My Latest Invention: the Traffic-eliminator-inator! *updated 5/31! Completed!*

[Jennifer48]

I am here too now!!

I think its considered child abuse these days if by 10 you dont have at leist one apple product

Then report us to the authorities because we're not buying him one!

Can you believe it is 4 years since your trip report about your stalkers!!

I do believe that needs to be rectified. Although, its not that I haven't seen you at ALL since then!

 

[RachelNinja]

What is with these kiddies and that iPod Touch?!? Haha, Matt is obsessed with it too! That's what he wanted for so long, but he ended up buying a Nano. Now my mom actually has a Touch (her present from her first paycheck since she started working part time at my school at the front desk), and Matt wants it any chance he can get! I'm totally different because I would rather have DISNEY!!!

OH COOL! I love that Tyler had the Flat Stanley! Reminds me of flat Weird and Ninja, of course. Also, when we were eating dinner at 'Ohana, an older couple brought along a Flat Stanley. I think it was their granddaughter's, and they were explaining to the waiter what they had to do with it.

Next time you should pass through my area and stop by me! Haha, it might be easier than trying to meet up at WDW.

I can't believe all the traffic you guys met already. And gosh, I know just how far it is from where I am to Orlando, so I'm excited yet inwardly cringing at the rest of your updates about your traveling!

 

[Jennifer48]

What is with these kiddies and that iPod Touch?!? Haha, Matt is obsessed with it too! That's what he wanted for so long, but he ended up buying a Nano. Now my mom actually has a Touch (her present from her first paycheck since she started working part time at my school at the front desk), and Matt wants it any chance he can get! I'm totally different because I would rather have DISNEY!!!

OH COOL! I love that Tyler had the Flat Stanley! Reminds me of flat Weird and Ninja, of course. Also, when we were eating dinner at 'Ohana, an older couple brought along a Flat Stanley. I think it was their granddaughter's, and they were explaining to the waiter what they had to do with it.

Next time you should pass through my area and stop by me! Haha, it might be easier than trying to meet up at WDW.

I can't believe all the traffic you guys met already. And gosh, I know just how far it is from where I am to Orlando, so I'm excited yet inwardly cringing at the rest of your updates about your traveling!

Kiddies have too many expensive toy choices nowadays in my opinion. Remember when our options were Slinkys, Hula Hoops and Jump Rope?!

We had a conversation with Tyler at one point explaining why we never do anything fun and exciting at home and that we use that money to go towards Disney. He likes that idea now!

OMG I thought that the other day! We should just meet up at NYC at the Disney Store. Easier and cheaper!

 

[Jennifer48]

Saturday February 19th

During the wee hours of the morning, I took a few cat naps in case I had to drive and DH needed to rest.

We got to America’s biggest tourist trap AKA South of the Border, around 7-7:30am. We did not stop, just drove by.

We arrived in Florida at about noon and hit more traffic as we got closer to Daytona. It was the start of the Daytona 500 weekend. I believe the actual race wasn't until Sunday but they had festivities at the track.

This tractor trailer was next to us on the highway and he had these spikes on his front tires

Goodyear blimp and planes carrying banners over the racetrack

Into Orlando now I took a picture of the local news’ Doppler Radar...I’m a dork

Where the Orlando Magic play

aaaaaaaaand more traffic....we were only about 20 minutes away at this point and very irritated. We just wanted to be there already!

FINALLY!!!!

Almost on Disney property now...I can see Characters in Flight!

The hoopla that arose in our vehicle when this sight was in view....priceless!

Turn left Dan!

Anyone else get all giddy the first day of a Disney vacation? Its the best feeling knowing that your vacation has JUST begun and you have so much fun in store!

We made it!

 

[Jennifer48]

We got to POR at 3:30pm. Only good thing about arriving that late, our room has to be ready!

We parked in the check-in lot in front of the building and I checked us in as DH and Tyler hung around the lobby.

The online check-in line was so long and there was no one in the other line! I used that and walked right up to the counter. You can see this below. I’m in the red shirt in the background and to the right is the online check-in line

View out the lobby to the back at the marina

Its a very beautiful resort

Tyler sat and watched cartoons

See the Mickey’s?! This shot is for you Donna!

We got our requested section! We’d be staying in Magnolia Bend, Parterre Place.


Our plain bathroom

Beds

First round of business, turn on Stacey. Flat Stanley wanted to watch with Tyler!

Now its after 4pm, Dan has not slept yet and I’ve had maybe 1-2 hrs of sleep. Tyler of course slept so he’s full of energy. What better way to wear him out? POOL!

We stayed there for about an hour and then it got chilly so we took him out, got him dressed, and decided to walk over to the food court to check things out.

The Sassagoula River

The mansions were gorgeous

Here’s where you can catch the carriage ride that takes you around Port Orleans. This was Jake, he was handsome.

We were a bit hungry so Tyler and I got chicken nuggets and Dan just got a strawberry shake

After the food coma set in, we knew it was bedtime. We headed back to the room, put Resort TV on and fell asleep with Disney Dreams!

