The amazing last minute trip - started by a parade?!!! New chapters 5/31

[ckb_nc]

Who are we

Me - DH - the Dad who loves all things Disney and Disney world. Computer professional, amatuer triathlete - maker of fun

DW - grad student, wife and Mom - the one challenges us to have fun

DD1 - just turned 18 and about graduate high school. The trip was a graduation gift. Loves Disney and Frozen.

DD2 - just turned 16 and chief co-planner. Loves WDW possibly the most of us all.

DS - 10 and slowly getting his Disney bones.

Chapters


1. The Planning Afternoon
2. Getting ready to go
3. Thursday - travel day - wait what we are in WDW??
4. 24 hours of Disney part 1
5. 1900 Park Fare - a new character breakfast
6. An afternoon interlude
7. 24 hours of Disney part 2
8. No sleep just more parks
9. Back for the parade that started it all

 

[ckb_nc]

Background

I have been discussing with my wife taking a trip to WDW in September. Why then - first of all my DD1 will be in school away from home for the first time. It's free dining so there is a plus.

I also have two vouchers on Southwest. I work for Wells Fargo and I got stuck on southwest coming out of Des Moines, IA last November. They had a minor ice storm. yeah it was cold in Iowa. Southwest did not have the right de-icing fluid or equipment; we sat there on the plane waiting for 2 hours until they finally rented equipment from Delta. it was absolutely crazy.

So now I had two $200 vouchers on southwest and that is the exact price roundtrip from Charlotte to Orlando. So we were discussing the trip cauallly with no real commitment.

The real story

On Tuesday I saw in the local Charlotte paper where Southwest was going to stop flying to Orlando come November 1st. I mentioned this to my wife as a push to make this trip happen. We had been as a couple last October but I had work - I liked the idea of a more relaxed WDW trip (not sure that is even possible ).

My wife mentions that if we go she wants to see the parades. I reply back that the parade in Animal Kingdom (which she loves) will stop after June. her reply is we need to go sooner. I reply back that its 24 hours of Disney this Friday. AND a plan was hatched.

We both looked at each other and realized it might be the time to pull the trigger. We had toyed with the idea of a spur of the moment trip before with the kids. One time we looked at them and said - you know we could be in WDW in the morning if we drove all night. Last Feb. we had a snowstorm coming into the Charlotte area and we seriously considered heading to WDW knowing the kids would be out of school.

We did not do the trip in Feb. - and sure enough the kids missed 3 days from Wednesday into the weekend. We could have gone and the kids would have not missed school at all. Here in the south or snow removal plan is called let it melt.

My wife and I looked at each other - we realized that a graduation celebration trip to WDW was just what DD1 would want. We all discussed in 2013 what being at MK for 24 hours could be - we all salivated at the concept. DD1 was dealing with disappointment on not getting into her dream school (she is going to UNC Chapel Hill folks so she will be OK) - and DS1 was dealing with a kid picking on him at school. And escape to WDW sounded tempting. My job had been plenty stressful too. A quick trip to WDW with 24 hours in MK - way too tempting.

So the planning began - the first thing was a place to stay. The DVC rental store I use had a special - $6 a point if used by 6/1. I tried to book with them. Sent of an email and waited - in fact I went for a long bike ride as I am training for a triathlon here in a couple of weeks.

Came home from the bike ride and the DVC store basically said all full. So off the the Disney site we went - and yeah my work ( I work from home) suffered but that was ok. We had a hard time finding something truly affordable for 5; all of the deluxes were way too expensive.

My wife went to school to pick up DD2 - and she finally told her what we were thinking. Mainly to see if she could miss school - sure enough for WDW it was no problem. In fact DD2 became part of the planning process.

I ended up putting in 4 instead of 5 and up comes Port Orleans Riverside where we had stayed in October. DD2 and DW are screaming book it - which I did. So now we are commited.

Next up was dining - managed to get us a ressie for Kona Cafe on Thursday night - our absolute favorite restaurant at WDW. Pixie Dust - at 6:30pm - seriously was amazed I could score the reservation.

