Really Long Spring Break Trip Report

[RPMdfw]

I can’t believe that I’ve already been home from WDW for more than a week. How is it that I work extra hours before I go on vacation to make sure everything is done before I go, leave for one week and find myself three weeks behind when I get back? Can someone please explain that to me?

Let me apologize in advance for the fact that this is one LONG trip report, but there is just so much to report and tend to go on and on anyway.

I guess the first thing I should do is introduce you to our cast of characters (and what characters we are, too)
Me--I’m Rob, a 34 year old gay guy from Dallas, Texas
Mom and Dad--my parents, living in Lubbock, Texas. We’re celebrating their 35th Wedding Anniversary by taking this family vacation to WDW
Dennis--my brother, he’s a couple years younger than me and lives in Durango, Colorado where he is the executive chef for one of the best restaurants in town
Amy--Dennis’s girlfriend also living in Durango. Up until this trip, only Mom and Dad had met Amy, but I’d chatted with her on the phone while planning this trip
Sofia--my sister, and a couple years younger than Dennis. She and her fiancé live in Odessa, Texas
Tosh--Sofia’s fiancé. We’ve known Tosh for a couple of years. He’s a great guy.

This trip is the first time we’ve taken a Family vacation in several years.

Well, now that you know who we are, you might want to jot the names and relationships down, so that you can refer back to them without paging up the thread. :lol:

 

[Yellow Shoes]

Great report. Looking forward to the next installments.

Some observations:
the cell phones were a necessity for your group (I am the last person on earth not to have one)

I totally sympathize with your frustration at not being able to get everyone out the door before noon. No one seems to understand that if you are there when MK opens, you can "do" Fantasyland in an hour. (I can also see this problem if I went with my extended family)

Sounds like the condo was perfect for a vacation with adults

Your no-park day sounded like a lot of fun, and a good way to re-charge. Glad the GF tea was worth it.

 

[RPMdfw]

