First PTR For Fantastic Free Fall Food with Family and Friends! [Archive] - The DIS Discussion Forums

Step

06-07-2008, 11:21 AM

Alliteration aside, this is my first pre-trip report!

Reading though heath-and-javens-mom's trip report (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1734056) inspired me to get start on this one. Will anyone read it? I sure hope so! If not I'll make it hit 50 pages on my own. :P

If nothing else it will keep me busy until the trip gets here :rotfl2:

The CAST:

Me aka Stephanie
http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn211/richarsj/steph.jpg
-- I'm a cynical, serious, meticulous planner who reverts into a four year old goon when I hit the parks. I think I embarrass my husband, but he doesn't say anything... until after we get home from the trip, lol.

Lindsay
http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn211/richarsj/lindsay.jpg
-- My husband and all around goof ball. He and I went to Disney World for the first time for our honeymoon 2 years ago and I swore to him that I would go again as soon as I could scrape together the cash. He's not excited yet. I think he holds it in until we leave for the trip, he's a doer not a planner.

Jimmy
http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn211/richarsj/jimmy.jpg
-- My uncle, who lives with us here in London ON, Canada, but didn't get to come on our last trip cause there was no way I was taking him for our honeymoon :rotfl: He's as excited about this trip as I am and has helped me do the planning so far.

Jodi
http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn211/richarsj/jodi.jpg
-- My Mom, she'd traveling in all the way from Halifax, NS, Canada to do this trip with us. When I was 4years old I promised to take her to Disney World and now I'm making good on that promise.

Combined together Me, my uncle and my mother become a wise cracking group of hyenas... it's gonna be a blast.

And Finally...

Tigh
http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn211/richarsj/tigh.jpg
-- A friend from work who is tagging along because he's never been to Disney World and he's a great guy. As my mom put it when I asked if she was alright with him coming: "Who am I to prevent anyone from going to Disney World!"

The report so far:
My company is AWESOME and here's why! (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=25593548)
Fun in the Bahamas sun: a mini trip report (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=26193578&postcount=19)
The amazing fool proof plan!! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=26515828&postcount=28)
The updated plan (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=26671566&postcount=40)
The epic of finding shoes (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=26802358&postcount=44)

Step

06-07-2008, 12:31 PM

Ok photos are posted! Phew... Onward!!!

The HOW:

As I mentioned my first ever trip to Disney World was nearly two years ago for a fabulous honeymoon trip. ( during free dining no less! )

I'll blab more about that trip later on.

This particular trip came about when I found out I was getting a massive tax return in April. Boo ya!

I had my travel agent on the phone April 10th trying to snag me a couple of rooms. I'd been anxiously awaiting word of free dining for months :eek:

At the time I knew that four of us would be going, so I was looking for two rooms at ASMU, or any other value resort. I asked her to look into the family suites, but I figured they wouldn't be offered for free dining or that the bounce back/visa holder crowd might have already snapped them up.

At lunch time I get a call from my TA telling me she booked us a Family Suite! I was jumping for joy! I think I spent a few hours just reading about the suites and showing everyone at work the floor layout.

I'm sooo happy my husband and I will get our own little room with a queen sized bed. I love that we'll be in the Calypso or Jazz buildings. I have a whole collection of ASMU photos to get me psyched for the trip!

If anyone has more photos they want to share, please do!

We booked for free dining September 1st - 8th. My husband was against going so close to labor day weekend, but from what I've read the parks really clear out right after labor day. I'm a little worried about the heat, but we're planning on afternoon breaks, so we should be ok.

I booked my ADR's right away since the focus of this wonderful trip will be food food food! Unfortunately that first set of ADR's had to be changed once Tigh was invited along :lmao:

I'll post my ADR's later.

So yeah, the tax return pretty much paid for the majority of the trip, and we just finished paying the last of it off this week! All we have to do is pack and fly to Disney World!

That's it for now.

COMING UP:

- My company is awesome and here's why!!!
- Fun in the Bahamas sun: a mini trip report
- The amazing fool proof plan!!
- Food glorious Food!!
- The trip that was: Golden memories

and much more!

Mrs Grumpy

06-07-2008, 12:55 PM

Great start!

Step

06-07-2008, 04:59 PM

Great start!

Thanks! I hope to post more tomorrow :goodvibes

hlrababy

06-09-2008, 04:17 PM

Good start!!! I can't wait to hear all about it!:thumbsup2

DISNEYJAZZ

06-09-2008, 06:15 PM

i can't wait to read more of your tr:goodvibes ....we were at the family suites in april and loved them!!!!:) really roomy for the 6 of us...no problems with space or anything! we did however find it easier to fold the beds up before we ran around getting ready each morning.i'm hoping to get the free dining and make another trip with another set of grandchildren { we have 3 kids and each is married w/children ,7 grands in all!} next sept. for the twins 5th b'day. we'll have to see ...looking forward to more of your report....:cool1:

heath-and-javens-mom

06-09-2008, 07:50 PM

I sooo wanted to be your first poster! Dang it, thats what I get for being gone all day today rather than dissing.:rotfl:

