Our road trip, resort hopping, HOT, HOT, HOT trip report: August 9-21, 2010

I just got back a few days ago, and while laundry waits for me, I was excited to get started on this.

We are a family of six. There is me, Jenn, my hubby, Sam, 15 year old daughter, drama queen, Lexy (or as she has taken to calling herself by her middle name this trip Ariana :lol, 9 year old daughter and mini drama queen, Lainey, 8 year old son, Roderick, and finally 6 year old daughter, Bella.

This was our first trip ever driving. My parents drove down when I was a kid, but we have never driven as adults. I was super excited for this new adventure. Sam was really not excited at all! He kept checking every day for flight prices to see if they had dropped.

I think because of this new experience there was more drama and crankiness before the trip. Sam and I were at each other a bit. Maybe that had something to do with the fact that I had this horrible mosquito bite. I had been itching it for days and on Saturday, the day we planned on leaving, it was very red and puffy looking. Really half of the back of my calf was involved. I asked Sam if he had ever seen a bug bite look like that and he said no. So we headed to the urgent care because I was worried that if it was getting infected that it would only get worse during our trip. So we spent two hours sitting around in a tiny boxlike room waiting to see a doctor for a prescription. It was crazy and not like we didn't have a million things to do. So we were snapping at each other a little, and I think at this point I didn't even want to go on the trip any more. I was ready to just scrap it. But we went home and starting throwing stuff in suitcases. Sam would have loved to been packed already but since I'm the procrastinator it wasn't done. Needless to say we were running late from our self-imposed leave time. Sam said if we were flying we would have missed the plane.

But at 10:30 at night we were finally ready to go. Here is the three little ones excited to get started. Lexy was cranky and too cool for this picture.

I have a picture of Sam before we left, but he insisted on loading the garage with the door closed so not everyone would know we were leaving on vacation so he was hot and sweaty. :lol:

We have a 26 hour drive ahead of us without stops, be we left Saturday night because at this point we don't know if we'll want to stop and rest somewhere. We are due in on Monday the 9th and I wanted to be there right away in the morning. So here we go!

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Awesome pictures and report, Jenn! It's so exciting when everyone can ride Space Mountain!!:sohappy:

 

[HollyBelle]

Ahhh Stitch's Dance Party. You and I had the same idea... when we came across it I just had to get pictures of the characters, Goofy especially, seeing as how I'd never seen him in the retro orange spacesuit before. I would still prefer a "spage age" meet and greet instead, but it appears that the dance parties are here to stay.

Loving it, Jenn. The picture of Roddy driving is so cute.

 

[mouselvrmom]

Awesome pictures and report, Jenn! It's so exciting when everyone can ride Space Mountain!!:sohappy:

Thanks, Tammy! It was so exciting! That is until we went to AK and Bella got to experience EE! Now space mountain seems like a baby ride! :lol:

Ahhh Stitch's Dance Party. You and I had the same idea... when we came across it I just had to get pictures of the characters, Goofy especially, seeing as how I'd never seen him in the retro orange spacesuit before. I would still prefer a "spage age" meet and greet instead, but it appears that the dance parties are here to stay.

Loving it, Jenn. The picture of Roddy driving is so cute.

Yes!!! I would love a space age meet and greet! The line for chip and dale was super long, so I just took a picture of them too, but I really wanted to wait in that line! :lol:

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Thanks, Tammy! It was so exciting! That is until we went to AK and Bella got to experience EE! Now space mountain seems like a baby ride! :lol:

Well she has a point there!:lol:

 

[HollyBelle]

Yes!!! I would love a space age meet and greet! The line for chip and dale was super long, so I just took a picture of them too, but I really wanted to wait in that line! :lol:

Yeah I noticed their line was always crazy long (and out in the blazing sun)... we got lucky and found them out early on an EMH morning. It was maybe 8:45 and they were just wandering around Tomorrowland.

 

[EaglesfanNJ]

Hey i just wanted to hop in real quick and let you know how much i'm enjoying your report. You have a beautiful family, great job on this report! Your pictures are all great! Thanks for taking the time to write this!

 

[mouselvrmom]

Hey i just wanted to hop in real quick and let you know how much i'm enjoying your report. You have a beautiful family, great job on this report! Your pictures are all great! Thanks for taking the time to write this!

Thanks! I'll finish day one sometime today and be moving on to day two! :lol:

 

[DiPSU224]

I love a TR loaded with pics! Keep them coming! Such a beautiful family...love the photo of the kids with Minnie.

I'm going to side with your husband and say Constance is creepy as hell. I don't like her either :lol:

 

[mouselvrmom]

I love a TR loaded with pics! Keep them coming! Such a beautiful family...love the photo of the kids with Minnie.

I'm going to side with your husband and say Constance is creepy as hell. I don't like her either :lol:

:lol: I can't tell him that there are actually people out there that agree with him! :lookaroun

 

[mouselvrmom]

After dinner, we took the monorail back to the MK and a bus back to our resort. The monorail was not packed at all. So I let the kids have fun standing up during the ride. I would not allow my kids to be so obnoxious if there was anyone around, but they had such a fun time holding on to the railings.

 

[mouselvrmom]

Then, it was back to OKW and we finally got to see our resort that we would be staying at for the next four days. I had prewarned everyone that they were to wait outside without bringing anything in while I took some pictures. They weren't happy, but they agreed to this. Here are a ton of pictures that I took of our rooms. I was actually happy that I got to get into a room that had not been refurbed yet so I could see the full golden girls style!

I was super psyched for the full size washer and dryer, considering I did about 2-3 loads a day.

 

[mouselvrmom]

More room pictures.

We weren't in a dedicated two bedroom, so the kids had their own "mini kitchen" which they thought was super cool.

My favorite room in the place was the master bathroom. I just loved getting ready in there. There was so much room, and I didn't think that I would like the distressed wall, but I actually really loved it.

Well, you made it through day one!! Anyone up for more, or have you had enough? :lol:

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I love it! I wish you'd have posted some of Sam's up-n-down pics on the way to dinner. Who takes pics of those perspectives? 6 months or so ago I found partially-used disposable cameras and took a chance at developing the pics. They turned out! Guess what they were?! About 6 years ago we were visiting the bro-in-law's family in Atlanta so we all went to Six Flags together. We gave each of the kids a disposable camera to capture their memories. The perspective that pictures taken by 6 & 7 year olds is just hysterical! So fun!

I will not make stripper-pole comments about the monorail pics! :lol: Nobody wants to hear that about their kids. I had a little giggle going, tho. Sorry. You can smack me now. I'd have thought/said the same thing & laughed if it was my own kids so I'm not being mean. I swear! :goodnevil Heck, I prob'ly would've inserted captions on my own kids.

Love the OKW room pics! You're so doing the 2 big things I'm thinking I really wanna have on our next trip: my own car available and the washer/dryer! I think I would love having the washer/dryer available. We always do laundry because I don't spend the money it takes to buy that many outfits for us. The decor is veeery 'Golden Girls'! You made me :lol: w/that one!

More more mooooore! :sohappy: I'm living vicariously thru your family since we have no clue when we'll be able to get back to our happy place. This is the first time since 2004 we've not had a trip in the works, being planned, or at least in the brain. I'm having withdrawls! :lookaroun

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Meant to ask: How are your kids with sharing beds? My youngest is an active sleeper and the oldest is the opposite. The oldest pitches a royal fit at the thought of sharing with his brother in hotels. I think maybe it's partially that age, too. It's so frustrating. I understand but then I'm not springing for a 2nd room nor am I sleeping with a kid (because I don't sleep well at all unless it's the hubby with me). I hate dragging air mattresses around and rollaways or air mattresses are such a PITA because they usually take up a chunk of the little space we have to move around the room. Do you get this from your kids at all??? I saw all those beds there in your pics and immediately thought that would be fantastic for us!

 

[mouselvrmom]

I love it! I wish you'd have posted some of Sam's up-n-down pics on the way to dinner. Who takes pics of those perspectives? 6 months or so ago I found partially-used disposable cameras and took a chance at developing the pics. They turned out! Guess what they were?! About 6 years ago we were visiting the bro-in-law's family in Atlanta so we all went to Six Flags together. We gave each of the kids a disposable camera to capture their memories. The perspective that pictures taken by 6 & 7 year olds is just hysterical! So fun!

I will not make stripper-pole comments about the monorail pics! :lol: Nobody wants to hear that about their kids. I had a little giggle going, tho. Sorry. You can smack me now. I'd have thought/said the same thing & laughed if it was my own kids so I'm not being mean. I swear! :goodnevil Heck, I prob'ly would've inserted captions on my own kids.

Love the OKW room pics! You're so doing the 2 big things I'm thinking I really wanna have on our next trip: my own car available and the washer/dryer! I think I would love having the washer/dryer available. We always do laundry because I don't spend the money it takes to buy that many outfits for us. The decor is veeery 'Golden Girls'! You made me :lol: w/that one!

More more mooooore! :sohappy: I'm living vicariously thru your family since we have no clue when we'll be able to get back to our happy place. This is the first time since 2004 we've not had a trip in the works, being planned, or at least in the brain. I'm having withdrawls! :lookaroun

There was one picture that looked decidedly more stripper like, but I kept that one out of the trip report! I didn't think the others were that bad, but I've been conditioned because my girls all dance. And you have the boys. But I'm laughing now. :lol:

Yes, the washer and dryer was fabulous. I literally brought like three pairs of shorts and just kept washing them and rotating them. I certainly didn't have enough shorts for 12 days worth!

I know how you feel about withdrawals, even though I just got back. We may not take a trip next year and save up points for a Hawaii trip, so that would be over two years. I don't think I can make it!!!

and just for you, I'm putting in a few of Sam's silly pictures as we walk out of the MK.

 

[mouselvrmom]

Just for you, sweetpea!

And to be honest my kids are pretty good about sharing beds. There is a bit of an argument between them because this one hogs the bed or that one grinds their teeth, but they like to sleep together. In fact, the littles love to sleep in the same room even though they each have their own room. Wish I had know that before springing for the big house! :hammer::lol:

 

[sweetpee_1993]

:sohappy::sohappy::sohappy::sohappy:

Sam's pics were great! Nobody else posts those. I'd venture to say most people don't even take those shots. But aren't they the view we all have as we move along all day every day??? Why not?

The first one looks like you're totally struttin' your stuff on the runway. Work it, girl! ((Can't ya just hear RuPaul right now?)) But your daughter looks like she's gonna be sick. Starving' to death, maybe? She's not looking at you so it's not you! Looking at each pic I have these little stories that go along with what everyone's doing as they're walking. So fun!

Oh yeah! Over the summer the boys "camp" in each others' rooms every night. I think it looks mean for 1 kid to be sleeping all sprawled out across a queen or full size bed while the other is curled up on the floor in a sleeping bag. :lol:

Thank you so much for sharing your adventure with us. Seriously. I need it right now. :animwink:

 

[mouselvrmom]

:sohappy::sohappy::sohappy::sohappy:

Sam's pics were great! Nobody else posts those. I'd venture to say most people don't even take those shots. But aren't they the view we all have as we move along all day every day??? Why not?

The first one looks like you're totally struttin' your stuff on the runway. Work it, girl! ((Can't ya just hear RuPaul right now?)) But your daughter looks like she's gonna be sick. Starving' to death, maybe? She's not looking at you so it's not you! Looking at each pic I have these little stories that go along with what everyone's doing as they're walking. So fun!

Oh yeah! Over the summer the boys "camp" in each others' rooms every night. I think it looks mean for 1 kid to be sleeping all sprawled out across a queen or full size bed while the other is curled up on the floor in a sleeping bag. :lol:

Thank you so much for sharing your adventure with us. Seriously. I need it right now. :animwink:

:lol: Oh, yes, I'm very RuPaul like! Lexy is probably just cranky. I see that face like 100 times a day! She probably wanted to get moving and get to dinner so that we could go back to the hotel and she could get on her computer.

I'm glad you're enjoying the report! We all need some disney spirit now and then! :sohappy:

 

[Fashionista007]

I'm loving this TR! My BF and I are going next month and we're also doing the dinner at Chef Mickey's. I didn't see pictures of Chip & Dale, were they not there? We really want to get a picture with them this time because the lines were too long in the parks last year and BF was disappointed.

 

[mouselvrmom]

I'm loving this TR! My BF and I are going next month and we're also doing the dinner at Chef Mickey's. I didn't see pictures of Chip & Dale, were they not there? We really want to get a picture with them this time because the lines were too long in the parks last year and BF was disappointed.

No Chip and Dale at Chef Mickey's. I think the only place they are now as far as a character meal goes is Garden Grill in Epcot.