Chunkymonkey and ChubbyHubby EAT SLEEP SAIL DISNEY May 2015! Completed PTR - TR Links added!

[natebenma]

Here are a couple of links-

Our Dinner at La Hacienda. For background- we were running late and coming from MK via monorail. Even though it was time for our dinner reservation, we still stopped and rode Spaceship Earth. Because, well, icon!

That's No Way To Teach Us A Lesson! La Hacienda de San Angel


And this is our van tour of Nassau


Tour of Nassau, Part 1
Tour of Nassau, Part 2: Fort Charlotte and Fort Stanley
Tour of Nassau, Part 3

 

[Tracy161]

OMG thanks for visiting Tracy!!! I can't believe it's been so long since I did a PTR or TR. I would really like to do one for this trip...but it will be a long one since it's so many days! That's great you will be in Disney when we are!! Are you doing any of the Star Wars weekend stuff or pretty much just F&G? I saved the 17th for F&G - unless there is any SWW stuff that we have to go back for, we will be at Epcot too!

Hawaii rocks! Maybe just as much as Disney!!

If you're looking for my opinion (gonna offer it anyway ), I think you should seriously consider doing a TR for this trip!

I'm not planning on doing any of the SWW stuff, and unfortunately can only do F&G for the day of my arrival - gosh darn timing on that one! I'll be on the lookout for you on the 17th!

Your blog is amazing! I need to spend more time on it

 

[SimplyGoofy]

Joining in! I remember your trip reports from several years ago and I LOVED them - I'm glad to see you here!

It sounds like you're planning a fantastic trip!

(I will echo Tracy - you should definitely do a trip report!)

 

[chunkymonkey]

Here are a couple of links-
Our Dinner at La Hacienda. For background- we were running late and coming from MK via monorail. Even though it was time for our dinner reservation, we still stopped and rode Spaceship Earth. Because, well, icon!

That's No Way To Teach Us A Lesson! La Hacienda de San Angel

And this is our van tour of Nassau

Tour of Nassau, Part 1
Tour of Nassau, Part 2: Fort Charlotte and Fort Stanley
Tour of Nassau, Part 3

Thanks Dee, for the links! Your dinner looked great! Glad I kept that ADR. I will check out the van tour of Nassau. It sounds like fun!

If you're looking for my opinion (gonna offer it anyway ), I think you should seriously consider doing a TR for this trip!

I'm not planning on doing any of the SWW stuff, and unfortunately can only do F&G for the day of my arrival - gosh darn timing on that one! I'll be on the lookout for you on the 17th!

Your blog is amazing! I need to spend more time on it

Thanks Tracy! I will try my best to do a TR...especially since we've never done a cruise, SWW, or F&G...so it'll be a trip of firsts!

Enjoy the F&G! We should be there in the afternoon - probably around 1-ish as I'm planning to eat at the kiosks for lunch!

Joining in! I remember your trip reports from several years ago and I LOVED them - I'm glad to see you here!

It sounds like you're planning a fantastic trip!

(I will echo Tracy - you should definitely do a trip report!)

Aww thank you!! Thanks for visiting!! I will try my best to document the trip! I do take a lot of pictures so even if I can't get the words down right, I'll try to post pictures.

 

[chunkymonkey]

A few updates:

Got some Mickey Mail yesterday!

Our Magic Bands are finally here!! Mine is yellow, DH is Blue, and Chunky Sis (Su-Queen) is Red.
Our vacation is coming up so soon!

We also got our finalized cruise guide...very exciting!

Inside it just your basic welcome package:information about the cruise, what to pack, what not to bring, and our rough schedule. Oh and it has our luggage tags too!!
Aside from those it doesn't really tell me anything I didn't know before from looking at the DCL website, but I guess it's nice to have in a booklet form.