Day Eight

DAY EIGHT—Friday, March 21st

This was the day that I’d scheduled to head over to the Kennedy Space Center and then spend some time at the beach. A few things happened that changed this plan: rain was forecast for the entire east coast region of the state, the shuttle disaster was too fresh in our minds to make a “tourist” trip to KSC, and Tosh asked if it were possible to visit the NASCAR museum and track in Daytona. So, our plan was scrapped and a new plan involving going to Daytona to see racecars evolved. Since none of this appealed to me, I grabbed the chance to take in some attractions (i.e. thrill rides) that I’d missed, and figured I’d spend a day on my own being a park commando. Then Dennis said that since he hadn’t used one day of his park hopper (the day that we’d gone to Disney/MGM) he’d join me. Since Dad hadn’t used that day on his park hopper, he offered it to Amy to use. (The Daytona thing didn’t really appeal Dennis and Amy, either). So, I explained that I planned on being up early to get to Magic Kingdom before the park opened and explained that it was my “park commando” day. They were both fine with that, but Amy wanted to hang out at the condo (and maybe by the pool) for the morning, so Dennis told her we’d pick her up at lunchtime. (I’ll admit, that at this point I wasn’t happy to hear that I was expected to leave the parks and drive back to the condo because I’m getting really tired of being taken for granted as the “chauffer” for everyone because I was the guy who had the car and knew where everything was, but I was really good and didn’t say anything. And even though the day didn’t go the way I would have planned, I had a great time with Dennis and Amy and did some things that I wouldn’t have done otherwise.) Anyway, I had been having this great internal debate about whether to eat at the Kona Café (Tonga Toast) or the Concourse Steakhouse (Sticky Mickey) on my last day. Having the beach day get rained out meant that I could do both! I let Dennis decide which he wanted to do, and I’d do the other the next day. We strolled into the Kona Café shortly after 8am and ordered the Tonga Toast. WOW! It was fantastic. It more than lived up to my expectations. I couldn’t finish it, but it was SO good. From breakfast at the Poly we jumped onto the monorail over to MK. It was only 9:15 when we arrived, so the crowd wasn’t bad at all. We went directly to Fantasyland and at Dennis’s request, we rode Peter Pan’s Flight first. He agreed that it was okay, but not worth the hour wait we’d have suffered through later in the day. From there we hit Snow White’s Scary Adventure and the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. It was our first time on both, and at least we can say that we’ve done them now. I’m not sure I’d ever do them again, unless I’ve got little kids with me (which unless Sofia or Dennis provide me with nieces and nephews is, frankly, a long shot). We then head over to Space Mountain (hooray, a rollercoaster at last!) only to be told that it was currently not operating (WHAT? Had they seen me coming and turned it off? )We then walk over to the “hub” to figure out what we want to do next. As we approach, I see that Lilo and Stitch are signing autographs and posing for pictures and that the line is only about 8 or 9 people deep (Lilo and Stitch is currently my favorite movie. I watch the DVD so frequently, I’ve got the dialogue memorized) . As soon as we get in line, the handler says that Lilo and Stitch will only be able to take pictures with the next 3 families, but they’ll be back at 11am. Well, Heck! I really wanted a picture with them! We head over to Adventureland and ride the Jungle Cruise, and the skipper is even funnier than the one I had last Friday. When we’re done, Dennis points out that it’s almost 11:00, so we head back toward the castle and are just in time to see the characters come out for more pictures and autographs. We head over to where we’d seen Lilo and Stitch before, and sure enough, we’re the first ones in line. I’m very excited. If you’ve never seen a 34 year old guy acting like a 5 year old, watch me waiting for my picture with Lilo and Stitch. (by the way, this is my FIRST picture with a character at WDW, and we never took any pictures with characters at Disneyland 22 years ago, so it’s my first ever.) Dennis rolls his eyes at me, but dutifully snaps the pic. Grinning from ear to ear at having taken a picture with two of my favorite characters, we head down Main Street to do a little bit of shopping before heading back home to pick up Amy. When we get to the monorail to take us back to the TTC, it starts to rain. By the time we get to the TTC, it’s pouring. I stop and buy two rain ponchos so that we can wade through the lake that only 4 hours earlier was the parking lot. Back to the condo in the pouring rain, pick up Amy and then it’s Disney/MGM studios for the afternoon. We get there at 1pm, and I see on the board that RnR only has a 40 minute wait. Perfect, I head in that direction when Dennis says, “What do you think of lunch?”. “Overall, I’m in favor of it.” I respond. To which he replies that isn’t it time we had some? My visions of being a “park commando” fade like the rainstorm above as he and Amy lobby to go to “that place we saw that has the cocktail bar”. Defeated, I reverse course and head for the 50s Prime Time Café. When we get there, the restaurant and bar are both packed, and I manage to secure a Priority Seating for 2pm. Since we’ve got an hour to kill and Star Tours is close by (and because Dennis and Amy really like Star Wars) we head over there. We ride the ride, we shop in the store, and then head back to wait some more for a sit down lunch. Okay, I’ll admit that the Prime Time Café was lots of fun (Dennis and Amy got into trouble for wearing baseball caps at the table, heh heh heh). We all cleaned our plates, and just as I’m thinking about it’s time to get the heck out of there they order another round of drinks. Apparently “park commando” means different things to different people. When we’re done eating (and drinking), we head over to the Muppets 3D Movie (the RnR wait time is now over an hour on the guest services board). I love the Muppet Movie, but honestly I think I like the pre-show better this time (it’s my third time to see it, and the novelty is wearing off). We walk around the back of the Muppet theatre and I FOUND THE UMBRELLA! (This actually cheers me up immensely, and I make them take a picture of me holding on to the umbrella as it rains on me—which I could have done without the special effects only an hour before, but what the heck). From there we head over to Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster in hopes that the line isn’t too bad. As we make our way down Sunset Boulevard, Mom calls and says they’re back at the condo waiting for the guy to pick up the scooter, and will wait for us to go to dinner for our last night together (it’s after 4pm by now.) When we get to RnR the line is over 90 minutes. I just give up, and we head to the condo, because I can’t hold up everybody else for a ride that I’ve already ridden twice in the past (once each of the previous years), especially as Dennis and Amy don’t really want to ride it. We head back to the condo, and then right back out to dinner at the Taste of China restaurant in the shopping center near Splendid China. Mom, Dad, and I ate lunch there back on Saturday and really liked it, so that’s where they decided to go for our last meal together. It was a fantastic meal (and I hate to say it, but it put Epcot’s Chinese restaurant to shame). After dinner, Mom and Dad head home, while I drive Sofia, Tosh, Dennis, and Amy to the World of Disney to finish souvenir shopping (plus Sofia and I both need to buy a tote bag to carry all the stuff we’ve bought.) Another $40 worth of discounts later, and we’ve finished shopping. We not only bought souvenirs for our friends and family at home, and for ourselves, but we’ve managed to buy presents for each other as well, making this trip something like a mini-christmas or extended birthday, and giving each of us something to not only remember this trip, but to remember that it was a present from a family member who shared this trip with us. That strikes me as a really cool thing and makes me really happy to have shared this WDW trip with my best friends—my family. Once the shopping is done we head home. Before the packing starts, we take a moment to open up a couple of bottles of bubbly, that I’ve picked up for this very moment, and we toast to Mom and Dad, and to their 35 years of marriage. We toast to our family, and wish for another 35 years. We toast to the addition of wonderful new family members like Tosh and Amy, and on additions yet to come. Then the frenzy starts, as we all begin to prepare for tomorrow’s departure. It’s midnight when I finally hit the sack.

