The Hills Do Disney - A Way Over Due- Trip Report ..now with Pictures

[cherokeemamma]

Let me start by saying I am a bit nervous about writing a TR. I am not the great writer or the funny writer as many are on this board. However, I felt it was something I really wanted to do and I hope you all enjoy it!

The Post-Trip Report

We are returning to the world in just 8 short days. I had contemplated writing a TR after our first trip and I just never got around to doing it. I did want to do one this year but I felt as though I had to digress a bit before starting a new one.

Cast of Characters:

Me: Kid at Heart, Queen Mommy, Planner and Keeper of all Schedules, Bargain Shopper, Thrill Rider, Photographer, Southern Belle, been to Disney for 1 Day in '72 and 1 Day in '81, never stayed on site.

DH: Wears Grumpy Shirts but is really Prince Charming, NYer turned Southener but still NYer at heart, Will Do Anything for Italian Food, Clock Watcher, Family Pack Mule, Gem of a Guy, Never been to WDW


DS12: Fun Lovin' Goofy Kid, Joker, Animal Lover, Sports Enthusiast, Hated Coasters and Thrill Rides until this trip-now Lover of Thrill Rides, Never Meets a Stranger, Never Been to WDW

DD7: Beautiful, Sweet Princess, Singer, Artist, Dancer, Lover of All Things Glitterey and Girly, Diva in Training, Loves the Mouse, Hidden Mickey Seeker, Never Been to WDW

Now we must step back into time for a while...

Oct. ‘05 was our first trip to The World. It was a trip of many firsts...

We had sold/bought a house in Jan. and promised to take our kids after we moved. We had dreamed of going to Disney for several years but financially it just never happened. Something always got in the way.
So, we promised and we must always keep our promises. I began looking into Disney and talking to friends who had visited the world fairly often. I couldn’t start to comprehend all they were telling me. The resorts, the restaurants, the fast passes, MNSSHP, etc…

I then discovered the DIS through a sister of a friend. Now, I was really overwhelmed. Oh my gosh…so much info. Disney and the Dis is like this whole secret little world. A world I had just discovered. Most of you can guess what happened next … I became a DisBoard addict and still am. My family tells me I need therapy. However, that is another story.

To get to the chase…we discovered free dining and knew that is when our trip had to take place. You see, I consider myself to be a bargain shopper extraordinaire. This was a deal not to be ignored. Our kids also have a fall break that almost coincided with the free dining deal. We did have to take them out of school for a couple of days. As you can imagine, our kids were terribly sad about that. The teachers were fine with it and even let my son take 2 exams early.

Our dates were set, 10/ 4 – 10/14. We would be staying at POP with a room request for 4th floor, 70’s bldg. I researched and read up on all the restaurants and made our ADRs. My DH and myself were as excited about the meals as the trip itself. On previous family vacations I always wind up planning, shopping and cooking almost all of our meals. I was thrilled…I mean THRILLED at the idea of no cooking for 10 days!!!! OH YEAH BABY no cooking for me!

We were just about as excited as you could possibly be. We were becoming Disneyholics and didn’t even realize it. You know, friends and family began rolling their eyes, avoiding us when we began to talk of Disney. Disney consumed us and we were ready to take on the Mouse. We made matching tie-dye Mickey head t-shirts, the kids made posters for our car that read “To the Magic Kingdom and Beyond” and “We are going to the House of Mouse”. I shopped and packed and read all things Disney that I could get my hands on. We were ready. The day finally arrived.

The car was packed and the plan was to leave at 4 am (7 hour drive) and we would be at the world in time for lunch. Did I mention we were excited? You know when you are excited you just do not think as rationally as you should. Well that was us… excited and irrational.

Coming Up Next:
We Act On An Irrational Idea

 

[cherokeemamma]

Could someone PM with how to post pictures?
Thanks

 

[cherokeemamma]

Looking back, I realize we suffered a lapse of judgment. We decided to go ahead and leave even though it was nearing 10:30 pm. I know, I know…what were we thinking? We just wanted to go, so we could hurry up and be there already. The kids had already grabbed their pillows, their snack box and portable DVD player and unbeknownst to us were waiting for us in the car. Meanwhile, I was running around the house doing all those last minute checks and wondered where the kids had went. Well…DUH!! They were already in the car waiting for us. I kind laughed at them and their excitement and they were probably laughing at me. I think we were all in the process of losing our minds.

DD and DS as we are getting ready to leave...do you see the excitement?

We headed out and drove for about 3 hours. It was nearing 1 am or so and I was feeling very sleepy. The kids were sleeping and my DH was starting to nod. We said, OK, let’s just find an inexpensive place to stay the night. I am not going to make it. We rented a room and carried in the toiletry bag and passed out in our clothes. We awoke a few hours later and quickly showered and headed to the lobby for a ‘free’ continental breakfast. We headed back to the room before checking out to get our stuff and I could not find my purse. Oh my Gosh!!! I have lost my purse with all of our money and CCs. I was beginning to freak out. How could I have been so careless? What will we do if it is gone? I sent my DS back to the lobby where the breakfast was held to check and see if I have left it there. Now, I am really beating myself for being so careless. All of a sudden he comes flying in the door with my purse!!! Thank you God!!! Everything was there and safe. We all let out a collective “sigh”.

We are on the road again. Onward to Disney. Yippee!!! As it turned out we would have been much better off to have gone to bed at home and left at the planned time of 4 am. We probably would have gotten there even earlier and less tired. 2 lessons learned #1 Stick to the Plan #2 Keep up with your stuff. (still did not learn this one, though)

As we get closer and closer the kids are more and more excited (we are too!). As we see more signs the excitement grows. Oh my gosh we are almost there! We see the sign for Disney World….I can’t believe it. All the times I have dreamed of this and all the times we as a family have talked about this….it was about to be real. We were sssooooo excited!!!! Heck, even our car was probably bouncing up and down. We are at Disney World. Now, we’re searching for Pop Century…there it is!!!! We have made it!
The resort is so big…much bigger than I pictured. I am looking at everything and practically running off the road. My DH is yelling at me to, “Watch out!” We go to check in and it is just amazing. There is so much to look at; everything is so clean and bright. My DD notices how the “floor even sparkles with pixie dust”. The wait to check in was minimal. Our first dose of pixie dust.. We got our all of our request and the room was ready. We go and check out our room. I was a bit stunned at the size. It is one small room. I am not a worldly traveler by any means but I must say it was one tiny, tiny little room.

It was just fine though because all we would be doing there is sleeping. It was clean and cool…what more could I want.

Just a note...You know how you have things pictured in your mind. The way you think it will all look. Let me tell ya…I was way off base. I had pictured all of the resorts basically lined up down one street. I had pictured DTD being behind the resorts. I was thinking you could probably walk there. I was assuming the parks were more or less circling the resorts. This place was enormous. I could tell we had so much to learn.

After unpacking we headed out to DTD. The bus service was great. We met several friendly families and chatted with them. We had a blast at DTD but our time was short there because we were eating with the man himself…Mickey.
We were heading to the CR to Chef Mickey’s for dinner.

 

[pumba]

that is how I expected Disney to be......all in a line......thanks for your report......and you are right......all we do in our room is sleep, get up....dress and go to the pools or the parks........thanks again

 

[cherokeemamma]

I was a bit leery about Chef Mickey’s. I had read so many different opinions and reviews; most of them leaning toward the negative. So my expectations were not very high. My children didn’t care about reviews or anything else - they were just very excited. They could hardly contain themselves as we boarded a bus at DTD and headed to the CR. We were sitting rather close to the front of the bus and it was about 2/3 full. My DD all of a sudden starts shouting and giggling, “I see the castle, I SEE the castle, I SEE THE CASTLE.” She was lit up like a Christmas tree and bouncing in her seat. We were laughing with her and at her. Everyone on the bus knew she had “seen the castle” and that she was extremely happy about it. My DS kept trying to calm her down but it was not working. He was so funny because I think she might have actually embarrassed him which is almost impossible to do. It is one of those moments that you know are engrained into your brain forever. Everyone was very sweet and excited for her as we arrived at the CR. I really thought she would have just floated right off that bus. I still am not convinced that her feet touched the ground.

