Disney Dollars, Deals, and Delights - A PTR - Update 5/9 - We're Here! - GKTW update

[Lidian]

Okay, off to make dinner now. Got that new Philadelphia Cooking Creme in the santa fe flavor. Yum! I'll let you know how it turns out.

Wow, you did an amazing job! I love it!!!

Now ... come do one for me. I'll keep it hidden in my closet where my kids can't see it.

(And there is absolutely nothing wrong for doing this stuff pre-kids! My motto is: I go to WDW for myself. The kids are just lucky I bring them along. )

Can't wait to hear how the Philly Creme turns out!

 

[Becc1]

Thanks to AKL LOVER for her inspiration to make this calendar! I've wanted to make one before but always ran out of time. So around 2 weeks ago, I decided that if I could get one done by my 30 day mark, I would. And today we are 30 days away! Less than 30 days from now, at this exact time, we will be probably taking off to Orlando!

So I'm really sad to admit, that this project took me 3 hours to complete and four separate store trips. (Darn binder rings were impossible to track down...and then what'dya know, Target has them!) I also feel like such a Disney nerd right now because I doing this when I don't have kids.

First I cut a piece of white form board in half. You can also see on the left hand side that I had printed out mirrored images of the numbers I would need. Cutting these out took a good hour, and now I understand why people love those cricut machine's so much!

Here are the numbers

And then I cut out sheets of cardstock and hole punched them (yet another trip to the store for a hole punch!) I also used free stickers to decorate them.

And then, after looking at my vast collection of random scrapbooking materials and my lack of organization in this department, I somehow created this! I also noted that I still have yet to complete our Disneymoon scrapbook from 2008...

Okay, off to make dinner now. Got that new Philadelphia Cooking Creme in the santa fe flavor. Yum! I'll let you know how it turns out.

Love the calendar! I was really looking forward to making one but since we're surprising the kids I can't

 

[Becc1]

Thanks to AKL LOVER for her inspiration to make this calendar! I've wanted to make one before but always ran out of time. So around 2 weeks ago, I decided that if I could get one done by my 30 day mark, I would. And today we are 30 days away! Less than 30 days from now, at this exact time, we will be probably taking off to Orlando!

So I'm really sad to admit, that this project took me 3 hours to complete and four separate store trips. (Darn binder rings were impossible to track down...and then what'dya know, Target has them!) I also feel like such a Disney nerd right now because I doing this when I don't have kids.

First I cut a piece of white form board in half. You can also see on the left hand side that I had printed out mirrored images of the numbers I would need. Cutting these out took a good hour, and now I understand why people love those cricut machine's so much!

Here are the numbers

And then I cut out sheets of cardstock and hole punched them (yet another trip to the store for a hole punch!) I also used free stickers to decorate them.

And then, after looking at my vast collection of random scrapbooking materials and my lack of organization in this department, I somehow created this! I also noted that I still have yet to complete our Disneymoon scrapbook from 2008...

Okay, off to make dinner now. Got that new Philadelphia Cooking Creme in the santa fe flavor. Yum! I'll let you know how it turns out.

Love the calendar! I was looking forward to making one but since we're surprising the kids I can't

 

[Lidian]

Love the calendar! I was really looking forward to making one but since we're surprising the kids I can't

Do it anyway! I'm considering doing one for myself! (Hiding it in the closet or something. )

 

[hurleysweety]

Do it anyway! I'm considering doing one for myself! (Hiding it in the closet or something. )

Hahaha! Between my desktop widget, my ticker on the disboards, and my greeting from TGM each time I login - "You have XX days until...", I figure I can never have enough reminders!

I could only imagine your DH's reaction when he goes into the closet and back behind the clothes he finds a countdown calendar!

Love the calendar! I was looking forward to making one but since we're surprising the kids I can't

Thanks! I cannot wait to surprise my kids with a trip someday! I get soooo many awesome ideas from here, and then I have to remember that I'm still a good 4-6 years away from doing that! Maybe you should make one anyway, as I'm sure your DH would have a great reaction to finding a hidden calendar too!

