"We Ain't From Around Here!"-The South Does Disney! A Dec PTR Update 1/11-Prizes!

[therussells08]

Holy huge pictures, batman! Sorry everyone, I'm not sure why those are so big! I promise the ones in the future will not be like that! Until then, you can occupy yourselves with counting my pores!

 

[moparop]

Joining in!! We went to Disney for a few days of honeymoon in late Dec/early January back in 2002/2003. It was very crowded, but a whole lot of fun!

I love reliving your first trip to Disney and am looking forward to more! I too think you are nuts for wanting to teach the teenagers. I taught for 8 years before the kiddos came along at the elementary level.

 

[therussells08]

Joining in!! We went to Disney for a few days of honeymoon in late Dec/early January back in 2002/2003. It was very crowded, but a whole lot of fun!

I love reliving your first trip to Disney and am looking forward to more! I too think you are nuts for wanting to teach the teenagers. I taught for 8 years before the kiddos came along at the elementary level.

I'm so happy you're joining in! I will be posting another update hopefully tonight or tomorrow!!

We were on our honeymoon during the 4th of July holiday in 2008 and it was really bad then. I'm not sure what to expect this time but I figure it will be about the same as then or maybe worse. But I heard that while New Years Eve is really crowded, New Years Day isn't that bad. Is that accurate in your opinion?

My best friend is an elementary school teacher and she says the exact same thing you said about teaching high school kids. Sometimes even I think I'm nuts!

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

I'm subbing in!!! I found this from another TR! I can't wait to hear all the details and plans!

 

[ChildAtHeart82]

I'm subbing now! DW, DD, and I will be leaving Disney as you're getting there. Our trip is 19-26 Dec.

I stayed at Pop when I went in 2005 and loved it. The theming and decorations are a lot of fun!

I look forward to hearing more about your trip!

 

[therussells08]

I'm subbing in!!! I found this from another TR! I can't wait to hear all the details and plans!

I'm so glad you're here! I will be posting our tentative schedule very soon so you can see an outline of what we've got planned! I just went back and read your TR that you're working on and I loved it! That Chefs De France meal made my mouth water!

I'm subbing now! DW, DD, and I will be leaving Disney as you're getting there. Our trip is 19-26 Dec.

I stayed at Pop when I went in 2005 and loved it. The theming and decorations are a lot of fun!

I look forward to hearing more about your trip!

It's great to have you joining in! I am subbing for your PTR too! It sounds like it's going to be an awesome trip with your family and your new baby!

Yay!! I'm so glad to hear good things about POP. This will be our first time staying there. I can't wait! Apparently there's some tye dye cheesecake there that sounds like it was made for me!

 

[PirateKate]

Hi, I am following along. I can't wait to hear about all your trips. I think you and your husband are so brave being a military family. I cannot imagine how hard it would be to be apart so much.

I was at MGM on New Year's Eve in 2001, and I don't remember it being very crowded. I was with my brother and we decided to try and be on the Tower of Terror at midnight, and it turned out that we were the only ones with that idea. We rode five times, just the two of us, and got to see the fireworks on some of the drops. Hopefully, it will not be too crowded for you all.

 

[HeatherBelle614]

Love the mini-tr! I say on with the show!!!

How exciting that you're going to have more people to enjoy your trip with!!! Very special that you love your cousin's g/f, too. That's always really important to me when it comes to my family!

Erm, yes please to that bathtub in that hotel! I'm such a bubble bath girl!

Love your babies! I have some myself and just realized they aren't in my PTR. Don't tell! I need to post some pictures!

More, more!!

 

[therussells08]

Hi, I am following along. I can't wait to hear about all your trips. I think you and your husband are so brave being a military family. I cannot imagine how hard it would be to be apart so much.

I was at MGM on New Year's Eve in 2001, and I don't remember it being very crowded. I was with my brother and we decided to try and be on the Tower of Terror at midnight, and it turned out that we were the only ones with that idea. We rode five times, just the two of us, and got to see the fireworks on some of the drops. Hopefully, it will not be too crowded for you all.

