The "Okay-Let's-Get-This-Thing-Done-Before-The-Next-Trip-Starts-TR" About This Page:

[dsteiny23]

Originally Posted by dutchdisneyfamily

I'm glad you started it. That was certainly and apprehensive beginning. Thank goodness you were safe!

It was a bit nerve wracking, but thank good ness it all worked out okay for us.

Originally Posted by jandsdennis

Signing on for the fun!

Welcome!!

Originally Posted by sc507

you've started! I can only imagine how badly you would want to get out of the cold, dark house for the warm airport! Weird flight attendants! Seriously, kids in my class give me food all of the time - I say thank you so much, then get rid if it later (unless it's sealed away from their cute, but germy hands!)

It felt a bit more like vacation once we got out of the dark and on the road. I've always told my boys to just say "Thank you" if it's something they already had, didn't want or couldn't have and we'd deal with it later.

Originally Posted by Suzie-Q

Somebody needs to remind those flight attendants of what it was like to be a kid. Seriously!?! Very bad form on their parts! It might just be flukes, but the few times we have flown Delta we found their bedside manners to be the pits on the flights and also behind the counters at the airports. I have intentionally avoided them for a few years now and would only book one of their flights if the price was significantly better than the competition. We usually fly out of Syracuse NY since we live right on the Canada/US border, and Jet Blue can usually match or beat Delta's flights from there so we have been in luck. Nice of you to do the goody bags, and I hope the boys had most of it go over their heads. I can only imagine how nice your shower is going to feel. Sign me up for the TR!

Other than this goody bag thing, we've had really good experiences with Delta. Even when they screwed up our flights last minute last year, they tried all they could and opened up rows for us on other flights and then gave all five of us a $300 credit which we used this year. It was more the effort the boys put into it that bugged me.

Originally Posted by lauriep

Excited to see this report from you! You definitely had a different lead-up to this trip than ever before. I'm glad your house had minimal damage. The devastation in other areas is heartbreaking. I can't believe the rude Delta crew! When someone gives you a present, you smile and say "thank you"!! I wonder if you'll ever stay in a regular room at BC anymore? Concierge every trip!

I knew the lead up to the trip was different, but didn't realize how much it would make the leaving feel differently until we got up that morning and finished packing with candles and flashlights

Originally Posted by chezp

Wow, that was certainly a different lead-up to your vacation. Thank goodness you weren't more badly hit by Sandy.

I can't believe how rude the Delta crew were.

We were definitely lucky and thankful for our luck every day.
I do have to say that the flight attendant was very polite about being rude She did thank us a lot for the thought. It was just a weird way of handling it. I'm hoping they have some strict policy or something they have to follow. I would take a bag of goodies from a kid...of course I'd wear the ring and stamp my hand too

Originally Posted by Charlie97

Guess Courtesy doesn't exist in Delta. I thought that was a bit cheesy on their part; but anywho....looking forward to this TR Dawn, I have enjoyed your last few TRs, and thus far, this one seems to be taking off pretty good. I am sorry to hear about the devastating hurricane that hit ya'll. Back in '07 we were slammed by one down here in S. TX. I spent 6 days with no electricity. The heat was unbearable, and in the outskirts of the neighborhood, there were some reports of people trying to loot. My trusty sidekick; Springfield Armory .45, kept the neighbors safe though. Hope everything turns out better for ya'll up there. Stay safe, and nice start to the TR

It's weird when you have no electricity how much you don't realize you take for granted. Each time we went into a room we'd flip the switch and expect the lights to come on.

Originally Posted by Colexis Mom

Great start Dawn! I bet that hot shower felt so good!

The light and the blow dryer were pretty great too!

Originally Posted by kingfamily1129

It's strange that when we (meaning anyone) plans a vacation, we don't realize how much of a routine we all develop, even when it comes to pre-vacation rituals, probably because those aren't put on a piece of paper to remind us, because we simply just "know" it has to be done. Like, for us, our vacation doesn't "officially" begin until we've exited our neighborhood and gone to have breakfast somewhere, like a Golden Corral or Kiki's. And when we deviate from that routine, the whole vacation feels so different. I'm sorry yours had to deviate but it sounds like you all are going to make up for it. Can't wait to read more

I now know that the pre-trip part of vacation is a big part of the trip. I've always loved the planning part and I'm a bit of a control freak so when things weren't the way I thought they were going to be, or maybe not going to go the way I wanted, it was unsettling. But, it all worked out for the best and we had a fantastic trip!!

Originally Posted by lfredsbo

Great Start Dawn!!! Looking forward to hearing more and seeing lots of pics!!!

Can't believe how rude the flight attendants were - hopefully your boys handled it well despite their hard work.....

My boys??? They were fine!! They just wanted to know if they now got to eat all of the candy that I took out of the bags

Originally Posted by dutchdisneyfamily

Great start! Weird flight attendant, but the last time I flew Delta I had the rudest flight attendants and I swore never again!

