Disbug
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 4, 2003
- Messages
- 3,036
Come inside my head... closer, closer, WOH~ TOO, close! Hello, I'm Disbug. My family says I am addicted. I prefer~ uhm, DEVOTED, to Walt Disney World. FUN is not something that simply happens while you are standing there staring at your GUIDEMAP. No, you simply cannot circle the family wagons in the middle of Main Street deciding if you should ride DUMBO or SPACE MOUNTAIN first thing. Thousands upon thousands of other "fun seeking" families are picking up THEIR guidemaps and strollers before attempting to mow you down like a great game of Red Rover... No! You MUST plan, or you are DOOMED! The Magic Kingdom is no place for amateurs; so, I say... before you get through the turnstiles, you MUST have a strategy. Or prepare to become part of the MATRIX! (Most people don't know that during Christmas week there is just one big line for everything and it starts on Main Street!) Just kidding of course, but this is how I write my Trip Reports! It's all about the fun...it's what I do. I PLAN for FUN! So if you like, join me and I will include all the tips and photos you can stand and hopefully it will help you plan your next journey into the World!
The Main Characters:
Disbug:
Thats me!, still 40 (until Im 50), lets leave it at that shall we?
My DH (Tom):
53, hes a handsome devil and doesnt care if I tell his age!
Our 3 darling,
totally unspoiled children 
DD17, DD11, and DD4 (who has CP and travels in a stroller/wheelchair) 
The Supporting Cast:
My parents, Roy and Max, (in their 70s) Great people, youd like them!
My younger Sister and her Leading Man Husband (Lisa and Kurt)~ he is a superb professional photographer in real life, but since he is on vacation, I am taking most of the snaps! They are a beautiful couple. They have brought along, James, our DN16.. Oh, he is the strong, silent, cute type for any 16 yr old girls out there. (I'll post pictures!)
OK, Have we got everyone? Looks like then lets get this show on the road, people (clapping hands impatiently) we have got things to do, people to meet, tea parties to attend READY and ACTION!
Wednesday, December 14th, 2005: Planning is finally DONE!
Whew! I am pleased I have been on the phone day and night getting all the ADRs (advanced dining reservations, for you newbies) in place. Thanks to WDW I was able to figure out which park would be open when, which parades were worth seeing and how to time when to go where. The Fireworks are a must do! I am completely wiped out! As far as packing goes, I am trying a new technique I call it the Noahs Ark approach. Everything I own is going in by twos. 2 pairs of pants, 2 short sleeved shirts, 2 long-sleeved shirts, 2 prs of long johns, 2 prs of pjs I think you get it, right? Well, of course everything rests on the predictions of
Madam Zena and what kind of weather she is fortelling. I mean come on! I tried relying on the weathermen and you can have whatever weather you want just by changing the channel. So I figure I should just give her a shot, since I havent found one weather channel on-line or otherwise that seems to know for sure what to expect. 
Will we have any liquid sunshine? 
I hope not (I pray NOT!) OK, so now I am putting in 2 umbrellas, and 2 ponchos
The problem with leaving the suitcases open too long, is that before you know it, 2 prs of something, becomes 4 pairs
IYKWIM? I tend to forget what is on the bottom
Lets just say, by the time we are packed, everything we own is zipped up and stuffed in the van. *(uhm, make that two vans. There's a reason they call them "mini vans", take two... they're small!) TIP: The one really smart thing I did this trip was to tie a ribbon on the handle of every bag and staple a descriptive label onto the wide ribbon. The labels were a Godsend when we were trying to unpack. I even had one bag just for the gloves, mufflers, long johns
And people thought I was just trying to be festive! 
Thursday, December 15th, 2005: Planning is Not Done!
Well, being pretty pleased with how my plan looks for our group, I should NOT have hit the PRINT key. This only set in motion the cosmic Karma which means yes, I would have to redo it! We only have 4 days to get everything in that we want to do but I have left out a few things other family members want to do, so I do some rearranging. I have sent all family members an emailed copy of the schedule to solicit their input. Ooops! No Prime Time Café? OK I can fit that in, hmmm for lunch!
DONE! Mom wants to do the CP? No problem, I can get Mitsukoshi for the 6:45 PM dinner package. Booked! Uh-oh, we have another conflict, let me cancel that~ but I can get Rose & Crown for the 5:30 PM show. GREAT! (*In the end this gets cancelled as well, boo hoo!) I have several back-ups that I am able to cancel after I am sure everyone is satisfied with what we have. Now I am definitely d-o-n-e planning! (saying this very quietly to not disturb the universal equilibrium of cosmic karma, which I did previously!) 
Friday, December 16th, 2005: D-DAY (time to hit the road!)
Friday morning sure came around earlier than Thursday morning I am bouncing my bottom on the last suitcase to make sure it will close. I do not want to find room for those few extra things, in another bag this one, after all is already labeled! The kids are off to school until lunch time DD11 is the winner of her rooms spelling Bee
and is in the School Championship
cant have her missing THAT! In keeping with the laid back attitude I am adopting for this trip I am choosing to do things, Just in Time. That is a new business strategy I have heard of and I think it will work well for me. Anything that needs doing can be done just before it needs to be. I needed my hair done ( a few highlights on my roots to boost my natural glow) so I have scheduled an appointment for this morning, just in time for our trip! (Well, after all, the salon is on the way
) I have a 10 AM appt. and scheduled just enough time (1.5 hours) to become beautiful before hitting the road. My DH will be leaving around 1:30 PM after he gathers the kids from school. My hair dresser who is never late
chooses this morning to be
yes, late! Well, we never choose to be late, so this could be that Cosmic Karma thing kicking in
She is able to work wonders and in no time I am on my way.
I am totally happy!
The sky is blue, the weather is just a bit nippy, I am wearing my lucky Christmas sweater. The traffic on 95 South is heavy but moving right along. I resist any and all impulses to check out the Belz Factory Outlet as I pass St. Augustine. TIP: If you are driving down, the outlet at SR16 has a Character Premiere Store with Discounted Disney items... (thought you should know)! 
The only errand I must run is at MCO to pick up our APs. My Dad ordered them on the phone and there was no way to have them shipped to our hotel (even though they were pre-paid). Oh, well
no biggie! In fact, after picking them up, my cell phone starts ringing and everyone is on the road
YIPPEE~ Were almost at DISNEY WORLD!
The Main Characters:
Disbug:
Thats me!, still 40 (until Im 50), lets leave it at that shall we?My DH (Tom):
53, hes a handsome devil and doesnt care if I tell his age!Our 3 darling,
totally unspoiled children DD17, DD11, and DD4 (who has CP and travels in a stroller/wheelchair) The Supporting Cast:
My parents, Roy and Max, (in their 70s) Great people, youd like them!
My younger Sister and her Leading Man Husband (Lisa and Kurt)~ he is a superb professional photographer in real life, but since he is on vacation, I am taking most of the snaps! They are a beautiful couple. They have brought along,
James, our DN16.. Oh, he is the strong, silent, cute type for any 16 yr old girls out there. (I'll post pictures!)OK, Have we got everyone? Looks like then lets get this show on the road, people (clapping hands impatiently) we have got things to do, people to meet, tea parties to attend READY and ACTION!
Wednesday, December 14th, 2005: Planning is finally DONE!
Whew! I am pleased I have been on the phone day and night getting all the ADRs (advanced dining reservations, for you newbies) in place. Thanks to WDW I was able to figure out which park would be open when, which parades were worth seeing and how to time when to go where. The Fireworks are a must do! I am completely wiped out! As far as packing goes, I am trying a new technique I call it the Noahs Ark approach. Everything I own is going in by twos. 2 pairs of pants, 2 short sleeved shirts, 2 long-sleeved shirts, 2 prs of long johns, 2 prs of pjs I think you get it, right? Well, of course everything rests on the predictions of
Madam Zena and what kind of weather she is fortelling. I mean come on! I tried relying on the weathermen and you can have whatever weather you want just by changing the channel. So I figure I should just give her a shot, since I havent found one weather channel on-line or otherwise that seems to know for sure what to expect. Will we have any liquid sunshine? I hope not (I pray NOT!) OK, so now I am putting in 2 umbrellas, and 2 ponchos
The problem with leaving the suitcases open too long, is that before you know it, 2 prs of something, becomes 4 pairs
IYKWIM? I tend to forget what is on the bottom
Lets just say, by the time we are packed, everything we own is zipped up and stuffed in the van. *(uhm, make that two vans. There's a reason they call them "mini vans", take two... they're small!) TIP: The one really smart thing I did this trip was to tie a ribbon on the handle of every bag and staple a descriptive label onto the wide ribbon. The labels were a Godsend when we were trying to unpack. I even had one bag just for the gloves, mufflers, long johns
And people thought I was just trying to be festive! Thursday, December 15th, 2005: Planning is Not Done!
Well, being pretty pleased with how my plan looks for our group, I should NOT have hit the PRINT key. This only set in motion the cosmic Karma which means yes, I would have to redo it! We only have 4 days to get everything in that we want to do but I have left out a few things other family members want to do, so I do some rearranging. I have sent all family members an emailed copy of the schedule to solicit their input. Ooops! No Prime Time Café? OK I can fit that in, hmmm for lunch!
DONE! Mom wants to do the CP? No problem, I can get Mitsukoshi for the 6:45 PM dinner package. Booked! Uh-oh, we have another conflict, let me cancel that~ but I can get Rose & Crown for the 5:30 PM show. GREAT! (*In the end this gets cancelled as well, boo hoo!) I have several back-ups that I am able to cancel after I am sure everyone is satisfied with what we have. Now I am definitely d-o-n-e planning! (saying this very quietly to not disturb the universal equilibrium of cosmic karma, which I did previously!) Friday, December 16th, 2005: D-DAY (time to hit the road!)
Friday morning sure came around earlier than Thursday morning I am bouncing my bottom on the last suitcase to make sure it will close. I do not want to find room for those few extra things, in another bag this one, after all is already labeled! The kids are off to school until lunch time DD11 is the winner of her rooms spelling Bee
and is in the School Championship
cant have her missing THAT! In keeping with the laid back attitude I am adopting for this trip I am choosing to do things, Just in Time. That is a new business strategy I have heard of and I think it will work well for me. Anything that needs doing can be done just before it needs to be. I needed my hair done ( a few highlights on my roots to boost my natural glow) so I have scheduled an appointment for this morning, just in time for our trip! (Well, after all, the salon is on the way
) I have a 10 AM appt. and scheduled just enough time (1.5 hours) to become beautiful before hitting the road. My DH will be leaving around 1:30 PM after he gathers the kids from school. My hair dresser who is never late
chooses this morning to be
yes, late! Well, we never choose to be late, so this could be that Cosmic Karma thing kicking in
She is able to work wonders and in no time I am on my way.I am totally happy!
The sky is blue, the weather is just a bit nippy, I am wearing my lucky Christmas sweater. The traffic on 95 South is heavy but moving right along. I resist any and all impulses to check out the Belz Factory Outlet as I pass St. Augustine. TIP: If you are driving down, the outlet at SR16 has a Character Premiere Store with Discounted Disney items... (thought you should know)! The only errand I must run is at MCO to pick up our APs. My Dad ordered them on the phone and there was no way to have them shipped to our hotel (even though they were pre-paid). Oh, well
no biggie! In fact, after picking them up, my cell phone starts ringing and everyone is on the road
YIPPEE~ Were almost at DISNEY WORLD!
. Great report for a beginning. Why did you have to go to the airport to pick up your AP's?
Yayayayayayay!! happy New year!!
