9 days 2 resorts FREE Dining Christmas Lights & a bouncing Tigger who stole my heart

[JoBird]

No....... it's not over! It can't be over! I feel like you were just leaving for the trip! And now you've gotten back, Christmas has gone, all of your Trip reports are finished and, and, and... well dang it, I'm sad. It's winter, I'm freezing my BEHIND off and we got nuttin' to read!!!!!!!

Soooooo happy to have been the video tester for you! I just watched it again and oh it is so good and so cute. Such wonderful memories. It made me smile and yes, tear up a bit too.

Thanks so much for taking the time to write it. I know it's hard to make it all the way thru, but you did it and we all learned so much.
I learned how to plan a relaxing trip. I am forever indebted to you.


Can't wait to hear allllllll about the future!

Jo

 

[Practically_Perfect]

Up Next: Future plans! When will we go next? And the bigger question -- where will be stay???

I think my brother is a blend of your boys - he likes dancing and being part of the crowd, but only if we're not making a big show of watching him. He also likes the thrill rides, but it does take a bit of coaxing / prodding from me to get him on. TOT is on the list of rides to get him on for the first time on our next trip...whenever that will be

I learned some lessons from your report. First, we will definitely have to eat at Casey's - DB LOVES hotdogs!! Second, we'll have to try to spend more time at DTD. So far for us it's really been a quick stop to grab what we know we want and leave again. Obviously we need to spend more time there.


Yay! There's still more to look forward to

 

[jlm]

Great tr~loved reading it. Great video, also brought tears to my eyes.
Jen

 

[Jane-in-PA]

Aw, I'm so sad it's over, too. Reading your TR has become part of my daily routine! Get up, turn on the TV, fix some toast, get my Diet Coke, check my email, check for an update from Shelly......what am I supposed to do now? I hope that very soon I can subsitute "Read Shelly's PTR" where the empty spot is now. Truthfully, I have loved every minute of your TR. You have been both informative (but not overly LOL) and entertaining. Thanks for sharing your family vacation with us!

P.S. The video is awesome! You did such a great job telling a story with the music and pictures. What a great memory!

 

[seacrestpromo]

Shelly!!!

What a amazing job you did on your video! It was FANTASMIC!!!!

I am so impressed by your skills! The music and the slides that you selected matched up with the song lyrics perfectly. And the video clip of your son doing his "air guitar" solo ROCKED!

What a wonderful way to end your TOTALLY AWESOME trip report. You are a very good storyteller and you always have something funny or unique to share. Your pictures are always wonderful - especially the food ones!

You have a wonderful family and you are so blessed. I hope you get to go to WDW (and Disneyland too - come and see us!) many more times and create even more enchanted memories!

Keep doing the videos! I love them!

Sea

 

[Lovemy3babes]

Ok, I teared up too during the video! What a fabulous way to end a great TR. I just wish I would have found it sooner.

Can I ask, did you prefer November over October? I'm debating between the both for our next trip.

 

[rusafee1183]

AMAZING video Shelly!!!! I too love the air guitar part! So cute!!!

I'll need a tutorial. I definitely want to do something like that after our next trip!

 

[jwwi]

Shelly,
started your TR a few days ago, and just finished tonight. I just had to comment on how fun it was to read your TR and hear about your family's fun November vacation. POR is my favorite Moderate resort, I love the AB section, I hope you enjoyed it too. Not sure I would have liked to find a tree frog in my room, I would have freaked out. Love Bob, such cute pictures of your DS10 loving the entertainment! I absolutely love DHS, TT and RNRC, so always enjoy seeing it talked of so highly in TR's. It was fun to see all the food pictures, sorry you had some dud meals, but overall I think you made some great choices. Wish I would have been reading along the whole time, but sometimes it is fun to find a bonus TR, thank you so much for taking the time to write a great report. Where will you stay next?

