I'm Not As Tink As You Kronk I Am - Final Thoughts on Mustard's January Trip to WDW

[mnmrmustard]

Chapter 1 - The grand idea and Cast of Characters

It is late spring of 2006 and a spark of an idea starts to grow in the dark recesses of a slightly unsettled mind. A mind sitting loosely in the cranium of our intrepid planner, prodder, and born again Disney fan. The idea is to have members from his family and DW's family all meet for a meet/reunion at The Land That Walt Made

After many e-mails, phone calls, and the occasional misinterpreted hand gesture a timeframe of January 9th - 18th, 2008 as our "go time." And with that our basic cast of characters was set:

Me, I'm Mike (38) - I work as a network administrator and help desk coordinator at a community college - I keep the computers talking I enjoy photography, camping, bowling, and computer/PS2 games. I'm currently working my way up through the ranks on Pirates of the Caribbean Online (the whole family actually plays)

DW Roxy (33) - she's an executive assistant at a precision machine shop. Along with that she's got supermom syndrome doing work for DD2's PTO, acting as secretary for DD1's PTA, working at the gym where both girls go, and coaching DD1's volleyball team. And her bowling team is currently in 1st place and jus won their last block - w00t!

DD11 Kyra - dealing with the transition to middle school and the increased homework load, she's a dedicated student former gymnast, and is currently in the playoffs for volleyball along with getting ready for the competition season for cheerleading In the spring she also does fastpitch softball.

DD8 Gillian - this is our free spirit/daredevil She like to run and jump and play and does gymnastics off and on along with softball. To give you an idea about the kind of kid she is - she rode ToT at Disneyland 7 times at the age of 5

DM Mariah (62) - she does some office work in relation to DF's job and is very big into genealogy - tracing branches of the family tree back to 1673 in Scotland. She has post-polio syndrome but doesn't let it slow her down She'll be motoring around on one of those scooters at WDW.

DF John (60) - works as an industrial park manager, construction foreman, and general jack of all trades for a guy who owns properties in a half dozen states. He lives to work and will never retire if he can help it.

MiL Ann (66) - She's the office manager at the same place DW works at. She's struggling with the transition to retirement but is getting to the point where her health isn't going to let her keep working full time. She has sciatic, hip, and back issues and is also going to be getting around on with some help via an electric wheelchair.

Sis Maria (42) - She works at a newspaper and is an ameteur photographer. She just e-mailed me and said she'd be there for the first part of our trip - yay!!!

Nephew Matt (24) - Works for a big food chain. I haven't seen him since he was 16 so I'm really not sure what he's in to other than...

Nephew's Fiancée Sarah (24) - sounds like a great girl - it'll be our first time meeting her.

We also have my BiL & his fam that still aren't sure, but might be there too.

Here's a pic of DD11:

And one of DD8:

And one of the girls, Roxy, and I:

To help navigate I've added in some Chapter links for the Pre-Trippie and for the days of the Trip Report itself

Pre-Trip Report:

Chapter 1 - The Grand Idea and Cast of Characters (this page)
Chapter 2 - Background (this page)
Chapter 3 - Itenerary - Page 2
Chapter 4 - Flashback to Another January Adventure to Dis - Page 3
Chapter 5 - Off Topic - A Little Cheer and Christmas Fun - Page 8
Chapter 6 - "The Lists" - Page 9
Chapter 7 - 8 Days, 10 Hours, 57 Minutes - Page 11
Chapter 8 - 2 More Days!!! - Page 13

Trip Report:

Day 1 - Winging Our Way and Shivering our Timbers! - Page 16
Day 2 Part 1 - The World Awaits :-] - Page 17
Day 2 Part 2 - Railing, Floating, and Squaking - Page 18
Day 3 - Itenerary Out the Window - Page 19
Day 3 Part 2 - AKA: If I Only Had a Brain - Page 21
Day 4 - The Sign Still Says MGM - Page 21
Day 4 Part 2 - Be My Guest! - Page 21
Day 4 Part 3 - Are you feeling Extreme?!?!? - Page 22
Day 4 Part 4 - I Know I'm Feeling Extreme - Page 22
Day 4 Part 5 - That was fun ...I'm Hungry Again! - Page 22
Day 4 Part 6 - A Fantasmic! End to the Day - Page 22
Day 5 Part 1 - Splish Splash SeaWorld Day! - Page 23
Day 5 Part 2 - On to the Shamu Express! - Page 23
Day 5 Part 3 - No Pets, So Something Wild Instead! - Page 24
Day 5 Part 4 - From Animals to Undersea Dangers - Page 24
Day 5 Part 5 - Are We Done Yet??? - Page 24
Day 6 Part 1 - Up and At 'Em - Time to Open SeaWorld! - Page 25
Day 6 Part 2 - Rays, A Special Moment, and Face Paint Saves the Day! - Page 25
Day 6 Part 3 - Pets Ahoy! and Where Can We Rent A Canoe? - Page 25
Day 6 Part 4 - These are not the oyster (divers) I ordered & Clyde an Seymour Antics - Page 26
Day 6 Part 5 - The Sea Lion Antics Continue! - Page 26
Day 6 Part 6 - Big Finish, More Sea Lions, and Time to Dine with Shamu! - Page 26
Day 6 Part 7 - Good food and Shamu Waves Hello - Page 26
Day 6 Part 8 - Do You Believe? - Page 26
Day 7 Part 1 - Oopses, Characters, and Getting Ready to Blast Off - Page 27
Day 7 Part 2 – Into Space, Back to Surprise Sis, and Away We Go Again - Page 27
Day 7 Part 3 – More Land & Seas! - Page 28
Day 7 Part 4 – Fishies, Sickies, and The Sky Comes Alive! - Page 28
Day 7 Part 5 – The end of Illuminations and our day at Epcot - Page 28
Day 8 Part 1 - Waking Up With The Animals - Page 28
Day 8 Part 2 - Still Looking for Nemo - Page 28
Day 8 Part 3 - Nemo, The Saga Continues! - Page 29
Day 8 Part 4 - Dinos, Lunch, and Once Around the Park! - Page 29
Day 8 Part 5 - On To Everest! - Page 29
Day 8 Part 6 - Everest Part Deux - Page 29
Day 8 Part 7 - Scary Yeti, Skip the Parade, and On to the Safari! - Page 29
Day 8 Part 8 - The Safari Continues - Page 29
Day 8 Part 9 - The Safari Ends and We Stumble into Fun - Page 29
Day 8 Part 10 - I Love a Parade! - Page 29
Day 8 Part 11 - The Parade Ends and our Tummies Rumble! - Page 29
Day 8 Part 12 - Inside the Rainforest - Page 29
Day 8 Part 13 - We Officially Close the Park - Page 29
Day 9 Part 0 - Time to Split Up! - Page 30
Day 9 Part 1 – Watch out Epcot, the Character Hunters are Coming! - Page 30
Day 9 Part 2 – Again Dad, Again! - Page 31
Day 9 Part 3 – Switching from Thrill Rides to Thrills AKA Raiders of the What? - Page 31
Day 9 Part 4 – Indy Does Dance Dance Revolution - Page 32
Day 9 Part 5 – Are You Indy’d Out Yet? - Page 32
Day 9 Part 6 – Indy Goes Out with a Whimper, Toy Story Lunch, and On To Backlot! - Page 32
Day 9 Part 7 – Backlot Tour Gets Rolling - Page 33
Day 9 Part 8 – Backlot Tour Runs Hot then Gets Wet! - Page 33
Day 9 Part 9 – LMA Up Close, More Big Props, and Inside to the Villains! - Page 33
Day 9 Part 10 – Wanderings Lead Us to the Fabled Doors of the GMR! - Page 34
Day 9 Part 11 – GMR concludes and a Mermaid Appears - Page 34
Day 9 Part 12 – Goodbye to the Mermaid, More Fun, and on to Fantasmic! - Page 34
Day 9 Part 13 – More Fantasmic! Fun - Page 34
Day 9 Part 14 – Even MORE Fantasmic! Fun - Page 34
Day 9 Part 15 – Are We Done With Fantasmic! Fun? - Page 34
Day 9 Part 16 – Fantasmic! finally ends and we wrap up our day - Page 34
Day 10 Part 1 - Discovery Cove Here We Come! - Page 36
Day 10 Part 2 – Strolling around and Visiting the Rays - Page 37
Day 10 Part 3 – Leaving the Rays to Visit our Feathered Friends - Page 37
Day 10 Part 4 – From the Aviary to Our New Friend Jenny - Page 37
Day 10 Part 5 – More Fun with Jenny and The Rest of Day of Discovery! - Page 38
Day 11 Part 1 – Last Day at The Greatest Place On Earth - Page 40
Day 11 Part 2 – Toontown and PhilharMagic and a Trip to Liberty Square - Page 40
Day 11 Part 3 – Haunted Mansion, Shopping, and a Magical Sword - Page 41
OT - Meeting Bill Clinton - Page 41
Day 11 Part 4 - A Special Invitation - Page 42
Day 11 Part 5 – More fun at the Royal table, Some Very Bad Girls, and Another Special Destination
Page 42
Day 11 Part 6 – MiL and Bean Take Flight! - Page 43
Day 11 Part 7 – A Safe Landing and Our Second Flight :-] - Page 43
Day 11 Part 8 – Our Last Moments at The World and Our Journey Home - Page 44
Final Thoughts On Our First WDW Adventure - Page 45

 

[jordanyosh]

West Coast!!!!!!!!!

I'm subscribing now.

If you have any questions let me know. I went w/ an uncle and aunt who tooled around in ECVs. That trip was in 2003 w/ 13 people. So I know a little about travelling w/ large groups.....

If you don't have ?????. No worries. I'm along for the ride anyway.

 

[englishrose47]

Subscribing

 

[Avivasmom]

Great start..your girls are very cute.

On our last trip I did Disney with an ECV due to herniated discs in my back...I cannot walk long distances. Make sure they use them if needed.

So where will you be staying and when in January are you going? We are going then too.

 

[mnmrmustard]

West Coast!!!!!!!!!

I'm subscribing now.

If you have any questions let me know. I went w/ an uncle and aunt who tooled around in ECVs. That trip was in 2003 w/ 13 people. So I know a little about travelling w/ large groups.....

If you don't have ?????. No worries. I'm along for the ride anyway.

Howdy jordanyosh!

Yes, another west-coaster - thank you for joining! 13 people? That must have been an adventure :-] I'm sure I'll have questions as we get closer. I'm finishing the first draft of my itenerary and am trying to find a good balance between seeing enough without exausting everyone

My DM went with my fam to Universal Orlando in 2002 and rode the ECV and has one of her own so she's a champ at it. My MiL however has had little experience other than tooling around Wal-Mart and such. We keep joking to them that they'll be our motorized sherpas carrying all the extra stuff!

Subscribing

Thankyee englishrose47 - glad to have you on board on our magical journey

Great start..your girls are very cute.

On our last trip I did Disney with an ECV due to herniated discs in my back...I cannot walk long distances. Make sure they use them if needed.

So where will you be staying and when in January are you going? We are going then too.

Hello Avivasmom!

Thank you for the compliment on my girls - I'll pass it along :-]

The ECVs are gonna be a lifesaver ...I know I'll be wishing I had one by the end of each day

We will be staying off site this time around. My DM has a timeshare at the Grand Beach Phase II on Lake Bryan, right across the freeway from DTD. It is a 3-bedroom lockout which we have for 11 days - whoohoo!

We'll be at WDW from the 9th to the 18th with a little break in the middle to check out Sea World/Discovery cove.

 

[mnmrmustard]

OK, for background I went to Disneyland when I was 7 years old, but it was just a day there and it was part of a week-long theme park hopping adventure put together by my parents and was all a blur I only really remember the bicentennial theming (we went in '76) and the electric light parade, along with Pirates of the Caribbean.

DW went to WDW as a kid and also only had one day there, mostly spent at EPCOT and left feeling like she missed most of the magic

I was born in Georgia and bounced around through Tennessee, California, and then spent the bulk of my childhood in Arizona. My fam moved to southern Oregon when I was 15 and I did HS there except for my senior year, which was done partially back in Georgia (long story).

I did 4 years in the Army as a rocket artilleryman and did time at Ft. Sill, OK, Ft Hood, TX, and Baumholder, Germany. I was in Germany to see the Berlin Wall fall down, which was very cool. I was also in during Desert Storm, but our unit didn't deploy so I spent it pulling 12-hr gate guard shifts in the snow making sure our Bavarian paradise didn't get invaded by a non-existent terrorist threat.

When I got out I worked for a year before going to college, where I met Roxy. We were married less than a year after that and have been together for 14 years. We rented an apartment, then a house, then bought our first house - a palatial 900 sq. ft. - lol We lived there for several years, but when our 2nd daughter was on the way we decided that we needed a bigger place.

Our MiL owned a house in the same town and her health/mobility started to go downhill. We decided to try out living together and amazingly enough it worked out, giving her some help doing things and us some help looking after the wee ones. We did a big remodel and added 1,100 sq. ft., bringing the place to just over 2,600 sq. ft. total! It is now a 5 bedroom, 3 1/2 bath including 2 master suites with spa tubs

Back to the Disney side of things we realized that our girls hadn't had the experience and we wanted to give ourselves the ability to have a longer, more enjoyable time there. We're west-coasters so it was an easy choice to go to Disneyland. We did a 3-day package there in January of 2005 doing DL and CA We went there with my BiL and his fam.

It happened to be a time of pretty bad rains, which scared most of the populace away from the parks. It was overcast 50%, drizzled 40%, and was full-on downpour the other 10%. The rain itself wasn't an issue since Oregon is a pretty wet place, and the temps were 65-70 degrees, which for us was workable

The end result was only a couple of rides being closed (unfortunately including Haunted Mansion - grrrr) and us being able to ride all the rides we wanted. The longest wait we had was 10 minutes other than waiting for timed shows. We rode everything at least once and several rides multiple times - in some cases not even having to get off.

I know we won't get that lucky as far as ride waits when we go to WDW, but I'll be happy with whatever the outcome is. I think that's enough of the background stuff, next time we'll delve a bit into what I have planned for our grand adventure!

 

[Mrs. Bee]

subscribing

 

[Anne's Family]

I'm heeeeeerrrrrrre! Watching your trip with bated breath. You've got quite a clan going! It will be a great thing for the kids to experience it with extended family. That really makes everything more special.... slow, but special!

 

[irene_dsc]

Hey - I was in Berlin then, too! (Spent my junior year abroad with lots of travelling - spent a couple weeks in W. Germany with three large male friends, and we rented a sledgehammer to help make little chips in the Wall!)

And here I'm feeling intimidated planning for the 4 of us...

 

[mnmrmustard]

subscribing

Thankyee!

I'm heeeeeerrrrrrre! Watching your trip with bated breath. You've got quite a clan going! It will be a great thing for the kids to experience it with extended family. That really makes everything more special.... slow, but special!

Hello hello! Yes, it should be very interesting - I'm trying to make it as low impact as circumstances will allow and am planning afternoon breaks back at the resort each day I know for my DF especially it will be all about showering our girls with attention

Hey - I was in Berlin then, too! (Spent my junior year abroad with lots of travelling - spent a couple weeks in W. Germany with three large male friends, and we rented a sledgehammer to help make little chips in the Wall!)

And here I'm feeling intimidated planning for the 4 of us...

Cool! Yeah, I remember the little tables set up with hammer n chisels for rent

We actually went to a more 'resedential' area and found them tearing it out with wrecking balls. We were lazy and just picked up a couple of pieces - that was some pretty hard-packed cement ...I had to carry that thing for several kms. Unfortunately I was young and an idiot and sold the piece to get beer money

There are two things really stick out in my mind from that time. The first was the fleet of 'trabi' cars that came across. I was amazed at how much a family could squeeze into those tiny cars. We were on convoy from the border and were surrounded by them and they were all honking and waving at us - it was pretty amazing.

The second was seeing Roger Waters 'The Wall' live in Berlin. The concert was great, but it was the energy of the people there that really made it something to remember :-]

 

[its jus tme]

Love the pics and am looking forward to more

 

[irene_dsc]

Thankyee!
Cool! Yeah, I remember the little tables set up with hammer n chisels for rent

We actually went to a more 'resedential' area and found them tearing it out with wrecking balls. We were lazy and just picked up a couple of pieces - that was some pretty hard-packed cement ...I had to carry that thing for several kms. Unfortunately I was young and an idiot and sold the piece to get beer money

There are two things really stick out in my mind from that time. The first was the fleet of 'trabi' cars that came across. I was amazed at how much a family could squeeze into those tiny cars. We were on convoy from the border and were surrounded by them and they were all honking and waving at us - it was pretty amazing.

The second was seeing Roger Waters 'The Wall' live in Berlin. The concert was great, but it was the energy of the people there that really made it something to remember :-]

Wow - that had to have been amazing. I was there a couple months after it started coming down, so not a flood of people coming through then. But - somewhere, I believe I still have my little bitty pieces of The Wall. Those sledgehammers didn't get big pieces off, at least not when I was swinging!

 

[Mrs. Bee]

It is late spring of 2006 and a spark of an idea starts to grow in the dark recesses of a slightly unsettled mind. A mind sitting loosely in the cranium of our intrepid planner, prodder, and born again Disney fan. The idea is to have members from his family and DW's family all meet for a meet/reunion at The Land That Walt Made

After many e-mails, phone calls, and the occasional misinterpreted hand gesture a timeframe of January 9th - 18th, 2008 as our "go time." And with that our basic cast of characters was set:

Me, I'm Mike (38) - I work as a network administrator and help desk coordinator at a community college - I keep the computers talking I enjoy photography, camping, bowling, and computer/PS2 games. I'm currently working my way up through the ranks on Pirates of the Caribbean Online (the whole family actually plays)

DW Roxy (33) - she's an executive assistant at a precision machine shop. Along with that she's got supermom syndrome doing work for DD2's PTO, acting as secretary for DD1's PTA, working at the gym where both girls go, and coaching DD1's volleyball team. And her bowling team is currently in 1st place and jus won their last block - w00t!

DD1 Kyra (11) - dealing with the transition to middle school and the increased homework load, she's a dedicated student former gymnast, and is currently in the playoffs for volleyball along with getting ready for the competition season for cheerleading In the spring she also does fastpitch softball.

DD2 Gillian (8) - this is our free spirit/daredevil She like to run and jump and play and does gymnastics off and on along with softball. To give you an idea about the kind of kid she is - she rode ToT at Disneyland 7 times at the age of 5

DM Mariah (62) - she does some office work in relation to DF's job and is very big into genealogy - tracing branches of the family tree back to 1673 in Scotland. She has post-polio syndrome and mostly gets around in one of those scooters. She works part time doing office/accounting stuff for DD.

DF John (60) - works as an industrial park manager, construction foreman, and general jack of all trades for a guy who owns properties in a half dozen states. He lives to work and will never retire if he can help it.

MiL Ann (66) - She's the office manager at the same place DW works at. She's struggling with the transition to retirement but is getting to the point where her health isn't going to let her keep working full time. She has sciatic, hip, and back issues and is also going to be getting around on with some help via an electric wheelchair.

Sis Maria (42) - She works at a framing shop and is an ameteur photographer. She just e-mailed me and said she'd be there for the first part of our trip - yay!!!

Nephew Matt (24) - Asst manager for a big food chain. I haven't seen him since he was 16 so I'm really not sure what he's in to other than...

Nephew's Fiancée Sarah (24) - sounds like a great girl - it'll be our first time meeting her.

We also have my BiL & his fam that still aren't sure, but might be there too.

Here's a pic of DD1:

And one of DD2:

And one of the girls, Roxy, and I:

Next installment I'll give you some background on me and the fam and how we got here :-]

I realized I had forgotten to comment on your thread. So here I am. My husband works in a computer related field. He works with POS systems in restuarants and stuff. We have two hobbies in common...photography and bowling. I am horrible at taking nice pictures but I just love doing it. I mostly love taking photos of my niece and nephew though. And bowling...again, I love it but am horrible at it. I have my own ball and shoes so people always think I'll be good. But I'm lucky if I can get more than an score of 80. No joke. But it's fun so that's all I care about.

Is Roxy your wife's real name? I LOVE that name. Is it short for anything. I've been noticing names a lot lately because my sister and brother-in-law are trying to figure out a name for their second daughter (due in December.)

When I was little we took three big trips to WDW. We'd spend a few days at the parks and then drive down south to stay in a condo for a few days. (Sanibel Island one year and Ft. Myers the other two.) We went with all of the family on my dad's side. Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Grandparents. It was a blast. I have wonderful memories of it.

 

[Mrs. Bee]

OK, for background I went to Disneyland when I was 7 years old, but it was just a day there and it was part of a week-long theme park hopping adventure put together by my parents and was all a blur I only really remember the bicentennial theming (we went in '76) and the electric light parade, along with Pirates of the Caribbean.

DW went to WDW as a kid and also only had one day there, mostly spent at EPCOT and left feeling like she missed most of the magic

I was born in Georgia and bounced around through Tennessee, California, and then spent the bulk of my childhood in Arizona. My fam moved to southern Oregon when I was 15 and I did HS there except for my senior year, which was done partially back in Georgia (long story).

I did 4 years in the Army as a rocket artilleryman and did time at Ft. Sill, OK, Ft Hood, TX, and Baumholder, Germany. I was in Germany to see the Berlin Wall fall down, which was very cool. I was also in during Desert Storm, but our unit didn't deploy so I spent it pulling 12-hr gate guard shifts in the snow making sure our Bavarian paradise didn't get invaded by a non-existent terrorist threat.

When I got out I worked for a year before going to college, where I met Roxy. We were married less than a year after that and have been together for 14 years. We rented an apartment, then a house, then bought our first house - a palatial 900 sq. ft. - lol We lived there for several years, but when our 2nd daughter was on the way we decided that we needed a bigger place.

Our MiL owned a house in the same town and her health/mobility started to go downhill. We decided to try out living together and amazingly enough it worked out, giving her some help doing things and us some help looking after the wee ones. We did a big remodel and added 1,100 sq. ft., bringing the place to just over 2,600 sq. ft. total! It is now a 5 bedroom, 3 1/2 bath including 2 master suites with spa tubs

Back to the Disney side of things we realized that our girls hadn't had the experience and we wanted to give ourselves the ability to have a longer, more enjoyable time there. We're west-coasters so it was an easy choice to go to Disneyland. We did a 3-day package there in January of 2005 doing DL and CA We went there with my BiL and his fam.

It happened to be a time of pretty bad rains, which scared most of the populace away from the parks. It was overcast 50%, drizzled 40%, and was full-on downpour the other 10%. The rain itself wasn't an issue since Oregon is a pretty wet place, and the temps were 65-70 degrees, which for us was workable

The end result was only a couple of rides being closed (unfortunately including Haunted Mansion - grrrr) and us being able to ride all the rides we wanted. The longest wait we had was 10 minutes other than waiting for timed shows. We rode everything at least once and several rides multiple times - in some cases not even having to get off.

I know we won't get that lucky as far as ride waits when we go to WDW, but I'll be happy with whatever the outcome is. I think that's enough of the background stuff, next time we'll delve a bit into what I have planned for our grand adventure!

Your house sounds great! We won't have any spa tubs in our house. But we will have a garden tub in the master so it's a bit deeper and more comfortable than a regular tub.

Disneyland in the rain was always nice since we had APs. We always knew the crowds would be low those days. But if it was a vacation I'd probably be a little sad about tons of rain. Keeping my fingers crossed for no rain (or very little rain) at WDW in January.

 

[mnmrmustard]

Love the pics and am looking forward to more

Thank you for stopping by! I'll be adding more soon ...I'm almost done with the first draft of my itenerary

Wow - that had to have been amazing. I was there a couple months after it started coming down, so not a flood of people coming through then. But - somewhere, I believe I still have my little bitty pieces of The Wall. Those sledgehammers didn't get big pieces off, at least not when I was swinging!

Yeah, it was that (I realized I said the word 'amazing' twice in one sentence up there - lol). Good for you for still having your pieces ...and I can understand about not getting big pieces off. You'd pretty much need a jack hammer or heavy equipment to get a bigger piece off.

I realized I had forgotten to comment on your thread. So here I am. My husband works in a computer related field. He works with POS systems in restuarants and stuff. We have two hobbies in common...photography and bowling. I am horrible at taking nice pictures but I just love doing it. I mostly love taking photos of my niece and nephew though. And bowling...again, I love it but am horrible at it. I have my own ball and shoes so people always think I'll be good. But I'm lucky if I can get more than an score of 80. No joke. But it's fun so that's all I care about.

Is Roxy your wife's real name? I LOVE that name. Is it short for anything. I've been noticing names a lot lately because my sister and brother-in-law are trying to figure out a name for their second daughter (due in December.)

When I was little we took three big trips to WDW. We'd spend a few days at the parks and then drive down south to stay in a condo for a few days. (Sanibel Island one year and Ft. Myers the other two.) We went with all of the family on my dad's side. Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Grandparents. It was a blast. I have wonderful memories of it.

Hiya! Ahhh, he keeps those touch-screen-based systems going aye? We have some 'kiosk' type setups in our student center that work the same way. I'm very much an ameteur photographer, doing mostly landscape, wildlife, and family pics. I just got a new lens for the trip but haven't been able to try it out because the weather has been cruddy here

I also have my own ball and shoes and such and was even on 2 leagues last year (a family mixed junior/adult one with DW and DD1) and a standard Monday night league. I'm taking the year off from it due to work stuff and other scheduling issues. I'm no pro - the best game I've rolled was a 230 and my average is around 145. But it is fun and I look forward to getting back into it next year

Yup, her name is Roxanne, but I call her Roxy. And since I call her that all of my friends and co-workers call her it too. She goes by either though. It is a great name, especially now that the Police song has kind of faded into the background - lol. Congrats to your sister on her upcoming baby!

The family trips you took sound like they were wonderful. It is nice when family can get together like that. When we went to Universal/Is of Adventure in 2002 we first stopped by my grandmother's beachfront apartment in Destin, FL on the gulf coast and stayed there for a few days with a bunch of family. It was a great time with lots of wonderful memories.

Your house sounds great! We won't have any spa tubs in our house. But we will have a garden tub in the master so it's a bit deeper and more comfortable than a regular tub.

Disneyland in the rain was always nice since we had APs. We always knew the crowds would be low those days. But if it was a vacation I'd probably be a little sad about tons of rain. Keeping my fingers crossed for no rain (or very little rain) at WDW in January.

I'm very happy with it - and since I am a techie I put together a website for it with an interactive floorplan that links to pictures of the rooms with some before and after stuff. I need to update many of the pictures at this point since the rooms have changed/been rearranged since I first put it together The spa tub is nice - ours is a 2-person model and is a nice escape after a long day. But just having a tub that you can fit into and stretch your legs out in counts for so much and it sounds like the garden tub will fit the bill for that

Yes, I could have done without quite so much rain, but overall I think it worked out in relation to the rides we were able to ride. The big bummer that I forgot to mention is that there were no parades/fireworks because of the bad weather I am with you in hoping the weather cooperates while we are at WDW!

 

[earthfaries]

Sounds like such an incredible trip! I can't wait to see what you have planned

On the January thread you said you were going to SW the same days as us, the 12&13th. It is our first time there too and we are really excited about it. Now that I know what you guys look like, if you see a family of 6 with two ECVs also hollaring "hello" you'll know we are fellow DISers

 

[mnmrmustard]

Sounds like such an incredible trip! I can't wait to see what you have planned

On the January thread you said you were going to SW the same days as us, the 12&13th. It is our first time there too and we are really excited about it. Now that I know what you guys look like, if you see a family of 6 with two ECVs also hollaring "hello" you'll know we are fellow DISers

I hope so - and I should have my first draft of my itenerary wrapped up an posted today

Well, for the Sea World portion we will be a family of 7 with two ECVs so we'll almost be a carbon copy of y'all We'll keep our eyes peeled for ya!

 

[mnmrmustard]

Hey All - Itinerary time!


This is my first stab at this so we'll see how it goes



Although we will have other family members early on, this trip is mostly about my DDs (ages 8 & 11). Myself, my DW will be trying to keep up with them and both of our mothers, who will be driving a scooter & a electric wheelchair respectively. They've both promised to give the kids rides if they get tired ...so DW and I will be the ones with the sore feet


Mon, Jan 7
Breakfast: at home
9:30am flight to SFO
Lunch: At SFO
1pm flight to MCO
Arrive in Orlando at 9:21pm
Drive to Embassy Suites for 1 night stay
Sleep


Tues, Jan 8
Breakfast: at ES
Check out
Lunch: McDonalds w/largest play area in the world (DD's saw it on TV and are insisting ...darned Travel Channel - hehehe)
Ripley's Museum
Check in at Grand Beach Phase II on Lake Bryan
Settle in/hang out
Dinner: Pirates Adventure Dinner at 8:30pm


Wed, Jan 9 – Magic Kingdom (9am-7pm) - DTD (9am-11pm)
Breakfast: at resort
Try to be there for rope drop
Hit Tomorrowland and some of Fantasyland
Rope drop at Toontown
Lunch: counter service
More rides and then decide if we will...
...Stay for Dreams parade - watch from Liberty Square HC area
Try to hit Pirates before lines form back up then leave
OR
...Just head back to the resort to rest for the afternoon
Head to DTD for dinner/shopping
Dinner: ADRs - Fulton's Crab House at 7pm (Dad’s 61st B-day!)
Walk off some of that good seafood by checking out the shops


Thu, Jan 10 – EPCOT (FW 9am-7pm/WS 11am-9pm)
Breakfast: at resort
Be there for Future World rope drop
Go for FP for Test Track while fam gets in line for Soarin’
Maybe check out the Land Pavilion
Check out Living Seas Pavilion & do Turtle Talk
Maybe ride Test Track
Get FP for Mission: SPACE
Lunch: counter service at Sunshine Seasons
Go on Mission: SPACE
Hit Maelstrom and/or the Grand Fiesta Tour
Back to the resort to rest for a bit
Dinner: ADRs - Coral Reef 4:30pm
Hit whatever else catches our eye/isn’t too crowded until Illuminations 9pm


Fri, Jan 11 – Disney's Hollywood Studios (9am-7pm)
Breakfast: at resort
Be there for rope drop
Try and beat the crowd to RnR/ToT
Get FP for Rock'n'Roller and get in main line
Do ToT and then Fastpass RnR
Hit MuppetVision
maybe do another attraction or two depending on lines
Go back to resort for a leisurely lunch and rest
Back to Disney's Hollywood Studios
Stars and Motorcars parade at 3pm
Hit some more attractions
Dinner: ADRs - Fantasmic! Dining – Hollywood and Vine at 5pm
Wander around a bit to walk off dinner
Fantasmic! At 7pm
Back to resort


