So who's ready for another epic journey?! It's pre-trip time, baby!

As promised:



Photopass shot from January 2009. I'm realizing we don't take pics of us unless we go to WDW. Strange.



Chandler sometime in the last couple months rockin' out in my sock monkey ensemble that I wore in a jammie contest this past May. I think he's worrying our dog.



July 5, 2009. Brian crashes after an exhausting fun-filled July 4th weekend trip to Atlanta. This kid can fall asleep anywhere, anytime. God love 'im.



Dad/Poppa in February 2006 being a very sophisticated, highly fashionable Mickey ears safari hat model. Lookin' goooood, hot stuff!



January 2009. One of my all-time favorite Photopass shots. For those who missed my report for this particular trip, the guy in the crimson Alabama sweater isn't some strange, random guy. That's my big brother!



July 3, 2009 Chandler & Brian in front w/Mimi & Poppa behind at the World of Coke in Atlanta, Georgia. People around us thought we were an odd bunch but what else are you supposed to do if you're a member of our family waiting in line to see a 4D movie and they come around handing out old-skool 3D glasses? Act silly and take pictures, of course! Duuuh!!!!


For your viewing pleasure I present to you a little snippet I like to call 'The Triple Beverly Whammy'. Wham!Wham!Wham! This is my 13 year old niece, Kayla on the left along with Brian in the middle and Chandler on the right simultaneously drinking the legendary Beverly while visiting the World of Coke in Atlanta. Note the little ham-I-am bit Brian gives his audience towards the end. Did they know better? Yep. Was it fun to do anyway? Yep.
http://s228.photobucket.com/albums/... - Pre-Trip/?action=view&current=SANY0066.flv




July 4, 2009 on the lawn at Stone Mountain, Georgia amongst thousands of people camped out in the lovely deep south summer heat to spend the day waiting for the sun to go down & the laser/pyro extravaganza to ensue. Chandler is proof-positive that even in what HollyBelle graciously refers to as "melt-your-face" heat, in the middle of hundreds of thousands of hot, stinky people, with the right company, a positive attitude, and 3 coolers loaded with ice-cold drinks you can still be okay with a smile and a Disney point.


Next I'll lay out the trip goals, our mottos or mantras for the journey, the plans & reservations that inevitably will not go as I organized them, and....there's one more thing....hhmmm.....oh! I remember! There's that little thing that I have cooked up to make this report truly me!

:sohappy::sohappy::sohappy: Can't wait - you have such a beautiful family!!!

Great report! Thanks for update!

Looks like it's going to be a fabbbbulous trip =) Can't wait to read more!

Hey, don't forget to look for the mural!! And take pictures for me!!

Fallen Angel said:

:sohappy::sohappy::sohappy: Can't wait - you have such a beautiful family!!!

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Thank you soooo much for such a sweet compliment. My family, by far, is my greatest accomplishment in life.

heartodisney said:

Great report! Thanks for update!

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You're quite welcome. I love doing these reports even if nobody reads 'em.

tiaragirl said:

Looks like it's going to be a fabbbbulous trip =) Can't wait to read more!

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I"m hoping for a fabulous trip. I don't see my in-laws ever getting hooked on WDW the way we are so I want to make the most out of the time we do have 'em there. And there's plenty more report to come. Stay tuned! :wave:

DisneyDreamer08 said:

Hey, don't forget to look for the mural!! And take pictures for me!!

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I'm gonna draw a map to that mural! If enough of us go hunting the mural maybe they'll put it back out where all can enjoy it as it should be. I still have yet to nail down my friend to do the map. Our visits have been so short these days and we're all running in different directions it seems. I won't let you down. Promise! :animwink:

Mantra for this go around...reeee-laaaaax!

With my in-laws going along on this adventure we're trying to adopt a little different approach to things. Tracey & his dad both have been working some insane hours lately and a lot of 6-day weeks. Poor guys. Tracey tends to be a pretty tightly wound-up fellow these days so one of the biggest things is to get him unwound. The in-laws aren't the pitiful-wanna-just-sit-around types but they certainly don't have my energy so there's another reason to slow down a bit. Plus, we're staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. I've visited this resort several times but have never been a guest there. In my eyes, the resort is a destination in itself so I really do want to spend some quality time enjoying all it has to offer. Another reason to reeee-laaaax.

