Snow Mom & her 3 dwarfs...grumpy, sicky, and sneaky! Aug. '12 TR (Update 6/1)Complete

[mommytocalliesue]

How cool! We are in Champaign right now for my DH to finish vet school at UofI. We hope to move back to Peoria. My cousin is at Bradley right now. My dad, DS4 an I went to a basketball game a few months back. Small world!

Yes it is!! I really liked Peoria...it's amazing how different so many areas are since I graduated (in 2004!!) We go there quite often to shop, go to Monkey Joes, to see the Festival of Lights!!! I haven't made it back to a game at the new facility!

 

[Holly324]

Okay, all caught up! Your trip report has so made me want to go back NOW!!!! Family of the day in AK sounds so awesome! What a special moment for you guys! Can't wait to read more!

 

[mommytocalliesue]

Since last night was kind of late, we decided to let the kids sleep in. We didn't get up and moving until 10:00 am!!! We just ate cereal in the room and headed to AK for our last morning!

We got to AK around 11:00 am. It was HOT! and I don't remember it being overly crowded. We headed to the Safari and even though it was only a 10 min. wait, we got FP since we wanted to head over to the 12:00 pm Nemo show. We had a few minutes to spare so we rode Triceratop Spin since it only had a 5 min. wait.

After that we headed to Nemo. I just LOVE that show...brings tears to my eyes everytime I see it! Kids loved it too...and loved the air conditioning!!

As we were heading over to the safari to use our FP (had the time between 12:30 - 1:30) we saw Pooh and friends were out. The CM's told us there wasn't a long line...so we decided to chance it. I'm glad we did...because we got right through the line. The kids were happy....all the characters were really good with them!

I didn't remember Pooh wearing DS's hat until now!

We made it over to the Safari just in time. I was nervous that we wouldn't see a lot of action from the animals today, since it was SO hot, but to our surprise...we saw many active animals!

After that the kids were hungry so we went to Pizza Safari for lunch. The kids got pizza and DH and I got a sandwich. It was really good! After this we decided to head back to the hotel to enjoy the hot afternoon in the pool! The kids were ready!

 

[mommytocalliesue]

When we got back to the room, Mousekeeping was in cleaning. So we went and filled our cups and sat on our patio. Soon after they were done, we got our suits on for one last swim at Stormalong Bay!!

All of us truly enjoyed that pool...and would love to come back again!

After we swam for a while, it started to get really dark. So we gathered our stuff and went to the room....we had to get ready for our last night.

 

[mommytocalliesue]

Once we got back to the room, we all showered. Now I didn't write it down, and I can't remember, but I do not think Carson got a nap today!

We had a Chef Mickey's reservation at 6:40, so we left our room at 5:40 to take a bus to the Magic Kingdom. We had to wait at least 25 min. for a bus, so I was freaking out. We made it to the MK and then walked to the Contemporary. It was spitting rain the entire walk but nothing major. We walked into the lobby...and for some reason I just love the smell of their lobby.

We checked in at like 6:30, skipped the picture, and was seated at 6:37!!

Before I get into our experience, I will say, overall we really enjoy eating here. My DH said this was the best food he had all week (I think because it wasn't just sandwiches and french fries!) DD really eats well here too (She LOVES the cornbread!!) We just really enjoy all the different items on the buffet. And for the most part, the characters are pretty good too (although compared to our last visit, I thought the characters were rushed a little bit, but the kiddos still had fun!!)

As soon as we sat down, both Minnie and Goofy came right away. I believe it was a quick hug and a picture and they both were gone. (Since we already had their autographs, I told the kids they didn't need them again)

I saw we had a break in characters so I decided to make a quick dash and get the kids some food. That was a mistake...all of a sudden DD comes running yelling "MOM...WE HAVE A BIG PROBLEM!!" The problem was - Carson peed his pants and Pluto is coming to our table RIGHT NOW!!! My first thought was on Carson and how in the world did he have an accident. We hadn't had one accident all week. My second thought...we'd better get back to the table for Pluto!!!

DD and I hurried back....by then DH and DS was back....luckily he had only dribbled a little bit and made it to the restroom, so no major accident!! Whew! And we made it back in time for Pluto!

The rest of the meal was good...Mickey and Donald eventually made it. DH even let lose and had some fun

We love making this our last meal. It's close to the Magic Kingdom which is always our last park, and the kids always have a blast (and they eat well!!)

After we left the restaurant, we went to the gift shop at the Contemporary and got the kids their shirts.

We were out the door at 7:45 to enjoy our last night at the Magic Kingdom!

 

[mommytocalliesue]

After we left the Contemporary, we made the walk to the Magic Kingdom. It had quit raining so we took our time and let Carson walk a little bit.

(Excuse the lack of pictures for the remainder of the trip...I didn't realize my memory card was lacking memory This has already been fixed for the next trip!!)

When we got there, we could tell that the park was busy.

Our last Photopass Picture!

We went straight to Adventureland and rode Pirates. We had to wait 10 min. but only because someone dropped their flip flop in the water, so they had to stop the ride for a bit.

When we got off of that, Callie wanted to ride Splash Mt. but it was a 45 min. wait and fast passes were all gone, so I said No. I wasn't going to make DH and DS wait that long.

So we walked...and it was busy!! Haunted Mansion looked like a short line, so we decided to ride that. It was only a 10 min. wait by the time we got through everything! (I don't know where this picture was taken...but I think it was when we were in line at HM!)

We continued walking, and got on Small World. The kids love that ride!! The Carousel was next on the list and only had a 5 min. wait.

Next was the Tea Cups...another walk on ride! Then we went over and did Buzz for one last time! I scored my best on this last ride!!

We finished our night with The People Mover!! What a perfect ending to an overall good trip!

Wishes had started by now, and we were afraid about the crowds and getting to a bus, but it wasn't too bad. We got to the bus and got right on and were feeling pretty good. When they said they were switching drivers. We had to wait OVER 30 min. for the new driver. I completely understand they need to switch, but why didn't they make that switch before not when the park was getting ready to close. To me, that doesn't make any sense. We had to wait so long, DS fell asleep. This was the ONLY time the entire trip that he fell asleep somewhere other than his bed!! What a trooper!

We made it back to the hotel at 10:50. We filled our glasses and took the stroller to Concierge. I started packing. Carson woke up, was over tired, and was CRANKY! He was not a happy camper. Callie was really complaining of an ear ache (Oh great...right before we're to get on a plane )

The lights were off at midnight...but Callie was up crying all night about her ear......how will our flight home go?????

 

[mommytocalliesue]

Can you tell things have been hectic....I WILL finish this this weekend!!! Then time to start planning our next trip!

 

[mommytocalliesue]

Like I said, we didn't have a good night's sleep due to Callie being up. So at 7:20, I got myself and the others out of bed. We had to do a little last minute packing and then I took the suitcases to be checked for the flight home.

We had a little breakfast in the room and Callie was VERY cranky and just not acting like herself. We finished getting everything else in the carry-ons and headed to catch DME at 8:35 am. While we waited, the kids got some pictures!





After we got on the bus, we headed to the Yacht club to pick up others. About 5 minutes later, Callie looks at me and doesn't look good. She covers her mouth and I asked her if she's going to be sick. I could tell by the look in her eyes that was a yes! And of course....we are in the very first row of the bus...go figure.

So I quickly run back to the restroom (as she's puking on my shirt) She got sick in the restroom. Luckily, no one really seemed to notice and she only got a little on both of us. We went back to the front, and I handed her over to DH!

The poor girl...



Carson was happy!



Luckily, I had packed a shirt for both of us on the carry-on (which I will do from now on as well!!) so we changed shirts as soon as we got to the airport.

We got through security with no problems and then we thought we'd hit McD's to try to get something to eat. She hardly ate and said she needed to go to the bathroom. So we left our food, went to the restrooms, and then headed for our gate. We sat and waited and finally boarded.



About 10 minutes into the flight, DH is yelling for wipes...yup...she got sick again. Luckily they were in the inside, DD is a quiet puker, Marty had a bag, so no one knew it was even happening!

I ended up buying an internet connection as DS was being a little antsy. He did fine the rest of the trip! Except for we took him to the restroom, he was newly potty trained and wanted to stand up, yeah..........DH said he had to pick up a mess!! It was a little to shaky for him!

Callie ended up getting sick 2 more times on the plane. She was just not feeling well.

So of course when we get off, Callie isn't feeling well so we have to hold the puke bag in front of her, DS wants to be carried, and DH has all the carryons. It was quite a site!! We had to keep stopping because of Callie!

We went and got our bags. Actually, I got our bags while DH stayed with the kids. Then we had to wait 20 min. for a shuttle to go back to our hotel. We started home and Callie got sick one more time in the car. (In a bag at least!) Then both kids slept!!!

Here is our before trip picture....



Here is our after trip picture...



We had some bad traffic so it was good the kids slept. We stopped once for drinks on the way home, stopped closer to home to pick up pizza, then made it home...THANK GOODNESS!!!

Callie never got sick again...and was glad to be home with her kitty!



As much as we all love Disney (except Grumpy DH!!) we were all glad to be home!

 

[mommytocalliesue]

Overall, we had a really good time. For the most part, we got to see and do everything that we wanted to!

Here's a quick hotel review...
*For the most part, we love the Beach Club!! We loved the location. You can't beat the walk to Epcot!! Especially where our room was! And taking the boat to DHS was great! Also, being close to the boardwalk gave different options for things to do or places to eat!

We loved the Storm Along Bay!!! If we go back during swimming season, we'd definitely pick there again!

They have a wonderful drink at Storm Along Bay called the Pina Colava...it was heavenly!!

The room was also always clean and had no complaints in that area!

I wasn't thrilled with the MarketPlace. We only ate there once...and it wasn't very good!

And I was disappointed with check in and not getting the type of room we wanted...especially when you book as far as in advanced as we did.

Busing was ok for the most part. We did have a couple long waits for buses...once for MK and the one to AK was the longest!

But overall, we had a great stay!

Some other observations:
*It was REALLY HOT!! And really busy at times! I knew to expect it....but sometimes it was just too much. (Which is why we did a lot of relaxation at the pool/room in the afternoon!!) But even at night, the humidity is still strong so there never seems to be any relief!!

*We encountered way more rude people than we typically do. People who right out would yell at other guests. I think they needed to spend more time in their rooms and relax!! And the people who just stop in the middle of a busy walk way...ugh!!! I get you need to stop...but then move over to the side....not just in the middle!

*We used Garden Grocer and really enjoyed it! However, for our next trip, I think we'll just buy what we need at our hotel store. Sometimes I felt we were just eating to get rid of what we had in our room...not because we were hungry! But it is a good service and was impressed!

*It is August, and it did rain. But it didn't rain half as much as I thought! I had bought ponchos for everyone and we never used them. We used the stroller one twice...but that was it! I guess we picked the right time to be in our room when it rained!

*We also used Baby Wheels for a double stroller and was really happy with the purchase. We got a free cooler (which came in handy) and a free poncho! It was at our hotel when we got there! The only downfall to the double stroller was it is truly a PITA on the bus! It hardly folds up and takes up a lot of room. Next time, we are going to be down to one stroller! Time for Callie to start doing some walking!!

Like I said, we had a good trip! Definitely made many special memories...and have started the Disney love with DS!!! Now we just need to work on DH!!!

Our next trip is Nov. 29-Dec. 4!! It's not a long trip, as I'm in school and only have 3 personal days, but this trip will all be about Christmas and the decorations!! I cannot wait!! Thank you for reading our trip report!!