*Believing Is Just The Beginning* Sept PTR NEW 6/11!!!

[dtr_angel]

popping over to your PTR! Your family is so precious. I know what you mean about changing resorts and trying to decide if the money is worth it. We stayed at Pop our first 2 trips and loved it. Then we made the mistake of staying at 2 deluxes. We became deluxe snobs! For our first family trip I had my heart set on AoA. After pricing out one of the All Stars, I realized 2 rooms were way cheaper and switched us to All Star Sports. My heart was NOT in it. I wanted to stay at AoA! After my brother bailed on us and we pushed our trip from January to May, I convinced myself it was okay to spend the extra money on a bigger room with less people since we had more time to save. We ended up spending probably $1000 more on AoA for 3 adults than we would've stayed in 2 rooms at All Stars for 4 adults but oh well. It was worth it!

 

[dtr_angel]

I think you must be close to us... we live about 2.5 hours from Pittsburgh.
GO RAVENS!

 

[monkey30]

Great update! You are to totally crazy to have a LM room, whatever works best for you is great.


We r doing an 14 hr trip in July, I will let u know any tricks we find. I do know from flights and stuff magna doodles are great fun!

 

[Alysa]

What beautiful boys you have! I'm sorry for your loss and the hard year you have had. Losing a little one is so heartbreaking.
That's fantastic that you got the rooms you want. I totally understand, if you are always wishing that you were somewhere else it would throw your whole trip off. I've heard it is fantastic and super fun and I know the boys will LOVE it!!

 

[happybelle]

Do you have any trips planned!?

Not yet, just getting ideas and hoping.

 

[Blessedwithboys]

popping over to your PTR! Your family is so precious. I know what you mean about changing resorts and trying to decide if the money is worth it. We stayed at Pop our first 2 trips and loved it. Then we made the mistake of staying at 2 deluxes. We became deluxe snobs! For our first family trip I had my heart set on AoA. After pricing out one of the All Stars, I realized 2 rooms were way cheaper and switched us to All Star Sports. My heart was NOT in it. I wanted to stay at AoA! After my brother bailed on us and we pushed our trip from January to May, I convinced myself it was okay to spend the extra money on a bigger room with less people since we had more time to save. We ended up spending probably $1000 more on AoA for 3 adults than we would've stayed in 2 rooms at All Stars for 4 adults but oh well. It was worth it!

See I am not alone in my craziness!! I am so glad you all enjoyed it! I think we are going to make a point to check out Pops grounds and such this time so we know if it even seems like somewhere we would like! I am loving your trip report!

I think you must be close to us... we live about 2.5 hours from Pittsburgh.
GO RAVENS!

AHHH Ravens! We live in a little country town about 45 minutes from Pittsburgh!

Great update! You are to totally crazy to have a LM room, whatever works best for you is great.


We r doing an 14 hr trip in July, I will let u know any tricks we find. I do know from flights and stuff magna doodles are great fun!

I need lots and lots of tips!! We are hoping they sleep the entire way there... well for at least 12 hours of the trip. I have 'pinned' a bunch of busy board activities and such I am going to do a lot of praying!!

What beautiful boys you have! I'm sorry for your loss and the hard year you have had. Losing a little one is so heartbreaking.
That's fantastic that you got the rooms you want. I totally understand, if you are always wishing that you were somewhere else it would throw your whole trip off. I've heard it is fantastic and super fun and I know the boys will LOVE it!!

Awe thank you! We were at AOA last September and it just feels right!! So glad you are joining in

Not yet, just getting ideas and hoping.

There is so much information to gain! I was so thankful when a friend refereed me to DIS I would have been lost without this board!!

 

[Blessedwithboys]

So it is officially , official in *95* days we will be here!!!!!

Doing a bit of this, and this​

!

Well at least for the afternoon or our arrival day. While my husband recovers from the overnight. nonstop drive. But WAAAYYY more on that later! For now lets talk eats!!

