Trip Report The mistakes that I learned from..Trip back in time..

Friends, I've been thinking,

I need a major distraction, and also, I received too many compliments for my laid back style..
I'm going to continue on the trip report binge and do a comparison of our 2015 trip here. It won't be as long.. I promise. If you want to follow along with my madness, you are welcome. I've had a rough past few days and need something to keep me busy.

So here it goes.. first I should change the title though..
ETA- actually its easier to do in a separate thread.

So here I am....

 

[21stamps]

I am not new to Disney but your amazing report has given me pause. We do not go until July this year and after reading through some of this report i am already doing these things. The nine year old is trying to help me plan( a deal we made if she hit her reading goals. not only did she hit the goal she crushed it.) I have not really let her help. she will say what she wants to do or what day we can go to a certain park and I have been telling her no we are going to do it this way or that........ :```( I am going to try and be better... THANK YOU for haing the courage to be honest about what was going on.

Thanks. I'll be a cautionary tale

You sound like you have your trip under control! I'm sure it will be amazing!!

 

[21stamps]

So back to why I started this report..

We've gone on other trips between the 2015 Disney/KW and the 2016 Disney..

But 2016 was my year to right all of the wrongs from the previous Disney trip!!

But in the end, I remembered how our overscheduled last WDW experience was.. and how I believed the way to improve it in '16 was to spend months of planning and obsessing, creating threads on this site and scheduling our days to be "perfect"..

But- All of the memories from this trip, and my son's face when I missed the "Welcome to Disney World" sign in '16, are what prompted me to throw out the spreadsheets In 2016.

And I am so glad that I did!!

For us, a less strict vacation schedule is what made things more "perfect"


Thanks for following along with my madness!

 

[21stamps]

I loved that ride when I was little too!!! Not sure if it's still there, we didn't do the rides...we were uhhh...in the room a lot lol

So awesome that he did the slingshot!!!

Lol.

 

[gdisneyfans]

Thank you so much for sharing! It seemed like just as things looked like they will get better, it went the complete opposite for you. I'm so sorry you had such a rough vacation at times And as others have said, thanks for sharing all the ups and downs of your vacation. Some times it seemed like you were under a "dark rain cloud" (literally and figuratively) that just wouldn't move away from you! Can't wait to hear all about your next adventures with T!!

 

[21stamps]

Thank you so much for sharing! It seemed like just as things looked like they will get better, it went the complete opposite for you. I'm so sorry you had such a rough vacation at times And as others have said, thanks for sharing all the ups and downs of your vacation. Some times it seemed like you were under a "dark rain cloud" (literally and figuratively) that just wouldn't move away from you! Can't wait to hear all about your next adventures with T!!

Thank you.. with all the bumps and literal bruises.. it still was a fun trip.. just not quite what I expected.lol

 

[MySmallWorldof4]

We disembark and walk back to the car. I have to be up at 5am tomorrow. T has to be up at 5:45. And I want to pack the car tonight, leaving one bag to get ready in the morning. Our last night in Key West, but we need to be rested tomorrow. Dry Tortugas and then a 4 hour drive to Boca for one more night staying at my BFF's house, and then driving to MCO the following morning.

I couldn't sleep. I was a nervous wreck over the weather. Please. Please. Please let the storms pass!!! Even if the snorkeling isn't the best, I still want to bring my son there. I've been waiting for this moment for 5 years!! Dry Tortugas is my favorite playground in the USA.

We might not be going by Seaplane.
But, we'll travel the 70 miles by boat.

I toss and turn all night. Finally give up on sleep at 4am. Start drinking coffee.
I sit on the balcony and watch the rain. It has time to stop!

View attachment 198254

Those are not my photos. All stolen from Google.

This is what we should have seen..

View attachment 198255 View attachment 198256 View attachment 198257 View attachment 198258 View attachment 198259


This is my photo, and what we actually did see...


View attachment 198260

T was sleeping. I started crying.
38 years old, crying with my head in my hands.

I received the call that the Yankee Freedom would not be taking her journey to Dry Tortugas today. I would receive a full refund.

I cried. Like a baby. Embarrassing, but unfortunately true.

I feel so bad for you. I kept thinking, "there is no way it can get worse." And then it did. How horrible. You just wanted this amazing trip and got snookered by Mother Nature. Well the Google pics are gorgeous and at least I know where the Yankee Freedom goes when I check out boats on marine traffic. I notice that one a lot around Key West and now I know why! Of course that doesn't help you though.

 

[MySmallWorldof4]

We arrive to MCO. Turn in the rental.
I put our luggage on a cart and sprint to the Delta desk.
If you saw a crazy woman at MCO doing a full sprint with a luggage cart, yelling at her kid to keep up..

That was me. In all of my hot mess glory.


We didn't make it. We missed it by 10 minutes.

I beg the man at the Delta counter to help us. Just get us on another flight!!!

A few minutes later he says that he can get us to Atlanta. But we will be standby from there..no guarantees that we will make it to CVG tonight.

No, I don't want that. What's the earliest flight tomorrow?

1:50pm

Fine. Give us that one. We'll just stay in Orlando tonight.

He says "Ok. The fee is $150 per person."

I stare. Seriously? I am just tearing up money this entire trip!!!!!!!!

I probably look on the verge of a breakdown.

He says "You know what. I'm not supposed to do this, but I'm going to comp the fee. Let me print out your tickets."

I immediately fell in love with this Delta Man. I had to stop myself from jumping up on him and giving him a huge hug.

We get our tickets and go back to the rental desk.

"Sorry. We've already cleaned the car. And you can't use the same special. It will be $95 for today."

What? I just paid just over $100 for more than a week!

"Sorry."

"Whatever. How soon will a car be ready?"

"An hour."

"Fine. Where do I sign."

We went in the restroom to change into clothes from our carry on and wash our faces. Then walk outside while I search on Hotels.com for accommodations for the night. We needed some fun, I wanted to stay near Old Town instead of the airport.

Poor T. He just stood with him balloon while I tried to figure it out.

View attachment 198277

Ugh to it all except for the Delta guy and the unpopped balloon.

 

[MySmallWorldof4]

@Courtney6682 This one always reminds me of Wildwood!!!

It is called the Himalayan I think.
Well @Courtney6682 , I guess no one needed to tell you to get a room.

 

[*Flynnderella*]

I am EXHAUSTED for you after reading about your trip!! Like you've said throughout though, some of the best moments you had with your son were the unplanned ones. There's only so much you can plan and then you have to let the rest just come naturally!! Such a shame about the weather knocking your plans away in Key West. Hopefully you will go back and manage to do the things you had planned this time!!

Apart from the bumps and meltdowns it seemed like it was a fun filled trip in the end and your son is very lucky that you want to plan all these experiences for him!

 

[mlegerto]

OH.MY....what a series of unfortunate events you had thrown your way at the end there! All in all....it's just important that you and T got to spend the time together and you all survived! Sorry things didn't go as planned, but as they say "what doesn't kill you....."


Great report. Thanks for sharing what went well, what went wrong and what you learned!

 

[21stamps]

I feel so bad for you. I kept thinking, "there is no way it can get worse." And then it did. How horrible. You just wanted this amazing trip and got snookered by Mother Nature. Well the Google pics are gorgeous and at least I know where the Yankee Freedom goes when I check out boats on marine traffic. I notice that one a lot around Key West and now I know why! Of course that doesn't help you though.

I have never been on the Yankee Freedom III, only her predecessor. I've also done the Seaplane there before... both are wonderful, I just thought T would enjoy the Seaplane a little more. I would have gladly taken either one during that trip.lol

Regardless of if we do the Keys or WDW this June, I wasn't planning on Dry Tortugas. I'm looking at Islamorada.. an all day boat rental would be a must, as would swimming with the dolphins. Dry Tortugas wouldn't fit into the budget for this trip. I'm trying to not get too crazy.lol I planned too many trips in a 12 month time frame- 11/16-11/17. Typically we just do one big one, and then a few smaller scaled ones in that time frame.

 

[21stamps]

Ugh to it all except for the Delta guy and the unpopped balloon.

Right?!

It is called the Himalayan I think.
Well @Courtney6682 , I guess no one needed to tell you to get a room.

I'm going to have to make a return to Wildwood someday in the next few years.. a childhood isn't complete without it

I am EXHAUSTED for you after reading about your trip!! Like you've said throughout though, some of the best moments you had with your son were the unplanned ones. There's only so much you can plan and then you have to let the rest just come naturally!! Such a shame about the weather knocking your plans away in Key West. Hopefully you will go back and manage to do the things you had planned this time!!

Apart from the bumps and meltdowns it seemed like it was a fun filled trip in the end and your son is very lucky that you want to plan all these experiences for him!

Thank you! It was an emotional rollercoaster. But it was fun

OH.MY....what a series of unfortunate events you had thrown your way at the end there! All in all....it's just important that you and T got to spend the time together and you all survived! Sorry things didn't go as planned, but as they say "what doesn't kill you....."


Great report. Thanks for sharing what went well, what went wrong and what you learned!

Thank you! You're exactly right

 

[JamieLee18]

Awwww, I'm sorry there were so many hiccups, but glad you two still had a great time. I'm so impressed with how self-aware and mature T is, and that he's able to verbalize when he's feeling sad/disappointed, and then improve his mood! You know so much about the Keys, did you used to live there? Great report, thanks for sharing!!

 

[21stamps]

I didn't know where to put this weak moment, so I'll post it here.


This photo warms my heart and breaks my heart simultaneously.

I'm so sad about canceling Disney..but I know it's the right thing. However, to have a completely selfish moment- I wish it wasn't bugging me so much!!
I'd rather cancel our cruise and do a WDW/KW combo again. But I'm not willing to lose the money that the cancellation would cost me.

 

[21stamps]

Awwww, I'm sorry there were so many hiccups, but glad you two still had a great time. I'm so impressed with how self-aware and mature T is, and that he's able to verbalize when he's feeling sad/disappointed, and then improve his mood! You know so much about the Keys, did you used to live there? Great report, thanks for sharing!!

I'm sorry, didn't see this til now! We did end up having a great time even with all of the hiccups!

Yes, I used to live in KW in my early 20s.. visited at least once per month for the next 16+ years. I'm not close enough to visit that often now, but that rock is still my happy place.