I've got a dream...of a Disney trip where I don't get sick! **May 2-11, 2014**

When I woke the next day the constant drip-drip-drip of my nose from the previous day had slowed and I was sniffley and coughing now but at least I wouldn't need a pound of rough napkins to get me through the day!

We left the Villas at Wilderness Lodge in the morning and made our way off Disney property. We were spending the last 2 nights at Leow's Royal Pacific Resort onsite at Universal. On our way we made a run to Walmart again for some things (cold medicine, more blister bandages and diapers!) and also ate at the McDonald's there to try and save money now that we didn't have a dining plan to rely on anymore. After that we dropped all our stuff off in the room at the resort which was lovely but felt small and disappointing after staying a week at the Villas. RP also has boats that run to the Universal parks so we hopped one and headed out.

The Despicable Me movies are right up there with Disney movies in our house so we did the Minnion "ride" first (awesome) and then the kids and I did the Shrek one next while Hubs rode some crazy roller coaster. After that we did the Transformers ride which DD says is her favorite from the whole trip while DS napped on Hubs. When it was time to swap the sleeping little I made for a shady place and sat on a bench to relax. Some characters that I'm assuming were from the Mummy came by our way and one of the men on stilts made everyone laugh when he stood above an oblivious teenage girl who was looking at souvenirs at a near by cart. When she turned to see an abnormally tall and crazily dressed man hanging above her shoulder she let out a shriek that had could be heard from very far away. It was hilarious :)

We did the MIB ride with DD and then did lunch at Krusty Burger and tried a Flaming Moe.

ry%3D400


ry%3D400


ry%3D400


ry%3D400


The kids were excited to play in the Curious George area so we went there next and played until the park closed and we were unceremoniously kicked out. No Disney hospitality here :snooty:

ry%3D400


ry%3D400


It was only 6p or so AND HOT so we checked out the pool at the resort. It was a nice pool which included a sandy beach and a boat with water canons and fun splash area. Unfortunately there was an obnoxious kid spraying people in the main pool from the kid's play area (the cool boat thing) and it was all I could do to not encourage Hub's desire to take the other canon directly to that little jerk's face. Hey, I have kids and 'kids will be kids' as they say but this one was a jerk. He was spraying people he didnt know which included really little ones swimming with their families. I couldn't tell who he was there with or who he belonged to but they were either not there or also jerks who didn't care that their brat was ruining other families' pool time. This was after an afternoon full of dodging teenagers all over the park (there were LOTS of school trips there) and trying to help my kids avoid getting beaned in the head in the ball pit at the Curious George park where the older kids had moved in and were picking off younger ones with ball cannons from the level above. Apparently the theme of this day was other people's obnoxious brats making me think not nice thoughts about kids. Ok. Rant over.

After that there was a Hawaiian style torch lighting ceremony with a hula dancer. DD was completely enthralled and after the fire dancer was finished she bombarded him with questions about how he did that without getting burned :)

This is DD trying out the hula dance :)
ry%3D400


I had ordered a ridiculously over-priced pina colada which I found AFTER I purchased it that couldn't be removed from the bar area so I tried to pound it as fast as possible so we could get back to the room for bed time. BRAIN FREEZE! Luckily (or maybe unluckily ;)) it wasn't very strong so there was no ill effect from drinking it so fast. Off to our room we went where the kids fell asleep watching 'Say Yes to the Dress' (LOL!! there was nothing else on so they chose that) while I relaxed in bed crushing some candies and Hubs went down to the bar where he refilled our souvenir glass from the pina colada and had a drink in solitude. Ah... :thumbsup2
 
Something I forgot to add was that we were chatting with a couple of nice ladies while sharing a bench in the shade and waiting for Hubs to get off Hulk and ride the xmen version of tea cups for the 4th time (Im not exaggerating!) and I mentioned that we had just wrapped up a week at Disney and we were doing 2 days there. Her eyebrows climbed and she looked at me like I was cray but concluded that since we live so far away it makes sense to get in as much as possible. I laughed and told her we actually prefer Disney vacations because the fact that they are so kid-centric makes it easy for us and she said she did not find Disney easy at all (and looked like she wasn't much of a fan). I get so used to the feeling of community you get with other Disney fanatics that sometimes I forget that not every one loves it!

