englishrose47
DIS Legend
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2007
- Messages
- 28,982
has anyone ever told you that you and lilo have the same smile.
I thought it was more like Stitches
Rides, Slides, Eats & Meets Oct DISmeet Trip. 5/6-Ch 14 Closing Thoughts
- Thread starter marvali
- Start date
I thought it was more like Stitches
glennbo123
DIS Legend
- Joined
- May 10, 2008
- Messages
- 10,236
I've never had breakfast at Ohana, and you go and leave out the food pictures. 
Can't wait to see the October DISmeet chapter.
Can't wait to see the October DISmeet chapter.
englishrose47
DIS Legend
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2007
- Messages
- 28,982
I've never had breakfast at Ohana, and you go and leave out the food pictures.
Can't wait to see the October DISmeet chapter.
Glenn welcome to Marv's thread , you are here almost as often as Marv
Hopefully this part of the TR will go a little quicker! I agree that the Poly is one of the prettiest resorts and one of my favorites. And I think the juice at O'Hana is basically the same, or at least close!
We always enjoy the breakfast at O'Hana. As for the upcoming portion of the trip report, I have been looking at and uploading pictures to PB to do the updates and they sure do bring back some wonderful memories. I can't wait to relive them for everyone.
has anyone ever told you that you and lilo have the same smile.
You might be onto something.
Nah, Lilo's mouth is much bigger than mine......I thought it was more like Stitches
Sorry Glenn, I will see if I can find you one from a previous trip!I've never had breakfast at Ohana, and you go and leave out the food pictures.
Can't wait to see the October DISmeet chapter.
Wow, at your age I thought you would be able to add better........Glenn welcome to Marv's thread , you are here almost as often as Marv
Chapter 1 Introductions, Back-story and Travel Day
Since Introductions have already been done early in the TR, there really isn't a need to do those again........at least not yet. This portion of my TR isn't about WHO is going as much as it is about DIS friends who would also be at Disney World during the trip.
In my previous TR from New Year's I had done a contest which was coming to an end when I began to formulate a plan as to the best way to present the prize to the winner Magdalene (Flossbolna here on the DIS) since she lives in Germany. She and her sister Katharina (nodnol) had been sharing their plans for a while on the DIS that they were taking a Disney trip together in October. Already having an AP I saw an opportunity to get to meet these two ladies and awarding Magdalene her prize seemed like yet another good reason to make this happen.
The idea of making a solo trip to coincide with theirs had gone on for a while here on the DIS, with a lot of uncertainty that it could even happen due to work and personal obligations.
As the time got a little closer and I got more serious about formulating plans to actually make the trip, out of necessity it began to take shape more in the background than openly here on the DIS for what became multiple reasons. 
As the trip approached I was becoming familiar with a nearby family who would be at Disney during the same time for a MAW trip, staying at GKTW. Some of you may be familiar with Judy (blessedmom4) who at the time I "met" on one of Kathy's (KatMark) threads. Judy has an amazing family and story and her daughter Lisa had been granted a MAW trip that would overlap the days I was hoping to be able to go. While Judy and her family were there her other daughter Rachel was "booked" to play guitar for a set on the stage at House of Blues. Rachel is quite accomplished on the electric guitar in spite her being (at the time) a mere 13 years old.
A number of other DISer's were planning to attend Rachel's concert at HoB to show their support for her and also a very nervous Judy (as would be expected for any Mom with children she loves and is so proud of). One of those people was Lisa (mommy2mrb) who had become fast friends with Judy here on the DIS, and was somewhat of an unofficial promoter/supporter for this "event" at HoB. Lisa and her daughter Megan were making the trip from the West Coast to officially meet Judy and her family while they were on their MAW trip. Since things were still up in the air whether I was going to be able to make this trip to Disney World, and at the time I didn't know Judy that well, I began to PM and eventually text with Lisa so I was kept informed of the details just in case. After all, if I was going to be there anyway, this seemed like a worthwhile event to add to my schedule and a great chance to meet some more DISers I had become familiar with through multiple threads.
The final piece of the puzzle was someone I was already very familiar with here on the DIS. During my early banter back and forth with Magdalene and casual mention of how great it would be to take a visit while she was at DW so I could meet them, one of the resident "troublemakers" here on the DIS kept reminding me she would also be on one of her special "free" trips to DW at that same time. Rosie (englishrose47) is a sweet, dedicated lady who works with special needs adults and often plays escort to small groups of them so they can take trips to wonderful places like Disney. (Okay Rosie, that was my being nice........just don't expect me to make a habit of it!!!)
Rosie loves her work and seems to love life no matter what she is doing, and tries to have a lot of fun in the process. She is an outgoing jokester that will act on her whims, no matter how embarrassing the pictures may turn out, and she loves picking on the people around her.
I consider Rosie a very good friend here on the DIS and since we are complete opposites with me being reserved and quiet, I guess it is true what they say about opposites attracting....................... 
Being able to actually take this trip came right down to almost the very last minute. I was hoping to make the trip around a long weekend, driving down on a Thursday and taking the following Monday off to maximize my Disney time, giving me three full days to enjoy between the drives. As the date approached and it looked like a solo trip was indeed possible I realized that my middle son Jonathan had a fall break from classes that Monday also. He was taking classes at a local college and already didn't have classes on Fridays. I asked him if he wanted to tag along and he was happy with the idea. So the final plans were in place and the two of us would leave around lunchtime on Thursday when he got done with his classes, arriving at our destination early that evening.
*************************************************************************************************
Now I realize that this TR post is getting rather long,
especially with no pictures to look at, but if everyone will bear with me just a little longer, I want to go ahead and add a quick travel day wrap-up here so my next update can move right to our first park day. I promise from that point on the updates will have plenty of pictures for everyone to enjoy as I took quite a few during this trip of the parks AND the DISmeets.
*************************************************************************************************
Jonathan and I got up on Thursday morning, loaded the car, stopped for something quick to eat for breakfast, and I then drove him to his class. He only had one class that day and he had a test, so we could leave as soon as he got finished. However, the quick escape had a kink in it. Jonathan had been driving his mom's car to school since he had to drive quite a few miles, and it got the best gas mileage. That is the car we were also taking to Disney for the same reason. I happened to look at the little oil change sticker on the windshield, and the odometer, and asked Jonathan..........."Did you know the oil is past due to be changed in the car?"
Needless to say I didn't want to drive all the way to Disney when the oil already needed changing, so when I dropped him off I headed out immediately to find somewhere that could do a quick oil change before we left. I found a place that wasn't busy and got the oil change taken care of. In the mean time Jonathan had finished his test and texted me he was waiting for me to pick him up. A gas station close to campus had the cheapest gas I had seen so I picked him up and then stopped to fill up with gas so we wouldn't have to stop for a while.
We made it through Atlanta during the early afternoon so we didn't run into any issues there with traffic. After that it would be smooth sailing. Jonathan eventually fell asleep as I drove along. As we approached the vicinity of Macon the skies had turned very dark and the wind had picked up. And then came the rain; hard, driving, wind-blown rain.
Brake lights began to appear everywhere and traffic slowed considerably. I stayed in the outside of the three lanes of interstate we had at that point as most people were in the right or center lanes. I saw more brake lights and cars swerving quickly into the center lane just ahead of me. We were in a wooded area with pine trees very close to the interstate, and as I got to that point I saw that a tree had fallen and was laying across the right hand lane. So glad I was already to the left.
Jonathan slept through this whole part of the trip and we actually cleared the severe patch of weather shortly after that and everything was sunny and dry again. I turned on the radio and found a local station which was broadcasting a severe weather advisory for the area we had just before passed through.............you think??? I could still see how dark it was behind us in my mirrors.
As it turned out, this was our only delay during the drive down. Typically I would have to stop along the way for a potty break, then again for gas, and possibly one more time for another potty break before arriving. We made it all the way to the Florida/Georgia state line before we had to stop and took care of gas, potty and getting some food all in one quick stop and we were back on the road. This was a sign of things to come as Jonathan and I were pretty much in sync the whole trip!
I had made a reservation at the Comfort Suites Maingate (now a Clarion Suites) in Kissimmee, Florida that we had stayed at a couple of times, located on W. Irlo Bronson very close to Animal Kingdom. Just a little further down W Irlo Bronson you can see the top of AKL-Jambo above the trees. We arrived at the hotel early evening, got checked in, unloaded our luggage and went out to find something quick to eat. Back at the room we watched a little TV and turned in. We had a long day planned the next day, starting with an early morning at Epcot, and this trip we were determined to make rope drop ..
Coming up Chapter 2 - Epcot Morning with an International DISmeet Flair
Since Introductions have already been done early in the TR, there really isn't a need to do those again........at least not yet. This portion of my TR isn't about WHO is going as much as it is about DIS friends who would also be at Disney World during the trip.
In my previous TR from New Year's I had done a contest which was coming to an end when I began to formulate a plan as to the best way to present the prize to the winner Magdalene (Flossbolna here on the DIS) since she lives in Germany. She and her sister Katharina (nodnol) had been sharing their plans for a while on the DIS that they were taking a Disney trip together in October. Already having an AP I saw an opportunity to get to meet these two ladies and awarding Magdalene her prize seemed like yet another good reason to make this happen.
The idea of making a solo trip to coincide with theirs had gone on for a while here on the DIS, with a lot of uncertainty that it could even happen due to work and personal obligations.
As the time got a little closer and I got more serious about formulating plans to actually make the trip, out of necessity it began to take shape more in the background than openly here on the DIS for what became multiple reasons. As the trip approached I was becoming familiar with a nearby family who would be at Disney during the same time for a MAW trip, staying at GKTW. Some of you may be familiar with Judy (blessedmom4) who at the time I "met" on one of Kathy's (KatMark) threads. Judy has an amazing family and story and her daughter Lisa had been granted a MAW trip that would overlap the days I was hoping to be able to go. While Judy and her family were there her other daughter Rachel was "booked" to play guitar for a set on the stage at House of Blues. Rachel is quite accomplished on the electric guitar in spite her being (at the time) a mere 13 years old.
A number of other DISer's were planning to attend Rachel's concert at HoB to show their support for her and also a very nervous Judy (as would be expected for any Mom with children she loves and is so proud of). One of those people was Lisa (mommy2mrb) who had become fast friends with Judy here on the DIS, and was somewhat of an unofficial promoter/supporter for this "event" at HoB. Lisa and her daughter Megan were making the trip from the West Coast to officially meet Judy and her family while they were on their MAW trip. Since things were still up in the air whether I was going to be able to make this trip to Disney World, and at the time I didn't know Judy that well, I began to PM and eventually text with Lisa so I was kept informed of the details just in case. After all, if I was going to be there anyway, this seemed like a worthwhile event to add to my schedule and a great chance to meet some more DISers I had become familiar with through multiple threads.
The final piece of the puzzle was someone I was already very familiar with here on the DIS. During my early banter back and forth with Magdalene and casual mention of how great it would be to take a visit while she was at DW so I could meet them, one of the resident "troublemakers" here on the DIS kept reminding me she would also be on one of her special "free" trips to DW at that same time. Rosie (englishrose47) is a sweet, dedicated lady who works with special needs adults and often plays escort to small groups of them so they can take trips to wonderful places like Disney. (Okay Rosie, that was my being nice........just don't expect me to make a habit of it!!!)
Rosie loves her work and seems to love life no matter what she is doing, and tries to have a lot of fun in the process. She is an outgoing jokester that will act on her whims, no matter how embarrassing the pictures may turn out, and she loves picking on the people around her.
I consider Rosie a very good friend here on the DIS and since we are complete opposites with me being reserved and quiet, I guess it is true what they say about opposites attracting....................... Being able to actually take this trip came right down to almost the very last minute. I was hoping to make the trip around a long weekend, driving down on a Thursday and taking the following Monday off to maximize my Disney time, giving me three full days to enjoy between the drives. As the date approached and it looked like a solo trip was indeed possible I realized that my middle son Jonathan had a fall break from classes that Monday also. He was taking classes at a local college and already didn't have classes on Fridays. I asked him if he wanted to tag along and he was happy with the idea. So the final plans were in place and the two of us would leave around lunchtime on Thursday when he got done with his classes, arriving at our destination early that evening.
*************************************************************************************************
Now I realize that this TR post is getting rather long,
especially with no pictures to look at, but if everyone will bear with me just a little longer, I want to go ahead and add a quick travel day wrap-up here so my next update can move right to our first park day. I promise from that point on the updates will have plenty of pictures for everyone to enjoy as I took quite a few during this trip of the parks AND the DISmeets.*************************************************************************************************
Jonathan and I got up on Thursday morning, loaded the car, stopped for something quick to eat for breakfast, and I then drove him to his class. He only had one class that day and he had a test, so we could leave as soon as he got finished. However, the quick escape had a kink in it. Jonathan had been driving his mom's car to school since he had to drive quite a few miles, and it got the best gas mileage. That is the car we were also taking to Disney for the same reason. I happened to look at the little oil change sticker on the windshield, and the odometer, and asked Jonathan..........."Did you know the oil is past due to be changed in the car?"
Needless to say I didn't want to drive all the way to Disney when the oil already needed changing, so when I dropped him off I headed out immediately to find somewhere that could do a quick oil change before we left. I found a place that wasn't busy and got the oil change taken care of. In the mean time Jonathan had finished his test and texted me he was waiting for me to pick him up. A gas station close to campus had the cheapest gas I had seen so I picked him up and then stopped to fill up with gas so we wouldn't have to stop for a while.
We made it through Atlanta during the early afternoon so we didn't run into any issues there with traffic. After that it would be smooth sailing. Jonathan eventually fell asleep as I drove along. As we approached the vicinity of Macon the skies had turned very dark and the wind had picked up. And then came the rain; hard, driving, wind-blown rain.
Brake lights began to appear everywhere and traffic slowed considerably. I stayed in the outside of the three lanes of interstate we had at that point as most people were in the right or center lanes. I saw more brake lights and cars swerving quickly into the center lane just ahead of me. We were in a wooded area with pine trees very close to the interstate, and as I got to that point I saw that a tree had fallen and was laying across the right hand lane. So glad I was already to the left.Jonathan slept through this whole part of the trip and we actually cleared the severe patch of weather shortly after that and everything was sunny and dry again. I turned on the radio and found a local station which was broadcasting a severe weather advisory for the area we had just before passed through.............you think???
I could still see how dark it was behind us in my mirrors.As it turned out, this was our only delay during the drive down. Typically I would have to stop along the way for a potty break, then again for gas, and possibly one more time for another potty break before arriving. We made it all the way to the Florida/Georgia state line before we had to stop and took care of gas, potty and getting some food all in one quick stop and we were back on the road. This was a sign of things to come as Jonathan and I were pretty much in sync the whole trip!
I had made a reservation at the Comfort Suites Maingate (now a Clarion Suites) in Kissimmee, Florida that we had stayed at a couple of times, located on W. Irlo Bronson very close to Animal Kingdom. Just a little further down W Irlo Bronson you can see the top of AKL-Jambo above the trees. We arrived at the hotel early evening, got checked in, unloaded our luggage and went out to find something quick to eat. Back at the room we watched a little TV and turned in. We had a long day planned the next day, starting with an early morning at Epcot, and this trip we were determined to make rope drop ..
Coming up Chapter 2 - Epcot Morning with an International DISmeet Flair
englishrose47
DIS Legend
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2007
- Messages
- 28,982
Nah, Lilo's mouth is much bigger than mine......
Sorry Glenn, I will see if I can find you one from a previous trip!
Wow, at your age I thought you would be able to add better........
Dinasaur's are a rarity in this age
Now reserving the top of the page is definitely a new one !!! Let me guess what it is for
I know how famous you are for messing up the top of page thingy!!!Dinasaur's are a rarity in this age
Now reserving the top of the page is definitely a new one !!! Let me guess what it is for
Poolrat
I am alive, sometimes I wonder too.
- Joined
- Jan 6, 2008
- Messages
- 9,189
HMMMM I am keeping my mouth shut.......
So good to see you getting on with the show.
Seems like you have some sort of excitment when driving.
Flossbolna
Sea days are just so relaxing!
- Joined
- Sep 8, 2006
- Messages
- 14,120
Great introduction to the trip! I had forgotten all about how your solo (turned "duo") trip was to be kept secret. And while I am very sorry that I never took a picture of that wonderful prize you delivered (somehow it suddenly was gone... ), I still have the packaging and will be able to supply a picture of it when you get to that part in the story!!
), I still have the packaging and will be able to supply a picture of it when you get to that part in the story!! 
Minnie&Nana
Dreams do come true!
- Joined
- Feb 20, 2004
- Messages
- 15,831
I'm sorry to be late to the end of your TR.... have been busy with the Pope.. Watching his weekly audience from Rome right now. Ain't modern technology fantastic?
Of course, absolutely love the Ohana photos - that resort is so beautiful. I know nothing about Lilo and Stitch - other than I cannot stand Stitch. Why they still have that attraction is one of the strange Disney unknowns.
You all are so tan and healthy looking - glowing! Wonderful pictures. Thanks so much for taking us along. I really enjoyed the trip...and the TR updates were posted just right for me to keep up also gave me something to do for a nice long time.
I was so excited to see you started a new TR! October is a near perfect time to visit. Really wonderful you were able to get down for a few days to see everyone. Looking forward to sharing the memories and seeing all the pics. Your intros brought a tear...sounds like it was a very special weekend.
. Watching his weekly audience from Rome right now. Ain't modern technology fantastic?Of course, absolutely love the Ohana photos - that resort is so beautiful. I know nothing about Lilo and Stitch - other than I cannot stand Stitch. Why they still have that attraction is one of the strange Disney unknowns.
You all are so tan and healthy looking - glowing! Wonderful pictures. Thanks so much for taking us along.
I really enjoyed the trip...and the TR updates were posted just right for me to keep up also gave me something to do for a nice long time. I was so excited to see you started a new TR! October is a near perfect time to visit. Really wonderful you were able to get down for a few days to see everyone. Looking forward to sharing the memories and seeing all the pics. Your intros brought a tear...sounds like it was a very special weekend.
HMMMM I am keeping my mouth shut.......
So good to see you getting on with the show.
Seems like you have some sort of excitment when driving.
Not always, but yes, I guess it does happen an awful lot. Thankfully I am so far only a spectator of such events and not actually a "participant" in them.HMMMM I am keeping my mouth shut.......
I'm sure THAT won't last long..........
So good to see you getting on with the show.
Seems like you have some sort of excitment when driving.
Now after saying that, where's my spoon when I need it............or the top of Rosie's head???
In spite of your allowing Pat to be a bad influence,
this IS your first post here so 
wiigirl!!!So good to have you join in! Make yourself at home and feel free to join in the fun!!!
I will be looking forward to you posting that picture for me. A picture of the packaging is sadly more than I have........Great introduction to the trip! I had forgotten all about how your solo (turned "duo") trip was to be kept secret. And while I am very sorry that I never took a picture of that wonderful prize you delivered (somehow it suddenly was gone...
I don't want to spoil the ending, but yes, at least parts of the trip were fun and memorable..........I'm sorry to be late to the end of your TR.... have been busy with the Pope.
Really? You let the Pope win out over me???
Of course, absolutely love the Ohana photos - that resort is so beautiful. I know nothing about Lilo and Stitch - other than I cannot stand Stitch. Why they still have that attraction is one of the strange Disney unknowns.
I certainly have no argument for THAT......
You all are so tan and healthy looking - glowing! Wonderful pictures. Thanks so much for taking us along.
Sarcasm??? You are on a roll this morning.........and apparently itchin' for a...........uh...........spoonin'!!!
I was so excited to see you started a new TR! October is a near perfect time to visit. Really wonderful you were able to get down for a few days to see everyone. Looking forward to sharing the memories and seeing all the pics. Your intros brought a tear...sounds like it was a very special weekend.
Sadly, any embarrassing pictures of Rosie would probably include embarrassing pictures of Marv..............so there just might not be any...........I got a bit behind, but enjoyed reading about your Ohana breakfast. I have always wanted to try breakfast there. Sounds yummy.
A bit behind??? That's not how you described it on your TR...........
Oh wait, you meant something else didn't you???
Looking forward to reading about your October DIS meet! Are there embarrassing pictures of Rosie involved?
englishrose47
DIS Legend
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2007
- Messages
- 28,982
Well I enjoyed the brief positive comments about me !!!But to let go by "QUIET MARV" just can't happen !!!
This TR is gonna be fun !!
Of course there will be embarrassing pix of Rosie !! If you don't post them I will !!!
This TR is gonna be fun !!
Of course there will be embarrassing pix of Rosie !! If you don't post them I will !!!
FauntleroyFAN07
Commander of Donalds Crew Oh Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy
- Joined
- Jul 6, 2007
- Messages
- 8,611
good intro even if you dont have any pictures.
how about you post again today to make up for that mister.
and 0 Judys
how about you post again today to make up for that mister.
and 0 Judys
Minnie&Nana
Dreams do come true!
- Joined
- Feb 20, 2004
- Messages
- 15,831
All I can say it that the Pope and I are very good friends now. 
(Of course, should you come visit when I'm in Disney that might move you up a notch on the totem pole. 
)
(Of course, should you come visit when I'm in Disney that might move you up a notch on the totem pole. )
englishrose47
DIS Legend
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2007
- Messages
- 28,982
All I can say it that the Pope and I are very good friends now.
One of my staff really thought he would be the next Pope he said he was an alter boy for 2 years , but consoled himself by saying he was tooooo young
Minnie&Nana
Dreams do come true!
- Joined
- Feb 20, 2004
- Messages
- 15,831
One of my staff really thought he would be the next Pope he said he was an alter boy for 2 years , but consoled himself by saying he was tooooo young
Ahhh...too young..and he woûld need to speak Italian!
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