Friends & Family Tour--Day 7 (update 11/25) About This Page:

[desiab]

Destination: Walt Disney World

Date: Sunday, Oct 17 thru Sunday, Oct 24

Adventurers:



GROUP 1 (staying at the Boardwalk Inn Concierge):

Sonny--My husband

Mardesia--Me

Marlayna—Our Daughter (9)

Dalton--Our Son (3)



GROUP 2 (staying at The Pop Century Resort):

Debbie--Sonny’s sister

Vince--Debbie’s husband 1st trip

Sarah--Vince’s daughter (18) 1st trip



GROUP 3 will be staying at Orange Lake Country Club:

Daniel--My Dad

Eartha--My Mom

Yolanda--My Sister

Robert--Sister’s husband

Dwayne--My Brother

Celima--Brother’s wife

Cameron My Nephew (3)

Tessa My Niece (9 mths at the time)

Becky--Celima's mother

Corey--Family Friend

Nicky—Family Friend

Pam—Nicky’s wife

Britne—Nicky’s daughter

Emmage—Nicky’s daughter

Chad—FFriend & Nicky’s brother

Elsie—Chad’s wife

Chelsie—Chad’s daughter

Chad Jr—Chad’s son



GROUP 4 will be staying at Port Orleans Riverside:

Daniel--Family Friend

Shana--Daniel's wife



This is a long list of family and friends all going at the same time. They may or may not appear in the following trip report, but I wanted to mention them just in case.

[desiab]

Celebration: We are all going to Mickey's House for a much needed family (and friends) vacation. Also, Daniel and Shana will be celebrating their third anniversary.



Meetings: Fellow travelers can spot me with my Passporter in the parks or writing my trip report as we wait for rides.



In October 2003 my parents bought a 3-bedroom villa at Orange Lake Country Club and the planning for this trip began. My mom’s condo sleeps 12, but because of privacy issues we opted to make other arrangements. This worked out for Sonny and I for three reasons: 1--we could better afford our own accommodations, 2—we cannot sleep comfortably on a pull out sofa, and 3—we wanted to be onsite.



The hardest part of planning this trip has been deciding where to stay. Most everyone else was pretty sure of where they would stay, but we were torn between staying where we wanted, a resort with queen or king beds, and staying where others could afford. As pooh-sized people Sonny & I really needed to be in beds larger than doubles. As more people were added to the group the decision became harder. Finally, Sonny got tired of me agonizing and said to book a room where we wanted because there is no way to make everybody happy with your decision. Sometimes you just have to make yourself happy.



Shana, Debbie and I were trying to patiently wait for the codes to come out to book our rooms. I have to admit that I was beginning to get nervous so on April 10 I went ahead and booked the Contemporary in a standard wing room. Sonny had been asking about the possibility of staying there because of childhood memories. I began to read everything that I could about the resort, but nothing seemed to make me really excited about our coming visit.



In May a code was released for the DreamMaker 5+2 and I modified our reservations. I had our room changed to the tower and we still saved $250 off the original reservation. Within the next few weeks I was able to send off the final payment on our package. Yeah! Shana and Debbie made their reservations at this time as well. I also made reservations for Corey, who would be staying at Orange Lake with my other family.



Now came the time to start deciding the PS’s that Debbie and I would make 90 days out. I had Debbie pick up a copy of Passporter so that she could get an idea of the restaurants and other activities. Can you believe she had it almost three weeks before she cracked it open? I finally had a tentative outline of what we would like to do and when, but that would change several times for several reasons.



Up Next: We're Staying Where?

[imagineerwannabe]

It will be interesting coordinating all the personalities and schedules of all these people. I look forward to your trip report!

[Colexis Mom]

Wow, that's quite the group that you have going there Can't wait to read all about it

[buckysmom]

Wow! What a group! Can't wait to read all about it
Even better, we'll be living part of it with you, since DD and I will be there Oct 15-25

[desiab]

Shay, at what resort will you be staying? I am just curious as to whether we might run into each other at the Boardwalk.

[buckysmom]

Sorry-since I'm footing the bill for 2 rooms we'll be at POFQ! I'd LOVE to stay at the Boardwalk...some day...when it's just DD and me

[luvnwdwgal]

Wow! What a group!! Looking forward to reading all about your trip!!

[desiab]

<font color="purple"> The more that I read about the 14th floor of the Contemporary the more determined I was to be on that floor with my family and set out to once again change our reservations. When I called there was nothing available, but the helpful CM suggested that I try back periodically. I remained hopeful that something would open up soon.

By the third time I called on July 6 I was getting discouraged. That day the cast member informed me that the only concierge rooms she had available was at the Boardwalk Inn or the Polynesian.

I didn’t want to change resorts because Sonny had specifically asked to stay at the Contemporary this trip. The poor man doesn’t get much say in other things so I wanted to honor this one request. I pondered the possibility for several moments and the cast member suggested that I speak with Sonny and see how he felt. When I called him on his break he said that he didn’t mind at all because he loves the Boardwalk as much as I do.</font>

We are staying Boardwalk Inn Concierge! Finally, we have a room that I can get excited about.

<font color="purple">Once again within a few weeks I sent off the final check for our reservations. With the room paid for I felt better, but begin to think of how we could extend our vacation since the vacation was paid for. This lead to me to thinking about Universal Studios and I tacked on three days before our week at WDW. I was able to book a club level room at Portifino Bay Resort for $295.20 a night with an AAA discount. I am not as familiar with Universal Studios so I had to start doing research on the hotels, parks, and restaurants.

The next step in planning was the PS’s. I received a phone call from Daniel around this time. He and Shana will celebrate their third anniversary the week we are there and he needed some help in surprising her. Part of surprising her means that he cannot use his own credit card for any of the purchases because she pays most of the household bills. I volunteered to try to get Cinderella’s Table for breakfast on the actual day. Also, I suggested Victoria &amp; Albert, a carriage ride, &amp; flowers delivered to the room. I opened my big mouth so now I am making all of the arrangements, but I don’t mind.

I will admit that I had help with the CRT reservation. A nice CM at IPO did make it “off the record”. I can’t begin to thank her enough. Over the course of the next two weeks I was able to book a spa treatment and Victoria &amp; Albert’s. They are going to make the rest of their PS’s as the go based on how they feel each day.

As far as my own PS’s, once we decided to change to the Boardwalk Inn that meant a change in our meal plans. I won’t bore you with the details of each specific meal, but we decided to go with a few new places that the kids would like and favorites of ours.

Lauren from IPO contacted me and we discussed the priority seatings that we wanted for the week. She also asked about surprises or special activities. For several months I have been working on gift baskets for several people in our group and we arranged for the shipping of them to the resorts. I am so excited about having my children surprised with goodies in our room on arrival. Between Lauren and Annalisa, all of my arrangements have been made.

I was starting to feel really good about our plans for the coming trip to WDW and Universal Studios. I had printed up calendars for each month to mark off the days, packing list for each member of my family, and our itinerary for each day. But as you all know anything that can happen before vacation—will happen before vacation.</font>

Up Next: How Did This Happen?!

[luvnwdwgal]

Uh oh....what happened?

[Colexis Mom]

Another great update! But what's the glitch? There always is one!

[desiab]

How Did This Happen?

At the end of July the family and I attended a convention in Biloxi MS for the weekend. The day we arrived we noticed something weird on my son’s fingers on his right hand. We decided to watch his hand to see if it got worse. Three o’clock in the morning I am taking him to the hospital because as it turns out he had an insect bite, which usually requires strong medicine.

The next day I felt really, really tired and I chalked it up to not having enough rest.

On Saturday evening my husband asked me an interesting question: <font color="red">Are you pregnant? </font> Of course not! I can’t go to Disney in October and ride the rides if I am pregnant.

We started counting up the days and I started sweating. I got absolutely nothing out of the entire convention.

Monday morning I decided to bite the bullet and get a pregnancy test. My husband waited nervously in his office as I did the deed. Within 30 seconds we had the answer we may not have wanted: I AM PREGNANT! HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?! I know how this happens, but how did this happen?

Nothing can change plans faster than a pregnant woman with morning sickness. Let me rephrase that, “all day sickness”. When you are too sick to read the boards on a laptop while lying in the bed, then you are really sick. My Disney planning came to a screeching halt for more than three weeks as I tried “to plan and organize” my morning sickness and pregnancy.

I had not planned to change our trip because of the pregnancy. My reasoning was that I would be far enough along, but not too far along, that I could still enjoy myself. Unfortunately, other circumstances with my daughter and school forced me to cancel the long weekend at Universal Studios that we planned for prior to WDW.

[whoSEZ]

[ QUOTE ]
I AM PREGNANT! HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?! I know how this happens, but how did this happen?

[/ QUOTE ]

Well my goodness. I certainly wasn't expecting that!!

Congratulations ... tons of for a happy and healthy trip with all those people plus one!!

[buckysmom]

Congrats! That was a twist on the pre trip report all right

[Nick and Ryans Mom]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I AM PREGNANT! HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?! I know how this happens, but how did this happen?

[/ QUOTE ]

Well my goodness. I certainly wasn't expecting that!!

Congratulations ... tons of for a happy and healthy trip with all those people plus one!!

[/ QUOTE ]


Wow, that is a shocker!!