Fireworks, DVC, and a whole lot less of me!!!-our 6th trip to disney!-update 7/6 pg14

[SoonerGirl]

Congratulations on your DVC purchase Erika!!

I think you are getting the best of both worlds with this trip, I love the feel of AKL and the convenience of being within walking distance to MK while staying at BLT would be heavenly

 

[disneyfan61]

5 nights at AKL & 5 nights at BLT??? I am so jealous!!! That sounds like a dream vacation. Congrats on the DVC purchase..

We have been thinking of buying for a few years now but DH wants to be able to pay for it all at once so we may never be buying. I keep getting the emails from the resale site though.

 

[MeMom]

Sorry for the long story! I am super excited if you cannot tell. I know this was the best investment we have made for our family and will be able to continue these memories for years to come.

So, where are we staying?

We arrive on June 25th and are spending 5 nights at:

We are then checking out of AKL on June 30th and heading to Bay Lake Tower (sorry, no pictures from there yet) for 5 nights. We will be in a standard view studio here as well.

You have every right to be over the top excited!
AKL and then BLT! Wow, wow, wow!!!

Congratulations on your DVC news. I hope I am able to take that plunge one of these days.

 

[jeremysdisneymom]

Congratulations on your DVC purchase Erika!!

I think you are getting the best of both worlds with this trip, I love the feel of AKL and the convenience of being within walking distance to MK while staying at BLT would be heavenly

Thank you! We are very excited. I am really looking forward to staying at AKL. We have only been there to eat at Boma so I am sure we will have a great time.

5 nights at AKL & 5 nights at BLT??? I am so jealous!!! That sounds like a dream vacation. Congrats on the DVC purchase..

We have been thinking of buying for a few years now but DH wants to be able to pay for it all at once so we may never be buying. I keep getting the emails from the resale site though.

We contemplated DVC for years. Looking back, it would have almost been paid for in the last few trips had we took the plunge originally. I am looking forward to all the good times we will have as a family and being able to stay at resorts we never have before.

You have every right to be over the top excited!
AKL and then BLT! Wow, wow, wow!!!

Congratulations on your DVC news. I hope I am able to take that plunge one of these days.

I hope you can one day as well!!! It is very exciting. I am looking forward to staying at places we never have before.

 

[teachermommy78]

Joining!!! We are taking the DVC tour in June. I don't think we'll buy in, though. I want to! It's all up to Scott. Sigh.

 

[jeremysdisneymom]

Joining!!! We are taking the DVC tour in June. I don't think we'll buy in, though. I want to! It's all up to Scott. Sigh.

I am glad you are here. How exciting that we will be there around the same time.

We never took the tour. We thought about it last year but time never allowed for it. If you think might buy, be sure to get a referral name (I will PM you ours if you need one!). We had a referral and will be getting a nice gift card in a few months!!!

 

[Sooze]

I'm HEEEEERRRRREEEE!! So glad you started this PTR... that means I'll need to be starting mine since we will be there at the same time!

Love the story about how this trip came to be... it SO sounds like conversations we have had. I hope you end up loving DVC as much as we do!!

Ready to hear more...

 

[jeremysdisneymom]

2010 Summer Trip-Day 1

If you followed along with my pre-trip last year, you know that my family spent 9 nights at Walt Disney World around the 4th of July. I had every intent of writing a trip report when I came home. However, that never happened. My uncle passed away rather unexpectantly about 2 weeks before we were to leave. I debated on cancelling the trip but in the end, we decided to go. I felt bad as my mom was now in the middle of settling not only her brother's estate but my grandparents as well. It was almost like reliving their death over again as he lived with them so nothing had been done when they passed away several years ago. Needless to say, I came back from Disney and the next several months were very stressful and often times very sad. So, my Dis time took a back burner and no trip report was done.

So, to keep this pre-trip interesting, I am going to do the summer 2010 trip report here! I hope you enjoy it.

I had to work on July 1st. That evening was board meeting at work which I have to attend to present the monthly financials. I went home and finally convinced the boys it made more sense for them to go with me and sit in the car so we could get an even earlier start on the drive. Work is 30 minutes away and we would easily waste an hour with me driving back and forth. My boss was kind enough to let me do my presentation and leave. So, we were Florida bound at 8 p.m that night!!!

Tom and I love to drive at night. It is much easier getting through Atlanta, plus Jeremy sleeps the whole way---we don't hear "Are we there yet?" near as much. I drove until about midnight while Tom napped. Then, he took over. He always wakes me when we get to Atlanta. I hate driving near that town but I love the view---especially if you are lucky and planes are landing. We stopped for Cracker Barrel for breakfast early that morning. I love Cracker Barrel. For the life of me, I cannot remember the name of that town. We stop there every year.

I took over driving again and we were soon pulling into the Florida visitors station for that yummy orange juice. Now, up until this point, I had not taken any pictures. The boys get on me for my picture taking so I was trying to start this trip out on a good note. However, Jeremy got a kick out of this at the visitors center and they actually wanted me to get a picture. Tom will kill me for posting this but I think it is funny!

Tom would not make a cute girl!

More continued in next post!

 

[Sooze]

I feel even more connected to you now! We also LOVE driving at night, mostly due to Atlanta!! We ALSO stop at Cracker Barrel when we arrive!!

I am forgetting, though.. where are you driving from?

 

[jeremysdisneymom]

Before long, we were in Orlando! And before we knew it, we saw this!

In the future, I am going to stop and get Jeremy's picture here. I knew we had arrived to another fun-filled adventure.

This was the first time we had ever drove and actually stayed on property. I was a little concerned about getting around but it was actually very easy. I thought I had pictures of the Magic Kingdom entrance but if I do, they were not on day 1. We were quickly passing through the MK entrance and were heading to our home for the next 9 nights.

I love the topiaries at the Wilderness lodge. However, I could not wait to get to the lodge itself that we did not stop at the entrance. We did later on that day and I will post those pictures later. I did get a picture of the geese as were driving by.

I don't remember the exact time but I know we got there around 11 a.m. I figured our room would not be ready but to our delight it was.

I had booked a standard view and let me tell, it was priceless. I know I have pictures from later days I will share but it basicly looked out to the side parking lot with a big tree in front. However, you could see the MK fireworks every night from our room. When you came out of the room, you were looking into the main lobby.

Jeremy was excited to see this when he went inside!

My computer is giving me fits today! I have been over 30 minutes in this post alone. I will post more at lunch tomorrow.

Up Next?

Who did Jeremy get to swim with that afternoon?
Will Tom give Boma a second chance?
What will become our favorite parade at Disney?

 

[jeremysdisneymom]

I feel even more connected to you now! We also LOVE driving at night, mostly due to Atlanta!! We ALSO stop at Cracker Barrel when we arrive!!

I am forgetting, though.. where are you driving from?

We live about 30 minutes east of Cincinnati, Ohio. I will PM the exact town. It is closer for us to pick up 75 in Lexington, KY.

 

[disneyfan61]

Great update. DH & I took the boat from MK last year & went to WL to look around. We had never been there. It is a beautiful resort & would love to stay there someday. Very nice that you could see the MK fireworks from your room!!

 

[Happydog]

Hi! Your TR/PTR is fun! I am looking forward to reading along! Yes, NYC or Disney.... what a lot to ponder! But I am sure that DVC cinched the deal! Great! I think we missed eachother last summer, if memory serves? But you are off to have a fantabulous summer vacation for certain, and of course Thanksgiving week!!! absolutely magical for sure! Can't wait to read all about it!! Will you be having a DIS meet or two this summer??

Sounds like a great 10year anniversary gift to me!!!

 

[MeMom]

These would be two of my favorite arches in the whole world to drive under!

 

[Corrine 1973]

Loving the pics from your last trip, can't waot to read/see more.

 

[jeremysdisneymom]

I'm HEEEEERRRRREEEE!! So glad you started this PTR... that means I'll need to be starting mine since we will be there at the same time!

Love the story about how this trip came to be... it SO sounds like conversations we have had. I hope you end up loving DVC as much as we do!!

Ready to hear more...

I am sure we will. My only regret is that we had not done it sooner. I can't wait to read your pre-trip when you start it!

 

[jeremysdisneymom]

Great update. DH & I took the boat from MK last year & went to WL to look around. We had never been there. It is a beautiful resort & would love to stay there someday. Very nice that you could see the MK fireworks from your room!!

It is a beautiful resort! We have stayed there twice now. It is going to feel odd being somewhere else this summer.

Hi! Your TR/PTR is fun! I am looking forward to reading along! Yes, NYC or Disney.... what a lot to ponder! But I am sure that DVC cinched the deal! Great! I think we missed eachother last summer, if memory serves? But you are off to have a fantabulous summer vacation for certain, and of course Thanksgiving week!!! absolutely magical for sure! Can't wait to read all about it!! Will you be having a DIS meet or two this summer??

Sounds like a great 10year anniversary gift to me!!!

Yes, I think we did miss each other by a few days last summer. I know there will be some dis meets. MeMom and her family will be there. Sooze and her family will be there. We met MeMom last year along with Anita and Marc.

It is going to be a great time and I am really looking forward to Disney at Thanksgiving. We were there several years ago and it is just magical.

These would be two of my favorite arches in the whole world to drive under!

I agree 100%. It is actually quite fun to drive around Disney. You experience things you never really notice in a Disney bus.

Loving the pics from your last trip, can't waot to read/see more.

Thanks! Another update coming your way this afternoon.

 

[SoonerGirl]

Yay, a bonus TR!!

I've only been to the WL for dinner, but I love the resort, so pretty!

 

[jeremysdisneymom]

Yay, a bonus TR!!

I've only been to the WL for dinner, but I love the resort, so pretty!

I have another update I am starting to work on. Should have it up this afternoon. We love the WL! It will be odd being somewhere else this summer but I know we will like the other resorts as well.

 

[jeremysdisneymom]

Summer 2010-Day 1 continued

After we got everything unpacked and settled for our next 9 nights, we headed to Roaring Fork for some lunch. Roaring Fork is our absolute favorite counter service on property. I love their deli sandwiches, Tom loves the hamburgers, and Jeremy loves the desserts! Sorry, there is no food porn. I will try to do better the next trip. After a nice relaxing lunch, Tom went to get some sleep while Jeremy and I headed to the pool.

Jeremy waiting for the slide.

While we were there, an interesting group decided to take a swim. Now, I had heard about this on the boards but never witnessed it. They simply got in and swam to the other side. No one got in their way and they did not bother anyone. The children laughed but that was it. Do you know who they were?

Disclosure, the girl next to them was not a part of their group!

This happened several times we were there. I have read how a lot of visitors are grossed out by this. It really didn't bother me at all. If I really thought about it and was that concerned, I would never let Jeremy in any community pool as I would be more grossed out by what is in the water. You know what I mean!

Before long, Tom woke up and came down to the pool. I went and showered and then the boys came to get ready. We were heading here for dinner:

.

In particular, we were heading to Boma. I really like Boma--the hummus, salads, zebra domes. You get the point. Tom, on the other hand, not so much. We ate there Thanksgiving 2008 and he was not a bit happy. I felt that he was more upset about the lack of Thanksgiving feeling rather than the food. I convinced him to give it one more try and he agreed. So, do you think he liked it? ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................He LOVED it! He can't wait to go back on the first night of our summer trip. I am so glad! Jeremy really likes this place as well.

After dinner, we explored the resort.

Continued in next post.........