So Many Disney Things To Do! Oct 2016 PTR UPDATE 10/13 MagicBand Wraps!

[Gondingl]

Hello everyone!

It is official, I was able to book us into a BC - CL water view room for Oct 28 - Nov 2rd (8/24 edit: new trip dates: October 27 - November 3) trip! So let the planning begin!! SO much to do with (what feels like on Disney time) so little to do!!

What I need to do:
1) Get some dining reservations - this I've actually already done with hopes that I would be going on this trip. Just need to polish some up.
2) Make some FastPasses!
3) Book airlines! I've heard that airfare will be dropping soon so hope to take advantage of that!
4) Buy some cute Disney gear to wear on the trip!
5) Buy a suitcase. Yeah, my suitcase just broke so will need a new one before we get on the plane!


Stay tuned for more ramblings!

 

[Gondingl]

So let me introduce you to "us". Us is myself, Lauren - Hi, nice to meet you. And Christopher, my boyfriend of 3-years.

Here is a recent picture of us on our last trip to Boston (where my suitcase broke thus adding a 'thing' to do before our next trip). (I hope that works!)


About me: I am a lover of all things Disney! Seriously, I cannot get enough in my life. From planning trips, to going to the Disney Store when I can, to visiting the DisneyStore.com on the daily, to watching Disney movies every time I can find them on TV (thank you Freeform!) - I cannot get enough. I also tend to listen to Spectro Radio and DPark Radio as often as I can...

About Christopher: He is a huge (and I mean huge) Pearl Jam fan. Most of our travels take us to where PJ is playing or to Disney. Our picture is from their concert in Boston this year and we got seats right on Wrigley Field! Pretty cool moment! He also loves all Cincinnati sports - Bengals and Reds.

The only thing about our travels that stinks is having to leave behind our fur-baby. This is Sophie. We recently got some pretty bad news about her, she has Congestive Heart Failure and her vet has only given her one year to live So we are trying to make her last year her best year and this will be the last trip we go on for a while that she can't go on. (Hoping for a small miracle Disney will open their arms to her and let her come with us. But I'm not holding my breath...)


Up next: Our current Dining Plans. And what I want to get.

 

[absolutmey]

girl, you are behind! kidding. last minute trips are fun! can't wait to see what you plan.

so sorry to hear about Sophie. such a sweet face!

 

[Gondingl]

girl, you are behind! kidding. last minute trips are fun! can't wait to see what you plan.

so sorry to hear about Sophie. such a sweet face!

I KNOW! So behind. Nothing like booking a trip at 67 days prior to you check-in! Going to be a fun whirlwind though. Half of the fun is the planning!

Thank you, she is a sweet girl! Wish everyone could meet her.

 

[Gondingl]

Alright here are our dining plans so far:

10/28 Fri. DHS day: Lunch at 50's Prime Time. BUT I want to try and get to Chef Art Smith's Homecoming... I've heard the fried chicken (and everything else!) is amazing. Plus gives me an excuse to get to DS and visit the cupcake ATM. I must see this.

10/29 Sat Epcot Day: Eating breakfast with Minnie at Cape May. Dinner at Spice Road Table. Love getting tapas and watching the firework so I'm excited about this one.

10/30 MK Day: Ohana Breakfast! Never eaten here before (I know.). Dinner - Currently have Cali Grill ressies but they are at 10PM. I'm hoping to get in earlier.

10/31 AK morning. Epcot PM. We love ourselves some Teppan Edo. Christopher loves the green tea cheesecake (still talks about how good it was from our trip 2 years ago!)

11/1 MK Day: Liberty Tree lunch. Heard good things about the burger? Might cancel. Wish Pesco's Bills still had their yum burgers. Dinner: BOG!!!!! I snagged this one months ago in preps of a trip.

11/2 Boyfriend's Birthday /DHS day: Don't tell him but by some Disney miracle I got Le Cellier for dinner!!

11/3: Go home Day. Debating on getting an extra day of tickets since Epcot opens her gates at 8AM...

This will be us:


So my trip seems really short when you put in down in terms of meals.... <- I have a tendency to do this. Get upset that the trip is short, or going to be over, before it even happens. I'm crazy sometimes.


Next up: getting ourselves there!!!! We will fly (we aren't good at road trips. We drove to Wisconsin last year - like upper left corner of Wisconsin, 14 hours one way... It was the trip that never ended because we had to keep stopping. Too much AADD between the two of us.). Just hoping that the flights rumor (that airfare is to drop soon) proves to be true!

 

[Gondingl]

Happy Wednesday ya'all!



Alright. So much happened last night! First big thing: once I told my parents, my sister and my best friend what our plans were - they now want to come. So they are searching for their own various hotel rooms to join us! I think my parents will only join us for the weekend - they really only want to go to Food&Wine and everyone else sounded like they'd be spending the entire time with us! If they do end up coming with us, this trip of 2 just turned into a trip of 10! Bring on the party!

Our FP+ selection day is Monday so hopefully they book before then so we don't have too many problems there. Lord, I've never tried to get FastPasses for 10 people before.... That is intimidating!

The next big thing: We bought our plane tickets!!!

We will be flying on.....

I normally try to fly Delta but have been flying with Frontier and I don't mind it so much anymore. Yes they are usually always delayed... but it was so much cheaper than Delta. I mean, super cheap. And it was cheaper to fly down Thursday night and leave Thursday afternoon so our trips dates have actually changed! (I'll fix that after I post this). Our new dates are:

Oct. 27 - Nov. 3!

But (there is always a but.), I couldn't find ANYTHING at the Beach Club on the 27th. So we are staying here:



I've never stayed at ASSports before. Bf is THRILLED though and is crossing his fingers we are near the football helmets. I wonder if I can request that....

But BOTH of our tickets on Frontier plus the ASSports night - was cheaper than one of us flying on Delta. I swear they are trying to get away with highway robbery sometimes.

So that was my night in a nutshell! And officially doing the happy dance because our trip is not OFFICIAL! No turning back!



Up next: FastPass plans. For 10. Yikes.

 

[Gondingl]

Happy Thursday!!


Walt Disney World is only 62 days away!!!! Last time I checked-in people were debating on coming with us. Well now we have 2 more members officially coming to the party! Let me introduce you to my parents!



This is Joe and Robin! They love Disney. They also love Epcot. They also love Food and Wine at Epcot - as if the picture didn't indicate otherwise. My mom, Robin loves all the thrill rides - Tower of Terror, Rockin Roller Coaster, Space Mountain, Big Thunder - she loves them all. Dad is a Soarin' and Kilimanjaro Safari kind of guy. They will be joining us late on the 28th and leaving on the morning of the 2nd. They also go at room at this gorgeous resort with us!



My Sis and her man are currently requesting off work so fingers crossed they can come - it will be her birthday during this trip so that would be pretty magical if they could come.

And my friend, her husband, her mother and daughter will be joining us too! They are going to stay at the Swan.


So party of 2 is now officially a party of 8 (and more than likely a party of 10). Which I am pretty excited about! I love when my favorite people can go to my favorite place.

 

[Gondingl]

HAPPY FRIDAY! Which has me at my desk at work like this:


This week seems like it has been a long crazy one! I'll be celebrating the weekend by going out to dinner with DBF and his grandparents, getting the oil changed in my Prius and hitting up Costco for some Disney Gift Cards! A relaxing weekend sounds so nice. If you need a mental image:


Maybe trying to convince my sister to go see Pete's Dragon with me...? Maybe? Anyone seen it yet to offer their review?


But it is official, our sweet innocent trip of two people (DBf and myself - side note: is DBf an abbreviation or did I just make that up?...) has turned into a hoard of people. My sister and her BF are coming now - they booked their flights on Southwest for 10/28 to Nov 2nd - same get up as my parents flight.

My friend, her husband, her mother (whom is also my mother's best fried - crazy world) and her sweet daughter will be joining us.

