Practically Perfect in Every Way - UPDATE-3/1 -- LINK TO TRIP REPORT!!!!

[annmarieda]

That is horrible that you get so sick on each flight. I am sorry for that.

 

[tinacaplan]

Sounds like a good plan for a travel day. I also love to have the earliest flight out on the day we're heading out. I have heard so many good things about Jet Blue on these boards. I would love to give them a try. While they do fly out of New Orleans, they don't fly from New Orleans to Orlando. We're going to try the whole road trip thing in December. I am just getting so sick of flying....the expense & the hassle.

I would love it if driving were a more realistic option, but its twenty four hours, at least, and that's a lot of time. But I'm with you...I am not a big fan of flying. Although, I do love where it gets me.

That is horrible that you get so sick on each flight. I am sorry for that.

There are worse things...and thank god for dramamine and bromine. I take both at the same time...no idea which one works better. I just want to cover all my bases so I don't end up like this...

 

[amandaw]

I would love it if driving were a more realistic option, but its twenty four hours, at least, and that's a lot of time. But I'm with you...I am not a big fan of flying. Although, I do love where it gets me.

Can't say I blame you for not wanting to drive for that long....especially with a little one. I think our 13 hour drive is about the max I could do. We're going to drive half-way there the 1st night, so the drive there shouldn't be too bad. But, on our way home, we're going to try & do it all in 1 day. We used to do that kind of drive when we lived in South Carolina & would come back to Louisiana. But, we've never driven that far in 1 day with Reid - whole different ball game! But, if it's too much for him, we'll just stop & get a room for the night & then continue home the next day.

I know you said flying can make you sick - how does Max do?

 

[pinkxray]

I was already jealous when I saw that you were staying at the Poly, but now you are going on a girls only trip to SSR. So jealous!

Those AP's are dangerous. We won't be back until Nov. 2013 and Feb. 2014 and I have been considering upgrading to an AP but I know I will try to squeeze in as many trips as possible if I do.

I never had much interest in SSR until I started to look into it for our Oct. trip. The pools look great and I am sure being close to WPE must be nice. If you look over on the SSR thread you can get some recommendation on room request so you will be close to a bus stop. There are some nice views that overlook DTD which look very nice.

I can't wait to hear all about your Feb. trip. I have decided that we will be tackling Feb vacation at Disney in 2014. I never thought I would pick a busy time like that but I want to do the Princess Half Marathon (that is if they keep the dates the same) and Caitlin is getting older so I don't want to pull her out of school if I don't have to.

We flew on Jet Blue last year and it was great having the tvs. Plus they have real coffee and regular brand snacks like Doritos and Terra chips. Yum!

 

[tinacaplan]

Can't say I blame you for not wanting to drive for that long....especially with a little one. I think our 13 hour drive is about the max I could do. We're going to drive half-way there the 1st night, so the drive there shouldn't be too bad. But, on our way home, we're going to try & do it all in 1 day. We used to do that kind of drive when we lived in South Carolina & would come back to Louisiana. But, we've never driven that far in 1 day with Reid - whole different ball game! But, if it's too much for him, we'll just stop & get a room for the night & then continue home the next day.

I know you said flying can make you sick - how does Max do?

See, that's a drive I could handle. I think. Max handles the plane just fine. I think he really likes it and its becoming sort of old hat for him. I just bring plenty of snacks and things to keep him occupied; books, coloring books, etc. Luckily, the flight is pretty quick. Usually, its under three hours on the way down.

I was already jealous when I saw that you were staying at the Poly, but now you are going on a girls only trip to SSR. So jealous!

Those AP's are dangerous. We won't be back until Nov. 2013 and Feb. 2014 and I have been considering upgrading to an AP but I know I will try to squeeze in as many trips as possible if I do.

I never had much interest in SSR until I started to look into it for our Oct. trip. The pools look great and I am sure being close to WPE must be nice. If you look over on the SSR thread you can get some recommendation on room request so you will be close to a bus stop. There are some nice views that overlook DTD which look very nice.

I can't wait to hear all about your Feb. trip. I have decided that we will be tackling Feb vacation at Disney in 2014. I never thought I would pick a busy time like that but I want to do the Princess Half Marathon (that is if they keep the dates the same) and Caitlin is getting older so I don't want to pull her out of school if I don't have to.

We flew on Jet Blue last year and it was great having the tvs. Plus they have real coffee and regular brand snacks like Doritos and Terra chips. Yum!

DIANE! How are you? I really should get over to your TR (CR--cruise report?). I saw the link in someone else's report and then didn't get a chance... ugh, I'm sure you know how that goes.

I'm so excited to be staying at the Poly! We got a good discount with the AP (my whole rationale for buying it in the first place) and I think since I started out with a TPV room at CR, anything was going to seem affordable by comparison. Plus, after staying at the BC, I REALLY wanted to try a resort that close to MK.

I'm less excited to be staying at SSR...but it looks lovely and I can't beat the price..FREE! It will be interesting to plan a trip where both of us will want to spend a lot of time in the parks.

Good for you for shooting for the Half Marathon.

Happy to hear more good things about Jet Blue.

 

[tinacaplan]

Not sure I mentioned this already or not, but my dates for my April trip are...

the 15th through the 19th.​

While I could have done the whole week (oh, how I could have ) that's about as much time away from my boys as I'm comfortable with right now. I arrive at MCO at 4:20 and depart at 8:20. While I would have loved to have booked my usual six a.m. flight, SW was all booked! This way, I have enough time at night to accomplish all I want and enough time to spend a day in each park (if I so choose).

Let the planning begin!

 

[amandaw]

for your April dates! You are going to have sooo much fun!

 

[tinacaplan]

for your April dates! You are going to have sooo much fun!

Thanks, Amanda! I can't believe I'm getting lucky enough to get a double dose of Disney. This is truly a once in a lifetime type of chance that I just have to take!

 

[tinacaplan]

Since I have twio trips to plan for now, I thought it only fair to introduce my partner in crime, the woman who is feeding my Disney addition. I shall call her LC.

LC is the girl on the right, wearing black.

This is a photo of her from several years back, right before World of Disney closed in NYC. LC enjoys Disney enough that her college grad trip was to Disneyworld! I know, however, that she is not the crazy Disney planner that we are. So she has left the planning entirely in my hands. Which I think is great!

LC and I teach at the same school. She is the type of person who is warm and open and when you meet her, you can't imagine that she would or should do anything with her life but teach! She has an infectious laugh and gets me laughing over the silliest things. We can often relieve stress for eachother. Even though she's more than 10 years younger than me scared1:), we have a fair amount in common, and I just adore her. Can you tell?

That said, we haven't spent a ton of time together outside of school,. which is not as crazy as it might be, since we work twelve hour days together regularly.

I think that we're in for a great girls trip and we've have plenty of time to see what I want to see when I'm free to explore at will!

 

[KatMark]

Sorry to hear that you get ill on every flight. I don't like flying...well, I actually detest flying, but thankfully I don't get sick.

We will be in Florida April 14 - 21...just not at Disney.

 

[tinacaplan]

Sorry to hear that you get ill on every flight. I don't like flying...well, I actually detest flying, but thankfully I don't get sick.

We will be in Florida April 14 - 21...just not at Disney.

Luckily, they have dramamine for that. And it usually knocks me out for awhile, too!

You got me really excited for a second there...and then I read the just not at Disney part. But you get to see Nicki!

You are getting super close to your own girls trip, aren't you?

 

[KatMark]

Luckily, they have dramamine for that. And it usually knocks me out for awhile, too!

You got me really excited for a second there...and then I read the just not at Disney part. But you get to see Nicki!

You are getting super close to your own girls trip, aren't you?

Yes, we'll have 2 or 3 days in Naples.

16 days until our trip. I can't believe it!

 

[amandaw]

Sounds like you will have a great partner in crime for your 2nd trip.

 

[tinacaplan]

Yes, we'll have 2 or 3 days in Naples.

16 days until our trip. I can't believe it!

I know! Now you're down to fifteen!

Sounds like you will have a great partner in crime for your 2nd trip.

I think I do!

 

[MEK]

I almost forgot about your girls trip! I am always the older woman on all my girl's trips. It's not so bad.

You are going to have tons of fun. Good luck planning.

Where did you say you were staying? I already forget!

 

[tinacaplan]

I almost forgot about your girls trip! I am always the older woman on all my girl's trips. It's not so bad.

You are going to have tons of fun. Good luck planning.

Where did you say you were staying? I already forget!

I don't think it will be bad...but hanging out with girls in their twenties doesn't do much for my ego.

We're staying at SSR, which I think is your home DVC resort, if I'm not mistaken. While it looks lovely, we aren't going to have a car and that makes me a bit nervous, so any input in that regard would be helpful.

 

[eandesmom]

I almost forgot about your girls trip! I am always the older woman on all my girl's trips. It's not so bad.

You are going to have tons of fun. Good luck planning.

Where did you say you were staying? I already forget!

PUH-LEASE! Not by much anyway And you hold your own with any age my dear.

I don't think it will be bad...but hanging out with girls in their twenties doesn't do much for my ego.

We're staying at SSR, which I think is your home DVC resort, if I'm not mistaken. While it looks lovely, we aren't going to have a car and that makes me a bit nervous, so any input in that regard would be helpful.

Twenties are funny. Once you hit 30's and up I tend to think of everyone being the same age and I don't think about it much but with 20's there can definitely be some moments where at least for me, I felt a bit dated! Although not really in a bad way.

 

[tinacaplan]

Twenties are funny. Once you hit 30's and up I tend to think of everyone being the same age and I don't think about it much but with 20's there can definitely be some moments where at least for me, I felt a bit dated! Although not really in a bad way.

That's a great point and so true. I do sort of think of everyone over 30 as being the same age. And I shouldn't feel bad about it, either, especially when they all want to know how I met my husband, had a kid, etc.

 

[tinacaplan]

Now, here’s where things get a little tricky. I’ll see if we can check-in without my actual AP in hand. I have heard conflicting reports on this. Some people say they’ve never even been asked to show their’s. I ‘ve read of people being fine with just having the voucher. But the official word is that you have to have the actual AP in hand. So, we will either check in and perhaps do some resort exploring (or even pool time if the weather’s like it was last year).

On a side note: I can’t seem to decide if its worth it to get Mark and Max APs, too. While its highly likely that we’ll be able to go back in July, it is not definite and may not be for awhile. And while it will be cheaper to buy them APs if do go back, it isn’t cheaper by that much. Thus, you can see my conflict. Any thoughts?

And we’re back...

Eventually, we’ll have to walk over to the Magic Kingdom so I can pick up our actual APs.

I truly cannot wait to walk down Main Street and take in the delicious, sweet smells wafting through the air. And then we will see this:

My son is um...a bit weird...two of his favorite attractions involve vaguely historically accurate animontronic renderings of history from early humans stalking the mammonth to a cheery family seemingly forever frozen in an 80’s version of the future.

So we’ll grab FPs for Buzz...

Random fastpass return time sign from sometime toward the end of July.



...and then make our way here:

After our run through Disney-fied history, where I will probably sit dead center, and if there’s no one else in our section of the theater, I”ll probably belt out all the words to “Its a Great Big Beautiful Tommorww.” And Max will keeping singing this for the remainder of the trip.

We may take our first trip on the Peoplemover.

Obligatory Peoplemover foot picture. For those you who recall correctly, I had seriously injured my left toe here.

I love the Peoplemover. Tomorrowland just might by my favorite land. While they all have their unique charms, Tomorrowland is just my place. I think they were smart in redesigning it look like the past’s vision of the future.

Astro Orbit as viewed from the Peoplemover.



If we’re ready for Buzz, we’ll head there.


If not, we’re off to Auntie Gravity’s for a smoothie. Don't’ know why they’re so delicious. I mean, I can get a strawberry-bananna smoothie in a number of locations, including the McDonald’s down the street, but for some reason, they’re just so much better when you’re in Disney!

By the time we’ve done all of the above, I think our room should be ready and we’ll head back to the Poly to check out the resort, relax, and get ready for our dinner at Kona.

 

[amandaw]

Sounds like you've got a good plan for the 1st day!

Have y'all had dinner at Kona before? We did it for the 1st time on our last trip & really enjoyed it.