PTR: OMG my first DL Trip with DH's Sis and family

Hi everyone! We are back from our trip and had an absolutely fantastic time. DD was healthy and all ds caught was a slight cold that manifested itself on the plane ride home so it did not affect the trip at all. I will do a full trip report with pictures this weekend!

Sarah
 
Finally, my 2009 Family Disney Trip Report!

So on Wednesday September 16, my family and I got up VERY early in order to be ready by 5am when my mom picked us up to take us to the airport! We had ds sleep in the clothes we planned on him wearing on the plane because we can pick him up and put him in a car with out him waking up. We had no illusions about dd so we had just put her in her pjs and changed her when we woke her up. My ds woke up a little when we put him in the car, but not too much. Each kid had their blankie so we were ready to go. We checked in at the airport without much wait and then went through security with all our stuff...a couple bags, stroller, car seats, sweaters, etc. What a pain in the patooty! As we were walking out to the terminal we saw the in-laws checking in. Here is a pic of dh and kiddos waiting to board the plane.
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We were one of the first to board the plane because of the small children which was good as it gave us time to get settled. (As we were about to go out to the plane, an employee of the airline came by with ds's blankie! Thank goodness! We hadn't even realized he had dropped it back at security!) I sat by the window and dh was on the aisle with ds between us and dd on dh's lap. It worked out really well. DD fell asleep at take off and slept for about an hour. Ds got the joy of watching Buzz Lightyear Star Command on my dh's ipod! I love how small that thing is and how it kept ds occupied!

We arrived at LAX without incident.
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After heading to the baggage claim we took turns running to the bathroom. The bags came fairly quickly and we went out to catch our exclusive super shuttle. We only waited aroun 7-10 minutes for the shuttle and the guys installed all the car seats while the driver loaded our luggage and stroller. The ride to the hotel took very little time and the driver wasn't nearly as much of a maniac as I sometimes get with super shuttle! Once at the hotel we checked in only to find they weren't able to fill our requests. We had requested adjoining rooms on the sixth floor and ended up with one room on the 6th and one room on the 5th. We had also requested a good view and from our room on the 5th floor we could only see one little section of the middle part of the Matterhorn. Very bummed and not worth the extra money. We did get 1 sink inside and 1 sink outside the bathroom in our room but the inlaws said they only got one sink period. Huh:confused3 Anyway, we weren't able to actually get in our rooms at that point so we changed in the restrooms next to the arcade and stored our stuff before heading over to the main gate. After entering Disneyland we got a second stroller for ds and one for our neice and were on our way. The plan was to ride the train all the way around the park and then get off in NOS but we didn't know how to collapse the strollers and we were starving so we just walked straight over to the Hungry Bear restaurant (grabbing fastpasses for Indy on the way). I got the AP discount (did this for most of our meals!) and told dh to grab some seats near the back on the water. He says he didn't hear me and he ended up getting some seats near the front kind of near the water...not what I wanted but everyone was already seated so not much I could do about it. We enjoyed the food (ds and I split a burger and apple slices.) After we finished eating we went over to Pooh Corner where ds decided to get the M & M cup for a treat for later (it didn't look too big in the case, but that thing lasted us a couple days!) We rode the Winnie the Pooh ride as the first ride of the trip and my ds was afraid of the Heffalumps and Woozels and kept burying his head in dh's lap! I was afraid this didn't bode well for the rest of the trip! Next we went over to Indy and while dh and I watched all the young kids, dbil, dsil, dn13 and dn5 went on Indy. The little ones played in Tarzan's treehouse. I carried dneice as she was exhausted but she ways SOOOOO much more than my dd and after carrying her all over that tree house my legs just about gave out! Once the others were back from the ride, they watched the kids while dh, dn13 and I rode Indy! :thumbsup2 We rode the Jungle cruise next which everyone seemed to enjoy. Here is a pic of dbil and d neice in line.
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It was very warm while we were there so we got the lemonade/slushie thing and a dole whip as well as a water bottle refill over at the baby station (fabulous by the way) and went on to Buzz Lightyear.
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Ds absolutely loved this ride! It was his favorite of the entire trip! Next I watched all the kids while the rest of the group did Star Tours and then we went on Buzz again. About this time my in laws realized that my neice was not doing well. They decided to go back to the hotel and we continued on into tomorrowland. We played with the ball and then did Autopia which ds loved!
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We then went on to Fantasyland where we did the Teacups, Alice in Wonderland,
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Snow White (another of ds's faves!) and the carousel before heading to Village Haus for dinner. DD and I shared fruit. We then did Snow White again and Peter Pan before heading for the parade and Gibson Girl. DH got ice cream while kids and I watched the parade. We were right in front of the main float in the party zone! On our way out the park we saw Mickey and Minnie together and got a family picture.
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We then took the train around the park before heading back to the hotel and getting settled for the night.

