A Tale of Two Castles: A Summer PTR! (Update 7/16)

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Food For Thought

Okay, invisible denizens who may skim may PTR, I have a question for you:

What foods would you pack with you?

I mean for both the road trip and the plane. See, I've never been on a plane that didn't serve you food before, but I know our US Airways flight - even the longer flight from Boston to Phoenix - isn't going to feed us unless we pay major dough. Also, can I just say how weird it is to say I'm taking a flight from Boston to Phoenix? The only trip I remember going west was when I made a pit-stop in Toronto from Heathrow on the way home for Easter break during grad school. How weird is that?

Anyway, food. I know it seems crazy to be thinking about food for trips in July and August on the 14th of May, but if I think about this critically (and believe me, I am) I really only have June to worry about it, and when I say "June", I mean June 24 until July 17. The time between summer vacation starting for me and leaving for South Carolina. So basically I have a grand total of two and a half weeks to buy food for two trips.

The biggest problem with the South Carolina trip is that there'll be at least four of us in the car (my assumption is that since I have Jey in the car with me I'll be picking up Avery and Jacqui in CT but either way there's eight of us going to SC so that means 4 per car no matter what) and I'm taking my car, a 2012 Civic, which is, believe me, a lot bigger than my VW Bug that we took to Florida a few years ago but we only had two of us in the car then. So I know a small cooler of waters needs to happen somehow as well as a few snacks because past Maryland there are not a lot of places to stop for food that allow us to easily get back onto the highway.

So I'm trying to get a list going - please share what types of snacks you usually bring on long trips to help me get some ideas!

 

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Huzzah!

So I know I'm basically writing this for myself right now but after having a truly horrible week these babies came in:

I actually got a text of the envelope from my dad with "MICKEY MAIL!" in giant letters because he knew how bad the week had been for me. Made me smile

 

[xlsm]

I saw your luggage tags and had a major panic attack moment because I couldn't remember if we'd added our flight info for Magical Express. My husband is on the phone with them now, LOL!!!

Hmmm...road snacks...I'd keep it pretty simple, things like peanut butter crackers, trail mix, granola bars, yogurt covered raisins, fresh fruit. In addition to the cooler of water, maybe throw in some fruit juice to mix things up. Protein and vitamin C will hopefully keep everyone pleasant during a car trip!

 

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I saw your luggage tags and had a major panic attack moment because I couldn't remember if we'd added our flight info for Magical Express. My husband is on the phone with them now, LOL!!!

Hmmm...road snacks...I'd keep it pretty simple, things like peanut butter crackers, trail mix, granola bars, yogurt covered raisins, fresh fruit. In addition to the cooler of water, maybe throw in some fruit juice to mix things up. Protein and vitamin C will hopefully keep everyone pleasant during a car trip!

Hope you got it all figured out!

Hmm...those are good ideas for snacks, thanks!

 

[KathyM2]

Yay!!! Luggage tags!! Wahooo!

 

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It's Coming Together!

I pay off WDW tomorrow!

I also made our FP. I actually wasn't going to, originally, just go with the flow, but I decided to at least have some and if we use them we use them, if we don't we don't and whatever. I'm not that worried. Here's the breakdown of how things will look:

July 27, 2015
9:30 am - Plane lands in Orlando
10 am - Take Magical Express to BWI
11:30 am/12:00 pm - Hollywood Studios
11:25-12:25 - Toy Story Midway Mania FP
2:20-3:20 - Muppet*Vision 3D FP
3:30-3:50 - Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular FP
4:45 pm - Head back to BWI to change
6:50 pm - ADR @ California Grill

If we're feeling up to it I figure it's a nice night for Wishes but we'll see!

July 28, 2015
* 10:15-11:15 - Peter Pan's Flight FP
* 11:45-12:45 - Haunted Mansion FP
* 1:00 pm - ADR @ The Plaza Restaurant
* 2:45-3:05 - Festival of Fantasy FP
* 3:30 PM - Head back to the hotel
* 6:30 PM - ADR @ Via Napoli Ristorante e Pizzeria

July 29, 2015
* 9:25-10:25 - Mission Space FP (I figure this is one we probably won't use. My aunt's not a morning person and while I love MS I doubt I'll get to go alone)
* 10:25-11:25 - Spaceship Earth
* 11:25-12:25 - Soarin'
* Spend the rest of the day exploring Epcot, take a break to change at some point
* 5:45 pm - ADR @ Artist Point

July 30, 2015
* 8:15 am - ADR @Boma
* 10:05-11:05 - Kilimanjaro Safaris FP
* 11:30-11:50 - Festival of the Lion King FP
* 2:30-2:50 - Finding Nemo the Musical FP
* 5:30 pm - ADR @ Raglan Road

July 31, 2015
* 11:30 am - ADR @ Be Our Guest


Yay! I'm so excited! And I can't wait until we get to California either! Before we take the bus over to Anaheim we are meeting with Jey's great aunt to get lunch in Santa Monica so that will be nice.

