You’re writing a TR? Really? (Christmas at POR, 2010)

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

“So… Just what makes you think that you can write a trip report?”

That is what I expect to here from those that know me on and off these boards. Honestly, I don’t have a good answer to that particular question, but I’ve been roaming these boards for a good while, so I thought it was high time that I gave it a try. Will I succeed? Don’t know, but I’m sure that y’all will let me know how I’m doing through your witty commentary or (worse) by the complete lack there of.

Well enough of that nonsense. It’s time to get started. As I’m new to the art and science of writing up a TR, most of y’all don’t know anything about me (except for the other DisDad’s who may be a long to commandeer this thread shortly), so a little background info may be called for. I’m one of those lucky soles who is not only a Disney-a-holic, but also seceded in marring a Disney freak and the two of us have been instilling this same lunacy into our son for nearly 16 years. We’re all pretty much hopeless. I took my first trip to the Magic Kingdom in 1974 (yah… I’m that old), first saw EPCOT in 1983, first took my lovely bride to the “World” in 1993, and have been taking my family back down pretty much yearly since 2000. The trip in question for this little dissertation was our tenth since getting married, ninth since our son was born, second during the winter months, but the first time during Christmas (and that last little bit will play a fairly healthy part in the story I’m about to relate).

The Players:
Me:

Rob - 49 years worth of refusing to grow up

DW: Tamara - A proper Southern Belle and saint who has
been patiently putting up with me for over twenty years now.

DS: Max - Good kid, but one who is almost exactly like
his father (much to his mother's chagrin).

On a side note: In the DisDads club we have a rule that you are required to finish your current TR before you head off on you’re next adventure. As I’m starting this one rather late (say nearly 5 months), and we’re planning on leaving on our next adventure in a little more then a month, My chances of pulling that off are slim. But I’ll give it a shot.

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

Table of Contents:

Chapter 1: Say it ain’t so…

Chapter 2: A Diabolical Plan

Chapter 3
- Part 1: D Day
- Part 2: Rainman…

Chapter 4: Day-1
- Part-1: Rain… Not just rain, but rain rain…
- Part-2: What to do, what to do?
- Part-3: Up the Sassagoula, and into the Acadian
- Part-4: Christmas time at AK
- Part-5: Was that a Jonas?... Do I really care?...
- Part-6: Dinos, and Characters, and Clownfish… Oh my…
- Part-7: Gingerbread… Lots and lots of Gingerbread
- Part-8: Doing the Loop
- Part-9: On the rail again

Chapter 5 – Day 2
- Part-1: …Early to Rise
- Part-2: TSM - Take one… Action!
- Part-3: We been lied to…
- Part-4: TSM - Take two… Slow-mo camera ready… Action!
- Part-5: Catching the limo…
- Part-6: Dinner and a Spectacle
- Part-7: Other Sorts of Spectacles
- Part-8: Let there be Lights
- Part-9: A Partridge and a Yarn Tree

Chapter 6 – Day-3
- Part-1: Reality rears its ugly head
- Part 2: Ain’t it perrty
- Part 3: The House that Jack Rebuilt
- Part 4: Mountains Receding in the Distance
- Part 5: Room at the Inn
- Part 6: The Journey Eastward
- Part 7: Toontown we hardly knew ya’
- Part 8: Light a Candle (I Mean a Castle)
- Part 9: The Eastern Block & the Occidental Meltdown
- Part 10: Two Form the Grill
- Part 11: Posh Tickets and One Big Tree
- Part 12: A “Wish” for a mountain passage
- Part 13: Disney’s Underwear

Chapter 7 – Day-4
- Part 1: From Sorin’ to Savin’
- Part 2: Single Riders and Protean Spills
- Part 3: Backpack?... What backpack?
- Part 4: “What the Beverly…”
- Part 5: Across the Pond
- Part 6: A Joyful Noise
- Part 7: Yah, I know its lame…
- Part 8: Zoom! Zoom?
- Part 9: In a Pickle
- Part 10: Something for Momma

Chapter 8 – Day-5
- Part 1: A Riverside Retrospective
- Part 2: We’ll still be here…
- Part 3: One little Ride
- Part 4: O Canada
- Part 5: Punked (but in a good way)
- Part 6: Now that’s a Snack
- Part 7: Fruit Trees and Field Drums
- Part 8: The Clown and the Witch
- Part 9: Decisions, Decisions…
- Part 10: The Rest of the World
- Part 11: Wrap it up
- Part 12: North


The Day 5 / Part 11 & 12 stuff is NEW!!

And the final official update

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

Bonus Features
(These are links to anything extra that ended up being tossed in here)

- 1: Cranium Command
- 2: Canebrake Point
- 3: They Call Me: Ginger…
- 4: The Preview
- 5: The Origins of Corps

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

Just one more thing…

Here’s a link to the next saga of our continuing adventures with all things Disney
(I hope y’all come on over and join us in this one as well)

Experiment-627: A Caribbean Double with a Wilderness Chaser (Summer 2011) ​

Oh yah… Thanks for reading along!!!

 

[nat1234]

Okay, I'm here. I can't wait to hear about Christmas at POR. Let the report begin.

 

[AJRitz]

Better late than never - I'm looking forward to you TR Rob!

(But keep up with the updating, or fear the pirates!)

 

[afwdwfan]

I'm here thanks to your post on the DDC thread. I'll be more than happy to provide any abuse or sarcasm you need.

Looks good so far, I like the table of contents teaser and look forward to learning what they mean. All except for the Jonas one...

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

I'm here and ready for sarcastic comments! Oh, and the TR too, I guess.

 

[FreezinRafiki]

I don't think I'd know a Jonas if he punched me in the nose. Then again, if someone punched me in the nose, I'd probably be inclined to return the favor. Then, if 200 twelve year old girls started screaming and punching me, it would probably be a good hint that I just punched a Jonas.

That has nothing to do with your trip report, but it might be useful information in the future.

On with the TR!

 

[Turkey Lurkey]

Since I'll never be able to go at that time, I love reading Christmastime TRs, count me in!



TL

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

Okay, I'm here. I can't wait to hear about Christmas at POR. Let the report begin.

And you’re the first. Welcome aboard.
Like I warned up front, I’m new at this, so y’all will have to let me know
when I’m not following the rules.

Better late than never - I'm looking forward to you TR Rob!

(But keep up with the updating, or fear the pirates!)

Aye aye Captain. I’d expect no less form seasoned hands such as yourself.
Welcome.

I'm here thanks to your post on the DDC thread. I'll be more than happy to provide any abuse or sarcasm you need.

Looks good so far, I like the table of contents teaser and look forward to learning what they mean. All except for the Jonas one...

“Sarcasm… Just another service we offer”
And the DisDads are good at it. Welcome aboard sir.
(Good lord, what have I gotten myself into here?)

I'm here and ready for sarcastic comments! Oh, and the TR too, I guess.

Welcome sir.
One of the Masters of TR has consented to review my work.
(Oh this does not bode well for me.)

I don't think I'd know a Jonas if he punched me in the nose. Then again, if someone punched me in the nose, I'd probably be inclined to return the favor. Then, if 200 twelve year old girls started screaming and punching me, it would probably be a good hint that I just punched a Jonas.

That has nothing to do with your trip report, but it might be useful information in the future.

On with the TR!

Useful indeed (and I couldn’t agree more), and a gracious welcome to you as well.
Another of the board’s Jedi Masters has decided to instruct me in the ways of the TR
(I have much to learn and I suspect y’all will not make this easy on me).

Since I'll never be able to go at that time, I love reading Christmastime TRs, count me in!

TL

Welcome and thanks for joining in.
Hopefully I can supply something of use. We’ll see…

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

Chapter 1: Say it ain’t so…

"We're not going to Disney World in 2010."

At least that was the original plan (but as y’all know, plans change). Anyway… We’ve been to WDW many times before, but it was decided (and agreed upon by all concerned), that this year would be a good time to take a different kind of trip. We’d go to see the Nation’s Capitol instead.


Then we’d go to Disney.


We just didn’t know it at the time.


As the trek to DC was supposed to be the only trip we took in 2010, and it was a monumental success as well, I’m going to toss in (at no extra charge to yourself) a “micro-mini” Non-Disney TR as an added bonus. We figured that at 15 years, our son was old enough to not only remember what he saw, but had the schooling necessary to understand it and see everything in proper context as well. Besides, neither Tamara nor I had been up there since we were kids, so it was a good time to take on the challenge. The result was a truly fine time had by all and an outing worthy of its own detailed TR. But for now, I’ll just toss out a few of the better pictures.

In all seriousness though, if you ever have the opportunity to go to the Capitol, you need to do it. So, without farther ado…




A Disney Family does DC (a very, very short TR - June 2010)

We started out at Mt Vernon and a short cruise of the Potomac…

Spent a quiet morning at Arlington National Cemetery…
(And I can not stress enough that you need to spend some time here.)

Were given a private tour of the Capitol by an interne for one of our representatives…

Spent time on the National Mall…

Spent a good bit of time in many of the museums…

Toured the Monuments in the evening (highly recommended)…

Encountered most of the major monuments and
walked along a lot of the streets and passages:

Saw things that you don’t really expect…

And had an absolutely fabulous time doing it… That’s all for this little section, but feel free to ask questions about that trip as well. We learned a lot, and really want to go back some time in the near future to take in even more of the city and history.

 

[jc040404]

Subbing! Looks interesting so far. POR really pulled me in though. I'll be staying there next month and cannot get excited over it. Hoping to find out you liked it!

 

[heaven2dc]

I'm in!! I am very embarrassed to say that I live 40 miles south of D.C. and have only visited it twice in 9 1/2 years (I know....shame on me!)

I came to screeching halt when viewing your pics...was that Dumbo? In one of the museums?!! Can't wait to read more

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

Subbing! Looks interesting so far. POR really pulled me in though. I'll be staying there next month and cannot get excited over it. Hoping to find out you liked it!

Welcome and thanks for joining in.
When are you traveling down to The World?

And… Just to let you know, we did enjoy our stay at POR and will certainly keep it as an option for future trips. I plan to write this TR up at a fairly good clip (if I can keep up the momentum, I’d like to be done before we leave on our trip in June), so I’ll get to the specifics of arriving at and settling in to Port Orleans Riverside by the end of the week.

Feel free to ask specific questions and I’ll be glad to toss back my take on the situation.

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

I'm in!! I am very embarrassed to say that I live 40 miles south of D.C. and have only visited it twice in 9 1/2 years (I know....shame on me!)

I came to screeching halt when viewing your pics...was that Dumbo? In one of the museums?!! Can't wait to read more

You caught the Disney reference!!!

Oh… wait a minute; I got that out of order…

Welcome! I’m glad to have you along for the ride.
Now then…

You caught the Disney reference!!!

That most certainly is one of the “cars” form the original “Dumbo” ride at Disneyland. It's located in the Smithsonian Museum of American History. You’ll find it along side Edith & Archie’s chairs, Fonzie’s jacket and Dorothy’s ruby slippers.

Like I said, our week in DC was a smashing success, so I selfishly decided to add a little plug for that trip here as well. It was worth a TR of it’s own, but being as this is the Dis Boards, I figured I’d better not dwell too long on it. Now having said that, please feel free to ask questions about that trip as well (and that goes for the rest of y’all too).

BTW: Here’s another “Hidden Mickey" that I found in a compleatly different part of the Smithsonian:

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

Chapter 2: A Diabolical Plan

As I said, this expedition was not supposed to happen. We’ve done “The Mouse” before (many times before) but we keep coming back because we just love the way that Disney does things. So despite having other plans in the works, I still really wanted to go back down to The World (selfish I know). With this in mind… I set a diabolical plan into motion.

First, I started a discussion on what all everyone wanted for Christmas that year. I knew what the important answers would be, because they’re usually the same in our house. I wanted everyone to keep their money and not buy me anything (which they never do). Max really didn’t want anything specific either so he said that cash would be best. Disclaimer time… This is normal for all the guys on my side of the family. We love the Christmas season and especially the family gatherings that generally take place, but we just aren’t so big on the gift receiving aspect (gift giving is a different matter, especially to charity). I certainly don’t mind giving gifts to others; I just don’t really want any given back to me (I think I just repeated myself). What I need I already have and the unnecessary things I might want are entirely too expensive to be given as gifts... By anyone… But this point of view is neither normal nor very “Modern American” and causes problems for everyone else, as you’ll see.

The wife’s family is far more traditional (and far more normal). It’s not a materialistic thing either (so don’t read that into the story). They’re also a very family oriented bunch, but there was always an importance assigned to giving a good, thoughtful gift and on giving one that was both wanted and would be enjoyed for years to come. Needless to say, Tamara was just frustrated by the fact the boys (and for the ump-teenth time, mind you) didn’t know what they wanted and for that matter never knew what the wanted. So she retaliated by pointing out that every man in this house was more stubborn then an old cat, and that included our old cat (and she’s right on this point as well). So, for that reason she was also refusing to pick anything for herself. Luckily for me, this is exactly the result I was looking for (yah… I should be beaten, but it get’s better I promise).

Given this set up, (and a little bit of time for all to calm down) I then suggested that we skip the expense of presents entirely (for each other that is) and go down to Disney during the Christmas season. It’s something that we’d all enjoy and besides, memories are better then things (and believe me, I wish I’d learned that last part years ago because it just gets truer and more evident with each passing year). From this point it didn’t take all that long to talk her into at least looking at what kind of deals were available. Of course that would lead to the next hurdle. There are plenty of good deals at Disney during the early part of December, but (as all you veterans know) not generally during the week of Christmas. We, however, are bound to the school calendar, so traveling earlier in the month wasn’t happening. At first we considered staying off site, which would have been fine, but I really like being in the World. Options-2: was to stay at Pop Century (which we really like) and try to eat on the cheap (which we can do if necessary). But then Option-3 reared it head in the form of a DDP offer, which allowed us to upgrade to a moderate resort, for 4 nights with meals included for only a little more then we were originally budgeting for the room and park tickets in the first place.

That settled it. We were going. We were staying at Port Orleans – Riverside (which would be a new resort for us). We were going to be “On World” during Christmas time (which we’d never done before). And, based on those fateful decisions we would end up adding another highly enjoyable trip to Disney, but we’d also learn a few new lessons along the way.

More to come…

 

[BookTrout]

Hey, this looks so interesting and I really enjoy seeing the Capital photos. I would love to go there and spend a week sometime but, for now I'll just be visiting through your pics. Can't wait to read your WDW TR, too.
Sharon

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

Hey, this looks so interesting and I really enjoy seeing the Capital photos. I would love to go there and spend a week sometime but, for now I'll just be visiting through your pics. Can't wait to read your WDW TR, too.
Sharon

Howdy Sharon and welcome aboard.
I’m honestly surprised that I’ve attracted any interest at all. My English teachers would certainly be stunned (based on the grades they generally gave me). If you get the chance to visit DC, take it. You’ll see much and learn much.

If all y’all keep asking, I might just have to post additional DC pictures every once and a while. Kind’a like a PSA randomly distributed throughout the TR.

 

[GoHerd1028]

Love the DC trip pictures...anxiously awaiting more trip report