The pre-trippie lives!--The trip report has started!

[Mom2Kate-Anna]

TWO trips coming up? You're so lucky! Have you stayed at AKL before?

No we haven't. I am super excited!!! The girls don't know about that trip but the oldest keeps telling me she wants to stay at the place where the animals are outside your window.

 

[Bev1016]

No we haven't. I am super excited!!! The girls don't know about that trip but the oldest keeps telling me she wants to stay at the place where the animals are outside your window.

How cute! They will absolutely love it! (Not that I've been or anything, but it looks so cool!)

 

[Bev1016]

I'm back!
As promised, I will introduce you to the wacky cast of characters going on this trip -- here they are!

Me: I don't know what to say about myself. I'm 33, I work part-time, and DH and I have been married for four years. (As of tomorrow--it's our anniversary! ) This will be my 4th trip to WDW. We have had so many great trips there. Not only do I love going on trips, I love planning trips. I probably drive DH batty with all of the crazy details, but if I couldn't plan, I wouldn't want to go!

DH: He is also 33. He works with troubled teens, and he's a great human being, friend, dad, and husband. He's the one who introduced me to the wonder that is WDW. He loves Walt and all of the tradition and magic in the parks. It's truly a joy to take these trips with him.

As DH and I were considering this trip, we were thinking about inviting two very special people with us. We thought we'd throw it out to them, but we were fairly sure that they'd decline for various reasons. Lucky for us, they quickly accepted and are very excited to go!

DH's Grandparents: Not DH's parents, but his grandparents. They are honestly some of the best, happiest, people I have ever met. We love to travel with them, and we've been wanting to find a time that we could go somewhere together, and this was it!
They will be celebrating their 59th wedding anniversary this December, and they've never been to WDW. I'm so excited to get to show them everything. It should be great!

And now, for the moment I've been waiting for. Ladies and gentlemen, The Bean! (Sorry it's so small.)

Yes, this is our little Sunshine. We weren't planning on taking him on any trips for a while, but we absolutely adore him and want to share one of our favorite places with him. Needless to say, he's not going to remember it, but we'll have lots of great memories and pictures of him with his great-grandparents.

This is definitely a different trip than we've done in the past. It will be more about taking it slow, playing it by ear, and taking in the sights instead of trying to get on every ride. I'm really looking forward to it!

Coming next: Where to stay, when to go, all of that stuff.

 

[rentayenta]

I love that you call Bean. DH has called Gab "bean" since she was a baby. Can't wait to read all the details.


Married 59 years? That's quite an accomplishment.

 

[winkers]

How fun, taking his grandparents!

 

[Alysa]

Oooooooo - he is SO CUTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Looking forward to hearing more!

 

[Bev1016]

Married 59 years? That's quite an accomplishment.

I know -- it's hard to even think about being married that long!

How fun, taking his grandparents!

They are such cool people! I really love spending time with them, so this should be a great trip!

 

[Bev1016]

Oooooooo - he is SO CUTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Looking forward to hearing more!

and
Looks like you have a big trip coming up. Where are you staying?

 

[Alysa]

Looks like you have a big trip coming up. Where are you staying?

I am so excited!!!!!!!! We are going to be at SSR (our first time there). Come on by and say hello!

our pre-trip!

 

[Disneychix]

What a great cast! Can't wait to hear more about ADRs and plans! The 3 generations will be a blast for pictures!!

 

[Bev1016]

I am so excited!!!!!!!! We are going to be at SSR (our first time there). Come on by and say hello!

our pre-trip!

What a cute family you have! Your kids are absolutely adorable! I'm catching up on your report--sounds like your trip will be a blast!

What a great cast! Can't wait to hear more about ADRs and plans! The 3 generations will be a blast for pictures!!

We're definitely going to put a photo book together for trip. It will be a nice keepsake for everyone.

 

[rentayenta]

I know -- it's hard to even think about being married that long!

Truer words were never spoken.

 

[Bev1016]

Truer words were never spoken.

Today was our 4th anniversary, and that seems like a while! In 2063 we'll make it to 59!

 

[Bev1016]

Planning continued: The Where and the When!

So, as I mentioned before, once the WDW hamster wheel starts spinning in our heads, there's no way we can stop it! All of a sudden, we were going to WDW, and we were taking Grandma and Grandpa along.

Originally, we were going to do it right and go deluxe. But then, we started thinking about food and how we could do the DDP and stay at a moderate instead, so that's what we went for. (The WL will have to wait for another time, I guess. )

I loved POFQ last time, but we have a goal of trying to stay at different resorts, so we're trying the CSR. I hear good things about the food court, and we requested being close to a bus stop because of our senior citizen traveling partners (although they're probably in better shape than I am )

Because we were trying to take advantage of the PIN I got, we had to book during certain times, AND we couldn't be gone on a Thursday, because that's when DH goes to classes for his master's degree, AND I didn't want to use up too much leave with the holidays coming up.

So, we decided on five days, four nights--Dec. 13-17.

Here's my problem right now:
I still haven't booked a flight. Right now, it's about $350-370 RT, which is around $100 more than we paid last year. Should I book, or should I keep waiting? I'm not really sure what to do. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

Tune in next time for our little list of ADRs!

 

[Dr_Finkelstein]

The 'Bean' is sooo cute!! No wonder you're so proud!
My mum and dad celebrate their Golden Wedding Anniversary this year - 40 years! - but 59 years...WOW!!!
Can't wait to hear more!
We're staying at POFQ this trip - what did you think of it?

Keep posting

Di x

 

[Bev1016]

We're staying at POFQ this trip - what did you think of it?

I really liked POFQ. The thing I liked the most was that it's smaller than most of the other resorts. We were so close to the pool, the food court, and the bus stop, and we were in a standard location. The kids should like the pool. It doesn't have a ton of bells and whistles, but my nieces liked the sea serpent slide.

I also like the theming. It's fun to get up in the morning and hear the jazz music playing as you're going to breakfast or getting on the bus. POR is prettier because there's more landscaping, but POFQ does a great job with the theme.

It's also fun to have the boat that goes to DTD. One morning I took the bus instead of the boat--big mistake! It took forever to get there. Always take the boat. It also takes a little while, but at least you have cool things to look at while you're traveling!

 

[rentayenta]

$350 is not bad. I would book through the airline and find out their change fees. Right now for next May I am seeing $450 RT pp.

I think Keith and Tracy are staying at the CSR for a few nights during their trip this October. I'm sure they'll weigh in.

 

[Dr_Finkelstein]

I really liked POFQ. The thing I liked the most was that it's smaller than most of the other resorts. We were so close to the pool, the food court, and the bus stop, and we were in a standard location. The kids should like the pool. It doesn't have a ton of bells and whistles, but my nieces liked the sea serpent slide.

I also like the theming. It's fun to get up in the morning and hear the jazz music playing as you're going to breakfast or getting on the bus. POR is prettier because there's more landscaping, but POFQ does a great job with the theme.

It's also fun to have the boat that goes to DTD. One morning I took the bus instead of the boat--big mistake! It took forever to get there. Always take the boat. It also takes a little while, but at least you have cool things to look at while you're traveling!

Thanks Bev,
We've only stayed at POP before, and whilst we drove past PO previously and thought it looked really nice, it's always good to hear someone who's stayed there's opinion.
POP was nice, but was really BIG!
The kids are really looking forward to the pool

Di x

 

[Bev1016]

I think Keith and Tracy are staying at the CSR for a few nights during their trip this October. I'm sure they'll weigh in.

Are those two crazy kids still lurking around here somewhere? If not, I'll have to PM Tracy and get some info.

I don't think I'm going to wait much longer on airfare, but I'm crossing my fingers that there may be a good DING special or something.

Thanks Bev,
We've only stayed at POP before, and whilst we drove past PO previously and thought it looked really nice, it's always good to hear someone who's stayed there's opinion.
POP was nice, but was really BIG!
The kids are really looking forward to the pool
Di x

I'm a big fan of POFQ-- you will all love it! It's amazing the jump in quality from the values to the mods. The values are nice, too, but there's a definite difference.

What else are your kids looking forward to?

I will have my ADRs posted tonight-- Since we're not going for very long, there aren't that many, but I would appreciate any feedback you all can give!

 

[Bev1016]

Here come the ADRs!

Hi to everyone!

So I've got most of our ADRs taken care of, but they're not set in stone. My goal for this trip was to take Grandma and Grandpa to places with a lot of ambience and fun. They are the kindest, most grateful people I know, and if we locked them in the hotel room and gave them some crackers, they'd still be so happy and appreciative.

But we're not going to do that. I didn't want to go over the top, either with gourmet things they've never heard of or food that may be a little foreign to them. So, here's what I've come up with.

We asked Grandpa if there's anything he wouldn't eat, and he said "I don't want any roasted cockroaches." (I think he watched too much of the Olympics ) Then, he decided if we want roasted cockroaches, he'll eat them! No worries--we won't be doing that.

Since we'll be there during the holidays, we want to try to get around to some of the different resorts and see the decorations. That may also explain some of my choices. Also, some of this will depend on our flights. I haven't booked yet, so some things may change.

Saturday night: Arrive, probably just eat at Pepper Market.

Sunday: Lunch ADR at Coral Reef.

Monday: Dinner ADR at Whispering Canyon

Tuesday: Dinner ADR at Biergarten--part of the Candlelight Processional package

Wednesday: Breakfast at 1900 Park Faire.

So--those are the ADRs for now. Any thoughts? Other suggestions of fun places with homestyle/traditional food? Or places that serve cockroaches?

Coming next: Our little itinerary.