They are totally taking advantage of the "under three and your free" Disney rule as sweet Miss Ellie Turns 2 as soon as we leave and has been to Disney World than most kids can count (advantage of living in Florida)! It will be so neat getting to go on the rides and see it how she sees it! Plus lucky enough that she calls me her aunt so, yeah, it is going to be an awesome trip!

Planning tidbit: Does anyone know the order the DME bus takes to get to All-Star Sports? Currently debating renting a car for the night we get in. Our flight gets into MCO super late (11PM) - we will have to get our luggage anyways - adding a wait to be allowed on a bus, waiting on the bus to leave MCO, waiting as it makes all of the other resort stops before it gets to ASSports... sounds daunting for us as are are people who are normally in bed at 10PM. Might be worth the $60 to rent a car at the airport and drop it off at the Dolphin on our way to DHS on Friday... Any clue as to the schedule or how late-night DME works would be super appreciated!!

 

[Gondingl]

Happy Monday ya'all! Does anyone else hate how Monday always tends to show up on time?

^ This was so true this morning since it was our FastPass morning! I bounded out of bed like I never have on a Monday morning (unless I am at Disney. Different sleeping rules there).

Our weekend was very relaxing. Went to dinner with grandma and grandpa on Friday night. Took them to a chicken place down the street from us, to find out grandpa doesn't eat chicken... whoops. But everyone else enjoyed their chicken dinners.

It was nice getting to see them, they live in North Carolina so don't get to see them more than a few times a year.

Saturday I got the oil changed in my Prius. When it was time to pay they told me the cost was $89 - I had a coupon for $49. I asked why so much, she told me that "We already took off $9." Okay but that is still a lot more than the coupon price so I asked if she could fix it. So she comes back and says "You're right, the coupon wasn't applied. So your new total is $69.00." What. I told her I was still confused on the price so she said, "Well that includes the $20 to rotate my tires." So I politely told her, "I didn't ask for that to be done - I get that done for free where I purchased my tires could you please remove that." She had to go check. It ended up being removed, and my final bill was $49 but lordy - took us awhile to get to there!

We then went to Costco so I could meal prep on Sunday and I tried to get Disney Gift Cards and my local Costco doesn't sell them! They told me only the Florida Costcos carry them... This is news to me! I also looked at some of the carryon sized suitcases at Costco but they only have the hardcase ones. I like the ones that have the different pockets on the outside - allows me to get what I need out of my suitcase in the airport but not have to undo the whole thing. So not getting one from there. We went home and the rest of our Saturday was relaxing and watching Disney movies - Malificient and Zootopia with a make-it-ourselves pizza night.

Sunday was meal prep day! I'm trying to make a bunch of freezer meals that I can just throw in the crockpot or oven so when I get home from my day job life at home combined with my nighttime job work is overall easier. So yesterday I 'prepped' the following:

• 2 pot roast meals;
• beef quesadilla/fajita fillings;
• Beef Dips;
• Aloha Pork;
• BBQ Pork;
• Cube Steak with mushroom gravy;
• Twice Baked Potatoes (side items for some of our meals);
• Italian sausage with peppers and onions;
• Smoked baby-back ribs; and
• LOTS of meatballs.

It got a little chaotic there and I felt like this by the end:


But 10 meals for the price of $55 ($12 for the beef, $5 for the pork, $10 for the ribs, $3 for the cubed steak and $5 for the Italian sausage plus the cost of the sides, veggies and whatever else I needed). So about $5.50 a meal for 2. I think that is pretty good.


Oh and on Sunday we got to make our FastPasses!!!! So this is what we are doing:
Friday - DHS

• Star Tours 9:55AM
• TSM 11:25AM
• Tot 12:35

Saturday - Epcot

• Soarin! FP: 9:50AM
• LwtL 10:50am
• Mission Space 11:5am (lord help me not loose my breakfast on this one)

Sunday - MK

• Pirates 10:05am
• Splash 11:05am
• Peter Pan 12:50am

Monday - AK

• Safari 9:15am
• Everest 11:35am
• Dinosaur 1:25pm

Tuesday - MK

• Buzz 9:30am
• Space 10:40am
• Mine Train 11:45am

Wed - DHS (looks very similar to Friday's lol)

• Star Tours 9:15am
• TSM! 10:20am
• Tot 12:05pm

Thursday - Epcot

• Soarin 9:20am
• Earth 10:35am
• Meet Disney Pals (or say bye to them since we are leaving) 11:40am

So that is what I was able to get for all of us this morning! Well all of us except for my friend's hubby. It kept telling me he has existing plans - but I couldn't cancel those plans - so I need to call Disney and see what is up about that. Other than that small hiccup it was a lot less daunting than I thought it was going to be!

And this was Sophie last night. We had some super bad storms here and she decided to become afraid of storms.


Up next: things I need and want to buy for our trip!!

 

[Gondingl]

So this has been a week.... You know that oil change I got on Saturday? Well they didn't put something back right on my car and well it broke so now my car is broke and we are waiting for the replacement part ... DBf is nice enough to chauffeur me around He even showed up with a fancy lunch of Wendy's and we had a picnic in his car yesterday - which was super sweet because we never get to have lunch together.

In the meantime - I got some pretty awesome Disney mail!! I had these amazing leggings made and I am in love with them! I can only hope late October is cool enough so I can wear them! At least at night!


And for DBf's birthday - since we will be at WDW on his b-day - I've decided I am going to either find the shirt that Eddie Veddar wears with a rockin' out Mickey Mouse or have it made. Cause I cannot find it for the life of me and I think it will just be easier to make it than to find it. Here is the Mickey


He is pretty bad (insert bad word here). And Chris, loving everything Pearl Jam and Eddie Veddar will love it as well.

Until then I'm currently using this guy as much as I can and all the other Disney mugs I own to keep the Disney spirit alive (like I would let it die )


And still looking for a suitcase. Why must they be so expensive? I want, want, want the Minnie Mouse polka dot suitcase from American Tourister but she is a pretty penny and I don't know anyone with it - so not sure worth the money. But she is so pretty. Has anyone bought one of these? I just want to know if they are worth the money


And apparently $25 off today?! Say what.... She might be mine. (Yes, sometimes I describe inanimate objects with pronouns).

Oh and has anyone else heard the news that Rockin' Roller Coaster will be down for refurb this fall? I'm sad about this because we've not gotten to ride this one together! It was closed on our last visit too. There will be about 4 rights for us to do at DHS when we visit: Star Tours, Toy Story, ToT (lord help me) and the Movie Ride. Maybe we will stop and watch Indy narrowly escape death too.

 

[Gondingl]

I am crazy and I'M GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!!!

You're like, "Lauren, we know this this is why you're doing a PTR." Well true. But I'm going to Disney World September 16th!!!! Since my Best Friend lives in Florida and I have an Annual Pass until November of this year, I'm making the most of it and we decided to take advantage of an awesome deal we found for BWI! So we booked and we are going!!! I booked a super cheap Frontier flight (Hello $19 each way flight!) as well!



So I did all of this last night. I also looked on the FastPasses and I was able to get us Frozen FastPasses for FRIDAY night!!!!! Holy cow. I am so excited. Mainly because I didn't get us a FP for Frozen for the big October trip - don't think DBF, my dad and my Sister's Bf would enjoy it as much as Soarin' (which is my Dad's absolute favorite ride). So this will be me running up to Frozen.

I also got us FP's for Saturday at Epcot at Soarin' and to Meet Mickey and the gang (the last time we took her daughter to meet Mickey there were lots and lots of tears. She also tried to rip Mickey's nose off. I'm hoping this one goes better). Sunday we will spend in Magic Kingdom and I got FP's for Peter Pan, the Jungle Cruise and Splash Mountain. No ADR's planned as of now - will probably, hopefully, try and scoop up some last minute cancellations. Fingers crossed cause Les Chefs sounds delicious for dinner one night.

Since it is the first weekend of Food & Wine I got us these cute "Around the World" drink cards from an awesome seller on Etsy - ours doesn't have the 40th birthday bit on it though...

I hate those drinking shirts but thought these were cute. I also bought some for the "Big Trip" and plan to give it to the rest of the family in their surprise boxes. I love making little travel boxes for everyone before we go on trips - makes it fun to open them up right before vacation!

So stay tuned for 2 trip reports AND a mini trip report!!!

Now off to buy a suitcase cause I need it in 2 weeks!!

 

[Teetah]

Joining your PTR! Your plans look awesome! And an added bonus trip coming VERY soon?!?!? YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love those Drink Around the World tags! I might have to consider that! MY DSIL is coming with me for Nov 10-14 (PTR coming soon) for F&W, so those are very appealing!

Your pup is precious!!!!

I understand the Pearl Jam thing. We are HUGE 311 fans and even go on their music cruises. We see them anytime they tour near us and occasionally even travel for a regular show. So, I get it!

 

[Gondingl]

Joining your PTR! Your plans look awesome! And an added bonus trip coming VERY soon?!?!? YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love those Drink Around the World tags! I might have to consider that! MY DSIL is coming with me for Nov 10-14 (PTR coming soon) for F&W, so those are very appealing!

Your pup is precious!!!!

I understand the Pearl Jam thing. We are HUGE 311 fans and even go on their music cruises. We see them anytime they tour near us and occasionally even travel for a regular show. So, I get it!

Thanks for following along! I thought I was talking to the walls for a while there! Bonus trip is oh-so-soon! But I'm not going to complain! Not only are the tags are cute - I just bought them this morning - she has already shipped them to me!

I shall pass along Sophie's compliment - she is a pretty awesome puppy!

I loved 311 when I was in High School - saw them in an very small concert setting and they were amazing!

 

[Shauna1ee]

Following along too! Congrats on the bonus trip! You will have to post all your F&W tips, I've never been, and my first time is this month!

PS- Your dog is adorable!

Shauna

(Edit: And I apparently love exclamation points , I'm very excitable.)

 

[Teetah]

Thanks for following along! I thought I was talking to the walls for a while there! Bonus trip is oh-so-soon! But I'm not going to complain! Not only are the tags are cute - I just bought them this morning - she has already shipped them to me!
I shall pass along Sophie's compliment - she is a pretty awesome puppy!
I loved 311 when I was in High School - saw them in an very small concert setting and they were amazing!

I understand - my last TR was pretty quiet! Mostly due to me not updating it, I imagine.

Fun that you have seen 311 in concert! They are still touring heavily! And currently working on a new album.

 

[Gondingl]

Following along too! Congrats on the bonus trip! You will have to post all your F&W tips, I've never been, and my first time is this month!

PS- Your dog is adorable!

Shauna

(Edit: And I apparently love exclamation points , I'm very excitable.)

Thanks for following Shauna! (I love exclamation points too - they are second nature, especially when talking about Disney things )

When are you going this month? My Food and Wine Tips (in general) are:

1. Don't try and do it all in one day - there is too much food and wine and beer!
2. Try and avoid going on a weekend - Saturday are CRAZY with long lines (yes, I'm going on a Saturday on both of my trips unfortunately).
3. Start at the American pavilion, pick a direction and work your way toward the entrance of World Showcase (most of the people start at the entrance thus the lines are longest there, while the lines in the back of World Showcase tend to be more manageable).
4. Share with others. Order one of everything (that you're interested in) and then split them! This will help keep the cost down and you'll be able to try more. Go back for seconds of what you really love.
5. Keep your payment and ID (if you're drinking) easily accessible. Gift cards/Magic Bands/ CC make it easiest to pay and less things to juggle.
6. Get the Passport - makes a cute (and free) souvenir! Bring a pen and you can jot down your thoughts of what you've tried.
7. HAVE FUN!!!!!

I'll report back with must "eats" and "drinks". I already know one - the Le Cellier Steak at the Canada booth - heaven.

 

[Gondingl]

I understand - my last TR was pretty quiet! Mostly due to me not updating it, I imagine.

Fun that you have seen 311 in concert! They are still touring heavily! And currently working on a new album.

If I don't do a PTR, DBf's ear may fall off from all of the Disney things I want to tell him Plus this helps me keep my secrets because I'm telling "someone" about the surprises I plan (ie the lanyards).

That is fun they are working on a new album! I know DBf would be in heaven if PJ released a new one. Do you know where you and your DSIL will be staying for your upcoming trip?

 

[Teetah]

If I don't do a PTR, DBf's ear may fall off from all of the Disney things I want to tell him Plus this helps me keep my secrets because I'm telling "someone" about the surprises I plan (ie the lanyards).

That is fun they are working on a new album! I know DBf would be in heaven if PJ released a new one. Do you know where you and your DSIL will be staying for your upcoming trip?

Haha - that is smart of you! I do agree...it is way more fun talking to people who REALLY care on the same level. Since this trip is with my DSIL who shares my passion, it is more fun. We are staying at Pop! We stayed there before back in 2009 during a family trip, so it will be fun to revisit those memories! She will be doing the PTR, so that will be forthcoming soon!

 

[Gondingl]

Haha - that is smart of you! I do agree...it is way more fun talking to people who REALLY care on the same level. Since this trip is with my DSIL who shares my passion, it is more fun. We are staying at Pop! We stayed there before back in 2009 during a family trip, so it will be fun to revisit those memories! She will be doing the PTR, so that will be forthcoming soon!

We tried to stay at Pop our first night but all that was left was Sports. You'll have to let me know when the PTR is started so I can follow along!

 

[Gondingl]

I hope everyone had a good Labor Day weekend! I love long holiday weekends - family and friends come into town and it is so nice to get to see everyone! One of my good friends got married and she asked me to be in her wedding so we had a great weekend celebrating that amazing couple. Unfortunately Chris and I didn't get one picture of us all dressed up together! I didn't realize this until we at the car in the parking garage so I took a selfie of us.

And a silly one.

I finally got a suitcase! It isn't the Minnie Mouse one.

But it is an American Tourister bag so it had a cute Disney World advert on the tag!


As Dbf said, it looks like Hidden Mickeys, "kind of". Yeah kind of sweetie. I'm just going to tell myself it is the Disney Fireworks print.

So then when I got home, I had to get to packing! My Bestie is in town with her Husband and daughter for the holiday weekend. He drove back to Florida this morning and since he was driving he offered to take my suitcase with him so I didn't have to pay any carryon fees for the way down! Thanks! SO I packed up my newest Disney shirt first:


With shorts I got from NY & Company for $6!!!! What a deal. They are so soft too. Here are some of my 'older' Disney shirts with my Disney Vans ready to go into my bag.

I found these cute Minnie Mouse socks at Target - and there was a Cartwheel Deal so originally $8, I got them for $6!

I got my purple Magic Band!!


And I put my Minnie Mouse ears in the protective area. Hoping the sequins don't get caught on the mesh of the bag... And I read a great tip on the DisBoards to always have your toiletry bag packed and ready to go as it helps reduce the stress of packing so I was able to throw in all my toiletries, along with my non-Rx prescription bag (I always keep a bag packed of Advil, Pepto, bandaids, neosporin, etc. packed as well)



Other than a few miscellaneous items that will need to go in my 'personal bag' - I'm ready to go to Walt Disney World! Just waiting for the day to arrive on the calendar!

As for the October Big Trip - I rented a car for the whole week we are there. Got a great deal for $160 for the week - I'm sure the car will be the size of a golf cart but we won't be using it much. I remembered back to last year when my girlfriend got sick and would have really appreciated a car to get to Publix for some medicine. Don't want a repeat of that this year so got a car. Plus this will allow us a little extra time at the World and not arrive at the airport 3 hours before our flight like Depressed Express takes you.