**COMPLETED 4/30**Life Is Way Too Short to Take It Slow - October 2013 TR

[lauren_elizabeth]

The Villas at the GF look absolutely STUNNING! Just everything about it seems so regal.. and just AH! LOVE IT! I'll make sure we go over there in September so I can text you and be like, "Oh just hangin' out at your Disney HOME!"

 

[amberg93]

So jealous about your DVC GFV purchase. But it looks super gorgeous! You're going to have so many great times and hopefully all of us here will get to read about them (So that I can live vicariously through your trips and fanciness)!

Gasparilla's is great. We made sure to just eat there in October and I had the same underdressed feeling and I was in a dress. Like, true a sundress, but it was a dress! I guess the fanciness just gets to us all.

And I know, the lines in MCO are always super crazy! I think that both YUL (Montreal) and GRR (Grand Rapids) - my two home airports - do things better too. So you aren't alone!

 

[princess_momma]

A nice relaxing end to a great trip! I always feels underdressed when I enter the GF. Then I remind myself that I'm still at Disney.

Sorry about your Broncos and how the season ended. Being a fan of Manning I was rooting for your team. Plus Pete Carroll is not one of my favorite human beings. We were on our return flight home while the game was happening and our flight attendant gave score updates throughout the flight.

LOL I guess I'll just have to get used to feeling underdressed at the GF! Doesn't make me love it any less though!

It certainly was a hard game to watch...but guess I gotta quote our man, Walt, and just "keep moving forward".

Omg, the Grand. I can't. It's too perfect.

Boo for your trip ending. Boooo.

Love it! My trip may have ended...BUT YOURS STARTS TOMORROW!!! Have fun, lady!

Yay! You are DVC official. Grand Floridian is beyond gorgeous. I love the grounds, the rooms are huge, and yes even their QSD is amazing. We ate at GG a couple times during our stay and everything was delicious. So excited for you! But I will miss reading your TR

I do love DVC!! Can't wait go back to the Grand either! I'll be sure to do another TR...we're under 200 days away now lol!!!

The Villas at the GF look absolutely STUNNING! Just everything about it seems so regal.. and just AH! LOVE IT! I'll make sure we go over there in September so I can text you and be like, "Oh just hang in' out at your Disney HOME!"

They are beautiful and so nice to visit! It was so pleasant just walking around and enjoying the atmosphere! I do highly recommend it and would love pics if you did!!

So jealous about your DVC GFV purchase. But it looks super gorgeous! You're going to have so many great times and hopefully all of us here will get to read about them (So that I can live vicariously through your trips and fanciness)!

Gasparilla's is great. We made sure to just eat there in October and I had the same underdressed feeling and I was in a dress. Like, true a sundress, but it was a dress! I guess the fanciness just gets to us all.

And I know, the lines in MCO are always super crazy! I think that both YUL (Montreal) and GRR (Grand Rapids) - my two home airports - do things better too. So you aren't alone!

I will try to continue to write trip reports...they are time consuming, but I do enjoy having them to look back on! And if someone else enjoys them too, all the better!

Gasparilla's is probably one of my top QS spots! Apparently, it's just the norm to feel underdressed no matter what at the GF.

So maybe it's just MCO that needs to figure it out? As if going home isn't dreadful enough...then we see the lines at security.

 

[princess_momma]

***I'VE ADDED MY TRIP VIDEO IN MY SIGNATURE, SO BE SURE TO CHECK IT OUT!!***

And so our October 2013 trip is officially in the books. I had awaited this trip for so long and was so worried about how much Garret would like it…if he didn’t fall in love too, all my trips would have to be spaced, maybe every 3 years.

And luckily, he did love it! I still can’t believe I got the dream come true of being a DVC owner! So many trips to come!

Besides that, another cherished memory from this trip was seeing Landon finally being big enough to go on a lot of the thrill rides…and knowing he loved so many of them! I loved seeing it all again through the eyes of a child!

Another fun first was showing Garret the Animal Kingdom for the first time! We love that park so much!

As far as good goes, it was great getting to experience the F&W Festival for the first time! My favorites were the Lobster Roll from Hops & Barley and the Boeuf Bourguignon from France.

Our favorite restaurants was overall, Raglan Road.

Our favorite singular food item was the chicken wings from ESPN Zone.

We are so happy for what’s on the horizon!

 

[princess_momma]

So, we are 196 days from our next Disney trip!


We will be staying at Disney's Boardwalk Villas and I can't wait! Fingers crossed for being super close to DHS!!

Today we even got our first Mickey Mail! It was this cute little pamphlet telling us how to set our My Disney Experience and all that. It also included a magnet with the dates that we can book dining, FP+ and check-in online! I love it!

Today we made a big purchase...
PREMIUM ANNUAL PASSES!!

I love DVC discounts so much! They do usually have discounts for regular AP's at $485...but they had a limited time offer to get the PAP's for $484!! I'm so excited!! We may try a water park this trip, but a lot of it will depend on how warm it is. We will FOR SURE be using it on our next trip before they expire. I am SO THRILLED we were able to get this!

Dining
This will be our first trip without the Dining Plan. Scary, but I did the math and it just works out better for us. Plus, there are quite a few places where we get to use our DVC discount!

We arrive on the last day of the F&W Festival...so we may head over there for dinner on our first night. The TS restaurants we are currently planning on hitting are:
Beaches n Cream
ESPN Club
Grand Floridian Cafe
Kona Cafe
Captain's Grille
Raglan Road

There's a strong chance we'll hit up Kona and ESPN multiple times.
There is also a strong chance of those plans changing...I have 2 weeks until I can make ADR's!

