A Disney 11 Year Journey...Ending with July 12-18, 2010

So, here we are back from our 7th trip to the World in 11 years.....and most likely our last as a family. Bittersweet, yet a new chapter will be unfolding.
This trip report is in all reality written for my sole benefit and preserving the memories, I hope if you read you enjoy the ride!

The characters:
Me, mom, 37, Disney fan oddly addicted with the castle.
DH, 39, Not so much a Disney fan but loves me and is along for the ride.
DS, 17, Reaction....Disney, again, really?? But smiles for every picture I take!
DS, 15, Likes Disney, and is the total goof ball in the family!
DS, 12, Likes Disney, and very much enjoyed the trip.

Here's the plan for the report~
Give lots of details regarding this trip with some of my favorite pictures thrown in from previous trips. It will be one great big "travel-log" by the time it's done.

We are an RV'ing family and love Fort Wilderness Campground. Attached are our various "home on wheels" throughout the years:

Our first "Home on Wheels" Disney June 2000---good thing the kids were little!

Our Second "Home on Wheels" Disney January 2002

Our

Last "Home on Wheels" Disney 2004, 2006, 2010. Most likely it will also have a for sale sign in it soon. Kids are so busy with sports/activities we just can't use it as we used to. Time for DH & I to trade up to a big ol' motorhome!

For those of you counting trips...the above represents only 5. Our very first trip was in April 1999 and we stayed at Port Orleans Riverside (which was then Dixie Landings). Here is our very first family picture in front of the castle that correlates with that trip:

Our 7th trip was June 2007 compliments of my parents and their 40th wedding anniversary. My whole family went and we stayed at Port Orleans Riverside. This shot is the whole family waiting for Fantasmic---my family is at the very end of the row. Great time....our group got the "wave" started in the crowd!

Okay, okay time to get moving with details!

Day 1, Sunday July 11
Hitched up the ol' trailer and headed out at 6am. Plan to drive from Chicago to just past Atlanta and stop for night. DH has a fancy new Garmin (named Clyde) that he is uber excited to use. But for you Clyde users out there....do you find that you are constantly trying to beat the time Clyde puts up????

Turned around in the front seat and got this shot that never would happen if the boys were awake...

Had some good laughs with the boys on the drive down. It sure is interesting the more adult things we talk about now versus when they were younger...:zipit:

Making great time (did I dare say it?) and then....we get stopped in the road by a truck fire. Noone was injured. Middle son wanted me to take a picture of his fantastic abilities to shut down a highway~

Otherwise uneventful remainder of the day. Stopped at a Campground in Forsyth, GA at about 8:30, turned the A/C on, showered, and hit the hay.

Day 2, Monday, July 12

Hit the road by 8am and pulling into Disney property by 2:30 pm. We were running on fumes! More math fun: Big trailer + big truck = Lots of gas. Compounded by poor vehicle turning radius due to big trailer + big truck = not all gas stations are conducive to our size. This was the case our last few miles to the World....gas stations were not liking our size.

Now, if we wanted to pull in and take over a station we could go anywhere we wanted...but I don't think people would appreciate waiting while we wiggled back & forth to fit in a spot to get gas. So since we are apparently the utimate "caring" family unit, we sacrificed our need for gas and prayed to Mickey that he would get us to the Hess station right by the Magic Kingdom. Mickey did us well....we pulled in with 10 miles left in the tank!

Headed over to FW and only had to wait about 5 minutes for check in. Here is middle son, showing yet more amazing abilities~did I mention already that he is the knucklehead of the family?

Now begins the "Parking of the Unit" fun at Fort Wilderness. Sites are tight and our last adventure in 2006 took about 20 minutes of wiggling to get us situated. Mickey answered our prayers again as the sites have been made larger since our last visit....total time for parking (drum roll please) 2 minutes!!!

Set up our house (goes so much faster since kids are older and help) and moseyed on over to Downtown Disney via Disney buses. Ate at Planet Hollywood and did a quick walk through of the shops. Used Disney buses to get back.....it took a looong time. I love being efficient, and Disney transportation was not living up to my "efficiency" standards!

Up next, The actual parks and what the heck we did in them.....

 

[jhoff3405]

Great photos, especially the last one! DH and I will celebrate our 15th anniversary next Wednesday - unfortunately we won't be at WDW.

Congrats..we just made 18 years before we left for Disney. Time flies!

 

[jhoff3405]

This is one of my favorite trip reports ever...I love love love the retro pics, but your trip report made me tear up a little, I have a two year old son and an eleven year old daughter and the pictures of your family when the boys are little and now all grown up reminded me how fast time goes. My sweet little two year old has the blonde hair like your boys and will be grown before I know it, my daughter is 11, those years have already gone too quick. Thanks for sharing your family's vacation with us, and reminding us how precious the time with our kids is!!