Great start, I cant wait to read more!!:cool1:

Step

06-09-2008, 08:32 PM

Good start!!! I can't wait to hear all about it!:thumbsup2

Thanks! I'll keep posting away!

i can't wait to read more of your tr:goodvibes ....we were at the family suites in april and loved them!!!!:) really roomy for the 6 of us...no problems with space or anything! we did however find it easier to fold the beds up before we ran around getting ready each morning.i'm hoping to get the free dining and make another trip with another set of grandchildren { we have 3 kids and each is married w/children ,7 grands in all!} next sept. for the twins 5th b'day. we'll have to see ...looking forward to more of your report....:cool1:

Thanks for the advice, I'm sure folding up the beds in the morning will make the place feel roomier. I'm really looking forward to having a couch to veg on when returning for our afternoon breaks.

Are you thinking of going back this september, or the one after?

I sooo wanted to be your first poster! Dang it, thats what I get for being gone all day today rather than dissing.:rotfl:

Great start, I cant wait to read more!!:cool1:

I'm just excited to get more than one post :P

Thanks for popping in to read :goodvibes

irky416

06-09-2008, 08:33 PM

Great start. I can't wait to read more!

Step

06-09-2008, 08:56 PM

Ok, so I'm a day late and several dollars short (explanation soon), but here's my next installment:

My company is awesome and here's why!!!

First off to frame the rest of what I'll be talking about, I program video games for a living and I LOVE my job.

A year ago I moved to Ontario, Canada to start working with a fabulous company. I'd only been working with them for about 4 months when we all got to go on a trip to Niagara falls!

Did I mention I LOVE my job?

My friends and I hit almost every haunted house on the strip, got to see the falls of course, and on the second day we went to marine land.

Here's us in front of the falls:
http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn211/richarsj/Niagara/DSCN9322.jpg

So... snap to a year later, and this time we're being rewarded with a free cruise! Yes folks.. in 3 days I leave for a four day cruise to the Bahamas!!!

Needless to say I'm a mite busy preparing right now.

The sad part is that I'm flat broke from paying off my upcoming Disney trip. :rotfl2: Luckily the cruise includes free food and plenty of activities and I have a card o' plastic for emergencies. (I hope buying new clothes for my trip counts as an emergency cause that's what I did today :lmao: )

I should have a bevy of photos to show off next week when I return. For now here's another splash o' Niagara fun:

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn211/richarsj/Niagara/DSCN9426.jpg

I'm gonna go back to packing and panicking... Adios!

Step

06-11-2008, 06:33 AM

Phew, almost done getting ready for the cruise. Picked up some fabulous clothing and did some packing yesterday. Only one more day before I drive to Detroit for my flight! Iiiiieeeeeeeee! :scared1:

I promise I'll take lots of pictures. :goodvibes

Next week when I get back I'll post about my Disney plans in more detail.

TTFN

Step

06-18-2008, 07:23 AM

Wooo! Back from my cruise. It took me a whole day just to rest up after a busy weekend of fun and sand.

I'll be posting photos later.

For any who've been on a Disney cruise before, or any cruise at all... why didn't one of you tell me it was so much fun? The food was amazing! The shows and the pool were awesome!

Was it better than Disney World? No... but I may consider one of those land and sea Disney cruise packages after my experience on a Royal Caribbean Cruise ship.

I've got to get started at work, but I'll post more later.

Step

06-26-2008, 07:39 AM

Phew, haven't gotten around to posting the cruise photos yet, and it looks like photobucket is down for maintenance.

My mother booked her airlines tickets! Yaaaaaaaa!

Only problem is, flying from Halifax isn't cheap... so to get a decent price she's booked an odd flight. She's flying in the day before us and arriving late so she'll be booking a room at ASMU. She'll be lazing about in the pool or visiting downtown Disney while the rest of us are still in the air.

Unfortunately, she'll have to be up at 3am on our final day in order to catch a 7am flight! Ah well, she saved $300 by doing this. ($200 after you factor in one nights lodging at ASMU)

Hearing my mom's news got me back into Disney planning mode. I started writing down daily plans in my Passporter. I'll post those later. I still have to finalize a few details.

We have one free table service credit to make use of. I'm not sure if we should book a dinner on the evening of our arrival or risk wasting it on a cheaper character breakfast or lunch.

tiggerbell

06-26-2008, 08:24 AM

I'm IN!!! :thumbsup2

Isn't it funny how reading 1 trip report leads you to see the link in someone else's, so you click theirs next, and then find someone else's through that one, and suddenly you have 37 subscriptions and you realize you're neglecting your own pre-trip report, but before you can update that, you have to check your e-mail and make sure you didn't get any updates on the 37 subscriptions... :confused:

Need. Support. Group.

Step

06-26-2008, 05:56 PM

But hey, if you don't read other people's trip reports... they don't read yours, lol. Checking your out as soon as I'm done here at work. :)

PISCESANGEL

06-28-2008, 12:19 AM

The cruise sounds like a lot of fun - can't wait to hear more about it!

I'm also looking forward to hearing more about your plans for WDW. We just stayed at ASMusic in April and we loved it!

