Spring break: Pregnant, tent camping, and still the best day ever - a March 2012 TR

[ksl5f123]

I am enjoying reading about your camping experience at Disney. I have seen some of the campsites all decorated for Christmas when we went over to do the Chip and Dale campfire one year.

The camping people seem to really do it up for Christmas. I think I would enjoy being there is we did a cabin or if we had an RV, but even Florida weather in December is a little too unpredictable for me. In March, I really only saw 2 other campsites that were decorated at all.

The kids play area looks like so much fun! Eww...on the "emergency maintenance"!!! I love the baked potato bar idea. That is on my list for our next camping trip!

Your "plans" for evening activities sound like mine...so many plans and where do we wind up? Asleep!! I would have woken up cold too! I always seem to wake up cold when we are camping (even if it is 100 degrees!)!!

The kids area was GREAT! I love that they are adding these areas to most of the resorts. I particularly love that I can sit in a chair and watch DS play rather than chase him.

We always get more worn out than I think we will be. Just because the kids have unlimited energy at home doesn't quite translate to WDW. Of course, all of the adults were more than ready for bed too.

Count me in!!!

Glad to have you reading along!

 

[ksl5f123]

Well, it finally dawned on me that I needed to actually sub into your new Trip Report to get updates, duh! I kept wondering when you would start your report and waited for an e-mail. Oh, well, just got all caught up! Since I'm not a camper, it's fascinating to read about all your organization and planning. Your campsite looks inviting and the potato bar sounds yummy! I think I could even camp if I could have some small kitchen appliances to help with cooking.

Having appliances made it really easy to cook. I am used to camping with only matches and a cast iron skillet, so this was a completely new experience for me. It took a good amount of planning, but once we were there it was really easy.

Your evening at DTD sounds like it's good you started on the West Side! I love WPE in the Marketplace but I would have settled for the West Side too. We've eaten there but only inside at the restaurant. Love it!

I would have loved to have had the selection that WPE has in the Marketplace, but given that I had eaten way too much heavy food on the drive I was more than happy to just have a salad.

Looks like everyone enjoyed the pool! Great first day! Too bad about the cold at night though. My theory is that the more humid air in Florida feels colder to us Midwesterners. Hey! I could be right! I can't sleep either if I'm too chilly.

Look forward to more....

The kids loved the pool. I was worried they wouldn't remember how to swim since it had been 7 months since they had been in a pool, but they did great! I will take your humidity theory. Certainly, my folks house was anything but humid those winters growing up.

 

[Skip2MyLou]

Enjoying your trip report and the detailed one on the camping board!

Our family is about to outgrow the standard WDW hotel rooms (we have a 3 year old & I'm pregnant with twins). I told my husband he other day that it looks like camping will be the only way our budget will allow us to do WDW.

How was the weather for spring? Did you have to deal with rain at all? I think that is my biggest fear...a massive downpour soaking all of our things.

 

[ADisneyQueen]

The campsites look really nice. Did you bring a a car top case thing on your minivan? Wondering how you fit everything to bring.

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

I'm so enjoying your trip report. I don't think I've read one yet camping at Fort Wilderness. I stayed there once back in 1988 when my parents rented a motor home. I know that was so long ago but I do remember that the grounds were beautiful and you could literally spend a whole day just doing things there and not even going into the parks.

I hope your family had a magical vacation. I look forward to hearing all about it.

 

[smile5sunshine]

Just wanted to let you know I'm following along!

I've LOVED reading so far. I have been camping while I was pregnant before (oddly enough that's the ONLY time I've ever been camping!), and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I would love to go camping while at WDW, but sadly my DH isn't as enamored with the world as I am, not to even bring camping into the equation (he's not a "roughing" it kind of guy......not that anything is really considered "roughing it" when you are in Disney....) SO I'm not sure if camping there will ever become a reality for me.

Okay, ramble over! Keep up the great job!

