DONE 7/28!! My Life on the DVC Blacklist - an August '09 Pre-Trip.

[sharkB8HooHaHa]

Hmmm...was this before or after MY Cinnamon??

Oops, did I just confess to my part time job???

Seriously, I think it was before.

 

[Disneyland_Mama]

BWAHAHAHA!!! Do it and bring it to WDW - can't you see us in the Turf Club, sucking back Mojitos and spinning the Wheel of Doom?!

Hmmm... I have a vision - it's frighteningly hilarious!!!

Oh dude - DED! If you won't do a TR, you've got to make a guest appearance when I get to that part here and tell the Tale of Cinnamon!

Oh YEAH! This story must be printed!

Oops, did I just confess to my part time job???

OMG!

 

[puggymom]

Ok, so I have been a bit MIA lately, but I just read and got all caught up.

I will be challenging you on hotel choices, but that will be an upcoming installment on my pre trip. Let's just say a little Hotel Roulette is not out of the realm of possibilities.

I love the CR, I stayed in a MK view room in 2006 for a long weekend in one of the renovated rooms

Leo, is not so much the planner huh, he still it too cute.

Any plans for September for you? I am there the 12th - 19th, let me know if you are heading over at all during that time.

 

[PrincessV]

Oops, did I just confess to my part time job???

BWAHAHAHA!!!!!

Hmmm... I have a vision - it's frighteningly hilarious!!! [/QUOITE]
Isn't it always when we're involved?!

I love the CR, I stayed in a MK view room in 2006 for a long weekend in one of the renovated rooms

Ooo, tell me more! I've only been in the Garden Wing, and I love it there. But if a good discounted rate for the Tower were to come along... should it be considered?

Any plans for September for you? I am there the 12th - 19th, let me know if you are heading over at all during that time.

Not as of now. Sept. is tough, what with hurricanes and back-to-school, so I've learned never to plan ahead. But I'm noting your dates and will keep you posted!

 

[PrincessV]

Remember how I worried that parts of this PTR would meander around more than a WDW newbie minus a park map? Well, this here installment is proof-positive of that statement.



First, I’m happy to report that I seem to have been restored to the good graces of DVC’s Member Services (MS). Read: no more Blacklist!

I’ve got a mini trip planned for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party on Halloween and, while happy with my original reservation at SSR, I decided to see if I could get a little closer to the MK. The lovely MS rep was happy to assist me (she said so herself!), and got me switched over to the Villa’s at Wilderness Lodge lickety-split. Yippee!

And no, her name was not Buffy. Or “Cinnamon.” But that’s another story for another time.





As do most of us, I’ve engaged in a little pre-trip shopping as of late. Only, it’s a bit different when you actually live in FL year-round. I’ve learned some things over the past few summers and I’ll share them with you. Never know what might help a fellow DISer!


~ Clothes. For the past two years, I’ve bought T-shirts and shorts with the idea that I only need them on weekends and vacations, since I wear business attire 5 days a week. Frankly, there aren’t all that many weekends or vacation days, so I’ve only bought a few of each per summer.

FYI, “summer” is an 8-month affair down here. Four T-shirts, eight months… get the picture? Yeah, they weren’t lasting. Shorts fared better – they just seem to hold up better so they’ve all lasted three years or more.

I found the PERFECT T’s at Lands’ End and was sad, sad, sad when they wore out and had to be retired. Four T’s, eight months. That’s a LOT of washing. So, this year, when Lands' End not only came out with a new T design I love, but put them on sale… I bought up! I’m totally set this time around, with an entire pile of T-shirts in a variety of colors.

For the record, I never have to worry about this with Leo. I’m a sucker for cool pint-sized T’s, so he always has plenty. Yay!





Is this boring you to tears? Sorry. I’ll try hard to find something funny to report…





~ Shoes. This was a small purchase; I love my Crocs Capri flips and they’re perfectly fine – no need for replacements there. But I do like a pair of sneakers to swap out once in a while in summer and all I previously had were running sneaks, (which I only wear on the treadmill), and Chuck Taylor low-tops. Love my Chucks, but they do me no good for lots of walking. So I set out on a mission for something cute, comfy, lightweight and breathable. I found exactly that in a New Balance shoe that fits me just right. Yay!

~ Bag. If you’ve read previous TR’s of mine, you know I’m on some eternal, infernal search for The Perfect Bag. Each trip, I swear I’ve found it… only to find another one months later that seems even better.

It’s an illness, I know.