Next installment (Day 2! DCA park)
 

It is fun to see your report. I always like to note how my reality is so different from my plan. Given your detailed plan, it will be interesting to see if you stray as far as I do:)
 
How did your little girl do without scheduled naps? Or did she nap in the park?

I have to say she didn't sleep as much as normal but she did take naps in the stroller and we were able to get her to sleep the couple times we went back to the hotel during the day for a swim. Her attitude stayed pretty good most of the time!

Sarah
 
DAY 2 DCA PARK

Well, we got up ok and met the in-laws at Mimi's for Breakfast. I had been dying to try their new Pacific Croissant and my dh agreed to share it with me! It was SOOOOOO good! DS had Chocolate chip pancakes.
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We headed to DCA and got strollers and then went over to Soarin' which was a walk on. I was nervous...I mean if DS was scared of H & W on the WTP ride, how would he do on this? DH and I had been repeating to him the entire trip that he was safe, everything was pretend and it was just for fun. Well, it must have been sinking in because he LOVED this ride! After it was over we hot footed it over to TSMM which he also loved. While we were in the area dh rode California Screamin' while I put the kiddos on the Carousel.
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Dh and Ds did the sun wheel while dd and I did some shopping and by then it was already insanely hot so we went over and decided there was no time like the present to give GRR a try :scared1:. We had no idea if ds would be ok with this or not but we were all so warm it was worth the risk. Dsil stayed with the little ones while the rest of us got on the ride.
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My ds loved it! I think he was shaking the whole time from nerves, but he trusted us to know that he wouldn't get hurt and he had a great time! We went on it 2 times in a row and got drenched!

We had lunch at taste pilots grill and did soarin again before heading over to a Bugs Land and Princess Dot's puddle park! The kids loved this!
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We also did Tuck and Rolls drive em buggies twice, Heimlichs Chew Chew Train
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and Lady Bug boogie which we took dd on thinking it was tame :scared1: It wasn't! On the way out of this land we bought a fruit bar for ds which he said he wanted instead of ice cream and then went to do Turtle Talk with crush and sourcerers work shop where ds loved the magic mirror. He was Scar and Cogsworth while I was Jane. We did the Alladin voiceover with Ursula and we sang along to Heigh ho. We then went over to watch the Alladin show. The kids were SOOOOO tired! The both enjoyed the show tremendously though. We did TSMM again and on the way there we met Woody!
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Mr Potato Head talked to ds saying "hey, you in the striped shirt."
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After this we walked through the Grand Californian on our way to Rainforest Cafe. The kids were exhausted but we had a nice meal with the in laws! I love the Rasta Pasta there! Yum!
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DH carried dd back to the hotel and ds rode in the stroller. They were both asleep by the time we got back to the hotel.

