Sharing the Disney Magic with Family & Friends-DL Diamond Anniversary-DCA F&W Fest Kiosks & The End!

franandaj

I'm so happy, I could BOUNCE!
Joined
Nov 15, 2009
Sharing the Disney magic...with Naked Jim!

Newcomers to this thread, it has taken a completely different turn from the original thread. While eventually we will be “Sharing the Disney Magic with Naked Jim” for now I’m going to be reporting on my upcoming Birthday Celebration. Feel free to read the introductions below because all the players on the original thread will be in attendance at the new thread.

This original trip was in the planning stages for quite a few years, but on Friday the 13th Fran had a fall and fractured bones in her ankle and leg so traveling a month later was just not an option. It turns out that Jim’s Son and family had changed their WDW plans to coincide with our trip, so now he’s going to go and stay with them while we stay home and work on the healing process. Because of that he needs to save up for another year to go back to WDW, so we’re really in the PTR stage again, and we’re looking at traveling between late April and May now. I decided that I want to make it a birthday trip for me!

So now, I’ve turned this TR into a PTR/TR about my 50th Birthday party this year! Click here to find the *new* first post of the TR!



DVC owners get it. Disney addicts get it. But unfortunately rarely do my friends in real life get it. If you're reading this you probably understand. People you know roll their eyes when you mention a trip to Disney. For me it's beyond that, the people I know give me a sympathetic look and a smile, as if I'm suffering from an affliction or touched in the head.

I do have one real life friend who truly understands. Before we even met he had an AP to Disneyland. He is not a big thrill ride person and often he says that he likes to visit the park to just sit on a bench and take it all in. That's not to say he is a huge fuddy duddy, in fact for those of you who read my last report. She said it wouldn't be boring. you know him as "Naked Jim". Let me introduce "Naked Jim". He is normally our cat sitter and friend who we car pool with to band practice. If you don't know how he got his nickname, here is his story, in his own words.

“I brought some laundry over to work on while I was doing stuff at your house and hanging out. When I came back for the evening feeding, after the alarm exercise, I decided to throw in another load. This time it was dark perma-pressed clothes. Well, I was wearing a pair of navy shorts which had gotten covered with cat hair when I was petting and holding cats in the morning visit. So I decided to throw them in too. While I was at it, I thought…well, why not wash the underwear too? Then I can have a totally fresh start.


It was dark outside by then and the cats promised not to tell, so off came the underwear. Then I get to thinking, “Why not have a nice skinny dip in the jacuzzi while I’m waiting for the clothes to finish?” So I go outside and turn on the jacuzzi so it can warm up. So I go out the laundry room door and close it. I start up the jacuzzi and go back in to feed the cats. One small problem…the door locked! I didn’t realize that the knob lock was engaged. So here I am in the back yard, in the dark (no outside lights were on), surrounded by a 9’ fence, buck naked and locked out of the house. I try all the doors and all are locked.

After considering my situation from all angles, I find good news and bad news. The good news is that the front door is still unlocked. The bad news is that it is the front door. Well, I had left a towel in the pool house, so I fetch the towel, wrap up my masculinity, open the electric gate to the front yard and creep around to the front door. I get inside and all is well.

So I dish out the food to the cats, check the laundry, unlock a couple of the rear doors and go back out to get into the jacuzzi. I step down into the water to find that it is cold. The heater didn’t kick on. So I spread my beach towel on a chaise lounge chair, buck naked, in the dark, surrounded on all sides by a 10 foot wall and check email with my iPhone and talk with my daughter on the phone while I wait for my clothes to dry. I’ve seen the scenario in movies before where a guy gets locked out of his house while naked, but never expected it to happen to me. Fortunately, there were no cameras rolling. So I gave up on the jacuzzi, folded up my laundry, got dressed and went home. And that’s my little misadventure.

So you see? If you are me, you don’t have to go on a cruise to have fun. You can just go through each day with my Mr. Magoo moments. Chaos all around, but I stumble blithely onward, none the worse for wear.”

Sincerely,
Jim”

And now some photos. Here we are at DCA about to ride RSR.



Jim is a lover of Disney. Back in the day long ago, he started going to Disney, using his annual pass for “date night”. He plays in our concert band and is a retired music educator. He grew up in the Midwest, but came out to California a long time ago. He has been to WDW but MK was the only park when he went, so we’re looking forward to showing him some of the changes that have taken place.



This is Jim with his granddaughter building some artwork after dinner out.



Since buying into DVC, we have wanted to take folks from California with us back to WDW. This upcoming trip with Jim has been in the works for almost two years now. We let him pick the resort, and after much deliberation we went with the Villas at the Wilderness Lodge. But before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let's introduce the rest of the players.

There’s my spouse Fran. She has been a Disney fan for many years. I tried to find pictures of her from early Disney days, but she only took pictures of Mickey Mouse, the band, and other landmarks. She was at the MK for it’s 10th Anniversary. Our first trip to WDW was for the 25th Anniversary where they made this blunder. (excuse the next few pictures, they are pictures of pictures from my photo album)



These are a few shots of Fran from that trip.







Getting her to pose for pictures is no easy feat, but here are a couple more recent shots of her. Those of you who know us will also know that Fran has a huge passion for antique and Classic Cars. If there a museum anywhere near where we are going, she will find it and we will visit. Sometimes we have taken trips just because there is a car museum in the vicinity!





And then there's me, Alison, I am a certified Disney holic.



Ever since Uncle Walt used to talk to us on Sunday evenings (even though I had no idea he was no longer alive), I was hooked on Disney. My mom read me bedtime stories from these books. Anyone remember these or had a set?



On my first trip to Disneyland I was probably 12 years old. I’m the one standing next to the mouse.



I didn’t make it back until I was about 17 years old. Then I moved to Southern California and visited a few times over the years, but being a poor college student, I couldn’t afford the tickets, and I didn’t live close enough (nor did I have a car) so an annual pass was out of the question.

As I got older, the frequency of my visits increased, but it wasn’t until I met Fran that we went out regularly. I remember the transformation from being that commando who arrived as early as possible, and 10 minutes before the park closed, hopping in the line of the ride which I wanted one last go around. With Fran we would go for lunch, have a Monte Cristo, take a spin on Pirates or the Haunted Mansion and then hit the Emporium or the Jewelry store on the way home.

When DCA opened, there was a whole new world of possibilities, and coming out to go shopping, have a glass of wine at the Golden Vine Winery and a corn dog became a somewhat common occurrence. Nowadays, unless we stay on property my longest Disney days are when DIS friends come to town and I go out to spend the day with them at the parks. But enough about me, let’s get on with the trip!

This trip has been in the planning stages for quite a few years. Originally we were going to go last year, but with our trip for SWW it would have been too much so we pushed it back a year, and that gave Jim some more time to save up for the trip. Since I booked the trip in May of 2014 and we had previously planned on traveling in March/Apr 2014 that means we had been talking about it since 2011 because it took a while for Jim to pick the resort.

I let him choose where we would stay, since I’ve stayed at each of the resorts, and will probably stay at each of them again. He liked the woodsy feel of the Wilderness Lodge, so that’s what we went with. He is flying on real money and not points, so his flight is dictated by what’s more affordable and evidently that’s not American. So here’s how things we will be going.

Sunday, April 12, 2015
7:25PM Jim Departs Long Beach on Jet Blue, arrives Phoenix 8:52
10:05PM Jim Departs Phoenix

Monday, April 13, 2015
5:00AM Jim Arrives at MCO catches DME to resort.
8:00AM Alison & Fran Depart LAX on American
4:00PM Alison & Fran arrive MCO and head to DME for VWL

5:30-6:00 Alison & Fran arrive at VWL, Owners Locker and Groceries awaiting us at Bell Services. Alison Starts cooking dinner while Fran sleeps.

Tuesday, April 14, 2015
8:30AM Breakfast at Whispering Canyon
10:35AM Seven Dwarves Mine Train
11:45AM Pirates of the Caribbean
Back to resort
7:20PM 1900 Park Fare
9:40PM Wishes from the reserved viewing area.

Wednesday, April 15, 2015
Quick breakfast in the room
Rope drop at MK
Epcot for F&G
2:20-3:20 Mission Space
3:45 Behind the seeds Tour
5:30 - 6:30 Spaceship Earth
7:00 Garden Grill
8:45 Illuminations: Reflections of Earth

Thursday, April 16, 2015
Hot breakfast in the room
Epcot for F&G
11:15-12:15 Test Track
1:20-2:20 Meet Disney Pals at Character Spot
2:20-3:20 Mission Space
Return to resort for a break
7:30 Artist Point Dinner

Friday, April 17, 2015
Quick Breakfast in the room
10:00-11:00 Test Track
Graze at F&G
2:00 Chefs De France
3:00-4:00 Seas with Nemo & Friends
4:35-5:35 Spaceship Earth
Grill on the charcoal grills back at the resort

