8 hrs away... 12 days at BWV during F&W, LIVE! *FINAL UPDATE #96*

[MissMet]

It’s finally time to start the planning for our WDW vacation and this one is way over due!

I decided to try doing a pre-trip report & a live trip report. I have never done a pre trip report before. I have done one live trip report before and I feel like I did a good job, but I may be a little partial. I took friends who had never gone, so we were doing commando style and then some! If you want to read a trip report that covers almost every must see on WDW for a first timer than this is the one for you:

Four Twenty Somethings Take On WDWhttp://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1699501


This trip will be a much more relaxed 10 days (NOW 12!!! updated on post #25) with afternoon breaks, so I'll deffinitly be able to keep up with it. The live tr is actually one of the parts I'm very excited about. Also, since my last trip I purchased a Nikon D60 dslr camera, so I can't wait to play around with it at WDW! I promise you my trip report will have the most pictures ever! Oh! I can't wait! Okay, maybe not ever, but it will definitely have more than enough to enjoy!

I hope you guys will follow my reports & let this newbie know how I'm doing. Sorry if this begining part is a little long winded, there's quite a long background to this trip. I promise I wont be so long winded the entire report. Well, I probably will but I'll just give long & short versions for you to choose from.

And if you're following this please say hi.

Enjoy!

Up next: Introductions

 

[MissMet]

Introductions

Okay, now for the introductions. This trip I will be going with my parents. They have been taking me to WDW since 1989 (hey, it’s our 20 year anniversary going!) & I couldn’t thank them enough for all those wonderful trips! Both my parents & myself are DVC members.

Me (Lisa)- I’ll be just about 24 when it comes time for the trip. I grew up with WDW in my life & feel so blessed that I did. I was ready to buy into DVC at the age of 17, but felt I better finish school first, so I convinced my parents to purchase and then I finally bought two years ago. My goal is to have DVC paid off before I’m married, so that way my family will enjoy “free” WDW vacations...one less expense to worry about.

My favorite resort is Boardwalk since a special Mother/Daughter trip where we did a split stay at CR Tower with a MK view & BWI. I have yet to stay in a BW view room, that’s been my dream stay since first falling in love with BWV. My favorite “ride” is Mickey’s Philharmagic. Growing up it was Small World & Kitchen Caberet/Food Rocks. I had the Small World book with the cassette that you would read along with & it had the song in the background... I would drive my brother CRAZY playing it over & over.


Dad- He is 61 years old and has learned in his 39 years of marriage to just go with the flow. He loves WDW & could sit on Mainstreet or at the Boardwalk for his entire trip. I have him to thank for my fear of scary rides... Thanks dad!

His favorite resort is Beach Club, although we have yet to stay there and his favorite ride is probably Ellen’s... he loves his power naps! I think in the 20 years we’ve been going he has yet to see that whole ride.


Mom- She is 59 years old, don’t tell anyone. She loves WDW as well. She says she could just sit with my dad on Mainstreet the entire trip, but we all know she’s the wild one of the bunch & that would only last maybe a day. She was one of those mom’s that would force her kid onto every ride, whether they were scared or not. Thanks mom. To this day I love to tease her about this fact & reflect on those terrifying rides on Maelstrom & Haunted Mansion. She also has to be one of the most sarcastic people I know & I have her to thank for my sense of humor.

Her favorite resort is the Boardwalk. Her favorite ride is Space Mountain & screams on every drop & jolt. Riding it with her makes it even more fun than the ride actually is.



I also have an older brother (25) who you may have read about in my previous trip report. He just started a new job & could not get off of work so he will be unable to join us on this trip. We’ll send him a postcard.

 

[MissMet]

This post is giving you some background on why this trip will be more special than usual. I put two versions, long or short & to the point.

Short & to the point: To some it up, my mom's health had declined & she was forced to use a wheelchair for the last few years. This will be her first trip back without that dreaded wheelchair!


