Shockingly low crowds and Extremely high temps…my very first trip report!

Hello All :wave:

This is my first attempt at a trip report sooo, here goes nothing...

My name is Tan and I will be turning the BIG 4-0 in less than two weeks .

I am a former third grade teacher/author. After giving birth to our one and only child, Chase, my husband and I decided it would be a GREAT idea if I remained in the home and home-schooled him. I have been home-schooling him now, for eight years and I LOVE IT!

This is my handsome husband, Erik .

Erik manages a team of engineers for a multinational computer corporation. I introduced him to Disney our senior year of college and now, he is as wild about Disney as I am!

Last but certainly not least, is our eight year old son, Chase.

Chase is a gentle giant and has always been a "larger than average" sized kid- but he wouldn't hurt a fly. He loves being home-schooled and ALL THINGS that have to do with DINOSAURS! Chase loves to travel and has been vacationing at Disney twice a year, since he was 15 months old

My family and I love visiting Disney and it doesn't hurt that we get to travel during the off season, as a result of home-schooling!

This trip report will consist of photos and tales from our most recent trip to Disney, which took place during the 2nd and 3rd weeks of September 2010. I hope you enjoy it and will be patient with me as I learn to navigate through the various Forums.

See ya real soon...
Note: I see that my pictures aren't opening. I will do my best to have them fixed tomorrow :veryconfu.

 

[Dianarella]

I'm new here too. Looking forward to your report.

Thanks for taking the time to post your experience.

 

[tanessalyn_mark]

Hi!!!! :wave: Thanks for stopping by! My husband is helping me with the pictures in between his calls. So, I hope to have them up soon, along with the remainder of my TR.

 

[Sarabell]

Take your time with the TR, being your first I'm pretty sure it will be kind of overwhelming... I'll probably do my first also this year... I can't wait to read yours cause I'm planning to go around the same time you were there, so please give as much details as possible.. :wave:

 

[jhoff3405]

Love to read a first trip report...keep it coming!

 

[smk]

I was there last September too and it was HOT! We were there the third week, I think we arrived around the 17th. Looking forward to reading your report!

 

[tanessalyn_mark]

Arrival Day: Shockingly low crowds and Extremely high temps...my first TR w/pics!

Yaaay!
Erik was finally able to help me upload the pictures!

Let’s get this TR started…

As I stated earlier, I am turning 40 in less than two weeks.

To get my 40th off to a GREAT start and EASE some of the STING, Erik thought it would be AWESOME if the three of us flew to ARUBA for an early celebration!

We were there from February 27th until March 5th. Of all the islands we’ve visited thus far, Aruba is by far the friendliest. The weather was wonderful and we filled our days with activities such as Tomcar Tours, Submarine Excursions (we went down to a depth of 130 feet) and walks on the beach…just to name a few.

We can’t wait to return.

Back to the task at hand…our September 2010 TR.

• Duration of Trip- September 10, 2010 until September 17, 2010
• Mode of Transportation- We drove down to Orlando for this particular trip. We go back and forth between driving and flying for our vacations to Disney. The drive from our home to Disney usually takes some-where in the neighborhood of 8 hours.
• Accommodations- My family and I have been to Disney a total of 14 times! I’m sure there are those of you who’ve been twice as many times as that but hey, ya’ gotta’ start somewhere. During those previous visits, we’ve had the opportunity to stay everywhere from All Star to Boardwalk and several other Disney Resorts in the middle. Despite my love for the Disney ambiance, the more we went to Disney- the more I desired from "my" hotel. I guess you could say, I was slowly becoming a “hotel snob”. I began to grow tired of the themes and loud children in the hallways. Let’s just be honest…we’ve all seen and heard a rowdy kid or two and there’s NOTHING wrong with letting children be children. However, there are those times after a long day in the park, that you just want to come back to your room and hear/see nothing that reminds you of the chaotic, yet fun- you’d just left. My husband agreed and the search was on for that perfect hotel that met all of our requirements. And thus, the Waldorf Astoria Orlando was born.

Arrival Day- This is me in the living room area of the suite. Chase brings a TON of toys on our vacations so having the extra space is a must.

I'd been in communication with the staff at the Waldorf for weeks leading up to the trip. This would be our second stay with them and I remembered a few of the staff from the previous visit. I contacted them and shared that Erik would be celebrating his birthday during this particular visit. That's all I had to say and they took it from there.

We found these goodies in our room upon arrival. There was even a little stuffed Waldy for Chase!

On our arrival days we do not visit the parks. So, we unpacked and headed to Downtown Disney. I suprised Chase with reservations at T-REX! He loved it!!!


The food was so-so but the ambiance... A Dinosaur Lover's Dream!

