DCL Western, WDW, SW, and DC December '08 - with photos! (Pre trip and POST trip up!)

[Stinasmom]

Alright, alright. I admit it... I have taken and taken and taken...
I must give back now!

After two other DCL cruises and multiple other Disney trips, I have yet to offer up a TR.

Many of you are so clever, witty, and descriptive; I have loved reading your reports... I can only hope to come close. I figure what I may lack in humor, I will try to make up for with PHOTOS!
Don't you just love the pictures that accompany a TR!?!

Here's one to start us off:

Yep, last night was Halloween, my DD11 has the dark hair, I'm the Witch...

As most of you know, when you plan a vacation almost two years in advance, it seems impossible that your trip is finally just weeks away!

To borrow a phrase from another (very popular!) trip reporter, we are "going for broke" on this trip. We will start with a week at the Marriott Horizons resort... we get timeshare from the in laws for free no complaints! (Ok, side note here: nothing from family is “free,” there is always a price to pay of some sort. ) This resort is geared to kids and has really great themed pools.

This is from 2 yrs ago. This pool is pirate themed, and the other has big waterpark type slides and spray features.
The only drawback is that we have, once again, chosen to go in December when it really isn’t all that warm in Florida. Of course that is a matter of perspective since we will likely have some snow on the ground when we depart!

December last year.

Free accommodations are all well and good, but we have to fly our family of 4 (mom, dad, DD11 and DS7) from the upper left corner of the country to the lower right. Because of issues like fuel prices, etc (until recently) airline tickets were CRAZY expensive compared to years past. I use to get RT tix from Seattle to Orlando for around $280 but this year they were running over $800 per person!
Forutnately, my DH travels for work at times, so we were able to use mileage on Alaska Airlines to get all the exact flights and times we wanted... However, we had to use 160,000 miles to get 4 tickets! (We actually fly out of Yakima -via Seattle- to Orlando).

This pretty much means that we won’t go to Hawaii in June for our 20th wedding anniversary...may take another year to build back up the mileage account. Oh well.
Since we get timeshare condos from the in laws, if we can get ourselves there we can take some seriously awesome vacations on a budget.

June 2007

We chose to make the “budget” a bit bigger for this trip to Florida and DCL. We actually have had a good year (if we don’t count the current value of our retirement accounts--but we’re not retiring anytime soon). If you watch the news, it would seem that we are the only family in the whole country who can actually say that we’re better off now than 8 years ago!

More to come... is the anticipation killing you? Well, you won't have to wait long!

 

[Stinasmom]

We chose to make the “budget” a bit bigger for this trip to Florida and DCL. We actually have had a good year (if we don’t count the current value of our retirement accounts --but we’re not retiring anytime soon). If you watch the news, it would seem that we are the only family in the whole country who can actually say that we’re better off now than 8 years ago!

On our first full day in Florida we are planning on going to Sea World. Our resort is near there and we will have “free” passes because... wait....wait...here’s one of the big splurges... we bought tickets to Discovery Cove! (Thank you “kicker check”) The kids don’t know about this part yet.
We were at Sea World on our last trip, but, my DS is bigger now and really wants to go on Kraken

Guess I’ll suck it up and go too...for him. I actually love most roller coasters, the drop on this one is what kept me off it last time.

We won’t spend the whole day there though, because we have tickets for MVMCP that night ... another splurge. Gotta love holiday time... It sounds like this party will really get us into the holiday spirit.

The next three days will be WDW park days. We are purposely going in early December because the crowds are WAY lower. We haven’t made specific plans to see the Candlelight Processional at Epcot, but if it happens and we can walk in and get a seat, we will. Other than that, my DS7 is a junior animal researcher and wants to spend lots of time at AK. We also have to get over to DHS at night to see the Osborne Lights.

On Thursday of that week we will go to Discovery Cove. This should be one of the highlights of an already incredible trip! Every report I have found about DC just raves!

Friday is a “pick up” day where we can go do whatever we missed or want to do again. But we do have interesting dinner plans.
We really aren’t making dining much of a priority while at the parks because we know we’ll have all the good food we can handle on the cruise. This night will be an exception as we are going to Taverna Opa . I read about it in Attractions Magazine. It looks like a blast! Great Greek food, live music, dancing on the tables (which are specifically made sturdy enough for this!) and lots....LOTS of paper napkins flying through the air.

And, finally, Saturday morning we will drive ourselves to Port Canaveral, return the rental car, and board the Magic!

Our previous cruising experiences, all two of them, were with Disney too. The first was a 7-night West Coast Mexican Riviera trip that was suppose to include the in laws. In fact, they helped pay for us by covering the deposit and upgrade cost from an 11 to a cat 9. Unfortunately my MIL's health took a turn for the worse, and they couldn't go. Paying for the rest of that cruise was the first time we’d spent that kind of money on a trip!

June 2005

Although it was convenient to leave from the west coast for us, we’d been to Mexico several times (the timeshare gift thing), and weren’t really interested in excursions. Couldn’t afford them anyway! We just really, really enjoyed staying aboard and exploring the Magic. DS loved his kids club, DD not so much. But she loved being able to watch movies in the room and order room service!

Our second Disney cruise was a 4-nighter to the Bahamas two years ago, following a week visiting Sea World, Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure.
I actually booked this cruise before we’d even sailed that first time to Mexico! I have the DIS to blame! I had read so much about DCL that I knew we’d want to go again. We couldn’t swing another 7 nighter ($$) at the time, but we would get to go to CASTAWAY CAY this time!! And, as it turned out, we double dipped because the weather was not so good the first day.

We did book a day room at Atlantis, too so we could go to the DIG (aquarium) and the pools.

No other extras like spa treatments or excursions on this trip.

This next cruise, however, will include some time at the spa, excursions at Grand Cayman (snorkel & Stingray city) and CC (DH & DS are going fishing, and DD and I are doing the jet ski tour).
And, one of the things I am most looking forward to is the upgrade to the verandah!
On our first cruise we thought we’d have some champagne (wedding anniversary)on secret deck 7 since we didn’t have a verandah. All was perfect as no one else was out there:

Until the kids club brought out the 3-5 year olds out for story time! Our DS was one of them!

Well, if nothing else, from this pre-trippie, you can certainly see how excited I am! The other members of my family have also mentioned their excitement, which, as the planner, is nice to hear.

Stay tuned for the actual trip report!!

Marcy

 

[jedijill]

Sounds like a great trip. Can't wait for more details!

Jill in CO

 

[Stinasmom]

So, I have been ticking off the time before our vacation by significant milestones...
Summer, start of school, Halloween, the Election, Thanksgiving...etc...

and one more is checked off... not that it went the way I was hoping... but, me and 47% of the country will just have to make the best of it.

So, I did manage to get my FE done... having no real idea what it should look like, I found a few pix on the DIS and tried to copy it. I sewed, unsewed, and resewed and came up with this:

We are also doing a magnet exchange too. I hope I understood that to mean refrigerator type magnets that represent your home town or region of the country. It looks like we are the only ones from Washington state, so that opened up my options.

I am wondering what I am going to do with all the magnets I get from all the others, I already have a collection of magnets from our travels:

I like to collect the die cut rubber frame type magnets and insert a photo from that place.

Well, dinner is upon us, so there's an update for now.

Posting to come!!

Marcy

 

[pppiglet]

I can't believe how grown up your daughter is now. She looks way older than 11! (or maybe it's just the costume?)

Sounds like you are going to have a great trip!

 

[Stinasmom]

I can't believe how grown up your daughter is now. She looks way older than 11! (or maybe it's just the costume?)

Sounds like you are going to have a great trip!

