Are you serious? We get to go back? – Nov PTR ~ Update 3/5 A real update, I swear!

[Purple Opal]

I absolutely LOVE the photos of Dylan. He makes a great football player!

Alison, you can tell in this last photo that he has "our" eyes. I don't know what it is, but I have noticed that same look in photos of you and I where we are looking sideways or out of the corners of our eyes.

Genetics is so interesting!

 

[Sunset Cliffs]

Hello!! I have to go back and read, but I browsed a bit because I was curious where you were staying. I lurked a bit on your previous TR when we were considering Sheraton Vistana Resort. We are II members and usually stay off-site as well. We've stayed at Marriott Grande Vista (loved it) and Sheraton Vistana Resort (loved it just as much & are staying there in Feb/March for a second time).

I'll get caught up this week - can't wait to read about the rest of your plans. Based on your on-site/off-site combo it sounds like an exciting trip!

We love the Sheraton Vistana! We always check there first through II because we love the location. It is close to everything. I'm glad to hear that you like the Grande Vista too. We were looking at pictures of the property over the weekend and I am getting so excited to stay there. Do you happen to have an area on the property that you would recommend? We don't know the layout at all, so we are confused which building to request. Thanks!!

Here is the link for the savings on the pre-ordered photopass cd:

http://www.disneyphotopass.com/previsitoffer.aspx

I registered my card to, but all they offered was a $15 dollar saving under special offers. This one is much better. Photopass is only beneficial if you like them taking the posed pictures at some of the main attractions (castle, tree of life, sorcerer's hat, etc.) or if you are doing something like BBB. They have photographers at some of these places and can usually take better pictures then my quality. Basically, each photo is about $14 each so by the time I order 8 pictures I have spent the price of the cd (if I do the deal above).

Thank you, thank you!! Our big problem is that we never get any good pictures of all of us in it. I am usually the one taking the pictures, so I don't mind doing the posed pictures if some of them turn out good. I have heard that their prints are pricey, so buying the CD makes a lot of sense to me. Thank you again for the link.

Sorry, I know next to nothing about Photopass, but I just wanted to say what an adorable little football player Dylan makes!

Thank you! I think so too.

Cutest football player ever! Little Guy was Batman!!

Aww, I can't wait to see pictures of him.

 

[Sunset Cliffs]

omgosh...Dylan is getting sooooo big! He did a great job for those photos for halloween!!! I"m glad you all had a blast, we didn't even have 1 trick or treater at our door..

I know absolutely nothing about photopass...Sorry, can't help you there.

I bet you were so bummed to not get any trick or treaters. Did you make some good treats to hand out? I'm sad for you...we would have come & visted you if you lived closer. I hope you had a good night anyways.

Awww, I am sorry to hear about Pluto. At least you know that he is no longer suffering and that you could be there with him at the end.

Dylan looks great in the costume, and soo grown up now! He looks so tall. I love that he is too happy to be "tough" in the pics.

You are right about Pluto. Once we realized he was in pain, the decision was made quickly. It was awful to know that he was hurting, even if it was for a short time. We definitely miss him.

Dylan looks bigger every month. I swear he is in a growth spurt. All of his 3T pants that he has are getting too short, even though they fit at the waist. I'm happy that I have a sweet & happy kid too.

Thank you for all of your PP info. I remember your pictures from the AKL and that is why I started thinking that we might be able to get some good family pictures for holiday cards. I think that we will probably have a lot of pictures between all of the people going, so it should be worth it to just buy the CD.

 

[Sunset Cliffs]

I have to say the Dylan is the cutest little football player ever!! The smiling instead of looking tough cracked me up!

We are doing Photopass for the first time this trip as well. I am super excited and since we are pre-ordering I am going to make a point to have tons of pics taken to make sure we get our money's worth! Since we are taking Olivia to the BBB and the photo session afterward, that helped with the decision to do PP. Also, if you find that after you get home and look at all your pictures and don't really like them, they will refund your money.

