A trip report? Ok! 3 resorts..were we nuts?! Day 9 added on 3/8/13 Update! - Complete

[supersuperwendy]

Day 6 June 19, 2012

The kids and I woke up to breakfast cooking by my dad once again. It was so nice to have them cooking for us! My parents plan was to lounge around SSR that day and my brother was possibly going to join them. I decided to take the kids to DHS. We had only stopped there for a short time on Phil's last day. We had a plan of certain things to see and to take our time. It was a beautiful morning (sunny, low 80s, breezy) and we were excited. The evening before DHS had EMH so I thought perhaps the park wouldn't be crowded in the morning. We arrived shortly after rope drop and started our day!

We checked the mobile magic app and saw that TSM still had fastpasses available so Lauren ran ahead to get some. We met up at the Great Movie Ride. We kindly asked the CM if we could have the western scene and she said yes! My kids had only ever seen the gangsters so they were super excited!



Here's a video of the western scene!
Great Movie Ride<----- click here!






After the great movie ride we checked the times guide and saw it was nearly show time for Beauty and the Beast!!

We walked over to the outdoor theater and parked the stroller. It looked like a huge crowd waiting to enter but once we got inside there were tons of great seats to pick from. We sat on the left side along the staircase and had a perfect view. None of us had ever watched this show. I was VERY excited!. While we waited for the show to start we had a nice chat with the family behind us. They didn't understand fastpass so after a quick explanation their teens ran and got RnR fastpasses. They were so thankful for our help! The show started and I honestly got chills! It was WONDERFUL. Leah sat so nicely and watched the entire thing which was great. I've heard rumors that this show may be removed...that would make me sad. If you've never taken the time to see it.. plan to see it on your next visit. I didn't take any photos or video so I'm posting a link to someone elses video... check it out!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKS-uvqp44g&feature=related


After beauty and the beast we stopped at Toluca Legs and got some turkey legs. The kids loved these! I wanted to take Leah to see Disney Junior Live on Stage so we went and sat down in line. We were the first people and quite early, but I didn't mind. Ashley stayed with me and Leah... Lauren and Darren went to ride Star Tours. Lauren took this picture of Darren with our hero!...



After a bit the line built up behind us and it was showtime! Since Leah was first in line they took us around to the doors and had her shout Meeska Mooska Mickey Mouse and the music started the doors opened! She was given the front and center space on the floor. (this was a mistake!). My poor baby couldn't see anything that was happening on stage. Now we know it's better to sit in the back of the theater.

We met back up with Lauren and Darren and grabbed some RnR fastpasses. There was still some time to kill before TSM so we got in line for the backlot tour. I hadn't ridden the tour in YEARS and I was honestly so dissapointed. Residential street was gone, the live narration was gone, the bulldog cafe was gone...blah.

Leah was getting hungry so I took her to The Studio Catering Company with Lauren; Ashley and Darren went to play at the HISTK playset. I tried the buffalo chicken sandwich and it was good!!!



It was just about time to use our fastpasses which were within the same hour so we had to hustle! Ashley and Lauren took two RnR and ran over there. Leah, Darren and I went to TSM. I knew Leah would love this since she loves all things Toy Story. She sat between us and just looked around the whole time. After the ride we exited and found the girls waiting for us! They LOVED Rock n Roller Coaster... it was the first time either had been on it, and the first time they went upside down on a roller coaster! They were all smiles!!! They were going to take Leah on TSM with them and Darren and I headed for RnR. He wasn't nervous at all and the line moved so fast!!! It was AMAZING!!! He loved it!!! We were going to meet the girls at the corner of sunset and hollywood. The sign for ToT was tempting though.. only 20 min standby! But... he said he had enough thrills for the day and we left. It was a wonderful day at Disney's Hollywood Studios!!

My mom was making dinner for us that night which was great!!! We headed back to Saratoga Springs!! The kids ate quickly and went to High Rock Springs Pool. There was fun stuff going on and they stayed for hours!!!

I got leah all bathed and put her to bed around 8. The kids returned soon after and we decided to go to MK which was open till midnight! My mom didn't mind keeping an ear out for Leah so the bigs kids and I went out for some fun!!!

They hadn't been in the new storybook circus so went there first. There was NO line for Dumbo so we went there!!! They had never been on it before!! Through the years when they were younger I never wanted to wait in line for it lol



It was fun and Storybook Circus looks great at night!!! We rode the tomorrowland speedway also and went to frontierland to ride Splash and BTMRR. Park closing came all too quickly!!!

We got back to SSR and my parents were in bed too. We quietly got ready for bed ourselves and drifted off to sleep!!!

It was a FABULOUS day with the kids and I loved every minute we spent together!!!!


next up... AK!!!

 

[supersuperwendy]

Day 7 started off pretty early again. My dad made breakfast for everyone and we all decided it was time to visit The Animal Kingdom! We hopped in my parents van and we were there in no time. We had missed rope drop by just a few minutes which was no problem because it wasn't crowded at all. Lauren was going to be our fastpass runner again so off she went to get safari fastpasses. We posed for a few pics at the front of the park....







Of course Leah wouldn't smile for the photographer!!!




Lauren snapped this on her way to the safari...




While Lauren was getting our safari fastpasses the rest of us headed to Expedition Everest. The park wasn't crowded so we decided to ride standby. My dad doesn't ride any roller coasters and my mom opted out so they took Leah for a walk. I took the older kids and they loved it. It was Darren's first time ever riding it and he really enjoyed it. I bought him a nice Expedition Everest T Shirt in the gift shop. My parents were waiting outside and said they would start walking to the safari with Leah and Darren. Lauren, Ashley and I ran to get Dinosaur fastpasses since our return window for the safari had just started. We got over there and dinoland was a ghost town! There really was no need to get fastpasses, but we debated it since we weren't sure what it would be like later in the afternoon. The CM standing there said here ya go and handed us fastpasses!!!! It was great so we planned to get Kali fastpasses instead. Lauren and Ashley dashed off to Kali and I walked to Harambe. My parents were there waiting and we got Leah a snack while we waited. They arrived within about 7 minutes and we got in line for the safari. The animals were mostly sleeping, but thats ok. The safari is always great!!!






After the safari we got Leah back into her stroller and my parents headed off with her. It was time for our Kali fastpasses!!! The big kids and I ran over to Kali and got on the ride in NO TIME. Of course I was the unlucky one to be backwards on the drop! I WAS DRENCHED!!! Good thing I carry a ziplock sandwich bag for my cell phone!!! I was getting hungry so I got a side of chicken fried rice at Yak n Yeti cafe to share with Darren and Ashley got egg rolls. Lauren really wanted Pizzafari. We got a text from my parents that they were at pizzafari..perfect!!! We walked over there, but didn't see them anywhere and of course my phone died!!! When I ordered her pizza I was saying how I was thirsty and the CM gave me a free coke!!! haha so sweet!!!
We sat down so she could eat then headed to Festival of the Lion King. We found my parents and got in line for the show. My parents had never watched it before and I was excited for them and Leah to see it. It was amazing as always!!! After the show we went into Dinoland. My parents found a table and parked themselves. The big kids and I went on Dinosaur and my dad took Leah on Triceratop Spin. Then the big kids rode Primevil Whirl. It was Wednesday and Lauren REALLY wanted to go to Welcome Home Wednesday. My parents were ready to leave so they took the other kids back to SSR to swim. Lauren and I should have had them drop us at the boardwalk, but silly us got in line for the bus. Oh my it took FOREVER!!! We got off at the Swan and RAN like crazy to atlantic dance. We were only a few minutes late and were still able to get our snack and drink. It was fun, I liked the new format. Lots of people got to play the games and receive pins. We were given nice black hats with the new logo on our way out. I asked the CM if I could have some for my kids who were swimming. She was sweet and said sure!! So I got hats for all of us!! Lauren and I decided to walk through Epcot and catch the SSR bus. Just as we reached Seabreeze Pointe it started to pour rain. We got out our ponchos and kept walking. It was miserable!!! We stopped in France for a coffee. It was nice to have some alone time with my oldest daughter!!! We passed a coffee stand that sold the same apple turnover as I had the day before so of course I had to have one!! We then braved the rain and stopped at Mouse Gear (our favorite store!). We then rode spaceship Earth and I ate my pastry! Finally we caught the bus back to SSR and it stopped raining. Ashley and Darren were at High Rock Spring and Leah was playing with her toys. We had leftovers for dinner. Its so great having a kitchen on vacation!! Leah had her bath and was in bed by 7:30. My dad and I took a ride to Publix for some more water and other things. I picked up some frozen pizzas to make the following night. The two of us got lost on our way back to the hotel. It was pretty funny and we kept laughing!!! We finally got back around the same time the kids came back from the pool. Everyone got showered and went to bed. It was a really wonderful day!!!



Next up.... DHS - Mama Melrose, MK and goodbyes!!!

 

[bobbiwoz]

I'm enjoying reading your report, Wendy!

Bobbi

 

[supersuperwendy]

I'm enjoying reading your report, Wendy!

Bobbi

Thanks for reading along Bobbi..!!!

 

[supersuperwendy]

Day 8 stated off again just like all the rest!! My dad made breakfast for everyone!!! I had no set agenda for that day at all. My parents said they really wanted to visit Hollywood Studios and my daughters wanted to check out Typhoon Lagoon. I had already been to DHS that week, but didn't mind seeing it again with my parents. The girls got ready and were heading out the door in no time for the waterpark!!! My son wanted to go with them, but I think he's too young so he had to stay with me.. he was mad lol

Here's a few pics from their day!









(They said it was great and actually preferred it over blizzard beach!!)

The girls would stop by their locker every so often and send me a text so we could keep in touch throughout the day.


So the rest of us got ready and headed out to their van. It was so nice not having to wait for a bus!! There was contsruction going on near the park entrance so it took a long time to get into the parking lot!! We got parked and we plopped Leah in her stroller and walked to the tram station. There were so many people waiting and it was way on the other side. I decided to walk. My parents waited for the tram which was fine.

Here's a map of the parking lot so can envision what I'm saying!!!

The yellow dot is where we parked..the yellow line is where my parents waited for the tram. Once they boarded the tram it looped around the top of the lot and headed along the opposite side of the median towards the main entrance.

Darren, Leah and I walked directly to the left of the tram station..that's the light blue line I drew. Well to our nice surprise once we got down to the end there as a sidewalk under the trees which we followed and came to a building with bathrooms!! yayy potty break!! Then.. There was ONE lonely guard at a bag check table!! He checked our stuff in a matter of seconds and we were waiting for my parents on the other side of the gate!!! They departed the tram and got stuck in a long line at the regular bag check!!!

So the lesson is... stay on my side of the median to get a shorter bag check!!




My parents made it through the gate and I ran off to get RnRC fastpasses for me and darren!! I met up with them at The Great Movie Ride. The line went quickly which was great!!! Gangsters!!!

I wanted them to try the new Star Tours so we walked that way. They got in standby and we got a rider switch pass since Leah was too small. The kids and I went to check out Phineas and Ferb!! Darren had his autograph book so he got in line. I kept Leah occupied by showing her the muppets fountain. She had been splashing with her finger tips and it was so cute. But..by the time I grabbed by video camera she stopped lol..

Here's the little video I shot..

Leah at the Muppets Fountain <--------Click Here!!!

I walked back to check on Darren's progress in line and it still looked like it would be at least 20 min. He said he was ok with waiting. So Leah and I took a walk to Mama Melrose. I was in the mood for some real food not counter service. The hostess was very nice and said they could take us for lunch but our whole party needed to be together. I said ok no problem. It was just starting to drizzle when I walked out of the restaurant. By the time I reached Darren is was lightly raining. They took Phineas and Ferb backstage and closed the line. He never got to meet them. I checked my phone and realized I missed a text from my mom! They were done on star tours and were at Backlot Express!!! I called right away and said NO - DON'T ORDER!! I told them to start walking towards star tours and we met up by the gift shop. I told them about Mama Melrose and they tought that sounded good!!! Plus..it was raining pretty hard so a break sounded great!!! We walked back in and it was more crowded than earlier. The same hostess was there and I said our whole party was together and asked if we could still be walk ins. She was so nice and seated us right away. She actually thanked me for being so nice!! She said so many people get angry and yell when they are told they need their whole party to be seated. She was such a sweet lady, I couldn't imagine yelling at her!!! We were seated in the back of the restaurant nearly where I sat with Michelle in 2010!!! I'm almost positive I had the same server again too!! I ordered the pepperoni and sausage flatbread, I forget what Darren ordered, Leah had a kids meal that she barely touched!! She was more interested in the little girl at the next table!! My parents shared the antipasto for two and I think shared an entree. We all really enjoyed our lunch!

After lunch we walked over to The Muppets!! There was actually a LINE. I was shocked!! I'm guessing since the new movie came out there has been a resurgence of muppet interest. We didn't have to wait too long and got great seats in the middle of the theather. Leah once again sat so nicely and watched the whole thing! After the muppets Darren and I ran ahead to Star Tours and my parents got Leah back into her stroller. He and I also had RnRC fastpasses to use!!! My mom didn't want to stay at the park too long since Bill and Angela were stopping by that evening. It was our final day in Orlando and they wanted to say goodbye. So after the roller coaster we left and headed back to Saratoga Springs. The girls were nearly finished at the water park and were going to be back at the room soon after. I spent some time doing laundry..(I always wash it all before packing so it's clean when we get home!!). I got us pretty much all packed up and placed our luggage by the front door. It was late afternoon and the girls were back. I suggested we go to MK for a few final rides!!! I forgot to mention!!! My DVC guide had left fastpass cards for us the dvc preview center. So the kids and I wanted to use them at MK!!! My brother was still a few hours from visiting so off we went! My parents stayed at SSR to pack up too and wait for Bill.

The kids and I were on a MK bus in no time!! I love making MK our last park of the trip. We decided to take Leah to ride Dumbo!! There was no line!!

Leah's First Ride on Dumbo!<----Click Here!

She wanted to play at the Casey Jr. water play area so I told Ash and Darren to jump on the train and go over to Frontierland and ride BTMRR! So off they went!! Lauren and I were going to ride after them.

Casey Jr. Play and Soak!!<----Click Here!

Lauren really wanted Leah to play in the water so she had an excuse to get wet!!! But Leah just wanted to walk around instead!!

So we waited and waited and waited for Ash and Darren to return. In the meantime my parents were texting me that my brother was there and to come back. Around 7:45 they finally stepped off the train. It took WAY longer then I had though it would!! I guess the fastpasses that printed out weren't immediate so they waited a bit for the ride time to roll around!

I called my mom and told her we were running really late. My brother said no worries...don't rush back because they weren't staying very long. He knows we are there to see them at least once a year so we'll be seeing him again soon!!! So...the kids and I decided to stay longer!! We might as well have..we had a fastpass card!!

We went over to Space Mountain and got our fastpasses. The girls rode first while Darren and I took Leah on TTA. He took a picture!!



Then we switched off and the girls took Leah on TTA while Darren and I rode space mountain!!

Of course Ashley took a self pic!!


We used up all the fastpasses on some other stuff like Winnie the Pooh. It was starting to get dark and we decided to say goodbye to the Magic Kingdom. On the way out we said.."see you next year" to the CM at the gate and they said "Bye!"

Ashley took this on our way out...




We got back to SSR and everyone was tired. We packed up my parents van since they were driving our stuff home. We got showered and in bed right away. Our DME bus was coming at 6:00 am!!! yikes! I hate early departures from WDW!!!


Day 8 was WONDERFUL. It was a great way to spend our last day. We had such a great trip. It was nice and long filled with special moments and celebrations. The best part about DVC is being able so share our vacations with friends and family. We loved spending the time with my parents and brother and Angela. The only downside was Phil had to work. We were so lucky he got be with us for 4 of the days though!!!




Next Up.... Going Home and final thoughts!





*

 

[supersuperwendy]

It has been months since I added anything to this TR!

I just realized I forgot our departing day!

Day 9... going home

Our wake-up call came VERY early on June 22nd. Our DME bus was scheduled to leave at 6 am! I made sure to have everything ready to go the night before so the morning would be easy. I woke the kids up at 5:30. They got up easily and got ready nice and fast! My parents were up too to see us off. We packed up the last bit of our stuff like toiletries and loaded them into their van. We called for a pick up and they said he was super busy, but would get us too if we headed downstairs at that very second! So with a quick good-bye to my parents we ran downstairs. A really nice CM with an oversized golf cart was waiting for us! He had just picked up a couple from the Paddock and was able to just fit the 5 of us! He drove us up to Carriage House. The bus wasn't there yet so we sat down on the bench. Then it dawned on me... I didn't bring any diapers or wipes for the journey home! I had put them in my parents van!!! I placed a quick call to my dad and told him the situation. OMG he had to practically unpack the whole van to find the diapers! Next thing I know the DME bus pulled up and my dad wasn't there yet! Luckily the driver was slow loading people's bags! My dad drove up and ran over to the bus!!! He made it just in time!!! So we were all set for our journey home! We boarded the bus and headed off.

So it was very early mind you... and most of us on board were half asleep. Well our driver...James, was in the mood to talk. And talk he did. Non stop all the way to the airport! He told stupid jokes over and over. OMG it was so annoying!!!

We arrived at MCO and got through security very quickly. We arrived at our gate with lots of time to spare. The flight was on time which was great!! We have a history of delayed flights out of MCO. For our flight home we were seated in various rows. I sat in a middle seat with Leah on the aisle. Lauren sat in the aisle seat across from Leah. Ashley sat in the seat in front of Leah on the aisle and Darren sat on the aisle seat behind Lauren.

We made it back to PA with ease! We got into our van for our ride home. The kids were exhausted!!!







My parents enjoyed their morning at SSR and departed around 10:30. They drove to NC that day. The following day they stopped at my cousin's house in VA and spent the day with her!! On the third day we met up with them to get all of our junk!!!


Final Thoughts.....

Resort hopping three times in 9 days is nuts. It got very tiring packing and unpacking. It also was a bit expensive to tip bell services each time since we had so many bags. We tipped $20 each time!

Hands down the best part of DVC is sharing it with family. We loved spending time with my parents and my brother.

June was a huge surprise. The weather was PERFECT and there were no crowds! It was pleasant a surprise!!


The END!!!

 

[SusieBea]

I just found your TR. It's so nice to read something so positive about a family that obviously loves each other! You are blessed! Thanks for sharing.

 

[disfanforlife]

Enjoyed reading your trip report! We are not going back until November. I have found in the meantime reading about other people's trips has helped me a lot! Love hearing about different experiences. My youngest (12) has been asking to go to a waterpark, but it never seems hot enough when we are there. Your girls looked like they enjoyed their time there, so that encourages me to take a chance on it with our son if it is close to warm enough!

 

[DevonsDisneyMom]

Great report! Thanks for sharing we are going to Disney this June pretty much the same exact days that you were there last year!!! Praying that the weather and crowds are just as great this year. We also live right outside of Philly too! We usually fly air tran too from PHL. Flew spirit out of AC last year for the first time. Wasn't too bad, but after sitting on a plane for over 2 hours having to make the 1 and 1/2 car ride home wasn't fun.

 

[supersuperwendy]

I just found your TR. It's so nice to read something so positive about a family that obviously loves each other! You are blessed! Thanks for sharing.

Thanks so much for reading along!! We are very lucky to have such wonderful children!!

Enjoyed reading your trip report! We are not going back until November. I have found in the meantime reading about other people's trips has helped me a lot! Love hearing about different experiences. My youngest (12) has been asking to go to a waterpark, but it never seems hot enough when we are there. Your girls looked like they enjoyed their time there, so that encourages me to take a chance on it with our son if it is close to warm enough!

I asked the girls which waterpark they like better and they both said Typhoon Lagoon. They thought the wave pool and slides were way better so maybe take him there if it's hot enough!

Thanks so much for reading our TR!

Great report! Thanks for sharing we are going to Disney this June pretty much the same exact days that you were there last year!!! Praying that the weather and crowds are just as great this year. We also live right outside of Philly too! We usually fly air tran too from PHL. Flew spirit out of AC last year for the first time. Wasn't too bad, but after sitting on a plane for over 2 hours having to make the 1 and 1/2 car ride home wasn't fun.

Hey Neighbor!!! We must be willing to drive forever for a cheap flight lol. This June we are flying out of Washington D.C. $86 couldn't be beat! We booked through Southwest.com , but it's acutally an AirTran flight. So we get free checked bags, but can't choose our seats. We'll see how it goes! This summer we'll be visiting June 18 - 23.. What are your dates? I am also hoping for a repeat of the weather. It was AMAZING last June! Thanks so much for reading our TR!

 

[DevonsDisneyMom]

Thanks so much for reading along!! We are very lucky to have such wonderful children!!

I asked the girls which waterpark they like better and they both said Typhoon Lagoon. They thought the wave pool and slides were way better so maybe take him there if it's hot enough!

Thanks so much for reading our TR!

Hey Neighbor!!! We must be willing to drive forever for a cheap flight lol. This June we are flying out of Washington D.C. $86 couldn't be beat! We booked through Southwest.com , but it's acutally an AirTran flight. So we get free checked bags, but can't choose our seats. We'll see how it goes! This summer we'll be visiting June 18 - 23.. What are your dates? I am also hoping for a repeat of the weather. It was AMAZING last June! Thanks so much for reading our TR!

Hey!!! $86 darn!!! That's cheap and no bag fees! Ugh!!! We are flying air tran from Philly for $137 each way . Hoping the price comes down so that I can get a credit issued and us that to cover my bag fees and possibly upgrade to business class at check in! :0). We'll be there the same time!! June 13th to the 21st!! Staying at AKV Kidani. How about you? Praying for good weather and for June to hurry up and get here!! Lol

 

[supersuperwendy]

Hey!!! $86 darn!!! That's cheap and no bag fees! Ugh!!! We are flying air tran from Philly for $137 each way . Hoping the price comes down so that I can get a credit issued and us that to cover my bag fees and possibly upgrade to business class at check in! :0). We'll be there the same time!! June 13th to the 21st!! Staying at AKV Kidani. How about you? Praying for good weather and for June to hurry up and get here!! Lol

$137 is a decent price for the convenience of flying from Philly! I keep checking for a good price. ..if I find one I'm going to book it. The rates for hotels near DCA are sooo high for the night of 6/17.

We will be at kidani too!! 6/18-6/21 then over to beach club for the weekend! Will you guys be spending time at the kidani pool? We should meet up!

 

[DevonsDisneyMom]

$137 is a decent price for the convenience of flying from Philly! I keep checking for a good price. ..if I find one I'm going to book it. The rates for hotels near DCA are sooo high for the night of 6/17.

We will be at kidani too!! 6/18-6/21 then over to beach club for the weekend! Will you guys be spending time at the kidani pool? We should meet up!

Yeah not bad at all I live 5 minutes from the airport so it's very convenient for me . I have paid less though. When we went in Dec I think I paid $89 each way. Really can't beat that price. . Yes definitely plan to spend our afternoon breaks from the parks at the pool each day. Can't wait!