Tropical Storm Ernesto and I are going to WDW for my B-day! Complete! Posted 10/8

[tictoc]

Okay, I just finished posting the final post from my June trip. I have not been watching the news about the tropical storm, but my mom and husband have! In the original plan I had plane tickets to leave at 7:10 p.m. on 8/29. Wel with the weather alerts, my husband decided the kids and I should leave in the morning. Now I have a meeting with the teachers to pick up the kid's schoolwork. I have an appointment for a pedicure tomorrow and I was planning to complete my trip report from my previous trip report all tomorrow morning. Well, now I leave at 7:45 a.m.

So much to do! I had to go to Wal~Mart, run to my parents, chat in the DisBoards Chat Room to say bye to everyone and weigh all of the suitcases. The weighing of the suitcases is a ritual for any trip! Iit is all done. I have even completed my last trip report so now I can begin the pre-trip report for this trip.

Cast:

Rhonda--me lover of all things Disney! Truly obsessed with the mouse. This is my 48th trip to the world

Malcolm--My not so Disney husband. At about trip 25 he declared he would never return to that place. Well, it is my birthday on the 4th of September so he agreed to go just one last time! What a trooper!

Drew--ds11--also lover of all things Disney. Very giving child. Just started Middle School and is already missing a week!

Steven--ds10--lover of all things Disney except Tower of Terror! Most loving child! Just started 5th grade and is already missing a week!

Rachel--dd5--lover of Rachel! It is all about her! Not so much a princess more of a diva. Thinks she should get to do Bippity Boppity Boutique and My Disney Princess Tea Party every trip!

The trip is finally here. I booked this trip while waiting in the airport for my last trip. I swore I would not over pack, but the seven suitcases sitting at the end of my bed beg to differ! I am very excited about staying at Port Orleans riverside. I think it is a very beautiful hotel. I am also excited about the free dining plan. Since my oldest two are considered adults the savings equaled almost $160.00 a day!

The alarm is set for 2 1/2 hours from now. I can't wait to fill this report with so many great memories from this trip!

See you guys in a week!

 

[pumba]

Hope you and ERNESTO have the best time ever......Our friends are there right now and hope they are enjoying themselves too

 

[Lil' Grumpy]

first : & all your wishes come true! and lots
for some magical moments!

ha! ..you not foolin me, i know a few lil rain drops can stop you...but
hobo's..hiding in bushes.. naw...hoping [ ] this is a DREAM come
true for your family! here'
a lucky

p.s..we're doing a disney cruise in bout 18days....so close...

 

[tictoc]

lil grumpy--congrats on your cruise!

 

[tictoc]

The trip is finally here. And it is 12 hours early. We were supposed to leave at 7:10 p.m. but in anticipation of the incoming storm, we decided to fly in at first opportunity. We felt it would be better to get there before the rain rather than during it. I called Continental first to see how much it would cost to change the flight. There were plenty of seats available on the 7:45 a.m. flight CO586—so book it! The best part of it? Because of the storm they were not charging the normal $100 per person change fee! Another good thing, we got seated 15 rows above where we were previously seated! Wahoo! Go Ernesto Go! Next came moving the rental car pick up time to 11:00 a.m. so for an additional $55.00 we would have a car upon arrival.


There were two things that I ran out of time to do before the trip began. The first was to pick up my son’s prescription and the second was to get a pedicure. So my husband, who is coming in on Thursday will bring the medicine. Luckily we have three days worth and I will forfeit the pedicure. I guess worse things could happen!

The boys had also not picked up their school work for the week they will be missing. Judge me if you must but I have taken the kids out of school every year and it has been okay so far. Next year when Steven hits Middle School I will not be able to get away with it any longer. I do not want to cause him the stress of getting behind.

I turned on the light in the boys’ up-stairs bedroom and I cried out “who wants to go to Disneyworld?” No one stirred. Hmmmm. What is this? Nobody wants to go see Mickey this morning? Perhaps it is because they have only been asleep for 4 ½ hours. So I tried again. This time I had a much better response. The boys did not exactly bound out of the bed, but there were four opened eyes and that was at least a step in the right direction.

The boys donned their Astros shirts and it was time to go down stairs and dress Sleeping Princess Rachel Beauty. I had let her pick out her own outfit to wear on the plane and she picked her favorite shirt. This is a very strange shirt. It is cream in color and has two hamsters in cowboy hats on it. I guess to each her own taste.

We got our seven checkable bags, three children, one bag of books for the plane and the computer bag safely to the airport. Whew, we are on our way! Kisses to Daddy and we were Florida Bound!

