Surf & Turf 2014 TR! (Feb. 22-Mar. 6, 2014) About This Page:

[mommapants]

Jeez, what a run around with the van. But glad it is all taken care of and you don't need to worry about it during your vacation.

[llgmommy2]

I love your Trip Reports! I cannot wait to read more! Sounds like you run into some bumps with SW.

[xwewhisper]

Great start! So glad everything worked out in the end with your van

[melduckie]

Lady luck must have been on your side to get that potentially huge hiccup of not having the van, then having it all workout just as planned!!

[Colexis Mom]

Great start!

[TuffyCO]

Originally Posted by disneydreamer33

Great start! Sorry you had to keep turning around. At least Pat remembered before you were in Albq!
BBQ looked delish!!!

I'm really glad Pat realized the phones when he did. Not having his work phone is a big no-no. County Line is so good!

Originally Posted by JenniferLynneRose521

Checking in Stef! Great start -- sorry about all the delays!

The delays weren't too bad, a little stressful, but at least we had a hotel and weren't leaving town that night. It all worked out.

Originally Posted by mommapants

Jeez, what a run around with the van. But glad it is all taken care of and you don't need to worry about it during your vacation.

It was a mess with the van, but we were glad to have it fixed. We were much happier going to County Line than IHOP or Applebee's, which were our only options within walking distance from the hotel.

Originally Posted by llgmommy2

I love your Trip Reports! I cannot wait to read more! Sounds like you run into some bumps with SW.

I hope to get the next update done today or tomorrow. We definitely had bumps with SW.

Originally Posted by xwewhisper

Great start! So glad everything worked out in the end with your van

I'm glad the van is better now. It was an expense that stunk right before the trip, but at least it is safe to drive now.

Originally Posted by melduckie

Lady luck must have been on your side to get that potentially huge hiccup of not having the van, then having it all workout just as planned!!

The dealership really impressed me. I really didn't even expect them to look at it until the next day, since they knew we were leaving town and wouldn't be needing it for awhile. I was so happy when they called and were able to get it fixed and come get us. We were much happier after that.

Originally Posted by Colexis Mom

Great start!

[TuffyCO]

Today's Update: No Plane Change Doesn't Always Mean No Plane Change!

February 22nd - Travel Day/Stay at Animal Kingdom Villas - Jambo

Our travel started at the early hour of 4am. I was up first and hopped in the shower really quickly and then got everyone else up and moving. The kids were pretty good and got dressed, brushed teeth and got ready to go. We packed back up and were out of the room at 4:35am. I went outside and looked to see if there was a better parking space open from the night before. We were parked way at the back of the lot and since we were leaving our van there, we wanted it in a more visible area. I found one right near the front that was visible from the breakfast area.
We waited in the lobby and we were lucky because the staff put out some cinnamon rolls early. The kids each had some and we grabbed a couple of cokes to share.





The shuttle to the airport arrived on time at 5am and we loaded into the van. There was a lady and gentleman also riding and Hunter had a conversation with the lady for the whole ride (which was only about 5 minutes).

We arrived at the airport and were in line to check our bags when we discovered that the handle on one bag would not go back down. After a lot of fighting we finally got it down, which was good because it was one of our checked bags. We got our boarding passes and headed to security. Pat saw a line for "families" and we jumped over there and were quickly through security in about 5 minutes. We got to the gate and waited for about 20 minutes before boarding.



I decided that since we had been able to secure "A" boarding numbers that we wouldn't worry about asking for pre boarding. We got in line by our numbers and we found seats a few rows behind the exit row. Hunter sat in the window, I was in the middle, Shana took the aisle and Pat was on the aisle across from us.





The flight to Houston was uneventful. The kids both used their iPods or Nintendo DS's and kept themselves entertained the whole trip.

When we booked our flights we had paid a bit more and took flights that were not necessarily at our desired times because the flights were the only ones that had stops with no plane change. We have always flown non-stop from Denver and Hunter and Shana do not do well with a lot of change, and I thought the extra cost would save us some struggles in the airports. We found out that when they say "no plane change" that that is subject to be changed.

When the plane landed in Houston they told everyone that was staying on board to continue to Orlando to stay in their seats so they could do a head count. After the other passengers got off they announced that the plane was being pulled for maintenance and we were being transferred to another flight. We were told that we would be boarding before all the passengers on the new flight. Pat and the kids went to the gate and I stopped at Wendy's to get us some food. It took forever to get the food, but I made it to the gate just as they were finishing boarding the people from our original flight. Pat and the kids were already on the plane and had our seats all picked out.

This flight was a little more interesting. We ended up sitting in front of a family that had 4 kids. There were two (younger ones like 3-4 years old) in the seats behind us with dad on the aisle and mom and the other two (older kids 7-8) on the other side of the plane behind Pat. I really try not to get upset about people traveling with kids, because I know how tough it can be. But there are things that just drive me nuts. All 4 of the kids were watching movies on iPods or tablets and none of them were using headphones and they had the volume very loud. At one point the parents tried to "convince" the kids to wear headphones, but clearly the parents were not in charge. This bothers me because even with our kids with disabilities we have rules and if you want to watch something on the iPod on a plane, you wear headphones. No headphones, no iPod. I was also annoyed when the little girl in the middle seat behind me started screaming "MOMMY! MOMMY!" until mom finally answered and she had to go to the bathroom. Dad, who was sitting right next to the girl, had his headphones in and didn't even respond to her.

I did my best to ignore as much as I could and I could go on, but those were the worst things. I just plugged in and tried to listen to my book on tape, while blocking out the cartoons behind me. As we were coming into Orlando we went through a lot of clouds and had a bit of a bumpy ride. It was really neat though as both the kids had just studied weather the week before we left and they were identifying all the different types of clouds.







When we landed we hit the restrooms and then made our way to Disney's Magical Express. We waited for about 10 minutes and then boarded. We had stops at Art of Animation, POP and Kidani before making our way to Jambo House.



Once we arrived we got checked in and we had requested a room near the lobby or elevator (since we were only here one night), but there wasn't anything available. When she showed me where our room was on the map I was surprised that we had a savanna view (we had booked a standard). We were very happy to have a savanna view. This is our home resort and we love watching the animals.

These first three pictures were from our room:






While in the room we took a look at the activities and I wanted to do the restaurant tour at Boma and Jiko. We took off back to the lobby.

These were as we were walking back to the lobby.



We call the Red River Hogs, "sporty pigs". Back in 2007 when we stayed the first time at Animal Kingdom Lodge, everyone in the family saw the "sporty pigs" except me. I kept teasing them all about the non-existent "sporty pigs". I have never seem them until this trip.





The tour ended up being a total disaster. The kids were in moods and were fighting and arguing with each other. Although we had been prepping Hunter that we would be doing things that everyone liked, he was really resistant. Shana was not much better. It didn't help that the group we were with was making it really difficult for them. The adults would get close to the guide and would not scoot in so that we could hear. We were all a bit frustrated. We made it through most of it and what I did hear was interesting. We will try this again sometime, probably not on the travel day. :roll eyes:

We all went back to the room and were all in really fowl moods at this point. Our dinner reservation wasn't until 7:30pm at Boma and our original plan was to have the kids go swimming until it was time for dinner. But we decided that their attitudes at the tour did not warrant them being allowed to go swimming. But we also wanted to turn things back around. We decided to chill for a little bit and then went down to Boma at about 6 to see if there was any chance of getting in early. Thankfully they were able to seat us right away.

Dinner was fantastic, as usual. This is one of our favorite restaurants and we all love the food. We all got our fill and left. The kids had turned back around and we went back to the room and let the kids get dressed to go swimming. Pat went down to the pool with them and I arranged a few things in suitcases to make sure we were all set for the next day and then went down to join them.

Pat had sat down at a table, but the other seats were all wet from the rain and we moved to the bar. The bartender was very friendly and we had a few drinks while the kids enjoyed swimming. The bartender also gave us a tub of Disney trivia cards and Pat and I were doing quite well. The end of the evening was very enjoyable.



At about 9:30 or 10pm we rounded up the kids and went back to the room. The kids got showers and we hung up their suits to dry. Then we were all off to bed dreaming about our next 4 nights on the Dream.

Next Update: The Dream is Calling Our Names!

[lauriep]

That plane change would have made me pretty mad. I think it's pretty clear that they wanted to consolidate passengers onto one plane to save money. And the kids-without-rules--glad it wasn't a longer flight. The day ended well, though, with a great meal and a swim.

[MayraLR]

Sorry for the inconsiderate parents on the plane. They should know better.
Too bad the tour didn't go too well but at least the evening turned right around.

[lfredsbo]

Well that's no fun with the plane
Glad your evening ended well, travel days can be tough

[TuffyCO]

Originally Posted by lauriep

That plane change would have made me pretty mad. I think it's pretty clear that they wanted to consolidate passengers onto one plane to save money. And the kids-without-rules--glad it wasn't a longer flight. The day ended well, though, with a great meal and a swim.

We took this plane change in stride and used it for an opportunity to get some lunch, although that plan didn't work too well either. After our flight home we are certain they did this to consolidate passengers (our flight home was worse, but you will have to wait for those details ). If the flight would have been longer, I'm pretty sure I would have said something to the parents. I really don't mind kids being kids, but it was clear they had no boundaries and Dad was completely uninvolved.

The day did end well, and I'm glad we got everything turned around.

Originally Posted by MayraLR

Sorry for the inconsiderate parents on the plane. They should know better.
Too bad the tour didn't go too well but at least the evening turned right around.

I really try not to judge peoples parenting because Hunter at 11 will have major meltdowns that resemble tantrums and we get some stares. But this was clearly the parents had zero control and really didn't care.

The tour was just a bad idea on arrival day, but everyone was good with it, until we got down there. But I'm glad we got things turned around.

Originally Posted by lfredsbo

Well that's no fun with the plane
Glad your evening ended well, travel days can be tough

No, it was not fun with all the plane issues, and I'm sure that added to our fowl attitudes later in the day. Travel days are tough, and I'm glad we reevaluated and found a way to end the day on a good note.

[Russi01]

Sorry you had some issues with the plane. I think travel days are so tiring!! Glad that your day ended on a good note!! Can't wait to follow along with your cruise portion!!

[mommapants]

what a mess with the plane change. I would have really been anoid. You spent extra money so you didn't need to change planes. Don't even get me going about children being in charge and not parents. Just this morning while dropping Evan at school I saw a mom say to her kid take your hat off and put your gloves away. She reapeated 4 times and the kid sat there drinking his milk and didn't move and she saod don't lose them and then left. Let me tell you it was all I could do NOT to jump in and make this kid put his hat and gloves away. When does it say in the parenting handbook that raising children will be easy and carefree and they will always do what you ask the first time ---- It doesn't because being a parent is hard work and take ALOT of patience and disciplin and the occasional "I hate you" from your child.

[xwewhisper]

Eeek FOUR kids on devices without headphones would drive me INSANE. I can't stand multiple noises like that going on at once, I don't know that I would have handled it nearly as well as you managed!

Sorry the tour was a dud. I was thinking about trying it for our upcoming trip, but just never seem to find the time to squeeze it in! Glad dinner and some pool time turned the night around

[TinkerbellJenn99]

Travel days are tough on everyone I think. The plane change would have irritated me (because of the extra cost), but it was nice that it offered the opportunity to get some "non plane" food for lunch You have more patience than I do with those kids, or more so parents, on the plane. I would have had a hard time biting my tongue.

It's a shame that the adults on the tour weren't showing basic manners in letting the kids in the group in the see\hear as well - it just sets a bad example.

All that said - I'm glad the day ended on a good note. Can't wait to hear how everyone likes the cruise