Wait, do we have a Fast Pass for that? Final Update, Final Thoughts and Favs 1/26

[mickeystoontown]

What a fun filled day! Nothing like a "down" day to spend time at the resort and Downtown Disney. Speaking of Downtown Disney, I agree with you on the walls. They were everywhere and they got even worse later on in our trip.

Yay for getting to see YeeHa Bob and sample some of the tasty treats while watching the show!

 

[MarbleBob]

Wow!!! Looks like an amazing day. I guess I share the Disney geekiness with you, because I get excited passing the tree houses on the POR to DTD boat ride too!

We only visited DTD once on our recent trip, on a Sunday evening, and it was so crowded that you could hardly walk inside the Lego store. It was packed like sardines! It's cool that you guys got there before the crowds did!

We've never been to T-Rex before, so it was fun reading about it!

 

[PrncessA]

What a fun filled day! Nothing like a "down" day to spend time at the resort and Downtown Disney. Speaking of Downtown Disney, I agree with you on the walls. They were everywhere and they got even worse later on in our trip.

Yay for getting to see YeeHa Bob and sample some of the tasty treats while watching the show!

So far we are 0/2 on our DTD experience! We like the food and the shops but the first time we were cooked in an empty PI and this time we were herded like cattle. I hope that Disney Springs is worth it!

Wow!!! Looks like an amazing day. I guess I share the Disney geekiness with you, because I get excited passing the tree houses on the POR to DTD boat ride too!

We only visited DTD once on our recent trip, on a Sunday evening, and it was so crowded that you could hardly walk inside the Lego store. It was packed like sardines! It's cool that you guys got there before the crowds did!

We've never been to T-Rex before, so it was fun reading about it!

It is crazy with the crowds, right? We were lucky and were leaving as the crowds were really desending, but with the limited space and the walls it is a claustrophobic's nightmare!

I was very happy with our T-Rex meal, which makes me wonder why Rainforest Cafe can't put out some better food if you know what I mean.

 

[Valgoof]

Wow! That was a fun and full no park day!!

I have heard so many good things about T-Rex. We dont care for Rain Forest Cafe, but might need to try T-Rex soon!

Ugh, DTD!! We are staying at SSR in Nov and I just want to avoid DTD completely, which makes me sad since we will be so close!

Ok, now the kids are doing the matching. Ethan's dino matches his green and Lorelai's has a Keep Calm shirt.

 

[alan_renfroe]

GREAT updates! That is TOO funny that you thought it was me at the River Roost Lounge...and it WAS! Nope, you weren't crazy after all! I sure wish you would've come up and said hello. I think it is hilarious that I just happened to be there at the same time as you and your family. Now THAT is a great story!

You have a lovely family. Ethan and Lorelai are adorable kids!

Looks like everyone enjoyed T-Rex! We had lunch there one day on our trip. I'm glad the young'uns got to Build-A-Dino! That looks fun!

I know what you mean about Ethan and fried cheese. My DD14 is the same way....never met a cheese stick she didn't like!

This is a great trip report! Can't wait for more!

 

[petals]

Joining in. Great first day in Disney

I am not a morning person either. Just ask my husband. You would think by now my oldest son would have learned NOT to talk to me until I 've had my coffee!

I'm not a morning person anywhere but in Disney Seriously like at home it's an effort to get out of bed before noon in Florida I'm up at 6am!

 

[KatMark]

Wow, Sara, you really did have a packed full day. But what fun you had, aside from all that construction at DTD. I, who love to shop there, couldn't wait to get out of there.

We've never done T-Rex and probably won't...at least not until we have grandchildren. Like you, we don't like Rainforest at all, and T-Rex is similar. I will say everything looks very yummy.

The kids dinosaurs turned out great.

Ah yes...the big sucker. Cayley got one and I am pretty sure it was thrown out the day we checked out after having only had a bit of it.

I'm glad you all got to see Yee Haw Bob. We saw him once back in 2008. One of these days I'd like to go back.

 

[JPFamilyMom]

What a fun, full day.

I hope we do get to see the Yeehaw Bob Show one day. I've only read good things about it. Glad everyone in your family enjoyed the show.

We ate at T-Rex in May, it was our first time in DTD, but we had eaten at the one in Kansas several times (I think it's a bit more spacious in KS). Love the new stuffies, so fun for the kiddos.

Can't wait to see what kind of pixie dust you get sprinkled with

 

[GreatBiscuit]

Well I'm FINALLY caught up. Love the solo morning photos! I'm not sure if we will be able to get over to see Yeeha Bob or not, but it is definitely stewing on my back burner.

