The BALD and the BEAUTIFUL are off to see SNOW WIPE again!! A Nov 2011 PTR! pic heavy

reyasmommy

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jul 20, 2007
Hello! :wave2:

I'm pleased to say that after a LOT of unexpected bumps in the road over the past year, I am FINALLY able to plan a much needed and deserved vacation. :goodvibes My family and I have been through more stress and heartache in the last 14 months to last us a lifetime. :sad2: This vacation is something the four of us need more then anything right now, and I’m looking forward to reconnecting with my kids and husband in a much needed way .:grouphug: I know logically that our money could and should be used towards something more important such as bills, savings, car payments, doctor bills, etc, etc…. But I honestly feel DEEP in my heart that this is more important then all of those things. I just can’t put a price on seeing my kids smiling faces and to see them be carefree again. It’s something we all desperately need right now.

I’m looking forward to planning this journey, and especially look forward to sharing it with all of you. I hope you’ll enjoy reading it and will offer me many tips and advice as often as you can. Any comments and words of encouragement are appreciated as well. I also hope to reconnect with some old readers and meet some new friends along the way ! ;)

With that said, let me introduce myself and my family

:wizard:

Me/Deanna: I’m 32 years old. ((33 years next week on the 8th)) :scared1:
I’m a stay at home Mom, and love ALMOST every second of it. :rolleyes: I admit that I miss being with other adults on a day to day basis, but I’m definitely not bored doing all the daily chores:laundy:and chasing after my 18month old. All day long you can hear me yelling…. “”NO”””….. “””STOP”””” ….. “DOWN”…… “””DROP IT””” Before I became a Mom I worked for the airlines and was able to travel much more often. We still try to travel once a year as a family but instead of flying we usually drive due to the cost of airfare. When I worked for the airlines I was able to fly for free whenever I wanted. It was so fun to jump on a plane and go to Vegas for a night, or go to the Mall of America for a day of shopping. :cloud9: I have thought about going back to work, but I love being able to see my kids grow up and not missing one second of their lives. Anyway,...... I fell in love with Disney back in 1996 when my Husband ((boyfriend at the time)) and I went to WDW for my high school graduation. The second I walked through those gates I was hooked. :love: Ever since then we try to alternate our Disney Vacations between WDW and DLR every year or two.

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DH/Will: 35 years Old
I couldn’t ask for a more loving and hard working man to call my own, or a better father for my Children. :hug: After a hard day of working as an investment broker, he still finds the energy and time to help me in whatever way I need once he walks through the door. You’ll never find him sitting on the couch watching tv or playing video games((Unless the kids are in bed for the night)) Instead you’ll probably see him playing with the kids, mowing the lawn, or helping me cook dinner. He loves disney “ALMOST” as much as I do. When it comes to planning our disney vacations he leaves everything to me. All he does is show up, and I LOVE it that way. We’ve been married 10 years as of June 14th.((Got married at WDW)) We were originally planning on going last month for our anniversary, but due to unforeseen circumstances we had to cancel. So even though it will be 5 months later, we are considering this our 10 year anniversary trip. :goodvibes We didn’t do anything really special for our big day because we knew we were going to celebrate BIG at Disney in November.

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DD/Reya: 5 years old
The sweetest most kind hearted little girl I’ve ever known. She truly wears her heart on her sleeve. She’s half tomboy and half girly girl. She’ll play with bugs, play in the mud, go crawdad fishing one second, then turn around and play dress up and play with her princess dolls the next. She just graduated from Preschool last month and will be starting kindergarten the end of August. I can’t believe that my little girl is officially starting school. (where does the time go?) This will be Reyas 3rd trip to DLR. She went when she was 6 months old and she went when she was 2. She’s definitely no stranger to Disney. Aside from the fact that she’s a HUGE Disney Princess fan, she’s been to a Disney park every year that she’s been born. This vacation will be a surprise trip for her. Should be exciting trying to pull it off!

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DS/Jayden 18 months old.

(((sorry kinda long))
Hmmmmmm, how do I describe Jayden? :confused3 Well, let me explain a little something first. When I was about 34 weeks pregnant with Jayden and I went in for my OB appointment, the doctor performed an ultrasound and found that he was breech. :scared1: I of course was freaking out because I didn’t want to have a C-section. The doctor didn’t offer many words of encouragement and said that it was highly likely I would need that C-section because most babies this far in pregnancy don’t move much, due to lack of room and are most likely in the position that they will be during delivery. They offered me the choice of an “external version” or to schedule a C-section. I was completely against the version and sadly went ahead with scheduling the c-section. Well … without going into detail, within that last month of my pregnancy he went from breech, to transverse, to head-down, to transverse, to breech, to transverse, to head-down, to breech. On the day I was scheduled for my induction they did one more ultrasound and found that he was head-down!!! Woo-hooo!!! :woohoo: No c-section for me! It was a scary delivery though because once I delivered him, they found that his umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck 4 times and twice around his body. Obiviously everything turned out okay. But what I’m trying to get at is the Kid can’t sit still for one SECOND!!! :rolleyes: Even in the womb he couldn’t sit still for anything. Like I stated before on a daily basis I have to tell him to STOP, SIT, DON’T, NO, DROP it, etc, etc ….. at least a hundred times a day. He is a typical boy and has to take everything apart to see how it works and has the biggest appetite I've ever seen. But he's my crazy little monkey and I wouldnt trade him for anything in the World. He gives the best sloppy kisses and the biggest hugs. He loves his mamma and that's all that matters. He's fearless, and loves to do anything and everything. It's going to be so fun watching him experience all the rides at the parks. This won't be his first Disney trip. We took him to WDW when he was 3 months old, but he of course wasn't able to really enjoy much since he was so young. This time it will be much more magical.

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*****Side note
My father, whom lives in Sacramento might be joining us for a few days if possible. We won’t know until closer to our trip however. ((cross your fingers for me))

Well, there you have it! Hope you are all into pictures, because this PTR as well as my TR will be very picture heavy. :rolleyes1 Expect to see a TON of pictures from our past Disney trips.


Thanks for reading and stay tuned for a brief itinerary of our trip, followed by more detailed planning.
 
Preliminary Itinerary Plans

November 8th- Glenwood Springs Colorado

November 9th and 10th - Las Vegas

November 11th and 12th- San Diego

November 13th thru 18th- Anaheim

November 19th- Drive back home/ Hopefully make it to St. George Utah for the night

November 20th- Arrive back home.

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I’m currently working on Hotel Reservations today.
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As far as where to stay at while visiting Disneyland I’m sorta at a crossroads. It’s between:

The Anabella
Portofino
Fairfield
Sheraton Park

Does anybody have any suggestions or comments on any of these hotels. Pros/Cons and so forth?:confused3
 
Sign me up! I still get a kick out of Snow Wipe :rotfl: I'll probably be saying it in my head now for the rest of the day with a little giggle. Good luck making your hotel ressies today. I wish I had some insight to add one any of the places you listed above but my experiences are strictly limited to on-site, HOJO, and the Carousel!
 
Sign me up! I still get a kick out of Snow Wipe :rotfl: I'll probably be saying it in my head now for the rest of the day with a little giggle. Good luck making your hotel ressies today. I wish I had some insight to add one any of the places you listed above but my experiences are strictly limited to on-site, HOJO, and the Carousel!

That's okay, thanks anyway. ;) I'm surprised nobody else has any input? I have experience with the Anabella and Disneyland hotel, that's it.

I've gotten my hotel reservations set for Glenwood Springs, but I've been spending half the day trying to decide on where we'll be staying in Vegas. Last week it was decided we were going to stay at Planet Hollywood, but I didn't make the reservation because I didn't have the funds available for a down payment at the time. I just found out today that the price has gone up $30.00 a day. :eek: And on top of that they charge and extra $30.00 a day for a 3rd and 4th person. So I would have to lie ((Which I hate doing)) about having my children with me, but there is NO way I'm going to pay an extra $60.00 a day for a 18month old and a 5 year old! :scared1:

So I'm currently trying to decide between Treasure Island, Planet Hollywood, Planet Hollywood Towers, Luxor, and Ny NY. Or stay somewhere off the strip, casino free. Or The Golden Nugget.


Tresure Island is nice, but I wanted to stay somewhere I've never been before. They also charge an extra $16.00 a day for a resort fee. :sad2: I was also hoping to stay somewhere that was more mid-strip. :confused3

Planet Hollywood Towers is a little bit more and I would have to lie about my kids, but it looks like a beautiful hotel and they have a kitchenette which would be nice. Having a microwave in my room is ALWAYS a plus.

And the Golden nugget looks really nice, but it's nowhere near the Strip and not in the best area. ((to the best of my knowledge))

I guess I'm leaning more towards PH towers or Treasure Island? The only thing that is making me question PH towers right now is lying about my kids?

Anybody have any advice for me on this?
 


Hello Everyone! I hope you're all having a sensational 4th of July... I'm really looking forward to seeing fireworks tonight, and especially excited to see Jaydens reaction to them. This will be his first time seeing fireworks because last year they were rained out. :guilty:

Anyway,I'm pleased to announce that I got most of my hotel reservations set. Glenwood Springs, Vegas, and Anaheim are taken care of. I'm currently working on San Diego and where we'll be staying on our drive back home.

However, I'm really upset that we'll be cutting our time in Anaheim short by one day. If we arrive on Sunday ((the 13th)) it will cost us a LOT more.

Example:

Portofino Hotel:
If we arrive on Sunday the 13th for a 6 night stay it will cost: $1,188.00. But if we arrive on Monday the 14th for a 5 night stay it will cost $739.00
Difference of $449.00

The Anabella Hotel::
If we arrive on Sunday the 13th for a 6 night stay it will cost $ $981.00
But if we arrive on Monday the 15th for a 5 night stay it will cost $768.00
Difference of $213.00


I can’t justify spending that much more for one night. I’m on the fence about what hotels to stay at while in San Diego? I’m also thinking about staying two days in San Diego and maybe one day on the beach somewhere? I’ve always wanted to stay on the beach. But I’m not exactly sure how much swimming we’d be doing in the ocean on November?



So once I find out what I decide I’ll be sure to post it. In the meantime I thought I would share some old photos. ((I will share some from time to time of our past DLR and WDW vacations for fun))

Reya riding her first Disney ride with Grandpa. IASW (6 months old.)

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Waiting in line for Alice in Wonderland with daddy. ((6 months old))

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ToT in 2006

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Halloween at DLR 2006

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In SD look at the hotels/motels around Pacific Beach.

For Sunday in Anaheim might try Pricelining a hotel for that night and see if you can sneak into something for $50. I mean it's just one night so may as go for something nice for a night for a bargain rate than be far away or in a cruddy hotel.

For St, George I have no hotel recomendation but want to share my experience. I live about 14 hours away from DLR and usually drive strait through. But last time split the drive each way because of a late start and to beat the traffic if I had spent Sunday night there and would of been leaveing on weekday morning with traffic and such.

I left Sunday at about 1:15 am was in my car. 12am closing took my time leaving. I only went to Barstow but it felt like it took forever. Maybe because in the darkness I couldn't see any landmarks. Maybe because I was super tired. So in November consider when the park is closing, and how long it will take to get on the road, because St. George is a ways away.

Going down I decided to stay in Vegas which worked fairly well. A late start from southern Idaho because I was at a Father's Day event. We got into Vegas at about 10:30pm PST. In bed by 11am. Stayed at the Southpoint. It's off strip, great rates and very nice rooms. Large, super clean, nice appointed. It's on the south side of vegas off strip, does have a shuttle to the strip. Main reason I chose this is because it's right off the freeway on the south end. From TL or PHH it will add about 20 or 30 minutes I didn't have to deal with. Sorry if this makes you rethink your desicion, but I wanted to share because I was super glad I did this.
 
Yay i'm excited for your trippie :cool1:

I don't have any experience with those Anaheim hotels either so can't comment there. We have however stayed in the renovated rooms at the Flamingo in Vegas. They seem to be constantly having sales on these rooms and they are so comfortable, as well as a good place on the Strip. I think we've paid as little as about $70 a night there, and had rooms with 2 queen beds as well?
 


Joining in here! Your kiddos are cutie pies! :)

Can't wait to hear about all your decisions - we're in OH and are planning a big "out west" trip for summer 2013, with at least 3 days at DL. I've been to WDW 5 times but know next to nothing about DL, so can't wait to learn! :) Your promise of "pic heavy" drew me in - I LOVE taking pics. :)
 
Joining in here! Your kiddos are cutie pies! :)

Can't wait to hear about all your decisions - we're in OH and are planning a big "out west" trip for summer 2013, with at least 3 days at DL. I've been to WDW 5 times but know next to nothing about DL, so can't wait to learn! :) Your promise of "pic heavy" drew me in - I LOVE taking pics. :)
 
Hello there! You have a beautiful family!! After being a housewife/college student for the first 3 years of my DD's life, I understand the need for a vacation!!:thumbsup2 I am scratching my head trying to figure out the price differences for that Sunday. I have reservations for Fairfield Inn (hoping to get a Princess themed room since DD4 is a Princess Junkie :rotfl2:)I will take pics on my upcoming trip and let you know what my experience was in case you have not already decided on a hotel. We got a special package on Marriott's web page (making memories I think) for a disney themed room, a $50 disney gift card, and a pay per view movie during the stay!! This is my first time there so I could not recommend it yet!!
As for San Diego, I always recommend the Dana on Mission Bay!! It is a beautifyl hotel right on the water. The view is just..Wow!! The water will be pretty cold during Nov. so it may be better to rent some watercraft there or just enjoy walking along the water. If you want to swim, next door to the Dana is Bahia resort. It is right on the beach and family friendly also. I know that the Dana has summer rates at around$169 right now..worth every penny!!:cloud9:
I am in the midst of planning a surprise Christmas DLR trip for DD4 in November also, likely the week of Thanksgiving. This will be our first trip there during the holidays!! So excited!! Looking forward to hearing more!! Enjoy the planning phase..what fun!!:banana:
 
I am excited that you and your family are going down to DL during the Holiday season. I will come along during your TR and hope all your planning will be done shortly.
 
Glad your year is settling down and you're finally able to plan. Sounds like a fun trip, I love road trips! But then again I don't have any kids :scared1:

I guess the 13th is the end of the long weekend for Veterans Day, and that's why it's so much more expensive! But crazy how much of a difference it makes. Although you might find all hotels are extra expensive that weekend and you might not save all that much by staying in another place?

When we were in San Diego we stayed at the best western island palms. It was affordable and had water views and walkways, but not a beach. Only complaint is that we were right by a really loud slamming door. It's amazing what sorts of hours people arrive at and leave from hotels.
 
In SD look at the hotels/motels around Pacific Beach.

For Sunday in Anaheim might try Pricelining a hotel for that night and see if you can sneak into something for $50. I mean it's just one night so may as go for something nice for a night for a bargain rate than be far away or in a cruddy hotel.

For St, George I have no hotel recomendation but want to share my experience. I live about 14 hours away from DLR and usually drive strait through. But last time split the drive each way because of a late start and to beat the traffic if I had spent Sunday night there and would of been leaveing on weekday morning with traffic and such.

I left Sunday at about 1:15 am was in my car. 12am closing took my time leaving. I only went to Barstow but it felt like it took forever. Maybe because in the darkness I couldn't see any landmarks. Maybe because I was super tired. So in November consider when the park is closing, and how long it will take to get on the road, because St. George is a ways away.

Going down I decided to stay in Vegas which worked fairly well. A late start from southern Idaho because I was at a Father's Day event. We got into Vegas at about 10:30pm PST. In bed by 11am. Stayed at the Southpoint. It's off strip, great rates and very nice rooms. Large, super clean, nice appointed. It's on the south side of vegas off strip, does have a shuttle to the strip. Main reason I chose this is because it's right off the freeway on the south end. From TL or PHH it will add about 20 or 30 minutes I didn't have to deal with. Sorry if this makes you rethink your desicion, but I wanted to share because I was super glad I did this.


Thanks for the advice. We'll actually be leaving pretty early in the morning on the 19th. St. George is about half way between Anaheim and Colorado, so it's a good place to stop. I just got done booking my hotel. Got a good rate for a 1 bedroom suite at a La Quinta there. We usually stay in St. George when we travel out to So. Cal.

I've never done priceline before? Have thought about trying it, not exactly sure how it works? Do I have to wait closer to my travel date?
Yay i'm excited for your trippie :cool1:

I don't have any experience with those Anaheim hotels either so can't comment there. We have however stayed in the renovated rooms at the Flamingo in Vegas. They seem to be constantly having sales on these rooms and they are so comfortable, as well as a good place on the Strip. I think we've paid as little as about $70 a night there, and had rooms with 2 queen beds as well?

I was considering the Flamingo. The new rooms look pretty nice. How is the rest of the hotel? Is it pretty old and outdated?

Thanks for reading. :)

Joining in here! Your kiddos are cutie pies! :)

Can't wait to hear about all your decisions - we're in OH and are planning a big "out west" trip for summer 2013, with at least 3 days at DL. I've been to WDW 5 times but know next to nothing about DL, so can't wait to learn! :) Your promise of "pic heavy" drew me in - I LOVE taking pics. :)

Thank you! And thank you for joining in. I'm more experienced with WDW as well, but try to alternate our trips between the two.

I DO promise lots of pictures. TR's are so much better with them, in my opinion anyway?

Hello there! You have a beautiful family!! After being a housewife/college student for the first 3 years of my DD's life, I understand the need for a vacation!!:thumbsup2 I am scratching my head trying to figure out the price differences for that Sunday. I have reservations for Fairfield Inn (hoping to get a Princess themed room since DD4 is a Princess Junkie :rotfl2:)I will take pics on my upcoming trip and let you know what my experience was in case you have not already decided on a hotel. We got a special package on Marriott's web page (making memories I think) for a disney themed room, a $50 disney gift card, and a pay per view movie during the stay!! This is my first time there so I could not recommend it yet!!
As for San Diego, I always recommend the Dana on Mission Bay!! It is a beautifyl hotel right on the water. The view is just..Wow!! The water will be pretty cold during Nov. so it may be better to rent some watercraft there or just enjoy walking along the water. If you want to swim, next door to the Dana is Bahia resort. It is right on the beach and family friendly also. I know that the Dana has summer rates at around$169 right now..worth every penny!!:cloud9:
I am in the midst of planning a surprise Christmas DLR trip for DD4 in November also, likely the week of Thanksgiving. This will be our first trip there during the holidays!! So excited!! Looking forward to hearing more!! Enjoy the planning phase..what fun!!:banana:

Hello, and welcome! :goodvibes

I really thought hard about staying at the Fairfield. The themed rooms were what really caught my attention. My DD would have flipped for a princess themed room and the location is perfect. The only thing that is keeping me from staying there is the price. With AAA discount it was still going to cost $143.00 a night ((before taxes))for a themed room. I can stay in a much bigger room at the Anabella or Portofino for $30.00 cheaper a night. So I nixed that idea.

Thanks for the advice on the Dana. I considered that and the Bahia. I really loved the resort feel and being on the water, but just decided on a hotel closer to Legoland. :( I'm going to be staying on the beach on the 14th however, so I'm happy to be doing that. I've never stayed on the becah before and am excited. It's going to cost a lot more money then I ever have before on a hotel, but it's worth it in my opinion. :confused3 Hope I made the right decision. Can't wait to share what I picked with everyone.

It's going to be so much fun planning a surprise trip for our girls. Do you know how your going to do it? I'm still trying to figure the details out.? It's also going to be so great to see the Christmas decorations, I've always always wanted to see Disney at Christmas. I hope to see WDW done up one day too.

I am excited that you and your family are going down to DL during the Holiday season. I will come along during your TR and hope all your planning will be done shortly.

Thank you for reading! Welcome!

Glad your year is settling down and you're finally able to plan. Sounds like a fun trip, I love road trips! But then again I don't have any kids :scared1:

I guess the 13th is the end of the long weekend for Veterans Day, and that's why it's so much more expensive! But crazy how much of a difference it makes. Although you might find all hotels are extra expensive that weekend and you might not save all that much by staying in another place?

When we were in San Diego we stayed at the best western island palms. It was affordable and had water views and walkways, but not a beach. Only complaint is that we were right by a really loud slamming door. It's amazing what sorts of hours people arrive at and leave from hotels.


Youre probably right?! I didn't see anything about the BW island palms. I should check that one out once I'm finished here. Thanks. :) And thanks for reading!
Just stopping in to join the fun in your report!

Welcome!
 
Aww you have SUCH a beautiful family! I can't believe you and your DH have been married 10 years, you both look about 25. I think your DD is your DH's mini me and Jayden is your clone!

I can't wait to read more, and once I figure out how to subscribe I will :lmao:
 
The Flamingo isn't a luxurious hotel, but it's public spaces aren't outdated. The gardens and pool area are quite nice, and we ate at a few different onsite restaurants and they were good too. The monorail stop was handy also. :thumbsup2
My sister stayed in one of the un-renovated rooms and that was outdated (although at $28 a night hard to beat!). The only frustrating part i found was the second time we stayed we stood in a queue for about 40 minutes to check in... :confused3
 
Aww you have SUCH a beautiful family! I can't believe you and your DH have been married 10 years, you both look about 25. I think your DD is your DH's mini me and Jayden is your clone!

I can't wait to read more, and once I figure out how to subscribe I will :lmao:
Awe, thanks. You're my new favorite person! ;) Yep married 10 years and together for 15. Our first date was my Senior Prom. I love looking back at photos from that day, puts a big smile on my face. We look so young, and my husband had some hair. :lmao:

Thanks for the comments on my family... Everyone always says that Reya looks like my DH and Jayden like myself. Reya used to be bald as a que ball until she was 3, and REALLY looked like DH. I'll have to post some pictures. I wanted them to go as Dr. Evil and Mini Me one year for halloween.

The Flamingo isn't a luxurious hotel, but it's public spaces aren't outdated. The gardens and pool area are quite nice, and we ate at a few different onsite restaurants and they were good too. The monorail stop was handy also. :thumbsup2
My sister stayed in one of the un-renovated rooms and that was outdated (although at $28 a night hard to beat!). The only frustrating part i found was the second time we stayed we stood in a queue for about 40 minutes to check in... :confused3
I remember walking by the pool a few times and thinking it looked so invititing. Don't think we'll be doing much swimming in November though. I looked at the weather and was a bit shocked at the average temperture. It was close to what it is here in Colorado.
 
Ugh, having to cut it short by a day stinks!!! But I don't think I could justify THAT much more for one more night either. Boo!
 
Subbing! Your trip sounds super fun!! I think I commented about the Fairfield Inn in my PTR in answer to you question today, but it's a very good hotel and the proximity to McDonald's and Mimi's is a huge plus! Plus it's in walking distance of the parks which is nice at the end of the night.

Your kids are adorable btw!! :goodvibes
 

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