The Great Leap into Running and DVC Ownership.

Ann, plans sound great. Be prepared that they are indicating waits are 4 - 5 hours for the new Princess! :crazy2:

 
Happy New Year!


Thank you, Karin. I hope that you and Tom both have a wonderful new year!!!

Ann, plans sound great. Be prepared that they are indicating waits are 4 - 5 hours for the new Princess! :crazy2:


Oh no... really? 4 to 5 hours? :eek: well, we may end up missing it then. Then again, it has been a while since Zoe has had a reaction to the princesses like this. She got infinity for Christmas and is sooo anxious to get the Anna/Elsa play set. I may have to indulge her even if it is a long wait. 4 to 5 hours...:scared: maybe not.
 
I broke....

Even though we have the added cost of the hotel night right before our flight which made me think that we should totally take option of a rental car off the table.. Once I had Steve look at placing an order for groceries... it was pretty much decided. We NEED a car.

Okay, so maybe "NEED" isn't the right word. :rolleyes: However having one will definitely make life easier and vacation is suppose to be all about easy, right? ::yes::

So... I booked a car for just a week of our trip (less days didn't save that much). We are booked through Dollar and I am the only driver. This makes it more affordable. I think this will help with my stress over getting out of POR to our breakfast at TH and then checked in at OKW.

:goodvibes
 

Given that I have little time between now and next tuesday (when we actually leave our house) I need to share plans more quickly than I would like.

So 1/15 starts with us enjoying breakfast in our room. Now that we have a car, we are sure to have staples that will allow us to enjoy an eggs and bacon sort of breakfast.

We do not need to be to the park until late morning/early afternoon, so we may choose some more pool time (weather permitting) We will take a buss to MK though once we are ready.

We will meet Kira and Josh to enjoy our first fast pass together. This will be Buzzlight Year Space Ranger Spin.

then we will split up and Steve (should he feel up to it), Zoe an Alex and I will ride BTMRR (::yes:: I know.. shocking that I have another fast pass for it)

After that, the girls and I will head over the the GF. We have a reservation for the GVTR (which will count as our lunch). Zoe and I are really excited about this since we have enjoyed it before. Kira is OVER THE MOON since she has never done it before. I think the guys will follow us over and have lunch at Gassparilla Grill.


Once "lunch" is done, we will take the monorail back to MK. We then will go on HM together.

After this, we will likely head to Epcot via the monorail. I see us meandering around WS until dinner. Kira and Josh have their own plans for dinner. We have plans to eat at La Hacienda. I have never been. This is odd because it is my "go to" food. If I am hungry and cant figure out what to eat... sure enough I will eat some sort of mexican/tex mex style food. If I go out with a friend for lunch... ::yes:: same type of food. snacks favorites behind popcorn... chips and salsa.... so why I have never been to La hacienda is kinda surprising. I have a feeling we will be there during illuminations, so once we are done with dinner it will be time to head back to OKW.

Next Up: 1/16
 
So obviously I am choosing to spend my new years eve on my computer. :rolleyes1

Just had to share I had my birthday sandwich from EOS arrive. The coupon expires oddly enough... the day we depart. So I have the ENTIRE trip to make use of it. :cool1:

:scratchin Now just to figure out when...
 
Happy NY and congrats on your trip being only a week away! :banana::yay::banana:

You must be super excited. I once did a solo trip right before marathon weekend and I absolutely loved it. Christmas over but still some Christmas decorations ups, plus I managed to have lovely weather.

Your plans look great! I am really looking forward to hearing all about this trip. Are you doing the marathon or the 1/2? I know I should know, but I forget.
 
/
Happy NY and congrats on your trip being only a week away! :banana::yay::banana:

You must be super excited. I once did a solo trip right before marathon weekend and I absolutely loved it. Christmas over but still some Christmas decorations ups, plus I managed to have lovely weather.

Your plans look great! I am really looking forward to hearing all about this trip. Are you doing the marathon or the 1/2? I know I should know, but I forget.

Thanks so much! I am excited. I am not sure any decorations will be up. I know that I have seen video of prior marathon weekends and seen some... so maybe? I know Osbourne lights will be done and gone. :(

Weather wise, I am just watching and waiting. Packing for everything... for race day itself though, I am hoping for the cooler temps that were originally predicted.

And... I am just doing the half. "just" because I am not doing the full... but also because I am not doing the dopey or even the goofey. I just don't know how people do it!
 
Less than a week :cool1: I got a ton done for work. So I actually took today off. I was able to get a bunch of packing done. Odd to think that I have to just get through a few heavy work days and then I will be off and on my way.

So lets talk 1/16.

