Celebrating 18 Years of Life, Love, and Laughter:Our 3rd Trip to WDW begins Aug. 9th!

Hello everyone!

I am attempting for the first time, to do a live Trip Report. Since we are now only ten days out from the start of our vacation :sohappy::sohappy:, I decided to go ahead and do a little pre-TR. So let's start with our cast of players, shall we?
~DH, the love of my life, who became a dedicated WDW fan after our first experience with the World and is as excited as his children to be returning.
~Myself, who can't think of a better way to end our summer vacation than by walking down Main Street USA.
~DD, 12, who can't wait to visit Pixie Hallow (*inwardly groans*) and get an even better score at Toy Story Mania on this trip.
~DS, 7, who has been patiently marking off his countdown calendar, and talking nonstop about Toy Story Mania, the Lego store at Downtown Disney, and meeting Pluto and Minnie. I should also add that he is high-functioning autistic, so much of our planning involves accomodating his particular special needs. He has an awesome big sister who is a wonderful help to her parents in that regard.

So why the loooong title? :lol: Well, all of the things we celebrate in our family actually happen during the kids' school year. We made the decision to move our trip from November back to August, so the kids wouldn't miss any extra school days (with a child in middle school, it's no longer easy to pull them out). We are only about two weeks shy of our 18th wedding anniversary, so what a better gift to give one another than a Disney vacation? And thanks to Pam from Kingdom Konsultants and a well-timed discount, we were able get a room at the Contemporary with a Magic Kingdom view! :sohappy::sohappy:

So that's it! 18 years of marriage and two wonderful children later, we are embarking on our third adventure to Florida! I'll lay out our itinerary and dining plans in my next post. Thanks for reading! :wave:

 

[PotteryGal]

We have arrived!

Hello from sunny Florida!

We arrived at our favorite place to be around 11:15 this morning. Our trip went pretty well, despite the early morning start on Saturday of three a.m. My husband toiled bravely forth with a can of Red Bull (which he stated was pretty nasty - he feels tasting his first Beverly will be somewhat similar). We checked into our hotel in Brunswick GA by 4 p.m. Saturday afternoon and had a yummy supper at a Steak-n-Shake across the road. We all slept very well (obviously) last night

Today we were on the road a little before 8 and had a very good trip down. We went first to Downtown Disney and headed straight to the Lego store. DtD hot and insanely crazy. Here's a pic of DH and DS w/ a transformer Lego statue outside the store:

Next we headed to Earl of Sandwich, and ordered our lunch. DS was, by this point, becoming very hot and grumpy. Too much to take in, I think. Wasn't interested in lunch, so I gave up on eating myself, with the intention of just taking the sandwich with me when we checked in. Unfortunately, by the time we checked in, it had been too long and was no longer edible. More on that later...Anyway after DH and DD hurriedly ate their lunch, we headed over to the nearby carousel and the kids took a ride:

After a quick stop into Once Upon the Toy, we decided to head to our check-in at the Contemporary. More pics up next!

 

[PotteryGal]

Check-in at the Contemporary was a quick process, as I had done on-line check-in earlier in the week. I think we were there 10 minutes tops...which was great, as DS was rapidly needing to have some downtime.
All I can say about our room is.....wow. So much room! Here's a couple of pics of the inside: This folds down into a very nice daybed for DS to use

Here's a nice desk space and one of the two queen beds:

And last but definitely not least, the VIEW from our balcony:

After we did a little relaxing and shopping here at the CR, we headed over to our first TS ressie at Trail's End. Got there a little late, but were seated almost immediately. Our server's name was Jackie and she was wonderful. We were given Anniversary buttons when we checked in today, and I'm making DH wear his all week...hee. Anyway, they all asked how many years we've been married, including Jackie, and what our first names were....needless to say, I knew something was up. Well, it was...Trail's End style. Jackie yelled to get everyone attention, and said something along the lines of, "This year we are celebrating all kinds of things, and today we want to acknowledge a couple here who are celebrating 18 years of marriage...since we weren't able to be at their wedding, I want them to stand up and recreate the kiss they gave one another back then. On the count of three, and then we'll all yell 'Yee-haw' ". No, I have no pics to share with y'all, but we were good sports and complied with her wishes, and were presented with a complimentary serving of strawberry shortcake. :slurp::slurp: Right after that, another couple was given the same sort of attention, only in their case it was 53 years! :sohappy: They were there with their kids/grandkids. Very nice people...we chatted a little bit on the way back to our hotel...they were staying at the WL.
After getting back to the hotel, I was happy to take a quick shower and here I am chatting with y'all. Our beds face the castle , and we will be watching Wishes from our room tonight. Tomorrow, we go to Magic Kingdom!

 

[DisneySam]

:sohappy: You guys made it to the World!

Looks like you're having a great time already. OMG that view Jenny! What a great room at the Contemporary. Now it's definitely on my list for 2010 to stay there.

Hope you guys have a great evening! Enjoy the "Good Morning Song" at the MK tomorrow!!!! :wave:

 

[WishIWasAtWDW]

loving the live trip report! and that room view is AMAZING! i really need to stay at the contemporary again. can't wait to read more!

 

[Pongo]

:sohappy:

Great TR, Jenny! I'm so jealous, but I can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip!!!! AWESOME view!!!

 

[PSU_Princess]

Wow! What a view! Hope you guys have a great trip...wish I was there having fun too!

 

[Disnut]

Love the room.
Love the TR also.

 

[nibblesandbits]

Wow! Jenny!!! That view is FABULOUS!!!! I am so jealous!!! And the Contemporary looks amazing too. I am going to have to someday buck up the money to stay there sometime.

And may I just say, I think it's been a while since I've seen a picture of Abby, but she is looking more beautiful every day!!! (Her hair looks darker too...) And of course, Joel, looks like his typical impish self.

And what a cool thing for them to do at Trails End! How did you like the food from there? Did you love it?

Can't wait to read more tomorrow. You're my sanity until my trip arrives! :lol:

 

[PotteryGal]

You guys made it to the World!

Looks like you're having a great time already. OMG that view Jenny! What a great room at the Contemporary. Now it's definitely on my list for 2010 to stay there.

Hope you guys have a great evening! Enjoy the "Good Morning Song" at the MK tomorrow!!!!

'

We will certainly try to be there. Joel woke up this a.m. a little before 6, but I was awake anyway...can't sleep here...too excited.

loving the live trip report! and that room view is AMAZING! i really need to stay at the contemporary again. can't wait to read more!

Really like it here...I can't get over how you can't hear the monorail. What I also like is if you go out of our room into the hall and look out the windows to the right you can see Spaceship Earth in the distance.

:sohappy:

Great TR, Jenny! I'm so jealous, but I can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip!!!! AWESOME view!!!

Thanks Luke!

Wow! What a view! Hope you guys have a great trip...wish I was there having fun too!

Thanks Chrissy! I hope you can get down here soon. Mia would just take everything in with those beautiful big eyes of hers.

Love the room.
Love the TR also.

Thanks Susan!

Wow! Jenny!!! That view is FABULOUS!!!! I am so jealous!!! And the Contemporary looks amazing too. I am going to have to someday buck up the money to stay there sometime.

And may I just say, I think it's been a while since I've seen a picture of Abby, but she is looking more beautiful every day!!! (Her hair looks darker too...) And of course, Joel, looks like his typical impish self.

And what a cool thing for them to do at Trails End! How did you like the food from there? Did you love it?

Can't wait to read more tomorrow. You're my sanity until my trip arrives! :lol:

Trail's End food was amazing...they had this absolutely awesome hash brown casserole made with red-skin potatoes....omigosh, I could have eaten a whole plate of that stuff. :slurp:
And thanks for referring the Joel as impish.....not quite the word that would have come to my mind. :lol: He just about went to a serious meltdown over all the sound at Trail's End, especially after the anniversary thing. Mike finished up his shortcake and wisked him outside to the playground. But so much all at once....we just haven't found a way to ease him gradually into everything. :shrug:

I sat in my bed last night and watched Wishes....if you turn to channel 20 down here, they play the accompanying music in perfect synchro....it's a perfect way to watch it. I'm hoping to video and take still photos both this week.

So..today's agenda....Magic Kingdom all day! We hope to do Fantasyland/Toontown this morning....followed by an afternoon break here at CR, then an early supper at 4:50 at Crystal Palace. We'll see after that whether Joel wants to stay for more fun; if not, one of us will stay behind w/ Abby, and the other will bring him back here.

 

[Beccone]

What a beautiful view from your room, so jealous! Loving your trip report, looking forward to reading more. Let us know how the weather is this week, I'll be there in 4 days and we are already stressing about the heat, lol.

 

[heartodisney]

Jenny! I am SSOOO glad you made it! Thanks for pics of the room! They are GREAT! Have a great one!

