Day 5 Animal Kingdom/ Gene and Judy arrive :)

After riding Kali River Rapids... blech! Of course we all looked like this after the big storms hit!


Matt clearing the table while the server takes a "break". :)


Gene and Judy about to toast to their surprising news!




Due to the lack of more than 5 hours of sleep since we left home... I am really dragging this morning! But... I know that we MUST get to the park by rope drop in order to get those fastpasses!! All the kids surprisingly get up this morning no problem. Breakfast this morning.... powdered doughnuts. ;) We make a quick stop past concierge to check on the status of the computers... hmm still not there?!

The plan for today is to load up on fastpasses so when Gene and Judy arrive we can go back to the park and not have to wait for anything. First snag in the plan... they're plane hasn't taken off from Dayton due to storms in Orlando. They should still arrive by noon so this shouldn't be a problem.

At this park I can ride.... NOTHING! Seriously.. there isn't 1 single ride in this park I can do. A couple of shows and that's about it. Well I could also do the walking trails seeking out all the birds and crap... but those of you that know me know that is sooo not something I'm going to do. ;) My job today will consists of getting the fastpasses while Matt rides various things with the kids....and of course sitting in the shade because this park is about as hot as the sun! Not sure if it's because of all the vegitation or if mounds of elephant poop makes the temps rise.. whatever it is... it's HOT here!!

The first ride they run off to is Dinosaur. Another first for Drew. There are many kids... and even some adults... who will not ride this because of the scare factor. It's loud, dark and things jump out at you. As they get to the entrance there is an 8 yr. old boy who is all out whailing because he is scared to death to get on this. Drew looks at this kid as if he's nuts and continues to walk on. At the exit there are several kids who are coming off of it crying. I'm a bit concerned that this is NOT a good idea for him to ride. But he's insistent! Imagine my surprise when he comes off LAUGHING!! He thought the big scary dinosaurs jumping out at him were funny. I think there is seriously something wrong with this child!

They then head to ride a few little carnie rides and then to the big water ride. I'm not a fan of getting soaking wet in smelly water and walking around in wet shorts as my fat thighs ryb together like 2 pieces of sandpaper. So even if I could ride this... I wouldn't! I get some fastpasses and then just sit and people watch while they ride. People watching is pure entertainment for me!! It always amazes me to see what people will wear out in public... do you not own a mirror? Or to sit close enough to a couple that's in the middle of a huge argument...those are my favorite! ;) Yes.. I realize I have a pathetic warped sense of humor.

After riding the water ride we get a phone call. Gene and Judy are still stuck in Dayton and will be coming in several hours later than planned due to the storms. Ths storms that look like they are quickly approaching! The sky is becoming quite dark. Thankfully I have ponchos for all of us that I bought 2/$1..such a bargain! We put them on and then head out of the park. By the time we get to the van we're all soaked! Apparently ponchos that cost 50 cents aren't the best quality... go figure!

We decide to go back to the beach club for a few hours and check on the computers and take a much needed nap... well much needed for me anyways!! And this is when Matt gets confirmation that the computers HAVE arrived..... on our doorstep... at home!! OH.MY.HELL!! The hotel shipped them back to our house instead of Disney! Turns out they've been sitting there since yesterday! And they shipped them in a beat up paper towel box with no packaging. And they charged us $138 to send them to the wrong place! Good god I can see the steam coming out of Matt's ears!! Thankfully we live in a good neighborhood so nobody has bothered them. Larry and Jess offer to go get them for us and then get them shipped back down here. Matt keeps mumbling a few expelitives under his breath. Can't quite catch what he's saying but pretty sure he's NOT complimenting me on what a wonderful wife I am. =P

We hear from Gene and Judy that they have finally landed! I believe from start to finish their whole trip ended up taking about 10 hours. See... you just don't always save uch time when you fly! They are staying at Boardwalk which is the resort right across from ours. The kids are beyond excited and are just bursting at the seams to tell them their surprise! They're not too happy with me that I'm making them wait til dinner. It's pouring down rain again so Judy and I head to the gift shop to buy some decent ponchos. Matt's insistent he's going to wear his little trash bag instead and doesn't want me to spend the money on one for him. Not sure why he's not too keen on spending money all of the sudden... wonder if it has anything to do with the $138 he just spent to send the computers to the wrong place??

