Not too much at all... I think you are doing a great job.
Just write Lois... Either people will read or they won't. LOL You do such a great job replying to what others write in their reports - just write yours the same way.
D~
Thanks, D~. I'll try to relax and just talk to my friends.
D~[/QUOTE]
Sooo... Very happy to hear that your cancelled flight was delayed only a bit and you were able to get on the next one... And some awesome Pixie Dust to start off your trip too! I would be a bit nervous being the first flight to take off - but I guess I'd rather be taking off in it than landing.D~
The cancellations were due to weather in other places and getting planes to our airport, so I wasn't nervous about it at all. We did get de-iced, but then all was go. Honestly, our seats had so much room, I could extend my legs out in front of me completely! And I'm 5'8"! We went to subway on the way back to the airport and Dan got a sandwich and I got a salad to eat on the plane. It all worked out for the best I guess.
I agree- I love ME too... It's what allows me to take these trips in the first place, since I don't drive in strange places. D~
Dan especially appreciates it b/c he always says his vacation starts with ME. He counts not driving at all while there as part of his vacation.
How awesome that Charlotte's family was there too... It sounds like a nice compromise, I am sure that she would also want to spend time with her dad while he was home - so very nice for all of you that you could coordinate it that way.D~
They basically did it so we wouldn't need to fly to Colorado and then to Disney. And you're right, we wanted to make sure Charlotte got lots of time with her Daddy. And of course we loved being able to be with all of them since they live so far away. A true win win!
I am totally stumped on the photo... It kind of looks like a bit of AK to me? But I have a suspicion I am wrong...
Have a great time running errands with Dan today!
D~
Good guess. But wrong. Sorry. I deliberately found things I had never noticed before either. There is just so much to see at Disney. We can never see everything. I'll give a hint later in my report.
Just tell your story Lois. I love to hear the details.
Thanks, Tess, I'll try to do just that.
Um.....I'm going to guess that picture was taken at HS on the studio tour???? Really, I don't have any concrete ideas....
Good guess, but not HS. I'll give a hint below.
Lois, love hearing about your trip. The more details and stories the better. It is a trip REPORT and we must know all.
Liz!! Hello and welcome!
Okay, you asked for it! You may be sorry!
No idea where that picture is but if I ever see it around WDW I will definitely think of you.
You know, I had never notice this before either. This is one of the harder ones I took I think. Hint coming below!
Taking all the kids to WDW when they are 5 sounds like so much fun. I love Charlotte's outfit. I'm sure your DD and her DH were happy to be in Florida enjoying the warm weather. Getting a 5 year old to Florida from Colorado on her own sounds a bit tricky. I can't believe that you and Dan made it to Florida. When you posted your flight was cancelled and everyone was having such crazy weather I was afraid you guys would never make it.
Looking forward to hearing about the rest of your trip.
Yes, we were so happy they were able to meet us down there. Otherwise, we would have flown to Colorado to pick Charlotte up. And since her Daddy was only on leave for 2 weeks, we didn't want to take tons of time with him away. But this gave him a chance to spend special time with Caroline as well.
Believe me, when it started sleeting while we were waiting to go back to the airport, I thought we'd not get off the ground either! But, it all worked out. And the weather just got worse at home, so we were very blessed. Nothing was taking off from Cleveland, which is the other airport we fly out of.
You're doing great, DIS-ers love details, the more the better!!
Stinks about not knowing your flight was cancelled but glad it all worked out okay! Good thing you got that nice, helpful airline employee!
Thanks for the encouragement Terri! The funny thing about not knowing our flight was cancelled...Dan checked his phone once we got back home and he had had a text or an email informing him of the cancellation. But it was a good thing we didn't know, otherwise we would have waited to go to the airport and might not have gotten on that flight. So, it all worked out perfectly! And, yes, this young lady went above and beyond. I think she would have a great career as a Disney CM!
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Day 1 continued
I left us in the lobby of French Quarter. We got checked in and our room was ready. This was around 2PM. We all went to the room, which was in building 2, 3rd floor. Dan and I wanted to change into shorts since the weather was BEAUTIFUL!! In the mid 80s, which for me is just about perfect. Especially considering we just left single digit temps with minus wind chill.
i didn't take any pics of the room, we were so busy getting caught up with each other and the excitement was almost more than I could stand. I wanted to get to a park, and fast!! But which park? We had planned to start the day at Animal Kingdom, but that was when we expected to be there around 1:00. It would be 3:00 before we got to our first park, and since AK closes at 5, we decided to switch to HS.
So, after visiting a bit and changing clothes, Emily, Josh and Caroline headed back to their hotel, which was a DTD hotel. They took the boat to DTD and walked to their hotel from there. Meanwhile, Charlotte, Dan and I headed for the bus stop. We had about a 15 minute wait, but then, finally we were headed to A PARK!!!!! Yay! Charlotte was excited that there was a poster with the characters from Frozen on the bus. I know I should have a photo of her first bus ride, and Dan did take one of her and I, but there is no way I'm going to post that photo. Do I REALLY look like that??? Oh dear!
We got to HS and I always get so emotional to realize I'm actually there and not just wishing I was there. Now, when it's just Dan and me, we always start and end our trip at the Magic Kingdom. But since we didn't want to do MK for only a half day, we chose HS. We had told Charlotte before we left the hotel that this was her trip, that she would be able to decide what we did, what attractions, basically whatever she wanted to do was what we would do. Since she didn't know anything about HS, we thought starting with the Beauty and the Beast stage show would be good. It was almost time to start, so very little waiting...yay!
Okay, so we're enjoying the show and about 2/3rds of the way through, Charlotte leans into me and says...wait for it..."I want to go home."
Wait, what?? Me: "You mean back to Colorado or back to our hotel?" She said back to the hotel. She wants to play in the playground where she played while waiting for us to arrive. That sound you hear is me deflating.
She said we could finish watching the show, which we did.
Okay, so after telling her she could make all the decisions, we're kinda stuck. Dan and I quickly decided that we could take the long way to the exit since she didn't know anything about the layout, so we headed over where the characters are in Animation Courtyard. There was Jake and Sophia and we pointed them out thinking she would want to see them. All she said was I want to go. Alrighty then. So, we headed toward the exit.
Now, one thing about Charlotte...she loves to shop. AND she knows Grandma loves to buy things for her. So, she spots one of the stores on the way out and wants to go in. She picked out some pretty cute Minnie ears which we buy for her.
Then she saw a Sophia doll and her little bunny, Clover and wanted those. Now, she had gotten quite a bit of money for her birthday and Emily told me to let her decide what she wanted to spend it on. I tried to talk her out of her choices only because she has so many stuffed dolls and animals already I thought she'd loose interest in those right away. But, those are what she wanted, so we got them, then headed for the exit. We did get one other pic before we left:
We didn't have to wait very long for a bus and were soon back to FQ. Once in the room, I gave Charlotte a little notebook that I had made for her and she played with her new purchases a bit before we headed down to get a bite to eat.
Charlotte had a grilled cheese and Dan had a burger with mushrooms. I wasn't hungry at all, so had some iced tea in my refillable mug. I hated that they were the same ones I have so many of already! While we were sitting there, a CM came up to our table and she gave Charlotte a special Beignet made in the shape of Minnie Mouse. More
We didn't eat it as no one was hungry at that point, but you better believe I wrapped that puppy up and saved it for the next day. Here's a picture of it the next day after Charlotte tried an ear:
After a bath and a little dancing to Frozen music, Charlotte wanted to watch a couple of shows on Grandpa's iPad. Thus ends a day full of surprises and odd turns. Next up: where will we go tomorrow?? Will it be a day of playgrounds or will we make it to a park??
*****hint for the photo*******
It is not in one of the parks. Have a great day everyone!!
Sweet, nice, kind, genuine... Yup... 
You funny lady! Teehee!!
