But Did You Die? A December 2019 TR *COMPLETE 12/13*

Following...I too have 3 sons...seeing your pics reminds me of our trips when they were that little...time flies. My oldest son just turned 40 ( I’m not sure how that happened so fast..but thankfully he shares my love for Disney and invites me on his trips ..with the grands ..so I get to relive all the excitement..we are 21 days out. We are staying at the BC ..can’t wait to read more of your TR....enjoy every moment..it flies by
 
We had a corner room, which meant it is was massive. I checked out my parents, and brother’s room and we had at least 3 more feet of width, and probably 6 feet of length to our room. Plus we had two extra windows, beyond just our balcony door. I will always request a corner room now.

That's awesome! Nice when things work out well in the end.

He kept saying wow to all the animatronics, it truly made my heart happy.

:love: :love:
 
Okay that hotel room looks incredible! I love how simple everything is.

and when he saw SE come into view, he says, “Wow, I can’t believe I’m in Ecpot”.:lovestruc
Alright this might be the cutest thing ever.

Love the matching shirts and how excited everyone was to be at Epcot!
 
I'm glad you liked your room location! Our last stay at YC we arrived around 11pm and our room was waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyy at the end, like the closest room to Hollywood Studios lol. We were only there 2 nights before moving to WL but there were lots of long walks those 2 days! Chris loves SAB though.
Lol, thankfully were on the other side, which wasn't a very long hallway at all.

Looks like the start of a great trip. I can't wait to hear more.
It was the perfect start to the trip. Thanks for reading!

Following...I too have 3 sons...seeing your pics reminds me of our trips when they were that little...time flies. My oldest son just turned 40 ( I’m not sure how that happened so fast..but thankfully he shares my love for Disney and invites me on his trips ..with the grands ..so I get to relive all the excitement..we are 21 days out. We are staying at the BC ..can’t wait to read more of your TR....enjoy every moment..it flies by
That better be me many, many years from now. My oldest is definitely going to be a Disney parks guys for life, so hopefully he'll let me tag along.

That's awesome! Nice when things work out well in the end.
Yep definitely of good surprise.

Okay that hotel room looks incredible! I love how simple everything is.
It was, I loved the no carpets. It feels much cleaner in there.

Alright this might be the cutest thing ever.

Love the matching shirts and how excited everyone was to be at Epcot!
We had that day 1 excitement going for us.
 


I can't think of a more appropriate shirt to eat when herding 3 kids through an airport!

The whole experience of getting on the Magical Express seems rough, but looks like everything went very well once you got to yacht club.

Glad to see that all the boys seemed to be enjoying the first few attractions!
 
I can't think of a more appropriate shirt to eat when herding 3 kids through an airport!
Right? It's the epitome of chaos.

The whole experience of getting on the Magical Express seems rough, but looks like everything went very well once you got to yacht club.
Yeah, there is nothing better than getting to your hotel after a a stressful travel experience.

Glad to see that all the boys seemed to be enjoying the first few attractions!
It's nice when you start to feel they appreciate something you love so much.
 
We Come Here Too Much

It was time to head out of Epcot for our dinner reservation.





I got distracted by a PP stop though. It never fails, even if we are supposed to be in a rush, if I see I PP out, I want to stop. Plus I knew that since we would always be entering from the International Gateway, this might be out only opportunity with a picture in the front of the park.






Worth the stop. How cute is this garland at the entrance?


We had just missed the monorail, and the boarding area for the next monorail was already full.


It was at this point, I knew we would never make our ADR. My bad, too distracted by rides and PP:blush:. We decided to just push on and hope we could at least make it within the 15 minute grace period. We got to take the Toy Story monorail over to the TTC.


By the time we got to the TTC we had missed the grace period, but I was hoping we could still get in. Another 10 minutes later we arrived at the Polynesian:rolleyes1. The hostess didn’t even blink an eye, and checked us in. Unfortunately, the lack of food and early rising time, meant I had three grumpy boys on my hand. I didn’t know how long the wait would be, so I did something in most cases that would be unthinkable before a big family style meal, I bought the boys a snack and drink to share. At that point I was in survival mode and I just needed them not to completely meltdown. It did the trick, it kept them quiet and happy until our table was ready, just 5 minutes later. I had four different texts from Ohana from various trips and proclaimed, “We come here too much”:rotfl2:

Dinner was fabulous as always. I didn’t get a single picture of the food this time. I did however, get a picture of my favorite cider drink.



