Trip Report The "how did it all go so horrible wrong" August trip to the world, let the madness begin. LOL COMPLETE

Well got my official signal to get excited in the mail Saturday...

Yep our magic bands came. Yippee. So how did we get to this point?

Well way back in December, I got an idea to take the minions on one last family trip to celebrate two college graduates and one person hitting 21. My original goal was to make it to London England and of course murphy's luck hit and I found out I needed a new roof. Ok, London's out, how about Disney?? I figured that with everyone hopefully looking for gainful employment, this maybe the last vacation we'll get in for a while

So here's the original crew....

Now my brother and sister in law swear they do not want to go, lol great. In April I call again to make sure everyone is on board, inform the minions that I am making plane reservations and buying tickets so once they say they are in, there is no cancelling.

Plans so far,
5 nights/ 6 days 2 bedroom suite at OKW
Fast passes all made, got every thing we wanted including the new slinky dog rollercoaster and FOP.
dinner reservations for a few favorites made.

Last night, I get a call from my brother......"can we cancel the plane tickets". hummm no, we can't. why?? well because wifey and I are coming now and we're driving down so we thought we'd save you some money.

WTH!!!
OK dude, it's 21 days before the trip, you've got no park tickets and my meal reservations are for 5. how do you plan to pull this off.......

This is going to be interesting...

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Such a cool tradition to have the boys take a picture with Kermit. I'm sorry to hear that you lost your husband to cancer (cancer does suck). It is nice that you continued the picture tradition though. Just think maybe one day when your sons have children of their own the picture tradition might continue. What a cool picture montage that would be to have of your sons with their dad, your sons grown up, and then your sons with their children.

 

[KatieLVT]

Loving this report!!! I could seriously continue reading this all day, haha!! I am very sorry for your loss. Love the pictures of your sons and dad with Kermit. When traveling with extended family, I think it is vital to take note of all the places serving alcohol within a 500ft range at all times. Priorities!

 

[Darstarr]

The main criticism on the boards seems to be for the alien saucer ride. All I can say is that there were tons of family's enjoying it. We did not ride it but it is perfect for families with little ones. for once you can get on a ride with your kid and they don't have to worry about it being too scary or anything. Is it a carnival ride or cheap? Is it up to the Disney standard of 30 years ago? I don't know, I don't go around comparing my vacations for long ago to what I'm doing today.
Again the people we saw seemed to enjoy it.

one bittersweet moment. for every year since the boys were little, they have taken a picture in front of Kermit with their dad,


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We literally have measured their ages by these pictures, unfortunately their dad lost his battle with cancer a few years ago and this year was the first year they took the picture without him. I was a hot mess.

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even at Disney, cancer sucks

My heart breaks for you. I wish Disney could cure cancer!

 

[John park hopper]

So sorry to read your husband passed away; from the pictures of him and your boys he looked like he really enjoyed WDW unlike "he who must must not be mentioned" I can't wait to see TL it looks like a fun place I may be way over the hill but I am still a kid at heart just ask my wife who says i suffer from Peter Pan syndrome-- never want to grow up. I have to ask did you know your brother was the way he is?------ when is your next trip with him --Ha Ha. Enjoyed your trip report

 

[MickeyCB]

So finally big brother shows up around 2pm to attempt to ride the rides. The next problem with traveling with a horde is that every thing must be discussed ad infinum before you can move. Did you know that you can buy a Jack Daniel slushie at HS? lol, I found them because my youngest must have sensed me getting ready to explode and literally just shoved me in the direction of the shops where I found the frozen drink stand.

thankfully again crowds were low and we were able to do Star tours and Tower of terror without much of a wait.

and just when I thought we would get through the day without a side trip to wackadoodle land, we decided to go to fantasmic.
How could one mess up simply watching a night time show you say.......
Well since sister in law was in a wheel chair they showed us to the back of the theater where they have great seating for those in scooters/wheelchairs and t heir guest. but ohhh no, they want to sit down front as not to "miss" anything, and no amount of me arguing will convince them that it's an amphitheater there are no bad seats in the house.
She decides she will walk but doesn't want to leave the wheelchair behind. God bless the cm's, it's like a laurel and hardy routine on one side are 3 cm's trying to pull a wheel chair out of the jaws of a crazy lady.

