TR - Memorial Weekend Madness - Feeling the Force & Celebrating the 5th - COMPLETE

[Nhebron]

We just returned from our SWW/birthday celebration on Monday and I am still recovering. I have very mixed feelings about the trip. At some times it was quite"magical" and exceeded my expectations. At others times, it was physically and mentally exhausting and I couldn't help but think for the money, we could be relaxing on a beach somewhere.

There is a chapter in one of my Disney World planning books entitled "The Ecstasy and the Agony" and I think that about sums up our trip!

Our faces once we finally escaped MK after battling crowds and 90+ degree heat in the midday sun.

 

[Nhebron]

If you are interested in reading about the planning for this trip, check out my PTR here

And in case you haven't read the PTR (and don't want to..), here we are:

The little guy is my energetic DS, who just turned 5 years old. His actual birthday was a couple days after we returned from Disney, but we celebrated every day of our trip.

That handsome guy holding DS is my hubby of over 10 years. He is a big kid at heart and loves our Disney trips.

And the lady (well lady might be a strong word....) is me. I am the family trip planner. I really enjoy planning Disney vacations. Sometimes I think I have more fun in the planning than the actual vacations!

Trip details:
This would be a very different Disney trip for us. We have been to WDW twice previously, going in the exact same week in February. The weather was great and the crowds weren't bad. This year, I originally was not planning to go to Disney at all as we took a trip in January to Aruba. However, I just couldn't shake the Disney pull and thought we could pull off a super quick trip over Memorial Day Weekend (Friday - Monday). As a bonus, it was SWW! This meant a lot more to my hubby than me, but in the end, even my DS was pretty excited about some of the SW characters.

We drove to Atlanta, which was about three hours, and then flew out bright and early Friday morning (6:05am boarding !).

Our resort for this super quick trip was CBR. This was our first time at a moderate resort. We have stayed at Polynesian, Animal Kingdom Lodge, and Art of Animation and have loved them all! I was a little nervous about trying out this new resort based on some reviews.

 

[Nhebron]

Reserving this spot for chapter links

 

[Nhebron]

Day -1

Ready to go!

After working a full day and the last day of school for the little one, we headed out to ATL. Because we had a super early flight, we thought it best to spend the night at an airport hotel and take advantage of a park and fly deal.

DS was super excited and ready to hit ATL.

We were making pretty good time until this....

I seriously stared at the back of this same truck for about half an hour. The funny thing is that my phone gps tried to navigate me away from the highway. I told DH that there was no way I was following the stupid gps. Clearly the quickest way to ATL was this highway. I didn't think gps was "smart" enough to reroute me due to traffic. Well that will teach me not to listen to the gps. This traffic lasted for MILES. I am not exaggerating at all. Apparently, this was the perfect time of day for road paving and we got stuck in it. We didn't make it to our hotel in ATL until midnight. I am a night owl, normally this wouldn't be a big deal. However, we had an early morning flight and needed to catch the 4:30am shuttle.

We somehow managed to get up on time (3:30am !) and made it on the shuttle.

 

[Nhebron]

Day 1 - Part 1
Traveling to Orlando and Resort check-in

The flight down was quick and easy. I was impressed by the plane which had touch screens with games and videos on the back of each chair. There was a little boy sitting in front of us who kept leaning back and playing with DS. It was cute to watch. When we landed, DS yelled "Yay, we made it!!" and was super excited to get off the plane.

We made it through the airport pretty quickly, collected our luggage and picked up the rental car. Before we knew it, we were seeing this lovely view. I was already starting to feel the magic

But somebody was super sleepy though from our early morning travels.

We decided to check out our resort first and get all checked-in. It doesn't look like much when you turn in. I think its because the resort is so spread out.

We headed over to the Customs House for check-in. At this point, it was only about 10am, so I thought it was highly unlikely that our room would be ready. But surprise, surprise...our room was ready (Yes!!!).

Customs House

I was so excited for DS to see our room. We booked a water view, pirate themed room. Our "water view" was completely obstructed by trees but we were super close to the pool, so that was great. DS really loved the pirate theme. I thought the room was pretty dark and it is obviously an older hotel. I believe these rooms are next on the list for updating at CBR. While I wasn't in love with the room (or the resort), the reaction from DS was totally worth it.

After a quick stop back at the Customs House to get our bands reset (mine and DS bands would not open the room door), we headed off to Magic Kingdom!!

