A Rolex Vacation on a Timex Budget: Sept '11 PTR (TR is Live!)

[jenneth79]

So, a little mini-update for this Tuesday afternoon.

First off, I have some GOOD news to share for once! My DH just got a new job, moving into the same field I am as a Sales Engineer! This is a great move for him, not only will he make a bit more money, but he will no longer be required to work weekends and/or evenings for maintenance windows. Yay, I'm getting my hubby back!

I'm a little sad, as I was really enjoying working in the same office as him, and he's moving to a new company. However, I'll probably end up seeing him more overall with the new job. So proud of him, because it's really a big change in his career, which can be super scary!

We went to lunch today and tried to do our best not to talk about the upcoming trip. We both failed, miserably. Though he did bring up a good point, we set up car service to YC from MCO, but not our house to IAD! I did a bit of research and found out it will actually be cheaper for us to drive ourselves. Apparently there is only one company in the DC area who is allowed to taxi people to the airports, and they charge more than it will cost us to park for 9 days.

Secretly, I'm kind of glad, because I always have that fear that the driver won't show up on time and we'll miss our flight!

So, that's out of the way, and this afternoon I'm going to make my list of final things to do before our trip. We're going camping for the long weekend, so I want to make sure everything is in place when we get back. Probably going to try and pack some more tonight and make yummy Indian food for dinner. I was going to last night but got lazy and just made Naan Pizzas....

Got what I thought was bad news as our company moved financial offices and I was just informed that my comp check for the month won't be paid until next week. That's a bummer, but now that I realize this means I get two checks, and get taxed a bit less overall (they are usually combined) which means I might just end up with a bit more spending cash for the trip! Considering it all goes into savings for Disney, I can afford to wait another week.

Hope everyone is having an amazing week so far!

 

[407-W-DISNEY]

Your Dh will be floored by the surprise!! that's so awesome!!

 

[Nermel9]

Love the surprise for your DH, what a great idea! And congrats to him on the new job!

 

[PixieMama]

Awesome surprise for your hubby! And congrats on his new job!

 

[Kari-B]

Congrats on your DH's new job!

 

[Shannon84]

Congrats to your DH on the new job That is awesome!!

 

[TanzUnited99]

Congrats to DH on the new job!

Ok, so can I just say that I adore that term, "rumbled"? It's one of those obvious splits between American and British slang..... here it means to get into a fight... which I suppose might happen if you get rubmbled in the UK!

Lol I didn't even think about the slang difference when writing 'rumbled!' Yep if we got 'rumbled' in the UK it could lead to a fight (depends on the situation)!

 

[jenneth79]

Your Dh will be floored by the surprise!! that's so awesome!!

Love the surprise for your DH, what a great idea! And congrats to him on the new job!

Awesome surprise for your hubby! And congrats on his new job!

Congrats on your DH's new job!

Congrats to your DH on the new job That is awesome!!

Thanks everyone! We're really excited about this brand new opportunity for him, he really deserves it!

Congrats to DH on the new job!

Lol I didn't even think about the slang difference when writing 'rumbled!' Yep if we got 'rumbled' in the UK it could lead to a fight (depends on the situation)!

It's so much fun, learning how very different and yet similar our languages are

 

[jenneth79]

First off, let me apologize for the lack of pictures with these plan posts.... I just can't find the time to get the pics uploaded and don't want that to hold up our plans!

After a nice relaxing Wednesday, this day will dawn bright and early as our second planned breakfast ADR! As you know, we’ll be catching a cab to the Polynesian Resort for my DH’s requested breakfast with Stitch at Ohana!
This does mean that we’ll miss out on EMH over at MK this day, but I’m not going to let that bother me. At this point in our trip, we may have already seen all the rides we wanted to catch and will be making a more leisurely tour around the park.

But back to breakfast, first. While Ohana was Mike’s idea, I’ll be the first to admit that I’m absolutely thrilled to be eating here! I made dinner ADRs at Ohana before I began to plan the special event that never happened, so I was kind of bummed to have cancelled it before. And of course, you know Stitch is one of my absolutely favorite Disney characters! Hopefully we’ll get some good pictures. I’m crossing my fingers. For that matter, hopefully the food will be good too. I assume its standard breakfast fare?

Once we’ve had our fill, or I’ve gotten kicked out for monopolizing Stitch, we’ll get a cup of Kona coffee to go and hop on the monorail to the MK! I’m really not sure what we’re going to focus on here, I just know my typical must ride list: BTMR, SM, HM, and POTC. Not sure if I have mentioned this before, but I am really not a fan of It’s a Small World. I enjoy it in principle, but…well, the song annoys me.

Am I alone with this? Does this make me heartless?

I think we’ll also try and get over to Tom Sawyers Island if we didn’t on our first MK day. I don’t think I’ve been since I was really young, I guess it was never a big “ride” so we didn’t go over there for lack of time. I seem to have a vague memory of a scary dark cave though, and I’d like to see if it’s what I remember.

For lunch, we decided we didn’t want to leave the park again, so I made ADRs at Liberty Tree Tavern. Of all our plans, this one I am most uncertain of. It gets great reviews, but I just don’t know what I think about Thanksgiving Dinner in 90 degree weather. That and I live two hours from Colonial Williamsburg, and I might not love Disney’s take on that. Who knows? Hopefully I will be proven wrong!

So who knows what the rest of the day will hold, perhaps shopping or some pool time. I do know we have an amazing dinner at Bistro de Paris to look forward to, and a super exciting day ahead of us on Friday!

 

[jenbear123]

You're not alone in finding IASW song annoying. I think that's the draw of the ride. Unless of course someone really does like the song. But I'd think they're kinda crazy

'Ohana has standard breakfast food. Mickey waffles, sausage, bacon, fruit, eggs, etc. Although they are very strict with their Mickey waffles. Some guy walks around serving them. They don't just leave a platter them on your table like everything else.

Tom Sawyer Island is fun. It's a nice break from the regular park. It's like a big playground with creepy caves.

 

[Kari-B]

We are probably going to be trying out Ohana's this trip. Glad to hear how much you like it. I totally agree with you on IASW. I HATE that ride. While I love that it showcases different countries and cultures, I can not get past the song. Ugh.

 

[TanzUnited99]

Hope you enjoy your breakfast at O'hana - every review I have read of the Stitch breakfast has been positive so am sure you guys will have a great time!

Will let you know my feelings on IASW after our trip but I can get how the song could get annoying!

 

[natebenma]

Congrats to your DH on the new job!!! Yeah on having the same work week schedule.

Day 6 plans sound great!

IaSW- we can take it or leave it. If the wait is 5 minutes or less, we may go, but if it is any longer than that, we skip it. We have not been on our past two trips.

Wouldn't it be cool if they had a different soundtrack for the ride. Maybe traditional songs from each of the countries/continents?

I have never dined at Liberty Tree. Perhaps if you are still pretty full from 'Ohana and don't want to ruin your appetite for Bistro, you could always go counterservice for lunch (my recommendation is Columbia Harbor House).

Although CS it is not the best "economical" use of a dining credit on the Deluxe Plan, I remember our experience of eating deluxe and we weren't always able to eat 3 sitdown meals. I wouldn't cancel any reservations you have but keep that in mind as you are in the parks.

 

[Stefy]

Wow what a great surprise for DH, you have to get a pic of his reaction

Congrats on the new job to him too :thumsbup2

Day 6 plans look great. Ohana Breakfast is so much fun and delicious. I'm obsessed with the pineapple bread, it is divine

 

[Shannon84]

I have heard great reviews about the interactions with the characters at 'Ohana's breakfast, so at least that should be a fun time no matter what

I have gone back and forth with Liberty Tree...I am interested to see what you guys think, maybe I will end up checking it out one of these days

 

[momabbate]

Glad Irene didn't do to much damage. I agree power outage is nothing compare to a tree on your house or car.
Love the surprise for your hubby. And glad to hear about the new job.
As for IASW, I guess im one of the few it is a must do on all disney trips. For me it reminds me of back as a little girl at DL. As for the song, well I can tune things out easy and so I don't get it stuck with me all day. Now I have been known to sing it during the ride and sometimes after the ride to annoy people.

 

[jenneth79]

You're not alone in finding IASW song annoying. I think that's the draw of the ride. Unless of course someone really does like the song. But I'd think they're kinda crazy

'Ohana has standard breakfast food. Mickey waffles, sausage, bacon, fruit, eggs, etc. Although they are very strict with their Mickey waffles. Some guy walks around serving them. They don't just leave a platter them on your table like everything else.

Tom Sawyer Island is fun. It's a nice break from the regular park. It's like a big playground with creepy caves.

Mike actually said to me this weekend. "When we get to MK, let's ride it as soon as possible. It's classic Disney, but the song will get stuck in my head and we'll need to replace it quick!" The question is.... with what?

I'm certainly going to give Tom Sawyer island a try, just for a nice quiet walk if nothing else.

We are probably going to be trying out Ohana's this trip. Glad to hear how much you like it. I totally agree with you on IASW. I HATE that ride. While I love that it showcases different countries and cultures, I can not get past the song. Ugh.

I'm so glad I'm not alone!

Hope you enjoy your breakfast at O'hana - every review I have read of the Stitch breakfast has been positive so am sure you guys will have a great time!

Will let you know my feelings on IASW after our trip but I can get how the song could get annoying!

Thanks! I certainly hope so, either way, it will be neat to check out the resort itself and be able to do the monorail to the MK ride

Congrats to your DH on the new job!!! Yeah on having the same work week schedule.