 

[k.hunter30]

LOVE that view, Jenny! SO GLAD you guys are having a good time! :sohappy:

 

[HollyBelle]

Yay, you made it!! I just love the Contemporary.

I can't wait to read about your day at the Magic Kingdom. At this very moment you're probably checking in for dinner at the Crystal Palace. :sohappy:

 

[mouselvrmom]

Your room is AMAZING!!! I can't wait for more updates! :sohappy:

 

[PotteryGal]

Our Day at the Magic Kingdom

Hello everyone!

At this moment I'm back at the CR after a very long day...feet are bugging me some, so it's nice to chill. We unfortunately got to the MK about 5 minutes too late to see the opening ceremony. The line was huge both for bag check and ticket entry....we made our way in and first picked up Joel's GAC, then headed for Fantasyland. There was no line for the Tea Cups, so we rode that first. The kids wanted to ride together, so it was nice to ride with my hubby for a change.

After that we headed for Winnie the Pooh and rode that...of course by that time the line for Dumbo was ridiculous, so we headed for Philharmagic and saw that. In the past Joel hasn't liked it because of sensory overload...this time he wore the 3-D glasses some and squealed a lot when things came at us, although the sound still bothered him a little. Afterward we did a little shopping and then headed for ToonTown. Joel and Abby wanted to ride the Barnstormer, and because of his autism was allowed to enter at the exit and ride it twice in a row. They loved it! First time for both of them. Of course with Donald's Boat next door, getting wet became the next priority for the boy. :lol:

Next both kids wanted to meet the fairies...once again our GAC came in handy and we were allowed to wait in a different location and for a shorter time. Today Rosetta, Tink, and Iridessa were waiting to say hi:

Next we were ushered in to see the princesses - which we weren't expecting to see. I have to say, the CMs were absolutely awesome with our son. Explaining to him what would happen and where to stand...and the fairies got him to talk and interact with him. Asking him where he was from and if it was a long way to fly to get there. Just wonderful to see them.
Up next, pics with Aurora, Cinderella, and Belle!

 

[PotteryGal]

First we met Aurora. She referred to Joel as Prince - he said 'Hello Sleeping Beauty!' and said Thank you when they were done:

She commented to me what wonderful manners he had. Next was Cinderella, who noticed Mike's and my anniversary pins and asked me where I met my prince :animwink::

Finally we met Belle, who asked Joel if he liked to read like her, and overall was very sweet, just like the others. Joel said thank you to all three princesses...so much independent language coming from him it was awesome to see. We were also able to do without the stroller so far, which saved us so much time.

After leaving the Fairies and Princesses, we visited Minnie's House and then went over to catch the train and the Toontown station. We made a trip completely around the MK, and then exited to have lunch at Cosmic Ray's. Food was hot, delicious, and I only have two words left: cheese sauce. :slurp: Once again, Joel surprised me speaking to the CM who began wiping our table as we left, by looking at her name and telling her thank you by name. Wow!

Overall, the crowds were quite manageable. Very easy to navigate around the park. We were, however, ready for a break. I could feel the beginnings of a blister , and Mike and Abby wanted some pool time. Joel and I have more limited tolerance for the heat and were content to stay in the room for the afternoon.

We returned to the MK for a dinner ressie at the Crystal Palace, followed by a trip to the Monsters' Laugh Floor and a ride on Buzz. I don't have the pics uploaded from our evening on my computer yet. I hope to post those in a day or two. Tomorrow we have a day planned at DHS, and Abby and I hope to have mother-daughter time that evening at Epcot. So it may not be till Wednesday till I can post more. Hope this tides y'all over in the meantime. :lol:

 

[Disnut]

Love it so far.
Joel sounds like he is surprising you all over the place.

 

[diddy_mouse]

Love the trip report so far! Your room at the contemporary?...Gorgeous! And it sounds like you all are having a lot of fun.

 

[Nemo14]

Sounds like Joel is having a great time. Good luck getting him out of there now! :lol:

 

[Beccone]

Thank you so much for posting about your Pixie Hollow experience. We are going in next week and I was super nervous that we would not be able to see Tink (a favorite of all my 3 youngest) because the lines are always crazy. My ds6 is on the spectrum along with other special needs and we get the GAC but I know it doesn't always apply for the character meet and greets. Last year a few CM's ushered us to the front of the line when they saw my son's pass but it was not something that we expected. Glad to know that we may actually get to see Tink