"Hello? I'm in the Carousel of Progress.."*UD1/13pg74"All Good Things...*

[Happydog]

Hellooooooooooooooooo!

Glad you are back

Looking foward to hearing about your trip!

 

[carissanboys]

Woohoo! You got your first installment up quickly!

How horrible about the break in at your SIL's house.

Love the picture of the three boys sitting at the airport - doing their thing. (I think it's being a mom of three boys - I love seeing that stuff.)

Did you have anyone sit next to you or did the seat remain empty??

I spot your lovely hipster!

Can't wait for more!!

 

[mommytothreeboys]

I just came across your report. I am on board.

Hi there and Thanks for dropping in!

I'm in Missy and I can't wait....

I barely recognized Dan in his new do...

I was equally impressed w/ SW as well and yes I admit I only took advid notes for the 1st day and a half and then played catch up the rest of the trip.

Looking forward to hearing more and your 1st day and how POR stacked up for you guys.

J-

Hi Julie!

Yea! You're back and writing your trip report! I'm so excited to hear all about your adventures. Glad your flight was smooth.

Hi Christine!

Not sure if I ever posted on your pre trippie but I am here for the TR!! Nice start.
Hey that was my 1000th post!!

Woo-Hoo for your 1000th post! Thanks for coming over to my TR!

even though i'm one of the younger ones (like, super young), im gonna follow
it'll keep me from going insane until my trip!

Glad I can help you with your sanity! Welcome!

Hellooooooooooooooooo!

Glad you are back

Looking foward to hearing about your trip!

Hi Happy!

Woohoo! You got your first installment up quickly!

How horrible about the break in at your SIL's house.

Love the picture of the three boys sitting at the airport - doing their thing. (I think it's being a mom of three boys - I love seeing that stuff.)

Did you have anyone sit next to you or did the seat remain empty??

I spot your lovely hipster!

Can't wait for more!!

Yeah, that break-in was terrible. The worst thing is they kind of know who it was, but since the kid is at their house a lot, the police won't do much because his prints are in the house anyway. Can't prove it was from that night and not a time he was permitted in the house. Just feel bad that Josh lost the iPod he got for his 16th birthday...that really stinks for him.

I did have a young girl sit next to me on the flight. She read Twilight and listened to her iPod the whole trip!

 

[mommytothreeboys]

I most likely will not get another installment up today. I have college friends in from NH and we haven't seen each other for 3 years. I'll be spending the weekend with them so won't have too much time to DIS.

I did want to leave you this picture and a few things to ponder....

Did we find our way to the ME check-in without getting lost like last time?

Does online check-in really save time?

SO many food choices in DTD....where did we eat?

Pirates of the Day??? Really??

Thanks for reading!

 

[carissanboys]

Love that picture Missy! And I love your outfit.

Have fun with your friends this weekend!!

I remembered something else I wanted to mention about the last installment.

I ended up just taking general notes at the end of each day to give me a timeline (which rides in which order, etc.) and to jot down anything special that happened. I find that I really forget a lot of things once I'm home!!

 

[mousescrapper]

Have a fun weekend too.

We're celebrating the twins 10th b-day tomorrow at the local bowling alley...should be fun...have just about everything ready to go, since it will be right after church.

Love the pic too.

Pirates of the Day, huh?

you got me thinking

 

[lovegrumpy]

Can't wait for more.

 

[Happydog]

AWWWWWWWW!!!! What a great fam photo! I loved it! Wow. I can't wait to get the answers to those pondering questions!!!!! Wait. That wouldn't work, a question cant really "ponder" or at the very least that would be redundant and an oxymoron... UM, so WHOSE the English Major Moron?

Yeah, that' d be me. Just pondering away...

 

[mommytothreeboys]

Love that picture Missy! And I love your outfit.

Have fun with your friends this weekend!!

I remembered something else I wanted to mention about the last installment.

I ended up just taking general notes at the end of each day to give me a timeline (which rides in which order, etc.) and to jot down anything special that happened. I find that I really forget a lot of things once I'm home!!

Thanks Carissa. It was a great weekend. We hadn't been together for almost 3 years so it was fun to catch up!

Have a fun weekend too.

We're celebrating the twins 10th b-day tomorrow at the local bowling alley...should be fun...have just about everything ready to go, since it will be right after church.

Love the pic too.

Pirates of the Day, huh?

you got me thinking

10 years old! Hope you had a great party!

Can't wait for more.

I hope to have another update up today. Welcome!

AWWWWWWWW!!!! What a great fam photo! I loved it! Wow. I can't wait to get the answers to those pondering questions!!!!! Wait. That wouldn't work, a question cant really "ponder" or at the very least that would be redundant and an oxymoron... UM, so WHOSE the English Major Moron?

Yeah, that' d be me. Just pondering away...

LOL! English Major....WOW! I will answer those questions soon I promise. My life still has not gotten back on track since our return. I have grocery shopping today, but hope to have an update posted later!

 

[3princesses+aprince]

Oh, man you left us with alot of questions that I would like to have answered, I'm especially interested to know if online checkin saves time. I just did that this morning. I'm down to 8 days to go.
I just came over here looking for your trip report, I miss talking with you on the PTR board.
Dan's haircut looks SUPER NICE!!!!

Glad to here that so far you arrival day went well!!

 

[cjackearl]

Hi Missy! Take your time. We all know what an adjustment getting back into the real world with all its responsibilities can be. We'll find some way to pass the time while we wait for your update.

 

[mommytothreeboys]

Oh, man you left us with alot of questions that I would like to have answered, I'm especially interested to know if online checkin saves time. I just did that this morning. I'm down to 8 days to go.
I just came over here looking for your trip report, I miss talking with you on the PTR board.
Dan's haircut looks SUPER NICE!!!!

Glad to here that so far you arrival day went well!!

Hopefully I can answer all your questions! Thanks for coming over to find me!

Hi Missy! Take your time. We all know what an adjustment getting back into the real world with all its responsibilities can be. We'll find some way to pass the time while we wait for your update.

thanks Christine!! The real world kinda stinks...I wanna move into the castle!

 

[cnorth]

subbing- Can't wait to hear about your trip!

 

[mommytothreeboys]

When I left you, we had just arrived at MCO about 15 minutes ahead of schedule. The last time we went to WDW we got so lost in the airport trying to find the ME check-in desk! A nice security guard had to point us in the right direction! LOL! This time we were determined to find our way without professional help! We got off the plane and stopped in one of the gift shops to get postcards. I found out last trip that the postcard selection in WDW is not great so it’s best to buy them at the airport. After my purchase, we looked at the map in the ME booklet and set off to find the desk....



YAY!! We did it without any problems! I don’t know what happened last time, but we had no issues this time! That was good, because DH hates to wander and not know where we are going..it stresses him out which, in turn, stresses me out. Not a great way to start a vacation so I’m glad we didn’t have that problem!

When we got to the desk, the check-in line seemed really long. I sent Jeff and the boys off to the chairs to wait while I hopped in line. I was through what looked like an endless line in 10 minutes!! They had about 15 CM’s working...each one had a window kind of like a bank. They were very efficient and I was surprised at how quickly we were on our way to the line for the bus to POR.

The line for the bus was MUCH shorter than what we experienced last trip. I had to use the little girl’s room and was afraid to get out of line and miss the bus! Here are a few pics of us waiting for the ME bus.

We were on the DME bus by 10:30...only 50 minutes after we landed! NOT BAD! We got a yellow Mears bus this time...last trip it was a Disney Cruise Lines bus...no ME bus yet!! I didn’t care...as long as it took me to POR it could be the Partridge Family bus! The driver announced when we would be passing the welcome sign so we could get a picture....this was the best I could do!

