We Fly Down in 10 Hours..the kids are in bed and have NO IDEA! ** 3/9: Final Thoughts

[BlueEyes78]

Welcome aboard, Kristina! I'm glad you're enjoying it, and I'll probably have another chapter up tomorrow!

 

[BlueEyes78]

True to form, the boys were up at 7:30 again on Wedesday morning. I don’t remember which one woke up the other, but I was beginning to stop being exasperated! We didn’t plan to leave until a little later this morning, since we could drive directly to AK and it was the closest park. We caught glimpses of Everest every morning on our way into other parks, so we had a good idea how close it was.
We were almost all ready to go – lunches packed, backpacks loaded – when I realized I couldn’t find the video camera. Eventually my dad realized – and the more astute of my readers may have recognized this also – that the last video I took the day before was of the boys in the pool. Uh-oh.
I ran out to the patio, and sure enough, there it was on one of the lounge chairs. Either it had lightly rained or there is a LOT of dew in Orlando, because it still had quite a bit of water on it. I was pretty panicked, but luckily after drying it off and attempting to turn it on, I found that it was still in working order. And it still is, two months later, so apparently nothing was damaged inside. Whew! Crisis averted!
Nathan and Casey were having an “off” day so they were still sleeping in when the rest of us left for Animal Kingdom at 8:15. I had a very specific plan for the morning and the rest of the day was more flexible. Last time we came Caden was too small for Everest, but he was 44 inches now. So the plan was for Dad to take Connor to the Tree of Life and meander around there on the trails – I knew he’d love all the detail on that tree – while the rest of us did a speed-walk to Everest. Then we’d meet back up with Dad.
We were at Animal Kingdom by 8:30, and had plenty of time to admire the big safari-themed Christmas tree out front. They let us through the turnstiles at about 8:45, and we had a nice leisurely stroll through the Oasis. It was a little chillier today than it had been thus far in the week, and not supposed to get out of the high 70s. I know everyone says Animal Kingdom is the hottest park, but there is a LOT of shady spots that are very cool on mornings like this! I was doubly glad I had packed ponchos for Kali River Rapids!
On our August trip, it seemed that the crowd was roped off pretty far away from the Tree of Life – I remember Mickey climbing it and having to “radio” to us, but this time we were all the way up on Discovery Island before we got to the rope. We were right up front, too, so we didn’t see a need to cut through DinoLand to get to Everest as long as we stayed in front of the crowd. Once the rope dropped, it seemed that a lot of people were headed for the Safari ride, and it was just a handful of us going to Asia. I couldn’t believe our luck! We were almost alone all the way to Everest, and once through the turnstiles, two of us could have been in the last row of the first car to pull out. Shawn voted for that, but I wanted us all to get to ride with Caden on his first time. So we got the first two rows of the second car! Mom and I rode in the front seat, with Caden and Shawn in row two. On my only other trip, I had been in the last row, so I really got to appreciate this time how from the very top you have a clear view across Disney, including Spaceship Earth. I haven’t read all of the “I can see Epcot from here” Trip report yet, but that’s exactly what I yelled when we got to the top. That was so cool.
Well, with all the noise in the mountain, I couldn’t hear anything from Caden, but Mom and I were loving it. That is one sweet ride! When we got off, though, I was promptly informed that he DID NOT like the ride. He said the reason was that the Yeti scared him at the end, but I think it might have been a bit too big for him also. He didn’t cry or anything, but he was determined to pout for awhile, and I told him that since he didn’t need to ride it again, there was no need to let a bad attitude effect the rest of the day. I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to talk him into Tower of Terror later in the week since I’d convinced him to ride this, but we’d cross that bridge when we came to it. He was pretty much over it by the time we found Dad on the trails.
I was right, Dad REALLY enjoyed the Tree of Life. I had never seen it up close myself, so we hung out there while Shawn ran to get FP for the Safari. Caden charmed a vendor into giving him one of the “friends of the forest” conservation pins though he didn’t donate any money! We met up with Shawn at about 9:30 at Camp Minnie Mickey. Shawn really wanted to see some Christmas characters, but they wouldn’t be out until 10 or so, and I was afraid the boys would get restless just standing around for 30 minutes. Our FP time was 9:45 to 10:45, so I thought if we went to the Safari, we’d be back around the time of the first FOTLK show, leaving Mickey fairly free. He reluctantly agreed to my plan, and we headed out to hit our early window, but not before Caden flirted with Pocahontas for about ten minutes. She was completely alone when we stumbled across her gazing with a puzzled expression at a Christmas tree. She had a lot of questions about the tree and what we need them for “in our village.”

Caden loves being a fountain of information about anything, so he was more than happy to explain our strange Christmas customs to her! And since the place was basically empty he had her listening ear all to himself!
We were at the Safari by 9:30.

I was hoping an earlier morning time and cooler weather would mean even more animal activity, but honestly I think we got a better driver last time. This one didn’t stop very long for pictures, and by the time you got an animal in focus, he’d hit the gas.

Still, it is an amazing landscape that you drive through, and I think everyone had a really good time. Here are a few shots we got:

We’d never done the Pangani Trail so we decided to give that a shot, which was probably a mistake. It was unbelievably crowded and navigating the stroller through the small buildings was a nightmare. We couldn’t stay together, and I was trying to get us back to Camp Minnie Mickey so Shawn could see his characters. We even split up – we told Mom and Dad to meet us back at the Camp so they could meander while we were a bit faster, but we didn’t get out that much in front of them. By the time we finally were spit out at the end of the trail, it was close to 10:45. We rushed back to the Camp, but unfortunately there was a 30 minute line for the characters already because the first FOTLK was out.
We decided to try to get into the 11:00 show since that was on our must-do list and we were there, though we weren’t optimistic about our chances. Much to our surprise, we got in with plenty of time to spare, and texted Mom and Dad to let them know where we were – and just after the show started, we saw them sneak in and get seated as well.
I’m SO glad we got to see this! The boys were completely mesmerized. I think their favorite part was the “monkeys” on the trampoline and bars, but we all also really enjoyed the bird lady flying through the air. I love every bit of music from that movie, and was just singing along like a fool. Luckily it’s loud enough that no one cares! Caden’s eyes were wide as saucers when the fire-eater was doing his act, and he looked very worried and whispered loudly, "Are you sure this is really safe? He could burn this whole place down!"
Definitely a "thinker," that one!
We got out at 11:30 and the line was STILL super long to see the characters, and the boys were voting for lunch NOW. Shawn was not necessarily happy about this development, but went along with us. We all met up and headed back to India and found a nice outdoor eating area right across from Kali River Rapids to unpack our sandwiches and chow down. The crowds were really starting to pick up, but I was still surprised when I ran over to Kali and found there were no FP times left. I don’t know if they didn’t have any that day at all or if they had run out, but there was only a 20-minute standby.
By the time we finished, it was closer to 30. We had Connor measured…with Shawn standing by saying hopefully, “well, I think it’s a ‘no,’” (he was VERY close to the line) but the CM smiled and said, “Nope, Dad, it’s a ‘yes.’” So we sent Mom and Dad off to the Maharaja trail and prepared for quite a wait. Well, the 30 minutes was closer to 10. Not sure how they were that far off! We had just enough time to walk through the lines and get our ponchos on. Aren’t we cute?

