WE ARE THE INCREDIBLES!!! Updated through Day 4 w/lots of pics!!!!

[dallasdisneymommy]

Oh, I’m aware. I’m aware of the “other” Incredibles family on this trip report board. But they cannot be the real Incredibles – they don’t have a Jack Jack! Is that right? Maybe Dash was a girl…oh I don’t remember. Truthfully, I didn’t read much of their trip report. I’m sure they’re a lovely family. But they can’t possibly be the Incredibles, because we are! And we have the t-shirts to prove it!

Let’s introduce ourselves, shall we?

I AM MRS. INCREDIBLE, AKA ELASTIGIRL. This is not the best picture of me. However, I make it into very few vacation photos, as I’m usually the one taking them, so beggars can’t be choosers. Anyway, back to my biography. I am a “former Corporate HR Director turned Alpha Mom” – this is not how I describe myself, it’s how my friends describe me. But it’s accurate. I revel in raising my 3 children and do a fair amount of volunteering with organizations that serve them well – I chair events at their schools, run committees, serve on school boards, etc. etc. You get the picture. I am also a “Disney Dork” – again, not my description, this one belongs to my husband. But again, accurate. We took our first family trip to WDW in 2005, came home and bought into Disney Vacation Club, and have made 5 trips since then. I love it!! It’s my happy place.

MR. INCREDIBLE is my husband (he would tell you that they share the same jaw). Mr. Incredible is a busy, busy, CEO. He works hard to balance this with being a Daddy of 3, coaching soccer teams and attending performances and activities. Mr. Incredible loves Disney also, but he has not reached “dork” status.

VIOLET is my daughter. She just turned 7 and started 1st grade. She is beautiful, confident, smart, spirited, and sassy. She still loves the princesses, is falling in love with the thrill rides, and is very enamored with all the tween Disney personalities – Hannah Montana, the High School Musical Kids, the Jonas Brothers, etc. etc. She blasts them on her ipod and sings at the top of her lungs. It’s quite something to see.

DASH is our middle child. He just turned 5 and is finishing up at his preschool this year. He is thoughtful, kind, earnest, loving, and slightly shy. He also is a true Disney Dork. He was not quite 2 when we took him to WDW for the first time, when all the characters scared him senseless – who would have predicted that he would be the child who would love it the most? He loves all the rides except the dark ones, and his new favorite is TOY STORY MANIA.

JACK JACK is our baby, who is not a baby anymore. He took his first trip to WDW at 3 months, and is now an ancient 18 months old. He is universally adored in our house, his brother and sister think he is the Best. Thing. Ever.

TWEETY is our…how do I describe Tweety? She’s more than a housekeeper and not quite a nanny -- but she certainly helps us with both our home and our kids. She is from Mexico, is warm and loving with my kids, and a tremendous help to me. Now I realize that the Tweety thing is not in keeping with The Incredibles theme, but the woman is absolutely mad about Tweety bird, so Tweety she is.

ABOUT OUR TRIP…This trip was not originally going to be a Disney trip. We already had a December trip planned with Mr. Incredible’s family, and we were headed to Seaside, Florida to celebrate my 40th birthday. But when I realized we were only going to be 6 hours away from WDW and we had some Disney developers points that were going to expire soon, we quickly decided to tack 6 WDW days onto our week at the beach. Mr. Incredible wasn’t going to be able to take that much time away from work, so we asked Tweety to accompany us.

It was somewhat late in the game when we decided to do this, and there was limited resort availability -- Saratoga Springs and Old Key West. I decided to let the kids decide, so they went online, looked at the pictures, and chose Saratoga Springs. And we were set! 6 days at WDW followed by 7 days at the beach -- what could be better? I was so excited I could hardly stand it.

Coming up: 20 hours in a car with the stomach flu.

