Trip Report **COMPLETE** The "SURPRISE!!! We're not going to Pittsburgh... We're going to Disney World!!" TR

Hi everyone! My family and I just got back from an amazing week at the Beach Club Villas and I'm going to try my best to do a trip report, because I learned SO much by reading everyone else's on here.

First off, for full disclosure, I realized as I was looking through our pics after we got back, that other than one Lapu Lapu and several Mickey Bars, I didn't take one. single. food pic. My only excuse is that I was so excited to eat all the delicious food that I didn't take the time to photograph it. So if you read trip reports for the food pics, you will be sorely disappointed with my TR.
I did, however, eat a TON of delicious food, and kept good notes, so hopefully that will make up for the lack of pics.

This was our first family trip to WDW. This is our family-

Kevin and me

Calvin and Claire


I (Michelle) went to Disney World in 1994 when I was 14 with my family to the MK, Epcot and MGM Studios. I also went to the MK for one day trips in 1998 and 2005. My husband (Kevin) went to the MK in 1978 as a 5 year old and remembers nothing. This was the WDW experience between the two of us.
I am, however, a huge lover of all things Disney and have been dreaming of taking my kids to Disney World since before they technically existed.
So last summer, I told my husband "That's it. Claire is three and Calvin is five. They are the perfect age for Disney magic. We are going to Disney World next February break". Since I do all of our vacation research, planning and prep (a mutual choice, not because I'm some control freak ), he basically nodded and went along with it. And I'm pretty sure he loves me and knew how important this trip was to me.

So after much research and planning, we decided to rent points through David's to stay at the Beach Club for a week. We also decided to keep it a secret from our kids and to tell them the day before we left. We live about an hour south of Buffalo NY in a frozen tundra called Lakewood. Seriously though, it has been flipping freezing this winter, more so than usual, and I was beyond ready to escape the cold. We told our kids about two weeks before we were set to leave, that we were going to a hotel in Pittsburgh (we were flying out of Pittsburgh) with an indoor pool. They were so excited about this. I couldn't WAIT to tell them we were actually going to Disney World.
But based on my son's reaction when we told them, I think I may have gone a little overboard with the Disney jug we kept on the counter and saving our money up for our "someday in the very far off future" trip to Disney World. Next up is their reaction when we told them...

 

[mishel635]

After this we wanted to get some more rides in since we hadn't done much when we were here on Monday.

We saw that the line for the Great Movie Ride was only 15 minutes so we decided to do that before our
Fastpass for Star Tours. This ride was great!!!! We all loved it, especially the part where the cowboy took over the ride. The kids recognized John Wayne because he's my dad's favorite actor. They couldn't wait to tell Papa that they saw John Wayne at Disney World! I was worried this ride might be a little too intense for them but they loved it. And Claire was so excited about the Wizard of Oz part.

These were the only decent pics I was able to get without using a flash...

I don't know why, but this guy creeped me out a little bit!

Sorry, a little blurry...

After this, we headed over to our Fastpass for Star Tours since we all really wanted to go on again and see if we had a different mission this time. The kids were very happy that Yoda talked to us this time! Star Tours is definitely one of our favorite rides!

Ever since Kevin and Calvin had made their own light sabers earlier in the week, Claire has been saying, "I wish I would have made my own light saber" with a sad face.... so when we got to the Star Wars store, I asked Claire if she wanted to have her own light saber to fight with Daddy and Calvin and she yelled "YES!"

SO we made our way over to make another "lifesaver" as Claire would say... (you need one to fight "Dark Vader" you know)

She looked up at me when we were looking at the color choices (red, green and purple) and she said, "Mom, normally I would pick purple, but I want my lifesaver to be like Master Yoda's so I want green." She cracks me up.


Hard at work...

Her upper half says "I want to kick some bad guy butt", but her lower half says "I'm a princess".

She was so happy! And she and Calvin were already planning an epic battle back at the room and were strategizing how they were going to beat Daddy!

 

[MissPotts]

Just caught up on your trip report, LOVE it! The notes from the characters every morning is such a cute idea!

 

[morningstar]

Her upper half says "I want to kick some bad guy butt", but her lower half says "I'm a princess".

No problem. Star Wars princesses do kick bad guy butt. I wonder if Bibbiti Bobbiti Boutique does Leia buns.

 

[mishel635]

After this we headed over to the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular. Claire calls him "AnnieAnnie Jones" so of course I was finding as many reasons as I could to have her say his name.
We love the movies so the kids couldn't wait to see this. In fact, one of my ringtones is the Indiana Jones theme song so they kept making me play it while we were waiting for the show to start.
The kids really enjoyed this. The stunts were awesome and there were a lot of funny parts. Kevin and I agreed though that we would have liked it better if it was just a show without all the "backstage" parts, even if it were a little shorter. I shouldn't complain though, it really was an awesome show!

We saw some Photopass photographers and did some Magic Shots.


Make a wish...

Tink!!!

After this we walked around, made a few more pennies, and debated between grabbing a snack or grabbing lunch at Pizza Planet. None of us was very hungry, so we decided on snacks. That's one of my favorite things about Disney World, ice cream is a perfectly acceptable lunch!

The kids wanted Mickey Bars, and since we were right next to Starring Rolls, I decided to grab cupcakes for Kevin and me. I saw the Butterfinger cupcake and couldn't resist!!! It looked SO big so I decided Kevin and I should probably split one. After taking a bite of it though, I immediately regretted that decision! That thing was amazing!!!


Took our snacks to go wait for the boat back to our resort. We had plans to head to Downtown Disney. Calvin is a Lego fanatic and he couldn't wait to get to the Lego store!!

We love Mickey Bars!

Took the boat back to the Beach Club and the kids were pretty tired so we decided to grab a quick nap. We had an ADR at Fulton's at 7:00pm.

Got some more pics of our amazing resort. I seriously couldn't get over how beautiful it was!

It was about this time that I started feeling a little sad, realizing that this was our last full day at Disney World. I was actually thinking of ways we could try and stay longer! I started wishing we had driven so we could try to stay 1 or 2 more nights, but with our flights home, I knew it wasn't a possibility... So sad.


We went back to the room and the kids were asleep pretty quickly!

Up next... Downtown Disney!!!!

 

[wishes2013]

I love all the kids outfits, especially Claire's dresses. The kids are adorable, and it sounds like they had a great first trip!

 

[mishel635]

Great trip report so far. Love reading and your kids are cuties!

Thanks! I'm having so much fun writing it!

Your family is precious!

Breakfast at Chef Mickey's is the best of the three options. I've had Thanksgiving dinner there, and it's so-so.

Thanks! I will have to keep it a breakfast option!

Great report!

Thanks so much for following along!

Sentimental sap? You're in good company! Just reading about you sharing "A Whole New World" moment with your family gets me misty-eyed!

Reading your report is really scratching the Disney itch. Can't wait till my next trip!

Glad I'm not the only one! Thanks for reading along!

I'd been waiting for this part of your review. I haven't posted about Ohana yet in my TR but I'm sure glad you didn't have the wait we did. DH and I had a 50 minute wait. I had these grand ideas of viewing Wishes on the beach at the Poly and then walking up to our ADR that was at 8:10 (Wishes was at 8 that night). It was raining so that part didn't work out but I guess everyone seated at Ohanas that had a view of Wishes decided to sit tight until the end, which I totally understand, but that put everyone after them way behind. I've heard that Ohanas has a bad rap for long waits, but 50 minutes was a little much for me.

Glad it worked out for you guys.

Sorry you had such a long wait! That stinks!

I'm loving all the disney themed outfits! Thinking of hiring you to do my wardrobe before my august trip!

Thanks! It's an obsession! I LOVED finding all of their outfits. Doing it for other people would be a dream job!

I've been singing Colors of the Wind all day!!!

That's a great song to have in your head!

The gnome-mobile, the gnome mobile, let's all go to the gnome mobile.

I love Pete's Dragon, expect for "Candle on the Water." That song should be banned.

SO glad someone else knows the Gnome-Mobile!!! We love it!
And I guess that song is a BIT much!

Love the daily letters! My husband did that for my son on our first trip as a family. He really believed the letters were from Mickey! We found the paper at a craft store and downloaded the disney font. Even found Disney stickers that looked like seals. Each morning he would wake up and run to the door and find a letter. It would set the mood for the day and let him know which park he was going to. Since we had the deluxe dining plan everything was on a tight schedule so there wasn't room for spontinaity. He still keeps the letters even though he is a teen now. This is an inexpensive memoir your little ones will be able to cherish for years.

Awwww! That is great! I already have ours put away in their "Memories" box.

Just caught up on your trip report, LOVE it! The notes from the characters every morning is such a cute idea!

Thanks so much, and thanks for following along!

No problem. Star Wars princesses do kick bad guy butt. I wonder if Bibbiti Bobbiti Boutique does Leia buns.

Hahaha! That would be awesome if they did! (Although I'm sure Claire wouldn't sit still for them! )

I love all the kids outfits, especially Claire's dresses. The kids are adorable, and it sounds like they had a great first trip!

Thanks so much!

So many things to comment on:

1) LOVE the Buzz dress. If my little sister could have had something like that at Claire's age, she would have never taken it off.
2) Aww, the lifesaver!!
3) I love that you guys do pressed pennies! We've done those for years (BTW, to give them an extra polish when you get home, soak them in vinegar, then rub with ketchup. Yep, crazy.)
4) I also love that your kids know John Wayne, and Indiana Jones, and The Wizard of Oz. Too many kids only know video game characters, and don't know the classic. That makes my heart smile!

Thanks so much for following along! Kevin and I love to share our favorite movies with them. It's so much fun!

 

[mishel635]

We went to the bus stop to get to Downtown Disney. I wish we would have taken a cab though, since we waited almost 40 minutes for a bus!! Oh well, got to Downtown Disney and the kids loved it! It's just got such a fun atmosphere! Calvin was chomping at the bit to get to the Lego Store!
Headed over there and they started playing right away!

Buzz and Woody! Lego Style!

Lots of Snow White Lego Creations.... Claire was loving it!!!

We headed over to The World of Disney store. WOW!!! That place is amazing!! We could have spent hours in there! I grabbed a sweatshirt, Kevin grabbed a t-shirt and hat, Calvin got a hat and sweatshirt, and Claire got a baby Minnie Mouse and a hoodie. I also a bunch of picture frames, magnets, etc.... Next time, we are definitely planning a full day at DTD!

Headed over to Fulton's for our 7:00 ADR. I don't know if you've noticed a pattern in our TR, but I am a HUGE seafood fan, so I was really looking forward to this ADR.

We were seated fairly quickly at a table with a view of the volcano at the Rainforest Café. The kids loved watching the volcano erupt! Our server's name was Robert and he was great! Very friendly, efficient and knowledgeable.

Our meal was VERY good! For appetizers, Kevin got the fish tacos which I tried and they were really good!!! I got the clams and mussels and they were OUTSTANDING!!!!! I can't even begin to explain how good they were. They seriously were the best clams and mussels I think I've ever had. They were so fresh and the white wine butter sauce they were in was SO good! If you're ever there, definitely get them!!!

Kevin had the ribeye for his entree and he said it was in the top 5 steaks he's ever had. I had the Alaskan king crab legs and they were HUGE!!! Very sweet and flavorful. Calvin had the cheeseburger and Claire had the mac and cheese with fruit and they both ate almost all of it.

For dessert, the kids had sundaes. Kevin had the Tollhouse cookie sundae that he said was very good. I had the chocolate crème brulee which was good, but I definitely like traditional crème brulee better.

All in all, this was a very good meal, and I am glad we went, but I don't know if I would choose it as a 2 credit meal again. We would probably try something different. But I would definitely recommend it. Very good!!

We made a quick stop at Goofy's Candy Co to use up our snack credits. We left with many cake pops, cupcakes, rice crispy treats and chocolate! Yum!


Went to the bus stop and only had to wait about 10 minutes for a bus. However, from the time we left the bus stop, til we got to the Beach Club, was 40 minutes! I heard people talking on the bus about the construction and how it is adding to bus times so I am guessing that's what was going on.

We definitely had a lot of fun at DTD and next trip we will spend a whole day there.

Up next- our last day at Disney World- breakfast at Cape May and a pool day!!!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Loving the outfits! Sooooo cute I'm also glad I was reading this while the kids were in bed. Sammie is begging for a light saber and I think she'd go nuts if she saw the build your own. Also glad you enjoyed 1900 PF breakfast! My Fave Can't wait to read more!

 

[FlaggNL]

This show really was just perfect to me... I had never seen it before and now I can't wait to see it again!!!!

