Subsonic Radio

Well here we go. Somehow I have been avoiding writing this trip report. It is like it will officially end the trip if I actually write it!

A tiny bit of background first...

Last spring, April, I think, We had some friends over for dinner. One of the moms said that she was interested in taking her kids to Disney and she heard that I was the one to talk to. She also mentioned another family that was thinking of going. They were interested in any good deals that I may know of. Well it just so happened to be around the time when Free Dining rumors were starting for the year. I told her that Sept was a great time to go if you are not very worried about the kids missing school. Her kids are pretty young (7 and 5) so she was not worried. So I jumped on my computer and quoted her many, many prices and options. I did the same for the other family that was thinking of going. Then, free dining was released and I called them both and got them booked on trips to Disney!! One family was going to stay at the All Star Music. The other was splurging and going with the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Both families were going the same week.

Now I started thinking that this sounded like a lot of fun! Disney...two families that I am friends with...friends of my kids....friends of my husbands...DISNEY....hmmmmm could WE go too??? One of the families was going to also bring the grandparents who are friends of my mom. Maybe my mom could go too! Hubby thought it was way out of our budget. Even with free dining, and even staying at an All Star. I figured that he was probably right. After all, he has been out of work and is now trying to start his own business how could we possibly do this? But I finally convinced him, and myself, that we should just book it. We decided to go with the All Star Music. After all, if it didn't work out we could always cancel and get our money back. That is when we decided not to tell the kids. We could handle disappointing ourselves if we could not go but we could not do that to the kids. The other families were not telling their kids either.

Over the summer we realized that we could really make this happen! It was so hard not telling the kids. Even when we knew we could go we decided that we had made it so far we should just keep it a surprise. My kids knew that the other families were going and they knew that I was helping them plan. So every time they saw me on the Disney website or working on a Disney Spreadsheet they thought it was for the other families. I put code names for our family and my mom on the spreadsheets and they never suspected anything. Of course talking about Disney everyday in my house is normal. A week before the trip my son even said that he would only get his hair cut at a barber shop if it was the Harmony Barber Shop on Main Street in the Magic Kingdom. For any other kid that would have been the strangest thing to say but not for my son! I joked with him that that would be one very expensive hair cut, since we would need plane tickets and everything!

We almost slipped so many times but we made it right up until....the night before....

Next time....How I almost ruined everything , and Day 1 !


Oh, one more thing....I have been to Disney 12 times, Hubby has been 9. DS9 has been 5 and DD6 has been 4 times.

Ooh! This sounds so exciting!!! (and it sounds like something I would do too... ) Looking forward to the rest of the story!!!

Very cool start to the trip report. I am waiting to find out if DS got his Disney haircut!!

More more!!!!!
This is going to be a good one

Can't wait to hear more on this. Especially how you almost slipped.

Awesome! I can't wait to see your trip report, have a wonderful time!!! You should take a pic. of your kid's reactions when they find out they're going to WDW!!!

Ooooh... She's teasing us! Looking forward to the trip report! I'm so glad that it worked out that you guys could go also. It is definitely a different experience when you go with a group of people you know.

Part 2
How I almost ruined everything and Day 1

I was reading my final posts from right before I left and I had said something about remaining calm and not having any neurotic moments. I should never have said that!!

The day before we left I tried very hard to keep everything as normal as possible. Of course everyone at work knew I was going so I had been talking about the trip all morning. But when I got home I had to act like nothing was going on. I had the kids clean their rooms and help me around the house which are normal Saturday activities so they didn't suspect anything. But as evening came everything started to fall apart. I don't know about everyone else but for me stressful things always seem to happen before vacation. Well stressful things started to happen and a large, unexpected expense suddenly happened and I was getting a little bit crazy. Then my son started asking me a million questions: “Mom what's wrong? Mom why is that guy here? Does Papa know what is going on? Mom why are you stressed out?” Suddenly I lost it. “I don't know what is going on! I don't know what Papa knows! We are going on vacation and I am not dealing with this right now!!”
As the words left my mouth there was suddenly silence and I literally collapsed on the floor! As I sat there on the floor with my head in my hands suddenly both kids were standing over me asking a million questions: “What vacation? Are we going too? Where are we going? Are we going to Disney? Does Papa know?” What did I do??? How could I fix this? My husband was not home so I could not just give up and tell them! After what seemed like forever I finally looked up at them and said “You guys know I was trying to plan a trip for next year. You have been helping me price it out. I was saving up my money to finally book it. I just wanted it to be a surprise.” They both looked at me and said “Oh ok.” And then they disappeared. I ran out of the house to call my husband and tell him about my meltdown. By the time he got home the kids seemed to have forgotten all about it.

