WDW and Disney Wish - Land and Sea Adventure (Updated 3/23)

[Disney102015]

Hi all, it’s H here, reporting fresh from an amazing land and sea Disney trip! I’m still working on my report from our summer adults only trip, but let’s be honest, I have major post vacation blues at the moment and all I really want to do is relive this most recent trip! So buckle up because I am diving right in.


Our crew for this trip was my immediate family of 5 - me, my husband N, my 5.5 year old son C, my 3.5 year old daughter G, and 1.5 year old “baby” E.




C is usually our daredevil but he was a bit more cautious this trip! He loves meeting Mickey and giving him a high five. G is our princess-obsessed girl who was so excited to get her first chance to visit Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. She also had high hopes of riding roller coasters now that she meets some height requirements, but as you’ll see, her first experience may have traumatized her! Baby E is usually along for the ride but she found her running legs this trip and sprinted away from us to be chased basically every chance she got! My husband N is not much of a roller coaster guy (he hates heights) but he shocked me before the trip when he said that he wanted to try Guardians of the Galaxy. Would he do it?? Stay tuned to find out!!



We had been scheduled to do a trip to Disney World in December to do all the Christmassy stuff but health issues prevented us from traveling. When we rescheduled, we decided to shorten the parks portion and tack on our very first Disney cruise! We did 5 nights at Old Key West, hitting all 4 parks, followed by a 4 night cruise on the Disney Wish.



I won’t lie, traveling with 3 kids 5 and under is not for the faint of heart! The biggest thing I noticed this trip is that we accomplished maybe 1/4-1/2 of what I expected each day. We were just moving a lot slower than usual with 2 strollers (and E who insisted on walking/waddling whenever she got the chance), plus a lot of extra bathroom breaks with a newly potty trained kiddo, plus the million snack breaks I just had to kind of adjust my expectations on day 1 that we weren’t going to be able to do everything we planned and had to adjust accordingly, just prioritizing the things we absolutely didn’t want to miss, and not worrying about the rest. This strategy worked out great and overall this was SUCH a magical trip. Having everyone logged off and the screens put away for the cruise was major icing on the cake.

I think I say this every trip report, but my favorite part is always seeing how the kids have changed and what things they like and don’t like versus our last trip. They’re growing up so fast and we are so blessed to get to make these memories with them.


Our (harrowing) travel day is coming up next…thanks for following along!

 

[buteraa]

Following!

 

[Ensusieasm]

Can’t wait to hear more!

 

[footballmouse]

 

[Paulaparm]

Following!

 

[Disney102015]

Travel Day, Part 1​

Our trip report begins at midnight on our travel day. As we often do when we fly JetBlue, we book the cheapest flight (as long as it’s $75+ of the flight we really want) and wait til the day of to do a same day change for $75 each to switch to the flight we really want. Unfortunately this can only be done beginning at midnight on the travel day, so I set my alarm for 11:59 and was able to quickly do this via chat on JetBlue’s app. Our original flight had us landing at 10:30pm and our new flight would land around 7:00pm so I was more than happy with the change (and saved about $250 vs. booking that way initially). As soon as we had our flights finalized I texted our ground transport (Away We Go) to see if they could accommodate our new flight time, and back to sleep I went!



The alarm went back off by 6:30 to start our day because we had quite a busy morning planned! I dropped the kids at daycare and school around 7:40 and right after that got the reply from Away We Go that we were all set with the new flight time - hooray! I went to the bank next to take out cash for tips throughout our travels, only to realize I had no debit card - I had lost mine the week before (great timing right??) so Husband and I had been passing his card back and forth, and I didn’t have it that morning. Oops! Back to the car I went. I filled the gas tank in the car and quickly got my eyebrows done (#priorities) then scurried home for some last minute packing and wrapping things up with work.


Around 10:50 I went to pick up the kids, with C being first.

“Mama, got my tablet?”



“Yup!”



“Charged?”



“You betcha!”



“Souvenir money?”



“Packed!”