The last trip we all took to Disney together was in February 2006. Tracey and I gifted his parents with a room at Pop Century and passes for 7 nights. We didn't do as many sit-down meals during that time and really were still in the rush-to-see-everything mode. This trip is a whoooole different ballgame. The boys are older so they aren't as impatient. Chandler will be just shy of 14 and with his maturity level we'd have no problem allowing the boys to go do or see something together without us as long as it was in a relatively close proximity. I think also my family has seen and done so much over the years that we just don't feel the need to see it all anymore.

Since the in-laws have been once they've got some things they'd like to do & see that they wish they had previously. Dad wants to spend more time going thru Innoventions. He didn't get to do Universe of Energy because it was down when we tried to go there. Mom wants to spend more time in World Showcase seeing everything the countries have to offer. Both Mom & Dad want to spend more time touring all the little nooks-n-crannies of Animal Kingdom which is something we want to make more time for as well.

We certainly don't expect to be together all the time and I'm sure we'll have mornings where at the very least I grab the boys and we go do some early hard-core attaction runs.

Sooooo, here's a basic run-down of all we've got in store for us:


Friday - 1/8: Late arrival. We're doing a semi-full work/school day. We'll probably pick the boys up from school and head straight for Houston to beat the traffic, have some dinner, & catch our 7:10p flight. Our arrival at MCO won't be until after 10:00p. We have to get our own bags from baggage claim because of the arrival time so I don't expect to be at our resort until about 11:30p.

Saturday - 1/9: Sleep in so we can start out with some rest. Late breakfast at 10:30a @ Boma (we've never had breakfast here). Then we head over to Epcot. At 6:30p we have dinner @ Restaurant Marrakesh (new restaurant for all of us). After dinner we'll scope out a spot, watch Illuminations, and head back "home" to get ready for our big move and a very early morning tomorrow.

Sunday - 1/10: Very early mornng! We gotta be fully packed to have bell services get all our bags so we can do our big switch to the Kilimanjaro Club around 6:00-ish. Why? Because at 7:00a we head out on the Sunrise Safari which includes breakfast at Animal Kingdom. Again, this is all new stuff for us. I don't expect to have our rooms ready until after lunch so I'm sure we'll see some sights at Animal Kingdom while we wait. As soon as we can get into our new rooms we're gonna take a nap to get ready for our 6:35p dinner at Tutto Italia (another restaurant we've never tried before). After dinner we can watch Illuminations again or hop over to the Magic Kingdom for evening EMH's.

Monday - 1/11: It's early-entry day at Magic Kingdom for our 8:15a breakfast @ Liberty Tree Tavern. I'm really psyched for the in-laws to see Main Street before park opening. It's one of the little things I plan and look forward to most every trip. We'll probably do some Magic Kingdom funage until the park starts to get busier then we'll head back home for a nap. We'll head back to the Magic Kingdom for dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table at 5:00p followed by Spectro & Wishes. I imagine some of us might be ready to hop over to the studios for some EMH excitement before turning in for the night.

Tuesday - 1/12: Dad, Tracey, & Chandler have a 9:24a tee time at the Lake Buena Vista. I imagine I'll grab Brian and Mom (if she wants to go) and go find some fun, not hard to do at Disney World! I was thinking maybe rope drop at DHS but we'll see. Afterwards, we'll all head in for a nap or whatever. Nothing really is planned other dinner at Jiko (all new to us) at 7:45. After dinner we can hit DTD or just turn in for the evening.

Wednesday - 1/13: We have nothing planned, really. I was thinking maybe go to the Magic Kingdom or Epcot. Of course we'll do a short nap or rest at the resort in the early afternoon. Dinner tonight will be at Epcot at Rose & Crown (another place we've never tried) at 7:25p. I'm really hoping to score an outside table for a good view of Illuminations.

Thursday - 1/14: It's another early morning! We've got breakfast at 8:00a @ Tusker House (Donald's Safari Breakfast). Another early-entry day! :sohappy: We'll hang out at Animal Kingdom until we're ready for our rest. The evening will be back at Epcot for our 6:25p dinner @ LeCellier. After dinner we can hang out for Illuminations (again) or go do something else. Nothing is really planned.

Friday - 1/15: It's Hollywood Studios for the morning. I'd like to think we'll all make rope-drop. At 11:30a Tracey & I are treating the boys to Lunch w/an Imagineer at the Hollywood Brown Derby. Ever since Tracey & I did this on our alone trip in May of '08 the boys have wanted to do it also. Although the recommended minimum age is 14, knowing my kids and their interest in the workings of the parks & such, I think they'll enjoy it. After our lunch we'll probably head back home for a rest before setting out for our 5:20p dinner at Whispering Canyon. After dinner we can go hang out at Magic Kingdom and linger after closing then try to catch the last hour or so of evening EMH's at Epcot if we so choose.

Saturday - 1/16: The manly trio have a 9:33a tee time at the Palm golf course. While they play golf I've got a 9:30a reservation for the rest of us at Kona Cafe. After breakfast I'm going to take Brian over the Pirates League in the Magic Kingdom for his special time since Chandler is playing golf with the big guys. Naturally, we'll all take a mid-day rest then head out for our 5:00p dinner @ Ohana. After dinner we will head into the Magic Kingdom for a last night viewing of Spectro & Wishes. Then we'll do the later park hours there. Being the last night, I'm certain my family will linger even after closing just to have that last night taste.

Sunday - 1/17: It's departure day. Ick! We'll pack everything up & turn all our stuff over to the airline check-in folks. We have a later breakfast at 10:05a @ Chef Mickey's. Our flight home doesn't leave until 6:00p so I'm guess-timating our ME departure to be around 2:00 or so in the afternoon. We'll still have a little time to wander about or catch an attraction of something. Nothing is really planned.

And that's it! Those are the plans. I know it'll never happen the way it's all laid out but, eh, you gotta start somewhere especially when laying out ADR's.


Sooooo, still wondering about my special twist on the report, huh? I talked to my brother, Jerry also a member here OBrienIII, just this morning and he guessed my new angle right off. I knew he would. I guess that'll be what's in store for the pre-trippie next! More to come when the time presents itself!

TTFN!!!!

Ah, Magnolia. What I wouldn't give for a 9:24AM tee time right now

:sohappy::sohappy::sohappy:

Can't wait to read the post trip report. Sounds like nothing but fun times for those seven days.

PS. That pic of you and hubby is adorable. You gus are so cute.

Oooh! I wanna know the twist!!! Cant wait for more!

We will just overlap out trips! I leave WDW on the 9th. I enjoyed your TR with your nieces, and I am looking forward to reading this one!

tiaragirl said:

Ah, Magnolia. What I wouldn't give for a 9:24AM tee time right now

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Well, it seems I got the tee times messed up. There's been some changes. Same times but on golf day #1 they're playing Lake Buena Vista and on golf day #2 they're playing the Palm. In 2006 they played the Magnolia and Oak Trail with Chandler (he was only 9 then). Love the pull cart with his itty-bitty set strapped on in this pic:

harveyt0206 said:

:sohappy::sohappy::sohappy:

Can't wait to read the post trip report. Sounds like nothing but fun times for those seven days.

PS. That pic of you and hubby is adorable. You gus are so cute.

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I'm sure we'll have our moments during the adventure. I wonder if whipping out a camera and snapping pics of the meltdown person would help? LOL! The visual sure is funny! :lol: And thanks for the compliment on the pic w/Tracey & me. Those random good pics are so few & far between!

accord99cutie said:

Oooh! I wanna know the twist!!! Cant wait for more!

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I'll get the twist out to ya in just a bit! I gotta go run a quick errand then I'll get right on it.

popsicletrees said:

We will just overlap out trips! I leave WDW on the 9th. I enjoyed your TR with your nieces, and I am looking forward to reading this one!

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Awwww! I wish we could meet up somehow. I want to meet as many fellow WDWMagic folks as I can. I still think it'd be hysterical to show up for our LTT ADR w/an extra 20 or so folks and try to convince the podium CM's that there was a mistake and see if they'll let everyone just squeeze on in with us. That's terrible, I know, but it'd be worth a shot! :lol:

Congratulations! Your tentative itinerary looks wonderful. :sohappy: I can't wait to see the trip report!

This was taken at Osprey before it closed on one hole on back nine..it got too dark for my wife and I could finish..we tried to play 2 courses in one day..silly me! We have not played LBV yet, that be on our next trip! Have fun on Palm..watch out for the turkeys...I have it on video on 17 fairway as my wife was adressing her ball about 150 out and 10 came strolling up to check her out and her ball...:lol:..and she cussing them out in fillipino! :ROFLOL: By the way...great follow thru on the pic! :sohappy:

Sweet Melissa said:

Congratulations! Your tentative itinerary looks wonderful. :sohappy: I can't wait to see the trip report!

