Christmas all year long!

[Twoboysnmygirl]

I found you in Ann's PTR and spent all morning reading your TR from your last trip! I'm really looking forward to your PTR as I have the Disney itch pretty badly right now!

 

[annmarieda]

We will be there the last part of your trip! I haven't started my PTR yet, only because I can see it consuming a large chunk of my day, lol. Can't wait to hear more!

I am glad you joined. You should start a PTR...you don't have to let it take up all of your time. Just a little here and there. I wasn't sure I wanted to do one so early, but I thought "why not" I have so much to keep straight this year...I figured it would help me in doing so.

Great start, Ann. How are you dealing with Zach shipping out? What fun to be planning a wedding? If not imposing, what is Zoe having surgery for?

Thanks, Kathy.
Zach shipping out...well... I am torn. On one hand...we have pretty much known his entire life that this was the path he was heading down...but not actually being a military family ourselves, it is kinda scary and a whole knew territory. I will miss him terribly. He is big joy in my life (when he isn't being a big pain ) His first six months will just be on home soil in training..so at least that is good.

The wedding has be a bit rough to plan. Kira's priorities (like mine ) tend to revolve around disney. A big chunk of her budget is going toward her disneymoon. We still have to get an officiant, but everything else seems to be falling into place. I will make sure and post more details on the wedding as we get closer.

And Zoe... she was born with a birth defect where her abdomen was not closed nor was her pelvis and she had an incomplete urinary tract system. When she was born they gave us such a pessimistic outlook (like she may never walk) that now it almost seems funny. (almost) She has had many surgeries and procedures and in most ways she is doing fine and functions just like any other 5 year old. She does suffer recurrent infections and is incontinent hence the reason for her next surgery. The goal will be to give her a bladder that is larger than that of a newborn infant's and to help her have some resistance. Probably more than you wanted to know...but there ya go.

Hi Ann!!! I came over to join your planning fun, too!!! I finally finished your September PTR & TR so I feel like I know you and your family already!!! You sound like me in being the "clearence queen" and finding bargains galore. I've been to Disney at Christmastime and it's beautiful!!! Can't wait to read more!!

Wow! I am impressed you took the time to read those. I am so glad you are here!

I do love sales. I can't wait to go at Christmas and..deciding to go this early has meant that I have combed the christmas clearance for disney items.!! Later today I might post some pics of my finds. Poor Steve just shakes his head and smiles.. I think he thinks he married a crazy woman

 

[annmarieda]

I found you in Ann's PTR and spent all morning reading your TR from your last trip! I'm really looking forward to your PTR as I have the Disney itch pretty badly right now!

I am so glad you are here. It is always nice to make new friends I can't believe you and Ann took the time to read my TR. I hope I don't bore you too much with this PTR. It will be a long one!!!

 

[annmarieda]

For my last trip, I was lucky enough to get an offer for the Disney Rewards Visa. I was unsure if I wanted it. It seemed like I should at least get it for no other reason than the offer. ($200 rewards card after 1st purchase) It was so nice to have extra money that I wasn't planning on for the trip.

Well, I continued to use it since and have really liked how easy it has been to get points. I have yet to pay any interest on this card so I am proud of myself for that. rolleyes1 credit cards and me are not always a good mix)

With Kira going on her disneymoon, I knew I would put that amount on the card. 6 months interest free will give me enough time for tax return to come in and such...plus I figured I would get a bit more points and maybe have a small gc to use on our december trip.

Well...I am so excited because I got a triple point offer on my Disney Visa. I think with the points I already have and the points I get from charging Kira's trip and then any incidental purchases between now and fall, I should have a $100 gc to use on our trip!!! Pretty cool, eh?

 

[Daddy_of_Princesses]

The Disney CC is great. I kept saving our points, and by the time our trip arrived we had 986 Disney Dollars. Wish they would have had the offer for 200 free points when I first got it. We are already up to 56 again.

So cool that you will be at Disney on your Birthday. We left a few days before mine.

 

[KatMark]

Great news, Ann. I love our Disney CC--I ended up with almost $500 last year.

 

[annmarieda]

The Disney CC is great. I kept saving our points, and by the time our trip arrived we had 986 Disney Dollars. Wish they would have had the offer for 200 free points when I first got it. We are already up to 56 again.

So cool that you will be at Disney on your Birthday. We left a few days before mine.

Wow, that is a LOT of Disney dollars! I bet that helped to pay for some things.

As for my birthday... We will probably not be in Disney on my birthday. Right now, the plan is to check out on 12/22. From there the plan is to head down to probably..maybe..Annamaria island. My in-laws like to stay down near Sarasota and depending on where they are will influence where we go. If we end up doing it, it would be our first Christmas with them in 20 years! If they end up not going down there, I might change our Disney dates. We will have to just wait and see a bit.

Great news, Ann. I love our Disney CC--I ended up with almost $500 last year.

Wow..that too is a good amount of Disney dollars. Not that I am still not excited about the $100 we should have...but $500 or $1k would be great!

 

[annmarieda]

On my last TR, I never really finished up my thoughts regarding the trip. Had I done so, I would have listed the things I want to do different next time and the things I thought worked well.

Things that I liked;
1. Flying in early enough to enjoy a meal after checking in but not so early that we went to a park.
2. Bringing items from home to help organize the room. The toothbrush holder I got to stick on the mirror was my favorite item.
3. Eating at other resorts instead of limiting ourselves to just meals at the park.
4. Having a character breakfast before the park opened to put us in the park early.
5. Actually, going to DTD. I had only gone there briefly before and it was only to eat at Raglan Road before we had to hustle back to catch DME back to the airport.
6. Booking both the Fantasmic dinning package and the Finding Nemo Musical dinning package.
7. Eating/drinking around the world at Epcot.
8. Bringing someone who had never been to WDW and enjoying seeing it for the first time through their eyes.
9. Staying in a different resort.
10. Letting Zoe finish an entire mask at Epcot.

Things I didn't like
1. The buses at Pop.
2. Not making better use of our mugs
3. Not spending more time enjoying the resort
4. Caring about making sure that everyone was happy
5. Participating in a fridge swap
6. Missing the aquarium at Epcot
7. Not getting more photos with the pp taken
8. Scheduling a TS meal after eating all day in WS at Epcot
9. Missing all the performers in WS
10. Bus stops at Pop not being covered.

Based on these I can come up with a to do list for our next trip. I am not sure it will be limited to a top ten... but this give me a starting point.

 

[KatMark]

On my last TR, I never really finished up my thoughts regarding the trip. Had I done so, I would have listed the things I want to do different next time and the things I thought worked well.

Things that I liked;
1. Flying in early enough to enjoy a meal after checking in but not so early that we went to a park.
2. Bringing items from home to help organize the room. The toothbrush holder I got to stick on the mirror was my favorite item.
3. Eating at other resorts instead of limiting ourselves to just meals at the park.
4. Having a character breakfast before the park opened to put us in the park early.
5. Actually, going to DTD. I had only gone there briefly before and it was only to eat at Raglan Road before we had to hustle back to catch DME back to the airport.
6. Booking both the Fantasmic dinning package and the Finding Nemo Musical dinning package.
7. Eating/drinking around the world at Epcot.
8. Bringing someone who had never been to WDW and enjoying seeing it for the first time through their eyes.
9. Staying in a different resort.
10. Letting Zoe finish an entire mask at Epcot.

Things I didn't like
1. The buses at Pop.
2. Not making better use of our mugs
3. Not spending more time enjoying the resort
4. Caring about making sure that everyone was happy
5. Participating in a fridge swap
6. Missing the aquarium at Epcot
7. Not getting more photos with the pp taken
8. Scheduling a TS meal after eating all day in WS at Epcot
9. Missing all the performers in WS
10. Bus stops at Pop not being covered.

Based on these I can come up with a to do list for our next trip. I am not sure it will be limited to a top ten... but this give me a starting point.

What a great list, Ann. You definitely have to see the performers at Epcot next trip. What is the dining plan for "Finding Nemo?" I don't think I ever heard of that one and it might be something we'd be interested in.

You took care of the "bus stops" not being covered by switching resorts so that helps.

 

[dizneeat]

What a great list, Ann. You definitely have to see the performers at Epcot next trip. What is the dining plan for "Finding Nemo?" I don't think I ever heard of that one and it might be something we'd be interested in.

You took care of the "bus stops" not being covered by switching resorts so that helps.

It's a lunch package, just like the Fantasmic package. You have lunch at Tusker House (package) and get to go to a designated show of "Nemo".

 

[annmarieda]

It's a lunch package, just like the Fantasmic package. You have lunch at Tusker House (package) and get to go to a designated show of "Nemo".

Yup, and the seats are really much better than the ones offered to the general public. (unlike the ones for Fantasmic)

I liked the fantasmic one because you get to order an ap on the dp.

I liked the nemo one because the seats were better.

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Great lists! Reminded me of a few do's and don'ts from our past trip as well!