 

[RPMdfw]

Day Nine

DAY NINE—Saturday, March 22nd

I wake up at 5am, and the pandemonium begins. By 5:30, Dennis, Amy, Sofia and Tosh are all packed, loaded into the van and ready to depart. (Dennis and Amy have an 8:05am departure, and Sofia and Tosh leave shortly after 9am) I give everybody a big hug and say my goodbyes at the condo, as I’m just going to drop them off at their terminals before heading back. I have to admit that I teared up, while saying goodbye. We’d planned this trip for a year, and now it was ending. It was everything we wanted it to be and more, but saying farewell is always a bit rough. (Even though we know we’ll all be together again in October when Sofia and Tosh tie the knot). The drive to the airport is uneventful and silent, as none of us has had much sleep, and minds are focused on dealing with the upcoming flights. I drop off Dennis and Amy and then Sofia and Tosh. The drive back to the condo in that van was awfully lonely. Once back at the condo, I rush upstairs, shower, finish my own packing and make sure that Mom and Dad’s luggage is loaded into the van. After looking around at the fabulous condo that had been our home away from home for the past week, we leave the keys on the counter and head out. Since Mom and Dad have some time before their flight leaves, they join me at the Concourse Steakhouse at the Contemporary Resort for Sticky Mickeys and Eggs Benedict. The Sticky Mickeys are good, but I have to admit that I thought the Tonga Toast was much better. After breakfast, I say goodbye to Mom and Dad and they head to the airport. And then there was one. I start the vacation the way I began it: on my own. Only one thing to do under these circumstances: head to the Magic Kingdom! I got there shortly after opening, and managed to get my picture with Robin Hood right off the bat. Disney’s Robin Hood was the first movie that Mom and Dad ever took me to when I was a very small child, and remains one of my absolute favorites to this day. Having my picture taken with Robin excites me as much if not more than having my picture taken with Lilo and Stitch the day before, and I’m grinning from ear to ear. My plan for today is to just wander around and soak up as much pixie dust and Disney Magic as I can before it’s time for me to leave, too, so I just start walking, going wherever my feet take me. One of the Mainstreet photographers asks if I’d like a picture in front of Cinderella’s Castle. I say sure. One last memento of a fantastic trip. I head over to Fantasyland and since there is absolutely no wait at all, I do something I’ve wanted to do, but have managed to miss in two previous trips to WDW and one trip to Disneyland all those years ago: I ride the teacups at the Mad Tea Party. I’m the only single rider, and the only adult without children, and I spin myself crazy, and laugh like a maniac. I loved it. On my way through Fantasyland back over to the hub, I stop and throw some coins into Cinderella’s Wishing Well. I figure if a wishing well worked for Snow White, why couldn’t it work for me. I strolled through Liberty Square, Frontierland and Adventureland and came back to the castle in time to see Cinderella’s Surprise Celebration. It was lots of fun, and it made me wish that I could get my picture taken with the Wicked Queen. (I looked for her at the Fantasyland Character Festival right after the show, but she wasn’t appearing, even though Jafar, Cruella, and the Queen of Hearts were.) After that, I boarded the Walt Disney World Railroad (another first) for a trip around the Magic Kingdom. After the railroad I stopped at the Exposition Hall to pick the photo of me in front of the castle and then over to the Emporium and bought a Prince Charming pin for my lanyard (if wishing at the well didn’t work, I figured I could at least buy a Prince Charming pin.). I take one last look down Mainstreet at the castle, then walk out of the park and over to the monorail. Once back at the TTC, I switch tracks and ride the monorail loop for one last look at Epcot. I don’t want to go. There are still so many things I want to do! Oh, well, I’ll be back for the first weekend in June. This isn’t goodbye, it’s only “so long”. I pick up the car at TTC and I’m off to the airport. The rental car drop off, security checks, and flight are all uneventful. As soon as I get home in Dallas at 8pm, I dial the phone. When Mom answers I say “So, what do you think? Same Time, Next Year?”

