We're Going Back, DxDP and the trip that almost wasn't. Updated 1/12 with pics.

[Hobbitmomma]

Hi all. This is my first trip report and I'm not good at making links and such, so bear with me. We surprised our kids with a trip to WDW this Christmas. We were also celebrating our daughter's 10th birthday which was on Christmas Eve. Our trip was 12/27-1/2 and we surprised them Christmas morning with the hangman game. I posted the video before we left, but here it is for those of you who haven't seen it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvSMOa4V4BA

First a little background is in order. In 2009, my husband said that we would be able to take a holiday cruise on the Magic during the week between Christmas and New Years, so we put a downpayment and couldn't wait to surprise the kids on Christmas. Then the economy tanked and my husband didn't get a raise or bonus that year. So we waited until we absolutely had to cancel, hoping that something would work out, but it didn't and we had to cancel. We were so disappointed, but at least the kids didn't know. Fast forward to this year and in the early spring, we realized that we could do a vacation, so we started researching. A cruise wasn't going to work out this time due to dates and money, so we settled on WDW and Coronado Springs Resort. Then of course, the planning on my part (big planner here) began. I got all of our ADR's and planned our park days, though I have to say I was a little nervous that DxDP would be too much food. ) It was too much food, but we would probably do it again.) I am very thankful to the boards for all of the advice I read about, and you will see how much it helped.

Here is our itinerary:
Day 1: Arrive 9:30am (NOT) have lunch at Pepper Cafe (NOT)
MK, dinner at 1900PF
Day 2: Breakfast-O'Hana, EPCOT, Dinner-Teppen Edo
Day 3: Breakfast-Maya Grill, AK, Lunch-Tusker House, Kids to Sandcastle kids club while we have an adult dinner at Yachtsman Steakhouse
Day 4: Breakfast-1900 PF, EPCOT, Dinner-Biergarten
Day 5: NYE! Breakfast-Cape May Cafe, Dinner-Cape May Cafe DHS
Day 6: Breakfast-Chef Mickey's, Lunch-Plaza Restaurant, Dinner-O'Hana MK

Just so you know who we are, I'm Theresa, my huaband is Adam, and our children are Josh (12) and Nina (10). We have been to WDW once before for three days (4 yrs. ago) on a land/sea vacation. We loved it and really hoped to return sometime to see and do more. So we sat on this secret for 8 months and I was so excited Christmas morning I could hardly wait. The kids opened the gifts they had received from friends and family and then came our gift which was just a shoebox sized gift addressed to both of them. I made them answer riddles before each gift and when we got to the last gift, I pulled out the hangman game. As you can see, they were quite excited. Josh said, "I'm not going to cry." Cracked us up!

So on the 26th we took down the tree, ran errands, packed and then waited the snowstorm predicted for the northeast. We planned to get up at 3am to be at the airport as early as possible for our 7am flight. We had dug out before we went to sleep so that we could get on the road right away. It was a scary trip to the airport, but we made it in plenty of time. The airport was mobbed and to make a very long and nearly heartbreaking story short, we did get out 7 hours later than we were supposed to. The airport was so mobbed that it was 4 hours before we could get close to a check in desk. At one point, I had to tell the kids that the trip might be off. It was awful to see their reaction. I couldn't even look at my daughter because it made me cry. They were so good though. They knew it was out of our control and they never complained once about waiting in lines for 5 hours. Anyway, we made it, which was what mattered. There were plenty of people that we met that were in much worse situations, and I felt for them. We got to MCO around 4:15 and made our way to the ME and were on our way to CSR! I had done on-line check-in, so we just had to pick up our materials and they had little Mickey and Minnie figurines for the kids as well as a birthday button for Nina. Oh it felt good to be there!! After finding our room we grabbed a cab to the Grand Floridian for our 7:15 reservations at 1900 PF!! I couldn't believe we made it in time. In fact, we were early! So we looked around a bit, took some pictures and the hostess directed us to the lounge. Oh yes! Remember, we hadn't eaten a thing yet and were exhausted and stressed out. The CM in the lounge was an angel. We related some of our travel story and she brought us a bowl of strawberries and raspberries as well as extra nuts to munch on until we went to dinner. My husband had a scotch, I had a Grand Cosmo (excellent) and the kids had hot chocolate that the CM LOADED up with whipped cream. She was great and really made us feel like we had come home. We had a lovely dinner and really enjoyed the character interaction. Josh loved the Strawberry soup. The stepsisters appropriately embarrassed my son and what was too funny was that Anastasia and my daughter sounded exactly alike. We were cracking up. After that I asked the kids if they were too tired and wanted to go to sleep, or try to get to MK and ride one or two rides. (It was about 8:30 by now) They were up for MK, so off we went. It was about 25 degrees, but we didn't care. We were in WDW!!! We walked right onto BTMRR and then Haunted Mansion, no waits at all. Then we went to Hall of the Presidents and even caught the end of the fireworks. The day was saved! Happy and exhausted, we went back to our room where our luggage was waiting for us and fell into bed.