One issue I have in the heat of summer is that the straps on traditional backpack/messenger type bags rub my shoulders raw. Not good. I found Vera Bradley a couple years ago and the cotton straps were such a fantastic change! Really, it was like some kind of religious experience, as I pontificated about the cotton straps of my overly-patterned Vera bag to anyone within earshot:

“Feel how soft that is? I’ve washed it a few times and it just keeps getting better! Look, no marks on my shoulder. And it holds everything I need! Really, I can’t say enough about this bag. Ma’am – are you walking away? Wait, don’t go!”


Anyway, I already had a good Vera bag, but a new pattern came out recently, and in a new shape, and I found myself powerless to resist.

Okay, enough about how I’ve been stimulating the economy in the name of Disney. How ‘bout those Plans?

Bring on the spread sheets. I really hate these things and consider them a necessary evil. My ex-MIL used to call things “the devil” if they were really, really awful. (TFI, she referred to me that way, too. A lovely woman.) At some point in the planning process, it struck me – spread sheets ARE the devil! They tend to trick me into a false sense of security – “It’s all right here, nice and neat. Nothing can go wrong now!”

Yeah, sure.

But I have to start somewhere and Excel makes a relatively easy way to enter all the pertinent information in one place.

I’m a sworn follower of the Unofficial Guide’s (UG) Touring Plans site and that’s always my first stop when it comes to WDW trip planning. I follow their advice about crowd levels and which parks are the best or worst to visit on any given day. They’ve never steered me wrong!

That part is easy – login to the site, copy the information and paste it into a spread sheet.

Phew, one step done, lol!


The challenge comes with deciding just which park to do on any given day. The UG usually has more than one listed as a good choice, so it’s not as cut and dry as I’d like it to be. (For the record, I’d pay them more to just make ALL of my decisions for me. They should really think about that. )


Anyway, I’m still at that step. I’ve been here for about 2 months. Why on earth does this seem more complicated than coming up with a decent Presidential gift for a foreign dignitary?! (NO Obamas.) Well, because there are other things to factor in besides park touring. Like:

~ Pool time. We’re Floridians; we spend 85% of summer in the pool. Knowing that it will almost definitely rain every afternoon, afternoons can not be counted on for pool time. So I need to plan a couple mornings for this. Mornings are, of course, prime touring times. Tough call, isn’t it?

~ Water park. Again, we love our pools. And what is Typhoon Lagoon other than a ginormous pool? We need some time there, too, and we need to hit it early in the day to avoid rain and crowds.

~ Checking in and out. I’ve learned my lessons well: never, NEVER again will I plan anything critical on a check in/out day. I’ve been assigned too many icky rooms that took hours to rectify to ever trust that a check-in might only require an hour of my time. So I’m very hesitant to schedule any ADRs or park openings on those days. Remember, we’ve got a split stay planned… that means not one, but TWO check-in days to manage.

Okay.

At this point, I’ve got, conservatively, five non-park-opening days to navigate around. In an eight-day trip.

D’OH!


Now you may begin to see why I’m still stuck at this stupid step. More Plan updates to come as I manage to make some decisions. Unless I first lose my mind.


Anyone still here??? Hello??? Geesh, I’m bored just writing this. If you re still here, thanks for sticking around; I hope this gets a lot more interesting SOON!




Shifting gears yet again, I’d like to close this segment with a little Leo story. He’s with his dad for Spring Break right now, and I’m missing him tons, so maybe by re-telling one of his more interesting trip planning moments I’ll feel his presence in my day…

As I mentioned in the beginning of this report, I haven’t involved Leo a lot in the planning. For his own good. But waaaaay back, when it first began to come to fruition, (that would be pre-Blacklist, TFI), I was thinking out loud about possible resorts.

Leo doesn’t understand squat about DVC and its limitations. He heard me mumbling about “Animal Kingdom Villas, blah, blah, blah, Saratoga, blah, blah, blah, Beach Club?, blah, blah, yadda-yadda, blah…” and piped in with his own opinion:

“I want to stay at the place with the volcanoandthebeachwiththecastleandthebabyducksandthetikiguysandthewaterfall!!!”

Yep. He may not have the name down, but Leo knows his Polynesian Resort and loves it with a passion only slightly stronger than my own.

Leo, HAPPY to be at the Poly!


I had to break it to him – the Poly would not be an option for this particular trip.

OMG…. Tears immediately sprang from Leo’s big, brown eyes and the look on his face was of pure devastation! I tried to explain that the Poly is very, very expensive and we just didn’t have the money to stay there this time. He choked back the tears and nodded that he understood. But he was sad. Very, very sad.



