oybolshoi
DIS Legend
- Joined
- Aug 16, 2004
- Messages
- 11,879
Hidely-ho, fellow DISers!! I'm just now getting around to an actual trip report for our October WDW visit...I did the food report months ago and then my creative train derailed. And I don't mean it jumped the tracks...this baby plunged off a suspension bridge similar to the one spanning the Royal Gorge in Colorado and fell all the way into Middle Earth before being spewed back out by some Orcs. 
Anyway, I'm a long-time lurker on this section of the DIS but I've never had a chance to write anything about a WDW trip, so thanks in advance for sharing the adventure with me and my goofy family.
The lunatics starring in this tale:
Oybolshoi (Brenda -37): I dream, I plan, I spend...and spend, and spend, and spend. I enjoy the Travel Channel so much my husband is thinking of getting a parental control to prevent my watching it while he's not around to stem the ever-rising tide of, "Why don't we go here; Wouldn't that be romantic; and the deadly but highly effective: I've always wanted to do that, haven't you?" Thanks to certain medications and health issues that came to a head during 2006, my family and I were able to experience WDW while riding a wild roller coaster of hormonal imbalances...exciting details to follow!
Jason (DH - 36): Goes with the flow and never complains about all the luggage we end up bringing with us even though he's the one who has to carry it all. The best husband a girl could hope for - probably deserves a Congressional Medal of Honor after putting up with me and my hormones this year. Laid back, agreeable, intelligent, handsome...he doesn't mind spending the college fund on vacations because our cat isn't interested in higher education.
Kathy (my mom - 62): Says she likes Disney but can't understand how anyone could stay at WDW for more than four days. Back in the early 70s when we lived in Kissimmee she was actually a secretary in Disney's corporate offices. Today she's a slot jockey with a lady-luck chip on her shoulder the size of Royal Gorge and the attention span of a 5-year old.
Jon (my step-dad - 68): Recently retired, too smart for his own good, all around super-nice guy - the only father I've really ever had. He has a Phd in Biology and Chemistry and loves to travel as long as said travel doesn't always involve a casino.
A bit of background...we'd been planning this trip since October 2005 and convinced my parents to join us as our guests for a week at the Beach Club Villas (we're DVC owners there). We were very excited to introduce them to the F&W Festival and to give them a chance to try some Disney Dining, including Victoria & Albert's. However, knowing my parents, I convinced Jason that we needed some time without them and booked us into Saratoga Springs (we're also owners here) for a few nights before the parental unit was scheduled to join us. A little alone time is always a good thing.
As for me...2006 was the year of endometriosis with a baaaad attitude... I had surgery in January...took 6 months of Lupron...had surgery again early in September this time with partial ovarian removal (both sides). I mention this because you will read references to the many and varied pills I took with me on this trip...I'm not a junkie, I swear! (denial is always the first sign - )
The weeks leading up to our departure were full...recovering from the second laparoscopy was hard, work was busier than it should have been thanks to chronic under-staffing, there was playoff baseball to be watched (Go Cardinals!), and all the travel details had to be finalized by yours truly in between doses of percocet and darvocet. Worrying is something that comes naturally to me...when I wasn't worrying about the weather (where have all the hurricanes gone?) I was worrying about dining reservations (what if no one likes my choices?) and my parents (will they end up in divorce court after this trip?). And on top of it all, nibbling at the back of my mind, was one stubborn question that refused to go away: how on earth does a doctor perform a laparoscopy on a woman who has an "outie" for a belly-button?
Thank goodness for a close friend who is married to a doctor! She asked him that question for me and he answered it, too, after he spent about fifteen minutes laughing hysterically at my medical ignorance. The short answer, by the way, is that it doesn't matter.
So, what's on tap for this trip?
The dates: October 18 - October 28, 2006
First base of operations: Saratoga Springs (brenda & jason only, 10/18/-10/21)
Second base of operations: Beach Club Villas (the gang's all here, 10/21-10/28)
A brief overview of our intinerary....
October 18 - fly into Orlando from St. Louis, check in at SSR, spend the afternoon at the Mandara Spa at the Dolphin, have dinner at House of Blues, and watch some playoff baseball (but not too closely, we wouldn't want to jinx the birds!). Page 2
October 19 - Scope out the Food & Wine Festival at Epcot with our "free" tickets, try a "free" beer seminar, attend a Food & Wine Pairing, go back to the hotel and enjoy the pool, check out the Adventurers Club, and watch some playoff baseball (it's too late to pretend we don't care!) Pages 3, 4, 5, and 6
October 20 - Breakfast at the Kona, exploring the Wilderness Lodge, exploring SSR, hanging at the pool, dinner and drinking at Raglan Road and pre-world series celebrations! Pages 7, 8 and 9
October 21 - "cue music from Night on the Bald Mountain"...the parents are arriving this afternoon. Move from SSR to BCV, start using those park hoppers, get into another pool, dinner at Rose & Crown, and Illuminations...sort of. Oh yeah...baseball! Pages 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15
October 22 - Sweet Sundays at Epcot, escape from the parents at MGM, Hurricane Hannahs, do you people ever leave the pool, dinner at the Plaza, EMH at the Magic Kingdom, Ah...fireworks, and we love the Cardinals. Pages 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, and 25
October 23 - Early morning at the Animal Kingdom, Expedition Everest is awesome, lunch at Epcot, alcohol at the Grand Floridian with some friends from across the Ocean, a fancy do at the beauty parlor, Plankton makes an appearance, and dinner at Victoria & Albert's. Pages 29, 31, 33, 34, 35, 37, 39, and 40
October 24 - Who let this cold front into Florida? Epcot...more food...a food and wine pairing in Morocco, MNSSHP and yep, you guessed it...the world series! Pages 43, 44, 49, 51, 52, 53, and 54
**Plankton Video - Page 46**
October 25 - Character breakfast, MGM, another escape from the parents, Beaches & Cream, why isn't the pool heated, more food at Epcot - no baseball means no tuna pita at the ESPN club. Pages 55, 62, 63, and 64
October 26 - The Magic Behind the Steam Trains Tour...more food at Epcot (it never ends)...another dip in the pool, dinner at the Califorina Grill...sleeping through a thrilling victory. Pages 58, 59, 66, 67, in progress
October 27 - The Magic Kingdom, The Yacht Club Galley, Afternoon Tea, one last visit to Epcot, room service, and how the heck did that happen???
October 28 - return to Stinktown.
Thanks for reading - Day 1 will be coming soon to a thread near you!
Anyway, I'm a long-time lurker on this section of the DIS but I've never had a chance to write anything about a WDW trip, so thanks in advance for sharing the adventure with me and my goofy family.
The lunatics starring in this tale:
Oybolshoi (Brenda -37): I dream, I plan, I spend...and spend, and spend, and spend. I enjoy the Travel Channel so much my husband is thinking of getting a parental control to prevent my watching it while he's not around to stem the ever-rising tide of, "Why don't we go here; Wouldn't that be romantic; and the deadly but highly effective: I've always wanted to do that, haven't you?" Thanks to certain medications and health issues that came to a head during 2006, my family and I were able to experience WDW while riding a wild roller coaster of hormonal imbalances...exciting details to follow!
Jason (DH - 36): Goes with the flow and never complains about all the luggage we end up bringing with us even though he's the one who has to carry it all. The best husband a girl could hope for - probably deserves a Congressional Medal of Honor after putting up with me and my hormones this year. Laid back, agreeable, intelligent, handsome...he doesn't mind spending the college fund on vacations because our cat isn't interested in higher education.
Kathy (my mom - 62): Says she likes Disney but can't understand how anyone could stay at WDW for more than four days. Back in the early 70s when we lived in Kissimmee she was actually a secretary in Disney's corporate offices. Today she's a slot jockey with a lady-luck chip on her shoulder the size of Royal Gorge and the attention span of a 5-year old.
Jon (my step-dad - 68): Recently retired, too smart for his own good, all around super-nice guy - the only father I've really ever had. He has a Phd in Biology and Chemistry and loves to travel as long as said travel doesn't always involve a casino.
A bit of background...we'd been planning this trip since October 2005 and convinced my parents to join us as our guests for a week at the Beach Club Villas (we're DVC owners there). We were very excited to introduce them to the F&W Festival and to give them a chance to try some Disney Dining, including Victoria & Albert's. However, knowing my parents, I convinced Jason that we needed some time without them and booked us into Saratoga Springs (we're also owners here) for a few nights before the parental unit was scheduled to join us. A little alone time is always a good thing.
As for me...2006 was the year of endometriosis with a baaaad attitude... I had surgery in January...took 6 months of Lupron...had surgery again early in September this time with partial ovarian removal (both sides). I mention this because you will read references to the many and varied pills I took with me on this trip...I'm not a junkie, I swear! (denial is always the first sign -
)The weeks leading up to our departure were full...recovering from the second laparoscopy was hard, work was busier than it should have been thanks to chronic under-staffing, there was playoff baseball to be watched (Go Cardinals!), and all the travel details had to be finalized by yours truly in between doses of percocet and darvocet. Worrying is something that comes naturally to me...when I wasn't worrying about the weather (where have all the hurricanes gone?) I was worrying about dining reservations (what if no one likes my choices?) and my parents (will they end up in divorce court after this trip?). And on top of it all, nibbling at the back of my mind, was one stubborn question that refused to go away: how on earth does a doctor perform a laparoscopy on a woman who has an "outie" for a belly-button?
Thank goodness for a close friend who is married to a doctor! She asked him that question for me and he answered it, too, after he spent about fifteen minutes laughing hysterically at my medical ignorance. The short answer, by the way, is that it doesn't matter.
So, what's on tap for this trip?
The dates: October 18 - October 28, 2006
First base of operations: Saratoga Springs (brenda & jason only, 10/18/-10/21)
Second base of operations: Beach Club Villas (the gang's all here, 10/21-10/28)
A brief overview of our intinerary....
October 18 - fly into Orlando from St. Louis, check in at SSR, spend the afternoon at the Mandara Spa at the Dolphin, have dinner at House of Blues, and watch some playoff baseball (but not too closely, we wouldn't want to jinx the birds!). Page 2
October 19 - Scope out the Food & Wine Festival at Epcot with our "free" tickets, try a "free" beer seminar, attend a Food & Wine Pairing, go back to the hotel and enjoy the pool, check out the Adventurers Club, and watch some playoff baseball (it's too late to pretend we don't care!) Pages 3, 4, 5, and 6
October 20 - Breakfast at the Kona, exploring the Wilderness Lodge, exploring SSR, hanging at the pool, dinner and drinking at Raglan Road and pre-world series celebrations! Pages 7, 8 and 9
October 21 - "cue music from Night on the Bald Mountain"...the parents are arriving this afternoon. Move from SSR to BCV, start using those park hoppers, get into another pool, dinner at Rose & Crown, and Illuminations...sort of. Oh yeah...baseball! Pages 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15
October 22 - Sweet Sundays at Epcot, escape from the parents at MGM, Hurricane Hannahs, do you people ever leave the pool, dinner at the Plaza, EMH at the Magic Kingdom, Ah...fireworks, and we love the Cardinals. Pages 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, and 25
October 23 - Early morning at the Animal Kingdom, Expedition Everest is awesome, lunch at Epcot, alcohol at the Grand Floridian with some friends from across the Ocean, a fancy do at the beauty parlor, Plankton makes an appearance, and dinner at Victoria & Albert's. Pages 29, 31, 33, 34, 35, 37, 39, and 40
October 24 - Who let this cold front into Florida? Epcot...more food...a food and wine pairing in Morocco, MNSSHP and yep, you guessed it...the world series! Pages 43, 44, 49, 51, 52, 53, and 54
**Plankton Video - Page 46**
October 25 - Character breakfast, MGM, another escape from the parents, Beaches & Cream, why isn't the pool heated, more food at Epcot - no baseball means no tuna pita at the ESPN club. Pages 55, 62, 63, and 64
October 26 - The Magic Behind the Steam Trains Tour...more food at Epcot (it never ends)...another dip in the pool, dinner at the Califorina Grill...sleeping through a thrilling victory. Pages 58, 59, 66, 67, in progress
October 27 - The Magic Kingdom, The Yacht Club Galley, Afternoon Tea, one last visit to Epcot, room service, and how the heck did that happen???
October 28 - return to Stinktown.
Thanks for reading - Day 1 will be coming soon to a thread near you!
This one is gonna be good! 
Luckily for me Gandalf took care of that nasty Balrog right before my train derailed, otherwise my TR would read like this: Hi, my name is Brenda and I'm married to a man named Jason. We went to WDW for ten days in October and my parents joined us for a while. We did a lot of stuff and ate a lot of food - it was fun. I wish we were there right now. Thanks for reading. 
