girl better get picked! So another CM comes out of no where (b/c the first CM still seems to have no clue) and ask who was first? I said we were I believe , then the little girl who came in at first with out her mom said she was… Of course Lauren is just standing there not having any clue what we are doing there in the first place. So the first CM who had no clue (or maybe she did) spoke up that no, we were in fact first. So I said that I was sure they could all share and do it together. So they picked Lauren to come up front and gave her a wand and had the other little girls do the same including Emma.

And they got to Wake UP TINK!!! It was really cute.

Only Lauren and Emma got Magical Moment Certificates b/c the other families left the store right away. Again don’t know what was wrong with me, didn’t think to take a picture of THEM actually holding the certificate!

It was a very strange disorganized set up to say the least, but it all worked out in the end. They totally believed it was Tink until … (more on that in a later post)


So one goal/dream accomplished mark that off my list… off to Dumbo, the line wasn’t too bad yet. We spent about 15 min in tinks treasure.
continued in next post:

 

[ampc3]

So as we are waiting in line I see this little girl that is just so cute, and think to myself I know, I know that little girl! I am trying to figure out who she is etc.. then I look around at the family she is with and it finally clicks!!

IT’s MEGAN’SMOM!!! It was Jen and her family.. Jen your family was awesome! It was soo funny how your mom kept saying she can’t believe we are running into you… So I took a picture of Jen and her niece Maddie aren’t they soo cute!

I wish we could have actually “talked” but we were in a moving line…


So that was Dis Spotting number 2 in 2 days… Will we keep up the spotting??? You’ll have to wait and see…..

So it was finally our turn for Dumbo Rick rode with Lauren. Joey and Emma with me.. Another self portrait..

Of Course the ride was great.. I mean who doesn’t love Dumbo

So after Dumbo is when I realized I left back at the hotel our “plan” for the day.. I wrote down on index cards the order of things and tips from TGM etc.. I thought I remember Fantasyland enough. So off we went.. To ride Pooh , Peter, Snow white , IASW, Mickey’s 3d All with out ANY wait…. Gotta love the morning rope drops~ I wanted to get over to Toon Town before it opened but that didn’t happen. We ended up stuck on IASW for about 10min they must have stopped the ride to load all the wheelchairs we saw waiting.

We had an ADR @ PSB for 12 for me and the girls, so I knew we needed to leave MK by 10:45 so we started making our way out of the park. My plan was to take the monorail over to Epcot… For some reason the Monorail line wasn’t working then, they had the whole area roped off… Yikes what do we do.. So we asked a CM how to get to Epcot, they said we would have to take the ferry over to the TTC and then the monorail from there into Epcot…

So I am starting to panic again with our time frame… Luckily there was a ferry that just pulled in so we got on right away.. The kids thought that was fun sort of like a ride itself… When we pulled up to the TTC I couldn’t believe my eyes!!! There were crowds of crowds of people waiting to get through TTC for MK.. DH was like were are ALL those people from… Those are the people that drove here…. So people if ever you are thinking that driving to MK is faster than the bus… after what I saw late morning there is no way I would drive to MK.. YIKES

So we switch to the monorail line and get to Epcot at about 11:50. Again no time to rent a stroller, Emma is doing great but we can tell she is hot and getting tired especially in her dress up outfit.. So DH carries her most of the way.. We get into Epcot and make our way quickly over to WS to Norway, I think we were a few minuets late no one else was checking in. So we walked right up.

The plan was for DH and Joey to go get something to eat on their own and check and see if there were any FP’ left for Soarin.. I wanted to do that as soon as we walked in, but didn’t have time. Then we would meet back up and get out of there so we could rest up for the evening, I really wanted to see Illuminations.

So after we checked in, they brought the girls over to Belle for pictures and autographs… They were really excited she was very sweet.

Then they brought us to our table and said our server would be with us shortly to take our drink orders and explain everything.

Well I swear we didn’t see our server for almost 15min! (She was beautiful and sweet but this was the worst service we had all week for a sit down) Having never been there before I didn’t know if we should just go up to the buffet part, plus the girls didn’t want to miss any princess. So I figured we better wait….. As we were waiting the girls are looking around the restaurant and smiling so big and telling me who they see…. Now I was a little worried that Emma would be disappointed if Mulan, Mary Poppins, Pocahontas etc would have been there instead of one of the “Fab 5”

So after waiting FOREVER for our server ANNETTE (nice name) to come along, she explained everything and took our drink orders … We went up to the cold buffet which IMHO wasn’t anything special, the kids got some fruit and cheese that was about it.

After we got back the Princesses started coming really fast one after another!

But we got sooo lucky!!! They were in princess heaven. That was the highlight of who we got to see!!

Emma loved that they "matched"

They both were soo excited to see Ariel with LEGS

Jasmine was really funny with Lauren also since they "matched" She kept asking her if she was sure she wasn't in her closet this morning.

Wow did we luck out with the princesses... Cinderella too!!

I was not to sure I was going to like the menu, and had heard some pretty mixed reviews. There were many choices on the menu but nothing that really stood out for me. I decided to get the meatloaf thing that starts with the K, but almost got the open face salmon sandwich, wish I would have.

The meatloaf was ok, again nothing special it was edible.. The highlight for me was the dessert tray they brought out, we really liked it.
Sorry no pictures.


On a side note I discovered once we got home that in addition to the “holiday surcharge” which I was well aware of. They also charged me an extra $10??? I was wondering why my bill was so much more than I figured out at home and pulled up the menu at home etc, and looked at the bill. It should have been $15.99 for the kids, (that is including the surcharge) but they charged me $20.99 .. Unless Allears is incorrect , which I guess it is?? They charged me wrong.?? Oh well…


So after paying the bill, I was to call DH and meet back up.. I changed the girls back into normal clothes and we headed over to FW to meet.

DH said he was able to get FP for soarin but the return time wasn’t until 7:30 pm…. That’s ok we were planning on coming back in the pm anyway… So SCORE…We decided to head out to take a rest and make our little detour trip to Walmart for the Underwear and TRY and make it back by 5:30!!!

Emma was done!
Are we able to stick to our plan? Do we get to see Illuminations? Where do we eat? Stay tuned…….

 

[Lovemy3babes]

You've started your report! I've been offline for a few days so was excited to come and see a few installments this morning! You've kept me entertained while I've been drinking my morning coffee. Great, great report so far. *giggle* at forgetting the undies! LOL! It could have been worse I guess. The girls look beautiful at BBB!

 

[IlovemythreeC's]

Your daughters look so beautiful ~ I really LOVE that Jasmine costume, I have not seen that one before.

I am glad that waking up Tinkerbelle worked out.

 

[momsavealot]

Wow! Looks like all your planning paid off - what a productive start to the day! I can't believe how much you were able to get done in such a short amount of time! Can I ask a question? What time would you recommend we get to the Rope Drop if we don't have ADR's inside the park? 8:30am for a 9am opening?