I am very sorry to hear about your husband, but appreciate you sharing. The pictures are beautiful. My husband is now dealing with cancer and our future is uncertain. I have tried to visualize future trips without him, and have been unable to do so.
....Then I saw this wonderful next post you did, and went from tears to laughter at your amazing humor.
(While i'm not sure your brother appreciates your wonderfulness, it looks like your kids do)! Who but the best of kids would recognize their mother needs a "please don't kill our uncle drink"?!

 

[rshell68]

wackadoodle

I think that is my favorite word ever!! LOL

 

[eliza61nyc]

sorry for the delay in updating. Real life must be obeyed, lol she pays the bills for the next trip. Well folks today is the last park day, it was actually a 6 day trip but we generally leave a day or two to chill at the resort especially if we go inAn August.

And it was probably a good thing because I think by this time I despise "he who must not be named" with nuclear capability. Let me say also that I think the frustration stems from this little jaunt was first decided on at Christmas dinner 2017, originally it was supposed to be a trip to London but then my 10 year old car died and my roof started leaking. lol because when catastrophe strikes it always brings it's little brother mayhem. Anyhoo, I called everyone twice a month literally from January to June and the conversation usually went like this.

Dec: you and wifey not going? nope
Jan: you and wifey still not going? nope.
rinse and repeat until June.
June I asked "you guys sure you don't want to go because I'm buying park tickets and getting fp's. Disney really isn't the best when you try to wing it. no changing your mind. him: nope, no problem. we're going to have a staycation.

This pretty much went on until 20 days out.

Our last day was at Animal kingdom during the day and Epcot at night. turns out that was a good call especially in light of the news illuminations will be ending.


My oldest is trying his hand at photography so he took the pictures.

Today was probably the closest I came to tossing him in the crocodile enclosure. So we're waiting outside of Expedition Everest and the conversation goes as follows. (content: my sister in law is an attorney)
Him: not a bad trip E but you really should have booked us a day at Universal.
Me: Boy, I will stab you, bury you and get away with the crime. seriously. I will stab you.
him: I'm just saying, I think the kids would have enjoyed it.
Me: ok stop, you get no say, none, nunca, nyet, non. there is no "I'm just saying". You are a last minute guest, stand there be gracious and don't speak. why do you think they would enjoy universal?
him: Because they have bigger rollercoasters, everyone would enjoy that.
Me: WHAT THE &^% you did not get on one ride, not one!!
HIm: ok, ok but do you think you can get us tickets for wild African safari? I heard it's pretty nice.

lol where is a crocodile pit when you need one?

Unfortunately Kevon did not get a chance to ride FoP, this time either. this was one ride that no amount of sweet talking or using you disability was going to work. everyone else had fp's and they were strick about letting folks on. This was the only ride that we ran across over the entire trip that was consistently 60 minutes wait. I suspect that it will be that way for the near future.


They did have a great time wandering around Pandora, Navi river was only a 35 minute wait and while it was enjoyable I think it was the least liked ride. Everyone loved loved loved Kilimanjaro Safaris.

Epcot:
This probably wasn't the best choice to end the trip on because it was the first weekend day of the Food and wine festival. It was packed.
I totally forgot, the minions loved it and we let them loose to try and drink around the world. lol, we had no worries mainly because when you are broke college students and recent college grads, you learn one important lesson. all those years you couldn't wait to turn 21 in order to drink, they forgot to tell you that drinking is expensive ESPECIALLY at Disney. I figured if they started in Canada by the time they got to England they'd be looking for us.


Thanks coming along on this journey. Family, gotta love 'em, luckily they live far enough away where they have to call before dropping by.

lastly, I love the world, it truly has given us some memorable times. If you read some of the other forums more than a few folks will have you convinced that the WDW sucks now. too much IP, not enough "creativity". on and on.

DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE.....I don't know how it was 30 years ago and yes it most definitely is more packed and more chances to separate your money from your pockets but it is a fabulous destination, now I don't know if changing illuminations is going to make the park like an "extension" of magic kingdom but I'll reserve judgement until the new show is in place, until then I'm going to step out in faith and say I'm looking forward to our future trips.

