Well, a late March snow is highly unlikely for us, so never say never.Yay for sledding! I don't think the E's will get any this year. It is possible we will still get another snow, it can be into mid April, but it's unlikely.
Fun!
Bring him on up, you wouldn't be the only ones.Aww, sledding looks so fun! My little Louisiana boy will never get to do that, I'm sure. Unless we drive up to your house and try it out in the middle of the night...
Seriously though, that is so strange that people do that? I would be so creeped out by that!
Cross country skiing sounds like too much work for me. I'm sorry you didn't get the opportunity to do it this year though.
The fences around the pasture area have been gone for probably 20 years, but I've put some serious consideration into rebuilding them. I'd like to get back into raising cattle and turning a bull loose on the hill when I don't want people out there might be a good deterrent.
Yeah, I'm ready. This time last year we'd had some 80 degree days and had a lot of field work done getting ready to plant corn.Glad you and DS were able to get out for a little sledding after all. Now spring can arrive, anytime.
I remember my geometry teacher in high school teaching us about the slope of a line. She said to think of it as a ski slope. Positive means you're gaining altitude, negative means you're going downhill. A vertical line has no slope because it's impossible to ski--everyone dies. And a horizontal line has a slope of zero--like cross country skiing, it's zero fun.
I like the way you think! I've thought about using one of those motion activated game cameras out there to catch the ones I don't see coming in at night, but this might be an even better use for that camera.Yes yes it would.
Unless theyre idiots.
Then a video camera would be in order
along with a quick link for uploading the results to AFV.
Sure. Convince my wife.Great closing!!! Can you go back soon so I can see more photos of your adorable children? K thanks
Thanks for reading along!Really though, thank you for sharing!
The Stroller Brigade... I like it! Is there a gang sign for that or anything?Great wrap up! You are so spot on with taking younger kids. When we went on our big trip in 2009 before having DS, it was supposed to be a big blowout trip because we wouldn't be back until our kids were older and "could appreciate WDW." Boy, am I glad we changed our mind on that! Taking DS has been so much more fun than I ever could have imagined! I'm sure with 2 kids it was a little more challenging, but you and DW seemed to handle it just fine. I guess we are both now proud members of the Stroller Brigade!
Well, I guess we'll just have to trade off then.Bummer you will be missing out on Disney this year, but all the more reason to get even more excited for 2014! Then I can live vicariously through you since we won't be visiting that year.
Yeah, it really is great to see them get into it and enjoy the experiences.Anyway, really enjoyed this TR! I loved seeing your DS experience things differently now that he is a little older, and of course, seeing DD experience them for the first time! What a special thing, to be able to share those magic moments with our kiddos!
Thanks for reading along!Really enjoyed your report and am excited that you will be going back in 2014. You have very sound reasons and Snow White's Mine Train will be open by then!
Jill in CO
Thanks! I'd really rather get some Disney time in, but it just works out a little bit better this way. I've gone 10 years between Disney trips before, so surely I can survive 24 months this time.Great wrap up! I think waiting till DS is taller, since you have to buy a ticket but before DD needs one sounds like a great plan and in the meantime, a beach vacation sounds wonderful.
I just hope that they put some practices in place to make sure things like that don't happen in the future. There are definitely some procedures that need to be improved.Such a bummer about CS and the allergies, I am glad they did something but nothing really replaces lost vacation days.
Thanks for reading along!Thanks for the great TR!
Closing Thoughts
ADR's: I love them and I hate them. It is fun to be planning the trip 6+ months out, but I hate having to lock in ADR's so far out, especially for a group as large as ours. We had a few changes that we wanted to make and it just became nearly impossible to do anything.
Traveling with Extended Family: It isn't always a disaster.
The New Fantasyland: I'll be honest. When this project was first announced, I wasn't excited. I wanted to see the next big expensive project to be a new thrill ride or something epic to add to the experience at DHS or AK. A new Fantasyland dark ride and a restaurant didn't exactly excite me. Especially when it was coming at the expense of Toon Town.
Having been there to experience the new Fantasyland first hand, it restores my faith and hope for the future of Disney imagineering. They did an excellent job
And as they say the quickest way to a man's heart is through his stomach. Be Our Guest might have played a significant role in my change in attitude.
Pushing a Double Stroller: Kind of a play on the first PTR I wrote titled "I'll Never go to Disney World Pushing a Stroller." I always remember going to Disney World and seeing those poor suckers trying to get through the crowds with a stroller and dealing with whiny kids. I always thought there's no way they could be having fun and their kids are too young to enjoy it anyway. Since that experience, I've been an advocate of taking younger kids. Anytime a friend mentions going to WDW in a few years, I always point out the fact that they can save a lot of money by going before the child is 3.
Food Allergies: As I discussed earlier, this was a huge disappointment for us. Disney has a reputation for being so good with food allergies, but it is clear that there is something lacking with the way they handle it at quick service places. It was bad enough that Sis missed a couple of days in the parks and MVMCP, but it could have been much worse. I appreciate the reply from DIsney and the fact that they give Sis and BiL a ticket to use later, but then again, they got two 1 day tickets to make up for 2 park days she missed, an MVMCP they both missed, and several meals that didn't get used on the days she was sick.
And as for our next trip...
We had considered going back in December again this year too, but in the end we decided to just wait until 2014.
It definitely does make it difficult with so many people, but at the same time, when we've got a bigger group, we value those opportunities to sit down and have a meal together. The rest of the time, everyone is kind of free to do as they please, but those ADR's are the times that we're all scheduled to sit down and eat together.I completely understand this. Last June we did the QS dining plan and really alleviated the stress of making and getting to ADRs. The bigger the group the more cumbersome the ADR.
Well, those are bound to happen.I also found this out last June, although we had some pretty close calls!
I'm glad I wasn't the only one. They really stepped up big and did a great job with it though.I agree with this too. I think they did a great job. I was a bit of a skeptic myself, my I just kept those thoughts to myself. I can't wait to head back over there this summer.
It will definitey be a priority when we go back. As good as lunch was, the dinner has got to be a great experience.I am really looking forward to my dinner there this summer.
I'm glad that I found the Disboards a few years ago and saw so many TR's with toddlers. That factor really helped us decide to do it, and it helped us prepare for the trip. Otherwise, I'm not sure I'd have wanted to try it.My boys were 6 and 8 the first time we went. I wanted them to be able to walk. I was so wrong because there were so many cool things we missed out on that were tailored to a hunger age. My regret is I didn't take them sooner and I tell all my friends that.
It was by far the worst part of the trip for any of us.I just think its terrible that your sister had to suffer like that. Really a bummer.
I just have a hard time justifying the cost of a ticket for a 3 year old that can't do half the stuff there. They really need to take a look at their child ticket pricing.I don't blame you for wanting to wait until DS can ride a few more rides.
Thank you for reading along!Loved your TR and the final thoughts. Thanks!
Thanks!Great wrap up!
I've definitely considered that option as well.And let me point out one more perk you and especially your DS can look forward to for your trip in 2014. Rider Swap!! Thanks to your DD, your DS could go on his favorite coaster or other height restricted rides back to back through the fastpass lanes with a combination of FPs and Rider Swap Pass depending on your travel group size. For our last two trips, we were able to do this since DS was too short for most of the thrill rides. When we had back next year, he should be tall enough to go on most things and we won't be able to take advantage of the RS passes. It's awesome!
Thanks!Great Wrap up Andy.
Been there, done that, I agree!I think you are spot on with taking the young ones, even though mine were 4 and 7 when we made our first trip, I having been telling friends with young ones to go now- they won't regret it.
That's a shame that they wouldn't be more helpful, especially when you were reaching out to them asking for specific information. Seems like they basically just sent some kind of pre-generated response without even taking the time to look at your specific requests.I totally hear you on the allergies and just when I thik Disney is great with allergies, and get awards for it, there is an experience that makes me wonder.
I emailed about Flower and Garden and was disappointed to receive an email basically to ask when I got there. All I wanted was an ingredient list so I could plan in advance.
Thanks!Wonderful closing thoughts
Well, I didn't run anybody over, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't tempted. The thought crossed my mind often.DH also said that he would NEVER go to any Disney park with a stroller. It does look awful when you see so many people struggling to maneuver through crowds. But really it's not as bad as I thought it would be. I didn't run into people trying to quickly cross in front of me or hitting anyones heels. It's definitely not stopping us from returning in the future!
Well, you know how things go. That's the plan for now, anyway.Glad that you have all your trips set up! We're still debating about what we want to do and we should probably figure this out sooner than later.