Cast Of Characters:
Joy: Me---(53), Mother of 4 and Grandmother of 4
DeWayne: (53), My husband, and somewhat reluctant WDW vactioner
Steve: (30), Our oldest son
Michelle: (30), Steve's wife
Tyler: (9), Steve's Son
Kyle: (5), Steve's Son
Chris: (25), Our middle Son
Corey: (15), Our youngest Son
Our daughter and her family couldn't financially swing this trip, but hopefully will be able to go when we return to WDW in 2 years.
Background: Our family has been to Disneyland 6 times, but this is our 1st trip to WDW.
Everytime I've mentioned going to Florida instead of California, my DH has balked at the idea saying that there isn't much difference between WDW and DL..just furthur away. (Say What!) Anyway;...I stuck to my guns while planning this vacation and we're going to WDW. I'm finally going to see Epcot!
Afte several months of see-sawing back & forth between what month to go, and who all was going, we finally settle for the middle of November, 2005. My DH and I don't take the heat the way we used to, nor the crowds, so the the week befoe Thanksgiving week is what we decided upon. (Hopefully our planning works out.
By the time the decision was made, Katrina had hit. Gasoline, along with Airline Tickets, had skyrocketed, but we went ahead and purchased 8 nonstop, roundtrip tickets on Alaska Airlines. I'm glad we did as the prices jumped $100.00 right after we bought them.
Because most of our group are grown adults, the idea of being cramped in one room was not appealing so we decided to rent a villa in Kissimmee. The villa has 4 bedrooms,s. 3 bathrooms 4 TVs, washer, dryer, games room, and a privately-fenced heated swimming pool. All this for only $725.00 for 8 nights! (As the old saying goes...you get what you pay for. More on that later.)
We pre-purchased 10-Day Park Hopper Passes for $234.00 per adult and about $200.00 for Kyle and Tyler. We got lucky when purchasing our Universal Tickets. They wer e4 day Park Hoppers and the kids were free.
We arranged for an Airport Shuttle van to pick us up at our house and take us back home on the 20th. It was a bit spendy, but well worth not having to hassle with transportation for the 8 of us.
The shuttle will pick us up at 9:00, Nov. 11th. Our plane departs at 11:23 and arrives in Orlando at 7:35 AM, Orlando time. We hope to catch some zzzs during the 5 hour flight.
We reserved 2 cars at National. National has their lots at MCO, so we won't have to use a shuttle. We also pre-checked in, so we can directly to the lot and not stop at National's desk.
Plan for Day 1: Saturday, Nov. 12
Go directly to Sea World from MCO as we cannot get into our villa until 4:00 PM.
Day 2: Sunday, Nov. 13
Magick Kingdom...Character Breakfast at Crystal Palace at 8:15 AM
Day 3: Monday, Nov. 14
MGM/Disney
Day 4: Tuesday, Nov. 15
Universal Orlando
Day 5: Wednesday, Nov. 16
Epcot
Day 6: Thursday, Nov. 17
Animal Kingdom
Day 7: Friday, Nov. 18
Islands Of Adventure
Day 8: Saturday, Nov. 19
Magic Kingdom
What Really Happened....Will post Day 1 Tonight.
Joy: Me---(53), Mother of 4 and Grandmother of 4
DeWayne: (53), My husband, and somewhat reluctant WDW vactioner
Steve: (30), Our oldest son
Michelle: (30), Steve's wife
Tyler: (9), Steve's Son
Kyle: (5), Steve's Son
Chris: (25), Our middle Son
Corey: (15), Our youngest Son
Our daughter and her family couldn't financially swing this trip, but hopefully will be able to go when we return to WDW in 2 years.
Background: Our family has been to Disneyland 6 times, but this is our 1st trip to WDW.
Everytime I've mentioned going to Florida instead of California, my DH has balked at the idea saying that there isn't much difference between WDW and DL..just furthur away. (Say What!) Anyway;...I stuck to my guns while planning this vacation and we're going to WDW. I'm finally going to see Epcot!
Afte several months of see-sawing back & forth between what month to go, and who all was going, we finally settle for the middle of November, 2005. My DH and I don't take the heat the way we used to, nor the crowds, so the the week befoe Thanksgiving week is what we decided upon. (Hopefully our planning works out.
By the time the decision was made, Katrina had hit. Gasoline, along with Airline Tickets, had skyrocketed, but we went ahead and purchased 8 nonstop, roundtrip tickets on Alaska Airlines. I'm glad we did as the prices jumped $100.00 right after we bought them.
Because most of our group are grown adults, the idea of being cramped in one room was not appealing so we decided to rent a villa in Kissimmee. The villa has 4 bedrooms,s. 3 bathrooms 4 TVs, washer, dryer, games room, and a privately-fenced heated swimming pool. All this for only $725.00 for 8 nights! (As the old saying goes...you get what you pay for. More on that later.)
We pre-purchased 10-Day Park Hopper Passes for $234.00 per adult and about $200.00 for Kyle and Tyler. We got lucky when purchasing our Universal Tickets. They wer e4 day Park Hoppers and the kids were free.
We arranged for an Airport Shuttle van to pick us up at our house and take us back home on the 20th. It was a bit spendy, but well worth not having to hassle with transportation for the 8 of us.
The shuttle will pick us up at 9:00, Nov. 11th. Our plane departs at 11:23 and arrives in Orlando at 7:35 AM, Orlando time. We hope to catch some zzzs during the 5 hour flight.
We reserved 2 cars at National. National has their lots at MCO, so we won't have to use a shuttle. We also pre-checked in, so we can directly to the lot and not stop at National's desk.
Plan for Day 1: Saturday, Nov. 12
Go directly to Sea World from MCO as we cannot get into our villa until 4:00 PM.
Day 2: Sunday, Nov. 13
Magick Kingdom...Character Breakfast at Crystal Palace at 8:15 AM
Day 3: Monday, Nov. 14
MGM/Disney
Day 4: Tuesday, Nov. 15
Universal Orlando
Day 5: Wednesday, Nov. 16
Epcot
Day 6: Thursday, Nov. 17
Animal Kingdom
Day 7: Friday, Nov. 18
Islands Of Adventure
Day 8: Saturday, Nov. 19
Magic Kingdom
What Really Happened....Will post Day 1 Tonight.
