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Post by tazdev3225 on Sept 6, 2011 12:34:57 GMT -5
We are back. The title says a lot. It was my DGS Anthony's first trip, hopefully not his last. I went with a brand new teenager, my oldest DGS Jay turned 13 in my car on the trip down. I should add CAN I SURVIVE MY DAUGHTER? The trip had some ups and downs, a few firsts - not just for Anthony, and some good times. I took 3,100+ pics. Not too shocking if you take into account I probably took 9,000+ pics over my last 3 trips. I am in the process of going through the pics so you don't get bored with all of the ones that didn't come out. I love my new camera but it has some issues with shutter lag. I am also dealing with photopass. That is the SLOWEST website ever. I get 3 pics edited and the site freezes. Hopefully I will give an actual start to the TR in the next couple of days.
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Post by TinkyKat on Sept 9, 2011 12:25:28 GMT -5
im in, looking fwd to it!
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Post by scott on Sept 10, 2011 16:42:27 GMT -5
Here to read along.
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Post by tazdev3225 on Sept 11, 2011 14:23:16 GMT -5
For those of you who never got to read my pre-TR I will start with a little background. Our first trip to Disney was in 1988 when my kids were very young. I fell in love and we went back as often as I could get the money together. This was usually around every 5 years or so. We saw this I made it for this That was a surreal trip as it was one month after 9/11 and the parks seemed to be really empty. They had also started to search bags, a new experience. There were other trips. My kids grew up and had kids of their own and I started dreaming of the day when we would all go together. Then about 2 years ago my dream started to take shape. My DS approached me with the idea of taking his boys to Disney and wondered if his sisters would want to go. I talked to them and plans started being made. In the fall last year free dining was announced for the next year. I told my DS who looked at me funny and said, "Mom, we aren't going." What??? It was his idea. His wife decided to go to trade school to be a nurse. I talked to my DD's. They were still in. As we talked about dates my older DD informed me that they couldn't go now. I understood, they had just bought a house and it needed work. My youngest said, "We ARE going." She is in college and planning to be a registered nurse. She knew that this opportunity may not come around again for awhile. She was also tired and in need of a vacation. Going to school, working and taking care of a small child were wearing her out. Her boyfriend was out of work off and on for 18 months and finally had a steady job so they had the money. My cast of characters went from 14 to 6. So who was going? DH Jim. He loves Donald Duck and will break out into his Donald voice on odd occasions. He also gives into my obsession and tells people NEVER go to Disney without talking to me first. ME Lorrie. I love Grumpy. My kids call me that quite often. I do volunteer advice on Disney to everyone, especially those people who are silly enough to believe that going to Disney requires no planning. Here we are last year DD Beth. She is my baby and as much as we get along we bang heads together quite often. We are both very opinionated, well she is anyway. ;D This will play into the trip quite often. Here she is on her last trip to Disney in 2003 Beth's boyfriend Bill. They have been together for about 6 years and are planning on a destination wedding when she is done school. I pushed for Disney, he wants an island. Bill is in the background. Not a great pic but all I have DGS Anthony. Beth's little man. Anthony will be 4 next week. He loves Buzz Lightyear and Woody. He is a funny littly guy, Beth calls him dramatic. DGS Jay. My DS's oldest. Jay just turned 13. He is no longer "my best buddy". He tried to pretend that he is too old for Disney and spent a lot of time with Beth. This was his 4th trip with us. Jay through the years His 1st trip, days shy of 5 2006, age 8 2008, age 10 Keep these in mind as you read the report. You will see why Jay is no longer my best buddy. So there you have how the trip started and who is going. Day 1 will be here as soon as I get through all of the pics.
