We Survived! 9 days of land & sea - with a 3 year old! -9/1- NEW PIC I HAD TO SHARE!

[amandaw]

Welcome One & All! Well, I'm hoping that there will be at least one person to come over here & join me......

This is my very first Trip Report! (*applause* or *crickets*)

Anywho.....before I dive into the nitty gritty of it all, I want to give some background info on how the trip became what it was.

First of all, let me introduce you to your tour guides for this trip:

Me (Amanda, aka Mommy), DH (Ed, aka Daddy) & DS (Reid aka Our endlessly energetic 3 year old son who is prone to the very exhausting 3 year old typical tantrums)

Here we are:


Now that the introductions are out the way, let me quickly go back about six years. In July 2004, Ed & I took our first ever cruise on Carnival. It was horrible! He got food poisoning the first night. That really helped set the mood of our cruise. He swore he would never step foot on another ship again.

Okay, now we move forward to October 2010. Anyway, we have a timeshare in Las Vegas with Hilton. I noticed we had lots of time that we were going to lose so I needed to find something to do with it. After a little bit of research, I found that I could exchange our time for a Disney cruise! I gingerly approached Ed with the idea. I made sure he was very tired & watching football so that he would want to tell me whatever I wanted to hear to make me disappear! He agreed! BUT, he would only go on the shortest amount of nights & demanded a veranda. What a diva! So, I quickly hopped on the phone before he could change his mind & traded in our time for a cruise on the Disney Dream sailing May 5th - 8th. And yes, I got him his veranda!

Alright, are you ready to time travel again? Let's jump to January 2011. One night, my sweet husband came home & told me about this website he had stumbled upon that he thought I would love. What was that website, you ask? Why the DISBoards, of course! I was in heaven! After talking to people on here about the cruise, I realized it was not a good idea that we had planned to fly in for the cruise on embarkation day. I then changed our flight to arrive on May 3rd, booked us for 2 nights at CBR & decided we would only do 1 day of parks, at Magic Kingdom, of course.

Here we go again: March 2011! I have some leftover Bonine from the cruise if anyone is feeling sick from the time travel. In March, I got the best email you can get from Disney: a Pin! Well, I couldn't let a 40% discount on a deluxe room go to waste, now could I? By this point, Ed was tired of talking about the trip so he told me to do whatever I wanted. I quickly changed everything! We would now fly in on Saturday, April 30th and stay at Wilderness Lodge on Club Level until Thursday, May 5th, when we would then leave to go to the Dream!

Okay, now that we understand how this trip came to be, I can start the actual trip report. I'll try to be less word-y & more picture-y in the future!

 

[Disneyfreak616]

Great start! But you do know that your title is just: ' right?

 

[amandaw]

Thanks! I don't know what happened to my title. Oh ok, I was just trying to get your attention! Hopefully, I have it fixed now....

 

[princess isabella]

I'm in

I've been thinking about a cruise with my 4 year old so I can't wait to read your experiences!

 

[amandaw]

I'm in

I've been thinking about a cruise with my 4 year old so I can't wait to read your experiences!

Yay and Welcome Aboard! Yes, you definitely have to stick around & hear what I have to say about the cruise! I'm hoping to get to my next installment and really get into our trip details as soon as I can get my wild child to sleep here in the next 30 minutes. Right now, I'm watching him ever-so-slowly pick up all the toys he has scattered across my house today.

 

[FreezinRafiki]

My head is spinning from the time travel! You've got a great start going. We'll be on the Dream in October, so I can't wait to hear what you thought of it!

 

[KatMark]

I followed you over from Barry's report. Looking forward to hearing about the cruise and the parks.

 

[amandaw]

My head is spinning from the time travel! You've got a great start going. We'll be on the Dream in October, so I can't wait to hear what you thought of it!

Welcome! Yeah, sorry about all the time travel. Take some meds because I can't promise we won't have to time travel some more!

I followed you over from Barry's report. Looking forward to hearing about the cruise and the parks.

Welcome and thanks for coming! I'm gonna try to get this report cruising right along....

 

[jecskc]

We stayed at WL club levelon a 40% pin in January and although I LOVED WL, I am not sure I would stay club level again. It was nice to have the breakfast every morning, but other than that, I am not sure Club Level was worth the money.

However, we are doing the Land and Sea thing next April, so I can't wait to read about your experiences.

