We're not having a baby so let's go to Disney World. May 2009 PTR. We're HOME.

[chicagoshannon]

i am subscribed! I am a fertility "expert" too- by no choice of our own...... We spent a year doing clomid, IUIs and follistim. Finally resorted to IVF as well and were blessed with a baby boy. I'll be keeping you guys in my thoughts and prayers. I know what a tough journey it is. But ONLY the strong survive it- you are obviously a super strong woman!!!!

Anyways, it looks like a fabulous trip and it isn't that far away!! i can't wait to read more.

too funny- my two sisters and I also loved those same fountains by JII! We have pics of playing with the 'dancing water' as kids and then as teens and now as adults!

Thanks for reading. Madeline is an IVF baby (after going through clomid, surgery and IUI's). Then back in early July we had a miracle on our own pregnancy only to loose the baby at 8 weeks. We had 2 embryo's frozen from Madeline's IVF so we used them last month for an FET. I did end up pregnant but didn't make it past 4w3d. I'm not emotionally ready to go through it all again (and don't know if I ever will be or if we want to spend all that money again) so we're just praying now that it happens on its own again and if it does that we end up with an actual baby.

Those fountains are the best! Do they still let you climb up there?

 

[tiggersam00]

Loving all the pics!

 

[chicagoshannon]

Loving all the pics!

Thanks our countdown chain starts at 57 days so just a couple more days I'll have pics of that too.

One of these days I"ll get around to taking pics of my clothes and shoes too.

Eric and I are trying to decide which restaurant to go to for our date night. I kind of want to see the Electric Water pageant so was thinking either WCC or Ohana. I'm not completely sold on Ohana though. The other option we were thinking was something at DTD or maybe Tony's at Magic Kingdom. I'm just not sure.

Here are out revised plans (we weren't able to switch CP breakfast)

Sun 3rd- DTD for supper and to get my parents annual passes

Mon 4th- MK for ropedrop. We'll do Fantasy land, Liberty Square, Fronteirland, and Tom Sawyers Island. We'll stay for Spectro and Wishes. We will also be taking about a 3 1/2 hour break from like 1pm (leave the park) to 4:30 (arrive back at the park)

Tuesday 5th- off day hang out at the condo in the morning and maybe some shopping and hotel touring in the afternoon

Wednesday 6th- Epcot. Will concentrate on Future wold this day. Will also take a 3 hour break. Lunch at Sunshine Seasons. See Illuminations.

Thursday 7th- I'm thinking Gatorland

Friday 8th- DHS right now we have ADR's for 11am at 50's prime time but I'm thinking of cancelling that. No nap this day

Saturday 9th- Typhoon Lagoon and just relaxing. I dont' think we'd be there more then say 3 hours.

Sunday 10th- Animal Kingdom- bring in our own lunch.

Monday 11th- MK- Crystal Place breakfast at 8am. We'll do Adventure land, Tomorrow land (no TTA or SM ) and Toon Town. Should be done aroun 1pm for my parents to take Madeline back to the condo for nap. Eric and I will either stay at MK or park hop to another park and then do dinner and electric water pageant.

Tuesday 12th- off day- maybe DTD for shopping and Eric would do Disney Quest while we shop.

Wednesday 13th- Epcot- Soarin and then hopefully Behind the Seeds tour. I've instructed Eric to take Madeline on the Land while we're doing that so she could maybe see us. Then we'll hit World Showcase for the rest of the day.

Thursday- off day we'll be packing/relaxing. Maybe we'll go back to a park if everyone feels up for it. Maybe this will be the day for Beaches and Cream. We'll see.

Well that's it. We just need to decide on which restaurant for our date night.

 

[tiggersam00]

Ohhh your almost at 57 days!! How exciting, and hey less then 2 months now!! It will fly by!

 

[chicagoshannon]

We were married in my home town in Oct. of 2004. Preceding the wedding we were both selling our condo's and building our house, not to mention wedding planning. So needless to say we were in need of some major R&R. We flew out of Ohare airport late morning or early afternoon on Oct 24th. We arrived in Orlando late afternoon. We then picked up our rental car. We rented a car for 3 or 4 days. I don't remember. Anyway we headed out to find our lodging for the next couple of days. Eric had booked the honeymoon cottage in a little town about an hour from Busch Gardens. I'm really, really bad with directions but it was right by the ocean. Anyway it was supposed to have it's own personal hot tub outside.

