Welcome Welcome to my August 2011 trip Report... be warned.. U will get wet..you may even get soaked.. so grab your poncho and join us! ( read the Pre-Trip report here)
Trip dates: August 18-29 2011. Room only on August 18th, Free dining from 8/19-8/29
Resort~ Pop Century..my first time at a Value.. 2 rooms
Who? Well lets see we have:
ME: Alison..I turned 36 while in Disney. I have been a Disney fan my whole life. I could live in Disney. I made 2 Disney trips in 19 months in 1999 and 2000 then I shelved my Disney World dreams when I met my now husband and we had 3 kids in 3 years.Fast forward 10+ years and we were finally ready and able to take the plunge and take the 4 kids! I homeschool 3 of the 4 kids ( the oldest is graduated) plus I work a day job doing office type work for the family business and I bartend 2-4 nights a week at my best friends nightclub.
Eric: 39.. a now reformed Disney Skeptic. He was not thrilled with this trip in the planning and paying stage.. and even up til the we arrived stage. He only had 6 Flags to picture in his head what Disney might be like. Well let's just say if I had a nickel for each time he said "this place is awesome"( which was almost the trip report title BTW)..well I could buy us all AP's and go back again this year!
Noah: Turned 17 on this trip. Has been to WDW twice before..once at 4.5 and once at almost 6.5 ( for Christmas no less).. he was above all the most excited for this trip aside from myself.. he knew what to expect and he was giddy like a 6 year old school girl any time you mentioned the trip. Noah is currently a "sandwich artist" at Subway while he decide's what's next in his life! warning prone to extreme teenage mood swings!
Kate: 16.. Noah's girlfriend. nice girl.. but let's just say no girlfriends/boyfriends will ever be invited again!
Declan: 9.5 going on 90.. we always say he's an Old man trapped in a kids body. He was the kiddo I was most worried about at Disney as he has a tendency to suck the fun out of things. Declan tends to overthink, over worry and over control things. He's a fab kid, smarter than any 9.5 year old should be and is a great athlete. He was super excited to go to Disney but due to his issues with the unknown he had a giant knot in his tummy too!
Jadziah: 7 almost 8.. she is by far my most even tempered kiddo. She was giddy and unworried about the trip. She required a disney shirt for each day we were there and yes..she got them..lol hey it pays to be the only girl outta 4 kids right? ( oh JahD Zee Uh like in Star Trek Deep Space nine.. yes I named my daughter after a character in a TV show..I'm a star trek nut and proud of it)
Taejan: 5 almost 6 ( as in he turns 6 a mere 3 days after we left Disney). There are few words to accurately describe Taejan ( Tay-Gin we made this one up). He has the best personality, is beyond outgoing.. vocal and full of love and life.. he's also a putz.. a VERY small but BIg putz.. no is just a word he laughs at.. he made the trip very stressful at times..but oh well..such is life. he also was the catalyst for many of the great "awwwww moments" on this trip as well!
Elaine AKA Gigi: My mother.. she has also been to WDW 2 other times ( with Noah and I). She was a great help with the 3 younger kiddo's and she fully enjoyed her time at Disney with us. She did NOT like the heat ( but then again which one of us did???)
So there's the cast of this mighty adventure.. coming up.. the "pre disney" part of the trip!
might be a few before I get another update.. Homeschooling is in full swing plus my day job is back open so I am working there a few times a week and of course my night job. Noah just got a promotion at work.. night supervisor so he has a whole new schedule ( and raise..YES).. we have 6 dance classes for 3 kids, soccer x 1 kid and swim lessons for 3 kids. Basketball is about to start too for all 3.. oh yeah and all 3 wee ones just auditioned for The Nutcracker.. we've been doing it since Noah was 6 . He was in it until he grew out of each role..lol.. this year I have Taejan as a mini mouse, Ziah as a Clown and Declan is a party child ( again and will be til he gets too big..lol).. so that's practices on Sat and Sun..OH and SUnday CCD starts back up.So we are a tad busy. Did I mention Eric's shop just got purchase orders for 5 new molds so he's working 60+ hours a week and I am in single mother mode..lol
We headed off to a bus and made it on one, to Epcot and thru bag check and the turnstiles fast. Oh while in line for a bus we saw this tag.. best stroller tag EVER!
We were at Epcot and had no particular plans. Noah and Kate took off on their own and we just meandered..
We went first to get Fast Passes for Test Track.. think we get to use these? We got them the last time in Epcot and we ended up not having time to use them and gave them to a family entering the park. So Will we use these?? Let's wait and see!
The kids wanted a soda fill up so off to Club Cool:
We decided to go see Captain EO, it had started to rain a bit so it made sense to go wait in the dry queue..