I think it's time to start packing...I know I have about 2.5 weeks but my weekends are quite packed with family commitments and we're even hosting a BBQ the weekend before we leave. I'm not sure what possessed me to do so but it's going to be a mini high school reunion so hopefully I can keep it simple and fun. I told myself I wouldn't do it, but I bought myself another suitcase. I do have quite a few suitcases but none of them are "perfect" it seems. I like hard side cases for the protection and the sleekness, but I don't like how you have to pack your clothes 50/50 in each "side". I do like soft suit cases but find they can be flimsy especially for breakables, but it definitely has a lot of packing room and is lightweight. Usually either myself or DH will bring one soft side and one hard side so we have options. My hard-side suitcase I thought was a bit small. When I saw that ebags had 35% off Samsonite plus 10% back on ebates, I jumped on a suitcase that I thought would be perfect:

It's called a spinner trunk, and it has an 20/80 divider, so it packs more like a regular suitcase. That way I can lean it on a luggage rack and the lid can rest against the wall, the same way you would with a soft-side suitcase. I bought the largest size in the dark gray (29 inches). I am not one for bright colorful suitcases and prefer to keep my luggage more understated but I will probably put a colorful luggage tag so I can tell it apart. Hopefully it will fit under the cruise stateroom beds ( I think there is a clearance of 12 inches which is what my suit case's depth is). I should be receiving it any day now so I'll let you all know if it's going to work out.

DH will most likely carry a soft side expandable suitcase which can fit all our clothes (and then some) if need be! What I like to do is pack a "suit case within a suitcase" - I pack a carry-on sized bag into the larger bag when going on a trip, and when coming back I have enough room for souvenirs, popcorn tins, starbucks mugs, and all the other things I plan on buying... You can see an example of this packing technique here on my blog: http://sulynnchen.com/travelblog/?p=509 I use it every time I go to Hawaii since we bring back lots of stuff for my family, like macadamia nuts and Hawaiian shortbread cookies. They love them!

 

[Tracy161]

Yay for your MagicBands!!! I got mine just this afternoon! When the MagicBands arrive, that really means vacation is happening soon!

 

[Gracefulskinny]

Our Magic Bands are finally here!! Mine is yellow, DH is Blue, and Chunky Sis (Su-Queen) is Red.
Our vacation is coming up so soon!

Yay for Magicbands! Always exciting!!!!

I think it's time to start packing

I have. My favorite method is to set aside a few staging areas. (One for needs to be packed and one for bags that are done being packed.) I then use laundry baskets to dump stuff into that need to go. Little MIss is pretty much all packed. All I have to do is fold up her princess dresses and put all the bags in the suitcase.

It's called a spinner trunk

I love spinners! They work so much better than the 2 wheel suitcases.

 

[chunkymonkey]

Yay for Magicbands! Always exciting!!!!

I was so excited!

I have. My favorite method is to set aside a few staging areas. (One for needs to be packed and one for bags that are done being packed.) I then use laundry baskets to dump stuff into that need to go. Little MIss is pretty much all packed. All I have to do is fold up her princess dresses and put all the bags in the suitcase.

My whole bedroom is a staging area now! It's kinda embarrassing how much stuff I have out. Don't those princess dresses take up a lot of room? My friend went last year and one of her daughters had a Cinderella dress and it got glitter everywhere! I told her she should just tell people it's pixie dust.

I love spinners! They work so much better than the 2 wheel suitcases.

They do! I love the suitcase. It's very easy to pack and has tons of room. Can't wait to actually use it!

 

[Gracefulskinny]

Don't those princess dresses take up a lot of room?

Surprisingly they didn't. We'll see about the glitter issue once we are down there though. Good thing DH gets his own suitcase!

 

[chunkymonkey]

Single digits until our trip! Aaaaahh!!
Just wanted to share some other things I have gotten/received for our trip:

Since I got a new suitcase, I needed a new luggage tag! I ordered a set of 4 STAR WARS tags from ebay and they are really cool! These two are my favorite. I'm going to us the Darth Vader on my new luggage, and will swap out our old crusty luggage tag from our existing suitcase for the Droid one. They are so funny!

The other two won't be used on this trip since we don't need them, but one has Yoda that says "Property of Jedi Master" and the other is a Boba Fett "Rogue Luggage" tag.

