We're Staying OFFSITE! An October '14 PTR!

[STLMickeyMom]

I finally made it over! I think your trip sounds like it will be a lot of fun! adding days, doing a behind the scenes tour and heading over to universal sound like a blast to me! can't wait to hear more about your plans!

p.s. you and your mom look so much alike! you have the same smile!

 

[MidnightParade]

I AM signed up with David's, but they have a minimum 44 point stay and I would only be staying for 42 points I think. But I would still try! Heck, maybe if it was only $9 a point I could stay an extra day and do four extra nights instead of three. That's what it usually is, right? $9 a point?

This trip is getting out of control.

Ack! I can't remember what the special's usually are. when I see Saratoga Springs I lose interest.

But I think $9-$11 is roughly it.

 

[ZehnJahren]

I finally made it over! I think your trip sounds like it will be a lot of fun! adding days, doing a behind the scenes tour and heading over to universal sound like a blast to me! can't wait to hear more about your plans!

p.s. you and your mom look so much alike! you have the same smile!

Thanks for joining in! It IS shaping up to be one heck of a busy trip, but I'm so looking forward to it. I got a text from my mom this morning that just said "I NEED TO GO TO DISNEY!!!!!" We both just started using the jukebox at d-cot during work hours, and I LOVE it; but it's making the trip seem so far away listening to all the music and knowing we're still MONTHS from arriving. Oh well, the anticipation is part of the fun, right?

Ack! I can't remember what the special's usually are. when I see Saratoga Springs I lose interest.

But I think $9-$11 is roughly it.

I felt the same way about SSR for awhile, but then I've seen on several TRs where people stayed there and I really liked the look of the rooms and the resort. I think I could happily stay there, especially at $9 per point! Plus the walking path to DTD (or via boat) is very alluring as well. I went and checked on David's FB page, and it WAS $9 per point back in June for July stays. I would definitely give it a try if it came up again for my trip dates.

I was just thinking today that I believe our trip dates may overlap!

 

[ZehnJahren]

OK so here's a loose list of what we're doing and when!

1) Arrival, MK, DTD (Dooney Day! I'm getting a new sketch and hopefully the HM wristlet - or the tote, I can't decide 100% yet!!)
2) Epcot, lunch at the condo, close down HS (since it closes earlier, to get ready for our tour the next day)
3) Ultimate Day of Thrills tour! Dinner at the condo. Epcot/Illuminations tonight if we're not beat.
4) US/IOA! Harry Potter day! (dinner at the condo or Miller's Ale House) Possibly DTD if we're not too beat
5) sleep in, pool, lunch at the condo, MNSSHP!
6) sleep in, lunch at the condo or at Miller's Ale House, snoozer's choice on a park (probably MK but possibly Epcot or HS again)
7) HS OR AK in the morning, MK at night
8) MK, Mom's departure day (and possibly mine, depends on factors), I might do a pool day after she leaves. Dinner at Pop (if I don't change my hotel). I love the parks at night, so maybe I'll run over to HS or MK for nighttime fun.
9) HS open, pool and lunch at Pop, close Epcot, with Illuminations! My favorite!
10) Possibly open AK, pool and nap at lunch, MK at night for sure!
11) Departure Day, another late start, snoozer's choice on a park this morning (probably MK or HS)

and....

12) Possible bonus day (depends on some additional factors ); I'd just do whatever this day - by now I'll probably be park-ed out. If I did stay for bonus day, I'd probably hang out at the pool on day 11 and do MK or HS this morning before leaving. I tend to do a lot of HS/Epcot mixes, so any time I say we're going to HS we may be going to Epcot at some point during that time too.

I'm sure this is going to change a bit too.

What are our FP+ priorities?

At MK: 7DMT, BTMRR, HM, PP. Maybe ETWB; haven't seen it yet.
At Epcot: Really only one: Soarin'
At HS: ToT, ToT, ToT, and TSMM
If we make it to AK: EE and Dinosaur. I think Dinosaur is one of my most favorite rides of all; isn't it funny how people's favorite rides work out??

Most of these rides are covered by our tour, but I'm sure we will like more than one go-round on them. I wonder what we'll get, booking 30 days out!