Wow, you did an amazing job! I love it!!!

Now ... come do one for me. I'll keep it hidden in my closet where my kids can't see it.

(And there is absolutely nothing wrong for doing this stuff pre-kids! My motto is: I go to WDW for myself. The kids are just lucky I bring them along. )

Can't wait to hear how the Philly Creme turns out!

Thanks! Now that its done, I'm able to enjoy it and appreciate the time it took. Also, when DH got home I asked him if he liked it and he replied, "Why wouldn't I like it?" and gave me a big smile. He knows how much I love this kind of stuff, so he's a great supporter of it. Thank goodness!

Dinner was awesome - that cream is a miracle worker. I was stumped for dinner plans, which is unusual because I just went to the store and I love cooking. Cut up and made some chicken, add some pasta and veggies and ta da! Its magic. YUM! (And delicious leftovers for tomorrow!)

Ready for a really bad picture of it? Oh what a reminder I need to get a new one!

 

[mrssmith06]

Hi! I'm just now reading your PTR...why? I don't know, I've skipped over it for some unknown reason but so glad I finally had the time to sit and read it! That's what being sick is good for lol Anyway, I am loving your plans and that countdown calendar is GREAT. You did a really good job on it!!!

 

[hurleysweety]

Hi! I'm just now reading your PTR...why? I don't know, I've skipped over it for some unknown reason but so glad I finally had the time to sit and read it! That's what being sick is good for lol Anyway, I am loving your plans and that countdown calendar is GREAT. You did a really good job on it!!!

Thanks for reading! Aww, sorry to hear you are sick, though! Except that means you get extra time to read the boards. Thank you for the compliments on the calendar!

 

[hurleysweety]

So today was just a regular day. I didn't do too much in the sense of plans or day-to-day itineraries or special projects. I DID however, somehow, in the midst of a good conversation, get DH to kind of sort of agree to wearing a custom tshirt if it was "cool looking." I also told him that I'm making him a "journal" of sorts where he'll fill out info each day. We both made lots of jokes about it, and now I'm going to make it as strange and funky as possible - a new project, last on the list. I don't care if its scribbled notebook scraps from the hotel room...DH is getting a journal .

So on a non-Disney related note, we went to a hockey game tonight, last in the season, so it was fan appreciation night. Our friends had free tix, so no cost to us to go and parking is free because of its location. So they had all sorts of random giveaways and such, and I thought they would all be hockey related, but there was a "tweet and win" contest, and I thought, why not? So I entered right away (my phone was handy as I'm not the biggest hockey fan out there, by far!). And then, around the end of the 2nd period, my twitter account was announced and I won a $50 gift card to Tully's (coffee shop, for those unfamiliar).

I was so happy, I had DH take a pic of me!

Ya, I'm a dork. But it was a great end to my week.

 

[AKL LOVER]

LOVE your countdown calendar! And it's ok, I had to make numerous trips to the store to finish mine too, so you're not alone!

 

[hurleysweety]

LOVE your countdown calendar! And it's ok, I had to make numerous trips to the store to finish mine too, so you're not alone!

Oh thank you! It means a lot coming from the "inspiration" behind my project!

 

[hurleysweety]

I've been slowly but surely tackling this gigantic project called my trip binder/planning journal. I really enjoy what I do (graphic design), so getting to combine it with my love for Disney is super fun. However, being that its also my job, sometimes, I just don't want to even open the design program. Nonetheless, I thought I'd share one of my latest pages. I took this idea from another DiSboarder on the DISign boards. They had one of those sharing accounts set up and I somehow found pages similar to this. If I have time to search later, I will post and give credit where credit is due!

