TR on the go

[Minniemum]

We are day 5 of our 14 day trip to WDW and I've finally decided to write a TR.

Every morning I wake at 5.30am to the hum of cicadas... Ok so maybe it's not the hum of cicadas but the snoring of DH. I figure I have all this free time, after traipsing the Aussie disboards, that I might as well jot down a few thoughts

Our trip involves 2 families.
My family consists of DH, DD 11, DS 8 and I. Family 2 consists of Robynrainer, her DH, DD 11, DD 9 and DS 6.

Robynrainer and her family left Melbourne on Sept 2. They went to NY for 5 nights, Affinia Manhattan, Universal's Hard Rock Hotel in Orlando for 4 nights and then onto POR for 14 nights. They arrived at WDW on Sept 11. This is their first visit to WDW.

Our family are just doing a 14 night stay at POFQ.

Both of us have not travelled with another family before so we set up some ground rules.

Firstly, we opted to stay in different resorts. We wanted to be close but also wanted our space. Robynrainer has a family of 5 so POR was a no brainer. A good fit for us was POFQ. It is only a 5-10 min walk along the river from POR with the ability to share their facilities.

Secondly, whilst a lot of the time we would be in the same park on the same day, we didn't want the pressure of traveling in a big group so agreed to catch up at meals and swap stories. Of the 14 ADR's we made, 11 were for a group booking of 9.

It sounds good in theory but how will it go?

 

[Minniemum]

Sept 11- Day 1

Flights
VA MEL - LAX Depart 11.00 Arr 08.30
DL LAX - ATL Dep 10.30 Arr 17.52
DL ATL - MCO Dep 18.50 Arr 20.28

We arrived at MEL at 9am. DH has a gold Virgin membership so we were blessed with an immediate check-in. Felt somewhat guilty looking at the long line beside us. We had other friends on the flight that waited over an hour. Other bonuses were express entry through Aust customs, lounge entry (it's a nice way to begin before a long flight) and priority baggage (love this after a long trip).

This was our first time flying Virgin internationally. As I mentioned on another thread, given all things equal eg price, schedule we would chose Virgin over Qantas. The service was great and the meals were good for airline food. Only drama was when we were trying to get on the plane and the bridge collapsed, dropping about half a metre. We only had 10 ppl in front of us so we had a birds eye view. The staff were really calm and quickly called maintenance. Maintenance were there in about 2 mins and explained that they needed to close the plane and readjust the bridge. He told us that the entry can slip if not given enough room to move. Sorry, that's about as technical as I get. Problem fixed in about 10 mins.

The trip seemed to fly (no pun intended). Another family from DD's school was also on the flight so that kept DD occupied. Knowing Becpee was going to be on our flight, I kept a lookout for a family of 3 with one boy about 7 years old. I thought I spied her but thought I'd wait for the next flight before embarrassing myself.

Virgin don't arrive in the main terminal so we were quickly through customs at LAX, 15 minutes tops. Our baggage was also waiting for us when we got through so a great experience all around. We were initially worried about our 2 hour connection time but made it with just over an hour to spare.

A lot of US airlines offer cheap flights with no baggage. Passengers are allowed one piece of carry on luggage and an over the shoulder bag. As this is not policed and to avoid the expense of check-in luggage, some people carry the largest bags possible that will fit into the overhead luggage compartments. We always get a few laughs watching people trying to lift their bags up. It's like watching the clean and jerk. Knowing this, we opted to board the plane early just so we could get our bags in.

Second to last on the plane was Becpee. She was the same person I'd spied on the previous flight so I asked her "Are you Deb?". Of course she said, "No. I'm Bec.". I said "Oh yeah, I knew that" but I'm claiming jet lag!

As I've mentioned in another thread DH now thinks I've taken my disboards addiction to a whole new level.

The flight to Atlanta was uneventful but the airport was huge. There is a train that takes you to each terminal. I think there are about 6 and each one is really long. DH discovered he left his Blackberry on the flight but there was no time to go back. We notified ground staff at the next terminal/gate and posted a lost and found report online using their wifi on the plane. We don't hold out much hope of seeing it again.