Dinner is at Whispering Canyon tonight. This place is all about the atmosphere! Lots of jokes and pranks being pulled by the staff. When we check in I let the servers know that we are celebrating Gene and Judy's anniversary along with something else. They assure us that they will do something special. Once we're seated the antics begin. They throw silverware on the table, toss napkins and straws your way and tell you to set it yourself. This isn't much unlike my own kitchen by the way. ;) They serve the food family style... meaning they bring it out on big platters and refill as needed. The food is really good home style cooking. Hannah asked for ketchup and they came running with 15 different bottles. When another table asked for it... we had to take all the bottles to them. This chaos continus throughout the meal. They have songs playing where everyone has to stop what they're doing and get up and dance. The kids are cracking up watching Gene and Judy participate in all of this!! Then comes time to celebrate. Our server asks the whole dining room to be quiet.... oh dear god I didn't realize they were going to do this in front of 300+ people!! She announces that not only are Gene and Judy celebrating their wedding anniversary... they are also celebrating the arrival of their 10th grandchild! They both just stand there completely lost...not one.single.word. How can there be another grandkid when we're all done having kids? You know that eerie silence that seems like it lasts an eternity.. yea that's what we have going on here. lol I finally have to just come out and tell them.... in front of the 300+ people sitting there... that I'm pregnant! Ten you finally see the lightbulb click! Ahhh... they finally get it. lol Hannah is about ready to crawl under the table by this point. ;) Then the server decided she was going to take a break and made Matt clean up our whole table.... I would like to see that happen more often!!

Afterwards we head over to Magic Kingdom for a few hours. Animal Kingdom closes early so we can't make good use of all those fastpasses after all. It's been years since they've been to Disney and they're just amazed at how it's all changed. Drew insists on taking them on what he considers the best ride in all of Disney... Small World of course. Being the great grandparents they are... they take his hand and let him lead the way. He's so proud to show them his favorite ride! We hit a few other rides as well and then head in to see the Monster's Inc. show. This show is interactive with the audience and Gene is immediately labeled Sully.. the big scary monster. The kids are laughing so hard at this! Again and again the camera keeps going to him. This makes the show so much more entertaining!

They're pretty pooped after traveling all day so we head back to our resorts by 9pm. We plan to meet up for rope drop at Epcot in the morning. We've explained to them the importance of staying ahead of the crowds so we know that they'll be there on time. ;)

Day 4.. Epcot!!

The handsome men in my life :)



Hannah with Prince Charming. She just LOVES how we do this to her. ;)


Brooke and Drew with Cinderella



Matt couldn't resist a brush up next to Cindy!



The wicked stepmother...she keeps that serious face the whole time!!



One of the wicked stepsisters... these girls were a riot!!


Beach Club at night




Well at the pace I'm getting this trip blogged... I MIGHT be done by Christmas! Anyways... onto day 4!!

This morning we're off to Epcot. Since we're staying at Beach Club we have the luxury of just walking to this park in less than 5 minutes! This little luxury is worth it's weight in gold! No dealing with crowds to get on the monorail, bus, trams, etc. Because of this we can leave a little later this morning to get there by opening. But alas... there is NO sleeping in on this trip! Drew is up bright and early.... after a full 6 hours of sleep! =P Hannah on the other hand has turned into full teenager mode and by 8am still won't budge out of her bed! Since she's 14 we give her the option of just meeting us at the parks. She jumps at the opportunity to get up at her own leisure and shower in peace! Not that I can blame her... 1 bathroom for 5 people is a bit cramped. ;) We inform her that since she's not with us we can't get her fastpasses... thus not being able to ride some of her favorites. In typical teenage fashion... she could really give a crap! ;)

So Matt, Brooke, Drew and I walk to Epcot and arrive with plenty of time to spare. We didn't really realize how close the park was to the resort. We take a few minutes to give the kids breakfast. Donut holes and a bottle of water. Hey... it's better than Cheetos and Mountain Dew!! The plan of attack is as soon as we enter to send Matt to get fastpasses for Soarin. Since we're coming in the back entrance we're supposed to be able to get ahead of the people coming in the front. But we get MR.I Just Love Having Authority who decides that he's going to hold all of us at this little line and not let us get any closer. He stands on his Segway and starts telling us Disney trivia. I don't give a rats ass about how they recycle everything in Epcot... just let me get to my damn fastpasses! After another employee informs Mr. Smartypants that he IS to let us through... he smirks at us and says, "Have a magical day at Epcot". Thanks asshole... now I'm late! Which there is NO room for in the notecards. lol Matt barrels over a few people ( mainly old ladies and folks in wheelchairs I'm sure ;) ) to get those fastpasses! I drag the kids, one in each hand, to go get in line to ride. We love this ride so much that we want to make sure and ride it multiple times! Technically.. with my "condition", I shouldn't ride this. But I've ridden it multiple times before and I see no reason not to ride it. There are several people who get out of line because they're afraid of heights, etc. But thankfully Drew has no fear! We get on and I spend most the ride enjoying watching Drew take in every second of this! He loved it!! As we're walking out of this Matt rushes off to get fastpasses for Test Track. And I quickly realize why I should NOT have ridden this ! I. AM. SICK!!! Just walking all the way to the exit is becoming a struggle. Apparently they have those warnings there for a reason. Oh dear god... PLEASE do not let me toss my cookies in front of all these people!! Brooke's talking to me a mile a minute about what we're going to do next and all I can focus on is not dryheaving so violently that I look like a cat coughing up a hairball. =P

We make it over to Nemo and I promptly plant my butt on the pavement. Some vendor must've noticed my lovely shade of green and brings me over some water. The kids of course are completely oblivious to the fact that I might be dying and are trying to pull me into the next ride! Fortunately Matt makes it back quickly and proceeds to tell me that I'm an idiot for riding it. Yes, I'm well aware of that dear. =P

We spend the next couple hours riding all Epcot has to offer... not tons of rides there. Hannah finally mosied her way into the park around 11am. I think she was secretly thrilled to learn that I would NOT be using my fastpass for Soarin.... thus meaning she gets to ride it!! Test Track quickly became a favorite of Drew's. This was another one I couldn't ride though so I did a little shopping while they rode. :)

It was a balmy 95 degrees by noon so we decided to walk over to the world showcase to get lunch, then we would head back to the pool for a bit. There are so many different options to eat here! Hannah decides she wants Mexican but quickly discovers that it's not Taco Bell. Matt and Brooke are going to get Japanese... but quickly discover it's not like the stuff in the food court at the mall. Drew and I know from the get go that we are getting plain 'ol American food. And as it turns out... everyone else decides to do the same. So here we sit... in a place with atleast 20 different types of food... and we eat hotdogs and hamburgers. We're soo adventerous. ;)

We head back to swim for a bit and Matt wants to check to see if the computers are there yet. Hmm... not there yet but I'm just sure there's nothing to worry about. Matt already is quite a bit behind on work and really needs to get on them soon. I assure him that they'll arrive shortly and he can get caught up while I take the kids for a few hours. He's still so amazingly calm about this! We end up swimmimng for longer than we planned and we have dinner reservations at 5pm. Normally we can get ready pretty quickly. But with 1 bathroom this is proving to be a challenge. Brooke comes up with this brilliant idea that she'll keep her swimsuit on, put some shampoo in her hair, and rinse off at the shower thing by the pool right outside our room. Next thing we know Brooke can't get it to turn on so she jumps in the pool... shampoo and all! Good god... they are NEVER going to allow us to come back! =P

Dinner tonight is at 1900 Park Fare. A dinner with Cinderella, Prince Charming, the wicked stepmother and stepsisters. The majority of the girls wear princess dresses to this so Brooke has her Cinderella dress on from last year. And she is NOT happy about it! It's itchy, the sleeves are too tight, it's too short now, etc. etc. We force her to keep it on just for a few pictures... such mean parents we are. ;) Dinner is your typical buffet but everything is nice and hot. We were pretty impressed. Prince Charming and Cinderella made their rounds and they made a big deal about Brooke's dress. Now all of the sudden she wants to keep it on. ;) Drew is quite taken by Cinderella. And Hannah is now completely mortified that I made her get her picture taken with the Prince... ya know anything to embarrass my kids. hehe The wicked stepmother came over to tell Brooke that she looked much better in that dress than Cinderella did. And then asked Drew if he would like to date one of the stepsisters. He wasn't quite as interested in them though. lol As the bill came Matt gulped when he saw it was close to $200 with the tip. He wasn't concerned though because we're on the Dining Plan and it's already paid for right? And what he knows won't hurt him... yet. ;) We all really liked this place and will definitely come back again!

We get back to Beach Club around 8pm and the computers STILL aren't there! Hmmm...now Matt is starting to get antsy. I'm just sure they'll be there first thing in the morning then right?! Drew wants to swim again and so does Hannah. But I am ready to hit Downtown Disney. Brooke volunteers to go with me to shop for a few hours. I'm not buying much yet because we're still here for a long time and I just want to look at everything first. This always drives Matt nuts. He just doesn't see the point in going there multiple times. Men!! I enjoy the one on one time with the kids though and out of all of them...Brooke seems to be the one that needs it most. She patiently waits for me as I look at store after store. We were there so long that we got on one of the last busses back. Lesson learned... it takes over an hour when you're on one of the last busses since they stop at multiple resorts. Wasn't quite planning on getting in after midnight!! Since we were already so late though Brooke and I decided to walk around the resort for a bit and take some night pictures. It's just gorgeous here!! I thought Matt may be a bit worried/mad when we finally got in the room at almost 1am... but he was out cold!! As were Hannah and Drew. Hmm... maybe we'll all sleep in a bit tomorrow.. yea right!

Tomorrow is Animal Kingdom. This isn't my favorite park. But Matt and the kids enjoy it. Gene and Judy arrive tomorrow mid-morning as well. And I'm just SURE the computers will be here by then!!

Day 3... Magic Kingdom

Drew all smiles before going to Beaches N Creme. He was covered in chocolate after eating here! :)

Brooke refusing to stand with Hannah for a picture right outside of Magic Kingdom. Wonder where she gets that sass? ;)

I want to live in this castle!!

Start of the fireworks.

Okay I warned you that it would take me forever to blog this trip! I might be done by the time we go on our next trip!!

So this morning is Sunday morning....day 3 of our trip. The plan is to get out of All star music and move over to Beach Club. Then arrive at Magic Kingdom by 8:30am. Matt, Drew and I are up no problem. The girls on the other hand want nothing to do with getting up. Tough patooties girlies... you should know by now that vacations with us = no sleeping in! ;) The original plan also included having Disney just transfer all of our stuff to the Beach Club. But seeing that since we dumped out the van yesterday and shoved it all back in... we've lost all sense of organization! So we will take care of it ourselves.

We finally make it out the door at 7:50am and head to Beach Club. We pull in and immediately they offer to take all of our luggage for us and valet park our van. An instant look of fear washes over my face! No way in hell am I allowing some poor soul to risk their life at opening the back of this van! If he isn't instantly knocked unconscious by the stroller, then the cooler will get him next. Yep... the cooler... that is full... is at the very top of our luggage. Why? Because were in a hurry to see that castle damnit and we shoved it wherever it would fit! So I politely decline the offer to unload our stuff for us. Matt and I pull a few things out and a bell hop runs over with a cart. Since we don't know if we can get a room or not yet we may need them to hols some of this stuff for us. Why can't we just leave it all in the car you ask? Have you ever seen what deodrant looks like after it's been in 100 degree temps for 10 hours... yuck!! I tip the guy $15 for 3 bags and a cooler. Matt reminds me that I'm a moron and you tip a buck per bag. Oops! Then they insist on atleast parking the van for us... this is a deluxe resort and they remind us this is a perk of staying with them. This really is not a good idea though. See.. in addition to the mounds of luggage, floating cooler and doritos now ground into the seat.... we also have approx. 500 pipe cleaners in various shapes and colors thrown throughout the van. And they are REALLY sharp when they stab you in the leg, butt, eye... you get the picture. And why do we have these? Because this was yet another one of my brilliant ideas of activities for the kids to do. Unfortunately mydemented family quickly turned them into weapons! So at the risk of getting sued... we again politely decline the offer of valet parking. I'm fairly certain by now they think we have a van full of bomb making materials and were being reported at terrorists!!

We make our way into the Beach Club after parking in self parking... which of course is sooo far away that I think it has it's own zip code! We arrive at the desk and I gently ( threaten) ask the girls to take Drew for a walk. See... Disney is NOT accomodating to a family of 5. The rooms are for 4. You can get away with 5 if one of your children is under 3. So.... Drew is now under 3. :) But anyone looking at him would clearly see that he's not so I must hide him for the next 10 minutes! I assume that we won't be able to get a room until after 4pm but they tell us they have a handicap room available right now. Matt jumps at the chance to unload the van so we take it. As we're finishing up the paperwork they tell us we owe $917. And the guy is new and isn't sure what the charge is for. Now see I rented points through my friend Julie ( again THANKS Julie!!) and I paid her directly for this. And I'm now busy trying to hide Drew... because the girls are fighting over god only knows what! Matt finally gets my attention and I know immediately what the charge is for... the dining plan. Matt was relieved to know what it was for. And he even commented that the price wasn't bad for a weeks worth of nice meals. I'm not going to mention to him at this time that that price doesn't include all the tips and it's only for 4 people... not 5. I'll deal with that later. ;)

We unload the van and head to our room. Now if any of you read my blog last year you may remember that my kids instantly get gumby arms when asked to carry things. And again.. we have the gumby arms! So Matt loads up 3 suitcases and the cooler. I pile up the stroller and Drew is carrying several backpacks. The girls... well they're still duking it out. It's a good thing that we don't have to carry the heavy computers too. ;)

We get in our room and immediately see why people stay deluxe! Compared to the value room... this room is HUGE! We will have no problem with all of us in here for a week! We have a fridge, microwave,closet,dressers and a cute little patio that Matt and I can sit on while the kids sleep peacefully at 9pm... yea right! We also have an unusually large bathroom... which I quickly remember is because it's a handicap room. The toilet is really high... can't wait to see Drew try and pee in that! ;) There is also a pool right outside of our room!

It's now about 8:30am... yes we got all that done in a matter of half an hour! Remember... we're on vacation...and our motto is move it, move it, move it!! We hop on the bus and head to Magic Kingdom. We miss the little rope drop ceremony but sill shove our way through the crowds of people. Now our typical plan is to get fastpasses for space mountain first. But sadly our favorite ride is under rehab until Dec. So Matt heads to splash mountain instead. I head with the kids to fantasy land. Drew is soo excited to ride the ride that he's been talking about ALL YEAR LONG! It's a small world!! Yes... the ride with THE most annoying song ever is still Drew's favorite! We hit everything there within a 1/2 hour..... remember my tour plan keeps us moving fast. Then Drew spots the Tomorrowland Speedway cars. He HAS to ride this he says! Okay... but it's not in the notecards. ;) Logistically this ride is a nightmare for us. You can only have 2 people per car and both Brooke and Drew must have a parent ride with them. So that means I have to ride. Normally this wouldn't be a problem.. but I have a "condition" :) that means I really shouldn't ride this. People purposely slam into each other on this so we need to figure out how to do this. We decide that Matt and Brooke will ride in front of Drew and I. And Hannah will follow me. Now as long as Hannah doesn't decide to be a little turd and crash into me.. then I should be alright. Matt gently ( ie:threatens) remindes her that she can't screw around. Fortunately the ride goes smoothly and we don't have any problems. :)

Lunch is at Cosmic Rays... remember we ate here a gazillion times on our last trip. Matt just loves this place... more bang for your buck as he calls it! He's loving the fact that with the dining plan you just whip out your room key and it's all taken care of. Little does he know that said room key will be worth the price of gold by the end of this trip. ;)

We head to do splash mountain next. Drew is JUST 4o inches and is so excited to get to do this for the first time. I'm bummed that because of my "condition" that I can't ride with him. And also a little worried about how he'll handle that big hill. Turns out he LOVES it and wants to ride again and again. Thank god for fastpasses because the line is close to 2 hours long! They also all ride big thunder mountain multiple times. This kid has NO fear!!

We head out of the park to do some swimming around 2pm. The pools at the Beach Club are amazing! Their big draw is Stormalong Bay. A pool with a sand bottom. Basically a chlorinated beach... how much better can you get!! We spend several hours here and the kids are loving this as much as the parks! Between the slides, lazy river, poolside games and making castles on the beach... there is so much to do!! There are people that come to Disney just to stay at the resorts and never even hit the parks. Now I see why!!

Dinner tonight is at Beaches N Creme. An old fashioned diner at the resort itself. Best hamburgers and ice cream! Yeah... a restaurant in Disney we actually like! Matt goes to hand them the room key to pay our bill and I let him know that were paying cash for this one since we need the table service credits later in the week for a different meal. Okay... so the $917 I just paid doesn't include our first dinner here? No honey... but it's not that expensive. Um yeah... $70 for burgers and ice cream is a great deal. Man.... it's a good thing this guy loves me. haha

We head back to Magic Kingdom to use up more fast passes and see the fireworks. Drew has gone all day without the stroller and is STILL going strong! After we head back to the room and are ready to crash... after all it's almost 11pm. But Drew wants to try out the pool right outside our room. Seriously... the kid has been up for 17 hours without stopping and STILL has energy. If only I could bottle that up somehow!

We finally get everyone in bed by midnight. Only to awake at 1am with Drew crying because he doesn't know where he's at. He's sleeping on the air mattress. Calm him down and then back up an hour later crying again. Repeat... only to wake up an hour later. Okay kid... just get in the damn bed with us and go to sleep! After kicking his way comfortably between us he's finally out cold!!

And in just a few hours we're going to do it all over again... at Epcot!