Beast. The awesome PTR of awesomeness June 2012 last update: Universal Resort

[Toystoryfan32]

Hi Kim. Just wanted to pop in and say how much I am enjoying your PTR so far. We are going to WDW in June as well. We are from the SW MO area and spend a lot of time at Silver Dollar City too.

 

[DMGeurts]

Chapter 4: A Little Story about Buying Tickets

Like many planners here on the DIS Boards, I have never been completely satisfied with our lodging. I am constantly looking for a better place to stay and a better deal. I'm fairly sure we've got the best deal on Vistana and I'm happy with it... but that doesn't mean that when I get an email from All Ears that talks about a different resort with a different deal that I don't spend a few minutes reading it and considering.

And it doesn't mean that I don't watch the Codes & Rates board here... in the vain hope that Disney would release an awesome discount for our dates.

Readers, this really bugs my family. They don't understand the whole constant checking for a better deal/better place. It annoys them that I'm never happy with what I've got. I pull out examples of times where I wasn't happy and I got us a better deal or better lodging. They agree, and then tell me to stop anyway.

Last month, we were siting around talking about Valentine's Day. Dan, the budget man, is not a huge fan of V-Day. It's a made up holiday that requires him to spend money, so he's not a fan. He turns to me and says, "You know how you're planning our show schedule for Spring Break." Me, thinking of my handy spread sheet, "Yup." Dan: "Why don't you just go ahead and make all those reservations for your Valentine's Day gift?"

Does anyone see the problem I might have with this? Um, we're going to those shows whether or not there's a Valentine's Day in there. And I'm making those reservations -- if I choose -- regardless. (I actually decided to wait until we get there to make show reservations. We're going to go crazy and just fly by the seat of our pants.)

Nope, not fooling me buddyboy.

I counter propose. "Dude, that's not a Valentine's Day gift in any language. However, I will compromise. Let's go to AAA and buy our Disney tickets. Then we can go out to dinner at Panera. I'll consider that a lame Valentine's Day gift and let you off the hook."

You see... if we have our Disney tickets in hand, there will be no more hoping for free dining PINs. If we have our tickets, we will be staying offsite. I've researched enough to know that Vistana is the best offsite option for us. Purchasing the tickets would mean that I'd have to say to myself, "OK, we're staying offsite and we're going to make this the best offsite trip ever. It's going to be so much more awesome than if we'd stayed onsite. We shall make it so."

Dan the Budget Man has every Friday off. So one Friday after I got off work, I came home, everyone hopped in our aging Uplander and we drove to the west side of town to the AAA office. I made Dan drive because I hate traffic on the west side. Those drivers are crazy.

The kids waited in the van, and Dan and I went to buy the tickets.

Oh wait -- I should add here that in addition to my Branson spreadsheet, I of course have a Disney spreadsheet going. I have one break day in our Disney portion of the trip. However, I'd been thinking that with Test Track being down, we probably didn't need two full days at Epcot. While the kids and I will probably enjoy World Showcase, Dan's tolerance for anything educational/non-scream inducing is very low. So one full day is probably more than enough at Epcot. I had been tossing out ideas for what we could do with that second day I had scheduled. My favorite idea was going to Sea World. I thought my thrill seekers would love Manta and Kraken. I thought I'd love Sea World (even though I am fish-phobic, I love the whales and dolphins). (P.S. Stop laughing. There is too such a thing as fish phobia. Ichthyophobia. Look it up.)

Anyway... Dan was really not on board for the whole "let's go to Sea World" idea. More money, you know. So then I said, "Let's at least go to Aquatica."

We walk into AAA, they give us another spreadsheet with prices and ticket options. I walked in intending to buy 10 day MYW tickets. No options. Even though I only had 8 park days planned.

Dan looks at the spreadsheet and says, "Let's get 8 day tickets and add the Water Parks option. It's only $30/more per ticket from what we planned spending." Left unsaid was "and quite a bit cheaper than buying a ticket to Sea World and/or Aqautica."

Since my kids love water parks, especially Disney water parks, I decided that would be a fine idea.

So after 30 minutes of one lady teaching another how to ring up Disney tickets, and AAA being unable to ring them up as a group, but having to ring them up individually, then activate, and me getting constant texts from my kids who decided to stay in the car...

You should have seen how nervous I was with those things sitting in my purse during dinner at Panera and shopping at Target. I just knew some random shopper at Target was waiting to steal our Disney tickets right outta my purse.

And did you notice that diamond lane parking pass? I casually asked about it, knowing that some AAA offices only give them out if you book a package through them. "Oh, sure," said the nice lady behind the counter. "We've got a whole stack." It's a little perk from AAA. We still have to pay for parking, but that was in our budget anyway. The diamond lane card will simply get us parking closer to the front if it's available. I'm guessing we're going to be some of the first cars in the lot each day, so I doubt we need it, but it might be nice to have if we leave and come back later.

Came home that night and redid my Disney spreadsheet. Had to drop one ADR, but we're OK with it. Next up is refamiliarizing myself with the water parks. We've been to both parks -- and if you're in the mood, you should read about our day at Blizzard Beach in 2007 -- but I always felt like I lost my sense of direction once inside the park. I'm determined not to let that happen again.

I think I'd promised some ADR talk this weekend, but I just felt like the ticket story was ready to come out of me. ADRs in the next week, I promise!

First - ROFL... I can totally relate. Even though we don't buy our tickets that way, I did pay for our entire trip using Disney Gift Cards purchased at Target (using my -10% employee discount and my -5% Target check card discount, combining those discounts with our Free Dining - we saved nearly $2k on this trip, not bad)... Anyways, I feel like every person in the world knows that I have a thousand $$ worth of Disney GCs in my purse and they are following me home so they can steal them.

That is awesome that you got your tickets - I always feel much better when we have certain things... Hotel reservations, for one and airfare is HUGE - with out airfare, we don't go.

I do like to price shop for the best deal. I always compare what ever promotion Disney is offering to what we would pay at Shades of Green. Honestly, it was quite a bit cheaper this time with FD - however, if we were to go on our own with out FD, we wouldn't have quite as many sit down meals, since they are so expensive. But since this trip is just my dds and I, and we have never traveled alone before, I really wanted to utilize ME - so I think it will work out perfectly for us.

OK - anyways, I am still here and reading. Can't wait to hear all about your ADRs.

D~

 

[momabaarjo]

I see that I strike another mention in someone elses TR or PTR! I am starting to get a rep...is that good or bad. I am already plotting and planning our next trip...and I want it to be a surprise again. My family really does not get into the planning so the secret and the planning are my fun.

Funny you mention Branson...my mother has been wanting to go back (we have not gone since I was expecting Boo...that was what almost 13 years ago)! I saw on the news about a tornado there last night...I hope too much of the town wasn't damaged...it was a great place.

I too work for schools...I spent 16 years in an upper elementary classroom and now 5 years out of the classroom working with teachers to improve instruction...after the day I had today, I am really thinking I would prefer a room full of discipline problems than my staff!

I promise to come back later and comment more.

 

[BrerMama]

I see that I strike another mention in someone elses TR or PTR! I am starting to get a rep...is that good or bad. I am already plotting and planning our next trip...and I want it to be a surprise again. My family really does not get into the planning so the secret and the planning are my fun.

Funny you mention Branson...my mother has been wanting to go back (we have not gone since I was expecting Boo...that was what almost 13 years ago)! I saw on the news about a tornado there last night...I hope too much of the town wasn't damaged...it was a great place.

I too work for schools...I spent 16 years in an upper elementary classroom and now 5 years out of the classroom working with teachers to improve instruction...after the day I had today, I am really thinking I would prefer a room full of discipline problems than my staff!

I promise to come back later and comment more.

So glad to see you. Kiah and I are reading along with your report and it's making us laugh. We can't wait for Wizarding World.

As for Branson... just heartbreaking. Lots of roofs gone and glass broken but they'll put it back together. Branson has heart.

That is awesome that you got your tickets - I always feel much better when we have certain things... Hotel reservations, for one and airfare is HUGE - with out airfare, we don't go.
D~

I know how you feel. Once we get the airfare, there's no turning back. We're flying somewhere within the year. (We fly Southwest so we could change without fee, but it's still going to expire within the year.) I'm so glad your Rufus is hanging in there.

Hi Kim. Just wanted to pop in and say how much I am enjoying your PTR so far. We are going to WDW in June as well. We are from the SW MO area and spend a lot of time at Silver Dollar City too.

