Year of the Tiger...err.. Mouse

etpinge · Jan 16, 2011

Day 1 continued

In the morning we were off for a quick trip to MK for snacks

And then back to clean up for California Grill on top of the Contemporary. I slowed down long enough for the appetizer picture. Then out on the terrace for Summer Nightastic! The vantage point was great for the perimeter fireworks.

etpinge · Jan 16, 2011

Day 2 Epcot

We didnt take too many pictures on this trip since it was low key and just us, but we did enjoy a few here and there.

DW was looking to trade me up in France

Notice the resemblance

And since we did not have kids, we were able to enjoy an adult drink while waiting for dinner at Chefs de France

etpinge · Jan 16, 2011

Day 3 Luau

DW has been asking for a Luau since her latest milestone birthday, and the agreement was Spirit of Aloha, which was a lot of fun. The first half of the story was acceptable, the second half was great, and the food, well, I like food and I was happy. She liked the luau, so she was happy!

The food arrived and I was happy

DW is mostly a vegetarian which left the BBQ for me. It didnt stand a chance

The dancers were good and then the fire dancer showed up. He was worth admission on his own. Not too many pictures since the camera went into video mode.

Being at the Poly on the lagoon and at the correct time of night, we caught the showing of Nightastic from the beach.

Back to BLT and up to the Top of the World for night time drinks, pictures not included

etpinge · Jan 16, 2011

Day 4

More MK, mostly souvenir shopping for the kids, and then home. Short sweet trip. Begin the next countdown.

Side note, this was our first time that we did not rush back and almost miss the DME. Our March trip was sadly impressive as we almost missed the DME, but our first trip the year before we did miss our DME. Our luggage made it, but our bodies did not. Disney hailed a taxi for us that took us directly to MCO, on their dime. The company has many ways to impress its guest.

mickeymaniacs · Jan 17, 2011

etpinge said:
The challenges of a semi-predictable Autistic child. My youngest is doing pretty well with the crowds and loves the loud fireworks. He has grown to realize that a lot of fireworks together is the sign the end is coming and he begins to scream. In fact, he will wait in line for Barnstormer and loves it and other motion sensitive rides. We are still a good 6 inches too short for BTMR.

Our biggest challenge is that he is mostly non-verbal. We play a guessing game with him when he is grumpy and we guess what he wants. The list of things we run through is amazing, especially with the escalating frustration.

My nephew was non verbal at that age too so they taught him basic sign language words. He also loves the fireworks and the rides. He still doesn't speak much but he will answer basic questions with yes or no, or he will ask simple questions. It really has been quite the learning experience! He loves music and will play the same songs from movie credits over and over.

Disney29 · Jan 17, 2011

Thanks for the trip report!!! Looks you and your family had a great trip and the second trip for the anniversary!!

etpinge · Jan 29, 2011

November Magnificent Mile Lighting

Back to Chicago, we enjoy a nice fall, we read trip reports of the Not So Scary Halloween Party, we enjoy Hallo-Wishes from YouTube, and then the weather changes for what is known as winter. And out of the blue, our extra special DVC Guide calls DW and asks if we wanted to go downtown for a meet and greet with the characters. DW says yes, but needs to confirm with me, umm silly statement. We didnt get a lot of clues of what to expect, but we remembered the backup in Chicago from the previous year and pieced some things together.

Disney has a major sponsorship deal with the Chicago Magnificent Mile Lighting celebration. The lighting is when Michigan Ave is shutdown for a light parade followed by fireworks. We have never experienced this event, so we went for it.

The Disney event was 6 hours before the parade began. We went to the location dressed in our traditional going to the big city garb and check in. We were directed to a large banquet hall with loads of other people dressed a lot better than we were. DW got the idea “Everyone is here to shoot holiday cards.” (correct as usual) However, we were 2 blocks from the Gap and off she went. It turned out the Gap was a 40% off everything day. She raced back, we changed the kids, and we jumped in line. We waited about 20 minutes in line and had our 4-5 minutes with each pair of characters. The characters rotated every 30 minutes.

After the meet and greet, outside for the parade. It was a mild night, but still chilly on the lake.

Great evening, lots of family fun, and the countdown was set for 27 days until the next trip.

etpinge · Jan 29, 2011

December Two families, Two trips, One fun time

December was our greatest adventure to the World, 8 nights, 2 DVC resorts, and we were including my DW’s family which brought down an additional 6 characters.
BIL - Not a thrill seeker, holds on tight for PotC. Prefers shopping and a camera in his hand.
SIL - Thrill seeker who just wants to go and have fun
DNce - 12 year old thrill seeker who bonds with my eldset
DNpw - 11 year old who is the reason we are here. Non thrill seeker
DNpw - 9 year old who is an aspiring thrill seeker
MIL - Matriarch in the family and lives with BIL’s clan. Used an electric cart throughout the trip. We apologize for any accidents.

The plan for this trip was a celebration for the 11 nephew beating brain cancer (discovered 2 years earlier). He has been diagnosed as cancer free now for about a year, but still is lethargic and very limited in his day to day activities. Between his wheelchair and MIL’s death machine, lines for the non-thrill rides were a piece of cake. I did feel a little guilty cutting in line with them, but I had to try it once.

But the trip doesnt start with them, it starts with me being “crazy.” Our planning had my family heading down a few days before the rest of the family. We wanted to enjoy sometime as us five. We booked OKW from Dec 16 and checked out Dec 19 before we checked into the Grand Villa at our home resort Kidani Village. Our booking at OKW was our fallback, we waitlisted Wilderness Lodge and Boardwalk Villas. Its our family goal to stay at all DVC resorts before we repeat. About 28 days before we left, BoardWalk Villas came through. We were excited and had no idea what was before us.

Again we chose AirTran, but flew out of Chicago Midway. Here is where it gets “crazy.” I was flying down with the kids all alone and my DW will fly down the following evening. The simple reason was to save about $150 per ticket on the way down and not have her paycheck be docked a full day for extending a break.

We loaded up the carry-ons with entertainment for 3 kids and 1 adult. The big 2 were told to behave, and did they. They had their own mini row, no issues. I sat with the youngest one and flipped through distractions as fast as he wanted.

Originally the flight was non-stop. Right after the waitlist came through, we received the dreaded notice the flight had been altered and we landed in ATL for about 50 minutes. The dread of the 3 kids, 3 carry on suitcases, 1 backpack, and a double stroller racing between point A and B at ATL terrified me. Luckily our gates were only about 10 apart in the same terminal. The change happened, very quick bathroom breaks, and we were off.

Landed in MCO around 12pm and the real horror began. My eldest DS has had issues on planes with motion sickness. He was working himself up and only wanted to drive to Disney. We dramamined him in Chicago and he did really well, until we made it up the ramp at MCO. All over himself. Luckily pajamas were in a carryon and the bathroom was right there. A change of clothes and clean up and a diaper change later, and we were off to the DME at midnight. Checked in, confirmed our checked luggage would arrive the next day at sometime (this took three separate calls to member services before I found the answer I wanted) and we were on the DME and off to Boardwalk Villas!

Did I mention the littlest one was wired?

BWV was a breeze, if you consider 3 kids at 1am a breeze. The big 2 were antsy and wanted to explore. The little guy wasnt going to be released since he has a habit of going behind desks.

We did release the little one for the loooong walk to our room. For the record, it was right-left-right-right-right-left-right to room 2004. We were next to Jelly Rolls.

As we walked in we all gasped at our view.... Spaceship Earth over the lake.

etpinge · Jan 29, 2011

Day 1 - BWV - DHS - Epcot - no mom

For the room savants, I gave the camera to the five year old and told him to shoot away. Most of these pictures are his.

And from the board walk

And remember the comment about the littlest one being an aspiring thrill seeker? He loved how the DD created her floor bed. Jumping from the chair commenced and continued while the rest of us got ready.

etpinge · Jan 29, 2011

Day 1 continued: DHS

No mom, new location, we take the ferry to DHS. The plan was to hit TSM as soon as possible with “lighter” lines (still over an hour). The weather was in the 80s and it was hot. We left snow and enjoyed FL

YDS and his puzzle piece. The line was moving quickly through this area. The big kiddos pose with potato head. The little one discovered the world looks the same no matter how the glasses go on.

Across the way we stood in line for Buzz and Woody and enjoyed the queue scenes. Believe me, the cage and the rocket did not hold him down.

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Travelled around a little bit and found Lightning and Mater.

etpinge · Jan 29, 2011

Day 1 continued more DHS

The 10 year old is interested in animation so we went to learn a little. We wandered through One Man’s and the Art of Animation. Her “second most favorite” character is Sorcerer Mickey and guess who was there. Mickey also helped the little guy with a sensory session. He was in heaven!

EDS is a fan of Lotso and wow! he was there!

Then we found the Incredibles

And DD found her new favorite event at DHS, the character drawing lesson. We had no idea what to expect, but the people in line were excited. We entered, took 3 stools for each of the kids. YDS went to town coloring the page while EDS and DD followed the instructor. Proud daddy simply kept the boys happy and took a ton of pictures. The instructor asked how many people have attended the lesson before, a full house minus 5 hands (3 of them us) went up. The experts were excited to draw Jiminey Cricket. Here is the DD’s image just past the halfway point.

