Commencing Operation Christmas Miracle Trip 2010: PTR

[disneyfan55]

Hi,
I just clicked on your report and see you are travelling with others in Feb. If you decide on the AP (even if you don't you have 1 2 day left) maybe your friend can buy the 2 day tickets from you . That would help lessen the AP upgrade cost. Anyone can use those tickets. Also, you may want to consider the TIW card for 20% off TS that trip. One TIW card is good for up to 10 total guests on a single check. Have you decided on the AP upgrade?

By the way REAL neat life to be able to live on a farm!! Lucky you.

 

[PoppyGirl]

Hi,
I just clicked on your report and see you are travelling with others in Feb. If you decide on the AP (even if you don't you have 1 2 day left) maybe your friend can buy the 2 day tickets from you . That would help lessen the AP upgrade cost. Anyone can use those tickets. Also, you may want to consider the TIW card for 20% off TS that trip. One TIW card is good for up to 10 total guests on a single check. Have you decided on the AP upgrade?

By the way REAL neat life to be able to live on a farm!! Lucky you.

Yes--they are getting their own room etc. And my friend is thinking of getting annual passes too....she wants the hopper option.

I haven't decided yet....as we get closer to our Dec. trip, I'll know more what I need/want to do. Thanks again for your help !!!

 

[Disneywedding2010]

I love your PTR. We will be at Disney the 23rd - 29th of December. My first time to Disney for Christmas and just my fiance and I. Most of our other trips we have had friends with us. So, I'm looking forward to it.

 

[PoppyGirl]

I love your PTR. We will be at Disney the 23rd - 29th of December. My first time to Disney for Christmas and just my fiance and I. Most of our other trips we have had friends with us. So, I'm looking forward to it.

to my PTR! Are you getting married at Disney??? Or will you be on your honeymoon? (I guess we should call it a "Disneymoon."

Thanks for reading!

 

[PoppyGirl]

subbing! I'm not really sure how I had made it this long without doing so! There are just so many of us going, which is AWESOME! I loved your "operation" in convincing DH into the trip. I used a similar tactic with my parents. They kept acting like it was an "if" while I referred to it as "when". I even told my dad he could present a counter argument for a different trip for the holidays. By the time his dead line arrived, he had already been won over to my side and didn't even bother!

Oops! I don't know how I missed your post! Weclome to my PTR! Thanks for reading! I know what you mean about there being so many Dec. trip people. It's hard to keep up with everyone! I feel like I need a spreadsheet! But then again, I DO have swiss cheese brain....

Come to think of it, I think maybe my own kids have used my tactics on me! When you talked about using it on your parents, I started to think about my kids....hmmm....that could be dangerous! I think my DD used it on me yesterday to get me to take her to Jimmy Cone. (Does anyone else have those? Little soft-serve ice cream place.) I wasn't planning on going there at all and suddenly there we were...eating ice cream in the parking lot!

Best friend here. Who needs school anyway? Let the sweet DD enjoy the real life scenario of WDW .

I can't believe you mentioned "boil the frog." If my DH reads this... ! Besides, I've been trying to tell him that boil the frog is a joke . Wonder if I can convince him we need hopper passes next month?

Hey BFF!!! Yeah....school schmool! Don't ever tell my kids I said that! I'm getting SO excited about the Feb. trip! DD has been trying so hard to be good so that daddy will let us go.

Does your DH read the disboards???? Our big secret will be out if he does! I hope he doesn't ask me about it. Does he know about "Our Sneaky Plans"???

 

[skater]

No worries about the sneaky plans . My DH's frog has been boiled so many times, he just accepts it right away now . He's even starting to love Disney . You should hear him - he's actually talking about our September trip on a daily basis and it every conversation about it doesn't involve money!!!! He did say he wants to know how we're going to save our money for the Feb. trip. He wants to see a plan .

 

[PoppyGirl]

Part the Eighth....More Daily Details!

So...when last we left our heroine , she had just finished listing all the things she wanted to do on this trip and rearranging days and plans to get them!

The first 2 days of the plan remain essentially the same so there's no real need for you to rush back to that post to compare the plans (as if!).

Day 3:
Resort Day and Downtown Disney Shopping
(did someone say "shopping? WOOT! Better get in shape! Did I mention that a former boyfriend used to call me "Mallbo (sort of like Rambo only with credit cards instead of machine guns) and joke that I would strap on my credit cards, run to the mall, throw open the doors and shout "CHARGE IT!") Anyway, I digress.

We've never had a "resort day" while at Disney so I am TOTALLY looking forward to this! We can sleep in!!! What will THAT be like??? We've never slept in at Disney! There's far too much fun waiting to be had. We have to check out of our Club Level Room and into our Savannah View regular room so it's good we are doing this on resort day and can enjoy our morning with Club Level priveleges, such as BREAKFAST. (woot!)

Have you seen all the activities available during the day at AKL? There's a CULINARY TOUR (!!) to "discover the flavors of Africa"!! How cool is that?!?!? (Yes, I know...again with the eating....*sigh*) We plan to swim, explore the resort, and have a lovely leisurely lunch at Sanaa watching the giraffes through the windows while we eat.

At some point we'll head to DTD for some shopping . DS will have to visit the Lego store. Both kids will want to check out the Pin Traders store. DH will tag along grumbling about the money. (Is there a Grumpy icon? that's what I need right here!) That's ok. We'll buy him a snack. I like to look at practically everything. Usually I come up with one thing that I'm looking for...a special sweatshirt or a pair of earrings and I spend all my shopping time trying to find the "perfect" one. It will be fun to have the time to look around. I know there are lots of stores we've never been to in DTD. At DTD in DL, I love the Vault. That's my favorite store there. So far, I don't have a favorite at WDW DTD. (That's a lottttaaaa letters there!)

Then, we have reservations for the Sleigh Ride at FW. It's a surprise for the family so don't say anything! DD will really like this because of the horses. After the sleigh ride, we'll head back to WL to check out the decorations and have dinner at Whispering Canyon. That's a new one for us. I hope it will be fun for the kids. The main reason I made this ADR is so we had an excuse to go to WL and see all the holiday decorations. I've heard they are fantastic.

Then it's a taxi back to AKL and relaxing around the resort or in our room for the rest of the evening. We don't have cable TV at our house so DD just loves whenever we stay somewhere that they have Disney Channel. (She's easily entertained). DH will want to go to bed early. (Did someone say "nap?") and DS and I may wander around the resort or do some night viewing of the animals. Too cool!

 

[PoppyGirl]

Here are a few fun shots from our DL trip this summer:

All my boys...and my sweet girl (who was still not feeling well) on Main Street.

Having some fun at the hat shop:

Happy Birthday to the Birthday boy!

Now DD is feeling better! Lunch with our friends at Cafe Orleans (LOVE those Monte Cristo Sandwiches! YUM!)

 

[PoppyGirl]

And here are a few shots from my parents' 50th Anniversary party. Don't they look sweet???

The happy couple! In the church where they were married 50 years ago.

Centerpieces (my friend helped me with the idea)

The serving table--this is the only picture I took of the whole table....what was I thinking? ALWAYS take 3!!! I only took one shot! Arrgh! (notice my Mickey purse on the counter in the background-- )

The cake which my brother picked out and my SIL ordered and I "enhanced" with the flowers.

My family (minus my DH who had to stay home with the cows. He sent a video message for my parents which was SO sweet). Me, Dad, Mom, my neice, SIL and brother, DS, DD and nephew. Unfortunately we waited until the end of the party to take the photo, so we were all hot and the girls had changed out of their pretty dresses. (My DB is 6'6"....in case you were wondering )

 

[PoppyGirl]

Part the Ninth......Day 4 Daily Details


After a lovely, restful and fun day on Day 3, we are ready to tackle (dramatic music).....HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS! Our first trip to WDW, I don't think we even went to DHS But during our 2009 trip, we went and loved it! DS and DD both have some favorite rides there now.

So, we begin our day with breakfast at Mara (AKL). And then DS will probably check out the map and the daily plan (he's quite a bit like me!) while we wait for the bus.

One of my favorite things at Disney is just entering the parks. I love the feeling when we arrive early in the morning. You may think I'm nuts (if you don't already ) but there's something different about the light in FL and it just makes me happy. So...here's one of my favorite scenes:

Then we'll be off to some of our favorite rides....I can't decide if we should join the masses and rush to TSMM or head off to the kids' other favorites first.

Do I want to see this first? What a cutie petutie! (If I do say so myself!)

We could take in DD's surprising favorite ride:

Seriously, does she look like the kind of kid whose favorite ride would be ToT??? DS and DH won't ride it so I'll have to ride it with her. It's a sacrifice I'm willing to make.

Or one of mine and DS's favorites. We went to Hershey Park this summer and were in the middle of one of the shows when they started playing "Walk This Way"--and we both looked at each other and said "ROCKIN' ROLLER COASTER!" at the same time. The first time he rode it, we got to the end and he said, "THAT. WAS. AWESOME!!!!!!"