“Ok, looks like we’re good to go!”​

This kid cracks me up. We got the girls at daycare next where G told anyone who would listen that she was off to meet Mickey. We were home by 11:10, finished packing the car, and headed to the train station where we’d catch the shuttle to the airport. We unloaded the bags and set up the kids to wait under an awning since it was raining. G and E ran circles around us jumping in puddles despite my warnings that we had no extra shoes if they got wet. E was soaked up the knees before we even boarded the bus



We boarded the bus right at 12 and I got the email that our Garden Grocer order had been delivered while on the ride. I was worried about this because we had Prosecco and wine in our order and I had heard mixed things about drop offs being accepted without being there to pick it up, but we had no issues!



We got to the airport around 1:00 and holy moly, what a cluster was waiting for us. The kiosk wouldn’t print our luggage tags for some reason so we had to hop in the line, and what a line it was! They only had 2 agents working and they must’ve had complicated issues crop up because we did not move at all for ages. I was feeling very grateful we were so early for the flight because otherwise I would’ve been freaking out. We weren’t thru security til almost an hour later, around 1:55, and we have TSA precheck!



Finally we were seated at our go-to preflight spot, Boston Beer Works. By this time, E was frantically signing to eat and everyone was a little grouchy. We got drinks and food pretty quickly, thank goodness. We were still a little antsy because we didn’t have seats assigned yet due to switching flights so close to departure. Every so often I’d pop by our gate to see if anyone was working the desk yet, but no dice. Finally I saw an agent at the desk and ran over to ask about seats. He looked everything over and gave a big sigh and my heart sank…I was fearing we’d all be separated, kids included!



But then he said, “the only way I can seat you together…….……is in the very last row.” Yes, yes, we’ll take it! I had visions of seating my 3 year old with a stranger so this was a totally fine solution by me! We were so relieved to have the seats sorted out. We grabbed one last drink (have I mentioned I’m a nervous flier? I’m a very, very, very nervous flier) and cashed out to head to the gate.



Which brings me to when we got to the gate, and the agent announced: “Attention everyone traveling to Orlando! If you need to go to the bathroom, please do so now. We have been advised there will be very heavy turbulence and no one will be getting up on this flight.”



Gulp. Did I mention I’m a nervous flier?! We quickly put pull-ups on the big kids in case they needed the potty during the flight. I was trying not to let the kids see how badly I was freaking out (I’m trying not to pass my fear of flying into them) but I was literally soaked in sweat I was so panicked. I really did not want to get on the flight but I also REALLY wanted to get to Disney World so I was going to have to be brave!!

Up next…the worst flight of my life!

 

[Disney102015]

Travel Day Part 2​

Take off was ROUGH and there were a few moments where I truly did not think we were going to make it up in the air. Right after takeoff a guy got out of his seat and ran to the bathroom with a bloody nose. The flight attendants freaked out trying to get him to sit back down but apparently he was more worried about his nose than the turbulence. It was a little chaotic but momentarily distracted me from the bumpiness.



Once we got in the air, the captain let us know we’d be flying pretty low to avoid the worst turbulence. If what we experienced was avoiding the worst of the turbulence, I cannot even fathom what the worse turbulence must’ve been like!!! Baby E had fallen asleep on takeoff in my lap but quickly woke up due to all the jostling and even smacked her head on the window during one of the worst stretches. She was absolutely screaming and she’s usually such a good flier so I can only assume the bumpiness coupled with an interrupted nap was getting to her. It was a rough hour while she sobbed and tried mightily to get out of my arms, while I tried to hold her as tight as I could while we bumped through the sky. Again, soaked in sweat! At least C wasn’t nervous - he was shouting “THIS IS SO FUNNY” as the plane dipped and shook like I had never experienced before.



Around 6:00 I got our Old Key West room ready message. I was SO psyched because our room request was granted! Our main request was not to have to change rooms during our 5 night stay (more on that later) but we had also requested to be in one of the elevator buildings closest to Hospitality House, and we got building 62. Perfect!! I was so thrilled, it took my mind off the turbulence for a moment. I had had visions of hauling 2 strollers up 3 flights of stairs every evening (not to mention our 7 or so pieces of luggage) so this was a very welcome development.



Finally we hit a smoother patch and the captain let the flight attendants up for a quick drink service. You better believe I ordered myself a cocktail!! The smooth patch didn’t last long and the flight attendants were quickly instructed to sit down again. We were rocking and rolling again within minutes and I thought I might be sick. I fly fairly frequently, and this was truly the worst flight I have ever experienced. Things smoothed out again just before we descended, and the flight attendants came around with towels to wipe up everyone’s spilled drinks. It was a mess. We touched down a bit early at 6:45 and I have never, ever been so happy to be on the ground safely!!! I was already dreading our return flight and knew I’d have to try to put it out of my mind if I was going to enjoy the trip.



We obviously had to wait a while to get off the plane since we were in the very last row. C was a little chatty Cathy while we waited, and asked everyone around us “where are you headed?” It was really cute. He couldn’t believe there were people headed to Orlando who WEREN’T going to meet Mickey.



JetBlue lands in the new terminal C and…wow. This terminal is gorgeous but MAN it is huge!! It took forever to get to baggage claim especially since E insisted on walking. Our bags took a while, too - almost 30 minutes from the time we got to baggage claim - so needless to say the kids were BONKERS by the time we were all squared away. I couldn’t really blame them - it had been a long day!



We used Away We Go for ground transportation and they were waiting for us in a van with the car seats all set up. We were finally off to Disney World!!! We had done online check in so we were able to go straight to building 62 - we loved our room as soon as we walked in. It was super spacious for a studio and there was plenty of room under the beds to store our suitcases. Honestly, we booked OKW because it was all we could get for 5 consecutive nights at the last minute, but we were thrilled with this resort and would definitely come back.



We made our phone calls home and unpacked quickly (I always like to unpack and get organized!) before heading downstairs to grab some quick dinner. We were at Good’s Food to Go by 9:10. The kids split a mac and cheese and chicken tenders and N got a sandwich. I still hadn’t recovered from the flight so I didn’t get anything! We used QS credits for the meals and also picked up our refillable mugs. We really liked the new designs!!



Our next stop was the front desk. Due to availability, we had booked 2 nights on DVC points, 1 night cash, and 2 more nights on DVC points. I was praying we would not have to switch rooms. I talked to the CM about our issue and she was really making it seem like we were going to have to move at least once - I was so bummed! But then she made a call to the back office and voila - they had seen our reservations and proactively put us in the same room for the duration of the trip! Hurray!! I was SO relieved not to have to pack everything up mid-trip. We also grabbed our strollers which we had delivered from ScooterBug - we prefer a different company usually but ScooterBug is now the only one that’ll drop off when you aren’t present so that’s what we went with.



We were back up to the room by 10:00 and called down to have our groceries delivered, which came quickly. We also called for a pack and play and hopped into bed while we waited. Well, the baby fell asleep in the bed and the pack and play never materialized so we all just went to sleep and figured we’d worry about it tomorrow. It had been a BIG day and we were all exhausted!



Next up….Animal Kingdom!

 

[Ensusieasm]

Wow! Quite the bumpy travel day!

 

[DLo]

Following along. Looking forward to reading more

 

[Disney102015]

Animal Kingdom Morning​

Before I move on from our travel day I wanted to share this - C had to fill out a travel journal for school about his trip and this was his entry for our travel day:



“The flight was bumpy.” He says the grey lines are all the bumps in the air Made me laugh.



Moving on to the following day…



It was our first day at Disney! Is there anything better?! I had a bit of work to finish up before I could fully log off so I got up around 6:00 and hopped on the computer. I switched to Disney mode at 7:00am, grabbing a Seven Dwarfs Mine Train ILL for that evening ($11 x 4 = $44). I wasn’t sure if this would work since we only had the After Hours ticket for MK but I had no problems. We weren’t doing Genie+ today.



We got the kids moving around that time, and G announced that since we were in Disney, she’d be wearing her Elsa dress to Animal Kingdom. Who was I to argue?! E, seeing her big sister putting on a princess dress, eagerly marched over to the suitcase and dug out her Anna dress, which was adorable. We were in Disney, why not!!



We left the room at 7:50, were at the Hospitality House bus stop by 8:00, and on the bus by 8:09, pulling into AK at 8:22. Very smooth transportation morning! We did get tripped up at the entrance as the kids’ Magic Bands weren’t linked to our tickets. G’s band was brand new (she was under 3 on our last visit) and C’s had last been used in Disneyland which causes some tech confusion apparently, so the Cast Member just linked their tickets to plastic cards and we used those throughout the trip. Honestly this worked fine and was better than worrying about their bands falling off.



Once we entered the park I grabbed a DAS for the Safari for a ten minute return time, which is just about how long it took us to walk back to the ride. We had a GREAT safari! A pair of zebras walked right in front of our truck, we saw a bunch of giraffes close up, we saw the male lion giving us some side eye… it was seriously awesome!!





Next we grabbed a DAS for Festival of the Lion King. I hadn't seen this show in years so I was psyched. Unfortunately C got spooked as soon as we walked in the building, I think because it was kind of dark in there. Overall I think he was just kind of overwhelmed with being at Disney and still adjusting to all the stimulation because he was acting extra anxious. He was saying he didn’t want to ride anything and REALLY did not want to watch the show, but we decided we were going to stick it out and watch. It can be really hard as a parent to know when to push your kid to stick it out and ride a ride or watch a show, and when to let them bail, but with C we know 9/10 times he’ll end up enjoying himself so sometimes we just have to make him try it. Luckily as soon as the show started he was totally into it, and so were G and E. Everyone was singing along and clapping and generally loving it, thank goodness. All 3 kids got pretty nervous during the fire juggling part but after that they relaxed again.



Before the show started we placed our order for Flame Tree BBQ because we were all getting hungry for lunch already. This turned out to be a mistake because I didn’t realize mobile order windows expire!! I had a moment of panic when I realized it had expired and thought we’d have to wait another hour for an open window. The troops were hangry!! Luckily I was able to place a new order with an immediate return time - whew!!



We stopped on our way to Flame Tree for some Tree of Life photos. The photographer was awesome and really took his time with the kids. We got a ton of great photos!



Next, off to Flame Tree we went! This is probably my favorite quick service in Disney and SUCH a good value on the dining plan. I wasn’t thrilled with my meal last time I ate here but it was great on this trip- I was relieved! I always get the pulled pork sandwich and Husband got the St. Louis ribs dinner. We got the kids hot dogs but they mostly snacked on the bars and bananas I had packed in our little cooler.



Then…we decided to leave the park! C and G were saying they didn’t want to ride anything else (even Dinosaur, which shocked me - C LOVES dinos!!) I think everyone was still tired from the travel day and still settling into the trip. I felt bad for a moment that we were leaving having only done 1 ride and 1 show but sometimes that’s how it goes traveling with little kids. We had a big night planned so it was best we ended the morning here. We were on the bus by noon and on our way back to OKW!

 

[jrmint427]

Before the show started we placed our order for Flame Tree BBQ because we were all getting hungry for lunch already. This turned out to be a mistake because I didn’t realize mobile order windows expire!!

Your trip is off to a great start, aside from that bumpy flight! I learned this same lesson the hard way while at the Lion King show. We placed lunch orders, then couldn't figure out how to modify the window once we realized it was going to expire before the show even ended. Thankfully, the QS was really kind about still getting our orders when we showed up late. I can't wait to read more!

 

[erinch]

Wow. Following!

 

[Woth2982]

Following! I flew down in December and as we flew into Orlando the flight got so bumpy and rough! I was praying to get on the ground ASAP and i am NOT a nervous flyer! Glad you all made it safe and sound! Disney cruises are the absolute best! Cant wait to hear all about the trip!

 

[awrites]

Following! Even with just one young child (4.5) we wound up often missing at least 1/4 of what we’d planned each day, so I can see how easily that goes even higher with 3! Going with the flow is definitely best.

And we have a DCL cruise booked for next year so I’m looking forward to reading about that too!