BrerMama
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 4, 2000
This was supposed to be our uneventful travel day but I woke up at 3:45 and just couldnâÂÂt shake this nagging feeling. Finally at 6:30 while Dan was in the shower I called Delta flight information just to confirm our 12:40 flight from Orlando to Dallas. The worst words in the world are âÂÂthis flight has been canceled due to flight crew delays.â I felt like the bottom just dropped out of the world. The big kids were fighting about granola bars, the baby was crying and I just locked myself in the master bedroom and got on the phone with a ticket agent. Delta had already booked us on an alternate 5 pm flight but had no way to tell us that since they didnâÂÂt have our hotel number. The ticket agent was able to get us on a 9:20 am flight, however, which worked much better because we were already packed and our van had to be back at 11 am (meaning another 6 hour airport layover). We hurried around, managed to eat a quick breakfast and checked in at the airport just in time to hear the announcement that our 9:20 flight would be delayed due to mechanical problems. Now I am not the most confident flyer anyway, but I sure didnâÂÂt want to fly in any plane with recent mechanical problems. Having no choice, we boarded the plane about 9:45 and it wasnâÂÂt until the plane was in the air that the pilot came on to assure us the oil leak had been fixed. Just information I didnâÂÂt need to know. Chesney was an angel on the flight and the big kids played GameBoy so it was very uneventful. After a WendyâÂÂs picnic at the Atlanta airport (and a 3 hour layover) we finally boarded a plane for home which was thankfully bigger than our first commuter plane and we landed at home about 3:30, were home about 4:30 and dropped off 15 rolls of film for developing at 5:30. Priorities here.
Final Thoughts:
We really had a great time at Disney. We didnâÂÂt overdo and were usually done by at least 2 pm. We also didnâÂÂt get to see any of the nighttime events (Fantasmic, Illuminations, or even MickeyâÂÂs Very Merry Christmas Party) but our kids were always in bed by 8 pm and much happier in the morning.
One of the best parts of our trip was interacting with the characters. Two years ago the kids didnâÂÂt want anything to do with characters so it was great to see how much they enjoyed meeting their favorites. Mykiah developed a major Minnie infatuation and looked for her everywhere (and bought 3 stuffed Minnies as souvenirs).
Our children had been saving money for 9 months before the trip and ended up having $20 per park for souvenirs. We let them spend this however they wanted (with some guidance) and they still came home with $20 each. And their souvenirs are more special because they were able to pick them out themselves.
We liked HIFS a lot. It was perfect for our family (Grandpa even had his own room) and I imagine the kidsuites would have been a good fit if Grandpa hadnâÂÂt gone with us. We will probably stay there again, unless we win the lottery and then weâÂÂll be at the Contemporary which is now our *dream* hotel.
We will definitely be doing Chef MickeyâÂÂs again and probably Prime Time Cafe and CindyâÂÂs Breakfast. WeâÂÂll pass on Crystal Palace and IâÂÂd still like to eat at one of the World Showcase restaurants.
Taking Grandpa along was the best idea ever. He was an extra pair of hands, kept us from griping too much and the kids loved it. Next time Grandma will have to come too.
The weather was always changing which made it difficult to know what to wear, but it was always bearable. Crowds were large to me but patience is not my strong suit. We chose to visit in December so that we could see the Christmas decorations but I really didnâÂÂt feel they were all that special and I definitely wasnâÂÂt in the Christmas spirit until the last 2 days of our vacation. In fact until then the Christmas music really annoyed me. It was warm and sunny, not crisp and cold.
For our kids, 4 and 6 seemed to be much better ages than 2 and 4 for enjoying the magic of Disney. WeâÂÂre talking about going back for ChesneyâÂÂs 3rd birthday, so weâÂÂll see how that goes. I definitely want to try going just before Thanksgiving or in early January.
I guess thatâÂÂs it. If anyone has any questions, just email me at kimberlylund@hotmail.com. IâÂÂd be glad to answer them as best I can. Thanks for reading!
Mom to 3 goobs
1992 Disneyland (offsite)
1995 WDW (offsite)
1998 Disneyland (offsite)
12/1/2000 WDW -- HIFS
Final Thoughts:
We really had a great time at Disney. We didnâÂÂt overdo and were usually done by at least 2 pm. We also didnâÂÂt get to see any of the nighttime events (Fantasmic, Illuminations, or even MickeyâÂÂs Very Merry Christmas Party) but our kids were always in bed by 8 pm and much happier in the morning.
One of the best parts of our trip was interacting with the characters. Two years ago the kids didnâÂÂt want anything to do with characters so it was great to see how much they enjoyed meeting their favorites. Mykiah developed a major Minnie infatuation and looked for her everywhere (and bought 3 stuffed Minnies as souvenirs).
Our children had been saving money for 9 months before the trip and ended up having $20 per park for souvenirs. We let them spend this however they wanted (with some guidance) and they still came home with $20 each. And their souvenirs are more special because they were able to pick them out themselves.
We liked HIFS a lot. It was perfect for our family (Grandpa even had his own room) and I imagine the kidsuites would have been a good fit if Grandpa hadnâÂÂt gone with us. We will probably stay there again, unless we win the lottery and then weâÂÂll be at the Contemporary which is now our *dream* hotel.
We will definitely be doing Chef MickeyâÂÂs again and probably Prime Time Cafe and CindyâÂÂs Breakfast. WeâÂÂll pass on Crystal Palace and IâÂÂd still like to eat at one of the World Showcase restaurants.
Taking Grandpa along was the best idea ever. He was an extra pair of hands, kept us from griping too much and the kids loved it. Next time Grandma will have to come too.
The weather was always changing which made it difficult to know what to wear, but it was always bearable. Crowds were large to me but patience is not my strong suit. We chose to visit in December so that we could see the Christmas decorations but I really didnâÂÂt feel they were all that special and I definitely wasnâÂÂt in the Christmas spirit until the last 2 days of our vacation. In fact until then the Christmas music really annoyed me. It was warm and sunny, not crisp and cold.
For our kids, 4 and 6 seemed to be much better ages than 2 and 4 for enjoying the magic of Disney. WeâÂÂre talking about going back for ChesneyâÂÂs 3rd birthday, so weâÂÂll see how that goes. I definitely want to try going just before Thanksgiving or in early January.
I guess thatâÂÂs it. If anyone has any questions, just email me at kimberlylund@hotmail.com. IâÂÂd be glad to answer them as best I can. Thanks for reading!
Mom to 3 goobs
1992 Disneyland (offsite)
1995 WDW (offsite)
1998 Disneyland (offsite)
12/1/2000 WDW -- HIFS
Thanks for taking the time to write them up.
Splash Mountain is my favorite ride, too.