Joe, C, and I all ate from the regular assortment of food, while N and J devoured mac and cheese and chicken nuggets, everyone was happy.




N fell in love with the ukulele player and J and N even learned some hula dancing. It was overall a good night. As the meal was winding down, the boys were really letting us know how done they were. I considered taking a Minnie Van back to the hotel, just to get there faster, but ultimately we decided we could handle the journey home. We had wanted to stop and see the gingerbread house, but we were just too tired. Joe and N got separated from us, which was lucky for them. We got stuck in a car with a very intoxicated woman, who kept swearing and just overall being inappropriate. Its funny because I always hear the horror stories about Epcot, but in all our trips, drunk people isn’t something that has been an issue for us. This trip was another story, we saw so many ridiculous people, particularly at Epcot, but this lady was by the far the worst.

Meanwhile, N is making himself comfy on the monorail over to the Magic Kingdom.



Passing MK and seeing the castle all lit up was soo tempting, but my tired feet carried me all the way to the bus stop for Yacht and Beach Club.

First Disney bus ride of the trip.



Joe got the two little ones ready for bed, while C and I picked up our stroller for the week, along with our refillable mugs.


Pretty wreath outside the Marketplace.


We got the boys settled in for the night, while we did unpacking and prepping for the next day.


Since this would probably be our last year with a stroller and our only Christmas trip, I went all out on the stroller.


This thing was super easy to find at night, so it worked out perfectly. And like that our first day came to a close.:blush:

 
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Worth the stop. How cute is this garland at the entrance?
How lovely are those family photos??? Framers for sure! :)
Dinner was fabulous as always. I didn’t get a single picture of the food this time. I did however, get a picture of my favorite cider drink.
Ace pineapple is delish! And an Ohana meal on the first day was always our tradition with our three too.
We got the boys settled in for the night, while we did unpacking and prepping for the next day.
Love the cute matching jammies! Why do they have to grow up so fast?
 
A good start to your trip! Love the matching PJ's. I love to buy them for my grandsons.
 
I love the stroller! The lights are a great touch. Love the sign on the back! Did you make it?! It's super cute.

I'm so sorry about that lady. At least it wasn't to long of a ride.
 
Love me some O'hana for dinner! So glad you were able to avoid a melt down.

Can't wait to read more! Thanks for sharing!

Lynn
 
It was at this point, I knew we would never make our ADR. My bad, too distracted by rides and PP:blush:. We decided to just push on and hope we could at least make it within the 15 minute grace period. We got to take the Toy Story monorail over to the TTC.
Well worth the extra time for some pictures. I mean, it isn't like they've never had other people show up late. It happens.
I had four different texts from Ohana from various trips and proclaimed, “We come here too much”:rotfl2:
Well, first of all, of course the table is ready 5 minutes after you got the boys a snack, but that was probably a good call. I guess if you go there that often, you should be considered "regulars," right? I mean don't the servers know you by name and have your drink orders on the table when you sit down??? :rotfl2:
We got stuck in a car with a very intoxicated woman, who kept swearing and just overall being inappropriate.
Fun. :crazy2:


The stroller looks great! I hope your lights hold up well! We did that one year and I think the lights lasted 1 or 2 days before the wire got snagged on something and they stopped working. It definitely makes it easy to find and looks cool though!
 
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Love this picture!

Joe, C, and I all ate from the regular assortment of food, while N and J devoured mac and cheese and chicken nuggets, everyone was happy.
I always wonder about this meal because of the food and if my kids would enjoy it, i don't know why i never assumed there would be kid food available... maybe i should add this to our list in May, we are staying at the Poly and all!

Since this would probably be our last year with a stroller and our only Christmas trip, I went all out on the stroller.

This thing was super easy to find at night, so it worked out perfectly. And like that our first day came to a close.:blush:
LOVE IT!
 
