Surprise Kids! We are heading for Disney!

[AFETA]

I have read hundreds of trip reports these past few months/years and finally worked up the courage to try it.

Let me start off by introducing myself. This is me, Staci and our son, AJ. I am a pure Disney nut from the start. My parents have been bringing me to Disney since infancy. We tried to recount the number of trips and are up to at least 20. At 27 years old and 1000 miles from Disney, thats not too bad.

Now my DH, Michael. The lucky guy got to leave for Disney on his birthday. How awesome to spend your birthday getting to Disney. The only thing better would be to wake up there

Joining us on the magical trip is the guilty party temselves! My parents. They started the whole Disney addiction years ago. Personally I blame them

Next up for this trip, my oldest brother and his family. Just as much a Disney nut as me

Normally our cast would be much larger, but a few things held others back from being able to join us. Our last "family trip" brought 21 of us. The next one planned for 2013 brings 17!

Anyway lets get started

 

[lmbcdb]

You have a beautiful family! I'm subscribing.

 

[AFETA]

As I mentioned in the title, this was a surprise for my son, nephew, and niece. We had been planning the trip for around 4 months. They didn't have a clue. It started out as my brother taking his kids, but once my hubby and I received the FD pin, we were set to go too. Now you didn't really think that we would make it out the door without mom and dad did you? We normally hit Disney in the off season. We hadn't been in the summer since we were kids, and thought, lets give it a try. July 25-August 2nd.

We wake up bright and early on Monday morning, load the cars, and wake the kids. Of course the response is "why are you waking me up at 7:00am, its summer?" Just get dressed and get in the car, we have to go somewhere. Me being super excited, couldn't wait to tell AJ. We got in the car and we said, guess where you are going! That's right, Disney World! He was so excited. Watched a slideshow on the way to the airport from our last trip.

Next up telling the other 2. My brother and his wife decided to tell them on the shuttle from the car to the airport where they were going. Little did they know that we were waiting inside to go too. We spend a lot of time with our nieces and nephews and so they were really excited that we were tagging along!

Off to Disney we go. Our flight was uneventful and 2 hours later we landed. Oh, the warm Florida air, palm trees, and Disney billboards. I am soooo ready to get there.

We were headed for Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort. My family had never satyed there. So were so excited to show it to them. We had stayed there on our honeymoon in '04.

We had requested Aruba or Jamaica for convenience purposes, so we were thrilled to get Jamaica!

A short walk to the food court and main pool. Our bus stop was literally just steps from our bldg. Now off to the grocery store for some snacks. The kids checked out the pool with Papaw and got ready for dinner. I had a little surprise up my sleeve for the hubby. Since it was his birthday I had to get him a cake. I went to the foodcourt to pick it up and here is the result. He is a a huge chocolate fan, so this worked out perfect. It is supposed to serve 8 and cost $32. Not too bad! I was a little disapponited that there was no Disney decoration on it, but hey, enought Disney in the 8 days ahead right?

Dinner was just ok. We were on the DDP and chose the Big River Grille and Brewing Works at the Boardwalk. It wasn't the worst meal I had ever had on property, but I probably won't return anytime soon. Between us all, we ordered the meatloaf, rocket red ribs, and shrimp and steak combo. the ribs were a little tough, but manageable.

Now back to the hotel for a good night's rest. Next up, we are headed for the Tower and a Rockin' good time

 

[AFETA]

I see that you are staying at the Pop Century soon! Usually a go to for us every trip, but this time they decided to give Caribbean Beach a try

You will love it there, enjoy! I have to ask though, how did you like the cabins at Fort Wilderness?

 

[AFETA]

Welcome to our first full day at Disney

Today we are heading over to HS for rope drop. Will we make it to Toy Story Mania in time for a FP. We stood in the crowd waiting on the rope drop. The crowd was decent. My brother and hubby made it back to Toy Story while the rest of us headed for ToT and Aerosmith. Finally we got the text that they scored FPs for the whole family good for 10:05. Just enough time to get a few rides in. We made it over to TS Mania. I just love FPs. We walked thru the FP entrance while the SB entrance was at 65 min. The kids loved the ride and off we went to the new Star Tours, but not before making a stop at Starring Rolls for a cinnamon roll

Star Tours was really cool, but not a whole lot different from the previous version. AJ (4) loved it. He kept putting is hands in the air and yelling, so cute! We ended up with the Darth Vader version.