:)

DISNEYJAZZ

06-28-2008, 07:43 AM

oh man the cruise sounds awesome....my dd's dmil wants to tke them on a cruise soemime but dd is scared to go...i'd say make it a disney cruise and jump on board with the kidlets in a heartbeat! lol i love your whale pic! "say cheese!"
you'd asked about when ffor the sept trip...2009 is what i am hoping for with free dining...twins { kensleigh & gracie} will be 5 sept 20th,dd { their mom} will be 27 on the 15th so it would be a great b'day get away....and the free dining would be great and save them $$$ since they are a one income family { dd works dsil is a stay at home dad] and they have a girl { chloe } who iwll be 2 1/2 by sept.09 so still free...dd wanted to wait till chloe was older but i think if you wait you could just miss your chance..and if we go now we can go in a few years for chloes b'day mayeb !
can't wait to see your cruise pix and hear more of your plans...can't wait to see your dining...we loved all the food but coral reef was everyone's fav!

Step

07-12-2008, 06:02 PM

Sorry it's been about 2 weeks since I posted anything. My husband went away for vacation with his family for the week and I was cleaning for when they all arrived here. You know how it is cleaning house for in-laws. :laughing:

Also had a small scare with my mother, that could put a damper in our plans. I'll post about that soon.

The cruise sounds like a lot of fun - can't wait to hear more about it!

I'm also looking forward to hearing more about your plans for WDW. We just stayed at ASMusic in April and we loved it!

:)

Thanks for reading! I'm going to post those cruise photos in a few minutes. I had an amazing time and I can see myself planning a cruise again in the future.

I'm really looking forward to staying at ASMU. I'll be posting my plans for that pretty soon as well.

oh man the cruise sounds awesome....my dd's dmil wants to tke them on a cruise soemime but dd is scared to go...i'd say make it a disney cruise and jump on board with the kidlets in a heartbeat! lol i love your whale pic! "say cheese!"
you'd asked about when ffor the sept trip...2009 is what i am hoping for with free dining...twins { kensleigh & gracie} will be 5 sept 20th,dd { their mom} will be 27 on the 15th so it would be a great b'day get away....and the free dining would be great and save them $$$ since they are a one income family { dd works dsil is a stay at home dad] and they have a girl { chloe } who iwll be 2 1/2 by sept.09 so still free...dd wanted to wait till chloe was older but i think if you wait you could just miss your chance..and if we go now we can go in a few years for chloes b'day mayeb !
can't wait to see your cruise pix and hear more of your plans...can't wait to see your dining...we loved all the food but coral reef was everyone's fav!

I hope your trip plans go well. :goodvibes
I haven't tried Coral Reef yet, but when i post my ADR plans I'll talk about which ones I've been to before and why I love them. :)

Free dining is awesome! Without it I probably wouldn't be able to go for another year, lol.

Step

07-12-2008, 06:27 PM

Fun in the Bahamas sun: a mini trip report

Finally I'm going to post these pictures from my cruise.

I had an amazing time and I highly recommend going on this kind of trip. The food and entertainment was wonderful, and you really can't argue with a free trip sponsored by an amazing employer!

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn211/richarsj/Bahamas%20Cruise/n773415710_3353883_9929.jpg

In this first picture, left to right, are Me, Jason, Tigh and Jamey. I hang out with Tigh and Jason outside work hours fairly often. As you know, Tigh will be joining us on our Disney trip. Jamey sits next to me at work, and was my roomie on the cruise ship. Long story short, we became roomies so that a couple coworkers who just started going out could have a private room of their own.

This picture was taken while we were on our way from the cruise ship to Cococay island. I didn't spend too much time on the island itself. I mostly relaxed on the beach and did some souvenir shopping.

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn211/richarsj/Bahamas%20Cruise/n773415710_3353897_4241.jpg

Here's me lazing in the shade.

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn211/richarsj/Bahamas%20Cruise/n773415710_3353888_1465.jpg

Here's the ship off in the distance, taken from the beach at Cococay.

That evening was formal night. We had a company meeting and some networking sessions for about an hour.

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn211/richarsj/Bahamas%20Cruise/n773415710_3353891_2381.jpg

Here are all the women in formal wear.

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn211/richarsj/Bahamas%20Cruise/n773415710_3353901_5542.jpg

Here are the guys, looking snazzy.

The next day we went to Nassau on Paradise Island.

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn211/richarsj/Bahamas%20Cruise/n773415710_3353892_2678.jpg

Here's me doing my best Indiana 'Joan' impression. (My middle name is Joan coincidently)

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn211/richarsj/Bahamas%20Cruise/n773415710_3353899_4881.jpg

We headed straight for the Pirate Museum of course. No Captain Jack, but I enjoyed it anyway. I wish I had a mini Captain Jack to pose in photos like tiggerbell does. (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1682692)

As you can tell from my face it was HOT in Nassau.

