Zdog
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jun 2, 2007
- Messages
- 180
First, some introductions are in order:
The Author: Me, the planner, financier, head of household (but second in command next to my wife
), and chief motivator of this operation.
My Wife: The backbone of our family, the judge, jury, and mediator to all ******* that follows.
My Son: 12 going on 30, wayyy to smart for his own good, my personal sports buddy.
My Daughter: 7 going on 17, my princess, who has me wrapped around her finger.
The plan: 8 days at WDW and the Wilderness Lodge, under the dining plan, with a side trip for son and I to Tampa to see the Red Sox beat up on the Devil Rays.
8 months worth of planning and saving went into this trip, originally approved by my wife, and financed through my 'side jobs' and weekend gigs. Thanks to being able to keep family spending in check, the trip, airfare, DDP, et all is paid for well in advance of departure bright and early on 8/14.
We have a loose plan for visiting parks, and reservations made at the following places for eats: Whispering Canyon for a late dinner and two breakfasts (we're staying in the WL after all, so it's convenient), a character breakfast at Donalds Breakfastarous, a late dinner at Le Cellier, Boma's (of course!) a late lunch at Prime Time Cafe, and Cap'n Jacks for our final night at The World.
I hope to keep things moving with this report, but am relying on memory and about 500 photos from my Sony Cybershot camera, so please bear with me!
After much anticipation and discussion, departure day finally arrives. Or, should I say, departure early morning. My job gets me up daily at 2:30 am, so waking up early is no problem for myself. On this day however, I'd get to sleep in...until 3am, when we have to get up to get ready for our JetBlue flight that departs out of upstate NY at 6am, with one stop at JFK. My wife and I wake up pretty easily. My daughter, who slept all of about 1 hour, awakes with a smile on her face. My son however, gets up like a bear
, taking a few minutes to ponder the start of a vacation that dad hasn't stopped talking about since we first announced our plans in the dead of winter. We shower, dress, and head out to the airport for an uneventful flight to NYC. A side note: JetBlue is great, featuring TV sets in every seatback, allowing for kids to watch whatever they want, and giving dad the chance to watch ESPN News over and over and over again...with my favorite team (Phillies) winning the night before, that's just what I do..watch it over and over and over through the duration of both flights. We first touch down in NYC, grab some breakfast, and kill some time doing people watching (man, how many people travel with their dogs these days? too many if you ask me 
). The airport itself is under construction, is busy, and quite a contrast from our sleepy landing strip in CNY. Time goes by quickly, and two hours after we land at JFK, we're in the air again, and on our way to Orlando. Another uneventful flight (thank goodness!) and we land to a sunny warm afternoon, with temps in the 90's. No problemo, since we were all well aware of what an August trip to 'The World' would bring...HHH weather, meaning most of what we packed consisted of shorts, tee's, and sunscreen. Oh, and a couple of cheap mister fans too. Were they necessary? We'll get to that later.
We land, deplane, (look boss, de plane, de plane...whoops..sorry, I digress), and head onto our first monorail ride to the main terminal and luggage pickup, and car rental counter. As an aside, we booked our trip through AAA, and had made a ressie for a Hertz rental, a Toyota Corolla. As a backup plan, I also booked online a slightly larger car from Avis, which is located inside the terminal building itself, as opposed to taking a bus to the Hertz lot down the road. No big problem either way, but after discussing with my wife, we decide to go with Hertz. A medium sized line turns into a longer than expected wait, but we finally get our keys and head to the garage to pick up our vehicle for the next week...a Chrysler PT Cruiser. This car was just enough to fit 4 large suitcases, 4 carry-ons, my laptop computer bag, and, oh yeah, me and my wife and two kids. But it was packed. I'm not sure the Corolla would have done the trick, since I drive one at home and it's small enough with just the family aboard. Anyway, we load up, and head on out. Since it's only about 2pm, we've got a little time to kill before check in, so we head to the friendly neighborhood Wal-mart, after paying what seemed like a couple dozen tolls along Rte 417. Gotta love the Sunshine State!! We pick up some water (great buy at 3.88 a case) and a small fan to create 'white noise' in our room at night (I'm a fan of the fan to help lull me to sleep...a bad habit I know). We hop back into our car, and the kids fall fast asleep! All the excitement and an early wake-up was too much for them to handle!! We finally pull onto Disney property, and then up to the Wilderness Lodge. Man, what a place! It was our second time staying at the WL, and I can't imagine staying anywhere else. Beautiful place!! We pull up, unload, and head to the check in desk where we are told......our room wasn't quite ready. Check back at 4. Okay, no problem, since we have the Dining plan, and are all quite hungry. We head down to Roarding Forks, and grab a bite to eat. I get the roast beef sandwich, wife has the turkey, my son gets a burger, and my daughter, chicken nuggets. We also grab two refillable mugs for the stay, and our desserts too....then sit down and munch! Afterwards, its back up to check in......where our room still isn't ready!
I'm told by the CM there is no good reason for this...so he heads back into the office, and comes back out and says he's giving us a different room, #4156. We head upstairs, and open the door..to find its a bunk bed room! Not a huge issue, since we initially booked a standard view room, and this one I believe was woods view. Kids don't mind, so we take what we're given, and begin to unpack.
Our first order of business is a swim in the pool to refresh, and we find the water surprisingly warm. Is it the heated pool, or the fact that temps in florida lately have been in the mid 90s by day, 70s to 80s at night? No, it's a heated pool. However, we find the water to be just the trick for a pick-me-up, and after a half hour in the main pool, we head out back to the quiet pool where things are.....much quieter. No surprise here! After some more swimming and relaxing, it's back upstairs to dress, and head out to the MK for our first sortee into the parks!!!
We do our changing, then down the dock for our boatride to the Magic Kingdom. As luck would have it, our vessel was there, and awaiting our arrival! (okay, I know, I know, the boats arrive and depart every 15 minutes or so...but its my magical vacation, so let me believe what I believe). We arrive, have our bag checked by security, and we step foot onto Main Street!! This place has a certain smell, a certain feel, and crowds too! But it's not too crazy, just what I had expected people-wise. Our first order of business is Tomorrowland to check on Space Mountain wait times. On our way there, we hop aboard the Tomorrowland Space Authority, and enjoy the AC blast we get when entering the various buidlings. Love this attraction, since it moves, and gives the rider a quick overview of whats ahead! Once done, we see that Buzz's Space Ranger Spin isn't too bad, so we do some alien killing, then head over to Stitches Great Escape. It's here that my princess has her first frightening moments. I read in the Unofficial Guide (from which I shamelessly ripped off my trip report title) that this attraction may be too intense for young ones, such as my own. The darkness is a bit scary,
, and the feeling that stitch may be crawling up your back a bit too intense for young ones. We depart, heading over to Space Mnt for a much more enjoyable ride with minimal wait, then onto some pin buying, and turkey leg eating. By now, fireworks are exploding overhead, so we eat and enjoy!! Once done, we do the Indy Express (my son and I dealing with one angry mother after we accidentally bump her car...sorry lady
...as well as witnessing my future fate: watching my princess behind the wheel and out of control ) and Mad Tea Party, again with minimal wait times for all. By now, it's getting late, and we've got a whole week in front of us...so we head out of the park, back onto the boat, and back up to the room for some Disney Channel watching 
(after all, we've only seen this episode of Suite Life a few dozen times!!) and then to sleep. Day one a success, and a whole week in front of us!!!
The Author: Me, the planner, financier, head of household (but second in command next to my wife
), and chief motivator of this operation.My Wife: The backbone of our family, the judge, jury, and mediator to all ******* that follows.
My Son: 12 going on 30, wayyy to smart for his own good, my personal sports buddy.
My Daughter: 7 going on 17, my princess, who has me wrapped around her finger.
The plan: 8 days at WDW and the Wilderness Lodge, under the dining plan, with a side trip for son and I to Tampa to see the Red Sox beat up on the Devil Rays.
8 months worth of planning and saving went into this trip, originally approved by my wife, and financed through my 'side jobs' and weekend gigs. Thanks to being able to keep family spending in check, the trip, airfare, DDP, et all is paid for well in advance of departure bright and early on 8/14.
We have a loose plan for visiting parks, and reservations made at the following places for eats: Whispering Canyon for a late dinner and two breakfasts (we're staying in the WL after all, so it's convenient), a character breakfast at Donalds Breakfastarous, a late dinner at Le Cellier, Boma's (of course!) a late lunch at Prime Time Cafe, and Cap'n Jacks for our final night at The World.
I hope to keep things moving with this report, but am relying on memory and about 500 photos from my Sony Cybershot camera, so please bear with me!
