Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina
Life is short. Live it well.
- Joined
- Sep 12, 2008
- Messages
- 13,825
Hello everyone! 
Glad to have you along on my most recent pre-trip report as we excitedly plan for our next adventure in Orlando
.
I struggled a bit with where this PTR would best belong: unlike many people’s vacations, our doesn’t fit nicely into any particular category. It’s not a Disney trip (though there are some Disney components), there’s no Universal involved at all this time (sadly, our AP’s expired in May and it didn’t make financial sense to renew right now), our accommodations are all offsite, and our planned attractions run the gamut from the major parks to small museums. Our dining plans, too, are all over the board (though 90% are off-property)…..so with that kind of variety, this forum truly does seem like the best place for this thread. Hopefully the moderators will agree
.
This vacation will take place from October 13th to 28th and has evolved (quite unintentionally) into a manifestation of the number
:
There are two of us travelling.
Our trip is for two weeks.
We will be staying at two different resorts.
We have made reservations for two separate visits to Discovery Cove.
We will be attending two Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween parties.
We have booked two different dinner shows (neither of which we have been to before!).
We will spend two days at Aquatica (and have rented two cabanas, one for each water park day).
We plan to visit SeaWorld on two different days.
We have secured two ADR’s for two different Disney dinners.
We have scheduled in two resort days…..one at each property…..where we plan to do nothin’ but relax
.
Of course, there are a sprinkling of other single events and attractions on the official itinerary, but for the most part, the plans call for us seeing double
. After all, the only thing better than a fun and exciting experience is being able to repeat it a second time, right?
Those of you who have read any of my past trip reports and PTR’s (several of which are featured as links in my signature….feel free to check ‘em out if you are interested) will be very familiar with me and my two guys. Probably definite oddballs on these forums, we are not so much Disney lovers as we are Orlando Superfans
. In fact, Disney usually plays a very small part (and sometimes, no part) in our overall trip plans……so that, in itself, makes us an anomaly here on the boards. The City Beautiful is packed with so much awesome stuff to do, we can’t bear to box ourselves into visiting just one park family exclusively. We book a rental car for each trip, we commit to doing something new on every vacation, and we keep adding to our Orlando Bucket List as new attractions and restaurants are opened.
Honestly, we would have thought that philosophy would have become harder to maintain as the years ticked by and our travels to central Florida became more frequent, but here we are planning Orlando Trip #11 and the new experiences are still so easy to come by. Perhaps it’s one of the reasons that Orlando has become our absolute favourite vacation destination: there is never a shortage of fun, sun and new adventures.
As I mentioned above, our cast of characters for this trip is pretty darn small: just me and my Big Steve:
We are very blessed to be the parents of a great young man who shares our adoration for Orlando and still enjoys travelling with his old Ma & Pa.
This time, however, it’s just going to be the two of us: Jake graduated from college last month and has just recently landed a new position in a field which speaks to the passion of his heart. As an Outcomes Support Facilitator for a local non-profit organization, he works with special needs adults to provide support and services to help them reach their full potential. He also continues to work in both the youth department and as a camp counsellor for young people with exceptionalities at our local YMCA, and he provides in-home respite care on an ongoing basis for a local family with two special needs young adults.
With his new adult life (and all the responsibilities that go with it) unfolding before him, Jake will take a pass on our October vacation. He has only one request: to be brought home something nice from the Nike Clearance Store. I think we will be able to find him something to make him smile
.
As for Steve and I …. we are looking forward to a couples trip after two back-to-back family vacations. I hope that doesn’t make us sound selfish: we love our boy and we have a blast travelling with him, too. That said, as Jake slid effortlessly from the teen years to adulthood, Steve and I have chosen to embrace our new stage of life versus lament the fact that Jake’s childhood has passed. Steve and I are completely different people yet still wonderfully compatible, and we truly enjoy being together. We are more than just spouses and parents, we are best friends and we loved our adult-only getaways in May and October 2015. Neither Steve nor I need to have a kid along in order to embrace our own inner child, and we feel no obligation to have a “grown up” vacation (though it is in many ways). Trick-or-Treating at the Magic Kingdom? Absolutely! Just because we’re travelling without children in tow it doesn’t mean we still can’t have fun.
So…..with that long and drawn-out preamble (is anyone is still awake?), I declare this PTR officially underway!
The countdown begins….
101 days to go.
