Trip Report Happy Birthday! Surprise! We're going to Disney World and you're going to be a big sister!

MickeyCB · Nov 19, 2021

Your son takes some great photos for a 7 year old!

Songbird76 · Nov 20, 2021

Cetta said:
He is a keeper! He even picked me up at the airport in the middle of the night in May after Taylar's bachelorette weekend in Fort Lauderdale. We were talking this morning about maybe driving to Disney for spring break....I told him I was going to tie his hand to the steering wheel so he had to come with us lol

My kids will probably never go for their birthdays because they are both in the middle of July (which is also when Patrick & Taylar's baby is due) and it is way too hot for me then haha. My husband does not like doing Disney, too many people for him. He is more of a camping or cabin vacation guy. So we usually do multiple camping trips during the summer. I have gone to Disney without him 4 times now, but I specifically picked his spring break week for our next trip so he doesn't have an excuse. My husband and I met at a local grocery store where we both worked after high school. He stayed there and worked his way up to a manager until the company closed down. It was a good time for him to try something new and he decided he wanted to try plumbing. He worked one year with the company he is with now before entering school for it. He is in his final year (4 years total) and will be graduating in May and then he can take his big test to get his plumbing license. He enjoys the work and the people he works with. It was a great choice for our family because we finally have him home on the weekends!

Well it's nice that he supports your going to Disney, even though he's not a fan. That's why mine asked me if I'd consider going with just my daughter. Our daughter and I are the huge Disney fans. Our son is autistic and gets overwhelmed, but he does LIKE Disney. But he'd be happy to go and ride test track over and over, and maybe Buzz Lightyear and Tomorrowland Speedway a couple times each. It's not worth the price of the ticket and flight for him, because he mostly wants to sit in the hotel all day and play on the computer, maybe catch a ride or two, and eat some fries or Joffrey's Giant Donuts. That's it. So next trip will just be a mother/daughter trip and my husband will do something fun with the money he WOULD have spent on a Disney trip if he went.

ferbtones · Nov 20, 2021

Love the photo of Joseph with his special dole whip. He looks so cheeky, like the cat that got the cream.

Great trip report so far. Excited for more, especially to see Bell with her birthday surprises.

Songbird76 · Nov 20, 2021

ferbtones said:
Love the photo of Joseph with his special dole whip. He looks so cheeky, like the cat that got the cream.

Great trip report so far. Excited for more, especially to see Bell with her birthday surprises.

I was thinking he looked like he had some shenanigans planned for that dole whip! Cheeky indeed!!

Cetta · Dec 1, 2021

Sorry, I have been away for a little...Thanksgiving and work got in the way.

We got back to our suite right around 5:15 and Patrick sent me a text soon after saying they were on their way back from Universal. I blew up some birthday balloons. While my kids played with the balloons I got my park bag ready for the next day and set out the outfits for the next day. They got back around 6 and told me about how all the lines were over an hour wait. Bell was so excited to show us her wand and put spells on the kids. They only rode like two rides but still had a good time. They hadn't had dinner and neither had we, I mobile ordered and pressed I'm here, when I left the room (love that feature!), then noticed I forgot my mask and went back to get it. I still got to LOF before my food was ready but it wasn't too long of a wait, Patrick and I had the turkey sandwich, the kids all had chicken fingers, and Taylar had a side of mac n cheese (if I remember correctly). It was all good and since we had all woke up so early, everyone was in bed by 7:45pm. Sadie and Bell slept on the murphy bed while Joseph and I shared the pull out couch. Oh goodness, that pull out couch is a terrible terrible terrible bed. it had a weird hump in the middle that made it very uncomfortable and I slept absolutely terribly. At one during the night, I paid for Genie + for our whole party for our first park day.

November 14th - Animal Kingdom Day!

Not sure what time everyone woke up but Joseph and I were the first (just like at home). I originally brought pants for him to wear today but silly me, didn't check to make sure they had pockets so he refused to wear them. Sadie's outfit was custom made for her...I made her skirt with matching bow and Taylar made her shirt. My Ambrie Meeko dress was a Christmas gift from my husband last year and I wear it on almost all of our camping trips because it goes so well with camping and I always get lost of compliments. Bell finally got to wear her birthday ears (which she wore about half the day) and her new dinosaur dress.

I made sure the kids ate some mini muffins before heading out and everyone picked a mini-bag of chips to have later. It was about 7:45 when we left our room. I did catch the kids taking a selfie before we headed out the door and this is one of my top 5 pictures from our trip.

When we left our room, Patrick was finally able to see the Cars area we were in. He had to stop and take some pictures with Mater (photos taken by Joseph)

We went straight to the bus stop and pretty much got right on a bus. Joseph took a picture of the bus and some holiday decorations.

Had to take a bus selfie with the kiddos who were beyond excited to start the day!

I think we entered Animal Kingdom around 8:15, Patrick saw Tigger near the Christmas tree and had to get his picture with him

Another stop so Patrick could take pictures with some of the 50th statues (photo by Joseph)

Sbk1234 · Dec 3, 2021

Looks like such a fun trip. It's giving me good ideas for my own trip report after my trip this spring.

Cetta · Dec 9, 2021

Since it was Bell's birthday trip and she LOVES dinosaurs of all kinds, we went directly to Dinosaur!

The wait was stated at 5 minutes so of course we walked right on. Taylar stayed behind and wandered around the area since this ride is too bumpy for pregnant woman. Sadie had never been on Dinosaur and I was hoping she would do ok with it.

Gotta love the kid's faces! They wanted to go again but Patrick wasn't willing to go again, and the line was now up to 20 minutes. Instead I took the kids on Triceratops Spin (Patrick & Taylar went to look at some pins)

Side note but it's small things like this that make memories. My kids and myself are big Jonas Brothers fans! Like we rock out to them at home all the time lol They came to our local music center in September (we actually live in the neighborhood right next to it so we can walk there and hear the music of all the performers from our backyard), so of course I got tickets for us to go. It was Sadie's first concert and she actually slept through half of it (Joseph's first concert was Bob Seger when he was 3). During Bell's birthday party she came up to me and said "Aunt Cetta, I love the Jonas Brothers now!" It was a proud moment for me. Anyway, as soon as Triceratops Spin started....guess who was singing over the speakers? Yup! it was the Jonas Brothers Christmas song! The kids were so excited to be riding to their favorite band and I was almost in tears because of the perfect timing!

Of course when we got off the kids were begging to play a game. I want to say I was shocked at the price to play a game but then again, it is Disney lol. We look at all the prizes and decided the skee ball one had the best prize and one of the kids was guaranteed to win. It was neck to neck, trunk to trunk, tusk to tusk....Bell was the winner!

We decided that we would head to Bugs Life next but first some silly pictures

We called my husband on our walk over there because we were able to talk the night before since we went to bed so early. We all had a quick snack out of my backpack while the kids talked to their dad and then we headed into Bugs Life.

Yes, this terrified Sadie....she literally jumped out of her seat and into my arms at one point. She knows it's all fake but she hate bugs....like we found a spider in our kitchen once and she wouldn't go in there for like 3 days.

Cetta · Dec 9, 2021

Taylar had got Bell a special birthday Magic Band for her birthday but didn't add it to her account before our trip and we couldn't figure out how to get it added from our phones. I mean I even googled how to do it but for some reason I couldn't get it to work. We had used our phones to get her into the park but we had our LL coming up and we wanted to get it set up and useable before that. So we decided to head to guest services at the front of the park to get it set up when we were done with Bugs Life. Of course there were side adventures....like pretty pictures sitting on a wall.

and the Merry Menagerie

and then we signed up for Wilderness Explorers!

I'm glad we did that because while there, we asked about where was the best place to get Bell's magic band set up and the cast member mentioned the blue umbrella near Creature Comforts. PERFECT because we wanted to get an Animal Kingdom Startbucks mug anyway! We headed that way and Patrick and Taylar got in line at Starbucks while I took care of getting Bell's magic band in working order. Which took a total of like 3 minutes, then we joined them in the Starbucks line

We hung around and looked at some animals and did another Wilderness Explorer stop while we sipped on our "Buckys" It was about 11am at this time and the kids were hungry, so we found another wall to sit down at while I mobile ordered from Restaurantsaurus. Totally forgot the kids meals came in buckets...opps!

It was a nice chance to all use the potty and enjoy a meal before heading out on more adventures!

Swissmiss · Dec 10, 2021

I love how the cousins all seem to get along

Cetta · Dec 10, 2021

Swissmiss said:
I love how the cousins all seem to get along

we were fortunate that there were no arguments on this trip. Patrick's pep-talk worked lol

Cetta · Dec 10, 2021

After our lunch, it was time for our first Expedition Everest "Fancy Ride" LL. This was the moment that Joseph had been waiting for! We had originally planned on going on it after Dinosaur but it was down most of the morning so I decided it was best to just pay the money for it. Bell had never been on a rollercoaster before but Joseph talked her into it. He explained that it would be fun and fast but also safe and that we wouldn't make her do something that would hurt her. Such a nice kid when he wants to be lol. So I was the only one in the group that had been on Everest before, but Joseph had watched plenty of POV youtube videos about it because he loves bigfoot. Taylar took Sadie and headed to one of the animal trails. The LL was pretty long due to the ride being down most of the morning, so we finally found the end of it.

