~A XMAS STORY~decorations, crowds, pixies..AND A BLOODY NOSE~ACTUAL UPDATE 11/9 p190

[Cat0727]

The condo is gorgeous! I can't believe they had up a tree! Looking forward to reading about the rest of your trip!

 

[AussieAngel]

Wahooooooooooo!!!

Fun start to your trip report! The condo looks fabulous!

You look so warm and cosy in that first photo, wearing jeans and your grey hoodie!!

 

[timandlesley]

Welcome Home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am loving this first update, your travel day went well, what a great condo, can't believe they even had a Christmas tree. The pics so far (as always) are great, can't wait to read about all the highs and lows.
Lesley

 

[rentayenta]

I didn't know you went again! Can't wait to read all about it! The condo looks great.

 

[disneymom1980]

I'm jumping on too................I can't wait to see more!

 

[punkin413]

thanks to everyone for joining in the fun!

for everyone who asked about staying off site, i'll go ahead and answer here. the pros are obviously the cost, what you get for the money, the fact that you have a full kitchen, more room and a lot more privacy. this guy also had all kinds of baby stuff for his renters to use (2 strollers, a highchair, a pack and play, etc.). the biggest con is that you have to drive to disney world, no internal transportation. i'm not a big fan of the buses at disney anyway. but our condo was about 5 miles away from the entrance to disney. that doesn't seem far but when those 5 miles are on highway 192 there's a lot of traffic and a lot of red lights. so it takes about 20 minutes to and from most of the parks. so it's REALLY hard to take a break in the middle of the day, especially when you have limited time like we did this trip. another con is that it's lacking that disney "magic." don't get me wrong - i loved this place! but one reason i really love disney world is the customer service. obviously you don't get that here. but it's not like we had BAD customer service - the owners were wonderful. it's just that you don't get ANY customer service while you're there. it was nice not to have to wait in a line for breakfast or to check in though!

and of course there's the other obvious cons: no DDP, no EMH. but those really didn't matter to us this trip because i had the DDE card (which expires in may ) and i've learned to avoid EMH parks like the plague unless i'm just there for EMH only.

ray and i talked on the way home about if we'd do the condo thing again. i think for longer stays it really makes sense because it saves TONS of money and you have more time to take breaks instead of staying at the parks from open to close like we did this trip. for shorter stays (i'd say 7 days or less) we're gonna stay on site again. it's just easier to get around and kind of take breaks and not feel so obligated to stay in the parks ALL DAY.

please feel free to ask any questions about anything i didn't address!

I cannot believe I am first... just a lucky moment to DIS!
Cannot wait to see what this trip entails. I am sad you are taking an 09 break... I need to live through your trips Dawn, but starting a family is the best reason. BTW... did you get any Jim Shore collectables... I want the ornament set for Christmas, but I think I am not getting that, but getting another piece!

i need to live through my trips too! yes, i got a jim shore piece but you'll have to wait to see what it is.

That looks like a very nice place! Looks like Luke could have had lots of buddies over to spend the night with him with all those beds.

I'm interested to hear what you thought of staying off-site overall - the pros and cons. I'm thinking if we ever do a full two weeks sometime, we will try one of the house rentals, because moneywise it makes sense. It would be cheaper than staying on property, and we'd have plenty of time to do the driving back and forth that we'd need to do. It's just a thought, of course - both the staying off property and the staying two whole weeks.

Trent would have been dying away without ESPN.

You should be completely immersed in the Christmas spirit now, huh? Jill will be here tomorrow night, so we'll be doing our Christmas stuff this weekend. Then it's pretty much two weeks of just chilling out and being happy to not be at school!

erica offered to keep him company in one of those beds!

see above about the pros and cons of staying off site.

i could've called the owner about the cable problem because he did advertise that they had cable and he's a really nice guy - i'm sure he would have made an effort to fix the problem. but honestly we didn't have a lot of time to watch TV - 4 days isn't a lot in disney time! we were so busy that it really wasn't worth the phone call.

is today your last day of school this year? if so, hope it's a good one! and yes, we are definitely in the christmas spirit! i leave for nashville next tuesday, although ray has to stay home. he couldn't get enough time off work because he had to take a day off when my computer crashed to help me fix it. it's the first time we won't be together at christmas since we've been married. i'm bummed but i'm coming home on saturday and i think we're gonna go out on a date that night to make up for it.

You do get a prize. It's a year's worth of Mickey heads in assorted colors. You know Dawn and her countdown calendars. Since she's taking a break, you should have the honor of taking them in her place.

i'm officially hanging up my countdown calendar-maker hat, at least for a little while anyway. but i will be happy to help anyone else make one!

I'm here, I made first page! I beat Vandyfan...

yeah, where are you, erica????

Yay, I'm so glad you started! I've been studying all day for my music final tomorrow so it was a nice little distraction. Were you on I95 driving down? It gets crazy on I95 whenever it rains on our drive down to Orlando - the trucks FLY by and send water shooting everywhere, and then they weave in and out of the different lanes. It's SCARY! I'm glad you guys made it down despite the rain, and the house looks really pretty! I love how they had a Christmas tree set up. I've never been down to Orlando in December; we always go in the summer so Disney always means the summer and heat to me, but having that tree there would definitely help gets things in the Christmas spirit. I'm interested to see how you liked staying offsite. We rent a house/condo every year and LOVE having the extra bedrooms and bathrooms, full kitchen, washer/dryer, and just general extra space. Can't wait for more!

glad i could give you a break from studying! no, we don't take I-95. that goes down the east coast. we're in central georgia so we take I-75 through the middle (down through macon and valdosta). but I-95 sounds the same with the truckers splashing water all over you and weaving in and out of lanes. it's very scary!

Yay! You started!!! The condo looks amazing.......that's cool that you had a Christmas tree too! Can't wait to hear more!

thanks! yeah, it was nice. i was happy!

Your place looks great, very decorative and tropical. I love all the details. I like it alot.

You got a tree!

Luke looked so happy. Hope he was able to get back to sleep after his nap in the car.

Silly boys there are other things in life than ESPN... I'm sure they could say the same about us and Disney.

I hope it isn't Luke who gets the nosebleed, I know I have to wait and see.

luke went to sleep pretty easily every night we were there. he was exhausted by the end of the day....as we all were! you will have to wait and see about the busted nose!

hi! glad you're here!

I am also interested on your opinion of off site verses on site. I have only stayed on site and I must say that after looking at the condo you had might reconsider. You can really save a bundle especially when you go with another couple.

see above about on site versus off site.

Hi Dawn! You must go back to Disney in 2009 I love your trip reports!

i'd love to go back but i must get some other priorities straight first! no worries - ray's already said he'll go back in 2010.

Hey Dawn!!!!!

I'mmmmmm heeerrrrreeeeeee!!!

I am so ready to hear all about it!!

glad you're here, heather!

How cool that they decorated for Christmas for you!

i thought so too!

The condo looks so nice, and very well decorated for the holidays. What an amazing price too. Can't wait to hear all about your trip.

BTW love the mickey head print

we thought so too! and the mickey head print was a nice touch.

 

[punkin413]

Yay! You've started!

Love the intro pics of everyone (even though I already know who everyone is )

The place looks nice and so cute that you had a x-mas tree!

Started my TR! How do you put the title in your sig so then when people click on it, it brings them to your TR?

thanks for joining in! i will PM you with how to put the title in your TR, then i'll go sub to yours!

I am glad you started!!! Just love your trp's. The condo looks very nice. Can't wait to hear more about your trip.

thanks!

the condo pictures looked great! I'm looking forward to another awesome report

thanks so much!

I'm so glad to see you've started your TR!!
Looking forward to reading more!

thanks for coming along!

I'm here

Glad they had the christmas tree up you were hoping for. Can't wait for more

we were happy to see the tree! thanks for joining in.