If anyone can tell me how to post links to my updates in the first post, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks. More coming up, with pictures.

 

[Hobbitmomma]

Here are some from our first night. Our dinner at 1900 PF was great. We were exhausted and starving, but we filled up and had a great time.

Anastasia kept bugging my son to marry her. It was a riot.

As you can see, there are coats and scarves. It was in the 20's when we arrived, and in the 30's on Tuesday, but it warmed up each day through the week. In any case, I'd rather be cold at WDW than warm at home any day of the week!!

The castle was amazing!

Our first ride of our vacation: BTMRR. We only waited about 5 minutes!

 

[Hobbitmomma]

So our plan for Tuesday, our first full day in WDW, was breakfast at O'Hana's, day at EPCOT, lunch - counter service, and dinner at Teppen Edo.

We got up around 6:15 and everyone got showered and ready for the day. It was still pretty cold (30's) so coats and scarves were in order. We took the bus to MK and then the monorail to the Poly. Our breakfast was every bit as yummy as we remembered it from 4 years ago. I just love that pineapple bread and everyone loved the guava juice. As a family, we love to go out to breakfast, especially on vacations, so this was a must do for us. The characters were great and Stitch grabbed Josh's waffle and pretended it was stuff coming out of his ear then threw it at Josh. It was hysterical. It's one of the kids' favorite moments of the trip. (We unfortunately have no video.)

Then we were off to EPCOT. We arrived around 9am and went straight to Soarin' for fastpasses. We got them and headed over to Test Track. It was down due to ice on the track, so Adam and the kids road Mission Space (orange) while I shopped at Mouse Gears. I don't do spinning rides very well, but did I ultimately ride MS? After they returned from the ride we were hoping that TT would be operational, but it still wasn't and our fastpass window hadn't opened up yet. So we wandered over to the other side of the park and did Turtle Talk, which was very cute. The line for the Nemo ride was really long, so we decided we would try again later in the day. We had lunch at Electric Umbrella, which I have to say was probably the worst lunch of the trip. It was all fried goo food, which is fine, if that's what you like. I was hoping for something a little more healthy, but not to be found here. We then went to Saorin' and loved it. There was a lovely family in line right behind us from England and our sons stuck up a conversation. The boys exchanged email addresses after the ride. I thought that was great. We stopped at Club Cool and experienced all of the tastes including Beverly. Interesting. Then we were off the the World Showcase.

This is what our hotel looked like at 7am.

Adam and kids in Italy

Nina in Morocco

We saw wonderful drumming in Japan, and a juggler in Italy. We got some champagne in France too. The world showcase is fabulous, but the walking did start to get to Adam who had surgery for a broken ankle over the summer. By late afternoon every day, his ankle had swollen quite a bit.

We had ADR's at 6:30 for Teppen Edo and we loved our meal. I had miso soup and shrimp, Josh had the tuna appetizer and mahi mahi, Nina had salad and steak and shrimp and Adam had miso soup and steak. We tried both the chocolate ginger cake and the green tea pudding. Both were good, but if we weren't on the dining plan, I don't think I would have bothered.

Celebrating Nina's birthday

After dinner we walked around the rest of the world showcase. Nina fell in love with a stuffed husky, but we told her we would be back to EPCOT in two days and if she still wanted it, it would be there. She kissed it, told it she would be back, and hid it behind the other huskies. Too cute. We decided that we were wiped out and started to head out, but we wanted to check out the Nemo ride before we left. At this time, (I guess around 8:30) there was no line at all, so we walked right on. We all agreed that it was a cute ride, but not worth waiting in line for, so we were glad we made the right choice to wait until later. This was another exhausting but great day. We all were falling asleep on the bus but very happy.

 

[Hobbitmomma]

Today's agenda was to have breakfast at Maya Grill at CSR, spend the day at AK, lunch at Tusker House and Adam and I had ADR's for an adults only dinner at Yachtman's Steakhouse. We were certainly looking forward to that!

So breakfast was the usual fare and we were seated immediately. It was very good, but there weren't a lot of choices for our picky daughter. She made do though. We made it to AK by 9am and immediately went for FP's at Everest. Then we trucked over to the Safari ride. We all really enjoy this ride. We had to wait about 20 minutes, which wasn't bad at all. As we were walking back we caught the Flights of Wonder show with no wait at all. I think it was either the first or second show of the day. Later in the day there was a very long line for it, so it pays to go early. We had second row seats and it was a very entertaining show. The birds were amazing.

First picture at AK on the way to Safari

Thought this was funny

After the show we went to use our FP's at Everest. What an awesome ride! We didn't get to ride it 4 years ago because the kids were too small and our son was terribly afraid of coasters. He is still now really down with them, but to our surprise, he rode it and LOVED it. At the end of the ride he said, "that is the best ride ever!" He wanted to ride again, but the FP return time wasn't going to work for us, so we only rode once. Now we have a reason to go back!

In the meantime our window had opened and we had gotten FP's for Dinosaur, so we headed over to that. I know, we were crisscrossing the park like crazy, which wasn't so good for Adam's ankle, but it's just how it worked out. We liked Dinosaur, but I have to say, it was too loud. I spent the entire ride with my hands over my ears. We would probably ride it again, but I don't think it was all that. So at this point we were coming up on our lunch ADR's at Tusker House. We went to check in and had to wait about 15 minutes for a table. Man it was crowded! All four of us agree though, that this was the best lunch we had all week. It was wonderful. It was very hard not to just stuff yourself. We had lots of pita and hummus, which we're big fans of. I can't even tell you what everyone had, but we ate well, that's for sure.
The buffet at TH

Josh's idea of dessert for the table.

After lunch we slowly made our way over to Finding Nemo the Musical where we had VIP passes for booking lunch at TH. On the way, we took some random shots.

We enjoyed Nemo very much. I thought it was very creative and I enjoyed all of the talent onstage. We headed back to the hotel to chill a little before dinner. By Wednesday, the temperatures had started to climb out of the basement, so it was a very pleasant day. We took the kids to the Sandcastle club at the Beach Club Resort while Adam and I went to dinner. Let me just say that the kids club is NOT for kids in the 10-12 age group even though it says so. The kids were bored to death and when we came to pick them up, they were so happy to leave. Nothing against the club, it looked great, just beware, that it really is geared to under 8 yr, olds. So our dinner was outrageous! We loved everything from the atmosphere, (we were seated right by a window) to the service and food. We each had a cocktail in the lounge while we waited for our table. (Only about 10 minutes) The bartender was great. Our waitor was excellent. I had the lobster bisque and Adam had the chicken soup. Both were very good. Adam had the strip and I had the filet mignon. To die for! Then for dessert I had the trio of chocolate and I don't even know what Adam had. We each had a glass of wine as well. We rolled out of there! I have to say, it was the most full I remember being in a very long time. It was all delicious though. We got the kids and walked to EPCOT to catch a bus back to the hotel. The fireworks had just started, so we caught those. It was another wonderful day!

 

[Shannon84]

It is funny to see you guys bundled up at WDW!! Usually I go in the fall so its pretty darn warm still!! Your picture of the castle is just amazing...looks like you guys were having lots of fun right off the bat!! :

 

[npierce25]

good trip report! we leave in 24 more days!!!!!!

 

[Hobbitmomma]

So today we were going to go to EPCOT again. It's such a big park. Hopefully we would get to ride Test Track. We had breakfast ADR's at 1900 PF and this was the meal that my daughter was really looking forward to. She was dying to have her picture taken with Mary Poppins. We were very excited to see the guava juice again! The buffet was very good with lots of choices. The character interaction was as always, great. The Mad Hatter was taking shots at me for letting my son have a fruit smoothie, but not the M&M's and chocolate chips that he had put on his plate. MH was telling Josh to put them in his Strawberry soup and I would never know. My son loved that!

So off we went to EPCOT. We got Test Track FP's and my family talked me into riding Mission Space (orange). I can't take rides that spin, so I was very aprehensive. I took some motion sickness meds, just in case. As it turns out, I couldn't feel the spinning, though I knew it was happening because of the pressure. It's a fun ride, and I will probably do it again if we get back there anytime soon. I have to say, I followed the directions! THere was no way I was going to close my eyes if they said not to! OUr FP window had opened up so I ran and got them for Soarin' while my husband and kids shopped for souvenirs at Mission Space. Adam just had to have Spud-a-Fett.
On my way back I saw these guys.

We did some more shopping then rode Test Track. That is a great ride. The kids loved it. Since the weather had warmed up, we went back the hotel so the kids could get some swimming in. We had lunch at the Pepper Market. It was very good, but I do have to say that the buns dwarf the burgers. I had a veggie burger and I only ate the bottom half of the bun. It was just TOO big. My daughter couldn't even get her mouth around it! My son had the best lunch. He had the beef fajita. It was very good. Be careful if you eat there and are on the dining plan. Tips are not included if you are on the plan, so you have to make sure to leave a little something for your server.

Adam and I didn't want to swim, so we sat on lounge chairs and had drinks while the kids swam. It was a nice afternoon. It was sunny and warm, but I was chilly, so I had coffee and Bailey's. Yum!

We returned, refreshed, for our dinner ADR's at Biergarten. What a fun place to have dinner! The food was very good, but a bit too heavy for me. We were sat with a family with kids the same age as ours, and they became fast friends, so it was a great time.

I took this after dinner on our way over to Soarin'

So after stuffing ourselves again, we made our way back to Canada so that Nina could get her Husky. She named it Balto. Then we went to use our FP's at Soarin'. I'm so glad that we got to ride this twice. It's really a fun ride. On our way out, we rode Spaceship Earth with no wait at all. I've been to EPCOT twice before but had never ridden it. It was cute. The kids really got a kick out of their faces being placed in the cartoons of the future. I wish that we had stayed to do the postcards, but everyone was totally beat and the next day was New Years Eve, so we needed to call it a night.

Lobby of CSR

Outside at CSR