A Northern Family's Southern Getaway -Take 2 Jan 2010 PTR Updated 1/15 SNACKS

[letthewookiewin]

I took that picture. No, I'm not capable of quantum shifting, I used the auto-timer. I'm so Canadian I'm too shy to ask strangers to take our picture.

..or are you a real life Jedi that just used the force to push the button to take the picture?

She gets out. I'll tune in Dream Theatre, or the Matrix soundtrack on the stereo.

For long road trips, I like something from John Williams better. Either Star Wars, Harry Potter, or his best of that I have.

BEST... RESORT... EVER!

Seriously. I would sell our house and live there. Ahhhh. After the first hour I had a change of address for my happy place, and it is the Wilderness Lodge.



Speak for yourself woman. Can I stay at the Wilderness Lodge again and just meet you in the parks?

I agree 1 million% (it is only 1 of 2 that we have stayed at.) I love that resort and could happily live there. I could easily go and just hang out at the WL and not even go into the parks.

Oh my dear, you are a funny funny man!

I do believe this will get VERY interesting!

I must apologize, my friends, I will not be able to post the next chapter as quickly as I would like to. I am going to be away for the next couple of days for a school related function down in Toronto, but I will post the next chapter as soon as I am able, most likely some time on Thursday!

Until then, soldier on, my faithful readers!

You DH is funny!! Between the two of you , this will be a great report.
Have fun and stay save!!

 

[Northern Disney Girl]

Have a safe and fun trip down to my neck of the Canadian Woods! It's been windy and cold ( for us "southeners")

Thanks for the tip J! I will be sure to bring my parka!

 

[Dancegrl624]

I'm here Kim! I can't wait to read all about your next Disney trip. Wish I was going in January again too. Maybe I can hypnotize my DH and he won't remember the 2 trips we took this year! One can always dream, right?

 

[Northern Disney Girl]

I'm here Kim! I can't wait to read all about your next Disney trip. Wish I was going in January again too. Maybe I can hypnotize my DH and he won't remember the 2 trips we took this year! One can always dream, right?

MEGHAN!!! So glad you made it! Thanks for coming to read along with me! You will get back to Disney when the time is right! So hard to wait though isn't it?

 

[Dancegrl624]

MEGHAN!!! So glad you made it! Thanks for coming to read along with me! You will get back to Disney when the time is right! So hard to wait though isn't it?

Waiting really stinks!

 

[Northern Disney Girl]

HEY PTR friends and fans! I am home and ready to get busy on this here PTR! I have a bit of time now so I think I will get to writing the next post! I believe it was something about Park plans, was it not? Be back soon!

 

[Northern Disney Girl]

THE WHAT (aka Park Plans and ADRs ) PART 1

ARRIVAL DAY – January 26th

Seeing as how our plane is scheduled to land in Orlando at 12 noon, we will quite hopefully arrive at POFQ by Magical Express around 1pm! I say hopefully because this would be the ideal arrival time after everything has gone according to the schedule. By that I mean, MY schedule! There will be no forgotten cameras this time around and no getting confused on how to find Magical Express in the airport!

Once we arrive at POFQ I will, as quickly as possible, find my way to the Online Check in desk (I plan to do online check in) receive our package and tickets etc, collect my family and then we will make our way to our room while taking in all the beauty of the resort around us! Of course the room WILL be ready for us because we have NO REQUESTS!!! I have studied that resort map so many times I feel comfortable accepting any room they can give us! This family is not afraid of a little walking!

Once we find our room we will try to settle in a bit! Unpack our stuff (at this point we are considering going with just carry on luggage but haven't completely decided yet!) and get familiar with the room. If we need to eat perhaps we will mosey on over to Sassagoula Floatworks and check out the menu there. If we don't need to eat then perhaps we will take a bit of a stroll around the resort and admire the scenery!

At about 3 pm I would like for us to head over to the Magic Kingdom! Once we arrive at MK we will be heading into Frontierland. Alas, our beloved Splash Mountain will be closed so instead we will take ourselves on the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad! Following this we will probably take in as much of Frontierland, Liberty Square and Adventureland as possible!

We plan to eat at Pecos Bill's sometime before it gets super busy and Ken's biggest wish for this evening is to see Wishes in its entirety! Last trip he was chosen to take Natalie to the washroom and he missed the beginning of the show!

Once Wishes has ended we will casually make our way down Main St, perhaps shopping along the way before heading out of the park to head back to POFQ for some much needed rest!

