5/25-5/31/09 Our Happy Trip PreTR - NEW PICS

[Disney4nonah]

Welcome to my PTR…
Have had so much fun reading others thought I’d do one of my own. I hope you enjoy.

Players - Me (37) DH (39) DB(my brother,23)
Me at disneyland 1974


DB

me and DH


We are traveling May 25-31, 2009

We are staying at POFQ

A little backround. We are from Portland, OR and this will be my DH and my brothers first time at WDW. I’ve been to WDW one time previously in 1998, so long ago and I was blown away loved it. And so much has changed since then that I’m so excited to get to go back in a MONTH, is it really a month? WOWO Other then that because we’ lived in Phoenix my parents and I have been to Disneyland 19 times they instilled the Disney Bug in me early. Since we don’t go together anymore, I still get to the entrance and start crying and have to call my Mom to tell her I love her and that I miss her just because we’d been there so many times, without her now makes me so sad. She always give me the be happy reassuring talk and tells me to call her in IASW as it’s her favorite ride, which makes me smile.

I work in the wind industry, my DH is a graphic artist.
My brother doesn’t work as he has epilesy and has slight CP, his right side is tight and he walks with a limp. He has a seizure walking around the neighbor with the dogs and has to sleep the rest of the day. So this may be an interesting to people traveling with anyone with disabilities.

Let’s see it’s been a bad year my grandmother died and my mom being in bad health, I’m the only one that could take care of everything, moving stuff out of her house, cleaning it up and gettign it sold. I’ve been very sad doing so. My mom surprised us saying we needed to have a happy vacation. And said she’d pay for airfare and part of our trip to WDW for us and my brother. YAY US! The planning has been fun and since I’m a compulsive planner this has all been super fun.
Oh, and we are all adopted in my house so as you’ll see in pics my brother and me look nothig alike..haha.

Enjoy, i'll get some pics up for you hopefully this evening

[Disney4nonah]

I think I need a reason for the itinerary and then the actual Itinerary
Reason:
I had to plan this trip a little differently. We live in a temperate Rainforest like climate, we are coming from cool and rainy. My brother dispite his best efforts and the fact he would go non-stop if I let him. Can’t do that as I don’t think he will be able to do all that walking/standing in the heat without having seizures. So my mom, DH and I have decided that he needs a wheelchair, much to his horror. No worries mom worked her reassuring talk magic and he now agrees we’ll get a wheelchair and to save him we’ll wheel him to an area (as I know how the park/s are set up) and he can walk as much as he wants to. He also fails to realize how much his back hurts after walking for along time because of his limp, (he wears down the heel of his shoes on one foot from dragging)Then when he feels too hot of tired we can push him to antoher area and just take breaks. Then I read about the GAC and my mom brought this up to the DR. who was insistent that it’s the only way he’d let him go(my mom was surpristed), so along with the long list of meds he’s on and medical history he’s given us, just in case he gets really sick, which is a great idea, what if he did get sick! and have to go the hospital, I would have had nothing. He’s also written a little speel in case anyone at Disney needs to see if, which I’ve found out they don’t’ need. So if he gets tired which I’m pretty good at seeing we’ll use the GAC.

My DH, he is tolerant of Disney but I can see him getting excited for the trip. He was just telling me last night did I know it’s going to be a pick on ME week. Because he knows how much my brother likes to pick on me. SO I agreed they can pick on me if it makes them happy. Things he’s excited for, American Idol Experience, TOT, and Universal because he love comics and Karoke at the SWAN – that’s right we are karaoke junkies as Portland is very Karaoke town. DH is the most amazing singer ever(I’m not so bad myself) so I’ll do a review of that and post it on my TR since I haven’t seen any here on the forum.
Why that date? – I thought the crowd from memorial day weekend would most likely leave by Tuesday and we’d have lower crowds for the week, but then I forgot and read about Star Wars weekends after that, so I think we all just will have to be in the mindset that here are going to be crowds and we’ll just have to deal with it. I’m happy we’ll get to go to HS on a star wars Friday, WOOHOO (as I am a star wars geek)
Why that resort? -
Read hundreds of reviews on this board of all the options and then did pick POFQ, one it has a slide, gee I hope my brother can ride it? no age limit… ???
It was relatively quiet, and man its it beautiful; love the theme, I’m so excited!
Really read all the reviews and almot every review was great. I’ve asked for a first floor room as I know my DB will want to go to the food court of something by himself and I don’t want any tired feet tripping on the stairs while trying to carry something up them, food/drinks.

