Take me back to our Happy Place - a July 2020 PTR * BRIEF update 5/27*

[luvpoohandcompany]

Yes please! I'll even buy some to bring also!
I didn't even know there were onsite Disney resorts when I was little and went with my parents, that's how cheap they were!

My parents were so cheap the one and only time they went to Florida they did so because they’d bought a vacuum cleaner that came with free flights! Not only that they stayed off site on I drive because there was free breakfast even though I told them it was miles from Disney and then proceeded to complain that there was no way to walk there. I loved my parents dearly but boy am I glad I wasn’t with them!
Oh and I also wore those gorgeous white knee socks right up until I left school at 18. It was either them or “American Tan “ nylons as part of our uniforms. I went to a convent school and the nuns would check we were suitably attired on a regular basis. Though I will also admit I was a bit of a rebel and wore burgundy colored socks for most of my final year and paid the 5pence a day fine to Sister Marie Therese ( I had a part-time job by then). I had already been accepted to nursing school so didn’t really care if the nuns liked me or not though actually I think she did because she always smiled as she took my cash! Maybe it was my cash she liked. Who knows I rocked those socks though. As much as anyone can in burgundy matching skirt and jumper with white shirt and striped tie

 

[ariane37]

I love the fourth of July! Give me fireworks and band music and a parade! We are supposed to have our once every generation trip in November. I have been planning it for over a year, and am so sad that it probably won't happen. It it was just me, I would still be there, but this trip will be three generations of people going, and I want it to be magical for my grandkids. I wish you the very best for July! I can't wait to hear all about it!

The 4th is a fun holiday and I have to say even better in WDW! I am so sorry about your trip this year. While I think there's an absolutely super high chance they will definitely be open for November, there is also the chance certain things won't be the same or "running' again, and of course if you have older folks going it may still be in their best interests not to be in crowds. I will say too that our Sept. trip is for both my DGD and DIL's first trip If by some chance there are still lots of things not happening there and say, only 2 of 4 parks open - I'd rethink going. I would leave it up to DIL and I think it would be based on what exactly we couldn't do, but I really want them both to have a wonderful 1st experience. Stay well and I hope if November can't happen maybe 2021 can! I'll be continuing with this and doing as many dining and trip reports as I can!!

My parents were so cheap the one and only time they went to Florida they did so because they’d bought a vacuum cleaner that came with free flights!

OMG you seriously gave me a good laugh! This is something my MIL would have done for sure.
Can you even imagine today if they gave away flights with a vacuum cleaner? Who thinks of that?

Oh and I also wore those gorgeous white knee socks right up until I left school at 18. It was either them or “American Tan “ nylons as part of our uniforms. I went to a convent school and the nuns would check we were suitably attired on a regular basis.

I think we're all guilty of unfashionable hosiery in our younger days I also went to catholic school so had white knee socks from 1st through 6th grade.
Steve went to catholic school in the Bronx through 8th grade. We both went during the times when it was ok for nuns to touch kids especially reprimand them lol and a lot of what they said and did in catholic schools wouldn't be thought of highly today. The Bronx was a bit worse The nuns where Steve was would line the boys up and check to see if their hair touched their shirt collar, and if it did they'd cut it off!!

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

The 4th is a fun holiday and I have to say even better in WDW! I am so sorry about your trip this year. While I think there's an absolutely super high chance they will definitely be open for November, there is also the chance certain things won't be the same or "running' again, and of course if you have older folks going it may still be in their best interests not to be in crowds. I will say too that our Sept. trip is for both my DGD and DIL's first trip If by some chance there are still lots of things not happening there and say, only 2 of 4 parks open - I'd rethink going. I would leave it up to DIL and I think it would be based on what exactly we couldn't do, but I really want them both to have a wonderful 1st experience. Stay well and I hope if November can't happen maybe 2021 can! I'll be continuing with this and doing as many dining and trip reports as I can!!
I can’t wait to go with my grandson for good first trip!
OMG you seriously gave me a good laugh! This is something my MIL would have done for sure.
Can you even imagine today if they gave away flights with a vacuum cleaner? Who thinks of that?
I think the vacuum company tried to make it as difficult as possible to claim the flights. They clearly did but know my mother!
I think we're all guilty of unfashionable hosiery in our younger days I also went to catholic school so had white knee socks from 1st through 6th grade.
Steve went to catholic school in the Bronx through 8th grade. We both went during the times when it was ok for nuns to touch kids especially reprimand them lol and a lot of what they said and did in catholic schools wouldn't be thought of highly today. The Bronx was a bit worse The nuns where Steve was would line the boys up and check to see if their hair touched their shirt collar, and if it did they'd cut it off!!

I’m sure we both have some stories to tell from school! Some funnier than others! The most bizarre thing that happened me was the day we girls found out there was a man “flashing” at the back gate. Let me tell you 1100 girls stampeding towards that gate at the speed of lightening only to be stopped by a row of tough looking, habit wearing nuns took the fun right out of it!

 

[Steppesister]

You know it's not that I don't want the good FP's, I just can't seem to get stressed anymore! I do try harder and acre more when the boys are going and ooh, our FP's were perfect for Memorial weekend! I'm hoping for good luck when I do July's........

And here's hoping for good luck with you!!!

The view is amazing!!! I prefer sitting outside but I don't like the heat and so in July I'd take the break inside. And it would keep Chris happy and if I can do that without giving up my happiness it's a win-win

July is a definitely a very close deal-breaker for the patio. View or no view, it's pretty hot! AS for keeping kids happy.... yep. Get that!

I think you are except it's one of @Jenny Sanders first 3 visits? I think Ft. Wilderness grounds are so pretty but the cabins don't seem to be too popular. However those that love 'em, love 'em.

They really don't. In fact, I don't think I know many who've stayed in them. I guess for me.... if I'm going to be in resort ROOM, I wanna be in a more convenient place transportation wise.

 

[ariane37]

Wow a week has gone by since I updated? Time is flying by! (Not really) Let's see what have we done.....we painted Chris's room which is the first time that's been painted since we moved in, he didn't want it done when we had the painter come originally.
Aaaaaand that's what we did.
We were doing good with walking almost every day but the weather here has been so crappy, we had like 5 days of rain, one day near 60, 2 more days of rain, today 63. Then it's supposed to rain again until Saturday and MORE rain at least Sunday and Monday which doesn't help things. My BFF feels better when it rains because she figures she can't go out anyway so no big deal staying home but I'm the opposite. If I can get out and walk or the kids can go for a bike ride (Ricky - Chris does NOT ride a bike ) I feel better and when it's raining, to me it's a reminder of all the places I can't go. Call me shallow but I just wanna skip through the mall for a few hours!! At least today we got to take a 2 mile walk before more ⛈

And now to discuss Disney, thanks for sharing all your "first resort" stories! I find it so interesting how many of us didn't stay onsite our first time. I shared those OKW pics of our first tine ON-SITE but we did have 2 off-site resort stays with the kids before that. Our first was October 2006 at a timeshare I can't remember the name of. My mom came with us, Chris was 11 months old and Ricky was 4.
Look at my little bubby Chris!



Sitting outside eating McDonalds in MK!!! Ha ha Kelly @buzzrelly you just asked if I remembered when it was there!



We had a lock-off 2nd bedroom for her, did 4 days in the parks and that's when we had no sit down meals booked because I had no idea about them! Steve and I rode RnRC for the first time sans FP so we stood in a 55 minutes line while she entertained the kids.. It was also my first time to Animal Kingdom believe it or not! And my moms first time at Disney-MGM Studios: (yeah I know she's not in this picture, but the hand is lol!)



Our 2nd off-site stay was just a few months later in January 2007, this time we had all 4 boys and my MIL. I may have told some of you this story, but we dropped our stuff at the resort and went to the grocery store where MIL proceeded to buy all the ingredients for a FULL ITALIAN MEAL complete with homemade meatballs. We told her we had no idea when we'd eat that and didn't plan on eating at the resort often but she insisted she would not eat out for every meal....This trip was at the super chic Liki Tiki Resort.

Excuse this as it's from a lame attempt I made at scrapbooking years ago:



Because MIL and the older boys made this trip less than magical due to needing attitude adjustments throughout the week we returned 11 months later and voila! Our Disney on site stays were born When I was a kid my great-grandmother lived in St. Pete's and so we visited Florida every year which is how we ended up at Disney. Those trips were always only a couple days at the park and by that I mean MK because those visits were all pre-1982. Those were also all offsite. Somewhere I know there are a few pictures from those years but my mom was not a big nostalgia person so I need to REALLY dig those out. She even threw out all my old lead paint covered Playskool Little People from the 70's! Going to try finding those before this PTR is over. For now let's move on to the only other day I actually have plans for,

JULY 5th
​

Our night will probably have been on the late side, so I do not have us doing an early morning today. We are also changing resorts, going from Contemporary to here:



This will be I believe our 6th stay here, but our first time back since 2015 and our first CLUB LEVEL stay here! We had an absolute horrific stay in 2015; room cleanliness, responsiveness and attitude of staff, broken promises and it did sour our opinion of the resort for awhile. However having stayed at both the Beach and Yacht Clubs since then, we definitely decided our favorite Epcot resort is the Boardwalk. I've heard wonderful things about Club Level. I know some don't feel it's worth it and I think I mentioned that for us, it depends on the type of trip we're doing. For us, with the boys, it's a win.
So we do need to be out of the Contemporary by 11; where will be we go?



I currently have an 11:40 Homecomin' Brunch booked and the plan, which I DO have, is to then take the boys to the NBA Experience. If you're new to me and my fam, the boys are really big into basketball and are anxious to do this. Their last time to Disney as last July and the NBA Experience opened in August so they just missed it.
Issue: after looking at the brunch menu again I don't know that the kids will enjoy it. I've been searching and, even though our breakfast in January at Olivia's was just "fine" as far as the food goes (but AWESOME as far as the company went)



I looked at their brunch menu and that looks good. I'll probably get the banana bread french toast I should have gotten in January! So I'll also probably make that switch and then we'll go to DS from OKW.

Later on the plan right now is Epcot! That's where we'll make fastpasses; what fastpasses IDK, although if Ratatouille is open of course we'd try for that. Otherwise tier 1 will be Test Track because that's one of Chris's favorites.

Finally and surprisingly I know, I have dinner reservations booked too! The kids will get to try San Angel Inn. Steve and I have been twice by ourselves. I know the reviews are mixed but we enjoy it and when we went in Feb. 2019 for my birthday Steve had a Catfish entree he still raves about today. And of course the avocado margarita:



What he doesn't rave about is the lack of social distancing that was an issue at San Angel WAY before it was a regular part of our vocabulary, and to prove it I submit Example A from our last visit:



We don't now him but we could have grabbed a chip from his plate if we wanted, or the guy on the other side of Steve! And apparently our server wasn't real but was one of the 999 Happy Haunts filling in here for the night from the HM.
I'm guessing that even in July the tables will be spaced out differently, and that will be a welcome change all around.

And as of now that's almost all the plans I have! I am trying to keep HS to later in the trip although I expect we'll do at least 2 early mornings there, and not sure where AK will be. I never really have a set plan or the same plan for the order we do parks, it varies by why and when we're there and who we're with. I do always like to at least hit MK on our departure day even if it isn't our last park, but our first park makes no difference. If there's a festival it tends to be Epcot; if I let the boys choose it's usually AK. This time it was MK by default since it's July 4th.

I know that there are lots of folks who keep to a specific park order or at least always do the same park on their arrival day and departure day; so, what say you?

1. Do you always do a specific park on arrival day?
2. Do you always do a specific park on departure day?
3. Do you mix up the order each trip?
LEMME KNOW!

*Many thanks to Chris for the time and effort he put in to the photo below. It was a hard job being that you're busy every day lately; thank you for venturing 9 feet down the hall from your bedroom to mom's office for 2.5 minutes *

 

[ariane37]

And here's hoping for good luck with you!!!

Thank you! Next Monday is the day so I better get my in a row................

They really don't. In fact, I don't think I know many who've stayed in them. I guess for me.... if I'm going to be in resort ROOM, I wanna be in a more convenient place transportation wise.

Yes. And the transportation is a big factor here.

 

[MickeyReeds]

Just got caught up on your July plans! I think a dessert party on the 4th sounds perfect!

Our first resort was Coronado Springs.

We do not have a set order for the parks--it just depends on the schedules. I will say the MK first and last would be my preference.

 

[NJlauren]

OMG those pics! SO fun, i do love Minnie blue dress there!

How things change!

I cant wait to hear how someone likes to NBA experience!!

 

[Jenny Sanders]

We always tend to mix it up. I only request to have time in MK. And, since I make all the plans, I always get what I want. LOL!!!!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Love the throw back pictures, very fun!
We always do MK the first day and the last day!
I remember reading your report on the BW troubles! I hope it is better this time.
We are staying there in August if we don’t change things up!

 

[partofthatworld]

As a kid, I went to WDW with my aunt and cousins, and her family. We always stayed off site, idk where and it was just a full day, open to close, at MK. We stayed off site at a timeshare the first trip we took our older two kids on when I was newly pregnant with #3. It has always been onsite since then with POR being our first resort. We always plan parks according to the park schedules and crowd calendars, but usually just go to DS on arrival day and either do a DS or resort TS brunch on departure day before hitting the road.

 

[pkondz]

.we painted Chris's room which is the first time that's been painted since we moved in, he didn't want it done when we had the painter come originally.
Aaaaaand that's what we did.

Aaaaand that's plenty!

the weather here has been so crappy, we had like 5 days of rain, one day near 60, 2 more days of rain, today 63. Then it's supposed to rain again until Saturday and MORE rain at least Sunday and Monday which doesn't help things.

Yuck. Too much rain. That's a nope from me.

our first CLUB LEVEL stay here!

Oh! Nice.

We had an absolute horrific stay in 2015; room cleanliness, responsiveness and attitude of staff, broken promises and it did sour our opinion of the resort for awhile.

Oh. That's not okay.
What were the broken promises?

However having stayed at both the Beach and Yacht Clubs since then, we definitely decided our favorite Epcot resort is the Boardwalk.

Really! I did not expect that.

I'll probably get the banana bread french toast

Oh, man... that sounds so good!

1. Do you always do a specific park on arrival day?
2. Do you always do a specific park on departure day?
3. Do you mix up the order each trip?
LEMME KNOW!

1. No. I'd like to start and end with MK, given a choice, but... sometimes EMH or FPs or some other factor decide for me.
2. I try really, really hard to do MK on my last day. I love that park and want that to be the last place I see. Doesn't always work out, though.
3. Yes. It will depend on park hours and shows and FPs and possibly tours or parties.

*Many thanks to Chris for the time and effort he put in to the photo below. It was a hard job being that you're busy every day lately; thank you for venturing 9 feet down the hall from your bedroom to mom's office for 2.5 minutes *

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

We don’t have a set order for the parks but usually do Epcot on our last day as we usually stay in that area plus I love having a final G&T outside, in the sunshine, at the Rose & Crown. We have a long 9 hour flight home so getting that last bit of sunshine and fresh air feels so precious. On arrival day we usually just unpack and eat and aim to stay awake to something resembling bedtime (or at least after 9pm). We are not always successful and have had years when one kid fell asleep before their food arrived at ESPN and one were the youngest fell asleep standing up with his head on his dad’s lap in Martha’s Vineyard!
Love all your retro photos and well done to Chris for your 4 maps photo at the end. Now not only do you work from home in your office, you have staff!! Lady you got it made!!

 

[buzzrelly]

Aaaaaand that's what we did.

More than we did.

We were doing good with walking almost every day but the weather here has been so crappy,

Same. It was like 40 and rainy the other day, so miserable. At least the last two days here were nice and almost 60. We've been walking 3-4 miles/day on the nicer days. And when the walk is over, I sit and watch Mad Men until I start dinner. Good times.

Sitting outside eating McDonalds in MK!!! Ha ha Kelly @buzzrelly you just asked if I remembered when it was there!

How funny! It didn't even seem out of place to me at the time and the kids loved it

yeah I know she's not in this picture, but the hand is lol!)

Your babies

I may have told some of you this story, but we dropped our stuff at the resort and went to the grocery store where MIL proceeded to buy all the ingredients for a FULL ITALIAN MEAL complete with homemade meatballs.

What?? Someone needs to tell her the best part of vacation is not cooking!

Excuse this as it's from a lame attempt I made at scrapbooking years ago:

See! I used to love scrapbooking. I was a Creative Memories consultant for a little bit and then Close to my Heart, but really only did it for the discounts. I still have so much stuff in my basement.

This will be I believe our 6th stay here, but our first time back since 2015 and our first CLUB LEVEL stay here! We had an absolute horrific stay in 2015;

I remember you hating it there.This stay should be much better.

the plan, which I DO have, is to then take the boys to the NBA Experience. If you're new to me and my fam, the boys are really big into basketball and are anxious to do this.

That place was built for your boys

Later on the plan right now is Epcot! That's where we'll make fastpasses; what fastpasses IDK, although if Ratatouille is open of course we'd try for that. Otherwise tier 1 will be Test Track because that's one of Chris's favorites.

If we go, we'll be in EPCOT that day too

1. Do you always do a specific park on arrival day?
2. Do you always do a specific park on departure day?
3. Do you mix up the order each trip?

I still go by the TP Crowd Calendar and choose park days from there. But we almost always end our last day in the MK

thank you for venturing 9 feet down the hall from your bedroom to mom's office for 2.5 minutes *

Wow, a whole 2.5 minutes

 

[Tracy161]

It's worked pretty good so far. I will admit after he announced the lockdown being extended through 5/15 yesterday I lost it for a bit but I seem to have regained my composure and will continue my thinking strategy for the next month with a HUGE hope that I don't need to continue after that!

I know... my mood goes up and down depending on the vibe of Cuomo's daily briefings

It's like when you tell people you live in NY and they assume NYC - only in reverse

Exactly!

Chris loved taking a bath every morning! Yup, he liked things back then:

I really hope to meet Chris someday after years of descriptions

Back in the 1980s and early 1990s, my family always stayed offsite. We wised up in 1997 when we stayed at Dixie Landings/POR and I haven't ventured off property since!

What he doesn't rave about is the lack of social distancing that was an issue at San Angel WAY before it was a regular part of our vocabulary, and to prove it I submit Example A from our last visit:

No kidding! I went here on my last trip and couldn't believe the... proximity. I think I was nearly in the lap of the stranger to my right.

1. Do you always do a specific park on arrival day?
2. Do you always do a specific park on departure day?
3. Do you mix up the order each trip?
LEMME KNOW!

I prefer to start with MK but it doesn't always work out after I've mapped out park hours/FPs/etc. But it's ALWAYS either MK or EP... without fail! I usually end with a MK/EP combo on my last day too, come to think of it.

*Many thanks to Chris for the time and effort he put in to the photo below. It was a hard job being that you're busy every day lately; thank you for venturing 9 feet down the hall from your bedroom to mom's office for 2.5 minutes *

Thanks, Chris!

 

[suse66]

We do have a tour at 11am this morning at AK and I think we're all looking forward to it (maybe even Chris!). Back in May I did the Up Close With Rhinos tour with Jenny @Jenny Sanders and her husband Joe. It was an adults only trip and Steve wasn't there yet; I loved it so much I really want the guys to do it. It's only once a day at 11 so we really don't need to be to the park before 10:30.

I would love to do the Rhino tour one day! I had the caring for Giants tour booked for Jack and I but will book it again for next summer.

Here they are with Renee's boys last July at Nomad:

So cute! Ricky is really great with younger kids, isn't he?

