Trip Report The I'm Ditching the Spreadsheets....an Unrecognizable Trip!

We arrived home around 10pm last night from our Disney vacation. The planning for this trip started in March, but by September it was not even close to the original. So how did it all turn out? Did I make the correct decisions? Was this trip as hectic as the last one? Should I have cancelled so many dining reservations? Did we miss too much because upon arrival I decided to rip up the spread sheets..the same ones that I so painstakingly obsessed over?! I'm thinking about all of this as I am attempting to organize my 609,504,302 photos.

There were a few hiccups, including my Etsy order not arriving in time, sprinting to the Magical Express just as the doors closed, leaving our Elf on the Shelf in the room after check out, getting stuck on a ride, a missing boat captain, broken ornaments, and a horrible 3 hour lunch. All in all it was an amazing trip. I do not regret the decision to change from the original plans, or the second, or the 3rd, or even the plans I had when we were on the plane heading to Orlando. I decided to throw out most of them and take a (semi) wing it approach.

 

[MySmallWorldof4]

But I never realized how fast time really would go. 6.5 years have gone by in the blink of an eye.

My youngest turned 6 in November and my oldest will be 16 in July. I cannot believe it myself. Time scoots by and I definitely realized it quite early on which is why I had 3 more kids after number 1. I obviously thought I kept missing stuff.

 

[21stamps]

My youngest turned 6 in November and my oldest will be 16 in July. I cannot believe it myself. Time scoots by and I definitely realized it quite early on which is why I had 3 more kids after number 1. I obviously thought I kept missing stuff.

Ha ha..I don't blame you! I want time to slowwww downnnn! I seriously almost cry when I think about Santa no longer being the real "Santa" someday, it would be so neat to have other children to keep it going. There's already a ton that I know I've missed.

 

[21stamps]

I'm going to finish this thing this weekend!
I'm apparently not very good at Trip Reports..with writing them, and with having interesting photos. I went thru some more just now, I don't have too many food or informative scenery pics.lol Sorry!

Still to come..
Finish 11/30 including MK Nighttime EMH..
12/1 Epcot, food fails, NPH?, and broken rides.
Transfer to WL
12/2 Animal Kingdom
12/3 Mini Golf..more mini golf..and bike riding.
Unsuccessful Hidden Mickey Hunt.
12/4 Last Day at MK.
Go home.

Let me try to finish 11/30 first..

 

[21stamps]

11/30..continued..Pool hopping, Games, More Beverages, Rain, Sword Fights..

We hang out at the Courtyard Pool for awhile. Too cold for me to swim on this trip, but I did take advantage of the hot tub quite a bit. We went over and relaxed in there while I finished my drink.

Chess was taken again..the foosball table was open.. we played a few games. T won. Again. I stink at foosball. Always have.

T wants to go on the slide, so we leave for the Beach Pool. We decide to stretch on the beach and then stop at the splash pad first.

Soaked.

He said the water was FREEZING..
Screamed like a girl.lol

Clouds are now starting to come in.. but it looks like may pass, T goes down the slide another 10x or so..the good news about the clouds- most people left the area

Then a new pool game starts and I order another round of drinks while watching the kids play bingo...

Smoothie for T..Frozen Dole Whip and Rum for me I've had a lot of pineapple flavors today...

 

[21stamps]

....The sky is getting darker, and winds are picking up.. I definitely understand why Sammy Duvall's canceled the parasailing rides for the day.

T comes over for a drink before the next pool game starts.. the monorail never gets old for him.. I love how excited he is when it passes by!

And then... the rain comes. Pouring. So hard. We run to our room while I'm trying to prevent my drink from getting ruined!

We make it back..I'm soaked and freezing. He wants to give it a minute and then return to the pool. It stops.. but I try to convince him that we should rest before dinner. We have a late night at MK tonight..EMH til 1am.

I do agree to a sword fight though..

Now it's to shower and rest for an hour before dinner. I'm pleasantly surprised that he actually does fall asleep!
I pack up so we can be ready for our luggage to be picked up and moved to WL tomorrow.

Then we head over to Poly for dinner at Kona Cafe. I leave my phone charging in the room again.. am I the only one who feels odd without it? It's so strange how our phones have become an extension of us...I never use it during a meal..or try not to, but being without it just feels odd.lol

For dinner we just did an assortment of sushi,
California Luau Roll. Salmon Roll. Lava Roll.
I don't like salmon, so T ate that one on his own..I ate most of the lava roll.
I had a glass of plum wine and a water when we sat down.
T had a pear torte for dessert.
I skipped dessert, instead, opted for a delicious rum drink with the delicious guava juice. It was- all so delicious . And..of course I had to order their wonderful delicious coffee.lol.