I'm still sad that we are just barely missing each other on this trip!!! It would have been great to have the kiddos meet up! I have to say that I am jealous that your trip is only 2 weeks away!!! We still have 27 days (much better than the 108 we started our countdown with)!

That is good to know there is a guarentee if you don't like your pictures. I'm sure that they are going to be great, but sometimes I have a hard time convincing Todd that stuff like this is worth the price. Last trip, I think we got a couple of cards here & there and combined them at the end of the trip. There were maybe 20 pictures total, so it was not worth doing. I'm excited to try it this time, and I want to have a ton of them taken too!

I'm bummed too. It would have been fun for the kids to meet. Dylan loves new friends and he is going to be around adults the whole trip, so he probably would have loved that. We are less than 2 weeks now and I am trying not to freak out with everything that I have left to do.

Oh my goodness--Dylan is PRECIOUS as a football player!!! LOVE the costume!!

We LOVE PP and I would HIGHLY recommend it!! Go to the link that was posted above and preorder the cd for $99!! Yes, if you have different cards you can add them to the same account. Once you add the card all of the pictures are automatically put into chronological order which is nice (not sure how it knows, but it does). And if you have any meals that come with a picture package or you buy a picture at a meal, you can add those pics as well (there is a code on the back of the pic). We've ended up getting soo many pics that each time we end up with TWO cds full of pics. But you need to know where to find the PP photographers.

Here is the link for Magic Kingdom: http://www.disneyphotopass.com/skins/100147/help/AboutDPP-Maps-Tips.pdf.

Epcot: http://www.disneyphotopass.com/aboutdpp_map_epcot.aspx

Hollywood Studios: http://www.disneyphotopass.com/skins/100147/help/AboutDPP-Maps-Tips.pdf

Animal Kingdom: http://www.disneyphotopass.com/skins/100147/help/AboutDPP-Maps-Tips.pdf

other locations: http://www.disneyphotopass.com/aboutdpp_map_other.aspx

And of course there are tons of PP photographers at many of the character meet and greets! I've heard that there are some at the resorts as well--especially around Christmas! I'm hoping to get our family pic taken at WL and GF!! I'm also planning on using some of the pics on our Christmas card this year. Not sure we'll get the cd in time but I will be sure and have them take pics on my camera as well!! I hope this helps!!

Oh--and I also LOVE this website for PP info: http://www.stitchkingdom.com/disneysphotopass/. It tells you all of the magic shots you can ask for, etc!!!

Thank you for so much info Becky!! I have already checked out the maps and will look at the other website tonight. We have never really been into the PP thing, but I want to try it out this time since it will probably be our last trip for a while.

I have heard about the photographers at the resorts & I am excited to get some pictures in front of the holiday decorations as well. It is always tricky to get the right setting on the camera when you are taking night pictures in front of Christmas lights. I never have much luck & things always turn out too dark. I am hoping for a few good Christmas card pictures as well. Fingers crossed!

Thank you again for all of the links!

 

[Sunset Cliffs]

I absolutely LOVE the photos of Dylan. He makes a great football player!



Alison, you can tell in this last photo that he has "our" eyes. I don't know what it is, but I have noticed that same look in photos of you and I where we are looking sideways or out of the corners of our eyes.

Genetics is so interesting!

We definitely all have the same eyes. We get them from Gladys. The older Dylan gets, the more I think he looks like Todd, but I know that the eyes will always be mine.

 

[eandesmom]

I am so sorry for your loss

I feel your sports pain. K got bumped up to varsity for soccer and they just won their division. State playoffs start Weds, and Jeff and I are out of town with his dad and Stepmom through Sun. If they win tomorrow, they play Sat and we will miss both games. Hopefully they win both as then we can make the semi's and final.

PP is a tough call but you do save if you pre order, then the trick is to get as many pictures taken as possible to make it worthwhile.

We did both this trip (the session and PP) and I'd probably do it again. While yes, the per pic price is a bit pricey on the PP if you don't get that many shots, in someways its priceless. For me it's usually the only way I get a picture of myself on my own trip! I had really hoped to do better on the PP than we did (in 08 I think we had 10 shots taken so that was $10 per shot lol! BUT they were some killer photos that I wouldn't have had, so still worth it) but we did much better than 10, maybe 30 this trip. LOL.

Yes, you can add the different cards and PP will actually sort them by date, resort, park, etc. You can then go in and edit (add borders, crop, turn to black and white) and create multiple copies or versions of the same thing before you order the CD. The key thing to remember is you only have 30 days prior to the trip to order the CD so it is good to do it right when you get home.

Also a good habit is to take a pic of the back of your PP card in case you lose it and pre-register the one that comes in your mickey mail so you have it from day 1.

If it weren't for the photo session I wouldn't have a Christmas Card photo so I am really glad we did it!

 

[Sunset Cliffs]

I am so sorry for your loss

I feel your sports pain. K got bumped up to varsity for soccer and they just won their division. State playoffs start Weds, and Jeff and I are out of town with his dad and Stepmom through Sun. If they win tomorrow, they play Sat and we will miss both games. Hopefully they win both as then we can make the semi's and final.

PP is a tough call but you do save if you pre order, then the trick is to get as many pictures taken as possible to make it worthwhile.

We did both this trip (the session and PP) and I'd probably do it again. While yes, the per pic price is a bit pricey on the PP if you don't get that many shots, in someways its priceless. For me it's usually the only way I get a picture of myself on my own trip! I had really hoped to do better on the PP than we did (in 08 I think we had 10 shots taken so that was $10 per shot lol! BUT they were some killer photos that I wouldn't have had, so still worth it) but we did much better than 10, maybe 30 this trip. LOL.

Yes, you can add the different cards and PP will actually sort them by date, resort, park, etc. You can then go in and edit (add borders, crop, turn to black and white) and create multiple copies or versions of the same thing before you order the CD. The key thing to remember is you only have 30 days prior to the trip to order the CD so it is good to do it right when you get home.

Also a good habit is to take a pic of the back of your PP card in case you lose it and pre-register the one that comes in your mickey mail so you have it from day 1.

If it weren't for the photo session I wouldn't have a Christmas Card photo so I am really glad we did it!

How is K's soccer team doing in their finals matches? I'm sure the competition is tough at that level!

Thank you for the PP info. We have debated a lot about the actual photo session but we are definitely getting the pre-paid card. I'm excited to try something new that I have seen others doing. Can't wait to try it out because I really want to get a Christmas card photo from it.

 

[Sunset Cliffs]

I am so sorry that this PTR has not been as interesting as I would have liked. My work and Todd's volleyball have really dominated our lives, and I have not had the time to commit to this PTR like I wanted. The good thing is that volleyball is done (Todd's team took 2nd in their league) and my work is sort-of starting to slow down. I know I have been busy because when I signed onto the Dis today, it said I haven't been on the site in 4 days!! That is NOT how I planned my last week before the trip to go!

Our house has been slowly & steadily packing for the trip. LOTS of laundry, lots of trips to the store to pick up something that had been forgotten. But we are slowly & surely making progress. I know I was originally disappointed that we weren't flying on Saturday, but now I am grateful that I have all day to pack.

As I type this, my sister's family is on their plane to WDW! By this time tomorrow we will be loading up the car and on our way to the airport! That is exciting and nervewracking at the same time, since there is still so much to do.

Weather check : A cold storm is blowing through northern California right now. Tomorrow when we leave for the airport, it is supposed to be 39 degrees. On the other end of the country in Florida, it is supposed to be 80 - 85 degrees the whole first week we are there. Then it will drop to the mid 70's for the second week. I don't think we could have asked for better weather for the trip! We might actually get to use the swimming pools!

Dylan : Of course, Dylan had to come down with a cold this week. It is not bad at all, but he is definitely congested. I am worried about the effects on his ears for the flight... Please pray that he does not experience any pain or it is going to be a long day tomorrow on the flight! The cold started on Tuesday so I'm hoping that by tomorrow it will be past the worst of it.

Mickey : Mickey is doing a little better since Pluto passed away. He is perkier at times, but is still pretty down. We have a very sweet girl coming to house sit for us while we are gone and you can tell that he likes her, so I feel like we are giving him the best situation that we can. It will be sad to walk out the door tomorrow and leave him.

Thank you everyone for your input! I promise that the TR is going to be way more action packed than this PTR was. I can't wait to get back and tell you all about it!! I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.

 

[eecteacher82]

HAVE AN AMAZING TRIP!!!!!!!! I can't wait to hear all about it when you guys get back (but when you guys get back we will be arriving)!!! Crossing my fingers and praying that Dylan feels better and there are no issues on the flights!

 

[Dugette]

I had just been thinking about you, remembering you leave soon. Tomorrow!

Sounds like perfect weather!

I hope Dylan is feeling better very soon. And I'm glad Mickey will have a person he likes staying with him.

for your sister's family already being on their way there!

Good luck with the rest of your packing. I hope you all have a wonderful trip! I can't wait to hear all about it!

 

[LilAnn]

Oh my gosh! Have a fantastic time and safe travels. You know I will be anxiously awaiting the details. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving week at Disney!

 

[eandesmom]

Have a wonderful wonderful trip! Sending some ear pressure/pain free vibes to Dylan, wishes for pool time and SUN (I can't tell you how good it felt in Palm Springs last week, and now it's 37 here right now!) and a wonderful wonderful trip. I'm impossibly behind on the DIS myself and can totally relate.

 

[Sunset Cliffs]

My sister's family landed at about 3:30 our time. She said it was an awful flight due to others around them, but once they were there & had dinner, they were happy. She began to torture me (in a good way) by texting me pictures all night. The one that got to me the most was of the monorail at the Polynesian station...

Just had some last minute curve balls...

I always had it in my head that we were leaving super early on the flight coming home, but it turns out that our flight doesn't leave until 2:30!! I was happy about that until I realized I had only paid for the rental car through 6:00 am. We got online and were able to book a new car for only $5 more for the right time. Yay! Now we won't have to wake up at 4:00 am to get ready to go home. I think that I was remembering our flight from our last trip, because I don't know why I had a 7:00 am flight stuck in my head.

Also, it was supposed to snow here overnight (which it never does) and I was worried about our flight being able to leave on time this morning. I just woke up & there is no snow on the ground. That is such an answer to prayer because I want the first flight to go as smoothly as possible for Dylan.

Ok, I need to get out of bed & get ready to go. Talk to you all soon!

HAVE AN AMAZING TRIP!!!!!!!! I can't wait to hear all about it when you guys get back (but when you guys get back we will be arriving)!!! Crossing my fingers and praying that Dylan feels better and there are no issues on the flights!

I hope that you have a wonderful time on your trip too.

I had just been thinking about you, remembering you leave soon. Tomorrow!

Sounds like perfect weather!

I hope Dylan is feeling better very soon. And I'm glad Mickey will have a person he likes staying with him.

for your sister's family already being on their way there!

Good luck with the rest of your packing. I hope you all have a wonderful trip! I can't wait to hear all about it!

I'm so excited to get out of this cold weather. What a nice break for a couple of weeks. My sister texted me and said the weather was 70 degrees & perfect at 9:30 at night. I'm so excited.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Oh my gosh! Have a fantastic time and safe travels. You know I will be anxiously awaiting the details. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving week at Disney!

Thank you! I hope you have a wonderful holiday too.

Have a wonderful wonderful trip! Sending some ear pressure/pain free vibes to Dylan, wishes for pool time and SUN (I can't tell you how good it felt in Palm Springs last week, and now it's 37 here right now!) and a wonderful wonderful trip. I'm impossibly behind on the DIS myself and can totally relate.

Thanks for the good vibes. I saw that you were in Palm Springs on FB and I was jealous of the sun that you were soaking up. Once we get past the plane flights, I will be stress free. I just don't want him to be in pain. I'm behind on your TR too but I might try to spend some time on the Dis during Dylan's nap.

 

[Raecheal]

Have an amazing trip- I can't wait to read all about it!

 

[20thingamabobs]

Have an awesome trip! Can't wait to read you TR when you get back! Take lots of pictures!

 

[Sunset Cliffs]

Hi everyone! Wow, it has been 3 months since our Thanksgiving trip to the World and this is honestly one of the first times that I have been back on the Disboards since we have been back. I am so sorry to all of my friends that I have dropped out of reading your PTRs and your TRs. It was never my intention to be gone this long. It just sort of happened.

We had a wonderful trip and by the time we got back, it was December 4th, and I had barely done anything for the holidays at home. We dove into the Christmas season with decorating & Christmas shopping, and 2 weeks after we got home from WDW, we left on a week long trip to see Todd’s parents. It was so stressful to get unpacked, get caught up at work, get ready for Christmas, pack and leave for a long trip again. Then I got sick. And I stayed sick for the whole 2 weeks that cover the Christmas holidays. I felt so bad that I spent the majority of the time at my in-laws in bed.

After the holidays, life got back to normal and I thought about starting my TR…..and I kind of got Disney’d out (hangs head in shame). I can’t believe that I just said that, but it is so true! I don’t know if it was post-trip blues, or if our trip had just taken it’s toll on me, but I had no desire to do anything Disney, probably for the first time in my life. Then, the longer I was gone, the more pressure I felt to start my TR and I just didn’t have it in me to do it. I just kind of fell out of the habit to come on to the Dis and check out all that was going on.

This morning I woke up and realized how much I missed the Dis and all of the great people that I have met here. I am going to jump back in to reading other’s reports and soon I will start my TR. Hopefully some people will want to read it, but if not I will write it just to preserve the memories. I know that it will be slow going, so if you choose to read it, please be patient with me!

If you are currently writing a PTR or a TR, post the link so that I can be sure to catch up. There are a few of you who still have links going in my Subscribed lists, so I will probably start there first and start getting caught up.

Thanks all! I can’t wait to get caught up with all of you! Here’s just one picture from our trip to give you a little teaser. Hopefully it won’t be too long until I get started. This is Dylan in the lobby at POR, one of the places we stayed.

 

[Dugette]

Welcome back!!!

I've been wondering if you were going to do a TR...and I'm so happy you are! Your first WDW TR was one of the first I ever read and still one of my favorites...and probably some of the inspiration to do my own.

I can't wait to hear about your trip! Dylan looks so big in that picture!

As far as my TRs, links are in my signature. I'm currently working on the December one, the rest are complete. December is only on Day 2, though, so I've got a ways to go!

So happy you're back!

 

[Sunset Cliffs]

Welcome back!!!

I've been wondering if you were going to do a TR...and I'm so happy you are! Your first WDW TR was one of the first I ever read and still one of my favorites...and probably some of the inspiration to do my own.

I can't wait to hear about your trip! Dylan looks so big in that picture!

As far as my TRs, links are in my signature. I'm currently working on the December one, the rest are complete. December is only on Day 2, though, so I've got a ways to go!

So happy you're back!

Thanks so much! I am definitely going to do a TR, it is just a matter of getting started. After being off the Dis for a while I am feeling a bit rusty! I thought it would be good to start getting caught up with other people's TR's and it would inspire me to start writing again.

Dylan is huge. That is all I can say. I keep waiting for him to stop growing but he keeps getting taller every month. I need to measure him again, but he is definitely taller than 3 1/2 feet and he is not quite 3.5 years old yet!

Thank youf ro the links. I will do my best to get caught up!!

 

[eecteacher82]

Yeah! Welcome back!!! I was hoping to see you back on here! Can't wait to read about your trip! The link to our December TR is in my siggie!