We all got on and Connor got his special “safety bar” arranged. It took only the first drop for me to thank the good Lord for plastic ponchos. A giant tidal wave washed over the side of the boat and smacked into me and Caden. I could feel how cold it was through the plastic but we stayed dry to the bone! Any time I saw a geyser shoot up I’d just lean down as far as I could and let it all land on my back. The boys thought the whole ride was just wonderful.
As we walked off the exit, water dripping off our plastic, a desperate-looking Asian man leaned over from the stand-by line and implored me, “Two dollars! Two dollars for jacket!”
I laughed, and his friends thought it was hilarious, but took it off and told him he could have it for free, since we were just going to throw them out anyway. I don’t think his friends made fun of him as much after that! Shawn also gave his away, and we pitched the kids’ in the trash.
We met up with Mom and Dad briefly, and they decided they wanted to wander some more, and the boys really wanted to go to Dinoland. We stopped to get an ice cream and plopped down and ate it right next to the little sculpture that is carved to match Everest.

I had heard about it, but not seen it yet so I was grateful Shawn pointed it out. We got some pictures taken and kept on moving. This one turned out really well:

I could tell Shawn was getting grumbly at this point - you can tell these things after being together for 14 years... He was feeling disappointed since he hadn’t gotten to ride the first Everest car, hadn’t gotten to see his characters, and ridden Kali against his will. I asked the kids if they wouldn’t rather see the characters but they were voting full-force for the Boneyard.
“All right,” I told him, “You are the one who wants to see the characters. I don’t particularly want to wait 30 minutes, the boys want to ride rides, so I’ll stay with them, and you go have fun.” He protested at first, but after I insisted he realized we’d all be a lot happier if we each got to do our own thing, and no one felt strong-armed into anything.
So he took off, and we rode Triceratop Spin.

I kind of considered Dinosaur but after the Haunted Mansion incident, thought that might traumatize Connor beyond repair. I really had no desire to take them to the Boneyard but Caden remembered it and was begging.
I knew it was enclosed so I figured I could handle trying to keep an eye on both of them.
I was wrong. For the first five minutes, they did a good job staying together. I asked Caden to please try to not run away from his brother, so I didn’t have to worry about being in two places at once. But Connor discovered the dig site and wanted to play there. Caden thought it was boring. After a few minutes I agreed to let them go back to the playground, and reminded them to stay together. I tried to hang out in a spot where I had a good vantage point, near the bottom of the big slides. Well, next thing I know, Caden comes out of the slide alone. I asked him where his brother was and he said he didn’t know, that Connor had run away from him “somewhere up there.”
I was pretty much OK with letting a five-year old run around the place, it is huge but he wouldn’t get lost and could find me. But Connor wouldn’t always reliably come when called and could easily slip out of the playground and over to the dig site unnoticed, where there was another exit. I told Caden to stay at the playground and go to all the slides calling for Connor, while I ran to the dig site. I assumed he’d be there, but I didn’t see him anywhere. Now I was starting to panic. I hate my kids being out of sight for even a minute or two, and it had probably been at least 3 since I knew where he was in that huge place.
I found Caden and he took me to the last place he’d seen Connor, in a giant ropes course near the top of the slides. I was crawling through that place screaming Connor’s name, probably mowing down little kids on either side of me. He was nowhere to be found.
As I got near the top I noticed a flash of a striped shirt a little ways below me and to my left. I ran over to the edge and realized it was Connor, running away in the opposite direction on a ramp a couple of levels below. “CONNOR!” I yelled. “STOP RIGHT NOW!” I think he must have heard how freaked out I was because he actually listened right away. “Caden,” I said, a little more calmly, “You go to where your brother is, hold his hand and sit down until I get there.” He had been pretty scared himself, and he nodded and took off like a shot. I didn’t let Connor out of my sight until he got there, and once I knew he had him, I went down myself.
So THAT was our adventure in the Boneyard and I decided at that time that this playground was simply too big for a toddler to wander alone. Maybe on our next trip I’ll feel comfortable having two kids running around, but it was not a job for one person!
It was getting close to 2 now, and Shawn had gotten to see several characters at Camp Minnie Mickey with a pretty quick line, and came back in a much better mood!

We decided to call it a day, and met up with Mom and Dad on Discovery Island. They had just seen “It’s Tough to be a Bug” and thought it was really cute. We got a few more pictures of the Tree of Life - here are two of my favorites:

And then a photopass family shot before heading out:

We did check with a CM to see if DeVine might be about, but apparently she “hangs out” in Africa now and her last “show” was 1:30. Next time I’ll check with a CM at the front desk earlier!
The boys were pretty wiped out, and they both took little naps that afternoon. We saw Nathan and Casey briefly on their way out – they had spent the day doing laundry and swimming, and were headed out to see the Main Street Electrical parade and fireworks at Magic Kingdom. They said that our owner Holly had been over to do some adjustments on the pool thermostat again, and the pool was MUCH warmer now, probably the high 80s which felt amazing! That night we grilled out hamburgers and hot dogs, and had potato and macaroni salads out on the patio, then had a nighttime swim. It was a beautiful clear night and the moon was almost full, right over our heads as we played in the water. Shawn took the boys in and put them to bed so Mom and I could hang out again the hot tub. I could end every day like that!

 

[kristina87]

Sounds like a great day! I always heard AK was the hottest too but I think I was more miserable in MK than anywhere else!

I would have pouted like Shawn, my last trip was also my first and my main mission was to meet all the characters!

SO scary about your kids in the Boneyard, I would have been freaking out too I'm sure! Glad it was a crisis averted

And now I REALLY want hot dogs and potato salad haha!

 

[beachgirl2000]

Just found your report and am loving it!!!!

Congrats on baby number 3 -- I look forward to reading the rest of your report tonight!!!!

 

[BlueEyes78]

Just found your report and am loving it!!!!

Congrats on baby number 3 -- I look forward to reading the rest of your report tonight!!!!

