Wait, do we have a Fast Pass for that? Final Update, Final Thoughts and Favs 1/26

[PrncessA]

When last we left our gang we were wondering if we would ever make it to the airport and DH was counting the 575 different route choices he would have made differently than the limo driver….

Oh and a bonus photo before we move on... E and Lorelai both independently picked out their PJ's the night before going to Disney! I couldn't have been prouder... and I was a little concerned that they had figured out we were going to Disney!!



Well we finally did make it to Midway Airport and us and our 5,000 suitcases made our way into the airport. Well it felt like 5,000 suitcases! Southwest not charging for luggage is both a blessing and a headache. It was too easy to add another suitcase to our luggage total since we weren’t going to pay for it anyway! In the end we ended up with 5 suitcases that we checked, 2 small kid carryon suitcases and small bags for DH and I. I need to join overpackers anonymous! I had decided at the last moment NOT to bring my laptop with me. This turned out to be a good decision since my boss tried to rope me into work one day and I was able to honestly say “I can’t, I don’t have my computer!”

After making it through the airline rope maze we had a very short wait and before we knew it we were at a ticket counter to check our bags. Now I consider myself to be a tech savvy person and I pick up on things pretty quickly, so as to why the Southwest attendant had to explain to me 5 times how to fold and hold my ticket before DH took them from me and did it for me, I will never know. I still don’t know what I was doing incorrectly! Then DH and I handed over our driver’s license… that is when we heard the words “Sir, your license is expired.”

Luckily after my heart restarted, I heard DH say he had his state ID as well. No clue why his licenses is expired, he just got it renewed last year, must have been a mix up, and he still hasn’t fixed it yet. Now that I am writing about it, I should remind him. That would have been horrible if we had to deal with that issue! Side note: In 2012 we went on vacation with friends to Cancun. I didn’t research at all since they had been to this resort 6 times, and I was told to relax! My family made it to airport and was relaxing at the gate when I received a call from my friend who was at the airport, but had just found out that two of her kids’ passports had expired… the day before! Talk about stressful for both me and her!!

We are use to flying out of O’Hare instead of Midway so security was a breeze! Basically no lines at all and we didn’t have to take our shoes off… I can almost say that it went very smoothly, but for the gentleman in front of us. I wouldn’t even know the words to explain what was going on but both of my kids were in shock when his pants fell down… I was too, to be honest!

After security my kids discovered something that Midway has that O’Hare does not… or maybe I have never noticed them. Moving sidewalks!! We used no less than 5 of them, and my kids I am sure used each one at least twice. DH believes that WDW would be wise to invest in moving sidewalks in Epcot!



By the time we made it to our gate we were really only about 30 minutes away from boarding time and every seat was full. Erik and Lorelai went to pick up some food at McDonalds, while E watched the planes out of the window. I was feeling pretty rough, my throat was very sore and I think I was running a fever. I ask Erik to pick me up a hot tea with honey. 15 minutes late I was handed an iced sweet tea from McDonalds… not the same. Luckily I was able to find a coffee shop a little ways away and make it back in time to line up for boarding!



Wait why are you two so happy??



Oh yeah! Your going to Disney World!!

This was our first time flying Southwest, so boarding was a bit new to us. After we stood in the wrong line for a few minutes I figured it out and before long we were on the plane with our A39-42 boarding passes. We pretty much had our choice of seats and we chose one set of 3 seats and Erik took the aisle across from us.





The flight was pretty uneventful, although we did hit quite a bit of turbulence about 30 minutes before we landed, it was enough to make me nervous. I caused quite a bit of pressure in the cabin which caused some crying on the plane, and not just from me, there were a lot of little ones on the plane too! Overall we really enjoyed flying Southwest, and bonus! they give you peanuts and Wheat Thins (which by the way DH loved, and made sure he told me several times that I need to buy some of them).

Before we knew it we were landing in Orlando!



We were itching to find our luggage and the Magical Express, but not before a bathroom break, because I don’t know what an airplane bathroom looks like and I really don’t want to know!! There was a bit of a ruckus in the men’s restroom. Apparently a man had a really bad bloody nose and was in a stall and there was blood everywhere. YIKES! Poor guy!

We made our trip on the Faux Rail!


Finally we were on our way to pick up our luggage… with a luggage cart because that is a lot of luggage to pull behind you when you have two over-stimulated; Disney obsessed kiddos on your hands! After ending up on the wrong side of the airport (Terminal A Level 1) and taking the elevator back up, hiking back to Terminal B, then going down to level one we finally were welcomed with the sight of Disney Cast Members!!!

Oh at some point we stopped and took photos of Disney themed walls... because we weren't going to have enough opportunities over the next 9 days!!



We stood off to the side and donned our first Magic Bands of the trip and we were loaded onto our first Disney ride of the trip! The bus was pretty full, but we still waited another 20-30 minutes before we were off.





I am pretty sure we stopped at OKW (Kathy & Mary, I thought of you girls having fun right then!) and maybe SSR? Before POFQ and finally our home for the next two nights POR!!!!

Next up: Check in and our first Disney meal!!!

 

[jennie3675]

Following can't wait for the next instalment!!

 

[Denovagirl]

Just found your TR and am subbing in! Sounds like a good start, minus the feeling sick, can't wait to read more!

 

[amberg93]

I haven't seen moving walkways at O'Hare either, so if you missed them so did I

Good flights are always the best.

Yay for arriving! Can't wait to see POR!

 

[PrncessA]

It has been a long, I NEED A DISNEY FIX, week, and we are only on Wednesday. Next week should be a bit calmer at work and at home, since the conference here at work will be over and Ethan will be in Wisconsin at camp for a week. I am taking off two days of work next week to take Lorelai to Six Flags with friends (Ethan isn’t a fan, so we are going while he is gone) and then we will drive 6.5 hours to pick up Ethan from camp and spend the weekend in the Wisconsin Dells with three other families, making it where the kids outnumber the parents.

I am sure we will eat at the kid’s favorite restaurant “Buffalo Phil’s” where they bring you your food on a train that runs around the entire restaurant. Wonder why Disney doesn’t have a restaurant with a train in it, especially since Walt was such a train lover? Oh well, off on a tangent. Back to the good stuff, the Disney stuff!!

When we last left off we had survived turbulence, trekked needlessly across the airport not once but twice, and boarded our very first ride on the Magical Express! We arrived at POR and the excitement had definitely found us! We were not the only people who had decided that getting their own luggage was a good idea! While DH waited on our luggage, the kids immediately spotted a bean bag toss and started playing. I was busy taking pictures of them when DH ask me to put down the camera and grab a luggage cart… oh, excitement only takes you so far.



We loaded all of our luggage on to the cart, when finally a bell hop saw us…

see that is why I was taking pictures; I knew Disney would take care of us!

My kids are not big fans of being given stickers. I am not sure why. With Ethan I think it is the social aspect. When a stranger asks him a question he just sort of shuts down and says "No" automatically. Lorelai has picked up on it. But I knew at Disney we would be encountering many CM's giving stickers, so I made it a game. We would count how many Mickey stickers we got and when we got home we would make a scrapbook with them. It worked, they didn't turn down a single Mickey sticker. And we got our first 2!



As we entered into POR I was not expecting too much. Our last and only stay at WDW had been at the Wilderness Lodge and that is by far one of the most stunning lobbies in WDW! But boy was I wrong. Now granted walking into POR for the first time does not “take your breath away” with the sheer size and wonder, like WL does, but it was calm and serene and beautiful. We could hear Bob playing in the River Roost Lounge to our left, which is where I wish we were headed, but instead we headed to our right.









It took the kids no time at all to find the TV playing cartoons, so they were set. Erik took the camera to take pictures (all of two!) while I waited to check in. For the life of me I don’t remember the cast member who checked us in… I found my memory with names to be a problem this trip. My old age I guess…

I had done online check-in which meant it should have went smoothly, but nothing carried over I guess, so I had to find my credit card that I was using. While being checked in the CM said we had a package, in my jet lagged state I had no idea what she meant. I finally figured it out and it was our water that I had ordered from Staples. I ask if Bell Services could bring it to our room with our luggage that they had, this ended up being more work to organize that I expected. After the CM called bell services and explained, they then ask to speak with me, and I said the same thing, apparently that was what was needed, because we were good to go! I did enjoy the look on the CM’s face when she said she need each of our MB’s to activate them and I said I had 12! I took pity and since we were only going to be a POR for 2 nights I just had one for each of us out for her to activate.

