# Sorry kids! We're going to the DARK SIDE!



## mrsabbott

I had started a pre trip report on the Disney side of things, but plans have definitely changed! 

Let me introduce myself.. My name is Mom aka Honey.  I work at a Christian daycare and I love my job. I love reading, watching movies, and planning vacations that we never get to take.

My husband is Daddy, or Hubs, or occasionally his name is Mud.. . He loves MMA, racing, and music. He's a medically retired vet and is currently a full time student. We've been married 12 years.

We have 4 children. Punky is the oldest and turns 9 soon. She is the quintessential big sister, loves school, cats, and eating dessert. 

Pod is the next oldest. She is 7, doesn't love school but does love horses, lady bugs, and being silly! She's currently attempting to read Harry Potter but finds it frustrating because there are too many words that she doesn't know how to read yet! 

Puddin' aka Boo Bear, is my youngest girl. She's 5 and loves Kindergarten, puppies, snuggling, and anything that is girly girl.

Baby brother is Buds. He is 2.  He loves blankets, cars, tomatoes, and getting dirty! He's also spoiled rotten but we just can't seem to help ourselves!

The kids and I have been saving for a vacation for awhile now and have managed to squirrel away a little over $500. My goal/plan was to save up enough for a BUDGET budget trip to Disney over Spring Break. I wasn't sure how we'd manage it without me getting a second job, but I was going to do it somehow!

Sadly, the plan didn't include Sea World, which we loved back in 2009, or to Universal, where I've never been ever! Hubs and I are huge Harry Potter nerds! Live HP and have wanted to visit WWoHP since they were first talking about building it! I won't let the kids see the movies until they read the books ( hence, Pod struggling through it now) but they know who HP is. 

We just found out yesterday that we were accepted by an organization called Wounded Warrior Family Support to get a free vacation to Orlando!! They provide a weeks stay at a condo at Bahamas Bay, 2 day passes to Universal, 1 day passes to Sea World, and 1 day passes to Wet n Wild water park! It had been so long that I thought we didn't stand a chance so it was an amazing surprise!! 

We are really and truly blessed to receive this gift! The kids and I were jumping up and down in excitement and even Hubs was smiling! I even caught him on the Universal website looking at matching Gryffindor shirts for him and Buds!  

I've started counting down.. Only 28 more Fridays until we leave for out vacation! It is still going to be a budget vacation, but we might be able to eat out a few times instead of surviving on PB&J and ramen!  

I've also put in my leave request at work.. 6 months in advance! Lol! So much planning to do.. Love it!!


----------



## wiigirl

Following along!


----------



## Lynne G

Woot!  Great news on your vacation plans! 

My DH finally got his Disabled Veteran status not long ago.  We are thankful.

Have a great trip!  We love the Orlando area, as there's so much to do.  My kids are HP fans too.  

Subbing.


----------



## orlandonewstarts

Can't wait to see your trip updates.


----------



## mrsabbott

I'm going to warn you.. I am an obsessive vacation planner and sometimes get wrapped up in the most insignificant, minute details..  I actually plan vacations as a stress reliever.. isn't that odd?  Hubs thinks I'm a little nutty!    I've been known to burst in the room and say things like, "Did you know that we could CAMP in the Florida Keys and go snorkeling with sharks and then have a margarita and we should go do that TOMORROW!"

Yeah, I've planned all kinds of vacations all over the US and let me tell you.. I am SO EXCITED to actually plan one that we will actually be GOING ON!  

So, let me start out with the rough outline of our trip..

We will be driving.     Whether or not we will be driving my Suburban or renting a minivan remains to be seen.  It all kind of depends on how ol' Bessie is doing.  I love my gas hog, but she's had a few issues that we can't seem to permanently resolve.  And she needs new tires.  Regardless, we will NOT be flying because Hubs won't step foot on a plane.  He says we will get there as nature intended.. in a car.  

We will be driving quite a ways.. MapQuest says it will take 13 hours.  I say that it will take AT LEAST 16!  The last time we drove, it took about that long to get there and we split it up into 2 days.  I suppose we could drive straight through if we drive in shifts, but for the sake of our sanity we should probably split it up.  That means, we will be leaving on FRIDAY since our check in date is SATURDAY!  

This means that the kids will be SKIPPING SCHOOL  that day, and I will be SKIPPING WORK!  My plan is to have the car mostly loaded up Thursday night so that we can get up, get ourselves ready, have a quick bite to eat, load up the final few things, and HIT THE ROAD early Friday morning.

Will need to find an inexpensive place to stay about halfway through.  I have budgeted $500 in gas and mapquest says the gas estimate one way is $208.  Seems about right..

Soo, we will leave Friday.  Stay the night SOMEWHERE Friday night.  Travel the rest of the way Saturday until we get to our destination.. Bahama Bay Resort!!  Check in time is 3pm.  Let me say that this place looks AMAZING!  We have a 3br 2ba condo with a full kitchen!  Swimming pool, splash park, beach area..  I'm thinking that the first day will be settling into the condo and checking out the resort area!  

That brings us to SUNDAY!  Honestly, I don't know what to do on this day.. Is anything even open?  I might see if my cousin and his family are available that day for a visit.  Wouldn't mind finding a church service to attend.  Maybe check out Downtown Disney for a little bit of mouse magic??  Saving swagbucks to get a Trex Café gift certificate.  I don't know what the plan will be.  Not sure just yet..

And then.. MONDAY!  This is definitely a PARK DAY!  But which park??  I'm kind of thinking Sea World!  

Next is TUESDAY!  Another PARK DAY!  I'm thinking Islands of Adventure or, basically, Wizarding World of Harry Potter!!!   

WEDNESDAY will be a rest day for us!  BIL and his family live nearby and SIL said the kids get out of school early on Wednesdays and it would be the best day for them to meet with us.  We'll either go to them or they said they could come to us.  

THURSDAY is another PARK DAY for sure.. possibly Wet n' Wild water park!  Haven't researched that place at all..  

FRIDAY is our last day in Florida.. and it will be a PARK DAY!  Not sure if I want to do the Studios or visit Island of Adventure again.  I feel like IofA seems more "kid friendly".. 

And, finally, SATURDAY we check out at 10am and start the long, sad journey back to reality.  Need to find a place to stay on the way back and we should arrive home sometime SUNDAY..  Back to the grind on MONDAY..


----------



## mrsabbott

Last night, Hubs said to "not get all stressed out planning every little detail" of our vacation. He then reminded me that things never quite go as I plan them. True.. But planning makes me HAPPY!! 

That said, he also reminded me that it might be too cool for water parks or swimming when we go. Average temps for that time of the year are between the high 70s and low 80s. I also found out that all the pools at the resort are heated. I am pretty sure we will get some swim time in, but you never know..

I won't pack away the kids swimsuits this fall when I swap out their seasonal stuff. Wait.. That's in a couple of weeks! And speaking of weeks, it's now only 27 more Fridays until we leave!

Hubs and I are trying to lose weight. I've lost 29 lbs in the past 18 months. Hubs has lost 29 lbs in 2 months. Tell me how this is fair.. :/  Anyhoo, I am only 12 lbs away from my goal. If I make it by Spring Break, I will need some new shorts and a new bathing suit. I've got time for all that though.. Just jumping the gun a little..

I researched Wet n wild water park online last night. It looks fun but I'm a little worried about keeping track of the kids while there. Anyone gone with younger kids? Any advice? We've only gone to very small, local  water parks  or pools and even then it's not often and my son has never been.. Punky and Pod can swim okay. Boo Bear is just learning and Buds is just a baby and won't even go in a pool yet. Loves bubble baths, hates swimming pools.


----------



## chs27

I just wanted to thank you and your Hubs for serving our country! God Bless you! I'm trilled your family is getting this adventure. 

Everything is open on Sundays. It's just another day in Orlando.


----------



## zebsterama

mrsabbott said:


> I researched Wet n wild water park online last night. It looks fun but I'm a little worried about keeping track of the kids while there. Anyone gone with younger kids? Any advice? We've only gone to very small, local  water parks  or pools and even then it's not often and my son has never been.. Punky and Pod can swim okay. Boo Bear is just learning and Buds is just a baby and won't even go in a pool yet. Loves bubble baths, hates swimming pools.



I'm not sure if this is part of your package with the Sea World ticket, but from what I have read Aquatica may be more suitable if you're looking for a more 'family friendly' water park experience. 

Apologies we haven't been to either Aquatica or Wet'N Wild, still doing my research for out trip next year.

Have fun planning. 

Cheers,
Zebsterama


----------



## mrsabbott

Good to know about Sundays..  I'm thinking that Sunday will definitely be our Downtown Disney/T-Rex Café day!!    I'm thinking we will sleep in, have breakfast at the condo, pack a few snacks and head down to DTD.  T-Rex Café for lunch (should I make reservations??) and just wing it the rest of the day.  Walk around the shops, hopefully meet up with my cousin and family at some point that day!  

We are gifted the tickets, so our only option is Wet n' Wild.  I think it looks fun and there is a TON that is age appropriate for my kids.. I am just a nervous Mom is all..  They will be 9, 7, 6, and 2 1/2 when we go..  

I DID find a couple of super cute things I want to get..  I was on ebay and found this to put on Bessie!!  I had no idea that they had such a thing!!  

http://www.ebay.com/itm/I-Solemnly-...Decals_Stickers_Vinyl_Art&hash=item4ac1ad2f61

Isn't it awesome!?!  

I also found this and am TOTALLY making shirts for our family!!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Thing-DECAL...rens_Unisex_Clothing&var=&hash=item5654e1efcc

The kiddos will get Thing 1-4, mine will say Mother of all Things, and Hubs will say Father of all Things!  I mentioned it to Hubs, who is usually a little.. um.. uncooperative when it comes to matching stuff.  Okay, I mentioned us having matching Mickey shirts back when I was planning a Disney trip and he flat out refused, even when I offered to make his more "manly".  However, Hubs is a big Seuss fan and he didn't immediately shoot down the idea.  He did give ma a "look" but he didn't say no!  The kids think it is an AWESOME idea and he's outvoted!

I was talking to MIL about Christmas stuff for the kids.  They don't need tons of toys or anything, so she's going to get something small for them and said instead she'd give them vacation money to spend.  

Oh!!  And did you notice my ticker??    I've been wanting to have a ticker for YEARS now..


----------



## ArwenMarie

I'm so happy for you that your family is getting this trip! You will all have a great time


----------



## mrsabbott

Thank you!! Hubs and I are watching all the HP movies together in the evenings. Although, I end up falling asleep halfway through them.. I have to get up at 4:30am each morning for work so by 9pm I'm done for! 

I had thought since our school district had such an early spring break that maybe we might miss most of the crowds, but I guess a March/April spring break isn't uncommon. I hope it isn't too packed because I worry about Hubs anxiety. I want this to be as stress free as it can be.

We have decided to rent a minivan for the week. Bessie is old, needs new tires, and some other work done. All stuff we will do, but we think that for the peace of mind it will be worth it to spend the extra on a rental. Not to mention, Bessie is a gas hog and the money we save there will offset some of the cost.

I had been thinking that we might do that, but it was Hubs who approached me and said he thought it was what we should do. I hadn't even brought it up to him. Which means he's been vacation planning in his head. Also his idea to do the HP movie marathon.  This gift has been a blessing in more ways then one!


----------



## mrsabbott

Now, back when I was planning a trip to "the Motherland", I'd planned on doing some Disney themed movie nights.  I'd seen someone else do them on the Disboards and thought it sounded like SUCH a fun idea!  

I was thinking of planning something similar only with Universal movies.. but here is the problem..
We are very particular about what movies we let our kids watch.    I know that some people have different views as to what is and isn't appropriate.. we tend to be a little stricter in those views.  My kids know who a lot of the characters ARE.. but they don't really watch the movies or anything.  We don't watch SpongeBob at all.  No Simpsons.  Dora and Diego are okay, but I don't know that my kids are big fans anymore.  

These are the movies we have seen or own:
Babe
Borrowers
Curious George
Pirates Who Don't Do Anything
Tale of Despereaux
The Lorax

We also watch Scooby Doo (although I prefer the old school cartoon over the newer ones) and the old Spiderman and Avengers cartoons.

I watched ET as a kid, but it's been years.  Not sure if it would be appropriate for my younger kids.  Same with Jurassic Park.  I'm going to rent Despicable Me and watch it to see if it will be okay.. I suppose I could watch the others also..  

So, what are some theme ideas?
Definitely a Seuss night.. We have the Lorax and a few Dr. Seuss cartoons.

Maybe a Scooby Doo mystery night..

If Despicable Me is okay then we can do that another night..  

Perhaps a Superhero night and we watch some Avengers cartoons??

Any ideas or suggestions to go along with these?


----------



## ArwenMarie

Shrek


----------



## mrsabbott

I've seen Shrek.. definitely not on our "okay to watch" list!  I kind of feel like it's more for teenagers/adults.  Like I said, we're kinda strict.


----------



## mrsabbott

I always figured that we would wait until the kids were much older before visiting the Universal Parks!  I think we're going to have a blast anyways and am super excited we are going though..  Hoping that my older girls will hurry up and read the 1st book.  They are both trying to read it!    I promised them that when they read the 1st book that we would sit and watch the 1st movie together.


----------



## mrsabbott

I am, admittedly, the reader in the family. I had hoped to instill that in my kids but so far they just don't love books like their Mom did at their age. I read Gone With the Wind the first time when I was 9 if that tells you anything..

Anyhoo, Punky is starting to get into Harry Potter! She's picked it up a few times but wasn't quite getting into it but yesterday the story started to grab her imagination and she read for quite a bit. She was excited to finally know what a muggle is!


----------



## mrsabbott

Okay, so I have a friend who is also a big HP fan and she has been to WWoHP before.  She posted that she was watching a HP movie and made herself a Butterbeer Latte to go with it..

Say what??  How do you make such a concoction?  

She gave me the recipe, which I lost, so I looked online, um, I mean used my MAGIC  , to find it and plan on making it tonight!!  I think I mentioned that Hubs and I have been watching the movies at night..

So, I thought I would share the recipe..  I will let y'all know how amazingly delicious it is!  I haven't ever tried Butterbeer so I can't really compare it.






I'm back!!  I wanted to give you my review..  I made the first one exactly as the directions said.  It wasn't bad.  Once it cooled a little bit, I let each of the girls take a taste and they all like it.  Then again, I use the exact ingredients when making "sweet rice" with leftover rice from dinner sometimes.  They all love "sweet rice" so they naturally loved the latte!  

Still.. I felt like it needed something.  I added the vanilla WITH the butter and brown sugar the 2nd time.  It helps the caramel-y butterscotch stuff taste more.. butterscotch-y.  I also added a pinch of salt when bringing the milk to a boil.  That definitely gave it a little added "oomph!"  

I then spent some time looking up Butterbeer recipes online.  There are a TON of them out there and so I eventually stumbled across this webpage:
*********************************/2012/harry-potter-butterbeer-recipe/

If you scroll down a bit, it has the best tasting "not as simple" recipe and I noticed it added salt AND rum extract!  Hmm.. I don't have any rum extract (or any rum) but I'm thinking I might add a bit next time I make this.

Also, to me a latte needs coffee in it.  Yes, I know latte means "milk" but.. well.. it just needs a little caffeinated goodness if I decide to make this in the morning.. which I'm considering.  I'm a bit of a coffee snob and would normally thumb my nose at the thought of instant coffee.. but Starbucks makes a mighty fine instant coffee.  I like to keep some on hand for camping or what have you.  I think I'm going to add some to it next time.. of course, it might not be a Butterbeer latte but more of a caramel café latte..  I don't know.  Regardless, this is fun and awesome and totally getting me in the mood for our trip!  (I keep trying to convince myself that 6 months isn't really that long of a time..)


----------



## mrsabbott

Next weekend is the official "Switch out the Seasonal Clothes" weekend!  It's starting to get cooler here and I have the kids' fall/winter clothes in totes in the shed.  It's a huge undertaking involving a ton of laundry and sorting through what can be passed down next year, etc..  and then figuring out who needs what after everything is put away.  

It dawned on me that we won't do the Spring Switch Out until the first of May, usually.  That is AFTER our vacation!!  I have a feeling that I will need to set a few things aside (including bathing suits) to pack for our trip as it is usually MUCH warmer in FL then KY that time of year!  

So, I guess I will start packing for our trip over 5 months in advance!!  LOL!  Not bad since I'm usually packing the night before and throwing last minute stuff in bags as we are walking out the door!


----------



## SAHMKC

I just want to say that I am very happy for you and your family! Thank your husband for his service to our country. And thank you too because you supported him while he was serving!

BTW - There is a great website that rates movies. Just google Common Sense Media. It rates movies (and just about everything else) and gives you specific details about why a movie got it's rating. It  breaks it down into categories like violence, language,  drug use, etc. This way you don't have to watch all the movies first. Believe me I wish I had checked out Total Recall on that site before I agreed to watch that with my DS13. I didn't know nudity was acceptable in PG-13. Boy did we have a shock!


----------



## mrsabbott

SAHMKC said:


> I just want to say that I am very happy for you and your family! Thank your husband for his service to our country. And thank you too because you supported him while he was serving!
> 
> BTW - There is a great website that rates movies. Just google Common Sense Media. It rates movies (and just about everything else) and gives you specific details about why a movie got it's rating. It  breaks it down into categories like violence, language,  drug use, etc. This way you don't have to watch all the movies first. Believe me I wish I had checked out Total Recall on that site before I agreed to watch that with my DS13. I didn't know nudity was acceptable in PG-13. Boy did we have a shock!



Thank you for your kind words and thanks for the tip about Common Sense Media!!    I will definitely check that out!  

Today was kind of a rough day.. nothing major but just several little things combined with me not feeling good and I ended up kind of blowing my top a little.  *sigh*

I made myself an ADULT Butterbeer Latte (see recipe above, just add a smidgeon of Jack Daniels to it) and it is amazing!!  Not a big drinker usually, and there isn't enough in there to do much.. but it is nice to have a hot drink on a cool evening, browse the computer, and just UNWIND..


----------



## mrsabbott

Just 25 more Fridays and we will be on our way to Florida!!

It is a lazy Saturday at our house. It's Hubs' birthday and he wants to just watch racing and for me to make Alfredo for dinner.


----------



## mrsabbott

Just 24 more Fridays!!  I did some babysitting today for this great family.. I actually watch their daughter at the daycare where I work!  I watched both their kids today and, since the dad was furloughed and mom is in law school, I said that I'd only charge how much they could afford to pay.  

They paid me $10 an hour!!    That is $60 that I just put into our vacation fund!  And, sadly, it is more then I make an hour at my full time job.. still, I'm tickled pink to have that extra money to put into our fund!  And it was super easy, the kids are great and get along awesome with mine.  Plus, our parenting styles are very similar, so they said it was such a good match that they want me to babysit again sometime!


----------



## nicole83

mrsabbott said:


> I've seen Shrek.. definitely not on our "okay to watch" list!  I kind of feel like it's more for teenagers/adults.  Like I said, we're kinda strict.



Following along!! I don't have any children yet but I know why you would have an okay to watch list with the little ones. I think it is crazy how they make movies that would be appealing to kids yet are geared more towards older kids. With the "hidden" adult jokes. I think it is ridiculous!


----------



## mrsabbott

Yeah, we have a hard time with new kids movies..  Our oldest is almost 9. It would be different if they were 12 or 13. Kids pick up I stuff so easily so we try to let them stay little as long as possible.


----------



## mrsabbott

Happy Birthday Punky!! My oldest baby girl is 9 today!  We are having a "Cupcake Wars" party on Sunday! Guests decorate their own cupcakes and the winner gets a special prize! 

This whole government shutdown thing has me stressed.. Sadly, we depend on Hubs' VA disability and GI Bill benefits to live.. At least we can breathe easy for a couple more months. 

Tomorrow makes just 23 more Fridays until our vacation! MIL said for Christmas she would just give us vacation money.. I'm ok with that! We don't need lots of stuff anyways!


----------



## mrsabbott

For those who happen to read this, but mainly for my own pleasure, we only have 22 more Fridays until we go on vacation!! 

Not much to update as far as vacationing goes. Punky, who just turned 9, asked for a Pygmy Puff for her birthday after seeing it on the WWHP website. She got one and apparently my son thinks it is the greatest thing ever! He "steals" it every chance he gets and says, "MY pig puff!!" We might just be ordering another one around Christmas time!

Speaking of Christmas, it feels like winter here!! We got about 4 days of nice, fall weather and suddenly it is snowing and 28 degrees outside!! Crazy!

On a side note, Hubs and I have been trying to lose weight! I've been working on it longer than he has, although he has worked harder at it than I! He's lost 40 lbs and I have lost 30lbs. My goal is to lose at least another 10 lbs before our vacation! Hoping to look halfway decent in a swimsuit when we visit the water park!   Going for a "Wow! She looks good for middle aged mom if four!" look.. No really, we are trying to just live healthier. Not so much a diet as more of a lifestyle change. Still want to enjoy the delicious-but-not-so-healthy stuff, only in moderation.


----------



## schumigirl

mrsabbott said:


> For those who happen to read this, but mainly for my own pleasure, we only have 22 more Fridays until we go on vacation!!
> 
> Not much to update as far as vacationing goes. Punky, who just turned 9, asked for a Pygmy Puff for her birthday after seeing it on the WWHP website. She got one and apparently my son thinks it is the greatest thing ever! He "steals" it every chance he gets and says, "MY pig puff!!" We might just be ordering another one around Christmas time!
> 
> Speaking of Christmas, it feels like winter here!! We got about 4 days of nice, fall weather and suddenly it is snowing and 28 degrees outside!! Crazy!
> 
> On a side note, Hubs and I have been trying to lose weight! I've been working on it longer than he has, although he has worked harder at it than I! He's lost 40 lbs and I have lost 30lbs. My goal is to lose at least another 10 lbs before our vacation! Hoping to look halfway decent in a swimsuit when we visit the water park!   Going for a "Wow! She looks good for middle aged mom if four!" look.. No really, we are trying to just live healthier. Not so much a diet as more of a lifestyle change. Still want to enjoy the delicious-but-not-so-healthy stuff, only in moderation.



Wow....well done on the weight loss.......that is fantastic!!! You must be very happy with that....for both of you 

22 more Fridays will pass in no time and before you know it you`ll be there....looking forward to hearing about it


----------



## mrsabbott

Thank you!

So, I have a question for anyone out there... Hubs eats some meat but the kiddos and I are all vegetarians. Any must have veggie meals we should try? Or stay away from?

I've looked at menus online but there doesn't se to be as many options available.. We will bring stuff in the parks with us, but would like to have a couple of in park meals..


----------



## mrsabbott

Just 21 more Fridays!! Time is flying by, we've had so much going on!! 

We survived Halloween here. I took the kids Trick or Treating to a few houses but we ended up being under a tornado watch with 40mph wind gusts!! Thankfully, it hit a little later then expected and we were able to get some fun in! All of the indoor venues were packed! I was going to take the kids to their school's festivities but you couldn't even get to the school it was so packed! They still had fun though!

Babysitting this weekend so I will have some money to add to the vacation fund!


----------



## mrsabbott

We are down to just 20 more Fridays until our vacation!! Time keeps flying by and before you know it, we will be in the teens!

Lost another 1.6 lbs this week. Hoping it will keep coming off instead of going back and forth a couple lbs. I really want to meet my original weight goal before we leave. All that tempting Halloween candy laying around doesn't help any..

Girls helped a neighbor rake leaves and she paid them $3 each! They were so excited. Punky is saving for vacation but I think the other girls will end up spending it..

Hubs mentioned that they have tickets at MWR for medieval times in Orlando and you get some sort of free upgrade. Anyone ever gone? I'm torn between trying to relax and having as many experiences we can crammed inside a week! Just wondering if it would be worth it.


----------



## schumigirl

mrsabbott said:


> We are down to just 20 more Fridays until our vacation!! Time keeps flying by and before you know it, we will be in the teens!
> 
> Lost another 1.6 lbs this week. Hoping it will keep coming off instead of going back and forth a couple lbs. I really want to meet my original weight goal before we leave. All that tempting Halloween candy laying around doesn't help any..




Well done on he continued weight loss ...........20 more Fridays.......it will go by so quickly


----------



## mrsabbott

Thanks! 

I'm freezing my buns off right now, watching Hubs and my young BIL race go karts. Thinking about how warm I'd be if I were in Florida..


----------



## mrsabbott

Here is an update to our vacation plans!!  Boo Bear's 6th birthday is the day before we leave for Florida. Normally, if birthdays fall on a weekday, we celebrate the following weekend. Her b-day is on a Thursday, we leave on Friday and arrive on Saturday. The weekend before will be me, frantically trying to catch up on laundry and making sure everything is ready for our trip, and hopefully get things in order so we don't come home to chaos. Wasn't planning on having a real party for Boo.. Thought we'd get a cake when we got there.

Well, she was a little disheartened that she wouldn't have an actual party. She didn't whine, just was a little sad.. Well, we are planning a big surprise for her!!

Hubs found out about the discounted tickets via ft. Knox ITR that come with a free royalty upgrade for Medieval Times. I was a little unsure at first BUT I did some research.. It got pretty great reviews and the pics of it look fabulous! Not only that, their vegetarian meal looks good. And, I read that they will announce a Happy Birthday  to her and make Boo an honorary "princess"!! Totally up her alley!

So, we are going to surprise her! I'm planning to go on Sunday evening. I figure we will play by the pool and look around the resort grounds that day (maybe visit a church that morning.. Haven't researched any and am open to suggestions from you FL natives) and surprise her with Medieval Times later!!

Other then another meal later in the week at T-Rex (as of now, thinking lunch there on Wednesday using gift card earned via swagbucks) we aren't planning any other excursions outside of park days.

As of now, here is our tentative schedule that is subject to change:
Friday- leave home. Drive to location yet to be determined and spend night.
Saturday- drive rest of the way, arrive at resort. Settle in, go swimming, relax.
Sunday- relax, swim, maybe visit family in area. Birthday surprise dinner at Medieval Times.
Monday- park day.
Tuesday- park day.
Wednesday- sleep in. Lunch at T-Rex Cafe. Visit BIL and family.
Thursday- park day.
Friday- park day (probably water park).
Saturday- sleep in, pack up, drive to midway location yet to be determined to spend night.
Sunday- finish driving home.
Monday- back to reality..


----------



## schumigirl

Aww that sounds lovely for your daughter, I'm sure she'll love it


----------



## mrsabbott

Spent some down time looking at pics of the resort we get to stay at.. Bahama Bay! 

It looks beautiful!! I'm so excited! I'm imagining myself in the heated pools or walking around the lake... as I bundle up in my scarf and coat because the heat isn't working right in my classroom!


----------



## macraven

_brrrrrrrrr_


----------



## mrsabbott

Before I go to sleep, wanted to mention that we are finally in the teens... Just 19 more weeks to go!


----------



## schumigirl

mrsabbott said:


> Before I go to sleep, wanted to mention that we are finally in the teens... Just 19 more weeks to go!



It's fantastic seeing a countdown.......go down!! It's getting closer


----------



## mrsabbott

18 more weeks! 

Got a gift of $100 today from MIL (who is forever doing sweet things for us) and I put it right into the vacation fund! Babysitting tomorrow and that money will also be out into the fund! 

Had a job offer the other day but turned it down. More money per hour and a step closer to a full time job in the school system, but I'd lose the discounted childcare for my son. I could try to find cheaper childcare, but he loves his class and they love him. Monetarily, it wouldn't be much of a benefit. I also wouldn't be guaranteed full time hours. There were a few other negatives but the gist is that I need to put what's best for my family ahead of what might interest me. Plus, I really like my current job.

I was honest as to why I turned down the position and was told to contact them anytime that my situation changes and they would be happy to employ me. So, that's a good thing. At least I didn't burn a bridge!


----------



## mrsabbott

Missed my weekly update yesterday. 17 weeks to go! Ate a TON of food on Thursday! Got the fall decor put away and some if the Christmas stuff out. We got a real tree this year, which was a lot if fun and smells wonderful. Sadly, I think it be allergic.

Time us flying! I tried on my bathing suits (found them in the back of a drawer) and they are both too big. Another thing to add to the vacation list: but a new bathing suit!


----------



## momofboyz3

Hi~ as I'm planning a WDW trip, I'm thinking over Universal, but never been and have no clue anything about this "dark side". My boys are 14, 14 & 10 so this might appeal to them. I'm going to start reading your report & look forward to hearing all about your plans.


----------



## mrsabbott

momofboyz3 said:


> Hi~ as I'm planning a WDW trip, I'm thinking over Universal, but never been and have no clue anything about this "dark side". My boys are 14, 14 & 10 so this might appeal to them. I'm going to start reading your report & look forward to hearing all about your plans.




Honestly, I hadn't even considered Universal for my kids before, but after researching it I think it will be a blast! I would say your boys are the perfect age to enjoy it! It does seem to be geared more towards older kids, as the rides are more "thrilling" although it seems like there is stuff that my youngest will enjoy. From pics and reports, it seems like the dr. Seuss area is pretty amazing! Hubs is a big Seuss fan and is looking forward to it!

