Family Gone Wild!

[Momto3littlemice]

Well I envy all of you who write these wonderful detailed trip reports that I love to read! I would love to be able to do that someday but for now I thought I would atleast write some highlights from our "gone wild" vacation last week. We had an amazing time so here it goes.

Cast: Me (33) and DH (35), our kids DD (7), DS (6), DD (2)

My sis (36), BIL (37), their kids DD (2), DS (7 mos)

My parents (celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary)


The basic plan : This is our third trip all together. We are ultra planners, stick to our itinerary, open the parks and are never spontaneous. We run for fastpasses and plan so much to avoid lines especially for the kids. Luckily, we are all this way so it doesn't annoy us!

Lodging: We stay at a wonderful beautiful house rented from another intercotee in Windsor Hills. This has proved to be an amazing option for our large group.

Highlights:
1. I was surprised by how erratic the crowds were. The Magic Kingdom opened at 8 am on our first Sunday and following Saturday. This first hour (both days) was empty! We watched the opening show with so much space to dance and then headed slowly for Dumbo and got on the 2nd ride without a problem. It definitely picked up by around 10 or so, but we were able to get a lot done before then! The day we did Animal Kingdom (Tuesday, Mardi Gras) was crazy crowded. We ended up straying from our itinerary (this never happens!!) and left around 10:15 for brunch and then didn't come back until around 4 to finish. By that time it had cleared significantly.
2. Our runs to Soarin and Toy Story Mania didn't feel very magical. The strollers really were hard to run with and I hate the feeling of pushiness that these early morning runs create. We won't be running to Soarin again.
3. Our weather was quite cool which allowed for some more leasurely touring than usual. We loved seeing some shows around Epcot. Namely we saw Off Kilter for the first time (they were awesome!), British Invasion (didn't like them as much), and Voices of Liberty (always love them!). We also saw the candy artist in Japan. We took the ferry across the lagoon and had treats in some of the countries we hadn't tried before (School bread in Norway!)
4. My son had his hair cut at the Main Street Barbershop -- a total highlight for me. Penny was so magical and gave him the best haircut he has ever had. Such a fun time!
5. I finally saw Wishes... usually can't keep the kids out this late but this time I pushed it and am so glad I did. The new magical memories show that happens just before it was truly amazing... definitely see it if you have time. The kids loved all the "after dark" activities -- they were tired but had a wonderful time. (even though my DD2 ate through her glow stick and had the luckily non-toxic glow stuff on her lips...)
6. We had a photo session at the Grand Floridian. Our photographer, Joe, was very experienced and did a great job. He spent a full 20 minutes with us but didn't seem rushed and probably would have hung around longer. I will say the photo session stuff is changing around a good bit and we had trouble actualy getting our CD afterwards, but finally it turned out okay and we are happy with the pictures.
7. We at brunch at Boma (first time) and loved it as much as dinner. We had a very late seating (10:50). It was quiet and delicious. Had brunch at 1900 Park Fare. It was loud and just okay -- wouldn't go back (although Mary Poppins was fabulous with the kids). Had dinner at 'Ohana... we enjoyed the atmosphere and thought the food was good but not amazing. Might go back. Also had dinner at Chef Mickey's. Food was great - server wasn't so magical... but we had a wonderful time.
8. DS6 was celebrated his birthday while we were there. He got so much attention from his bday button - lots of CMs making a big deal and cupcakes at 3 of 4 restaurants. He had such a fun time celebrating there!
9. Monorails seemed a bit lacking while we were there. Lots of extra waiting and stops -- trouble pulling into the stations etc.
10. Overall a wonderful wondeful trip... I am now trying to figure out a way to get us back in 2013...:mickey:

[Melanie]

Thank you so much for the report! However you want to relay your experiences is fine with us. :thumbsup: Wasn't The Magic, The Memories and You incredible?

Thanks again for letting us peek into your trip!! :mickey:

[zcrsdad]

What kind of trouble/changes are happening with the photo sessions? I was thinking about trying to get one in December.

[vizsla]

Thanks for the report.

[KylesMom]

What a wonderful trip with your family. Sounds like there were a lot of highlights, good meals and great times. How very cool that DS received bunches of attention & treats for his birthday! Nice, too that you were able to finally see Wishes. Isn't it magical?! I'm so looking forward to seeing The Magic, The Memories and You on our upcoming trip-glad it got another glowing review. Speaking of glowing, how long did the glow stick stuff illuminate your daughter? :D I got a good chuckle out of that one.

Thanks for sharing! :mickey:

[Mickey'sGirl]

FABULOUS! You made me a bit teary with your first after dark experiences with your kids! (My youngest also ate through a glow stick when he was little ... ergo, glow sticks are not in our arsenal eny longer! :blush: ).

It sounds like a terrific holiday, and I would really love to hear more about your off site rental experience. Could you elaborate on what kinds of things were available at the house? How was it commuting to the parks? Was it a relief to have a house and kitchen to go back to? Did you take days off? Not to put any pressure on you, but it would make for some really interesting reading! :thumbsup:

Thanks for reporting! I'm so glad you had such a lovely holiday. :mickey:

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

Thanks for the report

[faline]

Great trip for you and your extended family! You son clearly had some fun with getting recognized for his birthday! Did your parents have a special celebration while at Disney World to help celebrate their 40th?

[Momto3littlemice]

hi all,

Thanks for reading! Here are the answers to a couple questions:

1. As for the photo shoot... we had some trouble booking. We were given some info a few weeks before and then called to book and were given new info. Apparently, the photo pass people now outsource the photo sessions to Disney event photographers. I actually think this probably makes for better pictures but the transition is not complete and made for a few holes. Our photographer told us he had been there for 15 years and photographs weddings etc for Disney. He was professional, easy to work with, and overall our picture quality (taking into account 5 children under 8) was very good. However, we were told our CD would be available a few hours after our session. My DH left us at MK to monorail over to the GF to get the CD and when he arrived they couldn't find it. He said they sort of started randomly opening drawers etc. So, obviously this is still being worked out. In the end, they delivered it to the Contemporary later that day where we were eating dinner-- but he did lose the time early on. I guess the lesson would be to call first and make sure they have it before going out of your way. I would still recommend it! (We bought it for our parents as a 40th anniversary gift... they were so surprised and thrilled!):cloud9:

2. This is the second year we have stayed off property. Before our 2009 trip, I was considering it and writing for opinions on intercot and one of the members PMed me with some info about his house in Windsor Hills. He uses all star vacation homes but we rent directly through him and he gives us an AMAZING deal. I can not say enough great things about this. If you want specific info, feel free to PM me. More generally, the house is 5 bedrooms, has a beautiful kitchen and its own screened in pool and spa. We are on a bit of a tight budget, so we only ate 4 TS meals out and 1 CS meal out. We ate breakfast at home, for lunch we packed PB&J that we made the night before, and several dinners at the house. It has a grill and patio to eat outside. Having all the kids, the kitchen is a Godsend. We can wash water bottles, have big bags of snacks to aliquot and give them nutritious meals much of the time. That makes the treats in the park all the more special!

Not to mention after they go to bed, we all hang out in the living room or game room... not in the hotel room in the dark!

Our commute to the parks is so easy. At first I thought I would hate having to drive, but it is no problem... 3 miles to the parks... takes no time at all. In general it takes just slightly longer than the buses I guess but since you don't have to wait for it, it is easier. You do have the walk to the parking lot at the end of the day, but we get there so early we just park in one of the first few rows (and there are always trams). And, you do need to take into account that we park at the TTC for MK so for the MK, we do have a longer commute than the buses.

I would say that it isn't the same as staying on property -- you definitely have a feeling of leaving the parks at night. That was hard for me last time. BUT, that one thing does not at all outweigh all the positives of having so much space, everyone has their own room, kitchen, own pool etc. And we end up paying for one week what we would spend on just a few nights at a Disney hotel (moderate). We all bring some Disney items to make it seem more Disney like and it has become a little vacation home to us.

3. And last but not least... my DD2 managed to get the glow stuff on herself and DH's shirt... it seemed to rub right off, but I was certainly glad to look and see it was non-toxic. She is definitely my most devious little mouse, so I have to keep my eyes on her! :mickey:

[pdrlkr]

Thanks for the Report! :smickey:

[hoop de do]

Great Job - Thank You.:thumbsup::thumbsup:

[Dsnygirl]

:mickey: Wonderful report -- thanks for all the little details of what made your trip special!! (and we don't mind whatever format you choose to share... it's all good, however it works for you! :thumbsup:) Thanks for all the additional details, as well... it sounds like you guys have got quite a good system working for you. (and isn't it fun staying up later in the parks as the kids get older?? You'll continue to enjoy that... we LOVE the parks at night. And Wishes and Illuminations are SO worth it... :cloud9:)

Thanks so much for sharing!

[Altair]

I agree about the runs to Soarin' and TSM, it's not the best experience.

Off-site is also one of the best money saving tips there is.

Thanks for the report.:mickey:

[yjgirl32]

Great report- thanks for the info about the photo session- thinking of trying it for our Sept trip.