Trip Report Am I sick of WDW? Aug 22-30, 2015 update4/19/17

Hi everyone and welcome to my trip report! I'm Sarah, Mia is our daughter, Paul is my husband and Westin is our son. (possibly getting a little old for a stroller but there is no way I could have done this trip without the stroller, as half the trip was just me and the kids)

This was our first trip together as just a family of 4. We went in Jan. 2012 when Westin was 8 months old with my friend and her family. In Sept. 2013, Paul and I went without the kids, meanie parents! Last year we went again with my friend and her family, Paul couldn't come due to his work schedule. I did a trip-music video for our Sept. 2014 trip, this was the first time I tried a video.
I think it turned out great but it is long, if I do it again I think I will break it down into individual songs rather than one long video.

Back to the most recent trip, we stayed at Allstar Sports, August 22nd through August 30th. I was a little scared because some of the reviews I had read online really hated on Allstar Sports, having only awful things to say about the resort. I am happy to say we had an uneventful stay, nothing horrible happened and for the rate I got through Orbitz I was pleased.

You may be asking yourself "why is she sick of her family?" Maybe I am too in love with Disney and reading forums about Disney and planning fake trips to Disney and maybe my family just doesn't get it the way I do. Some (my husband) may call me crazy? Their non-enjoyment of Disney (a lot of which I like to think was weather related because it was so hot!) caused a few moments of me questioning myself and why we even went on vacation, but I realized we all like different things and no big deal if they aren't as into Disney as I am. Skip all of this if you don't like boring writing without pictures.
My first trip was back in 1999, we visited the Magic Kingdom for 1 day. I remember waiting in line for Space Mountain with my cousin and being scared to ride whatever was in that pointy, white building. I was 11 and he was 15, so I didn't want to tell him I was scared because that is not cool. I thought I was going to fly out of the seat, I hated it! I also remember my mother making us leave before the fireworks started, I believe we were there 4th of July week so we were probably trying to beat traffic or it was horribly crowded and she couldn't take it anymore. I'm not sure but that was my first visit, so magical
I didn't think about a trip to Disney again until 2009 when Mia was 5 years old and I was really bored at work one day. I really don't remember why but I started reading trip reports on a discussion board about people's trips to Disney and the more I read the more I thought we need to go to Disney. I must book a trip now! So we did and I planned and planned and planned, I love planning for trips. We had an awesome trip to Disney in January, 2009 and it was so much fun I talked them into a trip in January, 2010 this time my mom and grandma came along. Then free dining came out and Paul agreed to one more trip in August, 2010, which is where it starts to go downhill. It was hot, I was obsessed with Disney, you have no idea how many lets say "quarrels" my husband and I had and still do have about Disney. He loves hunting, I like going to Disney, that's the same right?
In 2011 we had a baby so no trip for us. Then as I said above we did January, 2012 and then Mia and I went in November, 2012 for a dance trip. That was a totally awesome experience, they got to do a parade down Main Street and be included in the Christmas Day parade filming. Although we couldn't spot any of our dancers on the tv broadcast it was still cool to know we were there and a part of the parade. Mia and I will be doing another dance trip this November and I am super excited about this one because it is in Disneyland!! I am actually going to be in the parade too, we needed 10 dancers to audition and 2 dropped out so I was a backup. I'm not mad about this at all!! But don't let me get ahead of myself.

I had a trip all planned out for the first week of Sept. but Paul was not in agreement so I cancelled it. Then in July he came home from work and was like "let's go to Disney, I want to get away from here". His main reason for the trip was because Westin is now 40 inches tall and we could do almost all of the rides together. Westin also loves Lights, Motor, Action and Paul wanted to watch LMA with him before its rumored demise. Those are very valid reasons for a trip (Disney logic at work) so I started pricing a trip, he wanted to do Wed - Sat but with the price of park tickets I told him that was ridiculous and probably best we don't go but when I used Disney logic instead of real world logic, I found that the kids and I could go first and he could meet up with us halfway through and it was still the same price! Rejoice!! Our trip was on!! Join us as we sweat our way through vacation.

 

[FlaggNL]

Following along and off course looking forward for more!! Thanks for sharing!!

 

[ScarletBegonias]

Following along!

 

[sarahcor]

Day 1 - August 22, 2015
Travel Day

Today was the day! Yay! Paul had to work today but he did get home in time to take us to the airport so we wouldn't have 2 cars sitting there upon our return. The kids and I hung out around the house and finished up last minute packing, like getting their backpacks ready with busy stuff for the airplane ride. We swam for a little bit at my mom's house. I finished the dishes that were left in the sink and basically paced around until it was time to leave. The beginning of a trip is so exciting, there is so much to look forward to so I was anxious to get it started.
We stopped for dinner on our way to the airport, I wanted Wendys but lost out to McDonalds.

We ate our drive through in the airport lobby and hung out with Paul for a little bit before we made our way through security. Our local airport is tiny so I like to wait in the upstairs part before the security checkpoint for a while before going downstairs to the boarding area. I start to feel nervous and the longer we wait in the boarding area the more nervous I get. I gave Paul one last hug, tried to hold back tears which is kind of silly as we would be seeing him in 4 days, but I couldn't help it and a few drops leaked out.
We successfully passed through security and hung out in the corner.