 

[Kimberly815]

Yippee! You made it! I am impressed that you were able to stay away for several hours after the sight of a nice comfy bed - I don't know that I would have been able to do the same!

POR looks beautiful! I have always wanted to check it out. (Though, I want to check all the resorts out at some point! )

 

[Hixski51]

Love the reference to STL!! You are such a good friend!!

 

[PrincessMira]

Another Phineas & Ferb fan. I love it!

We road trip to DL from AZ, which is about 5.5 hrs...so your trips seems crazy long. But sometimes the draw of Disney is just too strong - totally get that.

Can't wait to read more about your trip.

 

[donnaf516]

I'm in! Can't wait to read more.

We're driving from NJ the first time since I was a kid. I'm afraid...

 

[RachelNinja]

As gross as South of the Border is (never been, but I've seen pics and read stories), I do enjoy seeing the signs! It gives us something to look forward to as you saw in the last TR when we drove down. Plus, it's kind of like a big landmark to reach so that you know you're getting closer to WDW!!!

HAHA, I had to laugh at the Daytona 500 thing because of the guy on my train!!! DAYTONA!!! YEAH!!!

Oh wow, that one pic from the lobby looking at the marina really makes it look like you're in the middle of like ... not Orlando!!! I LOVE IT! Oh man, I may want to stay at POR in the future! Wait, is this the creepy resort with the faces hanging from the ceiling in the food court?

 

[Spartangirl]

Hey Jen! I'm in for this report! Great start!

 

[Jennifer48]

Yippee! You made it! I am impressed that you were able to stay away for several hours after the sight of a nice comfy bed - I don't know that I would have been able to do the same!

POR looks beautiful! I have always wanted to check it out. (Though, I want to check all the resorts out at some point! )

I think we were on our 3-4-5th wind
I didn't realize how beautiful the POR grounds were!

Love the reference to STL!! You are such a good friend!!

You're welcome!

Another Phineas & Ferb fan. I love it!

We road trip to DL from AZ, which is about 5.5 hrs...so your trips seems crazy long. But sometimes the draw of Disney is just too strong - totally get that.

Can't wait to read more about your trip.

Thanks for reading! Your 5.5 hrs is a nice day trip compared to ours!

I'm in! Can't wait to read more.

We're driving from NJ the first time since I was a kid. I'm afraid...

Thanks for reading!
Depending on where in NJ you are, you might luck out and miss most of the tolls! I think there are 2 on the NJ Turnpike alone Do you plan on driving straight through?

As gross as South of the Border is (never been, but I've seen pics and read stories), I do enjoy seeing the signs! It gives us something to look forward to as you saw in the last TR when we drove down. Plus, it's kind of like a big landmark to reach so that you know you're getting closer to WDW!!!

HAHA, I had to laugh at the Daytona 500 thing because of the guy on my train!!! DAYTONA!!! YEAH!!!

Oh wow, that one pic from the lobby looking at the marina really makes it look like you're in the middle of like ... not Orlando!!! I LOVE IT! Oh man, I may want to stay at POR in the future! Wait, is this the creepy resort with the faces hanging from the ceiling in the food court?

I agree about SotB. It looks too creepy to me to stop but the billboards are fun to read on the way down. On the way home though, means that you are that much farther away from WDW!

HAHAHA ur too funny about the creepy faces. Thats at POFQ. I have pictures of those later so I'll be sure to warn you before I post them

Hey Jen! I'm in for this report! Great start!

Yay! Thanks for making it Lynne! Did you enjoy your cruise?

 

[IheartDDuck]

Love the pictures from POR. It really is a pretty resort to stay at. I loved it the time we stayed there.

I have to admit, I've always been a sleeper in the car. I don't know why, but I'm the one sleeping, while my mom and dad used to drive. So, I'd be just like Tyler, raring and ready to go when we arrive.

 

[Jennifer48]

Love the pictures from POR. It really is a pretty resort to stay at. I loved it the time we stayed there.

I have to admit, I've always been a sleeper in the car. I don't know why, but I'm the one sleeping, while my mom and dad used to drive. So, I'd be just like Tyler, raring and ready to go when we arrive.

Thanks for reading! I don't know why but my expectations weren't that high for POR and I will say I was greatly surprise at the grounds.

I can sleep in the car but I felt like I shouldn't just because Dan was driving. I was trying to keep him company and awake.

 

[Jennifer48]

Sunday February 20, 2011

Our plan for today was to head to the Animal Kingdom. I figured if we didn’t want to get up early to make rope drop, this would be the park to do it.

Our alarm went off at 7:30am and Dan kept hitting snooze. At one point, he just shut it off and we kept sleeping. Eventually we got up, around 9am, and we were at AK by 10am.

We decided to walk to the entrance because we weren’t that far from it. Also because we had been in the car for 24 hrs we figured the walk could do us some good!

As we were walking, I noticed that the trams now have doors on them. I didn’t read that on the DIS prior to leaving so I took a picture

They don’t open ‘automagically’ but they are pretty easy to get in and out of.

Our first priority was to head to the safari to get FP so I power walked up as Dan and Tyler moseyed behind.

When I got to the FP distribution machines, the line was huge! I thought to myself, this can’t be right, so I stepped out of line and walked closer. Turns out, everyone was waiting at the FIRST machine and no one was walking to the back so I decided to do just that! A few people saw what I was doing and followed suit. Newbies.

The stand-by line was already 60 minutes at that point. I didn’t really set a touring plan today. I like to wander around AK and take in all the animals. Plus, our FP return time wasn’t until 12:03-1:03.

We didn’t eat breakfast before we left POR so we figured a pretzel was in order. Great breakfast I know but those are our favorite food on property. The kiosk right outside the safari was out of pretzels so we decided to explore and keep our eyes peeled.

Stanley wanted to climb a tree so we quickly took a picture and got him down before he decided to go too high!

We headed towards the train station to head over to Conservation Station and the line was ginormous! So, we backtracked and headed towards the Pangani Forest Trail and check out the animals.

Tyler was enthralled by the bull frog skeleton

I decided to take some shots and made sure I looked around at all the details

Inside the building where the naked mole rats are

Tyler listened to the call of the African Dove and other animals

Through that building was the bird conservatory. People were freaking out about the birds flying close by and I got nipped in the face by a wing!

Through the bird house into the Hippo land. People were crowded in front of the glass. Tyler snuck through breaks in the crowd to get closer, good thing he’s so small! Dan and I stood back and I lifted the camera up over everyones head and got a great shot of the hippo coming up for air!

One of my favorite places is the meerkat section. My dad loves watching Meerkat Manor on Animal Planet so whenever I see one, it makes me smile and think of my dad.

There were many people close up to the glass in the gorilla house but in the back, there is a handicap overlook. There was no one in a wheelchair or ECV so we headed up there to look over the crowd. As soon as we got there, the male gorilla got up to check everyone out!

The CM told us that he was making sure none of us were a threat. He just looked nosy to me!

The female was to the left of the male and apparently no one cared for her as there was no crowd forming.

Outside, there weren’t many other gorillas in view. I was hoping to catch the baby but no such luck.

Out of the trail, I showed Tyler the little semi-unknown nook to take a great shot of the Tree of Life. Stanley wanted to check it out.

Our stomachs just about demanded food at this point so we hit up the kiosk that also sells the jalapeno pretzels and we took a break. Its over next to the entrance to Its Tough to be a Bug so we people watched and dodged the ducks.

Stanley and his first WDW pretzel

Tyler is a slow eater so while he was finishing up, Dan ran to Dinosaur to grab FPs for him and Tyler for later. I’m not a Dinosaur fan. I always leave that ride with a headache so I decided to pass this time.

Look at all the people!

Do you ever wonder how many photos of yourself are in other peoples?

 

[RachelNinja]

I can't see the pic of the trams with the doors, but I did see that too! I pointed it out to Howard when we were walking from our car to the Ticket and Transportation Center at MK. We were so close that we didn't need the tram. I would've liked to ride it though because we didn't do the tram last year either!!! I always feel it's part of the experience, so I feel as if something was missing!

I love love love how people just get in line and wait for one FP machine. They tend to do that at Soarin'!

I like how you posted a pic of each animal along with a story about what was happening at the time or a personal memory!

And yes, I do wonder about the photo thing! I wonder if they got me making a weird face or something. Then that person will post it on Facebook and make a comment about it! Haha.

 

[Jennifer48]

I can't see the pic of the trams with the doors, but I did see that too! I pointed it out to Howard when we were walking from our car to the Ticket and Transportation Center at MK. We were so close that we didn't need the tram. I would've liked to ride it though because we didn't do the tram last year either!!! I always feel it's part of the experience, so I feel as if something was missing!

You didn't take the tram in any of the parks?

I love love love how people just get in line and wait for one FP machine. They tend to do that at Soarin'!

They did it there too! I got nasty looks from people there.

I like how you posted a pic of each animal along with a story about what was happening at the time or a personal memory!

Thanks, I try! I know I'm not the best TR writer but I do hope to keep the readers I have!

And yes, I do wonder about the photo thing! I wonder if they got me making a weird face or something. Then that person will post it on Facebook and make a comment about it! Haha.

I know!

 

[IheartDDuck]

Love the pictures.

I always walk from the Animal Kingdom parking lot to the entrance. It's so much faster than taking the tram, and I could understand you guys wanting to stretch your legs out.

I am so with you about the pictures. How many photos am I REALLY in?

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

I always find me looking for myself in people's pictures from Disney, especially the crowd shots! I also tend to search a bit too much in the ones from when I wasn't even in Disney! (Hmm...maybe I forgot I was in Disney that day? Gotta check if I was in DHS...)

That bird conservatory sounds like the birds were a teensy bit close for comfort...I mean, I suppose that's the point, but I'd still get slightly freaked out!

Glad you were able to enjoy one of your favorite WDW snacks! Looks like Flat Stanley enjoyed it as well! I have got to try one of those pretzels someday - the only Disney one's I've had are the normal kind. How boring, right? Gotta get my act together, this is Disney!!

 

[wdwgirl03]

WOW, look at that gorilla!! How cool! I love the Animal Kingdom. The trails are a lot of fun.