Disney-fying Joey 8/29-9/8- Days 8,9 &10 added. Finally Complete!
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poohsgirl · 08-23-2004, 12:39 PM

Adventurers : Angie (me) 33 –7th trip, Joey (DS) 12 – 4th trip, Kina (Dsis) 19 – 4th trip

Dates : August 29th – September 7th 2004

Dsis arrives Sept. 3rd and leaves Sept. 6th

Resort(s): Port Orleans Riverside August 29th-September 3rd

Beach Club Sept. 3rd-Sept. 7th

Celebration : Hoping to Disney-fy DS and showing Dsis a fun time!

As my trip nears, I’ve been getting a little antsy. So I’ve taken Cheeser’s advice to write a pre-trip report. Remember, to you it might seem like rambling, but for me it’s therapy!

Here goes:

Background: I am the Disney nut in the family. My mom and two sisters have enjoyed trips to WDW, but can take it or leave it. Although Joey will tell you that he did enjoy most of his previous trips, he DID NOT want to go back

. Our last trip together was in 2000 when he was 8 years old and I guess he was at an age where he was scared to ride anything. He had been braver when he was 5! Or maybe he just hadn’t known what he was getting into back then!

Needless to say Kina and I did a lot of child swaps on that trip. I hope that since he is almost 13 he’ll be a little bit more adventurous, but I did promise not to force him on any rides that he didn’t want to do. After all this was a trip designed to bring back some Disney magic, not swear him off forever!

In the summer of 2003 I talked my family into having a Magical Gathering at WDW in late summer of 2004, or at least I thought I had

. Slowly and for different reasons they started backing out.

Kina was torn on whether to go or not. She lives in Missouri with our dad and only sees us on summer vacations and Christmas. She started a new job in the spring ’04 and wouldn’t be able to make it for the summer. She didn’t think it would be worth the airfare to come to NY for just a few short days. She was feeling guilty about saying that she’d go to Disney and not come to NY to see my mom. Turns out she’d end up seeing all of us more than she’d ever planned

!

In November ‘03 the family made plans to go to New Orleans to celebrate my aunt’s 50th birthday

. Kina made arrangements to drive down from Missouri, for a long weekend, with a girlfriend.

Then in July ’04 my sister Rachel decided to have a big 4th of July BBQ and we really wanted Kina to be there, so my mom, Rachel and I chipped in and bought her a ticket for the long weekend. So she finally agreed to go to Disney! However she’d only be able to go for the Labor Day weekend, because she’d already be back in college as of mid August. She got her new class schedule at the end of the semester and found out that she didn’t have any classes on Fridays

!

I tried to convince my dad to join us, but due to other obligations he wasn’t able to.

That’s how our magical gathering turned into Joey, Kina and me!

Coming up -How an

may affect my departure.

imagineerwannabe · 08-23-2004, 12:56 PM

Angie,

I remember your solo trip report, and your discussions about your son. I hope he enjoys this trip, and becomes Disney-fied

**Colexis Mom** · 08-23-2004, 01:05 PM

Great start Angie

I'm so looking forward to another one of your reports

I hope everything goes smoothly for all of you

emsmomma · 08-23-2004, 01:08 PM

I am so happy it is time for your next trip report! I LOVED you last one. It was like we were sitting there with you! Can't wait for this one! Hope the three of you have a wonderful trip full of magic! And I hope your brain washing oh I mean Disneyfying Joey works!

Don't feel bad I'm doing the same thing with my hubby in October!

buckysmom · 08-23-2004, 01:10 PM

Angie, I so enjoyed your solo trip, I hope this one goes as well!
Here's some

that Joey and Kina "get it" this time

poohsgirl · 08-23-2004, 02:10 PM

Adventurers : Angie (me) 33 –7th trip, Joey (DS) 12 – 4th trip, Kina (Dsis) 19 – 4th trip

Dates : August 29th – September 7th 2004

Dsis arrives Sept. 3rd and leaves Sept. 6th

Resort(s): Port Orleans Riverside August 29th-September 3rd

Beach Club Sept. 3rd-Sept. 7th

Celebration : Hoping to Disney-fy DS and showing Dsis a fun time!

How an elephant may affect my departure.

March ’04 – I’m a very paranoid person so when I noticed all the talk of airfares on the rise, I decided not to wait any longer and bought our tickets. We’ll be flying American Airlines from Laguardia Airport, which is closer to my house than JFK, hence a cheaper cab ride. My original plan was to get an early flight and go to the parks, so I booked a 7:00am flight. I regret this decision now

. I changed my itinerary and decided NOT to go to a park on arrival day. I wanted to ease Joey into the swing of Disney, so we were now going to spend time at the pool and go to Downtown Disney for lunch

. The early flight was not going to be necessary.