The show looks marvelous. Can't wait to see it next October... but probably gonna compare it with Disney Dreams in DLP and don't know if it even will come close

 

[mishel635]

I really was dreading this day... I was so sad when I woke up and realized we would be back in New York in less than 24 hours. But, I was determined to enjoy every last second with my family in Disney World. The Magical Express wasn't picking us up until 3:05.

The kids found their last magical note at Disney World...

We had a breakfast ADR at Cape May, then we were going back to the room one last time to put on our swim stuff and spend one last day at the pool. They were calling for showers in the afternoon but we knew we could at least get a few hours in at Stormalong Bay. We were planning on lunch at Beaches and Cream, and then I was going to grab dinner from Hurricane Hanna's to go to eat at the airport for dinner since our flight wasn't until 6:00.

Quick picture in my favorite room...

We waited a few minutes for our table at Cape May Café. This buffet was great. Everything we had was good. I think for our next trip we may do it our first morning and our last morning, just because it's so convenient if you're staying at the Beach Club. Even though there were only three characters, it was perfect Minnie is Claire's favorite and Calvin really loved his interactions with Donald and Goofy during the week. They are just so funny and do such a great job interacting with the kids and making them laugh...



First up... GOOFY!!!

Surfing with Goofy!!!!!!

Next up was Donald!

We had a couple minutes until Minnie was going to be at our table, so we had a few thumb war tournaments. This, I Spy, and Slap Hands were all popular time killers while we were waiting for various reasons throughout the week.

 

[SarahBella82]

I'm sad your report will be finished soon. It has been so fun following along with your family's trip. Your kids are adorable-- and it seems like they did a spectacular job with all the stimulation, waiting, and excitement.

 

[mishel635]

Before we knew it, Minnie was at our table!

I love the look on Claire's face in this picture...

We finished up breakfast and headed back to our room. Ran into a small problem... one of our big pieces of luggage broke while I was zipping it closed and we had to run to the Marketplace to buy one to replace it. That was $179 I was NOT planning on spending, but we are now the proud owners of a very nice, and hopefully higher quality than our last one, piece of official Walt Disney World luggage!

One last pic in our room....

Kevin stayed to get all of our luggage where it needed to go, and the kids and I headed off for Stormalong Bay!!!!!

Decided to take a few more pictures around the resort while we still had the chance...


The courtyard outside of our building...

The Little Mermaid statue who was greeted every time we were coming or going....

A hug for Ariel...

 

[mishel635]

A cast member was nice enough to take a picture of the kids and me. I was telling some of my more "skeptical of Disney" friends, that this right here is part of why I love Disney so much. Yes, you pay more for a Disney vacation than you would to go a lot of other places. But at Disney World, they go above and beyond in so many ways (at least in our experience).... Any meal we had was really good, any cast member we dealt with went above and beyond, all the attractions are interesting and enjoyable, everything is clean, etc.... It's worth it to us! (Can you tell I'm already ready to go back? )

Got to Stormalong Bay and it wasn't near as crowded as it was earlier in the week... it was cloudy but didn't look like it was going to rain anytime soon.

Swimming around with some ducks....

Sand Castle Building!

Building the moat...

Words can't even begin to describe how badly we did not want to leave........

We were able to swim for about four hours but around 1:00 (which was about 20 minutes before we were going to get out and dried off to grab lunch at Beaches and Cream) there was lightning spotted and they had to get everyone out of the pool.

We went to the bathroom and changed into real clothes, but by the time we got to Beaches and Cream, there was a wait and they said it could be up to an hour. Since we couldn't chance missing the DME, we decided, "Hey! It's our last day in Disney World! Ice cream for lunch it is!!"

I had an ice cream sandwich and the kids and Kevin each had a waffle cone from Beaches and Cream's ice cream to go area.

 

[mishel635]

We ate out on the patio. It had stopped raining by then, so we hung out there for a bit while the kids worked on their ginormous ice cream cones!!

Hamming it up!!!!

When it's warm out, Claire's normally curly at the ends hair, turns into all over ringlets... I was sad thinking that I probably won't see these again until June back home...

We went to the arcade after this and played there for a bit. We thought about heading over to the Boardwalk but I didn't think an hour was enough time over there. The kids loved the arcade and they were also able to do a few more pressed pennies there.

