A Toddler at the Grandparents + Two Parents = An Amazing Disney Vacation

My husband texted me the other day to remind me that a year ago he began to plan our first vacation ever (we have been married for 13yrs) and our first trip to Disney World. Like many of you, we spent countless hours poring over books, brochures, blogs, podcasts, DISCUSSION BOARDS and articles about the World to aid us in having a trip of a lifetime. Now that our amazing trip is over – we are going through withdrawals and other than planning for another trip to Disney the only thing I could think of to cure this withdrawal and depression is to write a Trip Report.

So, here we go!!!

Who: me (Catherine 38yrs) and my DH (Rob 35yrs – yep, I married a younger man..LOL). We were leaving our 3yr old with Grandma and Grandpa for the week… yippee!!!!!!

When: Oct 16th (happened to be my bday) thru Oct 21st
Resort: All Star Movies

Before I begin… thank you everyone who have posted trip reports in the past (HollyBelle, Fractal, Blackthidot, WDWFigment, MillerPoppins, etc…) you helped us make the time go by fast as we counted down to our vacation. Well… with that – my first trip report….

On Saturday morning, October 15th we packed up the car and strapped our 3yr old in and headed “downstate” Michigan. (that is what us folks from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan say when we head below the bridge) We were headed for my husband’s folk’s house, where we would be spending the night and leaving our little boy while we traveled to Walt Disney World. (we decided to go by ourselves since he is young and since we’ve never been on a vacation together) Our trip downstate for the most part went well. Despite a traffic jam due to construction on the Mackinaw Bridge that slowed us down CONSIDERABLY, it took us an hour to go a ½ mile.!!!

But, we made it to Rob’s folk’s house and after a long day called it a night.



Day I
A journal entry on Sunday, Oct 16th at 5:45AM (while we were waiting to board our plane)
Happy 28th Birthday to me! (ugh, 38???)
We said goodbye to Jonah last night at bedtime. He was not phased at all and didn’t care that we wouldn’t be there when he woke up. He was more interested in grandma and grandpa and all they had planned.
We left the house at 4:50am and headed to Flint! What a gorgeous fall morning! It was still dark out of course but it was calm, no snow and no deer!!! It was a quick drive! Our arrival at the gate was just as smooth! We didn’t have any issues at security and didn’t get a pat down or a body scan…. darn! haa haa (note the sarcasm)
Oh, I’m so excited! I feel so close to my husband now – we are on an adventure together and the only goal is that we enjoy being together and we have fun. I’m pretty much at the point where no words are even needed.

The flight was smooth (it seemed to take forever though – even though we arrived earlier than scheduled). We paid a little extra to board early, which was a great decision! As the morning sun was rising over the clouds, I couldn’t help but feel like a child – amazed at what I was seeing and jumping inside with excitement due to our destination!

We made our way down to ME by 10am and waited in line for maybe 20min. It was amazing to see in person all that we had read about and seen from everybody else’s trip reports. We couldn’t believe we were finally there! We hopped on our bus and we were off.

The obligatory photo of the airport..

Trying to stay cool and collected on our monorail trip to the terminal.

Yay!

Off we go!

Now, the ME was not quite what we had heard it was or could be. Our poor driver couldn’t really speak English well and his loud speaker didn’t work either. So, he spent the whole trip talking into this speaker that he KNEW wasn’t working and then in this accent that us Northerners could not make out exactly. to add to it, the movie on the bus wasn’t working either. It only played the opening and then would get stuck. This bus had issues. It didn’t bother us though – I felt real bad for the driver but I entertained myself with looking out the window at all the wonderful birds, vegetation and sights! I was overwhelmed already and we hadn’t even made it to Disney World. haa Yea, we’re from a small isolated area up in the U.P.

 

[joanna71985]

Following along

 

[catnrob]

What a wonderful trip report. You can feel the happiness from you two jumping out of my laptop into our hearts :sohappy:from every word you are writing. Can't wait for the rest.

