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

 

[PacNWTigger]

I'm following along, and looking forward to the adventure.

 

[joshsprincess921]

Just a little backstory leading up to our trip:

The week leading up to our trip was quite adventurous on it's own! I could actually go on a limb and say the YEAR leading up to this trip has been adventurous! There were many moments when I thought this trip would not happen. Josh broke his foot in May (playing basketball) and was out of work for 2 1/2 months recovering. He is still having some issues, so I was worried about how he would do with all the walking we would be doing. A week before he got his cast off, he got a new job offer for a job he had a applied for several months before, so it had caught up off guard. Luckily, he was out of his cast and walking boot in time for his start date. His job is physical, so he wouldn't be able to work unless he was cleared by medical. BUT, then I worried if they would let him off for the trip or not. It all worked out though and he was good to go!

Fast forward to Cam starting Kindergarten! A month into school, he gets sick. That's expected of course. I took him to the doctor and next thing I know they are calling an ambulance and rushing us to the hospital because his oxygen levels are dropping. He was admitted for pneumonia! I have to use several vacation days while staying with him. My original plan was to take off Thanksgiving week with him along with the following week for Disney, but that plan was out the window! But I didn't let it bother me b/c I was still going to Disney!!!

Then at the end of October, we get the call that my husband's brother-n-law passed away unexpectedly. We've spent the last month helping his sister and her 3 kids. They usually hosted Thanksgiving at their house every year, but given the circumstances they asked us to host! Host Thanksgiving 2 days before vacation?? Suuure! I still don't know how I managed to do it, but I pulled it off. It was my first time preparing an entire feast and I must say I was quite proud of myself!

Thanksgiving day family pic!

I spent the following day running around picking up last minute things, packing and going to another Thanksgiving dinner with my family! I was so wound up plus excited for the trip that I never fell asleep! My alarm went off at 3:30 am, so I hopped in the shower hoping it would give me some energy! I woke up Josh and Cam, dressed and packed up the car!

Saturday, November 24, 2018

Cam's elf sent us off on our way!

I went back and forth with whether to bring him on the trip or not. After Cam was outside, I ran back in and moved the elf and left a WELCOME HOME sign that he'd find when we returned home!

And we were off!! It was about a 45 minute drive to the New Orleans airport! Bag check is always a pain there, but wasn't too bad this time around. We had TSA precheck but it seems like it was busier than the regular security line. Eventually we made it through, hit up the coffee shop and waited to load!

Flight was a breeze!

Cam kept complaining about his stomach and didn't want to eat. I was concerned b/c he always wants to eat! Sure enough during our descent he got sick! Thank goodness for the bags! But I was afraid he'd gotten a stomach virus! Ahhh! He seemed ok afterwards so we stayed positive!

We decided to let Magical Express get our bags, so went straight to the bus.

We were in the back of the bus so this is as good of a picture that I could get of the sign!

First stop was Art of Animation and then Pop! I got a text while on the bus saying our room was not ready. We went to the food court and got our mugs. Josh wanted lunch but it was around 10:45 so they were still serving breakfast. I got Cam some waffles and we sat while he ate and waited for lunch time. While getting his waffles I got the room ready text! I didn't take pics of our food but Josh got a hot dog and I got a hamburger. Both were not very good, but it was food. Cam fell asleep while we were eating. We finished up and made our way to our room and we all passed out for a few hours! I finally got some much needed rest!

Up next: Disney Springs

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

I'm eager to see more of your trip! Sorry to hear about your family's loss.

 

[joshsprincess921]

I'm eager to see more of your trip! Sorry to hear about your family's loss.

Thank you!

 

[joshsprincess921]

We had a reservation in Disney Springs, so we planned to head that way around 4:30. While we were napping, the loud knock on the door woke us up. Great, our luggage had arrived. I opened the door to see only 1 of the 5 bags. Of course, it was Josh's bag. I told him we had 4 more and hoped it would arrive in time so that I could freshen up a bit before dinner. The rest of the bags arrived about 30 minutes before we left! And we were off!

First stop--Lego store! Cam is pretty obsessed with legos! Only problem was it was SOOOO busy in there that you could hardly move or see anything, so we promised him we'd come back another day.

We walked around a bit more before our reservation. I believe I grabbed a coffee at some point and we just took in the sights. It was insanely crowded! Soon enough it was time to check in for our dinner reservation!

I believe this was the dinner that I was most looking forward too! I was so excited to finally try it out. I also forgot to mention that we were on the dining plan this time. Last year was Josh's first trip and we paid out of pocket, so this time he wanted to try the dining plan. Would we feel like it was the right choice? Stay tuned to find out!

But first, drinks! Josh always has to be careful with mixed drinks because he's allergic to strawberries. He ended up ordering the Blue Hooch. And I got the Sangria. His was strong and mine was very light and fruity. It was good but not the best Sangria I've ever had.

The waitress told him several times not to try mine. I think the big strawberry gave him a big warning on it's own, but was happy they were looking out for him.

For entrees, I ordered the Fried Chicken and Doughnuts with mac n cheese as my side.

Ok this chicken and mac n cheese were AMAZING! I live in South Louisiana and we have some good fried food, but this was most def some of the best fried chicken ever. And the mac n cheese was to die for. I did not care for the doughnuts. I couldn't figure out what it was but I think they had too much cinnamon for my liking. It was so much food! I could only finish one piece of chicken and maybe a quarter of the mac n cheese.

 

[joshsprincess921]

Josh ordered the Country Club Sandwich (without red pepper jelly) with mac n cheese. She brought him the jelly on the side, but he didn't care for it, opting for mayo instead. He loved his meal.

They did not have grilled cheese sandwich on the menu for my picky child, but they kindly made him one! (He already dug into half of it before I got the picture.)

Needless to say, we were SO FULL!!!! For dessert, I ordered the chocolate cake and Josh ordered the Hummingbird cake. I think we may have eaten 1 or 2 bites and had it boxed up. We never did eat it later on. The bites we had were very good. Overall, this ended up being one of the best meals we had the entire trip and would absolutely return! I highly recommend it!

We slowly made our way out and back to our resort. The tree in Disney Springs is gorgeous. Pictures do not do it justice. The other decorations are so pretty as well.

You can get an idea of how crazy it was by the amount of people in this picture!!

Next: Cam's first Disney ride!

 

[Rasstuss]

Just a little backstory leading up to our trip:

The week leading up to our trip was quite adventurous on it's own! I could actually go on a limb and say the YEAR leading up to this trip has been adventurous! There were many moments when I thought this trip would not happen. Josh broke his foot in May (playing basketball) and was out of work for 2 1/2 months recovering. He is still having some issues, so I was worried about how he would do with all the walking we would be doing. A week before he got his cast off, he got a new job offer for a job he had a applied for several months before, so it had caught up off guard. Luckily, he was out of his cast and walking boot in time for his start date. His job is physical, so he wouldn't be able to work unless he was cleared by medical. BUT, then I worried if they would let him off for the trip or not. It all worked out though and he was good to go!

Fast forward to Cam starting Kindergarten! A month into school, he gets sick. That's expected of course. I took him to the doctor and next thing I know they are calling an ambulance and rushing us to the hospital because his oxygen levels are dropping. He was admitted for pneumonia! I have to use several vacation days while staying with him. My original plan was to take off Thanksgiving week with him along with the following week for Disney, but that plan was out the window! But I didn't let it bother me b/c I was still going to Disney!!!

Then at the end of October, we get the call that my husband's brother-n-law passed away unexpectedly. We've spent the last month helping his sister and her 3 kids. They usually hosted Thanksgiving at their house every year, but given the circumstances they asked us to host! Host Thanksgiving 2 days before vacation?? Suuure! I still don't know how I managed to do it, but I pulled it off. It was my first time preparing an entire feast and I must say I was quite proud of myself!
View attachment 330336
Thanksgiving day family pic!

I spent the following day running around picking up last minute things, packing and going to another Thanksgiving dinner with my family! I was so wound up plus excited for the trip that I never fell asleep! My alarm went off at 3:30 am, so I hopped in the shower hoping it would give me some energy! I woke up Josh and Cam, dressed and packed up the car!

Cam's elf sent us off on our way!
View attachment 330343
I went back and forth with whether to bring him on the trip or not. After Cam was outside, I ran back in and moved the elf and left a WELCOME HOME sign that he'd find when we returned home!