Thank you so much for joining in! And thank you so so so much for your kind words. That means more to me than I can express with a smiley but I will try! It is very hard being apart, but he loves his job and is proud to serve his country so I try to suck it up!

I'm glad to hear that your experience on New Years was a good one! Riding ToT at midnight sounds AMAZING! That is one of my absolute favorite rides!! I would love to do something like that!

Love the mini-tr! I say on with the show!!!

How exciting that you're going to have more people to enjoy your trip with!!! Very special that you love your cousin's g/f, too. That's always really important to me when it comes to my family!

Erm, yes please to that bathtub in that hotel! I'm such a bubble bath girl!

Love your babies! I have some myself and just realized they aren't in my PTR. Don't tell! I need to post some pictures!

More, more!!

Thanks girl! I am very excited that my cousin and his GF are coming. They are so much fun and I think we will have a blast. I was so glad that she and I got along so well. I feel the same way as you do about family. I swear, you and I have A LOT in common!

Seriously, that bath tub was INCREDIBLE! I wanted to move into that hotel. If we weren't heading to Disney the next day I probably would have stayed longer!

I'm so glad you like my babies! They are such little brats but I love them to death! I always tell DH that is just a small taste of what our kids will be like! I can't wait to see yours!!

I am getting ready to do an update in just a few minutes to continue my mini TR from my first trip! I have been lazy lately!

 

[therussells08]

Yay! Since it's a holiday weekend DH is coming home tonight! Granted, he won't be here until about 1:00 am, but still. I AM SOOO HAPPY! Let's celebrate my joy by returning to memory lane. When I last posted, we were just arriving for the very first time in DISNEY WORLD! Let's pick up there.

Our First Trip to WDW (Part 2!)

Appropriately, the first picture I took when we arrived was this one:

Can you believe it? My very first picture of THE sign!

We headed straight over to Caribbean Beach and checked in. We were instantly blown away. Never in our short lives had we seen a resort with so much attention to detail. Keep in mind, we were used to staying at Holiday Inns or any other generic hotel. Not that there's anything wrong with those, but they just don't have that touch of Disney magic!

Here is our beautiful room:

Check out that BED! Now that's what I'm talking about!

We were already so overwhelmed by this amazing place. The first thing we decided to do was head over to the food court and buy those reusable cups we had heard so much about. Here I am on our way out of the room, expressing my sheer joy:

When we got the food court we were even MORE blown away. Words cannot express our excitement at this point (and we were just buying cups! )

We grabbed our cups and walked around the resort gift shops. It was at this moment that I bought my very first Disney pin. I had heard about pin trading and was interested in trying it out. I love to collect things, so it sounded right up my alley. So I bought a Caribbean Beach Resort pin and a lanyard. This would mark the beginning of a very long (and expensive) addiction!

After that we headed back to the room. Our original plan was to relax around the hotel the rest of the day and take it easy. We were a little tired from driving, and this is what we would normally do on a vacation. But we had already realized this was no ordinary vacation. After pacing restlessly around our room for what seemed like an eternity, we decided to bite the bullet and head to a park. Apparently the park John had been itching to go to most of all was having extra magic hours that night. (Coincidence? I think not!) We raced to the lobby and tried to switch around our ADRs so we would have somewhere to eat. Magically, it was no problem! I believe this was our first bit of pixie dust!

So...any guesses as to which park we headed to?

Well, if you guessed this one:

then you were right! I bet a lot of you though Magic Kingdom, huh? Well the truth is, John was literally DYING to ride ToT. So we headed on over to (the artist formerly known as) MGM. The first thing we did was "ooh" and "ahh" at the big ol' hat and then get in line for ToT. This would be my FIRST EVER Disney ride and I had no idea what to expect. Here I am in line:

So we hopped on ToT. Ten minutes or so later we emerged. Only, there was something different about us. Others who passed did a double take as they noticed that peculiar glow that seemed to emanate from our giddy bodies. We were seeing the world from a different perspective, in a new light. We entered the ride as young adults, and we left it as perpetual children who would remember forever their first experience on a Disney ride.

