Adulting is Hard, So I'm Running Away! ~ An Oct 2016 PTR ~ Update 10/19: Peace Out, Yo!

[Elevationist]

I am not a romance person, and Nora Roberts has too much of that crap for me, lol....and Evanovich actually has several different series of books, one being a romance and the two I like are more mystery (and funny romance if you want to say romance at all)...I am not a pining for love in a book person...I want humor and murder solving. Nothing I have to think too hard for either. (I have to do too much of that for my mortgage paying job...I do not want to have to think too deeply while I am reading a book, sad, I know.

I don't like books where gooey romance is the whole story... those pretty much gross me out. But I do appreciate a good romantic side story. The series I'm reading right now, I'm about to start Book 4, and our two main characters are obviously falling in love... but all they have really done so far is hold hands. So it's a VERY slowly developing romance, and I'm pulling for them to finally hook up! But as I said, it's definitely NOT the whole story, there's so so so much more going on. And I like that in a book or series.

Reply: I sense a dangerous situation developing. Are you sure The World can handle the two of you at the same time?

It can't, and so the Powers-That-Be intervened... Her dates don't work for me. There's just no way that I can get away from the office that week.

That sounds just awesome!!

LAZINESS IS THE BESTEST.

Yum!! We have a place like that here that is just delish...only down side is I'm always so full after lol

I'm planning on waddling out! I intent to be SO FULL! I don't see that as a down side!

I am so excited that I stumbled upon your PTR for October 2016!! After reading your past reports last year, I was inspired to take my first Solo trip last November & I had a blast!! So...

YAAAAY! That is AWESOME to hear! Thank you so much for letting me know!

Anyway, I'm super excited for you to be staying at the Beach Club Resort, it's always been on my "dream" list too. I will be in WDW at the same time (Oct. 26-31) with my DS11, so if there's a chance for us to bump into each other while we're there, that would be super cool.

I'm hard to miss in the parks! Just look for the big silly solo brunette on the scooter, possibly with a mickey balloon tied to it, probably also sporting Disney facepaint.

I'm looking forward to reading the rest of your PTR (I only got to the 9/26/15 update so far) & following your future WDW adventures!!

I ramble a LOT about non-Disney things... Apologies in advance!

April 24th is a great day lol it may or may not be my birthday

YAY! That DOES make April 24th even awesomer!!!

 

[Chicago Mo]

The only thing I didn't dig was that the second book was pretty slow until towards the end, at least I thought so. But the rest was really well-paced. Definitely recommend for anybody who likes dark fantasy!

I agree!

I was introduced to this one by, of all things, the SyFy Channel.

I watch this!!! so i should get the books eh?

but I have lost 35 lbs since January 1st. So that's a victory, at least!

This is the best news EVER!!! So proud of you!

1. ADRs! That's right, it's almost ADR day, which for me is April 24th! Finally! Less than three weeks to go now! I can't wait to get my massively massive list of ADRs booked and confirmed!

SO EXCITING!!!

I can't afford to go anywhere, when means I get to spend a week not being at work, reading books, enjoying the sunshine before it gets blistering hot and humid, hanging out in coffee houses and listening to local musicians, and basically just being as lazy as humanly possible. I CAN'T WAIT!!!

I want this... I want this a lot...

2.5 miles from Texas de Brazil

ALL THE MEAT YOU CAN EAT! YAHOOOOOOOOOOO

so today I'm celebrating LESS than 200 days left to wait!!!

ER ME GERSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm 10% smaller! I take up 10% less space!

WOWZA!!! I mean your really doing a GREAT JOB!!!


hey i was only 7 pages behind! geez!

 

[kastoney]

1. ADRs! That's right, it's almost ADR day, which for me is April 24th! Finally! Less than three weeks to go now! I can't wait to get my massively massive list of ADRs booked and confirmed!

Wow, I can't believe it's ADR time already. That will be our first day back from Disney so I'll have to let your ADR's help drown my disney sorrow.

2. You know what else happens on April 24th? Season 6 premier of Game of Thrones! Even though I won't get to watch it until the next day on HBO Go. But still, exciting!

You and Jason would so get along well. He's all game of thrones and walking dead and I just want anything on Bravo.

3. Staycation! As usual, I have too many unused vacation hours that are threatening to disappear if I don't use them soon. So it's time to take a week off to burn some of them up! I can't afford to go anywhere, when means I get to spend a week not being at work, reading books, enjoying the sunshine before it gets blistering hot and humid, hanging out in coffee houses and listening to local musicians, and basically just being as lazy as humanly possible. I CAN'T WAIT!!!

Ahh, I wish I had this problem. Infinitely jealous of how close you are to the beach. Of course we're only 3 hours from the beach, but I never seem to have enough vacation hours to go around. I still think the work week and weekends need to be flipped so its work 2 days, have 5 days off. That really would work better for my drinking schedule ; )

I'll be staying that very first night at the Holiday Inn & Suites Universal in a Standard King Bed room. Since I'm not going to Universal on this trip, the hotel's super-close proximity to those parks doesn't interest me. However, it's only 2.5 miles from Texas de Brazil (which I'm considering taking an Uber over to and back so I can have a few cocktails with dinner), and I got a SUPER rate through work... Just $77, no tax! Can't beat it! And it's connected to it's own TGIFriday's that offers a breakfast buffet in the mornings, so that will be a perfect place to fuel-up for my day before heading over to start my Disney adventure!

What a great deal. And love, love, love the uber idea. Billie will be on vacation and the drinks they best be flowing

(A) Continue to wait to see if we get them back at work so that I can get a discount, but also run the risk of us NOT getting them and meanwhile Disney could raise the price again on buying it direct through them, costing me more in the long run, or...
(B) Just suck it up and buy it direct from Disney now for $797, and try not to cry if we get them back to sell and I see how much I could have saved if I had just waited.

If it were me I think I'd wait it out a bit more until you get closer to fast pass time in hopes the discount comes out. Even if they have another price increase (cause they clearly need more money) word tends to get out a few days in advance.

This is kinda significant because when I started this 3 months ago, I weighed 370 lbs. Which means that I've officially lost 10% of my starting body weight! Many many years ago when I did Weight Watchers, they taught us to celebrate those 10% goals, and it's always stuck with me as a pretty cool thing to get excited about! I'm 10% smaller! I take up 10% less space!

So proud of you!!!!

 

[ariane37]

1. ADRs! That's right, it's almost ADR day, which for me is April 24th! Finally! Less than three weeks to go now! I can't wait to get my massively massive list of ADRs booked and confirmed!

FOOD, GLORIOUS FOOD!!!

I started making our ADR list for Nov. and......I believe I have too many restaurants and not enough days

I've officially lost 10% of my starting body weight! Many many years ago when I did Weight Watchers, they taught us to celebrate those 10% goals, and it's always stuck with me as a pretty cool thing to get excited about! I'm 10% smaller! I take up 10% less space!

This is awesome!! Congratulations Billie!!!

I don't know what to tell you about your AP, and I may have missed a post where you made up your mind. It stinks you haven't gotten the discounted ones at work again

 

[wizneather78]

Does your company sell 10 day passes? You could purchase one with a hopper for $469 & get the commission and trade it in towards an AP when you get to WDW in October. Something is better than nothing...!! I'm a TA also..

 

[NJlauren]

HEY!

I am still here!

Almost ADR day! So exciting!

Annual pass decision... Ekkk I am of NO help on this front, but i know how hard it is to figure out what to do, if you buy and then find out you can get it cheaper you'll be kicking your self, but if you wait and the price goes up again.. well there you go kicking your self again. I would just decide what you are comfortable with and if your ok with the price now i say go for it....

