Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina
Life is short. Live it well.
- Joined
- Sep 12, 2008
Hello everyone! 
to my latest trip report.
Some of you may have followed me over to this thread from the PTR for this vacation, which was located here on the Universal boards:
http://www.disboards.com/threads/october-2015-ptr-a-“halloweenie”-and-her-fearless-companion-conquer-their-first-hhn.3428838/
As annual passholders, this was supposed to be another Universal-only getaway…..until it morphed into something a little more diverse (our vacations tend to do that
…. I blame Groupon and the Disboards 
).
Other readers may know me from some of my former trip reports, the links for which can be found in my signature (feel free to check ‘em out if I start boring you on this thread!).
For those that are making my acquaintance for the first time, thanks so much for reading along and (hopefully) joining in the chatter. Don’t be shy, if you have a question or a comment or a “suggestion for next time”, feel free to add your thoughts whenever the spirit moves you. Everyone’s input and contributions are always appreciated
.
Let me first make introductions. This trip involves just two adults: myself and husband Steve.
Having celebrated 22 years of wedded bliss this past May, we have long since deduced that the secret to our success (and sometimes the bane of our existence!!
) is that we are nothing alike. I tend to zig when he zags, I will fret when he’s calm, and he’s very much a “go with the flow” guy while I’m a planner at heart. He’s tall, I’m short. I’m emotional and he’s very reserved. We are the classic example of two entities that are totally different but yet complimentary at the same time. Like chocolate and peanut butter. Or thunder and lightening 
. Differences aside, we are the best friends: our common goals never differ. Each of us puts the other ahead of ourselves without even thinking about it.
We are the proud parents of a fine young fellow, our Jake, who is in his final year of college. While he was invited to join us on this vacation, he opted to stay home: it was his reading week, and he wanted to enjoy some fun with his college buddies while picking up a few extra shifts at his job at the YMCA. He kept the home fires burning (and my mom well cared for) during our absence, complete with daily weather updates from the chilly north
. He will travel with us to Orlando for our next trip in December, and we’re super excited after two kid-free holidays to have our whole little family together for the holidays 
.
Jake is simply just a great kid. Hard working, a dedicated student, and a gentle heart. He’s our lonely only, so he holds a special place in our heart just on that fact alone, but he’s grown into a young man of whom we can be exceptionally proud. And yes, he definitely looks like his dad!
This trip was number two of three in 2015. While we love our trips southward, we’re not generally able to travel quite that much within a 12 month period…..it’s taken a lot of good budgeting on our part, especially considering our dismal Canadian dollar
. Where there’s a will, though, there’s a way……and we were on a missing to check out a whole new time of year for us. With Jake in college (and then choosing not to come along), we were no longer tied to the rigid school calendar that kept us restricted to Christmas, summer or March Break vacation weeks. We had always wanted to visit when the Halloween festivities were in full swing, so we wasted no time in planning our first autumn getaway.
The initial plans called for visiting the Universal parks, with a much-anticipated (by Steve) Halloween Horror Night. This “Halloweenie” was just along for the ride
.
Then there was an RIP Tour added. And the Scareactor Dining Experience. Carpe Diem and all that
.
Somewhere along the line, I convinced Steve to add a Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party to the mix, decked out in full costumes of course (because you’re never too old to act like a kid at Disney…if you believe their commercials, anyway
). Then that morphed into two parties, because we had to get the value out of those costumes, right? (Disney math is a dangerous thing 
)
We added in mini golfing and gator feeding at Congo River, a tour at World of Chocolate Museum and Café, and some leisure time at the newly-revamped Disney Springs. We tacked on a park-and-fly package to the front of our trip (an early flight from Buffalo made that a necessity) and a night in Niagara Falls on the end. We indulged in a therapeutic amount of retail therapy at the outlet malls and a couple other little quirky places tossed in for good measure, and as the title of this thread indicated, we stayed offsite at our beloved timeshare resort. We dined both onsite (Universal and Disney) and offsite, and even chowed down in our villa a few mornings. So when it came time to decide where this mish-mash of a trip report should go, I figured if it was going to fit anywhere, it was going to be here on the Orlando Hotels & Attractions board. The mods can move it elsewhere if they see fit.
Those that know us best know that we love ORLANDO as a city. It’s our family mission to do something new on every trip, and to not box ourselves in to just the major theme park families. We adore exploring the lesser known offsite attractions, so for those looking for a Disney-centric report, I will warn you now: this thread might not be for you. There’s going to be a whole lotta everything thrown in
.
So feel free to sit back, relax, and join me in reliving the memories of two quirky Canadians’ 8th trip to the Sunshine State
. I hope to make you smile and keep you entertained along the way 
.
to my latest trip report.Some of you may have followed me over to this thread from the PTR for this vacation, which was located here on the Universal boards:
http://www.disboards.com/threads/october-2015-ptr-a-“halloweenie”-and-her-fearless-companion-conquer-their-first-hhn.3428838/
As annual passholders, this was supposed to be another Universal-only getaway…..until it morphed into something a little more diverse (our vacations tend to do that
…. I blame Groupon and the Disboards ).Other readers may know me from some of my former trip reports, the links for which can be found in my signature (feel free to check ‘em out if I start boring you on this thread!).
For those that are making my acquaintance for the first time, thanks so much for reading along and (hopefully) joining in the chatter. Don’t be shy, if you have a question or a comment or a “suggestion for next time”, feel free to add your thoughts whenever the spirit moves you. Everyone’s input and contributions are always appreciated
.Let me first make introductions. This trip involves just two adults: myself and husband Steve.
Having celebrated 22 years of wedded bliss this past May, we have long since deduced that the secret to our success (and sometimes the bane of our existence!!
) is that we are nothing alike. I tend to zig when he zags, I will fret when he’s calm, and he’s very much a “go with the flow” guy while I’m a planner at heart. He’s tall, I’m short. I’m emotional and he’s very reserved. We are the classic example of two entities that are totally different but yet complimentary at the same time. Like chocolate and peanut butter. Or thunder and lightening . Differences aside, we are the best friends: our common goals never differ. Each of us puts the other ahead of ourselves without even thinking about it.
We are the proud parents of a fine young fellow, our Jake, who is in his final year of college. While he was invited to join us on this vacation, he opted to stay home: it was his reading week, and he wanted to enjoy some fun with his college buddies while picking up a few extra shifts at his job at the YMCA. He kept the home fires burning (and my mom well cared for) during our absence, complete with daily weather updates from the chilly north
. He will travel with us to Orlando for our next trip in December, and we’re super excited after two kid-free holidays to have our whole little family together for the holidays .
Jake is simply just a great kid. Hard working, a dedicated student, and a gentle heart. He’s our lonely only, so he holds a special place in our heart just on that fact alone, but he’s grown into a young man of whom we can be exceptionally proud. And yes, he definitely looks like his dad!
This trip was number two of three in 2015. While we love our trips southward, we’re not generally able to travel quite that much within a 12 month period…..it’s taken a lot of good budgeting on our part, especially considering our dismal Canadian dollar
. Where there’s a will, though, there’s a way……and we were on a missing to check out a whole new time of year for us. With Jake in college (and then choosing not to come along), we were no longer tied to the rigid school calendar that kept us restricted to Christmas, summer or March Break vacation weeks. We had always wanted to visit when the Halloween festivities were in full swing, so we wasted no time in planning our first autumn getaway.The initial plans called for visiting the Universal parks, with a much-anticipated (by Steve) Halloween Horror Night. This “Halloweenie” was just along for the ride
.Then there was an RIP Tour added. And the Scareactor Dining Experience. Carpe Diem and all that
.
Somewhere along the line, I convinced Steve to add a Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party to the mix, decked out in full costumes of course (because you’re never too old to act like a kid at Disney…if you believe their commercials, anyway
). Then that morphed into two parties, because we had to get the value out of those costumes, right? (Disney math is a dangerous thing )
We added in mini golfing and gator feeding at Congo River, a tour at World of Chocolate Museum and Café, and some leisure time at the newly-revamped Disney Springs. We tacked on a park-and-fly package to the front of our trip (an early flight from Buffalo made that a necessity) and a night in Niagara Falls on the end. We indulged in a therapeutic amount of retail therapy at the outlet malls and a couple other little quirky places tossed in for good measure, and as the title of this thread indicated, we stayed offsite at our beloved timeshare resort. We dined both onsite (Universal and Disney) and offsite, and even chowed down in our villa a few mornings. So when it came time to decide where this mish-mash of a trip report should go, I figured if it was going to fit anywhere, it was going to be here on the Orlando Hotels & Attractions board. The mods can move it elsewhere if they see fit.
Those that know us best know that we love ORLANDO as a city. It’s our family mission to do something new on every trip, and to not box ourselves in to just the major theme park families. We adore exploring the lesser known offsite attractions, so for those looking for a Disney-centric report, I will warn you now: this thread might not be for you. There’s going to be a whole lotta everything thrown in
.So feel free to sit back, relax, and join me in reliving the memories of two quirky Canadians’ 8th trip to the Sunshine State
. I hope to make you smile and keep you entertained along the way .
Last edited:
this is gonna be fun.
.
.
.
.
)
.
Looking forward to reading about your trip, Gina! 