Ha! yes, there is very little about her that is 11 yrs old. She is a bit taller than me now, not that that is much of an accomplishment
She is wearing one of the dresses I am going to wear on the cruise!
Good thing she is a great kid. We are close.
OH, she just called and needs to be picked up from the football game...
no surprise that she is pretty popular too.

Marcy

 

[SILLYANDI]

Keep it coming Marcy! By the time we get on this boat I'll feel like you live next door.

 

[PenskeSth1]

Woo Hoo Marcy! Just think only a few weeks away....Great job and look forward to more.

 

[1char]

I am enjoying your pre-trip story, thanks for sharing. Charlie

 

[LivingtheWDWdream]

Great start can't wait to hear all about it!

 

[Stinasmom]

Oh my, I have to count the release of the "Twilight" movie as another milestone to get past before our vacation! My DD11 is crazy ready to see it this weekend!
Anyone else read all 4 books? All 4 in 2 weeks? Yep, that was DD... ok, and me too.

Crushing on Edward is the newest pasttime!

I found my journals from our two previous cruise vacations. I had intended to make them into trip reports upon return but never did. I did, however, recently type them up, add pictures, print them out, and put them in report folders for the family to read on the flight over. It surely will get them even more excited for this adventure!

Here is a quick tour of our 12/2006 trip:

Sea World Orlando

Universal Studios Orlando

Islands of Adventure (US)

Visit to the Grand Floridian to see the decor

4-night Wonder Cruise

Dayroom (excursion on own) to Atlantis

Dinner at Palo

Visit to Castaway Cay

Decorations at Castaway Cay

Whew! There. That's one way to wiz through a 12 day vacation!

Of course that was 2 years ago, the kids are older and will likely have an even better time!
We leave in 18 days!!

Marcy

 

[pppiglet]

Woo hoo Marcy...18 days!

We just got back from our RCCL cruise to Mex. Riviera. Had a great time. Food not as good as Carnival or Disney, but service and ship fine. (and all the people we met on cruisecritic). We all agree...Disney is the best. Just can't afford it anymore!

 

[Stinasmom]

Woo hoo Marcy...18 days!

We just got back from our RCCL cruise to Mex. Riviera. Had a great time. Food not as good as Carnival or Disney, but service and ship fine. (and all the people we met on cruisecritic). We all agree...Disney is the best. Just can't afford it anymore!

I'd love to hear about your trip too! Was it the same itinerary as we did on DCL in 2005? The weather had to be better even though it is November not June like 2005
I wish we lived closer to a cruise ship port! It is such a major production to get to Florida, an so much more expensive since you want to do all the other stuff in Orlando while there.
I haven't decided if I should rebook on board... I hate to think how expensive the cruises will be on the new ships when released in 2011 and 2012... but I sure want to go! I think the deposit amount is still 1/2 right now... maybe that will encourage me to fork over the $$.

Wow! One more milestone past (Thanksgiving) and now we leave THIS Saturday!!! Six days until vacation!!

 

[lharter]

Thanks for sharing your pre-trip excitement! Looking forward to the trip report - I'm sure you'll do a good job.

 

[pppiglet]

Marcy....Have a great trip!

Yes we did the same itinery as 2005 only backwards. I think I liked it better this way. Also the weather was much better this trip!

 

[Stinasmom]

Back from our trip and time to start the POST report!
I am going to start at the end, however. Memories freshest in the mind... I know I said I would include lots of pictures, but anyone watching the local and national news lately will have seen lots of footage of this part of our trip! It was big news...

Seattle, WA in December is usually a dreary rainy place. But not this year! And that is where the beginning of the end starts:

We flew direct MCO to Seattle... Which, despite the weather in Seattle, went really smoothly... even arrived on time.
BUT....
We live in Central Washington.... east of the Cascade Mountain range. We thought we were smart to book ourselves in and out of a small airport 40 miles from our house, so we wouldn't have to drive over the mountain pass in December. This backfired on us!

The weather in Seattle is really snowy... VERY unusual!
Well, we went to the gate for our commuter flight, watched them de-icing the plane before ours going to Boise. Then they changed our gate... by the time we all got to that gate, the announcement was made that our flight was cancelled. Lots of flights were being cancelled all around us but we'd been hopeful.
Jet Blue and Frontier had cancelled ALL flights by then.

DH got himself into the customer svc line to try to rebook... it was a mile long. Within 10 minutes they announced ALL Alaska Air and Horizon Air flights were cancelled for the day. It honestly took 3 hours for him to get to the front of that line where they said there was nothing they could do. The only flight they could guarantee all 4 of us on was for the 25th... FOUR days later, yes, Christmas day!
We only live 110 miles from Seattle!!
Problem was the mountain pass was closed on and off, traction tires or chains required, etc.

I paid the $7.99 to get online at the airport (other airports I’ve been in have free wifi!?) and went about booking a hotel room. Huge success here! We got the Marriott for $99 on Priceline! ($40 more than I've gotten it for when there was no crisis, but I wasn't going to quibble now) Within an hour we were hearing buzz around the airport that hotels were all booked up.
This Marriott has an interior atrium with tropical plants, sitting areas, hot tubs and a really nice pool. Just an extension of our vacation, right?

We decided I'd take the kids to the hotel and DH would join us after making his way to the front of that line. The next task was to get our luggage. They took all luggage that was to be transferred to other flights and just sent it to baggage claim. OMG! I have never seen such a mess! There were primarily two lines that had formed both so long that there was no end in sight. Someone said their line was for tracking down luggage from transfer flights that had been cancelled. That was us, but I was NOT going to bother. We could survive with our carry on things. Although I didn't pack swim suits in the carry ons.

I had noticed some groupings of luggage here and there. I wondered if the people in these massive lines had even checked these groupings for their things or if they, as they did in the former USSR "saw a line and got in it." I checked one area and BOOM! there were 2 of our bags! The carousel nearby started up and our other 2 bags appeared!

The kids and I managed to get all the bags over to ground transportation and catch the shuttle to the Marriott. DH made it over later with the news that we had no flight options. We settled the kids into the hotel room and went to the bar for Martinis! They were so busy! The staff was not use to this much business on a Sunday night.

We discussed our options. Shuttle services across the mountains had been cancelled. Couldn't rent car unless we could get a 4-wheel drive SUV and there was an airport full of people already trying that. DH is an frequent flyer with Alaska Air and they have a special cust svc line we could call in the morning.

Took the kids swimming, ordered room service (at this point what was another $30 or so), and tried to sleep.

I got up just before 5am to make that call to the MVP hotline. I got through but was on hold for 40 minutes. The rep got all 4 of us on a flight that afternoon!!! We love being MVP's!

Being near the airport this hotel had a big screen showing all flights in an out. Ours was "on time" as we went to breakfast. Unfortunately, as we went by again after breakfast it was cancelled. Back to square one.

I had come up with the idea that if one of us could get on a flight or could standby and get on, they could at least get to our car, drive back over the mountains to get the rest of us, weather permitting.
Got back on the phone (what did we do before cell phones and laptops??!), on hold to get a rep for the airline for 50 minutes this time when I got cut off. Great.

Tried the shuttle svc, they had a seat the next day. Took it as plan “B.” Booked another night at the hotel just in case too. Then got through to the MVP line for Alaska Air, couldn’t get on a flight, nothing was getting out, but did have their travel agency division find us a rental car. By now the mountain pass had cleared enough that they were not requiring traction tires...just “advised.”

Finally it looked like we’d be making it home! Drawbacks: they would NOT allow one way rentals. We’d have to bring the car back to Seattle! And, it was $155 for a mid size!!! We justified it by considering the cost of staying another night at the hotel, dinner, and martinis. Besides, our dogs had already spent 16 nights at the kennel, that was getting expensive.