Very long winded version:Quite a few years ago now, my mom struggled badly with fibroid tumors & towards the end started to have a lot of pain in her hip. They finally decided to have her get a histarectame to alleviate the problem. She went ahead with the surgery, with no complications. After surgery she was told she had a very large tumor that was putting pressure on her hip that they removed. She went home to recover. About a week or so later her doctor called and asked her to come into the office and to not come alone. So since my dad was working, I went with her. We really didn’t know what to think since, she was recovering beautifully & the surgery had no complications. At her appointment my mom’s doctor sat her down and told her that “her God” was with her in that operating room. My mom’s doctor is this older, tiny Indian lady who speaks very broken English, so it was cute, but scary all at the same time. They had tested the tumor that was taken out during the surgery & they had received the results. Apparently, there we encapsulated, sarcoma cancer cells intertwined in the tumor- that's a mouth full. My mom’s doctor told her that if she had cut an inch over she would have cut through those cells and they would have spread through her body very quickly. She said if that had happened my mom would have had maybe 6 months. Wow! So of coarse we were in shock & soooo greatful & amazed at how lucky we were. My mom had to follow up with an oncologist & continues to this day. She is cancer free & we are so greatfull!

After the surgery though, the pain in her hip was still there and she couldn’t understand why. My mom has very high tollerence for pain & like I said she was a nurse for 30+ years so of coarse she just brushed it off & lived with it. The night before she was to deliver me, she had fallen off a two-step ladder while wallpapering (yeah, who wallpapers on a two-step ladder at 9 months pregnant...only my mom!) and broke her tailbone. She didn’t know it until after she delivered me & still had extreme pain. The doctor told her there was nothing he could do, but that when I was in my 20s she’d feel it. She always talked about that story, so when I was in my twenties & she had back/hip pain she chalked it off. As the years went by the pain was getting worse & worse. She really started to suffer and started to need a wheelchair for long distances. So she FINALLY scheduled an appointment to have it checked out. They say nurses make the worst patients & they are right!! She went in for xrays & found out that that tumor had put such a strain on her hip that it crushed it. So they told her she needed a hip replacement & scheduled the surgery.

Just before the surgery her Doctor got into a lot of trouble & ended up closing his practice due to lawsuits from previous patients. So, no surgery. Well, that caused my mom to really fear getting it done & kept putting off finding a new doctor & really was afraid of the surgery.

As a nurse she had taken care of patients who went throught the exact surgery she was going to have to face and I think that fact alone caused her to completely fear the surgery. She knew exactly what to expect. As time went on it got worse & worse to the point that she could no longer walk. Finally, I begged her to get the surgery. She was in constant pain, with no relief. So after a 6 year ordeal, yes, 6 years, she got the surgery. It was the hardest time of all of our lives, but especially hers. After the surgery her doctor came out & said she waited way too long, yeah, you didn’t have to tell us that. He said that she had a piece of bone, he called it a “rock”, in between her joint & is amazed that she could even function. After surgery, was a very tough recovery. The pain was pretty bad. She was heavily medicated and now has barely any memories of anything that happened in those 4 weeks. I stayed with her in the guest room, so that way my dad could sleep, as he had to work. We had my alarm set to go off every 4 hours for medication & she had to get up every to to go to the bathroom. This went on for the 4 weeks between Thanksgiving & Christmas. It was exhausting & maddening. It so hard to see someone you love in pain & there is nothing you can do, especially when it's your mother. We joke now that I’m totally prepared for having a baby, ‘cause that’s what it was. Up every two hours helping her in & out of bed, giving her meds, feeding her, feeling helpless at times, etc. It was totally worth it though. She says now she should have never waited so long, but also says it was the hardest thing she’s ever had to go through.

I’m happy to report that we are at her 6 month mark & she’s doing awesome. She can walk with no pain. She doesn’t limp at all. She still has some days that are bad, especially when it rains, but that is to be expected the first year of recovery. Now, we’re working on getting her stamina back up. The last 3 years of this whole process she only walked maybe 12 steps at a time. So that’s been the biggest thing now.

We have such a new appreciation for our health & how blessed we are that we can walk pain free. You never think about that & really take advantage of how healthy you are until you or someone in your life is in pain.



Up next: You’re now a bionic woman, what are you gonna do next? I’m going to Disney World!

 

[MissMet]

Okay, so now for how this trip came to be. During my mom’s recovery we started to talk about how we didn’t even have our next WDW trip planned & that she could not wait to be able to go on a WDW vacation & be able to walk. So we decided we gotta go! We then began the "planning talk" as she came in & out of conciseness, morphine is an interesting thing.

Our first thought: “When should we go?” Normally we ALWAYS go the first & second week of Nov. My mom’s b-day is on the 6th so we would always be there for that. Well I knew I wanted to go during F&WF, but I hated going the first week of Nov ‘cause it’s the last week of F&WF and Jersey Week. We decided to go earlier in F&WF. So we decided on Sept 30 - Oct 9. Which ended up becoming Sept 27 - Oct 9. Sept 27 - 28 we will visit family then drive in (45 minutes away) on the 30th.

Next thought: “Where are we gonna stay?”. Last trip I stayed at SSR, probably my least favorite DVC resort... that’s putting it nicely. The last time my parents went was with me & we stayed at AKL. My mom’s favorite resort is BWV & mine too. My dad’s favorite is BCV. Okay, so we decided we definitely want to stay at an Epcot resort, in Oct...during F&WF & neither one is our home resorts. You see where this is going right? If you’re familiar with DVC you know that all of those variables combined make it very difficult (impossible) to get a reservation. My mom really wanted BWV & it didn’t take much convincing for me either. My dad just goes with the flow & really enjoys BWV, but LOVES BCV’s pool. So we decide BWV it is... but how are we gonna do it. I hate the whole wait-list scenario of not knowing & having your hopes up & my mom really wanted to stay there. So I did what any daughter would do, I told her “no” & talked her out of it. No, really I did. I came up with every possible reason on why BWV wouldn’t be a good idea & that Wilderness Lodge would be so much better. I think it was the drugs, because she ended up agreeing with me. Then she was asleep like two sentences later.

Let the work begin. I knew there was no way I was gonna take my mom on this special of a trip & not have her stay at her dream resort. We’ve stayed at BW two times. Once was a split stay, so we were only at BWI for 4 days. The other time was also a split stay & we were only at BWV for 3 days. So she has always wanted to stay 10 days at BWV & during F&WF, well that just tops it off, so I had a lot of work to do. I weighed my options. We were at 10 months out, so I could book at one of my home resorts & then at 7 months out try for BWV & hope I get it & if not, go on the wait-list. Ugh. Then I got the idea, I’m just gonna rent points from a member who’s home is BWV & then either rent out my points that I would have used for this trip or use those points to go with some friends.

After that decision, the plans fell into place pretty quickly. I hopped onto DIS & found this awesome family who were unable to go in ’09 & wanted some extra spending money for Christmas gifts. I was sold, I’m getting my mom her dream stay & I’m helping make some kiddies Christmas great. It’s a win win! So the dvc member called MS & secured me a 2 bedroom...wait for it... wait for it...BW view room!!!!!! Holy Mickey, I hit the jackpot! We never thought we’d ever be able to get BW view let alone during F&WF!! She got us bw view for all but the last two nights, where if the wait-list doesn’t come though, we’ll have to move to a preferred room. Fine by me! I couldn’t believe it! I mean this magical, dream WDW trip was really becoming a magical, dream trip!

I was gonna try & surprise my mom, but my mom is a lot like me, or should I say I’m a lot like my mom? The planning is half the fun. So I waited a bit through her recovery, so she would remember the great news & not think it was a drug induced daydream. I told her the news & she was excited & then I said, “Oh, there’s just one other thing, we have bw view.” It was two firsts for me... I have never seen my mom so excited... & I’ve also never seen my mom turn from excitement to anger so quick. After her immediate exclamation, the questions started in that tone, you know the one only a mom has. “How much did this cost you?! We’re paying half! No, we’re paying all of it. You’re not doing this. Lisa! Lisa Marie!” etc. This "conversation" went on for about 5 minutes, the she pretty much gave up. Then the excitement was back & that made it even more worth it, 'cause she really deserves it. I still get some of those "conversations" from time to time as we plan, but I just ignore her, which is so much fun anyway.

My dad has no idea we got BW view, so in the end someone will still be surprised, "cause he loves to BW area. He loves to go out on the BW & enjoy a cup of coffee each morning & now he can do it right from our balcony... oh, wait knowing my dad he doesn't just enjoy a cup of coffee, I'm sure the fact that there's a bakery down there helps.



Up next: ADR Time!

 

[MissMet]

Okay so since I still have no one following me...

I thought I'd share my desktop picture. It's my favorite... not mine personally, but I'm planning to recreate it this trip.



Up next... begging for subscribers.
Just kidding. I'm really do this as more of a keepsake- it's a bonus if I actually have people following.

Later tonight I'll post my ADR hopes... I call tomorrow!

Oh, yeah! They released the Oct park hours today! I thought for sure I would be making all my adrs without knowing, but this month they actually posted them on the 1st!

I'm so excited!

 

[MissMet]

I make the ADR call tomorrow. I would love to try out the new online ADR system but apparently it doesn't recognize DVC confirmation numbers. So tomorrow I'll try online, but if it doesn't work I'll call.

So here it is. It's "The List". I tried to pick a lot more new restaurants that we have yet to try. By the end of this trip, if I get all my adrs, I will have completely eaten around the WS.

Here it is...

Wed, Sept 30 'Ohana @ 6:30 (family favorite tradition)
Thurs, Oct 1 San Angel Inn @ 5:45 (parents have never been)
Fri, Oct 2 Biergarten @ 5:30 (I have never been)
Sat, Oct 3 Tokyo Dining @ 1:30 (we have never been)
Sun, Oct 4 Tutto Italia @ 12:30 (we haven't been since the changeover)
Mon, Oct 5 Tony's @ 1:30 (mom's favorite)
Tues, Oct 6 Restaurant Akershus @ 6:30 (we have never been)
Wed, Oct 7 Rose & Crown @ 1:30 (dad's favorite)
Thurs, Oct 8 ESPN Club, whenever, they don't take ADRs (we have never been)
Fri, Oct 9 T-Rex @ 12ish, they don't take ADRs (we have never been)

So there it is. I'm anxious to make the call tomorrow. I really hope I get all of the ADRs. Before I go to bed, I want to look into some back-up restaurants. I'm not sure which ones though... so I gotta get on it.


Up next... ADR update.

 

[jess20k]

I'm in! I am looking forward to reading more!

 

[annnewjerz]

Hi there

Even though you are a Mets fan (and I sincerely hope that the Phillies beat them tomorrow while we are at the game )---I'm in!!

I totally understand wanting to give your DM her "dream trip." We'll be going in December, just me, DH and my DM and we rented points to stay at The Boardwalk Villas. No boardwalk view for us, but the fact that we will only be a hop, skip and jump away from Epcot and DHS and we've only ever stayed at a value AND we'll be there to see all of the decorations totally makes up for the lack of boardwalk view for us.

AND---I expect some truly spectacular pictures when you get back (or at the very least if they aren't spectacular, I hope there's LOTS AND LOTS of them ) I had a D60 and upgraded a few months ago to the D90 and our short weekend trip in October for MNSSHP will be my first time to WDW with a dSLR, it'll be practice for our long trip in December.

Looking forward to reading (and viewing) more!!

Ann

 

[MissMet]

I'm in! I am looking forward to reading more!

Oh, I'm so excited! Thanks for coming along.

Hi there

Even though you are a Mets fan (and I sincerely hope that the Phillies beat them tomorrow while we are at the game )---I'm in!!

I totally understand wanting to give your DM her "dream trip." We'll be going in December, just me, DH and my DM and we rented points to stay at The Boardwalk Villas. No boardwalk view for us, but the fact that we will only be a hop, skip and jump away from Epcot and DHS and we've only ever stayed at a value AND we'll be there to see all of the decorations totally makes up for the lack of boardwalk view for us.

AND---I expect some truly spectacular pictures when you get back (or at the very least if they aren't spectacular, I hope there's LOTS AND LOTS of them ) I had a D60 and upgraded a few months ago to the D90 and our short weekend trip in October for MNSSHP will be my first time to WDW with a dSLR, it'll be practice for our long trip in December.

Looking forward to reading (and viewing) more!!

Ann

Well, first off, odds are your hopes will be met, since we have literally lost half our team, no exaggeration, it's not very hard to beat us. I hope you have a good time tomorrow & nice weather.

That's so exciting you'll be staying at BW. It's my favorite resort! I just love it there, bw view or not. You're gonna love it!

Spectacular, no, but LOTS & LOTS, definitely! This will be my first trip with a dslr & as of now I have no clue what I'm doing. Can we say full auto mode. I bought the camera because I have had a love of photography from a young age & never acted on it. So I bought the camera & am now in the beginning stages of teaching myself. I may even take a private lesson or two before going. I'm dying to see what it will do out of auto mode.

I have always loved trip reports with lots of photos & on top of that I've always taken LOTS of photos on vacation. My last trip to wdw, before the dslr, I took 650 after deleting a bunch. That was the camando trip when I didn't have a lot of time as it was & I just had a simple point & shoot.

So my report will be full of them.



Thanks again guys for following... it was getting a little weird writing to myself.

 

[annnewjerz]

Oh, I'm so excited! Thanks for coming along.

