Beast. The awesome PTR of awesomeness June 2012 last update: Universal Resort

[BrerMama]

You had me cracking up here!

Must be a teacher thing.....Cutting lamination is fun because you don't have to actually cut. You just start and slide the scissors along!

I think that's it. Just slide and let your mind go. We laminated yesterday at work (last minute project).... and I didn't get to cut it. I was a little disappointed.

Love your touring cards!! We are the same way..we like to make sure we have a plan for each park and know which attractions to visit when. As you said it makes for a much more successful Disney trip

I didn't do plans for each day we visit, but just one general plan. So if it doesn't work the first time, I have sharpies and can just make notes on the back and we'll change it up. I'm most worried about our MK plan but I have 3 days planned there. If we don't get it done on our first try, we'll have another shot.

Dan was getting his little reminder stickers ready for his customers today. He pointed out that for his four week call-backs, we'll be on vacation. "That can't be right," I told him. "We have over four weeks left."

Um, no. We don't.

And then Kiah pointed out that if Dan hadn't insisted that we not go until after June 10 (his busiest time of any month is the first 10 days), we could be leaving on Friday for our trip. That's when we went the previous two trips and we loved it. Dan insists crowds and weather won't be that different from now and 3 weeks from now. I think he's wrong, but I'm determined to make the best of it.

 

[BrerMama]

Chapter 27

Day 7: Typhoon Lagoon

We are a water park loving family. We only get to Disney every 3-5 years, and during our off-years, we're in Branson, MO. Season passes to White Water. We go almost every morning of our trips. Dan and the kids go ride slides. I find a seat near the wave pool and read. We leave between 1-2 pm, sometimes earlier. They slide until the lines get long, then come get me and we do the lazy river and wave pool off and on, throwing in lunch, and then when the crowds in the lazy river and wave pool get too big, we leave.

We almost always have something to do in the evenings in Branson (hello shows!) so this works really well for us. Sometimes we even leave our swimsuits on and go back to our condo and jump right back into the pool.

Typhoon Lagoon has long been held as the gold standard for all water parks among the five of us. In fact, when White Water sent me a survey asking what they could do to make their park better, I told them to take a field trip to Typhoon Lagoon and figure it out. Seriously? Who wants to float around a lazy river that is just a concrete ditch? And last year White Water redid their lazy river and added foliage surrounding it. It's still new growth and nothing like the amazing experience that is Castaway Creek. They're trying, though.

Dan came up with the idea to add the Water Parks and More to our park tickets, and I'm pretty glad he did. We love it at Typhoon Lagoon. My guess is that my family will immediately want to head over to Crush N Gusher. This is fine with me because there's this really nice area where I can sit and relax while they ride. In fact, we may even make this area our "base" for the day.

I'm really torn about taking pictures at Typhoon Lagoon. A big part of this trip for me is documenting it. It would be wonderful if I had a waterproof digital camera to take. I don't. I can't justify spending $150 on one. I'm thinking I'm going to rely on Photopass photographers for the bulk of our photos here. I may take in my small point and shoot. It will require renting a locker, and taking the photo out to walk around and take photos. We're probably going to rent a locker anyway. While at White Water, I'm OK with leaving my iPhone hidden in a bag of towels and checking on our stuff every 5-10 minutes while I'm in the wave pool/lazy river, I'm not sure that's going to work at Typhoon Lagoon.

Note to self: Investigate locker renting process at water parks.

I'll locate the locker, lock up our stuff, establish base camp. Dan and kids will ride Crush N Gusher till they're done. I wouldn't mind riding this, but the stairs to get to the top literally have me shaking in fright. I'm more afraid of the stairs than the ride. I'll sit it out.

When they're done, we'll head off to the slides. I'll do the family raft ride. Maybe one or two of the smaller slides. The rest of the family will do them all.

I'd like to do the Shark Reef, but it will depend on the wait as slides will be our priority. After slides, we'll check the wait and do the shark reef if it's not too busy. If it is, we'll just hope in Castaway Creek and float. End our day at the wave pool.

I expect that we'll be done by 2 or 3 on our water park days. Kiah thinks I'm crazy. She thinks we'll be there all day. If we are, that's great. I just know how we tour water parks.

