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!

 

[Fashionista007]

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.

Thanks for the info *Goes off to see if she can book an ADR....

 

[disneygirl1]

Loving the report Jenn!!! Can't wait to read more!!! :sohappy:

 

[mouselvrmom]

Loving the report Jenn!!! Can't wait to read more!!! :sohappy:

Thanks, Reese! I'm going to try to get some more up as soon as I get the kids to bed.

 

[mouselvrmom]

Alright, so we're now on to Day two: Tuesday August 10, 2010.

This was to be an Epcot day, we had reservations at Le Cellier.

Before we left, I took some pictures of the view from our balcony. This was the most peaceful spot! The balcony was huge, had a ceiling fan and a light.

Finally, everyone was ready to go. But first, I always make them take a picture in front of our room door. I know, cheesy, but it's a way for me to remember what room we're in.

Look at how cute the railing things are...

Roddy looking for more lizards.

Our other room door.

We're just waiting on Lexy. Oh, there she is.

 

[mouselvrmom]

We decided to take the bus to epcot today. Sam still wasn't ready to drive again.

We made it. Sam went to get fastpasses for Soarin' while we waited around. Lainey wanted to take a picture of us by the fountain. Really, I was surprised that she fit us all in considering I had the 50mm lens on.

Then, she wanted one with her in it too.

We started walking to catch up with Sam and decided to wait for Test Track. This used to be Roddy's favorite ride. He still likes it, but it's no EE- which seems to be a theme with everyone this trip.

Either way, I love the theming in here. It's a great place to cool off and look around to just get a break from the heat. This time it was threatening rain. We weren't sure if we would get on the ride or not.

Lainey saw these earphones and really liked them. She thought it was a nice detail.

Who wants to ride Test Track? We do!!!

Well, I guess we kind of do....

Sam's finger is in this picture pointing to Lexy's zit. Great, now she's cranky for the rest of the queue! Thanks, dad!!!

I'm now stuck taking random pictures of the queue since the wait is so unpleasant with Lexy and Sam glaring at each other.

 

[mouselvrmom]

They kept announcing that due to inclement weather there may be delays since the ride couldn't operate then. But it kept on going. We were wondering if we would make it or not. Or, worse, if we would make it and then it would start pouring on us outside while going 60 mph.

Well, we made it on the ride. whew.

Oh, oh, did they leave the corrosive stuff on?

When we got out, Lexy found a car that she wouldn't mind for her 16th birthday.

We were happy to make it through the ride with no rain, but it opened up right after. Now we're stuck in the store with it pouring out. Great. We had to pull out the ponchos and make our way to lunch. We decided to try Fountainview Grill. Which was kind of a mistake. It was packed with people even though it was a bit early. I suppose the rain drove them all in. It had let up a bit. We stood in line and sent the kids to get a table, but they absolutely couldn't find one. I tried to, but there was so many people waiting. We ended up outside at a wet table praying it wouldn't rain again. We were all a little cranky and my camera was put away, so there was no pictures at all here.

 

[mouselvrmom]

As soon as we finished eating, it started raining again, so the ponchos came out again. We had gotten so lucky yesterday with the rain, I suppose we were due for some crappy weather.

We decided to go to SSE in hopes that it would clear up while we waited.

I always smile, I don't know why. But the kids love to see what kind of silly faces they can make. This time it was Roddy and me. Now my kids love this ride specifically for the pictures at the end. Sam is always so thrilled that he has to ride this one over and over again. He calls it his mid afternoon nap spot...

We stopped at Mission Space to get some fastpasses. Sam really wanted the kids to experience it at least once. I said that there was no way I was riding orange and I would just ride green and that was that.

 

[mouselvrmom]

By this time our fastpasses for Soarin' were ready, so we headed to the land. Once there, Sam drooled a little over Sunshine Seasons and his strawberry shortcake, but said he didn't want to stop.

We all love the smells on Soarin'! And Bella giggled her way through this one too.

We went back and did mission space. Bella and I had no wait for green, and Sam and the kids used fastpasses for orange. Lexy didn't like it. She said it made her feel sick and she was cranky and mad at Sam for making her ride. Eh. At least she experienced it once. Roddy actually liked it, or so he said. He would say anything to impress his dad.

It was now time to walk around World Showcase for a bit. The rain had completely cleared up and it was once again hot, hot, hot.

We ducked in side Mexico to cool off for a minute.

We rode the Fiesta. I'm still not sure if I like the characters in here. I find it a bit distracting, but oh well.

Sam grabbed us a few margaritas, because you just have to have some while waiting in line for Fiesta Donald!

More to come...

 

[KnK]

I love the random photos. My husband has a habit of just taking the video camera and moving it around with out looking at anything.

makes for plenty of blurry fast shots.:animwink: One of my favorites is the year he is talking and clearly not paying attention, walks the camera into the back of my head.:ROFLOL:

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I'm now officially stalking your trip report! Test Track, the one thing worse than the high speed runs outside in the rain would be when it's pouring, the vehicle goes outside the building, then stops...with you strapped in the car. Happened to the dance team girls in front of Tracey, Uncle Jerry, & the boys in Jan. 09 (much to the delight of the youngest - Lol). Grand Fiesta. The video bits in the original version were getting so dated to me that I did feel like something needed to be refreshed. I love cartoons so much. I'm such a big kid. I enjoy the updates with the 3 Cabelleros. But hey! WooHoo for margaritas! :slurp:

KnK, you should send your thump in the back of the head to AFV! The visual on that was funny!

 

[erstwo]

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.

Okay, I haven't even made it past the first post - but I have to stop here and say: If you have FOUR children, it's not called procrastination, it's called LIFE, right? :lol:

 

[s.ollie]

I'm new to reading trip reports and just want to say I'm finding yours so enjoyable to read.

i especially got a giggle out of your oldest girl being too cool for certain pics and sulking at dad for making fun of her zit...... mainly because i remember being that girl :ROFLOL:

you all look like a fun family

 

[meganwdw]

I absolutely love your trip report!! Your family is so freakin' adorable! I cannot wait for my twin girls first trip in Dec. 2011! They'll be 21 months old.

 

[mouselvrmom]

I love the random photos. My husband has a habit of just taking the video camera and moving it around with out looking at anything.

makes for plenty of blurry fast shots.:animwink: One of my favorites is the year he is talking and clearly not paying attention, walks the camera into the back of my head.:ROFLOL:

Yes, that is definitely an AFV tape! :lol: Sam will often have the video camera on and not realize it. He'll end up taping 10 minutes of the ground or something.

I'm now officially stalking your trip report! Test Track, the one thing worse than the high speed runs outside in the rain would be when it's pouring, the vehicle goes outside the building, then stops...with you strapped in the car. Happened to the dance team girls in front of Tracey, Uncle Jerry, & the boys in Jan. 09 (much to the delight of the youngest - Lol). Grand Fiesta. The video bits in the original version were getting so dated to me that I did feel like something needed to be refreshed. I love cartoons so much. I'm such a big kid. I enjoy the updates with the 3 Cabelleros. But hey! WooHoo for margaritas! :slurp:

KnK, you should send your thump in the back of the head to AFV! The visual on that was funny!

Oh, stopping outside while raining would have been horrible! Too bad for those dance team girls!

I love the 3 Cabelleros. I think the biggest thing for me is that there are so many screens with multiple things going on that I can't decide where I should look. :lol:

Okay, I haven't even made it past the first post - but I have to stop here and say: If you have FOUR children, it's not called procrastination, it's called LIFE, right? :lol:

I'm so telling Sam that one. I'm not a procrastinator, I just get caught up with life....

I'm new to reading trip reports and just want to say I'm finding yours so enjoyable to read.

i especially got a giggle out of your oldest girl being too cool for certain pics and sulking at dad for making fun of her zit...... mainly because i remember being that girl :ROFLOL:

you all look like a fun family

She was so self conscious about those zits! I told her with the heat and all the sweating it was natural. So that certainly didn't make her happy!

I absolutely love your trip report!! Your family is so freakin' adorable! I cannot wait for my twin girls first trip in Dec. 2011! They'll be 21 months old.

Oh, that will be so much fun! We definitely need a trip report for that one!

 

[mouselvrmom]

Day two, cont'd....

After seeing Fiesta Donald, the kids were kind of cranky. Imagine they were upset that Sam and I had refreshing margaritas and they didn't get anything. Bella was carrying on like she'd never had anything to drink before. And the bottled water that Sam was carrying in the backpack? How dare you ask her to drink that stuff! So we popped into Norway to take a break and ended up getting the kids cinnamon rolls and drinks.

Well, look who's happy now...

We waited in a not terribly long line for Maelstrom. It was a close call when we got off. There was a HUGE line waiting for the doors to open. We had to hightail it around some slow people to not get caught in the movie.

We stopped and took some pictures in Canada, but it was really a little early for our dinner reservation. So we watched Off Kilter for awhile.

Then, we wandered over towards the UK.

Lexy is such a good big sister to Bella.

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Food always my kids happier too!:lol:

 

[mouselvrmom]

Lainey found an Alice dress that she likes. However, the kids each had $100 to spend on themselves anyway that they liked. Once it was gone, it was gone. It's amazing how quickly they will stop and rethink something when it is their own money they are using.

Sam wanted me to take some pictures inside this shop.

After our wander, it was just about time for our reservation, so we headed back to Canada.

I get to eat here tonight!

Now, the neighborhood we live in is named after a man that founded the town. It is called Victor Gardens. So when we saw this sign, Sam asked me what it reminded me of. I can't even remember the ridiculous reply I had, but needless to say that fact that it's like home totally went over my head.

 

[mouselvrmom]

Food always my kids happier too!:lol:

:lol: I guess it's just too much for them to see mom and dad enjoying themselves. Makes them think about what they're missing!

 

[HollyBelle]

Your Epcot day reminds me much of the day we had when we were trying to meet up with you. We met Fiesta Donald and had a snack at Kringla before going on the Maelstrom. Oh, and I love your commentary on the woes of being a teenager. Great stuff. This report will be fun for Lexy to look back on when she's older.

 

[mouselvrmom]

It was starting to sprinkle while we waited for a table. It was completely full inside, so the kids went to the kidcot stop to pass the time. I guess someone must be hungry.

It stopped raining for a minute, so I went out to sit on a bench.

And it's raining again. So back to the kidcot stop. Luckily the hostess came over then with news that our table was ready. I could not wait for some pretzel bread!

I absolutely loved our table! It was secluded in the back and had a high back so we really felt very private. Much better than the tables in the middle that are on top of each other! If you're wondering about the blurry pictures it's because I really wanted to take them without a flash to capture the ambience of the place, but I was working with some really low lighting.

I like to try to be positive about everything- maybe I'm a pollyanna- but my steak was not the best I've ever had here. The mashed potatoes were divine, but my steak was a bit over cooked. I ended up eating some of Lexy's after she was full because hers was a bit less done than mine. It wasn't bad, just not what I was looking forward to.

Dessert was too yummy though. I got the creme brulee and it was delicious. Lexy got the moose and it looks like eating did the trick with her mood.