Well, first off, odds are your hopes will be met, since we have literally lost half our team, no exaggeration, it's not very hard to beat us. I hope you have a good time tomorrow & nice weather.

I know I hope they take full advantage, we've been playing like crap recently too---so we're in a similar boat unfortunately!

That's so exciting you'll be staying at BW. It's my favorite resort! I just love it there, bw view or not. You're gonna love it!

When DH and I went in 2007 to WDW, we stayed at All-Star but made two trips to the Boardwalk for dinner and took a stroll around the hotel. You'd think the theme wouldn't be that appealing considering I'm born and raised in South Jersey and DH's parents live in Ocean City, NJ---but we fell in love. DH's response to seeing it was "One day, we're going to stay here, I don't care how long we have to save" and luckily this year we found a GREAT DISer that was willing to rent us points, so we'll be there sooner than we ever thought we would

Spectacular, no, but LOTS & LOTS, definitely! This will be my first trip with a dslr & as of now I have no clue what I'm doing. Can we say full auto mode. I bought the camera because I have had a love of photography from a young age & never acted on it. So I bought the camera & am now in the beginning stages of teaching myself. I may even take a private lesson or two before going. I'm dying to see what it will do out of auto mode.

I have always loved trip reports with lots of photos & on top of that I've always taken LOTS of photos on vacation. My last trip to wdw, before the dslr, I took 650 after deleting a bunch. That was the camando trip when I didn't have a lot of time as it was & I just had a simple point & shoot.

I think I have seen you post a few times before, but you should really check out the Photo Board. SO MANY great photographers willing to answer any/all questions (and trust me, I ask my fair share)---you can get constructive criticism on your shots and in general you can just learn SO MUCH. If you ever have any questions and don't want to post publicly, you can always ask me if you want! Being a former D60 owner, I feel like I might be able to offer some insight........

......maybe........

Thanks again guys for following... it was getting a little weird writing to myself.

I feel your pain. I have an October AND December PTR started and about 85% of the replies are all my own. It's depressing, but I'm hoping to woo people with a bunch of photos when I get back in hopes that they will read my TR. I'll use threats---if I don't get comments, no more pictures---and I know how people love to look at pictures (I know I do!)

Okay I'll stop now. Just watching the Phillies lose to Atlanta, so needless to say I was a little bored with some extra time on my hands.

 

[MissMet]

Last night I set my alarm for 5:45am. 1. I wanted to give myself some time to wake up. 2. I wanted some time to get all my stuff together.

I had read that the online ADR system starts at 6:01am. So at exactly 6:01am I started for my first ADR. I wasn't planning for it to work at all because it hasn't been for DVC reservations, but low & behold Disney got it working this morning. So I have to say I LOVE the online ADR system, it is so easy. I always hated calling, it felt like a three hour ordeal!

So anyway, at 6:01am I started. I put in 'Ohana at 6:30... no availability. I then tried every time from 5 - 9:30pm... nothing!! So it did not start on a good note. 'Ohana has always been a family tradition on the first night & now there was no availability. I figured, just continue on & go back to that so here's my before & afters with any changes in orange...

Before:

Wed, Sept 30 'Ohana @ 6:30 (family favorite tradition)
Thurs, Oct 1 San Angel Inn @ 5:45 (parents have never been)
Fri, Oct 2 Biergarten @ 5:30 (I have never been)
Sat, Oct 3 Tokyo Dining @ 1:30 (we have never been)
Sun, Oct 4 Tutto Italia @ 12:30 (we haven't been since the changeover)
Mon, Oct 5 Tony's @ 1:30 (mom's favorite)
Tues, Oct 6 Restaurant Akershus @ 6:30 (we have never been)
Wed, Oct 7 Rose & Crown @ 1:30 (dad's favorite)
Thurs, Oct 8 ESPN Club, whenever, they don't take ADRs (we have never been)
Fri, Oct 9 T-Rex @ 12ish, they don't take ADRs (we have never been)

After:

Wed, Sept 30 Fulton's @ 6:30 (family favorite)
Thurs, Oct 1 San Angel Inn @ 5:45 (parents have never been)
Fri, Oct 2 Biergarten @ 5:30 (I have never been)
Sat, Oct 3 Tokyo Dining @ 1:30 (we have never been)
Sun, Oct 4 Tutto Italia @ 12:30 (we haven't been since the changeover)
Mon, Oct 5 Tony's @ 1:30 (mom's favorite)
Tues, Oct 6 Restaurant Akershus @ 5:10 (we have never been)
Wed, Oct 7 Rose & Crown @ 1:30 (dad's favorite) & 'Ohana @ 5:25pm
Thurs, Oct 8 will be Rose & Crown @ 1:30
Fri, Oct 9 ESPN Club, whenever, they don't take ADRs (we have never been)

So after I got everything else I went back to the first night. I decided that I would make a Fulton's ADR for that night & keep trying for 'Ohana over these 90 days. Worse case scenerio, I suprise my parents with Fulton's as this is another family favorite that we haven't been to in a long time.

Then I went on DIS & saw how hard it had been for everyone to get a 'Ohana resi, I decided I would take advantage of the +10. The thought of going on the trip & not eating at 'Ohana at all, even on a different night was pretty sad. So I figured I'd book 'Ohana for later in the week & I could always cancel it if I got a resi for our first night later.

Now, because of the split stay I could not book adrs for my last two days, so knowing this I planned the two restaurants that don't take adrs for those two days. Once it gets in my window I'm gonna move Rose & Crown to the following day so that we aren't eating at Rose & Crown & 'Ohana on the same day- too much food!

This means I now am not going to T-Rex, but I really want to go & I have a gift card, so we'll make a stop at DTD on the way to my family's from the airport & eat at T-Rex.

Wow, so that one ADR missing really messed with my whole plan. Really because there was not a single restaurant on my list that I was willing to give up. Then when I added Fulton's. I remebered how much we love it & now I'm not willing to give it up either.

Well, if that wasn't the most rambling in a single post in the history of Disboards I would hate to have to read the winner's post! I'll be shocked to read this tomorrow & it even makes sense. It's been a long day!

Have a good night guys.

Up next... Some thoughts about our Itinerary.

 

[MissMet]

I think I have seen you post a few times before, but you should really check out the Photo Board. SO MANY great photographers willing to answer any/all questions (and trust me, I ask my fair share)---you can get constructive criticism on your shots and in general you can just learn SO MUCH. If you ever have any questions and don't want to post publicly, you can always ask me if you want! Being a former D60 owner, I feel like I might be able to offer some insight........

......maybe........

You know it didn't click at first but on your second post I remembered your username. Yeah we chated a little after I bought the dslr. You were the one who told me about that awesome little tripod, which I bought & brought to Hawaii. I'll have to post some pics from that hawaii trip I took which is what almost forced me to FINALLY have the guts to purchase the camera in the first place.

I'm definitely gonna have to take you up on that offer. I haven't had a lot of dis time believe it or not, so I haven't visited the Photo board in a while, but once life slows down a bit I'll definitely be over.

I feel your pain. I have an October AND December PTR started and about 85% of the replies are all my own. It's depressing, but I'm hoping to woo people with a bunch of photos when I get back in hopes that they will read my TR. I'll use threats---if I don't get comments, no more pictures---and I know how people love to look at pictures (I know I do!)

Okay I'll stop now. Just watching the Phillies lose to Atlanta, so needless to say I was a little bored with some extra time on my hands.

I actually just started reading your Oct PTR, so you'll have one more person commenting & subscribed.

Here's my fav Hawaii pic with the d60:

 

[MissMet]

Jess20k - I just noticed you're from PA. Please tell me you are not a Phillies fan as well.

Can you imagine???

The met fan writing a PTR could only get two people following her PTR & they both are Philly fans!

 

[annnewjerz]

Jess20k - I just noticed you're from PA. Please tell me you are not a Phillies fan as well.

Can you imagine???

The met fan writing a PTR could only get two people following her PTR & they both are Philly fans!

If this is the case, how ironic.

 

[MissMet]

Ok, so a tiny update...

I've been checking 'Ohana multiple times a day & still nothing has opened up. I'll keep checking but I'm starting to be more ok with the idea of fulton's the first night. I think it will be a better "celebration" dinner since it's a little fancier, we all love it & we haven't been in 5 years!

Well, tomorrow I leave for a cruise that was planned over a year ago. It's been a long wait & I could really use a vacation, especially from baseball!

I'm bringing my camera so I'll have lots of pics, they won't be awe inspiring but there will be a lot of them. We will be seeing at Bermuda, San Juan PR, St. Thomas & Grand Turk.

Talk to you guys soon & on my return I'll get more into my thoughts on our itinerary & special "off the beaten path" plans for this dream trip.

 

[annnewjerz]

Ok, so a tiny update...

I've been checking 'Ohana multiple times a day & still nothing has opened up. I'll keep checking but I'm starting to be more ok with the idea of fulton's the first night. I think it will be a better "celebration" dinner since it's a little fancier, we all love it & we haven't been in 5 years!

Well, tomorrow I leave for a cruise that was planned over a year ago. It's been a long wait & I could really use a vacation, especially from baseball!

I'm bringing my camera so I'll have lots of pics, they won't be awe inspiring but there will be a lot of them. We will be seeing at Bermuda, San Juan PR, St. Thomas & Grand Turk.

Talk to you guys soon & on my return I'll get more into my thoughts on our itinerary & special "off the beaten path" plans for this dream trip.

Have a great trip---hope the cruisin is great

When I was looking for something special to do on our December trip, I got loads of suggestions, so hopefully I'll be able to help out with somethin!

 

[MissMet]

I'm back, so I figured I'd give a tiny tr for my cruise.

Don't worry, this is not an example of how my WDW tr will be. I LOVE wdw & it will show in my tr. My heart wasn't really in this cruise almost immediately, as you'll soon read about. So needless to say, my heart really isn't in this cruise tr, but I have some pics to share, so here yah go.

Oh, by the way... making a small return to the Dis boards are my best friends Jason & Tonya made famous from my previous tr. They joined me on this cruise as well.

Well, I went on a 9 day caribbean cruise on the Caribbean Princess. I was really looking forward to relaxing on this trip. We went to four ports & we had 5 days at sea. It was nice & relaxing. We visited Bermuda, San Juan, St. Thomas & Grand Turk. My favorite was probably Bermuda.

After only 3 days on the cruise (only having visited Bermuda) we heard devastating news from home. My dad's closest friend's 21 year old son was hit by an out-of-control car and killed. It was such sad news! Luckily we happened to get the news on the morning we pulled into San Juan, which is the easiest port we were visiting to fly out of. My dad knew he was definitely gonna go home, so we called the airlines & found a flight... $389 later (for a one way from pr to ny mind you!) we decided that only he would be able to go home. My mom, myself & a bunch of friends that were sailing with me stayed behind. Looking back that was really a mistake. It was just so unbelievably sad & we had such a helpless feeling. Here we were on a cruise for 6 more days & we only could communicate through e-mail. I felt totally useless & a little guilty to even have fun or be on the cruise. It was just sad. After getting that news it kinda put a damper on the "lets have fun" feel & it really just became a total relaxing vacation. We were on a cruise but our hearts & minds were with the family back home.

Due to this we really just laid low & relaxed. I finally read a great book that I've been trying to read for months, The Time Traveler's Wife. Oh, my God! So good! I was glad I finally had the time to read it, especially because they made it into a movie & it comes out Aug 14. Can't wait!! Hellloooo Eric Bana!

I did a little sightseeing. The most in Bermuda, because that was before we got the news. San Juan is the port I had the most plans for but since we had to pack up my dad & get him to the airport. Then I didn't want to leave my mom alone so I split off from my friends & just hung out with her. So I didn't see as much as I had planned, only about half, but that's okay. I can always go back. St. Thomas was fun. We did a complete tour that included sightseeing, shopping & beach time & that was really nice. Grand Turk was a waste to me. It wasn't a nice beach at all by the ship & my mom is not a beach person, so I didn't want to make her take a taxi & do a full beach day. We just got off the ship, shopped at the 5 stores there & then got back on the ship & laid by the pool.

I bought some really cool jewelry in St. Thomas that I LOVE. I never do anything like that, so I'm happy I did. The ship was huge, so I only gained one pound while on board, which is usually unheard of on a cruise! It always feels like all you do is eat while on a cruise, but I only gained one pound so I was happy about that. I attribute that to the size of the ship. It was huge- the biggest ship I've ever been on. It had 19 decks! I think the DCL magic & wonder have 10 or 12? I almost always took the stairs so I know that helped too.

That's all I can really think of now... I'll post the pics later tonight. Then it back to WDW trip planning!!

I'm only 68 days out!!!! I couldn't believe it when I read it.

 

[MissMet]

Here's some...
I don't know why they came out small, but you can click them to see full size. : )








more coming...

 

[MissMet]

Bermuda...











more coming...

 

[MissMet]

San Juan













more coming later...