Sun, Shopping, Sand, Surf, Sweat & Shamu: A Splashin Summertime Sabbatical at SVR!

Thanks, poohbear2! I have heard great things about Orange Lake as well...in fact, one of my fellow Canadian Disbuddies, greenclan67, absolutely loves it there. I will be interested to hear your comparison of the two. When is your SVR stay?

We will be there Aug 2-August 9 , 2015. We are not sure if we want to add a few days after at universal or Disney.
 
Oh yay, go karts and mini golf!!

When I was a kid, we went a few times to WDW, towing our pop up trailer and staying at Yogi Bear Campground. One or two days were for Disney, a couple for the beach, and then a couple for go karts and bumper boats and batting cages and all that fun stuff. I still have very fond memories of it from childhood and think it's awesome you're doing it too! The Orlando/Kissimmee area has the BEST mini golf places!!

We have a Congo River not far from my house, and I love it!
 
How awesome! Which section were you in? I am hoping our next trip will be in May 2015....we've never traveled to Orlando in the spring before. How did you find the weather?

We loved it both the unit and the weather. We ended up purchasing Cascades because it was a fixed to float week so we did not have to trade it to an exchange company and pay more fees.

We have been to Orlando so many times at different seasons that we do prefer the Spring Break the best - Flower and Garden is amazing. We did enjoy our May stay (we were there for the 24 hours of Magic Kingdom) but it was a lot hotter than March.
 
I LOVE your trip reports!! :goodvibes. I'm sad we didn't get a flight on Jetblue this year, the prices were just to high for my budget! :sad2: We are flying out the same day as you, August 16th, I would have loved to met you in person! What a way it would have been to start a trip, a dis meet at the airport! :lmao: I got flights out of Rochester on Southwest, direct, for 1250 for the 4 of us, so I was happy with that! :)
 
What?!?! You get started and don't even send a PM to your loyal followers??? :furious:

I may just have to keep spending my time over on that other guy Pkondzi's TR's. :duck:

Oh, come on, who am I kidding??? Of COURSE I'm in for this ride. Can't wait to see where we're going this time...:surfweb:

And PS - I'm pretty sure that sprigs are only used at Christmas time. You're about 6 months too early for that one...
 
We will be there Aug 2-August 9 , 2015. We are not sure if we want to add a few days after at universal or Disney.

:thumbsup2

Oh yay, go karts and mini golf!!

When I was a kid, we went a few times to WDW, towing our pop up trailer and staying at Yogi Bear Campground. One or two days were for Disney, a couple for the beach, and then a couple for go karts and bumper boats and batting cages and all that fun stuff. I still have very fond memories of it from childhood and think it's awesome you're doing it too! The Orlando/Kissimmee area has the BEST mini golf places!!

We have a Congo River not far from my house, and I love it!

lol, we're a little like the Griswalds on vacation. We love the touristy stuff and go-karts are a huge draw for my crazy guys. I bought the indy car package for the boys and the regular karts for Sweetie & I .

Congo River and Pirates Cove are the best courses in Orlando, if you ask me. Congo gets a slight nod over PC just because they have gators while PC does not....and I love the music at the Congo courses (yes, I will admit to dancing from time to time....if I catch the rhythm, I just can't stop myself :blush:). Both such fun courses, though, and so well themed. Good thing I don't have one near MY house or I'd never see Steve and Jake :rotfl: .

We have been to Orlando so many times at different seasons that we do prefer the Spring Break the best - Flower and Garden is amazing. We did enjoy our May stay (we were there for the 24 hours of Magic Kingdom) but it was a lot hotter than March.

I can totally do hot :thumbsup2 . Cold, not so much. I swear, the stork dropped me off in the wrong hemisphere. I should have been a southern girl.

I LOVE your trip reports!! :goodvibes. I'm sad we didn't get a flight on Jetblue this year, the prices were just to high for my budget! :sad2: We are flying out the same day as you, August 16th, I would have loved to met you in person! What a way it would have been to start a trip, a dis meet at the airport! :lmao: I got flights out of Rochester on Southwest, direct, for 1250 for the 4 of us, so I was happy with that! :)

Our Jetblue flights were super pricey this year too....we paid $400 pp return. But DH in particular LOVES JB so we bit the bullet and paid the piper. You got an excellent price with Southwest...how long is the drive from Kingston to Rochester?