After baggage check-in. it was time to feed the hungry crew. We stopped by Wendy’s and $14.00, three pancakes, a sausage biscuit, a bacon, egg biscuit and hashbrowns later and suddenly these very hungry kids were no longer hungry. So we threw away the food and made our second trip to the restroom within fifteen minutes.

Safely at the gate we awaited our departure. One more last minute call from my mom to let me know there was a possible hurricane coming. Now she had let me know this approximately 19 times in the past twenty four hours. This time was special though. This time she had actual coordinates. I was prepared though. In those checked bags were 24 bottles of water, twenty juiceboxes, poptarts, peanut butter, jelly and bread, beef jerky and flashlights with plenty of batteries.

Watch out Mickey, Ernesto and I are on our way!

Ernesto and I go to WDW for my Birthday—Possibly the Worst Plane Ride Ever

We boarded early with those that have children four and under. Now Rachel is five, but I figured we would get away with skipping this line! Had my odds been a little better, like two adults to three kids, then I would have chanced waiting.

The plane was not very full. Now that is a good sign, I think. Unless it is empty because all of the people saw the imminent danger and decide to stay home. Either way we got two roes of three chairs for the four of us. I though it best if Rachel sat with me since these kids can fight their way through any vacation. However, I am easily swayed. Steven wanted Rachel to sit by her so he could read her a book. Now I am so gullible.

It started so wonderfully. Ii was sitting on Row 12 with Drew by the window and Steven and Rachel were seated in Row 11 with Steven by the window and Rachel in the middle. Steven was reading aloud to Rachel and all was right in the plane. It was about five minutes before take off, the cabin doors were shut and I heard a loud squeal from the seat in front of me. It seems that Steven found a headset that someone had left on the plane. Now I have headsets, I have more headsets than I care to claim and they are all in the checked baggage. Why did I need to bring the old headsets when Continental gives you a coupon for a free pair per ticket? Why, because some yahoo may leave theirs behind and my kids will decide it is worth starting World War Three over.

I stood up, even though Ii think the time limit for that was over and started to take care of the problem. That is when the man in Row 10 made a hateful remark about kids needing to ride outside of the airplane. I was mad. I was furious mad. People are so rude. I have been on planes before where babies have cried for the entire trip and I have never made the parents feel bad. I said aloud “Not very intelligent to think you were going to get on a plane to Orlando and there not be children on it.” The rest of the flight he glared back at me between the crack in the seats.

Now I spent 15 years working in the fifth busiest emergency center in Houston. The emergency center where the wait is sometimes 12 hours long. The emergency center where we work with criminals, drug abusers and people that are anxious and in crisis and therefore not their usual cheery selves.. I have been called names. I have had people be rude to me. I have even had people assault me with clipboards and such. That was all in the first week of employment. I lasted another 14 years and 51 weeks. I can last two hours and one minute in an airplane with Grouchy Gus. I can also let my daughter scream, holler and kick your chair for those two hours and one minute. Hmmmmmm.

The plane ride really went okay from there. Rachel settled in with Drew in row 12 and Steven and I shared Row eleven. I got a jump start on this report and am actually typing this on the plane. It is 39 minutes until we land in WDW; my favorite place. Twelve hours early. Can I get a Wahoo, Rachel?

 

[em'smom]

I hope you have a great trip! Please keep us all informed on a daily basis!

 

[OhMari]

Hi Rhonda,
I heard Ernesto is just rain now-so I hope it doesn't hamper your day today and tomorrow. Get them poncho's on and head on out.

Happy pre-birthday. I think we talked in chat how our birthdays are around Labor Day and how nice it is to have off when Labor Day lands on our birthday. Mine is the 6th and I have to work-so celebrate in spirit for me, I'm just going to ignore mine this year.

OhMari
aka Marisa

 

[arizonacolbys]

Great trip report so far!

I LOL about the guy on the airplane giving you trouble! There's always more little ones aboard Orlando flights than just about anywhere else. I'm happy to hear that he didn't give you anymore trouble!

Can't wait to hear about the trip!! Have a Great Birthday with Mickey!!!

 

[GOOFYsince71]

tictoc..........let me get this straight!!!!
The guy actually said kids should ride outside of the airplane!!?
I guess I would have had to say,,"Ladies First"
Get it? Say Ladies first to a guy
That would have had him feeling a little insecure for a while!
What the heck was he thinking.....
Have a very Happy Birthday.......
My son is celebrating his, Sept.5th at Disneyland in California!!


here's to you tictoc.................................
Have one on me!!

 

[Disneyland_Mama]

Great start! I love how you handled that guy on the plane!! Atta girl!
You share the same birthday and my DH! Have a Happy Birthday!!

Have a great trip and I'm looking forward to reading your next installment!

 

[rosiejo]

Great start - now I have to go find your previous trip report to pass the time until you update this one

 

[BeautyNBeast]

Have fun on your trip! Ernesto is breaking apart from what I have heard on the news. Enjoy and I cannot wait to hear how your trip goes.

 

[jamieandben]

Have a great Birthday and Trip
BTW we share the same birthday
And i will be going down on the 13 for my 40th

 

[tictoc]

Debbie came to the very short but not so much moving line at Port Orleans Riverside Check-In to say “ I am sorry that it is moving so slow, but the computers are down. We can assign rooms and have to give temporary park cards. You can not use your DDP but we will refund anything you spend on food.” I interpreted that as “why the heck are you waiting in line? You already have park tickets!”

Just as we were walking away the computers came up! The line was really long now but the lady that was in front of me let me back in line. We checked in and I grabbed the kids and headed to the Grand Floridian. I always valet park at the Grand Floridian when we are going to the Magic Kingdom.

As we entered the park we realized immediately that this was not the normal volume of attendees! It was 2:16 and there was no one lined up to watch the three o’clock parade. Boy was it hot though. I considered grabbing Casey’s hot dogs and sitting outside to watch the parade while we ate. But it was too hot! So we grabbed the hot dogs and sat on the bleachers and ate while watching cartoons.

I am not a big hot dog fan but I do love the ones from Casey’s! We finished lunch at 5 before three and there was still plenty of room to watch the parade. So we took our piece of the curb to wait. There was some cast members playing jump rope with the waiting kids so of course, my three lined up. They had a blast waiting and I did not have to keep asking how much longer it would be!

I really liked the changes to the parade. The globes were gone and there was new music. Steven is so cute watching the parade. He is ten but still loves the characters to give him a high five!

Yo Ho Yo Ho the reason the kids were so anxious to head to the Magic Kingdom first was to see the addition of Jack Sparrow to The Pirates of the Caribbean. So off to Adventureland we ventured. It was so hard walking past the Dole Whip spot without stopping but Johnnyjack awaited! On the way we passed a street show with Jack Sparrow. It was really cute and I thought the actor did a great job imitating Johnny Depp’s character.

We were in luck. There was only a ten minute wait. Wahoo or uh Yo Ho! We were making our way through the line with no delays. We were off, we were almost running, we were practically sprinting and then we came to a complete stop! The ride, it seemed, was having technical difficulties! Humph! We finally left the line and returned five more times but it was always broken. No Johnnyjack for us.

In between efforts at riding the POC we did manage to squeeze in the messed up version of the Tiki Room, Aladdin’s Magic Carpet Ride and the Jungle Cruise.

“I wasn’t to ride Splash Mountain.” That was the cry of Rachel from the time she discovered she was not going to get to ride johnnyjack the first time we tried. So off to grab those fast passes. Fastpasses? Who needs a stinking fastpass? The line is only five minutes long.

“Is this the big drop Momma?”
“No Rachel”

“Is this the big drop Momma?”
“No Rachel”


“Is this the big drop Momma?”
“No Rachel”


“Momma, I see the buzzards”
“So what do you think that means Rachel?”
“It is the big drop.”
“Right”
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

Zippity Doo Dah Day!

I tried to go back and get that Dole Whip but the ice cream was too soft. See all of that Disney Magic? They even help you watch your figure!

Snow White and the Quicked Ween, I mean the Wicked Queen was next.

Sometime during the day we also managed the chamber without doors and windows and several other rides. Timing was great. The longest we waited for anything was five minutes.

About the time we decided to get on the carousel the lack of sleep caught up with Rachel. She was relly upset that someone had taken her horse so we rode again.

No big deal right? Well the big deal came when she threw herself on the ground screaming after the second ride.

Can anyone say—take that kid to the hotel???? I know I have said that subconsciously to many other guests. Kinda in a telepathic effort. So I took that kid back to the hotel!

We grabbed the monorail to get back to the Grand Floridian. Rachel laid down on the top part behind my head and actually fell asleep.

We got back to the hotel and looked everywhere for our Disney vacation Club pargo Parking Spot but they did not seem to have that in the parking lot of the Port Orleans Riverside. Humph! Well, welcome home anyway!

We ran to the food court area to grab dinner. The food was not nearly s good as it was at the Pop. I was really surprised. We ended up with an overcooked burger, Chicken strips and cold fries and a steak sandwich. The cast member taking our order was so friendly. His name was Jean and his smile was very bright.

