Trip Report SURPRISE SEPTEMBER TRIP REVEALED.... BUT WAS IT A SURPRISE?

This is my first trip report and I hope I can compare to the high standards of some of the trip reports I read before our trip, during my research period. Thank you by the way to all who indirectly made this a magically and memorable trip.

We did manage to make it to WDW and back home safely. Been home for about 6 days now and still working at cleaning/organizing everything after the trip. Especially all the photos taken. I had a personal count of about 2200 pictures/videos of my own. Now mind you most of those were similar. By that I mean, my cameras have the option of taking up to 3 photos in a row. I thought best to use this feature in order to acquire the perfect shot, instead of being stuck with only the 'one' picture of someone looking elsewhere or with their eyes closed. And of course there were those few shots taken of the ground that always appear to happen. Not to mention just over another 1000 photos in my Memory Maker account. I think this was a very good investment on my part.

I guess I should start by back tracking a little.

Why? Besides the answer of why not, this trip started to flourish by the kids last year asking if we could go to WDW. I promised we could in two or three years but we would have to cut back on some of our spending and start saving for it. So, true answer, promise made.

How? Things just ended up falling into place to go this September, about a year in advance. I was able to receive some severance from a project I was helping with and thought our WDW trip would be a good way of using it.

When? I was originally thinking of going around March 2017, near to DD's birthday, but further research provided information September provided some of the lowest crowd levels. This would be an extra benefit for someone who has not been to WDW in about 40 years to be able to get around. September provided some extra benefits besides the lower crowds, lower costs and free dining. I would happen to have the children for a 3 week period in September and would allow flexibility to when we would fly. (Only later to decide we would be driving instead, but still allow us to be at WDW longer than the normal 7 days I have the children.) It would also be DS's birthday during this 3 week period and who won't want to celebrate their birthday at WDW.

I decided we would drive down (more due to trying to keep it a secret longer), departing Canada on Monday, September 12th taking the scenic route to WDW. We would arrive at WDW on Thursday, September 15th and depart on Friday, September 23rd. This would give us newbies 7 full days in the parks to explore.

I should add that while I was organizing the above, the children were planning a trip for the three of us to go to WDW July 2017 for my birthday. I know I am mean in being so deceitful, but I actually did give them the option to help plan 'a trip I was planning' but they wanted it to be a surprise. So, really it is their own fault.

Who?

Me- Paul

DS - Daniel

DD - Christina

I think I will end it here for now. I will be back soon to report our departure and our first leg of our drive.

 

[Scoppin]

Now it is onto the truck for our safari. Apparently a family missed the truck, leaving a total of 12 on our safari. And actually only two families. Us, a family of 3 which would leave the 2nd family with a party of 9. They were also Spanish speaking and didn't speak much english. This more or less left us with asking most of the questions.

Didn't take long for us to find a giraffe. Almost looks like it was trying to hide behind the tree and we came from the opposite direction.

A little something other than a giraffe.

Gnus/Wild Wilder beast. Not that I know of a tame Wilder beast.

Two strange creatures.

Baby rhino in the middle, between mom and aunt.

A few more photos from the safari coming up soon.....

 

[Scoppin]

Our guide and photographer beside her. That is an actual real horn she is holding. I forget from which animal it is from. Apparently these do not grow back. It was interesting to hold.

Peek a boo

That is actually DD's head which is being blocked by the giraffe, Ruby.

DS trying to get a close up of Ruby.

A nice little pat for Ruby.

DD's attempt to feed Ruby. It didn't last long. Apparently giraffes spend much of their time eating. Believe 70% of their time. Their tongues are of a purple colour as a form of sunscreen, considering they use their tongues to eat and may get burnt with it sticking out that much during the day. I gave her mine as well in order to get a better picture.

DD's pat to say bye to Ruby.

One final shot before we leave and say bye to the animals of the safari.

 

[Scoppin]

Sorry I missed you...in both places!!

