Pre-Trip Let's see if I can remember how to do one of these things

Hey there...

So it's been a minute (as the kids say) since I've posted a trip report. Looking back over my history in WDW Magic, it looks like the last trip related thing I posted was a 2018 pre-trip report, that never actually had a trip report done for it. I think I was getting kind of tired of the trip report thing after so many years of doing them. It is fun to go back and see some of the trip reports from the past. If you're interested in a flash-back of a few:


A lot has changed since these reports, as you'll see if you've followed us in the past.

We haven't actually been to WDW since 2019 (and didn't go into the parks that year (we were doing a cruise with Stephanie and Liam (our kids) that year and just needed a place to stay before and after the cruise). We haven't actually been in the parks since 2018 (ahhh...the days of quieter Septembers, Annual Passes for non-Florida residents, the Disney Dining Plan and free Fast-Passes). We had always planned on going back as a family, but then Covid hit, and the strict re-entry rules for Canada made travel outside of Canada pretty much impossible for us (14 day quarantine even if vaccinated, PCR test required before entering the country, etc). Eventually the restrictions were dropped, but we had already made vacation plans that didn't involve Disney.

but enough with the nostalgia, let's do this pre-trip thing:

Who's going this time...
It's Tammy and my 25th anniversary this August, and we have a cruise booked for the last week of September as our anniversary trip...but then I had this crazy idea of adding a few extra days on to the start of the trip and going back to Disney for the first time in 5 years. So it's just Tammy and me this time (which will be different for us since we're used to having Stephanie and Liam (our "kids" - Steph is now 22 and Liam will be 20 soon)).

T&G Disney.png


So what happened to Steph and Liam? They grew up too fast (as kids tend to do). The last time we did a trip report they looked something like this:
WORKOUT.jpg


Always at the dojo training back in those days (Liam eventually went on to place 2nd at Worlds in kickboxing in 2019 with Steph as his coach (she had to retire from competing due to multiple concussions)).

Well, things have definitely changed. Stephanie is now 22 and getting married in August
S&C DISNEY.jpg

and Liam is now 6'3", has finished high school, and is working full-time at the moment while he considers his options
L&S DISNEY.jpeg


However, both kids have claimed "dibs" on future Disney trips with us (Liam and his girlfriend Sam claimed next year, and Steph and Calvin claimed 2025).

So, long story short, It's only Tammy and I

Details
We'll be flying down on the 20th of September and will be on property until the 23rd (our cruise leaves from Miami on the 23rd). We're booked in a studio at Copper Creek for the 3 nights. We haven't stayed there since they did the reno that resulted in Copper Creek, so we're really looking forward to this. In terms of parks, we're going to go with 2 days with 1 being Hollywood Studios (the last time we were there Galaxy's Edge was behind construction walls, and the Great Movie Ride was still a thing), and the other day will most likely be Magic Kingdom. If there is one of those After Hours things running during these days we may do that too. We haven't really planned much in terms of dining, but we'll figure that out.

I'm hoping at the end of it all to do a full trip report (I figure 3 days is a good way to ease back into it).

Thanks for following along.
 
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Swissmiss

Premium Member
Not-So-Scary tickets are purchased for the 22nd.

Tammy's next question - should we dress up? Oh boy....I'm not a dress up kind of person (neither is she really). I could see wearing my Toronto Maple Leafs jersey (my judgement about this is probably clouded by the fact they finally got out of the first round of the playoffs in 19 years).

Next up will be to buy a 1 day ticket for the 21st, and to figure out what restaurant(s) we want to book.

While I admire that there are many creative people out there, I am not one of them and I also don’t find it appealing to be in a costume in Orlando heat. My teen and I went to the first party last August and found some Disney themed halloween tank tops. That’s was good enough for us 😉
 

k8einwdw

Well-Known Member
While I admire that there are many creative people out there, I am not one of them and I also don’t find it appealing to be in a costume in Orlando heat. My teen and I went to the first party last August and found some Disney themed halloween tank tops. That’s was good enough for us 😉
I’m on team Halloween t-shirt and shorts. We dressed as Mary Poppins and Bert for MNSSHP several years ago, and we were dripping sweat all night. 🥵
 

gwhb75

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Quick update - Finally booked one dining location this week - We really wanted Liberty Tree before the MNSSHP, but there were no times available after 4pm (when we can get into the parks). However....I did get a 4:20 spot at the Diamond Horseshoe which has the Liberty Tree menu in a different venue (right beside Liberty Tree). I'll keep an eye out for a Liberty Tree reservation to open up as we do prefer the theming there, but we've never done Diamond Horseshoe, so we're good either way.

Still haven't decided where to eat on our first day there - We don't really love any of the restaurants in Hollywood Studios, so we'll most likely eat at either Disney Springs or a resort.
 

gwhb75

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Can't believe we're less than 3 weeks away. A few small updates:

1) We have our HS tickets for the 21st now (man, 1 day tickets are expensive. It works out to almost $300 Canadian. Still worth it though).

2) We ordered the new Magic Band +. I like how they are rechargeable, which will allow them to be used for future trips.
bands.JPG

Can you tell we're going to miss having our kids with us this time (more on that in a minute).

3) Our plans to get to Miami on the 23rd have changed again. The original plan was to drive, which then turned into wanting to try the new Brightline from Orlando to Miami. However, if you've been following along with the Brightline opening, the original date was delayed from Sept 1st to Sept 8th, and two days ago was delayed again to September 21st. I don't have confidence that either a) it will be running on the 23rd, or b) if it does open on the 21st that all the bugs will be worked out by the 23rd. Given we have a window of time to get there (getting on a cruise), we decided it wasn't worth the risk, so we're back to driving again.


so about the kids...
Steph is now married (Aug 12th). It was a fun day. However, the thing they really enjoyed was the honeymoon. The ended up going to Disney, staying at Saratoga. Calvin (her husband) had been to Disney once back when he was really young and didn't really remember it. Steph said he had a perma-smile the whole time they were there (so much so that he wants to go back ASAP).

So the other thing I mentioned earler is that the kids each called dibs on future trips with us, with Liam and Sam wanting to go in 2024 and Steph and Calvin in 2025. However...Tammy and I started talking about it, and thought it may be fun to try and go all together next year. We are still way early in that process, but you never know....

Anyways, that's the latest update for now. Thanks for following along.
 
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lindawdw

Well-Known Member
I haven't had the pleasure of reading your TR's yet since I only joined this wonderful forum group in November 2018, but I enjoyed seeing your kids pictures from the early years and then now. I can relate to how you feel about your kids growing up too fast but I also feel that the good times are now with them also! Congrats to your daughter on her wedding. Good move on renting the car to drive to Miami. Looking forward to hearing more about your trip. Hope you get to take the whole family to WDW next year!
 

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