jilwil
06-11-2008, 03:00 PM
Roll Call:
Jill (Me :) ) - 36 years old, chief researcher :rocks: and trip planner
Chuck (DH) - 38 years old, chauffer :car: and financial advisor :spend: (In him I have created what I lovingly call, "The Disney Monster.")
Wesley (DS) - 15 years old (Give that boy some thrill rides! :coaster: )
Trip Background:
This trip was never suppose to happen. In the early 90's DH was enlisted in the army. He was stationed at Ft. Drum, New York from 1991-95. Wesley was born while we were living there, but of course, has no memories of that time. I decided that I wanted to take a trip to NY for Wesley to see his birthplace, with a side trip to Hershey, Pennsylvania on the return trip home. I started planning the trip. The first thing I wanted to do was reunite with some old friends that lived in Watertown. One friend, in particular, I had kept in touch with over the years since leaving NY. However, it had been about six years since I had last talked with her on the phone. I could not find her phone number so I called information. I was told there was no listing for her husband's name in Watertown, NY. I thought this was odd because they had lived there for years. I decided to type his name in a search engine online. Sadly I found her obituary. I was devastated, to say the least. Strike one for the NY/Pennsylvania trip! Next, I decided to contact the parents of my friend that had passed away. Her father was our minister during our time in NY and had baptized DH. I sent an e-mail to the church website to offer my condolences for Jean's loss and to let them know that we were coming for a visit. The church secretary replied back to let me know that Jean's parents had moved to Texas this past November to be close to Jean's children and grandchildren who were now living in the Dallas area. Strike two for the NY/Pennsylvania trip! I then called to make reservations at the Hershey Lodge. I suppose I waited too long to try to reserve the room because they were booked up for the days that we wanted to stay there (June 24 & 25). I also could not find a decent hotel off Hershey property for that time. Strike three for the NY/Pennsylvania trip! And...we're OUT! I was SO discouraged the morning I tried to book our room in Hershey! In the shower later that morning, I was pondering how hard it had been to try to plan this trip, and how it just didn't seem to be coming to fruition. The fact of the matter was, it had become down-right depressing! Vacation should be anything but depressing! I started roughly adding up in my head the cost for our NY/Pennsylvania trip. "With rising gas prices, (We would be driving.) food, accomodations, tickets to the theme park in Hershey, etc. we could have probably afforded a Walt Disney World vacation instead!" :idea: DING! DING! DING! DING! DING! I hopped out of the shower and started comparing the cost of our NY/Pennsylvania trip with the cost of a WDW vacation. It was do-able! Now, I just had to convince DH. When DH arrived home from work that afternoon, I was prepared. I had thought out all the reasons, and most importantly when dealing with DH, the numbers.
"Honey," I started sweetly, "today I have been comparing the cost of our trip to NY and Pennsylvania with a trip to Disney World."
"Book it," DH said.
Shocked, I said, "Excuse me?"
"Book it. I would much rather go to Disney World any day than to drive all the way to NY for Wesley to look at the hospital where he was born. Especially with gas prices as high as they are. I was only going along with it for you anyway!"
YIPPEE! :clappy: So I immediately started planning a trip to WDW! I was unable to book Hershey or WDW for the week we originally had set aside for vacation. Note to self: Start planning any vacation much sooner next time, especially if said vacation is in the middle of summer. Truthfully, my heart was never in the NY/Pennsylvania trip, and the WDW trip came very last minute by our standards. However, I was able to completely finish booking our trip in about two hours time. The majority of that time was spent waiting in line on the phone for a Disney reservationist, blissfully listening to songs from Disney soundtracks. The NY/Pennsylvania trip had taken me weeks to plan. DH was able to move his vacation time around. He is fortunate to have that kind of flexibility.
