Double the Anniversaries, Double the Fun! Jan 2013 PTR | TR HAS STARTED! 2/13

[smile4stamps]

WoWo-Hoo on getting your ADR! And for finding out in time you needed to call back to get your CC on file for it!!

[PISCESANGEL]

Yay for getting your Be Our Guest ressie!!

[Fantasyland Mom]

Holy guacamole! I was so nervous for you when I started hearing all the "automated ADRs will be cancelled" and "three hour wait" stories floating around this morning! PHEW! Now I'm going to rest easy. I know you were worried about that.

Is it just me, or is there always some kind of saga tied to ADRs? I mean, not even a spectacular new one! Their online system is down, or there's a glitch in the phone system...maybe it just happens to me, or maybe I live in some sort of black hole where nothing works.

Anyway, CONGRATS! So excited for you! Now get some sleep!

[marDgreen88]

Ahhh that sounds awful! But in the end, so glad everything worked out!

Oh my gosh, I hope it's worth it! Can't wait til people actually go and we can start hearing about it!

[407-W-DISNEY]

Yeah for a BOG ressie! Boo for getting up soooo early
I think you would appreciate that I am using an iPad I just got for work!!!
Takes some getting used to for an android girl like me!!!

[onelilspark]

Yay for reservations! I'm planning on just checking it out for counter service.

It took me 45 minutes to get through the other morning when I was calling for F&W! You'd think they'd figure that stuff out by now...

[danimaroo]

Originally Posted by Fantasyland Mom

Please tell me you're planning on running around singing, "I've got a Golden Ticket!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" You must. It would be a major let-down if you didn't.

I'm thinking you should add a September trip in 2013 because you KNOW what awesome family loves Septembers! And then we could meet and all my dreams would come true. (Does that remind you of the planning video? To make their dreams, their suenos, come true? Anybody?)

Hahaha, oh I am pretty sure this WILL happen. Perhaps as someone below said we may have to make a video of this singing/dancing. Just sayin', don't be surprised if there IS indeed video of me being very excited about my GOLDEN TICKET!

Well, like Matt said, this is the month we are looking to go, IF we decide another trip is possible. I will say the heat/humidity is making me not as enthusiastic, but I think if we just plan on swimming/water parks, I'm more open to it. AND PLUS THEN WE COULD MEET AND IT WOULD BE AMAZING! I mean, come on now! Mi suenos would come true, too.

Originally Posted by GrimGrinningStitch

It's like you can read her mind!

There may have been some talk of looking into a mid-late September trip, depending on price of rooms, and if we can get the vacation time!

I have a feeling next year will be pretty much filled with Disney.

Haha, she IS a mindreader. And I think I like the sounds of a year filled with Disney... DON'T YOU!?

Originally Posted by marDgreen88

BAH. Look at yall, gettin' all FANCY. Can I just say... jealous! That's amazing!!! And yes, there is a certain Willy Wonka song stuck in my head. It's no big deal.

So listen... if you're planning two 2013 trips, might I recommend October?

(Why October, you ask?)

Because there is a 90% chance as of right now that I will be taking an October 2013 trip (it'll be my 25th birthday) and wouldn't it be AWESOME if we could meet? I THINK SO.

Even though I've already read that you're thinking about September... hahaha, but hey, I can try.

OY. I really hope you can manage getting an ADR! That would completely stink if you couldn't. I'll be trying to get one as well, in case my Dec. trip actually happens! GOOD LUCK!!!

Haha, we ARE getting fancy! I am pretty excited, not gonna lie. I mean, it's a once in a lifetime kind of thing for us, soooo yeah. Let's just hope it happens!

Okay, true story, October is the other month I brought up as a possibility to Matt! Granted, he keeps kind of brushing off my discussion of a possible 2nd trip, and understandably so, but it's hard not to talk about it! BUT um heck yeah I'd want to meet/hang out! That would be awesome!!

Well as you already know, we got that ADR! I'm still pretty exhausted from that whole ordeal, pathetic I know... but it messed up my sleep!

Wait, so did you get one, too?! I totally forgot you were thinking about it because of a possible December trip!!

Originally Posted by smile4stamps

Wo-hoo on deciding on the Premium pass!!!

DL has some excellent restaurants! The Monte Cristo at Cafe Orleans (or Blue Bayou for lunch)! Peanut Butter pizza at Goofy's Kitchen!! MMMMM!! And saving money on them all is a great thing!!

I've thought of upgrading my pass and trying to get a few short trips into DL while I still live in CA but its quite a drive to make by myself! However money is an issue and I try and spend all my vacation time with my hubby so we will see what happens after October!

Woohoo indeed! I'm super excited! All of that food sounds amazing! We're planning on eating at Blue Bayou, so there you go! AND we get a discount! YAY!

That would be fun to try to get down to DL, but I totally understand about the whole vacation thing! I would spend all my vaca with Matt if I were in your shoes, too!

Originally Posted by Stringbean&Wingnut

SECONDING THIS.

Yay for your golden ticket!!!! 20% off merchandise??? That's awesome! Hopefully you'll be able to get an ADR for Be our Guest!! I CANNOT wait to hear all about that restaurant!!

HAHAHA I totally am going to run around and sing that when I have it in hand! HECK YES! And yeah 20%! How amazing is that?!

As you saw, we got the ADR! It was intense and exhausting, so hopefully it ends up being worth it! I think it will. I seriously can't wait to eat there!

Originally Posted by __disneygirl

Woooohoooo!!!! A Premier pass!! That is TOO awesome. Congrats!

WOOHOO YES INDEEDIE! I'm super excited! Even moreso once it's in my hands!

Originally Posted by PISCESANGEL

Hello again!

Our dates are January 21- 25 and we are staying at the Art of Animation hotel in the NEW Little Mermaid rooms- I am so excited!

It will just be myself and my 2 kids who are not so little anymore- my DD is 20 and my DS is 13. Everyone always tells me my daughter and I look like sisters though, so we thank genetics for that I guess.

Anywho, I've been getting some great ideas reading your last TR since you also went in January then. This will be my first time to go when it isn't CRAZY BUSY, so we are really pumped.

Hope you are well, we'll talk again soon I'm sure!

Carla

Oh awesome, our dates do indeed overlap! I bet AoA is going to be AMAZING! It sure looks like it!

Can't complain about being told you look like your daughter's sister! Glad to hear my TR has been helpful in the ideas department! January is our FAVORITE time of year to go (if you couldn't tell), so I think you will enjoy it! Tour groups can be a pain, but otherwise it's an amazing time!

Originally Posted by Fantasyland Mom

Let me just go ahead and tell you that the school calendar dictates our week will be September 14-22, 2013. GET PLANNING! Make it happen, Cap'ain.

Hahaha, totally keeping this in mind for when we start looking. YOU TELL HIM TO MAKE IT HAPPEN!

Originally Posted by DnA2010

Woohoo for the premier passes! We must have a video of you guys singing "I've got a Golden Tiiiicket!!" in front of/in the Dland!

OMG, you do know that now I will have to take a video of me singing this and dancing, right? Or well, have Matt do it. LOVE that idea!!

[danimaroo]

Originally Posted by GrimGrinningStitch

I am crazy excited to go, and I think (hope) it'll be worth all the effort! At least we know our friends will love it, since they are huge Beauty and the Beast fans.

I agree that I'm a little sad to not be going to Crystal Palace our first night (mainly since I'm a big fan of traditions), but I think this will be awesome. Plus it's always exciting to see a brand new addition to the park!

Psh, your wifey is pretty awesome, no?! I'm pretty sure I'm the only one in our group crazy enough to keep trying until I got through.

CP is more about tradition, but yeah, we'll be heading there for breakfast so Pooh and the gang won't be left out!

Originally Posted by smile4stamps

WoWo-Hoo on getting your ADR! And for finding out in time you needed to call back to get your CC on file for it!!

YAY! It was ridiculous, especially considering they ended up not requiring people to call back with their credit card numbers. What a headache! But it's okay, because I think all the trouble will be worth it!

Originally Posted by PISCESANGEL

Yay for getting your Be Our Guest ressie!!

We are SO excited!

Originally Posted by Fantasyland Mom

Holy guacamole! I was so nervous for you when I started hearing all the "automated ADRs will be cancelled" and "three hour wait" stories floating around this morning! PHEW! Now I'm going to rest easy. I know you were worried about that.