Anyhoo, the rest of this week is going to be a busy one! They are calling for snow and icy weather this weekend. It kind of ruins our weekend plans in a way. This Sunday is my son's dedication and Pod's baptism! Big day for our family and several out of town family members were planning to attend. These storms may make travel for them impossible.  We still plan to celebrate, but our extended family may not get to be a part of it.

Friday, Hubs is taking Punky on a daddy/daughter date. The rest of us are doing our normal pizza/movie night tradition. Saturday, I am babysitting (more money for the vacation fund!!). 

I guess I will need to go to the store and stock up on one or two things just in case these storms are worse then they are predicting for our area. They say this time next week the temps will be 0 degrees!!! Brrr!


----------



## mrsabbott

16 more weeks to go!!  

Storms didn't hit us as badly as some areas.  Unfortunately, our family can't make it tomorrow for our festivities because it DID hit THEM pretty hard!  

Today, we're taking it easy.  Catching up on laundry.  Kids played out in the snow for awhile this morning and I made snowman pancakes for breakfast.  Now, we're watching Christmas movies on Netflix.

The kids are officially getting new luggage for Christmas from my mom.  She got Buds a Cars suitcase with little wheels.  She ordered the girls monogrammed duffel bags from LLBean. She got each girl a different floral pattern..  

I really want to get this camera for our vacation!  The reviews on Amazon were okay.. it's not super fancy or expensive, but I like that it's waterproof and hopefully I can get some great pics on our vacation with it!!


----------



## mrsabbott

15 more weeks! With the holidays, time is flying by..
I got contacted by Chase today.. Someone stole my Disney Visa number and charged some stuff online. Thankfully, the fraud was detected early! Now, I have to check all my other card transactions to make sure they are all legit. Last place I'd used that card was at McD's for a coffee back in October!! 
Wondering if I should consider using mostly cash while we are vacationing..


----------



## mrsabbott

12 weeks and 2 days until we leave for our vacation!  Time is just FLYING by!!

Hope everyone had a lovely holiday!  Our Christmas was wonderful!  The girls' LL Bean bags are awesome!  Slightly smaller then expected BUT they hold quite a bit!  Very sturdy..  Buds also got a Cars suitcase that is super cute!  So, we all have luggage for the trip now!  

MIL got us all $25 Disney gift cards!  We're planning to go visit the Disney boardwalk one day during our vacation and hopefully we will get some use out of them!  I'm going to have to look and see if there are any stores that will accept them there!  Surely there is..  She also gave us each $50 cash..  I've got the money put away for souvenirs.  I'll most likely spend mine at Honeydukes!!  

The biggest surprise was that I got the waterproof camera that I was wanting!  I had no idea that my mom even knew that I wanted it.  I had to get a memory card and a case for it.. which I got.  The little case has a clip that I can put on my camelback while at the park.  It also has room for extra batteries!  I can't wait!!

On the downside.. my car broke down today.  We were planning on getting some needed work done on it but were hoping to wait until tax time.  But Hubs thinks that it is the transmission and that is NOT something we knew was wrong with it.  There were absolutely no signs that something was wrong.. we were heading to the bookstore and didn't even make it to the end of the street!    It is going to be very expensive and probably max out my credit card to fix it.  *sigh*


----------



## momofboyz3

Argh!!!!!! I'm so sorry about your car ~ that really stinks  
Glad you had a nice holiday and you got some great gifts. You must be excited as every day is one day closer to your trip.
I spent about an hour looking at rides and hotels on you tube!


----------



## mrsabbott

Yeah, it's a bummer.  There are a few other things that need working on that we were waiting until after tax time to do.. we're going to go ahead and get it all done at once.  The total estimate..  $4600!!  

I wish we could afford to just buy a new car.  The transmission is $3200..  bright side is that everything is covered under a warranty once it is fixed and they said that it will take less then a week to get done.  

You know.. I haven't thought of looking up stuff on you tube!!  I have a feeling I know what I'm going to be doing the next hour or so!  

*edited to add*

So, I just spent some time on you tube and I'm getting excited about our vacation.  Hubs and I were talking and since we are basically spending $3200 more then we planned on our vehicle, we are going to have to cut back a little on our vacation plans.  Since Bessie (my Suburban) will be running smoothly (I hope!) then we will probably NOT be renting a van to drive down there.  We were hoping to do a little more eating out but that will be limited.  We are still going to go to T-Rex.. especially since I found out that they accept Disney gift cards.  Not counting the kids' gift cards, Hubs and I have about $50.  Plus I should have $20 on a Landry's gift card via Swagbucks!    We will also cut back on a few extras.. I probably won't spend as much as I was hoping at the WWoHP.  I should have enough for a Butterbeer and maybe a couple things from Honeydukes.  

The kids have their own souvenir money though.  $50 each plus a $25 Disney gift card each.  Not too shabby!    We still get to stay at an awesome resort and get FREE tickets to some awesome parks!  And I have a new camera to capture pictures of it all!


----------



## momofboyz3

I know, I love looking at the parks, rides and resorts on youtube! That's tough with finances, ESP when there is that sudden emergency. Arghh! I know I wanted to do another WDW trip this year, but $5500 is a bit crazy to do 2 yrs in a row. So after a bit of research I found universal and that won't come close to that amount (I hope). 
Anyway, you have your resort and parks done and that's the most important other than food. Sounds like you have a good plan! Those gift cards are great


----------



## mrsabbott

Officially 12 more Fridays!
I was going through my wallet and found a $50 Disney gift card that I had forgotten about! How fun! I also have about $50 in Starbucks gift cards.. I figure there will be plenty of those between here and there! 

I've decided our halfway point will be Marietta, GA. I'd hoped to stay in a nicer room or suite overnight, but we are going to go for cleanliness and economy over luxury!  Found some options online that are reasonable. I will make reservations when we are a little closer to our leave date.

Never been to Marietta but I remember the name from a song. That and trip adviser recommendations are why I chose it. 

I almost forgot.. All 3 of the girls have Nintendo DS's now. We found them used with games. I need to look into getting together some car entertainment for the trip. It helps to have a few new little things to make the long drive seem bearable. Dollar tree is a wonderful place for that sort of thing!

One thing I need is a bathing suit. This is much harder then it looks. 4 c-sections and a big weight loss has left my tummy a little.. Meh. I need slimming, stylish, modest, with good support and coverage.. Most store bathing suits don't give me this so I have to order online.. Found a tankini type suit but were talking $200!! Yikes!

Well, I have plenty of time to shop around..


----------



## mrsabbott

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but when I am stressed out.. I plan vacations.  I've planned at least a hundred vacations that we have never taken (but may one day..) because it is a way of dealing with the pressures of life.. 

Life is really pressing down on me right now, so I've gone into full vacation planning mode!

I have been mentally planning what I am going to pack (including spending over an hour looking at bathing suits online) and deciding against a few things we were going to get for the trip.  I really wanted to get "thing" shirts for all of us to wear.  It's not a necessity, so that is out.  I've been thinking about what to pack for the kids as well.  I've got a mental list of things I need to buy for the trip also.

I've been researching hotels in Marietta..  I also found some amazing deals at hotwire.com.  We were going to splurge on the room, but decided against it and we will save money in the long run!  

I know that y'all are probably bored to tears with this.. but this is keeping me from flipping out about the $5175 that I don't have to spend but must in order to fix Bessie..  

So, we are going to leave Friday morning as planned.  Not leaving super early.. but not real late either.  Plan to partially pack on Thursday night, sleep in a little Friday morning, eat a good breakfast, get ready, finish loading up the car, and hitting the road before noon.  It says that Marietta is about 6 hours.  I figure we'll stop once or twice along the way..  Not sure if we will eat lunch or just snack a little along the way.  After we check into the hotel in Marietta, we will either get something inexpensive for dinner or eat from the food we bring with us.

Hopefully, a good night's sleep and a free breakfast in the morning before we hit the road again.  

Now, Hubs is the type of person that likes to get an early start.  Knowing him, he will want to be on the road by 8am and will try to make it there in UNDER 6 hours.  So, chances are we will get to Marietta just after lunch time!  LOL!  

Regardless, I'm feeling good that we have a halfway point decided on and that there are reasonably priced rooms available.  

The list of things to bring keeps growing.. I realized that we should bring laundry soap with us to use at the condo.  I'm also wondering if things like dish soap or dishwasher soap are provided.  What about paper towels, toilet paper, and other cleaning supplies?  Anyone know??

I think we are going to bring along a lot of food with us too!  Totally need to rework that budget and get a grocery list planned!  Are groceries more expensive in Orlando then other places?  I know that might be a dumb question.. but I don't know if it would be worth it to pack a lot to bring with us or pack some stuff and buy more when we are there..


----------



## momofboyz3

I totally understand! My life gets very stressed as well. Single parent of 3 boys & zero child support. I also work over 40 hrs a week and spend close to 3 hrs a day commuting. I GET STRESSED! So I plan a vacation... In fact November 2012 I decided to go online and plan a WDW vaca, never thinking I would ever go. I did research & went thru dining & daily parks... I mean it took about 6 hours in the middle of the night. We have never been before so I had to do alot of research. Anyways, it was priced at about $5,000. I decided why not???? Maybe someday. Well tax time came and I usually pay off bills or buy something for my bills. Well instead I took the boys to WDW and followed that plan to the T. 
Like cooking, I think our best work is done when we are stressed out...
I feel bad over your car issues! But, at least it will get fixed. I would bring alot of the snack stuff with you (I'm just guessing its cheaper, where u are) but I don't know????
Just relax and everything will be magical!!


----------



## mrsabbott

I know what you mean about tax money going towards bills!!  Last year, the money went to keeping the shop open (we used to own our own business but we closed it over the summer) and this year will go towards bills.  :/

But you know what?  Good for YOU for making memories with your sons!  The days are long but the years are short.  Before we know it, our kids will be grown and sometimes you just have to make memories while you can!   

Anyhoo.. 
Since Bessie isn't here, we're homebound.  No church for us this morning, so we're just having a lazy morning in our PJ's.  Girls are downstairs playing with toys, Buds is sleeping in, Hubs is watching Motocross, and I'm vacation planning!!  

We're supposed to get some extreme cold weather here and possibly some snow.  Keep thinking about how awesome it would be to be in Orlando right now..  

It also occurred to me that I need to find someone to watch our pets for us.  I'm not worried about the cats so much.  I can put out an extra litterbox and extra food and water and they will be fine.  But our dog is another issue.  Normally, I'd ask my neighbors to check on her, but they are going on a cruise over spring break.  Hmmm...


----------



## mrsabbott

So, I've done a tiny bit of tidying up today and a little bit of laundry.. but most of my day has been planning and researching FOOD!!

We are definitely going out to eat one night at the T-Rex café!  The kids and I (even Hubs was caught watching over our shoulders) spent some time viewing youtube videos of it online and are so excited!  I'm even more excited knowing that the meal will be paid for with gift cards!  

We are still planning to go to Medieval Times another night as a surprise for the girls.. although that MIGHT end up getting cut out.  Depends on the financial situation, but as of now it is still in the works!

The condo has a full kitchen, so I am planning on making use of it although I do NOT plan on cooking elaborate meals every day.  I have a tentative meal plan made that consists of easy stuff.  Tacos one night.  Veggie fried rice another.  Frozen pizzas.  Loaded baked potatoes and steamed veggies.  Spaghetti.  I'm trying to find out if the condo has a grill.. we will probably grill out a couple of times if they do.

I will bring some stuff with us.. We get some things cheap through a food co-op.  So we will bring some fresh fruits and veggies with us.  Lots of snacks, some sandwich fixings, bread, cereal, etc..  Juice boxes, bottled waters, Gatorade.. that will all come with.  We have a cooler and several large reusable grocery bags.

We will make a trip to the store to buy some milk, eggs, and frozen pizzas.  And any other little things we might need that we forgot at home.

Now, I plan to bring snacks into the parks.  Hubs and I will have our camelbacks, I'm sure.  We might try to do a counter service meal on park days.. again, budget depending.  Drinks are always an issue though... especially on hot, crowded days.  Years ago when we went to Disney, we brought disposable plastic cups with lids for each child.  We'd buy a large lemonade and divide it up.

I did find this article about reusable souvenir cups at Universal..  I was most excited to see that the Butterbeer mugs counted towards the reusable cups.. as I was planning to buy one anyway!    Yay!  I figure we can refill it for a discount a few times and divide it up.  Going to bring some inexpensive cups with us for the kids (Walmart has 99c plastic character cups) and if we lose them then oh well.  If not, great!  

So, to save money I'm going to try to find good deals here and stock up between now and then.  We will use our normal grocery budget for some things and try to cut back where possible but still let it be fun and relaxing!


----------



## Lynne G

Well, after icy streets and walkways yesterday, to a low of 12 tomorrow, with icy conditions again predicted, I am so ready for my USO vacation in August.

I find the grocery stores not much more priced than mine at home.  The Walmart and Targets usually have food too.  Check the ones near where you are staying.  I also have the Publix saver card.  It was free, and although we have no Publix anywhere close to us, I use it when I vacation in Orlando. I usually go to the one on Vineland. 

Since you have a car, you can bring alot of the food, so what perishable or other needed should not cost you a bundle.  Also, there is a Sam's Club on Orange Blossom.  I would not go to the Walmart south of USO, it was not nice.  I use the one just west of it, I think on Turkey Lake.  Google Maps is your friend.  I love scouting the area out using the maps to get a better idea of where I am and the stores are. Love the realtime pictures you get with it too.  

Happy continue planning!  Oh, and sorry to hear about the car.  We did that one year, and it was not fun.  I hope I never have to sink that amount of money in a car again.


----------



## mrsabbott

Lynne G said:


> Well, after icy streets and walkways yesterday, to a low of 12 tomorrow, with icy conditions again predicted, I am so ready for my USO vacation in August.
> 
> I find the grocery stores not much more priced than mine at home.  The Walmart and Targets usually have food too.  Check the ones near where you are staying.  I also have the Publix saver card.  It was free, and although we have no Publix anywhere close to us, I use it when I vacation in Orlando. I usually go to the one on Vineland.
> 
> Since you have a car, you can bring alot of the food, so what perishable or other needed should not cost you a bundle.  Also, there is a Sam's Club on Orange Blossom.  I would not go to the Walmart south of USO, it was not nice.  I use the one just west of it, I think on Turkey Lake.  Google Maps is your friend.  I love scouting the area out using the maps to get a better idea of where I am and the stores are. Love the realtime pictures you get with it too.
> 
> Happy continue planning!  Oh, and sorry to hear about the car.  We did that one year, and it was not fun.  I hope I never have to sink that amount of money in a car again.



Thanks for the grocery tips!  I believe there is a Walmart really close to the resort we are staying in.. 

We did not get the snow and ice here, but we have the extreme cold temps!  It is -1 out right now!  Brrrr!!!


----------



## Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina

mrsabbott said:


> One thing I need is a bathing suit. This is much harder then it looks. 4 c-sections and a big weight loss has left my tummy a little.. Meh. I need slimming, stylish, modest, with good support and coverage.. Most store bathing suits don't give me this so I have to order online.. Found a tankini type suit but were talking $200!! Yikes!
> 
> Well, I have plenty of time to shop around..



I don't know if you've ever had one or not, but I fell in LOVE  with the Catalina "suddenly slim" swimsuits from Walmart.   So comfy, GREAT fit (even for my...ugh..."mature" body ) and so cheap!  I think I paid $25 for mine this past August.  

Worth checking out.  Since we're in Canada and the Canadian side of the Walmart empire doesn't stock that brand of ladies swimwear, I ordered it right before our trip and had it shipped for free to the resort.  

Here's a link to one style:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Catalina-...gMethod=Recommendation:wm:RecentlyViewedItems

Mine was a little different (it was more a swimdress, with a little skirt) but the fit should be similar to the one in the link.


----------



## mrsabbott

Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina said:


> I don't know if you've ever had one or not, but I fell in LOVE  with the Catalina "suddenly slim" swimsuits from Walmart.   So comfy, GREAT fit (even for my...ugh..."mature" body ) and so cheap!  I think I paid $25 for mine this past August.
> 
> Worth checking out.  Since we're in Canada and the Canadian side of the Walmart empire doesn't stock that brand of ladies swimwear, I ordered it right before our trip and had it shipped for free to the resort.
> 
> Here's a link to one style:
> 
> http://www.walmart.com/ip/Catalina-...gMethod=Recommendation:wm:RecentlyViewedItems
> 
> Mine was a little different (it was more a swimdress, with a little skirt) but the fit should be similar to the one in the link.



That is a really cute suit!!  I've never seen anything like it in our local Walmart, but it might be worth ordering online to try it!  It wouldn't be difficult to take back if it didn't fit right!  Cool!  Thanks!


----------



## marylandteachergirl

Hi Mrsabbott.  We are a medically affected military retired family as well.  Currently in Maryland.   I have been reading your pre trip plans.  Hang in there!   We did an extreme budget to WDW a few years ago. You can do it!

In addition to Walmart's Ss Catalina suits, Target also sells suits under the name Assets, which is made by Spanx.   Probably not in our stores right now bc of winter, but they are available online.  Many on clearance on target.com right now.  I have lost about 60 pounds and have about 30 to go, so the "suck you in" fabric is great.

I will be going to Uni only and maybe Seaworld in May (depends on discounts for retired military or maybe weekday specials) with just our oldest son - overdue HS graduation trip.   I, too, have planned more trips than I may ever go on, so I get it.


Just wanted to encourage you.  It's very do-able on a budget. And the memories you create will be priceless.


----------



## mrsabbott

Thank you "Maryland" for the encouragement!  I will also look into that brand of swimsuit! I do love Target! 

I urge you to look into Wounded Warrior Family Support, which is how we are able to have our vacation this year! Amazing organization! Also, the Armed Forces Vacation Club has a Veteran's web page with weekly discounted rated for lodging all over the world. Lots of Orlando options! I've also found that nearly all theme park military discounts are offered to retired veterans as well! 

So in my browsing, I was reading about "Child Swap" which will be a lifesaver because I was wondering what we were going to do with Buds..

Let me know if I have got this right. The whole family gets in line together and we let a cast member know we want to do the child swap. When we get closer, one parent waits with the child in a special room while the other rides. Then they switch and the other parent gets to ride without waiting in line again? Do all the thrill rides have this option?

I think this is brilliant! I remember in Disney Hubs and I took turns but we had to each wait in line..

I also realized that I will have to measure all the kids right before we go. Boo Bear, my youngest DD, wanted to ride a ride at the fair and she was an inch or two too short. Poor thing was so sad because we waited in line and she found out she couldn't ride when it was our turn. I can get some advanced warning.. Pretty sure she will be tall enough for most of them though.

On a completely random note, I may be changing jobs in the near future.. More money and I can work from home.


----------



## marylandteachergirl

Hi again Mrsabbott,
I have looked at Armed Forces VC a few times but it always seems confusing and few things seem to be a fit for us.

We are not eligible for WWP, but I support them  whenever I can.  I have been very impressed by the things I see Under Armour doing for the service members at Walter Reed Med Ctr through WWP.

I am glad you and your family have this great chance.   I sure hope you will do a trip report! Can't wait to read your future updates.


----------



## mrsabbott

Only 11 MORE FRIDAYS TO GO!!!!!

It doesn't seem real! Time just seems to be flying by!

So, someone on another thread said that the Spring Break crowds aren't that bad.. This gives me hope! The crowds were one of my biggest concerns. Not that I'm impatient, but Hubs doesn't always do so great with crowds.

He can handle them for a little while, but it quickly causes him anxiety. He hasn't said anything about dreading it, but I know that it will bother him. An an anxious Hubs is a cranky Hubs.. We did go to the zoo a couple months back on a day where the rest of the world decided to go too. He lasted most of the day but that last hour got to him and he was ready to go.

My other concern is Buds. My girls have always been pretty good at sticking close when we go places. Buds, on the other hand, sees something that catches his eye and he is off! He's quick too! I'm actually thinking of getting a "kid leash" just in case. I used to think those things were awful until I had Buds!


----------



## jfoofj

Hi there... I just read your trip report... I'm a vacation planner too... sometimes I will go to Disney's site and "book" the most expensive vacation I can create then the least expensive one.  I've always said I want to stay in each Disney resort at some point in my life- kind of a bucket list.  Ahhhh, if only I had an unlimited credit card I didn't have to ever pay back.  The fun I could have.

Anywho... have you looked at Land's End for bathing suits?  I've found their tankinis (I call them mom-kinis.... I only had one c-section but I've never gotten my abs back the way they were) to be very flattering and I've bought mine on sale with free shipping.  I don't know what they are currently offering now, but I love my Land's End suits.  I don't think it will be warm enough for me to venture into the water when we go... but I will bring a suit just in case!


----------



## mrsabbott

jfoofj said:


> Hi there... I just read your trip report... I'm a vacation planner too... sometimes I will go to Disney's site and "book" the most expensive vacation I can create then the least expensive one.  I've always said I want to stay in each Disney resort at some point in my life- kind of a bucket list.  Ahhhh, if only I had an unlimited credit card I didn't have to ever pay back.  The fun I could have.
> 
> Anywho... have you looked at Land's End for bathing suits?  I've found their tankinis (I call them mom-kinis.... I only had one c-section but I've never gotten my abs back the way they were) to be very flattering and I've bought mine on sale with free shipping.  I don't know what they are currently offering now, but I love my Land's End suits.  I don't think it will be warm enough for me to venture into the water when we go... but I will bring a suit just in case!



I haven't looked into Land's End.. but I will!!  Thanks for the tip!

So, we got Bessie back yesterday!  It's nice to have MY CAR back!  I've got to say, it drives amazing now!  Hubs drove it this morning (girls had  today.. their first game!) and said he couldn't really tell a difference but I could.  I think it felt smoother and it seems like the gas mileage is a little better!  Not a lot.. but some!

REALLY looking forward to vacation!  Seriously, I'm REALLY looking forward to it.  10 weeks and 6 days!


----------



## jfoofj

SO- my truck (GMC Envoy- we call it the "Mom-voy") is at the mechanics!  I am feeling your pain.  Thankfully my mom has two cars- she has a company car for her work which she can drive all the time, and she has an old Volvo that's been paid off forever, but she won't let it go.  She calls it "Old Faithful" and she keeps it because if anything ever happens with her job (or if one of her kids is without a vehicle suddenly ) it comes in real handy.  SO- I am driving my moms car while my truck is figured out.  It was leaking fluid- power steering fluid my husband figured out, and there seems to be an issue with the electrical system.  Now it wouldn't start- which I'm not too surprised about because it has been FRIGID up here and it is an old battery.  We have a good friend who works at a local dealership and he also works on vehicles at his home.  I dropped it off to him and said he could keep it as long as necessary- no rush since we are leaving for vacation Wednesday and I have access to another car.  He is going to see what it needs and hopefully be able to get the parts cheap.  He is VERY fair when it comes to labor too, but that is one bill I hate to have hovering over my head while we are away on vacation.


----------



## mrsabbott

"Mom-voy"!! Love it!  lol!
Glad you have a loaner to use and will be able to get a good deal on the repairs.

Home sick today. Fever on and off. Achy body. Definitely not fun.

Hubs mentioned wanting to go to a race in St.petersburg while we are in Orlando but thankfully we will not be going. I know Hubs lives and breathes racing and we do the Indy 500 every year and it's fun.. Just not what I want to do on our vacation. Told him if he really wanted to go, he could rent a car and go and I'd take the kids to Downtown Disney that day. But he decided it would be too much. I'm glad. Maybe another year.


----------



## mrsabbott

Feeling better today, but stayed home again from work. Thought I needed one more day of rest and to make sure my fever is gone for good. I take care of babies and don't want to spread any germs if I can help it! We have one baby that just got over RSV and I want to be extra cautious.

Still haven't made a decision on a swimsuit. Thankfully, I'm only a lb away from from my pre-Christmas weight and am starting an exercise routine tonight. Still time to make my goals before vacation!


----------



## mrsabbott

So, I was reading RachelleBeaney's trip report and saw in her pictures that there is a Pearl Factory at Universal!!  I had read about the one at Epcot and wanted very much to do it way back when we were trying to plan a Disney trip!  I just wrote it off as a "maybe next time" kind of thing!  But NOW...

It might still end up being a "maybe next time" thing, as I have to be conservative with money on this trip.  But it would be SO COOL to do that!  I have pearl necklaces and earrings and was thinking I'd love a pearl ring..  How cool would it be that I would design it myself?  

We shall see.  I'm excited about the possibility though!


----------



## macraven

_you'll you find that at IOA._


----------



## mrsabbott

So, I spent a ridiculous amount of time researching pick a pearl and pearl factory.  Lots of YouTube videos, dis threads, pics, and reviews. I've come to this conclusion.. I think that I will splurge on getting a pearl but I am going to wait on setting it. 
The girls were also intrigued by this and I saw that there were cute pearl cages on etsy for cheap. I think we will look into deciding what to do with them later.. And the girls may change their minds on doing the pearl thing.  As for me, I'm so excited I'm wearing my pearls with my scrubs at work today..


----------



## mrsabbott

ONLY TEN MORE WEEKS TO GO UNTIL OUR VACATION!!!  AAAACK!!  I CAN'T BELIEVE HOW QUICKLY TIME IS FLYING BY!!!


----------



## mrsabbott

So, it is now only 9 weeks and 6 days.. We're practically in the single digits now!

Babysat today and earned $50 towards our vacation fund! 

I've also started reading Chamber if Secrets again.. Figure I will work myself through the series over the next few weeks to get myself in the mood! Read Sorcerer's Stone not long ago. Tonight, I'm going to make myself an adult Butterbeer Latte before bed. Hubs and I are going to finish watching Xmen First Class, I think! Not sure if it's a Universal movie, but I know that they have the whole Superhero section of the park! 

Time will be flying by and there is so much to plan and do!

Not counting the gift cards or the kids' spending money, we have roughly $700 in our vacation fund. I did have to use some money out of there for a few things.. Hopefully, I will get to babysit a few more times. 

This money is for food, activities, and some souvenirs.. Gas money and lodging along the way won't be in this budget I don't think. Part of our food budget will be our regular weekly food budget. The kids are excited because I said I was going to buy pop tarts. Lol! I never buy those. I said that I was going to buy some things I don't normally get since we will be on vacation and was taking suggestions. Pop tarts, Cocoa Puffs, fruit snacks, toaster strudels, cheez its, and rainbow goldfish crackers were what was requested.


----------



## Lynne G

Yep, vacation is for fun snacks. We like fish, mini donuts, Cheerios, and pretzels.  We also supplement with a ice cream or other snack while in the parks.  We love the popcorn and usually refill the bucket more than once during our stay.  

That is great you are stocking up on the funds.  Any amusement park is expensive.  

For a treat, try Mythos for lunch and a restaurant in Citywalk for dinner one day.  Sit downs are nice to go to a few times on vacation.

My ticker is still in months. We got back two weeks ago, and it feels so long ago already! 

Hope you are having a good week end.


----------



## mrsabbott

Lynne G said:


> Yep, vacation is for fun snacks. We like fish, mini donuts, Cheerios, and pretzels.  We also supplement with a ice cream or other snack while in the parks.  We love the popcorn and usually refill the bucket more than once during our stay.
> 
> That is great you are stocking up on the funds.  Any amusement park is expensive.
> 
> For a treat, try Mythos for lunch and a restaurant in Citywalk for dinner one day.  Sit downs are nice to go to a few times on vacation.
> 
> My ticker is still in months. We got back two weeks ago, and it feels so long ago already!
> 
> Hope you are having a good week end.



This past week was okay.. had a virus run through the house (starting with me) but thankfully it was all short lived!  

We do plan to buy some things to eat in the parks to supplement what we will bring with us.. I looked into Mythos and there are some delicious looking vegetarian options there, but I'm not sure if we want to spend our money there or not.  Definitely tempted to eat there though, as I've heard such good things about it!  We will eat out at T-rex on our Downtown Disney day and we're going to Medieval Times one night to celebrate Boo Bear's 6th birthday. 

We got our confirmation email from WWFS!!  They actually offered us free airfare BUT flying gives Hubs such anxieties that we aren't going to attempt it.  I asked Hubs if he would rather fly instead of drive and he gave me "the look".. and said, "Did you really need to ask me that question?"  So yeah.. we're driving.

I realized that I never put faces with names.. Always meant to go back and do that! 






This is Hubs and I!  






These are the Kiddo's.. taken this past Halloween!


----------



## Nicki501

Hi Mrsabbott!  You an your family are gorgeous!  I am enjoying reading your pre-trip report and I am looking forward to your trip report. I am interested in the ways you plan to save money on this trip.  I wanted to add 3 days after our cruise in August.  I actually had sticker shock and thought I  put in the wrong info, when I saw the price .  It cost more to stay on site for 3 days than it does for my cruise.  So I am looking at alternative ways to make it happen. 

