ronnmel
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 5, 2010
It was suppose to be the trip of a lifetime. The trip where we did things we have never done and will probably never get to do again, like stay at a deluxe, and visit during the Holidays. It was our babys first trip. It was suppose to be MAGICAL! 
It wasnt.
Hey everyone! Welcome to my trip report. Im sorry to start it off on such a bad note, but as those whove followed me before know, I like to tell the whole truth, even the not-so-perfect parts. Check out my Disneymoon trip report, you'll see. Zombie Apocalypse and Pixie Dust - A 2 Weeks Disneymoon Trip Report
I feel like I survived the trip instead of living it. We battled the crowds (the crowds! Oh, the crowds!), and the sickness (3 of us, not at the same time). We were woefully unprepared to deal with all that comes with traveling with a baby (despite our best effort in doing the appropriate research). We tried, unsuccessfully, to find our rhythm between slow (due to the baby and our health) and fast (for our love of thrill rides as well as keeping up with the teenager). We faced disappointment and mishaps (minor, but they add up!). We thought we were knowledgeable enough in all things WDW to deal with anything that could be thrown our way, and boy were we wrong! It probably didnt help that we took all the rules we knew about good park touring and threw them out the window. We paid for that.
Ok, now that weve talked about what went wrong, lets push the negative aside and focus on the positive, shall we?
We went to wonderful restaurants and ate yummy snacks (and took pictures!). We met new characters and old favorites, and the baby was fascinated by them (we got cute baby pictures!). We went on lots of attractions and took silly ride photos. We found a new favorite spot to watch Illuminations (with pictures, of course!). We stayed at two beautifully themed, picture-worthy, resorts. We saw the spectacular Osborne Dancing Lights and stopped at every Photopass person there. All that, and more! Did I mention we took pictures? Lots of them! Im no professional photographer, so I was going for quantity over quality, but thats okay, right?
After we came back from the trip I was feeling quite bummed. I couldnt stop thinking about all the things we missed. That is not how I wanted to remember our trip, so I decided to shift my focus. I wrote down a list of all my Disney accomplishments, all the things we DID do. For this TR at the end of every day Ill write down our accomplishments for that day. Turns out, we accomplished a lot!
So, who are these people Im talking about?
Lets start with the youngest, and the cutest, Claudia a.k.a. Peanut
She is our sweet little baby girl. She was 6 months at the time of the trip. Shes a relatively easy baby, as long as you keep her occupied. She smiled at everyone who paid attention to her during the trip. I think her favorite is Mickey Mouse because we watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse together.
Then there is the teenager, Otaku (not her real name)
She is my husbands 13 years old daughter, so my step-daughter. Shes into zombies, Japan, Anime, K-POP, reading and writing, and not so much into girly stuff. Or so she thought. Its fun to see her grow up and find her own style. She's not so much into Disney and just followed along. Her favorite character is Mulan (because she is Asian and a warrior). Her favorite park is Epcot because of the Japan pavilion.
My husband, Ron.
He is blessed with Filipino genes so he does not look at all like he is approaching 40. He is almost as obsessed with Disney as I am and says that if we win the lottery we will spend a month in Disney/Orlando. When we are not talking about Disney we love watching TV shows together, such as Big Bang Theory and Doctor Who. He loves thrill rides and his favorite character is Donald Duck. He loves Disney food and spent the weeks leading to our trip looking at the Disney Food Blog and various restaurant menus trying to decide what he would eat.
And then theres me, Mel.
Im in my early thirties and an elementary school teacher, though I would love to be a SAHM. Im the planner of the group and spend most of my free time on the DIS and other Disney websites. Im quite shy and have a hard time starting conversations, but I love acting silly and meeting characters. There are too many things I love about Walt Disney World to list here, but I can say Tower of Terror is at the top of my list. My favorite character is Stitch. I discovered a love for pin trading this trip.
Thats it for the WHO. Heres the rest of the basic info you need to know before we start this puppy!
WHAT : A trip to Walt Disney World, of course!
WHEN : We flew in on December 31st, 2012, and went back home 10 days later on January 10, 2013.
WHERE : We spent the first two nights in a Little Mermaid room at Art of Animation, then the following 8 nights in a garden view room at Beach Club.
WHY: Basically I got a little extra money from my mom passing away and decided to spend it on a Disney trip. You should go read my PTR In Loving Memory... Were Going Deluxe! - A Jan 2013 PTR for more details. It will explain more why this was supposed to be the trip of a lifetime.
