mackeysmom
Let's Go Mets!
- Joined
- Sep 16, 2003
- Messages
- 1,030
As I write this, my countdown clock reads "17 days, 11 hours, 45 minutes, 50 seconds" until we leave for our latest Disney adventure. I planned to submit this trip report the day before we left, but I can't wait any longer. Our priority seatings have all been made and our plans have been worked out to the last detail. Now the hard part has begun -- the waiting. I don't know if it makes sense, but the wait is even more difficult at 17 days than it was when we first set our countdown clocks at 358 days. So without any further ado, here we go:
Cast of Characters:
Laura (me) - age 34 (sister to Am and and cousin to Annmarie)
Annmarie - age 32 (cousin to Laura and Am)
Annmarie - age 38 (sister to Laura and cousin to Annmarie - to avoid confusion will be called Am)
Brief background -
My cousin Annmarie and I have been traveling to Disney together at least once a year for the last 12 years or so. Occasionally we allow others to join us, but have been (falsely) labeled with the reputation of being drill sergeants and not allowing our fellow travelers time to have a second cup of coffee, or time to take a bathroom break. In all fairness, we simply asked that the get their second cup of java to go, and use the public restroom rather than walking all the way back to the room. We have a schedule to keep, you know?
When we started planning this trip (back in December of 2001), it was supposed to be just me and Annmarie. While we've enjoyed the company of others, our Disney trips seem to work the best when it is just the two of us. In fall of 2002, Am decided she would join us for a few days at the tail end since she was going to be in Tampa earlier in the week visiting an old friend. Being a blood relative, we really had no choice but to welcome her with open arms. (Don't get me wrong, I love my sister - but I have to take issue with anybody who says "We have to go to the Magic Kingdom again, didn't we go yesterday?"
)
Although all of our trips have been "magical", we wanted this one to be one step above the usual. You see, just weeks prior to our last trip Annmarie found out that she was expecting her first child. While that was great news, it also meant no Tower of Terror, no Space Mountain, no Test Track, etc. It also meant that as a responsible mother, Annmarie couldn't be hopping a plane to Orlando once or twice each year leaving baby Nicole in the (very capable) hands of her daddy. It was decided that our yearly Disney vacations would come to an end, and we would have to settle by visiting every other year.
Annmarie and I have stayed at the (original) Port Orleans whenever possible and have always thought of it as our "home away from home". There was no doubt in our minds that we would stay there again, but we decided to treat ourselves and spend a few nights at the AKL.
In December of 2002, our hotel reservations were made. Saturday December 6th thru Tuesday December 9th, Annmarie and I were booked in a savannah view room at AKL. On the 9th, we would move over to our water view room at POFQ and would be joined by Am until we left for home on Saturday the 13th.
Our plans were right on track, our countdown clocks were set and everything seemed fine until we read about the planned renovations which would close the POFQ from May until December. Not willing to wait until we were contacted, we got in touch with Disney and our POFQ portion of the trip was upgraded to a woodside view at WL. Granted, we would miss the POFQ -- but being given the opportunity to spend the entire trip in deluxe hotels would make the pain go away!!
In years past, we've never really taken advantage of the different dining choices that Disneyworld offers. Granted, our "first afternoon lunch at The 50's Prime Time" tradition always held up, but we were never the "let's plan for meals" sort of people. Cosmic Ray's and the food courts always worked for us. This time, we've decided to make this a "lets plan to eat at some different places" sort of trip. By January we'd pretty much decided where we would be eating each meal. As the time passed, some changes were made -- Chef's de France for lunch on our Epcot day instead of San Angel Inn, and spa treatments on our last day rather than our first so Am could enjoy them as well.
Daily emails were sent back and forth, trip reports were read, menus were looked at. (It's amazing, I can't decide what to make for dinner tonight, but I know exactly what I want to eat at Boatwrights 211 days from now!!)
The dates were announced for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party and purchased our tickets for Thursday night (since Am would be with us.)
In an effort to get a Disney fix in, Annmarie and I saw "Beauty and the Beast" on Broadway in March. As usual, we wept like babies and vowed that this would be the trip in which we met Beast and had our picture taken with him. (Once while watching the B&TB show at MGM, a little kid pointed at us and said to his mother, "Mommy, why are those ladies crying? Don't they know it's make-believe?")
Family functions turned into prime opportunities to discuss our plans. Another Disney fix was satiated by seeing the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie together. After seeing the trailer for the "Haunted Mansion" movie, it was decided that we MUST hold off from seeing it opening weekend and seeing it together while in Disneyworld.
At 90 days, all of our PS's were made. Once again, we were unable to get PS's for Cinderella's Royal Castle
Oh well, there's always next trip.
At 60 days, we'd pretty much run out of things to plan. We engrossed ourselves with trip-reports, we made a few minor changes to our plans, we stared at the countdown clocks in an effort to move them along a little more quickly.
At 45 days we made our final payment. Before we knew it, we received our confirmation packets in the mail and become the proud owners of another set of luggage tags. (Around this time, Annmarie purchased some new luggage to avoid the "your luggage exceeds the plane's capacity fiasco we had last year.)