And we were off!! It was about a 45 minute drive to the New Orleans airport! Bag check is always a pain there, but wasn't too bad this time around. We had TSA precheck but it seems like it was busier than the regular security line. Eventually we made it through, hit up the coffee shop and waited to load!
View attachment 330353View attachment 330354

Flight was a breeze!
View attachment 330355View attachment 330356

Cam kept complaining about his stomach and didn't want to eat. I was concerned b/c he always wants to eat! Sure enough during our descent he got sick! Thank goodness for the bags! But I was afraid he'd gotten a stomach virus! Ahhh! He seemed ok afterwards so we stayed positive!

We decided to let Magical Express get our bags, so went straight to the bus.
View attachment 330360
View attachment 330361
View attachment 330362

We were in the back of the bus so this is as good of a picture that I could get of the sign!
View attachment 330363

First stop was Art of Animation and then Pop! I got a text while on the bus saying our room was not ready. We went to the food court and got our mugs. Josh wanted lunch but it was around 10:45 so they were still serving breakfast. I got Cam some waffles and we sat while he ate and waited for lunch time. While getting his waffles I got the room ready text! I didn't take pics of our food but Josh got a hot dog and I got a hamburger. Both were not very good, but it was food. Cam fell asleep while we were eating. We finished up and made our way to our room and we all passed out for a few hours! I finally got some much needed rest!

Up next: Disney Springs

I like what you did with your elf. We will also be at POP next week and while I wanted to try to sneak her in the luggage my wife thought it would be too much of a headache in such a small space. We have twin nieces who were really into Elf on the Shelf but have "outgrown" it. They have agreed to let our elf stay at their house and send us pictures each day of what she is up to so hopefully that will work out.

 

[joshsprincess921]

Sunday, November 25, 2018

I was up before the sun! I jumped in the shower and got ready before waking up the boys. As I was getting ready, I got a text from my Dad. They were on the plane about to take off. This would be Maci's first time flying. She ended up loving it.

Meanwhile, we were on our way to our first park day!

Waiting for rope drop.

We had some entertainment while waiting. I love the JAMMitors!

So our plan was to rope drop Test Track. Once they let us in my husband took off. Now I tried my hardest to keep up and I was walking as fast as I could without running. I was thinking to myself, well either he plans to ride by himself or he's wasting his time walking that fast because he will have to wait for me anyway, LOL! Which is what happened! We walked right up to the design room doors. It was here that Cam started saying he was feeling really nervous. We didn't know how he would do on rides because tends to be scared of a lot of things. I knew he'd be excited to design the car so I just tried to talk about that and he got excited.

My nervous boy waiting to ride his first ever ride in Disney World!

 

[joshsprincess921]

I like what you did with your elf. We will also be at POP next week and while I wanted to try to sneak her in the luggage my wife thought it would be too much of a headache in such a small space. We have twin nieces who were really into Elf on the Shelf but have "outgrown" it. They have agreed to let our elf stay at their house and send us pictures each day of what she is up to so hopefully that will work out.

That's awesome! I was worried that I would be too tired and forget to do anything with him while on vacation. In the end, I'm happy I chose to leave him at home and Cam was SOOO excited to see his Welcome Home sign when we got back! Although, we have a different elf than the norm and when we walked into Pop the tree in the lobby is covered with the same elf we have! Cam thought he showed up but I explained it was just his friends looking out for him!

 

[joshsprincess921]

Cam and his daddy's creation.

We had some fun in the exit area.

So what did Cam think of Test Track??

"That was AMAZING!"

After a pit stop at the restrooms, we used our first FP and rode Soarin'. He was nervous about that one too, but I told him if he got scared to just close his eyes. I watched him and he closed them a few times, but kept them open most of the time and he really liked it. Afterwards, Living with the Land.

Cute little snowman family!

 

[Swissmiss]

Sounds like it has been a rough few months and it was really time for a vacation, so I’m glad you got to go. Every time I read someone’s review of Homecoming it makes me really want to eat there.

 

[joshsprincess921]

Sounds like it has been a rough few months and it was really time for a vacation, so I’m glad you got to go. Every time I read someone’s review of Homecoming it makes me really want to eat there.

It really was one of the best meals I've had at Disney! I wish I had that chicken right now! Yum!

Thanks! I'm glad we were able to go too!

 

[joshsprincess921]

Fuzzy Clam shell selfie! Some of these pics with my iphone aren't the best, but I didn't carry my camera the whole time.

We did Turtle Talk with Crush which was super cute! He called on Cam and asked if he could speak turtle. Then taught him the phrase "totally sweet". He got a kick out of that!

We took a stroll through the World Showcase for lunch!! It was a beautiful day!