 

[KathyM2]

You have some amazing plans!! I'm so excited for you! Also excited to hear about California (will you be sharing that too?) My DH and I spent our honeymoon there...went to DLR, San Diego, LA and San Fran...stayed in Santa Monica for a night too..so pretty.

 

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You have some amazing plans!! I'm so excited for you! Also excited to hear about California (will you be sharing that too?) My DH and I spent our honeymoon there...went to DLR, San Diego, LA and San Fran...stayed in Santa Monica for a night too..so pretty.

Thanks! I'm excited! And I just found out today that a co-worker of mine will be there at the same time with her family so we may try to meet up.

I'm definitely planning on doing a TR for California as well! I've never been (except as a baby) so I'm really excited to spend a week in a new place.

 

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Counting Down the Days!!!!

A little over a month left! Woo!

As of today my WDW trip is paid off! Disneyland isn't but I have the money to do it, I just have been having issues with the wonderful Disney website (hence why it took so long to pay off WDW even though I had the money set aside already) So now I get to stare at that lovely $0.00 balance!

I also did online check-in. I would love an Epcot view but as that wasn't an option for online check-in I just did upper floor with a Boardwalk view. This may be the only time I get to stay here; I want a nice view.

And on the Disneyland side of things we decided to do a single sit-down restaurant while we're there. Or, at least, we're only planning on one of them. As of about five minutes ago I made a dining reservation at Ariel's Grotto for the World of Color dining package. I let Jey choose the place (and I knew she'd pick there) so that'll be nice.

Let's take a look at my checklist:

* South Carolina hotel paid (Check!)
* WDW paid off (Check!)
* WDW ADRs made (Check!)
* WDW FP+ made (Check!)
* WDW plane tickets purchased (Check!)
* DLC paid off
* DLC bus tickets purchased (Check!)
* DLC plane tickets purchased (Check!)

Look at that! Only 1 thing left to do!

 

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Counting Down the Days!!!!

A little over a month left! Woo!

As of today my WDW trip is paid off! Disneyland isn't but I have the money to do it, I just have been having issues with the wonderful Disney website (hence why it took so long to pay off WDW even though I had the money set aside already) So now I get to stare at that lovely $0.00 balance!

I also did online check-in. I would love an Epcot view but as that wasn't an option for online check-in I just did upper floor with a Boardwalk view. This may be the only time I get to stay here; I want a nice view.

And on the Disneyland side of things we decided to do a single sit-down restaurant while we're there. Or, at least, we're only planning on one of them. As of about five minutes ago I made a dining reservation at Ariel's Grotto for the World of Color dining package. I let Jey choose the place (and I knew she'd pick there) so that'll be nice.

Let's take a look at my checklist:

* South Carolina hotel paid (Check!)
* WDW paid off (Check!)
* WDW ADRs made (Check!)
* WDW FP+ made (Check!)
* WDW plane tickets purchased (Check!)
* DLC paid off
* DLC bus tickets purchased (Check!)
* DLC plane tickets purchased (Check!)

Look at that! Only 1 thing left to do!

 

[KathyM2]

Yayyyy!! So exciting!! YOu have such amazing trips planned!!! And what a relief to have the trips paid off before you even go...I don't think I've ever in my life done that lol. And your trips are coming up so soon!

 

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Woohoo!! The big stuff is taken care of!! The best thing ever is seeing the $0.00 balance - Amen to that!

You remember that I'm counting on your reviews of Boardwalk and Disneyland right?? For some reason I'm so nervous about DL next summer and staying anywhere other than WL for our next WDW trip. I'm ridiculous.

Glad your planning is going well! We're just over three weeks out and I keep saying it over and over, but I can't even think about packing. 26 days away sounds like nothing, but I'm already procrastinating by avoiding thinking about it. I need to buy some clothes and little things for the trip but I just haven't done any of that shopping. I've bought some fun unnecessary things, though, lol!!

 

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Yayyyy!! So exciting!! YOu have such amazing trips planned!!! And what a relief to have the trips paid off before you even go...I don't think I've ever in my life done that lol. And your trips are coming up so soon!

Thanks! I'm so excited for my trips - and since summer starts tomorrow for me (minus two curriculum meetings Weds/Thurs) I'm ridiculously excited to start packing and figuring out what I'm bringing where!

I think I have to have all my trips paid off before I go or I'm a wreck about it the entire time.

Woohoo!! The big stuff is taken care of!! The best thing ever is seeing the $0.00 balance - Amen to that!

You remember that I'm counting on your reviews of Boardwalk and Disneyland right?? For some reason I'm so nervous about DL next summer and staying anywhere other than WL for our next WDW trip. I'm ridiculous.

Glad your planning is going well! We're just over three weeks out and I keep saying it over and over, but I can't even think about packing. 26 days away sounds like nothing, but I'm already procrastinating by avoiding thinking about it. I need to buy some clothes and little things for the trip but I just haven't done any of that shopping. I've bought some fun unnecessary things, though, lol!!

Don't worry, since it's my first time in both I'll give the most thorough review I can. I warned my aunt about the food pictures (though I told her I do it to send to my mother, which is partially true, but whatever) but I didn't think to warn her about the photographs of our hotel room the second we get into it. She'll be in for quite a shock!

See, I'm there for South Carolina and I haven't started packing yet, but I'm also at a stand-still - what am I going to wear in SC, what about in Disney? There are some things that are great for both and I don't know if I'll have time to throw in a load of laundry between trips that I'm going crazy lol.

I love seeing how your PTR is going and the cute things you've done with your Magic Bands. Mine don't get shipped until Thursday but even so I'm not crafty enough for that!

 

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How Do You Pack for 3 Weeks Away?

I'm not so worried about Disneyland clothes-wise. I'll be home for a week between Disneyland and WDW so I'll have more than enough time to do my laundry and make sure anything I want to repack is ready.

However...um....Florida and South Carolina?

Yeah, uh, I'm really not 100% how I'm going to deal with that. Like at all. I have a couple of shirts I definitely plan on bringing with me but that's it for right now. I'm thinking of doing another Modcloth order as I bought a couple of pairs of shorts from them that fit wonderfully and I'm thinking of buying a third pair just to be on the safe side. I'll probably pick up a couple more shirts while I'm at it (I don't have a lot of light-weight shirts that aren't t-shirts and I'm weird and don't like wearing t-shirts with shorts. I know, right?) so I'll have a few things to play with.

And I think I'm also going to have to hope that I can leave early enough on the 25th that I have time on the 26th to throw in a load of laundry and finish packing before going to bed at like 6 that evening so I can be ready and raring to go at 3 the next morning.

But anyway, my Magic Bands get shipped on Thursday! So exciting! I also should be getting my LeSportSac bag on Thursday as well. I bought a Medium travel tote in the Global Journey small world pattern, which is one of my favorite patterns, and I figured the size will be perfect to hold all my stuff in the park. I'm bringing it and my LeSportSac Cleo purse in the Tink Marc Davies pattern so I can switch it up depending on the time of day and what we're doing. I also should be getting my Bibbidi Bobbidi Brooke ears sometime soon so I'm excited about those!

But, yeah man....packing clothes. I'm really not sure what to do and I'm actually kind of having an existential crisis over clothes. Which has never happened before. Who am I?

 

[KathyM2]

Packing for three weeks is a challenge I'm sure...are you planning on doing any laundry? I will have to check out Modcloth...never heard of it. I love Le Sportsac though...their bags are so lightweight...I want one of their backpacks as a park bag too. It is tough to figure out what to bring though...and what you'll feel like wearing...and what if the weather is different than expected...sigh...it's tough...I know I'm a big help eh?

 

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Packing for three weeks is a challenge I'm sure...are you planning on doing any laundry? I will have to check out Modcloth...never heard of it. I love Le Sportsac though...their bags are so lightweight...I want one of their backpacks as a park bag too. It is tough to figure out what to bring though...and what you'll feel like wearing...and what if the weather is different than expected...sigh...it's tough...I know I'm a big help eh?

I just like having contingency plans - what if we don't have a washer/dryer, what if I don't have enough time at home between trips, what if I spill on something and need to change? - but I've also got pretty high anxiety so this is relatively calm me (also, packing and planning like this keeps me sane!)

I picked up a couple new shirts that are nice and light and comfortable. I also bought a dress that is too awkward size-wise, but I managed to tweak it a little and make it work as a tunic-style shirt that lays nicely that'd be good for a beach trip so there's that!

I actually (I shouldn't even be admitting this!) went through my shirt drawers and pulled out the shirts I thought would be best for the trips and took a quick picture of the pile so I can just grab and pack (also to make sure I had enough light-fabric shirts that weren't work blouses) but I haven't figured out which of those is going where yet.

 

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Let's take a look at my checklist:

* South Carolina hotel paid (Check!)
* WDW paid off (Check!)
* WDW ADRs made (Check!)
* WDW FP+ made (Check!)
* WDW plane tickets purchased (Check!)
* DLC paid off (Check!)*
* DLC bus tickets purchased (Check!)
* DLC plane tickets purchased (Check!)

Notice something?

Yeah, that's right, baby, I'm all paid off!

At least on my end. Our condo AND WDW are actually all paid off in full. My third (slightly more than third since I put the deposit down too) is completely paid off. Jey's mum sent out her check to me today so I should be able to pay her part off by the beginning of next week and Jey said she's sending hers out too. Her mum's sending our security check from our old apartment to me with her check and Jey's using her half of it to pay for part of her third so everything should be paid off by the end of the week!


Which is good because last night my phone went for a fun like 2 second swim that it may or may not survive from. It's in rice and has been since 5 pm last night and I haven't touched it since. I won't until at least tomorrow night. But if it doesn't work, well.....we all know what's gonna happen to that!

 

[xlsm]

I hope your phone survived!!

That was my big fear after I switched from my Samsung S5 (which was waterproof...well, advertised as such, I never tested it, LOL) to the S6 Edge, which is NOT waterproof at all.

I had an old phone about 10 years ago that took a swim in the toilet after falling out of my back pocket. Sadly, it did not make it. The 7 key never worked again, and at the time I lived in an area where 7 was a number in the local prefix, that was a problem!!

Packing! Ugh. I bought some Tide pods for vacation laundry and moved them to the closet where the suitcases are...does that count?? Hope so, cause that's as far as I've gotten, lol!!

And I saw on the July thread that your magic bands have shipped, woohoo!!! I love getting that box!

 

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I hope your phone survived!!

That was my big fear after I switched from my Samsung S5 (which was waterproof...well, advertised as such, I never tested it, LOL) to the S6 Edge, which is NOT waterproof at all.

I had an old phone about 10 years ago that took a swim in the toilet after falling out of my back pocket. Sadly, it did not make it. The 7 key never worked again, and at the time I lived in an area where 7 was a number in the local prefix, that was a problem!!

Packing! Ugh. I bought some Tide pods for vacation laundry and moved them to the closet where the suitcases are...does that count?? Hope so, cause that's as far as I've gotten, lol!!

And I saw on the July thread that your magic bands have shipped, woohoo!!! I love getting that box!

Sadly, there was a 0 survival rate for last week's swim. I was able to do an early upgrade (after some finagling/manager talking) and my new phone arrived yesterday. It's so...thin! I'm terrified to take it around with me after last week!

 

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Look At This Stuff!

Everything is paid!!!!!

Hallelujah!

So, let's see.....

This past weekend was MASSive ComicCon, the first year for it. It was in Worcester, which is only about 20 minutes from me, and my mother's always wanted to go to a comic convention. It was a lot of fun! I enjoy smaller, low-key conventions because I love seeing the artists and it's not a million dollars to meet with the actors. I'm going to do a bigger write-up about it on my personal blog but this is my haul from the weekend:

Some great prints of vintage Disney posters, a really awesome drawing from an artist, and Dante Basco's autograph (he's Zuko from Avatar and Ruffio in Hook, hence the giant BANGARANG ). My mother and I had a really great time together and she had a lot of fun at the panels. She also got to meet a few of my favorite voice actors - Jess Harnell (Brer Rabbit on Splash, Wakko Warner from Animaniacs, among others), Jim Cummings (Ray the firefly (<3), Winnie the Pooh, Darkwing Duck, etc.,), and Rob Paulsen (Yakko Warner from Animaniacs, Bobble from the Tinkerbell movies, Reuben from the Lilo & Stitch TV show, etc.,). I've met all three of them before and they're some of the kindest, gracious actors I've ever met so I was really excited mum got to finally meet them.

On Saturday I also got this:

Ignore the mug - Wild Bill's was at the con and so I was showing it off. But behind it, look at that lovely Small World LeSportSac! Since I'll have a larger camera lens with me I figured it'd be a good sized bag since it distributes weight nicely I can carry it for a long period of time without it bothering my shoulder.

On Friday, after getting off the phone with Verizon and buying my new phone at a reduced cost due to insurance, I also got my ears in the mail! Way back in May I bought myself and Jey a pair of handmade ears from Bibbidi Bobbidi Brooke on etsy, who makes amazing custom ears. It took about a week longer than she told me to get to me because of her own work schedule but if you follow her on Instagram she's very good at keeping everyone informed.

My pair of the chevron ears. I have a deep love for chevron. Jey says I should get a picture wearing them in front of Beaches & Cream so that's my goal this month. Hers are based on Cinderella's dress. I didn't take a picture of it but if you look you can see that there's a black ribbon. They say "made with magic for Elle" and "made for magic for Jen" which I think is a really nice touch.

And today, like 5 days, early, these bad boys showed up:

I bought cover bands for both of them - a pale blue floral patterened one for my aunt and a Daisy Duck on for her. Hopefully they'll show up soon!

Oh! Also, anyone with bigger phones (iPhone 6 or Samsung Galaxy 6s), do they fit in the phone slot on a Vera Bradley wristlet? My normal go-to summer wristlet/wallet, a cheap Target one, is too short for my phone now and my Vera wristlet is in storage but I want to get a brighter color one anyway.