Christmas all year long!

[tinacaplan]

Just stopping by to say hi. I love that still from "Meet the Robinsons." So cool.

 

[annmarieda]

If I can figure out a way to ship you some, I will. Canned...ICK! Seriously, I have to use those when I forget to set some out to thaw...DH always finds me out...

Nothing is better when they are freshly roasted and hot...

I can imagine the smell would be awesome too. YUMMMM. If you figure out a way, I would LOVE to have some shipped to me. You just let me know what I would need to do on my end.

Just stopping by to say hi. I love that still from "Meet the Robinsons." So cool.

Hi Tina glad you stopped by

 

[annmarieda]

So we really are starting to see the light at the end... It won't be long until we are in the double digits. Since that is the case and since there is 15 sundays left after today and since I have 14 days total to plan I thought I would start putting together some detailed plans. Not sure if anyone is interested. I know I have pretty much given a summary of my plans, but... since I am bored and can't talk to Steve about the trip. (I have apparently traumatized him and so I am on a "no talk about the trip" routine -self inflicted.) This will give me something else to focus on and not break my vow of silence to Steve.

As with anything though, this is all subject to change. (and we all know how I can like to tinker with things)

Friday, 12/9/2011-

This is our arrival day. It will be a long day. I anticipate us getting up before the sun. As soon as we are up and ready, Steve and I will load the car while Zoe and Alex have a bite to eat. Once everything is loaded up, we will head out and pick up Starbucks for Steve and I. Our next stop will be to Kira’s place since she (or rather Josh since Kira doesn’t drive on the freeways) will have to drop us off at the airport.

Before we go to the airport though, Steve will need to make an appearance at the office. This really complicates things and so we may or may not follow through with this part of the plan. Remember he is severely short on vacation days now. (like sitting at 0) Seatac is not terribly far from where he works, but far enough that this will be a pain. Hopefully, he can get into the office by 7am, which will mean leaving the house at 6am.

After dropping him off we will continue onto Seatac. Zoe and I will be flying on

Our flight is at 9:40am. Alex will come with us and help me check in my bags. Getting Alex checked in for his flight and then determining where our gates are in relationship to each other will determine where we will wait. My hope is that they will be near enough that we can wait together for the entire time. If not, things will be a bit tricky since Zoe and I will need to board about the time Steve will be arriving to the airport.

Sometime around 9am, Steve will head to the airport. He will likely take a taxi and meet Alex at his gate. I am a bit uneasy of possibly leaving Alex alone, but he will be 16 and should be able to stay put for a half hour or so.

Zoe and I fly to Kansas city first. There is no food offered on the plane and we will not arrive until 3:10pm. I will need to make sure and bring snacks for the two of us. Once on the ground in Kansas City though, we will eat something. I have never been to this airport, but I am assuming there will be SOMETHING that we can eat.

Meanwhile, Steve and Alex will have taken a flight on

at 10:55am. They will have food service so I would assume they will eat on the plane. However, this will be up to them to do so. They will arrive in Chicago at 4:43pm. They too will need to grab a bite to eat before getting back on a plane. (or at least they should, but they might choose to eat on the plane since it will have food service)

Each of our 2 groups has a good wait until our next flight. The guys are scheduled to depart Chicago at 7:30pm. Zoe and I are scheduled to leave Kansas City at 5:20pm. This is why I think both groups should take this time to eat as it (at least for Zoe and I) could be the last time we get something "normal" to eat until the next day.

Zoe and I will be first to arrive at MCO. We are scheduled to arrive at 9pm. Shortly after we arrive Tankgirl will be arriving. Since we are both headed to Pop, our plan is to have a dismeet. So Zoe and I will gather our carry on bags and head to DME. We will wait there for Tankgirl.
Once Tankgirl arrives, we will be on our way to

I hope to get a room near where we had one last September. (lake view 60’s section) If we don’t get that, I will be fine with it since we don’t need to be able to have perfect access to the Classic Hall. However, wouldn’t this be nice?

My guess is we will arrive to our room after 10pm so we will not likely be doing anything else for the evening.

The guys are scheduled to arrive MCO at 11:10pm. Since their bags will have traveled on our flight, the guys do not need to do anything but gather their carry on and head to DME. I will send Steve a text message to let him know what our room number is and how to get to it. I am not sure that they will need to “check in” at the front desk, but I could see that someone pointing them in the right direction might be helpful. If it were earlier I would just go meet them, but Zoe is likely to be asleep. I anticipate that they will get to the room sometime after midnight.

