a Fantastical Wooden Coaster-Ride-of-a-trip

journ116 · Jun 18, 2013

This trip was 5 months in the making...O.K., 7 months (which is when we came back from our Oct./Nov. 2012 big ohana trip):

RESORT: Since we were silly enough to travel to WDW in a month when schools would just be letting out and when the mercury would be rising, my DH and I knew we wanted to stay at a resort within walking distance to either MK or EP. And, since we only had so many points at our disposal, a room-with-a-view for few points also added to the remaining factors. Thus, we landed upon a studio at the BWV with a garden or pool view, which I was lucky enough to snag only 6 months out! We liked having control over when we could arrive at two parks (EP and DHS), by relying on the service of our feet rather than the world-renowned Disney bus service!

Boardwalk by journ116, on Flickr

At 30 days out, I was able to check-in online (stealthily using Disney's old site because the new one was such a mess). I requested a first-floor room, a room with a day bed, but above anything else, that our room be ready upon our arrival.

Originally, we were supposed to check in on June 4th, but, well, read below to find out why that did not happen...

FLIGHT: Although we had airline credits with AirTran (closest operating airport was 3 hours away), I heard about an airline only 90 min. from home: Frontier. I already had the resort booked, so I was at the mercy of Frontier...by January, I was able to secure a round-trip flight, at a phenomenal deal, that matched up with our original resort dates! "Hahahahaha," said Frontier the following month, "We're canceling all flights for Tues., June 4th, but you have first dibs at re-booking at no charge for Wed., June 5th" (of course, I'm paraphrasing). Alrighty, new dates: June 5-12th, losing a full day of park touring...

TRANSPORTATION: Debated on whether or not to use Quick-Silver Tours car service (which we did for our weekend trip, April 26-28th, and were thoroughly happy with our experience), or stick with DME. DME won for the simple fact that we didn't have to lug our checked bags around...besides, what is the likelihood that our room would be ready upon check in?

Pooh'sBuddy · Jun 18, 2013

journ116 said:
My DD's will tell you that they had a blast, so much so, that the oldest couldn't wait to get home and set up her own version of Test Track; and the youngest performed her own set of meet-and-greets with her toys the moment we returned home!

LOVE it! I can't wait to read on.

journ116 · Jun 18, 2013

Tues., 6/4:

*Online airline check-in, cleaning, packing, trip to the doctors?: By 7:15 a.m., I had our boarding passes printed, checked luggage receipt in hand, and upgraded our seats to "STRETCH" seating (we'll see if that extra 5 inches was worth the $80 for 4 seats).
My computer business was followed by my cleaning check list: I cannot take a trip anywhere without having a mostly clean house, so I was literally following my DD's around with a vacuum cleaner for most of the day.
And, since I had most of our packing done 3 weeks ago, all that was left were little items like my camera, charged iPads & iPods, and printed itineraries!

(in addition to the bags here, we had 2 carry-ons: a DVC tote and a blue Mickey-stamped sling)

DSC_1383 by journ116, on Flickr

I was also hoping that my cold-like symptoms would've subsided by today, because during our big family gathering in Oct./Nov. 2012, I started the trip the same way and was uncomfortable, tired, and couldn't talk for the majority of our stay...well, these symptoms were almost gone!

*With the van packed and house cleaned, lights were out by 9 p.m. for the kids and 10 p.m. for the parents as we had to be out the door by 4:15 a.m., because our tickets said, "Boarding time: 6:25 a.m.."

Wed., 6/5: Arrival Day!

AM
*Original Plan: Breakfast ressie at Kouzzina's...cancelled the night before because I figured we'd eat a fast-food laden meal at the airport.
*New Plan: Breakfast-like food on the airline (granola bars, pop tarts, gum..the least nutritious meal of our vacation), then a stop at the Boardwalk Bakery after check-in.

*Woke up early. Had my shower by 3:30 a.m., woke up DH 30 min. later, and then I gently woke my girls. After 10 minutes, my DD's were ready and in the van chatting up a storm:

Chloe: "Eliza, do you know where were going today?"

Eliza: "We going on a plaaaane!"

Chloe: "O.K....do you know where we're going after we the plane?"

Eliza: "Bus ride!"

Chloe: "'We're going to Disney World!' That's what I wanted you to say, like in the commercials."

Eliza: as we're pulling out of the driveway, "Look, the moon!"

*Pit stop already: iced vanilla coffee from McDonald's for me, and fuel for the car at Sheetz.

*Made great time to MDT, parked the car, waited only 4 minutes for the airport shuttle, got in line at the Frontier kiosk to drop off our already-paid-for luggage (2 pieces), organized ourselves for TSA screening (in and out within 5 min...a perk of having an early morning flight, and being prepared), gathered our belongings, found our gate, potty-break, purchased bottled water for the plane, approached by airline employee and asked to board early with the car seat because Eliza would be using it on the plane, boarded at 6:20 a.m., left the gate by 6:50 a.m., and in the air by 7 a.m.! Phew, that's a gigantic run-on sentence!

*MDT-MCO: 7-9:18 a.m.

*Flight was uneventful, and we really enjoyed the extra leg room and Directv in the headrests! (Not sure we'll pay for that "STRETCH" seating upgrade again though.) Had hoped the girls would've taken a nap...hahahahaha...but, they were none-the-less great travelers! We arrived at our gate on time and with a full flight.

*Found DME, got in line, found ourselves to be the first ones on the bus, which means I could get a picture of this:

WDW entry by journ116, on Flickr

*We were the 2nd stop (a welcomed change, considering we're usually the last ones off the bus in years past)! We were then greeted by a kinder, older lady with an iPad as we walked thru the resort entrance:

BWI entry by journ116, on Flickr

The CM asked us our name and escorted us to Concierge to check in (no time to really soak in the atmosphere or take pics quite yet)...AND here's where the vacation took its first downhill run:

The concierge CM took our required info (ID and credit card for room charges). Informed me that our room was not ready and couldn't tell me what room we'd be in yet, because the resort was at full capacity.

"Fine, just fine," I thought to myself...room request #1 not met...but not the end of the world.

She then asked for my cell phone number and typed some more on her computer.

I politely asked, "Do you have any guesses as to when our room would be ready?"

To which she kindly replied, "No. But we will send you a text when it is. What is your cell phone number?"

Really, I just gave it to not more than 2 minutes ago...but this time, she wrote it down on a yellow Post-It note. You've got to be kidding me?!

She gave us our room cards, went over the QS-DDP, where to pick up our refillable mugs, and then sent us on our way.

*Stopped at Bell Services to drop off our carry-ons and pick up our double stroller. My DH cringed when he saw a double, because he is usually the one in charge of it on the park busses. However, I reminded him of our weekend trip and how Chloe found it difficult to keep up with her parents' all-day pace and needed to rest. Well, why not have the kid rest in the stroller so we could keep going? (I will not apologize for my 7-year-old using a stroller...it was well needed for us parents, especially when we had to navigate crowds, rain, and above all, we knew she'd always have a great seat for viewing any parades and shows.)

*Time check: 11 a.m.. Off to the Boardwalk Bakery, then either DHS or EP or MK.

Pooh'sBuddy · Jun 18, 2013

Your daughters are totally adorable. Hope the cold-like symptoms and delayed check in don't cause any more bumps.

journ116 · Jun 18, 2013

More from Day 1:

First, a big shout-out and THANKS to Kingdom Strollers...our City Mini GT double was waiting for us upon check-in (thanks for the 8 a.m. delivery text BTW!), was very clean, and in great condition!

*As we exited the resort to get to the boardwalk, the heat and humidity slapped me in the face like a hot, damp rag...ugh! Glad I had the sense to grab one of the clip-on fans for the stroller out of our carry-on bag (I searched high and low for fans like these, and finally found some at Dick's Sporting Goods store the Monday before we left...bought two for $20, along with a 6-pack of D-batteries).

DSC_1386 by journ116, on Flickr

And gaging by the overcast sky, I'm glad I grabbed the stroller rain cover (best $10 spent as well!).

*To our surprise, the bakery was virtually empty at 10:50 a.m., AND breakfast was still being served (my family's favorite meal of the day)! My DH and I used a QS meal each on a breakfast bowl with ham, and a ham, egg, cheese on biscuit, along with 2 bottles of water. The girls however used up 1 snack each on a gigantic cinnamon roll and a chocolate chip cookie (that's one of Eliza's nicknames, "Cookie Monster"). I picked up our mugs (only 3 colors: pink, aqua, and black), rinsed them out in the provided sink, and filled up my DH's with ice and Coke, and mine with ice and coffee! Since there were plenty of red-wired tables and chairs available, we plopped down for a bit to enjoy the scenery, the food, and the begging ducks & birds

BW panoramic by journ116, on Flickr

DSC_1036 by journ116, on Flickr

DSC_1037 by journ116, on Flickr
("Chloe, what you looking at?"...Eliza then proceeded to put her head thru the bars, getting stuck trying to get back out...luckily, I was able to finess her tiny head from between the bars...ah!)

DSC_1033 by journ116, on Flickr
(ahhh, this is what caught their attention...a turtle!)

*As we sat eating, I broke out the iPad and checked Touring Plan's app for wait times at EP, HS, and MK...welp, we didn't feel like folding up the stroller, so MK was out...EP was on our itinerary almost every day, so that park was out...and HS had the shorter wait times (well, for Star Tours anyways) and we really wanted the girls to see the re-vamped Playhouse Disney stage show (they love Sophia and Doc McStuffins). Rallied the kids, who wanted to walk, and we set off toward Mickey's Sorcerer hat via the boardwalk.

*Our walking story: kids made it for about 5 min. before the heat hit them (and I think they were getting tired since they'd been up, up since 5:45 a.m.), so they hopped in the stroller, drank their water, and enjoyed the scenery. I happened to be pushing the stroller, but paused for just a moment to fix one of my socks...didn't see Chloe hopping out as I started to push again...down goes Chloe. Scrapes up her left knee, ankle, and hands. I swear, she is the most accident-prone child I know!! Good thing I had my little medical kit with me (i.e. bandaids, first aid cream and spray). Bandaged her up under the bridge (for those who know this walkway) and had her sit in the stroller until we made it to HS. However, right as we get out from under the bridge, we see numerous guest-filled Disney busses pulling up...we looked farther up and could see throngs of people at the security check...suffice it to say, we turned right around and headed back toward EP.

*Time check: 11:45 a.m.

PM
*Arrived at the International Gateway entrance by 12 p.m.: on our way there, I received a text from Disney stating, "Please reply YES if you would like to receive texts from Disney" (or something close to that)." So, I texted 'YES' back to them. A minute later, another text, "If you would like to opt out of this service, please reply HELP." Sooo, I ignored that text. Oh, IG had no lines! Plus, it's always nice to enter the park right next to our two favorite pavilions: France (to the right) and the UK (to the left).

*Decided on exploring FW first, plus the girls were getting hungry again and FW offered more food options for them than WS did. Stopped at the refreshment stand right before you leave WS to get the girls chicken nuggets, but to their dismay, the nuggets had changed...they were now heavily coated, crispier, more seasoned, and "not flat" (as Eliza put it). Great, the one staple (other than pizza..even that proved to be challenging) to their Disney diets had changed, and my girls didn't want to stay up with the times. O.K., now what to get them? (I loathe having one very, very picky eater, and one somewhat picky eater...I've tried the, "let them starve, they'll eat when they're really hungry" approach...all I ended up with was a headache and two cranky kids!) While my DH and I thought of where to stop, we also decided to check out the wait times...a simple walk to the time board was fine by me, but...

*DH and his iPhone: I mean, having an iPhone is nice and all, but it's too much temptation for some people...my DH was on that darn thing ALL the time..."Just checking 'Wait Times'"...sure...

*Here comes the rain...quickly ducked into Innoventions West to play the 'Piggy' game...always a success with the kiddos!

piggy bank gate by journ116, on Flickr

*Rain let up, and decided to head toward 'Figment': the entrance wait time read, "15 min." and it was correct. Here's where the iPhone had its benefits: Netflix. With the girls occupied watching "Treasure Planet," I reminded my husband to close the girls' ears near the end, because there is a big BANG right before the finale...I'm even taken aback by the sheer loudness of it! Our turn...we've only ever ridden this once before, so the ride is still pretty new to us (except the obvious memory of its ending)...so far so good...and then...POW, in your face explosion, resulting in not only a colorful scenery, but two kids slightly crying. However, by the time we got off the ride, they were all right and amused themselves with the games at the exit:

(note the lime-green bandaids from her first of many falls)

DSC_1038 by journ116, on Flickr

DSC_1041 by journ116, on Flickr

*Potty break and pictures: Eliza loved creating her own Figment on the computer, but I saw that she was doing the "potty dance." I literally had to pull her away from the computer, exit the building, walk over to the restrooms near Chip and Dale's M&G's, then walk back over to where we left the other 1/2 of our family. While we were gone, my DH and Chloe agreed upon getting their photo taken, you know where your face and/or body gets superimposed onto someone elses? They picked to have their faces put on 2 Jungle Cruise guides...aaaand, it turned out a bit creepy...another $30 spent:

DSC_1391 by journ116, on Flickr

*Time check: 1:45 p.m.. O.K., we seriously need to get our kids something, anything to eat! How about Sunshine Seasons? Nope. Electric Umbrella? Might as well. While I went in to place an order, my DH took the girls into Mouse Gear just to get out of the heat. I ended up using 2 more QS meals: an 8-piece chicken nugget meal with french fries, fruit cup, and bottled water; a kids meal of a chilled chicken wrap, grapes, Danimals yogurt, and bottled water. Met up with the rest of my party outside the entrance by the Fountain of Nations, sat down on some concrete gears and made my kids eat. I ate the wrap, while Chloe ate 3 nuggets, grapes and some of the fruit cup; Eliza ate a couple of french fries and all her yogurt...would not touch the nuggets unless they were flat ones...you've got to be kidding me!

*Moving on: checked my cellphone for any missed messages, and then headed back over to WS so my DH could get his first of many fish n' chips fix at Yorkshire County Fish Shop. While he ordered his beloved meal, I let the girls wander around the garden:

(quick stop for a photo op in Canada)

girls @ Canada by journ116, on Flickr

(girls hammin' it up...after every picture I took here, "Let me see! Let me see!")

DSC_1043 by journ116, on Flickr

DSC_1044 by journ116, on Flickr

DSC_1049 by journ116, on Flickr

DSC_1052 by journ116, on Flickr

(DH enjoying his meal...oh, and a pic of the stroller with rain cover and fan)

DSC_1053 by journ116, on Flickr

fish n' chips by journ116, on Flickr

*After the fish, we headed over the bridge to check out the new patisserie and gelato shop, L'Artisan des Glaces...STILL not enough seating inside or out...I wanted gelato, so we parked the stroller by the entrance and sauntered inside. There were maybe 3 other guests, so we didn't feel rushed to place an order...and here's how that process works:

1. Walk up to one of the two registers and tell them 1 scoop or 2 (no flavors) OR the specialty alcoholic gelato sundae.

2. You get a receipt and then move on down to the gelato cases...hmm...what to get, what to get?

3. When you're ready, hand a waiting CM your receipt and tell them what flavor and in a cone or dish.

We walked out with 3 single scoops: 2 chocolate in cups (for the girls of course), 1 hazelnut (for me...I swiped some of Chloe's gelato to make an icy Nutella...mmmm...), and 2 scoops of coco-white chocolate-something-rather. All was good, and all was consumed in a matter of minutes! Check out wdwmagic's opening day pictures (since I took none):

http://www.wdwmagic.com/dining/lart...13-l'artisan-des-glaces-opening-day/18763.htm

*Time check: 3:30 p.m., and no text or voicemail about our room. Something's gotta give, so I called the number on my resort card, and here's how that conversation went:

friendly lady CM: "We show that your room has been ready for a while now. You're in room 2112, and since you already have your cards, you can enter your room at any time."

Me, but to myself: Say whaaaa? Our "room has been ready for a while now?" Then why didn't I get a text or voicemail telling me so?!

Me, out loud: "Great, but why didn't I receive a text telling me the room was ready?"

CM: "I don't see that a cellphone number was provided at check in."

Me, out loud, but should've been to myself: "WHAT? I GAVE THAT CONCIERGE LADY MY NUMBER 2 TIMES!!!"

Silence.

Me: "Oh, sorry about that."

CM: "No problem. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

Me: "Nope. That's it for now."

CM: "Have a magical day!"

Me to my DH: "You've got to be kidding me! Our room is ready...let's go!"

*I'm not sure if it was a combination of the heat, humidity, early morning, or incompetence, but I was feeling tired and anxious by this point. Better get me to the room so I can unwind for a bit...

englanddg · Jun 18, 2013

journ116 said:

You said it first, so I can agree...

They both look like they normally should be at ToT or Haunted Mansion! Maybe someone at Jungle Cruise called in sick that day?

<runs away quickly>

journ116 · Jun 18, 2013

englanddg said:
You said it first, so I can agree...

They both look like they normally should be at ToT or Haunted Mansion! Maybe someone at Jungle Cruise called in sick that day?

<runs away quickly>

hahahaha...yes, worst $30 spent...if I would've been there, I would've stopped that transaction and reprimanded the photographer (my DH was reprimanded after he handed me the photos)!

Pooh'sBuddy · Jun 18, 2013

OMG! I've already said it, and I'll say it again. I thought I was used to humidity, but the Florida humidity was awful.

I have an accident prone kid, too. Totally can sympathize.

HouCuseChickie · Jun 18, 2013

Loving the TR! You're also making me rethink the "we'll go stroller free next trip" idea. I too have an accident prone kiddo and I may regret. Can't believe they took down your number twice, but didn't actually record it to text you. How frustrating! Can't wait to read more.

ImagineerDude · Jun 18, 2013

Love it!

Sans Souci · Jun 18, 2013

We had the same thing happen to us with the room notification text at BCV. We waited and waited, nothing. Finally, my husband called at 5 (we checked in at 10 AM) and was told the room had been ready for hours without an explanation why I wasn't notified by text.

I love those dresses your little girls are wearing--too cute!

journ116 · Jun 19, 2013

HouCuseChickie said:
Loving the TR! You're also making me rethink the "we'll go stroller free next trip" idea. I too have an accident prone kiddo and I may regret. Can't believe they took down your number twice, but didn't actually record it to text you. How frustrating! Can't wait to read more.

If you can go "stroller free" (a day my DH is anxiously waiting for), more power to y'all!!

Cost and bickering were also factors in my decision to rent a double. We could've just taken an umbrella stroller from home for Eliza, but the girls would've fought over it at some point. We could've taken no stroller and just rented a Disney hard shell one, but the cost would've been astronomical. So, I checked the various stroller rental sites and decided to go with Kingdom Strollers (have tried all the other ones BTW, and not one bad experience), because they offered the GT model of the City Mini (can hold a bigger child)...for $105, including the rain cover AND insurance, for 1 week, it was money seriously well spent!

While we were down there, our resort (not sure about Disney as a whole), was performing software upgrades...not sure if that had anything to do with our problems? But I've never had a problem, up until this point in our Disney travels, with our resort...guess there's a first for everything

journ116 · Jun 19, 2013

Sans Souci said:
We had the same thing happen to us with the room notification text at BCV. We waited and waited, nothing. Finally, my husband called at 5 (we checked in at 10 AM) and was told the room had been ready for hours without an explanation why I wasn't notified by text.

I love those dresses your little girls are wearing--too cute!

When did your problem occur? Recently? I was getting insanely anxious and I am surprised that I didn't call sooner than 3:30 p.m. (even though the technical check in time is 4 p.m.)!

Oh, the dresses are by "Carters" and I got them for $10 each at a store that's local to Central/Eastern PA! They reminded me of dresses my little sister and I would wear in the '80's!

journ116 · Jun 19, 2013

ImagineerDude said:
Love it!

Thanks!

journ116 · Jun 19, 2013

******ADDITION to the TR, before we explored France******

*Umbrellas: As we were crossing the bridge to head toward the France pavilion, my oldest DD, Chloe, spotted the carts with the colorful, painted parasols. We had gotten her a purple one from MK years ago, but her little sister, Eliza, stepped on it and broke it about 4 months ago. Soooo, I told her I'd let her get another one on this trip...and she remembered!

Chloe: "Mom, look! There's a stand with umbrellas! You said I could get one, remember?!"

Me: "Sure, we'll stop now and each of you can pick one out!"

There was a kind French CM, a young lady, who helped us. Chloe decided on a white parasol, with Eiffel Tower decorations and to personalize it. Eliza decided on a darker pink parasol with flower decorations and to personalize it. About $37 later, we were told 25 min. (it was 3 p.m. by this point), so that's when we decided to treat ourselves to either a pastry or gelato.

After I called the resort, and was becoming very agitated at this point, we stopped at the parasol kiosk to pick up the girls' "paid for" umbrellas. (I waited approximately 5 min. before any CM helped me.) The same CM told me that the paint was still tacky (which I figured was from the humidity) and asked for another 15 min.. I told her that we'd be back later, say a couple of hours, to pick them up and asked if they'd still be there by 5:30 p.m., to which she replied, "Yes."

*With receipt in hand and an exhaustion setting in for the bunch of us, we headed back to our resort to FINALLY check out our studio!

TrolleyFollower91 · Jun 19, 2013

Great TR! Your girls are too cute. I love that picture of your husband and daughter as the Jungle Cruise skippers- I think it's absolutely hilarious and may have to get one myself on my next trip...

journ116 · Jun 19, 2013

TrolleyFollower91 said:
Great TR! Your girls are too cute. I love that picture of your husband and daughter as the Jungle Cruise skippers- I think it's absolutely hilarious and may have to get one myself on my next trip...

I literally just got done reading your DL TR, and it has solidified our decision to go to DL in Jan./Feb. 2014! I had been running the numbers on whether to do a week-long trip to DL or a land & sea package in WDW...prices were about the same, so we'll wait until Nov. 2014 (?) or Jan. 2015 (?) to do our cruise (which is definitely on our "to-do" list after DL)!
I laugh out loud whenever I look at their "skipper" picture...it is soooooo bad! There were so many other options at that kiosk

Thanks for reading!

Zman-ks · Jun 19, 2013

Great TR!

LizC · Jun 19, 2013

Great trip report so far. I will be staying at the Boardwalk with my husband and 2 kids in Jan, I'm interested to see how you enjoyed a studio with 2 kids as that is what I was planning.

a Fantastical Wooden Coaster-Ride-of-a-trip

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One Little Spark...

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