See that ticker in my signature? That’s for Leo. The child asks for precious little; he’s not a “gimmee, gimmee, gimmee” kid at all and has no expectations of having things handed to him just because he wants them.

But, when some truly amazing Annual Pass discounts were released for May, and one of them resulted in a truly astounding rate for the Poly over Memorial Day Weekend… well, I was a lost cause. I booked two nights and never looked back for a second.

Leo doesn’t know. I will eventually tell him that we’re going to WDW, (FYI, it’s not possible to surprise a kid who knows I-4 like the back of his hand!), but I’ll leave the resort a mystery until we pull up to the doors. I can’t wait to see the look on Leo’s face!


Coming soon: FOOD, Glorious Food! and Who the heck is Cinnamon???

 

[mrsksomeday]

Aww I love that you are surprising him with the Poly!!! I can't wait to see more pictures of him there. You are such a great Mommy!!

 

[jcc0621]

I love Leo. He is going to be stoked when you pull into the Poly. Can you try and video tape it while you are driving up. Hey, you've taken pictures...why not video

 

[bawsmom]

I love those new balances... they look so comfy!! and those LE tees... cute enough for weekends but also to wear with nice pants and sweater to work... might have to check those out.

doncha just love a MIL like that...mine called me a "b" one time... long time ago... but in front of SIL... i still think she's crazy!!

and your precious boy.... what a wonderful surprise he will have at the poly sounds like you are doing a great job with him

 

[Disneyland_Mama]

I love Leo. He is going to be stoked when you pull into the Poly. Can you try and video tape it while you are driving up. Hey, you've taken pictures...why not video

And texts, allegedly.

Anyway, I already had a good Vera bag, but a new pattern came out recently, and in a new shape, and I found myself powerless to resist.

Ooh... I'm liking the style... what's that called? Ooh and the color... loverly lime!
And I'm loving the New Balance - my sneak of choice, natch.

“I want to stay at the place with the volcanoandthebeachwiththecastleandthebabyducksandthetikiguysandthewaterfall!!!”

And yet another reason why I adore this child.

Leo doesn’t know. I will eventually tell him that we’re going to WDW, (FYI, it’s not possible to surprise a kid who knows I-4 like the back of his hand!), but I’ll leave the resort a mystery until we pull up to the doors. I can’t wait to see the look on Leo’s face!

M&E do the same thing when we head on the "5" south!

Coming soon: FOOD, Glorious Food! and Who the heck is Cinnamon???

 

[cmp1111]

Aw, that's so nice for Leo! He's such a sweetie, and you both deserve it.

Those T's look great, and I think I have a code for free shipping... Hmm...

 

[Hedy]

Leo is adorable.
I don't think I ever told you this, but in Kat (I think's) version of FF08, there was a picture of you and my first thought was "She took a puccini vera bag in August? During Fay? Egads!"

 

[sharkB8HooHaHa]

And no, her name was not Buffy. Or “Cinnamon.” But that’s another story for another time.

I found the PERFECT T’s at Lands’ End and was sad, sad, sad when they wore out and had to be retired. Four T’s, eight months. That’s a LOT of washing. So, this year, when Lands' End not only came out with a new T design I love, but put them on sale… I bought up! I’m totally set this time around, with an entire pile of T-shirts in a variety of colors.

A good tee is hard to come by.

For the record, I never have to worry about this with Leo. I’m a sucker for cool pint-sized T’s, so he always has plenty. Yay!

Remember how proud he was of his tee in October? First thing he said to me..."Like my shirt?"

Yup. And the kiddo in it.

Anyway, I already had a good Vera bag, but a new pattern came out recently, and in a new shape, and I found myself powerless to resist.

Nice bag, V

Oh, and no Chucks in the park? Really?

Anyway, I’m still at that step. I’ve been here for about 2 months. Why on earth does this seem more complicated than coming up with a decent Presidential gift for a foreign dignitary?! (NO Obamas.)

Just for the record, I don't think there is anything wrong with an iPod for the Queen

“I want to stay at the place with the volcanoandthebeachwiththecastleandthebabyducksandthetikiguysandthewaterfall!!!”

Yep. He may not have the name down, but Leo knows his Polynesian Resort and loves it with a passion only slightly stronger than my own.

Leo, HAPPY to be at the Poly!

This is such a great picture.

See that ticker in my signature? That’s for Leo. The child asks for precious little; he’s not a “gimmee, gimmee, gimmee” kid at all and has no expectations of having things handed to him just because he wants them.

