Just how much can you do in 2 weeks at WDW?

After reading so many wonderful and interesting trip reports on here, I have been inspired to write my first ever trip report (although I do not promise it to be wonderful or interesting!).

Background Information:
I had been planning this trip for nearly 6 years, from the day I returned from my previous one in 2006. I spent every day listening to podcasts and searching the internet for details to make the holiday special as I didn’t know how long it would be until our next one. My Disney planning obsession may have gone a little overboard, as my itinerary shows:

Who:
Husband, Gary
9 year old daughter, Molly
6 year old son, Matthew
and me, Karen.

When:
December 29th 2011 to January 12th 2012

Where:
Pop Century for 3 nights
Old Key West for 11 nights

Any other info:
This holiday was to celebrate my 40th birthday later in the year, as well as being a surprise Christmas present for Molly & Matthew. I still can’t believe that we kept the trip a secret for over a year!!! I guess that as I talk about Disney all of the time anyway, they just didn’t notice anything different!

The adventure really started on Christmas morning of 2011, when the children opened their first Christmas present:

Inside was a 4 foot tall Mickey Mouse balloon with a sign around his neck telling them that they were going to WDW in 4 days. They were very surprised and couldn’t really take it in at first. It was great fun, although in hindsight I don’t think Christmas morning was the best idea as they were a bit overwhelmed, especially with more presents to open.

 

[UKDisneyAddict]

Love reading your report. Our children are precious. Did you purchase all their t-shirts and other Disney wear in the UK or once you got here as they are adorable. Loved seeing you room at Old Key West would love to stay there sometime looks amazing. Can't wait for the rest of your report.

Thanks for reading. I did buy all of the t-shirts in the UK. I had been collecting them for about a year and bought most of them when they were on sale (usually $7.50ish per shirt) as I knew how expensive they are in the parks.

Your trip report is great, it looks like you all are having such a fun time. I love that your kids are wearing Disney shirts most days. I am going in 6 months and I already have quite a collection for my two!

You stayed at OKW in a one bedroom. Did you find it big enough for all four of you? Was there a door to close off the bedroom? My family (mom, dad, & two 15mo. olds) is going and we need a hotel to accomodate us. We need a room where we can put the kids to sleep in a seperate room and still be able to relax ourselves, watch tv or whatnot. If you have any answers I would appretiate it.

Thanks! And I look foward to reading more about your trip!

I'm glad you're enjoying my report. We loved the 1 bedroom villa, it was great to have so much space. There was a door to the bedroom. However, the bed is really high (compared to UK beds - this may be normal for beds in the USA). I slept on the sofa-bed in the lounge every night, which I found comfortable. I'm sure you'll have a great time. :sohappy:

Wow that looks like a fabulous trip! The pictures are fantastic! The one w/ Peter Pan is priceless! Thanks for posting!:wave:

Thank you. There was a long line for Peter, but it was worth it and he spent a long time chatting to everyone (hence the long line!!!). :0)

Hi Karen! Such a lovely trip report! I am really enjoying it! Looks like you all had a very magical trip so far! Can't wait to read more! Thanks for sharing!

Thank you for your feedback, it's lovely that people take time out of their day to comment. I hope to have the next instalment up later today (internet connection permitting!).

 

[UKDisneyAddict]

Sunday 8th January 2012 – Marathon Day

Gary was up at 2am, got ready and left at 3am to get the bus to Epcot for the start of the marathon.

I didn’t really sleep much after Gary got up as I was scared that I would miss the alarm. I got up at 3.30am and when I was ready, I woke the kids up at 3.50am. From this point on, I felt like the worst Mum in the world as they kept asking if they could go back to bed and saying ‘Daddy wouldn’t mind’ – I knew he wouldn’t mind but it was an experience that we would never get to do again. At 4.20am, we left the room and walked up to the Hospitality House, it seemed so far and our little trolley case full of supplies seemed really loud!! Luckily, a bus was waiting as we got there and we were in the Epcot parking lot by 5.00am.

We found a spot to watch the runners just after the start and we had our nutritious breakfast: donuts, flapjacks and rice crispy treats!! We were starting to have fun, and it wasn’t long before the first of the runners started coming past. With every corral, the fireworks went off and when a monorail went over nearby, it honked its horn – something I had never heard before.

When we saw Gary, we held up our banner and showed our matching t-shirts, as we did each time we saw him. Gary sent text messages from around the course, so we knew where he was and how he was feeling. After we saw Gary, we headed for the monorail to make our way to the Contemporary Hotel. After switching monorails at the TTC, there was a problem with the resort monorail and it chugged along at a snails pace. We all had to get off at the Magic Kingdom so they could take it to the shop. As it had taken so long to get here, we decided to miss the Contemporary and go to the next viewing spot on our list – the Polynesian. We hopped on the next resort monorail and made our way through the Polynesian car park to the viewing area. Again, we left as soon as we saw Gary.