I know I have not been here long, maybe 6 months, but I have learned many things. Not all of them WDW related. I have learned many here have a great amount of respect and admiration for you and your helpfulness to share your experiences and knowledge with everyone. I truly appreciated it as a newbie trying to plan the 'perfect' trip.

However, I think there are also many here, if not all, who are also jealous and envious of the amount of time you spend at WDW, aka your second home.

 

[Tuvalu]

I know I have not been here long, maybe 6 months, but I have learned many things. Not all of them WDW related. I have learned many here have a great amount of respect and admiration for you and your helpfulness to share your experiences and knowledge with everyone. I truly appreciated it as a newbie trying to plan the 'perfect' trip.

However, I think there are also many here, if not all, who are also jealous and envious of the amount of time you spend at WDW, aka your second home.

Your kind words touched my heart, thank you!

Now, bring on the big reveal!!

 

[Scoppin]

Your kind words touched my heart, thank you!

Now, bring on the big reveal!!

that made me laugh. It is coming, I promise. We are almost done with Busch Gardens. I can't add pictures while I am at work. Have to wait until I get home. Will try to post more after my parent council meeting tonight.

Also, trying to figure out about adding a video. I have followed one instruction, here from administration, but didn't work. I asked what I was doing wrong. I received a slight adjusted method. I will try this also tonight to see if I can be successful adding some videos from Busch Gardens.

A video would be the best way to do the reveal. I think. Maybe. At least it would save me time from writing everything down.

 

[Scoppin]

Hello everyone. I have finally able to embed a video within the post. I am going to add a few which occurred earlier in my above posts regarding Busch Gardens. I hope these work.

First up,

Feeding dry food to the kangaroos.


Than feeding nectar to the birds.
First DS


Than DD


Now back to Walkabout Way to bottle feed the kangaroos.
First DS


Than DD


Now to feeding Ruby the giraffe.


I hope all the above work.

 

[Scoppin]

The kids were still being chatty with the naturalist while we walked back to the Serengeti Outpost. They were asking what she would suggest seeing next. She pointed out Jambo Junction, which we could just see the blue roof over the tree tops, and the Animal Care Centre, where the kids may be able to witness an animal being taken cared of. We headed to the Animal Care Centre first. It was good choice to do first, it was air conditioned. There was a nice staff member preparing some fruit for the animals. I do believe her name was Mary. We discussed many issues from what animals eat, Canadian and Florida weather, the animal care centre and the kids wanting to handle some animals. I believe she spent some time in Buffalo and liked winter but adding after being in Florida for some time you just get use to Florida weather. It was a very warm and humid day.The Animal Care Centre is home to the ABC show The Wildlife Docs, however there were no animals being looked after while we were there. Mary suggested we head over to Jambo Junction as this is where they keep the animals they use when the visit schools. Animal Ambassadors I believe she referred them to and there was a sloth there, if it was out at an event. She also added if the kids asked they may be allowed to feed the flamingos. So, off to Jambo Junction we went.

We first came across this bald eagle. No worry the kids are safe. There is a double fence between the eagle and the kids.

We arrived at Jambo Junction and were able to see the animals through the glass. There were plaquets on the wall describing the animal and stating its name. We were going around the other side when we saw some staff coming through a gate. DS looked at me and I just nodded at him, as indicating go ask. He went up to them and asked if they would be able to feed the flamingos. One agreed and told him to meet her by the pen. We were a little late in getting there as the kids got distracted with one of the animals on that side. However all was good and they enjoyed feeding the flamingos.

A short video.

 

[Trisha Lynn]

DD asked for a cheetah and DS asked for a sloth. I am not sure where the sloth came from as well. Apparently I don't know my kids at all.

Kids, man. At least you're flexible enough to accommodate that kind of new information.

If I can keep this trip a secret from my own kids for 5 months, I think I can keep this part a secret for a little while from some strangers

LOL! And you're doing a great job at it, too.