It was about time to leave for our 1:25 ADR at Le Cellier in Epcot, so we had time for one more thing. We headed over and took in a showing of the Muppets . This is a cute show. Made need some updating, but I always loved the muppets!

Off to Epcot on the boat. They dropped us off back at the world showcase and we were headed for Canada. They seated us right on time. An hour later our bellies were full of delicious steak, mashed potatoes, pretzel bread, and berry cobbler

We decided to take a walk thru the worldshowcase. This is something we usually forego with the kids. They loved it this time. We stopped off for the America show. If you haven't seen it, I recommend it. The pre-show is awesome. Great group of singers! After the show we made our way around to Norway for Maelstrom and then to Mexico. The weather was beautiful and the crowds were light.

Next up we headed over for a visit with Figment and a viewing of the Captain EO show. I can't say that I was wild about this show, but hey . I always loved Figment and the ride and interactive area was cute.

Here is my niece checking out the picture play area.

We made our way around to Spaceship Earth, Finding Nemo, and then it was time for dinner. We grabbed something and met at the Electric Umbrella. It was time for our FPs to Test Track and off we went. I forgot to mention that we grabbed these while waiting to be seated at Le Cellier. The SB line at the time was 90 min

After a ride on Test track we decided to make the walk over to Soarin'. The wait time posted was 65 min. By this time we were into EMH, so we flashed our room keys and away we went. The wait was only about 45 min, not too bad. After Soarin' we were all ready to head back for a good night's rest

Next up, swimming, napping, and somebody gets kissed

 

[AFETA]

Today was sleep in day for my family

My brother and his family headed off for another day at HS. His kids are 8 and 12, so just the right age that they can ride anything and will. They were wanting so more time on ToT and Aerosmith, so off they went.

We let AJ sleep in and headed over to the main pool at the hotel for some swimming and lunch. We grabbed lunch in Old Port Royale. I had the Turkey BLT with homemade chips, awesome! Hubby had the chili cheese dog and fries, and AJ had the hot dog and french fry pail. They serve kids meals in a pail and shovel, so you can use them to play on the beaches later. Cute idea!

After lunch and a little more swimming, we headed back to the room for a nap! I didn't want AJ to get overly tired this early in the trip, so after a good nap, it was time to get ready for dinner. We were heading to the Contemporary for our 7:25 ADR at Chef Mickey's. I will say we were all a little leary after reading some of the reviews. We went the attitude that you will never know until you try it. This is our 4th trip on the DDP so we have trying to find new places to try each time while still returning to some favorites. We made it over there and were seated about 10 minutes 7:35. The atmosphere was bright and colorful and the food was decent. I wouldn't say it was over the top good, but pretty good. The ribs and mashed potatoes were a big hit with the whole family. The characters started making their way around the rooms dancing and having a good time.

The funny part was every character that visited our table, the fab five, kissed my niece on the head. After the 5th kiss I guess it was just too much

I didn't get a good picture of Donald or Goofy. When Goofy came by he did the robot and then moonwalked to our table. The kids thought that was so funny even my 12 yr old nephew.

With full bellies we headed back to our hotel for the night.

Up next, Blizzard Beach and Whispering Canyon!

 

[AFETA]

We got up bright and early today to make the EMH at Blizzard Beach. I wasn't sure how busy they would be in the morning. We made our way over to a hut next to the wave pool and the crowd was very light. The hubby, my brother, and my nephew headed straight for summit plummit while I headed for the wavepool with our son and niece. As soon as they finished there we made our way around to the slides and a trip around the lazy river. At this point the park was getting busier. The wait times went from 5-10 minutes to 45 minutes.

We decided to head back to the hotel for lunch in the food court and a rest before dinner. I ordered the Turkey BLT again. The hubby had a buffalo chicken sandwich, that he loved, and the little guy had the hot dog and fries. We headed back to the room for a break. We got up and rode the bus to the MK and then hopped on the boat over to our ADR at Whispering Canyon.

The food was awesome! We had been here once before about 3 yrs ago and decided to give it a go again. We all ordered the canyon skillet, except for my nephew and hubby who ordered steak. They are obsessed with a good steak. While it was just sub-par in comparison to Le Cellier, they still enjoyed it. The canyon skillet consists of ribs, chicken, brisket, corn on the cob, mashed potatoes, cowboy beans (BBQ beans), and cornbread. The salad served prior was a mixed green salad with apple vinagrette.

Next up my favorite of the entire stay, dessert

Apple caramel pie with sugar cookie crust. It was awesome. I was so full from the meal, but had to get most of it down. The best apple pie I have ever had, a must have! The rest of the family ordered the chocolate cake. They are huge chocolate fans and said it was rich tasting.

Now time to roll ourselves out to the dock for a boat ride back to the MK and then a bus back to the Caribbean.

Coming up...A full day of MK fun!

 

[AFETA]

It's Friday and finally MK day My favorite park of all. We wake up early to make the opening show. I mean really you can't miss the opening show, it wouldn't be the same. While we are greeted with Good Morning, Good Morning... the anticipation builds. Finally the MK opens for the day and thru the entrance we go. We start down Main St and I start to tear up. I just knew it was going to be a great day! What could be better than the sight of this first thing in the morning.

We head for Fantasyland first thing. This has been our game plan the past few years and seems to work out very well. A lot of the crowd seems to head for Space Mountain and Splash Mountain. Later in the day the Fantasyland gets a little crowded. I love Peter Pan and some the classics as much as anybody, but really waiting an hour for it, no thanks

After Fantasyland it is time for our breakfast date with Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, and Piglet. Off to Crystal Palace for one of my favorite meals this whole trip. The Pooh's puffed french toast and the berry mix are my favorites. We signed in for our ADR and waited about 10 min. Once we were seated the characters immediately start there way around our section.

The food here is always fresh and hot, and the service is great! We come out of Crystal Palace and decide to let each of the kids choose a ride before we head back to hotel for a break. My little guy chooses Pirates of the Caribbean, the niece chose Tomorrowland Speedway, and nephew chooses Space Mountain. We decide to take in a show of the Country Bear Jamboree, and a ride thru the Haunted Mansion. We head back to the hotel around 1:00. I really thought it would bother me wasting vaulable time in MK, but the heat and crowds always picked up around lunch. This gave everyone a break and prepared them for the long night ahead. MK was open until 3am

We headed back after about 3 hours and hit our ADR at Tony's. The table ordered a variety and everyone enjoyed it. I had the steak, my brother had the lasagna, his wife the chicken parmesan, and my dad had the pork tenderloin. the kids of course dined on nuggets and fries. Now that we were full we decided to pay Mickey a visit since they are right out side the check in stand for Tony's.

And of course a little fun in the giftshop...

We headed out for some more rides and decided to FP Space Mountain for later since the wait time was up to 65 minutes. We made our way around each section and to my surprise it was bustling with people, but not crowded. Which puzzled me with it being July. Oh well, better for us right. It was time for Wishes and my niece was dying to see them. We got her a spot on the bridge and she loved it! She wanted to know why Tinker Bell was on a zip line, couldn't she just use pixie dust. I quickly answer with, I think I heard someone in the castle say they were out and had more on order Hey with kids around you have to think on your feet

We made our way back over to use our FP for Space Mountain. Since my little guy isn't quite tall enough, my mom and dad stayed with him. This left us with 3 FPs so as wecame off the right we handed them to a ver tired looking dad and his 2 kids that were just stepping into line. The wait was now at 75 min He happyily took them and just kept thanking us. It felt good to help him out

We decided to ride a little more and take a break with some frozen lemonades. About 2:15am we had had enough and headed for the buses. My little guy had passed out about midnight in the stroller, so bedtime was very easy that night

Next up, a day at the hotel...