The kids actually now say they liked Captain EO ( then they did not..lol). It was.. well.. cheesy MJ but it is what it is right? Anyone else notice MJ had like 6 dance moves.. that's it??
After this we started making our way to the World Showcase.. Declan wanted to do more Kim Possible Missions.
DD will be doing Epcot for her bday next yr. Although for a completely different reason (she will be turning 21). She wants a tiara instead of ears. Glad the bf/gf troubles didn't get too bad.
My kids got done with their schooling early today and I am anxious to get another day all reported so..
So after Captain EO we let the kids play near/with the jumping fountains.. they loved them and we probably spent about 30 minutes there.
Despite what these pictures may imply.. I did not allow my kids to go INTO the fountains.. they did lean in..but unlike a large amount of other kids..they did not walk into the actual fountain area!
Notice my lovely 5 almost 6 year old.. sigh..
yep.. he went there! This was not a stellar day for the little monster!
We headed into World Showcase.. my mother and Eric wanted Fish and Chips.my mother has been waiting 10.5 years for these! We ran into Noah and Kate.. Noah wanted a Beaver Tail..and was very sad to learn Canada no longer served them..sad sad Noah!
He, however , did not eat ( nor did I because fish and chips is NOT gluten free)
A little entertainment while they ate:
At this point Declan wanted to get going on his Kim Possible Missions so he and I took off to get his "ticket" thing for one!
We got Declan's ticket to do a Kim Possible and he was very happy!
we wandered as we made our way to Italy:
Listened to the Drummers:
Enjoyed taking some pictures with the good camera. It was the first time I'd brought the Rebel with me ( which for the rest of the trip would come to mean it would RAIN):
The kids played some games:
We made it to Italy and Declan and Eric got to start their mission about 25 minutes early.
Very happy Declan ( and dry) off to Japan.. next time I see him he will still be happy but much less dry!
After the big boys left we used the rest room ..best signage ever BTW:
Enjoyed the music ( and the AC and seats..not gonna lie)
Then my mother, myself, Taejan and Ziah went to the show. I had honestly totally forgotten what this show was until it began.
And then if you were in Epcot around 2:30/40 on August 23rd you would have experienced THIS:
Was anyone there? Did anyone see it? I got to have a front row seat.. I swear it took all my self control to not leave him at that fountain and finish Epcot in peace..
Ziah spotted this water blog.. it made things all better again!
Declan and Eric had decided to do another mission so we walked towards the front of World Showcase:
After the great meltdown of 8/23/11 we headed on thru WS.. Declan and Eric were now in France doing a KP mission.
We walked.. looked.. enjoyed.. watched the clouds get darker..
We decided to park the stroller and go on Maelstrom.. silly me did NOT cover the stroller..ut oh.. you must know what comes next then right??
We got done on the ride and a CM with a tablet stopped us to do a survey. Then we noticed it.. it was pouring! I ran and got the stroller.. my mom got the kids poncho's on them.. we had really nice ones for the kids. We got on our "one step below a garbage bag" ones we got at the dollar store.. they are NOT worth that $1..they are sticky and icky and I was NOT happy.
I got Taejan in his stroller and covered and we headed to the store at the front of the World Showcase. On the way we ran into the Sweener clan. Now had this been a point n shoot camera day I would have the most hysterical pictures ever. Instead I had the big camera and at this point it was wrapped in a garbage bag and in my backpack..so no pictures.
BUT I will draw this image for u. My best friend.. pushing a double stroller with her husband an older kid holding 2 tied together ponchos over her and the smaller kids...in the POURING nasty rain. i was dieing! They had ADR's at Teppan Edo but no way they were making it. Also it was thundering and lightening and the boats were not running. They ended up at La Hacienda . I about burst my gut laughing.
So we made it to the shop and I called Noah and Kate.. my plan was to hop on the monorail and just ride it a few times before switching to the resort loop and getting off at MK. They were already on the monorail.. perfect.
Next call..Eric .. because he and Declan were in this nasty rain doing a KP mission. Now I am NOT a rain wuss..but we had a special dinner planned and I HATE being soaked in air conditioning...and I didn't want the kids that way. I bought myself and Eric new ponchos ( my mother insisted her nasty dollar store one was fine).
We headed off to Club Cool to wait for Eric and Declan.
Waiting for the boys:
While waiting for the guys we got chatting with 3 "kids"..prolly about 20/21 years old. I ended up giving them our TT fastpasses ( so there is set 2 we never got to use) because we knew the ride was shut down and would not be up before we had to leave.
The very soaked boys finally arrived.. poor Declan always wore is sneakers when it ended up pouring. I got him in his poncho and Eric got his and we headed for the Monorail.
