We're Disney Bound

travel journal is moving... you can find us here - http://originaldorktwins.blogspot.com/


I already miss this journal, though.... I love the layout... gotta find something similar.

We never finished the last trip's reports. Oh well. It doesn't matter! WE'RE GOING AGAIN!

It will be a road trip! I will fly down from Anchorage to Missoula, MT and we will road trip it from there. It should take us about three days (two nights) on the road before we reach Disney. We will be staying at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort the FULL TIME. And it's possible we may end up with free dining (if they historical info holds true!)

We will be on our trip from August 19-September 5 (for me it's really Aug. 18-Sept. 6).

We're also thinking of moving our journal somewhere else... we'll keep you updated.

I need to find a weatherman and complain because it is COLD here in Florida. The day time is great, the morning and evening though is KILLER. I nearly froze last night waiting for Illuminations (EPCOT's evening spectacular). Oh well, we're still having a great time.

There were a few things I forgot to mention in our first update that Erin reminded me of. Unfortunately, she is asleep and I can't remember all of them, but Erin did want me to relay that a bird pooped in her purse. That's right not ON her purse IN her purse. It was a direct hit, man! The bird had great aim. I, of course, found it hysterical. She...well... not so much. lol! Dad's walkie talkie got the brunt of the assault, but everything's clean and Erin has quit gagging, so it's all good... I guess...

As you may recall in the last post we were off to Downtown Disney after getting SOAKED at the Animal Kingdom. We did some shopping but only got to about half of the shops - no biggie, we are going back on Monday - Erin had figured out what she was getting her kiddos and was on a mission. I bought a ton of scrapbook stuff - again - and we killed our feet. Got into Coronado around 10:30 and went to bed.

Slept in a bit - or at least tried - yesterday... until Erin ROLLED out of bed. Litterally. One minute I'm listening to her yelling in her sleep ("Toni... stop it!") and then I watched her roll over and fall off the bed! Onto the floor! Between the wall and the bed! Needless to say the sleeping stopped there and we both were laughing SO HARD! I got video. It was great.

So we got dressed and bummed around. We both decided on tanks and I put on shorts... yeah... the sun was out and the high was supposed to be decent. But I decided that I didn't want to pack my clothes around the park all day so that came to bite me in the butt last night!

We both ended up with sun burns (very mild) but it was just a GORGEOUS DAY! We toured around the World Showcase, though the last few we just walked through because Erin *had* to get her passport filled. *rolleyes* nevermind we're going to go at least two more times but whatever.

Anyway we started off going around counterclockwise. That put us in Canada first and we toured around there, took a ton of pictures (which I am going to upload soon!), and then headed off to the UK. We actually made it all the way over to Morrocco before having to come back and check in for our lunch. In France we saw the sign for character greetings and who would it be but SLEEPING BEAUTY! Well, of course I got excited and we made that our top priority after eating...

So, we got to Le Cellier and checked in and didn't have too long of a wait, which was great because we were HUN-GRY! Sat down and I already knew what I want. We sat next to this really nice older couple and it was his REAL birthday so they told us happy bday (we all had bday buttons) and we just started talking. The minute you say Alaska or Montana for some reason everyone gets surprised that you're there. It's like - yes they let us out of the area. Really!

They asked us about Sarah Palin and we gushed about her - does anyone dislike this woman? I mean, really! It's funny how she becomes one of the first topics now, forget daylight questions or snow/temps... it's all about Sarah.

Anyway I ordered a Shaved Prime Rib sandwhich, and Erin had the Grilled Chicken sandwich with a side of baked mac and cheese. I had a couple of bites and it was tasty to me. My sandwich was very very good... and we were both very very full so we didn't finish. Ken = the birthday guy sitting next to us = got dessert for his bday and it was a chocolate "moose" it was really cute and Erin fell in love with it but didn't think she could eat one so Ken let her pose with his dessert! They were AWESOME!

After lunch we waddled around the world for a bit... took pictures with Sleeping Beauty, Belle & The Beast (or as Erin kept saying "Belle & the Beauty" LOL), and the Genie. Next time we'll get the Mickey characters and Snow White & Dopey, and Mulan & Mushu!