However, I noticed that your videos are being marked private. I believe that if those are YouTube uploads as I suspect, you're going to need to change the settings on them where anyone who has the link can view them. That way, we here on this forum can look at the videos, but any random person browsing YouTube won't be able to see them. And if you're concerned about the kids' privacy, after a certain amount of time, you can set the videos back to being private again.

 

[Scoppin]

Kids, man. At least you're flexible enough to accommodate that kind of new information.



LOL! And you're doing a great job at it, too.

However, I noticed that your videos are being marked private. I believe that if those are YouTube uploads as I suspect, you're going to need to change the settings on them where anyone who has the link can view them. That way, we here on this forum can look at the videos, but any random person browsing YouTube won't be able to see them. And if you're concerned about the kids' privacy, after a certain amount of time, you can set the videos back to being private again.

Why thank you.

Thank you for letting me know. I wasn't sure if it had completely worked, considering it is my own account. I have changed the settings. I hope this has fixed the problem and now able to view. This will come in handy in a few days I hope.

 

[Scoppin]

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 15 CONTINUED...

The kids really enjoyed feeding the flamingos. I even grabbed a few scoops of food and feed them as well. I was surprised no one else came up and asked if they could. Well their loss. The flamingos are very noisy when they are happy.

The only negative thing I would say about Jambo Junction was that we were not able to get in the building. When speaking with Mary, I got the impression we would be able to go inside and interact with the animal or at least speak with the staff about the animals. We were only able to see them from the outside.

It was time to eat, it was already 2:00 pm now, so we stopped by the Serengeti Outpost to ask for their opinion as to where to eat. We mentioned we preferred to eat inside away from the heat. They suggested continuing up towards Pantopia and eat at the Dragon Fire Grill and Pub. On the way there we passed Elephant Interaction but the elephants must have been inside as we didn't see any. We continued on and found our destination. We went in and the cool air felt very nice. There was a show just ending.

DD ordered the macaroni and cheese, which would be a tread for the rest of the trip. DS ordered a grill cheese and I ordered a Cheeseburger. Both kids decided to have frosties to drink.

After finishing our lunches we went back to the food court and grabbed some dessert to finish off our meals, DS got a strawberry cheesecake and a Snickers cone for DD. We then went over our itinerary to see what the kids wanted to do next. It was agreed they wanted to go on the bumper cars and take the train around the park. This would more or less take us to the end of our day. We made our way through Pantopia and found the Congo train station. We were just a little late as we missed the train. We asked the staff member when the next train was. She told us they come every 20 minutes. We weren't sure what to do while we waited and then remembered the Ubanga Banga Bumper Cars were just up the hill. We then proceeded to get in line, but first checking with the height meter to see if DD could go in a car by herself. She could not. We only had to wait one round before we were up. After our ride we just went right around for another ride. I think others did the same. However this time there was some drama in the line/waiting area. There was a mother trying to get her son off the ground. I am not sure how old he was 4-6 years old, but he was really putting on a show. Crying, kicking, screaming, throwing his arms. I am not sure how long they were there but it felt like a really long time. I thanked my two for never really being like that. But then again they knew what would happen if they acted that way. I might have just walked away. I had done that many a time when they didn't want to leave. I just start walking and they would soon be behind me. I also won't be bribing them for their behaviour as this mother was. We would have been heading straight out of the park, or at the very least, said child would not be participating in any further attractions until behaviour changed. Then I am sure some form of grounding/removal of electronic privileges would also be included. I think I also whispered to DS that they would know the consequences for bad behaviour as was being demonstrated. He nodded his head in agreement. I think a kiss on the head and hug came afterwards. You just have to show your appreciation for what you have sometimes. Actually many times, over and over.

After our second ride we headed back down to the train station. They were loading the train so we had to quicken our step. At times like these I would send DS forward to halt any departing train/bus. We were able to find a seat for us to sit together.

