Shh! Don't tell them we're going back! May 2012 (updated 4/25)

[Jonesloonybin]

Day 7 - May 6th
Epcot (tentative)​

This day is our anniversary! It will be 12 years!!

The next few days of our trip are pretty open.

I do have some ADRs so I know we will be in those parks, at that time, but we may do some park hopping, depending on what people want to do.

I have an ADR for Tokyo Dining at 1pm. So I know we will be at Epcot in the morning and lunch time.

We will most likely stay there since we all love Epcot so much. We will spend a lot of time strolling the World Showcase.

Oh, and I am sure a few rides on Soarin will be included.

Sorry these next few updates will be so short.
But last year it was so nice to have a few days of not too many plans.

 

[Jonesloonybin]

Day 8 - May 7th
Animal Kingdom (EMH) or Epcot???​

The plan for this day is to maybe hit Animal Kingdom to do anything that we missed on our first Animal Kingdom day.

They we may hop over to Epcot. Or we may just head to DTD or back to Pop for an early night.

We have no ADRs for today, so it is completely open!

 

[wakica]

I'm glad your doing BG and DC I think you guys will have a GREAT time at BOTH of them!!! and the keeper experience sounds very cool
I promise to say hi - even if I think you are looking a little frenzied

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Your rest day DOES sound about the same as ours!! DD and DH are used to being on the go EVERY day - DH especially is a busy person and always likes to keep busy so for our "rest" days we'll still be doing things such as DTD, shop, or have a short revisit to a park and/or a dinner out. LOL. We are planning to have at least a partial day and/or eve down time almost every single day though so we should be fine. I have been known though to send DD and DH off to do their thing and have my own down day. i am not so used to being so busy - I work AT HOME and ON THE COMPUTER or just watching my niece for my jobs so I WILL need some bonifide down time.

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I hope you enjoy Epcot and Tokyo Dining on your anniversary day Our 19th anniversary will be May 1st and we are doing Sanaa for that. Boy - 19 year ann really makes me sound old but I'm really not all that old.... I don't think anyway??

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It's nice to have some days of UM< maybe this?? or maybe that??

DD and DH always seem to have a certain park they want to revisit each trip and I never know which it will be so it's nice to have some time for a "revisit wherever we want" but those are often the days I just rest.

 

[racefanof88]

Your plans sound great . Our 'down' days are a lot like the one you have planned. I just have such a hard time being at Disney and not getting out and doing something.

It is almost time for your trip . I know you have to be excited!!

 

[amazingact21]

Nice plans so far! Love days that are a little more lenient. I'm sure you all will enjoy AK and/or Epcot on the 7th, whichever you choose.


I think a lot of Disney rest days end up looking like yours. Everyone knows you need to rest and relax a bit, but there's just so much to do! You don't want to miss any oppurtunities. I hope you get at least a little bit of rest, though...

 

[MHTeacher]

Your days sound good. I like that you have some slow, rest days planned.

Your trip is getting so close!

 

[Jonesloonybin]

Day 9 - May 8th
Today will most likely be Magic Kingdom​

We have an ADR for ...

at 12:45pm




DH and I will most likely get these and share.

YUM!!



I am sad that they do not have this on the menu anymore...

It was so good and very light.



We will spend the day doing anything we missed earlier. This may be the day we try to catch the 3:00 parade.


We may also hop over to another park for the evening.


I know the last few updates have not had many actual plans in them. We do have some more planned days coming up. STAY TUNED!


I will also post some pictures tomorrow of the things we have purchased and some things I have made for our trip!!

PS. 10 days until we leave!!! ​

 

[MHTeacher]

I have loved Liberty Tree Tavern every time I've eaten there. But, we haven't eaten there since it quit being a character dinner. Your food pics look delicious!

 

[thebookworm218]

Love reading this PTR You inspired me to try and attempt my own

 

[thebookworm218]

Subscribing

 

[Jonesloonybin]

I have loved Liberty Tree Tavern every time I've eaten there. But, we haven't eaten there since it quit being a character dinner. Your food pics look delicious!

It was really great!! The food was fantastic. DD8 didn't really care for her kids mac and cheese, but she shared with us (There was PLENTY of both!) The only weird thing was that neither DDs liked the ranch dressing there.

Love reading this PTR You inspired me to try and attempt my own

I am not as witty as some of the great posters on these boards, but I try. It does seem to get easier. You should give it a try!!

 

[Jonesloonybin]

Day 10 - May 9th​

This day was supposed to be our day to rest, do laundry, swim, pack, defrost fridge and return to luggage services....but that is not what this day is now.


We decided to extend our trip and we are staying until 5/12 now!!!

So this day will be a whatever we want day.

We may go to the movies (DH and DD would really like to go see Avengers and I don't think we will fit it in on the 5th)

We are going to be adding another day to our park tickets so we can go to a park today too.

Since this is a day I had made no plans for, who knows what we will do.

We will be heading to Busch Gardens next!!

 

[wakica]

Ooooh, I want to see the Avengers too!!! It has my FAVORITE cutie in it - favorite next to DH that is.
I had thought of going to see it in DTD on Mothers Day for Dinner and a movie but I don't think we'll find the time to squeeze it in with everything else we have planned but I guess only time will tell

 

[Jonesloonybin]

Day 11 - May 10th

Busch Gardens!​

This will be our first trip to Tampa and to Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. We have been to the Busch Gardens in Williamsburg and I am afraid we were not impressed. We are hoping the Tampa Bay one will be different.

We will grab a bit either at Pop or, if we are tired of Pop breakfast, we could grab something on the way to Tampa.


We are planning on being there as soon as it opens at 10am. We have two special things we are surprising the girls with.

DD16 and DH will be doing the Tiger and Orangutan Keeper Experience. Here is the description:
Go behind the scenes at Jungala for a fascinating Tiger and Orangutan Keeper Experience. See what it’s like to care for our Bengal tigers and Bornean orangutans. Help the zoo staff prepare the animals' food and perform routine health exams. Participate in an orangutan training session and take part in a unique up-close tiger experience.

It was a really good deal. The cost is $199.95 for a group up to 6 people! You do have to be 10+ though.


Since dd8 is not old enough for the above, her and I are going to do the Serengeti Safari!

Description:
Grab a spot on a spacious open-air touring vehicle and trek across the wide and wild African Plain on an unforgettable Serengeti Safari. Our Serengeti Plain is a 65-acre recreation of life on the home of the last great migration on earth. Here you'll see hundreds of fascinating animals and get up-close to some you can even feed by hand. You’ll meet familiar favorites like our zebras, giraffes and ostriches while learning about other exotic animal species. Join us on this celebration of wildlife and wild places. And don’t forget your camera—the photo opportunities are amazing. Reservations are encouraged as space is limited.

Some other things we are planning on are:

Animal Care Center & Walkabout Way.. and pretty much ALL the animal attractions!!
Jungle Flyers
Air Grover
Sand Serpent
Congo River Rapids (does anyone know about this ride? Is it ok for a kid who liked Kali?)
Rino Rally
Taganyika Tidal Wave
DH and DD16 may do some of the more exciting roller coasters too.
(If anyone has any reviews of these rides, please share them!! )


We will grab lunch at the park before heading off to our special tours.
According to the website, BG closes at 6pm. We will most likely grab something on the way back to Orlando. **(any recommendations?)**

We will spend some time starting to pack up this evening.

Coming up next....Discovery Cove!!!

 

[Jonesloonybin]

Day 12 - May 11th​

Today is.....

I cannot tell you how excited I am to do this! I know my girls are going to LOVE it!!!!!

We will get there bright and early. I am hoping the Sloth is in the check in area! I have read that if you go early, you will sometimes see him/her and they may even let you pet it!

We decided to get the Premium package as well. This comes with:

Premium Package $229 ($95 savings versus purchasing items individually)*
For those who want more privacy, this package includes all of the amenities in the Celebration Package:
• Personalized buoy
• Gift bag
• 6x8 photo
• Photo frame or plush toy
• T-shirt
• 25% off the Ultimate photo package

plus:
• Private cabana including table and chairs, chaise lounges, rolled towels, stocked refrigerator, and personal locker
• Underwater camera

We are REALLY excited about this! We decided to make this a family celebration (since if we did it as a birthday thing, only one kid would get it.

The Buoy will say "Jones Family Vacation 2012" on it. (FYI - only one person can get a buoy from the dolphin, though you can buy and extra one, but it will not be delivered by dolphin.)

We decided dd16 will do the buoy. We will dd16 the t-shirt and underwater camera and dd8 will get the plush toy and we will most likely pick up something for her at the gift shop.

Here are some picture (found online) of the cabanas. (We have never been to Discovery Cove before)

We are doing the Dolphin swim.

The girls love to snorkel and this will be their first time with real fish. ( and not in a pool )

I know dd8 will really love feeding the birds too (she is always looking up birds in our bird book)

I cannot believe how exciting this will be...it must be, to get me to voluntarily hang out all day in my swimsuit...in public!

After DC, we will head back to Pop. This is our last day.

We will grab a bite to eat somewhere and finish up all our packing and get a good night's sleep. We are driving home the next day.

 

[Jonesloonybin]

Ooooh, I want to see the Avengers too!!! It has my FAVORITE cutie in it - favorite next to DH that is.
I had thought of going to see it in DTD on Mothers Day for Dinner and a movie but I don't think we'll find the time to squeeze it in with everything else we have planned but I guess only time will tell

I know what you mean about fitting it in. Just like last year, we had this grand plan to have a rest day and ended up going to the parks instead.

 

[Jonesloonybin]

Tomorrow will be our 1 week mark!!

(dd8 just loves the smilies)

I still have, what seems like, a ton of things to do.

I have to print and laminate the cover of dd's autograph book I made and get it bound at Staples.
I have to print and bind the Epcot passport I am making
I have some hair bows and such to make
I have some things I need to sew (mostly buttons that have come off and such.)
I need to print out things for my trip binder (our confirmations, ADR's, etc..)
I need to clean the Explorer inside and out


Ok, I am going to stop there. Since it is close to bed time (we are trying to get to bed earlier and get up earlier so it won't be so hard at Disney) I don't want to keep myself up with stressing over everything that needs to be done.

I am also irritated with DD16's boss right now. She told him we were leaving on Sat., (even though we are leaving on Sunday) because he always schedules her to work the day before she leaves anywhere, and he STILL scheduled her for Sat.!! She works on Monday and hopefully will be able to fix it.

So far so good with keeping the secret from the girls (about Busch Gardens and Discovery Cove). We did tell them that we had a surprise because dd16 was giving us a hard time about getting a swimsuit cover up and water shoes. Plus, dd had to know when we would be back, so she could tell her boss.

We also attempted the Mickey head tie-dye. They came out ok. The Mickey heads do not have as clean of an outline as I was hoping for. I will try to post some pictures tomorrow.

 

[ColtGurl]

Its almost time to go!!! We will be there same time you are. Maybe we will run into each other. Hope you all have a wonderfully magical anniversary.
P.S. Dont forget to get your Anniversary pin and wear it proud

 

[Jonesloonybin]

One last update before I leave!!


4 days until we leave!!!!

I have been super busy getting last minute things done.

I created, printed, cut and laminated the covers for the autograph book for dd8.

Autograph cover:

Here is a inside page. (I am taking them up to Staples tonight to get spriral bound)

I printed, cut and laminated the cover for dd8's Epcot Passport.

Epcot Passport Cover:

Passport inside pages:

I also put together my Trip Binder. I keep all my info in here.

I know many of you are leaving soon for you trips as well. I hope you all have a safe and magical vacation!! If you see us, make sure you say hi!!

My plan is to do a Trip Report and Dining Report when I get back!!


Terri

PS. I am not sure why the pictures are sideways on here. The are facing the right way in photobucket.

 

[wakica]

BUSCH - If you are coaster fans then SHEIKRA is a DO NOT MISS!!!!!! SUCH a THRILL!!! One of our top coasters out of WDW, SW, US, Busch. and Montu is a great one too - at least I think that's the name of it - I'm drawing a bit of a blank right now b/c they do have alot of coasters there. It's the one in the Egyptian type area I think. LOL So much help I know. I can't remember which water rides we did but one of them WAS alot like Kali but got you WAY more wet! HAHAHAHA.

DC - HAVE a BLAST!! You will feel like royalty in this park and that's a GREAT idea for the dolphin to deliver the buoy to the bday boy What a nice touch! My DD (9 at the time) LOOVED the bird area - we visited that place 2 times.

Maybe run into you in the parks Have fun!!!!!!