Thank you for the kind words and you are welcome. I keep telling my husband that we have grown men now living in the house!

 

[jhoff3405]

Loving your trip report! My oldest is almost 16 and she is definitely not in love with Disney. She wonders why we don't go anywhere else? :lol: But she will usually give me the smiles too, unless she gets grumpy! :lookaroun:lol:

Yes, Disney love ended for the oldest on about trip #5. He swears he will not bring his own children there...we will see. :animwink:

 

[jhoff3405]

Thursday July 15

Thursday July 15--Day Off
We wanted to kick back today and take it easy. We rented a golf cart to drive around the campground in....yep, you got us Disney for $68.00...and we thoroughly enjoyed it!

Picked up the golf cart and had breakfast at the all-you-can-eat Trails End Buffet. It is the main restaurant in the campground. It is very good and it was not crowded.
After bfast I walked down to Mickey’s backyard BBQ and peeked through the fences to see what was left of River Country. For those of you that are not aware, there used to be a great water park in that spot. I could only see the old pool, and boy had the landscape taken over! Here is a picture from River Country back in June 2000...

We spent the rest of the day driving around the campground looking at all the RV’s and finding the other campsites we have previously stayed in.
Kids also swam, while I sat in the heat and checked my work email.

Had never walked the boardwalk and decided to take a tour…disappointing during the day. Not much there for amusement, but at least I can say I have now seen it and the boardwalk hotel. The family did not care for the boardwalk hotel.

O’hana for dinner…had never been and boy did I enjoy it. I’m not a big meat eater (the rest of the family is) so Whispering canyon was very um…meaty. O’Hana had lots of great sides that I worked my way through while the men chowed down on the shrimp and beef. OMG the dessert…..sooo good.
Here is hubby eating shrimp...they just kept them coming to him!

Boys decided they liked the Poly and would like to stay there.

Did a loop on the resort monorail just to say we had ridden it. There is something special about that and we always make a point to ride it.
Here is a pic from Dec 2001 where the boys are riding in the front of the monorail.

Up next, Friday July 16 Studios & MK

 

[jhoff3405]

Friday July 16 Studios & MK

Friday July 16 Studios & MK

Drove to HS (7min) for EMH. Got near front row parking. Had never ridden TSM and at opening ¾ of the people in line headed for it. Can you say “running of the bulls?” I felt as if I was going to get skewered by strollers and people pushing/rushing. We opted for a FP for TSM which was already at 9:25 by the time I got it at 8:10. Headed over to RNR for a 20 min wait and did a ride swap (youngest does not like coasters) then to TOT for a 5 minute wait…did another ride swap. Rode TOT with hands up the whole time and with middle son who hung onto the bars….guess I still got some gumption! Back to TSM (perfect timing for FP) and had about a 5 minute wait. By the time we were out of the ride at 9:40 the FP’s were already at something like 5pm!
Took this picture....hubby has quite the look!

Got some snacks at Starring Rolls Café and then walked onto the great movie ride, then Star Tours. Hubby and I sat out (gumption gone!) as our heads and stomachs were telling us that enough moving around was enough. Then waited for Indy. Back when we first saw Indy in summer of 2000 all three boys insisted on being him for Halloween…things have changed! Then the Back Lot tour. Decided we had seen all we wanted to al the Studios and headed back to the trailer by 2pm.

Here is us walking out to the car....Couldn't get anyone to turn around for a pic!

Rest until 5 and then I decided the castle was calling my name. Took the boat and did not have to wait to terribly long. Watched a mother duck and her ducklings while we were waiting.

On the boat to the MK I suggested to sit in front to get the most breeze as it was HOT out. Do you think that was a good idea by the look on their faces?

Here is the point that noone wants to stop and take pictures any longer. So, I figured I would at least their backsides in front of the castle....

Middle wanted to ride Space Mountain. The wait was 70 minutes…we would in theory never wait this long but we decided we were very hot and it was air conditioned. What a nice surprise as we spent the time playing the games in line. Very nice addition. Had a person behind me that did not share my acute sense of personal space…..not sure how but it seems as if those people are drawn to me! My hubby jokes about the “force field” I put around myself and how some people see if as an “invitation shield.” We were finally within 10 minutes of the ride and it had a “interruption” ugh. We were then amused with chants from a South American group followed by chants from an American group singing the song “if you’re happy and you know it….” Did a ride swap (youngest and no coasters) and discovered that SM is not really much smoother since the re-do….I thought they were going to make it smoother??

