Trip Report COMPLETED- I Couldn't Love You, but Here's $0.25 in Souvenirs- Celebrating 10 Years of Kid Trips to Disney

We began our adventures early on the morning of February 5th. Just before 7am CT, we had my vehicle loaded up and ready to go. I’m not sure how we did it, but we managed some room for the dog so we could drop her off for boarding (aka Camp!) on our way out of town. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised. She gets comfortable in the strangest positions...

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I haven’t set foot in my office since March 16, 2020, so I have no idea what rush hour really looks like these days or if Fridays are still lighter traffic days...but it was a breeze getting out of Houston.

I have no pictures for you until shortly after Lafayette, LA. I was driving up until this point, but after a series of urgent texts from my boss, we decided to stop and switch drivers. I’m not a big fan of critical conference calls at the start of my vacation, but these days, I’m thankful to be gainfully employed. After I got off the phone, I took a few pics as we were driving through the Atchafalaya.

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It’s probably for the best that I wasn’t taking pics prior to this. Everything around Lake Charles, not too far west of this area, is still showing a lot of damage and tarps from the 2020 hurricane season, so it's pretty depressing. I also hate driving over the Mississippi in Baton Rouge, so I was pretty happy to have David at the wheel.

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Speaking of David (and everyone else), if you want all of the details, please take a look at my PTR. https://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/family-return-to-wdw-take-2.971452/

Now, if it looks rainy and gloomy...it’s because it was. We were at the leading edge of a front that was moving east. The rain stayed with us for a good portion of the drive.

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In light of everything Covid, we didn’t stop at any of our usual lunch spots. I packed a small cooler full of lunch stuff and we stopped at the Mississippi welcome center to eat. Unfortunately, it was really chilly, so we ate in the car. That didn’t stop a ton of pigeons from surrounding us in hopes that we’d drop some crumbs on the way to the trash.

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I was aiming for Tallahassee for the night. That’s usually where we wind up when we make good time, but we’d left so early that we were in Tallahassee by dinner time...even with losing an hour when crossing into the Eastern time zone. We didn't even have traffic with the tunnel in Mobile! Not sure why we decided on Whataburger when we have tons of them at home and this one was way off the highway, but we went a bit out of our way to eat at this one for who knows what reason. At least it had a nice little drive-in area to park and eat.

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Somewhere in between Pensacola and Tallahassee, we also developed a bit of a car problem…

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Somehow, my front sensor got blocked, which in turn disabled all of my front end safety features...as well as my cruise control. I’d had this happen once before, but it quickly corrected itself. This time, it wasn’t going away. The rest of the trip both to Disney and back would be done without cruise control. I felt like I’d jumped back in time to my first car!

We could have stopped for the night at this point. It was late enough that it wouldn’t have been crazy, but it was early enough that we felt the need to push on. So, I booked a hotel in Gainesville and we kept driving. I lived in Gainesville for several years in the early to mid 90s, so it always feels a bit strange to go back, but it was the best option for the night. It took a little bit of time to get all of our stuff upstairs, but by driving a bit farther this evening, we could all relax a bit and sleep in a little the next morning. And silly...we could be silly.

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We slept in a little on February 6th. I think it was around 9am when we went downstairs to grab some breakfast to bring back to the room. It was mainly just some cereal, fruit and hard boiled eggs. We couldn’t sit around too long, because we remembered that I forgot to get cash. I couldn’t remember if the toll plazas had switched to toll by plate (they had) and I’d need some cash for tips upon arrival at WDW. So, we waved good-bye to the LaQuinta…

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And headed to Publix…

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I didn’t spend a lot of time in there, but it was really strange, because this was the Publix we’d shop at when we lived in Gainesville. It just happened to be the closest to the hotel. It also was in the same shopping center as a restaurant I used to work at for a couple of years...so a real trip down memory lane.

With cash in hand (and an extra stick of deodorant purchased so I could get cash back), we were on our way to WDW. I also got some time to call and set up an appointment to get my vehicle in the shop when we got home (more on that later).

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David was driving, so I was actually able to take a few pics on my phone when we arrived.

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This was also his choice of arrival music. I still don’t get it, but he’s got a pretty fun Idina Menzel impersonation. I regret not taking video, but I was taking pictures.

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I’m sure most of us have experienced this, but between my phone, the MDE app, and our magic bands, they knew that we were on property. I immediately got notification that our room wasn’t ready, so I wasn’t expecting much upon arrival.

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After getting a multitude of welcome homes from the security booth attendant (Kendall had all kinds of questions about this practice), a very nice guy with bell services helped with our luggage (who looked kind of funny at the big air mattress I had in the mix) and a woman, who magically knew it was me, told me she’d messaged housekeeping to put a rush on our room. So, all there was left to do at this point was park and figure out what to do with ourselves while we waited. Since I’d canceled our B&C ADR, we didn’t have any place to be until 5pm...and it was 11:48am. Hey, I told Disney we’d be showing up around noon.

Coming up...managing the wait, first impressions on our room, and an evening in Disney Springs.
 

HouCuseChickie

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Here we are at February 9th...another DHS day. After David’s lackluster performance trying for Rise boarding passes on the 7th, I decided to tell him to just sleep in. This morning, it would be my dad and I trying.

I guess 5 must be my number, because I got through first and got us all into boarding group 5.

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I also love how the little droid goes through all of these fun things while you wait and watch. Side note...here’s me learning to use my screen record function. Maybe I’m not a tech moron!



My dad texted me shortly after, in shock that it happened so quickly. He said I must have beaten him to it by fractions of a second. Oh well, at least we have a boarding group.

No breakfasts planned today, so it was food in the room. My mom had a coupon for bagels, so she brought us a ton of bagels to vary up our in-room breakfast food. Hey...saving $$$ and sanity. Getting to those early morning ADRs can be pretty draining.

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We eventually met up downstairs and made our way to DHS…

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And we’re in.

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Not sure if you can tell by this first pic, but it’s definitely more crowded today. I thought we were just imagining it, and then I noticed at some point in the day that wait times reflected what we felt...which is odd to me. Our last day in DHS was a Sunday and crowds felt fairly light. Today was Tuesday and it felt so much heavier. Oh well...we were here.

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We knew it would be at least a little while for our boarding group, so we again focused on new. My parents never got to ride Mickey & Minnie before things closed down, so that’s where we went first.

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The line was definitely longer than it was the other day, but not too too long to get us to this point…

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I really wish I could remember what these two were doing right here. I’m sure David was messing with Sam to get her to crack up in line. Tickle torture.

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Still wanting to experience the pre-show. Someday.

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At first I thought we were going to wind up in the very back again, but we got sort of middle of the pack this time.

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HouCuseChickie

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I started having Haunted Mansion vibes from the glow of her bridal ears.

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I tried to get my angry little crab this time, but this was the best I could get.

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But I got the giant squid!

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It took me three rides to notice all of these Mickeys.

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It felt strange being back here for this. In our first two rides the other day, we were right up front for the smasher.

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After this, we decided to head to see if we could ride Smuggler’s Run. So, basically a repeat of two days ago.

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Not sure if anyone else noticed, but Sam has on a backpack, but that first shot of us walking over shows Kendall without. It wouldn’t get ugly today...but it would get ugly...soon.

I know the wait for the attraction was much longer than it was the other day...possibly close to an hour. Still, we walked back to take a look.

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One last mask and Epcot related note. We noticed in the WS that very few people were following the updated policy requiring people to be stationary when removing their mask to eat/drink. We saw a lot of masks pulled down while people were walking and drinking.


Coming up...what do we decide to do? Do we get in the line or do we wait it out for our boarding group?
 

Pooh'sBuddy

Well-Known Member
Here we are at February 9th...another DHS day. After David’s lackluster performance trying for Rise boarding passes on the 7th, I decided to tell him to just sleep in. This morning, it would be my dad and I trying.

I guess 5 must be my number, because I got through first and got us all into boarding group 5.

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I also love how the little droid goes through all of these fun things while you wait and watch. Side note...here’s me learning to use my screen record function. Maybe I’m not a tech moron!


Congrats, and I didn't notice the droid.