Chase loved being able to make his very own Jurassic Creation!

The Chocolate Extinction was "Out of this World", cool.

Do you guys like our Dino shirts? Erik opted for a coordinating color, rather than wearing the actual shirt...

We returned to our room later that evening, to find even MORE treats for Erik.

This concludes DAY 1. I will try to include Trip Chapters on my next post. Thanks for reading along, more pictures and fun to come!

 

[tanessalyn_mark]

Thank you for stopping by and for your patience!

 

[tanessalyn_mark]

I was there last September too and it was HOT! We were there the third week, I think we arrived around the 17th. Looking forward to reading your report!

Thank you for reading along, I hope you enjoy the report :wave:.

 

[tanessalyn_mark]

Take your time with the TR, being your first I'm pretty sure it will be kind of overwhelming... I'll probably do my first also this year... I can't wait to read yours cause I'm planning to go around the same time you were there, so please give as much details as possible.. :wave:

I will and thanks for reading along! One of the trips we're planning to Disney this year will actually be again, in Sept. Maybe we'll bump into each other :wave:.

 

[tanessalyn_mark]

Take your time with the TR, being your first I'm pretty sure it will be kind of overwhelming... I'll probably do my first also this year... I can't wait to read yours cause I'm planning to go around the same time you were there, so please give as much details as possible.. :wave:

Love to read a first trip report...keep it coming!

Thanks so much for reading along! Please let me know if you have any tips or suggestions for making trip reporting easy :wave:.

 

[tanessalyn_mark]

Day 1 - The Sweltering Heat of Animal Kingdom and Short Wait Times!

On park days, Erik is just a wee bit more “commando” than I am. By 6am he has already put in a full workout and showered . He likes for Chase and I to be up by 8 am and in the car by 8:30 am…WISHFUL THINKING!


Chase likes to sleep in on vacations and it takes me a while to get ready. Now, that isn’t to say that I don’t TRY to meet his schedule, I do. I just always seem to put us in the car some-where around 9:30 or so….


I’m working on my routine for our upcoming visit in May. I am trying to figure out what steps in my “morning beauty regimen” can be shortened or left out all, together. In the words of Chase…GIRLS!

As a result of Chase’s infatuation with dinosaurs, Erik and I have learned to make AK our first park or we’ll never get to enjoy the other parks. We arrived at Animal Kingdom a little after 10am and we could not believe how HOT it was, ALREADY! Little did we know, it was only going to get worse…

We made a b-line over to Kilimanjaro Safaris to get a fast past and then made our way over to DinoLand, so that Chase could ride DINOSAUR. This is my second favorite attraction in the park. It is only slightly beat out by K Safaris. It is of course- Chase’s favorite!

When we arrived at DINOSAUR we noticed that there was literally NO LINE- NO WAIT- AT ALL! We walked right onto the ride. We had a blast, exited the ride, only to find that there was still NO LINE-NO WAIT! We again, walked onto the ride! We rode a total of three times before Erik suggested we move on to something else. We’ve never been able to do that on any of our previous visits. From DINOSAUR we made our way to Primeval Whirl. As we walked along, Chase obliged me and stopped to take a few pictures. As we continued our walk, we were again amazed at how few people were in the park…we LOVED IT!

Below is a picture from 2009. The picture from last year wasn't very clear.

Primeval Whirl had a wait time of less than five minutes. We usually have a MUCH longer wait. I have a sort of love/hate relationship with PW. I love getting on but I HATE the drops and spins…I know, THAT’S THE RIDE! I’m working on it. Erik and Chase don’t understand why I get nervous and scream each time we get on. Suffice it to say, we only rode once! From there we headed over to the Dino Kids Discovery Club, where Chase of course knew every dinosaur question that was asked.

In the picture I am trying to think cool thoughts and “appear” not to be sweating but I AM DYING from the HEAT! The dress I’m wearing couldn’t get any thinner but I felt as though I was wearing a long, woolen sweater. We’ve been to Disney in September many times before- but we had NEVER been this HOT!

Below: Erik and Chase are displaying some Dinos he purchased in the DINOSAUR shop.

By now it was lunch time and the unanimous decision was to find someplace indoors to eat. We allowed Chase to choose and he chose Yak and Yeti, he LOVES the Mandarin Chicken there. The refreshing cool air inside the restaurant was just what we needed.

After lunch, we headed over to K Safaris and again found very minimal wait times. With our fast passes in hand, we all but walked on to the ride. I just love the tranquility and peacefulness of this attraction; as you ride along and experience the day to day activities of the animals. Peaceful that is of course until we have to help catch some “NASTY POACHERS”… I can never get enough of K Safaris!

