As an avid "Friends" fan, I decided that I would give my blog posts titles for our upcoming trip using "The one with..." flare. Kind of cheezy, I know, but guess what? It's my blog, I can do what I want, so there! :)
Well here we are! I just received my reminder email from Disney World telling me that I have a trip coming up next week. It made me feel so special and filled with warm fuzzies all over! BLAH! Seriously, what a waste of an email? Did they need to send me a reminder that I have trip coming up when really it has been in the planning stages for over seven months. Better yet, do they know it has been planned since we walked out of the Magic Kingdom on the final night of our trip, last year? Do they know the hours of "reminding ourselves" of our upcoming trip by spending time on Allears, WDWMagic, DisBoards, and DisneyFoodBlog (AJ YOU ROCK! @disneyfoodblog)? Do they know how many of my tweets, on Twitter, have been focused on asking questions to my other "Disney Experts" that I am following? Yeah, thanks Disney for sending me that reminder email. I COMPLETELY FORGOT I had a trip coming up! (dipped in sarcasm, can you taste it?)
With that, I will admit, that I am really excited to get back "home" and live the Disney life for 13 days! If you know us, you know that my family and I breathe Disney 24/7. In our city of 35,000 people, if anyone mentions that they are going on a trip to Disney World, the usual response is "Oh, have you talked to the Young's? They pretty much live down there." However, most of the time we can sniff out whether or not someone is taking a WDW trip, we hunt them down, tie them up (kidding) and give them advice whether they ask for it or not. Most of the time it consists of saying to them, "have you looked at these websites (listed above)? Do you have THIS BOOK? You must have this book. Yes, FastPass is a good thing. Stay on property, you won't regret it, Here's why.... Would you just like me to go with you and tour you around?"
If you have read my past posts on this blog, you know that Disney World has been a huge part of our lives for over 26 trips (this will be number 27). I am not telling you this to brag, I am just telling you how it is! :) Now, I am not one of those people who live in Orlando (or a few hours from it) and can visit all the time. I am a PROUD Canadian and get my WDW fix once a year (twice this year, more on that in January....GO GOOFY CHALLENGE! WOO HOO!). So, while I am down there, you better believe that I am going to make it count and enjoy it! So, for all of you that I follow on Twitter, and you go to the parks all the time; I like you a whole lot, and I always enjoy your tweets from the park, but get out of my way! The Canadians are invading for 13 days! You can go and play in that Wizard Potter World, Harry Magicland, Potter Place of Magic, or whatever you call it. It's our time now! (I know it's called the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, just trying to be dramatic!)
Now for the good stuff. Introductions need to be made so that you know who is going to be on this trip and get to know them. Maybe you will have a fan favourite in our family that you can win a Skype conversation with sometime. Now that would be creepy! Here we are. You can take us or leave us but we are just a typical "Disney Obsessed" family:
Me: Brett, 30 years old, single (yes ladies, single...single...SINGLE, lol). I am a high school teacher, marathon runner, obsessed with fitness (see previous posts below) and tech toys. Favourite rides: Pirates of the Caribbean, Splash Mountain, Rockin Rollercoaster, Tower of Terror, Expedition Everest, and the Tomorrowland Transit Authority (that's right, I could be on it for hours, weeeee!). I am @mrbrettyoung on Twitter.
Dad: 50 something, funeral director, and the one who made his family "Disney Nerds" from an early age. Favourite rides: Any bench on Disney property or an attraction which has a theatre to sit down in.
Mom: 30 something (love you mom! note the age!), and works at local bank. Favorite rides: Splash Mountain, Rockin Rollercoaster, Tower of Terror, Expedition Everest. My mom is a thrill ride fanatic! SHE ROCKS!
Sister: Beckie, 27 (will be celebrating her 28th birthday in WDW this trip), elementary school teacher. Just ran her first half marathon a few months ago (WOO HOO!). She is our planner. She reads trip reports constantly. She will tell you off when she thinks you are wrong about something Disney related. She is also @wdwgirl1 on Twitter. She will tweet while we are there. Follower her.
Brother-In-Law: Kevin, 29 (will be celebrating his 30th birthday in WDW this trip), continuing care assistant. Married Beckie so we know he is a brave man! :) Favourite Rides: Muppets 3D, Dinosaur, Splash Mountain, and Haunted Mansion. He is also @brerkevin on Twitter.
Niece: Chloe, 3 years old, Mickey Mouse obsessed since day one (she had no hope with our family not to be). Sure to be a fan favourite as she is our little firecracker who has been to WDW two times in her life (this being her third trip). Favourite rides: Mickey's Philharmagic, Grande Fiesta Tour (aka to her "Donald Duck Boat Ride"), Dumbo, Expedition Everest (aka to her "The Yeti Ride"). Yes, we know she can't go on the last one, but it is her pick for favourite YouTube video. She loves her princesses and she loves her pirates!
Well that's us in a nutshell. Who will you pick as fan favourite remains to be seen. Guess we will see as the trip moves forward.
Since we have been quite a few times we definitely don't feel the need to throw ourselves into the madness that can be WDW during some of the summer months. Over the last few years we have definitely started to learn the art of relaxing. We don't feel compelled to wake up at 6:30 in the morning, pack everything up and get to the parks before rope drop. However, I admire those families that do (we used to do it too). This trip is definitely going to be about relaxing and just doing things as they come. Do we have plans for what we want to do? Yep! If they change, so what? We are just going to enjoy it as they come. For some of you out there, I know I just made you cringe with the "they-don't-have-a-plan-to-do-everything" look and you are shaking your head! Come on, you know it's true!
However, there is definitely a few things that we are excited to experience this summer:
1. Summer Nightastic: new fireworks at Magic Kingdom, Tower of Terror added effects, Main Street Electrical Parade, etc.
2. Captain EO: Saw it back in the 80s (still have my stuffed Fuzzball and Hooter plushes from back then) and can't wait to see it again!
3. Staying at Bay Lake Tower: The last time we were there, they were just putting the finishing touches on it. As we aren't Disney Vacation Club owners we never thought we would get a chance to stay there. However, a little 40% off code in an email about seven months ago changed all that and we are really excited to give this resort a shot. Plus, being only a short walk from the Magic Kingdom is a huge plus!
4. RELAXING: Like I stated before, we have done WDW for years, we want to relax! All of us work and we want to just enjoy the surroundings for a chunk of our time down there. For me personally, I do a lot of training all year for different races and this is the 13 days, out of the year, where my body gets a well deserved break. For those of you that follow me on Twitter you know when I put my #getoffthecouch tag it means that I'm off doing something somewhere. Will I still be getting in some workouts? YEP! But, I will remember, this is a vacation! :) Have a marathon in September to get ready for with some specific goals so will definitely be hitting it hard when we get home! So, yes Cory, I will be getting my workouts in while I am there.
Oh, of course, I almost forgot. I know how important this can be for some people and I KNOW I will be asked this question, "Hey Brett, where ya eatin at, man?" Well here are the big ones:
-Ohana
-Le Cellier
-Cape May Cafe
-Crystal Palace
-Whispering Canyon
-Biergarten
-Magic Kingdom Dessert Party
Also, because I know that there are some of you who need a daily WDW fix everyday and need a mini vacation (as we all do) throughout the day, I will be doing daily updates to this blog (mostly in the evening) with daily pictures updated to my online albums, for you to see. I will also be posting to my twitter account (@mrbrettyoung) as much as I can. Because we are Canadian, and I don't feel like paying a billion dollars for my phone bill, I have to turn the data plan off on my blackberry while in the USA. I can text my tweets to Twitter and you can see them. However, If you reply back to me, I will NOT see them until I am on a computer. The only way you can ask me something directly is to Direct Message me and it will come through my phone as a text. We will have internet in the room so feel free to leave a message and I can tweet you back later! :) Tiff, you and Cory know what to do! ;) lol!
If you would like to look at a few pictures from over the last few years of our trips you can check out here and here. It is just a taste of what you are in for! :) Plus, you never know when there may be some "Oh good grief, look at what Brett is doing now. CHILDREN SHUT YOUR EYES! THE HORROR!" Just kidding! I will keep it G rated! ;)
Well, it is only a few days before we leave. I have been wanting to write this post for a few weeks now and thought that this would be the time to do it. I just want to take the time to thank so many people, especially my Twitter network for all the advice, answers to questions, and great thoughts you have put out there for us to look at over the last few months. YOU ALL ROCK! I always enjoy your tweets, blogs, podcasts and for the next little while, I hope I can pay it forward to some of you through my posts, pics, and tweets as I head back "home".
Have a good one!
