jsanders82
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Nov 6, 2011
Where do you even start? We had an awesome trip to WDW. It was worth all the planning and YouTube videos. Thank you to everyone who took the time to answer my questions on this board. It’s hard to believe it is over.
I guess the best place is to start with who we are.
Who:
Me – 36, mom to 4 kids, works in insurance, 5 trips to WDW since I was a kid
DH – 38, works in sales, never been to WDW before
DS – 11, in 5th grade, loves Star Wars & Chewbacca, 2nd trip to WDW
DD – 10, in 4th grade, likes Disney but no a hardcore fan, 2nd trip to WDW
DSD – 10, in 3rd grade, loves Disney princesses, never been to WDW
My brother and his family also joined us on the trip so we had 9 people in our group. We spent some days split up and others together. Hopefully, my trip report will help other planning a large family trip.
When: March 16 – March 23
Where did we stay: Windsor Hills (5 bed / 5 bath)
I started planning this trip about 1.5 years ago. I went before when I was previously married and my two kids were 4 and 3. They don’t remember it. My husband and stepdaughter had never been before. It was almost like a “first” trip for everyone except me. I planned some special events just for them.
Pre Travel Day, March 15 – we started our travel day the day before we flew out of Dallas. Since we live about 1.5 hrs away from the airport with a 6am flight, we all decided to stay in Dallas close to the airport. My brother actually lives in Oklahoma so he is about 3 hrs away.
We had a lot to accomplish this day. My husband had to work while I took the day off. I needed to pick my stepdaughter up in Oklahoma at 2:00. I wouldn’t be back home until around 4:00. I had finished packing our suitcases a few days earlier.
My husband gets home, packs the truck, meets with my coworker who is watching 2 (out of 4) of our dogs, and double checks the house. His brother will be staying at our house watching the other 2 dogs. I arrive back and it’s hard to believe… but we are on schedule. We planned to leave no later than 5:00 (I was thinking more like 7:00) but we were on the road by 4:30. We have time to kill so we drive out to Ft. Worth (about 40 mins from the airport) to have dinner with my MIL.
My brother had booked Crown Plaza on is points for all of us. When I spoke to him that afternoon, he said he would be getting in late as he had to finish up work before he started the drive. We made a few stops as we realized I forgot to pack my husband’s underwear… Whoops! We arrived at the hotel at 9:15 and had to wait until about 10:00 for my brother to arrive to check in. The kids were so excited. We set our alarms for 3am and tried to get some sleep.
Travel Day, March 16 – OMG! That alarm comes quickly! We slowly get up and start moving. Remind the kids that “guess what we will be in Disney World this afternoon”. The hotel is about 12 mins from the airport. We arrived about 4am as we were not sure how the flights would work out with the grounding of the MAX 800. We were lucky that our flight was not that aircraft but ½ the flights to Orlando were cancelled that day due to the aircraft. Our flight which is usually not sold out had a waiting list for families trying to get on it.
I love flying SouthWest. We keep pretty cheap fares and the customer service is always great. The pilot came out and talked to our kids while they were waiting to board. He showed them his pilot’s license and talked about flying with them. Flight was uneventful and I slept most of the way. We had planned the late afternoon and evening at HS so I knew I needed more sleep.
I rented a 14 person passenger van from Alamo. We ended up paying $654 for it. Small snag came when we were pulling out and Alamo tried to charge me for an extra driver for my husband. I told them that I confirmed twice with customer service that he would be covered at no additional charge. They then wanted to charge me and held us at the gate. I told them to call management as this is not the information I was told. After waiting about 10 mins, mgmt waived the fee but told me in the future they would charge me.
Got to the house, which was just as pictured. Settled in for a minute and then off to the Walmart pick up for our groceries. I love that this is an option now. I never once went in to the store but my husband said it was a mad house when he ran in later. Our guy Freddie was really nice. We tried to tip him but we were told they couldn’t accept it.
Lunch and adults napping. Kids were too hyped up to sleep so they swam and hung out. Back in the van, and off we go to HS. It was a short at most 15 min drive. We saved a lot by staying off site. I liked being able to decompress from all the people. It was a life saver not to share a room and bath with my kids
Hollywood Studios, March 16 – Got to the park just before 4:00pm. Our family was having a Star Wars day while my brother’s family was off to other things. Wave goodbye and off we go.
The only rude behavior we encountered our whole trip was this moment and from another guest. Our family lined up to take our first picture in front with the Chinese theater behind us. When it was our turn, the March started so the photog asked us to stand to the side. Once they had marched on, I walked back up to him and he gave me the SB sign. There were a couple of younger girls (early 20’s) who tried to grab the sign. They said that they thought they were first. I literally said “no, we were here before the March started and he asked us to wait on the side while they were marching.” I was trying to explain we were not cutting. The young girl called me a fat B under her breath and they both proceeded to talk crap about me cutting while we were having our pics taken. My husband afterwards said he couldn’t believe that the girls were talking about me. Told him who cares we are in Disney World.
Off to our first FP which was Star Tours which had started at 3:40 pm. Loved the ride and we had Darth Vader appear in our show. Then it was off to RnR to try and get to the concert. I was nervous to ride this as I remember from before being kind of sick afterwards. Unfortunately, we had made a deal with the kids that they had to ride all the rides at least once so I did too. Below is our pic so you can see how that went
I got lucky and scored a SD FP at 5:45. It was cute and I liked it better than SDMT but I don’t see the hype. I’m glad we rode it as the kids were excited to try it. We had a FP for it again on our other HS day.
Finally, it was time to start meeting the SW characters. When we ducked in to the Launch Pad, it looked like it would rain. I told my DH that I hoped it rained while we were inside. BB8 was first and had the shortest wait. Only took about 5 mins. DH was disappointed with it. Next up was Kylo Ren. I am not a big Star Wars fan…I’ve actually never seen one of the movies. Either way, this guy was creepy. The kids and DH loved how they stay in character. Lastly, Chewbacca was on the list. We waited about 30 mins. My DS is a hugger. Chewy and him no kidding just about hugged the whole M&G. DS was over the moon as Chewie told him in Chewbacca language that he was his son.
We come out of the M&G and saw it was pouring – not a light rain. While everyone else is taking cover, we don our ponchos and head out for dinner. ***On a side note, we passed some older girls – maybe late teens – lying in a rain drain with the water pouring through their hair. They were completely soaked. I got a little grossed out watching all the dirt and leaves drain around them. ***
We went to BackStage Express for dinner. We even found a table inside in the right side of the restaurant. It was still raining while we ate. My husband and I got the Chicken and biscuits which was pretty decent. DSD got the kids chicken strips; DS and DD got the adult bacon cheeseburger. We got one soda and for some reason my DH bought bottled water. Total was $65.64. We were going to buy the peanut butter brownie but we didn’t realize the restaurant closed at 7:30. We were lucky that we got t o eat as we should up at 7:15.
We decided to hit up Toy Story Land. Let me tell you – the rain clears out people. Not to mention those who were there, were lining up for Fantasmic. We walked right on for Alien Saucers. It was ok. Glad we rode it but never did it again. Then we hopped on Slinky Dog again with a 15 min wait. I don’t even think it was that long. We liked this one at night better. The whole TSL was pretty at night. Then we were heading back for Star Wars fireworks.
It was not crowded at all. We sat in front of the trees / planters to the left of the theater. A family sat in front of us but no one stood between us and then show. We saw the Disney movies show – not sure what it is called. As I mentioned, I don’t follow Star Wars but I thought the show was great. My DH even got sports tears as it reminded him of his childhood.
It was a great night and a long day. It took us about 15 mins to get back to the house where we all collapsed in exhaustion. Told the kids to get to bed as we had to leave the house by 6:45 to RD Magic Kingdom the next day.
I guess the best place is to start with who we are.
Who:
Me – 36, mom to 4 kids, works in insurance, 5 trips to WDW since I was a kid
DH – 38, works in sales, never been to WDW before
DS – 11, in 5th grade, loves Star Wars & Chewbacca, 2nd trip to WDW
DD – 10, in 4th grade, likes Disney but no a hardcore fan, 2nd trip to WDW
DSD – 10, in 3rd grade, loves Disney princesses, never been to WDW
My brother and his family also joined us on the trip so we had 9 people in our group. We spent some days split up and others together. Hopefully, my trip report will help other planning a large family trip.
When: March 16 – March 23
Where did we stay: Windsor Hills (5 bed / 5 bath)
I started planning this trip about 1.5 years ago. I went before when I was previously married and my two kids were 4 and 3. They don’t remember it. My husband and stepdaughter had never been before. It was almost like a “first” trip for everyone except me. I planned some special events just for them.
Pre Travel Day, March 15 – we started our travel day the day before we flew out of Dallas. Since we live about 1.5 hrs away from the airport with a 6am flight, we all decided to stay in Dallas close to the airport. My brother actually lives in Oklahoma so he is about 3 hrs away.
We had a lot to accomplish this day. My husband had to work while I took the day off. I needed to pick my stepdaughter up in Oklahoma at 2:00. I wouldn’t be back home until around 4:00. I had finished packing our suitcases a few days earlier.
My husband gets home, packs the truck, meets with my coworker who is watching 2 (out of 4) of our dogs, and double checks the house. His brother will be staying at our house watching the other 2 dogs. I arrive back and it’s hard to believe… but we are on schedule. We planned to leave no later than 5:00 (I was thinking more like 7:00) but we were on the road by 4:30. We have time to kill so we drive out to Ft. Worth (about 40 mins from the airport) to have dinner with my MIL.
My brother had booked Crown Plaza on is points for all of us. When I spoke to him that afternoon, he said he would be getting in late as he had to finish up work before he started the drive. We made a few stops as we realized I forgot to pack my husband’s underwear… Whoops! We arrived at the hotel at 9:15 and had to wait until about 10:00 for my brother to arrive to check in. The kids were so excited. We set our alarms for 3am and tried to get some sleep.
Travel Day, March 16 – OMG! That alarm comes quickly! We slowly get up and start moving. Remind the kids that “guess what we will be in Disney World this afternoon”. The hotel is about 12 mins from the airport. We arrived about 4am as we were not sure how the flights would work out with the grounding of the MAX 800. We were lucky that our flight was not that aircraft but ½ the flights to Orlando were cancelled that day due to the aircraft. Our flight which is usually not sold out had a waiting list for families trying to get on it.
I love flying SouthWest. We keep pretty cheap fares and the customer service is always great. The pilot came out and talked to our kids while they were waiting to board. He showed them his pilot’s license and talked about flying with them. Flight was uneventful and I slept most of the way. We had planned the late afternoon and evening at HS so I knew I needed more sleep.
I rented a 14 person passenger van from Alamo. We ended up paying $654 for it. Small snag came when we were pulling out and Alamo tried to charge me for an extra driver for my husband. I told them that I confirmed twice with customer service that he would be covered at no additional charge. They then wanted to charge me and held us at the gate. I told them to call management as this is not the information I was told. After waiting about 10 mins, mgmt waived the fee but told me in the future they would charge me.
Got to the house, which was just as pictured. Settled in for a minute and then off to the Walmart pick up for our groceries. I love that this is an option now. I never once went in to the store but my husband said it was a mad house when he ran in later. Our guy Freddie was really nice. We tried to tip him but we were told they couldn’t accept it.
Lunch and adults napping. Kids were too hyped up to sleep so they swam and hung out. Back in the van, and off we go to HS. It was a short at most 15 min drive. We saved a lot by staying off site. I liked being able to decompress from all the people. It was a life saver not to share a room and bath with my kids
Hollywood Studios, March 16 – Got to the park just before 4:00pm. Our family was having a Star Wars day while my brother’s family was off to other things. Wave goodbye and off we go.
The only rude behavior we encountered our whole trip was this moment and from another guest. Our family lined up to take our first picture in front with the Chinese theater behind us. When it was our turn, the March started so the photog asked us to stand to the side. Once they had marched on, I walked back up to him and he gave me the SB sign. There were a couple of younger girls (early 20’s) who tried to grab the sign. They said that they thought they were first. I literally said “no, we were here before the March started and he asked us to wait on the side while they were marching.” I was trying to explain we were not cutting. The young girl called me a fat B under her breath and they both proceeded to talk crap about me cutting while we were having our pics taken. My husband afterwards said he couldn’t believe that the girls were talking about me. Told him who cares we are in Disney World.
Off to our first FP which was Star Tours which had started at 3:40 pm. Loved the ride and we had Darth Vader appear in our show. Then it was off to RnR to try and get to the concert. I was nervous to ride this as I remember from before being kind of sick afterwards. Unfortunately, we had made a deal with the kids that they had to ride all the rides at least once so I did too. Below is our pic so you can see how that went
I got lucky and scored a SD FP at 5:45. It was cute and I liked it better than SDMT but I don’t see the hype. I’m glad we rode it as the kids were excited to try it. We had a FP for it again on our other HS day.
Finally, it was time to start meeting the SW characters. When we ducked in to the Launch Pad, it looked like it would rain. I told my DH that I hoped it rained while we were inside. BB8 was first and had the shortest wait. Only took about 5 mins. DH was disappointed with it. Next up was Kylo Ren. I am not a big Star Wars fan…I’ve actually never seen one of the movies. Either way, this guy was creepy. The kids and DH loved how they stay in character. Lastly, Chewbacca was on the list. We waited about 30 mins. My DS is a hugger. Chewy and him no kidding just about hugged the whole M&G. DS was over the moon as Chewie told him in Chewbacca language that he was his son.
We come out of the M&G and saw it was pouring – not a light rain. While everyone else is taking cover, we don our ponchos and head out for dinner. ***On a side note, we passed some older girls – maybe late teens – lying in a rain drain with the water pouring through their hair. They were completely soaked. I got a little grossed out watching all the dirt and leaves drain around them. ***
We went to BackStage Express for dinner. We even found a table inside in the right side of the restaurant. It was still raining while we ate. My husband and I got the Chicken and biscuits which was pretty decent. DSD got the kids chicken strips; DS and DD got the adult bacon cheeseburger. We got one soda and for some reason my DH bought bottled water. Total was $65.64. We were going to buy the peanut butter brownie but we didn’t realize the restaurant closed at 7:30. We were lucky that we got t o eat as we should up at 7:15.
We decided to hit up Toy Story Land. Let me tell you – the rain clears out people. Not to mention those who were there, were lining up for Fantasmic. We walked right on for Alien Saucers. It was ok. Glad we rode it but never did it again. Then we hopped on Slinky Dog again with a 15 min wait. I don’t even think it was that long. We liked this one at night better. The whole TSL was pretty at night. Then we were heading back for Star Wars fireworks.
It was not crowded at all. We sat in front of the trees / planters to the left of the theater. A family sat in front of us but no one stood between us and then show. We saw the Disney movies show – not sure what it is called. As I mentioned, I don’t follow Star Wars but I thought the show was great. My DH even got sports tears as it reminded him of his childhood.
It was a great night and a long day. It took us about 15 mins to get back to the house where we all collapsed in exhaustion. Told the kids to get to bed as we had to leave the house by 6:45 to RD Magic Kingdom the next day.
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