justgeorgi
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- May 30, 2003
- Messages
- 364
Pre-Trip Report
When-December 28-January 8th
Where-Offsite in a Condo/Kissimmee
How-Driving
Who-
Wendy-Thats me! Planner, lover of Disney Theme Parks, wife, mother, a combo of theme park commando and stop & smell the roses. Favorite character-Peter Pan, Favorite Park-Epcot, Favorite Snack-Mickey Rice Crispie!
David-The Husband! Goes with the flow, does most of the driving (although due to an illness that caused vertigo this will be split this time), laid back, has no problem traipsing across a park to grab fastpasses. Favorite character-Big All, Favorite Park-Epcot, Favorite Snack-Frozen Banana
Georgie-The Daughter! She is 19 years old on this trip and has been going to Disney parks since she was 18 months old. We have managed a few great surprise trips for her in the past (not this one though) including a beautiful trip last year for her 18th birthday that was a mom/daughter trip
She goes with the flow, rides everything and has been known to pick up a fast pass or two in her time! Favorite characters-Cinderella, Tinkerbelle, Stitch and now Rapunzel, Favorite Park-Hollywood Studios for the Streetmosphere, Favorite Snack-Chocolate Mousse in Norway
Paul-Daughters Boyfriend! He will be 20 on this trip. He has only been to Disney 2 times (shocker I know) and we have yet to see if he will become a fan like us. He is very easy going, good sense of humor and just goes with the flow. Favorites have yet to be determined although we know he is a big Buzz & Woody fan! He and Georgie just celebrated 3 years together (I know! That is like 20 years to teenagers!)
Nana-My Grandmother! She is 82 on this trip. She rides a scooter so watch out for her, she can be dangerous!
She does ALL the rides except Splash Mtn. and Space Mtn. because with her knee replacements its very difficult for her to get up from the low sitting position. She isnt a big fan of Soarin but she LOVES Tower of Terror and Rock N Roller Coaster. She also likes to tell people how old she is!!! She loves all the parks, Mickey is her favorite and she will want to visit her husband Georges little plaque in Epcot that Dave and I had made for him after he passed away a few years ago. He has a beautiful little spot right under Spaceship Earth! She doesn't slow down and will probably remain awake the ENTIRE 20 hour drive down!!! She will keep the driver awake that is for sure!!!
We found an incredible deal on a handicapped accessible condo in Kissimmee because I booked VERY early and haggled back and forth between two different condo owners till I got a price I thought worked for me. How does $464 TOTAL including tax grab ya? Yeah it grabbed me so I grabbed it! I paid it off in full, got my key code and address WAY in advance! It has great reviews, pics look great and its a nice, 1st floor corner condo. Perfect for traveling with an old lady and her trusty scooter that needs to be plugged in! The condo has 3 bedrooms; a master bedroom, a queen bedroom and a bedroom with 2 twin beds. It also has a pull out coach for the boyfriend in the living room. We have a friend visiting for a few nights so she can take the 2nd twin in my daughters room when she gets there. It has a covered lanai, a full kitchen and 2 baths, one of which is handicapped so perfect for Nana.
We booked a mini-van for the trip down which gives us lots of room to spread out. I originally had a great deal but had to change my dates late into the trip planning adding an additional $200 to my van rental. That hurt. A lot. I was not very happy but the trip had to be slightly rescheduled. Originally we planned to leave home on New Years Day but now we are leaving on the 28th. Thanks Hotwire and Hertz, thanks a lot. We plan 6 full days in the parks plus an evening when we arrive to see the new castle show. We are also visiting old family friends in Crystal Springs and two days of our trip will be spent filming an upcoming episode of a popular television show for the TLC network which is why our dates changed and arrangements had to be adjusted for the trip.
Loose Itinerary:
December 27th-Hubby will come home from work and plans to stay up as late as possible so he can sleep during the day the 28th. I plan to finish up the rest of my packing and put away the Christmas stuff, as well as get the cat stuff taken care of. We live in a duplex and my Aunt and Nana live downstairs. Aunt is taking care of our dogs and 2 cats while we are away. The cats will most likely stay upstairs with daily visits and the dogs will join her downstairs. I will probably also be packing last minute stuff for the television show.
December 28th-Hubby will hopefully be sleeping until it is time to leave to pick up rental van. Ill pack up the coolers, make coffee and snacks and we will be off by 3pm. We will travel to the local airport to pick up our very overpriced minivan and then off to pick up Paul at his house. Id very much like to be on the road by 6pm at the latest. We are driving from upstate NY and leaving in the evening around 4-6 works very well because we bypass NYC, NJ & DC traffic and it gets us past Jacksonville after morning rush hour!
December 29th-After our traditional Waffle House breakfast stop (we dont have them anywhere near us, the closest is 5 hours away so its a much looked forward to treat) we plan to arrive in Kissimmee between 12 noon and 2pm. Normally Dave does all the driving but last winter he came down with a virus that attacked his inner ear causing constant vertigo. He struggles with it still and doctors predict it can hold on for longer than a year. Hopefully it will have eased enough that he can do night driving but I plan to take the first 4 hour leg just in case. We will check into a hotel on 192 and then after showers and leg stretches we are going to head over to Apple Scooters to pick up Nanas scooter and then off to the Magic Kingdom to watch the new castle show!!
December 30th-Magic Kingdom in the AM, grocery shopping and condo check in that afternoon, dinner and then back to the park for fireworks.
December 31st-Ringing in the New Year Epcot Style! We have spent many New Year Eves in Epcot! It is crazy crowded, lines are ridiculously long, but we love it!! We know that because the park can and most likely will reach capacity we have to stay and not leave so it should be a pretty long, long day. We plan to pack a lunch and go to Sunshine Seasons for dinner.
January 1st-Animal Kingdom-This will be a laid back day. We have Tusker House breakfast reservations at 10:25 am. We know we want to see Nemo & Lion King shows and do Expedition Everest, Dinosaur, the safari and Tough To be A Bug. We will leave early afternoon and are going to visit old family friends for a New Years Day dinner in Crystal Springs that evening.
January 2nd-Hollywood Studios
January 3rd-Epcot
January 4th-Magic Kingdom
January 5th-Drive to PA
January 6-7th TV show taping
January 8th-Heading Home!!
So that is the plan! There is so much to do and so little time to do it all! I know my daughter and her boyfriend have plans to celebrate their 3 year anniversary at Grand Floridians Garden View Lounge for the afternoon tea. They are doing that on our last day which will make it easy as it is just a monorail trip ride. We may do an evening at Old Town & Fun Spot and we will spend an evening in Downtown Disney (both sides) to do shopping.
When-December 28-January 8th
Where-Offsite in a Condo/Kissimmee
How-Driving
Who-
Wendy-Thats me! Planner, lover of Disney Theme Parks, wife, mother, a combo of theme park commando and stop & smell the roses. Favorite character-Peter Pan, Favorite Park-Epcot, Favorite Snack-Mickey Rice Crispie!
David-The Husband! Goes with the flow, does most of the driving (although due to an illness that caused vertigo this will be split this time), laid back, has no problem traipsing across a park to grab fastpasses. Favorite character-Big All, Favorite Park-Epcot, Favorite Snack-Frozen Banana
Georgie-The Daughter! She is 19 years old on this trip and has been going to Disney parks since she was 18 months old. We have managed a few great surprise trips for her in the past (not this one though) including a beautiful trip last year for her 18th birthday that was a mom/daughter trip
She goes with the flow, rides everything and has been known to pick up a fast pass or two in her time! Favorite characters-Cinderella, Tinkerbelle, Stitch and now Rapunzel, Favorite Park-Hollywood Studios for the Streetmosphere, Favorite Snack-Chocolate Mousse in NorwayPaul-Daughters Boyfriend! He will be 20 on this trip. He has only been to Disney 2 times (shocker I know) and we have yet to see if he will become a fan like us. He is very easy going, good sense of humor and just goes with the flow. Favorites have yet to be determined although we know he is a big Buzz & Woody fan! He and Georgie just celebrated 3 years together (I know! That is like 20 years to teenagers!)
Nana-My Grandmother! She is 82 on this trip. She rides a scooter so watch out for her, she can be dangerous!
She does ALL the rides except Splash Mtn. and Space Mtn. because with her knee replacements its very difficult for her to get up from the low sitting position. She isnt a big fan of Soarin but she LOVES Tower of Terror and Rock N Roller Coaster. She also likes to tell people how old she is!!! She loves all the parks, Mickey is her favorite and she will want to visit her husband Georges little plaque in Epcot that Dave and I had made for him after he passed away a few years ago. He has a beautiful little spot right under Spaceship Earth! She doesn't slow down and will probably remain awake the ENTIRE 20 hour drive down!!! She will keep the driver awake that is for sure!!!We found an incredible deal on a handicapped accessible condo in Kissimmee because I booked VERY early and haggled back and forth between two different condo owners till I got a price I thought worked for me. How does $464 TOTAL including tax grab ya? Yeah it grabbed me so I grabbed it! I paid it off in full, got my key code and address WAY in advance! It has great reviews, pics look great and its a nice, 1st floor corner condo. Perfect for traveling with an old lady and her trusty scooter that needs to be plugged in! The condo has 3 bedrooms; a master bedroom, a queen bedroom and a bedroom with 2 twin beds. It also has a pull out coach for the boyfriend in the living room. We have a friend visiting for a few nights so she can take the 2nd twin in my daughters room when she gets there. It has a covered lanai, a full kitchen and 2 baths, one of which is handicapped so perfect for Nana.
We booked a mini-van for the trip down which gives us lots of room to spread out. I originally had a great deal but had to change my dates late into the trip planning adding an additional $200 to my van rental. That hurt. A lot. I was not very happy but the trip had to be slightly rescheduled. Originally we planned to leave home on New Years Day but now we are leaving on the 28th. Thanks Hotwire and Hertz, thanks a lot. We plan 6 full days in the parks plus an evening when we arrive to see the new castle show. We are also visiting old family friends in Crystal Springs and two days of our trip will be spent filming an upcoming episode of a popular television show for the TLC network which is why our dates changed and arrangements had to be adjusted for the trip.
Loose Itinerary:
December 27th-Hubby will come home from work and plans to stay up as late as possible so he can sleep during the day the 28th. I plan to finish up the rest of my packing and put away the Christmas stuff, as well as get the cat stuff taken care of. We live in a duplex and my Aunt and Nana live downstairs. Aunt is taking care of our dogs and 2 cats while we are away. The cats will most likely stay upstairs with daily visits and the dogs will join her downstairs. I will probably also be packing last minute stuff for the television show.
December 28th-Hubby will hopefully be sleeping until it is time to leave to pick up rental van. Ill pack up the coolers, make coffee and snacks and we will be off by 3pm. We will travel to the local airport to pick up our very overpriced minivan and then off to pick up Paul at his house. Id very much like to be on the road by 6pm at the latest. We are driving from upstate NY and leaving in the evening around 4-6 works very well because we bypass NYC, NJ & DC traffic and it gets us past Jacksonville after morning rush hour!
December 29th-After our traditional Waffle House breakfast stop (we dont have them anywhere near us, the closest is 5 hours away so its a much looked forward to treat) we plan to arrive in Kissimmee between 12 noon and 2pm. Normally Dave does all the driving but last winter he came down with a virus that attacked his inner ear causing constant vertigo. He struggles with it still and doctors predict it can hold on for longer than a year. Hopefully it will have eased enough that he can do night driving but I plan to take the first 4 hour leg just in case. We will check into a hotel on 192 and then after showers and leg stretches we are going to head over to Apple Scooters to pick up Nanas scooter and then off to the Magic Kingdom to watch the new castle show!!
December 30th-Magic Kingdom in the AM, grocery shopping and condo check in that afternoon, dinner and then back to the park for fireworks.
December 31st-Ringing in the New Year Epcot Style! We have spent many New Year Eves in Epcot! It is crazy crowded, lines are ridiculously long, but we love it!! We know that because the park can and most likely will reach capacity we have to stay and not leave so it should be a pretty long, long day. We plan to pack a lunch and go to Sunshine Seasons for dinner.
January 1st-Animal Kingdom-This will be a laid back day. We have Tusker House breakfast reservations at 10:25 am. We know we want to see Nemo & Lion King shows and do Expedition Everest, Dinosaur, the safari and Tough To be A Bug. We will leave early afternoon and are going to visit old family friends for a New Years Day dinner in Crystal Springs that evening.
January 2nd-Hollywood Studios
January 3rd-Epcot
January 4th-Magic Kingdom
January 5th-Drive to PA
January 6-7th TV show taping
January 8th-Heading Home!!
So that is the plan! There is so much to do and so little time to do it all! I know my daughter and her boyfriend have plans to celebrate their 3 year anniversary at Grand Floridians Garden View Lounge for the afternoon tea. They are doing that on our last day which will make it easy as it is just a monorail trip ride. We may do an evening at Old Town & Fun Spot and we will spend an evening in Downtown Disney (both sides) to do shopping.