We may want to try out the backlot studio tour, muppet show (love the 2 old guys in the balcony!!! ) and the Lights, Motor Action Show (none of which we've ever seen). We all enjoyed the Beaty and the Beast show although DS wouldn't admit it! And one of my very favorite things to do is the Animation Studio!!
Here's my drawing from last time:

I think I'll see if I can get the whole family to do it this time. Last time poor DS had to use the restroom REALLY bad the whole time. He could NOT sit still and literally RAN out of there as soon as it was over--there I was chasing him through the shop and down the sidewalk yelling at the CM "Which way to the restroom???" as I ran by. (So if you are one of the folks I pushed out of the way, I apologize!)

We have lunch ADR's at 50's Prime Time. I've tried to get ADRs there the last 2 times and couldn't get in, so I think it will be fun to eat there. For dinner, we'll take snacks to Fantasmic! and eat in the stands. The kids loved that last time. They feel like they are getting away with something when they get to eat snacks for dinner!

And we will definitely take in the Osborne lights. I can't wait to see it! The photos look amazing! There has to be something Christmassy every day of our trip!

 

[jenseib]

I love all the new updates and pictures. I really want to go to DL sometime. It looks fun.

I have to ask...what does boil the frog mean? I have all sorts of ideas...some of them are dirty. LOL!
But maybe I need to know, so I can use this tactic. LOL!
I think the 10th is your rest day, right? Thats the day we plan to move over to Pop (if we go). Then MK for us that day and hopefully MVMCP that evening. The 11th, I'm thinking AK. It's DH's least favorite, so I figure we can sleep in from the late night before and then go whenever and just spend a few hours. Then hopefully and early night as well.

Your parents party looks wonderful. Love that cake!

 

[skater]

I know what you mean about the special light in florida . Do you think it might be that wonderful humidity ? Are you going to explain "boiling the frog?"

 

[PoppyGirl]

I love all the new updates and pictures. I really want to go to DL sometime. It looks fun.

I have to ask...what does boil the frog mean? I have all sorts of ideas...some of them are dirty. LOL!
But maybe I need to know, so I can use this tactic. LOL!
I think the 10th is your rest day, right? Thats the day we plan to move over to Pop (if we go). Then MK for us that day and hopefully MVMCP that evening. The 11th, I'm thinking AK. It's DH's least favorite, so I figure we can sleep in from the late night before and then go whenever and just spend a few hours. Then hopefully and early night as well.

Your parents party looks wonderful. Love that cake!

Hi Jen...yes the 10th is our rest day. We will be doing MVMCP later in the week. The party WAS really wonderful....

and I will explain "boil the frog" below....I can't even imagine ANYTHING that you could be thinking....and I'm not sure I really want to know!!!

I know what you mean about the special light in florida . Do you think it might be that wonderful humidity ? Are you going to explain "boiling the frog?"

Yes, we do know about the amazing generosity of the light in FL, don't we? I am absolutely SURE that it is NOT the humidity! I have had enough humidity this summer to last me 10 years! I was ready to move back to Southern CA this year....and I haven't wanted to move back there at all since I moved here in '93!

Ok...so, "Boiling the frog"

In order to boil a frog, you must put the frog into the pot when the water is cold and then very gradually turn up the heat until the water is boiling....by the time the frog realizes he's getting warm, whoops! It's too late! And you have boiled frog. The way you apply this principle to convincing DH another trip to Disney is necessary is to begin talking about Disney (cold water)....gradually turning up the heat (plans) until, by the time DH realizes that he's now committed to an 11 day vacation at WDW, whoops! It's too late! And you have a nice vacation at WDW.

There. Did I explain it well enough? Skater can probably do a much better job since it was originally her idea. (She's actually quite brilliant.)

