Dear Santa, I'd like a double-deluxe Disney Xmas!! Dec'12 PTR! Upd 1/20 TR & DR links

[francis6306]

Yay for getting everything so easily! I used the website to book the ADR's for June and it was really simple. Of course, I might have to cancel them, but whatever, I have them for now!

 

[debrapagliasotti]

Dinner and movie nights look AWESOME!!!!! YAY for getting your ressies all set!

Thanks! I was so glad the website worked for me!!

Thanks so much. I am so excited about our Dec trip. We are going Dec 8-16 staying at Pop Century. We stayed there last time and the kids adored it.
Reading yours and other PTR and TR I am getting inspired to try a PTR myself. I've never done one and not sure if I can coherently get my thoughts together but it might be fun.
Zumba for Wii definetely wears me out. The first time I did it I could only get through the short workout on the beginner setting. Now that the weather is nice I try to do walk/jogs outside but I still like to do some Zumba along with it.
Good luck with the Insanity and your Vegas planning!

We have never stayed at POP, but I hear lots of good things about it. Sounds like you are going at a good time...just after Pop Warner, just before the holiday crowds

I had never done a PTR before these 2 that I am working on now. It was more a way for me to just be able to talk about the trip and not wear out my DH with constant WDW talk

I really think I want to give Zumba Wii a shot! The commercials just look so much fun for Zumba, and if the Wii workout is anything close, I think I will like it.

Even though we are still *technically* 2 weeks away from finishing Insanity, we have been doing some early planning...that way we know exactly what we want to do when the time comes to book.

Yay for getting everything so easily! I used the website to book the ADR's for June and it was really simple. Of course, I might have to cancel them, but whatever, I have them for now!

Thanks! I was so worried I would have to call...ugh, did not want to do that. I sure hope you dont have to cancel your trip

 

[debrapagliasotti]

Viva Las Vegas!! Viva Las Vegas!!​

Although we still have another 2 weeks before we finish Insanity, we are in FULL Las Vegas planning mode! We can see the finish line in the distance and we are ready for our reward!

Here are our plans so far...

WHEN - June 6-10

WHERE - Split stay between Bellagio and either Aria or Venetian. We stayed at Bellagio last year and it! We had a beautiful view of the fountains from our room. This time around we are hoping to book one of the suites for 2 nights, and then move to Aria or Venetian for 2 nights in a strip-view room.

FUN STUFF - We are planning on seeing 2 shows while we are there. This time around we plan on seeing Mystere (Cirque) and Blue Man Group. We love Cirque and have seen 3 of the shows in Vegas and La Nouba at DTD a few years ago. Last year we saw Ka and O. We had amazing front row-center stage seats for Ka and I literally sat there with my mouth open the whole time. Hands down the BEST Cirque show I have EVER seen! Mystere has BIG shoes to fill!! We have never seen Blue Man, but have been wanting to for several years, so we decided now was the time.

I have made several dining reservations for this trip (the only thing we have booked). Didnt want to risk losing out on the dining times we wanted!

Our dinner plans...

Wed June 6 - Dinner...Burger Bar @ Mandalay Bay. We ate here last year and it was awesome. It is owned by Hubert Keller (Top Chef Masters) and its just really yummy burgers and beers. Super casual. Perfect for arrival night.

Thurs June 7 - Lunch...nothing planned yet.

Mystere @ Treasure Island, early show, 7pm.

Dinner...Mesa Grill @ Caesars Palace. We ate here last year and it was AMMMMMAZING!! It is owned by Bobby Flay (Food Network). I had the most amazing spiced pork tenderloin that I still dream about. What really made the meal was this amazing dessert I had...a deep dish banana cream pie. SO GOOD!! We knew as soon as we walked out of this restraunt last year that we would definately be back! This was the 1st place I called once we settled on dates this past week. This restraunt gives us a reason to dress up a little, so we enjoy that too.

Fri June 8 - Lunch Border Grill @ Mandalay Bay. This is new to us, but it is owned by Mary Sue Milligan and Susan Feniger (Top Chef Masters). The menu really appeals to us.

Blue Man Group @ Venetian, early show, 7pm.

Dinner...Craftsteak @ MGM Grand. This is new to us, but a place we have been wanting to try for several years now. It is owned by Tom Collichio (Top Chef). This was the 2nd reservation I made for this trip. Another restraunt that we have a reason to dress up for.

Sat June 9 - Lunch...nothing planned yet.

Dinner...one of 2 choices. Sirio @ Aria. New to us, but this was voted one of the best Italian restraunts by Zagat. Another chance to dress up.

OR...Circo @ Bellagio. New to us, another Italian restraunt and the menu sounded good. Plus, we love Bellagio and I know we will still come back to the casino even after we have checked out and moved to another hotel.

Sun June 10 - No plans yet

Las Vegas is the only time we really get to enjoy dining at Signature/Fine dining places since we have kids, so we make sure we have several really nice dinners planned. I am mulling through everything to see what we might want to do for other lunches. There is a Il Mulino NY @ Caesars Palace, but I dont know we would want to do Italian again.

Anyways, those are the plans as they stand right now...just wanted to share those with you...even though they are non-WDW related.

 

[newtexan]

and woot woot for only two weeks of insanity left! way to stick it out~sounds like you have a great plan for Vegas.

 

[DisneyMom0709]

 

[debrapagliasotti]

Havent had an update in a while and thought I would try and get this PTR going again.

This past month has been crazy busy!

Hunter finished up soccer for the Spring season. His team played in the U10 district tournament a few weeks ago and did quite well. His team played 5 games in less than 48hrs, so they were exhausted. 3 of those games ended up in ties, so they came down to shootouts. Shootouts are increadibly stressful being the mom of the goalie! Hunter did awesome though. His team ended up 3rd in district out of 15 teams. He will go to soccer camp this summer and DH will take him out to the fields several times a week to keep working on his skills.

Harper finished up dance last weekend. Cant believe she finished up her 6th year. She was sad when the recital was over because now its a long wait until August.

The kids have another week and a half of school left, then its a long summer of them going in and out of the house every 5 minutes and Hunter eating us out of house and home .

Insanity...well, we finished , but our Las Vegas trip is on hold.... Looks like it may end up being July sometime before we can get there. We will have a better idea at the end of May.

I will post April dinner & movie night in the next day or so, then get back to the PTR details.

 

[debrapagliasotti]

April dinner & movie nights​

April 6 - Swiss Family Robinson (DH pick) - baked chicken, organic brown rice, green beans, fruit cocktail, banana pudding

April 7 - Phineas and Ferb Across the 2nd Dimension - no special meal, we just watched the movie together on one of the Disney channels

April 14 - Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (my pick) - Brats, potato pancakes, German potato salad, homemade apple crisp.

April 28 - Up - Cheeseburgers, sweet potato fries, Wilderness Explorer baked beans, vanilla ice cream with chocolate bars, grape soda

Harper and her "bottle cap pin"

May is a busy month, so we only have 2 movies planned. We did Finding Nemo last weekend, and next weekend will be 101 Dalmations.

 

[debrapagliasotti]

Sorry for the lack of updates lately. Things have just been SO DARN HECTIC!!

Since the Dec hours have been released earlier this week, I have been doing some tweaking to the schedule. I need to try and get it all figured out as to where we want to be and when...ADRs...etc, etc. I still have a little over 30 days until our ADR date, but I will need to have all the info ready and finalized when I hear from BW IPO in early June.

So...let me back up a bit from where the PTR was and introduce what I have come up with. A few ch...ch...ch..ch...changes from what I mentioned in earlier posts. I am only looking at the hours as they stand right now (praying they extend the park hours in the weeks leading up to our trip...pixie dust parade for this ) This is just a brief telling of each day, then in later posts I will go into more detail about characters, rides, shows...etc, etc.

Dec 18 - Arrival (early I hope!!). We are still waiting for those Southwest flights to be released...any day now...really...any...day...now . They are saying sometime in early-mid June...ugh, really??!! Anyways, the plan is to check in to the hotel and then head over to MK ASAP and hopefully get into the park about 4pm. We will eat at either The Plaza or Tony's (DH cant decide what he wants). We will then enjoy MVMCP!

