disney magic seemed to be on a vacation & it wasn't mine (Aug. 1-7 TR) UPDATE 10/23

[muppetkaties]

okay....so where shall I begin. Let's start with the facts -

Name: Katie
Age: 24
Visits to Disney World: 10 (first time was when I was 9)
Favorite Disney Princess: Belle
Favorite Disney Movie: Hercules
Favorite Ride at Disney World: Tower of Terror
Next trip to Disney: August 1 to August 7, 2008
Where we Staying: Orange Lake Resort (I am bummed that we're not staying on property, but I'll explain)

Yes, that is right...24 days and I will be in the hot hot heat of The Big FL (as my cousins and I so lovingly call it)

Now that that's out of the way, I must say that I have been a big time lurker for the past few months on here. I actually started a trip report back in April, but it seems to have disappeared. So, since we are getting close, I decided it was time buckle down and write an even better pre-trippie using all of my research from reading others!

Okay, you have the facts about me, you have the reason for this PTR, what could be next?? Oh yea, the players!

There are 15 in total
(I will provide some pics in the TR so you can put names to a face)

Me - Katie
Aunt - Ginny
Uncle - Joe
Cousin - Kim
Kim's DH - Lee
Kim & Lee's DD8 - Taylor
Kim & Lee's DS4 - Nicky
Kim & Lee's DD2 - Hailey
Cousin - Joey
Joey's GF - Emily
Cousin - Chrissy
Cousin - Kelly
Friend - Carrie
Friend - Carol
Friend - Tina

Yes, there will be 15 of us all heading down to see "the mouse"! Now our flight plans:

We are leaving on Friday, August 1, we are leaving from JFK via Jet Blue (9:15am Flight)

On Thursday, August 7, we are heading back home around 3pm out of MCO (I don't even wanna think about that day, it will be too sad )

So thats a little preview of what to expect from me in the next few weeks before we head to the HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH!!! I will update with our game plan for while we are there, and some pics from previous trips, plus if any one is actually interested and reading this, I will probably ask for some advice what we should do different days!

THANKS AND WELCOME TO ALL THAT JOIN ME!!!

I LOVE TR WITH PICS, so I will leave you with this pic of my brother (the one on the left) and some friends with Goofy (I am very, very jealous that he one got this pic and two that he got to perform in front of the castle on the Christmas Morning Parade....NOT FAIR!)

 

[Dizneydaz]

Great start-keep 'em coming! (Wow, that's alot of people to keep track off!)

 

[muppetkaties]

Great start-keep 'em coming! (Wow, that's alot of people to keep track off!)

THANKS!!! I'm glad someone else is here to join on this crazy adventure!!! Although, nothing to crazy has appeared to happen yet, but just wait.

We are a lot of people, but we're a fun bunch and if anything, that many people will make for lotsa confusion, some fights, some laughs...and all that will make for some great stories!

 

[muppetkaties]

happy wednesday everyone!!

today, I thought I would give you some pics of all the fine people heading to Disney World with me, so that you can put a name to a face.

here are the players, from best to worst (j/k they are in no particular order! )

that's me (24) - super sarcastic disney fanatic who loves ALL THE RIDES

that's my aunt, Ginny (50's) - loves coming to the parks with us, but also loves her poolside time as well

that's my uncle, Joe (50's) <Ginny's Husband> - loves taking his family on vacations and LOVES to play golf....he may come to one park with us

that's my cousin, Kim (30's) <Ginny & Joe's Daughter> - loves going to the parks and going on the thrill rides.....if she gets a chance, watching the little ones sometimes prevents her

that's my cousin, Lee (30's) <Kim's Husband> - might play golf one day with Joe, but will most likely be with us at all the parks

that's my cousin, Taylor (8) <Kim & Lee's Daughter> - she is 8 going on 18. she has already said that she wants to do everything the older girls do. She has not tried some of the bigger thrill rides yet, so this should be interesting.

that's my cousin, Nicky (4) <Kim & Lee's Son> - he is Woody's #1 fan (I know, some of you may have one in your house too!) He definitely does not like scary rides or the dark, so he won't be too adventureous, but he is going to love meeting all his favorite characters.

that's my cousin, Hailey (2) <Kim & Lee's Daughter> - she's our only 1st timer!! She does EVERYTHING that Nicky does, but she is a little braver than him. So I am anxious to see what she will be ready for.

that's my cousin, Chrissy (22) <Ginny & Joe's Daughter> - we will probably do everything together on this trip. She loves the parks and is the best navigator in them (besides me of course! )

that's my cousin, Kelly (20) <Ginny & Joe's Daughter> - very upset that she is not old enough to go to the clubs Pleasure Island, especially since she will never have the chance. Made her a thrill ride lover the last time we were there

that's my friend, Carrie (21) <Neighbor of Chrissy & Kelly> - the Vegan of the group! She has been to the parks before with us. I will let you know where and what she eats, to help out all those other Vegans and Vegetarians!

that's my friend, Carol (20) <Neighbor of Chrissy & Kelly> - Not quite a Vegan, but is health conscience. I will also let you know of her food finds as we travel through the parks. She also came with us 2 years ago!

that's my friend, Tina (21) - Tina is a little wary of the thrill rides, but she was pretty brave last time we went. We'll see if she is still the same this year.

~~CAMERA SHY~~
my cousin, Joey (27) <Ginny & Joe's Son> - hasn't been to Disney in a while, I am anxious to see if he will just play golf or go to some parks with us!

my friend, Emily (20) <Joey's Girlfriend> - so excited she is coming, she might be the reason Joey comes to parks with us!

So, thats everyone....up next: Where are we staying?

Oh wait, a picture...oh could you let me forget. Here is one of us 'girls'

we had stopped to go to the bathroom and when we came out, we turned the corner and found the 'Character Jackpot' as we called it. Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald and Chip 'n Dale!!! Plus, there was NO ONE waiting in line to meet them, it was great!

 

[muppetkaties]

looks like we have a few lurkers (I was one myself, can't blame ya!)

Okay, I guess I will have to entice you to speak up with another update.

Where Are We Staying??

The next few words I write may upset or confuse some, I know I feel that way...but I have to tell you that we are not staying on-site at Disney!

You may be thinking, 'Katie that is crazy!!! Staying at a Disney property has so many perks.' But let me explain, we have our reasons......

We will be staying at Orange Lake Resort in Kissimmee....not far from Disney at all. We stay there every August because my aunt and uncle have a time share there (okay, now this makes ) Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Orange Lake and have a blast there, but I am a tru DISer and I heart staying on the property!

Since we have so many people going, we will be staying in 3 different condos...(can you imagine if we all stayed in one? ). Each condo has two bedrooms, one with king size bed, one with two double beds and a pull out couch in the living area. There are two bathrooms, a washer and dryer, and a huge open space with kitchen, dining area and living area. Oh there is a screened in patio as well.

Right now these are the room assignments, we will see what actually happens.

Condo #1
King Bedroom -Ginny & Joe
Doubles Bedroom-Chrissy and Katie
Sleeper Sofa - Joey & Emily

Condo #2
King Bedroom - Lee & Kim & Hailey
Doubles Bedroom - Taylor & Nicky
(it has been rumored that my uncle Joe is trying to have Joey and Emily stay in with Kim and Lee in the doubles bedroom and have the kids sleep on the sleeper sofa)

Condo #3
King Bedroom - Kelly
Doubles Bedroom - Carrie and Tina
Sleeper Sofa - Carol

Don't ask me how Kelly got a whole King Size bed to herself...what the heck??


I have provided some generic pics (I 'borrowed' them from the website) of what the timeshare looks like.

This is the 'dining area'. I love this bench seating, I must say that if I don't get to sit there when we eat, there is some serious pouting.

this is the living room area, I have passed out on that couch many a times after being at parks all day. The kitchen would be on the right of the picture, where those barstools are.

this is the king size bedroom....see that is a little too much space for one person, huh Kelly!!!


Next Up: What We Will Do While We Are There???

 

[kenyadh]

Great Pre-trip report!!!

 

[twooley2]

Great pre trip report. We chose to do offsite next year too. Cant wait to see how it comes along

 

[muppetkaties]

Great Pre-trip report!!!

Thanks for joining in! YaY, Long Island!!!!

Great pre trip report. We chose to do offsite next year too. Cant wait to see how it comes along

I checked out your pre-trip report also. Staying off-site isn't so bad, I mean we still get to go to Disney each day!!!

 

[muppetkaties]

3 weeks from today we should be arriving at Orange Lake!!!!!

Can you tell I am a little excited!!!???

I just downloaded "A Dream is a Wish" from Cinderella as my new ringtone!! I just hope I don't get sick of it before we go to Disney. Oh who am I kidding, I could never get sick of it.

I'll update later tonight......have a great weekend everyone!

 

[ArmyWife3-4]

Hi Katie, I'm joining in our your TR. Sounds like it will be a wild trip with so many people but sounds like a blast! Can't wait to hear more about the plans. You'll be there right before us!

 

[princesscate]

waiting and wanting to hear more . . .

 

[muppetkaties]

Hi Katie, I'm joining in our your TR. Sounds like it will be a wild trip with so many people but sounds like a blast! Can't wait to hear more about the plans. You'll be there right before us!

hopefully it will be a blast and not too much confusion with everyone! Your Disney trip is get close too then. I will go check out your PTR to see what you are up to.

waiting and wanting to hear more . . .

"welcome: YAY, so glad that so many of you are interested. I wanted to update last night, but I got home to late from work. I will definitely take care of it today!

Like I said, I will update sometime today, but I'll leave you with a pic of my friend and I from when we we stayed at Pop back in June 2005

 

[Native NYer]

Joining in!!!

Great start.

Can't wait to read more

 

[muppetkaties]

I'm sitting here, procrastinating....as usual. And I thought that I should give you guys a little background about me. And this is not just because I like to talk about myself, I am sure you are all really interested.

I have told you my name is Katie, I am 24 years old and you know I have a big family.

I have grown up on Long Island my whole life, I LOVE it here, but I truly long to travel and see the world. I want to work for Fodor's...does anyone know how to go about that? Right now I work as an event planner and I maitre'd on weekends. I love planning and running parties...and attending parties. Who doesn't love a good party?! I have my own apartment (YAY ME!) but my parents are at their home about 5 minutes away. I have two younger brothers, Johnny (22) and Kevin (19). Johnny is at college upstate (NY) and Kevin just moved to California (LA). I miss not having them around. We really get along well. And have tons of laughst when we are together. Kevin moved out to LA to pursue his acting career. He was on American Idol Season 5 (the year Taylor Hicks won). You might recall...they called him Chicken Little.

Unfortunately, my immediate family will not be joining us in Disney. My parents HATE going in August and they were actually just there in December, so they are not ready to go back yet. And well, with Johnny and Kevin being miles away...it's a little hard.

Here is a picture of my brothers and I at the Poly back in '93 or was it '94, I can't remember. All I know is that my outfit was pretty rockin'

And here is a pic of us from back in May at our Grandpa's 75th birthday. I don't know why Kevin looks so surprised.

At one time I was the tallest...what happened?? And what's even worse is that I'm wearing heels in this picture.

Alright, let me go get myself together and get started on my day.

 

[ArmyWife3-4]

I'm realizing we have more in common than just our age and our WDW trips being so close together, I also am (well was...)an event planner! I worked for a university in Michigan, and I loved that job. Isn't it just so much fun?!?! You're right, who doesn't love to go to a party?!

 

[If U Had Wings]

Enjoying your trip report, and can't wait to hear some more!

 

[muppetkaties]

Joining in!!!

Great start.

Can't wait to read more

THANKS and I hope you are enjoying so far!!

I'm realizing we have more in common than just our age and our WDW trips being so close together, I also am (well was...)an event planner! I worked for a university in Michigan, and I loved that job. Isn't it just so much fun?!?! You're right, who doesn't love to go to a party?!

That is so funny!!! If my family didn't have a wedding to go to on the 9th, our trips would have overlapped!!! Our original trip was for 8/3-8/10.

I LOVE what I do too!!! It's so much fun to plan special or happy or important occasions/events for people. I would love to plan and cater at the Wedding Pavilion in GF or anywhere in Disney for that matter! Maybe one day!!!

Enjoying your trip report, and can't wait to hear some more!

THANKS for joining in!!!

 

[jewjubean]

Great start to your trip report...I cannot imagine how you guys are planning for so many people and Im planning for 8 and im freaking out.

 

[muppetkaties]

Okay, time to get to our plans....haha, or what we kinda, sorta, maybe think we will do. You see, we have all been to the World numerous times and have done it all (or so I thought, reading the DISboards has opened my eyes to 'a whole new world', haha, get it!) So we kinda just have a rough idea of what we will do. Since we are all older, and can go our own ways...we will just set some plans for each day and people can do whatever they want to do. Hope it works out!!!

Friday, August 1
Flight out of JFK at 9:15am
Arrive in MCO around 11:45am
Get our luggage, pick up rental cars
Drive to Orange Lake Resort - our new home for the next week!!
Once we check-in, we always unpack and head over to Publix and purchase all of our food for the week. (You should know, that everything my family does revolves around food....I'm not saying we're a hungry pack of wild animals ....although sometimes it does get ugly. We just really enjoy good food and drink!!!! After all we need to keep up our energy! Food will be like another character in this story )
example:
These pics are from 2006 when we ate at Mikado's Japanese Steakhouse in the Marriott Orlando World Center (btw, if you have never been there...go, it is beautiful!!!! If I'm remebering correctly, you can see some of Illuminations at Epcot at night there...they are far in the distance...but you can still see them.)

Here's Uncle Joe's Sister and BIL and their son along with my Aunt Ginny enjoying soup and appetizers before our main course!

Here's Kelly, Chrissy, Carol and Tina....don't you love when you can get a candid like this. And then after you take it, you get that look like, "thanks a lot, I wasn't ready" and then when you do ask people to pose for a pic they moan and groan that they don't want to. UGH!!! Sorry, just my little rant!

Okay, back to the plans
So we will go food shopping and then back to our place to unpack.
While we unpack, Uncle Joe makes The Spaghetti and Meatballs (see, food already) Okay, let me give you a little back-story on The Spaghetti and Meatballs. Uncle Joe has been making this on the first night of our trips since they have been going to the timeshare. Now, it is very delicious and we always enjoy it, but my cousins and I always have a good laugh about it. Uncle Joe makes this sauce and everyday he wants us to eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. You can hear him say, "Did you girls have more meatballs todays?" If he had his way we would be eating spaghetti and eggs for breakfast and toting meatball subs to the parks each day.

Again, I digressed......
After we eat our Spaghetti Dinner, Chrissy and I decided that we want to go spend the evening at MK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Woohoo, it's Disney TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We will probably go around 7pm. We told, Kelly, Carol, Carrie and Tina that they can come if they want....they probably will, they are not sure yet. Now, we only have one little tiny problem....Taylor (the 8yo going on 18) has caught wind of our going to MK and desperately wants to go with us that night. I don't mind her going at all, none of us do....she really is like one of the girls. But we want her first time going to a park on this trip to be with her parents. She is old enough and tall enough now to go on SplashM, BTMRR and SpaceM. But we want her to go on those rides for the first time with her parents....Taylor cannot even begin to understand this and says that her mom won't mind. She is set on going with us. I have to to talk to her mom, Kim and see what we should do.
Well we will probably get back late from MK and head to bed.....afterall tomorrow is a big day at MGM (don't even try and tell me it's called HS )

UP NEXT: PLANS FOR DAY TWO

 

[muppetkaties]

Great start to your trip report...I cannot imagine how you guys are planning for so many people and Im planning for 8 and im freaking out.

Glad you're here!!! Luckily we have done this before, so it's not too bad. My Aunt Ginny and I pretty much organize and keep track of everything. We're a great team!!!