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[CinderAbby]

After taking the time to type up this trip report, I guess I have to say overall we did have a good vacation . It just didn’t seem so at the time with Abby having the meltdown so early , then losing my glasses again , then Lenny being cranky . I knew this year wouldn’t be nearly as magical as last year but with everything that has been going on for the past few months, I had hoped for better than we had . Unfortunately there were a few times this trip I said not only to myself but also to Lenny "Never again. We’re not going to come back , this is it." I have since settled down and trying to remember the good times, not the bad, and looking through the photos is helping me see that there is no way possible for me to never go back again. We all enjoy it too much. And truthfully, I think we’re driving my mother crazy already . We’ve only been home a couple of weeks and we’ve already started talking about things we’d do differently the next time .

In regards to going to the airport and flying to Disney, believe it or not, I would fly again . Somehow I have to hone down our carry ons but I don’t know if it will be possible. A lot of what got carried on was our cameras and cords plus all our meds we needed. I also took a bunch of maps and things like that but I suppose next time I could actually check that but take it out once we arrive in Florida. And if we lose it, it’s not like we’re entirely in the dark. Florida seems to have enough signs for us to get to where we’re going. Even if I put that in checked though, it’s not really going to make a difference . As for the time of flights, we liked the afternoon one coming home, it was late enough that we didn’t have to be up super early in the morning but it was early enough that we weren’t getting home really late at night and being super tired. The morning flight I don’t know about. Part of me liked getting into Disney as early as we did but part of me wonders if we should do an afternoon one so 1) we can sleep later and maybe drive ourselves to the airport and 2) purposely make it difficult time wise to get into a park that night forcing us to find something else to do our first day. I know it certainly wouldn’t kill us to skip a park that first day but having gone into the MK on our first day for the previous 5 trips, it would seem weird not doing a park that day. Only time will tell though what we end up doing. If and when we book another trip, most likely money will do the talking in regards to what time flight we take.

Rental cars. I wanted an SUV this summer because I didn’t think dealing with putting a scooter into a trunk was going to be easy. Lenny insisted on the Cadillac telling me how much space it was going to have but he’s not savvy when it comes to rental car companies . I’m not saying I know it all but I know enough that whatever car the website tells you about most likely will NOT be the one you get . Lenny didn’t and still doesn’t get it. I’ve told him countless times that every rental car company out there has the words "or similar" attached to every single class for a reason - because they may not have that exact car when we get there. I also told him that AFAIK, the rental companies always have newer cars - and typically they’re from the current year. Am I wrong with that info? It’s possible but I’ve never heard of a rental company renting out models from previous years. So next time we’re going to stick with an SUV. My mother drives a Ford Escape which is smaller than the Cadillac DTS Lenny was hoping for and we had much better luck shoving our luggage into that than we did the car we ultimately ended up with at Disney (a Caddy STS). And we most likely would have had an easier time with getting the scooter in and out too.

Rental Scooter. We went with Walker Mobility because Lenny liked the look of the scooter and the fact that they have the Weather Breaker Canopy (just like what he has here at home). While the first scooter we got wasn’t in the best of shape (dirty and greasy until Lenny cleaned it up) they are rental scooters after all with lots of miles on them. We obviously weren’t thrilled when the scooter broke down but Walker was right there with a replacement in the park (and in about an hour or so), no questions asked. Everything about them - from the very first phone call to replacement scooter to the thank you card I received in the mail after getting home - really left us with a good impression of Walker and we wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them or use them again .

Sea World. Would I go again? I suppose I would for Abby. We didn’t do any show this year except for one and truthfully I didn’t miss them. If money were an issue, I would skip it entirely and just stick to Disney, especially if we have another short vacation.

The length of the trip. Overall it was just too short for us . We’re used to being on vacation for almost 2 full weeks with driving time so having only a week definitely put a different spin on the vacation . We really do like having at least 2 days for the MK (we almost prefer 3 though), at least 1 ½ for Epcot and 1 each for DHS and AK. So with the short vacation and a couple of days with multiple meals plus a day at Sea World, we just couldn’t do the parks the way we wanted to . There were many things that we had to skip. Part of me doesn’t mind because this was a 4th year in a row trip but part of me did mind because with Abby, there are so many other things we can’t or won’t do that I do like to do the things we can - and multiple times if possible.

TS meals and dietary issues. I have to say I was kind of disappointed in Disney this year . Someone certainly dropped the ball in regards to my notations. I’m not blameless, I could have spoken up at the meals but despite that, I really was surprised by the meals that it wasn’t even mentioned at all - not by the host checking us in and not by the servers we had. I know for at least one restaurant, there was no mention of it on our seating slip anywhere at all and at another restaurant, it was there but the server didn’t pick up on it. The meals where it was the most important - our breakfast meals - it was noted and addressed so I’m not going to complain to anyone. If my dietary problems were more severe than they are, you bet I would have spoken up but I handle them well enough that I’ve gotten to be a good judge of whether I can eat something or not at meals other than breakfast.

Going without the dining plan. I already did a review of this - we ended up saving money but as I mentioned in that, we ordered food differently this year than we have in the past. Had we ordered everything we could, we would have actually saved money going with the DDP but I don’t regret my decision. The only problem really with the decision I made is the fact that going without the DDP worked just as well for us so we’re a family that can go with it or without it and make it work . How will that affect future trips? I’ll let you know when we have one to plan. Besides, like I said, with Disney who knows what the choices and coverage will be when we go next.

Playing mini golf. I have every intention of taking Abby to mini golf if she wants to . Lenny on the other hand, is going to have to decide what he wants to do. I’ve told him it’s time he either lets Abby play the way that makes her happy (she plays the entire hole, then she stands to the side and watches us play - patiently and happily I might add) or he can stay in the hotel while we go play. He didn’t like that idea (of staying at the hotel by himself) and said he’d stay in the car and nap while waiting for us. I don’t care which he does as long as it doesn’t end up like it did this year.

Pin trading. Abby told me she enjoyed the pin trading. I did too even though we didn’t do too much of it. Thanks to several PPer members (you know who you are) we had some pins to trade. Abby could have had more but she really liked a bunch of the ones sent to us and ended up with only a few left to trade. That was okay IMO because we didn’t go with an overwhelming amount. As it was, I did have to encourage Abby to look at the CM’s and their pins so it worked out well as a start. When all her pins were traded away, she was fine with it but Abby did say she wants me to get her more pins that we can trade for the next time .

The final results of all of Abby's pins.

There’s nothing else here that really comes to mind for me to include in this summary . If there’s something you guys think about that you want to know, ask away and I’ll answer as best as I can but other than that, that’s it for this trip. We had a good trip that had it’s ups and downs and the downs are finally starting to fade some. Our next Disney trip won’t be until 2013 but despite it being such a long way off, that hasn’t prevented me from making out a budget for it or for Lenny and I to hash out things we’d do differently .

So on that depressing note of no trip until at least 2013 (and no PTR or TRs for you guys until then), I’ll wrap up my TR here. Thanks so much for following along. I hope you’ve enjoyed it, that I wasn’t too boring, and that you’ll join me next time I have a PTR and TR going no matter how long it takes for that to happen.