My sister who designs her own handmade cards, has made us Mousekeeping envelopes! She even made us extra for our cruise (that she won't be going on). They even have little Mickey head-shaped stickers to seal the envelope!

I'm really impressed with these envelopes! She made them all by hand!

Spring is finally here in New Jersey...DH had planted tulip bulbs a while ago, but I didn't even notice them until they blossomed. I think they look really pretty in front of our house!! I never lived in a house until a year and a half ago. I was always in apartments...so having a house was new to me! I didn't know what to do with the exterior and landscaping...it was rather plain when we moved in, so I left it to DH, and I think he did a good job. Much better than I can, since I don't know the first thing about gardening!

That's it for now....9 more days until our cruise on the Magic! Technically 8 days until we fly down to Orlando! And 2 weeks until we get to be in WDW and experience Star Wars Weekend!!

 

[Gracefulskinny]

Yay for single digits! Love the bag tags and envelopes!

 

[SimplyGoofy]

Single digits! Hooray!

Those Mousekeeping envelopes are AWESOME! Your sister did a fantastic job!

Tulips were a wonderful choice - I always love tulips.

 

[kadrachb]

Joining in! We're going to be there the 12th - 19th. On the 18th we are also planning an MK day! Actually your 7DMT FP is right after ours ends! But your plans sound like a lot of fun.

 

[Tracy161]

Your Mousekeeping envelopes are awesome!!! I need to get with it on mine and check that off the to-do list!

Your house looks beautiful!

Yay!!! Your trip is SO close!!!!!!!

 

[cajunfan]

I have been such a slacker!!!

Whoo hoo on Magic Bands!

I absolutely LOVE the Star Wars luggage tags and the Mousekeeping envelopes! I wish I had seen those tags sooner... (Matt NEEDS one of those...except he is a Yoda guy)...and those envelopes make mine look so sad. Your sister is VERY talented!

So we have some good news...we thought we might have to cancel our Galactic Dine Inn breakfast, but Matt ended up getting a very nice job (contract to hire, but he is at least employed and they are okay with him being on the trip) so we will get to see you all there! We will be the two "Pooh sized" people with the young skinny girl (people will probably think Matt & I eat all Sabrina's food LOL!) I am collecting shiny things to trade with the Jawas (sp?)

See Ya Real Soon!

Lynn

 

[chunkymonkey]

Yay for single digits! Love the bag tags and envelopes!

Thank you!! Your trip is coming up so soon!! Yay!

Single digits! Hooray!

Those Mousekeeping envelopes are AWESOME! Your sister did a fantastic job!

Tulips were a wonderful choice - I always love tulips.

Thanks! My sister says thanks too!
Tulips are so pretty...they really signify spring!

Joining in! We're going to be there the 12th - 19th. On the 18th we are also planning an MK day! Actually your 7DMT FP is right after ours ends! But your plans sound like a lot of fun.

Hi!! Thanks for visiting!! Maybe we'll run into each other! That would be cool!

Your Mousekeeping envelopes are awesome!!! I need to get with it on mine and check that off the to-do list!

Your house looks beautiful!

Yay!!! Your trip is SO close!!!!!!!

Thanks Tracy! Can't believe our trips are almost here! It seems like forever since I started planning!

I have been such a slacker!!!

Whoo hoo on Magic Bands!

I absolutely LOVE the Star Wars luggage tags and the Mousekeeping envelopes! I wish I had seen those tags sooner... (Matt NEEDS one of those...except he is a Yoda guy)...and those envelopes make mine look so sad. Your sister is VERY talented!

So we have some good news...we thought we might have to cancel our Galactic Dine Inn breakfast, but Matt ended up getting a very nice job (contract to hire, but he is at least employed and they are okay with him being on the trip) so we will get to see you all there! We will be the two "Pooh sized" people with the young skinny girl (people will probably think Matt & I eat all Sabrina's food LOL!) I am collecting shiny things to trade with the Jawas (sp?)

See Ya Real Soon!

Lynn

Thanks Lynn!! I got the tags on ebay but I think amazon has them too. They do have a Yoda one! It says: Property of Jedi Master. I think Matt will love it!

My sister says thanks!

My sister is going to be unemployed as of next week...she quit her job because she couldn't take her managers (she works in retail). I'm sure she'll find something soon but Disney will be her break. That's great Matt found a job and he's still able to go to Disney! It'll be a nice break... I think we all need one!

See you soon! Come say hi at Sci Fi!! I didn't know you could trade with the Jawas! Is it like pin trading?

 

[chunkymonkey]

Quick update! Happy May 4th!! May the 4th be with you!! Today is really making us look forward to Star Wars weekends!

Here are pics from 2012 when we attended the Villains Bash at DHS. It was an afterparty for the ToT Ten Mile Run (which of course we didn't run, we just went to the after party). These pics of Vader are soooo awesome. I hope we get another one like it, but the waits will probably be crazy long at SWW.

It's a funny story how the 2nd pic came about. When we first went up to take our pic, I told Vader to do the death grip on DH while I just smiled and pretended I was a Disney tourist (hence the first pic). Vader crossed his arms and stared at me (exactly like the first pic). I thought, shucks he's not going to do the death grip, so when he finally turned to DH and gave him the death grip, I was shocked and that's exactly the expression on my face in the 2nd pic!!

Can't believe we're leaving on our cruise this weekend! I feel like I have a lot of stuff to do but it's probably too late to try and do any of it! It's also a busy week at work (it always seems like it right before vacation!)

I've pretty much finalized my packing right now. Here's what my suitcase looks like right now...

I'm actually surprised it's so neat! I have a feeling I will pull one or two things and add a few things to the bag. It's hard to pack for 2 weeks away! I'm usually a light packer, but I realize with Disney it's best to bring everything you think you're going to need even if you don't use it. It's not like it's going to be easy to find stuff on a cruise so I guess I'll pack a few more things (mostly shoes LOL). I'm hoping we get to do laundry at some point although I have never had to do laundry before at Disney! I can't even imagine I'd have the time to...we're always at the parks! Either way I've packed some Tide pods for a few loads just in case.

We went to see the Avengers 2 this weekend! It was awesome! Although I thought the plot was a little thin and they tried to add many new characters, I figure it's all to set up for the last few Avengers Infinity War movies. I went with DH, my sister (not Chunkysis, but one of the twins) and her hubby, Marc. We all wore Marvel t-shirts except for my sister who claims she doesn't have any. LOL. A lot of people wore Marvel t shirts, I felt like we were at a comic book convention!

Here's us at the theater, except for my sister who was taking the pic:

Hope everyone has a great week! I will try and post an update before we leave, but if not, I'll see everyone in my TR!!

 

[cajunfan]

My sister is going to be unemployed as of next week...she quit her job because she couldn't take her managers (she works in retail). I'm sure she'll find something soon but Disney will be her break. That's great Matt found a job and he's still able to go to Disney! It'll be a nice break... I think we all need one!

See you soon! Come say hi at Sci Fi!! I didn't know you could trade with the Jawas! Is it like pin trading?

Does she have a Disney Store near her? Only problem is if she is looking for full time, they normally only hire managers at full time. But...there are perks...

I read it on another report that you can trade...they like shiny things...I think Kenny the Pirate has a review of the breakfast and he talks about it too. Did you hear about Rebel Hangar? Again I read about it on a trip report...no availability on the 16th, but I was able to snag an ADR on the 15th. Check out page 589 on the Star Wars Weekend thread.

 

[Gracefulskinny]

Its almost here!!!!! LOVE the vader pictures! Those are just awesome!

 

[Tracy161]

It's also a busy week at work (it always seems like it right before vacation!)

Isn't that the truth?! I have a horrendous looking week next week before my vacation - that always seems to be the case, too!

You're SO close to leaving!!! Woohoo!!!!!!! I'll absolutely be on the look-out for you in Epcot May 17th!