Greetings from the shores of Lake Superior!
As the title of our Pre-Trip Report states we are what Michiganders call, “Yoopers”. For those of you who are unfamiliar with that term of endearment, a Yopper is someone who was born or has lived the majority of majority of their life in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Those who live downstate (or below the bridge) are called Trolls. Ok, enough with the geography lessons – let’s get to it. (Oh – let me warn you… grammar is not my forte. So, all you grammar experts out there, please accept my apology. I will write it the way I talk. So, I’m sorry but just reach for a cocktail and take your thinking caps off while you read.
First allow me to introduce ourselves. Our little family consists of me – Catherine, my husband – Rob and our almost 3yr old son – Jonah.
Rob and I (yes, just the two of us) will be embarking on our first WDW trip (as adults) for a 5night/6day stay (October 16 – October 21). When I was 16yrs old (actually, I spent my 16th bay in the MK) my parents and I went to WDW. There are 6 of us kids in my family – but there is a 9yr difference between myself and the second youngest…so, by the time my folks could afford to go to WDW all the other kids were grown up and I was left to “endure” the trip. Haa. Of course being the only kid with your parents who were 58yrs old at the time was not the most fun, but I still loved the trip and was so grateful for the experience. At that time Epcot won me over big time and MGM (as it was called then) was a disappointment after enjoying Epcot and MK. We had stayed off property and my dream at the time was to stay on property and to eat in The World. (We did everything very fiscally conservative so there were no meals on property)
When Rob was young he spent the day at Epcot with his friend and his friend’s family. He has commented several times about Captain EO and how cool that was, how he had fun eating at the restaurant at “El Rio Del Tiempo” (as it was called then) and how he bought a red Ferrari car in Italy. But again, this duration was incredibly short, he was young and he only got to see Epcot. When we were married 12 years ago we wanted to go to WDW, but we were young and couldn’t afford it. We have talked about it every year it seems and it is always just dreamed about, discussed “what would we do if…”, and wished we could go. But between job hopping as young people, the poor economy in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and then having a child three years ago – the dream has remained that … a pipe dream! Until….
Valentine’s Day week my husband started acting funny. He was all excited for Valentine’s Day (this is strange since we don’t do much for that Hallmark Holiday). I knew he had gotten me something but I couldn’t imagine what had brought him so much happiness and boyish giddiness. Press Pause – my husband is not giddy – EVER!! On the outside he comes off cranky, quiet and cocky. On the inside though…. a HUGE teddy bear! It takes a while to see it, but it is there and then you are hooked! So, to have this crazy giddiness around the house was strange. What did he do? What does he want? It was all suspicious! On the Eve of Valentine’s Day he could not handle it and more so, I could not handle it. So, he gave me my card but prefaced it… don’t be mad! Ah Ha! I knew he did something! I opened up the homemade Mickey Mouse card and inside he told me how the dream was now going to be reality and we would be going to WDW in October!!! I couldn’t believe it! He booked a trip and airfare for a trip without me knowing!!!!
Do I kill him or do I hug him! Hugging won over and to be honest, I was happy that he just went and did it because the practical part of me would NEVER have done that. You see, we have NEVER taken a real trip before. We have taken countless vacations or trips to see family and when we were married we did a three night stay in the Copper Country (here in the UP). But, we’ve never been away!!!! This is not only our first trip to Disney World – but it is our first REAL trip ever!!!! :sohappy:
So, onto the details….
Embarking on this dream will just be my husband and I – no DS Jonah!!!!! Our son will be spending the week with his Grandma and Grandpa downstate Michigan! So, it’s just us!!
We will leave Marquette, MI on Saturday, October 15th for downstate which is an 8hr drive. For those of you who have never been to Michigan – you must come! It’s gorgeous! We have four seasons – summer and fall are the best – unless you like winter outdoor activities! In that case, we rate pretty high on the winter activities. Anyway, on our way downstate we’ll take in our normal route attractions – the main one being the Mackinaw Bridge (larger than the Golden Gate).
Jonah, our son loves walking under the bridge (he’s Jonah – not Jesus, so he walks on the land) and throwing rocks into the lake. It makes for a perfect mid-trip outdoor activity. Then on Sunday, October 16th (my 38th Birthday actually), we will be taking Air Tran to The World!!!! We will be staying at All Star Movies for our trip! We needed to stay at a value resort and the Movies looked the most fun. I’m not sure now after doing a bunch of reading if we would have picked it… because Pop seems to get a LOT of attention, but we will find out if we like it and NEXT time (yes, there WILL be a next time) we can stay at the Pop or a Moderate. We’re not the type of folks who will stay in our room or our resort much – we’ll just be there to sleep and shower. So, I don’t think it matters too much where we stay as long as it’s clean. We have the Dining Plan – MYWPDining, so we are looking forward to trying out different foods and perhaps indulging a bit. Plus it’s Wine and Food Festival so it’s a perfect time to visit!
When we first began planning our trip we wanted Epcot to be the first park we went to. But, the more we become Disney-addicts we, the more we want to spend our first day at MK. Nothing says Disney more than the MK. We can’t wait to walk thru the tunnel and smell the confectionery, hear the clopping of the horses and the magical music and set our gazes on Cindarella’s castle! I can safetly say that we BOTH dream about this moment. We will be landing in Orlando at about 9:30am so we hope we will be able to be at the park by about 11:30am. Do you think that’s possible?
Our plan is to come up with a list of priority attractions at each park. However, looking at the crowd predictions I think we’ll be able to see most of what we want. The only thing that may slow us down is our bodies. haa Of course there are also some experiences that we both look forward to enjoying. Here is a few of my “dreams” while at WDW:
-Walk around the World Showcase as dusk….leisurely. (I remember when I was 16yrs old wishing I was with the man of my dreams, instead of my two 60yr old parents. It looked like such a romantic place – I hope to experience that romance there in “the world”.
-Eat a churro, a turkey leg, a dole whip in Adventure land, a cupcake at HS, ice cream from Beaches and Cream, and Tonga Toast at the Poly.
-Ride on a Friendship Ferry. I think seeing the Boardwalk and Swan/Dolphin would be so cool this way!
-Overcome some “fears” of Roller Coasters
-Watch Wishes
-Ride the Monorail from MK to Epcot.
-Take a step back and take it all in!
So - as you see, we are beginning the journey of conversion to addict! It's a painful process, but it must be done. :ROFLOL: More to come...
As the title of our Pre-Trip Report states we are what Michiganders call, “Yoopers”. For those of you who are unfamiliar with that term of endearment, a Yopper is someone who was born or has lived the majority of majority of their life in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Those who live downstate (or below the bridge) are called Trolls. Ok, enough with the geography lessons – let’s get to it. (Oh – let me warn you… grammar is not my forte. So, all you grammar experts out there, please accept my apology. I will write it the way I talk. So, I’m sorry but just reach for a cocktail and take your thinking caps off while you read.
First allow me to introduce ourselves. Our little family consists of me – Catherine, my husband – Rob and our almost 3yr old son – Jonah.
Rob and I (yes, just the two of us) will be embarking on our first WDW trip (as adults) for a 5night/6day stay (October 16 – October 21). When I was 16yrs old (actually, I spent my 16th bay in the MK) my parents and I went to WDW. There are 6 of us kids in my family – but there is a 9yr difference between myself and the second youngest…so, by the time my folks could afford to go to WDW all the other kids were grown up and I was left to “endure” the trip. Haa. Of course being the only kid with your parents who were 58yrs old at the time was not the most fun, but I still loved the trip and was so grateful for the experience. At that time Epcot won me over big time and MGM (as it was called then) was a disappointment after enjoying Epcot and MK. We had stayed off property and my dream at the time was to stay on property and to eat in The World. (We did everything very fiscally conservative so there were no meals on property)
When Rob was young he spent the day at Epcot with his friend and his friend’s family. He has commented several times about Captain EO and how cool that was, how he had fun eating at the restaurant at “El Rio Del Tiempo” (as it was called then) and how he bought a red Ferrari car in Italy. But again, this duration was incredibly short, he was young and he only got to see Epcot. When we were married 12 years ago we wanted to go to WDW, but we were young and couldn’t afford it. We have talked about it every year it seems and it is always just dreamed about, discussed “what would we do if…”, and wished we could go. But between job hopping as young people, the poor economy in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and then having a child three years ago – the dream has remained that … a pipe dream! Until….
Valentine’s Day week my husband started acting funny. He was all excited for Valentine’s Day (this is strange since we don’t do much for that Hallmark Holiday). I knew he had gotten me something but I couldn’t imagine what had brought him so much happiness and boyish giddiness. Press Pause – my husband is not giddy – EVER!! On the outside he comes off cranky, quiet and cocky. On the inside though…. a HUGE teddy bear! It takes a while to see it, but it is there and then you are hooked! So, to have this crazy giddiness around the house was strange. What did he do? What does he want? It was all suspicious! On the Eve of Valentine’s Day he could not handle it and more so, I could not handle it. So, he gave me my card but prefaced it… don’t be mad! Ah Ha! I knew he did something! I opened up the homemade Mickey Mouse card and inside he told me how the dream was now going to be reality and we would be going to WDW in October!!! I couldn’t believe it! He booked a trip and airfare for a trip without me knowing!!!!
Do I kill him or do I hug him! Hugging won over and to be honest, I was happy that he just went and did it because the practical part of me would NEVER have done that. You see, we have NEVER taken a real trip before. We have taken countless vacations or trips to see family and when we were married we did a three night stay in the Copper Country (here in the UP). But, we’ve never been away!!!! This is not only our first trip to Disney World – but it is our first REAL trip ever!!!! :sohappy:
So, onto the details….
Embarking on this dream will just be my husband and I – no DS Jonah!!!!! Our son will be spending the week with his Grandma and Grandpa downstate Michigan! So, it’s just us!!
We will leave Marquette, MI on Saturday, October 15th for downstate which is an 8hr drive. For those of you who have never been to Michigan – you must come! It’s gorgeous! We have four seasons – summer and fall are the best – unless you like winter outdoor activities! In that case, we rate pretty high on the winter activities. Anyway, on our way downstate we’ll take in our normal route attractions – the main one being the Mackinaw Bridge (larger than the Golden Gate).
Jonah, our son loves walking under the bridge (he’s Jonah – not Jesus, so he walks on the land) and throwing rocks into the lake. It makes for a perfect mid-trip outdoor activity. Then on Sunday, October 16th (my 38th Birthday actually), we will be taking Air Tran to The World!!!! We will be staying at All Star Movies for our trip! We needed to stay at a value resort and the Movies looked the most fun. I’m not sure now after doing a bunch of reading if we would have picked it… because Pop seems to get a LOT of attention, but we will find out if we like it and NEXT time (yes, there WILL be a next time) we can stay at the Pop or a Moderate. We’re not the type of folks who will stay in our room or our resort much – we’ll just be there to sleep and shower. So, I don’t think it matters too much where we stay as long as it’s clean. We have the Dining Plan – MYWPDining, so we are looking forward to trying out different foods and perhaps indulging a bit. Plus it’s Wine and Food Festival so it’s a perfect time to visit!
When we first began planning our trip we wanted Epcot to be the first park we went to. But, the more we become Disney-addicts we, the more we want to spend our first day at MK. Nothing says Disney more than the MK. We can’t wait to walk thru the tunnel and smell the confectionery, hear the clopping of the horses and the magical music and set our gazes on Cindarella’s castle! I can safetly say that we BOTH dream about this moment. We will be landing in Orlando at about 9:30am so we hope we will be able to be at the park by about 11:30am. Do you think that’s possible?
Our plan is to come up with a list of priority attractions at each park. However, looking at the crowd predictions I think we’ll be able to see most of what we want. The only thing that may slow us down is our bodies. haa Of course there are also some experiences that we both look forward to enjoying. Here is a few of my “dreams” while at WDW:
-Walk around the World Showcase as dusk….leisurely. (I remember when I was 16yrs old wishing I was with the man of my dreams, instead of my two 60yr old parents. It looked like such a romantic place – I hope to experience that romance there in “the world”.
-Eat a churro, a turkey leg, a dole whip in Adventure land, a cupcake at HS, ice cream from Beaches and Cream, and Tonga Toast at the Poly.
-Ride on a Friendship Ferry. I think seeing the Boardwalk and Swan/Dolphin would be so cool this way!
-Overcome some “fears” of Roller Coasters
-Watch Wishes
-Ride the Monorail from MK to Epcot.
-Take a step back and take it all in!
So - as you see, we are beginning the journey of conversion to addict! It's a painful process, but it must be done. :ROFLOL: More to come...