While in the LL line we heard someone say that the single rider line was shut down to handle the long lines and LL backup. I think we were only in line for maybe 10 minutes. You can tell Bell was a little nervous when it came to be our turn. We kept reassuring her that it would be just fine and she would have fun.

I am not a fan of going backwards.

We got off the ride and both the kids were just on top of the world! Bell was yelling "I love rollercoasters now! What other ones can we go on?" I was so happy to be able to share that moment with her on her birthday trip! Hopefully she remembers this day just like I will. Pure joy!
We went over to where we parked the stroller and met up with Taylar and Sadie. Next we were on our way to our LL for the safari. Patrick wanted a beer, but every place we saw that beer had really long lines. Eventually we found a place that had one beer option and some non-alcoholic frozen drinks too. Looking at the map, I think we stopped at Warung Outpost. The kids and Taylar all shared Shangri-La Berry Freeze. I didn't get anything because I was feeling a little off from the coaster. (tip I learned from our last trip....when getting drinks you want your kids to share, just ask for an extra cup! They have almost always just made two "half" drinks. that way the kids think they get their own)

We finished our drinks while we walked over to the Safari. I think we did a wilderness explorer stop on our way but I am not 100% positive. We got in line and it went pretty quickly. I really think that Genie+ is worth it on busier days. I mean yes, we could have just stood in lines all day but with kids, who wants to do that?

Joseph, Sadie and I sat in the last row of the Safari vehicle.

I didn't take many pictures but I did let Joseph use his phone on this ride and he took a couple pictures and some videos.

Cetta · Dec 10, 2021

I took a picture of the zebras

and Joseph took a picture of me taking the picture of the zebras

After the safari, we stopped to take a look at the gorillas (photo by Joseph)

It was about 1:30 at this point and we planned to leave AK around 2:30-3 because we had ADR at Disney Springs for 4:15 we didn't want to miss. We had one thing to do next....Avatar! That morning when I went to get a LL for FOP the only availability was already at 4pm, so we didn't buy it and decided to skip it...not sure if we will ever get on FOP. We did get a LL for the little Avatar boat ride.
We enjoyed the area and did the Wilderness Explorers thing there too.

Cetta · Dec 10, 2021

I had watched Avatar on the flight to MCO in preparation for this area. Gosh this ride is a complete let down. Like boring and I feel sorry for the people who waited an hour to ride it. I mean the details are good and it's cute but I am not sure it's worth the wait. Afterwards, we stopped to get some photopass pictures! These are some of my favorite pictures from the trip!

I just love the magic shots! The kids were completely amazed when I showed them!

Cetta · Dec 10, 2021

Now my favorite picture from the whole trip.....drum roll please.....

Everyone looks so happy!
Also forgot this one from earlier.

Then we waved goodbye to the tree and headed to the bus stop. (photo by Joseph)

My original plan was to take a bus to AKL so we could see the lobby and then take a bus to Disney Springs but the line was overflowing! So plan B was put in place and we headed to Saratoga Springs bus stop and a bus just happen to be pulling up.

We got off at the bus stop closest to Disney Springs and enjoyed the walk. All the kids thought this bird was cool

It was about 3:30 when we entered Disney Springs and our plan was to stop in a store before getting to our 4:15 ADR.....but I didn't realize there were still lines to get into stores and everything was super long! I mean the Lego store line was zig zagging and I knew we wouldn't be able to get in and actually enjoy the time in there. Instead Taylar went to go check in at TREX Cafe while we rested at a wall. It was around this time that Bell started complaining about an ear ache, she had mentioned it a couple times before but didn't make it seem that bad but it was really starting to bother her at this point and she was almost in tears. I promised her we would get some kids tylenol when we got back to AOA and she would feel better. We finally got a text that our table was ready...stood in line to get seated and then waited and waited and waited and waited. No one ever came to take our order...finally we said something to someone and they said someone would be over in a minute.....then we waited some more. Then said something to someone else and finally our server appeared...no apology or anything. I know that the restaurant industry is really hurting with staff shortages but maybe not seat people if you can't serve them. At one point, Sadie poked her straw through her Styrofoam cup, we mentioned it to someone and they brought us a wet rag...didn't help clean it up or anything, just handed it to us. This was our only sit down meal of our short trip and it was a special thing for Bell because she loves dinosaurs but I will never ever eat there again. Yes, the atmosphere is really cool but the food and price is not worth it. I mean I ordered the salmon meal and switched out the vegetables for French fries and when it came out, my food was layered fries, rice, salmon, which made my fries soggy! ugh. Sorry for the long rant, but I was just not happy with that experience. But Bell did love seeing the dinosaurs and the kids did eat most of their food.

Of course Sadie got spaghetti sauce all over her only sweatshirt I brought her and Joseph straight up left his sweatshirt at the restaurant and we didn't notice until we got back to AOA.

We got back to AOA around 7pm and went straight to the store to get Bell some tylenol....but nope....they had nothing for children (how? why? I mean wouldn't that be a good thing to have at the hotel store?) so we ordered some children's tylenol from UberEats and it was delivered straight to our room. Since we didn't eat our cupcakes the previous night we all sat around the table, sang happy birthday and had cupcakes before bed. Thankfully Bell decided she wanted to sleep on the pull our couch bed this time, so Joseph and I were on the murphy bed which is 1000 times more comfortable than the pull out! Not sure what time we actually got to sleep but it wasn't too late. Our first park day was a complete success and everyone had an amazing day! There were plenty of firsts and a couple never agains. Memories to last a life time!

We knew tomorrow we needed to be on time for MK! We wanted to get into the park before the early entry even started....could we do it with 3 kids?

JellybeanOH · Dec 10, 2021

Cetta said:
Hello everyone! I am back with another trip report!

Who: Me, Joseph, Sadie, Patrick (my brother), Taylar (his wife), and Bell (Taylar's daughter).

View attachment 601306

Where: Cars Suite at Art of Animation because Mater is one of my brother's favorite Disney Characters.

When: November 13-16. Another short but sweet trip!

Why: A little back story, Patrick (my brother) & Taylar have been together for about 4 years now, and just got married in June. We went to Disney together in September 2020 without kids (I suggest every parent does that at least once). They had been living at my mom's and we were seeing them daily but they just purchased their first house at the end of September and now live about 40 minutes north of us and it sucks. I miss seeing Bell every morning and walking to the bus stop together. Back in August, Patrick & Taylar told me they were planning on taking Bell to Disney World for her 9th birthday and invited us to join them for the long weekend. Of course, I couldn't pass up a chance to go back to my most favorite place in the world, so I said yes. We decided to keep it a secret until the night before and tell the kids at Bell's birthday party. Taylar made a birthday box for Bell that included "tickets" for the three kids, a birthday shirt, and birthday Minnie ears. I had to edit the video to cut out the kid's full names that were on the tickets so it starts after she realizes what is going on.

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If you watched the video, you can tell that Bell was very excited and Joseph was overcome by emotions and shedding those happy tears. He totally takes after his mommy and has an undying love for Disney World. After the excitement of the Disney trip announcement, Taylar had a box for Patrick. I'm sure you can guess what was in the box from the title of this trip....yup! Taylar is pregnant! YAY!! She made a onesie for the announcement! (this is still a secret but I figured I could tell you guys lol)

View attachment 601307

This is the part when Sadie got excited, she has been wanting a baby since she was like 2 years old, and we have been telling her she had to wait for Uncle Patrick and Aunt Taylar to have a baby and now they finally are! Boy did we have an eventful night. Bell just couldn't stop talking about how she was going to be a big sister again (her dad has another daughter) and how she is going to Universal to get a wand and to Disney with her cousins. So much going on but we needed to get home since our flight was at 6:30am. The kids were too hyped up and didn't fall asleep on the long ride home, all they kept talking about was the new baby, what rides Taylar would and wouldn't be able to ride now that she is pregnant, what they wanted to ride, and so much more. I think they fell asleep at home around 9:30 and I wasn't far behind them. The fun was just about to start!

How exciting. Congratulations

amjt660 · Dec 13, 2021

Love it!!

Max

cgersic · Dec 13, 2021

amjt660 said:
View attachment 607038
Love it!!

Max

Agreed! That's one of the best magic poses I've seen!

Cetta · Dec 14, 2021

Monday, November 15 - Magic Kingdom

At some point early in the morning, I purchased Genie+ for all of us. We were all up by 6:30am, the kids had cupcakes for breakfast and picked out what snack they wanted to bring for the day. I booked our first LL around 7:05am, unfortunately Jungle Cruise was already out to 2pm, and I didn't want to lose our chance of riding it, so I booked it. We were in line for the bus by 7:40am, it was long but not too long. I don't remember why Bell was upset in this picture but I do remember telling her "there is no crying at Disney World!"

We were inside the park before the early entry began at 8:30 which is pretty amazing to me! Wasn't sure we would be able to accomplish that. We headed to the right and lined up with the masses for FantasyLand. We had decided that Peter Pan was going to be our first stop. Even though we were lined up before early entry began, we still didn't get to the Peter Pan line until 8:40am.

Directly after Peter Pan we headed to Haunted Mansion, which is Taylar's favorite ride!

Trip Report Happy Birthday! Surprise! We're going to Disney World and you're going to be a big sister!

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MickeyCB

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Songbird76

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ferbtones

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Cetta

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Sbk1234

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Swissmiss

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JellybeanOH

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amjt660

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