Hello friends and welcome to my September Trip Report! I’ve only been home a few weeks and I already miss Walt Disney World like crazy! I’m already going through withdrawals and searching for the possibility of any excuse to get back down to central Florida and to my favorite place on earth. Realistically, I’m thinking February or March 2013, but I would love to squeeze a trip in between now and then... Anyway, my last two Disney trips have been one extreme to the other - weather wise. I absolutely froze in December of 2010 and turned right around and melted in September 2011. But you know what? I LOVED every minute of it!
Click here to read my December 2010 trip report
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=718898
Now, on to the details of this trip...
When did we go? September 15-25, 2011
Where did we stay? Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge - Jambo House
How did we get there? We drove 8 and 1/2 hours
Who all went? Just me and my beautiful bride
Why did we go? Our 3 Year Anniversary! (Not that we need a reason to go to WDW)
Any other details to offer up? We had 9 day park hoppers and were on the dining plan
I started planning this trip before we even went on our December trip! Talk about excitement! Planning and thinking about two Disney trips at the same time was awesome!! Of course, with every trip to the World, our plans changed many times... but here is my pre trip report/itinerary so you can see what I planned and compare it to what we actually did.
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=733892
We actually stuck to our plans, for the most part, at least until the end of the week. I was proud.
Ok, I stated earlier that on this particular trip, it was just me and my wife. Here we are...
First up, we have myself, Jon. Tar Heel born and Tar Heel bred. The planner and over the top WDW fanatic.
Next we have my better half, my gorgeous bride, Brittany. The WDW veteran who loves Disney but doesn’t obsess about it 24/7 like her hubby...
Man, she’s hot!!
Anyway, we had been looking forward to this trip for a long time for many different reasons. Since we walked out of EPCOT on that last night in December, we had been longing to get back! I was so pumped that I packed like a week before our trip! I NEVER do that. I’m normally a last minute packer. I was so excited because, yes, I love WDW, but also this trip was going to allow us to experience a lot of firsts. This trip would be our first trip with “just us”; this trip would be our first staying at a deluxe Disney resort; and this trip would be our first time being on the Disney Dining Plan! Wooo Hooo! We were excited! So excited, in fact, that I was up at the crack of dawn 180 days before our check in date to schedule ADRs! Needless to say, we got all the restaurants and times that we wanted. Our departure day couldn’t come fast enough!
Thursday September 15, 2011
This day started like any other day. I got up, did my normal morning routine, and was ready to go to work. The only difference (besides my heart racing from excitement and anticipation) was the fact that we were leaving for vacation in just a few hours...
Having packed a week early and having stayed on Brittany to make sure all of her packing was finished on Wednesday night to avoid feeling rushed or stressed on Thursday morning, we were all set to go the second I got home from work around noon. As I left for work that morning, this was the sight I saw as I headed out the door...
The time crept by at work that morning as it seemed to take forever for lunchtime to come. I was like a kid on Christmas Eve... Finally, it was 12:00 and it was time to start our journey! I flew out of the office and minutes later into my driveway. I ran through the door, changed clothes, and finished packing everything into our Jeep Grand Cherokee. Brittany had most of our stuff loaded up already. God bless her! We jumped in the Jeep and were ready to roll! Brittany wanted to drive because she said she had an anniversary surprise for me... I went along with it.
Our traditional in the vehicle, pre-departure photo...
We were on our way! Brittany immediately handed me a thick envelope and told me to open it. When I did, I found a letter and a CD. The letter got mushy (I’ll spare you guys the details...) and instructed me to put the CD in. Each song on the CD had a special meaning which she explained in detail in my letter. It was the sweetest thing EVER. I love my girl! When we had listened to all of the songs, we pulled off the interstate and swung into a Chick-fil-a to grab a quite bite and got right back on the road. Now, it was my turn to take the wheel... and I had it for the rest of the trip.
77 South...
I don’t mind road trips. They are fun for me. I think the anticipation makes my excitement grow higher and higher as I near my destination.
We were making great time! I was only stopping if we had to - for gas, food or bathroom and I had packed a couple of empty water jugs. Just kidding about that last part. For the next several hours, I looked like this...
And Brittany looked like this...
Typical. You get this woman in a moving automobile, and she instantly transforms into an infant. She was out, so I listened to a couple episodes of WDW Today and the Be Our Guest Podcast and of course I had to pop in The Eagles - Hell Freezes Over album. Britt doesn’t like The Eagles, so I have to take advantage of her slumber when I can...
It was around 7:30pm or so when we both started to get pretty hungry. I spotted a sign for our favorite road trip restaurant at the next exit, so we pulled off, fueled up, and filled our bellies...
Love some Cracker Barrel!
We got back on the road and only had a couple more hours of driving ahead of us for the night until we reached our first destination.
Weeks before I had booked a room for $71 at the Holiday Inn Express in Orange City, Florida, which is only about an hour from Walt Disney World. Our plan was to stop there for the night, get up early the next morning, and have just a short drive to WDW so we wouldn’t feel like we were wasting a day of our precious vacation! The more time in the parks, the better, right?!? We pulled in to the parking lot of the Holiday Inn Express at exactly 9:30pm.
It had been a long day and we were tired (although I don’t know how Britt was tired considering she slept 90% of the drive), but I still had trouble sleeping because of the excitement of knowing that in the morning we would be at Disney World! I went to the restroom and when I came out, Britt was out again already. After catching a few highlights on SportsCenter, I finally drifted off to sleep...
Click here to read my December 2010 trip report
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=718898
Now, on to the details of this trip...
When did we go? September 15-25, 2011
Where did we stay? Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge - Jambo House
How did we get there? We drove 8 and 1/2 hours
Who all went? Just me and my beautiful bride
Why did we go? Our 3 Year Anniversary! (Not that we need a reason to go to WDW)
Any other details to offer up? We had 9 day park hoppers and were on the dining plan
I started planning this trip before we even went on our December trip! Talk about excitement! Planning and thinking about two Disney trips at the same time was awesome!! Of course, with every trip to the World, our plans changed many times... but here is my pre trip report/itinerary so you can see what I planned and compare it to what we actually did.
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=733892
We actually stuck to our plans, for the most part, at least until the end of the week. I was proud.
Ok, I stated earlier that on this particular trip, it was just me and my wife. Here we are...
First up, we have myself, Jon. Tar Heel born and Tar Heel bred. The planner and over the top WDW fanatic.
Next we have my better half, my gorgeous bride, Brittany. The WDW veteran who loves Disney but doesn’t obsess about it 24/7 like her hubby...
Man, she’s hot!!
Anyway, we had been looking forward to this trip for a long time for many different reasons. Since we walked out of EPCOT on that last night in December, we had been longing to get back! I was so pumped that I packed like a week before our trip! I NEVER do that. I’m normally a last minute packer. I was so excited because, yes, I love WDW, but also this trip was going to allow us to experience a lot of firsts. This trip would be our first trip with “just us”; this trip would be our first staying at a deluxe Disney resort; and this trip would be our first time being on the Disney Dining Plan! Wooo Hooo! We were excited! So excited, in fact, that I was up at the crack of dawn 180 days before our check in date to schedule ADRs! Needless to say, we got all the restaurants and times that we wanted. Our departure day couldn’t come fast enough!
Thursday September 15, 2011
This day started like any other day. I got up, did my normal morning routine, and was ready to go to work. The only difference (besides my heart racing from excitement and anticipation) was the fact that we were leaving for vacation in just a few hours...
Having packed a week early and having stayed on Brittany to make sure all of her packing was finished on Wednesday night to avoid feeling rushed or stressed on Thursday morning, we were all set to go the second I got home from work around noon. As I left for work that morning, this was the sight I saw as I headed out the door...
The time crept by at work that morning as it seemed to take forever for lunchtime to come. I was like a kid on Christmas Eve... Finally, it was 12:00 and it was time to start our journey! I flew out of the office and minutes later into my driveway. I ran through the door, changed clothes, and finished packing everything into our Jeep Grand Cherokee. Brittany had most of our stuff loaded up already. God bless her! We jumped in the Jeep and were ready to roll! Brittany wanted to drive because she said she had an anniversary surprise for me... I went along with it.
Our traditional in the vehicle, pre-departure photo...
We were on our way! Brittany immediately handed me a thick envelope and told me to open it. When I did, I found a letter and a CD. The letter got mushy (I’ll spare you guys the details...) and instructed me to put the CD in. Each song on the CD had a special meaning which she explained in detail in my letter. It was the sweetest thing EVER. I love my girl! When we had listened to all of the songs, we pulled off the interstate and swung into a Chick-fil-a to grab a quite bite and got right back on the road. Now, it was my turn to take the wheel... and I had it for the rest of the trip.
77 South...
I don’t mind road trips. They are fun for me. I think the anticipation makes my excitement grow higher and higher as I near my destination.
We were making great time! I was only stopping if we had to - for gas, food or bathroom and I had packed a couple of empty water jugs. Just kidding about that last part. For the next several hours, I looked like this...
And Brittany looked like this...
Typical. You get this woman in a moving automobile, and she instantly transforms into an infant. She was out, so I listened to a couple episodes of WDW Today and the Be Our Guest Podcast and of course I had to pop in The Eagles - Hell Freezes Over album. Britt doesn’t like The Eagles, so I have to take advantage of her slumber when I can...
It was around 7:30pm or so when we both started to get pretty hungry. I spotted a sign for our favorite road trip restaurant at the next exit, so we pulled off, fueled up, and filled our bellies...
Love some Cracker Barrel!
We got back on the road and only had a couple more hours of driving ahead of us for the night until we reached our first destination.
Weeks before I had booked a room for $71 at the Holiday Inn Express in Orange City, Florida, which is only about an hour from Walt Disney World. Our plan was to stop there for the night, get up early the next morning, and have just a short drive to WDW so we wouldn’t feel like we were wasting a day of our precious vacation! The more time in the parks, the better, right?!? We pulled in to the parking lot of the Holiday Inn Express at exactly 9:30pm.
It had been a long day and we were tired (although I don’t know how Britt was tired considering she slept 90% of the drive), but I still had trouble sleeping because of the excitement of knowing that in the morning we would be at Disney World! I went to the restroom and when I came out, Britt was out again already. After catching a few highlights on SportsCenter, I finally drifted off to sleep...
but it's still great!!
