***The official September, 2016 Thread !!!***

[ArmyVet80]

43 more HOURS and we'll be on the plane headed to MCO. Looking to arrive around 9:50 am. Be to POFQ by 11-11:30 am. Head over to Epcot for a 1 pm ADR at the Biergarten..

 

[brnrss34]

2 days till I'm home and on the Wanyama Safari!!

 

[ArmyVet80]

23 hours until we are on our flight. So much to do with so little time.. Hahaha. Such is all WDW vacations..

 

[Amanda0126]

We leave tonight!!!!!!!!!!!!! AKL here we come!!!!

 

[Shughart]

ONE MORE SLEEP!

 

[Jax in the Box]

If your DH is anything like my DH, he will totally appreciate and understand all the prep work when you get there. My DH thinks it is stressful to plan out a Disney trip, but I say that's half the fun! It is basically my hobby!

Didn't work out... He's been here less than 24 hours and is ready to leave. I'm so bummed. It's our 1 & 3 DD/DS first and I guess only trip.

 

[ArmyVet80]

9 hours to go.. Flight departs Indianapolis, IN at 7:45 am and is due to arrive at 9:50 am at MCO. Weather for departure is looking good at 67 degrees and sunny for takeoff.. Landing doesn't look so bad at MCO either.

 

[chinarider]

Leaving for the airport in 45 minutes...... first time flying out solo- different type of trip since my daughter is there waiting for me. Praise God, she got the whole week off and will find out tonight if they granted her Sun and Mon ( my last two days)- who knows, she might be sick of my by then and want to go back to work

 

[brnrss34]

On plane ready to fly to Disney!

 

[aussiebill10]

Well our day has finally arrived after 32 hr travel time from Australia (with an 9 hr connection flight delay) 3 days in Dallas / Fort Worth a flight to Orlando pick up rental car spent last 7 nights road tripping to Washington DC,Gettysburg,Skyline Drive-Blueridge Parkway a detour around Charlotte to Savannah we have 4 hrs to drive to Pop Century
I have arranged for Magic Express to take us to MCO where daughter has a friend flying in from Texas and is thinking we are waiting at Pop for her to arrive
MNSSHP Sunday should be a blast I see Magic Kingdom is open till midnight tonight initially I think it was 9 so may / not head there or watch Fireworks from Poly

 

[Bluejean78]

Didn't work out... He's been here less than 24 hours and is ready to leave. I'm so bummed. It's our 1 & 3 DD/DS first and I guess only trip.

Oh no!! Maybe brainstorm some things he might like? Does he like Star Wars?

 

[Jax in the Box]

Oh no!! Maybe brainstorm some things he might like? Does he like Star Wars?

He doesn't like traveling, that's the conclusion I have reached. And he has no imagination. He skipped Dumbo because he said he'd get sick. Didn't understand the play area inside would be a fun, comfortable break for all of us He was so anxious having our kids (1&3, DD/DS) out of our comfort zone, and they picked up on that, they were cranky and he took that as evidence that we should leave less than 20 minutes after we went through the gate. I knew I'd lost him when he saw the parking/tram/monorail/bag check/ticket gate dance (even though I've tried explaining the process for six months).

Then... the monorail was down, meaning we waited three rounds for a ferry and then of course we were all randomly selected for additional screening. He threw a fit when he saw the bill for. Crystal Palace, even though I've tried explaining the concept of leisurely, air conditioned characters meets vs. waiting three hours in lines to meet characters for 30 seconds. He left earlier tonight. I'll be taking the kids home in the morning.

 

[KNovacovschi]

So we finally made at 3pm yesterday after a very long drive, lol. We had an issue with the hotel booked in SC but was able to get another one an hour later and got a full nights sleep.

So far our trip has turned out better then expected and hope our whole trip remains this way, I think it will though, we are in Disney after all. We went to check in at CBR and were advised we were "upgraded" to a pirate room, I nicely declined. Don't get me wrong they are nice rooms but we are 2 adults, so they called to see what could be done and what we were told next shocked me and had me in tears. We were upgraded to AKL!!! I can't believe it, I was in shock for a long time. In the 10 years we've been coming here we have never been upgraded, not even to just a higher category at our resort. We are now on the 2nd floor with a Savannah room. I absolutely love seeing all the animals while sitting on the balcony.

We are off to Epcot today to enjoy F&W!!!

 

[Bluejean78]

He doesn't like traveling, that's the conclusion I have reached. And he has no imagination. He skipped Dumbo because he said he'd get sick. Didn't understand the play area inside would be a fun, comfortable break for all of us He was so anxious having our kids (1&3, DD/DS) out of our comfort zone, and they picked up on that, they were cranky and he took that as evidence that we should leave less than 20 minutes after we went through the gate. I knew I'd lost him when he saw the parking/tram/monorail/bag check/ticket gate dance (even though I've tried explaining the process for six months).

Then... the monorail was down, meaning we waited three rounds for a ferry and then of course we were all randomly selected for additional screening. He threw a fit when he saw the bill for. Crystal Palace, even though I've tried explaining the concept of leisurely, air conditioned characters meets vs. waiting three hours in lines to meet characters for 30 seconds. He left earlier tonight. I'll be taking the kids home in the morning.

Wow, I'm so sorry. That must be so disappointing for you. Well, wait until the kiddos are a little older and it can be your special thing with just them

 

[Veronique]

He doesn't like traveling, that's the conclusion I have reached. And he has no imagination. He skipped Dumbo because he said he'd get sick. Didn't understand the play area inside would be a fun, comfortable break for all of us He was so anxious having our kids (1&3, DD/DS) out of our comfort zone, and they picked up on that, they were cranky and he took that as evidence that we should leave less than 20 minutes after we went through the gate. I knew I'd lost him when he saw the parking/tram/monorail/bag check/ticket gate dance (even though I've tried explaining the process for six months).

Then... the monorail was down, meaning we waited three rounds for a ferry and then of course we were all randomly selected for additional screening. He threw a fit when he saw the bill for. Crystal Palace, even though I've tried explaining the concept of leisurely, air conditioned characters meets vs. waiting three hours in lines to meet characters for 30 seconds. He left earlier tonight. I'll be taking the kids home in the morning.

I have low tolerance for this. To me, this is abusive behavior. HE is NOT the center of the world. You shut up and do sacrifice for your family and sigificant other. He left? Wow. No Wonder your kid were cranky, with so much aggressivity in their life.

I'm not kidding, I would see a couple therapist or divorce a husband who treat me like this. Your well being is important. Please choose yourself and your children over HIM. Clearly not worth it.

Sorry to be blunt.

 

[ElenaJane]

Didn't work out... He's been here less than 24 hours and is ready to leave. I'm so bummed. It's our 1 & 3 DD/DS first and I guess only trip.

Nooooo! I will say the first trip with DH he was a crabby dude. It took a second trip and he was hooked. I hope you can talk him into a second one!

 

[Shughart]

Our first 24 hours were crappy too. I chalk it up to jetlag, pms and the unrelenting unapologetic heat. We'll never go in September again. We'll also go on our own next time. We went with my inlaws and she scheduled us to death. Like 7am breakfasts and getting back to the room at 11-12pm depending on the buses. 2nd day of this had my daughter throwing up. For the rest of the trip we skipped morning activities, did what we wanted when we got to the park and met up with them for FP and ADR.

 

[skippyman111]

Hope everyone had a great time in September going to the parks !!! Thanks for participating in this thread !

 

[ArmyVet80]

A quick trip review from our Sept. 24 thru Oct. 1 trip.. Sorry it is 3 days after we have been home but I started my new job on 10/3/16 and had to do a bunch of laundry..

Arrival day: Went off without a hitch. 9 y/o niece and 4 y/o nephew loved the plane ride. My DS has an awesome video of my nephew geeking out over the take off and landing of the plane. We were the last ones to deboard the plane (wanted to kind of take our time as we arrived a little earlier than expected) and the pilot let my nephew sit in his pilots chair on the flight deck (cockpit). We arrived at POFQ and our rooms were ready so we dropped our carry-on items and headed to Epcot for lunch at the Biergarten. Everyone loved it.

Day 2: We did lunch at Sci-fi which is always awesome.. My niece thought that the movies/clips were great. My nephew was on information overload. Haha. Did MNSSHP after dinner at CRT. Had a blast but after being up for about 20 hours on departure day the kids were spent by the time Hallowishes ended. It's cool though because we got some pixie dust at the end of our trip.

Day 3: Lunch at Sanaa which everyone loved. The bread service was a big hit with my BiL and DS. The kids loved seeing the animals while they ate. Dinner at the Yachtsman... My niece ordered the 14 oz Prime Rib and ate the entire thing (after she ate her whole appetizer and 3 of my DS shrimp appetizer) lol. Everyone enjoyed the food and we spent the day at the AK. Rode Expedition Everest 6 times, Safari 3 times, Kali River Rapids 3 times and saw all of the shows they wanted to see. All of that with a storm that came thru right after we left Sanaa (around 1 pm.)

Day 4: This was the day we figured the kids would not enjoy. My DW and I decided to make it our Food & Wine Festival day. We snacked around after going to Teppen Edo for lunch (not my favorite so I went light). The kids thought the chef/cook at Teppen was awesome. They really liked when he made their shrimp wave at them. We took them to get Duffy fans they could get stamped at each country while we snacked on the different offerings. Dinner was at Rose & Crown.. Originally my sister didn't think that the kids would like it. They loved it. We got sat on the patio right next to the lagoon for Illuminations. We were celebrating our anniversary and my sisters birthday. They really hooked us up and our server was outstanding. She had a very good sense of humor and interacted well to keep the kids entertained until Illuminations started. Not that we were doing a bad job but they were used to our shenanigans by Day 4.. lol Who likes being "old" people while at WDW anyways?!?! Hahaha

Day 5: Via Napoli for lunch. We did ride every ride in Epcot on this fine day. Got FP+ for FEA, 30 minute wait for TT and a 15 minute wait for Soarin. Everything else was 10-15 minute waits. We knocked out FEA, TT, Soarin and Mission Space before lunch (smart move on mission space). Everything else was done by 3 pm. We decided to head over to MK to ride a couple of rides before our Spirit of Aloha dinner. Everyone liked the SoA for various reasons. DS and DW loved the pineapple bread and salad. Kids loved the show and the chicken. DBiL loved the all you care to drink Yuengling.. Hahahaha.. He may have needed it at this point in the trip. DW, DBiL, DNiece and I went to MK for EMH (open until 1 am) and rode SpaceM repeatedly as there was a "10 minute" wait that was more like just walking through the que. We closed the MK down and heard the "Kiss Goodnight"?!? for the first time. It was pretty awesome.

Day 6: Garden Grill for lunch (kids choice). We slept in some so once we woke up it was off to lunch then back to HS. Got to ride Star Tours numerous times where my 4 y/o nephew was the Rebel Spy two times. Hahaha. He loved it. Rode the Tower of Terror 3 times and RnR 2 times. Hit up TSM 2 times (once with FP and with virtually no standby wait). Got some pictures taken with characters and then saw the Star Wars fireworks. Called it an early night and headed back to the resort for some pool/hot tub time. Ended up hitting up Scat Cats which was awesome. The two guys from "Off Kilter" were playing when we walked in and there was a moderate crowd. We caught a few of their songs and had a night cap before we were off to bed.

Day 7: T-Rex for lunch. It was pretty good. I was kind of shocked. DNiece and DNephew did the "build-a-dino" and named them Steve (The T-Rex) and Stevie (The Mammoth). Walked around DSpring for a short period of time and then headed to the MK. This was our last night to spend at the parks and there was a MNSSHP that we did not have tickets to. We also had dinner reservations for California Grill at 8:50 pm to see the Hallowishes fireworks from on top of the Contemporary.

So we thought......

We had been in line for Astro Orbiter and a lightening storm blew in. No rain just some lightening off in the distance. They closed the ride and gave us FP's for a majority of the rides in the park. Since only 4 of us were in line and my DS and DNephew were at the Tomorrowland Speedway, we didn't have enough FP's for everyone to ride the same thing at the same time. My DNephew loved SplashM so my DW, DBiL, DNiece and DNephew decided to ride it and my DS and I just hungout and talked about random Disney stuff from our trip. We were standing over by BTMRR chatting when it happened. Two very nice CM's that work at BTMRR were playing games (hula hoops, ring toss, etc..) and they approached us. They asked if we were staying for the MNSSHP for that night and we told them "no, we went on Sunday night and had a blast but this is our last night before we head home tomorrow. They then asked "Would you like free tickets for all 6 of you to go to MNSSHP tonight as a going away surprise?" Of course we said "Um... Are you kidding? We would love to go.". That is when we devised a plan to make my 9 y/o niece have to hula hoop for a "prize" when they got off SplashM. The CM's were great and played a long. As soon as the rest of our party joined us after SplashM the CM told my niece "you could win something very special if you can hula hoop for 15 seconds". My niece loves to hula hoop and said "I will do it for 30 seconds just to show you". lol. After 15 seconds the CM's said that she had won tickets to that nights MNSSHP. My DW's jaw dropped to the floor and then she stopped me and said "we are going to lose $60 and our reservations at California Grill tonight".. This is not true as I had already changed our reservation time with the help from the CM's from 8:50 pm to 6:30 pm. It was only 4 pm and it gave us plenty of time to run back to the resort to shower, change, etc.. Her eyes lit up almost as much as the kids and then she started to tear up (she never cries). It was very very cool.

We ended up having an amazing dinner at California Grill and hitting up MNSSHP on our final night without a hitch. We did miss a little bit of the party but it was well worth it. We all stayed until 12 am and headed back to the resort as we had to be up for check-out before 11 am.

Departure Day: We had lunch at The Boathouse. It was amazing and we will definitely be going back for our trip in Jan. 2017 for the Dopey. By this time the kids were pretty tired from being on the go and such all week even though we had built in pool/resort time every day. The flight home went well.

All in all it was a success. The kids loved it. My DS and DBiL now understand why we go every year and are planning an "adults" only trip during the Food & Wine Festival so they can enjoy some of the different offerings a little more than they could this trip. lol.

My DW and I have 31 days until our Wine & Dine Half Marathon weekend and are looking forward to that and the Dopey in Jan 2017. Plans are underway for the Anniversary 8.0 trip too.

Sorry for the rambling. Hope that you enjoyed the read if you made it this far.

 

[2Gma]

Arrived back home on Monday 10/3...sad that it's over already but had a fantastic time!

What was everyone's highlight or favorite moment of the trip? Trying to keep the magic alive!

For me, I think it was watching my DD's face filled with amazement as she watched the Star Wars fireworks.