On the flight from ATL to MCO I sat in the row behind Becpee. We had a good chat about our travel plans, without mentioning the surprise cruise. Can't wait to hear how bec's DS reacted.

After arriving at MCO we made our way to the Magical Express counter. We were seated on the bus promptly but waited about 30 mins before leaving. The ME went via a few hotels before we arrived at POFQ at 10pm.

The kids were hungry and too excited to sleep so we took a walk over to POR. We needed this after being cooped up in planes sitting down all day. We met up with Robynrainer, the rest of her family were all in bed asleep, and caught up on all their travel adventures. An hour and a half later and it was time to hit the sack after a very long day.

Dramas 1
Lost Property 1

 

[WAMUMOF4]

I hope you get DH's blackberry back we handed in someone's iPad on 1 of our flights so you never know.
We travelled DL with friends and it worked out much better than we thought we loved it. Have fun

 

[Caroline NZ]

Thanks for the update, sounds like you have had a good start ( except for lost Blackberry) to your trip.

 

[dabecs]

Great start - I'm glad you decided to write a TR

 

[frangipanisam]

Sounds great so far (minus the list blackberry) great to hear virgin don't pull up at the main terminal at LAX!! We also have a two hour stopover before off to Dallas, so that's a bit of weight off. Can't wait for more have fun!

 

[Melbourne5]

That's an impressive amount of flying in a day or two? I am glad you got there in one piece. I thought it was a bonus too with VA pulling up at T3 and being the only international flight and allowing the quickest exit from lax we have ever had. You have done the hard stuff to get there. Enjoy it now!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Fantastic....a TR on the go....Really appreciate you taking the time to do so.


Thanks for sharing.

 

[alicia1506]

love your TR, especially as it's an on the go TR!! thank you so much for doing this

can't wait for the next installment

 

[Mum from oz]

Woohoo, another TR! Sounds like good plans with the other family. Close but not in each others pockets. I admire you for that mammoth flying marathon. I need a night in LAX before I can even contemplate getting on another plane.

Can't wait to hear more.

 

[Travel Mum]

WOW a live TR! You are spoiling us but thanks so much as this is awesome! Ahhh, you went and visited POR - that was our "home" for 9 nights last year

 

[Andona]

Minniemum,I'm enjoying your report! It's not always easy updating a report on the Go but it's a great way of keeping track of the details. Looking forward to hearing about the rest of your trip!

Andona

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[australiankaren]

Ok, who was the Aussie family I spied in Norway last night taking troll Viking pictures......was it you guys?????

We should have a dis meet at 5.30 am one morning as that seems to be my awake time as well....

Were having a blast, hope you guys are too, and avoid being outside from 3 to 4.30 pm.....you'll get drenched....

Have a magical day

 

[Minniemum]

Thanks to everyone who took the time to read that long drawn out first day TR. Next ones will be a little bit onerous.

Ok, who was the Aussie family I spied in Norway last night taking troll Viking pictures......was it you guys?????

We should have a dis meet at 5.30 am one morning as that seems to be my awake time as well....

Were having a blast, hope you guys are too, and avoid being outside from 3 to 4.30 pm.....you'll get drenched....

Have a magical day

Sprung! It's a little hard to miss a group of 9 with Aussie accents. If you were trying to work out which mum I was, I'm really not a minniemum at 6ft tall. If you do see us around the parks again come over and say hi! We promise not to off load too many kids your way.

5.30am it is! Just read your post re your DH also snoring and on cue my DH is now defending his position.

 

[Minniemum]

Day 2 - Sept 12

After a late night the kids slept until 11am but it wasn't long before we were at Typhoon Lagoon arriving at 12pm. Robynrainer and her family joined us there about 2pm. All the DD's are competent strong swimmers so we let them explore the rides on their own. Park rules state children under 10 need to be accompanied by an adult.

Is it Murphy's Law that something always happens when you say "Ok, last ride then."

