The COME HELL OR HIGH WATER, We're Going! Trip Report

[RVGal]

I'm going to take a moment to catch up (ketchup) with everyone. I didn't really have it in me to chat on my last report. I'm going to try to do better this time.

I feel honored to feel like I might be the first to read your report. I am at work but as you can see I don't feel like working.

Again I am so sorry about Carol but I am happy to read your new report.

I'm floored that you would feel honored. That is so very sweet. It gives me a warm fuzzy.

Thank you for caring about Carol. She was more special to me than I can really express. Right back at 'ya.

Wow, that looked like a really nice hotel for $29 a night!

I've never stayed at SSR, but it looks lovely. Your boys look so happy!

Still have you in my thoughts and prayers.

My boys were very happy. It took Daniel a couple of days on the last trip to figure out what was going on, but he knew exactly what to expect this time! Joshua, of course, is old enough to understand how many days it was until our trip and all that. He was ready to explode by the time travel day arrived.

The SSR was very lovely. It is a really nice setting. I have a friend here on the DIS to thank for that room, but I'll get to that later.

Thank you for the thoughts and prayers. They mean a lot.

I'm glad you took your trip with your family. You deserved it. I hope that ya'll had a good time.

We had a wonderful time. It was nice to put the real world on hold for a few days.

I'm in! Looking forward to more!

Welcome back! I think I saw you on my last report, right?

Your boys are adorable! I'm sorry to hear about everything your family is going through, but I admire your spirit and decision to take a trip to have family time. I can't wait to read more!

My spirit is battered, but strong. I did make the decision to take the trip and it was a tough one. The time away and the memories made lead me to believe that it was the right thing to do.

Very cool. I like your boys I can`t wait to see your next trip of yours.

I like my boys too. Most of the time.

Very nice report so far. Wow, $29 a night for that hotel..what a GREAT deal!

It was a great deal. When we booked, we weren't even sure what kind of hotel it would be, so it was a very nice surprise!

I love to read your reports. I followed your "cancer sucks" tr. I'm so sorry to hear about Carol. Your family is in my prayers.

Thanks for the prayers. Losing Carol has been extremely difficult. I'm still floundering a bit, but I'm going day by day. Good to see you again!

Tricia -

Glad to see your new TR and looking forward to sharing this trip with you as well. Glad to hear you're doing OK - just give yourself time to heal.

I'm looking forward to sharing it with you too. I'm not sure how long it will take to heal... or if I'll ever fully heal. I feel like a piece of me is missing. I'm sure that will mellow over time, but I'm not sure that will ever really go away.

Great TR so far. I also read your "cancer sucks" TR and I'm so sorry to hear about Carol. You and your family are still in my prayers.

Glad you got to take some time with just your family to decompress...

Glad you decided to join me on another journey. Thanks for the prayers. That's really all anyone else can do at this point. The time for just the 4 of us was very special.

I'm in!

Welcome! Enjoy the ride!

 

[RVGal]

Enjoying your trip report and I like your pictures. Nice SSR pics - great view. Waiting patientl for more.

Thanks! I usually have better pictures, but several of them came out blurry this time for some reason. I don't know why. Of course, I don't know why I normally get good pictures either.

I agree - that was a really nice room for your first night plus only $29!! That may make me want to stay off property to save some $$ but only one thing would keep me from doing that - I love my Boardwalk Villas too much!!! But still wonder if it would be worth the hassle (I would hate to have to rent a car, travel back and forth during the day just to rest, etc.)

Great report so far!

We drove just the one day to and from the park. It wasn't really that bad, but the problem we encountered was that we hopped from where our car was to a different park. That meant we had to go back to where we started to get our car, instead of just being able to ride a bus to the hotel. That was a pain, but still doable. I prefer to stay onsite, no doubt about it, but I could handle off property if I needed to.

Love it so far!!! Your boys are adorable!!! Can't wait for more!

Thank you. I think my boys are pretty darn adorable, but I might be a wee bit biased.

More is on the way!

 

[RVGal]

After lunch, I double checked with the boys to make sure we had done everything they wanted at DHS. Since it seemed we had, we headed back to AK. That's where we left the car, so we didn't have any choice at that point.

We arrived at the turnstiles only to find the CMs were reminding everyone that they closed at 5pm. Yeah, yeah. We know. But since we're here, we might as well do something before we drive off... right?

There was a crowd forming for the afternoon parade and we did our best to steer around them. We finally got to the cutoff for Camp Minnie Mickey and found Lilo and Stitch on that path with no line at all to meet them. Cool!

Joshua loved Lilo and Stitch. Lilo kept petting him and Stitch tried to eat his hat. He thought it was great.

Daniel was, for the first time, afraid of the characters. I think Stitch in particular made him nervous. We didn't try to force him or anything. I just asked if he wanted to meet them, he shook his head no, and I said that was fine.

We worked our way around to Dinoland.

And went for a ride on the Triceratop Spin.

I let the boys play a game.

And, since there was nobody else playing but us, it was pretty easy to win a couple of prizes.

We headed back for our van and it was still early enough when we got back to our hotel that I decided to let the boys change into swimsuits. We took them to the children's wet play area.

I tried to get them interested in the pool...

... but they wanted to go back to the fountains.

Where a water cannon fight started.

I made Brad stop trying to squirt our sons.

But that didn't stop them from trying to squirt each other.

