Feb 22 - Animal Kingdom

We arrived at Animal Kingdom (the day touringplans suggested was the best day to visit the park).  We had a brunch scheduled at Tusker house.

We entered the park and headed to dino land so the girls could ride TriceraTop Spin, seeing as it is like dumbo and has shorter lines.  We went on 3 times in a row while Jeff ran to get fast passes for everest.

After this we headed to Tusker House.

The meal was fabulous and had great variety.  The baby was very fasinated with the noses of the characters.

Next Sarah and Jeff went off to Everest while I walked with the children and MIL through Aisa (I never have had a chance to walk through before).  We stopped to take several photos with the photo pass photographers.  The baby fell asleep somewhere on this stroll. 

We finally ended up in dinoland again where the girls went to play in the Boneyard.  Sarah and Jeff actually beat us there so off to Dinosoar they went.  Jeff hated all the shaking of the ride, but Sarah loved it.

Everyone was ready to leave so off we went back to the villa for a swim and dinner at the Olive garden.  How exciting since we don't have one here.  We had a fabulous dinner.

We finished the night and headed to bed for an early night.

Feb 23 - Epcot and the start of illness

Today we had  reservations at 1900 Park Fare.  We got up and out on time and headed to the TTC.  As usual 10 minutes into our drive we realized that no one brought their camera and seeing as today was Mary Poppins, Alice and the Mad Hatter we had to turn around.  We arrived at our reservation exactly at 10:15 our reservation time.  We were told there would be a 20 minute wait so we decided to spend some time admiring the Grand Flo.  Everyone was impressed with it's decor and sarah announced that she was going to become a billionaire and buy the hotel. 

Meagan, the baby and myself headed outside to the beach area.  It was so nice and relaxing, a nice change from the hustle and bustle of  getting everyone in the car each morning.  (It was at this point I decided I would not stay off site again).  The baby stood in sand for the first time.  He didn't know what to think of it, and he would not move from the spot he was sitting.  Did I mention how much I enjoyed these 20 minutes?  The sun, the sand and the water,  SIGH to go back to these moments.  The baby exploring sand, Meagan building a sand castle by hand.  Then all too soon it was time to eat.

I broke my rule of not taking pre-breakfast photos for them to sell us at outrageous prices when I saw the backdrop.  The photo didn't turn out to badly, if only my MIL would smile instead of looking grumpy in the photo.

We had a fabulous server named June.  She was friendly and very accommodating.  Breakfast was wonderful, though it took 15 minutes for the chef to cook my omelet (and this was from the time the eggs hit the skillet to when I got my omelet, not the time waiting to order).  Everyone had finished eating before I even started.  I had to run back while it was cooking to get my photo with Mary Poppins.

 They even had the great juice that you also get at Tusker house.

Soon after this photo Jeff started feeling horrible

After breakfast, the girls insisted on going to Epcot to do Kim Possible.  Choosing it over the Magic Kingdom.  So we were off to Epcot.

one of the topiarys for flower and garden

We arrived at Epcot and signed up for our missions, then headed to Club Kool.  The baby needed a change so I left the family and Sarah and I headed to the baby change room.  When we returned the girls played in a fountain splash area and then we headed to England for our Kim Possible mission.  Jeff was not feeling well so he sat on a bench while we split up and Meagan and I did England, while Sarah MIL and Gillian did France.  Then we switch with Jeff going to France with Meagan and MIL and Sarah and Gillian going to England.   The girls had so much fun.

Gillian wanted to meet Rosetta so we picked up a snack and water and  headed to Pixie Hollow  with Sarah and MIL, while Jeff, Meagan and Baby went to rest at the baby care centre.

After the fairies, we arrived at the baby care centre, to find Jeff really sick, we made a stop at first aid and they gave him sudafed, something for pain and throat stuff.  I was surprised that they didn't have any nurses on duty to take a look at his symptoms as in the Magic Kingdom I have seen a nurse.  Jeff took the medicine, and off we went back to our villa.

Jeff went to sleep and I didn't hear from him until the morning.  I took the kids swimming, fed them and then they watched a movie.  Sarah and I ran to the store to pick up something for us to eat for dinner. I then watched Lou eat the burger and fries I had planned to have that night on my computer.

February 21st - Epcot

The morning we made a great start, our reservation was set for 9:50 and we arrived at Epcot in time for the rope drop.

Meagan, Jeff and Sarah, Beelined it to Test Track to get fast passes, while I tried to find Pixie Hollow which wasn't on the map, but the times guide said that Tinkerbell would be there starting at 9:30.  I thought I would find it and stand in line so the kids could see Tinkerbell and we would still make our dining in time.  However this was not to be,  after asking 5 CM they all told me to go toward test track turn right, go past the bathrooms, follow the path to the mouse gear store and it would be there (labeled).  We get there and see nothing.  So we stood around with other parents confused.  At 9:30 we gave up and started heading to our reservations, by the baby station building.  Looking to our right we spotted a banner, instead of turning at the fountain we should have gone straight.  So at 9:35 we got in line, and at 9:37 they closed the line.... PHEW  just made it.

Tinker Bell and Terrace were fabulous.  They chat away the entire time, no rushing kids or anything.  I would put a photo in but I was using photo pass so I didn't take any photos with my camera.  (yes I prebought the photopass for $99).

So off to a reservation (again 20 minutes late).  We had a fabulous meal (though I was worried as I had heard it wasn't good lately).  The baby loved the princesses.

Shortly after this photo, my hubby decided to change a stinky diaper,  Let's just say that the baby returned in no clothes and a diaper.  Fortunately I had extra clothes with me for him.

Next we went to sign up for Kim Possible.  We had to wait for our time so Sarah, Meagan and Jeff went off to ride Fast Track with fast passes and MIL, Gillian, baby and I sat outside waiting for them to return.

Gillian decided to cool off in a spray fountain area,  I had a towel with me as I had brought it in case the baby got sick again, so she used it to dry off. MIL and Gillian then went into inoventions while I waited for the others and the baby slept.  After we all got back together we went shopping at mousegear, yet another spot that gave me 20% of my purchase.

Then it was time to head off to Save the World with Kim Possible.  Knowing our children we had two communicators and went to 2 different countries (China and Mexico).  The kids loved every minute of it.
After we were done we headed to the front of the park to be picked up by the DVC van and attend a presentation.  It was great for the girls they could play and cool down and we got coffee and cookies. 

Our DVC presenter was warned that I knew everything about DVC already, and as it turned out I knew more about Disney than her in general.  For instance she had no idea that toon town was closed for good.  She also hadn't thought about the fact that renting points and then paying cash for a cruise would be a better use of your points.  We spent 1/2 hour talking about her upcoming vacation and I convinced her that a membership of touringplans would be useful as she could get a plan for her visit the next week.

In the end, when the prices were presented, MIL, could not see the value of spending money this way.  She felt we would be better off investing our money to educate our children, like she did.  She also said then we would be stuck to vacation just in Disney (which isn't a bad thing).  Well hubby started thinking about it and crunching numbers and decided this would not be the best idea at this point.  But we did get our super fast passes :)

We returned back to our villa, for dinner and swimming. 

After putting the kids to bed,  Sarah, Jeff and I headed to the Magic Kingdom to ride some adult rides.  We did pirates(my first time), Jungle cruise, haunted mansion(where we got stuck at the very beginning) and Winnie the pooh (OK not a kids ride but it was a 5 minute wait).  We also stopped at every photo pass photographer and got photos with the castle.  Jeff started feeling crappy so we headed back to our villa.

February 20th - Magic Kingdom

So we had breakfast reservations at 8:20 am at Crystal Palace.  We all piled into the van and headed to the Magic Kingdom.  5 minutes into our drive, the baby got sick so we had to turn around to clean him up.

All in all we were only 20 minutes late for our reservation.



We remembered to take a photo of our rental vans plate so we could find it later



 So into the magic kingdom we went and while waiting to get into crystal palace we documented the baby's first visit to the MK

And Gillian needed her photo as well.

Breakfast was fabulous.  The baby pushed Tiger and Pooh away, but loved Piglet and EEyores nose.  However interesting enough Tiger became the one character that he got the most excited about later.



I love the fact that Piglet is waiting in the background to come to our table



After breakfast we were off to Winnie the Pooh.  The new interactive queue, was fabulous.  Of course it helped to have a 16 year old with us who could supervise the children while we waited in the line.  The wait wasn't long, the only thing that I wish I would have remembered was my ergo for the baby, he was rather heavy to hold and didn't like wearing the shoes we bought for him so we couldn't put him on the ground.  The baby got so excited when he saw tigger in the ride.

Next The girls, MIL and I went to small world while Jeff pushed baby around the park in the stroller while he napped a little (and found himself a milkshake).

After small world we used our fast passes for Peter Pan and a ride on the carousel that I will always call Cinderella's even though Prince Charming has taken it over.

Then off to adventureland,  the park was starting to get crowded,  the girls wanted to do the treehouse, and it was so busy that there was an actual wait to get in.

Then I finally had a dole whip.  What a treat it was fabulous.  By this time the kids were hot and tired and wanted to go back and swim.  So off we went with a final stop at the chapeau shop for hats.

After a swim we headed to DD to do some shopping.

I finally got to stand in front of the Adventurers Club (sadly it is no longer open)

The walls up around the the lego store make the entrance into the marketplace very crowded.  The kids were not too impressed with the tempory lego store and were sad the real one wasn't there.

On the way to Earl of Sandwich, we were convinced by the DVD guy to attend a session the next day.  In return we would get 7 3 ride fast passes.

Earl of Sandwich was fabulous for 6 of us it cost $50 to eat.

Finally we did some shopping at the World of  Disney.  I got myself a new purse perfect to carry not only my stuff, but diapers and wipes too.  This was the first time I used my AP and it says upgraded on the back and for some reason some castmembers would give me the 20% discount for the premium pass instead of the 10% I should get.  This was one of the times I got the 20%.

Our final stop was the dragon in the lake



Back to our home away from home. 

(Did I mention the bed in our room in the villa was the loudest bed on the planet.  Every movement caused a loud rumble)

Introduction

At the beginning of 2010, Lou Mongello announced a group cruise on the new disney dream.  It was something I really wanted to join to be able to meet up with other disney people like me.

After having major surgery, my hubby and I decided that for our 10th anniversary we would go on a WDW radio cruise and add 8 days in the park.  Spending a total of 13 days in the parks and on the Disney dream.

After a year of planning it has come and gone.

Enjoy reading the highs and lows of our vacation.

Arrival at Villa

We arrived at our villa and hit our first hicup of our trip.

The Villa guards would not accept the delivery of our stroller we rented.  So once inside the villa I had a conversation with Magic Strollers to arrange delivery.  It was decided that we would stay put until it arrived.  My hubby walked to the guard area to let them know we were expecting a delivery and gave them his cell phone number, and off to the pool we went.

The pool was fabulous

Our stroller arrived while we were swimming. 

The weather was fabulous it was 27C and sunny.  We all enjoyed a quiet relaxing afternoon.  Next up for the hubby and I was off to get supplies, Milk, snacks and water and to pick up my AP and my tables in wonderland in DD. 

I witnessed my first Disney Magic at DD for someone.  His son was sick and they were leaving to go back home, the cm at guest services, issued him a credit to purchase a two day pass on his next trip.  (I was thinking how much it would suck to get sick on a trip to WDW - was this forshadowing upcoming events?)

For dinner we went to Applebees(corner of 192 and 7 dwarfs), at first everything was great, our 20 minutes wait for a table become 5 minutes and they appologized for the wait.  However after that it was horrible.  The service was awful, my food arrived cold and my broccolli was cold and uncooked.  My 9 year old, said her hamburger was horrible and didn't eat much.  My MIL in her brilliance decided that the baby needed something to distract him, so first she gave him the bottle of Ketchup from the table and when I took that away, she gave him a bottle of aspiran from her purse, fianally I conscented to tic tacs.

Next we went to sams club and bought a few more essentials.

Being as the day started at 4:30 am and it was now 7, we got the kids ready for bed and all of us were asleep by 9am.

February Trip to WDW - getting ready to fly out and arriving in Orlando

My trip started on February 18th, with my hubby and I loading the van with 4 suitcases, 7 crayons, a stroller and 7 people (my hubby and I, the 4 kids 16, 9, 7 and 1 and the MIL). We were stuffed in like sardines. Next off to dinner at swiss chalet, then off to the Hotel at the airport for the night.

The 45 minute drive ended up taking 2 hours because of an accident on the 401. Finally we arrived at the airport hotel checked in and got into our room. Everything went smoothly and we got everyone in bed and asleep by 9:30 to get up for an early flight at 7am on Feb 19.

I didn't sleep well it could have been the excitement or the strange bed, but at 4:30am the wake up call rang in both of our adjoining rooms. Of course the people beside the phones, the hubby and MIL both didn't answer the phone. In fact we received 3 calls before they did.

By 5am the 7 of us trudged through the hotel to the tram. Both my hubby and MIL are annoying on travels day (something I was well aware of prior to booking this vacation). I had instructed my hubby to stick with his mom and I would take care of the children. This way they would not annoy me.

We arrived in the airport got our bag tags and headed for the long trip through customs and security.

This is the first time travelling with a baby so I had packed oranges (something you can't bring through customs now I know), grapes, blueberries and lots of cereal, goldfish and other baby snacks. We had to go in the glass doors for them to take our oranges from us (ironically they had been shipped to Canada from the US). Everyone was pleasant about it though. Next through security screening. Because we had a stroller we had to go through a special line, it was very simple to get through with the baby liquids and such. Then off to our gate.

We arrived at our gate at 6:30 and they were already boarding the plane (I should mention that while waiting in the customs line there were people behind us who's flight was leaving at 6:30). We made a quick stop at tim Hortons for food, water and coffee for the us and the kids for the flight.

We settled in on the plane. I used the CARES-kids fly safe for the baby. It worked fabulously. He was great on the whole flight. He didn't fuss much and of course fell asleep on final descent. We packed ourselves up and got off the plane.

I went with the kids and MIL to pick up luggage while hubby went to sign out the car. We loaded a cart with our luggage and went down to meet hubby. This was around the first time on this trip that I was told by my MIL that the baby was doing really good, and that she had thought we were crazy taking a baby to Disney World.

We found our car, got a car seat, loaded everyone into the car and we were off to our Villa in Kissimmee.