Horizons16
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 4, 2001
- Messages
- 3,272
Go easy on me. I have never written a TR before and I am flying by the seat of my pants.
Here is a quick Pre-Trip that I wrote a little less than a month before we left.
24 Days, 22 Hours, 53 min, 54 sec...
I have been putting off this pre-trip because I did not want to to it until there was less than 30 days left in the countdown. Of course it happens that this past week has been rather busy with school and work and the various other activities that go on in our family.
Everybody ready? Here we go!
The Cast:
Stephen: (Horizons16) I have been going to Disney since the late 80's, which is pretty good since I was born in '86. I participated in the Disney College Program during the Spring 2006 semester and stayed on as a seasonal cast member up until this past year. I am also an adventurous reader and an aspiring high school English teacher. I play the drums and quite often can be found jamming to my all time favorite band; Rush. But enough about me...
Karissa: My wife. We just got married in September and this will be out first trip down as husband and wife. I suppose that is what we will be celebrating. She has been to Disney what I believe is 4 times. She has only been with me twice, Christmas 2006 and then again August 2008. Though she is not as crazy about Disney as I am... she is getting there. Rather, I am getting her there.
Jennifer: Jen is my sister-in-law. She is a CPA so this trip can not come soon enough for her. Luckily the firm she works with encourages their employees to take time off after the tax season so we are good there. Jen has been to Disney in the past but it was back when Horizons, World of Motion, and CommuniCore was still hanging around and Studios was not even built. She is extremely excited to see the changes that have happened though a bit disappointed when I told her that 20,000 leagues had closed a number of years back.
Cheryl: Also my sister-in-law and Jen's partner. Yup that's right... whoever posted that thread about Gay Days look out we gut sum gays over here 'n thar gunna be doin' sum gay stuff! Anyway... sorry. Cheryl has been before but it is the same story as Jen. It has been years since she was down there last. Cheryl can get motion sick rather easy so she is hesitant to go on a lot of attractions. She said that's okay since the trip is really going to be for:
Alexis: Jen and Cheryl's 4 year old daughter, until 3 days into the trip when she becomes their 5 year old daughter. Alexis came from Guatemala when she was 9 months old. This will be her first time going to a Disney park. Ladies and Gentlemen we have a first timer. We just told her last night and while her reaction was somewhat limited we know she will be excited when we get down there. She has nothing to base it on so how can she be excited? She has been watching some recorded travel channel specials about Disney World so she will start to get an understanding of what we are really going to be doing. Needless to say she is quite excited about the plane ride and the pools, not sure what to think yet about the parks... To be five.
The Sound-stage:
We will be staying at Disney's Pop Century resort. There was a lot of scuttle around the boards awhile on staying at this resort because its low-class or low-income or whatever. This has been my resort of choice since it first opened. I would rather spend less on a resort room since we are hardly in it. I understand why some people spend large amounts of money to stay at the Poly or the Grand. I am not saying that is wrong. It just does not fit to our kind of vacation. My wife and I have always found the cast at POP to be very friendly and accommodating even though it is a cheaper resort. I must say though that I do miss sitting on a balcony with a morning coffee. This alone could get me to switch to a deluxe.
The Transportation:
Will be flying Delta out of Boston Logan to MCO. Delta was not really my first choice but when you are trying to find the cheapest flights from one international airport to another, beggars can't be choosers. It's one of the first flights of the day too so how delayed can it get?? Famous last words. We will also utilize the DME. I don't remember what we did prior to this starting up. We are saving so much now that we don't rent a car or take a Mears or any of that. I love it! Even if we don't get our bags until later on, or it takes a little bit to get to the resort, the price is certainly right.
The Shooting Schedule:
Thursday 4-29: Our flight leaves Boston at 7:00 AM. For us that means getting to the airport at 5:30 AM. Which means leaving our homes at 4:30 AM. Getting up at 3:30 AM. Going to bed the night before?? Maybe. We land in Orlando at 11:00 or so and plan to be at the resort by 1:00. I need to head to Access Control to get some things worked out and then check in. We will be heading to Downtown Disney to play for a little but and then go to the Poly for our gastronomical adventure at Ohana.
Friday 4-30: We have Magic Kingdom on the schedule today. It will be closing at 7:00 PM for Grad Nite! so I think it will work out. Touringplans suggested this park anyway. Tonight will be my Wife and I's date night so we are going to Boma and then Jellyrolls for libations and some singing.
Saturday 5-1: Animal Kingdom? This will be Jen and Cheryl's date night. They will probably end up doing the same as us. We booked then a table at Boma since that is what they asked for.
Sunday 5-2: Epcot / Studios? I have not really planned this day. I left it for a lets see whats going on and how Alexis is reacting to the parks kind of day. Maybe some swimming or some relaxing.
