Surprise! We're NOT going to Disney! 9/18-9/25 <<Update 3/24 Page 21>>

[Poolrat]

Way to pull off a surprise!!!!! Great job!!!!


Quick trip over and done in a flash!!! So sorry to hear BoG was Ultra expensive with Juliana's ticket and the camera.

The kids look so cute in their Halloween costumes.

Yup you will be DVC spoiled now.

 

[that's nice]

Nice recap of your trip. Sweet pictures you will treasure in the years ahead. I’d imagine you got the reaction you were hoping for from Mel’s surprise. (I actually had a tear when reading that)

I tried to cut the pictures to 25 for 1 post, but I kept finding one more that I needed.

Melody's reaction was exactly what I was looking for.

So cool the kids got to do the traditional trick or treating.

It was awesome trick or treating with 75-80 degree temps. It is usually in the 40's here.

I’ve never gone to BOMA. One day though. Seems everyone likes that place.

If you are willing to try some African food or food with a little more 'spice' (not necessarily hot spicy) it is great. There is 'traditional' offerings as well. Not to mention, breakfast is great there too!

I feel your pain at handing over $100 for a one day ticket, Yikes.

Yea, well, that wasn't the first time I had to do that.

I’m curious to see how Gabby reacted to the characters now that she is older.

I’m expecting to read about rain on this recent trip too.

Rain? It never rains in WDW!

Non park days, sitting out on the balcony with drinks in hand…Doing Disney is not just about the parks. I love the other things just as much.

We usually spend our non park days hanging with Melody cousin. It did feel nice to just take our time and no have a schedule to follow.

my head is swimming! that was one of the fastest run through of Disney!

I just wanted to get that out of the way. Hopefully you can see straight now!

again your family is just adorable! Loved Halloween and of course the little guy dressed as a CHICAGO BEAR!

Thank you! The little Bear is our cousin.

AKL looks amazing.

It is. I love that resort. I took a lot of pictures but kept more of them out of the mini report.

the Green army men are a favorite!!! so much fun! last time they kept following me around and scaring the bejesus out of me. don't know how they can sneak up on someone with flap on their shoes. Or i am Mrs oblivious.

That sounds hilarious! I wish I was a witness to that!

YAY Pixi Dust from Kathy! she seriously is the sweetest person.

Yes she is. She is too kind to our family... and she was the one to get us the BOG ADR.

I had to take a double look at Ferb or is it phineas? with the hat on his nose!

That is Phineas. They were a trip!

Sitting back relaxing can't wait for the next update!

Hope you have a comfortable chair.

Wow! The kids are growing so much! Too bad about the camera mishap but it sounds like a great trip overall.

Jill in CO

The kids are growing up so fast. You will be able to compare them from last year to this year once I get my first post up.

Joining!

We were there for Halloween as well and we were wishing it were warmer because the evenings were too cold for us to swim. I guess it depends on what part of the country you're from.

Welcome! Thanks for reading!!!

You thought it was cold? We were dying of heat! Our end of October temps here are usually in the low to mid 60's for highs and 40's for lows.

 

[that's nice]

Great recap of your trip! I love that you kept the hotel change a surprise!

Thank you! Honestly, I'm not that good with surprises but it was fun doing this one.

I hope that you were able to fix your camera once you got home!

The camera never got fixed. I've had it for a while so Santa brought us a new camera for Christmas.

I forgot I took a picture of the camera with my cell phone... this is how I was able to get it to work. What a pain in the butt.

Luvin the mini trip report.

Luvin how you surprised Melody.

Thank you!

OMG Ana looks so little in the Halloween pics she's grown up alot in the last year.

You think she looks little? I think she looks the same.

I love the pic of Gabby's first ride. Too cute. and loled at the bit where she didn't mind the characters when she wasn't looking at them

I'm not sure how many pictures I have of her reactions but I might have a video or 2.

That's such an awesome meet and greet with the green army dudes!

It was awesome! A great experience!

