A few races and food, some theme parks and food, and a cruise...

[bumbershoot]

This is a pre-trip-report that should cover a couple of trips. I love writing things out, but I don't think I have room in my sig for a bunch *more* PTR and then TR links. I'll run out of room at some point! Or I'll end up having a really full signature, with each letter being a link to a report.

I'm Molly, and I generally travel with husband-Robert and son-Eamon. The kidlet is almost 9, which is just astonishing when I think of it. Then again, I should have expected it as he kept on changing ages. It might come up now and again so I'll mention it here...we do want more, even though I'm aging, and sometimes I get all sniffly about it. So there, that's mentioned.

I homeschool my son (by education I am/was a chiropractor, but I don't practice anymore) while Robert travels all over the world, saving people from e-readers that don't work. (aka he works for amazon, which is where we were both working when we met in 2000, which happened after I closed my practice's doors earlier that year due to my lack of ability to make enough money to feed myself)

That combo of working at/for the home, no school schedule, and his non-9-5 job means tons of airmiles and decent amounts of vacation time that he can actually take in nice chunks. Well, as long as it doesn't send his boss into freakout mode...we try to avoid freakout mode for the boss, and in return, his boss tries not to do annoying things like send Robert away the morning of our son's big recital that he's been working 9 months towards. (yes, nearly happened, just got resolved today)


We enjoy WDW, DLR, and Universal Orlando. We own DVC. We have family that lives in Florida, and enjoy seeing them when we're out there. We would enjoy seeing them if they visited here, too, but that is fairly unlikely to happen, it seems.


I'll get on to my plans in a will-be-posted-post-haste, um, post!

 

[bumbershoot]

Reserving because I really really really hope I get around to making an index that will go here. Indices are lovely things that I really appreciate in the reports I read, and it would sure be sweet of me to make one for the kind and lovely people who might lurk here.



Ooh, a good start!

The Overview

Plans for the 4th

Plans for the 5th, aka Run, Molly, Run!

Plans for the 6th, aka Ouch, my feet!, Ouch!

Plans for the 7th

Plans for the 8th

Plans for the 9th through 13th!



Well THAT index fell by the wayside, didn't it?

How about this? THIS post is the official start of the January Half Marathon planning.

 

[bumbershoot]

Right now our plans (as they relate to Orlando and the surrounding areas) are:


October 2013: Family fun visit AND I'm running the Tower of Terror 10-Miler. Half WDW, half Universal. Not sure if I'll be walking by the 6th, as it'll be my first Disney race and almost certainly my first 10-mile race!


Editing this in here: just figured out that the dining plan for our dates would have been a total of 641.70. So...we'll see if that matches up with what we spend. Of course, we would need to eat one TS, one CS, and one Snack per day. And maybe use 3 reusable mugs.


January 2014: The child and I head east in time for the Marathon Weekend.

He and I do the 5K together.

Next day, he does the Mickey Mile alone. He definitely does not want me to run the course with him...he would actually like to do the 5K on his own as well...he is VERY big into his independence right now.

Next day, and I'm assuming here that I can find someone to hang with the kiddo (see previously mentioned relatives...my aunt adores him and I'm hoping she'll be free for this, though I haven't even mentioned the January trip to anyone but the denizens of the Dis yet), I run the Half Marathon. Whimper. It's my first Half! I'm both excited and frightened at the exact same time!

After that I'm not sure what we'll do but about a week after all of that, Robert will fly out, we'll have some fun in theme parks, and then we'll get on Freedom of the Seas for a week-long cruise. I'm ridiculously excited about this cruise because it's an interesting itinerary. San Juan and St Maarten are two of the ports we'll visit, and both just sound so cool to me, for some reason.


Those two trips will take us to the end of our specially-priced DVC premium passes we activated this February. We've got our second Disney cruise in November, but that is just soooo far away I can't even deal with it. (that one's a cool itinerary too...two stops at Castaway Cay, woo!)



So that's the overview!

 

[happybelle]

Joining in.

