[KarenWDWCP]

Hi all!

I am back from 8 glorious days in sunny Florida (5 of them spent in WDW) and I am already having PDD and dreading going back to work tomorrow. Ugh.

I have started many trip reports on this board and never finished one completely but maybe this will be the magic trip report!

To start with here is the background info and details:

CAST - Me, my mom and my dad, all WDW veterans

THE PLAN:

Saturday, April 26 - Fly into Tampa, catch the Red Sox and Rays game
Sunday, April 27 - Catch the Sox and Rays again and then head down to WDW to start the magic!
Monday, April 28 - Thursday, May 1 - Tons of WDW fun!
Friday, May 2 - Saturday, May 3 - Visit with family in the Port St Lucie area

[tiggerlover1971]

ah man I wish I knew you were in PSL we could have met up .....

[mairinmaureen]

Oh goody! I am excited to here how your trip went.

[Goodegirl2007]

Sounds like you had fun. Can't wait to hear all the details!!!

[Dopey]

ummmm.......is that it or will you write some more?

[MissDisney]

Go Karen!
Go Karen!
Go Karen!

Can't wait to hear all about everything!

[MickeyMcFizzle]

Thanks goodness, a trip report! I needed one :-)
I never finish mine either :-(

[Dopey]

Originally Posted by MickeyMcFizzle

Thanks goodness, a trip report! I needed one :-)
I never finish mine either :-(

Yeah, how about that?
Did you ever tell us how you got married, McFizzle?

[KarenWDWCP]

Ok, so here goes the day before and Day 1:

I stayed at work late Friday night to be sure all my coverage stuff was in place - sometimes I wonder if going on vacation is worth it with all the work you have to do BEFORE you go! I was supposed to go to the movies with my roommates that night before heading to my parents, but had to bail since I had so much to finish up at work.

I jetted home around 7:45 or so, packed my last minute stuff in my suitcase, left my roomies a note and drove over to my parents house. We had an early flight on Saturday morning so it was easier just to stay there.

I woke up around 4:45 Saturday morning and we packed everything up, hopped in a cab and were on our way to the airport by 6:15. We hit almost no traffic and were there in no time. We grabbed some breakfast and supplies for the flight and then we were on our way to Tampa - hooray!

The flight was a bit bumpier than I would have liked but I survived. We were in the emergency exit row which was nice thanks to the extra space. We arrived in Tampa a few minutes ahead of schedule, grabbed our bags (man, I wish there was Magical Express here!), picked up the rental car and headed to the hotel. They were able to check us in even though we were pretty early so we settled into our room and tried to plan the rest of our day.

We decided to head to downtown St Pete and walk around a bit, grab something to eat and then head over to the ballpark for the game. My dad was getting nervous about driving home from the game in the dark, so we decided to take a cab (this ended up being a GREAT move!) We had the cab driver drop us off downtown near the BayWalk shopping center and then we meander around downtown.

Thanks to my MB friends who told me about the Pier, we walked all the way down there and had a great lunch at Cha Cha Coconuts. It was delicious and we had a great view sitting outside on the deck. It was so nice just to soak in the sunshine and warm weather.

After lunch, we headed towards the ballpark. We took the Looper trolley which was a great value at 25 cents per trip and stopped at the old Vinoy hotel which was lovely. Then we hopped back on the Looper and got off at the Arts Center which was a few blocks from the park.

We got to the park early, around 5:00 and waited to get in with the tons of other REd Sox fans and few Rays fans that were there. We visited the Ted Williams Museum inside, walked around the park, watched batting practice and then watch the Sox get beaten by the Rays. Oh well.

After the game, we were starting to regret our decision to take a cab since we had trouble finding one outside the park, but eventually we flagged one down and we had an AWESOME driver. He knew just the backroads to avoid the ridiculous postgame traffic (which we experienced first hand the next day!) and he got us home in no time.

Then it was off to bed with dreams of another Sox game and our first night at WDW in my head!

[unamadreditre]

You mean there are actually other things to do in Florida besides going to WDW?..................... who would have known.

[dixie]

Us Karens must be all the same! dont think I ever finished my TR either :) But yours is great! carry on please I want to read more!

[KarenWDWCP]

I'll have to add pictures later as I have not uploaded them yet.

[mickeysgirlz]

Yea! Another TR . . . keep it comin'!

[MickeyMcFizzle]

Originally Posted by Dopey

Yeah, how about that?
Did you ever tell us how you got married, McFizzle?

Yes I did! I swear!
I just kinda stopped writing for the last 3 days of the trip...

[I AM]

Originally Posted by KarenWDWCP

I'll have to add pictures later as I have not uploaded them yet.

I hope you're busy uploading!!