He was excited to be eating Via Napoli again.

I wanted to try something else besides Pepperoni, but I wish we hadn't. The sausage was good, but not as good as Pepperoni.

Cheese pizza with no sauce for Cam since he can't eat tomato.

We paid out of pocket for this meal since it's not a great use of the dining credit. Was good as usual, but like I said wish we had gotten all pepperoni. Service was good and our server was really nice. It wasn't very busy yet so we didn't wait too long for our pizza.

 

[wdwfamilynh]

Following along! Cam is adorable and his love of Legos and reaction to Test Track reminded me of my little guy

 

[Cetta]

Loving your trip so far. We are staying at pop next month for our two kids first trip so I’m hoping to get some good tips from you since my son is about your son’s age. We planned on skipping test track but now we might do it!

 

[joshsprincess921]

Following along! Cam is adorable and his love of Legos and reaction to Test Track reminded me of my little guy

Thank you!! Legos and cars are his favorites!

 

[joshsprincess921]

Loving your trip so far. We are staying at pop next month for our two kids first trip so I’m hoping to get some good tips from you since my son is about your son’s age. We planned on skipping test track but now we might do it!

Thanks!! I think you should try Test Track. I think it was a good introduction.

 

[joshsprincess921]

After our pizza, I wanted something sweet! Karamell-Kuche in Germany was calling my name!

Milk Chocolate Caramel with Sea Salt

Oh it was sooooo yummy!!

Cam got a sugar cookie with caramel drizzle. Josh picked up a Mickey bar on our way out of the park. We decided to head back to the resort to rest and meet up with my parents. I always have the hardest time thinking of a present to get my parents for Christmas. I usually like to get them something that they can do together versus a material thing because there is nothing they ever want or need. So I met up with them in their room to give them their early Christmas present. First thing I noticed was that my dad was limping very bad. He's been having lots of knee trouble and gets cortisone shots that will usually give him a few months of relief. He had gotten one a week before the trip but he literally could hardly walk. I had no idea how he'd be able to make it through a week in Disney!

I presented them with a card and Disney gift cards that would take care of their dinner. I ended up booking them a dinner package at Coral Reef for the Candlelight Processional. I've heard so many mixed reviews for Coral Reef, but my dad loves seafood, so I chose that one. They had about an hour to get ready and head to Epcot for their reservation and we would take Maci for the evening. As I was leaving Epcot earlier, I checked for additional fastpasses but they were all gone, so I grabbed the one for Illuminations. I told them after the show they could meet up with us there.

My mom sent me her food pictures and was telling me that everything was so good!

Apps

Spinach and Ricotta Ravioli

Crispy Rhode Island Calamari

Entrees

Seared Mahi Mahi

Shrimp and Grits

Desserts

They were celebrating 42 years of marriage, so they gave them a couple glasses of champagne as well! I was happy that they loved dinner. My parents never do anything special for themselves, so it made me feel good to do this for them. I mean 42 years of marriage is worth celebrating!! They didn't take any pictures of the Candlelight Processional but they enjoyed it. Helen Hunt was the narrator that night.

Meanwhile...

We gathered up these two for a fun evening at Epcot! They are first cousins and a week shy of being a year apart in age. They are the best of friends. My mom stopped working when Maci was born so she could stay home with them, so they've been together most days since Cam was born. Now that they are both in school, they don't see each other as much, so both were really looking forward to the week together!

We learned our first hard lesson on this bus ride!! Always make the littles go to the bathroom before you leave your room! We hadn't even pulled out of the resort and Maci had to go to the bathroom. Luckily I did have a change of clothes, but she managed to hold it until we arrived, but it was a close one. When we parked, Josh took off with her to the bathroom and she barely made it.

 

[joshsprincess921]

Cam had been asking to ride Figment all day, so that was our first stop! He prepped himself for the trip by watching ride videos on youtube and Figment is one of his favs!

As we were leaving, Cam noticed the Pluto hat in the gift shop and asked his Daddy for it. We bought him the Mickey ears and Goofy hat on our trip in May and he was quick to mention that Pluto was his favorite. So the Pluto hat was his!

Afterwards, I wanted to surprise them with a special meet and greet!

Mickey loved his hat and they were so cute!

This picture melts my heart! I honestly did not know how he would react to characters. We've seen some non-Disney characters at different events and he would mention they weren't real, just dressed up etc. The pure joy on his face was everything! This was the REAL Mickey!