Trip Report *COMPLETED* The "What are we waiting on?, Never again!, Help, I'm on a family vacation!" Trip Report

Howdy folks!!

We just got back home yesterday afternoon from a great week in Disney! I'm still trying to get my pictures in order, but I figured I could get the intro started! There were some definite ups and downs (tears were shed for both) on this trip which you will hear about further on, but overall it was a magical trip and we had a great time! So if you care to join me, hop on in as I detail the trip in this report!

Dates: November 24th-December 2nd

Where: Disney's Pop Century Resort

Cast: Josh (DH), Cam (DS) and Heather (Me!)
Also joining us will be my Parents and my niece, Maci

 

[joshsprincess921]

It is Massive!

Josh's family is Native American so I took this! So gorgeous!

After enjoying the lobby and gift shop, we checked in and were soon seated with a perfect view! I really love this picture of my parents.

This was our first experience at Whispering Canyon Cafe and we had a really great waiter! He kept us laughing all night! I fully expected to take pictures of our meals, but as you'll see I go the milkshakes and the salad and that was about it!! LOL!

My mom and I got the skillet. The meats were ok. The ribs were my favorite, but the other meats were kind of bland. The mashed potatoes were sooooo good!! Josh got steak and he said it was very good. Dad got the fish and enjoyed it. Kids got kid stuff...the usual chicken nuggets and grilled cheese! We all had a really nice time. I had no room for dessert so just got my apple pie to go. I don't remember anything that the rest of them had for dessert except for my dad because he got the pumpkin cheesecake that was still on the menu and asked them to put vanilla ice cream on top. The waiter ragged him saying who puts ice cream on cheesecake! It was hilarious!

Once we finished up, it was time to battle the cold air. My husband who was only wearing a t-shirt was turning blue. Everyone was miserable and cranky and bickering while we waited for the Magic Kingdom bus! Once we got there it felt like an eternity waiting on the Pop bus! We did get a little entertainment while we waited!

Needless to say, we were all ready for our warm beds!

Next: Hollywood Studios

 

[joshsprincess921]

Your hitchhiking thumbs picture is missing the ghost!

I know! We look weird with no ghost!

 

[Songbird76]

Honestly, it was probably just me! Everyone else enjoyed it!
Yes, if there is one thing I've learned in the last 5 years is that stuff most definitely happens that you just can't prepare for!
I was so thankful for that sweet lady!

You are the ONLY person I have ever heard of who agrees with my family about Tuskerhouse. Everyone else just raves about it and it was our worst dining experience of a 10 day trip and we won't go back. Cold, stale food, nothing for picky eaters, dirty bathrooms, rushed characters....Goofy spent AGES with the table that was supposed to be before us and then completely skipped us. We had been waiting and waiting to get up to get more "food" because we didn't want to miss Goofy and we were next. Then he skipped us and there was no handler in sight to guide him. We had to wait until the end of our meal, find the handler, have him come to our table....he signed the books, took one picture and left. Service was pretty bad, too. We had an ADR and they let walk-ups in before us, it was pouring rain outside and they had the AC on full blast so we were freezing. Just....so disappointing since I had really been looking forward to it based on all the rave reviews. Anyway, it's not just you.

 

[DisSplash]

Enjoying your report! We have not been to WDW with any extended family, and so we are only subjected to the delays of our tween and teen, but they have no issues with an early alarm in Disney!
I can certainly sympathize with having to match up with someone else’s slower schedule, especially at Disney where time is so important to a carefully planned FP schedule, but even with those momentary (or longer) frustrations, I can still see that you have created happy family memories that will last you and your family a lifetime! Your Space Mountain ride with your dad really warmed my heart! And probably his too!!

 

[joshsprincess921]

Enjoying your report! We have not been to WDW with any extended family, and so we are only subjected to the delays of our tween and teen, but they have no issues with an early alarm in Disney!
I can certainly sympathize with having to match up with someone else’s slower schedule, especially at Disney where time is so important to a carefully planned FP schedule, but even with those momentary (or longer) frustrations, I can still see that you have created happy family memories that will last you and your family a lifetime! Your Space Mountain ride with your dad really warmed my heart! And probably his too!!

Most certainly! I think with any extended family vacation you will have some (or a lot ) of frustrations, but at the end of the day, the memories made trump any of those frustrations. I'm very happy that we will always have these memories.
The first time I ever rode Space Mountain was just with my Dad, so it was definitely one of my favorite memories of the trip.
Thanks for following along!

 

[joshsprincess921]

I hope everyone had a Very, Merry Christmas and wishing you all a Happy New Year!
I'll be back to post some more of my trip very soon!

 

[joshsprincess921]

At dinner, we were discussing our plans for the following day. Everyone was tired and decided we wanted to sleep in a bit. Our first fastpass wasn't until 10, so we decided we would skip rope drop. We didn't sleep in too much but it was nice to have a slow morning. We met at the food court for some breakfast before heading to the buses. It was another cold morning! We bundled up and off we went!

