A January Anniversary Trip...with my in-laws. (1/8-1/14) Updated 1/5

[rmw1313]

Hi there!​

Welcome to my PTR. This is my first time doing one of these, so please be patient! My name is Rachele and this my husband Andrew. We are from Pittsburgh, Pa and are 100% Disney obsessed (me more so than Andrew, but we'll get to that) We got married last September and decided to honeymoon in beautiful Orlando for 10 days. I had been to Disney/Universal several times growing up, most recently in 2011 for my 21st birthday. Andrew, on the other hand, had only been once when he was 3 and didn't remember any of it. We take a family trip to Aruba every May and I was a bridesmaid for one of my best friend's destination weddings to Mexico last October, so we had already had two island/beach vacations planned for 2015. Which lead us to Disney, mostly because I've been obsessed since forever and Andrew wanted to experience it (and remember it) before we had kids of our own.

This was my first time planning a Disney vacation on my own, and let me just tell you that changed everything for me. I never knew how much joy could come from a Disney excel spread sheet until I planned our honeymoon. We stayed for 10 nights CL at the Beach Club, ate/drank our way around the world at Food and Wine, and here we are having one of our favorite meals of all time at Victoria and Albert's:

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Andrew, being a major foodie, was hooked after this (and an incredibly fun night at Hoop-Dee-Doo) so it didn't take much arm twisting to get him to agree to return to Disney ASAP. The main issue was timing/vacation days. Andrew works in college athletics so the fall is a really bad time for him to go away (virtually impossible), I work in HR for a major retailer so scratch out any days off from Oct-Dec. Which led me to January. The holidays are rough at work for me and every year I always wish I had planned a vacation to recover, so this year I did. Andrew has zero athletic events going on from the 8th-14th (the only week until Summer) and it's carefully avoiding marathon weekend and MLK weekend..so basically it's perfect.

I booked our flight with airline points (score!) got a pin code email promo (double score!) and booked once again at my absolute favorite resort..THE BEACH CLUB!!!

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In the next post I'll introduce you to the traveling gang..explain how our romantic getaway turned in to a family affair and post a picture of quite possibly the cutest pup you've ever seen. Thanks for following along!

 

[rmw1313]

Introductions
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First and foremost this is our puppy child, Oliver. We were trying on his Halloween costume earlier and I think his facial expression will tell you everything you need to know about how he feels about it:

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He's our pride and joy and if we could take him we totally would. It might sound silly but as much as we love to travel, we hate leaving him behind. But, he will be in wonderful hands with my Mom and Dad (gramma and pappy as he refers to them) and having a nice little vacation of his own.

Next up, Andrew and I. Andrew is 28 and works in college athletics, I'm 27 and am an HR Manager for a retailer. We both love our jobs and truly enjoy what we do...but I love that they allow us to pay for trips to Disney the most! We've been married for a little over a year now..Yay! We love all things Pittsburgh, especially the Pirates, Steelers and Penguins. We have both been huge sports fans our entire lives. Most of our summer's are spent at PNC Park rooting on the buccos.

Here we are in our Pittsburgh gear having too much fun with on-ride photographs:

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My Brother-In-Law Rob and Mother-In-Law Deb are also huge lovers of theme parks. They were both pretty jealous that we went to Disney last year on our Honeymoon, and we told them that if we ever planned a trip back they should come.

Well...here we are and here they come.

Like I said in my first post, Andrew and his family have not been to Disney since 1991, so this trip has been a long time coming. I'm excited to experience it with them, it'll basically be like a first time visit since the parks have changed so much...plus DAK!!!

They are staying at CBR, which is the perfect distance in relationship to BC (Deluxe wasn't in their price range, but CBR is one of my favorite moderates so I'm really excited that they decided to stay here instead of an All-Star).

Here we are at our wedding. The whole Disney 2017 gang in one photo!

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Now for my challenge. Plan a trip that checks everything off mine and Andrew's list, as well as keeping a pace that's realistic for my in-laws to keep up with, while planning meals that have something for everyone and keeping the entire group happy. But this is one challenge that me and my excel spread sheet loving self are 100% up for.

 

[rmw1313]

70 DAYS OUT!!!
10 Days until FP+
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Freaking out a little and still uncertain of a few ADRs/Plans..which is making me nervous because once those FP+ ressies are made there is no turning back! After going back and forth between a few different touring sites' crowd calendars, I decided to go with the one that I use last year as it worked really well for us and now I'm second-guessing everything because both of those sites said completely opposite things. Oh well. Here are my plans so far:

• Sunday 1/8- ARRIVAL DAY..YAYYY!!!
  • Disclaimer: I'm one of those crazies that hops off the plane and straight to a park. I'll rest some other time.
  • With the above being said, we Depart from PGH at 7:10/Arrive at 9:40. Hop on the Magical Express and off to Disney we go (another bonus to my in-laws being @ CBR...we will take the ME bus!
  • Check in and take the boat to DHS
  • Lunch: ABC commissary
    • Let me explain this a little...On our Honeymoon this is the first place that we went/ate so it has sentimental value to Andrew (he's sappy like that) so this was one of his must-do things. DHS is also still one of his favorite parks (even with all of the closures/construction..bless his heart) so I basically let him plan this entire day. I know, I'm such a kind wife. Moving on..
  • FP+
    • Hoping For TSMM, Star Tours and ToT
  • Boat to EPCOT
  • Dinner @ Le Cellier
    • Again, Andrew's choice. I've read much better reviews for the Yachtsman and would probably prefer to do that. But, Rob (bro-in-law) loves all things Canada so Andrew thought it would be a nice touch to have our first dinner here. This is me continuing to be an amazing wife and letting him plan one day.
  • Hoping to score a 4th FP for illumiNations..If not we will still stick around for it, then head back to the resorts for an early morning.

• Monday 1/9- DAK and Disney Springs, but this day is basically a hot mess still.
  • Breakfast: Beach Club Marketplace. We've been dreaming of the hashbrown casserole ever since we left last year.
  • Bus to DAK by 7/Rope Drop @ 8am
    • I really wanted to do DAK early in the week because this will be Rob and Deb's (BIL/MIL) first time and it's one of my favorite parks. Plus, I'm secretly/selfishly dreaming that by some miracle Avatarland will be ready for a soft-open (I told you..dreaming).
  • Lunch: Rainforest Cafe
    • Let me explain: Rob is a super picky eater and I truly feel like they will both love the theming
  • Tour DAK/Bus to Disney Springs
  • FP+
    • Hoping to get Kilimanjaro, Everest, and DINOSAUR (praying it's out of refurb)
  • Dinner (here is where it becomes a hot mess):
    • I have been patiently waiting for Paddlefish to announce an opening date because it was supposed to open in November and Fulton's was one of my all-time favs. Now, according to their FB page, they have pushed their opening back to "Winter". No one knows what that means or if it will be open by January. So..I went to make a back-up ADR just in case it's not open and my top choice (Homecoming) has no time slots available for that day. I'm just going to continue checking it like a psycho.
    • Here is my other dilemma with Monday. The college football national title game is this night and there is a good chance that Michigan will be playing in it. Who cares, right? Wrong. Michigan is Andrew and Rob's favorite college FB team so I HAVE to find somewhere they can watch and I'm scared of the crowds at ESPN. We had watched football games at Splitsville on our last trip so that was my plan, or to bar crawl DS (most bars have TVs) and watch from a few places. BUT if I can't get an ADR at Paddlefish or Homecoming, I'm going to try for Flying Fish and then pray to get a spot at ESPN...if any of you have any tips/suggestions for this night I will take all of the help I can get!

• Tuesday 1/10- Drink Around the World
  • Breakfast @ Beach Club Marketplace..HASHBROWN CASSEROLE WOOT WOOT!!!
  • Rope drop FW (AKA sprint to SOARIN)
  • FP+
    • Frozen (obviously), Mission Space, Spaceship Earth
  • World Showcase by 11am- Drink our way to our Italy
  • Lunch- Via Napoli
    • May have to change this as Rob is allergic to Tomatoes and doesn't eat pizza. OR since I really want to try it here..I may just suggest that Rob and Deb eat at Rose and Crown and Andrew and I will do this alone. A break might be nice for everyone?
  • Finish Drinking around the world then back to the BC to change/Relax
  • Dinner- Hoop-Dee-Doo

• Wednesday 1/11- Magic Kingdom..FINALLY!
  • Breakfast- Crystal Palace 8am before park opens
  • FP+
    • 7DMT, Peter Pan's Flight, Space Mountain
    • Hoping to get in Big Thunder/Splash (temperature depending) early since we will be in the park before it opens and can get to rides quickly from breakfast.
  • Tour MK/ Drink around the monorail resorts (can you tell we like to drink on vacation? LOL) I'm really wanting to check out Trader Sam's/the Polynesian and I really want Deb and Rob to see the GF...Andrew and I were blown away by it last year.
  • Dinner- California Grill
  • MK has EMH that night so we may head back after dinner depending on how everyone is feeling.