Looking back: Our first family trip to WDW in April, 2005. Violet was almost 4, Dash was almost 2. We stayed at the Boardwalk and fell in love with everything about it. We woke up every morning with big smiles on our faces and fell asleep at night the same way. The kids enjoyed every minute of our vacation and so did we. It was the Best. Week. Ever. I look at this picture, taken at Fort Wilderness on our way to Mickey’s Backyard Barbeque, and I can’t believe how small the kids were (and Jack Jack wasn’t even born yet!). It’s insane how fast time flies.

 

[teresajoy]

I was all wrapped up in your TR and then it ended! I can't wait for more!!!

 

[dallasdisneymommy]

I was all wrapped up in your TR and then it ended! I can't wait for more!!!

My very first reader on my very first trip report! Yay!!!! Welcome! I'm working on my second installment right now!

 

[OhMari]

I"m here, I was hoping you added another post. I love old pictures too.

 

[vdarrell]

I'm waiting for the original "INCREDIBLE"S" next post on their Trip report

Your family is not only incredible but adorable.Especially the one and only Jack-Jack.

Loved the shirts.

 

[dallasdisneymommy]

So on Wednesday night, the night before we are to drive the 18 hours to WDW, Violet throws up. All three kids had just gotten over a weird four day fever thing and had been home with virtually no contact with the outside world for the prior six days, so I was perplexed. It came out of nowhere and there wasn’t an accompanying fever, so I told myself that she must have just eaten something that didn’t agree with her. We would all get a good night’s sleep and re-evaluate in the morning. And I packed up the car, firmly believing that things would be fine.

My plan had been to wake up at 4:00 and load my sleeping children into the car, driving while they slept a few more hours, but I scrapped that plan to make sure that Violet got a good night’s sleep. So we all slept until we woke up naturally around 6:00 -- Violet said that she felt better, we loaded everyone in the car, waved goodbye to Mr. Incredible, and…Dash throws up. Now I’m starting to freak out. But since Violet only threw up once last night and said she felt significantly better today, I reasoned that Dash must have ingested whatever Violet did. So we cleaned Dash up, grabbed some paper sacks and towels, just in case, and drove away.

About two hours later, Dash throws up again, and Violet starts complaining of stomach pain and a headache. I have the sinking feeling that I’ve made a horrible mistake in proceeding with the trip and consider turning around. But I pepper them with questions, decide that maybe they just need some bland food and hydration, and continue onto Shreveport, where we stop and grab some crackers and Sprite for Dash, and Happy Meals for Violet and Jack Jack. How bad can it be, I think, if she wants to eat a Happy Meal? Feeling buoyed by this revelation, we continue to drive, stopping only for bathroom breaks, diaper changes for Jack Jack, and Diet Coke for Tweety and I.

This is a long and difficult day for all of us. Driving is not my favorite thing to do in the best of conditions, and these are far from good conditions. The kids want to lay down and rest, but I want them to be safe, and insist they stay strapped into their booster seats. There are short naps, but they clearly don’t feel well, and truth be told, if I’d known then how bad they felt, I would have stopped immediately, found them a comfy bed, and let them crawl under the covers.

At 6:30, as we approached Pensacola, the complaining reached a fever pitch, Jack Jack was done with his car seat, and I decided we should stop for the night. We found a Holiday Inn Express that had a “suite” for the 5 of us, it was clean, and so we stopped. After some nice warm baths, everyone crawled into bed, watched the Disney Channel for a few minutes, and fell fast asleep. I looked at the clock…it was 7:45.

Coming up: Only 6 hours until Disneyworld!

Looking back: A happy picture of Violet and Dash riding the Magical Express from the airport on our 2007 trip to WDW…these are the faces I was remembering all day as I cursed my decision to drive…and vowed never to do it again.

 

[dallasdisneymommy]

Thanks for coming along, Oh Mari and vdarrell! Thrilled to have you with me! And thanks for the kudos on the adorable tots -- I think they're pretty darn cute myself!

 

[dallasdisneymommy]

So the next morning we set off for Disneyworld. Our friendly GPS tells us we only have 6 hours to reach our destination, and we are all excited by this news. We pull out of the parking lot at around 6:30, so with the approaching time change, we figure we should be there by 1:00 or so, especially if I can drive on the fast side. As we near Tallahassee, I regret my decision to try to shave some time off of our GPS prediction when I get pulled over and ticketed for going 18 miles over the speed limit. S*#%!!!!!! So I slow down. And I’m glad I do, when I proceed to see 13, yes 13, cops over the next 60 mile stretch. They are serious about their highway safety in Florida, aren’t they?

The kids are all feeling better and chomping at the bit to get to Disneyworld, and I am peppered by “are we there yet” questions every 5 minutes for the next 3 hours. When we finally drive through the hallowed “Welcome to Disneyworld” arch, everyone is thrilled. Especially me. I want out of this car. It’s 3:00. Clearly, 6 hours isn’t really 6 hours. Oh well, we are here! I vow to relax and enjoy my kids. The hard part is over.

We have stayed at Saratoga Springs once before, when it first opened, and were slightly underwhelmed by the experience, so we are hoping to be more impressed this time. We check in, and find that our room request was granted – we are given a one bedroom in the Springs! Yay! This is a great way to start. So we unload the Suburban, get on our swim suits, and walk the short distance to the main pool.

It is a beautiful day – the kids hop right in the water, I grab a frozen cocktail of some sort, and we are set. Violet and Dash proceed to ride the water slide at least 100 times, I give up trying to accompany them on every twirl and grab a chair where I can see them walk up to the top and get spit out the bottom. They are both strong swimmers, and I am taken aback that my two oldest babies are now at the stage where I don’t necessarily have to hover. But I keep my eyes peeled nonetheless, as Tweety and Jack Jack frolick in the shallow end. It is good to be here, I think. Yes it is!

After a few hours of swimming, the kids want to go to Epcot. It is our first night here and we are all tired, and I think that this is not the best idea. But I acquiesce. So we get dressed and head to the bus stop. I take a few cute pictures on the water wall, everyone is happy, and then Violet leans over too far and drops her princess sunglasses in the water. And she melts down. Now, Violet very rarely melts down anymore, especially over something as small as lost sunglasses. So I ask her if she really feels up for Epcot and she says, “No. I’m exhausted Mommy.” I’m so proud of her for being able to identify her tiredness and put her well being above her fun. Again, I marvel at what a big girl she has become.

So we head to Artists Palette instead, have some great roast chicken and mashed potatoes, then pop into the arcade for “just one game.” We actually play a few, head back to the room, and fall asleep soundly. Yes, it is good to be here.

Coming up: A Day at Epcot

Looking Back: Violet at the Luna Park Kiddie Pool at the Boardwalk on our first trip to WDW. Is it possible that she was ever that small?

 

[dallasdisneymommy]

We wake up bright and early in order to get to Epcot at rope drop. We don’t have any breakfast food yet, so we grab what we have -- goldfish crackers -- and head to the park. We can eat there. We have two trips planned for this year so we are going to buy AP’s, and want plenty of time to get them processed, so we forgo the bus and drive instead. It’s a good thing we do, because the CM processing them takes forever, and I do mean forever. They are mis-spelled, she has charged us the wrong amount, she forgets one, it’s not pretty.

But we finally get in and head straight to Soarin’, which is an Incredibles’ family favorite. We grab fast passes and some breakfast at the food court nearby (what is the name of that food court – Sunshine Seasons?). We are now all feeling strong, well-rested, and well-fed, thank heavens!

Up next, Test Track! On our last trip, Violet thought the ride was too fast, and she’s scared to ride again. Dash has no such consternation, and he I hoot and holler through the ride while Tweety stays with Violet and Jack Jack. We immediately disembark and get a rider switch pass for Tweety, who somehow manages to convince Violet to ride with her, and Dash goes along for good measure. I wait with Jack Jack, nervous that Tweety will be able to handle Violet if she chickens out. Tweety still struggles with English sometimes, has never been to Disneyworld and doesn’t know how it works, and is more than a little bit overwhelmed being here, so I say a little prayer for smooth sailing.

I needn’t have worried, because Violet comes through like a champ, and has the picture to prove it. You can see that Tweety loves it as well. I decide to forgive her for putting Violet in the middle seat with no shoulder harness, when I asked her to sit there herself…you see, sometimes Tweety nods her head yes when she has no idea what I’m talking about. But nothing can dampen my mood, we are all happy and enjoying ourselves.

We head back to Soarin’ where we use our FP’s while Tweety stays with Jack Jack, who is napping in the stroller. We grab a rider switch pass for Tweety to use later, and head to the Seas with Nemo and Friends.

Jack Jack is now awake, and we all pile on Nemo, which he loves. Lots of squealing and pointing ensue, and I squeeze him tight, thinking how glad I am that he is enjoying himself.

We disembark to the tune of “in a big big world…” which sticks in my head for the rest of the day. We head to the play area for the obligatory photo in Bruce’s mouth, then to Turtle Talk with Crush.

Violet and Dash ready their questions for Crush, since every time we have been to WDW, one of them has been chosen to talk to him. Usually it’s Violet, with her big eyes and eager smile; but last time it was Dash, who stood up like a big kid and told him his full name – first, middle, and last. It was adorable. But today was not to be a repeat of those days, as neither child was chosen. I find myself blatantly disinterested in the presentation when it doesn’t star my children, then feel superficial for feeling disinterested, and finally the show is over, saving me from my shame spiral.

We watch the fish upstairs for a little while – and Jack Jack barks at them, which is the only animal noise he knows at this point, and we all laugh at him earnestly barking at the fish.

On our way out of the Seas, Violet asks for a stuffed underwater sea creature to befriend “Sparkles” the seahorse from our last trip, but I tell her we will get one later. Figment is waiting for us.

After Figment (always a hit with the kids, though Tweety is perplexed), I coax Violet and Dash into riding Soarin’ with Tweety. Although Tweety is being paid for her help on this trip, I want her to enjoy herself, and a trip to WDW just isn’t compete unless Soarin’ is involved. So I promise the kids ice cream after the ride (bribery works wonders), and they set off. Jack Jack and I grab some milk and grapes for him and a tuna croissant and a beer for me. Yum! We can always find something good at Sunshine Seasons. When the gang comes off Soarin’, we grab some food for them, along with the promised ice cream. And we decide to head back to the room for a break.

Coming up: The Fantasmic Debacle

Looking back: Before “The Seas With Nemo and Friends” it was simply “The Living Seas.” And here is Violet introducing herself and Dash taking in the outdoor display before the days of “Mine! Mine! Mine!” – my favorite animals in all of the Seas.

 

[dallasdisneymommy]

After we return from Epcot, I wish I could lay down and take a nap, but I can’t postpone getting groceries for another moment, so I head out with Violet and Dash, who insist on coming along (even though I wish they would stay in and rest up). On one of our prior trips, we found a grocery store nearby (a Publix, maybe?) that didn’t rape and pillage its customers, and I set out in search of that. But I can’t find it, so I end up at the Goodings at Crossroads.

It has almost everything I need, but it’s nightmarishly expensive, and although I am prepared to pay Disney’s inflated prices, I am bitter at having to pay a grocery store’s inflated prices, just because of proximity. But I am in a bind, which they know, and so I load up and pay up. Oh well.

On this trip, I really want to see Fantasmic. Never, ever have I seen it, in all our visits to WDW – mostly because it’s billed as “somewhat dark and scary for kids.” But now that the kids are older, we watched a bit of it on YouTube and decided that we would give it a try. So before we left Dallas, I pre-booked the Fantasmic Dinner Package (I read the Dis, I know it’s necessary if you don’t want to wait in line for an hour for a seat in the sticks). Somewhere in my hazy memory I thought that dinner was at 5ish, but when we get home with the groceries I check my notes and realize that our reservations are at 4:00. It is 3:25. And now we have to run.