We have no special plans or any celebration, it’s just a Happy Trip…

Coming up !!!!
-acutal Itinerary
-why tix choice
-ADR’s
-Exercise
-Tips I’m taking with me gleaned from the boards

[Disney4nonah]

Before I do the Itinerary – I think I should explain why I did somethings a little differenly.

Tickets - I did the Magic your way one park a day tickets for a reason. We don’t have kids I know there are places we don’t have here in the NW that we would like to eat at, off property and because we have a car we can do so. Plus we almost need something to force us to stop or else we’d run ourselves ragged. I almost want it to be able to say to my DB ok the park is closed so we need to go back to the room, shower, regroup and head out for dinner or to DTD or Karaoke of just even resort exploring. I’m thinking in places air conditioned for him. BUTTTT, I’m rethinking.
The last couple of days we could use the hopper, talking it over with DH he’s good at reasoning, then me with my fly off the handle stuff

ADR’s - I only have Three count them THREE…! I know I know what a disney slacker.
HERE’S THE THING, we are so not good at hot and the last thing I do is eat in heat, makes me ill. So we are going to counter service/snack our way around. But wait, I’m going to keep tally of food costs in order to be able to REASON with DH that next time we need the Plus or Deluxe dining plan…. It’s my evil plan. We’ll see how it works. My three are – Monday at 50s Prime Time café in HS at 7:20pm
Wednesday at 6pm Biergarten at Epcot and Thursday morning 8am O’hana Character Breakfast at the Poly. Anyway, I think it’ll be great…

Photopass – I’m going to do it, I’ve gone back and forth but I love the pics!!! I’m in love with them… I just got a bonus check so I’m going to prepay it, I think my mom will like having all those pics of us. Looked into the share but after hearing how slow the site is with all the pics I think the best bet is just to do one by ourselves. Also little apprehensive that people have said lately they haven’t seen any photographers but i’m going to do it, I’ll be sure to let you know if we see any… gee I hope we see plenty, I want a pic with Capn jack sparrow as It’s probably the closest i'll get to Johnny Depp

Exercise – I’ll be blunt we are pooh sized, and I need to get in shape to handle all that walking and pushing the wheelchair. My DH swims a half a mile everyday, I’m so proud of him. He’s so afraid they won’t let him on rides even though I’ve assured him he will be ok on everything at WDW. Me I go up and down 20 lbs all the time.
I must admit this grandma stuff has made me eat more and not exercise. So my goal is just the 10lbs off to be albe to walk the 5 to 10 miles a day.. haha.
So I go to the gym and walk for 30 mins and then do only 15 mins of weights a day (very low weight, just to tone). (been 2 days this week) yay me…

[Disney4nonah]

Actual Itinerary
MY Mantra for the trip is “Loosy Goosy, This is a vacation!! ENJOY” (Cause I’d go non-stop too) "what's wrong with me??"

Sunday 11:45pm – leave PDX (did this because even if we leave at 5am we get to MCO @ 8pm, tha’t a whole day) we are leaving and arrive Monday at 10:30am
(Genius huh, plus we’ll be all excited and running on pacific time)

Monday arrive 10:30am Pick up rental car – I’m planning 1 ½ hrs. from time we land until we get to the POFQ. (serioulsly we should be burnt out from time change on Wednesday which is our sleep in day LOL) and off to HS to A. get wheelchair for week B. get GAC and then play as our first ADR is Prime time at 7:20pm. Then back to resort to either Swim or go to DTD.

Tuesday - EMH at MK, we will be there for Rope Drop, then rides, rides, rides…
So Excited for changes in POTC, love love love the puns on JC. Peter Pan love the smell…. OH oH DOLE WHIP. Back to the room early 5pm to go eat, swim. Maybe Karaoke later??

Wednesday – Epcot – Soarin, TT, WS – no MS for me, hey I have to take dramine for the plane ride…cant’ even be on a swing…I’m old. We have a 6pm ADR for Biergarten.
(We are not on the dining plan we are palying this very loosy goosy vacation like not every day super planned) I can’t eat when it’s hot, I just can’t I drink a lot of water and we tend to snack, so lots of snacking and eating around the world.

Thursday – Morning ADR for the Ohana Breakfast – I’m so excited and then off to Universal Studios – and back to HS after for Fantasmic???

Friday – Animal Kingdom - never been here so excited to see everything.

Sat – ok havne’t decided it’s our last day I think MK but I’m holding off for the group to decide.

Sunday - we leave super early - so wake up and goooo… Wahhhh

Tips up soon

[Disney4nonah]

wow this adding pics stuff it hard.. *whew* guess i'll get used to it....
hope you like the pictures... Thanks

[lizet313]

Am in waiting to hear more.