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

Oh Shelly!! I just caught up from this last week...loved all of your info, pics and your video was wonderful! Mr. Shelly did a great job picking the music!! I think Nov is an awesome time too...better than Oct because of the humidity being a little teeny bit lower!!! Maybe I can go back then too and we'll meet!!!!!! Sad you TR is finished (almost)...where are you going next time?

 

[momtoBrandon&Jacob]

I really enjoyed your report Shelley. I don't usually read through an entire report because they're always dragged out for months on end. But I really liked that you were so efficient and quick! Looks like you guys had a great time and I can't wait to hear about what's in store for your next adventure!

 

[bunkkinsmom]

Thanks so much for the report. Hopefully I will be starting my first TR very very soon!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

No....... it's not over! It can't be over! I feel like you were just leaving for the trip! And now you've gotten back, Christmas has gone, all of your Trip reports are finished and, and, and... well dang it, I'm sad. It's winter, I'm freezing my BEHIND off and we got nuttin' to read!!!!!!!

Soooooo happy to have been the video tester for you! I just watched it again and oh it is so good and so cute. Such wonderful memories. It made me smile and yes, tear up a bit too.

Thanks so much for taking the time to write it. I know it's hard to make it all the way thru, but you did it and we all learned so much.
I learned how to plan a relaxing trip. I am forever indebted to you.


Can't wait to hear allllllll about the future!

Jo

Yep, it's over.

I know, DH and I were just talking about that last night -- that time has really flown by since we got back. Probably because of the holidays.

Thank you so much for reading along the whole way through!

I think my brother is a blend of your boys - he likes dancing and being part of the crowd, but only if we're not making a big show of watching him. He also likes the thrill rides, but it does take a bit of coaxing / prodding from me to get him on. TOT is on the list of rides to get him on for the first time on our next trip...whenever that will be

I learned some lessons from your report. First, we will definitely have to eat at Casey's - DB LOVES hotdogs!! Second, we'll have to try to spend more time at DTD. So far for us it's really been a quick stop to grab what we know we want and leave again. Obviously we need to spend more time there.


Yay! There's still more to look forward to

Your brother sounds like fun!

I'm so glad that you enjoyed the TR! Yes, definitely spend more time at DTD!

Great tr~loved reading it. Great video, also brought tears to my eyes.
Jen

Thank you so much!

Aw, I'm so sad it's over, too. Reading your TR has become part of my daily routine! Get up, turn on the TV, fix some toast, get my Diet Coke, check my email, check for an update from Shelly......what am I supposed to do now? I hope that very soon I can subsitute "Read Shelly's PTR" where the empty spot is now. Truthfully, I have loved every minute of your TR. You have been both informative (but not overly LOL) and entertaining. Thanks for sharing your family vacation with us!

P.S. The video is awesome! You did such a great job telling a story with the music and pictures. What a great memory!

Aw, I feel so special to be part of your daily routine. I don't know what you are supposed to do now! I don't know what I am going to do now!

Glad you liked the video!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Shelly!!!

What a amazing job you did on your video! It was FANTASMIC!!!!

I am so impressed by your skills! The music and the slides that you selected matched up with the song lyrics perfectly. And the video clip of your son doing his "air guitar" solo ROCKED!

What a wonderful way to end your TOTALLY AWESOME trip report. You are a very good storyteller and you always have something funny or unique to share. Your pictures are always wonderful - especially the food ones!

You have a wonderful family and you are so blessed. I hope you get to go to WDW (and Disneyland too - come and see us!) many more times and create even more enchanted memories!

Keep doing the videos! I love them!

Sea

Thank you so much Sea!! That means a lot coming from the master of awesome videos!!

Thank you for all of your help. I can't believe I have had this computer for over a year now and just recently started messing with the Windows Movie Maker.

Yes, DS totally ROCKS!!

Thanks for reading the whole way through, I'm so happy you enjoyed it. Yes, I am very blessed. And I do hope you make it to DL one day!

Ok, I teared up too during the video! What a fabulous way to end a great TR. I just wish I would have found it sooner.

Can I ask, did you prefer November over October? I'm debating between the both for our next trip.

Thank you! Better late than never, right?!

We liked November better than October. When we went in October it was the very first week of the month, and it was HOT and it was CROWDED. It was our first trip, so of course it was still very magical, but we probably wouldn't choose to go that week again.

AMAZING video Shelly!!!! I too love the air guitar part! So cute!!!

I'll need a tutorial. I definitely want to do something like that after our next trip!

Thank you!! Boy, DS is really loving all these compliments!

I'll help you as much as I can, but Sea is the real expert!

Shelly,
started your TR a few days ago, and just finished tonight. I just had to comment on how fun it was to read your TR and hear about your family's fun November vacation. POR is my favorite Moderate resort, I love the AB section, I hope you enjoyed it too. Not sure I would have liked to find a tree frog in my room, I would have freaked out. Love Bob, such cute pictures of your DS10 loving the entertainment! I absolutely love DHS, TT and RNRC, so always enjoy seeing it talked of so highly in TR's. It was fun to see all the food pictures, sorry you had some dud meals, but overall I think you made some great choices. Wish I would have been reading along the whole time, but sometimes it is fun to find a bonus TR, thank you so much for taking the time to write a great report. Where will you stay next?

Welcome! So glad you found me before it was over!

We liked POR very much. I'm sure we will stay there again sometime.

Yes, I LOVE DHS very much, as if you didn't get that already. I think we will go there at least 2-3 times on the next trip!

Glad you enjoyed the report.

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Oh Shelly!! I just caught up from this last week...loved all of your info, pics and your video was wonderful! Mr. Shelly did a great job picking the music!! I think Nov is an awesome time too...better than Oct because of the humidity being a little teeny bit lower!!! Maybe I can go back then too and we'll meet!!!!!! Sad you TR is finished (almost)...where are you going next time?

Thanks Shawna! Glad you have your computer back and are all caught up. I'm looking forward to your TR.

Yes, Mr. Shelly laughing did an excellent job on the video song!

That would be so cool if we could meet up at Disney!!

I really enjoyed your report Shelley. I don't usually read through an entire report because they're always dragged out for months on end. But I really liked that you were so efficient and quick! Looks like you guys had a great time and I can't wait to hear about what's in store for your next adventure!

Thank you! I'm so glad you read the whole way through. I tried to keep things rolling along the best I could. I too get bored and lose interest in TR's that drag on too long.

Thanks so much for the report. Hopefully I will be starting my first TR very very soon!

Thanks for reading! Have a great trip. Let me know if you start a TR!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Great movie Shelly!!! Your family is so cute!! You take great pictures. (I mean you personally are very photogenic!)
Good song choice too - DH has been working up a video on the Mac and has been having a hard time with music choices!

I can't wait to hear about your future plans! Then I won't be so sad that the TR is done!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Okay, so WHEN are we going next and WHERE are we staying???


Well, I think most of you have already figured out when we are going next from my final thoughts post. Yes, we are going in November again!! We liked it so much and this is probably the last year that we are going to be able to pull DS10 out of school for a trip, so November it is!!

We will be going the same week as last year, but staying one less night -- Sat Nov 6 - Sat Nov 13. Hoping for low crowds and awesome sunny warm weather again!

So why are we staying one less night -- BECAUSE WE ARE GOING DELUXE!!!



Remember when I got this email PIN???

I got an awesome PIN email yesterday!!! Guess Disney wants us to come back next year pretty bad!! Here it is:

Save 20%* at Disney Value Resorts
30%* at Disney Moderate Resorts
or 40%* at Disney Deluxe Resorts

For stays most nights 1/3–1/6/10,
1/10–1/14/10, 1/18–2/11/10,
2/15–3/27/10, 4/11–7/1/10, 7/5–10/7/10, 10/11–11/23/10 and 11/28–12/16/10.


That covers the dates we are looking at for next year. The same week in November we went this year!

Hopefully it will all work out and we will be able to take advantage of that great PIN!!!

Well I had heard here on the DIS that those PINS they sent out were expiring sometime in December, even though there was no expiration date on the email. So I called Disney at the beginning of December and sure enough my PIN expired on December 15th. That meant I had to book my 2010 trip by then to use the PIN. So that's exactly what I did!! Never booked a trip 11 months out before!

So I did my Disney math and figured out that if we want to stay at a deluxe we are better off to use the PIN for 40% off than to wait it out and see if free dining becomes available again. We saved something like over $1200 using the PIN, and free dining saves us something like $900.

Originally we always thought that if/when we went deluxe we would stay at the Poly. Why? Well, because it is the POLY! We love the theme of CBR, and it seems very similar -- laid back, tropical, beautiful, great pool, etc. BUT, the last few trips when checking out the deluxes we have really become very fond of the BC/YC. And I have researched them extensively. LOVE the location and proximity to DHS & Epcot. We were pretty set on staying at one of them whenever we went deluxe. THEN, I thought I'd check out the BWI a bit more. The location is equally great. But it seems that so many people prefer the BC/YC over the BWI. Why? Is it really just because of the pool? So I started researching BWI. The rooms have just been redone (maybe they are still doing some of them, I don't know) and they are just beautiful. We love the Boardwalk area, the atmosphere, the entertainment, and we usually eat at Big River Grille. So now I needed to get to the bottom of this pool issue. As you all know, a pool/slide is very important to DS10! After looking further into the SAB pool slide and realizing that you have to actually leave the pool area and walk across a public sidewalk to get to the slide entrance (that you can't see from the pool) and reading that they do not allow life jackets on the SAB pool slide, plus the 8ft deep lazy river - that all made me a little nervous. And I decided that YC/BC and SAB might be better fit for us when the kids are a little older and stronger swimmers. Don't get me wrong - I'm not putting the YC/BC down in any way. I'm sure they are both very awesome and that the SAB pool is great and very nice for kids. But I just don't think it is the best fit for us at this time.

So I guess you can see where I am going with this -- WE ARE STAYING AT THE BWI!!! And no, the clown head at the end of the slide doesn't bother any of us!

We are all very excited. Well, 3 of us are very excited. DS10 is getting there. He wants to know why we can't go to CBR next time. He really loves CBR and POR. But he is starting to come around to the BWI idea. He loves that they sell corn dogs and funnel cakes on the BW! But I suppose it's a good thing that he loves the moderates so much, because I'm not sure I can justify staying at a deluxe everytime!

So, I'll leave you with that and I'm off to find a new ticker!! Hopefully I will be reading some of your TR's very soon and maybe you will be reading another one of mine in about 10 months or so!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

YAY!!!! Congrats on a deluxe!! I knew you'd come to it eventually!! I'm so happy for you! BWI is just gorgeous too! Aren't pin codes awesome??? Disney knows what they're doing all right. They get us all going back!

 

[Jane-in-PA]

Ooh, you sneaky thing, you! Had a trip booked for a month and didn't tell us. All kidding aside, CONGRATULATIONS !!!!!!!

You must be so excited!! I have no doubt you chose the right deluxe for your family, after all the research you did. Your DH must rest very easily knowing you always do your homework when it comes to a Disney vacation. He doesn't have to worry that you haven't considered everything or that you aren't trying to get the best deal.

So.....when will you start your PTR?

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

oh Shelly....I am so happy for ya'll!!! You are gonna love being over there!! I love it!!I am very tempted to do Nov again---it is just so hard to pack for both types of weather with these dang luggage fees!!!Plus, I would rather just do shorts/capris and tee shirts anyway!!!! I have to say that clown IS a BIG issue for me I really don't like them and I think it's scary! I don't know what the kids think about it tho'....anyhoo--I am so glad you got that awesome code----I didn't get onehmph..wonder why? I sure would love one!!!

 

[drakes]

Exciting News on the Trip ! Glad you were able to us that PIN code! And I think your reasons for picking BWI are great reasons, I think you will love that area!