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]

I thought Stacy said there were 10 Must-Do's"?But yeah, I hear you.

 

[21stamps]

I thought Stacy said there were 10 Must-Do's"?But yeah, I hear you.

Ha ha .. well my number 1 Must Do on an April trip would be an early or late paid event. I'm still holding out hope that one will be announced!!! (I'd be THRILLED if the After Hours was extended- especially with my AP discount lol). The Ultimate Thrills tour has a bad itinerary, and is a lot more than I want to spend. An hour or so of no crowds at one park would be wonderful, and would make all the difference between misery and fun!

 

[amjt660]

We board Spaceship Earth..
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Then the last UNFORTUNATE EVENT of the day happens.
We get STUCK!!!!!!!
Right here- with the stars.
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For 35 MINUTES!!!!
No Illuminations for us.
T takes a nap.
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I'm so sad!!!!!!
I'm ready for this day to be over!!!!!!
Missed CP, missed a bunch of the Storytellers, now MISSING ILLUMINATIONS!!!

UGH!!!!!!

We finally move again. Then get stuck on the way down for maybe 3 minutes or so. Then move again.
I take a few photos of our "adventures", and I order an Uber to come pick us up.
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Park was closed now. I'm sad, annoyed, and don't want to deal with people on a bus.
I trip over a curb and totally wipe out on the way to the parking lot. In front of hundreds of people. Awesome. Perfect ending to our day here.

I get up, brush the pebbles off of me. Notice that I ripped my leggings, and then go find the white Camry that's picking us up.
Uber takes us to Wilderness Lodge to check in.
T promptly falls asleep on a lobby sofa.
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I'm too sad/annoyed to enjoy our surroundings. (Yes I'm pouting)
At this point I'm just ready for bed.
We go up to the room..T gets ready for bed and falls asleep asap.
I wait for Bell Services to deliver our luggage.
Luckily I remember to set Luke on the bottom bunk of T's bed, and then I promptly fall asleep as well.

Ohana and Animal Kingdom tomorrow.

I am so sorry that the day did not go your way
Sometimes if it wasn't for bad luck we wouldn't have any at all

The silver lining is that a bad day at Disney is almost always better than a good day at work

Max

 

[sheriffwoody]

I'm sorry that I've liked 14 pages of posts in one day...I know I blew up your alerts today!

Really enjoying your report! You and your son are so adorable, and I love that you ask him when he wants to do as you go. I'm sure that will pay off later in life and make him a considerate person!

 

[21stamps]

I am so sorry that the day did not go your way
Sometimes if it wasn't for bad luck we wouldn't have any at all

The silver lining is that a bad day at Disney is almost always better than a good day at work

Max

Thank you. Being at Epcot, even with the few annoyances, still absolutely beats a day at the office!!

I'm sorry that I've liked 14 pages of posts in one day...I know I blew up your alerts today!

Really enjoying your report! You and your son are so adorable, and I love that you ask him when he wants to do as you go. I'm sure that will pay off later in life and make him a considerate person!

Ha ha..no problem, thanks for reading!
One of my biggest learned lessons of our 2015 trip was this- Dragging/Rushing/Pulling my kid around so that he could do 'everything' was counterproductive to the Magical experience that I wanted for him. It's why I threw out my spreadsheets before we arrived at the resort.. this vacation would not start off like the last, it wouldn't take me 3 days to realize that I was doing it wrong. This time I made sure that he had input on a lot of the "What and When".

 

[LisaBelle]

I had to laugh at @sheriffwoody's post above. I was binge reading yesterday and today and did not "like" any posts until I was caught up so that I wouldn't blow up your alerts .
This has been a great TR so far. Glad that most days went well and am really happy that your disappointing day at Epcot was not your last day of vacation. Looking forward to reading the rest.

 

[21stamps]

I had to laugh at @sheriffwoody's post above. I was binge reading yesterday and today and did not "like" any posts until I was caught up so that I wouldn't blow up your alerts .
This has been a great TR so far. Glad that most days went well and am really happy that your disappointing day at Epcot was not your last day of vacation. Looking forward to reading the rest.

