enigmaticorange
Chronic Lurker
- Joined
- Dec 28, 2009
- Messages
- 63
I always seem to be reading other trip reports but never tell my own stories! In fact, I discovered the Dis a few years ago when DH and I were surprising our boys with a Disney trip and I was searching for Disney Surprise stories online. (You may now point and yell "lurker!!") That story should be told as well, but without the video, the story does no justice to that catastrophe!!! some day i will post it. (The closer we got to Disney, the more positive that tale becomes) Any way, this is the story of the non-Disney trip.
By non-Disney, I mean the original plan was to travel to Orlando to go to UNIVERSAL without the kids. Because this is a Disney trip report, obviously something changed there!
Here is the scenario: The DH and I never get to see each other with my busy school/work schedule. So I am sitting in DH office at home while he does his game programming thing, plotting when-oh-when we can take another vacation. (We had gone 4 days to Boston/Salem in October, 8 days of Disney last May) I had a new job, but was not working enough to make the money I used to. The outlook for a trip anytime soon was bleak, especially considering: I was in nursing school!!! You dont miss days in nursing school. In fact, they let you miss one day. The entire semester. Some have had a parent die- and still could not miss more than one day. And then, like and angel reached down and dropped the thought into my head: Spring break!!!! So I look up spring break dates and ..are you kidding me????? The week of my school spring break (mid-march) is the exact week of MSA for my kids. (Super important assessment testing here in MD) Ugh. Oh well, we dont have the money anyway. Until .
Tax time!
I expected to pay a boat load of taxes this year. Apparently not. In fact, it was our best refund ever. Imagine the seagulls on Nemo saying mine?, mine?, mine? In my head, I see that number and I say, trip? Vacation? Trip? DH and I purchased our home 6 years ago, a new construction and we did not add in the driveway paving. why? Because we were younger and stupider. I always say that when I have the extra money, I will pave the driveway. Every single time I have the extra money, I decide that Disney is a better option. (Seriously- a flatter parking area or a life time of memories??) The kids would KILL me if we went to Disney without them, though. Grr. What about Niagara falls? (Too cold.) What about New Orleans? (DH does not want to fly) Okay. How about we go to Universal? We can scope it out and see if we should bring the kids next time. I had been there about 10 years ago without my DH but we had a good day. Harry Potter wont be open yet, but we can check it all out. So, sister agrees to stay at our house, watch the kids, pick them up from school, watch animals, and be an all around super awesome angel. I rented a car through Hertz (Unlimited miles, even when you arent in a bordering state!!) We always rent cars for trips; it is part of the fun to drive a different car around. The tickets to Universal are cheaper when purchased in advance; yet I keep holding off. The back of my brain keeps screaming Epcot!!! but I dont say anything-at first. We book a 3.5 star room at the Hyatt on I-drive for the ridiculously low price of $35 a night. It is next door to Ripleys.
So the time comes and we drive through the night as usual- I drive to South of the Border, Husband takes the wheel through the night until Jacksonville. I looooove the stop in Jacksonville because it looks like such a nice city, and I wake up to palm trees! DH tries to fit in some zs at this point.
I make it to Orlando in record time, and it is only about 7am. I drive up and down I-drive a few times trying to kill time- but I eventually have to wake up DH and get some breakfast at I Hop. It was bad from the minute we walked in. I wont go into details- I know you are all as food-spoiled as me. In the past, Ive been convinced that we should move to Orlando in a few years. This was the trip that made me realize we love Disney and Disney employees, not necessarily the rest of Orlando. I will keep the non-Disney stuff short and sweet except to say- almost every single person outside of Disney was nasty to us. We come from a resort ocean town, we are used to tourists and make a real effort not to behave like them- but we were baffled the nastiness of people constantly trying to sell us time shares/tickets. So after breakfast we still have time to kill before we can check in to the resort. DH is sooo tired, the poor guy. We go to Down Town Disney right as it opens up, and we look for some great coffee. We find some at Ghirardellis and do some shopping.
It is at this point we realize how different Disney is without your children. We miss them and wish they were there with us to enjoy it- but OH MY LAWD, it was relaxing and magical. We sat on a bench for an hour, just people watching, talking, and drinking our coffee. Ever try that with a 6 and 10 year old?? Hah!
We begin talking at this point about possibly going to Epcot that night. Realize that this is on the fly, no discount, no magic your way- one day ticket. Yowzah. Hmm. (I refuse to do that timeshare garbage, even for a big discount!)
After checking in to the hotel and getting a nap, we head back out to .Down Town Disney. We decide to have an early dinner at Raglan Rd (yum yum yum!) and then head to the Boardwalk. We just couldnt spring $200 for a couple of hours in the world showcase. We wander the boardwalk for a bit and discover all of the resorts weve not been in before as a reference for our next real trip. We even toured around the Swan and Dolphin. As soon as we walked under the trees of the Beach Club, DH says What is this place?? I want to stay here next time! (Our plan for this December is now a studio in BC, and a pact has been made to never stay off property again!)
We hop back in the car and miss a down pour of rain by seconds! Yes!
The next day we have decided that we just cant skip Epcot. It is our favorite.
If you took my entire family and plunked us down in the world showcase, we could hang there all week with no complaints. We parked at the boardwalk, had breakfast from the bakery bought park tickets in the BW resort, and walked in through the secret entrance". We tried to secure ressies in Italy (DH absolute favorite place) but were denied time and time again. We even tried when we bought our tickets at BW. So it was much to our surprise that we were able to walk right in for lunch! We are idiots for Italy. DH does like to make fun of the machismo atmosphere, though. He thinks the women all look a little too submissive-which is a culture shock for him, lol. We went to every single country and leisurely shopped and wandered and went to Soarin and Test track. DH surprised me by wanting to eat dinner in Mexico. (He doesnt even like Mexican food!) But, he knew Ive always wanted to eat there. Mexico was booked up. We rode the little Mexican ride, which weve never done before. The kids would have called it lame or boring
..but for just the two of us it was very romantic! Disappointed about dinner, we decided to head back out and maybe eat somewhere on I-drive instead. All of the restaurants seem booked for dinner, and the park was closing early that night. I suggest we try Rose and Crown real quick, just because our day has been so magical, why should it stop now? He agrees, and holy cricket on a cracker! We got the LAST table they allowed in for the evening, and it was on the deck!!! We had a perfect table for two, and I enjoyed my favorite meal in this world- Shepherds pie with a nice cider beer. As we ate dessert, the fireworks began. Just thinking about that moment gets me- it wasnt planned, I did not obsess about timing ressies right, it was just pure Disney magic. Just me and the husband, watching front row fireworks together after an amazing meal, and an amazing day. Possibly, the best day we have ever had by ourselves.
Okay, snapping out of it!*** The next day we went to Universal.
UGH. I wont even get into my rant about that nasty place. From fingerprint issues (We were almost denied admission, even when I showed my receipt from that day, gave I.D., and signed the ticket right in front of them) to paying to put stuff in lockers for a ride (that uses fingerprints as the lock!) ok. Not going to revisit. Calming down, going to my happy place.
Because Universal was closing at 6pm, we went back to down town Disney, (find a happy place, right?) and watched Alice in Wonderland. We felt guilty about watching it without the kids, but we talked to them right before the movie to say good night, and my sister had taken them to see it that day!
One the way home, we discuss what we have learned:
I dont want to live in Orlando. (Husband sighs with relief)
We will always make a Disney resort Home base in the future.
I still need a little girl to dress up like a princess, especially since boys are getting older! (DH disagrees)
It was nice to experience The World without kids, but I wouldnt do it again without them any time in the next ten years. We can do that once they grow up! I cant get enough of seeing those happy shiny faces when we go- even if some tears break through now and again .
And now, I am planning the family trip for the week after Thanksgiving. The entire family is coming with us for the first time! Will my family actually make it the with us? We shall find out!
By non-Disney, I mean the original plan was to travel to Orlando to go to UNIVERSAL without the kids. Because this is a Disney trip report, obviously something changed there!
Here is the scenario: The DH and I never get to see each other with my busy school/work schedule. So I am sitting in DH office at home while he does his game programming thing, plotting when-oh-when we can take another vacation. (We had gone 4 days to Boston/Salem in October, 8 days of Disney last May) I had a new job, but was not working enough to make the money I used to. The outlook for a trip anytime soon was bleak, especially considering: I was in nursing school!!! You dont miss days in nursing school. In fact, they let you miss one day. The entire semester. Some have had a parent die- and still could not miss more than one day. And then, like and angel reached down and dropped the thought into my head: Spring break!!!! So I look up spring break dates and ..are you kidding me????? The week of my school spring break (mid-march) is the exact week of MSA for my kids. (Super important assessment testing here in MD) Ugh. Oh well, we dont have the money anyway. Until .
Tax time!
I expected to pay a boat load of taxes this year. Apparently not. In fact, it was our best refund ever. Imagine the seagulls on Nemo saying mine?, mine?, mine? In my head, I see that number and I say, trip? Vacation? Trip? DH and I purchased our home 6 years ago, a new construction and we did not add in the driveway paving. why? Because we were younger and stupider. I always say that when I have the extra money, I will pave the driveway. Every single time I have the extra money, I decide that Disney is a better option. (Seriously- a flatter parking area or a life time of memories??) The kids would KILL me if we went to Disney without them, though. Grr. What about Niagara falls? (Too cold.) What about New Orleans? (DH does not want to fly) Okay. How about we go to Universal? We can scope it out and see if we should bring the kids next time. I had been there about 10 years ago without my DH but we had a good day. Harry Potter wont be open yet, but we can check it all out. So, sister agrees to stay at our house, watch the kids, pick them up from school, watch animals, and be an all around super awesome angel. I rented a car through Hertz (Unlimited miles, even when you arent in a bordering state!!) We always rent cars for trips; it is part of the fun to drive a different car around. The tickets to Universal are cheaper when purchased in advance; yet I keep holding off. The back of my brain keeps screaming Epcot!!! but I dont say anything-at first. We book a 3.5 star room at the Hyatt on I-drive for the ridiculously low price of $35 a night. It is next door to Ripleys.
So the time comes and we drive through the night as usual- I drive to South of the Border, Husband takes the wheel through the night until Jacksonville. I looooove the stop in Jacksonville because it looks like such a nice city, and I wake up to palm trees! DH tries to fit in some zs at this point.
I make it to Orlando in record time, and it is only about 7am. I drive up and down I-drive a few times trying to kill time- but I eventually have to wake up DH and get some breakfast at I Hop. It was bad from the minute we walked in. I wont go into details- I know you are all as food-spoiled as me. In the past, Ive been convinced that we should move to Orlando in a few years. This was the trip that made me realize we love Disney and Disney employees, not necessarily the rest of Orlando. I will keep the non-Disney stuff short and sweet except to say- almost every single person outside of Disney was nasty to us. We come from a resort ocean town, we are used to tourists and make a real effort not to behave like them- but we were baffled the nastiness of people constantly trying to sell us time shares/tickets. So after breakfast we still have time to kill before we can check in to the resort. DH is sooo tired, the poor guy. We go to Down Town Disney right as it opens up, and we look for some great coffee. We find some at Ghirardellis and do some shopping.
It is at this point we realize how different Disney is without your children. We miss them and wish they were there with us to enjoy it- but OH MY LAWD, it was relaxing and magical. We sat on a bench for an hour, just people watching, talking, and drinking our coffee. Ever try that with a 6 and 10 year old?? Hah!
