TWO (completely different) types of trips in ONE month? Baby updt/prayer request pg3

[gellybean]

everyone to my fourth and fifth trip reports!

This was an extraordinary year of Disney trips for us, me especially. I have never gone to Disney more than once a year, and between January 2010 and 2011 I went FOUR times! Somebody pinch me! I still can't believe it. Two of the trips were planned all along and two kinda landed in my lap. This trip report will include one of each. And let me tell y'all the two trips couldn't have been more different. I can't wait to share both experiences with you all!

To keep things straight, however, I will be going in order of trips taken and writing about the December trip first.




Christmas time at Disney World!
A little background info:

I'm the youngest of four children. My oldest sister is nearly 20 years older than I am and is mostly responsible for my love of Disney. She would pay half my way to Disney as a child to get my mom to go with her to Disney World. She started my obsession and continued my mom's.

She turned the big 5 0 last November and had always said she wanted to wake up the morning of her birthday in Paris and call us all and let us know where she was. The real Paris wasn't an option for any of us monetarily or time wise so being the Disney minded person that I am, Epcot was my next immediate thought! I just had to convince her!

I talked Mom and my sister into it back in April 2010 (not that it took a lot of convincing), early enough that my mom was able to buy an annual pass for herself as she was going with a girlfriend last May! We took advantage of mom's annual pass and got a great deal at the Wilderness Lodge for 7 nights! Wilderness Lodge was the perfect hotel for Christmas time as for as we were all concerned. We had in fact visited it for the first time, just the three of us back in 1993 -- the only other time we had been there at Christmas.

If anyone would like more back ground info, please click the Three for the Price of One PTR link in my signature!

Now that you know why the trip came to be, let me introduce us all!

me aka Momma, gellybean, and Elastigirl - 31 , mom to two boys and wife to Mr. Incredible (who will never be able to travel in December and thus was unable to go this time). Planner of all things Disney. I am currently planning two trips for family members even though I'm not going with them!

We found out last October that I was expecting another child and found out last week that I'm having a little girl!! To say that I am happy to be adding a Violet to our little Incredible family would be a major understatement!!

Being pregnant in Disney was not something I would have planned on but I was determined to still go and make the most of what was available to me! I was 15 weeks along at the time of the December trip.

Dash - 8 as of last week. My oldest son that loves it as much as I do if that's possible. He not only gets to go to WDW in Florida with us but Disneyland in California with his dad and step mother! He loves the rides but is still too chicken to ride the 'big' coasters.

Jack Jack - 3 as of last week. He was finally old enough to get 'it' this trip. I loved watching his reaction and awe this trip. He recognized the characters, and the castle and the 'monowail'. I tried my best to soak his reactions up this trip!

My mom aka Fairy God Mother - 68 years young. She went the first time in the early 50s to Disneyland and has loved it ever since. Already has her next trip planned to eek one more trip out of her hot little AP.

My oldest sister aka Edna - celebrating her 50th birthday. This was her 14th trip and she hadn't been since 07 so it was time!! She works in the education field and lives about 10 mins from me!


When :
December 14th-December 21st


So there you have it! All the important details to get this show on the road!

Thank you all for reading and commenting along!! Can't wait to share all the wonderful, and COLD memories with you all!



Up Next: Arrival day.... for some of us!

Chapter Links:
Introduction - just read it
Day 1: Arrival day.... for some of us!
Day 2: An Easy-going Epcot day and Arrival day for the rest of us!
Update on Baby Girl

 

[Jasperann]

Yay!! Can't wait to read along! Congrats on adding a little girl to your wonderful family!

 

[Disneymoon09]

I'm coming along for the ride! Congratultations on a little girl!

 

[gellybean]

I'm coming along for the ride! Congratultations on a little girl!

Glad to have you reading along!!!

Thank you so much!!

Yay!! Can't wait to read along! Congrats on adding a little girl to your wonderful family!

Yay!! So glad you're here!! Thank you!

 

[Dugette]

Yay, you've started! Can't wait to read more!