We also watched several of the street performers, and that was cool. The Jamminators are like Disney's small version of "STOMP!" and they were entertaining and a great way to kick off the day... then when we were in UK we got to watch a three man (plus audience members) reenactment of King Arthur and the Holy Grail. Very good, and very funny. We also saw a group perform Romeo and Edna in Italy, but we just caugt the tail end of that one.

We made it to Mexico THREE HOURS before the fireworks and sat down to save a seat for Illuminations. And we sat and froze. Met another nice older couple (they were from Illinois) and we chatted most of that time. They also gushed about Sarah Palin and so it was all good. ha ha!

While waiting for the pyro show to start we kept watching the guys in the boats driving around and everytime we'd see them come by we'd cheer for them. Needless to say I have no voice this morning. I sound like mom did after Big Thunder Mt. Railroad! haha!

We ended up sitting with the couple just because people kept standing in front of us and they were worried we wouldn't get good pictures so we hopped over and we all complained about how cold it was and that the wind was cruel lol... and that time ticks by way too slowly (But that's really a good thing because I don't want this vacation to go by that quickly, ya know? and it really hasn't... so far)

Anywho today we're headed for Disney's Hollywood Studio's (formerly known as Disney-MGM Studios) and we're going to spend all day there and we are going to find Maleficent. We have to!

Oh and my awesome best friend who got me to ride Space Mountain for on the second time in my life (And final time!) bought me a wicked cool light up Princess Aurora toy last night (because we couldn't find it at the Magic Kingdom) for being so good on the ride. ha ha! I love it! Erin ended up getting one of Minnie Mouse. They're cool because their skirts light up and spin. Wheeeeeeeee!!!!!


Alright. Erin needs the computer for work stuff so I'm going to jump in the shower.

Edit 1 - here are the links to the albums on facebook
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=95418&l=276d7&id=733500663
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=95821&l=7d374&id=733500663

After issues with the internet - my laptop is just pathetic - we're online!

We got into Orlando withtout mishap right on time. Got to DME and spent a bit of time in line and the bus but nothing horrible like the 'horror stories' by unhappy guests I've read online. Personally I think there are people who just think Disney should drop everything the treat them above others. This has been incredibly evident the last two days and while it's not ruining the magic too much for us it's certainly annoying. Everyone paid the price of admission, so suck it up princess.

Sad thing is - it's never the kids, it is the PARENT(s) that are whiney and beggy and pouty. Go figure.


Anyway we got into Coronado Springs about the time I figured we would. Played phone tag with the rents and judy while on the bus, and then we checked in. I love that there were NO LINES at check in. Met a really nice CM named Austin who checked us in. By this point ERin and I were pretty slap happy, and anyone that knows Erin knows what that means. I think she had him totally flustered because he kept forgetting what he was doing and half of the information was not talked out. That and Erin has people thinking I know everything about the parks/resort - which I don't! LOL

Anyway I asked for a bday button and then Erin asked if she could have one too... so she's stealing my thunder this week. She keeps lying and saying her bday is the 17th... she never says JANUARY = but it is implied. The bad girl. Still, she loves the attention, so it's good, I guess. Ha ha!

Anyway we were given a room in the Cabanas, not my first choice, but I'll take it. So far it's worked out pretty well. We went to the hotel room and flopped our stuff down, deplaned, and then headed over to the Pepper Market for some dinner. Grabbed some food and then sat down by the lake to eat. Then we walked around the resort so that Erin could get aquainted with the place and we could calm down. It did the trick and we came back to teh room. We unpacked and set up our room so that it looked spiffy.

Sleep came easily and we'd planned to get up at 8am so that Erin could get to her pedicure by 9, but we both popped up at 7:30. Erin was SO STOKED for not just her pedi but for Chef Mickey's. We haven't really been hit by by the jet lag bug, yet. Which is a good thing.

Erin went out to her pedi and had a great time. She got a chocolate mud put on her feet and then after all of that had her toenails painted purple. No Mickey ears, but her toes look fab. I met her over there about an hour later, and as she was finishing up I chatted with the lady doing the pedi. She found out I was from Alaska and asked how Sarah [Palin] was doing and we all gushed about the wonderful Governor! It's been so cool, I've run into so many people who are in LOVE with my Governor. EAT THAT MSM (...and John McCain)!