After much anticipation and discussion, departure day finally arrives. Or, should I say, departure early morning. My job gets me up daily at 2:30 am, so waking up early is no problem for myself. On this day however, I'd get to sleep in...until 3am, when we have to get up to get ready for our JetBlue flight that departs out of upstate NY at 6am, with one stop at JFK. My wife and I wake up pretty easily. My daughter, who slept all of about 1 hour, awakes with a smile on her face. My son however, gets up like a bear
, taking a few minutes to ponder the start of a vacation that dad hasn't stopped talking about since we first announced our plans in the dead of winter. We shower, dress, and head out to the airport for an uneventful flight to NYC. A side note: JetBlue is great, featuring TV sets in every seatback, allowing for kids to watch whatever they want, and giving dad the chance to watch ESPN News over and over and over again...with my favorite team (Phillies) winning the night before, that's just what I do..watch it over and over and over through the duration of both flights. We first touch down in NYC, grab some breakfast, and kill some time doing people watching (man, how many people travel with their dogs these days? too many if you ask me ). The airport itself is under construction, is busy, and quite a contrast from our sleepy landing strip in CNY. Time goes by quickly, and two hours after we land at JFK, we're in the air again, and on our way to Orlando. Another uneventful flight (thank goodness!) and we land to a sunny warm afternoon, with temps in the 90's. No problemo, since we were all well aware of what an August trip to 'The World' would bring...HHH weather, meaning most of what we packed consisted of shorts, tee's, and sunscreen. Oh, and a couple of cheap mister fans too. Were they necessary? We'll get to that later. We land, deplane, (look boss, de plane, de plane...whoops..sorry, I digress), and head onto our first monorail ride to the main terminal and luggage pickup, and car rental counter. As an aside, we booked our trip through AAA, and had made a ressie for a Hertz rental, a Toyota Corolla. As a backup plan, I also booked online a slightly larger car from Avis, which is located inside the terminal building itself, as opposed to taking a bus to the Hertz lot down the road. No big problem either way, but after discussing with my wife, we decide to go with Hertz. A medium sized line turns into a longer than expected wait, but we finally get our keys and head to the garage to pick up our vehicle for the next week...a Chrysler PT Cruiser. This car was just enough to fit 4 large suitcases, 4 carry-ons, my laptop computer bag, and, oh yeah, me and my wife and two kids. But it was packed. I'm not sure the Corolla would have done the trick, since I drive one at home and it's small enough with just the family aboard. Anyway, we load up, and head on out. Since it's only about 2pm, we've got a little time to kill before check in, so we head to the friendly neighborhood Wal-mart, after paying what seemed like a couple dozen tolls along Rte 417. Gotta love the Sunshine State!! We pick up some water (great buy at 3.88 a case) and a small fan to create 'white noise' in our room at night (I'm a fan of the fan to help lull me to sleep...a bad habit I know). We hop back into our car, and the kids fall fast asleep! All the excitement and an early wake-up was too much for them to handle!! We finally pull onto Disney property, and then up to the Wilderness Lodge. Man, what a place! It was our second time staying at the WL, and I can't imagine staying anywhere else. Beautiful place!! We pull up, unload, and head to the check in desk where we are told......our room wasn't quite ready. Check back at 4. Okay, no problem, since we have the Dining plan, and are all quite hungry. We head down to Roarding Forks, and grab a bite to eat. I get the roast beef sandwich, wife has the turkey, my son gets a burger, and my daughter, chicken nuggets. We also grab two refillable mugs for the stay, and our desserts too....then sit down and munch! Afterwards, its back up to check in......where our room still isn't ready!
I'm told by the CM there is no good reason for this...so he heads back into the office, and comes back out and says he's giving us a different room, #4156. We head upstairs, and open the door..to find its a bunk bed room! Not a huge issue, since we initially booked a standard view room, and this one I believe was woods view. Kids don't mind, so we take what we're given, and begin to unpack. Our first order of business is a swim in the pool to refresh, and we find the water surprisingly warm. Is it the heated pool, or the fact that temps in florida lately have been in the mid 90s by day, 70s to 80s at night? No, it's a heated pool. However, we find the water to be just the trick for a pick-me-up, and after a half hour in the main pool, we head out back to the quiet pool where things are.....much quieter. No surprise here! After some more swimming and relaxing, it's back upstairs to dress, and head out to the MK for our first sortee into the parks!!!
We do our changing, then down the dock for our boatride to the Magic Kingdom. As luck would have it, our vessel was there, and awaiting our arrival! (okay, I know, I know, the boats arrive and depart every 15 minutes or so...but its my magical vacation, so let me believe what I believe). We arrive, have our bag checked by security, and we step foot onto Main Street!! This place has a certain smell, a certain feel, and crowds too! But it's not too crazy, just what I had expected people-wise. Our first order of business is Tomorrowland to check on Space Mountain wait times. On our way there, we hop aboard the Tomorrowland Space Authority, and enjoy the AC blast we get when entering the various buidlings. Love this attraction, since it moves, and gives the rider a quick overview of whats ahead! Once done, we see that Buzz's Space Ranger Spin isn't too bad, so we do some alien killing, then head over to Stitches Great Escape. It's here that my princess has her first frightening moments. I read in the Unofficial Guide (from which I shamelessly ripped off my trip report title) that this attraction may be too intense for young ones, such as my own. The darkness is a bit scary,
, and the feeling that stitch may be crawling up your back a bit too intense for young ones. We depart, heading over to Space Mnt for a much more enjoyable ride with minimal wait, then onto some pin buying, and turkey leg eating. By now, fireworks are exploding overhead, so we eat and enjoy!! Once done, we do the Indy Express (my son and I dealing with one angry mother after we accidentally bump her car...sorry lady ...as well as witnessing my future fate: watching my princess behind the wheel and out of control ) and Mad Tea Party, again with minimal wait times for all. By now, it's getting late, and we've got a whole week in front of us...so we head out of the park, back onto the boat, and back up to the room for some Disney Channel watching (after all, we've only seen this episode of Suite Life a few dozen times!!) and then to sleep. Day one a success, and a whole week in front of us!!!
Great start!! Looking forward to more
