Cruising, Wining, and Disney Dining - Two 2012 PTRs in One! **TR LINK UP**

[jenny105]

Another deposit!

$10 Paypal transfer from MySurvey Rewards

$7.01 transfer from ING checking. I make a $70 bi-weekly deposit from my paycheck to that account. I use that to save for things too - most recently our move (which pretty much wiped it out!). So now I'm using it for a Christmas money account. I take 10% of whatever is deposited in there and transfer it over to my Disney fund.

Total deposit $17.01 for a grand total of...$268.10. $1,731.90 to go!

Work has been running an incentive for selling credit cards and we get $$ everytime we sell one. I got $43 in corporate rewards which can be traded in for gift cards. I'm pretty sure T-Rex Cafe is on the list of vendors I can trade in for so I'm planning to get a gc to use for our trip I'll have to look tomorrow when we get our internet hooked up.

18 days until Lynn officially books our stay at AKV!

 

[jenny105]

Ok guys, I promised you apartment pictures so here they are!

We have a second floor apartment of a two family house. When you walk up the stairs and open our door, there's a hallway. The kitchen and living room are to the left, bedrooms to the right, and bathroom straight ahead. Most of our things are unpacked but we still have a ways to go in terms of decor!

Living room. You can see the curtains we bought on the table lol.

I love our kitchen. It's probably my favorite room in the house.

Through the back door is our deck. We bought furniture for it but since it's getting cooler out, it's currently being stored in the basement.

Working our way to the bedrooms, we pass the bathroom. I love how we decorated this room too lol. The kitchen and the bathroom are the nicest rooms in the house right now!

The second bedroom is being used for storage right now. Kris's desktop is in there too but I use my laptop for everything.

Our bedroom. I really love the bedding we got. So comfy!

And that's our apartment! I love it here and our neighborhood is great. Nice & quiet with a park right down the block. I went for a walk/jog before. And about a mile down the road is the downtown area with the train station, tons of restaurants, salons, stores, etc. It's a great town and I'm only 5 miles from work now instead of 25. What a nice change! It's been an adjustment for me to live with a cat. I'm a dog person NOT a cat person. He sheds everywhere and I really wish Kris would get him de-clawed or at least trim his nails because he likes to stretch and claw the carpet. I need to get a dog that'll chase him around and give him hell.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend! Kris and I are supposed to go to a music festival in town tonight and a street fair tomorrow morning. On Sundays he goes into football mode and I don't see him all day. At least it's hockey season too.

8 months from today we'll be cruising!

 

[klacey1]

Your apartment looks great! Our lease is up soon and we're looking to move when it is-- augh, not looking forward to that! So great that your commute so much shorter, though!

 

[jenny105]

Your apartment looks great! Our lease is up soon and we're looking to move when it is-- augh, not looking forward to that! So great that your commute so much shorter, though!

Thanks! I know - moving is such a pain in the butt. We still have boxes to unpack & need to decide where to put pictures, etc. But it's all coming together one step at a time!

Living closer to work is so much nicer. I can sleep a little later in the morning & there's no crazy traffic!

 

[lauren_elizabeth]

Such a cute apartment! Your bedding is gorgeous... I love blues & browns together!

I feel your pain on Comcast... when we moved into our new house last month, we had our service transferred. Even with just doing that, it took about a week. Their schedule is ALWAYS so booked up. And you know what I really hate? The technicians have to call the same exact customer service number that we do, so they sit forever at your house on the phone waiting for someone to answer so they can confirm service. It's a big 'ol pain!

Yay for more Disney money, too!

 

[jenny105]

Such a cute apartment! Your bedding is gorgeous... I love blues & browns together!

I feel your pain on Comcast... when we moved into our new house last month, we had our service transferred. Even with just doing that, it took about a week. Their schedule is ALWAYS so booked up. And you know what I really hate? The technicians have to call the same exact customer service number that we do, so they sit forever at your house on the phone waiting for someone to answer so they can confirm service. It's a big 'ol pain!

Yay for more Disney money, too!

Thanks! I'm big on blue & brown too I love how they look together.