It took a couple of hours- maybe 3- to get there from the airport. We knew how many miles it should be so when we rolled past that number we started to get worried. We worried for a bit and just when we were ready to turn around we realized that it was set to kilometers and NOT miles. We had a good laugh about that for a while.

We arrived just before the office closed for the night. We got into the house and I was so ready for the hot tub. I had been looking forward to this for a couple of days. We dumped our stuff and headed out. But to our horror The hot tub did NOT work. I was LIVID! That totally put a damper on our trip. We called the office and the next day it was fixed. It was too late though. We had planned on staying there for 3 nights but the place just skeeved me out. The next day we spent some time at the beach. We then decided that it was way too boring and I seriously felt like someone was watching us so we checked out a day early.

The day we checked out we had planned to go to Busch Gardens and then come back to the house but we decided to just stay near Busch Gardens for the night instead. We ended up staying at La Quinta ( I think that was it, it's the place that gives you a free warm cookie upon check in). In any case it turned out to be a nice hotel.

We had a lot of fun at Busch Gardens. Eric LOVED it! We even went on the behind the scenes safari or whatever it's called. We got to feed giraffes.

The next day we took our time getting up and then headed back to the airport to drop off our car. We had a town car pick us up from the airport and drive us to Port Orleans Riverside.

In 2004 when you booked a honeymoon package you got 2 lanyards and pins and a choice of some other ammenities. We chose a carriage ride at Fort Wilderness, a couples massage, our picture on the "tombstones" at Epcot, and a signature meal. The tickets were also length of stay so you could go as many times as you wanted during your stay.

Con't next post...

 

[chicagoshannon]

We had booked our carriage ride for the first night we were there. We took a bus over to Fort Wilderness. I enjoyed showing Eric around a little. I showed him the petting zoo- that you are no longer allowed to walk in to. I showed him River Country- not open anymore. I showed him the beach we used to swim in. Not allowed to do that anymore either. What a bummer.

At this point it was time for our ride. It was ok. I mean it was nice to be together but there wasn't much to see excpet some trees. A lot of trees were down. I think there had been a hurricane that year ( I honestly can't remember) Our driver told me that River Country would not be reoppened. I was a little disspointed but oh well.

After this we hopped on a boat and went to Magic Kingdom to get a bus back to our hotel. I'm not sure if we ate in the food court for dinner or had pizza delivered to our room. In any case at some point after dark we ended up at the pool. Finally a hot tub that truley worked. Ahhhhhhhh

Tommorrow would be Magic Kingdom day.

 

[chicagoshannon]

That's not night that's how early I made Eric get to Magic Kingdom He was sort of grumpy for a while We were definitely the first people there. About 90 minutes later (I'm guessing might not have been that long) we were the first people let in the turnstiles. They didn't choose us for the opening ceremonies though. Once we were let in I realized I forgot to take my birth control pill so after going on a ride or two (couldn't waste the EMH) I made Eric go back to the hotel with me so I could take my pill. If only I knew then what I know now I wouldn't have worried about it.

So back at the MK.

I love this picture because it was before you COULD get a room in the castle. lol

We had lunch at Casey's. It took FOREVER even though we were in a short line. We got free stickers for being on our honeymoon--- only free thing we got all week We then learned that the Red Sox were in the Magic Kingdom that day and were going to be in the parade. They had just won the World Series. After lunch we wondered around and found

Only characters we stopped for all week. We then saw the Country Bears. They were my favorite when I was a kid and I hadn't seen the un-Christmas version since I was 8.

I can't remember if we stayed for fireworks or not but I think not.

next up: couples massage

 

[tiggersam00]

Ohhh you were there for the Red Sox parade!! I am very jealous! How cool must that have been!

 

[chicagoshannon]

Ohhh you were there for the Red Sox parade!! I am very jealous! How cool must that have been!

Yep we were there. Even though I'm not really a Red Sox fan it was still really cool that they had won after so many years!

 

[moparop]

Just found your PTR. We took each of our kids at right about the age Madeline was. It was such fun! I know they don't necessarily remember, but the memories you'll have of the trip are priceless!

When we were there in August, my mom and I did the Behind the Seeds tour. It was really neat, especially for my mom who is an avid gardener. I don't know if you have AAA or Disney Visa - you can get a discount with either if you just show your card.

 

[chicagoshannon]

Just found your PTR. We took each of our kids at right about the age Madeline was. It was such fun! I know they don't necessarily remember, but the memories you'll have of the trip are priceless!

When we were there in August, my mom and I did the Behind the Seeds tour. It was really neat, especially for my mom who is an avid gardener. I don't know if you have AAA or Disney Visa - you can get a discount with either if you just show your card.

Thanks. We have both of those and an annual pass. I figure we're covered with the discount

 

[chicagoshannon]

I'm not 100% sure of the order of our days but we'll pretend it was an off day.

We had a couples massage scheduled for today at the Grand Floridian. We thought this would be such a great thing. We got to the Grand Floridian and walked down the long path to the spa. We were underwhelmed when we got there. I thought it was going to be state of the art and beautiful. We walked in and it was just eh. We were each escorted to separate rooms to hang out until out appointment. There was water and some fruit I believe in the lounge area. Off of the lounge were two rooms. One was showers/changing room and the other housed a sauna and jacuzzi. It was a shame that Eric and I were in separate rooms. So I enjoyed the jacuzzi by myself. Eventually it was time for our massage. We were escorted into separate rooms. HUH? They then opened the curtain between the rooms. We were still like 100 feet away from each other. I thought since it was a couples massage we'd at least be somewhat close to each other. The massage wasn't that great and I was annoyed the whole time. I've had better massages in Vegas. Needless to say we won't be going back there.

After the massage we headed back to our hotel. We had to get ready for our signature dining at Citricos. We didn't really have anything else planned for the day so we got ready and ended up a bit early for our reservation. They sat us early and we were the first there. We must have gotten there right when they opened. The meal was good. Although we say the more you pay the less portion size you get. He is us with dessert.

After our meal we went back to the hotel to change. I think we went to Disney Quest that night and probably some swimming.

Next up Epcot food and wine. Our plan eat around WS.

 

[chicagoshannon]

We went to the zoo today. I wanted to break in my crocs (my feet hurt ) and try out my new camera bag/camcorder/camera skills. I must say I think my camera skills are improving. Check out the evidence:

It's 68 degrees here today. Feels like summer. We really needed the warm weather. I think it's been 4 or 5 months since we've played outside!

 

[Jessica0796]

Great PTR!

I'm sorry to hear about your IVF. We have to do the same thing to have our children. I would have moved the trip up too

Your daughter is adorable.

We're taking our first trip to WDW (first for ALL of us) in 18 days We're so excited. My 5 year old has been dancing around the house since we told him last week LOL!

My DH has been on me to start a PTR of my own. I hope to get to it this weekend. It's not going to give me much time with only 2.5 weeks to go.

We just bought that same camera bag for our trip. We've used it twice on local trips and so far, we love it. I hope you're having some luck with yours too.

 

[chicagoshannon]

Great PTR!

I'm sorry to hear about your IVF. We have to do the same thing to have our children. I would have moved the trip up too

Your daughter is adorable.

We're taking our first trip to WDW (first for ALL of us) in 18 days We're so excited. My 5 year old has been dancing around the house since we told him last week LOL!

My DH has been on me to start a PTR of my own. I hope to get to it this weekend. It's not going to give me much time with only 2.5 weeks to go.

We just bought that same camera bag for our trip. We've used it twice on local trips and so far, we love it. I hope you're having some luck with yours too.

Ooh 18 days how exciting! I can't imagine a 5 year olds excitement. My almost 2 year old is excited and she doesn't even realize what we're doing
I love the camera bag! I will be your first PTR reader if you do one. Make sure to come here and give me the link to it.