Sunshine

 

[ksl5f123]

Enjoying your trip report and the detailed one on the camping board!

Our family is about to outgrow the standard WDW hotel rooms (we have a 3 year old & I'm pregnant with twins). I told my husband he other day that it looks like camping will be the only way our budget will allow us to do WDW.

How was the weather for spring? Did you have to deal with rain at all? I think that is my biggest fear...a massive downpour soaking all of our things.

The weather was perfect! We had highs in the low-80s and lows in the mid-60s. You can't ask for anything better when you are camping. The only time it rained was Wednesday afternoon and it was one of those quick Florida showers that only last about 20 minutes.

You will be able to stay in any WDW hotel until your twins turn 3, so you have a few good years yet. We snuck in one last stay at WL just before DS turned 3 last year.

The campsites look really nice. Did you bring a a car top case thing on your minivan? Wondering how you fit everything to bring.

We did have to get a soft sided car top carrier. We did a practice packing of the minivan about a week before we left and realized we would have to block the windows to get everything in. That wasn't acceptable to DH and I, so we bought the car top carrier (I think for $40) at Target the week before. It worked great and we had a lot of rain on the drive home! The only problem is we really need to take it outside and hose it off because it was quite the bug killer on the drive (ewww!).

I'm so enjoying your trip report. I don't think I've read one yet camping at Fort Wilderness. I stayed there once back in 1988 when my parents rented a motor home. I know that was so long ago but I do remember that the grounds were beautiful and you could literally spend a whole day just doing things there and not even going into the parks.

I hope your family had a magical vacation. I look forward to hearing all about it.

Thank you! Most people who camp seem to only post on the camping board, but we had such a great trip that I really wanted to share here! Fort Wilderness really is beautiful and you feel like you are far away from the urban area that you know is only a few miles away. We found lots of things to do at the Fort and I think we could have spent even more time there.

Just wanted to let you know I'm following along!

I've LOVED reading so far. I have been camping while I was pregnant before (oddly enough that's the ONLY time I've ever been camping!), and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I would love to go camping while at WDW, but sadly my DH isn't as enamored with the world as I am, not to even bring camping into the equation (he's not a "roughing" it kind of guy......not that anything is really considered "roughing it" when you are in Disney....) SO I'm not sure if camping there will ever become a reality for me.

Okay, ramble over! Keep up the great job!

Sunshine

I was really worried about being able to get off of the air mattress in the morning. In reality, most days I just rolled off onto hands and knees and then got up from there. Aside from that (and some swollen ankles), I really didn't have any issues camping while pregnant.

Too bad about your DH not going for the camping. The amount of "roughing it" really varies. There were some people at Fort Wilderness with RVs and set-ups that could rival deluxe accomadations!

 

[ksl5f123]

I hope everyone had a Happy Easter! It is a busy time here, so I didn't have any time to DIS, but now I am back and ready to update this TR!

By 6:45 AM Monday morning, we were all up and moving around. We all got dressed and headed for our first park day. Where do you think we were going? Well, not where you might expect, so I'll just tell you – we were off to Legoland! Having Legoland tickets was actually the motivation for this trip, so we were very excited.

For breakfast, we had some blueberry muffins and chocolate chip muffins I made at home before we left. We added some fruit and juice and it was a pretty good breakfast. By about 7:45 AM, breakfast was finished and we were ready to get in the car. We headed off to Legoland arriving at about 8:30 for an advertised 9 AM opening time.

The drive out there is a few miles down I-4 and then a pretty long drive down US Hwy 27. Much of the drive is through an area that looks like it probably had tourist income about 20 years ago, but is now sort of run down looking. Nearer the end of the drive are some fields and rolling hills. We had planned to spend the entire day at Legoland (park hours 9 AM to 6 PM), so we were watching for places to eat supper along the drive. There was NOTHING but fast food until you actually got to Legoland and then there was a Ruby Tuesday next door.

We arrived at 8:30.