So jel of your staycation! I want to take one too... but never seem to be able to take one.....

Love the books your reading! XOXO

 

[Steppesister]

Squeeeee! ADR Day is almost here! Good luck to both of us!! (Food and Disney- tickles my fancy!)

 

[Elevationist]

I watch this!!! so i should get the books eh?

I dunno. If you like the show, you might not like the books. They're verrrry different! But you should maybe at least give the first one a try!

This is the best news EVER!!! So proud of you!

Thank you!!!

ALL THE MEAT YOU CAN EAT! YAHOOOOOOOOOOO

OM NOM NOM. So looking forward to starting my vacation this way!

WOWZA!!! I mean your really doing a GREAT JOB!!!

Thanks again!!!

hey i was only 7 pages behind! geez!

I so relate to this.

Wow, I can't believe it's ADR time already. That will be our first day back from Disney so I'll have to let your ADR's help drown my disney sorrow.

I can do that for you! Food, glorious food!

You and Jason would so get along well. He's all game of thrones and walking dead and I just want anything on Bravo.

He can keep Walking Dead, I can't handle zombies... Blech! (Sometimes I feel like I'm the only person on Earth who won't watch that show!)

Ahh, I wish I had this problem. Infinitely jealous of how close you are to the beach. Of course we're only 3 hours from the beach, but I never seem to have enough vacation hours to go around. I still think the work week and weekends need to be flipped so its work 2 days, have 5 days off. That really would work better for my drinking schedule ; )

Yaaassss! I support this amended work week of yours! KASTONEY FOR PREZ 2016.

What a great deal. And love, love, love the uber idea. Billie will be on vacation and the drinks they best be flowing

I'm a little nervous, because I've never taken an Uber, and I real mixed things online. I've never even taken a cab solo. But I'm a big girl, I can handle it!

If it were me I think I'd wait it out a bit more until you get closer to fast pass time in hopes the discount comes out. Even if they have another price increase (cause they clearly need more money) word tends to get out a few days in advance.

Yeah, I think I'm going to just wait and count on that whole "word tends to get out a few days in advance concept. If I haven't heard anything either way by late July, I'll just go ahead and buy them from Disney.

So proud of you!!!!

Thank yooooou!

FOOD, GLORIOUS FOOD!!!

I started making our ADR list for Nov. and......I believe I have too many restaurants and not enough days

I soooo relate to this!!!

This is awesome!! Congratulations Billie!!!

Thank you!!!

I don't know what to tell you about your AP, and I may have missed a post where you made up your mind. It stinks you haven't gotten the discounted ones at work again

Yeah, I'm just going to hold out until July. If I still haven't heard anything either way, I'll just go ahead and buy them from Disney!

Does your company sell 10 day passes? You could purchase one with a hopper for $469 & get the commission and trade it in towards an AP when you get to WDW in October. Something is better than nothing...!! I'm a TA also..

Sadly, it doesn't work quite the same for me. I'm a TA at a military base travel office. I get a base pay, which I like because it's reliable, but unfortunately the trade-off is that I never see the commissions I make... Those go back into the programs on the base for the military families. Good idea otherwise, though!

HEY!

I am still here!

HOORAY!

Almost ADR day! So exciting!

I knowwww! I can't wait! FOOD FOOD FOOD!

Annual pass decision... Ekkk I am of NO help on this front, but i know how hard it is to figure out what to do, if you buy and then find out you can get it cheaper you'll be kicking your self, but if you wait and the price goes up again.. well there you go kicking your self again. I would just decide what you are comfortable with and if your ok with the price now i say go for it....

I'm gonna hold off until July or so, then decide!

So jel of your staycation! I want to take one too... but never seem to be able to take one.....

I'm really looking forward to it! I hope the weather is nice that week!

Love the books your reading! XOXO

Me too! I finished "The Others" and am onto another series ("Tir Alainn") by the same author now!

Squeeeee! ADR Day is almost here! Good luck to both of us!! (Food and Disney- tickles my fancy!)

Yaaasss! Are you ready???

 

[Steppesister]

Yaaasss! Are you ready???

So, so, SO, SO ready!

Although, I"m having my TA do it since I'm having to be in a night shift Clinical that morning at 3:00AM when I'd have to be logged in. I trust she'll do a GREAT job for us!

But yep, everything in the BFP Spreadsheet all neat and tidy-like. I can taste the nomaliciousness as I type!

 

[DonnaBeeGood]

.

 

[Chicago Mo]

Staying caught up....

 

[Elevationist]

So, so, SO, SO ready!

Although, I"m having my TA do it since I'm having to be in a night shift Clinical that morning at 3:00AM when I'd have to be logged in. I trust she'll do a GREAT job for us!

But yep, everything in the BFP Spreadsheet all neat and tidy-like. I can taste the nomaliciousness as I type!

When is your ADR date? It's gotta be soon! How exciting! I can't wait to find out how it goes!

Catching up one thread at a time - so glad you are still feeling good and enjoying the outdoors. Luckily there was no snow when I returned from my trip, but it sure is hard to get back into the habit of long pants and wearing jackets!

The weather here has been GORGEOUS, so I've had to get outside and take advantage of it! Before too long it will be miserably hot and humid, so I try to revel in the nice Spring weather!

Staying caught up....

Is this a hint, hmm?

 

[Elevationist]

11 days until ADRs!
131 days until FP+!
190 days until WDW!
****************************************************

Hey, ya'll!

Soooooo... I did a thing. A thing I've never done before!

My massively massive ADR list kept on growing, and I got to thinking...

On the regular Dining Plan, with my 7-night resort stay, I was getting 7 Table Service credits, 7 Quick Service credits, and 7 snack credits (mostly for using at the Food & Wine festival, of course). I was going to have to pay for five or so of my desired table service meals out of pocket, and I would have to be careful about what I ordered at those.

But then I looked at it all a different way. With the Deluxe Dining, I would get 21 meal credits to spend however I wanted, and 14 snack credits (again, mostly for using at F&W). So I counted up if I were using dining plan credits for all of my meals, including Signature, Regular Table, and Quick, how many credits would I use total? The Answer: 20. So it kinda became a no-brainer. I called right then and there, and I UPGRADED TO THE DELUXE DINING PLAN!

Now of course, this also gave me one 1 additional credit to plan for! Hooray! But as much as I poured over my schedule, I just couldn't fit one more meal into the plan! So I decided to switch one of my regular table service meals out for another Signature... and ended up trading out Tutto Italia for Monsieur Paul. I've been curious about this place for years, even way back when it was still Bistro de Paris. And the menu looks absolutely incredible... my mouth waters every time I look it over. I'm so super excited for this experience!

So here's my line-up, as it currently stands:

Signature Dining (Dinner)
Hollywood Brown Derby
Yachtsman Steakhouse
Monsieur Paul

Table Service
Tusker House (Breakfast)
Yak & Yeti (Lunch)
Ohana (Dinner)
Garden Grill (Breakfast)
Beaches & Cream (Lunch)
Captain's Grille (Breakfast)
Boma (Dinner)
Crystal Palace (Breakfast)
Liberty Tree Tavern (Lunch)
Cape May Cafe (Breakfast)

Quick Service
Backlot Express
Friar's Nook
Beach Club Marketplace
Casey's Corner
Hurricane Hanna's

Snacks
Cinnamon Roll from Gaston's
Dole Whip from Aloha Isle
Assorted Food & Wine Festival Noms

Extras (Out of Pocket)
Wishes Fireworks Dessert Party
Illuminations Sparkling Dessert Party

Speaking of all the weight I'm going to gain back while at Disney, I guess I should mention how much I've lost so far! I'm officially down 40 lbs now! WOO! Hoping to hit 45 by the end of the month... Fingers crossed!

