(update 08/06) This One's for You, Mom -- Sep 2015 PTR

[solana131]

Oh, I am so excited to be staying at the Grand. I hope it's not too "upper class" for me. I know Mom is goning to love it!!! Is the courtyard pool the one closest to the villas? That's the one I'm hoping to use most often. Yep, I'm very fortunate this is coming together like it is.

I didn't think it felt "upper class" at all. It was very comfortable. I was surprised how not wonderful the service was. I thought that was the one thing that set the Grand apart was their "white glove" CM service. We did not experience that at all. Nothing horrific or anything, but there were several times we felt overlooked or that they could have helped us out and didn't. The service at the Poly is hands above GF. But it is a gorgeous resort and perfect for you guys this trip!

No, the courtyard pool is over closer to the middle of the resort. The one next to the Villas is the beach pool. It is the one with the water slide and it is smaller than the courtyard one. So it is busier and louder. But keep in mind, we went in the summer, with crowd calendar days of 8 and 9. You will be fine.

After dinner I’m sure we’ll want to look around the resort and perhaps catch the Water Parade and Wishes on the beach. At least I will…..I’m not sure about the rest of the crew…..I’ll be so excited to watch them!!! OMG!!!
And that will wrap up day one!!!

Wishes is hard to see from the beach. The beach at the Grand is facing the Poly, not the MK. The best place is over at the beginning of the docks because you can hear the music from Narcoossee's. There are benches at the end of the dock, but you can't hear the music. Another great place is over in front of Gasparilla's Grill. There are tables out there by the marina and the beautiful buildings frame the castle just perfectly.

A little tip.....if you find the building Boca Chica (behind the courtyard pool), go through the main doors and across the little lobby. out the back door is a little patio that is right next to the lagoon. The Water Parade sits right in front of you there and there are not many people, probably none.

 

[Victoriasmom98]

Day Two…..



This will be our EPCOT day with Mom!! Breakfast will probably just be in the room with the bagels and pb and possibly a chocolate croissant that I may pick up sometime the day before. Darn, I love those!!! They actually have them at Dunkin Donuts now and I did get one, but they’re not the same. I think I need to be in Disney to truly enjoy them! I’m not sure what time everyone will be up, but I’m hoping we’ll be on our way by 8:30am so we can get to EPCOT by 9am. I’m pretty sure the only way you can get to EPCOT is by the monorail and switching trains at the Transportation Center. I’ll have to read up on that to see if that’s true. That’s what I intend on us doing anyways and aren’t I the boss? Yeah, I thought so. I think it’s going to be so cool to rely on the monorail for most of our days. I may come to regret that statement, but I am looking forward to it!



I think we’ll do our fastpasses for afternoon and just do standby in the am. Mom keeps saying that we are not to wait for her, but I know she loves Spaceship Earth so we’ll want to get in line for that one pretty early. I can’t remember if she’s ever ridden Soarin. I just texted Victoria to ask her as she’s with Memere right now for an early dinner. There’s not a lot I fastpass in EPCOT. I wish I could do both Test Track and Soarin, but nope. Well, unless they’ve changed that. I’m thinking we will get everything done prior to noon and then we’ll hit World Showcase. I’ll have to figure out what time we should have our Chefs de France ADR. I was thinking around 5pm so that we could do a counter service in Future World for lunch. Oh yeah, you guessed it ----- at Seasons!!!!! Love it there! I’ll also need to make sure I pick up more Mickey’s Mini Gardens. My Redwood didn’t survive from September 2014. Sad. Sometimes they have a pin trading board up as well, so maybe I’ll be lucky and hit it at the right time! This is the day that I’m making Mom wear her matching Mickey tie-dye shirt!! I’m also making sure we hit every single photopass photographer we see. Heck, I’ll even go looking for them! We’ll definitely hit up the special Visa cardholder meet & greet that is somewhere in Innoventions…..I think it’s in the West? Again, another thing I’ll have to look up! Speaking of that tee, I should start working on that!! I’ve been too busy with life and of course, scrapbooking the September 2014 trip. I am almost done that one, though.
After lunch I want to have the fastpasses for Soarin, Spaceship Earth and probably Mission Space, although we won’t need that one based on past history. Afterwards it’s World Showcase time!!! There’s always a big discussion as to where to start ---- Canada or Mexico. Does anyone have a specific way and why? I’m thinking it will all depend on how late we finish our fp’s. I want to end up in France for 5pm and I think starting in Canada will make us way early for that. Ok typing it out like this makes me think Mexico is where to go first.



And Mom will enjoy the boat ride! And trying on hats! We’ve done that every time we’ve ever travelled to Disney together! I had forgotten about that until I just typed it here. See, I need you guys to help me remember stuff!!!! I really, really, really want to see the terra cotta guards in China! All the times I’ve been to EPCOT and I have yet to see them. Unbelievable! I want to pick up a little bonsai tree, too. Maybe we’ll get to see Mulan in Japan. I’ve never had my picture taken with her and I want to. I’m sure Norway will probably be a bit crowded due to the construction. We’ll see. I think I’ve seen every nook and cranny in there, I think. I do want to pick up some beads made from recycled park maps that I was told were at the Outpost. What a cool idea that is! I hope they still carry them when I go. Of course in Japan I will want to get a pearl or two at the Pick a Pearl place. I know I’m probably not doing the countries in order while writing about them --- I’d have to look at a map for that. That should take us into France and dinner. Oh, I hope Mom will like this just as much as we did. I’m am so looking forward to this experience with her!



After dinner I’m not sure if Mom will continue with us or not. She may be tired by then and will want to go back to the resort. We will continue by hitting up England (and hopefully seeing the street performers there) and look over Doctor Who merchandise in the shop. Then it’s off to Canada. Afterwards, I’m not sure what we’ll do. I know I want to see Illuminations this year! We’ll have to wait and see if everyone else is on board.

 

[Victoriasmom98]

Wow, that is one small car! I think TIW is a good decision ... I hope you guys stick with it! 1900 Park Fare should be a great first ADR, and then anyone who wants can go back to the room while you get to watch awesome Disney magic! I really want to see the Water Parade ... we've tried the past 2 trips and it just hasn't worked out in terms of timing. But I think Wishes & Water Parade from the beach will be an awesome way to end arrival day!

Thanks Sarah.....I'm pretty satisfied with how Day 1 is planned out. I just hope everyone wants to join me to watch the magic!

First day looks good! I like the dining plan because you don't have to worry about money or carry a bunch of it around but it sounds like the TIW card would work better for you this trip!

Hi Karen! Thanks for saying it looks good. Oh, please don't remind me of the benefits of DDP. I know, I know. I don't want to change my mind!!

I didn't think it felt "upper class" at all. It was very comfortable. I was surprised how not wonderful the service was. I thought that was the one thing that set the Grand apart was their "white glove" CM service. We did not experience that at all. Nothing horrific or anything, but there were several times we felt overlooked or that they could have helped us out and didn't. The service at the Poly is hands above GF. But it is a gorgeous resort and perfect for you guys this trip!
No, the courtyard pool is over closer to the middle of the resort. The one next to the Villas is the beach pool. It is the one with the water slide and it is smaller than the courtyard one. So it is busier and louder. But keep in mind, we went in the summer, with crowd calendar days of 8 and 9. You will be fine.
Wishes is hard to see from the beach. The beach at the Grand is facing the Poly, not the MK. The best place is over at the beginning of the docks because you can hear the music from Narcoossee's. There are benches at the end of the dock, but you can't hear the music. Another great place is over in front of Gasparilla's Grill. There are tables out there by the marina and the beautiful buildings frame the castle just perfectly. A little tip.....if you find the building Boca Chica (behind the courtyard pool), go through the main doors and across the little lobby. out the back door is a little patio that is right next to the lagoon. The Water Parade sits right in front of you there and there are not many people, probably none.

Ooooooh Suzi, I love your little tip!! I'm going to copy it and make sure I take it with me for both the Water Parade and Wishes. Any other tips you have I would definitely welcome!! I'm glad you found it comfortable, but I'm kind of surprised with the lack of excellent service. Hmmmm. I'm sure I'll get to experience the Poly someday. Victoria wants to stay there sooooo badly!! I think maybe for her grad trip next year. We'll see......

 

[solana131]

Okay, for example....when we checked in our room wasn't ready. Okay, no problem....we dropped our bags and headed to MK. About an hour later I get a call from the front desk. They said a room in our requested building wouldn't be ready for quite some time, but if we would switch to another building, Mousekeeping was just finishing up and we could get in soon. So we hopped back to the resort and it wasn't quite ready "but shouldn't be long", they would text me. Well we were hot and tired from traveling and had an ADR for dinner that we wanted to change for, so we just all sat down in the lobby....right in front of her.
And sat.....and sat.....and even waved at her a couple times. She knew we were there and we were waiting for the room she had told us would be ready momentarily. 2 hours later we had to leave for our ADR in Epcot. All sweaty in our travel clothes. She saw us get up and walk over to bag services to hold our carryon. When we got back from dinner around 7pm she was still at the desk. I asked her, once again, if our room was ready and she said, "oh yes, it was ready soon after I spoke with you."
Ummm.....okay, well I never got a text and you saw us sitting there waiting like idiots for hours! Yeah, it was that sort of thing. Was it really her job to think about checking again after seeing us sitting there? Not really, but it is the kind of thing you would expect a "white glove" CM to do.

There were a few of these little things throughout the vacation. Nothing horrible, but just little things that they COULD have done to make our stay better. But it is still an amazing place and we had lots of exeriences that were wonderful. In an effort not to be negative.......we had lunch one day at the Grand Floridian Cafe (highly recommend). I wanted a window seat and as we were being led to our table, I saw an awesome one and also saw where she was leading us....in the very back of the room. I asked if we could possibly sit at this lovely big window-side table. She was awesome. I think she was a first time college program girl, she said "ummm, I think so, let me just check with the other girls, this section isn't open right now". And she came back with a big smile and sat us at the winderful table. It was one of those "above and beyond" experiences you expect. She made up for the annoying checkin experience

And the monorail.......We had to take the bus to Epcot because that line was not open early enough for regular opening. It started running at 9 if Epcot was open at 9. So you wouldn't be there for rope drop. Weird....But just check before you go. They changed the hours the week before we left. Most of the time the MK monorail wasn't even running. We took the boat. Oooh, another tip....Monorail over, boat back. Much faster. On the way to MK, the boat goes to Poly first, so it takes a while. And on the way back, the monorail stops everywhere all the way around first, so that takes a while. So remember: monorail over, boat back to MK.

 

[Victoriasmom98]

Day Three
This day will be a Magic Kingdom Day, although it will also be Labor Day, so I’m not sure if it’s really a great idea to do MK.



Both Easy WDW and Kenny the Pirate gave this a green day for MK. I think unless something drastic happens I will keep this day as planned! If it gets too bad, we can always HOP!!! Hee Hee! The day will start out with breakfast at O’Hana so that Mom can join us.



I like to get ressies around 8am so that we can be close to opening time at the park. We may walk over from GF as it will probably be a short walk. Suzi, would you be able to confirm this for me? I know we’d get there faster to walk than to do an entire loop on the monorail. Oh heck, I could just look at a map myself couldn’t I????

Here’s the map:
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]
It doesn’t look too bad, right? I suppose we could figure it out when we get there.

We’ll do the normal routine of waiting standby in the morning and then fast pass after lunch. I know I do not want to FP 7DMT. Nope. Didn’t think much of it last time we did it and I wouldn’t want to waste a fast pass on it. We always hit the park from left to right starting with Tomorrowland. More than likely we will go to everyone’s favorite --- the People Mover!! Yeah, we are pretty much regulars on that attraction. The only thing we skip in TL is the Astro Orbiter. Yep, I’m just too plain fat to be comfortable in those. Did it, didn’t like it! I’d like to get a FP for Anna & Elsa even though we met them last time. I may not be able to on this day or even on our second MK day. http://s933.photobucket.com/user/victoriasmom98/media/Grand Floridian 2015/gf to poly.png.html

[URL=http://s933.photobucket.com/user/victoriasmom98/media/Sep%202014%20Disney/wd025wdw2014259120727775_7052090021_18.jpeg.html]

We’ll have to see when the 60 day mark comes up. My other fp’s will probably be Big Thunder and Splash. Who knows – I may not even need fp for them. I’d like to think we could get TL done and most of Fantasyland done. I’d like to eat lunch at either Pinocchio’s or Columbia Harbor House. The Haunted Mansion will have to be in there somewhere too and the new shop right outside the gate!!!! I’m sure I’ll be spending money in there. I love HM!!! I cannot wait to see it!! So, it looks like I’ll be setting fp’s for Frontierland for late in the day. No biggie. One biggie sad thing ------ Pirates of the Carribean is expected to be closed for referb all summer and through September. Very, very sad. I have no idea what time my family will want to go home. The decision may be determined for us as the park is expected to close at 7pm. Disney has released the MNSSHP dates and the first week of Sep was not scheduled to have a party so the reason why the early closing is not known. They may change it to a party or extend the hours ---- who knows. If Peter or Victoria want to go back to the resort they can. I’m going to stay as long as I can. Again, Wishes is not scheduled, so the ending to this day is up in the air for now! [/url]

 

[Victoriasmom98]

Okay, for example....when we checked in our room wasn't ready. Okay, no problem....we dropped our bags and headed to MK. About an hour later I get a call from the front desk. They said a room in our requested building wouldn't be ready for quite some time, but if we would switch to another building, Mousekeeping was just finishing up and we could get in soon. So we hopped back to the resort and it wasn't quite ready "but shouldn't be long", they would text me. Well we were hot and tired from traveling and had an ADR for dinner that we wanted to change for, so we just all sat down in the lobby....right in front of her.
And sat.....and sat.....and even waved at her a couple times. She knew we were there and we were waiting for the room she had told us would be ready momentarily. 2 hours later we had to leave for our ADR in Epcot. All sweaty in our travel clothes. She saw us get up and walk over to bag services to hold our carryon. When we got back from dinner around 7pm she was still at the desk. I asked her, once again, if our room was ready and she said, "oh yes, it was ready soon after I spoke with you."
Ummm.....okay, well I never got a text and you saw us sitting there waiting like idiots for hours! Yeah, it was that sort of thing. Was it really her job to think about checking again after seeing us sitting there? Not really, but it is the kind of thing you would expect a "white glove" CM to do.

There were a few of these little things throughout the vacation. Nothing horrible, but just little things that they COULD have done to make our stay better. But it is still an amazing place and we had lots of exeriences that were wonderful. In an effort not to be negative.......we had lunch one day at the Grand Floridian Cafe (highly recommend). I wanted a window seat and as we were being led to our table, I saw an awesome one and also saw where she was leading us....in the very back of the room. I asked if we could possibly sit at this lovely big window-side table. She was awesome. I think she was a first time college program girl, she said "ummm, I think so, let me just check with the other girls, this section isn't open right now". And she came back with a big smile and sat us at the winderful table. It was one of those "above and beyond" experiences you expect. She made up for the annoying checkin experience

And the monorail.......We had to take the bus to Epcot because that line was not open early enough for regular opening. It started running at 9 if Epcot was open at 9. So you wouldn't be there for rope drop. Weird....But just check before you go. They changed the hours the week before we left. Most of the time the MK monorail wasn't even running. We took the boat. Oooh, another tip....Monorail over, boat back. Much faster. On the way to MK, the boat goes to Poly first, so it takes a while. And on the way back, the monorail stops everywhere all the way around first, so that takes a while. So remember: monorail over, boat back to MK.

Ooooooh yay!! More hints from Suzi!!!! I sure am thankful you are reading my PTR!!! Wow, you are right about your check-in experience. That did suck! She sees you sitting right there and yet can't let you know? Really? That doesn't make any sense! I like the experience you had at the Cafe, though! Yeah, I'm hoping that there will be no repairs needed to the monorail, but I will check the operating times to make sure. I wonder if that's the normal time the Epcot line starts running. I can't imagine that it is. I will definitely write the boat tip down!! Monorail over, boat back!

 

[solana131]

Oh yes, you can easily walk. The villas are on the Poly side of the property. It is a very pretty walk past the wedding pavillion and beaches. It would almost take you as much time to walk over to the boat docks....so definitely, if it is nice out, walk over!

The monorails used to run an hour before opening (either regular or EMHs), but that changed this past summer and I haven't seen where they started that early again. Kinda makes you annoyed that you spend so much money for the "benefit" of the monorail when they don't have them running at park opening. Makes more sense to close them down midday instead...but they didn't ask me

 

[SarahDisney]

Yay! MK day! I think that if the crowd calendars say MK will be okay, you should be fine ... they usually know what they're talking about with these kinds of things.
Walk from Grand Floridian to Poly should be fairly easy ... definitely faster than a full loop on the monorail.

We also do left to right starting from Tomorrowland! IMO, that's the best way to do it. I really love starting in Tomorrowland (we always start with Buzz Lightyear).
I totally understand skipping Astro Orbiter ... those rockets are not friendly for all sizes. You're not really missing much anyway. PeopleMover gives you a better view of Tomorrwoland anyway ... (I like that it goes inside the rides).

Anna and Elsa are great, so I totally agree with meeting them again! Big Thunder and Splash are also excellent ideas ... but FP might not be necessary, depending on the crowds. Also, if you get something else, you may be able to get one of those as a 4th FP+ after you use your first 3.

I hate when the park closes early ... hopefully they'll extend the hours a little and you can have more fun!

 

[Victoriasmom98]

Day Four
Animal Kingdom/Hollywood Studios Day ---
Now realizing we can park hop, we are going to start our day with breakfast at Tusker House in Animal Kingdom. Mom will be totally on her own this day, but I think Victoria won’t spend much time at either park I have planned, so she’ll probably be back at the resort relatively early and hang out with Mom. Victoria will have to come back to the park for our dinner ressies at Sci-Fi Diner, though. As I’ve said before, Tusker House is Victoria’s favorite breakfast meal and I’m glad to be able to book it for her. I’m not sure if she’s going to stay for the other things I want to do in AK (ie Kilimanjaro Safari, Dinosaur, and Expedition Everest so I’m thinking she’ll just head over to Hollywood Studios and we’ll meet up with her there. We should be able to walk right on to the safari and I’ll ride EE through the single rider line and then Peter and I can head over to Dinosaur and head out after that. I’m sad that it won’t be a full day at AK. I do love that park, but I seem to be the only one.




It’s then onto Hollywood Studios. I’m hoping it will still have the magic for me but I’m kind of concerned with the closures. I missed American Idol last time and now the Backlot Studio Tour is gone. So far Indy is still there, but who knows for how long. The biggies we must hit here are Rock n Rollercoaster and Tower of Terror. I’ll be fastpassing those as well as the Great Movie Ride. And, like I said, dinner will be at Sci-Fi diner around 5pm.



I’m really not sure how long we will be staying in the park. We don’t usually stay for Fantasmic so I’m pretty sure we won’t be staying too late.


I’m briefly going to interrupt my daily plans by letting you all know that today (the day I’m writing this on March 9th) is my ADR day! (yeah, Peter’s like, “what’s that?”……oh grasshopper, you have much to learn!!) I was on the computer at 7:30 this morning and got everything we wanted at times that we wanted. I even was able to get the Be Our Guest lunch ressie for September 9th at 12:45pm. Victoria doesn’t like it here. I don’t know why, but I love it. Absolutely love it, so I booked it. There is something she will like!! We can always cancel it if need be, but I wanted to make sure we had it!


Day Five
Another Magic Kingdom Day!!




Starting this day with breakfast at 1900 Park Fare. Different food, different characters and Mom won’t have to go too far!



After breakfast it’s back to MK for us. This day will be dedicated to whatever we didn’t get done the first MK day. Not sure which way we’ll end up going but I was sad to learn that Pirates was going to be closed until the end Of September for refurb. That totally sucks, but oh well. Nothing we can do about it! I haven’t decided on fastpasses for today. I’m thinking obviously Splash, BTMM, and probably Space Mtn. We all know that I’ll HAVE to ride Haunted Mansion --- this day is totally up in the air! I’ve already mentioned that I got a BOG lunch ressie for this day as well.



Day Six
EPCOT day!!




We will be starting this day by having breakfast in the room with Mom or even going to Gasparilla Island Grill for breakfast. It will all depend on what everyone wants to do. This will be our last full day at the parks and I want to make it a good one!!!

We have ressies at Garden Grill for dinner at 5:15pm. Of course we’ll make sure to ride Soarin and Spaceship Earth. I’m really glad I have some time to figure out fastpasses before I have to make them.


Departure Day…….
Sad Day!!
Fortunately our flight doesn’t leave MCO until 6:45pm so that means the UnMagical Express will be picking us up around 3:45pm, so we’ll have the whole day to just chill. We have Chef Mickey scheduled for breakfast at 8:55am so we can sleep in a bit. I think we’ll hit Downtown Disney for a while and hopefully eat at Cooke’s! Peter and I loved it here last year! I hate to think of this day because it’s always so sad, but I’ve just got to remember that our next trip will be in June 2016, so I won’t have to wait one whole year for that one!!!!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Your plans look great! Got a bit of a PANG of sadness reading them as I don't have a trip to plan for SO LONG and then maybe not even with my family? I might have to find a way to remedy this, I'm not sure I can have YEARS between trips. Sigh.

 

[SarahDisney]

You should let Peter go to Hollywood Studios with Victoria and spend the day at Animal Kingdom by yourself! I think AK (like HS) is one of those parks that is polarizing - either you love it and can spend a whole day there, or you really can't spend much time there.

I still love Hollywood Studios ... but I really hope they start adding more stuff! Hopefully by September they will have at least announced that they're adding something new (other than the additional Toy Story track, which isn't anything new).

I'm so glad you got all the ADRs you wanted. How does Victoria not like Be Our Guest? It's my favorite! I'm glad that you guys will get to do it again, even if Victoria won't enjoy it.
Pirates refurb is pretty sad (even though I'm not a huge POTC fan, it's a classic and I can't imagine a trip without it), but I think I read somewhere that it's a safety concern, and safety is most important!
The mountains are excellent choices for FP+, and you can probably get a day-of FP+ for Haunted Mansion so that you can do it with minimal wait!

I know you guys are big Epcot fans, so it's great that your last park day will be Epcot!

Plans look great and it sounds like it's going to be a great trip!

 

[solana131]

Sounds great, you've got some really good restaurants this time!!

 

[Victoriasmom98]

Oh yes, you can easily walk. The villas are on the Poly side of the property. It is a very pretty walk past the wedding pavillion and beaches. It would almost take you as much time to walk over to the boat docks....so definitely, if it is nice out, walk over! The monorails used to run an hour before opening (either regular or EMHs), but that changed this past summer and I haven't seen where they started that early again. Kinda makes you annoyed that you spend so much money for the "benefit" of the monorail when they don't have them running at park opening. Makes more sense to close them down midday instead...but they didn't ask me

Thanks Suzi!! According to the map it didn't look too far. I just read that the monorail was supposed to operate 1 hour before and after park hours, so we'll see what it really is when we are there. I cannot wait!!! Thanks again for all of your help and tips!!

Yay! MK day! I think that if the crowd calendars say MK will be okay, you should be fine ... they usually know what they're talking about with these kinds of things.
Walk from Grand Floridian to Poly should be fairly easy ... definitely faster than a full loop on the monorail. We also do left to right starting from Tomorrowland! IMO, that's the best way to do it. I really love starting in Tomorrowland (we always start with Buzz Lightyear). I totally understand skipping Astro Orbiter ... those rockets are not friendly for all sizes. You're not really missing much anyway. PeopleMover gives you a better view of Tomorrwoland anyway ... (I like that it goes inside the rides).
Anna and Elsa are great, so I totally agree with meeting them again! Big Thunder and Splash are also excellent ideas ... but FP might not be necessary, depending on the crowds. Also, if you get something else, you may be able to get one of those as a 4th FP+ after you use your first 3. I hate when the park closes early ... hopefully they'll extend the hours a little and you can have more fun!

So now that my ADR's and done and my days planned out, I'm going to keep it as is. I was seriously thinking about the MNSSHP, but I think we'll have our fill with what I have planned. We've never been open to close people anyways.

Your plans look great! Got a bit of a PANG of sadness reading them as I don't have a trip to plan for SO LONG and then maybe not even with my family? I might have to find a way to remedy this, I'm not sure I can have YEARS between trips. Sigh.

Oh, don't be sad! I'm sure it won't be until 2016!!! I'm sure something will come up between now and then. Didn't the cupcakes want to do another race soon??? And Savannah's sweet sixteen is coming up........there is ALWAYS another trip to plan!!!

You should let Peter go to Hollywood Studios with Victoria and spend the day at Animal Kingdom by yourself! I think AK (like HS) is one of those parks that is polarizing - either you love it and can spend a whole day there, or you really can't spend much time there. I still love Hollywood Studios ... but I really hope they start adding more stuff! Hopefully by September they will have at least announced that they're adding something new (other than the additional Toy Story track, which isn't anything new). I'm so glad you got all the ADRs you wanted. How does Victoria not like Be Our Guest? It's my favorite! I'm glad that you guys will get to do it again, even if Victoria won't enjoy it.
Pirates refurb is pretty sad (even though I'm not a huge POTC fan, it's a classic and I can't imagine a trip without it), but I think I read somewhere that it's a safety concern, and safety is most important! The mountains are excellent choices for FP+, and you can probably get a day-of FP+ for Haunted Mansion so that you can do it with minimal wait! I know you guys are big Epcot fans, so it's great that your last park day will be Epcot! Plans look great and it sounds like it's going to be a great trip!

Yep, I'm pretty happy with how my plans are. I didn't think there would be an issue with any of the ADR's I wanted but it's always good to have a confirmation number in hand. I don't want to spend the whole day at AK, so I like the little half and half I'm planning. Victoria is an extremely picky eater! I believe last time she ordered off the kid's menu at BOG just so there was something she'd like. Oh, I understand completely why they need a long refurb at POTC, but I'm just being sad for me. We never miss this one. Yes, we do love EPCOT and I think that's a perfect ending!

Sounds great, you've got some really good restaurants this time!!

Yep.....we don't really venture too much out of our comfort zone as far as eating and we're doing a lot of breakfasts so that Mom can eat with us. We normally wouldn't do so many. I'm happy.

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

Ann, I'm so glad you got annual passes! I think you will love the freedom of park hopping It's fantastic that all of your reservation plans worked out and that you have your flights booked already, too! Your ADRs look great! So you are looking at TiW, too, huh? I think your calculations make sense. You saw my spreadsheets on my PTR, so you know I'm struggling with the decision, too! But seeing your breakdown of expenses makes me think that I'm going to benefit from TiW, as well Your daily plans look like so much fun! I think your mom will have an amazing trip thanks to all of your planning!

 

[Victoriasmom98]

Hi Erin! I'm so bored right now with nothing to plan! I would be making up tip envelopes, but no need with TiW or Mousekeeping. Oh, I'll make up one for Mousekeeping because from what I've read, they'll be coming in on day 4 for towels and trash. I just can't believe there's nothing left to do other than 60 days out and that's not until July!! Guess I'll be in the real world for a while. It's ok because we have 7 eggs in the incubator that should be hatching next weekend. I'm thinking of getting another bunny too since we lost my little Alana over this past winter. I can't believe it's Spring now and we still have freaking snow on the ground. I'm so ready for Spring to actually be here. Both Peter and I started seeds and just can't wait until we can plant outside but that won't be until the end of May. I planted pumpkin seeds already and have 3 flowers on the darn things. I just wanted to see something grow.

Peter is dealing with ulcers in his esophogus (I can't spell) right now. He had another endoscopy done yesterday and there's about 5 tiny ulcers in there. The med he's taking is supposed to heal them up so we'll go back in another 3 months and see. It makes him choke on this food and it's pretty scary to witness. As for me I'm am still overweight and still a diabetic. I had an appointment yesterday and they are going to try a new med on me. My biggest problem is my lack of motivation for exercise. What is my problem?? Don't I realize this is for my own good??! I need to start walking. Ugh!!!!

Well, that's all for me today. Like I said. There's nothing much to talk about right now. Oh, Victoria and I are headed down to Boston again for another concert. It's Halsey and I've never heard of her before. But it wil give me a nice night's stay in a hotel with a pool ad hot tub. Love!!!

 

[ursalita]

Hi Anne! I enjoyed reading through all of your plans today. They sound great!

Hearing you talk about Spring coming and all the things that go with that like planting and chicks makes me believe that Spring is actually here. That's not easy since it snowed today.

 

[Victoriasmom98]

Hi Anne! I enjoyed reading through all of your plans today. They sound great!

Hearing you talk about Spring coming and all the things that go with that like planting and chicks makes me believe that Spring is actually here. That's not easy since it snowed today.

Yeah, it snowed here, too last night. About 3 inches. Ugh!!! And the wind is just howling right now. It's just plain gross!!!

 

[-Hope-]

How did I miss that you've had this PTR going on? I thought I'd checked your signature for a link and didn't see one.

Anyway, I'm here now! I love that you're doing this for your mom and the story you shared of your parents is very sweet.

I'm kind of glad I was behind because I was on pins and needles reading to see if you got the room at GF and would have hated to have to wait to find out. So glad it worked out for you!

Your first day plans and flights look great as well. You're off to a magical start!

 

[Victoriasmom98]

How did I miss that you've had this PTR going on? I thought I'd checked your signature for a link and didn't see one.

Anyway, I'm here now! I love that you're doing this for your mom and the story you shared of your parents is very sweet.

I'm kind of glad I was behind because I was on pins and needles reading to see if you got the room at GF and would have hated to have to wait to find out. So glad it worked out for you!

Your first day plans and flights look great as well. You're off to a magical start!

Hi Hope!!! I was hoping that you would come and read along! I don't know how you missed my link, but you are here now and that's all that matters. Oh, I was so stressed out not knowing if I were going to get the GF! As you read, there was no other choice but GF for this trip as I think it will be the last one with my Mom. I hope not, but she's not in the greatest health, so I'm really thankful that she can come this time. It's so cute listening to her talk about it. She's started packing little things like a sunhat and sunblock. If you think I'm pale, just look at Mom! She has agreed to a tie dye Mickey shirt but she refuses to wear Mickey Ears. Party Pooper!! And I have strict instructions to NOT to post any pics to Facebook. Yeah, Ok Mom! I don't know how those pictures got on there...hee hee!!

So, since there's nothing to do now until July, I'll be living in the real world. Doesn't that stink sometimes, huh? But we have a summer's worth of plans and Victoria has a couple of concerts coming up (Ed Sheeran, Halsey, 5SOS, Fall out Boy and Meghan Trainor). Halsey is in Boston on the 3rd of April so another hotel stay for me. I love hotels and Peter will be staying home tending to the new chicks that will be hatching next weekend. Girlie time!! We'll be riding down on the Concords bus. It should be fun!!!

 

[-Hope-]

Busy, busy with the concerts! And here I've been complaining about the 2 I'm taking Kya to... of course their on the same weekend so that's the major source of my complaining.

I'm back to the real world too I guess...