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

I love your matching t-shirts! Our family always makes matching shirts for our trips too. It so much easier to find them in a crowd.

We always start off our Magic Kingdom day at the Crystal Palace for breakfast. I just love it there. Nothing like being in the MK before it opens...magical.

 

[hotmailop963]

so perfect family, enjoy yourself

 

[buzz for boys]

I just adore the matching tshirts
Loving the trip report and subbing so I dont miss an installment x

 

[AFETA]

Glad you are enjoying our trip. The matching t-shirt thing started for us in '07 and ever since then we make it point. It is just so much easier spotting everyone and helps to keep track of all the kids

 

[AFETA]

After our long day in the MK we decided to take it easy on Saturday and just hang out and enjoy our resort.

I had been trying for years to get my family to stay at the Caribbean Beach Resort ever since my hubby and I stayed there for our honeymoon. I finally talked them into it and they are in love .

Although we were missing about half the family, I'm sure I can convince them to stay there the next time

I love, love, love the Caribbean Beach Resort. As I may have mentioned before, we are avid Pop Century fans. We have stayed at all the values, but Pop Century is the family favorite. I can't wait to see and stay at the new Animation Inn

Anyway, back to our day. As I mentioned, we all slept in and headed down to the pool for a late morning swim. The kids had a blast in the pool and on the slides. We decided to grab some lunch in Old Port Royale and head back for a nap.

After a nice long nap, we headed down for some more swimming and then grabbed supper in Old Port Royale. We decided not to make any ADRs for the day so that there was no pressure to be anywhere. Plus we still had plenty of counter service credits to use before Tuesday. We enjoyed the relaxing day at the hotel and looked forward to Sunday.

Here are a few photos from the day.

Next up Animal Kingdom and another late night at the Magic Kingdom

 

[AFETA]

So we left off with a restful day and now for some fun

We got up bright and early and well rested. We are heading to the Animal Kingdom to have breakfast with Donald, Goofy, Mickey, and Daisy. I love this breakfast! We came here our first time in 2006 as a family and haven't missed it on a trip yet. The food is delicious and the juice is out of this world!

Here is a pic of my little guy danicing with Goofy!

Now that we are full we head straight for the Safari. We ended making our ADR for 8:00 and were finished eating and at the rope drop back by the Safari. We actually made it on the first ride of the day. We ended up being seated in the last row of the jeep and oh my was it bumpy. I had never noticed this before and on a full belly, wow that was an experience.

We made our way thru our favorites here: Expedition Everest, Dinosaur, It's Tough to Be a Bug, etc. It was exceptionally hot here that day, so we decided to head back to hotel to cool down. This way we could enjoy our time at the MK. After all it was our last day in the parks

After a cool down, we headed to the MK for our ADR at Liberty Tree Tavern. This is a family favorite as well. The kids always eat really well here. I will have to say that I was a little disappointed that the dessert had changed from cherry cobbler to craisin cake. Boy was I wrong on that one. The cake was delicious. It was served with vanilla bean ice cream and was yummy

We make our way around the MK trying to soak it all in. Knowing that we won't be back for a year or two. That is unless I can trick the hubby into a trip next year

We headed for one of our favorites, the Monster Inc. Laugh Floor. We were hoping to get one of the kids picked for the show. But, something even better happened. They got my mom and dad. My mom was picked to read her mind. She laughed all the way thru it and was having a great time. All of the sudden the camera pans over to Dad and he just starts making silly faces. He has this trick he does for the kids where he sticks his finger in his ear and put his tongue in his cheek. The kids always believe his finger went thru to his cheek. Anyway, he starts doing that and it was hilarious. The monster on the screen just stares at him for a minute and then starts jumping up and down asking him to do it again and again. The kids were cracking up and we were all in tears by the time we got out of there

It was a good night again and the crowds were very low. We enjoyed the park and the nice weather. The kids ended up getting to ride everything they wanted at least 3 times I think. Then the sad walk down Main St and one last look at the castle I hate that walk. Oh well, looking forward to trips ahead!

Here a some pics from the day.

My silly little man riding Tomorrowland Transit Authority.

Next up shopping and video game fun!