We're not going to WDW this year - yeah right!

[pixie dust 112]

Subscribing- you're not even in the World yet and I am hooked!

Awww... Thanks!

 

[pixie dust 112]

When I get back next weekend, this trip report better be finished!

Ummmm sure ooookkaaayyy!

 

[SleepingBeautyDreamr]

Great TR so far. How much longer till you sprinkle some of your dust over that invisible ink on the rest of your TR to make it visible to the rest of us?

 

[pixie dust 112]

Great TR so far. How much longer till you sprinkle some of your dust over that invisible ink on the rest of your TR to make it visible to the rest of us?

Stay tuned!

 

[javamom]

We'll be there 9/28 til 10/2. Where are you staying? Will you have a LGMHPC on you?

We will be at the POP! I am going to go to Wal-Mart, like a good DISer, and see if I can find that paper to make one.

Your family will love POR. That's where we are staying in Sept/Oct.

I can't wait, it's going to be such a fun Christmas!

 

[uhtimex]

DH and I have different driving styles …. And believe me that is the understatement of the year. He feels it is appropriate to drive fast and all cars should be as close to one another as is possible.

Has he ever caused a wreck that he was in.........if no then we eerrrrrrr he drives just fine.

 

[pixie dust 112]

Has he ever caused a wreck that he was in.........if no then we eerrrrrrr he drives just fine.

Not yet! But that's just because he has me telling him when to hit the brakes!

 

[DISUNC]

Now, you must understand that I am the QUEEN of the low airfare ( Well, I’m actually the Queen of the Universe, but that’s a story for later on down the line in this trip report!).!

Will that one be in the infamous invisible Ink, your Majesty?

As unimaginable as this may seem, there are NO low fares on Southwest (my favorite airline) out of ALbany for our dates!!!! So I start looking around at other airlines and other airports. I find a decent fare ($79.00 each way) out of another airport fairly close to home, but I am somewhat worried as I am not familiar with the airline (can’t even remember the name now) and this particular airport seems to be famous for having unknown airlines come and go rather quickly. Additionally they only fly to Orlando on Friday so we can’t leave on Sunday as originally planned! I’m unsure of using the airline, but am thinking about it, so I do what any reasonable person would do, I call CRO and add 2 days to the beginning of our trip! Now mind you this airline only flies back on Sunday, but it would be silly to change my departure date up a day ‘til I know for sure what I’m going to do. Nsalz didn’t know anything about the airline either, but she did know someone who would be using it in about a month. I decided to hold off on the airline ressies until this other guy could give us a report.

Aint it amazing the HOOPs you must go through planning a WDW vacation? Too many variables too come together

We also considered driving, and I know a lot of other people love to do this, but it would mean cutting into our WDW time and I really can’t imagine driving that far with my family. DH and I have different driving styles …. And believe me that is the understatement of the year. He feels it is appropriate to drive fast and all cars should be as close to one another as is possible. I, on the otherhand, will exceed the speed limit by about 10 mph and believe it is appropriate to leave room for at least one index card between me and the car ahead of me! When DH is driving I try to be helpful by applying my foot rather firmly to the imaginary brake pedal on the passenger side of the car every 15-20 seconds. I also give him helpful reminders like the car ahead of us is applying its brakes and we should slow down NOW!!!!! And OK our exit is about a mile ahead…. Now our exit is ½ mile ahead, our exit is ¼ mile ahead, we should get out of the left lane now and cross the four lanes to the exit lane because this is our exit….. we just passed our exit. For some reason I feel under appreciated through all of this help that I give him!.

Anyway we are not compatible driving companions on long trips.

Ya Think?

We would have great family bonding times....singing 99 bottles of beer on the wall.

TG you didnt drive!!!!!!!!!!!

But hey ya only live once!.

Are you sure???

In May something absolutely amazing happened, I found the DISboards!!! !.

And the ANGELS sang ..HALLELUAH!!!!!!

Then, one day I do not check the boards in the morning because I realize I am becoming an addict.

But does one have to admit something first?

 

[pixie dust 112]

Part 3

Ok so we’re good to go. Have airline and hotel ressies, DDE and APs, time to make some ADRs! I asked the kidlets where they would like to eat. They were each allowed to pick one meal. LizzY picked Chef Mickeys , WinniethePooh93 picked Crystal Palace , and Tinkerbelle 1024 picked CRT for breakfast. I knew that Chef Mickeys and Crystal Palace would be easy enough to get but was pretty concerned about CRT both for availability and for $$$$$. So I told Tink that I’d do my best but that there might not be any openings for CRT. That night I discussed this meal with DH. It’s the most expensive breakfast we’ll ever eat, but this is the summer between elementary school and middle school for Tink and I think so much magic ends once the kids start Middle School. Tink loves the princesses, but who knows how long this will last…may be our last chance! We decide to go for it and I cross my fingers that we’ll get that ADR.

The next morning, I call CRO at 7am. The first thing I ask for is CRT breakfast, amazingly it is available for 8:10 on the Friday morning of our trip!!! Book it. Also got ADRs Spoodles for Sunday night, Chef Mickeys for Thursday night (with Nsalz and family), Crystal Palace for lunch on Monday (also with Nsalz and family). I also made an ADR for Prime Time Café for lunch on Tuesday, because everyone in my family wanted to go back there! Figured the rest of vaca we’d wing it because I don’t like to be overscheduled!

By this time I’ve become a member of the Secret Green Club so all I really had left to do was go to HD and do some major swipin’ of the DISer version of gold... the LGMHPCs!!!! Went to a couple of different HDs to get my stash!

Well, at the beginning of June, I get an e-mail from SouthWest about $59.00 specials from ALB to MCO for our dates and continuing right into October. I was pretty bummed until DBil tells me I can change my ressies if my flight is available and get the $59.00 rate and a credit for future flights! So I go on the site, find out my flights are available (I actually had to keep checking back during the special, because the first few times the flights were not available). Well I’m paranoid that I am going to mess this up and end up with no ressies, so I called Southwest and have the Southwest CM walk me through the process. Get the flights plus $40.00 credit on each flight, each way. I originally planned to use the credits next April when LizzY’s band is playing in the parade at MK, but it turns out the credits were only good until the end of February. The credit is good for a year from your original booking, not a year from your flight.

Well only one thing to do in a case like this! DDs have a long weekend off from school the last weekend in Sept/first weekend in October. Flights were $59.00 through the middle of October…..so I booked a vaca from Sept 28 – Oct. 2. Free Dining, and after the credit was applied, only had to pay $19.00 each way for each person on the flight! We’ll be staying at POR. Very cool! Two Disney vacations booked!

 

[javamom]

Part 3
Well only one thing to do in a case like this! DDs have a long weekend off from school the last weekend in Sept/first weekend in October. Flights were $59.00 through the middle of October…..so I booked a vaca from Sept 28 – Oct. 2. Free Dining, and after the credit was applied, only had to pay $19.00 each way for each person on the flight! We’ll be staying at POR. Very cool! Two Disney vacations booked!

Awesome! Way cool, one of these days I must find out if SW flys near me??

 

[stinkerbelle's mom]

What a deal!

 

[rer1972]

Well only one thing to do in a case like this! DDs have a long weekend off from school the last weekend in Sept/first weekend in October. Flights were $59.00 through the middle of October…..so I booked a vaca from Sept 28 – Oct. 2. Free Dining, and after the credit was applied, only had to pay $19.00 each way for each person on the flight! We’ll be staying at POR. Very cool! Two Disney vacations booked!

Wow, that's almost two roundtrip flights for the price of one!

 

[pixie dust 112]

Wow, that's almost two roundtrip flights for the price of one!

 

[uhtimex]

Part 3





Well, at the beginning of June, I get an e-mail from SouthWest about $59.00 specials from ALB to MCO for our dates and continuing right into October. I was pretty bummed until DBil tells me I can change my ressies if my flight is available and get the $59.00 rate and a credit for future flights! So I go on the site, find out my flights are available (I actually had to keep checking back during the special, because the first few times the flights were not available). Well I’m paranoid that I am going to mess this up and end up with no ressies, so I called Southwest and have the Southwest CM walk me through the process. Get the flights plus $40.00 credit on each flight, each way.
:

I think I read about this, on the SGC thread, when it happened. Cool to see the boards come full circle.

 

[pixie dust 112]

Part 4

July 7, 2006!!!! Hurrah it’s time to go . We have a 7:30 flight to Orlando so have to be at the airport by 5:30 am. It’s an hour drive to the airport so I set the alarm for 4:00. The night before, I made sure I had everything ready, the car is packed, have everything we must have in the carry on, boarding passes, APs, car ressie info, and BWI info, credit card, Ids, LGMHPCs, everything. I woke up ½ hour before the alarm goes off. This is good it gives me time to take a quick shower, get dressed and then quickly log onto the DISboards and our secret green club to say toodles to all of my limey friends. Of course there are people actually posting on the club at that hour. They tell me to get goin’! So we wake up the DDs and we’re off to the airport. DH asks me if I want to stop for coffee and I tell him off course not. I have to get my coffee from Tara Lee at the airport. She’s making hazelnut for me. DH can’t believe it . I always need a cup of coffee! But hey, this is coffee from a fellow Limey! That makes it worth the wait! So we are on our way to the airport and I have that excited feeling inside. The one that kids get trying to go to sleep on Christmas Eve. I guess we’ll call it Joyous Anticipation! I just can’t wait to get to the motherland!

We get to the airport and get a great parking spot in the garage. It’s funny, we usually go to WDW in the winter, so always try to get a spot in the garage in case it snows! So we just automatically went to the garage. Probable cost us a few extra bucks, but really didn’t think of that! Get all the bags into the terminal and checked and then go through security. I have to say that things really run smoothly at ALB. They have to take my carryon and hand check it because something apparently didn’t look right. They ask if I’ve been to Cooperstown lately, not sure what you can get at the Baseball Hall of Fame that poses as a security threat but apparently there’s something that triggers a check there. Nope no Cooperstown lately for us. Turns out that it’s the huge Ziploc bag of quarters that was suspicious. I always bring a Ziploc bag fulla quarters for the DDs to use at the arcade! It probably is heavy enough to knock out a flight attendant, if I had those tendencies. So they give me back my bag and let me through!


Now it’s time for breakfast. DH and WinniethePooh take off for McDonalds, but LizzY, Tink and I know we must proceed immediately to the coffee shop! We get in line and immediately ID Tara because of her disneyfied look, WDW lanyard and LGMHPC!!! But off course she doesn’t know us. We’re waiting in line. Tara and some guy are waiting on people and I just keep thinking, we’ve got to get Tara, we can’t get the guy. If we get the guy, I’ll have to tell him we only do business with Limeys! Luckily we get TaraLee4 . We hand her LGMHPCs for her and her DF, Steve. She knows who we are and gets me my large Hazelnut Coffee without my even having to order! We pay for the coffee and my muffin, the DDs had put in the order with DH for McDonalds. Tara takes her break and comes out to see us!

Let me tell ya that TaraLee4 is a sweetheart! Tara got to meet all of us DH, me and DDs! There were lots of hugs. Dh just rolled his eyes and said , “Oh, you’re one of those” (how rude!). We took lots of pictures (which I won’t post here, because I don’t like to post my kids pics on the internet). TL set me up with coffee for WDW to save me from the horrible WDW coffee! Unfortunately we didn’t have much time with Tara because she had to get back to work and we had to get to our gate. Hopefully she’s working next time and we’ll get to see her again! But we have some great pictures and at least she’ll make it into my scrapbook if I ever actually make it. You think it takes me a long time to post a TR, who knows how long it will take for me to make the scrapbook!

We were lucky enough to have a flight that left on time and we had a smooth uneventful ride, unlike DISUNC. (For those of you who have not yet read DISUNC’s TR, leave this thread and go to his. It’s much more entertaining).


Hey on my next installment we actually get to WDW!

 

[stinkerbelle's mom]

Yay, another installment!!! What a cool way to introduce yourself to Tara!

 

[PigletFairy]

This is so much fun! I love reading TRs. Keep up the limey good work!

 

[wvdislover]

Part 3
Two Disney vacations booked!

That is SO NOT FAIR!!! My DH doesn't want to go back for 4 more years!!! But I have the kids on my side, asking every day, "When are we going back to Disney?!?" So, maybe we'll go without him! Lovin' your TR so far, and we're not even to the trip part yet--can't wait!

 

[Azure]

I love it so much! I could read it over and over again (which I did)

 

[rer1972]

Wow pixie dust 112, two TR updates in two days

I have to get my coffee from Tara Lee at the airport. She’s making hazelnut for me. DH can’t believe it . I always need a cup of coffee! But hey, this is coffee from a fellow Limey!

Such a team player!!! The benefits of knowing people at the airport are great. One of these days being a part of The Limeys will be like the Good Sam Club for RVers.

(For those of you who have not yet read DISUNC’s TR, leave this thread and go to his. It’s much more entertaining).

Who says it's not entertaining? Anyone writing about going to the motherland is entertaining!

I'll be here waiting for the next entertaining installment.