So we get in the car and drive to Hollywood Studios. The kids are falling asleep in the car seats, and I don’t feel good about this, but I’ve pre-payed the package, and I don’t want to waste the money. So I wake the kids up and drag them to Hollywood & Vine. We have eaten here once before, for the Playhouse Disney character meal, and I remember the food as being pretty good. Of course there are no characters at dinner, and my kids are not being very cooperative, so they basically end up just eating ice cream sundaes. I try not to worry about this as we head out the door – after all, we have our Fantasmic tickets in hand with some time to burn.

Violet has seen some very sparkly Minnie ears she simply must have, and the girl wearing the ears tells us that she bought them “under the hat,” so we set out in search of the ears. We find them and Dash finds a Goofy hat he likes, so all is well again.

Then I make the mistake of saying, “why don’t we go try to find the new ride, Toy Story Mania?” Toy Story Mania has only been open for a few weeks, maybe; and when we get there at 7:00, the fast passes are long gone and the wait time is listed at 55 minutes. Now, I don’t wait in lines like this. I read the Dis and Unofficial Guide and Allears specifically so that I don’t have to wait in lines like this. But Violet and Dash are begging, yes, literally begging me to do it. “We don’t care HOW long the line is Mommy! Please!” So we get in the line.

It takes Jack Jack all of 5 minutes to start acting up, so Tweety offers to take him outside. I tell her that we will be an hour or so, and that she can stroll around and I will call her when we get out. It is then that she realizes she left her cell phone in the room. I’m slightly worried about this, but we sync up our watches and we separate.

We slowly, very slowly, meander through all the Toy Story Mania theming. It’s adorable. We love the talking Mr. Potato Head, the Barrel of Monkeys, the Chutes and Ladders motif. But we are moving at a snails pace, with lots of stops in between. I see my watch register an hour wait, then an hour and a half, an hour and 45 minutes…and I’m freaking right out. I envision Tweety, outside with Jack Jack, thinking that maybe she missed us and not knowing what to do. She still doesn’t know about the buses back to the resort, we haven’t taken them. I am worried sick, but don’t want to pull the kids out of the line after waiting so long.

Finally, after 2 hours and 15 minutes of waiting, we board Toy Story Mania. And it rocks. But I can’t wait to get off and find my baby. I’m near frantic about it. I’m near frantic just remembering it. So we put our yellow glasses in the bin and walk outside, and there is Tweety, pushing Jack Jack in the stroller, with a big smile on her face. She is fine, Jack Jack is fine. They have just been walking around, taking it all in. She is rearing to go, seeing lots of things she’s interested in. But I’m worn and Violet has developed a blister, so I tell her she can stay and we will head back to the room. She isn’t comfortable enough to do this, and I feel bad, but we all head back. On the way out, I hand our Fantasmic tickets to a family just getting to the park. They seem underwhelmed -- so much for spreading Pixie Dust. Oh well.

We get back to the room and Tweety opens the door to the balcony, which overlooks the little lake at Saratoga Springs. We are all sitting outside, relaxing and taking in the view. Jack Jack is being adorable, and I snap this picture of him being adorable. Then he proceeds to throw up all over the balcony.

I guess it wasn’t food poisoning after all.

Coming up: Animal Kingdom!

Looking back: Here is our first, more successful foray at Hollywood & Vine, during our 2006 trip with Mr. Incredibles’ family. They LOVED dancing with these characters!

 

[dallasdisneymommy]

As I dozed off the night before, I worried about what the coming days would bring. It was obvious that what Violet and Dash had at the beginning of our trip was in fact a stomach flu of some sort, and not food poisoning. The good news was that it seemed to be a 24 hour thing, so perhaps Jack Jack wouldn’t have too difficult a time with it. The bad news was that it seemed to be cycling its way through all of us.

Everyone starts stirring about 7:00 AM, which is a good sign – they’ve slept an hour more than they usually do. My plan is to have a restful morning, but Jack Jack seems fine (although he doesn’t seem interested in food) and the older two start bouncing off the wall, so I change our plans and decide to go to Animal Kingdom.

