Our Magical WDW Adventure -24 Days of Food and Fun-Updated 3/8 -Come Join Us

[ariel2007]

Hey Guys, sorry I haven't been in for a week, I have been on holiday in Cornwall for the past week and couldn't get on the internet . However, I did keep a mini-trippie which I will post when I get home tomorrow, and did get to play some Disney games and do a bit more planning

 

[Taylor'sMom]

Sounds like you've got a great trip planned (I'm jealous you'll be on holiday for so long!!!!)

Love the "The one with..." titles in "Friends" style!

 

[stagemomx3]

. However, I did keep a mini-trippie which I will post when I get home tomorrow

Looking forward to it!

 

[Lemming_of_the_BDA]

Subscribing. I'm hoping to get inspired to write my own trip report when my sister and I go in May 2008. Looking forward to hearing more.

BTW your cats totally remind me of my own orange cat McCartney

Courtney

 

[earthfaries]

Hi

I'm subscribing!!! I've only read the first post, but I'm catching up

I will post as I go. I do have to say wonderful pictures though, and you guys are such a cute couple and look so happy together ​

 

[ariel2007]

Subscribing. I'm hoping to get inspired to write my own trip report when my sister and I go in May 2008. Looking forward to hearing more.

BTW your cats totally remind me of my own orange cat McCartney

Courtney

Go on, write a trip report, they are great fun to write and they are a great way to look back and see what you did. I decided to do a pre-trippie to try and pass the time and it is certainly helping, less than 2 months to go now .

McCartney's gorgeous, maybe he is the American cousin of our English cats. I love the name too, very different to the cat names you here over here.

 

[ariel2007]

Hi

I'm subscribing!!! I've only read the first post, but I'm catching up

I will post as I go. I do have to say wonderful pictures though, and you guys are such a cute couple and look so happy together ​

Thank you, thats really sweet. We are really happy together, our personalities fit together perfectly...and most importantly he loves Disney and loves to visit the parks

 

[ariel2007]

Looking forward to it!

The mini-trippie will be up in a bit - sorry its been so long, we got back on Monday, have worked like crazy everyday since and then had a 5 hour drive late last night after work back to my Mum's for English Mothers Day tomorrow.

Please keep reading and subscribing, its so great talking to you all

 

[ariel2007]

As promised here is a mini-trippie of our holiday to Cornwall last week, with lots and lots of pictures.

The Cast:
My Mum and Step Dad (referred to as Dad as he is Sophie's Dad and is as good as to me too)
Sophie - my little sister (shes 11, often referred to as Soph)
My Grandparents
Honey - our Labrador (well Sophie's)
Nick and I

Monday 18th
Nick and I had work on Sunday so we traveled down to Mum’s house in Devon after work, arriving a little before 1am. So when Sophie came running in early on Monday morning to see if we were ready to go out we were not overly impressed. She let us sleep in a few hours and then we got up and ready and with Mum, Kate (my older sister) and Sophie we headed down to Plymouth. We walked along the Barbican, stopping to get some chips for lunch, then headed over to the Pavillions for ice-skating. We had a laugh, especially since Kate hadn’t been for years and hardly let go of the side, and Nick taught Sophie to skate backwards, she was very impressed, as were we. We ordered some pizza for tea from a local pizza cafe (the best pizza, coleslaw and garlic bread ever) and snuggled on the sofa with a glass of wine (obviously not Sophie) to watch Sophie’s new Ratatouille DVD I had brought her.

Tuesday 19th
Tuesday morning finally came round and we up early to get ready and get the cars packed up. A few hours later with 2 bulging car boots we were all ready to go, although by now we were all very tired again. Honey was raring to go and jumped straight in and we were finally away, Mum and Dad in one car, Nick, Soph and I in the other...just to get to the main road and find Sophie had forgotten Macy, her favourite dog. So Nick turned around, Sophie ran in and came out with her arms full of teddies, 9 in all. So we were off again, second time lucky, or not. We got 10 minutes down the road and Sophie realised Macy was missing, she searched and it just wasn’t there and started to get really upset. I tried to phone Kate at home to see if Soph had dropped her on the road but my phone decided to stop working, typical. After 10 minutes of trying to phone home and Mum I finally got through and Kate went and found Macy who was still on Sophie’s bed. Grandma and Grandad had only just left so turned round and went back to collect Macy.
After 45 minutes we crossed the Tamar Bridge and we were in Cornwall. We stopped shortly after at Cardinham Woods for a drink and snack and let Honey have a run. We drove on to Hayle, our favourite place in the world (not including WDW, of course), a smallish seaside town with the most gorgeous golden sandy beach. We drove through the town and picked up some tasty Cornish pasties and ate them by the river. One more stop at Tesco in Penzance, the last supermarket till Sennen, to pick up supplies for the next few days. 20 minutes later we finally arrived over the hill and got the most beautiful view down to Sennen Cove, the crashing waves on the rocks, the lovely beach, the boats in the harbour, the beautiful cliffs across the bay. Sennen Cove is a typical Cornish seaside town, but very small and beautiful. There is one road that comes down a big hill leading to a dead end, a small row of houses on one side, the sea on the other. There is one small shop, one local pub, 2 little cafes, a surf shop, surf school and cafe and a roundhouse gallery. The beach starts at one end with a small habour with fishing boats and a lifeboat station, lots of rock pools in the middle and then a nice sandy beach at the end. The flat where we were staying is right at the end of the road, the front patio leads to a cliff edge, the back patio looks up to a hill that leads to a coastal path.
Some pictures of Sennen:

The flat belongs to my Mum’s best-friends parents and we have been staying there since we were babies, although the last time we visited was about 5 years ago, typically nothing had changed since. We unpacked the cars quickly and Sophie was reunited with Macy, then took a walk along the seafront and down to the beach. Honey was straight in the water, and Sophie and grandad were instantly up to their old tricks. Soph hid behind a rock, whilst Grandad told Dad she was up this huge hill by the beach. Dad walked half way up, almost giving himself a heart-attack as this was the most exercise he had done all year, to find Soph waiting at the bottom in fits of giggles. By the time we walked back up the beach the sky was dark, except the illuminating glow coming from the huge, bright moon.

The sun setting over the beach:

The moon over the beach:

We strolled back to the flat and sat round the roaring open fire before a lovely tea of home-cooked ham, jacket potatoes and salad. After tea we played games for a bit before bedtime.

Soph enjoying the lovely fire:

Wednesday 20th
We were up early for a lovely cooked breakfast, then all quickly got ready and walked down to the harbour.

The view from the window and patio:

Grandma and Grandad walked up the beach whilst the rest of us went to the rock-pools. We had great fun searching for fish and managed to catch 8 fish and 2 crabs.

Our catch:

After a bit we returned the fish to where they came from and walked over to the beach to meet Grandma and Grandad. Soph joined Honey in the sea for a nice paddle

We all walked back to the flat for a coffee and snack before our walk. We walked up the hill just above the flat, admiring the beautiful views over the beach and sea as we went:

At the top we reached the watch tower where we had the most amazing view over Sennen one side, and over the cliffs and onto Lands End the other. We walked round the cliffs, stopping to see the huge ship-wreck marooned on the cliffs, getting some amazing views:

Lands End in the distance:

Continued Below...

 

[ariel2007]

When we got to Lands End we had a look around, Soph had a play in the park and then we got an ice-cream and sat on a bench overlooking the sea.

We walked back to the flat and spent a bit of time relaxing, I sat next to the lovely warm fire with a stunning view out to sea reading a book (interspersed with looking at my Disney Passporter and going on my laptop).
Before tea we had a quick walk across the seafront and then came back to a delicious tea of Dad’s homemade lasagne, jacket potatoes and salad. After tea we sat a relaxed by the fire for a bit and then had a game of poker...which I actually won for once. Everyone went to bed, Nick and I were sleeping on a sofa-bed in the lounge till Dad went home on Friday and it was lovely going to bed with the fire still glowing and the distant sound of the waves against the cliffs sending us off to sleep.



Thursday 21st
We had a quick breakfast this morning and then Mum, Dad, Nick, Sophie and I jumped in the truck and drove to St Ives. We used to stay in Hayle every year and when there we would always spend a day at St Ives – it is such a beautiful, peaceful seaside town. Coming into St Ives we had the most beautiful views all across the bay and over to Hayle. We parked above Porthminster beach and walked across it and over to St Ives bay.

Porthminster beach with Hayle in the distance:

Soph having fun on the beach with St Ives behin:

We walked along the seafront, stopping in the lovely little gallery to admire the beautiful paintings, then got a traditional Cornish pasty and sat on the seafront overlooking the beach and boats.

We walked back through the little cobbled town, looking in the surf shops and souvenir shops along the way.

We then drove back, stopping to take pictures of St Micheals Mount and Cape Cornwall, and through Pendeen to see if the little tea shop we liked was open. Unfortunately it was closed for the season, like much of the other local shops and cafes.
Soph doing her HSM jump in front of St Micheal's Mount:

Back at the flat we had some tea and biscuits and chilled out for a few hours before tea. Nick made his lovely Wagamama’s chicken chilli men dish, followed by tiramisu. In the evening we had margaritas and played poker, unfortunately I only came second tonight. Before bed we sat by the fire and toasted marshmallows, tasty but very sickly.


Friday 22nd
It was Dad’s last day today so Mum, Dad, Soph, Nick and I got up really early and walked to Cape Cornwall. The walk was about 6 miles, all round the coast and along the cliffs so we got great views of all the huge waves crashing against the rocks just below us.
Looking back to Sennen:

Cape Cornwall in the very distance:

Finally at Cape Cornwall:

When we arrived at Cape Cornwall (after a bit of a detour as we lost the path) Grandma and Grandad were there to pick us up and we drove back to the flat for tea and biscuits. After a 10 minute rest we went down to the beach and did some rock-pooling, this time catching 2 huge fish, a shrimp, 3 crabs and a baby starfish. We brought some fish and chips from the local cafe for lunch which were delicious and then we said goodbye to Dad who had to go back home to work.
We drove over to Lands End to get some more pictures and then had a lazy afternoon sitting by the fire and playing games. For tea Mum made curry followed by strawberry cheesecake (not quite up to The Cheesecake Factory standard I’m afraid). After tea we played Disney Scene It which was great fun and then a few rounds of poker before an earlish night.


Saturday 23rd
Grandad and Mum were up early this morning so Mum could take Grandad on the walk to Cape Cornwall, so Nick and I made the most of it and had our first and only lie-in. Nick and Grandma went to pick them up from Cape Cornwall around 11ish so Soph and I played a few games of Disney Scene It. When everyone was back grandma cooked some sausages, jacket potatoes and salad for lunch and then we all drove over to Hayle. We drove to the holiday park which we used to stay at to show Nick how lovely it was and then parked further up the beach so we could walk along it. We walked through the dunes, its always such great fun to climb to the top of the big ones and then slide or roll all the way down.

We then walked down to the beach which is 3 miles of golden sand.

The sea was quite rough today and there were a few surfers out and the tide was coming in quite quickly so when we had walked half way up the beach we cut back through the dunes. We walked and walked and walked, up and down, up and down, but could not see our car. After about an hour of climbing up dunes and running down the other side we finally saw the carpark, by which time we were all totally shattered. On the drive back we detoured down to the Minack Theatre, an outside theatre built into a cliff edge, and walked down to the cliff which gave the most amazing view down to Porthcurnow beach.

Grandma and Grandad had driven on so when we got back to the flat the fire was already roaring so we sat down and had a glass of wine before getting ready for dinner. For dinner Mum, Soph, Nick and I went to the local pub, The Old Success. Mum had BBQ ribs, Soph had lasagne and Nick and I had cod and chips, all of which was very nice. The atmosphere was very tradionally Cornish and cosy and there was lots of locals and a local band.

After dinner we played a few games in the flat and toasted more marshmallows before our last sleep of the holiday.

Continued Below...

 

[ariel2007]

Sunday 24th
We were up early today as we were leaving after lunch and had to pack up the cars and get the flat cleaned up. After the cars were packed we chilled out for a bit and then had lunch before taking a final walk by the cliffs.

Just as we were leaving it began to rain, the first rain of the holiday which was very lucky. It took about 2 hours to get back to Devon and when we got back Honey was already there waiting (she had come back in Grandma and Grandad’s car). We unpacked Mum and Sophie’s stuff and our overnight bag, we were staying at Mum’s overnight and driving home tomorrow morning. Dad came home and made us some tea which we ate whilst watching Dancing On Ice, So You Think You Can Dance? And Sophie’s favorite, Wild At Heart. It was very depressing, the last night of our holiday and back to work tomorrow. At least we have got Disney to look forward to in a few months

 

[disneychard]

You look like you had a great time on your vacation. The pictures were beautiful.

 

[winkers]

The Pics are beautiful! I've always wanted to visit cornwall!

 

[ariel2007]

Thanks both, I took so many pictures, nearly as many as when we went to WDW for a month.

Winkers, if you come to England you have to visit Cornwall - it is so beautiful and has so many lovely beaches. I was born and brought up in Devon which is the next county to Cornwall and we used to go for Sunday drives with my grandparents every week, mostly to Cornwall. We also used to go on holiday there about twice a year, we all love it.

 

[Lemming_of_the_BDA]

I love pictures, I'm such a visual person. It so nice to see tons of pictures. It looks like a great time.

 

[ariel2007]

I love pictures, I'm such a visual person. It so nice to see tons of pictures. It looks like a great time.

I know what you mean, I am the same. I am always attracted to trippies with lots of pictures so thought I would put in lots of my own. Dont worry, there will be lots more to come

 

[BrittBritt]

You are officially much cooler than I am...You ride elephants, and you will be having tea at Hooters!
Your PTR is a scream. Thanks for including so many pictures. You've won me over, and I'm now subscribing.

 

[ariel2007]

You are officially much cooler than I am...You ride elephants, and you will be having tea at Hooters!
Your PTR is a scream. Thanks for including so many pictures. You've won me over, and I'm now subscribing.

Yes another subscriber . I dont know about being cooler, but we have done some pretty amazing things - we also rode camels in Fuerteventura and dolphins in Cuba.

BTW I have read your pre-trippie and left a message for you on there too

 

[ariel2007]

So whats a girl to do when she has exhausted the possibilities of planning ... plan some more of course. So August we decided to go back and within a week I had pretty much planned what we would do for the holiday, by September all the major things were planned and I had a rough daily itinerary and then month by month till Christmas everything else was booked. So I had planned when we were going, where we would be staying, what we would be doing every day, where we would be eating ... I had looked through endless websites and spent every waking hour coming up with the Perfect plan that would encompass everything we wanted to do, fitted in an endless list of ADR's that we HAD to do, and gave us some time to fit in extra curricular activities like pool time, relaxation time and maybe if possible, a bit of sleep. So within 5 years (OK slight exaggeration) I had just about the Perfect plan , now what do I do for the next 7 months ??? My first option was to hibernate for the next 7 months and dream of all the wonderful things we would be doing. Although this sounded like a really good option I worried that my alarm may not go off in time and I couldnt have that. So option 2, option 2, what can option 2 be? And this is when it happened... "Ah my naive little child" a small voice replied "If you have even a minute of spare time in your plan then you have simply not planned enough". Now I dont know if I have my own version of Jimney Crickett sitting on my shoulder guiding me on this Disney voyage or if I had simply drunk one to many frozen margaritas whilst pretending to be in WS again . However, I decided to listen to Jimney, of Fred as I think I'll call him, and plan some more ("Ah poor naive child, you have caught the planning bug" came a voice from my other shoulder), doh ! So the next day I had one shining new copy of the Unofficial Guide to Disney in my hands. Within a week I was done and ready for the next installment, perfect timing for the new edition of the Brit Guide. Unfortunately due to stupid, trivial things like work and everyday life I didnt read it half as quick as I would have liked but by christmas I was done and on to the Unofficial Guides, Beyond Disney. Nearing the end and fearing I would simply forget everything I had read if I didnt continue on my quest for total Disney World Knowledge, Nick presented me with a copy of the Eyewitness Travel's Walt Disney World Resort And Orlando Book. Then the day arrived, early February, only 2 months late, the holy bible arrived, in the form of the Deluxe Edition of the Passporter. The lovely tan leather case held together everything I needed for a successful trip to the world, horray

I even had a little planning helper:

Now since I have included them in the trippie and I know people always want to know which guide book to buy I thought I would do a quick review of them all:

The Brit Guide, Simon and Susan Veness:
The only book we used for our last 2 trips and probably the most informative overall. A great book for first timers as it includes information on everything from arriving in Florida, accomodations, car hire, travel companies, information on all the parks including the rides, shows, restaurants etc (WDW, Universal, Seaworld, Busch Gardens, Kennedy Space Centre and the smaller parks), additional activites/attractions, dining and entertainment. It is broken down into easy to read chapters and includes some great Brit tips invaluable for first timers.

The Unofficial Guide - to Walt Disney World and Beyond Disney
These books are great for people who have been before and those looking for something more to do when there. The book gives detailed descriptions of rides, shows and dining, giving ratings and includes touring plans to help save queing. Very informative, and detailed, making it better for those who have been before, and slightly more biased towards the American market.

Eyewitness Guide, Walt Disney World Resort and Orlando
Basic information, lots of glossy pictures.

Passporters Walt Disney World - Deluxe Edition
This is more than just a travel guide - it is also a planner, organizer, journal and keepsake full of great, useful information and places to record your own
holiday plans. Contains great maps, a detailed ride/attraction section with reviews, average wait times, ride type etc, accommodation section with maps and room information, important phone numbers and other useful information. The deluxe edition comes in a leather case with room for important documents, a pen and a place to record a daily holiday journey with space to keep receipts etc.
The bible a.k.a The Deluxe Passporter

I am glad I read them all, they all contain the same basic information but each has something different and unique that makes it worthwhile.

Of course the books weren't my only planning source, the internet played a major role in my obsessive planning and researching. Luckily for christmas Nick brought me a lovely new shimmery blue Sony Vaio laptop, perfect to do all my planning on:

So of course I continually checked all the official websites, particularly keeping an eye on park hours and special events. I also frequently read through all the theme park menu's, its quite a hard job picking out what I am going to eat everyday, and then having to wait another 7 months to actually get it whilst eating rabbit food and lettuce. However, my main obsession was the Disney forums, reading through all the sections and the brilliant trip-reports and pre-trippies didnt only help pass the time and give me someone (well quite a few someone's ) to share my plans, obsessions and questions with but helped me learn things and get great tips that I would otherwise be ignorant too. Although I haven't really changed any of my plans (after all it did take me 5 years to plan ) it did really help me answer a few questions I had, add some special additions and generally feel prepared. This is what I have added or changed to my initial plans:

* The Princess and Pirate Party (instead of visiting a beach)
* Jiko for tea - yes another ADR
* Yak and Yeti for lunch -and another
* Parasailing - which then led to renting Jet skis
* The Adventurer's Club / Comedy Club
* Congo River Golf
* Florida Mall, Premium Outlets, Prime Outlets

So any spare minute or mealtime we may have had on the original plan was now filled with something else, oh well its not everyday you go to the most Magical place on earth

So now its less than 2 months till we go, all I have left to do is re-read each guide book another 10 times, read every trip report and pre-trippie I can, start getting a bit creative (and maybe finish the last scrapbook), oh and work ... that hibernation is beginning to sound good again

 

[disneychard]

Looks like your going to have a great vacation in wdw.