Then the dates of the Republican National Convention,the

being held in NYC were announced. They are to begin on August 30th, one day after we leave. Why does this matter, you ask?

Oh, you didn’t. Humor me then!

One word, SECURITY! Preparations were beginning at the beginning of August and the airports would now have even tighter security lines. So now not only were we taking an early flight, but we’d have to be at the airport even earlier than I originally expected. I only live 15 minutes from the airport and early on Sunday mornings there is no real traffic, but my paranoid self tells me the lines are going to be moving extra slow.

To top it all off, American changes my flight time to 6:55am. Granted it’s only a five-minute difference, but it would’ve been 5 extra minutes of not having to hear Joey complain

about having to wake-up before the sun is up!

Okay enough ranting, I’m going to Disney!

Coming up- So many resorts so little time!

ilovelilo · 08-23-2004, 05:15 PM

I like your pre-trip report so far!!! I hope you'll get to turn Joey into a big Disney fan before you come back! Have a great time and I can't wait to hear all about it!

luvnwdwgal · 08-23-2004, 08:02 PM

Hi Angie!! I loved your solo trip report and can't wait for this one!!! Hope the "magic" works!!

lilprincess · 08-24-2004, 09:57 AM

Angie, I can't wait to hear more! I hope all turns out perfect for you!

poohsgirl · 08-24-2004, 11:51 AM

So many resorts so little time!

March '04 -I never thought I’d be able to stay at one of Disney’s Deluxe resorts for financial reasons, but the trip had originally been planned with more people. With all of us splitting the bill, I looked at staying at the Beach Club for the entire stay. The more I read up on all of the benefits of staying there, most prominently Storm-a-long Bay, the more excited I got

. By the time the rest of the family backed out, I had such a yearning to stay there that I decided to split my stay. Now I needed to research a second less expensive resort. Out came my trusty Passporter

and with the help from these boards I decided on Port Orleans Riverside. I had loved the southern theming when I stayed there in 1995 when it was Dixie Landings. I also think Joey will like the main pool “Ol’ Man Island”.

Choices solidified, I called CRO to book the dates and gasped when I heard the quote

! I’d only stayed at Value resorts and rented timeshares before. I budgeted enough for full rate and hoped that AP discounts would be announced for my dates!

First in July room only discounts came out and I called right away to get them applied. I was able to save about $650+! Then in early August AP rates did come out and I saved an additional $50+. In total I saved $702.78, I am so glad I know about these discounts! Thanks PP and Mousesavers!

Coming up- Joey throws me a curve

lilprincess · 08-24-2004, 12:09 PM

That's SO great!! Don't you just LOVE discounts???

BritDisFan · 08-24-2004, 12:39 PM

I'm so looking forward to your report Angie, I loved your last one and that picture of the Wolfgang Puck pizza will haunt me forever

. I can't believe it's only four days until your trip

.

Karen

Stephanie P. · 08-24-2004, 12:58 PM

Ooh, love those discounts!

Stephanie

buckysmom · 08-24-2004, 01:33 PM

Oooh! The Beach Club is on my Must Do List! Can't wait to hear what you think of it, and sooo glad you got discounts.
More, more!

poohsgirl · 08-24-2004, 02:41 PM

Joey throws me a curve
April '04 : T-minus 4 months and anxiously waiting

. I was enjoying the fact that I had 10 entire days to plan. My main concern was to not overdue it. I wanted to schedule plenty of pool time

and non-park days. Among the activities I want to try with Joey are DisneyQuest, a waterpark, miniature golf and maybe renting a sea raycer ( watermice to you & me!). As far as parks were concerned I know I won’t be able to get Joey up for extra magic hour, so I have to rely on fastpass and low crowds.

Notice how I didn’t mention a “non-Disney” day? I intended this vacation to be strictly on property.
Joey had something else in mind…

We had been reminiscing about our 2000 trip to both Universal Orlando and Disney. Joey informs me that he won’t be scared to ride on Jurassic Park this time, like he was on that trip. I was so

to hear him actually say something positive about our upcoming trip that I didn’t have the

to deny him. This meant, not only shuffling some things around to include one day at USF/IOA, but buying tickets that I hadn’t budgeted for

and figuring out how to get there! I don’t drive, so I had to either take a cab or pay extra for car service. I chose to book with Tiffany Town car for a round trip to Universal. I had used them in February and had a positive experience. I had also booked them for the ride from MCO.

By the way, I purchased discounted tickets from Ticketmania

. I got 2 2day/2park tickets for USF/IOA for $96 each, that way we could park hop on our one day there. I’ll save the unused day for a future trip. Depending on the crowds that day, I may also purchase Express Pass books, so that we can get to do all of the E-ticket rides. That is if Joey gets up the nerve!

Coming up- The dining dilemma