By the time 30 days had rolled around, everybody hated us. Apparently they found no joy in hearing "30 days from now, we'll be on Tower of Terror", or "28 days from now we will be be on Spaceship Earth". Oh well, at least we had each other -- two cousins who never tire from Disney-speak.
So now, as my clock reads "17 days, 7 hours, 45 minutes and 54 seconds", I'll share with you our planned itinerary.
Saturday December 6th
Fly Jet Blue from JFK to MCO
Pick-up by Tiffany Towncar and check into AKL
Quick trip to MGM to ride TOT and eat at '50 Prime Time
Quick trip to AK to ride Kali River Rapids (dollar store disposable ponchos already packed)
Back to AKL - unpack and get a feel for the resort
Dinner at Boma
Quick trip to MK just to take in the magic of Main Street
Sunday, December 7th
Breakfast at Boma
Morning at AK
Lunch at The Plaza Restaurant
Afternoon at MK
Dinner at La Cellier
Monday, December 8th
Breakfast at Boma
Off to Epcot
Lunch at Chefs De France
Dinner at Biergarten
Possibly see The Haunted Mansion Movie
Tuesday, December 9th
Room service for breakfast/Check out of AKL
Yuletide Morning Tour
Lunch at Crystal Palace
Afternoon at MK
Check into WL
Meet up with Am (and friend Julie) somewhere
Dinner at Spoodle's and hang out on the Boardwalk or DD
Wednesday, December 10th
Breakfast at Roaring Forks
Backstage Magic all day tour
MGM until dinner
Dinner at Whispering Canyon Cafe (Am is clueless, so we'll make her ask for ketchup!!)
Thursday, December 11th
Breakfast on the run
Off to MGM
Lunch - somewhere quick (maybe The Backlot?)
Early dinner at Boatwrights
Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party
Friday, December 12th
Breakfast at Whispering Canyon Cafe
MK or MGM - we'll let Am choose
High Tea at the Grand Floridian
Spa Treatments at the GF Spa
Dinner and show at The Hoop-Dee-Doo (Am's never done this, so it will interesting to see her reaction)
Saturday, December 13th
Check-out of room, have bell services hold our luggage
MGM for a few lasts drops on TOT
Lunch at '50s Prime Time
Tiffany Towncar pickup
Jet Blue - MCO to JFK
Sunday, December 14th
Laundry
Monday, December 15th
Begin planning our Halloween 2005 trip
As we all know, factors beyond our control cause things to change. It will be interesting to see how far off course we are from our initial plans once we touch-down in Orlando.
I will try my best to be diligent in keeping track of all the details, so I can share them with you once we've returned. I will be posting the trip reports, and Annmarie will be posting the restaurant reports/reviews.
Comments and/or suggestions are welcome!!
Cast of Characters:
Laura (me) - age 34 (sister to Am and and cousin to Annmarie)
Annmarie - age 32 (cousin to Laura and Am)
Annmarie - age 38 (sister to Laura and cousin to Annmarie - to avoid confusion will be called Am)
Brief background -
My cousin Annmarie and I have been traveling to Disney together at least once a year for the last 12 years or so. Occasionally we allow others to join us, but have been (falsely) labeled with the reputation of being drill sergeants and not allowing our fellow travelers time to have a second cup of coffee, or time to take a bathroom break. In all fairness, we simply asked that the get their second cup of java to go, and use the public restroom rather than walking all the way back to the room. We have a schedule to keep, you know?
When we started planning this trip (back in December of 2001), it was supposed to be just me and Annmarie. While we've enjoyed the company of others, our Disney trips seem to work the best when it is just the two of us. In fall of 2002, Am decided she would join us for a few days at the tail end since she was going to be in Tampa earlier in the week visiting an old friend. Being a blood relative, we really had no choice but to welcome her with open arms. (Don't get me wrong, I love my sister - but I have to take issue with anybody who says "We have to go to the Magic Kingdom again, didn't we go yesterday?"
)Although all of our trips have been "magical", we wanted this one to be one step above the usual. You see, just weeks prior to our last trip Annmarie found out that she was expecting her first child. While that was great news, it also meant no Tower of Terror, no Space Mountain, no Test Track, etc. It also meant that as a responsible mother, Annmarie couldn't be hopping a plane to Orlando once or twice each year leaving baby Nicole in the (very capable) hands of her daddy. It was decided that our yearly Disney vacations would come to an end, and we would have to settle by visiting every other year.
Annmarie and I have stayed at the (original) Port Orleans whenever possible and have always thought of it as our "home away from home". There was no doubt in our minds that we would stay there again, but we decided to treat ourselves and spend a few nights at the AKL.
In December of 2002, our hotel reservations were made. Saturday December 6th thru Tuesday December 9th, Annmarie and I were booked in a savannah view room at AKL. On the 9th, we would move over to our water view room at POFQ and would be joined by Am until we left for home on Saturday the 13th.
