From Kick'n It at Kidani to Play'n It at Pop adults only p62/63 last thoughts&request

[MEK]

Good morning my Dis friends! I am ready to get this TR going! I've been home for a week now and my pics are still not downloaded onto my computer. It really doesn't matter so much now, because I am at work and can't post pics anyway. I promise to download them tonight.

I am going to keep the introductions short, since this is my 4th TR. I don't do PTR's, only trip reports. If you read my last TR (Kick'n It at Kidani) you will rmember that DH and I were planning a lovely 4 night get away in honor of free dining and our 20th anniversary (but mostly in honor of free dining) !

When free dining was announced in April, I just couldn't control the urge for September weather and Disney food, free Disney food....well, almost free Disney food. DH and I are DVC members and have AP's that don't expire until June 2010, so we figured we could do a real budget trip if we stayed value and got cheap enough flights. We knew we could rationalize this trip under the guise of an anniversary trip! (Our actual 20th anniversary is October 21st, but close enough in my book )

Well, I fought the urge to upgrade. It was tough, since the memories of Kidani and CSR still lingered, but I perservered. And we got cheap flights - $59 each way from Baltimore. The only changes we made to our original plans were1) a rental car and (2) an upgrade to the deluxe dining plan!

Let me just say, Our Trip Was Super Duper Fantastic. We really had an awesome time. I am so glad we turned it into an anniversary trip because it really added an extra dose of magic that we never expected.

So the dates......

Sunday, September 20th to Thursday, September 24th

and the place......
Pop Century

and the people.......

Me: MEK....Mary Ellen
DH: Denny (aka as Directionless Denny or the DH who forgets his underwear and other assorted items)

So please join in with me as I tell the tale of two grown-ups who left their teenage boys at home (again) to explore the world and the merits of the Deluxe dining plan. We even had the pleasure of a Dis meet this trip. We met the infamous Christine or C (aka Too excited to sleep). We were hoping to meet Sunnie RN (Karla), but I expect she did not get my text messages.

Next up.....The Pre Departure Drama of Teenage Boys

[MEK]

For your readin pleasure, I am reserving this space for the table of contents. I hope I can keep it straight!

[DWGal210]

I'm in! Sounds like you guys had a great time. Can't wait to read all about it!

[MEK]

When you have teenagers, how can you NOT have a little drama before you go away? When we planned this trip last April we really thought the boys (who are 15 and 16 1/2) would do OK alone for 4 nights. However, as the trip became a reality we thought, "Maybe NOT". I kept reassuring myself that everything would be fine, but about a week before we were supposed to leave I decided that the boys needed a little bit more adult supervision. So I frantically set out to find someone who would take each boy on Sunday night and then take them to school on Monday. My DS 16 is not fully liscensed to drive yet. In Delaware a 16 year old must drive with a parent in the car for a full 6 months. He will meet that criteria in mid November.

Once I had them safely supervised for Sunday night, I starting working on getting someone to sleep in the house Monday and Tuesday night. Wednesday was the only night they would be alone. As it turned out, a good friend of mine stayed overnight Monday and Tuesday. It worked out great. In fact, we will be taking this good friend and his wife to Disney in May. Finally, all driving arrangements, to and from school and soccer, were confirmed. Plus spare car keys were given to my nieghbors and all the alcohol in the house was locked and hidden in the shed.

Sounds simple, right? Wrong? My kids really protested with all these last minute changes, but I held my ground. On Saturday evening, we had a huge last minute debate over the house rules, which really stressed me out. I knew that some of this was normal teenage behavior, and that thekids would calm down once we were out of town, but it stressed me out nonetheless. I requested that DS 16 1/2 be home by 12pm the night before we left. I really didn't want him at a friend's house on Saturday night because it would be too difficult to contact him Sunday morning. I wanted everyone home, in their bed, when we left for the airport the next day.

Needless to say, I fell asleep on the coach waiting for my son to come home. I woke up right before he got home (11pm) and was folding clothes when he arrived. Getting ready for this trip proved to be a last minute marathon. I must have done about 5 loads of laundry before we left. I got everything folded and most things put away. It was exhausting.

Once my son got home, I decided to go to bed. But I think my nerves were still shot from the earlier drama. Plus I have a tendency to not sleep well before a trip. And that earlier nap on the couch made me unusually awake. So when I went to bed sleep was not forthcoming. In fact, I tossed and turned, got up and down, took a xanax around midnight, and a benadryl at 3am and finally fell asleep at 4am!

Next thing I know.....630am and time to get up for the final preparations. Let's just say that i walked around in a fog for the next two hours, but by 9:10am we were finally on the road to Baltimore. We had an uneventful drive to Baltimore. We took the long way...down Rt. 50 to the Bay bridge. Then our GPS took us some great back roads to the parking lot. We used econopark this trip. It was recommended by some Disers, but initially I was not very impressed. I expect there to be a bathroom. Nope.And I really needed a bio break. I liked how the shuttle pulled right up to the car, but I hated waiting for the shuttle to get full before we could leave for the airport. Like I said, I was seriously in need of a bio break and every minute felt like ten.

I really love BWI airport. It is sooooooo much nicer that the Philadelphia airport. Its bright, airy, and never super crowded. We grabbed a couple of McDonald's snack wraps and sodas for the flight. We loaded promptly and the plane started to taxi right on time.

Then we looked up when we heard the following announcement, "Ladies and gentleman, we will be returning to the gate. We have a broken seatbelt and the FAA requires that we return to the gate until it is fixed". Whaaaaaaat? Bummer. It took the maintenance man all of 8 minutes to get on board and fix that belt. Unfortunately, we had to wait about 45 more minutes until we were allowed to taxi out again. Bummer, bummer.

We arrived in Orlando at 3 pm. Our flight was uneventful. Great weather. Our bags arrived promptly. Just as I had gathered the bags my DH returned with the key to the rental car in hand. Our plan was to head directly to Pop, check in, un pack, and get to the Grand Floridian for dinner. No grocery store stops this trip. I actually bought this great little collapsible rolling cooler at Costco and I packed it with water and a bottle of wine. All I needed was ice!

Up next......Is it possible to get the same room at Pop twice??????????

[MEK]

Originally Posted by DWGal210

I'm in! Sounds like you guys had a great time. Can't wait to read all about it!

Hi DWGal...

Welcome! So glad to have you following along.

[DWGal210]

Originally Posted by MEK

Hi DWGal...

Welcome! So glad to have you following along.

You bet!

Sorry you had some pre-trip drama with the boys. Hopefully that all worked otu OK.

I am the same with sleep on the night before a trip; this year we leave in the wee morning hours of Dec 26th, so between this trip and Christmas, I might have to take it easy the first day!

[Scott MC]

Yay! A new TR!
I was a lurker on your Kindani TR, but thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to this one.

[MEK]

Originally Posted by DWGal210

You bet!

Sorry you had some pre-trip drama with the boys. Hopefully that all worked otu OK.

I am the same with sleep on the night before a trip; this year we leave in the wee morning hours of Dec 26th, so between this trip and Christmas, I might have to take it easy the first day!

Glad to hear I am not the only pre trip insomniac. I thought I was going to crash and burn the first day, but I did really well and got my "second wind" once we got there and all checked in.

Originally Posted by Scott MC

Yay! A new TR!
I was a lurker on your Kindani TR, but thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to this one.

Welcome! I am glad that you decided to come out of "lurkedom" for this TR. Kidani was such a beautiful resort so I thought I might be disappointed with Pop, but it ended up be a great resort for DH and I. We didn't spend a lot of time there. But what time we spent there felt really relaxed, so it was perfect. I felt like we were always running somewhere....either to the parks or another fabulous ADR.

[Planning fanatic mom]

I would like to hear more. Our 20th anniversary is next Sept. and I would love to go with just DH. Our drama is that my teenage daughters don't want us to go without them. I will live my trip through you.

Can't wait for more.

[MEK]

Originally Posted by Planning fanatic mom

I would like to hear more. Our 20th anniversary is next Sept. and I would love to go with just DH. Our drama is that my teenage daughters don't want us to go without them. I will live my trip through you.

Can't wait for more.

Oh....I highly recommend an anniversary trip! My DH and I are not big anniverary celebrants. I hate to admit it, but there have many many years where it just came and went. We didn't go down there with huge plans of doing anything special other than our signature ADR's, but every cast member there helped make it really special. I have never been wished Happy Anniversary so many times. Seriously, I think we need to make this an annual event.

I think you're lucky you girls still want to go to Disney. If you had read my June TR you would know that I practically had to drag my DS16 to the parks. I swear he only went into the parks because we had ADRs and he needed to be fed!

[kschafer]

Woo Hoo!

I'm in for another MEK TR!!!! I am excited to hear about all the eating you did!

[wigdoutdismom]

Yay, you started! I'm here! Now going back to read!

[Lady Lallie]

Holy Moly! I am late to the party....I'll be back after I catch up!

[Disneymoon09]

yay! ive been waiting to hear about this one!

[wigdoutdismom]

I can just imagine the pre-trip drama with the boys. They were probably ready to have some time to themselves. Then here you come and rock their world!

Great start to the trip report, I can't wait to see if you got the same room twice!