Thank you! It was not only a wonderful trip but a wonderful week with my husband. You know how you can just get into a routine after you have kids? It's so easy for it to happen. So, this was much needed. I think we fell even deeper in love with one another! Stay tuned for more fun!

Following along

Welcome! I'm so happy that others are following, it is sure nice to share our love for "the mouse" with others!

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

LOVING your TR so far!! You guys have done so much and it hasn't even been 2 full days yet! I'm tired just reading it!! lol

Let's see.... first off, I love BTMR as well! It's one of my favs for sure!

Second, my sister and I are 29 and 26 and we love getting our pictures with the characters. It's Disney! And we've had some really good interactions with some of them.

Can't wait to read more!! :wave:

 

[mickeysshoes]

You can add me to the list....I married younger also!!!! :lol: Great report and sounds like you all had awesome trip!!

 

[fractal]

lamb chops look delish...

 

[catnrob]

Cont…

nín hǎo! (Hello in Chinese)

From Norway we made our way over to China. Rob was starting to slow up a bit but we kept trotting ahead. We wanted to see Reflections of China so we stuck around for the next showing. While we waited, we walked around and took in the exhibit.

Looking up in the pavilion….

Now, we knew that the Reflections of China movie was 360 degree viewing and that you stood up during it. However, I don’t think we realized how tired we were and how even more tired we would be after the movie. We walked out and we were EXHAUSTED!!!! At this point we started rethinking “the plan”. Which was, to spend the entire day at Epcot. Rob was really starting to get tired and was pretty quiet. So, we decided to continue on until we got to the ferry and then take the ferry over to FutureWorld. Then use our Soarin fast pass, and head back to the resort to take a nap. So that we could return for more fun when we are refreshed!

We passed the German kiosks and passed up the temptation to enjoy some beer.

So, instead we made our way into Werther's Karamell Küche to boost our blood sugar! Rob resisted the temptation (that was a clear indication that he was tired), but I, on the other hand, could not.

I enjoyed a caramel pecan shortbread (sorry... no pictures, ugh). This small rectangle of LOVE made me forget of my tired feet, sore back and withering husband. It was pure love and MAGIC! So I not only fell deeper in love with my husband that week but I fell in love with a little piece of shortbread. Ha!

As I was enjoying my “little piece of heaven”, we walked around some of the little gift shops. I had to laugh at the amount of people that were talking about the “pickle tree”.

The people chit chatting had obviously not heard of the legend of the pickle. (This conversation sounds so weird) When we were married 13yrs ago we had received a pickle ornament for our tree. Every year we take turns hiding the pickle (ugh) and finding it on the tree. It has become a little tradition of our tree decorating. (Thank God I’m done with my story)


By this time I noticed a group was gathering around the Italy pavilion. I noticed that Sergio was out and entertaining a large crowd.

So, while I watched and laughed Rob walked around and took some pictures. Sergio was great! I really enjoyed him. I never knew a little whistle could make me laugh so much.

After Sergio was finished we walked around the pavilion. The smell of garlic, marinara and butter filled the air! I loved the little piazza!

 

[catnrob]

I’m Italian so I connected very much to Italy. I would have loved to eaten in Italy just to compare my family’s traditional dishes to theirs but there was only so much time and so many meals. However, we were in search of one little thing in Italy. Back when my husband was in 8th grade he spent the AFTERNOON in Epcot (That just sounds horrible doesn’t it? I mean what a tease!) . The one big thing he remembers is that he bought a little red Ferrari. I had heard this story countless times. So, when we were planning our vacation I had mentioned that I wanted to buy our son a pair of Mickey Mouse ears but Rob wanted to find Jo a red Ferrari. So, there we were – on a search for a little car. We looked EVERYWHERE! We had absolutely no luck. What a bummer!!!!

We lifted our spirits with a little photo pass action. The photographer was great! He was the first one that we had that joked around with us, loosened us up a bit and made it an experience. I think you can see that we were having fun.

Japan was next.

We didn’t really look around the pavilion at all (our Soarin FP’s were going to expire if we waited too long).

