disneykid@hrt
10-04-2009, 12:43 PM
Cast: Me- Jackie, 27 The Disney Fanatic
DH- Brandon, 25 Second visit
DD- Brielle, 21 Months going on 4
DM- My Mother, 56 The lady yelling at her kids to run to SM at rope drop in the late 80’s/90’s, Couldn’t miss her first Grandchild’s first visit to the World!
October 10th- 14th
All Star Movies
We leave on Saturday afternoon for Chicago, which is only about an hour and a half drive from home. (We live in Northern Indiana, close to South Bend.) It will be my 27th birthday on this day. We plan on going out for dinner somewhere “fun.” Most likely Rainforest Café, as we went twice this summer and DD loves it. We will be staying at the Doubletree near Midway. They have an hourly shuttle to the airport, and we’ll just be leaving the car there. We plan on packing a separate bag just for this first night and then just transferring the last minute items to our checked baggage. I am also going to use my park daypack as my carry-on.
We’re flying AirTran, leaving at 8:15 AM arriving in Orlando at 11 AM. Since DD is still under 2 we’re doing the “infant in arms” deal. I am quite nervous about this. She is a tall girl, an active girl, and well there is a small possibility that she could maybe be a tiny bit spoiled. Just maybe. I’m hoping that the flight is early enough in the morning where she will still be somewhat subdued- however I will probably be through the roof with excitement and anxiety and if she picks up on that we’re all in trouble!! My Brie is pretty used to getting her way. Our last trip we were stuck for 2 hours on the tarmac in ATL, and it was just her and me. I can’t explain to her that the person sitting oh-so-close to us is a stranger and no you can’t pull her hair. Or sorry hunny, you have to sit on my lap and stare at the seat 6 inches from your face.. Don’t throw the chewed up banana at the lady behind us!! Yes, this is my life. Thankfully, I will have DH this time. We’re taking the Magical Express to the resort. We used this last time and I really like it. I’m not a big airport fan, so for me it makes my vacation that much more magical because I don’t have to do something that you HAVE to do when you go ANYWHERE else.
Now I’ve never stayed at a value resort. I always traveled with my parents when I was younger and we stayed at the Luxuries and Moderates. My first “adult” trip was in 2006. I spent my whole tax return and DH and I went for my Spring Break. (I was still in college.) We stayed at CBR, ate really well, and had a ton of fun! Now I don’t really have the luxury of spending $3000 due to the economy, getting grown-up bills, and spoiling my daughter, so I went with All Star Movies. I think the theming will be stimulating for Brie, and I’m not that picky when it comes to hotels. I’ve read some of the negative reviews of ASM and I just think, I’ve stayed in crummier hotels that cost more that weren’t in Disney. I’ll be fine. My mother is a bit more picky, but hey, she decided to come at the last minute so she’s forced to travel on my budget!! Just kidding, mom. It is also a really short trip. It was a last minute idea when I was able to make a couple hundred extra bucks in the middle of the summer. I get a Disney “itch” every time I see a commercial, a Disney movie, a commercial for an upcoming Disney movie, go past the Disney channel, get a Disney song stuck in my head… A local travel agency has a Disney billboard that brings me to tears! I mean it’s bad. So I just said Hey lets go, lets get as much done as we can, and just have fun introducing the greatest thing that has ever came into my life (my daughter) to the Happiest Place on Earth!
So… I’m off-track here…
DME to All-Star Movies. And then we’re heading off to Magic Kingdom! We have
ADR’s for Cinderella’s Royal Table at 8. I figure after that Grammy and Brie will go home and we’ll stay for a bit. Magic Kingdom is open until 2 am.
Next morning is Animal Kingdom. It has EMH that morning and we have ADR’s for Tusker House at 9:20. Character Breakfast! Those are my only 2 ADR’s. Since we don’t have that many days I wanted to be as flexible as possible. We’ll do some Animal Kingdom and then go over to Hollywood. (Nap, maybe?) EMH here tonight and will be open until 10. Perfect! Next morning Epcot. We might end up spending all day here because we love Epcot sooooo much. Plus the Food & Wine Fest is going on and Grammy is a foodie and wine lover! The next day is departure day and I figure we’ll just go to whatever park we didn’t get enough of for a few hours before taking a taxi to the airport for our 5:30 flight home.
Concerns: Two weeks ago I got a terrible headache, by the next day I was on my back unable to move, and unable to look into light. I go to the ER where they check me into the hospital for MENINGITIS! At first they didn’t know if it was bacterial or viral and my visitors had to wear HazMat type get-ups. I ended up staying for 5 days, it was viral thankfully- and I’m now on “bedrest.” We had to cancel our last planned trip to DW in ‘06 and I said there is NO way I’m canceling. I’m much better now, but don’t have near as much energy. I have the next week off of work to rest and so I’m crossing my fingers that I’ll be good as new.
DM and DH… They just don’t “vibe” well. They don’t argue, although they actually did finally have words a few months ago. I actually am the one that faces the consequences of their relationship. He gets mad at me for her and she gets mad at me for him… I’m hoping since it’s Disney they can look past their differences and just have fun. And I’ve told them both that nobody has to do anything that they don’t want to do! We’ll see. Wish me luck.
Well here is my pre-trip report. I’m so excited! When I think of taking Brielle to Disney I get all teary-eyed. Even though it is a short trip it is such a blessing, and I’m so happy that I get to share my magical place with her.
DH- Brandon, 25 Second visit
DD- Brielle, 21 Months going on 4
DM- My Mother, 56 The lady yelling at her kids to run to SM at rope drop in the late 80’s/90’s, Couldn’t miss her first Grandchild’s first visit to the World!
October 10th- 14th
All Star Movies
We leave on Saturday afternoon for Chicago, which is only about an hour and a half drive from home. (We live in Northern Indiana, close to South Bend.) It will be my 27th birthday on this day. We plan on going out for dinner somewhere “fun.” Most likely Rainforest Café, as we went twice this summer and DD loves it. We will be staying at the Doubletree near Midway. They have an hourly shuttle to the airport, and we’ll just be leaving the car there. We plan on packing a separate bag just for this first night and then just transferring the last minute items to our checked baggage. I am also going to use my park daypack as my carry-on.
We’re flying AirTran, leaving at 8:15 AM arriving in Orlando at 11 AM. Since DD is still under 2 we’re doing the “infant in arms” deal. I am quite nervous about this. She is a tall girl, an active girl, and well there is a small possibility that she could maybe be a tiny bit spoiled. Just maybe. I’m hoping that the flight is early enough in the morning where she will still be somewhat subdued- however I will probably be through the roof with excitement and anxiety and if she picks up on that we’re all in trouble!! My Brie is pretty used to getting her way. Our last trip we were stuck for 2 hours on the tarmac in ATL, and it was just her and me. I can’t explain to her that the person sitting oh-so-close to us is a stranger and no you can’t pull her hair. Or sorry hunny, you have to sit on my lap and stare at the seat 6 inches from your face.. Don’t throw the chewed up banana at the lady behind us!! Yes, this is my life. Thankfully, I will have DH this time. We’re taking the Magical Express to the resort. We used this last time and I really like it. I’m not a big airport fan, so for me it makes my vacation that much more magical because I don’t have to do something that you HAVE to do when you go ANYWHERE else.
Now I’ve never stayed at a value resort. I always traveled with my parents when I was younger and we stayed at the Luxuries and Moderates. My first “adult” trip was in 2006. I spent my whole tax return and DH and I went for my Spring Break. (I was still in college.) We stayed at CBR, ate really well, and had a ton of fun! Now I don’t really have the luxury of spending $3000 due to the economy, getting grown-up bills, and spoiling my daughter, so I went with All Star Movies. I think the theming will be stimulating for Brie, and I’m not that picky when it comes to hotels. I’ve read some of the negative reviews of ASM and I just think, I’ve stayed in crummier hotels that cost more that weren’t in Disney. I’ll be fine. My mother is a bit more picky, but hey, she decided to come at the last minute so she’s forced to travel on my budget!! Just kidding, mom. It is also a really short trip. It was a last minute idea when I was able to make a couple hundred extra bucks in the middle of the summer. I get a Disney “itch” every time I see a commercial, a Disney movie, a commercial for an upcoming Disney movie, go past the Disney channel, get a Disney song stuck in my head… A local travel agency has a Disney billboard that brings me to tears! I mean it’s bad. So I just said Hey lets go, lets get as much done as we can, and just have fun introducing the greatest thing that has ever came into my life (my daughter) to the Happiest Place on Earth!
So… I’m off-track here…
DME to All-Star Movies. And then we’re heading off to Magic Kingdom! We have
ADR’s for Cinderella’s Royal Table at 8. I figure after that Grammy and Brie will go home and we’ll stay for a bit. Magic Kingdom is open until 2 am.
Next morning is Animal Kingdom. It has EMH that morning and we have ADR’s for Tusker House at 9:20. Character Breakfast! Those are my only 2 ADR’s. Since we don’t have that many days I wanted to be as flexible as possible. We’ll do some Animal Kingdom and then go over to Hollywood. (Nap, maybe?) EMH here tonight and will be open until 10. Perfect! Next morning Epcot. We might end up spending all day here because we love Epcot sooooo much. Plus the Food & Wine Fest is going on and Grammy is a foodie and wine lover! The next day is departure day and I figure we’ll just go to whatever park we didn’t get enough of for a few hours before taking a taxi to the airport for our 5:30 flight home.
Concerns: Two weeks ago I got a terrible headache, by the next day I was on my back unable to move, and unable to look into light. I go to the ER where they check me into the hospital for MENINGITIS! At first they didn’t know if it was bacterial or viral and my visitors had to wear HazMat type get-ups. I ended up staying for 5 days, it was viral thankfully- and I’m now on “bedrest.” We had to cancel our last planned trip to DW in ‘06 and I said there is NO way I’m canceling. I’m much better now, but don’t have near as much energy. I have the next week off of work to rest and so I’m crossing my fingers that I’ll be good as new.
DM and DH… They just don’t “vibe” well. They don’t argue, although they actually did finally have words a few months ago. I actually am the one that faces the consequences of their relationship. He gets mad at me for her and she gets mad at me for him… I’m hoping since it’s Disney they can look past their differences and just have fun. And I’ve told them both that nobody has to do anything that they don’t want to do! We’ll see. Wish me luck.
Well here is my pre-trip report. I’m so excited! When I think of taking Brielle to Disney I get all teary-eyed. Even though it is a short trip it is such a blessing, and I’m so happy that I get to share my magical place with her.