CHRISTMAS VACATION (The Trip, Not the Movie): 11/12 - 30 Days & Dining Review Link

[annnewjerz]

Welcome to a compulsive planner's first foray in the world of the trippie! I'm going to (try) to keep the installments of my PTR easily accessible and very well organized, but please forgive me in advance if I'm not able to :goodvibes

So, without further delay...let's get this baby started!!!

INDEX

How Our Trip Came To Be: The Story (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31421249&postcount=2)

The Basics of Our Trip: Details (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31421360&postcount=3), Flights Booked! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31511726&postcount=15), To Eat/To Drink Lists (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31994000&postcount=69), Park Tickets Arrive (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32837231&postcount=158), Day 1 Food in DTD (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33116531&postcount=188), Day 2 Food in DHS (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33122579&postcount=190), Day 3 Food in MK (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33131464&postcount=193), Day 5 Food in Epcot (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33158596&postcount=201), Final(ish) Plan for ADRs (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33456289&postcount=229), ADRs Booked!! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33555740&postcount=234), Behind the Seeds Booked! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33659610&postcount=257), Wishes Dessert Party Booked! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33676366&postcount=266), Updated Itinerary to include MVMCP (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=34054487&postcount=293)

Twists, Turns and Surprises: Changes Already? (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31421828&postcount=5), Cirque du Soleil-La Nouba (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31547813&postcount=29), Keys to the Kingdom Tour (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31547998&postcount=30), Behind the Seeds-Anything's a Possibility (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31560712&postcount=31), October Anniversary Trip in the Works (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32148234&postcount=77), Cirque Tickets a Whole 8 Days Early! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32175260&postcount=85), Could it be---Deluxe Dining?! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32633390&postcount=114), Did Someone Say Cake? (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32763583&postcount=138), KTTK & MVMCP No More (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32912115&postcount=164), The Final Surprise: An Upgraded Resort (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32912414&postcount=165), In The Words of Britney Spears---Oops I Did It Again, Another Resort Change (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32931954&postcount=172)

Fun Stuff: Pin Collecting (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31442611&postcount=13), My First Disney Pins (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31487800&postcount=14), The Neverending Quest for a Decent Looking Comfortable Shoe (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31520204&postcount=20), New Camera Bag (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31605253&postcount=47), Pre-Trip Shopping! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32744638&postcount=134), More Shopping - Disney Shirts For All!! (http://disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32805479&postcount=144), Got My Disney Shirts, Do I Like Them?? (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32842413&postcount=161), The Shirt Saga Continues (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32911569&postcount=162), BWV Christmas Tree Swap (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33140167&postcount=199), Special Souvenier from Lurkyloo (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33662359&postcount=262), Mickey Mail (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=34148725&postcount=307), Trip Shopping & 30 Days Til The Trip! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=34308901&postcount=335)

Random Thoughts & Incoherent Ramblings: 1 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31577862&postcount=35), 2 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31580029&postcount=36), 3 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31636536&postcount=54), 4 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32692630&postcount=123), 5 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32932380&postcount=173), 6 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33079833&postcount=181), 7 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33779603&postcount=275)

[annnewjerz]

Like most of you on these boards, I am quite the Disney fanatic. No, I don't have a room in my house dedicated to Disney doo-dads and Pez dispensers and I'm not covered in Disney tattoos (although I am considering my first), but that doesn't make me any less of an enthusiast, does it?? (More on me later though)

Our last trip to The World was in September 2007 during Free Dining. We stayed at All-Star Sports and it was DH's first trip ever to WDW. Unfortunately, this was my first trip to WDW as an adult and I had no idea what planning was involved---so we winged it. One week later, after many attempts at walk-up meals, full days at the park and our fair share of arguments with the rest of our group we returned to New Jersey exhausted. DH didn't experience the "magic" and I had thought for sure that would be our last trip to The World as a married couple.

Luckily, in 2008 I happened to meet another amazing DISer over on the Photo Board and was offered the opportunity to rent DVC points at the Boardwalk this year. If only I could convince DH. This was my chance for redemption, my chance to show DH how fantastic WDW could truly be, my chance to sell him on the magic and my chance to see The World at Christmas!!!

.......and so the quest began.

After crunching the numbers, figuring out when we could take vacation and selling DH on all of the pros that BWV had to offer over All-Star Sports, he decided that if we could get a Standard View Studio, we could go at Christmas time this year!

I was overwhelmed with excitement. I knew that the Standard View Studios were hard to come by and that to do this trip "right" a lot more planning would be involved. On January 13, 2009 I got the glorious call that we had secured the Standard View Studio at BWV for $95 per night!!! What a steal, this would most certainly get DH looking forward to the trip, right?

The trip is now officially booked and so the rest of the planning continues.

[annnewjerz]

So, here are the basic details for the trip.

The Details:

Dates: December 12-18, 2009

The Hotel(s): 1 night @ POP, 5 nights @ BWV

Special Events Planned:

Candlelight Processional
Tour Deluxe Resorts to See Christmas Decorations
Osborne Lights


The "Cast Members":

Me (Ann) - 25. A little weird, loud and just a bit obnoxious, but all around good person (or so I have been told). Married to DH for 4 years. New Jersey native who was transplanted to a sub-base in CT for a year after getting married and is VERY happy to be back in good ol' New Jersey!

Taken on the Boardwalk while waiting to be seated at ESPN Club to watch the Phillies game.
http://annnewjerz.smugmug.com/photos/516282172_EYctP-M-2.jpg

DH (Erik) - 26. Also a little weird, but in a much less obnoxious way. My high-school sweetheart who was taken away for a period of time (actually 6 years, but "period of time" sounded better) while serving in the US Navy as a submariner. After marrying in 05 and getting off of active duty in 06, he moved back to NJ with me where we purchased a house and filled it with 6 cats and2 big dumb dogs.

Taken in the America Pavillion in Epcot in 07.
http://annnewjerz.smugmug.com/photos/516205464_8yDAa-M-0.jpg

and a last minute player..........

DM (Lois) - I would never be so cruel as to list her age in a public forum. My Mom hasn't been on a vacation in about 12 years and has had a rough couple of years (my Dad passed away a few years ago), so we decided to invite her along for the trip!!
http://annnewjerz.smugmug.com/photos/516210237_tmPsC-M-0.jpg

[awaldo]

I'm intrigued. Can't wait to hear about your planning!

[annnewjerz]

After booking BWV for December 12-18, 2009, logically the next step would be to look for airfare, wait for park hours, etc.

For me, this wasn't the case. The next logical step was to add an extra night at POP Century. I mean...why not, right? We are now arriving on Saturday instead of Sunday (more on why later) and will have a whole extra day in WDW. Booking POP for that extra night helped reinforce to me (and to DH more importantly) how much of a steal the room at BWV is.

1 night @ POP with AAA discount = $90 per night
1 night @ BWV on points = $95 per night

Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet.



The next "twist" in the plan was to add a third member to our party. Originally, the trip was planned for myself and DH. We typically go on one trip per year and really enjoy going on them alone, it gives us a chance to relax and reconnect. This year was a little different though. About 3 years ago, my Father passed away. My DM doesn't have a travel companion and really hasn't been on a trip in about 12 years anyway, so being that she loved WDW when she went when we were kids, we extended the invite and she has accepted!

This is going to complicate the trip a little more, because adding people always makes it hard to please everyone, doesn't it? She has already informed me that she is happy to leave the planning to me and that she will do whatever we'd like to do with the exception of a few requests (a certain attraction, show, restaurant, etc.) It will also make our Standard View Studio a little cramped and maybe a little awkward, but she is more than willing to stay on the sleeper sofa and since money is tight it seems like the perfect solution.

I'm nervous and excited about having her come with us all at the same time. We have our moments where we butt heads like no others, but hopefully the fantasticness that is Disney will keep us both calm, cool and collected. If not, nothing can be worse than the blow-out we had with my DB and DSIL in 07 :rolleyes:

[shordiebecka]

ohhhh! I bet this time you'll love Disney!!! I'm going to be there the same time as you, except the 14-18. A shorter trip, but well worth it! I'll be at the Beach Club (hopefully), so right next door! Can't wait ot hear your plans.

[annnewjerz]

I'm intrigued. Can't wait to hear about your planning!

:woohoo:

My first interested party!! Unfortunately, I'm still about 8 months out, so this is going to be a long wait (which is part of the reason I started the PTR---I need something to keep my mind off of how far away the trip is!)

ohhhh! I bet this time you'll love Disney!!! I'm going to be there the same time as you, except the 14-18. A shorter trip, but well worth it! I'll be at the Beach Club (hopefully), so right next door! Can't wait ot hear your plans.

I'm really hoping he loves Disney more than before, we have some agreed upon terms (we have to take a break at some point during the day and enjoy the pool at least a few times), so hopefully that'll make things better than in 07. New London was my home for a short while (DH was stationed on a sub in Groton), I'm definitely missing me some Tim Hortons! :goodvibes

Enjoy your trip!!

[awaldo]

We just decided to take my mother with us, so we share that commonality!

[disneyaddicted]

Seriously, right hand up to God, I do have a room dedicated to Disney doo dads and Pez dispensors, I just thought when you said that it was hilariously, DH and kids always tease me about it, I guess for you to know about it there must be others out there. Unless you happen to have read one of my old reports and I truly am the only one like that? ;)

I am taking my Mom on a trip in January, I am looking forward to it but am also a little weary as well. 7 nights in a room with dear ole Mom, I think I might bring Captain Morgan and possibley Jack for a little help.

Awesome that you were able to rent points, can't believe the major savings there, big eye opener.

Disney is December is the best. It just adds to the already magic.

looking forward to reading more.

[Abby's Dad]

I am here following your post on Lease & Code's combined trip report and triplet watch, and I am intrigued by your rental of DVC points. Awesome savings! I am certainly curious how this works out, and how one goes about this.

You mention that you don't have a Disney-themed tattoo - yet. In 2007 my wife and I went to WDW. This was my wife's first trip to the World, and in planning for the trip it came out that she has always harbored a secret love of Tinkerbell. As we talked about this, she decided that she wanted a Tinkerbell tattoo. Whoa! This is your basic Midwestern, conservative, 51-year-old (at that time) woman, who had never even thought about a tattoo previously. Anyway, she got the tattoo for her birthday, and is very happy with it.

We also took our 24-year-old daughter along, as she had never been to WDW either. As some encouragement for you, like you with your mother, we have butted heads from time-to-time with our daughter. The bright side of this is that since sharing this experience we have a much deepter relationship, and find the head-butt times to be fewer and less severe.

So I think I'll hop on for the ride, particularly since our current dream is returning to WDW for Christmas, though not this year.

[annnewjerz]

Seriously, right hand up to God, I do have a room dedicated to Disney doo dads and Pez dispensors, I just thought when you said that it was hilariously, DH and kids always tease me about it, I guess for you to know about it there must be others out there. Unless you happen to have read one of my old reports and I truly am the only one like that? ;)

Welcome!

Too funny! :rotfl: I have seen lots of pics of people who have decorated their house in an over the top WDW theme and while one day I might have a room dedicated to WDW "stuff"---not right now. I'm SURE you are not alone. With all the money that's spent on souveniers while in WDW, I'm sure there are a lot more people just like you out there than you'd think!

I am here following your post on Lease & Code's combined trip report and triplet watch, and I am intrigued by your rental of DVC points. Awesome savings! I am certainly curious how this works out, and how one goes about this.

Welcome to you as well! It's funny how many people stumble upon others' posts because of another common thread they read.

Now for a novel...

As far as the points rental goes, it is a process that involves a lot of trust. We hooked up with another member on the Photo Board almost by accident. I had mentioned how much I would LOVE to stay at BWV and she mentioned she had extra points. Next thing you know---we're going!

....Okay so it was a littttttle more work than that. We had to plan about a year in advance because the booking window opens at 11 months. We had to figure out a plan A, B and C in case one of the scenarios didn't work out. She booked the room for us and within about a week or two forwarded us a contract to review and sign. In return, we sent in part of our payment (from what I understand, most renters are required to pay the full amount at the time of booking but she made an exception) and she forwarded us back our confirmation. The room is booked by the DVC owner, but under our name. We gave her full names of the guests, addresses, etc.

In terms of the price, I really feel like it was the best option as there was NO WAY we could have afforded BWV this year on our own. A "point" number is assigned for each night depending on your room category. We then paid a certain dollar amount to the renter per point.

It was really simple, but definitely do your research first. There is a whole board dedicated to renting DVC points, I'd hop over there to do some more research. We can't call DVC, we can't modity our reservations, we can't add package options to our trip, etc.---that all has to be taken care of by the DVC member.

Anyway, she got the tattoo for her birthday, and is very happy with it.

That's a really funny story. I have two tattoos right now, but since Disney has always held a special place in my heart, I'd consider something very discreet. My idea is to get a "Hidden Mickey" tattoo, not necessarily hidden in another design, just hidden in terms of placement, somewhere discreet since I work at a law firm. Maybe behind my ear.


So I think I'll hop on for the ride, particularly since our current dream is returning to WDW for Christmas, though not this year.

I hope you have the chance to go at Christmas sometime in the near future. I hear it's a great time and a very memorable trip if you can see all of the Holiday stuff WDW has to offer---I'm really looking forward to it!! :thumbsup2

[Abby's Dad]

Thanks for all the info - after reading your post and the great rate you are getting I did start doing a little poking around over on the DVC boards. That is really a heck of a price!

I was going to load some pics of the tattoo to Flickr but it is running terminally slow, so maybe tomorrow, but it is not a readily visible tattoo. She did consider a hidden Mickey. One of the things that came out of this was that DD had gotten a tattoo that she designed herself while she was in college, and had been very careful in making sure that the old folks wouldn't see it. She was quite surprised by DW's tat - and then came clean about hers.

DD is planning a quick trip to WDW in October with two girlfriends - that will be quite the group!

Your enthusiasm reminds me of our group's enthusiasm - and I am sure that you will have an absolutely wonderful time.

[annnewjerz]

So in an effort to help the time between now and our trip pass more quickly, I have tried coming up with some new hobbies. I'm already a hobbyist when it comes to photography (which you will learn more about later), I have recently taken up going to the shooting range (weird...I know) and most recently, I have decided to become a Disney PIN COLLECTOR! :)

Okay, so pin collector isn't exactly what I plan on becoming---but I would like to get a few. There have been some I have been eyeing up for a while since seeing them on Carrie/Lurkyloo's TR and decided to start scouting them out on E-bay.

They are called Vinylmation Pins. They came in a mystery box when you buy them in WDW, so you may get the same ones over and over---as I stated, it was a mystery! They don't sell them in the parks anymore from what I understand, so I figured E-bay was my only way to get them. Here is what they look like:

http://eventservices.disney.go.com/files/14613423.jpg

Cute, right??

I also plan on trying to get the set of 5 Haunted Mansion Hidden Mickeys (pictured below) and a few for Splash Mountain since they are my two favorite rides in WDW.

http://www.pinpics.com/img/p1164/pin58223 http://www.pinpics.com/img/p1254/pin62722 http://www.pinpics.com/img/p1164/pin58222 http://www.pinpics.com/img/p1158/pin57921 http://www.pinpics.com/img/p1137/pin56898

Lastly, I think I'll pick up a few that I'm actually not crazy over. This may sound stupid, but I'll have a really hard time trading with a CM if it is a pin I really like---so my thought process was that if I buy a few cheapies I don't like at all, it'll be easier to make myself trade. KWIM?

Anywho, that's all I've got for tonight. I've got a surprise brewing---but since I have such a long time until our trip, I figure I should at least try to save it for a litttttttttle while.

Until next time!

[annnewjerz]

So, just wanted to update this bad boy. Today marked a special occassion---I received my first ever Disney pins in the mail!!

I was hesitant to E-bay for pins because of so many fakes being passed as "authentic" but decided, if it's a pin I like I really dont care one way or the other. I hope that doesn't make me a bad pin collector ;)

So, without further delay---here are my first pins. From what I have read and the inspection I did as soon as they arrived, it seems that I ended up with some keepers, all authentic from what I can see.

I've decided on a few themes for what pins I want to collect. Haunted Mansion is one of them. These are called the hitchhiking ghosts "cuties" and that they are!!

http://i21.ebayimg.com/04/i/001/36/95/bea1_1.JPG

I'll also have some more Haunted Mansion, the Vinylmations pictures in my previous post and a whole boat load of Chip & Dale pins coming my way in the next week or two, but don't worry---I won't post pictures of all of them.

[annnewjerz]

So today we hit a major milestone in our (my) trip planning. We booked our flights!!!

I have been looking at airfare for months, since the first airlines released their schedules and was astounded that it was going to cost $250 to fly round trip non-stop from Newark, NJ to Orlando. In 2007 we paid $128 round trip---with no baggage fees none the less!!! I absolutely refused to pay this much for airfare...and so the quest began.

I have been checking daily on JetBlue, Southwest, Airtrain, Continental, US Air...you name it I've checked it.

Well today, my search paid off. I booked our departure flight on Airtran out of Philadelphia for $59 one way! Unfortunately, our return date wasn't released, but...wait....what's this??? US Air had $59 fares published for our trip home!!! :yay:

All I had to do was convince Erik (DH) that flying US Air (or as he calls it, US Scare) would be okay. He isn't a fan, whether it was the cranky crew we always encounterer or the fact that the cushion on the seat of our last flight was literally duct-taped together---I knew it would be tough to convince him.

Well, after dinner tonight he decided the $59 fare was too good to pass up and said we could book, after all, you can have a bad experience on any airline, right?

So---we are scheduled for the following:

December 12, 09 / 7:00am - 9:30am
December 18, 09 / 7:30pm - 10:00pm

Even though the trip was "official" before---booking my airfare definitely makes me feel like our trip is that much more real, and getting here much more quickly than I imaged it would (thank goodness!!!)

[khertz]

Our trips will overlap! We'll be there the 4th-14th. :goodvibes I was beginning to think I was crazy for starting a PTR so far in advance, so it's nice to see someone else as excited (or impatient?) as me! :rotfl:

Subscribing. ;)

[annnewjerz]

I was beginning to think I was crazy for starting a PTR so far in advance, so it's nice to see someone else as excited (or impatient?) as me! :rotfl:

:lmao::rotfl2:

Welcome!!

It's NEVER too early to start planning for a trip. Quite honestly, I have been planning it since before we were even booked last November, but didn't even think of doing a PTR---it's my first one and I'm liking it :thumbsup2

Don't expect too much interesting to be going on, but I do like to write---so you can bet that if there is ANYTHING at all going on, I'll be writing about it. :thumbsup2

I'll have to check out your PTR and see if we'll be doing anything the same.

[khertz]

Don't expect too much interesting to be going on, but I do like to write---so you can bet that if there is ANYTHING at all going on, I'll be writing about it. :thumbsup2


I totally could have written this myself! :lmao: It's killing me that I don't have more to update about right now. MVMCP tickets go on sale soon... :thumbsup2

[chicagoshannon]

Nice start! I've never seen any of those pins. I like them! Congrats on getting your air travel booked.

I've been to Disney for Christmas lot. I always loved touring the hotels. Make sure you go in the front entrance of the Grand Floridian. They have (or at least they used to) chestnuts roasting on an open fire and choralers singing. It's wonderful! All the hotels also used to have hot cidar and cookies.

[annnewjerz]

So one thing I have been trying to figure out recently was what type of shoes I plan to bring to WDW. I've never been in December before and am really confused about what should beon my feet. Should I wear sandals? Should I wear sneakers? WHO KNOWS!

Last trip in September 07 I brought along my sneakers and a bunch of flip flops. After a day in the sneakers, my feet were wet, sweaty and had blisters from all of the rubbing. I spent the remaining 5 days in flip flops and from what I recall, it couldn't have been that bad since I don't remember sitting to take breaks for aching feet, etc.

I am NOT a sneaker person---in my daily life I wear ballet flats and flip flops when the weather is warm and Uggs or other boots when the weather is cold.

My other area of concern is that, while my trip isn't until December, if I plan to wear/bring/consider flip flops I need to buy them now so I can spend the nice warm summer weather breaking them in---can't do that in the fall/early winter in the Northeast!!

I have been looking through some threads on another board, and these are the flip flops/non-sneaker shoes I'm considering. If anyone has any input or opinions about one shoe over another, please let me know!!! :goodvibes

REEF brand flip flops (rubber instead of foam)
http://www.reef.com/images/PRODUCTS/details/61110168.jpg

TEVA Betsy Thong
http://us.st12.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/sportsunlimited_2050_9672902815

CROCS Captiva Sandals
http://shop.crocs.com/images/product/medium/2179_1_whitejade.jpg

CROCS Malindi Flats
http://shop.crocs.com/images/product/medium/825_1_brown.jpg

I'll have to make my choice in about a month---until them I'm going to spend a few weekends shopping around in person and trying some cheaper flip flops on. The ones I wore around WDW were only about $10 and so comfy...but our dogs ate them (seriously).

While we're on the subject---these are our dogs, both 2 years old. They're a handful, and oftentimes a pain in my butt....but we love em.

Rocky
http://annnewjerz.smugmug.com/photos/409448824_utJSe-M.jpg

Mickey
http://annnewjerz.smugmug.com/photos/501410915_zNPTb-M.jpg

[annnewjerz]

I've been to Disney for Christmas lot. I always loved touring the hotels. Make sure you go in the front entrance of the Grand Floridian. They have (or at least they used to) chestnuts roasting on an open fire and choralers singing. It's wonderful! All the hotels also used to have hot cidar and cookies.


Since you are a December expert, I might as well ask you----is it warm enough to wear flip flops in December? I have read varying reports online and I know weather can be hit or miss....but in your experience, they are something I should pack at least one pair of---right??? :confused3

[chicagoshannon]

Definitely pack some flip flops but also pack what you would wear at home for the winter. I can honestly say that most of the times I've been (from 5th grade through college) at Christmas it was warm enough for shorts. There was one year though that it actually snowed! But I think on that same trip we were swimming. I don't remember a single trip where we weren't able to swim/wear shorts or at least short sleeves most of the time. You'll want to dress in layers because the morning will be cool but by about 10am it should be nice.

[khertz]

I'm planning to bring both flip flops and tennis shoes when we go. I did mostly flip flops in October and only one pair of Old Navy ones seemed to cause any trouble (the strap was rubbing on the top of my foot in one spot), so I wore tennis shoes a couple of times to give my feet a break from the straps. I live in south Louisiana and can wear flip flops in December sometimes, so I'm thinking Orlando will be about the same!

[chicagoshannon]

I forgot to mention the flip flops I got about 2 weeks ago. They're Speedo flip flops. They are so comfortable! I go them on sale for $10 at Kohls.

[annnewjerz]

I forgot to mention the flip flops I got about 2 weeks ago. They're Speedo flip flops. They are so comfortable! I go them on sale for $10 at Kohls.

Thanks for the recommendation---wish I would have caught that earlier, could have run out to look for a pair.

I'm glad to hear that (more oftentimes than not) December is still flip flops and t-shirt weather. We will be packing layers, and even bringing some heavier clothes that I would imagine you'd never need in Florida (gloves, scarves, under armor, etc.) Typically, when we go to FL it's Septemberish so we can just toss in a bathing suit, few pairs of shorts and tank tops and we're set---this will definitely be a different packing experience than usual. :goodvibes

[DWGal210]

Hi I'm here! :cheer2: Great start so far!

I am also interested in what people tell you about shoes - I hear ya on the blisters, etc, but my problem is that I have flat feet and so I also need a bit of support in a shoe...so I'll be looking at the recommendations that you get too :)

Have a good one!
Katie

[shordiebecka]

I too ponder the shoe thing- I'm in love with mary jane crocs, they fit my feet perfectly :lovestruc. I wore them for a week straight in the world last year, and i didn't have one blister or aching foot.

[annnewjerz]

Hi I'm here! :cheer2: Great start so far!

I am also interested in what people tell you about shoes - I hear ya on the blisters, etc, but my problem is that I have flat feet and so I also need a bit of support in a shoe...so I'll be looking at the recommendations that you get too :)

Have a good one!
Katie

I too ponder the shoe thing- I'm in love with mary jane crocs, they fit my feet perfectly :lovestruc. I wore them for a week straight in the world last year, and i didn't have one blister or aching foot.

Who would have EVER thought it could be so hard to find a pair of shoes that is comfortable and reasonably attractive for walking around in? Not me!

My biggest concern is if it is warm enough to wear sundresses/shorts/whatever. If it's cool and I wear jeans, they will cover the ugly shoes that I wear----but if I have something short that shows them, that's where I run into the problem.

For now, I'm order a pair of Reefs and we'll see how I like those. I like that they're rubber instead of foam and if for some reason they turn out not comfortable enough to wear all day---I can still use them for the beach this summer. :rolleyes1

[annnewjerz]

So, one of my main goals for this trip was to cook up a few surprises for my Mom, since this will be her first vacation it what seems like a lifetime (but really, it has probably been about 12 years). With Mother's Day and her birthday coming up---what more perfect an opportunity to surprise her with something for our long awaited trip??

Here is where the internal battle began. I really wanted to show up our first day and have my DH and DM not know what we are doing at all. Only then would I tell them about my plan to go to Cirque du Soleil in Downtown Disney. This is something my Mom has always wanted to do and I figured it would be the perfect chance to do so.

As time passed after thinking up this scheme, I ended up telling DH what I had planned. I mean, it was a surprise for my Mom after all, so what's the harm in telling DH---right? :rolleyes: Now that the cat is out of the bag, I am finding it harder and harder to keep it from my Mom. I am HORRIBLE at keeping surprises, it's just not my thing. I have already almost slipped three times, it's really hard to keep calling it "your surprise" instead of "La Nouba" and I just feel like I am going to tell her sooner or later anyway, so I might as well do it in a somewhat special manner.

Here is what I have come up with. For her birthday, I think I am just going to give her a card with a voucher inside. Here is the voucher I designed (it will be cut in half horizontally to make it look more like a ticket) since I can't really buy Cirque tickets until June.

http://annnewjerz.smugmug.com/photos/522487712_4SGvd-M.jpg

Thoughts???

Should I try to hold out as long as possible in hopes of keeping the surprise, or should I just give in and give her this? Either way, I know she is going to be thrilled and that's part of the reason I want to tell her---I want someone to share in my excitement over the next 8 months! :goodvibes

[annnewjerz]

After thinking up the voucher idea for DM's birthday---I also designed one for Mother's Day, since that is right around the corner.

DM is notoriously difficult when it comes to gift buying. Everything we want to get her is "too expensive" or we should "spend the money on ourselves" etc etc. like I'm sure so many other Moms are.

So, I have decided that this year, I'm putting an end to it. She is going to let me buy her admission to the Cirque du Soleil and the Keys to the Kingdom tour whether she likes it or not!!! :rotfl:

Here is the voucher I came up with.

http://annnewjerz.smugmug.com/photos/522497872_vHkXH-M.jpg

[annnewjerz]

So, after all of this planning to come up with surprises for DH and DM, I decided that it was time to plan something FOR ME!

Everyone has their WDW guilty pleasures, right? Well mine is "Living with the Land" in The Land pavillion in Epcot. I think it smells horrible---but for some reason I just have to go on this ride every trip.