The next morning came very quickly. We put all the suitcases in the living room and I started to wake up the kids. The original plan was to wait for them to figure it out in the car but we decided that it would be easier to try to capture their reaction if we told them at home. I woke my son first and started getting him dressed. He looked very worried and kept asking me what was wrong. He told me later that he thought one of his grandparents might be in the hospital. As I was waking up my daughter and getting her dressed I heard my son yell “Wait a minute!” He ran into his bedroom. “All my shorts are missing! I know what's happening!!” He kept yelling it over and over. It was very funny. My daughter was still half asleep and didn't know what he was yelling about. When she got downstairs and saw the luggage she just giggled and giggled. We never did catch much of it on video since my son figured it out before he even got downstairs. Oh well.

So off we went to the airport! The flight went quickly as the kids and I talked about everything from our resort choice to rides they had never done. They were very excited because they have never stayed on Disney property before! We arrived in Orlando and took Magical Express to our resort. At check-in the second surprise was ruined. I swear I just can not do two things at once!! I don't know why I did not tell the kids to go watch the TV while I checked in but I did not so they were with me when the girl at the desk asked about our other traveling party. Without thinking I said “Yes my mom is checking in on Wednesday.” My son yelled “Granny's coming?!” My husband just shook his head at me and the girl behind the desk just smiled and said “Oh, was that a surprise?”
Do not tell me any secrets!! Apparently I can't handle it!!

Well we got our room, in the Broadway section. It was kind of far away from the Main building but it was very quiet and on the first floor. The kids were very impressed with the towel animals waiting in our window. We dropped our bags, changed into shorts and were off to Hollywood Studios!

The Studios is never my first choice but my husband could not stay the whole week and it would be his only chance to see Fantasmic! The Studios were pretty crowded. We saw Beauty and the Beast, and then made our way over to the Tower of Terror. The kids did not think they were ready for this so my husband went first. While we waited my daughter decided she wanted to try it. We tried to talk my son into it. After all, could he really let his little sister try it before he did?? Well we could not talk him into it so when Papa came back, my daughter and I went. She LOVED it!! Then we went to the Great Movie Ride. That ride really does look sad. It needs some love. After that we split up for a little bit. Hubby and son went off to see the Lights Motors Action stunt show and the American Idol experience. Both of which I had no desire to see again. My daughter and I went to see the Little Mermaid. She got to announce the show! Then we got to see Handy Manny, who is my daughter's favorite! We also got to look around in some shops without the boys whining and complaining. We spent a lot of time getting lost because I just can't figure this park out!! After that we met up for some dinner and then made our way over to Fantasmic! Husband wanted to try to get on Rockin Rollercoaster first so the kids and I made our way in. At 7:15 there was standing room only for the 8:00 show!!! I called my husband and told him that he would never make it in and I was not sure I wanted to stay because my daughter would not be able to see in the standing room area. We all decided that we were too tired to stay for the second show and my husband said he would be fine if he missed it so we called it a night and left to get a good nights sleep. Somewhere in this day we also saw the Muppet 3D movie. That was another first for my kids because after “It's tough to be a Bug” a few years ago, It has been hard to get them to want to see the 3D movies. Actually I have to thank Subsonic for getting my kids to see this show. If they hadn't listened to it a dozen times on Subsonic I think they would still be afraid.

So aside from ruined surprises we had a great day!

Next time: Day 2- Magic Kingdom and Day 3- The next family arrives.

Wow! That kind of day just prior to a surprise vacation would make anyone stressed out! That's funny how your son figured out all his shorts were missing
How funny that your son couldn't be talked into ToT, even with his little sister being all brave. I think older kids sometimes over analyze things and are too afraid to take chances.
Too bad you missed Fantasmic Oh well, you will just have to go back to see it another time.
Looking forward to day 2 and day 3!

What a great start to what I'm sure was a fabulous trip! I was laughing about the slip of the second surprise...it sounds like something I might do. (but I'm better at keeping secrets than hubby...don't tell him anything!)
Too bad you didn't get to see the show...it gives you an excuse to go back! (like there needs to be an excuse)

Looking forward to the next installment...

Great report so far!!! I hope we're going to see some pictures soon!

So sorry it is taking me so long to write this!!

Before I move on I just wanted to say that we have seen Fantasmic! Before. It is one of my husband's favorite shows so that is why it was important to see it, but sometimes sleep is MORE important. He was ok missing the show this time and so were the kids. There is always next time!

Ok Day 2. We were up early and ready to go the Magic Kingdom! We arrived in time for the opening ceremony. We kept our traditions going and started our morning with a snack at the Main Street Bakery. Yum! We asked my son about getting his haircut but he said that if he had known that he really would have to do it he would have never said it! So no haircut today....I wasn't going to push the issue because I just wanted to get on with the trip. Now I have to say the Magic Kingdom did not look great. There was scaffolding all over Main Street. A giant crane was behind Cinderella castle and we all know what a mess Fantasyland is. Well I still shed a few tears to be on my beloved Main Street even though half of it was covered.

We made our way over to Adventureland where my husband was already on the lookout for Jasmine. She was not there yet. We rode the Magic Carpets and saw the Tiki Room. We rode the first of 3 very disappointing Jungle Cruises. They all seemed very rushed and the script seems to have been cut. At first I thought maybe it was just that we had a bad skipper but every time we rode it all week they left out the same jokes and just stuck to a few. It also felt like we just flew through the ride. I don't understand what the rush was, the ride was not even that busy. Oh well, next on to Pirates! I just love Pirates, don't you? Next we were off to Frontierland. We all love Splash Mountain and Big Thunder so we rode those next. My daughter screams so much on Thunder, it is so cute. (It is her favorite ride by the way) After that we rode the train to Toontown to take pictures. I got a few of Mickey's house but Minnie's house was so crowded that we skipped it for today. The kids and I rode the Barnstormer and then it was time to head to Cosmic Rays for some lunch. We enjoyed Sonny Eclipse and discussed Space Mountain. My daughter was nervous but ready to give it a try. My son was not going to let her get the best of him this time and decided he would try it also. But first hubby and son took a little trip on the race cars. My daughter and I just don't care for those cars. On our way to Space Mountain the kids found Push. My son Loves Push. I was going to take pictures but I realized that unless you take video, you just have a picture of a trash can and you look like a crazy person.

Space Mountain. I love Space Mountain and I was very excited that the kids were going to try it. My son had second thoughts before getting on but he did get on. Now if you picture the Space Mountain rockets...two cars, three seats each. My husband was in the front seat of the first car. My son was behind him and my daughter was next. I was in the first seat of the next car. About 5 seconds into the ride my daughter stopped screaming and I started panicking!! She always screams on roller coasters so the silence was horrible! I could not see her of course and I could not touch her. It was the most agonizing ride ever. After what seemed like forever she screamed again and now I could breath. After the ride ended she said that she did kind of like it but she didn't want to ride it again for now. My son LOVED it and rode it 3 more times during the week. My husband told me that he was nervous too when our baby stopped screaming. He was too far ahead of her to reach her either. I wish I had snapped a pic of the ride photo of my poor little girl. She looked terrified. But at least she tried it. And she was fine minutes after it was over. After that it was time for a nice relaxing trip on the Peoplemover. Then we toured Fantasyland. We rode Dumbo and surveyed the construction. We tried to ride Peter Pan but the line was too long and Fast Passes were gone. This was another day that it was more crowded than I was expecting. Hubby went to wander by himself for a while with his video camera. (DS suspects that he was looking for Jasmine) And the kids and I decided to ride Pirates one more time before going to grab a spot for the MSEP and Wishes. But first I introduced my children to the infamous Dole Whip! My daughter loved it but my son was not impressed. Silly boy. We saved a little for my husband to try when we caught up with him. We parked ourselves on the upper level of the train station and people watched until the parade started. My kids explored the empty train station while we waited and really enjoyed the little movie thingys that are up there. I enjoyed the Electrical Parade but I missed Spectromagic. I guess sometimes you just love what you are used to. I like the music to Spectromagic more. Then we watched Wishes which was wonderful as usual. I liked being on the train station but it was a little bit too bright up there. It seems like you should really be in darkness when you watch fireworks. After the shows we went off to the buses. It took us two hours to get back to the resort!!! Did I mention that it was more crowded than I was expecting?! All in all it was a great day. We were of course exhausted by the time we got home.

The next day we were up early again. Some of our friends were flying in that day and we were going to meet up with them when they arrived. It seems that all of the information I had sent them all summer long had made them a little nervous and they were almost afraid to leave their resort without me! We decided to go to Downtown and wait for them to call. They called around lunchtime to say the were on the Magical Express so we grabbed a quick bite to eat at Earl of Sandwich and hopped on a bus to their resort. They were staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge and I have been wanting my husband to see it so we were very excited to go meet them. My family was in awe of the Lodge. I have never stayed there but I have spent a few hours in the lobby and hanging around the savannas. I love giraffes! We found our friends and checked out their room. Their son (7) was not impressed with the resort and I suddenly realized this was going to be tougher than I thought. We decided to take them to the Magic Kingdom first. It was going to be closing early that night so it was a good choice for exhausted travelers.

We went straight to Adventureland and rode the Jungle Cruise and Pirates. My friend's son got to drive the boat on the cruise and later was recruited to be a Pirate. He enjoyed these things but he wanted roller coasters. He kept asking me where all the roller coasters were. Before moving on, we saw Jasmine, but only my daughter and her friend got in line. I sent hubby away to get Big Thunder Fast Passes. We went on to Frontierland and rode Big Thunder and Splash. This satisfied the boy for about 10 minutes but then he wanted more roller coasters. We went to Fantasyland and saw Mickey's Philharmagic which everyone loved! I couldn't stop laughing when we first came into the theater and my friends husband kept asking why his seat was wet. We rode Dumbo and Peter Pan. My friend's daughter (5) is not the daredevil her brother is so these rides were much better for her than roller coasters. Although she was still very scared before riding ANYTHING. We rode the Prince Charming's Carousel but my friends son was still complaining about the lack of roller coasters. He thought there would be more “fun” rides. My son looked at me and said “Mom, he just doesn't get it!” That's my boy!! Well we decided we had better make our way over to Space Mountain and show this kid a roller coaster. He loved it. For the next few days he just kept asking to ride Space Mountain. After that we slowly made our way out of the park. My friends needed some sleep and we were going to hit the pool! The rest of our group, including my mom, would be arriving the next day. I was starting to get nervous about keeping all these people happy. I guess I never really appreciated how easy my kids are to please when we are at Disney. These two kids were not so easy and the next day there would be two more little girls coming. What had I gotten myself into??

I will try to get the next couple of days done SOON I promise.

jlpeaches255 wrote:On our way to Space Mountain the kids found Push. My son Loves Push. I was going to take pictures but I realized that unless you take video, you just have a picture of a trash can and you look like a crazy person.

Too funny
I hope you told your friends to take their son on Expedition Everest. I'm thinking that would be enough rollercoaster for him.
So no haircut yet for DS...hmmmm

Finally I am trying to post a few pics.

My son and I waiting at the airport.


To ride or not to ride...


My baby and Manny


I told you the boy needs a haircut


They found the rum!




Hubby


The flip movie thingys in the train station

Awesome pics jlpeaches255. Keep them coming! You might want to hide that rum pic from a few on these boards!