The “You are obsessed w/ the DIS boards Wow, did you learn that on DIS?” Trip Report

[rmjkharrisfam]

I’ll start off by saying I consider myself a Disney savvy person. I’ve never counted up the times I’ve been to Disney World but I know I’m in the double digits. From the time I was 8 we took a family trip to the World every other year. Since my grandparents spent the winters in Florida, just a few miles from Orlando, there was always a good place to stay. That was back in the old days when you could share passes and they never expired. My grandparents would buy a few passes and whoever came to visit that year would use the passes.

As time went by my parents bought into a timeshare and we started staying in resorts around the Orlando area. My favorite is the Vistana resort. I stayed on property for the first time when a kid’s acting group that I worked with performed for Disney’s magic music days. Yes, I was a chaperone of one of the noisy kids groups that everyone complains about. Our kids were all middle school and younger so they actually weren’t that obnoxious With all of these trips I gradually learned my way around so my husband was impressed the first time I took him and we didn’t need a map to find things.

So, when I got the urge to plan a Disney trip for our family late last year I thought I had it made. I had enough experience that I didn’t think I needed any help. Then I found the DIS boards and boy was I wrong. I am so impressed with the knowledge contained here – any possible question you can think of can be answered here.

And, like many of you, I became obsessed. I haven’t made that many posts but I’ve lurked a lot and learned a lot in the process. I found so many tips here and I wanted to share how I used my knowledge on our recent trip to the world. And so, this trip report is born.

My DH was convinced I was crazy, every time he came in the den I was on the DIS. I fully admitted my obsession, but it is so much fun! But he didn’t believe that I could actually use these tips. And he liked to make fun everytime I told him a new one. That is…until I put the tips into action. And then he was sold. We just got back last week and he is already telling me questions to post for our next trip we are planning. (The next trip is with his entire side of the family for his parents 40th wedding anniversary in 2 years – I’ve been elected the official family planner).

So in this report I’ll explain how I put what I learned on these boards into action and hopefully give a few tips that we learned ourselves.

The trip begins:

We spent May 12 – 18th, 2007 at the All Star Music resort. When I say “We” that consists of myself, DH, DS age 4 and DD age 2.

The excitement really started with what I’ll call Day 0. This was the day before we left. I took the day off to get everything packed. We’re in the process of selling our house so I also had to make sure that the house was ready for showings while we were gone. Because we live 40 minutes from the airport and our flight was at 8:00 the next morning we decided to stay at a hotel near the airport the night before. DH and I picked up the kids at daycare a little early and we headed over to the hotel. We wanted to get there relatively early so we could have dinner and a quiet night before we left. All was fine and good, the kids were in the backseat watching The Little Mermaid (gotta love DVD players in the car!). And then I heard a cough from DD. And then another cough, and then just as we pulled into the parking lot of the hotel, I heard a sound that terrifies all parents when it’s heard on the night before a big event. Yes, that’s right, DD decided to give us back her lunch. In the backseat of the car, while strapped into her carseat, the night before we left for a vacation that I had planned for the pass 6 months!!!! And the only thing I could think is….why didn’t I buy the trip insurance???

We scrambled out of the car and DH whisked DS into the hotel lobby so he wouldn’t get sick also. Luckily I had packed extra clothes in a ziploc bag (a tip from the family board...THANKS!!!) and I had LOTS of baby wipes. So I cleaned her up, stuck all the dirty stuff in the ziploc and checked into the hotel. Meanwhile, DD had recovered just fine – she was running and laughing 5 minutes after it happened. Why do kids do that??? Needless to say DH and I were very nervous all night long.

In the next installment – Day 1 – Does DD get sick on the plane??? Our first airplane ride with the kids and the first day in the World.
Thanks for reading!

 

[CrAzY4DL]

Yay, I'm first!!! Signing up for this one!! Sounds fun AND suspensful!!

 

[Jake & Crew]

Uggh.....they really do pick the worse times to get sick!

Then again, guess there are no good times

Excited to read what you learned and learn what you share.....I consider this a healthy obsession. Loved your title......sounds like my house!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Yikes that is not a good way to start a trip. My brother once did the same thing except it was when we were driving to visit friends in Nova Scotia(20 hour drive). He threw up all over the backseat of the van. YUCK. I'm glad that she was feeling better though, hopefully her restoral to health will last for the rest of the trip.

 

[hollybearsmom]

I love the first post and I can't wait to see what tips you have for us!

 

[islandmum]

signing in ..

my kids are the same age so I cant wait to hear what you guys did!

 

[schmoopypoo]

Sign me up too DD did the same thing on our 8 hour drive to Baltimore. She was fine 10 minutes later too Kids are amazing aren't they! Can't wait for the rest.

 

[roberrl187]

I'm in too.

 

[PittypatBR]

Good start! Hope the reprieve lasts!

 

[tink25]

Subscribing! Yeah, kids are great at recovering from that, until she's old enough to find out that'll get her out of school one day!!

 

[amy2girls]

Can't wait to hear more! Why do kids always get sick right before vacation?

 

[chiefdragon]

Count me in as well.

 

[momtoccc]

Sounds like a good one to read - especially since I'm planning for dd's first trip (she will be almost 4 - similar age to yours).. AND... my DH is starting to think I do nothing but browse WDW sites!!

 

[rmjkharrisfam]

So, when we last left off DD had just gotten sick in the car as we pulled into the hotel parking lot the night before we left. Thanks to a tip from the family board I had extra clothes in a handy ziploc bag so I was able to quickly clean her up. But now I had laundry to do and we hadn’t even left the state yet. Oh, and did I mention that cleaning up the carseat and the floor of the car was virtually impossible. That’s going to be fun to come back to! We weren’t going to let this get us down. We were going to Disney World no matter what!!!!!

Our flight was at 8 am the next morning so we planned to take the 6 am shuttle to the airport. That meant we had to be in the lobby by 5:45. That’s REALLY early in the morning – especially for my kids who aren’t exactly morning people and who don’t wake up until 7:00 on most days. This should be interesting. I made sure that I had all of the clothes picked out the night before which brings me to tip #2 – Packing.

One of you very smart people suggested a packing tip that I tried and LOVED. Create full outfits, including underwear and accessories, and put them into a ziploc bag. One for each person per day. What a great idea!!! So that’s what I did. Each person got shirt, shorts, underwear, socks, hair binders for DD (I safety pinned these to her shorts), etc. All neatly put into a ziploc bag. I used the 1 gallon bags for the kids and the 2.5 gallon bags for DH and I. Actually the 2.5 gallon bags were big enough for 2 days if you shared shorts. I’m sure a few of you have husbands like mine who don’t see the need for more than 3 pairs of shorts for a week Not only did this packing method help keep the suitcases organized but I had plastic bags for all kinds of uses (you’ll find out how they were used later).

So – it’s now 5:45 in the morning – here they are in the lobby waiting for the shuttle. Wide awake aren’t they?

The bus showed up and we headed for the airport. We were finally on our way!!!

I’ve traveled quite a bit but this was the first airplane trip with the kids. It’s a little different than the easy going travel of 2 adults. Gone is the ability to lose yourself in a book or sleep the flight away. Nope – this time I had to entertain 2 very awake, very excited bodies. Luckily thanks to tip #3 I was prepared. Tip #3 is PACK A AIRPLANE SURVIVAL KIT. My survival kit included little toys, markers, coloring books, a portable DVD player, a few new movies (they are big Scooby-Doo fans), and treats. I also brought 2 sippy cups with juice for takeoff. The swallowing helps keep their ears from popping.

Thanks to DH height (he’s 6’7”) we were moved to the bulkhead seats (the first row of coach) shortly after takeoff. That meant that we had no one in front of us and had lots of leg room . I highly suggest requesting these seats.

The flight itself was uneventful. We must have had some pixie dust sprinkled on us. DS watched the DVD player and played with his new mini transformers (a 4 pack at Target for $9.99) and DD fell asleep. I did spend the take off and landing holding one of those little bags in front of DD just in case. The little stinker was just fine but I wasn't taking ANY chances!!! If I could give any advice to those of you with a 4 year old I would say make sure they go to the bathroom right before they start to land. After sucking down juice for 2 ½ hours DS REALLY had to go – in fact the entire plane knew he had to go. Luckily the very nice people in first class let us run to the bathroom as soon as we got to the gate.

We deplaned, picked up our stroller we had gate checked, and were off to find the Disney Welcome Center to catch the Magical Express Bus to the All Star Music. We quickly realized that there were no signs to the Disney Welcome Center so we improvised. I did have to drag DH away from the Universal Store. I should say now that he is a HUGE Spider-man fan and Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure is one of his favorite places in the world. For him to go to Florida and NOT go there was a BIG deal. I’m so proud of him.

We found the welcome center and were soon directed by a very nice CM to the line for the ASMusic. It wasn’t that long of a wait – about 15 minutes – and we were on the bus and on the road. Here’s DS looking for Mickey signs out the window.