This time, I decided that for the $15 or so that it costs, we will take the "Behind the Seeds" tour instead! At first DM seemed to have no interest and actually told me that maybe she'd skip it and just hang out by herself for an hour. That's a no no though, this will be the first day of our trip and it will be spent together whether she likes it or not. :rotfl: She has come around though and decided that she'll do it as well.

On a Sunday morning when we plan to tour the World Showcase from the time it opens until the time is closes, I just figured the tour would be a nice thing to do for an hour before we start our plan to "Eat and Drink Around the World." (more on that later though) ;)

This is, however, the one thing on the trip that I can see changing. I have been really interested in doing it for a while, but considering this will be our first park day, I just don't know if I'll be able to keep myself from running onto the rides as soon as we enter Epcot.

Only time will tell!

[khertz]

We're doing a tour for the first time on this trip too! We'll be doing Keys to the Kingdom. :goodvibes I wanted to do Backstage Magic, but that really takes up your entire day, and DH and I will be doing it after our parents go back home. I didn't want to take up a whole entire park day that we have to ourselves for a tour! KTTK fit the bill of what we're looking for, so we're doing that one instead. I'm excited! :woohoo:

[chicagoshannon]

So, after all of this planning to come up with surprises for DH and DM, I decided that it was time to plan something FOR ME!

Everyone has their WDW guilty pleasures, right? Well mine is "Living with the Land" in The Land pavillion in Epcot. I think it smells horrible---but for some reason I just have to go on this ride every trip.

This time, I decided that for the $15 or so that it costs, we will take the "Behind the Seeds" tour instead! At first DM seemed to have no interest and actually told me that maybe she'd skip it and just hang out by herself for an hour. That's a no no though, this will be the first day of our trip and it will be spent together whether she likes it or not. :rotfl: She has come around though and decided that she'll do it as well.

On a Sunday morning when we plan to tour the World Showcase from the time it opens until the time is closes, I just figured the tour would be a nice thing to do for an hour before we start our plan to "Eat and Drink Around the World." (more on that later though) ;)

This is, however, the one thing on the trip that I can see changing. I have been really interested in doing it for a while, but considering this will be our first park day, I just don't know if I'll be able to keep myself from running onto the rides as soon as we enter Epcot.

Only time will tell!

We're doing that tour too! 2 weeks from today. My mom LOVES gardening stuff and so does my dad so it's my present for them. Eric is going to go on the Land ride with Madeline while we do the tour. :cutie:

[annnewjerz]

I wanted to do Backstage Magic, but that really takes up your entire day, and DH and I will be doing it after our parents go back home. I didn't want to take up a whole entire park day that we have to ourselves for a tour! KTTK fit the bill of what we're looking for, so we're doing that one instead. I'm excited! :woohoo:

This was my logic exactly and to be honest, I'm still hesistant about giving up 5 whole hours. We have one full day planned in MK with a 3 hour break for resort touring and then almost the whole evening will be parades, fireworks, etc. We have our departure day scheduled for MK as well and this is when we would be doing the tour, but I'm starting to wonder if I should just save the time and enjoy our last day meandering around Main Street and finishing up any attractions we missed. What do you think???


We're doing that tour too!

Looking forward to a review of it when you get back. I wanted to add a few "special" things into this trip that we wouldn't usually do and while the reviews on Allearsnet are helpful, I usually like hearing them from someone I "know" (i.e. someone I can ask a million questions to and see pictures from) :thumbsup2 Definitely let me know how it goes!!

[annnewjerz]

So, in an effort not to write a novel for every single entry---I am going to leave the lengthy entries for stuff I would consider important (i.e. Food, Tours, Itinerary, Food, etc.)

All of the other crap I find popping into my head everyday, I am going to make a "random thoughts" posting for.

Here's the first one:

I have decided that I'm mad at Disney. :mad: ;) If they kept the ADR booking window at 180 days, I would be a mere 46 days from booking my dining reservations instead of a whopping 136!!!

WHAT am I supposed to do over the next 136 days to keep myself occupied?? Oh boy...:rolleyes1

[annnewjerz]

Took some advice off of another thread and ordered some flip flops made by Reef. Zappos had a good deal, get two pairs for $27 with free shipping, so I figured I'd give them a shot. If they aren't comfortable for all-day wear, no biggie---who doesn't need another pair of flip flops for the summer?

Here's what I got. The black for matching with everything and even though typically I hate hot pink, I if they are the color as they appear on my monitor, I don't mind it that much and thought it might be fun for Disney to have a cheerier color than black.

http://www.zappos.com/images/737/7375912/6627-539955-d.jpg

[WDWRocksMySocks]

I'm subbing! I saw your link in another PTR I'm following and noticed your dates. My sister and I just decided on doing a December trip last night!!! :banana: The first couple weeks of December are the BEST time to go to WDW. It's so beautiful and the crowds are pretty low. :thumbsup2

I see you're renting DVC points. I'm doing that for our August trip, and hope to for our December trip as well. Do you know the person you're renting from, or did you find them online? I was amazed at how easy the process was. Plus...we got points cheaper than it was going to cost staying at Pop! I was so excited!! We're staying at VWL in August, and hoping for AKV in December. :goodvibes

You should definitely get some trader pins on eBay. I've quickly gotten sucked into pin trading and I get a ton on eBay to take with me to trade in the parks. Be careful, though. Some sellers have scrappers (or fake pins) on there. I've had some pretty good luck, though. I can give you the names of sellers I've used in the past if you want.

And one more thing before I make this reply a complete novel...I own a pair of those Malindi Crocs. They are really comfy! DH thinks they look hideous, though. Psh, what does he know...right? :rolleyes1

Forgot to mention...I think it's cool you're taking your DM with you guys. My Dad passed away back in 2003 and my Mom still has a rough time. She loves when we drag her to Disney with us!

[annnewjerz]

I'm subbing! I saw your link in another PTR I'm following and noticed your dates. My sister and I just decided on doing a December trip last night!!! :banana: The first couple weeks of December are the BEST time to go to WDW. It's so beautiful and the crowds are pretty low. :thumbsup2

Apparently, I've been in early December before. I remember going for POP Warner week (yes, I was one of those kids) but really don't remember any decorations, any special things like the Osborne lights, etc. I'm really excited to go at an age where I can really enjoy it this time.

I see you're renting DVC points. I'm doing that for our August trip, and hope to for our December trip as well. Do you know the person you're renting from, or did you find them online?

We are renting points from someone over on the Photo Board named Laura. She had asked a question about AV cables to review her photos in the Boardwalk and I told her how lucky she was to stay there and that it was our "Disney dream" to do so. She then informed me that she was a DVCer and it was her home resort and competely joking I mentioned renting points to me----well, fast forward a few months and she did just that!!!

It is absolutely dirt cheap to rent them. We booked one night at POP for $90 with AAA discount and then the rest of the nights at BWV for $95 per night, how can you beat it?

You should definitely get some trader pins on eBay. I've quickly gotten sucked into pin trading and I get a ton on eBay to take with me to trade in the parks. Be careful, though. Some sellers have scrappers (or fake pins) on there.

I've purchased 40 pins on e-bay already. I'm no pin expert (in fact, I'm a compete newb) but all of them look authentic to me. I have a few "themes" that I'd like to add to when we go in December and then I'll probably buy some cheapies to trade. Right now, my designated themes to look for in WDW are Haunted Mansion, Tower of Terror, Splash Mountain and Chip & Dale. I also have all of the Vinylmation ones, but since there are only 10 available and I have them---I guess there will be no trading necessary.

I own a pair of those Malindi Crocs. They are really comfy! DH thinks they look hideous, though. Psh, what does he know...right? :rolleyes1

I ordered 2 pairs of the Reef flip flops and bought another pair by Vineyard Vines that seems to have some arch support---but I'm probably going to test one more type of shoe out and the Malindi might just be it! What color do you have? DH thinks all of my flats look like Grandma shoes (even the leopard print ones) so I can't really rely on him for fashion advice---plus it's Disney. While I care---I don't care that much :goodvibes

I think it's cool you're taking your DM with you guys. My Dad passed away back in 2003 and my Mom still has a rough time. She loves when we drag her to Disney with us!

Thanks! My Dad passed away three weeks before my wedding in late 2005 and it was really rough, but after 3 or 4 years, it has gotten much easier. There are still days (and always will be) that we miss him like crazy and wish he was still around (he was only 49 when he died) but it is definitely easier than it used to be.

I'm hoping DM will really enjoy the trip. She has been to WDW two times when we were little and loved it and I think with all of the "special" stuff Christmas offers, as well as the extras I have planned---it'll definitely be a trip she'll remember.

Now that I have written my own novel---thanks for hopping on board and hopefully I have some fun stuff to update with sooner or later!! :goodvibes

[chicagoshannon]

I like the flops! What material is the strap? You'll have to let us know if they're comfortable!

[annnewjerz]

I like the flops! What material is the strap? You'll have to let us know if they're comfortable!

I think the straps are rubber. I'm not a huge fan of the foam-y flip flops, so I went with two pairs of rubbery ones hoping that they might be better if it is wet---like on a wet ride? :confused3 Who knows! Basically, I liked the colors and I liked the price, only like $12 each pair.

The Vineyard Vines flip flops I picked up yesterday were on clearance for $10 (marked down from $40). They aren't exactly my cup of tea (they're foam with thicker straps and blue, I'm not a big fan of blue)---but they did have built in arch support, which I thought might be good for all-day walking around WDW. Too clunky to wear with a skirt or dress probably.

Here they are (very similar---the strap is blue instead of green, but you get the point):

http://www.vineyardvines.com/images/site1/products/processed/1ZM8002.317.detail.a.jpg

My one concern now is that I will wear these pairs all summer because I want to break them in and they're comfy and instead---I'll end up wearing them out and need to buy more! Oh well---what are you gonna do, right?

[WDWRocksMySocks]

Isn't it funny how you can be completely unobservant as a kid? I often wonder how I even made it to adulthood. :sad2: You're going to love it!! I could just sit and gawk at the Osborne lights the entire time. Although, word of advice...close your mouth when looking up at the fake snow. Mine was open (don't ask) and I got a mouthful of fake snow. :scared:

That is great how it just sort of fell into place! :thumbsup2 It's even better when you're able to stay deluxe at a value price. I was pricing it out on the official Disney site, and for five nights at VWL it would've cost over $1800 in August. That is just obscene...and I'm way too poor for that.

Btw, I have a few of those Vinylmation ones if you'd want to trade with me. I know I have the Kermit and I'm not sure what the other ones are. I can go home and check though, if you're interested. I was just planning on trading them at the parks.

HA! Guys just don't understand the concept of flats or their appeal. I feel the same way, I don't want to look TOO crazy, but I want to be comfy and have a good time...even if it is in my grandma shoes! :laughing: Btw, the Malindi's are super comfy! I have them in black and I love them. I wore them to the parks last October and they were perfect!

Oh man, I can't imagine how hard that must've been right before your wedding. I got married three years after my Dad had passed and I was still blubbering like a fool when I walked down the aisle. I think the loss of a parent is something that you never quite get over. You just learn to cope in better ways.

Sorry, I did it...again! Promise not to do it three times. :rotfl:

[disneyaddicted]

So, in an effort not to write a novel for every single entry---I am going to leave the lengthy entries for stuff I would consider important (i.e. Food, Tours, Itinerary, Food, etc.)

All of the other crap I find popping into my head everyday, I am going to make a "random thoughts" posting for.

Here's the first one:

I have decided that I'm mad at Disney. :mad: ;) If they kept the ADR booking window at 180 days, I would be a mere 46 days from booking my dining reservations instead of a whopping 136!!!

WHAT am I supposed to do over the next 136 days to keep myself occupied?? Oh boy...:rolleyes1

Oh I hear you on this and I feel your pain. I figured I had at least 1 countdown that was under 100 days and then I got hit with this news yesterday as well, now can't make ADR's until October 10th. They just keep dangling that carrot infront of my face then pulling it away.

OK so for you the 136 days can be spent in many ways, I plan to twiddle my thumbs and sigh a lot.

[annnewjerz]

Btw, I have a few of those Vinylmation ones if you'd want to trade with me. I know I have the Kermit and I'm not sure what the other ones are. I can go home and check though, if you're interested. I was just planning on trading them at the parks.


Oh man, I can't imagine how hard that must've been right before your wedding. I got married three years after my Dad had passed and I was still blubbering like a fool when I walked down the aisle. I think the loss of a parent is something that you never quite get over. You just learn to cope in better ways.

Sorry, I did it...again! Promise not to do it three times. :rotfl:

I am only missing the Upside Down Mickey---haven't found one worth bidding on yet on E-bay. If you happen to have that one, let me know and then I'll buy you a pin of your choosing since I don't really have any "traders" yet.

Yeah the wedding was rough, we had considered calling it off but with that much money invested---it didn't really seem like we should. I'm glad we didn't, I know my Dad would have been disappointed if we did and it turned out really well. The only part that really choked me up was my Father Daughter dance, we just played the song and all sat around (a moment of silence type of thing) but needless to say, it wasn't silent at all. Sobs, sniffles and messed up make-up!!




OK so for you the 136 days can be spent in many ways, I plan to twiddle my thumbs and sigh a lot.

Twiddling my thumbs would at least only annoy me---what I plan to do to pass the time (which is talk non-stop at every given opportunity about the trip and every single detail) will annoy everyone around me, and that's a problem!! :)

[annnewjerz]

Okay so if you have read any of my PTR, you know that I had thought up some surprises for my DM for our trip in December. One of those was the Cirque du Soleil while in WDW.

I keep on going back and forth in my head about whether I should give her the voucher I designed for her birthday (May 24) or whether I should try to hold out as originally planned and not tell her that we are going to see the show until we arrive. There is always the possibility that if I don't give it to her for her birthday, I will end up spoiling the surprise before the trip comes in December in a completely stupid way (i.e. I get sick of waiting and just tell her, I let it slip in conversation, etc.)

So I need opinions---what do you think I should do:

A. Tell her
B. Keep it secret

Please let me know---DH is no help when it comes to this kind of stuff :)

[chicagoshannon]

I say give it to her on her birthday.

[khertz]

Trust me, I know how hard it is to keep a secret when you are absolutely bursting to tell them! BUT...I think you should definitely try to keep it a secret. It's so much more exciting to surprise someone!

[annnewjerz]

Well, after going out shopping tonight---I came with another something that will come in handy on our trip.

I had previously purchased the Crumpler 6 Million Dollar Home for our trip to Washington DC in early April. After carrying it around for one day while we walked through the city, I decided it was just TOO BIG for everyday use. I felt obligated to load it up, I didn't want all of that extra space just sitting there empty!! Plus, I had ordered it in black and while this is fine---it'll match everything after all---it was just a littttle boring. Now, the 6 MDH will be reserved for storing my gear when we travel and also keeping all of my stuff in while we are home.

So today, I went out to the local camera store to spend a gift card I had received and picked up the Crumpler 5 Million Dollar Home in pretty purple and orange like I had originally wanted. I haven't loaded the stuff I plan to bring to WDW with me into it yet (D90 with attached lens and two additional lenses, as well as a bunch of doo-dads), but it looks like it'll be the perfect size. I think I'm in love :love:

Here it is:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/410t32WQRvL._SS400_.jpg

For now, my the shopping beast within has been satisfied, but I have a feeling that this weekend will be spent at Bed, Bath & Beyond getting a travel kit for liquids that I saw mentioned in another TR :thumbsup2

[Angrypenguin]

Great report! That is a fantastic bag, I have one myself in red :thumbsup2

[annnewjerz]

Great report! That is a fantastic bag, I have one myself in red :thumbsup2


I'm a little iffy on it right now---I got it home and literally, everything I have that is photography related (D90, 18-200, nifty fifty, macro lens, Sigma 30, SB-600, lens pens, memory cards, rocket blaster, charger, etc.) ALL fits in my 6MDH. I went to test out the 5MDH and while I like the height of it better---I'm thinking I'd like it a little wider?

I put the D90 w/ attached 18-200 lens in the center and then tried to put the Sigma 30 and Nikon 60 macro on either side, and they don't all fit (or if they do---it's a VERY snug fit). When we go to WDW, I'll be renting a wide angle lens and I can only imagine that'll be bigger than the macrco---so I'm starting to question whether I'll be able to fit all of it in my bag.

We'll see. For now, I have it and I love the color. I have 7 days to decide whether or not it's a keeper and knowing me, it will be. :thumbsup2

[WDWRocksMySocks]

No, I don't have that one unfortunately. Bummer! Glad to hear you found all but one of them, though. Very cool! :thumbsup2

I vote for giving your Mom the voucher you designed for her birthday. That way, you're still surprising her in a fun way but you don't have to wait and risk spoiling it.

[Angrypenguin]

I'm a little iffy on it right now---I got it home and literally, everything I have that is photography related (D90, 18-200, nifty fifty, macro lens, Sigma 30, SB-600, lens pens, memory cards, rocket blaster, charger, etc.) ALL fits in my 6MDH. I went to test out the 5MDH and while I like the height of it better---I'm thinking I'd like it a little wider?

I put the D90 w/ attached 18-200 lens in the center and then tried to put the Sigma 30 and Nikon 60 macro on either side, and they don't all fit (or if they do---it's a VERY snug fit). When we go to WDW, I'll be renting a wide angle lens and I can only imagine that'll be bigger than the macrco---so I'm starting to question whether I'll be able to fit all of it in my bag.

We'll see. For now, I have it and I love the color. I have 7 days to decide whether or not it's a keeper and knowing me, it will be. :thumbsup2

It's funny, I've actually been thinking of a 6MDH; the 5 used to fit everything fine, but I upgraded to a Canon 50D, 24-105L, and just that with my nifty fifty and blower/cards/cloths is very, um, "tight". I'll probably be picking up a wide angle and/or a telephoto as well, so I know there's no way it'll all fit.

How does the 6MDH compare to the 5MDH in surface area? I'm just concerned about having this enormous bag slung over my shoulder.

[annnewjerz]

How does the 6MDH compare to the 5MDH in surface area? I'm just concerned about having this enormous bag slung over my shoulder.

It's definitely bigger, like I said, I can fit every last bit of stuff that I own in it when I'm storing it at home. I'd say it's probably about 2-3 inches deeper (from front to back of the bag), maybe 2 inches wider and another two inches or so taller??

When I was wearing it around in DC, I didn't feel like it was so huge and cumbersome that it made me uncomfortable in crowded situations---but it is definitely a step up from the 5MDH.

For WDW or any other trip that requires a bit of traveling, I will probably store everything in my 6MDH for the plane ride, etc. (my guess is that it's still plenty small enough to fit under the seat in front of you as a carry-on) and then pack the 5MDH for everyday use around the parks, etc.

Like I said, when it's not fully loaded, it's definitely not horrible in terms of the weight, but I felt like I had to keep it loaded because when it wasn't, there was just so much extra room. Why carry a bag that big if you just plan to leave 2 lenses in your hotel room---right??

[disneyaddicted]

Ok, I say wait for the Birthday, you'll be glad you did. I love that bag, it looks like it could do the job.
I want that same travel kit from Bed, Bath and Beyond. I work there and every time I walk by it I have to pick it up and check it out and figure in my mind what I will put in each container. I love containers and doo dads!

[annnewjerz]

This isn't Disney related---I have been coming up with stuff recently to keep myself busy and my mind off of the countdown clock in my signature. Today, I did the photography for a co-worker's daughter's bridal shower. It was a challenge, very dark room, vaulted ceilings, a whole wall of windows that caused everything against them to be in silhouette, etc.

Here are a few of the shots I processed when I got home today. I probably took about 750 in 7 hours, which is probably a lot but I wanted to overshoot to up my odds of better pictures because of the challenging location.

http://annnewjerz.smugmug.com/photos/526795001_vqNZV-M.jpg

http://annnewjerz.smugmug.com/photos/526795178_PbDdi-M.jpg

http://annnewjerz.smugmug.com/photos/526802930_nke44-M.jpg

http://annnewjerz.smugmug.com/photos/526802317_DFoUH-M.jpg

http://annnewjerz.smugmug.com/photos/526803908_fTBrH-M.jpg

http://annnewjerz.smugmug.com/photos/526804091_GcJvp-M.jpg

[annnewjerz]

So today I got my Reef Flip Flops in the mail. I tried one on while I am at work and they feel like they're going to be super comfy.

They are rubber and feel squishy when you step on them, unlike the hard foam ones. This could work out really well or really badly. Either A. the squishiness keeps my feet feeling like I'm walking on clouds, or B. the squishiness wears thin so quickly that I feel like I'm walking bare-foot. With my luck, it will be option B, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

The color is exactly like the picture that I posted earlier looks. HOT HOT HOT pink and another pair of black. I have off of work on Thursday and am going to try them out. If all goes well, I think I may order another 2-pack from Zappos while they've got them---at only $12(ish) per pair, why not??

Hopefully I'll have updates about more interesting stuff soon---like how my DM liked her Mother's Day gift (KTTK tour voucher) etc.

For now though, thanks for reading!! :goodvibes

[Angrypenguin]

This isn't Disney related---I have been coming up with stuff recently to keep myself busy and my mind off of the countdown clock in my signature. Today, I did the photography for a co-worker's daughter's bridal shower. It was a challenge, very dark room, vaulted ceilings, a whole wall of windows that caused everything against them to be in silhouette, etc.

Here are a few of the shots I processed when I got home today. I probably took about 750 in 7 hours, which is probably a lot but I wanted to overshoot to up my odds of better pictures because of the challenging location.

http://annnewjerz.smugmug.com/photos/526795001_vqNZV-M.jpg

http://annnewjerz.smugmug.com/photos/526795178_PbDdi-M.jpg

http://annnewjerz.smugmug.com/photos/526802930_nke44-M.jpg

http://annnewjerz.smugmug.com/photos/526802317_DFoUH-M.jpg

http://annnewjerz.smugmug.com/photos/526803908_fTBrH-M.jpg

http://annnewjerz.smugmug.com/photos/526804091_GcJvp-M.jpg

Great processing! I love the modern/metallic punch you add to them. Do you use lightroom or PS, and what methods? I'm trying to expand my processing techniques so I figured I'd ask :).

[annnewjerz]

Great processing! I love the modern/metallic punch you add to them. Do you use lightroom or PS, and what methods? I'm trying to expand my processing techniques so I figured I'd ask :).

Thanks! I use Photoshop Elements 6, I'm looking into getting Lightroom because I figured it might be better for processing my RAW files---but probably won't make that jump for quite a while since I'm reasonably satisfied with my software right now.

I downloaded some free actions a while back and just started using them. The one I have been using on the people pictures is called Creamy Toffee Latte--it warms up the skin and also gives the people less harsh lines, sort of like a blur effect.

Some other actions that I use are "Color Pop" which sort of makes the colors more vivid "Decaf Pop" that makes the blacks in the photo darker and the colors lighter---I guess providing more contrast.

Basically, for more pictures my rule of thumb recently has been to up the contrast (most times to almost 100%) and just do some general edits like a little color saturation, etc.

For now, I like the way the photos are looking---but there are times when I feel like I wish a certain photo had a less processed look and I'll go back and do something different with it. Here is an example of one of those situations:

With "Color Pop" applied:
http://annnewjerz.smugmug.com/photos/506934812_B5jMD-M.jpg

Without "Color Pop" applied, but with some other small tweaks:
http://annnewjerz.smugmug.com/photos/506934850_gCNoM-M.jpg

[Todd_H]

Thanks! I use Photoshop Elements 6, I'm looking into getting Lightroom because I figured it might be better for processing my RAW files---but probably won't make that jump for quite a while since I'm reasonably satisfied with my software right now.


LOL... very entertaining thread, Anne. In addition to having a great photographic eye, you're a good writer as well.

If you decide to go with Lightroom 2 or CS4, try to hook up directly with Adobe and get a student discount (almost any creative school credential will work, so if you know a student somewhere :rolleyes1). I was able to pick up both CS4 Extended and Lightroom 2 for $300 ($199 for CS4 and $99 for LR2).

[Angrypenguin]

I love lightroom; it makes editing photos en masse very quick. Might branch out to photoshop though just for kicks :).

Todd_H, you're everywhere recently! I seem to see you in all the threads I post in :lmao:

[Todd_H]

I love lightroom; it makes editing photos en masse very quick. Might branch out to photoshop though just for kicks :).

Todd_H, you're everywhere recently! I seem to see you in all the threads I post in :lmao:

LOL... I guess I have too much time on my hands :rotfl2:! Actually, we have a family trip coming up in September so as it gets closer, I'll probably spend more and more time on the DIS. There's so much info on this website and I've met a lot of really great people on here that make it a fun community to be a part of.

[Angrypenguin]

LOL... I guess I have too much time on my hands :rotfl2:! Actually, we have a family trip coming up in September so as it gets closer, I'll probably spend more and more time on the DIS. There's so much info on this website and I've met a lot of really great people on here that make it a fun community to be a part of.

I checked out your smugmug, you have excellent shots!

Okay, we'll stop hijacking annewjerz's thread :). Feel free to hijack my journal tho:thumbsup2

BTW Anne, I'm incredibly jealous you get to go during Christmas. You're going to get some crazy and wonderful shots.

[Todd_H]

I checked out your smugmug, you have excellent shots!

Okay, we'll stop hijacking annewjerz's thread :). Feel free to hijack my journal tho:thumbsup2



Thanks, Kevin! I'll definitely check out your journal when I have a little time (I noticed it was 25+ pages, so it must be good). Congrats on your wedding, btw :thumbsup2.

Sorry for the thread hijack, Anne!

[jpmom97]

I only read the first page of your report but it sounds like you will have a great time! I will be overlapping you by a few days, we are going the 4th-15th. You will have the best time w/ your mom!! I wish I had taken more trips w/ my mom.

[annnewjerz]

Thanks, Kevin! I'll definitely check out your journal when I have a little time (I noticed it was 25+ pages, so it must be good). Congrats on your wedding, btw :thumbsup2.

Sorry for the thread hijack, Anne!


Meh, the off-topic conversations keep me bumped up so I don't have to post mindless crap just to keep it towards the top of the heap---so feel free to chat away!! ;)

Eventually, when I get some readers---maybe we should restrict the OT conversations---wouldn't want to upset anyone who may eventually be enjoying my PTR. For now though, I don't think my two* followers will mind :rotfl:

*One of the two being myself. :goodvibes

[exwdwcm]

Enjoying your report!!! what a great deal for your room too! We will be there at the same time, as you know. Do you have all your meals planned out? I am dying for Dec hours to come out so we can finish planning. rihgt now we are basing our plan on 2008 Dec hours. I have a great spreadsheet I could send you if interested for planning!!;)

[exwdwcm]

Since you are a December expert, I might as well ask you----is it warm enough to wear flip flops in December? I have read varying reports online and I know weather can be hit or miss....but in your experience, they are something I should pack at least one pair of---right??? :confused3
The one time we went in early Dec a few years back- it was nice during the day, we wore shorts, t-shirts and flip flops (or tennis shoes). then brought a hoodie/sweatshirt in case. at night, we wore capris or jeans if it was chilly. the night of our MVMCP, it was so cold we wore gloves and hats, but that was only one day out of the trip it was chilly like that. I'll be bringing one pair of tennis shoes and some good flops- i have speedo ones i love! i might try crocs, i think they are ugly, but everyone raves how comfy they are and DS loves his.


We're doing a tour for the first time on this trip too! We'll be doing Keys to the Kingdom. :goodvibes I wanted to do Backstage Magic, but that really takes up your entire day, and DH and I will be doing it after our parents go back home. I didn't want to take up a whole entire park day that we have to ourselves for a tour! KTTK fit the bill of what we're looking for, so we're doing that one instead. I'm excited! :woohoo:

I just did the KTTK tour 2 weeks ago before the DIS podcast cruise. We did the 8:30am tour on a Saturday. James was our guide and he was fantastic. I have also read that Meghan is great. This was our chance to do the tour, as we had no kiddos with us on this trip. We only spent one day at MK before heading on the cruise. We got to the MK at like 7:45am an checked in at 8:15, got some good empty MK pics! The tour was long, lots of walking and very hot. My mom was in a wheelchair. We started with the walking tour of Main st, and heard some great stories and history. Then we proceeded to an area in Adventureland, just before you get to Aloha Aisle, there is some covered seating that is always empty- we sat there for probably an hour, listening to the history of Walt. There were some great stories I had not read or heard before, even as a former cast member, so that was great. We then rode the Jungle Cruise and continued towards Frontierland where we were taken backstage for a bit- saw Spectro floats and afternoon parade floats and more. It was great fun. Then we continued back through Frontierland to lunch at Columbia Harbor House upstairs. After lunch, we rode Haunted Mansion, then headed down into the utilidors and more backstage areas. We finished up I think about 1pm. We were tired and hot, but it was well worth it. And you receive a special surprise too. I am really glad i did the tour- at almost 5 hours, it was long, but very interesting. Plus we had a funny guide that kept us laughing the entire time. We all thought it was well worth the price and our time. You guys will love it!!! :wizard:

[annnewjerz]

The one time we went in early Dec a few years back- it was nice during the day, we wore shorts, t-shirts and flip flops (or tennis shoes). then brought a hoodie/sweatshirt in case. at night, we wore capris or jeans if it was chilly. the night of our MVMCP, it was so cold we wore gloves and hats, but that was only one day out of the trip it was chilly like that. I'll be bringing one pair of tennis shoes and some good flops- i have speedo ones i love! i might try crocs, i think they are ugly, but everyone raves how comfy they are and DS loves his.




I just did the KTTK tour 2 weeks ago before the DIS podcast cruise. We did the 8:30am tour on a Saturday. James was our guide and he was fantastic. I have also read that Meghan is great. This was our chance to do the tour, as we had no kiddos with us on this trip. We only spent one day at MK before heading on the cruise. We got to the MK at like 7:45am an checked in at 8:15, got some good empty MK pics! The tour was long, lots of walking and very hot. My mom was in a wheelchair. We started with the walking tour of Main st, and heard some great stories and history. Then we proceeded to an area in Adventureland, just before you get to Aloha Aisle, there is some covered seating that is always empty- we sat there for probably an hour, listening to the history of Walt. There were some great stories I had not read or heard before, even as a former cast member, so that was great. We then rode the Jungle Cruise and continued towards Frontierland where we were taken backstage for a bit- saw Spectro floats and afternoon parade floats and more. It was great fun. Then we continued back through Frontierland to lunch at Columbia Harbor House upstairs. After lunch, we rode Haunted Mansion, then headed down into the utilidors and more backstage areas. We finished up I think about 1pm. We were tired and hot, but it was well worth it. And you receive a special surprise too. I am really glad i did the tour- at almost 5 hours, it was long, but very interesting. Plus we had a funny guide that kept us laughing the entire time. We all thought it was well worth the price and our time. You guys will love it!!! :wizard:

1. Thank you so much for reading. I haven't updated this thing in quite a while now---I'm just trying to hold off as long as possible so I don't finish up a PTR months before the actual trip!! :goodvibes

2. I'm so glad to hear the positive review of the KTTK. It seems like everyone thinks that it is worth the time and money and I was extremely nervous about taking 5 whole hours on our last day away from my favorite park---but we've decided to do it and I'm really happy with the decision. Now I just have to wait until 90 days out so I can book the thing already!! :headache:

[annnewjerz]

Enjoying your report!!! what a great deal for your room too! We will be there at the same time, as you know. Do you have all your meals planned out? I am dying for Dec hours to come out so we can finish planning. rihgt now we are basing our plan on 2008 Dec hours. I have a great spreadsheet I could send you if interested for planning!!;)


I am totally there with you on the planning front. I have the hours (including which days are EMH, etc.) from 2008 all written down and book-marked online. I have a rough itinerary made (that's a lie---it's actually a full itinerary down to the minute if all goes as planned and the hours are the same this year, but I'm calling it "rough" just so I can allow myself more changes!) and which park each day, along with a plan "A" and plan "B" for restaurants.

Haven't decided on the meal plan yet, I'm going to wait to see if I can get my ADRs and if I can, we'll do the meal plan. If I can't get the ressies, we'll just do what we want, fly by the seat of our pants and pay OOP.

More than likely, I'll be spending countless hours planning every detail of the trip and once we arrive, I'll throw it all out the window, but the planning is half the fun leading up to the trip! :goodvibes

Please do send me the spreadsheet, I love spreadsheets, passporters, binders, websites, programs----basically anything I can use to obsessively plan some more. ;)

[annnewjerz]

Since deciding that we would be returning to The World this year, I have been spending far too much time on the DIS and have come up with a "To Eat" and "To Drink" list for our December trip. This list does not include actual restaurants or food items from said restaurants, more just a compilation of snacks and drinks (mostly of the alcoholic sort) that I would like to try while we are there.

To Eat:*Just a warning that all of it is complete junk food. I'll be splitting with DH but c'mon give me a break---I'm on vacation!!

- Dole Whip / I've never tried one. A sin really, I know.
- Chocolate PB cake from Boardwalk Bakery / After reading Carrie's (lurkyloo) amazing trip reports and realizing our shared love for the chocolate & peanut butter flavor combination, I decided that this cake is a must. Apparently they sell it by the slice at the BWB and since we just so happen to be staying at the Boardwalk Villas, it will probably be had everyday for breakfast. What diet??
- Strawberry shortcake from Sunshine Seasons
- Chocolate chip cookie icecream sandwich from DinoBites in AK / This thing looks HUGE and amazing.
- Chocolate covered Mickey rice krispy treat, the big ones / Nuff said.

To Drink:*Just a warning that drinking at home is a rarity for me---so if in my TR I appear in any photos (which is doubtful because I take them) I apologize for looking like a mess.

- Grey goose slushie from France
- Lapu Lapu at the Polynesian
- Yak Attack in Animal Kingdom
- Sangria from Morrocco
- Margarita from Mexico
- Scotch flight from the Rose & Crown Pub (for DH)

Thank goodness WDW is one of the places where I don't have to worry about gaining weight. When you're walking 10+ miles a day, it's nice to be able to eat whatever you want and not stress out over it---but makes it so hard to get back into your daily routine at home. Oh well, a small price to pay I'd guess! :goodvibes

[exwdwcm]

Since deciding that we would be returning to The World this year, I have been spending far too much time on the DIS and have come up with a "To Eat" and "To Drink" list for our December trip. This list does not include actual restaurants or food items from said restaurants, more just a compilation of snacks and drinks (mostly of the alcoholic sort) that I would like to try while we are there.

To Eat:*Just a warning that all of it is complete junk food. I'll be splitting with DH but c'mon give me a break---I'm on vacation!!

- Dole Whip / I've never tried one. A sin really, I know.
- Chocolate PB cake from Boardwalk Bakery / After reading Carrie's (lurkyloo) amazing trip reports and realizing our shared love for the chocolate & peanut butter flavor combination, I decided that this cake is a must. Apparently they sell it by the slice at the BWB and since we just so happen to be staying at the Boardwalk Villas, it will probably be had everyday for breakfast. What diet??
- Strawberry shortcake from Sunshine Seasons
- Chocolate chip cookie icecream sandwich from DinoBites in AK / This thing looks HUGE and amazing.
- Chocolate covered Mickey rice krispy treat, the big ones / Nuff said.

To Drink:*Just a warning that drinking at home is a rarity for me---so if in my TR I appear in any photos (which is doubtful because I take them) I apologize for looking like a mess.

- Grey goose slushie from France
- Lapu Lapu at the Polynesian
- Yak Attack in Animal Kingdom
- Sangria from Morrocco
- Margarita from Mexico
- Scotch flight from the Rose & Crown Pub (for DH)

Thank goodness WDW is one of the places where I don't have to worry about gaining weight. When you're walking 10+ miles a day, it's nice to be able to eat whatever you want and not stress out over it---but makes it so hard to get back into your daily routine at home. Oh well, a small price to pay I'd guess! :goodvibesi think i gained 10 lbs reading this! lol :rotfl:

what is the yak attack? that is a new one to me. the others sound fabulous. the pina colava at the Poly is great too. They have them at the AKL as well. and we are also looking forward to the grey goose slushie on our drink around the night. ;)

[annnewjerz]

i think i gained 10 lbs reading this! lol :rotfl:

what is the yak attack? that is a new one to me. the others sound fabulous. the pina colava at the Poly is great too. They have them at the AKL as well. and we are also looking forward to the grey goose slushie on our drink around the night. ;)

If you gained 10 pounds reading it---I can only imagine how much I gained researching/writing it! ;) Something tells me we won't get through all of the things on my list. My "musts" would be the PB cake, Dole Whip and Mickey Head Krispy Treat and the Grey Goose Slush. If I missed the rest, meh---I'm sure they'll still be there on another trip! :goodvibes

The Yak Attack is at Yak & Yeti in AK. To be honest, it's been so long since I wrote my list that I have no clue what's even in this drink---but when I read about it on the restaurant board it sounded fruity and yummy!! I literally decided this year to stop drinking since I don't enjoy it that much (hate the taste of alcohol and always get SO tired when I have even one drink) and since I'm probably going to have my first drink in a year, the drinks will definitely be split as well. If I had to do them on my own, I may end up conking out on one non-stop trip round and round on the monorail. :upsidedow

LASTLY, the Pina Colava, is that a black/dark purple drink? I had seen in the "Alcoholic Beverages" thread on the Restaurant board a picture of something that was very dark and I swore this was the name of it. If so---what's it taste like? Not licorice I hope! :sick:

[DWGal210]

Hi there again! Your eat and drink list looks WONDERFUL - I am also wanting to get the Grand Marnier Slushie this trip - after being in the parks during that Christmas / New Years week, I might need a little drinky-poo to get me through! :rotfl2:

Hope you have a great weekend! Looking forward to more!

[annnewjerz]

Hi there again! Your eat and drink list looks WONDERFUL - I am also wanting to get the Grand Marnier Slushie this trip - after being in the parks during that Christmas / New Years week, I might need a little drinky-poo to get me through! :rotfl2:

Hope you have a great weekend! Looking forward to more!

Wait wait wait...hold the phone. Grand Marnier Slushie?! How did I not hear about these?! I need to know where I can get one and add that to my list. :goodvibes

Good luck with your trip over Christmas/New Years. I would love to go during this time, but since we only go once every few years and our jobs don't really restrict when we can take vacation---I decided that less crowded would probably be better. But I can't imagine too much better than waking up on Christmas morning in Disney. So fun! :santa:

[exwdwcm]

LASTLY, the Pina Colava, is that a black/dark purple drink? I had seen in the "Alcoholic Beverages" thread on the Restaurant board a picture of something that was very dark and I swore this was the name of it. If so---what's it taste like? Not licorice I hope! :sick:

the Pina Colava is just a pina colada with raspberry puree blended in - so pineapple tasting with berries too. yum!

the grand Marnier slush is also at France I believe? that is something we want to try as well.

I am not a huge drinker either. I don't like the taste of alcohol, bartenders look at me funny when i say to make it 'weak'. :goodvibes I prefer the fruity frozen drinks or a beer. anything too strong (or shots), forget it!

[minniecarousel]

Just found ya!

We'll be there Dec. 7 - 16, to celebrate our older DS's 30th birthday. We'll be at SSR for 4 nights, them BWV for 5 nights. DS & DDIL are moving at the end of this month, so we'll really start to plan once they have that behind them. I have a half-hearted PTR here somewhere.

I've never been at the holidays, and can't wait!

I love reading all your plans - keep 'em coming!

[annnewjerz]

the Pina Colava is just a pina colada with raspberry puree blended in - so pineapple tasting with berries too. yum!

Mmmmmm. Sounds really good.

We'll be there Dec. 7 - 16, to celebrate our older DS's 30th birthday. We'll be at SSR for 4 nights, them BWV for 5 nights.

See ya at the BWV ;) I'll have to check out your PTR. Half-hearted for now is okay since we're still 6 months out from our trips...but once it gets closer, I expect it to be updated!! :rotfl:

I've got another PTR for October here (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2194840).

[annnewjerz]

So I have some pretty major news to update this with (at least major to me anyway).

The other night, DH and I were talking about our anniversary which is in October and what we would do for it. My DM had previously agreed to watch our two big dumb dogs for 2-3 nights if we were ever interested in going away for a weekend, so we decided to take her up on it.

Now...where were we going to go? We wanted to drive somewhere and keep the trip extremely cheap. It would be a combination anniversary/birthday trip since we already have basically our dream trip planned for December.

So, where can we drive to? Niagara Falls?? Been there. PA Grand Canyon?? Men, that's a little boring. Baltimore's Inner Harbor?? Nice, but would be better in the warm weather.

After all this thinking, I came up with the most brilliant idea and since I am posting this on a Disney board, I'm sure you can guess where I'm going with this.

For our anniversary---we'll be headed to DISNEY WORLD! :woohoo:

Basically, we are going to be completely nuts and drive down in a day from NJ, go to MNSSHP and then drive back the next day.

If you want to read more about it (which I hope you do) here (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2194840) is the link to my new/brief PTR! :goodvibes

I would really love it if people read/commented. It's just a litttttttttle boring typing this whole thing just for my own benefit. :sad2:

[annnewjerz]

For anyone that may have gotten the impression that I'm above bribing people to read my PTR, you are wrong.

In order to entice people out of possible lurkdom, I have decided to post some pictures. People like pictures on PTRs, right? These don't necessarily have anything to do with my trip in December---but they can be loosely related because they are pictures of our tree/ornaments/etc. from last Christmas. :goodvibes

I don't know if I mentioned in the beginning of the PTR, but I love Christmas. It's my all-time favorite time of the year. Between the decorations on the houses, the shopping, the hustle and bustle in the stores, decorating the tree, baking cookies---I love it all. :santa:

For those of you that may have been reading and asking yourself "so---I wonder what Ann's Christmas tree looked like last year?", I have decided to post some pictures.

I collect Waterford ornaments. They're so pretty and just really put me in the holiday spirit when I get to unwrap them each year. For anyone who thinks they look pretty---take a look at your local Marshall's or TJ Maxx if you'd like to buy some (around Christmas). They have them for $5, $10, $15 each, etc. rather than the $40 you may pay at MACY's. GREAT DEAL. :thumbsup2

One of my faves.
http://annnewjerz.smugmug.com/photos/438105243_URJxU-M.jpg

http://annnewjerz.smugmug.com/photos/438111971_mNdXD-M.jpg

http://annnewjerz.smugmug.com/photos/438119106_DeRYe-M.jpg

http://annnewjerz.smugmug.com/photos/438114834_76KE9-M.jpg

Right now I have about 50 Waterford ornaments and I've only been collecting them for 3 Christmas seasons :rolleyes1 Let's not tell DH exactly how much I have spent. That'll be our little secret, okay? ;)

I also collect Steinbach ornaments. For all of you Disney lovers---you may have been these ornaments in the Christmas shop in Germany in Epcot. They are in little white boxes and are hand crafted. They're wooden and remind me of the vintage ornaments I would see hanging on my Grandparents' tree. Right now I only have about 10 or so because a lot are weird designs like bumble bees and...

sheep?
http://annnewjerz.smugmug.com/photos/438110497_XrPoS-M.jpg

Weird, I know.

http://annnewjerz.smugmug.com/photos/440865754_swHSz-M.jpg

Lastly, I always get an ornament from every vacation we take (or I try to). Disney is no exception. Last trip in 07 I purchased a set of little chubby versions of the Fab 5 like this one.

http://annnewjerz.smugmug.com/photos/438116514_T9dLs-M.jpg

This year, I'm going to try to get a personalized Christmas ball. From what I understand, around Christmas you need to give them at least a few days to get those done---so the plan is to order them on our first day (Dec. 12) while we are in DTD for Cirque du Soleil and get them delivered for our departure on Dec. 18.

Here is a picture of our finished tree last year. To give you an idea of how big it was, that big red ball ornament right in the front is about the size of a person's head. The tree touched the living room ceiling and took up a whole corner of the living room with the back half of the tree trimmed down.

I decorate it with lights, red wooden beads that look like cranberries, all of my ornaments and then top the whole thing off with red Yankee candle tree candles (the kind that are a wick that's dipped to make two hanging candles)

like these (borrowed from the internet)

http://www.drycreekcandles.com/images/pics/candlesweb06.jpg

and tin icicles since we can't use tinsle because of the cats.

So without further delay, here is our tree. :goodvibes

http://annnewjerz.smugmug.com/photos/438102936_484mE-L.jpg

[annnewjerz]

Bueller.........


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Bueller.........


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Guess my bribe didn't work!! :lmao:

That's alright, at least I'm keeping myself amused. :rolleyes1

[MinnieNurse]

Just found your report and read through the entire thing.

I love that you have invited your Mom, I think it will be great for her since she has not had a vacation in quite some time and then the loss of your Dad.:hug:

Our last trip was in December and was my absolute favorite. For me it was shorts and flip flops the entire trip. It was always in the 80's.

Speaking of flip flops I have an obsession and now I think I will have to purchase some more from your posts. :rotfl:

I love Christmas also. I have 3 tree's at this time. DH is is a Fireman so I have a firefighter tree, a sports tree for DS, and then my tree is a Disney tree. I love buying a (or 3 or 4) new ornaments for my tree at WDW every year. I love to shop in the Christmas store in March or June. This year I will get to do it in August.:goodvibes

Cant wait to read more.

[annnewjerz]

Speaking of flip flops I have an obsession and now I think I will have to purchase some more from your posts. :rotfl:

I love Christmas also. I have 3 tree's at this time. DH is is a Fireman so I have a firefighter tree, a sports tree for DS, and then my tree is a Disney tree. I love buying a (or 3 or 4) new ornaments for my tree at WDW every year. I love to shop in the Christmas store in March or June. This year I will get to do it in August.:goodvibes

Cant wait to read more.

WOOHOO!!! A reader! :banana::banana::banana:

Welcome!

Of all the flip flops I purchased so far (4 pairs)---I found that the Vineyard Vine pair are the most comfortable. They have built in arch support and even though they are foam soles (which I usually HATTE)---they're pretty squishy like rubber would be. :thumbsup2

I am going to have to show DH this post. He has a "man room" upstairs that's painted in EAGLES green, houses his TV and a mini-gfridge, etc. and I have tried to convince him to put his very own sports tree up there. He has ornaments for all of the Philadelphia sports teams, as well as Jack Daniels, etc. and I just think it would be a fantastic idea for him to have his own little tree up there. Maybe this will convince him I'm not nuts!

Well anywho--thanks for catching up! Once I actually have a few readers, I may just start updating more often. :goodvibes

[MinnieNurse]

WOOHOO!!! A reader! :banana::banana::banana:

Welcome!

Of all the flip flops I purchased so far (4 pairs)---I found that the Vineyard Vine pair are the most comfortable. They have built in arch support and even though they are foam soles (which I usually HATTE)---they're pretty squishy like rubber would be. :thumbsup2

I am going to have to show DH this post. He has a "man room" upstairs that's painted in EAGLES green, houses his TV and a mini-gfridge, etc. and I have tried to convince him to put his very own sports tree up there. He has ornaments for all of the Philadelphia sports teams, as well as Jack Daniels, etc. and I just think it would be a fantastic idea for him to have his own little tree up there. Maybe this will convince him I'm not nuts!

Well anywho--thanks for catching up! Once I actually have a few readers, I may just start updating more often. :goodvibes


Thats funny because I have been trying to talk my DH into letting me put a hunting/wildlife tree in his man room for about 2 years. He did buy me a deer stand ornament this year, which will not go on any of my trees. So am I to assume he wants that tree in his "Man Room" after all???:lmao:

[MinnieNurse]

Oh, forgot to mention. They are foam but I swear by them. I wear Teva Mush flip flops every trip. Love, Love, Love them. :love: I also like Yellow Box but August will be my first time wearing them to Disney. I am going to check out Vineyard Vine ones, did you get them online?

[annnewjerz]

Oh, forgot to mention. They are foam but I swear by them. I wear Teva Mush flip flops every trip. Love, Love, Love them. :love: I also like Yellow Box but August will be my first time wearing them to Disney. I am going to check out Vineyard Vine ones, did you get them online?

Mush flip flops, huh? Sounds comfy to me! I got a lot of brand advice over on the Theme Parks, Attractions and Strategies Board. Teva was one of them recommended, as well as Yellow Box, Reef and a bunch of others. I figured DH might kill me if I tried all of them. :rolleyes1

The Vineyard Vines ones you can buy online on their website (just google it). I bought some that are Unisex---found them on clearance for $7 at Marshalls. I have seen them on e-bay as well, same style. They're blue (which typically, I don't really like) but for $7---why not? :confused3

I posted a picture of them earlier in the TR (I believe). If you can't find it, let me know and I'll pull it up for ya!! :goodvibes

[annnewjerz]

So, I was putzing around online tonight and decided to take a look at the Cirque du Soleil - La Nouba website.

While I was there, I had the following conversation with myself:

"Hmmmmm, maybe I'll check out the calendar for December. Maybe they'll have the December schedule released---it'll be something to pass a few minutes"

"Well looky here, they dooooo have the calendar up!"

"What's this?? My date is click-able, I wonder if that could mean...."

"No no no, it couldn't possibly mean what I think it means....I'll just call WDW to find out"

::dials WDW to ask for specific seats for my December 12th showtime and is told that it is coming up in the system that I can't book until June 15th, 180 days out like I thought :scared:::

"Curses WDW!!!"

"Well, that was pointless, but while I'm here I might as well just try to book my tickets, right?"

::clicks onto date and time and sees that Cat. 2 seating, Section 203, Row EE is available::

"OMGOMGOMG ERIK COME DOWN HERE WITH YOUR WALLET I CAN BOOK OUR CIRQUE TICKETS 8 DAYS EARLIER THAN I THOUGHT AND THEY HAVE THE BEST SEATS AVAILABLE IWANTTHEMIWANTTHEMIWANTTHEM HURRY UP I NEED TO BOOK THEM NOOOOOOOOOOOW BEFORE THEY ARE GONE AND THE THING SAYS I ONLY HAVE 7 MINUTES TO PURCHASE"

And that, my friends...is the story of how I got seats for Cirque du Soleil - La Nouba 8 days earlier than WDW said I could. Stick that in your juice box and suck it, Mr. Mouse!!!!! :woohoo: :woohoo:

Okay so in all seriousness, my ideal seats for the show would have been section 204, row EE and I got section 203 EE a whole 8 days earlier than I thought I would.

I'm uuuuuuuber excited. I think I'm going to pick up the tickets at will call during our trip in October (which for anyone reading both TRs, I made some changes already!)

Only like....187 days left until our trip!!! :yay: :yay: :yay:

[MinnieNurse]

Woo Hoo for booking 8 days early and getting good seats.:woohoo:

Confession time: I have never gone to this show. Tried to watch it on TV once and just wasnt feeling it. Is it great in person? Would a 10 y/o boy like it? How would one know which seats are the good ones?

[annnewjerz]

Woo Hoo for booking 8 days early and getting good seats.:woohoo:

Confession time: I have never gone to this show. Tried to watch it on TV once and just wasnt feeling it. Is it great in person? Would a 10 y/o boy like it? How would one know which seats are the good ones?

Confession time: I have never been either :rotfl: That's why I'm so excited! I have asked around, talked to people I know and people on the DIS and from what I am aware of---everyone loves this show. Men said it's not too "sissy", women said it was so much fun and people with kids said that their kids had a blast and loved the clowns, etc.

It is my understanding that all of the seats at La Nouba are good ones. The theater only holds like 1,600 people, so all of the seats are good---there are just good, better and so close you can feel the breeze when the unicyclist rides by I guess ;)

We got Cat. 2 seating which was around $88 per ticket, it was my DM's birthday present. Cat. 1 is like the closest to the stage, but I have read that some of the acts are in the air and Cat. 1 may be too close if that's possible??

Here is the link to their main page. There are also some YouTube videos available to watch.

http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/lanouba/en/intro/intro.asp

[exwdwcm]

okay, a 3 day trip to WDW from NJ? :rotfl:;) now we truly know you are a disney fan! that's awesome!

and yeah on the cirque tickets- glad you mentioned 180 days, we want to book Hoop Dee Doo and i need to do it this week!

on Cirque- i have not seen La Nouba, but I have seen 3 other cirque shows- I've seen O at the Bellagio in Vegas (my fave!) and then I've seen Mystere at Treasure Island twice. It was good as well, but O was better. I also saw some travelling Cirque show here a few years back and it was okay, but nothing like vegas. While I enjoyed them, I just have no interest in seeing one again. MinnieNurse- not sure a 10yo boy would be into it- it is very 'artsy' sometimes, although there are cool stunts and acrobatics and funny clowns at the beginning- it is very artsy sometimes and really open for interpretation......i think girls might enjoy it more, but you really never know.

[lovedonaldduck]

okay, a 3 day trip to WDW from NJ? :rotfl:;) now we truly know you are a disney fan! that's awesome!

and yeah on the cirque tickets- glad you mentioned 180 days, we want to book Hoop Dee Doo and i need to do it this week!

on Cirque- i have not seen La Nouba, but I have seen 3 other cirque shows- I've seen O at the Bellagio in Vegas (my fave!) and then I've seen Mystere at Treasure Island twice. It was good as well, but O was better. I also saw some travelling Cirque show here a few years back and it was okay, but nothing like vegas. While I enjoyed them, I just have no interest in seeing one again. MinnieNurse- not sure a 10yo boy would be into it- it is very 'artsy' sometimes, although there are cool stunts and acrobatics and funny clowns at the beginning- it is very artsy sometimes and really open for interpretation......i think girls might enjoy it more, but you really never know.


We've seen a couple of Cirque shows in Las Vegas too, Mystere and Zoomanity, and they are really not my thing. I think in Vegas it's just the case that there are other shows that I enjoy more that I would rather spend the time and money on. I know my DD3 won't sit through La Nouba for years so I haven't looked into it at all. I bet it will be great for an all adult crowd, I don't recall reading any negative reviews about it at all.

[yakkin' yeti]

I saw La Nouba a couple of years ago, and it was great. Congratulations on the great seats!

That's quite a drive you've got ahead of you. We once drove from Michigan to Florida to see family for two days at WDW (parents, assorted nieces, and a cousin who was getting married and his fiance.) If that wasn't insane enough, my DH had grad school finals two hours after we pulled into our driveway. (He got an A.) We had the best time -- even the drive was fun (and there was plenty of it: I drove the whole way back so he could study).