Coming soon: FOOD, Glorious Food!

Hot sausage and mustard!
That's one of my all time favorites, V.

 

[PrincessAlways]

I don't blame Leo at all......I like the Poly too!!!!

 

[DisneyJo]

Love your new clothes V but what no bikini photo?

How sweet that you've booked the Poly for Leo, he'll love it and I love Janet's reply

Oh yeah what was with the ipod for the Queen????

 

[PrincessV]

Aww I love that you are surprising him with the Poly!!! I can't wait to see more pictures of him there. You are such a great Mommy!!

Thank you! I try.

I love Leo. He is going to be stoked when you pull into the Poly. Can you try and video tape it while you are driving up. Hey, you've taken pictures...why not video

I'm all over it!

I love those new balances... they look so comfy!! and those LE tees... cute enough for weekends but also to wear with nice pants and sweater to work... might have to check those out.

Yes, on both counts! The New Balances are the 790 series and they're super comfy. And you're dead-on about the T's - totally appropriate with jeans, shorts and skirts for business casual days.

And texts, allegedly.

I was at a red light!!!

Ooh... I'm liking the style... what's that called? Ooh and the color... loverly lime!

That's teh newly-redesigned Hipster! I'd been considering it for about 6 months before buying. I just wasn't sure it was enough better than the old design, which I already had, to warrant a second one. It totally is! The color here's a little misleading; more of a kelly green than lime IRL.

Those T's look great, and I think I have a code for free shipping... Hmm...

They're AWESOME! Soft, thin, fitted but not tight... jsut right!

I don't think I ever told you this, but in Kat (I think's) version of FF08, there was a picture of you and my first thought was "She took a puccini vera bag in August? During Fay? Egads!"

True - I did have my Puccini bag that night! It's not my usual park bag, but I needed something to hold 2 rain jackets, an umbrella, a bag of Focker gifts and a Flat Michelle. But... I'm going to try spraying my new Vera with water repellent stuff and see if that keeps it from getting soggy this trip.

Remember how proud he was of his tee in October? First thing he said to me..."Like my shirt?"

Oh my gosh - I forgot about that!

Oh, and no Chucks in the park? Really?

Really. I get horrible ankle, knee and back pain if my heels aren't elevated a bit when walking much. I can wear Chucks for short distances, and they're great for standing, but no good for serious walking.

Hot sausage and mustard!
That's one of my all time favorites, V.

No way?! I performed in it when my dad made me go to stupid Camp Harmony one summer. It was a theater camp; he thought I'd love it because I was training for the ballet at the time.

I don't blame Leo at all......I like the Poly too!!!!

Me three!

Love your new clothes V but what no bikini photo?

Ummmm.... NO!!!

Oh yeah what was with the ipod for the Queen????

Or, worse, the DVD collection for - I forget, now, the Prime Minister? C'mon, even I know European DVD players work in a different format from the US! The Obamas need to get better gift suggestion people.

 

[Trentmom]

Great purchases. Those sneaks are too cute

I love the bag.....great color


That is so cool you are surprising Leo with a trip to Poly..He is going to be so stoked

 

[lazydoxy66]

I'm glad you did your duty for the economy. I salute you.

Nice stuff.

I wish I could be there when you pull up to Poly.

 

[jillyb]

I found your PTR a couple of days ago and just now had time to read it. Love the Vera bag and the T-shirts! I'm looking forward to the rest of the story!

 

[T-i-double-g-err]

But, when some truly amazing Annual Pass discounts were released for May, and one of them resulted in a truly astounding rate for the Poly over Memorial Day Weekend… well, I was a lost cause. I booked two nights and never looked back for a second.

Leo doesn’t know. I will eventually tell him that we’re going to WDW, (FYI, it’s not possible to surprise a kid who knows I-4 like the back of his hand!), but I’ll leave the resort a mystery until we pull up to the doors. I can’t wait to see the look on Leo’s face!

Great surprise! :thumbsup: I hope you guys have a blast! I miss Poly! It was the first WDW resort for the kids, and I think it may have been Mrs. T's first on property stay.

Just popping my head up briefly for a drive by. I wanted to check on Mel and Mo over on TFW and catch up on your PTR before I descend back into real life...

 

[DisneyJo]

Or, worse, the DVD collection for - I forget, now, the Prime Minister? C'mon, even I know European DVD players work in a different format from the US! The Obamas need to get better gift suggestion people.

Gordon Brown and yeah your DVD's don't work here

Hi David