 

[Nhebron]

Day 1 - Part 2

Four hours of fun(?) in Magic Kingdom

We decided to drive from CBR to Magic Kingdom. Getting to MK by car is always such a process. The whole parking in the lot, taking the tram, taking the monorail or ferry before you even get close to the entrance. I think we were tired before we even got to the park.

But we were ready!! Ready to look for Mickey, Pluto, and Goofy and for DS to ride his first big kid ride (BTMRR).

We chose to take the monorail over, which made DS very happy. He loves trains, trams, monorails....even the Disney buses.

By the time we made it through the gates, it was around noon. Our plans for the day included our three fast passes (Talking Mickey, BTMRR, and 7DMT), meeting Pluto, and dinner at Kona. I had no hopes for riding anything other than what we had fast passes for because 1) it was midday and crowded and 2) I was tired from getting up at 3:30am!

When we entered the park, I noticed everyone standing around and the area roped off. Turns out the Festival of Fantasy parade was going to start soon! I asked a lady if we could squeeze in next to her and she told me that the spots were taken. However, a friendly lady next to her (who was dressed in a victorian gown with a parasol) pointed to an area next to the ropes that was almost empty and would provide a great view (yes!). This was completely unexpected and I was almost giddy with excitement. We have never seen a daytime parade at MK. We have always been rushing to a fast pass ride or back at the hotel for a midday break.

I was super excited about the parade. My boys...not so much. In their defense, it was HOT!! And we were getting a little off plan, since the first thing DS wanted to do was meet Pluto. I guess I should have checked the MK schedule before we arrived. Pluto wasn't available until after the parade.

I thought the parade was awesome.

It was also really neat to see people dressed up as their favorite Disney characters. It was the MK 24 hour day, so there were lots of folks dressed up. Standing next to us watching the parade was a Peter Pan, Pocahontas, and several princesses.

After the parade was over, I was a little bit disoriented (being thrown off my schedule and all....). Watching a parade was not on my Disney planning spreadsheet . DS was kind of agitated. I think the parade was a bit noisy for him (he was holding his ears) and I think he was a bit overstimulated.

We made our way towards the castle and took our first photo pass pic. Then I tried to find something for DS to eat, since we hadn't eaten since breakfast. I asked if he wanted a hot dog since we were passing Caseys. DS wasn't interested and got a bit fussy about stopping (he was riding in his stroller). We kept walking and ended up in the Liberty Square area. I finally decided that we needed to eat something and sit down because I was hot and tired. We ended up at Sleepy Hollow. DS loves waffles and they had these chicken waffle sandwiches. Now, if I had gotten myself together and formulated a plan, we would have probably found a better option. Given the heat, I think something like fruit and a drink would have worked. We had an early ADR for dinner, so we weren't going to starve. But, I just stopped at Sleepy Hollow and ordered a drink, a waffle with fruit, and a waffle chicken sandwich. The first issue was finding seating. There were no seats left in the shade. I found some partial shade to park DS in his stroller. When I sat down at the table on a seat that was exposed to the sun, my bottom was literally burning (tmi, I know). Then it took FOREVER for our food to get done. Nobody really wanted it by the time we got it. Long story short, DS ate two bites of his waffle and was done and I ate two bites of the chicken waffle sandwich and was done. My hubby, who is part of the clean plate club, then felt compelled to eat both waffles...but was pretty grumpy about it. For the record, the chicken waffle sandwich has a great flavor...some sweetness, some spice. It was great. I just had no desire to eat in 90+ degree heat.

At this point, I am feeling like a bad Mom for not planning out our lunch situation. I am normally on top of these things. Originally, I thought we might get some lunch at our resort food court before heading to the park. That would have been a better idea than trying to get something to eat from MK CS, without a specific plan of exactly where we would go. Being spontaneous at MK on a holiday weekend, in 90+ degree heat, with a soon to be 5 year-old, after being up since 3:30 am is DUMB, and I should know better.

After our waffles, we started walking back towards Main street. We had our first ADR with Talking Mickey! We were also hoping to see Pluto while we were in the area. DS actually had on his birthday t-shirt that had Pluto and Mickey on it and he was excited to show them.

The walk down Main street was brutal, both due to the crowds and heat. My legs starting hurting and I thought I was going to get a leg cramp. I immediately started to guzzle more water.

I will try to stop complaining about the heat. Yes, I knew it was going to be hot when I booked the trip. Guess I didn't realize how cranky the heat would make me. We did schedule mid-day breaks on Saturday and Sunday to avoid the worst of the heat. It just wasn't possible to avoid this time of the day on Friday (or Monday) and still get some park time.

Up next...Talking Mickey! We waited maybe 15 minutes with our fast passes. I was excited to see my son's reaction to Mickey. Last year was awesome. He ran up to him squealing and even did a little dance for him. I was all ready with my camera set to record the interaction. However, this time, he ran up to him and gave him a quick hug..... and then got really shy and wouldn't go back to him. This was the first of about five times during our trip that he reacted this way to a character. He was super excited to meet the character but then changed his mind or froze up when we reached the character. It was incredibly frustrating, especially when we waited in the outdoor lines.

Hubby and I coaxed him back to Talking Mickey and we were able to get some pics. Mickey sang happy birthday to him too.

After meeting Mickey and dragging DS out of the exit gift shop, we saw that Pluto was out in Town Square. I had no energy to stand in line and in the sun. My feet hurt and I was tired. However, for weeks leading up to this trip, all DS could talk about was meeting Pluto. We had to do it....umm somebody had to do it. It was at this point I told my DH that I would do absolutely ANYTHING if he took our son to meet Pluto (while I plopped down in the air conditioned Town Square Theater). I am still waiting to learn what that ANYTHING will be...but at the time, it seemed like a good bargain.

I believe they waited in line about 20-25 minutes. When DS and DH finally made it to the front of the line, Pluto took a quick break, (presumably to get a dog treat). DS was pretty hyper at this point and we had to keep reminding him not run or mess with the ropes. I am sure he was bored. All our hype about going to WDW and he hadn't done much at this point but wait in line and watch a parade. I think he just had a lot of pent up energy at that point.

I ended up meeting DS and DH at the front of the Pluto line. While I was enjoying my rest, it occurred to me that DH might not know to have his magic band scanned for the photo pass. Pluto finally came and again I was excited to see the interaction. This interaction was even worse than Mickey. Lot's of "no" and running away from Pluto.

I am sure DS was hot and tired and that was driving his behavior. I also think that when they first got in line, he wanted to meet Pluto. However, by the time Pluto actually came out, he was over it and wanted to go ride the train. We heard the train whistle a few times while we were in line for Pluto and apparently trains > Pluto.

So after our two character interactions, we decided to hop on the train to Frontier Land. Riding the WDW railroad was definitely on our list and it seemed a good way to get to our next fast pass (BTMRR). I was super excited to see DS ride his first headliner!

Well I don't have any pictures from BTMRR and didn't even really get to see my son's reaction. For some strange reason, when the line split on the way to the boarding area, my DH got on the other side from me. I think he thought our lines would merge again together and wasn't thinking about the fact that the ride loads from two sides. I was super bummed but the lines moved so fast, I couldn't really do anything about it. DH tells me that our son didn't show much of an expression but wasn't afraid either, so thats good! I did get a glimpse of them on the other track but was really bummed that we weren't together.

After BTMRR, we found a play area near Splash Mountain. I think DS enjoyed this kiddie play area more than anything else in the park, which is kind of sad when you think about it. All the money spent on park admission and he was happiest in a playground area (and at the resort pool). He had a blast here. The only issue was that he was really hyper and running through the area and there were younger children around. We tried to keep him under control and warned him to watch out for the little ones (even had some time-outs) but I think this is what he needed to release some of his pent-up energy. In retrospect, I think a fast pass for something like Dumbo would have been great for him and I regret not booking one. Last year he really loved the playground in the Dumbo waiting area.

We stayed at the play area for about 30 minutes. It was shady and I had a place to sit. Our last fast pass of the day was for 7DMT and we had a little bit of a wait for that. We decided to take the train to Fantasy Land. DS was still a bit hyper and DH and I were hot and cranky.

I had the grand idea that we would go to Pete's Silly Side Show area to meet Minnie and Daisy. No clue why I thought this was a good idea given the experiences with Mickey and Pluto. I asked DS if he wanted to meet Minnie. He said yes. I think I went with it because it is what I wanted. I have pics of DS with Minnie at three and four years old. I thought it would be great to get a pic with Minnie since he was turning five. This was not to be. He would not look at the camera and would not come out from behind my pants leg and just whined. I got pretty irritated..more than I should have. I think I had this cool collage in my head of seeing him through the years posing with the same character at WDW. However, you can't make your kid take a pic. Apparently not even with the promise of a cupcake afterwards. Well...I got my shot with Minnie.