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Hey! Ditto that on your pre-trip and soon-to-come full report! Even tho Christmas is coming fast which has all it's own excitement I'm starting to really get jazzed about the Disney adventure. As Chandler so eloquently puts it, we "feel the burn". LOL! I don't know where they come up with this stuff sometimes! :lol:

heartodisney said:

This was taken at Osprey before it closed on one hole on back nine..it got too dark for my wife and I could finish..we tried to play 2 courses in one day..silly me! We have not played LBV yet, that be on our next trip! Have fun on Palm..watch out for the turkeys...I have it on video on 17 fairway as my wife was adressing her ball about 150 out and 10 came strolling up to check her out and her ball...:lol:..and she cussing them out in fillipino! :ROFLOL: By the way...great follow thru on the pic! :sohappy:

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That pic is hilarious!!! I'd love to see the video of your wife with the turkeys. I don't remember what course it was but the hubby said when they played in February 2006 they encountered deer & turkeys as well. He said it was odd because they have no fear of the golfers whatsoever. Of course, your wife may have changed those turkeys' minds. LOL! Awwww..and thanks for the compliment on Chandler's follow thru. He's very natural with his swing. My hubby was the same way when he was a little guy. Brian and I are soooo the opposite! I've never understood why the hubby gets upset if a ball doesn't go exactly where he wants it. I'm generally just happy if I make contact with the little sucker. I think my expectations are considerably lower. :lol:

sweetpee_1993 said:

Hey! Ditto that on your pre-trip and soon-to-come full report! Even tho Christmas is coming fast which has all it's own excitement I'm starting to really get jazzed about the Disney adventure. As Chandler so eloquently puts it, we "feel the burn". LOL! I don't know where they come up with this stuff sometimes! :lol:



That pic is hilarious!!! I'd love to see the video of your wife with the turkeys. I don't remember what course it was but the hubby said when they played in February 2006 they encountered deer & turkeys as well. He said it was odd because they have no fear of the golfers whatsoever. Of course, your wife may have changed those turkeys' minds. LOL! Awwww..and thanks for the compliment on Chandler's follow thru. He's very natural with his swing. My hubby was the same way when he was a little guy. Brian and I are soooo the opposite! I've never understood why the hubby gets upset if a ball doesn't go exactly where he wants it. I'm generally just happy if I make contact with the little sucker. I think my expectations are considerably lower. :lol:

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I know that my wife and I could have shot lower scores the day we played...but..it is Disney..and we got caught up in the "Magic"! :lol: So many little things...guys stopping to take our pics..alligators..deer..turkey..listening to the whistle on the Mk trains..some of our shots hitting the flag on the flagstick and keeping it on the greens..so much more! I really do not care about my score..just sharing that time with my wife! I also look forward to the day when my daughter will be old enough to play with us! Just 2 right now..whew..and she needs naps at times! :ROFLOL:Have a GREAT time and keep us all posted! :sohappy:

Soooooo, I know you've been patiently awaiting "the twist" in my little report this go around. Well, wait no longer! Here we go!

I guess this is where you start to learn a little too much about me. I've got 2 big passions or hobbies that I just looooove to immerse in. They're very different for the most part but, when you think about it, there's a common thread shared by both.

A lot of the time I feel like I'm still a little girl trapped in this old chick's body. I love Disney and all the creative, imaginative, totally immersive fun it brings to my life. Planning the trips we go on down to all the little details takes thought and imagination. I love the way I feel when I'm at WDW w/my family. Have you ever seen a grown woman skipping around grasping a little boy's hand and teasing him with unexpected twirls??? That was me! It's the place we go where we leave our everyday lives behind and play and have fun.

Then, there's my realm of doll collecting. Yep. Doll collecting. But not just any dolls. Nope. I collect the soft-sculpture original Cabbage Patch Kids (not the ones with the vinyl heads that come in boxes and are sold in stores). See the little cabbage I use for my avatar? In the online dolly club I belong to my avatar is Tinkerbell. I love the irony. I was one of those little girls who had the joy of "adopting" a Coleco version in the 80's, whose parents stood in line for hours just to get their hands on one so their daughter wasn't disappointed on Christmas morning. Decades after that magical year I rediscovered my cabbage love. Only this time, I learned the elaborate 'Legend' and history of the Cabbage Patch Kids. I learned about the talented artist & creator who brought us these homely yet infectious little polyester balls of love. They've attached themselves to my heartstrings and I've been collecting on & off for the past 10 years. Don't believe I'm a crazy doll lady? Here's the bulk but not all of my Kiddies:





Not so long ago I came upon this wish that I could bring my 2 loves together into one amazing ball of wonderful. The best way to do that would be to bring a cabbage to WDW and include him/her in all our adventures. So I got to really thinking about that. There were questions and considerations to get thru. Like which would I bring? They're expensive to "adopt": new direct from the Cabbage Patch in Georgia generally runs anywhere from $200 up to about $400 or so for special editions while on the secondary market in this economy we've been seeing them anywhere from about $100 on up into the 5-digit realm depending on age, condition, edition, etc. My obvious 1st choice was to bring Brucey, my oldest Kid. He's named after my late Grampa who looooved WDW! My Brucey is a very early guy from 1979 & most likely (he's unpapered) from the 4th edition ever created (judging by several factors & characteristics).



Buuuut, the plain truth of it is that Brucey is just too old and valuable to put in the parks. No way. Then logistics started coming into play. Whoever I brought needed to be smaller than the regular Kids (they're 22" tall) because I'd be carrying him/her with me either in my arms or tucked in a shoulder bag for the adventures. I didn't want to take one I would be sick over if they got a scuff on their fingers or anything like that. But, I know taking something like one of my cabbage babies and posing it for pictures, etc. is bound to draw attention at least once or twice so I felt a need to have the 'right' Kid to be an ambassador of sorts.

The search began for what I started to call my "Adventure Kid". I put the word out within the cabbaging community giving the particulars of exactly what I was looking for and what I had in mind. I had so many friends contacting me offering ideas as well as some really phenomenal dollies as candidates. I had recently sold a handful so I had some money to play with. I ended up with a great little girl who had all the potential to make a super-cool, totally gorgeous traveling sidekick. Here she is as she looked when she arrived. This is a 2004 Collector's Club "Betsy":



But poor little Betsy just didn't have that Disney feel to me. I made 2 changes to her that I thought were what she needed to bring out the "magic". I added a few key highlights to her eyes and changed her hair entirely. And here she is, my official "Adventure Kid":



And her eye-lites:




Like the little outfit? I made that myself by altering some Build-a-Bear overalls and adding embellishments from my plethora of Disney fabrics & crafting junk. I'm currently working on 2 more overalls outfits & 2 little dresses. She also has some little footed Minnie jammies and a non-Disney gorgeous little smocked blue dress. Yes, she'll have a proper wardrobe for the trip same as the rest of us.

I'm still not 100% on the name. I've got to get that nailed down here pretty quick. It just doesn't seem right for her to go on without the right name. I started out with Ellie Babs (Ellie from 'Up!' so she can finally go on her adventures & Babs from CoP <----do you know where in the attraction you hear it?). But then, I like Ellie Boo, too. I could lengthen the names then use what I have for the abbreviation: Elleanore Babette for Ellie Babs, etc. I dunno. Some have said she looks Minnie-ish but then that's too obvious. I'll get it worked out. :animwink:

So now we've established that I'm a crazy doll lady in addition to complete Disney freak and now I've created my own little Disney-fied piece of dolly heaven for myself. How does that make a "twist" on the trip report? Well, when we get home and you finally see my report in it's entirety it won't be from just my perspective. It'll be a joint effort from both my Adventure Kid and me combined so you can have all the fun I do. ((I'm prob'ly gonna lose all the male audience on this one.)) Trip reports are more for my benefit than anything so this is the way I can combine my all my loves (my family, my favorite place, and my collection) all into one and share it with the world. Don't think you're the only ones reading this. My dolly-friends are just as eagerly awaiting the report as you!

Let's hope for success in my endeavor to attempt such an undertaking. I hope I don't get a day or two into the journey with my little girl tagging along & decide it's too much hassle. The slower pace we have planned should lend itself well to the challenge.

And there you have it. Yes, it's official. I'm :hammer:. As I've stated more times than I can count, I don't claim to be any less so it's aaaaaalll good! :ROFLOL:

sweetpee_1993 said:

Well, it seems I got the tee times messed up. There's been some changes. Same times but on golf day #1 they're playing Lake Buena Vista and on golf day #2 they're playing the Palm. In 2006 they played the Magnolia and Oak Trail with Chandler (he was only 9 then). Love the pull cart with his itty-bitty set strapped on in this pic:

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Super cute.
LBV was gorgeous! It poured rain when I played in August, though but the scenery is super, super pretty. It's just too bad the fairways were basically swamps :lol:

Love seeing kids play. I remember when I was that age and it took so much effort to finish 18.. and now I'm almost 20 and love it! It's going to be so weird not to golf when I go in May.. just going with the friends, so I have no Dad to golf with

How cute! I love the "twist." A sock monkey named Simon travels with us on our trips, but your Betsy looks like she'll enjoy herself more.

Here's Simon in Disneyland's ToonTown: