DD wants her "Mimmie"!..Our 9/09 PTR

[eecteacher82]

Well, after reading many TR's I decided to try one for myself! Here goes..

Cast: Me (27) Erin, DH(23) Toby, DD(22mo) Olivia
When: September 25-29(maybe 30), 2009
Where: Saratoga Springs 1 bedroom villa
Why: Celebrate our late (3 weeks) 2nd anniversary & DD's early (1.5months) 2nd birthday

Let's start with a little background info. I have lived in Florida about 1.5hrs from Disney since 1989 and have loved all things Disney since my grandparents took me when I was 4. DH is not nearly the Disney lover I am, but I am trying to convert him! We took DD (and our niece-10) for her first weekend trip back in February when she was 15 months old and she loved it (as long as no character came near her)! We took a day trip in March just because and she loved it again (minus the characters of course). We figured that since the little vacations went so well, we would try for a little less than a week. I'll leave off here for now, but here are a few pics to put names with faces:

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/59.jpg

More to come soon! When will we go? Where will we stay?

 

[eecteacher82]

As soon as we got back from our weekend trip in February (literally after I got DD out of the car, I walked in the house, turned on the computer and logged on to Disneyworld.com) So now that we (well, I) decided that a longer trip to WDW was necessary and I knew Olivia could handle it, I just had to decided when we wanted to go and where we wanted to stay. I knew it would have to be after September 1st, since that is when DH's vacation kicked in at his new job. I decided that our trip would be part of our birthday gift to Olivia for her 2nd birthday on November 11. I decided to book for Nov. 14-16, the weekend after her birthday.

After choosing a date, I had to think of a hotel..this was going to be tough! We are not much of a hang out at the resort/play in the pool type family-since we live here in FL and go swimming at least twice a week-I decided that a stellar pool was not high on our list. Next was did we care about how fancy schmancy the hotel was-no (or so we thought...). Also to take into consideration did we care how close to the parks we were-not so much, like I said, we are not huge pool freaks and Olivia can nap anywhere, so we don't need to come back to the hotel for naps. All of that narrows down the choices pretty quickly!

After looking at the choices I had left, I decided on Pop Century for a few reasons:
1. This is one of the hotels I have never stayed at before, and I am all for trying new things.
2. My DH looked at the pictures I showed him of the resort and thought it "looks pretty cool", so that was his vote.
3. I thought DD would love all the huge statues, especially the one of Mickey.
4. I would rather spend less on a hotel (that I really won't spend much time at anyway), and more money on food and spoiling DD!

So, POP it was! I decided to book a preferred room, just to be closer to everything, and since my DH has ankle problems and at the end of a long day of walking, trudging around the resort would not be his idea of a good time.

Now that we have dates and a hotel decided on....food...what to do?

 

[eecteacher82]

Since I booked our trip in February and we are going in November, I had to decided how hungry myself, DH, and DD(then 2 years old) would be....No dining plan, quick service dining plan(QS), regular dining plan (DP), or deluxe dining plan(DDP)?

I definitely knew I wanted to do at least 1 character meal, and DH still thinks he is a "growing boy" who needs his meals! I was 99% sure I wanted a dining plan of some type, now I just had to decide which one.

I semi quickly ruled out the QS plan (even though it had more snacks and the mug), just because: 1.) Snacks would be the cheapest to buy if we wanted more than 1 a day. 2.) I knew we would probably end up with more than the originally thought of 1 character meal.

Next up, DP. I thought this sounded like the best option. We could do 1 sit down/character meal a day, grab a quick lunch and then a snack. I was just about ready to book this option, when DH said he thought we should do the DDP so we could do either a couple of sit downs (breakfast and dinner) or some 2 credit places, and he really wanted a mug. So DDP it was.

Now that I had lots of extra credits to work with I was thinking about doing CRT (since DD didn't mind the face characters when we were there the first time), and California Grill at Wishes time sounded nice....so much more to think about!

Now that I had dates, a hotel, and dining plan picked, I quickly decided on 3 day park hopper tickets and I officially clicked to book our package!!! Since we had just got our tax refund, I decided to put almost half of the trip as the deposit and then I would just have to pay $25 a week to have it paid off in time!

Next up....MAJOR changes!

 

[eecteacher82]

Since this is my first go round with a PTR/TR, I would love any feedback! Thanks for reading-I know I love reading other PTR/TRs!

 

[Stasieki]

I'm here - great start. Your DD is so cute. We lived in Jacksonville until a year ago. I so miss being close to Disney!