This is the day I return the car. In reserving it, I had considered returning it earlier than a week. Nope.. didn't save me but like $10 a day. Not worth it. Then I considered returning it a few hours later than what my pick up time was. Nope, that raised the rate by about $40. Again, not worth it.

So I will be getting up early so I can drive the car back to Dollar Rent a Car. It shouldn't take long since it is right near DTD. I will then have them shuttle me back to OKW.

Once back to OKW, I will grab a bit of what ever Steve and the kids made for breakfast. Nothing too heavy though since I need to get out and go for a run.

Once we are all ready, we will take a bus to DHS. Not long after we arrive, we will probably head to Starring Rolls to get some lunch.

We will meet up with Kira to make use of our first fp+ of the day. We have a fp for the BATB show. :cool1: I love that show and have not seen it the last two trips.

After the show, Steve and I will split off from the kids. Steve and I will head to play on TSM while our children are more brave and ride RNRC.

There was question if we would do LMA earlier in the trip. Well, when I came to this day I realized we have fast passes for it. So THIS is the day we will watch LMA.

After the show, we will take a bus to MK. We will have a bit of time to meander before our dinner reservation.

Dinner will be all six of us at BOG. :cool1: Personally, I have not at all been a fan of the counter service food there. I HOPE that the table service is better. If nothing else though, it will be nice to eat inside the "other" castle.

Once dinner is over, I hope to be able to watch Wishes.

Then we will head to the bus to get back to OKW and turn in for the evening.

Next Up: 1/17
 
::yes:: I think I will just hammer out the rest of the plans. I know I will be pretty busy the next few days.

We will wake and head to breakfast at Olivias. Honestly, I am not sure why we are waiting until almost our very last morning to eat there. Who knows, maybe we will walk in and see if we can be seated on another day during the trip.

After breakfast we will take a bus to AK.

Ride PEW

Ride EE

And then see Finding Nemo. I am kinda glad we were able to get fast passes for this. I hate waiting in a long line for shows.

Then we will be done in AK. Saying good bye until next fall. Sad, I just realize that means that the day prior will be our "good bye day" for MK and DHS. Sad... just sad. :sad2:

We will head back to OKW to have lunch. Then in the late afternoon, we will head to Epcot. We have a dinner ADR at Coral Reef. This is for the guys. They all like this one. Us girls really could skip it. :rolleyes:

Epcot has extra magic hour until 11pm. This works out lovely for us. We will stay late and say our final goodbyes.

Next Up: 1/18
 
Hopefully, this day will come and we will be ready to head home. Not in the "OMG, this trip NEEDS to be over" but in the "We have had a really nice long trip, and are ready to return home" way.

We wont need to wake early. :cool1: After being up late the night before, this will be nice.

I will however head out for a run after I get up.

We will eat what ever we have left in the room for breakfast.

We will pack up the room.

Our DME time won't be until about 11am. So while we can have a leisurely morning packing up and what not, we certainly can't head to a park.

We will likely grab some lunch to bring on the plane.

We will fly into Nashville for a stop where we will grab our dinner.

We will arrive at 9:45pm here in Seattle. It will seem LATE to us. :faint:

This is going to be rough. We will have to call the hotel for the shuttle. Then wait.

Once the shuttle returns us to our vehicle we will be taking Kira and Josh to their home.

After we drop them off we will still have a good 30 or 40 minutes till we are home. Yep, it is gonna be rough. Funny to think that the time we are likely to get to bed that Saturday, 1/18 will be the same time we got up the saturday before (1/11) for the race.

Good thing we have all of sunday to recover. :goodvibes

Next Up: Recap
 
1/7 -
Work
Check into Comfort Suites
Dinner at Comfort Suites (comes with room)
Swim
Bed

1/8 -
Wake
Breakfast “GrabNGo” from Comfort Suites
Shuttle to Seatac
Flight to Milwaukee
Arrive Milwaukee
Lunch at Airport in Milwaukee
Flight to Orlando
Arrive Orlando
DME to POR
Check in POR
Dinner at POR (Riverside Mill or Boatwrights ??)
Bed

1/9 -
Wake
Go to Dollar Rent a Car.
Breakfast at Riverside Mill
Drive to WWOS
Expo/Bib Pick Up
Line Up for 400m Dash
400m Dash
Drive to DTD
Get Snacks at Goofy Candy Company
Lunch at Cooks of Dublin
Everyone Goes to Disney Quest while I go back to POR for a run
Drive to Poly (Hoping we can park for dinner there)
Monorail to MK
Jungle Cruise
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Main Street Electrical Parade
Haunted Mansion
Guest Relations to Upgrade Tickets
Boat to Poly
Dinner at Ohana
Drive to POR
Bed

1/10 -
Wake
Breakfast at Riverside Mill
Bus to MK
Rope Drop MK
Space Mountain
Stay in Tomorrowland
Winnie the Pooh
Lunch at Columbia Harbor House
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Stay in Frontierland
Bus to AK
Mickey’s Jammin Jungle Parade
Bus to AKL
Dinner at Boma
Bus to AK
Ann and Steve Bus to POR
Get Ready for Race (including getting bagels for the next morning)
Ann and Steve Bed
Zoe stays with Kira at her resort
Alex comes back to POR to sleep.

1/11 -
Ann and Steve Wake
RD Bus to Race
Race Start
RD Bus to POR
Drive to BW (again, hoping to just park)
Breakfast at Kouzzina.
Walk to Epcot
Test Track
Mission Space
Journey into Imagination
Snack/Lunch in WS
Walk to BW
Ann and Steve Drive to DHS
Dinner at Hollywood Brown Derby.
Kids Dinner at Cape May
Zoe and Alex take boat to DHS after their dinner
Drive to POR
Pack and Load Car for Next Day
Bed

1/12 -
Wake
Drive to AK
Breakfast at Tusker House.
Kilimanjaro Safari
Expedition Everest
Dinosaur
Snacks In AK
Drive to DTD
Lunch at Earl of Sandwich (using my birthday sandwich :cool1:)
Drive to Publix to Grocery Shop
Drive to OKW
Check into OKW
Boat to DTD
Dinner at Paradiso 37.
Cool Down Party in DTD
Boat to OKW
Bed

1/13 -
Zoe and Ann Wake
Zoe and Ann Drive to Get Kira
Zoe, Ann with Kira Drive to Grand Floridian
Breakfast at 1900 Park Fare.
Alex and Steve eat in Room or Olivias
Drive to OKW
Bus to Epcot
Soarin
Lunch at Via Napoli
Stay in WS
Turtle Talk With Crush
Living with the Land
Meet and Greet Anna and Elsa (if line is not too long)
Dinner at Biergarten
Monorail to MK
Bus to OKW
Bed

1/14 -
Wake
Breakfast in the Room
Bus to DHS
Toy Story Mania
Animation Academy
Star Tours
Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
Lunch at 50’s Prime Time Cafe
Bus to OKW
Dinner in the Room
Drive to DHS
Fantasmic
Drive to OKW
Late Night Run
Bed

1/15 -
Wake
Breakfast in the Room
Bus to MK
Buzzlight Year
Play in New Fantasyland
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Boat to Grand Floridian
Girls Lunch at GV Tea Room.
Guys eat at Gasparilla Grill
Monorail to MK
Haunted Mansion
Monorail to Epcot
Dinner at Hacienda
Illuminations
Bus to OKW
10:30pm Bed

1/16 -
Ann Wake (Everyone else can sleep in)
Ann Drive to Dollar to Return Car
Run
Breakfast in the Room
Bus to DHS
Lunch at Starring Rolls
1Beauty and the Beast Live
Rock “n” Roller Coaster for the Kids
Toy Story Mania for Steve and I
Lights Motor Action
Say Good Bye to DHS
Bus to MK
Dinner at Be Our Guest.
Wishes Fireworks
Say Good Bye to MK
Bus to OKW
Bed

1/17 -
Wake
Breakfast at Olivias.
Bus to AK
Prime Evil Whirl
Expedition Everest
Finding Nemo Musical
Say Good Bye to AK
Bus to OKW
Lunch in the Room
Bus to Epcot
Dinner at Coral Reef
Say Good Bye to Epcot
Bus to OKW
Bed

1/18 -
Wake
Run
Pack Room
Check Luggage with Bell Services
DME
Lunch at Airport in Orlando
Flight to Nashville
Dinner at Airport in Nashville
Flight to Seattle
Arrive Seattle
Shuttle to Comfort Suites
Drive to Kira and Josh's House
Drive to Home
Bed
 
Ann, your trip is almost here!!!! :cool1::cool1::cool1:

I think the recap of all of your plans sounds absolutely fabulous.
 
I broke....

Even though we have the added cost of the hotel night right before our flight which made me think that we should totally take option of a rental car off the table.. Once I had Steve look at placing an order for groceries... it was pretty much decided. We NEED a car.

Okay, so maybe "NEED" isn't the right word. :rolleyes: However having one will definitely make life easier and vacation is suppose to be all about easy, right? ::yes::

So... I booked a car for just a week of our trip (less days didn't save that much). We are booked through Dollar and I am the only driver. This makes it more affordable. I think this will help with my stress over getting out of POR to our breakfast at TH and then checked in at OKW.

:goodvibes

I'm completely cracking up right now. All along I've been thinking you would eventually cave and get one. We spoiled you in October. I've been thinking about how to possibly make a trip with just the 3 of us in October when y'll go. The only way is probably off-site... But I keep thinking about how spoiled I am with Disney transport and EMH's.
 
Ann, your trip is almost here!!!! :cool1::cool1::cool1:

I think the recap of all of your plans sounds absolutely fabulous.

Thanks, Kathy. :goodvibes I just can't believe I have 4 more work days... and I got enough done today that I probably can take sunday off. Yesterday was HoRRID! 13.5 hours and I ended up nearly in tears over one project. I had a manager of one of my stores come up to me feeling so bad that I was working on it by myself and offer to give me one of her employees to help. So... that is all behind me. (I was stressed about that project from the moment I heard it was coming) I have all other "big" things done. All that is left is just simple... thus why I think I can take sunday off.

I'm completely cracking up right now. All along I've been thinking you would eventually cave and get one. We spoiled you in October. I've been thinking about how to possibly make a trip with just the 3 of us in October when y'll go. The only way is probably off-site... But I keep thinking about how spoiled I am with Disney transport and EMH's.


You know me so well. ;) You did spoil me... and really, I think it will make things so much easier. I "need" to get some groceries" and getting out of the room a bit later on the 12th will be a plus. I just didn't want to spend the money...but also didn't want to risk going with the place that was affordable. THEN I found some codes that took dollar's rates down to reasonable....and voila. The cost of the room the one night to make life easier for Steve is almost double what I am paying for the car... so my need for convenience is cheaper than his... and somehow I can justify it more.

I would love to see you in October. But... I know something and I suspect that October may end up being just a bad time for travel. :rolleyes1 off site does have its benefits though.... (cost and space)
 
I'm so excited for you that your trip is literally days away! :cool1:

Love all your plans! Love the recap!

Question - was it cheaper to pick up the car at the Dollar in DTD? Did you do that because you wanted to take ME for luggage purposes. Just curious. We are heading to Florida at the end of Feb and we are going to tampa and we always rent a car.

Happy Packing! I bet you can't wait to run in warm weather. I have to run on the treadmill today because of the cold, ice, and snow. I am dragging my feet in getting ready. :rotfl:
 
I can't believe you are leaving so soon! My bug is finally gone so I am picking up the training again this week. Three weeks off for illness is hopefully not gonna kill me too much! You are going to like having the car rental. It makes getting to/from the expo so much easier. I keep trying to priceline cars for my feb trip and all my prices get rejected.
 
I'm so excited for you that your trip is literally days away! :cool1:

It is! I am pretty excited :cool1:

Love all your plans! Love the recap!

Thank you. I actually realized quite a bit in doing the recap. Like... arriving back we will have to drive Kira and Josh home....


Question - was it cheaper to pick up the car at the Dollar in DTD? Did you do that because you wanted to take ME for luggage purposes. Just curious. We are heading to Florida at the end of Feb and we are going to tampa and we always rent a car.

Honestly, I think it was about the same rate either way. I could be wrong. I did however want to use DME and that was my primary reason. Given the long travel day, I just hate driving at the end of it. Plus they bring the bags. I love that!
Happy Packing! I bet you can't wait to run in warm weather. I have to run on the treadmill today because of the cold, ice, and snow. I am dragging my feet in getting ready. :rotfl:

I was looking forward to 60/70 degree temps... but now race day high looks to be 83? I definitely don't envy you the dreadmill... I would probably not get much running in if I had to run on it. I am very lucky to live where I do with the moderate temps. (I guess today was pretty darn cold...30 degree or so -but still not like the rest of the country)




I can't believe you are leaving so soon! My bug is finally gone so I am picking up the training again this week. Three weeks off for illness is hopefully not gonna kill me too much! You are going to like having the car rental. It makes getting to/from the expo so much easier. I keep trying to priceline cars for my feb trip and all my prices get rejected.


I am glad your bug is gone! That definitely can be a pain when it comes to training. I bet missing some training weeks doesn't kill you too much though.

As for the car... I am sure it will make things easier! I hope you are able to get one for your phm trip :thumbsup2
 
Stopping by to wish you safe travels!!!! I too am not surprised you got a car. I will say, from a treehouse, it's been a wonderful thing to have!!

Temps and weather has been all over the board for the past 9 days. Torrential rain, up to 81 yesterday 40's tonight, crazy! From pool to parka in 24 hours. We ran in 44 degree weather and them 70. Pack options :)

Check your flights, things are a mess due to the east coast weather, Both of my sisters had issues getting home, one quite a bit worse than the other (united sucks!) and right now our 2nd leg is a bit delayed.
 
Have a fun, safe and magical trip Ann! I'm jealous - just as I'm going into busy season! Wave at my little girl in Orlando. She is at Buena Vista Hotel this week for her internship training with KPMG.
 














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