 

[KatMark]

Thanks. We've never been to Tusker House. Is it a buffet? Or do you order off a menu? And what time is the show. Sorry...I don't mean to hijack the thread.

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Thanks. We've never been to Tusker House. Is it a buffet? Or do you order off a menu? And what time is the show. Sorry...I don't mean to hijack the thread.

TH is a buffet and it's my favorite place to eat!!! Yum!!

 

[Daddy_of_Princesses]

Wow, that is a LOT of Disney dollars! I bet that helped to pay for some things.

Yea, it paid for most of the Polynesian bill. 40% plus a bunch of Disney Dollars made that place affordable.

4. Having a character breakfast before the park opened to put us in the park early.
6. Booking both the Fantasmic dinning package and the Finding Nemo Musical dinning package.

Getting in a park before it opens is great. Especially MK so you can get a photo in front of the castle with an almost completely empty park.

We did the Fantasmic dining, I didn't know there was a Finding Nemo package. If I was guaranteed a seat in the same zip code as the stage, I might try it again.

 

[annmarieda]

Great lists! Reminded me of a few do's and don'ts from our past trip as well!

Thanks!

Thanks. We've never been to Tusker House. Is it a buffet? Or do you order off a menu? And what time is the show. Sorry...I don't mean to hijack the thread.

Please, no apologies! I am glad that there is talk on this at all. With a year out, i wondered how active this PTR would/could actually be.
As mentioned, yup a buffet and you do have to do lunch. Then they give you a special ticket for a specified show. We picked the last show of the day for the one we had lunch for. So, I believe we had lunch at 2 and the show was 4:30. Well worth it...but since I have now been to TH 6 times in the course of 4 trips...I am not certain I will want to do it again. Maybe though... if only to be able to get good seats at the Nemo show.

TH is a buffet and it's my favorite place to eat!!! Yum!!

It has been the one restaurant that we always go back to. Kira (my oldest) adores it. I am not sure if it was the heat, but I was just not quite as impressed.

Yea, it paid for most of the Polynesian bill. 40% plus a bunch of Disney Dollars made that place affordable.

How cool is that?! I bet it was a bit more affordable with the use of those Disney Dollars

Getting in a park before it opens is great. Especially MK so you can get a photo in front of the castle with an almost completely empty park.

That is a cool idea. I knew getting to AK early was nice...but I had not even considered being able to get a pic in front of the castle with no one there! Now, what restaurants are there.. Crystal Palace...Cinderellas table. Anything else that does breakfast?

We did the Fantasmic dining, I didn't know there was a Finding Nemo package. If I was guaranteed a seat in the same zip code as the stage, I might try it again.

You should read this part of my TR. It shows a picture of our seats. We were seated right next to the stage..so close we could touch it... it was really nice.
http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=38342665&postcount=94

 

[DisneyKira]

Hi mom! I'm subscribing

 

[annmarieda]

Hi mom! I'm subscribing

hi, daughter!

 

[annmarieda]

I hope to use what I have learned from previous trips and assuming all goes well in 11 months at WL, I will do so. (we are booked, but lets face it...11 months is a long time and a lot can and will happen)

What does my top ten dos and don't mean for this next trip?

Well....
Regarding the flight... Obviously at this point I don't have a much more than an idea of when we might fly. Flying out of Seattle to Orlando usually means a red eye or an early morning. I use to like the idea of a red eye. It meant that we didn't have to pay for a hotel night and could get there just in time to play. Problem is Steve and I are getting older and we don't sleep well on the plane and the last time we did a red eye, we were so out of it the first couple days. If we don't fly early enough in the morning though, we can get in rather late in the evening. This caused some trouble for us when we stayed at POR and we do NOT want to repeat that. (I think Steve would swear off Disney forever if we had those same troubles) So, I HOPE to get a flight in the early morning so that we can land in the early evening.

Regarding the room and ways to make it our own.... Staying at a Deluxe Resort I am really unsure how much I need to bring extra to organize the room. At Pop, it was a must and I was SO very glad I brought things such as the tooth brush holders and collapsible storage cubes. I will have to research more regarding the rooms in order to know if I will need some items to help organize. What I have bought are some items for Christmas to decorate and I HOPE to be able to decorate the room a bit.

Regarding eating at other places that just the parks... I have a long time to think on this one. I can't even make any ADR's for quite a while...maybe June... That being said, I HOPE to try some new restaurants and that will mean traveling to some of the other resorts in order to do so.

Regarding the early morning character breakfast... I love the idea of doing this in MK. That was such an awesome tip, btw Daddy_of_Princesses. I am just not sure which restaurant I would want to go to....or if I could convince Steve to go to either of them. Here, I would Hope to have an ADR for early morning breakfast in MK

Regarding going to DTD.... Not much to say here other than Steve has NEVER been to DTD in WDW. Hence, it will be a must to spend some time here. I HOPE to spend some relaxed time shopping and maybe eat at WGPE.

Regarding the lunch/dinner packages... Even though I thought the seats were way worth it for the Nemo show, Steve isn't sure he wants to sit that close. That and the fact I want to NOT eat at TH this trip (I almost feel like I am blasphemous for saying that) means I think we are likely to skip that one. Even though I have done this restaurant a couple times before, I do however HOPE to get an ADR for the Fantasmic package at Mama Melrose's.

Regarding eating/drinking around the world.... I think this was such a neat idea before and it was fun to taste something at each area. I HOPE to have a rainbow margarita in Mexico, a sweet pretzel in Norway, tea in China, caramel something...anything in Germany (this new Werthers store was not open when we went in September), some kind of candy in Italy, the liberty slushy thing in America, split a cs meal in Japan, split a cs at Tangarine Cafee in Morocco, have a grand marnier slushy in France (although I have heard talk of a grey goose???..maybe that would be better???), fish in Britain and finally something in Canada. Last time we ended here and ate at Le Cellier. In my don'ts was the fact that we had a TS meal on the day we were eating our way around. We were so full, I don't want to do that again. In theory it is neat... next time we are just going to have to pick up some sort of snack there...something maple???


Regarding bringing someone who was new to WDW... while this was a definite like on my last trip, it won't be possible this time. Even if we get my mil and fil to come up for one day (which they are toying with the idea of..but said they definitely couldn't spend more than one day in WDW)..they would not have that level of wonder that my mom did when I brought her in September. What I HOPE then is that we will be experiencing WDW as if it were new to us since it will be Christmas time and we will be staying at a deluxe resort this time.

Regarding staying in a different resort.... Well this seems to be covered... so my HOPE is that we are able to still go and that I don't end up putting us back at POR or Pop. Now...staying at YC...that I might do again. Not that the other resorts were not nice...just trying to do a different one each time.

Regarding letting Zoe finish an entire mask at Epcot...well, she did that so I doubt we would be doing that again, but I HOPE to let her complete a different activity that we have never done. Maybe... Kim Possible???

Regarding the bus situation... my HOPE is that by staying at WL their will be better transportation options. I know there is a boat option to MK. I just can't imagine anywhere could be as bad as Pop was when it came to the buses.

Regarding making better use of our mugs... unlike last trip where Kira was grossed out by them and didn't want to use them after we washed them in the sinks (even though I brought presoaped sponges), I HOPE to buy a new mug for each of us (except Zoe) and have us get coffee each morning. (I know it isn't great coffee, but something to start the day is better than nothing)

Regarding spending more time enjoying the resort... I HOPE to spend a large chunk of time just relaxing at the resort. At WL, it looks like there will be a lot to see and do, so we shouldn't get bored.

Regarding trying no to care about making sure that everyone is happy... this may be a hard one for me. I tend to worry that everyone has everything they need. This can get in my way of having a good time. My HOPE is that I can relax and ignore any teenage moodiness, childish fussiness and/or... husband grumpiness.

Regarding not participating in a fridge swap... I never plan to partake of this again. Having said that, there should be no need since I HOPE WL has a fridge in the room.

Regarding not wanting to miss the aquarium at Epcot...I HOPE to not only spend time at the aquarium, but other areas such as Innoventions.

Regarding not getting more photos with the pp taken... I HOPE to have a photo session at WL in addition to taking every opportunity in the park to get a picture taken. Maybe this next trip, there will actually be some pictures of me.

Regarding not scheduling a TS meal after eating all day in WS at Epcot... I kinda covered this already. I HOPE to eat enough all day that missing a TS at the end wont be a bad thing.

Regarding missing all the performers in WS... truth be told we didn't miss ALL of them. We were able to catch a glimpse here or there and we did actually sit for the one in Italy. What I HOPE is to catch more of each street show.

Regarding the actual bus stops and wanting them covered....as Kathy mentioned, WL has covered stops. I HOPE the bus stops at WL will be as easy to use as the YC or POR were.

Okay, so kinda a long list...and not exactly a top ten of what I want to do...but it really sets some goals for how I want to do thing differently.

Hope I didn't bore you all to tears...

 

[flamestarrdust]

Joining in! Just noticed your new PTR! Now I need to get caught up.