I chatted with a woman across from me. She was from Grand Rapids, so we had a nice time chatting. I used to live about an hour north of Grand Rapids. She was going down for a wedding, but was super excited about Galaxy’s Edge. I tried to prepare her for the RotR madness, but I don’t think I got through to her. She thought she could just walk up day of and buy her ticket and do the Star Wars things:sad2:.
Oh boy! Sometimes I try to warn people but they just don't get it!
On the ride over I got a text that our room was ready. I didn’t get anything that I had requested, which is a little defeating, but I wanted to see the room before I made a judgment.
Ugh, that sucks, but...
We had a corner room, which meant it is was massive. I checked out my parents, and brother’s room and we had at least 3 more feet of width, and probably 6 feet of length to our room. Plus we had two extra windows, beyond just our balcony door. I will always request a corner room now.
Sounds like it worked out great in the end!
After lunch, we spent the next hour the sand bar part of Stormalong Bay. It was very peaceful there, letting the boys just play and Joe and I soaking up the warmth. Once we had thoroughly entered vacation mode, we went back to the room. Our luggage had arrived, and we all got dressed for the evening.
Honestly, sounds like a great start to the trip! A way to decompress and relax before hitting the parks!
 
Now THAT's a stroller lol!
Looks like the boys were troopers right up until bedtime so a good first day overall :thumbsup2
 
How lovely are those family photos??? Framers for sure! :)
thanks, it’s so hard to get all three boys looking and smiling at the same time, so it’s a miracle when it happens.

Ace pineapple is delish! And an Ohana meal on the first day was always our tradition with our three too.
It was impossible to get! Completely booked at 180 days, and it took laths of looking. I think I finally got it 2 weeks out or so.

Love the cute matching jammies! Why do they have to grow up so fast?
thanks, I never fully got that phrase until I had kids of my own and it’s so true. I always tell them to stop growing!

A good start to your trip! Love the matching PJ's. I love to buy them for my grandsons.
Thanks, I saw these at Target for $5 and I could pass them up.

Glad there was no issue getting into your Ohana ADR!

Love how you decorated the stroller!!
thanks, it made nighttime stroller hunting SO easy.

I love the stroller! The lights are a great touch. Love the sign on the back! Did you make it?! It's super cute.
Thanks. I didn’t make the sign, I got is from wdw prep school.

I'm so sorry about that lady. At least it wasn't to long of a ride.
True, and thankfully I think the boys were too tiredto notice or care.

I mean I plan these perfectly coordinating outfits, they must be documented ::yes::
Awesome! Glad it worked out and you had a good meal!
Thanks, it was well worth the stress.
 
Love me some O'hana for dinner! So glad you were able to avoid a melt down.
Thankfull I know their limits, especially ds5, and I knew this would placate them enough.

Well worth the extra time for some pictures. I mean, it isn't like they've never had other people show up late. It happens.
I know, but one of my biggest pet peeves in being late or having other people be late, which is HUGE foreshadowing for later in the trip 😉

Well, first of all, of course the table is ready 5 minutes after you got the boys a snack, but that was probably a good call. I guess if you go there that often, you should be considered "regulars," right? I mean don't the servers know you by name and have your drink orders on the table when you sit down??? :rotfl2:
OMG I wish, wouldn’t that be awesome. I’m always wondering why they even bother to ask you if you’ve dined there before and when you say yes they proceed to tell you how ding there works. Why ask then?!

The stroller looks great! I hope your lights hold up well! We did that one year and I think the lights lasted 1 or 2 days before the wire got snagged on something and they stopped working. It definitely makes it easy to find and looks cool though
:rotfl2:That was literally exactly what happened, but it was only about 15 lights at the end of the strand so it still worked.

I always wonder about this meal because of the food and if my kids would enjoy it, i don't know why i never assumed there would be kid food available... maybe i should add this to our list in May, we are staying at the Poly and all!
You have to if you’re staying at the Poly! Thye have ALL the kid food, they don’t always remember to offer it, but we just ask now when they bring out the salad. It’s perfect for our family.

Oh boy! Sometimes I try to warn people but they just don't get it!
The travel agent in me dies a little every time I hear things like this. :lmao:

Sounds like it worked out great in the end!
For sure, I was so happy with it.

Honestly, sounds like a great start to the trip! A way to decompress and relax before hitting the parks!
We needed it too.

Following along! Fun trip so far!!
Thanks for reading along!

Now THAT's a stroller lol!
Looks like the boys were troopers right up until bedtime so a good first day overall :thumbsup2
Thanks, we loved the lights. I’m glad we pushed them just far enough, but not too far.
 

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