The Holidays Are Over So Let's Get This Trip Report Rolling!

[MadilynnsMomma]

It's so sad to see a report come to an end

I really enjoyed following along on your adventures; maybe some day I will make it to DL and can decide which I prefer.

P.S. - FINALLY got my "review"/mini-TR started in my old PTR thread.

 

[DL55]

Enjoyed your TR. My DH likes WDW more than DLR. I like both, won't complain where ever we go. Since we have family is So Cal. I think we'll still visit DLR.

 

[mariezp]

2 weeks now.... I am totally ashamed of myself for not getting back to respond sooner. What can I say? Between life in the real world and Disney withdrawals my mood for posting has been somewhat lacking. However, we have briefly discussed some possibility of a return trip to DL this year so my spirits are lifted a bit today. So on with some replies!

Sherry, I imagine I owe at the very least half of my readership to you! Thanks for sending them my way. As for your last referral I can certainly relate to feeling overwhelmed and intimidated by the planning process of heading to WDW. I would certainly be more than happy to share any info I gathered while planning for our WDW trip. Not sure I figured it all out but I think I made a pretty good dent for a first timer!
It is going to be such a breeze to plan for Disneyland next time!!! I can't wait! Our finances are not looking so hot right now but I am brainstorming with a couple different plans to raise some vacation funds. I'll keep you posted. DH told me just yesterday that he feels cheated cause he did not get his DL fix so I've got that on my side. I am thinking November so don't forget to consider that month when you start making your plans. Wouldn't it be great to actually get a chance to meet at DL? I'm thinking maybe a few less days for us to cut down on our expenses... say maybe Nov 10-21. I am looking forward to seeing the castle walkthrough, Captain EO, and, I believe, the World of Color should be done by then. I do hear they have been changing around my Blue Bayou menu. I am not so sure we are going to be so happy about that. Garsh! How I wish I were there right now!
Yep, WDW's Belle had a unique hair style. Didn't really get to check out many others cause as I mentioned characters were far from a priority on this trip. Still, I imagine there are probably quite a few subtle differences between the characters in both parks.
I think DD and I could have easily spent another day in AK to explore all the details. The guys are really less than enthusiastic about animal parks so if we ever make it back we just need to ditch them so they don't detour our plans.
I guess the main idea at WDW is to keep people coming back. Where we try to do it all in one 2 week trip other people do keep coming back for more. Unfortunately, I knew the likelihood of us making a return trip was almost nil so I was trying to see it all and end up disappointed that we were not able to see more. Seems like we barely scratched the surface. On the other hand, I am satisfied enough to not go back and return to our favorite park, DL, instead.

rmonty02, hi there! I hope you and your parents have a fabulous first trip to WDW! It is a lot of work but also a lot of fun. You can gather a lot of useful info around the DIS but if you have not already signed up on Tourguidemike.com I would highly recommend it. I found more info there than I could have ever possibly ever put to use. If you have any questions you can always pm me and I will be glad to offer anything I found out during my experience. Here's hoping your 3 year old has a growth spurt!

Pikester, glad you are still here too. I have been reading along with you too. Actually need to go leave a comment over there. So much fun sharing these reports but also nice when it is all finally done, right?

MadilynnsMomma, I will be heading to you PTR next! I hope you make it to DL some day too. Such a different experience but so totally worth seeing just once even if only to go to the original park.

DL55, I am with you! If someone offered to take me to either park I wouldn't say no! I honestly can understand why some people would prefer WDW. There are lots of options to keep you entertained. However, I knew even before we went that we would prefer the simplicity, compactness, coziness and charm of DL. Guess it is a good thing they built both, or should I say all the Disney parks, to keep everyone happy. Anyway, wish I had family in California! That would give me such a good excuse to make it to DL more often.


Oh yeah, I realized I forgot to include one very important photo documenting a very special occasion, DD's first Splash ride. Not only did I need to include it for documentation's sake but also because it is so darn cute! The look on her face is priceless! Okay, maybe priceless is not the word I am looking for but let's just say that she is exuding the look of many first time riders. I did go back and add the photo to the report but am including it here as well so those who have already been reading don't have to go back to find it.

 

[mariezp]

Not really much left to tell... not in the park anyway.... but while I was finishing our trip I thought I would throw in a few words and a couple of last pictures for our departure day.

Day 15, December 16, 2009

So, obviously we made it home okay. Funny thing that even on the way home from a Disney trip your mind is still there. Spotted this hidden Mickey on a door at the airport. (Yeah, you have to use your imagination a little!)

Anyway, our plane ride back home was uneventful. Great to land and be back in Texas. Apparently, we were in store for a beautiful welcome home present. This was what we saw on our drive home that evening. Of course, my pictures do it no justice. It was the most beautiful sunset we had seen in over 2 weeks.

All was well back at home and we were so ready to be home. The dog and cat were happy to see us again and have forgiven us for leaving them so long. It took me several days to get rested, caught up on laundry and back in the swing of things. Now with a couple months behind us I am ready for another Disney trip. November at DL is starting to sound real good!!! Here's hoping I can pull it off!

 

[DL55]

The picture of your DD on Splash Mt is a classic.
Imagination is required for hidden Mickeys otherwise they aren't very hidden.

 

[DisneyMomma81]

What a great report ~ I wasn't able to see some of your fotos and several were gray on the bottom 1/2 Do you think you would've made it to the park earlier if you'd stayed on site or tried harder to get there early cause you would've planned on taking mid day breaks and returning in the evening? Our 1st visit was last Oct. ~ it was so hot ~ we had fun but I prefer DLR, we took a mid day break each day, we started each day early ~ in time for rope drop most days. Are you still planning on DLR in Nov.? We plan to be there for Thanksgiving weekend! Do you homeschool? If not how many days did your DD miss ~ is DS still in H.S.? My kids missed 5 days of school but we had 8 *DS & my mom had 9 days ~ they flew overnight* days in the park ~ they had a 2 day break that we took advantage of.

 

[mariezp]

DL55, glad you liked the Splash photo. I thought it was one of the best ones we have ever had taken.
True, you do need imagination to find those hidden Mickeys. I just thought finding them in airports might be a little out of the ordinary.... that and he did have some pretty puny ears.

I am quite annoyed! I had a nice long post almost ready for you DisneyMomma81 and THEN I hit some wrong button and it disappeared into oblivion! So here I go again...
So glad you stopped in and thank you for the nice compliment! Not sure what the problem is with the photos loading. Maybe I have too many pics! Did you happen to try reloading? I know sometimes that helps. They seem to be working fine for me.

I love answering questions! so here goes....
Do you think you would've made it to the park earlier if you'd stayed on site or tried harder to get there early cause you would've planned on taking mid day breaks and returning in the evening? No. When we are on vacation sleeping late is one of our guys favorite things to do. I would not have felt comfortable heading out on my own staying onsite or offsite at WDW so going earlier just was not an option. Being in transit 30 minutes to an hour seemed to make mid day breaks hardly worth the effort. By going to the parks later in the day and staying til close we probably ended up with just about the same amount of time each day anyway.
Now when we go to Disneyland it is a whole different story! The guys do sleep in but since we are just right across the street my daughter and I do go early and leave them to sleep in. We do also take mid day breaks because it only takes 10 minutes to get back to our room.

Are you still planning on DLR in Nov.? If at all possible! Our finances are not what they used to be but right now I am working on saving a trip fund so we can pay cash. That way I will feel like I have earned it and know that it will not be coming from money I might have used elsewhere. We have been married 20 years and vacations have always been pretty important to us. We loves us some Disney family time! It's pretty priceless. My kids will be grown before I know it so I really don't want to look back and wish that we had gone when we opted to stay home instead.
November is a wonderful month to go. I hope you all have a great time for Thanksgiving weekend. I have thought about going that week but I have just not worked up the courage to fight those crowds yet!

Do you homeschool? Yes we do which makes us fortunate to be able to work our schedule around our vacation. We homeschool year round so we can take our big break in the fall. We love the off season! It is nice that you are able to manage a trip in the off season with some creative planning. There is no way you could get me to go in the middle of summer! (Well, don't hold me to that. If I won a trip or someone offered to take me for my birthday in July I certainly would never turn them down. However, I can honestly say that summer would never be my first choice no matter how much I love DL.)

It is always interesting to find someone else who loves DL better than WDW like I do. So, do tell, what do you like about DL better? For me lots of reasons but I think basically it is because it just feels more like home to us.

 

[DisneyMomma81]

It is always interesting to find someone else who loves DL better than WDW like I do. So, do tell, what do you like about DL better? For me lots of reasons but I think basically it is because it just feels more like home to us.

#1 ~ The weather! It was so hot and humid early Oct. in FL ~ I know it'll be warm in DLR early July but with much lower humidity it'll be much more tolerable. We can handle heat but humidity + heat = YUCK! And mid day breaks won't be a problem since we can walk back for a swim/break.

#2 ~ Being able to walk to the parks, and hop easily. We took a mid day break daily @ WDW - we used only Disney Transportion and while it worked just fine it took some time.

#3 ~ S CA is much closer to UT, we could drive - haven't yet - but I would never drive to FL.

KCmike mentioned that if they built an Epcot @ DLR he'd never go back to WDW ~ I very much agree, but I'd also need an Everest ~ that was a fun ride.

Good luck on making your Nov. trip ~ that might be our 1st driving trip ~ airfare the day before Turkey Day might be a bit high ~ however I've already purchased our airfare for our July trip ~ just the airfare there, we fly in on 7/2 and it wasn't too high, I go through JetBlue so if there is a drop in price I get a credit.

 

[mariezp]

DisneyMomma81, your reasons sound a lot like mine.

#1 California weather has been so much nicer on all our trips as obvious in my TR. Our Florida trip went from one extreme to another... starting with cold, followed by rain and was heating up quite well by the time we left. The majority of our DL trips have been wonderful weather. We did go one year in September when it was hotter than we really liked. And, we have been when it has rained but it was a nice rain that moved on and did not stay for days. Don't know if Florida weather is always such a crap shoot but I do know that California weather has always been, for us, much better and easier to plan for.

#2 I will take walking across the street and park hopping any old day. My husband said one of the parts he missed about DL was not having to drive somewhere everyday. I know we could have stayed onsite and used Disney transportation but it just did not appeal. After the one bus incident we had I don't think we would ever be willing to try it.

#3 You got me on that one! I think for us we are almost smack dab in the middle between California (1374 miles) and Florida. (1143 miles) Either way is a long way to drive but flying is a breeze. Traveling east in the time zone really was no fun. I don't think we ever did adjust. On the other hand, traveling west is great! We gain an hour so it makes getting up every morning just that much easier!

Maybe someday if they ever build that 3rd gate at DL we will get an Epcot. That would be just about perfect! I really could have used another week to have just taken in exploring all the lands.

My guys did say that Everest was the best ride of the whole trip. I never made it on it but that's okay cause coasters are not really my thing but it did sound interesting. If they ever make one in DL I will be sure to give it a try at least once.

Boy, you are not kidding. I bet airfare is high the day after Thanksgiving! I've been watching and it is staying pretty high even when I am looking! That may be a good thing. If it goes down I will be tempted to snatch it before we even decide if we are going. Guess that would help seal the deal but I might get myself in the doghouse. Might be worth it! For us driving ends up being more expensive because I refuse to drive long hours everyday which means we also have to consider the cost of overnight lodging. Flying is just so much simpler. Glad you got a good deal for your July trip already.

 

[reyasmommy]

Thank you for sharing your TR!

On your last day at Disney I'm sure you were still having a MUCH better time then I was. I was in Labor and dealing with a non-working epidural. Sure it was one of the best days of my life, but definately the most painful.

Your family is adorable...once again, thanks for sharing.

 

[mariezp]

Thank you reyasmommy! You are right no matter what... our last day was better than labor!

And, without a non-working epidural!

You poor thing! BUT just look at that beautiful baby's face! All worth it!

Been there somewhat. I was trying to suffer through the pain and not take anything with my daughter. When I finally decided I couldn't take it anymore they could not find the keys to unlock the cabinet to get to their equipment. I did finally get my working epidural but it took a little longer than I had anticipated! If I had known I would have ordered it sooner. Funny though... one look at their precious little faces and you totally forget the pain.... well, for awhile at least.

Anyway, thanks for the sweet comment on my family. I think they are pretty cute!

 

[basketballmom]

Marie, I just found your trip report a couple of days ago and finally finished reading it! I had totally forgotten you had planned a family trip to WDW and I enjoyed your perspective. And, I totally agree with you about the lack of "magic" (especially in Fantasyland) and how bigger isn't always better.

Yes, there are things at WDW I wish we had at DL....Mickey's Phillharmagic is at the top of the list!! And Expedition Everest! But our hearts remain with Disneyland!!!

I am glad y'all had a fun and safe trip!

 

[LOVEMY3KIDDOS]

Hey!!! Our house got really busy and pulled me away from here for the past couple of months...but I finished reading your report! Sorry you didn't get all the magic you were hoping for...you'll have to make up for it next trip!!!

 

[heatherleigh]

I really enjoyed your report. It's only the 2nd WDW TR I have ever read. This makesw me happy to think we won't be doing WDW for a few years yet. I think it will be more enjoyable when our kids get older.

 

[lovesdumbo]

Hi Marie
Sorry it took me so long to find the time to read your TR. I really enjoyed it!

Remember me from your PTR? I was at WDW 11/30-12/7 with just my oldest DD(10). My youngest was diagnosed with pneumonia the day before I left. Then my DS(9) was diagnosed when pneumonia when I was gone. My DD & I (and my friend and her DH) had a great trip but I came home sick and my brother was struck and killed by a car on Dec 11th. My Dad died when I was 6 so he was like a Dad to me. It still doesn't seem real.

I also took my youngest, Emma, to WDW in January for her 7th birthday. I have to say I wasn't sure I was up for it. I was still sick since December so I broke down and went the doctor 2 weeks before that trip. He diagnosed me with bronchitis and gave me antibiotics but then the blood test showed I had whooping cough. I was feeling better but not 100% for the trip but I had to take DD for her birthday. I had taken her older brother & sister for their 7th birthdays so I really had to take her. I felt a lot better in FL than I did in Massachusetts. I don't think I would have recovered as quickly if I hadn't gone. We had a VERY magical trip. We were there for one of the only warm weeks they had this winter. It was exactly what I needed.

Now I'm looking forward to taking my DS for my birthday in May. He's my early riser.



LOVE that photo of your DD on Splash! I wish I had purchased the photo of my DD on Everest at 5 years old. She wanted to do it but hasn't been on since. I think she might be up for it on her next trip. She loves Big Thunder but won't go on Splash or Space Mnt yet. I think her favorite thing on her birthday trip was the Sum of All Thrills design your own coaster thing at Epcot.

 

[mariezp]

Ugh!

Naughty Disboard!

I have had no notifications that anyone was posting! Of course, I guess I should have been checking the TR myself so shame on me too. Anyhoo......

basketballmom, it is always a relief to find someone who understands what I am talking about! I posted my TR on another Disney fan site and got raked over the coals for expressing my opinion about my own trip. I don't always expect everyone to agree with me but it was fun to share our thoughts and experiences.

LOVEMY3KIDDOS, glad you got to make it back and finished reading up. We did have some fun. Now I am just even more ready for the next trip!

heatherleigh, I think you may be on to something. There is so much territory to cover at WDW that it certainly would be easier with older kids. My DS-18 just recently has admitted that he did indeed like WDW. I think that is in large part thanks to Epcot.

lovesdumbo, well of course I remember you! It sounds like your WDW trip was just on the border of avoiding disaster! Unfortunately, that's the way it works sometimes and there is no way to avoid some of the things that can go wrong. Thankfully you managed to still have a great time with all the sickness lurking around. Seems like we usually have about a 50/50 chance of someone getting sick while on our trips and generally someone always comes home sick. Glad you managed a speedy recovery with a little magical help!
Gotta admit even though we still love DL best I am still jealous that you have already had a return trip to WDW and are already planning another. I am so ready for either Disney park right now!
Your DD has mine beat. My Emma has been on Big Thunder but refuses to ride it again. Although she says she never wants to ride Splash again either I am pretty sure we can get her back on with the right bribe! My son was never a big thrill seeker either until he was probably at least 11 or 12 so who knows... give our girls a few more years and they will probably be ready for anything!
I am so sorry about your brother's death. I hope you have been able to find some peace and comfort. Never an easy thing to lose a loved one, especially someone you are close to but at least the passing of time can help to ease the hurt a little.

 

[mariezp]

Had a good laugh this morning from my daughter and this was the only place I could think to share it! 6 months later she is still watching the video from our vacation. Of course, she still watches all the previous year's vacations too, but this particular morning she was watching our WDW vacation. Anyhoo.... She says "Ya know, I think I have to admit that they did kinda mess up the Tiki Room". So funny cause she argued with the rest of us.... which just happens to be her specialty.... but anyway looks like there is hope for her yet! My baby girl is learning to appreciate the merits of originality.

Can't wait to get back to DL to see the real Tiki Room. Which by the way I do not think I ever got back to mentioning here.... we will be heading back to DISNEYLAND in NOVEMBER! Yippee!