 

[bumbershoot]

How cool is that, to have a reader so fast! And wow, that's a nice username, happybelle.

 

[bumbershoot]

I'm super-tired but trying to keep hubby company while he packs for an early early early morning work trip tomorrow, so I'll post a wee bit.


Last December, DVC offered a lovely promotion on Premium APs. Too good to pass up. So we didn't. We ended up making a February trip because my cousin and her family wanted us to check out a Disney Cruise. We did, we hit WDW and Universal, and had a pretty decent trip.

So that started the use of our APs this time. I would have tried to sneak in another trip but the work trips dried up unexpectedly, and therefore the air miles did, too. The main reason for a trip in between would be for Universal; we have APs for that park and just keep on renewing them them because the renewal fee on them has been so sweet. But this AP year we just got the one visit. Just barely worth the renewal. And we barely got to visit Universal this time!

But anyway, that extra trip is not happening.

October holds my birthday, the 10 mile run, and it was decent timing for Robert's work. He had to convince me to do it, because Disney runs are expensive! But I was persuaded at last. (and then I signed up for the half marathon in January. and other things around it. poor checkbook....) And now I'm convincing my body that I DO have time to learn HOW to run that far! Not sure how we're going to work on the humidity part, but I guess a lot of runners are on the same position.

I'm also in the position of training *on the treadmill* right now, without knowing exactly when I'll be getting experience running *on the ground*. I'll get some in a couple weeks with a 5K here, and I hope to sign up for a 10K later in the summer, so that's something...but I really need to work that out!


Last February we stayed for 2 nights pre-cruise at Port Orleans Riverside, and loved it. Now, it was a short 2 nights; we got in around 2am. And Robert had hurt his achilles BIG time, but the ortho he went to said it wasn't that bad, and refused to prescribe a walking boot. (R didn't realize he could just go buy one until last month or so) The dude said that he should just rest and it would heal up. Great advice. For me. But R commutes by foot, rail, bus, and foot again, one way. The other way it's foot, shuttle, rail, rail, foot. There's no resting for his legs. And, of course, the guy ignored the big huge trip we were taking just weeks later.

So anyway, Robert was hurting big-time, especially while at POR, so he barely got to enjoy it.

We're going back to POR for the WDW portion of the trip. I got a deal through runDisney, much better than going through the main website. If an AP discount comes out for that time I'll recheck it, of course, but wow it's hard to believe it could get better. And gosh, all I had to do to get that rate was lay down a couple hundred for my race and the party tickets for DH and DS!

Our days right now look busy, because this trip is shorter than our usual and we're going to Universal as well, but I think we're going to whittle down our "must dos" so we have time for the TRUE must-do of enjoying the resort. We'll be the ones rushing to hit park-opening for a few rides, then running out to Epcot as soon as Kringla bakery opens to get some goodies, then going back to the resort to swim. Lucky we plan on a rental car!

Car: we love having one. We love going to GiftLand for cheaper souvenirs. They also have a good range of official Disney shirts in plus sizes; apart from one sweatshirt found at OKW and one fleece found at Disneyland Hotel, all of DH's Disney shirts have come from GiftLand, because Disney just doesn't stock the bigger sizes. It's a total shame, and it's ridiculous because we see the exact same shirts at World of Disney, etc, but they don't go up to the bigger sizes. So GiftLand has our business, even once DH doesn't need those sizes anymore, because they have helped us out before. We also like going to Sweet Tomatoes for a dinner or two during our stay.

But most importantly, we've not yet had a negative experience in the car. But we have had negative experiences, or, more often, just *annoying* experiences, in the buses. Last trip we followed the usual advice of "drive in to every park but MK...take the bus there, though!", and our ride in that morning was so incredibly annoying that when it was time to leave, we caught a cab. So we'll go the route of least annoyance, and we're driving everywhere in the future.


And....my brain has run out of power. Robert's done packing so I think I can safely power down my tired self and the computer. Whew.

 

[happybelle]

How cool is that, to have a reader so fast! And wow, that's a nice username, happybelle.