Thanks, I'm glad you like it! I mainly write these as a journal/scrapbook so I can look back and remember but it's also good to have readers who are enjoying it also!

And thanks for the baby congrats...I'm almost 10 weeks along now and really looking forward to not feeling so queasy all the time. Then maybe we'll start planning baby's first trip!

 

[BlueEyes78]

I bet you can guess how this chapter will start – the boys were up early again! And of course we had nowhere to go today, since our plan was to go to the Christmas party that night.
Luckily I have the best Mom in the world, who also happens to be an early bird. She was already up, and volunteered to take the boys out to the pool so that Shawn and I could sleep in. Did I mention I love my mom??
So we took her up on the offer. When we did get up, I spent much of the day doing laundry and catching up on e-mail, but I did get in some pool time with the boys. Notice Caden is still doing well without the floats!

Since our bag was a few pounds over on the way down, we planned to send the clothes we were done with in a garbage bag with my parents, who planned to leave the next day. I wanted to get as much of that packed up as possible since I knew we’d be out late that night. We ended up spending the day doing a lot of swimming, with Caden getting more and more confident. We worked on the leftovers in the house for lunch (those enchiladas from Dream Dinners are super yummy, even reheated!). We were all pretty much couch potatoes as it was Mom and Dad’s last day, and Nathan and Casey planned to go see the Osborne lights that night. I remember a lot of TV watching that afternoon! We did get the boys to take short naps so they could stay up late, which is always a victory!
We left the condo around 4 and made our way to the TTC. I think we were walking through the turnstiles at about 4:30. We asked the CM at the gate how to get Fastpasses since we used our party tickets to get in, and he said just to try our normal tickets. Ok-dokey then!
We attached our special bracelets to our wrists and took off down Main Street for the second time this week – not that it ever gets old. Seeing it all decorated for Christmas was a very new experience for us. There is something kind of surreal about it, especially for an Ohioan, hearing the carols and seeing the wreaths – but while wearing shorts and sunglasses!
We split up at the Tomorrowland bridge – Shawn took the boys over to Liberty Square to see how crowded the Columbia Harbor House was for dinner, and I went over to Space Mountain to check out the line/FP situation. There was still FP distribution going on, for 5:30, which was perfect. We’d have time to eat dinner and then head back over to use them! I put our two tickets in, and it spit out tickets. Unfortunately I didn’t look at them too closely! That will come into play later.
I met up with the boys a few minutes later after seeing the cutest maternity shirt EVER – the lady had on a shirt that said “Embrace Your Bump” and had Minnie on her back, reaching around with her hands on the belly. I had to stop and ask her where she got it, because I was immediately thinking of Casey – unfortunately it was pink, and she hates pink. But it was TOO cute. When I got to the Harbor House it was pretty much empty. We got fish and chicken baskets and chowed down. It was pretty good, but I guess I was expecting more than your standard Long John Silvers fare. Definitely fast-food caliber.
We finished up and then split up – Shawn took Connor back to ride the Barnstormer and I took Caden to Space Mountain. We stopped to get his picture in front this time, since we forgot on Sunday.

We went to hand our FP to the CM, and THAT’s when I realized my tickets said, “THIS IS NOT A VALID FASTPASS.” Apparently you can NOT use your ticket when you get in on a party ticket, as I suspected. However, the CM assured me that the standby line was just about as long as the FP line at this point – the park was starting to empty out for MVMCP anyway, so no big deal. In fact, when we got up to the FP/Standby line split, they waved us to the FP side, probably just to even things out! We got to ride the “opposite” side as last time but I didn’t notice too many differences. This time Caden wanted to wear his glasses so he could fully appreciate all the planetary stuff going on up high, but I think he spent so much time gripping them in fear of losing them that he didn’t do that anyway!
We met Shawn and Connor at the exit and decided we had just enough time before the parade and castle-lighting to ride Spaceranger Spin. I don’t remember our exact scores, but I know Shawn beat all of us, and poor Connor came in last with 200 points! : )
As we exited Tomorrowland, Caden noticed Stitch’s Great Escape and started begging to ride that. The CM told us it would probably be another 10 minutes before the next show, and the show itself is close to 20. That would put us WAY to close to the castle-lighting, so I told him we’d do our best to fit it in later. I had absolutely NO desire to ride it, after having ridden the Extraterrestrial Experience years ago (LOVED IT!!) and I knew how much they had watered it down. But this trip is mainly for the kids!
We got to Main Street just in time to see Mr. Incredible’s float stop nearby. Caden LOVES the Incredibles so he was really excited, until they started asking the guests to get into the street and dance with them. I love my kids to death, but the no-silliness policy of Caden’s is terribly frustrating at times. I was so jealous of all the parents out there cutting a rug with their laughing, happy children, while mine stood there in a complete pout because of all the dancing. We couldn’t even get Connor to join in, so we decided to take advantage of the melee to scoot closer to the castle. Everyone else was out dancing in the street, and we just mosied on over and parked our stroller right on the sidewalk front and center. OK, so that is ONE advantage to having non-dancing children!
We were in the perfect spot, and only had to wait about 10 minutes after the parade for Mickey, Minnie and the gang to decorate Cinderella’s castle for us. Now THIS the kids loved. The fairy godmother comes out to do the “finishing touch” and has the children chant “Bibbity Bobbity Boo” while the whole castle twinkles and finally lights from bottom to top. I think Caden thought he really did have a hand in it!
Now here is an insider tip Shawn got from a CM – Santa is listed NOWHERE in the program for the party, but he is up front by the main gate starting at 7:00. Those who know get in line immediately. So as soon as the castle was lit and the crowd started to disperse, Shawn took Connor and jogged back down Main Street to get us a good spot. Caden and I went to ride Stitch. It was every bit as bad as I’d thought it would be, and my biggest question is – why the heck do they need to restrain you in your seat now?? I totally got it 15 years ago when people would have been bolting from the place in a blind panic, but what exactly is supposed to be scaring us now? And the seat restraint banged my shoulders pretty good, I don’t remember it being that firm before! Anyway, Caden was greatly amused, and we got out at about 6:50, just in time to run down and find Shawn and Connor waiting about 4 families away from the front.
At 7:00 the music came piping in and the snow started to fall just as St. Nick made his grand entrance. That was REALLY cool. The kids were totally enamored with the snow, and yes, they tried to catch in on their tongues though I did warn them it didn’t taste like Ohio snow! Here they are during the wait:

They got a nice long visit with Santa, and my favorite part of the conversation was when he asked if they’d been good, and Caden immediately said “Yes,” very innocently, and Santa replied, “Are you sure? Are you sure this isn’t the house where sometimes, the big brother is not nice to the little brother, and the little brother annoys the big brother?”

