"Mom, this is like a whole new Disney!" New 7/30 - pg 43 - Final Thoughts & PTR Link

[DisMomAmy]

Can't wait to see how the boys did this trip!!

They did great... for the most part...

YAY!! I am so happy you started your TR!! I love the new glasses! The intro pictures of everyone are so cute. Great title!! I can't wait to read all about your trip.

Thanks Tracy!

I am here!!! Love the new glasses and all the sneak peeks of pictures from the trip!

Thanks Jackie!

You knew I'd be here!

Can't wait to hear the story behind the title!

Cute glasses!


Kathy

Yes - I knew you'd be here!!

De-lurking cause the begining of a TR is always a good time to do that I like the new glasses. Can't wait to read all about your trip.

Thanks for de-lurking!!

Can't wait to read your trippie and the story behind the title as well!!

Thanks for joining me!

Can't wait to hear about the new Disney!

Hi Hedy!

Signing in Looking forward to your next post!

Thanks for reading along!

I'm waiting....JK.

hey I need my online ADR lesson too please...toy-ed around a bit last week...but I want to be ready under 3 weeks

I know, I know... I have it typed up & I'll post it soon!

 

[DisMomAmy]

Day One - Thursday, April 22nd

Sorry… no pictures… I don’t think I even took out the camera today…

We rose at the crack of dawn (5am – I know that’s normal for some of you, but that’s early for us) and finished up the last minute packing. We dragged the kids out of bed around 5:30 and headed out for the airport. We had seven bags to check (including the bag for the two booster seats & the bag with the air mattresses & pump)... I'm glad we were flying on Southwest! Tim dropped us at the curb & went to park the car. He was back in no time and we got the bags checked quickly. After a quick pit stop at the bathroom we breezed through security. In no time at all we were boarding with Group A! Zach & I sat behind Tim & Alex. A mother & daughter took the two aisle seats with us. The mom sat next to Tim, the daughter sat next to me. I felt bad for the little girl (6 or 7), but she did fine & her mom was right in front of her. The pilot announced that we would be taking a shortcut & arriving in Tampa 40 minutes early! It actually ended up being about 20 minutes early, but still early!

Now this is always the most stressful part of our trip… getting our luggage & dragging it through the airport! We learned long ago to get a cart. We should have gotten two… but we made it. We headed to the rental car counter where they tried to pretend they didn’t know about the free additional driver with our discount code. Luckily I had my handy, dandy binder and I pulled out the paperwork. Now if I just hadn't dropped it on the floor causing all of the loose papers in the front pocket to fly all over the place... The man behind the counter also told us we had to keep our gas receipts or they would charge us for 3 gallons (at $7/gallon) when we returned even if the gauge said full. After we checked in at the counter (only a short wait), we headed to the garage with all of our luggage. They attendant assigned us to a minivan with a bunch of scratches on the bumper, a door panel hanging off and a bunch of stains inside the van… I can only assume that the splatter stains on the ceiling were soda and not blood. To be continued…

(I will try to get through these first few days quickly as I know you all want to hear about the Disney magic! And see some pictures...)

 

[wed100105]

I can't wait to read more! TFS

 

[DisMomAmy]

I can't wait to read more! TFS

Thanks for reading!!

 

[Hedy]

OMG, I hate renting cars at the Tampa airport.

 

[DisMomAmy]

OMG, I hate renting cars at the Tampa airport.

Last year we flew in & out of Orlando, even with a visit to Jeff, and it's so much easier there. I love renting with Alamo at Orlando - walk right up, pick a car and off you go. I think we'll try to go with Orlando next time... even if it costs a little more.

 

[Charleston Princess]

Yeay for arriving in Tampa!!! Gotta love a quick and easy flight!

Why in the world would the rental car company charge $3 a gallon even if the gas tank is full??? I am failing to see the logic in that one!

 

[Angies1274]

It sounds like you had a good flight!! YAY! for getting into Tampa early!!

Oh no!! about the rental car company. That's very strange that they were going to charge you even if the gauge was full!and... yuck on the splatter stains.

 

[DisMomAmy]

Yeay for arriving in Tampa!!! Gotta love a quick and easy flight!

Why in the world would the rental car company charge $3 a gallon even if the gas tank is full??? I am failing to see the logic in that one!

It still doesn't make any sense to me... and they were saying they would charge us for 3 gallons at $7/gallon = $21.

It sounds like you had a good flight!! YAY! for getting into Tampa early!!

Oh no!! about the rental car company. That's very strange that they were going to charge you even if the gauge was full!and... yuck on the splatter stains.

The car was filthy! It clearly hadn't been cleaned, inside or out!

 

[KathyRN137]

(I will try to get through these first few days quickly as I know you all want to hear about the Disney magic! And see some pictures...)

Who.... us??




Kathy

 

[Lovemy3babes]

Ew on the van!!! That's really gross.

 

[mousescrapper]

Sorry… no pictures… I don’t think I even took out the camera today…

what you didn't want to show us the van...

I can only assume that the splatter stains on the ceiling were soda and not blood. To be continued…

um...that sounds real nice...not

 

[eandesmom]

That van just sounds nasty!!!!!!!!!!!

Did you actually take it?

EW!

 

[DisMomAmy]

Who.... us??




Kathy

Ew on the van!!! That's really gross.

um...that sounds real nice...not

It was!

That van just sounds nasty!!!!!!!!!!!

Did you actually take it?

EW!

You'll soon find out...

 

[DisMomAmy]

We were standing there in the garage trying to decide what to do about our minivan that wasn't in the best shape... I tried to get a different van, but the kids were antsy and the attendant told us it would be a while. He also said that it would be fine when we return the van in that condition. Against my better judgement, we decided to keep the van, but just in case, I took a bunch of “before” pictures on my phone. (I would post them now, but they didn't come out well so you can't really seen anything that I'm describing.)

Even after all the time we spent getting the rental car, we made it to Jeff & Karen’s about 30 minutes earlier than planned at around 1:30. They were still at work, but left us a key. Alex is scared to death of dogs… even little Jake or Fritz-Joe as the kids like to call him. (That name comes from a time when DMIL couldn’t remember the dog’s name and called him something different every time she mentioned him.) So Alex waited in the car with Tim while I went inside with Zach to make sure the coast was clear. Jake greeted us at the door so we found the leash and Zach took him out for a little walk in front of their condo.

These pictures are actually from a different day, but I thought I'd post them now so as not to bore you to death!

I brought Alex in and got him settled away from the dog’s reach then Zach, Tim & Jake came back in. Jeff & Karen had left us the key to the pool as well as some goodies for the kids, including noodles for the pool. Once we got settled, we changed into bathing suits and swam from about 2:30 - 4:00. When we got back from the pool, Tim ran out to the store to get a few essential. He got home right around the same time as Jeff & K. Jeff had to take K to the orthodontist after school… she thought she might get her braces off, but it turns out she needs them for another six weeks.

Jeff & Tim cooked up some hamburgers & hot dogs, I made a salad & K played with the boys. She would be leaving the next morning for a weekend in the Florida Keys with her mom & grandmother (why they planned it for the one weekend a year we are in Florida is beyond me, but at least we’d see her again in Orlando... or so we hoped.) This also meant that unless Alex got to see J & K's mom & grandmother tonight, the opportunity would be gone... and it didn't happen... Jeff didn't think it was a good idea. Fortunately Alex didn't even ask about it once.

After dinner Jeff ran out and got the boys ice cream for dessert. After dessert Karen came home. Not long after that J arrived for a visit after work. We learned that he wouldn’t be joining us in Orlando… turns out he decided to go to the prom the following weekend. In order to get the time off from work on the weekend, he had to work during the week when everyone else would be in Orlando. He had to choose the prom over us... can you blame him? We let the kids visit for a little bit then got them to bed. We enjoyed visiting for a couple more hours before finally getting to bed around 11:30.

Recap of Day One: We arrived in Tampa ahead of schedule & even though our minivan wasn’t in the best shape, we took it and arrived safely at Jeff & Karen’s house. We all had a great time visiting & catching up.

 

[Cory's Gal]

GREAT start Amy!!! BTW, LOVE LOVE the new glasses, they are super cute on you!! Sorry your van was a bit of a lemon!! Looking forward to more!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So much fun to read along!!!

 

[mrsksomeday]

Sounds like a smooth start even with the van issues.

Aww it breaks my heart that Alex is scared of dogs, I hope one day he will get past his fear, they can be so theraputic. Looks like you had a great first day even if you weren't able to spend the time with some people like you wanted to.

 

[mousescrapper]

great way to get settled into FL and your trip...sorry it looks like the kids (J & K) will not be w/ you again...

but I can understand prom

looking forward to more and more pictures

J~

 

[DisMomAmy]

GREAT start Amy!!! BTW, LOVE LOVE the new glasses, they are super cute on you!! Sorry your van was a bit of a lemon!! Looking forward to more!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So much fun to read along!!!

Hi Beth!! Glad you made it over... I seem to be having trouble with vans lately. Luckily my real life lemon van hasn't leaked since they fixed it the last time. Unfortunately that means no new van for me.

Sounds like a smooth start even with the van issues.

Aww it breaks my heart that Alex is scared of dogs, I hope one day he will get past his fear, they can be so theraputic. Looks like you had a great first day even if you weren't able to spend the time with some people like you wanted to.

It's very sad about Alex & cats/dogs... Zach wants one so badly & I really think it would be good for him, but Alex just can't handle it. We've done pet therapy with an O.T. and recently his mentor has been taking him to visit animals at the local SPCA. Baby steps I guess...

Zach did get a new pet this week... More to come on that once I can get a good picture.

great way to get settled into FL and your trip...sorry it looks like the kids (J & K) will not be w/ you again...

but I can understand prom

looking forward to more and more pictures

J~

At this point we were still hopeful that K would make it to Orlando later in the week and we did get to spend some time with J over the weekend.

 

[Angies1274]

It sounds like a great start to your vacation...relaxing with a swim and catching up with family!

Sorry that J couldn't join you in Orlando...but yeah...the prom is a good excuse.

Can't wait for more!