Well it’s been a month since I returned from my trip and it’s about time I started writing my trip report! I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! We have certainly had a busy holiday season. The craziness started with our annual 3-day celebration of Thanksgiving before we left for 5 nights at Walt Disney World. Upon returning home from our trip, it was Christmas party after Christmas party up until the actual day. Whew. I’m exhausted just remembering all of the events. 
So now that I am finally getting some free time again, let’s get going.
The Details
Who: Me (Ashley) and my husband (Wes)
My Mom and Dad - My parents last trip was in 2009.
My Aunt (Val) and Uncle (Tom) - Their last trip was in 2008 with their daughter-in-law and granddaughter. Apparently they never left Toontown so they were very happy to learn that it was no more.
My cousin (Kevin) and his wife (Allyson) - This was their first trip to WDW since they were kids.
Wes’ Mom and Dad - They are DVC members and have been going just about once a year since '91 so they take a much more relaxed approach to their trips.
When: Sunday November 25th – Friday November 30th
Where: Disney’s Yacht Club Resort
A Little Background Info
This trip started off with only 6 of us going; my parents, aunt and uncle and me and Wes. One weekend at the beach, we were talking to my cousin and his wife about our trip and my aunt talked them into going on our trip. We were around the 81-day mark when we added an additional 2 to our party. We had made all of our reservations at 180 days out so now we were on a mission to try to add 2 more to each reservation. Tammy was able to work her magic and get half of our reservations switched from 6 to 8 and I booked some backups for Kevin and Allyson, just in case they couldn’t eat with us. Then around the 45-day mark, Wes’ parents decided that they were also going to WDW the same time we were. Oh boy. Our party had gone from 6 to 8 to 10! My head was exploding. Hahaha I told Wes there was no way I was changing reservations again. Luckily, Wes’ parents didn’t plan on spending the entire trip with us since they don’t go to the parks every day so they were only going to join us a couple days and for one meal. After many revisions, our plans were finalized and we were ready for our trip!
Sunday November 25th – Disney World Here We Come!
When we planned our trip, it slipped my mind that today would be one of the busiest travel days of the year; The Sunday after Thanksgiving. Oops. We were hoping for the best but we decided we better get to the airport with some extra time just in case.
Our flight was at 9am so the plan was to leave for the airport at 6:45am. We drove to my parent’s house to meet everybody, drop off the dog with the dog sitter, and left their house a little after 7 to head to the airport. My Dad and cousin dropped the rest of us off with all of the luggage and went to park the cars in long-term parking. We checked all of our bags at curbside check in and the baggage handler couldn’t have been better. He told us all we could wait inside, since it was so cold, and brought us our boarding passes. We made our way to security and the line was the longest I have ever seen it. We got in line and slowly made our way to through security.
The line moved quicker than we thought and by the time we were through, my Dad and Kevin were almost to the front of the line. We made it to the gate by 7:49. Not too shabby. The Southwest terminal at RDU is amazing. The security line was the longest I had ever seen it and still, from the time we left our house to the time we were at the gate was only about 49 minutes. Amazing.
Our flight was easy and uneventful. We landed about 10 minutes early and I was really excited to be ahead of schedule. Then we waited on the tarmac for an additional 15 minutes and ended up getting off the plane later than our original arrival time. Not so great. We made our way to Disney’s Magical Express and there were more complications. We all went through with our booklets and then Kevin and Allyson realized that their booklet didn’t have the same barcode as ours. The cast member told them they would have to wait in the line at the counter to get one. Ugh. The trip had barely started and I was already stressed. As Kevin and Allyson were waiting in line, they realized that they had a separate DME booklet with their barcode. So after only a 5-minute delay, they were joining us in line. I asked if they had another booklet but they didn’t think they did. I should have looked at all of their paperwork beforehand but I just assumed their barcode would be in the same spot as ours. After a few minor delays, we were on the bus on our way to the Yacht Club!
Woo hoo!
With the way our morning was going, of course, the Yacht Club was the very last stop. Hahaha Isn’t that always how it is?! We arrived at 12:15, an hour after boarding DME. It had been a long, somewhat stressful morning but I was instantly relaxed once we entered the Yacht Club lobby! I had to pick up some MVMCP tickets for Wes’ parents and pick up Wes’ park ticket so I went to the concierge while everyone else went to check in.