For dessert we thought we would get ice cream sundaes. We ordered two chocolate and a strawberry. First the cast member Anita sighed heavily when she realized she was almost out of chocolate ice cream and would have to get some more To the point where I actually apologized to her. So, I stood back and I waited and waited and waited and waited and waited. . . . Finally I said I was gonna run and get Rachel some Benadryl for her runny nose while she made them. When I returned she had not even started them.

Rhonda—“I need to pick up my sundaes”
Anita—“I will make them in a minute”
Rhonda—“You mean you have not even started”
Anita—I have been busy, I got a lot of customers”
Rhonda—“Well wasn’t I your first customer in line? Why would you help the people behind me first?”
Anita—“I have to take care of everyone”
Anita-- got a styrophome take out container. Not the cute bowls they normally put them in. Scooped a huge amount of ice cream and whipped topping in each while glaring at me the entire time. Glaring at me she sprayed the topping on the counter instead of in the containers! Glaring to the point where the lady in line behind me said I can not believe she keeps looking at you like that. Glaring at me so much that I knew if I had not been watching her make those “sundaes” there would be a bonus in them that I would not want.
Rhonda—went and got a manager and showed her the fruits of Anita’s labor. The pseudosundaes.
Manager—I can not believe this. I will deliver real sundaes to your room”

Now considering we ate those sundaes and they were made out of my sight, I sure hope Anita did not make them!

I hooked into the internet because there was some work I could do while the kids rested. I was tempted by the Dis chat room, however and never made it to the work. I did however, unpack while I chatted. Unpacking is so easy because I pack everything on the hangers. It is just a matter of pulling from the suitcases and hanging it up!

I chatted until late and then decided I better try and get some sleep for the big day Soarin’ over Epcot today!

Now for those of you who read the report from my previous trip you know the Power Rangers sing me to sleep every night at Disney World. Well during the chat all three of the kids fell asleep. So on this night, the first night of MY DISNEY BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION, I got to watch the Tonight Show with Orlando Bloom.

So much better than Power Ranger Pink!

 

[keliblue]

I am soooooooo hooked !!! What about the weather ??

 

[forr2grls]

Hey Rhonda! Love the trip report so far!!!! Hope to talk to ya soon!


Paula

 

[tictoc]

Drew had slept on the trundle bed and when I awoke to Stitch he was half on the floor. It didn’t seem to be bothering him though, so I took his pillow since he was not using it anyway. I lay for a few minutes until about 6:30 and then rolled out of the bed. After everyone was dressed and Sleeping Princess Rachel was loaded into her car seat we headed to Epcot.

We arrived at 8:30 and parked in the very first spot on Journey Row Four. Now it is raining. Not in that torrential sorta way, just kinda raining. It is raining enough however that there are not very many people pulling in around us. I got the ponchos out and handed them all around. Rachel woke up about this time and put hers on as well. We sat in the van for a few minutes and the rain subsided a bit. It did not really matter. I mean it could have been a monsoon and I would still be going in. So, we unloaded and headed in. The rain was so light that even though we had our ponchos on we did not even put our hoods on. I did however make Rachel and Steven, the two illness prone kids put theirs on.

“So” I said to Ernesto, “what’s it gonna be?” I thought to myself, I can beat this guy. I was just hoping no one else felt that way. As we sat by the front gate and waited for it to open it looked as though I may be right. When we went in the park there was only maybe five gates open and probably no more than fifty people in each line. We headed of course straight to the right. Straight to Soarin’ we were going.

“Momma?”
“Yes Steven?”
“I want to go to Universe of Energy”
“We will do that later. First we are getting fastpasses to Soarin’, and then we are going to see Crush.”

“Noooooooooooooooo”
“No what, Rachel”
“I do not want to see Crush yet.”
“Well it is the most logical progress.”
“But I don’t want to”
“How many months have you spent studying for this trip”
“Huh?”
So we went to Soarin’ first.
About this time the Soarin’ Cast Member showed up. Now there are two areas to enter that side of Epcot. One is a wide area and always has many bodies shoved up against the ropes. The other is a very small path in between some foliage that no one is ever at. No one but my happy little uncrowded family.

So we follow the cast members down the path and there is a very small crowd, but people are still pushing like mad! In fact, one man pushing a stroller made the cast member so mad that he stopped the entire pilgrimage to reprimand him!

So we got those fast passes and then walked right on the ride. It is such a great ride. One of my favorite parts of that ride is listening to the people in the pre-show when they start recognizing the voice of the actor. The adults say it is Puddy from Seinfeld and the kids call out Kronk and Lok from Tak.

