Once More, With Feeling! - A PT report for Jan. 4 - 9 2008

kittythepoohbear

Mouseketeer
Joined
Jun 20, 2005
Messages
416
Hello all,
This is Kat, currently reporting from cold and foggy NEPA. However in 7 days 13 hours 11 minutes and 40 seconds I will be in (or very close to) beautiful sunny WDW. On the urging of my DIS penpal and awesome British gal Linda this report will be a journal of sorts of my preparations during these next 7 days. Following my trip, I hope to write and actually finish a trip report. But one step at a time. With no further ado, I present:

Once More, With Feeling! A Kat solo trip production.

Cast of Characters:

Kat - that's me. I am 30, a voice teacher, a bunny owner and a Piglet lover. This will be my 25ish (lost count) trip to WDW. I blame the Floridian branch of my family for both establishing this addiction and then enabling it with comments such as "Why don't you come on down for a few days" and "If you ever need to get away just give us a call. I will help with the airfare.". You see how this can be troublesome. Which leads us to:

Dora - the great-aunt. She is a senior with the soul of a 30 year old. She is a snowbird (are they still referred to as such?) and spends the winters by her daughter in Orlando.

Linda - the young aunt and daughter of Dora. She has lived in Orlando for 20 years and was the first to say "Let's take the baby to WDW. I think she would like it.". Little did she know what she started. She and her husband have resident annual passes and also have the Disney love.

Now that I have introduced our players, let's have a little Trip Background.

A few years back, being sick and tired of having trips planned with others fall through, I decided to go to WDW on my own. It was the best WDW trip ever. Since then I go solo at least once a year. Disney is my place to recharge, relax, and go crazy. By crazy I mean ride BTMRR until the CMs start looking at me funny or eating nothing but desserts from World Showcase for an entire day.

On a couple of previous trips I asked Dora, who was in FL. already, to join me for a day or two at WDW. She could sit by the pool while I go eat Peco's Bill's Peanut Butter Mousse brownies and ride BTMRR then we could go to dinner at a resort at night. There was always a legitimate excuse why she couldn't join me so I went on soloing. Which brings us up-to-date with this trip.

It was a tough year folks. I had recently moved to a new state, dealt with some family and personal things, tried to re-establish myself business-wise in a new community, had pets get sick and die, etc. Me and mine soldiered through the rough patches and made it through ok but not without some weariness. I started planning this Jan. trip months ago since I really needed to get away for a few days on my own and just relax. My usual Jan. trip is 3 nights - this one is 5 to allow for extra down-time. No ADRs - I will eat counter service so I don't have to rush to a restaurant. All is well with the world. In conversation one evening, Dora says "I will go and stay with you a few days this trip so you don't have to be alone". Well, the purpose of this trip IS to be alone but since I was always asking her to come with, I couldn't find a way to say no. So Dora is staying with me the first 2 nights. Then a few weeks ago she informs me that Linda will be staying at POP with us as well for those 2 nights. So my five night solo trip is now a 2 night 3 person trip with a few nights solo at the end.

At first I was a little...I don't know how to put it. Not upset, not quite sad, but disappointed that I wouldn't have my much needed selfish time. But as time grows nearer I am happier that I will have my family with me at WDW. This is compounded by the recent news that a family friend was diagnosed with Alzheimer's this week. He literally was fine one day and totally sick the week after. The fact that the one's we love are not with us forever still very fresh in my mind, I can't wait to go to CoP with Dora and sing along to "Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" with her.

After all of that background, let's set up a timeline.

Today - last day of teaching before vacation. Six students from now I will be on my way home with two glorious weeks of vacation before me.

Tomorrow - do laundry and start packing. Clean baby blue Crocs of gardening grime in preparation for Disney goodness. Put together treadmill (my bf is the best Christmas gift giver ever) and start running on it to prepare for Disney walking. Find bathing suit.

This weekend - Clean house. Start taking down Christmas decorations. Get hair cut so I don't look a mess in trip pictures.

Mon. and Tues. - Celebrate New Year's. Finish taking down Christmas decorations.

Wed. - Make final house cleaning and packing preparations. Make sure bunnies have enough pellet food so BF doesn't have to schlep to store to buy more. Go to bank. Go to NYC to stay with family.

Thur. - Get mani/pedi so that my hands and feet look good for vacation. See Grandpa to give him his Christmas gifts. Reassure Dora that JetBlue won't disappoint us and that we will have a great flight. Sleep early.

Fri. - We are off! JetBlue out of JFK, 6 AM flight. Should be at POP by 10 AM, in parks by 11 AM. w00t!

So that's the plan. Lots to do and I must be off to teach. I hope to write everyday till the trip. It should be lots of fun.
 
Hi Linda and earthfaries! I hope I can give you guys (and anyone else who might be reading this) an adventure.

My Disney Countdown Widget informs me I have 6 days 5 hours and 44 minutes left till touchdown in Orlando. Dora called this morning to tell me she can't wait till our trip. I hope to convince her to give AK another chance so she can see the Nemo show but I have not discussed this with her yet. I think I will spring it on her when we get off the plane. Plan B is World Showcase which we both enjoy. In fact, I am fairly confident that we can just hang around World Showcase for a few days and be very happy. Linda is going to get to the hotel Fri. night after work which means we have to be back at POP between 7 and 8pm. My personal plan is to gracefully excuse myself and let mom and daughter catch up while I catch evening EMH at Epcot. Will I cave into family peer-pressure to stay in or stay strong and ride M:S till midnight? Who knows. Tune in to find out!

:scared: Trip Planning Panic Inducing Moment of the Day Award:scared: :
I couldn't find my ME info. this afternoon. I searched all over the house. Just when I was about to start losing my mind, I found them under a stack of sheet music on top of the printer by my desk. First plan of action upon returning home - get organized.

Things to do at WDW this trip (so far):
1 - Ride EE at AK. Must get over fear of coasters.
2 - Ride RnRC at MGM.
3 - Take the Behind the Seeds Tour at the Land.
4 - Have an adult beverage by the pool for all my friends and colleagues back in the cold Northeast weather.

Things left to do before leaving:
1 - My laundry + packing (managed to find some summer clothes and throw them on the bed. I guess that's a step).
2 - Go to bank, bunny food shopping, clean house.
3 - Buy my RT bus ticket to NYC. Can't forget that one since I always end up running late.
4 - Pack vacation purse with all WDW travel documents.

Off to get pizza for dinner. More updates tomorrow. Good night! :wave2:
 

I can't wait to hear more.

We are going from the 4th until the 8th.
I've got to start getting my stuff together too!

You guys are going to have a great time.

POP is a lot of fun.
 
Is it time to go yet?!? Are we going to get an update before you leave?!?

If not, have a wonderful, magical trip:wizard:
 
Countdown Timer Report: 1 day 17 hours 29 minutes 30 seconds.

Hi Linda, earthfaries and Mickey'sApprentice! :wave: I have been bad and ask for forgiveness! The combo of New Year's celebrations and trip preparation has been a pain. Truthfully there has been little trip prep. these last couple of days. So that means today I am going insane. Luckily I have been able to move double time and accomplish a few things.

Already done:
1 - Packed suitcase (Except for bathing suit. Still can't find it. Darn.)
2 - Cleaned bathroom and most of kitchen.
3 - Changed bed linens.
4 - Set up bill pay online so I won't have any nasty surprises whilst away.

In the process of being done:
1 - Last load of laundry is in the dryer.
2 - Oven is on hour 2 of the self-clean cycle.

So that leaves:
1 - Clean bunny cages.
2 - Sweep, mop, vacuum.
3 - Take down Christmas tree and window lights.
4 - Stop by the bank to make a deposit to provide a sense of financial security while on BTMRR.

Dora called bright and early this morning to find out when I would be in NYC. I decided to take the early (7AM) bus tomorrow morning since there is still so much to be done. I am also starting to feel guilty about leaving my BF behind. He likes WDW but doesn't take many vacations. He runs his own business and so really can't afford to be away too long, which I understand. He is ok with me visiting family and taking solo trips but I still miss him. :sad1:

Addition to Things To Do This Trip:
Have some chips with vinegar while sitting by the lagoon at the UK pavilion for Tony.

:scared: Trip Planning Panic Inducing Moment of the Day: :scared:
Waking up to the full realization that I won't be teaching for these two weeks and freaking out a bit. Like Tony, I am self-employed so I am careful with vacations. I planned well for this trip and I keep reassuring myself that all will be fine but I always get a little panicky right before I leave. I guess its my "OMG!DIDILEAVETHESTOVEON???!!!" moment. I will feel better once I make my deposit and see the numbers online.

Which reminds me to move my butt. Still lots to do and running out of time to do it. ACK!

I will post tomorrow from my sister's computer in NYC for the final countdown. Until then take care and have fun everyone!

Kat:hippie:
 
Thanks for the update.

We are sooo on the same time line. We are all packed. I've got to clean up the kitchen, get my nails done, pay my tuition online, and put the liner in my coat. DH is working 1/2 day and then we are off.

I can't believe that I'm taking a heavy coat with me to see the mouse.
 
Greetings from NYC! In 12 hours, I will be on the plane to Orlando. Good timing too. I hear the cold front will have passed through and it will be in the 70s all week. YAY! None to soon because it is too cold here. Mickey'sApprentice, did you leave yet? I hope all your prep has paid off and that you get to relax tonight! Enjoy your trip!

The boarding passes are printed, the taxi is reserved and almost all toiletries are packed (of course I just remembered that I forgot to buy a rather important item as soon as I got home from Duane Reade but it is too cold to go back out). As for plans, Dora informed me today that her, Linda and Linda's hubby will be leaving the resort tomorrow night to visit his kids at their vacation home. She said I need not come along and I quickly accepted the offer to stay alone. Yay Epcot EMH! She then said that Sunday they would pay for my ticket to Universal for the day since they all have season passes. I politely excused myself from that as well. I visited Universal with them over the summer and had a nice time but it is not on my itinerary this trip. I may venture to CityWalk with them (sshhh, we prefer it to DTD) but I don't want to spend the day there.

Well, sis and her BF just came in and need the computer back. I will write a full trip report when I return! :cool1:
 
DH and I are staying close to Atlanta airport tonight, and have a wake up call for 3:30am. Yikes! Anyway, we should see the mouse about 9am in the morning.
 
Mickey's Apprentice here!

We have been at BWV since Friday morning and will leave for home tomorrow afternoon and will be back in Alabama late tomorrow night.

It was a little chilly Friday and rained this evening. Overall, the weather has been fantastic!

MK was dead yesterday morning and we walked onto many rides. We went in HM twice. The upgrades are very nice, and detailed. We also went in Spaceship Earth at Epcot earlier in the trip. The front half was spectacular and you could tell the imagineers weren't finished yet. It will be spectacular when finished. The last half left something to the imagination

We went to the Illuminations Grand Gathering tonight. The food/atmosphere was good but not great. We wondered why the experience was 2 TS credits, but then we got to our special spot for Illuminations. WOW!! We were behind the gift shop at the entrance of World Showcase. I had never realized that there was a front and center for Illuminations. It was AWESOME!!

We also had a great time at Biergarten for dinner and Cape May for breakfast. Our co-travelers spent 7 years in Germany with the Army and were skeptical of Biergarten in terms of authenticity. They were very impressed (very authentic) and we had a really great time. The food at Biergarten and at Cape May was exceptional.

DH wanted to add that the ice on the castle is so incredibly fantastic. He said the pictures on the internet DO NOT DO THE ICICLES JUSTICE!

Anyway, let me know if you have any questions, and I'll await our OPs trippie. Thanks for letting me hitch hike!
 


Disney Vacation Planning. Free. Done for You.
Our Authorized Disney Vacation Planners are here to provide personalized, expert advice, answer every question, and uncover the best discounts. Let Dreams Unlimited Travel take care of all the details, so you can sit back, relax, and enjoy a stress-free vacation.
Start Your Disney Vacation
Disney EarMarked Producer

New Posts







DIS Facebook DIS youtube DIS Instagram DIS Pinterest DIS Tiktok DIS Twitter

Add as a preferred source on Google

Back
Top Bottom