Anyway after that we both realized we forgot half of what we needed to we hoofed it back to the room, got stuff (and then went back again because I forgot something else) and then headed to our bus stop (Stop 4) and caught the bus to the Magic Kingdom. From there we took the Monorail and got to Chef Mickey's in plenty of time (though we thought we'd be late!), Erin was......... spazzing. And when I say that I'm not talking the norm. I'm talking Erin like I have NEVER experienced. It's no wonder her dad just laughed whenever we talked about going to Disney. He knew I had no idea what I was getting into!

Erin brought her Chef Mickey hat and wore it and basically was on cloud nine. She was like the five year old kids running around. Before we got seated we got to watch some of the action, and then Mickey went to take a small break and I told Erin that he wasn't coming back and she did a double take. Her facial expression was PRICE.LESS!

We were seated and then the magic just kept coming. Not only did the characters have fantastic interaction, Erin bounced, but we had a view of the Magic Kingdom. Top it off with the fact that we were both given bday cupcakes and it was just the perfect way to start the trip.

After that we headed to teh Magic Kingdom and didn't touch a single fastpass. I LOVE coming in the off season. We did a lot zooming from attraction to attraction but it was good. Rode Thunder Mt., pouted a tad about Splash Mt., said hi to Captain Jack. It was good times. WE got our pics taken with several characters and all in all it was enjoyable.

Our first attraction, though, upon entering was none other than......... FIRST AID! Erin forgot her ankle brace in Montana and so she went in there and got an ace bandage. So far, though, no other injuries! KNOCK ON WOOD!

We watched SpectroMagic across from the Sleepy Hollow snack shop. Then we got our sillouettes done - they are awesome! - and watched Wishes from there for a bit, but you couldn't see much so we made our way over to the hub and got some semi decent views. We'll park our keesters in a better spot next time.

Came home, I uploaded our photos onto facebook (have a few more to add) and then got our photopass stuff all figured out as well. If I can figure out how to put a link to our photopass photos I will because they are awesome. Erin is hysterical. I am so boring next to her.

Anyway we stayed up way too late and 7am came way too early (ok so *I* stayed up late. Erin was smarter than me - for once!) and we ended up being late to Donald's but not too bad. Had a great meal - food was way better than at Chef Mickey's and we had the GREATEST SERVER in all of WDW. Luis was so much fun! He's like the Spanish male version of Erin so they hit it off REALLY WELL. It was hysterical watching them interact.

After that we hit the parks. I kid you not - everything was pretty much just step on the flipping ride. We didn't wait more than 10 minutes for a ride or attraction. I tackled Everest again, and got dizzy... again. But then Erin went on it again by herself. It's her new favorite ride!

We also went a little character happy. Yay for photopass! I'm looking at them now. Erin's photos are so much better than mine it isn't fair!

The rain started to pour soon after we entered Bug's Life so we headed over to camp Minnie Mickey, got our photos and gave up. Got to the resort around four, soaked to the bone but happy. We've cleaned up and we're going to head to Downtown Disney in a bit. I gotta clean up my desktop first and upload pics.



oh and I almost forgot. When we exited Magic Kingdom last night Erin got on the phone with her dad and we were talking to him and I wasn't paying attention and I ran head on into those posts that are there as you exit. I pulled and Erin. She, of course, laughed incredibly hard and yeah.. so did her dad. The pootards!

ok I better get off before Erin gets mad at me.

Edit 1 - here's the photopass link = http://www.disneyphotopass.com/photoshareviewer.aspx?share=382b03ed-a3ce-4430-a237-8db91bcac4f5

In 12 hours we make our way to our respective airports to begin our journey! We're so stinking excited!

Good evening! WE HAVE TWO DAYS LEFT in the countdown! Insanity! If you go back to when this journal was opened the countdown was triple digits and almost a year back... wow.

January 21st not only marks our last full day at Disney, it's also my 24th birthday. Erin was going to surprise me with a bday cake, but needed the confirm number to order it, so ha ha I got to find out early.

Day Ten: Magic Kingdom Day 3
07:30a - Wake Up
08:15a - Catch Bus for the Magic Kingdom
09:00a - Watch Park Opening
09:30a - Breakfast @ Sleepy Hollow
10:00a - tour park, BTMRR & SPLASH!
11:30a - Lunch @ The Crystal Palace w/ Pooh & Friends and BDAY CAKE!
12:30p - Tour some more...
05:30p - Dinner @ Cosmic Ray's ?
08:00p - Wishes from the Train Station on Main Street
08:20p - Catch the Bus to the Boardwalk
09:00p - Illuminations from the International Gateway
10:00p - Final packing, bed. cry ourselves to sleep.

Good morning people who have nothing better to do than read our journal! You must be as bored - if not more so - than I am! For that I am sorry!

Today marks THREE DAYS till we're on a plane headed for Orlando. As of this moment our plane in Seattle would be ready to taxi out to the runway... we'd still have six plus hours before landing and getting that first bit of Disney Magic by meeting up with the Magical Express. lol.

Day Nine: EPCOT Day 3
07:00a - Wake Up
08:15a - Head to EPCOT
09:00a - Watch Opening of Park
09:15a - Breakfast @ Sunshine Seasons
09:30a - Tour Future World
12:30p - Head for Germany
01:00a - Lunch @ The Biergarten
02:00p - Tour World Showcase
08:00p - Dinner @ Yakitori Counter Service
09:00p - Illuminations
10:00p - Pack. :'(

Saturday night cannot get here fast enough!

In order to have all the plans out by the time I have to have this laptop packed up and ready to go I have to double up on a day. No problem there, right? I may pull out my laptop if I get bored waiting to board my plane at Ted Stevens International (and I pray that it always stays Ted Stevens' International... I'm sure Begich has his eye on changing it and with Uncle Ted's conviction...) Sorry lost my head there for a minute.

Anywho, the 19th is also Martin Luther King Jr. Day and as such the parks will probably be packed all weekend, but I've decided that monday would be a good day to see stuff outside the parks. So it's our downtown disney mini golf do whatever else we want day. DHS has Extra Magic Evening Hours so we might pop over there for a bit, who knows. This is also the day we go from Disney's Coronado Springs Resort over to the value of The Pop Century Resort. It's only for the last three nights of our trip so I am not going to complain.

Day Eight: Take A Break Day!
08:00a - Check Out have luggage sent to Pop, say good bye to CSR *sniff*
08:30a - Catch bus for The Magic Kingdom
09:00a - Take Ferry to The Wilderness Lodge
10:00a - Breakfast @ The Whispering Canyon Cafe
11:15a - Head to Downtown Disney
11:45a - SHOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
02:30p - Catch Bus to the Beach Club
03:30p - Lunch @ Beaches N Cream
04:30p - Head over to Pop Century to Check In
05:30p - Hit Up Mini Golf @ either Fantasia Gardens or Winter/Summerland
07:30p - Debate going to other mini golf course, going to a park, or back to Pop.
09:00p - Lights out.

This is a very rough idea of what we'll do. Who knows what we'll end up really doing...

Now, onto the Resort Info...

Home Sweet Home: Pop Century
Resort: Disney's Pop Century
Phone #: 1-407-939-4000
Check In: January 19, 2009 around 4:30p
Departing: January 22, 2009 around 5:00a
Room Type: Standard
Location: We have requested the 1950s Buildings

Four days! Four days! Four days! Four days!

Wow, almost a week of plans gone already. Whatever little thing helps to move the hours along. The 18th marks the second Sunday I will be gone from my duties at ABT, and I have a feeling I'll be missing my girls something terrible, but I plan on sending several postcards to Mary to share with the girls... and hopefully I can find a little something for all of them...

Sunday also means our second EPCOT day... Considering the Magic Kingdom has the Extra Magic Evening Hours I figure we'll head over to that park for a bit - especially if Splash Mt. is open... Because riding Splash Mt. at night is a frigid experience in and of itself ;)


Day Seven: EPCOT Day 2
08:00a - Wake Up
09:00a - Breakfast @ Pepper Market
09:30a - Catch Bus
10:00a - Fastpass Soarin / Tour Future World / Character stalk
01:00p - Lunch @ The Electric Umbrella
01:30p - Continue touring.
06:30p - Head to Fort Wilderness (take ferry?)
08:00p - Dinner @ Trail's End
09:30p - Electrical Water Pagent
10:00p - Extra Magic Hours @ The Magic Kingdom
12:00p - Head for Coronado Springs

This will be the final night at the Coronado... and I will be sad.

Five days and counting! And, no. I'm not excited. Now I just wish it were over with...

HA!

