Too Many Disney Withdraws: we're finally going back! (PTR oct. 2014)

[coneygoil]

Hello! I'm Nina and welcome to my PTR!

Our trip is set for Oct. 4-10. We're staying at this groovy place!

Pop is our home resort. Riverside used to be, but money has been tight for a very long time so Pop is our home now! This is our 14th time staying here in an 8 year span. To me, Pop is the best value resort. It's just so pleasant and has a fun atmosphere and my oldest DD loves it. We used to stay in the '80's section, but after getting placed in the '70's a few trips ago, I am never staying in another section again! The '70's is the best locations, close to the front yet far enough to be quiet. I also push for a bottom floor/courtyard room and I always get it! Hopefully this trip my luck will keep going

Here's our cast of characters! This is me.

I'm 32, married to a good ole' country boy for almost 6 years, and we have 2 precious (and silly!) girls. My folks have been bringing me to Disney World since literally my 1st birthday way back in 1983.

My folks look really happy that Goofy is about to eat my head!

I've lost count how many times I've been to Disney. I think it's like 32 times??? We had a pretty good run for about 8 years where we were trying like twice a year for most of that time, but lately it's been hard to go. We hadn't been since April 2013. Definitely going through Disney withdraws!!! But between money being tight and having my 2nd DD within that times, it's understandable why we couldn't go.

My oldest DD, Cady, who is 3 and a half.

Cady's 1st Disney trip was September 2011. She learned how to clap on that trip, so we were literally clapping and saying "yay!" with her the whole time. Good memories

This will be her 5th trip. She's so dang close to being able to ride the big rides this time. She needs to grow like one more inch!!! I'm not ashamed to say I've been trying out different shoes to see which ones make her the tallest. She's so excited about going. She talks about our trip every single day. I think she's most excited about meeting the characters. The last couple of trips Cady was so scared of the characters. Then the very last day of our last trip Cady suddenly took a picture with Chip 'n' Dale all by herself.

My 2nd DD is Juliet! This will be her first trip and she'll be almost 11 months when we go.

A week and a half before our last trip in April '13 I found out I was pregnant with Juliet. Yep, no thrill rides for me! Thankfully the worst that happen was my stomach was sensitive and I got really sick the very last night after eating the turkey dinner at Pop (and it was so delicious). We're really hoping she'll be walking by then. She is very close to standing without assistance, so I'm sure she'll most likely be walking by October!

Next up: meet the joker, the realist, crackinwise, and the crazy one!

 

[Overexcited]

Can't wait to hear more about your trip!
You have beautiful girls!
We also LOVE POP, but our last trip we went to CBR because my oldest is considered an adult at Disney, it was about the same after we upgraded free dining. Now we can't stay anywhere else, they fell in love with CBR too!

 

[coneygoil]

Can't wait to hear more about your trip!
You have beautiful girls!
We also LOVE POP, but our last trip we went to CBR because my oldest is considered an adult at Disney, it was about the same after we upgraded free dining. Now we can't stay anywhere else, they fell in love with CBR too!

Thanks for stopping in! We stayed at CBR twice when I was growing up. It's beautiful, so I can understand why yall like it so much!

 

[coneygoil]

Next up is my Dad! He's been to Disney like 35 times I think.

He's a big joker as you can see! My dad enjoys making cast members feel special, so he always talks to CMs, gets their autograph, and takes pics with them. CMs LOVE HIM! We'll be walking in the parks and suddenly a CM says "Hey John!" and me and my mom are like "when did you meet that person?" Seriously, they love him!

Next is my Mom! She's also been to Disney like 35 times.

The only place she ever wants to go on vacation is Disney. She's the realist of our family, so going to Disney brings out...well, her Disney side!

Next is my best friend, Alicia aka Cracks!

We met on e-groups way back in 2000 when I was 17 and she was 15. We bonded over our crazy obsession with Disney and the movie, Newsies. In 2004, I invited her to join us on a Disney trip since she lives close to Orlando and from then on she became apart of our family!

Here is Alicia's mom, Sandy! She's also become apart of our family, and is the crazy aunt I never had! She's loud, Italian, and hilarious

My husband aka not-into-disney, is staying home. He's only been twice: once for his senior trip and once with me in 2010. Hopefully Cady will be able to convince him to come on our next trip

Up next: Our Must Sees and Day Planning!!!

 

[yeheyprincex2]

ya'll look like a fun bunch. looks like you have plenty of people to share your
love for Disney. SO cool your parents are in for the trip. I hope to one day take
my mom and dad on a trip with us. My dad has been in the past with grand kids but not since my boys were born.

Think I'll follow along

 

[coneygoil]

October 4 - travel day

Travel day is the most crazy day of the trip for us. We leave at 4 a.m. usually from my folks home in southern Mississippi (I live like 15 minutes from them). We're taking my Trail Blazer (aka my big honkin truck, it's an extended cab).

We always start out like this.

Then not long end up like this.

