IloveJack
12-16-2013, 11:18 AM
Me, Susan, 33, obsessive planner, 8th trip
DH, David, 28, along for the ride, 6th trip
ODD, Sammie, 5, has begged to return for 18 months, 4th trip
YDD, Lily, 2, thinks WDW is the castle, 2nd trip
DS, Joey, 6 mo, 1st trip
Late Sunday and Monday, December 1, 2013
Our church had the “Hanging of the Green” service that morning, and we have “supplied” Baby Jesus for the past few years. This year was no different, however, Jesus was finally played by a boy. DH and I were Joseph and Mary, and the DDs were angels in the nativity. After it was over, we had lunch with DH's parents and then headed home.
The plan was to pack the car, get a nap, then drive through the night to WDW. This trip was no different in that we had a glitch before we even left the house. DH ran over a screw and put a hole in our back tire less than a mile from our house. So while I packed the car and the kids got a nap, he went to buy a plug kit and fixed the tire. We did get to lie down for about an hour, but I wasn't able to sleep more than 30 minutes (insomnia seemed to have hit for me this trip).
We were up and out of the house by 5:45pm, and headed east. DH drove to just outside of Chattanooga before we stopped for dinner at McDonald's. DH wanted to go through the drive-thru and keep going, but DS needed to be fed, and a potty break was a good idea. We weren't there more than 30 minutes, anyhow.
I drove from there through Georgia and to the Florida welcome center, stopping only once at midnight to refuel. We made it to the Florida line by 2:30am, and stopped to feed DS. DH had catnapped while I drove, but it was fitful as he was afraid I'd fall asleep. Little did he know, my brain was in overdrive, and I only switched drivers because I was tired of driving. I attempted to sleep through Florida, but to no avail, and caught maybe a 30 min nap.
We pulled off the interstate just after 7:00 and woke the kids up. The DDs had slept the entire trip, and were still sleeping, so I woke them up. They were under the impression that we were just going on an overnight trip to see Christmas decorations. Good thing they're still too young to understand that you don't take that many suitcases for overnight! We'd told them the decorations story; they came up with the overnight themselves; we just didn't correct them.
Just before getting to the WDW sign, I asked ODD where we were going, and she said "Disney?," then saw the sign, and said "DISNEY!!!" She was absolutely shocked and thanked us a hundred times. YDD was excited, but still confused.
We checked in to the All-Star Movies, where the kids were given balloons and went to watch Doc McStuffins. It took a bit longer to check us in, but the CMs were trying to find us an open room so that we could move in before heading to the parks. They activated our magic bands, gave us KTTW cards (for what?) and we were on our way to room 9810, Toy Story again. The CM did give me a "warning" that TS is a preferred building and I should have been charged extra for requesting it. It's an option on the online check-in, so if it costs more, it shouldn't be an option for requests, but whatever. With our growing family, our days at ASM are numbered, anyhow.
We unloaded just what we had to have, called for a fridge for my insulin, and refreshed. We drove to POFQ to treat ODD to beignets, as she'd been asking for them for months, after watching Princess and the Frog. None of us had had them before, and the verdict was tasty but not filling.
We'd never driven to the parks before, but we decided it'd be a waste of time to drive back to ASM just to catch the bus to MK, so we drove there. I'm not sure it was any faster to get there, as we had to sit in the line to park, then walk to the TTC, then ride to the park, but that's okay.
We could tell that YDD still didn't understand what was going on, so as soon as we were in the park (incredibly easy with the bands, by the way), we showed her the castle. Then she got excited. She finally realized where we were, and was quite happy after that.
We were planning to get the kids' haircuts while there, but the line at the barber shop was already seven deep, so we moved on. I'd planned to attack the right side of the park today and the left side on Thursday, so we went to Adventureland first. We stopped in the garden area for a quick PP picture with the castle, before headed to ride. Pirates is almost always our first ride of the trip, but of course, the DDs saw the Magic Carpets first, so we went there.
After getting off the ride, I saw Aladdin and Jasmine, so we got in line for them. The line wasn't terribly long, but it moved slowly. When we got to the front, ODD asked Aladdin where Abu was, and he said he was in the castle eating all the apples from the kitchen. YDD was shy at first, but then she went up to Aladdin and hugged him for quite a while. Aladdin got tickled that she wouldn't see him at first and then she wouldn't let go.
