Boo to you, and Yo Ho Ho!! An Oct 2012 PTR. Updated 10/22!! Finally!!!!!

[jenseib]

too funny!

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

too funny!

I know, right?

 

[PixieMama]

Hope you had a Happy Mother's Day!

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

Hope you had a Happy Mother's Day!

Thanks! Back at ya!!

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

We got our bonuses today! And the amt after taxes was slightly better than anticipated. So, now we have the money for our summer rental in the Adirondack Mountains with my DBro and our parents, plus the money for our MNSSHP tickets...with a little left over to take the girls summer clothing shopping this week! Such a relief when you have the money in hand.

Oh, and I just found a weird website that does a calculation of how many days until...and I plugged in our vacation date and it's....

160 DAYS until our VACAY!!!

We're getting there!!
​

 

[PixieMama]

Good news all around today!

 

[HeatherLassell]

We got our bonuses today! And the amt after taxes was slightly better than anticipated. So, now we have the money for our summer rental in the Adirondack Mountains with my DBro and our parents, plus the money for our MNSSHP tickets...with a little left over to take the girls summer clothing shopping this week! Such a relief when you have the money in hand.

Oh, and I just found a weird website that does a calculation of how many days until...and I plugged in our vacation date and it's....

160 DAYS until our VACAY!!!

We're getting there!!
​

Woohoo!!!

 

[BMC423]

Hello! I missed a few updates. Sorry to hear about your car trouble, glad Ferb is ok! I love the new cruise updates, the Bahamas is so pretty! We went there for our hm and I'm hoping to go back someday. You got some great Atlantis and ship shots. I think its adorable that you got towel animals! Adults love them too

Yay for bonuses and extra cash!

How is the TA stuff coming along???

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

Good news all around today!

Woohoo!!!

Hello! I missed a few updates. Sorry to hear about your car trouble, glad Ferb is ok! I love the new cruise updates, the Bahamas is so pretty! We went there for our hm and I'm hoping to go back someday. You got some great Atlantis and ship shots. I think its adorable that you got towel animals! Adults love them too

Yay for bonuses and extra cash!

How is the TA stuff coming along???

Gee, I wonder why you missed so many posts...could it be because you were in our happy place? I am reading your TR as you are writing it...can't wait to hear all about your trip!

The TA stuff is slow moving right now. I just switched companies because the original one I was with was having some difficulties and it was too distracting. So, I am in the middle of training with the new one and hope to be up and running soon!

 

[Simba22]

I am LOVING your DCL mini-TR! I can't wait to go! We're hoping for maybe 2014 but it might have to wait until 2015...it seems so far away!

You know...it's funny because when you posted that pic of the ship, all I could see was that guy in the Speedon't! (MinnieLovesMickey: AWESOME name for it!)
I was like ummmm...how did she NOT notice this guy? Then I saw the next picture and I just burst out laughing! Soo funny!

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

I am LOVING your DCL mini-TR! I can't wait to go! We're hoping for maybe 2014 but it might have to wait until 2015...it seems so far away!

You know...it's funny because when you posted that pic of the ship, all I could see was that guy in the Speedon't! (MinnieLovesMickey: AWESOME name for it!)
I was like ummmm...how did she NOT notice this guy? Then I saw the next picture and I just burst out laughing! Soo funny!

I know, that pic is like my least fave and most fave all in one...hahaha!! I still can't get over "Speedon't"!

 

[MinnieLovesMickey]

I know, that pic is like my least fave and most fave all in one...hahaha!! I still can't get over "Speedon't"!

Yay, glad you're able to get your party tickets and some clothes for the girls, maybe a Disney World outfit or two.
I remember hearing speedon't years ago on NewsRadio (miss that show) and it always stuck with me, I just love the sound of it.

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

Yay, glad you're able to get your party tickets and some clothes for the girls, maybe a Disney World outfit or two.
I remember hearing speedon't years ago on NewsRadio (miss that show) and it always stuck with me, I just love the sound of it.

Unfortunately the clothes shopping has been delayed...we ran out of time the other day when we were out...so now that money is burning a hole in my pocket....must...have...willpower!!! JK, I'll probably take the girls out on Tues or Wed night.

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

Week 6:
F

Food and Wine Festival!!!

 

[jenny105]

Yum!

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

Yum!

I know! I can't wait!!

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

Day 3 on The Dream!​

I only have 5 pics from this day..sorry...we were just enjoying the day and not worrying about pics. Not to mention that the less pics the less likely we would get busted by the girls!

Today we were docking at Castaway Cay, Disney's private island in the Bahamas. We were soooo looking forward to hanging out on the beach and in the crystal clear waters...but also we had an "excursion" of sorts for here. I don't know why they call it that, all we did was rent floats, bikes and snorkel equipment for the day. We even had tickets waiting in our cabin when we boarded on the first day. But we were looking forward to exploring the island on the bikes..well, Ferb was, I was a little apprehensive since it had been MANY moons since I had been on a bike. And let's face it, this pooh sized butt was gonna have a hard time sitting on that little seat.

But back to the beginning of our day...it was an early wake up call from our friends below deck again...scraping and banging away...
Again, it didn't bother me so much as it did Ferb. But if you wanted to sleep in it would be difficult with the noise. Good thing we wanted to get up and start the day. We had breakfast in Cabanas again. If I recall correctly we ate lighter fare today because lunch was going to be served on the island barbeque style and we knew we would be partaking in that! We grabbed our stuff we wanted to bring with us, basically camera and sunscreen..and headed out.

It was such a cool feeling to walk out the little gangplank and see this beauty in all her glory up close!!

You really have no clue just how HUGE this thing is until you are standing next to it!

We wanted to ride our bikes before it got too hot so we grabbed those first thing. I want to say we had to ride a shuttle over to the main area just to get them...but I could be wrong. I am sorry for the horrible recall.

What they say about riding a bike is sooo true, but it helped that these were comfortable cruising bikes. They had a nice big seat and were easy to manage, although it did take a few minutes to get my pedaling legs back in the rhythm. We rode the whole length of the bike path. It's very well marked and you have no problem finding your way. It was a beautiful day...it was forecast for rain, but mother nature was beyond kind to us this day and gave us sun! The only problem with that was it was hot....and while we were flying on the bikes it felt good, but when we needed to work at it then it was sooo hot!

We found this cool tower to walk up and see the whole island..

Zoomed in:

We rode back and handed in our bikes and hopped on the shuttle to the adult only beach..Serenity Bay! This was a slice of heaven....we grabbed our floats and headed in to just float! LOVED IT!!

We hung out for awhile and then grabbed lunch at the BBQ they have set up by Serenity Bay. So glad they have that one, no kids and it was quiet. I am not looking forward to fighting the masses with the kids when we return in 2013..I think it will be a mad house! But today it was just relaxing and peaceful...all day was like that.

But then Ferb wanted to try the snorkel equipment. Now, I must preface this by telling you that I have a sensitive gag reflex, and I can't handle not breathing out of my nose very well. It takes much concentration on my part. With that being said, I told Ferb that I would try really hard to do this, the last attempt was in The Bahamas in 1998 on the booze cruise....I couldn't handle it, but I figured it might have been because of the booze?

So we take a tram to the family beach area, collect our equipment and head into the water. The water at Serenity Bay was totally calm, but on this side of the island it was choppy and you couldn't see anything in the water. But we gave it a shot...we didn't get far...it was obvious that I wouldn't be snorkeling when I couldn't even get the first peace over my nose without gagging. But I was gonna just go along for the swim, I loved the flippers! But, the waves were so choppy and you couldn't see anything, so even Ferb gave up. I felt so bad for him, this was the one thing he had been really looking forward to since we started planning our time on the cruise.

We salvaged it by keeping the snorkel equipment and taking it back over to Serenity Bay and swim with it in the clear water there. That's how we spent the rest of the day....swimming and watching the fishes there. It was sooooo relaxing!!!

We headed back to the ship and got cleaned up for dinner and our show for the night. It was our last night on the ship and while we were sad about leaving we knew we were coming back....because we booked another cruise for Oct 2013, this time with the girls!! We booked while we were on board and got a really good spot on the ship with more space this time and two portholes! So excited to bring the girls on this awesome ship and experience it with them. It will be a different vibe because we will be hanging out in the family areas more and on the family beach of course...but we can't wait to show them everything. They don't know about it yet...we will probably let it remain a surprise until we are down in Fl for our regular WDW vacation and then instead of heading to the airport to go home, we will be driving to Port Canaveral!!

When we returned to our room this what we found...
Our last towel animal..

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

Today we disembark from the ship...

Last night we had our luggage out in the hallway to be taken by the porters and we would only have our carry ons until we picked our luggage up after get off the ship. This ended up being a very rough night for the ship...I woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of the hangers "pinging" into each other from the rocking of the ship...you could really feel it too! But it was fine and I slept well. We had been set up with late dining for our dinners and that meant we were having a late breakfast as well. We ate breakfast in the same restaurant as our last dinner rotation. This was the Royal Palace. It didn't matter what restaurant you were scheduled for, the disembarkation breakfast is the same menu everywhere, and Cabanas is closed. We gave our servers there gratuities the night before so all we had to do was eat and leave.

Easier sad than done..this took FOREVER!! We got in this ridiculous huge, wide, long line and waited, and waited and waited...it took forever for this line to move. Finally we were down in this huge hall looking for our luggage, this was found and then we needed to get through customs. No worries, just another line to wait in. I figure this was just getting us back into theme park mode.

Tonight we were going to MNSSHP!!!! YAY!! But first we had to get there...we had to wait for a shuttle to take us over to get our rental car...more waiting...then we drove back to Lake Buena Vista and checked into the hotel. We were staying at the Holiday Inn down the street from DTD, which was convenient because today we discovered Earl of Sandwich! We drove over to DTD and ate there for lunch. YUMMY!!! We knew we had to bring the girls back in Jan for this place...it was soooooo good!

Back in the room we wanted to try for a nap. Ferb managed a little sleep, but I never nap well in these situations. I had to get up and get ready for the party. We weren't wearing costumes, but I was just too antsy to rest. So then Ferb got up and we finished getting ready. Then we figured we would take the shuttle to the park to save the parking fee....but it became apparent that our time would be more valuable to us than the money for parking since these shuttles hit up multiple hotels and then take you to the TTC anyways. We wanted to enter the park as soon as we could with our party tickets so we just drove. Thankfully we got there just after 4.

I only have one pic from the party...and it's kind of grainy...but we got an awesome spot for the second parade and fireworks as well...here is my attempt at getting the headless horseman as he approaches the Hub...

We had an awesome time at the party..we rode everything with little to no wait, we ate dinner at The Plaza... we saw the Villains show, the parade, Hallowishes...we trick or treated like little kids...it was sooooo much fun! We stayed almost til the end, but we were exhausted. So we left to head back to the hotel. The next day we were heading home, it was an uneventful day going home. It was Halloween and it was fun to see everyone dressed up at the airports. We had a connection in BWI on the way and we got to see the different decorations they do at the Southwest desks...those guys go all out! We landed and headed to my brother's house because my cousin had the girls Trick or Treating in his neighborhood. It was cool and we got to see my little niece all dressed up in costume! The girls had fun, but boy did they miss us, and us them! It was good to be home.

All in all this was the most amazing vacation. Ferb and I deserved it after all the hell we had been through in the past couple of years. The best part was seeing how much fun we can have together still!
We can't wait to go back to WDW this fall and do the party with the girls and then next year to bring them on The Dream!

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

Upon Ferb's request I am adding another pic for the Letter F....

Ferb!!

Or Ferb!!

 

[Madzac]

dropping by from the FB group and saying HI! Your girls are so cute! I love how your disney "obsession" or shall we call it your disney "extreme interest" began! I wish I could get my DH on board, but a trip every few years is the best I can do!

Thanks for the DCL info an pics too... we are hoping on a cruise when our youngest turns 3!