My DH doesn't do well with crowds either so I am hoping the middle of August has mercy on us. 

But staying in a condo sounds sweet!  Lots of space.  There are six of us too (Me, DH, DSD (16), DS (9), DD (8), DS (5)) but we will be cramming into a hotel room to save money.

Can't wait to read more.  Thanks for sharing.


----------



## Lynne G

Nicki501 said:


> Hi Mrsabbott!  You an your family are gorgeous!  I am enjoying reading your pre-trip report and I am looking forward to your trip report. I am interested in the ways you plan to save money on this trip.  I wanted to add 3 days after our cruise in August.  I actually had sticker shock and thought I  put in the wrong info, when I saw the price .  It cost more to stay on site for 3 days than it does for my cruise.  So I am looking at alternative ways to make it happen.
> 
> My DH doesn't do well with crowds either so I am hoping the middle of August has mercy on us.
> 
> But staying in a condo sounds sweet!  Lots of space.  There are six of us too (Me, DH, DSD (16), DS (9), DD (8), DS (5)) but we will be cramming into a hotel room to save money.
> 
> Can't wait to read more.  Thanks for sharing.




To save money on your hotel, use the Loews website or call the hotel directly and ask for any discounts.  Mostly, the Royal Pacific is the cheapest hotel onsite, and the free unlimited express pass with the onsite hotels will be valuable this summer, as it may be even more crowded as the new Harry potter section should be open by August.  Also, the three onsite hotels also sometimes have annual pass discounts.  You can check closer to August and use the code APH to see any discounted rooms.  Also, if you book directly with the onsite hotel, if I find a better price, I call directly and they just adjust with no issues.  Finally, if those hotels are too expensive, try the neighbor hotels.  They will give you early entry to the parks, and some have free breakfasts.

If AP rates on the hotels are a good price, only one person needs the AP, and the AP will give discounts on food and merchandise.  



Back to the TR.


----------



## macraven

_with nicki having 6 in her family, the Cbay (when the larger rooms open) would be the only place on site that book larger groups.

rph and the other 2 only allow 5 in a room.

there are offsite condos that do allow larger groups in their rooms._


----------



## mrsabbott

Hi Nicki! Thank you and welcome! 
Echoing what others have said, while there are some deals and perks to staying on site, I've found it is just all around cheaper to stay off site. Especially if you are a larger family on a budget. We were fortunate enough to be gifted lodging and park tickets via WWFS, otherwise our vacation wouldn't be happening this year..

But in my research, I have found some amazing condo deals at Windsor Hills. I'm on my phone at work (I'm slacking, but it's naptime for the kids..) so I can't post the link now, but I will later. If you are willing to wait until "last minute" you can get condos and town homes for as low as $299 a week! We were going to go that route and may again someday. A condo seems ideal during down times. More rest and privacy in the evenings. Full kitchen and fridge for cooking. On site laundry at no extra costs. Plus, many places have nice pools and things for when you are taking a break from the crowds!

Hubs is a medically retired vet, so we are also still eligible for military discounts, which is also a huge money saver for us. Sometimes there are better discounts available, but I always compare and get savings where I can. 

We never fly anywhere, which is a money saver. I actually like road trips because, for me, part of the fun is getting there. Yes, there is gas and wear and tear in your car, but it's still cheaper then flying and, unless you are staying onsite (also expensive) you'd need to rent a car. Not only that, by driving you can bring food with you.. Also saves money! Picnic at a nice rest area along the way.. We've done that numerous times in our travels. 

We have simple tastes and don't need a ton of "stuff". I want a few things from WWoHP, a magnet for our fridge, and a pearl. The only other souvenir I need is pictures taken with my camera and memories made with my kids. I want to stay someplace safe and clean.. And I'd like to eat out once or twice as a treat. I don't care to cook some it to give up the extras.. Just getting to go is enough for me, anything else is a bonus. 

I will definitely do a break down if costs when we're done.. 

That said, I've heard that as far as vacations go, cruises give you more bang for your buck. We're looking into it for our 14th anniversary. Just for Hubs and I..


----------



## schumigirl

Nice pics Mrs A.........lovely kiddies


----------



## mrsabbott

schumigirl said:


> Nice pics Mrs A.........lovely kiddies



Thank you! I think they're pretty cute..  

Soooo... on my way home I got a call from WWFS clarifying a few things and was informed that in addition to Universal, Sea World, and Wet n' Wild we will also get to go to LEGOLAND!!  

That changes our ENTIRE trip schedule, so I'm going to have to replan the entire week!  The kids were SO EXCITED when I came home and told them!  I spent some time looking on the website and I really think that Buds will really enjoy this park a lot!


----------



## Nicki501

It will be interesting to see a cost analysis of your Dark Side Adventure.  My husband was in the military also,  I wonder if there are any military discounts on tickets that we may be able to take advantage of.

I am definitely going to look into Windsor Terrace and some of the other advice here.

My husband doesn't like to fly either.  We compromise.  We will drive everywhere except when we go to Florida, we will fly there and drive back in an effort to maximize our time (we are coming from NY).  I like road trips also, I like to stop overnight as well (more for my sanity than anything else). 

My husband wanted to extend our vacation with a few days at a couple of  Disney parks, but when I explained the changes to him a la FP+.  He said absolutely not.  There have been a lot of complaints on the boards about FP+.  So I'll wait until they figure it out before I go back to WDW.


----------



## Nicki501

Congratulations on LEGOLAND!!!! How exciting for the kiddos


----------



## mrsabbott

This vacation will be much nicer then if we were planning everything ourselves.  We wouldn't go to Sea World, LEGOLAND, or Wet & Wild at all.  And we'd probably only do 1 day at Universal.  We'd also be staying elsewhere, as Bahama Bay is a bit out of our price range.  

If we were to purchase tickets ourselves (via the military ITR) the breakdown of costs would be as follows (this is for 5 tickets since Buds is 2 and gets in for free):

Sea World, one day: $384
Universal, 2 day, not park to park: $607
LEGOLAND, one day: $235
Wet & Wild, one day: $170

The cost to stay in a 3 br condo at Bahama Bay for one week (not including taxes and fees) is: $994

As you can see, we are definitely blessed by this trip!!


----------



## mrsabbott

So, I've decided it is time to start putting together my vacation folder.   

I will print out the directions to our condo and from the condo to the various parks. Hubs thinks I'm crazy and we should just use the GPS, but our GPS is evil and purposely leads me astray.. Give me written directions and a map any day!

It will also have our tickets, copies of any reservations, and our itinerary.


----------



## mrsabbott

Started the vacation folder last night. Got most of the directions printed out but we are running out of ink. I swear, we go through an awful lot of printer ink!

Been attempting to redo our itinerary to include Legoland. Admittedly, it has thrown everything off. Tell me what you think..

Saturday: arrive in Orlando. Check in isn't until 4pm. Hoping to be able to check in a little early though. Medieval times for dinner at 6pm. (Birthday surprise for Boo Bear!)

Sunday: Park day. Probably Sea World or IoA. 

Monday: Park day. One of the Universal parks for sure.

Tuesday: Park day. Sea World or Universal.

Wednesday: Downtown Disney. Lunch at T-Rex Cafe. Back to resort to visit w/ family.

Thursday: Park day. Thinking water park. Opens at 10am. Will probably only stay until 3pm or so. Spend the evening exploring the resort. Possibly visit with family.

Friday: Park day. Legoland most likely. Although, we may switch the Legoland and water park days..

Saturday: Sad day. Check out is at 10am. We may do a quick family visit before heading home.


----------



## momofboyz3

Your plans are sooooo exciting!!!! Love reading along Mrs. abbot.
I now go to our public library for anything big that needs printing for .10 cents a page


----------



## mrsabbott

NINE WEEKS TO GO!!!!

We are officially in the single digits! Woohoo!!

It was a tough day at work yesterday but thankfully today is going smoother! TGIF!

We are going to go to the RV show tonight I think. We try to go every year. I've been dreaming of having an RV for 20 years now.. One day, it could come true! I've had lots if dreams come true so I'm not giving up hope just yet! 

Sticking with my diet plan and am exercising each day! I decided on a bathing suit (going to buy it next payday) so now I just need to fit into it! 

Started on Azkaban now.. Getting so psyched to visit WWoHP! Bummed we will miss the Diagon Alley opening (not bummed over missing the crowds though) but perhaps one day we will get to go back.

Hubs and I were talking about where we will likely move after we finish school (if we move) and Florida was a top pick!


----------



## mrsabbott

As we woke up to a few inches of snow on the ground and super cold temperatures, OF COURSE we start talking about doing much more camping over the summer!    Yep, nothing makes you in the mood for camping like a blanket of cold, white stuff covering everything you see..  

Anyhoo, Hubs mentioned this place he went to as a kid that he really liked and come to find out, it is rather close to our midway point of Marietta.  Stone Mountain, GA.. anyone been there?  We thought to ourselves, "Gee.. maybe we could spend the afternoon there and catch their laserlight/fireworks show that evening" although we wouldn't be camping but staying in a hotel.  I started looking into it but, alas, the fireworks/light show starts the night AFTER we would be there.  So, we are saving that destination for another time.  

I wonder if there are any interesting little stops along the way.  Come to think of it, I wonder if there is anything worth seeing in Marietta..


----------



## mrsabbott

Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina said:


> Here's a link to one style:
> 
> http://www.walmart.com/ip/Catalina-...gMethod=Recommendation:wm:RecentlyViewedItems
> 
> Mine was a little different (it was more a swimdress, with a little skirt) but the fit should be similar to the one in the link.



Gina,
Thanks to your recommendation, I ended up getting the above swimsuit!!    I looked and looked and had narrowed it down to three different suits.  Two were super expensive though so I went with the least expensive, thinking that I'd rather have the extra moolah to spend while on vacation.  I ordered the black and cherry patterned one.  They have a nearly identical one on the ModCloth website for over twice as much!

According to the tracking information, it should arrive tomorrow.  I have enough time to try it and return it if it doesn't work out.. but I'm hopeful.

I've got to say, I'm nervous.  I constantly feel as though I NEED a larger size then what I do, so I went against my instincts and got a smaller size.  Hope it fits!!  Still trying to eat healthy and exercise but gosh darn it!!  Those last few pounds just don't want to go away!  I have not gone to a public pool or anything in years.  This is going to be kind of a big deal for me.. trying to get over my insecurities and stuff..  

Anyhoo, enough about that.

We may be changing our trip plans a little bit.  I'd mentioned Stone Mountain, GA before and how we decided to save it for a summer camping trip.. Well, it got Hubs to thinking...

We MIGHT leave Thursday afternoon when the kids and I get home from school/work.  And we MIGHT instead drive to Charlotte, NC and get there in the wee hours of the morning.  And we MIGHT spend the entire day exploring Charlotte.. namely Penske and the Nascar Hall of Fame Museum.  

I did mention that Hubs practically lives and breathes racing, right?  He's just a wee bit obsessed.  

So, the distance between home and Charlotte is the same as home and Macon, GA.  However, it would tack on an extra 2 hours to the 2nd leg of our journey, which would mean that we would have to get up EARLY on Saturday morning to ensure that we would arrive at our resort in time to check in, unload, freshen up, and get to our soon to be made dinner reservations for Medieval Times.  Not only that, but visiting the museums and stuff will cost money which Hubs assures me he can somehow come up with the funds for.  I'm thinking he's planning to take it out of his school money that he's saving for a new/used car once his truck completely dies on him.  That's his money that doesn't have anything to do with our normal household budget.. so I don't know..


----------



## mrsabbott

Sadly, my much anticipated swimsuit arrived. And it fit. It just didn't fit WELL.  Not enough support up top and it just wasn't as flattering on me.

Sooo... I ordered swimsuit number 2. I am, admittedly, hesitant about how it will fit. I'm so particular and, well.. I've had four c sections and my tummy area is a hot mess. On the bright side, I found swimsuit number 2 for a steal on a different website. $87 off the original price!!


----------



## mrsabbott

Sigh.   Swimsuit number 2 is a bust as well.

It literally arrived overnight and, come to find out, the warehouse it ships from is really close to where I live.  Go figure!  **On a side note though, you can find some really great deals at THIS WEBSITE.  I've ordered from them before.  Quick shipment, items are in new condition, pretty easy return policy, and some killer deals on good quality, brand name stuff.

So, it arrived and it was a super cute suit.  Lovely color.  I got a size 10 which fit.. sort of.  The problem was that it was too long.  I have a short torso and, well, it was too long.  

And so, I am going for swimsuit number 3.  I think a tankini might be the way to go..  

In other news...

ONLY 7 MORE WEEKS TO GO!!!!  Actually, if we end up leaving on Thursday afternoon, we only have 6 WEEKS AND 6 DAYS TO GO!!!

I am planning the kids' surprise goody bags for the trip.  I have a friend who makes these little cloth crayon holders and she's going to make some that have a vacation type theme to them.  She's going to see what fabric she has or can find.  Each girl will get a little notebook and activity book.  I'm going to get jelly belly's to make "Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans" and maybe a few other goodies if I can find something that will work!  I'm going to see if I can find some printable pages with car games and stuff as well.


----------



## Ofinn

mrsabbott said:


> Sigh.   Swimsuit number 2 is a bust as well.
> 
> It literally arrived overnight and, come to find out, the warehouse it ships from is really close to where I live.  Go figure!  **On a side note though, you can find some really great deals at THIS WEBSITE.  I've ordered from them before.  Quick shipment, items are in new condition, pretty easy return policy, and some killer deals on good quality, brand name stuff.
> 
> So, it arrived and it was a super cute suit.  Lovely color.  I got a size 10 which fit.. sort of.  The problem was that it was too long.  I have a short torso and, well, it was too long.
> 
> And so, I am going for swimsuit number 3.  I think a tankini might be the way to go..
> 
> In other news...
> 
> ONLY 7 MORE WEEKS TO GO!!!!  Actually, if we end up leaving on Thursday afternoon, we only have 6 WEEKS AND 6 DAYS TO GO!!!
> 
> I am planning the kids' surprise goody bags for the trip.  I have a friend who makes these little cloth crayon holders and she's going to make some that have a vacation type theme to them.  She's going to see what fabric she has or can find.  Each girl will get a little notebook and activity book.  I'm going to get jelly belly's to make "Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans" and maybe a few other goodies if I can find something that will work!  I'm going to see if I can find some printable pages with car games and stuff as well.



I can sympathize. I hate shopping for a bathing suit. I think I look pretty good until I put on a swimsuit, and then I realize I'm not 21 anymore. I love tankinis. I also love board shorts. They stay on if your if your in the ocean waves, and you can throw  a t- shirt on over the top, and your good to walk into any store. Have a great vacation.


----------



## mrsabbott

Yeah Ofinn, that was me!  My previous bathing suits were too big (which was a nice feeling) and I was feeling pretty good about my weight loss but this whole swimsuit shopping thing is giving me grey hair!   

Anyhoo, my new swimsuit hasn't been shipped yet BUT, I ordered it on Friday evening so it probably won't ship until Monday. I should get it by Tuesday, I think.  

I finally got a folder to put all my vacation stuff in.  I've got a running shopping list as well as our basic itinerary typed out.  I still need to do our food packing list and our clothing packing lists.  I don't usually do packing lists, but I'm determined to keep this trip more organized in hopes of it being stress free.  The time is really flying by right now!  I was trying to squeeze out a few more things out of our printer (out of ink) and got some more stuff printed off for the folder.


----------



## mrsabbott

It was 62 degrees yesterday.  62.  It is now 32 degrees and they are saying we could get 3-6 inches of snow!  I guess Puxatawney Phil wasn't kidding when he said 6 more weeks of winter!!

Stopped by Target after work today.  Needed printer ink, coffee, and some healthy snack foods.  I love to snack.  Love it.  I'm trying to snack a little healthier though.  We keep a basket in the fridge with various snack items for us and the kids.  We always keep fruit on hand, but sometimes you just want something SNACKY!  You know?  So I got some different trail mixes, some real fruit leather thingies, and my 2nd favorite 90 cal fiber one bars..  They didn't have my 1st favorite, which are the lemon ones.  I divide everything into serving sizes and put them in the box.  It just makes me happy to have a full snack box with healthy choices.. \

Anyhoo, I was excited because they had a 3 pack of color printer ink that was cheaper then buying them separately PLUS it included 85 sheets of photo paper for free!    I don't print many pics, but I imagine it will come in handy when we return from our vacation!  I already have a photo album to put the pics in!  

I'm kinda hoping that we really do get a ton of snow and they close work tomorrow!  They hate to close (I work in a day care) but hopefully they will so that I can stay home and print out the rest of the stuff for my vacation folder.  Yes, I'm a dork..

The kids and I are watching the "Puppy Bowl" and I guess we will check out the Super Bowl this evening.  I have snack foods.    I really just like the commercials.  We're more of a basketball family here..


----------



## mrsabbott

Swimsuit # 3 came in the mail today, even with 6 inches of ice and snow! Those UPS delivery guys are no joke!  Anyhoo, I am happy to say that   I LOOOVE this suit! Fits great, very flattering, and stylish! I feel comfortable in it. I will feel comfortable being at the pool or water park in it!    Happy to check that off the list!


----------



## mrsabbott

Trying to tweak our itinerary. Someone on here, I can't remember whom, said the least busy days were Sunday through Tuesday as far as crowds go. Still deciding which park to visit which day. I'm totally open to suggestions.

I was reading on the Orlando Informer site and came across a lovely crowd calendar.. I'm on my phone and can't link it right now, but I highly recommend it. I believe their scale is MILD, MODERATE, BUSY, and VERY BUSY. The week we are visiting, with the exception of that Friday and Saturday, is listed as being MODERATE. This is a relief to me.. Moderate we can handle, I think.

That said, everyone keeps saying to go to WWOHP first thing. I was looking at the map and the fastest route takes us through Seuss Land. I see major distractions and maybe even some tantrum throwing by Buds if we pass by without stopping. Hoping that I can convince them all of the importance of heading directly towards Hogwarts! Hubs will likely want to do everything in order as it is more organized.. He's gotten a little OCD since he got out of the Army..


----------



## mrsabbott

I can't believe how quickly time is flying by!!

So, we had a super fun weekend planned.  I was getting off work early and we were going to drive up to Indy to go to the new IMS trophy reveal thing (DH was excited about this) and then go to the Pacer's/Trailblazer's game (got tickets for Christmas).  We were to stay the weekend with GG (great grandmother) and visit the Children's Museum and the IMS Museum.  We were also going to eat at Mug n Bun (best onion rings and root beer in the world) and Jonathan Byrd's (best desserts in the world, especially their lemon shortcake).  

Well.. it started out with a flat tire when I got to work.  I was going to call USAA to have someone come help me change it, but some co-workers insisted they could do it.  Bless their hearts, I kept offering to call USAA but after an hour and a half they got Bessie's tire changed!  Good thing we are getting new tires when we get our tax returns back!

Then, I got almost all the way home and realized I left my purse at work and had to go back.  So, we were running late and Hubs was really rushed.  I was trying to throw my last minute stuff in the bag and hurry out the door.  We got about an hour or so up the road when the battery light went on and the voltage meter registered low.    We pulled over and Hubs checked connections.  When he restarted it was working fine.  Driving fine, no lights fading or anything.. so we kept going.  About the halfway mark, it happened again.  We took the nearest exit and found a dealership and had them check it out.  We hoped it was something simple, like a faulty battery or something.  

Nope.  Alternator.  Almost all of our fun money for the weekend was spent on car repairs and we missed the trophy reveal.  On the bright side, we already had the game tickets and we got there in time to see the game.  Didn't get to get a new shirt, but we got a refillable soda mug and popcorn bucket and still had a good time!  The game was intense too!   

Children's museum and Mug n' Bun were out, but we went to the IMS museum and the kids started their first Pressed Penny collection!  

The plan is to get them books to keep them in and to have them get one every place we go.. most places have them and the kids think it is cool to smoosh a penny!  I figure it is an inexpensive collectible and they will have fun getting ones from different places we go!

The weather was turning bad, so we cut our trip short and headed home, but we stopped at Jonathan Byrd's for dinner first!  They have this lemon shortcake that is amazing.  Amazing, amazing.  Foodgasm amazing.  I was planning to get a piece for here and to go as well.

They didn't have the lemon this time, but the strawberry version.. which is good but not AS good.  We asked when they'd have the lemon or if we could order one and it turns out that it is one of the few desserts they don't make there but they order.  And their distributor doesn't make it anymore.

I spent quite a long time trying to find something like it online and while I found some yummy looking recipes I just can't find this dessert to order.  I will never get to taste the lemony deliciousness again.      It was quite a sad ending to our weekend.. I'd maintained a "glass half full" mentality throughout it all but that was the dealbreaker for me.


----------



## schumigirl

Aww that was a sucky weekend........but glad you enjoyed the game even so 

I know what you mean about the lemon shortcake disappointment.......our local baker used to make these Viennese shortcakes.......softest butteriest taste ever..........then they stopped!! Tried making our own but it's not the same........

At least your trip is getting even closer now


----------



## mrsabbott

Thanks, schumi.. I may try a recipe sometime but I know it just won't be the same. I have no idea why someone thought it would be a good idea to deprive the world of such delicious lemony happiness..

On to happier news! Today was a nice, quiet, fairly calm day at work. I needed that. I imagine tomorrow will be chaotic, but it can worry about that tomorrow.

Also, I have a dear friend who likes to craft and sew and stuff. She's very talented. She is making some special things for the kids for our road trip. She is using a tropical fish themed fabric and is making these zippered tote bags with pockets and things on the inside to keep goodies in. She is also making them a little roll up crayon /marker holder to match. Just something neat to keep goodies and whatnot in for the car ride. I thought that was super sweet of her!

I found in my abandoned craft projects bag some sundresses for the girls and I that I didn't finish last year. The material is stretchy so I think they will still fit them but they might be too short for the older two girls. I think some leggings underneath would work and they'd just look like a smocked top. Hoping to get them done before we go.


----------



## mrsabbott

Me and the fam..


----------



## schumigirl

Nice pic MrsA........lovely kids


----------



## macraven

_beautiful family_


----------



## mrsabbott

Happy Valentine's Day!  My gift is on special order and won't get here for another 3 weeks or so..  Hubs got me the family tree ring that I was wanting.  I can't wait to get it!  

Got the kids some candy and we ordered heart shaped pizzas for dinner.  The kids thought that was super cool!  Hubs asked me to order the cheese sauce that he loves so much, so I did.  I ordered two.  The sweet delivery guy put extra in our boxes.  Hubs really likes that cheese sauce!    We're watching The Croods for pizza/movie night.  I think the Charlie Brown Valentine Special might be next.  

Since we have officially decided to leave on a Thursday instead of a Friday, it is now only 41 days until our vacation!!  

It seems like the snow is hitting north of us and we are getting just rain instead.  Someone said to me that it might be 60 DEGREES next week!!    Could it be that spring might be around the corner??


----------



## schumigirl

mrsabbott said:


> Since we have officially decided to leave on a Thursday instead of a Friday, it is now only 41 days until our vacation!!



Wow.........you're trip is coming around so quickly..........time is flying past


----------



## GoofyMomInOhio

What a beautiful family!  We are heading to Universal in 34 days just before you.  Enjoying your trip report and hope you guys have an amazing trip!


----------



## mrsabbott

Wow, is time flying by fast!!

BTW.. thanks for the compliments on the kiddos!  I love them to pieces!  

Hubs and I were able to have a nice, kid free day together on Saturday.  We went to a travel/boat/rv/motorcycle expo and out to eat.  First of all, I can't BELIEVE how CHEAP it is to go out to eat without the kids!  Seriously, when our check came I was blown away by how inexpensive it was!  Secondly, while I love that the kids want to hold my hand when we are out places (they frequently fight over who gets to hold my hand) it was so nice to be able to hold Hubs' hand for a change.  

The motorcycle part was a little "blah" although I did see the Vespa that I want!  I have a scoot now but it only goes maybe 30 mph and is kinda generic.  Still, they are loads of fun!  I just learned to ride it over the summer and will eventually work my way up to my own motorcycle.  It's on my bucket list.  But the Vespa is their biggest, fastest one and it is SO GOSH DERN CUTE!!  It goes up to 85 mph and Hubs says that it is too much for me.    Hubs has a Harley.  He wants a new bike but I said no way!  Not until we get our debt paid off and stuff.  The next "toy" we buy will be my RV!!

Speaking of, I've decided that we need a toy hauler, one that is light weight enough to be pulled with Bessie and will comfortably sleep all 6 of us!  We actually found one that was almost perfect at the expo!  Good price too!  Sadly, we can't buy one for another couple of years or so.. but it is still fun to look and dream!! 

We want to do more travelling and, while I enjoy camping, I like to sleep on an actual mattress.  Hubs says RVing isn't camping, but I disagree.  You can be at one with nature and still sleep in a comfy bed and use a flushing toilet!    Anyhoo.. we want to be able to take our bikes, motorcycle, and scoot with us places.  Hubs also races go-karts sometimes and it would be nice to have an RV to hang out in because those days/nights can get very LONG and occasionally BORING!  Plus, Hubs wants to go to more racing events and many places offer camping for the weekends.  And there are a zillion places I'd like to visit and camp..  I have planned at least a dozen or more RVing vacations for our family, the most recent ones being to the Keys, DC, and Hershey, PA..  

But I need to get moving on finishing our current vacation plans.. the ones that we actually get to FOLLOW THROUGH WITH!   

I'm waiting for our tax money to get deposited so that I can make our hotel reservations for our midway stops to and from Orlando.  Charlotte the on the way there, Marietta on the way home..  

Mom got the girls new bathing suits, so the men folk in the family are the only ones who need swimwear.  Found 6 packs of pop tarts (one of the kids' requested snacks) for just $2 each!  Looking for other good deals to stock up on.


----------



## mrsabbott

Only 5 MORE WEEKS TO GO!!!!!!!

When Hubs was deployed, I divided the time up in events and would just concentrate on the next event on the list until it was time for him to come home. It made 15 months seem shorter and kept our focus on the next fun thing.. 

We only have two more fun things on our list until vacation time: the Carl Casper Auto Show, which is this weekend, and Boo Bear's birthday party, which we will either do the 2nd weekend in March or the weekend before we leave. We are just doing a little cake and ice cream party with her friends.. Nothing big. Her birthday present from us will be the Medieval Times show that I still need to make reservations for.. Just waiting for those darn tax returns!

It was 53 degrees yesterday and will be nearly 70 here today! They are calling for bad storms later though.. I have spring fever now and hope that the weather stays fairly warm. Once it warms up for real, I'm thinking of taking a day off while the kids are all in school and doing a major clean/declutter of my house. It needs it! It is hard for me to get things done with the kids there or even in the afternoons after work. Not sure if this will happen before or after vacation. We will see..


----------



## mrsabbott

First of all, I'd like to mention that both Hubs and Buds have gotten their trunks!  Hubs has Captain America on them and Buds' is Planes..  

That said, Hubs says he wants to have a relaxing vacation that involves a lot of sitting by the pool..    Umm... we kinda have a full agenda.  I mention this to Hubs and he says that we don't have to visit EVERY park we have a ticket to.  Excuse me?  YES WE DO!!!

I said I wasn't sure what the expiration date was on the tickets (anyone know?  I haven't googled it yet, but I will..) but I'd only agree to NOT visit every park if he promised to go back again during the summer..  He gave me THE LOOK.    He didn't say no.. but he didn't agree either.  Considering he loves Florida and would like to move there.. I don't think it would be too much of a stretch to plan another trip if we could find a way to afford it.

That said, I'm trying to figure out a way to plan more "relaxation" time into our week.  I think we might forego the Medieval Times dinner..  that would give us Saturday to relax and explore the resort.  It would save us gads of money.  And.. well, Boo Bear is insistent that she wants a big Birthday party at home.  Granted, we didn't tell her MT was an option..  I don't know.  We're still debating that one.  

Wednesday is Downtown Disney in the am and lunch at T-rex.  The rest of the day will be relaxing at the pool and visiting with family.  But the rest of the time will be spent doing stuff..  I just don't know.  We will see what happens.  I don't want to overdo it, but I don't want to miss out on anything either.  

And now, on a completely NON vacation related topic..
I am a Walking Dead fan and got to meet one of the actresses this weekend!  (The character Sasha on the show.) I have to say, she cleans up pretty good!  I wouldn't have recognized her if I didn't know it was her, if that makes any sense.  She was super sweet too!  She was very nice to our kids!






Not the best picture of me, but I was pretty thrown together that day.  Girls had to cheer a game that morning  and Hubs was chomping at the bit to get going once we got home and I never did get to fix my hair or put on any makeup.  And I was EXHAUSTED!!  

Speaking of hair.. I've decided that I hate my natural color and am going back to coloring it.  I've tried for a year to come to terms with it's blandness and I just can't make myself love it or even like it.  I'm thinking blonde highlights..  I'd like to do this before vacation.

And on a work related topic..  I started working at my job in hopes of getting my own classroom in one of the pre-k classes.  Unfortunately, there wasn't an opening so I filled in here and there before they finally begged me to take over their infant room.  Now, I love babies.  And I enjoy being with the babies.  I've gotten attached to each one I've had, I have had a good relationship with the parents, and there is seriously a waiting list to get into my room.  Not trying to toot my own horn.. our evening teacher is also phenomenal and we are a great team.  But I really want to teach Pre-k.  That is the age that I just really enjoy.  I asked my bosses that, next school year, if there was an opening then I would really like to be considered.  

A friend of mine is currently a Pre-k teacher.  She's wonderful!  She's also newly engaged and is getting married this summer and moving to Chicago.  Which means her room is coming open.  I was asked again which age group I was wanting and I said Pre-k.  I have a feeling that I just might get her classroom next year!!    I really hope so!  I taught that age group on Sunday School and Awana's at church and I loved it!  I'm hoping to go back to school and finish my degree.. Early Childhood Education.. I want to teach pre-k and/or Kindergarten.  I can technically teach the pre-k now without a degree, I just won't make as much money doing it.


----------



## LuvEeyore

Following along.  Getting ready to go to Universal for the first time in Jan 2015 along with 4-5 days in WDW.


----------



## mrsabbott

Eeyore, you will have a blast, I'm sure! There are some awesome trip reports on here that make me sooo excited for our vacation! I've never been to Universal but I have a feeling we will be blown away by it! 

Sooo.. I did some research (i.e. I googled) about ticket expiration and depending on the type of tickets, they have no expiration date if unused. The universal parks and wet n wild anyways. We won't get our tickets mailed to us until a week or two before our trip. If they are individual, one day park passes then we can use them whenever. If they are, say, three day park to park passes they must be used within 14 days of their first use. 

That said, I'm already planing a 2nd trip for fall break in my mind. Yes, I'm nutty like that! We'd have to stay someplace cheap though, and I know this condo will spoil us rotten to anything else.. 

Hubs wants relaxing by the pool but didn't want to give up Medieval Times (and truthfully, neither did I) so I am switching days. Instead if Saturday, we will do it either Thursday or Friday. Probably Thursday as that is the day I planned to visit the waterpark. I can't see spending the day in the water and coming back to spend the rest if the day by the pool.. Plus, everyone will have worked up a good appetite.. We'd have time to come home, clean up, small nap for the littles (and maybe the grown ups too) and then go to dinner. 

So, it occurred to me that April Fool's falls during our trip. I'm planning a prank on the kids.. That morning I'm going to act like I'm packing and that the rest if our vacation was cancelled..my two oldest love trying to pull pranks on me, so I'm going to get them this time! Bwaaahaahaa!! (That was my evil genius laugh, btw..)


----------



## mrsabbott

So, I just made our reservations for our travel hotels via hotwire.com..  Two nights at a Country Inn & Suites in Huntersville, NC (halfway between Mooresville and Charlotte) on the way there.  And one night in Atlanta at a Comfort Suites.  Actually, I thought the area was outside of Marietta, but it is technically in Atlanta but on the outskirts.

Both places offer a decent breakfast and all 3 nights cost me about $200 total.  In all honesty, breakfast out for our family for 3 mornings would cost us at least $80.. so I'd say we got a good deal!  

This is making it all seem SO REAL!  

Got my confirmations as well as driving directions printed out and put in the vacation folder.  

I also paid off all of our outstanding medical bills and all of our March bills have been paid, so I don't have to think about paying anything except for new tires for Bessie this month!  I think we are also going to pay off a couple of our smaller credit cards..  

A friend also paid back some money I lent her, so a large chunk of my Disney Visa will be paid off..  I love tax time!

My friend is mailing me the goodies she made for the kiddos.  My mom also told me that she got the kids a couple new outfits, new flip flops, and new socks.  My aunt, got all the kids new tennis shoes!  I tell you, we are very blessed with wonderful friends and family!


----------



## mrsabbott

I think I am going to splurge and buy myself a new nook. I'm an avid reader.. When I'm not planning vacations to relieve stress then I'm reading. Hubs got me a basic nook one year for our anniversary and I wore it out!

I've been dreaming of getting a tablet. In all honesty, I want an iPad mini but I can't see spending that much money. I basically read, do some light internet browsing, and play a handful of games on occasion. I think a nook tablet is fine for me.. I can't use iTunes, which is a bummer, but I have an iPod so it's really no big deal.

In all honesty, spending more then $20 on myself gives me anxiety.. So I may not go through with it. I've been known to spend my birthday money or gift cards on groceries instead of buying for myself.. But I'm justifying it as a vacation need.. The kids have their video games, I'd have my nook..  Yeah, kind if a thin excuse isn't it??

Anyone have a tablet that they love?


----------



## LuvEeyore

I love my  nook tablet,  my goddaughter loves her kindle and I pad mini and her mom (my best friend) loves her Kindle Fire.  What can I tell you? See which one you can get the most off.


----------



## mrsabbott

We made a countdown chain for our vacation. Every link has written on it something we are looking forward to! Each night, we will remove a link off the chain! 28 more days!!!


----------



## LuvEeyore

Guess it is too early to start a countdown chain?  We are going Jan 2-9, 2015 probably a 2 day universal ticket and a 4 day WDW park hopper.  Working on where we are staying.


----------



## mrsabbott

LuvEeyore said:


> Guess it is too early to start a countdown chain?  We are going Jan 2-9, 2015 probably a 2 day universal ticket and a 4 day WDW park hopper.  Working on where we are staying.



Rofl! Well, it would be an awfully long chain!  Boo Bear brought home a countdown to Christmas chain from school and the kids had fun ceremoniously tearing off each chain every night. So I thought once we got a month out it would be something fun to do.

Last night's link was our resort, Bahamas Bay. We can't wait to stay someplace super nice and explore the area. The pics look beautiful!

So, I'm typing this on my new iPad! I told Hubs that I was going to splurge on a nook, but he insisted I go ahead and get the iPad. It isn't the latest model and was on sale, but I'm thrilled with it. It bothered me that I spent so much, but it is something that I will get plenty of use out of! No more splurging for me except to buy myself some new shorts and get my hair cut. Pretty sure this might be my anniversary gift for this year!


----------



## Lynne G

Countdowns can be so fun.  We have 5 and 1/2 months to go.  With the storm coming this week-end, I am ready for warmth!


I love my ipad2.  I use to read mail, surf, and play games. I  hate typing on it though.  Mom always has to have some more current electronic toys too, ya know!

Kids picked the restaurants they want to eat at, and well, we're not sure where in USO we will end up yet, but Margaritaville is one place we will hit for dinner one night.  I am not a big planner on where to eat.  

I still need to buy my kids' USO tickets.  Stupid MWR here won't get the 3 day hoppers until later in May.  Looked at UT prices, so I will compare before I buy.  I will buy my WDW tickets later though, as the MWR seems to have plenty of them.

Wahoo, another day closer to your vacation!


----------



## mrsabbott

Lynne G said:


> Countdowns can be so fun.  We have 5 and 1/2 months to go.  With the storm coming this week-end, I am ready for warmth!  I love my ipad2.  I use to read mail, surf, and play games. I  hate typing on it though.  Mom always has to have some more current electronic toys too, ya know!  Kids picked the restaurants they want to eat at, and well, we're not sure where in USO we will end up yet, but Margaritaville is one place we will hit for dinner one night.  I am not a big planner on where to eat.  I still need to buy my kids' USO tickets.  Stupid MWR here won't get the 3 day hoppers until later in May.  Looked at UT prices, so I will compare before I buy.  I will buy my WDW tickets later though, as the MWR seems to have plenty of them.  Wahoo, another day closer to your vacation!



You should call Shades of Green and see if you can buy the universal tickets there! I'm pretty sure you can buy them there. Although, if you are going after May, then it makes sense to wait and get them at your MWR. But it's a back up plan just in case.


----------



## ruley3

Have enjoyed seeing your excitement for your trip... I love vacation planning and I am on universal site because I slammed a trip together and I spent past day reading up on all the new things at Universal since last visit years ago… we are staying onsite at HardRock with great aph rate code.  Me my two boys and my daughter... .    So excited... We are leaving in 10 days


----------



## mrsabbott

ruley3 said:


> Have enjoyed seeing your excitement for your trip... I love vacation planning and I am on universal site because I slammed a trip together and I spent past day reading up on all the new things at Universal since last visit years ago… we are staying onsite at HardRock with great aph rate code.  Me my two boys and my daughter... .    So excited... We are leaving in 10 days



Oooh, how exciting! I can't wait to hear all about it! 

They are predicting that we will be having an awful storm here... Sleet, freezing rain, and lots of snow is supposed to start today and continue through Monday. The worst of it is supposed to hit us the hardest for our area and they are saying it will be the worst weather we've had this winter. I hope that this is just winter going out with a bang and spring will FINALLY arrive! I mean, it was 50 degrees yesterday!

25 more days until we leave and 25 more days until Boo Bears's birthday. I'm hoping to get off work an hour early that day so I will have more time to get the car loaded and stuff. They still don't have anyone to take over my classroom that week. I gave them plenty of notice. They are just now interviewing people for sub positions but it takes forever for background checks to be done. I hope they get it figured out soon. I don't want to have to worry about my babies while I am gone.

I've slowly been getting snacks and things for our trip. I've been keeping it in the garage pantry. Out of sight, out of mind and I won't be tempted to eat it all before. But it is killing the kids to know that there is junk food and they have to wait! I also got some reusable insulated sandwich bags to use. We use too many plastic bags as it is, I'm trying to find a way to cut back. I figure they will be good to use in the parks and throughout the summer. 

I've also started potty training boot camp for Buds. He's 2 1/2 now and still in pull ups. He stays dry for long periods and knows the whole potty routine.. It's just bringing it all together. He won't actually go in the potty for me at home although his teachers say he's gone a few times at school. I got him some cool undies, which he liked a lot, but he had some accidents. Hoping today will be more successful. How awesome it would be to not have to worry about diapers!


----------



## mrsabbott

Three weeks and one day until we leave! I can't believe the day is almost here!

I'm home sick. Not sure what's going on with me but I hope I'm better soon. Nothing new to report, just anxiously awaiting our vacation.


----------



## gunit12210

for chain idea  ... 3 kids + 54 days = they each did 18 strips. 

Now just the 

Try the junk food garage bribe per poop , worked for ours


----------



## Lynne G

I hope you are feeling better.  Lots of colds and sniffles around here.

Good luck with little one's potty training.  My DS needed stickers and mini tootsie rolls as incentives. I was not beyond bribery as he had to be trained to be in pre-school before he turned 3.  So, at 2 and 1/2, he was trained.  Try to find a small item or treat that will get him to go at home.  I was so happy when both of my kids were out of diapers.  Less to lug around.  

Well, booked my airfare.  Much higher than I wanted, but I guess rates are going to stay high this year.  Anyway, I bought the Uni tickets and will order the disney ones from the MWR.  So, summer here we come!


----------



## mrsabbott

Thanks, I'm feeling a little better and back to work today. I'm thinking it was some sort of virus that was going around. My appetite isn't back, but on the bright side, I've lost another pound! 

I'm glad that others are enjoying the countdown chain idea! Just three short weeks to go! You know, I had a friend that did one for an entire year to countdown her husband's deployment. The kids took turns tearing one off each night. It was a loooong chain!

Going to get new tires for Bessie this week. And an oil change. Also need to get myself a new pair of shorts. Going to check and see if Old Navy or TJMax has anything good and inexpensive. Kiddos all need haircuts. I am debating on cutting mine. I was going to grow it out long but I keep going back to this one style that I think would be better..

We have sunscreen, Tylenol, and stuff. Need to get a small first aid kit together and get myself some Benadryl. Bee allergies. Pretty sure bees are around all the time in Florida.

I got my Valentine's day gift in the mail, finally! It is a family tree ring that has all of our birthstones in it. It's really pretty! I am happy with it. Now if they would just get my engagement ring fixed.. Seems like it is taking forever. I feel naked without it.


----------



## mrsabbott

ONLY 18 MORE DAYS!!!!

I bought myself a few new spring/summer clothes. Had to get rid of most of my old ones as they were too big. I have a real love/hate relationship with clothes shopping because I'm picky and hard to fit. But, I found the best pants at Old Navy!! Their Pixie pants are amazing! They have patterns and solids, are comfy, slightly stretchy, and very flattering! I bought 2 pair in store and then ordered 2 more online! I got khaki, navy (that have this cool but subtle floral design), black, and red. They are short, ankle pants and have a cute retro kind of feel to them that I love! Highly recommend them! Way cute with flats or flip flops or even some sandals! 

Anyhow, I am going to go get an oil change for Bessie today, I think.


----------



## chs27

I'm still 50 days out! Can't wait to hear about your trip.


----------



## mrsabbott

I just realized that part of my post went missing... I got new tires and brakes for Bessie. I still need to get the alignment done though. And the oil change. I didn't go today after all. I did get Bessie washed and vacuumed out though!  

I know that your next 50 days will fly by! These past 2 months have flown by!


----------



## mrsabbott

Tomorrow will be TWO WEEKS!!! Just two weeks! 
Tomorrow afternoon, Buds is getting his hair cut. Friday morning, Pod has her audiology appointment for her hearing aids and that afternoon, Bessie has an appointment for her alignment and tire sensors. Saturday morning, the girls are getting their haircuts and then we are going to visit my mom and pick up some goodies she got for the kids for vacation. I will start packing Sunday afternoon.
Next week, I need to get my hair cut. Finish packing stuff. Hubs will need to make reservations via ITR for Medieval Times. Clean the house. Double check my lists. 
We haven't gotten our tickets and stuff in the mail yet. If we don't get them by next Wednesday, I will have to call or email to find out what's going on.
So, so, so excited!


----------



## mrsabbott

So, I was browsing DIS and was reading a thread about lockers. I started to get all worried about what to pack and bring with us. Hubs and I both have camelbacks and I was planning to being a soft sided insulated bag with snacks and things to keep in the stroller. Then, I realized that we would be doing the parent swap on most rides since Buds is too young.  Still, it did get me thinking that I need to revise what I am bringing with us to the parks. I did buy a small travel first aid kit to put in my camelback. Pull ups and wipes for Buds, of course. Got sunscreen. Camera. I am wanting to get a wristlet/wallet/phone purse thingy to keep the basics in: money, ID, phone, key.   I tend to overpack. Trying not to do that at the parks.  So, I am debating on buying the kids each a little wallet. They have some cash and a gift card each. Should I just put their stuff in my wallet and try to keep it separated somehow or should I have them be responsible for their own stuff? Truth be told, it will end up in my bag most likely.. I don't know.

One more thing.. Do you wear makeup at the parks? I don't wear make up often, although I prefer to use it. I was debating on if I should even bother. I was thinking more along the lines of light makeup.. Waterproof mascara, a little powder and lipgloss. Silly thing to fret over, isn't it?


----------



## gunit12210

I keep cards/cash for kids as more than once they've lost on vacay. They wanna feel responsible for it but more than devastated when it is missing or lost. I keep receipts/tallies daily and give them a nightly expense report w/ remaining balances. You can still let them pay and get the kick out of that but I like to keep $$$/cards on our adult persons.


----------



## mrsabbott

gunit12210 said:


> I keep cards/cash for kids as more than once they've lost on vacay. They wanna feel responsible for it but more than devastated when it is missing or lost. I keep receipts/tallies daily and give them a nightly expense report w/ remaining balances. You can still let them pay and get the kick out of that but I like to keep $$$/cards on our adult persons.



Yeah, you're right.. I see it getting lost and them getting heartbroken.  I'll just keep their money with me.

Got Buds' haircut and he now looks like a BIG BOY!!    He actually did pretty good this time.  I didn't have to hold him and he sat in the barber chair for a long time without throwing a fit.


----------



## mrsabbott

I'm excited because I can officially post that we only have ONE week and 6 days until we leave!!     

I'm a little excited.. can you tell?

It's so nice to not have to go to work in the morning.  I'm going to enjoy a cup of coffee at leisure  (well, sort of) and then we have to go in for Pod's appointment.  Hubs is coming with us today.  We are going to stop by Ramse's Café before coming home.  If any of you are ever in the Louisville area, eat at Ramse's.. it is amazingly delicious!  I remember when it first opened and it was a tiny hole in the wall place.  They've expanded quite a bit.  All kinds of food and everything I've ever had there was so good!  I've not had a bad meal there.  Lots of vegetarian options also!

Anyhoo, Bessie's appointment isn't until Monday.  I tell you, I don't know where my brain is.. Actually, I do.  It's already on vacation!


----------



## mrsabbott

Just 12 more days... it hardly seems real.  12 more days and we will be on the road!  

I am enjoying a cuppa joe and some computer time before I have to get started on my day.   

Girls have their last cheerleading game of the season this morning.  Then, I need to come home and do a little bit of house cleaning for a couple of hours and then it is off to get the girls' haircuts!  I'm getting mine cut next Friday. We have family in town and I think we are going to try to meet up with them this evening.  

I had ordered some new clothes from Old Navy and they came yesterday.  I gotta say, Old Navy got a lot of my money this year.  4 pairs of their Pixie Pants, a pair of shorts, 2 tops, 2 tanks, 2 lightweight cardigans, and 3 flip flops..  I also got a couple of "fake Toms" at Target which were pretty comfy.  And a blouse.  And a couple of their Ultimate Tee's.. which are pretty doggone ultimate.  I love those Target t-shirts! Combined with the few things that I have leftover that still fit, I'm in pretty good shape for spring/summer clothes!  

Let me brag for a second here because I'm so excited!  I think I mentioned that I had been losing weight for awhile now.  Well, I plateaued a few times and it has been a struggle to get off these last pounds.  I weigh myself every morning and this morning, for the first time in YEARS... I weigh under 150 lbs!!  I was 149 this am!!    My goal is 130-135.  I'm not crash dieting or anything, just trying to eat reasonably healthy and get some sort of exercise in each day (usually walking).  I have been taking some natural fat burners to help with my metabolism (which seems to have disappeared as I have gotten older) and I think that, along with the exercise and healthy eating, has gotten me over this latest hump.  Total lbs lost so far is 37.4!!  

Obesity and poor health run in my family.  I don't want that.  I want to stay as healthy as I can for as long as I can!  I want to be there for my grandkids, you know?  Hubs' grandmother is my inspiration!  She's still pretty active at age 90!!  She is amazing!

And on that note, I just noticed the time on my computer and realized that I forgot to set my living room clock ahead an hour!  OOPS!!  Guess I won't be having as leisurely a cuppa joe as I thought!  Gotta run!


----------



## chs27

Good for you on your weight loss!  Y'all are going to have a great time and I'm looking forward to your updates. 

I still have 6 weeks to go before my trip. I live vicariously through these Dis board posts.


----------



## mrsabbott

chs27 said:


> Good for you on your weight loss!  Y'all are going to have a great time and I'm looking forward to your updates.  I still have 6 weeks to go before my trip. I live vicariously through these Dis board posts.



Thank you! I also love getting on the DIS and reading stuff. I honestly don't know what I am going to do once our trip is over!

Girls got their haircuts yesterday. Although, only one got theirs cut at our usual place. We've been going to the same place for years. Granted, Hubs goes there once or twice a month and the kids and I go less often. But we are all about supporting local, family owned businesses and they give great haircuts there. The wife/owner is very type A and I can usually brush off her sometimes abrasiveness, however she crossed the line with me this time. She knew all 3 girls were coming in for a haircut. She was upset because I had my son with me and because I was 15 minutes early. She was running behind. No worries, I walked the kids over to Taco Bell and fed them lunch. Got back there and she once again voiced displeasure that Buds was there, wanting to know if Hubs or someone could watch him. Obviously not or else he wouldn't be with me. I assured her it was fine. Buds is a typical 2 year old boy and, at the time, he was being very good. A little antsy, but I was singing him silly songs and holding him in my lap while she was cutting Punky's hair. She's the oldest. The other two girls were playing on my iPad. 

The owner chastised my girls for sitting on their knees instead of their bottoms in the chairs. The leather chairs. They weren't climbing or jumping, or anything. Their shoes weren't muddy. They were just trying to both share the iPad. She then chastised them when they got up to see what their sister's hair looked like after the initial cut. It was long, and she got it cut short. Buds was fascinated with the barber pole and all he wanted was to talk about it. That was when the owner said she would have to reschedule the rest of the cuts. She said my kids were disrupting the atmosphere. People came there to relax and she felt like she had to rush to get them out of there, that they were hijacking their shop. Their transgressions were sitting on their knees, getting up to look at their sister's hair, and talking in a normal tone of voice.

Now, I know that my kids can be a handful. They can be bad. However, if they were acting out and being disruptive, I would have cancelled the appointments myself and left. My kids were actually being quite good. The way she spoke to me though, I felt very insulted. I let Punky finish her cut, but we went elsewhere for the rest and we will never return there again.

That said, haircuts are done and they all look cute! 

Bessie's appt is today, not last Friday. I'm going after work and will walk over and try to get my hair cut while they are doing her repairs.

We visited family yesterday and had an impromptu birthday party for Boo Bear. My family went overboard with getting the kids new clothes and stuff for our trip. We are very blessed!

Just ten more days!!!


----------



## Lynne G

Woot!  Another day closer!  

Yep, I always have the kids haircuts when I get mine cut, bring my DM there with me too.  DD is still mad I made her cut her hair short to grow her bangs out.  She's now trying to grow it long, since the bangs have now caught up.  I keep reminding her that hair does grow, and she's made 4 donations of hair in her life so far.  Last time was 10 and 1/2 inches.  DS is a teen and has bed head.  I tried to get him to keep it shorter, but some battles you have to step back from.  Only thing I ask is clean cut elsewhere.  He's ok with that.  

Hope Bessie is all ready to go.  I need to get my car's tires rotated and oil changed.  One of these days.  Since we just had snow, I need to get it washed too.

Hope this week flies by for you!


----------



## mrsabbott

WE ARE IN THE SINGLE DIGITS NOW!!!! ONLY 9 MORE DAYS!!!  I cannot believe how fast the time is flying by! Bessie has to go back on Wednesday because they didn't have the right tire sensors in stock, but she got an alignment and oil change. They also checked her over just to make sure everything else looks okay because they knew we were leaving soon. She is looking good and is ready for the trip! Well, I want to take her to the car wash one more time and clean out the interior again. But if that doesn't happen then it's not the end of the world.  

So, the kids are mostly packed. I will need to throw their tooth brushes and stuff in their bags but otherwise, they are good to go! I need to pack. I also need to do some laundry before we go. Planning to knock out a few loads this afternoon. Hubs is on his own, I don't mess with his stuff. 

 I got my haircut yesterday while Bessie was getting worked on. Just a simple angled bob.. Nothing fancy, but cute and easy to work with. Not to mention cool since it is off my neck now! I'm ready for the hot weather! I also stopped by the dollar tree and got a few things to keep the kids busy on the trip. Between that stuff and their DS's and an occasional movie on the DVD player, we should be in good shape. I hope. I will assemble the activity bags and have them sitting in their seats as a surprise!  

Still need to get tickets to Medieval Times. I will try to do that this week. Need to check about our park tickets..we haven't received them in the mail yet. I need to check over my shopping list and pick up the rest of our stuff. I can go ahead and pack up the snack foods I had been buying so we can just put it in the car Thursday afternoon. I double checked and my friend is still willing to watch our house for us. Need to make sure we have enough pet food and stuff and write out instructions.   

Oh.. And I need to CLEAN MY HOUSE!! Can we say "disaster area"??  That reminds me.. I heard on the radio this morning that a fish tank burst at T-Rex Cafe in Downtown Disney. Yikes! Hearing that reminded me that I haven't made my reservations there yet, nor have I redeemed my swag bucks for a Landry's gift card. Better do that soon!


----------



## poofiesdream

Medival Times is running a special right now.  But 1 adult ticket get one free!


----------



## mrsabbott

poofiesdream said:


> Medival Times is running a special right now.  But 1 adult ticket get one free!



I just saw that!!    We just made reservations!  Hubs and I decided to splurge and get the celebration package where the kids get souvenir's, they will wish Boo Bear a Happy Birthday, and everyone gets birthday cake with their meal!  Tickets are printed out and in the vacation folder.  I still need to call and let them know that we'll need vegetarian meals with ours and whose birthday it will be.  YAAY!!


----------



## mrsabbott

Just 8 more days!!!

So, I got the tracking number for our tickets and it says they should arrive by Friday!! I have our itinerary done for the week. I'm working on the final shopping list which is mainly food. I did pick up a ton of Capri suns for super cheap! I pick up our bountiful basket this Saturday. We're getting a ton of apples and strawberries this time. The rest of the grocery shopping will be done by Monday, I think. Bessie is completely fixed and ready for the trip! Well, with the exception of a car wash.

I need to clean the house.. Which seems to never get done. Cleaning the house with children is like shoveling snow in a blizzard or raking leaves in a wind storm.. Impossible and pointless. And yet, I keep trying. I miss my dishwasher. I've done six sink full do dishes so far this evening and I'm not even done yet.. 

I haven't planned a menu.. Should I? I'm not much of a menu planner but perhaps I should give it a try. But really, it's going to be simple fare.. Breakfast will consist of cereal, oatmeal, pop tarts, granola, and fruit. Lunch will mainly be snacks and sandwiches. Dinners are another thing. I wish I knew what was provided at the condo. Do we need to bring cleaning supplies? Garbage bags? Toilet paper?


----------



## mrsabbott

One more week!!!!!


----------



## mrsabbott

We are under one week! I can't believe it! 

Plumber isn't coming until Tuesday to install our dishwasher, sink, etc.. So, this weekend will be devoted to cleaning the house and catching up on laundry. I need to stop by Kroger to pick up a couple of things, but other then that, our shopping is done. We have plenty of snacks and food for our trip. Out tickets are supposed to arrive by mail today. Part of my family has gotten back with me and we have plans made with them. Still need to solidify plans with my other family there..

So, yeah.. Cleaning, laundry, packing, and a few minor details are all that is left to do before we leave!


----------



## mrsabbott

We got our tickets in the mail. Actually, they are confirmation numbers that we give to the will call area or something. But, we have tickets waiting for us! We were also given a couple of t-shirts to wear that say Wounded Warriors Family Support and some plastic band bracelets. We are going to write our phone number on the inside of them and have the kids wear them.. In case they get lost. They included some brochures. The biggest surprises were the gift cards. We were given $75 for Texas Roadhouse and $1500 in Visa gift cards to help cover our travel expenses and things. Yes, that is the right number. I was speechless. We were already so blessed by this organization... I never expected this additional blessing!


----------



## LuvEeyore

I know you aren't going to Disney, however I love the pixie dust that came your way.  1500 dollars in gift cards goes a long way to adding much fun and maybe decreasing some stress.


----------



## mrsabbott

LuvEeyore said:


> I know you aren't going to Disney, however I love the pixie dust that came your way.  1500 dollars in gift cards goes a long way to adding much fun and maybe decreasing some stress.



Yes, it was an amazing shock! I was all teary and emotional yesterday. We have been blessed by family, friends, and strangers with this trip. Having this to plan and look forward to has helped us through some stressful times. We are just so overwhelmed by the generosity of others. I hope that one day I can pay it forward and bless someone else!  

So, I let the kids watch ET for the first time. Buds could have cared less. Pod and Boo Bear loved it. Punky, however, cried her eyes out and never wants to watch it again. Pretty sure I just scarred her for life. She's very empathetic and sensitive. Boo is sensitive but not as empathetic. Pod is neither.. She takes more after her Daddy and was like, "it's just a movie!" So, I don't think we will be adding ET to our movie collection.

I slept in today. Going to drink my coffee and then clean, clean, clean... Only 5 more days!!


----------



## mrsabbott

Kids are watching Despicable Me for the first time now... They are so excited! I think this one might be a bigger hit then ET. Punky is still upset over it this morning..


----------



## gunit12210

That'll cover most/all of gas & food for the whole trip !!!


----------



## mrsabbott

gunit12210 said:


> That'll cover most/all of gas & food for the whole trip !!!



I know! This definitely gives us a nice little cushion! 

So, the girls from Despicable Me are just like our girls! Hubs and I can't get over it! They have watched it 3 times today! I don't normally let them watch so much TV, but they were so into the movie and I was trying to get stuff done. We borrowed it from the library but I think we will need to buy it! 

Got my bathroom cleaned and organized! Bagged up 2 more bags of stuff for goodwill. Washed dishes but it is never ending! I can't wait to get our dishwasher hooked up!


----------



## mrsabbott

Three days and a wake up! Did lots of laundry and stuff today. Cleaned my bathroom. Bagged up some stuff for goodwill. Got my bag packed. Well, mostly packed. Packed up all the snacks in the garage that I've been buying. Need to put together the address list for everyone that we are going to send owl post to!  Getting super excited!


