Trip Report COMPLETED: The Cold(s) Didn't Bother Us Anyway

...well, maybe it / they did bother us a little bit, but we can get into that later!

If you missed my pre-trip report, you can find it here: https://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/what-am-i-getting-myself-into.934410/

Now let's get into the details:
WHO: Me (Kelli), my husband (Tim), son #1 (SJ) & son #2 (H)

WHEN: 1/15-1/20
WHERE: Disney's Pop Century Resort
WHY: Again, let's be real, this isn't necessary! But, if we really need a reason, I couldn't stand being away from my most favorite place any longer!! And, the kiddos were both "free" (as in, we didn't have to pay for tickets - but they eat about as much as a grown adult), so we had to take advantage before SJ turned 3. Also, on a personal note, the past couple of years have not necessarily been smooth sailing. We have overcome quite a lot of challenges, and we wanted to do something to celebrate! I can't think of any better way than to go to the happiest place on earth!

So, clearly we survived our crazy adventure, but did we stick to the plans, or did we wing it?! Was it "better than we expected"? (points for movie reference)

Only time will tell....

 

[PacNWTigger]

Definitely following along. Such adorable boys! I look forward to hearing more.

 

[riverside]

Can't wait to hear all about it!!

 

[MeeskaMooska0714]

Definitely following along. Such adorable boys! I look forward to hearing more.

Can't wait to hear all about it!!

Thanks for following along! Hope I don't disappoint

 

[becca_]

I'm here!! Can't wait - your boys are ADORABLE!!!

 

[LeighM]

Following along

 

[MeeskaMooska0714]

Arrival Day - 1/15/18: (sorry for the text heavy post)
We had a packed day (literally)...we hadn't packed all weekend. Tim was on call (and got called in...which never happens). SJ is getting ready for pre-school, so we had a classroom visit in the morning, followed by a physical therapy eval at our house. Plus we had to pack and leave the house all before my goal of 2pm.

We did all that, and left our house around 2:15, so not bad. I had been checking the Southwest app all day because some snow was in the forecast, but so far our flight was on time!

We headed to my parents house, dropped off the dog, and then my mom and brother followed us out there so we didn't have to leave our car.

Cue mishap number 1 of our trip! We unpacked the car and said our goodbyes and headed to the Southwest counter. One of our bags was over the weight limit, so we quickly switched some things over and we were on our way to security. As we entered the line, Tim says, "Uhhh, I still have the keys to the car"! My car just has a fob (so you just have to have the fob to turn the car on - no actual key). So, back we went to the front of the airport to call my mom and have her turn around. It ended up being fine, but I was to the point where I just wanted the trip to start!

Security was a breeze and we headed to our terminal to find out that our flight was delayed! Thankfully it was only about 45 minutes, so not terrible. We passed the time with some snacks, and then we were boarded and on our way in no time (after we waited like 20 minutes for the plane to de-ice). H is super observant, and he just loved looking out the window!

The boys did great for their first time flying!

We exited the plane, collected the stroller at the gate and we were off to the fonorail!

Cue mishap #2!

 

[MeeskaMooska0714]

I'm here!! Can't wait - your boys are ADORABLE!!!

Aww thank you!! Excited to see if we ever crossed paths!

 

[MeeskaMooska0714]

Following along

Thanks!

 

[MeeskaMooska0714]

We got off the fonorail, and I told Tim we had to take a picture with Mickey!

"Do we have to?"

What kind of question is that?!?! Of course we have to! Well...we didn't! And we should have, because if we did, we would have gone to side B of the airport instead of side A! We wandered around aimlessly on level 1 until we realized we were on the wrong side!

I had to chime in, "If we would have taken our picture with Mickey, we would be on the bus already!"

So, we made our way back up the elevator, to side B and down to DME. FINALLY!!!

Mickey's head turned green and we were on our way!!

We Facetimed with my parents for a bit while we waited to depart. I went to submit my Amazon Prime Now order, but they didn't have any delivery times available for the remainder of the night, so we had to switch that to the next evening. No biggie, except I was planning to get diapers from them, so we had to buy some from the gift shop at Pop. More on that later.

We arrived at Pop Century and headed straight to our room. We were in the 60s building, meaning, I wasn't hopeful that we would be getting a refurbed room. I was correct. (sorry...I didn't take any pictures of our room)
But, I did take a picture of Mowgli and Baloo who were right across from our building!

We dropped off our things in the room and I noticed there was no pack n' play like I had requested. We headed to Everything POP! to grab some dinner and a resort mug, and I called the front desk (because the line was super long) to have them send up a pack n' play. The boys (all 3) had pizza and I had the turkey sandwich on focaccia. This thing is HUGE, and it is delicious! I highly recommend! (You can see half of it in the picture below).

By now we were exhausted and ready to go back to the room and get settled. But....we still didn't have our luggage. I knew this was going to be an issue, and I fought with myself back and forth whether we should just get our luggage at baggage claim. Thankfully, I packed pjs for the boys in the carry on, so we were able to get them settled. In hindsight, we should have claimed our own luggage, because bell services didn't deliver it until about 11pm (totally my fault though)! Soon we were off to bed and dreaming about our next 4 days in the best place ever! Needless to say, I didn't sleep much (but who needs sleep when you are in Disney)!

Next up: Meeting the big cheese himself!

 

[Rista1313]

I'm in!!!!

 

[MeeskaMooska0714]

I'm in!!!!

Thanks for following!

 

[prfctlyximprct]

Your family is sooo cute!! I’m uploading my pictures and trying to see if you’re in the background of any! How weird would that be if we passed each other by in Disney World! Can’t wait to read all about your trip!! The cold bothered me! Why couldn’t Elsa have been a fire princess? LOL

 

[MeeskaMooska0714]

Your family is sooo cute!! I’m uploading my pictures and trying to see if you’re in the background of any! How weird would that be if we passed each other by in Disney World! Can’t wait to read all about your trip!! The cold bothered me! Why couldn’t Elsa have been a fire princess? LOL

Awww thank you! I can’t wait to read your trip report!
We left on Saturday, so I’m not sure if we would be in your pictures!
Seriously Elsa!! She was supposed to bring the cold and snow to our hometowns so we could stay in Disney!!

 

[krisri18]

I'm in! Can't wait to read about all your adventures!

 

[MeeskaMooska0714]

I'm in! Can't wait to read about all your adventures!

Thanks for following!

 

[MeeskaMooska0714]

Before we move on, I forgot one story. When we arrived at Pop Century and took the elevator to our room, there was a mom and daughter in the elevator with us. I was wearing a Michigan State sweatshirt, and they mentioned they were from Michigan. We said that we were as well, and from the Grand Rapids area. Turns out, they are from the same area and we can literally see their house from our front window! It really is a small world after all!

 

[MeeskaMooska0714]

1/16/18
It’s Magic Kingdom day!! The boys slept great! Me...not so much, but who cares because I’m in Disney! Now, if I had to go to work, that would be a different story. We all got ready and headed to bell services to pick up the stroller we rented from Kingdom Strollers. If you are traveling with kids that need a stroller, I highly recommend this company. It was super easy and the stroller was high quality (much better than those hard plastic ones that Disney offers).
After we got the stroller, we had to quick run to the gift shop to get diapers, before heading to the Magic Kingdom bus stop.
We got in line for the bus (it was BUSY), and about half way through, we realized that H was missing a shoe! This kid seriously hates shoes more than any other kid I know, so I should have seen it coming.
Tim headed back inside to search, and I had no choice but to stay in line. The line kept moving, and there was no sign of Tim. I was now at the front of the line and another bus was pulling up. I stepped to the side to let others board, and all of a sudden, Simon is no longer in the stroller! Please excuse me while I disappear!
Thankfully he walked toward the hotel and not the road. A sweet lady grabbed him by the hand and directed him back to me. Tim called and said he couldn’t find the shoe, so back to the room he went. And then, like an angel, the cashier from the gift shop came out to the bus stop holding none other than H’s shoe!
I called Tim to come back to the bus stop, and finally, we were on our way!!
The bus ride was pretty uneventful. I was so so excited to be back in my happy place and share it with my boys!

They don’t look very excited, but I promise they were!
We made our way through bag check, Mickey’s head turned green, and we were off to meet the main mouse!
This was our first FP, and we made it with minutes to spare. I wanted to get a character visit out of the way in the beginning, because I had no idea how the boys were going to react.
SJ was really excited to see Mickey when we were waiting in line, but as soon as it was our turn, he got like nervous excited. He just kept putting his hands in his mouth and laughing, but wouldn’t get close. Mickey asked him if he would wave the checkered flag at his next race. It was super cute, and I’m glad that we did this first thing!

H’s face says it all!

We left Town Square and made our way down Main Street. Maybe I am naive, but it was so much more busy than I anticipated. I knew our first day it might be just because of schools being off for Martin Luther King Day, but it was crazy all week. Did anyone else feel the same way?
This view never gets old!

We stopped at the Main Street Bakery to get some breakfast and coffee. I got an iced coffee and a chocolate croissant (which was my breakfast all but one day this trip), and Tim got a latte and blueberry muffin. We brought snacks for the boys because I am too cheap to get them a snack every two hours! Seriously, they eat more than me sometimes!

Obligatory Instagram photo! #basic

After this, we were off to our first ride of the trip! Which one will it be??

 

[Rista1313]

Before we move on, I forgot one story. When we arrived at Pop Century and took the elevator to our room, there was a mom and daughter in the elevator with us. I was wearing a Michigan State sweatshirt, and they mentioned they were from Michigan. We said that we were as well, and from the Grand Rapids area. Turns out, they are from the same area and we can literally see their house from our front window! It really is a small world after all!

What?! I swear us Michiganders can spot eachother a mile away. I live in Wyoming (MI)

 

[MeeskaMooska0714]

What?! I swear us Michiganders can spot eachother a mile away. I live in Wyoming (MI)

That’s where I grew up!! Crazy!