Next Day 3 - DS the Daredevil
 
Day 3 we still had some energy and we were able to make it to rope drop. We rode Snow White, Pinochio, the Carousel, Dumbo, Mr. Toad, Alice, and IASW. Then ds decided he had to meet the princesses...we had been on our way to Toon Town. So we stood in line at Princess fantasy faire while dd slept. Earlier that day ds decided that his purchase for the day would be a hat that changed from Buzz Lightyear to Emperor Zurg so he played with that while we waited in line. DD woke up right before it was our turn.
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and then we got to see the princesses. Every single one ds had to tell them all about his hat and show them how it could change! He loved those princesses and he loved his hat!
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We got to see Ariel, Cinderella, and Jasmin (his favorite!). In the pictures he doesn't look too excited, but trust me, it was one of the highlights of his trip! Afterwards he asked if Jasmin could come visit us and stay the night at our house!
He was in a good mood and the in-laws were in line at the Matterhorn so we thought, might as well try it! I had dh take him and while the first time he saw the snowman he was a bit frightened, he loved the ride and we went again! I was shocked because I really didn't think he would be into the big rides. He's tall enough but didn't really care for even the kiddy coaster at the carnival. We took the train to NOS, got a fast pass for Splash and went on Pirates which everyone loved! We went to the Golden Horseshoe for lunch and a show but were too late to get a table so we watched the show and ate standing up at the back. It wasn't the best situation. After a bathroom break we decided to try ds on BTMRR! Again, he loved it! I was so proud!
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He went on that twice and then we took him on Splash. All the way through the line I was freaking out and looking at dh saying are we doing the right thing? DS sat in the back next to dh who held him in. DS LOVED IT!!!!! We even bought the picture because there I am screaming and ds has this huge grin on his face! It was priceless! We did Buzz again and star tours and then went back to the hotel for a swim. We would have gone back a bit earlier but were stopped by the parade. DS loved the play area at the HOJO but dd didn't want anything to do with it. She just wanted to crawl onto and off of the lounge chairs and eat her cracker!
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We did IHOP for dinner and then went back to the parks. We got dd's first trip button from City Hall and had Silhuettes done of the kids! That was fun but what a tiny room! The park was getting insanely crowded so we went to watch the fireworks and found a decent spot to the right of the castle near the Plaza Inn. While we waited they said the Fireworks might be cancelled due to winds! The kiddos ate popcorn while we waited and dh took ds to the baby station to use the restroom once. Thank goodness to these boards for telling me about theim!
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Thankfully they happened and were good but I have to say that Remember was way better. After the fireworks we high tailed it out of there! DH carried dd again while I pushed ds in the stroller!

Day 4 - The Divas!
 
Day 4 we did NOT make it for rope drop. We were so tired and decide that we would have a better time if the kids were in a good mood and in order for them to be in a good mood, they needed sleep! Once we were in Disneyland park we headed to the castle to have our picture taken. I must say the pictures didn't turn out all that well. Probably had something to do with the fact that the sun was in our eyes. Anyway, ds had really been wanting to do the castle walk thru so we did that and then stopped by snow whites wishing well where we took a pic and ds made a wish.
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We felt that it was fitting to ride the snow white ride after that which we did and then went to Pinnochio. We headed over to DCA and went on Soarin' and then tried to go on Monsters but it was closed so we headed over to TOT. On the way we met the incredibles.
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DH has never been on TOT and refuses to try it so he stayed with DD while ds and I went on the ride...my daredevil loved this ride too! What an amazing little guy I have! Next we went to have our free Visa picture taken. We met up with Chip and Dale.
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Monsters Inc was back up by then so we rode that and then watched the Drawn to the Magic show where ds was picked to go up on stage!
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When asked where he was from he said "I am from my house, in my room" as if that should be obvious! LOL! He knows his address but I never thought to teach him the answer to the question of where he is from! He got to keep the picture of Mickey Mouse!
We did Playhouse Disney next which he really enjoyed as did dd for the first little bit. DH took her out about half way through the show. We did Muppet Vision 3D next and then picked up our picture at which point we ran into some of the DIS Divas I would be meeting up with later. It was great to get to introduce them to my family! We then headed back over to Disneyland and dh and kids had lunch at the Stage Door cafe while I waited to go to my mini meet.
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It was so great to get away for a while for the mini meet! I got to meet up with some great friends and eat some fabulous food! We met at Cafe Orleans which I had never eaten at before and I ordered the Pommes Frites and the Beignets! The were both spectacular!
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We then rode pirates together before I met back up with my family and rode BTMRR and went to the TIKI room where I saw......MAYNARD! I was so excited when I realized who he was and he was amazing! What a great, original schpiel! DD was beyond tired so didn't sit through much of the show but that was ok with me because I had seen Maynard! After that we went back to the hotel for my ds to have a swim and my dd to take a nap before going back to Disneyland and steaking out a spot for Fantasmic. On our way to do that we met Pluto!
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I had brought along some glow necklaces which we all had fun with and dd loved the buzz spinny thing we had purchased! DS loved fantasmic and we stayed where we were to watch the fireworks. Both kids ended up falling asleep at this point so we.....went shopping! DH and I had a blast even though the stores were really packed! Then we went back to the hotel!

