A trip full of Triple Stay / Annual Pass / VIPassholder Fun - A Late Feb/Early March Trip

[SweetSerenity]

Can't wait for this!

The girls have grown so much!

 

[Araminta18]

I'm here!

So, this trip was a suprise to the girls. Gwen had asked after our last trip that the next one be a kept a secret. She really wanted to just be told when we were leaving for the airport. So, that is what we planned on doing. Our flight was on Friday, Feb 22nd @ 11:15, so the plan was get the girls ready for school like any other day.

Dude, I can totally sympathize with Gwen--there's something super fun about being surprised. And A+ to you parents for managing to keep it all a secret despite all the hassle!

Even Andy!

This is the BEST PICTURE EVER.

We checked out bags with Southwest and headed up to security. There was no one in the airport. It was dead! We used the Pre-Check line anyway, which was nice since we didn't have to take off our shoes and empty out all of our electronics. We breezed through security and headed to find our gate. And of course, there was no reason for me to worry about making it on time.

I'm with you--I'm always anxious about making sure we have plenty of time and then most of the time it ends up like this, where we had tons of time anyways. But still, better to be early than miss it!

Also, I love the girls' journals! Such a fun perspective.

 

[Lesley Wake]

They scanned Gwen's band when we were going to get on, and Gwen's band said the Poly on it. So they asked us where we were going. And we said Caribbean Beach and they were fine with it.

I hope that didn’t ruin the Polynesian surprise at all!

Day One: Travel Day & EPCOT --- Gwen's Version

My parents were sooo sneaky. We got ready to go to school but we didn't know yet! When my dad forgot his phone he went back to get it but we saw our mom with mouse ears and her phone. #what They said, we would need them for school but then daddy said There is no school, only Disney. #crazytime (For five mins Pleas jump for 5 seconds) We got changed, went to the airport.

**5 hours later**

Ok! We got to Disney.

Day One: Travel Day & EPCOT --- Morgan's Version

Today my mom and dad suprised me and my sister. They said that we were going to Disney! Soon we were off, going to the airport. When we got there, my mom and dad told us that they had free check, which let them and us skip all the waiting and walk right in. Soon we were in the gate. I was eating my treat. once I finished the treat, I started my homework and you know when I finished? I don't know yet, I haven't finished it yet. Not much happened on the plane besides my sister freaking out over a couple new players my dad earned. When we landed, I got changed. Then we went to the monorail which me and Gwen call the first ride. It is very short but it counts. Soon we were on the bus to the hotel. It took awhile but eventually we got there.

Love these so much!

 

[Tracy161]

I filled them with all the snacks I wanted them to put in there carryons! (sneaky huh?)

Sneaky and efficient!

So, Andy left with the girls to "drop" them off at school. Meanwhile, I grabbed the girls Mickey ears, threw mine on and waited for them to come back. Andy gave them a line that he forgot his phone and needed to come back. They pulled in, and Andy opened the mini-van door.

This is AWESOME! Job well done

Love this picture!

Also loving the girls' journal entries!

 

[amazingact21]

I love the different versions you're including. What a cool idea! It'll be fun to compare what you three deemed important enough to write down and what each of you thought was noteworthy.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Yay! Another TR and i’m happy I get to be a part of this one lol.

I am too! It was crazy how we all aligned our planning without trying!

That breakfast sandwich looks amazing!

Chickie n Pete is a staple of the Philly area, and it's basically a sports bar. But the food makes for good airport food for sure!

Popping over from your PTR. Love reading the girls’ perspective too. Looking forward to reading more. ( especially how the split stay part went )

Thanks for coming over and following along! I was excitied but also nervous about how the moving rooms would go.

Where are those Disney leggings from? I need them for my toddler!

So, they are lullaroe leggings. My girlfriend actually bought them for the girls. Mostly you have to buy them through someone selling them. But I have also found them on amazon. Which the ones I am wearing, I got from amazon.

We must live each other, we’re also relatively close to phl. But I’ve never had chickie and Pete’s.

Where are you? We are in South Jersey, Voorhees to be exact. Most of my chickie and pete eating has been at the airport... ooops.

Also, we tried to surprise my older son with a universal trip and he cried and dais he didn’t want to go. I’m glad your reveal went well.

Oye! We surprised the girls with a very last minute trip to Disneyland. And Morgan cried because she didn't want to go that far away. Morgan doesn't always do well with surprises. We are planning a December trip and leaving for Disney on Thanksgiving. And I was saying to DH that we might need to tell Morgan ahead of time. She just needs time to process it all.

Glad I found your PTR, followed you on the other ones. Reading the girls journaling is so cute! what a great idea!

Thanks! I will admit, I haven't read all of there entries, so I am not completely sure how intersting it will be.

I’m excited to hear about the 3 resort stay and all your dis meets!

Both of those were new to us items for sure! And both worked out great.

Joining in, sounds like a wonderful surprise for the girls! I love their version of the first day.

They did mention things that I forgot to meantion. It is always fun to see different sides of the story and what everyone remembers.

What a fun surprise! Can't wait to read about the rest of your trip!

Thanks for following along!

Joining in! Love hearing from the girls too!

Thanks!! I love sharing our trips. It is so fun to relive all of the memories

Can't wait for this!

The girls have grown so much!

That they have! And just wait I have a few pics where they really just look so grown up!

I'm with you--I'm always anxious about making sure we have plenty of time and then most of the time it ends up like this, where we had tons of time anyways. But still, better to be early than miss it!

I know everyone hates how early Magical Express is but I dont' mind it at all.

I'm here!

I am glad you are here!!!

I hope that didn’t ruin the Polynesian surprise at all!

I KNOW!! i kind of held my breathe. They didn't say anything about it. And when we finally switched, Gwen was like THAT IS WHY that guy said that!

Sneaky and efficient!

Morgan kind of noticed what I was putting in them but she didn't say anything. And then after she was like THAT IS WHY you packed all snacks for lunch! Ha.

I love the different versions you're including. What a cool idea! It'll be fun to compare what you three deemed important enough to write down and what each of you thought was noteworthy.

Thanks. It is fun. And they already pointed out different things. I kind of forgot what I actually said to them when they opened the car door. And I forgot that we changed clothes!

 

[ariane37]

I'm here!!!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Day One: Travel Day & EPCOT (Part 2)

I left us off on Magical Express. Caribbean Beach was the first stop and we were the only family to get off of the bus.


We were here! I still hadn't gotten a room text, so we headed into check in.

I failed and didn't take any photos of the lobby. But the new lobby is REALLY beautiful! I was really impressed with it. It was bright, clean and just really nice to be in.

We headed over to the check in area. They have it set up in an L Shape along the windows, like you would expect a check in area. But then they have 2 or 3 big high top tables in front. And there they had a few CM with tablets checking people in at the tables. Kind of in a more informal check in area. I went up to one of the regular desk to an open CM .

We had a very nice CM who had a very thick Caribbean accent. I think I understood like every 3rd word. But he was very nice and very helpful. He did say he had to "activate" our bands. Which might have explained why they didn't work at Magical Express. And our room was ready!

He talked up how good our room location was. I had booked a perferred room booking wiht the promotion they had going on, so I was hoping it was actually a good location..


Meh... The location was one of the farthest rooms in the perferred rooms area from the lobby. It was fine but he was really selling it as a great location. The big triangle is the main lobby and main pool. And he circled the number 33 but our room was past that even!

He also, spotted the girls with there Perry plush. And said hold on a second. He ran off and came back with 2 gray magic bands. He asked the girls to come over. And he said that everyone in our party needs magic bands. And gave the plush each there own. The girls thought this was great!

Since our room was ready we headed to the room to drop off our carry on bags.

We got to see the new Rivera Hotel being built. It is HUGE!!!!


And the Skyliner!

Man the walk felt like forever!!! it was hot today! Hotter than we were expecting and I didn't change at the airport, so I was still in leggings and sweating!!!

But we made it to the room. I think we were also all hungry as it was about 3:30 and all we had eaten was the breakfast food at the airport.

I also, did a trip report fail and didn't take any pictures of the room. But the room was basically the same as we had last time we were hear but none the less a nice room. I did get photos of the girls plush...


I mean that is what is really important right?!?!



The girls of course wanted to swim, but I didn't have there suits, as they were in the suitcases and that wasn't the plan. So, I had to convince them to head out to EPCOT for some food!

Up next... EPCOT and we become official Annual Passholders!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

I'm here!!!

YEAH!!!!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Day One: Travel Day & EPCOT (Part 2) ---- Gwen's Version

We sign into the hotel and go to our room. I have a pull down bed. FYI this time it was not lounge. (I am not sure that she means by that...) Now we got to EPCOT.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Day One: Travel Day & EPCOT (Part 2) ----- Morgan's Version

We went to the bathroom. Then set off once more. We were off to EPCOT for the rest of the day. We took a bus down to EPCOT. I forgot to say that we got Snack around the World passes, made by mommy.

 

[Araminta18]

That is awesome, giving the plushies the magic bands!

Day One: Travel Day & EPCOT (Part 2) ---- Gwen's Version

We sign into the hotel and go to our room. I have a pull down bed. FYI this time it was not lounge. (I am not sure that she means by that...) Now we got to EPCOT.

Did you guys do club level recently? Was she talking about the club level lounges maybe?

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Day One: Travel Day & EPCOT (Part 3)

We headed out to find the bus stop. Our bus stop was really close, so that was nice. The app said that a bus should be coming at 3:43 and I took a picture of the bus times at 3:44. So, apparently not completely correct. We didn't wait long. But the bus ride did feel like forever! But I think it was just that we were so anxious to get there and get vacation going!

Our first line of business was to get our Annual Passes activated. So, we went over to the Customer Service window. The girls didn't understand why we had to do this, as this was a first for us. But thankfully, there was no line and we were able to walk right up to the window.

The gentleman got us all set with our passes, I had bought them online a month at a time, so we just need to activate them. And then I also purchased a Tables in Wonderland card for us to use.

We were finally ready to head into the park!


Lines were that bad at this time of day (4:24) but we wanted to use the Annual Pass line, because I mean we could!

And FINALLY we were in the park!!!


One of the things we really wanted to do was the animation class over at the Odyssey. So, we decided to head that way to see what time the shows were. As we passed Mouse Gears, and the girls spotted something they were very intrested in.




The girls were very excitied about the jumbo sized treats. But we left them there for now.

As we moved on, we found a Festival of the Arts Booth! And we were hungry! So, we went and got in line.

The girls wanted there own Painted Brush Churro Bites.




They loved them. I didn't try them, but they were churros...

Andy and I decided to split the Lobster Bacon Mac n Cheese Cone.


This was really good. Although, we were really hungry, soooo I am not sure we were the best judges at that point. There was big chunks of lobster in it, for sure which is good.

And then Andy wanted to try the milkshake. I had said we should skip it but we got it anyway...

It was def just ok. It was a milkshake. Not overlly pancakey.

The food did a lot for our moods, for sure. It was hot, so we moved towards the Odyess pavillion with our food. We went in and grabbed a table inside. Which was nice to be in air conditioning! I took a look at the items in that area. Most was the same as what was there last year. So, we passed. But I did decide to get the Beer and Popcorn flight.


This was really fun. And the popcorn flavors did really add to the beer.


I really liked the buffalo popcorn with the beer the most. It really added the most to the beer.

They did have CM training when I ordered mine, and the CM earning her ears was SUPER slow. But I knew why, so it was fine. I also went over and ask one of the CM when the next animation class was, and they said the guy was taking a break for half an hour. So, we had to decide what we wanted to do. Did we want to wait for all that time or go use our first fast pass.

We finished our food and decide to head over to use our Fast Passes for Spaceship Earth and then come back for the drawing class.

I have to stop here and do you know, real things like feed my children and go grocery shopping. Blah! Up next Spaceship Earth, drawing class and more EPCOT fun!

 

[cadien]

Yay! A new one!

Next is my DH, Andy.

'
This made me laugh because my DH totally keyed on this treat as well, although I didn't get a photo of him with it.

We stopped and grabbed some breakfast to go from Chickie n Pete's. A tradition for us at this point.

Doesn't it look amazing?!? No? They liked it. Gwen also got a chocolate milk (not pictured)

And then Andy and I decided to split an egg sandwich.

This was amazing!!!! And huge!!! It had hot peppers and cheese on it. And came with a side of Crab Fries. Which I love but at 10AM I only need so many. It def hit the spot and hopefully would hold us over till we got to Florida.

When I lived in Portland OR, there was a New York style sub place that did one with scrambled eggs, banana peppers, provolone, mayo, and oregano. It was AMAZING. I still make it.

 

[Jenny Sanders]

Late to the party, but I finally made it!!!

 

[Terra Nova guy]

Joining in for another one!
Surprising the girls is a nice way to start a trip. I've never done that but always thought it would be fun.
It looks like you are in the same building I stayed at in CBR, way back in 2010 (it was Trinidad |North back then). I do remember the walk being a bit far, so much that my wife has vowed to never go back to CBR again!

 

[kirs10paige]

I'm so excited to be following along. I love your trip reports!!

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

But I’ve never had chickie and Pete’s.

Blasphemy! What kind of fries do you get at a Phillies game, then????

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

One of the things we really wanted to do was the animation class over at the Odyssey. So, we decided to head that way to see what time the shows were. As we passed Mouse Gears, and the girls spotted something they were very intrested in.

Giant Macaroons
And Mickey Bars

Oh man, not only stuffies but giant ones? That's making my anti-stuffed-character self twitch just thinking about it.

I have to stop here and do you know, real things like feed my children and go grocery shopping.

Meh, the girls are old enough that the can find food in the fridge. Send the hubby grocery shopping and update away!!!!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

This made me laugh because my DH totally keyed on this treat as well, although I didn't get a photo of him with it.

I have trained Andy well. He just knows I need my pictures!

Late to the party, but I finally made it!!!

Glad you made it!!!

Joining in for another one!
Surprising the girls is a nice way to start a trip. I've never done that but always thought it would be fun.

It is hard to keep the secret. It is nice to have a trip to ask them what they want to do.

urprising the girls is a nice way to start a trip. I've never done that but always thought it would be fun.
It looks like you are in the same building I stayed at in CBR, way back in 2010 (it was Trinidad |North back then). I do remember the walk being a bit far, so much that my wife has vowed to never go back to CBR again!

It turned out to not be too too bad. But I was a little disapointed since it was to be a Perferred room. Where we stayed the first time was DEF WAY farther away and where they are building Riveria Now.

I'm so excited to be following along. I love your trip reports!!

Thank You!!! I am so glad you are here and following along. I truely love reliving the trips!

Blasphemy! What kind of fries do you get at a Phillies game, then????

Ha! That is the other place I usually get crab fries! Although, my husband is a Red Sox fan... so we don't go to many games. That and the girls have zero intrest in baseball.

Meh, the girls are old enough that the can find food in the fridge. Send the hubby grocery shopping and update away!!!!

Ha! I wish.. Anytime Andy goes grocery shopping I end up with only half my stuff. But I am back and hoping to get another entry in, as we are just relaxing today.

Oh man, not only stuffies but giant ones? That's making my anti-stuffed-character self twitch just thinking about it.

Ha! I am sure. 3 of those would be a lot for you guys to lug back!