Ha ha Thank you!
I'm looking forward to finishing this report..2 months and counting..lol

 

[21stamps]

12/2/16
Wilderness Lodge, Ohana, Animal Kingdom

Alright, today is a new day! All of the mishaps of yesterday are behind us. I wake up, start the coffee..and then remember that we have the DDP for this portion of the trip. (Tried to cancel pre trip unsuccessfully)

Totally didn't think about it yesterday..technically it would start on the 1st..this means that I can use some of those credits towards all of our food at Epcot!!!!

Wake T up so we can go to the front desk. Sorry kiddo, this is important.
(I'm not a fan of the bunk beds btw)

These were in the room, I thought it was a cute touch. T loved them. (I'm not letting him start the pin collecting stuff though!)

To the front desk we go!! Momma's going to use up those stupid credits that I didn't want in the first place.

I go inform the concierge of my mistake. Wait, what?
It can't be done?!?!?!?!!!
Ugh!! Triple Ugh!

Apparently it all went on my GF bill, which was now closed out.
Grrrr.. Great Job, Kimberly.

Ok whatever.. let's look at this gorgeous lobby, take some photos, and pick up our mugs before we head over to Poly.

Luckily my surroundings distracted me from literally smacking myself in the forehead for my stupidity.

 

[21stamps]

I notice a sign outside of Territory Lounge that says they have specialty coffees inside. Yay! I'm in! Stop to get a latte and walk around the lobby.

Everything is GORGEOUS!!!
Just breathtaking.

Prior to this trip I had absolutely zero interest in staying at Wilderness Lodge. When I cancelled the cruise and had to switch around our dates this was the only resort left. Unless I wanted a million dollar per night suite ... so we were "forced" into it. I am so GLAD!! This Lobby is so warm, inviting, beautiful, details everywhere. Perfection .
Oh, and my kid who was complaining about leaving GF, he fell in love with WL as well..even more than I did.

(Friends, if you think I've posted too many photos already, I'm warning you now- there's a lot more coming )

 

[21stamps]

Time to go back up to the room and get ready for breakfast. We stop at Roaring Fork to pick up our reusable mugs. I chose the No Handle option. He chose the Handle.
(I've read that the handless cup is no longer available, not sure if it is or isn't, but I prefer it without a handle.)

Here's our view. The whole vibe at this resort is so different than any of the others I have stayed at. You really do feel like you're in a secluded far away place.
There was construction going on underneath our room, it didn't bother us.
When sitting on a chair it wasn't in our line of sight.

T wanted to do his hair "different" again today. He also wanted to wear a pin, and his medallion, and his Jedi necklace.
I was not allowed to go in with him while he was getting ready.lol

He walks out of the restroom, sunglasses on, and says "Do I look like a cool dude Mommy? I think I look like a cool teenager."

And this is why I blame my wrinkles on my son. How do you not crack up at kids? Lol. I try not to laugh out loud..and tell him that "Yes, you look very cool, but slow down on the teenager talk!"

 

[Zipadeelady]

I'm dying!! You son is hilarious. I have these books for each of my kids that I write in when they do something i don't want to forget about. If your son was mine it would probably be full of his primping alone. Love It!!

 

[21stamps]

I order an Uber and we make our way to the front.
The details in this place are amazing!! Everywhere you look there is something interesting!

Our car arrived promptly and time for Ohana!! (Our favorite character meal)
Yes, we've been to Poly a few times during this trip, but now we actually stopped to enjoy the entrance and all of the lobby details that we love (even though I miss the old lobby, this one is still pretty great).


Tristan's pose in those photo had me holding in a laugh again..
(Poor "teenager look-alike should have let me help him get ready, he didn't use enough product to keep his hair up..he was kinda bummed about that (see pouting photo above).lol This kid..all I can do is laugh. )

 

[21stamps]

I'm dying!! You son is hilarious. I have these books for each of my kids that I write in when they do something i don't want to forget about. If your son was mine it would probably be full of his primping alone. Love It!!