 

[lthiesfeld07]

I'd love to stay at the Wilderness Lodge!
Cant wait to read more!

 

[Lovemy3babes]

Glad you started!! Looks like a great cast of characters.

 

[SoonerGirl]

I didn't realize you had started this gelly! I'm here now and looking forward to hearing about both trips

Thanks to Kelli for alerting us on your PTR that your TR was up and running!

 

[gellybean]

Yay, you've started! Can't wait to read more!

YAY! Can't wait to write more!

I'd love to stay at the Wilderness Lodge!
Cant wait to read more!

Loved it at Christmas! It's the perfect winter weather resort!

Thanks for reading along!!

Glad you started!! Looks like a great cast of characters.

Thanks Kelli! And thanks for alerting everyone on the PTR! Completely forgot to do that. We've been a bunch of sickies around here! BLAH!

I didn't realize you had started this gelly! I'm here now and looking forward to hearing about both trips

Thanks to Kelli for alerting us on your PTR that your TR was up and running!

Glad you're here Michelle!!



I'm hoping to get the first update up before this weekend so I can get another update done over the weekend. Dash and I are both starting antibiotics tonight. He's missed the last two days of school with pneumonia! Poor guy!

Thanks for reading everyone!!

 

[stayhomemom77]

Who hoo, I'm on the first page!!

I didn't know you'd started til I saw your post in Skinny Island.

Can't wait to hear all about the trip!

 

[SoonerGirl]

Sorry you guys have been sick, hope you're feeling better soon.

 

[Lovemy3babes]

No problem! I was excited to find you! I hope everyone feels better very soon. Sickies are NO fun at all. Yuck!

 

[hockeybabe]

Subbing!

 

[gellybean]

Who hoo, I'm on the first page!!

I didn't know you'd started til I saw your post in Skinny Island.

Can't wait to hear all about the trip!

YAY! Julie's here!!

Sorry you guys have been sick, hope you're feeling better soon.

Getting there slowly. Today's the third day on antibiotics. We'll see if it's the magic # or not! Dash did make it back to school today! A short day for his first day back since school was delayed opening by 2 hrs. Worked out well! Depends on how much snow we get tonight if they'll open for school tomorrow.

No problem! I was excited to find you! I hope everyone feels better very soon. Sickies are NO fun at all. Yuck!

So glad to have you over here! Can't believe I spaced going back and putting a link on the PTR! I'm blaming pregnancy brain!

Subbing!

Glad to have ya!

Pictures are uploaded and re-sized. Starting to write the update.... NOW!

 

[gellybean]

When we originally booked this trip we were all leaving the same day, but as plans progressed and I starting shopping around for airfare, it was considerably cheaper for mom, the boys and I to fly out Tuesday than Wednesday. Plus we would be able to take a non-stop flight. Even better. Unfortunately my sister couldn't take that many days off before a holiday so she would be joining us a day and half later.

My mom showed up that morning around 9:30am right as the boys and I were waking up. She made breakfast for the boys and I while I finished packing and getting ready. I had taken the dogs to my friend the night before and Mr. I had already said his goodbyes to us earlier that day before he went to work. All that was left was to pack up and leave!

I was unable to get any breakfast down. Still fighting morning sickness at that point but thankfully was able to avoid getting sick.

My sister arrived around 10:15am to drive us to the airport. She was going to keep my Mimi Mobile and bring it back the next day and long term park it when she flew out to join us! That way we only had one vehicle in long term parking the whole week but it was the one vehicle large enough for us to all get home in when we returned the following week.

We made it the airport in plenty of time! A quick curbside drop off and a short see ya tomorrow goodbye and the boys, mom and I were off to check our luggage at the Southwest counter.

I had left the stroller behind this trip, knowing without Mr. I, handling that huge stroller and the boys by myself would be a near impossibility. It was great to have Jack Jack on his harness and go through security without that stinking stroller!

Jack Jack was so good! He stood right where I told him and didn't try to run off, took his own shoes off, followed instructions from the TSA agent, etc. He's such a big boy!!

We made it through security with no hassle and stopped at the food court. I knew I had to eat something or I'd be in trouble on a plane for two hours with no protein. I nibbled on a Schlotzsky's sandwich and jalapeno potato chips. The boys ended up finished the chips and I threw away half the sandwich but was feeling better!

Love this picture! It's become a trip to Disney traditional!

The boys really enjoyed the kid size tables at the airport!

Kinda like that this one turned out fuzzy!

Our boarding pass order was all kinds of crazy since we each had a separate confirmation number. Checking in online had been fun! We decided instead of having the kids spaced between strangers in line, we'd just wait and board with the family group.

We managed to get four seats all together, with mom and the boys on one side and me all by myself.

It was luxury! I could do whatever I wanted and not worry about entertaining the kids. Until the guy came and sat next to me. Maybe it was because I have the nose of a hound dog when I'm pregnant but the guy was in serious need of a shower. I tried to keep my nose averted and toward the aisle but the dude stunk. Seriously.

The two hour flight was uneventful thankfully. The flight attendant told mom that my kids would not work as deterrents for teenage pregnancy. I thought it was pretty funny and a backwards way of saying they were well behaved on the flight but hey, I'll take it.

We finally landed and were off the plane soon enough. A quick stop at the restroom and Mom wanted a smoothie, then a short faux monorail ride later we were taking the elevator down to the ME area. I have to say I like knowing my way around the Orlando airport now!

We caught a bus rather quickly and WL was the second stop!

It was about this time that I had to have a little talk with Dash about interrupting adults, contradicting and arguing. We worked on it the whole trip! Lots of opportunities in Disney World for a kid to argue.

We arrived at WL after one quick stop at SS (is it just me or is SS always the first stop on the ME??) and a few quick photos and we were inside the beautifully decorated resort.

We left the boys in the TV area while mom and I went to check in. The online check in desk had a line and the regular line did not. Finally a regular desk CM called me over to get my folder. Mom asked if we could switch the CC on file and the CM said yes, let me hurry and try to get that done now, our systems are about to go down. She hurried over to the one computer that seemed to still be up and got it switched out.

We had gotten our room request... I knew that as soon as they showed me on the map. A room directly over the lobby!

The CM told me we were above the check in desk on the fifth floor. I knew this meant no possibility of MK fireworks view but since I had only requested lobby location I was happy. We walked over to the lobby, eager to see our room and took the elevator right across from the little bridge up to the fifth floor. I turned left as soon as we got to the area above the lobby and walked and walked. Didn't even bother looking at the room # direction signs since the CM had told me that we were above the check in desk. We walked, and walked and walked some more. The further down we got the more excited I became. I think mom thought I was crazy. Sure enough our room was not on that side! We crossed in front of the windows at the front of the lodge, noticing the cute little seating areas and gawking at the lobby the whole time. Turned the corner back on the MK side and sure enough, our room was the fifth door down!

WE had MK side!! Just how well we could see the fireworks I had no clue, but we had hope!

Dash was geeking out at the bunk beds. I swore I had told him but it's not like the child ever listens to me anyway.

Jack Jack wanted on top of the bunk bed immediately. *sigh*

So we did what any good parent/grandparent would do and ignored the warning sign on the bed and put him up there with his brother and strict instructions. Lemme tell y'all, I held my breath the entire trip. In fact, since we've come home we've moved the office out of the fourth bedroom and are turning it into a nursery specifically because after a week with a bunk bed at WL I decided I did NOT want the boys to have bunk beds anytime soon!

Towel animals to greet us!

Bathroom shot


I was hungry! We had a reservation at WCC at 7:45pm and it was about 5:30 at this point. I knew I couldn't wait that long but also knew I really needed something more substantial than burgers and pizza that night. Especially after my botched breakfast and minimal lunch. The solution, in my eyes, was a light snack from Roaring Forks and then share something at WCC so we weren't eating a big meal there either!

I left mom and the boys with ABCfamily on (25 days of Christmas saved our bacon all week with shows for the boys to watch) and I walked down to Roaring Forks.

View as you stepped out of our door.

And looking down into the lobby from our door.

Loved coming out of the elevator and crossing the bridge to get there! I took two flat breads, a bottle of water and a diet coke back up to the room and we all shared the pizza. This worked out really well. It curbed our starvation so we were able to eat less at WCC that night!

We took our time relaxing in the room and texting various people. I pulled up the WCC menu on my phone and read it to mom. She called my dad. I read through all the materials that came with the room. We peeked out on the balcony and FROZE our tushes off so we quickly closed that door back. We definitely had tall pine trees in front of us so I wasn't too optimistic about our viewing possibilities.

Soon enough it was time to freshen up and head the short walk over and down to WCC.

I had been emailing back and forth with Dug and Dugette, hoping to run into them in the lobby that night as they were heading over to WL to check out the Christmas decorations that night. We thought the timing was gonna work out great. We had time to finish our meal and explore some while they were making their way to WL.

Rubbing Humfrey's nose!

We checked into WCC and I requested the 'quiet' area. Jack Jack had not had a nap and I could tell he was getting ornery. (there's no other word for it!) I didn't want to take a chance with a over the top server and a cranky soon-to-be 3 yr old!

It was pleasant back in the little corner of the restaurant and opened right onto the lobby, directly behind the fire place. I kept my eyes peeled for Dug and Dugette to walk through the lobby.

Dash and Jack Jack shared a kids hamburger plate and a kids milkshake. Dash ordered the bubblegum flavor one and it was NASTY. Even he wouldn't touch it, so we swapped out for vanilla. MUCH better!

I ordered the pork loin with chorizo cheddar grits and seasonal veggies. Mom had a bowl of soup. I shared my pork and grits with mom. The grits were AWESOME! The pork was a little over cooked... but I ate nearly all of it. I was starving! We skipped dessert except for a few sips of Dash's milk shake!

We enjoyed our meal and I would definitely eat there again for dinner. Would love to try the skillet at some point! However, I knew an ALL you could eat skillet was not the best route for us that night. We were trying to order 'light' and it worked out well! It was just enough food for all of us. I think the total with tip came to $60.00 for all four of us. I felt so much better after getting some real food! We headed out of the restaurant and walked around the lobby and into the mercantile, trying to kill some time in the lobby so we could meet up with Dug and Dugette!

Jack Jack posed with this and said "Take picture!" I've created a monster!

Jack Jack was starting to melt down and mom and the boys were tired. It had been a long day for mom especially, having driven in 2 hrs from her home to get to my house at 9:30am that morning.

We headed back up to the room. We were ready to unwind. I kept hoping I'd see Dugette and Dug around the lobby but never did.

A quick elevator ride back upstairs and we were greeted with the lovely sight of our luggage waiting for us! I was eager to unpack and get settled. Biggest Loser finale was that night so I tortured the kids with it while I worked on settling us into the drawers and cubbies under the sink.

Just about the time I finally decided to change into pj's, my cell rang and it was Dug! They were in the lobby!

I felt awful to change plans on them, but at that point I knew it would not have been a very magical DIS meet. Jack Jack and Dash were climbing up the walls, and Mom was in her night gown already and I was about ready to get comfy myself. I really wanted them to meet the boys too and not just me, so I regrettably told Dug that we were all wiped out from our day of travel and that I was really sorry but we'd have to skip on meeting them that night. By a random set of circumstances (Check out Dugette's TR!) their original last night had been our first night but that had changed and I knew we had more overlapping days with them, specifically our DHS day. So we agreed to keep in touch via email and phone calls and try to meet up again later in the week!

After I had unpacked, and gotten settled in bed to watch the rest of the finale, we heard this crazy booming noise. At first I was concerned it was neighbor noise and though what on earth are those people doing?!

It took me about 30 secs to realize what I was hearing! FIREWORKS!

We quickly threw back the drapes and WOW! I was amazed how much we could see up above the trees and Contemporary resort. We turned out all the lights, and pulled chairs up to the window and all sat there and watched the fireworks. It was a truly magical surprise moment. I was grinning from ear to ear, mom was too. Even the boys I think got that this was a extra special surprise that we weren't expecting. We watched the whole thing. It was a VMCP night so this was a little preview of the Holiday Wishes show and it was awesome! The ending was amazing. I was even more excited to see them in person!

As soon as they were over, we turned Biggest Loser back on and I called my sister to let her know that not only had we gotten the lobby room request but we could see the fireworks from our room!

She was super excited! She was flying out the next day at 6:00pm to join us around 11pm at night.

We were all so tired! We turned in early... the boys crashed almost immediately. Jack Jack in the queen with me, mom on the bottom bunk and Dash on the top bunk. I took a hot bath after Jack Jack fell asleep and talked to Mr. I on the phone from the bathroom so I wouldn't wake anyone.

I think I finally fell asleep around 11pm that night. We had a 8am wake up call the next morning and plans to take on Epcot!!


Up Next: Would we wake up?? Would I be able to eat breakfast? Would I regret not bringing my own stroller? Would we FREEZE to death? Would my sister make her flight out of Austin?

STAY TUNED!

 

[SoonerGirl]

The WL is such a lovely resort, perfect for a Christmas trip! What a SCORE on the room location too!

 

[stayhomemom77]

Sounds like an amazing first day.

So jealous you left the stroller behind!! Hope the remainder of the trip proves as easy and freeing without it.

I wish I could have done that last month...I'm seriously trying to come up with the necessary fundage to go again at the end of August to take advantage of the kids stay and play free deal. (DH is against the idea because he thinks more money will be diverted from our anniversary cruise but I can pay for a six night package at an All Star resort with my spending money alone so I've gotta find money for food and gas out of our budget between now and then and it's in the bag!)

If I can make it work (not holding my breath at the moment because DH is still heavily against the idea although I did suggest going without him and he vetoed that too ) I'm going to insist we leave the stupid things behind. It'll be MY money paying for the trip so it'll be MY rules too!!

We've gone enough times recently that we can go at a relaxed pace and seriously...at 6 and 8 (by August) they really will be too old for them, KWIM? If we don't cover much ground then so be it!

Anyway...enough of my PTR...back to your TR...



Great room location...so glad you were able to see the fireworks.

How did you like paying OOP for food? It sure seems like it worked to your advantage this first day.

It's so funny you were all excited to sit apart from the kids. I had to do that on our way down and I was all lonely and left out. On the way back DH was the one all on his own but I think he kind of liked it.

Sorry about the smelly plane partner. I think a Bionic sense of smell is a common pregnancy superpower. Why does it never work to our advantage though? No one ever smells cinnamon buns or vanilla or fresh baked bread from a mile away...just cigarette smoke, garbage and rank B.O. <sigh> It's just not fair. I'll bet that was the longest 2 hours of your life.

Your towel animals are super cute!

Sorry your first attempt at a DIS meet with Dug and Dugette was a bust. I hope to read that you were able to meet up again later on.

How'd you like the Mercantile? Once again, we missed going in there and going out the back to check out the pool area. We're losers, what can I say?

Sounds like a great, magical start. Can't wait to read more!

 

[Dugette]

Yay, the trip has started! I've been waiting to hear about that failed DIS-meet from your POV! Sounds like it was the end of a very long day! Since I haven't gotten to that day in my TR yet, I'll just say that our evening can best be described as a Disney transportation disaster!

So awesome that you were able to see fireworks from your room!

Can't wait to hear more!

 

[Lovemy3babes]

The Wilderness Lodge is my dream deluxe so I'm super envious that you all stayed there. I just love the theming! Score on the awesome location. I bet you wanted to do a happy dance when you figured out where your room actually was. Great start to your TR! Can't wait to read more!

 

[gellybean]

The WL is such a lovely resort, perfect for a Christmas trip! What a SCORE on the room location too!

It really was perfect for Christmas!! So glad we stayed there! And splitting it three ways with an AP discount was a steal!

I was pretty happy with our room location!!

Sounds like an amazing first day.

So jealous you left the stroller behind!! Hope the remainder of the trip proves as easy and freeing without it.

I wish I could have done that last month...I'm seriously trying to come up with the necessary fundage to go again at the end of August to take advantage of the kids stay and play free deal. (DH is against the idea because he thinks more money will be diverted from our anniversary cruise but I can pay for a six night package at an All Star resort with my spending money alone so I've gotta find money for food and gas out of our budget between now and then and it's in the bag!)

If I can make it work (not holding my breath at the moment because DH is still heavily against the idea although I did suggest going without him and he vetoed that too ) I'm going to insist we leave the stupid things behind. It'll be MY money paying for the trip so it'll be MY rules too!!


Good luck getting the trip put together!! I like the MY money MY rules thing!!


We've gone enough times recently that we can go at a relaxed pace and seriously...at 6 and 8 (by August) they really will be too old for them, KWIM? If we don't cover much ground then so be it!

Exactly! Totally a perk of getting to go a little more often. You don't feel like you have to cover every square inch. It really allows you to slow down and just enjoy being there!

Anyway...enough of my PTR...back to your TR...




LOL! PTR away!

Great room location...so glad you were able to see the fireworks.

How did you like paying OOP for food? It sure seems like it worked to your advantage this first day.

It really worked out well for us this trip! Like I said, two completely different trips. Mr. I and I did Deluxe Dining in January. But with the way mom and the boys eat, and my sister and I have such similar tastes that we split a lot of things... DDP would have been a waste! I'm gonna try to keep showing totals of meals throughout this TR!

It's so funny you were all excited to sit apart from the kids. I had to do that on our way down and I was all lonely and left out. On the way back DH was the one all on his own but I think he kind of liked it.

I think it depends on the trip! It was so nice to not HAVE to be the one responsible. I could actually read a book on the plane! So yeah, it was a nice treat.

Sorry about the smelly plane partner. I think a Bionic sense of smell is a common pregnancy superpower. Why does it never work to our advantage though? No one ever smells cinnamon buns or vanilla or fresh baked bread from a mile away...just cigarette smoke, garbage and rank B.O. <sigh> It's just not fair. I'll bet that was the longest 2 hours of your life.


Maybe not the LONGEST (visions of labor with Dash are floating in my head ) but I was definitely trying to breathe through my mouth!

Your towel animals are super cute!

Sorry your first attempt at a DIS meet with Dug and Dugette was a bust. I hope to read that you were able to meet up again later on.

Stay tuned!

How'd you like the Mercantile? Once again, we missed going in there and going out the back to check out the pool area. We're losers, what can I say?

I liked it but it wasn't my fave gift shop ever, either. I really like Everything Pop for resort shopping!

Sounds like a great, magical start. Can't wait to read more!

It was a great first evening!! Will try to get another update out this weekend!

Yay, the trip has started! I've been waiting to hear about that failed DIS-meet from your POV! Sounds like it was the end of a very long day! Since I haven't gotten to that day in my TR yet, I'll just say that our evening can best be described as a Disney transportation disaster!

So awesome that you were able to see fireworks from your room!

Can't wait to hear more!

It was the end of a very long day and with little boys with no naps... I spared y'all, believe me! Thank y'all both for understanding!!
Can't wait to hear about the Disney transportation disaster!!

The Wilderness Lodge is my dream deluxe so I'm super envious that you all stayed there. I just love the theming! Score on the awesome location. I bet you wanted to do a happy dance when you figured out where your room actually was. Great start to your TR! Can't wait to read more!

The theming is AWESOME! They do such a great job! I have been trying to decide on a favorite and it's so hard! I like them all for such different reasons and seasons!

I did a little happy dance, not gonna lie!