 

[chicagoshannon]

Today we have 56 days until we leave for our trip. We took our first day off of our countdown chain this morning.

Each ring has character pictures on the inside. Today was pluto (got the designs off of mouse for less) I'm looking forward to the chain getting shorter and shorter!

I also had Eric make an ADR for Whispering Canyon Cafe this morning. We decided to go there for our Date night! So here are our ADR's.
Fri, March 8 50's Prime Time lunch
Mon March 11 Crystal Palace breakfast
Mon March 11 Whispering Canyon Cafe dinner

I'm thinking we'll have a VERY light lunch this day.

Some other places we're planning on eating are:
Earl of Sandwich
Sunshine Season's
Beaches and Creme

I think we'll bring our lunch in on Animal Kingdom day but I'm seriously considering calling for Tusker House breakfast before park opening on Mother's day. In fact I think I"ll call my mom right now and ask her what she wants to do. Although we're probably too late to schedule that one.

 

[chicagoshannon]

On our Epcot day we arrived at rope drop again but not quite as early as our Magic Kingdom day

Opening ceremonies

We were there during food and wine festival.

We raced over to mission space and test track and rode those first. This was back when Soarin was under construction so we didn't have to choose which side of the park to dash to. This was also the last days of the old Living Seas attraction. It was DEAD in there. There was no ride, at least one of the tanks was closed down. We did get to see the manatee though. Living with the land had fastpasses (do they still?) The line was always long at this ride too. Imagination was a walk on. We did Ellen's energy adventure also. I think we walked straight through innoventions. I'm pretty sure we ate at Sunshine Season's for lunch.

We then either went right to World Showcase or took a break back at the hotel. Plan for dinner tonight was to eat around the world.

The lines were SO long for the food. I don't remember if we even got one thing. We did enjoy the countries. We rode Maelstrom and skipped the movie. I got an umbrella/parasol from China with my name on it. We saw the American adventure. When we were finished we went back to the hotel to relax. I'm sure on this night we got a pizza since our plan to eat around the world was a bust.

ok hmm I just realized that Eric is wearing different clothes between future world and World Showcase so we must have done those on different days. lol Oh well just pretend.
Next up MGM.

 

[chicagoshannon]

I just made Eric call AGAIN to get reservations for Tusker House breakfast on Mother's day.

He wasn't happy. I don't think I could get him to call again. Good thing I'm done with ADR's (I think)

 

[chicagoshannon]

Eric loves Star Wars and thrill rides so MGM was right up his alley. I HATE big drops so he was on his own on Tower of Terror. I've ridden it twice before and hated it each time. The first time I rode when it was just one drop, then they added two or three and I went on then too. BUT when they added random drops I put my foot down.

That's Eric in front of one of his favorite rides. We went to this area first and must have grabbed fast passes and then ridden Rockin Roller Coaster. I loved that ride! Eric then rode TOT twice using my fastpass.

We then went to check out other attractions. We probably went to Star Tours next.

After the ride we got out pictures taken as Padme and Anakin. Eric has it on his desk at work.
I'm sure we rode ST a few more times.

We also hit up Muppets, backlot tour and Great Movie ride. I think we did the animation tour and Indiana Jones also. We also did Who Wants to be a Millionaire. That was a pretty cool show. We skipped the little mermaid and Beauty and the Beast.

We saw Fantasmic. I loved it. I don't think we're going to catch it this year though. I wish we could but I dont' feel like waiting for 2 hours for this show. Maybe some evening Eric and I will venture out on our own to see it.

So ends our MGM day. I'm looking forward to trying TSM this year and a bunch of the shows we haven't seen. We will NOT be wasting our time on American Idol though!

 

[chicagoshannon]

Tickets!

I ordered our tickets yesterday. I got Eric a 10 day PH + WPM. I got myself a 7 day non expiring PH +WPM. I will use one day and then upgrade to Annual pass. This was we'll save $44 on the annual pass.

My mom sent the check into the condo last week so we're all paid up there too.

So all of our big things are purchased. Actually I think everything we need is purchased. I bought the last of the needs yesterday - a sunshade for the car.

I'm itching to star packing but it's a bit early. lol