Miss_Nellie
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Oct 24, 2006
- Messages
- 149
If you want the answer to that question you'll have to wait until the end of the trip report to find out! 
My TR will be in installments. Basically, I'll type until either A) my bum is tired of sitting or B) my fingers are tired of typing. And without further ado, on to the TR!
Who?
DH(5 Disney trips) As far as rides go he isn't a thrill seeker. He'll do RnR and ToT once each per trip and never the Tea Cups. He claims to get sick just by watching them.
Myself(7 Disney trips) Self professed Disneyphile. I can't help myself when it comes to the Mouse, he has some kind of power over me.
When it comes to rides I'll try anything once. As long as I pace myself motion sickness isn't a problem.
DS12(5 Disney trips) He gets nervous when it comes to rides especially if it goes upside down, has inverts or involves water. I can generally coax him onto the ride and he always ends up wanting to go again.
DS7(6 Disney trips) He's a thrill ride junkie! There hasn't been a ride yet that he's been nervous about trying.
How did we come to plan a Universal trip?
When it comes to requesting vacation time DH's employer does not go by seniority, which DH happens to have the most of. They use the "first one to ask gets it" method. So in January when DH looked at the calendar he noticed that the summer weeks were already getting picked over and he called me to ask when I thought we would be going to Disney. With me having been every year since 2001 it's just a given that we'd all go again in 2007, or so we thought at that point.
I called the school corporation to ask for a 2007 - 08 schedule and was told that they hadn't planned one yet. I asked when one would be available, explaining about having to schedule vacation time, and was told to call back at another time.
The rest of January and part of February were spent with DH reminding me that the summer was getting really picked over and with me calling to see when school was starting in the fall. We finally picked August 11th - 18th as vacation, hoping to avoid taking the boys out of school. DS12 had already said he would rather not go to Disney than miss school.
Obviously he was switched at birth because no child of mine would ever say that.
The school start date was finally announced - August 15.
The boys were going to have to miss 3 days of school. DS12 was beyond not happy about the idea. I didn't want a child along that was going to be grumpy ( 
) so I decided we'd only go from August 11 - 14, a shorter trip but still a trip to Disney.
The only flaw in my plan now was DH who announced he'd rather not go at all than only go for 4 days. What is it with my family? A little Disney is better than no Disney.
Okay, cancel Disney to make the other 2 happy. DS7 & I are now depressed.
DH has the idea to go some places in Kentucky for the 4 days. Sure, okay, maybe they have Disney Stores in Kentucky and I can visit one. At the same time I happen to notice the ad at the top of the DisBoards for 7-day $86 tickets for Universal.
Maybe I can still swing a trip to Florida! And so the scheming, er, make that planning, begins! I researched prices, you'll notice those below, told DH about the idea and he was onboard!
Accomodations
I was able to get the RPR for $191.20 a night using the AAA discount. AAA cost me $63 for a one-year membership.
Tickets
I was able to get those from AAA for $340.00. That's four 7-day tickets for $85.00 each.
Airfare
We generally fly out of Indianapolis but SouthWest had a great Ding rate out of Colombus Ohio. I was able to get 4 round trip tickets for $323 and some change. It meant driving an extra hour but the savings was well worth it.
Shuttle (To / From MCo / RPR)
I scheduled us with SunRay Transportation for $90 round trip with an optional 30-minute grocery trip.
On with the trip!
August 11th arrives and we leave for the airport. We made it there with DH making only 1 wrong turn. It doesn't matter where we go, he will always take us the wrong way at least once. I used to get all worked up over it but now I just sit back and accept that it's going to happen.
While waiting with our "A" boarding passes
we start chatting with the couple in front of us and they mention they live in Florida and it's been really hot and humid. They can't believe we'd want to go to Florida, let alone Universal, in August. We mention that the heat and humidity don't bother us and while nobody believes it, it does get hot and humid in our part of Indiana. About that time a family deboarding happens to mention that it's 106 in Florida.
A passenger in the "B" line turns to me and starts telling me that that is hot and she doesn't care where I'm from that it doesn't get anywhere near that hot and humid except in Florida. And that only when I get to Orlando will I know what real heat and humidity is and then I'll wish I hadn't come for vacation. She was just downright rude.
I wanted to smack her and tell her a few things but I turned my back on her instead.
Our flight to MCO was uneventful. SW service was okay, we were running a little late but we arrived safely and that's what counts.
We found our SunRay driver at the bottom of the escalator with our name on a sign just like he said. He offered to help us collect our luggage but we only had carry-ons so we were able to skip baggage claim. I presumed he'd pick us up in a Town Car but he picked us up in a Yukon. Nice and big and roomy.
And talk about a small world - it turns out he's from near where we live and had been up here visiting his family earlier.
We were at RPR I think in about a half hour. We opted to skip the gorcery store. We really didn't need it staying only 4 days and having the Meal Deal. I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly we arrived. He dropped us off, helped with our bags, gave us our receipt, let us know when he'd be back and we headed inside for the check-in line.
I was very happy that I had enrolled in the Loew's club. I highly suggest joining it especially since it's free. The regular check-in line was at least half a dozen families long. The Loew's line had only the guests already being waited on so I was first in line.
Next installment will be soon ...
My TR will be in installments. Basically, I'll type until either A) my bum is tired of sitting or B) my fingers are tired of typing. And without further ado, on to the TR!Who?
DH(5 Disney trips) As far as rides go he isn't a thrill seeker. He'll do RnR and ToT once each per trip and never the Tea Cups. He claims to get sick just by watching them.
Myself(7 Disney trips) Self professed Disneyphile. I can't help myself when it comes to the Mouse, he has some kind of power over me.
When it comes to rides I'll try anything once. As long as I pace myself motion sickness isn't a problem. DS12(5 Disney trips) He gets nervous when it comes to rides especially if it goes upside down, has inverts or involves water. I can generally coax him onto the ride and he always ends up wanting to go again.
DS7(6 Disney trips) He's a thrill ride junkie! There hasn't been a ride yet that he's been nervous about trying.
How did we come to plan a Universal trip?
When it comes to requesting vacation time DH's employer does not go by seniority, which DH happens to have the most of. They use the "first one to ask gets it" method. So in January when DH looked at the calendar he noticed that the summer weeks were already getting picked over and he called me to ask when I thought we would be going to Disney. With me having been every year since 2001 it's just a given that we'd all go again in 2007, or so we thought at that point.
I called the school corporation to ask for a 2007 - 08 schedule and was told that they hadn't planned one yet. I asked when one would be available, explaining about having to schedule vacation time, and was told to call back at another time.
The rest of January and part of February were spent with DH reminding me that the summer was getting really picked over and with me calling to see when school was starting in the fall. We finally picked August 11th - 18th as vacation, hoping to avoid taking the boys out of school. DS12 had already said he would rather not go to Disney than miss school.
Obviously he was switched at birth because no child of mine would ever say that. The school start date was finally announced - August 15.
The boys were going to have to miss 3 days of school. DS12 was beyond not happy about the idea. I didn't want a child along that was going to be grumpy ( ) so I decided we'd only go from August 11 - 14, a shorter trip but still a trip to Disney. The only flaw in my plan now was DH who announced he'd rather not go at all than only go for 4 days.
What is it with my family? A little Disney is better than no Disney. Okay, cancel Disney to make the other 2 happy. DS7 & I are now depressed.
DH has the idea to go some places in Kentucky for the 4 days. Sure, okay, maybe they have Disney Stores in Kentucky and I can visit one. At the same time I happen to notice the ad at the top of the DisBoards for 7-day $86 tickets for Universal.
Maybe I can still swing a trip to Florida! And so the scheming, er, make that planning, begins! I researched prices, you'll notice those below, told DH about the idea and he was onboard! Accomodations
I was able to get the RPR for $191.20 a night using the AAA discount. AAA cost me $63 for a one-year membership.
Tickets
I was able to get those from AAA for $340.00. That's four 7-day tickets for $85.00 each.
Airfare
We generally fly out of Indianapolis but SouthWest had a great Ding rate out of Colombus Ohio. I was able to get 4 round trip tickets for $323 and some change. It meant driving an extra hour but the savings was well worth it.
Shuttle (To / From MCo / RPR)
I scheduled us with SunRay Transportation for $90 round trip with an optional 30-minute grocery trip.
On with the trip!
August 11th arrives and we leave for the airport. We made it there with DH making only 1 wrong turn. It doesn't matter where we go, he will always take us the wrong way at least once. I used to get all worked up over it but now I just sit back and accept that it's going to happen.
While waiting with our "A" boarding passes
we start chatting with the couple in front of us and they mention they live in Florida and it's been really hot and humid. They can't believe we'd want to go to Florida, let alone Universal, in August. We mention that the heat and humidity don't bother us and while nobody believes it, it does get hot and humid in our part of Indiana. About that time a family deboarding happens to mention that it's 106 in Florida. A passenger in the "B" line turns to me and starts telling me that that is hot and she doesn't care where I'm from that it doesn't get anywhere near that hot and humid except in Florida. And that only when I get to Orlando will I know what real heat and humidity is and then I'll wish I hadn't come for vacation. She was just downright rude.
I wanted to smack her and tell her a few things but I turned my back on her instead. Our flight to MCO was uneventful. SW service was okay, we were running a little late but we arrived safely and that's what counts.
We found our SunRay driver at the bottom of the escalator with our name on a sign just like he said. He offered to help us collect our luggage but we only had carry-ons so we were able to skip baggage claim. I presumed he'd pick us up in a Town Car but he picked us up in a Yukon. Nice and big and roomy.
And talk about a small world - it turns out he's from near where we live and had been up here visiting his family earlier. We were at RPR I think in about a half hour. We opted to skip the gorcery store. We really didn't need it staying only 4 days and having the Meal Deal. I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly we arrived. He dropped us off, helped with our bags, gave us our receipt, let us know when he'd be back and we headed inside for the check-in line.
I was very happy that I had enrolled in the Loew's club. I highly suggest joining it especially since it's free. The regular check-in line was at least half a dozen families long. The Loew's line had only the guests already being waited on so I was first in line.
Next installment will be soon ...