Afterwards, we made our way to 7DMT. Despite some of the earlier frustrations, I still had high hopes that we would have a good family ride to finish out our day at MK. As we approached the ride, DH said something seemed wrong. There was no movement on the ride. Nobody entering the queue. Apparently the ride was down and the CM had no indication of when it might be back up. We were offered a free fast pass to be used anytime during the remainder of the day. At this point, I suggested we just leave the park. We didn't have any time in our schedule to use an extra fast pass and I was pretty disappointed about not being able to ride 7DMT. I actually stayed up until midnight when my FP window opened in order to get the specific time to fit our tight schedule.

Our dinner ADR for Kona was not until 5:20pm. I don't even think it was 4pm when we exited the park. We didn't even make it out of the park before DS fell asleep in his stroller. He was pooped!

We decided to take the boat over to Poly. This was nice and super relaxing. DH even nodded off during the ride.

Once we arrived at Poly, we sat down in the dock area for awhile. There is a shaded structure with some fans. It was a good place to just chill and watch the activity in the Seven Seas lagoon. We stayed here for awhile, killing time before our ADR. DS was snoozing away. It was great to have some "alone" time with hubby and to rest after a day of travel and time in the park. This quiet time with hubby, along with our dinner afterwards, was one of the highlights of this day.

 

[Nhebron]

It's kind of lonely in here....feels like I am talking to myself.

How to make this thread more interesting.....hmmm??

 

[cstorm65]

I just found you report and have enjoyed it so far. Can't wait to hear what you all thought of CBR. We stayed there about 5 years ago on our first trip and it still holds a soft spot in our hearts!

 

[Nhebron]

I just found you report and have enjoyed it so far. Can't wait to hear what you all thought of CBR. We stayed there about 5 years ago on our first trip and it still holds a soft spot in our hearts!

Yay a visitor!! Thanks for stopping by. I actually wasn't completely in love with CBR. However, my son absolutely loved it and was excited to leave the parks each day and go "play pirates." That alone has me considering a future stay. The pirate rooms are absolutely perfect for a young boy I think. I did love the quiet pool that was super close to our room. I also really liked the close proximity to Hollywood Studios. This was our main destination since it was SWW.

 

[smga1]

I am ready for the ride!

 

[Nhebron]

I am ready for the ride!

Yay!

 

[Nhebron]

Day 1 - Part 3


We were so ready for dinner at Kona Cafe. We ate there on our first Disney trip and loved it. I was most excited for the sushi menu and yummy drinks.

I had a Kona salad, caterpillar roll with a side of spicy mayo, and a couple Lapu Lapus. Hubby had the Kona coffee rubbed pork chop, crab cake appetizer, and some of my Lapu Lapu. We loved our meal and with DS sound asleep, it was almost like being on a date .

DS woke up as we were nearing the end of our meals and ate a bit. After dinner, we headed back to CBR, picking up our order from Garden Grocers at bell services. I was so happy to see those groceries! I spent more money in MK on water and Powerade than anything else.

By the time we were back to our room, DS was refreshed from his nap and ready for a swim. We enjoyed some time in the pool until it got dark. It had been a long day and I was ready for bed. And we had to be up bright and early the next day for SWW! So we all settled in for bed, checking out some Duffy and classic Disney cartoons. DH fell asleep almost immediately. Next thing you know, we started hearing booms (boom, boom, boom). Given our proximity to Hollywood Studios and Epcot, I was pretty sure it was fireworks. DS and I ran outside (in our pjs) to see what was making the noise. I think it was the SWW fireworks and we could see them from outside our room. This was kind of a magical moment for me...something unexpected and a moment with my son. He was so excited to see the fireworks.

And with a boom, our first day came to a close.

Up next....SWW!!

 

[Nhebron]

Before I move on to Saturday (Day 2), I would like to talk about what I would have done differently.

We originally planned to go to MK Friday afternoon because I thought our room wouldn't be ready and I wanted to maximize our park time. In retrospect, once finding out our room was ready, it would have been smarter for us to relax in the room for awhile. I could have rescheduled our fast passes or just skipped them. I was trying to avoid MK on Friday night due to it being the 24 hr day but we could have gone to another park. It just wasn't very smart to go to MK in the midday heat and after such an early morning flight. Nothing is magical when you are hot and tired.

I also would have chosen different fast passes for DS I think. I was so excited that he reached the height level for some of the larger rides, I didn't stop to consider whether he would enjoy some of the kiddie rides more (i.e. Dumbo or Peter Pan). Because we did not plan to do rope drop at MK, we wouldn't really get an opportunity to do some of these rides.