Even though there is the time difference, we will have all got up quite early in order to get Steve to his office in the morning. I am sure that we are all going to be VERY tired as 12/9 turns to 12/10.

 

[Abby's Dad]

It certainly sounds like you have quite the plan Ann - and as I've come to know you in some small way through this PTR, I completely believe that you will pull it off! Maybe this will inspire me to get serious about finishing up my December planning - but I've got to get my ADRs for March figured out. Looking forward to continuing on with your plans!

 

[KatMark]

Ann, that is a LONG day. I hope you all get some sleep on the plane. I think Alex will be fine at the airport for a little while by himself and you need not worry about it.

I hope you don't have any "early" morning plans your first full day at Disney...I think you'll all need to sleep in a little.

 

[tankgirl427]

Wait!...... What!...... I'm meeting you at the ME!?!? J/K

If it makes you feel any better my parents dropped me off at the airport in 8th grade (13 years old) to fly by myself to Singapore. I didn't get an attendant to help me because 12 years old was the cut off. So I took a plane from Boston to LA, transferred to a plane that goes to Tokyo, then had to figure out how to get into the airport so that I could reboard and fly on to Singapore, so yeah.... hmmm pretty sure Alex can hang out at a gate for a half hour by himself.

I doubt my parents would let me do that flight again by myself, if it was to replay in 2012.

 

[swwake]

It's incredible that it takes a full day of travel to get to WDW for you. Wow! But as I like to say - planes are for sleeping. Maybe you'll get some cat naps on the flights. Either way, you'll all be excited and it will be a fun adventure!

 

[annmarieda]

It certainly sounds like you have quite the plan Ann - and as I've come to know you in some small way through this PTR, I completely believe that you will pull it off! Maybe this will inspire me to get serious about finishing up my December planning - but I've got to get my ADRs for March figured out. Looking forward to continuing on with your plans!

I hope to. What is going to make me crazy between now and then is not knowing exactly how Steve's schedule is going to work. He has absolutely no sick, personal or vacation time left. He will accrue about 4 or 5 days between now and December. Under his old boss he would have just shifted days.. worked a couple days on the weekend before the trip and then instead of taking the 23rd and 26th off he would exchange those "holiday" days. The CEO 99.9% of the time gives an extra day or at least a half day the day before a holiday like Christmas. Knowing this, most people work from home that day. This would have been leveraged as well had Steve's old boss still been with the company. I think that the company has shot themselves in the foot with all of this. I mean, it was not uncommon for Steve to work from home 10 hours in a day and put time in on the weekend. A 60 to 80 hour work week was not uncommon. Now he has been told he HAS to be in the office and that an hour..two.. that counts as a work day since he is exempt. However a 10 hour day at home doesn't. They did end up only paying him for 40 hours on his last paycheck. I must admit it gives me a bad attitude. He worked so much that he wasn't always able to come to the hospital to see Zoe...and in the end it didn't "count" for work. Anyway...didn't mean to go of on a tangent... just making the 9th work is going to suck..and for 2 hours? It just is frustrating. Ya know, before he would have had his work computer with him and just sat at the airport and on the plane working on things. I could see THAT counting for a work day... but how productive is he going to be able to be when we are trying to get us all to the airport? again...tangent started...sorry.

Ann, that is a LONG day. I hope you all get some sleep on the plane. I think Alex will be fine at the airport for a little while by himself and you need not worry about it.

I hope you don't have any "early" morning plans your first full day at Disney...I think you'll all need to sleep in a little.

The great thing about this trip is we won't go to the parks until the 12th. (not including MVMCP). I will start working out details of the next day (12/10) and post that next Sunday. I know..I am a bit too obsessive compulsive at times. I have 15 Sundays left, but I will want all my plans complete at a couple weeks before the trip. Now I have 13 more days to plan like I did the 9th...so one a week. giving me the last two to be focusing on packing and more last minute stuff.

As for Alex, yeah.. I am sure he will be fine. He has a cell phone and he and Steve can be texting back and forth once Zoe and I board. I just wish it didn't have to work like that... and who knows, maybe it won't. A lot could change with Steve's work situation between now and then.

Wait!...... What!...... I'm meeting you at the ME!?!? J/K

If it makes you feel any better my parents dropped me off at the airport in 8th grade (13 years old) to fly by myself to Singapore. I didn't get an attendant to help me because 12 years old was the cut off. So I took a plane from Boston to LA, transferred to a plane that goes to Tokyo, then had to figure out how to get into the airport so that I could reboard and fly on to Singapore, so yeah.... hmmm pretty sure Alex can hang out at a gate for a half hour by himself.