Ha ha!!! He's been like this for awhile..my fault for starting hair product and trendy haircuts at age 3.lol. He was a super stylish toddler..but now he's rebelled and would rather wear sports clothes than fedoras and Capri pants. Ha ha. Oh well.
This is a photo at age 3 (one day before his 4th birthday) he did his own hair this day. "Cool dude" face here as well.lol. I can't stop laughing.

Anyway, that is so neat that you have a book like that! I try, I put "notes" in my phone with dates..and lord knows I have enough photos to document.lol. I totally blame every one of my laugh lines on my child

 

[21stamps]

We get seated at Ohana and start with yummy juice, delicious rolls, and wonderful coffee. Last year we were at a small window table, this year we were seated at a massive table in the middle of the room. I didn't have a megaphone with me to shout to my son, so we sat on the same side of the table.

T's favorite- Stitch Waffles!

Outside of Star Wars Stitch is T's favorite character. This meal was one of the highlights of our trip last year, and was the same again in 2016.

Gone is the "Cool dude teenager wannabe". My 6 year old is back!

 

[21stamps]

T joins the Congo line with maracas (did I mention that I love this restaurant?!)

And now....
STITCH!!!!

Please stay a kid for as long as you can buddy.. these moments melt my heart.

 

[21stamps]

Meal is finished and we make our way out of Ohana. Bye Stitch and Friends!

T wants to go outside before we leave, then decides to do some yoga on the grass.lol

A few more kids come out and ask him if he wants to play tag. We were supposed to leave 20 minutes ago for AK.. but I decided to let him enjoy playing with other children for a bit.

30 minutes later we get in the Uber car and he talks excitedly about the morning so far.
Everything about December 2nd is so wonderfully different than our mishaps on December 1st!

(Side note-- Uber is one of the best things to ever come to Disney World!)

 

[21stamps]

Arrived at Animal Kingdom.

These guys photobombed us

Then I see a coffee stand. I mean, I've only had 4 cups today, 1 of which was a large latte..so why not have another? Oh, holiday adult coffees.. it's 1:20pm..after 5:00 somewhere.. I'll take one!

T had a non alcoholic smoothie.

Stop for a Magic shot

And check in to Wilderness Explorers!

 

[21stamps]

Our first FP is kiddo's favorite- Expedition Everest!

We growled at the Yeti

After Everest we explored Asia and stopped at a few Wilderness Explorers stations, an owl show, making our way to Africa, sorry kiddo Rivers of Light isn't open yet, stopped for Mickey Ice Cream Bars, and played the drums..

And of course a stop to add to our penny collection.

 

[21stamps]

Africa is our favorite place in Animal Kingdom. We spent the majority of the day there.

Remember earlier in the thread how I said my funny, loves to dance, and personable (with me) child becomes shy in front of crowds?
Well, here it shows up again.

We're watching street performers and T is loving it, and dancing along. Then they call for people in the crowd to come dance with them.

T says he doesn't want to go up.
I know that he wants to!! Oh, this drives me crazy about him. He has such a great personality and is so much fun..until he realizes that other people are watching. I don't understand it!!!!

I bribe him with a promise that I'll buy him a musical instrument of his choice..
He agrees and cowardly walks up in front.

He LOVED it!!! I took a FB Live video and my mom could barely believe her eyes.lol

He's dancing in front of a crowd!!

We've probably watched this video 30x since the trip.

This moment here was the highlight of our Animal Kingdom visit.

 

[Ms.Sunshine]

T is adorable! Loving his "cool dude" look. And your mickey manicure.
Wilderness Lodge looks awesome! The Hubby has been spoiled by AKL and doesn't want to stay anywhere else, but I think he'd love WL. Also, I too have a book for my kids cuteness. It's called Facebook, and she's gonna kill me when she gets older.