A Newbie Dec. Trip Report - I meet the Dancing Champ!!

[momtotanmanandraerae]

The trip report starts on Page 3! We had a wonderful, magical trip to the best place on earth! I also had a celebrity sighting - the Dancing with the Stars Champ! I will post about that when the time comes. I was walking on cloud 9 after that! Enjoy!



I am a newbie!! Yes, a newbie at writing trip reports. I have been reading them for about two years but could never get the courage up to write on. We took a 10-day trip to Disney last November and fell so in love with it that we bought into DVC!! I couldn’t believe that my husband agreed to it. He went to Disney because I wanted too but he was the one that said, “Let’s look into DVC!” Amazing!

So, here we are 33 days until our next trip to Disney and our first one “home” at our resort. I planned this trip with 330 days to go and can’t believe it is almost here.

First the cast of characters:

Me : Kari (32 years old). I am obsessive Disney planner and have been researching Disney for years. My friends think I should start a Disney consultant business since I have helped so many of them plan their trips! My favorite ride in Disney is Soarin! I could ride it over and over!

My DH: Chris (32 years old) – Not an obsessive planner but will talk to me about what he wants. He has favorite restaurants that are must does and lots of ideas. He is a great father and I am very blessed!

Here is a pic of us enjoying California Grill:

My DS: Tanner ( 6 years old) – Crazy for Test Track, Big Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain. He doesn’t like Soarin though because of the fireworks at the end! Crazy kid!

My DD: Reagan (3 years old) – She is my princess! She is in love with all the princesses and is being Belle for Halloween. She loves Dumbo and the horses (Carrousel). She asks everyday when we are going to Disney!

Supporting characters:

My mom (58) : She is joining us on Saturday with my grandma and nephew. She went with us last trip and bought into DVC too. She then took a Disney cruise this summer and bought even more points! Yes, points to inherit! She likes Disney lots but also is a big worrier about leaving work (a teacher) for a week. She doesn’t understand my Disney compulsion but is glad to have me plan the trip!

My grandma (85): She went with us last time and bought points too! Yep, even more points to inherit!! She loves traveling with us and is very energetic and peppy for an 85 year old.

Aren't they cute!

My nephew (6) : This is his first ever trip to Disney!! My DS is so happy to have his cousin joining us! I will paste a pic of him next time! I need to find one on all my computer pictures!

Here is a picture of all of us right after we signed our contracts to buy a piece of Saratoga Springs!!! Yes, we know the secret. Shh!

So the facts of our trip:

Leaving on Tuesday November 27 around noon to drive to Disney – We live in Richmond, VA so it takes about 12 hours to drive there. We are driving to just south of Jacksonville that day and staying at a Marriott. We should get there around 10:00 pm.

Wed. November 28th – Sat Dec. 1st – Staying at BCV in a studio
Sat Dec. 1st – Friday Dec. 7th – Staying at SSR in a one- bedroom

I will post our itinerary later! I can’t believe I am starting this off and going to complete my 9-day trip report! I know it will be a wonderful keepsake for my kids to read and see when they are older and reliving the magic with their kids. I hope you will enjoy this report! Take it easy on this newbie!

 

[jordanyosh]

I'll be the first to welcome you to the PTR and TR forums...

 

[jordanyosh]

Get ready to be sucked into the vortex that is the PTR/TR forums...

I was a newbie just a few months ago and now I am a grizzled veteran with many new friends and yes, they are now friends--believe it or not.

Don't worry about sharing too many details as no detail is too small to share....

Looking forward to hearing more about your plans.

 

[Avivasmom]

Hey we will be in a studio at BCV from Nov 26-30, maybe we will see you...when you hear me calling Aviva wait up..that is us!! Maybe we can have a mini-meet !

Your kids are adorable.

I think it is great your grandma is coming.

What a great DH you have buying into DCV...would love to convince mine but doubt that will happen.