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Post by tazdev3225 on Sept 16, 2011 12:08:52 GMT -5
We are off! Day 1 begins I will start with pre Day 1, the night before. Beth and her family were flying and we were driving. Since the airline charged for luggage we were taking theirs with us in the car. She was supposed to be at my house early, that turned out to be close to 10 PM. It did work out as we decided to load up the car with everything but the perishables and my camera bag. I just realized I never took a pic of that. I am slipping. Beth took Jay out and I went to bed. Jim stayed downstairs to watch the Phillies game and wait on Jay. DAY 1 starts finally. I had plans to be on the road by 4 AM. That didn't quite work out. I packed the cooler with sandwiches and drinks. Jim took that and my camera bag out to the car. I was driving the first leg. We said good bye to our puppy Nikki is 10 years young. Every time I think she may be going down hill she does something to prove me wrong. That morning was no exception. My house is by a wooded area with a creek. Every now and then a stray critter goes through my back yard. She ignores most. She does NOT like possums however. While I blissfully slept with dreams of Disney she caught a possum and brought it into the house, and then killed it. Jay and Jim dealt with that but put it in the trash out front. We had to stop by the woods to throw it back. That taken care of we headed to WAWA for gas and coffee. Gas for the car, coffee for me. ;D We were a little off schedule but made it to I 95 at 4:30 AM exactly. Traffic in Philly A little fuzzy but it really is hard to drive and take pics at the same time. We made it to Delaware at 5 AM Maryland at 5:22 AM VA at 7:25 AM NC at 10:24 AM There was no traffic at all. We were making such great time that we stopped at Cracker Barrel for breakfast as a treat for Jay. It was his 13th birthday and he LOVES Cracker Barrel. The restaurant was in Roanoke Rapids, NC. We were seated at 10:57 and checked out at 11:31 AM. Jim got a meat lovers breakfast, Jay got something with a fried ham steak and I had scrambled eggs with bacon and grits. The total cost was $31.32. I kept receipts this trip. We also got gas at $3.32 a gallon. Jim took over the driving. This is how Jay spent his birthday I have to admit I did a bit of that myself. Once we were in NC I looked for these and soon we were arriving I had to take Jay to see the biggest tourist trap on the East coast. I also needed to spend some time here recuperating from the stop at the Cracker Barrel. Jim decided to play tacky tourist We then hit the road again. Times were SC at 2 PM GA at 5:30PM While driving through GA I saw this bridge On a previous trip I got a great shot of that bridge from the plane. At 6:57 PM we saw this We stopped but the welcome center was closed. No OJ or maps of Florida. I did get Jay to pose Then I told Jim to act bewildered and this is what he gave me I'm not sure what that pose was, then I got relieved We left and headed towards the Orlando area. Jay fell asleep again. I think he slept in every state we drove through. At 10 PM we arrived at the Red Roof Inn Kissimmee. I booked them the night before off of the internet. The room was only $30.50 for the night. It was clean and after a quick check - no bed bugs. We were tired so we grabbed the bags we needed for the night and were soon all asleep. Even Jay and I don't know how he could still be tired. And so DAY 1 ended. It was a long drive about 17 1/2 hours but that included 2 rest stops of about 30 minutes each. Not bad time.
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Post by TinkyKat on Sept 16, 2011 15:34:06 GMT -5
You made great time! i really dread the long drive, since we drove me from NY to FL but its fun to see what others do. we passed south of the border at night so we didnt stop. Red Roof Inn huh? I ma always looking for cheap hotels in Orlando so we can take short day trips up there (im about 45 min from Orlando now) so any excuse for overnight is great! awesome start!
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Post by tazdev3225 on Sept 16, 2011 16:59:24 GMT -5
You made great time! i really dread the long drive, since we drove me from NY to FL but its fun to see what others do. we passed south of the border at night so we didnt stop. Red Roof Inn huh? I ma always looking for cheap hotels in Orlando so we can take short day trips up there (im about 45 min from Orlando now) so any excuse for overnight is great! awesome start! We really did make great time down as there was almost no traffic. South of the Border is one of those paces you have to see at least once. The Red Roof was really cheap booked through the internet, it was a little more if we called and booked but still under $50. It wasn't that bad for an overnight stay. It was right by a mall and only about 10 minutes from Disney. Next installment will have more details and pics.