Holy update Batman I LOVE how you surprised Melody with AKL!!! AWESOME!! The pumpkins at AK are super cute!! All your pics are great, and your kids are adorable Your 2013 Halloween trip looked like fun and a success! I agree that sometimes it's WAY too hot for costumes at WDW..Halloween or not!

I learned how to update from the best.... right Kathy?

Thank for for the kind words.

I dressed up as Jack Sparrow for MNSSHP one year when it was over 90 degrees. Yea, that was hot!

Joining in. You have such a beautiful family. I'm looking forward to hearing about your Anniversary trip.

Welcome! Thanks for reading and the kind words!

Hopefully getting to the real TR soon!

 

[that's nice]

Joining this TR - and great recap of your last TR. Love how your surprised your wife with the resort change!

Welcome thanks for reading! She was shocked we were at AKL. I need to remind her about that more often.

We also live on the East Coast and would love to do Hawaii some day but am really scared of that flight with 3 small kids. Some day though ...

..... yes someday when they are all out of the house! (or can pay for it themselves!!!)

What a great trip and loved your kids costumes - especially little Gaby's!

Thank you! We did have a great time!

Love hearing about character interactions like with the green army men - just love when they get down on to the kids level like that.

I do too. It was just so unexpected. Christopher loved it.

Sounds like a really fun non-park day as well!

Can't wait for the next update

We did have fun just exploring. We had all day to just go with the flow, which doesn't happen often with our WDW trips (as you will soon see)

Nicely abbreviated Tim!

Thanks! That was the short short version.

I cannot imagine how you rigged that camera to work. I would've just used my phone until I got back home and pleaded with the camera shop to help me!

Check my last post.. I posted a pic with how I got the camera to work. CRAZYY!

When you sum it up, what's important is that you had a fantastic family experience. Also, the room at AKL did hurt (zebra domes are like manna from heaven).

AKL was amazing... so was Boma. I would pay the price for just the soup and the zebra domes.

I'm intruiged to find out how that DVC discussion ended.

Oh, it ended all right.

 

[that's nice]

Tim's returning to the world of TR writing???? This, I've gotta see. Try to have it done before you disappear for wedding season next spring.

I'm trying to have this thing finished by the end of 2014. (A guy can dream can't he?)

I forgot about your camera trouble last year. I like your handy repair job. Kind of Mac Gyver-ish.

Yes, I'm just your average MacGyver. It wasn't that hard to get it work but I couldn't figure it out till I was back at the room.

Congrats on pulling the AK surprise for Melody.

Thanks!!! Time to surprise your DW. If she's anything like mine she'll forget all about it in no time.

(hopefully Melody never reads that)

Way to pull off a surprise!!!!! Great job!!!!

Thanks Pat!

Quick trip over and done in a flash!!! So sorry to hear BoG was Ultra expensive with Juliana's ticket and the camera.

Oh well, what are ya gonna do? We really wanted to eat there and I was stalking the canceled ADR threads and searching online numerous times a day.

The kids look so cute in their Halloween costumes.

Thank you!

Yup you will be DVC spoiled now.

We will probably turn into resort snobs too.... just like Kathy!

 

[kbeam]

Joining!

 

[Woth2982]

The camera never got fixed. I've had it for a while so Santa brought us a new camera for Christmas.

I forgot I took a picture of the camera with my cell phone... this is how I was able to get it to work. What a pain in the butt.

Annnnnd I am caught up! Sounds like you had a great time in your two post adventure! Very nice summary! I was there a few days later for the Wine and Dine half. Having a non-park day during that trip was great. Hit up DTD and the pool. I forgot that you're allowed to relax on a Disney vacation.

That Santa brings the best stuff! I thought about asking for a camera last year, but went with a bathroom mirror instead. This year I am going for heavy duty window shades. I am livin on the edge these days.

 

[Millie12591]

Late as usual, but I'm here!

Thanks for the heads up, Tim. Thanks to Ms. Kat I knew about this TR.

Now I need to go back and read.

 

[Chicago Mo]

Sorry I had to weep over your camera...

 

[KatMark]

That is the fastest I've seen anyone go through the parks at Disney...and you didn't even go to Epcot.

