The I Planned it All and Threw My Plans Out the Window TR

Hey everybody!! I got home from my family's first WDW vacation late last Friday night and have been feverishly uploading pics ever since. :)
It was hot and more crowded than I expected but I had a wonderful time at Disney. The trip that I spent a year planning came to life and I got to see the sights I had been longing to see.

So... first a little background. I did a PTR on this site but in case you didn't read it, my name is Cassie. I am the proud mommy of 2 beautiful kiddos, DD6 and DS4. I have a very handsome hubby Marshall who doesn't share my Disney love but was excited to go on vacation anyway. Also featured in this TR you will find my aunt Wilma and cousins Samantha, Kai, and Elijah. They live in Orlando (where my husband and I grew up) and I hadn't seen them in a few years. I planned everything for me as well as for them as my aunt isn't very good at that sort of thing.

We were in Disney from 5/19 until 5/24. My aunt left on 5/23 which was a resort only day for her. My immediate family lives in the panhandle of FL and we drove to the world. My kids and I were so excited when our countdown calender looked like this:

IMG_0352 by cassierocks84, on Flickr


IMG_0353 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

So without further ado... here is my recollection of our trip!

DAY 1:

I was planning on getting up at around 5 am so we could get on the road by 6. Here was the first plan out the window, lol. My son woke up at 4 AM! It wouldn't have made any sense to go back to bed so he and I went ahead and got up and I got to my tying up loose ends before leaving. I let my husband and daughter sleep a bit more, especially since my baby girl wasn't feeling her best. (she has asthma and allergies and suffered quite a bit on this trip as she has most of this year :( )
This is my son's "I'm going to Disney but I'm sleepy face"

IMG_0354 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

My daughter wasn't so happy about the early wake up call:

IMG_0356 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

Oh wait, you mean Donald gets to come too??

IMG_0357 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

We were in the car just after I wanted, leaving our house at 6:10. My hubby set out on our course which includes a really long ride on I-10. It was a very foggy morning and I was happy not to be driving. My husband (who I will now start calling by name: Marshall) didn't want to stop for gas when we first left so we ended up making our first stop at 7:45 in a small town called Blountstown. We got back on the interstate only to get off again an hour later in Tallahassee because Marshall saw a sign for Steak n Shake (we don't have one!). After filling our bellies with steak, egg, and cheese bagels, we were on the road again. We stopped AGAIN a couple of hours later at McDonalds because Marshall wanted a coffee and we figured we might as well feed the kiddos (who conked out as soon as we set off). So if you're counting, that's 3 stops and none of them were even potty breaks! We actually managed to only make one more stop for gas before making it into Orlando. The kids sleeping helped so much. I started to get really excited when I saw this:

DSC01642 by cassierocks84, on Flickr
and this:

DSC01643 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

DSC01644 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

and then I saw THIS!!!!

DSC01646 by cassierocks84, on Flickr
 
Click to expand...
Cassie S.

Cassie S.

Active Member
Original Poster
Day 3:
Somehow for some reason I woke up ridiculously early this day, around 5 am which felt like 4 am to my central time zone body. I was very sore seeing as I had walked so much the previous day. Against all logical reasoning, I decided to take a walk around the hotel and Hourglass Lake to get my muscles stretched out in preparation for another long, active day. I set out in the predawn darkness and walked over to Pop Century. It was super cool in the dark and so peaceful.


DSC02090 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

I enjoyed snapping pics without anyone else around.

DSC02089 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

DSC02088 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

DSC02092 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

I returned to my hotel room by about 6:30 and started getting the kiddos up. My goal was to be at the bus stop by 7:45 so we could be on our way to Hollywood Studios by 8 and make it before rope drop at 9.
We followed the plan at this point and made it by 8:30 to the park.

DSC02093 by cassierocks84, on Flickr
From everything I had read online, I knew it was crucial to sign the kids up for Jedi Training right away and send my hubby to obtain the legendary Toy Story MM fastpasses! My husband was irritable that I insisted on making it to the park before he had gotten breakfast but I ignored him. I would treat him to Starring Rolls later. As we waited for the park to open we saw Daisy and Donald!!

DSC02098 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

DSC02094 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

DSC02095 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

DSC02096 by cassierocks84, on Flickr
yes my son is holding a sword... the one from CRT the previous day

and here are some photopass pics

47566640093 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

47566640098 by cassierocks84, on Flickr
my aunt and DC5

47566640099 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

pretty soon they were letting us in and the race was on!

DSC02097 by cassierocks84, on Flickr
 
Cassie S.

Cassie S.

Active Member
Original Poster
DC7 was excited about her bday button:

DSC02099 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

we set off power walking in the direction of the sorcerer's hat. I had studied the map but once inside the park I felt like I had no earthly idea where I was going to sign the kids up for Jedi Training.

DSC02100 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

I stopped to ask for directions and get my bearings... and get a cute shot of DD6

DSC02101 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

we were almost there...

DSC02102 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

DSC02103 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

we made it to the place to sign up for jedi training! there was already quite the line and the park had been open only minutes. I instructed my husband to follow another husband who had just been commanded by his wife to get the TSMM fp. While the kids and I waited in line for Jedi sign up, I took this pic of them:

DSC02104 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

My daughter was giving me a hard time about having to fight Darth Vader, not because she was scared of him, but because she insisted she didn't know how to fight with the light saber. I insisted she was going to try and she relented. Both of my kids were fine and didn't act shy when questioned as a part of the sign up process. They were asked their names, ages, and whether they would be brave enough to get on stage by themselves. Right after this, my DH returned with FP good from 10:40-11:40. It was about 9:30 at this point and my husband was super hungry so we turned in the direction of Starring Rolls. On the way I got distracted by these guys:

DSC02105 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

DSC02106 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

DSC02107 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

On the other side of the line was Stitch who my son REALLY wanted to see but sadly as we got done with the chipmunks, Stitch took a break. We were told that more characters were on their way and on our side of the line appeared:

DSC02109 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

DSC02110 by cassierocks84, on Flickr
 
Cassie S.

Cassie S.

Active Member
Original Poster
Cassie S.

Cassie S.

Active Member
Original Poster
and here are some pp pics with Pluto. My aunt and I decided to mix things up so she took the girls:
DD6 and DC7 while I had the boys DS4 and DC5.


47566640119 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

47566640121 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

47566640126 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

47566640126 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

47566640131 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

It was at this time that DH's patience was running out so we stopped hugging characters and went off in search of sustenance at Starring Rolls.

DSC02112 by cassierocks84, on Flickr
 
Cassie S.

Cassie S.

Active Member
Original Poster
Starring Rolls was on my must do at Disney bucket list. I just HAD to eat a cupcake for breakfast. It did not disappoint.

DSC02113 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

DSC02114 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

DSC02116 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

DSC02117 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

DSC02118 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

Everything looked SO delicious but I decided on a chocolate peanut butter cupcake and my DH got a cinnamon roll AND a fruit tart. My DD had the breakfast of champions and got Cheetos and DS had oj I think. Here is our tray:

DSC02115 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

My beautiful breakfast:

DSC02120 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

DSC02126 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

These baby ducks kept everyone entertained during our meal:

DSC02125 by cassierocks84, on Flickr
 
Cassie S.

Cassie S.

Active Member
Original Poster
Day 3 cont'd

So after seeing the Momma Duck and her adorable babies, we left Starring Rolls to head towards TSMM. As we walked through HS we saw this:

DSC02121 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

It seemed like it was going to be a beautiful day. Also glimpsed this:

DSC02122 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

We saw a PP photographer and decided to get some family pics.

47566640136 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

47566640138 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

47566640139 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

LOL at our first magic shot: (my son doesn't look very into it)

47566640140 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

Loving the balloons pictures

47566640143 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

47566640144 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

We didn't get far before we had to make a pit stop at the restroom just before the Animation Courtyard. I am always looking for a photo opp and got a cute pic of the kids on a bench outside the restroom.

DSC02123 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

Once we got done at the bathroom, it was about 10:15 and our FP for TSMM weren't good until 10:40 so we decided to try and see Wreck it Ralph. We walked into the Animation Building and were told that Ralph would be in at 10:30 so it seemed perfect that we were there at 10:15 and though there was already a line, it was indoors and didn't seem too long. Oh how wrong we were, lol. We didn't end up seeing Ralph until 11 am, making this just about the longest wait for anything during our trip. For me, it felt like the line went on forever but DD6 made friends in line and didn't seem to mind at all. Thank goodness we were inside. Here is DD 6 and DC7 in line:

DSC02128 by cassierocks84, on Flickr
 
Cassie S.

Cassie S.

Active Member
Original Poster
More waiting in line pics:
DH and DS4:

DSC02129 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

My boys with DC5:

DSC02130 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

Look out, a Cy Bug!

DSC02135 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

These were too funny:

DSC02136 by cassierocks84, on Flickr


DSC02140 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

We FINALLY made it to the front of the line and were ready to see Ralph and Vanellope. These costumes were well done. The kids (and I) were so excited to see them!

47566640146 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

47566640145 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

Ralph's really not such a bad guy :)

47566640147 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

Group shot!

47566640152 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

I had to hop into the picture, too... didn't wait in that line so long for nothing, lol

47566640156 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

Hugging goodbye

47566640157 by cassierocks84, on Flickr
 
Cassie S.

Cassie S.

Active Member
Original Poster
It would have been nice to see another character but after waiting for so long the kids were itching to ride something and it was time to use these:

DSC02124 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

We started walking through the park and soon we were met with this sight:

DSC02142 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

After hearing about this area online, it was super cool in person. Too bad I didn't see the green army men.

DSC02143 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

DSC02144 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

DSC02162 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

And finally what we had all been waiting for:

DSC02145 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

I had really been looking forward to this ride since doing my online research prior to the trip. I love the Toy Story movies and I love a good fun interactive ride. This did not disappoint.

DSC02146 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

DSC02147 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

DSC02149 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

DSC02151 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

DSC02152 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

DSC02161 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

The kids really enjoyed this also. It ended up being one of our favorites from the trip. We got done before noon and our Jedi Training Academy show wasn't until 1:20 so we had an hour and a half to kill and no idea what we should do. We weren't thinking about lunch yet since we had a late breakfast and although TOT and RnRC were things we wanted to do, we knew that would probably take too long. What did we end up doing??
 
Cassie S.

Cassie S.

Active Member
Original Poster
We are getting ready to go back to the world next month and I found my old report from our first trip! I will have to post some more on this one before starting a new report, lol. So those of you who read this 2 and a half years ago never got to find out what we did to pass the time before Jedi Training! I won't leave you in suspense any longer...
DSC02165 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

DSC02166 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

We took some pics (and got wet!) in front of this Coke bottle and then took a ride on the Studio Backlot tour!
DSC02163 by cassierocks84, on Flickr
 
Cassie S.

Cassie S.

Active Member
Original Poster
The tour was fun... We got to see some explosions, costumes, and props. Before long, it was time for...
DSC02187 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

I was so excited to watch the kids do this. I had read a lot about it online and let me tell you, it was one of our FAVORITE experiences this trip. The Jedi trainer was hilarious and the Photo Pass pics turned out great. My young Jedi:
DSC02192 by cassierocks84, on Flickr://flic.kr/p/f7hqEo]DSC02191[/url] by cassierocks84, on Flickr

It had been raining off and on and our training academy almost got cancelled. The kids were put in a room and watched cartoons while the powers that be tried to decide what to do. I am so glad to say that when the time came, the weather had cleared up and we were cleared for training!
DSC02202 by cassierocks84, on Flickr
DSC02213 by cassierocks84, on Flickr
DSC02216 by cassierocks84, on Flickr
DSC02219 by cassierocks84, on Flickr
 
Cassie S.

Cassie S.

Active Member
Original Poster
Here are some of my photopass pics from this experience:
47566640158 by cassierocks84, on Flickr
47566640177 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

and now to fight the big man himself!!

47566640186 by cassierocks84, on Flickr
47566640190 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

the Jedi trainer had a lot of jokes and made it a really fun experience. She thought my daughter fought just like a princess.
47566640194 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

47566640214 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

my little guy was so brave

47566640218 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

47566640221 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

then Darth Vader tried to convince the kids to join the Dark Side (one little girl said yes!)

47566640230 by cassierocks84, on Flickr
 
Cassie S.

Cassie S.

Active Member
Original Poster
Now that we were certified Jedi, it was time to ride some more rides! First stop, my favorite ride at the Studios: Tower of Terror!!

DSC02251 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

My little dude was right at 40 inches so I was so excited to get him on this. He is my fellow thrill seeker but he is so short, lol. He was only 4 years old at the time and so ready for the plunge!

47566640248 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

Our ride pic is priceless! We are in the second row so my face is blocked but you can see my son is kind of in awe and my daughter is just terrified. Across the aisle, my older cousin is cracking up and my aunt is trying to hold everyone in. Memories!
 
Cassie S.

Cassie S.

Active Member
Original Poster
The next thing we decided to do in the studios was Rockin Roller Coaster.

DSC02261 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

My kids were too small to ride so my aunt watched them while I rode with my husband and cousins. It was a ton of fun and we got another funny ride pic. :)

47566640249 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

Hahahaha!! I mean REALLY! What is this face my hubby is making?

It had been raining off and on and the kids were a bit restless. We decided to take them to the Disney Jr. show. They enjoyed it.

DSC02270 by cassierocks84, on Flickr
DSC02272 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

It was getting a little late by this point and due to the weather we hadn't done our absolute MUST DO for the day yet! What could that be, you ask? Meet Phineas and Ferb!!! You can tell by our matching Perry shirts that we are major fans. We decided to mosey on over to their meet and greet to try and see them before our dinner reservations.

47566640255 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

This meet and greet was SUCH a blast! The music was great while we were waiting in line and the interaction was so much fun. We danced and hugged and just had a fabulous time.

47566640259 by cassierocks84, on Flickr
47566640261 by cassierocks84, on Flickr

After we crossed this one off our Disney bucket list, it was time to leave the studios and head to our much anticipated ADR, Chef Mickey's! Say what you will about the quality of food, the characters were great (with one issue that I will get to in a moment). We left Hollywood Studios and rode over to the contemporary.
 

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom