I'll Call Steve: A Wilderprincess PTR! (Aug 2015) *COMPLETED*

[FantasiaMagic]

Hey Kaitlyn! I just read through your entire PTR right now haha!!!!

I am going to college as well!!! Are you planning on doing the DCP in the future? It is a dream of mine to take part in it! I loved your quote you used for your yearbook, and I also loved your city broadways adventures - very exciting stuff!

All your plans look great and it looks as you and your family will have an amazing trip.
Also, I'm the same way with character meets at WDW, I will NEVER be too old for character meets! I love your challenge of meeting all of the princesses in one day, it sounds like a lot of fun!

You are so close to your trip which is super exciting! Have an amazing time!

 

[Newsies]

Hey Kaitlyn! I just read through your entire PTR right now haha!!!!

I am going to college as well!!! Are you planning on doing the DCP in the future? It is a dream of mine to take part in it! I loved your quote you used for your yearbook, and I also loved your city broadways adventures - very exciting stuff!

All your plans look great and it looks as you and your family will have an amazing trip.
Also, I'm the same way with character meets at WDW, I will NEVER be too old for character meets! I love your challenge of meeting all of the princesses in one day, it sounds like a lot of fun!

You are so close to your trip which is super exciting! Have an amazing time!

Welcome aboard, Alison!

I am planning to do the DCP! It's a dream of mine as well. It sounds like it could be a lot of fun. And thank you for the compliments on my yearbook quote and broadway adventures

Thank you!!! I'm so pumped to hear about all of the fun times you and your friends had over spring break also!!!

Literally I love character meets they're awesome. So much fun.

THANK YOU!!! Can't wait to read more of your TR!!!!

 

[xlsm]

6 days, holy crap!!

It's almost here!!!

I know I've commented on this before, but it cracks me up how much you remind me of myself. Your room was basically my room, you could not see the paint on my walls due to all of the posters/magazine pictures I had up! Now, due to the difference in years, my photos were of *Nsync, the Backstreet Boys, the cast of Dawson's Creek, and an entire wall devoted to Derek Jeter, among many other things. I love it.

I want to hold hands and skip down the street with your playlist.

Triple Dent gum for the win.

 

[Newsies]

6 days, holy crap!!

It's almost here!!!

I know I've commented on this before, but it cracks me up how much you remind me of myself. Your room was basically my room, you could not see the paint on my walls due to all of the posters/magazine pictures I had up! Now, due to the difference in years, my photos were of *Nsync, the Backstreet Boys, the cast of Dawson's Creek, and an entire wall devoted to Derek Jeter, among many other things. I love it.

I want to hold hands and skip down the street with your playlist.

Triple Dent gum for the win.

6 DAYS!!!!!

We're pretty much the same person. It never fails to make me giggle whenever you point out how similar we are

Let's do it!!! Right down main street USA!

♫ triple dent gum will make you smile... ♫

 

[FantasiaMagic]

Can't wait to read more of your TR!!!!

Thanks!!!!

♫ triple dent gum will make you smile... ♫

Every time this song played in the movie theater (mind you I have seen Inside Out twice already) I laughed Every. Single. Time. Oh my gosh too funny. Pixar comedy at it's finest!!!

You have 5 days to go!!!! Soon you'll be hanging out with princesses and eating Dole Whips!!!!

 

[Newsies]

Thanks!!!!

Every time this song played in the movie theater (mind you I have seen Inside Out twice already) I laughed Every. Single. Time. Oh my gosh too funny. Pixar comedy at it's finest!!!

You have 5 days to go!!!! Soon you'll be hanging out with princesses and eating Dole Whips!!!!

Omg. You're literally the sweetest!!!

 

[ForeverDance]

Getting so close now!! I love your packing update. I envy you the time to try everything on while you pack. When I pack for our trip (did I ever mention I have an actual trip now?) it will be so rushed I'm sure I'm going to miss something.

 

[Newsies]

Getting so close now!! I love your packing update. I envy you the time to try everything on while you pack. When I pack for our trip (did I ever mention I have an actual trip now?) it will be so rushed I'm sure I'm going to miss something.

SO CLOSE!!!

Haha, thank you! I wanted to post about packing, but wasn't sure what to post... so I did that

Girl, WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT? You have a trip now!!! Oh my gosh, that's awesome!!! Are you going to post a PTR? I totally want to hear everything!!! I'm so happy for you!!!

 

[DisFam95]

How fun - you are too cute!!! Love your packing. I so need to be doing that!!! We'll be at the WL in 11 days! I'll keep my eye out for you. We have out of town family coming to stay here for 4 days right before our trip so I'm focused on that instead of packing.

Can;t wait to be at the LODGE!!!!

 

[Newsies]

Plan Changes and Notebooks
5 days out
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AHHH!!! I leave in 4 days!!! And in 5 days, I arrive!!!

DANCE WITH ME, ANDY BERNARD!
​

So, I'm making a slight change in my "meet-every-princess-in-one-day" plan. I crunched numbers today, and while it would technically be possible to execute the plan if I follow the incredibly strict tour plan I've set up, I'm just... not going to. Basically, I've concluded that it's very possible to meet them all if you have no other obligations. However, I have a dinner ADR and the Wishes party, both of which are throwing a wrench into my plans. So I'm cutting Mulan and Pocahontas, and just meeting all of the princesses in MK. If I cut just those two princesses, my life will be SUPER easy and fun that day. And I guess it can still mean "all" of the princesses to some people, since some don't consider Mulan and Pocahontas princesses? I say balderdash! to those people, but I digress. I'm just going to follow this awesome touring plan that Kenny the Pirate has created, meet the princesses in MK, take advantage of the EMH on MK that day, have a nice little lunch at Cosmic Ray's, and enjoy life.

Pooh is happy because I'm not going to stress myself out on this trip
​

That quest is going to be in the back of my mind, though. And one day, when I'm on a solo trip, I'm going to plan my trip around that quest. And I will have the time to execute it. And it will be amazing.

Moving on.

Today I decided to be productive and make use of a cute little notebook I got at the Mitsuwa Market at Hoboken.

PSST, I'll let you in on a little spoiler... this is not the last Mitsuwa Marketplace notebook of the trip.
​

So this notebook serves two purposes.

Basically, I can get incredibly overstimulated due to the heat/stress of the parks in the summer (who wouldn't?). And sometimes, I can't get out of the park for various reasons. For example! I got incredibly overstimulated and stressed out last year at around 3:00 at Hollywood Studios. However, if I went back to the resort, I would pretty much have to go right back for what was a 4:30 reservation at 50PTC. Obviously, it wasn't worth the extra traveling and could only add to my stress. So my anxiety levels were heightened because I was stuck at DHS for about an hour and a half and didn't know what to do with myself. Also, when I'm playing at the parks, I tend to forget to eat during the day. And then I get hungry, and I find myself in a part of the park where I don't know what many of the restaurants serve. And then I get a headache, and then I feel bad, and that will also in turn lead to increased levels of anxiety.

If I get too overstimulated, too hot, too stressed out, and too hungry, I run an incredibly high risk of having an anxiety attack. So the first part of this notebook is designed to help me with that. I wrote myself a guide with "cool down/destress" ideas and places to eat (with foods on the menu that I'd want to eat!) for each park. This way, if I catch myself exhibiting the first signs of overstimulation/anxiety due to stress or hunger, but can't get out of the park, I have a little guide of how to deescalate quickly.

It took me a little over a month to complete this, and it's not even that big. Oops. I kept getting distracted and putting it down.

Have a look inside!

doodling was the best part of the whole project

I tried to include more "indoor activities" and less places to just sit and take a break since distraction usually works better when I have to deal with my anxiety.

I'm so sorry for my embarrassingly childish handwriting. I promise I'm not 8. I was just rushing to finish!
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And then, if you flip the notebook over and upside down...

...

♫ ALL HAIL THE BRAAAAAIN! ♫
​

This is very simply my brain for this trip. No big deal. Just my brain.

There was just so many different FP+ and ADRs this trip that I really needed a way to organize them on paper. So technically, it's a model of what I wish my brain was like when it came to this trip

Notice how nice and orderly the first page is

Even the second page, everything is going well...

... And everything erupts to chaos on Thursday
​

And my brain is FRIED right now, so that's where this update ends! There's probably more that I wanted to tell you and forgot to, just because I was so busy today. Maybe I'll remember tomorrow.

With that being said, goodnight!

 

[Newsies]

How fun - you are too cute!!! Love your packing. I so need to be doing that!!! We'll be at the WL in 11 days! I'll keep my eye out for you. We have out of town family coming to stay here for 4 days right before our trip so I'm focused on that instead of packing.

Can;t wait to be at the LODGE!!!!

Oh goodness, you're too sweet

Welcome aboard!

Can't wait to be at the Lodge either!!! 11 days... you're so close as well!!! Hope your family arrives safely and you guys have a great time.

 

[FantasiaMagic]

Pooh is happy because I'm not going to stress myself out on this trip

That quest is going to be in the back of my mind, though. And one day, when I'm on a solo trip, I'm going to plan my trip around that quest. And I will have the time to execute it. And it will be amazing.

You go girl!

Have a look inside!

​

What a great idea, and BTW - you have such neat handwriting! I'm so jealous!

 

[Newsies]

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[xlsm]

Tough News
? days out
​

Hi all.

My grandmother peacefully passed away this morning. This took us completely by surprise, as she was recovering very well for a while.

This is a brief update, but a large one nonetheless. Yes, we are still going to WDW. It looks as though we will be leaving on Friday afternoon/evening immediately after the service takes place. We do know that Friday is the earliest we will be able to leave, but it's unsure whether or not we'll have to move anything else around at the moment. After my parents make the arrangements this afternoon, we'll discuss it further. We have not had the time to sit down and discuss the upcoming days since we've had to begin the heavy process that is making funeral arrangements.

We are all in a state of grieving right now, and I apologize if my updates from now until the end of this PTR are less "Kaitlyn" than they usually are, and if this PTR ends on kind of a weird, rushed, sour note.

Thank you all for following along! You have been my support system since my grandmother was first admitted into the hospital in May, and I'm incredibly grateful for that.

Oh, Kaitlyn, I am so, so sorry. I have tears in my eyes and I would hug you if I could.
I lost my grandmother the March after I graduated high school, it's just not easy.

You're in my heart, and your family is in my thoughts and prayers.

 

[ForeverDance]

Girl, WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT? You have a trip now!!! Oh my gosh, that's awesome!!! Are you going to post a PTR? I totally want to hear everything!!! I'm so happy for you!!!

Yeah we just booked it on July 16th... for the end of August! After coming through some tough stuff DH and I agreed our family absolutely needed it. It's actually a surprise trip (neither of our girls will know we are going) which has made it all the more difficult to get the planning/organizing done. I'd love to do a PTR but between finalizing the details of this surprise trip, planning my oldest DDs surprise going to university party, and just plain planning for her move to university, my time is so tight I'm not sure it's feasible. I'll have a better feel for how things are progressing next week so I might start one then.

Tough News
? days out
​

Hi all.

My grandmother peacefully passed away this morning. This took us completely by surprise, as she was recovering very well for a while.

This is a brief update, but a large one nonetheless. Yes, we are still going to WDW. It looks as though we will be leaving on Friday afternoon/evening immediately after the service takes place. We do know that Friday is the earliest we will be able to leave, but it's unsure whether or not we'll have to move anything else around at the moment. After my parents make the arrangements this afternoon, we'll discuss it further. We have not had the time to sit down and discuss the upcoming days since we've had to begin the heavy process that is making funeral arrangements.

We are all in a state of grieving right now, and I apologize if my updates from now until the end of this PTR are less "Kaitlyn" than they usually are, and if this PTR ends on kind of a weird, rushed, sour note.

Thank you all for following along! You have been my support system since my grandmother was first admitted into the hospital in May, and I'm incredibly grateful for that.

I am so very sorry for your loss. I am sending warm thoughts to you and your family. I hope that you can make it through the stress that is funeral arrangements and find some time to grieve and heal.

 

[Newsies]

Oh, Kaitlyn, I am so, so sorry. I have tears in my eyes and I would hug you if I could.
I lost my grandmother the March after I graduated high school, it's just not easy.

You're in my heart, and your family is in my thoughts and prayers.

Thank you so much. Your words mean the world to me. Truly, thank you. You're the best.

Yeah we just booked it on July 16th... for the end of August! After coming through some tough stuff DH and I agreed our family absolutely needed it. It's actually a surprise trip (neither of our girls will know we are going) which has made it all the more difficult to get the planning/organizing done. I'd love to do a PTR but between finalizing the details of this surprise trip, planning my oldest DDs surprise going to university party, and just plain planning for her move to university, my time is so tight I'm not sure it's feasible. I'll have a better feel for how things are progressing next week so I might start one then.



I am so very sorry for your loss. I am sending warm thoughts to you and your family. I hope that you can make it through the stress that is funeral arrangements and find some time to grieve and heal.

I hope your vacation is awesome! You deserve it.

Thank you for your kind words. You're amazing.

 

[FantasiaMagic]

My grandmother peacefully passed away this morning. This took us completely by surprise, as she was recovering very well for a while.

Kaitlyn, I am so sorry for your loss. You and your family are in my thoughts. I wish you only the best.

 

[Newsies]

Kaitlyn, I am so sorry for your loss. You and your family are in my thoughts. I wish you only the best.

Thank you so much Alison, it means a lot to me

 

[Newsies]

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[FantasiaMagic]

Kaitlyn, I love all of your travel companions! SO cute! I look forward to seeing your pictures with Mini-Ari in them.

I am very excited to hear all about your trip. I wish you and your family the best time, even more with everything you all have been going through lately. Enjoy everything, and I wish you all lots of happiness and magic!