Saturday, April 18, 2015
QuickBreakfast in the room
9:25-10:25 Kilamanjaro Safaris
11:30-11:50 Fesrival of the Lion King show
Lunch somewhere
1:20-2:20 Expedition Everest
Head back to room
6:15 Hoop De Doo Revue

Sunday, April 19, 2015
Hot breakfast in the room
Head to DTD
Shop
We have no set plans, but after a bit of discussion we will probably get fish and chips at Cookes of Dublin but we'll see.
Then go to Ghirardelli for ice cream.
Back to room until about 4:00 ish
4:30-5:30 7DMT
5:30-6:30 Many Adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh
7:00 Be Our Guest Restaurant
8:30-8:50 Main Street Electrical Parade

Monday, April 20, 2015
This is where our paths uncross. Jim will be catching DME to the airport to head back to California, while we take a shuttle to Port Canaveral. We have four nights on the Dream ahead of us.

A little background: when we started cruising again back in 2012, the idea of reaching platinum sounded appealing. Not only the extra perks of being platinum level were appealing, but the road to getting there would be a lot of fun. She suggested that we tack on a few days cruise to some of our WDW trips to get there faster. That’s also one of the reasons we have the B2B two and three day cruises booked in May. After the April cruise we will have reached Gold level. By then end of the this year, we’ll only need two more cruises until we reach platinum. So back to the Itinerary…

We have no plans on the ship the first night, late seating for dinner, and we have never been on one of the larger ships, so I’m sure we’ll be interested in checking out the ship.

Tuesday, April 21, 2015
Nassau
We’ll probably stay on the ship.
3:00PM Couples Choice at the Spa
5:00 Sail away

Wednesday, April 22, 2015
Castaway Cay Day
Try snorkeling in the lagoon
Lunch at Serenity Bay
Back to the Ship to Clean up
6:00 Dinner at Remy

Thursday, April 23, 2015
Day at Sea
11:50 Remy Champagne Brunch
2:00 Mixology

Friday, April 24, 2015
Breakfast & Disembark
Disney Transportation back to MCO
1:50PM flight out of MCO via Charlotte
8:30PM arrival at LAX
 
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Table of Contents

Where we think we're going on a trip

Flower and Garden Menus Page 2 Post #25 - http://www.disboards.com/threads/sh...-new-trip-booked.3383483/page-2#post-53157634

Travel Day and First Full Day plans Page 3 Post #47- http://www.disboards.com/threads/sh...-new-trip-booked.3383483/page-3#post-53225989

Where it all goes South Page 3 Post # 60 -
http://www.disboards.com/threads/sh...-new-trip-booked.3383483/page-3#post-53250437

Where I realize we aren't going on a trip Page 4 Post # 71 - http://www.disboards.com/threads/sh...-new-trip-booked.3383483/page-4#post-53253450

Where I know we're not going on a trip


1st ortho Update Page 5 Post 99- http://www.disboards.com/threads/sh...-new-trip-booked.3383483/page-5#post-53271801

The Cancellation Process Page 7 Post #127 - http://www.disboards.com/threads/sh...-new-trip-booked.3383483/page-7#post-53289415

We see the good Ortho Doctor Page 9 Post # 164

Where it becomes a Birthday trip PTR Page 10 Post #186
Who's coming to the Party? Page 11 Post #202
Christmas Trip Booked for this year Page 14 Post #265
Plans for Saturday Page 14 Post #280
Beverage Plans Page 16 Post #304
Single digits! Page 18 Post #353
Buffet Plan and Disney is in my Blood - Page 21 Post #408
Birthday Pedicure - Page 23 Post #441
Strawberry Shopping - Page 23 Post #458
Kicking off the Festivities - Page 26 Post #503
Arriving at the Hotel Part 1 - Page 27 Post #527
Arriving at the Hotel Part 2 - Page 27 Post #528
The Birthday Party - Page 27 Post #533
Saturday Morning Park & Spa - Page 30 Post #584
Steakhouse 55 Dinner - Page 32 Post #623 & 624
The Party's Over - Page 35 Post #681




 
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I'm here! I can't wait to meet Naked Jim!!!!!

I love the itinerary. Will you be packing meat for the cross country trip again?!?! :rotfl:

Jill in CO
 




Oh the questions...

Will Alison be packing meat? Will Naked Jim be packing clothes. We'll stay tuned to see how the trip goes.
 