This is the final day of the scheduled Splash Mountain rehab. I don't know if that means it will be open on the 17th or not. Either way, if it doesn't end on the 17th Erin is going to declare war on the Disney Imagineers! So, consider this the final warning! LOL

Anyway we're planning to go to the Magic Kingdom on Saturday... whether or not Splash is open. We'll do a lot of character stalking this day. we have an early dinner ADR, so it's gonna be a good day all around.


Day Six: Magic Kingdom Day 2
07:30a - Wake up & Get Ready
08:30a - Catch Bus for the Magic Kingdom
09:00a - Watch Park Opening Ceremony
09:10a - Breakfast @ the Main Street Bakery
10:00a - Toontown Fair for Character Stalking
12:00p - Lunch @ Cosmic Ray's
12:30p - Tour Fantasyland & The Hub
02:30p - Shopping on Main Street
04:50p - Dinner @ The Plaza
05:45p - Head for Adventure & Frontierlands
06:00p - Jungle Cruise in THE DARK
07:00p - Spectromagic
08:00p - Time the ride of Big Thunder Mountain to go while the fireworks go off at 9:00p
09:00p - WISHES!
10:30p - Bed

:)

Good morning, we are at day six in the countdown, and thankfully the day is not going by painfully slow... it's just slow. I have a job interview later this morning and then I'm going to be a cooking machine...

Anyway to continue our travel plans day five puts us back at Disney's Animal Kingdom. This is a clean up day of sorts and there are no ADRs to keep so it's a wide open day. We can always park hop if we desire considering the park closes early and depending on how the crowds are the first day as well as this day we might get it all done and be bored. Who knows! Anything is possible!

Day Five: Animal Kingdom Day 2
07:45a - Wake Up
08:30a - catch bus to DAK
09:00a - Park Opens / Watch the Opening Show
09:30a - Breakfast @ Kusafari Coffee Shop
10:00a - Character Stalking / Head for Camp Minnie-Mickey
01:00p - Yak & Yeti Counter Service
01:30p - Continue touring / hitting favorite rides / Character stalking
03:00p - Parade (if we want to watch again)
05:00p - Park Closes (Head to EPCOT? MK? DHS?... Mini Golf?)

Dinner will most likely be the Pepper Market, and I have no problems with that! :) I also like that this day is flexible... gives us more options, eh!

Good evening! We have ONE WEEK till Disney! And I almost missed posting about it! *GASP* I know! How awful! How could you stand it?!

Anyway our fourth day will be spent at Disney's Hollywood Studios. This is my least favorite park because I find it horribly disorganized, which makes it feel VERY CROWDED... It just doesn't seem to move people through things the same way. This could possibly be because most of DHS is shows... so you're waiting for shows to start or end or whatever. But anyways. This is where FANTASMIC lives, which is all that really matters. Well, that, and the fact that we're having our "Birthday Lunch" at the Brown Derby. Yum! I can't wait.

Day Four: Disney's Hollywood Studios
08:30a - Wake Up
09:00a - Breakfast @ The Pepper Market
09:20a - Catch Bus for DHS
10:00a - Grab fastpass for Toy Story Mania / Tour Park based on show times (ie - plan this day the night before)
01:00p - Lunch @ The Hollywood Brown Derby
02:00p - Continue touring.
03:00p - Pixar Block Party Bash (Parade)
03:30p - Continue touring
05:00p - Passporter MeetUp @ Animation Courtyard
05:45p - Dinner to Go from Pizza Planet!
06:00p - Make way over to Fantasmic!
07:00p - FANTASMIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
08:20p - Back at resort for POOL/Hot Tub time!


WAGON! We're so excited it isn't even funny!

Good Morning, we're at day 8 on our countdown. We've decided that the hours go by too slowly and if they don't speed up soon we're going to go insane. And not our regular kind of insane. So you've been warned. Hopefully when we get out and about and do things this coming week it won't go as slow. We'll see.

Jan. 14 marks our first day at EPCOT. To me this park is incredibly spread out and feels to be the largest of the parks even though Disney's Animal Kingdom has the most square footage. Disney must agree with me some what because the park is broken up into two sections "Future World" which surrounds Spaceship Earth (aka The Giant Golf Ball) and "World Showcase" which hosts 10 countries around the man made lagoon. World Showcase opens an hour to two hours after Future World. I enjoy the World Showcase far more than Future World. For one, it's more spread out so it doesn't feel as crowded, and two World Showcase is so much fun to photograph.

There are many character meets in both sections and so we'll get in some quality character stalking. Erin wants to meet Mushu so we'll be hanging around China quite a bit, I'm sure.

Alright, here's the plan for Wednesday.

Day Three: EPCOT Day 1
08:00a - Wake up & Shower
09:00a - Breakfast @ the Pepper Market
10:00a - Catch Bus for EPCOT
11:00a - World Showcase Opens, tour right to left.
01:05p - Lunch @ Le Cellier
02:00p - continue touring World Showcase
Since there aren't as many rides/attractions we'll just take it easy.
07:45p - Dinner @ Cantina De San Angel stake out spot by lake for pyro
09:00p - Illuminations!
09:20p - Take long way around the lake let crowds thin out at buses.
10:00p - Bed, make sure to plan out DHS showtimes.

Alright, I gotta get off this bad boy and continue packing... I have a check list now so I can be better prepared... and I still have to figure out how to organize my carryon. *sigh*

Good morning and happy single digits to the Dork Twins! We are now at nine days and the hours are SLOWLY ticking by. Which is a very cruel form of torture that Father Time has put upon us. But, if this is how all of January will be I won't complain because that means our trip won't just blow by.

Anyway, our second day has been pretty set from day one. We'll be at the Animal Kingdom, we're going to eat with Donald, we're gonna just have fun. This park is always warmer, to me, than the other three so I'm planning on shorts and a tank, at least after the sun pops up... Actually I'm planning that for the whole trip, but yeah...

Day Two: Disney's Animal Kingdom
07:00a - Wake Up, get ready.
08:00a - Catch bus NO LATER than this, if possible catch an earlier bus.
08:30a - Donald's Safari Breakfast @ the Tusker House
09:00a - Park Opens / Hit Killamanjarro Safari first thing.
09:30a - Fast Pass Expedition Everest, tour Asia
11:00a - Tour Dinoland / Fastpass Dinosaur
01:00p - Lunch @ Flame Tree BBQ
01:30p - Tour Discovery Island
02:45p - Head over to Africa and find a spot for the Parade
03:00p - Mickey's Jungle Jammin Parade
03:30p - Finish touring Africa
04:15p - Head for Camp Minnie-Mickey, catch Festival of the Lion King
05:00p - Park Closes to non-resort guests / Extra Magic Evening Hours
07:30p - Head back to resort. Pool Time!
10:00p - Lights Out!

This is the day that has been worked and reworked five bazillion times. Originally we were scheduled to be getting into Orlando early the morning of the 12th. We planned to stay at the Pop Century and since check in there isn't until 4 we planned to get our keys to the kingdom and head over to the Magic Kingdom.

That changed when Alaska Air dropped its second flight from Seattle to ORlando way back in, what, September? So, we booked new tickets to leave a full day earlier. Not that we're complaining or anything.

Then we've changed what we'd do in the morning several times. And you can go back and read all about it in past entries. But this is set in stone. I refuse to call down one more time for any reason about this stupid day. ha ha. I will be calling Monday or Tuesday to confirm everything and make sure everything is to our liking. But I trust Disney to have it all squared away because I have all of my confirm numbers and if they screw that up it's their fault and they'll have to find a way to fix it or I will be incredibly upset. lol.

Anywho.

Day One: Magic Kingdom 1
Some times are approx. and technically the touring can change, but certain things have been booked, so we have to work around that.

08:00a - Wake up. Erin gets first shower if she so desires.
09:00a - Erin's Pedicure @ Casa De Belleza Salon / Toni will be a bum
10:00a - Head for Disney's Magic Kingdom.
10:30a - Make our way over to Frontierland.
10:40a - Grab Fast Pass for Big Thunder Mt. Railroad.
10:45a - Make our way over to the Contemporary Resort (aka take a 10 min walk).
11:10a - Brunch at Chef Mickey's (Jan 12 is Erin's Day apparently lol).
12:00p - Take Monorail back to Magic Kingdom & Re-enter park.
12:15p - Tour the Adventure and Frontierlands - If Fastpass is up go on Big Thunder.
02:00p - Tour Liberty Square & Possibly Tom Sawyer's Island.
03:00p - Dreams Come True Parade.
03:30p - Finish touring that section.
04:00p - Columbia Harbour House for late Lunch/Early Dinner.
04:30p - Fantasyland (Make sure to hit Mickey's Philharmagic).
06:00p - Head for Casey's Corner for a pick me up and then stake out a spot for Spectro Magic & Wishes.
07:00p - SpectroMagic!
08:00p - Wishes!
08:30p - Head for buses.
09:30p - Set wake-up call for 7am. Take quick showers?

Touring of certain sections make be a little off as far as how long it takes. But we have to go to Fantasyland to at least see Mickey's Philharmagic as it goes in for rehab (hee hee) after that. Splash Mountain and Dream Along with Mickey are both closed, so touring in those areas will be shorter than normal. I think anyway.

So with ten days to go I figured our plans are all pretty much set in stone, so this is our general reference. Hello to all of our 'new readers'. You are either very bored or... well... bored... if you're reading. ha ha. But we... or rather I... figured this would be the easiest way to keep everyone up to date on our travels once we are gone. We plan to log in at least once a day to let you know what we're doing, but as you can imagine, Disney internet is not so cheap, so we may not make it on as much as we want. We'll see.

Anyway... enough rambling.

Travel Info
Airline: Alaska Air
Toni - Anchorage to Seattle: Alaska Air Flight 96 Depart Jan. 11 @ 2:30a // Arrive @ 6:48a
Erin - Missoula to Seattle: Horizon Air Flight 2347 Depart Jan. 11 @ ???a // Arrive @ 7:35a
Both - Seattle to Orlando: Alaska Air Flight 18 Depart Jan.11 @ 8:45a // Arrive @ 5:00p

I get into Seattle before Erin, so I'll find her gate and prepare myself to kick her butt when she lands and exits the aircraft... because I can. :) We'll grab some food and eat on our way to our gate and off we'll go.

Once we arrive at MCO (Orlando International) we have to get to Disney's Magical Express. It's located on side B of the first level of the airport. I suspect we'll get to DME about 5:20p if all goes well and depart by 5:40p. I Suspect we'll be at the Coronado to get checked in by 6:40p. Then check in...

Home Sweet Home
We are planning a split stay, but seeing as how we don't go to our second hotel for 8 days I will leave that info for another post.
Resort: Disney's Coronado Springs
Phone #: 1-407-939-1000
Arrival: January 11, 2009 around 6:40p
Depart: January 19, 2009
Room Type: Standard Water View
Location: We've requested the Casitas

Plans for our first night is to get in, get checked in, get settled. And then feed ourselves at the Pepper Market. And just chill. We may or may not tour around the beautiful grounds... I wouldn't mind a dip in the hot tub because I know we'll be SORE from sitting on those uncomfy airplane seats for however long... plus my butt will be sore from sitting in the airport.

Erin also has to shoot footage and take pictures of me giving serious love to the resort. I plan to hug the dang thing when we get there. I am a dork. If you're just now realizing this you do not know me at all.

Next post will be our revised touring plans for the parks... again, broken up by day.

We're flipping TEN DAYS AWAY from our trip! 2008 ZOOMED by I can remember when the countdown was still in the 300s!

On my way to where the AIR IS SWEET!

Man, I miss the old Sesame Street!

Anyway - for reference later this week I'm sharing the link to weather.com to see what we'll be expecting for our trip. I pray that it's all sun and warmth while we're there. No rain!

http://www.weather.com/weather/monthly/USFL0372?month=1

so far nothing for when we get there, but I like the looks of those temps!

So this is Erin. Dork twin number 2. So I had a funky dream last night basically we played marco polo on different rides and we were swimming in the jungle cruise and then mickey started playing with us but his voice sounded like my dad and it was weird. but 11 DAYS!!!!!

my Disney World obsession has taken a whole new level of pathetic. I'm watching TV last night and one of those DTV ads came on reminding us we have only so much time before TV goes digital and analog tvs will be obsolete (except for Alaska where the transmitters still broadcast in analog so we're exempt) and the guy that's doing these "interviews" with people is none other than lazy/recreation man Dave from the Happiest Celebration on Earth Travel DVD and CD Rom freebie that WDW sent out when you inquired about a vacation.

It also happens to be my FAVORITE planning DVD. So I got all fan girly! haha.

so, yes, I recognize I have a massive problem lol