Was it our best trip? No, but we made the most of it. I hope you follow along as I relive the good, the bad, and the ugly (not much ugly, I promise).
It wasnt.
Hey everyone! Welcome to my trip report. Im sorry to start it off on such a bad note, but as those whove followed me before know, I like to tell the whole truth, even the not-so-perfect parts. Check out my Disneymoon trip report, you'll see. Zombie Apocalypse and Pixie Dust - A 2 Weeks Disneymoon Trip Report
I feel like I survived the trip instead of living it. We battled the crowds (the crowds! Oh, the crowds!), and the sickness (3 of us, not at the same time). We were woefully unprepared to deal with all that comes with traveling with a baby (despite our best effort in doing the appropriate research). We tried, unsuccessfully, to find our rhythm between slow (due to the baby and our health) and fast (for our love of thrill rides as well as keeping up with the teenager). We faced disappointment and mishaps (minor, but they add up!). We thought we were knowledgeable enough in all things WDW to deal with anything that could be thrown our way, and boy were we wrong! It probably didnt help that we took all the rules we knew about good park touring and threw them out the window. We paid for that.
Ok, now that weve talked about what went wrong, lets push the negative aside and focus on the positive, shall we?
We went to wonderful restaurants and ate yummy snacks (and took pictures!). We met new characters and old favorites, and the baby was fascinated by them (we got cute baby pictures!). We went on lots of attractions and took silly ride photos. We found a new favorite spot to watch Illuminations (with pictures, of course!). We stayed at two beautifully themed, picture-worthy, resorts. We saw the spectacular Osborne Dancing Lights and stopped at every Photopass person there. All that, and more! Did I mention we took pictures? Lots of them! Im no professional photographer, so I was going for quantity over quality, but thats okay, right?After we came back from the trip I was feeling quite bummed. I couldnt stop thinking about all the things we missed. That is not how I wanted to remember our trip, so I decided to shift my focus. I wrote down a list of all my Disney accomplishments, all the things we DID do. For this TR at the end of every day Ill write down our accomplishments for that day. Turns out, we accomplished a lot!
So, who are these people Im talking about?
Lets start with the youngest, and the cutest, Claudia a.k.a. Peanut
She is our sweet little baby girl. She was 6 months at the time of the trip. Shes a relatively easy baby, as long as you keep her occupied. She smiled at everyone who paid attention to her during the trip. I think her favorite is Mickey Mouse because we watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse together.
Then there is the teenager, Otaku (not her real name)
She is my husbands 13 years old daughter, so my step-daughter. Shes into zombies, Japan, Anime, K-POP, reading and writing, and not so much into girly stuff. Or so she thought. Its fun to see her grow up and find her own style. She's not so much into Disney and just followed along. Her favorite character is Mulan (because she is Asian and a warrior). Her favorite park is Epcot because of the Japan pavilion.
My husband, Ron.
He is blessed with Filipino genes so he does not look at all like he is approaching 40. He is almost as obsessed with Disney as I am and says that if we win the lottery we will spend a month in Disney/Orlando. When we are not talking about Disney we love watching TV shows together, such as Big Bang Theory and Doctor Who. He loves thrill rides and his favorite character is Donald Duck. He loves Disney food and spent the weeks leading to our trip looking at the Disney Food Blog and various restaurant menus trying to decide what he would eat.
And then theres me, Mel.
Im in my early thirties and an elementary school teacher, though I would love to be a SAHM. Im the planner of the group and spend most of my free time on the DIS and other Disney websites. Im quite shy and have a hard time starting conversations, but I love acting silly and meeting characters. There are too many things I love about Walt Disney World to list here, but I can say Tower of Terror is at the top of my list. My favorite character is Stitch. I discovered a love for pin trading this trip.
Thats it for the WHO. Heres the rest of the basic info you need to know before we start this puppy!
WHAT : A trip to Walt Disney World, of course!
WHEN : We flew in on December 31st, 2012, and went back home 10 days later on January 10, 2013.
WHERE : We spent the first two nights in a Little Mermaid room at Art of Animation, then the following 8 nights in a garden view room at Beach Club.
WHY: Basically I got a little extra money from my mom passing away and decided to spend it on a Disney trip. You should go read my PTR In Loving Memory... Were Going Deluxe! - A Jan 2013 PTR for more details. It will explain more why this was supposed to be the trip of a lifetime.
Was it our best trip? No, but we made the most of it. I hope you follow along as I relive the good, the bad, and the ugly (not much ugly, I promise).