We actually don't fly out until the 17th....our flight leaves at the crack of dawn, so that's why we are heading to Syracuse the day prior. I always count our first day of vacation as the day we actually leave home, which explains why my ticker is the same as yours. Won't it be fun getting those two kids out of bed for a 7:22 am departure? :faint: I am always glad to arrive early in Orlando, but that morning wake up call is a killer before I have my final Timmies in hand.

A Dismeet at the airport would have been fabulous. If you are ever heading westward down the 401, we could always meet for coffee in the Friendly City ;) .
 
What?!?! You get started and don't even send a PM to your loyal followers??? :furious:

I may just have to keep spending my time over on that other guy Pkondzi's TR's. :duck:

:sad1: :sad: :sad1: :sad: Say it ain't so!

Oh, come on, who am I kidding??? Of COURSE I'm in for this ride. Can't wait to see where we're going this time...:surfweb:

And PS - I'm pretty sure that sprigs are only used at Christmas time. You're about 6 months too early for that one...

Hey, its NEVER too early for Christmas :santa:.

Someone just posted on my Facebook the other day that there's only 24 more Saturdays until Christmas. I have some very cheeky friends, that's for sure.

Glad to have you along, my friend. I credit (or blame ;) ) you for my Vistana addiction. I still owe you that cocktail by the pool for all the help you gave me before last year's trip :) .
 
:sad1: :sad: :sad1: :sad: Say it ain't so!



Hey, its NEVER too early for Christmas :santa:.

Someone just posted on my Facebook the other day that there's only 24 more Saturdays until Christmas. I have some very cheeky friends, that's for sure.

Glad to have you along, my friend. I credit (or blame ;) ) you for my Vistana addiction. I still owe you that cocktail by the pool for all the help you gave me before last year's trip :) .

Well, we'll be there March 7-14 this coming year. Just in case you want to experience that wonderful March break again; although I guess you'll be moving to reading week now. I'd love to join you all for a :drinking1 or few.

Our balance is turning the other way now. DD also graduated HS late June; not as many honors are Jake but we are just as proud. School has always been a struggle, so seeing her through has been a great accomplishment! So now this March we are down by one; DD is trying to schedule a May consolation trip with a few girlfriends after they finish their first year of post-secondary. We still stick with March break as A+ is a teacher.

Told DS last week he could bring a friend along for the trip - eyebrow raised...

Thought about it for a nanosecond. Told son he could bring along a MALE friend for the trip - heavy frown....

Sorry, but I'm not ready to keep a couple of sweet 16's apart for a week!!

Anyway, that set's the estro-testostero balance badly off balance for our usual foursome. Poor A+; may need you to send her a few coping pointers...

P.S. If mini-golf is your thing you really need to check out Myrtle Beach. There are more courses there than anywhere I have ever seen. They host the world championships there too; we saw why this past March. Sheraton Broadway Plantation is a Vistana look alike, great resort, fun location!
 
I swear this must be the year of the sweeties. DD17 has been dating a boy for a year this month too. He's a really nice boy, and we've known him since the 4th grade so all things considered I suppose we're lucky. That doesn't stop my husband from giving him the stink eye and trying to make him uncomfortable at every turn though:lmao:
We aren't ready to bring him on vacation I don't think, but he will come to the cottage with us for a long weekend this summer. It's been a year, and I'm still not ready for all of this:rotfl:.:crazy2:
 
Our Jetblue flights were super pricey this year too....we paid $400 pp return. But DH in particular LOVES JB so we bit the bullet and paid the piper. You got an excellent price with Southwest...how long is the drive from Kingston to Rochester?

We actually don't fly out until the 17th....our flight leaves at the crack of dawn, so that's why we are heading to Syracuse the day prior. I always count our first day of vacation as the day we actually leave home, which explains why my ticker is the same as yours. Won't it be fun getting those two kids out of bed for a 7:22 am departure? I am always glad to arrive early in Orlando, but that morning wake up call is a killer before I have my final Timmies in hand.

A Dismeet at the airport would have been fabulous. If you are ever heading westward down the 401, we could always meet for coffee in the Friendly City .
__________________


It's a 3.5 hour drive, so not too bad. A little further than Syracuse. Oh yes, we had an early flight with Jetblue 2 years ago, my parents went with us and getting my Mom up was not easy!! LOL! I almost prefer going the night before, I'm always afraid we are going to get stuck in traffic or blow a tire and miss our flight! So we are leaving at 7:00am for a 1:00 flight :laughing:

We will have to have coffee one day! My daughter has the odd soccer game "in the friendly city" ;) and my husband attended NCC many moons ago, LOL, and he has family in the area. Actually, we are heading there tonight, but we are attending a wake. :(
 
I'm in too!!!! I'll be enjoying Orlando through you Gina...thanks for giving me a really cheap vacation.:rotfl2:
 
Well, we'll be there March 7-14 this coming year. Just in case you want to experience that wonderful March break again; although I guess you'll be moving to reading week now. I'd love to join you all for a :drinking1 or few.

Our balance is turning the other way now. DD also graduated HS late June; not as many honors are Jake but we are just as proud. School has always been a struggle, so seeing her through has been a great accomplishment! So now this March we are down by one; DD is trying to schedule a May consolation trip with a few girlfriends after they finish their first year of post-secondary. We still stick with March break as A+ is a teacher.

Told DS last week he could bring a friend along for the trip - eyebrow raised...

Thought about it for a nanosecond. Told son he could bring along a MALE friend for the trip - heavy frown....

Sorry, but I'm not ready to keep a couple of sweet 16's apart for a week!!

Anyway, that set's the estro-testostero balance badly off balance for our usual foursome. Poor A+; may need you to send her a few coping pointers...

P.S. If mini-golf is your thing you really need to check out Myrtle Beach. There are more courses there than anywhere I have ever seen. They host the world championships there too; we saw why this past March. Sheraton Broadway Plantation is a Vistana look alike, great resort, fun location!

Congrats to your DD! Where is she headed next year, and what is she studying?

You are correct....we are hereby relegated to travelling during the October and February reading weeks, the extended Christmas Break, or May through August for the next two seasons. But hey, I'm not complaining: that's still WAY more flexibility than we have enjoyed up until now. As for Myrtle Beach....we have actually toyed with trading one of our Vistana weeks for a week in MB. I don't think it will happen in 2015, but possibly thereafter......I think they have direct flights from Toronto now, don't they?

I swear this must be the year of the sweeties. DD17 has been dating a boy for a year this month too. He's a really nice boy, and we've known him since the 4th grade so all things considered I suppose we're lucky. That doesn't stop my husband from giving him the stink eye and trying to make him uncomfortable at every turn though:lmao:
We aren't ready to bring him on vacation I don't think, but he will come to the cottage with us for a long weekend this summer. It's been a year, and I'm still not ready for all of this:rotfl:.:crazy2:

Ha ha! I often think they need support groups for mothers to get us through these periods of rapid change ::yes:: . Watching the "young love" can be kind of cute at times, but others it just wrings my heart out. I was quite happy being the only woman in Jake's life, thank you very much :thumbsup2 . I have told Sweetie that if she breaks his heart, I will have to scratch her eyeballs out with my fingernails. She just giggled and told me "Gina, you're so funny!". Who was kidding? :rolleyes2

Jake got his own vehicle for graduation (don't be too impressed....its my ancient '02 Oldsmobile Alero, so far from a "cool car" :rotfl:) so now the whole family dynamic has changed again. He doesn't even need his momma to drive him anywhere anymore. Between the girlfriend, and the job, and college, and the car....I am wondering....where has my baby gone??

It's a 3.5 hour drive, so not too bad. A little further than Syracuse. Oh yes, we had an early flight with Jetblue 2 years ago, my parents went with us and getting my Mom up was not easy!! LOL! I almost prefer going the night before, I'm always afraid we are going to get stuck in traffic or blow a tire and miss our flight! So we are leaving at 7:00am for a 1:00 flight :laughing:

We will have to have coffee one day! My daughter has the odd soccer game "in the friendly city" ;) and my husband attended NCC many moons ago, LOL, and he has family in the area. Actually, we are heading there tonight, but we are attending a wake. :(

Your DH went to NCC? That's so awesome! Jake will be impressed to know there's another Crusader with a tie to the Disboards :thumbsup2 . Did he play basketball? (lol.....as you probably already know, that's Nicholson's claim to fame)

You made me LOL about your Mom :rotfl2: . I was thinking about what it would be like if we could ever convince MY mom to go :scratchin ....which she won't, because she's terrified to fly (heck, she's terrifed to have ME fly!). She's the ultimate early bird....she'd have our butts up and out of bed and at the airport with an hour to spare :lmao: . lol, that gives me an idea. Perhaps I should have Nanny provide us with the wake-up call rather than the front desk!

Do PM me if you are ever going to be in town (for soccer or otherwise) and want to meet up. Coffee will be on me :thumbsup2 .

I'm in too!!!! I'll be enjoying Orlando through you Gina...thanks for giving me a really cheap vacation.:rotfl2:

lol! Glad to have you reading along, dancin'! :goodvibes
 
Gina, I pm'd you, but I had to share in here.. I just booked SVR for our trip this morning! I saved a bundle over my Disney package, and I am so excited to try an all new trip!!! Our new dates are December 5th to the 14th:cool1:
 
Gina, I pm'd you, but I had to share in here.. I just booked SVR for our trip this morning! I saved a bundle over my Disney package, and I am so excited to try an all new trip!!! Our new dates are December 5th to the 14th:cool1:

:yay: :cool1: :dance3:

I am so excited for you!!!!! And I just PM'd ya back :thumbsup2 .

I cannot WAIT to hear how you like the resort. Your family is going to adore all the space in your villa!
 
30 days to go!

We made some changes to our flights this morning.

For those of you who don’t know us very well, we’re not very good flyers. Admittedly, that’s mostly my fault. I have been known to get airsick on more than one occasion…..I believe I have earned the dubious distinction of vomiting over every state from New York to Florida :rolleyes1. Sometimes I am fine (thank you, Gravol!) other times…..not so much. Most of the guys’ flying issues come from either (a) watching me get sick (making them sick) or (b) stressing out about me getting sick, so a lot rides on whether I am feeling good or if I am feeling like dying :sick:. Then of course, we have BIG STEVE squeezed in to a little airline seat, which can irritate my otherwise placid man to an infinite degree. So as much as we MUCH prefer flying to driving (did I mention we are impatient folks, too?) the flights do cause a little advance worry for our trio.

And now we can add Sweetie into the mix. Who has never flown before, and for whom we have no idea how she will enjoy (or hate) riding in an airplane. This should be fun. :eek:

We virtually always book with Jetblue because their inflight entertainment helps our stress (and even my airsickness) more than you can imagine. The guys can zone out on their movie or TV show of choice, which helps them fret less about me. When I can focus on an episode of Law & Order or Property Brothers, I tend to feel less queasy (and often manage to even *Gasp!* enjoy the flight experience). And with the roomier-than-average seating, the ability to select our seats in advance (Steve NEEDS an aisle seat), the free checked bag person, and the free snacks it just makes for the all-around best we can hope for when it comes to our travel to and from Orlando. So wayyyy back in November when flights first opened up for August, we snagged our airfare and tried not to complain too much that the round-trip fares were just over $400 per person. Sweetie’s mom bought her airfare for her as part of her Christmas gift, which we were very appreciative of.

I have been watching fares like a hawk, but so far, no decline since our purchase. No Jetblue credit for me. :sad1:

Last summer, we upgraded our flights to the “even more space” seats and the boys were in love. While the extra legroom means diddly squat for my 5’3” frame, it appears to make my 6’4” bruiser of a husband quite giddy. So of course, he wanted me to upgrade our seats for this trip as well, to which I said No Way Jose. We had already paid out the big bucks for these more-expensive-than-normal flights, and I thought upgrading was a bit frivolous.