After everyone was soaked and thoroughly exhausted, we decided to just grab a quick bite at the Artist's Palette. That's the CS (plus grocery and gift shop) at SSR.

One neat thing they have there are easels scattered around on the tables. That way, the kids can color while they are waiting for the food to get ready.

After dinner, we headed back to our room to collapse.

You can see that the sofa made into a nice sized bed. You can also see that Joshua had chocolate milk for dinner.

 

[bubba's mom]

What a great day! Looks like everyone had a really fun time.

Smart thot w/ the easels


The pool doesn't look crowded at all....good thing you pulled Brad off the water gun...poor Joshua didn't have a chance

 

[WDisneyWforMe]

We leave December the 12th for our trip and were hoping to take part in the VISA meet and greet area. Can you tell me if you need to present your VISA card to enter? How does that all work? Thanks for the info. Enjoying your TR, it's great!

 

[mdrob214]

Hey! Those easels are really a great idea! I would enjoy drawing myself while I wait for my dinner

 

[aldisneygrl]

I love those easels. I think I would be fighting my kids to be able to draw on it.

Love Joshua's "chocolate mustache". From the looks of it, he really enjoyed it.

 

[RVGal]

We leave December the 12th for our trip and were hoping to take part in the VISA meet and greet area. Can you tell me if you need to present your VISA card to enter? How does that all work? Thanks for the info. Enjoying your TR, it's great!

YES, you must present your card to enter. They write down the last 4 digits of your card and that's it. When we were there, the Disney Visa meet and greet was from 1:30 to 3pm. A very short window of time. It is in Epcot's Innoventions West, just past Where’s the Fire and Play it Safe. On the opposite wall from Where's the Fire, and before you get to the Segways, you'll see this on the wall beside a curtain:

There will be a small roped off line area in front of it. A little after 1pm, people start lining up behind the ropes. That's it. If you don't know it is there and go searching for it, I don't think you'd ever find it by accident.

One free 5 x 7 photo will be available about an hour later at the Camera Center. You take your PhotoPass card from the meet and greet, view the pictures (they will take several), pick the one you want for free and they'll print it for you. You MUST go to the Camera Center and print your free picture the same day. You don't get a freebie from your Photo Pass later.

Hope that helps!

Hey! Those easels are really a great idea! I would enjoy drawing myself while I wait for my dinner

Welllll... you don't think the 3 year old did that Mickey Mouse Clubhouse drawing by himself, do you?

I love those easels. I think I would be fighting my kids to be able to draw on it.

Love Joshua's "chocolate mustache". From the looks of it, he really enjoyed it.

He had the full chocolate mustache/goatee thing going on. You'd think he climbed into the bottle of Nesquik.

I guess it was good stuff!

 

[macraven]

i always love a man with a chocolate mustache.....

 

[RVGal]

The pool doesn't look crowded at all....good thing you pulled Brad off the water gun...poor Joshua didn't have a chance

Ummm... yeah. Had to remind the big kid that I married that he had an unfair advantage over our six and three year olds. They were having fun, but it was only a matter of time before the little guys got tired of getting soaked by the big guy. Men.

i always love a man with a chocolate mustache.....

I'm fond of them too. Anything with chocolate is a good thing.

 

[KStarfish82]

Just caught up on the TR Tricia!!

Loving it....so wanna go back now!



How are you doing?

 

[RVGal]

Just caught up on the TR Tricia!!

Loving it....so wanna go back now!



How are you doing?

And, looking at the ticker in your siggie, you ARE going back soon! Lucky girl.

I have good days and bad days. I have moments where the sadness takes me by surprise. Mostly I'm okay.

Thanks for asking.

 

[loribell]

Love the milk mustache, Daniel's amazing drawing & the fun in the fountains!

 

[sherreis]

Just caught up and realized we were there during the same time. We were there from 10/15-10/21. The weather was gorgeous!

What a busy day you had - AK to DHS back to AKand then the fountains. I bet that all the boys (DH included) were exhausted.

 

[miprender]

RVGal.... where have you been we need more info

 

[aldisneygrl]

Thinking of you since this will be your first holiday without your sister. Hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving remembering the wonderful memories you have of your sister.

 

[RVGal]

These days are kinda tough for me. The second anniversary of my dad's passing was November 21st. Now I've got the first holiday without Carol coming up AND her 50th birthday would be on November 28th.

I just got the reminder from Disney that my PhotoPass pictures are about to expire. I guess I better check them against my pictures to make sure I don't miss anything I want.

I'll be back. I haven't left a trip report unfinished yet!

Thanks for thinking of me.

 

[RVGal]

Okay, I broke down and ordered a couple of pics from my PhotoPass. I really wanted to get the CD so I could have them all, but I couldn't swing the $130 right now.

These are from the Visa meet and greet:

I can't say enough good things about that photo op experience. Since you are alone in the room with the characters, it seems less rushed and more fun.

And this one was just too cute:

That was Joshua's favorite character and that is a real laugh on his face. So many of his pictures now, he gives that fake-for-the-camera smile. I love that this is a real one.

I'll be back with Day 4 soon. Promise. I'm editing the pictures and everything.

 

[macraven]

and i'll be here waiting for you

 

[miprender]

Hello RVGal. Hope your Thanksgiving went well, considering all you and your family have been through.

I will have to try the meet and greet. We have had the Disney card since they came out but we did not do that on our last trip. I will have to plan into my plans.