We were a little early for our ADR so we decided to ride the monorail. The kids loved it. We had a ball at Chef Mickey’s. This was their first interaction with characters and they really had the time of their lives. They loved it….every part of it….from getting the autographs, having pictures taken, to twirling the napkins. As far as the restaurant goes; we all enjoyed it. It wasn’t the best food I had ever had but it wasn’t bad either. The desserts very especially yummy!

We finally see Donald...as we are leaving!

After dinner we wandered around just looking at everything and taking it all in when we heard this Boom! Boom! Boom! A CM walked over and told me the fireworks are starting at the MK and if we went out this side door we could see them. We thanked her and went to see. We stood on that balcony in awe. It was right there in front of us. This was truly one of the most magical moments in my life. I stood there with tears rolling down my cheeks and soaked it all in.
We were at Disney World and had just met Mickey and Minnie we were now watching Wishes and we’re all healthy, happy and together. Not to sound too corny, but at that moment we were at happiest place on earth and it was so very magical. It just doesn’t get any better than that.

If that had been it I think it that have been enough but our magical vacation was just beginning.

 

[cherokeemamma]

Thank you ET for the picture posting info. It was so easy, too!



I will add another installment and pictures later today!

 

[cjhinch]

Awww, your report is so sweet!! That last part got me all misty eyed......I can't wait to hear more!!

 

[BeautyNBeast]

cannot wait to read more! Have fun on your upcoming trip!

 

[cherokeemamma]

It had been a magical night and we were all full of anticipation for the days ahead. We returned to POP and passed out. Tomorrow would promise to be a full and exciting day as well as an exhausting one.

We rec'd the wake up call from Mickey. We all jumped out of bed and showered. Even the kids were ready in a flash. Even though we were on the dining plan I had packed some breakfast foods as well as our coffee maker and coffee. I had read on the Dis that the coffee was pretty bad at WDW and that was one thing my DH and I cannot live without. So we downed some coffee and inhaled a bagel and it was off the MK. The bus system at Disney is great. I was really wonderful the entire week!

Let me get on my soapbox for a moment. In regard to the buses. I saw many times when women holding small babies or small sleeping children were standing and other people were sitting that did not need to be. I think if your are healthy and under age 60 or so you need to get up and give your seat to others who need it more. Come on people…encourage your children to be kind and thoughtful. At least offer your seat. That would really tick me off and I saw this over and over. Ok, I am stepping down now .

We arrived at the MK just after the rope drop. I knew to head toward Fantasyland. There was hardly anyone there and we rode everything with little or no wait. We were having a ball! Loved Philharmagic and Peter Pan’s Flight.

Toontown opened up and we headed there. We all decided to ride Goofy’s Barnstormer. As I mentioned earlier, my DS really did not like roller coasters or any fast ride for that matter. He started backing out of the line and saying “I am not going to do it”. I knew he really wanted to ride it but fear was holding him back. I am not one to force my kids to do things they do not want to do but I knew it was do or die for him at this moment. He had just turned 11 and always talked up the big thrill rides but had never ridden any of them. Now this kid will go down a water slide 60mph on his butt but will not ride a roller coaster. I just don’t get that. Do you? I mean I had much rather be in vehicle strapped in rather than just on my butt. I told him I thought he should face his fears. But he was tearing up and really stressing over it. I said, “That is okay, but we were riding anyway”. He went back and forth and finally said, “OK, I’ll do it.” Well, I didn’t hesitate. We went straight and got on. He was almost crying at this point and then we started moving. Well, I got scared and started thinking what if something happens to him on this ride. He really did seem so scared. Oh my Gosh, what have I done. Oh well, too late now were are off and going. I just kept telling him he was okay. About ½ way through he started laughing instead of crying and he loved it!!! He wanted to do it again. By the end of the trip he was riding BTM, SM, RR and loving every minute of it. It is now all he wants to do…ride roller coasters. My DH said, “Oh no, what have we done? We have created a monster.” Go figure!

We had ADR for lunch at Cinderella castle. My DD was so excited about that and so was I. I could not wait to see how it looked in there and to see how she responded to the princesses. She was all dressed up in her Cinderella dress and looking adorable. My DS and DH were excited too. Or maybe they were just hungry! Anyway, we enjoyed our time there and DD loved the princesses. I have to say I was really surprised by her on this trip. She is very girlie and is a self-proclaimed princess herself. As much as she liked the girls, she loved Mickey even more. She went gaga over the mouse. All she wanted to do was see Mickey, hug Mickey, and tell him how cute he is. She went; and is still, over the moon for Mickey. She even told Minnie that she had a crush on her boyfriend.

We left the MK around 2 or so and headed back to POP for a power nap. That evening we had planned to meet up with some of our friends who were at Disney also. We had a great nap and woke up to rain. I almost forgot to mention, shortly after we arrived at Disney while watching the weather channel, we discovered that there was a tropical storm spinning off in the Atlantic. A nightmare was coming true…a storm while at Disney. I believe her name was Tina but thankfully she did not cause us more trouble than some rain and high humidity.

We met up with our friends in Fantasyland and we had a blast together. We had dinner at Columbia House. It was fairly good. I would give it a 5 on a 10 point scale. Afterwards, we enjoyed Spectomagic. My DD loved it. She was so excited when the characters came walking close by. She was beginning to float again! We all had a big time and thoroughly enjoyed the parade. We rode several rides and most were very little wait. I had a blast on Buzz Lightyear. I have a competitive side and I really had fun on this ride. My DS and I kept wanting to ride it over and over. My DH and DD did not share in our enthusiasm. We stayed until the park closed and wandered into the masses waiting for the buses.

This is when an almost nightmare occurred. DD was complaining of how tired she was and that she wanted to sit down. She is extremely strong willed and never gives up. So she goes on and on….We told her to and sit on this bench that was just past where we were standing. She went to sit down. In less than 20 seconds we send our DS to go and stay with her. Well, a moment later he comes back and says, “Allison isn’t there. I can’t find her.” We had been looking at her as she went to sit but droves of people were walking between us making it almost impossible to keep constant eye contact on her. We ran over there and sure enough…no DD. My worst nightmare …losing one of my babies. I could just imagine she got swept into the crowd and maybe got on a bus or she was wondering in the crowd. I am just beside myself…I am almost in tears…I am trying to think straight and remember what she is wearing. I head up to the front of the line and asked one of the bus drivers to “please hold the buses…I have lost my child.” He tells me to describe what she is wearing…a pink princess t shirt with denim shorts. Like all the other little girls…right. I am calling her name over the loud speaker. Well, she isn’t on the bus so I head back over to where my DH was. It is such a surreal experience…a nightmare….I can’t believe this is happening. I am ready to start screaming her name . People are looking at us with the most pitiful, scared looks on their faces and it is so frightening. and we are both about to come unglued….all of a sudden there she is!!!! Just sitting there on a bench. Completely clueless that 10 years of my life have just slipped by and that my heart is now in my throat. We ran over and grabbed her up and hugged her. We asked her, “where have you been? Do you have any idea how you scared us?” Well, she was clueless. We asked her why did you sit here we told you to go to the other bench. We didn’t know where you were. We thought we had lost you.” Then we told here it ok but you must always stay right with us. No more going off to sit and rest!!!
Lesson #3 No matter how much they argue, or complain. The kids must stay with one of us…at all times…no matter what!

We got back to POP and collapsed! We thanked God that we were all safe and together. What a day it had been. It had been a fantastic fun-filled day with a very frightening end…one I hope you guys never experience.

 

[fesslerl]

Love your report, cant wait to read more

 

[ckmommy]

Great trip report so far. I know how scary it is when you "lose" your child at WDW. My DS got lost during the fireworks at the Magic Kingdom. It was very scary. I sent DH to find him and I stayed put. DS had kept walking when we had stopped for the fireworks. He was only lost for 2 mins., but it seemed like forever when it was happening!!

Can't wait to hear the rest and see more pictures!!

 

[shellynn24]

Great report We also went in Oct, I just wish I could write my TR, but I always have other things to do!