That morning our flight leaves MSP @ 8am so we will have to be awake around 5am. I can hope that the girls will be sensible enough to rest on the plane but who am I kidding? We will probably be having a little nap at POFQ after we check in and BEFORE we leave for MK!!!

up next..... Day 2 plans!

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

Sounds great so far!!! Just know that it usually takes us a wee bit longer than one hour to get from the ME counter at the airport to the resort...it all depends on how long that line is down there. Also, if your resort is the first or last to drop off!!! I think our trips have been about an hour and a half...not too bad for a free trip!

 

[Monny2AE]

Oh my this is going to be one interesting PTR!!! I hope we won't have to separate you two by the time it's over

 

[Firestarter]

THE WHAT (aka Park Plans and ADRs ) PART 1

ARRIVAL DAY – January 26th

Seeing as how our plane is scheduled to land in Orlando at 12 noon, we will quite hopefully arrive at POFQ by Magical Express around 1pm! I say hopefully because this would be the ideal arrival time after everything has gone according to the schedule. By that I mean, MY schedule! There will be no forgotten cameras this time around and no getting confused on how to find Magical Express in the airport!

I hope things go Kim's way as well. That bodes well for me, and being selfish that aligns with many of my life's goals.

The Camera incident was funny. I brought our old camera so our older daughter could keep her own record. She lost it the first day. Go figure. What happend was I had the nagging voice in my head (it sounds just like Phyllis Diller, I can't miss it) that said "Double check to see if you have the kid's camera". I listened to said voice JUST outside security. Lesson learned: If it nags, obey immediately. How I forgot THAT from childhood...

Once we arrive at POFQ I will, as quickly as possible, find my way to the Online Check in desk (I plan to do online check in) receive our package and tickets etc, collect my family and then we will make our way to our room while taking in all the beauty of the resort around us! Aka: SPRINT! Wait. SPRINT! STOP! Look, take photo. SPRINT!


Of course the room WILL be ready for us because we have NO REQUESTS!!!

Kim, meet Murphy. He makes edicts, laws if you please.

I have studied that resort map so many times I feel comfortable accepting any room they can give us! This family is not afraid of a little walking!

If there is a room where a tree has grown in front of the window, we will get that one.

Once we find our room we will try to settle in a bit! aka Kim will leave immediately to photograph the park while I try to wrangle the two perpetual motion small bags of water into beds.Unpack our stuff (at this point we are considering going with just carry on luggage but haven't completely decided yet!)I'm giving 5:1 odds we don't and get familiar with the room. If we need to eat perhaps we will mosey on over to Sassagoula Floatworks and check out the menu there. Emily will have a hamburger, Nat will have the nuggets, I'll have the largest legal serving of meat available.If we don't need to eat then perhaps we will take a bit of a stroll around the resort and admire the scenery!

At about 3 pm I would like for us to head over to the Magic Kingdom! Yay!Once we arrive at MK we will be heading into Frontierland. Alas, our beloved Splash Mountain will be closed Boo!so instead we will take ourselves on the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad! Following this we will probably take in as much of Frontierland, Liberty Square and Adventureland as possible! I really like Adventureland. It will stink not having my internal organs repositioned by negative G's on Splash Mountain. That said I really like the look of the liberty square area. For a Canadian I find American history fascinating, and not just the part where we burnt down your White House.

We plan to eat at Pecos Bill's sometime before it gets super busy and Ken's biggest wish for this evening is to see Wishes in its entirety! Last trip he was chosen to take Natalie to the washroom and he missed the beginning of the show!

Suffer me to clarify the moment. These awesome fireworks, the best I have ever seen in my life, are about to start. My younger daughter has a panic attack due to the impending loud noise. She suddenly "has to go pee" and we take off at a good trot so she doesn't have the trotts. She then hid in the women's washroom while I waited outside and heard OOOOH! BANG! AHHHH! (That was my rendering of the fireworks, not nondescript sounds I heard from the women's loo)

Once Wishes has ended we will casually make our way down Main St, perhaps shopping along the way before heading out of the park to head back to POFQ for some much needed rest! Did I mention I LOVED to take the boat back to Wilderness Lodge. SIGH. No Monorail. No Boat. Why is Port Orleans better again dear?

That morning our flight leaves MSP @ 8am so we will have to be awake around 5am. I can hope that the girls will be sensible enough to rest on the plane but who am I kidding? We will probably be having a little nap at POFQ after we check in and BEFORE we leave for MK!!!

Medical science can solve this problem, I'm sure of it. That or a tape of Ben Stein reading legal briefs...

 

[Northern Disney Girl]

Sounds great so far!!! Just know that it usually takes us a wee bit longer than one hour to get from the ME counter at the airport to the resort...it all depends on how long that line is down there. Also, if your resort is the first or last to drop off!!! I think our trips have been about an hour and a half...not too bad for a free trip!

I know that realistically it will probably take a bit longer BUT, the fact that we are travelling on a tuesday in the middle of the day leads me to think that it may only be a little bit longer! We shall see! Past trip our flight landed 10 mins early and had it not been for the forgotten camera <lettingitgolettingitgo> we would have been totally on schedule! Our flight landed at 11:25am, we were at the ME desk at noon and at the resort at exactly 1pm! I am really hoping to get to the resort as quickly as possible!

Oh my this is going to be one interesting PTR!!! I hope we won't have to separate you two by the time it's over

Oh no worries Kim! This is all good natured fun! We spar like this at home ALL the time! He loves to tease!

 

[Northern Disney Girl]

Where all are my friends? Hello? Anybody there?

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Hello! I'm here!!
How's it going? We're enjoying a lovely fall day!! How's your weather?

 

[Northern Disney Girl]

Hello! I'm here!!
How's it going? We're enjoying a lovely fall day!! How's your weather?

Actually today we are currently at about 15 C!!! A gorgeous day out side!

Anybody else? Any other lurkers out there wanna say hi? I promise I won't bite you!

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

Hey girl!!! It's actually warmed up a bit here too...upper 70s....but the wind is blowing! Suppose to get some rain and some wind in the night into Monday..remnants of the hurricane out there...but we do need a little more rain..so I am happy for it!!!!

 

[drakes]

I'm here! Family is sick - with cold, no feve or coughs! So that is good news (well not really but a cold is a better alternative to the omnipresent H1N1)

Why does everyone elses plans for the park seem far more relaxing than mine? LOL.

I think it all the stinkin ADR's I planned... hope that's not my inner Phyllis Diller talking to me?

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

Drakes~ love your new Avatar!!!....liked the Phyllis Diller thing too!! Ha!!!

 

[Northern Disney Girl]

MAJOR TRAVEL CHANGES

Well, not too Major, nothing that couldn't be fixed! Here's the Story...

I had not yet booked out MAgical Express and thought I would get that done today. So, I went into my email to retrieve our reservation numbers and then proceeded to check our flight schedule. Good thing I did! I did a triple take when I saw that our flights had been changed to different days!!! Our airline now had us travelling on the 25th and 1st!

Needless to say, I very quickly called them up to see what the deal was. A very nice customer servie rep told me that due to a scheduling change they were no longer flying on Tuesdays! WHAT??? She said I could accept the change or cancel. If we chose to cancel we would be given a full refund. If we chose to work around the changes we would be given 4 $100 vouchers good for any flight on the airline AFTER this current trip! What do you think I chose to do?

I said to leave us where we were for the time being, that I would try to change our resort reservations and get back to them. So, I immediately called Disney. Hoping against hope that there would still be availabllity at POFQ for the new dates. A very nice CM, I think his name was Vance, reassured me that indeed there was still availablilty and quickly made the changes AND booked our magical express.

I again called the airline to affirm the change and to confirm our mailing address for the mailing of the vouchers! As I got off the phone, it dawned on me that I would now have to rearrange our park days a bit AND change some of our ADRs After a quick check of the crowd calendar, I was releived to see that I could still keep most of them AND I wouldn't have to give up my coveted Le Cellier!

So, after all the phoning and rearranging, Here is our NEW (and I think, slightly improved) January 2010 WDW Northern Family Vacation schedule......














Jan 25th - Feb 1st!

You thought I was gonna give up some detail didn't ya? Not yet my friends! Revealing too many details would ruin the point of the PTR!

You already know our plans for our arrival day and very soon, maybe tomorrow, I will post the plans for Day 2!

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

good thing you caught that so early!!!! I am glad you got vouchers too!!! How cool!!!

 

[drakes]

So happy were able to change. That may show us how less crowded we expect this time of year to be. I need to also book my ME! I should try to accomplish that asap.
I did book my flight last week, paid for done deal! No turning back!

My new avatar - found daisy during a google search, love my random sarches

Firestarter gets full credit for Phyllis Diller, I just wanted him to know he's not alone! She's inside all our heads if you listen real close
Like right nowtelling me to get up and call about the ME, sort out my ADRs and see if I really want and early LTT on departure day! Then she switces to tell me "what were you thinking doing the red eye on departure day, what are you going to do all day without a bed to nap in ??"

Maybe this is a sign I need to do a PTR to ramble my concerns, however I hear they have a curse!