Our last viewing spot was to be inside Epcot. As we waited for 30 minutes at the TTC for the monorail, we realised that everyone else had the same idea! When we entered the park, we walked along the marathon route to find a nice quiet spot where we could wait. We were by the big fountain (sorry, the name has escaped me!), in a nice sunny spot. We had more snacks and waited, all the while clapping all of the runners. I was so excited when Gary texted that he had just met Lou Mongello in the UK pavilion, to be honest, I was happy that Gary knew who Lou was and that he must pay attention to some of my Disney talk!!! Gary told Lou that he is UKDisneyAddict’s husband and Gary was happy that the name meant something to Lou and he shook his hand. I was also excited because it meant that he was in Epcot and he would be here soon. We all shouted like mad when we saw Gary coming and he stopped for hugs before carrying on. Gary finished the marathon in 5 hours and 27 minutes. We left the park and made our way to the meeting area and got straight on a bus back to OKW.

We stopped for Mickey Bars at the shop and found a cast member to take our photo, before going to the room for a well deserved rest (for all of us!):

Late in the afternoon we caught the boat to Downtown Disney. We did some shopping and had dinner at the Rainforest Café. After dinner, Gary and Matthew went back to the hotel, whist Molly & I continued shopping. We caught the bus back to the hotel and we were all in bed soon after. It had been a long, tiring and fun day!

Here is a selection of the marathon pictures:

 

[UKDisneyAddict]

 

[UKDisneyAddict]

Sorry about the technical hitch - I have crossed Photobucket's palm with silver, so all should be OK now!

 

[emh1960]

Wow!

How proud you must be of Gary!
Great Stuff!

 

[6laurac]

I can tell from your report that you put a lot of heart and thought into your trip. It is very sweet and touching and I know you can't wait to go again.

Look forward to reading the rest of it...

 

[UKDisneyAddict]

How proud you must be of Gary!
Great Stuff!

Thanks, I am very proud and he raised approx $750 for our chosen charity by running the marathon. :sohappy:

I can tell from your report that you put a lot of heart and thought into your trip. It is very sweet and touching and I know you can't wait to go again.

Look forward to reading the rest of it...

Thank you ever so much. I really enjoyed the planning and the itnerary for 2015 is well underway!! :wave:

 

[UKDisneyAddict]

Monday 9th January 2012

Today, we decided to go to Blizzard Beach as we didn’t get to go the other day. We were there for park opening and it was really quiet. Firstly, we rode the rubber rings that circle the park. Next, we went in the wave pool, but it was a bit too choppy for the kids as they are still learning to swim so are not confident in the water. We went to the kiddies section, which was more their level, but only Matthew was allowed on the slides because Molly was too tall. We decided that we would have been better off staying at the hotel pool. I was happy that we tried Blizzard Beach, but I hope that Typhoon Lagoon is open next time, as I’ve never been there.

We dried off and got dressed and had lunch at the counter service before playing a round at Winter Summerland. It was a lot of fun. Gary actually won, but Matthew still insists it was him as he had the highest score!!

We went back to the hotel and got ready for ‘Matthew’s Choice’. As expected, he wanted to go to the Magic Kingdom, so off we went. Gary wore his medal and loved that everyone congratulated him wherever he went. We went straight to Splash Mountain for Fastpasses. Then we went over to ride the Tomorrowland Speedway and Buzz. Matthew was generous with his choice and allowed Molly to meet Tinkerbell as the queue was only 20 minutes.

We rode Splash Mountain and I sat in the front (again) and got very wet!!!

Matthew wanted to ride Pirates again, which we did and then we had hotdogs at Casey’s before heading back to the room.

 

[wdwmagic]

Great report! and WOW that is a serious planning spreadsheet you have going on there!

 

[val002]

Great report Karen! Your kids are so lucky to have a Mom who surprised them with a trip to Disney, and then took the time to plan such awesome things for them while they were there! Very impressive that your husband ran the marathon as well! Can't wait to read about all your other adventures!:sohappy:

 

[UKDisneyAddict]

Great report! and WOW that is a serious planning spreadsheet you have going on there!

Thanks Steve. :wave:

Great report Karen! Your kids are so lucky to have a Mom who surprised them with a trip to Disney, and then took the time to plan such awesome things for them while they were there! Very impressive that your husband ran the marathon as well! Can't wait to read about all your other adventures!:sohappy:

Thank you. There are only 3 days left of the holiday to write about, but still a few adventures to come!! :sohappy:

 

[pumpkin7]

awesome trip report so far, and yes i am very impressed with your itinary. that's defiantely the way an itinery should be done! can't wait for the next few posts.

 

[Trouble]

Still reading - I love that the kids each got to pick an afternoon!

 

[UKDisneyAddict]

awesome trip report so far, and yes i am very impressed with your itinary. that's defiantely the way an itinery should be done! can't wait for the next few posts.

Thank you. The next update will be on here very soon. :wave:

Still reading - I love that the kids each got to pick an afternoon!

Thanks for reading. They really enjoyed being in charge! :lol:

 

[UKDisneyAddict]

Tuesday 10th January 2012

As usual, we were up bright and early and today we were off to EPCOT. We headed straight to Sourin’ to get fastpasses as the wait was already 40 minutes. We crossed the park and went on Test Track. Molly didn’t like it and Matthew wasn’t too keen, so I’m looking forward to the new updates for when we go back.

We still had a bit of time before we could use our fastpasses so we went on Spaceship Earth. Molly really loved this ride, I think it was because she could be in charge of the touch-screen in the vehicle!

We had an ice-cream break and I decided that for the first time ever, I was not having a Mickey bar and tried the Mickey ice cream cookie sandwich instead. I must say that I have found a new love, I’m just disappointed that I waited until the end of the holiday to try it!

Sourin’ is one of my favourite rides and it was great to get to share it with the kids. Next, we went over to World Showcase to ride the Gran Fiesta Tour in Mexico and Maelstrom in Norway.

On our way out of the park we met Duffy and Molly found a hidden Mickey:

We had lunch at Olivia’s and went back to the room. Matthew still wasn’t feeling great, so he had a rest, while Gary & Molly went to the pool and I sorted things out for packing tomorrow.

A bit later, Molly and I took the bus to Downtown Disney for the last of our souvenirs and gifts. On our way back to the hotel, Molly declared that her favourite part of the holiday was learning the bus commentaries by heart!!!!

 

[UKDisneyAddict]

Wednesday 11th January 2012

We were up early for our busy day ahead. After breakfast in our room, we took a taxi to the Grand Floridian for our Mini Portrait Session with Disney Event Photography. We had a lovely photographer (sorry, I can’t remember her name) and she packed as many pictures as she could into our 20 minutes with her. There were 61 photos on the CD.

We started on the beach:

then moved to a garden area:

We finished by the fountain:

 

[UKDisneyAddict]

When we finished, we had a second breakfast at Gasparilla’s, where we all had pancakes.

We took the monorail to the Magic Kingdom and went straight in to meet Mickey and Minnie as there was no wait and Gary wanted a photo wearing his medal with Mickey.

Next, we checked in for our Family Magic Tour. We were given our name stickers and mingled with the rest of our group while we waited for everyone to arrive.

We met our tour guide, Lisa, and she explained that the Mad Hatter a played a trick on is friends by hiding their things around the Magic Kingdom and made clues to find them. However, he had fallen asleep and had forgotten to get them to play and now Mickey was getting call from everyone to say that their possessions had gone missing. Mickey was too busy to collect the items himself (obviously!), so we wondered if we could help him!!

We followed the clues through all of the lands in the Magic Kingdom and found Rhino’s Ball (from Bolt), Russell’s grape soda badge, Rapunzel’s frying pan, Remy’s cookbook, Captain Hook’s hook, Tiana’s keys for her café, Lightening McQueen’s chequered flag, Mickey’s Duffy bear, the Lost Boys treasure and Belle’s book. During the tour, we rode the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and had a private meeting with Peter Pan. It was a lot of fun as we jumped, flew and skipped out way around the park. Our 2 hour tour finished when we met Minnie & Mickey to give him the items we had collected.

 

[UKDisneyAddict]

The afternoon was ‘Family Choice’ Gary chose to ride the train around the park as he had not been on it so far this trip. We boarded at Main Street Station and did a loop and a half to get off at Frontierland.

We had lunch at Pecos Bill’s and then bought some ponchos as we didn’t want to get too wet on Splash Mountain as the weather was a bit chilly again. We rode Splash Mountain for the last time this holiday, which was the choice of both me and Matthew as it is our favourite ride.

Just after we came out, we were glad for the ponchos as it started to rain. We went over to Tomorrowland and rode the Peoplemover (Molly’s choice). When we got off, we met Space Chip & Dale.

We bought some more things at the Emporium and the boys & Molly had snacks in the bakery (I didn’t because I have a nut allergy and there were too many around for my liking and I wasn’t hungry enough to ask for a safe option!!).

We took the bus back to the hotel, where I packed the cases ready for leaving tomorrow. Molly had a cry about leaving and to be honest, I nearly joined her!!!

Gary & Molly walked to the main building and came back with hot dogs for dinner, which were just what I needed.

After being here for 10 nights, I finally managed to find time to enjoy the jacuzzi bath. It was very relaxing and after watching TV for a while, I took to my Disney bed for the last time this trip.

 

[emh1960]

Love your family photos!

What a great idea to have those photos scheduled at the GF! And another great idea for the backstage magic tour! You really had the trip of a lifetime!:sohappy:

 

[journ116]

Thank you, thank you, thank you for such a pleasant, memory-making-filled, at-home-feel, trip report!! I thoroughly enjoyed reading through this TR, and as I sit here typing, I can't help but smile!

Your TR has given me some ideas for my upcoming trip in Oct./Nov. 2012, but seeing all those delicious Mickey ice cream bars :slurp: only makes the wait that much tougher!

P.S. How did you like OKW? I am a DVC member and we're planning on staying in a studio for the first half of our trip. What building did you stay in? Would you recommend one building over another? Oh, and anything else you can quickly tell me about that resort would be a bonus!