S.O.C.K. and Stitch Return to the World with a Dog **New 6/14** Day 8/9 The End p. 19

[DisMomAmy]

Wow! This picture shows how tall Sully is!

I'm glad you got Baxter checked in easily. Fun afternoon at DTD!

Can't wait to see your cabin!!!!!

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

Love how empty downtown disney is! Wolfgang puck food is YUM! How scarey is it that Sully is the age for having a girlfriend

 

[DrMomof3]

Sounds like a nice morning at DTD, despite some rain. The boys are getting so grown up!

Amanda

 

[carissanboys]

Wow! This picture shows how tall Sully is!

I'm glad you got Baxter checked in easily. Fun afternoon at DTD!

Can't wait to see your cabin!!!!!

Yeah, he does look really tall in that picture. He and Owen used to be closer in height. But I'm sure Owen will shoot up soon too and catch up.

Love how empty downtown disney is! Wolfgang puck food is YUM! How scarey is it that Sully is the age for having a girlfriend

Well, he really isn't old enough for a girlfriend! This is a girl he's been friends with since we moved to Virginia 4 years ago. They "liked" each other even back then. They don't see each other often, but they've started talking on the phone once a week and had a chaperoned date recently. It's pretty innocent. She is a smart girl who is focused on school and lots of extra curricular activities.

Sounds like a nice morning at DTD, despite some rain. The boys are getting so grown up!

Amanda

That they are!

 

[scottny]

Great start to the trip. We are driving in December and hope it goes well.

That day you were at DTD we were at Epcot. We bought umbrellas there and then it stopped raining.

Looks like fun times at DTD.

Funny how kids never change. I remember the first day anywhere I wanted to spend my money also.

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

Well, he really isn't old enough for a girlfriend! This is a girl he's been friends with since we moved to Virginia 4 years ago. They "liked" each other even back then. They don't see each other often, but they've started talking on the phone once a week and had a chaperoned date recently. It's pretty innocent. She is a smart girl who is focused on school and lots of extra curricular activities.

Sounds like the perfect girlfriend for any mother's son My middle child is 15 now and I was asking him about girlfriends and he said that when you had a girlfriend at school you hung around together at lunch until you decided you wanted to play football (soccer) on the pitches and then they never spoke to you again so he decided to just stick with playing footy because that way he gets to remain friends with the girls he likes All makes perfect sense I'm so thankful that he too focuses on his studies and isnt yet interested in going out at night (even if it does interfere with my dreams of disney racing )

 

[carissanboys]

Great start to the trip. We are driving in December and hope it goes well.

That day you were at DTD we were at Epcot. We bought umbrellas there and then it stopped raining.

Looks like fun times at DTD.

Funny how kids never change. I remember the first day anywhere I wanted to spend my money also.

Heck, I'm still that way.

Sounds like the perfect girlfriend for any mother's son My middle child is 15 now and I was asking him about girlfriends and he said that when you had a girlfriend at school you hung around together at lunch until you decided you wanted to play football (soccer) on the pitches and then they never spoke to you again so he decided to just stick with playing footy because that way he gets to remain friends with the girls he likes All makes perfect sense I'm so thankful that he too focuses on his studies and isnt yet interested in going out at night (even if it does interfere with my dreams of disney racing )

He sounds like a smart boy!

 

[momrek06]

GREAT REPORT, Carissa!!!

Sorry about the RAIN. Oh my. I hope it was not like that everyday?

SULLY IS SO TALL!!! He is his father!!!

Your pictures are awesome!!!

That PIZZA looks DELISH!!!

 

[carissanboys]

GREAT REPORT, Carissa!!!

Sorry about the RAIN. Oh my. I hope it was not like that everyday?

SULLY IS SO TALL!!! He is his father!!!

Your pictures are awesome!!!

That PIZZA looks DELISH!!!

Thanks Karen No, that was the only day of rain.

 

[mommytothreeboys]

It's hard to believe how much your boys have grown up!

Boo for rain, but at least it doesn't look like it slowed you down too much. Loving an empty DTD!

 

[carissanboys]

It's hard to believe how much your boys have grown up!

Boo for rain, but at least it doesn't look like it slowed you down too much. Loving an empty DTD!

It was nice having it pretty quiet. Hope you're feeling better, Missy!

 

[Disney9.9.10]

I have been waiting for a trip report like this one! Ever since I got my dog, I have been thinking about taking her with us some time (she needs to experience the Disney magic too! I can't wait to read all about how cute little Baxter does on his trip (and the rest of you, too!)