3749239f53801b7f1cbe279e6a900e33.jpg
 
This was the only day of the 2 at Universal that I was excited about because we were going to Islands of Adventure and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter! We're big HP fans (well, Hubs and I are anyway)!

Because we were staying in an on-site resort we were allowed to enter the park early (to which we only made it by like 15 minutes :rolleyes:)so we booked it for WWoHP to try and beat some of the lines. We got right in line for the Wand Choosing at Olivander's which would be a first for all of us and is very popular. It. was. AWESOME. The WWoHP is the only place in any other non-Disney park that I have found that obsessive attention to detail that just makes every little thing feel magical (thank you J.K. Rowling for being such a stickler in this park's creation!!).

ry%3D400


ry%3D400


ry%3D400


I'll add that we have only been to this park once and last time we came I was 7 months pregnant with DS and on the tail end of a stomach bug (hence the title of my TR) Being pregnant stopped me from riding most of the rides and feeling like I was going to be sick any minute prevented me from really enjoying the atmosphere. I ended up making Hubs take me back to the resort after only a few hours so I could rest in bed so I was really excited for this trip where I could actually enjoy it!

This is Hubs and I back in 2011
ry%3D400


After lots of pics at Olivander's we headed to the HP Forbidden Journey where we thought DD would be able to ride and since Universal Studios has rider swap (called child swap) areas after it's queues we thought we'd just switch of DS and DD would ride twice. At the front they measured her and she was shy of the requirement by like a 1/2 an inch, the tiniest bit of daylight showed between the top of her head and the green line (no matter how they suggested she stand). She was devastated and started to cry which made the people feel horrible so they gave her a fancy certificate for our next trip stating that with that certificate once reaching the required 48" she (and up to a party of 5 others) would be able to skip right to the front of the line to ride. Pretty cool! Hubs and I were still planning to ride and I've never been so we got in the line and hoped that the coolness of the queue would make her feel a little better. Nope.

My sad girl
ry%3D400


When we got to the front of the line and the child swap area the lady measured her again. It was dark in there and that little bit of daylight from earlier couldn't be seen so she said she could ride! DD was so happy! Being so excited to be able to ride after all helped to over-ride how scared she was of the dementors in the ride and she was ready to go again with Hubs after our ride.

After that we rode Flight of the Hippogriff. DS didn't want to ride even though he was tall enough and it worked out for the best because it went faster than it looked and I dont think he would have liked it much. The day before we had ridden the Woody Woodpecker ride at the other park and while it looked like Barnstormer it seemed faster and jerkier and DS did NOT like it. Once that was done, the kids and I went to Honeydukes while Hubs rode Dragon Challenge. We got gummy centipedes, a chocolate frog and one of those glass candy jars with the Honeydukes logo on it. We sat in the shade outside and enjoyed some treats while we waited for Hubs.

ry%3D400


Me being a goober (I have no idea what I'm doing with my hand btw)
ry%3D400


Then it was next door to the Three Broomsticks for an early lunch. Apparently I didn't get many pictures here...

ry%3D400


We reluctantly left the WWoHP and headed to the Jurassic Park area where Hubs had talked DD into riding the Jurassic Park River Adventure. DS and I went across the way to Camp Jurassic. We played and explored and had a great time waiting for Hubs and DD who showed up soaked after their ride :p I had no idea this play area existed and I am so glad Hubs suggested it. It was just as fun for me as for the kids! DS clung to me nervously while we explored the cool, dark caves and again when we climbed the rope bridges but on our second trip through he did most of it with the help of his big sis!

ry%3D400


ry%3D400


After that we headed to the Dr. Seuss area to ride some of the rides and meet some of the characters. Horton was especially fun because he copied everything DD did and had her laughing so hard!

ry%3D400


ry%3D400


ry%3D400


I was fairly certain DS would fall asleep soon so Hubs took DD on a ride DS was too small for and I wandered off with him to find some shade. Of course he perked up :rolleyes2 I was trying to find our way back to our stroller for a drink of water but we ended up passing the McGrew Zoo where DS saw other little kids playing in a water area and so we HAD to go in. It was HOT by that point so I took his shorts and shoes off and let him romp and play in the water while I put my feet in as well. Once Hubs and DD caught up to us I suggested to Hubs that maybe we could use that last ticket for a Disney park that evening (Hubs had added it on when purchasing our tickets because it was one of those buy a week and get an extra day for $10/ person things). He had mentioned it on our last day at MK when I was feeling sad about leaving and we had done just about everything we wanted to do at Universal and had some day left.

ry%3D400


We headed back to the resort to change into some dry clothes and headed out to find some quick dinner. We aren't familiar with many of the local chains so we kind of decided at random and settled on Steak and Shakes. There was some issue with the kitchen so even though the dinning room wasn't very full it took FOREVER to get our food (an hour and a half for burgers and fries!). Once we finally got out of there we rushed off for a couple final hours in the MK. We rode the monorail in (our only time on the whole trip) and squeezed in one last ride on Buzz, Astro Orbitor, People Mover and ended with Pirates. On our way out I got one last Dole Whip and enjoyed it all by myself while Hubs took the kids in to see Tinker Bell and Rosetta (another first- the line was only 5 minutes!).

My highest score EVER!
ry%3D400


ry%3D400


ry%3D400


ry%3D400


ry%3D400


ry%3D400


ry%3D400


It was the perfect way to wrap up our trip. It was a beautiful night and we spent it laughing and playing as a family in our favorite place :love:
 
Our last morning on vacation found us tired, sore and ready to go home. Hubs and I got an early start and showered and packed everything up while the kids slept. I'm not sure how they slept through it all, we certainly didn't expect them to. I guess we wore them out!

ry%3D400


We had reservations for breakfast in the resort's restaurant where there would be some characters to meet. After everyone was up and dressed and ready we headed down and had our breakfast. It was Mother's Day as well so I got a complimentary Mimosa :thumbsup2

The first characters were from Hop which I didn't see (and have no desire to) but then Gru and a Minion came out and we got some pics with them.

ry%3D400


ry%3D400


ry%3D400


Then it was time to go home. We drove to the airport and got on our plane where there was a layover in Atlanta but then continued on to Boston. The kids did great on the flight, especially considering we didn't get off the plane during the stop in Atlanta. The in laws picked us up in our van and we learned that the AC wasn't working :sad2: Of course. The first hot day up here and the AC is in desperate need of a recharge. We stopped for dinner in Portsmouth NH on our way and then continued home from there. The kids were happy to see the cats and we were happy to sleep in our own beds :)

I was reminded often on this trip why I had sworn never to take a Disney trip again with a 2 year old but overall it was a really nice one. DS was active and I spent A LOT of time chasing him around and telling him to put stuff down but he never threw a fit like I expected and the sleeping situation worked out just fine (we were a little worried about how that would work out). Our next trip will be easier and I'm looking forward to the day when all 4 of us can go on all the rides together!

Well, I hope that you all enjoyed reading my trip report! I certainly enjoyed writing it :woohoo: I'm kind of sad it's done though so lets talk about Disney some more ;) Any one else have similar experiences? Or completely different ones?
 
Great trip report!!! Like you I swore we would never take a 2 1/2 year old to WDW again but...I really needed to go back!!
My youngest DS was just 3 the last trip and it was much better. Our next trip in October we are going to go sans stroller. The freedom is exciting but the potential dragging of feet is scary!! I also look forward to when we can all go on rides together but I'm not much of one for coasters and I think my youngest DS is going to be the same! Shopping buddy!!

Thanks for a good read and I'm glad you had a great time!
 