Ok forgive the hokiness, but it's true. That was a defining moment for both of us. That ride was like nothing we had ever experienced. We were used to waiting in long, hot, boring lines with sweaty people and graffiti and gum stuck on every surface imaginable, only to get on a ridiculously painful roller coaster that scrambled our brains like Waffle House eggs. That was pretty much our experience at any amusement park we had been to in the past. Now we truly understood the meaning of "Disney magic". Instantly, ToT earned a very special place in both our hearts. And while we went on to ride many more incredible rides, ToT remains our first. And to this day, it is ALWAYS (and I mean ALWAYS) the first ride we get on when we go to WDW. I guess, in a way, you could say it is our Castle.

We love, you ToT.

Forgive me, but the rest of this day was a little bit of a blur. We went on to ride Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith. Once again, we were blown away. Despite my emotional attachment to ToT, this quickly became my favorite ride. This was a great time of year to go, because there were hardly no lines and while it was relatively warm I wore jeans comfortably. We explored the rest of the park as the evening progressed. For dinner we ate at Sci Fi Dine In Theater. This was the ADR I had sucessfully changed at the last minute earlier in the day. We loved it! It was our first Disney restaurant and just like everything else we had experienced that day, it blew our socks off.

That night we saw Fantasmic for the first time. At this point it was actually chilly! Can you believe it? I needed a sweatshirt in May! We headed back to our room after midnight and collapsed into bed, exhausted and instantly dreaming of our literally PERFECT first day at Walt Disney World.

So there you have it, folks! Our first EVER day at the happiest place on Earth. I promise that as I finish this "memory lane" TR I will not make it quite as long. I just wanted to go into detail about our first day.

Up Next: We check out the rest of WDW for the first time! Stay tuned to find out about my reaction the first time I saw Wishes, the celebrity we stumbled upon at Epcot, the 1 out of a million Disney Dream we received (TWICE!) and I will FINALLY post that picture I have been promising you of me on the scariest ride I've ever been on! See ya real soon!

 

[moparop]

What a magical first day! I know what you mean about needing to get to a park on the first day. I feel that way every time we go. In fact, with our upcoming trip, DH thought we should just hang around the resort but I just cannot bring myself to do it! I do have to admit though, ToT FREAKS me out.

 

[chunkymonkey]

Hi Joni, just catching up on your PTR again, and am lovin the little bits of past TRs scattered throughout. You and your DH are tooo cute! (have I said that before? well I am saying it again!) I am so happy that your first day at Disney was the most perfect day for you guys! It just makes that first memory all the more special, right?

I am looking forward to eating at Sci Fi Dine in for the first time! Everyone that has been has had nothing but praise for it. What do you usually order?

Me and DH have an unwritten park plan for each park. We just kind of gravitate to the same things each time. We FP certain rides, and line up of others. It's become like the norm for us, that we can't imagine how we'd be able to go with anyone else but each other, LOL. I am sure everyone else who is not a Disney fan will think we're nuts, darting all over the parks, but we really do have a plan, really. LOL

Looking forward to hearing more of your planning! Woot!

 

[therussells08]

What a magical first day! I know what you mean about needing to get to a park on the first day. I feel that way every time we go. In fact, with our upcoming trip, DH thought we should just hang around the resort but I just cannot bring myself to do it! I do have to admit though, ToT FREAKS me out.

It seems like every time we go to Disney when we plan a "relax" day we always end up adding another park day to our tickets and spending the day at one park or another! I just can't sit still at Disney World! I understand completely that ToT freaks you out! As much as I LOVE it, I always get chills whenever I hear that Twilight Zone music! Plus, that one part when it's all dark and the elevator doors in front of you close and make that line of light...EEK!

Hi Joni, just catching up on your PTR again, and am lovin the little bits of past TRs scattered throughout. You and your DH are tooo cute! (have I said that before? well I am saying it again!) I am so happy that your first day at Disney was the most perfect day for you guys! It just makes that first memory all the more special, right?

I am looking forward to eating at Sci Fi Dine in for the first time! Everyone that has been has had nothing but praise for it. What do you usually order?

Me and DH have an unwritten park plan for each park. We just kind of gravitate to the same things each time. We FP certain rides, and line up of others. It's become like the norm for us, that we can't imagine how we'd be able to go with anyone else but each other, LOL. I am sure everyone else who is not a Disney fan will think we're nuts, darting all over the parks, but we really do have a plan, really. LOL

Looking forward to hearing more of your planning! Woot!

Hi! Thank you so much for reading and for saying such nice things! Is there a blushing smiley? Let me see... There we go! And you are absolutely right about the first memory being even more special because the day was so perfect. I don't think I will ever forget that day!

Yay! I am so excited that it will be your first time as Sci Fi Dine in Theater! You are going to love it! Whenever we go I usually order the Beef and Blue Salad with no bacon. But I LOVE blue cheese, so if you're not a fan I would also recommend the burger and the ribs! YUM! Just remember, you can get a milkshake as your drink here and still get dessert! The flavored sodas are also really good. Sometimes I get a diet Coke with cherry flavoring, and it is tasty! As for dessert, if we go for lunch I get the hot fudge sundae, but if we're doing dinner I get the peanut butter and chocolate cake. Okay now my stomach is growling...

It sounds like my DH and I are exactly like you and your DH! We definitely do the exact same thing at every park every time. As a matter of fact, later on in this PTR I'm going to post a list of attractions that I am embarrassed to admit we have never even tried. We get so used to our favorites that we tend to omit some all together!

 

[therussells08]

Hi everyone! I hope you are having a fabulous Friday! I'm sitting here waiting for DH to bring me one of those new orchard chicken salad subs from Subway. So I figured since my belly is growling and my mind is already on food I will take a little break from my first trip mini TR and post our tentative ADR list.

We are going to be on the standard Disney Dining Plan for this trip. This means we will have 7 TS credits, 7 CS credits, and 7 snack credits. Wendy and I have been emailing each other like crazy getting our plans together and we've got a list that we are both happy with. So far this whole planning a trip with another couple thing has gone sooo smoothly. Just another reason for me to love my cousin and his wonderful GF!

So...let's talk food! Keep in mind, we can't make our actual ADRs until June 29th, so this is just our "oh please oh please oh please" hopeful ADRs!

"Try the gray stuff, it's delicious!" Our Restaurant Picks:



Teppan Edo- I've never been here, but DH and I have had sushi at Tokyo Dining and loved it. Wendy requested this because she loves hibachi style restaurants. I love them too, so I think this will be great!

Spirit of Aloha Polynesian Luau- This was my big pick for the trip! I have always wanted to see this show. Plus, I have never even stepped foot onto the Polynesian Resort property, so I am so excited! And I hear stories of a mythical beverage in a coconut shaped like a monkey head that is calling my name... This will be 2 of our TS credits.

Mama Melrose's-I've never eaten here and I have heard mixed reviews, but I am trying to expand my Disney horizons this year and try some new things. Plus, all four of us love Italian and the menu looks delicious!

Tony's Town Square- I told you we all love Italian! DH and I ate here on our first trip to Disney and I loved it! I am a huge Lady and the Tramp fan! I can't wait to eat here again!

Grand Floridian Cafe- Since Wendy and I are both Full House freaks we decided it would be fun to go to the Grand Floridian and take Full House pictures. (As I'm sure you can imagine, the boys are just thrilled. *sarcasm*) I've never been there so I can't wait to see it! We wanted to try a restaurant while we were there, and this menu looked promising.

Planet Hollywood- I had no clue this place was on the DP, but Wendy informed me that it is! I am so happy about this because I LOVE Planet Hollywood! I'm a big movie buff, so I could walk around and look at the memorbilia for hours.

We're also planning on eating at T-Rex for lunch one day. DH loves dinosaurs and it was his special request, so we're going to pay OOP for this one.

We're also going to eat one night somewhere at the CityWalk part of Universal Studios when we go to the new Harry Potter park. Any suggestions?



So there you have it! Our tentative ADR list! What do you think?

 

[ChildAtHeart82]

Looks like a pretty good list! The luau is a lot of fun and good food too! We've talked about doing Teppan Edo and T-Rex while we're there but haven't decided yet.

 

[therussells08]

Looks like a pretty good list! The luau is a lot of fun and good food too! We've talked about doing Teppan Edo and T-Rex while we're there but haven't decided yet.

Thanks! I'm so glad to hear you like the food at the luau. I had heard mixed reviews about it but it sounds delicious! I'm really excited to try Teppan Edo. I heard that when they're cooking in front of you they cook some food in the shape of mickey heads! Have you ever been to T-Rex before? It's really good and the decor is way cooler than Rainforest Cafe in my opinion!

 

[ChildAtHeart82]

Thanks! I'm so glad to hear you like the food at the luau. I had heard mixed reviews about it but it sounds delicious! I'm really excited to try Teppan Edo. I heard that when they're cooking in front of you they cook some food in the shape of mickey heads! Have you ever been to T-Rex before? It's really good and the decor is way cooler than Rainforest Cafe in my opinion!

I had not heard that about Teppan Edo. DW and I are big fans of hibachi style places and adding a Disney touch to that would make it even more fun for us!

We have not been to T-Rex before. When we there for our honeymoon it had just opened and it was nearly impossible to get in to eat. The line to the podium extended to well outside the restaurant. Maybe this time!

 

[HeatherBelle614]

The Hard Rock is a ton of fun and good food. If you like the PH at DTD, you'll love the HR at CW.

Nascar and NBA City are along the same lines of food as HR. Both really, really good though.

Margaritaville is definitely there for the drinks; the food is just mediocre, but it's a fun atmosphere if you like (pricey) margaritas.

We really, really, really like Pastamore. It's a new-age type of Italian food. We all LOVED our food there last December.

You really can't go wrong at any of them, just depends on what type of food you're in the mood for that night!

 

[shelbys mommy]

Joni! Joni is here!!!!

and OMG.........LOVE the Golden Girls, Full House, Ghost & Dirty Dancing I could watch over & over again along with Steel Magnolias....we are now entering the Twilight Zone! hahahaha!!!!!:

And you are just beautiful!!! IDK how I missed your PTR before but I am so glad I am here now!!!!:

 

[therussells08]

I had not heard that about Teppan Edo. DW and I are big fans of hibachi style places and adding a Disney touch to that would make it even more fun for us!

We have not been to T-Rex before. When we there for our honeymoon it had just opened and it was nearly impossible to get in to eat. The line to the podium extended to well outside the restaurant. Maybe this time!

I love that Disney adds their own touch to everything, so something as cool as a hibachi style restaurant is just that much cooler!

I hope you make it to T-Rex! It is really cool, and the food is yummy!

The Hard Rock is a ton of fun and good food. If you like the PH at DTD, you'll love the HR at CW.

Nascar and NBA City are along the same lines of food as HR. Both really, really good though.

Margaritaville is definitely there for the drinks; the food is just mediocre, but it's a fun atmosphere if you like (pricey) margaritas.

We really, really, really like Pastamore. It's a new-age type of Italian food. We all LOVED our food there last December.

You really can't go wrong at any of them, just depends on what type of food you're in the mood for that night!

Thanks for the advice, girl! The Hard Rock sounds really fun! We have eaten at Hard Rock and Margaritaville in Myrtle Beach, SC and loved them both. But I think I better avoid the pricey margaritas this trip! Hard Rock sounds like a great idea

Joni! Joni is here!!!!

and OMG.........LOVE the Golden Girls, Full House, Ghost & Dirty Dancing I could watch over & over again along with Steel Magnolias....we are now entering the Twilight Zone! hahahaha!!!!!:

And you are just beautiful!!! IDK how I missed your PTR before but I am so glad I am here now!!!!:

YAY!! Joni's here! Thank you for reading my PTR! OMG...I can't believe we have so much in common!! This is just beyond cool!!

And thank you so much for saying that! You are really sweet!