Really?? All of us? No one missing this time? Yay! A Jan/Feb PTR!

[OhioDisneyLover]

Ah, here we are again. Going back home!

Hi! , it’s me again….planning another what-I-hope-to-be-awesome trip to my happy place.

Background Stuff

When we first started to plan this trip, Joe and I were going alone…well, not alone, the plan was to meet one of my besties, Inkedupmomma (Jenn) and her family and also to meet Synndy (on the Dis) and her awesome little guy “B”. For those of you that have read any of my past PTR’s or TR’s, you’ll know that over the last few years, we’ve vacationed together with Jenn and her family whenever possible. Our most recent trip together was in January 2013 when Jenn and Bob got married and Joe and I went with them on their Familymoon to Disney after attending the most fabulous wedding you could ever imagine! Yeah, you read that right!! We went on their Familymoon with them!

Our plan was to do it again in 2014 with the new Baby Bean (Jenn’s expecting any day now ), but work got in the way (mine) along with a stupid-not-to-be-named-ex (Jenn’s) and our dates are not an exact match in 2014. Booooo…………

Joe and I were talking to my family listen about this trip and guess what? They decided to go too!! Yay! We’ve not all gone to Disney together since Sept 2010 and even then, someone was missing…but not this time!! This is the first ever vacation with my entire immediate family!! I can hardly believe it to be honest.

I hope that you will join me in my planning adventure!

Next up....my Cast of Characters.

 

[OhioDisneyLover]

Let’s move to our Cast of Characters:

Me first! (Sophia). I’m an HR professional that loves Disney and everything about Disney.

I’m such a control freak when it comes to Disney planning that my family just goes with the flow. I think they just don’t want to experience my meltdown if I had to turn over the planning to someone else.

My hubs , Joe…or as we say on the Dis, my DH. Here we are at DHS.

He goes along with my planning and basically will just humor me and go along with whatever it is I want to plan. I just have to make sure he gets enough time at ST and TSMM and that we eat at EoS, Kona and Wave at least once and we’re all good. Oh, and he did tell me that he wants me to take the camera to each park only ONCE this trip! Ahhh, I don’t think I can do that dude! He says that I see Disney through a lens all the time and that I need to stop and take the time to just enjoy it.

My mom, aka, the Gramma.

Jenn’s son, Jack, named her “the Gramma” a few years back and it stuck. Mom loves Disney and hasn’t been since 2010. We were just sitting there talking one day and all of a sudden, she was game to come with us.

My niece, Winnie, aka Mimi. She’s been to Disney with us twice before, but never with the entire family at the same time so this will be a first for her. We’re super excited about this!

This is my niece on the left. My sister is on the right.

My sister, aka not-a-morning-person-so-how-early-are-our-adr’s. Her last trip was in 2010, so she’s excited to go again with the whole family. My goal is to get her on Characters in Flight. Wish me luck!

My nephew, aka Mew.

He’s been to Disney several times. Joe and I took him as a surprise when he turned 10 several years back. The three of us had a blast. I love traveling with him. You never know what you’re in store for.

My brother, aka the-last-minute-planner. This picture is from 2010. He's changed a lot since then.

Love my brother, but I get nervous waiting for him to make his plans. LOL. Happens every time. My brother has been to Disney a couple of times with us but never at the same time as my niece, so we’re super looking forward to that!

We do have a few cross over dates with Jenn, Bob, Jack, Kayla and Baby Bean so I am including them in our Cast of Characters. Our dates don’t match because Jenn’s ex is a jerk. Nuff said there. They also don’t match because of a world-wide project that I am working on. It’s an exciting HR project and our calendar is super tight so I had to plan our trip around that.

Here is a picture of Jenn and her family from last trip:

Finally, we have friends (Synndy , her hubs and “B”) that now live in Orlando, so I am hoping that they can join us while we’re there too….as much as possible! Yay for their AP’s! I am hoping that they put them to use so that get to see my little dude “B” and his awesome mommy and daddy!

Here is a picture of Amanda and her adorable son.

So, that's it for my cast of characters! Next up.....How many days and where are we staying?

 

[inkedupmomma]

First! Subbed!

 

[Synndy]

Second subbed! Woot!!!


Seriously, can January hurry up and get here? I can't wait to see everyone!

 

[OhioDisneyLover]

First! Subbed!

Yay! Glad you are here with me!!

 

[OhioDisneyLover]

Second subbed! Woot!!!


Seriously, can January hurry up and get here? I can't wait to see everyone!

Yay! Glad you are here too!

I can't wait to get there either!!

 

[OhioDisneyLover]

Hi Thought I'd do an update over lunch today. If there are any lurkers out there, please stop in and say HI!

How many days???

We will be gone for 13 days and are spending 10 nights and 11 days at Disney. We’re driving (yeah…driving) and plan to stop to visit family in Georgia the first night and again on the way home.

This is the 2nd time that we’ve decided to drive. The first time was in January 2013 when we drove to PA for Jenn’s wedding then to Disney from there. Recent airfare has been ridiculous so we decided to drive again and actually, we enjoyed having our vehicle with us last trip. You know, you can bring home just about anything when you don’t fly! Woo hoo!!

One thing that was a bit humorous that we noticed was that in our own vehicle, we can’t navigate our way around. Sounds stupid, I know. With a rental car, we never had any issues…ever. With our own vehicle, we can’t find our way out of a paper bag! LOL!!!

Our Resort

We decided on Pop again.

I was never really a Pop lover however, when we go to Disney in the winter, we are never in our room, except to sleep. Even with Joe’s disability, we are able to stay out for most of the day with the proper amount of rest periods for Joe. For that reason, I felt that Pop was the better option for us. We could have either done Pop for 10 nights or gone mod or deluxe for a shorter stay. Yeah, Pop won.

We were able to get a great deal too…thanks to my brother and his PIN code. When he made his ressie, they allowed him to apply the discount to three rooms. Sweet! This is going to be a change for the family since the last time we were there together, we stayed at WL.

Personally, I like the 50’s section of Pop the best since we are driving. The parking is perfect and is not far from the building at all, compared to some of the other areas of the resort. With Joe’s handicap, he is exhausted by the end of the day and the walk to our rooms in the past when we stayed at WL, AKL and other deluxe resorts was too much after a long day in the parks. I swear, it was at least a 5 minute walk from the lobby to our rooms at WL and AKL. Doesn’t sound like a lot, but when you are totally exhausted, it may as well be 5 miles!

 

[OhioDisneyLover]

It’s all about the Food!

I'd really appreciate any comments here about our choices and suggestions about places that maybe are not on our list. I love hearing from other Dissers on your experiences.

Here are our dining choices, in no particular order. We have made some ADR’s and others are just ones we’re giving some thought to.

Counter Service

Columbia Harbour House - tried it last trip for the first time and loved it!

Art of Animation - I really love the make your own salad here.

Everything Pop - It's great for a quick breakfast or late night snack - love the hummus here too.

Earl of Sandwich -Who doesn't love Earl???

Tomorrowland Terrace (if it is open) - Had breakfast here last trip and loved it!

Casey’s - I hear they will be closed when we are there -- have to break the news to Joe.

Starring Rolls - nice sandwiches here and gotta love the breakfast pastries

Pizza Planet - I usually don't get the pizza here. Love the cupcake though. lol

Studio Catering - Had the kids meal thingy here last trip. Enjoyed it.

Be our Guest - For lunch this time. Anyone been there and how did you like it?

Flame Tree BBQ - Has to be one of my favorite CS meals on property.

Pinocchio’s - Have not been there in a while...thought I would be worth checking out.

Most CS places in WS (not China though) - Just don't dig what they offer in China.


Table Service

50’s PTC - Pot roast .... love it.

Sci Fi - Atmosphere mostly, but food isn't too bad.

Rose and Crown - Tradition for Joe and I

LTT - Have you ever had the ooey gooey? Nuff said.

Kouzzina -Opa! Love the breakfast here.

Kona - If we didn't do Kona, my family would never speak to me again. Seriously, I love the macadamia nut pancakes here.

The Wave - Joe said best buffet breakfast on property. On his must do list.

Cape May Café - Have not been here in years. Going to go with Jenn.

CRT - Still debating this one. Have adrs but may cancel.

1900 PF - Have never done dinner here. Going to go with Jenn.

Akershus - Thinking my16 year old nephew will enjoy it here.

Fulton’s - My sister's favorite.

So, that is what I am thinking so far. Comments? Thoughts? Ideas? Would love to hear from you!!

 

[AliceandAriel]

Subbing!

And to comment on your last post- the pizza at PP isn't THAT bad. No different than your run of the mill microwave-esque pizza from a concession stand at the movies or a QS location outside WDW. We had it in May this year and actually liked it a lot!

CS places in WS of Epcot, hrmmm. Trying to pick my brain...
Tim got some kind of alcoholic beverage from a QS spot in France, he definitely did NOT recommend it. I think I got an espresso somewhere that was positively revolting, too.

The nachos from Mexico were not bad. Chips and cheese with a meat/bean mix, nothing to jump for joy over but nothing bad either.

There's that new cafeteria-esque place in the back of France, and the stuff they had there was actually pretty good. I'm a nut for sweets, so that place hit the spot. Think I got some kind of mango or strawberry slushie there, too.

Inside Mitsukoshi there's a spot for tastings of various sake. If you like Mike's Hard Lemonade, get the one they have. I think its $7 a shot, but we've made it a must-do each time now because it's so freaking delicious.

 

[DB of ODL]

As your brother I will not sub and prefer to lurk .

No Casey's? I rarely eat hot dogs but was actually looking forward to it. I may be able to get over this as long as I can have my Kona coffee and Big Kahuna breakfast. If not, I will have no choice but to boycott this vacation!

Looking forward to the vacation with the whole family. I will go along with whatever my older sister "Moses McGuyver" wants to do...including watching parades. It should be a great time. Although I don't know if we can top the time Joe got hit by a duck.