Is it just me, or is there always some kind of saga tied to ADRs? I mean, not even a spectacular new one! Their online system is down, or there's a glitch in the phone system...maybe it just happens to me, or maybe I live in some sort of black hole where nothing works.

Anyway, CONGRATS! So excited for you! Now get some sleep!

AHH so you know exactly what I was dealing with over here! Hahaha not gonna lie, it was mega stressful. ESPECIALLY when I heard the whole automated ADRs would be canceled part. UGH. But it's okay, we got ours, and I'm glad you are now able to rest easy!

You are so right about sagas and ADRs! Considering we had to call all of ours in because the system was being a poop, I'd say making ADRs this time has been way more of a hassle. BUT we've got all that we wanted, so I'm one happy nugget.

I'm still tired, think I'll be going to bed early tonight for sure!

Originally Posted by marDgreen88

Ahhh that sounds awful! But in the end, so glad everything worked out!

Oh my gosh, I hope it's worth it! Can't wait til people actually go and we can start hearing about it!

It was kind of poopy. But when I heard that twinkle/chime I think I nearly jumped out my window in excitement. Seriously though. Just glad it's over and we have ADRs! I hope it's worth it, too. Some of the food sounds amazing! I think we will be eating there for both lunch and dinner!

Originally Posted by 407-W-DISNEY

Yeah for a BOG ressie! Boo for getting up soooo early
I think you would appreciate that I am using an iPad I just got for work!!!
Takes some getting used to for an android girl like me!!!

Haha that whole thing was kind of a disaster, but it all worked out!

Heck yes, I love my iPad! It's amazing for browsing and playing games. You should download the DISboards app (well, if you can anyway!) if you haven't already! Makes reading SO much better and organized. I love it!

Originally Posted by onelilspark

Yay for reservations! I'm planning on just checking it out for counter service.

It took me 45 minutes to get through the other morning when I was calling for F&W! You'd think they'd figure that stuff out by now...

Yeah, our plan was to check out the CS if we didn't get ADRs... but we'll definitely be trying the CS at least one day. Some of the lunch options sound SO good!

It's tough to get through when things are busy, good lord! I agree though; the whole BOG thing was kind of a disaster. But I've heard they're releasing more slots for people to make online reservations tomorrow. Not too big of a deal for people going in January and February. Seems Nov/Dec. is what was insane!

Side note, I noticed in your ticker that you are going to DL so soon! Are you planning on doing a TR?!

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Oh my goodness that is quite the saga!!! I'm glad you got your ADR though!!!! : cool1:

[danimaroo]

Originally Posted by Stringbean&Wingnut

Oh my goodness that is quite the saga!!! I'm glad you got your ADR though!!!! : cool1:

Haha it really was... So ridiculous! The things we will do for an ADR at a Disney World restaurant.

But you know I'm super excited I got it, hahaha.

[danimaroo]

Aaaaand I'm back, with a mini-update of sorts. Since we last spoke, a few things have happened.

One being that I realized I didn't have to get up at 4am for Be Our Guest reservations because it turns out days later, I could still get a reservation (online now) for the date we wanted.

...

I've been trying not to think about that, hahaha. But it just proves how SLOW January can be... which is why we love it so much.

I also already made another ADR adjustment...

Yep, if you haven't guessed, we canceled Teppan Edo.

I don't know what it is about that place, but I just can get myself to be really excited about eating there! Matt and I discussed where we'd rather eat, and figured that night would be a good night to do an Epcot restaurant since chances are we'd be doing EMH at Epcot. SO, we made a reservation for San Angel Inn!

We loved our lunch there during our last trip, and we figured it can't hurt to have it as our ADR for that day!

Of course, don't be surprised if we change our mind again, but it'll probably be during our actual vacation that we make adjustments, because that's just how we roll.

In Disneyland news, we are now in the double digits at 94 days!! We found out that the Candlelight Processional is going to be 20 nights, instead of the traditional 2 nights. The GOOD NEWS is, the Saturday that we are there is the beginning of the Candlelight Processional and is invite/VIPs only.

Bad for anyone who wanted to try to see it that weekend, good for those of us who don't really have any interest...

Not sure how much it'll affect us though because of our plans for that Saturday evening... which I will get into in a future update, of course!

I also got an amazing dose of Disney this week when a package arrived from my friend Rachel (okw19), who had been down to Disney World a few weeks ago.

I asked her to pick me up an AP Mr. Toad Vinylmation, and keep an eye out for this ooone special mug/tumbler I was looking for.

Rachel went above and beyond, sending me so many amazing goodies!!

GUIDE MAPS! Incluuuuding an Epcot resort map, which I did not know existed... But I totally sat here and looked through them all.



She also sent over an AWESOME Mickey sticker, Transportation Collectible Card, a Fast Pass to my favoritest attraction, Expedition Everest... AND AN AMAZING BEACH CLUB MAGNET!

So perfect, because Matt and I collect magnets, so it only makes sense to have one from our favorite resort. Oh, and the Muppets thing is a super nice card she sent along with the package.



Here is the Mr. Toad AP Vinylmation! AND Monorail ORANGE! I have this guy at home and plan on putting this one on my desk at work!



AND SHE FOUND MY PRECIOUS MUG!!! Is this not the best thing ever?! Monorail spiel, but about my COFFEE!



"Please stand clear of my coffee. Por favor, mantengase alejadro de mi cafe."

AMAHZING, as Penny from Happy Endings (please tell me you guys watch this show; it's the best show ever) would say.

Seriously it made my day and made me want to be back in Disney World STAT!

Outside of that, work's been kind of slow for August, which is nice! I'm definitely enjoying having a little quiet time before things get crazy for Q4 (the final quarter of the year tends to be kind of insane around here because everyone wants to advertise on our site with the holidays coming up, etc.)... I'm also VERY excited about this weekend because we are going to PAX Prime.

PAX Prime is a huuuuuge convention here in Seattle for video game/board game dorks... like Matt and me! This is our third year in a row attending, and we always have a blast.

I'm especially excited for this year because there will be an Epic Mickey 2 booth, and I'm hoping they're giving out some amazing stuff. When they had a display for the original Epic Mickey 2 years ago, they had 2 Disney artists doing custom sketches for free.

We waited awhile in line but it was worth it; Matt got Oswald and I got Mickey (you've probably seen pictures of these drawings, as we have them framed and hanging up on our landing).

I'm hoping this year they have Oswald ears, as I've heard about those being done at something called E3.

SO YEAH! We are very excited and I promise to post lots of photos of our adventures this upcoming weekend. I promise I'll also update you guys on more park plans for our Disneyland trip, too!

[danimaroo]

I knew I forgot to say something in my update!

I don't know if any of you guys are on twitter, but I am, soooo if you'd like to follow me, my name is snoogibear.

Totally random name, I know, and I'll probably change it at some point (it's from a cute bear hat I own, hahaha), but yeah! I'd love to talk to some of you guys outside of the DISboards, so if you do decide to follow me, let me know on twitter so I can follow you back!

[beachphotog]

Originally Posted by danimaroo

I knew I forgot to say something in my update!

I don't know if any of you guys are on twitter, but I am, soooo if you'd like to follow me, my name is snoogibear.

Totally random name, I know, and I'll probably change it at some point (it's from a cute bear hat I own, hahaha), but yeah! I'd love to talk to some of you guys outside of the DISboards, so if you do decide to follow me, let me know on twitter so I can follow you back!

I found your TR somewhere, I forget where exactly... but I love following along on this PTR!

I followed you on twitter, same name as my disname. Glad to "meet" you!

[sunnysideup3]

Hello, I'm @quirkyinwi from Twitter, if you didn't know....

Anyway, unfortunately I was in the needed to get up at 4am crew. But we got BOG. Makes me worried the opening is during our stay, but what can you do.

That's an awesome care package! I always wanted park brochures that aren't the holiday ones.

Glad we're on same countdown schedule. We'll have to tweet from the parks at each other.

[PISCESANGEL]

I just wanted to stop in and say that stuff is AMAZING!!! What an awesome friend you have.

And now I have my mission, I need to find that mug- I love it!

Sidenote: We ALSO cancelled our Teppan Edo ressie... for the same reason you mentioned. I just couldn't get excited about it. We have been there, and it was wonderful, but for some reason I'm just not feeling it this time...