At 180+10 I was up coffee in hand ready to make my ADR's! I shockingly did very little research this time. From last trip we kind of had a rough idea of where we wanted to hit again and where we wanted to try! We love us some character meals. My boys are not the best at sitting patiently and waiting to be served. I think it comes with being 5 and 2! Our restaurant of choice around here is Chik-fil-a due to the play place LOL! But with character meals there is normally lots going on to help ease the wait and many of them being buffets it is easier for us to manage! So here is what we went with. ​

Chef Mickey's dinner- It is a must do for us. We love the character interaction and DH loves the food. FOODIES WE ARE NOT!

Hollywood and Vine Play and Dine breakfast- We have done this before as well. The breakfast buffet had lots of choices and we LOVE these characters!

50's Primetime dinner- So fun and BEST MILKSHAKES

Garden Grill- This is a new one for us. We are kind of on the fence about it. Any thoughts?

Kona dinner-My personal fav from last trip!!

Rainforest Cafe dinner-New one for us as well. We like at least one night for DH in particular that there are lots of choices. We find some of the Disney menus limited so DH requested either Rainforest, T-rex, or Planet Hollywood for the choices! Last year I spent much time covering eyes and wiping tears at T-rex so we decided to steer clear this year!

Be Our Guest dinner- Was super excited to score a 5:30 ressie for BOG! I am excited to try it out even though I wonder if it will live up to the hype!

Ohana Best Friends breakfast- This one is new to us! My Carter just loves Stich and he is over the moon to eat breakfast with Stichy poo!

I keep having this urge to try for an Ohana dinner. It seems like a meal we would really, really like. But I probably should have done that at 180+ because now the ressies are few and far between. I might get lucky right!!

Up next........so what ARE we going to do on this trip anyway!!​

 

[Marsheliz]

You will love Ohana breakfast! We did it last time and it was probably my favorite character meal so far! Food was good, the Poly is so beautiful- just to be in and the character interaction was great too.

Lucky that you scored a BOG reservation. It doesn't look like we will be able to go there, probably not even lunch.

I wanted to try 50's prime time too, but I ended up going with something else. You will have to let me know how that is.

Chick Fil A is a great place for us too. Thinking about going Saturday and taking the kids to the zoo, as a matter of fact.

 

[WeLoveLilo05]

We are really happy about the switch!! We were really feeling that bit of uneasiness staying elsewhere!

Thanks about the no crayon tip!!! I think we are probably about the same length of time away as you we live in western PA! Think Pittsburgh area Go Stillers!!
Do you all do the drive straight through? My hubs is dead set on driving through the night straight through! I know he can do it. Its me and the children I am worried about!

This is what we have done in the past, both times we left around 5PM from jersey (B/c hubby worked that morning), we just stopped for potty breaks and dinner, and it was good bc we didn't hit the dreaded DC traffic. Then we stopped for the night around 11ish and I know the first time we were in Ronoake Rapids NC when we stopped. We got up the next morning @ 8ish, had breakfast, left, stopped for potty breaks and lunch, and we were in Orlando that night, we got their earlier than anticipated and checked in @ ASMu for the night and then the next morning checked into CBR (the 2nd time we stayed over night at holiday inn @ DTD). Knowing both times we got their earlier than expected, Scott is going to start his vacation that Thursday, we are going to leave around 7am and then stop (we are hoping to be in GA) around 8pm. Wake up the next morning and arrive @ Disney a little earlier than check in time.

Scott always felt like we could drive thru, but I can't once it starts to get dark bc I do get sleepy and I can't sleep in a car. And I don't want to be dragging on our first day @ Disney. I am not sure which way you will be coming down, but I-95 has nice little rest areas, a few even had playgrounds.

I used to post on this thread when I had questions on where to stop (clean places and things for kids to do). They just started up a new folder, but I am sure they would be happy to answer any questions you have.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3124884

 

[WeLoveLilo05]

So it is officially , official in *95* days we will be here!!!!!

Doing a bit of this, and this​

!

Well at least for the afternoon or our arrival day. While my husband recovers from the overnight. nonstop drive. But WAAAYYY more on that later! For now lets talk eats!!

At 180+10 I was up coffee in hand ready to make my ADR's! I shockingly did very little research this time. From last trip we kind of had a rough idea of where we wanted to hit again and where we wanted to try! We love us some character meals. My boys are not the best at sitting patiently and waiting to be served. I think it comes with being 5 and 2! Our restaurant of choice around here is Chik-fil-a due to the play place LOL! But with character meals there is normally lots going on to help ease the wait and many of them being buffets it is easier for us to manage! So here is what we went with. ​

Chef Mickey's dinner- It is a must do for us. We love the character interaction and DH loves the food. FOODIES WE ARE NOT!

Hollywood and Vine Play and Dine breakfast- We have done this before as well. The breakfast buffet had lots of choices and we LOVE these characters!

50's Primetime dinner- So fun and BEST MILKSHAKES

Garden Grill- This is a new one for us. We are kind of on the fence about it. Any thoughts?

Kona dinner-My personal fav from last trip!!

Rainforest Cafe dinner-New one for us as well. We like at least one night for DH in particular that there are lots of choices. We find some of the Disney menus limited so DH requested either Rainforest, T-rex, or Planet Hollywood for the choices! Last year I spent much time covering eyes and wiping tears at T-rex so we decided to steer clear this year!

Be Our Guest dinner- Was super excited to score a 5:30 ressie for BOG! I am excited to try it out even though I wonder if it will live up to the hype!

Ohana Best Friends breakfast- This one is new to us! My Carter just loves Stich and he is over the moon to eat breakfast with Stichy poo!

I keep having this urge to try for an Ohana dinner. It seems like a meal we would really, really like. But I probably should have done that at 180+ because now the ressies are few and far between. I might get lucky right!!

Up next........so what ARE we going to do on this trip anyway!!​

Oooo! So jealous you got BoG!!! We are going to try for lunch one day. You will have to let us all know how you like it.
Ohana breakfast is one of our favorites love it there. I have always wanted to try Ohana for dinner, I always hear great things about it. Its just a little out of our comfort zone bc they serve peanut sauce, and I know we could always ask for them not to bring it out, I still just feel nervous about the whole thing.

 

[Blessedwithboys]

You will love Ohana breakfast! We did it last time and it was probably my favorite character meal so far! Food was good, the Poly is so beautiful- just to be in and the character interaction was great too.

Lucky that you scored a BOG reservation. It doesn't look like we will be able to go there, probably not even lunch.

I wanted to try 50's prime time too, but I ended up going with something else. You will have to let me know how that is.

Chick Fil A is a great place for us too. Thinking about going Saturday and taking the kids to the zoo, as a matter of fact.

Marcie your Saturday plans sound lovely! Sound like a perfect family day!
Making ADR's is always so hard there are so many choices and we wanted to visit favorites mixed with trying a few new ones! I am glad to hear you love Ohana breakfast. I will make sure to give a full BOG report in my TR!!!

This is what we have done in the past, both times we left around 5PM from jersey (B/c hubby worked that morning), we just stopped for potty breaks and dinner, and it was good bc we didn't hit the dreaded DC traffic. Then we stopped for the night around 11ish and I know the first time we were in Ronoake Rapids NC when we stopped. We got up the next morning @ 8ish, had breakfast, left, stopped for potty breaks and lunch, and we were in Orlando that night, we got their earlier than anticipated and checked in @ ASMu for the night and then the next morning checked into CBR (the 2nd time we stayed over night at holiday inn @ DTD). Knowing both times we got their earlier than expected, Scott is going to start his vacation that Thursday, we are going to leave around 7am and then stop (we are hoping to be in GA) around 8pm. Wake up the next morning and arrive @ Disney a little earlier than check in time.

Scott always felt like we could drive thru, but I can't once it starts to get dark bc I do get sleepy and I can't sleep in a car. And I don't want to be dragging on our first day @ Disney. I am not sure which way you will be coming down, but I-95 has nice little rest areas, a few even had playgrounds.

I used to post on this thread when I had questions on where to stop (clean places and things for kids to do). They just started up a new folder, but I am sure they would be happy to answer any questions you have.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3124884

THANKS for the link!! I think it is I95 at least on the way there. On the way back we are driving 12 hrs to Louisville to visit friends. My DH is dead set on driving straight through. I agree with him that is best for the kids I just hope I can sleep! I think we are leaving at like 6-7 with bathed jammied and worn out kids (hopefully) and plan to make it to AOA by 11 the next day. I think that leaves lots of times for stops. DH is always off on Fridays so he is going to sleep for 5 or 6 hours in the afternoon/evening while I run the kids ragged we shall see how this plan shakes out!

Oooo! So jealous you got BoG!!! We are going to try for lunch one day. You will have to let us all know how you like it.
Ohana breakfast is one of our favorites love it there. I have always wanted to try Ohana for dinner, I always hear great things about it. Its just a little out of our comfort zone bc they serve peanut sauce, and I know we could always ask for them not to bring it out, I still just feel nervous about the whole thing.

I am not sure how I managed to get BOG. I threw the idea around of trying it or lunch as well (depending on the lines)! Does your daughter have a peanut allergy? That would make me nervous as well!!! Hoping over to see what is going on with you all on your PTR!!!

 

[Marsheliz]

When you leave on the 21st, are you leaving early?
That is when we are originally supposed to come down. now I am thinking it would be so super cool to meet up but I imagine you are leaving early, since you have such a long trip home!

 

[WeLoveLilo05]

I think tiring them out is a good idea lol. Yes, Alanna has a peanut allergy, but thankfully Disney has been very good with it, or course no matter where we go I get nervous, unless I cooked it lol.

 

[Blessedwithboys]

When you leave on the 21st, are you leaving early?
That is when we are originally supposed to come down. now I am thinking it would be so super cool to meet up but I imagine you are leaving early, since you have such a long trip home!

That sounds so fun Marcie I would love a meet up! I am not 100% set on our plans yet. I think we are going to leave around noon. But we are not having a park day that day. So sleep in, pool in the morning then check out and get on the road to Louisville to see friends of ours! What are your plans for the 21st?

 

[Marsheliz]

That sounds so fun Marcie I would love a meet up! I am not 100% set on our plans yet. I think we are going to leave around noon. But we are not having a park day that day. So sleep in, pool in the morning then check out and get on the road to Louisville to see friends of ours! What are your plans for the 21st?

Well if we keep the same plans and go in September, we were going to drive halfway on the 20th so hopefully we might would be arriving around noon that Saturday... Not sure exactly yet! I am looking at now going Oct 19-23.

 

[Blessedwithboys]

Well if we keep the same plans and go in September, we were going to drive halfway on the 20th so hopefully we might would be arriving around noon that Saturday... Not sure exactly yet! I am looking at now going Oct 19-23.

I feel for you, I really do. I hate making decisions. I feel so bad that your DH does not get vacation that has to be really hard and factored into the decision big time. Hugs! Our plans could change 100 times before then as far as what we are doing departure day. If we are both there we have to make it work!

 

[Marsheliz]

I know!! Who doesn't have vacation after 10 years??!! It does play a big role in our vacations.

 

[Blessed_wth_Triplets]

Joining in! I'm excited to see your TR as we are planing a stay at AoA in November. We had it booked for last August and then a crazy good deal came out last minute for GF and we switched...and we're so spoiled to the pointing not as excited as I was last year for AoA...but I'm not complaining of course!

And we love GG and made an ADD for our upcoming trip, been a few years but you can't beat the rotating atmosphere and how you feel so private in the booths...the food isn't the best, but worth it.

 

[Blessedwithboys]

Joining in! I'm excited to see your TR as we are planing a stay at AoA in November. We had it booked for last August and then a crazy good deal came out last minute for GF and we switched...and we're so spoiled to the pointing not as excited as I was last year for AoA...but I'm not complaining of course!

And we love GG and made an ADD for our upcoming trip, been a few years but you can't beat the rotating atmosphere and how you feel so private in the booths...the food isn't the best, but worth it.

WELCOME!!!! So glad you are here!!

I bet the GF was fantastic!! But AOA is great in its very own way

 

[MelMel11]

Count me in!!