We will be staying at POP! Century July 11-19. We have 5-day PH tickets. This will allow us a couple of free days to relax and do somethings outside of the parks. We know that it will be hot and crowded (hence, the title of this pre-trip report). We will utilize EMH, FP, and single-rider lines, but more importantly, patience and understanding to off-set these problems. I am sure we will enjoy any attraction that involves water in the FL heat! We also have the dining plan. I was able to get all the ADRs that I wanted! I could not believe it on such short notice!
Itinerary:
Friday, July 11: Drive from Gainesville, GA to WDW. We hope to be on the road by 8:00 a.m. We have ADRs for Wolfgang Puck's Cafe' at 8:00 p.m. This will be our first time dining at WPC! After dinner we will head over to the Adventurer's Club. We don't drink, but we find this place SO entertaining. It's hilarious!
Saturday, July 12: Early EMH @ AK. The goals: See the Finding Nemo show and ride the train to Rafiki's Planet Watch for me. The Wonders of Flight show for DH and DS. CS @ Yak and Yeti for lunch. We have ADRs for Boma at 6:05 p.m. This will be our first time eating supper at Boma! After supper we will make our way to the MK to try and ride the new and improved HM!
Sunday, July 13: We will go to worship service in Kissimmee. We will eat lunch @ Friendly's. (This is the only carry over of our NY/Pennsylvania trip. We ate @ Friendly's quite often when we lived in NY. We do not have Friendly's in GA. We ate @ the Friendly's in Kissimmee on our 2002 WDW vacation. This is a must do for our family.) I hope to make the monorail loop that afternoon. I want to visit the GF for the first time. We will spend the evening at the BW. We have ADRs for Cape May Cafe' @ 5:30 p.m. This will be our first time dining at CMC!
Monday, July 14: Early EMH @ DHS. The goals: TSM!, of course! ToT for DH for the first time. The Indiana Jones show for DS and L!M!A! for DH and I. We have ADRs for 50's Prime Time Cafe' @ 5:10 p.m. This will be our first time dining at 50's PTC! We will finish the day by watching Fantasmic!
Tuesday, July 15: Epcot. The goals: Ride the new and improved? SE and Turtle Talk with Crush. Ride the green side of M:S for me. Eat CS for lunch in Norway for DS. Watch Impressions de France. We have ADRs for San Angel Inn @ 5:30 p.m. This will be our first time dining at SAI! It always smells SO good! We will take advantage of EMH @ Epcot this evening. This will be the only time during our stay that we use evening EMH.
Wednesday, July 16: A day of rest! We will sleep in after staying out late for EMH @ Epcot the evening before. We have ADRs for the Kona Cafe' @ 10:30 a.m. Finally, Tonga Toast! I have read so much about it and can't wait to try it! We will most likely shop at DtD and then play mini-golf at FG.
Thursday, July 17: Early EMH @ MK. The goals: Eat breakfast @ MS Bakery for me. Cherry Turnovers! YUM! Ride a MS vehicle for me. Ride the HM if we were unable to do so on Saturday. Eat a homemade ice cream sandwich from Main Street, U.S.A. We have ADRs for the Whispering Canyon Cafe' @ 6:25 p.m. This will be our first time dining @ WCC and our first visit to the WL!
Friday, July 18: The goals: Hit any attractions and shows that we may have missed throughout the preceding week and finish our shopping. We have ADRs @...drum roll, please...Le Cellier at 4:00 p.m.! I could not believe I got this ADR! I was sure there would be no availability! Granted, the times available were 4:00 p.m. and 8:50 p.m., but I will take what I can get! This will be our first time dining @ Le Cellier! I am sure we will spend a good deal of time @ Epcot this day because of our ADRs @ Le Cellier.
Saturday, July 19: Return home to prepare for band camp for DS.
Wow! This pre-trip report is REALLY long! Sorry! We went to WDW in April 2007 with DS middle school band. I wrote a pre-trip report for that trip, but never followed up with trip reports! I know, I know...for shame! I will try to do better this time! If you made it this far, thanks for reading. And, thanks for letting me share! :mickey:
Jill (Me :) ) - 36 years old, chief researcher :rocks: and trip planner
Chuck (DH) - 38 years old, chauffer :car: and financial advisor :spend: (In him I have created what I lovingly call, "The Disney Monster.")
Wesley (DS) - 15 years old (Give that boy some thrill rides! :coaster: )
Trip Background:
This trip was never suppose to happen. In the early 90's DH was enlisted in the army. He was stationed at Ft. Drum, New York from 1991-95. Wesley was born while we were living there, but of course, has no memories of that time. I decided that I wanted to take a trip to NY for Wesley to see his birthplace, with a side trip to Hershey, Pennsylvania on the return trip home. I started planning the trip. The first thing I wanted to do was reunite with some old friends that lived in Watertown. One friend, in particular, I had kept in touch with over the years since leaving NY. However, it had been about six years since I had last talked with her on the phone. I could not find her phone number so I called information. I was told there was no listing for her husband's name in Watertown, NY. I thought this was odd because they had lived there for years. I decided to type his name in a search engine online. Sadly I found her obituary. I was devastated, to say the least. Strike one for the NY/Pennsylvania trip! Next, I decided to contact the parents of my friend that had passed away. Her father was our minister during our time in NY and had baptized DH. I sent an e-mail to the church website to offer my condolences for Jean's loss and to let them know that we were coming for a visit. The church secretary replied back to let me know that Jean's parents had moved to Texas this past November to be close to Jean's children and grandchildren who were now living in the Dallas area. Strike two for the NY/Pennsylvania trip! I then called to make reservations at the Hershey Lodge. I suppose I waited too long to try to reserve the room because they were booked up for the days that we wanted to stay there (June 24 & 25). I also could not find a decent hotel off Hershey property for that time. Strike three for the NY/Pennsylvania trip! And...we're OUT! I was SO discouraged the morning I tried to book our room in Hershey! In the shower later that morning, I was pondering how hard it had been to try to plan this trip, and how it just didn't seem to be coming to fruition. The fact of the matter was, it had become down-right depressing! Vacation should be anything but depressing! I started roughly adding up in my head the cost for our NY/Pennsylvania trip. "With rising gas prices, (We would be driving.) food, accomodations, tickets to the theme park in Hershey, etc. we could have probably afforded a Walt Disney World vacation instead!" :idea: DING! DING! DING! DING! DING! I hopped out of the shower and started comparing the cost of our NY/Pennsylvania trip with the cost of a WDW vacation. It was do-able! Now, I just had to convince DH. When DH arrived home from work that afternoon, I was prepared. I had thought out all the reasons, and most importantly when dealing with DH, the numbers.
"Honey," I started sweetly, "today I have been comparing the cost of our trip to NY and Pennsylvania with a trip to Disney World."
"Book it," DH said.
Shocked, I said, "Excuse me?"
"Book it. I would much rather go to Disney World any day than to drive all the way to NY for Wesley to look at the hospital where he was born. Especially with gas prices as high as they are. I was only going along with it for you anyway!"
YIPPEE! :clappy: So I immediately started planning a trip to WDW! I was unable to book Hershey or WDW for the week we originally had set aside for vacation. Note to self: Start planning any vacation much sooner next time, especially if said vacation is in the middle of summer. Truthfully, my heart was never in the NY/Pennsylvania trip, and the WDW trip came very last minute by our standards. However, I was able to completely finish booking our trip in about two hours time. The majority of that time was spent waiting in line on the phone for a Disney reservationist, blissfully listening to songs from Disney soundtracks. The NY/Pennsylvania trip had taken me weeks to plan. DH was able to move his vacation time around. He is fortunate to have that kind of flexibility.
We will be staying at POP! Century July 11-19. We have 5-day PH tickets. This will allow us a couple of free days to relax and do somethings outside of the parks. We know that it will be hot and crowded (hence, the title of this pre-trip report). We will utilize EMH, FP, and single-rider lines, but more importantly, patience and understanding to off-set these problems. I am sure we will enjoy any attraction that involves water in the FL heat! We also have the dining plan. I was able to get all the ADRs that I wanted! I could not believe it on such short notice!
Itinerary:
Friday, July 11: Drive from Gainesville, GA to WDW. We hope to be on the road by 8:00 a.m. We have ADRs for Wolfgang Puck's Cafe' at 8:00 p.m. This will be our first time dining at WPC! After dinner we will head over to the Adventurer's Club. We don't drink, but we find this place SO entertaining. It's hilarious!
Saturday, July 12: Early EMH @ AK. The goals: See the Finding Nemo show and ride the train to Rafiki's Planet Watch for me. The Wonders of Flight show for DH and DS. CS @ Yak and Yeti for lunch. We have ADRs for Boma at 6:05 p.m. This will be our first time eating supper at Boma! After supper we will make our way to the MK to try and ride the new and improved HM!
Sunday, July 13: We will go to worship service in Kissimmee. We will eat lunch @ Friendly's. (This is the only carry over of our NY/Pennsylvania trip. We ate @ Friendly's quite often when we lived in NY. We do not have Friendly's in GA. We ate @ the Friendly's in Kissimmee on our 2002 WDW vacation. This is a must do for our family.) I hope to make the monorail loop that afternoon. I want to visit the GF for the first time. We will spend the evening at the BW. We have ADRs for Cape May Cafe' @ 5:30 p.m. This will be our first time dining at CMC!
Monday, July 14: Early EMH @ DHS. The goals: TSM!, of course! ToT for DH for the first time. The Indiana Jones show for DS and L!M!A! for DH and I. We have ADRs for 50's Prime Time Cafe' @ 5:10 p.m. This will be our first time dining at 50's PTC! We will finish the day by watching Fantasmic!
Tuesday, July 15: Epcot. The goals: Ride the new and improved? SE and Turtle Talk with Crush. Ride the green side of M:S for me. Eat CS for lunch in Norway for DS. Watch Impressions de France. We have ADRs for San Angel Inn @ 5:30 p.m. This will be our first time dining at SAI! It always smells SO good! We will take advantage of EMH @ Epcot this evening. This will be the only time during our stay that we use evening EMH.
Wednesday, July 16: A day of rest! We will sleep in after staying out late for EMH @ Epcot the evening before. We have ADRs for the Kona Cafe' @ 10:30 a.m. Finally, Tonga Toast! I have read so much about it and can't wait to try it! We will most likely shop at DtD and then play mini-golf at FG.
Thursday, July 17: Early EMH @ MK. The goals: Eat breakfast @ MS Bakery for me. Cherry Turnovers! YUM! Ride a MS vehicle for me. Ride the HM if we were unable to do so on Saturday. Eat a homemade ice cream sandwich from Main Street, U.S.A. We have ADRs for the Whispering Canyon Cafe' @ 6:25 p.m. This will be our first time dining @ WCC and our first visit to the WL!
Friday, July 18: The goals: Hit any attractions and shows that we may have missed throughout the preceding week and finish our shopping. We have ADRs @...drum roll, please...Le Cellier at 4:00 p.m.! I could not believe I got this ADR! I was sure there would be no availability! Granted, the times available were 4:00 p.m. and 8:50 p.m., but I will take what I can get! This will be our first time dining @ Le Cellier! I am sure we will spend a good deal of time @ Epcot this day because of our ADRs @ Le Cellier.
Saturday, July 19: Return home to prepare for band camp for DS.
Wow! This pre-trip report is REALLY long! Sorry! We went to WDW in April 2007 with DS middle school band. I wrote a pre-trip report for that trip, but never followed up with trip reports! I know, I know...for shame! I will try to do better this time! If you made it this far, thanks for reading. And, thanks for letting me share! :mickey: