Trip Report An Orlando Move and some Disney Fun!

Hi all!
I'm just back from another crazy great family adventure!!
This time the trip wasn't just for fun but to help my son Seth move to Orlando!
Yep, he and his partner decided they had enough of New York and chose to move almost as far south as possible.
Jake was a Special Effects Artist but decided to answer the call from Disney and got a job in the College Program that he hopes will swing to a permanent position. Seth works as a Game Development Artist and as he works remotely, was ready and able to get out of Dodge, I mean NY!

The travelers include me and Seth. (Gary wasn't up for the trip).
Oh, and I almost forgot, Satan the Cat, otherwise actually known as Athens.
Tell me he doesn't look like a Satan.

This cat and his antics during the move increased our stress from probably a 5 to an 8.5.

I left Pittsburgh May 17th to drive a Budget Cargo Van to Brooklyn.

To me the most obvious question would be, "why are you driving a big honkin van an extra 400 miles?" Well that's because no one in NY would promise me this size of a van. I was told it could be bigger, and that's a big ole hell no. So off I went.

The first part of this trip report is the crazy of the move and you are welcome to scroll past to "skip to the good part". But, if you want to get a few laughs hang around during the first part. It was so much fun I would like to do it again next week!

And before I end this post I would like to thank @cgersic and @Zipadeelady for all of their Orlando move advice, and @Darstarr for her multiple offers of help on the NY end. (I couldn't take her up on them because she would have seen in person not just via txt what a hot mess my life is)! @Tuvalu and @riverside offered moral support and some helpful travel hints during the trip!

 

[MickeyCB]

No! No! We are staying in a hotel and leaving in the morning. We just visited with my brother for a few hours.

My misunderstanding, and continued safe travels!

 

[littleroo]

My misunderstanding, and continued safe travels!

No biggie. I am sure I am not clear all time. I think faster than I can type. Thank you!

 

[Songbird76]

I love the rainbow magic shot!! So cute! Did you ask for it specifically or were you surprised when you got the picture?

 

[MickeyCB]

I love the rainbow magic shot!! So cute! Did you ask for it specifically or were you surprised when you got the picture?

I thought it was cute too!
No, I just usually ask if they have any magic shots and get whatever they offer.
One thing I would have liked and continue to forget to ask for, is if they have the framed shots that look like a postcard or something.

 

[MickeyCB]

MAY 20th Phase 10 continues, we're at the MK!!

We left off headed over to Buzz that posted a 40 minute wait time but I was hoping for shorter as the line barely extended outside the door. Seth was skeptical.

We got in line just outside the door in the corral near the building.
(I got a little annoyed as the family in front of us of 2 people had probably 6 more sitting waiting for them to get to the entrance and those 6 went under the chain and joined the 2 in line.) Since I had no desire to be on Youtube I didn't say anything. Grrrrr....

As we entered the building and made the bend we were met with almost no one in the inside queue and the sweet feel of air-conditioning!!

The line was so empty I was sort of hustling to take these photos.

From entering the line and getting on the ride it was maybe 5 or 6 minutes.

Fun but rarely a good photo!

We are not heroes!

After Buzz we still had a little time to kill and got something to drink and a pretzel to tide us over till dinner.
So IG perfect, I think!
Even more fun, Seth was semi embarrassed I took the photo till he saw it, then said, umm can you send me that?

But a snidge of a confession here. I who love pretzels didn't really like the taste of this too much even with the plastic cheese dip.
(But did manage to eat a fair amount of it.)

And yes @Darstarr, I took this bottle home with me.

After that we ambled over to Tron as it was almost time for our ILL.
Soooo excited to ride I can't stand it!

 

[lindawdw]

You've had quite the adventure on this trip!!! I can't tell you how impressed I am that you did all this driving on your own in a moving van. You have to win the Mother of the Year award.

I really despise that Disney charges what they do for these LL attractions! TRON is a great addition to MK even if it is a quick ride! Happy that you were able to do a few things before heading over to TRON. Glad you got a last minute dining reservation!

 

[MickeyCB]

You've had quite the adventure on this trip!!! I can't tell you how impressed I am that you did all this driving on your own in a moving van. You have to win the Mother of the Year award.

I really despise that Disney charges what they do for these LL attractions! TRON is a great addition to MK even if it is a quick ride! Happy that you were able to do a few things before heading over to TRON. Glad you got a last minute dining reservation!

Aww thanks!
And yes, it is quite the money grab. $20 per person would go a long way towards a QS meal or something.

 

[MickeyCB]

I have to go back in time for a minute to share something I forgot to post. I shared with you some of our adventures with the babies in town but forgot about something else we did that week.

It's hilarious how people will come visit when babies are involved. My mom txtd 3 times on the first day to see if they were settled in and if she could come over, my sister from Virginia decided she was going to come for a visit, and Seth said he would fly up from Orlando!

So I hatched a plan. My mother, sister and Aleisha were in on it.
Seth's birthday would be 3 weeks from his visit here and father's day in one week.
We told Seth we were going to do a father's day surprise lunch and we told Gary and my dad that we were doing a surprise birthday party for Seth.
From good old Amazon I ordered fathers day and birthday decorations, no time to run out with babies to care for.

On Saturday morning Seth and Una and I went to go pick up the father's day cake from this wonderful old bakery in Dormont, Potomac Bakery. Una picked out this cookie and I have no idea what I was thinking but I let her get in my car with that!!

And my mom would be bringing the birthday cake.

Aleisha decorated while we were out of the house and as Gary is clueless about these things watched TV!

I was absolutely sure my mother or sister would spill the beans because neither of them can keep a secret.
But, when Seth walked into the dining room and saw the decorations you could tell he was genuinely surprised and said, "well I've been bamboozled"!!! I could tell he was pleased because he took some pics of the decorations.

My family absolutely hates having their pictures taken!! This literally is the only photo of the day with most of the humans in it.

Seth pretending to blow out the candles again because I missed the shot!

The father's day cake is beside it, a carrot cake which both of the dad's like.

And my favorite of the day, Una enjoying her cake not really caring what anyone else thought!!
(Notice the slice of pineapple being ignored!)

Sorry about interrupting the TR but I just remembered this whole thing driving home from getting takeout today!

 

[cgersic]

LOVE the photos of MK and of the family!! Such a sweet time together for both trips!

 

[lindawdw]

Great pictures of your celebration all together!

 

[MickeyCB]

LOVE the photos of MK and of the family!! Such a sweet time together for both trips!

Thanks and it really was!

 

[MickeyCB]

Great pictures of your celebration all together!

I have a very uncooperative family with picture taking. I actually turn off the sound on my phone and sneak some occasionally!

 

[littleroo]

What a great idea! I love pictures of whole families together. I am so glad you did this!
Most importantly Una is just adorable and I would never eat pineapple either if cake is around!

 

[MickeyCB]

Most importantly Una is just adorable and I would never eat pineapple either if cake is around!

She is cute and I have to agree on the fruit vs cake decision!

 

[MickeyCB]

MAY 20th Phase 10 continues, let's ride Tron!!

We walked over to Tron and I'll give my opinion on a few things.
First there is a not clearly understood why, narrow walkway that you walk along to get to the entrance. It sort of makes for an anticlimactic entrance in my opinion.
There is a blue umbrella guest person at the bottom of the ramp for questions, etc., then you walk up the large wide ramp. There are people sitting all along this area on the ground and once you hit the top, it's the same, except here there are a few benches around.
I think it's kind of odd.

But, bright spot, there is a very nice large bathroom area up here too, that anyone can access whether riding or not.
Said bathroom. (Ladies of course.)

We found the correct entrance for ILL riders and as we went past the virtual queue line I was surprised how long it was. It wrapped back and forth several times. (But hey, they weren't wasting their food budget on a ride either!)

I forgot to take a picture of the neat locker area but took one of the bathroom.
They work by putting your stuff in on the entrance side, then retrieve it on the exit side. Pretty clever.

After that we entered the inside of the ride area where initially you are above the cars and make your way down to the load area. Seth must have asked me 10 times if I thought I would be able to ride with my hip. We came up with a plan that I would ride whichever side permitted me to swing my right leg (the better hip) over the cycle. I told him he might have to help drag me off but, oh well.

As we watched people load I felt bad as there were several people who clearly weren't going to be able to get on the cycle and they had to do the uncomfortable walk to the last car. I'm not sure why because there were cycles prior to entering the line that you could try for comfort and fit.
I really liked that you can adjust the pressure of the back and leg clamps/braces yourself to a certain degree by pulling on the cycle handles.

We took off and it was so much fun!!
It is a very short ride as people have noted but I still loved it!
The photopass photo didn't show up but I called photo pass when we got home, told them the date, time and what we were wearing and they found it very quickly.
Very fun ride.

I did manage to get off unassisted and we went to retrieve our items from the locker.

After that we hustle limped over to our dining reservation at the Jungle Canteen.
We were seated fairly quickly after we arrived and it was delightful to sit down in the nice restaurant and air-conditioning!

Seth had the curried vegetable crew stew that he liked.

And I had the tastes like chicken which tasted like spicy chicken! Loved it.

We strolled out of the park stopping at the Emporium first.
I want these for my house!!!!

After that we took the monorail back to the TTC to get to the parking lot.

A few shots of the lovely construction site for the new Poly DVC building.
First shot shows the height of the building in relation to the Wedding Pavilion.

It's not pretty but I'm holding out hope that they will somehow make this work.
As members of the Poly now I really want this building to be incorporated into the existing membership as supposedly it will have 1 and 2 bedroom options, but the rumor mill is saying it will be like Copper Creek and be a separate community. Only time and Disney will tell.

We made it to the car and as I was trying to climb into the front passenger seat of Seth's car he says, yeah you can ride Tron but can't get into my car!
My reply, priorities son, priorities.

After that he took me to Old Key West where I was advised by a few of my friends on here to only book a studio so we could hang onto some points to try to do a Poly girls trip one of these days!

Phase 11, complete. Successful OKW check in. I'll post some room pics later.

 

[lindawdw]

So glad you enjoyed your ride on TRON! My DH and I also found the entrance a bit confusing because the beginning of the Virtual Queue line was not clearly marked. I did feel the line moved a lot quicker than I expected it to being that it was pretty long! Your meal looked delicious from Jungle Canteen. I am not loving the look so far of the new Poly DVC building as it just looks too high compared to the longhouses but I'm trying to not judge it yet because Disney has a way of making things look magical in the end. Can't wait to see your OKW pictures!

 

[MickeyCB]

So glad you enjoyed your ride on TRON! My DH and I also found the entrance a bit confusing because the beginning of the Virtual Queue line was not clearly marked. I did feel the line moved a lot quicker than I expected it to being that it was pretty long! Your meal looked delicious from Jungle Canteen. I am not loving the look so far of the new Poly DVC building as it just looks too high compared to the longhouses but I'm trying to not judge it yet because Disney has a way of making things look magical in the end. Can't wait to see your OKW pictures!

Seth got impatient with me but I also found it to be confusing which line to enter.
The food there is very good. We've eaten there 2 or 3 times now.
And fingers crossed on the Poly addition.

 

[Spash007]

Every time I see pictures of people riding Tron, I get more excited to get on it one day soon. Everyone, including yourselves, just look like they are having so much fun!

I’m hoping Poly is part of the existing membership too - we almost bought into it, but if it’s not, we want to wait to see what will happen. The building right now is hideous, and the height really is awful. But, I remember back to when they were building the Riviera, and I said the same thing. Crossing my fingers!

 

[MickeyCB]

Every time I see pictures of people riding Tron, I get more excited to get on it one day soon. Everyone, including yourselves, just look like they are having so much fun!

I’m hoping Poly is part of the existing membership too - we almost bought into it, but if it’s not, we want to wait to see what will happen. The building right now is hideous, and the height really is awful. But, I remember back to when they were building the Riviera, and I said the same thing. Crossing my fingers!

It was very fun!
And I agree, fingers crossed for appearance and keeping it part of the previous Poly DVC.

 

[MickeyCB]

MAY 20th OKW check in and room pics.

I've never stayed at OKW before but it had a nice festive feel to it.
I usually go in to check in, and in this case because I had requested a room close to the main area due to the hip wanted to see where I would be staying.
The CM at the desk cheerfully pointed out my room location that may as well been in Pittsburgh because I wasn't going to be able to hike back to the main area for coffee, etc.
Since Seth had his car I figured I would just suck it up for 2 nights.

Knowing I wasn't going to be trekking back there from the room I got the resort mug, filled it with coffee for the next morning and grabbed some snacks.

The room was 1510, ground level overlooking some water and part of the golf course there. But between the temperature and the risk of slimy critters, sitting out there was a no go. (Despite that being one of my favorite Disney activities.)

One thing to note, if you are short like me and combine that with a bad hip, those beds are pretty high off of the floor. I kinda had to throw myself up there!

Very nice room for a 2 nights stay.