Thank you all for reading along for this journey and I hope you come along on the next one!!

 

[NancyLuvsMickey]

Loved your trip!!! Thanks for sharing it with us...

Congrats on the DVC and Premium Annual Pass purchases!!! And on going back again this fall...

I haven't bought into DVC (yet), but keep on thinking about it... One question, how many points did you have to buy???

 

[jenny105]

I love the wings at ESPN Zone. SO GOOD. We need to do a girls trip together asap. We'd have a blast and it seems like we enjoy all the same things in Disney. So when we going?

Yay for your APs!

 

[princess_momma]

Loved your trip!!! Thanks for sharing it with us...

Congrats on the DVC and Premium Annual Pass purchases!!! And on going back again this fall...

I haven't bought into DVC (yet), but keep on thinking about it... One question, how many points did you have to buy???

I'm glad you enjoyed it!!

Very excited to be going back...I still can't believe we are staying DVC or that we have PAP's! Dreams do come true!

I love the wings at ESPN Zone. SO GOOD. We need to do a girls trip together asap. We'd have a blast and it seems like we enjoy all the same things in Disney. So when we going?

Yay for your APs!

YES the wings are incredible! We really REALLY need to have a girls trip! That would be so fun. After our wings, we could head over to JellyRolls and duel some NKOTB and BSB...BSB winning, of course. (Also...Nick and Knight? Stop it, guys.)

 

[klacey1]

Thank you so much for sharing your trip with us!! I love your TRs and hope you write one for your trip this fall!
Awesome that you guys got the APs!
Can I say I totally teared up watching your trip video?? I loved the beginning with Landon and the countdown calendar. And my gosh when you asked him if he liked ToT and wanted to ride it again. I can only imagine how special it must be to share something you love so much with your child!

 

[princess_momma]

Thank you so much for sharing your trip with us!! I love your TRs and hope you write one for your trip this fall!
Awesome that you guys got the APs!
Can I say I totally teared up watching your trip video?? I loved the beginning with Landon and the countdown calendar. And my gosh when you asked him if he liked ToT and wanted to ride it again. I can only imagine how special it must be to share something you love so much with your child!

Thank you for reading along! I will definitely be doing another TR! (And then another when we use the APs again! )

I'm so glad you liked the video! I loved riding ToT with him finally!! It's been so fun and special watching him grow up at Disney! I hope one day he cherishes the memories as much as I do!

 

[jenny105]

YES the wings are incredible! We really REALLY need to have a girls trip! That would be so fun. After our wings, we could head over to JellyRolls and duel some NKOTB and BSB...BSB winning, of course. (Also...Nick and Knight? Stop it, guys.)

Please remember there would probably be no BSB if my boys hadn't be so successful first. And Nick & Knight. Ugh. NOT INTERESTED. I believe my exact words were 'I don't give a crap about either one of you without your bands' lol. I'm such a peach.

 

[princess_momma]

Please remember there would probably be no BSB if my boys hadn't be so successful first. And Nick & Knight. Ugh. NOT INTERESTED. I believe my exact words were 'I don't give a crap about either one of you without your bands' lol. I'm such a peach.

I do appreciate NKOTB for blazing the trail...but will always love my boys better. Of all the things we have in common, this will always be our one difference. But at least our one difference is liking different boy bands, as opposed to one of us being awesome and one of us not. We are both so cool. I also care about neither Nick nor Knight without their bands. Stop it, guys.

 

[jenny105]

I do appreciate NKOTB for blazing the trail...but will always love my boys better. Of all the things we have in common, this will always be our one difference. But at least our one difference is liking different boy bands, as opposed to one of us being awesome and one of us not. We are both so cool. I also care about neither Nick nor Knight without their bands. Stop it, guys.

I liked BSB back in the day but was more of an NSYNC girl when both were popular. I know there's absolutely no chance of them getting back together. Stupid Justin Timberlake. You just HAD to be successful didn't you?

My sister is dying to go to Nick and Knight. She kept asking me about the ticket prices and when they went on sale when it was first announced. I was like who are you going with? Cause it won't be me lol. I went to see Jordan Knight with her once and it was a disaster! No desire to repeat it.

 

[princess_momma]

I liked BSB back in the day but was more of an NSYNC girl when both were popular. I know there's absolutely no chance of them getting back together. Stupid Justin Timberlake. You just HAD to be successful didn't you?

My sister is dying to go to Nick and Knight. She kept asking me about the ticket prices and when they went on sale when it was first announced. I was like who are you going with? Cause it won't be me lol. I went to see Jordan Knight with her once and it was a disaster! No desire to repeat it.

I was never big on N'Sync...mostly out of principal!

Lol I would not be going either! Not that they'll come to Denver. Stupid BSB hasn't been here since before they toured with NKOTB! Jerks. They'll go to Omaha, NE but skip over Denver multiple tours in a row.

 

[jenny105]

I was never big on N'Sync...mostly out of principal!

Lol I would not be going either! Not that they'll come to Denver. Stupid BSB hasn't been here since before they toured with NKOTB! Jerks. They'll go to Omaha, NE but skip over Denver multiple tours in a row.

How do you go to Omaha and not Denver? Even the Wanted just went to Denver. And got a knife pulled on them lol. Maybe that's why BSB doesn't go??

 

[marDgreen88]

Awesome TR girl! I enjoyed it so much and can't wait for the next one!