 

[carissanboys]

I have been waiting for a trip report like this one! Ever since I got my dog, I have been thinking about taking her with us some time (she needs to experience the Disney magic too! I can't wait to read all about how cute little Baxter does on his trip (and the rest of you, too!)

Let me know if you have any specific questions that I don't answer.

 

[Goofster57]

What is the building across from your hotel?

We ate breakfast in the room. I'd brought along our electric tea kettle for hot water, and some instant oatmeal. So along with the coffee provided in the room and some fruit, we had a good breakfast.

Still waiting for the unhealthy stuff...Just sayin.

Girlfriend???

We visited Team Mickey. I couldn’t find any Patriots gear.

[/QUOTE]
So you couldn't find stuff for any good teams...

What pins did they trade for?

Looks like a great, but wet first day!!!

 

[firecracker725]

I'm here! I'll go back to read, but I wanted to save my place. Also, I wanted to say how adorable it is that your boys came up with S.O.C.K. If we stick with the name we currently have picked out for DD#3, they would be A.C.K.(without our last name), which is sort of a PG approximation of what I said when I found out I was expecting her.

 

[carissanboys]

So, we were on our way to Fort Wilderness, hoping our cabin would be ready. We received our "Welcome home" at the gate and made our way to the building for check-in.

No lines! A huge difference from our previous stay at Port Orleans Riverside.

I'd already checked-in online, so the process was quick and easy. And our cabin was ready!

I must apologize here. I really didn't take many pictures of the cabin. There are some that I took of us in them, but none that I took specifically of the cabin to share.

We'd decided to let the boys have the bedroom and Chuck and I would sleep on the murphy bed (which is full size--just like the one in the bedroom). Here are the boys getting settled in:

We brought a bunch of non-perishable items with us for the cabin and planned to make a stop at a store before heading to Fort Wilderness. But because we went over early and weren't sure if our cabin would be ready, we decided to hold off on that. Once we got there, I realized the Meadows Trading Post had quite a few groceries and I figured with a few small changes, we would be able to made do with what they had. So we hopped on the bus and headed over.

We did not rent a golf cart for the trip. We saw that most people did (and some of them drove like maniacs), but I couldn't add the price to an already high resort stay. Our cabin was close to halfway through the loop but I don't think it took us more than a few minutes to walk to the bus stop.

They didn't have a lot of choices for meat, but they did sell packs of four hamburg patties. I bought 3--used two for burgers and one for ground beef and tacos. They also sold hot dogs. I'd brought the makings for pizzas except we needed cheese. I had to settle for cheddar (that I had to slice for the pizza) and parmesan cheese. They also had bacon, eggs, butter, etc. And produce was available in limited amounts and pricey, but I did buy some apples here and there as well as a tomato.

We headed back to the cabin and relaxed for a bit before our dinner ADR at Sanaa. Our reservation was for 5:20, but we decided to head out early so we could look around at the animals. I was suprised to see the parking garage at Kidani Village. It seemed so un-Disney like to me, but then I remember Shades of Green had a parking garage as well. I should mention we drove over.

Checking out the animals:

Wed be lucky enough to get a seat for dinner right by those windows!

We headed back inside to look around some more.

We headed back downstairs to Sanaa around 5. We were early for our ADR, but the CM at the counter had said it would be fine. A couple more pictures while we waited:

The staff came out front and did their opening song and then we were the first ones called to be seated. And look at where they seated us!

The décor is so amazing!

When I made our dining reservations, I had mentioned that we would be celebrating a special eventmy husbands retirement from the Navy. Our waitress asked what we were celebrating, but that was the extent of anything being said for the entire trip. I admit I was a bit disappointed. I feel celebrating 20 years of service in the military is more special than a birthday, but yet nothing was done or even said.

But, we were lucky to get such an awesome table and we thoroughly enjoyed our view throughout the meal.

If you look closely in this one, you can see the bird, then the zebra, and finally giraffes in the background.

Then it was time for food. We all shared the bread service. Owen and Connor had something off the kids menu. (Owen is 10, but we normally got him a kids meal to save money. No one ever asked his age.) Chuck, Sully, and I all ordered their Slow Cooked in Gravy, Simple and Well-Seasoned Choice of two served with Basmati Rice or Five-grain pilaf. I only took a picture of mine, which was the pilaf with butter chicken and beef short-ribs.

Everything was delicious. On the bread service, my favorite (and Sullys) was the coriander chutney.

I did use the restroom at one point and thought the sink was neat.

With a wonderful meal filling our bellies, we made our way back to Fort Wilderness. It was such a lovely evening, we decided to head down to the Settlement and hop a boat to the Magic Kingdom. We figured wed save time tomorrow if we took care of purchasing our military tickets ahead of time.
Waiting for the boat:

We made it over and didnt have to wait too long at the Will Call window. We had no problems getting our tickets (which were the hard plastic cardsthe ones that work with the new system). Then we headed back over to board the boat again.
The boys stopped to play tetherball on the way back:

We hopped on a bus back to our cabin and soon after put the boys to bed. As became a ritual, Chuck and I waited for Wishes to end at 10:15 before attempting to fall asleep. It was so quiet in the cabins! As some of you might remember from previous trip reports, I need white noise to sleep and normally bring a fan along. We did bring a fan, but it was in the bedroom with the boys. However, I slept so great! I dont think I ever heard another person at night. That is what I loved most about Fort Wildernesssuch a quiet and relaxing atmosphere, which can be especially nice after the craziness of the parks.

Up Next -- Day 3 - Part 1

 

[carissanboys]

What is the building across from your hotel?

Don't remember or know that I even noticed. Some store I think.

Still waiting for the unhealthy stuff...Just sayin.

Patience grasshopper!

So you couldn't find stuff for any good teams...

Yeah, Sox kinda sucked this last year. Good thing I don't really care about baseball much anymore.

What pins did they trade for?

I don't really remember. I know Connor got a Stitch pin.

I'm here! I'll go back to read, but I wanted to save my place. Also, I wanted to say how adorable it is that your boys came up with S.O.C.K. If we stick with the name we currently have picked out for DD#3, they would be A.C.K.(without our last name), which is sort of a PG approximation of what I said when I found out I was expecting her.

Crystal! That's too funny. Three is a handful but I like the dynamics.

 

[daisymomof4]

I am going to follow along too!

I haven't pinned down a resort for our trip yet, and I keep going back and forth with the cabins. I like the idea of kids in the bedroom and my DH and I on the murphy bed, were you really comfortable? lol, we'll be there for two weeks so I just want to double check. I also like that you didn't rent a golf cart and that the walk and bus waits didn't kill you all, haha. Almost everything I read is how necessary the cart is, but the additional expense seems like something I can't really justify for 2 whole weeks.

I think your DH's retirement is a very special event, I'm sorry it wasn't acknowledged as such. Mine is a Navy family (brothers, uncles, etc). Congratulations to your DH and thanks to all of you for your service

 

[DawnMaree]

I'm sick and therefore no witty titles! Day 1 it is. This trip report will probably be much shorter than my usual ones.

Good for me!!

~ Monday, March 11th ~

I packed a healthy amount of fresh fruit and veggies for the drive:

Great idea! I pack snacks too, but no where as healthy.

I'd packed a picnic lunch so we ate at a rest stop and stretched our legs.

We love doing this. It really breaks the trip up and stretching from so much driving is good!!

I've always heard about the free OJ at the Florida Welcome Center, but I don't believe we've ever stopped. We did this time! The juice was delicious.

 

[carissanboys]

I am going to follow along too!

I haven't pinned down a resort for our trip yet, and I keep going back and forth with the cabins. I like the idea of kids in the bedroom and my DH and I on the murphy bed, were you really comfortable? lol, we'll be there for two weeks so I just want to double check. I also like that you didn't rent a golf cart and that the walk and bus waits didn't kill you all, haha. Almost everything I read is how necessary the cart is, but the additional expense seems like something I can't really justify for 2 whole weeks.

I think your DH's retirement is a very special event, I'm sorry it wasn't acknowledged as such. Mine is a Navy family (brothers, uncles, etc). Congratulations to your DH and thanks to all of you for your service

Thanks for commenting! Yes, I thought the murphy bed was really comfortable. I'd read others saying the same thing (which is really the only reason I started thinking about letting the boys have the bedroom--if it had been like a regular sleeper sofa, I don't think we would have done it). It is small, especially when you're used to a queen (or king), but since the other bed is the same size, that really didn't matter.

We did have our van with us so we didn't have to completely rely on Disney transportation. We did drive to the Studios and AK but that was because it allowed us to sleep in a bit more. And we needed our van to go visit our dog at the kennel. Not sure how old your kids are, but if I had little ones, I'd just use a stroller to go from the bus stop to your cabin. Or you can request a cabin near the bus stop. I thought about doing that, but I'm glad I didn't. I prefer quiet and I thought it might be too noisy near the bus stops/roads. Although not too many people use the buses. I think I forgot to mention that we were in walking distance of the quiet/cabin pool too. It was right across the street from our loop (2600). We had the wonderful privacy at our cabin, but the walking was minimal.

Thanks for your kind words!