Ugh, Comcast. Our only choice was them or Verizon Fios. With Verizon, they wanted to install a phone line, which we don't need, and charge us for both that & the internet. I'm not a fan of either one of those companies and hoping we never have a problem with our internet!

I love watching my Disney fund grow

 

[amandaluvsgoofy]

Hey Jenny!
I've been such a bad Dis-friend! I'm just now catching up and saw you're staying at AKL!!!!! I'm telling ya, renting DVC is the way to go! And you're gonna love AKL! It is soooo beautiful! I already have my heart set on staying there next time...whenever that will be...

Congrats on the place! And another congrats on adding to that Disney fund. I started doing surveys and throwing loose change in a box. Every little bit helps, right?!

 

[jenny105]

Hey Jenny!
I've been such a bad Dis-friend! I'm just now catching up and saw you're staying at AKL!!!!! I'm telling ya, renting DVC is the way to go! And you're gonna love AKL! It is soooo beautiful! I already have my heart set on staying there next time...whenever that will be...

Congrats on the place! And another congrats on adding to that Disney fund. I started doing surveys and throwing loose change in a box. Every little bit helps, right?!

Hi! You're not a bad DIS-friend, you're busy! Understandable

I can't WAIT to stay at AKL. It's such a good deal to rent DVC points, I'm just hoping it all works out. Our reservation can be made on the 30th and I haven't spoken to Lynn since the beginning of Sept. I'm going to email her soon just to make sure everything is still good.

Thanks!

Absolutely, everything counts! I put all my change into a margarita glass and plan on cashing it out closer to the trip. All my singles I put in another jar & deposit them every month. It adds up!

 

[jenny105]

Hi guys!

I emailed Lynn (the DVC member I'm renting from) and she emailed me back almost immediately. She sent me the sample of the contract we'll be using for our transaction. I'm so happy everything is still a go. 11 more days until she can make my reservation! We're going to rent a value studio which is the least expensive room you can get. It's a crapshoot for a standard, pool, or savanna view. I told Lynn to request SV and make sure they know it's my birthday. I'm going to play the TA card once we check-in so maybe we'll get an upgrade. I wouldn't really care if we got standard view, we're not going to be in the room that much & there's animal lookouts throughout the resort...but it'd be nice to have a balcony with a great view!

We got the new WDW Birnbaum Guides at work so I've been flipping through that all day. I'm so productive.

Disney month at work is in January and we got an email today saying our Disney night is January 10. Clients come in to learn about all things Disney & can book a trip or cruise if they'd like before they leave. Last year, I helped watched and entertain everybody's kids. We had fun coloring Disney pictures and I managed to get a booking out of it too. That's another Disney related thing for me to look forward to.

Have you guys seen the new dining policy at select restaurants? What do you think about it? I think it's a great idea. It's going to make people think twice before double booking themselves or pulling no shows. I think it's going to open up availability at the more popular restaurants (Ohana, Chef Mickey's, & Le Cellier all come to mind). There's a thread on the community boards about it and people seem upset. I say if you don't want to deal with the CC guarantee, don't eat there. It's that simple!

Happy Wednesday!

 

[Dream426]

I just found your PTR so I am commenting on things that have been discussed already...haha I am hoping to do the Magic our of NYC as well in July for my daughters 1st birthday. I said how could we not when it is a 45 minute train ride into the city for us. It is so close. You guys will have so much fun.

I am so jealous you went to the NKOTB concert. I went to their last couple of tours and had a blast. I couldn't go this tour because when they first put the dates out I would have been 9 months pregnant so I decided to pass even though I went to see Bon Jovi when I was 7 months pregnant...haha Then they changed the dates to around the time I would be having my daughter so I was bummed. I didn't really care about BSB because I was an *NSYNC girl...haha

Love the pics of your apartment. It looks great.

Can't wait to read more about your upcoming trip. I wanted to add also LOVE ebates. I joined a few years ago and have gotten back $600 since I have joined. It is a great website for around the holidays when I do a lot of shopping online. That is where I get a lot of money back. They have the cyber Monday (right after Thanksgiving) where the percentages that you get back go up.