You are so kind thank you. I lover your latest plans, hope your husband has a great trip. I hope POR is a much happier memory this time.

 

[bumbershoot]

In the run-up to our last trip, DH and I talked about how to do our trip. Should we be really relaxed and go with the flow (this is after we were done with the cruise and Universal), or should I create a proper touring plan and try to stick with it? He said that we'd done a hybrid, and he feels (agrees with me) that we're not really getting things right. There's not enough relaxing, and there's not quite enough being done while not relaxing. He asked for a touring plan.

And so I made one with the help of touringplans.

But...we had a hard time sticking to it. The hours we could do it were GREAT. But he was moving slow and we were tired, so it wasn't being followed as perfectly as we wanted to.

This trip? Touringplan and FOLLOW it. I know this sounds terrible to some, but we like a good balance of go-go-go and relaxation. Doing both at the same time works for NONE of us. Going home frustrated because time spent figuring out what to do next at the parks took away from our pool time isn't fun. Going home annoyed because we were at the pool, decided we'd just nix our plans and stay at the pool, but then realizing we regretted nixing those plans isn't fun.

I know it seems silly to work out a plan now, but it takes us some time and many conversations within the family to really figure out our must-dos.

And it might take that time to convince DS that he really really does want to try Haunted Mansion again.

 

[wiigirl]

Joining in!

 

[bumbershoot]

Our plans for the 4th are:

Wake up.
Get to the airport.
Fly.
Get to the resort. (we have a standard room booked, and I'm hoping for one of the Mansions, which would mean Magnolia or Acadian)
Eat, hopefully.


We don't have our flights worked out yet, but from previous experience I know that I should not be concerned with this yet. I know the basic times that work for us. I'm also willing to fly out earlier than DH, either with or without the kidlet.

If I or we get out earlier in the day, I plan to hurry to the rundisney Expo, to pick up my packet and do some expo shopping.

If we get in later, I'll have to do that on the 5th.

I think the food court at POR is open late, so unless we end up on a flight coming in after midnight again, we should be able to get some food. If we get in early, I might even consider something like T-Rex after the Expo. I'll have my birthday certificate for the Landry's Select card, so that would be good.



We worked out the flights so I get in around 4:30 and can go to the Expo. DH and DS get in 1.5 hours later and will amuse themselves however they wish.

Continued updating....the guys will almost certainly head to Disney Quest when they get in. We will be meeting up at DTD for dinner at either T-Rex or RFC.

 

[bumbershoot]

Joining in!

Yay!

 

[bumbershoot]

Our plans for the 5th are:


Well, we have an ADR for Kona that morning at 10:30. Figure we could get a side of some eggs, DH and I could share the Tonga Toast, DS could get what he wants, and DH and I could have some good coffee. Nice start to the day.

Sure, it'll be 7:30am Pacific time, but maybe that sort of a wake-up will allow me to take a small nap in the early afternoon? I'm not a napper by nature, even when I want to, so maybe not sleeping until proper Pacific get-up time will work for me. Not sure.

I do want to get some solid calories in that morning, though. If you can see my signature, you know I'm doing Weight Watchers and I'm inching towards my ultimate goal. Now that I'm running and increasing distances (I've also started strength training), I'm earning more and more Activity Points. With WW you can either ignore them (not eat them) or you can eat them. Same with the flexible Weekly Points. I decided early on that I'd never be able to stick with it if I didn't eat everything I could, so I do.

But even with that, keeping myself from wooziness, exhaustion, and even fainting (did that one last month, NOT fun) is a real challenge! It's possible I could eat a bit more, but that would be moving away from the WW program, and I'm not comfy doing that.

My point is...having access to Tonga Toast in the morning will be great for my run later that night. I also have a touchy, sensitive stomach when it comes to running, so I'll have to be really careful with myself as the day goes on. It's like doing advanced math, figuring out HOW to eat when working to lose weight AND working to run long distances!


If I haven't yet been to the Expo, we'll go then. Or I'll go; the guys would probably have way more fun going to Epcot or to an arcade or something.


We're now getting into town early enough on the 4th (assuming nothing funky happens with flights) that I can hit the Expo that day.

So now we have a 3:40pm reservation at the Tea Room on the 5th.


And after the Expo, I figure we'll hit Epcot, wander slowly, maybe snack a little bit (it will be Food&Wine, after all). Keep things nice and relaxed.


Maybe, maybe not. We'll see.


Go back to the resort, maybe swim a little bit, relax some more. Maybe nap if I can. Get up when appropriate, get ready. While training, I've started experimenting with "energy chews" and things like that, to see what keeps my energy up. Also to see what keeps me from shaking, either during the run or after. I seem to lose a lot of electrolytes; I'm definitely a delicate runner!

I know that the runDisney people put things out for us to use, but unless it's the EXACT same thing I've been using, I'll just bypass it. My brother is a runner, and he once just destroyed a race for himself by trying something new during the race. He either ended up really slow or really sick; not quite sure which one. I don't want to hurt myself. So I'm sticking to my own stuff. I'll be the one with a belt just jam-packed with my energy products.


I got tickets for the race party for DH and DS. It starts at the same time as the race, so they'll be able to play in DHS for what I'm guessing will be quite a long time before I finish. That whole day will be like a solo trip for them, it seems.

I'm not putting any pressure on them to be at the finish line for me. If they happen to be there, that would be great, but ultimately, for me, my running is for me, and it's solo, and I'm good with that. We're doing a 5K soon; DH and DS will walk it, and I will run it. Since the runners go first, I will almost certainly finish while they are still on the course (but I'm a slow runner, so who knows?), and that's totally fine with me.

I'm hoping that I won't be someone getting sick at the finish like I hear happened to many people last year; I'm hoping I'll have some reserves to enjoy the party. I'm already developing a list of things they'll need to bring for me. Simple a-line dress to change into, along with clean things to go under said dress. My Crocs Athens, most definitely. Not sure what to do about my hair; maybe I'll have to put my head under a sink faucet or something. I want to feel refreshed, not gross, know what I mean?

If only they had showers there for the runners.



***********

Just realized that an early wake-up would be detrimental to the guys being easily awake for the party. Might be better to wake up later that day, since I'd prefer to have everyone still on Pacific time for that night.

So where to eat, if I cancel Kona? Could just hit the food court at POR. But, since we'll have a car, maybe that would be a great time for a Sweet Tomatoes lunch. That way everyone could get just what they want. Yes that could work very well...



*************

You can see why I needed a pre-trip report. I have SO many thoughts running around in my head, and working them all out is hard! I try to write them down, but then I lose my notebooks or can't remember where I wrote it... I KNOW where I put this.

 

[bumbershoot]

Our plans for the 6th are:


TUSKER HOUSE!!!!!!!


Eh hem. Backing up. Our park plans for the 6th are Animal Kingdom, then maybe a bit of Epcot once AK closes.

The plans I have for my feet involve squishy comfy shoes, hopefully no bandaids, and depending on how I'm feeling, maybe a scooter. Seriously, I'm budgeting for one, just in case. I have NO idea how much pain I'll be in that day.

Now, my food plans for that day involve eating. And eating and eating. If my training is any sign of what my racing will be like, I get ravenous after my training runs, and I'm even hungrier the next day. Like today; yesterday I increased my run by 10%. Today I cannot get full. I'm expecting it'll be more of the same after the 10-miler, only twice as much since yesterday's run wasn't even 5 miles.

Therefore, I have just about the latest breakfast ADR for Tusker House that you can have. Why the late one? Well, one, to make sure I can get out of bed and to the parks, while arranging for a scooter delivery if I need to. And also because at breakfast time I hear they have great breakfast food. And if you're there as they transition to lunch, you can get the breakfast foods AND the lunch foods.

I know, I know...there's a 90 minute character meal limit. That's OK. I don't plan on being there longer than that. I just want access to lots of tasty tasty food that day. Although I do eat desserts and carbs and such while in the WW plan, I don't *over* indulge except for at DLR/WDW/Universal. And even there I don't really OVER indulge. Except for at Tusker House.

And it's going to be especially so the day after that race.

I'm so excited. I hope the expo has one of those bumper stickers or shirts or something that says "I run to eat" or something like that. Because for me it's soooo true!



As for the park, well we like AK. We'll do the safari and Primeval Whirl and maybe try Dinosaur again. Expedition Everest is definitely on the list, and maybe Kali. I *should* walk out my soreness, so if I'm on my feet we'll work on the various trails. Maybe hit the Conservation Station.

So, yeah, pretty much do all of AK.


And like I said, after closing, maybe we'll head to Epcot. As I mentioned, it's Food&Wine, and also, Epcot is where they keep the Norwegian bakery. I'm sure I'll be in the mood for some School Bread by 6 or so in the evening!


In between I'm hoping I have room to try the stand serving vegetarian food.

That cold noodle salad has my name all over it. It did last visit, too, but I was too full from Tusker. So sad.

 

[kaoden39]

Hi there! I was just thinking about you the other day and I was wondering when your next trip report was going to start.

 

[bumbershoot]

Hi there! I was just thinking about you the other day and I was wondering when your next trip report was going to start.

Ah you know me well.

Sounds like you're doing OK? Rental house, rebuilding on the way, etc. If you're not doing OK it's alright to say so here. Or if you are that's OK, too. Just sayin'...you don't have to hide feelings in here if you don't want to.

Is Scotty doing better? He was starting some form of rehab or therapy, wasn't he?

 

[bumbershoot]

Our plans for the 7th are:

Magic Kingdom. At first there were plans for an all-day'er. But now I'm moving from that. We've got these Premium passes, see, and those include the waterparks. So now I'm wondering about some hydrotherapy for my surely aching muscles, in the form of waterslides and wave pools and such.


ETA:

I have just learned learned of a nutella & fruit waffle "sandwich". It is sold at Sleepy Hollow (Snacks?) in Liberty Square. That is SO going on my food plan....

:END OF EDIT



ETA on 9/4: We're doing MK all day! Starting the morning off at The Wave then walking over to MK to experience MK like this family has never experienced it before!

We have Pirate's League scheduled for all 3 of us, even though it's not a Halloween party day. Since the only time DH and DS did PL it was for a party at disneyland last year, it feels weird to think of face makeup without the ability to wear a costume, but tons of people do it all year long!


And then later go over to MK for lunch (Columbia Harbour House!) then a late late dinner at Be Our Guest. I'm hoping to get to see Electrical Parade over near Liberty Square so once it's done we can just hoof it on over to BOG. Our ADR is at 8:55, which is SO late but on the other hand, it gives us the opportunity to eat lunch at CHH.

Oh this trip is all about hitting our fave food spots, isn't it???


I can't even think of rides to go on, I'm so happy about the food. Nervous about Be Our Guest, since ratatouille isn't my absolute most fave meal in the universe, but just like February's Cinderella Royal Table, it's more about the experience than anything else. Hopefully the nightshade-on-a-plate (b/c most of the ingredients of that dish are from the nightshade family) will be good and not funky.

One attraction I can think of is Monster's Inc Laugh Floor; that was so funny!

But seriously, right now, that's all I can think of.



ETA: Sorcerer's game in MK! We've GOT to do this. Even if we find out we dislike it, we have to try. And it could really help us work through the park, see the sights, etc.

 

[bumbershoot]

Our plans for the 8th are:

Today is back to Hollywood Studios, where we will have lunch at the Hollywood Brown Derby! Coconut tofu noodle bowl, here we come. E might even have it this time. Allears has a recipe for it; I've really GOT to make it sometime. Here it is.


If the car stunt show is still in existence, we'll see that. Maybe we'll see the Beauty/Beast show at long last. We'll have eaten at Beast's castle the night before, so it would be fitting, right?


We don't tend to make it all day at DHS, so again, if we leave early and still have steam, off to Epcot. Those Norwegian pastries won't eat themselves, you know! And that's not even mentioning the Grand Marnie slushies. I also still have to see if there are other plastic souvenir beer steins in the World Showcase; I have Norway's and Germany's. Surely Canada has one?

Ooh, just googled. Last year they had one specifically for the F&W festival! Nice.

 

[bumbershoot]

We will wake up on the 9th, still at Port Orleans Riverside. But then that day we'll be moving over to Universal. At this moment we have reservations for Royal Pacific Resort. That was our first UO resort, but we barely remember it.

One un-fond memory is of Robert's scary reaction to a double Bailey's over ice; they gave it to him in the Club Level room (he'd only ordered a single), and at that time he was still working with his blood sugars and diet to keep the sugar levels low. We hadn't started Weight Watchers yet, so things were still a bit difficult, and that Bailey's was a problem. 1st, it was sucked down by a non-drinker VERY quickly. And then it caused the nasty side of Robert to come out; the side that comes out when he's having a horrible blood sugar spike. Eamon was sleeping and stayed asleep through Robert's tantrum; I ended up going into the bathroom and locking the door while I took a bath to relax. I knew what the problem was and just refused to engage. Also, leaving him alone like that gives him a chance to go check his blood sugars, realize how ridiculous he's being (and that there's a reason), and calm down. It worked, and a double Bailey's is now on the forbidden list, and I hope we can make RPR the happier place now!

Of course, if Annual Passholder rates come out for that time, we might head back to Portofino Bay. LOVE that place. [Just not Hard Rock again. Not our favorite!]


When we hit Universal we get butterbeer (I like it frozen), rock cakes (so much better than Hagrid made them), sometimes we get the veggie Potato Leek soup...we get veggie burgers from Richter's over at the Studios while E gets either cheese ravioli at Lombard's or cheese pizza from a little quick service place near Woody Woodpecker. We ride the rides we want to ride thanks to unlimited Express Pass, we just have a great time.

We will NOT be doing their Halloween party, because it would be terrifying! It's going on for most of the evenings of our Universal stay, which means the Studios will close at 5. So we'll be off to Islands of Adventure, or go play miniature golf, or something else fun. Or we'll sleep. Not sure.


So that's our planned trip in a nutshell! Not sure if we'll see cousins or auntie on this trip. For the new readers, those relatives live on the east coast of FL, most are Disney freaks as well, and they often join us... They had been talking about hitting Wilderness Lodge for their anniversary, which I've just remembered is during our trip. We'll stay clear of them for that. But it's also their son's birthday just after, and towards the end of our trip it's MY birthday! Maybe we'll at least get auntie out to visit. She just had some weird injection thing in her knees (she can't have them replaced due to anatomical oddities with her circulation) and feels much better, so maybe she'll come on out. The little cousins are DS's best friends, so I know he hopes to see them!

 

[kaoden39]

Molly,

Your plans look great! I can hardly wait to hear about it.



I am okay. It isn't easy dealing with the whole process. Thankfully we are insured well so that it will all be taken care of. Our deductible is just $500 so that is good. The worst part of all of this is that on top of losing so much to the fire our house has also been looted several times. They were coming in through windows so we put extra locks on them. That wasn't enough because soon they pried the boards off. Nothing like kicking a person when they are down. So we lost 85% of our possessions to fire. Then you think that then that 15% was looted....it just goes down from there. Scotty lost around $30,000 in bicycles and bicycle equipment. I try to stay upbeat but there are days that it just doesn't happen.

Scotty's therapy has been going good. The therapy he had for the vertigo took so he no longer has a problem with that. His cognitive therapy is just basically beginning because we had to postpone starting it due to the fire. Thank you for asking. How is you MIL?

 

[bumbershoot]

I have nothing new on the MIL because she's not including us in anything (apart from, you know, paying for her AAA and probably her safe deposit box come August).



They've continued to loot? Ugh. I hadn't thought about all of Scotty's bicycles, etc. Wow. And all those are covered? Did you have extra riders on them, or are they just under your normal homeowners? Who do you use? They sound great.


What did they do to get rid of his vertigo? I'm amazed that such a therapy exists!