No matter who is right, we'll be leaving before dinner. I'd really like dinner to be at the new Dave & Buster's in Orlando. We love that place. If not, I have Chevy's and Bahama Breeze on my short list of places to try.

I'm pretty excited for this, our first "rest" day. I can't wait.

[P.S. Obviously, I have no photos of Typhoon Lagoon. OK, I do have a couple of Photopass photos, but I'm pretty sure you don't want to see me in a swimsuit. So thanks to Simple Disney Things for some photos to spice up this edition of my pretrip report. Expect to see more of SDT's great photos.]

 

[smile5sunshine]

EEEPPPP!!! it's getting so CLOSE!!!! So excited for you and your family!


Ugh, and you would HAVE to go and post about getting to go to TL! I LOVE water parks, but water parks and small kiddos just don't work so well for me. I do nothing but spend the entire time following around a little one to make sure they don't DROWN! That is anything BUT relaxing, so until my kiddos get just a few years older, no water parks for me. BOO! So I will just sit over here and be jealous of you and all the fun your family will be having.

Oh and you MUST try to post pics once you and the girls get your new hair cuts. I think the Jamie Lee pixie cut will look cute on you!

Sunshine

 

[MHTeacher]

Love Typhoon Lagoon! Sounds like a great place for a relaxing day!

 

[BrerMama]

EEEPPPP!!! it's getting so CLOSE!!!! So excited for you and your family!


Ugh, and you would HAVE to go and post about getting to go to TL! I LOVE water parks, but water parks and small kiddos just don't work so well for me. I do nothing but spend the entire time following around a little one to make sure they don't DROWN! That is anything BUT relaxing, so until my kiddos get just a few years older, no water parks for me. BOO! So I will just sit over here and be jealous of you and all the fun your family will be having.

Oh and you MUST try to post pics once you and the girls get your new hair cuts. I think the Jamie Lee pixie cut will look cute on you!

Sunshine

I love TL when Ches was 4.... because I really don't do the slides and I could just sit and watch her play in the kiddie area while everyone else was on slides. I didn't let her go in the wave pool, though.

Love Typhoon Lagoon! Sounds like a great place for a relaxing day!

I'm so ready. Wish I was there today! And your trip is so super close!

Today is my last day of teaching this year (have a work day tomorrow). We're making English Muffin Pizzas in my afternoon class. I will probably stress and laugh and get pizza sauce all over. My morning class -- which has double the number of students -- will have to make do with cupcakes from the store.

Brady has orientation today at the university. I'm freaking about him driving himself there, but I'm trying to be a good mom and keep it under control. I did ask him to send me a text when he gets there. I don't know if he will.

The trip is starting to seem more real to me now. I've been planning it since late June 2011, so almost eleven months. I'm at the point where I'm starting to believe it's really going to happen. Sounds a little crazy, but I always don't quite let myself believe...

 

[StitchIsOurHero]

Ooh, the water parks & more addition looks so cool! Can't wait til D gets older and we can do that!!

Have a great last teaching day today! Pixie dust to Brady for a safe trip to orientation!

I completely understand about not "believing" until it gets really close! Then it gets to the "panic mode" when it's REALLY CLOSE and I haven't gotten everything done. . .wait. . .that's now!

 

[BrerMama]

Ooh, the water parks & more addition looks so cool! Can't wait til D gets older and we can do that!!

Have a great last teaching day today! Pixie dust to Brady for a safe trip to orientation!

I completely understand about not "believing" until it gets really close! Then it gets to the "panic mode" when it's REALLY CLOSE and I haven't gotten everything done. . .wait. . .that's now!

I only had half my PM students yesterday. Apparently they had doctor appointments so 3 of them were gone. I didn't even get to say goodbye! However, it did make pizza making go quickly.

Work day today. I slept awful last night -- I need it to be in the 60s or lower for me to a get a good night's sleep and that's not happening for six months or so, so bring on the insomnia. My back is aching like crazy. Must be my old age kicking in.

And today is work day. I have to remove all the furniture from my classroom as they are -- thank heavens -- installing tile next week. Ever tried to teach pre-K with only carpet? Snack time, art time, tactile time are not good times for carpet. It's nasty. So I'm getting about 10 feet of tile at one end of my room and the rest of the carpet is getting a deep cleaning. However, I'm not really feeling like a moving van today. My poor, aching back.

