AkiraRaptor
Meega, nala kwishta!
Got back last week, took a few days to finish off the report. Sorry if this is way to long, but when I get to rambling, I just don't know when to stop. I'll break it up into seperate posts, and have included an introduction and conclution.
Hope it not too much reading :lol:
Cast Of Characters:
- John (me, 34 years old) – Frequent WDW visitor
- Dianne (my wife, 34 years old) – Semi-Frequent WDW visitor
Trip Dates: October 7-15, 2002
Travel: Drive
Resort: Animal Kingdom Lodge (Concierge Level)
Introduction:
I love Disney. And I make it a point to get there as much as possible. I’ve been there several times when I was younger with my family. After school, I began going on my own or with friends every two years or so.
When I got married, I finally got my wife to go, so I had a few years slump of not going before the honeymoon. But we ended up going during the WDW 25th Anniversary celebrations, so it was well worth the visit.
After that, because of my job, I was traveling to the Orlando/Tampa area quite frequently for the next 3 years. So I got to spend a bit a time there by myself. Needless to say, never call your spouse from Pleasure Island, they will not appreciate you have so much fun on your “business trips”.
In 2001, we returned again for our 5 year wedding anniversary, and stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge (AKL). But we decided to do something different this time. Instead of walking the parks all day, we would do some of the tours. We did Gardens of the World at World Showcase and Backstage Safari at Animal Kingdom. Both were wonderful. We even did the VIP tours at Sea World, Universal, and the Trainer program at Discovery Cove.
So I talked the wife into another Disney vacation this year, but this one will be 100% devoted to WDW, and all the tours we could do. So this trip out we are going to be pampered. Four tours, concierge level at AKL, and the Discovery Magic package to go along with this all.
I also used all my wits to get the best prices and costs for this trip. We used codes from MouseSavers.com to get great room and package rates, Disney Club to get discounts off the tours, US Air points to get free airline tickets, and Marriot points to get a free 8 day car rental.
Unfortunately, US Air kept changing the flight times on us every week. I’m guessing because of cutbacks from the Chapter 11 they filed. This caused our flights to be scheduled at ungodly times, with huge layovers. We decided that this was just not acceptable to us, especially since our last day, we got scheduled for a 7:00 AM flight out, thus killing all hopes to spend some of the day at Disney. So we opted to drive instead, and stay at a hotel in Jacksonville on the way down. I did however get the room for free, again with my Marriot points.
I also added the Discovery Magic plan to our trip which gives us 2 wishes per day per person, so we get one tour free, and our dinners and other things we wish to put them toward.
Since we are driving now, I’ll be able to bring along items that normally I would have left at home, like the laptop. So I’ll be writing this trip report like a daily log. I think I’ll sit out by the pool every night and write the days events.
The report will be formatted the days planned activities, what really happened that day, the high point of the day, and the low point of the day. I’ll finish the report with some on my thoughts about the trip in a conclusions section at the end.
This should be a relaxing and fun vacation.
Day 1 – Tuesday October 7
Planned Activities:
• Travel to WDW
• Check-In at Marriot Courtyard in Jacksonville
What Really Happened
Got on the road at about 7:50 AM. Hit a bit of traffic in D.C. construction and another in North Carolina. Stopped to eat dinner at a Crackle Barrel in South Carolina, and then continued on to Jacksonville. We arrived at about 10:15 PM at our hotel in Jacksonville. A pretty uneventful day.
Low Points
Other annoying drivers going 85mph in a 65mph zone, flashing their lights to make you move over.
High Points
Watching said annoying drive say hello to the North Carolina State Patrol. That was a nice touch.
Hope it not too much reading :lol:
Cast Of Characters:
- John (me, 34 years old) – Frequent WDW visitor
- Dianne (my wife, 34 years old) – Semi-Frequent WDW visitor
Trip Dates: October 7-15, 2002
Travel: Drive
Resort: Animal Kingdom Lodge (Concierge Level)
Introduction:
I love Disney. And I make it a point to get there as much as possible. I’ve been there several times when I was younger with my family. After school, I began going on my own or with friends every two years or so.
When I got married, I finally got my wife to go, so I had a few years slump of not going before the honeymoon. But we ended up going during the WDW 25th Anniversary celebrations, so it was well worth the visit.
After that, because of my job, I was traveling to the Orlando/Tampa area quite frequently for the next 3 years. So I got to spend a bit a time there by myself. Needless to say, never call your spouse from Pleasure Island, they will not appreciate you have so much fun on your “business trips”.
In 2001, we returned again for our 5 year wedding anniversary, and stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge (AKL). But we decided to do something different this time. Instead of walking the parks all day, we would do some of the tours. We did Gardens of the World at World Showcase and Backstage Safari at Animal Kingdom. Both were wonderful. We even did the VIP tours at Sea World, Universal, and the Trainer program at Discovery Cove.
So I talked the wife into another Disney vacation this year, but this one will be 100% devoted to WDW, and all the tours we could do. So this trip out we are going to be pampered. Four tours, concierge level at AKL, and the Discovery Magic package to go along with this all.
I also used all my wits to get the best prices and costs for this trip. We used codes from MouseSavers.com to get great room and package rates, Disney Club to get discounts off the tours, US Air points to get free airline tickets, and Marriot points to get a free 8 day car rental.
Unfortunately, US Air kept changing the flight times on us every week. I’m guessing because of cutbacks from the Chapter 11 they filed. This caused our flights to be scheduled at ungodly times, with huge layovers. We decided that this was just not acceptable to us, especially since our last day, we got scheduled for a 7:00 AM flight out, thus killing all hopes to spend some of the day at Disney. So we opted to drive instead, and stay at a hotel in Jacksonville on the way down. I did however get the room for free, again with my Marriot points.
I also added the Discovery Magic plan to our trip which gives us 2 wishes per day per person, so we get one tour free, and our dinners and other things we wish to put them toward.
Since we are driving now, I’ll be able to bring along items that normally I would have left at home, like the laptop. So I’ll be writing this trip report like a daily log. I think I’ll sit out by the pool every night and write the days events.
The report will be formatted the days planned activities, what really happened that day, the high point of the day, and the low point of the day. I’ll finish the report with some on my thoughts about the trip in a conclusions section at the end.
This should be a relaxing and fun vacation.
Day 1 – Tuesday October 7
Planned Activities:
• Travel to WDW
• Check-In at Marriot Courtyard in Jacksonville
What Really Happened
Got on the road at about 7:50 AM. Hit a bit of traffic in D.C. construction and another in North Carolina. Stopped to eat dinner at a Crackle Barrel in South Carolina, and then continued on to Jacksonville. We arrived at about 10:15 PM at our hotel in Jacksonville. A pretty uneventful day.
Low Points
Other annoying drivers going 85mph in a 65mph zone, flashing their lights to make you move over.
High Points
Watching said annoying drive say hello to the North Carolina State Patrol. That was a nice touch.