I plan to use these to help write my TR later, and for a personal keepsake. I've also decided that I am going to journal on my trip, too! Because of all this, and wanting this to be more of a relaxing trip (a girl can dream, right?), I doubt I'll do a live report. I might check-in a couple times. But I think I'll stick to journaling and note-taking and then come back, ready to write a (hopefully) amazing TR and start my October PTR!

 

[loganpaulsmom]

I've been slowly but surely tackling this gigantic project called my trip binder/planning journal. I really enjoy what I do (graphic design), so getting to combine it with my love for Disney is super fun. However, being that its also my job, sometimes, I just don't want to even open the design program. Nonetheless, I thought I'd share one of my latest pages. I took this idea from another DiSboarder on the DISign boards. They had one of those sharing accounts set up and I somehow found pages similar to this. If I have time to search later, I will post and give credit where credit is due!

I plan to use these to help write my TR later, and for a personal keepsake. I've also decided that I am going to journal on my trip, too! Because of all this, and wanting this to be more of a relaxing trip (a girl can dream, right?), I doubt I'll do a live report. I might check-in a couple times. But I think I'll stick to journaling and note-taking and then come back, ready to write a (hopefully) amazing TR and start my October PTR!

UM... I LOVE yours.. It puts mine to shame.. Do you think you could e-mail it to me so i could print it out and use it for mine.. I am so not creative and I would totally give you all the credit..

 

[Dizneydaz]

Hi stranger! Remember me?

I just found your PTR. Sounds like you are going to have a wonderful trip! Turns out my DSis and her DH will be at WDW the same time as you. May 14-21 but they are staying at POP which works out great because they can use my fridge swap that I started in Aug. 2006. Also we're going to share a PP CD that I'll get at DLR which will save them $$ as well. Trying to impart all my WDW knowledge to them is hard!

Re: Tokyo Dining. We had a great meal there in 2009. We were there for my DM's birthday and we were able to get a window seat. Not only a window seat but the corner window. We had an amazing view of Illuminations! Hope you get as lucky! ( I have food pix if you would like to see them)

I agree with you on 'Ohanas. We only ate dinner there once, and it was early in the evening, and felt about the same way you did. Great starters, so-so meats (dry and not much flavor) We haven't been back for dinner but we have done breakfast there several times.

We too are planning on going to WDW in October. My DD11 has had a change in her school schedule and now instead of Sept. off she'll have Oct. We really want to go back and do F&W again. We were there for the first time last year for opening weekend. DD loved it. We had free DDP so it was a great use of SC!

I'm waiting for the free DDP announcement to see if I can book it and still get free DDP. I've gotten so used to not paying for food. Last year we did QSDP for the first time and we loved it! No ADRS to make. Meals also took less time and we had some wonderful CS meals.

Love your graphics and your calendar. How awesome that you got the Premiere AP. That's my team.

Staying tuned.....

 

[hurleysweety]

UM... I LOVE yours.. It puts mine to shame.. Do you think you could e-mail it to me so i could print it out and use it for mine.. I am so not creative and I would totally give you all the credit..

Of course! Just send me a PM, and I can totally change colors for you too, if you want. Thanks for the compliments - I've been having a kind of discouraging type weekend and the DIS always seems to brighten my day with kind people like you!

Hi stranger! Remember me?

I just found your PTR. Sounds like you are going to have a wonderful trip! Turns out my DSis and her DH will be at WDW the same time as you. May 14-21 but they are staying at POP which works out great because they can use my fridge swap that I started in Aug. 2006. Also we're going to share a PP CD that I'll get at DLR which will save them $$ as well. Trying to impart all my WDW knowledge to them is hard!

Re: Tokyo Dining. We had a great meal there in 2009. We were there for my DM's birthday and we were able to get a window seat. Not only a window seat but the corner window. We had an amazing view of Illuminations! Hope you get as lucky! ( I have food pix if you would like to see them)

I agree with you on 'Ohanas. We only ate dinner there once, and it was early in the evening, and felt about the same way you did. Great starters, so-so meats (dry and not much flavor) We haven't been back for dinner but we have done breakfast there several times.