Checking in. Your plans sound great. This is going to be a little bitter-sweet as I had a very similar trip planned for this year, which is not going to happen. Still, it is all good. I get to go to Disneyland in September instead and I will appreciate your adventures even more.

Corinna
 
Did you know you could "watch" a thread without having to post a reply???

Marking my spot in line anyway.
 
I am here. Looking forward to all the antics. Wish we were going at the same time, but I am a little behind you and Fran on this one.
 
I am here and excited to read about your plans and how they then wirk out in reality!! Naked Jim seems like a fun guy, so this will hopefully be a fun filled trip for all of you! And I am excited to read about your stay at the Wilderness Lodge as this is one of my two home resorts and I have yet to stay there... And it will be fun to compare your experience on the Dream to ours on the Fantasy.

I really loved the part about your Disney history and the old pictures! Those books you had look really interesting. I wonder what kind of "Stories from Other Lands" were in that one book...
 
I'm here!! The trip is definitely of interest to me!! Plus I think Naked Jim might just be a kick to hear about.
 
I'm here! I can't wait to meet Naked Jim!!!!!
I love the itinerary. Will you be packing meat for the cross country trip again?!?! :rotfl:

Jill in CO

:welcome:

You gals are going to love him. Most everyone does, he's a very funny and upbeat guy. Of course I will be packing meat! That's what the grilling night will be. Originally we thought that his partner would be coming so when Rib eyes were on sale around Christmas we vacuum sealed a four pack of them to toss in the suitcase. Then when it became just the three of us, we went out and bought more (at the last sale) and vacuum packed a set of three. Now we have to invite over some friends and grill a bunch of Rib eyes since all four will need to thaw out together. We usually split one of them as they are about 1 1/4 lbs each steak.

Oh the questions...

Will Alison be packing meat? Will Naked Jim be packing clothes. We'll stay tuned to see how the trip goes.


:welcome:

Yes! I will be packing meat. I sure hope Jim packs clothes, I don't think I want to "see" Naked Jim, it was far funnier hearing about him!

I am here. Thanks for the Facebook heads-up.

Kate

:welcome:

Thanks for coming over. You were almost #!, but in Muppet's Most Wanted tradition, "You're #2"!

You had me at Naked Jim! :lmao:

:welcome: Yeah I would figure as much! :rotfl2:

Here. Sounds like a fun trip.

:welcome: I suppose I should have given the previontius posters this tag. I'm going to go back and do that!

Following along as well and it looks like you will be so busy.

:welcome: I was thinking we had a rather relaxed itinerary. :confused3

Checking in. Your plans sound great. This is going to be a little bitter-sweet as I had a very similar trip planned for this year, which is not going to happen. Still, it is all good. I get to go to Disneyland in September instead and I will appreciate your adventures even more.

Corinna

:welcome: Well I'm glad that your September trip is going to work out!

Did you know you could "watch" a thread without having to post a reply???

Marking my spot in line anyway.

:welcome:

Yes I did. Fran clued me into that, way back when....

I am here. Looking forward to all the antics. Wish we were going at the same time, but I am a little behind you and Fran on this one.

:welcome:

Yeah, that's too bad, you miss me on the WDW end and the Birthday party. :sad2: some other time....

I'm in! The Naked Jim story is still one of the funniest things I've ever read on the DIS.:rotfl2::rotfl:

:welcome:

:thumbsup2: And he really enjoys being able to live it!

I am here and excited to read about your plans and how they then wirk out in reality!! Naked Jim seems like a fun guy, so this will hopefully be a fun filled trip for all of you! And I am excited to read about your stay at the Wilderness Lodge as this is one of my two home resorts and I have yet to stay there... And it will be fun to compare your experience on the Dream to ours on the Fantasy.

I really loved the part about your Disney history and the old pictures! Those books you had look really interesting. I wonder what kind of "Stories from Other Lands" were in that one book...

:welcome:

Yes, I am very interested in hearing about your Fantasy cruise! Jim is going to make this a very fun trip, we get along very well with him. It seems that we both like reading and writing about "history and backstories". I don't know what the "Stories from Other Lands" book had in it. That photo was from the Walt Disney Archives. My mother got rid of my books years ago. I always liked for them to read to me out the Fantasyland book.

I'm here!! The trip is definitely of interest to me!! Plus I think Naked Jim might just be a kick to hear about.

:welcome: Yes this trip is going to similar to your upcoming trip in a number of ways!

I'm marking my spot and must come back to read :)

:welcome: Glad you could make it over here!
 

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