The parking spots stack kind of like LEGOs

After parking, you take this walkway to the park

Signs along the way

We already had tickets, for me, DH, and the girls, but needed some for MIL, FIL, and DS3. It only took them a minute to get them. By this point it was about 8:45 and we realized that people were entering the park! They must have opened early. Through the gates we go!

DS3 liked the dragon on that sign

The sidewalk is decorative

A couple of quick group pictures just inside:

You may remember that I mentioned the night before I had been sitting in our screen house finishing up a special project. That project was DS3's shirt that you see him wearing in the above photo. I had made everyone's outfits the week before, but ran out of blue buttons and didn't get DS3's done. So, blue buttons were one of the things that we bought from Walmart on Sunday so I could finish his shirt. I felt very old fashioned to be sitting in my tent at night sewing by lantern light!

Our first stop was in the Lego Kingdoms area

They had this cute little joust ride that I knew DS3 would just love. Only one problem – They wouldn't let him on!!!! Both the website and the guide that you get at the entrance say kids have to be more than 36” tall and less than 12 years old to ride. He is 41” tall and 3 years old. However, when we got to the front of the line we learned they had changed the requirements since the guides went to print and you now also had to be at least 4 years old! DS3 misses by 3 months. The girls rode anyway:

While we stood there taking pictures of the girls riding, DS3 just walked away with his head hung and his lower lip out. No fit. No tantrum. Just clearly sad. I felt SO BAD! I had shown him Youtube videos and knew my knight loving little guy would just adore this attraction. So, I guess my lesson here is not to get your kids excited about any one attraction because they just might not get to ride it.

We quickly pacified him with some time playing over here

When the girls finished the joust ride, they joined DS3 on the playground while DH and MIL rode the Dragon coaster. DH said the theming in the beginning was good, but once it got going it was just a coaster.

It took us 40 minutes from exiting our car until we had completed our first area! Clearly, early on Monday morning, the lines at Legoland are negligible.

Up next, more Legoland!

 

[TinksThree]

I love how colorful the entrance area is! Especially against the blue Florida sky!

I adore those shirts! You did a great job on those and on the skirts!

Poor little guy, I bet he was so disappointed in not gettign to ride. And it did look like something he would have enjoyed!

 

[ksl5f123]

I love how colorful the entrance area is! Especially against the blue Florida sky!

I adore those shirts! You did a great job on those and on the skirts!

Poor little guy, I bet he was so disappointed in not gettign to ride. And it did look like something he would have enjoyed!

The entrance to Legoland is VERY colorful. Since it is so new, everything looks nice and clean and inviting.

Thanks! I loved the shirts too. We got a TON of comments on them. I don't think Legoland is as accustomed to custom outfits as Disney is.

 

[ksl5f123]

After the castle area, we moved on to

This ride:

is kind of similar to Buzz Lightyear in that you shoot a laser gun. I had heard that the lines can get kind of long, so we wanted to go pretty early. At this point, there still weren't lines for anything. In fact, here is the queue when we first got in line.

There are LEGO structures throughout the queues and the park.

The problem with this ride is that there are only about 10-12 targets per room and if you don't hit them exactly, you don't get any points. The neat thing is that every target causes something to happen. But the limited number of targets and accuracy requirement meant that DD6 finished the ride with zero points. Now, she was sad.

Luckily, there was still no line, so DH, DD6 and I rode again and DH helped her so she did better the 2nd time.

Then DD8 wanted to ride this:

She managed to talk MIL into riding with her because the rest of the adults refused.

While they waited, DD6 and DS3 explored the camel.

Soon, it was time for MIL and DD6 to board the Beetle Bounce. On this morning, each family got their own ride vehicle. I don't know if this is always true or if it was only because there weren't any lines yet. One of the biggest complaints I have heard about Legoland is that the rides are ALL slow loaders. Leaving so many seats vacant sure slows down the line!

All the way up:

Bouncing back down:

Then DH and DD8 headed off to Coastersaurus while the rest of us went to the Safari ride. Coastersaurus is a wooden roller coaster with pretty much no theming at all, but DD8 liked it anyway. It was a poor substitute for Big Thunder Mountain, but she made the best of it.

On the Safari, I rode with DD6 while FIL rode with DS3. This picture gives a good view of the (complete lack of) leg room on most Legoland rides.

DH said he felt the same way on Coastersaurus and pretty much had to put is legs in front of DD8.

The Safari is a slow ride past about a dozen different Lego animals. It is cute and the kids REALLY liked it.

Watch out for the elephants – they spray!

Up next, driving at Legoland!

 

[ksl5f123]

It was now about 10:30 in the morning. We had already experienced 7 rides plus the playground, but now we were starting to see lines at the attractions. We headed into Lego City. There are two different places for the kids to drive Lego cars. The first is called the Ford Jr. Driving School and it is for ages 3-5 and then there is the Ford Driving School for ages 6-12. At both places, the cars are actually driven by the children – no tracks!

First, we took DS3 to the Junior version. The line was about 10 minutes long. Then he got let into the driving area. All of the other kids ran to the cars, but he just stood there looking confused. Soon, it became clear that all of the cars were taken. The attendant opened this little garage and got a new car out for DS3.

Now, we have never owned any Powerwheels or anything like that, so DS3 had some trouble getting used to the idea that he had to step on the pedal CONTINUOUSLY in order to get the car to go.

But, eventually, he got it and really enjoyed “driving”

While DS3 was finishing his ride, DH took DD6 over to the bigger kids version:

A little driving on the wrong side of the road.

You can see in this version, there are streets with traffic signs. The kids get a lesson about traffic laws before being sent out to drive.

Originally, DD8 wasn't sure she wanted to do this, but after DS3 finished his ride, we walked over and watched for a few minutes and she wanted to do it too.

We were planning to also do the Boating school where the kids get to drive boats but the line for that was at least 30 minutes every time we checked it from this point on during the day.

At this point, DH needed a pit stop (and took the camera). The rest of us did the Rescue academy where you work a pump to make your firetruck drive over to a place where you get to spray a hose and then pump your firetruck back to the start. You race against 3 other families. Let's just say this was VERY hard work and absolutely EXHAUSTING! I don't recommend trying to do it with one 8yo and one pregnant woman or one 6 yo and her grandma! This is definitely an attraction to do with daddy (or someone very fit).

While on his bathroom break, DH found a little restaurant that isn't on any of the maps or on the website. It was called I-Zone Panini and it was in the Imagination Zone. It basically had sandwiches and salads, but there is very little to eat in the back of the park and we didn't really want to walk back to the front for lunch.

I had a chicken salad:

It was fine – it was a salad (although I personally prefer my chicken hot rather than cold).

DH had a vegetarian panini

He liked it.

Each of the kids had a ham and cheese panini

Most of them ate the ham out because the panini bread was unfamiliar. These were actually pretty nice because in addition to the panini, they came with chips, apples, grapes and chocolate milk. All of the “side” items were consumed! We were happy that we went to eat at 11:15 because by the time we finished there was quite a lot of people standing around holding their food and hoping for a table.

We didn't get to go inside the Imagination Zone because there were school groups in there that day. We were a little disappointed because this is the “hands on” area and we thought the kids would really like it.

Oh well. From there, we headed out to the Lego Technic area where DH, DD6, MIL, and DD8 rode these

It was kind of like a Dumbo ride except instead of using a lever to go higher you had to pedal faster! I was glad that I skipped out on this one – the last thing I needed was more exercise!

Instead DS and I enjoyed looking at this guy:

Up next, Miniland!

 

[sherylcin]

Your day at Legoland looks like a lot of fun! Good thing you all are early birds and beat the crowds. You have already packed a lot of good stuff in before lunch. Everyone's shirts and the girls' skirts are too cute! You could probably sell those if you wanted to start a business!!

