A Trip full of Wonder and Magic and Wonderfulness! Sep '11 PTR!

[QuirkyButterfly]

I would say watch expectations for everything... I LOVE Disney, but worry about others being disappointed when they go.

Le Cellier was good, but dh (who loves steak) doesn't care about returning...

Kitchen sink photos:
http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=38314800&postcount=169

Thanks for posting those photos. I think me and DBF might be kidding ourselves if we think we can get through it But we will sure have fun trying

Can't wait to post more as I know more of the details. So excited to start planning

How amazing are you! just read your plan .... I was just planning on getting there and winging it. I have a copy of the maps and highlighted where we want to go, but haven't pin pointed each day. I have two Teenage Daughters, will have to consider their needs..

We are going to Discovery Cove as well, approx Sept 11 - 17 have you booked ? and if so who will you book with?

Thanks for joining in, sorry it has take so long to reply (real life has been busy). There are some days where I have had enough of planning everything and think that we should just wing it, then the reality that I am a compulsive planner kicks back in and I spend every moment looking for minute details to see if they are right.

We have already booked discovery cove we are there on Sep 7th, it looks so much fun. The whole holiday I have booked myself, I have done everything online. It has actually been really easy. I was worried that I might need a travel agent but I am glad now that I did it on my own.


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Sorry I have been slow at updating. One of the guys I work with had a family member pass away and he had to fly to London straight away. We are already understaffed so I have double the work to do at the moment, I can't be upset at him though. It was such a sad thing to happen.

I do have updates coming over the weekend though. I have booked ADR's ! The question is: Did I get everything I wanted or not?

I have also received something new in the mail.

Update coming soon

 

[TanzUnited99]

Hope work eases up for you. Looking forward to hearing if you managed to get all your ADRs and what you got in the post

 

[QuirkyButterfly]

I have always heard horror stories about getting ADR's. How difficult it is to get in to some places. I am sure you have heard the instructions for getting an ADR for CRT. How you have to be on the phone right when the lines open and how you have to basically interrupt the person on the other end just to get the time you want.

So with all this in mind I was completely ready. I had everything organised, The place we want to go, the times, the backup times, the backup restaurants even. The plan was to go online and get CRT first, Le Cellier second and Ohana third. The online ADR system opens and hour earlier than the phone lines which is a bonus and because of the way daylight savings lines up between Australia and Florida it meant the I could start making ADR's at 10pm.

I felt like I was going into battle.

I went online counted down the minutes and...





















Got everything I wanted, all the times I wanted and it only took 30 minutes to make 12 ADR's .

What a let down, my grand battle was a complete KO, Disney didn't even put up a fight .

Actually I am really happy everything is falling into place.

I also got this in the mail, I know I don't really need it but it is pretty cool to have.

Aren't Adams hands cute

It actually came a lot later that I would have liked, I pre-ordered it ages ago but they hadn't got them printed yet. I am not planning on taking it with us to America because it weighs a ton. But isn't it pretty .

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekends, thanks for being patient with me being slow on the updates.

 

[PrincessInOz]

For your ADR's.

For the PassPorter! Happy reading.

 

[shushh]

Hurray for getting your ADRs booked!

 

[franandaj]

Better to have a let down to your fight than not get what you want! I hope I am as lucky next month!

 

[TanzUnited99]

on getting all your ADRs - can't believe how lucky you were!!

I am hoping to book our ADRs online as well so hope I have the same luck.

Yay on getting the Passporter even if it was a bit later then planned! Hope you manage to get some use out of it.

 

[QuirkyButterfly]

For your ADR's.

For the PassPorter! Happy reading.

Hurray for getting your ADRs booked!

Better to have a let down to your fight than not get what you want! I hope I am as lucky next month!

on getting all your ADRs - can't believe how lucky you were!!

I am hoping to book our ADRs online as well so hope I have the same luck.

Yay on getting the Passporter even if it was a bit later then planned! Hope you manage to get some use out of it.

Thanks everyone for your kind words. I am very happy that everything worked out for us .

 

[QuirkyButterfly]

I know we are meant to be saving money, but there was something else I wanted to buy this year. Tickets to go and see Mary Poppins at Capitol Theatre. I have rationalised this by saying that we are saving for Disney and this is a Disney production so technically we are putting the money exactly where we wanted it to go. I like my reasoning, it will also work when Tangled comes out on Blu-ray . I am so excited to see this show, it really looks like so much fun. I don't know if Adam will enjoy it as much as me (poor boy), but he can think of this as his first taste of Disney magic. Has anyone else seen the show? Did you enjoy it?

 

[franandaj]

We saw it in LA in 2009 and really enjoyed it. I know PIO has seen it too. I know she enjoyed it, I think her boys did too.

 

[PrincessInOz]

I saw MP in Melbourne last year and loved it. It is a very good production. And I love musicals of any sort.

The best part? We took DS10 to see it. He kept whining in the car that he didn't want to go....he doesn't like the video. But from the moment the curtain raised to the very end, he was completely rapted in the show.

Enjoy!

 

[blairbear]

I just read through all of your report so far. Your trip looks exciting! Congratulations on getting all of your ADRs!

I personally haven't seen Mary Poppins but my best friend has and she loved it.

 

[TanzUnited99]

I haven't seen Mary Poppins so can't help out but had to comment to say I love your rationalisation!

Am going to use the same thinking when buying Tangled or any other Disney related purchases

 

[QuirkyButterfly]

We saw it in LA in 2009 and really enjoyed it. I know PIO has seen it too. I know she enjoyed it, I think her boys did too.

I am glad that you enjoyed it. It looks like so much fun.

I saw MP in Melbourne last year and loved it. It is a very good production. And I love musicals of any sort.

The best part? We took DS10 to see it. He kept whining in the car that he didn't want to go....he doesn't like the video. But from the moment the curtain raised to the very end, he was completely rapted in the show.

Enjoy!

That is good that your DS enjoyed it, I really hope that Adam will as well. I think when I was growing up I must have watched Mary Poppins at least twice a week. I loved it!

I just read through all of your report so far. Your trip looks exciting! Congratulations on getting all of your ADRs!

I personally haven't seen Mary Poppins but my best friend has and she loved it.

Thanks for joining in, we are very excited about this trip. I can't wait for September!

I haven't seen Mary Poppins so can't help out but had to comment to say I love your rationalisation!

Am going to use the same thinking when buying Tangled or any other Disney related purchases

I think that it is a really good rationalisation. Unfortunately Adam doesn't quite agree with me .

 

[queenie82]

Wow....just finished reading through your PTR. You've been a very busy bee...err...butterfly

So sorry about the car accident. When I was learning to drive I nearly went through a red (I didn't thanks to dual controls) but other than that I've done really well. Only been a passenger in an accident. Hope you've regained your confidence.

I'm going to Mary Poppins in May so I hope it's good. It's pricy but all concerts and shows are bloody expensive in Oz and we don't get the specials they get in the US
So...Mary Poppins here I come

To be honest go with the ADRs you want. I found Le Cellier underwhelming and will be unlikely to ever fork out 2 Dining Credits for it. I found the steak (well veal for me) better at The Wave.
But...I know so many who loved it. So just pick what you like and hopefully it will be good. Reviews are VERY useful and I've based decisions in part on them. But I've also made my own decisions

 

[disneydreamingdebby]

Congrats on the ADRS!!!

I look forward to hearing about Mary Poppins.

I too have my mind on the Tangled Blue Ray. I will be stopping for it after work tomorrow. I have a date with the film and my couch! (My family is free to join me or not ...my one dd went to the theater with me to see it; dh and my other dd stayed home.)

 

[QuirkyButterfly]

Two new things that I have purchased for the trip:

Gatorland:

We are doing the "trainer for a day" package. This is the blurb from the site.

An experience you will not forget! The Trainer For A Day program will give you a glimpse into what it takes to be able to work with and around dangerous animals. The day starts with an introductory course that includes safety procedures, handling exercises and basic behavioral animal training. Now it's time for a hands-on training session with one of the reptile experts. This up-close interaction includes a chance to learn all about crocodilians and an opportunity to test your skills at croc wrangling! Experience may range from moving large alligators and crocodiles to assisting a reptile trainer in daily activities. So be sure to prepare for the unexpected when completing this Gatorland exclusive package.


I think we will both have fun with this as we both have a fondness for reptiles.

and...

Indy Racing Experience:

This one is my gift for Adam.

Are you aware of the thrilling ride located just outside Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom®?

The Indy Racing Experience is now operating daily at the Walt Disney World® Speedway and now you have a place to ride or drive in an IZOD IndyCar® Series car throughout the year!

Race fans can take a 3-lap ride around the 1-mile tri-oval in our 2-seater piloted by an professional driver at a rate of $109/tax. Or they can get behind the wheel of an actual Indy car that participated in the Indianapolis 500 and take on the 8-lap driving experience for $399/tax.

I have purchased him the drive, I know he will love it. I had such a difficult time booking this one. When I originally booked it on the site it said that my credit card did not meet the AVS security check because of my address, we live in an apartment so I though maybe it would work if I formatted it differently. I tried again and the same thing happened. So I couldn't book it. I have never had any trouble with this card before. I thought no problem I will just call them and book it directly. Well before I called them I checked my credit card summary and it showed that I had been billed twice. I had a look at the site and it still had things in the checkout and it showed that I hadn't paid. I emailed Shonda who is in charge of these things, to let her know what had happened. She was so nice about the whole thing, and was so helpful. She said that they hadn't taken any money for their end so the best thing for me to do was to call my bank and get them to cancel the transactions. I called the bank who told me they couldn't delete them without a letter from the company explaining what went wrong. So I emailed Shonda back and asked her to write me a letter. In the meantime enough time had passed that because nothing had been done with the charges on my credit card that they just automatically deleted themselves. In the end I ended up faxing Shonda all of the details and it has gone through fine, but I was worried for a while. If anyone else is thinking about booking don't let my experience put you off. Shonda was just so helpful and nice about the whole thing that I was still happy to book with them.

This is my latest disney update. Stay tuned for more info.

 

[TanzUnited99]

Yay on booking some more excursions!!

I looked into Gatorland and it sure sounds great! Hope you enjoy meeting all the alligators and look forward to reading your review

Also Adam is going to love the Indy Racing Experience - what a cool idea!
on the stress of booking it - am glad to hear that Shonda was helpful and you managed to sort everything out in the end

 

[PrincessInOz]

Sounds like two great excursions!

Your trip is coming along nicely.

 

[QuirkyButterfly]

Yay on booking some more excursions!!

I looked into Gatorland and it sure sounds great! Hope you enjoy meeting all the alligators and look forward to reading your review

Also Adam is going to love the Indy Racing Experience - what a cool idea!
on the stress of booking it - am glad to hear that Shonda was helpful and you managed to sort everything out in the end

I will be sure to post lots of photos of Gatorland, I haven't seen it come up in a lot of peoples TR's so I don't think that it is very popular, but it sounds like great fun to us

I am very glad that everything worked out with booking Indy Racing, It is so scary when something goes wrong when your credit card is involved.

Sounds like two great excursions!

Your trip is coming along nicely.

Thanks I am really happy with how everything is progressing.