I got the tickets with a minor wait and met everyone else at check in. We had requested adjoining rooms and were pleased to learn that we would get rooms right next to each other! Two of the rooms were ready, our room and Val and Tom’s. We were on the 2nd floor so we made our way to the elevators so everyone could drop off their luggage in our rooms. I was too busy with getting the tickets and checking in to take any pictures of the lobby but there would be many more later. Wes’ parents had arrived the day before so they went over to Beaches and Cream to put our name on the list for a table for 10. They were already there and waiting so after checking in, Wes went to join them while we dropped off our bags.
I was really excited because our room was really close to the elevators and later we realized that we were super close to the stairs in the lobby so waiting for elevators wasn’t necessary.
My parents dropped off their bags in our room so I needed to wait until after their room was ready to take pictures of the room. There were just too many bags and people in the way to take pictures now. We were also in a hurry to get to lunch at Beaches and Cream! We went next door to Val and Tom’s room to gather everyone for lunch. Wes and I had bought a little gift to give Tom for our trip. When we first started talking about this trip and staying at the Yacht Club, Wes and I decided that we should start calling Tom the Captain. The idea initially started from the How I Met Your Mother episode with the Captain. Now Tom doesn’t remind us of the Captain on the show but we just thought it would be funny for him to wear a Captain’s hat at the Yacht Club.
Tom really enjoyed his hat!
Wes texted me to let me know that our table at Beaches and Cream was ready so we all made our way to the restaurant.
Instagram love.
We were initially all seated around 2 of the round tables in the middle of the restaurant. Now, remember, there were 10 of us seated around those 2 small tables. As soon as our drinks were delivered it confirmed that there was no way that food for 10 people would fit on the table. We asked if we could pull up another round table but they said it was in another section so we couldn’t. Luckily there was a booth open that they said we could use so 4 of us moved there so we could eat our lunch without being so cramped.
We were on the Deluxe Dining Plan for this trip so there are a lot of food pictures for this trip report! We ordered appetizers and I was so upset because my Dad, Tom and Kevin didn’t order appetizers! How can you not order an appetizer when you are on the DDP?! Hahaha I let it slide since it was just the first meal of the trip but I still didn’t like it. My Mom, Val and I ordered onion rings, and Wes and Allyson ordered Caesar salads. Unfortunately since Allyson was sitting at the other table, I wasn’t able to get a picture of her salad before she started eating it and Wes gave his salad to his Mom so I didn’t get a picture of it either.
Mmmm delicious!
My Mom made a Mickey out of onion rings.
So now that I am finally getting some free time again, let’s get going. The Details
Who: Me (Ashley) and my husband (Wes)
My Mom and Dad - My parents last trip was in 2009.
My Aunt (Val) and Uncle (Tom) - Their last trip was in 2008 with their daughter-in-law and granddaughter. Apparently they never left Toontown so they were very happy to learn that it was no more.
My cousin (Kevin) and his wife (Allyson) - This was their first trip to WDW since they were kids.
Wes’ Mom and Dad - They are DVC members and have been going just about once a year since '91 so they take a much more relaxed approach to their trips.
When: Sunday November 25th – Friday November 30th
Where: Disney’s Yacht Club Resort
A Little Background Info
This trip started off with only 6 of us going; my parents, aunt and uncle and me and Wes. One weekend at the beach, we were talking to my cousin and his wife about our trip and my aunt talked them into going on our trip. We were around the 81-day mark when we added an additional 2 to our party. We had made all of our reservations at 180 days out so now we were on a mission to try to add 2 more to each reservation. Tammy was able to work her magic and get half of our reservations switched from 6 to 8 and I booked some backups for Kevin and Allyson, just in case they couldn’t eat with us. Then around the 45-day mark, Wes’ parents decided that they were also going to WDW the same time we were. Oh boy. Our party had gone from 6 to 8 to 10! My head was exploding. Hahaha I told Wes there was no way I was changing reservations again. Luckily, Wes’ parents didn’t plan on spending the entire trip with us since they don’t go to the parks every day so they were only going to join us a couple days and for one meal. After many revisions, our plans were finalized and we were ready for our trip!
Sunday November 25th – Disney World Here We Come!
When we planned our trip, it slipped my mind that today would be one of the busiest travel days of the year; The Sunday after Thanksgiving. Oops. We were hoping for the best but we decided we better get to the airport with some extra time just in case.
Our flight was at 9am so the plan was to leave for the airport at 6:45am. We drove to my parent’s house to meet everybody, drop off the dog with the dog sitter, and left their house a little after 7 to head to the airport. My Dad and cousin dropped the rest of us off with all of the luggage and went to park the cars in long-term parking. We checked all of our bags at curbside check in and the baggage handler couldn’t have been better. He told us all we could wait inside, since it was so cold, and brought us our boarding passes. We made our way to security and the line was the longest I have ever seen it. We got in line and slowly made our way to through security.
The line moved quicker than we thought and by the time we were through, my Dad and Kevin were almost to the front of the line. We made it to the gate by 7:49. Not too shabby. The Southwest terminal at RDU is amazing. The security line was the longest I had ever seen it and still, from the time we left our house to the time we were at the gate was only about 49 minutes. Amazing.
Our flight was easy and uneventful. We landed about 10 minutes early and I was really excited to be ahead of schedule. Then we waited on the tarmac for an additional 15 minutes and ended up getting off the plane later than our original arrival time. Not so great. We made our way to Disney’s Magical Express and there were more complications. We all went through with our booklets and then Kevin and Allyson realized that their booklet didn’t have the same barcode as ours. The cast member told them they would have to wait in the line at the counter to get one. Ugh. The trip had barely started and I was already stressed. As Kevin and Allyson were waiting in line, they realized that they had a separate DME booklet with their barcode. So after only a 5-minute delay, they were joining us in line. I asked if they had another booklet but they didn’t think they did. I should have looked at all of their paperwork beforehand but I just assumed their barcode would be in the same spot as ours. After a few minor delays, we were on the bus on our way to the Yacht Club!
Woo hoo!
With the way our morning was going, of course, the Yacht Club was the very last stop. Hahaha Isn’t that always how it is?!
We arrived at 12:15, an hour after boarding DME. It had been a long, somewhat stressful morning but I was instantly relaxed once we entered the Yacht Club lobby! I had to pick up some MVMCP tickets for Wes’ parents and pick up Wes’ park ticket so I went to the concierge while everyone else went to check in. I got the tickets with a minor wait and met everyone else at check in. We had requested adjoining rooms and were pleased to learn that we would get rooms right next to each other! Two of the rooms were ready, our room and Val and Tom’s. We were on the 2nd floor so we made our way to the elevators so everyone could drop off their luggage in our rooms. I was too busy with getting the tickets and checking in to take any pictures of the lobby but there would be many more later. Wes’ parents had arrived the day before so they went over to Beaches and Cream to put our name on the list for a table for 10. They were already there and waiting so after checking in, Wes went to join them while we dropped off our bags.
I was really excited because our room was really close to the elevators and later we realized that we were super close to the stairs in the lobby so waiting for elevators wasn’t necessary.
My parents dropped off their bags in our room so I needed to wait until after their room was ready to take pictures of the room. There were just too many bags and people in the way to take pictures now.
We were also in a hurry to get to lunch at Beaches and Cream! We went next door to Val and Tom’s room to gather everyone for lunch. Wes and I had bought a little gift to give Tom for our trip. When we first started talking about this trip and staying at the Yacht Club, Wes and I decided that we should start calling Tom the Captain. The idea initially started from the How I Met Your Mother episode with the Captain. Now Tom doesn’t remind us of the Captain on the show but we just thought it would be funny for him to wear a Captain’s hat at the Yacht Club.
Tom really enjoyed his hat!
Wes texted me to let me know that our table at Beaches and Cream was ready so we all made our way to the restaurant.
Instagram love.
We were initially all seated around 2 of the round tables in the middle of the restaurant. Now, remember, there were 10 of us seated around those 2 small tables. As soon as our drinks were delivered it confirmed that there was no way that food for 10 people would fit on the table. We asked if we could pull up another round table but they said it was in another section so we couldn’t. Luckily there was a booth open that they said we could use so 4 of us moved there so we could eat our lunch without being so cramped.
We were on the Deluxe Dining Plan for this trip so there are a lot of food pictures for this trip report!
We ordered appetizers and I was so upset because my Dad, Tom and Kevin didn’t order appetizers! How can you not order an appetizer when you are on the DDP?! Hahaha I let it slide since it was just the first meal of the trip but I still didn’t like it. My Mom, Val and I ordered onion rings, and Wes and Allyson ordered Caesar salads. Unfortunately since Allyson was sitting at the other table, I wasn’t able to get a picture of her salad before she started eating it and Wes gave his salad to his Mom so I didn’t get a picture of it either.
Mmmm delicious!
My Mom made a Mickey out of onion rings.
