A Disney-Addicted mom plans an August, 2013 Autotrain Trip for 7! *Big Update! 11/19*

[klacey1]

Ohhhh, I want to see lots of pictures from the villa at GF! I love that Orlando hosts so many conferences! That'll be a fun mini-trip!

 

[DrMomof3]

I'm green with envy Amanda
Lucky you

I'm pretty excited!

That is so great!! What a nice getaway. Take advantage of the DVC. That's how I feel w/ the condo. I am going as often as I can!
I love the F & G festival too

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I'm pretty sure we're skipping our August trip in 2014 so we can visit my brother's house in France. We need to use the points anyway, right?

Ohhhh, I want to see lots of pictures from the villa at GF! I love that Orlando hosts so many conferences! That'll be a fun mini-trip!

I actually prefer conferences in places like San Francisco and San Diego where you can eat in great restaurants which are so close to the convention center. The problem with Orlando is that the convention center is just far enough from the theme parks to be difficult. I think this is a good compromise to go a little early and enjoy Epcot for a few days.

Amanda

 

[DrMomof3]

We leave NY and get on the Autotrain to Florida!
So maybe it's time to start working on an itinerary...

Sunday, August 25th
Arrive in Sanford, Florida
Wait for car to unload from train (paid extra for early off-loading!)
Drive to Disney
Check into Boardwalk Villas (note to self: pack bathing suits and sunscreen in a separate bag in case our room isn't ready when we arrive)
Change into bathing suits and go swimming
Lunch at pool
Once room is ready, unpack and change into regular clothes
Head to Downtown Disney for shopping and bowling at Splittsville

Monday, August 26th
Morning EMH at Animal Kingdom
Must-do's:
Expedition Everest (except Zachary)
Kali River Rapids
Safari
Festival of the Lion King

Optional:
Pizzafari (Nathaniel's request)
It's Tough to be a Bug (Jessica and Nathaniel love this)
Dinosaur (Tom hates it but I've never ridden)
Primeval Whirl (we've never ridden it)
Nemo
Flights of Wonder
Wilderness Explorers game (I don't know enough about it. Need to research!)

Amanda

 

[klacey1]

That is true! The Orlando convention center is in an awful location! I loved that my conference was at the Dolphin with great restaurants and beautiful grounds!

I like Dinosaur! You should definitely give it a try!

 

[ddluvsdisney]

We leave NY and get on the Autotrain to Florida!
So maybe it's time to start working on an itinerary...

Sunday, August 25th
Arrive in Sanford, Florida
Wait for car to unload from train (paid extra for early off-loading!)
Drive to Disney
Check into Boardwalk Villas (note to self: pack bathing suits and sunscreen in a separate bag in case our room isn't ready when we arrive)
Change into bathing suits and go swimming
Lunch at pool
Once room is ready, unpack and change into regular clothes
Head to Downtown Disney for shopping and bowling at Splittsville

Monday, August 26th
Morning EMH at Animal Kingdom
Must-do's:
Expedition Everest (except Zachary)
Kali River Rapids
Safari
Festival of the Lion King

Optional:
Pizzafari (Nathaniel's request)
It's Tough to be a Bug (Jessica and Nathaniel love this)
Dinosaur (Tom hates it but I've never ridden)
Primeval Whirl (we've never ridden it)
Nemo
Flights of Wonder
Wilderness Explorers game (I don't know enough about it. Need to research!)

Amanda

Sanford is just one town away from my condo!
We are in Lake Mary. I'd say wave as you drive by but we won't be there until the 29th.

I did Dinosaur again for the first time since 2005. It was better than I remember just very jerky.

EE is the only thing my DH wants to go to AK for. We LOVE that ride!!

I have become a FoW fan. It cracks me up!! Lol

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[333disneymom]

So here's the fun part about being a DVC member... Tom and I are going to a medical conference in Orlando in May. It's right at the end of Flower and Garden Festival (which I LOVE!). So guess who just booked 2 nights in a studio at the Grand Floridian? Yup! We're going to go a little bit early and enjoy our membership!!! Hopefully they'll have the food and wine booths again in 2014 like they did this year. I was so sad that we missed it in 2013.

Amanda

How exciting! Can't wait to hear about it. I booked us one night at the start of our December trip at the Grand Floridian (non-owner). I really want to keep it, as I think the GFV will be hard to book as more people buy. But my husband is not liking moving location for just one night. Post lots of pics.

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[cogero]

We leave NY and get on the Autotrain to Florida!
So maybe it's time to start working on an itinerary...

Sunday, August 25th
Arrive in Sanford, Florida
Wait for car to unload from train (paid extra for early off-loading!)
Drive to Disney
Check into Boardwalk Villas (note to self: pack bathing suits and sunscreen in a separate bag in case our room isn't ready when we arrive)
Change into bathing suits and go swimming
Lunch at pool
Once room is ready, unpack and change into regular clothes
Head to Downtown Disney for shopping and bowling at Splittsville

Monday, August 26th
Morning EMH at Animal Kingdom
Must-do's:
Expedition Everest (except Zachary)
Kali River Rapids
Safari
Festival of the Lion King

Optional:
Pizzafari (Nathaniel's request)
It's Tough to be a Bug (Jessica and Nathaniel love this)
Dinosaur (Tom hates it but I've never ridden)
Primeval Whirl (we've never ridden it)
Nemo
Flights of Wonder
Wilderness Explorers game (I don't know enough about it. Need to research!)

Amanda

You have much more planned than we do. I am at we have flights. Hopefully the kids will have customs and I can find some clothing that fits LOL

 

[DrMomof3]

That is true! The Orlando convention center is in an awful location! I loved that my conference was at the Dolphin with great restaurants and beautiful grounds!

I like Dinosaur! You should definitely give it a try!

I think I'll like Dinosaur, too.
I'd love a conference at the Dolphin but this is a HUGE medical conference.

Sanford is just one town away from my condo!
We are in Lake Mary. I'd say wave as you drive by but we won't be there until the 29th.

I did Dinosaur again for the first time since 2005. It was better than I remember just very jerky.

EE is the only thing my DH wants to go to AK for. We LOVE that ride!!

I have become a FoW fan. It cracks me up!! Lol

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I'll wave anyway!
We like EE, too. We also really to FotLK show. I know that people say you can spend a full day at AK but that's never been our experience.

How exciting! Can't wait to hear about it. I booked us one night at the start of our December trip at the Grand Floridian (non-owner). I really want to keep it, as I think the GFV will be hard to book as more people buy. But my husband is not liking moving location for just one night. Post lots of pics.

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I can see both sides of that. Over Memorial Day we stayed in 3 hotels over 4 nights. It was annoying to have to live out of suitcases and pack up every day. If I did one night at GF and the rest elsewhere, I'd just pack a separate bag for the first night...

You have much more planned than we do. I am at we have flights. Hopefully the kids will have customs and I can find some clothing that fits LOL

But my kids have opinions! Strong opinions! So I needed to get a good idea of what's really important to them.

Amanda

 

[natebenma]

So here's the fun part about being a DVC member... Tom and I are going to a medical conference in Orlando in May. It's right at the end of Flower and Garden Festival (which I LOVE!). So guess who just booked 2 nights in a studio at the Grand Floridian? Yup! We're going to go a little bit early and enjoy our membership!!! Hopefully they'll have the food and wine booths again in 2014 like they did this year. I was so sad that we missed it in 2013.

Amanda

We leave NY and get on the Autotrain to Florida!
So maybe it's time to start working on an itinerary...

Sunday, August 25th
Arrive in Sanford, Florida
Wait for car to unload from train (paid extra for early off-loading!)
Drive to Disney
Check into Boardwalk Villas (note to self: pack bathing suits and sunscreen in a separate bag in case our room isn't ready when we arrive)
Change into bathing suits and go swimming
Lunch at pool
Once room is ready, unpack and change into regular clothes
Head to Downtown Disney for shopping and bowling at Splittsville

Monday, August 26th
Morning EMH at Animal Kingdom
Must-do's:
Expedition Everest (except Zachary)
Kali River Rapids
Safari
Festival of the Lion King

Optional:
Pizzafari (Nathaniel's request)
It's Tough to be a Bug (Jessica and Nathaniel love this)
Dinosaur (Tom hates it but I've never ridden)
Primeval Whirl (we've never ridden it)
Nemo
Flights of Wonder
Wilderness Explorers game (I don't know enough about it. Need to research!)

Amanda

Love your plans! We found we were able to get a lot done during AK EMH.

We love Dinosaur. It is dark, fast and loud. Does that bother anyone in your crew?

Primeval Whirl is a lot of fun- I am always nervous that since it spins it will make me sick- I can do roller coasters, I can do upside down, can't do the tea cups! But I have been fine.

Lines can get long there- I think it is a slow loader with small capacity on the ride.

I so want to see Flights of Wonder- but my show-averse family always votes me down!

 

[DrMomof3]

Love your plans! We found we were able to get a lot done during AK EMH.

We love Dinosaur. It is dark, fast and loud. Does that bother anyone in your crew?

Primeval Whirl is a lot of fun- I am always nervous that since it spins it will make me sick- I can do roller coasters, I can do upside down, can't do the tea cups! But I have been fine.

Lines can get long there- I think it is a slow loader with small capacity on the ride.

I so want to see Flights of Wonder- but my show-averse family always votes me down!

Tom hated Dinosaur when he took Jessica and Nathaniel on it (maybe 2 years ago?). Zachary wasn't tall enough so he and I hung out (it's a longer story than that - Zachary had a poop explosion and had already used his back-up clothing and I was frantically searching for a pair of shorts to buy. Apparently it is impossible to buy shorts at AK. So he hung out in a diaper and t-shirt for the rest of the day and we called him "white-trash baby." )
I think Jessica and Nathaniel would probably be fine with it now and Zachary would probably hate it (he hates thrill rides still).
Tom gets sick on the tea cups so he always takes lots of pictures of us spinning. Good to know that he could probably go on Primeval Whirl. It looks like something I would really like...

Amanda

 

[ddluvsdisney]

I so want to see Flights of Wonder- but my show-averse family always votes me down!

Dee~ my family was very skeptical as well. We saw it for the first time last year and they really liked it. Even the teenager was laughing. It's hysterical!!
Not what we expected. Lol
Without giving to much away- you will never look at tour groups the same again.

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[ddluvsdisney]

Dinosaur was not my favorite, but I'm better with it now.

We even got DS16 on it this time. He was a little afraid of this his first time and never went on again. I don't think he's been on since he was 7.

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[DrMomof3]

Dee~ my family was very skeptical as well. We saw it for the first time last year and they really liked it. Even the teenager was laughing. It's hysterical!!
Not what we expected. Lol
Without giving to much away- you will never look at tour groups the same again.

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Good to know!

Dinosaur was not my favorite, but I'm better with it now.

We even got DS16 on it this time. He was a little afraid of this his first time and never went on again. I don't think he's been on since he was 7.

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That's a long hiatus!

Amanda

 

[DrMomof3]

So I just spent 15 minutes adding items to my cart at Garden Grocer.... only to have my husband comment that the prices are ridiculously high and we should just stop at Publix and buy groceries... May I kill him now???? I think it'll just be better to go to the store. And we can even return and stock up again if we need.... The advantage of having YOUR OWN CAR!
I'm leaning towards getting an Owner's Locker. I think we would actually benefit. And I wouldn't have to bring rain ponchos back and forth any more.

Amanda

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

So I just spent 15 minutes adding items to my cart at Garden Grocer.... only to have my husband comment that the prices are ridiculously high and we should just stop at Publix and buy groceries... May I kill him now???? I think it'll just be better to go to the store. And we can even return and stock up again if we need.... The advantage of having YOUR OWN CAR!
I'm leaning towards getting an Owner's Locker. I think we would actually benefit. And I wouldn't have to bring rain ponchos back and forth any more.

Amanda

Don't you just love it when husbands get involved!!!!!

 

[DrMomof3]

Don't you just love it when husbands get involved!!!!!

The annoying part is that I just wanted to go to the grocery store in the first place. It was HIS idea to order....

Amanda

 

[DrMomof3]

I've been woefully neglectful of my PTR as my trip rapidly approaches. It's definitely been one of those "No vacation goes unpunished" situations at work. I've been on-call A LOT and it's been super busy. One more week. One more week. One more week....

A few updates.
Bluezoo emailed me last week to let me know that they had to cancel our dining reservation for Tuesday night because of a private function. I sent back a rather pointed email explaining that we had made all of our dining reservations 6 months ago and I found it frustrating and disappointing that 12 days before our schedule meal, I had to scramble and find an alternative. I haven't heard back from the yet. I did re-schedule us for dinner at Yachtsman that night. Bluezoo was Jessica's choice so she and I looked at menus this morning and that's what she chose (she wanted "fish of the day" and a Mickey puzzle for dessert). Tom just wanted walking distance from the Boardwalk as his only request.
I need to get some packing done. We need to pack light as we have 7 people traveling in a mini-van for 4.5 hours to get to the auto train. I need one small overnight bag for our auto train night (maybe 2 bags - one for the boys and one for the girls). I will buy most of the toiletries at Publix and then get an Owner's Locker so we can keep our Disney stuff in Florida.
I also made a lunch reservation at 50's Prime Time for Friday - our DHS day. The kids love that place and I'm happy to eat lunch there. Hopefully it won't conflict with any FP return times or JTA (which the kids have now decided that they *must* do).
Overall I think we're pretty much ready to go...

Amanda

 

[ddluvsdisney]

I've been woefully neglectful of my PTR as my trip rapidly approaches. It's definitely been one of those "No vacation goes unpunished" situations at work. I've been on-call A LOT and it's been super busy. One more week. One more week. One more week....

A few updates.
Bluezoo emailed me last week to let me know that they had to cancel our dining reservation for Tuesday night because of a private function. I sent back a rather pointed email explaining that we had made all of our dining reservations 6 months ago and I found it frustrating and disappointing that 12 days before our schedule meal, I had to scramble and find an alternative. I haven't heard back from the yet. I did re-schedule us for dinner at Yachtsman that night. Bluezoo was Jessica's choice so she and I looked at menus this morning and that's what she chose (she wanted "fish of the day" and a Mickey puzzle for dessert). Tom just wanted walking distance from the Boardwalk as his only request.
I need to get some packing done. We need to pack light as we have 7 people traveling in a mini-van for 4.5 hours to get to the auto train. I need one small overnight bag for our auto train night (maybe 2 bags - one for the boys and one for the girls). I will buy most of the toiletries at Publix and then get an Owner's Locker so we can keep our Disney stuff in Florida.
I also made a lunch reservation at 50's Prime Time for Friday - our DHS day. The kids love that place and I'm happy to eat lunch there. Hopefully it won't conflict with any FP return times or JTA (which the kids have now decided that they *must* do).
Overall I think we're pretty much ready to go...

Amanda

Wow one more week!!! Time really flies. That's to bad about bluezoo. That is very frustrating!
The Yachtsman sounds like a great alternative. Make sure you hang around the boardwalk that night for the performers. My kids absolutely love to do that and it's a must do each trip when we have dinner at FF.
My DS12 got picked to perform in one of the shows and he is usually shy. He loved it. Lol
The owners locker sounds like a great idea.
I'm leaving for my b-day trip in 12 days. I can't wait!!!! I got an ADR for Narcoossees for my b-day dinner.
Happy packing.

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[luvpoohandcompany]

Wow Amanda its getting really close now Bet you cant wait to be there! Pretty poor performance on Bluezoo's part! They should have at least come up with a few alternatives for you but I have to say I would be really annoyed by their treatment and it would definitely put me off booking with them in future!
Still on a happier note the Yachtsman is awesome!! Love it there! Yum wish I was there now

 

[klacey1]

You're so close now!!

That is extremely annoying about Bluezoo! I found the service at the Dolphin to be excellent, so hopefully someone answers your email soon!