Aw. I love SDC. Just need a break. When will you be at WDW? If anybody is reading and going to be there at the same time we will be there, I'm definitely open to meeting. I met my best friends via the Internet.

I finally convinced him to get a trim. I basically told him he had to get a trim to clean it up or it was getting cut short again. He didn't really put up a fight. But then again, he is only 11 and knows that what we say goes.

My son is 6 feet +. I don't think I could threaten him enough. I do bribe him... gas for his car when he shaves, but Dan won't let me threaten the hair cut. Says I just need to drop it.

I completely agree! My graduating daughter wants to major in Special Education in college, and a lot of people ask me if I've tried to talk her out of it. How could I? I tell them that I love teaching, so it's kind of hard to try to talk her out of the profession!

I had a very rough day today -- drove home in tears -- but I still sat here and encouraged Kiah to take high school classes about teaching. It may break my heart, but it makes my heart.

And now, a little midweek update...

 

[BrerMama]

Mid-week update time....

My heart has been heavy today. I woke up at my usual 5 am or so and rolled over and grabbed my phone. I did not expect to hear that Branson had been hit by a tornado which went right down the strip. The first post I saw was from my friend Tim, who posted about a theater he owns/manages getting damaged.


424888_10151355005460486_884880485_23456967_150836596_n by miss kim 09, on Flickr

Man. I swear I sat right near that spot the last time we were there. Just me and Kiah. Bopping to the Haygoods. And now it's gone. Thankful the show moved theaters this year, and that theater wasn't touched. So we can still see them in a few weeks. And other shows. We're still going for Spring Break. Doing our part to keep tourism going. They need our dollars more than ever.

Anyway, spent my lunch hour and evening looking at photos of the damage. I intended to vicariously follow the One More Disney Day stuff, but ended up looking at photos of places I know well that are now gone.

I did do a little bit of Disney prep, though....

Last weekend, Dan the Budget Man finally decided he needed an iPhone. He doesn't have an email account, doesn't have a Facebook account. Doesn't even understand the purpose of Twitter. And yet he wants an iPhone.

I've had one since the day Verizon released them. It is my favorite thing I own. I adore it.

So I researched a bit and said to Dan, "You really don't need a 4s. Why don't you let me get the 4s so I can use the upgraded camera and you can have my 4?"

Side note -- I use my iPhone camera a lot. I love photography (in case you hadn't figured that out) and I love the convenience of having a phone with me all the time. I've done a little reading, trying to make my iPhoneography better. I really wanted the better camera in the 4s.

Dan considered. And he said, "Let's just both get the 4s. We'll have the 4 as a back up." Fine and dandy with me.

So we bought them and I decided we needed Otterbox cases. I had recently purchased one for the iPod I use at work for the classroom, and I think they are amazing. I knew which color combo I wanted, but I was gracious and let Dan pick first.

Nah. Actually what I said was, "if you don't want the yellow/gray combination, I'm getting it." And he said, "I like just plain old black." So one black/black combo and one yellow/gray combo, coming up.


photo by miss kim 09, on Flickr

Isn't it awesomeness? And it definitely fits in our Disney color scheme (more on that in a future mid-week update).

I've only gotten a few gray hairs from trying to teach Dan how to use his phone this week. Mostly, I'm loving Siri (Siri, when will Brady cut his hair?) and the new camera is amazing (photo above is from Kiah's cell).

In thinking about this report, I'm thinking that midweek, I'll do a little update on whatever bit of Disney has been in our life this week. Weekends, when I have more time, I'll update with our big plans -- ADRs, travel, etc. Hope that works for everyone!

 

[tinkbell13]

My son is 6 feet +. I don't think I could threaten him enough. I do bribe him... gas for his car when he shaves, but Dan won't let me threaten the hair cut. Says I just need to drop it.

I had a very rough day today -- drove home in tears -- but I still sat here and encouraged Kiah to take high school classes about teaching. It may break my heart, but it makes my heart.

I perfected the art of threatening a long time ago on my brother and sister (5 and 7 years younger than me) who I basically raised early on and they both towered over me once they hit their teens. Did I mention that my 11 year old son is almost as tall as I am. Actually, I'm afraid to measure him anymore because he might just be a bit taller than me now!

Sorry that you had a rough day. I've taught previously on a part time basis for a couple of terms at our local college. Teaching is hard. But the payoff when you see someone succeed who struggled previously is enormous! Hope tomorrow is better for you!

 

[MHTeacher]

So sorry you've had a rough day. Hope tomorrow is a brighter day.

I know how you feel with the tornado damage---It will be a year in April that those devastating tornados went through Alabama. I remember just being glued to my tv, not believing what I was seeing.

On a lighter note-YAY for new iPhones!

 

[Toystoryfan32]

The weather was so scary last night. I am so sorry to hear about your friends theater in Branson. The whole thing is just so sad. We live just outside of Springfield and our area really has gotten hit hard with tornado damage over the past few years. Breaks my heart that Branson got hit so bad. It is a strong community and I just know they will get back on their feet soon.

On a lighter note we will be at WDW June 2nd -10th. We would love to meet up if you are there at the same time Dis meets are fun!

 

[DMGeurts]

I am so sorry to hear about all the destruction near you. I am very glad that you and your family are safe. We had a tornado go through our town in 2008 - I was home alone with Rufus and the girls were en route to the house from a nearby bigger town with their friend and her mom... When they called, I was in the basement with Ruf and told them to stay put, but the mom insisted on driving home at that moment... I lost the call a few minutes into it, and I was a hysterical mess - I feared the worst. Trees were falling outside, bricks were falling down our chimney into the basment where I was - I knew it was bad and my girls were out there in it. About 10 minutes later, they were able to call me back, and I cried with relief... They took shelter at a house on the side of the road. It was very scary... Thankfully none of us was hurt, and all the damage we had could be repaired. <---- Sorry to threadjack (I've been told that I do it all the time).

Jealous about your IPhone... Jealous beyond belief. If you want to know how jealous I am - there's probably 10 pages of my PTR dedicated to it a few weeks ago. LOL Unfortunately, I am locked into a contract with Tmob for another 4 months... as soon as our contract is up - I am outta there and off to ATnT for an Iphone.

Again, so thankful that you all are safe.

D~

 

[tinkbell13]

Anyway, spent my lunch hour and evening looking at photos of the damage. I intended to vicariously follow the One More Disney Day stuff, but ended up looking at photos of places I know well that are now gone.

I know how you feel. At the end of last summer, an F3 twister went through my hometown. The house and street where I grew up were completely gone. The downtown area was destroyed. I spent a lot of time looking at pictures of the devastation. It broke my heart to see the destruction that was caused in less than 5 minutes. But it was also nice to read about so many people going and helping with the cleanup and rebuilding. I am sure that the same will happen in Branson. And in the other areas that were hit yesterday - so much destruction!

 

[BrerMama]

Sorry that you had a rough day. I've taught previously on a part time basis for a couple of terms at our local college. Teaching is hard. But the payoff when you see someone succeed who struggled previously is enormous! Hope tomorrow is better for you!

Teaching *is* hard, and I think that's why I love it. It all just hit me on Wednesday, but strangely enough... with 4 days away from the kids, I'm missing them like crazy.

So sorry you've had a rough day. Hope tomorrow is a brighter day.

I know how you feel with the tornado damage---It will be a year in April that those devastating tornados went through Alabama. I remember just being glued to my tv, not believing what I was seeing.

On a lighter note-YAY for new iPhones!

I think it will be interesting to see how Branson looks in two weeks. We'll be on the road two weeks from right now, and I'm excited to see how much they already have done. The lucky thing is that it mostly hit motels and tourist attractions while in Branson and not homes. Since it's low season in Branson and it hit in the middle of the night, not many people were around. The devastation in the southeast in the last two days was much greater and changed many more lives.

On a lighter note we will be at WDW June 2nd -10th. We would love to meet up if you are there at the same time Dis meets are fun!

Oh, we'll just miss you! We arrive on June 15. We've always gone at the first of June and I'm starting to freak out a bit about the idea of not going until the last half of June. Afraid it might be a little crazy. And crazy hot.

Jealous about your IPhone... Jealous beyond belief. If you want to know how jealous I am - there's probably 10 pages of my PTR dedicated to it a few weeks ago. LOL Unfortunately, I am locked into a contract with Tmob for another 4 months... as soon as our contract is up - I am outta there and off to ATnT for an Iphone.

Again, so thankful that you all are safe.