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HouCuseChickie

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I completely feel for you! I have a 16 year old who would forget his head if it wasn't attached! So frustrating and I am over it! Lol
Loved all the cake pictures!!

It is completely maddening! Yesterday, she forgot her lunch. Thankfully, I didn't get a frantic text that she was going to starve. Thanks! Can't go wrong with cake (usually!).
 

HouCuseChickie

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
So, did you only let the girls go off on their own if they were together? Or did you let them each go their own way?

We asked them to stick together. We usually ask the same of them when they go off for bike rides on the greenbelts in our town. Kendall usually bikes like a grandma and Sam wants to race around, so at some point, Sam typically will ditch Kendall. We anticipated some of that on the trip, but I guess they'd rather come back to us vs. going solo in the parks. I never said I'd punish them for splitting up, but they probably didn't want to lose the privilege...in case they found a way to coexist. As long as I didn't get a call from a CM over anything like this!

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Songbird76

Well-Known Member
We asked them to stick together. We usually ask the same of them when they go off for bike rides on the greenbelts in our town. Kendall usually bikes like a grandma and Sam wants to race around, so at some point, Sam typically will ditch Kendall. We anticipated some of that on the trip, but I guess they'd rather come back to us vs. going solo in the parks. I never said I'd punish them for splitting up, but they probably didn't want to lose the privilege...in case they found a way to coexist. As long as I didn't get a call from a CM over anything like this!

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Sam sounds like a pretty fierce young lady. Good for her! I always hated that my mom wouldn't let me go anywhere by myself. I was only a year younger than my brother, but he could go wherever solo and I couldn't go anywhere without him. Well, that's not exactly true...I could hang out with my friends in town and such, but if I wanted to go to the movies or something, my brother had to go with me. And it worked in high school for the most part....we had the same friends, so we'd just get a whole group together. But there were times when I wanted to be a teenage girl. Whenever we'd go to speech meets, or student counil convention, my brother would hover and make sure no guy flirted with his baby sister. There was always a dance at convention and I'd try to move around the room a bit, and then my brother would follow. He'd glare at anyone who looked in my direction.

And when we were Sam's and Kendall's ages, he took serious advantage of "being in charge". We were on vacation and mom gave us 50 cents to go get a soda from the vending machine with the stipulation that we had to share. But of course she gave the money to my brother, who promptly bought the kind of soda I wouldn't drink so he could have it all. She couldn't ask for the money back because it was already gone, and she didn't have any more, which was why we were supposed to share. It kind of sucks being the younger child in that situation. Your story of Kendall not wanting to stop anywhere except to get a pretzel reminded me of the soda debacle. I'm sure I sounded just like Sam when we got back to my mom. "He wouldn't get anything but this kind of soda, and he knows I don't like that kind!"
 

HouCuseChickie

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Sam sounds like a pretty fierce young lady. Good for her! I always hated that my mom wouldn't let me go anywhere by myself. I was only a year younger than my brother, but he could go wherever solo and I couldn't go anywhere without him. Well, that's not exactly true...I could hang out with my friends in town and such, but if I wanted to go to the movies or something, my brother had to go with me. And it worked in high school for the most part....we had the same friends, so we'd just get a whole group together. But there were times when I wanted to be a teenage girl. Whenever we'd go to speech meets, or student counil convention, my brother would hover and make sure no guy flirted with his baby sister. There was always a dance at convention and I'd try to move around the room a bit, and then my brother would follow. He'd glare at anyone who looked in my direction.

And when we were Sam's and Kendall's ages, he took serious advantage of "being in charge". We were on vacation and mom gave us 50 cents to go get a soda from the vending machine with the stipulation that we had to share. But of course she gave the money to my brother, who promptly bought the kind of soda I wouldn't drink so he could have it all. She couldn't ask for the money back because it was already gone, and she didn't have any more, which was why we were supposed to share. It kind of sucks being the younger child in that situation. Your story of Kendall not wanting to stop anywhere except to get a pretzel reminded me of the soda debacle. I'm sure I sounded just like Sam when we got back to my mom. "He wouldn't get anything but this kind of soda, and he knows I don't like that kind!"