That evening I cooled off with a 'Miami Vice' while watching the finale show of the weekend: "Boogie Woogie Wonderland"

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn211/richarsj/Bahamas%20Cruise/n773415710_3353893_2981.jpg

There's me NOT getting smashed. I think there may have been a couple drops of rum. I love rum, but I only like 1/100th of a shot! :rotfl:

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn211/richarsj/Bahamas%20Cruise/n773415710_3353902_5858.jpg

Finally here's me with Jamey at the start of the trip doing the mandatory muster drill. It was hot and sweaty and I was NOT that happy. I think we were just goofing off to forget where we were.

That smile is a good reflection of how much I enjoyed the trip overall.

Hope you like the photos. I have more if anyone wants to see something I didn't post here.

Next up. Free food plans!

PISCESANGEL

07-12-2008, 07:53 PM

Thanks for posting pics of your cruise! Looks like a lot of fun!

:goodvibes

Step

07-27-2008, 08:49 AM

Picked up an awesome toiletry bag yesterday that I just had to show you all because it's so neat!

I'd seen toiletry bags recommended here on the DIS. I found this one at walmart and it has pretty much the same features as a more expensive model. It comes with four travel bottles, one spray bottle, one soap container and one toothbrush holder. There are compartments for each. those are in the outer compartment. The bag opens up to reveal two inner compartments and a hook to hang it up in the bathroom.

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn211/richarsj/BagSideA.jpg
http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn211/richarsj/BagSideB.jpg

Yeah, can you tell I'm getting excited about my trip when I get giddy over a toiletry bag? :lmao:

Native NYer

07-27-2008, 10:04 AM

I'm really enjoying your ptr!!!

I love your toiletry bag.

Step

07-27-2008, 10:50 AM

Eeeeee! Your trip is so close! I can't wait to read about how it goes :goodvibes

I'm in love with my new toiletry bag :rotfl:

Native NYer

07-27-2008, 10:52 AM

Eeeeee! Your trip is so close! I can't wait to read about how it goes :goodvibes

I'm in love with my new toiletry bag :rotfl:

Have you started packing your toiletries?

MomofCKJ

07-27-2008, 11:03 AM

Step

07-27-2008, 11:23 AM

Signing on!

Sounds like you have a fun bunch going on your trip! And I love cruising! Our last one was 4 years ago, DH and I did a cruise out of NY for a week to celebrate our 10th anniversary. It was fantastic! All that wonderful food!

Allyson :)

I had so much fun I'm thinking of doing a small cruise for our anniversary trip next year. :)

Have you started packing your toiletries?

No not yet. I went to Shopper's Drug Mart and used my 40,000 points to get $100 worth of trip supplies last weekend. I got $30 worth of sun screen! I also bought extra toothpaste, floss, water ear plugs, rolaids and some aloe vera. I already had some stuff leftover from the cruise.

I'll start packing it all up next weekend I think. I have a few supplies left to buy once my end of the month pay comes in.

PISCESANGEL

07-27-2008, 12:05 PM

LOVE how the toiletry bags hangs! ;)

Step

07-27-2008, 01:16 PM

The amazing fool proof plan!!

It's time to share my trip plans with the world!

I figure that not much is going to change at this point unless I get an unexpected cash windfall.

August 31st

6:30 pm - Leave London and drive to Detroit
9:30 pm - Check in to Fairfield Inn and Suites in Detroit
11:30pm - My mother arrives in Orlando and checks in at The Wingate

September 1st - DHS

7:00 pm - Drag our butts out of our comfy hotel beds. Free breakfast!
9:00 pm - Drop off the car at the shuttle lot and head to Detroit International
12pm-3pm - Flight to Orlando International! Lunch OOP
3:30 pm - Meet my mother at the disney store and catch ME
4pm-6pm - Check in at ASMU and eat some food, 1 CS
6:30 pm - DHS for the rest of the evening, Fantasmic meet at 10:00

September 2nd - Epcot

7:30 am - ADR Cape May Cafe, 1 TS... Hello Goofy! I'm back! :goodvibes
9am-12pm - Epcot!
12:00 pm - Lunch at Yakitori House, 1 CS
1:00 pm - Return to ASMU for pool/naps/air-conditioned bliss
5:00 pm - ADR San Angel Inn, 1 TS
6-9 pm - Epcot till closing, Poor man's globe-less Illuminations :sad2:

September 3rd - AK

7:30 am - ASMU food court breakfast, OOP
9am-12pm - Animal Kingdom!
12:00 pm - Lunch at Flame Tree BBQ, 1 CS
1pm-6pm - More animal Kingdom. It's gonna be HOT :sad1:
7:15 pm - ADR Boma, 1 TS... Yum yum yum!

September 4th - MK

6:30 am - ASMU food court breakfast, OOP
8am-12pm - Magic Kingdom!
12:00 pm - Lunch at Peco's Bills, 1 CS... love the peanut butter mousse!
1:00 pm - Return to ASMU for pool/naps/air-conditioned bliss
5:15 pm - ADR Ohanas, 1 TS... I love Poly :banana:
7pm-10pm - Magic Kingdom till closing! Wishes and Spectro, hurrah!