Very cute Christmas ornaments, BTW.

[DWGal210]

Hey girl!

I love your Christmas tree - that is SO COOL!! I too love me some Christmas decorations. My brother and SIL do the same thing; every trip they go on, they get an ornament. Their tree is so pretty too.

I might have to hire you to do my tree this year, cause even though I like doing it, it always ends up looking like a little sad thing. :goodvibes What would I have to bribe you to drive from NJ to IA just to do a Christmas tree?! :rotfl:

Have a good day!

[khertz]

Yay for Cirque tickets!! I'm really wanting to buy our too, but it will probably be awhile before I can. :sad2: I'm at least trying to wait for park hours because I have so many things I want to do at night that it'll be hard to find the "right" night for Cirque. I'm thinking maybe on one of our Universal days? But also, I'm waiting for my work's discount website to update. If I buy the Cirque vouchers now, they expire Sept 30th?? So I'm hoping they make them available later in the year...I'm looking for all the money saving options I can find!!

I know it must be exciting to get one more thing under your belt though...it's killing me that I have to twiddle my thumbs now until September when hours are posted and ADR-makin' time rolls around!!

[minniecarousel]

Love your Christmas tree, Ann! Christmas is my favorite time of the year too. It will be wierd waiting to decorate on Dec. 19. But I don't want to decorate the tree, only to have the cats chew on the lower branches when we aren't around.

I buy ornaments on every vacation too. I have enough Disney ornaments to decorate a seperate tree, and enough of the other ones for another tree.

We're on the fence regarding the Cirque tix. I'm not sure I want to spend the time (& the $$).

[annnewjerz]

I might have to hire you to do my tree this year, cause even though I like doing it, it always ends up looking like a little sad thing. :goodvibes What would I have to bribe you to drive from NJ to IA just to do a Christmas tree?! :rotfl:

I can be bribed, however I must admit, you probably wouldn't need to! I love Christmas----everything about it, and since we can only have one tree in the house (no room for another) I'd be more than willing to design someone else's!! ;)

I'm at least trying to wait for park hours because I have so many things I want to do at night that it'll be hard to find the "right" night for Cirque. I'm thinking maybe on one of our Universal days?

That was my problem too!! But I really wanted to take my Mom to see it, so rather than compromise seeing the Osborne Lights, the Candlelight Processional or MVMCP---I decided to just add an extra day to the trip solely for La Nouba. Instead of going on Sunday as originally planned, we'll be going on Saturday and not doing a park, just relaxing and doing DTD/Cirque. Can't wait!

And, I am totally there with you with the twiddling thumbs til September thing. But, just think of it this way...only 2.5 more months or so until it's ADR/park hours time. I don't know about you, but we booked at 11 months out (started planning around 13 months) and to know that we are under 6 months now...the time flew by! :santa:

Love your Christmas tree, Ann! Christmas is my favorite time of the year too. It will be wierd waiting to decorate on Dec. 19. But I don't want to decorate the tree, only to have the cats chew on the lower branches when we aren't around.

Honestly...didn't think about that AT ALL. We have 6 cats that will be at home while we go to WDW, and usually I am able to keep an eye on them for at least a few hours of the day after I get home from work---but they will have full run of the house while I'm gone. Unfortunately, for me waiting until Dec. 19 isn't an option---we usually get our tree the first weekend of December (no later than the 7th usually) and keep it up until the needles are falling off with every tap. :rotfl:

[khertz]

That was my problem too!! But I really wanted to take my Mom to see it, so rather than compromise seeing the Osborne Lights, the Candlelight Processional or MVMCP---I decided to just add an extra day to the trip solely for La Nouba. Instead of going on Sunday as originally planned, we'll be going on Saturday and not doing a park, just relaxing and doing DTD/Cirque. Can't wait!

And, I am totally there with you with the twiddling thumbs til September thing. But, just think of it this way...only 2.5 more months or so until it's ADR/park hours time. I don't know about you, but we booked at 11 months out (started planning around 13 months) and to know that we are under 6 months now...the time flew by! :santa:

That's a great idea about doing it your first night! Now if I could just convince our parents to fly, this might actually work for us. But I can't convince them that a 1 1/2 hour flight is so much better than 10 hours in the car, even if it is a little scarier!! :rotfl: After all that time driving I doubt they will be up for a show that night. I'm hoping I'll even be able to get them to go for a game of mini-golf, but we'll see how that goes.

You are so right about the time going by quickly. When I first started looking to plan this trip (which was probably around August/September last year?) it seemed like forever away. Now I can't believe we are already at less than six months! :yay: I'm excited, but I kind of like the anticipation. Anyway, you are probably right, the next 2.5 months should go by quickly. At least, I hope so!

[lurkyloo]

Caught up! :hyper:

OK, back a few pages there was some discussion of dropping the Behind the Seeds Tour on your first day. DON'T DROP IT!!! It is awesome - and it is everything that Living with the Land, the ride, should be but no longer is. And the price can't be beat...en. Plus you get a free sample, if you're into the whole "eating fruits and vegetables" thing.

Here's a link to the story of when we did the tour on our honeymoon (I mean, unless you want to be surprised, in which case - don't click the link!)

http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=23724620&postcount=338

[annnewjerz]

Caught up! :hyper:

OK, back a few pages there was some discussion of dropping the Behind the Seeds Tour on your first day. DON'T DROP IT!!! It is awesome - and it is everything that Living with the Land, the ride, should be but no longer is. And the price can't be beat...en. Plus you get a free sample, if you're into the whole "eating fruits and vegetables" thing.

Here's a link to the story of when we did the tour on our honeymoon (I mean, unless you want to be surprised, in which case - don't click the link!)

http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=23724620&postcount=338

C'mon now----do you honestly think I haven't seen that post? I'm a bonafide Lurkyloo stalker. :rotfl:

I think I've decided not to skip it. I am into the whole "eating fruits and veggies" thing (which I get the impression you are not so much) and like you said...for $16 per person or less if I get a AAA discount, how can you beat it? Living with the Land is like a Disney guilty pleasure for me...so I doubt I will think it was a waste of time/money to take the tour.

One question---I read about a "ladybug release" or something on Allearsnet. Please tell me this isn't true and/or you can skip it and/or it's not as bad as it sounds. I HATE ladybugs (really only if they get on me) and would literally scream loud enough for all of Epcot to hear if we released them and they flew all over and landed on me. :scared1:

Thoughts??

PS: It's an honor to have someone with your DIS PTR/TR status dropping by. My aspiration is to have a TR even 1/10 as read as yours. :worship: I'm thinking that what I lack in writing skillz, I can make up for in photography. ;)

[lurkyloo]

:rotfl:

OK, I asked Patrick to remind me about the ladybug release, and it's totally not a big deal. It's just one ladybug, and they give it to a kid to release, and when s/he opens her/his hand, the ladybug just sits there blinking for a few seconds before it rolls over and goes back to sleep. ...Oh, and then it flies all around and lands all over you. :thumbsup2

[DWGal210]

I think that Behind the Seeds looks like fun - you'll have to tell us all about it when you get back! :cool1: I'm doing Keys to the Kingdom this time and hope to do more later. I always feel like I do the same spots over and over again, and come heck or high water, I am going to do new stuff this trip! :rotfl:

[LOVEMY3KIDDOS]

Just found this...also going in Dec and looking for others and what they are planning. Thought I'd subscribe. We went over X-mas in 06...it's great! I'm feeling you on those drinks...I have several of the same ones on my list! I'll be waiting for more! I am going to start my PTR soon...it'll be in my sig so you can join and we can go through the agony of waiting together! And, by the way...as a fellow Northeaster, I LOVE flip flops and wore them the entire trip in Dec 06! Remember when it feels cold to a native Floridian, it could be like a heatwave to us! Chat with you soon!

[annnewjerz]

I think that Behind the Seeds looks like fun - you'll have to tell us all about it when you get back! :cool1: I'm doing Keys to the Kingdom this time and hope to do more later. I always feel like I do the same spots over and over again, and come heck or high water, I am going to do new stuff this trip! :rotfl:

Belieeeeeeeeve me, the TR for my trip will be much more entertaining than the PTR. There will be lots of pictures, reviews, installments, lots of writing and hopefully lots of readers. I know I'll have at least some from the Photography Board, but maybe I can get some from the TR board too :thumbsup2 I'll be bribing everyone with the non-stop advertisement of the fact that this will be a very picture-heavy TR.

We are still up in the air about whether we will do KTTK or Backstage Magic. The Backstage Magic tour is a lot more expensive and quite a bit longer, but l feel like it may be worth it because the whole tour is spent backstage. We'll see!!

And, by the way...as a fellow Northeaster, I LOVE flip flops and wore them the entire trip in Dec 06! Remember when it feels cold to a native Floridian, it could be like a heatwave to us! Chat with you soon!

Welcome!! I'll keep my eye out for your PTR. Not too much to PTR about this far out, but it's something to do. :thumbsup2

That's what I thought about the flip flops---it'll be in the 40's here, so even if it's only in the low 70's there I'm sure it'll feel like flip flop and swimmin' weather to us!! :woohoo:

[happenin2you]

I love what you've done with the "ticket stubs" for your mom, the idea is so adorable. As for shoes, I reccommend any type of crocs. I wear high heeled crocs at work in a business casual environment where I am constantly on my feet and I'm always comfortable. I also bought the mary'janes at WDW last september and loved them as well. I have nanooks and alice's by crocs and they are both equally confortable and cute, too!

[exwdwcm]

DWGal- you will love KTTK tour- we really enjoyed ours. if i am ever back again on an adult only trip or maybe a business trip where i can squeeze in a day, i want to try the BSM one.

LOVEMY3KIDDOS- hi there- we have a nice group now of us Dec Pre trippers!! i'll keep an eye out for your PTR too.

ANNEJ- so have you decided on KTTK or BSM yet- how long is the BSM one? I did enjoy KTTK and think everyone should do it at least once. Don't expect a ton of backstage time though. We did go backstage behind splash mtn area sort of- saw the parade floats. We didn't see a whole lot else back there. We did venture down to the utilidors and you don't really go far in- you walk slightly down a bit, there are some small shadowboxes and photos on the wall they refer to in the tour and you watch a short dvd in the tunnel just standing there. Then you head back up- you don't really get to go explore. And there is a lot to explore- from my time as a CM- there is the barbershop, cafeteria, zoo (where character costumes are), costuming, IT facilities and more. It's amazing what all is down there and we only saw basically a part of the tunnel itself. It was still great, but hopefully the BSM shows you much more.

[MissMet]

subscribing :goodvibes

Can't wait to get caught up on everything I've missed so far. :)

[annnewjerz]

ANNEJ- so have you decided on KTTK or BSM yet- how long is the BSM one? I did enjoy KTTK and think everyone should do it at least once. Don't expect a ton of backstage time though. We did go backstage behind splash mtn area sort of- saw the parade floats. We didn't see a whole lot else back there. We did venture down to the utilidors and you don't really go far in- you walk slightly down a bit, there are some small shadowboxes and photos on the wall they refer to in the tour and you watch a short dvd in the tunnel just standing there. Then you head back up- you don't really get to go explore. And there is a lot to explore- from my time as a CM- there is the barbershop, cafeteria, zoo (where character costumes are), costuming, IT facilities and more. It's amazing what all is down there and we only saw basically a part of the tunnel itself. It was still great, but hopefully the BSM shows you much more.

I haven't decided yet---I'm still really up in the air. On one hand, the BSM tour shows you all backstage stuff and is 7 hours long, with a sit-down lunch at WCC and doesn't require park admission to do. On the other hand, it's a lot more expensive ($200+), takes more time away from the park and would take away some MK time/break up our DHS day into two different days, one morning and one night.

Decisions decisions, I'll tell ya! This is one thing I'm glad I have another few months to plan and think about. If I had to book tomorrow, I honestly don't know which I'd do. Whichever one I decide on, I'm sure we'll really enjoy them both.

subscribing :goodvibes

Can't wait to get caught up on everything I've missed so far. :)

You haven't missed much! Being 5 months out from the trip still really doesn't lend itself to much planning. However, the closer we get I'll have ADRs, MVMCP, tours, packing, kennels for the dogs, photos AND a TR from our mini-trip in October for MNSSHP. Things will be picking up soon! :goodvibes

[annnewjerz]

So, this weekend was Independence Day and overall we had a really great time. No real trip updates (sorry!!) but I do have some really fun pics from the weekend I thought I would share.

Friday, DH and I both had off of work. We went to a Phillies v. Mets game in Philly and (hooray!) the Phils won. Great seats, perfect weather, a cheesesteak and a win to boot!

Saturday was our annual family picnic. There was BBQ, horseshoes, music, fireworks, friends---it was a great time. We had a fireworks mishap (it shot into the crowd watching instead of the sky and some people got a little burnt) but other than that---tons of fun.

Here are some pictures that I took.

Family.
http://photos.smugmug.com/photos/582844281_fmR9i-L.jpg

Hubby (Erik).
http://photos.smugmug.com/photos/582247589_Vo65M-M.jpg

http://photos.smugmug.com/photos/582840095_tbYXD-L.jpg

Mom (Lois).
http://photos.smugmug.com/photos/582842429_ieJg7-M.jpg

Brother (Chris).
http://photos.smugmug.com/photos/582841243_4AVHp-L.jpg

Cousin (Carly).
http://photos.smugmug.com/photos/582247571_HKiJM-M.jpg

http://photos.smugmug.com/photos/582248094_pncMs-L.jpg

PopPop (Frank).
http://photos.smugmug.com/photos/582843394_B4BwR-L.jpg

Now for some fun ones, inspired by a recent thread on the Photo Board.

http://photos.smugmug.com/photos/582178264_JPkCo-L.jpg

http://photos.smugmug.com/photos/582178166_yE3FC-L.jpg

http://photos.smugmug.com/photos/582178919_Uif2c-L.jpg

http://photos.smugmug.com/photos/582178647_WMmrb-L.jpg

http://photos.smugmug.com/photos/582178471_Eiucg-L.jpg

http://photos.smugmug.com/photos/582178567_e8TkY-L.jpg

http://photos.smugmug.com/photos/582177909_sWQXV-L.jpg

http://photos.smugmug.com/photos/582178749_nGXry-L.jpg

http://photos.smugmug.com/photos/582177987_QBNmS-L.jpg

That's all I've got for right now, hopefully that gives you a little peak into what I might bring back from my trips to The World in December (and October!)

[LOVEMY3KIDDOS]

Those are GREAT pics! How did you do it? I love it!

[happenin2you]

the pics are amazing! i can't wait to see what you bring back from disney!

[annnewjerz]

Those are GREAT pics! How did you do it? I love it!

Thanks. It was a lot of fun taking them. The ones at night---mount your camera on a tripod, set it for a reeeeeally long shutter speed, grab a flash light/sparklers/glow sticks/etc. and write. At the end, hit your subject with a flash from your camera and presto! Simple, right? ;) You should really try it, it's a great way to have some fun and pass the time.

the pics are amazing! i can't wait to see what you bring back from disney!

Thanks! :goodvibes I'm a newbie when it comes to my SLR camera, but I'm hoping I can come back from our trips in October and December with lots of photos to share and that I can be proud of posting. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!! :thumbsup2

[WDWRocksMySocks]

To Eat:*Just a warning that all of it is complete junk food. I'll be splitting with DH but c'mon give me a break---I'm on vacation!!

- Dole Whip / I've never tried one. A sin really, I know. I had my first one during just a year ago. I'm sure I'll be flamed for this, but I am not a Dole Whip fan. :eek: I guess I went in with really HIGH expectations and came out disappointed. I might try one again just to make sure I really don't like them, though. You know...just in case.
- Chocolate PB cake from Boardwalk Bakery / After reading Carrie's (lurkyloo) amazing trip reports and realizing our shared love for the chocolate & peanut butter flavor combination, I decided that this cake is a must. Apparently they sell it by the slice at the BWB and since we just so happen to be staying at the Boardwalk Villas, it will probably be had everyday for breakfast. What diet?? Ooh, that cake sounds AMAZING!! We've never been to the Boardwalk, but that is enough motivation to get our butts over there! :thumbsup2
- Strawberry shortcake from Sunshine Seasons
- Chocolate chip cookie icecream sandwich from DinoBites in AK / This thing looks HUGE and amazing. SO GOOD!!! I love these things!
- Chocolate covered Mickey rice krispy treat, the big ones / Nuff said.

To Drink:*Just a warning that drinking at home is a rarity for me---so if in my TR I appear in any photos (which is doubtful because I take them) I apologize for looking like a mess. :rotfl::lmao::rotfl2: Love that disclaimer!

Thank goodness WDW is one of the places where I don't have to worry about gaining weight. When you're walking 10+ miles a day, it's nice to be able to eat whatever you want and not stress out over it---but makes it so hard to get back into your daily routine at home. Oh well, a small price to pay I'd guess! :goodvibes

WDW is definitely one of those places where gorging yourself on bad food doesn't count. :rolleyes1 Besides walking a TON, you just don't gain weight at the "Happiest Place on Earth"...right?

I love those Christmas ornaments, btw! So cute.

Oh, and I love your idea about doing a commando trip down for MNSSHP. I'm off to checkout your October PTR.

[annnewjerz]

WDW is definitely one of those places where gorging yourself on bad food doesn't count. :rolleyes1 Besides walking a TON, you just don't gain weight at the "Happiest Place on Earth"...right?

I love those Christmas ornaments, btw! So cute.

Oh, and I love your idea about doing a commando trip down for MNSSHP. I'm off to checkout your October PTR.

You are SO right, and I don't even mean that jokingly---I heard that the average person walks something like 10 miles per day when in WDW, which sure beats my 4 miles at the gym 4-5 times a week!! I plan to eat and/or drink whatever I want. If I wasn't in WDW downing cookie icecream sandwiches and margaritas, I'd just be at home making (eating) Christmas cookies anyway :rolleyes1

I think I'm getting too hyped for the Dole Whip. Everyone thinks they are so good and I'd love for that to be the case, but I told my Mom (a non-DISer) about them the other day and she just looked at me like "Okay pineapple flavored soft-serve---so what?? :confused3" :rotfl2:

I guess I'll find out in October or December!

[WDWRocksMySocks]

Yeah, I was telling DH that he better get in shape for all that walking. You should've seen his face! :laughing: Seriously though, it's quite a good workout. That's why we should all go to WDW more often! :thumbsup2

HA! Aaron said the same thing when I tried my first Dole Whip. :rotfl: He couldn't get why I was so excited to try it. But, they are a must try for any true Disney fanatic! Although, I still refuse to try a turkey leg. Something about those just creep me out. :confused3

[annnewjerz]

Although, I still refuse to try a turkey leg. Something about those just creep me out. :confused3

+1 for that. It just seems like such a barbaric way to eat. Barbaric and messy. Plus I don't like dark meat. :sick:

[annnewjerz]

So while discussing my birthday meal over on my other PTR for October, I got to thinking about eating at all of those yummy Signature restaurants. I have been going back and forth----an back and forth----over whether or not to get the basic DDP. Luckily since we are renting from DVC, we don't have to make a final decision on that until like 2 weeks in advance or something crazy!

Anywho, then I started thinking about the deluxe DDP.

:Thinking to self:
Hmmmmmm, I wonder how much the deluxe DDP would be. Probably WAY out of our price range. I know this is a "dream" trip and all, but I still have a budget to stick to darnit!!

:crunches numbers:

No this can't be right. Only like $100 extra per person to get the deluxe DDP and eat at all of those great restaurants?! I must have done the math wrong.

:crunches numbers again:
Hmmmmm, it's still only $100 more per person. I'm an idiot, I know this can't be right!

:stares off into space a little while:

IT IS RIGHT!! Now, how can I convince DH and DM to go for this? We are not huge eaters when it comes to The World---but getting to eat at Artist Point, Jiko, Flying Fish and Brown Derby all in one trip, how can you pass it up?

Well here's my justification. The other day, I suggested taking the Backstage Magic Tour rather than the KTTK. That would have been $150 extra per person and everyone was a-okay with that. Now, I decided to do the KTTK tour instead, which gives me back $150 per person to work with---and the deluxe DDP is only $100 more.........


You get the idea. So, as it seems right now, we may upgrade to the deluxe DDP. Here is where (if we do it) I would like to eat. Does anyone else have any suggestions for better 2TS meals??

- Flying Fish
- Crystal Palace
- Artist Point
- Sci Fi Dine In Theater
- Brown Derby
- Yak & Yeti
- Jiko
- Kona Cafe
- San Angel Inn

This breaks down in such a way that over the course of 7 days, we will have 1 day without any TS meals at all. We will have 3 days with 1 TS meal scheduled and 3 days with 2 TS meals scheduled (early lunch and late late dinner).

Thoughts?? Anyone done the DxDDP before and if so, what have you liked/disliked about it?

[Todd_H]

Hey Ann,
I haven't read through your entire TR yet, so I don't know if these places have been suggested/thrown out, but we really enjoy the California Grill (2TS) and Le Cellier (1TS, I believe). The San Angel Inn is a neat restaurant because of the location, but the food is hit and miss there (with more miss than hit, IMO). I personally think the Cantina outside has better food and is cheaper (and is CS rather than TS). Never done Brown Derby, but Jiko is awesome (probably my favorite restaurant on WDW property).

If you guys like sushi, California Grill is the best on the resort (although we haven't tried Teppan-Edo yet... we're trying it during our Sept trip).

And be sure to down a Grand Marnier slushy in France... tastes like an alcoholic Push-up.

[annnewjerz]

Hey Ann,
I haven't read through your entire TR yet, so I don't know if these places have been suggested/thrown out, but we really enjoy the California Grill (2TS) and Le Cellier (1TS, I believe). The San Angel Inn is a neat restaurant because of the location, but the food is hit and miss there (with more miss than hit, IMO). I personally think the Cantina outside has better food and is cheaper (and is CS rather than TS). Never done Brown Derby, but Jiko is awesome (probably my favorite restaurant on WDW property).

If you guys like sushi, California Grill is the best on the resort (although we haven't tried Teppan-Edo yet... we're trying it during our Sept trip).

And be sure to down a Grand Marnier slushy in France... tastes like an alcoholic Push-up.

Heyyyyy Todd. Where have you been lately? Seems you have been sorta MIA from the Photo Board!

Thanks for the recommendations. San Angel is one that we have done a few times and thankfully the food has always been good (not the best or anything, just good). The real reason we continue to go is the atmosphere. We are big fans of vacations in Mexico and since we can't do that and WDW in one year, it makes us feel like we did both---or at least that's what I tell myself.

I'm glad to hear another favorable review of Jiko. We've never done it before and are really looking forward to trying it out, people seem to love it.

California Grill I'm still unsold on. I know it is supposed to have great sushi and while I think sushi is okay, we live 1.5 hours from NYC and 45 minutes from Philly, so there are loads of good places to grab sushi around here (although the same could be said about steak, Asian and Mexican food :rolleyes1 so there goes that justification :lmao:). I guess I'm just less inclined to book CG because of the fact that we would probably have to watch Wishes from the deck rather than in the park and from what I hear it seems most people think it's loud and crowded in there---but that's subjective I guess.

We'll see! I've still got 2 months to get all of this sorted out. While the food is a definite concern, having a good time and the pictures are much more important to me ;)

[Todd_H]

Heyyyyy Todd. Where have you been lately? Seems you have been sorta MIA from the Photo Board!

I know... just haven't found much time to post lately. I'm getting ready to start my first pre-trip report soon for our upcoming September trip, so be on the lookout! :)

Thanks for the recommendations. San Angel is one that we have done a few times and thankfully the food has always been good (not the best or anything, just good). The real reason we continue to go is the atmosphere. We are big fans of vacations in Mexico and since we can't do that and WDW in one year, it makes us feel like we did both---or at least that's what I tell myself.

Ahh, makes sense. I agree that the atmosphere in San Angel is really cool (it and Canada are my favorite pavilions).

California Grill I'm still unsold on. I know it is supposed to have great sushi and while I think sushi is okay, we live 1.5 hours from NYC and 45 minutes from Philly, so there are loads of good places to grab sushi around here (although the same could be said about steak, Asian and Mexican food :rolleyes1 so there goes that justification :lmao:). I guess I'm just less inclined to book CG because of the fact that we would probably have to watch Wishes from the deck rather than in the park and from what I hear it seems most people think it's loud and crowded in there---but that's subjective I guess.

We'll see! I've still got 2 months to get all of this sorted out. While the food is a definite concern, having a good time and the pictures are much more important to me ;)

With The California Grill, you can always slip up there for a quick drink and maybe one or two sushi plates without reservations (just sit at the bar). That way, you have the chance to try it to see if you like it enough to blow 2TS eating there on a future trip. There are also some fantastic photo ops of the MK from that deck at night.

[missliberty]

Hey Ann,
New reader...love your posts! Is your DxDDP calculations $100 per person or per person per night? That would be awesome if it is for the entire stay!! I'm still struggling to decide where to go with the free dining basic plan I was able to get. Since I have never been to WDW I only have reviews on the web and books to go by. Your list looks awfully good so far. I might have to steal it!

[LOVEMY3KIDDOS]

We had the DxDP and thought it was wayyyy too much food. BUT....we have 3 kids and didn't do many 2 ts credit meals so they didn't disturb people that were trying to enjoy a quiet meal! So, we were sometimes eating 3 meals a day. You do get a lot for each meal, too! But, if you are going to try to do 2 ts meals, it's the only way to go so that it's affordable!! I'd like to do it if DH and I can get there alone!!! ;)

[annnewjerz]

Hey Ann,
New reader...love your posts! Is your DxDDP calculations $100 per person or per person per night? That would be awesome if it is for the entire stay!!

Nope, it's around $100 per person more for the entire stay. Now before you get too excited, let me explain how ;)

The basic DDP is $200 per person total for the entire stay, plus $15 for a refillable mug. On our first day, we won't be on the DDP so I budgeted about $35 in food/snacks for the first day (two CS meals). We were also going to add on $7 per day in additional snacking items which is $35 and two TS meals that we were going to pay out of pocket for, which ended up being about $40 each. Then, we had to add in tips, I forget the exact amount I calculated but we'll say $60 per person for the entire stay. In addition, I would probably ship down some food for breakfasts which would be about $15. While I still might do that, it won't be as much stuff---maybe just some Pop Tarts or something. So when all is said and done, it was going to cost approximately $400 total for us to eat on the basic dining plan, including everything.

With the deluxe DDP, we won't have to pay for any meals OOP, we get an extra snack per day and our refillable mugs included in the price of the plan. So the total per person just for the deluxe DDP would be $360. Add in about $100 in tips and the $35 in food for our first day, and we end up at approximately $495 per person, or $100 per person per day including tax, refillable mugs and three meals/two snacks per day.

For Disney prices, that doesn't sound horrible if you ask me. :goodvibes:


I'm still struggling to decide where to go with the free dining basic plan I was able to get. Since I have never been to WDW I only have reviews on the web and books to go by. Your list looks awfully good so far. I might have to steal it!

We had the free basic DDP back in September of 07 and thought it was great. Saved us at least a few hundred dollars off of the cost of our trip, which I liked a lot! We splurged and used two of our credits on a 2TS meal (Flying Fish) and really appreciated seeing a $350 bill for 4 of us come out and not have to pay a penny (that's when the tip was still included).

[happenin2you]

i did the deluxe DDP for my honeymoon and it was great. it was just my DH and me, I've heard from many people that the DDP can bee too much for little kids. most days we just did an early lunch at a reg TS and a late dinner at a Signature TS for 2 credits. some days we did breakfast too or we were able to use snack credits for things like oj and bagels with cream cheese and fresh fruit. the TS restaurants are pretty expensive, so it was nice to be able to go mostly anywhere and pick an app, entree, and dessert, because we wouldn't have usually. it's really good way to try different foods you wouldn't usually eat because there is so much food, if you don't like something, or anything, you can always go get a reliable snack afterwards. i loved it and my Dh and i wouldn't do it any other way. unless of course we stayed club level... maybe things would change =)

[annnewjerz]

i did the deluxe DDP for my honeymoon and it was great. it was just my DH and me, I've heard from many people that the DDP can bee too much for little kids. most days we just did an early lunch at a reg TS and a late dinner at a Signature TS for 2 credits. some days we did breakfast too or we were able to use snack credits for things like oj and bagels with cream cheese and fresh fruit. the TS restaurants are pretty expensive, so it was nice to be able to go mostly anywhere and pick an app, entree, and dessert, because we wouldn't have usually. it's really good way to try different foods you wouldn't usually eat because there is so much food, if you don't like something, or anything, you can always go get a reliable snack afterwards. i loved it and my Dh and i wouldn't do it any other way. unless of course we stayed club level... maybe things would change =)

Thanks! I think I have settled on doing the DxDDP. We are three adults, so no kids to worry about and we're going to try to do a breakfast or early lunch and then a signature dinner each night. I'm hoping it'll be great and if not, that's okay---because it'll probably be the only trip we can afford to do it!! :rotfl2:

[annnewjerz]

So this weekend I went to speak to my DM about all of our ADRs. I brought menus, the computer to show her pictures of each place and wonderful food porn from various dining reviews that I have enjoyed recently.

We got to talking about the trip and I was asking if there are any fireworks/parades/etc. that she would really like to make sure we took the time to see. As I sort of expected, she said she couldn't care less about the fireworks or parades---she wants to go for the rides :rotfl2:

While this is fine with me (I've never been one shows, fireworks or parades), it did bring up the issue of whether we should go to MVMCP if none of us really cared about all of the extras. Yes, seeing the fireworks would be nice, but was it really worth the extra $180(ish) to go?

I'm SO CONFUSED. At first, I really wanted to go to MVMCP for the extra time in the parks since they closed early. The more I read, the more I wanted to go as something special to do during our trip (even though we have Cirque, Behind the Seeds, KTTK and Deluxe DDP all planned). Then my Mom drops that bombshell and now I'm reconsidering going at all. :santa:

What do you all think----go, don't go, go and just use it as an opportunity to do as many attractions as possible??? :confused3

Ugh.

THANK GOODNESS I have to get all of this reasonably locked down within the next two months. What a headache! :headache:

[Villainess]

Joining in this PTR too! I'm sure you'll have fun with your DM there - I'm going at the end of Aug with my kids AND exDH - that should be interesting!


I would do MVMCP - I've never done it but it just seems so magical and Christmasy!

[annnewjerz]

Joining in this PTR too! I'm sure you'll have fun with your DM there - I'm going at the end of Aug with my kids AND exDH - that should be interesting!


I would do MVMCP - I've never done it but it just seems so magical and Christmasy!

Thanks for stopping by here as well---a fellow NJian is always welcome :thumbsup2

I hope you do a photo TR of some sort when you get back from your trip. I really enjoy seeing everyone's stuff over on the photo board, but I'm starting to get to the point where I want to see as many WDW pics as possible to get me pumped for our trip.

Good luck with the kids and exDH, I'm sure you'll at least come back with some interesting stories :upsidedow

[Villainess]

I will definitely do a TR for the upcoming trip - I'm currently writing the one from our last trip.

And yes, I agree, I should have lots of interesting stories - we will be at OKW and BWV

[annnewjerz]

I will definitely do a TR for the upcoming trip - I'm currently writing the one from our last trip.

And yes, I agree, I should have lots of interesting stories - we will be at OKW and BWV


Oooooh BWV. Have you ever been before? We're staying there for the first time during our December trip and I cannot wait! :hyper: :hyper:

I just noticed you have a PTR, I'm going to pop over now and get caught up.

Edited to add: NEVERMIND! I see that your PTR is for your trip earlier in 2009. Oh well. :sad2:

[raider97]

Anymore thoughts on MVMCP? I think it would be fun. You guys could compromise on it.... do some rides for your mom and then maybe see the Christmas parade. Just an idea. I loved it when I went in 1998. :)

I think your hitchhiking ghosts are just adorable. Did you buy them as a set? I just bought a set of the pirate cuties. I think they are adorable have you seen them?

Stephanie

[MyMuse]

I have the same quandry for my December trip.

Is it worth the extra money? If I do, should I get one less day on my pass and buy a MVMCP?

I think the early part of December there are distinct things/experiences that you get via MVMCP, but later on, it becomes free as part of the park itself.

I just don't know whether it's worth actually paying for "double admission" for that day.

Decisions! Decisions! I'm glad I'm not the only one struggling with it.

[divanicki75]

okay, I'm a fellow December trip-er ... I'm subscibing, yay!!

I was going back & forth about the MVMCP, too, but I have 2 LOs (will be 5 & 3- 1wk when we go), so I think it'll be a waste for us. HOWEVER, we're going using the Stars & Stripes promo, which is DH= free plus five 5-day passes. DS & I are using up 2, so we're trying to find someone(s) to come with us who will watch the kids at night(s), so we can do stuff... If that happens, DH & I may do the MVMCP.

This is fun, I think I may to a PTR, too... it's fun to obsess about our trip with people who care :D

[WDWRocksMySocks]

We did MVMCP in 2007. I really enjoyed seeing the snow on Main Street and the holiday version of Wishes (very cool!!). I'm not a big parade type of gal, but it was alright. The highlight for me was stocking up on the MVMCP pins. You can get all the past party pins so of course, I loved it! I might be willing to do it again, but I'm not really sure. It was worth experiencing once. However, since you're not into shows and such you might not enjoy it as much. Also, it's nice to do the party if you don't have a park ticket to use that day. You can get in at 4pm and stay in the park until the end of the party. Btw, the rides were virtually empty. So that was definitely a plus. I don't know if it's worth the extra money though. The parks were pretty slow during our whole trip in December 07.

[annnewjerz]

Anymore thoughts on MVMCP? I think it would be fun. You guys could compromise on it.... do some rides for your mom and then maybe see the Christmas parade. Just an idea. I loved it when I went in 1998. :)

I do have more thoughts---they change daily. Today, I'm thinking we're going to go, tomorrow, maybe not. :rotfl:

I think your hitchhiking ghosts are just adorable. Did you buy them as a set? I just bought a set of the pirate cuties. I think they are adorable have you seen them?

I did end up buying them as a "set" from a reputable e-bay seller, although I don't know if they actually came out in a set or not. They are adorable, I LOVE the cutie pins. I am actually bidding on some chip & dales dressed like pirates right now, even though I'm expecting about 25 pins in the mail next week :rolleyes1

I have the same quandry for my December trip.

Is it worth the extra money? If I do, should I get one less day on my pass and buy a MVMCP?

I think the early part of December there are distinct things/experiences that you get via MVMCP, but later on, it becomes free as part of the park itself.

I just don't know whether it's worth actually paying for "double admission" for that day.

Decisions! Decisions! I'm glad I'm not the only one struggling with it.

I agree that it's a hard decision. I'm definitely still buying as many days of park tickets as we will be visiting, for the simple fact that once you get to 6/7 day tickets, the price to add a day is something crazy like $5.

Depending on when in December you are going---it is special things like the parade. I don't think that changes over to the nightly parade until Christmas week IIRC. We'll only be there through the 18th and according to last year's calendar, on normal non-MVMCP nights, Spectro was showing. Maybe that'll help you make your decision. :surfweb:

HOWEVER, we're going using the Stars & Stripes promo, which is DH= free plus five 5-day passes. DS & I are using up 2, so we're trying to find someone(s) to come with us who will watch the kids at night(s), so we can do stuff... If that happens, DH & I may do the MVMCP.

This is fun, I think I may to a PTR, too... it's fun to obsess about our trip with people who care :D

Ah, the military salute tickets. We wanted to take advantage of that offer, but then I found out they weren't upgradable. So, to buy two extra days of park tickets it would have ended up being more expensive than skipping the salute tickets entirely. Go figure. :rolleyes:

Obsessing about my trip(s) is becoming a full-time job. Needless to say DH had his fill of Disney talk, oh---I'd say 5 months ago when we booked! :rotfl2:

We did MVMCP in 2007. I really enjoyed seeing the snow on Main Street and the holiday version of Wishes (very cool!!). I'm not a big parade type of gal, but it was alright. The highlight for me was stocking up on the MVMCP pins. You can get all the past party pins so of course, I loved it! I might be willing to do it again, but I'm not really sure. It was worth experiencing once. However, since you're not into shows and such you might not enjoy it as much. Also, it's nice to do the party if you don't have a park ticket to use that day. You can get in at 4pm and stay in the park until the end of the party. Btw, the rides were virtually empty. So that was definitely a plus. I don't know if it's worth the extra money though. The parks were pretty slow during our whole trip in December 07.

I think we're going to do it. At first, I wanted to do it since I haven't ever been to a party. Then, I added a MNSSHP trip in October and wanted to do MVMCP to compare. Then I heard everyone that had been to both saying how much better MNSSHP was than MVMCP and it wasn't worth the money so I decided maybe I'll skip it. Well---wouldn't you know, now I'm back to going. :upsidedow

I'm so glad to hear that you said the crowds were low in December. :woohoo: What dates did you go? We'll be there the 12-18 (Friday before Christmas) and while I can't divulge UG's numbers publicly---let's just say they're pretty low. I didn't want to get my hopes up too much, but it seems pretty safe to assume that we'll be heading out right before the Christmas crowds roll in. :santa:

Another question if you don't mind---how far in advance did you book your tickets? Based on my itinerary right now (which I made from last year's park hours) MVMCP on the 17th would be best. I would buy the tickets---but if the park hours and EMHs are completely different than in years past, I'll be locked into the 17th even though I may want the 15th instead.

Think it'll sell out prior to the hours being released 90 days before the trip?

[raider97]

Obsessing about my trip(s) is becoming a full-time job. Needless to say DH had his fill of Disney talk, oh---I'd say 5 months ago when we booked! :rotfl2:


I can appreciate this one.... I booked ours last August and my dh has had his fill too.... I even think my mom has.:rotfl:

Can't wait to see your new pins. I have been scouting the hitchhiking ghosts. They are so cute. The pirate set I bought has chip and dale. I think it also has minnie, pluto, mickey, goofy, and donald. I will have to post them on my trip report. Maybe when we get back. We are headed to Houston to visit my parents for the weekend. :)

Look forward to reading more....

Stephanie

[annnewjerz]

For anyone that may have read this update in my October PTR already, I'm sorry for posting duplicative information, however:

1. I have pictures of the sweaters I wouldn't post over there :hyper: and
2. "I have to do double the shopping because I have two PTRs!" wouldn't have been an acceptable excuse to DH for spending an insane amount of money. :rotfl2:



So today I indulged in a little online pre-trip shopping

I was at work taking a break from the DIS and happened to stumble across Banana Republic's website. I saw the words "FINAL SALE" which for anyone who knows me (which would be none of you really ) means trouble!

I ended up finding a few long cardigan shawl neck belted sweater deals that were originally $80, marked down to $20. Now---I know what a lot of you are thinking.............

"Well Ann, if it was on final clearance, that's because no one liked it enough to buy it."

Hmmmm, even if you're right, for $20 when I wear a sweater every day to my freezer of an office building, how could I go wrong? One woman's trash is another woman's treasure, after all.

I bought one in black and one in white. For $20, even though they were final sale and non-returnable, it was too good a deal to pass up.

http://bananarepublic.gap.com/Asset_Archive/BRWeb/Assets/Product/646/646386/main/br646386-02p01v01.jpg

http://bananarepublic.gap.com/Asset_Archive/BRWeb/Assets/Product/646/646386/main/br646386-00p01v01.jpg


So, after adding these to my shopping bag, I saw that they were offering free shipping on orders of $100 or more.

What's this? That included purchases from BR, GAP and Old Navy!

Let me preface this by saying that I have found the clothes at Old Navy to be extremely poor quality. Usually within a couple of months, the hem will come out of my skirts, there will be a hole in the armpit of virtually ever sweater I purchased, etc. So why would I continue to shop there, you ask? Because it's CHEAP with a capital C-H-E-A-P!

I'm one of those that mixes and matches. A $15 dress with $100 sandals, a $5 pair of flip flops with a $25 dress from Target with a $135 Juicy cardigan. So there are certain parts of my wardrobe that are literally disposable---there are flip flops that I got on $2 clearance that I have been known to use super glue on because they're so comfy....but all of those sale items make room for lots of more expensive sale items to be mixed in.

But back to the good stuff.

So I went onto the Old Navy website and started looking at their sale section and found some very cute things that I can wear to WDW in October, wear on the weekends here during the summer and probably just barely suck the life out of for our trip in December as well.

$17.99 each---throw these on with some spandex shorts underneath for modesty, perfect lightweight dress for WDW.

http://oldnavy.gap.com/Asset_Archive/ONWeb/Assets/Product/672/672399/main/on672399-01p01v01.jpg

http://oldnavy.gap.com/Asset_Archive/ONWeb/Assets/Product/662/662306/main/on662306-03p01v01.jpg


$19.99---got this one in white, although I'm not really sold on it, looks like it may be a little short and I can't very well throw on black bike shorts underneath without it being too noticable. Had to get to my $100 total though.

http://oldnavy.gap.com/Asset_Archive/ONWeb/Assets/Product/672/672398/main/on672398-03p01v01.jpg


$9.99---hopefully this will be a good cardigan. Usually I don't have good experiences with Old Navy sweaters in particular and I'm hoping this is the exception to that rule.

http://oldnavy.gap.com/Asset_Archive/ONWeb/Assets/Product/632/632588/main/on632588-11p01v01.jpg


$2.99---these are the last thing I ordered. I'm sure they won't be extremely comfy for walking around WDW, but I got them for using around the hotel room (hotel carpets = GROSS) and by the pool if we use it in October.

http://oldnavy.gap.com/Asset_Archive/ONWeb/Assets/Product/637/637784/main/on637784-03p01v01.jpg


I have two main goals when shopping for vacation clothes.

The first is to get things as cheaply as possible. I wouldn't take my favorite clothes from home, get them drenched on Kali River Rapids and sweat to death in them all day and expect them to be the same as I remembered upon returning from the trip.

The second (at least for this trip) is to get things I can wear to the park AND to Signature dinners. For example---the first blueish dress I might wear to the parks with a pair of flip flops. Then, for a nicer dinner I would throw on a cardigan and dressier sandals. Or for the striped dress, throw on a black blazer and nice black shoes and we're set! Even in my everyday life---my work clothes must be dual purpose. I refuse to buy a whole wardrobe for work and then have to buy a whole additional wardrobe for my regular life. I just don't have that kind of money! :upsidedow

[WDWRocksMySocks]

We've done both MNSSHP and MVMCP (2007 & 2008). I think I liked MNSSHP better only b/c I was able to dress up and trick-or-treat at MK. Something about being able to do that, even though I'm 26 was really exciting for me! :rotfl: Other than the whole costume/candy thing, I'd chose MVMCP -- only b/c I love Christmas so much.

We went December 12-19. The parks were really empty throughout our trip. However, the crowds picked up on the 18th as the Christmas crowd was invading. But even then, the wait times were not too bad. The longest we had was for EE and that was about 20 min (if that!). It truly spoiled us.

My sister bought the tickets around October (I believe). I know the party did sellout, but it was something like the week of. You should be fine waiting for the 90 day mark. Btw, isn't that coming up soon?? :goodvibes

And...I love your new purchases -- especially the dresses!! Very cute!

[annnewjerz]

We've done both MNSSHP and MVMCP (2007 & 2008). I think I liked MNSSHP better only b/c I was able to dress up and trick-or-treat at MK. Something about being able to do that, even though I'm 26 was really exciting for me! :rotfl: Other than the whole costume/candy thing, I'd chose MVMCP -- only b/c I love Christmas so much.

Alright alright, you've sold me. Christmas is my ALL TIME FAVORITE THING IN THE WHOLE WORLD :hyper: (except DH, that is ;))


We went December 12-19. The parks were really empty throughout our trip. However, the crowds picked up on the 18th as the Christmas crowd was invading. But even then, the wait times were not too bad. The longest we had was for EE and that was about 20 min (if that!). It truly spoiled us.

:woohoo: :yay: :banana: :thumbsup2

20 minute wait for EE sounds pretty awesome to me. We'll be leaving the 18th (the Friday before Christmas-week weekend) so hopefully we'll miss any insanity. We were spoiled during our September 07 trip--we didn't wait more than 15-25 minutes for anything and it was AWESOME. I'm glad to hear it shouldn't be much worse. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!!


I know the party did sellout, but it was something like the week of. You should be fine waiting for the 90 day mark. Btw, isn't that coming up soon?? :goodvibes

Selling out is fine with me, as long as it's after I buy my tickets :rolleyes1 My 90 days for our trip in October is in 3 more days! I guess you could consider my 90 days for December coming up as well---in like 2 more months. :rotfl2:

[WDWRocksMySocks]

You know, I think I like Christmas just a bit more than DH. He's alright, too. But nothing compares to Christmas! :lmao:

I'll cross my fingers for you for low crowds. It really makes things so much more enjoyable. But either way, at least you'll be at WDW during Christmas time. There is NOTHING like it. Swoon! :love: :cloud9:

Ok, well at least I wasn't completely off base. I got your two PTR's confused. Whoops! Two more months isn't really THAT far away.

[annnewjerz]

So for a little while (mostly since becoming a regular lurker on the "Official Cake Chatter Thread"), I've been trying to come up with a reasonably inexpensive small surprise for my DH and DM since I've pretty much spoiled all of the others.

I told my DM about the KTTK tour for Mother's Day.
I told my DM about Cirque du Soleil for her birthday.
I told DH about the car service picking us up for---well---no good reason. :confused3

I got to thinking, since we have a kitchen in our room at the BWV, maybe a special "Welcome to Disney" cake would be a good idea. The cakes I have seen range from small simple 6 inchers to extravagently designed 10 inchers that cost as much as our tickets for MVMCP. :santa:

I'm obviously much too far away from our trip to call up the Boardwalk Bakery to discuss said cake, and whether or not they can customize a 6 inch for us since there will only be three of us and we will probably be on the Deluxe DDP, so the chances of eating more than a slice of the cake are slim to none. :rotfl:

After poking around a bit online, here are some designs I came up with that I thought would be cute with just a few tweaks. Here are my faves.

This one, I would change the green polka dots to green Mickey heads, if possible. :goodvibes

http://www.pinkcakebox.com/images/cake496.jpg

I like this one too.

http://luccinosdelights.com/images/christmas_cake.jpg

This one is great, but might be a little "much" for what I am looking for.

http://www.coolest-birthday-cakes.com/images/coolest-christmas-ornaments-cake-3-29045.jpg

Ooooh purdy.

http://a6.vox.com/6a00d414515ddc3c7f00e398c9b65e0001-500pi

I really like this one too. AHHHHHH decisions decisions.

http://www.wendycakes.co.uk/USERIMAGES/christmas.jpg


Any thoughts??? Also, I would really like some alternate suggestions for a surprise that's around $150 or less. I think a pedicure or something at the spa would be really great---but I had thrown that idea out to my DM once before and she didn't sound interested, said if she wanted to get her nails done she would do it at home. :rotfl2:

[raider97]

So for a little while (mostly since becoming a regular lurker on the "Official Cake Chatter Thread"), I've been trying to come up with a reasonably inexpensive small surprise for my DH and DM since I've pretty much spoiled all of the others.

I told my DM about the KTTK tour for Mother's Day.
I told my DM about Cirque du Soleil for her birthday.
I told DH about the car service picking us up for---well---no good reason. :confused3

I got to thinking, since we have a kitchen in our room at the BWV, maybe a special "Welcome to Disney" cake would be a good idea. The cakes I have seen range from small simple 6 inchers to extravagently designed 10 inchers that cost as much as our tickets for MVMCP. :santa:

I'm obviously much too far away from our trip to call up the Boardwalk Bakery to discuss said cake, and whether or not they can customize a 6 inch for us since there will only be three of us and we will probably be on the Deluxe DDP, so the chances of eating more than a slice of the cake are slim to none. :rotfl:

After poking around a bit online, here are some designs I came up with that I thought would be cute with just a few tweaks. Here are my faves.

This one, I would change the green polka dots to green Mickey heads, if possible. :goodvibes

http://www.pinkcakebox.com/images/cake496.jpg

I like this one too.

http://luccinosdelights.com/images/christmas_cake.jpg

This one is great, but might be a little "much" for what I am looking for.

http://www.coolest-birthday-cakes.com/images/coolest-christmas-ornaments-cake-3-29045.jpg

Ooooh purdy.

http://a6.vox.com/6a00d414515ddc3c7f00e398c9b65e0001-500pi

I really like this one too. AHHHHHH decisions decisions.

http://www.wendycakes.co.uk/USERIMAGES/christmas.jpg


Any thoughts??? Also, I would really like some alternate suggestions for a surprise that's around $150 or less. I think a pedicure or something at the spa would be really great---but I had thrown that idea out to my DM once before and she didn't sound interested, said if she wanted to get her nails done she would do it at home. :rotfl2:

I think my favorite is the first one especially if you can get those dots made into mickey heads. :)

I am pretty sure I am getting the mickey head cake for my son's 4th birthday while we are down there.

Stephanie

[MyMuse]

FYI...I ordered a birthday cake for my niece when I was down in May. I called 2 weeks before the day I wanted it.

I did not get a phone call until a week later and after 2 more messages.

My advice would not have any cake in the parks but at the deluxe resorts. The park cakes are extremely limited and the deluxe resorts have the bakeries on site, so you can really do it up.

Enjoying your TR!

[annnewjerz]

I think my favorite is the first one especially if you can get those dots made into mickey heads. :)

I am pretty sure I am getting the mickey head cake for my son's 4th birthday while we are down there.

Stephanie

I think that's my favorite one too, now I have to see if they can actually make it! :goodvibes

FYI...I ordered a birthday cake for my niece when I was down in May. I called 2 weeks before the day I wanted it.

I did not get a phone call until a week later and after 2 more messages.

My advice would not have any cake in the parks but at the deluxe resorts. The park cakes are extremely limited and the deluxe resorts have the bakeries on site, so you can really do it up.

Enjoying your TR!

Thanks for the info. We will be ordering at the Boardwalk Bakery if we decide to get one, since we will be staying at the Boardwalk Villas. Can't get more convenient than that! :thumbsup2

[MyMuse]

Oh and I vote for the first one or the one with the presents decorating the bottom. So cute!!!

[WDWRocksMySocks]

I really like the first one -- especially if you can change the dots to Mickey heads!

[annnewjerz]

So last night, I got the shopping itch again. A little back-story.

I am totally not someone who wears Disney clothing, even while vacationing in WDW. I've just always thought it was unnecessary. Last trip in 07 was DH's first visit and he bought himself a Splash Mountain shirt as a souvenier. Well, he hardly ever wears the thing, which quite honestly, is fine with me.

The other night, we were getting dressed to go grab some pizza and what does he come down the stairs wearing? His Splash Mountain shirt. He said he thought I woud like it if he wore it. :rotfl:

**Side note: Is it completely horrible of me that I felt embarassed at the prospect of going out in public and having people think he was "that guy" who wears Disney gear all the time---Disney hats, Disney watches, Disney shirts, Disney boxers?! I think Disney-wear is completely acceptable in Disney, and on Halloween, and on little kids, but generally in everyday life I feel like Disney clothes should only make an appearance on the aforementioned occasions, or while doing housework and/or sleeping.

So back to the story. Anywho, that got me thinking :idea: that maybe, just maybe this once it would be fun to wear some Disney shirts while we vacationed in WDW in December. I figured they would cost an arm and a leg and since I'm more of a dress and cardigan girl than a jeans and t-shirt girl, I wasn't willing to pay all that much to get said shirts.

Last night, I hopped on the Disney Store website and poked around a bit. I started seeing things like "Graphic Tees - 2 for $20" and thought to myself that this was do-able. I could spend $10 on a shirt that I knew I would only wear once or twice in public. The more I looked, the cheaper the shirts were! First $10 each, then $7.99 each, then some for $3.99?! My eyes must be playing tricks on me. Since when is anything Disney cheap?! :confused: This is unheard of.

After a little bit of poking around and confirming with my DH and DM that they would wear these shirts, I decided to add them to my bag and order them. I have a feeling when they arrive, I'll hate the ones I bought---they'll fit funny, or just won't look right, but that's okay because I can return them to the Disney store right down the street from my work without paying return shipping :woohoo: :yay:

So---to make a long story even longer, here is what I got. I'm hoping I like at least one so we can make one of the days of the trip designated Disney shirt day. Cheeeeeeezzzzy, I know :goodvibes

For Me:

I think these first two were discounted after Earth Day ended---they are organic cotton and say stuff about "going green." For $7.99---I don't really care what they say. :rotfl2:

http://as7.disneystore.com/is/image/DisneyShopping/101734M?$full$

http://as7.disneystore.com/is/image/DisneyShopping/101735M?$full$

If I like this one, I'll wear it on the day we *hopefully* have a pre-park opening ADR at Crystal Palace.

http://as7.disneystore.com/is/image/DisneyShopping/100658M?$full$


For Mom:

She specifically requested one that was Tinkerbell. Who knew Tink was her fave?

http://as7.disneystore.com/is/image/DisneyShopping/100661M?$full$

http://as7.disneystore.com/is/image/DisneyShopping/100680M?$full$

http://as7.disneystore.com/is/image/DisneyShopping/100679M?$full$


For the Hubster:

This one is a little scary...looks like Mickey is p-o'd and standing in a pool of blood. :eek:

http://as7.disneystore.com/is/image/DisneyShopping/100669M?$full$

http://as7.disneystore.com/is/image/DisneyShopping/100672MS?$full$

http://as7.disneystore.com/is/image/DisneyShopping/100674M?$full$

[MyMuse]

I don't do Disney-wear either. Same goes for concert T-shirts; my rule is never wear a concert T-shirt to the said concert.:snooty: I know it's me, but can't stand it. If I do actually buy a concert Tee (and it's rare), it's regulated to the gym drawer. :laughing:

However, since I joined D23, I've been looking around their site. They do have a tasteful, lightly embroidered, sort of golf shirt that I'll be willing to wear for December. I believe it even comes in red. :santa:

I hope the package comes soon and that you like them!

[annnewjerz]

I don't do Disney-wear either. Same goes for concert T-shirts; my rule is never wear a concert T-shirt to the said concert.:snooty: I know it's me, but can't stand it. If I do actually buy a concert Tee (and it's rare), it's regulated to the gym drawer. :laughing:

However, since I joined D23, I've been looking around their site. They do have a tasteful, lightly embroidered, sort of golf shirt that I'll be willing to wear for December. I believe it even comes in red. :santa:

I hope the package comes soon and that you like them!


Maybe it's a NJ thing. We're just too good for clothing that has mice, tigers and pixies on it. :snooty: :rotfl2:

I'm hoping I like them too. Probably the only time I will wear these is to WDW---and then maybe as PJs or clothes to do housework in. :laundy:

[creativeamanda]

Joining in a little late, but I'm here!

[DWGal210]

Hi again!

First, I love the cakes...I would go for the first one myself, but that's just me. :goodvibes I think that would be SO CUTE with green Mickey heads!

Second, I must admit, I do like my Disney shirts...I try to get the ones that look less cartoon-ish but I do love em! I counted the other night to see which ones I wanted to take and I have 12 :rotfl: so I am a bit loony! I also have a Mickey watch that I wear every day; but I think it's classy and fun, not cartoony and child-like. It's silver, has a Mickey on the face and itty bitty tiny diamond dust on the outside ring. :goodvibes

Take care, have a good one!

[lurkyloo]

I'm with ya on the Disney apparel thing, but have so far not unbent enough even to wear it at the parks. It was a huge deal for me to buy these fairly restrained Disney earrings on my last trip (and of course they haven't been worn since):

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t63/lurkyloo/Decade%20o%20Dreams/IMG_1428.jpg

Maybe some day I'll overcome the phobia. DH seems to have no problem with the concept, but then they make all kinds of retro-cool shirts for guys, like his circa 1982 Epcot logo shirt and Owsald the Lucky Rabbit tee.

Anyway, here's hoping all the stuff you ordered fits and looks great! :thumbsup2

[annnewjerz]

I'm with ya on the Disney apparel thing, but have so far not unbent enough even to wear it at the parks......Maybe some day I'll overcome the phobia. DH seems to have no problem with the concept, but then they make all kinds of retro-cool shirts for guys, like his circa 1982 Epcot logo shirt and Owsald the Lucky Rabbit tee.



Believe me, I don't have my hopes up too high. :) I have a feeling it'll get here---I'll put it on and immediately feel like an a$$ and then run it down the street to return it. I need to just get it through my head that while in WDW, NO ONE CARES! People wear CROCS for goodness sake :scared1: so it's not like they're going to look at me like I'm a weirdo for being 25 and wearing a Winnie the Pooh shirt.

I almost bought men's shirts because I liked them so much more but decided against it since I wasn't sure what size I would take.

We'll see. I just ordered some more "normal" stuff from Banana Republic juuuuuuust in case (or at least that's the excuse I'm giving DH). ;)

[annnewjerz]

Second, I must admit, I do like my Disney shirts...I try to get the ones that look less cartoon-ish but I do love em! I counted the other night to see which ones I wanted to take and I have 12 :rotfl: so I am a bit loony!

12 and that's only the ones you wanted to bring with you?!? :rotfl2: I think there should be a Disney-wear version of AA. ;)

The watch sounds really cute, I don't think there is anything wrong with wearing Disney head to toe if that's what you thought looked nice---I wore a beach cover up as a dress to the grocery store the other day because it was comfy and clean---so I have absolutely no room to criticize. :lmao:

Honestly, Disney could make some of the nicest jewelry and accessories around and I wouldn't have a clue. I guess I just assumed all of it was going to be pink and purple and covered with glitter....

......not that there's anything wrong with that (in case you have a pink and purple glitter covered WDW shirt out waiting to be packed come December :rotfl:)

[annnewjerz]

Joining in a little late, but I'm here!

:wave2:

Welcome and thanks for tagging along!

I'll have to pop over to your PTR to see what's going on for your December trip.

[MyMuse]

Maybe it's a NJ thing. We're just too good for clothing that has mice, tigers and pixies on it. :snooty: :rotfl2:

I'm hoping I like them too. Probably the only time I will wear these is to WDW---and then maybe as PJs or clothes to do housework in. :laundy:

LOL!! Maybe it is a NJ thing! I didn't even think of that! :cool2:


I also have a Mickey watch that I wear every day; but I think it's classy and fun, not cartoony and child-like. It's silver, has a Mickey on the face and itty bitty tiny diamond dust on the outside ring. :goodvibes



Jewelry, on the other hand, is a whole different thing all together. Understand jewelry is great and anything with a diamond in it is all good to go! princess:

Now, crocs are a different story. I just don't like them; don't care if they are comfortable or not. :snooty: Maybe it's another NJ thing?:lmao:

[Angrypenguin]

So, this weekend was Independence Day and overall we had a really great time. No real trip updates (sorry!!) but I do have some really fun pics from the weekend I thought I would share.

Friday, DH and I both had off of work. We went to a Phillies v. Mets game in Philly and (hooray!) the Phils won. Great seats, perfect weather, a cheesesteak and a win to boot!

Saturday was our annual family picnic. There was BBQ, horseshoes, music, fireworks, friends---it was a great time. We had a fireworks mishap (it shot into the crowd watching instead of the sky and some people got a little burnt) but other than that---tons of fun.

Here are some pictures that I took.

Family.
http://photos.smugmug.com/photos/582844281_fmR9i-L.jpg

Hubby (Erik).
http://photos.smugmug.com/photos/582247589_Vo65M-M.jpg

http://photos.smugmug.com/photos/582840095_tbYXD-L.jpg

Mom (Lois).
http://photos.smugmug.com/photos/582842429_ieJg7-M.jpg

Brother (Chris).
http://photos.smugmug.com/photos/582841243_4AVHp-L.jpg

Cousin (Carly).
http://photos.smugmug.com/photos/582247571_HKiJM-M.jpg

http://photos.smugmug.com/photos/582248094_pncMs-L.jpg

PopPop (Frank).
http://photos.smugmug.com/photos/582843394_B4BwR-L.jpg

Now for some fun ones, inspired by a recent thread on the Photo Board.

http://photos.smugmug.com/photos/582178264_JPkCo-L.jpg

http://photos.smugmug.com/photos/582178166_yE3FC-L.jpg

http://photos.smugmug.com/photos/582178919_Uif2c-L.jpg

http://photos.smugmug.com/photos/582178647_WMmrb-L.jpg

http://photos.smugmug.com/photos/582178471_Eiucg-L.jpg

http://photos.smugmug.com/photos/582178567_e8TkY-L.jpg

http://photos.smugmug.com/photos/582177909_sWQXV-L.jpg

http://photos.smugmug.com/photos/582178749_nGXry-L.jpg

http://photos.smugmug.com/photos/582177987_QBNmS-L.jpg

That's all I've got for right now, hopefully that gives you a little peak into what I might bring back from my trips to The World in December (and October!)

Awesome! I totally want to go home tonight and try that now. I suppose I should dig out my tripod....

[annnewjerz]

Awesome! I totally want to go home tonight and try that now. I suppose I should dig out my tripod....

It was SO MUCH FUN. :hyper: I'm going to try it out again this weekend, this time with pants on instead of a skirt to keep from getting completely bit up by stooopid mosquitos. There is a whole thread about light painting on the Photo Board. If you haven't seen it yet, check it out! Lots of good examples for inspiration and pointers for things you should and shouldn't do for the best results. :thumbsup2

[LOVEMY3KIDDOS]

I second the DIsney wear thing...but, like you, was considering getting some cheap vintage ones for our upcoming trip??!! We will see?! I love the Kermit one that you got!

[annnewjerz]

I second the DIsney wear thing...but, like you, was considering getting some cheap vintage ones for our upcoming trip??!! We will see?! I love the Kermit one that you got!

I like the Kermit one too---it's my fave of all that I ordered. Here's to hoping that I like it and I can wear it on our DHS day! :goodvibes

[annnewjerz]

So I have a bit of an update for any of you readers that are still hanging in there with me. :santa:

Yesterday I finally got my park tickets! This is the first time we have ordered tickets in advance. We got them through the MWR at our local military base and saved around $50 a ticket. Not too shabby! Now I just have to make sure I don't lose them. I'll be making photo copies and e-mailing myself the serial numbers from each ticket just to be on the safe side, but I still get worried about something bad happening and having to pay $700 for another set all over again. :scared:

Unfortunately, we were unable to participate in the "Disney Salute" tickets which would have made DH's ticket free and me and DM $99 because they have to be activated with a valid ID, and our IDs expire in August :sad2: It probably worked out for the better. The tickets were only for 5 days and couldn't be upgraded and we needed 6---so we would have either had less park time, had to purchase a $200 tour for something to do on our off-day that would keep us entertained, or paid for a 1 day ticket for each of us $75, which would have negated the savings.

So, DH picked them up at the base yesterday. 3 adult 7 day base tickets (no hoppers this time, I don't anticipate needing them and if we do, we'll just add them when we get down there), and 1 adult 1-day base ticket for DH to use on our trip in October since I'll be getting in free for my birthday! :woohoo:

Only 141 days until the trip in December. That means only 50ish more days until it's time for ADRs!!! :yay: We'll discuss those in an upcoming installment sometime by mid-August or so after I hammer out all of the details of the itinerary (the itinerary that has been changed, had stuff added and deleted and gone back to the original plan maybe 6 times by now :rolleyes1)

[raider97]

WooHoo on getting your ticket!!:cool1:

[WDWRocksMySocks]

Woo, you got your tickets! You're VERY smart for photocopying and emailing yourself the serial numbers. I lost my tickets earlier this year and forgot copy them. Fortunately, I ordered them off Undercover Tourist and they keep copies of all the tickets they sell!

Look forward to seeing your itinerary. I've still need to figure out what days we want to do what.

[annnewjerz]

Ugh....

So I got my Disney shirts today, and I hate to say it but I'm not sure if I'll be keeping them.

Prior to ordering them, I asked on another board if the shirts from The Disney Store run big, small or true to size. I was told they ran small and that I should probably order a size bigger than usual in case they shrunk after washing them. So, I ordered a size bigger than I would usually wear and I've got to say---they look really short and really wide. I hardly ever wear t-shirts, but when I do, I like them to be long and fitted. Maybe when I put them on, then won't be as boxy as I'm thinking they look. Or maybe they'll shrink a bunch in the wash. Unless I put them on and they are the right length and only slightly larger than I would like, these bad boys are going back. :headache:

We'll see.....

[annnewjerz]

So I have a multitude of updates for all of you out there in PTR reading land. :goodvibes

My first update is the most boring and it's about my Disney shirts. I tried them on when I got home and they were too big. I didn't want to risk washing them and having them shrink and still not be small enough, so I returned them to our local Disney store and got some others instead. DH's shirts were way too large also, so he got some new ones. Luckily, DM's shirts fit well and she decided she would keep hers.

I swapped out Winnie the Pooh for Eeyore (a purple shirt) for our Crystal Palace breakfast if we get it.

I swapped out Tinkerbell for a Mickey Mouse I believe. I still have Kermit (wasn't able to return that on the weekend at the store because it was on sale and I need to come back during the week).

Haven't tried on these new shirts yet, but I'm hoping that they fit better and I don't have to deal with anymore returns. I HATE paying return shipping and it's hard to get to the Disney store during the week because of work. Ugh. :headache:

[lurkyloo]

What a drag! I hear ya on that one - I think shipping and return shipping should always be FREE! I realize this is not financially feasible for most companies, but if I could get the same thing at a local store, why should I pay extra (i.e., shipping) to order it from them online?).

I'm looking forward to seeing what your new shirts look like! popcorn:: (Apparently this entails eating popcorn...)

[annnewjerz]

So, another update I have for anyone reading is that we decided we are not going to do the KTTK and MVMCP this trip. Since we are upgrading to the Deluxe DDP and trying to make this trip relaxing and a little less frantic, we decided that having two scheduled ADRs a day to get to would be enough without having to worry about tour and party start times.

If we get there and decide we'd like to take a tour, I will call to see if there are any openings. If not, I have polled everyone in our travel group and no one seems to care one way or the other if we take it or not.

We will still be doing the Behind the Seeds tour, since that is only an hour long and costs around $15 per person. It seems informative, fun and not too long to the point where I'll wonder if it was worth the time and money away from the parks.

All of this is subject to change, of course, but once you read my next update you will understand why it's not likely that we'll change back to doing KTTK and MVMCP. :santa:

[annnewjerz]

So this is the final update and the best, which is why I saved it for last.

Since we decided we weren't doing the KTTK tour and MVMCP, that saved me about $350. I didn't want to think of anything else to spend all $350 on since it would more than likely be a waste (a Photopass CD, more souveniers, etc.) but I was still trying to think of a surprise for DM and DH since I had spoiled all of the others.

To recap, I spoiled:

- Cirque du Soleil
- Car service to the airport
- Extra night at WDW
- KTTK and MVMCP (which we aren't doing now anyway)

So here is what I decided to do. For our first night (December 12) we were booked at POP since it was a bonus night for us to see Cirque and we wanted to do it cheap. Well---then the room only discounts came out and I called yesterday to apply it to our October reservation. Then today, I remembered that we were doing 1 night cash and 5 nights DVC in December, which means I could apply the room only discount to our first night in December. (Can you see where this is going) :idea:

Well, there were two places I really thought sounded great at Christmas. Boardwalk (which is where we are staying) and Wilderness Lodge, which I couldn't justify spending over $300 for one night.

Today, I called WDW to inquire about whether or not there were any room only discounts left for WL and guess what? There were!!! :woohoo:

Now before we get too excited, let me preface this by saying that we booked a Courtyard View Bunkbed room (it was all they had). It is currently $150 more that night than staying at POP, but I plan to call back every so often to see if they have a standard 2-queen room. If not, it's not the end of the world and I'll either keep that room (most likely scenario, my Mom won't care about sleeping on a bunk bed---she is really that low maintenance) or switch to a standard view somewhere like Port Orleans Riverside.

So for now, I'm doing the happy dance because....

I'M STAYING AT THE WILDERNESS LODGE FOR CHRISTMAS TIME!!!

:hyper: :hyper: :hyper: :hyper: :hyper: :hyper: :hyper:

:yay: :yay: :yay: :yay: :yay:

[MissMet]

So this is the final update and the best, which is why I saved it for last.

Since we decided we weren't doing the KTTK tour and MVMCP, that saved me about $350. I didn't want to think of anything else to spend all $350 on since it would more than likely be a waste (a Photopass CD, more souveniers, etc.) but I was still trying to think of a surprise for DM and DH since I had spoiled all of the others.

To recap, I spoiled:

- Cirque du Soleil
- Car service to the airport
- Extra night at WDW
- KTTK and MVMCP (which we aren't doing now anyway)

So here is what I decided to do. For our first night (December 12) we were booked at POP since it was a bonus night for us to see Cirque and we wanted to do it cheap. Well---then the room only discounts came out and I called yesterday to apply it to our October reservation. Then today, I remembered that we were doing 1 night cash and 5 nights DVC in December, which means I could apply the room only discount to our first night in December. (Can you see where this is going) :idea:

Well, there were two places I really thought sounded great at Christmas. Boardwalk (which is where we are staying) and Wilderness Lodge, which I couldn't justify spending over $300 for one night.

Today, I called WDW to inquire about whether or not there were any room only discounts left for WL and guess what? There were!!! :woohoo:

Now before we get too excited, let me preface this by saying that we booked a Courtyard View Bunkbed room (it was all they had). It is currently $150 more that night than staying at POP, but I plan to call back every so often to see if they have a standard 2-queen room. If not, it's not the end of the world and I'll either keep that room (most likely scenario, my Mom won't care about sleeping on a bunk bed---she is really that low maintenance) or switch to a standard view somewhere like Port Orleans Riverside.

So for now, I'm doing the happy dance because....

I'M STAYING AT THE WILDERNESS LODGE FOR CHRISTMAS TIME!!!

:hyper: :hyper: :hyper: :hyper: :hyper: :hyper: :hyper:

:yay: :yay: :yay: :yay: :yay:

Congratulations! :banana: That's so awesome!

I'm so excited for you. I can't wait to hear how you like it. I haven't stayed there yet, because like you want to stay there at christmas time. :santa:

[khertz]

Bummer about the shirts, but yay for tickets and WL AT CHRISTMAS!! How amazing that will be!! It is one of the resorts I'm most looking forward to seeing dressed up for Christmas.

We just ordered our tickets as well...my email from UPS says they should be delivered tomorrow!! :banana:

[WDWRocksMySocks]

I am officially jealous! Staying at WL at Christmas time is on my list of must-dos. I think it's certainly worth the extra $150!! Can't wait to see all the awesome photos you'll take of WL. ::drool::

[happenin2you]

you are so lucky to get WL! I can't wait to see the pictures from there. here's to hoping yu can switch to a reg queen room. and i'm excited to see your new shirts and find out if they fit right.

[LOVEMY3KIDDOS]

I'm so upset about the shirts. I was considering going over there and getting some! Plans look good! Yay for WL!

[raider97]

Congrats on Wilderness Lodge!! :banana:
I would love to stay there at Christmas!

Sorry to hear the shirts didn't work out well. How do you like the new ones?

Stephanie

[annnewjerz]

Well everyone, there has already been another resort change for our trip in December.

Yesterday, you may remember I upgraded the first night of our trip from POP Century to a room at the Wilderness Lodge as a surprise for DH and DM. That was SO EXCITING----but, it has changed already. I'm a compulsive trip changer, I'm sorry. :guilty: If anyone knows of any good 12-step groups, let me know and I'm in.

So anywho, originally we had booked a Courtyard View Bunk-Bed room at the WL for $150 more than it cost to stay at POP for the night. That was fine, it was worth it. BUT after I poked around some more, I saw that a Standard View Studio at the Boardwalk Villas was open. :headache: It was $50 cheaper than the room at WL, it had a queen sleeper sofa for DM rather than bunk beds and it was where we were spending the remainder of our trip so it would save us the trouble of having to switch resorts after one night. :woohoo:

I'm still keeping my eyes peeled for a Standard View room at the Wilderness Lodge for under $200. If that happened, I would deal with the hassle of resort switching and book it. It would only be around $60 more expensive than our original POP ressie, would have 2 queen beds and we would still get to see the WL at Christmas. Right now, no dice on the standard room---but if one opens up, I'll let ya know! :goodvibes

[annnewjerz]

Based on the recent switch from POP to Wilderness Lodge to Boardwalk Villas, I'm trying to revise our tentative plan for our first day in The World and I need some thoughts.

Here was my initial plan for the day while staying at POP:

3:00am Wake up for 7:00am flight. This is the important part.

11:00am - 1:30pm Arrive at POP, check into room, have lunch and relax around the hotel if the room was ready.

1:30pm - 5:00pm Shop in Downtown Disney, grab dinner at Earl of Sandwich

5:00pm - 7:30pm Cirque du Soleil's La Nouba

7:30pm - 9:00pm More Downtown Disney and grab some Ghirardellis. Return to POP fo the night.

Now, since we will be staying so close to Epcot and have a park pass for the day juuuuuust in case we decided we wanted to go to a park, I'm thinking that maybe we should skip the relaxing and cut the time at DTD short (since it was just a filler anyway) and spend a few hours at Epcot to start the trip. The plan would look a little something like this now:

3:00am Wake up for 7:00am flight

11:00am - 2:00pm Arrive at BWV and check-in, go straight to Epcot. Have lunch at a counter-service location.

2:00pm - 5:00pm Change into nicer clothes for La Nouba, go to DTD to shop for a bit.

5:00pm - 7:30pm Cirque du Soleil's La Nouba

7:30pm - 9:00pm Dinner in DTD at Earl of Sandwich, head back to resort for the night.

For the second plan, we would be up and going from 3:00am until 9:00pm. However, we plan on getting a decent bit of sleep on Friday night and can nap on the plane for 2 hours, so staying up until 9:00pm really shouldn't be all that hard---should it? ;)

What do you think? Would you take advantage of the close proximity to Epcot and the park pass and go to a park for a few hours, or relax and unwind and get ready for 6 more days of park touring? :confused3

[Villainess]

Since we are always on the 6:30-7am flights and up and on our way to the airport at 3:30am, I would say go to Epcot! Sleep on the plane, make it a leisurely walk through Epcot - relaxing CS meal, maybe plan to see a few shows in WS (the Beatles tribute group or Off Kilter), Christmas storytelling, etc.

[annnewjerz]

Since we are always on the 6:30-7am flights and up and on our way to the airport at 3:30am, I would say go to Epcot! Sleep on the plane, make it a leisurely walk through Epcot - relaxing CS meal, maybe plan to see a few shows in WS (the Beatles tribute group or Off Kilter), Christmas storytelling, etc.

Woohoo---I'm so with you! I figure, if we have the days on our park ticket and we'll be within a 5 minute walk to the International Gateway, why not---right?? I got that extra day on the ticket for a reason, the reason being that I've never taken a trip to WDW and been able to manage staying out of a park that first day. I'm just too excited to get the fun started. :banana:

I'm sure everyone can relate to that (or at least everyone on the DIS can). ;)

[LOVEMY3KIDDOS]

I say go to Epcot...you'll be on a Disney adrenaline rush to get through the long day and you'll have plenty of time to sleep that night!

[raider97]

Congrats on the room! How nice that you won't have to switch resorts now. I also vote to spend some time at Epcot. Sounds like a fun first day!

Stephanie

[KathyRN137]

Hi Ann!

I'm just saving a space so I can come back tomorrow and read...

I just can't keep my eyes open another minute!! ;)


Kathy

[creativeamanda]

I say, go to Epcot. . .you'll be close at BWV. If it were any other resort area and you had La Nouba that night, I'd say no way, but with you being so close and able to take the boat, I'd say go for it!

Just remember, those buses to DTD can take for-evah!

[annnewjerz]

I say, go to Epcot. . .you'll be close at BWV. If it were any other resort area and you had La Nouba that night, I'd say no way, but with you being so close and able to take the boat, I'd say go for it!

Just remember, those buses to DTD can take for-evah!

Hi :wave2:

Thanks for stopping by, I appreciate the input! We will actually just walk to Epcot (from what I understand it's only about 5 minutes to the International Gateway) and thankfully---I have no plan to catch the bus to DTD, we'll be cabbin' it to make the most of our first day. :thumbsup2

We'll take the bus back to our resort from DTD. I think there are two types of people in the world:

A. Those who are in a rush to get where they are going; and
B. Those who are in a rush to get back "home" after going out.

I'm definitely a member of group A. It can take an hour or two to get home, but I want to be able to get to where I'm going without any wait at all, and without renting a car---a cab will be the best way to do that. :goodvibes

[annnewjerz]

Well this isn't a trip update, but we just found out so I thought I would share.

I'm not sure if I've introduced any of my pets in this PTR, but we have six cats and two dogs---a Golden Retriever named Mickey and a Chocolate Lab named Rocky. Both dogs are about 2 years old.

Mickey was diagnosed when he was a little puppy with hip problems. It's pretty much inevitable that at some point down the road, he will need two hip replacements or one of those carts dogs sometimes use for their back legs.

Here's Mickey.

http://annnewjerz.smugmug.com/photos/501411498_Xm8Vj-M.jpg

http://annnewjerz.smugmug.com/photos/501410915_zNPTb-M.jpg


Rocky has always been our healthier dog. Besides a few little sprains, etc. we have never had any problems. Within the past few months, we had noticed that Rocky started favoring one of his back legs. We took him to the vet where they gave us pain killers and told us to keep him quiet around the house and give it a few weeks.

Well, almost a month later things seemed to get just as bad if not worse, so we took him back to get him x-rayed. They had to put him under anesthesia and x-ray his back legs. We were hoping for a broken leg or something that could be easily fixed and reasonably inexpensive, rather than a $5,000 surgery for a torn ACL or something.

The results are in. Our poor 2 year old Rocky already has arthritis in his back leg. It is going to be a source of pretty much constant pain and at this point, all we can do it start him on supplements (which Mickey has been on for years now, so it's nothing new), give him his pain pills and try to get him to lose a few pounds. One day, he will inevitably have to get surgery on his tendons to alleviate some of the symptoms, but for now it sucks to know that your family member is in pain and there isn't too much you can do to help it. Mickey walks a little funny, but he has never indicated he is in any pain---so this is all new to us.

Here's our Rocky.

http://annnewjerz.smugmug.com/photos/501411459_EUc7c-M.jpg

http://annnewjerz.smugmug.com/photos/501411175_5uZXZ-M.jpg


Anywho, so that's my not so happy and very un-Disney update for now. Not too much going on in the way of planning for our trip, just sitting tight and waiting for December hours to come out so we can start talking about important stuff---like dining reservations!!! Mmmmmmm.

[MissMet]

So sorry to hear about Mickey & Rocky! :sad2:

I know how hard it is to watch your dogs in pain. I also have a Rocky, although my Rocky is a 4 lb Yorkie. :laughing: She has been pretty healthy in her 7 years, but my parents' dog was a very sick dog most of her life. She had seizures, arthritis & loss her sight & hearing. It was very hard to watch her decline. :sad1:

Luckily, for your Rocky they've come a long way for arthritis & hopefully it will get better with the supplements, rest & weight loss. :wizard:

I love the pictures!

[annnewjerz]

So sorry to hear about Mickey & Rocky! :sad2:

I know how hard it is to watch your dogs in pain. I also have a Rocky, although my Rocky is a 4 lb Yorkie. :laughing: She has been pretty healthy in her 7 years, but my parents' dog was a very sick dog most of her life. She had seizures, arthritis & loss her sight & hearing. It was very hard to watch her decline. :sad1:

Luckily, for your Rocky they've come a long way for arthritis & hopefully it will get better with the supplements, rest & weight loss. :wizard:

I love the pictures!

That's too funny that you have a Rocky too---and it couldn't be a more different type of dog. A 4 pound Yorkie versus a 110 pound Lab. :rotfl2:

The vet did say that the pain should decrease with the use of supplements, but that it won't ever actually go away---the supplements just help mask the pain, etc.

It could definitely be much much worse, we are so thankful that it's not something more serious, just wish it could have been nothing at all---but I'm sure any pet owner wishes that.

Any new developments with your trip? You're getting so close! :banana:

[MissMet]

That's too funny that you have a Rocky too---and it couldn't be a more different type of dog. A 4 pound Yorkie versus a 110 pound Lab. :rotfl2:

I know! :laughing:

The vet did say that the pain should decrease with the use of supplements, but that it won't ever actually go away---the supplements just help mask the pain, etc.

It could definitely be much much worse, we are so thankful that it's not something more serious, just wish it could have been nothing at all---but I'm sure any pet owner wishes that.

Any new developments with your trip? You're getting so close! :banana:

Actually, quite a few new updates, that I am planning on working on in a little bit. It's so close! 49 days! :banana:

Yours is that far away either! :)

[scoot241]

How did I miss this PTR? I don't know, but I'm all caught up now.

Sorry to hear about your dogs. We had to deal with our cat earlier this year who had feline leukemia probably since birth, but he had just started showing symptoms despite being 6 years old. Long story short, we had to put him down.

Enough with the sad stories... I hope your trip isn't like National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation with trees combusting and all the other hijinks that ensue in the movie. Did you know that National Lampoon's Vacation (the one that started all the other movies) was based on a short story written by the recently deceased John Hughes about a fictional trip across the country to Disneyland? I found it online the other day, and it's pretty good. Why do I continue to write about death/dead people? :upsidedow

Hoping to read more soon. :santa:

[Villainess]

Poor Rocky and Mickey!!!! I hope the meds will help alleviate the pain for him.

[annnewjerz]

How did I miss this PTR? I don't know, but I'm all caught up now.

Sorry to hear about your dogs. We had to deal with our cat earlier this year who had feline leukemia probably since birth, but he had just started showing symptoms despite being 6 years old. Long story short, we had to put him down.

Enough with the sad stories... I hope your trip isn't like National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation with trees combusting and all the other hijinks that ensue in the movie. Did you know that National Lampoon's Vacation (the one that started all the other movies) was based on a short story written by the recently deceased John Hughes about a fictional trip across the country to Disneyland? I found it online the other day, and it's pretty good. Why do I continue to write about death/dead people? :upsidedow

Hoping to read more soon. :santa:

I don't know how you missed it---it's only the most awesome PTR in Disboards history. :rolleyes1 You probably missed it because I hardly ever update the thing, but with the trip still 4 months away, there isn't too much to talk about unfortunately. :santa:

Poor Rocky and Mickey!!!! I hope the meds will help alleviate the pain for him.

We've actually noticed an improvement over just the past few days. Rocky has started his supplements and he seems to be back to his usual pain in the a$$ self. While he was in pain, he mostly just laid around and slept. Now, he has been back at it---eating flip flops, tearing cushions off of the couch---you know, all of the good things a dog is supposed to do. :rolleyes: :rotfl2:

[annnewjerz]

This post is all about one of the most important aspects of our trip, second only to actually being in WDW at Christmas time, and that is..............

..................(drum roll please).....................


THE FOOD!!!


I figure with only a month to go until it's time to make my ADRs, it's probably something I should start really sorting out. So for now, I will do a day by day breakdown of where we are hoping to eat (not all in one post, of course, I will streth this topic out at long as possible). :thumbsup2

Red will indicate at least one or more of our group has eaten here before, green will indicate that it's a new place for everyone to enjoy!!


Day 1: Arrival, Epcot (probably Future World), Downtown Disney

*Since we are doing a split-stay, we will not be on the Deluxe Dining Plan this day, everything will be out of pocket.

Breakfast: Airport food or Wawa. Our flight is at 7:00am, so we will be leaving the house at 4:00am for Philadelphia International Airport. Nothing too exciting here.

Lunch: Sunshine Seasons (if we are in Future World) or Lotus Blossom Cafe (if we are in the World Showcase). Sunshine Seasons would be new to us. Between the food porn threads on the Restaurant Board and the menus on Allearsnet, I'm really looking forward to the Turkey & Muenster sandwich, with a Strawberry Shortcake thrown in fod good measure. We have been to Lotus Blossom Cafe before and really liked it there also. The orange chicken was good and so was the red bean icecream, definitely worth a second visit.

Dinner: Earl of Sandwich or Giordanos delivery. We'll be eating dinner after seeing La Nouba. I anticipate everyone being tired after being up at 3:30am with no rest except on the airplane, so we will either grab sandwiches "to go" from EOS or call up Giordano's for pizza delivery to the Boardwalk Villas and eat in our room. Haven't done either of these yet---any opinions on which would be tastier?? Right now, I have been eyeballing the Caribbean Jerk Sandwich at EOS and have seen pictures. All I have to say is mmmmmmmmmm, looks so good! We'll be trying EOS during our trip in October probably and if we like it, I'm sure we'll be back in December.

Snacks: Goofy's Candy Company & Ghirardelli. Since this will be our only stop at Downtown Disney, we will definitely be hitting up Goofy's Candy Co. I've never been there before and everything looks SO FREAKIN GOOD! I'd also like to grab an icecream at Ghirardelli, but dessert before dinner would be a no-no. :headache:


Next up Day 2 @ DHS (hopefully).

[scoot241]

Earl of Sandwich is awesome! :thumbsup2 Just thinking about it makes me want to go there. I usually get the Cannonballs (meatball sandwich) but lately I've been wanting the All-American (I think it's called) which is an after-Thanksgiving sandwich with turkey, dressing, and cranberry sauce.

Hmm... maybe I can convince everyone to go to EOS this weekend (the only other EOS location is about 15 miles from my house in Sugar Land, TX).

[annnewjerz]

Day 2: Disney's Hollywood Studios

*This will be the first day we are staying on DVC points and with the Deluxe Dining Plan for the rest of the trip. So excited! :hyper: :hyper:

Breakfast: Boardwalk Bakery. Since I plan on having a pretty early lunch reservation, I'm thinking we'll just grab a muffin and a drink or something small to tide us over until later in the morning. We'll use a snack credit.

Lunch: Hollywood Brown Derby. Originally, lunch was going to be planned for Sci-Fi, but with the abundance of credits the DxDDP offers, I figured there would be no harm is using two. I have been seriously craving the Cobb Salad and after showing DH pictures of their cheesecake dessert, I know he is sold. I'm not expecting it to be like most other Signature locations, just some place cool (or warm depending on the December weather) to sit down and have a decent meal.

Dinner: Narcoossee's. It's a little out of the way for our planned DHS day, but my DM seemed really excited at the idea of eating at the Grand Floridian, so I can't get rid of it. There are some things on the menu that look good, and since we'll be eventually visiting all of the Deluxe resorts anyway to see the Christmas decorations I figured it would be a nice way to break up the evening.

Snacks: Sci-Fi Dine In Theater. DM and I have both been to Sci-Fi, but DH hasn't during our trip in 2007 the rest of our group wanted to skip it and for me, it's a must. The plan is to have a 5:30 reservation at Narcoossee's if possible, so we will just swing into Sci-Fi with the latest ADR we can get for some milkshakes and onion rings out of pocket.

Next up Day 3 @ MK (hopefully).

[annnewjerz]

In case anyone wasn't aware of the news yet, Disney announced that at the end of October they will be going back to the 180-day booking window for ADRs.

This is how I look at it. I don't care if ADRs are at 180 days or 90 days, I just want the park hours to be out in time to properly arrange my reservations.

HOWEVER, couldn't they have announced the 180 day booking window to start at like the end of August? At least then I would have two weeks less of boredom while I wait to make my ressies for December!! :mad: ;)

It seems like people have been getting their ADRs regardless of when the booking window opens---so who cares?

It's six of one and a half dozen of the other if you ask me. Either you make your resort ressies 9 months in advance and sit around for 6 months twiddling your thumbs waiting for your dining window to open OR you make your resort ressies 9 months in advance, make your dining ressies 6 months in advance and then spend the last 6 months twiddling your thumbs waiting for your trip to come.

You say po-tay-toe, I say po-tah-toe. :upsidedow

[scoot241]

In case anyone wasn't aware of the news yet, Disney announced that at the end of October they will be going back to the 180-day booking window for ADRs.

This is how I look at it. I don't care if ADRs are at 180 days or 90 days, I just want the park hours to be out in time to properly arrange my reservations.

HOWEVER, couldn't they have announced the 180 day booking window to start at like the end of August? At least then I would have two weeks less of boredom while I wait to make my ressies for December!! :mad: ;)

It seems like people have been getting their ADRs regardless of when the booking window opens---so who cares?

It's six of one and a half dozen of the other if you ask me. Either you make your resort ressies 9 months in advance and sit around for 6 months twiddling your thumbs waiting for your dining window to open OR you make your resort ressies 9 months in advance, make your dining ressies 6 months in advance and then spend the last 6 months twiddling your thumbs waiting for your trip to come.

You say po-tay-toe, I say po-tah-toe. :upsidedow

Either way, you're twiddling your thumbs for 6 months...

Supposedly the park hours are also going to be announced 180 days in advance. They haven't been able to get the hours out on time when they're 90 days in advance though. I was getting nervous because they almost weren't out for September by the 5th of June. Fortunately someone posted hours from a TA site, but I was very close to making guesses on the phone when I called.

I guess I slightly prefer 180 days because the hours should be out there in advance, but in reality the only thing it does is lightens the call volume because not everyone knows they're making a trip 180 days in advance. This is good for us uber-planners, but not everyone else.

[annnewjerz]

Day 3: Magic Kingdom

*Hopefully we'll be attending the Magic Kingdom on an evening EMH day, which will allow us to stay in the park until 11:00pm. This should give us ample time to see all of the attractions we are interested in and still have time to watch SpectroMagic and Wishes if they are playing.

Breakfast: Crystal Palace. DM and I have both been to Crystal Palace on family vacations when I was younger, but DH has yet to experience a Mickey head waffle, mmmmmm. I don't remember it at all, but the food looks good and while none of us are really "into" characters, I wouldn't mind getting a picture with one or two of them during our meal. Most importantly it'll give us the chance to get into the park pre-opening for an 8:05ish ADR. I'm going to try my hardest to make sure I get at least some pictures of an empty Main Street, since this will be our only chance to do it the whole trip.

Lunch: Kona Cafe. The plan is to get an ADR for the last lunch seating since we will probably be pretty stuffed from breakfast. I believe the last seating at Kona is at 2:45pm, which is 7 hours from our anticipated ADR at Crystal Palace, so hopefully we'll have worked up an appetite by then. The Polynesian has always looked so cool to me, but the smell was always a put-off. Just something about it I didn't like. This will be everyone's first visit to this hotel and I'm looking forward to soem fish tacos and a lapu lapu!

Dinner: I think we'll end up skipping dinner this night. We won't be done eating at Kona until probably 4:00pm, so the rest of the night we will probably survive on snacks, or maybe split a meal from Cosmic Ray's if anyone is looking for something more substantial.

Snacks: Aloha Isle. I am looking forward to my first Dole Whip ever this trip (if I don't end up getting one in October). I have a feeling that for me, it won't live up to the hype---but I still want to try one. DH doesn't do pineapple, so for him I think we'll stick with a hand-made icecream cookie sandwich. :thumbsup2

Next up Day 4 @ Epcot (hopefully).

[lurkyloo]

Helllllloooooo! I am coming over here (this is your December PTR, right? ... right!) to badger you about going to the DIS' party at DHS on Dec. 12 so we can meet up!

So...

:banana:GO TO THE PARTY!!!!:banana:


Also - your planning is making me feel guilty - I can barely remember the dates of our trip, let alone know what we're going to be doing each day... :rotfl:

[annnewjerz]

Helllllloooooo! I am coming over here (this is your December PTR, right? ... right!) to badger you about going to the DIS' party at DHS on Dec. 12 so we can meet up!

So...

:banana:GO TO THE PARTY!!!!:banana:


Also - your planning is making me feel guilty - I can barely remember the dates of our trip, let alone know what we're going to be doing each day... :rotfl:

Unfortunately, not all of us lowly WDW fans get to go so often as one Ms. Lurkyloo does---even if we do live 2,000 miles closer, so planning is necessary!! :thumbsup2

Really, I don't have much of a plan. I like to write it all out because well---it's fun and keeps me occupied, but when we get there, I think the only things that will keep us on any sort of schedule will be all of these freakin ADRs. Plus, there will be no park hopping (at least not any planned) so that should make things easier......

.................................................. ................

.......I think.

As for the party, do you have any link to get info for it? I'm definitely interested (it would keep us from having to haul our butts over to DHS at the crack of dawn to ride Toy Story Mania for the first time)---but just don't know if I can fit it into my very strict plan. ;)

[lurkyloo]

Hey now! I didn't mean to sound all snooty like " [yawn] I can't be bothered to keep track of my trip dates because I just go so MUCH! :snooty:" Besides, after this trip, it's *curtains* for me and Disney trips...:sad1:

Oh, and like you, I say the less crack-of-dawn DHS butt-hauling, the better... :thumbsup2

Anyway - they haven't posted ticket info yet - I guess the Dreams Unlimited customers get first dibs, and then they make tix available to the rest of us. But I'll keep you posted, Planny Annie! :rotfl:

[annnewjerz]

Hey now! I didn't mean to sound all snooty like " [yawn] I can't be bothered to keep track of my trip dates because I just go so MUCH! :snooty:" Besides, after this trip, it's *curtains* for me and Disney trips...:sad1:

Oh, and like you, I say the less crack-of-dawn DHS butt-hauling, the better... :thumbsup2

Anyway - they haven't posted ticket info yet - I guess the Dreams Unlimited customers get first dibs, and then they make tix available to the rest of us. But I'll keep you posted, Planny Annie! :rotfl:

After every trip it seems to be "curtains" for your Disney trips and so far---that hasn't happened. When you can get airfare for $200 total using your miles, I don't see why you'd ever stop coming back! :hyper:

Definitely let me know whenever that info comes out. You've got me very interested.

[LOVEMY3KIDDOS]

been away for awhile...but I'm back and caught up! Food looks good so far! Love EOS!!!!!! I talked to a CM today about the Dec park hours (because my ADR date is Sept. 2 and Nov. hours came out late) and she said that I could call them the last week in Aug and they should be able to get them over the phone. Just so you know.

[annnewjerz]

We'll take a break from the dining updates (booo!) to discuss something else for the trip.

Today I got confirmation that I am participating in a DVC Christmas tree swap. How fun!

Now---I am not actually a DVC member. Shhhhhh!! :tiptoe: That being said, I will be staying at BWV for 6 nights, 5 of which will be on rented points. I thought I should at least try to see if I could get in on it and what do ya know? I did. :goodvibes

So how it works is, I show up and check in and there will be a box behind the front desk for me. I get it and there should be a table-top sized tree inside all decorated for the theme of the Boardwalk Villas (or maybe not, but who cares) and we get to have it set up in our room while we are there. When we are checking out, we leave some cash to cover return shipping to the tree owner and then pass it along to the next guest. So easy and it'll be a nice little somethin' somethin' that adds to the Christmas feeling during our stay.

Can't wait!!! :santa:

[LOVEMY3KIDDOS]

Cute! We did a tree last time we went over Christmas! It's fun to have the decorations overflow into your room!!!!!!!!!!!!

[annnewjerz]

Day 4: Epcot

*This may or may not be our only day in Epcot. It's going to be a long one, but if we can fit it all into one day rather than break up Epcot into two, I'm all for it.

Breakfast: Probably we'll just have breakfast in our room this day. With all of the extra desserts and snack credits we'll have on the Deluxe DDP, unless we have a sit-down breakfast planned we'll probably just grab a muffin, cinnamon roll, etc.

Lunch: San Angel Inn. DH and I have been here before, but DM hasn't. San Angel Inn seems to have a bad reputation, but we really like it. The food isn't anything extraordinary, but for us the atmosphere is the key. Mexico is probably our favorite vacation destination and eating at the SAI transports us back to our vacations spent drinking margaritas and listening to a mariachi band. We probably won't spend a meal credit here since there isn't too much on the menu that interests us---instead we'll pay out of pocket and get a few appetizers to split, munch on some chips and down a margarita or two before starting in on the World Showcase.

Dinner: Flying Fish Cafe. DH and I were here in 2007 and LOVED it. The plan is for us to have one alone dinner during our trip, to take a break from my DM and spend a few hours enjoying eachother's marital company. ;) So, since Flying Fish is so close to both Epcot and BWV I think this will be our alone meal. I can't wait to have the snapper again---hopefully it's as good as it was last time. While we're eating here, DM will proably just hang around the World Showcase and grab a meal from a counter-service location, probably in Morrocco.

Snacks: Kringla og Cafe. DM loves coconut so I know she'll want to try the schoolbread. I'd like to try the lefse and DH will probably love the almond pretzel.

Next up Day 5 @ Animal Kingdom (hopefully).

[annnewjerz]

Day 5: Animal Kingdom

*Since we will be out sort of late the night before, we are planning on sleeping in a bit and heading out to Animal Kingdom around 11:00 or so and staying through evening Extra Magic Hours.

Breakfast: Probably we'll just have breakfast in our room this day. With all of the extra desserts and snack credits we'll have on the Deluxe DDP, unless we have a sit-down breakfast planned we'll probably just grab a muffin, cinnamon roll, etc.

Lunch: Yak & Yeti. I'm looking forward to lunch at Yak & Yeti. It seems to get mostly good reviews and from what I understand, the restaurant itself is a nice place to take a break and maybe watch the afternoon parade, which is something we wouldn't normally do. The fried green beans and pineapple wonton dessert both look great, but the portions look HUGE. I think DM and I might split a meal here.

Dinner: Jiko's - The Cooking Place. I've got to say, there aren't that many meals that I'm truly excited about, but this would be one of them. The reviews, visiting the Animal Kingdom Lodge, the pictures of the ostrich appetizer and filet with mac n' cheese---all of it really makes me look forward to our dinner there. This would be one of maybe only 3 meals that I'd be disappointed if we weren't able to get

Snacks: Dino Bites. Chocolate chip cookie icecream sandwiches. Mmmmmmmmm. Mara I'm not sure if we can get Zebra Domes on a snack credit, but if we can I think I may have to try some.

Next up Day 6 @ Magic Kingdom (hopefully).

[LOVEMY3KIDDOS]

I was thinking about Jiko also, but chickened out!!! I hope you get it and it is wonderful!!!

[disneygirlinnj]

[SIZE="3"]
Dinner: Jiko's - The Cooking Place. I've got to say, there aren't that many meals that I'm truly excited about, but this would be one of them. The reviews, visiting the Animal Kingdom Lodge, the pictures of the ostrich appetizer and filet with mac n' cheese---all of it really makes me look forward to our dinner there. This would be one of maybe only 3 meals that I'd be disappointed if we weren't able to get


I feel the same way about Jiko! I'm planning on eating there in january and that's exactly what I'm getting...ostrich for an app and the filet with mac n cheese for entree. mmmmm!!! :)

[annnewjerz]

I was thinking about Jiko also, but chickened out!!! I hope you get it and it is wonderful!!!

I hope I get it too. It doesn't seem like it's one of the harder places to get and I'm planning a late dinner---so I don't think it'll be a problem. Keeping my fingers crossed!

I feel the same way about Jiko! I'm planning on eating there in january and that's exactly what I'm getting...ostrich for an app and the filet with mac n cheese for entree. mmmmm!!! :)

I'm not usually overly adverterous when it comes to food, but the ostrich looked great in pics, and it sounds like it doesn't taste "gamey" at all, so why not give it a try---right? :goodvibes

[annnewjerz]

Day 6: Magic Kingdom

*This night is a MVMCP night. Since we won't be attending, we plan on getting to the park for rope drop to make the most of our time.

Breakfast: The usual. Probably we'll just have breakfast in our room this day. With all of the extra desserts and snack credits we'll have on the Deluxe DDP, unless we have a sit-down breakfast planned we'll probably just grab a muffin, cinnamon roll, etc.

Lunch: The Plaza Restaurant. While we haven't been there yet, we will be going twice during our trip in October, so this won't be a new restaurant for us. It'll be tasty, cheap and convenient since it's inside the park. Can't wait for a burger and a signature "Lurkyloo" milkshake made with chocolate icecream and chocolate syrup. Mmmmm.

Dinner: California Grill. This is another meal that I am really looking forward to. It seems to get good reviews and a lot of people I know recommend it. The sushi looks really good---and huge---so I know that will be a plus for DH and I. The plan is to have dinner and then go out onto the observation deck to watch Holiday Wishes from the Christmas party. That doesn't start until 9:30pm so it'll be another late dinner to celebrate our last night in The World.

Snacks: I think I've about run out of designated snacks that I'd like to try in the MK. All I'm really looking forward to is a Dole Whip and a chocolate chip cookie icecream sandwich.......

.......................and maybe one of those huge cinnamon rolls ;)

Next up Day 7 @ ??? Magic Kingdom or Epcot.

[Todd_H]

Day 6: Magic Kingdom


Dinner: California Grill. This is another meal that I am really looking forward to. It seems to get good reviews and a lot of people I know recommend it. The sushi looks really good---and huge---so I know that will be a plus for DH and I. The plan is to have dinner and then go out onto the observation deck to watch Holiday Wishes from the Christmas party. That doesn't start until 9:30pm so it'll be another late dinner to celebrate our last night in The World.


Awesome! Cali Grill and Jiko are our favorites on the property (but we haven't tried them all... yet). Be sure to take your tripod for Wishes from the observation deck (of course, I'm sure I don't have to remind you about that ;)).

[annnewjerz]

Awesome! Cali Grill and Jiko are our favorites on the property (but we haven't tried them all... yet). Be sure to take your tripod for Wishes from the observation deck (of course, I'm sure I don't have to remind you about that ;)).

I'll definitely be staying tuned to your PTR and impending TR to hear where you guys made ADRs for (if anywhere). I think earlier in this PTR you recommended CG and I think said they have great sushi, which is one reason I picked it. We live right outside of Philly and only an hour from NYC, so it's not like I have to go to WDW for sushi---but sushi with a view of the Magic Kingdom? Can't get that in New Jersey! :banana:

I'll definitely be bringing the tripod. I've never been on the observation deck before, hopefully it's not too crowded to set up the tripod. :thumbsup2

[Todd_H]

I'll definitely be staying tuned to your PTR and impending TR to hear where you guys made ADRs for (if anywhere). I think earlier in this PTR you recommended CG and I think said they have great sushi, which is one reason I picked it. We live right outside of Philly and only an hour from NYC, so it's not like I have to go to WDW for sushi---but sushi with a view of the Magic Kingdom? Can't get that in New Jersey! :banana:

I'll definitely be bringing the tripod. I've never been on the observation deck before, hopefully it's not too crowded to set up the tripod. :thumbsup2

Right, that was me. We love the sushi at CG. We always get the same thing, which I think is called the Rainbow Crunch roll?

You shouldn't have any problems out on the observation deck. It does get a little windy up there, but as far as crowds are concerned, there probably won't be many people out there. Then again, I've never gone out there for Wishes. We usually stay inside and watch it (CG dims the lights inside during Wishes so you can see it better).

[exwdwcm]

hi Ann- i've been so swamped at work, i haven't gotten to follow along lately. sorry to hear about your dogs, they sure look like sweethearts, i know ours are truly a part of the family!

and wow- those meals look awesome, i want to eat with you guys! i love CG!!! and i still want to try JIKO sometime- that filet with mac and cheese is calling my name, I can't wait to hear what you think of Jiko.

hopefully something will become available at WL, then we can truly be neighbors!!!!

[dlander]

Yay! I am finally caught up.:thumbsup2 Love all of your obsessing. We are also going in December (but at the dreaded week before Christmas the 20-25). We really wanted to do MVMCP, since we loved MNSSHP. However, the last night for that is the 18th. Bummer for us. Anyway, your plans souond great, I can't wait to read more.:woohoo:

[annnewjerz]

hi Ann- i've been so swamped at work, i haven't gotten to follow along lately. sorry to hear about your dogs, they sure look like sweethearts, i know ours are truly a part of the family!

and wow- those meals look awesome, i want to eat with you guys! i love CG!!! and i still want to try JIKO sometime- that filet with mac and cheese is calling my name, I can't wait to hear what you think of Jiko.

hopefully something will become available at WL, then we can truly be neighbors!!!!

Welcome back!! :wave2: I totally understand being swamped at work recently, last week was absolutely CRAPtastic here at work. So busy :faint:

The meals do look good, I've got to say so myself. I waiver back and forth about whether two ADRs each day is too much to worry about (even though we will be spacing them out usually by like 7 hours at least. We are three adults, so we should be able to handle it and not feel totally rushed getting from one place to the other and at the very worst, I can just cancel if we're having too much fun in the parks. :santa: I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we get all of the ADRs. At this point for planning, that and park hours are my biggest concern.

Yay! I am finally caught up.:thumbsup2 Love all of your obsessing. We are also going in December (but at the dreaded week before Christmas the 20-25). We really wanted to do MVMCP, since we loved MNSSHP. However, the last night for that is the 18th. Bummer for us. Anyway, your plans souond great, I can't wait to read more.:woohoo:

Geeeez when you call it obsessing, it sounds like a bad thing. So how about we call it something like---uber planning instead?? ;)

I'm sure you guys will have a great trip. One day, I'm going to brave the crowds and actually stay down there for Christmas Eve and Day, it seems like quite the experience and what would be better for me than combining two of my all-time favorite things in the world? :santa:

[AlohaPolynesian]

I found my way over here from your signature after you posted in my PTR! I'm all caught up now.

I can't believe your airfare! I thought the deals I found were good, but yours are amazing!

I also plan to check out the decorations at the deluxe resorts with my mom. I can't wait to go to WL but I don't think I'd ever stay there...the rooms look about the same as a value to me so I can't justify paying that much! We also want to do the CP and I am planning that for the 12th so we can see Vanessa Williams narrate. I love her on Ugly Betty!

I'm thinking about doing a tour but I don't know which one. And like you said, getting to all of our deluxe meals is going to be an event all by itself, so we'll see. I would also LOVE to see Cirque du Soleil again! It's SO GOOD! I've seen a few now and La Nouba is definitely my favorite so you guys will love it!

DOLE WHIP = AMAZING! It's like, the ONE thing my non-Disney obsessed friend remembered and wanted to do when we went back, lol! Also the strawberry shortcake in Sunshine Seasons = to die for!! Lapu lapu was fun too. Not very tasty but definitely cool b/c its in a pineapple! There are so many yummy drinks we tried last time!

Your ADR's (well, soon to be ADR's) look great!

I laughed for like 5 minutes when I read your post about Disney clothes. I TOTALLY AGREE WITH EVERY WORD! I bought a cute Mickey tank last year and a cool retro MK tshirt this year but those are only worn to bed LOL! I'm considering busting them out to wear in Disney, though. We'll see!

PS Your dogs are so cute! What kind of food do you feed them? My dog was very sick but his medications worked much better and he recovered a lot faster when we switched his food to all natural. Just something to try!

[dlander]

Hahaha! I really meant obsessing in a good way;) But you are right, uber planning is even better:thumbsup2 I feel like we have so long before we can make our ADR's. You must be so jazzed that your time is soon:banana:

I love your dogs! Sorry to hear of their difficulties with arthritis. I sure do miss my big fella. He was part Rottweiler/part Black Lab and 110 pounds of love!! Dogs are the greatest and I only wish we could take them to the World. Wouldn't they just love BTMRR:yay:

[annnewjerz]

I found my way over here from your signature after you posted in my PTR! I'm all caught up now.

Hello and welcome! Glad to have someone else on board :wave2:

I can't believe your airfare! I thought the deals I found were good, but yours are amazing!

I'm not gonna lie, I was really excited. It is about the same price we paid when we went in 2007---which is incredible in itself considering the jacked up gas prices.

I've seen a few now and La Nouba is definitely my favorite so you guys will love it!

Glad to hear another positive review of La Nouba---I'm really looking forward to it and I know DM is also. I just hope DH doesn't fall asleep.

Lapu lapu was fun too. Not very tasty but definitely cool b/c its in a pineapple! There are so many yummy drinks we tried last time!

The drinks are kind of still up in the air. I stopped drinking about 6 months ago just because I don't really like it all that much, but said I'd make a special exception for Disney. I have a feeling that's a bad idea though. First drink in about a year + Ann = veeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeery sleepy.

PS Your dogs are so cute! What kind of food do you feed them? My dog was very sick but his medications worked much better and he recovered a lot faster when we switched his food to all natural. Just something to try!

Our dogs have been on an all-natural diet since we got them. Thank you for the suggestion though. Right now we spend around $120 per month on dog food, so if there is something better than the Merrick they are already on, they're not getting it unless it's cheaper!! :rotfl:

You must be so jazzed that your time is soon:banana:

I am, not too much longer now and I can't wait :hyper: :hyper: :hyper:

[LOVEMY3KIDDOS]

Where'd you go??!!

[dlander]

Did you make your ADR's? Inquiring minds are dying to know!:lmao:

[annnewjerz]

Where'd you go??!!

Did you make your ADR's? Inquiring minds are dying to know!:lmao:


I'm here, I'm here!!

Sorry about the disappearance. Forgive me? :flower3: We have been doing lots of stuff around the house to prepare for our trip coming up in October (painting, putting in new light fixtures, the works). We have a house-sitter staying and since the paint and new fixtures have been sitting around since April, we finally decided to get off our butts and do something with them. :thumbsup2

Plus, there really isn't much in the way of planning. Tomorrow or the day after, we should have the park hours for December---so I'll definitely be posting our itinerary for which days we would like to do what, and then in only TWO WEEKS I get to make my ADRs. :woohoo: I'm hoping when I sign-on on September 13th it will let me make ressies for our whole trip, even though we have a split stay situation. If not, I'll just have to sign-on on Monday and get everything.

I honestly can't believe how fast the time has passed. It seems like only yesterday we were jumping up and down with excitement that we'd be staying at the Boardwalk Villas and in actuality, it was within the first two weeks of January---8 months ago!

The trip will be here and gone before I know it. I've got a lot of work to do, a lot of plans to tweak and lots of stuff to wrap up, plus a weekend trip to Disney for MNSSHP in October, so the next few months are going to be nuts!! :crazy:

Can't wait. I'll be updating more later this week!

[annnewjerz]

Well I guess my previous post was a little premature---because December hours are posted now. :rotfl:

http://www.disneytravelagents.com/StaticFiles/DTA-Domestic/pdf/ParkHours/WDW_Operating_Calendar_Dec.pdf

I am honestly thrilled with the hours they released. I know things can be added/taken away and changed---but if they were to stay "as is" for the next three months I would be so happy.

I based my tentative plan on December hours from last year and they are pretty much identical. EMHs are on the same nights/mornings for the parks, the closing times, parade/fireworks times are pretty much identical. I couldn't have asked for more. Now, I don't really have to do any itinerary shifting at all. I'm going to have a "Plan A" and "Plan B" in case I can't get the ADRs I want on the days I want them---but I'm so on Cloud 9 right now :cloud9: that I don't even think ADRs will be a problem!!! :rolleyes1

I'll update later with my park plans with the desired ADRs worked in. :santa:

[khertz]

I'm extremely pleased with the hours too!! I came home from work last night, made a diagram of the hours and EMH, and got ready to mutilate my itinerary...but didn't have to change a thing!! The itinerary I made just out of thin air already totally avoids EMH without even trying. :laughing: I'm so very excited!! Glad it all worked out well for you too!!

[LOVEMY3KIDDOS]

It was so exciting that they came out before we expected! They really are almost the same as last year!!!

[lurkyloo]

I'm a TourGuideMike devotee, so I'm torn: Dunno whether I should do what you guys did and plan on my own using this year's hours and last year's TGM recommendations for December or wait for TGM to release his hours (hopefully before I call for ADRs next week!). Because part of me would hate to do all that work on my own and then have to change it for TGM, but part of me would LOVE to do all that work on my own because it's just fun to do! :rotfl:

[MyMuse]

I am honestly thrilled with the hours they released. I know things can be added/taken away and changed---but if they were to stay "as is" for the next three months I would be so happy.

I based my tentative plan on December hours from last year and they are pretty much identical. EMHs are on the same nights/mornings for the parks, the closing times, parade/fireworks times are pretty much identical. I couldn't have asked for more. Now, I don't really have to do any itinerary shifting at all. I'm going to have a "Plan A" and "Plan B" in case I can't get the ADRs I want on the days I want them---but I'm so on Cloud 9 right now :cloud9: that I don't even think ADRs will be a problem!!! :rolleyes1

I'll update later with my park plans with the desired ADRs worked in. :santa:


Awesome for you! Isn't it nice when a plan comes together? :goodvibes

I haven't fully decided on what I'm going to do; I have 2 AM tours I want, so it's really messing up the schedule. hmmm..maybe I should add on more days and it will solve itself? :rotfl:

[MissMet]

I'm so glad the hours came out & they were exactly what you wanted. :goodvibes Just to give you a heads up. When the Oct hours came out, I put them on my own spreadsheet & they still have not changed in any way from the original release. So hopefully the same happens for you.

Also, I have a split stay too & online they would not let me get ADRs for the end stay, so you'll probably have to call for those ADRs.

I'm also doing some remodeling... the entire downstairs! As of right now I don't have a kitchen, just a microwave. :laughing:

Happy painting & planning! :)

[annnewjerz]

I'm extremely pleased with the hours too!! I came home from work last night, made a diagram of the hours and EMH, and got ready to mutilate my itinerary...but didn't have to change a thing!! The itinerary I made just out of thin air already totally avoids EMH without even trying. :laughing: I'm so very excited!! Glad it all worked out well for you too!!

I'm glad the hours were what you were hoping for. Originally, the plan was to do all EMHs since the hours are so short this time of year (I know you can't since you're off-site) and then I got to thinking that I'd rather do no EMH and shorter mid-day breaks, with early nights to be well rested for rope drop the next day---so I switched every day of my plan except the arrival and departure. :lmao:

It was so exciting that they came out before we expected! They really are almost the same as last year!!!

The hours for October were very very similar to the hours for October 2008, which are the hours I used to make my plans for October 09---so I was hoping the same thing would be true for December, and it was! :yay:

I'm a TourGuideMike devotee, so I'm torn: Dunno whether I should do what you guys did and plan on my own using this year's hours and last year's TGM recommendations for December or wait for TGM to release his hours (hopefully before I call for ADRs next week!). Because part of me would hate to do all that work on my own and then have to change it for TGM, but part of me would LOVE to do all that work on my own because it's just fun to do! :rotfl:

I've never done TGM so I really can't offer any help there! I think either way, you will be fine no matter what. I know you can't really base decisions on Touring Plans or TGM, but Touring Plans has most of the days during my trip rated as a 4 or 5 for crowds. With a 4 or 5, I'm hoping that every park will be reasonably low and none will really be much better than the other.

Awesome for you! Isn't it nice when a plan comes together? :goodvibes

I haven't fully decided on what I'm going to do; I have 2 AM tours I want, so it's really messing up the schedule. hmmm..maybe I should add on more days and it will solve itself? :rotfl:

That's what I did, added a day so we could fit Cirque du Soleil into the schedule---so your idea might not be that crazy!! ;) What tours are you doing?


Also, I have a split stay too & online they would not let me get ADRs for the end stay, so you'll probably have to call for those ADRs.

Happy painting & planning! :)

For your split stay, is it all DVC points, or are you doing part of the stay in cash? Were you able to call for those ADRs at 7:00 and the CM made them for you, or did you have to wait for the 90 day period for your second half of the trip?

I ask because for October, we have a room booked for October 17-19. When I went online to make my dining reservations and put in my reservation number, I was able to make reservations for 10 days of Disney even though we'll only be there for 3 days. This leads me to believe that maybe if I put in our reservation number for the cash portion of our stay, it will open up 10 days of dining for me---which will cover the rest of our trip.

Does that make sense? All of this ADR crap is so confusing.

[MyMuse]

That's what I did, added a day so we could fit Cirque du Soleil into the schedule---so your idea might not be that crazy!! ;) What tours are you doing?



The Segway tour at Epcot and Keys to the Kingdom at MK.

The Segway one is only on Sat & Tues, so that limits that. For KTTK, I was trying to get a least crowded (well, for MK anyways). I have a unknown variable with a friend of mine who is on vaca at BLT with her mom at the same time, but I haven't been able to connect with her yet. :rolleyes:

[annnewjerz]

Hmmmmmm, methinks I need a new pair of sunglasses before our October trip. Time for more shopping!!

[MissMet]

For your split stay, is it all DVC points, or are you doing part of the stay in cash? Were you able to call for those ADRs at 7:00 and the CM made them for you, or did you have to wait for the 90 day period for your second half of the trip?

I ask because for October, we have a room booked for October 17-19. When I went online to make my dining reservations and put in my reservation number, I was able to make reservations for 10 days of Disney even though we'll only be there for 3 days. This leads me to believe that maybe if I put in our reservation number for the cash portion of our stay, it will open up 10 days of dining for me---which will cover the rest of our trip.

Does that make sense? All of this ADR crap is so confusing.

My split stay as of now consists of three resi #s- all of which are on points. When I originally made the ADRs, I had not added on those two extra days, so it was just the two resis. When I made my ADRs I had two restaurants that didn't take ADRs so I purposefully planned them on the last two days when I wouldn't be able to do it online. So for this trip I really can't answer your questions.

However, in the past I have also had a split stay with DVC points & I remember being able to make all my ADRs over the phone. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure they let me make them all. Although, I was making them through DVC member services- they're used to split stays, since wait lists, etc.

I know that really didn't help much, but I would just try online & then if anything call.

Either way I'm sure you'll get the ADRs you want. :wizard:

[annnewjerz]

So, with my 90 day ADR mark only a week away---I think it's time to start posting my desired ADR times/places and rough itinerary for each day.

I know, I know---I already posted where we hope to eat and whether or not those places would be new or old favorites, but this is different! I changed all of my plans and while we are still planning to eat at all of the same places, it will be on completely different days. :)

So, here are the restaurant and reservation times I'm hoping to get (as of today, this is all subject to change of course):

Day 1: EPCOT & DTD
No dining ADRs.
Lunch @ Sunshine Seasons
Dinner @ Earl of Sandwich or Wolfgang Puck Express

Day 2: ANIMAL KINGDOM
12:00pm / Lunch @ Yak & Yeti or ESPN Club (no ADR)
8:00pm / Dinner @ Jiko

Day 3: MAGIC KINGDOM
8:15am / Breakfast @ Crystal Palace
5:30pm / Dinner @ Narcoossee's

Day 4: DHS
1:00pm / Lunch @ Sci-Fi Dine In Theater
7:30pm / Dinner @ Hollywood Brown Derby

Day 5: MAGIC KINGDOM
2:00pm / Lunch @ Kona Cafe
8:00pm / Dinner @ California Grill

Day 6: EPCOT
12:00pm / Lunch @ San Angel Inn
6:00pm / Dinner @ Flying Fish Cafe

Day 7: MAGIC KINGDOM
1:30pm / Lunch @ The Plaza Restaurant

[disneygirlinnj]

Perfect plan!! :)

[AlohaPolynesian]

Day 1: EPCOT & DTD
No dining ADRs.
Lunch @ Sunshine Seasons My favorite CS!!
Dinner @ Earl of Sandwich or Wolfgang Puck Express Love both of these places

Day 2: ANIMAL KINGDOM
12:00pm / Lunch @ Yak & Yeti or ESPN Club (no ADR) Yak & Yeti was really good when we ate there last summer.
8:00pm / Dinner @ Jiko I loved their tamales but they aren't on the menu anymore!

Day 3: MAGIC KINGDOM
8:15am / Breakfast @ Crystal Palace I love doing breakfast here.
5:30pm / Dinner @ Narcoossee's Didn't fit on my list this time but have always wanted to try it. You'll have to tell us about it!

Day 4: DHS
1:00pm / Lunch @ Sci-Fi Dine In Theater Cool atmosphere here!
7:30pm / Dinner @ Hollywood Brown Derby This place is so fun!

Day 5: MAGIC KINGDOM
2:00pm / Lunch @ Kona Cafe Only done breakfast here so I can't wait to hear how lunch is!
8:00pm / Dinner @ California Grill Always want to go, but never have.

Day 6: EPCOT
12:00pm / Lunch @ San Angel Inn Dinner was pretty good but the portions were huge!!
6:00pm / Dinner @ Flying Fish Cafe My mom and I will hopefully be trying this in December, too!

Day 7: MAGIC KINGDOM
1:30pm / Lunch @ The Plaza Restaurant Nice :thumbsup2

Looks like you have some great places in mind. I hope you get them all!

[LOVEMY3KIDDOS]

Your plans look really good! It will be nice to be able to eat at all of those fancy places! Good luck getting everything you want!!!!!

[annnewjerz]

Ugh, I'm nervous.

Signing on to make my ADRs in only 5 short hours (I read recently you can sign on at 3:00am EST now to make them).

I had very high hopes, had kept a positive attitude that even if I didn't get everything I wanted we would still get the most important ones. And now? Not so much---it feels like the day before you start school when you're little, or the day before you leave for vacation. Butterflies galore and too excited/nervous to sleep.

Wish me luck!

[annnewjerz]

Alright everyone, so here's the scoop all three of you have been waiting for---I just made my ADRs!!! :woohoo:

After A LOT of stressing out about making my ressies, I was relieved to find out the online system opened at 3:00am now. I was up all night and ready to go at 3:00am on the dot and of course, nothing is that easy. Between 404 "Page Not Found" errors, the system not recognizing my ressie number, getting some other weird E0202 errors---I seriously thought I would have to wait until 7:00am to call in. :headache:

Instead, I practiced something that I don't practice too often, patience. :thumbsup2 I sat around for a half hour, cleared my cookies a few times, retstarted and tried again and eventually a little past 3:30am, it worked. From here on out it was smooth sailing. Within 20 minutes, I had all of the reservations I had been hoping for (and some that I hadn't) within 15 minutes of my desired times.

Here they are!!

Dec. 13
Hollywood Brown Derby @ 11:35am (wanted 11:30am) --- really looking forward to lunch here.
Flying Fish Cafe @ 5:35pm (wanted 5:30pm) --- nice convenient dinner since we're at BWV.
Sci Fi Dine In Theater @ 9:20pm (wanted 9:30pm) --- just want to go for a late snack of some milkshakes and onion rings.

Dec. 14
Crystal Palace @ 8:15am (got the time I wanted) --- looking forward to pre-park opening breakfast.
Kona Cafe @ 2:30pm (got the time I wanted) --- looking forward to a lapu lapu if I'm back to hitting the bottle by then.

Dec. 15
The Plaza @ 12:35pm (wanted 12:45pm) --- will try this in Oct, hoping it's good enough to keep my ADR for Dec.
California Grill @ 7:40pm (wanted 7:45pm) --- looking forward to sushi and MVMCP wishes from the deck.

Dec. 16
Yak & Yeti @ 12:30pm --- the original plan was ESPN Club which doesn't take ressies, so I booked just in case. I can always cancel.
Jiko @ 7:55pm (wanted 8:00pm) --- mmmm, ostrich & filet with mac n' cheese.

Dec. 17
San Angel Inn @ 12:00pm --- planning to "eat around the world" but booked this as a back-up.
Le Cellier @ 8:00pm (wanted 8:00pm) --- was Tokyo Dining, but when I saw the "Holy Grail", I figured I should jump on it and change later if I want.

Dec. 18
The Plaza @ 1:35pm (wanted 1:30pm) --- can't think of a much better way to end our trip. Good old fashioned simple food right on Main Street.

Only 90 days everyone!!!! :santa:

[disneygirlinnj]

wow, awesome ADRs! congrats! :) I totally didn't know they switched it to 3am...that's torture waking up! I thought 6 am was bad. lol

[annnewjerz]

wow, awesome ADRs! congrats! :) I totally didn't know they switched it to 3am...that's torture waking up! I thought 6 am was bad. lol

Believe me, I did not wake up for that. A few cups of iced tea and some reruns of Flipping Out on Bravo and I cruised through the night awake until 3:00am. :rotfl2:

If I had to get up that early, I know I wouldn't have made it.

[khertz]

Congrats on getting all your ADRs!! I also tried the 3 am thing (2 am for me!) and was able to get the Chef Mickey's time I wanted. I definitely didn't have the willpower to stay up until then, though! Set my alarm on my phone, made the ADR, and went back to sleep. :rotfl: I'm glad your patience paid off. :thumbsup2

[KathyRN137]

Fantastic News! :cool1: I'm so happy for you!


Kathy

[Todd_H]

I'd say those are some great restaurant picks, Ann!

So booking online at 3:30am is the new way to get the ADR's you want, huh? Wow, what is the World coming to :confused3?

[LOVEMY3KIDDOS]

Congrats on your ressie's!!! Your dedication paid off!!!! Have fun eating all of it!

[AlohaPolynesian]

Yay! I'm glad you were able to get what you wanted. All of your choices look awesome and I can't wait to hear about them when you get back because I haven't been to all of them. How exciting!

[MyMuse]

Whoo-hooo! :woohoo::woohoo: on your ADRs!

I really wanted to try Crystal Palace, but it would be kinda weird doing that alone.

Try doing the 3am thing every morning for several mornings in a row! :surfweb: I'm staying off-site, it was a joy to get ADRs.

[annnewjerz]

I definitely didn't have the willpower to stay up until then, though! Set my alarm on my phone, made the ADR, and went back to sleep.

Getting up early is not my thing and I knew that if I got 5 hours and woke up for ADRs, I'd be too excited (or to angry, depending on how it went) to go back to sleep afterwards. This way, at around 5:00am the excitement wore off, I got a few hours of sleep and woke up just in time to shower and watch the first football game of the season. Perfect Sunday.

Fantastic News! :cool1: I'm so happy for you!


You were who I was thinking about when booking. I kept having error codes and was thinking "After telling Kathy to be patient and use the online system, I'm going to have to call!!! :headache:" Luckily, it worked out and I was done within 15 minutes or so once I logged on.

I'd say those are some great restaurant picks, Ann!

So booking online at 3:30am is the new way to get the ADR's you want, huh? Wow, what is the World coming to :confused3?

Thank, Todd! Really looking forward to Cali Grill after you gave it such high marks. Yes, 3:00am is the new way to get ADRs. I probably could have waited until later---but Deluxe DDP was resting on whether we got ADRs or not, so what's waking up early one day for the year?

My Mom asked me if I really had to get up at 3:00am when I told her I would be staying up all night and I said yes. She remembers going 12 years ago when you could just stroll right up and eat. I'm sure you can still do that sometimes (we did in 07) but if I can make the reservations now, I'd be doing myself a disservice not to.

Congrats on your ressie's!!! Your dedication paid off!!!! Have fun eating all of it!

I have a feeling we'll take away a few, but for the most part---I'm looking more forward to trying all of these new places than eating dessert with every meal (although that'll be a nice little bonus ;))

Yay! I'm glad you were able to get what you wanted. All of your choices look awesome and I can't wait to hear about them when you get back because I haven't been to all of them. How exciting!

The post-trip period is going to be a lot of work, probably moreso than planning the trip! I'm going to (try to) have a photo TR, a regular TR, a dining TR.....:faint: I'm getting exhausted just thinking about it. Combine that with the fact that Christmas is a week after we return and it's going to be a rough month!

Whoo-hooo! :woohoo::woohoo: on your ADRs!

I really wanted to try Crystal Palace, but it would be kinda weird doing that alone.

Try doing the 3am thing every morning for several mornings in a row! :surfweb: I'm staying off-site, it was a joy to get ADRs.

Thanks! I agree CP might be a little weird doing it solo, just because of the character interactions---but hey, it's WDW, anything goes!

I couldn't get up at 3am every morning. Staying on-site meant we had the option of doing the deluxe DDP, so I had to get up early if I wanted it. If I was staying off-site though, I think I might wake up early to make one ressie I really wanted and then just see what I could get from there, mixed with counter-service.

Getting up/staying up til 3:00am multiple days in a row would have been killer, especially since 3:00am turned into staying up until 5:30am. :surfweb:

[annnewjerz]

Just a random thought on this Friday afternoon. I called WDW dining to check on a few things and asked them to transfer me to WDW tours so I could make a reservation. They transferred me over and right away, I was talking to a CM. I was about to make the reservation and got cut off :headache: Stupid cell phone.

Anywho, I called back and was told I would have a 25 minute wait. Okay, that's do-able. After 25 minutes I hung up, thinking I had been forgotten. I mean c'mon, how long could it possibly take to book a tour?!?!

So, I called back and have now been on hold another 20 minutes, even though my "estimated wait time" was 9 minutes or less. :rolleyes: What bologna.

If I don't get through tonight, I guess I'll just call tomorrow. Based on the fact that you can make ADRs online now, I think they should work next on making tour reservations online. Having to call in is the pits. :sad2:

[creativeamanda]

Congrats on your ressies! They look awesome!

[annnewjerz]

Congrats on your ressies! They look awesome!

Thanks!! :goodvibes

[annnewjerz]

So everyone, I have been looking at my list of ADRs and decided that I needed to make just a feeeeew little adjustments. First, I realized that we had planned to eat at The Plaza two times in October, and two times in December. I love burgers and fries, but I think once per trip will be enough.

Sooooooooooooooo.

I switched our 12/14 lunch reservation for Kona to a dinner reservation at The Wave. Then, I cancelled 12/15 lunch at The Plaza and replaced it with lunch at Kona.

I still had one meal credit leftover to play around with, so I decided that I would add in a last-day of the trip breakfast. Since we will be staying at the BWV, I added a breakfast at the newly opened Kouzzina.

So now, the schedule looks like this:

Dec. 13
Hollywood Brown Derby @ 11:35am (wanted 11:30am) --- really looking forward to lunch here.
Flying Fish Cafe @ 5:35pm (wanted 5:30pm) --- nice convenient dinner since we're at BWV.
Sci Fi Dine In Theater @ 9:20pm (wanted 9:30pm) --- just want to go for a late snack of some milkshakes and onion rings.

Dec. 14
Crystal Palace @ 8:15am (got the time I wanted) --- looking forward to pre-park opening breakfast.
The Wave @ 5:30pm (got the time I wanted) --- looking forward to the avocado & citrus salad.

Dec. 15
Kona Cafe @ 1:30pm (got the time I wanted) --- looking forward to a lapu lapu here.
California Grill @ 7:40pm (wanted 7:45pm) --- looking forward to sushi and MVMCP wishes from the deck.

Dec. 16
Yak & Yeti @ 12:30pm --- the original plan was ESPN Club which doesn't take ressies, so I booked just in case. I can always cancel.
Jiko @ 7:55pm (wanted 8:00pm) --- mmmm, ostrich & filet with mac n' cheese.

Dec. 17
San Angel Inn @ 12:00pm (got the time I wanted) --- planning to "eat around the world" but booked this as a back-up.
Le Cellier @ 8:00pm (wanted 8:00pm) --- was Tokyo Dining, but when I saw the "Holy Grail", I figured I should jump on it and change later if I want.

Dec. 18
Kouzzina @ 8:00am (got the time I wanted) --- french toast and frappe sound sooo good. Mmmm.
The Plaza @ 1:35pm (wanted 1:30pm) --- can't think of a much better way to end our trip. Good old fashioned simple food right on Main Street.

[annnewjerz]

Ugh---you guys. Today is a bad day. First, the Eagles lost (shocking, I know). Second, I am starting to second guess whether we should do the Deluxe dining plan or not.

I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M EVEN THINKING THIS!!!

:headache: :headache: :headache:

I spent so much time planning and making these stoopid ADRs and now, I'm wondering how many of them are even must-dos for us.

Financially, it may be better to just skip the DDP and pay OOP for all of the meals we really want to do and then do snacking/counter-service for the rest of them. If I do the DDP, I'm worried we'll have spent all of that money and feel like we have to get to all of the ADRs, even if we are in the mood to skip a meal. If we don't do the DDP, I'm worried we'll feel like we missed out on some great dining opportunities.

I think, ultimately, I'm just worried about feeling rushes/pressured/not relaxed.

Here are the places I definitely want to make sure we get to:

-Hollywood Brown Derby (for lunch)
-Flying Fish Cafe (for dinner)
-Sci-Fi Dine In Theater (just for shakes and onion rings)
-Crystal Palace (for breakfast)
-California Grill (for dinner)
-Jiko (for dinner)
-The Plaza (for lunch)

Here are the places I really don't know if I care about, after all:

-The Wave (for dinner, since we'll be here in October)
-Kona Cafe (for lunch, made ressie for DM but she just wants to see the Poly, doesn't care about Kona)
-Yak & Yeti (for lunch)
-San Angel Inn (for lunch)
-Le Cellier (for dinner)
-Kouzzina (for breakfast)

I just don't know. If we didn't do the Deluxe DDP, we'd probably just sort of graze all day or grab one of the tastier CS meals (like Flame Tree, Sunshine Seasons, etc.).

JUST WHEN I FREAKIN THOUGHT THE HEADACHE WAS OVER. I guess I have some numbers to crunch and some members of my travel group to bug yet again. :guilty:

[JoJo1980]

I totally share your pain :hug: I went through exactly the same thing, we upgraded the free dining to the deluxe plan and then after thinking about everything over and over - we decided to downgrade to just the normal plan.

This is purely our decision though, dont want to influence yours - just want to make sure that you are getting the best bang for your buck and do what makes you feel best during your trip :hug:

Many of the appetizers we dont like and wouldnt have paid for OOP so I didnt really view that as a saving. The thought of being tied to 3 ADR's every day of the trip felt like a total pain, mainly because this is our first visit during december and we want to see everything there is to see 'christmassy'.

I've currently booked all our ADR's and have planned roughly where to go for CS - but even now i'm starting to think whether to cancel some of those meals :confused3

It just depends on what works best for you and what you want to spend your time & money doing :hug:

Just dont let this spoil your holiday or get you totally stressed out :hug:

[annnewjerz]

I totally share your pain :hug: I went through exactly the same thing, we upgraded the free dining to the deluxe plan and then after thinking about everything over and over - we decided to downgrade to just the normal plan.

This is purely our decision though, dont want to influence yours - just want to make sure that you are getting the best bang for your buck and do what makes you feel best during your trip :hug:

Many of the appetizers we dont like and wouldnt have paid for OOP so I didnt really view that as a saving. The thought of being tied to 3 ADR's every day of the trip felt like a total pain, mainly because this is our first visit during december and we want to see everything there is to see 'christmassy'.

I've currently booked all our ADR's and have planned roughly where to go for CS - but even now i'm starting to think whether to cancel some of those meals :confused3

It just depends on what works best for you and what you want to spend your time & money doing :hug:

Just dont let this spoil your holiday or get you totally stressed out :hug:

Hi there! :wave2: Thanks for the thoughts.

Here's the thing. On the Deluxe DDP, there really wouldn't have been any days where we sat down for 3 meals, most of it was Signature dining. When I went through the menus and figured out what we would spend to pay OOP v. what it would cost to do the Deluxe DDP---it actually ended up being the same! We are big on apps and find the desserts less appealing, so I would do either the Deluxe DDP or none.

Decisions decisions. I'm sure we will enjoy it no matter what we decide on, maybe even do the Deluxe DDP without so many sit-downs to save on some tips. It's just so much number crunching and so much work. Exhausting! I need a vacation from my vacation planning! :faint: :goodvibes

Have a great trip!!