Monday 5-3: Magic Kingdom / Epcot / Studios? Al I know here is that it will be Alexis' birthday which means we have a table at Chef Mickey's in the morning. I have not been to Chef Mickey's in years so I am absolutely excited for this. I can't wait! We were thinking a Kitchen Sink at night too for a birthday celebration.
Tuesday 5-4: The last park day. We will play it by ear and see what we want to go back and do. We have a table at Cape May for the clambake. This is something that I did with my parents all the time when we would visit.
Wednesday 5-5: Unfortunately Delta has not been good to us. We booked our flights a long time ago and they have since changed. Our flight now leaves at 11:00 AM. We didn't have anything planned today but I don't like leaving so early. DME to Orlando the back to Logan. Reality.
Now then...
Lights...
Camera...
ACTION...
Thursday April 29
The previous night was spent packing. Unfortunately for me going on vacation means leaving packing to the last second. The trip planning is more fun for me than the packing. Luckily I have a wife now that will pack for me... er... help me pack. No... No that's a lie. Pack for me. When we were in college and I would visit her for a weekend there would be something that I would forget. Usually pajamas but it wasn't limited to that. I had to make an emergency stop at Target once to get boxers. Eh oh well...
The packing done and the clock turning to 12:00AM on the departure day I seriously questioned the idea of going to bed. I decided to just lay in bed and see what happened. Eventually I fell asleep... Stress Level: 3
Our plane was taking off from Logan at 7:00AM. For me that meant getting to the airport at 5:30AM and up in the apartment at 3:00AM or so. Yes you read that right, less than 3 hours of sleep.
We were meeting the second half of our group (Jen, Cheryl, and Alexis) at Logan airport. When I walked into the airport I almost had a heart attack when I saw the security line that wrapped around the corner. Stress Level: 7 Time kept ticking to the 6:40 boarding time and we still were not with our group. At this point I was down right freaking out. Stress Level: 10 My wife can attest that I am very stressed when I travel. This was not helping the situation. Finally after what seemed like hours their bus rolled in and we ran to security. All of a sudden... DISNEY MAGIC IN BOSTON!!! We were whisked to the "family" line which kept us all together and in front of the line! Stress Level: 2
The fight was uneventful... I think I actually fell asleep.
After landing we headed over to the DME check in. Stress Level: Non-existent. DME went smooth. We have never had troubles with the service and have been using it since they launched it. We typically stay at POP though and I know that is always the first stop.
We got to POP and checked in. Alas, our rooms were not ready. I expected this since it was 11:30AM. Here we split up. I board a bus headed to Access Control to get my last Disney ID that I would ever own ... or at least for a very long time. Of course 5 minutes into the bus I got the text saying that our rooms were ready. The issue came when I was standing at the Contemporary with little plan on how to get behind MK. I could not go through the park since I had no ticket (no ID) and walking skeeved me out slightly since I wasn't sure how the security guards would take to that. I asked the Contemp staff if they had a runner and they were just about as happy as a cow heading to slaughter. So.... random cab guy it was. Let me tell you random cab guy was fantastic! He was from Britain and moved to Orlando in the 80's. He took his family over here for a better life. He waited for me outside of access control for almost 45 minutes. Getting back to the Contemporary he only wanted to charge me $10! I wasn't having that and gave him what I felt was right for his services... Before anyone goes crazy on me the cab fare should have been double that.
I puttered around with my camera while I waited for the DTD bus.
Anyway...
We all met up at DTD and I ran into McDonald's to get something real quick since I hadn't eaten at all. I realized that would be the last time I went there... Big deal... we puttered around shopping for awhile. Jen, Cheryl, and Alexis were in love and we weren't even in a park yet! Perfect!
We headed to POP to get into our rooms and get ready for Ohana. This was going to be their first exposure and I was really hopping that it went perfectly. Everyone loved it of course. The food was perfect, our table was fantastic, our server amazing. At this point it was pushing 8:00PM. Everyone was getting rather tired... dunno why... so we decided to head back to the resort and relax. Jen, Cheryl, and Alexis headed to bed while my wife Karissa and I grabbed some Mickey Mai Tais. I reveled in the fact that we were not officially on vacation... first impressions were exactly as I had hopped.
The Lobstah has entered our room!
Tomorrow we planned on Magic Kingdom. I was very back and forth with were we should go first. Some suggested that we go to anywhere but MK first because they felt that the other parks will not live up to that. I decided that the first park that my niece was going to had to be MK. I wasn't going to take them to Disney and her first impression of the parks not be that Castle. HELLO!
Tune in for Magic Kingdom when we see what happens when I go Fastpass crazy... The Lobstah learns to fly... and we have the most perfect Pluto interaction.
Here is a quick Pre-Trip that I wrote a little less than a month before we left.
24 Days, 22 Hours, 53 min, 54 sec...
I have been putting off this pre-trip because I did not want to to it until there was less than 30 days left in the countdown. Of course it happens that this past week has been rather busy with school and work and the various other activities that go on in our family.
Everybody ready? Here we go!
The Cast:
Stephen: (Horizons16) I have been going to Disney since the late 80's, which is pretty good since I was born in '86. I participated in the Disney College Program during the Spring 2006 semester and stayed on as a seasonal cast member up until this past year. I am also an adventurous reader and an aspiring high school English teacher. I play the drums and quite often can be found jamming to my all time favorite band; Rush. But enough about me...
Karissa: My wife. We just got married in September and this will be out first trip down as husband and wife. I suppose that is what we will be celebrating. She has been to Disney what I believe is 4 times. She has only been with me twice, Christmas 2006 and then again August 2008. Though she is not as crazy about Disney as I am... she is getting there. Rather, I am getting her there.
Jennifer: Jen is my sister-in-law. She is a CPA so this trip can not come soon enough for her. Luckily the firm she works with encourages their employees to take time off after the tax season so we are good there. Jen has been to Disney in the past but it was back when Horizons, World of Motion, and CommuniCore was still hanging around and Studios was not even built. She is extremely excited to see the changes that have happened though a bit disappointed when I told her that 20,000 leagues had closed a number of years back.
Cheryl: Also my sister-in-law and Jen's partner. Yup that's right... whoever posted that thread about Gay Days look out we gut sum gays over here 'n thar gunna be doin' sum gay stuff! Anyway... sorry. Cheryl has been before but it is the same story as Jen. It has been years since she was down there last. Cheryl can get motion sick rather easy so she is hesitant to go on a lot of attractions. She said that's okay since the trip is really going to be for:
Alexis: Jen and Cheryl's 4 year old daughter, until 3 days into the trip when she becomes their 5 year old daughter. Alexis came from Guatemala when she was 9 months old. This will be her first time going to a Disney park. Ladies and Gentlemen we have a first timer. We just told her last night and while her reaction was somewhat limited we know she will be excited when we get down there. She has nothing to base it on so how can she be excited? She has been watching some recorded travel channel specials about Disney World so she will start to get an understanding of what we are really going to be doing. Needless to say she is quite excited about the plane ride and the pools, not sure what to think yet about the parks... To be five.
The Sound-stage:
We will be staying at Disney's Pop Century resort. There was a lot of scuttle around the boards awhile on staying at this resort because its low-class or low-income or whatever. This has been my resort of choice since it first opened. I would rather spend less on a resort room since we are hardly in it. I understand why some people spend large amounts of money to stay at the Poly or the Grand. I am not saying that is wrong. It just does not fit to our kind of vacation. My wife and I have always found the cast at POP to be very friendly and accommodating even though it is a cheaper resort. I must say though that I do miss sitting on a balcony with a morning coffee. This alone could get me to switch to a deluxe.
The Transportation:
Will be flying Delta out of Boston Logan to MCO. Delta was not really my first choice but when you are trying to find the cheapest flights from one international airport to another, beggars can't be choosers. It's one of the first flights of the day too so how delayed can it get?? Famous last words. We will also utilize the DME. I don't remember what we did prior to this starting up. We are saving so much now that we don't rent a car or take a Mears or any of that. I love it! Even if we don't get our bags until later on, or it takes a little bit to get to the resort, the price is certainly right.
The Shooting Schedule:
Thursday 4-29: Our flight leaves Boston at 7:00 AM. For us that means getting to the airport at 5:30 AM. Which means leaving our homes at 4:30 AM. Getting up at 3:30 AM. Going to bed the night before?? Maybe. We land in Orlando at 11:00 or so and plan to be at the resort by 1:00. I need to head to Access Control to get some things worked out and then check in. We will be heading to Downtown Disney to play for a little but and then go to the Poly for our gastronomical adventure at Ohana.
Friday 4-30: We have Magic Kingdom on the schedule today. It will be closing at 7:00 PM for Grad Nite! so I think it will work out. Touringplans suggested this park anyway. Tonight will be my Wife and I's date night so we are going to Boma and then Jellyrolls for libations and some singing.
Saturday 5-1: Animal Kingdom? This will be Jen and Cheryl's date night. They will probably end up doing the same as us. We booked then a table at Boma since that is what they asked for.
Sunday 5-2: Epcot / Studios? I have not really planned this day. I left it for a lets see whats going on and how Alexis is reacting to the parks kind of day. Maybe some swimming or some relaxing.
Monday 5-3: Magic Kingdom / Epcot / Studios? Al I know here is that it will be Alexis' birthday which means we have a table at Chef Mickey's in the morning. I have not been to Chef Mickey's in years so I am absolutely excited for this. I can't wait! We were thinking a Kitchen Sink at night too for a birthday celebration.
Tuesday 5-4: The last park day. We will play it by ear and see what we want to go back and do. We have a table at Cape May for the clambake. This is something that I did with my parents all the time when we would visit.
Wednesday 5-5: Unfortunately Delta has not been good to us. We booked our flights a long time ago and they have since changed. Our flight now leaves at 11:00 AM. We didn't have anything planned today but I don't like leaving so early. DME to Orlando the back to Logan. Reality.
Now then...
Lights...
Camera...
ACTION...
Thursday April 29
The previous night was spent packing. Unfortunately for me going on vacation means leaving packing to the last second. The trip planning is more fun for me than the packing. Luckily I have a wife now that will pack for me... er... help me pack. No... No that's a lie. Pack for me. When we were in college and I would visit her for a weekend there would be something that I would forget. Usually pajamas but it wasn't limited to that. I had to make an emergency stop at Target once to get boxers. Eh oh well...
The packing done and the clock turning to 12:00AM on the departure day I seriously questioned the idea of going to bed. I decided to just lay in bed and see what happened. Eventually I fell asleep... Stress Level: 3
Our plane was taking off from Logan at 7:00AM. For me that meant getting to the airport at 5:30AM and up in the apartment at 3:00AM or so. Yes you read that right, less than 3 hours of sleep.
We were meeting the second half of our group (Jen, Cheryl, and Alexis) at Logan airport. When I walked into the airport I almost had a heart attack when I saw the security line that wrapped around the corner. Stress Level: 7 Time kept ticking to the 6:40 boarding time and we still were not with our group. At this point I was down right freaking out. Stress Level: 10 My wife can attest that I am very stressed when I travel. This was not helping the situation. Finally after what seemed like hours their bus rolled in and we ran to security. All of a sudden... DISNEY MAGIC IN BOSTON!!! We were whisked to the "family" line which kept us all together and in front of the line! Stress Level: 2
The fight was uneventful... I think I actually fell asleep.
After landing we headed over to the DME check in. Stress Level: Non-existent. DME went smooth. We have never had troubles with the service and have been using it since they launched it. We typically stay at POP though and I know that is always the first stop.
We got to POP and checked in. Alas, our rooms were not ready. I expected this since it was 11:30AM. Here we split up. I board a bus headed to Access Control to get my last Disney ID that I would ever own ... or at least for a very long time. Of course 5 minutes into the bus I got the text saying that our rooms were ready. The issue came when I was standing at the Contemporary with little plan on how to get behind MK. I could not go through the park since I had no ticket (no ID) and walking skeeved me out slightly since I wasn't sure how the security guards would take to that. I asked the Contemp staff if they had a runner and they were just about as happy as a cow heading to slaughter. So.... random cab guy it was. Let me tell you random cab guy was fantastic! He was from Britain and moved to Orlando in the 80's. He took his family over here for a better life. He waited for me outside of access control for almost 45 minutes. Getting back to the Contemporary he only wanted to charge me $10! I wasn't having that and gave him what I felt was right for his services... Before anyone goes crazy on me the cab fare should have been double that.
I puttered around with my camera while I waited for the DTD bus.
Anyway...
We all met up at DTD and I ran into McDonald's to get something real quick since I hadn't eaten at all. I realized that would be the last time I went there... Big deal... we puttered around shopping for awhile. Jen, Cheryl, and Alexis were in love and we weren't even in a park yet! Perfect!
We headed to POP to get into our rooms and get ready for Ohana. This was going to be their first exposure and I was really hopping that it went perfectly. Everyone loved it of course. The food was perfect, our table was fantastic, our server amazing. At this point it was pushing 8:00PM. Everyone was getting rather tired... dunno why... so we decided to head back to the resort and relax. Jen, Cheryl, and Alexis headed to bed while my wife Karissa and I grabbed some Mickey Mai Tais. I reveled in the fact that we were not officially on vacation... first impressions were exactly as I had hopped.
The Lobstah has entered our room!
Tomorrow we planned on Magic Kingdom. I was very back and forth with were we should go first. Some suggested that we go to anywhere but MK first because they felt that the other parks will not live up to that. I decided that the first park that my niece was going to had to be MK. I wasn't going to take them to Disney and her first impression of the parks not be that Castle. HELLO!
Tune in for Magic Kingdom when we see what happens when I go Fastpass crazy... The Lobstah learns to fly... and we have the most perfect Pluto interaction.