Brady's orientation went well and he survived the rush hour drive. He's so excited about taking classes next year and possibly working in a school via co-op that he's getting me all excited for him. I love this next step for him.

My girls are going to babysit the daughter of my para today, so we're all busy. Tomorrow is an actual day off for everyone but Dan. We're thinking a long, Disney-boot-camp walk at the Nature Center in the morning. I'm ready to relax!

 

[nannye]

I only had half my PM students yesterday. Apparently they had doctor appointments so 3 of them were gone. I didn't even get to say goodbye! However, it did make pizza making go quickly.

Work day today. I slept awful last night -- I need it to be in the 60s or lower for me to a get a good night's sleep and that's not happening for six months or so, so bring on the insomnia. My back is aching like crazy. Must be my old age kicking in.

And today is work day. I have to remove all the furniture from my classroom as they are -- thank heavens -- installing tile next week. Ever tried to teach pre-K with only carpet? Snack time, art time, tactile time are not good times for carpet. It's nasty. So I'm getting about 10 feet of tile at one end of my room and the rest of the carpet is getting a deep cleaning. However, I'm not really feeling like a moving van today. My poor, aching back.

Brady's orientation went well and he survived the rush hour drive. He's so excited about taking classes next year and possibly working in a school via co-op that he's getting me all excited for him. I love this next step for him.

My girls are going to babysit the daughter of my para today, so we're all busy. Tomorrow is an actual day off for everyone but Dan. We're thinking a long, Disney-boot-camp walk at the Nature Center in the morning. I'm ready to relax!

What is a Para?

 

[BrerMama]

What is a Para?

Sorry! Paraeducator = teacher assistant. Mine are awesome!

 

[momabaarjo]

The days are starting to tick by quickly...or I am just missing lots of days in between posting! The water park sounds lovely...the kids wanted to do that too, but the temps just did not hold out for a day in a water park...remember kids we tried that at Discovery Cove!

 

[BrerMama]

The days are starting to tick by quickly...or I am just missing lots of days in between posting! The water park sounds lovely...the kids wanted to do that too, but the temps just did not hold out for a day in a water park...remember kids we tried that at Discovery Cove!

I guess there's one benefit to going in June... water park weather! I can't think of many others. I checked yesterday's forecast and humidity was 95%. I've started a daily Disney weather check. It annoys my family. Just trying to prepare them...

 

[BrerMama]

Chapter 28: Finding the right car for us

Of all the parts of vacation planning, the rental car game has been one of my most entertaining.

When we first decided to stay off site, I did like many people and went to the car rental sites to see how much renting a car would cost us. I was a little stunned by the prices. I was getting an average of $700-$1000 for our 15 day trip. One of the frequent responses a person gets when they say they're staying offsite is "make sure you figure the cost of renting a car and gas, it may be cheaper to stay onsite." I was a little convinced they were right.

Since then I've learned that prices drop as you get closer to your arrival date. Best prices occur within three months, and sometimes true car rental "players" are booking and rebooking right up until the day they leave.

I settled for subscribing to the June 2012 Car Rental thread on the Transportation board here at the DIS. I started with a reservation for the Emerald Aisle at National. I like the idea of National or its sister company, Alamo, because you can pick your own car. Emerald Aisle allows me to rent a midsize and then they have a special aisle where you can select any car on that aisle. My price for the Aisle for our 15 days was $465.

I stuck with that reservation for a long, long time because it was the best option for us. Then Alamo got a little crazy back in April. I literally rebooked five times over a week.

Our final price? $221 for 15 days. I rented a Standard, but Alamo doesn't have a standard aisle at Orlando International, so I'll get to choose from the fullsize aisle.

I'm not thrilled about a car. I just really dislike cars right now. I don't want my 3 teens sitting smashed together in the back seat when we're all going to be hot and sweaty and nasty. However, a mini van seems a little unnecessary... and a lot expensive. At least $450 for the 15 days, which really isn't unreasonable. Unless I've got a full size car for half that amount.

So we'll stick with the full size. Dan has a list of things he'd like in the car we choose.

Priority #1: Key fob with door locks on it. We are apparently so spoiled that we can no longer unlock our own doors. I don't anticipate much trouble finding this.

Priority #2: Tinted windows. It's going to be hot and we're used to tinted windows. I think this might be more difficult because I'm thinking that tinted windows aren't a priority on rental cars.

Priority #3: Any color but white or black. Actually, the funkier the color the better. Dan wants to be able to find the car in a parking lot. I have plans to take photos on my phone when we park, but a bold color would help.

Personally, I could drop Dan's priority #2 and be OK with it. I do have to admit... one of the things I'm really looking forward to doing three weeks from today is walking out to the Alamo garage and picking our car. It's like going to a dealership and not having to deal with a pushy salesperson! And only paying $221 for our entire trip? It's almost exactly the same as our budget for parking! Can't beat that!!

 

[StitchIsOurHero]

I hope your work day was good! Yay for tile. . .they just did that in our guidance offices this past spring. It was a mess getting everything ready, but I like it much better now!

I, too, do the daily weather check! It drives DH insane, but I like to have some idea of what to expect!!

Good luck with the rental car search! One year, we flew and at the very last minute (the night before) decided to rent a car. Now, I was in panic mode about it, but we did end up with a good deal!

 

[smile5sunshine]

Chapter 28: Finding the right car for us

Of all the parts of vacation planning, the rental car game has been one of my most entertaining.

When we first decided to stay off site, I did like many people and went to the car rental sites to see how much renting a car would cost us. I was a little stunned by the prices. I was getting an average of $700-$1000 for our 15 day trip. One of the frequent responses a person gets when they say they're staying offsite is "make sure you figure the cost of renting a car and gas, it may be cheaper to stay onsite." I was a little convinced they were right.

Since then I've learned that prices drop as you get closer to your arrival date. Best prices occur within three months, and sometimes true car rental "players" are booking and rebooking right up until the day they leave.

I settled for subscribing to the June 2012 Car Rental thread on the Transportation board here at the DIS. I started with a reservation for the Emerald Aisle at National. I like the idea of National or its sister company, Alamo, because you can pick your own car. Emerald Aisle allows me to rent a midsize and then they have a special aisle where you can select any car on that aisle. My price for the Aisle for our 15 days was $465.

I stuck with that reservation for a long, long time because it was the best option for us. Then Alamo got a little crazy back in April. I literally rebooked five times over a week.

Our final price? $221 for 15 days. I rented a Standard, but Alamo doesn't have a standard aisle at Orlando International, so I'll get to choose from the fullsize aisle.

I'm not thrilled about a car. I just really dislike cars right now. I don't want my 3 teens sitting smashed together in the back seat when we're all going to be hot and sweaty and nasty. However, a mini van seems a little unnecessary... and a lot expensive. At least $450 for the 15 days, which really isn't unreasonable. Unless I've got a full size car for half that amount.

So we'll stick with the full size. Dan has a list of things he'd like in the car we choose.

Priority #1: Key fob with door locks on it. We are apparently so spoiled that we can no longer unlock our own doors. I don't anticipate much trouble finding this.

Priority #2: Tinted windows. It's going to be hot and we're used to tinted windows. I think this might be more difficult because I'm thinking that tinted windows aren't a priority on rental cars.

Priority #3: Any color but white or black. Actually, the funkier the color the better. Dan wants to be able to find the car in a parking lot. I have plans to take photos on my phone when we park, but a bold color would help.

Personally, I could drop Dan's priority #2 and be OK with it. I do have to admit... one of the things I'm really looking forward to doing three weeks from today is walking out to the Alamo garage and picking our car. It's like going to a dealership and not having to deal with a pushy salesperson! And only paying $221 for our entire trip? It's almost exactly the same as our budget for parking! Can't beat that!!

Hurray for getting such a good deal on the car rental! Okay about Priority #3, have you considered doing something to "pimp" your ride so that it's easier to find in the parking lot??? you could TRY doing one of those antenna ball toppers (I've seen some at the disney outlets). Another idea is to pick up some "window paint markers" at the Dollar store and draw on the windows some Disney stuff. OR you could get that magnetic paper and print out some magnetic "stickers" to put on the car. Just kind of brainstorming for you

So glad that your regular school days are winding down.

Sunshine

 

[MHTeacher]

YAY for getting a good deal on your rental car!

 

[JayhawkFans]

Reason #2123452 why I love DisBoards .. Learn something new every day.

I didn't realize Alamo doesn't have a standard aisle at MCO. I have always reserved a full size when I could have reserved a standard and still picked from the full size aisle???

 

[Angies1274]

We love Typhoon Lagoon!! We had so much fun there on our last trip! I wanted to take pictures as well but didn't want to invest in a waterproof digital camera so I just picked up a disposable waterproof one with a strap and then when we got it developed I just ordered a CD so I could put the pictures on my laptop.

Yay for getting such a great deal on a rental car!!

 

[BrerMama]

I hope your work day was good! Yay for tile. . .they just did that in our guidance offices this past spring. It was a mess getting everything ready, but I like it much better now!

I, too, do the daily weather check! It drives DH insane, but I like to have some idea of what to expect!!

Good luck with the rental car search! One year, we flew and at the very last minute (the night before) decided to rent a car. Now, I was in panic mode about it, but we did end up with a good deal!

That reminds me... no weather check yet today. Time to annoy my family...

Hurray for getting such a good deal on the car rental! Okay about Priority #3, have you considered doing something to "pimp" your ride so that it's easier to find in the parking lot??? you could TRY doing one of those antenna ball toppers (I've seen some at the disney outlets). Another idea is to pick up some "window paint markers" at the Dollar store and draw on the windows some Disney stuff. OR you could get that magnetic paper and print out some magnetic "stickers" to put on the car. Just kind of brainstorming for you

So glad that your regular school days are winding down.

Sunshine

I do have some yellow ribbon set aside to tie on the antenna. I figure yellow will stick out in a parking lot.

YAY for getting a good deal on your rental car!

I love the rental car game! Already checked prices this morning. Then I remembered it's Memorial Day weekend and prices are probably going to be high right now...

Reason #2123452 why I love DisBoards .. Learn something new every day.

I didn't realize Alamo doesn't have a standard aisle at MCO. I have always reserved a full size when I could have reserved a standard and still picked from the full size aisle???

gmeh1 is an Alamo/National employee who posts over on the Transportation Boards often. She's the one who originally posted about no standards at MCO. I ended up having a double upgrade coupon through Alamo Insiders. So I booked a compact, my confirmation shows a Standard due to the coupon, and I'll get to choose a full size. Correction -- we'll get to choose a full size.

And I'm a little freaked that 3 weeks from now, we'll have driven it to MK and we'll be sitting and eating at Crystal Palace.

We love Typhoon Lagoon!! We had so much fun there on our last trip! I wanted to take pictures as well but didn't want to invest in a waterproof digital camera so I just picked up a disposable waterproof one with a strap and then when we got it developed I just ordered a CD so I could put the pictures on my laptop.

Yay for getting such a great deal on a rental car!!

Yes, in a pinch, I'm thinking one of those waterproof disposables might be needed. I'll probably throw 2 or 3 in our cart during our initial Wal-mart run when we arrive.

 

[BrerMama]

Twenty Day Update:

Holy cow. Three weeks from today will be our first park day. I'm a lot freaked.

We're eating breakfast at Crystal Palace. Here's my really bad layout I did from our visit last trip:

Yesterday I gave in to my own nervous nellie impulses and called Sheraton Vistana to confirm that they had our reservation and my requests. The Diamond Lane person was very pleasant and reviewed all my requests with me. I got a confirmation email not long afterwards. It contained a great map of the resort which I printed. It makes me happy.

We are off to the zoo today for our 20 day celebration. Dan has to work, and somehow I have let myself be talked into going to the zoo for our daily walk. I'm not thrilled -- it's going to be in the 90s -- but we'll be home before lunch so hopefully it won't be overwhelmingly hot. The rest of the weekend will be filled with movies and good food. I'm ready!

 

[DMGeurts]

Great update! You are soooo close!!

Mmmm.... Crystal Palace... I've eaten there twice before I knew about the stuffed French Toast in the kid's section... I don't think I'll ever eat anything else there now. LOL

D~