Of course, I have no photos of our arrival, but it although chilly, it was a beautiful morning in Toy Story Land!

First stop...as soon as we walked into this queue the jackets came off! It was overly warm in there! I started to feel a bit light headed.

Woody is his absolute favorite!!

We all had a great time on Toy Story Mania! Caught a few photo opportunities on the way out! I love what they have done with this area.

Afterwards, Cam saw that Woody was out meeting and he HAD to meet him! So we got in what ended up being about an HOUR wait! My parents waited across the way from us.

 

[joshsprincess921]

Although it was an hour wait, it didn't seem like it. There is a lot going on and lots to see in Toy Story Land. Lots of people watching. We also chatted with a couple from Connecticut. They found it funny that us Southerners were cold. He was wearing shorts!

My favorite part about the wait...we saw these guys a couple times.

Almost our turn! How cute are their Christmas vests?

This meet and greet was soooo worth the wait!
The BEST hugs!!

 

[joshsprincess921]

Woody loved Cam's shirt and he sent him over to Jessie to show her.

She needed to fix it. She asked the handler for a Jessie sticker and put it on him.

Then the handler wanted to get Woody even more and added a Buzz sticker to it!

It was so funny!

I love how Woody posed just like Cam!

 

[joshsprincess921]

And one more with the whole gang before heading to lunch. They were the best!

Lunch was at Mama Melrose. Another first for us! My family still hadn't learned that I wanted food pics so I tried to be as quick as possible, but you'll see it didn't work well. LOL!

They had the heater blasting in the restaurant and while I know it was a bit chilly outside, heaters always make me feel so stuffy, so I had to start with an ice cold Margarita! So good!

The kids each got a pizza (no sauce for Cam).

Chicken parm for Josh.

Spaghetti and Meatballs for Dad. (He was nice enough to wait and pose the food for me.)

My mom and I both got the steak! It did not disappoint.

I can't remember what Josh had for dessert, but I got Cannolis...they weren't the best cannolis I've ever had in my life (those were from Mike's Pastry in Boston), but they were still pretty yummy!

Dad got the cheesecake, but didn't give me a pose this time. I barely caught the blurry pic before he took his first bite.

I know Cam had just plain vanilla ice cream and my mom had the trio sampler, but they dug in before I could snap a pic. Maci specifically asked for 5 apple slices. Our waitress was kind enough to deliver! Overall, Mama Melrose was a solid meal. I wish they had better (or more) options in Hollywood Studios, but it worked for us and we enjoyed our lunch.

 

[aliceismad]

What cuties! That sounds like a line worth standing in. I'll gladly wait for a quality interaction.

 

[joshsprincess921]

What cuties! That sounds like a line worth standing in. I'll gladly wait for a quality interaction.

It really was great!

 

[joshsprincess921]

We strolled through the little shop next to Mama Melrose's after lunch. I had been trying on a few pairs of ears during the trip but they all felt too tight and not comfortable on my head so I ended up purchasing the cap with Minnie ears on it. Not as cute, but much more comfortable!

The kids liked the snowman outside.

We stopped to see The Little Mermaid show before heading towards Tower of Terror. This is another one that Cam went on and on about riding but chickened out at the last minute. He went with Granny and Paw Paw and got MORE ice cream while they waited.

Meanwhile...

Waiting to board his favorite ride.

ToT was awesome!!! We screamed and loved every second of it. However, the picture did not turn out well since the sun was shining brightly right over my face!

Next, we hopped in the Rock n Roller coaster single rider line. My Dad joined us this time!

 

[joshsprincess921]

We decided we'd go back to TSL and stand in line for Slinky Dog. I tried so hard to get Cam to come on with us, but he just wouldn't. Grrr....I was really regretting letting him ride Everest at this point. But while we waited in line him and Granny went on TSM again.

It was a fairly long wait...definitely close to an hour. And as the sun was setting, it was really getting cold.

While in line, the crankiness started setting in with my Dad....
Sun was setting as we boarded Slinky Dog! I loved it, but brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!

The ride photo was down.

Soooooo as we were walking out, my Dad was VERY cranky because he was cold and had to find a restroom and the kids started whining. Seemed like everyone was in a mood. My dreams of seeing all the Christmas festivities at night were again slowly crumbling. We walked into a shop because I wanted to buy Cam a jacket, but he was moody and didn't want to try anything on. Finally I threw up my white flag. I even shed some tears on the long hike back to the bus stops. Josh felt bad for me and kept apologizing. I wasn't mad at anyone and well aware that things weren't going to go according to plan when traveling with the kids, but I was just upset that I came at this time of year to specifically enjoy the holiday things. I didn't even get to see Gertie!!!!! Sigh.....

We stopped at the food court back at Pop and got us some snacks to bring back to the room.

After our snacks, we took our showers, changed into our pajamas and watched TV for the rest of the evening. I had a nice day at HS, but I was still pouting.