Then I checked the flight board and saw that we had been delayed, boo. I think we had a 30ish minute delay, during that extra time I practiced my deep breathing and successfully hid my nerves from the kids.
Bye Pennsylvania!

There was a little turbulence and the plane was rocking enough that Westin decided he didn't like the sky and wanted to get back down to the dirt. We actually flew by a storm, seeing the lighting was pretty cool if not slightly unsettling.
The kids fought over the tablet but finally decided on a Scooby Doo movie. They each had an earbud and actually shared for most of the time. Our other tablet decided to go blank screen so we only had one, oh the horror!

Mia was happy with the tablet the entire time, Westin and I did a few pages of his tractor sticker book and played with play doh and his toys. We landed in Orlando but the plane was still driving to our gate. Westin got down on his hands and knees and kissed the floor. Both gross and cute at the same time!

 

[sarahcor]

Following along and off course looking forward for more!! Thanks for sharing!!

Thanks for following! Once I get these pictures figured out I'll get this report moving.

 

[sarahcor]

Following along!

Thanks, hope you are having an awesome trip!

 

[NCO91590]

The heat makes you think crazy thoughts. There were times I actually wanted to go home last August! These are not rational thoughts as NOBODY wants to leave Disney

 

[jenluvswdw]

Families may not get us. That is why I thank God for this outlet! Following along. PS. My husband is the same way.

 

[FlaggNL]

Thanks for following! Once I get these pictures figured out I'll get this report moving.

Take your time

 

[sarahcor]

The heat makes you think crazy thoughts. There were times I actually wanted to go home last August! These are not rational thoughts as NOBODY wants to leave Disney

When we go again, although I have no idea yet when that will be as it will take a lot of persuading to get a yes from the husband, it will not be in August!

 

[sarahcor]

Families may not get us. That is why I thank God for this outlet! Following along. PS. My husband is the same way.

Yes, so glad I can live vicariously through other's vacations when I can't be on one of my own!

 

[sarahcor]

Take your time

Time to finish this first day!

 

[sarahcor]

So we landed and called home to let daddy know we were safe in Florida. Successfully made it to Magic Express without getting lost, yay!
Mom and daughter, super excited to be at the start of the trip.

The bus driver gave out a few stickers which Westin wasted no time in using, and soon after he was out cold.

Traveling is tiresome.

We stopped at Coronado Springs for the first drop off and then we got to Sports.

After waiting for what seemed like forever, but was probably only 5 minutes, we were checking in. I always hold out hope that by some miracle we will be upgraded to a fancy deluxe, maybe next time. Mia desperately wanted some gelato so since Westin was asleep in his stroller we hit the cafeteria and she got some chocolate gelato.

She was being extra nice and decided to put Westin to bed.

And then Stacey!

I had to enjoy her before Paul got there because he gets super annoyed when I turn her on for more than one cycle. If I had it my way Stacey would be 24/7 but no one else traveling with me agrees so I take what I can get.

I unpacked our suitcase, everything was packed in ziplock bags so it didn't take much to dump it all into the drawers. I checked the clock and it was 1:00am, yikes! We are early to bed at home, usually all asleep/in bed by 9:00. Time to get some sleep, good night.

 

[sarahcor]

Wakey-wakey kids! We are in Disney, on our first day, no time for sleeping in!!

I woke up around 7 and got the kids up at 7:30, they had a delicious breakfast of strawberry milk and mini muffins. The strawberry milk was bought last night with the gelato and we brought the mini muffins from home. This worked out well, usually Westin only drinks milk in the morning, he's not a big eater. Mia was on a mini muffin kick so she was totally happy with the arrangement. It also saved me a trip to the food court (and $) in the morning to get food that they would pick at and then throw away so it was a win all around. I was saving room for lunch.

On our way to the bus we saw this little guy.

Is it a grasshopper? Pennsylvanian grasshoppers are not this big so we were kind of amazed.

We made it to the bus stop and got to ride a cruise bus which was playing Tangled. What a great first ride to the first park!

Hollywood Studios was our first park of the trip. Magic Kingdom is my favorite park followed by Hollywood Studios, but sometimes Epcot is my 2nd favorite. Animal Kingdom is 4th favorite just because I like the other 3 more but I couldn't imagine going to Disney and not visiting each park. Anyways, the Studios was our first park because the main purpose this trip was to see Lights, Motors, Action! We saw it a few years ago before Westin was born, last year was his first year seeing it and he loved it. He plays LMA at home with his cars and talks about it frequently. So, he was quite upset that LMA wasn't the first attraction which kind of started our day off on a bad note. We didn't get to the park as early as I wanted so we were a little ways back in the line.

and this was the line behind us, yikes!!

