Two sisters meeting up in the World! A pre-trip report.

[melsmom12]

This is my first report, well kind of. I wrote one for this trip before and no one read it or responded to it, boo hoo. So I'm going to try again, as much as changed and I'm feeling more positive about this one.

This pre-trip report is for a mini trip I'm going to be taking with my sister at the end of October. A little background is in order:

My best friend from the University of Florida lives in Ft. Myers and we used to go to WDW all the time in college since it was just about 1.5 hours away. We decided to have a long weekend together in WDW, she would drive up from Ft. Myers and pick me up at the airport and we'd be able to catch up and relive our fun college days.

Well, of course nothing can go according to plan, and sure enough, I had only just purchased my plane ticket when my friend had to cancel on me. She is being sent to Boston for work, something she absolutely cannot say no to. Grrrrrrrr. With the tickets already purchased and the fact that it costs almost as much as the original ticket to change or cancel, I didn't feel like I wanted to cancel my trip. I considered going by myself, which I wouldn't have minded at all. And then all of a sudden, I was lamenting my situation to my sister who lives in St. Louis, when she said, "Why don't I come with you?" HOORAY!

So, here is the current cast of characters:

Me - Allie - 35 - married to a wonderful man and mother of DD-2.

Sister - Stephanie - 38 - married with 2 kids, 11 and 7. We're both very excited to be going away without our spouses and children, even though we're going to a big family destination!

The truth is, we've both been on vacation quite a bit with our families, parents included, to Orlando, so we really don't feel even a tiny bit guilty about this Sister Getaway!

Unfortunately we'll only have a little bit of time there. We both work part-time and can't take time off right now, plus I wasn't planning on going with her in the first place, so we're flying down and meeting at MCO around noon on Thursday, October 25th. We're staying until noon on Sunday, October 28th, and we're just going to have 2 days in the parks. We've decided to stick with our favorite things, and in the interest of cost, we're going to buy non-park hopper tickets. So Friday will be our day in the MK and Saturday will be our day in Epcot.

So that's all for now. I'm going to need some serious help figuring out how to get the most out of our short time in WDW, I'll take any and all suggestions!

More to come soon, including lodging and ADR's!

 

[mkluvsmickey]

Great start! Sounds like a fun weekend with your sister. Looking forward to more.

 

[melsmom12]

OK, onto Part 2 of the pre-trip report.

Lodging:

I have a friend who has a timeshare in Orlando and she has been offering it to us for years, knowing how much I love WDW. So I finally decided to take her up on it. She said we could stay at Star Island, but when I looked on the timeshare's website, I noticed that Bonnet Creek is also one of their properties and it's RIGHT ON DISNEY PROPERTY! For those who don't know, it's very close to CBR, DTD, Typhoon Lagoon. That area. Anyway, her husband made a call and get this, we're staying in a 2BR condo for 3 nights for less than it would cost us to stay at a Value Resort! Now granted, there's no Disney perks, but there is a shuttle and it's supposed to be beautiful. And did I mention, 2 bedroom CONDO?!? So I'm very excited. We'll be renting a car so we might not even use their shuttle, I've heard it's a little inconsistent.

OK, so onto Thursday. My sister and I will both be arriving at MCO - me from Washington Dulles and her from St. Louis - right around noon. We'll catch up with each other, go find our rental car, and...

...***This is where I need your help!***


We have no plans that day, nothing to do at all. No ADR, no plans (or tickets!) to go into the parks that day, so we'll need to find some stuff to do. My original thoughts for that day was:

- Leave airport
- Grab lunch at DTD and walk around a little bit and buy sister's tickets (I already have 2 days on my parkhopper pass I bought a few years ago.)
- Go check into the resort and have a rest
- Find somewhere off property for dinner
- Do some very basic grocery shopping so we can eat breakfast in the condo and have some drinks and stuff there
- Come back and get to sleep early so we can get to MK the next day for Rope Drop!

So, how does that sound? Or would you do something else besides go straight to WDW? Anything else sound like fun or worth doing on the way from MCO to WDW? I'd love some input.

Other than that, how does that sound for our Thursday?

 

[mkluvsmickey]

Your plans sound great to me! I love DTD and like the fact that you still have the Disney feeling without going into the parks. But, if you like outlet shopping there are a ton of outlet malls you could hit on the way in to WDW.

 

[Flora Fan]

This sounds like a great trip. What a super twist of fate for you both. I do hope you both enjoy your time together. My suggestion for you is to take plenty of pictures. Pics of your sister, pics of you, and plenty of people will be happy to take pics of you both together.

(You may even be able to get double prints and make a scrap book for you and your sister...perhaps you can give it to her for a Christmas present)

 

[melsmom12]

Your plans sound great to me! I love DTD and like the fact that you still have the Disney feeling without going into the parks. But, if you like outlet shopping there are a ton of outlet malls you could hit on the way in to WDW.

First of all, thanks to the two of you for being the only two to read and reply to my trip report! Phew, it's hard to get an audience around here, tough crowd. So I appreciate it.

The outlet mall is a great idea! I know my sister would be completely on board with that. We went there last year when we stayed at Windsor Hills, so I know just how to get there, thanks!

This sounds like a great trip. What a super twist of fate for you both. I do hope you both enjoy your time together. My suggestion for you is to take plenty of pictures. Pics of your sister, pics of you, and plenty of people will be happy to take pics of you both together.

(You may even be able to get double prints and make a scrap book for you and your sister...perhaps you can give it to her for a Christmas present)

I absolutely LOVE the idea of making dual scrapbooks of the trip! I know I was already planning on taking tons of pictures, but I hadn't thought about how much we'll need to remember to get ones of the two of us. Great holiday gift idea, thanks!!

More to come soon, keep reading!

 

[angela3676]

I think your plan sounds great. Why don't you try eating at one of the DTD resturants? On our next trip to the World we will be doing our arrival day at DTD. We were going to do DQ but thought it would also need an entire day to make it worth it and since we won't get in until well past noon we'll stick to shopping, browsing and hit one of the resturants. Also I've never been to DTD so it's going to be a new experience for me. I hope you and your sister have a great trip. I'll keep reading if you keep writing.

 

[DanMedix]

This sounds like a good little "diversion" trip. Wish we all could take more of these more often.

DTD does indeed sound like your best choice on your arrival date. Lots to keep y'all occupied (and I do mean everyone in the party).

 

[melsmom12]

OK, onto my plans for Day 1!

My sister and I are planning to have our Friday in the Magic Kingdom only. We can certainly fill 10 hours there, surely more if we had them, so we see no need to park-hop.

For the first time ever, I want to get there in time for Rope Drop. This is for 2 reasons. I don't want to miss a second of time there, seeing as we only have 2 WDW days in total. Secondly, I've never been to Rope Drop before. Oh, and there's a 3rd reason, I want to get in line for the new Haunted Mansion right away! I figure we'll get to TTC by 8:15-ish, head over to MK on the monorail, and get as close to Liberty Square as we can. Then we'll go right onto HM and then over to Fantasyland to get onto Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, all the rides that get really crowded and whose queues move SOOOO slowly. My sister's only "need" that day is to ride Space Mountain, which I'm so happy to do, as many times as needed!

For our meals that day, we'll grab some breakfast in our condo before leaving. Lunch for me will probably be a turkey leg over near Splash Mountain, love those things! I'm sure we'll have a snack later in the day. Then we have an ADR for 7:30pm at Kona cafe, if we're still awake!

The only thing we are weighing right now is whether or not we'll want to stay in the park for longer. MK closes at 7pm that night with no Wishes because of MNSSHP. We could buy tickets and stay later, but we also want to get up early the next day for Epcot, so I think we're going to pass. I know, how can I give up extra hours in MK?!? So we'll see. What do you think about that?

 

[melsmom12]

And just for fun, here's a picture of me!

Yes, it's me and Tig, we're havin' dinner at the Crystal Palace in January 2007. It was soooooo cold! Oh yeah, and my DH was there too.

 

[mkluvsmickey]

I think that if you have dinner at Kona Cafe at 7:30 it won't be worth it to pay extra to go back to MK. I'd save my energy for the next day. You should be able to do everything you want to do in MK from rope drop til dinner.

OMG! You look exactly like my sister in law! I had to do a double take when I saw your picture.