So, instead we stood and watched Matsuriza, the Japanese Taiko Drummers. They were great! If you have a chance… stop! Those women rock!

We walked by the American Adventure (thinking we would be back later in the night to go thru it) and made a bee line to the friendship ferry. We took the ferry back to the Showcase Plaza. While on the ferry, a mother and daughter began to talk to me. Now, my husband makes fun of me all the time because I’ll talk to anyone. He, on the other hand does not. He is from downstate Michigan, near Detroit, and he CLAIMS that people don’t talk to complete strangers down there. So, I was right at home with these ladies. Turns out, they have spent summers near where we live and were very familiar with the UP. I guess they family owned a large sailboat and sailed Lake Superior very often. There, on the FRIENDSHIP ferry in the middle of all those countries – we discovered just how small the world really is.

When we got off of the ferry we headed to Soarin to use our fast passes. Man, that walk up the hill to The Land pavilion is exhausting!!!!! It felt great though, to be out of the HUMID heat and into some AC. But, if I though the hill was exhausting… the que to Soarin was a killer! I’m not sure why but it just felt like I was going to drop. OH … I KNOW WHY!!!! This is exactly when we realized that the only thing we had had to drink all day (this is at 3:30pm) was ONE bottle of water!!!!!! No wonder why we both wanted to drop!

So, we rode Soarin and then as we were leaving The Land (thank God for the hill going DOWN) we decided that we would stop at The Seas with Nemo and Friends. We took some pics outside, watched the seagulls (we live blocks from the shore of Lake Superior so sea gulls are just rats with wings to us) and then went on The Seas and looked at a few fish.

 

[catnrob]

Yeah, you can tell I liked the colors and the pictures I was getting…

This isn’t the best picture… but I love those clam mobiles….

After The Seas we headed out to go back to the resort. But first – we need to get our picture since the line was too long in the morning.

We got back to the resort at about 5pm. Our plan was to head back at 6pm. (I know – all that work for an hour’s worth of rest… but it was worth it) When we got back to our room we were greeted by ….

And since it was my birthday the day before I had a little birthday cake….

Coming up... a little liquor helps us through the night, Illuminations interrupted with a stretcher and doctors and the Magic Kingdom!

 

[catnrob]

LOVING your TR so far!! You guys have done so much and it hasn't even been 2 full days yet! I'm tired just reading it!! lol

Let's see.... first off, I love BTMR as well! It's one of my favs for sure!

Second, my sister and I are 29 and 26 and we love getting our pictures with the characters. It's Disney! And we've had some really good interactions with some of them.

Can't wait to read more!! :wave:

Thank you for following along. Yes, we did a lot! But, we paid for it! I think we had hit it a little too hard. We were on a daily regime of Advil for the rest of the trip. haa But, it was worth it.

Oh, and please forgive all the crazy sizes of pictures. I am learning PhotoBucket as I go. I don't know what the heck I'm doing. It has seemed as though, some of the photos resize and some do not. UGH. Oh well! Enjoy!

You can add me to the list....I married younger also!!!! :lol: Great report and sounds like you all had awesome trip!!

Thank you for reading!!!

lamb chops look delish...

Oh yea, lamb chops were lip smackin good!

And as I said above....
Oh, and please forgive all the crazy sizes of pictures. I am learning PhotoBucket as I go. I don't know what the heck I'm doing. It has seemed as though, some of the photos resize and some do not. by the time I'm finished with the trip report, I'll have the hang of it.

 

[Kristia]

Epcot can wear down even the best park commando! :ROFLOL: It is just so huge!

And there is definitely no use resisting the temptation of a treat from the caramel shop in Germany. We got a few things in there! Yummy :slurp:!

 

[Steve-B]

I'm really enjoying reading and checking out the pictures.

You two look like you'd be fun to do the parks with!

 

[UPbeekeeper]

It was not only a wonderful trip but a wonderful week with my husband. You know how you can just get into a routine after you have kids? It's so easy for it to happen. So, this was much needed. I think we fell even deeper in love with one another!