• Thursday 1/12- EPCOT and Storm Along Bay
  • Breakfast- Captain's Grille @ Yacht Club
  • EPCOT- Future World
    • Basically to see what we didn't get to see on Tuesday
  • FP+
    • Test Track, Nemo, Living with the land/Turtle talk (can't decide because I don't really feel like we'll need either..I hate the tiered FP parks)
  • Back to the BC to FINALLY swim at SAB. The biggest regret of our 10-day honeymoon was not spending any time in that beautiful masterpiece of a pool, so I made sure to schedule some time in to make sure it happens.
  • Dinner- 50s Prime Time
  • Here is where I'm hung-up again:
    • Disney has not announced whether or not they will bring back Star Wars Fireworks after the new year and I know that Rob and Andrew will be DYING to see it (they're both Star Wars obsessed) but i want to see Fantasmic...I set up an early enough ADR so that we can decide what we want to do when the time comes.

• Friday 1/13- Back to MK
  • Breakfast- Beach Club Marketplace
  • FP+
    • 7DMT, Space Mountain, Haunted Mansion
  • Lunch- Be Our Guest
  • Head to Disney Springs
  • Dinner- BOATHOUSE
  • Hang out in DS or back to MK

• Saturday 1/14- LAST DAY :-( :-(
  • Breakfast- Starbucks @ DHS
    • Again, another sentimental spot for Andrew
  • FP+
    • Great Movie Ride, Indiana Jones, Voyage of the LM
  • Lunch- Sci-Fi Dine-In
    • Rob is a HUGE movie buff so I really think that he will flip over this restaurant.
  • Back to BC to catch the "Tragical Express" back to the airport and cry the entire way back to Pittsburgh.

Okay, I'm exhausted after just writing all of that..I can't wait to actually do it! LOL!

If you have suggestions/advice/tips or tricks please let me know! I still have 10 days until FP+ day and ADRs are still relativity easy to come by...except for Homecoming

But, these are our plans and I *might* stick to them

 

[rmw1313]

Hello again!!

Work has literally been insane the last few days/week so I haven't had much time to plan out anything additional. BUT HOLY COW FP+ DAY WILL BE HERE IN 4 DAYS!!!! I'm so pumped. Not like you could tell or anything. Andrew has been working super late and had some overnight work trips so this little nugget and I have been holding down the fort:



The challenge that I now have is trying how to figure out how to link my MIL/BILs resort reservation to my MDX so that I can select their FP+ for them on Wednesday. If anyone has any tips/tricks on how to do this I would really appreciate it!

 

[fallonkendra]

I somehow missed this PTR! We actually have overlapping days there too! On the 11th we also have 8am pre-park open breakfast reservations at Magic Kingdom, but ours are for Be Our Guest. Perhaps we'll see each other entering the park though! Wave if you see me

Also - adorable furbaby! I also get really sad about leaving my pets when we go on vacation...

 

[rmw1313]

I somehow missed this PTR! We actually have overlapping days there too! On the 11th we also have 8am pre-park open breakfast reservations at Magic Kingdom, but ours are for Be Our Guest. Perhaps we'll see each other entering the park though! Wave if you see me

Also - adorable furbaby! I also get really sad about leaving my pets when we go on vacation...

That is awesome!! I definitely will!!

 

[rmw1313]

Countdown- 54 Days!!!
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Typically waiting for vacations to arrive seem to take FOREVER. BUT, like I mentioned earlier, I work for a major retailer and this time of year I barely have time to sleep or eat, let alone be anxious for a January vacation. On top of the stress of work, Andrew and I have started the home buying process (YAY!) so days that I'm not working I'm hanging out with our realtor trying to find a house. So far we've toured around 20 homes and found 2 that we really like, hopefully we put in an offer soon. Ideally, I would like to be in a house before Christmas. Stretch goals, I know, but that is my incredibly optimistic plan.

Anyway, last Wednesday was our FP+ day. I was super depressed (also hungover) from the election results last week, so dragging my butt out of bed at 6am on Wednesday was a real treat. But, remembering to set my alarm paid off and I got every FP+ that I wanted. Including 2 7DMT and a FEA. I have an excel spread sheet that I've been working on that I'll add once I plain out a few more details about our days. I know there is a fine line between just enough planning and completely over planning, and I'm dangerously close to crossing it...but I can't stop.

So, to stop myself from the OCD (does anyone else think that should stand for obsessive compulsive Disney?) I took to my second/third favorite thing(s) to do..cooking and online shopping! First, cooking. I was looking through Pinterest trying to find fall inspired meals and came across this gem:



It's a roasted acorn squash stuffed with sausage/apples and some of my own extras. It was AMAZING. I also made a minestrone soup and forgot to take a picture of it after it was done, so enjoy some of my chopped up veggies...



It was also amazing. And, since I have no idea how to cook a reasonable portion for two people, there are tons of leftovers for our lunches for the next few days. While everything was simmering/cooking I decided to jump online to plan out some Christmas gifts. Usually, I'm a Christmas gift champ. Finding the perfect gift for every person on my list is one of my greatest skills, but this year seems to be the most challenging that I've had yet. My in-laws are easy, since they are going to Disney with us I'm getting their dinner at Hoop-Dee-Doo, Photopass, and shirts/coozies for drinking around the world. Andrew and I's gift to each other is our trip, but I'll still get him some clothes and stocking stuffers. My parents are always impossible, especially my mom. She's the kind of person who will just go out and buy whatever she decides she likes/wants so I always have to get incredibly creative with her gifts to try and beat her at her own game. I think I came up with a few ideas, but I'm still keeping my eye out for something really great. I wish she was going with us too..then I would be all done

 

[rmw1313]

Countdown- 47 Days (and 3 major holidays) stand between me and WDW

This week has been a whirlwind...to start off..WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!!! And..to make it even better..we close the day we get back from Disney. I'm anxious and excited and incredibly scared/nervous. It almost makes me sick to think how much money we just spent..and so close to Christmas...and a vacation. Oh well, guess we'll just have to be a little more frugal in 2017



So..If you're keeping track..I work in retail..Black Friday/Black Weekend is in 2 days and it only gets worse from there. But, on the bright side, I don't technically have to work on Thanksgiving this year so I'm looking forward to enjoying it for once. ALSO, Gilmore Girls is debuting on Netflix and I cannot. freaking wait.



Happy Thanksgiving! ​

 

[rmw1313]

Arrival Day!!

Because I'm an ODP (Obsessive Disney Planner) I'm going to take some time to deep-dive in to our plans for each day. I took some tips from Disney Pinterest on excel sheet planning and spent the next 5-or-so hours at work plugging away (I'll upload the final product at the end of these)

Whenever we travel I like to use Expedia to book a hotel close to the airport for the night before. I typically always do this because we book really early flights and it cuts down on travel time to the airport, and because parking is free at a lot of the hotels and they will transport you to and from the airport. Typically, it ends up costing the same if I stay the night/free parking or drive 1hr to the airport and park there. I also prefer to stay because it cuts down on stress for Andrew trying to navigate the terrible traffic patterns of Pittsburgh first thing in the morning. I typically book this the night before because that's when I can get the best rates.

(This has literally nothing to do with traveling, but I love Friends and I love this episode. Also, it's seasonally relevant. I don't know why I felt the need to justify that to myself...moving on..)​

• Arrive at PIT @ 5:00am
• Quick airport breakfast
  
  • I prefer something lite, with something strong. For example, a bagel and bloody mary. Or a muffin and a shot. I'm not a good flyer. I typically fly 4-5 times a year and I hate it every time. Typically a mild dose of Xanax and splash of alcohol does the trick HEY, we're on vacation..this is totally acceptable behavior.
• Depart PIT @ 7:10am
• Arrive MCO @ 9:40am (I'm expecting to land earlier than this..every time I've flown to MCO from PIT the flight has been about 30min shorter than what they have posted...I'm assuming just in case there are delays)
• RUN TO MAGICAL EXPRESS!!!!!
  
• Drop our bags at the Beach Club and take the boat to DHS
• Lunch @ ABC Commissary
  • Here was our lunch there last year. We were so happy to finally be at Disney that we could have eaten cardboard and been good with it. Andrew had a shrimp burger and I had a Chicken Club. I remember the cupcakes being amazing though!

• 3 FP+:
  • ToT: 1:00pm
    • I LOVE this ride ( I typically hate drop rides, but this one is just so much different to me. Andrew HATES this ride. He says it's his least favorite Disney ride. I'm 100% expecting his mom to hate it as well, which is why I'm not telling her what it does. She does like the Twilight Zone so hopefully making this our first ride will play out in my favor, and not scar her for the remainder of the trip. This was also our first ride from our Disneymoon last fall, so in keeping with "first day traditions" we're doing it again!
  • Star Tours: 2:00pm
    • I HATE this ride, Andrew loves it (are you sensing a pattern?). I get extreme motion sickness from screen rides (Universal and I have a love/hate relationship). Andrew and his brother are huge star wars fans, so I'm expecting they will ride this more than once this day. I'll head to the nearest bar.Tune-In Lounge, anyone?!
  • TSMWM: 3:00pm
    • Finally, a ride we can all agree to love!

Front and center. You can tell in our faces who enjoyed the ride and who almost needed to change their clothes when we got off.The lady in the back corner also makes me laugh.

• In addition to our FPs, I'd like to get in GMR, RnR and Muppets. As well as some of the street shows/shopping and exploring.
  
• At 5:00pm, we'll take the boat over to EPCOT for our dinner Reservation at Le Cellier. As I mentioned in my outlining post, Andrew has been dying to try Le Cellier since we did Food and Wine last year. This was one of his few dinner requests, and I thought it would be a great "first night dinner". I've read SO many mixed reviews on this restaurant that I'm going in with very low expectations and hoping to be blown away, but not counting on it.

Last year we had the filet and cheese soup and will both probably order this again in full-sized portions. I'm assuming my MIL and BIL will do something similar as well.
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• After Dinner I'm hoping to score a 4th FP+ for illumiNations, fingers crossed. If not, I'm sure we will still stick around for it. Then it's a quick walk back to the BC for Andrew and I (I seriously LOVE that walk out of International Gateway and it's one of my favorite things about staying at the BC!) and a short (hopefully) bus ride back to CBR for Deb and Rob.

Since we are waking up and starting our day at 4am on arrival day, I'm certain we will all be exhausted by the end of the night. But once that Disney adrenaline kicks in, it's full speed ahead.

Now. Get me through Thanksgiving!​

 

[rmw1313]

42 Days To Go!

Spoiler Alert: I survived the Thanksgiving/Black Friday madness. I'm exhausted and feel like I've been hit by a truck several times, but I'm looking at it like training for Disney. I've worked something like 39 hours in the last 3 days so I spent most of today in bed with Oliver and Netflix. ​

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Oliver is clearly just as exhausted over all of the Thanksgiving fun. I watched the first 2 episodes of the Gilmore Girls revival on Netflix and am absolutely dying to finish it, but Andrew really had his heart set on decorating for Christmas today, so I drug myself out of bed to help. ​

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Oliver decided to help too. ​

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Okay, now on to Disney Day 2- Animal Kingdom Day​

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• Wake up: 6am (Hopefully)
  • Andrew and I typically don't like to sleep in on vacations, no matter where we are vacationing at. We like to pack as much in to our days as possible. He's usually much better about getting up when the alarm goes off than I am, so I'm really counting on him bringing his A-game. Because let me tell you, it is no easy task getting me out of those Beach Club beds
• Breakfast at the Beach Club Marketplace.
  • We've been dreaming about their cheesy hash brown casserole since we left, so this has to be our day 1 breakfast.
• Bus to DAK by 7:30
• Arrive at or close to 8 and tour DAK
• 3 FP+s:
  • Kilimanjaro Safari:10:30am
    • I'm also planning to rope drop either this or EE (or both) first thing as there are EMH this morning at DAK, and that is something we actually do try to take advantage of.
  • EE:12:00pm
    • Actually hoping to ride this multiple times as this is our only DAK day.
  • DINOSAUR:3:00pm
    • Can not stinking wait to see this ride after the refurb. This is actually one of my favorite rides in all of Disney. Andrew greatly disagrees, as he thinks it's just "okay", but I love it. Actually, I love all 3 of these rides.

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Did I mention that we LOVE in-ride photos?​

• In addition to our FP+s, I'd also really like to see Finding Nemo, FoTLK, Conservation Station, It's Tough to be a Bug, the walking animal exhibits, and obviously RoL if it decides to debut by then.
• Lunch Rainforest Cafe- 1:00pm
  • With Rob and Deb having some concerns about the large amounts of walking we'll be doing, I decided to book in some mid-day breaks as much as I could. I know the food isn't anything to brag about, but the theming is so fun and unique that I just absolutely love it. This was a restaurant that I wanted to go to on our last trip, but it didn't work out so we are trying again this time around.
• I'd ideally like to leave DAK around 5pm and catch a bus to Disney Springs
  • Again, this could change if their is a showing of RoL. If there is a showing I would like to spend all evening in the park and then have dinner at Jiko (my absolute favorite meal from our last trip) and then head back to our resort. We'll just continue on as if there is no RoL...
• Spend some time touring Disney Springs
• Dinner @ Homecoming
  • I was holding out with hopes of Paddlefish opening, but with everything I read it doesn't look like that will be happening until Spring at the earliest. But I'm really excited to try homecoming! After looking at their menu online, I'm 100% getting the fried green tomatoes and probably the fried chicken sandwich as my entree. YAY FOR SUPER HEALTHY CHOICES!

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• After Dinner I'd like to check out some of the bars at Disney Springs, thanks to my favorite Disney twitter account and recently published author: @DrunkAtDisney

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IF YOU LOVE DISNEY AND DRINKING PURCHASE THIS BOOK!! It is both hilarious and informative.​

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• 
  
• The college football national title game will also be on so we may spend a majority of the evening at Splitsville watching the game. We'll see. I didn't want to over-plan the evening.
  
• After dinner and drinks and exploring, head back to the Beach Club to rest up for Tuesday!

I'm hoping to check out some cyber-Monday deals today/tomorrow and score some new outfits for Disney..stay tuned for that.

 

[rmw1313]

33 Days to Go!

Personal Update: Work still sucks. My fellow managers and I just keeping telling ourselves "18 more days"..that's all we have to survive until Christmas is over. It's honestly disgusting how this time of year brings out the worst in some people. And how those people feel that the most appropriate way to release their frustrations is at people working in the service industry. At least I love the people that I work with. Okay, rant over.

This week has been pretty bad, though. Other than work being exhausting our precious little Oliver got attacked by our neighbor's German Shepard on Monday morning. Our neighbors had the genius idea to let their dog run around our residential neighborhood without a leash and the second he saw my poor little Oliver, he went right for him, and the owners had no way to control him. Thank God Andrew was outside with him and was able to get the dog off of Oliver and pick him up to carry him inside before any real damage was done. We both took off of work to take him to the vet and our neighbors did pay for his vet bill. I'm just thankful that he only walked away with minor scrapes and bumps, it could have been much, much worse.

He's been spoiled rotten this week and seems to be just about all healed.

....ANNND DISNEY DAY 3!!!
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• 6:30am wakeup
• Breakfast: Beach Club Marketplace
• Walk to EPCOT via International Gateway
  • My FAVORITE walk at Disney!!!!
• Tour Future World
  • I would ideally like to RD Test Track, Ride SOARIN', and possibly add in a Character Picture before our first FP+ at 10:00am
• FP+:
  • Mission Space: 10:00am
  • FEA: 12:00pm
  • I only got 2 FP+s for today, mostly because there isn't anything else on the 2nd tier that I think we'll need a FP for and I didn't plan on us spending a ton of time in FW today.
• DATW!
  • I plan to start this drinking tour with an Avocado marg from Mexico before heading to our FP+ for FEA.

Can't wait to use these! I'm actually wrapping them in a box for Christmas for Deb and Rob, along with our HDDR tickets and Memory Maker.
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• Lunch: Via Napoli 1:30pm
  • The only issue with this is that Rob is allergic to tomatoes. But, I check their menu and they do have white pizza. Andrew and I are definitely eating here but if Deb and Rob want something different, I'll probably suggest they head to Rose and Crown and meet up with us after. They love Fish and Chips and R&C is the one restaurant they remember from their trip 20 years ago so it might be a good option for them. I'm just not that in to British food..and after drinking I'd rather have pizza LOL.
• Continue Snacking/Drinking around the world
  • If we need a break we can always head back to the Beach Club, or we can continue.
• Bus to MK then Boat to Fort Wilderness
• Dinner @ Hoop-Dee-Doo @ 8:30..we have to be there by 8 to check-in.
  • We LOVE HDDR...we did it last year and had the BEST time. I'm really excited for Deb and Rob to experience it too..

These were our Category 2 seats last year! I upgraded to Category 1 this year, since there will be 4 of us and am hopping for just as good of a seat!
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• After dinner we will bus back to our resorts. I'll probably pass out on the bus ride back

 

[rmw1313]

28 Days until Disney!

There are currently like 10 people that I'm friends with on FB that are currently at Disney and are making me so incredibly anxious! Looking at their pictures make me even more excited for my trip!

PLUS...THIS HAPPENED YESTERDAY!!! (hoping I get the new Magicbands...does anyone know when they are supposed to start sending the new ones?)

Day Four- MAGIC KINGDOM!!

..Finally.

So, I'm probably alone in this but I like to save MK for later in the week rather than do it first. I just feel like it gives me something to truly look forward to in the middle of the week. On our last trip Andrew and I had been to every other Disney park plus BOTH Universal parks and Discovery Cove before we went to MK, and we still ended up visiting MK more than any other park (thanks to evening EMH). We are so addicted to the rides at that park and will literally ride the coasters non-stop. Hence, the shirt I'm wearing for our MK Day:

• Wake up: 6:30am
  • I'm already hating myself for this because of HDDR the night for. Oh well, who sleeps at Disney?!
• Bus to MK no later than 7:15am for PPO Breakfast
• Breakfast- Crystal Palace- 8:00am PP0
  • I LOVE the Winnie the Pooh characters and wanted to do at least one character meal for Deb and Rob. I would prefer it to be breakfast since buffets are not really my thing and doing one for dinner just does not appeal to me. So, perfect HDDR hangover breakfast.

• Tour MK
  • Hoping to ride Space Mountain and Haunted Mansion first thing
• FP+
  • Peter Pan: 10:00am
  • BTMR: 11:30am
  • 7DMT: 1:00pm
• Continue to tour MK until around 3pm
• MONORAIL RESORT BAR CRAWL!!!
  • Basically, doing my own version of Highway in the sky with drinks and apps ending our tour at...
• Dinner- California Grill- 7:00pm
  • I would like to watch wishes from the CG and then head back to the park for some evening EMH (depending on how exhausted everyone is)
• Back to the resorts for bed..

Overall, pretty straightforward day.
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[4kidsandadog]

Just saw this PTR. We will be at the World the same time. Driving down from N. Alabama on Saturday and then beginning our stay on Sunday, driving back the following Sunday. This trip is a "familymoon." My daughter is getting married NYE and I used our DVC points to book the honeymooners at VGF a few nights before moving to a studio at AKV. Meanwhile, the rest of our party (Dh and I, our 2 teenagers, 4yo granddaughter, son-in-law's parents, his brother) are sharing a grand villa at AKV. Our granddaughter will turn 4 while we're there, so it is a double celebration. This will be our first stay at AKV, and first time taking another family with us. Thankfully, we love our son-in-law's family (we wouldn't have invited them if we didn't!) and are anticipating a wonderful time!

It doesn't look like any of our plans overlap, but we will be visiting a couple of the same restaurants. Le Cellier is one of my absolute favorites. I'm pretty sure we eat there every trip. The mushroom risotto is A-MA-ZING. Crystal Palace is also a regular on our trips. It's one of the best breakfast buffets in the parks (we like the one at Hollywood Studios, too; eating there for my granddaughter's birthday).

 

[rmw1313]

That is so exciting and such a great occasion to celebrate at the world!! AKL is one of my dream resorts to stay at- DH wants to save that resort for when we have kiddos of our own.

I'm so excited to try Le Cellier and CP for breakfast! - 2 weeks and counting!!!

 

[rmw1313]

12 Days Until Disney!!!
..Breathe, Rachele. Breathe.

DH and I had a truly amazing Christmas. Spending time with both of our families and the gifts that we received made us both feel incredibly blessed. We even got the brand new MacBook Pro with the touch bar from my parents and I. Am. Obsessed. As you all can probably see, I'm also obsessed with our pup Oliver. So, DH got me a doggy cam so that I can check in on Oliver and even talk to him when I'm not at home, I can't tell you how pumped I am for that!

He's exhausted from too much Christmas fun...​

Now that the Holiday season is officially over, I can focus all of my energy to finishing this PTR, packing, and closing on our new house! WhooHoo! Bring on 2017

I spent the past two days with my MIL and BIL getting all kinds of excited for our trip. DH and I put on the Disney vacation planning DVD last night to help explain some of the things that we're planning. That seemed to amp up the excitement even more.

So..On to Day 5!
EPCOT & DHS

-Wake up: 8:00am! (Sleep in day!!)
-Breakfast @ Captain's Grille 8:45am (The one meal that will just be DH and I )
-Head over to EPCOT to continue touring FW from Day 3
-FP+:
*11:00am: Spaceship Earth
*11:30am: Test Track
*12:15pm: The Seas with Nemo and Friends
-Leave EPCOT by 2:00pm and head by to the Beach Club to enjoy Storm Along Bay
(weather permitting)
-Dinner @ 50's Prime Time Cafe 5:15pm
-Tour DHS
-Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular 7:45pm
-Check out the night life @ The Boardwalk or Head to Disney Springs for drinks and entertainment

We're in the back..but I LOVE the guy that's picking his nose in the front. I may have to steal that move this time around!!

..and that's Day 5! ​

​

 

[rmw1313]

ONE WEEK UNTIL DISNEY!!!
...I need to kick this PTR in to high-gear.

Personal Updates: Happy New Year!! Andrew and I went to a friends house last night for games and drinks and are having a nice lazy-day at home today to recover. Complete with football, Netflix, puppy snuggles and slow cookers.

Oliver's birthday was also last night so he's pretty pooped as well.

Happy 2nd Birthday to my little guy!!!

Other than that, Andrew and I both have only 4 work days left until we leave! I can't believe how fast it's gotten here!!

Enough about us and our boring un-Disney regular lives...

DAY 6:

Our last full day ..it makes me sad to even type this so you can probably imagine how I'll feel when it's actually happening

We've changed these plans slightly since my original timeline post, mostly from asking Andrew's mom and brother what they were most looking forward to from our trip. Both of them said spending time in the parks and riding rides. Originally I had wanted us to go back to Disney springs this night, but opted for more park time in the evenings instead of another evening in DS (we are spending Monday night there for the college national title game). We can always head to DS after the parks close if we're feeling up to it too.

-Wake up: 8:00am (I'm finally letting us "sleep in")
-Breakfast @ Beach Club Market Place...Need to get me some more of that HB Casserole
-Head to the MK
-FP+s:
*7DMT 11:10am
*Haunted Mansion: 1:35pm
*Space Mountain: 3:20pm
-Lunch @ BOG 12:00pm
*Still deciding what I want to eat but 100% getting the grey stuff

so. so. so good last time.

-After our last FP, I thought we could maybe head to the resort to swim and relax or go right to EPCOT/DHS.
I'm adding in free time..go me!!! Andrew gets super annoyed when I plan every last second for some odd reason..
-Eventually make our way to EPCOT for dinner @ Coral Reef @ 7:40pm
*I changed this reservation from the Boathouse. I knew that we wanted to do Seafood, and wanted to stay close to the EPCOT area so I showed my MIL the menus for Coral Reef and Flying Fish and she chose Coral Reef. I'm really nervous about this one based on how all over the place the reviews for it are. I would hate for our last dinner to be awful..but I'm going to think positively!

​

 

[rmw1313]

So, I recently had a really frustrating experience with Disney IT. I know a ton of people complain about how bad it is, but I've never had a bad experience with them..until now. I was online trying to purchase Memory Maker for our upcoming trip, and for some odd reason the website would not go to the checkout portion of the page. I tried on Safari, Firefox, IE, literally every browser they make. I also tried on MAC, PC and the app. And nothing. Reluctantly I picked up the phone to call Disney to have them add it over the phone. I waited about 45 minutes, when I finally got through to an agent it took like 15 more minutes and then it was done. All in all, pretty painless.

I did this while I was at work, so by the time I got home I logged in to MDE and low and behold no MM on my profile. Weird, I thought. I then thought that it was because I needed to link it myself, so I go to check my email for my confirmation number and realized that I never got an email. More weird.

I reluctantly picked up the phone and called Disney back. This was at like 11pm, so I only had to wait 9 minutes this time..small victories. The agent was super nice, pulled up my reservation and said there was no MM on my profile (no kidding, that's why I'm on the phone with you...) She does some digging and finds out that the previous agent had just simply charged my account so it looked like an overage and was in the process of being refunded. She also said that I needed to re-purchase. Cool. I repurchased. She has me pull up MDE to make sure it went through..it didn't. She has me purchase it for a third time, and this time it does show up. I then check my credit card statement and staring right at me are 3 charges for $149.99 for MM.

Time to call back. FOR THE THIRD TIME. Same agent. She tells me that all of the charges are pending and two "should" fall off within the next 5 days. Sorry, but "should" isn't good enough for me when I have $500 in unnecessary charges sitting on my credit card. Well, it's been 4 days and they are all still there so we'll see if I need to call back for the 4th time. I asked why the system was doing this and the agent told me they were making some changes and those changes were causing glitches. I'll keep you updated on the charges, but wanted to let you all know in case anyone was having issues purchasing MM. It's a hot mess right now, folks. ​

 

[iheartbelle87]

Joining in! Congratulations on purchasing your first home that is so exciting! Also- I can't even stand how cute Oliver is! DH and I are also equally obsessed with our little fur ball too- I love meeting other people that 'get it'

Can't wait to hear about your trip!

 

[rmw1313]

DH and I are also equally obsessed with our little fur ball too- I love meeting other people that 'get it'

Crazy Dog Parents are definitely my kind of people Thanks so much for joining in!!

 

[rmw1313]

4 Days Left Until Disney...3 Days of Work Left!

Thankfully with my work schedule I always have Tuesday's off. So that means laundry, packing, cleaning and basically finishing up everything that needs to be done before we leave. I'm putting on Disney Pandora to get some motivation to get all of it done! It's super rainy in Pittsburgh today, and 50 degrees which is just insanely odd weather for January, so all that I really want to do today is binge watch Netflix anyone else like that?

Oliver saw the suitcases come out...and he's not happy about it.

How am I even supposed to do anything today when this little guy just wants to cuddle?! The struggle is real, folks.

..Did anyone else watch The Bachelor last night?! I was cracking up with some of the entrances that the women made! Andrew and I did the "Fantasy League" from the ESPN app..we are both super competitive so this should be interesting..Especially because he's beating me after last nights episode...

*One more update! My account did get refunded yesterday from the MM fiasco..so..Phew!*

Let's finish this PTR.

..Last Day :-( I honestly don't even want to think about this day, but here we go..

-Wake up @ for 7am
*I'm hoping to have everything in our room packed and ready to go so that we don't have to come back to the room before we board the TE
-Boat to DHS
-Starbucks Breakfast
*Tradition that Andrew and I started last year that we really enjoyed
-FP+s:
*9:15 Muppet Vision 3D
*10:30 Voyage of the LM
*11:55 RNR
-Lunch @12:30 Sci-Fi Dine-In
*This is something my BIL is super pumped for. I've never been, so I'm pretty curious as well.

I'm not sure what time we'll have to board the TE back to the airport because we rented a car last year. Depending on what time we need to be back, I thought we could maybe get some last minute souveniers or maybe some swimming, we'll see how everyone is feeling!

-Back to MCO :-(
-If/When the Steeler's beat the Dolphin's on Sunday, they will probably play their next game on Saturday. Hopefully it's a later game and we can watch it at the airport to help ease the depression of going home.

I've put off doing laundry long enough ​