Boo To You and The Castle Suite Too! – A September 2013 TR

[JAMIESMITH]

Oh my goodness, it's like finding out about Santa and the Easter Bunny! I'm so glad you were able to see "the real Mickey" before you left! I have so enjoyed reading about your trip! Staying at Yacht Club would be amazing, but the Castle Suite, too is just a dream come true!

 

[weswife]

WOW!!!!

What an amazing win! Your trip was awesome!

I enjoyed your report! So happy you and your family enjoyed it!

 

[loveshak22]

Thank you! Real people actually win! Keep entering because you never know. I never in a million years thought I would win! Watch for Delta Vacations to put up this sweepstakes again this year. I think it's something they do each spring. If you like their facebook page they will announce it.

Well your trip report gives me hope

I've liked Delta's FB page so I'll keep my eyes out!

Thanks again for the TR - so fun to read!

 

[littlenellbell]

Oh man! And on your last morning too!!! You almost made it out of there!
At least he seems to have taken it well. No tears or freak out. I think you handled it really well!

I know, he was having so much fun with the characters then that had to happen! I was surprised how well he handled it. I was more upset about it than he was. Thankfully the "real Mickey" stepped in to save the day.

How cute that Carson looked after you on ToT the way he's checking you're OK in the photo is just priceless

It sounds as though you're having a great last morning and I love Alexa's face in the Splash photo

Carson can be such a sweetie sometimes!
We had a wonderful last morning! I also love Alexa's face! She's trying to be brave for her big brother, but she really is still a little afraid. It's pretty cute.

Enjoying reading along! Sounds like a dream come true vacation especially for your children at that age! Congrats but I can't deny that I am a little bit jealous

Thanks for reading along!!! It really was a dream come true for us and I'm so grateful it happened at the perfect age for my kids!

Awww I'm sad it's done! I've really enjoyed reading along.
And what a great ending with talking mickey and some swimming fun.

I'm a little sad it's done as well. I really enjoyed writing this and reliving all the wonderful things that we were lucky enough to experience. Thanks for reading along.
The last morning was awesome to be able to squeeze in some MK and SAB, perfect!!

What an incredible trip! Sorry its over but you certainly had a tale to tell!

Jill in CO

Yes, it was so incredible! Thank you so much for reading along.

LOVING your trip report. Spent more time than I'd like to admit reading through most of your trip postings today. The stay in the castle was so magical - in so many ways. I'm glad a family that obviously appreciated all the magical-ness won!

Looks like you just posted the rest of your trip - I better catch up on that quick!

And your kiddos are super cute!

Thank you so much! Don't you hate it when DIS pulls you in for a couple hours!?! But, I'm glad you enjoyed reading my report. We certainly did appreciate every detail of that suite! The whole trip actually.

What a trip of a lifetime! Thanks for sharing your amazing trip report.

It really was a trip of a lifetime! How will we ever top it??? Thank you for reading my report!

What a lovely last day!!

Alexa's face in the Splash Mountain picture is absolutely hilarious.

Oh my gosh, Carson getting a peek behind the scenes... It is kind of funny that you got a picture of the exact moment it was happening. That will be something to laugh about for years to come!

That's pretty funny about the glass slipper in the luggage too. At least the TSA agent was good about it and didn't give you a pat-down!

I absolutely LOVED this trip report!! So awesome to see that there are DIS'ers who win these awesome vacations. Thanks so much for sharing your trip with us!

I thought the last day was perfect! I'm so glad we decided to go back to the MK one last time.
I know, Alexa's face is the BEST on splash. She gets so scared, but wants to be brave for Carson.
Isn't it crazy how the picture captured the exact moment when he saw a glimpse inside the chipmunk. I can only imagine what the CM thought when he made eye contact with Carson who practically had his face pressed up against the mouth! Curious kid!! I really didn't want him to find out that way, but you are right it will be a funny story to tell. Thankfully the "real Mickey" saved the day.
I know, I didn't even think about the glass slipper going through security! It was so busy, so TSA guy just screamed out to the crowd..."Who has the glass slipper??" Luckily for me he was a Disney fan and wanted to hear all about the Castle Suite!
Thank you so much for reading along!

Oh my goodness, it's like finding out about Santa and the Easter Bunny! I'm so glad you were able to see "the real Mickey" before you left! I have so enjoyed reading about your trip! Staying at Yacht Club would be amazing, but the Castle Suite, too is just a dream come true!

I know, I couldn't believe that happened! I know he is 8 and will find out about all those things at some point. My heart just sank when he found out that way in the middle of the most magical place none the less. He now has the same idea about Santa as he does the rest of the Characters. There is one "real" one and the rest are people dressed up in costumes.
Thank you so much for reading my report!!!!

WOW!!!!

What an amazing win! Your trip was awesome!

I enjoyed your report! So happy you and your family enjoyed it!

I'm so glad you enjoyed reading my report. It was absolutely so awesome to win this trip!!!

Well your trip report gives me hope

I've liked Delta's FB page so I'll keep my eyes out!

Thanks again for the TR - so fun to read!

Yes....don't give up hope!! You never know. It's funny because my daughter keeps asking when we can stay in the Castle again and if I can type my name in the computer to win. I told her that would be like lightening hitting the same place twice!
Thanks for reading along!!!

 

[emmysmommy]

What an amazing and memorable trip for you and your family Kristy. Aside from you and Jo, I have not read any other trip reports that had so much magic and pixie dust in them. What a truly awesome family you have and I'm glad that you were the recipient of such a great gift.

I loved the glass slipper incident at the airport! How many times do people have to take out their authentic glass slippers for the security scanners.

Thank you for sharing your experience with us! Now go win another trip and come back and share with us!

 

[jenseib]

I know I have told you 100 times, but this was such an awesome trip and an experience of a lifetime.....and I am green with envy!

 

[littlenellbell]

What an amazing and memorable trip for you and your family Kristy. Aside from you and Jo, I have not read any other trip reports that had so much magic and pixie dust in them. What a truly awesome family you have and I'm glad that you were the recipient of such a great gift.

I loved the glass slipper incident at the airport! How many times do people have to take out their authentic glass slippers for the security scanners.

Thank you for sharing your experience with us! Now go win another trip and come back and share with us!

Aww....thank you so much Brenda! Our trip was full of pixie dust that is for sure! However, you've had your own share of the magic....Admiral's Suite, Castle Suite Tour at WDW and DL, Grand Marshall of the parade, etc etc etc. Just the fact that you are lucky enough to visit both DL and WDW so often is wonderful.
The glass slipper airport incident was hilarious! I happy to say it made it home safe and sound. I have it proudly displayed in my china cabinet next to the little sign with Cinderella saying "sweet dreams from Cinderella's Castle Suite" and our room keys. What a great keepsake!
Thank you so much for following along and all your sweet comments!

I know I have told you 100 times, but this was such an awesome trip and an experience of a lifetime.....and I am green with envy!

Oh Jen! You are like one of the stepsisters with your jealousy! Did I just read that you are going to Disneyland and WDW and a possible cruise over the next couple months?!?! Now I'm the jealous one!!!

Thank you for encouraging me to write this report and for following along.

 

[littlenellbell]

Final Thoughts

I’ve been procrastinating posting this because I’m at a loss for words regarding how I feel about winning this trip and the wonderful memories we made. I think I will say again what I said at the beginning of the report…….all of our Disney Trips have been awesome, but this one was just over the top beyond what we could have ever imagined. We are just a regular middle class family who find ways to save up to take our kids to Disney every couple of years at a Moderate Resort. To be able to stay at the Yacht Club, go to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, have a VIP tour guide, and the most wonderful prize of all a chance to stay inside Cinderella’s Castle was a DREAM COME TRUE!

Sweepstakes – I’m not one who spends hours a day finding sweepstakes to enter nor do I play the lottery or gamble. I had never won anything in my life prior to this. I was always the person to say “this could never happen to me.” I’m still so shocked that I actually won! I guess if you don’t enter, then you can’t win. SOMEONE does have to win and it might be you. So THANK YOU Delta Vacation and Disney for having this sweepstakes and choosing us as your winner. Alexa is constantly asking me when we can stay in Cinderella’s Castle again and if I can just enter my name into the computer like before. I told her it would be even rarer for it to happen twice. It would be like lightening striking the same place. Don’t get your hopes up kid! However, I will enter Disney Sweeps periodically if I see them. You never know.

The Yacht Club – WOW what a beautiful resort. We loved it so much and our room location and view couldn’t be beat. Storm Along Bay was the best pool and we had a blast there. I just loved the whole area of the Yacht, Beach and Boardwalk all together. I loved the convenience of walking to Epcot and boating to Hollywood Studios. It was nice when we could take the monorail from MK to Epcot and walk back to our room from there. Even though we didn’t ride the bus that much, when we did, we had great luck from the Yacht club with minimal waits. We were so lucky to have stayed there!
People say once you go deluxe you can’t go back. As much as we loved the deluxe life, I don’t believe that’s true. We loved the Moderates we’ve stayed at as well and would stay again in a heartbeat. We are not in your room that much and we are not sure the convenience of walking to Epcot is worth more than double the money. We would rather spend that money adding on days to our vacation.

Disney Dinning Plan – This was our first trip without the dinning plan. (Besides breakfast at Cinderella’s Royal Table, meals were not included in our prize.) I know the dinning plan has pros and cons. Going into this trip I was a little excited to not be tied down to the DP. I thought it would free up some time without so many reservations and we wouldn’t have to worry about counting credits and keeping track etc. I thought it would make things a little more relaxed not to have to deal with it. Overall, it went fine not having it. We still ate at some great restaurants – 50’s, San Angel Inn and CRT was especially awesome. And we ordered a few groceries, which was nice to have extra snacks and drinks. However, I think we would get the DP next time we go. We like that all inclusive feeling of having everything paid for ahead of time, especially if you get free dinning. Plus, we get to enjoy more Disney snacks and try meals that we would otherwise hold back.

September – September is a great time to go. We’ve been before the first week of May and the first week of February, which are also considered slow times. However, September was the lowest crowd level we had seen. Between the weather, low season, and having a VIP tour guide for one of the nights we walked on almost everything all week. (Except Sofia the First of course) We also enjoyed the Halloween decorations and Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party was so fun! The only downfall was the weather; we got a lot of rain compared to our past trips.

Cinderella’s Castle Suite! – My words and pictures will never do this Suite justice. It is beyond gorgeous. However, it’s not just about how pretty the Suite looks; it’s the feeling you get when you are inside. To be able to check into a fairytale castle and spend the night high above The Magic Kingdom was unbelievably magical! The way the staff made us feel so special and every detail in the Castle Suite was so perfect making you feel like you are right in the middle of Cinderella’s dream. This was a once in a lifetime experience! I will never forget the looks of awe on my children’s faces this night. I’m tearing up just typing it.

What’s in store for us in the future? We don’t have a Disney trip currently planned and it doesn’t look like we will have one in 2014. But we are considering going on another 4 day Disney Cruise next February 2015. My In Laws rent a condo for a couple months every winter in Cocoa Beach, so we would visit with them. They are even considering coming with us on the Cruise along with Brandon’s sister and her family. Of course because we are so close to WDW, we will probably try to figure out a way to save up and add on a couple days there too. So it’s exciting to have this trip in the works.

It has been a pleasure to write this report! It was awesome to relive these wonderful memories and share them with folks who appreciate Disney like we do! Thank you for reading along!

 

[littlenellbell]

So I have a major case of the Disney Blues. One year ago this week we were in Walt Disney World and we spent some time at Cocoa Beach. Now we are stuck up in Ohio having the worst winter! We were talking about this trip and how awesome it was, but how it was a little overshadowed by the fact that we won our dream trip shortly after we got home. Because my other trip report is over, I thought I would share some of our memories from our February 2013 trip. I'm not going to to a full report, but just share a few pictures. Hope you enjoy.

Details -
We stayed at Port Orleans Riverside for 5 nights. We originally booked a regular room. I faxed in a request to stay on the mansion side because I just liked they way those rooms looked better. Also, I requested to be close to the bridge to the food court and lobby. I included a note we would be celebrating Alexa's birthday. Before our trip, I got an email back saying that we had been upgraded to a Royal Room!
At the end of our trip, Brandon's parents who had been staying at Cocoa Beach for the winter, joined us for a meal at the Hoop Dee Doo Review. Then they took us back to Cocoa Beach were we spent another couple days relaxing and enjoying the sun. We lucked out and had beautiful weather the whole trip!
Here are some of my favorite pictures.
Excited at the airport!


Downtown Disney


Royal Room - Loved the Fireworks headboard


Hollywood Studios

 

[scholastica]

It is been awesome reading your trip report. Glad you all had an amazing time, and thank you for sharing it so I can live vicariously through you.

 

[littlenellbell]

February 2013 Trip Continued......

Epcot
























Resort Time!





Magic Kingdom

 

[littlenellbell]

February 2013 trip continued......

Magic Kingdom day 2




Pirate League


























Chef Mickey's




Night Swim!

 

[littlenellbell]

February 2013 trip Continued.......

Animal Kingdom














Hoop Dee Doo Review




Cocoa Beach



















On our way back home.


Hope you enjoyed this mini picture trip report! Hopefully this time next year, we will be back .

 

[littlenellbell]

It is been awesome reading your trip report. Glad you all had an amazing time, and thank you for sharing it so I can live vicariously through you.

Thank you!! I'm glad you enjoyed it.

 

[jenseib]

Wow! It's amazing how much the kids grew in just those few short months!
I hope you can work out a cruise in 2015! Cruising is so much fun! I do love it. And yes, I always try to figure a way to fit in some Disney World time along with it if possible too.

 

[littlenellbell]

Wow! It's amazing how much the kids grew in just those few short months!
I hope you can work out a cruise in 2015! Cruising is so much fun! I do love it. And yes, I always try to figure a way to fit in some Disney World time along with it if possible too.

I was thinking the same thing...that they grew so much from Feb - Sept! Especially Carson. He is extremely tall for his age!

I'm so bummed we don't have anything Disney planned for 2014, but I'm excited about the cruise for 2015. Brandon's parents are in Cocoa Beach now, so it's hard to talk to them about it. When they get home early March, we will talk to them and see if they want to go or not. Then I will email you and we can get something booked. I'm thinking the 4 night Dream either the first week of Feb or the last week. We loved our last cruise, it's such a good combination of Disney and Beach! Our favorites!

 

[jedijill]

What a great wrap up! I hope you get to go on your cruise next year!

Jill in CO

 

[deedee2177]

Thank you so much for sharing this dream come true with us!! I have enjoyed tagging along for the ride! We leave for our Disney trip in 75 days and I can't wait!!

 

[DisneyJo]

Thank you for a wonderful report. To stay in the suite really is an amazing unique experience and the memories that you've made will stay with you forever

Keep entering those competitions, I'm so addicted to it now but have won some amazing things

 

[Haygar2]

I know it's been a little while, but congratulations on your amazing win!!! How incredible for all of you. I loved your pictures and your commentary. I wish you could have had the chocolate carriage boxed up. That would have been so fun to take home.