Family then decided that we would wait Splash mountain—we had never ridden it as we never wanted to have wet clothes. Well, sign said 50 min (again where the heck is my touring plan?) we said “why not?” We got some cold drinks and hunkered down in line……which turned out to be 70 min with breakdown. By then the FP’s were so backed up they were letting them go at the rate of about 50 to 1. Very fun ride and…we got soaked.

Dinner at 9pm Columbia harbor house. Made me remember when we had a character meal at Liberty Tree Tavern our very first visit in 1999.....

After dinner we decided MK was a madhouse and it was time for us to get out. We exited before 10…main street insane walked backstage to get out. While walking out we noticed we everybody was flowing in for EMH until 3am. We had thought it would be so cool to be in the park until 3am, but I think every other Disney resort guest felt the same.

Don't feel as if I gave justice to this post, but I did not take many pictures this day and my work here at home is running my life!

 

[Tazer19]

Love the report and better yet your husbands Hawks shirt!

 

[jhoff3405]

Love the report and better yet your husbands Hawks shirt!

Notice the youngest son is wearing as well. He has been a hockey goalie since he was 5. Needless to say, we wear a lot of hockey/Blackhawk apparel in our house!

Saw quite a few other Hawk fans down in the World while we were there.

 

[jhoff3405]

Saturday July 17 MK in the AM

Saturday July 17 MK in the AM
Exciting picture day ahead of us. In case you have not picked up yet, we are a little goofy. Middle son had an idea that we all wear Tuxedo T-shirts for our castle picture this year. It was great fun, and the comments we got from people were awesome!
Onto the day. Here we are all dressed up and on our way to MK for the castle picture....

Husband brought bread this time to feed the ducks...

MK by 9:15 (bummer missed park opening—but we were waiting on Disney transportation). I then tortured the boys for my favorite (ever) photopass pictures.....

Here is a previous Dec 2004 castle pic:

And Dec 2006:

We got FP for space mountain and headed in front of the castle (ahhh) to walk onto TMR where a very nice CM offered to take this shot....(let me tell ya, its the shirts!) Also, love the guy in the background hijacking our photo...kudos!

We then decided to ride Splash Mountain again. This time I wore the poncho as we got soaked--again. Then to Jungle Cruise for about a 15 minute wait as a tour group got in front of us.

Got to talking to a very nice CM while we were waiting…he shared with us a little about the tour groups. He said that most of the students do not speak English but yet still wanted to ride the jungle cruise. He said that the CM’s feel a little silly going through their Jungle Cruise speel when they know they are most likely not being understood. Interesting....

Stopped for a Dole Whip (never had one as I never wanted to wait in line for one…no wait today) It was very good and refreshing.

Then over to Space Mountain to use our FP. Did a ride swap again and discovered that you can take up to 3 people total back in line for ride swap. So, older two boys got a double ride….not sure why we never knew this before!
Here is a shot of the older two boys riding first with mom....

And then dad....(who says I don't have 4 boys?)

Then over to Buzz….kids just love that ride and it brings back lots of memories for me. CoP…it’s a great big beautiful tomorrow….then Mickey’s Phillharmagic . Then out…..kids/hubby are disney’d out.

Talked with the CM boat hand on the way back to the campground about being a Disney nut. He works on the boat part time (his wife is a full time resort CM) and the reason he does it is so he can sing with her at Christmas time in the Candelight processional. Very nice. Told him that one day when I retire I will be working on main street ideally being a Photopass photographer.

Up next, EPCOT in the PM.

 

[jhoff3405]

Saturday July 17 Pm & July 18

Saturday July 17 EPCOT in the PM

It was about 1pm by the time we got back from MK, kids ate, went swimming and watched some TV. I really wanted to see Illiminations as it had been 4 years since I had seen it. The youngest said he would go back to EPCOT with me. Hubby drove us (7minutes) and dropped us off at the main gate by about 7pm. Son and I walked the world showcase and looked in some shops.
Here we are just the two of us....it was very nice.

I got a margarita, he got a frozen coke, cookies and a funnel cake from America. In Germany we noticed they sold about 4 inch tall gummi bears..hilarious. If any of you have seen the movie “cloudy with a chance of meatballs” you will appreciate the line that Steve the monkey would go crazy with this gummy bear! A Bon Jovi tribute band started at 8pm…we listened and sang along to a few songs….good time! Found a nice spot by France about 15 min before show time…it was not very crowded. Illum was great, but I of course felt the need to book it to the Disney transporation once it was done. So hard to enjoy when you still want to be efficient! Got a bus by 9:25 (not too shabby!) back to the campground by 10ish. Then had to wait for a campground internal bus so we were not back to the Rv until about 10:30. Great to see Illuminations, but I am good for another few years due to the insanity of afterwards.