Before we knew it, it was time to grab our dinner to go and head over to pick up our carry on luggage. Claire looked at me and said, "Mom, I'm tired. Can we go back to our room?" It was then that I realized it hadn't sunk in earlier when I told her it was our last day here. I explained it to her again and she said, "But I don't want to leave Disney World" and got teary eyed. I hear ya kid... Talk about breaking my heart.

I grabbed dinner from Hurricane Hanna's. This time I tried a grilled chicken and avocado sandwich which ended up being delicious even a few hours later. The kids and Kevin had the same as last time there- bacon cheeseburger for Kevin, grilled cheese and a cheeseburger to split for Calvin and Claire.

One last pic in the lobby...

One last pic in front of the resort.....

Seriously, I wanted to cry, but I held it together for Calvin and Claire... How did eight days go by already?????


We had one last magical moment on the Disney Magical Express though... Calvin looked over at me and said, "Mom, look!"

His first loose tooth!!! (I did start crying then... sentimental sap, remember???)

I heard my phone buzz and Kevin had sent me this from a few rows back....

Poor thing was exhausted! Before we knew it we were at the airport, where I have to be honest, I wish we didn't have 2 1/2 hours to kill. But, at least it was MCO and not BUF!!!!

She slept like this for about 15 minutes through the airport.

 

[mishel635]

We let the kids play around the fountain for awhile...

One last picture in Florida....

We visited the Disney Store and then played out here for a bit...

One last hug for Mickey!

We ate our dinner and then got in the ridiculously long line for security. The line when we left Pittsburgh had about 5 people ahead of us (granted it was 7am) and this one probably had about 100 people ahead of us. But we waited it out, and made it through (after a 10 minute wait to discover I had forgotten one small water bottle in the bottom of my huge Disney bag that I had taken every day to the parks.... whoops! )

Got on our flight and took off without a problem. The kids were definitely not as excited about this flight though as they were on the way down. Understandably.

About halfway through our flight, Claire looks up at me and says "I'm just not good at this flying thing Mommy". I asked her if she wanted to draw or read or play her leappad, and she said "No that won't help. Only landing the plane will help."

They really enjoyed seeing all the lights of Pittsburgh as we descended though. Beautiful...

We were waiting for our shuttle and I looked at the kids and just had to snap this picture. They were visibly less happy at the Pittsburgh Airport this time than they were eight days ago... Poor kids. I feel your pain.

It was about this time that Claire said to me and Kevin, "Hey guys, what if we go back to Disney World, and stay there, and then Disney World can be our home???" You know we have all probably thought the same thing at some point in our lives! I did just that day! Disney World probably employs nurses somewhere right????


Took the shuttle and the kids were asleep within the ten minutes it took to get to our van at the hotel. We transferred them and our luggage into our van and we were on our way from Pittsburgh to our house. It was about 14 degrees out.


The roads were not bad. Made it home by midnight and the kids found this waiting for them in morning...

Well, that's it! We were back in the frozen tundra of Western New York. Overall, it was the most wonderful vacation we have ever taken with the kids and we all can't wait to get back to the World!!!

We are thinking two years from now when the kids are old enough to go from morning til night in the parks and then do every other day, park day and then resting at the Beach Club! For this age though, I wouldn't change a thing that we did. We had the most magical first family trip to Disney and I get sad thinking about how it went by so fast!!!

Thanks for following along and letting me relive our trip!!!

 

[MickeyisMyBestFriend]

Great trip report. I was sad you guys had to leave also. Hopefully I will another trip report soon

 

[DAKOTADISNEY]

I really enjoyed following along with you on your disney trip! Totally agree with you about cast members and how they go above and beyond to help you have a great vacation. You will have so many memories from this trip! Hope you do make it back in two years. Oh and your kids are absolutely adorable!

 

[morningstar]

I'd be so bummed on the last day hanging out around Disney World but not going to the parks. I'd spring for the extra day on the ticket even if I only had time to go for a half day. But luckily your kids seemed oblivious that the fun was coming to an end and had fun at the pool.

 

[Zipadeelady]

Thank you so much for sharing. I was reliving my trip through you!!

 

[Katie969]

I loved reading this report! Sounds like you guys had a wonderful time (and I sooo understand the sentimental tears as you leave!)