Boo to You & Turning 2! Oct 2012 PTR *NEW* 10/30 We're Back! TR Link Posted!!

[ash-n-brensmom]

Yay for Mickey Mail...in whatever form it may come! That I must admit I miss when we stay offsite...so like you, I order things like autograph books and such!!

 

[afwdwfan]

Wow, that was a nice mail day!

The Italy trip sounds awesome. Probably the closest I'll be getting to Italy anytime soon will be in the Italy pavillion at EPCOT. But at least Via Napoli is there, so that's not such a bad thing.

 

[khertz]

ABD Viva Italia! Nice! My step-sister and BIL does a lot of ABDs. We honestly can't afford them nor justify the price. Our 29 day Australia Vacation will cost less than the 11 day ABD version would have. That said, DW and I have signed up for the DIS groups Hollywood Backstage Magic trip next June. I've wanted to for a while, it just feels like such a must-do for a Disney fan.


We do plan our vacations out pretty far in advance. We've already got all of 2013s scheduled. Can't say 2014 is on the books yet, though a ski trip that winter is LONG overdue, and with DD hitting the "kids ski free" age for Colorado and Utah, I'm 99% certain that'll be the first 2014 trip.

The autograph book is super-cute, BTW!

Yes, the ABD trips are VERY expensive! The only reason I think we are going for it at all was because we started trying to plan what we wanted to do in Italy, and found it all very overwhelming. Getting tickets for the tours in Rome, transportation between the cities, meals, etc. Listening to the podcast on it definitely helped convince us it would be worth the money. We will have a "fastpass" of sorts into different things (Sistine Chapel for example), transportation all taken care of, private tours, many meals included, plus a guide who speaks Italian! I already downloaded an app that helps you learn common phrases we may need while there. And that's another reason we are waiting a couple more years, so we can save save save!!

The Backstage Magic Tour sounds like a lot of fun!! Maybe we will get to do one of those one day...

I'm definitely not a skier, but a winter vacations sounds nice! And you just can't beat anything that has "kids" and "free" involved!! The next couple years we will be doing a smaller less-expensive trip in the spring and a big trip (WDW in 2013 and Italy in 2014) in the fall.

Thanks!

The autograph book is adorable

ABD Viva Italia 2014??!!! SOOO jealous! I want to go to Italy so bad (oh, and so does DH since thats where all his family is from...)

One day...long from now...when all the kids are out of the house, I will go to Italy.

Thank you! I had a lot of fun working on it, so hopefully Paxton likes it when he's older and appreciates the work I did on it.

I have been wanting to go to Italy since I was a very little girl. My dad's family is from Italy, and my maiden name is VERY Italian (I was a little sad to give it up when I got married!). It had always been kind of a dream, something I never thought I'd really get to do. When I took a fine arts class in high school and we spent a lot of time on the art and the ruins in Rome, I told myself no matter what, I was going to Italy to see it in person! DH always said it should be a "retirement" trip, so I'm definitely happy he's changed his mind. Now that we have it somewhat concrete in the not very distant future, he is getting a lot more interested in what we'll be seeing and excited about researching the cities we will be visiting. I hope you do get there one day!

Yay for Mickey Mail...in whatever form it may come! That I must admit I miss when we stay offsite...so like you, I order things like autograph books and such!!

Us offsiters have to make our own Mickey Mail, am I right? I was so excited to see the packages on my porch!

Wow, that was a nice mail day!

The Italy trip sounds awesome. Probably the closest I'll be getting to Italy anytime soon will be in the Italy pavillion at EPCOT. But at least Via Napoli is there, so that's not such a bad thing.

At least there is Via Napoli! That's my taste of Italy for the next 2 WDW trips until I get to see the real thing, and I'm definitely not complaining about that! Only a few more months until I get that cheesy deliciousness!!

 

[mandas08]

Wow I love the autograph book! I think I may look into getting Zavier one made like that.

 

[khertz]

Wow I love the autograph book! I think I may look into getting Zavier one made like that.

Thanks! It would have been much easier to make a 4x6 book because there are so many more character cards available in that size. But I went with the 8x8 since I had the free credits from Arts Cow. I'm overall very happy with how it came out, even though the borders got cut off a little one some of the pages. Hopefully it will be a fun keepsake for Paxton! There are so many creative DISers out there!!

 

[skier_pete]

Quick stop in to say Radiator Springs Racers is amazing. Carsland ain't no slouch either. Gotta go!

 

[khertz]

Quick stop in to say Radiator Springs Racers is amazing. Carsland ain't no slouch either. Gotta go!

Awesome! Thanks for checking in to let me know! Have a fantastic trip & safe travels to Australia!!!

 

[Imagineer5]

THAT IS SO AWESOME! You are going to love Italy. I hope you can fit in a bit of time before or after the ABD trip! If you want to go somewhere REALLY relaxing after the trip, and my favorite place in the WHOLE WORLD look into staying on Lake Como (Varenna to be exact). Amazing. Where does the ABD end?

 

[khertz]

THAT IS SO AWESOME! You are going to love Italy. I hope you can fit in a bit of time before or after the ABD trip! If you want to go somewhere REALLY relaxing after the trip, and my favorite place in the WHOLE WORLD look into staying on Lake Como (Varenna to be exact). Amazing. Where does the ABD end?

I am so excited about it! I just wish it wasn't SO far away. We definitely want to come early/stay later (maybe only one or the other) just because we know it will be a long time before we go back. I'm thinking early is a must so we will not be tired & jet lagged at the beginning of ABD. Just haven't decided yet if we want to do a few days at the beginning, or split the extra days up and do one or two at the end as well. The tour ends in Venice. I will have to look into Varenna. A friend from work also suggested visiting Assisi. So much to do & see with so little time!!!

 

[khertz]

Tuesday October 23rd

Another early morning awaits us as we head to Disney's Hollywood Studios for some Toy Story Mania madness!

Since we will be getting there early, we will try to knock the other headliners, RnRC, ToT, and Star Tours out with hopefully minimal waits. I'm hoping that since my parents will be with us, it should be a lot easier to switch out for attractions using Rider Swap and/or Fastpass.

Another priority, thanks in part to DH getting DS addicted, is meeting these guys.

DH bought DH a set of three Vinylmations for his room, Phineas, Ferb, and Agent P. Every time we go into his room for whatever reason and we ask, "Hey, Paxton, where's Perry?" he gets all excited and points to his Perry Vinyl. It's very cute! So meeting those guys will be very important for our day.

We have a lunch ADR for 11:35 am at 50's Prime Time Cafe.

Hopefully since we will be there early, our lunch will not take too long because I'd like to be able to do a couple more things before heading back for our break. One important thing will be making sure we go over to the Animation Building to meet some characters, especially Sorcerer Mickey!

I'm hoping there will be some other good characters there as well to meet.

We do plan on seeing some of the shows at DHS this time, so maybe we will have time for either Disney Jr. or Beauty & the Beast before heading back to Bonnet Creek for our break.

After our break, we will be going back over to Epcot.

If we get there in enough time, hopefully we can make it in time to get a picture at the Visa Meet & Greet. We had two great experiences there last year!

Then we will be heading over to the World Showcase for some exploring. I'd like to do the two boat rides, and maybe meet some more characters for DS to have his autograph book signed.

Later that evening, we will again be seeing at least one set of Hanson's performance!

If we are feeling up to a late night, or if we can get DS to doze off in the stroller, we might stay for that night's showing of IllumiNations.

Then we will be definitely calling it a night back at Bonnet Creek. This is going to be one jam packed day!
​

 

[MEK]

That opening picture of the 3 of is you is super adorable!

Great plans. HS followed by Epcot sounds great. Hope Paxton makes it to Illuminations.

October 23 is my D day - D day for home. Boo!

 

[khertz]

That opening picture of the 3 of is you is super adorable!

Great plans. HS followed by Epcot sounds great. Hope Paxton makes it to Illuminations.

October 23 is my D day - D day for home. Boo!

Thanks, that is one of my favorites!

I hope he stays up for IllumiNations too. We miss it far more often than we get to see it and I think he would love the fireworks.

Boo for going home!

 

[afwdwfan]

I like Phineas and Ferb too! I'm glad that it is finally entering the rotation at our house between Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Jake and the Neverland Pirates and Doc Mc Stuffins.

Looks like a very busy day, but hopefully you can get a lot done at DHS before it gets too crowded.

 

[CandleontheWater]

I'm all caught up and I think your plans sound awesome!

I didn't realize you were taking an ABD Italy trip, that is so cool! I can understand how overwhelming it is to plan an Italy trip, when we went as a family in 2006, my parents gave up and handed all the planning responsibility over to me. I had spent the summers of '99 and '00 in Italy in college, so I had some working knowledge, but it still was tough.

The good thing was that with me doing the planning, we visited a lot more archaeological sites that we would have done otherwise, he, he, I'm sneaky like that!

If I could throw my two cents in, I vote for extra time in Venice. It is AMAZING! Like living in a fairytale! I remember when I went the first time, I didn't think I would love it, so I only planned on staying for two days. Well I got there and just fell in love with the city! I ended up meeting some guys who were there on a college program and they let me crash on a couch at their apartment and I stayed for another blissful week.

Yeah, I know staying in a strange guys apartment in a strange city was probably not the best idea, but I was 20 and stupid (and even hostels in Venice were expensive). Anyway, they were engineering students at RPI, how dangerous could they be?

