Trip Report Oh, the Places We go, The People We See

Welcome to my newest Trip Report. For those who don’t know me, I am Jen.

That’s my Daughter Claire with me.



We just got back from an amazing vacation with several family members.

We traveled Nov. 1st thru the 15th, 2012. We rested our headed at 6 different places on this trip, and though it wasn’t always easy to keep moving from place to place, I am happy to have tried some new resorts out and stayed at some familiar ones as well.



This trip came about over a year ago. My Mom’s cousin Vicki wanted to take a trip with her and my Aunt Mary. Her Daughter Katie also wanted to come along.

After some talking and planning it became a group of 16 traveling. I was elected ring leader since I have quite a bit of Disney experience.

Plans were made, some were changed, and some were a little slower at making decisions than others.

My husband Skip is what is known in the Disney groups as a resistor and he decided NOT to come along. He was not so happy about the amount of time I was going to be gone.



The dates for the cruise were set first, Nov 4 through the 8th on the Disney Dream. We all planned to arrive a day early and stay at the Residence Inn near the port. Soon I decided that I must add a few Disney days, and so did everyone else eventually. I thin decide…heck lets add some more, and Claire and I ended up staying 3 more days after the rest left.

Then after doing some research and with a heads up from my good Dis-friend Carey, I was alerted to the fact that the last Halloween party was on Nov. 2nd. How could I pass that chance up? So Claire and I decided to fly in a day earlier than everyone else to hit that party. Claire and I also decided to fly out of Columbus. My family lives near the Toledo, OH area, and the best direct flights are out of Detroit. My youngest sister, who was not going on the cruise, lives in Columbus, and I was able to get a decent priced direct flight from there, so Claire and I drove down Nov. 1 and spent the night before our early flight.



Plans were finally all set in stone and we just had to wait for our time to arrive. Not an easy task, but we all managed.



Let me introduce you to the crew. This is a picture of a picture. My sister has the CD with the actual digital copy, but hasn’t yet loaded it to the computer, so I had to go with this for now till I can get a copy.

In the back row, left to right, we have my parents, Joe and Paula, next to them is my Uncle Geoff. Next to Geoff is cousin Vicki and her son in law Thad. Next to Thad is Pete, Vicki’s husband and then me. Aunt Mary is on the end, she is married to Uncle Geoff and my Mother’s sister.

Down towards the front, left to right, is my nieces Alexis and Abby with their parents Rob and Gail. Gail is my sister. Front and center is Claire. Behind Claire are Jude, and Katie. Katie is married to Thad and is Pete and Vicki’s Daughter. And then we have baby Luke in the stroller. He is only about 9 months old and what a cutie he is.



This trip had the usual ups and downs that most every family will have, but I have to admit things went much smoother than I planned. We never felt the need to kill each other for the most part. LOL

We had several cruise newbies and several Disney World newbies as well.



Please join me in reliving a very magical trip with all the places we traveled and all the people we met along the way!

 

[jenseib]

My thoughts…..


This was the longest trip I have ever taken, and even with all the extra time, I still felt I didn’t do as much as I wanted to, but that’s just me. It was one of the best vacations we have ever been on. We did so many new things, tried so many new places to eat and resorts to stay at. We also did some old favorites. It was a very Magical trip being there with so many family members. Something I hope Claire remembers for a long time. I had worried how it would be with so many strong willed family members on one trip, but it worked out fine and we did things together and apart with no issues at all.


The Animal Kingdom Lodge is one of our new favorite resorts and we hope to stay there again. Sadly, my cousin Katie stayed there as well and did not like it. She had a few issues and she got less than stellar service when she inquired about them. Actually one CM was quite rude and she wrote a letter and was given a partial refund.


The cruise was fabulous. It was even better than I could have hoped. I really hope in a few years time we can do it again, because it was just that much fun with so many people we knew on the ship.


The Parties were so much fun. I am so lucky and happy to have been able to enjoy both the Halloween party and the Christmas party all in one trip. It was totally an amazing experience.

The décor for both seasons was just amazing, but I have to admit, the Christmas stuff totally blew me away and I MUST get back for a holiday trip again in the future. NOTHING compares to seeing the castle lit up at night.


The Beach Club Villas were nice, but not a place I would rush back to. I did not like the room décor. The pool was fabulous, however, but we just didn’t have enough time to use it much.


Art of Animation was fabulous. The theming is just so amazing. I did not like the walk to the Little Mermaid rooms however and I do not see us staying there in the future without a fantastic deal, and then I would still have to think about it. If I could get a deal on a suite, I would be more likely to stay, since its closer to the main buildings. That walk could be a killer at times.


We tried many new places to eat this trip. Some were very successful. We have 2 new favorites, T-Rex and Via Napoli. And now we have some places that I don’t think we’ll ever go back to, but I am glad to have tried them.


We also got to try out the New Fantasyland TWICE!!! I had been bummed that it wasn’t going to be officially open for our trip, but now knowing what I do, we actually were fortunate it wasn’t. Crowds and wait times were insane when it did open and I was lucky enough to basically have no wait for them …AND I got to try out BOG when I didn’t think it would be in the cards for us this trip.


Gail said that a few days after being home, she asked Alexis what she wanted for dinner and Alexis replied she would like crab legs. Gail told her no, that was vacation food and not something she makes at home. So Alexis thought about it and said she would like Shrimp then. LOL. She loved eating like a queen on the ship and the parks!

Gail says that Abby will still randomly ask if they can go visit the princesses today. She is just such a stinker and so darn cute.


I am one who believes that no trip is ever going to be 100% perfect, but how you go about it and your frame of mind can make or break the trip as well. This one had its ups and downs, just like any other trip, but it was still super fabulous and I would love to relive every moment of it. Ok….maybe not the part where my Dad took the wrong suitcase at the airport and we had a very tense morning till we got Mom’s suitcase back….


For the most part, everyone had a great time. Even Aunt Mary and Geoff said they would love to cruise again, and they weren’t sure about the cruise part from the start. They like to lounge around and were able to just hang out in the room and do nothing if they chose to.

We also wondered how my Dad would like it…as he can be a bit whacky when things are completely planned and going the way he thought they were supposed to go. And though I had told him before the trip that with cruising, there is a lot of “go with the flow” he said he wasn’t going to go with any flow. LOL

When asked when he got home by his friends if he liked it, he said he wouldn’t trade it for anything. It was one of the best vacations he had been on as well.


The only downer we had was with Dollar rentals. Some of the family members were charged for the insurance. They had accidently checked yes to it because the counter people tell you to check yes to everything. Luckily I read everything as I checked and checked the no box and I didn’t have that issue. My Aunt has written several letters/emails and as far as I know it still has not been resolved. I now warn everyone I know who rents with Dollar to really check everything and double check that they are NOT charging you for something you don’t agree to. They are slick!


The only thing that might have made it even more special is if Skip had come along, for even part of the trip, but he was being stubborn. He told me that the next trip would include him, but that was not the case, because my next trip was with my other sister and parents to Williamsburg.


We are now at over 1 ½ years since Skip has traveled with us and I keep trying to bat my blue eyes and convince him to do a holiday trip. It’s not working as of yet, but I never give up hope.

The next trip most likely will be with my parents again in March of next year and we will be staying offsite at their timeshare. It will be a different experience, but lots of fun too.


Thanks so much for reading along and sharing in all the fun we had this trip!

 

[need2go2wdw]

OMG! I can't believe I am done reading your report! I have been reading this for about 2 months now! Here and there, in my free time I would open my iPad and I kept this page open so I could pick up where I left off even if i only had a few minutes. This was the best trip report I have ever read! It definitely puts my trip report to shame, lol! I've never seen such a detailed account of a trip! I felt like I was right there with you guys! I was sad when you were on the unMagical Depress right along with you!!! I definitely have found a few things after your descriptions that I would like to try on future trips! And going to both the Halloween and Christmas parties in the same trip...how awesome!!! A 14 day Disney vacation is my dream! I hope one day to make that dream a reality!!! Thank you soooo much for sharing!

 

[jenseib]

OMG! I can't believe I am done reading your report! I have been reading this for about 2 months now! Here and there, in my free time I would open my iPad and I kept this page open so I could pick up where I left off even if i only had a few minutes. This was the best trip report I have ever read! It definitely puts my trip report to shame, lol! I've never seen such a detailed account of a trip! I felt like I was right there with you guys! I was sad when you were on the unMagical Depress right along with you!!! I definitely have found a few things after your descriptions that I would like to try on future trips! And going to both the Halloween and Christmas parties in the same trip...how awesome!!! A 14 day Disney vacation is my dream! I hope one day to make that dream a reality!!! Thank you soooo much for sharing!

Thanks so much for reading along. We had such a great time. We never did get to Disney this year and it makes me sad, but I did go to Williamsburg, VA and that was fun.
Right now the plan for us is to go in March with my parents and stay at their timeshare offsite, so it will be a different type of trip for us. My husband is planning to fly down and meet us at the end of the trip and we are looking at possibly doing a cruise then. I am actually researching it now and though I want to try another line...I think we might be doing the Disney Dream once again...but you never know!

 

[lbrad]

I made Claire go get in front of it.



One more shot before we head in.



Let the Memories Begin!!!!!





We slowly walked in through the Oasis. Well I wanted to explore and soak it up, but Claire was more worried about me calling to find out where Alexis was, which I did as well.

We all headed to Cabanas and had a quick breakfast. We kind of trickled in and out, not all of us eating at the same time. The selection was less than other mornings and I think only one side was open, but there was enough to keep us happy. After we ate we headed down to the atrium. We had no real plans to meet up, but luckily everyone found us and we gathered around. Of course there were bathroom stops needed and the bathroom closest to the atrium was pretty full, as in a line out the door. BUT we got smart and found out that the one down a ways near the Walt Disney Theatre was virtually empty.





Finally we all were gathered. There might have been another bathroom break in there as well. We have a family of nervous bladders.
Mom also appeared to be coming down with sinus infection. She is not like the normal people who get them after an extended cold. She gets them right off the bat and she was worried how she would be feeling the rest of the week.



It was time to say goodbye to our home for the last 4 days. I think we started the process of getting off around 9.

We headed down the stairs and the porters were waiting. I had told the family that it might be wise to get one to help with the luggage, but every one of them ignored them as they walked by and looked lost. I wasn’t sure how they missed them or why they were walking by, but when Claire and I got down, the porters once again asked if we needed help and I said yes! Mom came out of her haze then and realized what I was doing. The porter told her he could get all our bags. The other families followed suit. I think we had 2 to 4 porters working with us if I remember right. Our guy was nice. He told us how he was going to be sailing with his daughter in a few weeks and that he planned to work that morning and make some extra money and then have her Mom drop her off and they would sail and he would be back to work again that day they got off. He was very excited about going.

We made our way through customs and when it was our turn the porter told us that we had a great customs officer who wasn’t too strict. We headed up and I gave him my passport and Claire’s birth certificate and my parents did the same. The officer then asked Claire what Feb 14th meant to her. My parents both at the same time said “it’s Valentine’s day”! Um, hello, mother who gave birth to me …… I told the officer that Claire probably didn’t know what it meant, but my parents surely should and that’s when they went oh. Yep that’s my birthday! But the first thing they thought of was Valentine’s Day. Oh brother!

We all headed out to the shuttle pick up with the help of our porters. They dropped our bags off and we tipped them.
We had a little wait, but not long at all.





Before we knew it the Residence Inn shuttle arrived. This time it was not a big bus, but a little bus with a trailer attached to the back for luggage. Luckily none of us lost our vouchers for the return trip. Once again Claire and I got the front seat.



And then we were off. It was so sad to see our ship one last time. But I still can’t get over how big she is.





All too soon we were back at the Residence Inn.
They unloaded the luggage and Claire and I went off to pull the van up to get it packed.



Everyone was impressed with how smooth this whole process went. I was glad we had no kinks.

Once our vans were loaded we were all heading off to our next resort. We all had different ones. Gail’s family was staying at the Art of Animation in the Little Mermaid rooms. Katie’s was staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Pete and Vicki were heading to Pop Century, via Aunt Mary and Geoff dropping them off and Mary and Geoff were going to stay offsite at the JW Marriott.

And us, well I had a resort in mind right from the beginning of the planning of this trip. The thing is, it was an expensive resort. But I REALLY wanted to stay there. I did all sorts of figuring and scheming and research and I finally was able to get it for a decent price. At the time of booking it, it was just going to be for Claire and I.
Where is this dream resort? Well the Beach Club! Well I ended up finding a fabulous deal for the Beach Club Villas. Still more than I wanted to pay, but let’s just say I saved a TON of money on this room. And since it was just Claire and I, I booked a Studio. Well several months later, other family members decided they wanted to extend their stay as well, and started booking rooms. Mom did not want to stay at Pop again. She didn’t like the double beds. She looked at some options, but she just wasn’t sure she wanted to pay the price for the Beach Club or other deluxe resorts. I had mentioned that they could stay with us, but I was in a studio and that they would have to have the pull out couch. At first that was a big no, but after a while she decided it wasn’t so bad after all.

So off we go! It’s not a long drive at all, but when people drink coffee in the morning …ahem, mom …..They can’t go an hour between bathroom breaks and we had to make a stop.

Soon we pulled into the Beach Club and I went in to check in.

A year later and I am half way through your fabulous TR!!!
Your daughter is adorable How sweet she could cruise with her cousins!!! Such fun!!!
Love Uncle Geoff's Pirate costume ... what a great surprise for everyone.
What wonderful memories ALL of you will have.
Can't wait to finish reading your adventures in the parks.

 

[jenseib]

A year later and I am half way through your fabulous TR!!!
Your daughter is adorable How sweet she could cruise with her cousins!!! Such fun!!!
Love Uncle Geoff's Pirate costume ... what a great surprise for everyone.
What wonderful memories ALL of you will have.
Can't wait to finish reading your adventures in the parks.

Thanks so much for reading along. We had such a great time on that trip!
We are planning a trip for March right now. The first half at WDW with my parents and my husband will fly down towards the end of that and we are planning on doing a short cruise then. My sister has shown interest to join us as her girls keep talking about cruising again, but it might not work out with their schedule. I will write a report on that, but it will take me a while to get it started and of course I am not a fast writer. LOL