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Post by scott on Sept 17, 2011 11:54:07 GMT -5
Great start. What a cutie Nikki is. Big though. LOL
Loved the South of the Border signs. I remember them fondly from my many trips as a kid.
Great price on the room for the night.
If you r looking to share with facebook you can. Let me know and I will show you how or do it for you.
Can't wait for more.
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Post by tazdev3225 on Sept 17, 2011 13:02:00 GMT -5
DAY 2 Since I took really good notes this trip and the pics are all organized this TR may move fast. Beth and her family got a much earlier start than we did. There plane was leaving Philly at around 6:30 AM. From what I can gather they didn't wake Anthony up right away so he took the trip down in his PJ's. This was his first flight and he was a little nervous about it. Here he is at the airport and on the plane I had given Beth one of my cameras to use for the trip. I think Anthony took all of the pics in the air because they all came out white. I woke up first which seems to be normal for us. After a quick shower I went to the lobby for the free continental breakfast. I'm glad I went when I did because I got the last of the OJ. There was none to be had after that. The breakfast they offer here was OK but nothing spectacular. They had pre-packaged danish and donuts and small individual cereals with a very limited choice. The coffee was hot. It was really a little weak and I have to say Disney has better coffee. For how cheap the room was I am not complaining too much. The staff were very friendly though and apologetic about the OJ. They did have apple juice but can you tell I wanted OJ? Hotel pics - the room I found this sign really funny about charges for "missing" items. I had to make sure they knew I never had an iron view from room We are driving down again next year and I will stay here again. The breakfast aside it was a decent room for the price. While Jim and Jay went to get something to eat I packed up. I had to throw out a few things from the drive down. Next time Jay says 4 sandwiches I am ignoring him. I had to throw out 3 of them. We checked out of the hotel by 9 AM. I saw a Sony outlet on the way to the hotel the night before so I wanted to check that out. It was a total waste of time so we left. I had the coordinates for ASMo in the GPS and we were off. We passed this and I felt a little sad for the people on board. It was headed to the airport maybe next year we're getting close even through the rain a beautiful sight we were on the property and my GPS was a little confused. we wound up here I knew we were in the wrong place but Jim did follow the GPS. It had us arriving at Saratoga Springs. Maybe one day but not this trip. With new directions from the guard we were soon seeing We arrived! ;D It was around 10:30 and I knew Beth should be arriving soon so I was heading in to get in line for check-in. As I was entering the lobby I saw a ME bus. I headed back out and saw Anthony actually smiled and started telling us about the plane. Beth and I headed in to check-in. I had made 2 requests - Toy Story Building and connecting rooms. We got the building we wanted. They gave us birthday buttons and when Jay saw his he looked at me like I had grown 2 more heads. He had no intentions of wearing it. In fact I was the only one who did. Little did he know that his birthday was mentioned on all ADR'S. ;D Anthony got a balloon and we were off to find our rooms. Another quick pic and we found the rooms and we scored our other request - the rooms were connecting. We had to wait for a rain storm to pass before we could unload the cars but it was really brief. While we waited I took some pics I don't know if these rooms were made over yet as I know they were the last section to be done but there was 2 beds and a shower. I was happy for the moment anyway. The car unpacked I was ready to hit the parks. Beth wasn't! They decided they wanted to eat first. Jim and I left them to get my scooter and get in line for the bus. There were 4 scooters in line already. Oh well, we decided to eat at the hotel too. Jim and Jay shared chicken tenders and I had a chili cheese dog that I seem to want whenever I am in Disney. We got 2 chocolate chip cookies for dessert to take with us. While we ate Beth took Anthony back to the room for a potty break. Some food in us we were all in better moods and were off to the park, several hours later than I expected but it worked out. Up next where did we go?
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Post by tazdev3225 on Sept 19, 2011 10:09:01 GMT -5
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Post by tazdev3225 on Sept 19, 2011 10:13:24 GMT -5
Great start. What a cutie Nikki is. Big though. LOL Loved the South of the Border signs. I remember them fondly from my many trips as a kid. Great price on the room for the night. If you r looking to share with facebook you can. Let me know and I will show you how or do it for you. Can't wait for more. Nikki is a cutie and bad sometimes. She is big, around 65 lbs but she is a shepherd/boxer/cattle dog mix. When we got her I already had a name picked out for my LITTLE dog. My son kept telling me she was going to be little. Last time I listen to a teenager. I do feel safe with her around though. The room was really a great price. I will have to book them again for the trip next year since we will be driving again. I will ask Beth before I share on FB. I don't want some of my opinions taken the wrong way and causing more problems.
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Post by tazdev3225 on Sept 19, 2011 10:59:31 GMT -5
DAY 2 continues some more When I left off we were headed to the Living Seas pavilion. Jim went around to the Coral Reef to try and see if we could get a tank side table and we went on Finding Nemo. There was absolutely no line. One day I would like to go through there a little slower to get some pics of the queue. Since we went back there again after dinner I will review the dinner first. Coral Reef - We go here every trip because it is Jay's favorite restaurant. We also knew that Anthony would love it here for the atmosphere. We had 4:05 ADR's and were there at 4. Jim had already checked us in and we were seated almost immediately. We didn't get the tank side tables but we were in the first level. The view wasn't bad but we were off to the side a little. The waitress, Dawn, came by quickly and took drink orders. Jim and I had iced tea, Jay had root beer, Anthony chocolate milk and Beth and Bill had colas - they also ordered adult drinks. The drinks were at our table quickly and our food orders were placed along with our dessert orders which I found a little odd. The food came out very quickly, no more than a 15 minute wait. Beth had Lobster Ravioli, very good Bill had Rainbow Trout which he liked a lot Anthony had the pizza which came with carrots and celery sticks and we substituted a sundae for the apple slices Jim, Jay and I all had steak, well, rare and med rare. Dawn did check on us once or twice through dinner and was good about refills on drinks. After the dinner portion was done things went downhill. As I said our desserts were ordered with dinner. As Dawn was clearing off our dinner dishes as we finished eating we expected dessert to come out fairly fast. After waiting close to 25 minutes I was getting angry, Anthony was antsy and Bill wanted to leave. I found a manager and complained. Beth waitresses as I did when I was in college so for us to make a complaint takes a lot. We had our desserts within a minute, literally. Dawn of course was not so nice at this point. She berated us for the complaint and basically told us if we want quick-sevice maybe we shouldn't eat at TS restaurants. I lost it. Beth tried to be nice but I wasn't, I was cranky. I told her that I know TS means longer meals but when I have to wait 2X as long for dessert as dinner and the orders were placed together there is a problem. The manager was nice and comped Beth and Bill their drinks. The desserts which nobody wanted at this point The Baileys Mousse which Beth and Bill both got Sugarless cheesecake, Jim was being good md he really liked it Chocolate wave that Jay and I got. It was good but not worth the wait. We did both leave the suggested 18% tip of $23.04. I won't stiff a waitress on bad service or attitude because I know how hard the job is and Beth feels the same way. After dinner we went back to Finding Nemo because Jim had missed the ride and Anthony and Jay loved it.
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Post by tazdev3225 on Sept 19, 2011 11:29:16 GMT -5
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Post by TinkyKat on Sept 20, 2011 13:14:43 GMT -5
LOVE the night shots! thats one of my fav tricks, wander the showcase after illuminations! so pretty and peaceful!
I havent been to coral reef in a long time, looked good!
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Post by tazdev3225 on Sept 20, 2011 15:02:06 GMT -5
LOVE the night shots! thats one of my fav tricks, wander the showcase after illuminations! so pretty and peaceful! I havent been to coral reef in a long time, looked good! That was a trick I learned on the DIS photography board. It was so much fun to take our time leaving and taking the pics. I will do it again just to slow down a it. I like the food at Coral Reef and the atmosphere. We will go back again.
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