As I was waiting and my CM was clicking away on her computer another CM came up between her and the CM at the end. She was clearly in a foul mood and she was complaining to my CM about something, I didn’t catch or care to know what it was; I was in WDW my happy place. But then she brought me out of my bubble! She asks the gentleman behind me if she could help him and he said no thank you, that he was waiting for “Alisha” who was at the end, busy. That is when the CM said in completely annoyed way “Whatever, that don’t hurt me at all. Nope, wait all you want.” and rolled her eyes. I was kinda shocked to be honest, she looked over and saw me looking at her and walked away very quickly, I didn’t even think to look at her name. When she came back she didn’t have a name tag on, so either she took it off or wasn’t wearing it to begin with, which is strange because the entire time we were in WDW EVERYONE had a name tag. Oh well, I was at Disney I didn’t let it spoil my evening!

Finally my CM had a map out and was showing me our room location. We had booked a garden view and I had sent a fax to POR about a week before requesting to be in Magnolia Bend, on the ground floor. Both of my requests were met and I think we were slightly upgraded… but I don’t know, does having a view of the quiet pool count as a water view? Either way we were in Magnolia, ground floor, I will find the room number at home later. Our walk from the main building to our room was very quick and directly over the bridge from Old Man’s Island. I was a little concerned about possibly seeing snakes in the dark, but we made it safe and sound to our room. As instructed we tested all of our MB’s on the door and had success!

The room was very nice; it actually felt larger than the room that we stay in at the WL later in the trip! DH’s only complaint is the bathroom configuration and the lights being so bright. When he was resting on the bed and I was doing all the work… the light would bother his eyes. It is easily remedied with the curtain being pulled closed, but every time I would move the curtain to go from room to room DH would sigh.

We spent a little time exploring the room…





And finding our first Hidden (not so hidden) Mickeys





Is it surprising to anyone that the first thing that DH and DS did was turn on sportscenter?



At this time it was pushing 11:30PM, we were all tired, but hungry and sometimes (not all the time) hunger beats out sleep! I knew that this late at night we didn’t need a lot of food, but we headed over to the Riverside Food Mill. I will admit that at this point in the night I was not at all in the mood for taking pictures and DD and DS were grumpy. Most of the food stations had closed but we had the option of pizza or pasta. We went with pizza because it was easy and fast. We got two cheese pizzas and a pepperoni pizza, chocolate milks and a fountain drink for Erik and me to share. I may not have been in the mood for people pictures, but I managed to remember to snap food porn. That tended to be sporadic through the trip.





As soon as we set down to eat Lorelai threw a huge fit about not wanting pizza and now she wanted grapes. I didn’t want to get back up so I told her she could have a banana when we got back to the room, which made her happy, until she dumped a pack of red pepper on the piece of pizza she was eating. It was definitely time for bed for our clan!

The pizza was good, nothing special, filling and hot, not more we could ask for at that time. I really liked the kitschy feel of the food court with the unmatched chairs and tables, it was homey. We ate pretty quickly and drug ourselves back to our room. After changing for bed, Erik and the kids turned on Stacey and were out pretty quickly. I unearthed the two packs of muffins I had packed and I was out pretty quickly as well.

Next up: No sleeping at Disney!!! Our day off….

 

[mickeystoontown]

Woo Hoo! You've arrived at Disney! I did a walking tour (actually, two times) during our last trip and I agree that the check-in area is beautiful. What the heck was up with the rude CM? I bet that she took off her name tag after she noticed that you were looking at her. She didn't want to get into any trouble if you reported her.

 

[Aristocath]

Strangely, the only unmagical CM experience we have ever had was at check in at POR.

Also, how many days before your trip did you order your water from Staples?

Funny how everyone is happy and excited and then it all falls apart quickly. Happens to us at least once on every vacation.

 

[Mommy Poppins]

I agree with Lisa--I bet she took her name tag off after she realized you were watching/listening to her. She didn't want to be reported for being so "un-Disney!"

Off to a great start--can't wait to read more!

 

[PrncessA]

Following can't wait for the next instalment!!

Thanks for joining in!

Just found your TR and am subbing in! Sounds like a good start, minus the feeling sick, can't wait to read more!

Luckily I was sick at the beginning of the trip and fought it off pretty quickly. I think if I had been sick at the end, where I was starting to get run down it would have been worse! DD had a cough the entire trip, but she never once complained unless I ask if something hurt. Luckily allergy medicine and children's tylonol worked for her.

I haven't seen moving walkways at O'Hare either, so if you missed them so did I

Good flights are always the best.

Yay for arriving! Can't wait to see POR!

I made DD apoligize to the woman in front of her because she opened and closed the tray table so many times. The woman said she didn't feel a thing... so we didn't ruin anyone else's flight.

Woo Hoo! You've arrived at Disney! I did a walking tour (actually, two times) during our last trip and I agree that the check-in area is beautiful. What the heck was up with the rude CM? I bet that she took off her name tag after she noticed that you were looking at her. She didn't want to get into any trouble if you reported her.

It really is a beautiful resort!! I would stay there again in a heartbeat!

I am almost certain that she took it off. As soon as she saw me she went silent and walked away. When she came back her eyes kept darting to me and she didn't say a word. It was late, maybe she was having a bad night.

Strangely, the only unmagical CM experience we have ever had was at check in at POR.

Also, how many days before your trip did you order your water from Staples?

Funny how everyone is happy and excited and then it all falls apart quickly. Happens to us at least once on every vacation.

I ordered it 2 days before we left. I actually ordered it 3 days, but I used a gift card without a balance and it didn't tell me, so I re-ordered the next day.

We learned on this trip that there is a stopping point for all of us and that night it was about 11:30pm!

I agree with Lisa--I bet she took her name tag off after she realized you were watching/listening to her. She didn't want to be reported for being so "un-Disney!"

Off to a great start--can't wait to read more!

She was definitely "un-Disney"like in her behavior but nothing was spoiling my Disney Check-In High!!

 

[chellewashere]

Love the report so far and cant wait for more pictures. I think it was a fabulous idea to change the dates and not tell the kids..then they get to be in on the planning while being surprised..AWESOME.

Side note our daughters are the same age and have the same name..mine is spelled Lorelei though

 

[PrncessA]

Love the report so far and cant wait for more pictures. I think it was a fabulous idea to change the dates and not tell the kids..then they get to be in on the planning while being surprised..AWESOME.

Side note our daughters are the same age and have the same name..mine is spelled Lorelei though

Awesome! It is such a uncommon name right now, although it is becoming more and more popular.

Were you a Styx fan or a Gilmore Girls fan? That is the question I get most often, depending on the age of the person asking.

I am a huge Gilmore Girls fan and couldn't wait to name my daughter Lorelai!

 

[chellewashere]

Awesome! It is such a uncommon name right now, although it is becoming more and more popular.

Were you a Styx fan or a Gilmore Girls fan? That is the question I get most often, depending on the age of the person asking.

I am a huge Gilmore Girls fan and couldn't wait to name my daughter Lorelai!

I always get Gilmore Girls..never watched the show. We wanted her to have a strong name and since it means Goddess of men's self destruction we figured hey thats a strong girl name

I do love the song by Styx though

 

[PrncessA]

We wanted her to have a strong name and since it means Goddess of men's self destruction we figured hey thats a strong girl name

We loved that as well!!

 

[mommajo143]

Subbing in - sounds like fun so far!

 

[amberg93]

POR looks beautiful.

Wow, that CM was something else. Rude much? Goodness.

And hey, it's okay, after a long day of traveling everyone feels better with some sleep. I know I get cranky too if I've been up too long and things don't go according to plan

 

[PrncessA]

I am an updating machine! I am going to try and squeeze a quick update in before I have to head off to class tonight!

In our previous update we arrived at POR and found it to be beautiful, pizza was eaten, fits were thrown, and beds were slept in!

I am not and early riser at home… in fact other than E, I am usually the last person up unless I have to be. I would love a job that involved sleeping, anyone knows of any out there, because that is my calling. None-the-less I was up bright and early a little before 6am, which is 5am Chicago time! I was very very careful not to wake up the rest of my sleeping family, this was a good choice since this ended up being my only “alone” morning the entire trip. The curtain between the bathroom and sleeping area was a big plus this morning as I got ready. I loaded up my camera with charged batteries, grabbed my cell phone and some gift cards, whispered my intentions to DH and headed out!!

The beauty of POR shown all around me! Although I knew we were right next to the quiet pool from the night before, it was very different in the morning. The grounds are just so pretty!



I didn’t pass very many people this early in the morning, although I did pass a couple of joggers who made me feel guilty, so I pretty much had the place to myself. I strolled along very slowly and took pictures of the beauty…

















Eventually I found myself in the main building. I headed over to an empty registration desk and met a CM by the name of Mary. I made a note on my phone of her name! Mary was from Elgin, IL which is very very close to where I live. We had a nice conversation about Chicago winters and how happy we were to be in warm weather… this sentiment changes for me later in the trip, BTW. I had brought some gift cards down to add to our account so our CC wouldn’t get charged, but Mary either didn’t know how to do it or had been advised against it. Instead we decided to turn off our express check out for the next day and our CC would not be charged. I could then take care of the balance with my gift cards at check out. This worked out very well.

After handling that my next stop was to be Fulton’s General Store to pick up a half gallon of milk for breakfast for our first two days. This was harder than I had thought since it didn’t open until 8:00am and that was well over an hour away. I did make a pit stop in the restroom for a tissue because I was seriously was blowing my nose every other minute!!!

I considered heading back to the room and coming back at 8:00, but sitting in a dark room while my family was asleep was no way to spend my first day at Disney! Instead I headed back out the doors and started walking the opposite way I had been walking. I am almost certain I ended up right back where my room was in a roundabout manner, but all the buildings look very similar and I was just walking.













I sat on this bench for a while and enjoyed the quiet:



Eventually I somehow made it back to the front of POR.



This is where I met Birdie the greeter at POR from Philadelphia. What a happy man, who by the way is married to a Sara! We talked for a while about Chicago (he was a traveling musician back in the good ole days) and a few other places. When he found out that we were collecting Mickey stickers he sent me back with about 30 of them! Birdie and Mary were proof that Disney CM’s are not representative of the CM I had encountered the night before! While I was there I confirmed the steps to take for transferring our luggage the next day.

Finally I made my way back into the lobby and I had about 10 minutes to wait before Fulton’s opened up. I relaxed, posted on FB, sent DH a text just in case and caught up a bit on my FB travel groups. I was given a “high four” Mickey Hand by the opening staff at Fulton’s and I finally had what I had come for, a half gallon of milk almost two hours later.

I made my way back to the room where I found everyone still asleep although DH did slightly open his eyes and ask if I had gotten lost…

Next up: How to keep busy at POR on an off day and a visit to POFQ!

 

[Valgoof]

Oh my! Bleeding man in the bathroom, man with no pants at security, rude CM. Maybe your son is right to avoid social interactions! That was a crazy start! Glad you made it!

Love the matching shirts and crocs!

Eta-Somehow I replied without reading page 3.

POR looks beautiful! Great pictures! Glad you had a peaceful morning to start the trip!

 

[PrncessA]

Oh my! Bleeding man in the bathroom, man with no pants at security, rude CM. Maybe your son is right to avoid social interactions! That was a crazy start! Glad you made it!

I'm telling you! E may have a point!

Love the matching shirts and crocs!

I went a little overboard.... but it was a lot of fun! Crocs are a staple with my kids. They wear crocs and socks nearly everyday. I try to remove the socks and they revolt!

Eta-Somehow I replied without reading page 3.

POR looks beautiful! Great pictures! Glad you had a peaceful morning to start the trip!

It really is!!

 

[mickeystoontown]

What a beautiful way to start out the day Mrs. I Am Not A Morning Person. No, seriously, the pictures of the resort are fantastic. I bet that it wasn't too terribly bad having to wait two hours for the milk when you can enjoy views like that.

 

[JPFamilyMom]

Love it so far. Your son is sweet. I have a 9 year old boy with some social issues and sensory issues too. You're daughter is cute too. I have two boys, can't wait to read all about your trip. Good start so far.