 

[rmjkharrisfam]

A 20 minute bus ride later we arrived at AS Music. Since we were hitting the resort at about 1:30 I was a little concerned that 1) there may be huge lines to check in and 2) we wouldn’t have a room since the rooms are usually not ready until after 4. But that pixie dust hadn’t worn off yet and we zoomed right to check in. There was a TV with cartoons in the lobby so DS took the kids to watch and I checked us in. We were in luck – our room was ready!!! The CM who checked me in said that was a sign of a good vacation. She gave me the check in packet, our keys to the world, and 2 1st visit buttons for the kids. Then we were off to find our room.

I had stayed at ASMusic before and was nervous that we would be stuck way at the back of the resort. But actually we didn’t have a bad location. We were in the Rock Building, Room 3655. This is a corner room on the 3rd floor. The Rock building is right by the piano pool and we were on the far side from the pool which turned out to be great. It was a nice, quiet room and newly remodeled. Slightly small but the beds were very comfortable.

I had planned for us to stay at the resort for the rest of the day. We wanted an early night so we were ready for the Magic Kingdom the next day. So we took it easy. Went back to the food court for lunch. Here’s our first meal: (yes that is a Mickey rice krispy bar - hey I wasn't fussy. This is vacation !!) Oh - and remember - we got up at 4:30 in the morning - we look a little tired.

Because I didn’t know when we were going to have our suitcases (I had heard it took anywhere from 2 – 5 hours) I had packed our swim suits in our carryon. So we went swimming and played at the playground.

As a special surprise I ordered 2 baskets from Memories by Sarah. They weren’t in our room when we arrived so we checked with the Guest Relations. They had the baskets but for some reason thought that we hadn’t checked in yet. So we didn’t get the surprise of seeing them in the room but they did get a surprise in the lobby. We told them that Mickey had left some special presents for them since they were so good at the airport. That, by the way, worked as well as Santa. When we were waiting in line for Magical Express I told DS that Mickey had helpers that were watching all of the boys and girls. If he saw that they were being extra good he would have a surprise later. Someday they are going to figure that out but until then it works like magic.

Here’s a picture of the kids with their baskets from “Mickey”:

After this they climbed into bed – Tip #4 if you have little ones request bedrails when you check in. They were delivered by Mousekeeping and worked wonderfully for the entire week. Shortly after the kids were asleep DH and I climbed into the very small bed. There’s a BIG difference between a full size and a king size bed!

Next: Day 2 – We’re off to the Magic Kingdom where we will answer the questions – what do you do when DS freaks out on the first ride of the day? And When is the happiest place on earth not the happiest place on earth?

 

[Keyana]

Enjoying your TR so far. I am so glad DD seems to have been feeling better... Every mother's worst vacation nightmare, a sick child on a disney vacation.

Looking forward to hearing more!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

I'm glad to hear that your daughter was feeling better. Your children are darling! I can't wait to hear about your trip to the MK.

 

[team weasel]

Ahhhh....the suspense. Great TR so far!

 

[DreaGirl]

I'm on board! Can't wait to hear more!!

 

[rmjkharrisfam]

Thanks for reading - I'm glad you're enjoying it.

We take up our story on Day 2. Up until now it's been fairly low key - yes we've had 1 sick child and a first airplane ride but now the fun really starts. We are off to the Magic Kingdom. This park brings back so many wonderful memories for me. Sure they've added new attractions over the years but the feeling never changes. I love so many things about this park and I was sooooo excited to share them with my children.

Our plan was to head to the park around 9 and eat breakfast at the bakery on mainstreet. This is one of the things that DH and I usually do. We got everyone out of bed and each of us chose a bag of clothes (Remember the packing tip?). When we got our luggage the night before I had emptied the suitcases into the drawers in the entertainment center. There isn't enough floor space in ASMusic for a double stroller AND 2 suitcases. So each of us had a drawer. Once we were ready we headed for the bus stop.

I've heard a lot of complaints on the boards about the buses at the All Stars. But I have to say - we didn't have a problem until the last day (more on that later). We never waited longer than 5 minutes for a bus at the resort. Maybe that was just good timing on our part but there were no complaints from us. I also have to note how nice everyone on the buses was. Because we have 2 very un-shy children who will talk to anyone we had some very nice conversations.

We got off the bus and followed the line of people to the gates. Before we went in I took pictures of the kids. I call them my security pictures. Just in case we lost one of them I wanted to have a picture of what they were wearing that day. Here's their pictures - DS was NOT happy to be made to stop when he was this close.

