Feeling Hot Hot Hot! The Rain Curse is Broken! Two Weeks of Fun in the Sun! COMPLETE

[IheartDDuck]

Holy moly, that girl you described had a whole lot of Dooney Bags! How on earth did she pay for her vacation too!?

Can't wait to hear your wrap up thoughts on the trip.

 

[Mysteria]

I haven't mini-golfed in years. Looks like fun! What a great idea for killing time on leaving day.

So sad it's over. Get to planning another trip so I have something to read.

 

[FauntleroyFAN07]

enjoyed the whole report once again great trip.

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

boo....your TR has come to an end
What a fantastic time you had...and you had some great pics!

Thanks for writing this...your a really good writer!

I hope you get to go back in the fall to see your brother!

It was a great trip! Very different from our other trips as it was so long!

Yes, I hope that I can go down in October, it would be fun to get to visit!

I am sad to see this end !!! Promise me you'll let me know if you start another report so I can be in from the begining !! I have two ptr's going one for my freetrips and the other for my 65th celebration trip in December !! Check them out !!! Oh and say Hi to Beth!!!! And of cause the Bros !!!

I will let you know Rosie.

That's the most awesome putt putt place I've ever seen, and believe me, I've been to some pretty awesome putt putt places. Haha.

No Chick Fil A??? That's so sad.

I know, so sad.

I bet you're about ready to be done with this by now! Can't believe it's been over 11 months now since you've been back!

It is a bit of a relief, although I think part of my problem was trying to update while in school. I was always so tired by the time I got home that I never had any energy to put into the report.

That does look like a cool mini golf course! The really old computer made me laugh. Can't believe the trip is over!

I know, it is sad but also a relief!

Leesa, you are like a good book that you can put down, and come back and know exactly where we left off. So sad it is ending.

Does Alex shoot guns? My dd gets stopped all the time in security to get her hands swabbed, because of gun powder residue.

Nope, no guns in this family.

I'm so sorry this TR has come to an end! I really feel like I got to know you and your family over the past year and it has been a lot of fun!

You'll have to take another trip soon so you can start writing another TR!

We will see!

I'm glad you guys made it home with no trouble and I'm sure you were really happy to be home and comfortable. Its always the worst to be sick away from home.

Yep, I had a great trip but by the end I was just so grateful to be going home to my own bed.

Ooooo... Winter Summerland golf looks so cool! The theming, as you said, is fantastic! Disney knows how to make some epic park attractions AND a fantastic golf course, though I can really tell the age. May have to make room on my next trip to check that place out (Sorry you didn't win though )

Yes, definitely try out one of the mini-golf courses, they are lots of fun!

Awwww, it is so sad when you are leaving a resort that you only stayed in for five days for me much less two weeks, uggghhh... must've been tough And wow, that's crazy you got to the airport so early! A very prompt family I see... yes, I do see But at least you got to have Chick-Fil-A, though I'm sure I saw it at the Mall I visited in Quebec... maybe it's just in Quebec

Hmmmm, maybe it was something similar to Chick-Fil-A, unless they have come to Canada recently.

Bummer the TR is over but two weeks in Florida would be so great. I'd love to go for a long trip like that but I bet it is even harder leaving.

Glad you got one last dose of Disney magic at Winter Summerland. I love playing there. So much fun.

Nope, two weeks is the perfect length, you are ready to go home by the end whereas with just a one week vacation you are left wishing for just one more day
.

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Holy moly, that girl you described had a whole lot of Dooney Bags! How on earth did she pay for her vacation too!?

I was wondering that too!

I haven't mini-golfed in years. Looks like fun! What a great idea for killing time on leaving day.

So sad it's over. Get to planning another trip so I have something to read.

Well, the next "vacation" I need to plan is my trip out West to visit my Dad at the end of the summer. It will be just me going, Alek and Erich are going out in June before Erich heads to Disney. Since it will be just me my dad said that we can do things "my way". That means more sightseeing and less dangling over cliffs for photo ops.

enjoyed the whole report once again great trip.

Thanks Dan

 

[tazdev3225]

I really enjoyed your TR. I would love to do 2 weeks one day. I don't think I will ever convince my DH though. MAybe if I tell him we can do Universal and Sea World and maybe a trip to visit my family while we are there. I have cousins in Orlando and an aunt 20 minutes away drom Disney and I never even call when I am in the area.

The trip to see your dad sounds nice, especially not hanging over cliffs for pics.

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

I really enjoyed your TR. I would love to do 2 weeks one day. I don't think I will ever convince my DH though. MAybe if I tell him we can do Universal and Sea World and maybe a trip to visit my family while we are there. I have cousins in Orlando and an aunt 20 minutes away drom Disney and I never even call when I am in the area.

The trip to see your dad sounds nice, especially not hanging over cliffs for pics.

Yeah, throw in some non-Disney stuff, that will sweeten the pot. I don't think Alek and Erich would have agreed to the two weeks if it hadn't been for the addition of Universal to the itinerary.

 

[pinkxray]

Thanks for sharing your wonderful trip with us

The mini golf course looks very cute. We have only been to the Fantasia one, maybe we can try the summer one next time.

I can't wait to see where Erich winds up in WDW. He is probably going to run into many Lifelong Dreamer fans who have seen him on your TR.

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

I can't wait to see where Erich winds up in WDW. He is probably going to run into many Lifelong Dreamer fans who have seen him on your TR.

That would be hilarious! He would probably hate it.

 

[englishrose47]

That would be hilarious! He would probably hate it.

I am definately gonna need to look him up in October , Maybe he would POLE DANCE with me I might even lay down in front of a little car for him to run me over

 

[GeminiAngel]

I just caught up with the last few installments, its been very crazy around here. I started a new job, and took Nova to Disneyland this past weekend to celebrate. While there Mom called to tell me my Grandfather had passed away (Saturday).

I'm going to miss these updates very much.

So when is the next trip?!

 

[Rozz]

I don't want it to end! Such a great trip report! I look forward to your next one and want to say, many thanks for sharing!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

I just caught up with the last few installments, its been very crazy around here. I started a new job, and took Nova to Disneyland this past weekend to celebrate. While there Mom called to tell me my Grandfather had passed away (Saturday).

I'm going to miss these updates very much.

So when is the next trip?!

Sorry to hear about your grandfather.

I don't want it to end! Such a great trip report! I look forward to your next one and want to say, many thanks for sharing!

Thanks for reading, I am glad that you enjoyed it.

 

[KatMark]

I can't believe it's over.

I loved following along and meeting your family.

Glad you got in a round of mini golf (Mark always beats me by one or two...so infuriating. So glad you liked CSR.

 

[Aussieprincess]

wow, I think this was the first trip report I ever started reading! Can't believe its finally finished! thanks for the ride!

 

[orangecats2]

I can't believe its over!

But if you have no disney trips planned how will we hear about this summer's stepmother chronicles? Those are always hilarious!

I would love to know where Erich is working when we go in Sept.

DH and I still haven't been to mini golf. I say every year that we're going but we never do. We never seem to have time, plus its a little off the beaten path and we don't have a car so a little hard to get to. This year we are going to go our first day (hopefully ).

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

I can't believe it's over.

I loved following along and meeting your family.

Glad you got in a round of mini golf (Mark always beats me by one or two...so infuriating. So glad you liked CSR.

Thanks for reading Kathy! You stuck with me the whole time, I am amazed!

wow, I think this was the first trip report I ever started reading! Can't believe its finally finished! thanks for the ride!

Thanks for reading and I am honoured that this was the first TR you read.

I can't believe its over!

But if you have no disney trips planned how will we hear about this summer's stepmother chronicles? Those are always hilarious!

Maybe I will start a blog to write about my families non-Disney adventures??? Or maybe I will have a PTR going by the time that trip rolls around for my possible October trip and I can post about it there.

DH and I still haven't been to mini golf. I say every year that we're going but we never do. We never seem to have time, plus its a little off the beaten path and we don't have a car so a little hard to get to. This year we are going to go our first day (hopefully ).

If you do decide to go the Winter-Summer land course is really easy to get to, it is at Blizzard Beach.

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Final Thoughts

My goodness, it has been almost a year since the trip and this trip report is finally finished!

This trip was very close to a perfect trip, hardly anything went wrong and the weather was perfect. Knowing our track record with bad weather on vacation that is saying something!

Was two weeks a good length for a trip? Yes and no. Having two weeks in Orlando allowed us to really relax and take things at a slower pace. We did not feel any pressure/rush to get everything done because we still had lots of time to do everything that we wanted. We were able to spend the mornings in the parks and the afternoons or evenings lounging in the pool or just relaxing at the resort. The longer trip also allowed us to travel off property to visit Universal, something we never would have done on a two week trip.

Two weeks was also very long, I found that the last couple days we were starting to lose our steam despite our relaxed approach to the vacation. We had been there "so long" that the magic was starting to be commonplace. That could also be attributed to the fact that we have been to WDW pretty much every year for the past few years. I know some people can go several times a year every year and not lose any of the magic but I think that our family needs to spread the visits out more to keep it more of a unique experience rather than just a normal "been there, done that" experience. Don't get me wrong, I will always love WDW but going so often does take away some of the excitement and magic. That being said, maybe we just need to mix things up and go to Disneyland rather than WDW.

Coronado Springs Resort

I really liked this resort. The room was lovely and comfortable and it was nice that we were able to get a microwave for the room free of charge. The grounds of the resort were well kept and scenic which made for some nice walks. It was also very quiet. No loud music, noises, or people to disrupt our sleep or relaxation. The pools were all great, we made use of the quiet pool and the theme pool. We never had any problem finding lounge chairs to use at the pool and they were never too crowded. My one complaint about the resort was the fact that they opened the resort guest parking to the day visitors there for conferences. This meant that the security gates were left up pretty much all day, every day, allowing anybody to drive back there. This led to a crowded parking lot by our building and also possible security problems. Luckily we never saw any security problems but given my job I can't help but be paranoid and very aware of potential risks. Overall I give CSR a 4/5 rating.

Highlights

Flower and Garden Festival - I love Epcot, especially during the Flower and Garden Festival, it is very beautiful and I love all the topiaries and extra flower beds around the park.

Pixar Weekend - This was a fun event. We got to get our pictures taken with some unique characters which are not usually out. We also got to witness some interesting behaviour from fully grown adults who were not getting their way. Ex. Man throwing a temper tantrum because Remy and Emilie were not doing signatures.

Star Wars Weekends - Despite their changing the schedule around on me it all worked out for the best. We were so lucky that they let us into the park at 7am. Getting to ride the new Star Tours three times in a row with no wait was amazing and all three of us getting to be the rebel spy was hilarious. It was also really fun having the park to ourselves for pretty much a whole hour. It pays to show up early!

Universal - We LOVED Universal. Disney is still number one in my heart but I had so much fun at Universal. Islands of Adventure was amazing, every section of that park was a blast, there were so many fun rides. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter was my favourite part of the day. It was like walking onto the movie set and The Forbidden Journey was such a fun ride! The butterbeer was also extremely delicious! I will definitely be going back, maybe when the new Harry Potter section opens up?

Medieval Times - The show was entertaining and the food was tasty, especially that tomato soup!

Lows

Getting sick - that is pretty much the only low I can think of. Everything else went fairly smoothly. There were a few hiccups such as when I had to rearrange the schedule due to the changed SWW schedule but that worked itself out so was no big deal in the end.

When will we be back? As a family, probably not for several years. Alek is rather burnt out in regards to WDW trips, he still likes WDW, he is just of the opinion that it is something that should not be enjoyed too often or it ruins the magic. Erich as you know will be heading down to Florida in June to work at WDW for six months (lucky!), maybe you will see him around. I am going to try and go down to visit him in October (if he lets me). If I do go down then it will be a solo trip.

I think our next family Disney trip, if there is a next family Disney trip, will probably not be for at least 5 years or more or if we do take a trip it will be to California. Time will tell. There are many other places in the world that we want to visit other than Disney so we may be taking a break from WDW for awhile. Erich wants to go to Australia and Africa. I want to go to Japan and Europe. Well, I pretty much want to travel everywhere!

If I do end up going in October you will definitely see a trip report from me.

Thanks for reading along!

 

[macleod1979]

In my humble opinion, Star Wars weekends is the best time to go. I always have a great time during those weekends.

 

[shan23877]

I was a little bit behind, but I got all caught up just in time for it to be over!

Good luck to your brother with his new job/internship thing at Disney. I hope that you'll have the chance to visit him, let me know when that TR starts!