Because of the slow start, we don’t get there at rope drop, so we park what seems like a million miles away from the front gate. We unload the car of the strollers, unload the kids, walk to the very end of the row, fold up the strollers, wait for and then squeeze on the tram, listen to all 3 of my children whine about how long it’s taking, and finally, finally, we get to the entrance. It is at this moment when I decide that driving to the parks doesn’t save time or frustration, and I vow never to complain about the bus system again.

We head to the Safari for fast passes, and stop along the way for the kids to get their faces painted. They love doing this every time we visit!

Fast passes in hand to be used for later, we head to DinoLand. Jack Jack has already fallen asleep in the stroller (poor baby), so Tweety takes Violet and Dash on Triceratop Spin. After this we realize that Violet is now tall enough for Primevil Whirl, so I take her on this ride while Tweety and Dash play some midway games and mind Jack Jack in the stroller, still sleeping soundly. Violet L.O.V.E.S. Primevil Whirl, I don’t remember it being so jerky. I must be getting old.

We return to find Dash eating a hot dog with a freshly won amphibian in hand. Violet must have one, so we proceed to spend at least $20 for her to win a $3 toy. In the midst of the gaming Jack Jack wakes up, so I take him on Triceratop Spin. He is underwhelmed.

There has been much conversation today about Expedition Everest. Both Violet and Dash are tall enough to ride, but Violet Does. Not. Want. To. Dash keeps changing his mind. So we head in that direction to get fast passes, just in case.

Now, this is where I’m going to rant for a little bit. I love Animal Kingdom. Really, I do. I think it’s lush and beautifully themed. However…I agree with posters on this board who say that the walkways are entirely too narrow, resulting in a bit of claustrophobia for those of us who are prone to such things. I am always super anxious at this park, it doesn’t feel spacious enough. And because I try to navigate the fast pass situation by being strategic in my securing of them, then quickly traveling to other, less populated attractions and areas of the park while we wait for our window, I find that I’m constantly on these paths, trying to get somewhere, and feeling like I’m actually getting nowhere. This is what it feels like for me all day on this day – if I remember one thing, it was the constant trudging through the crowded walkways. Ok, rant over.

So we grab our fast passes, head to first aid to get a new band-aid for Violet, whose blister is acting up again, then get some food for Jack Jack who finally seems hungry (hurrah!). This feels like it takes 2 hours, but probably, it was more like half an hour. We then ride Safari (always good) and head to Expedition Everest. Dash is excited about riding, so we are going to do it! I leave Tweety with Violet, Jack Jack, and ice cream while Dash and I zip through the fast pass line – he doesn’t seem at all nervous, and I snap this picture of him before we board. He looks happy, yes?

Unfortunately, this happiness is short-lived. As soon as it gets dark and we start going backwards, I feel his head burrowed into my shoulder, where it remains for the rest of the ride. He doesn’t see the Yeti, which is perhaps a very good thing. He gets off weary but not teary, deems the ride “a little bit scary,” and does not want to ride again. Tweety has a fast pass of her own but doesn’t want to ride it alone, so we decide to head back to the room.

Jack Jack is tired and takes a nap. I take Violet and Dash out to the pool, where Violet proceeds to participate in any and all poolside activities – hula hoop, dancing, musical towels, and the balloon throw. She cracks me right up – she is never fearful or intimidated about just walking into a big group of people she doesn’t know and joining right in. Dash, not so much. But you can see him doing the dance moves in the pool.

After ice cream and some more swimming, we get everyone fed and bathed and we are all in bed, fast asleep, by 8:00. Today was an exhausting day, but at least we didn’t have any vomiting. Would we be so lucky tomorrow?

Coming up: A tour of the world, the Epcot way!

Looking back: A stroll down face painting past…a zebra, a kitten, a dalmation, a butterfly, a tiger, a harlequin mask of some sort, and the Flash

 

[vdarrell]

Still enjoying your incredible trip report.
Loved seeing the progession in their face paintings choices.

 

[teresajoy]

Hey now, aren't we due for another update???? I'm loving the report, please keep it coming !

 

[dallasdisneymommy]

Aw, thanks vdarrel and teresajoy! I'll work on another installment today!