Our Character Crazy Trip Report

As you may have seen from my preTR, we have been planning this trip for a couple of years...and minus a few issues here and there- it was as magical as we'd hoped for- and then some. Sure, we only did a fraction of what we had planned, but that was to be expected with a trip only a week long and two young kids. Probably the only thing I couldn't plan for was DD2 to finally hit the terrible 2s on this trip- thankfully, DD4 who is normally Meltdown Mama - was pretty good. I also apologize in advance if my references aren't all spot on- i.e. if I don't know all of the proper names for things- I know a lot, but I'm no expert. I also apologize for some of my sub par pics- I had issues on and off all trip. So, here goes (with the holidays- please be patient as it may take a little longer for me to update this)...

Day 1

We left IAH in Houston around 7:45am on Dec 7th for arrival at MCO around 10:40am. Aside from it being very chilly by TX standards (low 30s) and the crabby hag who told me to make DD2 shut up (crying b/c I insisted she wear her seat belt for landing), it was a fairly uneventful flight + I was able to pick out Epcot from the air. We made our way to the DME area pretty quickly and didn't have to wait too long for a bus.

The drive seemed to last forever, especially since we weren't the first stop (and b/c DH and both girls were doing the whole “are we there yet” bit). Thankfully, it wasn't too long before we arrived at WL and the tree/decorations had enough to keep them preoccupied for a while (after a while, DD4 started demanding to see Mickey in the lobby of the hotel).

We checked in online, but we still waited close to 30 min to get our keys, etc. At least our room was ready, so we headed upstairs. The girls really loved the towel creations- even though they couldn't quite grasp that one of them was supposed to be mouse ears (they lost interest by day 2 of towels).

We got all of our stuff situated and headed over to MK after a quick stop by the front desk for 1st Visit buttons (they were out – so I got “I'm Celebrating” and used a Sharpie to write in “my 1st Visit.” I wanted the first ride over to be by boat, I just wasn't planning on it being so cold and windy. We froze for a while, but the girls tried to make the best of it (aside from refusing to wear coats).

The boat arrived pretty quickly, and we were off! The boat would become our FAVE means of transport for the whole trip. The girls were pretty psyched to be on a boat; so, not much needed to entertain them. The tree outside of the Contemporary got the first big reaction,
but as predicted- the castle was the WOW factor. DD4 already had a pretty good idea of where we were after going in the main gate and going through the MK gate on the DME bus. In fact, after that first “Wow, it's the castle...”

...my follow up questions to make sure she knew where we were and what it was happened to be greeted with a “yes, I know, now stop asking.”

Good thing DD2 was more in shock and awe.

Love how DH had to shift her head to see it

THE CASTLE!!!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

What a great TR! I really enjoyed this, your pictures were great (daughters = adorable). It's so funny, though.. you referred to them as your DDs the whole TR, and I think there's one picture with your DD4 holding up a ticket to something.. I just imagined them as "K" names.

ANYWAY, perfect TR - and your castle pictures are wonderful, girl, don't stress!

Thanks! :wave: I was wondering if someone would bring that up :lol:...I wrote the bulk of the TR while we were there. I didn't see the pic with her name until after the fact. I thought about redoing the report with their names (b/c the pic was too cute IMO to leave out), but the monster of a wooden toy kitchen I had to assemble :brick:ended up winning the battle of time. In any event- DD4's name is Kendall and DD2 is Sammie.

Yeah- reading the report after completion, I realized I griped quite a bit about my pics- especially the castle and fireworks ones. I was just soooo frustrated b/c I wanted at least a few more iconic shots that might be print/frame worthy. I had a lens with image stabilization- which helped, but a tripod (and having more time and hands :lol: to learn and work with the camera) would have helped a whole lot more. We just had soooo much stuff b/c of the girls and there was no way we could also lug a tripod...although I did have Kendall go into a yoga pose to sort of simulate a tripod to help improve the quality of one of the shots. :ROFLOL:

What a wonderful trip report! your Daughters are adorable. Back when my DD was 2 we had the terrible twos hit during our trip(It was a holiday trip too!!). oh well we still had fun. lol

Thanks! :wave: Thankfully, her terrible 2s are not nearly as terrible as her sister's were (YET), but I still would have preferred if she could have held off. The worst part- she decided some time during day 3 that she wanted to be carried A LOT-and only on my left side! Normally, I'd cut her off after a while, but she was out of her element and off her routine + it's nice to keep the peace on vacation- so we indulged this much more than ususal. It was fine at first, but after a while it really did a number on my back. But just like your trip- we still had an awesome time. :sohappy:

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I finished your report in the wee hours a few days ago but was too wiped out to type out my kudos on the iPhone. My eyes were protesting big time!

I L-O-V-E-D your report! You did such an awesome job. I gotta tell ya, you're so much better than me doing a WDW trip with a 2 year old. I think if I'd tried that with my oldest in his 2's only one of us would've left their alive. LOL!

Your pics were fantastic! The commentary was wonderful. You did a great job capturing both the magical and not-so-magical moments. You rocked the TR in a big way! Awesome!

Your girls are adorable and your family is just beautiful. I loved the colorful outfits with the sweaters and the flowers in the hair, etc. If I thought for a moment I wouldn't look like a complete idiot at my age I would totally wear all that cool, colorful stuff. I really would.

I hate that the weather threw you off like it did. I can testify to the fact that frigid weather + Disney stinks. I didn't manage that cold weather well at all and we were prepared for it. Brrrr....

In the end, my final thought was that you & your DH deserve a grown-ups-only trip. Seriously. Keep that in mind. :wave:

Thanks so much for sharing your journey and taking us along for the ride. It rocked! Now, hurry back so we can have another report to read! :wave:

 

[HouCuseChickie]

I finished your report in the wee hours a few days ago but was too wiped out to type out my kudos on the iPhone. My eyes were protesting big time!

I L-O-V-E-D your report! You did such an awesome job. I gotta tell ya, you're so much better than me doing a WDW trip with a 2 year old. I think if I'd tried that with my oldest in his 2's only one of us would've left their alive. LOL!

Your pics were fantastic! The commentary was wonderful. You did a great job capturing both the magical and not-so-magical moments. You rocked the TR in a big way! Awesome!

Your girls are adorable and your family is just beautiful. I loved the colorful outfits with the sweaters and the flowers in the hair, etc. If I thought for a moment I wouldn't look like a complete idiot at my age I would totally wear all that cool, colorful stuff. I really would.

I hate that the weather threw you off like it did. I can testify to the fact that frigid weather + Disney stinks. I didn't manage that cold weather well at all and we were prepared for it. Brrrr....

In the end, my final thought was that you & your DH deserve a grown-ups-only trip. Seriously. Keep that in mind. :wave:

Thanks so much for sharing your journey and taking us along for the ride. It rocked! Now, hurry back so we can have another report to read! :wave:

Thanks! :wave: I swear - if DD2 were a normal meltdown prone 2 yr old outside of WDW- I probably would have said we'll just wait until she's 3 and braved the crowds the week before Christmas. I'm still in shock how "terrible 2ish" she was on this trip. At least her decision to potty train came after this trip. I didn't love running to the bathroom for diaper changes, but that's still easier than the "I gotta go potty" every 15 min.

I went kind of nuts with their clothes...mainly b/c the girls wear uniforms to school and rarely get a chance to wear anything even semi-cute. I would like an adult sized version of DD4's cardigan and DD2's pettiskirt, but what I'd really like are their Lelli Kelly shoes. I see no reason why a grown up can't wear bead and sequin encrusted sneakers. :lookaroun

The "just grown ups" trip is an idea. I guess at least our next 3 (while not Disney) should just be us...and then bring on the winter trip! At least with skiing - every ounce of our wardrobe will be suitable for 10 degrees or colder. Definitely more tolerable than cold at Disney, but I still think I can take frigid at Disney better than blazing steamy inferno (which will likely be the timing of most future trips).

Hope we get to go back soon too! Sadly DD4 has decided she wants a traditional bday party here vs a 3 day trip to WDW. (although, much kinder to my wallet:sohappy Oh well- looks like I have a Barbie Dreamcar cake in my future. Thanks again!!! :wave:

 

[lisak09]

Great Trip Report, how adorable are your girls?. I remember my girls going through the terrible two's and if its any consolation it does pass!!

Lots of great pics to go with the memories

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Great Trip Report, how adorable are your girls?. I remember my girls going through the terrible two's and if its any consolation it does pass!!

Lots of great pics to go with the memories

Thanks! :wave: Thankfully, DD2s terrible 2s are mild compared to her big sis.

You just reminded me that I need to put together pics for a 2011 calendar. I'm a bit behind.

Thanks again! :wave: