TammiMcMan
Ohana
- Joined
- Jun 10, 2002
- Messages
- 6,307
Jim & Tammi - The Parents
Meagan - just finished her first year at college
Colin - extremely busy 14 year old
Casey - aka "Lola" or the "Diva"
How it all began ~ Jim phoned home from a particularly bad day at work. It was February in Massachusetts, dreary, cold, dark all the time. All thoughts start turning towards the south at this time of year. Anyway, Jim is stressed and he wants to go away, now. Lucky for Jim, his darling wife had already submitted our taxes and we are looking at a nice refund check. Well, I have husbands approval and money..... GREAT! I head straight for the disboards. Gotta check and see what's up, what's new, where is everyone heading. Wait a minute, what's this? An e-mail from my once darling husband saying that Disney World is not an option? Where else does anyone go on vacation? I call him to clarify and he say's that he wants relaxation. Something called a beach. A beach? What's there to do on a beach and how are we going to keep an 18 year old, a 14 year old, an 8 year old and their Disney crazy mother occupied? That's when I noticed a forum that I've never visited before. It's called the Disney Cruise Line. Hmmmm, relaxing but still Disney. I think we might have a winner. Now I become a daily lurker to this new found group. Grabbing tidbits of information to help sell my husband on this idea. We've never cruised before and couldn't imagine being "stuck" on a boat. But wait, some of these folks have been on these cruises as much as we've been to Disney. I think that I'm on to something. I contact Dreams Unlimited, get a quote, order the DCL planning guide and I make my pitch. Jim gets right into it, he's picking out staterooms, reading through the navigators that I printed out for him and I have him hooked. So hooked, that I'm able to sneak in an extra night at Disney World. Well, we get back to port so early on Sunday morning and Monday is the holiday. Can you blame me?
We left Boston on Wednesday 5/26. It had been cold and rainy for the past 5 days and we were traveling in jeans and sweaters. Our flight down was with FlySong airlines. The kids were pretty excited about the headrest televisions and we lucked out, as ESPN was covering the Red Sox game. They also had music channels, a trivia game and movies for purchase. For the first half of the flight, we had to stay in our seats. It was really bumpy and our pilot had to take us pretty far off shore to find some calmer air. Casey wasnt doing so well with the turbulence and I thought that was a bad sign for the Mission Space ride she wanted to try. The in flight staff was finally able to get up and they made their way through the cabin with complimentary drink service. FlySong also offers meals to purchase. Casey and I split a kids snack pack ($5), which included applesauce, gold fish, teddy grahams and fruit chews.
In spite of the rough going, we arrived in Orlando right on schedule, 11pm. We made our way through terminal B and headed to baggage claim. Somehow our luggage arrived even before we did. It took less than 5 minutes to get everything together. When I booked the trip, I went back and forth on where to stay our first night. I love the convenience of the airport Hyatt, but with five of us, I would have paid a little over $250 for two rooms. I debated about trying to go through Priceline or Hotwire and in the end, I chose the Hawthorn Suites. Part of the reason was that our Hyatt frequent guest card would be honored there and secondly, it was an all suite hotel, so there was only a need for one room. I booked a one-bedroom suite for the AAA rate of $86. I used the courtesy phone in the baggage area and called the hotel for the shuttle. We went down one floor and had a very short walk to the shuttles numbered spot. There is something about stepping outside and smelling that beautiful Florida air. We waited for approximately 8-10 minutes for the shuttle and it was only another 5 minutes before we were back at the hotel. The front desk clerk had all our paperwork waiting and informed me that because the hotel was nearly sold out, we had been upgraded to a two-bedroom suite. The room itself was terrific and they even had a 24 hour pantry at the front desk and we were able to get snacks before bed.
Jim and Meagan booked a spot on the 9am shuttle back to the airport. We needed to pick up our rental car from National. Again, with five of us, it just worked out to be less expensive than the Disney transfers. Plus my husband likes to have the added freedom of his own car. Meagan volunteered to go with her dad because she pretty much didnt trust him to pick out a cool car. Teenagers. We went down to breakfast and enjoyed a delicious complimentary hot buffet. They had scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, biscuits & gravy, bagels, toast, cereal, fruit, juices and coffee. The room we ate in was very spacious, with plenty of seating. Jim and Meagan went off with the shuttle while Colin, Casey and I finished up our breakfast. By 9:30, they were back with the car, an Aztec, and we were ready to hit the road. We booked through Nationals Emerald Aisle and Jim mentioned that they didnt have the selection that they used to. I guess in April, they switched over to a new rewards program and instead of at least an intermediate car in the Emerald aisle, now thats pretty much what youre going to get. He said that there was the Aztec, a few full size Jeeps, Aleros and lots of PT Cruisers.
We took off towards the Beeline and our first Disney cruise.
Good things to know:
To see our pictures: http://community.webshots.com/user/tammimcman
Trip Report Part 2: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=582595
Trip Report Part 3: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=582780
Trip Report Part 4: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=582976
Trip Report Part 5: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=583196
Trip Report Final: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=583825
Meagan - just finished her first year at college
Colin - extremely busy 14 year old
Casey - aka "Lola" or the "Diva"
How it all began ~ Jim phoned home from a particularly bad day at work. It was February in Massachusetts, dreary, cold, dark all the time. All thoughts start turning towards the south at this time of year. Anyway, Jim is stressed and he wants to go away, now. Lucky for Jim, his darling wife had already submitted our taxes and we are looking at a nice refund check. Well, I have husbands approval and money..... GREAT! I head straight for the disboards. Gotta check and see what's up, what's new, where is everyone heading. Wait a minute, what's this? An e-mail from my once darling husband saying that Disney World is not an option? Where else does anyone go on vacation? I call him to clarify and he say's that he wants relaxation. Something called a beach. A beach? What's there to do on a beach and how are we going to keep an 18 year old, a 14 year old, an 8 year old and their Disney crazy mother occupied? That's when I noticed a forum that I've never visited before. It's called the Disney Cruise Line. Hmmmm, relaxing but still Disney. I think we might have a winner. Now I become a daily lurker to this new found group. Grabbing tidbits of information to help sell my husband on this idea. We've never cruised before and couldn't imagine being "stuck" on a boat. But wait, some of these folks have been on these cruises as much as we've been to Disney. I think that I'm on to something. I contact Dreams Unlimited, get a quote, order the DCL planning guide and I make my pitch. Jim gets right into it, he's picking out staterooms, reading through the navigators that I printed out for him and I have him hooked. So hooked, that I'm able to sneak in an extra night at Disney World. Well, we get back to port so early on Sunday morning and Monday is the holiday. Can you blame me?
We left Boston on Wednesday 5/26. It had been cold and rainy for the past 5 days and we were traveling in jeans and sweaters. Our flight down was with FlySong airlines. The kids were pretty excited about the headrest televisions and we lucked out, as ESPN was covering the Red Sox game. They also had music channels, a trivia game and movies for purchase. For the first half of the flight, we had to stay in our seats. It was really bumpy and our pilot had to take us pretty far off shore to find some calmer air. Casey wasnt doing so well with the turbulence and I thought that was a bad sign for the Mission Space ride she wanted to try. The in flight staff was finally able to get up and they made their way through the cabin with complimentary drink service. FlySong also offers meals to purchase. Casey and I split a kids snack pack ($5), which included applesauce, gold fish, teddy grahams and fruit chews.
In spite of the rough going, we arrived in Orlando right on schedule, 11pm. We made our way through terminal B and headed to baggage claim. Somehow our luggage arrived even before we did. It took less than 5 minutes to get everything together. When I booked the trip, I went back and forth on where to stay our first night. I love the convenience of the airport Hyatt, but with five of us, I would have paid a little over $250 for two rooms. I debated about trying to go through Priceline or Hotwire and in the end, I chose the Hawthorn Suites. Part of the reason was that our Hyatt frequent guest card would be honored there and secondly, it was an all suite hotel, so there was only a need for one room. I booked a one-bedroom suite for the AAA rate of $86. I used the courtesy phone in the baggage area and called the hotel for the shuttle. We went down one floor and had a very short walk to the shuttles numbered spot. There is something about stepping outside and smelling that beautiful Florida air. We waited for approximately 8-10 minutes for the shuttle and it was only another 5 minutes before we were back at the hotel. The front desk clerk had all our paperwork waiting and informed me that because the hotel was nearly sold out, we had been upgraded to a two-bedroom suite. The room itself was terrific and they even had a 24 hour pantry at the front desk and we were able to get snacks before bed.
Jim and Meagan booked a spot on the 9am shuttle back to the airport. We needed to pick up our rental car from National. Again, with five of us, it just worked out to be less expensive than the Disney transfers. Plus my husband likes to have the added freedom of his own car. Meagan volunteered to go with her dad because she pretty much didnt trust him to pick out a cool car. Teenagers. We went down to breakfast and enjoyed a delicious complimentary hot buffet. They had scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, biscuits & gravy, bagels, toast, cereal, fruit, juices and coffee. The room we ate in was very spacious, with plenty of seating. Jim and Meagan went off with the shuttle while Colin, Casey and I finished up our breakfast. By 9:30, they were back with the car, an Aztec, and we were ready to hit the road. We booked through Nationals Emerald Aisle and Jim mentioned that they didnt have the selection that they used to. I guess in April, they switched over to a new rewards program and instead of at least an intermediate car in the Emerald aisle, now thats pretty much what youre going to get. He said that there was the Aztec, a few full size Jeeps, Aleros and lots of PT Cruisers.
We took off towards the Beeline and our first Disney cruise.
Good things to know:
- Fly down the night before if you can. It's so nice not losing a day to travel.
- FlySong was a good airline choice. The flight time went by quickly and the kids were entertained.
- Pack a separate overnight bag. We each had a suitcase and everyone carried a backpack. I made sure that the kids had pj's and clothes to wear the next day in their backpack. It saved from having to dig through the luggage and repack.
- Hawthorn Suites gets two thumbs up. We will definitely keep them in mind for future trips.
To see our pictures: http://community.webshots.com/user/tammimcman
Trip Report Part 2: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=582595
Trip Report Part 3: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=582780
Trip Report Part 4: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=582976
Trip Report Part 5: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=583196
Trip Report Final: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=583825