I don't think the day was a complete bust. DS talked about meeting Pluto and Mickey afterwards, so I think he liked it even though he didn't show it during the meet. I know he loved riding the train and monorail. I loved the parade, the boat to Poly, and our Kona dinner. DH, well.....he had a rough day. I think his favorite part of MK was the popcorn cart.

 

[jordansmama]

Following along! Sounds like a full first day. I've learned the hard way not to do too much on our first day with my DS6. It never ends well. LOL. Our new first day tradition is to just hang out at the hotel and have dinner at Garden Grill in EPCOT. I can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

joining in - it is crazy how much the heat can really impact a trip to WDW and just having to plan around it and the impact it can have on you or your kids. Probably being tired (or over tired) that first day didn't help either.

Sometimes I think I have more fun in the planning than the actual vacations!

Fully agree! It's kinda like using your imagination for what the trip can be and that "unknown" aspect is also exciting. Plus ... spreadsheets!

Watching a parade was not on my Disney planning spreadsheet

I feel like something like "This was not on my planning spreadsheet" could be used as the TR title for any of my trips. On the plus side I've heard nothing but good things about FOF (it was rained out our last trip)

Really sorry to hear the character meets weren't going great - sometimes funny how much kids can change with that from trip to trip even if not that much time in between

It was great to have some "alone" time with hubby and to rest after a day of travel and time in the park. This quiet time with hubby, along with our dinner afterwards, was one of the highlights of this day.

Also funny how that can work out ... all the planning and all the exciting things they have at WDW it is often the quiet moments that have the biggest impact and make for the best memories .... and sometimes it is the unexpected loud moments - like seeing fireworks from your room!

Sounds like a nice dinner and always love the "sleeping kids in the stroller date". Most often seen walking around World Showcase in EPCOT

It's always easy to look back and think about what you would have done differently (and can definitely learn lessons from that for the future), but you did what you thought was right at the time - and glad you are able to see some positives from the day and that your son talks positively about the character meets

 

[junie18]

I'm following along. Your son is adorable. Our 3 year old acted the same way with characters when we went last September so I feel your pain, it is pretty disheartening. Our son also hated ALL shows and the fireworks...so yeah, that was disappointing, too! It was his 4th trip so I don't know what changed for him. We're hoping to go again in December and I really hope he has gotten over these phobias by then!

 

[chunkymonkey]

Hi there!!! We were in MK on the same day...that 24 hour day was the last day of our vacation. It was also the hottest day of the week. The rest of the week was quite nice...but yeah that day was really humid and hot. I passed out in Carousel of Progress...and yes it was also really crowded mid-day. By the time we left the parks to head to the airport we were ready...mainly because of the heat and crowds that day. But at 7am, it was pretty empty!

Those pirate rooms look really cool, and I love Kona too! Next time you're there check out Trader Sam's Grog Grotto! I got a drink and sat at the outdoor deck area...it was lovely!

 

[Nhebron]

Yay...lots of visitors

 

[Nhebron]

Following along! Sounds like a full first day. I've learned the hard way not to do too much on our first day with my DS6. It never ends well. LOL. Our new first day tradition is to just hang out at the hotel and have dinner at Garden Grill in EPCOT. I can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip!

We normally don't go to parks on our travel day but since it was such a short trip, I was trying to maximize park time. Boy did I learn my lesson.

 

[Nhebron]

joining in - it is crazy how much the heat can really impact a trip to WDW and just having to plan around it and the impact it can have on you or your kids. Probably being tired (or over tired) that first day didn't help either.

Fully agree! It's kinda like using your imagination for what the trip can be and that "unknown" aspect is also exciting. Plus ... spreadsheets!

I feel like something like "This was not on my planning spreadsheet" could be used as the TR title for any of my trips. On the plus side I've heard nothing but good things about FOF (it was rained out our last trip)

Really sorry to hear the character meets weren't going great - sometimes funny how much kids can change with that from trip to trip even if not that much time in between

Also funny how that can work out ... all the planning and all the exciting things they have at WDW it is often the quiet moments that have the biggest impact and make for the best memories .... and sometimes it is the unexpected loud moments - like seeing fireworks from your room!

Sounds like a nice dinner and always love the "sleeping kids in the stroller date". Most often seen walking around World Showcase in EPCOT

It's always easy to look back and think about what you would have done differently (and can definitely learn lessons from that for the future), but you did what you thought was right at the time - and glad you are able to see some positives from the day and that your son talks positively about the character meets

Ooh another spreadsheet planner

Thanks for stopping by and the kind words. It's funny how obvious the bad decisions seem once you are typing them out. Just wait, there were some more bad decisions later in the trip