Tubthumper's Reward is Universal!!

[dakjoskaimiksmom]

I'm thinking of squeezing in a day at Magic Kingdom.

Well dh DOES have that extra day to take off (with his newfound vacation time), and we WILL have extra funds due to my frugal-ness (frugality?) with the other trip. And poor Joshy has never been to Disney World. (Cue the tears.)

Far be it from me to cheat my kids of an extra day of vacation.

So, the new, new schedule:


March 10th- fly in evening
11th- ioa till 8, dtd till 11:30
12th- Magic Kingdom till 11:00
13th- ioa till 7, disneyquest till 11:00
14th- uni till we need to go to the airport


Oh, and that "unknown (to me) event" that foiled our T-Rex plans? Yeah. Turns out it's the Epcot Garden Thang, which goes to show you how truly Disney-illiterate I really am. But at least it means that MK is is open late. Score one for Joshy!

---------------------------------------

Sooooo, Tuesday dh is turning in his vacation request, and we get packing on trip #1.

Next topic will be eating at Universal the Payne-way, because you KNOW that 4 carnivores are going to have grand dining plans when left to their own devices. And Bubba Gump Shrimp has been calling my name for many moons now. I salivate like Pavlov's dog just thinking about it. Fried shrimp, salt and pepper shrimp, barbecued shrimp, peel and eat shrimp, shrimp on a stick.....

 

[dakjoskaimiksmom]

By now you've come to the startling conclusion that I am indecisive.


Seriously, this trip is only 2 months out. I really need to stop changing things, right?

Not so fast. Heheh.

Dh has DEFINITELY got that extra day off. Can I get a hallelujah for vacation time?

So here is our final draft of the schedule. It is perfect. I am proud.

10th- fly to Orlando in the evening
11th- ioa til 7, dtd til 11:30
12th- Hollywood Studios til 7 (T-rex at 12:30) DisneyQuest til 11:00
13th- ioa til 8
14th- uni til flight

I dropped Magic Kingdom. In my "extra day" fervor, I completely forgot that Joshy is a total Star Wars and Indiana Jones fanatic. Temporary insanity on my part.

Kota has been to all the parks, Disney, Universal, Busch Gardens, SeaWorld, Discovery Cove --you name it-- so he doesn't care one way or the other. His Auntie Kim has been very good to him over the years (he's the oldest nephew/grandchild/kid in the family), so he's gotten a lot more experiences/gifts/spoiling. Plus he's going on a Nick cruise this spring, so I don't think he'll begrudge his little brother getting an extra surprise out of this trip.

 

[macraven]

By now you've come to the startling conclusion that I am indecisive.


Seriously, this trip is only 2 months out. I really need to stop changing things, right?

Not so fast. Heheh.

Dh has DEFINITELY got that extra day off. Can I get a hallelujah for vacation time?

So here is our final draft of the schedule. It is perfect. I am proud.

10th- fly to Orlando in the evening
11th- ioa til 7, dtd til 11:30
12th- Hollywood Studios til 7 (T-rex at 12:30) DisneyQuest til 11:00
13th- ioa til 8
14th- uni til flight

I dropped Magic Kingdom. In my "extra day" fervor, I completely forgot that Joshy is a total Star Wars and Indiana Jones fanatic. Temporary insanity on my part.

nah..........whatever gave you that idea.........??

i have been known to change my 'etched in stone' plans on an impulse
when i get up in the morning at the resort......

 

[wgwtgb]

Just read yourpre-trip report tonight... Anxiously awaiting more

 

[disnewbie108]

Your TR is very entertaining. I love the way you write. It is like a conversation with a good (and funny friend). Cannot wait to read more.

Subbing...

H.

 

[dakjoskaimiksmom]

I'm a slacker, but I have excuses.

School has been kicking my butt this semester. I ended up dropping Sci Fi literature once I realized that all Sci Fi isn't H G Wells and Star Wars. I got offered Honors credit in my Econ class, which means more work. And my Documentation class is absolutely crazy, but I love it.

I've also been doing quite a lot of political stuff, rallies and all that jazz. I'm in Wisconsin, and Wisconsin is in an uproar. At least our governor rocks.

But enough with the excuses.

We leave on Friday, and I need to get back into vacation mode. Or at least start packing. I bought a shiny new set of luggage, so you'd think I'd be more motivated. This is not so. Mostly I'm just tired. I could literally fall asleep as I write this.

As I said, we leave Friday. I spent WAY more on plane tickets than I intended to. That was my biggest stressor in planning this trip, mostly because I'm a penny pincher.

Kota, Josh, and I leave Friday morning via Airtran. My dad and dh will be joining us on Friday night, since they both have to work that day. Lucky them though, I got them business class seats in the first row, so they get extra leg room and complimentary cocktails. Lucky dogs.

The kids and I will be spending the afternoon doing Disney Quest and eating at Cap'n Jack's in DTD. We also get to pick up our car and check in at the hotel. Then at 10:30 pm we run back to the airport to get dh and Grandpa Rich (as he'll be known from here on out).

I may be dragging the kids to Publix for some provisions and beer while we're out.

Days 2 and 3 are Universal days. We got the meal deal, simply because my husband and dad can really eat. Plus that's less for me to worry about. Our breakfasts these 2 days will be the buffet at Sizzlin' Grill (across from Celebration Suites). I'm also springing for dinner at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. I love me some shrimp.

Day 4 is Gatorland. This was Joshy's choice, since I took the other 2 kids in January. He's looking forward to trying gator nuggets, since I raved about them.

After that, we have a reservation at Fulton's in DTD. This may be a little tight, since our reservation is at 1:50, and we have to be at the airport at 3:30 for our flight. I want to get there early, since the security was an absolute madhouse last time. We'll see how that goes.

I'm going to go get packing, since I have no choice. I'm booked tomorrow and Thursday, so if I don't get it done today, we'll be leaving with nothing.

 

[dakjoskaimiksmom]

Your TR is very entertaining. I love the way you write. It is like a conversation with a good (and funny friend). Cannot wait to read more.

Subbing...

H.

Awww, thank you!! Forgive my delinquency in posting.

 

[disnewbie108]

You left me hanging...I was worried. Thank goodness for subscription updates via email.

Cannot wait to hear about your trip. We are going to Uni next week.

Have a good trip. Cannot wait to read more!

 

[Tink2Day]

I'm a slacker, but I have excuses.


I may be dragging the kids to Publix for some provisions and beer while we're out.

I'm sure the kids will be amenable to anything after that^.

Sorry, just kidding and a little stress reliever for you

 

[dakjoskaimiksmom]

Well the beer would have been for dh and my dad, but we were all so wiped out every night I didn't bother buying any.

 

[dakjoskaimiksmom]

One week ago today, the kids and I were at Downtown Disney. As much as I overspent on this vacation, I'm SOOOO glad I did. We had the best time. I'm almost tempted to book another one, but A) it's not in our budget, and B) I don't think we could duplicate this trip, no matter how hard we tried.

It was that good.

We didn't follow the rules. For example, we didn't make it out of our room before 10 am, not even once. We also spent 5 solid hours at one park before we even got on a ride. We're unorthodox like that.

To recap, this trip was Friday March 11th- Monday March 14th. The cast of characters was myself (Mom, rapidly approaching age 37), dh (35), my dad (AKA Grandpa Rich, 56), Kota (15), and Joshy (9).

Thursday night I had everything packed and ready to go. I had our boarding passes printed, our car and hotel reservations in hand, and a sheaf of Mapquest directions in my carry on (I am notorious for getting lost, as we will see).

Friday morning, I took Kai (8) and Mike (5) next door to my mom's house (they had their own trip in January), and loaded up my mom's car with the kids' and my luggage. Dh and my dad were already at work, so my sis watched the other kids at my parents house while ma drove us to the airport.

The drive was uneventful.

Once at the airport, we curb-checked our big suitcase (mine and dh's), and rolled into the airport with Joshy's little suitcase, Kota's carry on, and my bag and camera case. We headed directly to Concourse C and made it through security in record time. Silly me, I forgot to take off my hoodie, so I got groped. Well, it was a backhanded, upper-body-only kind of groping, by a bored-looking blonde. I've had worse experiences on the city bus, so it was no big deal. Pleasant surprise, that.

Our plane wasn't boarding yet, so I dragged the kids over to get some coffee in my tired self. Kota got a soda and Josh asked for a bottled water (he was busy watching the planes getting fueled and tires aired up out the window). Then we stopped at another shop so I could get a book for on the plane. I highly recommend Harlan Corben for any flight. He's a great writer.

Anywho, we left the shop and parked ourselves at our gate. A couple minutes into our wait, Airtran announced that our flight was "very full" (mostly with softball players), and that anyone who wanted to check their carry on could do so for free. Bonus! I hauled Joshy's suitcase over and got it tagged for check in. We also got bumped from Zone 4 loading to Zone 2. Party on, Garth.

After an eternity more (during which I read, Kota played his DS, and Josh stared out the window lustfully at our plane), we finally boarded. There was a brief scuffle for the window seat in row 28, which Joshy won.

The flight was WAY more peaceful than my last one with Kai and Mike, for which I was thankful. Older kids are so much easier to fly with.

The only problem we had was with Joshy's ears. Takeoff and landing had him in tears, and gum did not help. He had a cold, so the congestion mixed with air pressure absolutely sucked. I felt horrible for him.

The boys played DS games and listened to music the whole flight. It was wonderful. I read my book for the first hour, then I slept the rest of the way. Best nap I ever had!

Once we hit Orlando, Josh was most impressed by the lack of snow. He's the only one who's never been to Florida, so it was really something to see his 9 yr old amazement at leaving winter and stepping into early summer in one morning.

Next stop was baggage claim, which went without a hitch. I shelled out $4 for a cart, and we headed over to get our car. This, too, was a breeze. We were given the keys to a black Grand Marquis, which Kota promptly dubbed "our Mafia car". We all took guesses at how many bodies would fit in the trunk.

Once out of the airport, we headed straight to Downtown Disney. We wanted something more than airline cookies in our bellies, and I was looking forward to taking Josh to get a light sabre.

Next up: lunch at Earl of Sandwich, water taxis, and the rest of our party arrives for the party!

 

[dakjoskaimiksmom]

I will be adding pictures and video as I go along. Our house is in a state of chaos right now and we're rearranging furniture. As soon as we get the "big" pc hooked up to the new wi-fi, I'll be doing the photobucket thang. This little laptop has it's perks, but speedy loading of pictures isn't one of them.

 

[dakjoskaimiksmom]

We hit Downtown Disney in our Mafia car at around 1:30 pm. We locked all our lugguge, DS's, etc in the trunk and headed into the Westside. Once we got our bearings at the map/sign thingamajig, we headed to the water taxi over to Marketplace. Again, Josh was most impressed.

A little finch was hopping around the boat the whole time, and looked like he/she owned the place. Very cute.

Once we landed, we headed directly to Earl Of Sandwich. I ordered the All American, which was some kind of wonderful. It's turkey, cranberry sauce, cheese, lettuce and tomato on Ciabatta bread, and it was heaven-sent. Or maybe I was just really, really hungry. Either way, it was fabulous.

Josh ordered turkey and swiss, but he only ate half because his ears were still bothering him from the flight.

Kota was the problem child here. Have I mentioned that he's a picky eater? I thought he'd have outgrown it by now, but alas. The child doesn't eat sandwiches. EVER. After a lot of eyerolls (mine) and bickering (his), I compromised. He ended up with an industrial-sized fruit cup, a bunch of brownie bites (which ended up sitting at the hotel all weekend), and chips. Healthy, huh? At least he ate all the fruit.

From there we headed to the bathroom. Big fun.

Then we got sucked into the giant yellow vortex that is the Lego tent. Josh immediately started asking for some Lego kit that was like $175. Yeah, right. I talked him down to a $7 fill-your-own container, which we loaded up with oddball Lego pieces that have no real purpose. Windshields, axles, barn doors, round things that aren't wheels, little endcap things that have no name, etc. He also picked out a Darth Vader key chain, and I picked out an Admiral Ackbar (orange dude from Star Wars). Josh and I LOVE Star Wars, so we both left happy. And somewhat blind. On a sunny day, that yellow tent/building can really mess with your vision.

Next we stopped at Once Upon A Toy. I'd taken Kai and Mike there for Mike's potato head pieces, and I knew Josh would love to build his own light sabre. It was a little more complicated than I'd thought. None of the 3 of us could get the silly thing assembled, so this little old cm came over and helped. She was so good at her job, in fact, that she got Kota wanting a light sabre too.

After both boys were armed for battle, we stopped to get Kai some charms for her charm bracelet. I also got Joshy a Yoda shirt. The front says, "Judge me by my size, do you?", and the back shows Yoda wearing mouse ears, and standing at a "You must be this tall to ride" sign. It was too funny to NOT buy it.

At this point it was after 4. I decided we should head to the hotel to check in and drop off our luggage, so we made a beeline for the water taxis. We had to wait a bit. I wouldn't have minded, but it was warm, I was tired, and the chick in the next line was sniffing and snarfing (she had a cold). It sounded pretty nasty, but then she started blowing her nose into her shirt sleeve. I am by no means the model of decorum, but day-um. That was gross.


Our water taxi arrived just in time.

Up next: There and back again.