I made up the plan. It is MY plan! - A March 2015 TR - update 6/30 Epcot morning

[ksl5f123]

Hi everybody!

Welcome back to anyone hopping over from my PTR (http://disboards.com/threads/there-...update-3-31-home.3342236/page-6#post-53360004)
and Welcome to any new readers!

We just returned Sunday from WDW. As with all trips, it had its good and bad moments, but on balance, it was a great trip!

So, with that, let's get on to the cast!

Hi, I'm Karen. I am a part time physics professor, and full time mom and Girl Scout leader (I am pretty sure I spend more time on GS stuff than I do on my job!). This was my 16th trip to WDW!
Favorite attractions: Soarin', FotLK, Peter Pan, and TSMM
Favorite characters: Rapunzel, Belle, Tiana, Eeyore

DH: Gabe - He grew up in South Florida and has been to WDW more times than he can count.
Favorite attractions: Animation Academy, Soarin', and BTMRR
Favorite characters: Sorcerer Mickey and Buzz Lightyear
DH is a thrill rider. He will try anything, except for the tea cups and Mission Space: orange. Oh, and the Disney buses – they give him motion sickness EVERY time (although he did consent to use them to get to DTD this trip).

DD1 – J – age 11 – This was her 9th trip to WDW.
Favorite attractions: Flights of Wonder, BTMRR, Kali River Rapids, and Aladdin! at DCA
Favorite characters: Stitch, Mickey Mouse, Aurora, Pluto, Goofy, Tigger, and many more!
J likes the mild roller coasters like BTMRR. At home, she plays flute in the school band and is on the chess and basketball teams. She is in 6th grade, she is still much more a kid than a tween and I am really happy about that!

DD2 – C – age 9 – This was her 8th trip to WDW
Favorite attractions: Carousel of Progress, Fantasmic!, Imagination, Animation Academy, and Soarin'
Favorite characters: Rapunzel, Mickey Mouse, and Snow White
C dislikes thrill rides like her mama. At home, she is art club, plays chess, and takes dance lessons (ballet, tap, and jazz). She is in 3rd grade and is happy at WDW in ways that she never is anywhere else.

DS1 – T – age 6 – This will be his 5th trip to WDW
Favorite attractions: BTMRR, Buzz Lightyear, and Star Tours
Favorite characters: Sorcerer Mickey
Like his sister, he likes the mild roller coasters. At home, he plays on the chess team and does gymnastics. He is in 1st grade and like most 6 year old boys seems to be a constant motion machine.

DS2 – D – age 2 – This will be his 2nd trip to WDW.
Favorite attractions: Winnie the Pooh, it's a small world, and the carousel
Favorite characters: Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh
He is a sweet little fellow. Due to some medical issues, he is in physical and speech therapy.

MIL and FIL were also with us on this trip. They were generally pretty willing to ride anything or to skip anything if any of the kids didn't want to ride. They were also great about taking D back to the resort for nap time if the big kids wanted to keep going.

 

[ksl5f123]

Chapters:

Travel Day!
Art of Animation arrival!
Sunday morning
Flower & Garden kiosks
Behind the Seeds
T-Rex
AK morning
AK afternoon
Yak and Yeti
BBB - part 1
BBB - part 2
Luau at the Poly!
[URL="http://disboards.com/threads/i-made-up-the-plan-it-is-my-plan-a-march-2015-tr-update-4-28-luau-at-the-poly.3396151/page-6#post-53599006"]CR room and Wishes[/URL]

 

[KatMark]

Karen, I'm here. I'm so glad you've started your TR. I'm just back and getting caught up everywhere and saw your link.

Great intros and I can't read all about it.

 

[ariane37]

Hi there! We were there earlier this month, looking forward to reading! BTW my mom & sister work at our local GS office Mom's been involved with GS for many, MANY years!!

 

[jchurch0409]

I'm hear!! I have been looking forward to reading about your trip!!

 

[Gracefulskinny]

I'm here! Happy to see you started your trip report!

 

[ksl5f123]

Karen, I'm here. I'm so glad you've started your TR. I'm just back and getting caught up everywhere and saw your link.

Great intros and I can't read all about it.

Woohoo! You are first! You win the pretty flower. I actually think I was typing on your PTR when you were typing here.

Hi there! We were there earlier this month, looking forward to reading! BTW my mom & sister work at our local GS office Mom's been involved with GS for many, MANY years!!

Thanks for stopping by! How cool that your mom and sister work for GS! It is something I will probably do after my girls graduate.

I'm hear!! I have been looking forward to reading about your trip!!

Thanks for coming over!

I'm here! Happy to see you started your trip report!

Hello! Glad you are here!

 

[ksl5f123]

Let's get this train rolling! OK, we didn't take a train - it was a minivan. We left on Friday afternoon (3/20). The kids had school that day and DH had to work. I spent most of the day packing all of the last minute things. The big suitcases were already in the car.

DH finished his classes at 2 PM and got home around 2:15. He shut off the water to the house (let's just say we have had a leak before) and joined D and me in the minivan. Our kids go to Catholic school and since this was a Friday in Lent, they were doing the Stations of the Cross at the end of the day. T's class was leading (he read the 14th station), so we couldn't leave early. We got on the road at exactly 3 PM.

We made it about an hour into the trip before I thought of the first thing I had forgotten - bandaids. Now, you can't go on a trip with 4 kids without bandaids, but at least that is something I could buy when we got there. It was another two hours before I thought of the other thing I forgot - the camera. I just got a new zoom lens for the DSLR too. I was SO sad! So, every picture in this TR will be taken with my poor little TracFone cell phone.

Our stop for the night was at an Embassy Suites in Birmingham, AL. We pulled in right around 10 PM. I had packed pb&j's in the car, so we had only stopped briefly for gas and bathrooms. We pretty much pulled into the hotel and went straight to bed. This was our first stay at an Embassy Suites and the kids LOVED the included breakfast. They are pretty used to cold cereal in the room, so that BIG breakfast buffet was a huge treat.

We were on the road by about 8:30 Saturday morning. We stopped for lunch at a Ruby Tuesday in Tallahassee. Here are some excited girls:

Notice what my slightly unusual child is eating for lunch? Raw spinach, raw broccoli and a little shredded cheese. Yep, my kids are different. T has always been the only one who eats like a traditional kid - I think he had buttered noodles for lunch.

After losing an hour due to changing time zones, we found ourselves here

at about 6 PM. Soon after, we arrived here:

Up next, check-in, room pictures, our first Disney meal, and a little excitement!

 

[SarahDisney]

H*i Karen! I'm here!
Looks like you had a good travel day - minus forgetting the bandaids and camera.
I think it's great that your kids eat healthier than the average kid. I wish I could get the hang of eating healthier than the average kid ...

I'm looking forward to reading about the rest of the trip!

 

[jchurch0409]

Oh no!!! I would be devastated if I forgot my camera. Thank goodness for your phone! There are no pictures from my one day trip to Disney when I was 2, well there are hardly any from when I was little, so I am so crazy about pictures LOL. I am just thankful we live in a time with cameras on our phones! I think the ones you have posted so far look great!!

I wish my kiddos would eat more veggies! That salad looks yummy!

 

[Gracefulskinny]

What a bummer that you forgot your camera. But at least you had your phone! And how wonderful that at least one of the kids enjoys salads!

 

[ksl5f123]

H*i Karen! I'm here!
Looks like you had a good travel day - minus forgetting the bandaids and camera.
I think it's great that your kids eat healthier than the average kid. I wish I could get the hang of eating healthier than the average kid ...

I'm looking forward to reading about the rest of the trip!

Glad you made it over. My girls are unusual eaters. You know how you often get seated with random people when you eat at a hibachi restaurant? When J was 2 or 3 we used to have to catch her before she started asking all the strangers for the zucchini off their plates.

Oh no!!! I would be devastated if I forgot my camera. Thank goodness for your phone! There are no pictures from my one day trip to Disney when I was 2, well there are hardly any from when I was little, so I am so crazy about pictures LOL. I am just thankful we live in a time with cameras on our phones! I think the ones you have posted so far look great!!

I wish my kiddos would eat more veggies! That salad looks yummy!

I am still kinda bummed about the camera. I had a lot of plans of pictures I really wanted to take, but didn't get.

What a bummer that you forgot your camera. But at least you had your phone! And how wonderful that at least one of the kids enjoys salads!

It is good that phones can take pictures! I also bought a few from the photopass, so I am not completely without pictures.

 

[KatMark]

Karen, I'm so sorry you forgot your camera. I'm sure you were very upset about it.

I love that your DD eats a salad for lunch. Although I'd be with T and the noodles.

What a great entrance to DW picture!

 

[ksl5f123]

When we last left off, we had just arrived at the Art of Animation resort. MIL and FIL had gone to Florida a week before us and had already checked in and picked up all of our room information and parking pass. So, we knew that we were assigned to room 7640 in the Little Mermaid Section. Building 7 doesn't border a parking lot, so we parked next to building 8 almost to Hourglass Lake. We then met up with MIL and FIL who took the kids for a little walk while I went to set up the surprises in our room - except that I couldn't. My Magic Band wouldn't open the door! I quickly decided to just do the surprises in MIL's room.

I missed a picture of the surprises on the bed before the kids opened them, but here are some pictures of the kids playing with them. D got the Aladdin Little People set:

T got some Legos:

J got an Olaf water bottle and the park bag I made her:

We left the kids to play with their new stuff and walked over to the check-in desk to fix our Magic Bands. Now, I haven't heard of this problem before, but apparently if you have had a Disney account long enough, the system defaults to your old Key to the World Cards and Magic Bands have to be added manually. The very helpful CM quipped "Well, you could have gotten into your room with your old KTTW, but I am sure you lost that long ago!" Um, no!!! It was in my park bag in the car - I just never thought to try it!

After about 15 minutes of computer magic, our Magic Bands were activated and we were back to our rooms. The theming in this resort is AMAZING!!! Prepare for picture overload!

At this point, it was about 7:30 PM and the kids were getting hungry. MIL and FIL took them off to Landscape of Flavors while DH and I grabbed a couple more things we needed from the minivan. By the time we got to the food court, the kids were finishing their food. MIL had gotten roast chicken legs for C and T and corn dog nuggets for D. However, T was jealous and wanted the corn dog nuggets, so C ate his chicken leg and MIL went back and bought another meal (Mama wouldn't have done that! Sometimes Grandmas are too nice!). J had the Chicken Parmesan which she LOVED, DH had the create your own pasta, and I had the create your own salad. Everyone was very happy with their food. I also bought my very first ever refillable mug! I love it!!! The price was ridiculous, but I made sure to use it often to try and get my money's worth.

While we were eating, MIL noted that D looked sick. He had been sneezing all day. T and DH had been sneezing for a couple of days and I had woken up very drippy that morning. We all have BAD pollen allergies. As we were leaving, the Bradford Pear Trees were in full bloom at home. I actually enjoyed looking for what I called the "green line" on our drive (where we went from barren trees to green leafy ones). BTW, it was in Dothan, AL. I figured D was having the same pollen issues.

After supper, we headed back to the room to get ready for bed. My kids go to bed at 8 PM during the school year. I jumped in the shower while DH did the bedtime routine. I got out just in time to hear, "cough, cough, URGH, Karen!!" as D vomited his supper all over himself, DH, and the bed. Now, D had been allowed chocolate pudding for supper (remember I wasn't there) and he is allergic to milk. So, was it the pudding? Was it the allergies? Was it the new medicine he had started 5 days earlier? Who knows! DH changed himself and D while I stripped the bed and called Mousekeeping. A very sweet Mousekeeper arrived about 15 minutes later with fresh sheets and extra trash bags (just in case). She and DH had a lovely conversation in Spanish - It is always good to get on the good side of the Mousekeeper!

With that excitement over, we settled in for a good night's sleep.

 

[ksl5f123]

Karen, I'm so sorry you forgot your camera. I'm sure you were very upset about it.

I love that your DD eats a salad for lunch. Although I'd be with T and the noodles.

What a great entrance to DW picture!

I was pretty pleased with the entrance photo given that it was taken with the phone while moving!

I fall somewhere in the middle with the food. I had a salad (although I used lettuce, not spinach) and a turkey burger. I probably could use to be a little more like the girls.

 

[awalker1015]

Tuning in- we were there the same week. I have awful post Disney depression. Can't wait to read more!

 

[Luv0fDisney]

Just joining in to your exciting Trip Report. I might not get to Disney until December. I remember one year we forgotten the Disney papers, but my dad (who isn't a disney fan) drove the papers back to the airport. We are usually all together but the day before (literally) my grandma had fallen down the stairs and broke a hip so we weren't really altogether that trip. Also forgot a lanyard but we were able to purchase one at the gift shop. hehehe

 

[KatMark]

Nice surprises for the kids.

I love the pictures I have seen of the Mermaid rooms. It looks really "fun."

Sorry about the throwing up. I hope he is feeling better after a "good night's rest?

 

[KathyM2]

Joining in!! Ugh...sorry about the sickies. I hope by morning things improve!! Looking forward to hearing all about the trip.

 

[ksl5f123]

Tuning in- we were there the same week. I have awful post Disney depression. Can't wait to read more!

I hear you!! It is so hard to come home from a Disney vacation! It helps me to read TRs and to start thinking about "next time".

Just joining in to your exciting Trip Report. I might not get to Disney until December. I remember one year we forgotten the Disney papers, but my dad (who isn't a disney fan) drove the papers back to the airport. We are usually all together but the day before (literally) my grandma had fallen down the stairs and broke a hip so we weren't really altogether that trip. Also forgot a lanyard but we were able to purchase one at the gift shop. hehehe

Thanks for stopping by. December isn't really that far away! Forgetting stuff can be so frustrating.

Nice surprises for the kids.

I love the pictures I have seen of the Mermaid rooms. It looks really "fun."

Sorry about the throwing up. I hope he is feeling better after a "good night's rest?

AoA is fun all around! It is really a full Disney experience.

Joining in!! Ugh...sorry about the sickies. I hope by morning things improve!! Looking forward to hearing all about the trip.

It was really sad to see him not feeling well. He is a little trooper though.