 

[ariel1025]

What a fun day you have planned!

That's great about Phineas and Furb - when we were in the hospital (after I had my son) my Husband would always end up watching it on TV while I "napped." Now they are both addicted to the show

I hope plans work out for you to see Illuminations!

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

Wow! That is a busy day...but looks like fun! We are totally addicted to P&F in this house so it's a must for us too!! I hear rumblings of Perry being added...I hope it's true!!!

 

[khertz]

I like Phineas and Ferb too! I'm glad that it is finally entering the rotation at our house between Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Jake and the Neverland Pirates and Doc Mc Stuffins.

Looks like a very busy day, but hopefully you can get a lot done at DHS before it gets too crowded.

I was getting pretty tired of seeing the same reruns of the shows on PBS, so adding P&F to the mix was a nice break. And even better, there are lots things that make me laugh too while watching.

I'm thinking we are going to wear out our optimized touring plan! I'm going to put everything in, do what we can, and save the rest for our afternoon at DHS!

I'm all caught up and I think your plans sound awesome!

I didn't realize you were taking an ABD Italy trip, that is so cool! I can understand how overwhelming it is to plan an Italy trip, when we went as a family in 2006, my parents gave up and handed all the planning responsibility over to me. I had spent the summers of '99 and '00 in Italy in college, so I had some working knowledge, but it still was tough.

The good thing was that with me doing the planning, we visited a lot more archaeological sites that we would have done otherwise, he, he, I'm sneaky like that!

If I could throw my two cents in, I vote for extra time in Venice. It is AMAZING! Like living in a fairytale! I remember when I went the first time, I didn't think I would love it, so I only planned on staying for two days. Well I got there and just fell in love with the city! I ended up meeting some guys who were there on a college program and they let me crash on a couch at their apartment and I stayed for another blissful week.

Yeah, I know staying in a strange guys apartment in a strange city was probably not the best idea, but I was 20 and stupid (and even hostels in Venice were expensive). Anyway, they were engineering students at RPI, how dangerous could they be?

Staying extra in Venice was my first choice! The DIS podcasters said they wish they had more time there because it's such a beautiful city and just a couple of days isn't enough. I'm still leaning towards that because I think just one day in DLP wouldn't be enough either, as much as I'd love to visit there. I have a feeling we will end up spending a couple days extra in Rome at the front end of the trip and a couple days in Venice at the end. I'm most excited about the ruins in Rome! I probably would have REALLY enjoyed the sites you took your family to! I love that kind of stuff, although I can imagine as an archaeologist your REALLY love it!!

Oh my goodness, yes, staying with random guys for a week was risky! But hey, you had a great experience doing it. After seeing Taken and watching the show Missing you wouldn't catch me doing that! I'd assume there was someone waiting to snatch me around every corner.

What a fun day you have planned!

That's great about Phineas and Furb - when we were in the hospital (after I had my son) my Husband would always end up watching it on TV while I "napped." Now they are both addicted to the show

I hope plans work out for you to see Illuminations!

That's too funny about P&F. My DH also had control of the TV for the entire week we were in the hospital after having DS, simply because I was so tired I couldn't care less what was on TV. We watched A LOT of Sports Center that week!! DH started him on P&F and I was skeptical at first, but all three of us actually enjoy watching it.

Wow! That is a busy day...but looks like fun! We are totally addicted to P&F in this house so it's a must for us too!! I hear rumblings of Perry being added...I hope it's true!!!

We watch it every day during lunch! Adding Perry would be SO awesome!! I think he is DS's favorite. Hopefully he is there by October!!

 

[debrapagliasotti]

We are very excited to see Phineas and Ferb too! And I keep hearing rumors about Agent P starting character greetings...

 

[khertz]

We are very excited to see Phineas and Ferb too! And I keep hearing rumors about Agent P starting character greetings...

That would be so great! He LOVES Agent P. I know he would get so excited if he saw a lifesized Perry the Platypus.

 

[khertz]

I finally got on the ball today and called to schedule DS's haircut at the Harmony Barber Shop!

I went ahead and booked it for the beginning of our trip on October 21st (our first full day) at 10:30 am. He already kind of needs a haircut right now but I really wanted to wait and have it done in Magic Kingdom again. So I figured best to do it at the beginning instead of half the days of pictures being with long unruly hair!

We had a great experience there last November for Paxton's very first haircut, so I'm hoping this time will be the same!

Now that I'm looking at the pictures, he just might be wearing his Brees jersey again (hoping it still fits...it's a 2T!) since it will be game day!

He has had one haircut at home since his Disney 1st Haircut and did really well sitting still while she cut, so hopefully he will be cooperative this time too!