 

[melsmom12]

OK, so where are we? After our Kona Cafe ADR at 7:30pm, I would like to take a monorail tour, if we aren't too tired. So we'll get off at the GF, and maybe get over to the Contemporary to watch the fireworks. They have an observation deck besides just for California Grill, right? I'm sure we'll be exhausted by then so we'll get back to the TTC, get our car and head back to Bonnet Creek.

Saturday:

Yay, Epcot Day! I'm so excited. We are going to try to wake up early again and head over there for Rope Drop. One thing I really don't want to do is plan our whole day around Soarin'. So if we can get there right away and either get on the first or second seating, we'll be set for the rest of the day. We can even pick up Fast Passes for a later viewing, but at least we'll have done it one time. Both previous times I've ridden Soarin', we sat in the back/bottom row all the way on the end, literally the same exact seats both times. So I might be one of "those" people who ask the CM if I can wait one viewing and get a prime seat!

After that I have absolutely ZERO agenda in Epcot. My sister is wonderful and will literally go wherever I tell her, but I want her to feel like she has some say in the matter, too.

We have a 12:00pm ADR in Morocco for lunch - one of the few things my sister really wanted to do, so how could I say no - so we'll head over there for that and then I think for dinner we're just going to sample the Food and Wine Festival offerings. Woo hoo!

And now the sad part, here's where the trip speeds up quickly and I have very little else to add. For after only 3 nights in our wonderful BIG condo, and two (very full!) days in the parks, it will be back to reality. Sunday we will wake up, strip the beds and towels and straighten up the condo, and head back to MCO. WAAAHHHHHH! I know it's going to go way too fast, but reality does beckon. I know I will be missing my DD2 so it will be nice to have her to look forward to. Makes departing WDW a little easier!

My flight back to DC is at 10am and my sister's flight back to St. Louis is at 10:15, perfect! And I get to see her plus the rest of her clan at Thanksgiving, yay!

Thanks for sticking in here and reading my pre-trip. I guess there's nothing left to do but wait for my trip now! Oh, and try to lose a little weight before it gets here!

Thanks again for reading!

 

[melsmom12]

And one more bonus pic!

Here's me and my sis chilling out on Castaway Cay in January 2006 with our fruity drinks! (Sorry for the armpit close-up, she'd kill me if she knew I posted this!)

 

[Eeyore's Pal]

Sounds like you have a great plan, well tailored for your short trip.

I agree with some of the other folks who suggested that you eat your first night's dinner at DTD. I think you could grab your groceries on the way from the airport to Bonnet Creek, check-in, and then head to DTD for the rest of the day into the evening.

On your Epcot day, since you're both WDW veterans, you might want to check out the schedule for some of the live entertainment. Many people don't take the time to enjoy the Jammitors, the chinese acrobats, and (our favorites) the UK players.

It sounds like great fun to have a sister trip. (I don't have a sister, so I am twice as jealous! )

 

[Tatum@disney]

Your trip sounds like fun!!! My friend and I rented a car for the week we were there. I have to say that that was very easy. The parking lots were totally empty (esp. that early in the morning @ rope drop). Every time we parked either on the first or second row from the front! We came and went as we pleased.

 

[DisGirlAllie]

Awesome so far. Subscribing so I can find this. BTW your DD in your avatar is adorable and you and your sis are very pretty. You have a nice little tan.

 

[melsmom12]

Awesome so far. Subscribing so I can find this. BTW your DD in your avatar is adorable and you and your sis are very pretty. You have a nice little tan.

Thanks so much for subscribing! Fortunately you'll be able to read the full report in just over a week, I can't believe 1 week from today I will be there!!

 

[DisGirlAllie]

Thanks so much for subscribing! Fortunately you'll be able to read the full report in just over a week, I can't believe 1 week from today I will be there!!

YAY! Enjoy your trip!! And you're just 45 minutes away from me.

 

[melsmom12]

Hello, lovely subscribers! I'm back from WDW and having terrible withdrawal. I'm working on my trip report and will start a seperate thread for it. Here's the link. I'd love it if you'd come over and read that one too!

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=21562617#post21562617

 

[DisneyJoo2008]

I followed you over from babieemelly... subscribing and I will be catching up on Sunday afternoon when my hubby is out!
XXX