By this time it was about 3:55 pm and I knew we won't have much time left after the train ride as it was about a 30-40 minute ride. It was agreed the kids wanted to ride some kiddie rides before we left. So, we went passed the Stanleyville Station, where the rides were which was only about 5 minute ride, and continued with the ride until we came to the Stanleyville Station again. Until then we enjoyed the ride and a different view of the Serengeti Plain.

Baby rhino again.

I believe this guy held us up for a little while as he crossed the tracks.

We made it to our exit stop and we made our way to Sesame Street Safari of Fun.

The kids first ride was Air Grover.

Then they both hopped on here for a twirl.

Only DD was allowed on this ride. DS was to tall.

Quick ride on the merry go round.

And one last ride. I think by the time we got here it was officially past 5:00 pm but the staff member let the kids go on for one ride.

The kids wanted to continue to play in the area but everything was closed and I stated we had to move along. We made our way out of the area, but I suggested we make use of the restrooms prior to leaving. When we exited we were greeted by a number of staff. I guess they were doing the sweep from the back of the park to the front to ensure no one was remaining in the park. The last little while I was watching the skies as they were a little dark in the distance. I just wasn't sure which direction they were going.

 

[Scoppin]

We were now making our way out to the main entrance, but not without a few distracting stops. The first being a gift shop. DS wanted to purchase a sloth, not a real one, wait, he would probably take one if someone offered. But no, a stuffie. We didn't see one so I asked. They stated they didn't have any in this store but may have in the bigger main store near the entrance. So, I decided to hold off my shirt purchase and do it all at once.

Next stop was the photo booth, which both kids ran into. However it was not working due to the lack of coins I was not feeding into it.

Then a little dancing under the cooling station which was no longer misting water. DD was disappointed, but I can understand why it was off. They may not be able to get some to leave, such as DD.

We finally came to the main gift shop. First up find the kids what they wanted; cheetah and sloth. I was able to find one of each even though they were at kid height and they missed it. I have to work on that with them. Their observation skills sometimes are lacking. However, when DD saw DS's sloth decided she wanted a sloth a well. This one being one with longer arms which could wrap around you. She does sometimes tend to follow her older brother.

So, just a little recap on the whole giraffe/sloth/cheetah thing. DD advised cheetahs were her favourite animal even though she does not have any sort of item of one at home. And even though she had an opportunity to purchase a cheetah decided not to and purchased a sloth instead. So, we to this date still do not have any form of anything cheetah in our house even though they are DD's favourite animal. But what am I to do. Not going to force her to purchase anything. It is what it is.

Then it was my turn to find a shirt. I didn't want anything too much/loud but would also state I was there. I had the kids provided their opinion. There were three shops connected and we walked through all three before making our final decision. I did ask one of the cashiers if we could purchase our items there even if they were from one of the other shops. They said of course. I wasn't going to wait in the long lines in the main store if I didn't have to. So, we returned once I made my final decision. I this time remembered to use my 10% preferred hotel discount card as I forgot to use it for lunch. Every dollar helps.

Now we were ready to leave. We hopped onto a tram back to the parking lot. It was while we were walking back to the van when DS noticed all of the license plates in the parking lot. Remember what I mentioned above regarding observation skills. He didn't notice all those license plates in the parking lot of the Hard Rock Cafe/Hotel/Casino. He then looked at me and asked,'Daddy, are we in Florida?'
I replied, 'yes we are.'
DS, 'Are we going to Orlando?'
Me, 'No.' (well considering we were in Tampa and the west side of Orlando, we didn't need to go through Orlando to get to WDW. I wasn't lying this time. Just not telling the whole truth. Just answer the question being posed with no extra information. )
DS, 'oh.' I think there was a sad face in there as well.

So, a little recap of Busch Gardens, before moving on.

