All7OfUs
<font color=darkorchid>We too are so very NOT into
- Joined
- Dec 12, 2007
Hi Everyone, Welcome to my trip report! The title above pretty much sums it all up. We just returned on Tuesday from our WDW extravaganza, and I've just now finally figured out how to post pictures. Seems like the longer I wait to get this trip report done, the more I am forgetting!! I really want to include as many details as I can, as I know the ones I was reading leading up to our trip were so very helpful.
For those of you who want to cut right to the chase without the chit-chat, here's a handy dandy little linking dealy bob...
Screamers, Spuds, and Sandwiches!
Hoop De Doo to you too!
Bailout- Take Two, Pizza Included!
Jack, Jack, He's My Man...
Round 'em up, Baby!
Trees that Talk, Mountains that ROCK!
All Kinds Of Critters
Calling All Fairies
I Thought Princesses Wore More Clothes?!
Space Aliens and Other Creepy, Weird Stuff
You Want to do WHAT?!!
Around the World in About 5 Minutes
Some Final Thoughts...
First, let me introduce you to the cast...
Me, the initiator, and ultimately, the one and only planner/organizer for the whole trip- which at times, really p*ssed me off! (which I'll explain later).
My 5 kids: DS, 17, DD, 15, DD, 12, DS, 9, and DD, 5
My sister, who was supposed to head up the entire camping end of things, and who I thought was as enthusiastic and excited as I was about going.
My sister's 2 very coddled and picky eater girls, 5 and 3.
My parents, who spent about $600 to pop into the parks to catch some lunch and leave. Those were probably the most expensive hot dogs ever sold on this planet!! (more later on that whole thing)
Now, don't get me wrong... Our family (myself and my kids) had a more than wonderful time. What a completely different trip one can have if you spend EVEN JUST A LITTLE TIME PLANNING!! We made a tidy little plan of what we really wanted to see and do this trip, and despite some Major!!!! upsets, we did almost everything we had planned on, mostly because we knew what was happening when! Sheesh, some of the crazy things I had to deal with because they didn't listen to me months ago. Just wait until Day 3 (our first day in the parks) when you'll hear some in our party say, "What do you mean we can't eat at a table service place- you mean they actually book up??"
Okay, enough of that. Let's move into our first day!
Friday, April 4th- Travel Day!!
Yeah! We're finally on our way. The excitement is high, so getting everyone out of bed at 5:30 so we can be on the road by 6:00 is no problem. The little ones can sleep for the first few hours, and the teens can eat all of the snacks we packed before lunch, right?
Some of those, even on these boards, told us it takes about 10 hours from Knoxville. Maybe they don't have 3 girls 5 or under, and a son with a major bladder problem, and 2 coffee lovers who need the facilities even more than the littlest members of the entourage. Added to that we have those who weren't really hungry at 6:15 when we stopped at Hardees, but instead were hungry at 10:30, and again at 1:30, and again, at 4:30, and again at.... you get the picture... On top of that we hit a helacious (sp.) thunderstorm just outside of Orlando that literally stopped traffic for about an hour. I've never seen a harder downpour or lightening that struck a bush on the median just feet from our car!!! Okay, so by now you're asking, "so how long did it take you to get from Knoxville to Orlando?" No, not 10, but 14 hours!! We were exhausted, almost too tired to put that tent up and climb into bed.
But we did; and no sooner did we have it up that it started raining again, and thundering and flashing. This was NOT according to plan! Yes, I know it rains in Florida, but well, this was not starting out well. To make matters worse, my darling little niece decides to pitch a terrific tantrum at 10:30 at the off-site KOA that we were to stay in our first 2 nights. Too tired, missing Daddy, afraid of the weather, never slept in a tent- you know the drill. Is anyone sleeping yet?? I was just thankful we didn't get thrown out after all that screaming!
Luckily, the tent only leaked a little overnight, and was mostly dry by the next afternoon.
The only highlight of our first evening at our campsite was the 2 little baby alligators in the canal by our tent. The kids spent a few minutes watching them before tucking in to their bags, and my DD, 5, thought they might like to eat orange peels, so she threw them a couple to try. This was before someone told us it is VERY illegal to feed the gators.
Here's a picture of the kids looking for those little gators in the morning and checking out the fish and frogs. What better way for a family to spend time together than camping in the fresh air and hearing frogs croak and fish jump right next to your tent!!??
So, my plans to be set up by 5:00 PM were totally dashed! I had planned a simple (and cheap) campsite meal that evening, then a quick trip to DTD that evening for dessert at Rainforest Cafe. Didn't happen! But that's okay, read the next installment for Day 2's excitement, and you'll find out why
For those of you who want to cut right to the chase without the chit-chat, here's a handy dandy little linking dealy bob...
Screamers, Spuds, and Sandwiches!
Hoop De Doo to you too!
Bailout- Take Two, Pizza Included!
Jack, Jack, He's My Man...
Round 'em up, Baby!
Trees that Talk, Mountains that ROCK!
All Kinds Of Critters
Calling All Fairies
I Thought Princesses Wore More Clothes?!
Space Aliens and Other Creepy, Weird Stuff
You Want to do WHAT?!!
Around the World in About 5 Minutes
Some Final Thoughts...
First, let me introduce you to the cast...
Me, the initiator, and ultimately, the one and only planner/organizer for the whole trip- which at times, really p*ssed me off! (which I'll explain later).
My 5 kids: DS, 17, DD, 15, DD, 12, DS, 9, and DD, 5
My sister, who was supposed to head up the entire camping end of things, and who I thought was as enthusiastic and excited as I was about going.
My sister's 2 very coddled and picky eater girls, 5 and 3.
My parents, who spent about $600 to pop into the parks to catch some lunch and leave. Those were probably the most expensive hot dogs ever sold on this planet!! (more later on that whole thing)
Now, don't get me wrong... Our family (myself and my kids) had a more than wonderful time. What a completely different trip one can have if you spend EVEN JUST A LITTLE TIME PLANNING!! We made a tidy little plan of what we really wanted to see and do this trip, and despite some Major!!!! upsets, we did almost everything we had planned on, mostly because we knew what was happening when! Sheesh, some of the crazy things I had to deal with because they didn't listen to me months ago. Just wait until Day 3 (our first day in the parks) when you'll hear some in our party say, "What do you mean we can't eat at a table service place- you mean they actually book up??"
Okay, enough of that. Let's move into our first day!
Friday, April 4th- Travel Day!!
Yeah! We're finally on our way. The excitement is high, so getting everyone out of bed at 5:30 so we can be on the road by 6:00 is no problem. The little ones can sleep for the first few hours, and the teens can eat all of the snacks we packed before lunch, right?
Some of those, even on these boards, told us it takes about 10 hours from Knoxville. Maybe they don't have 3 girls 5 or under, and a son with a major bladder problem, and 2 coffee lovers who need the facilities even more than the littlest members of the entourage. Added to that we have those who weren't really hungry at 6:15 when we stopped at Hardees, but instead were hungry at 10:30, and again at 1:30, and again, at 4:30, and again at.... you get the picture... On top of that we hit a helacious (sp.) thunderstorm just outside of Orlando that literally stopped traffic for about an hour. I've never seen a harder downpour or lightening that struck a bush on the median just feet from our car!!! Okay, so by now you're asking, "so how long did it take you to get from Knoxville to Orlando?" No, not 10, but 14 hours!! We were exhausted, almost too tired to put that tent up and climb into bed.
But we did; and no sooner did we have it up that it started raining again, and thundering and flashing. This was NOT according to plan! Yes, I know it rains in Florida, but well, this was not starting out well. To make matters worse, my darling little niece decides to pitch a terrific tantrum at 10:30 at the off-site KOA that we were to stay in our first 2 nights. Too tired, missing Daddy, afraid of the weather, never slept in a tent- you know the drill. Is anyone sleeping yet?? I was just thankful we didn't get thrown out after all that screaming!
Luckily, the tent only leaked a little overnight, and was mostly dry by the next afternoon.
The only highlight of our first evening at our campsite was the 2 little baby alligators in the canal by our tent. The kids spent a few minutes watching them before tucking in to their bags, and my DD, 5, thought they might like to eat orange peels, so she threw them a couple to try. This was before someone told us it is VERY illegal to feed the gators.
Here's a picture of the kids looking for those little gators in the morning and checking out the fish and frogs. What better way for a family to spend time together than camping in the fresh air and hearing frogs croak and fish jump right next to your tent!!??
So, my plans to be set up by 5:00 PM were totally dashed! I had planned a simple (and cheap) campsite meal that evening, then a quick trip to DTD that evening for dessert at Rainforest Cafe. Didn't happen! But that's okay, read the next installment for Day 2's excitement, and you'll find out why