 

[DisSplash]

I enjoyed reading your report and all of that family drama!! I live with some of that too, and while I fantasize about having a big family trip to WDW and inviting everyone along, my husband - the voice of reason - always sets me straight with a "What?! Why? You'll kill each other!" We all run on different concepts of time management, and we all have very different opinions of fun, and food, so why add that aggravation to what is supposed to be our own family time? (which comes at a pretty hefty expense, by the way). So, I think it will stay as a nice little thought in my head ....

And I don't believe the hype! I will say that Disney is different fir us now, and while some of that is because there have been some changes over the years, most of that feeling comes from the fact that my kids are older and the experience is just different all around as a result of that.

 

[RememberWhen]

Loved your report! I’ve got a trip coming up in December (over Christmas!) and there’s will be 8 of us! Hopefully not too much drama, but when siblings get together...

 

[Darstarr]

Thank you so much for sharing. I love the stories people tell during their trip reports, and you told some GREAT stories!!!

 

[worldfanatic]

Perfect Report.
Your feelings on Disney World echo mine.
Thank you!

 

[winstongator]

Family, gotta love 'em, luckily they live far enough away where they have to call before dropping by.

This made me chuckle. Glad you enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to my future trips too.

 

[fractal]

Great Trip Report!

Sorry about your husband, but heartwarming to see your tradition continue.

Big groups are tough, but seems like in the end as you said, all the angst was worth it!

 

[Kristy Meyer]

I so enjoyed reading your report! I hardly post anything — just lurk around... I will definitely be using some of your “sayings” as I so love them! Congrats on all the graduating college kiddos~ (My hubby and I have a college graduate too!!!) We have 20 days until our trip!!! Thanks again! Truly enjoyed read!

 

[slipperalwaysfits]

Your report was very funny! I'm so sorry about the loss of your husband, the Kermit picture is very moving. Maybe the boys will be able to take their kids someday and get pics in front of Kermit!

Your brother .... wow. How can he not plan anything for himself? Even trying to Wing it, good things can happen. And it seems like he was unwilling to plan anything ....you can enjoy the parks without riding anything but I'm sorry he made things difficult for you!

Also, congrats to the graduates!! Good luck to them as they find jobs and make their way in the real world!

 

[eliza61nyc]

Thanks all, the Graduates thank you also. lol, they are already campaigning to get back for star wars land. It's going to take me a moment to recover.
For Christmas they are getting 1st month, last month security deposit on the apartment of my dreams. fly little birdies, fly.

 

[susan lees]

I really enjoyed your report some belly laughs. We have been many times with a party of nine including some big personalities. Our strategy was to nominate one person as leader each day. It generally worked with a few blips and as the kids got older they got a chance to lead which they loved.
We go in smaller groups now due to work commitments etc so much more manageable now

 

[13*Minute*Wait]

WTH!!! ( we really do need a cursing similie). First of all we already own a timeshare, it's called dvc. next I'm not spending precious vacation time listening to a sales pitch. 3rd, they are never 1 hour.

.

^^^This^^^

We just came back from the World. We had planned out dang near every minute of our trip months in advance. Our first day there, while I'm checking in to the resort, my wife takes our little birthday girl to look around. She gets stopped by a DVC cast member and then comes back to me asking if we had an extra hour the next day to spend doing one of these tours . I said no, we didn't have that time factored into our trip. She was a little upset that I didn't want to do the tour because they would be giving us $150 gift card and extra fast passes .

We had budgeted for the trip. I don't think an extra $150 was worth the headache of a DVC "tour", and you can't use the fast passes on any of the big E-ticket rides anyway. Plus since we'd already had every day meticulously planned out, we wouldn't have had time to use those extra fast passes anyway.

Here's the real funny part...we've already done one of these tours just last November! We knew what it was all about. We're not ready to be DVC members anyway, so until we are, I don't want to go on another "tour" .

 

[Gurt]

Loved this report, sorry your brother was difficult, I am planner in our party of only thankfully 3 people.

 

[Back!Elbow!Shoulders!]

Did you know that you can buy a Jack Daniel slushie at HS?

Duly noted! I was in dire need of one on my last trip also due to some family drama.

Thanks for the great TR. Congrats to all of the minions, especially the graduates!