Great trip report!!! Like you I swore we would never take a 2 1/2 year old to WDW again but...I really needed to go back!!
My youngest DS was just 3 the last trip and it was much better. Our next trip in October we are going to go sans stroller. The freedom is exciting but the potential dragging of feet is scary!! I also look forward to when we can all go on rides together but I'm not much of one for coasters and I think my youngest DS is going to be the same! Shopping buddy!!

Thanks for a good read and I'm glad you had a great time!

I dream of the days we can go sans stroller :) This is the first time we brought the stroller but didn't use it in the airport. We checked it with our luggage when we flew and being free of it in the airport was liberating! I think we'll probably bring it the next couple of times but like other people have suggested we'll probably only use it on days we're planning on staying late. Or we might just rent one in the parks those nights. Ah... the age old stroller debate! :thumbsup2

I'm not a roller coaster person either and I'm not sure either of my kids will be (poor hubs!) but I do look forward to the 4 of us being able to ride Big Thunder Mt together! DD and I love it and I bet DS will too when he's a bit bigger :)

Thanks for chiming in!
 
Oh man loving your photos! That one of the giraffe is one of my favorite safari pictures ever! What camera are you using?

It looks like you guys are getting a lot done! I love reading TRs of people with older kids so I know what to fit in our future trips!
 
Oh man loving your photos! That one of the giraffe is one of my favorite safari pictures ever! What camera are you using?

I actually have an older Canon Powershot SX100 that we've had for close to 7 years now. We had a Canon before this one too and I swear by them. My only complaint with it is the amount of time it takes between pics when you use the flash. It's made me miss shots more than once :( Hubs and I have been talking about replacing it with a new model and from we can see that issue has been fixed.

It looks like you guys are getting a lot done! I love reading TRs of people with older kids so I know what to fit in our future trips!

I have enjoyed all of our trips but I find they get more enjoyable as the kids get older. Last trip where DD was 5 (old enough to do almost anything she wanted) and DS was 18 months (pre-terrible twos :p) was our best so far. I'm really looking forward to our next trip where DS will likely be around 4. He's such a good boy but having to split up and all day can be a bummer. Plus, I always felt like he was missing out. His trip was mostly waiting around for us to get off rides and the whole time getting into trouble. :crazy2:
 
great job with the trip report!

So great that you got to see Anna and Elsa. They seem like such a fun meet. We have always Ariel to be our consistent favorite because she has a bit of a silly side to her and think, at least with Anna, you get a bit of that too.

Funny how after only like 2 days at Universal you all were like "Get me back to Disney!" - glad that worked out for you to have that extra evening back at MK... sounds like it was really nice!
 
great job with the trip report!

Thanks! :)

So great that you got to see Anna and Elsa. They seem like such a fun meet. We have always Ariel to be our consistent favorite because she has a bit of a silly side to her and think, at least with Anna, you get a bit of that too.

I love Ariel for that too. That's why the fishy faces picture is my favorite! My grandmother took me to see The Little Mermaid in the theaters when it came out which was a big deal because I almost never got to go to the theaters. It has had a special place in my heart ever since and it became clear to me that despite how much I love all the classic movies and their characters I instantly become that 9 year old girl all over again and squeal with excitement when I see her. When I asked to take a fishy face pic she beamed- I got the impression not many people ask for such a thing :) Try it sometime![/QUOTE]

Funny how after only like 2 days at Universal you all were like "Get me back to Disney!" - glad that worked out for you to have that extra evening back at MK... sounds like it was really nice!

Yeah, I was over it after the Harry Potter part was over. It just doesn't have the same... wonder and magic that Disney parks do. It's just a theme park. Disney is just...more and the customer service really is head and shoulders above everyone else. I never went as a kid but the first time I did (as an adult) I had a difficult time not crying when I set foot onto Main Street the first time. It's visceral. Somehow they make you feel like a kid again, in the best possible way :)
 
What a fantastic trip! Those Olaf marshmellows are too cute!

Right?! They had hardly any Frozen merchandise but had LOTS of Frozen- themed treats! They had rice krispie treats with think frosting and Frozen characters on them too that the kids just HAD to have :laughing:
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!











facebook twitter
Top