Alas, Pirates was closed, so there would be no rides that day, so we moved on to Frontierland. We decided we were hungry, so we stopped for lunch at Pecos Bill's. We'd decided against the dining plan, as it's a waste of money for our kids, but as were were charging to our rooms with our bands, we were asked over and over if we were on the dining plan. We got two deluxe burgers, mine with sweet potato fries, and DH's with chili cheese fries. The DDs split a kid's burger with grapes and carrots, and I got them a side of corn on the cob. I also made them a salad from the bar, cause they'd rather eat that than anything. All that and three drinks was $41.
DH was having major stomach pains (we finally decided it was a pulled muscle), but he'd gone to the restroom when it was time to clean up the table. A really nice CM came by and offered to help when he saw me with the three kids. He carried our stuff to the trash and wiped up the table for me.
I had FP+ for BTMRR, so we skipped it and went to Haunted Mansion. The line was ridiculous, but then again, so were the crowds for the first week of December. We'd been in line all of five minutes when ODD decided she needed to potty, so we got our first glimpse of the Tangled area while DH waited in line. We got back to him just as he was entering the graveyard. We actually didn't get stuck on the ride this time, first time in years. When we got off the ride, DH asked YDD if she liked it, and she said yes. Then he said was it fun, and she said yes. Then he said, do you want to ride again, and she said NO! It was rather cute.
It was time for our FP to BTMRR, so we headed back over there. We got a rider switch ticket, and DH and ODD got in line, while I took the other two down to the dock to rock and nap. The line for FP entry was halfway through Frontierland, but it was all due to people not understanding how to use their magic bands. Once we were through that line, it was less than 3 minutes till we were on the ride. ODD proclaimed it awesome; her first big coaster ever; and was ready to do it over and over. We told her she could during EMH.
We were walking back toward Fantasyland for our next FP+, and saw Chip and Dale in their western wear. We got in line and spent our wait talking to the CM handler. He closed the line after us, so we had plenty of time to talk to him. It was amazing how often he had to turn people away. He'd be telling someone the line was closed, and others would be trying to sneak their kids in.
Our next FP+ was for the Barnstormer, so DH and ODD rode this first, and then we switched again. It was the first time I'd ever ridden it, as DH and ODD had ridden it together on our last trip. It was cute and fun but short. There was little wait for Dumbo, so I pulled out my phone and changed our FP+ to Splash. I hadn't used a FP+ for it before, as I wasn't sure ODD would enjoy the bigger rides, and we didn't want to get wet in December. When we realized she loved the big rides, and that it was 80 degrees out, we were fine with it.
DH, David, 28, along for the ride, 6th trip
ODD, Sammie, 5, has begged to return for 18 months, 4th trip
YDD, Lily, 2, thinks WDW is the castle, 2nd trip
DS, Joey, 6 mo, 1st trip
Late Sunday and Monday, December 1, 2013
Our church had the “Hanging of the Green” service that morning, and we have “supplied” Baby Jesus for the past few years. This year was no different, however, Jesus was finally played by a boy. DH and I were Joseph and Mary, and the DDs were angels in the nativity. After it was over, we had lunch with DH's parents and then headed home.
The plan was to pack the car, get a nap, then drive through the night to WDW. This trip was no different in that we had a glitch before we even left the house. DH ran over a screw and put a hole in our back tire less than a mile from our house. So while I packed the car and the kids got a nap, he went to buy a plug kit and fixed the tire. We did get to lie down for about an hour, but I wasn't able to sleep more than 30 minutes (insomnia seemed to have hit for me this trip).
We were up and out of the house by 5:45pm, and headed east. DH drove to just outside of Chattanooga before we stopped for dinner at McDonald's. DH wanted to go through the drive-thru and keep going, but DS needed to be fed, and a potty break was a good idea. We weren't there more than 30 minutes, anyhow.
I drove from there through Georgia and to the Florida welcome center, stopping only once at midnight to refuel. We made it to the Florida line by 2:30am, and stopped to feed DS. DH had catnapped while I drove, but it was fitful as he was afraid I'd fall asleep. Little did he know, my brain was in overdrive, and I only switched drivers because I was tired of driving. I attempted to sleep through Florida, but to no avail, and caught maybe a 30 min nap.
We pulled off the interstate just after 7:00 and woke the kids up. The DDs had slept the entire trip, and were still sleeping, so I woke them up. They were under the impression that we were just going on an overnight trip to see Christmas decorations. Good thing they're still too young to understand that you don't take that many suitcases for overnight! We'd told them the decorations story; they came up with the overnight themselves; we just didn't correct them.
Just before getting to the WDW sign, I asked ODD where we were going, and she said "Disney?," then saw the sign, and said "DISNEY!!!" She was absolutely shocked and thanked us a hundred times. YDD was excited, but still confused.
We checked in to the All-Star Movies, where the kids were given balloons and went to watch Doc McStuffins. It took a bit longer to check us in, but the CMs were trying to find us an open room so that we could move in before heading to the parks. They activated our magic bands, gave us KTTW cards (for what?) and we were on our way to room 9810, Toy Story again. The CM did give me a "warning" that TS is a preferred building and I should have been charged extra for requesting it. It's an option on the online check-in, so if it costs more, it shouldn't be an option for requests, but whatever. With our growing family, our days at ASM are numbered, anyhow.
We unloaded just what we had to have, called for a fridge for my insulin, and refreshed. We drove to POFQ to treat ODD to beignets, as she'd been asking for them for months, after watching Princess and the Frog. None of us had had them before, and the verdict was tasty but not filling.
We'd never driven to the parks before, but we decided it'd be a waste of time to drive back to ASM just to catch the bus to MK, so we drove there. I'm not sure it was any faster to get there, as we had to sit in the line to park, then walk to the TTC, then ride to the park, but that's okay.
We could tell that YDD still didn't understand what was going on, so as soon as we were in the park (incredibly easy with the bands, by the way), we showed her the castle. Then she got excited. She finally realized where we were, and was quite happy after that.
We were planning to get the kids' haircuts while there, but the line at the barber shop was already seven deep, so we moved on. I'd planned to attack the right side of the park today and the left side on Thursday, so we went to Adventureland first. We stopped in the garden area for a quick PP picture with the castle, before headed to ride. Pirates is almost always our first ride of the trip, but of course, the DDs saw the Magic Carpets first, so we went there.
After getting off the ride, I saw Aladdin and Jasmine, so we got in line for them. The line wasn't terribly long, but it moved slowly. When we got to the front, ODD asked Aladdin where Abu was, and he said he was in the castle eating all the apples from the kitchen. YDD was shy at first, but then she went up to Aladdin and hugged him for quite a while. Aladdin got tickled that she wouldn't see him at first and then she wouldn't let go.
Alas, Pirates was closed, so there would be no rides that day, so we moved on to Frontierland. We decided we were hungry, so we stopped for lunch at Pecos Bill's. We'd decided against the dining plan, as it's a waste of money for our kids, but as were were charging to our rooms with our bands, we were asked over and over if we were on the dining plan. We got two deluxe burgers, mine with sweet potato fries, and DH's with chili cheese fries. The DDs split a kid's burger with grapes and carrots, and I got them a side of corn on the cob. I also made them a salad from the bar, cause they'd rather eat that than anything. All that and three drinks was $41.
DH was having major stomach pains (we finally decided it was a pulled muscle), but he'd gone to the restroom when it was time to clean up the table. A really nice CM came by and offered to help when he saw me with the three kids. He carried our stuff to the trash and wiped up the table for me.
I had FP+ for BTMRR, so we skipped it and went to Haunted Mansion. The line was ridiculous, but then again, so were the crowds for the first week of December. We'd been in line all of five minutes when ODD decided she needed to potty, so we got our first glimpse of the Tangled area while DH waited in line. We got back to him just as he was entering the graveyard. We actually didn't get stuck on the ride this time, first time in years. When we got off the ride, DH asked YDD if she liked it, and she said yes. Then he said was it fun, and she said yes. Then he said, do you want to ride again, and she said NO! It was rather cute.
It was time for our FP to BTMRR, so we headed back over there. We got a rider switch ticket, and DH and ODD got in line, while I took the other two down to the dock to rock and nap. The line for FP entry was halfway through Frontierland, but it was all due to people not understanding how to use their magic bands. Once we were through that line, it was less than 3 minutes till we were on the ride. ODD proclaimed it awesome; her first big coaster ever; and was ready to do it over and over. We told her she could during EMH.
We were walking back toward Fantasyland for our next FP+, and saw Chip and Dale in their western wear. We got in line and spent our wait talking to the CM handler. He closed the line after us, so we had plenty of time to talk to him. It was amazing how often he had to turn people away. He'd be telling someone the line was closed, and others would be trying to sneak their kids in.
Our next FP+ was for the Barnstormer, so DH and ODD rode this first, and then we switched again. It was the first time I'd ever ridden it, as DH and ODD had ridden it together on our last trip. It was cute and fun but short. There was little wait for Dumbo, so I pulled out my phone and changed our FP+ to Splash. I hadn't used a FP+ for it before, as I wasn't sure ODD would enjoy the bigger rides, and we didn't want to get wet in December. When we realized she loved the big rides, and that it was 80 degrees out, we were fine with it.