D~

Oh, I want you to know I read Rufus's story. My heart goes out to you. It was the decision you needed to make for Rufus, but I know it broke your heart.

I know you leave soon, and I want to wish you a magical trip.

And yes, thrilled with my iPhone. It makes life so much easier.

I know how you feel. At the end of last summer, an F3 twister went through my hometown. The house and street where I grew up were completely gone. The downtown area was destroyed. I spent a lot of time looking at pictures of the devastation. It broke my heart to see the destruction that was caused in less than 5 minutes. But it was also nice to read about so many people going and helping with the cleanup and rebuilding. I am sure that the same will happen in Branson. And in the other areas that were hit yesterday - so much destruction!

The funny thing about the Branson tornado is that -- for the most part -- it skipped over places we love and hit places that were not in the best condition. Not that they weren't places that people owned and loved, they just weren't places we visited often. Really odd. Anyway, we're going for a week for Spring Break in two weeks, so maybe I'll update a little about what we see. I do plan to include a Disney Store shopping report here... and maybe a review of a show that also does shows on the Disney Cruise Line. I figure I might be able to stretch those two things to be Disney-related...

 

[BrerMama]

One of the nice things about planning this off site trip has been that there has been no discussion re: dining plan vs. not doing the dining plan. We can't do the dining plan. And I am OK with that.

The dining plan as it exists now is not a good deal for us. We don't eat dessert. All of our kids are Disney adults, and the price is outrageous for 5 adults for 11 days. We like to eat table service... but not every single day.

What Kiah and I ended up doing was reading a lot of dining reviews to suggest what our family might like. You should know that in my little family of 5:

Dan won't eat onions, peppers, or tomatoes. He'll eat salsa, or ketchup, he just won't eat any of those things in a recognizable form.

Me won't eat fish. Dan says I'm picky, but that's really my only line I won't cross.

Tater is a Vegetarian. Just a regular old "I don't eat meat" vegetarian. It's been a learning curve for me to figure out what to have in the house for him so that he could get enough protein. Going out to eat takes a little more thought because we have to make sure that the restaurant has a decent vegetarian option. We went to Applebee's once and he ended up eating onion rings. It was the only non-meat option that sounded good to him. We need to make sure he has some choices over those two weeks.

Kiah eats healthy. She likes fresh ingredients, non-processed food. She does not usually eat with the family if we eat fast food. She'd prefer to stay home and make a salad or peanut butter sandwich (on whole grain bread, of course). I don't know how she does it. I eat healthier now, but I get really cranky if I can't eat a cookie if I want.

Ches Girl is an All-American eater. She doesn't have to flip through a menu for a half hour to find something acceptable. Give her a burger and fries or some pizza and she's a happy girl.

Given all this, we tried to balance places Dan would like with some more adventurous choices for my teens. Our ADR list is a work in progress. What this means is that I've made all the ADRs with no input from Dan. And probably a week before we leave, Dan will actually become interested in where we're eating and go through and cut the ones he thinks are not worthy of our budget dollars. Therefore, I've made more ADRs than we'll probably use, but do plan to cancel them as appropriate.

Our current ADR list includes:

Crystal Palace for breakfast before the park opens. We really enjoyed getting into parks before opening last trip and our favorite was CP. I thought this was probably Dan would want to cancel (he feels our kids are too old for character meals), but I said something about it and he told me not to cancel it yet. That tells me he still likes the idea of getting into the parks early. We have this scheduled for our first morning. Hoping we decide to keep it.

Prime Time Cafe for Father's Day. This is Dan's favorite place to eat in the whole world, so why wouldn't we eat there for Father's Day? He loves home cooking.

That's my sister and her family, my group, and my mom at Prime Time in 2007. Everyone has aged a bit since then. Great meal, though. I had an adult beverage flowing through my system... can you tell?

Tusker House lunch. My teens really pushed for Boma for this one, but I really feel that is too far outside Dan's comfort zone. So Tusker House it is. Not sure how I feel about it being a character meal, but the teens are so excited about it that I now we won't cut this one.

Plaza at MK for dinner. If I can get us the Wishes dessert party, this one will get cut. I really want the dessert party. Kiah really doesn't. I'm going to win this one because I'm the mom. I have yet to actually be able to sit and see fireworks at Disney. We've watched them from behind the castle, from the bridge to Splash Mountain, from everywhere but the hub. And I like dessert. I have my heart set on the desssert party. And Dan the budget man said I could book it. Kiah really likes the menu at the Plaza, but I think we could probably get the same sandwiches, etc. at Panera. So it goes.

Sci Fi Dine In. This is Tater's favorite place and frankly, the CS options at Hollywood Studios are just not good. I went ahead and made this ADR, knowing we might need to drop some and thinking that this would be one that I wouldn't miss too much. So basically I knew Dan would want to cut 2 or 3, and I needed to give him 2 or 3 that wouldn't break my heart.

Ohana breakfast. Ches loves Lilo & Stitch and this was the last TS meal we did on our last trip. We went to MK, did rope drop and a few things we loved, went to Ohana for the last possible seating, had an excellent, relaxed brunch, then back over to MK to see Philharmagic... and then we said goodbye to Disney. We want that to become a tradition, so I've booked us the last seating for breakfast. We won't drop this one.

Ches loves her Stitch.

Mythos at Islands of Adventure. Mythos gets such rave reviews that I thought we should give it a try. I know Dan will be all over the fried chicken wrap with mashed potatoes inside. That is the stuff his dreams are made of.

So that's pretty much it. We're only doing one Epcot day and plan to snack our way through the day. All other meals will either be CS or off site. I did hear there's a Cantina Laredo in Orlando (not far from Universal) and that's my favorite place in the world so maybe we'll check it out. Maybe we'll spend an evening at Dave & Buster's. I'm fairly flexible. Seems strange not to have an ADR every day, but it's nice to be able to know we have some good ones and that the rest we can do what we want, when we want.

 

[teffy]

50s Prime Time for Father's Day sounds so much fun.

I'm really enjoying reading your report!

 

[MHTeacher]

Looks as if we have the same dining tastes. We've eaten at each place you listed during past trips, but for this trip we are eating at Sci-Fi and 'Ohana! We do one of the last sittings too!

I'm also going to try to book the Wishes dessert party as a surprise for my family. Hoping it will open up for May bookings soon!

 

[BrerMama]

50s Prime Time for Father's Day sounds so much fun.

I'm really enjoying reading your report!

Welcome, welcome!

Looks as if we have the same dining tastes. We've eaten at each place you listed during past trips, but for this trip we are eating at Sci-Fi and 'Ohana! We do one of the last sittings too!

I'm also going to try to book the Wishes dessert party as a surprise for my family. Hoping it will open up for May bookings soon!

I know! They've got to open up May before June, so they need to get May open and going! Good luck with that reservation!

 

[BrerMama]

Just a quickie because I have a whole project I want to share tomorrow, but I have to share... we bought a new vehicle! This is minimally Disney related because no, we aren't driving to Disney, but it's a pretty exciting life event.

We didn't really intend to buy a vehicle until after our trip, but our trusty 2006 Chevy Uplander was getting old and she just wasn't sure about driving long distances. I really wasn't feeling confident in her ability to take us to my parents, to Branson, to Kansas City to get on the plane for Disney. I had been poking at The Budget Man, telling him we should just buy now, before all those trips. Just get started making payments.

He finally saw the Equinox, and we were sold.

I drove her yesterday to work, but today I'm taking back my Uplander. That Uplander has seen me through some rough transitions, and she's always been my to/from work vehicle. I'm just not ready to let her go, or to learn a whole new vehicle. Besides, I'm sold on the new vehicle. Dan's having buyer's remorse. He needs a chance to fall in love with it.

And, you know, I can't go through the McD's drive through on the way to work with the Equinox. I feel all funky about eating a sausage biscuit in a vehicle with less than 100 miles on it.

So Uplander it is for now. Maybe that will change next school year.

Just wanted to share the big news. Tomorrow I'm going to share some crafty projects I've been doing!

 

[cogero]

Can't wait to see your crafty projects.

I just love your new car. Congrats.

Great dining choices so far.

 

[BrerMama]

Can't wait to see your crafty projects.

I just love your new car. Congrats.

Great dining choices so far.

Welcome to my PTR! Glad to have you here!

 

[BrerMama]

Life's a Crafty Song...

A few months ago, I decided I'd make my own hat to wear at Disney.

I don't wear hats as a rule.... but I wear them every day when we're at Disney. I like having the shade for my light sensitive eyes. I like not having to worry about my hair. I like accessorizing and it's easier to wear a hat than take enough matching headbands.

I usually end up buying a baseball cap on one of our first days at the park. This time, I had a vision.

Except I didn't want to pay for it. I wanted to create it.

I ordered a black engineer's cap off Ebay for less than $10 delivered.

I went through my stash of flower headbands and found one that I haven't worn since we visited Disneyland (although I wear headbands every day during the school year, this one is rather large, and pretty much pukes Disney, so it had been retired). I also found a headband that I like, but had a surplus of yellow rolled flowers. I laid it all out. Got out needle and thread, and then just grabbed my trusty glue gun.

So that was back in September. And then last week I fell back in love with the yellow/gray color combination.

I was browsing etsy, looking at yellow and gray when I fell in love with some rolled flowers. I decided I needed them, without really having a project in mind for them.

One day I was in my room and saw my hat from Sept. looking back at me. It wanted a sibling. So I went with gray, and did this:

Seriously going to be the cutest person at Walt Disney World. Except for probably some 3 year old wearing a princess dress.

I was so thrilled with my project that I started thinking of all kinds of things that needed flowers. Bags. Lanyards.

I have 6 more blooms coming my way. Debating what to flowerify. And knowing that if the dog sleeps too long, he may end up with a bloom on his collar...

 

[momabaarjo]

Our current ADR list includes:

Crystal Palace for breakfast before the park opens. We really enjoyed getting into parks before opening last trip and our favorite was CP. I thought this was probably Dan would want to cancel (he feels our kids are too old for character meals), but I said something about it and he told me not to cancel it yet. That tells me he still likes the idea of getting into the parks early. We have this scheduled for our first morning. Hoping we decide to keep it.

We really enjoyed the early entry to the park too...and the food was not bad either...one of the better meals we had!

Prime Time Cafe for Father's Day. This is Dan's favorite place to eat in the whole world, so why wouldn't we eat there for Father's Day? He loves home cooking.

We had ADR but the family was running on empty the last day and we skipped it.


Tusker House lunch. My teens really pushed for Boma for this one, but I really feel that is too far outside Dan's comfort zone. So Tusker House it is. Not sure how I feel about it being a character meal, but the teens are so excited about it that I now we won't cut this one.

Plaza at MK for dinner. If I can get us the Wishes dessert party, this one will get cut. I really want the dessert party. Kiah really doesn't. I'm going to win this one because I'm the mom. I have yet to actually be able to sit and see fireworks at Disney. We've watched them from behind the castle, from the bridge to Splash Mountain, from everywhere but the hub. And I like dessert. I have my heart set on the desssert party. And Dan the budget man said I could book it. Kiah really likes the menu at the Plaza, but I think we could probably get the same sandwiches, etc. at Panera. So it goes.

I think the dessert party was Goo's favorite meal of the entire trip...he still wants to go back and do it again. I have to admit is was a really good place to watch the fireworks and see tink fly right about you.

Sci Fi Dine In. This is Tater's favorite place and frankly, the CS options at Hollywood Studios are just not good. I went ahead and made this ADR, knowing we might need to drop some and thinking that this would be one that I wouldn't miss too much. So basically I knew Dan would want to cut 2 or 3, and I needed to give him 2 or 3 that wouldn't break my heart.

This was one of our worst meals and service of the entire trip...so disappointed

Ohana breakfast. Ches loves Lilo & Stitch and this was the last TS meal we did on our last trip. We went to MK, did rope drop and a few things we loved, went to Ohana for the last possible seating, had an excellent, relaxed brunch, then back over to MK to see Philharmagic... and then we said goodbye to Disney. We want that to become a tradition, so I've booked us the last seating for breakfast. We won't drop this one.

Did not do breakfasy, but loved dinner here!

Mythos at Islands of Adventure. Mythos gets such rave reviews that I thought we should give it a try. I know Dan will be all over the fried chicken wrap with mashed potatoes inside. That is the stuff his dreams are made of.

The meal was good, you should find lots of selections to please everyone in your group here. It was a little too snobby food for my dh. There is a great salad with blueberries and greens...

So that's pretty much it. We're only doing one Epcot day and plan to snack our way through the day. .

I love eat around the world days!