They are both very strong willed kids, but in extremely different ways. Even though they sometimes fight, I like having them together when they go off like this because in theory, it's a good balance of approaches. Kendall is very vocal and more likely to ask for help...sometimes too often. Sam is more reserved, but she's naturally inclined to try and figure it out on her own...sometimes for too long. They are far enough apart in age that they won't be in the same school together until Sam starts high school, but the only thing I see becoming an issue is softball. I can't see either really encroaching or impeding the other one's social life, but Sam is the natural athlete. Don't get me wrong...Kendall can be really good when she puts in the effort, but if Sam sticks with softball, we could see both girls on the same team... and it could be drama.

That's part of why they had their own gift cards. I didn't want Kendall controlling $ earmarked for Sam. Kendall is also more likely to indulge while Sam is more stingy, so I had to factor in their differences in spending habits. I was not expecting Kendall to try and control where to stop for snacks. I should have, since that's how she can get and she's a hardcore planner that doesn't do as well with spontaneity. She'll ask us at 3pm on a Saturday what our plans are for dinner so she can structure the rest of her day accordingly. At least in this day and age of cell phones, Sam had the ability to send an SOS and let us know what was going on...and we could find them on GPS if we needed to. I'm sure she would have told Sam what kind of soda to get or ordered for her if given the opportunity, but with Sam having her own $, she could just walk up and order/pay on her own. At least they managed pretty well for several hours.
 

HouCuseChickie

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
The line was wrapped around outside to all kinds of crazy lengths and we didn’t want to be stuck and have our group called. So, we started to walk away…

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And it’s a good thing we did, because I got a push about our group being ready right around this time. So, we headed over to Rise. Things were kind of crazy over there too. You had some people clustered together waiting on their group to be called, some people queued up waiting for their group to be called, and others trying to jump into the line without any boarding group. I couldn’t hear all of what they were saying, but they started to get heated, the CM was trying to explain new groups would open at 1, and my mom got stuck in the middle of some of it. One person complaining tried to cut in front of her and started going on about all of these people now cutting them in line. I know my mom said something about having to have a called boarding pass and we went on our merry way. Still, it makes me wonder what CMs do if people get unruly about not being able to ride and not being able to follow the rules. Like at what point does security get called?

Well, we’re heading in and I’m trying to get some distance between us and the chaos up front.

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In a better spot for this part today…

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Due to party size, we had to split up a bit for this next part. David got the girls and I got my parents.

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We were towards the back because of the ECV, so I got some time for pictures.

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That reminds me...speaking of pictures, I had swapped out lenses for today (and the rest of this trip). Not a super pricey high end lens, but I had switched to an EF-S 24mm f/2.8 STM. It was a Christmas present from David. It’s so flat and tiny, but it was part of my research for buying a big telephoto for this summer. DHS was also the only park we were visiting twice, so it seemed less risky to use today for testing. I won’t yammer on about all of my research and the what’s and why’s, but from using this little lens (and if you want to see how little it is, go here… https://www.kenrockwell.com/canon/lenses/24mm-f28-stm.htm), it helped me tremendously with my telephoto choices for wildlife. In hindsight, I kind of regret not also switching it out here and there with my 50mm f/1.8 EF II. I’ve had this thing for a while and have only recently started using it with any great regularity, but I really should...since he seems to like it a lot as well. https://www.kenrockwell.com/canon/lenses/50mm-f18.htm I brought this out for one of the games over the weekend and the sharpness when cropping images is pretty impressive for the price point. Ok...I’ll get back on topic. LOL

So, we’re in the next stage of RotR…

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I was so caught up in being in there at a different vantage point that I didn’t even realize that man in front of me wasn’t David! Oooops. Thankfully, they didn’t hear me accidentally talking to them.

I didn’t even realize you could watch us take off into space from that back spot until this second ride!

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Now my parents got to be wowed by this part.

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Heck, I was still pretty wowed on my second time around. Even the CMs were saying they know how impressive it is and that even in capture, we could bask in the magnificence of their glory...or something grandiose like that. Of course, we had been captured and it was time to move on.

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HouCuseChickie

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
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Not sure why I was taking pics of all of this randomness. It’s not like the trash monster from Ep IV was going to come out and get me or anything like that.

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Now this is about the time I got in trouble the last time, and don’t worry...we got in trouble again. My mom and I were admiring these lovely storm troopers…

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...and we got reprimanded for disrespecting the First Order and not keeping in a single file line as instructed. Can’t take us anywhere! I swear it was the same CM from the other day...the kids agreed, but David insists it was a different guy. Either way, it’s always interesting being the one getting called out.

We were reunited with the rest of our party, but it appears that they’re pretending not to know us. At least they're dressed all Star Warsy today...well, two out of three. Kendall is in a Disney shirt...so that’s something.

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Oh no...we’re gonna get a talking to!

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Help is on the way!

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Now time to escape!

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Gotta love my hand reflection in all of these. Shows how terrified I am!

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HouCuseChickie

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
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Obviously...I’m also taking a lot more pictures this time. Hey, second time riding it and the camera comes out a lot more. Unfortunately, there were a number of cruddy ones, but still some more decent ones to share.

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Oh yea...the drop = best part of the ride.

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Still thoroughly impressed with this attraction. It’s an absolute home run for me and it’s the best thing I’ve seen Disney do in a LONG time. I was wondering how my parents would feel and they fully agreed.


Coming up...the kids leave us, then we trade them out for grandma and grandpa, and lunch, glorious lunch.
 

HouCuseChickie

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
When I rode the first (and only so far) time, my jaw was on the floor when I realized I was in an escape pod. Literally not even kidding, true mouth wide open, jaw on the floor. It would have been a great picture! :joyfull:

That would be a great place for them to put a camera. I'm sure it takes a lot of people by surprise. For those that are used to it, it would also make a fun photo op like you get with ToT, Splash, etc.
 

Songbird76

Well-Known Member
They are both very strong willed kids, but in extremely different ways. Even though they sometimes fight, I like having them together when they go off like this because in theory, it's a good balance of approaches. Kendall is very vocal and more likely to ask for help...sometimes too often. Sam is more reserved, but she's naturally inclined to try and figure it out on her own...sometimes for too long. They are far enough apart in age that they won't be in the same school together until Sam starts high school, but the only thing I see becoming an issue is softball. I can't see either really encroaching or impeding the other one's social life, but Sam is the natural athlete. Don't get me wrong...Kendall can be really good when she puts in the effort, but if Sam sticks with softball, we could see both girls on the same team... and it could be drama.

That's part of why they had their own gift cards. I didn't want Kendall controlling $ earmarked for Sam. Kendall is also more likely to indulge while Sam is more stingy, so I had to factor in their differences in spending habits. I was not expecting Kendall to try and control where to stop for snacks. I should have, since that's how she can get and she's a hardcore planner that doesn't do as well with spontaneity. She'll ask us at 3pm on a Saturday what our plans are for dinner so she can structure the rest of her day accordingly. At least in this day and age of cell phones, Sam had the ability to send an SOS and let us know what was going on...and we could find them on GPS if we needed to. I'm sure she would have told Sam what kind of soda to get or ordered for her if given the opportunity, but with Sam having her own $, she could just walk up and order/pay on her own. At least they managed pretty well for several hours.
It's really interesting, isn't it? How 2 kids, raised the same way by the same two parents, are completely different? My brother and I fought like cats and dogs when we were in elementary school. My brother is HUGE, and was always about twice my size, so he could always force anything physically. Once we got into high school, we became like best friends, and I was so sad and lonely when he went away to college. Most of my closest friends had either moved away or they were in my brother's year, so my senior year of high school, I didn't have many friends. But up until my brother was a sophomore and I was a freshman, we were like Sam and Kendall. My brother was always a spender, and I was always very frugal. But my mom saw my brother as being "the responsible one" (I don't know why....we were both pretty much straight A students, I was way better with money, and got into less trouble than he did, but HE was the responsible one.) so she always put him in charge. It's so good that you gave them both their own money, but I can see why you wouldn't have thought about Kendal controlling where to stop if they haven't been on their own together before. I'm sorry for laughing...I really shouldn't....it's just so familiar to me! My brother would have refused to stop anywhere just to spite me. He loved picking things he knew I didn't like, just to make me miserable, then he'd steal part of my meal just to make me mad. He wasn't a very nice older brother when we were kids.

Does Kendall freak out if she doesn't have everything planned or if you don't know what you are doing yet? My son will keep asking all day what's for dinner until I have an answer. If I haven't been to the store yet and don't know what we're eating, he's very agitated. And at Disney, he was fine as long as I could say "This is where we are going for dinner, and this is what they have that you like?" or "We're going here for dinner, but you won't eat there, so we'll get you fries somewhere else". Food is a whole issue for him, but it's more about WHAT he's eating than arranging his schedule.
 

HouCuseChickie

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
It's really interesting, isn't it? How 2 kids, raised the same way by the same two parents, are completely different? My brother and I fought like cats and dogs when we were in elementary school. My brother is HUGE, and was always about twice my size, so he could always force anything physically. Once we got into high school, we became like best friends, and I was so sad and lonely when he went away to college. Most of my closest friends had either moved away or they were in my brother's year, so my senior year of high school, I didn't have many friends. But up until my brother was a sophomore and I was a freshman, we were like Sam and Kendall. My brother was always a spender, and I was always very frugal. But my mom saw my brother as being "the responsible one" (I don't know why....we were both pretty much straight A students, I was way better with money, and got into less trouble than he did, but HE was the responsible one.) so she always put him in charge. It's so good that you gave them both their own money, but I can see why you wouldn't have thought about Kendal controlling where to stop if they haven't been on their own together before. I'm sorry for laughing...I really shouldn't....it's just so familiar to me! My brother would have refused to stop anywhere just to spite me. He loved picking things he knew I didn't like, just to make me miserable, then he'd steal part of my meal just to make me mad. He wasn't a very nice older brother when we were kids.

Does Kendall freak out if she doesn't have everything planned or if you don't know what you are doing yet? My son will keep asking all day what's for dinner until I have an answer. If I haven't been to the store yet and don't know what we're eating, he's very agitated. And at Disney, he was fine as long as I could say "This is where we are going for dinner, and this is what they have that you like?" or "We're going here for dinner, but you won't eat there, so we'll get you fries somewhere else". Food is a whole issue for him, but it's more about WHAT he's eating than arranging his schedule.

If you believe at all in personalities being tied to Zodiac signs, my mom says I got exactly what she was given. Kendall and I are a week apart and share the same sign. Sam and my brother are a week apart and they share the same sign. Kendall and I are not mirror personalities, nor is Sam identical to my brother, but there are many common traits. So when I deal with Kendall, I have to approach her from the way I tend to think. What motivates her and bothers her are often extremely similar to me. Even her arguments sometimes sound like something 14 year old me would have said. With Sam, I have to think about her the way I would with my brother. I don't think either kid is particularly frugal, but Kendall and I are more impulsive, whereas my brother and Sam are more thoughtful and can take great time with these things. My mom used to regret treating us at Toys R Us now and then, because he'd labor over his decision for what felt like hours, while I'd picked my treat toy before I ever set foot in the story and had it in hand in a matter of minutes. Sam and K are closer in age, so I think it will help with their bond. Sam's bday puts her after the school cutoff date, so she's 3 years behind K in school, but only about 2.25 years behind her in age. My brother and I are 5.25 years apart in age and were 6 years apart in school, so we were living in very different worlds growing up. We also moved from NJ to FL right after I graduated high school, while he was just at the start of middle school, so we really did grow up in very different environments.

I wouldn't say that she freaks out, but she gets annoyed. She's very type A and extremely bossy...to the point that it's cost her a number of friendships. She's extremely organized (hard to believe with everything she forgets) and is so detail oriented. In fact, I've learned from her why I need to shorten my own stories and just get to the point sometimes 🤣 For her, I think it's just that she likes to know the plan. If I can't commit to a dinner plan by a certain point, she will just make her own. She's not a picky eater, by any means, so I know that wasn't driving this either. I think she just wanted to be in charge and is still learning about how to be a team player.
 

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