 

[CarolynK]

I hope I look as good as your grandma at 85! Wow! Good for her!
You're going right after Thanksgiving-a great time to go. I'm sure you already know that! Everyone has gone home after T-giving, and you'll get to see the X-mas decorations.
We're going to be there Friday-Tuesday before T-giving - my kids (12 and 10)have the entire week off (we are hosting turkey day, so have to go back home to cook). Are you pulling your son out of school?
Where are you planning to eat?? Planning some meals in your new "home" as well?

 

[momtotanmanandraerae]

I'll be the first to welcome you to the PTR and TR forums...

Thank you for welcoming me. I am so glad you found my report. My biggest worry was no one would be reading it!

 

[momtotanmanandraerae]

Hey we will be in a studio at BCV from Nov 26-30, maybe we will see you...when you hear me calling Aviva wait up..that is us!! Maybe we can have a mini-meet !

Your kids are adorable.

I think it is great your grandma is coming.

What a great DH you have buying into DCV...would love to convince mine but doubt that will happen.

That is so cool!! I will definitely be looking for you! We are only there for three days and have a packed itineary. I will post it later. However, I am hoping to take advantage of some Stormalong bay time but I am keeping that contigent on the weather! Just try and convince him to take the DVC tour. That is what I did and then my dh understood why it makes so much sense!!

 

[momtotanmanandraerae]

I hope I look as good as your grandma at 85! Wow! Good for her!
You're going right after Thanksgiving-a great time to go. I'm sure you already know that! Everyone has gone home after T-giving, and you'll get to see the X-mas decorations.
We're going to be there Friday-Tuesday before T-giving - my kids (12 and 10)have the entire week off (we are hosting turkey day, so have to go back home to cook). Are you pulling your son out of school?
Where are you planning to eat?? Planning some meals in your new "home" as well?

Thank you on the comment on my grandma. I am blessed with some good genes! We are so excited about seeing the Christmas decorations. Last time, we went in November and they were putting up the decorations. That is when we decided we would come back in December to see them! Yes, I am taking my son out of school for 8 days! Yikes! However, I am a SAHM that was a teacher in a former life. I will probably go back to teaching when my youngest starts kindergarten. I will then not be able to go during the school year. So we are taking advantage of it while we can. I will post our day to day schedule and ADRS in the next post. We love to eat out and I don't like to cook much and definitely not on vacation. Therefore, we will not be eating much in our new "home"!

 

[momtotanmanandraerae]

Thanks to everyone who has read my Pre trip so far. Guess what....I am at 30 days today!!! We are starting our 30 day countdown that I got from Tim of timandlesley! They are the best....check them out if you haven't already. It is a great countdown and the kids are excited about marking off days!

So I thought I would post our day to day schedule and list of places to eat.

Wed. November 28th - Checking into BCV hopefully around 9:00. We will either go straight to MK or if our room is ready we will check in and enjoy the hotel. I am leaning towards hanging around the hotel and maybe walking the Boardwalk. We want to be at MK around noon. We are having dinner at Crystal Palace (one of our favorites) at 5. We will stay for Wishes and Spectro. We have never seen Spectro! I am most excited about this!

Thur Nov. 29th - Epcot!! We have breakfast with the princesses at 8:40 am. My son can't wait to get on test track and I can't wait for Soarin!! We then are eating dinner at Yachtsman Steakhouse at 5:30.

Fri. Nov. 30th - MGM - rope drop!! Go back for an afternoon break - maybe swim at Stormalong Bay. Hollywood Brown Derby Fantasmic Package at 4:20

Sat. Dec. 1st - Check out of BCV. Have character breakfast at Cape May Cafe at 10 am. Go to SSR and check in. Wait for my mom, grandma, and nephew. Depending on time we would love to go to AK to just check out the parade. I have never seen it and hear it is great. Boma - dinner - 5:50. We just absolutely love Boma! My mom bought her extra points at AKV so we are going to look at the hotel some more and get some great food!

Sun. Dec 2nd - AK! Breakfast with Donald at 8:00 am! Stay until mid afternoon and take a break at SSR. Ohana's for dinner - 5:35

Mon. Dec. 3rd - Epcot - rope drop! Have to get my nephew on Test Track, Soarin, and Mission Space. We also have to see Crush! Garden grill lunch at 11:10! My mother is watching our kids that night so Chris and me have dinner at Le Cellier at 6:00 and then walk the world showcase and see illuminations! Can't wait!

Tues Dec. 4th - Rope drop MK!! LTT lunch 11:50. Take afternoon break. MVMCP that night! We are meeting my brother and sister in law and their kids at MVMCP. They are only coming for the party. I am dreaming of it snowing on Main Street!

Wed. Dec 5th - Break Day! We always need one of those. My son and nephew are doing the Pirate Cruise in the morning. We are then watching my nephew in the evening so my mom and grandma can go eat at Flying Fish that night and watch illuminations!

Thurs. Dec. 6th - MGM in the morning! Epcot in the evening - for us! My mom and others are staying at MGM and seeing Fantasmic. We are eating at Coral Reef for the Candlelight Dinner Processional - We are seeing the 6:45 show!

Fri. Dec. 7th - Check out of SSR. Breakfast at Ohana's at 8:20 and straight to MK. Enjoy the morning and get a quick lunch. Then time to hop in the car and head out. We are only driving six hours that day because we are going to Charleston, SC where my inlaws live for the weekend. Break up the drive and all!

That is it! Ten fun filled days at Disney! Any suggestions?!

 

[DisneyDadFaNaTic]

30 DAYS!!!!! Aaaaaarrrrrgggghhhh, I'm so jealous!! You have become our life line to Disney reality. We are going to be hanging on to every word so we can live vicariously through your Pre-Trip and your (hopefully) Trip Report.

Keep up the good work!

 

[Avivasmom]

Thur Nov. 29th - Epcot!! We have breakfast with the princesses at 8:40 am. My son can't wait to get on test track and I can't wait for Soarin!! We then are eating dinner at Yachtsman Steakhouse at 5:30.

We will be at Epcot this day too...We have dinner in Beirgarten at 6:40 but that is it for plans...we may go to SAB in the morning and go to Epcot for lunch and stay till Illuminations...we are not on a schedule just want to do certain things since we go so often.

Our last day Friday we are doing the breakfast at Cape May Cafe.

We love BOMA too it is a must if DH is with us and we are doing it our first day there.

 

[OhioTony]

To the pre-trip boards! I'm so jealous on several points...you are only 30 days out and you get to go for 10 days! LUCKY!

Your plans sound great. So great in fact you could give me some pointers on my pre - trip:
Disney with the outlaws ( I mean inlaws) or Christmas with Mickey?

 

[momtotanmanandraerae]

30 DAYS!!!!! Aaaaaarrrrrgggghhhh, I'm so jealous!! You have become our life line to Disney reality. We are going to be hanging on to every word so we can live vicariously through your Pre-Trip and your (hopefully) Trip Report.

Keep up the good work!

Welcome! I am glad to be your life line! I saw that you are taking a land/sea vacation in 2008. I can't wait to hear about that! We want to do one of those real soon. I will check out your pre-trip report!

 

[momtotanmanandraerae]

We will be at Epcot this day too...We have dinner in Beirgarten at 6:40 but that is it for plans...we may go to SAB in the morning and go to Epcot for lunch and stay till Illuminations...we are not on a schedule just want to do certain things since we go so often.

Our last day Friday we are doing the breakfast at Cape May Cafe.

We love BOMA too it is a must if DH is with us and we are doing it our first day there.

Maybe we will see you around! Your little girl is so cute! I love her hair! We ate at Biergarten last trip. My son loved the entertainment! I can't wait to see SAB! I am hoping the weather is atleast in the 70s so we can enjoy it. Do you know if the water is heated?

 

[momtotanmanandraerae]

To the pre-trip boards! I'm so jealous on several points...you are only 30 days out and you get to go for 10 days! LUCKY!

Your plans sound great. So great in fact you could give me some pointers on my pre - trip:
Disney with the outlaws ( I mean inlaws) or Christmas with Mickey?

I will check out your pre-trip next! Thanks for joining mine! I hope I can help you with things and vice versa. Yes, I love going for 10 days. A week never seems like enough time. I can't believe I am finally at a month out!

 

[jordanyosh]

Kari,

BCV is my FAVORITE resort. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do. Just as an FYI, when you are walking back from Epcot, right when you get to the Beach Club you'll notice a gate. you can open the gate and head to BCV. It saves a few minutes.

 

[Avivasmom]

BCV is my FAVORITE resort. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do. Just as an FYI, when you are walking back from Epcot, right when you get to the Beach Club you'll notice a gate. you can open the gate and head to BCV. It saves a few minutes.

I appreciate that info too..we are staying there and any bit of info helps out.

How long of a walk is it from Epcot..I will have an ECV.

 

[timandlesley]

Wow, what an adorable family you have, could your kids be any cuter!?!?! So great to put a face with a name. 30 days, WOW, good for you, how cool (I'm super jealous). You guys are going to have such a great time, can't wait to read all about these final days for planning. Enjoying the Pre TR so far, thanks for the compliment, very sweet of you
Lesley

 

[momtotanmanandraerae]

I figured out how to multi-quote! This newbie is learning!!

Kari,

BCV is my FAVORITE resort. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do. Just as an FYI, when you are walking back from Epcot, right when you get to the Beach Club you'll notice a gate. you can open the gate and head to BCV. It saves a few minutes.

I can't wait to try out BCV!! We loved the Boardwalk area when we visited last time. I kept looking across at Beach Club and it looked so beautiful!! I was so excited to try it out this time. Thanks on the tip for the gate! We will use that.

I appreciate that info too..we are staying there and any bit of info helps out.

How long of a walk is it from Epcot..I will have an ECV.

Hi! I would also like to know how long of a walk it is. We have the Princess Breakfast at Akershus at 8:40 am. I was wondering what time to leave to get to breakfast. Also, the park doesn't open until 9:00. Does that mean the fastpasses machines don't start until then? I would love to grab a Fastpass to Test Track before we sit down! I wanted an earlier breakfast time but I only called at 178 days out and couldn't get on! Amazing!!

Wow, what an adorable family you have, could your kids be any cuter!?!?! So great to put a face with a name. 30 days, WOW, good for you, how cool (I'm super jealous). You guys are going to have such a great time, can't wait to read all about these final days for planning. Enjoying the Pre TR so far, thanks for the compliment, very sweet of you
Lesley

Thank you Lesley for checking me out!! I feel like a celebrity that you are over here! I will be posting a pic tomorrow of our countdown to show everyone. It looks great!! I was super jealous of you in June when you went and will be again next June! I hope you enjoy my report!!

 

[momtotanmanandraerae]

I hope everyone had a great Halloween last night! My little ghosts and goblins can a great time! I thought I would post a pic of them in their dress up finery!

My little girl dressed as Belle! She is going to wear this same outfit to have breakfast with the Princesses on Nov. 29th!

My boy dressed as Anakin Skywalker! He loves Star Wars! I am hoping to get him on stage for the Jedi Training. I am a little worried about how he will feel if he doesn't get picked!

A girl on our street dressed as Belle too! She was head to toe in her Belle outfit and hair extension from her BBB experience this summer. I thought it was interesting to compare the two since Reagan's total outfit costs about $30.

So, off of Halloween. Guess what......it is NOVEMBER!! That means we are going to Disney THIS month!! OMG! I am beyond excited! As I promised, I have pictures of our wonderful countdown calender! This is how it looks today.

The kids just love marking off the days and showing all their friends. It is displayed in our kitchen for everyone to see!

I went shopping at Disney store today. I got some great sweatshirts for the cold nights in December. I will post a pic later.

Off to watch The Office! Love it! That's what she said!