The Trip That Almost Wasn't - December '09 (We are BACK!!!! TR to start soon)

Leger13 · May 14, 2009

First of all I would like to say welcome :welcome:

and thank you for checking out my PTR. My last PTR was a disaster and I didnt do a TR after last years trip either so Im a bit rusty at this. Please bear with me.

First, I will introduce the cast.

Theres me:
My name is Carla and Im 27 years old. I grew up in South Florida (Boca Raton) and then my parents moved us up to North Georgia when I was 11 or 12 years old (no, I cant remember) and I still live up here. I work for my Father and love it. Been working here for 7 and ½ years now. I love ALL things Disney (Im even a pin collector). I grew up going to WDW every year (give or take) ever since I can remember. I am addicted to tattoos (I have 2 Disney ones and 2 others). And I also love to quilt. My Mom got me into it about 2 years ago and I just keep getting more and more bombarded with projects that I want to do LOL.

Then theres my DH:
His name is Chris. He is 28 years old. He has lived in North Georgia all of his life. The poor guy never got to go to WDW as a child. My Mom and I finally took him on his first trip in October of 2001 and hes been addicted ever since. I never have to convince him to go.I just say the words Disney World and hes all ears :laughing:

! Im one lucky girl! He loves to ride his Motorcycle and he's also addicted to tattoos. He has 7 or 8 tattoos now (I've lost count) and one of them is Disney.
This is him on our trip last September

My BFF:
Her name is Rebecca (aka Becca). We met back in 1999 through my other BFF and then lost touch because she lived in up state NY and I still lived in GA. We saw eachother again in 2003 but again, lost touch. And then on my WDW trip in 07 she had moved down to FL with her DH so we decided to get together while we were in town and we have been inseparable ever since. She also loves ALL things Disney! She is completely and totally obsessed with the Disney Pins (she has an impressive collection). She grew up in Rochester, NY and moved to the Orlando area in 07 (I think). She is a History teacher at a local high school down there and she also has a part time job at the Rainforest Café in front of AK. Oh and shes 29 years old. Shell have turned 30 the week before our trip so we will be celebrating her birthday Disney style!! :woohoo:

My BFFs DH:
His name is James (I cant remember how old he is off the top of my head but hes younger than the rest of usI think hes 24 or 25). He also grew up in up state NY. Becca and James knew eachother for quite a while before they finally got married. They got married in 07 and then moved down to Florida. James is a computer techy guy. He also loves Disney but isnt as nutso about it as the rest of us are. Hes just glad when he has someone to ride the rides with since usually when him and Becca go to the parks its mostly so Becca can shop for pins. Its her own personal mall :confused3

!!

Heres a picture of Becca and James riding the Monorail up front last year. It was Beccs first time riding up front and she LOVED it!

So there you have it folks, the cast of this trip. Im glad to have the ball rolling here because Im taking a mini trip down to Orlando to see Becca and James next weekend to celebrate me and Chris 6th anniversary and I want to do the mini TR here. Well be going to the parks on May 23rd. We got park hoppers so were going to MGM first thing in the morning for SWW :darth:

, then were going to drive over to MK..leave the car there and hop on the monorail to EPCOT. Once we have our fill there were going to take the monorail back over to MK and spend the rest of the evening there since its open until 11:00pm that night. Not sure what all were doing on the 24th (thats our anniversary) but I know for dinner were going to T-Rex and then well be wondering around DTD the rest of the night after that. Im really looking forward to it and cant wait to go!! :yay:

Next up:
How this trip came to be!! :wizard:

cherbear · May 14, 2009

I'm HEEEEEEEEEERE! Great start! :thumbsup2

Leger13 · May 14, 2009

hehehe I had a feeling you'd be first!! :woohoo:

Thanks girl! :goodvibes

Leger13 · May 14, 2009

So let me start by telling you a little about our trip last year. We booked the free dining bounce back package for September. We booked it for us and another couple that wanted to take their first WDW trip with us. Well, after me going out and buying them a WDW UG and already planning everything they decided they didnt want to take their first trip with us any more and just wanted us to leave them alone. That didnt go over so well with me and Chris after everything we had already done and planned so needless to say, we are no longer friends with that couple. That was bad voodoo for our Sept. 08 trip #1.

Bad voodoo #2 was when we decided to cancel our trip all together. Chris and I were having money issues that were weighing on us in other ways as well. It was just bad all the way around last year. I figured out that we were not going to be able to pay off the trip before the 45 day mark so we reluctantly decided to cancel the trip all together and just wait a couple years before taking another WDW trip. I was so sad.

Then we figured out that we could still afford the park tickets if we just bunked at my BFFs house in Orlando. I talked it over with her and she said of course we could stay there so our trip was back on and I was super excited! But I was also bummed that we werent going to get all the good food we would have gotten if we were on the DDP. But we went on the trip anyways. There were a few arguments between me and Chris the whole week. I cried at least 3 times and then we almost ran out of money after buying too many Disney Pins. It was just a depressing trip all the way around. Dont get me wrong, there were good parts too but I dont look back on that trip fondly. Oh and also while we were down there James got sick and ended up not going to the parks with us a couple of days which depressed Becca. It was all just nuts.

So after that depressing trip last September I decided I wanted to skip WDW all together this year and try and vacation somewhere else. So I talked it over with Chris and Becca and we all decided to take a trip to Washington DC and NYC for Beccas birthday. Well, I dont know how to plan anything other than a WDW trip so I was getting totally overwhelmed and frustrated. Just as I was about to give up completely Chris comes home one day and says, How would you like to go to WDW around xmas time instead!? I said that is my DREAM!! :dance3:

Ive been to WDW so many times but never ever to see the xmas decorations. I asked him what brought this about and he said a couple that he works with wanted to go around that time and wanted us to go along with them. So I started planning. In no time I found us a vacation home to rent and everyone agreed on it so I booked it knowing that the deposit was non-refundable (can you see where Im going with this??). Well, about a month ago the couple that chris works with figured out that they were not going to be able to afford a trip like that this year. I stayed positive and said thats fine and that I understood and canceled the vacation home we rented. I begged for our deposit back but the guy was unwilling to work with us (arg!!) so now we are out $274 :headache:

. Oh well, we can still afford our trip and still have fun. Besides, we were going mainly to celebrate Rebeccas birthday so I wanted to still do that. I decided wed be able to afford 2 rooms at a value resort. We are treating Rebecca and James to their room as Rebeccas birthday present and also since she hasnt had a REAL vacation in I think 2 years. :scared:

Not that that story was all that interesting but there you have it folks.the trip that almost wasnt. A do-over (based on last years trip) and a birthday (Rebeccas turning 30!!)! :woohoo:

I promise Ill make things more interesting here as I go along. Im just trying to get this in here right now cause I know this is important information to have before you decide to commit to reading a PTR or TR. :goodvibes

My plan is also to post pictures here of last years Sept. depressing trip since I never did a TR. Ill probably do that after I do my mini TR of next weekends trip. :thumbsup2

Leger13 · May 14, 2009

I forgot to say where we are staying. Silly me.

We are booked at All Star Movies for November 28th - December 5th :thumbsup2

Marshay · May 14, 2009

Just wanted to say I found you. Now I'll go back to read!

Leger13 · May 14, 2009

Marshay said:
Just wanted to say I found you. Now I'll go back to read!

yay!!! Hi Marshay!!! :wave:

Trentmom · May 14, 2009

I am here

You may continue now :rotfl:

Seriously, going back to read now :goodvibes

Leger13 · May 14, 2009

Trentmom said:
I am here

You may continue now

Seriously, going back to read now

thanks for the permission :worship:

Trentmom · May 14, 2009

I can't wait to hear all bout your mini trip next weekend.

I am sure it will be a lot of fun

I am sure this trip is going to be WAY Better than last year trip and you so deserve it :hug:

Marshay · May 14, 2009

Trentmom said:
I can't wait to hear all bout your mini trip next weekend.

I am sure it will be a lot of fun

I am sure this trip is going to be WAY Better than last year trip and you so deserve it

Yes, what she said!!

I love the history of your past trips and the info for this future one. :goodvibes

Leger13 · May 15, 2009

Trentmom said:
I can't wait to hear all bout your mini trip next weekend.

I am sure it will be a lot of fun

I am sure this trip is going to be WAY Better than last year trip and you so deserve it

Marshay said:
Yes, what she said!!

I love the history of your past trips and the info for this future one.

Thanks girls! :hug:

That makes me feel so much better. I was afraid I was being so boring :laughing:

I'll be putting up my itinerary for next weekend's trip some time today. But for now I actually have to do some real work :rolleyes:

Leger13 · May 15, 2009

Good Morning everyone.

Just thought I'd give you all our itinerary for our trip next weekend. It's not much but it's something :thumbsup2

I sent Rebecca some money a few weeks ago to get our WDW tickets for next weekend. She went and picked them up on Monday for us so that's all set. We got park hoppers :woohoo:

You all may think I'm nuts (and you may find out that I really am....but I'm trying to keep that a secret as long as possible :laughing:

) but we are planning on doing 3 parks in one day!! I've never done this before but I think it's possible. I think we'll be able to at least spend 4 hours in each park comfortably. I paid for park hoppers so I'm HOPPING!! :dance3:

So, here's the plan....

Day 1 (May 22nd):
We both have to work this day :sad2:

I will get off at 2:30pm and make it home by 3:15pm. Chris should get off by 4:00pm and make it home by 4:30pm. We'll load all of our stuff. Make sure our dog sitters are comfortable with everything and don't have any more questions. Kiss the "kids" goodbye and hopefully be on the road by 5:00pm. That will put us in Orlando some time around 1:00am. :faint:

I'm hoping to at least be asleep by 2:00am but I know me and Becca will be chatting it up when we get there so it will probably be later than that unless we just force ourselves to go to bed :laughing:

Day 2 (May 23rd):
7:00am - WAKE UP!!! I'm going to be exhausted but we will be going to MGM (aka DHS - I refuse to call it that so you're gonna have to deal with me calling it MGM :snooty:

) I want to make it to MGM by 8:00am so we can watch the SWW opening show by the storm troopers (I will take video of this with my digi cam and post it here for you guys :thumbsup2

). The park opens at 9:00am and Chris and James will RUN in and get fast passes to meet Ray Park (Chris wants to meet the man....we already have his autograph). We're hoping they can get a pass for the 10:00am meet time.

So here's the park plan:
MGM: 9am - 1pm
Then from there drive to the MK parking lot and take the monorail over to EPCOT.
EPCOT: 2pm - 6pm
Take the monorail back over to MK
MK: 7pm - 12am (yes it's open that late that night!! :woohoo:

)

Day 3 (May 24th):
This day is our 6th Anniversary :flower1:

The plans are kind of up in the air for most of the day. We might go to Cocoa Beach. We might go to the Ripley's Museum. We might go play putt putt. I have no idea what the day will consist of but it will be fun no matter what we do.
We do have early dinner reservations at T-Rex at DTD though so we'll be doing that sometime in the 4:00 hour and then after that we'll spend the rest of the night at DTD shopping and hanging out.

Day 4 (May 25th):
This is the day we will have to go home :sad1:

We'll be on the road with all the other holiday crazies so please pray for us. We're going to stay at Becca and James' house as long as we can and then hit the road. We'll probably leave at around 9am which will put us home around 5pm. We'll relieve our dog/house sitters and then go and pick up our other 2 dogs from the In-Law's house and then go home and relax before having to go back to work the next day.

*side note* The WHOLE weekend will consist of :drinking1

. I'm even considering getting some Jack Daniels hunch punch and bringing it to the parks with us since it will just look like we're drinking coolaid or something since it's RED! :laughing:

Next weekend is going to be SO much fun but I know I'm going to be SO tired by the time I get home on Monday evening. I'm really looking forward to it though. And I plan on taking my NEW camera with me so I can take lots of cool pictures at the World :goodvibes

Next up: Memorial Day Weekend Mini TR :thumbsup2

Marshay · May 15, 2009

OK, your Day 2 is already making me exhausted!! I can't believe you really are doing 3 parks in one day and going from 7am to 1am or so!!

I suggest you relax on Day 3 and then hit DTD for shopping or maybe even rent those water mice over at the Poly or Cont resort. I think even DTD has them, too.

The mini-golf is cute. DH and I did that once.

Also, DTD has that new Character Balloon experience so you might want to try that.

Leger13 · May 15, 2009

yeah it makes me exhausted too but I think it's do-able. I know I'll be sleeping good that night and we'll sleep in the following day for sure. You're probably right about just going to DTD the 3rd day. Go over there and see Terminator at the theater, do dinner and then shop. That's probably what we end up doing instead. I always plan more than we can actually do :rolleyes:

We have also done the putt putt. We did the summer side of Winter Summerland and it was great. Thanks for the tips :goodvibes

Leger13 · May 15, 2009

GUESS WHAT!!!

Chris and I are seriously talking about DVC!!!!!! :cheer2:

To all of my DVC member friends: I need information please! I'm so confused. I especially had no idea about the annual dues!?!? HELP!! I ordered the DVD from Disney just a few minutes ago but I know it will take every bit of 2 weeks to get here so I figured I could beg for help here. I'm sure it will be a while before we actually buy in but I want to get as much information as I can now so I know when exactly we'll be able to buy in.

I can't tell you how excited I am!! Chris has basically already said yes to it. He likes the idea of having our vacations paid for for the next 45 years :laughing:

kaoden39 · May 15, 2009

I'm here!

Leger13 · May 15, 2009

yay!! Hi Chele! :goodvibes

Tat2ddisneymom · May 15, 2009

Yes, I'm one of the slackers. Thanks for the heads up.

Doesn't Chris look so happy in that photo? :lmao:

I had no idea you were crying on your last trip. There's no crying in Disney!!

Leger13 · May 15, 2009

Tat2ddisneymom said:
Yes, I'm one of the slackers. Thanks for the heads up.

Doesn't Chris look so happy in that photo?

I had no idea you were crying on your last trip. There's no crying in Disney!!

yay Nikki is here too!!! :woohoo:

Slacker or no slacker I'm glad you are here :thumbsup2

yeah he looked that way pretty much our whole trip last year.

Yeah I cried at least 3 times last year at WDW in September. Then I had 2 melt downs at MK in March when I went for the day. :sad2:

The Trip That Almost Wasn't - December '09 (We are BACK!!!! TR to start soon)

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