I discovered a problem with me losing all this weight, though. Right about now is when I normally start buying clothes for my trip and planning my daily outfits. However, this time around, I'm finding this extremely difficult... since I have no idea what size I will be 6 months from now! I'd like to buy or make some Disney-themed tees, or maybe even a couple of cute summer dresses since they're in all the stores right now, but I can't! I can't even really plan or shop for whatever I'm going to wear for MNSSHP, because I have no clue how much weight I'm going to drop and what size will be most appropriate by late October. It's super frustrating! Since I quite often have to order things, I don't want to just "wait and see" and then at the 11th hour, not be able to find anything. I've thought about just buying a size down from what I wear now, and hoping for the best... But if that doesn't work out, then I just spent a lot of trip money on stuff I can't even wear on the trip! I don't know what to do!

However, I DID make a decision about the Annual Pass thing, mainly thanks to all of you guys' great feedback on my last post! I'm going to give it until late July. That's about 90 days prior to my trip. If I still haven't heard anything at work, I'll go ahead and buy it from Disney. I think part of me is just itching to buy it NOW NOW NOW since I have the money and can! I wants it!!!

As for what books I'm reading, I finished the series I had started, "The Others." It was okay, just the story dragged a lot. But as with all of Anne Bishop's books, I ended up really invested in the characters. So I'll stick with it, and I'm looking forward to the next installment (which I think might be the final one), due out in March of next year. I've since started another of her series, the "Tir Alainn" books, which is the only of hers I haven't read yet. I'm a little over halfway through the first book of trilogy, and so far I'm liking the pacing and the story much better. Though I've already kinda predicted how the first book will end... It'll be interesting to see if I'm right! I'll know by tomorrow night!

Okay, that's it, that's all! Back in another week or so with another update!

 

[KathyM2]

Hoping to hit 45 by the end of the month... Fingers crossed!

Way to goooo!! Although yes I can certainly see how that would throw a wrench into your wardrobe planning for the trip. I guess I would maybe just wait until the last minute you can realistically order stuff and still get it in time and see where you're at?? I know that will suck because some stuff you'd rather plan waaaay in advance because...it's fun of course...may have to wait a bit longer!! You Americans are pretty lucky though in that when ordering online you usually get stuff pretty quick, no? Not up here in Canada where it takes forever and a half to get anything online lol.

I love your ADR list...how nice to be able to try soo many great restaurants and foods! I am looking forward to living vicariously!

 

[deedee2177]

Way to go on the weight loss!!! AWESOME!!!

I think you definitely made the right decision about the Deluxe Dining Plan. If I ever do a solo trip (and I hope to do one at some point in my life). I would probably go that route as well, because I would want to hit up every place I have ever wanted to eat at but didn't since I have a household of picky eaters!!!!

 

[LindseyJo22]

UPGRADED TO THE DELUXE DINING PLAN!

Ahh!! This is so exciting! I dream of doing a short trip with any kind of dining plan just to try it, but the deluxe just seems so fun (appetizers, yum)!

and ended up trading out Tutto Italia for Monsieur Paul

Ooh, I'll be really wanting to hear about this one - it seems a little fancy for our tastes, but I'm still curious about it

I'm officially down 40 lbs now! WOO! Hoping to hit 45 by the end of the month... Fingers crossed!

Woo hoo!!!! That's so wonderful! And post-Disney, I always find it helpful to remember that as long as I get back on track whatever I've "gained" from my trip usually drops back off pretty fast. Totally worth it for the Disney deliciousness in my opinion

As for what books I'm reading, I finished the series I had started, "The Others." It was okay, just the story dragged a lot. But as with all of Anne Bishop's books, I ended up really invested in the characters. So I'll stick with it, and I'm looking forward to the next installment (which I think might be the final one), due out in March of next year.

I started the third one this week - it's all right, but I'm having a little bit of a hard time remembering what happened in the last one. That's what I get for getting behind :/ But her characters are really fabulous

Now I'm thinking I need to give Tir Alainn another try - it wasn't my favorite, but maybe I need to just keep going like I did when Black Jewels seemed really confusing at first.

Also, can't wait to hear about the Illuminations party! This is on my maybe list for a future trip, but I worry about the lack of actual seats. We've got the Wishes one booked for this upcoming trip, but I keep hearing mixed reviews because the assigned seating is gone :/ I don't really mind showing up early though, so I'm hoping that will get us a good seat - people watching at Disney is almost as fun as the rides

 

[Saphire5742]

Just reading that ADR list is making me hungry (not a good idea at 2am though)! Way to go on upgrading to Deluxe. I can not wait to read that DR.

 

[SarahDisney]

But then I looked at it all a different way. With the Deluxe Dining, I would get 21 meal credits to spend however I wanted, and 14 snack credits (again, mostly for using at F&W). So I counted up if I were using dining plan credits for all of my meals, including Signature, Regular Table, and Quick, how many credits would I use total? The Answer: 20. So it kinda became a no-brainer. I called right then and there, and UPGRADED TO THE DELUXE DINING PLAN!

Whaaat? OMG! So much yummy noms!

Speaking of all the weight I'm going to gain back while at Disney, I guess I should mention how much I've lost so far! I'm officially down 40 lbs now! WOO! Hoping to hit 45 by the end of the month... Fingers crossed!

Amazing!! I'm so proud of you!
How are you doing with the treadmill ... any new progress?

I discovered a problem with me losing all this weight, though. Right about now is when I normally start buying clothes for my trip and planning my daily outfits. However, this time around, I'm finding this extremely difficult... since I have no idea what size I will be 6 months from now! I'd like to buy or make some Disney-themed tees, or maybe even a couple of cute summer dresses since they're in all the stores right now, but I can't! I can't even really plan or shop for whatever I'm going to wear for MNSSHP, because I have no clue how much weight I'm going to drop and what size will be most appropriate by late October. It's super frustrating! Since I quite often have to order things, I don't want to just "wait and see" and then at the 11th hour, not be able to find anything. I've thought about just buying a size down from what I wear now, and hoping for the best... But if that doesn't work out, then I just spent a lot of trip money on stuff I can't even wear on the trip! I don't know what to do!

Yeah. So. I call this the ugly side effect of losing weight.
Yes, clothing shopping can be fun, but while you're in the process, it's really hard to know what size to buy.
There are websites & apps out there that help you track your weight and can project based on your current rate of loss where you should be at a given date. I can't really recommend anything, because I just use MyFitnessPal (which is what I (theoretically) use to track my food, but see if you can find something that will do that. Once you have a number for where you might be at that point, it might be easier to take a guess at what size you should get.

DUMBLEDORE!!!
(I just needed to say that)

However, I DID make a decision about the Annual Pass thing, mainly thanks to all of you guys' great feedback on my last post! I'm going to give it until late July. That's about 90 days prior to my trip. If I still haven't heard anything at work, I'll go ahead and buy it from Disney. I think part of me is just itching to buy it NOW NOW NOW since I have the money and can! I wants it!!!

This makes sense - that way you'll have it in plenty of time, but you're also giving yourself the ability to buy it from work if that becomes an option.

Okay, that's it, that's all! Back in another week or so with another update!

I'm looking forward to it

 

[ariane37]

Woo-hoo to the big 4-0 lbs! I understand the buying new clothes thing when losing weight. It's been a # of years since I lost a considerable amount, but I did go through the same thing. And while it's a GREAT feeling to have to buy smaller sizes, it's not fun to have no clothes that fit properly. You'll figure it out

Also, awesome about upgrading to the deluxe dining! We did the deluxe plan back in.....2010 I think? It was a lot of $$ but boy, did we have fun eating

 

[DonnaBeeGood]

.