We then booked a character breakfast on Friday at 1900 Park Fare for 11:35am - one of strategies is late character breakfasts on early mornings. We also book the Captains Grille at the yacht club on Sunday evening and Tusker house character breakfast Saturday am at 10:35 - these last three were all brand new to us. We decided to try out new things as many of our old favorites like Crystal Palace or others were just not available.

Next up was tickets - I chatted with a Disney person who told me a number to call - I was planning to use my Disney points from our Disney Visa to pay for our tickets but I did not have enought points. I caled them up and wala 3-day tickets for the family. I was transferred to housing, explained that I needed to add DD1 to our room (I booked it as 4 person online) - and she added DD1 and got us a gauranteed trundle bed room. More PixieDust - I could not see this online at all but the exact room we wanted was available on a holiday weekend less than 48 hours out. I was starting to feel very excited. I linked the tickets to our bands which meant FastPass planning could start as well.

All of this happened in maybe 2 hours. And I was also working listening into meetings. So far I booked a room, tickets, restaurants - needed transportation as well.

We knew we needed to rent a minivan - this part took me some time. I fiddled around with my corporate travel sites before finally landing on a National rental - it was not what I wanted to pay but it was good enough. I will come back to this. This took a good 45 minutes to iron out.

By this point DS1 is home from school - and we tell him or at least my wife does - he is so excited. As he said - no Kids name for two days - yeah it was not a good situation but DS1 was dealing with well.

DD1 is off at school for senior awards night - which we must attend. We debate when to tell her - since it is her graduation gift. DD2 convinces us to tell that night so she can use the next day at school to tell teachers, etc.

We decide to tell DD1 - by putting on our Magic Bands. We have our bands from October which are on our account and we use again. So everyone throws on their bands - as a way to say to where are going to WDW.


Flash forward - we sit through senior awards. We see DD1 after and each high five her with our bands on - NOTHING. She eventually comes home - ask what is new around the house - NOTHING. Kid is just clueless. Finally DD2, DS1, DW and DH gather around her - and show her our bands. And she gets it - and she absolutely loses it as we explain the plan. The idea of 24 hours of Disney plus getting to met Elsa and Ana is overwhelming. The whole family is more than excited. The often discussed last minute lets go to WDW is actually happening. For real.

I am not sure anyone sleeps this night as thoughts of Disney dance in our heads.

Whats left to plan
- 2 cats and a dog
- getting the car from the airport
- packing up and leaving early Thursday

 

[ckb_nc]

Wednesaday became a flurry of activities. Foremost was the pets - we had a neighbor kid for the cats which was no prblem. Our 12-year old lab was a different problem. He usually stays with my parents but they were out of town. we searched high and low, calling in some favors but no luck. We even considered driving him to our in-laws which would have added a bunch of time to the trip.

finally got a hold of a kennel and they had space for him - that day luckily. One less thing to worry about.

We got the dog into the kennel while my DD1 took me to get the minivan. off to the airport. Walked inot National which was quite busy - and the guy behind the desk presented an interesting question - how about a large SUV instead? It is the NASCAR race weekend so I think he needs the minivan. He gave a Ford Expedition for the price of a smaller SUV - Pixie Dust again. We LOVED this car - enough space for us all comfortably. It was HUGE. DS1 kept asking us to buy it. I can not afford the gas on the thing but for the 5 days we had it was pure awesome. Even had Sirius which I love. we called it Dale the Whale.

Tonight was DD1's senior swim banquest. She has swum year around now for 8 years and as it stands will NOT be swimming in college. she had some schools pursue her but the one school she really wanted has not come through. So it was a sad night - a very sad night. which meant going to WDW was even more important.

Checked in online for tomorrow and headed to bed. Did I mention my desktop computer broke this day too?

I forgot to mention we are painting the interior of the house and getting new carpet - so the house is a wreck, the ice machine in the fridge is broken, etc. Man did we need a break.

Tomorrow we hit the road for WDW while I work.

 

[ckb_nc]

Thursday dawned early - I got up for a quick run before we left. Cut down some miles so we get going. Everyone else go up and was ready to hit the road. Packed up everything including a bunch of snacks. DD1 took the back.

We hit up Chic-Fil-A on the way out of town for breakfast and headed down 77. I drove and did calls for work all the way. DD1 slept which was good because I needed her to drive soon.

Picture as we get started

We stopped off 95 around 11 for a quick break and bought a bunch of sodas for our trip. We stopped just as we got into Georgia for lunch at Zaxbys. Quick bite for lunch, the bathroom and gassed up. I was on the phone pretty much from noon to 5, incuding lunch.
We switched up with DD1 raking the wheel. I sat in the back, fired up my work tablet and was on meetings until 5. One time I started talking quite loud and I think I scared my family - definitely got their attention.
I was lying down much of the time and by the time I looked up we were on I-4 (well I did see us pass through Jax). It was 5 and we were in Lake Mary, Apopka area. Traffic was not bad and DD1 had us rolling into POR right around 5:30.

Having done online check-in made the proces of getting our room easy. We were assigned 2610 - first floor we asked for. It was a good building close the pool. Nice room.

Unloaded the car and unpacked a little bit. We had ADRs at Kona Cafe at 6:30 so we needed to move. Rode over to Poly and saw the contruction up close. Seen several threads here and well I agree - no way would I be staying there. I think closing it down for 30 to 60 days to just knock it out is not the worst idea.

Picture of DD1 and I doing a Burpee. We both skipped a pretty challenging athletic condition class this night so we felt one Burpee in front of the monorail was needed

We were seated pretty darn quickly - and sat at a table we had been at before. Dinner was very good - new menu with changes. DD2 and I had the new steak - very good. the bread was a huge hit. DS1, although 10, was given the kids menu which I think he actually enjoyed. DD1 had sushi which she and DD2 split while my wife had the fish special.



everyone but me had dessert - and I would say its still our absolute favorite still. I think my son enjoyed his the most

We had kept the trip on the down low - until I took a selfie at dinner and announced our trip on Facebook. It was truly hard to believe that we were sitting in our favorite place to eat at WDW some 2 days after we planned a trip. Woke up Tuesday thinking i was spending the weekend at home and now I was eating dinner watching the monorail go by. Prety darn cool.

Here is our selfie announcing we made it

Another selfie my wife and I - yeah we made this happened and we were pretty pumped up

After dinner we headed out - usually we shopped at Poly but we had a very early morning ahead. I dropped the family off at POR (love how convenient it was to MK).

They went back to the room to unpack while I headed to Publix. I picked up some muffins, fruit and OJ. These became the staples for our breakfasts. I came back and started to get ready for bed.

We had plans to get up at 4:40am the next morning for a 6am rope drop. Lights out was 9:30 - wow.

 

[tndisney5]

How exciting!

This is a good story for me...I just posted about tips for a last min. booking...and I was panicking thinking we would be crunched booking 2-3 weeks out...HA!

 

[Tinatheneedle]

Last-minute trips are great! We just got back from a very planned week long trip to celebrate our anniversary but we used to go on the spur of the moment all the time-of course that was when we lived 45 minutes away...but those were some of the best family times we had. Can't wait to read more. Hoping for some pics, too!

 

[ckb_nc]

I am writing on my work PC - once the home PC comes on line pics will follow.

FIXED

 

[ckb_nc]

The wake up call was set for 4:40am but it never came. I woke up at 5:20am in a panic. We wanted to be there for rope drop. And it did not happen. UGH

Note to self I never did call and report the issue.

In a minor miracle, the family got up and was out the door in under 30 minutes. The excitement of Disney makes teenagers move fast.

We arrived at MK right at 6. We parked in Simba 18 and I was worried - this many people? I was thinking it was already super crowded.

Grabbed the express monorail and made plans - DD1 and I would run to Frozen princesses. Got through the turnstiles (are they even turnstiles anymore) and we took off.

We got to Fantasyland and the wait was already two hours. The rest of the family joined us - and DD1 was determined to wait.

The MINE train was open with a posted wait of 60 minutes but it was OPEN!!!.

The four us walked on Pooh - yes walked on Pooh. I began to slowly relaize that unlike a EMH morning, this was a normal morning just way early. In short except for the mine train and the Frozen princesses we had the parks to ourselves .