I LOVE the family picture of you all with Pluto and Goofy...a favorite.

Always time for a Mickey Bar.

Gee, who was so awesome to keep checking the Disney website for a Be Our Guest reservation for you? That was awfully nice of them.

Juliana loves her pool time. Yes, not impressed with the slide at AKL. CSR is still the best to me (although I never went down the clown slide at Boardwalk or the one at the Beach Club).

I cannot get over how big Christopher has gotten since that visit to when we met them this trip. And Gabby is just too stinkin' adorable for her own good.

I'm so happy that Mel was surprised by AKL...she deserves it (she puts up with you ).

We were delighted to send a gift pack. It was Gabby's first trip after all.

 

[JPFamilyMom]

Hooray for starting a new TR and a bonus of the previous trips mini TR. Love it, what a great husband you are to surprise Melody. Who btw doesn't seem to have aged from your honeymoon 10 years ago. Looking forward to reading about your most recent trip

 

[jenseib]

Finally made some time to join in!
Love the recap of last year. It looks like you all had a lot of fun!

 

[that's nice]

Joining!

Thanks for reading!

Annnnnd I am caught up! Sounds like you had a great time in your two post adventure! Very nice summary! I was there a few days later for the Wine and Dine half. Having a non-park day during that trip was great. Hit up DTD and the pool. I forgot that you're allowed to relax on a Disney vacation.

We forget about relaxing too. It seems like we never get to do that. We are already starting to plan for next summer and talking about how we can relax on a few days.

That Santa brings the best stuff! I thought about asking for a camera last year, but went with a bathroom mirror instead. This year I am going for heavy duty window shades. I am livin on the edge these days.

Wow! You need to slow down. You are out of control!

Late as usual, but I'm here!

Thanks for the heads up, Tim. Thanks to Ms. Kat I knew about this TR.

Now I need to go back and read.

Hey Millie!

I haven't really started anything (I have 1/2 of the first update written so far), I was waiting till I got an update up to send out the signal. Kathy is just anxious.

Sorry I had to weep over your camera...

I know... I really did like that camera and I have no idea how it broke like that. Luckily, I was able to got it to shoot for the last few days.

 

[that's nice]

That is the fastest I've seen anyone go through the parks at Disney...and you didn't even go to Epcot.

Well, it was supposed to be a 1 post TR.... i couldn't fit it all in 1 post with the pictures.

I LOVE the family picture of you all with Pluto and Goofy...a favorite.

We have that picture on our fridge.

Always time for a Mickey Bar.

Gee, who was so awesome to keep checking the Disney website for a Be Our Guest reservation for you? That was awfully nice of them.

I gave that person a shout out... didn't I? That person was awfully nice don't you think?

Juliana loves her pool time. Yes, not impressed with the slide at AKL. CSR is still the best to me (although I never went down the clown slide at Boardwalk or the one at the Beach Club).

For little kids it is fine, but it is extremely short. Did you see the one at Kidani? Is it better than Jambo?

I cannot get over how big Christopher has gotten since that visit to when we met them this trip. And Gabby is just too stinkin' adorable for her own good.

Yea, he has grown a lot. Juliana looks the same to me.

I'm so happy that Mel was surprised by AKL...she deserves it (she puts up with you ).

Ba Dummm dummm {ching}

When are you going on tour?

We were delighted to send a gift pack. It was Gabby's first trip after all.

You are toooooooo kind to us.. now get some grand kids so you can spoil them.

Hooray for starting a new TR and a bonus of the previous trips mini TR. Love it, what a great husband you are to surprise Melody. Who btw doesn't seem to have aged from your honeymoon 10 years ago. Looking forward to reading about your most recent trip

thanks for reading!!!

I have my moments when I do something like surprises... but they are few and far in between.

I think Melody looks the same too. She still gets asked by patients if she is old enough to be a nurse.

Finally made some time to join in!
Love the recap of last year. It looks like you all had a lot of fun!

Hey Jen

Thank for reading.

We did have a blast. It was a great trip. Not sure what we are going to do this Halloween when it is 50 out here.

