A not so mouseless sisterly trip, after all...

marivaid

My mother is a Pluto molester.
Joined
Sep 12, 2006
Messages
3,649
Hi all, the crazy Frenchies will be back in full force this summer, we will be in Florida for almost a MONTH ! We've never stayed that long, especially not with my sister (who you may remember from THIS nice TR )


We have been Disney fanatics for a few years. But on our last trip we realized that we were becoming a bit OverMoused, so to speak. We had not enjoyed our first trip to Universal, back in 2004, but I do admit that we were unprepared for it. So when I found us a room at the Hard Rock Hotel for $134 a night this January, we decided to give Universal another try. The tickets were only $99 for the week, both parks so even if we didn't like it that much, it wouldn't be much of a loss. We planned a day at Epcot because we felt we would NEED some mouse time at some point. Well, we enjoyed Universal so much that we didn't go to Epcot. Now, we still love Disney, but it was nice to do some new rides at the Studios, we even tried a few at IoA even though we're not into thrill rides.

Let's meet the cast for this summer, shall we ?

DSC01369.jpg


Jessi, aka Soeur Chérie (Sister Dear), aka LaBool (the ball).
My sister. She's 34. She'll be getting stomach bypass surgery in September, which is partly why we are taking this long trip now. It will be a while before she can travel again. Jess is an animal lover, dislikes thrill rides, the thing she's mostly looking forward to this summer is swimming with a dolphin at Discovery Cove. Jessi's attitude has changed a lot since that first trip we took.

Alex, aka Xandera
Jessi's girlfriend, 39 year old. She seems very cold upfront but it's a facade. Alex had never been out of the country until she came to join our family, and she really enjoys all the trips we've taken together. She loves thrill rides, and since she has a calming effect on me I may even get to do a coaster this year. The thing she looks most forward to this summer is Harry Potter land and going back to the NASA.

DSC03043.jpg


Mom, aka Grumpy
Obviously, Jessi & I's mother :) She's 61. Grumpy loves Florida, but she's not that into theme parks. She'd rather shop or spend time in the sun at the pool or at the beach. That's why Grumpy will only be joining us for half the trip. She likes Harry Potter and will probably want to go to Universal a couple times, but she'll only spend four days in Orlando.

DSC02243.jpg


Yours Truly, Marina, aka The Turkey
I'm 31 (ouch!getting old) but I think I'll always be a teenager in my head. I'm the one who started going to Florida, by myself, around 2001. Caught the bug fast and passed it on to most of my family. The thing I'm looking forward to the most this summer is.... everything. I'm the planner, I want people to be happy on vacation and sometimes I try to cram way too much stuff into a short period of time, which makes everybody miserable. Since we'll be there for a whole month, it's unlikely that will happen this year!

coming up : our slightly crazy schedule
 
Woohoo!:woohoo: Marina's going to Universal...this should be fun.popcorn::

Looking forward to reading about your adventures. We're going to Orlando in 3 weeks, We'll be at AKV Kidani for 2 nights, then at RPR for 3 (hoping for a soft opening of WWOHP) when are you visiting?
 
Yay!!! A Marivaid pre-trippy!! I'm getting my coffee and settling in. :surfweb:

PS...you look great!!!!
 

:woohoo: Always love a marivaid TR! Looking forward to hearing about this excellent adventure on the Darkside!

Maria :upsidedow
 
Well???? Don't leave us hanging like this!!!
 
So, on to our schedule! At first we had planned on going for two weeks. We wanted to stay at the Hard Rock. Then we realized we could stay twice as long for half the price, and the trip began to expand. One extra day here. Another one there. And before we knew it, we had THAT :

July 24-July 28 : New York
July 28-Aug 10 : Orlando
Aug 10 - Aug 19 : Fort Lauderdale
Aug 19 - Aug 22 : Miami Beach

On Friday, Jess and my dad are taking Jess's cat, Tchai, and my two, Jersey and Doone, off to Summer Camp in Normandy. It's a 2-hour drive but the place is much cheaper than the ones around Paris and more "family" oriented. My babies are still young and I want to be sure they get cuddles every day :)

The next day, Jessi, Alex and I are taking a 5.50PM plane from Paris to New York. I'm actually going to be working until 1PM that day, so I'll have to get all prepared in advance. We decided to stop in New York for three days because Alex has never seen NYC. At first we said, 24 hours was enough, see the sites, on to Florida. Then it became 48 hours, and finally 3 days/4nights! We are staying at the Wolcott hotel, Grumpy & I have been there before, can't beat the location and while it's not fancy, it was affordable.

Then on the 28th we have our flight at 8.50 in the morning, with an arrival in Orlando around noon. I have to be honest and say I'm not THAT thrilled about NYC. I've been there several times and while I enjoy my time there, usually a day or two, at most, is enough. Too much hustle & bustle. I like Florida better. Never done NYC in the summer either, I think it's gonna get verrrrrry hot and sticky. It's okay though because from the 28th we'll be in Florida and it's never hot and sticky there :)

So, FL Tours is picking us up at the airport. It's a first for us! We need to do some grocery shopping, FL Tours does a grocery stop, and it was just easier than taking a cab to our hotel, then another cab to Walmart or wherever.

We are staying at the Hawthorn Suites hotel on Canada Ave, just off I-Drive. Yeah, it's not going to be the same as the Hard Rock :rolleyes1 but it'll do just fine. Got great reviews on TripAdvisor, plus the price was right ($110 for a suite), we have a room with 2 queen beds plus a room with a full kitchen, pullout sofa and 2nd TV. Not that I'm gonna cook or anything. I don't even cook at home. I spent 3 months looking for an apartment with 2 bathrooms and no kitchen but apparently such a thing doesn't exist :headache:

NOW on to the PARKS !!! I got us all 14-day Bonus Tickets for Universal on Viator, and we're going to be spending quite some time there. Jess has high blood pressure problems so she can't do any of the rough rides. She got sick after riding the Polar Express simulator at SeaWorld last summer. I want to do a coaster but I'm really scared, if Alex goes with me maybe I'll try something mild. Alex isn't afraid of any ride - or anything, really.

We're also going to Discovery Cove, probably on August 2nd. It's soooooo expensive but Jess is really crazy about dolphins. At first we thought we couldn't do it because we're both really Shrek Sized but then I read on the DIS that they have wetsuits 'til 18XL so I think we'll be okay :) Not quite up to the 18XL yet, keeps your fingers crossed. With our ticket to Discovery Cove comes admission to SeaWorld so we'll be going there too. I hope they let the trainers go back in the water with the animals by then. Alex may not go because she's not crazy about animals in captivity or animals doing tricks. Maybe she'll go to Harry Potter land by herself when Jess & I go see Shamu.

On the day Jess & I go to Discovery Cove, Alex will be going to the NASA again. She went last summer but didn't have time to see everything.

Grumpy will join us on August 5th ! She will go to US for a couple days and probably will want to shop for the other two days. On the 10th, we're off to Ft Lauderdale to do some chillin'.....

Miami we added because we've been to Ft Lauderdale a million times but have yet to see Miami. Jess wants to see Miami Ink. Maybe I'll get a tatoo :)It's easier to go to Key West from Miami then Lauderdale,too.

I've been looking at stuff to do on iDrive and the thing that really interests me is the sky diving experience. But it's very expensive, so unless I get a major raise at work in the next week or so (fat chance) I don't think I'll be able to swing it. It's OK though, plenty of stuff to keep us busy at IoA and US, plus there's cheap stuff on iDrive. We'll go mini-golfing one night, and the hotel is right accross from a huge bowling alley. I haven't gone bowling in ages. Grumpy is not allowed to bowl - last time, she threw the ball into the screen. No kidding. :scared1:

It may not be an entirely mouseless trip, I did make dining reservations to Chef Mickey's for Alex, Jess & I, and to Boma for all four of us. But no Disney parks !!! Not unless the prices go wayyyyyyyyyyyy down and they're not going to, sooooooo.

Still looking for more cheap stuff to do around iDrive, so if you have any idea, SHARE !!
 
Great update! What a blessing to have so much time for your vacation, you will be able to really relax and let all your stress float away.

I highly recommend a stop at Bahama Breeze while you're on I-drive. Seriously yummy!

Maria :upsidedow
 
Woot Woot....I can't wait to rad about this one!
 
Hi there, thanks for reading !! So, have any of you tried Fun Spot on IDrive?? We go by that place a lot when we're in Orlando and it always seems like there's nobody there. But I took a look at their site and there's a lot of stuff to do... although I have a feeling I'd be dangerous in a kart :)
Can you spend a whole day there and have some fun ??? I think Alex & Jess would enjoy the arcade. I may be bored stiff though UNLESS there's some kind of "hit crocs on the head" game. Now *those* are kewwwwwwwwwlllllll :hippie:
 
Ok, I'll be honest -- we've never been! I think it would be tons of fun to do the go-karts!

I'm not sure how exciting overall it will be for someone who is used to Disney (we tend to avoid carnivals for this reason), but I do think you could have a very enjoyable day there.

Maria :upsidedow
 
Hi, Marina! I was thinking about you and wondered if you had the chance to make it back to WDW. What a trip you have planned! But mouseless?!:eek:

Can't wait to hear the updates.
 
Read your last trip report and loved it! Can't wait to read about this one. It looks like we are going to be in Orlando at the same time.
 
Yay! Another report, I read your last one in a day and loved it so I am subbing.

Ideas for I-Drive, do you have a car? There is tons to do, but all are escaping me now other than a neat putt putt golf course. But trust me in you will find plenty to do. Especially if you like to shop. Just be careful and don't go anywhere by yourself.
 














Save Up to 30% on Rooms at Walt Disney World!

Save up to 30% on rooms at select Disney Resorts Collection hotels when you stay 5 consecutive nights or longer in late summer and early fall. Plus, enjoy other savings for shorter stays.This offer is valid for stays most nights from August 1 to October 11, 2025.
CLICK HERE













DIS Facebook DIS youtube DIS Instagram DIS Pinterest

Back
Top