DaveInTN 3,247 Posted January 1, 2018 Report Share Posted January 1, 2018 Happy New Year!! It's hard to believe 2017 is over, and 2018 is here. For a variety of reasons, 2017 was a bit of a tough year around the DIT ranch. I got off-line to focus on more important things. We were incredibly busy at home, and at work. But we did have some fun too, along the way. And in looking back at my photos from 2017, I had to chuckle when I realized that INC and I made FIVE trips to central Florida during the year! And for some unknown reason, despite my hatred for Disney, at least one of those trips involved a visit to see the Mouse. Maybe more than one. So I figured that maybe I'd share some of those pictures with you. At least I'll try. Hopefully life doesn't get in the way. And hopefully the photo linking works for me. I haven't tried that in a long time. Before I get going with the report, I'll test some photo posting....to see if the linking works, and to give you a hint of what's to come. I guess it works!! So, I'll get writing. And hopefully a few of you are interested. Bear with me. The first trip was nearly a year ago. I need to get this old brain working and try to remember what was what. Coming up.....a Birthday Cruise on the Disney Wonder!!!! Avatab.... Steve, wendinator, BradyBzLyn...Mo and 3 others 4 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BigTom 76 Posted January 1, 2018 Report Share Posted January 1, 2018 looking forward to your good times. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dblr....Rennie 224 Posted January 1, 2018 Report Share Posted January 1, 2018 I'm in also, nice to see you have a chance to share your trip with us!!!!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Grumpy and Grandma 740 Posted January 1, 2018 Report Share Posted January 1, 2018 Hey, a new guy posting a TR... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
h2odivers...Ray 952 Posted January 1, 2018 Report Share Posted January 1, 2018 What??? DIT is doing a TR??? Where is dave and what have you done with him??? btw. I’m in!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kadancer 82 Posted January 1, 2018 Report Share Posted January 1, 2018 Sounds like fun! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
twiceblessed....nacole 433 Posted January 1, 2018 Report Share Posted January 1, 2018 I'm here!! It was so wonderful meeting y'all...need to do it again, soon. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tri-Circle-D 2,059 Posted January 1, 2018 Report Share Posted January 1, 2018 DIT? I thought he was a myth. TCD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
momof3kids-Yvonne 596 Posted January 1, 2018 Report Share Posted January 1, 2018 Yeah! Looking forward to seeing what you were upto last year. Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mouseketab.....Carol 1,261 Posted January 1, 2018 Report Share Posted January 1, 2018 Awesome!!! Great to "see" you again :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mouseketab.....Carol 1,261 Posted January 1, 2018 Report Share Posted January 1, 2018 Oh, and don't forget the Anna pics!!!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
caveat lector 181 Posted January 1, 2018 Report Share Posted January 1, 2018 Ah, the Kitchen Sink. Awesome pic Dave. Lantana 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cortezcapt (Derek) 156 Posted January 1, 2018 Report Share Posted January 1, 2018 I'm in! A DIT trip/year report, this should be good. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
campingdawgs 4 Posted January 1, 2018 Report Share Posted January 1, 2018 Yay! I’m in! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547 Posted January 1, 2018 Report Share Posted January 1, 2018 I'm in too! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DaveInTN 3,247 Posted January 1, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2018 3 hours ago, BigTom said: looking forward to your good times. BigTom in the Number One spot!!! 2018 has just started and he's already smoking the rest of you losers. 3 hours ago, dblr....Rennie said: I'm in also, nice to see you have a chance to share your trip with us!!!!!! Thanks Rennie! 3 hours ago, Grumpy and Grandma said: Hey, a new guy posting a TR... Hello, my name is Dave. Long time listener, first time poster. 2 hours ago, h2odivers...Ray said: What??? DIT is doing a TR??? Where is dave and what have you done with him??? btw. I’m in!!! I know, right? Been a few years, I think. 2 hours ago, kadancer said: Sounds like fun! Thanks! 2 hours ago, twiceblessed....nacole said: I'm here!! It was so wonderful meeting y'all...need to do it again, soon. It was great meeting you too! Wish we had more time to hang out on that trip...next time! 1 hour ago, Tri-Circle-D said: DIT? I thought he was a myth. TCD Are you thinking of that old guy on Ahch-To who reportedly muttered "It's time for the Fiends to end"? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DaveInTN 3,247 Posted January 1, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2018 1 hour ago, momof3kids-Yvonne said: Yeah! Looking forward to seeing what you were upto last year. Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk Me too! 1 hour ago, mouseketab.....Carol said: Awesome!!! Great to "see" you again :) Hi Carol! 1 hour ago, mouseketab.....Carol said: Oh, and don't forget the Anna pics!!!!! Of course....there will be some of those. 1 hour ago, caveat lector said: Ah, the Kitchen Sink. Awesome pic Dave. Thanks! Love the kitchen sink. 1 hour ago, Cortezcapt (Derek) said: I'm in! A DIT trip/year report, this should be good. Thanks Derek! 43 minutes ago, campingdawgs said: Yay! I’m in! Thanks for joining. 2 minutes ago, CCIntrigue...aka Gwen said: I'm in too! Hi Gwen! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LONE-STAR 370 Posted January 1, 2018 Report Share Posted January 1, 2018 OK Dave where was the first photo taken? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DaveInTN 3,247 Posted January 1, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2018 Trip Number One: A Birthday Cruise on the Disney Wonder So a little over a year ago, INC and I started to think about how to celebrate my birthday. As it falls in the "dead" of winter, a trip to a warm locale sounded good. We are blessed at this point to have adult children that can step in to watch the younglings on occasion, giving us a bit of a respite. We love our girls, but a break now and then, especially from caring for Anna, is very welcome. That kid is a handful...LOL. I had considered perhaps heading to the JW Marriott that we enjoy in Orlando, but there is no guarantee that the weather in February will be warm in central FL. Warmer than Tennessee, for sure, but possibly not warm enough for relaxing in the sun poolside. So my gears began turning in my head, or at least what is left of my gears, and I started to research cruise options. We could not get away for more than 4 nights total, so it would have to be a short cruise. And since I like to travel the day before embarking on a cruise in the event there are travel issues, that meant we could only book a 3 night cruise. That seemed entirely too short. Would it be worthwhile? More to come on that. I quickly decided that DCL was a must. We'd cruised on the Dream once previously (our first ever cruise), and then did a Royal Caribbean cruise with INC's family a couple of years after that. RCCL was enjoyable, and when booking for a large family the price difference is a major factor. However, for just the two of us, and such a short cruise, price became less of a factor. So 2 DCL cruises jumped out as possibilities for our schedule....3 nighters on the Dream or on the Wonder. Since we'd done the Dream before, and the Wonder has just recently been refurbished at that point, we decided that the Wonder sounded like a Winner, and booked the 3 nighter out of Canaveral. I used points to book flights on Southwest to MCO, arriving the day before we boarded the Wonder. So what to do with our non-cruise night? Well, the logical thing seemed to be booking a hotel at Cocoa Beach. But logic was quickly thrown out the window when I realized we could stay at WDW! And considering we could use DME to get to the hotel, and DCL cruise transports to get to the ship, it was somewhat logical. Really, it was. And we got a halfway decent rate at the Lodge, to boot, which happens to be my favorite WDW hotel. Enough backstory....let's get to some pics! Before heading to the airport in Nashville, we had some time to go out for breakfast at our favorite local diner that's just down the road from our house. This was a birthday celebration after all! So this called for a selfie. (I apologize in advance....there may be several selfie's in this TR. Deal with it.) I'm holding up the mug because the restaurant is called The Country Boy, and was founded in 1968. The same as this country boy. LOL. Oh, and I got one of those mugs from my oldest DD for my birthday. After breakfast we headed to BNA for our flight. Jackpot! The peanuts were Honey Roasted on this flight! I find that you only win that lottery on around 25% of SW's flights, so this was getting off to a good start! Southwest sends me way more drink coupons than I can ever use, so I put a couple of those to good use too. After a flight that was barely over 90 minutes long, we arrived at MCO and soon enough, were boarded onto our DEEEE-LUXE motorcoach for transit to the Wilderness Lodge!! DME Selfie.... This was our first ever experience with DME, and overall it was great. It certainly takes longer than Uber or renting a car, but not having to worry about any details, and being "free", was great. Also, not having to get our own bags and drag them around was pretty cool. We arrived at the Lodge by mid-afternoon, and stopped for a Lobby selfie. Yes, I know, too many selfies. But I'm married to the most beautiful woman I've ever laid eyes on, and I want to constantly document it in case I ever wake up. We checked in and went to our room, which was at the end of the "left hand" wing of the hotel, facing out toward the boat dock. Since the Lodge was under some major construction at that time, including Roaring Fork being shut down, Geyser Point just having been completed, all the DVC work plus major work around the pool, we got this surprise when we entered our room. Pretty cool!! We settled into the room, then decided to head out to check out all the changes around the resort. And there was one major change we were excited to see, that had literally just opened a couple of days prior. Geyser Point! We'll head there in the next update.... Avatab.... Steve and Lantana 1 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DaveInTN 3,247 Posted January 1, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2018 2 minutes ago, LONE-STAR said: OK Dave where was the first photo taken? If I told you the beach at the Fort, would you believe me? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LONE-STAR 370 Posted January 1, 2018 Report Share Posted January 1, 2018 16 minutes ago, DaveInTN said: If I told you the beach at the Fort, would you believe me? If that was the case a tent site now $400.00 per night. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BigTom 76 Posted January 1, 2018 Report Share Posted January 1, 2018 16 minutes ago, LONE-STAR said: If that was the case a tent site now $400.00 per night. Don't give the any ideas Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Starbuc71 162 Posted January 1, 2018 Report Share Posted January 1, 2018 Wow. Great to see DIT on the site, let alone doing a trip report. Great so far. Looking forward to more fun Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dblr....Rennie 224 Posted January 1, 2018 Report Share Posted January 1, 2018 Dave, we just did lunch the other day at Geyser Point and it was GREAT!!!!!!! Bison burger and a spot looking out at Bay Lake during the holiday rush was the perfect spot to dodge the crowds. Lantana 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LONE-STAR 370 Posted January 1, 2018 Report Share Posted January 1, 2018 1 hour ago, dblr....Rennie said: Dave, we just did lunch the other day at Geyser Point and it was GREAT!!!!!!! Bison burger and a spot looking out at Bay Lake during the holiday rush was the perfect spot to dodge the crowds. We really like Geyser Point it's a great place to hang out. Especially when my sister was there on DVC points. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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