A Surprise January 2012 Vacation!!! TRIP REPORT has begun!!

[Ferb]

What I am most looking forward to on this (of many Disney trip to come Lol!)
is the fact that my DD's have no idea what is going on with this "surprise" trip. So with that being said, I can't wait to surprise them ( with multiple scenarios, being devised in my head). So I cant wait to see their reaction of the face, once the trap is sprung!!!

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

Good one, Ferb! Oh and BTW, I tried and tried to fix your signature...that's the best I could do..sorry.

Well, Ferb and I had a lazy afternoon yesterday..I worked Mon night so I slept for about 4 hours and got up and we went out for lunch...Sushi!! Then we came home and I crawled into bed and waited for Stitch and Rapunzel to get home from school. LAZY!! I was sooooo tired though that I fell asleep around 7 last night and didn't wake up until 6 this morning!

Stitch and Rapunzel both had great days at school yesterday!! Stitch's class took a field trip to a conservation area and collected media from the outdoors to make a holiday craft....basically pinecones and pieces of fir to make a wreath....it came out quite nice and instead of hanging on a door I decided to put it on our table for a center piece. And Rapunzel's class took a trip over to Home Depot to make birdhouses. A good day all around!

Today I am paying dearly for my lazy day in bed and sleeping for 11 hours. My back is in severe pain this morning...I know better than to do this to myself. So I won't be doing a big update today like I normally do. The only thing that will help (other than lots of advil) is to keep moving. So today I will be slowly cleaning my house and doing laundry. It's really a necessary evil as my house has been suffering from all the trip reporting, xmas shopping and midnight working.

Hope everyone is having a good day....I might be back tonight depending on how I am feeling. Tomorrow for sure....need to continue the mini TR within a PTR!! Plus, there have been some minor changes to our dining plans.

What I am looking forward to on our trip is the constant walking that keeps my back limbered up.

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

Hi there! I am feeling better today..I got up early showered and got the girls up and ready and drove them to school and stopped off at Toys R Us and a book store to get a few gifts left on my list. I am ready to sit and update now!

My countdown on my Disney Vacation Connection on my computer desktop says 20 Days 13 Hours and 58 Minutes!! Almost in the teens!!
Another thing I am looking forward to on this trip is lower crowds. I know that they are going to be higher for the first few days because of left over Christmas vacationers like us, and marathon weekend..but it should clear out for the remainder! Our first vacation was in Sept and we were spoiled with the low crowds. We haven't been able to enjoy that low of crowds since.

I mentioned in my post yesterday that there had been a few changes to our dining. I can't even remember what all has changed since I updated here. It's been a mess of booking and cancelling. I didn't want to post our ADR's until I was finished messing. I think we are done now..so here are our ADR's that should remain the same!

Raglan Road™ Irish Pub and Restaurant
Date: Thursday, January 5, 2012
Time: 7:30 p.m.

'Ohana
Date: Friday, January 6, 2012
Time: 7:30 a.m.

Le Cellier Steakhouse
Date: Saturday, January 7, 2012
Time: 1:15 p.m.

T-REX®, A Prehistoric Family Adventure
Date: Monday, January 9, 2012
Time: 12:00 p.m.

Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater
Date: Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Time: 1:10 p.m.

The Plaza Restaurant
Date: Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Time: 5:20 p.m.

Tusker House Restaurant
Date: Thursday, January 12, 2012
Time: 8:05 a.m.

The rest of our meals will be either counter service at the parks, local restaurants (we have the rental car), and in our condo. I want to talk to Ferb about trying to plan out the rest of our meals so we know what to buy when we hit Walmart on our arrival day. I don't want to over buy and I don't want to be wasting our vacation time with multiple trips to Walmart.

Up next another installment in our TR within a PTR!

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

We last left off having just met Mr Food and F&W Fest Mickey. What a great and unexpected bit of Pixie Dust! We walked away from there just dumbfounded about our luck....also eating those pierogies I had bought..yum! We walked and people watched and thought about whether we could stomach anymore food...then I saw Karamel Kuche and remembered that it was something I really wanted to try based on good reviews here. So we stopped and got little treat to share. It was a caramel brownie I think...Ferb loved it..I thought it was too rich...I was full, remember?

After this sugar attack we just kept walking and we stopped and got a drink in China which was lovely and alcoholic! And then we stopped in Norway to ride The Maelstrom but first we saw that the designer of Laila, the fragrance they sell there, was in the store that day. I have always wanted a bottle of this perfume but could never justify the cost. Well, he grabbed me and wanted to give me a hand massage with the lotion...I'm not gonna say no...OMG!! He had the strongest hands I have ever felt!! It started to hurt he was gripping my hand so hard..all the while he was trying to sell us the perfume and gift sets they had. It was so funny when I mentioned his strong hands he said...And please don't flame me when I say this (pun not intended)....in a totally stereotypical gay man's voice with a Norwegian accent "Well, my ancestors were vikings." Ferb and I said it just like he did all the rest of the vacation..it was sooo funny to picture gay vikings roaming Norway of the past!!
We left the store without buying because, again, I couldn't justify the cost. We rode Maelstrom (all the while thinking of gay vikings ). When we exited the ride into the gift shop Ferb dragged me to the register and bought me a bottle....he made me!! The Gay Viking signed our bottle and gave us a smaller sample bottle that he also signed and then a pic of himself...also signed. It was a wonderful present and I wore it for the dressy night on the cruise and for our friends wedding and our xmas party. I LOVE IT!!

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

Again, we couldn't believe our luck...we had met such bizarre "famous" people today. At this point we needed to head towards the entrance of the park, but not before we rode TT again on the single rider line....I was nervous about time because we still had our Soarin FP to use and we wanted to be in our room and napping if we could before we got ready for dinner at O'hana. I also was worried about how long checking in at WBC would take, never having been there before. Well, of course that's when TT decides to shut down while we are on it! I was freaking because we were in different cars and I tend to get panicky in these situations. It took a LONG time to get clear. Because Ferb's car never even did the fast part of the ride they let us bypass the line and ride again..I know, I know I was pushing fate with this one! But we rode with no problems this time, and we got to ride together too!
Then we headed over to Soarin and used our FP...the screen was VERY messy this time...I don't know what is going on with this ride. I really wish they could do something about it. Loved it all the same..one of my faves! As we headed out of the park there was no line for SE so we rode that one...and again it kept stopping throughout the whole ride. I really didn't need any more delays, but thankfully it kept starting up again.
We love to make silly faces on this ride...this was the first time we got to ride together, we usually have to ride with one DD each.

We left Epcot and headed over to WBC...we knew it was close..but this was amazing! We were there in like 5 minutes! Woo hoo!! We found the front desk and checked in fairly quickly and got our parking pass with very little problems. Being that we were only there for 1 night they really couldn't expect us to attend a meeting. We found our room, it was in the same building as check in, and it was clean but there was an industrial fan in the bedroom from doing a deep cleaning we think. We got them to take that away and all was well.
Let me just say that we were blown away by this place. We only got a one bedroom, but it was huge compared to Disney hotels. We had a full kitchen, a huge dining table and a lovely balcony. I took these pics the next morning:
From our balcony looking right..

Looking left:

Sorry, no other pics...we just wanted to rest and chill. We did that and then got up and got ready for our dinner at O'hana. This was when I sprung the surprise on Ferb about our Jan trip!
Dinner was great, O'hana is lovely and we had a nice waiter. The food was amazing, and we love that dessert....YUMMY!!! We were trying to decide whether we wanted to stay in the restaurant for Wishes or head out to the beach. We finished dinner in pretty good time and we didn't wait long for our table in the first place, so we decided to head outside. We found a couple of chairs on the beach and waited. We got nervous because they were showing a movie for Poly guests right on the beach next to the pool, but they stopped it for Wishes. I was sooooo happy we made that decision, because we had a wonderful view, the music was loud enough and it was so romantic out there at night...even with all the other people watching with us...we got all weepy and loved every minute!!

We headed back to WBC to get some sleep...it had been a very long and full day. But what a wonderful day it had been. And we had so much to look forward to as well...we hadn't even started the cruise portion of our vacation!!

 

[Ferb]

What I am most looking forward to on this (of many Disney trip to come Lol!)
is the fact that my DD's have no idea what is going on with this "surprise" trip. So with that being said, I can't wait to surprise them ( with multiple scenarios, being devised in my head). So I cant wait to see their reaction of the face, once the trap is sprung!!!

Oh! I forgot to mention, I can't wait to try thr new Star Tours at DHS !:

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

Oh! I forgot to mention, I can't wait to try thr new Star Tours at DHS !:

I'm going to translate into a readable color what Ferb just wrote...

He is looking forward to trying the new Star Tours!

 

[danimaroo]

Even though I JUST commented back to you on my PTR, I have to comment here again and just declare how much I've enjoyed your PTR/mini-TR with Ferb!

Also, I'm with Ferb in the excitement for Star Tours. It was closed during our honeymoon trip, so I am thrilled we get to go on it. My DH is a huge Star Wars fan, so we're both pretty excited for it! That I'm actually giving ToT a shot for the first time ever... Not going to lie, still a little nervous about it but I'm all about conquering fears!