It would have been better if we had more time. We were there shortly after it opened, 10:00 am and there until closing, 5:00 pm. The extra hour would have come in handy, but we did our best. There were a number of things we did not get to, not including the thrill rides. Either due to time constraints or time spent in other areas. Areas we missed were;

Orangutan/Tigers: I thought it would have been kind of cool to go through here especially with the pop up observation areas/windows they have in the middle of the exhibit.
Curiosity Caverns: This is where they house nocturnal animals. We have seen these at other zoos so may not have missed much.
Edge of Africa: A self walking tour where you see some other animals not seen on the Safari; lions, hippos, hyenas and merrkats.
Cheetah run: we did see the cheetahs, but they were just laying there. They do demonstrate the speed of the cheetahs at scheduled times. I didn't mention this to the kids as I knew we won't be able to do everything on the itinerary as it was.
Myombo Reserve Chimps/Gorillas: they can always be entertaining.

I didn't find the park very busy. I can't speak to the thrill ride lines, but we were able to walk around and experience the animals exhibits without hoards of people.

Biggest disappointment: Besides losing an hour off the start and not being able to do everything I wanted, would be not being able to interact with either the animals/staff at Jambo Junction. I am certain the kids would have loved to ask bunches and bunches of questions.

Biggest surprise: Cheetahs being DD's favourite animal but didn't purchase anything cheetah.

Favourite part: The kids being able to experience a number of different things for the first time and interact with the animals. I am certain they will remember feeding all the animals; kangaroos (grain and bottle feed), birds (nectar), flamingos and giraffe (even though they are not DD's favourite animal any longer, what ever.

We were back on the road shortly after we got organized again and I updated the GPS. I knew we would be headed into some traffic, which is also one reason I wasn't in much of a hurry to leave the park/gift shop. But I also didn't want to get caught in a rain storm. It was suggested via another thread that I should leave Busch Gardens before 4:00 pm in order to avoid as much of the rush hour traffic as possible. Well I knew my original itinerary was ambitious and losing the hour was not helping. I knew we would be staying until close. There was no way I was going to tell the kids at 3:00 pm that we had to leave in order to get to our next destination. I think that might have rose some red flags. And besides, we weren't traveling that far this time and really in no rush. So, yes we did get caught in some rush hour traffic but it was all worth it to have a great day for the kids. The traffic was heavy for a while and probably added an hour or two to our drive but we still arrived when the sun was still up. Oh, sorry. Getting a little ahead of myself.

So, besides getting to WDW the only thing I had to figure out was how I was going to inform the kids where we were going. I finally came up with the perfect method to reveal the surprise. But you will have to wait just a little longer. I know, I know this is how some of you are feeling. ....

 

[hanwill]

Yes, Yes we are!!!! Great TR so far!

 

[Scoppin]

Yes, Yes we are!!!! Great TR so far!

Thank you.

Okay here it is.

Thank you for following.

 

[Scoppin]

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 15 --- THE BIG REVEAL

Okay here is what everyone has been waiting for. Maybe I have been postponing this for this long as not to disappoint anyone from the anti climax. Or not wanting to read further. Okay Okay, on with it.

As mentioned above we hit traffic. And throughout the majority of the ride I was trying to figure out how to make the most of this reveal. I didn't want to just drive through that magical gateway and maybe them seeing some of the signs of where we were going and catching on, on their own. I won't be able to capture that while driving. That magic would be lost. So, I came up with a diabolical plan. I would set one of me cameras on video, pull over just as the gateway came into view, pull over and in sort of a panic type voice tell the kids to get out of the van because something was wrong with it. I know evil.

Well, we were getting close as we came off the highway and was following the signs to WDW. Then almost all of a sudden as we came around the bend/off ramp there it was, the WDW gateway. I grabbed the camera and turned it on. And good thing I was already in the left lane, as I proceeded off onto the side of the road. DS was napping at the time. This will come into play shortly. This is what transpired at 7:16 pm Thursday evening, September 15th.



I think I will leave it here and continue with our check in later.

I hope it was not anti climatic.

 

[Trisha Lynn]

Oh, man! That was so cute! I love how smart your boy was and that impulsive hug from your daughter was so endearing. You must have felt like the best dad in the world when that happened. This made me tear up, and it also lead me to a great realization.

My parents were too frugal and practical--and my mom too chicken to take cross-country flights--for us to take a visit to Walt Disney World when I was their age. I think the reason why I've been so excited to read your TR is that my inner child is living vicariously through your children right now. I'm so excited to read the rest now.

 

[PacNWTigger]

What a great reveal!! Your kids are super cute. I'm glad you were able to keep the secret. I makes it that much more special for them.

 

[Scoppin]

Oh, man! That was so cute! I love how smart your boy was and that impulsive hug from your daughter was so endearing. You must have felt like the best dad in the world when that happened. This made me tear up, and it also lead me to a great realization.

My parents were too frugal and practical--and my mom too chicken to take cross-country flights--for us to take a visit to Walt Disney World when I was their age. I think the reason why I've been so excited to read your TR is that my inner child is living vicariously through your children right now. I'm so excited to read the rest now.

Thank you. To be honest, and you might of heard my voice crack, it made me emotional as well seeing them so happy.They are great kids and I want to do everything I can for them. However, life sometimes gives us limitations as to how much we can do. WDW is now off our bucket list. It would be nice to go back again, however I have to be realistic. But, maybe one day.

My parents were frugal as well. But we took a camping trip about 40 years ago and made our way to WDW. I have vague memories of our trip. I tell you the place has changed plenty. Back then you could just go without planning and have fun. Now a days you have to plan 2 years in advance. I had to do it within 5 months and hope everything I had planned would be on their wish list. What helped is that I do know my kids, well at least for the exception of their favourite animal.

The WDW portion is up next and I will have to warn you it may be filled with a lot of pictures. The biggest problem I have is cutting down the pictures so it is not the only thing in the report, not to mention the report being 100 pages long.

Thank you for following and your nice words.

 

[Scoppin]

What a great reveal!! Your kids are super cute. I'm glad you were able to keep the secret. I makes it that much more special for them.

Thank you, they are. One reason why I decide to keep them.

It was not easy at times. Sometimes I just wanted to blurt it out, but am really glad I didn't. And really glad others helped keep it a secret as well. It did make for a better experience. DS did mention to me that I did lie to them, however there was reason for the lie. So, it was okay to lie. They were excited for about the whole time we were there, with the only exception when they were really tired and wanted to sleep/not get up.

I am not if they will trust me in the future. I know I won't be able to top this trip. All other trips will pale in comparison.

 

[Scoppin]

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2016 - WDW
ARRIVAL

So, the big reveal has been completed and we are moving again but this time into WDW. It was not long before DS mentioned 'Daddy, I don't think we were allowed to park on the side of the road like that. Look at those signs.'
I replied, "I see the signs but didn't back there. Good thing I stopped where I did then."
I am sure most of you know the signs I am referring to. Closer to the WDW entrance are signs on both sides of the road stating parking/stopping on the side of the road is not allowed/permitted. I guess a number of people do what I did or just stop for pictures. Well, it they want to stop people they may have to put more signs up further down the road. As I truly didn't see them. I am not saying I won't have stopped or anything of the sort.

So, through the WDW gateway we go and make our way to All Star Sports resort. I parked the van in the check in parking area and we head inside to check in. The kids were constantly looking around, being all excited and asking if we were really there. The line for checking in didn't take us long. I think we were in-between DME buses. The CM was very helpful, as I mentioned it was our first time and really didn't know anything. He found our Magic Bands which we put on, but first had to active. He gave us a bunch of paperwork, including a resort map, and showed us where we were staying. It was close to the main pool/food court/buses. I believe it was building 6. 6309, if I remember correctly was our room number. You think I would still know this considering the number of times I had to write it down after our meals and purchasing deliveries. This broke our 4th floor hotel streak. But we couldn't get any higher as we were on the top floor, 2nd from the end furthermost from the main building. We could see the pool and just minutes from the food court and the buses.

