May 30-Jun 9 Saucymb Trip Report

[saucymb]

Good morning! I'm not sure this will be terribly interesting, but I wanted to write a quick trip report. 2 reasons: 1 - so I will have it all down for eternity and will never forget, and 2 - provide an off-site trip report, as I don't see a lot of those.

Our crew:

Me - mb - 36 years old, big Disney fan, former CM (CP years ago), SAHM

DH - Jason - 36 years old, Disney newbie when I took him to DW the year we were married (2003), software developer

DS1 - JV - 7 years old, Star Wars/MineCraft fan, hearing impaired so I'll have a bit of info about how that worked into our vacation a little later

DS2 - AB - 5 years old, Cars/MineCraft/Buzz Lightyear fan, and he brought along multiple "Baby Kitties" - little gray striped tiger cat Beanie Babies that we have collected. He must have a Baby Kitty with him at all times.

DS3 - CW - almost 2 years old, not a fan of much other than mommy right now. Hates water with every ounce of his being.

Beppe - my mama, LOVES Disney, about to retire soon and is determined to get a seasonal job at WDW selling popcorn on Main Street.

So, that's our crew for this trip.

In 1978, when I was 2 years old, my grandparents (mama's parents) took my mama, myself and my older brother, and my cousin to DW for the first time. They continued to take us every 2 years for about 10 years, then my mama would take us every 2 years, with my dad joining us sometimes. Not being a patient man, WDW was not where he liked to vacation. (However, after he was diagnosed with cancer and had his first grandson, he couldn't wait to get to WDW and went 3 more times in 4 years before he passed away.) Then in college, I did the CP, and for years after worked seasonally, so my mama and I visited from NC often. So you could say we are big fans!

Once I married a Disney Newbie, and took him to WDW for the first time, though, life kind of took over, and we only went 2 times in 6 years. We took all 3 kids when the baby was a newborn, but haven't been back since. We had talked about doing a big trip with our entire family (brother and his wife/kids, other brothers, cousins, etc.) but the timing just wasn't working out. So my husband and I decided to celebrate our 10 year wedding anniversary with a trip to Normandy, France to visit the D-Day beaches. We planned itineraries, searched flights and B&B's, and dreamed about it for about 2 months. Then one day in March, as we were trying to pin down dates for the France trip, he just started talking about Disney. And how he couldn't wait to take the kids back. We talked about how we couldn't financially do both trips in one year. I was shocked when he said that he had rather wait until the boys were older and take them with us to France, and do Disney this year. He also was anxious about leaving the boys here for 10 days without us - not that he was worried about my mama or aunt taking care of them, but he didn't like the idea of not being with them himself.

Pre-Trip Info:

SO, in a matter of minutes, our plans switched from France to Orlando!!! Knowing how much my mama loves WDW, I asked Jason about her tagging along. He said he assumed she would be going. He and my mama get along fabulously. I think she likes him more than she likes me. And she babysits for us on vacation so we can have date night! I immediately called her, and she was IN. She's retiring in August, after 40 years as a dietitian, and decided she would get an AP so she can visit as much as she wants in the next year.


We decided on the first week of June. On-site was out of the question, as we really wanted space, and are not willing to pay Disney $$$ for said space. We've stayed at Wyndham Bonnet Creek before, and love it, but no 3 bedrooms were available. I researched online, on the Disboards, asked around, made phone calls, and decided that a townhome with a private pool in Windsor Hills was the way to go for us this trip.

So in April, I found Bambi's Bungalow (through Florida Sun Vacation Homes) for a great deal for 9 nights. The plan was for my mama and I to take the kids with us early on Friday, May 31, and drive to Kissimmee, check in, then I would go pick up Jason from the airport that evening. Jason would be flying for 2 reasons: 1 - so he could save a PTO day, and still get there about the same time we did, and 2 - he has a really bad back. Really bad. In September, he injured his back and was literally on hands and knees for 5 days. We were out of town for a funeral, and had to extend our time there by 4 days. He rode in the back of our van all the way home (4 hours) on a make-shift bed. It took 4 weeks for him to return to a normal gait, and now we don't take chances. I didn't want him riding in our van for 9 hours, as it hurts his back just for the half-hour it takes us to run errands or go to church as it is.