My magic bands have shipped for my AP, and now with my NEW trip onsite, I can also get BLUE! I will now have pink, green, red, and blue at home. Having added an onsite stay also means I can make my FP+ reservations for the end of my trip about 30 days earlier than I can make the ones for my weeklong vacation! So I'm SURE to get 7DMT right? I want to ride at night.

 

[ZehnJahren]

Just some little updates:

I heard back from Alamo about the rental car. Turns out the primary driver has to turn it in. So I went back in and got a new rental car for mom and cancelled mine! It was $181 - more than the $156 I was paying before - but that way she can drive back to the airport to turn it in and I don't have to take the bus back from MCO afterwards. It's worth the extra $25 to not take ME from the airport and spend an hour touring other resorts before getting back to Pop.

I was thinking today of how different this trip is than my last few. Having someone to talk to about it and get excited with is so nice! And having a few days to myself at the end of the trip is really great too.

Look what I got today!:



Hm, the "p" is cut off. I don't know if this is suitable for a Disney website anymore.

Here's the upcoming HM tote for Dooney. There will be a letter carrier and wristlet too. I want the wristlet, but I am still eyeing this tote depending on the size in person:



Here is my travel purse, making another appearance this trip (though it will split time with my OTHER travel purse):



I don't know where I got this picture from as I stole it from the web years and years ago - but here's my second hotel this trip:



To be honest, this is one of my favorite attractions ever since I was a kid. I just like the vantage point (though as an adult, it seems a lot more dangerous than it did when I was little!):



I got some new skechers - the H2Go.



They're made of some kind of rubber - the WHOLE SHOE is rubber, but oh so soft and comfortable. I got them for Florida rainshowers. However, they did rub a mean blister on the back of my right foot; guess I'll have to wear bandaids with these, but otherwise SO COMFORTABLE. Hurricanes, here I come! I'm almost ready!

Alright, I don't really have much else to say, just popping in. I'll leave you with this:

 

[SarahDisney]

Hm, the "p" is cut off. I don't know if this is suitable for a Disney website anymore.

I laughed out loud at that one!

 

[stacy~**]

I don't check in for a few days and your trip grows by 3 or 4 days? Nice job!!!

Our deal next week is a "last minute" David's deal and it was $8 a point but I don't think it is always that low. We are really very happy to be returning to SSR. Just the balcony alone is worth it over POP, IMHO...especially at the same price. I'll let you know how the buses are.

Never been to GF? Honestly its beautiful but a bit too fancy for me....I really have little desire to stay there. Plus, if I am shelling out deluxe resort prices my preference will always be the Epcot area over the Monorail. For some reason the Monorail makes me a bit uneasy, I don't think I would like riding it everyday!

Your plans sound great. Seems like you have a good mix of super busy days and more relaxed days....and special events/tours, etc. Glad you should be able to get a 7DMT FP now with your resort stay. We don't have one for our arrival day (but do later in our trip) but I am considering the strategy of getting in line right at close hoping it will be shorter then. Did you ride it in May? We were able to twice but both times were by standby ( 20 minute wait and I think about 1.5 hour the second time).

Enjoy your planning....already getting sad that mine is nearly over!

 

[STLMickeyMom]

yay, magic bands!

yay, POP century!

yay, PTR with naughty words! that was cracking me up! sounds like you're getting everything all together! so exciting!

 

[ZehnJahren]

I laughed out loud at that one!

I don't check in for a few days and your trip grows by 3 or 4 days? Nice job!!!

Our deal next week is a "last minute" David's deal and it was $8 a point but I don't think it is always that low. We are really very happy to be returning to SSR. Just the balcony alone is worth it over POP, IMHO...especially at the same price. I'll let you know how the buses are.

Never been to GF? Honestly its beautiful but a bit too fancy for me....I really have little desire to stay there. Plus, if I am shelling out deluxe resort prices my preference will always be the Epcot area over the Monorail. For some reason the Monorail makes me a bit uneasy, I don't think I would like riding it everyday!

Your plans sound great. Seems like you have a good mix of super busy days and more relaxed days....and special events/tours, etc. Glad you should be able to get a 7DMT FP now with your resort stay. We don't have one for our arrival day (but do later in our trip) but I am considering the strategy of getting in line right at close hoping it will be shorter then. Did you ride it in May? We were able to twice but both times were by standby ( 20 minute wait and I think about 1.5 hour the second time).