 

[eecteacher82]

Just when I thought I had everything all planned and good to go, Disney comes out with free dining! I knew the free dining was not going on during our trip, so it really wasn't that big of a deal...initially.

After thinking about it, I decided to crunch some numbers. The trip I planned at booked came in at around $970.00 or so (pretty good since we set aside $1000.00 for this vacation), then I decided to change dates to when FD was offered and ended up with an extra night in the hotel, an extra day of park tickets, and a bit of a downgrade to the regular dining plan (really not a big deal at all), for $100.00 less! After consulting with DH he thought that sounded pretty darn good, so I called and made the changes.

Our new dates are September 25-29(maybe 30). Extra day of tickets, making it 4 days of PH. Regular DP. I thought now I was for sure done and all I had to do was make our ADR's..... Boy was I wrong!

Next...making ADR's and even more changes!

Thought I would throw in a couple more pics of DD Olivia

 

[eecteacher82]

After all the changes, our ADR date was June 28. I had been planning out a rough sketch of our days so I could make ADRs a bit more easily. Our first full day would be 9/26 and I plan on this being a mostly EPCOT day. I made a short list and asked DH what he wanted to eat from the list. He chose Teppan Edo w/ Cape May Cafe as a back up. I was totally ok with these choices, and glad he made the decision since I was having a hard time! Next day was a mostly MK day and I knew we wanted Chef Mickey's for breakfast since Olivia is OBSESSED with Mickey and "Mimmie". I decided to have a back up for this one as well, so I chose Cape May Cafe (yes again), since I know they have Mimmie at breakfast. Day 3 was DHS. I knew we wouldn't spend the whole day there and I wanted to head back to MK for the evening and catch the Electrical Water Paegant and Wishes from the Poly beach. With all that said we narrowed it down to WCC and Crystal Palace. Day 4 was AK. I knew we wouldn't be here all day and the only request DH had for the whole trip was Planet Hollywood, so that made my decision easy!

Since the online ADR system just started, I had been playing around with it for a few days before the actual booking! It was a really easy system to use and felt pretty good that I could work it to my advantage!

I set my alarm for 5:45am and when it went off I got up pretty quickly and tip toed into the living room and turned on the computer and logged on...waiting for the clock to hit 6:00. I had decided to go in order from hardest to get to not so hard. Here was my line-up: Chef Mickey's, Crystal Palace, Teppen Edo, and Planet Hollywood.

I'll spare you the details from this alreay too long post, adn say I got Chef Mickey's, Cape May Cafe (instead of Teppan Edo), WCC (instead of Crystal Palace), and PH. I was pretty happy and figured I could just keep trying to get Crystal Palace.

So, ADR's were all made, I really thought I was good to go now...just had to finish paying off the balance! Yet again...Disney has a beyond GREAT offer for us....I'll leave that for the next post (provided there are actually people out there in cyberspace reading this)!

 

[Stasieki]

Your ADR's look great. We are going Nov 7th - 14 and made ours last week. Since we are staying offsite, I had to get up 5 mornings in a row at 5:00 AM (central time). And, I am newly pregnant and am not feeling well at all so it was a double whammy. Crystal Palace sure has gotten popular - I remember when you could pretty much walk up and get in.

 

[eecteacher82]

Ughh! I can't imagine getting up that early that many days in a row to get the ADRs I wanted!!! You are one loving lady!!!!!!! I hope you have an awesome (and yummy) trip!! At least I know 1 person is reading my PTR! Thanks!

 

[eecteacher82]

Just when I thought I had all my plans finalized, Disney sends me an email....

I got it the day before my birthday, so I considered it an early gift! I opened the email and it was a free offer to upgrade from POP to Saratoga Springs or Old Key West studio!!!! I called DH right away to see what he thought. He of course said it sounds too good to be true, but call and check to see if there are any hidden fees or anything like that.

I called and made sure I hadn't been dreaming while I read the email (no I hadn't); make sure we wouldn't lose free dining (no we wouldn't); and make sure it really was totally free (it was- it was actually cheaper than my stay at POP, saved me $10)!!!! I was so excited, and chose SSR! Then to my surprise, they upgraded my upgrade! I got a 1 bedroom villa instead of the studio!!!!!! I was definitely doing to happy dance!!! Thank you Disney!!!!!

Now hopefully we are all set and no more changes are coming (but I wouldn't mind more pixie dust)!

 

[reyasmommy]

Your DD is adorable..... Love the picture of her running on the beach!