Glad to have you along on my most recent pre-trip report as we excitedly plan for our next adventure in Orlando
.I struggled a bit with where this PTR would best belong: unlike many people’s vacations, our doesn’t fit nicely into any particular category. It’s not a Disney trip (though there are some Disney components), there’s no Universal involved at all this time (sadly, our AP’s expired in May and it didn’t make financial sense to renew right now), our accommodations are all offsite, and our planned attractions run the gamut from the major parks to small museums. Our dining plans, too, are all over the board (though 90% are off-property)…..so with that kind of variety, this forum truly does seem like the best place for this thread. Hopefully the moderators will agree
.This vacation will take place from October 13th to 28th and has evolved (quite unintentionally) into a manifestation of the number
There are two of us travelling.
Our trip is for two weeks.
We will be staying at two different resorts.
We have made reservations for two separate visits to Discovery Cove.
We will be attending two Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween parties.
We have booked two different dinner shows (neither of which we have been to before!).
We will spend two days at Aquatica (and have rented two cabanas, one for each water park day).
We plan to visit SeaWorld on two different days.
We have secured two ADR’s for two different Disney dinners.
We have scheduled in two resort days…..one at each property…..where we plan to do nothin’ but relax
.Of course, there are a sprinkling of other single events and attractions on the official itinerary, but for the most part, the plans call for us seeing double
. After all, the only thing better than a fun and exciting experience is being able to repeat it a second time, right?Those of you who have read any of my past trip reports and PTR’s (several of which are featured as links in my signature….feel free to check ‘em out if you are interested) will be very familiar with me and my two guys. Probably definite oddballs on these forums, we are not so much Disney lovers as we are Orlando Superfans
. In fact, Disney usually plays a very small part (and sometimes, no part) in our overall trip plans……so that, in itself, makes us an anomaly here on the boards. The City Beautiful is packed with so much awesome stuff to do, we can’t bear to box ourselves into visiting just one park family exclusively. We book a rental car for each trip, we commit to doing something new on every vacation, and we keep adding to our Orlando Bucket List as new attractions and restaurants are opened.Honestly, we would have thought that philosophy would have become harder to maintain as the years ticked by and our travels to central Florida became more frequent, but here we are planning Orlando Trip #11 and the new experiences are still so easy to come by. Perhaps it’s one of the reasons that Orlando has become our absolute favourite vacation destination: there is never a shortage of fun, sun and new adventures.
As I mentioned above, our cast of characters for this trip is pretty darn small: just me and my Big Steve:
We are very blessed to be the parents of a great young man who shares our adoration for Orlando and still enjoys travelling with his old Ma & Pa.
This time, however, it’s just going to be the two of us: Jake graduated from college last month and has just recently landed a new position in a field which speaks to the passion of his heart. As an Outcomes Support Facilitator for a local non-profit organization, he works with special needs adults to provide support and services to help them reach their full potential. He also continues to work in both the youth department and as a camp counsellor for young people with exceptionalities at our local YMCA, and he provides in-home respite care on an ongoing basis for a local family with two special needs young adults.
With his new adult life (and all the responsibilities that go with it) unfolding before him, Jake will take a pass on our October vacation. He has only one request: to be brought home something nice from the Nike Clearance Store. I think we will be able to find him something to make him smile
.As for Steve and I …. we are looking forward to a couples trip after two back-to-back family vacations. I hope that doesn’t make us sound selfish: we love our boy and we have a blast travelling with him, too. That said, as Jake slid effortlessly from the teen years to adulthood, Steve and I have chosen to embrace our new stage of life versus lament the fact that Jake’s childhood has passed. Steve and I are completely different people yet still wonderfully compatible, and we truly enjoy being together. We are more than just spouses and parents, we are best friends and we loved our adult-only getaways in May and October 2015. Neither Steve nor I need to have a kid along in order to embrace our own inner child, and we feel no obligation to have a “grown up” vacation (though it is in many ways). Trick-or-Treating at the Magic Kingdom? Absolutely! Just because we’re travelling without children in tow it doesn’t mean we still can’t have fun.
So…..with that long and drawn-out preamble (is anyone is still awake?), I declare this PTR officially underway!
The countdown begins….101 days to go.
Last edited:
Hi Gina, 
!
By the way.. apparently I've turned into a six year old with my need to be first lol.
Great introduction Gina, joining in the fun 
My DS was more of a terror at 2 than the DD. Thankfully, now I only have teen terror.
Judy! Thanks for migrating over to this newest PTR!
.
.
Welcome aboard.
. I will try to get our itinerary up in the next post, so you can see what we have scheduled so far. 
. Spring 2017 is calling my name. I love having two trips in the planning stages. It's a sickness, but a good one!
. Much as we had an incredible time at HHN last year, we just can't justify that cost. 
) is having virtually everything reserved and all related costs covered long before we travel. It may sound weird, but it makes me enjoy our trips more (and allows me to be excited in the weeks before our travel date rather than stressed out). It also means we can travel with minimal cash (which feels so much safer) and eliminates the question of what the exchange rate might be when our trip rolls around.
.
