the 3 absoutely IS the magic number trip report

So that's it, vacation is over. All the planning and dreaming and living and enjoying - done! Now what? Well, in an attempt to relive the BEST TRIP ever. I will retell it to all of you in every Disney detail that only we can appreciate because frankly, I don't think anyone else wants to hear it again. And while WE can look at thousands of pics of "the World" and enjoy each and every one, I don't know how many I can share in the "real world" without completely overwhelming people. So, it is with that thought, sitting on my couch sniffing a bar H20+ blushing orange soap, that I start this trip report.
 
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kings&giants

kings&giants

Active Member
Original Poster
Ok - sorry for the delay...

Day 1 - Surviving Sandy
We are from NJ, so it was a little crazy right before we left! Luckily we were all safe with only a few missing shingles and some downed trees, which is most important - but we had NO power for days!!
Normally, I am a last minute packer, but I decided that it may be a better idea to wash everything we own & pack just in case this storm was going to be as bad as they thought it was & boy am I glad I did! I had considered that if I hadn't done that I would have just packed dirty cloths & washed them in Disney, but this was a much better idea. As it was we had to gather all the bags & pack the car in complete darkness, a small price to pay to not only go on the BEST vacation EVER, but to get out of town right in time!
For days before the entire area was shut down! Airports were closed, trains weren't running. They had restricted travel into NYC! We were starting to get really worried that this trip may be seriously delayed IF it would happen at all! But sometimes you luck out, and we did! They re-opened JFK on the very day we were to fly out. Because of all the cancellations, I wanted to be sure we were at the airport nice & early - there weren't going to give away our seats! Well, that & we had no power, so home was pretty boring and at least we could charge our phone & DS. So we got to the airport just about 6 hours prior to our flight! Talk about time to kill! But, I have to say JFK is a great airport and the time really passed pretty quickly.
 
kings&giants

kings&giants

Active Member
Original Poster
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kings&giants

kings&giants

Active Member
Original Poster
In case you didn't read the pre-trip or just need a refresher -
Here are the travelers..

Connor - age 7(Creative Playwright & Science Enthusiast)
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Finn - age 5 (Acrobatic Artist & Jumper Off of All Things, Proper or Otherwise)
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and then there is me - Jessica, Princess of Payroll & Mommy to 2 of the BEST kids anywhere!
(no photo yet - there is no photo pass in the airport!)
 
kings&giants

kings&giants

Active Member
Original Poster
So, I had left something out. When I first called to book our vacation I got the MOST nasty woman I have ever had the misfortune to talk to in my life! I don't mean, just not as happy as everyone else when you call Disney - I mean really, seriously, incredibly, down right horrible! She actually suggested I could look into "other vacations" - what?? and when I said maybe I wanted to speak to a supervisor she said, "maybe, is that a yes?" Who is this person and WHY is she working at Disney? Perhaps she is more suited to man the desk at the local motor vehicle. Let's just say it was CRAZY! That episode and a few other calls where I spoke to people I felt just really didn't know what they were doing really made me a little nervous that the Disney customer service had really slipped. AND it was really starting to impact my excitement, so I sent an email and got a return call VERY quickly. The woman I spoke to was very lovely and assured me that that wasn't the case. She said she would review the tape of the horrible call and that she would like to have something waiting in the room for us as a thank you. She also noted that we were celebrating both boys birthdays and sent maps to the house so that they could start planning. I honestly didn't think it would be much and really I had gotten over it months before - but when we checked in, I was very pleasantly surprised! After wishing both boys a very happy birthday & outfitting them with their birthday pins (complete with mickeys for the "O" and dot on the "I") the girl at the desk informed us that there were surprises in the back for them!
 
kings&giants

kings&giants

Active Member
Original Poster
And this is what they were given...
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For each of them - a pair of custom ears, and a cooler backpack that held in in 2 bottles of water, a disposable camera (I have some CRAZY pictures from them!), a really nice wooden frame & a 50 page photo album!
This vacation was off to a great start!!!!!
 
kings&giants

kings&giants

Active Member
Original Poster
The boys were in for another surprise that night! My parents, who had been traveling to places other than Disney (I mean really, why?) made a little side trip and booked a 2 nights at Caribbean Beach so they could join us for some fun! I did take video of the surprise and I would like to tell you it is the sort of thing you watch on the "you're going to Disney" commercials, but honestly it's not. Turns out sometimes real surprise just looks like confusion. Especially when you have been through a hurricane, had school canceled for days, lived without power, spent 6 hours in an airport, had a 3 hour flight, etc. So - suffice to say the boys were happy to see Grandma & Grandpa, enjoyed swimming with them and were looking forward to spending the following day with them in the Magic Kingdom. After topping the night off with some bread sticks & marinara (Connor's favorite midnight snack from the food court)
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