 

[Tinkerbell_Girl]

I'm loving your trip report! Your kids are adorable! I can't wait for more!

 

[PrncessA]

Wow! That was a fun and full no park day!!

I have heard so many good things about T-Rex. We dont care for Rain Forest Cafe, but might need to try T-Rex soon!

Ugh, DTD!! We are staying at SSR in Nov and I just want to avoid DTD completely, which makes me sad since we will be so close!

Ok, now the kids are doing the matching. Ethan's dino matches his green and Lorelai's has a Keep Calm shirt.

I was pleasantly surprised by the food at T-Rex, definitely try it! They should cut ties with Rainforest Cafe!

DTD was a nightmare of walls, I hope it is worth it!

I figure I only have limited months or years that I can put them in matching shirts. They don't seem to mind right now though. Then of course we add in the Dinos!!

GREAT updates! That is TOO funny that you thought it was me at the River Roost Lounge...and it WAS! Nope, you weren't crazy after all! I sure wish you would've come up and said hello. I think it is hilarious that I just happened to be there at the same time as you and your family. Now THAT is a great story!

You have a lovely family. Ethan and Lorelai are adorable kids!

Looks like everyone enjoyed T-Rex! We had lunch there one day on our trip. I'm glad the young'uns got to Build-A-Dino! That looks fun!

I know what you mean about Ethan and fried cheese. My DD14 is the same way....never met a cheese stick she didn't like!

This is a great trip report! Can't wait for more!

I was kicking myself the next morning when I confirmed it was you!

Whoever invented Build-a-bear/dino is a genius in marketing! My kids go CRAZY when they see a store!

Who doesn't love fried cheese!!

Joining in. Great first day in Disney


I'm not a morning person anywhere but in Disney Seriously like at home it's an effort to get out of bed before noon in Florida I'm up at 6am!

It is something about that Disney air!!

Wow, Sara, you really did have a packed full day. But what fun you had, aside from all that construction at DTD. I, who love to shop there, couldn't wait to get out of there.

We've never done T-Rex and probably won't...at least not until we have grandchildren. Like you, we don't like Rainforest at all, and T-Rex is similar. I will say everything looks very yummy.

The kids dinosaurs turned out great.

Ah yes...the big sucker. Cayley got one and I am pretty sure it was thrown out the day we checked out after having only had a bit of it.

I'm glad you all got to see Yee Haw Bob. We saw him once back in 2008. One of these days I'd like to go back.

We were at DTD the same day as well! You were either in Goofy's right before us or after. So many almost run ins. Luckily we ran in to each other later!

The big sucker ended up making it's way home somehow, half eaten and sticky! It made it into the garbage can quickly!

What a fun, full day.

I hope we do get to see the Yeehaw Bob Show one day. I've only read good things about it. Glad everyone in your family enjoyed the show.

We ate at T-Rex in May, it was our first time in DTD, but we had eaten at the one in Kansas several times (I think it's a bit more spacious in KS). Love the new stuffies, so fun for the kiddos.

Can't wait to see what kind of pixie dust you get sprinkled with

I'm so excited for the next update!!

Well I'm FINALLY caught up. Love the solo morning photos! I'm not sure if we will be able to get over to see Yeeha Bob or not, but it is definitely stewing on my back burner.

Your trip is almost here!!

If you can make it... do it! So worth it!!

I'm loving your trip report! Your kids are adorable! I can't wait for more!

Thank you! I think I'll keep them!!

**************************************

I wish that I could say that I am about to post a Disney update, but alas I am not. I am dealing with a semi devestating family issue right now, so it was all I could do to present my project in class last night! I will be leaving for the weekend to Wisconsin for tomorrow, so hopfully I can get some writing done on the car ride!

Just thought I would add a few picture of Ethan at camp though!!

 

[KatMark]

Fun camp pictures.

I hope everything is okay with the family.

 

[amberg93]

I'm sure he'll have a blast at camp though. I used to go away for about a month in the summer to various camps and I had such great times every time.

Oh wow, that is such a difference between the two pictures. They're so big!

Good to know T-Rex is apparently a good choice.

Great build-a-dino picks too.

Everyone keeps talking about Bob. I'll need to put it on my to-do list to see him.

 

[AlyssinWonderland]

Your trip report is awesome and I love all your pictures. I can't wait to try out Trex cafe! You have a lovely family!

I hope everything is ok! Sending hugs and Pixie dust if you need it!

 

[PrncessA]

Fun camp pictures.

I hope everything is okay with the family.

Thank you!

Family issues are very hard sometimes.

I'm sure he'll have a blast at camp though. I used to go away for about a month in the summer to various camps and I had such great times every time.

Oh wow, that is such a difference between the two pictures. They're so big!

Good to know T-Rex is apparently a good choice.

Great build-a-dino picks too.

Everyone keeps talking about Bob. I'll need to put it on my to-do list to see him.

I went to camp when I was young as well and it is such a good experience! Ethan loves it!

You definitely need to make time for Bob! He is great!

Your trip report is awesome and I love all your pictures. I can't wait to try out Trex cafe! You have a lovely family!

I hope everything is ok! Sending hugs and Pixie dust if you need it!

Thank you! Pixie dust is appreciated!

 

[PrncessA]

I just realized that it has been over a week since my last update! It has been a very hectic week and a half!

Here are a few life updates, followed by a Disney update!

Ethan came back from his week at camp. Or better yet we picked him up. It was a lot of fun. We really love the camp and the program grows with the child up until they are in college, from one week campers to service teams to counselors. It is run by the local Christian college (Wheaton College) and Ethan hopes to go there one day. I on the other hand have no idea how we are going to afford a $50,000 a year tuition! That boy better be working on some scholarships! We already spend a fortune on attending basketball games and camps at the college! Anyway here are a few photos from the family day:

Ethan running to us when he saw us!




His bunk. I was so happy that he actually used the fitted sheet that I sent this year!


They have all of their activities open and your child can show you their favorites. Ethan's of course are the rifle range and archery.









Lorelai likes the climbing wall.









After picking Ethan up we spent the rest of the weekend in the Wisconsin Dells at the Wilderness Resort waterpark with three other families. I literally took two photos and only with my phone at the duck races!





It was back to work on Monday, well for some:


He was so tired he spent the entire day sleeping behind a copier in my office! Then yesterday he woke up throwing up... and very sleepy, so we stayed home. Today he is back to normal finally!

I, on the other hand, developed a kink in my neck on the trip (either that or I pulled a muscle) and even after lots of Ibuprofen and heat/ice, it is just as bad. I can't turn my head from side to side right now! It was very distracting during my midterm on Monday and hasn't helped me with my attempts to get my house back in livable conditions! I did receive my grade for my paper and presentation: 200/200pts.

Next Up: Disney Day 3!

 

[PrncessA]

Day 3! Disney Decides to Sprinkle Us With Pixie Dust!!

We all woke up this morning ready to go and visit a park! I had to dash the kid’s dreams with a reminder that they were going on a Pirate Cruise, which they had previously been super excited about. Reminding them didn’t change the fact that all they wanted to do at that exact moment was go to Epcot! There were tears involved, but we would have been charged full price for the cruise if the kids did not attend, so they were going to be pirates whether they wanted to at that moment or not!!

We spent the morning eating muffins and making sure we had packed up the entire room. It was a bit hectic with all the tears from the kids, but we made it through! At 8:30 we called bell services and they were sending a cart for us and our luggage… and we waited and waited. I was getting a little nervous about waiting on bell services and making it to the pirate cruise by 9:00. I was weighing the options, nice ride in a golf cart but be later than I want vs. hoofing it to the marina on time, but be dripping in sweat. The kids were still complaining…

Option B it was! Getting the kids out of the room was the best option. I left Erik in the room with the bags with plans to meet me at the pirate cruise check in or inside so we could check out. Turns out as the kids and I were walking away from the building we passed the luggage guy, but I figured we were already on our way we would just walk on, so we did.

By the time we made it to the check in the kids had forgotten that they didn’t want to be pirates and were ready to ship off!



The check in was easy and I was very surprised at how comfortable they were with dealing with ADHD, the CM ask me a few very good questions on how best to approach Ethan, which put me at ease!




They gathered the kids up and started getting them into being pirates (it sounded like fun) but us parents were guided over to the side to be given instructions to meet our kids in the POR lobby at 11:30, but to come a bit early if we wanted a few good pics. We were given strict instructions not to lose our pink slips to pick up our children. The CM said this multiple times… can anyone guess where this is going?





After setting the kids off to sail we headed into POR to check out and pay for our purchases by gift card and we were done in a jiffy! Our plan was to head over to the Yacht Club by taxi, check in and either look around a bit and take a taxi back or walk through Epcot and take a bus back to pick up the kids, depending on time.

The attendant called us a taxi and we were off to the YC in no time although the drive took FOREVER. It was clear that we would need to take a taxi back.

We arrived at the YC and headed straight over to the Online Check-In, with no wait! I can’t for the life of me remember what our CM’s name was, but after I gave him our name he was looking at the computer strangely for a moment. I assumed that like at POR our CC had not transferred over so I started looking for the CC and I mentioned it the CM.

This is where Disney sprinkled some major pixie dust on our family!! The CM just smiled as big as can be and said that it wasn’t a problem with the credit card, but he needed to call someone down from upstairs to check us in! I was floored and to be honest I was resisting the urge to jump up and down since I knew what that meant! Erik was very confused… and I was too excited to explain it well. I think he thought at first that I had paid for the upgrade to Club Level, but even though I had thought about inquiring about how much the upgrade would cost, I hadn’t.

In just a few minutes we were escorted to the elevator and to the 5th floor, by a CM who I can’t even picture because I was too excited! We were greeted by Regina and we started our check in process sitting at the CL desk. Regina was super nice and got us all checked in and showed us around the lounge. I felt horrible asking her if we could activate all 12 of our magic bands, but she had no problem doing it. One of our bands did give her a problem, but she kept it and by the time we got back to the room later that day it was fixed and sitting on our dresser. (It was a problem with POR not completely checking us out apparently.) We would have told her not to worry about it, but it was the band that I had decorated for Erik with Jack Skellington on it.

After checking in and taking our tour, we were directed to our room which was literally two rooms away from the lounge and the elevator. We could not have had a better room location. We had paid for a garden view so walking out on our balcony to this was crazy!!















The room was gorgeous and felt really big. I don’t know if it was normal size because we were in a handicap accessible room. This made for some interesting fights with the door, because it would wait 30 seconds after being opened before it would close. Not fun if you are running late, 30 seconds felt like 5 minutes! Being a HA room it did not have a tub, only a shower with a bench, which didn’t bother us in the least! We were on CL baby!

I still can’t believe the fact that we received this big of an upgrade, from a garden view room, to a club level water view room! Disney really made our day and week with this upgrade, let me tell you!!!

We explored the room and headed down to look at the rear of the resort before we had to hurry back quickly to POR to get the kids!







I was literally on cloud 9 and didn't notice the dark clouds that you can obviously see in the last photo. We hopped in a taxi and we made it back to POR at about 11:15am, so we sat down in the lobby to relax and wait for the kids. I went to pull out the pink slip out of my bag for the kids and it wasn’t where I had thought I had put it… so I started checking all the 100 pockets of the bag and it was nowhere to be found. The only thing I could think of was that maybe it had been put into my large bag and I had left that bag at the YC in our room. Great! I had lost the sheet of paper that would allow me to pick up my kids!

Soon there was a commotion at the end of the lobby and a bad of pirates began crossing through the lobby, searching for their treasure, which they quickly found. After unlocking their treasure chest they each received their booty. I explained the situation about the pink slip, and they had me confirm some info and I was allowed to take my kids, thank goodness.




Turns out all of the complaining about not wanting to go on the Pirate Cruise had completely vanished, because they both had a blast!!







We headed out to the bus stop with our pirates with plans on heading out to Epcot. I am guessing it was about 11:45 and we had a FP+ for Spaceship Earth from 11:20-12:20, and it was becoming very apparent that we would not make it in time. What to do next?

Next up: We finally make it to a park!!!

 

[amberg93]

Yay for the family being reunited. Although, eek. That tuition. I'm so glad that in Quebec even if I want to go to a top class school, tuition is only 5K a year. Much more reasonable.

Great midterm grade too! Way to go.

Oh my goodness that upgrade! How amazing. That is so awesome.

At least they let you have your kids back Even without the slip. Although one would think that at that age your kids would be able to say, yes, that's my mom and it'd be okay.

 

[PrncessA]

So far on our third official day at Disney World we had taken a pirate cruise, got a magical upgrade at the Yacht Club and lost the paper that would allow me to prove the children were mine…. yet we till hadn’t made it to our first park! That was about to change!

Oh and I had completely forgot, Erik and I didn’t just sit in the lobby waiting for the kids, we had headed down to the food court and broke in our snack credits!




Now back to our regularly scheduled report!

We were on our way to Epcot! I had scheduled a FP+ for Spaceship Earth for 11:20-12:20, thinking we would arrive right at the end of our window, but we were going to be cutting it close. I don’t remember what time we arrived at Epcot, but I had either moved the FP+ to later in the day or we just skipped it. We did however stop and get our first Photopass pictures taken!





We headed into Epcot and started toward our next FP+, Test Track at 12:55, which we were early for. Now that I look at my original spreadsheet, I am pretty sure that I changed my Spaceship Earth for a Nemo later in the day, and maybe changed our Mission: Space for a Turtle Talk, I think.



Since we had some time to kill and we were right at Mission: Space, which had a 5 minute wait time, we started there.



Gary Sinese is one of Erik’s favorite actors, so I knew he would love this ride. We did the green version, since Erik gets motion sickness and I didn’t want to scare the begeezes out of the kids. Also in the back of my mind I have the stories of the two people who died after riding. Yes, I know they had underlying causes, yes, I know it is a million in one chance, yes, I know I am being a little nutso about it, but I don’t think I will ever ride the orange side.

We were outside our capsule in no time and the kids were moving around and moving DH and I around to the positions they wanted. I found out after the ride that Ethan actually thought if Lorelai didn’t push a button (which she didn’t, he was freaking out so I pushed hers for her), that we would crash. I explained that it was all for show and the many times we rode MS after that it was much calmer.

I think these are from Mission: Space.









We all really enjoyed Mission: Space, but nothing could distract Ethan from his main goal: Test Track! He had talked about it for months and hadn’t stopped talking about it since we arrived at WDW. To say he was looking forward to TT, would be the understatement of the decade!!!!

We scanned our MB’s and we quickly made it through the line. Designing the car was a bit confusing at first since we didn’t have a design card and didn’t know to use our MB’s. Anyone know who figured it out? Not Erik or I, or even Ethan, but Lorelai!

We designed our cars, and Lorelai’s was interesting to say the least.






We made our way through the line, until at last it was our turn to scan our MB’s to load our car designs and get into the next car. That was when we noticed that it was taking quite a while for them to move the people who had just loaded into the cars and there was an unusual amount of CM communication over their little phones… oh no!

Finally they announced that the ride was going to be closed due to rain, and they didn’t know for how long. At first we thought we would wait… so we did. We struck up a conversation with the couple who were behind us and were coincidently from the Chicago area as well, but the longer we waited the more it became apparent that it wasn’t going to be opening anytime soon. When they began unloading the filled cars and handing out FP’s Ethan started to get upset, then they unloaded the next two sets of riders, who were SOAKED btw, and he really started getting upset.

I felt HORRIBLE for the kid. All he had been looking forward to was this ride, and we were so close that we could touch it and now it was becoming apparent that it was not going to happen. After unloading all of the cars all of the CM’s just disappeared, no clue where they went, and Ethan really began freaking out. I couldn’t blame him to be honest, it was a crummy situation. The guy behind us went to ask the only CM left who was at the emergency exit, if we left would we get a fast pass and the answer was no, which was crummy as well.

We had a 2:05 ADR at Coral Reef, so we couldn’t hang around indefinitely. About 1:30 we decided that even if we didn’t get a FP we were done waiting. Ethan was inconsolable, and we were stressed. As we walked out, right past the CM who said no FP’s, we were handed a FP by another CM. They were literally standing 6 feet from each other.

We headed to the drop shop and it was POURING outside and I had not brought our ponchos with us. I thought about buying some Disney ones, but we still had a few minutes before we would have to make a run for it to the Seas, so Erik stayed in the drop shop to watch the weather and the kids and I went back into the game area. Ethan calmed down when he was able to play games.



At 1:55, we knew we had to make a run for it. The rain had slowed to a drizzle and we had no more time to waste. We started off toward the Seas and with a bit of “I’m getting wet!!” complaining we made it to the Coral Reef and checked in!

Lorelai and I freshened up in the ladies room as much as possible and by the time we made it out to the waiting area we were being buzzed! This was good because we were hungry!!



Our waiter was okay, nothing special but good, he checked on us just enough and didn’t crowd us, but he wasn’t overly friendly. I wonder sometimes if the dining plan causes servers to think they are not going to get tipped appropriately. Either way our service was good, just not special.
I was in desperate need of caffeine so I am almost certain I had to get a refill before our table bread was brought!!

Erik and I shared an appetizer that doesn’t seem to be on the menu on AllEars. It was a crab and spinach dip, which was very good, although the appetizers for two that are on the menu right now look good as well! Lorelai got grapes and Ethan got the celery and carrot sticks, pretty basic there.



The table bread was okay, soft, but bland, but we were so hungry it was gone in no time. I used a bit of the dip on the bread as well.



The kids kept themselves busy with taking pics of the aquarium. It would have been cooler to be right beside it, instead of three levels up, but it was still cool.



Now for the main course!

Continued in the next post!

 

[chocolateMinnie]

What amazing pixie dust at cl - congratulations! Intrigued by the photos of a USA camp thanks for sharing