Then, he works his buns off and nets almost an extra $1000 after tax in overtime on his last paycheque. And says to me (oh so innocently) over breakfast on the weekend….”So, do you think those even more space seats are available still?”. :flower3:

Sigh. He asks for so precious little on our vacations (he really does give me free reign to plan whatever I feel is important) that I feel awful saying no when he tells me there is something he wants to add on. And so I caved.

Now, it all didn’t work out quite as I had planned. By the time I made the call to Jetblue this morning (I could not process the upgrades online as Sweetie’s reservation is not under our accounts, and I wanted to ensure we paid for her seat upgrade too) our outbound flight to Orlando only had 2 even more space seats left. We were all originally in row 3. The EMS seats remaining were in row 1. So I was only able to upgrade Daddy Long Legs and me to the first row, while Jake and Sweetie will be two ows behind. They were totally okay with that, though, and quite honestly, I think they will enjoy Mom and Dad not watching their every move for a couple of hours. They’d better behave ;) (lol….I know they will ).

On the way home, we were successful in getting all 4 seats in one row in the middle of the plane, row 14. It will be nice to have the expedited security (Even More Speed) at the Orlando airport on the Labor Day long weekend in addition to regular perks of the even more space seats.

Online, it said that each upgrade fee was $55 each seat, but the rep at Jetblue only quoted and charged me $40 per upgrade. So it came out $90 cheaper than what I had pre-calculated :dance3:. Two thumbs up for the awesome Jetblue customer service. It was a super nice young lady who helped me out (thank you, Anna!) and gave me no hassle in upgrading Sweetie's seat, even though it wasn't originally purchased by me. Easy, peasy.

Budget-conscious nutcase that I am, it all still made me cringe until I got a text at work this morning that one of Steve’s uncles lost his battle with cancer early this morning, just two weeks after diagnosis. We knew last night that he was in his last hours, so the news was not unexpected, but it still hit home and has caused me to stop and reflect on all those things that losing a loved one causes you to ponder. Plan for tomorrow, but live for today, because life is not a dress rehearsal. Make the most of every moment, don’t sweat the small stuff, and enjoying spending the fruits of your labour (for the record, though, I also made an extra deposit to our RRSPs today….. being frivolous feels less silly when I can also say I contributed a chunk of our excess to savings).

So I will enjoy every moment of stretching out my stubby legs in all that room in our expensive seats, and know that my guy is comfy and happy beside me, and has been rewarded well for all his hard work :hug:. Then I won’t feel so bad if I need to borrow his barf bag, too.
 
And by the way......WHAT THE HECK IS UP WITH THIS WEATHER????

It was 10 degrees Celcius when I got up this morning. 10.

That's 50 degrees farenheit for my American friends. And its the middle of July. :rolleyes2

The adjustment to the Orlando temperatuers is going to kill us this year :faint: .
 
I'm sorry to hear about Steve's uncle. I definitely had that moment recently when I lost a loved one and really thought about the things I worry about or the things that anger me, and how worth it they were. For example, how important is it to worry about money every day when I don't know if I have tomorrow, and that money is not going to go with me when I die? Right after I lost my family member (4 days later), I was in a serious car accident. It just sharpened my focus on wanting to get the most out of life with less of the worry and stress, and I try to remind myself all the time that we only have one life to live and it can be over at any time.

My upcoming vacation is an extension of that. My mom and I are really doing a lot of things, and some of those things cost a lot extra, but who knows how many times we will be able to go to WDW together in the future. The time is now, we say! :banana: We aren't getting any younger! ;)

I'm also sorry to hear you're not a good flyer! That is excellent that you were in a position to upgrade to the extra room; it does make a difference, especially if you have someone who is bigger or taller. Have you ever tried Sea Bands in conjunction with your extra precautions? I used them sometimes for flights after I had taken a long hiatus from flying, just in case, and I hear many people say that they worked for them. In any case, I would hate to get sick on a flight!
 
Gina, prayers for your uncle. Never easy, even if you know. It was hard watching my sister's DH leave us after less than a month notice that he had cancer.

Ha, I've been getting motion sick since I was young. I even had a dog that got car sick. Try cleaning out wet dog food from the gear shift of your car. :) I am well medicated before we fly. I am also medicated when we ride most of the rides at USO. Star Tours at Disney also makes me close my eyes, even with my medicine. I am lucky though, my kids have no issues at all. They didn't even get sea sick, love the virtual rides, and can read in the car. I am good at people watching though

We're flying SW. Leaving at the crack of dawn. My kids are not the nicest when we wake them up at 4:30am, but they are happy to go on vacation. Glad to hear you got the better seats. SW has an all size fits all, free for all, and that's usually fine with us.

Oh, and we got to see the fireworks at the falls two nights, but didn't shop. We have tons of outlets near us, and where I live, we don't tax clothing, except "nonessential" clothing, mostly bathing suits. Yep, my state is based on Quaker laws. ;)
 
Gina - you have been such a help for me planning our Sept trip - I will certainly follow along for your Aug trip - you are doing a lot of the same parks as we are so I will be very interested in your adventures.

Safe travels!

Sandy
 
I'm sorry to hear about Steve's uncle. I definitely had that moment recently when I lost a loved one and really thought about the things I worry about or the things that anger me, and how worth it they were. For example, how important is it to worry about money every day when I don't know if I have tomorrow, and that money is not going to go with me when I die? Right after I lost my family member (4 days later), I was in a serious car accident. It just sharpened my focus on wanting to get the most out of life with less of the worry and stress, and I try to remind myself all the time that we only have one life to live and it can be over at any time.

My upcoming vacation is an extension of that. My mom and I are really doing a lot of things, and some of those things cost a lot extra, but who knows how many times we will be able to go to WDW together in the future. The time is now, we say! :banana: We aren't getting any younger! ;)

I'm also sorry to hear you're not a good flyer! That is excellent that you were in a position to upgrade to the extra room; it does make a difference, especially if you have someone who is bigger or taller. Have you ever tried Sea Bands in conjunction with your extra precautions? I used them sometimes for flights after I had taken a long hiatus from flying, just in case, and I hear many people say that they worked for them. In any case, I would hate to get sick on a flight!

Thanks ZehnJahren. I read in your PTR about your tough year thus far....so sorry to hear about all your difficulties and loss. How is your cat, BTW?

You and your mom's trip sounds absolutely marvelous! I wish I could get my mom to travel with us to Orlando. She would have a ball there....but she steadfastly refuses to fly (or leave her beloved feline at home). What special time for you and your mother to share together.

I had never even heard of the Sea Bands until your post, but I looked them up and they sound AWESOME! They are only about $15 too, so well worth a try at such an affordable price point. Methinks I will be ordering one to see if it works for me. Thank you so much for the tip!!! :thumbsup2

Gina, prayers for your uncle. Never easy, even if you know. It was hard watching my sister's DH leave us after less than a month notice that he had cancer.

Ha, I've been getting motion sick since I was young. I even had a dog that got car sick. Try cleaning out wet dog food from the gear shift of your car. :) I am well medicated before we fly. I am also medicated when we ride most of the rides at USO. Star Tours at Disney also makes me close my eyes, even with my medicine. I am lucky though, my kids have no issues at all. They didn't even get sea sick, love the virtual rides, and can read in the car. I am good at people watching though

We're flying SW. Leaving at the crack of dawn. My kids are not the nicest when we wake them up at 4:30am, but they are happy to go on vacation. Glad to hear you got the better seats. SW has an all size fits all, free for all, and that's usually fine with us.

Oh, and we got to see the fireworks at the falls two nights, but didn't shop. We have tons of outlets near us, and where I live, we don't tax clothing, except "nonessential" clothing, mostly bathing suits. Yep, my state is based on Quaker laws. ;)

No tax...oh my! You are so very lucky (we have 13% here in Ontario, so even the 6.5% in Orlando is amazing to us). I could totally adapt to the Quaker laws ;) .

Gina - you have been such a help for me planning our Sept trip - I will certainly follow along for your Aug trip - you are doing a lot of the same parks as we are so I will be very interested in your adventures.

Safe travels!

Sandy

Hi Sandy, I am so glad I have been able to help you a little! Sounds like my trip will be just ending as yours is gearing up. You have some great parks planned, so I am sure you will have a blast! Cant wait to hear all about your adventures as well!
 

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