DD1 gave up on the Frozen princesses. We split up - boys and girls.

DS1 and I went over to Buzz - complete walkon. Then I convinced him to ride Space Mountain - he HATED it. which would factor into later. We met with the girls and joined up.

We headed over to Frontierland through the hub where this was taken - getting DS1 to look straight was a challenge, Note my shirt as I will be wearing for quite a while - it walked itself home.

We rode Big Thunder (walk on) while DS1 waited for us; then we did Splash while both DS1 and my wife waited (we rode twice in a row without getting off) - I think those two went and did something else. We met up with them at Aladdin which DS1 loves - we all rode then did the Tiki birds.

Tiki birds was not our favorite.

Back to Fantasyland after a snack (Pina Coladas slushies were very tasty) - we did Peter Pan with like a 10 minute wait as the crowds were building some. Then we hit its a small world which was walk on. Crowds were building for sure.

DS1 is so excited???

Next up was the mine train - now DS1 was frankly being a pain not wanting to ride anything new. We gave him the out and let him go over to Laugh Floor, another favorite.

We waited about 30 to 35 minutes of a stated 60 minute wait for the new Mine train. We LOVED it - so smooth and fun and the middle part is just plain cool.

Ds1 actually was waiting for us at the Laugh Floor - he had his iPod was was just sitting there. he wanted us all to do it. So we did and even manged to get a joke we texted into the show.

After Laugh Floor it was time to head out for brunch - we had an ADR for 11:35 at 1900 Park Fare - a new experience.

Memories from the morning for me:

1. Riding the Mountain range as walk on including two rides on Splash in a row- I had done it solo at Disneyland in October 5 weeks after 9/11 but never with the family
2. Riding the mine train - I had hoped it would be open
3. DS1 asking at 8:30 was it time for lunch - we did so much so fast it was a bit dizzying

 

[ckb_nc]

My family truly enjoys character breakfasts. We have been to Chef Mickeys, Crystal Palace many times and Ohanas the last three trips. We have come to appreciate late breakfasts with more subdued character interaction.

As DW and I started planning, we wanted a character breakfast late on Friday as we left the parks. Ohanas was not available but 1900 Park Fare popped up. I was kind of tired of Ohanas and a new restaurant sounded exciting.

As we left the park, the resort monorail was not there and we just missed the boat. It took us a good 15 minutes to get to the GF. As we left the ark, people we streaming in. I was worried about the time. I knew the last seating was 11:50 - our ADR was 11:35. We arrived around 11:45 but we were fine.

We were seated pretty quickly and off to eat. I truly enjoyed the meal. Everything was good - I had some of the best scrambled eggs I have EVER had in my life. One the good things about being so late- no line at the omelette station. Saw them making fresh Mickey waffles which DS1 and well we like.

The characters were great as well

My wife was so happy to meet Mary

Mad hatter was awesome !!

We left stuffed and ready for a nap - we had a long evening ahead. I left them at GF to go get the car which took a while. I figured it made sense for all of use to suffer. We ended up back at POR around 1:30ish.

The plan was a good nap, pool time then back to MK for the party to continue.

 

[ckb_nc]

The plan was for naps then back to MK.

I remember getting about 2.5 hours of sleep before my DS1 was waking me up. DW, DS1 and I headed to Downtown Disney - my wife wanted the 24hr pin and it was only at the Pin store at Downtown. Did I mention it was pretty darn hot too.

We stayed at Downtown Disney for about hour - surprising we bought some pins and Christmas ornament. This trip we did not spend a great deal on merchandise. In fact, we did not shop much at all this trip.

DS1, DW and I heaed back to POR for the pool. it was crowded but manageable. AS we got hungry we headed to the food court. I got the salad - it was one the best things I ate all weekend. I got one for DW and brought it to the pool. DS1, and both DDs ate as well. We all LOVED the POR food court.

We finally got back to the room, gathered our things and headed out the door - an all nighter awaited.

 

[ckb_nc]

Ok this post will ramble - it was a long night and frankly I can not remember everything.

We got the parking gate at Mk at 9 as Wishes was going on - and the parking lot to MK was closed. They were turning folks around to Epcot. I knew imeediately I did not want to park at Epcot. So we made our way to guest drop off for the other 4 and I made my way back to WL.

It was crazy busy at MK and my wife said they were immediately funneled to TomorrowLand via the backstage. I did not even get into MK until 10 - it took me 45 minutes to drop them off, park and get a boat over. Not the best start to the night but hey we were going to 6.

I think my family did Buzz Lightyear while I was parking. But it might have been the Laugh Floor. I called them when I got into MK and made my way to the Hub to save a place for the parade at 11. We met up and waited - my DS1 was not having a great time. We saw the Villian show then ElectroMagic - I still love that show.

WE made our way after the parade to the Mine Train - I think we looked at the line for the Frozen princesses and it was still 120+. I was beginning to get very worried that this was not happening.

No here came drama - DS1 wanted nothing to do with the Mine Train. We sen the three to ride Pooh but the line was moving fast and had to call them back DS1 was now being a true pain. But we insisted he ride the thing. he did love the queue - and all of the interactive parts which are truly well done. Because we lacked a FP line, these actually held the line up.

Side bar - in the mine train there is an interactive piece where if you get all seven barrels spinning all seven dwarfs show up then Snow White. This worked great on Friday night but not by Sunday.

We loved the mine train and DS1 would later say it was his favorite. It was pushing past midnight and well things get hazy. I know this - DS1 and DW left and it took them three buses to get one back to POR. I had left the back pack in the car so I went back to WL to get it (an hour plus trip which was a waste) while DD1 and DD2 rode stuff - I think Pooh was on the list and Philharmagic for sure and the Carousel too - here is a selfie from this time while these two were in the park

I know I came back into MK and we met up for coffee. I stopped drinking coffee 4 years ago and DD2 had never had one - but desperate times...Seriously Starbucks was packed

We drank our coffees while we waited for HM and then we did the Hall of Presidents - a first for them. I love this show. The had a amazing DJ in front of the castle and that dance party was legit. I danced every time I came by. Great energy all night long.

Sidebar - we all agreed - there appears to be a male CM at Hall of Presidents who is wearing a dress - truly strange.

Post Presidents we headed back to Tomorrowland - we had FP still - ours from early in the day had been extended as both rides were down at some point.

Pixie Dust time - we roll up to Space Mountain and it is literally just re-opening. With our FP we walk on - we take a cool ride photo that I bought. I even used the cell phone charging station!!

The Pixie Dust was magnified as the ride closed shortly after we got off. It was not a good night for Space Mountain.

The girls did Stitch while I waited and noticed some weird wait time for Frozen. I had a strange hunch. Plus we wanted to finish up with Splash and Thunder. We walked over to Fantasyland and I approached the Frozen line - the words were - " We were closed but we just re-opened" - I literally sprinted at full speed - still not sure why but I sprinted. Both of my daughters were totally surprised at Dad. We ended up inside with maybe a 35 minute wait.

Pixie Dust by the gallon - seriously we talked to the girls behind us - they had been there all day and said it was a 300 minute wait. The girl behind us (ok young woman) who worked in Ticketing talked about how hot these characters are. The last thing on DD1's list was happening.

A couple of photos:

We met Rapunzel and Flynn as well

Comments from me:

The Frozen ladies were simply amazing - just great great interaction. I could never ever recommend a 4 hour wait but they were so good. Rapunzel was good as well - the Flynn no so much. Both of my daughters were so excited by this interaction - and I felt 10 feet tall. Mission accomplished - I could literally leave now and the trip was a success - rode the mine train and meet the Frozen princesses (and did it all in the same night too).

We headed over to Frontierland - we chose Big Thunder and used our FP - it said a 20 min wait so we thought we were good. A great ride in the dark,

Splash was closed as we headed to the front of the park, an empty Frontierland just like the one we saw at 7am now yesterday

Pirates was closed as well - in fact the only thing open was Tiki bird and Aladdin. So we decided to head out. Some selfies as we headed out

We grabbed a boat to WL as we finished our journey - all night long in MK. Here is a picture of the sun rising over Bay Lake - the second sun rise we had seen in a row.

 

[ckb_nc]

While we were running around the parks, my wife texted me. The plan was were to come by and picke them up - grab breakfast at Chic-FilA and ht AK for EMH. Yep just keep going. Well DS1 and my wife tapped out - no parks for them.

So DD1 and DD2 climbed in back of Dale the Whale and we headed out to Chic-FilA. I think they each caught a 20 minute nap. We gassed up the car and our bodies (I had only a cup of coffee since that excellent salad BTW). And we hit the park.

At AK we somehow got to park on the grass really close - closer than the buses. It was weird, truly weird. But it was really close which was important.

WE made rope drop - time for selfies again (notice my beard growing??)

We headed right to Everest - CLOSED. At that point I was really wondering why we were here. DD2 was obsessed with the monkeys in Asia by the entrance to Kali - it was simply hilarious. And we were a little punchy.

We wandered over to Africa with this picture:

Yep I am wearing the same shirt and shorts I started out yesterday with and they stink bad. Real bad.

We did the safari - and few animals were out. It was really lame. We then did the Gorilla trek. Not bad.

Back to Asia - we had planned to do Kali. DD1 went to check on Everest and it had just opened. More Pixie Dust. We literally were on the fourth or fifth car out. Maybe because I was tired but that ride really took it out of me. Both girls wanted to go again but was like no.

We did Kali - using the lockers. We rode it twice in a row and we were soaked. Hey I needed the shower. All three of us were getting tired and wanted to leave. We had plans for breakfast at Tusker House but none of us wanted to wait that long. BUT my wife and DS1 were on the way. We agreed to meet at Tough to be a Bug

While we waited for them we managed to meet Mickey and Minnie - score for us (notice how wet we are)

We met up and did the movie. First time ever and we hated it. Who ever thought up this attraction needs some serous help. DD1 who was ten was scared - the noise from the frightened children was drowning out the soundtrack. Seriously, it is the first time in visiting WDW in 37 years I questioned Disney. I hated Honey I shrunk the audience for the same reasons as this one - but this attraction is just plain offensive to me.

From there we did the safari - guess what it was lamer the second time - literally the same spiel but with an obnoxious mom behind who was having her kid jump from side to side.

Time for breakfast - and here is the crew -super excited huh

This as the one meal we did I wish we had simply not done - not because the food was bad but we were so tired (the three of us plus DS1 was not in the mood - he was hot and miserable). The food was okay - I basically ate the bread pudding for breakfast/lunch plus the Krispy Kreme donuts were a hit.

But we did meet Mickey

We left the park before noon - we needed to get back and crash. For DD1, DD2 and I - we had been in a park basically for 14 hours.

 

[ckb_nc]

Back to POR for a supposed rest - DW was planning to go back for the parade but gave me the option for not going. I was out hard until my son woke me up at 2 or so - yeah maybe I got 2 hours of sleep. We left both of DDs in the bed as we went back to AK, with out bathing suits on. The plan was the parade and Kali.

I felt like I needed to go the parade that started it all. As we go back to AK, I parked Dale back in his spot. My wife thought I was crazy but she liked how close we got.

We made our way to the corner of the route as the parade turns from Asia into Africa. Good spot to watch the parade but it was hot - very warm sitting on the pavement.

The parade was great - I added a bucket list item to get my wife into a parade one day

Off to Kali which was a good 25 to 30 minute wait - but it was fun. We headed back to POR. We spent the evening by the pool (we had some FP at AK which we ignored - too tired. Dinner was a the food court again - had the same salad almost as last night - we hit the bed early. Off to Hollywood Studios on our last day.

 

[ckb_nc]

The goal was rope drop and Toy Story Mania - with also fast passes to Tower of Terror at 8am,

Two things happened along the way - everyone including me was moving a little slower. DD2 has tendenous in her ankle. Our trip in October of 2013 she rode in a wheelchair. She got up and proclaimed it was a wheelchair day. It hurts to see me hurt so much. But she was game.

And well that meant it was harder to get to Toy Story. We got there with a posted wait of like 60 minutes already.

TO BE CONTINUED