Have fun on your trip!

 

[eecteacher82]

Well, after being pretty darn happy with all of my ADR's, I realized a couple of weeks ago that the only night Spectromagic would be going on was our arrival day (supposed to be all Epcot day)! I made ADR's for Cape May so I know we will not have time to eat at 5:50 and still make it to MK for 8:00 Spectro. My other problem is then the 28th. This was supposed to be our DHS day and then heading to MK for Wishes and the EWP on the Poly beach with dinner at WCC. I can't believe didn't think about Spectro when I was making our plans!!!!

Now I am frantically checking the online dining and calling Disney at least once a day, as well as checking the ADR trading boards here on the DIS...

I am hoping to get something (well almost anything) in the MK area for our arrival day, and almost anything in Epcot for the 28th!

Well, I am off to check for more dining...wish me luck!

 

[Stasieki]

Have you tried the monorail resorts. We are eating at OHana's before Spectro. We ran into the same thing... it is only showing one time when we are there and it is our favorite. Ohana's would be tough to get, but maybe Kona or the Wave at Contemporary? Good luck and let us know what you end up getting.

 

[eecteacher82]

Have you tried the monorail resorts. We are eating at OHana's before Spectro. We ran into the same thing... it is only showing one time when we are there and it is our favorite. Ohana's would be tough to get, but maybe Kona or the Wave at Contemporary? Good luck and let us know what you end up getting.

I have tried EVERYWHERE! Every monorail resort, all MK table service, Wilderness Lodge, Fort Wilderness, even Epcot for early (like 4:00 dinners), and there is literally NOTHING!!! I refuse to give up though...the search goes on!

 

[Stasieki]

How frustrating. I know you will get something. People always cancel. Your trip is so close - you have to be so excited. Ours is 60 days away! Yeah.

 

[yellowtink]

I'm on board. Your DD is cute.

 

[eecteacher82]

Well, I am happy to report that after TONS of searching (and to my DH's annoyance, mouse clicking), I got 1 ADR I REALLY needed! I got Crystal Palace for 9/26 at 7:15! I am planning on getting there around 6:45 in hopes of being seated early so we still have time to eat and meet with characters before the 8:00 Spectromagic starts, even if we miss a bit, it is SO much better than not having anything!

 

[eecteacher82]

I'm on board. Your DD is cute.

Glad you are on board! It is nice to see that more than myself and 1 other person are reading this!!!

 

[eecteacher82]

Well, as I sit here, we are 17 days away from our trip! I am getting SO excited. I think my DH is getting sick of me pretty much talking Disney 24/7!

A few months ago I decided to make an attempt at sewing, and made a pretty simple pillowcase dress for Olivia. I was actually pretty darn surprised that not only did it turn out, but it was actually cute! After making enough pillowcase dresses to dress an entire small country, I thought I was possibly ready to move on to bigger and better things....dresses that used an actual pattern instead of just measurements! Soon after this thought occured to me, I figured since we are going to Disney and Olivia loves "Mimmie" I would make her a dress with Minnie on it. I went to the fabric store, picked up some cute red fabric with white polka dots on it, a small piece of black satin for Minnie's head and some white lace to trim the bottom of the dress.

That is where the story stops for a while...I was too intimidated by what the fabric store employee told me was "the easiest pattern ever"! Well, yesterday my SIL stopped over so I asked her for some help trying to figure out the pattern and between the two of us we figured it out, cut the fabric to size, cut out the Minnie head/bow for her head, and my SIL (being the awesome hairbow maker she is[she makes all of Olivia's bows to match each outfit she has]), made some SUPER cute Minnie head bows to go with the dress. My goal for tomorrow is to sew the dress together, and then I will have Olivia model it and get some pics on here.

Also, I have already started making packing lists and putting things in suitcases....my DH says I need help...I just say I am REALLY excited!

 

[eecteacher82]

So now we are at less than 2 weeks until our trip!!!! I am getting more excited by the minute. I ordered a new Minnie shirt for Olivia from the Disney Store yesterday. It was only $10 and I had a free shipping code, so I couldn't resist!

I have officially starting packing! I did all the laundry yesterday and put anything Disney related in a suitcase. It is mostly Olivia's pajamas, a few t-shirts, her Minnie crocs and.....DRESS!

Yes, I finally finished the dress (after much hassle and a few not-so-nice words aimed at the fabric and pattern)! Here are a few quick pics of the dress, the bows my SIL made and shoes...