Tomorrow is D-day (departure day). After a lot of planning and worrying the time is almost here. Tomorrow morning my DH, DS13, DD11 and I are Orlando bound. Our flight went from mostly empty to almost full thanks to the airline canceling and consolidating. I understand the business reason, but I can’t say I’m thrilled to sit next to a stranger for 2-3 hours. When this trip was initially planned in 2019 we were starting with MNSSHP and ending with MVMCP. We even splurged on a 1-bdrm villa at BLT so we could walk home after the late night. Well, 2020 happened so you know none of that is happening (well, the villa is- those DVC rentals are non-refundable don’t you know?). Instead it’s looking more like this:
Day 1: Arrive/Hang out at our Universal resort (no way I’m fighting those Halloween crowds)
Day 2: Universal
Day 3: Universal/Move to Disney
Day 4: MK
Day 5: HS
Day 6: EP
Day 7: AK
Day 8: Discovery Cove
Day 9: [Still figuring this one out, have park reservation for HS, ADR for AK]
Day 10: Morning in MK before heading home
DD and I are all in, DH and DS, less so (I’ve spent the last month listening to DS tell me all the reasons why this is a bad idea). It’s going to be different and I’m trying to lower expectations on lines, but we WILL have fun. We WILL make memories.
I also have a DS13 and DD11. And DW put me across the aisle on the plane while the 3 of them are together! Was thinking about DC also for our upcoming trip, but hard to work it in the busy schedule. Enjoy!
First, looking forward to following along. The title made me laugh; thinking back to. a Summer 2012 trip where I saw a Dad having a full scale melt down of the classic “you will do what you’re told, you will stop whining because this trip cost us a fortune and I will not have you spoiling the fun”.
Anyway, I assume you have seen about the changes to the BG process for DHS? Which means your Day 9 can be flexible: if you decide to try for a BG that day at 7am, you can always switch to AK if you don’t get one.
Normally I like being across the aisle- I can read in peace while DH deals with the kids but this time around not so much. Thankfully at check in there was a row where the middle seat was empty so I was able to switch.
This made me laugh so much. If you see an adult with two small children having a meltdown at the parks between 11/14-11/20, it MIGHT be my husband or me.
@HutchFamily This will be fun! i’m excited to follow along
This is the type of thing I tell my kids constantly before we go but try not to say in public. But I can totally get where the dad was coming from. It’s so hard to get kids to behave sometimes.
We got here safe and sound and with no major hiccups. Turns out I’m a wee bit judgmental as a pandemic traveler when it comes to masks and eating on the plane. Usually I’m afraid of falling 35,000 feet but this flight I was more focused on whether the woman next to me was going to make her bag of chips last the entire flight.
Got to RPR about 2:30 so the room wasn’t ready. Surprisingly the kids passed on pool time so we just explored. It’s our first time here and so far we really like it. The path to the Citywalk is pretty and the boat counts as a “ride” for us. Room not ready on time but not too bad and the view is nice.
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This morning started early- like 5:30 early. We were at the gates at 6:30 for 7am early admission and had a great hour. The whole family did Hagrids and DD loved it. I wasn’t expecting the drop midway through but otherwise it was a lot of fun! Did all the other HP rides in the area (yes, even Flight of the Hippogriff) and took Hogwarts express.
There has been some talk about missing facial expressihe ons because of wearing masks, but the way my DD gripped my arm when she first saw Diagon Alley was priceless. Spent some fine in the shops and did Gringots before exploring exploring beyond HP land.
I’ll admit this is when the proverbial wheels starting coming off. My DS had said from the start that he wasn’t going to ride (in fact he only did Hagrids because he didn’t realize he’d gotten in the line until it was too late). DH husband never truly recovered from having to wake up so early and more or less decided he was done too. There was a candy scavenger hunt of sorts where you could get a brochure stamped by 12 different locations for a free bag of candy. This went sideways a bit because naturally the locations are all gift shops and instead if just getting the stamp and heading out the family actually started shopping- which just made me grouchy! Lunch solved a lot of our problems- even if the whole mobile ordering thing was beyond me. It’s as though I didn’t spend the last nine months reading forums to prep for this trip!
The verdict is in: we are not a Universal family. Harry Potter was a huge hit but the motion simulator & 3D rides make most of our group sick. Hagrids was great but the family wasn’t interested in the hour+ wait after our RD ride. (Hagrids also stopped for a few minutes right after we did that track drop- all I could think was “all the cars are stopped, right? No one is going to come down that gaping hole, right?”)
Weather was great today- a tad windy but not hot like yesterday. We tried butterbeer and bought some chocolate frogs because a vacation requires sugar!
Just checked into BLT- it’s amazing! We’re just chilling out before dinner at the Wave. Not sure if it’s the extra space we have now or just being in the bubble but spirits have lifted since we got here.
Was thinking about DC also for our upcoming trip, but hard to work it in the busy schedule. Enjoy!
but this time around not so much. Thankfully at check in there was a row where the middle seat was empty so I was able to switch.
But I can totally get where the dad was coming from. It’s so hard to get kids to behave sometimes.