 

[Colleen27]

I'm with Ferb about Star Tours too! It was closed for our last trip and I'm just thrilled to finally get to see it.

I love the pics with Mr Food. I inherited a whole collection of his cookbooks from my grandmother (who collected cookbooks but rarely cooked ) and I just love them. And Food & Wine Mickey is adorable!

Bonnet Creek looks really lovely. As much as I enjoy staying on site I'm looking forward to trying it one of these days.

 

[OziJo]

Loving your AO TR.

And count me in for Star Tours. I'm as excited for that as the kids are for Harry Potter.

Then we headed over to Soarin and used our FP...the screen was VERY messy this time...I don't know what is going on with this ride. I really wish they could do something about it.

I hope they fix this. It's one of my favs!

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

Even though I JUST commented back to you on my PTR, I have to comment here again and just declare how much I've enjoyed your PTR/mini-TR with Ferb!

Also, I'm with Ferb in the excitement for Star Tours. It was closed during our honeymoon trip, so I am thrilled we get to go on it. My DH is a huge Star Wars fan, so we're both pretty excited for it! That I'm actually giving ToT a shot for the first time ever... Not going to lie, still a little nervous about it but I'm all about conquering fears!

Aww...thanks for sticking around! Sometimes it feels like you are writing only for yourself, which is fine, but like I said before..all lurkers are welcome! I'm excited about Star Tours as well. We weren't able to hit DHS for our adult only trip so we can't wait to see it!! I skip ToT. Ferb has to ride alone if he wants to ride it!

I'm with Ferb about Star Tours too! It was closed for our last trip and I'm just thrilled to finally get to see it.

I love the pics with Mr Food. I inherited a whole collection of his cookbooks from my grandmother (who collected cookbooks but rarely cooked ) and I just love them. And Food & Wine Mickey is adorable!

Bonnet Creek looks really lovely. As much as I enjoy staying on site I'm looking forward to trying it one of these days.

That's cool about those cookbooks...I know that through syndication he has been seen all over. I can't wait for the girls to see Bonnet Creek!! We were blown away when we were driving up, and then again when we got in the main building. But no more than when we got in our room, and that was only a one bedroom..this time around we snagged a two bedroom. We won't know what to do with all that space!!

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

Just have time for a quick post...
My desktop countdown now states......

18 days 7 hours 48 minutes!!! We are in the teens baby!!!


Another thing I am looking forward to is sleeping at night. Sorry, I know that it's not Disney related, but when you work midnights you SERIOUSLY look forward to sleeping at night!

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

We had a good night sleep at Wyndham Bonnet Creek. We got up fresh and ready for our next adventure! Check out was a breeze, there was no one in line. We packed up the car and headed out towards Port Canaveral. We stopped on the way to grab a couple of six packs of wine coolers and hard lemonade so we could save a little money while on the ship. We also grabbed some muffins and juice for breakfast while on the road. Our GPS was great, I had mapquest directions too, but the GPS worked really well. It's an old one that Ferb got for free from someone...it's missing some of the newer updates but for our needs it was perfect.
The drive was interesting because we finally got to see other sides of Florida..you know the non-Disney sides! We now know where Sea World, Universal and the convention center are. Plus we got to see some of the marsh land that Florida is famous for. No pics of it, sorry..it was not on our "radar" so to speak.
We were on a mission...I had read so much about boarding the DCL cruise ships and how the terminal worked there. I wanted us to get on the ship as soon as possible since it was a short cruise. So, we couldn't concentrate on anything other than this:

It took about an hour to get from Lake Buena Vista to Port Canaveral...when I first glimpsed the ship I screamed! Not like me, I can assure you...but I was so excited!! Scared the crap out of Ferb! Ferb took a couple shots as we drove along the highway that runs into PC.

We filled up on gas and found our rental car company with no problems. We handed the car over, got our receipt and hopped right on a shuttle to the terminal. No worries there at all...I was concerned that we were too early and that we wouldn't be let into the terminal, but we got dropped off, had our id's checked and waltzed right in. Went through security and up the escalator to the main terminal room.

We filled out the health questionnaire and got in line to officially check in. Being from Canada meant that we could use the international guest line. There was no one in line so we walked right up. The CM there was so nice. We had our Anniversary buttons on from WDW and he chatted us up while he checked us in. We got our boarding pass number from him, and we got seriously pixie dusted there! Number 5 BABY!!!

Then we stood in line to meet the big cheese!

We some time to wait so we walked around and headed out to the smoking terrace for a better look at the actual ship.

We still had more time on our hands but not much so we found an empty spot in the crowd and waited...look who walked by on her way to her meet and greet:

Next thing you know they are announcing groups and with such a low number it wasn't long until we walked through these:

Ferb's happy!!

We had lunch in Cabanas. The food was really good, we got a table by the window and had a wonderful time looking around and out and not believing that we were actually here! We had a nice conversation with a couple of servers about Thanksgiving and what it's about and where it came from. All kinds of people from all over the world work on these ships and it's kinda neat to talk to them!

After lunch we headed over to the adult only pool area. We got into our suits got a drink from the pool bar and headed into the pool. Then we got in the AWESOME hot tub. It's on the edge and the floor is clear. You can see down to the ocean!! On the bottom left you can sort of see my toe with it's dark nail polish..the big yellow thing is a life boat:

Ahhh...this is vacation:

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

Hey everyone...just wanted to shamelessly bump ourselves up to the first page!

Been very busy...shopping, working, wrapping, working....had a Christmas party at my cousin's for one side of the family. We had a good day. Santa Claus sent a special bag of Christmas treats for the kids and we all exchanged gifts for the cousins. It was good to see everyone. On a scary note, the next day my Uncle ended up in the hospital and this morning had an angioplasty done on two blockages. Haven't heard word on his status, I'm sure he'll be fine, but it's scary you know? He hadn't been feeling well for weeks and finally had a cat scan done and they found the blockages. Hopefully he will still be able to enjoy the holidays, just at a slower pace.

Things are at a stand still here for our vacation plans. We can't start packing until New Year's weekend when the girls are away with family.
That's all for now..just have to wait....


15 days 8 hours 33 minutes!!!

 

[OziJo]

15 days 8 hours 33 minutes!!!

1 day less for us. Our countdowns are really counting down

Must be so frustrating for you with the kids not knowing. I'm forever saying things like "when we are in Disney world..." or don't forget we have to take that when we go away" etc. There's no way I could have kept the secret for so long!!

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

Just a little update on my uncle. They couldn't do the angioplasty because the blockages were too bad...one is now showing in the 90% blocked range and they initially were going to do a bypass on Thur..but now they may need to do an emergency one earlier! He is stable and resting in his room, but it's going to be a long and scary night for him and my Aunt and cousins. I was in the same spot with my Dad over 15 years ago....thankfully he was able to get the angioplasty and a stent put in. He has had many other medical problems since then, so I know exactly what my cousin is going through right now. My heart goes out to her and her brother and Mom.
Sorry, I know it's not Disney related, but I just needed to vent a bit. Thanks.

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

My uncle had his surgery yesterday morning. It ended up being a triple bypass, but the surgery went well and was fairly quick all things considered. He woke up from the anesthesia too fast, though and was combative and needed to be sedated and re-intebated. He should have had the tubes out sometime over the evening, though. My cousin and Aunt are upset, but somewhat relieved that the surgery is over and now they can concentrate on his recovery. I feel sorry for them since he will be in the hospital over Christmas. That's all for now....gotta clean, clean, clean today... Since I have to work over the holiday I need to get this place cleaned up and ready for company on the 26th.
If I don't have a chance to update before Sun...

Merry Christmas!!


Oh, and....
13 days 16 hours 6 min

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

Is it after midnight yet? Nope...okay, 10 days until midnight....but then we can do the single digit dance!!

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

With only one week and one day to go..I am FREAKING OUT!! I have been itching to start packing for some time now, but with it being a surprise I have to wait. But, my cousin just confirmed that she is still taking our DD's for the weekend because she is having a NYE party and DH and I have to work all weekend. That means that I will be spending all of my non-working waking hours packing like a fiend this weekend!!! I've got it all figured out though. Since Ferb works days and I work midnights, I will sleep while he is at work and then we can pack together when he gets home and I wake up. The girls won't be home until Mon so that gives us Sat and Sun evenings to get as much done as possible. I already have a basket in my room that just looks like general laundry but in reality is all of our Disney shirts and some shorts and bathing suits...hoping we will be able to use them at least one day... Packing this time around is going to be so hard because of the weather...
I keep torturing myself with Accuweather. Every time I look the weather has changed drastically! I am hoping that the rain holds off and the sun is out...that to me would make for a perfect trip..even if it's not warm enough to swim, if it's sunny I am happy!

A little update on my Uncle..he was able to go home on Xmas eve and while he is still recovering, he seems to be doing well!

Everything has been so crazy here..Xmas was a whirlwind of work, split sleep and driving everywhere and on top of it all, I got really sick with a head and chest cold that I am still fighting off and I am feeling pretty crappy. Good news, I won't be sick for our trip!

 

[OziJo]

Once you see the look on the faces of the girls when you surprise them then all the sneaking around will be worth it

Fingers crossed for the weather. The cold doesn't bother me just hoping it's not windy and rainy. 6 Days for us