----------



## Mikkimús

This is wonderful 

and only 4 days till your adventure begins


----------



## Lynne G

Wow!  So close. 

Congrats on the new kitchen items.  Always good to have a dishwasher that works.  I use ours almost daily.  Can't believe how many dishes 2 kids and a DH go through.

Hope you have a great trip!


----------



## mrsabbott

Two days and a wake up!!  

Hubs is sick.. poor guy!  My throat is slightly sore.. doubled up on the vitamin C and hoping for the best!  

Just typed out our "Owl Post Mailing List".. simultaneously updated our Christmas Card List while I was at it!  

Typing out a pet care instruction list for my friend who is going to watch the animals and stuff for me.

I honestly don't know what else to do to get ready.  I have to buy some more pull ups, wipes, and a few more sandwich fixings and that is it.  Well, I need to clean, clean, and clean some more.  I just don't feel like it today.  Blech!


----------



## mrsabbott

So, we measured the kids and talked about which rides they could ride. Punky and Pod are 1/2 inch different in height. Most rides will be open to them! Spent some time talking about each one! So excited!!


----------



## plannermom

Just found your thread today, and want to thank you for the treat! It's been like reading letters from you. I'm so glad you received the Visa card. Have a wonderful time, and be sure to update us when you return.


----------



## Heluvsme

Ohhhhh I hope you all are healthy for your trip!!!  

HOT TEA!!  I swear by it!!  LOL!   

Maybe it'll just be a quickie and disappear as fast as it came on. 
(fingers crossed!)

Have a great time!  I can't wait to read all about your trip afterwards!  I bet you'll have great weather, too.  

Have FUN!!!!!


----------



## mrsabbott

Thanks Plannermom! 

I am feeling okay today. I think part of it is our crazy weather. Woke up to snow this morning. Was almost 70 just the other day! I am tired though, but it's been a long day at work. Not bad, just long.

Not tomorrow but the next day! I just can't believe that we are almost ready to go!! I am so nervous that something is going to go wrong. So, the guy who is here doing our plumbing is taking forever and I have a feeling it is going to cost a whole lot more then we thought. Not his fault really, there were some fitting issues and whatnot. Hopefully, it won't take much longer. All kinds of food in the house and I can't make dinner so we are ordering pizza. At least I don't have to cook.


----------



## Heluvsme

I hope the plumbing job didn't end up costing you too much.

Well, if I don't get back on here before you leave, I hope you have a fantastic time!!! And I hope the germs go away and you are all healthy and ready to go full steam ahead!!

Florida heat sounds so good right now!


----------



## mrsabbott

While I am excited, I am exhausted!  Didn't get all the laundry done since the water was turned off yesterday.  House is a disaster.  Our NEW dishwasher DOESN'T work and we can't get it fixed until we get back.  I'm pooped AND I can't get off work tomorrow to get all of the last minute stuff done!  I just don't know what I'm going to do!!  Stay up all night, I guess!  

For the most part, the laundry can wait.  I'll finish what is already going and leave the rest for when I get back.  

We lost our spare key and the other one didn't work so I had to run and have two made for the people who are watching our house/pets for us.  

Kids are getting their showers.  My bag is packed with the exception of my hair dryer, hair brush, and toothpaste.  

Kitchen is still pretty much a disaster from yesterday, but it's coming around.  I will get it straightened up tonight.  I'm going to just shut the bedroom doors and hope our pet watchers aren't nosey because they are awful!!

Litterbox needs to be changed.. 

Fishbowl needs to be cleaned (poor fishy!)

Must vacuum living room and downstairs.

Cooking dinner and will have to clean up that mess.  Sigh.  Never ending.  

Kids straightened up the outside a bit, so at least it doesn't look like some b00by trapped junkyard in front of our house anymore.

Oh no!  I have to dig out the cooler!  EEK!  And charge the DS's!  And pack the chargers!  

I did get the kids' activity bags done..

So much to do, so much to do, so much to do...

Hubs insists that we are to leave RIGHT AWAY when we get home!  AAACK!

Ooh, got directions to BIL's house printed.  Got owl post list completed and printed.  

I'm forgetting stuff, I just know it!  I'm panicking!  I'm totally off schedule!


----------



## Mary*Poppins

mrsabbott said:


> While I am excited, I am exhausted!  Didn't get all the laundry done since the water was turned off yesterday.  House is a disaster.  Our NEW dishwasher DOESN'T work and we can't get it fixed until we get back.  I'm pooped AND I can't get off work tomorrow to get all of the last minute stuff done!  I just don't know what I'm going to do!!  Stay up all night, I guess!
> 
> For the most part, the laundry can wait.  I'll finish what is already going and leave the rest for when I get back.
> 
> We lost our spare key and the other one didn't work so I had to run and have two made for the people who are watching our house/pets for us.
> 
> Kids are getting their showers.  My bag is packed with the exception of my hair dryer, hair brush, and toothpaste.
> 
> Kitchen is still pretty much a disaster from yesterday, but it's coming around.  I will get it straightened up tonight.  I'm going to just shut the bedroom doors and hope our pet watchers aren't nosey because they are awful!!
> 
> Litterbox needs to be changed..
> 
> Fishbowl needs to be cleaned (poor fishy!)
> 
> Must vacuum living room and downstairs.
> 
> Cooking dinner and will have to clean up that mess.  Sigh.  Never ending.
> 
> Kids straightened up the outside a bit, so at least it doesn't look like some b00by trapped junkyard in front of our house anymore.
> 
> Oh no!  I have to dig out the cooler!  EEK!  And charge the DS's!  And pack the chargers!
> 
> I did get the kids' activity bags done..
> 
> So much to do, so much to do, so much to do...
> 
> Hubs insists that we are to leave RIGHT AWAY when we get home!  AAACK!
> 
> Ooh, got directions to BIL's house printed.  Got owl post list completed and printed.
> 
> I'm forgetting stuff, I just know it!  I'm panicking!  I'm totally off schedule!




Hi! I've been lurking and reading along on your pre-trip report! You sound like me before I leave for every trip: trying to clean and organize and getting stressed out! (And I only have one child!) 
Keep calm, take a deep breath and tackle one chore at a time. Prioritize what really needs to be done and what can be done when you get back. I went to Universal last June with me, DH, DS14 (now 15) and his cousin. We had such a blast! 
Have an amazing trip, take lots of pictures, and make lots of great memories with your family


----------



## mrsabbott

Mary*Poppins said:


> Hi! I've been lurking and reading along on your pre-trip report! You sound like me before I leave for every trip: trying to clean and organize and getting stressed out! (And I only have one child!)
> Keep calm, take a deep breath and tackle one chore at a time. Prioritize what really needs to be done and what can be done when you get back. I went to Universal last June with me, DH, DS14 (now 15) and his cousin. We had such a blast!
> Have an amazing trip, take lots of pictures, and make lots of great memories with your family



Thank you!  I got the kids fed and in bed, ate some chocolate, and looked at what was written on our countdown chain.  






This just warms my heart!  My kids are driving me batty, but gosh I love them and it makes me happy that, of all the things they could look forward to on this trip, "play w/ mom" was one of them!  

Taking a deep breath, trying not to panic, and just doing what I can..  If we forget something, they have stores there.  If the house is a little messy, it's no big deal.  The clutter will be there when I get back.  I just need to relax and not freak out.. 

Oh, and Hubs is saying, "I told you that you were going to get all stressed out!  Just like you always do!  You're going to freak out!"


----------



## Heluvsme

Chocolate= GOOD!!  SWEET KIDS=EVEN BETTER!! 

Yep, sounds like you're GOING ON VACATION!! YAY!!!  

Somehow it will all come together. 
Have a fabulous time, I can't wait to read all about it!


----------



## mrsabbott

I realized I needed to pack laundry soap, cleaning stuff, etc.. so I got that done last night.  

The kids' DSs are charged and their chargers are packed. 

There are a few dishes in the sink that I'm going to make DH wash while I am gone.  

Now, Buds still sleeps in a crib because, if he isn't contained, he won't slow down enough to actually fall asleep.  I'm debating on whether or not we should bring the pack & play or not..  I'm leaning towards not.  I figure the hotels will have them if we need them but this might be a good time to get him used to sleeping in a regular bed.  Maybe I should pack a clean crib sheet just in case though..

I remembered that we needed to pack COFFEE and so I ground an entire bag for our trip.. one handful at a time with our little coffee grinder.  Packed sugar to go along with it.  And filters.  Coffee is a necessity.

Making Hubs get down the cooler and I can load it up when I get home.  Who puts a cooler on the TOP SHELF in the garage??  

Really wish I could get out of work early today..  I alternate from being excited to panicked!  You would think that, after MONTHS of planning that I'd be better prepared!  

Oh!  I need to change the litter box!  Better go do that now..


----------



## Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina

Safe travels, mrsabott & family  .  It has been a real treat to read your posts as the weeks have counted down.  Your excitement is evident, and so refreshing and fun.  We should all approach our vacations with the kind of enthusiasm you have shown  .

I hope your entire family has an incredible time.  Can't wait to hear all about your adventures after you return.


----------



## Lynne G

Safe travels!  I actually like that panic before I leave.  Whatever you forgot, Orlando is not a foreign, desert place.  Anything missing can usually be bought there.  

I too work the day I leave later in the day.  Nervous energy is good!

So happy the day is here!  Enjoy the Florida sun!


----------



## plannermom

Take one last deep breath, everyone is right, who cares about the mess when you get home...

And then...

WOO HOO!

Have a fabulous time, safe drive, and keep us posted. (Really glad to hear that you did get the coffee taken care of; that would kill me too!)


----------



## RaisingTwoOnlies

Just joining in to your report! Loved reading everything up to this point, and will be excited to hear about your experiences and see any pics when you return! Have a GREAT time!!


----------



## mrsabbott

Thanks everyone!! After the LONGEST WORK DAY EVER we are finally ON OUR WAY!!


----------



## mrsabbott

Thought I would give a little trip update as I sit here in rush hour traffic, on our way back to the hotel. Our trip here was fairly uneventful. We actually got on the road ON TIME, which was a miracle. Kids loved their goody bags I made for them. We stopped at a Cracker Barrel for dinner which took longer then anticipated. Boo and I played checkers and she's not bad!   Hubs drove most of the way. It was dark and we didn't get to enjoy much of the scenery but Hubs was surprised by how curvy and hilly the roads were. Of course, we WERE in the mountains.. At some point we got a little goofy and we now have an on going joke re: love a la mode.. Don't ask because I'm pretty sure we are the only ones to get it.   The girls eventually fell asleep but Buds.. It was like he was wired for sound. We arrived at our hotel at 1am and he was bouncing off the walls!  Speaking of our hotel, we're staying at a Country Inn & Suites that I got via Hotwire. Nice chain. Very clean, great breakfast. The only issue is that they put us in an economy king suite when I clearly checked a double. Hotwire told them that we wanted a king. The girl was super sweet an tried to find a different room but they were booked. Some sort of convention or something in the area. We got a portable crib for Buds and the kids had their pillows and blankets and stuff so they camped out on the floor. We were so exhausted, no one cared.  So, today we got up, ate breakfast, and went to Penske Racing and the Nascar Hall if Fame. Hubs is a huge race fan. Huge. Not so much nascar, but he loves racing history and stuff. Now, I admit that I was kin of dreading it because I figured it would be boring, especially for the kids. But it was really cool! Lots of interactive stuff to keep the kids busy.   Things we have noticed about North Carolina.. Everyone we talk to has been very friendly and helpful. You don't find that everywhere, believe me! Also, it is very clean. You don't see much litter on the sides of the road. Things are attractively landscaped, and buildings (even shopping centers) look NICE! Hubs and I both agree that it wouldn't be a bad place to live.   We had lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings.. Food was good but they got my black bean burger wrong an the poor waitress forgot my toppings for it twice. There is a melting pot right next door to our hotel. We've always wanted to go to one, so we might eat dinner there tonight. We took it as fate that one was right there!   So, dinner and then a swim in the hotel pool tonight. Tomorrow we will drive on to Orlando!  I'll try to upload pics at some point but probably not til we get home.


----------



## plannermom

Happy it's going well for you!  And glad the kids (and you) took the sleeping situation in stride.  Thanks for posting the update, have thought of you today.


----------



## mrsabbott

Note to self: NEVER AGAIN TAKE OUR KIDS TO THE MELTING POT. NEVER EVER. 

P.S. Taking kids swimming before bedtime does NOT make them more tired. It does make the parents exhausted though.


----------



## Lynne G

Sorry to hear the evening, day was not that restful.  I guess I won't ask about the Melting Pot.  Only my DD has been to one, and I have yet to.  Hmmm.


Hope the rest of your vacation is smooth sailing.  


Have a great night!


----------



## plannermom

You are cracking me up, guess I should have said melting pot + kids = guaranteed meltdown! Rest well, tomorrow will be better!


----------



## mrsabbott

We are a rowdy bunch, not to mention accident prone, and the Melting Pot is a nice restaurant. Let's just say it was fortunate we didn't manage to catch anything on fire and the staff breathed a collective sigh of relief when we walked out the door. 

Food was good, albeit expensive, and our server rocked! Kids had a blast with it though. And a couple mojitos helped mom just roll with it!

Last night the kids literally crashed! One second they were bouncing off the walls and the next they were all snoring! Lol!

We are having fun though! On our way to Florida now!


----------



## Hamilla

I've loved reading your thread and I'm feeling the excimer for you guys as you head to Orlando......you will have the best time ever and can't wait to hear how you've all enjoyed the parks have lots of fun x


----------



## RaisingTwoOnlies

mrsabbott said:


> We are a rowdy bunch, not to mention accident prone, and the Melting Pot is a nice restaurant. Let's just say it was fortunate we didn't manage to catch anything on fire and the staff breathed a collective sigh of relief when we walked out the door.
> 
> Food was good, albeit expensive, and our server rocked! Kids had a blast with it though. And a couple mojitos helped mom just roll with it!
> 
> Last night the kids literally crashed! One second they were bouncing off the walls and the next they were all snoring! Lol!
> 
> We are having fun though! On our way to Florida now!



I have been to the Melting Pot here in KC, but not with children in tow! Yes, delicious, but yes, expensive! What a trooper you are!

Enjoying your updates! Thanks for keeping us posted!


----------



## Nicki501

mrsabbott said:


> We are a rowdy bunch, not to mention accident prone, and the Melting Pot is a nice restaurant. Let's just say it was fortunate we didn't manage to catch anything on fire and the staff breathed a collective sigh of relief when we walked out the door.



ROTFL.  Sounds like my brood when we go to a restaurant.  We always give "the talk" before we walk into restaurants.  It doesn't always work! I am glad you are having a great time.  Looking forward to your review.


----------



## mrsabbott

So, the drive here was long. We opted for subway for lunch, thinking it would be a quick stop and we could get back on the road. It was busy and 30 minutes quickly turned into an hour. We also had to make quite a few bathroom stops and we arrived a good two hours later then we thought we would. 

Bahama Bay is a very pretty resort. It looks more like an apartment complex. I guess that is kind of what it is in a way. Check in was quick and easy. Our place is on the bottom floor. 3 bedrooms and 2 baths. We are close to the pools and the splash park but we haven't had a chance to go yet.

After checking in, we unloaded our stuff and unpacked. I snapped a few pics on my iPad. I cannot, for the life of me, figure out how to post them on here from my iPad, which I am using right now. I may have to go back and add pics later. Sorry!

We were famished, so we went to Chuy's Mexican restaurant for dinner. I love that place and it has been a year since I last ate there. He environment there is so awesome.. It makes hubs uncomfortable because it is too chaotic and doesn't match.. But he fact that it doesn't match is what makes it work.. Just goes to show how two opposites can attract! Hubs likes things monochromatic and orderly and I like a little chaos! The kids all love Chuy's and it is definitely more our speed.. Punky said that this was the best vacation we've ever had. And it has barely started! 

After a quick stop for milk, creamer, and a toothbrush, we are back at the resort. Kids are all asleep. Tried to get Buds to sleep in a bed but he wouldn't do it. Set up the portable crib and he was trying to climb in. Whatever makes him comfy enough to sleep works for me!

It's late but I am a little wound up! Harry potter is on tv and we are going there tomorrow!!! Got to set my alarm though.. Don't want to oversleep!


----------



## Lynne G

Glad to hear you made it to your resort.  Hope the rain moved out for your stay.  We have had rain and more rain.  


Restaurant sounded like good food. We like Mexican, so that one may be on our list of maybe try.  


Have a great day in the parks!


----------



## chs27

Have a wonderful time!


----------



## mrsabbott

I am officially a Universal Studios fan! We didn't even get all the way around!! So much to see and do, I wish we could spent two weeks straight just take our time soaking it all in!


----------



## Heluvsme

Yay!!!! Oh you're having such a great time!!  I am even more excited now for my upcoming trip!!!!

We are watching HP too!!


----------



## erinsmom03

Can't wait to hear more! 

We are going to Universal for the first time in 18 days! Very nervous, we love WDW and know it very well. I am a planner, too, and I just feel unprepared! But DD an I are big Harry Potter fans, and I am sure it will be great.  Looking forward to more about your time there!


----------



## mrsabbott

I wish I could upload pics or that my phone would take a decent picture! I am hesitant to start a real trip report without pictures! 

A few tips.. Getting to WWoHP first thing really is a must! Also, having the bright idea to go back by at the end of the day to purchase a ton of Honeydukes candy so you don't have to lug it around all day Is the SAME bright idea half the other people have too! Talk about CROWDED!

Forbidden Journey is kinda scary.. Not in a roller coaster kind of scary but in a nightmare inducing monster kinda scary.. Just sayin, if your child loves puppies, fluffy things, and claims that "Happy" by Pharrell Williams is her most favoritest song ever and all she wants is a stuffed unicorn like on Despicable Me... then Forbidden Journey MIGHT be a little to dark for her.


----------



## macraven

mrsabbott said:


> A few tips.. Getting to WWoHP first thing really is a must! Also, having the bright idea to go back by at the end of the day to purchase a ton of Honeydukes candy so you don't have to lug it around all day Is the SAME bright idea half the other people have too! Talk about CROWDED!



_in case you plan to do more shopping on this trip, buy the items in the park store but have it sent to the front of the park.
just tell the TM when you are rung up at the register.

you will be able to pick up the merchandise/candy at the front store when you are ready to leave the park for the day.

it's a free service for all park guests._


----------



## mrsabbott

macraven said:


> in case you plan to do more shopping on this trip, buy the items in the park store but have it sent to the front of the park. just tell the TM when you are rung up at the register.  you will be able to pick up the merchandise/candy at the front store when you are ready to leave the park for the day.  it's a free service for all park guests.


  I had no idea!! Good to know! Thank you! We are going back on Tuesday, so we may take advantage of that. 

 Traffic nearly did my husband in yesterday. It took us an hour to go a mile and a half. I'm not exaggerating! Looking for a back way to our hotel so that we can bypass the night time construction!

  I'm up early. Having a cup of coffee and wishing I had another Rock Cake!

We are visiting Sea World today. Last time we went, it was a very relaxed and laid back kind of day. The crowds were minimal. I am hoping that today will be the same. I will be honest, as awesome as Universal is, I am worn out!  I think it was because we were trying to get everything done in the time we have! I was serious when I said I wished we had two weeks straight to take it all in!


----------



## Heluvsme

Sea World Day!!!  I would so much rather be at Sea World today than here in Kentucky!!  Have a great time!!!

Did you stay up until closing yesterday?  

I'm always up early on vacation too, even when I want to sleep in, I rarely can.  I do like my time alone though, even if it's just for a half hour in the morning.  

Hope the weather's good!!


----------



## mrsabbott

Sea World was great! Perfect weather here!we did stay til closing yesterday and to almost closing today! Tomorrow is another Universal day.. We are going to visit Studios for a bit and then switch over to IofA see the rest of it and revisit a few more places. Wednesday will be more relaxed. We will need a break after these long days but the kids have been troopers! 

p.s. I have taken over 400 pictures so far!


----------



## plannermom

So glad to hear it is going well!  Just one more day of early rising and going for it.  Be sure to make the coffee strong tomorrow and let the kids get all sugared up on butterbeer!


----------



## mrsabbott

I am the early bird this morning. Coffee is going. It is nice and quiet. I am just so happy to be here! I have to say though, my old body is a little stiff! We have done a lot of walking and very little sitting. Probably a good thing because I have thrown my diet out the window for this vacation!  

 I am looking forward to returning to Universal today. We will do our owl post today. Kids are looking forward to Minion Mayhem. I want to check out the I Love Lucy tribute and Hubs doesn't want to miss the Blues Brothers. He may catch a roller coaster or two if the wait isn't too awful. Still, I of A has become our favorite. I might feel differently when Diagonal Alley opens though. Way impressed with Universal... Hope to come back in a couple of years.

Ok, so I've "planned" our day. We will get there early and head over to Despicable Me first thing. Only, it appears that Buds can't ride it.  after that, Hubs will go do his roller coaster while the kids and I visit the kid sized area for a few. Hubs can take Pod and Punky on the Mummy coaster. Boo will be to scared. She, Buds, and I will head to the Lucy tribute and we will all meet to take in either the 11a or 12n Blues Brothers show. After that, back to I of A!


----------



## mrsabbott

Well, slight change in plans. After showering, I went to wake the kids and they are so sound asleep... I don't care if we don't get there early today. We know what we want to see and do, so we will just wing it. I'm going to let them sleep in a little.


----------



## Lynne G

Such a good DM.  I let my kids sleep in at least one day of our vacation.  Time to recharge and not be up and about.  I am usually up way before my kids.  I just can't get off the early routine I have, whether on vacation or not.  

Have a great time at Universal!


----------



## RaisingTwoOnlies

mrsabbott said:


> Well, slight change in plans. After showering, I went to wake the kids and they are so sound asleep... I don't care if we don't get there early today. We know what we want to see and do, so we will just wing it. I'm going to let them sleep in a little.



Your day will most likely be much more enjoyable by doing this! Enjoy your day!!


----------



## mrsabbott

What a great day! We got to the parks about 9:30am. Let me say that Tuesday is THE day to go! We enjoyed today way more then Sunday! I will also say that we enjoyed Universal Studios more then expected! Two very different atmospheres but both enjoyable!

Long story short, we had an awesome time and want to go back ASAP!!

I've taken over 700 pictures! I'm glad we are having a quiet day tomorrow. I'm not setting my alarm, I am just going to wake up when I wake up! 

Downtown Disney and T-Rex Cafe tomorrow and then dinner and swimming at the resort in the evening. I can't believe our vacation is half over!


----------



## mrsabbott

Woke up at 7:15am, which is sleeping in for me. I am sitting outside on out little screened in patio having coffee and enjoying the peace and quiet! I am already planning our next vacation to Universal in my mind! Because of the generosity of so many, we have gotten to eat out and do more then we normally would have. I will admit that a vacation filled with good food is more enjoyable then one filled with PB&J, I will gladly eat simply the next time just to get an opportunity to return. 

I really wish I could upload pics and start my TR while it is bouncing around in my head, but I think it will be nice to go back and relive the memories once we get back home! 

Some thoughts.. I like having all the room that our resort/apartment offers. The fridge is nice but overall we haven't used the kitchen much. However, the washer and dryer has been invaluable! It's nice to throw a load in before we leave and switch it out when we get home. Much like I do at home when I work. I doubt we will afford to stay at a place like this again..

Also, there is this drive to squeeze as much fun as we can in.. Next trip I would love to take longer or maybe do less. Hubs and I both agree that we need more time to explore the parks.. Perhaps we should focus on just one fun thing instead of multiple. Not to say that we aren't super excited about Legoland and Wet & Wild.. But we are pretty exhausted! My body was so sore when I got back last night! I'm just too old for non stop fun!


----------



## Heluvsme

Don't ya love those few minutes before everyone else wakes up?  

I hear ya on either making it longer, or doing less.  When my kiddos were younger, we squeezed in everything we could because we didn't know when we'd get back.  Now that they're older (and WE are older) we have boiled down our vacations to a decent mixture of relaxing and going.  

I can't wait to hear about T-Rex.  We do Rainforest a lot, but have never done T-Rex.  I always thought the loudness of the dinosaurs would get on my nerves, but I'd love to try it sometime!

Legoland sounds like so much fun!!  We are originally from California, and many of our friends have gone there recently (because of the movie there have been a lot of promotional tickets, etc), and apparently at their resort, the elevators are AWESOME!!  You should You Tube them sometime, they're very cool to see.  My son, who has a You Tube channel dedicated to elevators and escalators rolleyes would absolutely LOVE seeing them.  I don't know if Florida's LEgoland has them or not.

Have a great rest of your trip!!


----------



## Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina

mrsabbott said:


> Sea World was great! Perfect weather here!we did stay til closing yesterday and to almost closing today! Tomorrow is another Universal day.. We are going to visit Studios for a bit and then switch over to IofA see the rest of it and revisit a few more places. Wednesday will be more relaxed. We will need a break after these long days but the kids have been troopers!
> 
> p.s. I have taken over 400 pictures so far!



We love SeaWorld too!!!  Its one of our favourite parks in Orlando  .  Glad you had a great time there.  



mrsabbott said:


> Some thoughts.. I like having all the room that our resort/apartment offers. The fridge is nice but overall we haven't used the kitchen much. However, the washer and dryer has been invaluable! It's nice to throw a load in before we leave and switch it out when we get home. Much like I do at home when I work. I doubt we will afford to stay at a place like this again.



You could always look into renting a timeshare, or a community like Windsor Hills (a townhouse rental with your own private splash pool, as well as a community pool with a waterslide).   Both options can be _way_ less than you would expect (and have laundry facilities....they are a must in our vacation accomodations as well!!! )  



mrsabbott said:


> Next trip I would love to take longer or maybe do less. Hubs and I both agree that we need more time to explore the parks.



That's what we find works best for us.  Less is more.   While each of our initial trips were go, go, go, we have (finally!)  found our happy balance between commando-style and relaxation (and taht balance is different for everyone).   You'll find your "balance" changes as your kiddos get older as well.


----------



## plannermom

I hope today's pace let you slow down a little, maybe even enjoy a pool, put your feet up?  It is hard to do so much in so short a time.  My entire lower body aches after a couple of days in the parks, but on the other hand, I sleep so well at night!  My feeling is always that I can sleep later, and I just keep adding caffeine as needed. 

I can't wait to see your pics and hear your thoughts on Universal when you get home.  Keep having fun!


----------



## mrsabbott

Yesterday was far more relaxed! Slept late. Had coffee on the porch. T-Rex Cafe was okay.. Kids adored it! Some family came over and we got to swim for a bit. I fell asleep watching a movie. 

Today, we are going to the water park and then to Medieval Times! Kids still don't know we are going there! Can't wait to surprise them!

Our vacation is almost over.. It has been an awesome week so far!


----------



## wendy3

Best. Report. Ever. Just found you today, so now I am all caught up. Let me add my "thank you" to your DH and entire family for your sacrifices for our country. You just sound so nice. I'm thrilled that you have the opportunity to take this trip. Now that I've subbed, I can continue to follow your adventures!


----------



## mrsabbott

wendy3 said:


> Best. Report. Ever. Just found you today, so now I am all caught up. Let me add my "thank you" to your DH and entire family for your sacrifices for our country. You just sound so nice. I'm thrilled that you have the opportunity to take this trip. Now that I've subbed, I can continue to follow your adventures!



Thank you!

Water park was fun, although I have discovered that applying 50 SPF sunscreen 3 times in a 4 hour period is not enough to keep this Momma from getting a nasty sunburn! 

Medieval Times was enjoyable and everyone loved it except the birthday girl who thought that the fighting was too scary. Wasn't Disneyfied enough for her. 

Today is our last day of vacation! We are going to Legoland today.


----------



## Heluvsme

Aw I'm sorry about the sunburn, today's sun and heat might really hurt. 

Enjoy Legoland, can't wait to hear about it!


----------



## mrsabbott

So, I think I mentioned before about a school that Hubs wants to go to that is in Orlando. It is 16 months long. We found out that tuition and stuff would be covered under his GI Bill. After being down here for a week and checking out the area, and talking with our family who lives down here, we are considering moving here next year. It would be short term, but how awesome would it be to be in Florida for longer then a week! Of course, we wouldn't be on vacation that whole time (I wish!) but still... To be able to take that trip to the beach on a weekend or to splurge and visit the parks without also having to splurge on hotel expenses also..

A lot would have to fall into place in the next year, but if The Lord opens the door you better believe we will take a flying leap through it! .  However, if that doesn't work, we do plan on coming back this way next spring break! Hubs has fallen in love with Universal also!


----------



## Lynne G

Woot!  My DH has no student loans because of the GI Bill.  
Glad to hear your vacation is going so well.   I hope you have a great day at Legoland.  The only one I've been to has been the one in California.  My kids were alot younger, and we all enjoyed the park.  Now, neither kid would be interested.  

Have a nice week-end. 

Oh, and Bessie has a friend.  My car is 7 years old and needed some repairs.  Lets just say it's a very expensive start to April.  Ugh.  But, what had to be done had to be done.  It was a very brutal winter on the car.


At least if you move to Florida, the winter's shouldn't be as cold.


----------



## plannermom

I'm so happy for you that you are having such a good time that you would consider relocating for school.  Sounds like a great opportunity, and then think of the Florida resident rates you could take advantage of!


----------



## mrsabbott

Oh no, Lynne! Car repairs are the worst! They really hit us hard this year. I will be driving Bessie forever just to justify the amount of work we put in her.. But I'm quite attached to her so that's okay. She did great on the trip. Not a spot of trouble out of her! I bought her a little gift at Downtown Disney... A Mike Wazowski thing that goes on the antenna!  I couldn't resist! 

Legoland was enjoyable yesterday, but it was hot and we were all pretty worn out. We didn't stay the whole day, but came back to the resort and had a pizza/movie night.

We check out today. I am so sad to leave, although I am missing my cats and dog.


----------



## chs27

We look forward to vacation for so long, then it's over in a blink of an eye...I'm at 22 days out...almost over.


----------



## mrsabbott

chs27 said:


> We look forward to vacation for so long, then it's over in a blink of an eye...I'm at 22 days out...almost over.



That last month before our trip flew by! Can't wait to hear all about it!


----------



## Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina

mrsabbott said:


> We check out today. I am so sad to leave, although I am missing my cats and dog.



Safe travels home  .

I miss my cat when we are away, too....and she is super annoyed when we walk through the door.  She always gives us a good tongue-lashing as she laps up some loving  .

Looking forward to seeing some of your favourite vacation photos once you get settled back in!


----------



## Heluvsme

Awwwww it's over .   I hope your trip home is safe and up eventful.


----------



## mrsabbott

We made it to our hotel in Atlanta. I must say, I think Georgia has the worst traffic! I-75 was backed up and there were signs posted that the right lane was closed three miles ahead. Several signs. It was so backed up and we'd already been stuck in traffic for so long, we detoured around a bit. When we got back on 75 a few miles down the road, we noticed it was the LEFT lane that was closed. Gee.. I wonder if that was the problem?  We thought we were past it, but then there was bad traffic for another 70 miles!!  At one point, we decided to get off 75 and go the back roads. I highly suggest it! Georgia is actually quite pretty! I think we may opt to stay off the interstate from now on!  I'm tired.. We are going to try to get an early start in the morning. Back to the real world (and waking up at 4:30a for work) on Monday.


----------



## plannermom

So sad it's over! Hope you have a nun eventful rest of the way home, then cheer yourself up by telling us all about it!


----------



## plannermom

plannermom said:


> So sad it's over! Hope you have a nun eventful rest of the way home, then cheer yourself up by telling us all about it!



Not sure how to edit my post, but that should say uneventful.  Though nun eventful sounds more interesting!


----------



## schumigirl

You`re home????

Glad you had such a great trip


----------



## mrsabbott

Yep, it was "nun eventful" the rest of the way home! LOL!  I will upload my pics after work tomorrow and get started on my trip report ASAP!


----------



## wendy3

Hurray!! I'm ready to


----------



## mrsabbott

I tried my hardest to get off work early on the Thursday that we left so that I would have at least a little time to get last minute stuff done.  However, it didn't happen.  I just knew that I was forgetting SOMETHING, but we managed to squeeze all our stuff into Bessie (I honestly think that our Suburban trunk isn't nearly as big as it seems to be) and get on the road ON TIME!  

Now, by on time, I mean by 3:30pm.. but to Hubs, that is considered LATE.  "Early is on time, on time is LATE!" he is always saying to me.. and this is why he is always setting our clocks 15 minutes fast.  Because I'm always LATE..  But you try getting yourself and 4 heathen children ready and somewhere on time!  I'm telling you, it is impossible.  So, the fact that we were in the car and on the road at exactly 3:30pm was a minor miracle.  

We stopped at a random Cracker Barrel for dinner.  What we thought would be an hour stop turned into a 2 hour one simply because it took them an hour just to bring our food.  It wasn't even all that busy.  I don't know what the deal was with that.  But we got our tummies full and Boo Bear nearly beat me at a game of checkers and we were on our way once again without buying anything from the gift shop area.. another minor miracle.

Now, I've driven through North Carolina before back when Hubs was in AIT at Ft. Jackson, SC.. but I've never stopped.  It is a pretty drive, but it was pitch dark by the time we arrived and Hubs didn't get to see any of the prettiness.  He drove most of the way and did comment on how hilly and curvy the roads were.  He apparently thought that they'd just blast straight through the mountains instead of going among them..   We arrived at the Country Inn & Suites (hotwire deal online) at about 1am or so..  I honestly don't remember other then it was really late and we were pooped!  

Unfortunately, there was some sort of mix up and, despite the fact that it clearly stated 2 adults and 3 children (the max allowed on hotwire) we were given a single, King room.  Yep.. just one bed.  No pull out couch, nothing.  Just one bed.  There wasn't another free room in the place, so the girls camped on the floor and we got a porta-crib for Buds.  We were too tired to care.  At least the room was spacious.

The next morning we got up and ate a really good breakfast (seriously, their continental breakfast is pretty awesome!) and headed towards Penske Racing Headquarters.  Hubs was in 7th heaven!  











He was so impressed with how clean their shop was!






The kids thought that getting close to the race cars were cool!






Hubs got to talking to the receptionist there and she encouraged him to turn in an application.. He says he didn't care what he did, he just wants to work for Penske!  LOL!  He said if he just spent all day emptying trash cans he'd be happy!  

We then went to the Nascar Hall of Fame.  It was about lunch time so we ate at Buffalo Wild Wings, which was connected to the museum.  I got a black bean burger which was good except the server got my order wrong and then took forever to bring back the missing toppings.  I don't remember what Hubs ordered.  The kids got a bunch of appetizers and shared them.  I gotta say, the fries were delicious but it could have just been that I haven't eaten fries in a long, long time.  

Now, I wasn't looking forward to the Nascar Hall of Fame.  I thought it would be boring and I would be spending my time trying to keep the kids from wreaking havoc upon the place.  But I have to say, it was pretty cool!  There were TONS of hands on activities for kids (of all ages, including adult sized children like Hubs!) to do!  I was quite impressed!!






There was an exhibit on women drivers there that the girls though was cool!
















I didn't know that the Hudson Hornet was REAL!






"Selfie" of me and the Hubs.

After the museum, we headed back to the hotel and asked if a different room had opened up.  None had, so we walked over to the Melting Pot for dinner.  

That was probably the most chaotic and stressful meal I had ever had in my life.  Trust me.. do NOT take kids under the age of 13 to the Melting Pot.  Just don't.  I had to drink two Mojitos to keep from having a break down.  It was yummy though.. what I got to enjoy of it anyways.  Hubs and I definitely want to go back one day when we are kid free.

We took the kids swimming at the hotel after dinner in hopes of wearing them out but they continued to bounce off the walls until they crashed.  We got up early the next morning, loaded up the car, had another delicious breakfast, and hit the road.  We stopped at a Starbucks for a cup of deliciousness and it was the nicest, most efficient one I'd ever been in.  

Some thoughts on North Carolina:

Now, I haven't visited the whole state, but I must say that I was impressed.  It seemed like they were building some sort of park in the middle of Charlotte, which would be a pretty addition to the city.  My favorite city I've ever visited is Indianapolis as far as user friendliness.. I'm unsure if Charlotte will have the same feel, but I got the impression they were trying to make it that way.  

The roads were well kept and clean.  And LANDSCAPED!!  Shopping centers were all very nice and well kept.  I seriously saw the nicest Goodwill and Dollar Tree in the WORLD!  The people seemed nice (our server at the Melting Pot was a saint!) and we got the impression that they take a lot of PRIDE in their area!  It reminded me of the St. Matthews area of Louisville.. very nice and upscale.. just without that element of snobbery.  I have no clue if the whole of North Carolina is like that, but I saw a DISTINCT difference when we travelled out of North Carolina and into South Carolina.  Gone were the landscaping and nice, clean roads.  Instead, it just seemed.. dingy.  Along the coast of Georgia it was kind of dingy as well.  I also got very sick of seeing nothing but pine trees, pine trees, and more pine trees.  Just flat land, garbage, and pine trees for miles.  Not the most enjoyable drive.

Tomorrow, I will upload more pics and get started on the Florida portion of my trip report!


----------



## chs27

Fantastic pictures! Thank you for sharing.


----------



## pixeegrl

*Rubs hands together Here we go!!! Can't wait for your TR!


----------



## Heluvsme

Great start!  

We have family in Charlotte and we love visiting there.....Wingate and Matthews to be exact.  
And strangely enough.... When we got married and moved out of California.... We moved to Louisville!!!  Lived in Douglas Hills, right next to St. Matthews!,
Co-inky-dink!!

Can't wait to read more!


----------



## BellaBaby

Your family is so adorable!! 

Looking forward to this TR!!


----------



## Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina

Great start to your report!  Looking forward to the next instalment!


----------



## mrsabbott

So, after driving through endless pine trees, we finally crossed the Florida state line.  It's kind of deceptive though.. you think to yourself, "We're in Florida!  We're almost there!!"  However, in actuality, you aren't almost there because you still have to drive through half the state to get to Orlando!  

We've never driven to Florida from this direction before.  It's a different route, normally, from our area to Florida and again from Louisiana to Florida..  We detoured to Charlotte and so we went an entirely different way.  We drove through, I think, St. Augustine and Daytona.  I believe we might have stopped outside Jacksonville for gas and it was kinda scary there.  It is hard for me to imagine Florida being scary, but it was.  There were bars on all the doors and windows.  People gave us some strange looks, but it could have been that we had that crazed look you get when you've been travelling in the car with 4 wild creatures.. I mean, children.  We still saw a TON of pine trees, but we were seeing more palm trees and that made me happy!  

We decided to NOT stop in a sit down restaurant and instead grab Subway that was connected to the gas station (not the one in Jacksonville though.. that place was creepy!) but it ended up being way crowded and took us an hour.  Hubs also developed a bladder the size of a pea and kept stopping to go to the restroom break.  Sorry, TMI..  

Long story short, I'm really glad that we didn't schedule anything for Saturday evening because it was close to 6pm by the time we arrived to check in!  A good 3 hours later then I wanted to be there.  Hubs did most of the driving, but I drove that last bit.  Thank goodness for Priscilla!  That is what I named our GPS.  She has a kind of prissy voice.  I feel like she secretly wants to call us all idiots and I'm pretty sure I detected some annoyance when she kept "recalculating"..  To be fair, I know a Priscilla in real life and she isn't prissy at all.  Hubs asked me, at some point in the trip, if I knew someone named Priscilla that I didn't like but I honestly just named the GPS Priscilla because she has a prissy voice.  Hubs also said that I should stop naming things, specifically the GPS, so he wouldn't feel so bad when he threw it out the window..  

Let me jump ahead a little bit here and say that while mapquest directions and a GPS are way handy.. bring some maps along.  Invest in a good atlas.  I love maps and atlases and things like that.  Hubs scoffed at me for wanting to bring them and I ended up leaving them at home and more then once, especially on the drive home, did we wish we had them.  Hubs even admitted that I WAS RIGHT.  It was a pretty momentous occasion.  So, if you are driving, bring maps.

Anyhoo, we arrived at Bahama Bay and my first thought was that it was BEAUTIFUL!!  I snapped a few pics:










(Notice the sign on the right.. it says that the spot is reserved for Wounded Warriors and has a purple heart on it.  We didn't park there the entire time and then, on the last day, Hubs realized that it was the parking spot reserved for OUR room.  Hubs doesn't have a purple heart, so he just assumed it didn't apply to him. We still didn't park there.)






I never did get a chance to really walk around and explore like I wanted.  There were some nice areas.  We had a nice pool right behind our place that was never very crowded and very clean.  There was another pool and a splash park by the main clubhouse.  I believe there was also a small lake and fishing dock somewhere on the property.  We found out later that one half of the resort is just vacation rentals and the other half are actual apartments!  

Here are some pics of the inside:































A few things to note:
Plenty of cups, plates, bowls, silverware, utensils, and cookware were provided.  There was also a coffee pot, toaster, microwave, and blender.  A few paper towels, plenty of toilet paper, trash bags/can, wash cloths, bath towels, and beach towels were also provided.  In closets we found a vacuum (but no broom or dustpan), high chair, and a portable crib.  There was also a washer and dryer.  There were NO cleaning supplies there at all.  None.  I brought laundry soap, dishwasher soap, and some Clorox wipes with me, along with a few garbage bags just in case.  I didn't think to bring potholders (not provided) or kitchen/dish towels (also not provided) but we made due.  It also never occurred to me to bring glass cleaner as the dining table is glass.  I used the Clorox wipes but they streaked pretty badly.

We didn't use the kitchen much.  Used the oven twice.  Used the fridge to keep stuff and was thankful that it had an ice maker.  Used the dishwasher a handful of times.  Used the washer and dryer daily!  

There were TONS of restaurants close by as well as a place on site that offered room service.  More on that later.  There was also a SUPER TARGET!  Oh, how I love Target!  A Super Target is almost like a dream come true.  I wish we had one close to us!  Strangely, it never occurred to me to buy some glass cleaner at Super Target until the last day.. and I was in there at least half a dozen times!  Oh well..

We checked in and unloaded our stuff.  The kids claimed their rooms, although it ended up changing.  We thought it would be a good opportunity for Buds to get over sleeping in a crib and start sleeping in a big boy bed.  Let's just say that, despite the fact that he was exhausted, he refused to sleep in the bed.  He was so happy when I finally gave up and pulled out the portable crib from the closet.  He kept saying, "That! Want that!" and practically climbed in there to go to bed.  I think he is just feeding into my denial that he's not a big boy but still a little baby..  The girls kind of went back and forth between the two rooms.. for all the talk of having their own room, no one wanted to take advantage of that and the sisters usually ended up all in the same room.  They secretly love one another..  Shh!!  Don't tell!  

After unpacking, we were all famished so we decided to eat out.  I spotted a Chuy's and wanted to eat there!  I LOOOVE Chuy's!  I love everything about it! The bright colors!  The eclectic, kitschy décor!  The food!  The funny t-shirts!  

I actually took a few pics but they turned out too dark, but we all had fun!  I highly recommend mixing their pico and the white sauce together and eating it on the chips.. and their Tres Leches cake is to DIE FOR!!  The closest Chuy's to us is an hour away.. probably a good thing too.  I'd eat there at least once a week if I could!

We went back to our resort and got ready for bed!  We planned to be at Universal bright and early the next day!  We turned on the TV and there was a Harry Potter marathon on.. I took it as a good omen and fell asleep with visions of butterbeer and rock cakes dancing in my head!!


----------



## Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina

mrsabbott said:


> Hubs also said that I should stop naming things, specifically the GPS, so he wouldn't feel so bad when he threw it out the window..
> 
> Anyhoo, we arrived at Bahama Bay and my first thought was that it was BEAUTIFUL!!



LOL, I totally hear you on the GPS frustrations!!!  Every time our super-polite "Samantha" *recalculates* in that oh-so-patronizing tone, DH threatens to send her flying  .  We tried her a few times with the various accents available, and while Australian Samantha or British Samantha made us giggle, we still wanted to beat her up a little  .

Bahama Bay looked fantastic!  Your villa was awesome.  Did you get any photos of the pool areas?


----------



## wendy3

Hurray, you made it!! Next update: Universal! Whoot!!


----------



## mrsabbott

I woke up early on Sunday and made some coffee.. I wanted to give myself some extra time to get ready.  I'm pretty sure I mentioned earlier how I was convinced that I forgot something and that morning, I realized what I had forgotten.  Men, just skip on down to the next paragraph.  Ladies, I'm sure you will completely understand what the big deal is.  I completely forgot to bring a light colored bra.  I remember washing them, I just forgot to pack them.  Not a good thing considering half my clothes require a light colored bra vs the brightly colored polka dotted or neon pink ones..  The outfit I had planned to wear on my first day at Universal was a bust.  So was about half the things I brought to wear.  Instead, I had to wear what I wanted to wear when we went to Downtown Disney..  I also forgot to pack pajamas, but that wasn't nearly as big a catastrophe.  And yes, I did plan my outfits to coordinate with each park.  Hubs thought I was a little nutty, but it makes sense to me.

Guys, it is safe to start reading again now.

I was pretty excited to finally visit "Harry Potter World" as our family has started calling it.  Now, I should mention here that one of the ONLY things that I was really looking forward to at Universal was the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  I did briefly look into the other areas of the parks, but WWofHP was the ONLY thing I cared about seeing.  It's not that I hadn't read good things about the Universal Parks or that I didn't believe those of y'all who'd been there before.. but I just couldn't fathom Universal being as over the top impressive like the Disney parks are.  I was excited about going and thankful for the opportunity to go, don't get me wrong, but mainly because I'd finally get to see "Harry Potter World".. and try butterbeer.

I'm also going to warn you that on this vacation I took over 900 pictures.  Not all of them are any good and a majority of them were of the WWofHP.  Strangely, I keep noticing all of the pics that I did NOT take of things and I can't fathom why.  I mean, 900 pics but not ONE pic of my first butterbeer, or my candy haul from Honeydukes, or of my girls and those doggone unicorns that they simply HAD to have or else they might DIE!!  

Anyhoo.. back to the TR.  I got myself ready and woke everyone else up so that I could get THEM ready.  The plan was to get there by rope drop.  Did I mention how we are always LATE??





Harry Potter, here we come!!

By the time we got there and parked, it was a little after 9am.  We had a confirmation number that we had to use to pick up our tickets (they were two day park to park tickets) but there was some confusion as to where to pick them up at.  I was in line at the ticket booth area and was actually the next in line when Hubs came and got me and said we needed to go over to this other place and that it would be "faster".  Turns out, I could have gotten our tickets where I was in line at and Hubs' way was NOT faster.  So, we actually entered the parks by around 9:40ish.  I was irritated slightly, but had a lovely chat with a woman who was waiting also and the kids were happy just to be standing outside the gates and the sun was shining and, well.. no need to sweat the small stuff, right?  So what if we wouldn't get to do Olivander's this time?  Right??

So, we booked it straight to WWofHP.. Actually, I kept stopping to take pics and ooh and aah over everything along the way.  Hubs got a little annoyed with me but everything was SO detailed and amazing!!  I couldn't help myself!  

And finally, I was THERE:






Sunday was CRAZY busy!!  I was expecting "mild" but it totally felt like "moderate" to me!!  The line to Olivander's was already long, so we headed towards The Three Broomsticks.  Hubs went to Honeydukes to get the Rock Cakes while I got the coffee and hot chocolates.  The pics I took inside Three Broomsticks didn't turn out well.  It was super cool in there though!  Apparently, my camera does best outside in bright sunlight.  

We went out back and had a quick breakfast.. The coffee was just so-so, but the Rock Cakes were super yummy!!  While eating, I noticed this sign:






We didn't see a sign saying we shouldn't feed the squirrels, which was a good thing since Buds found great joy in sharing some of his Rock Cake with one..

As it turns out, the whole family was able to ride Flight of the Hippogriff together!  I was surprised that Buds was allowed.  The wait time was about 30 minutes.  I've always been a little enamored with Hagrid's Hut in the books and movies!  I would totally live there!  






There was this sort of topsy turvy iron fencing around the ride that I liked a lot.  Hubs said he thought he could weld and make one and I said I wanted one just like it around our garden.  Did I take a picture of said fence?  Apparently not.  

The entire family, including Buds, enjoyed Hippogriff!  Very fun little coaster! We then headed on over to Hogwarts to ride Forbidden Journey.  

Now, I parked the stroller outside the castle and brought just my camera and wristlet with me.  We were planning on doing child swap anyways.  I stuck my camera in my pocket but had my wristlet on when it was my turn to ride and nothing was said.  I didn't think anything about it, but it is a big no-no to have any loose items on there I guess.  It was likely overlooked.  My wristlet was small enough that I could probably have shoved it in my pocket if I needed to.  I just didn't think about it..  So, just because I happened to do it doesn't mean that it is allowed.  When in doubt, use the lockers.  We never did, but they look pretty straightforward and easy.  We also didn't see a big line or crowds around the lockers.

Let me just say that the inside of the castle was amazing!  I took a TON of pictures.  Sadly, none of them really turned out well.  The attention to detail was awesome!  I LOOOVE how they did the talking paintings!  Once we got past the greenhouse waiting area, the castle was just so cool and interesting that the wait didn't seem like long at all!  I think it was 45 minutes, perhaps longer.  











I saw this sign down a random, roped off hallway in the castle:






None of these pics even begin to do it justice!  It was just so awesome!!  It was finally our turn and since Buds was too small, we chose the child swap option.  Buds, Pod, and I waited while Hubs, Punky, and Boo went on the ride first.

Now, let me just tell you how I will NOT be winning the Mom of the Year Award..  I knew that Forbidden Journey might be slightly scary.. I'd read about the dragons chasing you and stuff.  But Boo did so well on Hippogriff and she wanted to ride Forbidden Journey so badly that I just didn't think it would be too much for her.  I should have known better.  Boo is all hearts, flowers, rainbows, and fluffy bunnies..  Dragons, dementors, and giant spiders are just too much for her.  They came back and Hubs said, "Boo got a little scared."  I looked at her and her whole body was shaking and she couldn't speak.  She was absolutely terrified.  I've known for quite some time that she would not survive a zombie apocalypse but she barely survived the Forbidden Journey.  Some of the team members (cast members??) came over to make sure she was okay.  Once she was calm and talking again, Pod and I took our turn on the ride while Hubs consoled Boo with promises of candy or something.  

I'm going to be honest with you here.  I didn't care much for Forbidden Journey.  It was kind of cool, but about halfway through, I got motion sickness.  Seriously.  If I had already eaten lunch I probably wouldn't have been able to keep it down.  The last few moments of the ride were me trying not to hurl.  I barely remember a lot of it.  Pod and Punky absolutely LOVED it, but Boo and I had no desire to ride it again.  I would like to do the castle tour again sometime though.

On our way out, Hubs wanted to ride the Dragon Challenge.  Punky was absolutely convinced that she would grow the 2 inches needed to ride it and was sorely disappointed that she had not.  So, while he rode the coaster (which he absolutely loved and said was just awesome!!  I was still reeling from my Forbidden Journey experience and didn't attempt it.) the rest of us went and got some frozen Butterbeer.  Did I take a picture?  Of course not.  

I got mine in the souvenir mug, but the rest were just in the plastic cups.  I could not WAIT to take my first sip!  I'd been waiting AGES for this moment!

I was disappointed.

My first sip of frozen Butterbeer (using the straw provided) tasted like a semi-sweet, flat cream soda.  I tried it again.  Meh.  And again.  Meh.  I wanted to cry, I was so disappointed.    Hubs joined us and took a sip of his (straight from the cup) and said it as awesome!  Say what?  Really?  I took another sip through my straw.  Still meh..  

I didn't say anything because I thought surely I couldn't be the only person in the world that thought Butterbeer was a complete and utter disappointment.  Then, I noticed something.. once the white, frothy stuff (which I later tasted and it was ah-mazing!) started to melt and mix into the Butterbeer, it tasted pretty good.  The secret is to NOT use a straw.  Either drink it from the cup (where you get some of that frothy stuff mixed in with it) or wait until it's melted and mixed together.  The combination of tastes is what makes it good, I think.  

We left Harry Potter World and headed over towards Mythos.  I have to say, besides WWofHP, that area is my all time favorite themed area there!  I just loved it!  It was so pretty!  











It was lunch time and I wanted to see if we could still get a reservation (maybe for dinner if not lunch) at Mythos.  It was one of those places that I had read so much about and built up in my mind (sorta like the Butterbeer) that I was afraid I was going to be disappointed.  They told me that they had no more reservations open BUT that it would only be about a 30 minute wait for a table!    Heck, yeah!  So, they gave me that buzzy, light up, pager thingamabob and I let the family know what was up.  The kids were fascinated by this place:






There was no wait, apparently, so Hubs took the girls to check it out.  We had no idea what it was exactly, but we figured they'd be done before our table was ready and Hubs said to just text him if they weren't back yet.  Not even 5 minutes later, our table was ready.  Long story short, 45 minutes, 18 texts, and 20 phone calls later.. I ended up giving up our table (although they were so sweet to try and hold it for us despite the HUGE line of people waiting for a table at that point.  I wanted to simultaneously cry and throttle Hubs!  

Turns out, there was a slight wait to get into "Posieden's Fury".. And it isn't a ride exactly but a sort of tour.  A tour where they ask that you turn off your phone.  And once it starts you can't exactly exit out of there.  Had we known, they wouldn't have gone, although Pod and Punky thought it was the most awesomest thing EVER!  

Still, we no longer had a table ready and the only place I wanted to eat at any of the parks was Mythos.  Like I said, I'd totally built it up in my mind!  Hubs said to see how long the wait was, so I went back and explained to the worker there what happened.  He was a sweetheart and said he'd bump us up and give us the first big table available.  

We spent the next 20 minutes being absolutely fascinated with this duck:






No lie, our children were captivated by this duck.  One of the highlights of the entire day for them!  LOL!






It was swimming around in the above pond thing.. Hubs was the one to notice the face in it!  











They finally called us to our table and I thought the inside was just amazingly beautiful! 











Like I said, my camera seems to work best outside.

We ordered some sort of flatbread appetizer without the meat, that I didn't get a picture of.  It was delicious!  They also brought out some fresh baked bread and butter that was molded into the Universal logo.  I tried to get a pic of it but it didn't turn out.  Three of the kids got cheese pizzas and one ordered a pasta with garlic sauce.  The pizza's were awesome and the pasta was pretty tasty!  The kids all liked their food a lot!

Hubs got some sort of Mahi Mahi dish, I think..  He said it was amazingly delicious!






I ordered the Veggie Pad Thai.  It was, by far, the best I'd ever had!  I absolutely LOVED IT!!






Mythos has such a relaxing, cool atmosphere!  The servers and stuff were so sweet!  The food was amazing!  It not only met my expectations but it exceeded them!  Hubs was equally as impressed and he isn't one that impresses easily!  I can't recommend this place highly enough!

That said, I have a very fussy 2 year old that needs a bath and then tucked into bed..  I will have to finish up the rest of this another day!


----------



## mrsabbott

Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina said:


> LOL, I totally hear you on the GPS frustrations!!!  Every time our super-polite "Samantha" *recalculates* in that oh-so-patronizing tone, DH threatens to send her flying  .  We tried her a few times with the various accents available, and while Australian Samantha or British Samantha made us giggle, we still wanted to beat her up a little  .
> 
> Bahama Bay looked fantastic!  Your villa was awesome.  Did you get any photos of the pool areas?



LOL!  I'm so glad to know that I'm not the only one who names inanimate objects!  I wish Priscilla could have an Australian accent but we don't have that option.  

We only got to visit one pool, the one behind our place.  I didn't get any pics at all.  We did see the splash park and it looked awesome.  I'd planned to take a walk around and take more pics but it just never happened!  It was very clean though.  The only thing we didn't like was that they closed the pools at sundown.  I couldn't understand why, but then I noticed that there was no exterior lighting around the pools.


----------



## Heluvsme

Great update!!

I am looking forward to WWoHP like you, and like you I'm hoping to not have my hopes up too high.  I am a little worried about my husband's shoulders fitting into the seats on Forbidden Journey.  Fingers crossed, he wants to go on it so badly. 

Mythos is also my one place I want to eat.... Can't wait!!

Thanks for the update!


----------



## LuvEeyore

Great updates!!


----------



## mrsabbott

Just have a second to pop in! No time today for another update, but hopefully I can get one done tomorrow! I am really enjoying the process of reliving our trip through a trip report! 

Hubs and I were joking last night that we were going to just get up and go to Florida tomorrow instead of going to work/school! We were also dreaming about annual passes and how often we would use them if we had them!  I wonder if it would be possible to get tired of Universal? Is there such a thing as too much? ....Nah!


----------



## wendy3

mrsabbott said:


> Is there such a thing as too much? ....Nah!



My motto is "If it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing"


----------



## mrsabbott

Slumber party for the girls last night and lots of yard work today.. I will get back to my trip report ASAP! I brought some of the Florida sunshine home with me and I have to take advantage of it and get some stuff done!!


----------



## mrsabbott

Sorry that it has taken so long to get back to this TR..  Life has been a little crazy here lately and I took advantage of the nice weather to get some work done outside this weekend.. just in time for the snow.  89 one day, 38 the next..  Wouldn't be dealing with this kinda thing if we were in FLORIDA!!  

Anyhoo, I think I left off at our lunch at Mythos..  Which was amazing and I can't possibly recommend this place enough.  I wish I were there now..

We ate and the entire time Punky and Pod were talking about the Poseidon's Fury and how much they wanted me to see it.  It was a 30 minute wait at that point, so I said we would try to come back.  We headed over to the Dr. Seuss area because there was a lot more there that seemed Buds appropriate, plus Boo needed a BIG dose of happy.. She was still slightly subdued by the Forbidden Journey experience.  Actually, she thought Poseidon's Fury was a little on the scary side and didn't have much of a desire to see it again either.

I've got to say, I just LOVE the Dr. Seuss area.  We're all Seuss fans in our family, Hubs included.  I am just completely wowed by the theming in this area.. the whole park actually.  






The first thing we went to rode was the High in the Sky Seuss Trolley.  I was a little surprised that Buds wasn't allowed on this ride.  I measured him before we left and THOUGHT he was.. but after being allowed on Flight of the Hippogriff it was kind of a shock that he couldn't ride the Trolley.  I guess it wasn't as secure or something??  The girls and I waited in line for it while Hubs took Buds to look around at other stuff and to ride the CaroSeussel.  The line for this ride was super long but the ride itself was very cute.  It afforded some nice views but it wasn't something we wanted to ride again.  They did take pics of us and I got suckered into buying a couple of them.  They were cute, although $20 for 2 pictures seemed rather excessive to me.  But the girls really wanted them and they WERE cute and we WERE on vacation..  If I ever figure out how to get my printer to scan, I'll post them.  We opted to get stars put on our tummies (you'll know what I mean if you go ride it) but the story in the queue did give a nice little opportunity to discuss a life lesson with the girls.  






So, Hubs is texting me to hurry up and meet him (had to stop and get fresh batteries on the camera which is why I only have one from the Trolley ride).  We nearly missed getting to see The Cat in the Hat and Thing 1 and Thing 2.  Hubs got good pics on his phone of Buds (which I need to download) but I did get a couple with my camera!






We then rode One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish a couple of times, which was a favorite of the kids.   






The Caroseussel was super fun as well!  So cute!






Punky took this pic of Hubs and I while we were waiting:






After that, we rode the Cat in the Hat ride, which was a long wait but also a cute ride!  






I was so tempted to buy the kids Thing shirts.. something I wanted to get for them before we left but it didn't happen.  They were pretty pricey though and all I kept thinking was that I could get them done for much cheaper on my own.  I didn't get them, but I do think I will get them done.  Hubs thought I should buy some Grinch pajamas they had.. I wonder what he was trying to imply..  Hmmm..

So, Hubs REALLY wanted to ride the Hulk coaster, so we headed over to the Comic Book section of the park.  It was a long wait for Hulk.  An hour or something.  There was some sort of spinning ride that the girls wanted to go on.. I don't care for spinning rides.  I've apparently gotten wimpy in my old age.  Punky and Pod rode together (they spun that thing around fast!  Ugh!) while I rode with Boo and Buds.  Buds was big enough for that ride.  I concentrated the entire time on NOT hurling.  

After that, we grabbed a snack out of our snack bag and then went off to explore that area.  It was nicely done.  The kids saw a giant claw game where you could get a giant minion and just HAD to play it.  Their arcade there is ridiculously expensive!  And I'm sure you can guess that no minion was won..  We then walked on a bit and I got the girls a dippin' dots to split.  After that, Hubs texted me to let me know it was almost his turn so we headed over to the bridge under the coaster to wait for him.  He said that it was way fun!  
















It was getting pretty late at this point and I wanted to go to Honeydukes and get my candy and to try butterbeer again.  We made our way back to Harry Potter World and Hubs took the kids while I went into Honeydukes.  I think you will remember that I had the bright idea to wait until the end of the day to buy our candy.. and so did the rest of the park visitors.  It. Was. Packed.

There as a line to check out wrapping around the store.  I was so glad that I didn't have the kids in there with me.  I'll tell you something that really irked me though.  The groups of people (mainly teens, it looked like) who would just STAND there, talking.  Not looking at stuff, not shopping, not even discussing Harry Potter.  Nope, they were just standing in the middle of the aisles, in groups, talking about who said what to someone else.  Perhaps this makes me the crochety old person but, honestly, isn't it rude to take up space in an already crowded store and getting in the way of actual customers when you aren't even buying anything?  I don't know.  Maybe I was just grumpy after a long day.

I quickly grabbed a couple of Chocolate Frogs, a Bertie Botts, some Sherbert Lemons in the keepsake Honeyduke's jar, a Pumpkin Juice, and some Fizzing Whizbies.  I left Honeyduke's and went over to a cart selling key chains and picked one out for myself (a ticket for the Hogwarts Express).  After making my purchases, I met up with everyone and Hubs went to ride the other Dragon Challenge coaster.  I got in the LOOOOONG line to get a couple more Butterbeers.  The kids wanted to try Pumpkin Juice, so I bought a 2nd one at the Butterbeer cart.  

Now, I actually enjoyed the Butterbeer more the 2nd time around, now that I knew the trick of NOT drinking it right from the straw before it has a chance to blend.  The kids took a few drinks of the Pumpkin Juice and while they said they liked it, they weren't blown away.  I, however, REALLY enjoyed it!  It's like pumpkin pie in a bottle!  I kinda think that I MIGHT like it a little more then the Butterbeer..  






I texted Hubs (he was still in line) and let him know we were heading towards the front of the park.  Everything was closing and the girls were going to just DIE if they didn't get to buy the fuzzy unicorn stuffed animals they saw when we first got there.  We wouldn't let them buy them when we first arrived because we didn't want to lug them around.  It is the stuffed unicorn like the one in Despicable Me (which is probably one of our favorite movies now).  

Hubs met up with us as we were making our purchases.  He bought a thing of Pepper Imps and some Peppermint Toads.  The girls kept hugging and shaking those unicorns and saying, "IT'S SO FUZZY I WANNA DIE!!" as we made our way out of the park and to our car.  Did I get a picture?  Of course not.  
We also got a few pressed pennies along the way to commemorate the day!

We broke open the Peppermint Toads in the car and they were delicious!  We were all pretty hungry and decided to stop at Super Target on the way home to grab something to eat (and a light colored bra for me so that I could actually wear the clothes I brought with me).  Gosh, I love Super Target!  Not only did they have plenty of veggie maki rolls available, they had plenty of bras that are actually MY SIZE.. which the Target here doesn't have much of.  (Sorry, guys!  Pretend I didn't bring that up again!)  Got the kids a frozen pizza and we started towards the resort.

Unfortunately, there was some sort of construction happening on that road to our resort and it took nearly TWO HOURS to traverse maybe 3 miles.  It was too much for Hubs to handle.  He's got some PTSD issues and I think he had reached his limit with all the crowds and stuff at the park, so the traffic was the last straw and he had a bit of an outburst.  Thankfully, he doesn't have them often anymore and I can happily say he didn't have another one the rest of the week.  Once we finally made it back to the resort, he apologized to all of us.  The kids were too exhausted to eat and just wanted to go to bed.  Hubs and I ate and pretty much crashed right afterwards.  

The next day... Sea World!!


----------



## chs27

You are really good at this trip report thing. I'm tasting my vacation in the air now, just under two weeks away. Afternoons always bring with them the urge to snack. So, I'm ravenous after hearing of your trip to Honeydukes.


----------



## wendy3

What a wonderful day you had! We are going to Universal for the first time on June 1 (hope, hope, hoping that the new Diagon Alley is NOT open when we go so we just have to battle "normal" crowds, not "HP opening crowds"). We have been to SeaWorld, and it was fun, but we are a Disney family.

 Sounds like you enjoyed your nice weather. Unfortunately, it sounds like the snow we just had is heading your way. More snow coming for us this week. Big Sigh.

Looking forward to your next update!


----------



## plannermom

So happy to see your update tonight! The picture of the two of you is very nice, you look so relaxed. I didn't buy a thing in honey dukes when we went and it sounds like we will have to make up for that when we go next!  Sorry about the lousy traffic, not the best way to end the day.


----------



## Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina

Another great update!   Keep 'em coming!


----------



## Heluvsme

Great update!

That is a long day, I think I would have had an outburst too!

Glad to hear you liked Mythos, that is the one place I am really looking forward to!


----------



## pixeegrl

Did you guys get a chance to interact with the talking fountain? I hope so, the boys loved it! Stand back though if you don't want to get wet!


----------



## mrsabbott

pixeegrl said:


> Did you guys get a chance to interact with the talking fountain? I hope so, the boys loved it! Stand back though if you don't want to get wet!



We tried twice. The first time, it made no noise at all. The second time, it was snoring. Loudly. My girls and several other children were trying to get it to wake up. Punky even rallied the kids together.. "1...2...3... WAKE UP!!!"  

Nothing. 

So, we gave up and moved on.


----------



## LuvEeyore

Great update!!


----------



## mrsabbott

I woke up early enough to browse the internet and have a cup of coffee before we started getting ready.  I hadn't made many plans for this park and figured we would just wing it.  When we were there back in 2009, the sting ray area was closed and that was the one thing I remembered from visiting as a kid.. I was hoping we would get to do that and feed the dolphins again.. that was the extent of any plans.






We got ourselves sunscreened up in the parking lot.  The weather was just absolutely perfect!!  






I'm going to be honest with you.. we stopped and looked at the flamingos for quite some time.  I've always really liked flamingos.  I took a zillion pictures but, for your sake, I will only post one.






Aren't they cute?  They are so much pinker in Florida then they are at the zoo.. although, that could be due to diet.  Or perhaps there are more then one type, I'm not sure.  As much as I love them, I've never bothered to research them.  Hmm..  Perhaps I will google them later.  






These statues made me so happy and I want some EXACTLY like them for my garden.  I am completely serious.  Pretty sure Hubs would die if I started decorating with flamingoes wearing shoes..

So, Hubs wanted to ride Manta.  While he got in line (lines were quite short and the crowds were so-so.. definitely busier then when we visited before though) the kids and I looked around and they simply HAD to play a game.  It was like the duck pond game only I think instead of ducks they were turtles.  They had their own money and it was crazy expensive but they were insistent.  Punky, Pod, and Buds won stuffed cupcakes.  Yay.  Boo won a giant star fish.  Predictably, Punky tried to con Boo into trading but we nipped that one in the bud..  

So, now that we had stuffed animals to lug around the rest of the day, we waited for Hubs and he said Manta was a fun coaster.  It was made even more enjoyable by the screaming teenagers he rode with. He said the single rider line was walk on and I decided to give it a try.  I did fine on Hippogriff, and was hoping that I could handle larger coasters better then the spinning or simulated rides.

I will say this, Manta was kinda fun.. at first.   The angle was very different, like you are flying.  In the beginning, I enjoyed it but as it started corkscrewing and looping I got a little nauseous and was happy it was over.  Let's just say that I won't be joining the Quidditch team any time soon.

We then caught the dolphin show which was as awesome as I remembered!  Buds especially loved it!






We walked around a bit and came across the sting ray petting area and I was SO STOKED that it was open!!  We spent quite a bit of time in this area!  I'm telling you, some of those sting rays had personality!  I don't know how to explain it, but there was one big one that would sort of splash us when it would circle by and another that would move away from us..  Anyhoo, I was instantly transported back to my childhood and my kiddos loved it as much as I did!






The dolphin feeding area had a wait, and we were hungry so we decided to head over to where the eating areas were.  I had packed a snack bag and, of course, forgot it at the resort.    We passed by the Antartica Empire of the Penguins but it was a LONG line.. we never did make our way back to ride it, but I did snap this picture because I thought it was cool!






We went over to Sharks Underwater Grille and were debating on whether we should eat there.  When we first walked up, we were told reservations would be a 30 minute wait and it would take 2 hours to eat there..   There was still a lot we wanted to see and didn't exactly want to spend 2 hours eating.. not to mention that the prices were OUTRAGEOUS!  I mean, we would have easily spent $200 on one meal there.  We opted to NOT eat there in the end.  While Hubs and I discussed all this, the kids busied themselves by feeding sharks and sting rays.






We decided to instead eat at the Spice Mill which was packed.  They had veggie burgers and a make your own PB&J kids meal that sounded so cute, so we figured it would be the best bet for us to get an okay meal.  Hah!

Boo and I ordered veggie burgers and we were supposed to get an option of fruit, but they just automatically gave us fries.  That was fine, I guess.  After waiting so long in the cafeteria style line, I didn't care.  Of all the meals chosen, ours was the biggest bang for the buck.  The fries were really good and the veggie burger wasn't bad at all.  It was big and I couldn't believe Boo ate the entire thing.  Of course, she was too full to eat her fries which was a good thing as the rest of the food was puny and her sisters and brother shared the rest of her fries.

Hubs got an $8 grilled chicken salad thing and he said that McDonald's makes better tasting (not to mention larger) salads then this one.  The PB&J kids meals consisted of 2 slices of goldfish shaped bread, small tubes of PB&J, and 4 sickly looking strawberries.  We got an order of "decorate your own cookies" that were 4 to a bowl and the kids ate those for dessert.  We spent almost $80 on that food.  Hubs says he remembers the food not being very good and overpriced last time.  My advice?  Pack your own lunch.  I didn't take pics of the food, but trust me.. it was pitiful.






However, not far from the restaurant was Sea World's "pick a pearl" area.  It was actually kind of cool.  They had a glass enclosed area with oysters on the bottom and the divers would bring up a bunch to the top and let you choose.  The divers were very interactive with the kids, which was so cool!  Buds was in love.. 






She blew these air rings which the girls are STILL talking about!






Y'all know how excited I was to pick a pearl, but Punky kind of took over.  She got way into the whole thing and, although it is technically my pearl, she informed me that she is the "mother of the pearl" because she touched it first.. and that makes me the "grandmother of the pearl"..  






We got a 7mm white pearl.  I didn't get it set.. I am putting it up for another time.  I wasn't pressured into having it set, they just bagged it up and encouraged me to have it appraised by a jeweler.  Their store did have some beautiful jewelry for sale though.  

Hubs really wanted to ride Kraken, so the kids and I went off on our own.  We had a meeting place picked but we got turned around.  We instead viewed the dolphins:






And then we did Turtle Trek which the kids LOVED!!  We got to get up close to the sea turtles (and I can't find the pics I uploaded right now, so I will have to try and hunt those down and add later.. sorry!).  Eventually, you go into this dome and you put on 3D glasses and watch a movie from the perspective of a baby sea turtle's life.  It was so funny because Buds actually kept his glasses on and there were these jellyfish that looked like they were right there and he kept reaching out his arms to grab them!    There was one part with a crab that Boo thought was scary, so she didn't like that part of Turtle Trek very much.

Of course, you leave right by a gift shop and the kids wanted to buy stuff.  Buds, Boo, and Punky got little stuffed sea turtles.  Pod got a rubber, glow in the dark jellyfish.  Pod marches to the beat of her own drum!    Inside the gift shop was a giant picture of a sea turtle made out of jelly beans.  I took a pic of it but can't find it now.  I did find this pic of the landscaping outside of Turtle Trek which I thought was super awesome:






The kids were anxious to ride a ride, so we went over to Journey of Atlantis.  We met Hubs over there and he said he enjoyed Kraken.  I didn't even attempt it because I'm a big wimpy pants.  






I just noticed that it looks overcast and foreboding in this picture, but I don't even remember it being cloudy.  It didn't rain at all and the day was sunny and nice.  Hmm.. odd.

Anyhoo, I rode it first and let me say that this ride as super fun!  Although, Punky and Pod's excitement over it might have made it all the more fun.. the people riding with us sure got a kick out of them.  Boo kinda liked it, but also thought it was scary.  Buds was too small to ride, so he and Hubs watched us from a viewing spot that pretty much guarantees that you will get splashed.  Buds enjoyed splashing around in the puddles.  The kids got more wet standing at the viewing area then on the ride.  You know, they have something called "Family Dryers" and for $5 you can all stand in there and get dried off.  We didn't do that because there are several things that will dry you off for free.. they are called sunshine, air, and time.  

Punky and Pod wanted to ride again, so Hubs went with them this time while Boo, Buds, and I wandered off a bit and explored..  

I'm actually going to have to stop here.  I have to get dinner for the kiddos and I want to try and locate those missing pics.


----------



## gunit12210

we go on 4/29  a little worried 'bout food now, but @ least we have the free dining so cost won't hurt just the food quality I guess ...  

That "pearl lady" looks significantly more subdued than our "pearl lady" @ EPCOT Japan last year  My girls still impersonate her ...


----------



## mrsabbott

gunit12210 said:


> we go on 4/29  a little worried 'bout food now, but @ least we have the free dining so cost won't hurt just the food quality I guess ...    That "pearl lady" looks significantly more subdued than our "pearl lady" @ EPCOT Japan last year  My girls still impersonate her ...



As expensive as the food seemed to be, I think the free dining is the way to go. Now, there are several places to eat but I definitely wouldn't recommend spice mill. Maybe the other restaurants will be good.


----------



## mrsabbott

We are up and getting ready to go to church!  I found my missing pics, I guess they didn't get uploaded after all but are still on my memory card.  I will try and finish up Sea World sometime this afternoon.  

I just noticed that my ticker restarted!!  It says 11 months, 1 week, and 1 day until Hogwarts!!!  I'm just going to leave that up there because HOPEFULLY we will be going back next year!


----------



## Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina

mrsabbott said:


> My advice?  Pack your own lunch.  I didn't take pics of the food, but trust me.. it was pitiful.



Aw, I am sorry you had poor luck at Spice Mill.  We have always really, really enjoyed the food at SW (far more than Disney and Universals counter service) but admittedly, we havent tried Spice Mill yet.  Maybe we wont now  .

Just an FYI to anyone else reading....SW has pretty strict policies about food coming into the park.  If you do choose to pack your own lunch, you have to eat it outside the park (it cant be brought in with you).



gunit12210 said:


> we go on 4/29  a little worried 'bout food now, but @ least we have the free dining so cost won't hurt just the food quality I guess ...



I would not worry about the food at SW....while mrsabbott and her family were definitely disappointed, I like to hope that their experience was an exception.  We have had excellent meals at Voyageurs (our familys favourite), the SeaFire Inn, and Mango Joes.  And you will LOVE the free dining!!  Its so nice being truly unlimited from breakfast right through to park close!


----------



## mrsabbott

Life has been a bit crazy lately... I will finish this one day very soon!


----------



## plannermom

Mrs. Abbott, I was so excited to see a post from you!  I will keep checking and know that you have readers out here!  Hope all is well.


----------



## mrsabbott

My apologies for taking so long!  I'm afraid life has gotten a little crazy here at the Abbott house!    We've had some long overdue projects that we've been working on with the nice weather and all.  Work has been hectic as well as the kids' after school stuff.. 

Anyhoo!!  Here is the rest of my Sea World report:

I found my missing Turtle Trek pics, so I will share those first.. We really liked that exhibit so much!  I think that the kids, Buds especially, being so INTO it made it the most enjoyable!  Buds still carries around his little turtle he got at the gift shop there!  He especially likes making it kiss people.. I never knew sea turtles were so affectionate!  











This is apparently the only male sea turtle they have at the park.  It is a different type of turtle then the ones at the tank.  The girls were convinced that he was a statue because he was so still.  Turtles apparently nap.. a lot.  






This is such a perfect example of my kids.. notice the girls posing so nicely (they just HAD to touch the statue which I'm fairly certain wasn't allowed) and Buds wouldn't turn around because he just HAD to try and touch it too!  






And here is the turtle picture made out of jelly belly's that was in the gift shop.  I'm always impressed by people who creatively use food to make art.. I could never do that.  I'd just eat the jelly beans.  Jelly Belly's are my favorite!  






Okay, so I have to say that Sea World was beautifully landscaped!  I mean, it is just gorgeous!  If I lived in Florida, I would want my house landscaped like Sea World.. complete with giant, shoe wearing flamingo statues and a waterfall just like this one:






So, Hubs was taking the two older girls on the water ride again, so Boo, Buds, and I wandered towards the kids play area.  That was our rendezvous point and where we were going to end our day at Sea World!  

We wandered past the flamingos again and I couldn't resist taking a zillion more pictures and wondering if it was illegal to have one as a pet and if our dog would try to eat it.  This one was SO CLOSE that I could have reached out and touched it.  I wanted to, but didn't.  Part of me was afraid that they would be mean and attack.. like emus do.. (don't ask).






As we were walking, Buds kept wanting me to take pictures of stuff.. I think he caught me picture taking bug and would say, "Cheese it Momma! Take pitcher!" and point at stuff!  This was one that he was particularly excited about:






I don't know if it was the water or the random bird he was excited about.. but whatever it was, he was impressed.

Once again, I am blown away by Sea World's creative, whimsicle, yet elegant landscaping!  I don't understand why we don't have shrubs shaped like killer whales in our front yard.  I think I might have to fire our lawn care guy (ahem.. Hubs).  











So, we made it to the kid's play area and rode the carousel.  Afterwards, Hubs and the other girls met up with us.  There were a ton of small kid friendly rides and Buds was in 7th heaven!  

I took him on the train ride, as he is also a huge fan of trains, and I somehow took over the role as guardian for some random little boy.  I'd say he was an older three, not quite four year old.  He wanted to ride in the front with Buds, which was fine by me.. I was too big to fit in there and had to ride in the little car right behind him.  When the train stopped, he started to get off on the wrong side and no one stepped forward to stop him.. so I did.  The woman manning the ride thought he was with me and was shocked when I told her no!  I'm pretty sure she wouldn't have let him ride alone had she known.  Finally, an older guy walked up and the boy ran off to him, but I honestly think that guy had walked off and left that boy by himself on that ride!

I took the girls on a little roller coaster (which was puny compared to Hippogriff, and yet Buds was not allowed to ride it) and had the most wonderful conversation with the sweetest family.  Actually, come to think of it, I've had numerous pleasant conversations with random people on our vacation.  I tend to be more social then Hubs is and it blows his mind how I can possible strike up conversations with just anyone.. but it seems like it happened MORE while we were in Florida!  Pretty sure it is because it is such a happy place, you know?  People are happy to be there and it makes them more open and friendly!  

The roller coaster was "so awesome" according to Boo Bear, who I have come to believe that will be the one to sit the scarier rides out when our family goes to amusement parks in the future.  

Oh, random jellyfish hanging baskets in the kid area that I simply MUST have in my backyard.  I must.






After the roller coaster, we met up with Hubs and Buds.. they were watching these performers who were so cool!  They played drums and danced and stuff!  Buds was way into it!!  We only caught the last few minutes of the performance, but I was pretty into it myself!  






At this point, we started heading back to the front of the park to leave when we remembered that we hadn't fed the dolphins!  So we rushed over there only to miss the last feeding.. it was closed.    I was pretty bummed, but I was worried about Pod being disappointed because she had really wanted to do it!  She took it well though, and said she was happy she got to pet sting rays and feed sharks.  

We didn't get to do everything there.. it seemed like we missed some of the other shows by just a few minutes and a few of the things had a long wait that we didn't want to deal with.  Honestly, I didn't plan out our day hardly at all.. we just sort of played it by ear.  Perhaps if I had planned it better and did more research, we would have been able to do more and maybe had a more enjoyable lunch!    We had a GREAT time, but I think we need to go back!  The kids and I loved Sea World and would go back in a heartbeat.  Hubs.. well, it isn't his favorite.  He enjoyed the roller coasters, but Sea World has that zoo vibe that he just isn't into.  Kids and I love zoos, but Hubs.. not so much.  

One sad thing about the day.  I lost my favorite sunglasses.  No clue what happened to them.  Sigh.  Gosh, I guess that just gave me an excuse to go back to SUPER TARGET!!  

We left Sea World and decided to have dinner at Bahama Breeze!  I've got to say, I was floored by how LATE things stayed open in Orlando!  Restaurants close by around 10pm here.. in Orlando they don't close until 1pm!!  I'm guessing it is because of the amusement parks and vacationers??  

Anyhoo, it was late but we were all hungry.  I gotta say, the food there was phenomenal!!  Hubs got the Jamaican Jerk Chicken that he said was outta this world!  I got a veggie sandwich that was to die for!  Their spinach dip was delicious and the kids said their mac n' cheese and lemonade was the best they ever had!  I ordered a drink called a Zombie and it was super good, although I was a little woozy afterwards because it was STRONG!  Highly recommend this place!  It is a chain and there was one in Louisville, but sadly it closed down..    Yet another reason we should go back to Florida.. we'll just add that to the list!

Poor Boo Bear fell asleep at the table, so we left as quickly as we could.  The kids literally fell into bed half asleep!  Hubs and I were pretty exhausted ourselves!  

We were looking forward to going back to Universal the next day though!!


----------



## Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina

Loved this latest SW instalment, the photos in particular.  Great job  .


----------



## plannermom

Thanks for the update!

Now I can't wait for the post trip report update with all your new landscaping features


----------



## wendy3

Hurray for an update!! We enjoyed SeaWorld, too, but we are a Disney family. Plus, I have a little problem with making animals do "tricks" to entertain us. Altho I seem to have no problem asking our dogs to perform (speak, shake, roll over, close the door, etc). 

We are taking a day away from Disney this upcoming trip to go to Universal. I'm hoping Diagon Alley doesn't open before we get there so that we can manage the crowds. I'm enjoying learning about it from your trip!  Looking forward to your next update!


----------



## mrsabbott

We were all happy to be heading back to Universal, HOWEVER it was because we couldn't wait to get back to I of A and Harry Potter World!  The plan was to head to Studios and hit a couple of highlights, then leave and walk over to the other side.  I just didn't think we would enjoy Studios all that much.

I was wrong.






We go there a little after rope drop.  It was imperative that I stop at Starbucks and get a cup of deliciousness to get me going that morning!  It had been a busy few days and I was a little sluggish!  That is Hubs, Pod, and Punky in the pic.  Note the camelback on Hubs.  We both have them and usually take them anytime we go on a daytrip somewhere.  Filled with ice water, first aid kit, sunscreen, etc..  A must have!  Admittedly, I usually stuck mine in the basket of the stroller.  






So, Despicable Me was the first thing we saw upon entering.  That is probably one of our new favorite movies now!  We still need to see the 2nd one!  I had read on here somewhere that you should do Minion Mayhem first thing to avoid long lines as it is a popular ride.  And so we did.  It was already a 30 minute wait when we got in line, although I think it might have been closer to 40 by the time it was actually our turn.






Boo Bear just cracks me up!  She is such a little diva sometimes and I have no idea where she gets it from!  






Anyhoo, we were about 20 minutes into the line when I had to go to the bathroom..  all that coffee, you know.  But I didn't know where one was or to lose my place in line so I decided to just suffer.  The inside of Gru's house was so doggone cute but the pics didn't come out very well.  Finally, it was our turn to go in and Boo Bear looked around and realized it was a 4D motion ride and started crying!

Now, she's seen Despicable Me several times now and loved it.  But her last experience with 4D type rides (Forbidden Journey) and 3D glasses (Turtle Trek and the scary crab) had left a bad taste in her mouth!  She got panicked and said she didn't really want to become a minion!  For a second, I thought we would have to leave but after assuring her that it wasn't scary and that we wouldn't REALLY turn into minions she decided to give it a try.

It was a super cute and funny ride.  Boo Bear actually enjoyed it.  But I ended up getting nauseous towards the end.  Ick.  I'm telling you, I am wimpy, wimpy, wimpy!!  BTW.. they have seats that don't move and Hubs and Buds sat in those.  Hubs wanted to sit in the moving seats but Buds was on an "I want Daddy" kick that morning.  

Nature was calling us, and there was a crowd in the minion dance party room, so we left quickly and headed towards the nearest restrooms.  We crossed this field type thing with fake grass that the kids were fascinated by.  It was decided that we needed that kind of grass for our yard.  It would never die, turn brown, get weedy, need mowing..  So, add that to our future landscaping plans!  

Good golly, it was HOT that day too!  Hottest day since we'd been there.  I wasn't complaining, mind you.  Just an observation.  Looking back, it wasn't even all that hot.. in the 80's and not all that humid.  But we weren't used to that kind of warmth with the winter we'd been having.

Punky and Pod were thrilled to find out that they were tall enough to ride the Rip Ride Rockit Coaster, so they went off with Hubs to get in line.  The rest of us wandered over to a little cart selling goodies.  Buds hadn't had much breakfast (he was the last to wake up that morning) so being the Mom Of The Year that I am, I fed him giant soft pretzels and churros!  They were 2 for $6, which was pretty reasonable.  They were also fresh and huge!  The 3 of us shared them and I noticed the I Love Lucy Tribute that I was super excited about.  






Please note the new sunglasses!  I made Hubs stop at Super Target on the way so I could buy a pair.  He told me I had 10 minutes or he'd leave without me.  I didn't believe him because if I wasn't there then HE would have to change Bud's pull ups and we all know he avoids that like the plague.  Needless to say, I managed to try on about 50 pairs before deciding on these.  They weren't my favorite purple ones, but they've since grown on me.  






Anyhoo, I was captivated by the Lucy Tribute!  SO MUCH cool memorabilia!!  Thankfully, the kids were occupied with stuffing their faces with pretzel and churro and I was able to take in most of it!  






The kids started getting antsy, so I walked to the gift shop area and purchased myself a magnet and travel mug!    Hubs texted me and we met outside.  He was way stoked that we saw this:






We went to get closer but they drove off.. I think they were doing a show somewhere that we hoped to catch later.  We then saw Scooby Doo, which thrilled our kids to pieces!  Huge Scooby fans here, so we got a family picture!






There was some sort of parade starting up the road, but Hubs said that there was a magic show starting and the kids opted to see that instead.  There was a sign up that said no pictures allowed, so I didn't take any.  It was actually more of a sales pitch to buy their magic sets.  I got to say though, it was pretty cool and there were a couple of things I wouldn't have mind getting if they weren't so expensive.  

We headed back out and the parade was over.  But there were roller skating fish and spongebob.  Now, we aren't spongebob fans at all so he didn't register with Buds at all.. but those roller skating fish!  He thought they were the bees knees!!











You know, Hollywood Studios has a completely different feel to it.. but I REALLY liked it!  A lot!  It also wasn't very crowded.  I thought the long lines at Minion Mayhem was an indicator of the park's busyness, however that was the only thing that was slightly crowded!  
















We headed over to the Woody Woodpecker Kidzone so Buds could ride a few things.  We did the little roller coaster, which was cute.  Punky refused to do the ET Adventure ride (I completely traumatized her with that movie.. Mom of the Year, remember?) but by then, they saw the Fievel's Playland and that was all she wrote!











We spent a LONG time in this area.  The kids didn't want to leave!  There was some sort of water ride thing that they rode over and over and over again.  Most of the time we were there it wasn't even a wait to ride!  We never did make it to the Curious George area and we missed the Animal Actor's show.  It was all about Fievel!  






By the way, I totally want one of these airstream's in my backyard.  Right next to the flamingos.  

We decided to make our way around the rest of the park.  Hubs got super excited when he was "Doc" and the Delorean from Back to the Future!






Hubs and I grew up on the Simpsons.  I enjoyed the show (and I totally can't believe my parents let me watch it.. what on earth were they thinking??) but didn't have a HUGE desire to spend much time there.  However, it was amazingly done!  






We didn't stop to get a donut and now I wish we had!  However, Hubs DID have to try Duff Beer!






He said it was good!  The girls were getting kinda tired and it felt even hotter then before.  






I'm going to stop here because I think the kids are waging war against one another in the kitchen!  So.. to  be continued!


----------



## Heluvsme

Great update!  It's really hitting me how much I DON'T know about UO and I of A.  I take the 4 Disney World parks for granted--- my internal map no longer needs to ask "Where are we and where are we going?" I just know after all these years, where to go, what to do, etc.  And as much as I've been researching online....I know it's just something we have to go and DO to get it.  

Loved the update!


----------



## mrsabbott

I didn't spend as much time researching US as much as I did IofA.  I knew we wanted to ride Despicable me and looked at a few of the kid friendly things there.. but I was so focused on IofA that I pretty much overlooked US.. We can't wait to go back and see it again!    I really liked it and would have loved to spent even more time there!!

Hubs and the girls LOVED Rockit!  I kind of wish I had been brave enough to try it (I may need to try and find a non-drowsy motion sickness medication or something to combat my wimpyness!) and there were several things that we would have explored more in depth if we had more time!  

Both parks have VERY different feels to them!  But while they were both very different, they were both wonderfully detailed!


----------



## mrsabbott

Staying home from work today. Going to try and go to the Dr. I have been feeling bad off and on for a few weeks but figured it was just allergies or a virus. Lots of that sort of thing going around. But I spiked a fever last night and since I work with babies right now, I don't want to take any chances. I will try to upload the rest of my Universal pics today and finish that report. 

I caught Hubs looking up stuff about Diagon Alley and he was talking about next year!!  he's also motivated about moving to Orlando not this summer but next. His idea is to buy a condo that would be our "vacation home"! Lol! Not sure how that would work, but it is a nice idea!


----------



## Heluvsme

I hope you feel better!

Yay! For the possible next trip!!  

And Double yay for maybe moving to Orlando!!


----------



## mrsabbott

Okay, so after Hubs got his Duff beer, we decided to make our way around to the front of the park.  The kids were just going to DIE of heat exhaustion and we were all getting a little hungry as it was nearing lunch time.  Might I add that I do love the vibe that Studios gives off!  I like how you will be walking in New York one minute and through a New Orleans garden the next.  I can't wait to go back and spend an entire day just taking it all in!!  






As you can see, the crowds were MINIMAL!  Hubs was way more relaxed on this day.. apparently Tuesdays are the least crowded days to go!

As we made our way around, I saw THIS:






Let me tell you, I let out a SQUEAL and did a little dance!  I was so excited and so impressed with how HUGE it looks!  






The attention to detail was just amazing, but I'm coming to expect nothing less from Universal!  






At this point, Hubs and I were already talking about coming back.  We couldn't help but wonder if they would just allow us to LIVE there.. I mean, the buildings look so realistic you can just imagine there being apartments!!  Yeah, yeah, I know it isn't real, but you can see how easy it would be to just get caught up in it!  

Best of all, I got to see the Hogwarts Express!!!






I had looked online to see when the parks closed at it said 6pm on the website.  That seems SO EARLY, but I guess since it wasn't officially the height of Spring Break season yet and the crowds were so low, I didn't question it.  Hubs had really wanted to catch the Blues Brothers show, but the next one wasn't until around 3pm and we were anxious to get back over to IofA after lunch.  We found out much later that the park didn't close until 8pm.  Had we known, we would have lingered a little longer.  Oh well..

Now, Hubs is a big fan of Monsters, especially old monster movies so we thought we would give the Monster Café a try.  We walked in and saw that it was cafeteria style and, to be honest, we still had a bad taste in our mouths from the Spice Mill experience the day before.  We did have a little fun with the "electric chair" sitting out front though!
















I told them to act like they were being electrocuted and that is what I got!  LOL!  Didn't get one of Buds though.. poor little man was passed out in the stroller!  Considering he NEVER sleeps in the stroller, not even when he was a baby, you know he was worn out from all the fun we'd been having!

Anyhoo, Hubs looks at me and says, "If we're going to spend that much on lunch, we should go ahead and have a good meal someplace nicer."  So, I reply, "Do you want to try one of the restaurants at Citywalk?"  And HE said, "I wouldn't mind eating at Mythos again.."  

Have I mentioned that my Hubs is a SMART man who comes up with absolutely BRILLIANT ideas?  

So, we booked it to Islands of Adventure to see if we could manage to get in again at Mythos!

The kids were a little bit whiney and complainy until they realized we were going back to Mythos!  As we walked through the park, I was amazed at how EMPTY it was compared to Sunday!  Seriously, it was not busy at all!  We were able to get seated right away.  We were pretty famished by this time.  Most of the kiddos ordered the pasta.  Buds got the pizza.  Hubs got some kind of fish with wasabi mashed potatoes.  I got the pad thai again.  We ordered the flatbread again as an appetizer.  And, I decided to order myself a drink in order to get the souvenir mug.  

Let me tell you about this drink.. this MONSTER sized drink.  I don't remember what it was called, only that it was delicious.  And huge.  From the picture, I thought the cup would be sort of wine glass sized.  I could use this thing as a fish bowl.  I actually considered it briefly after we got home.  Anyhoo, halfway through this drink, I made Hubs share with me.  I believe my words were, "If you want me to be able to walk out of here, you better drink some of this!"  I'm not a big drinker, so I am a lightweight when it comes to alcohol, but they don't water this drink down and the glass was the size of my head!!  

Did I get a picture?  Of course not.  And I can't seem to find a picture online to illustrate.  But, needless to say, the food was consistently delicious and the drinks are yummy!  

So, we headed off towards Harry Potter World..  I thought maybe everyone was in that area of the park but, no.. it wasn't crowded at all!  Sweet!






Pod was obsessed with the Puking Pastilles display in the Zonko's window!  I was disappointed that Zonko's was closed and didn't know why until much later when I read an article saying that they are going to expand Honeydukes (smart!) and all the Zonko's stuff can be found at Weasley Wizarding Wheezes at Diagon Alley!  






I can't even begin to tell you how much I love Hogsmeade!  I loved it even more this time!  I was able to see even more details that I missed the first time!  Take time to really examine all the window displays!   We rode Hippogriff again, of course. The only coaster so far that didn't make me want to hurl and that didn't terrify Boo!  

We didn't linger too long because we wanted to explore the rest of the park that we had missed the first day.  So, we headed over to Jurrassic Park!






I'm afraid I'm going to have to stop again.  Got to get the kiddos in bed since they have school tomorrow!  To be continued!


----------



## mrsabbott

Let me back up just a little bit to our first Islands of Adventure day.  I had this idea that we would sit down with a couple of butterbeers in the owlery and I would make out postcards to friends and family and send them via owl post.  Weeellll... that didn't quite happen.  First of all, it was crowded that day.  There wasn't any place to sit down.  Second, SOMEONE (okay, it was me) forgot to bring the typed list of addresses to send postcards to.  So, I made sure to bring the list with me this time.  I was determined to send postcards this time.

Keep that little tidbit in mind for later.

So, we went to the Jurrasic park area and I thought it was great!  I always loved the first Jurrasic Park movie!  One of my favorites.  We haven't let the kids see it yet and, after experiencing the River Adventure ride, I KNOW that it is too scary for Boo Bear.






It was so hot and the kids couldn't wait to get wet, so Hubs took them on the water ride.  Buds wasn't tall enough, so he and I browsed the gift shop, waiting for them to get done.  I decided that I would go ahead and buy some postcards and start addressing them to save time.  This was assuming that there was a huge line for the ride and that I would have plenty of time.  I did not.  I made my purchase and maybe had 2 addressed when out they come.  Punky and Pod thought it was the greatest ride EVER.  Boo did not.  She had her face hidden in the ride picture.  

However, Boo was brave and decided that since she already knew what was going to happen that it wouldn't be so scary the 2nd time so she decided to ride on it again with me this time.  So, off we went and I thought it was a fun ride!  Buds would have totally loved it, although I don't know if he would have gotten scared at the end or not..  Anyhoo, OUR ride picture looked identical to the one with Hubs.. only Boo was hiding her face on me that time!  

I love palm trees!  










Lots of cool little details to see in each of the different parts of the park!  The landscaping is lovely.. I am continually amazed at the attention to detail there is and how you truly feel immersed in whatever theme there is!  

Anyhoo, there was actually a very long line for Pteradon Flyers so we didn't ride it.  We decided to head on over to the Toon Lagoon area of the park!  The first thing the kids wanted to do was ride Dudley Do Right's Ripsaw Falls!  Buds wasn't tall enough again, so he and Hubs wandered around while the girls and I went first!  






Let me tell you, that was the longest, most confusing line queue ever!  We just kept going and going and going...  But when we finally arrived at the ride it was walk on.  Boo was slightly nervous, but we all enjoyed it a lot and they couldn't wait to ride it again with Daddy!  











I took Buds and we started walking over to Me Ship, The Olive.  I figured he could play and climb for a bit since he didn't get to ride the last 2 rides we went on. He really enjoyed that area quite a bit and I discovered a lovely view of Mythos from the top level of the ship!  











The rest of the crew met up with us and we took turns riding Bilge Rat Barges, which the girls thought was the most fun ever!  On our first ride, this one gentleman was saying how he hoped he wouldn't get too soaked.  Poor guy, he shouldn't have said a word because he got the most wet out of any of us!!  He was a pretty good sport about it though and began laughing with the rest of us because, literally, EVERY TIME there was a big splash or water was dumped on us.. it hit him!  

The Toon Lagoon area had a TON of really cute photo ops!  I loved the comic strip bubbles but, unfortunately, the time of day made the lighting be kind of off on most of the pics.  This was my favorite one though:






This one was funny as well!





And I thought the girls were too cute in this one!





We decided to make our way back around to Harry Potter World one last time!


----------



## plannermom

Those comic strip bubble photo ops are so cute! Are there some that are cute for moms with kids? 

Thanks for keeping the story going!


----------



## Heluvsme

Great update!

A few years ago, at Kings Island in Cincinnati, we went on a water ride that left us so drenched---literally like we all took a 15 minute shower with all our clothes and shoes on---that we haven't been on one since. Well, except Splash Mtn, but that is barely a misting compared to the soaking we encountered.  I'm thinking if we do the water rides this summer it will be at the end or I will bring change of clothes/shoes for all of us.  

Your photos are great!


----------



## Hamilla

Lovely your fantastic review and such a super cute family we'll be there 8 weeks and so excited


----------



## mrsabbott

plannermom said:


> Those comic strip bubble photo ops are so cute! Are there some that are cute for moms with kids?
> 
> Thanks for keeping the story going!



They had a ton of different ones and each bubble had a different saying on each side.. I can't remember them all, but there was one that said, "I need a vacation from my vacation" or something like that!  The sun was right behind it though and we couldn't get a good pic.  Several were things like "Thinking of you" or "Wish you were here".  Punky was under one that said "Betty Boop, eat your heart out!"  

Heluvsme, they have those giant "family dryers" but I wasn't about to pay for those!  Honestly, it was pretty warm but we dried off quickly in the sun.  Just DON'T wear jean shorts!  LOL!  Punky and I had on jean shorts and they seemed to take forever to get dry!    That said, I did put a pair of flip flops in my camelback and put those on for the water rides!  

Hamilla, you guys are going to have SUCH a great time!!  I'm envious that you will get to experience Diagon Alley!  Take lots of pics!!


----------



## jsh1975

What is the big deal about the dark side? I am worried my kids won't want to leave to go over to DW. They will probably want to ride spiderman 100 times and all the other movie rides as well. I am just thankful Daigon Alley won't be open and they are too small for the other HP rode or I know we would never leave.


----------



## Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina

jsh1975 said:


> *What is the big deal about the dark side?* I am worried my kids won't want to leave to go over to DW. They will probably want to ride spiderman 100 times and all the other movie rides as well. I am just thankful Daigon Alley won't be open and they are too small for the other HP rode or I know we would never leave.



Being a Disney-specific board, I think you get a strangely skewed negative opinion here about the Universal and SeaWorld parks that is not as prevalent elsewhere.  There are many posters on the Dis that have such an emotional attachment to Disney that any competitor is seen as evil and inferior, even if they've never personally given them a try.

Disney has some great parks.  Universal has great parks.  SeaWorld has great parks.  Orlando, as a whole, is one incredible place to take your family....there really is a park for every interest, every age, and every stage.  I am betting your kiddos will love Universal as much as you think they will  .

mrsabott....great updates  . I  am still lovin' your report!


----------



## mrsabbott

jsh1975 said:


> What is the big deal about the dark side? I am worried my kids won't want to leave to go over to DW. They will probably want to ride spiderman 100 times and all the other movie rides as well. I am just thankful Daigon Alley won't be open and they are too small for the other HP rode or I know we would never leave.


  I will be honest with you, with the exception of he Harry Potter areas, I previously had no desire to go to Universal. I was dreaming of Disney  and that was it. I thought Disney was the best place for families and I still LOVE Disney! But my expectations were a little low for Universal. I expected it to be inferior somehow and, had we not been gifted tickets, we wouldn't have gone.  I was blown away by the Universal parks! The whole family was, even Buds! Tons for the entire family to do! It is a different vibe then the Disney parks.. But just as detailed and magical. We can't wait to go back again!   But, I am still dreaming of Disney..


----------



## kokas

Nice pics, Mrsabott!


----------



## mrsabbott

And so, we made our way back to WWofHP and when we passed by the Posieden's Fury area, Pod and Punky went on and on about how awesome it was and how I just needed to see it!  There was a wait until the next showing, so I said we would come back in a few.  

I'm trying to remember the order of events here... going by my pics, I think we went to the Owlery first.  






Remember about what I said earlier?  About the idea of sitting at my leisure and filling out postcards to send via owl post?  Yeah, that didn't happen.  This time, there were plenty of places to sit down, but we had so much we wanted to do one last time before the park closed..  I did purchase a few HP postcards and managed to send off a few via owl post.. but the majority of them were still in the camelback and didn't get filled out or mailed until later that week when we were back at the resort.  My suggestion?  Purchase postcards in advance (or on your first day) and address them at your hotel/resort one evening before going back.  Especially if you have several friends and family who you are wanting to send mail to.  






we all rode Hippogriff again.  I tried getting some pics of the ride, but had no luck!  Such a great little coaster, but I think maybe I love it so much because we could all ride it together and none of us got sick or scared on it!  Well, that and I just LOVE Hagrid's hut!!  Regardless, this was a family favorite!






After that, we noticed the Beauxbaton's were out!  It was the first show that I actually got to see!  Well, I got to see part of it.  Hubs was in some sort of a hurry, I think.  I can't remember why though..
















At this point, we split up.  Pod and Punky were adamant that I just HAD to see Posiedon's Fury and we simply HAD to go!  And so we did.  My honest opinion?  The cast member who lead the skit was amazing!  Very funny, very animated!  Was all about getting the people involved in the show!  He even pointed out Pod's twinkle toe shoes during one spot and the other staff made sure we had good spots up front for each of the rooms.  Also, I can see where the girls loved it!  It was a grand adventure that piqued their imaginations.  But all in all?  It was just okay.  I enjoyed the girls' excitement but don't have a desire to see it again.  






While we were doing that, Hubs took Buds and Boo to Olivanders.  There was, apparently, no wait to get it.  He said it was awesome.  I am jealous and am determined not to miss it the next time.  

We met back up and it was getting dark.  Pod and Punky wanted to do Forbidden Journey one last time but Boo didn't, so it was decided that we would ride Hippogriff one last time.






Unfortunately, they wouldn't let me on along with both Boo and Buds because they both needed to ride with an adult.  Boo was really sad and started crying.  Pretty sure the staff person felt about () this big..  but rules are rules.  

So, I told her we would go to Honeydukes and I would buy her some cotton candy (aka Candy Floss.. which is such an odd name as it makes me think of dental floss.. but whatever).  So, off we went..

Honeydukes was practically empty!  I took the opportunity to take my time really soaking up the atmosphere!











I got Boo her cotton candy and then got another chocolate frog!  I also took a look at their bakery section and they informed me that rock cakes were buy one get one free!    So, I got a couple of those, a cauldron cake, and some chocolate skeletons for the other of the kids!  

We left there and went to get a Butterbeer but were told it was closed.  

At this point, it was time to leave as the parks were closing.  We were really sad to leave, especially knowing that we wouldn't be coming back for a long, long time.  We were totally blown away by the parks!  My nervousness about there not being enough for the whole family to do was unfounded as there were several things that even Buds could enjoy!!  Hubs was completely won over and was talking about going back before we'd even made our way out of the park!!  

The Abbott family give both parks an enthusiastic 12 thumbs up!!  

Hubs and I both agree that, to really get to see and do everything, you need a good 4 days.. 2 in each park!  You can hit the highlights in 2 if the lines are short..  I have to say, the 2nd day we were there, we didn't feel like we were missing out by not having an express pass!  I do think that time of year as well as day of the week you go makes a big difference!  Once Diagon Alley settles down, I would recommend going on the off season and going on a Tuesday for sure!  Much more relaxing atmosphere without the crowds and several rides were either walk on or a very short wait!  

While my Universal/Sea World part of my trip is over.. I will continue on with the rest of our experiences just in case someone might be considering on of these outings on their trip!  We went to Downtown Disney/T-rex, Medieval Times, Wet n' Wild, and LEGOLAND..


----------



## Heluvsme

I can't wait to go!!  We are 27 days out and I have loved reading your report!!

Thanks for taking us along!!!


----------



## mrsabbott

After 3 long, adventurous park days, we decided to sleep in on Monday!  What that really meant was that I woke up at about 8am before everyone else did.  I decided to do what I'd been longing to do for quite some time..  have coffee outside on the little patio!  Up until then, I'd been drinking coffee while running around, trying to get myself and the kiddos ready for the day's adventures..  Today was going to be far more low key!

I was especially excited about my morning coffee and breakfast that morning!





A little side story here..  back when Hubs wasn't doing so well, he lost his temper and threw my most favorite coffee mug and broke it.  He felt bad about it, even going so far as trying to find one on ebay.  It was an old Winnie The Pooh mug that I'd had for several years.  Anyhoo, I was determined to get a new favorite mug while we were on vacation.  I figured I would "know" when I saw it, but my initial thought was to get a Marauder's Map mug where the footprints appear when hot liquid is inside.  However, it just didn't feel right to me.  I also saw a super cute Hedwig owl mug (and I do love owls!!) but it also didn't feel quite right!  

Nope.. this Marauder's Map mug felt perfect!  On the back it says, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good!"  I am almost certain that my coffee tastes better in this mug then the others!  And having a rock cake to go along with it.. DIVINE!  

Anyhoo, the plan for the day was to have lunch at T-Rex and then browse Downtown Disney for a little bit.  We had some Disney gift cards we had gotten for Christmas to spend.  I know that the girls were anxious to do the Build a Dinosaur thing at T-Rex.  Punky had been talking about it for months!

There was free parking at Downtown Disney!  We were also able to park very close.  Crowds seemed very low, especially for lunch time!  I didn't have reservations and was hoping that the wait wouldn't be too long!











It wasn't a long wait.  They said it would be 30 minutes, but it was only 15 minutes max.  We were seated in the underwater sea area.. right next to the tank that had bust a few weeks before.  Anyone remember that?  They didn't have the tank repaired yet, just had some sort of false fish tank wrap thingy around it.  

I've got to say, the theming was pretty cool!  The kids were awed by it all, especially when everything started moving!  I didn't get great pics, but this will give you an idea:











It wasn't super crowded, but it wasn't empty either.  No one thought a thing about us getting up and walking around to check it all out.  Our server was a pretty sweet lady!  They gave the kids little hats and coloring books to keep them occupied.  They also had a play area where they could "dig" up dinosaur bones!  I thought that was a nice idea!






I ordered a pasta dish and Hubs got some sort of chicken dish.  The kids got pizza and mac n' cheese.  I want to say there were some broccoli sides ordered as well.  Now, I will have to say that we might have gotten spoiled by eating lunch at Mythos twice.  One could even say that we might have gotten a little snobby about our food that week.  The food was just.. meh.  Not awful, but not great.  But, you are paying for the ambience, not the food.  Theming was awesome!  Yes, it was a little loud, but it was very cool as well!  The food was average.  

Now, we had just finished eating when Buds needed his pull up changed.  I swear, he is never going to potty train.  He is going to go to high school in pull ups, I just know it.    Anyhoo, I normally have a pull up and some wipes in my purse, but once we got to the bathroom I realized that I had left them in the camelback, back at the hotel.  I figured he would be okay for a few minutes sans pull up, so we went back to the table and Hubs said he would run out to the car and get the spare that I kept in there.  

I took the kids to the gift shop area so the girls could get their build a dinosaurs and that was when it all hit the fan.  Standing there in the middle of the gift shop, Buds peed his pants and threw a huge fit!  Right before Hubs got back with the spare pull up.  It was serious chaos!  

Long story short, it took forever, but I got Buds and his mess cleaned up and the kids got their dinosaurs and we got out of there before we could cause any more damage.  Later, when we were back at the resort, I realized that my gift card that I had saved and saved swagbucks for had been forgotten!  Of course!    Maybe we will use it for Rainforest the next time..

So, we walked around Downtown Disney for a little bit!  











There were a ton of neat photo ops all around!  





















We went into the world's largest Disney Store!  It was pretty amazing in there!  The girls had used their gift cards to buy their dinosaurs (they were able to be used at T-rex!) but I still had one.  I bought the kids books for their pressed penny collections and a Mike Wazowski thing to put on Bessie's antenna!  She'd done so well on our vacation that she deserved a souvenir too!  











We went over to Ghiradhelli, but ended up not getting anything.  They did give us a free sample of chocolate, which was yummy!  But I was still full from lunch.  I'm kind of regretting not getting an ice cream now.  






There was a huge Lego store which was pretty neat.  They had a thing where you could build your own Lego Droid that Hubs thought was cool.  I'm surprised he didn't buy one.  He was like a kid in there!  

We didn't get to stay long because we had plans to meet up with family back at the resort.  We were going to have dinner and swim that evening.  I ended up not getting a single pic of that visit either.   

We put the kids in bed after they left and then Hubs and I rented a movie and ordered room service.  They offer free movie rentals at a Redbox kind of thing there.  Kind of a cool feature!  Also, you could order delivery from the restaurant that was on property.  I think it was called Tradewinds.  Hubs didn't care for the lasagna we had and so he ordered some chicken tacos.  I got the parmesan fries appetizer to munch on.  Also got us a couple of key lime pies.  Food was good.  I fell asleep during the movie though.. I was still pretty exhausted!

The next day, the plan was to go to Wet n' Wild and Medieval Times!


----------



## chs27

Great update, Mrs. Abbott. Nothing fazed you. I would be a nervous wreck dealing with the pull up meltdown. You just go to the chocolate store. One child was a lot for me. You're my hero.


----------



## plannermom

Thanks for the great update! I felt the same way about Poseidon, one and done. Strangely that Suess ride in the sky (what is it called?), I would definitely do over.  I love your coffee mug and rock cake breakfast! That is my favorite time of every day.


----------



## mrsabbott

chs27 said:


> Great update, Mrs. Abbott. Nothing fazed you. I would be a nervous wreck dealing with the pull up meltdown. You just go to the chocolate store. One child was a lot for me. You're my hero.



LOL!  Thanks!  I work with children (not my own) on a daily basis and I laughingly call our house "the Madhouse" because there is always some kind of craziness going on around here!    I'm used to dealing with one crisis or another!


----------



## mrsabbott

We got to sleep in a little bit on Thursday morning since Wet n' Wild didn't open until 10am.  We had to stop at my beloved Super Target and pick up some more sunscreen since we were out.  A thing of sunscreen doesn't last very long with 6 of us!  If we lived in Florida, we would probably have to buy it by the case full!  The kids and I are pretty fair skinned!

I was finally going out in public in a bathing suit!  I haven't done that in too many years to count!  The kids were super excited about the waterpark!  I don't know that they have ever been to one before..






We got there with a few minutes to spare and we were able to get a shaded table right in front, near the wave pool.






Our initial plan was to grab a shaded spot by the splash park area, but it was closed!  Still, we had a good, easy to find spot as our home base.  I will be honest, I was nervous about us splitting up and one of the kids getting lost or something!  At first, I was dead set on us staying together, but that wasn't quite feasible.  Still, the girls did good with sticking together and/or coming to check in often with us and telling us where they would be.  

It also occurred to me after we arrived that I didn't bring towels.  Hubs went and paid an arm and a leg for a thin, generic beach towel that said "Florida" on it.  We all sunscreened up real good before checking out the waterpark! 

Anyhoo, we hit the wave pool area first.  I liked that they had life jackets readily available for the younger kids!  I didn't have any floaties or anything for Buds!  Mom of the year, remember?






Buds did great with sticking with us at all times.  No running off for him, thank goodness!  He loved the pool when there were no waves, but when the waves started he'd say, "Don't want it!" and we would have to leave!  Eventually, he got to where he would be in the very shallow end and let the waves hit it legs, but that was it.  The girls absolutely adored the wave pool!  We had to beg them to get out to try some water slides!

There was one area that had slides that Buds could ride on.  He went on one and was very stoic about it.  We tried one other and it was the same thing.. he didn't cry, but didn't want to go on it again.  The girls really enjoyed them though, especially when they realized they could ride without us!  

Hubs and I switched off with Buds a few times and I took Boo on one of the larger waterslides, which she thought was super fun!  Lines had picked up around noon, so the wait was longer.  There was a great view up top of Cabana Bay, which I think looks so cool!  






Around 1pm, they opened up the splash park and we headed over there.  Buds didn't like it when water fell on your head or splashed in your face (which is so odd because he pours water over his head in the bathtub all the time.. go figure.) but he liked the wading area.  Boo liked the splash park though.  






Pod had found a friend and they rode a few slides together (I chatted with the girl's mom.. they were vacationing from PA!) while Hubs took Punky over to try one of the BIG slides!  

This is so funny!  If you go up a set of stairs it branches off to a couple of different slide options.  There was one that shot straight down, which Punky said she wanted to do.  You get into some container thingy and cross your legs and arms and they just pull a lever and you drop.  Hubs kept saying, "We can go back, you don't have to do this one.." but she was determined!  She went first and, not wanting to be shown up by his 9 year old daughter, Hubs did it too!  Punky LOVED it but Hubs HATED it!!  LOL!  He said he closed his eyes and tensed up but Punky said she had her eyes opened and thought it was awesome!  











We brought snacks with us and didn't buy anything there other then the towel.  At 2pm, we headed back home because we wanted to shower before dinner.






(Pod's face cracks me up.. I have no idea what she was doing in this picture!)


----------



## Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina

Great waterpark write-up! 

We've done Blizzard Beach, Typhoon Lagoon and Aquatica, but have yet to visit Wet & Wild.  Its on our to-do list for a future trip  .    My guys are ride junkies but I'd be spending my day lounging in that wave pool.

Looks like you had perfectly sunny waterpark weather on the day of your visit!


----------