We arrived at POR, the first stop, at 11:00 and headed to find the online check-in counter. It was a little hard to see, but I knew that from Carissa’s report. Thanks Carissa! I walked up to the counter and saw the little sign for online check-in. We bypassed the line (only about 5-6 other people in that line) and went right up to the counter to check in. Mary, our CM, was sweet and had our room packet ready to go. I was surprised to find that our room was even ready! We got our request of building 16 or 18 and were assigned to room 1664! YAY! We were completely checked in (including picking up the case of water we had delivered from Costco) by 11:10. From landing at MCO, it had taken only 90 minutes. Impressive!

We headed to building 16 to check out the room situation. We had stayed in building 16 last time as well so we knew exactly where we were headed. Our room was on the back side of the building with a view of the parking lot. I hadn’t asked for a special view, but admit I was a bit disappointed. However, I noticed when we got in that we had an extra window because we were on the corner. Also, the resort is so beautifully landscaped that even though we could see the parking lot, it wasn’t just concrete and cars. There were lots of trees and shrubs to break up the view. And for the length of time I would actually be looking out the window, it was a NON-ISSUE!! It actually ended up working out perfectly because we could take the stairs just outside the door and head through the parking lot to the short-cut to the buses. SWEET!

Here are a few pictures of the room when we checked in. I mainly took pictures of the cute little “extra touches” that really make the room special.

After ditching our carry-on bags, we grabbed our suits and headed to the pool. On our way we stopped in at the food court to pick up the mugs that came with the QSDP. The new design is too cute! And I love that we could all choose the color lid/handle we liked.

View of Riverside Mill from the bridge to Ol' Man Island.

We enjoyed the pool for an hour or so then got really hungry. We hadn’t eaten since those nasty breakfast sandwiches at the airport around 6:30. So we headed up to the room to see if our bags had arrived. They had (it was about 1:30) so we began to unpack and get settled in the room while changing our clothes to head to DTD. I hate to live out of a suitcase, so it’s important for me to unpack and organize the room. I used the shelf above the closet bar to hold all of our snacks. I gave Jonah one of the compartments under the TV for his clothes and also one to Dan. They shared the small top drawer as well. Isaiah and Dan shared the bottom drawer for their clothes, and Jeff and I each took a drawer. The drawers are deep and big, so they were perfect. I used the space beside the TV for my guidebook and binder as well as for our Pjs from each night and our dry swimsuits. All the luggage was stowed beside or under the bed and I put the 3 small baskets on the table for the boys’ misc. junk! We were all changed and off to DTD for lunch/dinner and shopping!

I just have to say that I love POR! The grounds are so beautiful and peaceful. I love the ducks and the rabbits and the occasional armadillo! The dock/marina area is beautiful. I can't say enough good things about this resort! It really does feel like home!

Wow this post is a bit lengthy and it only covers like 3 hours!! LOL! Keep in mind that I was still taking notes at this point. By day 4 all you're going to get is "we went to MK, rode a few rides, it was fun!"

Up next...our first meal and we are PIRATES OF THE DAY! AARGGHH!!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Thanks for the new post. You can totally tell that your youngest one is proud of loosing those two front teeth. You've got a fine set of young men to be proud of.

 

[Planning fanatic mom]

Thank you so much for the update. We stayed in POR 2 years ago. We really liked it. We were in building 15. Very short walk to the buses. Your pics brought tears to my eyes. I miss POR!!

So, I guess the on-line check in was worth it?

The magic has begun!!!!!

 

[ladybugmom]

YAY!! Arrival in WDW! This is getting me sooo excited about our trip!! BTW--I love your Vera Bradley!!

 

[mom2mek]

What a lovely start to your trip! Your room looks very nice! Gotta love towel animals! Great start....keep it coming....

Sara

 

[MICKEY4EVER!]

I think you and I may subscribe to some of the same boards! I've seen your name here and there. Cool to find your TR and put a face with the name.

Your boys are quite handsome and I know Mom is proud! Looking forward to hearing the rest of your story, sounds great so far!

 

[carissanboys]

I never noticed this!!!!!!!!

Great pictures and update Missy! I'm amazed at how quickly it all went for you.

POR is so awesome!