After drawing, we slowly made our way to Fantasmic! Arrived an hour early, got great seats and kept everyone happy for the show. Special thanks to the honeymooners who shot bubbles into the crowd who kept us all occupied.

etpinge · Jan 29, 2011

Day 1 Continued - Epcot

Once we exited Fantasmic with close to 4000 of our closest friends, the plan was to walk up to Epcot for Illuminations. We stopped at the bakery on the boardwalk to refill our mugs and made it with time to spare.

Our little camera (Canon point and shoot) didnt do justice to the fireworks. The buildings didnt move as much which meant a few pictures.

We parked under a tree in Japan and had a mostly clear view. YDS was enthralled with Illuminations fireworks and screamed at the beginning’s finale and went bonkers for the real finale. The holiday tag was beautiful. From there, we had dinner and then off to bed. Well... almost everyone...

I stayed up to wait for the DW and her journey

She worked her normal day, went home to drop bags off and take off. The normal 1 hour drive from the northwest burbs to MDW took 3 hours. She stood in traffic on every highway. She made it to MDW 30 minutes before her flight. She avoided long term off site parking and just went for the onsite hourly parking. Raced to the Airtran terminal, suitcase was 6 pounds too heavy, moved items around, flew to security and waited and then off to the gate. Airtran’s gates at MDW are far from the security checkpoint. She was the second to last on the plane, yes she was “that” person. Eventually was able to calm done and “enjoy” the flight down. She grabbed the DME, made it BWV, grabbed her key and went down that long hallway. She made it to the room at 1am. Sleep and more sleep ensued. We were a Disney family again.

etpinge · Jan 29, 2011

Day 3 - Epcot

Slept late, felt good, let the kids run around the villa and then off to Epcot. Drizzly day in the 50s. It kept some of the crowds down. I spent most of the morning looking for DW’s luggage that didnt make her flight. The bell hops took the challenge on and 6 hours later, DW’s luggage that was lost was in our room. I went to find a manager to praise the bell hop staff.

We showed up for the drums in Japan as we picked up Teriyaki and Sushi for the girls

Had lunch in America where the boys enjoyed chicken nuggets.

And then off to the countries. Only good shot was of the YDS drawing in Germany as we searched for a Troll. Donald was posing in Mexico.

Now that mommy was with us, we can split up for the big rides. Mommy went with the older 2 on Test Track and I watched the little one who played on the sprinkler pad. I took the Rider Swap for round 2 with the big kids. DD smelled the crash test dummies’ butt.

We cut through behind the hub and saw the sign Jack Frost was mischievous. Glad the butterflies were gone.

Ended up at Soarin’ where DW went on her favorite flight. The little guy and I rode the Land and he recognized the “nanas”

He did parrot off all the other items I pointed out and then tears at the end.

Off to Mexico for dinner with friends who drove down from Chicago (we won) and the little guy wears the tiny hat again We were enjoyed the meal with TiW, which we believe was a great savings during the Year of the Mouse.

Dinner was over, MK was open late, so hop the monorail and try to catch Wishes! before it was shutdown for the holiday season.

etpinge · Jan 29, 2011

Day 3 continued: MK

On our way over, the monorail had to slow many times due to fog. Visibility was down to a couple pylons. We made it, the doors spilled open, and everyone raced to Main Street.

We arrived as the first notes were being played and here was our view:

It was so foggy that the castle was not visible. We occasionally saw a flash of yellow light from a firework, but otherwise we saw nothing. We moved forward and finally saw the castle.

Wandered out to Frontier Town for BTMR with mommy and the big kids. A water artist was just there. I find it amazing they can make these without guides, with the chaos of the park with only water.

We discovered our new favorite spot to watch the Main Street Electrical Parade, which was delayed 45 minutes due to the fog. It turned out to be a blast. No pictures, I put the camera in video mode. There will be pictures later in the report.

The boys began to fade and finally, and we headed out late at night, the next day will be weird for us with a resort change and the family descending on our happy place.

etpinge · Jan 29, 2011

Day 4 Moving Day and the Family Invades

Up “early” to pack up and move our luggage down to bell services. The luggage was moving to Kidani Village and we need to do something. We closed MK the night before, so lets head back and enjoy the daylight.

The kids have decided to sit on their own.

No fog, crowds are low, and the hub was happening

We headed down to ToonTown and jumped on the Railroad

Then back to Pluto’s playland. We will be sad to see this go after Feb 11. The kids have enjoyed this play land for years.

And we enjoyed our favorite lunching spot, Diamond Horseshoe. The food is delicious and its location and seclusion is wonderful

After lunch, the little one passed out. Photopass has is always around for a quick shot.

Back to the bus transportation, but this time we waited at a new number and a new ride.

etpinge · Jan 29, 2011

Day 4 continued: Kidani

Our plan was to arrive to Kidani before the rest of the crew, check in, enjoy the Grand Villa for a while before the chaos descended. First up, pictures of the room:

Down the long long hallway

In through the door and here is the main living room

Dining room

Master Bedroom (I need a fisheye lens)

Master Hot Tub

Up the stairs

Upstairs sitting room

Looking down

Upstairs bedroom

etpinge · Jan 29, 2011

Day 4 Continued More Kidani

On the back balcony

The view from the balcony

The lobby had a nice TV that always attracted the kids, and the occasional adult.

Adding a few other pictures from the Kidani lobby. Every night characters were scheduled to visit. They posed for pictures, played with kids, and were just available. There was rarely a line longer than 1 family. Stitch was the big hit. Donald and Goofy hung out as well.

etpinge · Jan 29, 2011

Day 5 Animal Kingdom

Back to the parks. The whole crew was together, we were ready to go, and lets go see some animals. Wait, we WERE the animals!

Brother in Law got a picture of the little one with me in line for Festival of the Lion King and the little one staying occupied in line.

From Festival off to Nemo - here is the picture of me and my DW in the backest row with 5 of the 6 kids. Great seats that showed EVERYTHING!

The little guy loves the Dig Site. He did a great job with this behemoth. The biggest challenge was with the lines inside the climb. The CM who was stationed inside deserves kudos dealing with so many energetic kids

Then it was bug time. Love the glasses

And a few random pictures from DAK

Back to the room for a quick rest and then off to MK

etpinge · Jan 29, 2011

Day 5: Night time at MK

9 out of our 11 decided to go close MK down, which happened to be at 3am.

Here is the crew by Casey’s

The first task of the trip was to find the 9 year old a fleece since his disappeared between home and our trip. We entered the park about 5 minutes before Main Street Electrical Parade began which means fighting through the masses. While the 9 year old and his dad went for the fleece, the rest of us parked at the start of the parade. It was interesting to see the parade coming on stage and how some characters were fully in character while others were just waiting. Peter Pan and Hook were chatting as the ship rolled out.

The little guy checking out the parade

We cruised around and saw Wishes from a nice spot by Casey’s, hit PotC, ate at Pecos Bill, BTMR, HM, off to Toon Town and about this time, the littlest one turned into a pumpkin. DW, BIL, DNe and YDS all went back.

SIL, EDS, DD, DNi, and I went Off to Tomorrowland Speedway (very happy the Indy 500 is no longer part of it). The 5 year old HAD to drive. The girls drove very well, so sad there was no bumping since I was wanting to use my big voice.

Then off to Space Mountain for SIL, DD, and DNi. DS and I were off to a few height accessible rides. Buzz Lightyear and then the People Mover at 1:45am. Hopped on the PM and went through the ride, he was so excited we were in Space Mountain. As we came to the end, he wanted to go again, no issue with the CM. Before we made it to Laugh Floor, he was out

We finished the ride and started heading back. The castle looked great with a 45 pound child on my shoulder and remember I like funny Photopass images

And to top the walk from People Mover to the Bus Pickup and the ride to Kidani and then the really really long walk to our room, it was the nice of the full lunar eclipse. My little camera did not do it justice. It was amazing to see the moon turn orange on my walk.

And at 2:45am, the big guy was in bed. My back was ailing.

etpinge · Jan 29, 2011

Day 6 DTD, pool day, and Epcot

A quiet day as we all woke up late from our previous night’s enjoyment. The plan was to head to Whispering Canyon for lunch, but we didnt get moving fast enough so we began to panic. We cancelled our ADR for 11 and headed to Downtown Disney. Goal was food. Our only picture was YDS at Wolfgang Puck Express.

He stimmed on a salt shaker. Snow will NEVER accumulate on this spot.

We separated and took the wee boys to the Kidani pool. Temps were nice, the water was good, and the YDS discovered the large water slide which means daddy enjoyed the waterslide. He never figured out the green light. The big boy rode the slide at least 20 times. DD is the floating head.

Back to the room, warmed up, dressed again, and off to Epcot for the night. The whole team stood in one spot long enough for a smile.

EDS had a minor tantrum after Nemo since he wanted Bruce to eat him and we wanted to just keep swimming. He got his wish *burp*

Again the YDS found something to jump on. He also partook in a screaming contest with at least 2 other kids. It was amusing.

I really need to take more pictures as the week dies down.

Year of the Tiger...err.. Mouse

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