Got home safely, picked up the dogs, got some groceries, and got some sleep. Whew. Worth it.

Of course that meant the next day we’d be driving all day to return cars and pick up cars. DD and her friend stayed with DS while we kept in cell phone contact.

We took our 2nd car and the rental back to Seattle, drove back through our town to get to Yakima where our 1st car was, buried in snow. All in all, we put about 360 miles on the rental, and 320 on our 2nd car. Even if the weather wasn’t a factor, we had no interest in driving 240 miles to Portland for Christmas.

We were off the hook, the roads between here and Portland are terrible. The snow in the Pacific NW in the last week or so is the worst they’ve seen in decades.
So, today is Christmas day and we are at our own house for the first time since moving here (9 years), quite content. We even put up a Charlie Brown Christmas tree yesterday and bought some 1/2 price ornaments. I hadn’t intended to get out any Christmas things since we left town on December 6th. But, here we are. DH is going to cook a turkey, maybe we’ll go see a movie!

Actual vacation details to come! Stay tuned! Pictures galore to come!
hint: crowds make Grumpy grumpy, Dolphins make everyone smile!

 

[pppiglet]

Woo hoo! Marcy is back! What a nightmare for you getting home, but seems to have worked out in the end. Loving your report. Can't wait to hear the rest and see the pictures!

 

[Stinasmom]

On this end of the trip we were advantaged to fly out of a very small airport.
Security is a breeze and the only people there are the ones flying on the same flight.

DS7 creating yet another zoo on Zoo Tycoon.

Once at SeaTac, only had time to grab some sandwiches and water for the flight to Orlando. Direct from Seattle is the only way to go! The flight was completely full, I was surprised as December 6th isn't exactly holiday, vacation, or high season... wondered if that was a sign of things to come

I watched Cars (Pixar movie) on the laptop... thought about how, especially in an aisle seat you have to be careful which movie you choose as others around you can see the screen!

Our luggage was delayed at MCO so DD and I went to get the rental car.
I REALLY recommend joining the "club" for which ever rental car company you are renting from. Having their club card handy gets you into a shorter line or even in no line. Plus getting upgrades is practically par for the course. We ended up with a FORD Edge instead of a mid-size, in which all our luggage fit without the kids having to sit on bags!

OH-- I was organized enough to bring a roll of quarters for toll roads but BE SURE TO HAVE THEM HANDY! (not in the packed luggage in the back of the car! I had to pull over prior to the booth area and dig them out!

Our resort was not very full and not decorated for Christmas. The said they were working on it... OK, it is the 6th, but the Marriott across the street was all done up. We still really like this resort (Horizons by Marriott). Best pools!

DS7 at "sprayground" area. No it is not warm, but does he care?

Settled in, went shopping for a weeks worth of food and even remembered where the liquor store was from 2 years ago... we'll be all set!

Unpacked and filled the over the door shoe hanger:

Love seeing everything and cuts down on losing stuff. It is indispensable on the cruise ship!

Sleep comes easy when you arrive from the West Coast!
Tomorrow: Sea World and MVMCP

 

[Stinasmom]

Sunday, Dec 7th

It is so hard to keep a secret from intelligent kids, but we were doing our best to not let ours know that we’d be going to Discovery Cove on Thursday. They’d guessed right already, but we wouldn’t let on.

As part of the all inclusive price of a day at Discovery Cove, you also get 7 days admission to your choice of Sea World, Aquatica, or Tampa Busch Gardens. Easy choice for us. Our resort is less than a mile from Sea World, and I still had to conquer the Kraken!

There is a huge construction area in the middle of the park right now as they are building Manta... the angry cousin of Kraken, apparently. From a distance, the best way to tell the difference fbetween the two coasters is by color.... Kraken is green, Manta - blue. Both put any Disney coaster to shame for pure thrill, although Disney beats all for theming.

First we went to pet the sting rays... an activity that would reoccur a few more times on this trip!

We worked our way counterclockwise around the "Manta in the Middle" construction seeing other animal exhibits and getting the constant stream of information about each from DS7... starting to think he has a photographic memory as he remembers everything in every book he reads. I should run some phone numbers by him that I still have to look up every time.

I really wanted to see the Blue Horizons show as DD & I missed it last time. Really great! I video taped it... I have a hunch it will look even better on our HDTV than it did on the 2x3 inch screen on the camera though. Unless there is a NEW Desperate Housewives on tonight, I’m thinking we’ll plug in the vacation videos.

Onto Atlantis!

Having done this a few times before, DD & I remembered getting the most wet in the first row... then again, I believe it had something to do with the boat itself being out of balance due to the size and distribution of other guests in our boat because we were getting wet way before the drop!
Anyway, we were happy when the 4 of us were assigned to rows 3&4 out of 5 or 6 (I think). And, all went well, even the drop as far as us not getting too wet UNTIL the water cannon AFTER the drop! What the....! It dropped bucket loads on JUST ME! Great.
Good thing the beer is free... I was ready for some!

But wait, I promised DD I’d tackle the Kraken with her. DS thought he might try it, but alas, he wasn’t tall enough. I was kind of wishing I wasn’t either, but by 7 inches, I topped the measuring bar. It was that big drop that scared me the most... I love loops and corkscrews and all such inversions... but the long slow climb up to the steep, straight down drop.... aaacckkkk!

I survived!!! And it was the best coaster I have EVER been on! “WOW!” is just not enough! It was nonstop inversions and action. No slowing or straight away, no little bunny hops at the end, just amazing all the way through! I though maybe I could go again as the line was not too long, but I was shaking too much to even describe it to DH (who had the video camera running on me as I got off... can’t wait to see that.)
NOW I AM DEFINITELY READY FOR THAT FREE BEER!

We went for a hearty snack and, of course, free beer at the Hospitality Center. They, thankfully, offer more than just BUD & BudLight. We latched onto a tasty seasonal, making sure to hit the outside lines alternately, getting different servers in an attempt to not be recognized when requesting that third serving. (they ask that you limit your “free 10 ounce tastes to two).

Our plan was to head back to the condo for an early dinner before going to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party that night. We purposely didn’t wear ourselves out at Sea World so we could stay late at the Magic Kingdom as it would be open to us until midnight. We were excited to be going to what was billed as and “exclusive” party, an event where only people who purchased extra tickets, above and beyond the regular park tickets, would be allowed admission. We looked forward to lower crowd levels, short lines, and the luxury to actually see the parade and shows without sending one of us ahead to secure decent viewing. YEAH, RIGHT.

Too bad it wasn’t like that. What a disappointment. 
The crowds were crazy! You couldn't get near the shows unless you staked out a spot 1/2 hour early, it was 8 people deep along the parade route...

and the parade itself? HUH? Kinda LAME!! The floats were not interesting, the dancers looked like they were bored with the really simple choreography, the music was just OK.

The Castle looked great... but it dressed up like this every night, not just for us

The fireworks were great, but not anymore great than regular Wishes.

The ride lines were fine... no complaints there except that only the "big" attractions were open (missed Country Bears )
But there really were SOOOOOO many people in the park that leaving at the end was a madhouse! It took over 40 minutes to get from Main Street to our car (via monorail and tram) and we tried to "lay back" and wait out the crowds that left after the last parade.

To think we all paid an extra $56? Disney really knows how to rake in the $$ and I felt taken. I expected the attendance of a hard ticket event to be a little better controlled.

OK-- the hot chocolate was good. sheesh, $56 hot cocoa!

Lesson learned...

Better day tomorrow! EPCOT and a Turkey leg! Who knew they were so good?

 

[pppiglet]

Jim loves the turkey legs!