Thanks! His last day at this job is tomorrow, and they are working him until the last minute, so he's surper stressed. I'm about to send him a text message that just says 11 Days, as that is how long we have until a nice long Disney vacation! Hopefully that will help with the stress.

Day 6 plans sound great!

IaSW- we can take it or leave it. If the wait is 5 minutes or less, we may go, but if it is any longer than that, we skip it. We have not been on our past two trips.

Wouldn't it be cool if they had a different soundtrack for the ride. Maybe traditional songs from each of the countries/continents?

I have never dined at Liberty Tree. Perhaps if you are still pretty full from 'Ohana and don't want to ruin your appetite for Bistro, you could always go counterservice for lunch (my recommendation is Columbia Harbor House).

Although CS it is not the best "economical" use of a dining credit on the Deluxe Plan, I remember our experience of eating deluxe and we weren't always able to eat 3 sitdown meals. I wouldn't cancel any reservations you have but keep that in mind as you are in the parks.

I know overall we're not going to break even, because we really don't eat that much, and outside of character breakfasts, we're mostly going to stick to light fare from the CL lounge.

That being said, there are certainly a few places that if we have to drop the ADR, it won't break our hearts. We're planning on looking at the next day's plan the evening before, and seeing if it meets up with how we're feeling at the time.

I somewhat knew this would be an issue, as I don't like planning my day around meals, but Disney kind of leaves you with no choice.

And I agree on IASW, if they just had the "theme song" at one part (begining or end) but the rest of it was different songs from different countries? That would be cool!

I will admit the little dolls are adorable.... I seem to remember the little wooden shoes as my favorite when I was little. I wanted a pair for years.

Wow what a great surprise for DH, you have to get a pic of his reaction

Congrats on the new job to him too :thumsbup2

Day 6 plans look great. Ohana Breakfast is so much fun and delicious. I'm obsessed with the pineapple bread, it is divine

I'll try, maybe I can play it off as a "oh, I'm just documenting the whole trip. Here is the stairwell, here's the door, here's the door open....."

Pineapple bread??? Mmmmm, I haven't heard of this yet.....

I have heard great reviews about the interactions with the characters at 'Ohana's breakfast, so at least that should be a fun time no matter what

I have gone back and forth with Liberty Tree...I am interested to see what you guys think, maybe I will end up checking it out one of these days

Thanks, if we go I will certainly take lots of pictures! I'm toying around with a Dining Review when we get back.... seems like we're going to so many places it might be helpful to others to hear what we think. Not that I've got a great deal of knowledge on food.... just what I like.

Glad Irene didn't do to much damage. I agree power outage is nothing compare to a tree on your house or car.
Love the surprise for your hubby. And glad to hear about the new job.
As for IASW, I guess im one of the few it is a must do on all disney trips. For me it reminds me of back as a little girl at DL. As for the song, well I can tune things out easy and so I don't get it stuck with me all day. Now I have been known to sing it during the ride and sometimes after the ride to annoy people.

Ha! So you're one of THOSE people are you? I really can't say anything though.... I've been known to sing "One Little Spark" for hours on end while walking around Epcot. And I still randomly sing Phineas and Ferb songs now....

 

[jenneth79]

So, I thought I would share with you my second little surprise I have planned for my DH on our anniversary trip!

The first night we are there, Mike and are are heading so San Angel Inn for a nice dinner in memory of my father. I know it will be a bittersweet time, so I really wanted something (other than tequila!) to take his mind off it afterwards.

I chatted with IPO, then the Disney Florist, and we came up with this! When we get back from our dinner and stroll around the World Showcase, our room will have been transformed by......

(from the florist Website

"Step into a world of romance at your Walt Disney World® Resort room, experiencing all the magic Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse have arranged just for you! They heard congratulations were in order. They turned back the bed, and sprinkled rose petals on the sheets, and chocolates on your pillows. Cozy bath towels, specially embroidered with your names, are draped across the foot of the bed, and a spa basket for two sits waiting for you. On the table nearby, a splash of Mickey-shaped confetti, a dozen pixie-dusted roses, and a custom-matted photo of Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse stands to congratulate you. Then, for the final touch, three magically lit candles are scattered about to set the mood for romance - and, if you look closely, you'll find Tinker Bell spreading a little magic too! All of this is not only meant for you to enjoy - now every piece has been selected for you to take home - with love."

Yes, it's over the top, but how awesome is that???

He will know I've lost it then.

 

[jenbear123]

Wow! I almost want get that for my DBF. He might think I'm crazy too though Sounds so romantic!!!

 

[TanzUnited99]

What an awesome surprise! I have seen pics of the arrangement and it is going to be such a special moment for your DH

Look forward to seeing his reaction in your TR