Trip Report The Texas Ranger, The Beast, and We "started the fireworks": A trip of firsts!

Wow, this was a trip of many first for our happy little family. We have been to WDW numerous times, but this one was different, very different, in very many ways, and all good.

Let's start with the WHO:
myself, Debbie, known as Cee Gee to the grandsons.

CeeGee=Crazy Grandmom. According to my loving daughter, the boys have a normal grandmother (the other one apparently) and a crazy one......

which I would deeply resent if it weren't true, but that's another story.

Then there are the boys, Hunter (7) Logan (5) and Nicholas (3)

Always noisy and crazy when they are together.

And then their parents: my daughter Nicole

and her husband Steven.

And they call ME the crazy one!!!

The when- April 8-16, 2016

And the where- our first new first- Wyndham Bonnet Creek Resort.

We have never stayed off property before. It was a big risk for us, we know disney properties and love them, but this place seemed so cool, we wanted to try. And for the 6 of us Disney properties require either 2 rooms or a suite, that gets expensive. So we bit the bullet, chewed our nails, and booked an off-property resort. When the real report starts I'll tell you if we were happy or not.

so more tomorrow......................

 

[docdebbi]

So, while waiting for the parade to start I started snapping some pics of the Dapper folks. Should have earlier, the place was just crawling with them. They were EVERYWHERE. Nothing against them, they were actually pretty cool and I enjoyed the outfits. Just didn't enjoy the crowds.

Don't know where they find all these outfits, but I do like them.

 

[docdebbi]

I actually find this shot funny, just seems out of place to be on the smartphones while dressing from the past.

So eventually the parade started......

you can even see minnie blowing kisses to little Logan, well, at least you can see his little arm waving to her.....

The photopass guy came around before the parade and took some shots, not their best work in my opinion,

the guy on the way down was actually better

then with our last few moments, we owed the boys another rounds of sorcerers of the kingdom. This time we chose the one in Liberty Square.....

 

[Tiggerish]

I would love to experience a Dapper Day! You're so right though in your observation that the Dapper outfits don't really jive with smartphone usage...

 

[docdebbi]

So we headed over to Lliberty Square and played a round of Sorcerers. Boys had a blast, I'd rather do something else, but alas, the trip is for the boys, so we fought off more villains.

One last thing to do before we left.
Horror of horrors- we had not yet had a single Mickey bar. How could such a tragedy happen? Well, it couldn't stand. So we stopped at the ice cream stand on the way out and sat and enjoyed it outside the entrance way.

I think Hunter is actually having trouble deciding if it's OK to eat Mickey......seems kinda cruel

Don't they look like 3 little angels?

Yeah, never takes long before it devolves into chaos

I told her that having 3 boys was a bad idea. Chaos always reigns supreme.
So after a quick trip to the restrooms to clean up a few chocolate faces (and arms and legs and clothes and shoes....), we had to head out.

Here's where the craziness of the plan continued. Remember, my car is filled with luggage, so we couldn't all fit in there. So we had booked a car service to come get the people while someone drove the luggage van. The car service wanted an extra $20 to pick us up at the TTC, as they have to pay parking fee they said??? So Nicole and I walked back over to the Contemporary with the bigger boys and Steve took Nicholas and drove the luggage van. What a hassle, but I was not paying to rent 2 cars for the whole week.

Sadly, we headed out to the airport.
Just one more good thing to experience on the way home......

 

[docdebbi]

So when getting our airplane tickets, for some strange reason first class was barely more than main cabin. When you subtract the cost for the now free suitcase it just seemed like a real treat for minimal extra. I was in.

Now we have flown once or twice before in first class, and it is simply bigger seats and a hot cookie. But apparently, not so on the airbus A330.

Woo Hoo, was this great!

I didn't get any really good shots of it, so I copied one from online.

I loved it. What a treat. The kids loved it, what a treat. Steven loved it , what a treat.
Nicole HATED it. See that big barrier between the seats? She had the only kid (Nicholas) who actually wanted to play with his assigned companion. Try reaching over that thing to color pictures, or use the invisible ink pen book. The older kids just play on their iPads on the plane.

Poor Nicole. At least it didn't take too long for Nicholas to fall asleep.

Or for Logan to join him

Singularly most relaxing trip we've ever had with no kids lying on top of you sleeping, and kicking and squishing you. !

I don't even like to fly, but even I had a good trip. Got a couple classic sunset shots

and before I knew it, we were landing in Philly.

How sad, that means we were home.

As I said at the beginning of this report, it really was a trip unlike any other we've made to Disney. So many special things for the kids, so many firsts. It will probably be the one we most think back on as "the best". The kids were a great age for it, they really enjoyed playing with each other and helping each other out, really enjoyed the attractions, and were relatively (for 3 little boys at least) well behaved.

Sadly, we will not be back for a while. Next year going on a Disney Cruise, already booked. So won't be in the World.

Thanks for reading along, I have had a ball reliving my memories. If I get bored again while sitting waiting for a labor patient (like this weekend), I may add some extra random shots.

 

[blreinsel]

Loved your report, thanks for sharing!

 

[C.FERNIE]

Awesome report, thanks for sharing!

 

[MinnieM123]

Thanks for reading along, I have had a ball reliving my memories

So happy you shared your memories and photos with us!! This was a very enjoyable TR, and thank you again!

 

[ScarletBegonias]

Thanks so much for the TR! I really enjoyed it!

I do have to say, I'd LOVE to be there for Dapper Day! We missed it by ONE day this year!

 

[jrogue]

What a great report! Thank you so much for sharing. That is a cool first class!! And that huge donut was a Joffreys donut, right? During my entire trip my sister wanted one so badly! Haha

 

[Mary<3sWDW]

Thanks for sharing!

 

[fractal]

Great report; very enjoyable!

What airline did you fly home on?

 

[docdebbi]

What a great report! Thank you so much for sharing. That is a cool first class!! And that huge donut was a Joffreys donut, right? During my entire trip my sister wanted one so badly! Haha

yes, it was Joffrey's. and thanks for following

 

[docdebbi]

Great report; very enjoyable!

What airline did you fly home on?

American airlines, but don't get too excited. not all of their planes are A330s

 

[disneypearl]

Thank you for sharing! What a fantastic trip you all had. I really enjoyed reading along. The boys couldn't be more adorable and looked like they were loving every minute. What great memories! I now want to make Animal Kingdom into Hawaiian shirt day. I have to find one though before my trip.

 

[LisaBelle]

Loved your TR! Jealous of your first class experience! Would love to read a TR about your cruise!

 

[NelleBelle]

I loved reading your trip report and seeing all the pictures...very well done! I was especially glad to read your tips on Wyndham Bonnet Creek and will be tucking a few a them "away" for when we go this October (good to know about the boxes they provide for any food you leave behind that they'll donate--awesome)!