Enjoy your planning....already getting sad that mine is nearly over!

Oh I didn't remember that you were at SSR!! Please do let me know about the buses! Once everything is figured out here in mid-to-late August, I will know for sure if I'm staying the extra three days (spoiler alert: 90% likely) and will then start looking into renting points.

I love the Epcot resorts so much, but CR is still my favorite. Walk to MK? Yes please. That monorail makes me uneasy as well, though; I ALWAYS feel like it will break down and I will have to go to the bathroom or will really need a drink while it's broken down. Is that weird? Plus didn't it JUST have an evacuation recently? Egh.

I wasn't able to ride 7DMT in May. They started soft openings about a week after I was there. I sure had my fingers crossed though. I didn't even see it running at all while there in May.

yay, magic bands!

yay, POP century!

yay, PTR with naughty words! that was cracking me up! sounds like you're getting everything all together! so exciting!

I feel like yay too! I am so ready for this trip to roll around, but already feeling like it will be sad to see it come to an end! Guess I should try to enjoy the anticipation instead!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

*sigh* I bit the bullet today and booked three more nights onto my trip after my mom leaves.

I am now staying 10 nights/11 days, with my final three days booked at Pop in a POOL view!

Yay you!!! Congrats on the extra days!!

OK so here's a loose list of what we're doing and when!

1) Arrival, MK, DTD (Dooney Day! I'm getting a new sketch and hopefully the HM wristlet - or the tote, I can't decide 100% yet!!)
2) Epcot, lunch at the condo, close down HS (since it closes earlier, to get ready for our tour the next day)
3) Ultimate Day of Thrills tour! Dinner at the condo. Epcot/Illuminations tonight if we're not beat.
4) US/IOA! Harry Potter day! (dinner at the condo or Miller's Ale House) Possibly DTD if we're not too beat
5) sleep in, pool, lunch at the condo, MNSSHP!
6) sleep in, lunch at the condo or at Miller's Ale House, snoozer's choice on a park (probably MK but possibly Epcot or HS again)
7) HS OR AK in the morning, MK at night
8) MK, Mom's departure day (and possibly mine, depends on factors), I might do a pool day after she leaves. Dinner at Pop (if I don't change my hotel). I love the parks at night, so maybe I'll run over to HS or MK for nighttime fun.
9) HS open, pool and lunch at Pop, close Epcot, with Illuminations! My favorite!
10) Possibly open AK, pool and nap at lunch, MK at night for sure!
11) Departure Day, another late start, snoozer's choice on a park this morning (probably MK or HS)

and....

12) Possible bonus day (depends on some additional factors ); I'd just do whatever this day - by now I'll probably be park-ed out. If I did stay for bonus day, I'd probably hang out at the pool on day 11 and do MK or HS this morning before leaving. I tend to do a lot of HS/Epcot mixes, so any time I say we're going to HS we may be going to Epcot at some point during that time too.

Sounds like an awesome plan! Is the itinerary pretty much up to you, or does your Mom like to have input too?

Love that you have some rest and relaxation in there in addition to all the park fun. I can't WAIT to hear about your experience at MNSSHP! That's on my wish list for 2015 .

Look what I got today!:

Woohoo!!! Have you been wearing it around the house yet? (for the record, I totally would! )

 

[RooRach0906]

Joining In! All your plans sound great!

I think it would be so much fun to do a Mother/Daughter trip I am hoping when DD gets older we can do one!

11 days is awesome!!! Woohooo for you!!!

 

[ZehnJahren]

Yay you!!! Congrats on the extra days!!

Sounds like an awesome plan! Is the itinerary pretty much up to you, or does your Mom like to have input too?

Love that you have some rest and relaxation in there in addition to all the park fun. I can't WAIT to hear about your experience at MNSSHP! That's on my wish list for 2015 .

Woohoo!!! Have you been wearing it around the house yet? (for the record, I totally would! )

I'm excited about the extra days. Can't believe how much a trip changes and starts to morph out of control sometimes. ha!

The itinerary is mine. I ask her if she wants to do certain things, or when, but mainly she likes me to plan it all. As she says "you plan, I enjoy". She definitely wants DTD, and I asked her if she wanted AK and she said "only if we can fit it in someplace" and I really don't think we'll be able to. That's ok though - we'll ride EE and D! on the tour. I'll go back on my own and see ITTBAB. Those are the only three things I really like about AK.

I'm excited about MNSSHP too!

I actually had the magic band shipped to my mom so she can keep an eye on it while I'm moving. So I can't wear it around the house - but I have my pink and green ones that I can wear!

Joining In! All your plans sound great!

I think it would be so much fun to do a Mother/Daughter trip I am hoping when DD gets older we can do one!

11 days is awesome!!! Woohooo for you!!!

Thanks for stopping in! I hope you can do a Mom/Daughter trip in the future too; they're so much fun.

I'm very excited about such an extended stay this trip! I've always wanted to do two weeks at Disney but i think I'll have to "settle" for this!

 

[MidnightParade]

Oooooh! I love the HM Dooney's! I would totally get one but they are hot commodity last I heard and hard to get! Are they more readily available in the parks now?

Sounds like a good plan with the rental car. I would so the same thing to save that extra ME trip! Although it would be a little nice getting to watch the welcome video again! lol

buahahaha! That could be a whole new option for Disney, although I suppose it depends on who's *** your holding!

 

[ZehnJahren]

Oooooh! I love the HM Dooney's! I would totally get one but they are hot commodity last I heard and hard to get! Are they more readily available in the parks now?

Sounds like a good plan with the rental car. I would so the same thing to save that extra ME trip! Although it would be a little nice getting to watch the welcome video again! lol

buahahaha! That could be a whole new option for Disney, although I suppose it depends on who's *** your holding!

The HM Smith bag has been horrible to try and find but you can get them a lot easier now than when they first came out. The tote, wristlet, and letter carrier are supposed to be out in September; hopefully they learned that people want these bags and are willing to buy if they properly stock! That's why I'm not counting on it, but I'd sure like it. It's one of three souvenirs I want/plan on getting on this trip.

I like the welcome video, but not THAT much!!

My mom took that picture and sent it to me so I could see what was "tucked inside the magic band" - I had to laugh!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

The HM Smith bag has been horrible to try and find but you can get them a lot easier now than when they first came out. The tote, wristlet, and letter carrier are supposed to be out in September; hopefully they learned that people want these bags and are willing to buy if they properly stock! That's why I'm not counting on it, but I'd sure like it. It's one of three souvenirs I want/plan on getting on this trip.

I want that tote as well! We'll see if I'll be able to get it at any of our Fall trips.

 

[ZehnJahren]

I want that tote as well! We'll see if I'll be able to get it at any of our Fall trips.

I knew I recognized your name; I've been lurking on your PTR for awhile! I never joined in though; not sure why not, as I'm subscribed to quite a few. I also like to run, but I don't do the same distances you do; I'm pretty much stuck at 3 miles per run flat. Whether I walk it in an hour or run it in a half hour, 3 miles seems to be as far as I go!!

We will see on stock for the HM DDB items. I really, really hope they learned from the Smith bag!

 

[khaleesi]

Yay for some fun solo time!!!

1900 Park is on my bucket list. Mainly for the strawberry soup!

I know that's your special surprise for your mom, but as I was reading I thought that it might be fun to have something special sent to the room for her. I've seen other people do stuff like that and I think it would be so freaking cool to get something delivered to my room at Disney World!

So excited for you!

And on the red band and your reasoning behind it!!

 

[ZehnJahren]

Yay for some fun solo time!!!

1900 Park is on my bucket list. Mainly for the strawberry soup!

I know that's your special surprise for your mom, but as I was reading I thought that it might be fun to have something special sent to the room for her. I've seen other people do stuff like that and I think it would be so freaking cool to get something delivered to my room at Disney World!

So excited for you!

And on the red band and your reasoning behind it!!

I'm looking forward to 1900 PF! It's not a surprise; I wanted to check with mom and see what she thought of character dining first, since I didn't want to commit us to two hours and her not want to do it. She's gung ho though!

We're not staying onsite - I will be onsite the last couple of nights, but otherwise we're at SVR. I don't think I'm going to be able to surprise her this time. I thought about a massage or something, but I just don't know where I'd fit it in! We're gogogogo the whole time! And those times that are down times, I hesitate to put something ELSE in there! We need rest too!

 

[ZehnJahren]

So here's an update to say "no update".

As it stands right now, everything is planned for the trip. I am trying (and failing) to get a Tomorrowland Terrace Dessert Party for the Saturday of our trip, but they are standing firm at "sold out". This would be the only surprise I would give my Mom - we'll be at a very busy MK this night regardless (busy due to Wishes/EMH, which we're not eligible for, boo!) but I'd love to watch Wishes even though we'll see Hallowishes earlier in the week.

I've started packing for my move. I didn't realize until today - I have a LOT of books! I finally got all of them packed and can move on!

This guy is driving me crazy:


He knows something is up; he's been through a few moves in his life, so I wonder if he knows we're going someplace.

You know, I wonder when this Anna and Elsa craze is going to die down? I remember when Rapunzel was all the rage and it still wasn't as crazy as A&E.



This picture is from my May trip. 270 minutes!!

This picture is also from my May trip. Can't wait to be back at the big golf ball.



I am driving myself nuts trying to decide between using my phone or using my (not so good) digital camera on this upcoming trip. Buying a new camera just isn't in the cards, so it's one or the other. Maybe I'll just bring the camera just in case the weather looks bad; that way I can switch to the camera only. But that would make it pretty hard to write a TR when I get home, since I'd have to upload from two different cameras and the pictures would get mixed up.

I can't take night pictures with the phone at ALL, but the digital camera sometimes stops working for no reason. I took it on our Sept trip with MNSSHP and was all set to record the Headless Horseman, and right when he came out it stopped working altogether! I was so disappointed that I missed him.

Anybody here wrote a TR for that long of a trip? I'm wondering if I could pull it off - 11 days is a LOOONG time to write about! Oh well, I'm going to try!

Ok, I don't have anything else to say right now. Hope everyone's planning is going great! Not too long until I can do FP+ for my onsite stay! Exciting!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

I knew I recognized your name; I've been lurking on your PTR for awhile! I never joined in though; not sure why not, as I'm subscribed to quite a few. I also like to run, but I don't do the same distances you do; I'm pretty much stuck at 3 miles per run flat. Whether I walk it in an hour or run it in a half hour, 3 miles seems to be as far as I go!!

We will see on stock for the HM DDB items. I really, really hope they learned from the Smith bag!

Well, this next race is my first real race longer than 3.1 miles & if I hadn't started training like a crazy person for ToT, I doubt I would have gone farther either. I wish I could run 3 miles in 30 minutes.

So here's an update to say "no update".

As it stands right now, everything is planned for the trip. I am trying (and failing) to get a Tomorrowland Terrace Dessert Party for the Saturday of our trip, but they are standing firm at "sold out". This would be the only surprise I would give my Mom - we'll be at a very busy MK this night regardless (busy due to Wishes/EMH, which we're not eligible for, boo!) but I'd love to watch Wishes even though we'll see Hallowishes earlier in the week.

I hope a spot opens up for you!

I am driving myself nuts trying to decide between using my phone or using my (not so good) digital camera on this upcoming trip. Buying a new camera just isn't in the cards, so it's one or the other. Maybe I'll just bring the camera just in case the weather looks bad; that way I can switch to the camera only. But that would make it pretty hard to write a TR when I get home, since I'd have to upload from two different cameras and the pictures would get mixed up.

I can't take night pictures with the phone at ALL, but the digital camera sometimes stops working for no reason. I took it on our Sept trip with MNSSHP and was all set to record the Headless Horseman, and right when he came out it stopped working altogether! I was so disappointed that I missed him.

My last trip in July, I pretty much just used my cell phone for all pictures save the meals inside of EPCOT. If the choice is a not so good digital camera versus the phone, the phone is the smarter choice as the photo quality is probably just a good if not better.

Anybody here wrote a TR for that long of a trip? I'm wondering if I could pull it off - 11 days is a LOOONG time to write about! Oh well, I'm going to try!

My trip report from last fall had a lot of days to it (& 3 trips) - If I can pull that off you can pull off 11 days!