Trip Report The I'm Ditching the Spreadsheets....an Unrecognizable Trip!

We arrived home around 10pm last night from our Disney vacation. The planning for this trip started in March, but by September it was not even close to the original. So how did it all turn out? Did I make the correct decisions? Was this trip as hectic as the last one? Should I have cancelled so many dining reservations? Did we miss too much because upon arrival I decided to rip up the spread sheets..the same ones that I so painstakingly obsessed over?! I'm thinking about all of this as I am attempting to organize my 609,504,302 photos.

There were a few hiccups, including my Etsy order not arriving in time, sprinting to the Magical Express just as the doors closed, leaving our Elf on the Shelf in the room after check out, getting stuck on a ride, a missing boat captain, broken ornaments, and a horrible 3 hour lunch. All in all it was an amazing trip. I do not regret the decision to change from the original plans, or the second, or the 3rd, or even the plans I had when we were on the plane heading to Orlando. I decided to throw out most of them and take a (semi) wing it approach.

 

[21stamps]

EMM still continued...

We took the "long way" thru the entrance of Winnie the Pooh, kiddo still wanted to enjoy the offerings, running from one to the other, without having several other people crammed in the same spot.

We rode this one 2 times, then left for Peter Pan.

Blurry selfie-

Where's Waldo?

 

[21stamps]

Love the pics, especially the Star Wars masks. How fun!

Thanks! It was! Sadly though that's their only appearance. My son wanted me to bring them, but then declared that they were only for Mine Train.lol

 

[21stamps]

EMM Part 3...

Flew with Peter Pan several times.. then crossed over to It's a Small World. Luckily no one else was in our boat, T decided to sing along the entire time.

Then we went to the Carousel..and T tried to remove the Sword from the Stone.

We've now been on 13 rides..and it's 9:08am!!! We hadn't even been in Fantasyland for an hour!! Did I mention that I LOVE Early Morning Magic?!!
We've worked up an appetite so we're off to Pinocchio's Village Haus to eat!

 

[21stamps]

EMM ending...

Had a good breakfast, a good chat about the day ahead of us, and kiddo stood up and gave me a hug out of nowhere. My heart melted. It happened a few times during the trip, each time I never wanted it to end. This is the Disney Magic-Talking and laughing with your loved ones, sharing new experiences and reliving old ones. WDW just provides the backdrop.

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We sat in there for about 30 minutes. Then walked outside to this!!! Early Morning Magic had definitely ended!

 

[21stamps]

We headed to the Tea Cups, then Barnstormer, finished those shortly after 10am.

We got lucky and were placed in the first seat on Barnstormer. First and very Last are our favorites on any ride!

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Whew, ok I'm only on Day 3, and still in the morning. This may be a marathon trip report...still to go on this day are- BOG lunch, various rides/attractions, Gone Mad Party at GF, glowing drinks, dancing, cupcakes, and Holiday Wishes.

Good news is- I've deleted 50 or so photos thus far.

I'm going to sleep..it's much needed.

 

[Courtney6682]

YAY!! I was hoping you'd do a TR rather quickly lol. Following along on Facebook wasn't enough! I watched the OSU game because of you lol...my husband went out to watch it with his brother and when he texted me on the way home I told him that I too had watched. His response...''YOU watched the Ohio State game?'' Clearly I'm not a football fan, but for the past 2 yrs I've become a Philadelphia Eagles fan by marriage. Then I explained that a friend from the Disney site had been talking about it for weeks lol and curiosity got the best of me. It really was a nail biter! I thought of u and T at the end of the game, it must have been a blast for you guys!

Your son is SO FREAKIN CUTE!!! It seems like you guys had a blast and I can't wait to read more! He seems like a great kid! Good job mom!

 

[21stamps]

YAY!! I was hoping you'd do a TR rather quickly lol. Following along on Facebook wasn't enough! I watched the OSU game because of you lol...my husband went out to watch it with his brother and when he texted me on the way home I told him that I too had watched. His response...''YOU watched the Ohio State game?'' Clearly I'm not a football fan, but for the past 2 yrs I've become a Philadelphia Eagles fan by marriage. Then I explained that a friend from the Disney site had been talking about it for weeks lol and curiosity got the best of me. It really was a nail biter! I thought of u and T at the end of the game, it must have been a blast for you guys!

Your son is SO FREAKIN CUTE!!! It seems like you guys had a blast and I can't wait to read more! He seems like a great kid! Good job mom!

Ha Ha!! That's so awesome that you watched the game!!!! Maybe you'll become a Buckeye fan too I was definitely nervous for a bit! It was a great time and a wonderful day, even though poor D was crying.

I will eventually get around to adding to the FB album once I sort thru all of the pics, this TR is helping with that! Sorry you'll have to see them twice ha ha. I took so many videos and then started using FB Live to preserve storage space on my phone...hopefully there is a way I will be able to save them to my computer. I have an iPhone 7, but didn't remove the old photos that carried over with my last phone- here is my obnoxious photo and video library-

 

[Zipadeelady]

Love the Star Wars masks on Mine Train!!!

 

[21stamps]

1st MK Day Continued....

Ok so now it is 10:10am and we have done---

7DMT- 6x
Winnie the Pooh-2x
Peter Pan- 3x
Small World-1x
Tea Cups- 1x
Carousel-1x
Barnstormer-1x
Had a good and hot breakfast.
Several photos and PhotoPass Photographers.

This day is starting off WONDERFULLY!!!!

We went to Journey of the Little Mermaid next (my first time ever on this ride)- Why have I never done this before???!!! We both loved it, and T took a video for my niece who is Ariel obsessed.

Here is the wait time for 7DMT now-

Then we left Fantasyland for a bit and went to Tomorrowland-

Then a Castle Show....

 

[LeighM]

Following along

 

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MK Visit 1 Continued...

T chased around some birds...as usual.

...AND NOW IT"S TIME TO BECOME A PIRATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This was one of the highlights of the trip for T. He is a "REAL PIRATE APPRENTICE NOW!!!! JACK SPARROW SAID SO!!!"

 

[21stamps]

...Now it's time for the POTC Ride.. It was closed during our trip last year, so we are very excited to go on!!!!

Next up Haunted Mansion---

We have a BOG reservation coming up..so back to Fantasyland!...

Luckily this was the only appearance of my "Dead Zombie Face". It was on of his faves to do on roller coasters this past summer.

I was still full from breakfast, debated between French Onion Soup or a Cupcake. The cupcake won.

T had the shrimp.

 

[NutsForFlorida]

I watched the OSU/MI too. Good game. Probably still too close for you. Also, way to break out the Star Wars masks on mine ride.

 

[21stamps]

I watched the OSU/MI too. Good game. Probably still too close for you. Also, way to break out the Star Wars masks on mine ride.

Thanks! I'm looking forward to the playoffs!

 

[21stamps]

Finished BOG and off to our Big Thunder Railroad FP..

Couldn't get a FP for Splash Mountain, so watched a bit of the Festival of Fantasy Parade before heading to Tomorrowland Speedway

Too many people going the same direction as us!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[21stamps]

Tomorrowland Speedway. Kiddo loves it. Wow. This experience makes me soooo glad that I have another 10 years before he starts driving.

At this point in the day my phone was down to 3% battery life. I realized that I did not bring my card to purchase a Fuel Rod like I had planned. . Turned on airplane mode and hoped for the best.

Astro Orbiter...

Then Dumbo...

......and then my phone died .

 

[21stamps]

During the dead phone time we went over to Swiss Family Treehouse. T is a HUGE fan of the movie...especially the trapped tiger scene.
I've lost count of how many times he's watched it.

We also stopped in another store. Remember the $100 gift card? At this point he had asked for quite a few things, and I had encouraged him to wait until closer to the end of the trip. We still had plenty of time left. This worked some of the time, but not at the POTC store earlier.

Jack Sparrow declared T a Pirate Apprentice. So he MUST have a sword and medallion. He wanted a few other items as well,but upon learning what each item would cost, he scaled down to 1 sword, a pirate telescope, and a medallion. He was so proud to wear that medallion, it's pictured above on Dumbo.

He decided that he wouldn't make any more purchases today, so we went to exit the park.
It was now 6pm and we were going to grab a bite to eat and freshen up before the Gone Mad party later tonight.

But first-- Photopass!!! Whew! Dead phone aside, I will still get one last photo of this MK day .

See ya Tuesday MK!!! We have a party to get to! (If we don't fall asleep first).

 

[BuddyThomas]

Night before leaving. Elf on the Shelf. No Etsy package. Late night/early morning flight/arrival at MCO and GF.


Our Elf on the Shelf, Luke, came a day early this year. He doesn't typically bring presents with him, but Santa wanted to make sure my son had all that he needed for our trip. My son, "T", received an Elf Hat, Magic Bandits, Glow Necklaces, a couple of tee shirts, and a $100 Disney Gift Card for souvenirs (more on this card and the budgeting later).
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Today is Thanksgiving Day. Sadly, I did not receive our shirts that I ordered from Etsy a week prior, with Express Shipping. I sure wish Santa could have made them magically appear! Oh well. I can always save them for next time, right?

I procrastinated and waited til the night before to pack.. then as I looked at the wardrobe I was building, I thought maybe I wasn't making the best choices.. here was the start-
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I realized that I was going to Orlando, Florida and the weather channel was calling for high 70s-80, so I may want to rethink my packing strategy. I made a few adjustments and then did a double check to make sure that I included my flat iron this time (forgot it last year).

Now it's off to the airport. Woke kiddo out of a deep sleep, it's time to start this adventure! Luke was waiting with his own Magic Band ready to meet us there!

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Here's T basically sleep walking at the airport. A 5am flight is not ideal, but the airport crowds and security lines, or lack there of, are perfect!!

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We're on our way to Disney World!!

Love it!

 

[BuddyThomas]

Amazing report, and fantastic pictures. I love how deserted the park looks in a lot of the pictures. I guess this is the time of year to go?

 

[MinnieM123]

Tomorrowland Speedway. Kiddo loves it. Wow. This experience makes me soooo glad that I have another 10 years before he starts driving.


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At this point in the day my phone was down to 3% battery life. I realized that I did not bring my card to purchase a Fuel Rod like I had planned. . Turned on airplane mode and hoped for the best.

Astro Orbiter...


View attachment 178276


Then Dumbo...


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......and then my phone died .

Your son is so cute. In particular, I really liked the photos of him on the Speedway. Many people have mentioned that they'd like to see the Speedway leave, and put a different attraction in there. I disagree, as I always see happy children "driving" -- it's such a big thrill for them.