Sat, Jan 12 – SeaWorld (9am-6pm)
Breakfast: at resort
Walk around and catch shows
Lunch: counter service
See more shows/exhibits
Leave when we're tired
Dinner: at resort
Have a restful evening


Sun, Jan 13 – SeaWorld (9am-6pm)
Breakfast: at resort
Leisurely morning at resort
Lunch: at resort
Back to Sea World
Catch whatever we hadn't seen on Saturday
Dinner: SeaWorld Orlando's Backstage at Believe...Dine with Shamu


Mon, Jan 14 - Typhoon Lagoon (10am-5pm)/Magic Kingdom (9am-8pm)
Breakfast: at resort
Be at Typhoon Lagoon when it opens
Splash splash splash
Lunch: counter service
Leave when we’re tired/done being wet
Back to the resort to rest
Head to MK between 4 & 5pm
Catch a couple of fast passes or just check out the shops
Dinner: Pecos Bill’s (counter service) at 6pm eat outside by the fence for Spectromagic Parade
Wishes


Tue, Jan 15 – Animal Kingdom (9am - 5pm)
Breakfast: at resort
Be there for rope drop - go in via Rainforest Cafe's separate entrance
Get FP for Expedition Everest on the way to the ride so we can ride it twice without too much of a wait ;-]
Head to Dinoland USA
If the timing is right go to Finding Nemo The Musical
otherwise let the kids ride Primeval Whirl
Hit DINOSAUR
Back to Asia for Kali River Rapids & Maharajah Jungle Trek
It's Tough to Be a Bug
Get FP for Kilimanjaro Safari
Lunch: Flame Tree Barbeque (counter service)
Hit Kilimanjaro Safari
Pangani Forest Exploration Trail
See Festival of the Lion King
4pm Catch Jammin’ Jungle Parade
Wander & shop
Dinner: ADRs - Rainforest Café 5pm
Back to the resort


Wed, Jan 16 - EPCOT (FW 9am-7pm/WS 11am-9pm)
Breakfast: at resort
Get to EPCOT when we feel like it
Check out the different country exhibits
Check out anything else we didn't have time for on the first day
FP for either Soarin or Mission: SPACE
Lunch: counter service
Use FPs
Leisurely strolling/checking out more exhibits
Back to resort to rest
Dinner: ADRs - Le Cellier in the Canada pavilion 5:10pm
Hit whatever else catches our eye/isn’t too crowded until
IllumiNations (if we have the energy)


Thu, Jan 17 - Discovery Cove (9am - 5:30pm)
Breakfast: provided at DC
Lunch: provided at DC
Dinner: Thai Thani - just down the road from DC


Fri, Jan 18 - Magic Kingdom (9am - 8pm)/Downtown Disney (9:30am - 11:30pm)
Breakfast: at resort
At MK for rope drop
Route will depend on what we were able to get through on 1st MK day
Lunch: ADRs - Cinderella's Royal Table (2 tables) 12:15pm
Try for fastpasses on rides we really need "one more time" on
Catch 'Dreams' one last time
Do a couple of more rides or head back to resort
At some point head to DTD so the ladies can shop one last time
Back to MK
Dinner: Find a spot around 7pm at the Plaza Pavilion for Wishes
Wander around and catch another ride or two - stay until they kick us out


Sat, Jan 19 - Heading Home
Breakfast: on the way to airport/at airport
8am flight to SFO
Lunch: at SFO while we wait for connecting flight
12:45pm flight home
Arrive at home around 3pm

 

[jordanyosh]

Great itinerary

Do you do spreadsheets? I found it gives you a nice "big" picture of your trip.
I've emailed mine out to others if you'd like to take a look.

 

[earthfaries]

Hey All - Itinerary time!


This is my first stab at this so we'll see how it goes



Although we will have other family members early on, this trip is mostly about my DDs (ages 8 & 11). Myself, my DW will be trying to keep up with them and both of our mothers, who will be driving a scooter & a electric wheelchair respectively. They've both promised to give the kids rides if they get tired ...so DW and I will be the ones with the sore feet


Mon, Jan 7
Breakfast: at home
9:30am flight to SFO
Lunch: At SFO
1pm flight to MCO
Arrive in Orlando at 9:21pm
Drive to Grand Beach Phase II on Lake Bryan
Sleep


Tues, Jan 8
Breakfast: at resort
Touring Orlando
Lunch: McDonalds w/largest play area in the world (DD's saw it on TV and are insisting ...darned Travel Channel - hehehe)
Ripley's Museum
Back to the resort to rest
Dinner: Pirates Adventure Dinner at 6pm


Wed, Jan 9 – Magic Kingdom (9am-7pm) - DTD (9am-11pm)
Breakfast: at resort
Be there for rope drop
Hit Tomorrowland and some of Fantasyland
Rope drop at Toontown
Lunch: counter service
Dreams parade - watch from Liberty Square HC area
Try to hit Pirates before lines form back up
Head back to the resort to rest for a couple of hours
Head to DTD for dinner/shopping
Dinner: ADRs - Fulton's Crab House at 7pm (Dad’s 61st B-day!)
Walk off some of that good seafood by checking out the shops


Thu, Jan 10 – EPCOT (FW 9am-7pm/WS 11am-9pm)
Breakfast: at resort
Be there for Future World rope drop
Go for FP for Test Track while fam gets in line for Soarin’
Maybe check out the Land Pavilion
Check out Living Seas Pavilion & do Turtle Talk
Maybe ride Test Track
Get FP for Mission: SPACE
Lunch: counter service at Sunshine Seasons
Go on Mission: SPACE
Hit Maelstrom and/or the Grand Fiesta Tour
Back to the resort to rest for a bit
Dinner: ADRs - Coral Reef 4:30pm
Hit whatever else catches our eye/isn’t too crowded until Illuminations 9pm


Fri, Jan 11 – Disney's Hollywood Studios (9am-7pm)
Breakfast: at resort
Be there for rope drop
Try and beat the crowd to RnR/ToT
Get FP for Rock'n'Roller and get in main line
Do ToT and then Fastpass RnR
Hit MuppetVision
maybe do another attraction or two depending on lines
Go back to resort for a leisurely lunch and rest
Back to Disney's Hollywood Studios
Stars and Motorcars parade at 3pm
Hit some more attractions
Dinner: ADRs - Fantasmic! Dining – Hollywood and Vine at 5pm
Wander around a bit to walk off dinner
Fantasmic! At 7pm
Back to resort


Sat, Jan 12 – SeaWorld (9am-6pm)
Breakfast: at resort
Walk around and catch shows
Lunch: counter service
See more shows/exhibits
Leave when we're tired
Dinner: at resort
Have a restful evening


Sun, Jan 13 – SeaWorld (9am-6pm)
Breakfast: at resort
Leisurely morning at resort
Lunch: at resort
Back to Sea World
Catch whatever we hadn't seen on Saturday
Dinner: SeaWorld Orlando's Backstage at Believe...Dine with Shamu


Mon, Jan 14 - Typhoon Lagoon (10am-5pm)/Magic Kingdom (9am-8pm)
Breakfast: at resort
Be at Typhoon Lagoon when it opens
Splash splash splash
Lunch: counter service
Leave when we’re tired/done being wet
Back to the resort to rest
Head to MK between 4 & 5pm
Catch a couple of fast passes or just check out the shops
Dinner: Pecos Bill’s (counter service) at 6pm eat outside by the fence for Spectromagic Parade
Wishes


Tue, Jan 15 – Animal Kingdom (9am - 5pm)
Breakfast: at resort
Be there for rope drop - go in via Rainforest Cafe's separate entrance
Get FP for Expedition Everest on the way to the ride so we can ride it twice without too much of a wait ;-]
Head to Dinoland USA
If the timing is right go to Finding Nemo The Musical
otherwise let the kids ride Primeval Whirl
Hit DINOSAUR
Back to Asia for Kali River Rapids & Maharajah Jungle Trek
It's Tough to Be a Bug
Get FP for Kilimanjaro Safari
Lunch: Flame Tree Barbeque (counter service)
Hit Kilimanjaro Safari
Pangani Forest Exploration Trail
See Festival of the Lion King
4pm Catch Jammin’ Jungle Parade
Wander & shop
Dinner: ADRs - Rainforest Café 5pm
Back to the resort


Wed, Jan 16 - EPCOT (FW 9am-7pm/WS 11am-9pm)
Breakfast: at resort
Get to EPCOT when we feel like it
Check out the different country exhibits
Check out anything else we didn't have time for on the first day
FP for either Soarin or Mission: SPACE
Lunch: counter service
Use FPs
Leisurely strolling/checking out more exhibits
Back to resort to rest
Dinner: ADRs - Le Cellier in the Canada pavilion 5:10pm
Hit whatever else catches our eye/isn’t too crowded until
IllumiNations (if we have the energy)


Thu, Jan 17 - Discovery Cove (9am - 5:30pm)
Breakfast: provided at DC
Lunch: provided at DC
Dinner: Thai Thani - just down the road from DC


Fri, Jan 18 - Magic Kingdom (9am - 8pm)/Downtown Disney (9:30am - 11:30pm)
Breakfast: at resort
At MK for rope drop
Route will depend on what we were able to get through on 1st MK day
Lunch: ADRs - Cinderella's Royal Table (2 tables) 12:15pm
Try for fastpasses on rides we really need "one more time" on
Catch 'Dreams' one last time
Do a couple of more rides or head back to resort
At some point head to DTD so the ladies can shop one last time
Back to MK
Dinner: Find a spot around 7pm at the Plaza Pavilion for Wishes
Wander around and catch another ride or two - stay until they kick us out


Sat, Jan 19 - Heading Home
Breakfast: on the way to airport/at airport
8am flight to SFO
Lunch: at SFO while we wait for connecting flight
12:45pm flight home
Arrive at home around 3pm

What fun!!! That really is a great itenerary! You guys will get to see and experience so much!

We are also going to MK on Fri. the 18th. Maybe we will see you there too

On your AK day, what does go in the Rainforest Cafe exit mean/do? Is it a quicker route to EE?