We got to the Living Seas and I think we were the only ones in the entire building for a while.

The show did not start for another thirty minutes so we had plenty of time to explore the exhibits. Rachel loves to eat shrimp and got a real kick out of seeing them alive.

During the show Drew got picked by Crush. Drew always gets picked by Crush. But this time was different this time Crush asked to talk to Drew’s mother! So, Natalie handed me the mike and I got to answer some of Crush’s questions about humans!

Now last time we were here we did not see Universe of Energy and the kids could not wait to get in there. So we went to our obligatory science lesson. See, I told you taking them out of school would be okay!

We decided to do lunch at Seasons in the Land. Drew got salmon which is his favorite, and Rachel and Steven got chicken. I was not much on eating today, so I skipped this meal. The total came to over fifty dollars for three meals. The good part, it was free to me. I just love this promotion!

On our way to lunch Rachel happened upon the Junior Chef Cookie Making Exhibit. Rachel donned her chef hat and went in to make some cookies. I could not wait to get a picture of that little chef. I turned the camera on and it read across the back—“focus error”. Never seen that one before. I tried to turn it off and back on but the lens would not retreat back into the holder. So after lunch I went by the camera shop to find that it probably could not be repaired. Bummer. Luckily there is a spare camera in the hotel room. Seems like a good time for a mid-day break!

The kids felt a rest was in order so I posted to this trip report and downloaded all of my photos while they re-energized.

Steven--“Mom, it has hardly rained all day.”
Mom—“Don’t jinx us”
Steven—“I think I will do a rain dance.”
Mom—“rain dances don’t work silly”
Steven—“ahahahahahahahahahahah” while dancing around
The Sky—started to drizzle!

By the time we made it back to Epcot it was more than a drizzle, but less than a storm. So we donned those ponchos and headed toward Innoventions. We spent a little time on the games, but forever making plastic robots. In fact the next group had come in and we still were not finished.

Cool Club, previously known as Cool Station was next. It just is not as much fun if you can not trick anyone into drinking the gross stuff!

This was about 6:30 and we had 7:15 dinner reservations at Teppenyaki. So we started toward Canada. Not a bad trip around the world. About half way to Japan I realized Drew was not walking but gliding. That child had his wheels in! After our last trip, I could not believe it!

About this time I got an e-mail. I was thrilled! It was a person from London that we had met on our previous trip. We met while watching Illuminations in Japan! What a coincidence!

Arriving at Japan we were met by a small crowd waiting for the Candy Artist. There were more people gathered around here than there were in Soarin’. That lady is incredible. It is pretty fantastic how she so quickly makes those perfect candy sculptures. Drew got chosen to get one. Rachel was asleep in the stroller but Steven looked a little let down. Drew picked a blue panda. Go figure! After the show, I asked the candy lady if she would be there on Monday and she told me that she would take care of Steven then!

So now, off to dinner. We were ten minutes late for our reservation. It would be about twenty minutes for a table. Perfect, just enough time to go shop downstairs. My kids all love the store in Japan. The boys like to get the Pokemon stuff and Rachel loves that Kitty with the freakishly big head.

Just as we paid the disc lit up. Boy this was going well. I woke up Rachel because she was so looking forward to this meal. We got to the table and the other family was a 14 year old boy with his parents. They were so loud and so much fun. The chef did not do any of the entertainment they normally do but he was cordial enough. Just as all of the food got on the grill, Daniel, the 14 year old, spilled his soda all over the grill. It was great! His mother and father both yelled at him for like five minutes. It was such a Steven thing to have done. I was glad Steven has a kindred spirit out there.

The family was really concerned about walking to the front in the rain. So worried, in fact that was about all they talked about during the meal. So we all started out right after Illuminations. We walked about 100 feet and the sky opened up. It was not a light rain, it was a down pour. I had extra ponchos, so I gave each of the boys two and took mine off to cover the top of Rachel’s stroller! By the time we made it to the car we were drenched, but laughing. We laughed so hard. Everyone piled in to the van and turned the heater on! Imagine the heater at WDW in August! Wow!

So now it is nearing Midnight and two of the kids are still awake. We are headed to MGM tomorrow and have 8 a.m. breakfast reservations. I bet we come back for a mid day break! See you tomorrow!

 

[keliblue]

Your trip is awsome so far... I am sending you a little pixie dust to ward away the rain

 

[3princesses+aprince]

I love this report, and all of the pics.

 

[fgauer]

People can be so rude - i hope you are sincerely enjoying your trip!