We took the DS's to ride Crush n Gusher. The DS's were keen to go together so Robynrainer and I also paired up. We would all go up at the same time and come down at the same time. A mum's vs DS race. We'd done this a couple of times before I uttered those fateful words above. The mums were first down but after a couple of minutes the boys were still not down. I turned to DH asking if he'd seen the DS's. Nope. Next thing the DD's came flying out of slide number 2. They had gone up just as we came out of the slide 3. I looked at slide 1 and realised that no water was coming out. With my eyes, I follow the slides path, from the bottom up, when I see a break in the slide about 10m from the end and one little hand sticking up. Just as I started to say to the lifeguard "My son's stuck! He's over there", Robynrainer's sons runs to the bottom of the slide, pops his head out and says "we got stuck!". My DS was right behind him. 2 mins behind them was a lifeguard with the tube. No apologies, no "Are you ok's?". Really disappointed with the lack of concern and customer service. It was now 5pm, the park was closing so we hit the showers before heading off to our ADR.

We went straight from BB to dinner, arriving at 6.20pm 5 mins before our ADR. I'm not a great fan of Chef Mickey's but DS loves it. The food is average, noise loud (lots of screaming kids) and it just seems disorganised. I don't get the music, twirl your napkin and hope it doesn't poke someone in the eye thing. The upside however is not having to stand in queues at the parks to get your character snaps of the big 4. Dinner over we both headed back to our hotels for some much needed sleep.

After our plane and now slide drama I've decided to keep a tally. We finish the day on...

Dramas 2
Lost Property 1

 

[Minniemum]

Day 3 - Sept 13

Late start today. DS has Aspergers Syndrome and kept waking in the night reliving the slide drama. I explained to him that the pump just stopped working like what happens to the washing machine or the water that gets stuck in a hose. Every ride we now go on I get asked "Does this ride have a pump?"

We arrived at MK around lunch time stopping by Tortuga Tavern for a bite to eat. The food was surprising ok but the service terrible. We waited about 20 mins for my taco salad to arrive. For dinner we had an ADR at Crystal Palace where we were joined by Robynrainer and her family. Chef Mickey's take note, this is the way to run a character meal.

We rode all our favorite rides particularly Splash Mountain and POTC. DH tells people that he bought me on the POTC ride at the wench auction. He says he keeps going back on the ride in the hope he can return me and get his money back. Fat chance of that ever happening. Secretly, I think he was hoping for a wench but ended up with a witch.

It was dark by the time we made our way to Fantasyland. I deliberately avoided the new Dumbo area, wanting to see it for the first time in the light of day although I believe it is spectacular at night. We'll get another couple of chances next week.

We stayed until the end of the night, seeing both the Electrical Parade and fireworks. The Magic, the Memories and You finished up about 2 weeks ago. We knew this coming in to the trip but still missed it just the same. We then battled the bus queues, making it home around 11.30pm.

Whilst there were no more dramas today DS did lose his sun hat. Tally is:

Dramas 2
Lost Property 2

 

[hjd0411]

Thanks for keeping us updated! Sounds like you are having a great time despite the dramas/lost property. Hope your son doesn't have any more dramas like that one! Fancy not even asking if you are OK?!
Look forward to more as you can update!
Keep having fun!!

 

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

Hey Minnimum - I'm loving the life, as you go, trip report. Thanks so much for taking the time to share. I know it can be hard to do but I'm sure you will treasure these in the moment observations once your trip is finished.

Sounds like your trip over was very smooth. Well done to Virgin.

Great idea to travel with another family but give yourself the space to do whatever you would like. I think that is a great mix.

Bummer about your husband's blackberry. Fingers crossed for a return.

Sorry to hear your son got stuck on the slide. That would have been scary for anybody. I hope he doesn't have any more dreams.

Sounds like you have a really relaxed approach to your touring as well. I can't wait to eat at CRT this time, and we totally agree about Chef Mickey's. It's just not good.

Keep having fun.

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Loving the on go report too. What's a trip without some dramas? but would have been a scary experience for DS-hopefully it'll turn into something he will brag about instead given time. We also loved our last trip to LAX with Virgin and your experience cw Karen's...says it all. Also fingers crossed you get the Blackberry back-and no more lost property!
Some point during Thursday I lost a chain with an opal on it-it was one of my favourite pendants and had sentimental value-since it could have come off in a zillion places-not holding out hopes of ever seeing it again!

 

[Travel Mum]

This is live TR is awesome, loving it, loving it Your tally is a great idea