I'll give you an example....most years that we've been married, DH takes 5-6 days per year for our vacation. Sometime in 2008 I got this crazy idea that we simply had to take a Disney cruise (5 days). I began to plant the idea with DH, talking about it....ordering the video.....reading books and casually sharing information about the cruise and how completely wonderful it would be....how our kids were at the perfect ages for us to go.....how we could go in Feburary 2009 while the prices were lower and he had less work to do around the farm. Then I began to turn up the heat just a little bit....we probably should book it to get the lowest rates.....he agrees....yes, it sounds like fun....yes, book earlier. OK! Then I began to talk about how I just couldn't see spending all that money to go to FL and being so close to Disney World without going at least a couple of days to the parks....well, let's just price it out and see what it would be.....did DH think maybe we could take an extra day or two so we could visit WDW too? I talked to him about how much fun the kids would have at the parks....how sad they would be if we weren't able to go....Ok....yes, let's book a couple days at the parks too. (We're now up to 7 days). Well, we'd really better try for 3 days at the parks--we could probably skip one park.....let's start looking into airfares.....wow! It is WAY cheaper to fly on Tuesdays than on Thursdays! I would rather pay a couple of extra nights at Disney than to pay the airline for the same flight I can get 2 days earlier for so much less money! (Now I'm speaking DH's language...CHEAP, BARGAIN....you get the idea). And that, my friends, is how we ended up with a 10 day vacation with 5 days at WDW and 5 days on the Disney Wonder.

**Disclaimer: I do believe that this technique only works with DH because deep down he actually WANTS to be convinced to go on vacation. Because believe me, when he really doesn't want to do something, there is NO amount of boiling the frog that will work!!

 

[jenseib]

OK. I don't think it will work on my DH. He seems to get irritated more when we talk about it more. Actually I think because he is really self centered. He always is mad if I want to do something, and I didn't even think about how he had this to do or wahtever...usually something stupid. But right now, we have to walk on tip toes when talking because of his pain. He has said, he won't do anything when he hasn't figured out what is wrong with him. I do understand, but I wish he would start thinking positive.
And even though Skip is really cheap, things like coupons and bargains mean nothing to him for some reason.

And he's a last minute guy, which I HATE! Sure it's fun to do something last minute, but stuff like this needs planning. And according to him, there is never a "good" time to leave the cows. LOL! And yet when he is taking his 3 hour nap in the afternoon in early DEc...I think, we could be at Disney right now!
But Claire and I are working on him. We do mention it alot. With his health though, it is frustrating, because we really don't know what the problem is, and until that gets figured out, I can see why he doesn't want to commit.

 

[PoppyGirl]

OK. I don't think it will work on my DH. He seems to get irritated more when we talk about it more. Actually I think because he is really self centered. He always is mad if I want to do something, and I didn't even think about how he had this to do or wahtever...usually something stupid. But right now, we have to walk on tip toes when talking because of his pain. He has said, he won't do anything when he hasn't figured out what is wrong with him. I do understand, but I wish he would start thinking positive.
And even though Skip is really cheap, things like coupons and bargains mean nothing to him for some reason.

And he's a last minute guy, which I HATE! Sure it's fun to do something last minute, but stuff like this needs planning. And according to him, there is never a "good" time to leave the cows. LOL! And yet when he is taking his 3 hour nap in the afternoon in early DEc...I think, we could be at Disney right now!
But Claire and I are working on him. We do mention it alot. With his health though, it is frustrating, because we really don't know what the problem is, and until that gets figured out, I can see why he doesn't want to commit.

I know EXACTLY what you mean about there never being a "good" time to leave the cows. My DH would say exactly the same thing! Fortunately, he's a big kid at heart and loves to play so he NEEDS me in his life to convince him to come out and play with us!

 

[PoppyGirl]

I asked some people on the Creative Disigns board to make me some things....here are two from Tebi73

I think I will make t-shirts for our family with these. I can't wait to play around with them! I showed the kids the first one and they were thrilled! They still don't know why I had them made, but they thought they were really cool.

 

[PoppyGirl]

And these from tmdart on the Creative Disigns board:

I'll probably make t-shirts for the kids with these. They haven't seem them yet but I know they will like them!

 

[PoppyGirl]

105 days....not in double digits yet!

 

[disneyfan55]

Yes--they are getting their own room etc. And my friend is thinking of getting annual passes too....she wants the hopper option.

I haven't decided yet....as we get closer to our Dec. trip, I'll know more what I need/want to do. Thanks again for your help !!!

You're welcome. Hope you have a wonderful trip. I can't wait to go back and see the decorations again! We did go in 2000 the week after Thanksgiving and actually stayed at CBR. We haven't stayed at CBR in quite a few years and I'm looking forward to it. Nice pretrip report!!

 

[PoppyGirl]

Your welcome. Hope you have a wonderful trip. I can't wait to go back and see the decorations again! We did go in 2000 the week after Thanksgiving and actually stayed at CBR. We haven't stayed at CBR in quite a few years and I'm looking forward to it. Nice pretrip report!!

Thanks for reading! I'm having a lot of fun writing it! (I delude myself into thinking that other people will think I am as amusing as I think I am..... )