Dec 19 - Epcot. Bkfst CL this morning, then walk over to Epcot via International Gateway. AHH...this will be so nice. Ride a few rides. Lunch will be San Angel Inn. Dinner at Garden Grill with CP package (fingers crossed) and hopefully the last CP show of the night, followed by Illuminations. Park hours 9a-930p.

Dec 20 - HS. Bkfst Hollywood & Vine. Lunch Sci-Fi. Dinner 50's Prime Time. Head over to see Osbourne lights after dinner. Hoping the park hours are extended as they are currently listed as 9a-8p.

Dec 21 - Rest day # 1. Bkfst at Cape May. Head to Downtown Disney. Shopping. Lunch at T-Rex. Shopping. Dinner at Hoop Dee Doo (if its reopened from refurbishment), otherwise, grab something at Earl of Sandwich to take back to hotel OR Beaches N Cream

Dec 22 - MK. Bkfst Crystal Palace. Lunch LTT. Dinner 1900 PF. Back to MK for a few hours. Hours currently listed as 9a-10p.

Dec 23 - AK. Bkfst Rainforest Cafe. Lunch TH. Hours currently listed as 9a-5p. Dinner at WCC.

Dec 24 - MK. AM EMH. Late bkfst CRT (fingers crossed!!). Lunch snacks (I figure we will have plenty to spare at this point...10 nights x 2 snacks per day x 6 people...I think we should be ok ). Dinner at Ohana...I hope! Back to MK. Park hours are currently listed as 9a-10p + AM EMH. Surely that will change to later hours because of the holiday.

Dec 25 - Epcot. Bkfst Akershus. Lunch Coral Reef. Dinner Tutto Italia. Focus today will be WS Christmas storytellers. Current hours are 9a-930p + PM EMH.

Dec 26 - Rest day # 2. SLEEP IN!! Lunch Captains Grille. Spirit of Aloha early show. Head to HS for PM EMH specifically for Disney Jr dance party. Current hours are open until 10p + PM EMH until 1am.

Dec 27 - This was supposed to be departure day, BUT, I recently added 1 more night , allowing us 2 rest days. So...today is AK. Bkfst TH. Lunch Yak & Yeti. Current hours are 9a-8p. Tonight we will head out to Mickey's Backyard BBQ.

Dec 28 - Departure day . We will have bkfst CL if we want something. Lunch will be at Big River Grille (IF we DONT get to do Hoop Dee Doo), otherwise, we will be out of TS/QS credits, and would probably just get something from one of the QS places nearby and pay OOP. Hoping for a later flight out of MCO...again, still waiting for that Southwest schedule

SOOOO...thats the plan, man. All subject to change, but probably not.

213 days to go!

AND...

151 days until our Oct bonus trip!

 

[newtexan]

Sounds like you have been busy!

Sorry your Vegas trip got postponed, are you still exercising?

Daily plans look great!

 

[debrapagliasotti]

Sounds like you have been busy!

Sorry your Vegas trip got postponed, are you still exercising?

Daily plans look great!

We are still exercising. Since we finished Insanity, we were hoping to take a few weeks off, then do another round of it when we got back from Vegas (when we thought we were going in June). Now, since it looks like it will be July sometime, we didnt want to get halfway into Insanity again and then stop...so, we are just walking mostly and doing one of the Insanity videos a couple times a week.

Super excited about the Dec trip. I feel like all I do is think about that trip. Dont get me wrong, I'm excited about the Oct bonus trip too...but super excited about Dec.

 

[DizNee Luver]

It's a bummer we're going to miss each other by 2 days!!

Your plan looks great & I'm jealous that you'll actually be there FOR Christmas.....but I couldn't handle the crowds that will bring.....yikes!!

I'll make sure to let you know where our son is working....who knows.....you might see him on your adventures!!

Whew, CRT & Ohana on Christmas Eve?? GOOD LUCK!!!!! Lots of *+*+*pixie dust*+*+* for you!!

 

[debrapagliasotti]

It's a bummer we're going to miss each other by 2 days!!

Your plan looks great & I'm jealous that you'll actually be there FOR Christmas.....but I couldn't handle the crowds that will bring.....yikes!!