We met up with Noah and Kate and rode the loop once. At the TTC some nasty old lady had a fit because we didn't get out! She was not happy that we were just "riding the damn monorail"..um.. not your business lady. We had a little time to kill so guess what DEAL!
Next time we got to TTC we hopped on the ferry over to MK
Here's the view while waiting for the ferry.
Next we headed to see if the resort boats were still running..
It was still raining , and the boats were not moving very fast. The cushion of time we had was dwindling. It took a long time for a boat to come..and when it did it was at the Wilderness Lodge slip.. but this nice older CM had been standing just outside the rope with us and assured me that the big old boat would indeed go to Ft. Wilderness. I, being me, doubted he had a clue..but I reluctantly got on the boat. I was glad I didn't have to fold up the stroller at least.
We boarded the boat and the female Captain left and that nice older CM who I was so certain had no idea..well he was now the Captain..ha ha.. guess he did know what he was talking about afterall!
We had a nice ride over..the rain picked back up but we were inside the boat so I didn't much care. Noah and Kate were very obviously not happy with each other.. goodness me..it was his BIRTHDAY can't they just behave for once??
We got to Ft Wilderness and I went and got the paperwork for the show. Was only a few more minutes before a nice CM checked us in. While I was doing this Eric took Declan over for a new dry shirt. Oh and I must say..my feet were burning they were so itchy.. I am really shocked I didn't get some weird fungus with how much my feet bugged me!
After that we all went and checked out the store then we got our group picture done. Now the rest of the 10000 people got in line.. mind you we all had been checked in and it was assigned seating.. and it was raining!
We all stayed under the porch area until everyone else had gone in. Taejan was complaining he didn't feel good.. oh great! We got in and I was sad that we didn't have loft seating..and we were rather close to the back ..but it is what it was. They didn't give us enough chairs.. um.. 8 people 7 chairs and I was told.. we have no more chairs..WHAT? So Taejan ended up in a high chair..he was NOT happy. But he very quickly got pale and I knew he was not ok. We asked if we could get his stroller from outside so he could just lay back. Luckily because of where we were sitting this was not a problem:
Our waiter was very nice, the chef came out and we talked food.. he made me grilled Chicken and gluten free rolls ( and later I had strawberries and cream no shortcake).
Let the fun begin:
Ribs happen to be Ziah's favorite ever..so she was beyond happy.
Taejan was uninterested in eating and was in and out of "awake". We ate around him..lol.. the show started and my little ones LOVED it! 95% of the people from the audience that were talked to were from Up north.. a lot from Mass like us. The did a shout out to Noah on his birthday. He was having a great time..
Taejan perked up and wanted some food. The waiter brought us more corn and mashed tato's.
Declan laughed so much the next day he was complaining his upper stomach hurt when he breathed in..took us a few to realize he had actually strained his diaphragm.LOL
About 1/2 way thru Noah's girlfriend left.. Noah followed. She had stuffed herself so full of food ( and she knows she has digestive issues) she was not feeling good. I was not happy. I had a feeling she did this to get the attention to her not Noah. Noah ended up missing a good part of the show comforting her.. grrr
They came back ( after I hunted them down) and all the kids got to play the wash board.
We left after the show and we had no wait for a boat. We did , however , have to wait en route as the Water Parade went by us.. but that was ok.. it was neat to see it so close up. We beat the Wishes crowd so it took us about 30 seconds to get on a Pop bus. The kids were beat so we went right to the room and right to bed!
I am enjoying your trip report! I am so glad you little one perked up and was able to enjoy the HDDR. I'm glad he got to see the Davy Crockett sketch at the end.....I think that is the funniest!
I am enjoying your trip report! I am so glad you little one perked up and was able to enjoy the HDDR. I'm glad he got to see the Davy Crockett sketch at the end.....I think that is the funniest!
Yeah i am really glad he perked up and got to see most of the show..I love HDDR.. it was something we did when we went in 2000 and we just had to go again!
write anymore of this report. Ive done 5 of our 10 days and I just dont wanna write more. It makes me sad. It's like my vacation coming to an end all over again
On one of our visits to the World Showcase my daughter and I were alone because my husband was golfing. We came upon the World Showcase players and I stepped into the middle of the group so i would not be chosen to take part...well of course they chose me. My daughter has never laughed so hard in her entire life...my husband was so upset that he missed it. The next year while the three if us wandered around we saw them again, and this time they chose my husband. I can tell you honestly that he would have rather the earth opened and swallowed him whole than take part in the skit but it was hilarious to watch someone who tries very hard to not EVER be in the spotlight be the focus...
have no fear I will be writing more..just very busy with day job, schooling the kids and life.. but tonight I should be able to get day 6 in the parks done!