Caden’s eyes widened and he leaned towards me and whispered loudly, “Mom – how does he KNOW?” That cracked me up.

We all got our pictures done, and then went down the street to get another shot in front of the castle. This was one of my favorites from the trip, and ended up being our Christmas card:

Shawn was interested in seeing the seven dwarfs, but when we found them back by IASM, there was already quite a line. He knew it would be a choice between Santa or the dwarves and he definitely wanted that family picture with Santa! So we rode Small World again, mainly for Connor, but Caden had read in his book about Hidden Mickeys in the Hawaii scene in the vines, and he was really excited to find them.
We got out and decided to head to the Pinnochio restaurant for our cookies and hot chocolate. I asked the CMs about nuts and they said the Christmas cookies MIGHT have nuts (I seriously doubt free food given away en masse would have nuts) so they got the boys special chocolate-chip cookies instead. We sat and watched the Small World boats while we enjoyed, and then changed the boys into pants since it was well after dark now and getting a bit “nippy.”
Since the last area we wanted to see was Adventureland, we decided to head in that direction to watch the early parade. There was already quite a crowd in Liberty Square but we squeezed in as best we could and lifted the boys high, and they were able to see everything well. I REALLY enjoyed the parade, more than the other one we saw. There was lots of Christmas music, snow, and you get to see all the characters all decked out in their Christmas costumes. I’d definitely put it on the must-do list for party-goers.
We had about 40 minutes to kill before the fireworks and the boys had wanted to do Alladin on Sunday. We’d never ridden it so we ran over and saw there was virtually no wait. We only waited for two rides to go before it was our turn. I had read about the spitting camel that shoots randomly as you fly by, but I thought maybe on a chilly evening it would be turned off – we realized as the car ahead of us got squirted that this was NOT the case! Luckily if you keep your car high, you’re above the splash zone, so I made sure the boys kept us as high as we could go…until they started to automatically lower us at the rides’ end, and wouldn’t you know whose was the ONLY car to be exactly level with the camel at the exact moment it spit? You guessed it! My bad luck from Splash Mountain continues!! So we got a little wet, and that cold was shocking at night!!
We were right across from Pirates, and there was no stand-by for that either. If you are a big rider, MVMCP is great for getting onto rides pretty much anywhere but Fantasyland with no wait at all! The boys were both really excited to ride that again. And this time, as we were walking in, Captain Hook came strolling by! Apparently he doesn’t do autographs or pictures, but it was nice to see him!
After Pirates, we headed over to the bridge by the Crystal Palace and got a pretty good spot to see the Wishes Fireworks show. We all really enjoyed it, except Connor who slammed his stroller cover down and covered his ears.

The loud noises make him a bit nervous. I had heard that Tinkerbell flies off the top tower of the castle and for some reason I thought she would be a twinkly-light effect – I had no idea it was a real, life-sized person, so that took my breath away when I saw her take that leap!!
The boys were pretty tuckered out at this point and so we bid adieu to the Magic Kingdom for the second and last time of the week. It always makes me saddest to leave Magic Kingdom when I know I won’t see it for awhile, more than the other parks. It’s just the most quintessentially Disney park, and probably the first one my boys will outgrow.
We took the ferry back to the TTC so I had a nice long time to watch it fade away across the water, and say goodbye in my heart, till next time!

 

[rpbear]

Great trip report. I have really enjoyed reading about your boys adventure at WDW. My children are 17 and 23 so I love to read trip reports about the young kids enjoying WDW. Congratulations on baby #3. The boys might outgrow MK one of these days but with the new little one you still have many many years of magic at MK.

Lucy

 

[BlueEyes78]

Great trip report. I have really enjoyed reading about your boys adventure at WDW. My children are 17 and 23 so I love to read trip reports about the young kids enjoying WDW. Congratulations on baby #3. The boys might outgrow MK one of these days but with the new little one you still have many many years of magic at MK.

Lucy

Thanks Lucy, you're right that this is not quite over for us yet!
Glad you're enjoying it, thanks for reading!

 

[beachgirl2000]

Loving your report!!!!

We went this past October during MNSSHP and the same was true for us -- We got there around 4:30 and got to ride everything with pretty much no wait! We saw the parade and the fireworks and even rode the Haunted Mansion around 11:00 that night with no one in there (mind you, it was a Tuesday night also). We had a great time -- I really would love to go for the Holidays some year!

And your sons may not outgrow their love for Magic Kingdom. My son is 10 and he still loves it there. So, hopefully, they will too!!!!! And he is already asking when we are going back!

 

[BlueEyes78]

Loving your report!!!!

We went this past October during MNSSHP and the same was true for us -- We got there around 4:30 and got to ride everything with pretty much no wait! We saw the parade and the fireworks and even rode the Haunted Mansion around 11:00 that night with no one in there (mind you, it was a Tuesday night also). We had a great time -- I really would love to go for the Holidays some year!

And your sons may not outgrow their love for Magic Kingdom. My son is 10 and he still loves it there. So, hopefully, they will too!!!!! And he is already asking when we are going back!

Yes, the holidays were truly a magical time to visit. We had a lot of people tell us we chose the perfect week, too - Jersey week was the week before, and Thanksgiving was the week after, but the crowds aren't too bad that week in-between and the weather was just beautiful. My dad kept saying.."So THIS is what Florida is like in the winter!" It's so much fun for those of us from colder climates!

 

[BlueEyes78]

Friday was a “Green light” day at DHS according to Tour Guide Mike, so we decided with being out late the night before, it wasn’t crucial to get there at rope-drop – besides, we planned to go back in the evening and the next day as well, so we had time to get all our must-dos in.
Top of my list – Tower of Terror, which I THINK I had Caden talked into on the plane – I was pretty sure he’d love it if he gave it a shot, but Everest had left him a bit weak-kneed. I told him there was no Yeti or monster or anything, and that the first part of the ride was like the Haunted Mansion. If he didn’t like it, he could just close his eyes. I’d made the mistake of showing him a home video on Youtube in 09, and for some reason it gave him the impression that it was MUCH scarier than it is. The day before our DHS day, he said, “Mom, I’m just not feeling so sure about that Tower of Terror anymore.” I assured him that it was his choice, and that I wouldn’t force him, but I also thought it might end up being his favorite ride if he gave it a chance – and reminded him he may not have another chance for several years.

Nathan and Casey had big plans for Downtown Disney today, so it was just the four of us again. We loaded up my parents’ van with all the stuff we wouldn’t need for the next two days, gave them big hugs since they’d be leaving while we were gone, and headed off to DHS around 9:30 or so. I was a little nervous, given the Legoland Incident, about being without our stroller but then Shawn pointed out that an umbrella stroller came with our house, so the day was saved! We couldn’t take a cooler or anything, but at least we had one.
When we got there, I was a little surprised at how crowded the lot seemed when we arrived, but having never arrived after a rope drop, hoped it was normal “green light” level crowds.
We all headed to Tower of Terror, so we could grab a parent swap in case Caden DID like it enough to ride again. When we saw the standby was only 5 minutes, we figured we’d have plenty of time to grab FP for Toy Story after we rode it. Shawn and Connor met some of the Citizens of Hollywood – Otto Von BonBon and Dorma Nesmond among them - while Caden and I got in line. They also got this photo taken, one of my favorites from the trip:

The ToT line was really quick, we got shown to the library on the right almost immediately. I couldn’t remember exactly where the hidden door was that admits you to the queuing area, but I know if you’re by it, you luck out! I picked the corner farthest from the TV and lifted Caden up so he could watch the Rod Sterling intro.
As it finished, the door opened immediately behind me! Yea, I had lucked out! So we were the first to line up for an elevator. I believe we were seated in the last two open seats on our car, inside and middle in the second row. As the door opened and we started through the ride, I felt Caden gripping my arm with both hands and reassuring himself, “This is OK. This isn’t so bad. I’m all right.” Then we ascended for the final time and I felt us pass into the outside air. “Ok, buddy, this is it! This is the best part!” I told him. And we dropped. I heard a shriek beside me, and the grip on my arm tightened, but as we continued to bounce up and down it became apparent that it was a shriek of pure joy.
When we got off, he proclaimed it the BEST ride he had ever ridden, and I breathed a sigh of relief. I’m so glad I was right and didn’t betray his trust with this ride!

He wanted to ride it again right away, so while Shawn went on with him through the FP line, Connor and I ran down to Toy Story to get the FP. I was really shocked when I saw the return time – 4:30!! I guess even on “green light” days, this is the most popular ride in the park! And I can’t say I really get that. I mean, it’s fun, and better than Spaceranger Spin…but NOT worth the wait that most people will go through. The standby was already over an hour. I grabbed the FP anyway, even though we’d be back at the house at that point, because we’d be back for the Osborne lights that night, and I know they’ll let you in after your FP window expires. At least I hoped this was true!!

We decided to head over to Animation Studio and skip Playhouse Disney at this time since the boys don’t watch that nearly as much anymore. We thought about getting in line to see Mickey again, but it was really long and we wanted to get into the first animation class. So we played around with some of the animation machines until we noticed a line forming outside the Animation class room. Apparently we waited just a few seconds too late. They let everyone in, all the way up to the family in front of us…and then they let THEM in. As they were shutting the doors, I asked if we couldn’t possibly just sit on the floor with a sketch pad, rather than wait 30 minutes. Well, yes as it turns out, they had two sketch pads left, so I helped Caden and Connor “helped” Shawn. We learned how to draw Buzz Lightyear, who Caden adores, so that was a lucky chance!

We decided to cut through Pixar Place and see if the Backlot Studios tour was running, and there was only about a 10 minute wait so we got in line for that. I had ridden it once years before, and all I remembered with the exploding truck thing. Well, as soon as we stepped into the water-effects show area I suddenly remembered the whole thing – I can’t believe I had forgotten this, but last time I saw it was while in high school, with my brother, and he and I were chosen to be the “actors” in the water show. I remember putting on all that water gear and shooting water cannons at each other. Unfortunately we were there alone, our parents had gone to Epcot that day, so no video tape to jog my memory more than that! But it was really neat to be chosen by that, based on where we stood in line. Basically they cut the line off just ahead of us, and then said, “Hey, wanna be in this show?” It was a lot of fun. I am pretty sure they’ve changed it some in the last 15 years, though. I didn’t remember the “shooting the water” effect, or the guy in the captain’s chair getting NAILED with all that water. I think I would have remembered that. It was cool to see what it looks like as an observer, though, too, and not a participant!

The rest of the show was just OK, the kids didn’t get the significance of all the famous props, and the truck explosion kind of freaked them both out. So they were ready for lunch afterward and we decided to head over to Pizza Planet.
Now, I don’t know if it was the effect of Star Tours being closed, if Tour Guide Mike was wrong, or if this is what a “green light” day at DHS looks like (kind of doubt that, as I’d heard from another family that it was dead on Sunday), but there were THRONGS of crowds everywhere. And even though it was past the general lunch hour, I felt like most of them were at Pizza Planet!
Caden had been asking for Slink for Christmas, and we saw one fairly cheap right near the restaurant so I motioned Shawn to head that way and took the boys into the restaurant with me. I am SO glad it didn’t take him long to get that toy and come grab them, because I ended up in that line for close to 20 minutes. At least I had plenty of time to calculate the absolute cheapest options for food and then re-evaluate about a dozen times! I ended up getting 1 pizza with 2 fruit sides, 2 large juices to split, and a side Caesar salad. Turns out we probably should have just gone for 2 pizzas – they weren’t nearly as big as I thought. So people were getting pretty huffy and impatient in there, and after awhile I was starting to feel the same way. The orders were completely disorganized – you wait a million years, then place the order (and my cashier did NOT speak English well so then you had to go over it again a few times), then you got a number and moved into another line to wait. AND - if you were lucky, by the time you got to the front of that line, they’d give you your order. I was not one of the lucky ones. Mine got sidetracked somewhere while they kept serving guests well behind me. One lady brought her order back because it was wrong, the kids in the family next to me were having a knock-down fight, it was complete chaos. I finally went up and showed them my number, and after a few more minutes of waiting got the order. It was probably a 30-minute ordeal over all. And the pizza, while OK, is NOT worth that! The kids were in REALLY bad moods (and Shawn wasn’t much better) when I got back to the table.

We decided after lunch to try to get into the 1:40 Lights Motor Action show, and then call it a day, so we could salvage the evening.
On the way over, we noticed that Mike & Sully were just out with only a very short line so we stepped in to check them out. Sully was the only character that freaked Connor out this week, but that may have had a lot to do with his mood. Caden had no such compunctions - he let Sully completely swallow him up in a hug:

Also, I saw THIS sign, which cracked me up:

Look at Connor's death-ray stare in this photo - a precursor of what was to come!!

So here’s where we had the Second Meltdown of the week (not bad for Friday!). You have to park the strollers outside the stadium area and then walk around a pretty big part of it to get to the entry way. Not an unreasonable walk by any means, but this is where Connor put his foot down again – by refusing to put his feet down. Despite the fact that he had been pushed or carried nearly EVERY step that we took in EVERY park, he decided he was not going to walk for three minutes. And again – we refuse to give into terrorists! Shawn urged Caden and I to go ahead and get a seat while he wrestled with Connor. It’s like half-dragging, half pulling him off from being wrapped around your legs, and trying not to trip up everyone around you, so I’m glad he volunteered for this job. We left them behind but I could hear the howling the whole time, especially in the tunnel under the stadium it was amplified to an unbelievable volume. Yep, that’s MY boy!! Caden just kept asking, “What is WRONG with him??”
Once we got our seats, he calmed down, I guess he thought he’d gotten his way by sitting. And of course they LOVED the show – what boy wouldn’t, even a very cranky one?? Lots of explosions, cars flying through the air, even a guy catching on fire. I was pretty amazed myself!

Connor was even cheered up enough to agree to walk out, but was very happy to plop back into the stroller once we found it.

On our way out, Caden wanted to stop at the well by the Indiana Jones area that has a rope that says “Do not pull.” He’d read about it in his book and wanted to see what the rope did. We had some trouble finding it, but then happened by a CM from Cincinnati, Ohio! We had a nice little chat with her and she pointed us in the right direction. We found it, Caden pulled on it, and it yelled at him which he found hilarious. Mission accomplished – NEXT mission…get these kids some rest so we can see some Osborne lights tonight!!

 

[BlueEyes78]

So we headed home from DHS (with my lovely husband stopping to get me a mocha Frappe at McDonalds) to a very quiet house. Mom and Dad were on the road to Atlanta, and Nathan and Casey were still out at DD.

My memory is fuzzy on this point, but I think we did actually get them to take a nap, but Benadryl might have been involved in that equation… I think we also let them have a little bit more time in the pool since it was our last day, once they woke up.

I’m pretty sure we munched on more leftovers to get the fridge cleaned out, probably the last of that yummy chili…

Anyhow, we reminded Nate & Casey that the house owners would be stopping by that evening with some treats, and then headed back out to DHS around 5-ish. First stop – time for some Toy Story Mania!

We used our expired fastpasses with no problems whatsoever, and were on the ride in about 10 minutes. This time I rode with Connor and Shawn and Caden rode together. I didn’t take a picture of our scores, but here is what you need to know – I WON!! I don’t think I’ve ever beat Shawn at any video game but Mario Kart. He is ESPECIALLY good at those that involve shooting. Maybe it’s because I spent more time playing TSMM on our Wii, who knows? While I usually beat him at accuracy (his method is to just shoot at anything and everything while I actually aim), he wipes the floor with me score-wise. But I beat him by a pretty good margin! So I’ll retain bragging rights till our next trip, but I don’t expect to be able to do it again!

After Toy Story it was definitely dark enough to enjoy the Osborne Lights so we took the short walk over to Streets of America. They were just “on” but not dancing when we got there. I wasn’t sure how long we’d have to wait, but as soon as I started to question a nearby CM, the music came on and the show began. Between the choreographed lights and the snow, I’m not sure there is any light show around to rival this one.

Unfortunately, it ruined other formally-impressive events for us…we went to the Cincinnati Zoo’s renowned Festival of Lights just before New Years which used to amaze us with their “more than a million lights” display. This year we were like “Eh…looks kind of sparse.” The Osborne lights truly just overwhelm your senses and are so amazing and beautiful. If you go for the holidays you HAVE to see them! And of course there are tons of kids running around with light sticks and swords, and we hadn’t really gotten the boys a souvenir yet, so we did end up getting them swords. At first I was pushing for something smaller but the price difference really wasn’t that great, so the swords give you the most “bang for your buck.” Not sure this was the greatest idea as Caden spent the rest of the night running through the crowded park “whooshing” his sword wildly in every direction (at least Connor was confined to the stroller), but to his credit he never hit anyone. Probably scared some of them to death though!

We waited in line a bit for a family picture:

Shawn mentioned wanting to get a pretzel for a snack. I was almost positive I’d seen them on Sunset Blvd the other day, so I suggested we head that way so we could check the standby time on ToT, aka as Caden’s Favorite Ride in the Universe. We stopped at an Information booth at the head of the boulevard, and the CM there was nice enough to look up exactly where on the street the pretzel vendor was, and to give Connor a fresh birthday button that we could use as a keepsake since his first one was a little worse for the wear after a week of ice cream and water rides!

Shawn and Connor headed for the food while Caden and I checked on ToT – amazing, only a five-minute wait! Why is this ride less popular than Toy Story?? Oh, well, I’m not going to look a gift horse in the mouth! So we head our THIRD trip for the day and loved every minute of it. Caden was even comforting a girl in line ahead of us who was a couple of years old than him but a bit nervous about her first ride. He enjoyed presenting himself as a battle-hardened veteran!

We met up with our gang and had our own pretzel – nothing to write home about, and not nearly enough salt in my opinion…and as we headed out, ran into a family who used to go to our church, but had moved to Orlando for a job change about two years before. They had known we were going to be in town from Facebook but we hadn’t dreamed of running into anyone we knew! We chatted for a bit and oohed and ahhed over how much all the children had grown, before heading out to catch the tram. We had another nice conversation there with a family from Tampa with annual passes who had come down for the evening after getting off work, with their two boys (about a year younger than ours) who were enamored with our swords. I wonder if going to Disney gets old for Florida residents…sometimes my kids are blasé about Kings Island, and that’s one of the better amusement parks in the country.

So, anyway, we got home, bathed the boys, put them in bed, and finished packing up, washing the towels and loaded up our rental car with as much as we could. We had to check out by 10 the next day, and had a lot of time to kill before our 7:00 flight.

Nathan and Casey were already in bed, and I finally got Shawn to hang out in the hot tub with me, first time all week (maybe it’s just not cool to hang out in a hot tub with your wife and mother-in-law!). We very much enjoyed the chocolate-covered strawberries Mark & Holly had delivered that evening, and then headed for bed around 10 for our last night in “the swimming house” as Connor had named it.

 

[beachgirl2000]

I am so sad it is your last night! I hate that feeling -- you spend months and months planning and that last night comes and it's so hard! I really enjoyed your report. Thanks for sharing!

 

[BlueEyes78]

I am so sad it is your last night! I hate that feeling -- you spend months and months planning and that last night comes and it's so hard! I really enjoyed your report. Thanks for sharing!

You are very welcome!
Yes, that last night seems to creep up on us so quickly. The first few days are leisurely and slow and you think you have so much time...and then next thing you know those suitcases are packed again!

 

[kristina87]

I love Kings Island! I was obsessed with Top Gun when I was little but I think they've changed the name of it now. I am dying to go to Disney over Christmas, I love the way you described the lights and the experience!

 

[BlueEyes78]

I woke up around 6:45 to the sound of a distant helicopter getting closer and closer. It passed over the house with a roar (like it was about to land on the roof!), and I cringed, waiting to hear the first child call out. Nothing happened. Slowly I relaxed, and a few minutes later began to drift back to sleep. Then I heard the putter-putter-putter again, growing louder and louder. As it passed over again, even closer, I moaned, “you have GOT to be kidding me.” It continued to do this in about four-minute intervals for about an hour. Just as you’d start to drift off there’d be this huge roar just overhead. Shawn glanced out to our front lawn and saw it pass overhead, VERY low to the ground. So of course around the eight pass or so, it did wake up the kids. So much for getting a lot of rest for our long day ahead! To this day we have NO idea what that was about!!

We stripped our beds and got the laundry going and threw the last of our luggage into the car as quietly as we could so as not to wake Nathan and Casey. We were pretty much ready to go by 9. There was no rope drop to rush off to, since this was an EMH day at DHS. Nathan was beginning to stir as we left so we reminded him that checkout was at 10, and he gave us a free putt-putt game he’d won earlier in the week so we could go play if we had time to kill. We also asked him to let us know how the security line was at the airport since they were flying out in early afternoon, and told him we’d see him back in Ohio!

With one last pass-through we said goodbye to the swimming house, which had been an absolutely LOVELY place to live as an extended family for a week. I would recommend Romancing the Mouse without hesitation to ANYONE exploring off-site options.

We were at DHS by 9:20 or so, and realized for the first time as they gave us our parking pass, that it’s good at ANY park for the day! Wow, if we’d known that we could have shared parking passes with Nathan and Casey on the days we were at the parks at different times! DOH!

The lot was about as full as it had been when we arrived the previous day, which was encouraging since it was an EMH day. Well, you know the first thing we had to do – Tower of Terror, of course! We made a quick detour over to TSMM to check out the fastpass line – it was already up to past 7:00 pm! Oh, well, no more Toy Story for us this time! Back at the Tower, there was a very short standby line, so Caden and I enjoyed our 4th ride on the Tower. Not sure exactly what Shawn is doing in the background here, but my assumption is Connor was running around and that it his "get over here NOW" face!

In the meantime, Shawn and Connor made friends with (i.e. flirted with) Eva Starlight and her gigantic breasts. Apparently she was completely enchanted by our munchkin man! I can't believe he sat on her lap, shows what a long way he's come since our first trip!

After we got off the ride we grabbed some FP just in case we had time to ride it later. On our way back down the street, one of the Streets of Hollywood characters set up a booth to give “free advice.” She had them sign her book – though Caden was quick to tell her that as a lowly three-year old, Connor would need help to do so – and she advised them to stick with Velcro shoes for as long as possible. The boys talked to her for a few minutes – I wish I had taped it because it was too cute the things they said to each other!

It was still early enough that if we got over to animation studios, we may be able to get in the line for Lotso before it got too long. I’m really surprised that Lotso is as popular as he is – isn’t that the equivalent of having a character meet ‘n greet with Ursula or Scar? He was just so diabolical – and then to meet a seven-foot tall version of him…wow! Caden was all for it, Connor, with the movie still fresh in his mind, was a bit wary. The CMs there were really cute about it. Shawn and Caden were like third in the queue, and they let Connor and I stand just outside the rope and said he could make up his mind there, and if he wanted to see him, they’d let us in when it was their turn. They assured Connor that Lotso is nice now, because he’s afraid of being on the garbage truck again. That really helped Connor feel better, and when Lotso came out, he passed right by us to go past the rope. That made up Connor’s mind and he decided he needed a hug from Lotso. So when Shawn and Caden were up, they let us in and we got to have our time with Lotso. He really does smell like strawberries!

What a big kid:

We hadn’t ridden the Great Movie Ride yet and we were right there so that was our next stop. This was one of the longer lines we experienced in the week, probably close to 20 minutes. Not sure the kids found the classic movie clips all that entertaining, but they did seem to enjoy the ride. We were a little concerned during the “alien” segment, because I couldn’t remember if anything scary popped out, and we kind of hovered around Connor, but nothing happened. They were both OK and enjoyed the scenes from Mary Poppins and the Wizard of Oz.

It was getting close to lunch by the time we got off, and we had some decisions to make…should we eat in the park and then hit the last few attractions on our list, or should we just push through, and leave the park for lunch and be done? Well, Nathan and Casey had eaten at Fuddruckers earlier in the week and I couldn’t quite get it out of my mind. My vote was for play now, eat later. Everyone agreed that they could make it – we’d had a late breakfast after all, so after a quick potty break, we headed to the playground, which Caden had been asking about all week.
Shawn and I were pretty wiped out so my hope was that they’d spend most of their time in the spider web (I think Caden went through it at least a dozen times on our last trip), where we could sit quietly and keep an eye on them. They did play there about 10 minutes, but then got interested in other things. After my experience in the Boneyard, I wasn’t about to let one of them out of sight, so I assigned Shawn to Connor and I took Caden and we did our best to keep track of them. While there’s a lot of little caves and slides and tunnels, there is only ONE solid exit in this place, so as long as we kept within sight of that, I was fairly confident we wouldn’t lose them. If I didn’t see one for a while I’d go on a hunt and the culprit always turned up fairly quickly. Overall much less stressful than the Boneyard, but still nice to have TWO pairs of eyes on the lookout! Anyway, it really is a great playground and they had a wonderful time:

The kids exhausted themselves playing for about 30 minutes. I had really wanted to check the wait time for the Muppets, but we all decided it was time for lunch by now, it was about 12:45 or so. We didn’t remind Caden of our ToT fastpasses, and strolled on out to the main drag. We took one final picture of us (Connor was not in the mood to pose at this point, but you have to have one LAST goodbye picture!):

And then it was to the parking log. Connor hadn’t had a stroller today, and had done very well – but he was POOPED!

We hopped onto the tram and said our final goodbyes to DHS, and headed through the resort out the back entrance, to Fuddruckers. And MMM was it every bit as good as I remembered!

We ordered two kids’ meals for the boys but could have gotten by with one. Even the kids burgers are huge! Caden was all excited about being able to add his own toppings and condiments, but I think the only thing he ended up adding was honey mustard. Odd child.

Other than our first trip to Magic Kingdom, we hadn’t done a lot of monorail riding, and still had some time to kill. We decided to ride some monorails to let the boys get their fill, so next it was off to the TTC. First, we rode the Epcot line. Shawn and Caden had done this last time, but I had never ridden it. It was so much fun riding that line through the park and seeing all the people, and fountains and of course Spaceship Earth again! For most of the ride we had a car all to ourselves, and let Caden fool around with the camera. He took this one (I think Connor would have napped no problem today if we'd been able to go home!):

Back at the TTC we switched to the resort/Magic Kingdom line and rode it all the way around, and waved goodbye to the castle.
Back at the platform, Caden created his first "feature film," which consisted of filming the monorail from one end to the other with a constant stream of narration. It was too cute!

It was starting to cloud up as we got off, and I’m glad we were dressed in our long-pants “travel clothes.” I think this was the chilliest weather all week, but I didn’t mind the upper 60s too much when Casey texted us that they had landed back home and it was in the low 50s! They also told us the line at Orlando to get through security was not bad at all, so what we’d seen last week was probably Jersey week crowds. So we had about 90 minutes to kill. Putt-putt time!!

We headed south to Pirate’s Island and played a pretty quick round. I would have liked to have enjoyed the scenery a bit more but we did not want to cut it too close with our flight. There was hardly anyone there so we never had to wait. It was a really nice course and the boys had a good time.

It was a close game for a while, but Shawn eeked it out in the end and did a little victory dance! So I put him in the stocks (I think Connor was trying to rescue him here):

And then it was off to the airport. All the fun stuff was over! We got there by 5:20 or so and turned the car in, and got to our gate in plenty of time. Shawn dragged in all the luggage and took the elevator, while I took the boys up the escalator and we lost each other for a few minutes but met up pretty quickly. We got our tickets, and then used the family-friendly line at security where there was no wait at all, and knew exactly what to expect so it went very smoothly.
We were at our gate before 6, and I ran down to the food court to get the boys some dinner…chicken nuggets and fruit from Burger King, and Shawn got something at the deli’s salad bar. I don’t remember what I had, but I think I just nibbled on the boys’ leftovers since I was still full of Fuddruckers!
The boys made friends with a woman sitting next to us, who happened to be the second-grade teacher of the son of our very good friends from church! Guess that’s not TOO coincidental since we were all headed to Dayton, but still (get ready for it) – it’s a small world after all! Seemed like we were running into Cincinnatians all week (don’t think I mentioned it but my Dad was sitting next to someone from our neck of the woods on the monorail on our first day, also!).
The flight was on time, and this time I told Shawn HE could have Connor and I’d take Caden since the boy did nothing but read on the way down. Well, of course he ended up with the easy one again. Connor was very tired, and after crying a little bit during take-off, he zonked out almost immediately.

Caden did read most of the time, but got a little restless as he was tired himself, and not very good at sleeping outside of his bed. I reminded him that in just a few short hours he’d be at home all curled up with all his stuffed animals.
I used Shawn’s i-phone to track our flight on the way home, that was pretty nifty. So I could tell when we passed over Atlanta, and then Knoxville (I had Caden wave to Grandma and Papaw as we flew over Kentucky), and then I felt my ears pop over Lexington. We were beginning our descent! It seemed to go so fast. Caden was yawning and told me he really wanted to be carried to the car. Poor little guy had been running strong all week and was officially out of gas. I would have loved to oblige, but I had all sorts of carry-on to handle and he would have to manage it himself. He was a real trooper, though.
We disembarked just after 9:30 (though it felt like the middle of the night to us by now) and Shawn paid $5 for a luggage trolley. He said he would have paid a $100 at this point! It had a little seat for the very groggy Connor, and Caden was able to load all his bags onto it so at least he didn’t have to carry anything. Dayton is a very small airport, and I think we were the last flight in that night. It seemed totally deserted. We parked our exhausted little crew by the carousel to wait for our luggage, which came pretty quickly, and then headed out the door.

The 30 degree air hit me like a punch in the face! Yowch! That’ll wake you up some! We were so glad we’d parked near the door the last week. We got the boys settled and hit 75 for the last leg. They were both asleep before we’d gone five miles, and stayed that way when we pulled into our garage and lugged them to their beds.

Up next...final thoughts!

 

[wild papayas]

Your trip report has been so much fun to read - thanx for sharing! My absolute fav ride is ToT, so I love that you hit it as often as you can! We are taking our next trip late Nov/early Dec and cannot wait for all of the holiday fun. My kiddos don't know yet, but I will have to tell them soon. My parents are also going so I can relate to all the whispering and code talking you had to do as you planned. I just can't wait much longer to tell them - they will be so excited! I am so impressed you kept your trip a secret right up to the airport! Anyway, glad you had such a wonderful trip and thanx again for sharing!

 

[BlueEyes78]

Your trip report has been so much fun to read - thanx for sharing! My absolute fav ride is ToT, so I love that you hit it as often as you can! We are taking our next trip late Nov/early Dec and cannot wait for all of the holiday fun. My kiddos don't know yet, but I will have to tell them soon. My parents are also going so I can relate to all the whispering and code talking you had to do as you planned. I just can't wait much longer to tell them - they will be so excited! I am so impressed you kept your trip a secret right up to the airport! Anyway, glad you had such a wonderful trip and thanx again for sharing!

I'm so glad you enjoyed it! I really enjoyed writing it too. Next time I'll take better notes and I want to record receipts and daily "faves" from everyone. The more I read, the more ideas I get.
You are going to LOVE the November trip. Have you ever been that time of year? I had only been to Disney in the summer, and I have to say, I don't know that I'll ever want to go back at that time of year. I really got spoiled this time!
How old are your kids? If you can pull off a surprise all the way up to the day you leave, it is SO WORTH IT. I don't think Caden will ever forget it!

 

[LoveMyTwoPrincesses]

I just spent the last hour reading your report and I loved it! Your boys are too cute!

I don't know how you kept that surprise from the kids. I can't even buy Christmas presents too early or else I might give them to my family right away!

 

[BlueEyes78]

I just spent the last hour reading your report and I loved it! Your boys are too cute!

I don't know how you kept that surprise from the kids. I can't even buy Christmas presents too early or else I might give them to my family right away!

Thanks for reading! Keeping it a secret was mainly a problem when we were with the whole family and making all the plans. Otherwise we did pretty good. We had the BEST time when Caden would start reminiscing about our 09 trip and asking to go back. We'd say stuff like, "Well, that's a LONG drive and you have school on Monday. We'd never get back in time. Maybe someday we'll go back..." while winking and nudging each other. I LOVE keeping secrets, but if the kids had been much older it probably would have been harder.