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]

I live in Cincinnati. About 20 minutes from KI. I am glad my daughter and her friends decided not to go. They would have been so aggravated by the crowds. Especially because we compare every amusement park to Disney. Of course, none can really compare. So glad the worker shortened your wait for getting T's photo taken. Hope things looked up for the rest of the birthday surprises.

I have friends who skipped Passholder night after seeing comments on FB. They went on Saturday and said it wasn't nearly as bad!!

Do you remember the Tomb Raider ride? It's now a Haunted House (forget the name) during the Halloween events.. the line for Mystic Timbers started next to the entrance of The Beast.. went thru the entire Haunted House, under Diamondback, and then along the park pathways!!
It was insane. There is no other word to describe it.lol

I think the employee at the start of the line really meant "90 minutes until you reach the Mystic Timbers sign" lol..and the another 100 minutes from there.

 

[21stamps]

I love Cedar Fair parks.. but I appreciate Disney even more after that experience. I think the same night at WDW would have been a lot more manageable!!

 

[LisaBelle]

Do you remember the Tomb Raider ride? It's now a Haunted House (forget the name) during the Halloween events.. the line for Mystic Timbers started next to the entrance of The Beast.. went thru the entire Haunted House, under Diamondback, and then along the park pathways!!
It was insane. There is no other word to describe it.lol

I do remember the Tomb Raider ride! Can't believe how the line was configured. I will show these photos to my daughter so she can see what she "missed", lol. One of her friends that did go to the event was underwhelmed by the ride. It's crazy fun to see KI here on the Disney forums. Loved it when @TheMouseFan did it a while back.

 

[21stamps]

The next day I had to work, and then last minute birthday shopping and helping the Easter Bunny collect candy for her basket..

Then on Sunday the Easter Bunny came. She always brings a new toothbrush with the assortment of candy, fruit, and books.lol. He was actually excited over it - it's a lightsaber that has sounds and lights up. Great job Disney & Oral B!

Then church, the our family Easter Party. I only planned on attending this for an hour.. long enough for T to see all of his cousin's/second cousins, and the Easter Egg Hunt.

I told him he had to run to the store with me.

"No. I'm playing baseball."

The time kept going by, I was getting a little annoyed..but he was having so much fun that I didn't want to pull him away.

Finally, around 5:30, I ripped a piece of paper out of a small notebook in my bag.

Wrote the words "To: Tristan. From: Mommy We're going to Great Wolf Lodge. Happy Birthday!"
Then folded it up and stuck it in a plastic egg

Definitely not a Pinterest moment, but hey- it was going to work!

I said "Hey T, you missed an egg during the hunt."

He's on second base and says "Just throw it in my basket please."

O. M. G.

"No, you have to come open it."

Luckily my brother in law hit a home run, T ran over to me after touching home plate.

Opened the plastic egg..

Read it..

Eyes got huge...

"Now? We're going now?"

"Yes. "

He jumped up and hugged me..almost knocking me over. He was SO EXCITED. This kid has been asking to go to GWL for at least 2 years.. I've always refused.

He jumped up and down and asked if he had a bathing suit. I told him the car was already packed. Off we went

 

[21stamps]

We checked out this morning and I have to say-

I finally understand the allure of GWL. It is so much more than a waterpark.

I loved the environmentally friendly theme, recycle trash bins in the rooms, the kids running around in pjs in the evenings, the friendly employees, the animal education, the activities.. even MagiQuest.. the game makes kids use problem solving, reading, running around instead of sitting in front of a screen.. just a brilliant game.

We purchased books on animals, and now we're even more ready for our future Yurt adventure

This is kind of silly - but this was one of my favorite things..
the pizza boxes doubled as plates, and then folded up like this so you could put it in the fridge- LOVE!
@bee you may appreciate this.

We didn't have Mickey Waffles this weekend, but we did have Wolf Waffles.

All in all it was a fantastic Birthday/Easter Break.

I'm glad I finally did GWL.

It's not Disney- but I no longer regret cancelling that trip

 

[21stamps]

I do remember the Tomb Raider ride! Can't believe how the line was configured. I will show these photos to my daughter so she can see what she "missed", lol. One of her friends that did go to the event was underwhelmed by the ride. It's crazy fun to see KI here on the Disney forums. Loved it when @TheMouseFan did it a while back.

It was fun.. its like a cross between the Racers and the Beast.. but with tracks that go at almost a 180 angle back and forth.. that part was neat.

I don't think the Shed warranted almost a year of hashtag campaign hype though lol

 

[Courtney6682]

Awww!! I'm so glad you guys had a great time! GWL seems pretty neat! Love the wolf waffles...too cute

 

[TheMouseFan]

OMG! I can't believe you waited that long in line! We are going to KI next Saturday, and I would love to ride Mystic Timbers, but I won't wait that long! Glad to hear that you liked GWL. We have been a few times and always have a good time, but it is sooo expensive since we need a room to fit the 5 of us!

 

[21stamps]

OMG! I can't believe you waited that long in line! We are going to KI next Saturday, and I would love to ride Mystic Timbers, but I won't wait that long! Glad to hear that you liked GWL. We have been a few times and always have a good time, but it is sooo expensive since we need a room to fit the 5 of us!

Hopefully next weekend the wait will be substantially less!

The only reason we haven't done GWL before is strictly because of the price! It makes Disney look reasonable.lol. And I had an issue with a family of 2 being the same price as 4.. I understand the rooms can't be less, but the resort fee just got to me..I couldn't justify it. Especially because we have Splash Cincinnati at the fraction of the price of GWL..and I always get a Groupon for it. I didn't realize how different the two actually are.

I did ask for an additional wristband, I let my son invite a friend on Monday..he spent the day with us.

What really got me was the pricing for everything else! We did the refillable mugs- $14.99 each (total waste of money for mine, I mostly put water in it). MagiQuest. Way too much in the game room..of course they had to have the elevator look right into it.lol...mini golf, and bowling..and the food!
The coffee in the room was horrible, so I also purchased a refillable coffee mug from Dunkin' Donuts for our stay.
I will never complain about Disney's refillable mugs again.lol

That would be an extremely expensive 1-2-or 3 night stay for a family of 4 or 5!!

 

[21stamps]

Oh, I did purchase the birthday package, so glad that I didn't get the wolf or Paw Pass- thanks for the recommendation on that @MySmallWorldof4 !

The birthday pack came with $40 dining credit and $40 game credit, my son and his friend went thru that $40 in literally about 10 minutes.. but T hit a bonus on a game and recieved 1000 tickets. He had a total of 1800 tickets by last night- and is now the proud owner of a bunch of dollar store items that cost about 1800% more than they should

Someone stole our door sign on night 2. I complained to the front desk and luckily they replaced it by yesterday morning (his actual birthday).

 

[21stamps]

Awww!! I'm so glad you guys had a great time! GWL seems pretty neat! Love the wolf waffles...too cute

Thank you!! We did! You'll see the photos on fb. I havent made any albums during 2017 yet.. I think I only put one photo of COSI., but, FB is my photo organizer, so I'm finally going to make an album again.lol

A lot of my friends have been taking amazing trips the last few months, and I spend my FB time salivating over their photos.lol
Oh, and remember the tree house that I was debating? One of T's classmates did a tree house over Easter Break. The photos are so neat. I'm definitely doing it soon! Seriously, can I just use a few of your vacation days?

 

[Courtney6682]

Thank you!! We did! You'll see the photos on fb. I havent made any albums during 2017 yet.. I think I only put one photo of COSI., but, FB is my photo organizer, so I'm finally going to make an album again.lol

A lot of my friends have been taking amazing trips the last few months, and I spend my FB time salivating over their photos.lol
Oh, and remember the tree house that I was debating? One of T's classmates did a tree house over Easter Break. The photos are so neat. I'm definitely doing it soon! Seriously, can I just use a few of your vacation days?

Tree houses are so cool! Every kids dream lol. You should stay in a tree house at Saratoga Springs for your next trip

Speaking of my vacay days...I'm back to trying to plan Puerto Rico or Mexico for Kevin and I. I'm thinking I'll totally surprise him for our 3 yr wedding anniv in August. He said his boss would work with him on a few more vacay days!

 

[21stamps]

Tree houses are so cool! Every kids dream lol. You should stay in a tree house at Saratoga Springs for your next trip

Speaking of my vacay days...I'm back to trying to plan Puerto Rico or Mexico for Kevin and I. I'm thinking I'll totally surprise him for our 3 yr wedding anniv in August. He said his boss would work with him on a few more vacay days!

No thanks on Saratoga Springs Tree House.lol. I've seen the prices.


As for your PR trip--
Oh my gosh! That's perfect!!! Hooray!!!! And you already have half the research done!

 

[JamieLee18]

Such a great trip report! LOVED the photo of the two of you dabbing (?) on Space Mountain. Glad T had such a great birthday weekend, and I look forward to starting on your 2015 report!

 

[21stamps]

Such a great trip report! LOVED the photo of the two of you dabbing (?) on Space Mountain. Glad T had such a great birthday weekend, and I look forward to starting on your 2015 report!

Thank you!! The birthday weekend ended up being great! I stress.. a lot. But typically things end up being ok..with a few minor hiccups

 

[Courtney6682]

No thanks on Saratoga Springs Tree House.lol. I've seen the prices.


As for your PR trip--
Oh my gosh! That's perfect!!! Hooray!!!! And you already have half the research done!

Yeahhhh....I've looked into them as a party of 2 a few yrs ago for me and Brook....you def need more people for all the space and cost!

 

[TheMouseFan]

@21stamps , we made it to KI yesterday! I LOVED Mystic Timbers, but I agree with T, not too impressed with what was in the shed!! I did like that we saw two different things in the shed. The first time we snakes and the second time we saw bats. We only waited 15 minutes the first time and 40 to ride at night.

 

[21stamps]

@21stamps , we made it to KI yesterday! I LOVED Mystic Timbers, but I agree with T, not too impressed with what was in the shed!! I did like that we saw two different things in the shed. The first time we snakes and the second time we saw bats. We only waited 15 minutes the first time and 40 to ride at night.

Wow nice!!! I almost went there last night! I figured the park wouldn't be crowded after the rain. We haven't made it back since opening night. Glad you enjoyed it!!

 

[21stamps]

Btw- apparently GWL does bounceback offers to your email.. I booked us for 3 nights over NYE at 50% off!!

Every year I debate doing their Holiday stays.. and always decide against it because of the price. Last New Year's Eve T asked repeatedly to go to Great Wolf Lodge, we ended up doing two nights at a Homewood suites with an indoor pool instead...lol. #cheapmom

I'm saving this for a Christmas present!

 

[Courtney6682]

Btw- apparently GWL does bounceback offers to your email.. I booked us for 3 nights over NYE at 50% off!!

Every year I debate doing their Holiday stays.. and always decide against it because of the price. Last New Year's Eve T asked repeatedly to go to Great Wolf Lodge, we ended up doing two nights at a Homewood suites with an indoor pool instead...lol. #cheapmom

I'm saving this for a Christmas present!

That sounds like a great NYE! I'm sure he'll be super excited!