We've done the dessert party here years ago when it was Wishes, along with the Fantasmic! dessert party and the Jingle Bell Jingle BAM dessert party. Basically nobody has loved them. However we know from last year that the MK gets super packed a few hours before the 4th fireworks start and last year we saw them from Narcoossee's, which was nice, but I kind of want the full experience this year. And we are 100% not the type of family who will wait in a spot for a parade or show for an hour or more, so to really have what's considered a prime spot I believe the dessert party is our best bet. Whether we feel it's worth the $$ remains to be seen! But I mean, nothing with desserts is ever TOTALLY bad.........

I had the dessert party booked for July 3rd and was SO looking forward to it! There was no way Jack would deal with waiting for a fireworks spot and I know he would have loved the ice cream, cupcakes etc.

Thanks for continuing to read! And now answer me this, it should be interesting to see where everyone started out! Please don't be jealous of my editing skills.

Our first trip was in 2009 and we stayed at the Grand Floridian! This was post recession when there was a buy 4 nights get 3 free deal on and we saved $1600 USD over our original reservation at the Poly. Plus the Canadian $ was worth $1.10 USD. Those were the days! My most vivid memory of the GF is Jamie absolutely hating the piano player in the lobby and Stuart being obseesed with the gift shop.

My first time (so rare to say that anymore) was when I was a kid and we stayed at the Contemporary. Parents got cheap after that first trip and we usually stayed offsite but I distinctly recall having a garden view room and watching the electric water pageant at night. That's the only thing I recall from the trip and the only time I've stayed at the Contemporary. If we ever do stay there again I'll be sure to bring these socks.

I can see Casey in you there! You are rocking those socks!

We were doing good with walking almost every day but the weather here has been so crappy, we had like 5 days of rain, one day near 60, 2 more days of rain, today 63. Then it's supposed to rain again until Saturday and MORE rain at least Sunday and Monday which doesn't help things. My BFF feels better when it rains because she figures she can't go out anyway so no big deal staying home but I'm the opposite. If I can get out and walk or the kids can go for a bike ride (Ricky - Chris does NOT ride a bike ) I feel better and when it's raining, to me it's a reminder of all the places I can't go. Call me shallow but I just wanna skip through the mall for a few hours!! At least today we got to take a 2 mile walk before more ⛈

I am the same....I feel so much better when I get out for a walk or bike ride.

This will be I believe our 6th stay here, but our first time back since 2015 and our first CLUB LEVEL stay here! We had an absolute horrific stay in 2015; room cleanliness, responsiveness and attitude of staff, broken promises and it did sour our opinion of the resort for awhile. However having stayed at both the Beach and Yacht Clubs since then, we definitely decided our favorite Epcot resort is the Boardwalk. I've heard wonderful things about Club Level. I know some don't feel it's worth it and I think I mentioned that for us, it depends on the type of trip we're doing. For us, with the boys, it's a win.

I think you will love the BWI! CL there is supposed to be really special.❤

I currently have an 11:40 Homecomin' Brunch booked and the plan, which I DO have, is to then take the boys to the NBA Experience. If you're new to me and my fam, the boys are really big into basketball and are anxious to do this. Their last time to Disney as last July and the NBA Experience opened in August so they just missed it.

That was our reservation on the 5th too and we were looking forward to saying hi to you all. Then we were supposed to move to our Savannah view room at AKL....... now I am making myself sad.

1. Do you always do a specific park on arrival day?
2. Do you always do a specific park on departure day?
3. Do you mix up the order each trip?
LEMME KNOW!

Yes! I usually arrive on a Tuesday and Epcot is typically my 1st day pick due to EMH that night. MK is a must for my last day.

 

[missjackiemcg]

I may have told some of you this story, but we dropped our stuff at the resort and went to the grocery store where MIL proceeded to buy all the ingredients for a FULL ITALIAN MEAL complete with homemade meatballs. We told her we had no idea when we'd eat that and didn't plan on eating at the resort often but she insisted she would not eat out for every meal....This trip was at the super chic Liki Tiki Resort.

Excuse this as it's from a lame attempt I made at scrapbooking years ago:

Oh, my gosh, I loved seeing the old pictures!!!

That is QUITE a story!!! I'm dying to know if she actually cooked that meal, and if it was eaten!!

Loved your scrapbook pics, too During this quarantine, I actually picked up where I left off in the middle of a scrapbook from 2014! I'm still not done with that one because I need to print more pictures for it, but what I DID already accomplish was scrapbooking all the Universal and Cruise pics from December! I forgot how much I enjoyed scrapbooking, and how it was stress relief for me back in the day!

I currently have an 11:40 Homecomin' Brunch booked and the plan, which I DO have, is to then take the boys to the NBA Experience.

I've STILL never eaten at Homecomin'! How is that even possible!? Your guys will LOVE the NBA Experience. I skipped out on it to meet up with a friend from high school, but Rob and Jimmy raved about it! I got a ton of pics with his stats loaded into my Memory Maker, too. I bet your guys will like that.

1. Do you always do a specific park on arrival day?
2. Do you always do a specific park on departure day?
3. Do you mix up the order each trip?
LEMME KNOW!

I am too Type A to mix it up, LOL. I must start and end my trips in MK. I like to stay as long as I can on my departure day, which usually leaves me cutting it close getting back for the Tragical Express!!!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

❤ I have a 28 year old niece who is severely disabled; in a wheelchair. It started when she was 13.
She was able to go to Disney in 2015 with some assistance from family and friends who traveled with her to help my BIL and SIL and she had a great time, so happy because things got progressively worse (and still are) and there is absolutely no way in the last few years she could go and unfortunately never will be able to again. Very glad you have those memories.

Glad she got to go and make those memories also

Please wear those socks on your next trip along with @kastoney

my mom saves everything so that can probably be arranged!

1. Do you always do a specific park on arrival day?
2. Do you always do a specific park on departure day?
3. Do you mix up the order each trip?
LEMME KNOW!

Pre Annual pass, we always used to go to Downtown Disney on arrival day to not "waste" a day ticket on arrival day and our departure day was usually AK since they closed at 5! Now, we mix it up!

 

[jdd]

1. Do you always do a specific park on arrival day?
2. Do you always do a specific park on departure day?
3. Do you mix up the order each trip?
LEMME KNOW!

When we bought one park per day tickets we always started a trip at Magic Kingdom. And since we often drive (road trips are fun!), we usually end our trips with a morning at Animal Kingdom, then get on the road. My youngest likes to get a to-go cup of Bibo from the Harambe Market for the trip home.

Since we've been doing park hoppers for a few years (and I've had an annual pass), we've switched up our first park. And the last two trips we've started every single morning in DHS with that mad rush to get RotR boarding passes

Really enjoying reading your trip plans! My niece is scheduled to start her DCP in August, and all our fingers and toes are crossed that she's still able to have this opportunity. And we have a few fall/winter trips planned. Hoping we all get back to our happy place soon - I think we'll appreciate it all the more![/quote][/QUOTE]

 

[Wood Nymph]

1. Do you always do a specific park on arrival day?
2. Do you always do a specific park on departure day?
3. Do you mix up the order each trip?
LEMME KNOW!

1. - No - we usually go to the park that is closest to our resort
2. No - sometimes we don't go to a park at all. We usually fly out of Orlando around 4pm, which means we would have to be back at the resort by 1pm. So if we decide to do a park it is because there was a special ride we wanted to do.
3. Yes - if we are at WL then we most likely would go to MK. If we are at BC/YC then it would be Epcot. If we are at POR then we would go to Disney Springs and then go to a park after dinner.

Then it's supposed to rain again until Saturday and MORE rain at least Sunday and Monday which doesn't help things.

We had several days of rain this week and I ended up putting on my long, out of style, raincoat and an umbrella and had a lovely walk in the rain. It was very relaxing because it was a gentle rain that sounded nice on the umbrella.

Because MIL and the older boys made this trip less than magical due to needing attitude adjustments throughout the week we returned 11 months later and voila! Our Disney on site stays were born

This must have been very stressful. Did your MIL end up cooking the Italian meal?