Next Day 5 - my date with ds!
 
Day 5 - our last day in the parks. I really wanted the kids to have a chance to do Nemo so we went over to Disneyland when I thought it was opening.
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Only problem was I got the hours wrong and we got there in time for Magic Morning! DH and kids had a MM on their tickets but as an AP holder I don't. We decided to try it anyway just in case they might let me in and they were so nice because they did! Talk about some magic! We rode buzz first. I know what you are thinking but I was not up to fighting with ds in Disneyland so what he said went! Then we did star tours and Nemo before having Breakfast at Tomorrowland Terrace which was quite good. Next stop was the Matterhorn then IASW and on to Toontown, finally! We did Roger Rabbit twice and then played with some of the fun things.
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Most everything else was closed so we headed to fantasyland to do Snow White again and then we grabbed a Churro and a Lemonaide on our way to get fastpasses for Splash. We rode WTP again as ds wanted to ride it again since he now knew things were pretend. We headed over to Pirates Lair to explore that while we waited for our turn on Splash.
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We also did Pirates and Jungle cruise again before heading back for Splash which ds did twice thanks to Rider swap. We grabbed a couple corn dogs and some ice cream for lunch and then headed back to the hotel for a swim and a nap. DH decided to stay back at the hotel with dd and ds and I went for a date at Disneyland. "Datenight at Disneyland, Datenights a great night at Disneyland". Ds decided to go on Buzz, Star Tours, Astro Orbitor (which I had never been on and have no desire to go on again.) And then we headed to our dinner at Carnation Cafe (I had made the reservations on our way out of the park after lunch.) I ordered the baked potato soup and ds ordered the artists pb palatte.
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After dinner we did autopia, Matterhorn, Alice, Monorail, and the train around the park during the fireworks (It was really loud in Toontown!) DS decided he wanted to do WTP next (we were in tomorrowland at the time) so we started walking over there...he was in the stroller and was asleep by the time we got to mainstreet so I went and bought him the cookie I had promised him and a brownie for dh and went back to the hotel.

Day 6 dd and I do dca and home we go!
 
On Monday morning we were lazy. We got up at our leisure with no alarm clocks and packed our bags. DH took ds for one last swim and since I have an ap and dd is too young to need a ticket I took her to dca for rope drop. There was some shopping I still wanted to do. We had our picture taken by Grizzly peak and then went to do TSMM. We did some shopping for little items for christmas stockings and then headed back to the hotel. It was time for check out so we took care of that and the kids played some arcade games before we headed to Mimis for lunch. I had the Turkey Club which was delish and the couple bites I had of ds's grilled cheese were good. We went back to the hotel and caught our shuttle to the airport. The kids fell asleep almost instantly! The plane ride back we had bulk head which meant no storage in front of us and we had forgotten to buy some milk for dd so it was a hard flight home but we made it. My mom met us at the airport to pick us up with the news that we had no power and she had an electrician friend of her on his way out to look at the situation. By the time we got home he had fixed the issue and all was as it should be. We put the kids to bed and started unpacking and then we went to bed...I had to be up the next morning to go to work!

It was a truely magical trip! I am so proud of ds for being such a daredevil and my dh really didn't do any complaining even though it was really quite hot which he hates. The in-laws seemed to have fun though we didn't spend all that much time with them, so overall a great success! We can't wait to go back and have decided that for the couple days we will be there next november we will stay at the Grand!

Thanks for reading!
Sarah
 
Great Job Sarah! Isn't it awesome when those little ones become ride commandos?? Love it. Your kiddos are just precious and look so good natured. I never can understand why those flight attendants don't give those crying babies milk and whatnot.
 
Great trippie, Sarah!!!!! I really enjoyed reading it, and it sound like you had a fantastic trip!
 
Hey Sarah!
Great job on your TR. I loved reading it. It sounds like you did indeed have a great time. So glad you got to meet up with some of the Divas too. And your kids are just adorable! :goodvibes
 
I loved your report Sarah! You can tell that everyone is genuinely happy to be there and not just posing for pictures. Sounds like you all had a great time. That pink shirt you're wearing on GRR is really cute. :goodvibes
 













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