We too are planning on going to WDW in October. My DD11 has had a change in her school schedule and now instead of Sept. off she'll have Oct. We really want to go back and do F&W again. We were there for the first time last year for opening weekend. DD loved it. We had free DDP so it was a great use of SC!

I'm waiting for the free DDP announcement to see if I can book it and still get free DDP. I've gotten so used to not paying for food. Last year we did QSDP for the first time and we loved it! No ADRS to make. Meals also took less time and we had some wonderful CS meals.

Love your graphics and your calendar. How awesome that you got the Premiere AP. That's my team.

Staying tuned.....

Yes! I remember! How are you?

I'm so glad to hear that you guys get to go in October. Maybe we'll see you then? That'd be fun to see each other in the across the country when we both, you especially, live so much closer to the other park! I'm so incredibly wildly stoked for F&W. Being there with my in-laws means a different pace, for sure, but hopefully DH and I will catch some alone time.

Also glad to hear a good dining review from someone I trust about Tokyo Dining. Because we're not doing the DDP, I was watching menu prices a little more. We really like both Mexican and Asian cuisines, and that new Mexican restaurant just wasn't living up to the $$ or the hype of being on the water. So hopefully we'll land ourselves a corner table too.

And I know what you mean about not paying for food! I really really really enjoyed that last time. Just handing the waiter our tip and not minding what entree I got or how much that dessert was. Maybe sometime in the future, we'll get to do it again.

Oh, and we'll probably be visiting DLR at some point this summer, so you might get an email from me whenever we nail down some dates. I hate to go during the summer, mostly because I've never been and just heard its hot and crowded. But since our passes expire in Jan, and we'll be headed to WDW in October, we're going to try and get to DLR before Oct, and then for Christmas (two trips to DLR this year, both during busy times )!

And finally, best of luck on "imparting wisdom" into friends/family. It can be bittersweet wanting them to have a great experience, but not wanting to overwhelm them with info, touring plans, dining suggestions, rope drop, etc... That's the face I usually get!

 

[hurleysweety]

I just saved us another $100 on our airplane tix! I love southwest!

 

[hurleysweety]

Today is my birthday. I am officially a quarter of a century old today!

I've already had quite the birthday weekend. So on my actual birthday, I'm just relaxing, and doing all the family birthday stuff tonight. As soon as this weekend is over, it'll be back to planning, and gearing up all my last minute stuff. My printer ink finally came (well...more like after I finally ordered it...), so I can start printing my binder out!

Hope ya'll have a great weekend!

 

[Lidian]

Hope its a super awesome day!!!

 

[blessedmom4]

Just checking in on all of my friends, it has been a wild week! LOVING all of the plans, I can't believe your trip in in just a little over two weeks, I am SO looking forward to reading the last minute details!!!

 

[mrssmith06]

Today is my birthday. I am officially a quarter of a century old today!

I've already had quite the birthday weekend. So on my actual birthday, I'm just relaxing, and doing all the family birthday stuff tonight. As soon as this weekend is over, it'll be back to planning, and gearing up all my last minute stuff. My printer ink finally came (well...more like after I finally ordered it...), so I can start printing my binder out!

Hope ya'll have a great weekend!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

 

[hurleysweety]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Thank you!

Just checking in on all of my friends, it has been a wild week! LOVING all of the plans, I can't believe your trip in in just a little over two weeks, I am SO looking forward to reading the last minute details!!!

I know, I can't believe it...18 days away!!!! This morning, I think I got to that point we all get to, where all the inital plans like ADRs and itineraries are set, but then we think of those little things, all those little things that can drive you nuts. Sure, I can plan what I want to eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for 10 days, six months in advance. But what luggage will I use? And do I have all the necessary travel drugstore items yet? And what about my printer ink thats been out since last November...

Hope its a super awesome day!!!

Thank you! It was definitely a great birthday weekend!