 

[amandaw]

It was finally the day I'd been waiting for! I had only been counting down to this departure day since we had come back from our last WDW trip on Dec. 13, 2010. Prior to this day, I had been preparing like a mad woman! Of course, the day before, when I was trying to do laundry for packing, my dryer decided to die on me! Thank goodness good old mom isn't too far away! So, I finally got us all packed the night before. Oh, and I had prepared these for our mousekeeping tips:




So, on the morning of the 30th I woke up at 4 am! Let me just say, I am not a morning person, never have been nor will I ever be one! But, when Disney awaits, I have no problem hopping out of my bed! All 3 of us got ready, got everything in the car & we were out the door for 6am. We had about 1 1/2 hour drive to the New Orleans airport. Reid passed the time by watching Peter Pan, which gave Ed & I some nice, quiet time that we knew wouldn't last. We finally arrived at the airport & got checked in with Southwest. I have to say, this is the 1st time we ever flew Southwest & I was very happy with them. Security was no problem & it was on to our gate to wait...and wait. I have a tendency to get everywhere very early.
But, we finally made it on our plane:

It was an uneventful flight, which is always a good thing! We landed in Orlando a little after noon. First order of business: find some lunch grub for Reid. So, we headed to the food court & found what we had all been craving: good & greasy Sbarro! After finishing our grease with the side of pizza, we headed down to Magical Express. I always get so excited when I get down there. It's the best possible moment of the trip: you're in Disney, but it's the very beginning! We only had to wait about 10-15 minutes for our bus. Usually, I feel like this is the longest bus ride of my life! But, for whatever reason, this one went by quick. I think our drive took some shortcuts or something, which was fine by me. Of course we had to do drop-offs at the Polynesian & Grand Floridian first. But, then, it was finally time for Wilderness Lodge! Yay! Out of the packed bus, we were the only people staying at Wilderness Lodge. Now, I was told that someone would meet us right off of the bus to take us to Club Level. But, no one was there. No biggie! We went in & there is a Club Level desk in the main lobby. They already had all of our keys printed & everything! They even had our room ready for us and it was a little before 2pm. They had someone come down & take us up to our room. Now, being the family photographer, discipliner, pacifier and all-around commander-in-chief, I sometimes forgot to take photos. Such is the case for the room at Wilderness Lodge. I will say this: it was nice, clean but a little small. I did remember to take a picture of the view from our balcony!



I left Ed & Reid to go to the desk on Club Level. They were extremely nice in requesting Reid's bed rails for me, as well as, setting up a taxi for the next morning for us. Where were we going? Well, that's why you have to stick around......

Okay, I will now give you a tour of Club Level. Sit back & relax!








Since we were there, we decided to take a "cookie" break. It was a very wise decision, as they were very tasty!



We went back to our room & the bed rails were already there. Now, they didn't put them on but I guess that's because I never stated what bed I actually wanted them on. No biggie, Ed is an engineer, he should be able to figure them out, right? He did.....eventually. Our next stop was the gift shop. On our last trip, I had an autograph book for Reid, but not the "official" autograph pen, so I wanted to get one of those. While we were walking there, we saw our luggage being brought up to our room!

We went to the gift shop & then we were on our way to the boat launch to head on over to the Contemporary to start making our way to our dinner ADR for that night? Where were we going? That'll be right up in your next installment!

 

[amandaw]

We stayed at WL club levelon a 40% pin in January and although I LOVED WL, I am not sure I would stay club level again. It was nice to have the breakfast every morning, but other than that, I am not sure Club Level was worth the money.

However, we are doing the Land and Sea thing next April, so I can't wait to read about your experiences.

Hi & Welcome! I do agree with you in terms of how much is it really worth it? I definitely don't think, for us, that we got our money's worth. But, I would consider doing it again because I am a commando, rope-drop kinda gal & having the breakfast up there really helped out, especially with Reid. And, they were very helpful in the requests I had. I will say this, I know I would only do it again if I had a discount code!

 

[KatMark]

Love the mousekeeping envelopes.

Always a good thing to have a smooth plane ride and not much of a wait for the ME bus (we've never taken that bus).

Nice view of the pool from your room.

Oh, and your son is adorable.

 

[amandaw]

Love the mousekeeping envelopes.

Always a good thing to have a smooth plane ride and not much of a wait for the ME bus (we've never taken that bus).

Nice view of the pool from your room.

Oh, and your son is adorable.

Thank you!

My husband thought I was a bit crazy to take so much time making mousekeeping envelopes, but I really enjoy any kind of scrapbooking project I can get my hands on.

As for our son, what can I say? Ed & I always say we're living proof that the ugliest people have the cutest babies!

 

[amandaw]

So, when I left you all in suspense, we were taking a boat from Wilderness Lodge to Contemporary. Did our boat get seized by pirates or did we make it saftely?

Of course, we made it! See:



I've never been on this side of Contemporary, so I took a moment to grab a few quick pictures.





We walked around Contemporary for a little bit & then we were off on the monorail, heading to Polynesian. Now, the only times I've ever been to Polynesian was to do the luau. I wanted to do a little bit of exploring since this is a resort I've considering staying at. Would you like to come on the tour with me? Great, let's go!













Yes, I know that last picture isn't the Polynesian. Even though I know I'll probably never stay at the Grand Floridian, I like to admire it from far away.

So, it was time to head to dinner? Where were we going? The luau? OHana?

Nope....we were going to......





This was our first time eating at Kona Cafe. We thought the food was really good. Ed had the teriyaki steak, which was cooked to his liking & said tasted really good. For dessert he had chocolate fondue with fruit. This he thought was okay, nothing special. I had the Coconut Almond Chicken, which was very juicy & not overly coconutty (I don't think that's a word but you know what I mean!) I had white chocolate cheesecake for dessert. This was very yummy - thick & creamy!

I had every intention of taking food pictures for y'all. But, anyone who has had a little person at some point in their life knows that dinner can be stressful. So, the food pics just didn't happen. Sorry, folks!

After dinner, I had to stop & take Reid's picture with this carved statue. He loved this thing!



Then it was back to the monorail to Contemporary.



We then took a boat back to Wilderness Lodge. Now, I wanted to back in our room in time to try & see the Electrical Water Parade, or whatever it's called. I've never seen this at Disney. They're not the best pictures, but we did get to see it.





I would say it's worth seeing at least one time. After this, I put the boys to bed. I finished unpacking us & getting things ready for the next morning & was in bed for 11:30pm. We were gonna have an early start to the day! The cab that was arranged by concierge for us was supposed to pick us up at 6:30am. Don't think I'm gonna tell you now where we're going. You have to stay tuned.............

 

[heaven2dc]

Loved the view from your room! I would love to stay at Wilderness Lodge some day and esp get concierge room and that view

Now where could you be going at 6:30 a.m. where you have to take a taxi?....

 

[leshunlenese]

im in! i have never stayed or visited WL. your pics make me want to stay there!!

 

[NateNLogansDad]

Hi Amanda. Long time listener, first time caller. I just wanted to say I love your show and have been following you from the beginning. You always have great topics for the day that parents of little ones can relate to. Keep up the good work! Can't wait to see what's on the agenda for your next installment!

 

[KatMark]

Great pictures of my favorite deluxe -- the Poly (although that may change after we stay at the AKL in September).

We've never eaten at Kona for any meal (it used to be called something else when we stayed at the Poly and I know we ate dinner there once). We are going for breakfast this trip, but that steak seems to be calling my hubby's name.

I love the picture of Reid with the statue and walking down the dock with his daddy.

 

[amandaw]

Loved the view from your room! I would love to stay at Wilderness Lodge some day and esp get concierge room and that view

Now where could you be going at 6:30 a.m. where you have to take a taxi?....

I was so excited that we had a nice view looking over the pool out to the lake. Wilderness Lodge was very nice and, overall, pretty quiet. I hope we're lucky enough to stay there again some day. As for that cab, well, you'll see...

im in! i have never stayed or visited WL. your pics make me want to stay there!!

Welcome Aboard! We had walked through Wilderness Lodge back during our December trip because I misunderstood where Mickey's Backyard BBQ was. But, after that detour, it made us want to try it.

Hi Amanda. Long time listener, first time caller. I just wanted to say I love your show and have been following you from the beginning. You always have great topics for the day that parents of little ones can relate to. Keep up the good work! Can't wait to see what's on the agenda for your next installment!

Awww, thanks! I'm so glad you could make it!

Great pictures of my favorite deluxe -- the Poly (although that may change after we stay at the AKL in September).

We've never eaten at Kona for any meal (it used to be called something else when we stayed at the Poly and I know we ate dinner there once). We are going for breakfast this trip, but that steak seems to be calling my hubby's name.

I love the picture of Reid with the statue and walking down the dock with his daddy.

We almost stayed at Poly for this trip, but Ed really wanted to try Wilderness Lodge (& I did too). It's probably going to be a while before we can get back for another trip, but maybe we'll stay at Poly then. I hope you like AKL. Ed has no interest in staying there & has told me no on that one. I thought it would be nice to see the animals there. My only reservation is that it seems far away from the parks. You'll have to let me know how it is!

The picture of Reid & Ed walking on the dock is one of my faves from the trip. And he just cracked me up with how much he loved the statue. We were looking at it, about to leave & he just jumped up there & said take my picture!

 

[KatMark]

We almost stayed at Poly for this trip, but Ed really wanted to try Wilderness Lodge (& I did too). It's probably going to be a while before we can get back for another trip, but maybe we'll stay at Poly then. I hope you like AKL. Ed has no interest in staying there & has told me no on that one. I thought it would be nice to see the animals there. My only reservation is that it seems far away from the parks. You'll have to let me know how it is!

The picture of Reid & Ed walking on the dock is one of my faves from the trip. And he just cracked me up with how much he loved the statue. We were looking at it, about to leave & he just jumped up there & said take my picture!

You will love the Poly. That's funny that Ed doesn't want to stay at the AKL. DH wants to try WL and I refuse.

We don't mind it being a distance from everything because we rent a car and drive everywhere, so it is no biggie for us. We probably wouldn't have even done it this year, but I got a great deal on a one-bedroom villa from a coworker and I couldn't pass it up (we're not doing parks the days we are there; we'll do parks when we go "home" to the CSR).