This is the first time we've ever had a problem with Delta. And we've been flying them ever since we had to start flying out of JFK instead of Newark because of the ridiculous price increases due to Jersey Week.

Originally Posted by disneydreamer33

Great start.
I hate Delta, will never fly them again if I can help it. They separated me and the girls on our first trip flying without my DH on our connection in Atlanta. I think the old hag working the gate counter was mad because I kept trying to check us in and she kept telling me it was too early, but I told her I was traveling alone with a 5 & 6 year old and wanted to make sure we got seated together. Nope she put us all three in different seats! I waited until I got on the plane and spoke with the attendant on the plane and she fixed it quick. (Well maybe just I will never connect through Atlanta again.) But it put me off of Delta.
Not to high jack, but I am thinking of BC for my 40th. I know you guys love it, are there any cons you can think of?
I am so glad you guys still went on your trip!
Can't wait for more.

Cons for the BC hmmmm. I guess there are only a couple. One is the bus service. Except for this trip, which we had really great luck timing the buses, we didn't like the bus service for our last two trips here. And, with five in a room, we don't have nearly the room we did staying at the Poly in 2008. Other than that I have nothing bad to say. It is Craig's favorite and he will never leave it now that I got him to try it. I've suggested it and sent two other families there and they loved it You will love it too!

[Coop]

Signing in now. Sorry about your Delta woes. They did suspend the nuts on our return trip because of an allergy. They gave out cookies and pretzels instead.

[KMB733]

Glad to see you started your TR!! I can only imagine what you were going through leading up to this trip. Definitely a rough start, but I'm so glad you were able to get out of town for a while. How very rude of the flight attendants not to take the goodie bags. As you said, just take the bags, say Thank you and then get rid of them afterwards.

[JKnott17]

I'm glad you started!!

What was up with those flight attendents? Even if they couldn't take the goody bags because of a policy, they could have just said thank you and chucked them once they were out of view from the boys. I mean, they were coming from kids for goodness sakes!

[clio]

Glad you started your triip report. I can't believe how rude those flight attendents were. Apparrently they forgot the manners they were taught as children. They could have taken the goodie bags and gotten rid of them later and your boys would never have know .
Liz

[dsteiny23]

Originally Posted by Coop

Signing in now. Sorry about your Delta woes. They did suspend the nuts on our return trip because of an allergy. They gave out cookies and pretzels instead.

I feel better now that they suspended all nuts on flights. My boys were okay, but at least it's one less thing to worry about.

Originally Posted by KMB733

Glad to see you started your TR!! I can only imagine what you were going through leading up to this trip. Definitely a rough start, but I'm so glad you were able to get out of town for a while. How very rude of the flight attendants not to take the goodie bags. As you said, just take the bags, say Thank you and then get rid of them afterwards.

Rough yes, but we were lucky with the little damage and lucky to get to Disney for a while with our family.

Originally Posted by JKnott17

I'm glad you started!!

What was up with those flight attendents? Even if they couldn't take the goody bags because of a policy, they could have just said thank you and chucked them once they were out of view from the boys. I mean, they were coming from kids for goodness sakes!

That's what frustrated me the most was that it was from the boys. But they were happy just getting to eat more candy and we didn't even bother on the way back.

Originally Posted by clio

Glad you started your triip report. I can't believe how rude those flight attendents were. Apparrently they forgot the manners they were taught as children. They could have taken the goodie bags and gotten rid of them later and your boys would never have know .
Liz

That's what I would have done. Well, not really. I would have eaten the candy and played with the toys

[dsteiny23]

One hot shower and a blow dry later we had to get moving to make our dinner reservation in Epcot at Coral Reef. Of course there was no way I was passing up my first cup of coffee from the lounge on the way. We stopped at the Photopass desk on the way to trade in our voucher for our Photopass Plus card so we could start our picture taking right away and then walked out the back of the BC to one of our favorite views in all of Disney, that first look at Crescent Lake and the surrounding resorts.



Then it was through the magic IG and into Epcot. We had to make our way to CR pretty quickly to make our ressies. We checked in and I asked for a table as close to the tank as possible and took a seat. Craig was taking a picture of us when the father in the family next to us asked if we wanted a family picture.



Normally we seem to wait a while when we come to CR, but not this time. Which is good because we really hadn’t fed our children since before getting on the plane in NY. Bad parenting, bad timing…you choose. We ended up with a great booth table just across from the tank. The boys were loudly ooohing and aaahing over the fish and I shush’d them a bit and the hostess said, “It’s Disney! They’re supposed to be excited.” To which Jason said, “Yeah Mommy, it’s Disney where the magic begins and dreams come true!” And the hostess pointed at him and said “You watch too much television!”

I was so excited from reading someone’s TR about the seasonal catch and mushroom risotto that I knew what I was going to get…but, alas, they had changed it and now it was over smoked gouda grits. I asked the waiter if the grits were as good as the risotto and he said no, so I changed my order to Mahi over Jasmine Rice, which Tyler also had. Craig had pan seared chicken and Jason had his first of many Disney pizzas.







When the waiter brought out our dinners, Tyler told him “I have to say, you guys are doing an excellent job.” I don’t know how old that kid thinks he is sometimes. The meals were delicious. I really liked the Mahi and the rice and it was just enough.

After dinner we went around the corner to the Seas and took a ride with Nemo.







Then we walked around the tanks and displays for a little bit. We had to get our yearly shark pictures. Although it looks like Jason was more interested in Bruce’s dental work than posing for the camera.





I, on the other hand, had to ham it up. (Not sure who’s mouth is bigger, mine or Bruce’s…don’t ask Craig, and you ladies (and you know who you are) no comments! )



When we were done with the sharks, the next Turtle Talk show was only about a 10 minute wait. So we looked around the waiting area until it was time. I loved these moon jellies!!



Two minutes before they were going to let us in, Tyler announced he had to use the restroom. (Although not quite in those words ) So Craig took him and we said we’d meet them inside. Jason went right in and sat front and center and started chatting up the CM and making friends.



We had talked before about a few questions he could ask in case he was picked. I was afraid to leave it up to his own decision on what to ask. One thing we said was pay attention so you don’t ask a question that has already been answered. The show was adorable as usual and lots of fun. Once the questions started Jason was bouncing around on his butt with his hand in the air. Two little girls were chosen first to ask questions, one about how fast sea turtles are and one about what they like to play. Each time Jason would bounce and reach in the air with his hand. Finally Crush said “Let the little dude in the red shell ask a question before he explodes.” Jason asked “How fast…wait, forget that…What’s your favorite food?” Crush told him it was the sea grass we could see in the tank and then asked Jason his favorite food. Jason said “turkey and noodles.” Crush made a strange face and said “tur-key and noo-dles, okay”. Not pizza, not hot dogs, not chicken nuggets…turkey and noodles. That’s my kid.

After our time in the Seas, we made our way over to the Land, stopping for a picture with a few friends.





We checked out the line for Soarin’ but it was too long and all the FPs were gone for the day. So we took a ride on LWTL which will always be one of my favorite rides and I like to ride it in the daytime and at night each trip. I love the way the greenhouses feel so different depending on the light.



Of course we had to take a spin on SE as well. This is always a favorite or our family and usually the first ride we do when we get to Epcot. Rushing for our dinner reservation stopped us from doing that this time.



Jason and I swimming into our future.



And apparently Craig and Tyler are still dorks in the future.

We walked through Mousegears on our way back to the room and stopped for a silly hat picture.



We had about had it at this point after such a long day and started the walk back to the BC. On the way Tyler asked if they had a Cranberry “Bob” this year like last year. And sure enough they did and we cleared up the name misunderstanding. (I got a picture of him later in the daylight with the Cranberry “bob”). Back through the IG and to the BC and we were shortly in bed and sound asleep. The boys were so tired that they didn’t even disturb the towel Mickey getting into bed.





Craig and I unpacked and hit the hay as well. We were going to try to make DHS EMH in the morning.


Up Next: Am I tall enough and a PP meet!

[Suzie-Q]

Wow - you all look so shiny and clean! It must have been a wonderful feeling and looks like you had a great day.

[lfredsbo]

Must have been soooooooooooo nice to have a hot shower and actually use a hair dryer at that point!!! I know what it's like to be without power for days (we don't even have water when we lose power as we are on a well - and we were without for 5 days with Sandy - 7 with Irene).

Your boys crack me up!!!! And uh, yeah - that mouth photo of you ................hmmmmm.................. .no comment!

Can't wait to hear about your PP meet!!!

[Coop]

That shower must've felt soooo good! The mouth pic - ummm - at least you don't have multiple rows of teeth! . Great beginning. What a long day!

[dutchdisneyfamily]

What a fun day with the Nemo crowd! Love to see you all hamming it up. Your family is legendary for it and wouldn't expect anything else .

[JKnott17]

Aaahh, that hot shower and blow dry must have felt so good! I'm glad you had a great night in Epcot, dinner at the Coral Reef sounded great I had the same Mahi Mahi dish a few days later!

[OhToodles!]

I was laughing at the big mouth comment before I even saw the picture. But I will make no further comments as I'm going to need you in a few months and don't want you mad at me.
Love all the pictures and comments the boys have been making today. They crack me up!

[lauriep]

Great family photos as usual-- a very photogenic group! I love when kids use adult phrasing. Tyler's too funny with his cranberry "bob".

[Cam22]

I'm loving your TR, Dawn! Now if Stefanie had been treated as you all were when she gave gifts, trust me she would have gone Stefanie on them (which I think might be very similar to Jersey). I would have been ready for a hot shower and a blow dryer, too. Glad your room was ready right away. You all still got quite a bit in at Epcot before you collapsed from the long day.