 

[RPMdfw]

Originally posted by Yellow Shoes
Great report. Looking forward to the next installments.

Some observations:
the cell phones were a necessity for your group (I am the last person on earth not to have one)

I totally sympathize with your frustration at not being able to get everyone out the door before noon. No one seems to understand that if you are there when MK opens, you can "do" Fantasyland in an hour. (I can also see this problem if I went with my extended family)

Sounds like the condo was perfect for a vacation with adults

Your no-park day sounded like a lot of fun, and a good way to re-charge. Glad the GF tea was worth it.

Hey, Yellow Shoes! I'm glad you enjoyed the report.

On your observations:

The cell phones were a godsend on this trip. With 7 adults going in almost 7 different directions, they were the only thing that enabled us to keep in touch.

The condo was absolutely perfect for our needs. I highly recommend www.condotels.net and the Emerald Island Resort to anyone.

And yes, the no-park day was a lot of fun, and Tea at the GF was amazing. We'd do it again in a heartbeat.

 

[RPMdfw]

Closing Thoughts

I really have a hard time believing that it's over. And I have a hard time believing that we pulled it off at all. It's really difficult to get our whole family together and it usually involves somebody getting married or buried. Being able to do this was truly the stuff dreams are made of for us. To have all 7 of us there, have everybody happy, no stress, no drama, no judgements, and just relax and have fun was worth more than words can say. My previous two trips to WDW (once on my own, and once with just my brother) were fantastic, but this one was as close to perfect as I think is possible. Disney World is just something that everyone should share with their family at least once. To share this experience with my parents and watch them see things with wonder in their eyes was priceless. To watch my Sister and the amazing man that she intends to share her life with share fairy tale moments filled my heart with joy. To spend time with talented brother and his very fun girlfriend made me smile then, and makes me smile now. I am in awe of these people with whom I share so much, and yet see so little. The Disney experience is at once intensely personal, and yet completely universal, and now it's something we share as a family. The advertising executives are right. Disney World is the place where Magic Lives. Until we bring it home with us . . .

 

[missypie]

You are a saint to go on a Disney vacation with your family as an adult. I just don't think I could take it (without my head exploding). I'm very much a "first in line at the rope drop" kind of person. My family went to WDW the second year it was open with a grandmother, two sets of aunts and uncles and a couple of cousins. Once we call finally get there, one of my aunts announced that we should have breakfast (yes, it's so easy to get a table for eleven!), so we spent about 75 of our precious morning minutes eating a sit down meal. My mother was fit to be tied, and now I understand why!

 

[RPMdfw]

Originally posted by missypie
You are a saint to go on a Disney vacation with your family as an adult. I just don't think I could take it (without my head exploding). I'm very much a "first in line at the rope drop" kind of person. My family went to WDW the second year it was open with a grandmother, two sets of aunts and uncles and a couple of cousins. Once we call finally get there, one of my aunts announced that we should have breakfast (yes, it's so easy to get a table for eleven!), so we spent about 75 of our precious morning minutes eating a sit down meal. My mother was fit to be tied, and now I understand why!

Actually, I can't imagine a better group to travel with. Yes, they got on my nerves some, and yes, I got cranky (probably more my fault than anyone else's) but my parents, brother and sister really are among my best friends. I always have a great time with them, and there isn't anything we can't discuss, whether as a group or one-on-one. I know I'm the rare case that truly loves to spend time with his parents, and as a gay-guy I'm unbelievably blessed to have a family that is SO accepting and supportive (and puts up with the MANY MANY "Evil Queen" and "Fairy" dust jokes I made). So, in the end, I don't mind missing rope-drop to eat breakfast with my family. It beats going alone by a million percent.

 

[Epcot is my fav]

Great trip report....enjoyed every line and minute of it!!!! thanks for keeping me entertained

 

[wdwforus]

I am trying to get my parents and my brothers family to go on our next trip but the chances are slim. Not sure if I could handle a whole week under all that stress around my mother either. I think she invented the saying" One more ride".

 

[Katherine]

I LOVED your trip report! The ending of it almost made me cry cause I know that feeling so well. I am sorry things didn't work out for you to be able to go on RnR but like you said your going back in June. Great trip report!

 

[RPMdfw]

Originally posted by Katherine
I LOVED your trip report! The ending of it almost made me cry cause I know that feeling so well. I am sorry things didn't work out for you to be able to go on RnR but like you said your going back in June. Great trip report!

Stop! You're making me blush! :lol:

I'll try uploading a couple of pictures in just a little bit . . . If I can figure out how . . . HELP!

 

[RPMdfw]

Okay, let's try this:

http://photoalbums.wdwmagic.com/showphoto.php?photo=1557

 

[RPMdfw]

Me with Robin Hood:

http://photoalbums.wdwmagic.com/showphoto.php?photo=1558

 

[missypie]

No pictures of you with the Evil Queen?

 

[RPMdfw]

Originally posted by missypie
No pictures of you with the Evil Queen?

Nope. I couldn't find her to take a picture with her! But not to worry, i'm sure there will be lots of Wicked Queens when I go in June! :lol:

 

[jcmayid]

Originally posted by RPMdfw
Nope. I couldn't find her to take a picture with her! But not to worry, i'm sure there will be lots of Wicked Queens when I go in June! :lol:

Hey RP, Can you give us some specs on that condo? Cost, size, location?

Thanks

 

[RPMdfw]

Originally posted by jcmayid
Hey RP, Can you give us some specs on that condo? Cost, size, location?

Thanks

The condo is located in the Emeral Island resort area which is behind the Splendid China Theme Park (off Highway 192 and Formosa Gardens Blvd). I rented it through www.condotels.net for $129 a night plus tax. (I reserved it back in April 2002 for March 2003 so I got it at the 2002 rate. Condotels now has the 4 bedroom 3 bath luxury villas at $134 a night plus tax.

The condo had two master suites with a queen sized bed and private bathroom for each. There was also a room with two twin beds and a room with one double bed. These shared a bathrrom. There was also a half bath for the Living Room, Dining Room, Kitchen area. The living room also had a fold out sofa, so the condo can sleep up to 10 people. It's also got a washer and dryer.

Overall we spent approx. $500 less renting this condo with 4 bedrooms and 3 baths than Mom and Dad have spent renting a 2 bedroom/ 2 bath condo outside Corpus Christi, Texas the last couple of years.

I hope this info helps . . .