There and back again... A disney addicts tale- Updated 9/18

[sl_underwood]

The Cast:
Me: The Mom, loves Disney, favorite characters: Goofy, Eeyore, & Kermit
DH: The Dad, loves Star Wars, favorite characters: Stitch & Goofy
Tink: DD, typical teen, suffers from chronic attituditus, favorite characters: Tinkerbell, Ariel, and Cinderella
Lilo: DD, preteen full of drama these days, favorite characters: Lilo & Stitch, Belle, and Chip & Dale
Tigger: DS, first trip to disney, favorite characters: Lightening McQueen, Mickey Mouse, and all the Disney Princesses


The Plan:
POR April 1st-6th, leave on the evening of the 31st, Pirate & Princess Party on the 4th, DS celebrates his 5th birthday on the 5th, Come home on the evening of the 6th. Well that was the plan, but it just didnt work out. The Cast rebelled against the Disney Trip Planner!


See my pre-trip report here
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1696839

 

[sl_underwood]

We had a major storm on Sunday night and lost all power. Of course, I hadnt printed anything from the PC, hadnt finished laundry, and hadnt slept all night! (Tigger is afraid of storms) I was beyond stressed. Then DH goes to drop off the dog, discovers his friend is having a plumbing problem and offers to help. He didnt get home until after 10 pm. Tigger was tired and cranky and crying because we left the dog (he thought we were giving her away). By the time I got him calmed down and to sleep it was after midnight. Lilo fell asleep on the couch, Tink never went to bed, she spent her time on the phone with her boyfriend. DH and I finished packing after putting Tigger to sleep and by the time we got the car packed, it was time to leave for the airport! So we were 2 nights with no sleep, cranky parents, cranky kids, how would we ever survive 4 hrs on a plane together?

 

[ChelleinNC]

Off to a good start the report anyways

 

[sl_underwood]

We had a bit of a rocky start...yet I was still hopeful. Every day, there was a forecast for rain. I was nervous but I couldnt help but be excited. We were hours away from a trip that took 2 years to plan, 2 years of hard work, 2 rounds of chemo for Lilo, and 1 new family addition.

 

[suzimar57]

lots of "cranky" going on - it's got to get better, right??!!!

let the report continue!

 

[sl_underwood]

glad to see you here! You will just have to keep reading to find out if it gets better

 

[sl_underwood]

So we headed to the airport around 2:30 am. Of course, we were running late. It was not easy getting a family of 5 around when everyone was tired. All that kept me from screaming was the thought of seeing my son’s first reaction when he met Mickey. We made it to the airport around 4:15 am. It was cold and windy and we were still tired. We had 4 large bags, 5 carry on bags, and a preschooler that didn’t want to walk. We struggled from long term parking to the airport, carefully balancing our luggage, carrying Tigger, and listening to Lilo complain about being cold and tired. It was a long walk. Next time, I will make sure DH drops us at the door before parking!

 

[Trentmom]

Oh Cool, You started a separate trip report


WELCOME HOME!!!!

Sorry ya had such a rough start, but it is bound to get bettter

I can't wait to hear Tigger's reaction when he sees that Castle for the first time

 

[MomofCKJ]

Signing on! I haven't read your pre trip but I am going back. I have 2 DDs and a DS too. Love your description "chronic attitudis" my 10y dd has it pretty bad!

Allyson

 

[sl_underwood]

Trentmom- Glad to see you here! The Castle, not such a big deal for him, seeing ariel for the first time- that boy was in

Allyson- Welcome! My 11 yo just started with a bit of that attituditus, she actually wanted to go home after 2 days!

 

[sl_underwood]

So we finally made it to the airport. We checked in, checked our luggage pieces (of course Tink had brought her closet so there was alot to check in) Then we headed to the security check point. The TSA agent we had been corresponding with for several weeks was there to greet us. She was awesome. First she explained what they were doing to Tigger and he watched them. Then George went through the process, DH went through the process. Tigger was a little reluctant to go through the metal detector so George had to go through it again and again and again. Finally Tigger decided to give it a try as George was having so much fun. After we were done, the TSA agent gave each of the kids a stuffed Disney toy. Tigger got a Mickey, Lilo got a Tigger, and Tink got a Pooh. It was so sweet of her. She also offered to stay with us until we boarded and help with Tigger. We declined her offer but thanked her for making Tigger’s first airline experience so wonderful.

 

[DL55]

Oh what a rocky start. The TSA agent was very nice, don't hear about the nice ones.

 

[sl_underwood]

True, it is human nature to complain. When something goes wrong we tell everyone, but rarely do good deeds go noticed. We were so impressed that we sent flowers and a thank you card to the agent Carrie Black. She is such a wonderful person. If she hadnt been there, I imagine our trip through security would have gone much differently.

 

[mari360]

subbing....... crazy start but i bet it was great...

 

[sl_underwood]

Welcome Mari! The trip had its ups and downs but the look on my sons face when he saw Mickey for the first time, when his favorite characters became more than just a story or a movie but truly real made up for every bad moment.

 

[kileybeth]

You're home!! I am soooo sorry we didn't hook up but with your rocky start, trust me you did not need to see us! Our DD2 had the stomach flu nearly our whole trip, ugh. Spent lots of time in the laundry room at 2am!

Can't wait to hear all the details!

I probably won't do a trippie as I am not that good at being consistant but wanted to tell you how thrilled I am that the flight/airport thing worked out for Tigger, I was thinking of you all!

one last note (because Curious George reminded me) Our last night in Magic Kingdom our DS5 LOST his beloved Bear-Bear! Drama tragedy galore. In fact after multiple lost and found events, talking to everyone we could think of, the next day we simple drove straight through on home (21 hours) No way I was staying in a motel without the Bear-Bear.

Guess what Mickey sent in the mail today??!! The recovered/found Bear-Bear! You gotta love Disney!

And despite it all, a wonderful trip! Can not wait to hear about yours!

 

[Trentmom]

Wow..What a wonderful TSA agent you had....

 

[mari360]

Kileybeth - that is a great story... whis is why Disney has magic... i'm glad your son has his bear-bear again...

 

[sl_underwood]

Kileybeth- Glad to hear you made it home safe and sound. We would have loved to meet your family. I am so glad they found bearbear. I can only imagine how horrible it was for your family without him. All 3 of my children have security items, if we lost them, God knows it would be an impossible situation. I am sorry to hear you all got the stomach flu. If you dont want to start a report of your own, feel free to share mine. I would love to hear all about your trip!

Trentmom- She was so wonderful. I hope any mom with a child who has disablilities or fears will call their airports tsa agents and get the same amazing experience we did.

 

[sl_underwood]

Tigger was so excited to be seeing Mickey, he was bouncing off the walls and running through the airport. We were all tired and just wanted to sleep. Tigger kept jumping and singing the hot dog song from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. He ran up to complete strangers and told them that he was going to see Mickey. He watched the planes get fueled and watched the cargo load. Lilo fell asleep, Tink walked around looking for coffee. Did you know that nothing is open at 5am? After nearly an hour of waiting, it was time to board the plane. The moment we boarded, guess who had to go potty?