September 5th - DHS

7:30 am - ASMU food court breakfast, OOP
9am-12pm - Disney's Hollywood Studios!
12:00 pm - Lunch at some CS place, not sure yet, 1 CS
1pm-4pm - More DHS. Again with the HOT.. stupid Night of Joy :sad1:
5:00 pm - ADR Kona Cafe, 1 TS... Favorite TS EVER!
7:00 pm - Downtown Disney, Shopping!, possibly

September 6th - MK again

7:30 am - ASMU food court breakfast, OOP
9am-12pm - Magic Kingdom again. (Typhoon Lagoon if I get extra $$$!!!)
12:00 pm - Return to ASMU for pool/naps/air-conditioned bliss
1:00 pm - Lunch at ASMU Food court, 1 CS
5:15 pm - ADR Spoodles, 1 TS... not gonna think about live calamari.. blech
7pm-10pm - Magic Kingdom till closing.

September 7th - Epcot

7:30 am - ASMU food court breakfast, OOP
9am-12pm - Epcot again... but Epcot needs two days :thumbsup2
12:00 pm - Lunch at Tangierine Cafe, 1 CS
1:00 pm - Return to ASMU for pool/naps/air-conditioned bliss
5:40 pm - ADR Chef's de France, 1 TS
7pm-2am - Epcot till close, then Downtown Disney and Adventurers club

September 8th
4:00 am - Mom catches ME for her 7am flight!
10:00 am - Sleep in after our night out
11:00 am - OOP lunch in ASMU food court
12:00 pm - Catch ME
3:30 pm - Fly back to Detroit
6:30 pm - Start the drive home to London

There. That's the vacation in a nutshell. What's weird is that typing that out felt like I was actually going through it. I even felt sad when I got to the end :rotfl2:

I should mention that on my last trip on the final day, I had breakfast at Cape May, spent the day in epcot and had lunch at Chef'd de France. I decided to start my trip with a Goofy breakfast this time around. ;)

I have a thing for Goofy:

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn211/richarsj/DisneyMoon2006/DSCN8839.jpg

When I gave Goofy this kiss he said "Hyuck! Gawrsh!" I love the little touches at Disney World. :)

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn211/richarsj/DisneyMoon2006/DSCN9112.jpg

I swear I wasn't thinking about my breakfast with Goofy when I bought that shirt!

PISCESANGEL

07-27-2008, 06:53 PM

September 2nd - Epcot

7:30 am - ADR Cape May Cafe, 1 TS... Hello Goofy! I'm back! :goodvibes
9am-12pm - Epcot!
12:00 pm - Lunch at Yakitori House, 1 CS
1:00 pm - Return to ASMU for pool/naps/air-conditioned bliss
5:00 pm - ADR San Angel Inn, 1 TS
6-9 pm - Epcot till closing, Poor man's globe-less Illuminations :sad2:

September 4th - MK

6:30 am - ASMU food court breakfast, OOP
8am-12pm - Magic Kingdom!
12:00 pm - Lunch at Peco's Bills, 1 CS... love the peanut butter mousse!
1:00 pm - Return to ASMU for pool/naps/air-conditioned bliss
5:15 pm - ADR Ohanas, 1 TS... I love Poly :banana:
7pm-10pm - Magic Kingdom till closing! Wishes and Spectro, hurrah!

OMGosh! We are in Epcot on the same day (Tuesday) and MK on the same day (Thursday)! I just might see you there!! :wave:

And what are the Poor man's globe-less Illuminations? :confused3

Step

07-27-2008, 08:00 PM

OMGosh! We are in Epcot on the same day (Tuesday) and MK on the same day (Thursday)! I just might see you there!! :wave:

And what are the Poor man's globe-less Illuminations? :confused3

I've heard that Illuminations may be missing the big globe while we're there. I guess they are repairing it?

Where do you normally stand to watch Spectro and Illuminations? Maybe we can have a mini meet :goodvibes (You may want to PM me that in case you don't want other people knowing where we'll be at that time, lol)

I also noticed we're eating at Kona on the same day, lol. You have good taste! I love Kona :)
My ADR is 5pm... is yours anywhere close to that?

I don't know if I'll be doing MNSSHP that night... it was my original plan but I don't have the extra $$$ for tickets.

PISCESANGEL

07-27-2008, 09:52 PM

I've heard that Illuminations may be missing the big globe while we're there. I guess they are repairing it?

Where do you normally stand to watch Spectro and Illuminations? Maybe we can have a mini meet :goodvibes (You may want to PM me that in case you don't want other people knowing where we'll be at that time, lol)

I also noticed we're eating at Kona on the same day, lol. You have good taste! I love Kona :)
My ADR is 5pm... is yours anywhere close to that?

I don't know if I'll be doing MNSSHP that night... it was my original plan but I don't have the extra $$$ for tickets.

I didn't hear about them repairing the globe, but that's a bummer if so because I've only seen the show once... which leads to my next answer, I honestly don't even know of a place to stand. If you want to PM me and tell me where you'll be, I can try to find you! :goodvibes

I think our Kona is a different day though because I saw that yours is Friday and that is the day we leave, so we are actually going there on Wednesday...

As for MK, we usually are somewhere near Cosmic Ray's but no designated spot necessarily...

Let me know if you wanna say hi at Epcot though or MK, and let me know what name I should call you if I do! :lmao:

Step

07-28-2008, 12:32 PM

I didn't hear about them repairing the globe, but that's a bummer if so because I've only seen the show once... which leads to my next answer, I honestly don't even know of a place to stand. If you want to PM me and tell me where you'll be, I can try to find you! :goodvibes

I think our Kona is a different day though because I saw that yours is Friday and that is the day we leave, so we are actually going there on Wednesday...

As for MK, we usually are somewhere near Cosmic Ray's but no designated spot necessarily...

Let me know if you wanna say hi at Epcot though or MK, and let me know what name I should call you if I do! :lmao:

Yeah, my mother and uncle have never even been to Disney World, so they miss out on the globe. :(

Sorry about the Kona thing... yeah I think I got confused since I'm doing Magic kingdom on Saturday as well.

Maybe we could have a lunch meet or something on one of those days? I plan to eat in the parks and then head back to the resort to escape the afternoon heat.

...and you can call me Step, Steph, Stephanie... whichever. :)

Step

07-30-2008, 12:58 PM

Not much to report on the pre-trip front. I ordered a started set of pins on eBay that I hope we'll arrive on time. It saves me about $20. If it doesn't come in on time I'll still have the pins, and if it never arrives I'll get a refund from PayPal, lol.

I'm thinking of changing our Chef's Du France reservation in Epcot to something outside the parks so we may be able to go to magic kingdom that day instead. My mother has to get up really early for her flight and she may just not bother to sleep... so staying in the park until midnight would be nice.

Any suggestions for a good restaurant that may have openings on Sept 7th?

Lady Lallie

07-30-2008, 05:41 PM

I'm caught up! I can't wait to read more, especially since we will be there at the same time! :thumbsup2

tiggerbell

07-31-2008, 07:41 AM

Any suggestions for a good restaurant that may have openings on Sept 7th?

My first suggestion for a resort restaurant is Boma... I love that place!!! :love:

Raglan Road?

Kona Cafe is sure to have openings!

We will be at Earl of Sandwich and Ghirardelli's that night... ooohhh, fancy! :rotfl:

Step

07-31-2008, 12:20 PM

My first suggestion for a resort restaurant is Boma... I love that place!!! :love:

Raglan Road?

Kona Cafe is sure to have openings!

We will be at Earl of Sandwich and Ghirardelli's that night... ooohhh, fancy! :rotfl:

Already got Boma and Kona booked for other nights ^^
Haven't tried Raglan Road yet.

I was thinking maybe a resort restaurant that I haven't done yet. I Prefer one outside the parks so I can be flexible about which park we go to that day.

My current ADR's are:

Cape May Cafe
San Angel Inn
Boma
Ohanas
Kona Cafe
Spoodles
Chef's de France

I could pay OOP for my cape may breakfast, so a 2 TS place isn't out of the question.

tiggerbell

07-31-2008, 01:38 PM

Right now, the only things going through my head are The Wave, Beaches 'n Cream, and Narcoossee's (but that one probably only because it's fun to type!).

I've always wanted to try Jiko also.

Step

08-03-2008, 11:38 AM

It's done! We voted as a group and picked a restaurant. I canceled Chef's De France and booked Artist Point. I'm psyched because when I was a kid I always wanted to go to Disney World and the resort I wanted to stay at was wilderness lodge.

Also...

30 Days till Disney World!!!!

Lady Lallie

08-03-2008, 11:39 AM

Step

08-03-2008, 12:05 PM

The updated plan:

Originally we were going to get our 2nd night of Magic Kingdom fun in during MNSSHP. It looks like we won't have the extra cash, and even if we did have the $50 we'd rather add the water parks and more option.

I noticed Magic Kingdom is open until 12 am on our last night, which is perfect! With my Mom catching such an early flight back we need to be out late having as much fun as possible until she has to go. (She's not even planning to sleep until she gets on the plane :lmao:

I had to cancel our dinner at Chef's De France so that we aren't forced to go to Epcot on our last day, so we booked dinner at Artist Point. :woohoo:

With that done, I decided we'd visit Epcot on Friday to go to the EMH evening, and visit DHS on Saturday to go to the EMH morning.

Anyway, here are the changes:

August 31st

6:30 pm - Leave London and drive to Detroit
9:30 pm - Check in to Fairfield Inn and Suites in Detroit
11:30pm - My mother arrives in Orlando and checks in at The Wingate

September 1st - DHS

7:00 pm - Drag our butts out of our comfy hotel beds. Free breakfast!
9:00 pm - Drop off the car at the shuttle lot and head to Detroit International
12pm-3pm - Flight to Orlando International! Lunch OOP
3:30 pm - Meet my mother at the Disney store and catch ME
4pm-6pm - Check in at ASMU and eat some food, 1 CS
6pm-11pm - DHS for EMH evening, Fantasmic meet at 10:00

September 2nd - Epcot

7:30 am - ADR Cape May Cafe, OOP... Hello Goofy! I'm back! :goodvibes
8am-12pm - Epcot! EMH Morning.
12:00 pm - Lunch at Yakitori House, 1 CS
1:00 pm - Return to ASMU for pool/naps/air-conditioned bliss
5:00 pm - ADR San Angel Inn, 1 TS
6-9 pm - Epcot till closing, No globe at Illuminations :sad2:

September 3rd - AK

7:30 am - ASMU food court breakfast, OOP
9am-12pm - Animal Kingdom!
12:00 pm - Lunch at Flame Tree BBQ, 1 CS
1pm-6pm - More Animal Kingdom, EMH Evening. It's gonna be HOT :sad1:
7:15 pm - ADR Boma, 1 TS... Yum yum yum!