He also gave us a bunch of buttons. We all got 1st time buttons. DS got his birthday button. DD and I got celebrating buttons.

I did ask if a package had arrived. I had ordered a bundle of Disney pins from eBay so the kids would have some to trade. It was not there and he asked how it was being shipped. I knew it was going to be couriered, but didn't know which one. I was also getting a little nervous as after I chose the method of shipment and paid then noticed a certain method of shipment had to be chosen in order to ship to Disney. And I forgot which one I chose.

We then went back to the van in order to unload. I decided to pull it up to the front doors. I then asked for a luggage cart, otherwise I think we would still be there unloading. I asked the CM out front if I could leave the van there until we returned from taking our luggage to our room. She sort of looked and then asked to park it on the other side of the lane way as the buses needed room. I move the van as requested and we were now on the hunt to find our room. It didn't take long for us to find our room, as basically it was the first building to our left when we came out of the main building. Up the elevator and to our room. We did have some difficulty getting into our room. The kids Magic Bands weren't working and then we had to move the table and chairs in order for the luggage cart to fit in the rooms. We quickly unloaded the luggage cart and put away a few things such as plugging in our toothbrushes. Most other things could wait.

We then went back to return the luggage cart, got into the van and headed to the MacDonald's for a late dinner. However, before we were able to drive off we were able to partially see fireworks. I asked at the MacDonald's where they were coming from and we were told, Disney Studios. We had our usual meals and the kids were all excited and asking me a bunch of questions.

We purchased some milk, as I had brought some cold cereal with me to have for breakfast, prior to returning back to Sports.

The first thing we had to do when we returned was head to the front desk. We got the same CM as before and mentioned the kids Magic Bands were not able to open our room door. He was more than willing to reset them all, including mine. He asked if there was anything else, and I replied no thank you.

The kids were now all excited to test out their bands again. I don't think I took a picture of the bands. Since we live in Canada, the bands are not delivered to us so were waiting for us when we arrived. Mine was red, DD's was purple and DS's was blue. The thing was, during our research for our trip next year, I asked them which colours they preferred. And they responded with the colours I had picked out for them. So, back to our room and they were happy to be able to open our door.

The kids were excited and wanted to go swimming. By this time the pool was going to be closing soon so I stated not tonight as we had to unpack and we had a busy day tomorrow. I had the kids get ready for bed as I unpacked. We were all able to get a drawer to put our clothes. And I hung some shirt in the closest in the bathroom. I was able to find a place for just about everything, including all of our snacks and breakfast items. I put our empty carry on bags on top of the closest shelf. Well, one wasn't empty. One had gifts for the kids. One other thing I learned from this forum, it was suggested to purchase items back home, as would be cheaper, and give something each day to the kids as a reward if they were good. Like they need any other reward than actually being at WDW. But I did.

I did share what I had planned for the next day. I think I also shared our itineraries for the other days as well. Well at this point, there was not much reason for keeping anything a surprise any longer. I mentioned we would be getting up early in order to take advantage of EMH at MK, coming back to the hotel at noon to eat/sleep/swim and then return for MNSSHP. DS stated they didn't have Halloween costumes. I then pulled out his Jedi robe and DD's princesses dresses and stated got it covered.

The kids went to sleep and I stayed up a little longer and got some things ready for tomorrow. Phones/cameras all charged up. Went over the itinerary and made sure a few things were on the table so not to be forgotten in the morning. Then it was time for me to get some rest as well.

This concludes our Thursday. It was a very busy day with a full day at one park, a little driving and an introduction to another park. All in all, I would say it was a great day.

Up next, our first WDW park day at MK with the hopes of making rope drop of 8:00 am before it got too busy.

 

[Ayden]

You sir, are an awesome dad!