Awww....that is such a sweet sentiment. It really made me smile. Nice to hear how much fun you guys had.

 

[Blueskyze]

Loving your report and all the pictures! We did an adults-only trip last month, so I am totally relating to how exciting it was! Very jealous that you were there in October...I'm dying to see all the decorations. Can't wait to hear more!

 

[catnrob]

Epcot can wear down even the best park commando! :ROFLOL: It is just so huge!

And there is definitely no use resisting the temptation of a treat from the caramel shop in Germany. We got a few things in there! Yummy :slurp:!

It IS huge! It also didn't help that we were zig-zagging all over FutureWorld. Oh, and we didn't really sit down anywhere. We were on a mission. haa
Thanks for following along!

I'm really enjoying reading and checking out the pictures.

You two look like you'd be fun to do the parks with!

Thanks!!!! Rob is the focused and the detailed one - I am the laid back visionary person in the relationship. haa

Awww....that is such a sweet sentiment. It really made me smile. Nice to hear how much fun you guys had.

Yes, it was really nice! You know, I meet with engaged couples all the time to mentor them for their Pre-Marriage work. I say all the time that they need to work hard to put their marriage first and not to become lazy by getting stuck in a rut. But, it's funny how easy it is to ALLOW that to happen. This vacation was a good opportunity for us to "re-kindle" things.

Loving your report and all the pictures! We did an adults-only trip last month, so I am totally relating to how exciting it was! Very jealous that you were there in October...I'm dying to see all the decorations. Can't wait to hear more!

Going there in October was amazing. Not only did we have the chance to be there during Wine and Food Festival but we also participated in the Halloween Party. The weather also was great. I mean, it was HOT and HUMID... I think some of the exhaustion had to do with the heat. AND THEN.. the crowd levels? Hello? A-Mazing! Loved it!

Thanks for following along!!!

 

[emcclay]

Cute TR! Looking forward to the rest :wave:

 

[catnrob]

Day 2 Cont….

After putting our feet up and closing our eyes a bit we were ready to head back. We weren’t at the resort for long (about an hour and a half) but between that and the trips back n forth we were getting some relief from the pavement.

So, with restored legs and minds we headed back through back check and past the “big golf ball” at 6:30pm. We went around the musical fountain and across the little bridge when we inhaled the most wonderful smell! It was the kiosk for Hawaii! Their Kalua Pork Slider with Sweet and Sour Dole Pineapple Chutney and Spicy Mayonnaise was on my “wish list” so, we stopped so I could get one. OH MY! Was it wonderful!!!! After I licked my fingers we were off for the Friendship Ferry which we had to wait maybe 5 min. for and sailed off Morocco. Before exploring we headed right for the New Zealand kiosk. It was almost directly across from the ferry dock. Rob had had his eyes set on the Seared Sea Scallop with Kumara-Red Curry Puree and Apple Radish Salad. Rob is a big fan of Scallops – and living up north, we don’t get to have those lot without paying a fortune! He loved the sample and it was a great deal for a snack credit! Time was clicking away so just started walking around the pavilions but not really stopping much. In Morocco, we enjoyed walking through the QUIET (yes, quiet…there weren’t many people around) little hallways and niches.

The weather was steamy at this point and it felt like the clouds were going to just open up and flood us at any point. We began to leave Morocco when we heard the chefs at the Moroccan kiosk start to play music with their spoons and pots. Plus, one of them had an instrument (I don’t remember what kind though). They sang and were just having a great time. Boy, that is one thing that I noticed several times there – cast members genuinely enjoying their jobs and making the most out of it. What a breath of fresh air!

We listened for a while and then three magic words popped into our minds, “ORANGE GRAND MARNIER SLUSH”. We have heard from so many of you about how lovely this cocktail is and we just couldn’t pass it up. So, we got ONE and split it. Well, 2 min. later Rob began smiling nonstop, dancing and suddenly was full of life! Wow – what a little liquor will do! haa I told him that if I knew it would have had that effect on him that would have been a main priority earlier that day! So, from France – or rather the Marnier kiosk and on – Rob was a new man and we started having a LOT more fun!

France is a bit of a blur for me. There was just so many people over there and it was getting a little “bottlenecked”. People were starting to stake their claims for Illuminations. But we stopped to get our picture taken and then we were off…

We then walked through France and while we were walking through the little garden walkway…

… we saw Aurora and her “handler” walking up the walkway. She must have been done with a meet and greet, because she was booking it and not really looking the most happy. She saw us, but looked away and would not look up. It was kinda funny. I wanted to say, “don’t worry lady – I’m not into princesses” but even though I was feeling relaxed due to the drink I still had a filter. So, we just watched her and laughed when she passed us. :lol:

 

[catnrob]

We walked across the bridge that connects France and the UK and decided that since there one only one couple getting their picture taken at the Photo Pass guy that we would wait to have our picture taken.

Now, by this time we were having a blast and relaxed but we were SWEATING! Not a pretty sight!!!! But, what ya gonna do? OH I KNOW – KEEP GOING AND HEAD OVER TO THE GREAT UK!

As soon as we got close to the UK there was just something about that country that was fun. We started looking around and going through the little quaint streets.

We found a little shop that sold Tea. I am a huge fan of tea. Again, being from the north – I live on hot tea for 8months out of the year. It is one of the only things that we warm me up in the evenings. So, we went into the little shop and began looking around.

All of a sudden we saw some little kids and squealing. So, we walked to the back of the shop – and there they were… WINNIE THE POOH AND TIGGER! Again, we are not big character people, but our son Jonah LOVES Pooh and Tigger. I had purchased a couple of WTPooh books back at our local Target and I thought they could autograph the book for Jonah. It would be a nice gift for when we went home. So, we waited in line for about 10min and it was our turn. These guys were great! Tigger grabbed Rob’s hat off of him and stuck it on his head. LOL! Then I told them about the books and the guys LOVED it! They signed the books and jumped up and down when they heard that our son’s first movie was their movie from this summer!

We left the shop and immediately heard the great UK tunes of the “British Revolution”. They were great! We stood for a while and rocked out with the crowd.

We knew that Illuminations would be starting soon and our tummies were still hungry (after all we really hadn’t eaten much all day – that’s really a crime isn’t it? I mean, not eating when you are at Epcot?). So, we headed out of the UK and hit up the Ireland kiosk where we each had a Lobster & Scallop Fisherman’s Pie, and shared a Warm Chocolate Lava Cake with Baileys and a glass of Guinness. This was my favorite!!!! So much so that we ended up buying the Food and Wine Festival Cookbook… we can’t wait to make it! We just have to wait for seafood to go on sale up here!

We left the UK and headed toward to Canada. Unfortunately, we didn’t have a lot of time and we needed to find a place to “park it” for Illuminations so we just walked by it. Next time I guess.

 

[catnrob]

There wasn’t really anywhere to stop at this point so we decided to just keep walking until we found a place to stand. What a great idea this was because it brought us to the Dessert and Champagne Kiosk!!! YAY! We ended up sharing the Dessert Trio (Lemon Chiffon; White Chocolate Macadamia Mousse with Dark Chocolate Pearls). Again, we found love in Epcot!

It was REALLY good – but we have the Lemon Chiffon recipe in our cookbook – so you know, I can read about it anytime). Dessert pointed us in the right direction – as we stood there sharing our goodies we looked and a spot to watch Illuminations appeared! So, we took our “spot” and waited patiently.

Before Illuminations began we noticed that an older couple in front of us were having some problems. The wife was sitting down and didn’t look too good. It was hard not to watch and wonder what was happening. Even when Illuminations started, I had a really hard time watching it. I was worried for them and I guess nosey. It ended up, that they brought in a nurse or NP and then a medical response team. There we were – standing there watching (or trying to watch) fireworks and this woman was being attended to. They ended up taking her out on a stretcher. Now, while all of this is going on, the clouds part and it begins to pour! It’s very sad – but I hardly remember a thing about Illuminations. Again, it will have to wait till next time I guess.

