The BIG trip

[KeithS]

Yay - so glad you are back safe and sound Lisa.

Della had trouble with the heat too but it never slowed us down (we did stay away from alcohol and kept to water though!)

How did you like the Disney cruise - you'll have to let us know how the Fantasy is these days - we loved it back in 2013.

[mushu mama]

The Disney cruise was amazing... and I hope to do another one day... hopefully the same Western route as well because I really enjoyed all the ports and we didn't actually make it to Castaway thanks to Hurricane Matthew so that is still on my bucket list. I also missed out on visiting Chichen Itza because the tour was cancelled, so that is still a bucket list item as well. The food was amazing, and I also did the Palo brunch which for me would always be a must do from now on.  The entertainment was the best I've seen at sea and it was so beautiful all decked out for Halloween.  
I have already started my 'forgot to do' list for next time... I forgot to eat a single churro on the entire trip ( the dining plan kind of keeps you full) and I forgot to eat a single mickey bar ( same reason) and I missed a few rides and attractions I'd intended doing, but of course, its impossible to do it all so they are all on the next time list.  Overall, WDW was amazing, but also pretty overwhelming.  The heat was tough on me and that meant I had less inclination to keep pushing past the blisters, and exhaustion like I have done in the past.  I would prob look at going either just after thanksgiving or sometime in March next time I think.  Not sure when though, because I have the next four years earmarked with other destinations.  On the list is a trip to China for both the parks there and probably separate trips to Korea, Thailand and Hawaii and then Japan for the next Olympics.  And if my daughter ends up studying in the UK in the next 12 months I will try and squeeze that in too. 

[calisota]

See!! Another valid reason for not doing rollercoasters!! Just think how much else you could see and do if you weren't lining up to go on them.


Greg

[KeithS]

Thanks for the report Lisa - such a shame you missed out on Castaway Cay and Chichen Itza (why was that cancelled?  I thought that would have been a key tour - I'd love to see that too one day).

The Disney cruise food is amazing - exactly why they won best cruise line food last week!

It is hard to pick a good time to go to WDW these days - we loved the temperature in March when we went in 2013, but at the same time - March is spring break, so it was packed.  I wonder if February is better in that regard?  I'm not sure what the temperature is like then.  I know Della also found this most recent trip in September hot - although she did push through it every day!

We never worry if we miss out on a few attractions - like you say, there will always be more trips in the future and things to do.

[mushu mama]

 Chichen Itza (why was that cancelled?  I thought that would have been a key tour - I'd love to see that too one day).

there wasn't a reason given but I'm assuming it didn't get minimum numbers... its on my next time list too  
it really was a great trip, which will be easier to appreciate after the jetlag passes and have had a chance to go through photos and display the new treasures... LOL

[calisota]

Which port was the Chichen Itza tour from and can you remember how long it took to get there from the port?


Greg

[Mel]

Hi guys!  We've been back safe and sound for over a week now and I'm getting back into real life.  The trip was amazing, although my anxiety kicked up a lot in the last week which clouded my memories a bit, thankfully it's lifting and looking back on the photos it's clear just how much fun we had

We enjoyed all of the holiday, but honestly the cruise took a little getting use to.  SO many people on the first couple of days, all trying to do the same thing.  Craig and I were a bit overwhelmed by the crowds, but then we settled in and enjoyed ourselves.  The kids also took a while to get use to the kids' club so we didn't have as much adult time as we were hoping.  Toward the end though, we really enjoyed it - Ben's already planning his next cruise - I think he liked the unlimited pizza and burgers from Luigi's   We missed our stop in St Thomas due to Matthew, which kinda sucked because we were going snorkelling over a shipwreck and the boys were really looking forward to it, but we had a great time at Castaway Cay and Tortola so it wasn't too bad.  Jared and I saw a Crush-sized wild sea turtle in Castaway Cay and we're both still talking about it - it was amazing!

WDW was so much fun.  Hot, but fun.  It poured on our party night, but we still had fun.  I found out later that they gave refunds for our night, but we didn't ask so we didn't get.  We still saw the parade (no horseman  ) and fireworks - not to mention an entire backpack of candy - so we feel like we got our money's worth.  VWL and POR were gorgeous.  Craig LOVED VWL and if the dollar was better and we had a spare $50K we'd be seriously looking into DVC.  The boys had a ball - Josh was only too short for one ride at each park which was fantastic as last time we went to DL he missed out on much more.  They're all little thrillseekers which is awesome - our ride photos are great.  Ben was amazing.  He's only 9 and not once complained about all the walking or the heat.  We had a stroller that that other two used, but he managed to just walk and walk the entire time.

Disneyland was CROWDED.  We've never seen it so busy and we've been in the middle of July!  We got there for the last day of Gay Days, but even after that it was packed.  We still managed to do what we wanted, but it was a bit annoying having so many people about - we aren't use to it!  The boys loved Matterhorn and I have to say it's much smoother than I remembered.  A lot of fun.

The coast drive was nice, but I wouldn't do it again with kids.  "Why are we stopping here?", "Do I have to get out" etc etc.  We saw about 3000 mustangs on PCH1 on our way up to Monterey and SF.  We had amazing weather in SF and were lucky enough to see the Blue Angels doing their thing for Fleet Week.  We visited the WDFM (where my children were awful little terrors), Fisherman's Wharf, California Academy of Sciences and of course Alcatraz.  A jam packed couple of days to end the trip.

[KeithS]

That sounds like an amazing trip Mel!  You packed in a lot in the weeks you were away

I kept an eye out for you and your family when we were over there, but we never saw you!

Shame you missed the headless horseman this year - we did get to see him but he only walks at a slow pace.  The first time we went to WDW, he galloped down the parade route but I guess they are more safety conscious now!

It was great you saw the sea turtle - that would have been awesome in the wild!

Can't wait to compare notes - hope to see you at the meeting in a couple of weeks!

[mushu mama]

Which port was the Chichen Itza tour from and can you remember how long it took to get there from the port?


Greg

It was from the Cozumel port, and was supposed to leave at 8am ( or thereabouts), have about 70 mins looking around the site and get back to port literally just before the ship left... around 4:30pm.  I'm thinking I'd want more time there anyway so one day I'm going to just do Mexico and stay at Cancun for a week and branch out from there. 
Sorry to hijack your thread Mel...  

[mushu mama]

Mel, you packed in so much on your trip... and I'm so impressed how you all handled the heat.  
I have to say, I struggled with the heat and crowds... it was pretty overwhelming for a first timer.  I would have to call it quits just after lunch and head back to the resort for a swim/aircon and then back to the parks for the dinner reservations we generally had and the evening shows.  

[Mel]

We packed TOO much into our trip I think.  I ended up getting quite sick with my anxiety and the two littlest boys were pretty horrid by the time we got to SF - just over tired and ready for a return to routine.  I can pinpoint the one scheduling mistake that buggered us up.  The day we got off the Fantasy I scheduled a shopping day and our flight to LA was at 6pm.  a) my children HATE shopping at the best of times and b) the flight arrived in LA at 11pm Orlando time and all five of us were exhausted by the time we got to our hotel after midnight.  After that, the boys behaviour went downhill and my anxiety went up.  Lesson learned!

[mushu mama]

We packed TOO much into our trip I think.  I ended up getting quite sick with my anxiety and the two littlest boys were pretty horrid by the time we got to SF - just over tired and ready for a return to routine.  I can pinpoint the one scheduling mistake that buggered us up.  The day we got off the Fantasy I scheduled a shopping day and our flight to LA was at 6pm.  a) my children HATE shopping at the best of times and b) the flight arrived in LA at 11pm Orlando time and all five of us were exhausted by the time we got to our hotel after midnight.  After that, the boys behaviour went downhill and my anxiety went up.  Lesson learned!

totally understand the anxiety thing... I have a few people close to me that suffer badly ( and myself on a lesser scale) and it can totally put the brakes on a holiday.  I hope you're feeling ok now that you're back on home turf.  For me, I struggled keeping up with the schedule as well... I need quiet time to destress or I get overwhelmed.  None the less, I've begun planning the 'next time' whenever that might be.  Noting restaurants I want to try next time and the like.  

[Mel]

We packed TOO much into our trip I think.  I ended up getting quite sick with my anxiety and the two littlest boys were pretty horrid by the time we got to SF - just over tired and ready for a return to routine.  I can pinpoint the one scheduling mistake that buggered us up.  The day we got off the Fantasy I scheduled a shopping day and our flight to LA was at 6pm.  a) my children HATE shopping at the best of times and b) the flight arrived in LA at 11pm Orlando time and all five of us were exhausted by the time we got to our hotel after midnight.  After that, the boys behaviour went downhill and my anxiety went up.  Lesson learned!

totally understand the anxiety thing... I have a few people close to me that suffer badly ( and myself on a lesser scale) and it can totally put the brakes on a holiday.  I hope you're feeling ok now that you're back on home turf.  For me, I struggled keeping up with the schedule as well... I need quiet time to destress or I get overwhelmed.  None the less, I've begun planning the 'next time' whenever that might be.  Noting restaurants I want to try next time and the like.  

I'm getting there, but it's taking a while

[mushu mama]

I'm getting there, but it's taking a while

Glad to hear it   I think you did an amazing job... I only took two kids to Tokyo when they were little and that was enough for me.

[Mel]

I spent about 24 hours over the Christmas/New Year period putting together a photo book from our trip.  In a past life (pre kids) I dabbled in scrapbooking, but just don't have the time anymore so this seemed like the best way to record our trip while the memories were still fresh.  If you're interested in taking a look - or just bored - feel free to have a look.  It can be found at 

http://www.photobox.com.au/creation/4656982864

the password is disney