July 18--Depart

Made this at our campsite as our farewell......:wave:

We were headed to a campground on St. Augustine beach through the 23rd for some R & R after Disney.

Disney wrap up….Great time, but the kids and hubby have had enough for quite a while. Oldest has sworn that if he ever brings his kids to Disney it will never be in the heat of summer, and it won’t be at Christmas time either. Hey---at least he is thinking about maybe taking his kids! Other two boys said they will bring kids to Disney. Husband has stated he is good for another 4/5 years before he needs to go back. By then the new fantasyland will be done and I have 4 days of no expiration park hoppers that will be sitting waiting in the firebox!

I am going to post one more time some of my favorite shots from St. Augustine. That way my "travel log" will be complete for myself!

For those of you that have read, thanks!

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I've thoroughly enjoyed your report. I love the old pics interjected when you passed by areas that reminded you of past adventures. I like that approach because you see the family grow up over the years. So fun!

Okay. I gotta pay my compliments on the tux tshirts. Those are freaking awesome! Love it! You see families doing the matching Disney-themed shirts (we've done quite a few over the years) but I think I like the tuxedo tees best. Those are just awesome!

Thanks so much for sharing your 11 year journey with us. I loved it! And if 4/5 years is too long to wait you can just come join our family in all our silliness. Our thinking is always "the more the merrier"! :wave:

Can't wait to see St. Augustine!!! :sohappy:

 

[mouselvrmom]

Loved the tuxedo shirts! So fun! Glad you had a great trip!

 

[jhoff3405]

July 18-23 St. Augustine

July 18-23 St.Augustine

St. Augustine was great. Campground was right on the beach and there was a lot to see & do in the area.
We were a 1 minute walk to this.....

Kids & hubby did a lot of this.....

After swimming, we would head back to the trailer and do a quick rinse under our outdoor shower to get the salt off of us before getting ready to go out and see the sights. One day, I come around the corner of the trailer to see this....

Ugh....the soap part is supposed to happen INSIDE the trailer...not OUTSIDE!

One more post coming to get all of my other selected pictures of St. Augustine in.....

 

[jhoff3405]

July 18-23 St. Augustine

July 18-23 St. Augustine

Here are some of the sights we saw in St. Augustine:

Fountain of Youth

Which tasted pretty awful, as evidenced by this picture....

The "Old Jail"...built back in the mid-1800's. The tour was great fun as well as educational.

Middle son got chosen for "punishment"....if they only knew!

Hubby was very sad to be in jail....

Castillo De San Marcos....the oldest fort in the nation. Starting building in the late 1500's. Supposedly haunted. The TV show "Ghost Adventures" filmed here. We had a great chat with the park ranger regarding what the adventurers saw....very interesting. (Notice a tuxedo shirt has made a comeback!)

Middle son re-enacting a member of the "Ghost Adventurer" cast at Castill de San Marco....

Oldest boys and hubby also went on a ghost tour--sorry no pics. They had a blast and since we have been home our TV is quite often on some type of program pertaining to ghost hunting.

Any good trip has to include a visit to a winery.......

And yet for me, it always comes back to Disney....

My Mickey pedicure fit in well with my beach towel.....

Thats all folks!

I look forward to living my Disney dreams vicariously through all of your trip reports!

 

[jhoff3405]

I've thoroughly enjoyed your report. I love the old pics interjected when you passed by areas that reminded you of past adventures. I like that approach because you see the family grow up over the years. So fun!

Okay. I gotta pay my compliments on the tux tshirts. Those are freaking awesome! Love it! You see families doing the matching Disney-themed shirts (we've done quite a few over the years) but I think I like the tuxedo tees best. Those are just awesome!

Thanks so much for sharing your 11 year journey with us. I loved it! And if 4/5 years is too long to wait you can just come join our family in all our silliness. Our thinking is always "the more the merrier"! :wave:

Can't wait to see St. Augustine!!! :sohappy:

Thx....this has been very fun for me. I wish I had more time to play with it!! But, at least I have it down now for the boys in the future.

As for the 4/5 years and your invite, if I reach "disney desperation" I may take you up on it!

Loved the tuxedo shirts! So fun! Glad you had a great trip!

Thx for reading and sharing!

 

[WishIWasAtWDW]

loved reading your trip report. loved the pictures from past trips! very cool to see the boys at different stages in their lives. and the tuxedo tshirts....AMAZING! how awesome that you all decided to wear those! i love the idea of wearing matching shirts but i am not a big fan of the traditional "disney vacation" ones that you see all the time. the tuxedo shirts are so original and that picutre is so cool! LOVE IT! :lol: thanks for sharing!