The GG's Unsupervised in Universal! PTR

I should start off by saying that this is the first trip report I've ever attempted. I've wanted to before, but just never did. I decided to dip my toe in with this PTR and if I can manage it, then I'll do a full fledged Trip Report! Woo Hoo!

I suppose I should start out with an explanation of the title, and the best way to do that will be to do an introduction of who the GG's are:



That's me on left. I'm Jeannie, and the author of this PTR. I am the oldest. I am the most responsible planner of the group, and also the one who dreams up most of our adventures. I am the mom to one beautiful 22 yo DD who is a former DCP Alumnus. I have been to WDW 10 times, with two trips the Universal Orlando thrown in for good measure. I'm huge Harry Potter geek, and have been blessed to have also gone to the Warner Bros Harry Potter Studio Tour in Watford, England. (Shonda was along on that adventure as well.) I'm the only DISer of the group, and they have to hear me talk of all this nonstop.

Lori is on the left. She's my little sister. I love her, and we tend to drive each other crazy at times. As much as we are alike, we are also that different too. She offers minimal input in our adventures, and she makes no plans. She just loves to go, and she's a lot of fun. She has 5 kiddos total. 19 yo DD, 16 yo DD, 12 yo DS, and 2 bonus DS's 29 and 25. She has to been to Disney twice. We went when we were teenagers and my mom took the whole family again in 2009. She has never been to Universal, but loves Harry like we do!

Shonda is the one in the middle. She's our cousin by birth, but she's truly our sister in every sense of the word. She has 5 kiddos total. 23 yo DS, 19 yo DD, 15 yo DD, 13 yo DS and bonus Brazilian DS 16 who was their exchange student. We will also be celebrating her birthday while on this trip!! Shonda is a HUGE Harry Potter fanatic!! She can tell you anything about the books and wax philosophical over JK Rowling and her writing for days! She loves Disney and Universal as much as I do and has been on several trips to both in the last few years.

We're all married to awesome men who have varying degrees of compliance on our GG trips. Mine is the most tolerant, hence the reason for my frequent "let's go" schemes. I would imagine the excitement of their DH's about them leaving may have something to do with that kid total they have between them....


Now that you have been introduced to the GG's it seems like an appropriate time to explain what it actually means. It stands for Gann Girls, which is our maiden name. There are many more GG's than us, but we started using it a few years ago and it stuck. Most of our adventures revolve around music. We have gone to many concerts together, and the photo above was from seeing Bob Seger on Valentine's Day of this year. Sans hubbies, of course! (We love the menfolk, but sometimes you just need some girl time!)

This will be our very first non-concert trip. Trying to schedule something the three of us are able to do for several days and work it around all the kids schedules is not an easy task. So when Pete announced DISapalooza on his "Sick Show" I immediately called Shonda to see if she could swing it. If I could get her on board and come up with some affordable flight options then I could get Lori hooked too. Low and behold....it worked!! We have gone from a 3 day trip to a 5 day trip, and I absolutely can't wait!! (Shonda and I are known to squeeze in extra days if at all possible when we travel together. )

Well well....

Sweet!

Moms have to do what they have to do!

Subbing!

Love it!

Lynne G said:

Moms have to do what they have to do!

Subbing!

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Isn't that the truth?!?!?!?!?!

You gals look like a lot of fun........should be a good one to read along with.........

Before my next PTR entry I've decided to post a little update about my weekend.

My DD and her BF are Houston Rockets season ticket holders. Last week her ticket agent called her up and offered her 2 seats in one of the teams suites for the Sam Smith concert. Neither of us are huge Sam Smith fans, but we do really like a couple of his songs plus the fact that.....it's a free concert.....in a suite.....with free parking thrown in......so yeah, she said she would gladly take the tickets!

I will say that it was a really good show, and we had a great time!! Here are a couple of pics:

We are flying Spirit Airlines. I'm a little nervous about that fact, but I found such a good deal on the flight, that I just couldn't pass it up. Not to mention it was a huge factor in convincing my sister, Lori, to join in on the adventure. I prepaid for a couple of checked bags that brought up the price a little bit. Not to United prices of course, but still a little bit. Lori and Shonda seem cool with it, so now we have room for plenty of souvenirs!

We are flying in to Tampa and will rent a car. I was surprised at how much of a savings that ended up being, and decided to roll with it. I'm not familiar with the Tampa airport like I am with MCO, but I'm sure we'll figure it out. If any of you have used this airport and have any tips to offer, or things I need to know before hand please let me know!

Shonda is married to an Army man and has secured us lodging at Shades of Green Resort. Her and her family stayed there in June for their Disney/Universal trip and loved it!! Here's a pic of them enjoying Hogsmeade. (Less her oldest DS and DD who weren't able to make the trip due to work.)



Plus it's within walking distance of the Poly, and Trader Sams!!! I am so excited about getting to visit Trader Sams that it's just ridiculous!!

You will like SOG. We are a military family and have stayed there several times. The rooms are big and the hotel quiet. I enjoyed the spa there too. Reasonable prices.

What fun to see a concert for free. I won't tell you the price of our floor seats for Taylor Swift that my DD just had to see.

I do not think Spirit is at our airport, but I am sure it is fine. And in the spring, my Sister flew out of Tampa. Smaller airport and only about a little over an hour to WDW and USO. Easy highway most of the way.

Nice update.

Lynne G said:

You will like SOG. We are a military family and have stayed there several times. The rooms are big and the hotel quiet. I enjoyed the spa there too. Reasonable prices.

What fun to see a concert for free. I won't tell you the price of our floor seats for Taylor Swift that my DD just had to see.

I do not think Spirit is at our airport, but I am sure it is fine. And in the spring, my Sister flew out of Tampa. Smaller airport and only about a little over an hour to WDW and USO. Easy highway most of the way.

Nice update.

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Awe....Thank you!!

She (Shonda) has said such good things about SOG that I'm super excited about staying there!!

We tried to get tix to go see Taylor Swift, but they were outrageous for the nose bleed section. I don't mind paying good money for good seats, but I can't justify that much money for bad ones! I have heard that she puts on an awesome show though!

To attend MVMCP or not? That is the question.

I'm leaning more towards yes for a couple of reasons. I play Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom and I would really like to get my hands on that party card! I'm totally disappointed that I won't be able to attend MNSSHP this year and get the party card for that. Someone posted a photo of it yesterday....so.stinkin.cute. I digress.

I would also like to attend the party because we (me, DH & DD) went last year but somehow managed to miss Elsa's lighting of the castle! Shonda did see it and has made it known that she would like to see it again. Universal closes at 7pm every day that we are going to be there so that definitely frees up some time for other things! Lori has never been to a Christmas party at Magic Kingdom and that's just one of those things you should really do at least once if you have the chance.....right?

Since the only time you get to see the parade for free is after your trip, I'd do the party. While many don't like it as much as the Halloween one, I think to go at least once, since you'll be so close to MK at SOG, why not? Besides, cookies and hot chocolate are always a good way to start the Christmas season.

Lynne G said:

Since the only time you get to see the parade for free is after your trip, I'd do the party. While many don't like it as much as the Halloween one, I think to go at least once, since you'll be so close to MK at SOG, why not? Besides, cookies and hot chocolate are always a good way to start the Christmas season.

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I think we've pretty much decided to do the party because of exactly what you said....why not?? Plus you're right, free cookies and hot chocolate? We'd be crazy NOT to go!

We have decided to attend MVMCP while we are there! Now we just need to decide if we'll be going on Thursdsay, Dec 3rd or Friday, Dec 4th. I've been reading that the Friday party should be more crowded than the Thursday party, but Thursday is Shonda's birthday so I think I'll ultimately leave that up to her. Who wouldn't want to celebrate their birthday with a party at Magic Kingdom?

Watching the Disunplugged Universal Edition this week and they were discussing some streetsmosphere shows that are new. I did a little research on YouTube and found a really good video of them. There was "Sing It" which was an accapella show and "Straight Outta Food Truck". Both of them looked fun, but I think my favorite will be the "Straight Outta Food Truck" show.

I also would like to see the Blues Brother Holiday Show. I've been to Universal 3 times now, and have yet to experience this and I really would like to. Fingers crossed that we can make it happen this trip!

I'm really disappointed that the "Hulk" attraction is going down for rehab and will not open back up until some time in 2016. I love roller coasters and my DH and DD don't do them at all. Every time we go to Universal I ride coasters and they wait for me to be done riding coasters. Lori and Shonda however, are huge coaster fans just like me! I was really hoping that Lori would be able to experience this one, but it's just not going to happen. I guess we'll just have to ride "Rip Ride Rocket" more times to make up for it!

Now an update for some of the other fun stuff I've been able to do lately.

My daughter and I went to se ED SHEERAN last Thursday in Houston! Such a good show!! Just the fact that he can do all he does with a guitar and a looping machine is just....amazing. I love, love, love ED.


The following weekend my DD and my niece went to visit my other niece at her new home in Nacogdoches. My oldest niece just started her first semester at SFA, and we went to check it out. My nieces are my sister Lori's daughters. We have some gorgeous girls! I'm also happy to report that my niece is thriving in her first year of college. I'm super proud of her!



Shonda's daughter is in her second year of college at ETBU which is about an hour and a half from SFA. She's a cheerleader and they were going to be having a home game while we were visiting so we decided to go show our support!




Yes, we are some proud mommas. Our girls are beautiful inside and out and they all love and support each other unconditionally!!

Lastly, my DD will be celebrating her 23rd birthday next week. I was unsure what we were going to do for her on this particular milestone. I was checking my email one day and had some information on the Price Is Right Live road show. My DD LOVES the Price is Right so that's what we gave her as an early gift.



Neither one of us ended up being picked to play, but we had so much fun!! It's ridiculously exciting to watch contestants compete at these games!

That is all I have to report on recent activities.

Our Itinerary Is Coming Together

Wed. Dec 2nd - Arrive at Tampa airport 5:30 pm. Get luggage, pick up rental car, then get on the road to SOG. Hopefully arrive there by 7:30. Get all checked in then head over to the Poly for a welcome adult beverage at Trader Sam's!

Thurs. Dec 3rd - Our first park day!! Also...Shonda's Birthday!!! Arrive for park open at 9 am. The plan is to be there before 8:30 am so we are some of the first on resort people in the parks. Undecided on which park we're heading to first, but I think we are leaning towards IoA. If that's the case I'm sure we'll head straight to Hogsmeade. We may do a little park hopping, but we plan to just really go with the flow. Park closes at 7 pm. Leave there and then spend some time at City Walk for a birthday celebration!!

Fri. Dec 4th - Arrive for park open at 9 am. Again the plan is to be there before 8:30 am. Head to Universal Studios and Diagon Alley. No real defined plan. Just go with the flow. Leave the park no later than 2pm to head back to SOG. Do a little refresh at the resort then head over to MK and MVMCP. Magic Kingdom decorated for Christmas is one of my absolute favorite things!! Stay at MK until the party's over at 12 am.

Sat. Dec 5th - DISapalooza!!!! I know it doesn't start until 9 pm, but I'm excited about it now. I imagine the day of I'll be hard to be around. The plan for now is arrive for park open at 9 am. I'm sure that may change depending on how tired we are from the previous nights adventures. Not sure where we will head first, but I'm sure we will take it easy and do some things we have been previously unable to do. Leave the park at 7 pm and do.....??? Hang out at City Walk and grab a bite to eat before the party starts at 9 pm? Not quite sure. We'll just play it by ear.

Sun. Dec 6th - Our last day in Orlando. We don't have park tickets, and our flight doesn't leave until 6:10 pm from Tampa. We'll be able to take it easy that morning and take our time getting ready. We need to be at the airport by 5 pm at the latest so we'll need to leave probably no later than 3 pm. That's what I'm thinking any way. We will have to return the rental car, and you never know about traffic. I'd rather not take the chance on being late and pushed for time.

Sounds like a great plan...I can't wait to hear about your adventures.

I've been trying to work in a new years trip just to see the Osborne lights but 3 visits to Orlando in one year might tip my credit cards into sticker shock...oh well I'll just have to enjoy your trip vicariously.

tink1957 said:

Sounds like a great plan...I can't wait to hear about your adventures.

I've been trying to work in a new years trip just to see the Osborne lights but 3 visits to Orlando in one year might tip my credit cards into sticker shock...oh well I'll just have to enjoy your trip vicariously.

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I know what you mean on sending the credit cards into sticker shock. I'm also going with my daughter in January to her DCP Alumni gathering. It looks to be a lot of fun, but two trips in two consecutive months is making me a little weezy!

I just noticed in your signature that you are going to HHN. How exciting!! And scary!! As much as I would love to experience that, I don't know if I have it in me to do it!

The Plan

Wed. Dec 2nd - Arrive at Tampa airport 5:30 pm. Get luggage, pick up rental car, then get on the road to SOG. Hopefully arrive there before 7 pm. Get checked in. Drop off the bags then hop in the car and head over to Wilderness Lodge and take the boat to Fort Wilderness. We will be attending the 8:30 pm showing of Hoop Dee Doo!! Trader Sam's doesn't close until 1 am so if possible we will squeeze that into this busy, busy day too.

Thurs. Dec 3rd - Our first park day!! Also...Shonda's Birthday!!! Arrive for park open at 9 am. The plan is to be there before 8:30 am so we are some of the first people in the parks. Heading straight to Diagon Alley. After some time there well will ride the Hogwarts Express over to Hogsmeade. We may do a little park hopping, but we plan to just really go with the flow. Park closes at 7 pm. Leave there and then spend some time at City Walk for a birthday celebration!!

Fri. Dec 4th - Arrive for park open at 9 am. Again the plan is to be there before 8:30 am. No real defined plan. Just go with the flow. Leave the park no later than 2pm to head back to SOG. Do a little refresh at the resort then head over to MK and MVMCP. Magic Kingdom decorated for Christmas is one of my absolute favorite things!! Stay at MK until the party's over at 12 am.

Sat. Dec 5th - DISapalooza!!!! I know it doesn't start until 9 pm, but I'm excited about it now. I imagine the day of I'll be hard to be around. The plan for now is arrive for park open at 9 am. I'm sure that may change depending on how tired we are from the previous nights adventures. Not sure where we will head first, but I'm sure we will take it easy and do some things we have been previously unable to do. Leave the park at 7 pm and do.....??? Hang out at City Walk and grab a bite to eat before the party starts at 9 pm? Not quite sure. We'll just play it by ear.

Sun. Dec 6th - Our last day in Orlando. We don't have park tickets, and our flight doesn't leave until 6:10 pm from Tampa. We'll be able to take it easy that morning and take our time getting ready. We need to be at the airport by 5 pm at the latest so we'll need to leave probably no later than 3 pm. That's what I'm thinking any way. We will have to return the rental car, and you never know about traffic. I'd rather not take the chance on being late and pushed for time.