 

[TinksThree]

Looks like a fun morning so far! I would love just looking at the Lego creations! Those are super cool! I especially liked the ones on the safari ride!

 

[ksl5f123]

Your day at Legoland looks like a lot of fun! Good thing you all are early birds and beat the crowds. You have already packed a lot of good stuff in before lunch. Everyone's shirts and the girls' skirts are too cute! You could probably sell those if you wanted to start a business!!

I think even more than Disney, you have to be early at Legoland. By 10:30 AM EVERY line was 20 minutes or longer.

Several people at the park asked us where we got the shirts and at least one told us they would like to buy some.

Looks like a fun morning so far! I would love just looking at the Lego creations! Those are super cool! I especially liked the ones on the safari ride!

There were great LEGO sculptures all over the park. I enjoyed that part. As time goes by, I hope they keep them up because I can imagine them getting really scuzzy with time.

 

[ksl5f123]

From here, we were off to Miniland. This was a fun area to look around, but except for one tree in the very middle, there was NO shade! We spent about 40 minutes looking at all of the models.

Las Vegas

There was a lot of motion in these sculptures. Many of the cars and all of the boats moved. If you look closely in this one, you can see these boats spraying water.

Pirates

Cape Canaveral

DS3 insisted on watching the countdown on the “rocket” but was quite disappointed when it didn't actually launch, but just smoked.

“Florida”

San Francisco

New York

Somehow, I missed getting pictures of the Daytona Speedway and Washington DC.

Up next, finishing up Legoland.

 

[lovesdumbo]

Loving your LegoLand photos!!! I will be there 2 weeks from today. I emailed my Florida friend this week. She usually drives down Sat morning rather than Friday night but she said she would come Friday night so we could get an early start Sat.

I have been a sewing maniac this week. I spent most of last Sat making a Lego skirt. Sunday I finished it and cut out appliqués for Lego mini figure head Ts for DD & I. I sewed the Ts during the week along with peace sign Mickey head Ts and Epcot logo Ts and Toy Story Alien Ts and a Stitch T. I hope to make 3 more Lego head Ts for my friends and DD & I some "4 parks" Ts that I have an idea for and a Toy Story skirt. I do not have an embroidery machine. I hope to post photos soon on the disboutique thread.

 

[sherylcin]

Wow! Those lego models are amazing! I always wonder how long it takes to put them together (mostly because it would take me a veerryy long time!) Probably inspires lots of lego-building when kids get back to their own set!

 

[TinksThree]

Wow! Those models were incredible!! I don't think I would have the patience to put that together!!

 

[ksl5f123]

Loving your LegoLand photos!!! I will be there 2 weeks from today. I emailed my Florida friend this week. She usually drives down Sat morning rather than Friday night but she said she would come Friday night so we could get an early start Sat.

I have been a sewing maniac this week. I spent most of last Sat making a Lego skirt. Sunday I finished it and cut out appliqués for Lego mini figure head Ts for DD & I. I sewed the Ts during the week along with peace sign Mickey head Ts and Epcot logo Ts and Toy Story Alien Ts and a Stitch T. I hope to make 3 more Lego head Ts for my friends and DD & I some "4 parks" Ts that I have an idea for and a Toy Story skirt. I do not have an embroidery machine. I hope to post photos soon on the disboutique thread.

I have been watching for your sewing posts. Let me know when you put your pictures up. You will be there so soon!!!!

Wow! Those lego models are amazing! I always wonder how long it takes to put them together (mostly because it would take me a veerryy long time!) Probably inspires lots of lego-building when kids get back to their own set!

The models are the most unique part of the park. We spent about an hour looking at them. My two youngest were fascinated.

Wow! Those models were incredible!! I don't think I would have the patience to put that together!!

I barely make it through the 100 pc kits. I can't even imagine what it would be like to do those entire cityscapes - and yes, I am glad I get to look without having to help.