I'll make sure to let you know where our son is working....who knows.....you might see him on your adventures!!

Whew, CRT & Ohana on Christmas Eve?? GOOD LUCK!!!!! Lots of *+*+*pixie dust*+*+* for you!!

I didnt realize our dates were so close until you mentioned that. It would've been nice to have a Dis meet.

When we first started planning this trip, we had planned on being there Dec 23-30, but I am SOOO glad I talked DH out of that one! At least we will have a few days under our belt before the crowds really start coming in!

I will be on the lookout for your son when we are there!

I know I am crazy in planning CRT and Ohana on Christmas Eve, I'm just hoping we can sneak in and grab those ADRs since we will be getting there a few days before the big holiday crowds. We are pulling the kids out of school 2 days, and hopefully most people wont be able to do that because of work. I definately have all my crossables crossed...now just have to wait until June 21 for our ADR date.

 

[DizNee Luver]

I didnt realize our dates were so close until you mentioned that. It would've been nice to have a Dis meet.

When we first started planning this trip, we had planned on being there Dec 23-30, but I am SOOO glad I talked DH out of that one! At least we will have a few days under our belt before the crowds really start coming in!

I will be on the lookout for your son when we are there!

I know I am crazy in planning CRT and Ohana on Christmas Eve, I'm just hoping we can sneak in and grab those ADRs since we will be getting there a few days before the big holiday crowds. We are pulling the kids out of school 2 days, and hopefully most people wont be able to do that because of work. I definately have all my crossables crossed...now just have to wait until June 21 for our ADR date.

Well I hope you get those ADR's!!

Do they do something special on Christmas Eve or Christmas??

 

[JoshAndEvsMom]

I just got caught up on your PTR! It looks like you really have some fun things planned for BOTH trips! I can't wait to hear about MVMCP and MNSSHP!

Your movie nights are awesome... I may have to copy cat a few things

 

[debrapagliasotti]

Well I hope you get those ADR's!!

Do they do something special on Christmas Eve or Christmas??

I hope so too!

I dont know if they do anything special for the menus on Christmas/Christmas Eve. I remember seeing something a while back about a few places doing a special menu, but I cant remember what I read.

I just got caught up on your PTR! It looks like you really have some fun things planned for BOTH trips! I can't wait to hear about MVMCP and MNSSHP!

Your movie nights are awesome... I may have to copy cat a few things

We are so excited about MNSSHP and MVMCP! It will be our first time for both.

We sooo enjoy our movie nights!

 

[debrapagliasotti]

Over the coming weeks I will be sharing pics of some purchases I have made for our trip (mostly clothes!!)

Here are a few hats I have purchased...

A Minnie baseball cap & t-shirt for Harper

The kids dont know any of the stuff I am buying. The older kids wanted everything to be a suprise, so I am just putting everything away once I purchase it. I did have the little boys "model" their hats, but put them away too.

 

[JoshAndEvsMom]

Over the coming weeks I will be sharing pics of some purchases I have made for our trip (mostly clothes!!)

Here are a few hats I have purchased...

A Minnie baseball cap & t-shirt for Harper

The kids dont know any of the stuff I am buying. The older kids wanted everything to be a suprise, so I am just putting everything away once I purchase it. I did have the little boys "model" their hats, but put them away too.

Those hats are so cute! Where did you find them?

 

[debrapagliasotti]

Those hats are so cute! Where did you find them?

Wal Mart! The little boys hats were in the little kids department, and the Minnie hat was over with womens accessories

 

[DizNee Luver]

The hats are darling & the Minnie shirt is very cute!!!! I'm afraid to buy too much stuff when I get my adoption credit money because the kids keep having growing spurts. Since we moved in November, the twins have shot up 2 sizes!!!

 

[debrapagliasotti]

The hats are darling & the Minnie shirt is very cute!!!! I'm afraid to buy too much stuff when I get my adoption credit money because the kids keep having growing spurts. Since we moved in November, the twins have shot up 2 sizes!!!

Oh my gosh, 2 sizes since Nov??!!

I am buying everything up a size for the kids, so I know it will all be ok.