Our plans were right on track, our countdown clocks were set and everything seemed fine until we read about the planned renovations which would close the POFQ from May until December. Not willing to wait until we were contacted, we got in touch with Disney and our POFQ portion of the trip was upgraded to a woodside view at WL. Granted, we would miss the POFQ -- but being given the opportunity to spend the entire trip in deluxe hotels would make the pain go away!!
In years past, we've never really taken advantage of the different dining choices that Disneyworld offers. Granted, our "first afternoon lunch at The 50's Prime Time" tradition always held up, but we were never the "let's plan for meals" sort of people. Cosmic Ray's and the food courts always worked for us. This time, we've decided to make this a "lets plan to eat at some different places" sort of trip. By January we'd pretty much decided where we would be eating each meal. As the time passed, some changes were made -- Chef's de France for lunch on our Epcot day instead of San Angel Inn, and spa treatments on our last day rather than our first so Am could enjoy them as well.
Daily emails were sent back and forth, trip reports were read, menus were looked at. (It's amazing, I can't decide what to make for dinner tonight, but I know exactly what I want to eat at Boatwrights 211 days from now!!)
The dates were announced for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party and purchased our tickets for Thursday night (since Am would be with us.)
In an effort to get a Disney fix in, Annmarie and I saw "Beauty and the Beast" on Broadway in March. As usual, we wept like babies and vowed that this would be the trip in which we met Beast and had our picture taken with him. (Once while watching the B&TB show at MGM, a little kid pointed at us and said to his mother, "Mommy, why are those ladies crying? Don't they know it's make-believe?")
Family functions turned into prime opportunities to discuss our plans. Another Disney fix was satiated by seeing the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie together. After seeing the trailer for the "Haunted Mansion" movie, it was decided that we MUST hold off from seeing it opening weekend and seeing it together while in Disneyworld.
At 90 days, all of our PS's were made. Once again, we were unable to get PS's for Cinderella's Royal Castle
Oh well, there's always next trip.At 60 days, we'd pretty much run out of things to plan. We engrossed ourselves with trip-reports, we made a few minor changes to our plans, we stared at the countdown clocks in an effort to move them along a little more quickly.
At 45 days we made our final payment. Before we knew it, we received our confirmation packets in the mail and become the proud owners of another set of luggage tags. (Around this time, Annmarie purchased some new luggage to avoid the "your luggage exceeds the plane's capacity fiasco we had last year.)
By the time 30 days had rolled around, everybody hated us. Apparently they found no joy in hearing "30 days from now, we'll be on Tower of Terror", or "28 days from now we will be be on Spaceship Earth". Oh well, at least we had each other -- two cousins who never tire from Disney-speak.
So now, as my clock reads "17 days, 7 hours, 45 minutes and 54 seconds", I'll share with you our planned itinerary.
Saturday December 6th
Fly Jet Blue from JFK to MCO
Pick-up by Tiffany Towncar and check into AKL
Quick trip to MGM to ride TOT and eat at '50 Prime Time
Quick trip to AK to ride Kali River Rapids (dollar store disposable ponchos already packed)
Back to AKL - unpack and get a feel for the resort
Dinner at Boma
Quick trip to MK just to take in the magic of Main Street
Sunday, December 7th
Breakfast at Boma
Morning at AK
Lunch at The Plaza Restaurant
Afternoon at MK
Dinner at La Cellier
Monday, December 8th
Breakfast at Boma
Off to Epcot
Lunch at Chefs De France
Dinner at Biergarten
Possibly see The Haunted Mansion Movie
Tuesday, December 9th
Room service for breakfast/Check out of AKL
Yuletide Morning Tour
Lunch at Crystal Palace
Afternoon at MK
Check into WL
Meet up with Am (and friend Julie) somewhere
Dinner at Spoodle's and hang out on the Boardwalk or DD
Wednesday, December 10th
Breakfast at Roaring Forks
Backstage Magic all day tour
MGM until dinner
Dinner at Whispering Canyon Cafe (Am is clueless, so we'll make her ask for ketchup!!)
Thursday, December 11th
Breakfast on the run
Off to MGM
Lunch - somewhere quick (maybe The Backlot?)
Early dinner at Boatwrights
Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party
Friday, December 12th
Breakfast at Whispering Canyon Cafe
MK or MGM - we'll let Am choose
High Tea at the Grand Floridian
Spa Treatments at the GF Spa
Dinner and show at The Hoop-Dee-Doo (Am's never done this, so it will interesting to see her reaction)
Saturday, December 13th
Check-out of room, have bell services hold our luggage
MGM for a few lasts drops on TOT
Lunch at '50s Prime Time
Tiffany Towncar pickup
Jet Blue - MCO to JFK
Sunday, December 14th
Laundry
Monday, December 15th
Begin planning our Halloween 2005 trip
As we all know, factors beyond our control cause things to change. It will be interesting to see how far off course we are from our initial plans once we touch-down in Orlando.
I will try my best to be diligent in keeping track of all the details, so I can share them with you once we've returned. I will be posting the trip reports, and Annmarie will be posting the restaurant reports/reviews.
Comments and/or suggestions are welcome!!
