The Skeptical First-Timers made it back home, here's the TR! Completed!

[FosterA]

What a bummer about getting sick !! Geesh.

LOVE the Haunted Mansion figure !! Totally something I would pick out.

Ride Makers looks really cool .. bet my guys would enjoy this (although I thought I read it was going away ??)

Looking forward to the next update !

Really? I hadn't heard about them closing.

Animal Kingdom is so beautiful. I am loving all the pics you put up. I hope I can do as well with my trip report when I get back. Great job!

Of course you'll do a great TR and I'll be reading all about it when you get back. I might see photos of you in a scooter and your mom skipping through the parks

YAY...I think David really liked the trip...especially if he wanted Disney artwork in the house! How sweet of him to get you the HM statue!

I am so sorry that you got sick, must have a do over! I think you were wise to take a down day and stray from your plans. I hate to shop too, but DTD is so much fun (when your not sick). It was nice to see pictures of T-Rex, we will be there the 29th and Ridemakerz is on our list for the boys!

So is T-rex in your plans?? It was pretty darn cool. I do remember you saying the boys were doing Ridemakerz. Ian didn't do the remote control version but did say when he got home that he wished he had. See....just so many things to do over, must go back!

Sorry to hear you got sick. What a drag. I’ve been laid up at WDW as well on a previous trip. Unfortunately the illness fairy paid on of us a visit on this trip as well.

really? not good, wonder who got sick. I'll be watching your TR to hear about it.

 

[FosterA]

DAY 5-part 3

Thanks for continuing to read along everybody. I know it’s annoying and maybe seems over-achiever- ish by pumping out the updates so fast Truth is though that I’m known for not finishing everything I start so I’m afraid if I slow down, I’ll get too immersed back into real-life and never finish the TR. Oh no So…..hang in there. I gotta get all my details out about my trip before I forget and lose my pixie dusted feeling, Plus I need my full concentration to start my scheming and plotting to get David convinced to go back again and can't be messing around with my TR during this delicate operation. That’s going to be a full time job.

This will be the last update on Day 5. I’m anxious to wrap this day up because it was the most boring day of the trip and by far my sickest day of the trip.

So we probably we’re only at DTD 2 hours at the most. Pretty quick since most of that was just eating lunch. But…the bus ride home took forever I thought! We had to stop somewhere along the way and the drivers switched out and that wasn’t quick. Then we had to go to Typhoon Lagoon, then the Contemporary…..yada yada. Most of the trip, I never was annoyed by the buses but this particular day they seemed to take forever to get anywhere. Maybe it was because I was running out of Kleenex and was stressing that I was going to snot up the whole bus if I didn’t get back to the room pronto.

Once we got back, I went to Cook’s and bought a bunch of orange juice to swig down and crawled right back into bed. I’m not sure what Dave and the kids did? I guess went swimming.

I woke up around dinner time and was sick of laying in bed so I went down to the beach and found everybody and we all watched a movie sitting on the lawn chairs there. It was so nice It was Cars 2 this night. It got a tiny bit chilly and we all wished we had our sweatshirts but everybody was too lazy to go up to the room so we just used some pool towels to lay over us

My ORIGINAL plan was to get to MK tonight to see Elec. Parade and I kept watching the boats going over there while I watched the movie and I kept going back and forth on whether we should go for it or not. You can see from the photo that the movie screen is right by the boat dock so it would have been ez just to pop right on the boat and be at MK in no time flat. Allison wanted to go really bad but the boys seemed pretty content laying around the beach. I ended up just deciding to take it easy and try to catch the parade on one of the next 2 nights instead.

However, we did get to see the little Elec. Water Parade. I just loved it! Just something different I guess. The music was fun too!

were not able to stay up to watch Wishes from the beach though. Everybody was tuckered out plus I was dead set on tomorrow being a better day so we all hit the sack after the water parade.

Coming up…2 full days left of our vacation and we have some serious Epcot to still get in. Been everywhere but Epcot by this time and I love Epcot so I was ready!

 

[Moodyzblu]

Watching a movie by the water looked like SO much fun !! I bet my guys would love that.

Can't wait to hear how Epcot goes !

 

[swwake]

Oooh epcot! I can't wait!

 

[Cin]

Mom and I are planning on seeing that little water parade too from the Poly beach after our dinner at "OHana, so I am glad to hear you loved it. It doesn't get much mention. I will have to see what time that comes by the Poly.

 

[heathsf]

It looks so unbelievably awesome to just relax on the beach watching a movie, view a view of Magic Kingdom right across the water.

 

[skier_pete]

...and there I was in MK thinking..."where the heck are Amy, David and the kids? They were supposed to meet us here!"

 

[FosterA]

Watching a movie by the water looked like SO much fun !! I bet my guys would love that.

Can't wait to hear how Epcot goes !

Nice to have you still reading along I gotta say, the little things like watching that movie and seeing water parade were so much fun and they were really un-planned too.

Oooh epcot! I can't wait!

I know....Epcot is just so awesome!

Mom and I are planning on seeing that little water parade too from the Poly beach after our dinner at "OHana, so I am glad to hear you loved it. It doesn't get much mention. I will have to see what time that comes by the Poly.

I looked at the time stamp on my camera and it seems like it wasn't set correctly. It shows around 8 a.m. I'm wondering if I just had am and pm mixed up because I'm pretty sure it came by around 8. It really is so cute!

It looks so unbelievably awesome to just relax on the beach watching a movie, view a view of Magic Kingdom right across the water.

I know!! It was awesome!

...and there I was in MK thinking..."where the heck are Amy, David and the kids? They were supposed to meet us here!"

And there I was laying in a lawn chair thinking "um, wonder if Pete is looking for us right about now?" I should have contacted you. sorry We did make it to the elec parade though but not until Mon. night.

 

[solana131]

Well, better late than never...right? At least I got in before you finished
I just spent the better part of my work day reading your TR and I'm loving it! You sound so much like me it is scary! I'm taking my family for our first trip in Feb and we are staying at the Poly too. DH has absolutely no interest in going, but I am forcing him this time. He might hate it, he might like it, but after this once he doesn't ever have to go back with us again if he doesn't want to. I went a few times when I was young and don't remember a whole lot. Never stayed onsite, so I consider this my first time too. I wrote down quotes I liked and comments I wanted to make along the way, but my absolute favorite was at the Luau when you said "I told him to mind his own business and go buy a drink". Too funny!
I'm sure my DH will be the same way and I'll have to keep him drunk to have fun. I figured staying at the Poly, it is nice enough that if he isn't behaving and being "magical" I can just send him to the room and have fun with the rest of the family.
Looking forward to the rest of your report

 

[skier_pete]

And there I was laying in a lawn chair thinking "um, wonder if Pete is looking for us right about now?" I should have contacted you. sorry We did make it to the elec parade though but not until Mon. night.

Well, honestly I did think of you guys that evening, but I wasn't exactly wandering around the park looking for you either. We weren't seeing the parade anyways - we were actually on Splash Mountain while it was running.

 

[NOLAdisneymom]

Hey! Our trip overlapped, subscribing then gonig back to read and look for myself in your pics!

 

[204charity]

DTD is one of my biggest things I'm looking forward too! DD, my Mom and I are HUGE shoppers, so we would be sooo bummed if we mised out or had to cut it short due to sickness.

 

[momabaarjo]

I love the pictures of the Water Parade! We have that in our plans for our last night after eating at Ohana and watching the fireworks from the POLY beach.

Yep, the only place the kids really picked out to eat was T-Rex so I had to make sure that is in our plans. Can I ask...how much did Ian spend on his car at Ridemakerz? I am trying to figure out how much $$$ we should give the kids for our trip. I know the boys will be into the Lego shop too...

I love that you are plotting for another trip...Hee Hee. Some of our mutal PTR followers are thinking of a girl trip during Food and Wine for a big DIS meet up in 2013...what do you think of joining in?

 

[FosterA]

Well, better late than never...right? At least I got in before you finished
I just spent the better part of my work day reading your TR and I'm loving it! You sound so much like me it is scary! I'm taking my family for our first trip in Feb and we are staying at the Poly too. DH has absolutely no interest in going, but I am forcing him this time. He might hate it, he might like it, but after this once he doesn't ever have to go back with us again if he doesn't want to. I went a few times when I was young and don't remember a whole lot. Never stayed onsite, so I consider this my first time too. I wrote down quotes I liked and comments I wanted to make along the way, but my absolute favorite was at the Luau when you said "I told him to mind his own business and go buy a drink". Too funny!
I'm sure my DH will be the same way and I'll have to keep him drunk to have fun. I figured staying at the Poly, it is nice enough that if he isn't behaving and being "magical" I can just send him to the room and have fun with the rest of the family.
Looking forward to the rest of your report

yay for avoiding work and reading trip reports instead!! Glad to have you reading along!!
So exciting for you guys, are you going to do a report when you get back?? I hope so!! Your husband should love the Poly for sure. David didn't say much when we were there but when we got home he said one of the best things we did was simply staying at the Poly. I love the Poly at night 100x more than during the day. It's so amazing.
oh and be sure to use my line anytime "mind your own business and go buy a drink!". You'll need to use it alot, I promise you

Well, honestly I did think of you guys that evening, but I wasn't exactly wandering around the park looking for you either. We weren't seeing the parade anyways - we were actually on Splash Mountain while it was running.

I love splash mountain at night Did you watch the elec. parade on any of your nights though? WE did Monday night and it was PACKED!

Hey! Our trip overlapped, subscribing then gonig back to read and look for myself in your pics!

cool I gotta go check out your report now

DTD is one of my biggest things I'm looking forward too! DD, my Mom and I are HUGE shoppers, so we would be sooo bummed if we mised out or had to cut it short due to sickness.

well lucky for me, I don't really like to shop that much so I'm glad I wasted my sick day on the DTD day versus a park day. However....you can definitely shop 'til you drop there! Have a great time

I love the pictures of the Water Parade! We have that in our plans for our last night after eating at Ohana and watching the fireworks from the POLY beach.

Yep, the only place the kids really picked out to eat was T-Rex so I had to make sure that is in our plans. Can I ask...how much did Ian spend on his car at Ridemakerz? I am trying to figure out how much $$$ we should give the kids for our trip. I know the boys will be into the Lego shop too...

I love that you are plotting for another trip...Hee Hee. Some of our mutal PTR followers are thinking of a girl trip during Food and Wine for a big DIS meet up in 2013...what do you think of joining in?

Ohana, water parade, fireworks on the Poly beach. Don't get much better than that
Your kids will freak at T-rex. It is really amazing in there!
Ian spent 62 dollars on his car and that was not for the remote control type

AWesome about the meet up in 2013 BUT David actually told me the other day that he would "consider" going back the same exact week but in 2013 So I wouldn't be able to swing two trips that year unfortunately. If he wimps out on me, I'll keep that in mind though!

 

[B&WMickey]

I love the electric light parade on the water. A very nostalgic thing for me, something that I remember from the times I went to WDW as a kid.

 

[johnGorski]

Great trip report, can't wait to hear what WoW'd David

 

[skier_pete]

I love splash mountain at night Did you watch the elec. parade on any of your nights though? WE did Monday night and it was PACKED!

We did it Thursday (11/17)- and it was pretty crazy packed, but we like to watch it in the hub, so it's always packed there.

 

[sandieb]

DH has absolutely no interest in going, but I am forcing him this time. He might hate it, he might like it, but after this once he doesn't ever have to go back with us again if he doesn't want to. ::

I have dragged my husband along about 15 times over the last decade. He never plans anything. What made the difference was buying into DVC - we bought at the Beach Club and Hilton Head after our 2nd trip. He now considers them a vacation home, is a lot more comfortable, loves the Beach Club Villas pool and the big pool at Storm Along Bay, and enjoys the restaurants. It's made going a non-issue. He'll go to the parks for a while - usually 2 hours, and then he goes back to the resort to hang out and relax. The kids and I hoof around until we're either too hot, too exhausted or the parks get too crowded.

 

[FosterA]

I love the electric light parade on the water. A very nostalgic thing for me, something that I remember from the times I went to WDW as a kid.

that's great The music is very 80's sounding but I just loved it!

Great trip report, can't wait to hear what WoW'd David

Thanks! I'll be getting to the part where Dave got all excited soon I hope

I have dragged my husband along about 15 times over the last decade. He never plans anything. What made the difference was buying into DVC - we bought at the Beach Club and Hilton Head after our 2nd trip. He now considers them a vacation home, is a lot more comfortable, loves the Beach Club Villas pool and the big pool at Storm Along Bay, and enjoys the restaurants. It's made going a non-issue. He'll go to the parks for a while - usually 2 hours, and then he goes back to the resort to hang out and relax. The kids and I hoof around until we're either too hot, too exhausted or the parks get too crowded.

That's great that you guys have worked out how to make everybody happy

 

[FosterA]

DAY 6-part 1 (Sun, Nov 20)

The good news is that I slept way better this night and woke up feeling slightly more human. Not feeling “good” but good enough to go to Epcot!

We still had this full day left and one more full day and then we were flying out Tues. a.m. The only things we HAD to get in still was plenty of Epcot time, a firework watching dinner reservation at Rose and Crown tonight and a Hoop De Doo reservation on Monday night. My original plan was to do Epcot in 2 days but with the sick day thrown in, things had to be tweaked some. Technically, with the exception of being at Hoop tomorrow night, we still had all day tomorrow to do Epcot too. However, I wanted to do as much of Epcot today JUST IN CASE somebody else got sick, I had a relapse, we all got burnt out, someone has a meltdown, whatever and we don’t get the chance to get back to Epcot.

So…the plan today is to do Epcot like we only have one day to do it!

To most of you, knowing that you only have one full day for Epcot, you would think that would mean get there at rope drop right? Well, not to the Foster Family! The usual routine happened this morning. I get up and get all ready and then start screaming at everybody to get up. Allison goes into the bathroom to primp and hogs it up so much that nobody else can get ready. I can’t stand to stay in the room to watch the dragging on and on so I go down to Cook’s to gather food. WOW!! This a.m. was crazy in Cook’s. Now, this is the Sunday before Thanksgiving so I’m pretty sure all the Thanksgiving crowds were just arriving and it was pretty obvious, at least at Cook’s.

I grabbed some juice and muffins and sausage and took it all back to the room. Of course the fam is still not ready. I was surprisingly calm though because this was Day 6 of the same shenanigans every single morning and I think I’d finally given up

So….we finally got everybody out the door and they were excited that the monorail goes right to Epcot and we didn’t have to do a bus. We did walk over to the TTC to get on the monorail straight to Epcot. I had to yell at everybody once to slow down though because I still couldn’t breathe through my nose so I was huffing and puffing along way behind everybody trying to keep up.

We zipped over to Epcot and I think we were entering the park right around 10. Only an hour behind schedule, not bad since our HS and AK day were more like 1 ½-2 hours after rope drop. I knew that we would have to get to Soarin first and get a FP. I’d been checking my app and the wait was well over an hour at this point I think. Now, right there at the entrance of Epcot is some sort of display of stones with people’s names on them. What are these? Well, David was intrigued and was wanting to piddle around and read some of them. I was like We don’t have time for this RIGHT now but if you really want to read through these names, we’ll do it on the way out. He rolled his eyes at me because he’d dealt with me rushing him around for 6 days but they just needed to trust me on this. I did not want Soarin passes to run out. They’d thank me later.Here’s a couple pics of us getting started:

So we got over to the land area finally and since I was still puffing along after climbing the hill up to Soarin, we sent David ahead to go get passes and told him we’d meet him down by the “living with the land” ride. He did good and got our passes which weren’t good until around 2 in the afternoon. Wow! Those things really run out fast.

I was excited about Living with The Land because it’s such a nice calm little ride and I love the huge veggies in there. At this point, the wait was only 5 minutes too! I also knew that David would really like this , and HE DID! He loves growing little gardens at home so he was pretty fascinated. Now I had originally planned and budgeted for the Behind The Seeds Tour but we did not do it because I just felt a little behind on time at this point. I suppose I could have booked one for tomorrow but just never got around to it. Bummer. The kids thought this was a great attraction too and they liked the fish tank area a lot! WE saw an eel in here too and those are pretty gross. Too snakey for my taste!

After this family fave ride, we headed over to the Seas. Check out the hidden mickey in this man hole cover:

There was no wait for the Nemo clamshell ride so we headed for that. Ok, this is sooo boring I think. Sorry. I guess with little bitty kids it’s cool but it’s honestly just a good napping place in my opinion. The boys rode in one shell and Allison and I rode in another. Allison liked it though and she thought the jelly fish area was cool. When we unloaded, the boys weren’t exactly hopping up and down to do it again. I think the most exciting part of this ride is the loading and unloading, those moving floors are fun!

After the thrilling Nemo ride, we headed over to see Crush. Now that was cool! It seemed like we were penned up in the holding area for quite a while waiting on the next show and everybody was getting antsty but it was still worth it. David even laughed a lot and seemed to like this. The kids had big smiles the whole time so I’d say this attraction was a hit.

These jellyfish might not even be in the Turtle Talk area but Allison took it somewhere in that section of the park!

We then thought we’d roam around the Sea pavilion and look at dolphins and such. Well, once again, I’m feeling like we need to hurry it up some but we were looking at dolphins FOREVER. Mainly because of Allison. Ian seemed antsy to get moving but Allison wanted “just one more minute”. Turns out they were about to start a “dolphin show” in a few minutes so we stuck around for that too. It was cool and one of the best “unexpected and unplanned” things we did. You have to stand the whole time and it was a little crowded pushed in to get a good view but the trainers did a neat little show with one of the dolphins. They had her picking shapes and doing a matching game. We were amazed at how smart she was! It was definitely neat though I think we really killed a lot of time in this Sea section. And yeah, I'm such a loser that I didn't get one photo of the dolphin show. duh!

It was now already lunch time. Time sure flies at Disney!! We had secured our Soarin Faspasses, done Living with the Land, Nemo, Crush, way too much time looking at fish, and a cool dolphin show. Next thing on my list is to get some food for lunch and check out the rest of Future World AND get Test Track passes as soon as we could. More coming up soon!!

And no, David did enjoy Living with the Land and Crush and he liked his nap in the Nemo ride, but that’s still not the thing that WOW’D him! That part is still coming up…..