From K Safaris we headed over to Kali River Rapids. KRR had the longest wait time of the day. I guess everyone was trying to find the one sure fire way of cooling off. I’d say we waited in line around 15 minuets. Our final ride of the day was Expedition Everest- or shall I say Erik’s final ride. Chase and I opted out of this attraction. He and I both rode it for the first time last year. Chase is sill traumatized from the “experience” and I had to ride with some poor gentleman who’s probably still trying to regain the hearing in his right ear. We decided it would be best to just wait for Erik at “base camp”.

Upon his return, he informed us that the wait time was so short, that he had actually ridden it twice!

Finally, we popped over to see the Lion King Show. We saw it live on broadway last summer and it is a MUST DO, if you haven't already!

Afterwards, we headed back to the Waldorf for a shower and some much needed time in the pool!

Stay tuned for our next adventure…

 

[Dianarella]

Great job on the report!

I just love the look on your son's face in that last photo. Priceless.

You have a lovely family, and your son has a smile that can melt your heart.

Can't wait for the rest. Thanks for taking the time to post your experience.

 

[tanessalyn_mark]

Great job on the report!

I just love the look on your son's face in that last photo. Priceless.

You have a lovely family, and your son has a smile that can melt your heart.

Can't wait for the rest. Thanks for taking the time to post your experience.

hahahaaaa!!!! He HATES taking pictures and they were soooo ready to get out of the heat :ROFLOL:. I just had to get one last photo in... Thanks for reading along.

 

[Raven66]

Loving the trip report and pictures so far. Can't wait to read more. I absolutely love the picture of your son in from of the mammoth. His face is priceless. You all make a beautiful family!! It's hard just being 3. We only have one child too (she's 14) so someone has to ride with a stranger sometimes. I was the one that had too on EE and he flung his arms around and punched me in my face. That was no fun at all. haha

 

[tanessalyn_mark]

Loving the trip report and pictures so far. Can't wait to read more. I absolutely love the picture of your son in from of the mammoth. His face is priceless. You all make a beautiful family!! It's hard just being 3. We only have one child too (she's 14) so someone has to ride with a stranger sometimes. I was the one that had too on EE and he flung his arms around and punched me in my face. That was no fun at all. haha

Thanks for taking the time to view our little trip report . I'm glad someone else can relate to being the "odd" numbered family member. My husband always gives Chase the option of riding with me but- he and I know who the braver parent is :lookaroun. Again, thanks for reading. I am going to add more to the report tonight.

 

[tanessalyn_mark]

Jurassic Swimmers

On our drive back to the Waldorf, we chatted about how much fun we’d just had at Animal Kingdom. We still couldn’t believe the low crowds. Chase was so proud of himself for keeping his eyes open on Dinosaur, this year . In our previous years, he had Erik cover his eyes AND ears. He has this thing with loud noises/sounds; they really seem to bother him.


I spoke with our pediatrician about it and she said that this is common in young boys and that he’ll grow out of it. We even have to wait for many of the new movies to come out on DVD- because the movie theaters are just too loud for him.

Well, we arrived back at the Waldorf and it was so refreshing to enter our room and find that it (a) had been cleaned and (b) had several cold bottles of water waiting on us! After riding back from the park in that hot car, that was the BEST water we’d had in a while!

We showered, put on our swim attire and headed for the pool!

Chase just had to bring a few of his friends along for a dip.

He never leaves home without them. Erik and I tell him that his dinosaurs are going to need a passport soon :animwink:. They cause such a disturbance when we go through the airport security checks. We never check them with our “checked” luggage because if Delta just happened to loose that particular bag…let’s just say it would NOT be pretty :fork:.

He is given a small/medium sized suitcase just for his dinosaurs. When we put the bag on the scanner, the images always baffle the TSA guys . So, of course they have to open it. They are pleasantly surprised to find that the unusual images were just twenty to thirty harmless DINOSAURS :lol:.

Swimming always makes us hungry, so we decided to get a little snack. Erik and Chase shared Chase's favorite vacation meal...the ever popular chicken nuggets and fries...

In lieu of what I'd be eating later in the week, I opted for the healthier- fruit salad.

After a few more dips in the pool, we decided to take a "ride" around the resort before returning to our room.

Stay Tuned For Our Next Park Day!

 

[Sarabell]

I love your TR so far. I'll be staying off property also. I could say it's because of the noisy kids also, but it's because of our budget. It's kinda hard when you have to convert to dollars in order to plan a trip... I end up having half the amount of money when I convert it.:shrug:

 

[PeoplemoverTTA]

Great trip report; I'm looking forward to reading the rest!

 

[corey154]

I'm loving your trip report! Chase is adorable, you have a great looking family, and don't worry, you're not alone....many of us are hotel snobs