The Tucker Twins pre trip report....updated with pics and more excitement 23/4!!

[aussiedaisy]

DEEEP breath....this is a first attempt at a pre trip report so hopefully it won't end up being toooooo long winded!

So here we go! A bit about us.
Sim (me) 27 y.o and Rach my identical twin sister. We live in Australia in Melbourne city. We also work together as Clinical Nurse Specialists in the recovery room in the operating theatre, and hence confuse many patients waking from their drug induced haze thinking they are seeing double !

We took a trip to Disneyland in 04, and then decided to try WDW in 05 which we loved!!! Now we are TOTAL WDW freaks! The last trip was frightfully long and we kind of thought it may be the last due to the travel.....but alas, the Disney bug has again infected us and we have decided to do a big trip to celebrate finishing our Masters of Nursing this year.

So we are booked to fly out on the 13th May 07 to stay for 10 days in the world YAY!!!! We are sooooooo excited and wish we were going NOW! But of course as we HAVE to wait I will fulfill my disney cravings by writing out a pre trip report.....hope you enjoy it!

 

[youngaussienurse]

Hi there, this is the other twin signing in to update our pre trip report!! To pick up where Sim left off..... (She didn't write that much as yet!)

It was early November when we decided.......yes the Disney cravings overshadowed the feeling of 'We are never flying that far again' and it HAD been one year since we returned. The memories of being stranded in the plane on an emergency landing in Hawaii (that will teach Simone for saying she would like to go to Hawaii one day) and then missing our plane in Sydney due to the UA delay on the way home to Melbourne have faded. The memories of Simone having to take immodium in the happiest place on earth (and seeing a lot of the 'happiest toilets on earth') after a bad chicken sandwich courtesy of United Airlines have faded.......the wonderful memories have dominated and we are coming back!!!!

The only time we could get off work (yes we work together, which makes it tricky to take time off together, as only two staff in recovery room are allowed annual leave at any one time),was either May or November/December. We came last time in November and it was great......but just TOO far away for us... TOO long to wait!! We felt we really needed a break and wanted to celebrate our freedom after studying for 6 yrs and just getting our Masters degree in Nursing. So mid May it was!!

As soon as it was decided, and we had rushed to work on our day off to get our annual leave approved, we went ahead and booked. We decided this time that we would fly with Air New Zealand as they had a premium economy section with a lot of leg room and reclining seats. I had back surgery a few years ago and really need to elevate my legs. There is no way I could sit for 19 hrs in economy!. Last year we flew with United, and were luckily able to pay to upgrade to their economy plus. Even though the leg room was good, and the flight was good,I found the planes to be shabby, there was no entertainment as our ear phone sockets in the seats were broken (and you couldn't see the TV anyway) and generally I wasn't very impressed. So Air New Zealand sounded like a good option (we actually flew with them to Disneyland in 04 and they were GREAT!). So our flight itinerary goes something like this (i haven't got it in front of me so I'll just try to remember the approximate times)....
*Leave Melbourne (Tullamarine) airport -12pm (flight approx 4.5 hrs)
*Arrive Auckland (New Zealand) - approx 5pm
*Leave Auckland -6pm (long flight leg of approx 15 hrs)
*Arrive San Fransisco- 3pm

then we have a bit of a wait....an 8 hr wait!!!! Oh well i guess we can just relax and not worry about having to rush through customs!!!

Leave San Fran- 1045pm (approx 1 hr flight)
Arrive Las Vegas -1150pm
leave Las Vegas- 1250pm (approx 4.5 hrs)
Arrive Orlando -6am

PHEW......it's going to be a long one!!!!!!

Next.......the plan for DW, our hotel info, and what Santa brought!!!!

 

[youngaussienurse]

Here we go, this is what Simone got me for Chrissy and what I got her.....it all has a Disney theme (yes we are Disney obsessed!)

This is Tinkerbell Minnie who will be accompanying us on our journeys and will be photographed in many places You can sort of see another minnie head which is a flashing key ring to go on our backpacks or bum bags.

This is Minnie again showing the salt and pepper shakers I got Simone so she can have pixie dust on every meal

Here is Minnie with the tinkerbell PDA that Sim got me....great for calculating stuff, world time, currency coverter, alarm, calendar etc

Here is Minnie with the camera we got today (our last one died in DW last year due to the humidity

And here again is Minnie with the fab screensaver/computer desktops so we can see disney everytime we turn on our laptops

I have asked Simone to continue our pre trip report with the next installment being about where we are staying and where we made our ADRS....Enjoy!!

Oh wait...here is another pic of us in our dresses that we are going to wear to a restaurant that we can't wait to go to.......(see where it is in Simone's next report).

 

[youngaussienurse]

Here we go, this is what Simone got me for Chrissy and what I got her.....it all has a Disney theme (yes we are Disney obsessed!)

This is Tinkerbell Minnie who will be accompanying us on our journeys and will be photographed in many places You can sort of see another minnie head which is a flashing key ring to go on our backpacks or bum bags.

This is Minnie again showing the salt and pepper shakers I got Simone so she can have pixie dust on every meal

Here is Minnie with the tinkerbell PDA that Sim got me....great for calculating stuff, world time, currency coverter, alarm, calendar etc

Here is Minnie with the camera we got today (our last one died in DW last year due to the humidity

And here again is Minnie with the fab screensaver/computer desktops so we can see disney everytime we turn on our laptops

I have asked Simone to continue our pre trip report with the next installment being about where we are staying and where we made our ADRS....Enjoy!!

Oh wait...here is another pic of us in our dresses that we are going to wear to a restaurant that we can't wait to go to.......(see where it is in Simone's next report).

 

[youngaussienurse]

double post sorry!

 

[aussiedaisy]

Ok, Sim here!!! So, when we went to WDW in 05' we stayed at the CR in a tower room. This was before it was renovated and even though we loved the location and had a great view and the beds were comfy, the mousekeeping left much to be desired One night, I was sooo upset that for the second day in a row there had been no maid service, no new towels etc that I called reception and complained!!!

After complaining, they made all the beds up fancy the next day! I really thought paying all that money for the hotel, the service would have been better. The room was also pretty dirty, crumbs on the floor, a plastic knife and fork just under the bed and a sticky substance all over the table. Anyway, even though I was NOT impressed at the CR room we have decided to stay there again this trip and give it another go in the....ATRIUM CLUB CONCIERGE!!! so, hopefully things will be better this time. We are reallly looking forward to the concierge, even though we are not too sure what it entails!!

Anyhoo.. here is a rough plan for our trip.

Mon 14th may- Arrive, rest and look around hotel, maybe MK for cinammon roll- ADR cali grill (7ish)

Tue 15th may- mk keys to kingdom tour. Rest for a few hours at hotel. liberty tree tavern dinner (7ish) xtra magic hrs epcot.


Wed 16th may- gf arvo tea (eariest res), MGM studios or epcot, chef mickey dinner (8ish)


Thur 17th may- Epcot flower n garden fest. have rest. plaza restaraunt (8pm), xtra magic hrs mk


Fri18th may- Animal kingdom, MK- pecos bill dinner (mk open till 9) epcot ex mag hrs.


Sat 19th may-chef mickey breakfast (earliest res). MK or MGM or epcot. lecellier dinner (5ish) .mk open till 10


Sun 20th may- Downtown Disney.

So, this is just a rough sort of plan and we may change it !!!

 

[youngaussienurse]

Ok, on with the pre trip report......
We are both chomping at the bit to get there, alas still 4 months to go. I am trying to sooth my WDW cravings in the mean time by reading trip reports, reading books (2007 unofficial guide which is already dog eared and well broken in, and WDW trivia books). I have also turned into a 'pod person' and listen every night to my fave disney pod casts (mousetunes, mouseguest weekly etc). I keep having 'disney dreams' and Sim and I often find 'hidden mickeys' in strange places ("Look simone, that cloud looks like a mickey head"...). I then found some hidden mickeys on my pillowcase

Can you see them too?
Oh my!! I think I have Disney fever!!!!
Also, today I booked the magical express....thought I better do it now in case it takes a long time for the stuff to get over here to Aussie land. I then found out that our WONDERFUL travel agent, who has helped book all our trips has resigned!!! We are upset, but her partner is also great, and luckily we have booked everything already, so it will just be little things that we will need to ask her partner.
Today on our walk (yes we are into fitness and walk for 1.5 hrs a day in a VERY hilly area so I think we'll be prepared for DW) we were debating about when we will have to go through customs. Simone thinks it will be in New Zealand, but as we are not going into the country and are just connecting on to San Fran, I think it will be the first port of call in the US (San Fran). So we will have to find out!!!
Tomorrow we are off shopping for some T-shirts to take along with us (it is summer here now, so we have to get our summer gear while it is out) and we are on the lookout for a bum bag (or fanny pack as people in the US call it....that is a rude term in our country hehehe).
Other things that we have to do soon that I was writing down today are:-
*Get a Drs note so I can carry my epi-pen on the plane.
*Get a Drs note for my other asthma/allergy meds.
*Get prescriptions for anti-nausea meds.
*Stock up on asthma puffers/prednisolone/phenergan etc
*Get a little first aid kit together at work (A perk of being a nurse.....you can stock up on a few little things such as tegaderms/bandaids/etc when no one is looking...just a few though )
*Get Simone to help me finalise our itinerary.
And there was more that I can't remember because its late.
Anyhow, better get off to bed and to disney dreams..tomorrow we will be up early to do our disney shopping. I will update when I get in with any pics of our loot. Hope people are enjoying this attempt at a pre- trip report....I hope I am doing it ok See you all soon

 

[MA pigletfan]

wow! i give you ladies credit..for both the nursing and the stamina to handle a long flight like that!! I only have a little under 3 hours to fly to get to the mouse and I get nervous! But, it is worth it! Great start to your trip report..looking forward to the rest!

 

[hjd0411]

Hi - congratulations to you both on your nursing Masters!!! Another Aussie here, going to the world in November. Glad to hear you enjoyed yourselves when you were there in November - I'm really looking forward to it! I went in May 2002, and we had a great time then too!!
Just to set your minds at rest - your Customs/Immigration will be done in San Francisco. In Auckland you will just be in transit. Last year I transited Auckland and it was in the middle of being refurbished so was a bit of a mess. Should be finished now, though. They have some cute (non Disney) shops there to look at.
Now a question - where did you get your Minnie Mouse from?? We don't have a Disney store here in Brissie - is there one in Melbourne? Or did you get them on the net? Would be interested to know.
Look forward to reading more of your pre-trip. I'm not looking forward to the flight over either, but the end of it is great!!!
Heather

 

[youngaussienurse]

Hi Heather: Great to see another Aussie on the boards I got the minnie mouse online via The Laughing Place store....we used to have a disney store here in Melbourne but it shut about 3 years ago Who did you fly with when you went over to DW?

 

[youngaussienurse]

Well the shopping trip went very well, even if it was HOT today and all the stores were boiling, even with the air con going!!! So here is the loot that we managed to pick up. It is all going into the 'Disney Box' (a special box we are putting all of our stuff in as we get it, so that we don't forget what we have...yea I am an organizer freak hehehe)
First...we foung a lime green T-shirt so that we can represent the DIS boards.

Next, we found some pantene shampoo (see on the bottle how we got the frizz control...hopefully this helps in humid Florida) at a FANTASTIC price, they are actually smallish bottles which will fit great into out luggage! (We usually use LUSH products and are excited to see they have a Lush store at Orlando airport, so we may pick some stuff up there too)

Next up is a great small back pack (yes it dosn't look that small here, but it actually is a really nice medium size that will be great to carry on the plane...note the flashing Minnie keyring )

Next in line is this great wet pack that I have been looking out for and finally found....note tinkerbell posing for you!)

We also decided that we better get some decent PJs , as we are staying concierge at the CR we thought some mornings and nights we might have to go into the lounge to get food and drinks in our PJs so here they are...all true to the Disney theme still!

And last but not least, just because I could not leave her out...here is my furry girl posing in her tinkerbell hat and bandanna for your enjoyment

Keep reading for the next installment......will Aunty Florrie be coming to Disney with us or not? Simone will have the answer very soon!

 

[erinstar]

Hey Aussie ppl!!

Another Aussie here, I've never actually been to Disney but I'm hopping to go Sept/Oct this year. Just have to convince my friend to come with me...
I look forward to reading about your trip!!
-Erin

 

[hjd0411]

Hi Heather: Great to see another Aussie on the boards I got the minnie mouse online via The Laughing Place store....we used to have a disney store here in Melbourne but it shut about 3 years ago Who did you fly with when you went over to DW?

Hi girls - Thanks for the info re Minnie. I'll have to check them out. I flew Qantas when I went in 2002 and to Disneyland in 2005. Finally we have direct flights to Los Angeles from Brisbane and don't have to stop in Auckland.
Turns a 16 hour flight into 12 hrs - gotta love that!!

Heather

PS Love all your shopping - I have a similar "Disney drawer" for all of my shopping!! I will soon have to turn that into 2 drawers...!!!

 

[aussiedaisy]

Ok, so Rach last left off with the intriguing question..... "will Aunty Florrie join us in WDW or not??" Well, we are hoping NOT! You see, Aunty Florrie can get rather grumpy and could give Jack Sparrow a jolly good sword fight ! She is likewise a pain (literally)!! and would endevour to find and eat all of the chocolate in WDW! Now, we are not being mean to our Aunty....Aunty Florrie is actually a representative of the 'Monthly Monster' So, operation S.S.A.F.A.WDW (sync so aunty florrie avoids WDW) is now in action!!! Lets hope it works or look out Goofy's Candy Co.!!

Anyway, in other disney news, Rach is organising a spreadsheet for our plans today which is great! I am also debating whether to use a bum bag (fanny pack) or small back pack in the parks....any suggestions? Well, thats it today from me. Here is a little pic of our furbabies Holly and Daisy in their 'Magical Express Vehicle' Holly has had multiple major knee surgeries and enjoys joining us on our disney training program so she comes along in the 'Magical Express' occassionally as in the pic, Daisy hops in when she is tired...aren't they cuties

 

[iggbees]

i love your pre trippie. congrats to the both of you on your nursing masters! your puppies are soooooo cute!

 

[**eeyore**]

Oh my - you two are great! I have twin daughters - 22 months. I just hope that they get along at least half as well as you do as they grow up! I'm so excited to follow your trip report!

 

[youngaussienurse]

Hi there everyone, thanks for your comments! Hope you are all enjoying our pre trip reports! I am enjoying doing them! Well today we haven't done much at all, in fact for the last three days we have been stuck in the house with the air conditioner running full blast!!! It is REALLY hot here at the moment, and there has been a lot of bush fires around, thus it is quite smoky which isn't nice at all. We are both on annual leave from work until next thursday, but due to the heat we have just been relaxing at home, which is nice because we can go on the DIS board a lot So I have just been surfing the boards and getting some good tips! Thought I would put a pic up that I took while I was trying out our new camera, to show you all a bit of Aussie land .
This first one is a view of our balcony, you can see the sky looks a bit grey....thank goodness because we sure need the rain (we are on water restrictions and can't water the garden etc) (It is just starting to spit rain now YAY)

The second is the view looking down the street. We have a large piece of bushland in front of our house, we sometimes see koalas (very occasionally), kookaburras, lots of rosellas and galahs and the odd black snake

The next picture is of my lovely pineapple plant called 'Spike', that I bought because it reminded me of the ones in Epcot

Simone also bought a surprise home after a quick dash to the local shops to get some fruit and veggies for dinner......some glow bracelets hehehehe So now we can be all glowy in the dark! Monday we are off to the shops because there is a slip dress that I like at Big W (Aussie version of walmart sort of) that I would like to wear to the Cali Grill. Will take a pic of it if I get it. Also off to the travel agent on Monday, so will update then (unless Simone does before me) See you all soon!!

 

[youngaussienurse]

Thanks eeyore! YAY for twins!! Nice to hear there are more disney twins in training I have the cutest t-shirt for twins, Sim and I both have one that we want to wear in DW....it says 'I am a twincess' and has a picture of two princess heads! hehehe

 

[youngaussienurse]

Hi everyone! Ok, a bit more of our pre trip report....Nothing much happening, went to see our travel agent yesterday, and we are a bit worried about our flight that leaves from San Fran to vegas, as when we arrive at Vegas, we only have 50 mins to catch the connecting flight to Orlando. This will be fine if the planes are running on time, but we are worried that if there is a delay somewhere from San Fran or vegas that we will not be able to get another flight until the next day, and thus miss out on a whole day at DW, dinner at the Cali Grill and Keys to Kingdom tour. So hopefully everything will run smoothly and all the planes will be on time. The travel agent thinks it's nothing to worry about, as vegas is such a small airport and she said the planes are usually on time. I must have been stressing about it because I had a HORRIBLE dream early this morning. In my dream, we got to the CR (we are staying atrium club) and went into our room and it was this little dingy, dark room with just a single bed and a trundle bed. When we looked out of the window there were all bars up and you couldn't see anything. I was saying to Simone.....how dare they put us in this room when we are paying for concierge.........Anyhow we went to the desk and complained and they told us there were no other rooms and we would have to go and get all our luggage and pull it round to the Poly. So in my dream, we were in this street(wasn't DW?) trying to pull all our luggage and find the poly and trying to ring the Cali Grill and tell them why we were late etc..............luckily I woke up then! It was a horrible dream, so I think I'm just stressing about this plane connection thing! Will have to see nearer the time if any other flights with a bit longer interval than 50 mins come up. Well, back to work tomorrow, so I will update again on the weekend when I plan to do my packing lists! See you all soon

 

[youngaussienurse]

I'm Baaacck! It's been a busy week....back to work and all that! I had picked up some extra shifts in recovery room this fortnight to get some extra money for my trip......I'm exhausted!!! I did 4 11 hour days in a row, non stop all day, this week (it probably doesn't sound much, but unless you have worked in this area you wouldn't have any idea of how BUSY it gets...you are on the go all day, recovering patients who are very sick and you just cannot loose focus, as you are dealing with many drugs and lines and difficult airways, emerencies etc...and you only sit down for probably 20 mins in a 10 hr (or usually 12 hr ) shift. It is really full on.....On Tuesday I was on call for recovery room (we have to do an on call once a week), and unfortunatey got called in for an emergency caesarian section at 5.30 in the morning. Since I was supposed to start work at 7.30, I ended up being there all day until 8.30 pm and only had a half hour break in 15 hrs. I had to keep telling myself to think of Mickey That's all that got me through the week......that and making towel animals out of the face washers in recovery room hehehe!!! Yes that's right! I got a little bored on Tuesday night.....Simone was looking after a patient in recovery still, and we were waiting (and waiting) for the ward nurse to come and collect him. I had finished up locking up and re stocking, so I thought I'd try a towel animal. I ended up making a octopus and a rabbit heheehe. We both had a bit of a laugh about it and left them on the desk for everyone to find....I'll have to take a picture next week when I go into work. It's good to have a bit of a disney moment at work after a VERY stressful and busy day....even if no one else gets it, thats why we are lucky to work together, because we alway have a little disney chat during the day!. I am sure there will be more towel animal popping up soon in recovery.