And eventually we become a bit loopy

The drive takes about 9 hours but with kids it usually goes as long as 10 with all the stops. We always stop at the exact same places it seems (rest stops, gas stations, McDonalds). We could probably drive the route with our eyes closed!

We're stopping at Alicia's house for the night. She lives an hour and half north of Orlando. Probably gonna go to Wal-Mart to buy food for during our stay. I love Disney food, but it would be way more cheaper to bring our own for at least suppers at Pop.

Not much else to say about travel day.

Up next: Day 2 Arrival and where to first?

 

[MissMaryQC]

Following along! You all look like a fun group; can't wait to see what you get into!

 

[coneygoil]

Day 2: Arrival Day!!!!

Of course, this is the most exciting day! It's when we see this for the first time:

The drive on property is the best. To see all the familiar sights and Disney buses is just amazing!

And THIS PLACE!

Usually if we arrive in the morning the room isn't ready yet, so we'll probably just park and head off to our first park...Hollywood Studios!

I'll admit, Studios is my least favorite park. We spent so much time there on past trips when we would do the Super Soap Weekends. I got seriously burnt out on the park. But there's still some things we enjoy there like ToT and R'nRC! We also do Star Tours, Muppets 3D, and this place:

We usually wander around Studios playing and taking fun pics.

We ALWAYS have to find Miss Norma! She's one of the streetmophere performers. We met her in 2009 and she fell head over heels for my dad. She's always excited to see us and even stays around long after performing to talk with us.

A must see for me this time is to meet Wreck-it Ralph! I became a huge fan of the movie back in October, and it literally has bumped Treasure Planet off my #1 spot for favorite Disney animated movie. That will be the first thing on my list to do at Studios!

Not sure how long we'll stay at Studios, but by supper we'll probably walk to Epcot to eat at the Food and Wine Fest. I really enjoy this walk from Studios to Epcot. It's so pleasant and the sights as some of you know are beautiful!

Can't wait to eat some good food here!

I have Scotland, Ireland, Africa, Singapore, and Canada on my list to try. I'll probably split those between 2 days. Not sure what else we'll do at Epcot. I'm sure it'll be dark by then. We'll probably ride this as usual:

We might duck into my favorite Disney store, Mouse Gears, as we make our way to the front.

Next up: Day 3, where will we end up?

 

[SarahDisney]

I love your family - you guys seem like such a fun bunch!

We love POP - it's our #2 choice hotel (our #1 is AoA).

Following along to see your plans. I can't wait to see what else you guys are planning!

 

[coneygoil]

Day 3: In the jungle the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonight...

We're going here!

We had the privilege to see AK two weeks after it's opening. Sadly, we didn't exactly enjoy the park. So we basically stirred clear of AK for many years until Everest opened and we finally went back. I've enjoyed the park ever since. There's so much to see and there's all these secluded areas that a lot of people just walk right by. I really <3 AK now!

Some must sees are definitely animals! Cady loves animals, especially reptiles. Steve Irwin would have loved Cady because she LOVES crocs and alligators!

Last trip we went to Rafiki's Planet Watch. We literally hadn't been there since it's opening and that was a very bad experience for me. Conservation Station was jam packed with people and this dude pushed me so hard while trying to board the train that I ran into one of the sharp edges of a pillar. The spot under my knee was a huge knot and throbbed like crazy. I was a hormonal 16 year old and cried the whole train ride (I think more out of the fact that a guy pushed me! but my knee did hurt like heck too). Then a CM wouldn't give us some ice, sad we had to go to first aid. The nice Asian couple that was passing poured ice cold water on the knot and it felt a little better.

Anyways, we finally went back to CS this past trip and enjoyed it very much! Cady even got a free notebook w/pen and a bug catcher.

Cady tried hugging every goat in the petting area.

We plan on riding Kilimanjaro Safari. That's always fun (when you can see the animals). Everest and Dinosaur are always on our list. We usually go see Festival of the Lion King, but I think I'll bring Cady to the Nemo show. She's been into that more lately than TLK.

I'm sure we'll be eating at Restaurantasaur(?) like we usually do. Cady enjoys the Boneyard and this time she'll be able to go down the big, tall slides! She asked to ride the Triceratop Spin.

I always get the black tea from the Tea Company stand in Asia. It's so good!

Other than those plans, we'll probably just wander around and see what we get into. Definitely gonna jump in some character lines, but those are usually impromptu. I'd like for Cady to do the Wilderness Explorers thing. She also likes Up and may enjoy that.

Not sure what we're doing after leaving AK. We may go to DTD or go swimming at Pop. It's a free for all evening!

Where will we go next...?

 

[coneygoil]

Because of recent news with Off Kilter being let go from Disney, my folks have changed our trip dates!!! We're going Sept. 21-25 now so we can visit our Off Kilter friends one last time. It'll be a happy and sad trip, but at least we'll get to tell the OK guys how much we have appreciated them for being such great Disney friends all these years and how much we'll miss them.