My 20th Trip to the "People Trap Set by a Mouse"!!! - UPDATE 12/8

[Senk]

I'm okn my phone and am not about to try to figure out quoting, hopefully this is in order haha

I'm glad you got that mini trip to see Wishes one final time. I remember you talkng about that.

That resort upgrade though, girl that is the pixie dust of dreams So nice! It looks like a lovely resort. I hope you guys really liked it!

Your magic bands are fun! We had decals on ours too and got stopped by so many people asking about them I honestly expect there to be more people with them in the parks but apparently my Disney knowledge from these boards and the internet is not reflective of the real world.

That is awesone your boys do so well in the car. I personally hate car trips so being 16 hours away made flying a must. DH hates flying and on the way home said if we ever go back we are renting an RV

 

[DLmama]

Joining in! We were there at the same time you were, so it'll be fun to see things from your point of view.

 

[Stasieki]

Joining in! What a great upgrade!!!!!!

 

[ashleymrush]

Great start to your trip! Lucky you are within the 8 hour drive. Great that your little guys are such good travelers.

I'm so lucky that they are good in the car. We have to make the trip again in a couple days, down to Panama City Beach, FL, this time though. It's funny that you say I'm lucky to be 8 hours away. I feel like it is so long of a drive but at least I'm blessed to be within driving distance. Flights make a trip so much more expensive.

Awww, the boys look like our two youngest sleeping in the car.. Tho with a 15 hour drive we have to leave around 2/3 am ro make it by afternoon.

15 hours! Ok, I am lucky with only 8. That is so early to get up and drive. Do you do a park on your arrival day or just hang at the resort or Springs? If you do a park, that's incredible!

loving the report so far! can't wait to read more.

Happy that you are here! More to come soon!

I'm glad you got that mini trip to see Wishes one final time. I remember you talkng about that.

I'm so happy about it too! Even more so now, but I'll explain that later.

That resort upgrade though, girl that is the pixie dust of dreams So nice! It looks like a lovely resort. I hope you guys really liked it!

I don't know if I'm every going to be that lucky again! I definitely savored every minute of it, which is probably why I forgot to take resort photos. Lol!

That is awesone your boys do so well in the car. I personally hate car trips so being 16 hours away made flying a must. DH hates flying and on the way home said if we ever go back we are renting an RV

I'll trade, I'd much rather fly. Even if flying isn't for everyone I would think a couple hours of being uncomfortable in a plane would be much better than hours upon hours on the road. That's just me though.

Joining in! We were there at the same time you were, so it'll be fun to see things from your point of view.

That's so great that we were there at the same time! It's always great to see how others decide to spend their vacations in such a different way.

Joining in! What a great upgrade!!!!!!

Happy to have you on board! It was an incredible upgrade. So many people on the CBR board were commenting about just getting a gift card as an apology. I kept my mouth shut and didn't tell others what I got.

 

[ashleymrush]

Entry 3 Part 1 - Will Jackson be tall enough for Soarin'?!

So we are finally on our way to the parks! After MUCH debate (mostly in my own head) about which park to go to first, I decided to switch us to EPCOT instead of MK for our first night. I knew we'd be tired from the drive and that EPCOT would be a bit more relaxing. We had a lot planned and didn't get about half of it done, but more on that later. For now, we left OKW on a bus headed for the big ball!



Last time we went to WDW Jackson didn't understand the concept of sitting on a bus and always wanted to run around. This prompted us to drive everywhere to avoid the headache. But being that he's older now, we were prepared to bus around...for now. (ooooooooh, foreshadowing)

You can see Brody already had his birthday button on even though his birthday wasn't for a few days. My mom had them made at the resort before we got there. Brody and Jackson both had one. Brody's birthday would be one the trip and Jackson's was actually yesterday! Little guy is 5 now! This was actually supposed to be his birthday trip but no one wanted until July. I'm happy because of the weather being worse but I definitely wish I was there right now. Let's get back on track...

We arrived at EPCOT around 3:30 which I think is pretty good timing considering we drove down. This was our first time ever having Memory Maker (which was worth EVERY penny) so we immediately went to get some shots in front of Spaceship Earth to commemorate our arrival!


I don't know why we are waving but "HI!"


We started heading towards Spaceship Earth which was our first FP at 3:50 be we still had a couple minutes to spare. Sounds like a perfect time to catch a few more pics!


Dawson is forever the one to strike such an elegant pose for a picture!


The boys were excited and ready to go to say the least!!!

So we were still early for our FP but the wait for Spaceship Earth was only 5 minutes so we figured we'd just hop on and skip the FP instead of waiting another 15 minutes. So on we went. We didn't get to do this last trip so it was new for the boys! Jackson rode with Grandma and Brody rode with me. To say they loved it would be an understatement. It won't be the last ride of the trip.


The pic is a little grainy but Brody was loving it. You'll also notice a trend in pictures...Brody gets what I call "crazy eyes" often. He's just a little awkward with forced pics, bless his heart.


Brody thought this part was the best!


So did Lucas!


Little group pic after the ride was over!

Continued in next post...

 

[ashleymrush]

Entry 3 Part 2 - Will Jackson be tall enough for Soarin'?!

Once done with Spaceship Earth we exited on the opposite side of the stroller. I went around to get it and in the meantime everyone else found another photopass photographer and got a couple really good shots from the other side of the ball!



A Robocop shirt seems appropriate for an afternoon in Future World...I wonder if he did that on purpose?



A little magic! So cute!



My favorite boys!



I finally made it around with the stroller and got a quick pic with my hubby!

At this point, we were waiting for our FP for Soarin'. None of us had done the updated version yet so it was going to be new for all. We had about 45 minutes to wait though so we stopped into Sunshine Seasons for a quick bite to eat. My mom, John and Dawson were starving as they hadn't eaten a real meal all day. We weren't that hungry so we decided to get the boys food and split a meal between Lucas and I. The boys got PB&J which they will get at almost EVERY place that we eat. I learned last time not to fight about food and be happy that they are just eating what can be deemed "real food" and not just complete junk the whole day. I don't really remember what everyone else got. There was a salmon dish and something else. I didn't take pics. Lucas and I split the fish tacos. He loved them last time. He said they were just ok this time and I agreed. Didn't seem as fresh and the tortillas were a little stale. Not bad though.



By the time we finished it was about 5 minutes until our Soarin' FP and the wait for Living with the Land was at 0 minutes. We decided to jump on as many had never ridden it. I must admit that I usually avoid it because when I was a teenager it was "SO BORING" but I appreciated it this time and believe it'll become a staple for future trips. It's amazing what age does to make you see things in a different perspective. The boys really liked it too. Brody became an expert and finding hidden Mickeys which I took no pictures of! (Insert face palm here). I did get ride pics though.



We got off the ride and finally headed towards Soarin'. Now, this comes with a bit of context. 6 months or so ago I took Jackson so the doctor and he was only 37". He's always been very small for his age. He's only in the 2nd percentile for his weight. I told the doctor about our June trip and the need for him to be at 40". She told me not to hold my breath and that it was VERY unlikely he'd get there. This broke my heart. Brody had been tall enough for his 5th birthday trip and I didn't want Jackson to have to sit out on everything that his brother got to experience. I immediately went home and put a mark on the wall in a door jam for 40". I used this mark to get Jackson to eat all of his dinner on most occasions. His small size comes with a small appetite. Every night I would say, "do you want to ride big rides at Disney?" "You better eat all of your dinner!" This was of course a gamble...what if I made him eat and eat and he still wasn't big enough?! As the trip grew closer, he finally hit the mark on the wall...but JUST BARELY! I had read so many stories on the boards about kids that would make it on one ride and not the next and thought he might be in that category. So the moment of truth came....we approached the height indicator AND.....

It was a GOOOOOOO!!!!!! We were ready for take off!! I instantly started crying (because I'm THAT person). We were all so excited, including little Jackson!!


They checked his height at the gate and gave him the go ahead. What's funny is that no one ever even checked his height again.

We all boarded the ride and were off around the world. It was a little skewed as we were on the side, the Eiffel Tower looked more like the leaning tower but I still enjoyed it. Jackson LOVED it, especially the Eiffel Tower part which he loves for some reason.

So that's all for now. I'll be updating again in a couple days before our trip to FL.

UP NEXT: A truly special surprise!

 

[heaven2dc]

So happy that Jackson was able to meet his height goal! So cute (he looks so happy!). We love Spaceship Earth and can't wait for my granddaughters to visit WDW this October (their first visit).

 

[rndmr2]

Nice update! Fun PP pics in the front of the park.

Spaceship Earth is one of my faves, I have liked other versions of it better than this current one, the one with Walter Cronkite and "Tomorrow's Child" is my favorite one.

The Land is a great place, Sunshine seasons has always been our "Go to" lunch destination. Love the Land boat ride too.

Awesome that Jackson was tall enough for Soarin'

 

[Elandon]

t. I learned last time not to fight about food and be happy that they are just eating what can be deemed "real food" and not just complete junk the whole day.

This is exactly how I made peace with chicken nuggets.

 

[Senk]

We didn't do Spaceship Earth but i have a feeling my kids would have really liked it. If for no other reason but seeing their heads.
Yay for being tall enough for Soarin! What fun. Even with the skewed view it is pretty neat!

So funny about the boys and PB&J, that is DD with grilled cheese. Everywhere it is an option she will choose it. I think in Disney World she had 3 in one day including at Sunshine Seasons lol!

 

[TXMNie]

Hooray for being tall enough! He looks so happy!

 

[themommy]

Hiya! I finally made it to our trip report, done by you of course. Hello to all, Lisa (mom/grandma) joining in here!

 

[cinderaimee]

Following and just got all caught up! Your boys are so cute!

 

[ashleymrush]

So happy that Jackson was able to meet his height goal! So cute (he looks so happy!). We love Spaceship Earth and can't wait for my granddaughters to visit WDW this October (their first visit).

He was so thrilled. He felt like the Mickey lighting up green for his FP was his clearance that he was tall enough. He loved the ride...for now. I'm sure your granddaughters are going to love Spaceship Earth. Even if what is inside isn't super exciting, the kids just love that they are in the big ball!

Nice update! Fun PP pics in the front of the park.

Spaceship Earth is one of my faves, I have liked other versions of it better than this current one, the one with Walter Cronkite and "Tomorrow's Child" is my favorite one.

The Land is a great place, Sunshine seasons has always been our "Go to" lunch destination. Love the Land boat ride too.

Awesome that Jackson was tall enough for Soarin'

This current version is the only one I remember. I know I've done others but they are erased from my memory.

I used to avoid Sunshine Seasons because when I was younger I thought it had "weird" food. Now I love it!

This is exactly how I made peace with chicken nuggets.

Amen! All hail the chicken nugget!

We didn't do Spaceship Earth but i have a feeling my kids would have really liked it. If for no other reason but seeing their heads.
Yay for being tall enough for Soarin! What fun. Even with the skewed view it is pretty neat!

So funny about the boys and PB&J, that is DD with grilled cheese. Everywhere it is an option she will choose it. I think in Disney World she had 3 in one day including at Sunshine Seasons lol!

It's definitely something you can look forward to for next time. Just don't do it first thing in the morning like everyone else. It's not worth more than a 10 minute wait and it's nice AC in the summer afternoon.

Brody loves grilled cheese sandwiches too. There is also something to be said for a restaurant grilled cheese. I don't know why but they are always better than the ones at home.

Hooray for being tall enough! He looks so happy!

He was so thrilled! I think it meant he really was a "big boy" now!

Hiya! I finally made it to our trip report, done by you of course. Hello to all, Lisa (mom/grandma) joining in here!

Glad you could drop in! I hope you enjoy reading about your own vacation! I guess you know what is about to happen next...my foreshadowing won't work on you. Lol!

Following and just got all caught up! Your boys are so cute!

Happy to have you join along!

 

[ashleymrush]

Entry 4 - A "what are the odds" kind of surprise!

Once we were done with Soarin' we walked of The Land and the boys were begging to go on the Nemo ride. The line was 20 minutes, which I wasn't wanting to wait in so I check MDE and sure enough there was a FP for 5 minutes away. I went through the proper channels to switch our Figment FP over. On our way to The Seas we stopped for a quick photo session. I love the Nemo characters out in front.




I love this pic of my brother and Brody. They had no idea I was taking it. I also have a thing for pictures from behind, they always seem so sweet.




I adore this picture! This was the day before Father's Day and it was just so sweet that the Photopass photographer had this. It's these little touches and the ability to get group pics that make Memory Maker worth it.

So we headed into the ride but our FPs weren't working. The cast member asked if we had just switched it and I said yes. She let us go through anyway which was very nice. I then found out in line that I forgot to hit the confirm button on MDE so we never actually switched. This meant we still had a FP for Figment.

We hopped in our clamshells and rode through the "Big Blue World." I didn't take any pictures on the ride. I don't really know why. Afterwards, the boys wanted to look around at the fish in the big aquariums. I told them they had 10 minutes, because they'd stay in there all day if I let them and they respond very well to time limits.

This is when the craziest thing happened. We were looking at some fish and Jackson started scooting a little too close to a lady that was getting her picture taken. I hollered at him to move because that nice lady didn't want his butt in the picture. I then turn around see that the person taking the picture was one of my students! I teach at a high school and my students know of my love/obsession for Disney. I had spoken with this student about our trips being at the same time but I NEVER would've thought that we'd bump into each other. Honestly...what are the odds! It was so great to see her and we decided that we had to get a quick picture to commemorate the moment.



While I was catching up with my student, my mom and John stopped to see Bruce the shark and a Photopass photographer was there to capture this cute shot.



My student and I said our good-byes and then we headed out of The Seas, which of course took us through our first gift shop. The boys each had $170 in giftcards from birthday gifts that was burning a hole in their pockets. Brody settled on a tsum-tsum of some character from Nemo and Jackson bought a stuffed otter. You can see "Mr. Otterton" as he was named due to Jackson's love of Zootopia in this picture. This is also where I ask you not to judge me for using a double stroller for an 8 and 5 year old. This is our last stroller trip. I didn't have a stroller of my own and we were going to rent one but one of my best friends had this double stroller that she used on her trip and she loved it. I am TOTALLY aware that Brody is too large for the stroller but it was honestly a blessing. He complains about walking in Target. And Jackson is the SLOWEST walker ever. I would've gone crazy at Disney. In the end I knew it was the right decision for us and it saved us money on having to rent one. I know that stroller issues are big on the boards and everyone has their own opinion but I mean, look at these cuties...who cares if they're too big.



After The Seas we headed over to do our Figment FP because we had it so why not. The boys love the ride and we will see it again on another day. On the short trek over, we noticed that rain was on it's way over which bummed me out a bit. We had plans to do World Showcase from Canada to the U.S. in the evening but it appeared that it wasn't going to happen. I wasn't too bummed though because I got these cute "so happy to be at Disney" shots with my mom!



Once we rode Figment we used our first snack credits for the boys to get some of Goofy's Pixie Stick sugar which the boys never finished...and I was totally ok with. The sprinkling began and we decided it was time to get back to OKW since our room was ready by now. I was bummed that we would miss the countries but I knew we'd be back later in the week.

We hopped on a bus after waiting for quite a while...this would become a theme over the trip...and finally made it to the hotel. My mom and John took the boys to the room and we rode the bus up to the hospitality house to get the carryons that had been checked and drive our Tahoe over since that's where our luggage still was. Once at the hospitality house we decided to grab some food for Lucas and I to share since we had only shared the fish tacos earlier. We got a pulled pork sandwich and fries and a couple bloody mary's which I had been SOOOO looking forward to!

We drove around to the hotel room, went in and were AMAZED!!! It was such a spacious room! I really wish I would've taken pictures but in all the chaos of getting our things in the room while it was raining, getting a little hangry, and Lucas spilling my bloody mary all over the counter, I completely forgot. I planned to do it at some point and just never did. The rooms need updating, which they are scheduled to get, but the 2 bedroom villa we were in was great. And don't worry about my blood mary, somehow it pretty much all stayed on the island/counter that it was spilled on and since I wanted it so bad and I knew the room was super clean, I honestly pushed it back into the cup and it was fine. Don't judge me please...well I understand if you do a little, but I didn't want to spend another $10 on a drink and I had only taken a couple sips of it so far.

That pretty much ended our evening. It was a great and long first day and we had another one lined up for Animal Kingdom for the next one. We got everyone situated for bed and crashed.

**Note - I'll be on vacation in Panama City Beach, FL visiting my dad all next week. I'll try to do at least one post while I'm there but I can't make any promises.**

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

Oh I love Panama City Beach. I'll be heading to Destin, Fl in 2 1/2 weeks for our summer beach trip.

Congrats on the Pixie Dust. I just love being able to spread out on vacation. Even though we aren't in the room all that much it's still nice.

So glad that Jackson made the height requirement. A whole new world just opened up for him.

 

[Senk]

We hopped in our clamshells and rode through the "Big Blue World." I didn't take any pictures on the ride. I don't really know why. Afterwards, the boys wanted to look around at the fish in the big aquariums. I told them they had 10 minutes, because they'd stay in there all day if I let them and they respond very well to time limits.

Um, I didn't know there was a ride there. Like had no idea there was anything in that area. Honestly I didn't even see that area of the park. I'm kinda embarrassed about this. I guess somewhere in the back of my mind I had heard about Turtle Talk with crush but the rest of it, nada. Oh well

This is when the craziest thing happened. We were looking at some fish and Jackson started scooting a little too close to a lady that was getting her picture taken. I hollered at him to move because that nice lady didn't want his butt in the picture. I then turn around see that the person taking the picture was one of my students! I teach at a high school and my students know of my love/obsession for Disney. I had spoken with this student about our trips being at the same time but I NEVER would've thought that we'd bump into each other. Honestly...what are the odds! It was so great to see her and we decided that we had to get a quick picture to commemorate the moment.

How fun! serioulsy that is the craziest coincidence!

I honestly pushed it back into the cup and it was fine. Don't judge me please...well I understand if you do a little, but I didn't want to spend another $10 on a drink and I had only taken a couple sips of it so far.

No judgment here, i would have totally done the same thing!

 

[rndmr2]

So cool that you met up with a student of yours on your trip. My dad used to run into people he knew all the time LOL.

No judgement from me about the stroller, it is a lot of walking for the little ones and you have to do what you have to do. We had my nephew in a stroller when he was 5 and then 7, then my niece when she was about 8 or 9. She did walk some and then we used the stroller to carry our bags.

Sounds like you had a great first day.

I haven't stayed in OKW but we stayed in a 2 BR Villa at Saratoga Springs in 2011 and it was a great room.

Have fun in Florida!

 

[Felicis]

Your whole family takes great photos! I am loving seeing some of the different photopass pics. Looks like an awesome start to your holiday.

 

[Raeven]

Just found your report and got caught up!

The pic is a little grainy but Brody was loving it. You'll also notice a trend in pictures...Brody gets what I call "crazy eyes" often. He's just a little awkward with forced pics, bless his heart.

So literally everyone on my dad's side of the family, me included automatically make "crazy eyes" in pictures. We widen our eyes like we've never taken a picture before. I know we do it so I try not to, but my dad and brother don't take a lot of pictures so they always do it

So the moment of truth came....we approached the height indicator AND.....

Aw so cute! And awesome that he was tall enough.

Honestly...what are the odds! It was so great to see her and we decided that we had to get a quick picture to commemorate the moment.

What a crazy coincidence!

This is also where I ask you not to judge me for using a double stroller for an 8 and 5 year old. This is our last stroller trip. I didn't have a stroller of my own and we were going to rent one but one of my best friends had this double stroller that she used on her trip and she loved it. I am TOTALLY aware that Brody is too large for the stroller but it was honestly a blessing. He complains about walking in Target.

No judgement here, I think if my parents had taken me and my brother somewhere with a lot of walking when we were that age we would've wanted to sit too as it was I remember our grocery store used to have carts with of seats attached for bigger kids and we used to always beg to sit in that to avoid walking around the market.