latexscooter
Be nice even if it takes some effort.
- Joined
- Jan 22, 2006
- Messages
- 1,080
Welcome to my trip report. My pre-trip report failed miserably so I’m hoping my full blown report will pan out a little better. In my defense, I was going through a difficult time right before we left so my PTR was destined to failure. I should have named it Debbie Downer Goes on Vacation and managed expectations right from the get-go. No one would expect Debbie Downer to finish her depressing PTR nor would they care if she didn’t. So if you glanced at my PTR – don’t hold it against me. As it turned out our trip was awesome so this report may get a little long as I try to tell and show you every last detail. In telling the story, I get to relive it. Hopefully you’ll come along for the ride.
Our little family began our trip on Tuesday, May 25 and returned home on Wednesday, June 2. We were able to experience the blessings of the Give a Day Fast Pass on three separate days, Star Wars Weekends, the crowds that come with Memorial Day, the fun of Winter Summerland, a Family Magic Tour, jet boats on Bay Lake, and even a Pirate Adventure. We had ten table services meals – unfortunately not all good – and countless snacks and quick services meals too. I’m going to talk about it all in this report. At times it may even seem like it’s a photo essay since some of my notes were lost but the pictures survived.
Here’s what you need to know about us. We are a party of three – DH, Mike; DD7, Avery; and me. We are annual visitors, but not annual pass holders. We have gone each year since Avery was born with her first visit being at five months. We go for eight nights, nine days and stay at whatever the budget allows. We’ve rented points, applied discounts, gone low rent and stayed high style. This year was a moderate vacation and we stayed at Port Orleans French Quarter. It’s one of our favorite resorts and what we define as a safe bet because we know what to expect and it delivers every time.
For those of you that want to have lookie-loo, this is our little family with some other people you may know.
That photo was taken on our last day after our Family Magic Tour. Think of it as a look into our TR future.
To help you get to know us a little better here’s some info about us, our experience in the World and what you can expect.
Let’s start with me. I’m a long time Disney veteran that has been so many times I can’t count my visits. That’s partly because I lived in Florida while growing up and by the time I realized it would be neat to count my visits, I already couldn’t recall how many times I’d been.
I am the planner of the family and I never try to “do it all” every trip. I like to have something to look forward to the next time and I also like to try something new.
Here are some other things of note that just seem to happen to me every trip. I’m sure some of these experiences are not unique to me but I can count on them happening each and every year – like a Christmas gone wrong.
If there is a toddler pushing a stroller like a drunken sailor down a walkway, they will hit me every time.
When I go to get a FP for Soarin or TSM immediately after rope drop, I will choose the line where there is a demagnetized card, the person doesn’t know how to use FP or the first person in line has a card for themselves and 35 of their closest friends and family.
If I’ve been waiting in line for 15 minutes for the coveted Dole Whip, the person in front of me will suddenly be joined by the extended family which usually numbers in no less than eight.
I will hold a conversation with someone who knows the college roommate, of the next door neighbor, who was the engineer who designed whatever park we happen to be sitting in. And they will almost certainly share with me the key to touring the parks. (I am going to be kind enough to share this little nugget with all of you.) The key is to go directly to the back of the park and then you are supposed to visit all the attractions in a counter clockwise fashion until complete. I understand it beats the crowds every time. God bless ‘em for keeping that one alive because it makes touring easier for me.
If there are unsupervised children running around like yahoos, one will almost certainly fall in front of me (no fault of their own because they are unsupervised, remember?) and then be cruelly punished by their parent.
I could regale you with my tales of the biometric scan but that is just too relatable – we all have those stories.
I know there are more but I don’t want to reveal too much. You’ll hear it all soon enough in the posts that follow. The good the bad and on rare occassions, the ugly.
Now on to my darling husband, Mike. He loves Disney although he protests occasionally that once a year is too much. However, every trip he says is great and quickly follows that statement with something about the next visit. He knows the parks well enough that in most cases he can get around without a map and takes turns with me running for FP. Where I’m high strung, he is low key. He is the ying to my yang.
Last, there is Avery. She is the center of our universe but remains unspoiled regardless of our best efforts. She was very excited for this trip and her number one goal was to go on Primeval Whirl (thanks a lot Unofficial Guide). She’d always been too short so this was something that she really wanted to check off her list.
So that’s it for now. Our next installment will take off on day one and the wonderful adventures that begin there. I’ll add a Table of Contents to this first post as I add on installments just to make it easier to read.
Until next time, have a magical day!
Table of Contents
Day 1 Part 1: Flights, pandemonium renting a car and getting to Disney
Day 1 Part ll: Road Trip, POFQ, AK Arrival
Our little family began our trip on Tuesday, May 25 and returned home on Wednesday, June 2. We were able to experience the blessings of the Give a Day Fast Pass on three separate days, Star Wars Weekends, the crowds that come with Memorial Day, the fun of Winter Summerland, a Family Magic Tour, jet boats on Bay Lake, and even a Pirate Adventure. We had ten table services meals – unfortunately not all good – and countless snacks and quick services meals too. I’m going to talk about it all in this report. At times it may even seem like it’s a photo essay since some of my notes were lost but the pictures survived.
Here’s what you need to know about us. We are a party of three – DH, Mike; DD7, Avery; and me. We are annual visitors, but not annual pass holders. We have gone each year since Avery was born with her first visit being at five months. We go for eight nights, nine days and stay at whatever the budget allows. We’ve rented points, applied discounts, gone low rent and stayed high style. This year was a moderate vacation and we stayed at Port Orleans French Quarter. It’s one of our favorite resorts and what we define as a safe bet because we know what to expect and it delivers every time.
For those of you that want to have lookie-loo, this is our little family with some other people you may know.
That photo was taken on our last day after our Family Magic Tour. Think of it as a look into our TR future.
To help you get to know us a little better here’s some info about us, our experience in the World and what you can expect.
Let’s start with me. I’m a long time Disney veteran that has been so many times I can’t count my visits. That’s partly because I lived in Florida while growing up and by the time I realized it would be neat to count my visits, I already couldn’t recall how many times I’d been.
I am the planner of the family and I never try to “do it all” every trip. I like to have something to look forward to the next time and I also like to try something new.
Here are some other things of note that just seem to happen to me every trip. I’m sure some of these experiences are not unique to me but I can count on them happening each and every year – like a Christmas gone wrong.
If there is a toddler pushing a stroller like a drunken sailor down a walkway, they will hit me every time.
When I go to get a FP for Soarin or TSM immediately after rope drop, I will choose the line where there is a demagnetized card, the person doesn’t know how to use FP or the first person in line has a card for themselves and 35 of their closest friends and family.
If I’ve been waiting in line for 15 minutes for the coveted Dole Whip, the person in front of me will suddenly be joined by the extended family which usually numbers in no less than eight.
I will hold a conversation with someone who knows the college roommate, of the next door neighbor, who was the engineer who designed whatever park we happen to be sitting in. And they will almost certainly share with me the key to touring the parks. (I am going to be kind enough to share this little nugget with all of you.) The key is to go directly to the back of the park and then you are supposed to visit all the attractions in a counter clockwise fashion until complete. I understand it beats the crowds every time. God bless ‘em for keeping that one alive because it makes touring easier for me.
If there are unsupervised children running around like yahoos, one will almost certainly fall in front of me (no fault of their own because they are unsupervised, remember?) and then be cruelly punished by their parent.
I could regale you with my tales of the biometric scan but that is just too relatable – we all have those stories.
I know there are more but I don’t want to reveal too much. You’ll hear it all soon enough in the posts that follow. The good the bad and on rare occassions, the ugly.
Now on to my darling husband, Mike. He loves Disney although he protests occasionally that once a year is too much. However, every trip he says is great and quickly follows that statement with something about the next visit. He knows the parks well enough that in most cases he can get around without a map and takes turns with me running for FP. Where I’m high strung, he is low key. He is the ying to my yang.
Last, there is Avery. She is the center of our universe but remains unspoiled regardless of our best efforts. She was very excited for this trip and her number one goal was to go on Primeval Whirl (thanks a lot Unofficial Guide). She’d always been too short so this was something that she really wanted to check off her list.
So that’s it for now. Our next installment will take off on day one and the wonderful adventures that begin there. I’ll add a Table of Contents to this first post as I add on installments just to make it easier to read.
Until next time, have a magical day!
Table of Contents
Day 1 Part 1: Flights, pandemonium renting a car and getting to Disney
Day 1 Part ll: Road Trip, POFQ, AK Arrival
on finding and getting the Ford Focus!!!
Sounds like something I would do. 