Next: Disney Springs lunch and shopping

 

[Spash007]

After our snacks, we took our showers, changed into our pajamas and watched TV for the rest of the evening. I had a nice day at HS, but I was still pouting.

Sorry to hear it didn't turn out the way you were hoping. Our last day I was so looking forward to riding Splash (after skipping it earlier), but no one wanted to go on, so I settled for Big Thunder. But then things happened, and I never got on that either. It ended up being a fun day, but I definitely was still a bit upset too.

 

[joshsprincess921]

Sorry to hear it didn't turn out the way you were hoping. Our last day I was so looking forward to riding Splash (after skipping it earlier), but no one wanted to go on, so I settled for Big Thunder. But then things happened, and I never got on that either. It ended up being a fun day, but I definitely was still a bit upset too.

I felt silly being so emotional over it, but in the moment I had just had enough of everyone!

 

[aliceismad]

I felt silly being so emotional over it, but in the moment I had just had enough of everyone!

Awww. That's hard. I could totally see myself doing that. I'm the planner in the family and I could easily get my heart set on some special thing in the evening only to have the day go off the rails.

 

[Songbird76]

I think it happens to everyone at some point. When we went, I was the planner, and I had planned rest time for every afternoon so we could go back around dinner feeling refreshed. But my husband threw the plan out the window and we never got back to rest, and by the end of the day, everyone was tired, hot, and cranky and DH would just announce we were all going back to the resort because he was tired of everyone being cranky. After several days of it, I insisted we go back and rest as I had planned, and it did us so much good. But those first few days were so disappointing. We never got to do a lot of the things I had planned in the evenings. I hope you got to go back and see some of the things you were looking forward to! But I'm sure there will be other trips when the kids are older and you can do more then.

 

[KatieLVT]

It was getting close to Illuminations time, so we made our way to the fastpass area. My parents made their way over as well. By now, both kids fell asleep.
View attachment 331090
View attachment 331091

Doesn't he look so peaceful??

Then the show started....View attachment 331093
View attachment 331094

I kept looking at Cam and he was still sound asleep. Soon the Christmas tag would begin, but right as it was beginning we got a Christmas tag that we were not expecting!!!! The rest of the evening looked about like this picture....
View attachment 331092

Yeah it went up in a ball of flames. Cam came out of a dead sleep, sat up and started throwing up all over himself and the side of the stroller. I was reaching to grab napkins, but I only had a few. Then the fireworks got extremely loud and he started screaming!! I moved the stroller to cover where we were. My dad went and told a CM and next thing you know about 4 of them made a giant circle around us. I was still trying to get Cam to settle down when a nice lady brought me a burp cloth saying that it was washed and clean and that I could have it. Bless that sweet momma! After he settled down, Josh took him to get cleaned up and changed (made it worse that we were not close to any bathrooms) and I tried to clean up the stroller. The CM's were great, but I felt horrible. They blocked the area while everyone exited and told us not to worry about it. It was chaos. He suffers from acid reflux pretty badly and up until about a year ago, he would get sick quite often. Then we found out the root of the problem and he sticks to a low acid diet, but every now and again this happens. It's always my worst fear when we go to restaurants and I even bought little bags for the trip just in case, but it just came out of no where!!! Luckily, this was the only episode of this during the trip. I don't think the cheese set well with him. I'm sorry if this grossed anyone out, but it was the first round of tears that occurred on the trip, both by Cam and myself. I felt so embarrassed, but also felt so sorry for him.

Although the night had an ending that we didn't expect and I didn't get to see the Christmas tag, we did have a great first day in the parks!

Next: Animal Kingdom

My son has had bad acid reflux since birth as well. It’s gotten much better and he no longer requires medications. But, we still have “accidents “ sometimes and have slunk out of many a restaurant with our heads down. So, I completely understand your situation. Poor Cam and you!!

 

[LeighM]

I totally understand the disappointment and the tears. I was also the planner for the most recent trip with my husband, his brother, and his wife. I love the parks at night and had all these plans to rest in the middle of the day so we could go and stay out late, especially at MK and AK. None of that happened. We got to Epcot around 7 on the night they had EMH at 9-11 so I was happy. Until it turned 9:15 and everyone was ready to leave. And I'm like but the EMH are just starting!!!! I did have enough my BIL/SIL's last night there though. My husband had started to get sick which threw a wrench in all of my remaining plans when it was just the 2 of us. But they wanted to leave MK before the fireworks started and I really wanted to see the new castle show and fireworks. So I said screw it - I might not have gotten my preferred viewing area because of the time everyone got hungry but I'm going to watch the show right here at the train station. I told them they could leave if they wanted to but I was going to stay right there and watch the show LOL. It turned out to be the perfect ending for the BIL/SIL and even my husband enjoyed it. And yes I did cry over all the many disappointments too My mistake in trying to make the trip so perfect for everyone else that I completely forgot about myself.