I've now had 4 adult beverages today. That's a lot for me!

Wonderful dinner ends.. Hop on the monorail to go change clothes, drink more water, and make our way to MK.

 

[21stamps]

I was hoping to stop and get our photo taken in front of the lobby tree since we were dressed for dinner. No chance. Line was long, again. The only photo we ended up getting was the one in my OSU gear with my Bestie...the wait was always too long. No Christmas Card photo for us.

We go to the room and change into park clothes..grab my phone and the handy Fuel Rod. I do decide to take a few lobby pics before we get on the monorail. T says "Can we just call the people who are coming to take our room tomorrow?" Me (Laughing) "What? Why?" He says, very serious, "I don't want to leave this place, mommy. I love it here."
This is a far cry from when we first arrived and he declared he'd rather be at Poly!
I told him that's not possible, but he will love Wilderness Lodge. I've never been to WL, so I was hoping that what I was saying was true.

Last monorail ride to MK-

We arrive at MK and take some time to enjoy the window displays.

Stop for photo pass pics.. yes, I'm really on this vacation too. We did not have the best of luck with photo pass photogs this trip.. I wasn't thrilled with how most of our photos came out. Oh well.
BTW- The park was PACKED!!!! So crowded. It was crazy. We got there just before 9pm. I'm hoping some of this will clear out once the regular hours end!

 

[21stamps]

We had a FP for Space Mountain so walk over to Tomorrowland first.

I'm sure you all have heard about the infamous tents, but tonight is the first time I noticed them..scratch that- purposely looked for them. I'm not advocating their presence whatsoever, but honestly, they weren't very noticeable. Or maybe it's because we aren't normally near these restrooms.

Tristan's idea for the photo was for me to grab his shoulders, not quite sure why. Afterwards he told me that he was "shooting a bow and arrow, saving me from zombies". Umm..ok, bud.lol

Remember earlier in this report when I said- Do NOT stand behind my son when on a moving floor? These ladies didn't listen. I warned them to go around..they stood and waited. I didn't.lol

While we're here may as well switch out the Fuel Rod. Seriously, again, best $30 ever!!

I then open MDE to check wait times. Why are all of these people here?!?!?! Go home! . I was in a FB planning group for my Disney week..I log in while T is in the restroom, everyone in my group was complaining about the MK crowds too.lol. Most of them ended up leaving. We decided to stick around...hoping the crowds would subside.

If anyone tells you that the week after Thanksgiving is a slow week- THEY'RE LYING!!lol. Seriously, it was far from a "slow" time.

 

[21stamps]

We leave Tomorrowland and make our way to Dumbo to use our next FP.
Yes, I used a FP for Dumbo. Originally we had a FP for Buzz at 8pm, I knew at dinner that we wouldn't make it. Had to switch to something else, unfortunately, not many options to choose from.

It was a mega waste of a FP. Not bc the line was short, but because my son wanted to play inside instead of going out to the ride.
Oh well, he was having fun. We had never stopped at this play area before, it was actually quite cute! I typically try to avoid the play areas, learned my lesson at Mission Space in 2015... took me forever to get him out of there.lol

We go outside to board the ride.. and this happens

It's now our 6th consecutive night seeing Wishes, so I wasn't too concerned about where we watched the fireworks from. Turns out- The Dumbo ride is a wonderful option

I tried to take a selfie of us with the fireworks in background.. "tried" being the key word.

We exit Dumbo and continue to watch. I thought this sign was appropriately perfect

A few more Wishes pics.. I took a video for my niece who is a tad Ariel obsessed.
Here's a few screen shots.

It was gorgeous. Turned out to be a great spot!

 

[21stamps]

After the Wishes finale we rush to our 7DMT FP..snagged this one just a few days earlier!

Totally failed on this photo. We were going to do a "pretend selfie". Camera snapped before we were ready.lol

Stopped to admire Beast's castle before heading to Cinderella's castle for Once Upon a Time.
We are very excited for this one!! Both of us enjoy projection shows, and Celebrate the Magic was one of my Disney World faves.

It was a wonderful show!!
The music, the projections.. Just beautiful.

(Once again sorry about the blurry pics thanks to my FB Live mistake.)

 

[21stamps]

We hung out and enjoyed the splendor of the castle for a bit..
A nice bystander took our photo..

My kid is probably one of 10 people in this world who is actually upset that Stitch is closed. He was not happy about this at all!

Then we decided to try for Astro Orbiters again. No go. Line too long. All of the lines were too long for our liking. This was definitely one crowded EMH night. So, we decide to head to Swiss Family Tree House, Country Bears, and the Tiki Room.
We did pause on the bridge first to admire the castle. I just couldn't get enough of it!!
#obsessed

Finally a little around 12:30 the crowds die down. We went on Pirates, our only non FP ride of the night. This is our last MK evening, so I had to get one more shot of the castle. I shed a tear, I didn't want to leave it! MK dressed for Christmas is one of the most amazing sites I've ever seen.
Kiddo laughed at my emotional reaction. Again.

I had promised him a stop at Main Street Bakery. We look at every single item. He has a tough time deciding..then finally chose cotton candy. I let him eat some. At 12:45am. It's vacation, right? Lol

 

[21stamps]

It's time to go back to the hotel for some much needed sleep.
T actually asked to pose one last time. Then I notice that something is missing.

Does anyone know what happened to this bench? Did it get relocated somewhere else?

This photo is dark, but I was surprised at the line for the launch at 1am. Luckily they brought the big boat again. Even with that, every seat was full.

We get back to the room and I go to grab pajamas for T while he's brushing his teeth.
I come back in the restroom and find this-

Lights out. Even though this day did not go at all as planned.. it was still another super fun day on the books.

Next Up- Check out, and then Epcot!!

 

[DisneyJeff]

I'm sorry you missed out on parasailing. I was finally able to do it last summer. It was pretty awesome. My wife is not a fan of heights so it was a solo trip for me. You could see so much from up there! I hope you will get the opportunity to try it on a future trip!

That's me way up there. It was a perfect day!!

 

[21stamps]

I'm sorry you missed out on parasailing. I was finally able to do it last summer. It was pretty awesome. My wife is not a fan of heights so it was a solo trip for me. You could see so much from up there! I hope you will get the opportunity to try it on a future trip!

That's me way up there. It was a perfect day!!

View attachment 188344

Oh my gosh that looks so neat!!! I bet it was amazing!!
Yeah, I was pretty bummed about the weather cancellation.
There was 2 options when I made the reservation... which one did you do? I had chosen the higher one, but I don't really know if it makes a difference there.

 

[amjt660]

Hi 21
T asleep at the end of the long day???
I guess that is why they call it a "rest" room

Max

 

[DisneyJeff]

Oh my gosh that looks so neat!!! I bet it was amazing!!
Yeah, I was pretty bummed about the weather cancellation.
There was 2 options when I made the reservation... which one did you do? I had chosen the higher one, but I don't really know if it makes a difference there.

I did the higher (and longer, I think) one. When I did it, there was one other couple on the boat. I went first and they did a tandem ride after mine. My wife was able to ride on the boat, but they said that if the boat was going to be full, then she might not be able to go. I did purchase a photo package. One (of two) cast members took photos using a professional looking camera and gave us the memory card. Now that I think about it, I never did look at, or download those photos. I guess I need to do that one of these days.

 

[MySmallWorldof4]

Adorable picture of T sleeping in the bathroom. I have had kids put their faces in a plate of food at the dinner table but never had any fall asleep on the bathroom counter. He must have been truly wiped out. Good job at tiring your kid out! Many of us parents try to do that every night and fail.

 

[Ms.Sunshine]

Late to your TR, but really enjoying it so far, those Star Wars pics look great! Kids can fall asleep anywhere, its so funny.

 

[21stamps]

Late to your TR, but really enjoying it so far, those Star Wars pics look great! Kids can fall asleep anywhere, its so funny.

Thank you! It was pretty funny when I found him like that.lol. Hopefully I'll finish this thing once and for all this weekend.

 

[21stamps]

Hi 21
T asleep at the end of the long day???
I guess that is why they call it a "rest" room

Max

Hi thanks!! Ha ha, right?! He took the name literally

 

[21stamps]

I'm sitting at swim lessons for the next hour.. so, let's see if I can finally wrap this up!

12/1 Checkout from GF. Epcot and Neil Patrick Harris at Candlelight Processional!!!(maybe?), Check in to Wilderness Lodge.

We wake up and head to the lobby to get (me) a coffee and a couple of danishes for both of us. Enjoyed sitting on the balcony eating, chatting, and enjoying the view of MK.

We decided to leave our Christmas tree and lights in the room. Our Elf Luke had surprised us with them, and T thought it would be nice to surprise the next family.
(I'm sure that housekeeping threw them away, but I couldn't say that to T)

Packed up the last of our miscellaneous items and waited for bell services to pick up our luggage. T wrote his final "Thank You" card to our mousekeeper Akim.

Someone isn't happy about leaving...

Side note- do not blame me for his 'do. My kid likes to primp.. today he decided to 'have a fun hairstyle'.lol