But lucky for us I waste so much time on Disney research so I kept my eye on the far left lane where the breakfast reservation entry was. At 8:45 they took the sign down which stated it was for reservations only and it turned into a normal line and we hopped up and over and were into the park in no time. We headed straight for Toy Story Mania, there was hardly any wait, just long enough for us to take some silly pictures.

I love the big Christmas lights and tinker toys in the ride area.

Westin is ready to shoot some stuff.

Not too great but it was our first ride of the trip so consider this the warm up ride.

 

[sarahcor]

Nothing like waiting a year and a half to do the next post but I am missing Disney terribly so here goes.

We visited the the Disney Junior show, which is uncomfortable because everyone sits on the floor and after a while sitting on the floor is not fun for the behind. I also recently heard on a podcast that when there are "accidents" they place a square of carpet over the problem area and place a cone on top of it. So I can only imagine how gross and germy the entire floor area is, at least I didn't know that when we were there.

Even the cast wanted to sleep through their own show!

Westin likes these cartoons at home but this puppet show, he was not into it. He had a mini fit but he got over it. His favorite part was collecting the gold coins, I think they shoot them from the ceiling during the Jake and the Neverland Pirates segment.

 

[sarahcor]

We did Mia's nails as an Inside Out theme so we needed to get a few pictures with the banners that were hanging.

She had peeled most of the paint off by our second day but they looked cute for a little bit.

Westin refused to do Tower of Terror, he was all for it when we talked about it at home but when he saw it in real life he changed his mind. I was a little bit bummed but didn't want to scar him for life so when the promise of a toy didn't persuade him we changed plans and went to Star Tours.

The wait was pretty much walk on and watch the show before entering the ride part. He really liked it and I didn't have to bribe him with a toy so that was a victory.

 

[sarahcor]

We made our way over to the Muppets area but for some reason Westin decided he hated the Muppets and refused to come with us. I tried the old walk away and leave the kid standing there trick but he didn't fall for it. Muppetvision was not to be seen at this time which was a bummer because it was so hot out.

He loves the Cars movies so we stopped by to say hi to Lighting and Mater. He wasn't convinced these were the real Lighting and Mater so he didn't want to pose with them. The photographer was trying her best to get his attention but I told her not to worry about getting a good picture of all of us, 2 are better than none.

We hit up the restrooms next, they were empty so we took some pictures because who doesn't love a good bathroom picture?

Westin did not enjoy our bathroom shenanigans, he did not like using the girl restroom. I told him when daddy got there in a few days he could use the boy restrooms. He thinks urinals are the best so girl restrooms are not cool in his mind.

We roamed around the streets section and took pictures. I had a ridiculous idea that i would do my Cize exercise routines in various spots as we visited the parks. I tried and laughed the entire time and then forgot the routine so that didn't happen. Mia was happy about my Cize failure because it meant that she didn't have to be my embarrassed videographer for very long.

I think i was trying to show how hot I was feeling here by pulling the fire alarm and fanning myself. Why did I want to come here in August again?

 

[sarahcor]

LUNCH TIME!
We had never eaten at Sci-Fi Dine-In before.

Definitely ready for a break from the heat and sun, the dark restaurant was just what I needed to re-energize. I don't remember there being any fights or bad behavior, and they even sat next to each other! The movies kept the kids entertained for a while.

For those of you that enjoy food pictures here they are.

We shared the milkshake between the 3 of us.

Kids mac n cheese for Mia

I think Westin got shrimp poppers

I overestimated my hunger and ordered the spinach & artichoke dip and onion rings.
I didn't finish it all. I feel so guilty when food is wasted but I wasn't going to carry it around the rest of the day only to throw it away at the room.
Now that our stomachs are full lets go run around in a hot playground, yay!

 

[sarahcor]

I know the playgrounds aren't much fun for most park visitors but my kids love the playgrounds. Actually I think the only one left is at Animal Kingdom since this one at Hollywood Studios is gone now.

I can just see the thoughts in Westin's head of how awesome it would be if he had a truck like this to drive around at home.

You can't leave without taking a picture on antie. Honey I Shrunk the Kids was a favorite movie of mine growing up. I always thought it would be so cool to shrink down that little and eat a giant oatmeal cream pie. I can't pass up an antie picture either.

The kids ran around for a while until it was time for Westin's favorite show ever, Lights Motor Action. Now that they are sufficiently hot and sweaty lets go to the show.

 

[sarahcor]

Mia broke her glasses right before we left so she had to wear an old pair of my glasses. We have the same prescription in one of our eyes but my other eye is a little worse. She said they didn't bother her and at least she could see things.
For some reason Westin decided to sit by himself.

As more people filtered in he changed his mind and came back to us. Sitting next to strangers wasn't part of his plan.
We went back to Disney in November, 2016. He was very excited to see his favorite show and I had to break his heart when I told him that LMA was no longer there
He cried and said he wouldn't come back but he got over it.

Of course I missed the fire explosion finale shot. I may have been videoing, I don't remember.

We sent this back home to daddy because our truck is a chevy, the truck is named Silvio, he is a Silverado, we are very creative at naming our cars. Hot and finished with this park for now we enjoyed the bus ride back to Sports.