The Magic of Tea Parties and Golf.... Updated 11/3 - Tie Dye t-shirts and more

[MAGGIED]

The Magic of Tea Parties and Golf

Hi everyone, and WELCOME to my PTR!!! I am very excited to start planning for our January trip! Hope you will hang around for the planning... the question will be answered if tea parties and golf can be combined.... First things first, introductions!

The "cast of characters" for this trip will be me, my husband Tim, our daughter Maggie, our son Daniel, my mom Dawn and my aunt Lorl.

A little about each of us...

Me.. Wendy..loves everything Disney, turning 50 right before our trip (shhhh)... so this is kind of a birthday present to myself... Happy birthday to me!! I am a realtor and involved in many of our school organizations (no kids left there though!!)Favorite pastime is planning Disney trips.

Tim, my darling husband… has NO desire at all to go to Disney… he pacifies me by going once every 18 months or so .. he does love the golf and the food… could care less about going into the parks.


Maggie.. our daughter.. graduate student at Indiana University of PA, loves Disney as much, if not more than me. Last year was part of the Disney College Program and is a seasonal cast member now. She plans on getting married in Disney some day, loves Belle, and truly believes SHE is a PRINCESS.

Daniel, our son… a freshman at Saint Bonaventure University. Loves to go on trips, loves to golf (plays on the Bonnie golf team), loves to eat (what 18 yr old boy doesn’t). His day would be successful if he slept in, played golf, rode a few rides, had a huge steak for dinner, swam in a heated pool.

My mom Dawn… every time she leaves Disney says she isn’t going back…lol... between my sister and I (my sister is a DVC owner) she manages a trip every year. Has some difficulty walking but really enjoys a slow pace thru Epcot, people watching and just hanging with her grandchildren.

My aunt Lorl. This will be her third trip to Disney with us… first time she has traveled when it has been my whole family going… we normally do a girls trip in May (graduations got in the way this year.. gee whiz..). She was pretty excited when I asked her if she wanted to come along.. she is looking forward to seeing the holiday decorations.

My first visit to Disney World was when I was just 9 years old and I've been obsessed ever since! This next trip will be my (gasp) 36th time to the World!!! I love planning Disney trips, in fact, the only thing that makes me happy when I leave Disney is knowing I can come home and book another trip as soon as possible!

What do I love about Disney:
Favorite Disney Movie- is Mary Poppins… after all she is practically perfect in every way…
Favorite Park-Magic Kingdom – it is where the magic started…
Favorite Ride-Soarin!
Favorite Tour – Keys to the Kingdom – nope.. didn’t ruin the magic for me!!
Favorite Dining – California Grill (remind me to tell you about two of our visits there)
Favorite Resort – well this depends on who is traveling with us.. and if we have the dining plan.. if there is no dining plan and my husband is along – definitely Shades of Green – they have the largest rooms on property and the golf course is out the door!! If we are staying in a Disney owned resort with the dining plan... Coronado Springs hands down... love the beach, the food, the staff, the comfy beds…

 

[MAGGIED]

I hope you'll stay along for the ride... comment and make suggestions...

 

[Monny2AE]

Hooray for a PTR!!! A trip to Disney is a great birthday gift to yourself!

Can't wait to hear all the details about your trip!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

I'm in! And early for once too!
I wish I could tell you how to do the title link in your signature thing. I have to ask every time I do it!

I'm training my DDs to want to do the college program too. I've got a good 8 years to go before college.

 

[MAGGIED]

Yeah Kim and Sheree are on board.....

I agree about it being a good birthday gift... I am telling everyone who asks that Disney gift cards would be nice..lol..

Sheree - Maggie loved the College program... had a few rough spots but overall thought it was a wonderful experience... they have just changed how seasonal employees work... it was 40 hours a year now its 150... so its unlikely she will be able to stay on much after next spring... that is unless she finds someone to let her live with them so she can work there between semesters... Maggie made some great friends while doing the CP... a bunch of them got together and went and worked for a week in August... they had a great time... worked like 4 hours a day and then played the rest of the time...

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

Hello Wendy Darling!! I am in!!!! Yep...that's what i want when I turn 40, 50, and any anniversary that Mike wants to do up big!! Can't wait to hear about the Cali Grill-one place we have never been too. Had considered doing it this year, but not sure. They would rather do the HDDR...

 

[MAGGIED]

Let’s get on with the details of this trip…
But first a little back tracking… and an explanation of my good deal…the trip was originally going to be Mom, Aunt Lorl, Daniel and myself. Maggie was going to go on a cruise with a friend she met in the college program and Tim couldn’t imagine why we would need to go for 7 days… honestly he thinks two or three days is fine… amazing we live in the same household…. So I said to my dear husband “Why don’t you come for just he days you want and we can go for the rest”… he thought this was a fine idea… he would fly in for the weekend and play golf, have a nice meal and fly home with us Monday night…. So I am sitting at the computer to book the plane tickets … I have mine, Daniels, moms and Aunt Lorl's booked… getting ready to book his… and he says… are you ready… “I changed my mind… I think I will go for the entire time..” So now I hurry to see if I can get him on the same flights… those who know Jetblue know they change their fares so often I was worried about not getting the same fare and flight… luckily I was able to get him on the same flights, at the same price in the same row as us…

So the flights are booked….Maggie goes on the Hub (the Disney castmember site) and makes reservations for our party with her discount… So we are all set now… we have flights and hotel…. Fast forward a couple of weeks and Maggie says to me “Mom – I think I would rather go to Disney with you guys than go on the cruise” Are you kidding me… I am thrilled she wants to come but now panic sets in about getting her on our flights…. So back to the Jetblue website I go… I notice that our return flight has dropped in price significantly so I call those lovely folks at Jetblue and ask for a credit for the 5 flights I have booked…. Yeah… they give it to me all in ONE travel bank… I call Mom and Aunt Lorl… they say just keep it… so I use it to pay for one way of Maggie’s ticket and a portion to pay for the other way… so now we are all on the same flights, same rows and I am not changing anything!!!!

We will be flying out of Syracuse NY early one morning the first week in January 2012.

Aunt Lorl will arrive by train the day before... while she could have flown out of Buffalo we decided to all travel together… direct flights baby!!!! And thanks to Maggie’s discount we opted for two preferred rooms at POP Century… this is subject to change.. DH has never stayed at a value resort and he might not be so keen on the idea… at this point he said he would go (that in itself is a miracle) so I didn’t want to bother him with the little details…. Might be upgrading once he finds out…

 

[Pluto_fan]

I'm here too, Wendy! What a lovely family you have. Love that picture of your mom on the carrousel.

 

[Lil'Mermaid75]

I'm here Wendy!! Great start.

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

I'm here! We're headed to Pop at the end of January!

 

[MAGGIED]

Welcome everyone.... good to have you along...

 

[MAGGIED]

Hello Wendy Darling!! I am in!!!! Yep...that's what i want when I turn 40, 50, and any anniversary that Mike wants to do up big!! Can't wait to hear about the Cali Grill-one place we have never been too. Had considered doing it this year, but not sure. They would rather do the HDDR...

I think its a fabulous birthday present... and being my birthday is the day after Christmas we aren't much in the celebrating mode... to wipe out from Christmas... so the first week of January is a great time... and you really need to try Cali Grill - it is amazing!!!!

 

[MAGGIED]

I'm here! We're headed to Pop at the end of January!

We have traveled in January a few times before... love the low crowds ... the weather can be iffy... we have been there when we are in shorts and tank tops and times when we are in jeans, coats and mittens!!!

 

[MAGGIED]

So today is a holiday... and its raining... I awoke at my normal 5:30 am and came down to have coffee with Tim - he "allows" me to stretch in bed after he gets up.. really its just a ploy to get out of the bedroom first so he doesn't have to make the bed... after an hour of chatting I decided I was still tired and laid on the sofa and slept until 10am!!! Haven't done that in years... I did get text messages from the kids, and Tim left to go watch a golf tournament... so its just me... so back to the trip report..

 

[MAGGIED]

In order to plan this trip and make it great for everyone I wanted to see what made Disney so special to my traveling companions… So I did a little survey... they all complained about doing it.. but in the end I got the information I needed.. What I wanted to know was what was their favorite Disney memory, what is their favorite thing to do at Disney and what are they looking forward to most during our January trip.

The first to respond was Mom… which if you know mom that is a shocker!!!
Mom – in her own words….

The Polynesian Resort was my first visit to the Disney Resorts. It was a very relaxing and inviting resort. We took the girls to the Aloha Dinner Show. The excitement was overwhelming. We also took in the character dining...what a joy!!
My next best experience was floral week at Epcot. The floral arrangements were beautiful. It took us over six hours to do the world showcase. I enjoyed the movies, rides and attractions. I was amazed and inspired by all.
The Coral Reef restaurant is amazing. The food is GREAT! The fish are a treat to watch. I just loved it!

Try the Tree House Villas for a large family. We had plenty of room and everything we needed. We had nine people in all. It was awesome!

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

awww!! That was a good memory from your mom!!!! Good idea...glad you got to rest this morning!!
my bday is the end of JULY..so that means no bday trips to Disney for me..ever!! Did it the year I turned 18 and we were MISERABLE!! so...I will shoot for Europe or up north for a bday trip, and Disney for my Anniv which is in April!! LOL..Cant wait to hear the rest of your Disney memories!!

 

[MAGGIED]

Maggie...

My favorite recent Disney memory is going to the Osborne Lights with fellow cast members Lauren and Josh… it was my first time seeing the lights with my “Disney family” and it was truly magical. Being that we were all away from home for the holidays while doing the College Program we all got very close and became a “family”. I have so many memories from Disney with my real family... double rainbows over the castle, character meals, fireworks cruises, spa days, mine and mom's yearly perfume shopping in France...

My favorite thing to do while at Disney is to travel around looking at the resorts… I love to see how they are all decorated… I plan on staying at each and every one at some point... so far I have stayed so POP, POFQ, POR, CSR, BW, AKL, SOG, GF…. Still so many to see..

I am looking forward to going to Downtown Disney and walking around West Side in January... I enjoyed working there when I was there last fall... it was fun on Halloween to see all the kids dressed up!

 

[Monny2AE]

Hooray for getting direct flights and being able to save enough money to book for Maggie on the same flight!

Love the Disney memories! I'm going to have to ask that same question to my family too! It would be a great idea to put in our Disney scrapbooks!

 

[MAGGIED]

We interrupt for this brief announcement....

I know this is a little out of order for the trip report but I just had to share... hooked up with some folks on facebook to do a photopass share while we are there... yeah!!!

Now back to your regular scheduled programming.....

 

[Monny2AE]

We interrupt for this brief announcement....

I know this is a little out of order for the trip report but I just had to share... hooked up with some folks on facebook to do a photopass share while we are there... yeah!!!

Now back to your regular scheduled programming.....

Good for you! And thanks for the reminder to look into a share! I'm always so fearful of getting taken by someone dishonest. I could care less about losing a few dollars but my pictures are priceless! $100 is just so expensive though! I like leading shares and being in control. Classic Type A I guess.

Updated- I started a share on FB and have 1 person so far!