I doubt my parents would let me do that flight again by myself, if it was to replay in 2012.

You scared me for a minute. Yes silly... Zoe and I will wait for you in the area near the DME counter.

That does make me feel better regarding Alex. I know that he can do it. I think often kids live up to or down to the expectations placed on them. I mean... I moved out when I was 18...that is only a couple years older than he is now. I am sure he can sit for a few. Granted... it is Alex and although I don't mention him a lot on this PTR.. he is my dingle berry. I would like to say that it is a teen aged boy thing but he has always been like this. We laugh at him or rather his favorite saying. Alex can be summed up by the one phrase he uses ALL the time. "What... what???"

It's incredible that it takes a full day of travel to get to WDW for you. Wow! But as I like to say - planes are for sleeping. Maybe you'll get some cat naps on the flights. Either way, you'll all be excited and it will be a fun adventure!

This will be our first time really not being on a straight flight to mco. (once we puddle jumped from Seattle to Portland and then on to Orlando) Normally we fly on Alaska and it is a straight shot. However, it is still a long flight and we do normally try and nap. As much as I hate not flying with the guys, Zoe and Alex tend to bicker on flights. Alex can't sleep (nor can Steve) and so when Zoe starts to get comfy to sleep it sets him off. Last trip with the two of them, I unfortunately sat between them. I vowed NEVER again. I guess putting them on separate flights...I really took my vow seriously.

 

[annmarieda]

 

[KatMark]

Zoe with Alice in Wonderland; I have no idea where so I will guess the Magic Kingdom somewhere in Fantasyland

 

[swwake]

I think they may be at the UK pavilion in the World Showcase section of Epcot.

 

[annmarieda]

Zoe with Alice in Wonderland; I have no idea where so I will guess the Magic Kingdom somewhere in Fantasyland

1pt Zoe
1pt Alice

not in MK so not in Fantasyland

2 points total.

 

[annmarieda]

I think they may be at the UK pavilion in the World Showcase section of Epcot.

1pt for mentioning UK (any exact ideas?)
1pt WS
1pt Epcot

3points total

 

[ladytink75]

Sorry Annmarie I have been in another planet since I've been home from DW.. with my girls missing three days of school while we were on vacation and trying to catch them up with their homework and trying to plan my Christmas trip for DW i have been busy and stressed over finances for this trip.. I only have 122 days or less then that for our trip i notice you have even less then me.. Where has the time gone by the time we know it our trip will be here and we can finally relax and enjoy a or two together at the lodge. Hopefully I can catch up on your PTR soon and not fall to far behind again.. I just noticed I only have 4 months to go

 

[tankgirl427]

This is your February Trip when Zoe was 3, cause Alice has her cold weather outfit on. Its kind of behind the Twinings Tea Cottage, its where I met Alice last year and struggled to keep a straight face.

Sorry about pretending not to meet you Ann! I was in a silly mood this morning.

 

[swwake]

1pt for mentioning UK (any exact ideas?)
1pt WS
1pt Epcot

3points total

I was thinking it's in that garden area right outside the Tea store to the left as you are facing it, before the walkway back to the gazebo and the hedge maze. Across from the little walk-up place where you can get fish n chips.

 

[momabaarjo]

"Why Miss Zoe, whatever took you so long to come down the rabbit hole? I am so glad you did...I have such a fun tea party planned for us. What is that your mom would like to come too? Why that would be lovely? I am sure she has been stalking the internet getting you the perfect dress! In between her obsession with airfares!"

 

[swwake]

"Why Miss Zoe, whatever took you so long to come down the rabbit hole? I am so glad you did...I have such a fun tea party planned for us. What is that your mom would like to come too? Why that would be lovely? I am sure she has been stalking the internet getting you the perfect dress! In between her obsession with airfares!"

 

[tinacaplan]

Definitely sounds like you have a long day ahead of you...but we all know it will be worth it in the end! Makes me thankful for our three hour flight, though. I'm not sure I could handle all of that. I hate flying, although I've done it so much in recent years, I've kind of gotten used to it.

Love the picture of Zoe and Alice, too.

 

[tankgirl427]

"Why Miss Zoe, whatever took you so long to come down the rabbit hole? I am so glad you did...I have such a fun tea party planned for us. What is that your mom would like to come too? Why that would be lovely? I am sure she has been stalking the internet getting you the perfect dress! In between her obsession with airfares!"