We begin talking at this point about possibly going to Epcot that night. Realize that this is on the fly, no discount, no magic your way- one day ticket. Yowzah. Hmm. (I refuse to do that timeshare garbage, even for a big discount!)
After checking in to the hotel and getting a nap, we head back out to .Down Town Disney. We decide to have an early dinner at Raglan Rd (yum yum yum!) and then head to the Boardwalk. We just couldnt spring $200 for a couple of hours in the world showcase. We wander the boardwalk for a bit and discover all of the resorts weve not been in before as a reference for our next real trip. We even toured around the Swan and Dolphin. As soon as we walked under the trees of the Beach Club, DH says What is this place?? I want to stay here next time! (Our plan for this December is now a studio in BC, and a pact has been made to never stay off property again!)
We hop back in the car and miss a down pour of rain by seconds! Yes!
The next day we have decided that we just cant skip Epcot. It is our favorite.
If you took my entire family and plunked us down in the world showcase, we could hang there all week with no complaints. We parked at the boardwalk, had breakfast from the bakery bought park tickets in the BW resort, and walked in through the secret entrance". We tried to secure ressies in Italy (DH absolute favorite place) but were denied time and time again. We even tried when we bought our tickets at BW. So it was much to our surprise that we were able to walk right in for lunch! We are idiots for Italy. DH does like to make fun of the machismo atmosphere, though. He thinks the women all look a little too submissive-which is a culture shock for him, lol. We went to every single country and leisurely shopped and wandered and went to Soarin and Test track. DH surprised me by wanting to eat dinner in Mexico. (He doesnt even like Mexican food!) But, he knew Ive always wanted to eat there. Mexico was booked up. We rode the little Mexican ride, which weve never done before. The kids would have called it lame or boring
..but for just the two of us it was very romantic! Disappointed about dinner, we decided to head back out and maybe eat somewhere on I-drive instead. All of the restaurants seem booked for dinner, and the park was closing early that night. I suggest we try Rose and Crown real quick, just because our day has been so magical, why should it stop now? He agrees, and holy cricket on a cracker! We got the LAST table they allowed in for the evening, and it was on the deck!!! We had a perfect table for two, and I enjoyed my favorite meal in this world- Shepherds pie with a nice cider beer. As we ate dessert, the fireworks began. Just thinking about that moment gets me- it wasnt planned, I did not obsess about timing ressies right, it was just pure Disney magic. Just me and the husband, watching front row fireworks together after an amazing meal, and an amazing day. Possibly, the best day we have ever had by ourselves.Okay, snapping out of it!*** The next day we went to Universal.
UGH. I wont even get into my rant about that nasty place. From fingerprint issues (We were almost denied admission, even when I showed my receipt from that day, gave I.D., and signed the ticket right in front of them) to paying to put stuff in lockers for a ride (that uses fingerprints as the lock!) ok. Not going to revisit. Calming down, going to my happy place. Because Universal was closing at 6pm, we went back to down town Disney, (find a happy place, right?) and watched Alice in Wonderland. We felt guilty about watching it without the kids, but we talked to them right before the movie to say good night, and my sister had taken them to see it that day!
One the way home, we discuss what we have learned:
I dont want to live in Orlando. (Husband sighs with relief)
We will always make a Disney resort Home base in the future.
I still need a little girl to dress up like a princess, especially since boys are getting older! (DH disagrees)
It was nice to experience The World without kids, but I wouldnt do it again without them any time in the next ten years. We can do that once they grow up! I cant get enough of seeing those happy shiny faces when we go- even if some tears break through now and again .
And now, I am planning the family trip for the week after Thanksgiving. The entire family is coming with us for the first time! Will my family actually make it the with us? We shall find out!
Watching the faces of young children light up at Disney is something truly magical!!! Have fun planning your upcoming trip.