September 4th - MK

6:30 am - ASMU food court breakfast, OOP
8am-12pm - Magic Kingdom! EMH Morning.
12:00 pm - Lunch at Peco's Bills, 1 CS... love the peanut butter mousse!
1:00 pm - Return to ASMU for pool/naps/air-conditioned bliss
5:15 pm - ADR Ohanas, 1 TS... I love Poly :banana:
7pm-10pm - Magic Kingdom till closing! Wishes and Spectro, hurrah!

September 5th - Epcot

7:30 am - ASMU food court breakfast, OOP
9am-12pm - Epcot!
12:00 pm - Lunch at Tangierine Cafe, 1 CS
1:00 pm - Return to ASMU for pool/naps/air-conditioned bliss
5:00 pm - ADR Kona Cafe, 1 TS... Favorite TS EVER!
7-10 - More Epcot, EMH Evening

September 6th - DHS

6:30 am - ASMU food court breakfast, OOP
8am-12pm - Disney's Hollywood Studios. EMH Morning.
12:00 pm - Lunch, 1 CS
1pm-4pm - More Hollywood Studios
5:15 pm - ADR Spoodles, 1 TS
7pm-10pm - Downtown Disney or Boardwalk

September 7th - Magic Kingdom

7:30 am - ASMU food court breakfast, OOP
9am-12pm - Magic Kingdom or Typhoon Lagoon
12:00 pm - Lunch, 1 CS
1:00 pm - Return to ASMU for pool/naps/air-conditioned bliss
5:40 pm - ADR Artist Point, 2 TS
7pm-12am - Magic Kingdom till close! EMH Evening

September 8th
4:00 am - Mom catches ME for her 7am flight!
10:00 am - Sleep in after our night out
11:00 am - OOP lunch in ASMU food court
12:00 pm - Catch ME
3:30 pm - Fly back to Detroit
6:30 pm - Start the drive home to London

Step

08-06-2008, 12:57 PM

Bought some shoes for the trip over the weekend!

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn211/richarsj/birks.jpg

I've been having nasty heel pain and my mother wears this brand of shoe all the time. Her doctor recommended them. They are orthopedic shoes called Birkenstocks. I bought them in Arizona style.

So far I'd describe them as walking on rocks... and walking on rocks is awesome! My feet love me!

Oh and only 26 days to go!!!
:cool1: :cool1: :cool1: :cool1: :cool1:

LuccaDrake

08-09-2008, 07:02 AM

Step

08-09-2008, 08:25 AM

Just started reading along. We'll be at the world from 9/5 until 9/12, but unfortunately we won't be at the same place on the same day. :sad1: Now that I've found the DIS my main mission is to meet as many DIS'ers as I can! :rotfl: I hope you have a great trip and I look forward to the report that follows. I will probably be doing a very short PTR before leaving followed with a TR.

~Beka~

On 9/5 there is a glow meeting at Pop Century at 10pm. You could meet lots of disers there! :banana:

GLOW II (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1670673)

I haven't decided if I'll be there that night, but Epcot does close at 10 that night, so it's possible I'll pop in for an hour.

I look forward to reading your PTR and TR. Make sure you tell me when you start. :)

Step

08-09-2008, 08:41 AM

The epic of finding shoes.

I've been having severe heel pain in my left foot (probably plantar fasciitis) for months and months now. 1st I tried wearing insoles from the drug store in my old shoes. That seemed to help quite a bit, but they didn't hold up for long distance walking.

I tried on my 2 year old light blue crocs and they had no support at all. :(

I bought some new balance shoes for $30 on sale figuring they would help. The oh so comfy soles were exactly that, for a little while. The lack of support caused more heel pain than ever before!

I knew my mother wore Birkenstocks for her foot/back issues so I figured I'd give them a try. I bit the bullet and slammed down $100 for them last week. I wore the orthopedic wonders for one week... one week! My left foot loved them! Alas it was not to be. I woke up yesterday morning with bad heel pain in both of my feet. :sad2: I wore the birks that day hoping I was wrong. I guess I wasn't because every step was murder for my right foot. I could feel the muscle in my right foot giving way.

After work I decided to give a new pair of crocs a try. I bought a light gray pair on sale for $25:

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn211/richarsj/crocs-cayman-light-grey.jpg

Comparing them to my old crocs I discovered there is a major difference. The heel area is not turned to spongy mush, lol. My feet were happy to be in them for a bit.

My plan right now is to avoid major walking for a couple days and then wear the crocs to work all next week. Here's hoping they help.

I'll wait a week or so before even trying the birks again. It could be I just have to slowly get used to them.

I'll probably bring 4 pairs of shoes to disney. The birks, my old pair with new insoles, my crocs, and an old pair of black mule sandals that seem to be pretty supportive for my heels as well.

I just hope I don't die from all the walking at disney. :eek:

I'm also going to see a podiatrist, but I doubt they'll have time to do anything for me before my trip.

PISCESANGEL

08-09-2008, 12:15 PM

Sending you some pixie dust that your shoes hold up well for you!! pixiedust: pixiedust: pixiedust: pixiedust:

Step

08-09-2008, 04:40 PM

Thanks. You'll know if they did if you see me in the world. I'll either be hobbling or I won't. :lmao:

In other news, doubled checked my flights today and they were fine. Double checked my mom's flight numbers and her flight home is gone! Damn you delta!!! It looks like the 710 flight is still there and they may have just changed flight numbers. I hope so for mom's sake. :eek:

Step

08-18-2008, 08:29 PM

The trip is getting closer and closer, only 14 days to go!
:goodvibes :wizard: :woohoo:

Here are some updates:

1) The Stitch start pin set we ordered from eBay finally arrived. I was worried it wouldn't get here on time. It's the 8 pin deluxe set that was released in 2005. Lindsay is excited about pin trading again this year! Last time he only got to trade a couple pins. Our one pin trading rule is cast members only. I always feel guilty when I trade with other people, especially kids. I feel like I'm pulling one over on them if they happen to like a less expensive or less unique pin. :guilty:

Here is a link to the set we got:

http://eventservices.disney.go.com/pintrading/pin?id=10068

2) My heels like the combination of crocs and birks. I trade off on them day to day and I've had less pain and been able to walk a lot more.

3) I bought new clothes for disney. I got a cute white and gray skirt/shirt combo and dis flavored lime shirt. My husband helped me pick them out. Yes he has good taste and he is in no way gay, lol.

I also picked out some light brown shorts to wear with the dis shirt. I hope to be wearing them at the fantasmic meet on the 1st.

4) I booked our hotel for the night befoe our flight to Orlando. It's the same place we stayed when we went on the cruise. We get 8 free days parking and a yummy free breakfast!

That's all I can think of right now. I started my packing list today. 2 weeks! Woooooo!

tiggerbell

08-20-2008, 08:46 AM

2) My heels like the combination of crocs and birks. I trade off on them day to day and I've had less pain and been able to walk a lot more.

I actually do that with my Crocs - I never wear the same pair 2 days in a row - if I do, it seems that my feet act up! And in Disney, if we are ever back in the room during the day, I switch shoes then too... gotta keep your feet "on their toes"! :cool1:

Step

08-23-2008, 07:51 AM

EEEEEE!!!! 9 days!! Single digit dance!
:cool1: :cool1: :cool1:

I got my Disney package this week. My hotel for the night before the airport is booked. I rolled up all my pennies,dimes and nickels ($27 worth) and I'm going to the bank on Monday to exchange my canadian cash stash for american dollars. Unfortunately the exchange rate isn't as good as when I went on my cruise.

I'm going to start packing the suitcases up today and planning how the week will proceed.

PISCESANGEL

08-23-2008, 10:34 AM

Lady Lallie

08-23-2008, 10:45 AM

WOO HOO for the single digit dance!! :yay: :dance3: :yay:

Step

08-24-2008, 09:09 AM

Single Digit Dance!! :cool1: :cool1: :cool1:

WOO HOO for the single digit dance!! :yay: :dance3: :yay:

Thanks! 8 days now!
:goofy: :mickeyjum :donald:

I just ordered 3 Aloha phones for $10 each from virgin mobile. Should ship to the resort in 3-5 days. The reason we're buying them is that my mom has some sort of "get lost" disease that hits whenever we go anywhere with her. She isn't really lost herself... she just wanders away and none of the rest of us can find her, lol. I figured 3 phones between the 5 of us should be sufficient.

Just for the record, I've never owned a cell phone of my own for use here in Canada and I don't think I ever will. I am tempted by the iphone, but the price is exhorbent. :eek:

side note: according to urbandictionary.com exhorbent is not a word... that's news to me, lol. http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=exhorbent
:lmao:

I figure if I know what a word means, and other people know what a word means... than it should be put into in a real dictionary. How else will we get new words in our language?

In other news:

Converted $480 to american cash and got back a measly $446. *Sigh*
I wish I'd had that $480 in my pocket two months ago when the rate would have gotten me $475. Ah well, C'est la vie.

That means I have money for:

meal tips: $183 (most expensive meals x 5ppl x 20%)
maids/other tips: $55 ($5/day for maid x 7 days + $20 misc tips)
CS breakfasts: $147 ($6 x 3ppl x 7 days + $13 mug x 3ppl)
airport meals on travel days: $61 ($10 x 3ppl x 2 days)

I just need to put together some souvenir money and we're all set! :woohoo: