The Lessons Learned Trip Report Oct 4-9, 2009 About This Page:

[jagmom08]

The Lessons Learned Trip Report Oct 4-9, 2009
Throughout the trip, I thought of a few titles for this trip report. Examples include, “The Tears, Tempers and Tantrums Trip,” “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times trip,” the “What was I thinking trip report.” That probably gives you a taste of what this trip was like. I knew that going to Disney World with a (almost) 4 year old and a 2 year old probably wouldn’t be the most relaxing trip dh and I have ever taken, but I didn’t imagine anything like this! J
I settled on the “Lessons Learned” as a title because I think I learned a lot about touring the World with toddlers.
Just a recap of the players for those who didn’t see the pre trip report:
Me (jagmom08): 29 and holding since August. I am a CPA working as a Sr. Financial Analyst for a manufacturing company. I love Disney movies and I have been to WDW twice, Disneyland once, DCA once and on a Disney cruise. I love to travel and throughout my childhood have visited over half the states. I hope to visit the rest before I die. LOL I also enjoy scrapbooking, hanging out with my family, cooking, reading and messing around on Facebook.

Dh: 32, fire sprinkler system drafter/designer. He has been to WDW once for our honeymoon, DCA once and on a Disney cruise. We have been married for 9.5 years. He loves muscle cars, doing home improvement projects, fishing and is learning to love to travel.

Ds: 3, lover of the movie Cars and many other Disney movies. Right now, he wants to watch Cinderella or WALL-E everyday. He is a very active child and loves to ride rides at the local county fair, which is in August every year. One of his favorite things to do is run. He says, “Let’s run, Mumma,” and then takes off running in circles.

Dd: turned 2 the day we arrived at WDW. She is also very active and loves to pick on her brother. She is a bit of a drama queen already.

Our trip: October 4 through October 9, 2009
Back in June, I got an email from Travelocity, touting $98 roundtrip airfares. On a whim, I figured I would check it out. After checking various cities and dates, I found airfare for $98 to Orlando. I quickly texted dh and I asked if he wanted to go to Disney World in October. Surprisingly, he said yes. So, after 4 months of planning, the big trip had arrived!

[B.M.]

Great start!
Can't wait to hear more!

[vitamingirl]

looking forward to reading: going with a 2 y/o in dec

[Tawnya]

Cant wait to read more!

[PamelaK]

I look forward to reading your TR.

[bsblady01]

more please

[MaryEL8775]

Well I read the pre-trip so now I am tuning in for the trip report.

[patclairesmom]

Great start! Can't wait to hear more.

[Nimros]

Can't wait to hear about you experiences on this trip...

[snoozin]

Waiting for the shoe to drop...

[debrabrown]

Oh, oh... waiting to hear what happened! I can relate - the first time we went with our kids DD was 4 and DS was 2 as well!!

[jagmom08]

Don't worry, its coming. I am working on uploading my pictures now. But, following is the Day -1 update.

[jagmom08]

On Saturday, I did all of my packing, using my trusty Passporter as a guide. Dh was nice and took the kids to see a friend so I could pack in peace. I also printed off touring plans and did our online check-in for our flight today.
I had originally planned on checking one bag, but after gathering all the extra stuff (i.e. not clothing items) it seemed one checked bag wouldn’t be enough. The kids’ clothes all fit in their little rolling suitcases that I had bought from the Disney store. I planned on taking them on the plane. But, I still had a lot of heavy, miscellaneous stuff to pack. I wasn’t sure I would make the 50 pound weight limit or have room for souvenirs. So, I pulled out another duffel bag and redistributed some items into it.
I wish I would have checked my PTR report one last time before we left, because someone had a great suggestion of bringing a nightlight. We could have used one.
We also packed the kids’ blankets so they would have familiar blankets to use once we got there. Those took up a fair bit of space.
We ended up with 1 large suitcase, 1 medium sized duffle bag, 1 carryon size rolling suitcase and 2 kids rolling suitcases. We also had a diaper bag, kids backpack with toys, books and treats, my purse and a laptop. Oh yeah, and 2 umbrella strollers.
No pictures from this day. I probably should have taken a picture of our bed when it was covered with all of our stuff. Dh looked at the piles and said, “We are taking all of that!” Yes, dear, all of that.
We got the kids in bed at their normal time of 8 p.m. after a bath. Dh and I stayed up until 9 p.m. and then hit the hay. Morning was going to come early. I know I didn’t get to sleep right away and then dd woke up around midnight. So much for getting some extra rest before the fun begins.
No lessons from today, except maybe not to pack so much stuff.

[CollinsFamily]

This sounds almost ominous! Can't wait to hear more!

[EmilyJ]

Great start!