 

[klacey1]

Ooo, the Disney night at work does sound fun! I wouldn't mind coloring pictures being part of my job, haha.
Fingers crossed you get a great view from your studio at AKL!!
I'm also all about the CC to guarantee reservations! People complain now, but for those non-planners, I bet getting walk-ups will be significantly easier. No more double/triple bookings!

 

[jenny105]

I just found your PTR so I am commenting on things that have been discussed already...haha I am hoping to do the Magic our of NYC as well in July for my daughters 1st birthday. I said how could we not when it is a 45 minute train ride into the city for us. It is so close. You guys will have so much fun.

I am so jealous you went to the NKOTB concert. I went to their last couple of tours and had a blast. I couldn't go this tour because when they first put the dates out I would have been 9 months pregnant so I decided to pass even though I went to see Bon Jovi when I was 7 months pregnant...haha Then they changed the dates to around the time I would be having my daughter so I was bummed. I didn't really care about BSB because I was an *NSYNC girl...haha

Love the pics of your apartment. It looks great.

Can't wait to read more about your upcoming trip. I wanted to add also LOVE ebates. I joined a few years ago and have gotten back $600 since I have joined. It is a great website for around the holidays when I do a lot of shopping online. That is where I get a lot of money back. They have the cyber Monday (right after Thanksgiving) where the percentages that you get back go up.

I love that DCL is going to be so close. No more having to fly to Florida for it! Not that I minded that but this is a lot easier

I loooove NKOTB. I was obsessed with them when I was younger & when they announced the reunion, I went crazy. I've seen them at least 10 times. I'm an NSYNC girl too but BSB was really good! Sadly I don't think NSYNC will ever get back together cause JT is an actor now

Wow! $600 on ebates?? Nice! I'm planning to go through that for all my Christmas shopping so I'm hoping it will add up for a decent chunk of change. Thanks for the heads up about cyber Monday. I'll have to keep that in mind.

Ooo, the Disney night at work does sound fun! I wouldn't mind coloring pictures being part of my job, haha.
Fingers crossed you get a great view from your studio at AKL!!
I'm also all about the CC to guarantee reservations! People complain now, but for those non-planners, I bet getting walk-ups will be significantly easier. No more double/triple bookings!

I thought the same thing about the walk-ups. And it will be much easier to make any changes to reservations like the number of people & time. Last years trip, I wanted to add two people to my Ohana reservation. Disney Dining told me Ohana didn't have any tables left to accomodate 7 people. When the 5 of us got there, sans the two people who wanted to join us (they made other plans), we were seated at a table of 10 and there were plenty of empty tables. All because of the no shows and double/triple booked reservations!

 

[jenny105]

Disney Fund update! I got my third quarter commission check with last week's paycheck. Most of it will be going toward bills (so not fun!) but I took $50 to put in my Disney Fund. Paired with $7 that I deposited last week, that makes $57. New grand total $325.10

$1,674.90 to go!

I have been super tired lately. I have not been sleeping well due to the fact that Kris & I have been arguing more than usual (adjusting to living as a couple is tough). Plus, I had a death in the family this past weekend which is never easy. Mix that with putting together furniture, cleaning, & still unpacking which is causing me to go to bed later than normal and I'm one tired girl. My eyes also hurt like crazy and I think it's from all the cat hair. This cat sheds like crazy! I've never seen anything like it. I'm talking about clumps of hair coming off of this thing! It's ridiculous.

Since I've been having a rough go of things and feeling a little blue lately, I decided to do something fun & bought my sister & I tickets to see Duran Duran tonight at Madison Square Garden. The tickets were only $20 apiece so part of my commission check went to that as well It'll be a nice treat & should be fun. 80's concerts are always a blast!

On Sunday, Lynn will be making our DVC reservation. I'm so excited

Hope everyone is well and as always thanks for reading!

 

[Joyciemc]

All caught up! Can you believe that you started your PTR 4 months ago? You're almost at your cruise, already!

Moving/unpacking is super tiring... hope things get better soon. I can't sympathize about the cat- we have four and I love them dearly, hair and all

Have fun at Duran Duran!

 

[amandaluvsgoofy]

Still here!!

I hadn't heard of the new policy at the restaurants, but that sounds good! It drove me crazy when I couldn't get the reservations I wanted! Hopefully this will help!

I'm sorry life has been so hectic lately. Moving is always stressful! But good for you on going to Duran Duran! J would be soooooo jealous! I hope you have a great time!

 

[jenny105]

All caught up! Can you believe that you started your PTR 4 months ago? You're almost at your cruise, already!

Moving/unpacking is super tiring... hope things get better soon. I can't sympathize about the cat- we have four and I love them dearly, hair and all

Have fun at Duran Duran!

I had to go back to the first page to check if it's really been 4 months. Wow! I can't believe it. That means time is going by quicker than I thought

Duran Duran was a lot of fun, thanks!

Still here!!

I hadn't heard of the new policy at the restaurants, but that sounds good! It drove me crazy when I couldn't get the reservations I wanted! Hopefully this will help!

I'm sorry life has been so hectic lately. Moving is always stressful! But good for you on going to Duran Duran! J would be soooooo jealous! I hope you have a great time!

It's crazy. You book 180 days out like they want you to and you STILL can't get what you want because people abuse the system. Hopefully this new policy will help.

Duran Duran was great! I've seen them once before, about 5 or 6 years ago. They sound excellent & put on a good show!

 

[klacey1]

I hope the concert was fun! Definitely sounds like you needed time to unwind. Zach and I fought a lot when we first moved in together, too. Just takes time!
Once I move my money to a credit union (so done with Bank of America), I need to open a vacation fund! It's so great that you regularly contribute to it-- no matter how small the contributions!
YAY! I hope Lynn is able to get you the room at AKL! (Can't imagine why not-- but still, fingers crossed!!)

 

[jenny105]

I hope the concert was fun! Definitely sounds like you needed time to unwind. Zach and I fought a lot when we first moved in together, too. Just takes time!
Once I move my money to a credit union (so done with Bank of America), I need to open a vacation fund! It's so great that you regularly contribute to it-- no matter how small the contributions!
YAY! I hope Lynn is able to get you the room at AKL! (Can't imagine why not-- but still, fingers crossed!!)

The concert was so much fun! They started off by playing their new stuff but toward the end, everything was an 80s song.

I'm looking forward to this weekend. I have both Saturday and Sunday off (which doesn't happen too often) so I can relax. Kris and I have plans Saturday but on Sunday, I'm going to catch up on my DVR & just be a bum!

Every little bit helps with the Disney Fund. I love watching it add up. I always said I want to save up X amount for spending money and I never do it. I'm hoping to hit my goal this time!

I hope Lynn doesn't have a problem getting me the room I want. I don't think she will, it's not like I'm going at a really busy time. I'm sure I'll hear from her on Sunday.

 

[jenny105]

Hi guys! I was doing some AKL research last night (in between surveys and watching the Rangers lose miserably, ugh) and found this.

The green indicates the value room locations - value studio, 1 BR, and 2 BR. We are booking a value studio and as you can see, there's a pretty good shot at getting a savannah or pool view. I'm having Lynn request it and I'm also going to ask again when we check in. It's my birthday trip; they can't tell me no!

I was also watching youtube videos of Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon. We plan on going to both. I've been to TL but never BB. I have to try out Summit Plummet!

I was also thinking about the Haunted Carriage ride at Fort Wilderness. Has anyone done this before? Any feedback? It sounds pretty cool. My client booked it this past October for her trip & she loved it.

Anyone have any fun plans for this weekend? I'm supposed to be going to a Halloween/birthday party at my cousin's tonight with my sister but she's not feeling well so I'm not sure we'll go. Tomorrow Kris and I are supposed to participate in a road rally, which is like a race/scavenger hunt with cars but the weather is supposed to be bad so I guess we'll see how it is when we wake up & decide then. My town also has a pumpkin carving contest, which they put in the park & light up at night so you can walk through and see them all. I want to check that out as well but again only if the weather is cooperating. Sunday might be a haunted hayride day! I love Halloween & fall

I hope everyone has a great weekend & Happy Halloween!

 

[jenny105]

Lynn made our DVC reservation today! Everything went great, she requested savannah view, and I got the email confirmation. It made it seem so much more real. I can't wait to start making ADRs!

Exactly 11 months to go!