 

[KatMark]

I gave that person a shout out... didn't I? That person was awfully nice don't you think?

Yes, I think I saw it in a comment further down.

For little kids it is fine, but it is extremely short. Did you see the one at Kidani? Is it better than Jambo?

Kidani's slide is very good. I went down it with Cayley and Avery.

Yea, he has grown a lot. Juliana looks the same to me.

She is growing like a weed; and so excited to read the news yesterday posted by Mel.

Ba Dummm dummm {ching}

When are you going on tour?

I'll send you free tickets.

You are toooooooo kind to us.. now get some grand kids so you can spoil them.

Blah blah blah; I think to aggravate you I'll spoil my grandkids if or when they ever come and continue to spoil yours too!

Oh and not to rub it in, but you missed my update (Mark got a job!).

 

[that's nice]

We started planning for our 10 yr anniversary trip last summer. We quickly realized that Hawaii just wasn't going to happen but we wanted to incorporate some of the feel we got while in Hawaii into our trip. We thought the Caribbean could be a good fill in. Then we thought if we were going to be in the Caribbean, we could always make a quick pit stop in Florida. Where in Florida could we feel like we were in Hawaii? How about Disney's Polynesian Resort? Perfect!

We started looking at prices and options around our anniversary (9/24). There were 2 DCL cruises around our anniversary that would work for us- a 3 day and a 4 day both before our anniversary. If we took the 4 day cruise, we would be on the ship for our anniversary. Melody didn't really care for this option. She wanted to be in WDW on our anniversary. Plus she wasn't sure how the little ones would do on the cruise and felt that the 3 day would be better for their first cruise. So the dates were settled- Thursday 9/18 to Sunday 9/21.

Next, we had to price out and book the Polynesian. When we got the pricing for 4 nights we really couldn't believe the price. With discounts we were looking at over 3K. YIKES. I started researching everything there was to know about the Poly and I kept reading how there was construction starting this summer with no concrete end date. We were tossing around the idea for a while but didn't book anything. Then in Oct. ('13) we went to WDW and stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge. We've visited AKL a few times but this was our first stay there. We just loved the resort. We loved having a balcony to hang out at night while the kids slept. We loved the amenities. We loved the relaxed feeling.

Melody & I were sipping on some adult beverages while sitting on the balcony at AKL one night while on vacation and the DVC talk started. It was really innocent and more of a 'could we really do it?' discussion. After we got home, I started reading everything I could about DVC. The idea of having more space if we wanted booking 1 or 2 bedrooms when the kids got bigger was very intriguing. I tried to figure out how many points we would need, the price per point, where to buy, how to buy, etc. We also figured that the 3K+ we would be spending on the Poly for 4 nights could be put towards our purchase price and make the purchase a little more reasonable. Have you ever looked at what DVC costs? It is quite expensive buying direct through Disney, but there is a secondary market- resale. The resale prices are around 50% less than buying direct. You do lose a few perks buying resale like, you can't use points for cruises, nor can you use points to book hotels in the Disney Collection. Everything I read said that using points for anything but DVC stays in not a cost effective use of points. So resale was the route we were going to go.

We found a good contact in December and by January we were DVC owners! We used our points to book a 1 BR MK view at Bay Lake Tower for the 4 nights after the cruise. We were really excited about this. The kids knew we were DVC owners but had no idea we had already planned our first stay, nor did they know anything about the cruise. We kept quiet about the whole thing. Melody and I would find ourselves talking about the trip in front of Juliana and either catch ourselves or just turn it into general Disney talk- which happens a lot in our household. The packing of suitcases behind the kids back was a bit of a pain but we pulled that off and they didn't know a thing.

Wednesday Sept. 17

Melody & I were up early getting the last few items together and when Juliana woke up she was a little confused. She was trying to figure out why not only why we were up but why we were dressed already at 6:50am. We told her we were going on a trip and she immediately said, 'We're going to Disney!' We ruined her excitement by saying we weren't going to Disney, but to visit our cousins in Florida. She's not dumb, but she went along with the story. We fed the kids a quick breakfast and got the suitcases in the car. We left about 25 later than I wanted to but no biggie we only live 45 minutes away from the airport and we still had plenty of time. Right?

Wrong. We got on the highway and after a few miles, it was at a dead stop. I was watching the time tick by and no one was moving.



Mel called my mom to have her check a few traffic cams to see when the traffic broke up. It seemed that the traffic was going to be like this for a while. I got off the highway and tried a few different routes and everything was jammed. Welcome to Connecticut traffic. Back on the phone with my mom and she said she would leave work and meet us at the airport. We could drop off our luggage and just go into the airport to check in and she would handle parking the car. It was really nice of her to offer to do that. But once we make it onto a different highway, we were moving and the GPS said we'd make it there an hour and a half before our flight took off. I really don't like to cut it that close but it worked out and we were checked in and through security quickly.



Juliana got to play with the interactive wall…



We stopped to use the bathroom and when we were done they were already boarding the plane. We flew Jetblue this time so we didn't have to worry about trying to find seats together like we do with Southwest. The 3 girls sat together….



….and the boys sat together. (while getting photobombed by the guy sitting next to us)



Gabby is a cooooool baby.



And actually happy sometimes too!



The flight was really smooth. I don't think there was even one numb. The kids did pretty well, Gabby was getting fussy towards the end but overall it wasn't too bad.

Before we knew it we were on our first ride of the trip… the faux monorail!





Our first palm tree sighting.



We found where we had to go for our luggage and started grabbing it off the carousel. Dang. I don't remember bringing this much.



As you can see we don't pack light.

We made our way over to the car rental area where I had a reservation for Hertz which I booked through Priceline. There were only 2 people in line. Awesome! We'd be at the counter in no time. Or so I thought.......




Up next- A nightmare, & cousins

 

[jedijill]

Welcome Home! I love DVC and you were smart to buy resale!

I love your plans. I really love AKL...so much that's where I own.

That traffic is scary but I'm glad you made it to the airport on time. The kids are so cute! That is a ton of luggage!

Uh oh! I see foreshadowing.

Jill in CO

 

[KatMark]

We started planning for our 10 yr anniversary trip last summer. We quickly realized that Hawaii just wasn't going to happen but we wanted to incorporate some of the feel we got while in Hawaii into our trip. We thought the Caribbean could be a good fill in. Then we thought if we were going to be in the Caribbean, we could always make a quick pit stop in Florida. Where in Florida could we feel like we were in Hawaii? How about Disney's Polynesian Resort? Perfect!

We started looking at prices and options around our anniversary (9/24). There were 2 DCL cruises around our anniversary that would work for us- a 3 day and a 4 day both before our anniversary. If we took the 4 day cruise, we would be on the ship for our anniversary. Melody didn't really care for this option. She wanted to be in WDW on our anniversary. Plus she wasn't sure how the little ones would do on the cruise and felt that the 3 day would be better for their first cruise. So the dates were settled- Thursday 9/18 to Sunday 9/21.

Next, we had to price out and book the Polynesian. When we got the pricing for 4 nights we really couldn't believe the price. With discounts we were looking at over 3K. YIKES. I started researching everything there was to know about the Poly and I kept reading how there was construction starting this summer with no concrete end date. We were tossing around the idea for a while but didn't book anything. Then in Oct. ('13) we went to WDW and stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge. We've visited AKL a few times but this was our first stay there. We just loved the resort. We loved having a balcony to hang out at night while the kids slept. We loved the amenities. We loved the relaxed feeling.

Love the Poly, but NOT the price tag.

Melody & I were sipping on some adult beverages while sitting on the balcony at AKL one night while on vacation and the DVC talk started. It was really innocent and more of a 'could we really do it?' discussion. After we got home, I started reading everything I could about DVC. The idea of having more space if we wanted booking 1 or 2 bedrooms when the kids got bigger was very intriguing. I tried to figure out how many points we would need, the price per point, where to buy, how to buy, etc. We also figured that the 3K+ we would be spending on the Poly for 4 nights could be put towards our purchase price and make the purchase a little more reasonable. Have you ever looked at what DVC costs? It is quite expensive buying direct through Disney, but there is a secondary market- resale. The resale prices are around 50% less than buying direct. You do lose a few perks buying resale like, you can't use points for cruises, nor can you use points to book hotels in the Disney Collection. Everything I read said that using points for anything but DVC stays in not a cost effective use of points. So resale was the route we were going to go.

We found a good contact in December and by January we were DVC owners! We used our points to book a 1 BR MK view at Bay Lake Tower for the 4 nights after the cruise. We were really excited about this. The kids knew we were DVC owners but had no idea we had already planned our first stay, nor did they know anything about the cruise. We kept quiet about the whole thing. Melody and I would find ourselves talking about the trip in front of Juliana and either catch ourselves or just turn it into general Disney talk- which happens a lot in our household. The packing of suitcases behind the kids back was a bit of a pain but we pulled that off and they didn't know a thing.

I was so happy when you told me you did this. One day, one day I hope to do the same.

Wednesday Sept. 17

Melody & I were up early getting the last few items together and when Juliana woke up she was a little confused. She was trying to figure out why not only why we were up but why we were dressed already at 6:50am. We told her we were going on a trip and she immediately said, 'We're going to Disney!' We ruined her excitement by saying we weren't going to Disney, but to visit our cousins in Florida. She's not dumb, but she went along with the story. We fed the kids a quick breakfast and got the suitcases in the car. We left about 25 later than I wanted to but no biggie we only live 45 minutes away from the airport and we still had plenty of time. Right?

She's a very bright girl!

Wrong. We got on the highway and after a few miles, it was at a dead stop. I was watching the time tick by and no one was moving.



Mel called my mom to have her check a few traffic cams to see when the traffic broke up. It seemed that the traffic was going to be like this for a while. I got off the highway and tried a few different routes and everything was jammed. Welcome to Connecticut traffic. Back on the phone with my mom and she said she would leave work and meet us at the airport. We could drop off our luggage and just go into the airport to check in and she would handle parking the car. It was really nice of her to offer to do that. But once we make it onto a different highway, we were moving and the GPS said we'd make it there an hour and a half before our flight took off. I really don't like to cut it that close but it worked out and we were checked in and through security quickly.

I would have been a nervous wreck with that traffic.



Juliana got to play with the interactive wall…



We stopped to use the bathroom and when we were done they were already boarding the plane. We flew Jetblue this time so we didn't have to worry about trying to find seats together like we do with Southwest. The 3 girls sat together….



3 beautiful ladies

….and the boys sat together. (while getting photobombed by the guy sitting next to us)



Maybe that's where Juliana got the idea to photobomb our photo?

Gabby is a cooooool baby.



And actually happy sometimes too!



She is just shy; but she has a gorgeous smile when she shows it.

The flight was really smooth. I don't think there was even one numb. The kids did pretty well, Gabby was getting fussy towards the end but overall it wasn't too bad.

Before we knew it we were on our first ride of the trip… the faux monorail!





Our first palm tree sighting.



NICE!

We found where we had to go for our luggage and started grabbing it off the carousel. Dang. I don't remember bringing this much.



Holy Batman that is a lot of luggage!

As you can see we don't pack light.

We made our way over to the car rental area where I had a reservation for Hertz which I booked through Priceline. There were only 2 people in line. Awesome! We'd be at the counter in no time. Or so I thought.......




Up next- A nightmare, & cousins

Oh yes...the nightmare. I can't wait to see it in writing.

 

[that's nice]

Kids were playing on my computer and reposted my update... I'll edit this later with responses.

 

[afwdwfan]

Kids were playing on my computer and reposted my update... I'll edit this later with responses.

Yeah... blame the kids...


I'm glad that you made it to the airport on time despite the traffic. To me, that is the most stressful part of flying. I hate having to get to the airport and get through security and everything. I always end up sitting around way too long, but I guess I'd rather be relaxing near the gate than rushing around stressed out.

And you really don't pack light. Looks more like you're moving to Florida than visiting.