The condo is gorgeous! I can't believe they had up a tree! Looking forward to reading about the rest of your trip!

thanks! we loved the condo and the tree was such a nice touch.

Wahooooooooooo!!!

Fun start to your trip report! The condo looks fabulous!

You look so warm and cosy in that first photo, wearing jeans and your grey hoodie!!

thanks! yeah, that was probably our coldest day. we froze that day!

Welcome Home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am loving this first update, your travel day went well, what a great condo, can't believe they even had a Christmas tree. The pics so far (as always) are great, can't wait to read about all the highs and lows.
Lesley

thanks so much! the condo was great but i'm hoping to stay at WL one day for christmas.

I didn't know you went again! Can't wait to read all about it! The condo looks great.

this will be the last trip for awhile! ray and i are wanting to get everything in place to start a family and that means no expensive disney trips for at least a year.

I'm jumping on too................I can't wait to see more!

thanks for joining us!

 

[xoktenox]

Yay I'm so glad you started!

First off your condo looks sooo gorgeous! If you have to stay offsite that looks like it would definitely be the place to stay. I bet Luke was so excited to have all those beds to himself It was so nice that you have an xmas tree too!

Those pictures you put in your introduction of the people on the trip are too funny. I was laughing out loud at the one of Ray, Chris and Luke, they're so funny! And by the looks of the picture of you, it was a bit chilly there?

Looking forward to readin more

 

[troobabiee7]

glad i could give you a break from studying! no, we don't take I-95. that goes down the east coast. we're in central georgia so we take I-75 through the middle (down through macon and valdosta). but I-95 sounds the same with the truckers splashing water all over you and weaving in and out of lanes. it's very scary!

Oohhh, I wasnt sure what part of Georgia you're in but you come from the opposite direction. I'm sure it's like that on all highways! I loved reading your pro and cons for the house, we always have the same ones. In 2005 and 2007 we stayed 5-minutes from Disney and it was great, but in 2006 we were a good 20-minutes away and it got frustrating driving all the way down 192. It was worth it, though, to pay $2000 for an entire house for a month! You can't beat that We also like to sleep late and go to the stores and flea markets along 192 in the morning, and then head to the parks in the afternoon and stay until closing. It's a completely different way of touring the parks but it works for longer trips. That's not to say that I wouldn't love to stay onsite I'm glad you guys had fun regardless!

Are you taking a break from traveling altogether next year, or do you have some non-Disney trips in the works?

 

[Charleston Princess]

I finally had a chance to make it over here. The condo looks even better in your photos than the ones you posted on the PTR. So much room, and I love that it was all decorated for the Christmas holidays.

Looking forward to the rest of the trip!

 

[meloneyb21]

subscribing!

Awesome condo for the price.

 

[FauntleroyFAN07]

found you guys, the condo looks great, that would be nice to stay there for longer trips, but if you end up getting your camper, then you can stay at fort wilderness for alot longer and it is cheaper, i think the off season rate is like 40 something anight, then if you get a AAA discount take 20 percent off that..

 

[KatGarcia]

I'm all caught up! The condo looks great! I def think all of us who go a lot consider the off site stuff at least once. I think you did really great finding this one!

I tell Dh the same thing about 2009- that we can take a disney break....let's how how we actually do with that one, right?!

 

[tinkgurl]

Thanks for the help with my sig!

 

[VandyFan10]

Good grief I'm 3 day's behind!

Sub'd

Ready to go back and read

Hey I think we all need one of these

he was very excited about sleeping the top bunk bed!

And did he sleep there??? I hope he didn't fall off!! And yes I would have been HAPPY to take another one of those THREE empty bunks!!!

I'm here, I made first page! I beat Vandyfan...

Beat me by a mile!! Goodness I'm behind! I could have sworn I looked on line last night before I went to bed to see if she had started

yeah, where are you, erica????

I'm here....just fashionably late.....wondering where my 'welcome to the new TR' e-mail is

 

[punkin413]

i had to share this with you guys. anna gave me her christmas card yesterday and i LOVE it! 2 of these shots were taken on this trip so i had to post it here. the one on the left was taken a couple months ago - just them being silly. the one in the middle is luke watching the jingle jungle parade. and the one on the right is in front of the christmas tree at WL.

(i blotted our their last name as to prevent any stalker-ish behavior from non-friendly dissers! )

Yay I'm so glad you started!

First off your condo looks sooo gorgeous! If you have to stay offsite that looks like it would definitely be the place to stay. I bet Luke was so excited to have all those beds to himself It was so nice that you have an xmas tree too!

Those pictures you put in your introduction of the people on the trip are too funny. I was laughing out loud at the one of Ray, Chris and Luke, they're so funny! And by the looks of the picture of you, it was a bit chilly there?

Looking forward to readin more

yes, it was a bit chilly that day. we couldn't believe it - it was like 40 degrees! thanks for reading!!!

Oohhh, I wasnt sure what part of Georgia you're in but you come from the opposite direction. I'm sure it's like that on all highways! I loved reading your pro and cons for the house, we always have the same ones. In 2005 and 2007 we stayed 5-minutes from Disney and it was great, but in 2006 we were a good 20-minutes away and it got frustrating driving all the way down 192. It was worth it, though, to pay $2000 for an entire house for a month! You can't beat that We also like to sleep late and go to the stores and flea markets along 192 in the morning, and then head to the parks in the afternoon and stay until closing. It's a completely different way of touring the parks but it works for longer trips. That's not to say that I wouldn't love to stay onsite I'm glad you guys had fun regardless!

Are you taking a break from traveling altogether next year, or do you have some non-Disney trips in the works?

we're not early risers, either. well, at least ray's not. i usually wake up around 7:30, 8:00 without an alarm. he'll sleep until 11:00 if i let him!

ray is taking a break from traveling, at least anywhere far. we might go camping or something here and there. i'm going with anna to visit my sister in connecticut in may. we're gonna go to NYC while we're there. i'm excited because i've never been there!

I finally had a chance to make it over here. The condo looks even better in your photos than the ones you posted on the PTR. So much room, and I love that it was all decorated for the Christmas holidays.

Looking forward to the rest of the trip!

thanks for coming over! yeah, the condo was great. i'd definitely recommend it!

subscribing!

Awesome condo for the price.

thanks for reading!

found you guys, the condo looks great, that would be nice to stay there for longer trips, but if you end up getting your camper, then you can stay at fort wilderness for alot longer and it is cheaper, i think the off season rate is like 40 something anight, then if you get a AAA discount take 20 percent off that..

oh, definitely! i've already been reading up on fort wildnerness. we could even bring the doggies!!!

I'm all caught up! The condo looks great! I def think all of us who go a lot consider the off site stuff at least once. I think you did really great finding this one!

I tell Dh the same thing about 2009- that we can take a disney break....let's how how we actually do with that one, right?!

it was nice to stay off site, better than i thought it would be! i still love staying at disney world though. there's just something different about it - i can't explain it! let me know if you get your DH to change his mind.....then tell me how you did it!

Thanks for the help with my sig!

you're welcome!

Good grief I'm 3 day's behind!

there you are!

And did he sleep there??? I hope he didn't fall off!! And yes I would have been HAPPY to take another one of those THREE empty bunks!!!

yes, he slept there the first night but then i think he slept in the bottom bunk the rest of the time. and no falling off that i know of!

I'm here....just fashionably late.....wondering where my 'welcome to the new TR' e-mail is

i sent you an e-mail yesterday that had something about me starting my new TR at the end of it. or at least i think i did. who knows???? are you enjoying your drink???

 

[tinkgurl]

Oh my gosh! Their x-mas card is adorable!

 

[rentayenta]

Dawn, having a baby trumps Disney any day.

 

[MeMom]

Dawn, having a baby trumps Disney any day.

As cool as Disney is, she is right - a baby is better!

Luke's picture in the middle is very sweet.

 

[winkers]

checking in...........


I LOVE the picture of you on the speed racer thing!