About 2 weeks before we left, my mama and I were talking, about the trip, and discussing ways to break it up. What if we left on Thursday, drove a few hours, stopped for the night, and continued in the morning? Bingo! New plan: she had to work til 2pm on Thursday, May 30; she would leave work and drive the 4 hours to my house, where my car would already be loaded. While she freshened up, I would load her things into the van, and we would leave Charlotte by 6:30, drive to St. Augustine, arrive there around 2am, stay at a hotel, sleep in, drive to the beach for an hour or 2, return to the hotel for showers, then drive into Kissimmee from there, arriving by 3pm.

So, that's how this trip happened! For me, a natural planner who plans Disney trips 6-8 months in advance, this trip happened very quickly. We thought about surprising the kids, but I know I can't keep my big mouth shut, and I knew that the trip was a great opportunity for incentive for the boys to stay in line, so we told them immediately and initiated the "Gold Doubloon Program". I had some cheap pirate-style gold doubloons; each of the older boys received a cup with their name on it. Sometimes when I caught them being really good kids (obeying immediately, not whining when they may have normally whined, helping without being asked, etc.), I would put a dime or quarter in their cup, or even an IOU on a piece of paper (hey, they are 5 and 7, they don't know the difference between ten cents and ten dollars right now). When they were REALLY good, they earned a GOLD DOUBLOON; a gold doubloon is worth $5. I think each boy earned 4 doubloons over the 2 months leading up to the trip, and an additional 2 while on the trip. So that was their spending money, though we did help out with a couple of items.

Departure day coming up!!!

 

[saucymb]

DEPARTURE WEEK

We were scheduled to leave on Thursday, May 30 around 6:30pm. That day was also the last day of school for my 1st grader. And that week was also Memorial Day. So we had a busy week! And raise your hand if you like to come home to a dirty, disorganized house. Anyone? Anyone? Me neither. So allllll day Sunday after church and again on Monday (Memorial Day), I was cleaning cleaning cleaning. And by Monday night, my house was about as clean as it has been since we moved in 7 years ago - or our last vacation. I really wanted to shampoo the carpets, but time was dwindling down and I didn't know if I would be able to do it Thursday afternoon.

So I took it easy on Tuesday, since I had been a cleaning freak the previous 2 days. I picked my oldest up from school and took the kids to their Tuesday gymnastics class. The last class of the year. They were the only boys in their classes, which would probably make teenage boys very happy, but not so much for boys who still find girls a little yucky. But they love gymnastics, and it has been great for my 7 year old son who is hearing-impaired, uncoordinated, and has balance issues. Wednesday, I did about 6 loads of laundry, picked up the oldest from school and to speech therapy, packed a little, and got to bed early.

DEPARTURE DAY

Thursday morning was the last day of school. Normally my husband takes him to school as it is on his way to work, but since the awards assembly was that morning, followed by his end-of-year pizza party at 10:30, I took him and stayed for all that. As I was standing with the other parents on the playground, and discussing plans for the summer, our WDW trip came up. "What? You're leaving today? How is JV even able to play right now?!? Mine would be tugging on me, ready to leave!!!" Indeed, JV was having a good time playing with his best friend. The pizza arrived, and that was quickly followed by popsicles, and by 11am, I asked JV if he was ready to go finish packing for our trip and didn't he need to pack his backpack with toys.

(We live 3 hours away from our nearest family members. I love my family, and try to see them often, so every 6-8 weeks we make a road trip. In the summer, we go and stay at my family's farm for about 2 weeks. To avoid taking every.single.toy. that the boys have/love, the rule is that while I will pack their pillow and blanket in the suitcase, any lovies/transformers/games/art projects they want to take - and I don't care what they take - must fit in their backpacks so that their backpacks zip closed.)

Sooo, off we go to the car, stopping on the way home at my favorite thrift store (while I am a stay-at-home mom, I also run a small re-sell business so I've gotta hit the thrift shops!), then at McD's for nuggets. We arrived home, and our fabulous babysitter who was taking care of AB and CW had put the baby down for a nap. Our babysitter lives in our neighborhood, and works the night shift at WalMart. She has a 2 year old son, and is also taking classes online. So she's also always looking to earn extra money. I asked if she was interested in feeding the cats, checking the mail, and shampooing the carpets - YES! Normally when we go out of town, she checks on the cats and the mail for us, and occasionally cleans for us. So this works out perfectly. We have also given the green light for her to stay at our house - not paying her for that as a house-sitter, mind you, but since she lives with her parents, sometimes she could use a night or two away. So with those details arranged, I began packing.

Since our townhome had a washer/dryer, I planned to pack lightly and do laundry every day or every other day. We actually fit clothes for 5 people in one suitcase; one additional duffle bag for toiletries, meds, and shoes; 3 bags for groceries (we would be cooking in the house); one bag of pool gear; one bag of electronic gear/chargers; 1 overnight bag for that night in St. Augustine and the next day at the beach; and some random things that can't be packed in bags like cases of water, stroller, pool noodles, cooler, etc.

It's 5pm! And we're ready to go! I call my mom - she's on her way, hit a little traffic, but should be there by 6. I call my husband, who needs to be home before we leave so he can check the air in the tires and the oil, and fix the PC so I can dump some pictures. What??? He's working LATE??? NO!!! That's not the plan! Some issue had arisen and he was working on it.

Okay, so a slight setback, but I loaded everything in the car anyway. It should be said that I am the Master Of Packing and Moving Things. I moved 22 times from the time I was 17 until I got married at 26 years old. I can pack a car. And a box. And a bag, suitcase, truck, moving truck, van. I don't even let the baggers bag my things anymore at grocery stores, Target, or anywhere else. I am just a packing Master. My husband just brings things outside and I load it up. HOWEVER, I do allow him to unpack - I did the hard part, so I should put my feet up and have a break, don't you think?

Van loaded, kids in comfy travel clothes, baby changed, movie queue'd up in the van for the kids, cooler packed, even my purse in the van at 6pm...and no mama or husband within 20 miles. We waited. We watched TV. Finally, my husband arrived and took care of the van maintenance, and got the PC fixed so I could dump pictures. My mama arrived shortly afterwards, and while she freshened up, I loaded her things into the van.

We had two bulky items to transport that I had a little trouble with. One was our stroller - I was taking the big one. It's a Graco that we bought as part of the "travel system" when our oldest was born 7 years ago. I have owned 7 or 8 strollers since, including Maclaren's, Sit-n-Stands, double both side-by-side and front/back, small umbrella's, but this Graco is the one that I keep coming back to. Big basket underneath, fully reclining seat, cupholders, I knew this would be the one we needed.

The other bulky item is my mama's walker. Mama had foot surgery about 2 years ago. 1 year prior she had injured her foot when she stepped off of a curb and landed wrong. She never went to the doctor, but her foot hurt after. Finally, when she went for something else, they checked out her foot, sent her for x-rays, and discovered that she had broken a couple of bones in her foot and the bones had splintered. This required major surgery to fix. So here we are 2 years later, and she still is unable to walk long distances or stand for long periods of time. Work for her is easy - it's a desk job. Grocery stores - okay, she can handle it. But any extended time on her feet requires the walker. This is one that has the built in seat, so she could sit when needed.

So getting the bulky walker and stroller in the van did require maneuvers even this Master Packer was not prepared for. In the end, the boys had to get in first, then we had to load the 2 bulkies, and when we stopped, someone just had to stand the stroller straight up so the boys could get out.

So with mama freshened up, the kids buckled in (AFTER I had them go to the bathroom), pillows positioned just right for them so they could sleep, the baby happy with his pacifier and blanket, my husband fuming slightly over the to-do list I left for him (relax, all it said was take out all the trash and recycling, turn back the A/C, and check your flight status tomorrow), I put that van in gear and off we went!

ON THE ROAD

We ended up leaving our house at 7:15pm. Not too bad. It is about a 6 hour drive to St. Augustine from our house. So we anticipated arriving around 2am. I had already called to confirm our late arrival. We were staying at the Fairfield by Marriott in St. Augustine. Several reasons: right off of I-95, free breakfast, next to the outlet mall with the Disney outlet, and near the beach.

First couple of hours were easy. The boys fell asleep before we were even a half-hour out. All 3 of them, sleeping at 7:45pm! Imagine that! They had their Disney money in bags, ready to be counted (JV ended up with $28.75, AB ended up with $22.50). Gripped in their little sleepy hands. Soooo sweet.

We had never really eaten since the McD's nuggets early in the afternoon. So I decided that we would wait until they woke up and asked for food. Once I pull off the interstate, they always wake up. So we just drove for a couple of hours. Around 9:30, I heard "I'm hungry" from a sleepy little voice in the back. My sweet little AB (the 5 year old) was rubbing his eyes, Baby Kitty in one hand, and it didn't take long for JV to wake up as well. We stopped at a Sonic somewhere in South Carolina. All 3 boys were awake by this time, it was 9:30, and so we had a little dinner and a bathroom break. We were back on the road 15 minutes later. Around 11, we stopped for gas. And to let the baby walk around - he really hates being in that car seat!

Back on the road, we kept going as we listened to various Disney CD's purchased over the years. We talked about my mama's upcoming retirement - she does NOT want a party. I have one sister-in-law expecting a baby soon, so we need to have a baby shower in July. My nephew is graduating from high school in July, so there's a graduation party. My cousin and his wife are having a baby, so another baby shower. Mom said that's enough parties, and all she really wants is to return to Orlando for her retirement. So I think she and I will do a mother-daughter trip to WDW for her retirement "party".

One more stop at the Florida welcome center for bathroom breaks around 12:30am, and we barely make it in the car before it starts to rain cats and dogs!

The kids finally fall back asleep, and we take I-95 straight through Jacksonville for the first time in years. Normally we take 295 around, but in the middle of the night with no traffic, we stayed on 95. We pulled up to the Fairfield in St. Augustine at 2am on the button.

Kids once again awakened, we grab our overnight bag and wait for the guy at the desk to buzz us in since it is 2am. Check-in was a breeze, our room was on the first floor, and off we went. While mom tried to get the kids ready for bed, I went in search of ice to put in our cooler. That job complete, I arrive back at our room to find my kids WIDE AWAKE. My mom was nearly passed out from exhaustion (she had had to go in to work the previous day at 6am to get off at 2, so she was tired). I put the big one in bed with her, the middle one in bed with me, and made a pallet on the floor for the baby - when we have company at home and they sleep in his room, he always sleeps on a pallet on the floor in our bedroom. Lights out, gently snoring from my mom.

I felt a tap tap tap on my arm. Baby's not interested in sleep. We rearrange. No good. Rearrange again. No thanks, he's not willing to sleep period. Seriously this went on for 2 hours. The big boys finally fell asleep, but I had to turn on the TV to distract the baby. I slept off and on, and would wake up and the baby was "sleeping"; the second I turned off the TV, he would shoot straight up and say "TV!!". At home I have no patience for this and would put a quick stop to it, but that would involve him crying. I didn't want to put our neighbors through that.

Finally, around 5am, I woke up and turned the TV off AGAIN and this time got no protest from the baby.

Sleeping in to ME is, oh, 10am; to the boys it is 7:30am; to my mom it is 6am. So we were all awake by 8am, though having driven the entire trip the night before and having very little sleep, I was exhausted. That is the LAST time we all try to stay in one hotel room. There was a brief moment in the trip planning where we thought we could stay in 2 rooms at All-Star or a suite at AofA. Thank goodness I took a sanity pill because that would have never worked.

Up next: our first day