You'll notice the DS is holding a Pal Mickey. Here's tip #5 - BEWARE OF PAL MICKEY. I had read about him and thought he would be lots of fun. So, being afraid of sharing issues, I got 2 of them on Ebay. We were excited to bring him into the park to see what kind of tips he would give us. We were disappointed. Here's my advice - if you have kids old enough to appreciate Pal Mickey he's worth it. If you have little ones like me poor Pal Mickey will spend more time riding underneath the stroller than he will giving you tips. DH & I carried him for a little while and he was kind of fun. But when you're bringing a stroller and all of the various things that come along with a toddler and a preschooler you don't have enough hands for 2 very heavy stuffed animals. After the 1st day our Pal Mickey's had a very nice time staying in the air conditioned hotel room watching TV.

So, after all of this we are FINALLY going through the gates. We stopped for a quick donut at the bakery and headed for Tomorrowland. This is always where I head first - don't know why, force of habit I guess, but I think that so many people are drawn in by Cinderella's castle and head directly for that and Fanastyland that Tomorrowland usually isn't as crowded in the first half of the day.

The first ride we passed was Buzz Lightyear's Spin. This was it. This was was DS was waiting for. He LOVES Buzz - we'd been talking about this ride for months. And there was NO line. We could walk right in. So, we parked the stroller and headed over. DH and I were very excited - we couldn't believe it - we fully expected to have to fast pass this ride. So we rushed in and were quickly ushered into our spaceship. DH and DS in one car and DD and I in the next.

All was good - DD was starting to get into it, she liked trying to shoot her gun. And then about 1/2 way through DH spun his car around to face ours (I wasn't doing any spinning because, come on, I was riding with the girl who had thrown up only 36 hours before - I wasn't trusting that).

DH was shaking his head and then I looked at DS who was hiding his head and sobbing. Poor little guy - he cried through the entire ride. We got off the ride and he just clung to me and cried. And then, because her big brother was crying, DD started to cry. So there we are in the happiest place on earth and both kids were crying after only 1 ride.

So, now what do we do? We found a bench and sat down. DH and I are thinking - this is NOT good. It's going to be a very LONG week! The only thing we could think was it was overwhelming. We had spent a long time talking about Disney World but how do you really explain it to a 4 yr old. He has no comparison. It was just too much, too fast. Sadly it would have been better if we had had to wait in line for a 1/2 hour. He would have had time to adjust.

Just as we were trying to figure out what to do next Buzz Lightyear showed up for autographs. DD saw him and made a beeline. DS wasn't so sure - he hung back for a little while until he decided that his younger sister wasn't going to show him up.

Now that we were calmed down a little I convinced DS to go on the Peoplemover. Ok - yes, I know it's called the Tommorrowland Transit Authority now but to me it will always be the Peoplemover. And, as DH loves to tease me about, it's my very favorite thing in Tomorrowland.

But, apparently our pixie dust from the day before and worn out. Just as we were heading to the ramp DS saw the carts with Toy Story toys. Great - that's what we need. He decided he didn't want to go with us. I'm sure all of you parents know what tip we used then - yep, the one where you say, "Ok, we'll see you later then", and walk away. Works everytime but this time Joey ran, tripped over his new croc, fell down and skinned both knees.

Honestly, it's like a comedy of errors. We've only been in the park for an hour and we've had 2 kids breakdown on a ride, a temper tantrum in front of the toy carts, and now more crying and 2 skinned knees. Right about now I'm rethinking the decision to take the kids with us on this trip.

So, we found ANOTHER bench and sat down AGAIN. I checked out the knees - yep, he did a great job - we definetly needed bandaids. Thanks to the Ultimate Packing List that I found on Mousesavers.com I had packed Bandaids in our Baggalini. There's Tip #6 - BRING BANDAIDS!!!!!

We patched up the knees and finally decided that we should walk slowly to the ramp to the Peoplemover and take a nice quiet ride. And this time we did.

So now I've mentioned both crocs and the baggallini. These are both things I found out about on these boards and let me tell you - I'm a convert. I bought the baggalini messenger bag (In black for DH would carry it) that so many people have recommended. What a great purchase!!!

I originally bought crocs for the kids because of I wanted waterproof shoes for the parks. Then I started reading about how many people liked them and how comfortable they are. I wasn't sure because, let's be honest, they are not the most attractive shoe in the world. But I got the deal at Dick's Sporting Goods online so I decided to try it. I got the Mary Jane style. They are my new favorite shoe. 6 days inthe parks and I never had sore feet. Amazing. DH has the Off Road style for Men - he also loves them.

After our ride on the Peoplemover we decided to head to Mickey's Toon Town and let them play in Donald's Boat. And the battery in my camera died. Here's a tip that I didn't do - BRING AN EXTRA BATTERY. If you don't you end up buying a $20 disposable camera. Seriously - $20 - that's the most expensive film I've ever purchased.

Day 2 continued in the next post.