Illuminations ended and we turned around and BOLTED for the exit. I couldn’t believe how slippery the cement was when wet! People were sliding all over the place. Good thing I know how to walk on ice – I just did my flat footed walking “thing” and I was good to go. We waited in line for a monorail (we waited about 10min if that) and we were off for……The Magic Kingdom (they had EMH this night). Our plan for the MK was to head to Tommorrowland since the prior evening we ran out of time AND steam. So, we walked through the tunnel and ‘swam upstream”. It was a beautiful night and the downpour really helped the humidity level to lessen a bit. When we got to the hub we took the ever popular “right” and headed to Tommorrowland!

Of course by the time we got there we hit the wall! UGH! But, we forged on and we got into line for Buzz Lightyears Space Ranger Spin. The line was short – we waited for only about 10min. It seemed like while we were waiting that maybe they were having problems with the attraction stopping. But the line continued to move so we weren’t too concerned. I would like to do this attraction again because when we were on we couldn’t go more than a minute without us stopping. It was very frustrating and at that point in the night, we didn’t have the patience that was needed. Next time we go to WDW, I’ll check this one out. I’m sure it is a lot more fun when you aren’t about to collapse and when you actually move without stopping every 95 seconds.

From BLSRS, we headed across to the People Mover … again! Gotta love that attraction! There’s something almost romantic about it. LOL! It was pretty cool when the People mover stopped when we were in the dark in the Space Mountain building. It was the perfect time to close our eyes and catch a quick “nap”!

As we were about to leave Tommorrowland we noticed that there was not a wait at all at Carousel of Progress. So, we walked right on in and had a seat! OH MY – this attraction is amazing! There was only one other family in the theater with us, which was a good thing because I could have been really obnoxious, I would have started singing. It really was great, the perfect way to end our LONG day.

We SLOWLY made it back to Main Street and headed down to the bus stop. There were TONS of people heading out at this time (11:15pm). They had cast members all over the place setting up lines all over the place. Luckily, our bus line wasn’t as long as many resorts. We waited almost 45min and within that time our decision to NOT bring our 3yr old son was confirmed thousands of times. We felt so bad not only for the parents of these kids but more so for the kids themselves. It was very late and they were just either hanging on by a thread, melting down or draped over their parents shoulders fast asleep. There was one parent who, as their children was crying, was in their face yelling, “Do you know how much I paid for our trip? And you’re acting like this?”. I wanted to say… “You’re the idiot who kept your 3yr old out until 11:30pm.” But, instead I kept quiet and went to my happy place (which thanks to Epcot is the Orange Groves on Soarin”). My low back, hips and legs were on fire! And I was seriously wishing we had just gone home after Epcot. (in retrospect, I am happy – VERY happy we did not though) Suddenly, our bus pulled up and we got on. Of course though, we had to stand up on the bus (it was a LONG ride back to the resort). I guess we didn’t HAVE to stand up – but we gave up our seats for families with kids. I had so much sympathy for those families… we were tired but we are adults and only had to worry about ourselves. I can’t imagine how tired the parents where and they still had to get the kids to the resort, get them ready for bed and get them to fall asleep. Thank God it was just us!!! We got back to the resort at 12:20pm. Rob and I basically CRAWLED back to our room (oh, why had we been so cheap and not purchased a preferred room).

We stumbled into our room, and after we both took showers, went straight to bed. A journal entry my husband wrote states, “Tomorrow’s plans are out the window. We are sleeping in, don’t really care about DHS’s rope drop. Goodnight”.

Oh how plans change…

Coming Up… Holy Blisters, Crabby Catherine, and Meeting Family in “The World”.

 

[fractal]

Loving your trip report! I think we have all been there at the end of
A long night and waiting for the next bus.
Great recap of your night in Epcot. Looking forward to more of you and
Rob's adventures!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

OK, well now you've got me hungry for food that goes well beyond what's in the house and drinks that would require a trip to the liquor store. :lol: Great TR- can't wait to read more!!!