Don't Call It A Comeback: Our Triumphant Return to WDW! Oct 2017 - Update 10/9

[Simba22]

OK guys... so...real talk? I haven't really been on the DIS since like 2014.

The last time we went to WDW was October 2013 and we got engaged! From there, it's just been a whirlwind of...well...life.

I legit don't even know how to use this version of the DIS because the last time I was here, it didn't look like this.

So first of all...if you haven't read any of my TRs before, I am Ali, and I'm basically a 7 year old trapped inside a 34 year old body. I love all things Disney (except I'm highly concerned about the live action Lion King and Dumbo remakes they're working on... ), I go to Build A Bear on a pretty regular basis looking for clothes for Duffy, I have a ton of Tsum Tsum plushes (at least one of them is going to make an appearance on this trip), I love Funko Pops and Monster High, I play video games, almost every shirt I own has a Disney character on it, and I have a bajilion Disney pins.

My DH is Lumar...again, 7 year old trapped in a 33 year old body. He also loves all things Disney, Funko Pops, Disney pins, video games and Disney t-shirts, with the additional obsessions over wrestling, anime, and tokusatsu.

This is us at Tusker House in 2013:



So here's the Reader's Digest version (if you're too young to know what that means, Google it ) WHERE THE HECK ARE ALL THE EMOJIS?!):

When we first got engaged, we set a date that was two years out (so, October 2015) and we really wanted to do a Disney wedding. But the only way we could afford it would have been to a do super small early morning ceremony only. Literally up to 20 people including the two of us, 8am ceremony with champagne toast and no reception or anything. We both have decent sized families and we had been together for 10 years at the time that we got engaged so people were super pumped for our wedding. We just really didn't want to exclude anyone so we decided in the end to just do everything here in CT.

So our date was set for Sunday 10/25/15 and things were moving along rather smoothly. Except for the photographer and (to a lesser extent) the DJ. But anyway....

Some of you may remember that the job I was at was horrible and I hated it...well the summer before we got married I found another position within the company that I wanted, applied for it, and got it! I was sooooo happy and excited, plus it was at a location closer to home. I talked to the manager there and we set my start date for Monday 10/19/15. She knew that I was getting married that weekend and that we would then be going on our honeymoon and was totally fine with it so I was good to go.

So on Monday, October 19, I got up super early and headed out of our apartment to my car to leave for my first day. We have a steel disabled ramp leading from our building to the parking lot and as I stepped onto it, I noticed that all the cars in the parking lot were covered in frost. Before I could finish the thought that "I wish I started my car", my foot slipped out from under me and I went down HARD on the steel ramp, which was coated in about half an inch of ice. In mid-October. Long story short, I dislocated my knee cap and badly injured all of the meaty stuff in my knee. A week before my wedding. On the first day of my new job. I'll spare you the pictures.

So I missed that entire first week of work, then we got married and I could barely walk but I survived (our wedding hashtag was #AliFellForLumar haha! Seriously, look it up!) Then we went on our honey moon to St. Lucia, which my mom paid for through her timeshare and couldn't get a refund on... I was miserable, couldn't bend my leg AT ALL to sit properly on the airplane, couldn't actually do anything while we were there, except drink and sleep (which wasn't terribly terrible but still...)

But here's a pic from the wedding! It's one of my faves!



And since we couldn't have a Disney wedding, we tried to insert a few Disney things into it...We have custom wedding bands with the classic Hidden Mickey on them, and I walked down the aisle to a piano version of "See The Light" from Tangled.

And now here we are, almost two years later and my knee still hurts. Two different doctors have told me that nothing is torn or anything, and one of them even told me that it's not healing properly because I gained too much weight from not moving for 6 months after the fall (which, OK, yeah I gained weight...but I literally COULD NOT MOVE!). So I've been trying to eat better for the last few months, tracking what I'm eating, walking almost every day, etc. I'm concerned that all of the walking in Disney is going to be too much for me but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Here's another wedding pic because...well...why not lol



Oh, and I absolutely LOVE my new job. But they decided to combine our work space and they're moving my department back to the main building, which is twice the distance. So I'll be going back to the original commute but it's all good.

So that's my little life update and I'll be back tomorrow with some actual TRIP STUFF!! I wanted to start this today because we hit the 90 day mark but now today is basically over so we'll say we're at 89!


Goodnight!!! And thank you if you subscribe!


You can find the list of update links here
​

 

[xlsm]

Here and following along!! I have an October trip coming up too

Your wedding pictures are gorgeous!!

I am so sorry to hear about your knee, yikes! Looking forward to hearing about your plans...hooray for finally getting back to the World

 

[chunkymonkey]

Hi Ali! I'm here! Your wedding pics look BEAUTIFUL!! I was going to ask you to post some so yay!! (Please post more, LOL) Love your dress, hair, everything!
I'm so sorry about your knee! But hey, from the pictures you can't really tell which is what counts. And you can always do a honeymoon re-do.
Soo excited about your trip1 I guess you guys are celebrating your anniversary too! We are going to MNSSHP on our anniversary (Nov 1st) and I'm trying to figure out what to dress up as.

I hope your knee feels better! I ran (walked) the 5k in February on an ankle I fractured in January. So you'll be fine. Try doing Epsom Salt and dead sea salt soaks. I found they really helped too!

 

[Nermel9]

Hi I'm here, you're the only person I'll come out of DIS retirement for haha!

 

[Simba22]

Here and following along!! I have an October trip coming up too

Your wedding pictures are gorgeous!!

I am so sorry to hear about your knee, yikes! Looking forward to hearing about your plans...hooray for finally getting back to the World

Thank you for joining! October is the best time to go, IMO. But we are big Halloween people so I think we're biased lol

Thank you! I'm going to post some more in my next update (that I was supposed to do two days ago...oops )

It was so bad - I've dislocated my other knee a couple of times and it hurt but I've always been able to bounce back fairly quickly. With this one, it's just never ending. I'm convinced that there is something like a small tear or something in there that they can't see on the MRI but in order to find out for sure I'd have to have an arthroscopy and I can't afford it right now. So I might talk to my orthopedist about scheduling one for January or February after I get another deposit into my HSA lol

Hi Ali! I'm here! Your wedding pics look BEAUTIFUL!! I was going to ask you to post some so yay!! (Please post more, LOL) Love your dress, hair, everything!
I'm so sorry about your knee! But hey, from the pictures you can't really tell which is what counts. And you can always do a honeymoon re-do.
Soo excited about your trip1 I guess you guys are celebrating your anniversary too! We are going to MNSSHP on our anniversary (Nov 1st) and I'm trying to figure out what to dress up as.

I hope your knee feels better! I ran (walked) the 5k in February on an ankle I fractured in January. So you'll be fine. Try doing Epsom Salt and dead sea salt soaks. I found they really helped too!

Awww, thank you so much! I'll post a few more in my next update! My hair was freaking AMAZING but my photographer was not and he didn't take any pictures of it, despite the fact that I specifically asked him to. My dress has kind of a funny story behind it. I was DEAD SET that I was getting a DFTW dress, so I made my first appointment at the local Alfred Angelo store (such a shame about what happened to all their customers!), and tried on like 5 Disney dresses and I didn't love a single one. They looked so nice on the models in the ads but on me? Nope. We went to visit my mom in NC for Thanksgiving that year and she wanted to take me dress shopping so I made an appointment at this little boutique in SC, like an hour away from where she lives. I didn't like any of the dresses I picked out, finally the sales rep asked if she could make a suggestion and that was the dress I ended up with! It was love at first sight AND I got it with a Black Friday discount (even though it was actually the Saturday after). And with my veil I was only $35 over my dress budget so I was really happy!

My bathtub sucks so I've never tried the salt soaks but maybe I should. I just don't know what to do anymore! a day before it rains, it swells up really bad and gets really stiff and sore. When the winter comes... I know a week in advance if there is snow coming! It gets soooo sore. I think I'm definitely going to have to go for an arthroscopy after the new year to see what's really going on. The MRI doesn't show anything but I'm not convinced. This isn't normal.

Hi I'm here, you're the only person I'll come out of DIS retirement for haha!

lol!! You freakin' rock! You probably already know everything I'm going to say here haha!

 

[Simba22]

I forgot to reserve the second post for page links so they'll be here instead!

The Photographer Story - Wedding related, not really part of the PTR lol - added 7/22

87 Days to Go! - Some cool stuff I bought for our trip! - added 7/22

ADR Plans - Part 1! - added 7/23

ADR Plans - Part 2! - added 7/24

FastPass Day - added 8/18

ADR Changes and Life Stuff - added 10/9

 

[Simba22]

The Photographer Story

You can skip this part if you want, because it's not integral to the PTR...just something I'm still salty about, almost two years later lol


I wanted to share some more pics from our wedding but I feel I need to share the story about our photographer with you first I tried to narrow it down to the important bits so this is not even the full story...

I searched around online for several photographers and after speaking with a few of them, we went and met with the one who had the best price for the amount of time we needed. We'll call him Y. The pictures on the website were absolutely gorgeous and the guy seemed super nice. We signed our contract in April 2014, a year and half prior to the wedding, and we had to pay off the balance in like 3 installments over the next 18 months. No big deal. Our contract came with a free engagement session which we scheduled for October of 2014 so I could use the pictures for Save The Dates.

Fast forward to October...I emailed him and asked him what we should wear for the engagement session. He responded with "whatever you want." There was literally no guidance at all. I made it a point to tell him, both at our contract signing in April, and again in my email to him, that we wanted mostly candid shots. He kept telling me how beautiful the location was and that in the fall, we were going to have great foliage color in the background. We show up at our appointed time, on our appointed day, I reminded him again that I wanted candid shots. He acknowledged. We spent the next hour like this:

"Ok Alison, you sit here...Lumar you sit here... Heads together... smile...*click click click*...OK now switch places."

He made it a point, at least 3 times, to tell us that he had to leave by noon to get to a wedding for 1pm. Our appointment was at either 10 or 10:30am, so we felt rushed during the entire thing.

He called me a week later to come and look at the proofs. We were sitting in his studio and I felt kind of bad because I felt like all of the pictures just kind of looked the same to me, so we decided to just buy the CD with all of our pictures on it and review them again at home. This is when he tells me that the CD will cost $500.




FIVE


HUNDRED


DOLLARS


I said "our contract says that the engagement session was included in our package." He replies with "well yeah, the sitting, my time, was free...but if you want the pictures there is a charge for them."

We should have cut our losses right then and there, canceled our contract and left without paying him another dime. But we didn't know any better and we thought that WE were the ones who screwed up because we thought the pictures were included with the sitting, so we bought the CD.

In the end, he took 84 picture and only 4 of them were what could be considered "usable." He basically moved us around to about 7 different locations, took six pictures in one pose, switched us, took 6 more pictures, then we moved on to another spot. Additionally, he zoomed in so close to our faces that you cant even see the foliage, or anything else for that matter, in the background. He also took exactly ZERO candid shots. I was beyond upset but still thought that somehow it was MY fault. I didn't ask enough questions, I didn't speak up at the time of the sitting and say what I wanted, etc. I blamed myself, but ended up not even using the pictures for the Save The Date cards.

Fast Forward to March, he calls me to ask for the 2nd payment and asks me at that time if we've had our engagement session yet. I reminded him that we did and he apologized and said he didn't have his book in front of him.

Fast Forward to June, he calls me to ask for the 3rd payment. Asks me AGAIN if we've had our engagement session, claims AGAIN to not have his book in front of him.

Fast Forward to September. Seven weeks before the wedding. He calls me (at work) for the final payment. Asks AGAIN if we've had our engagement session. Then he says "oh, and you're photographer on the day of will be X." I'm thinking 'X? Who the heck is X? I've spoken to no one but Y for a year and a half....'

So after stewing about it for the next 4 hours, I get home and I call him back and I let him have it. From the failure to listen to my wishes about the engagement session, to asking me THREE TIMES afterwards if we had had one, to having the NERVE to CHARGE ME for the pictures. He said "well you weren't forced to buy the pictures." I think my exact reply was "But you never {bleeping} told me that they weren't {bleepng} included! We told you from Day {Bleeping} One that we were on a tight budget and we picked you because you had the best price. Why the {bleep} would I waste my {bleeping} time driving all the way the {bleep} down there, then waste another {bleeping} hour taking {bleeping} pictures that I then couldn't {bleeping} use? And by the way, I've contacted several other photographers who all told me that 'of course the prints are included with the engagement session, because that's the point of the engagement session.' Additionally, the point of the engagement session is for the photographer and the client to get to know each other so that they are more comfortable on the wedding day. And now you're telling me, for the first {bleeping} time in a year and a half, that you're {bleeping} sending someone else to photograph my wedding?!"

After I screamed at him for about 45 minutes, he asked me if I wanted to come back and reshoot the engagement session. I asked him if he was {bleeping} insane, that our wedding was in SEVEN WEEKS and the whole purpose was to use the pictures for Save The Date cards that went out in JUNE. I told him "I want the $500 we paid for the {bleeping} CD credited to the final cost of the wedding so that we essentially get the CD for free." He replied with "no, I can't do that." He asked me if I wanted a free enlargement instead. I reminded him that he had already included enlargements as part of our contract/package and our contract was also for all of our pictures on a CD so I could print enlargements any time I want to. He replied with "well mine are professional quality." At that point, I told him that his customer service was the absolute worst I had ever encountered (at which time he admitted to me that he doesn't keep any client records, he just has an excel spreadsheet with the client's name, phone number, wedding date, and balance due on it). I told him that obviously he had zero desire to make me happy despite my many complaints and issues, and that he could expect me to tell everyone I knew that he was a scam artist who preys on people who have no idea what they're doing." He seemed OK with that and told me he was sorry I felt that way. My awesome friend @Nermel9 offered to put me in touch with a friend of hers who is a photographer, because at this point I was seriously considering hiring an entirely new person for the job. In the end, I couldn't afford to pay for two photographers so I couldn't go through with it, but I so badly wanted to.

So the I talk to the actual photographer, X, who we've never met, I've never seen his work, nothing. He apologized to me on behalf of Y, and told me to email him a list of photographs I definitely wanted him to take on the day of, and a few example pictures of what I'd like for my bridal portraits. On top of all of this, a week before the wedding, I fall and injure my knee. Fast Forward to December when we received our CD. Not a single picture had been edited, and that's when I remembered that he hadn't gone by my list I gave him because there were several pictures I wanted to get taken and they weren't. So I called Y again, and cussed him out for charging me $2000 for pictures that he couldn't even bother to edit for me. I sat here putting together my own wedding album (because he wanted like $900 for an album of ten 8x10s...no thanks), wondering why I'm editing the pictures myself. He said that they usually wait for me to get back to them and tell them which pictures I want edited, because editing pictures "is extremely time consuming." Since then, other people have told me that the photographer, being the professional, is supposed to weed out any "bad" pictures, or any duplicates, and then edit everything else before they send them to you. I finally got "edited" pictures about a month later, and I honestly believe that the ones I edited myself came out better.

I ended up leaving a terrible review for him, he emailed me about it, and after a weeks worth of arguing, he agreed to refund me in full if I took the review down, and I had to promise not to write negative reviews of him anywhere else either (which is why I can't say his name here). I didn't want to accept it, on principle alone...because I know he is going to continue to take advantage of people like he did to us (and before I posted mine, I actually went back through the reviews and found MULTIPLE that were all identical to what we had experienced!). So the refund he sent us of $2400 paid for the Disney Trip that you're going to read about in this PTR. So since it's technically "wedding money" we;re considering it our "Honeymoon Do-Over," but it's also to celebrate our 2nd wedding anniversary. So I guess something good came out of it.

So all of our pictures are fairly boring but at least they were pretty enough to make an album (which cost me $35 on Mixbook, btw), but here are few good ones:


My brother Mike, my cousin Karla, Me, Lumar, my sister Stephanie, Lumar's brother, Robby, my cousin Toni, and my cousin Tom


I love this picture of my mom and my step-dad


Just me


This was our Christmas card that year lol

So that's that. Now on to the fun stuff!​

 

[Simba22]

87 Days To Go!






All I want to do, is pack our suitcases and get on a plane. Like, right now. Once we hit double-digits, I was a goner. My brain has checked out of reality and I'm just ready to be in WDW. Anyone else go into Vacation-Mode this earlier??

This year, we're renting DVC points and staying at Old Key West from 10/17 - 10/28. We stayed here in 2012 and we had a couple of problems during check in but overall, it was a nice place. I actually really liked it quite a bit and for this year I've actually requested the same room. I was thinking about retracting that request and asking to be somewhere else entirely, so we can see what other parts of the resort look like, but I haven't decided yet. The room request isn't guaranteed anyway so if we aren't getting our requested room when we check in, I might see if they can put us in another section. We'll see, I guess.

We really wanted to go back at AKL because we fell completely in love with it when we stayed there in 2013, but to upgrade from OKW to Savannah View AKL (which, let's face it, is the only way to stay at AKL), would have been an extra $700 and we just didn't have it this year. We did a split stay in 2013 (AKL for 4 days then BWV), but we were there for like 12 days or something and this year I couldn't take that much time off from work so doing a split stay wasn't really worth it to us. And again, we like OKW well enough (and, if I'm being blunt, it's the cheapest DVC property to stay at).

We leave on October 17 - Lumar has the day off but I had to work so I'm having him drop me off in the morning, then he can go home and take care of any last minute stuff (because we all know that there is ALWAYS last minute stuff), he'll pack up the car and then pick me up from work and we'll drive straight to the airport, although we'll have to stop and get dinner at some point. By the time we deplane, get to the DME counter, and actually get to OKW, it will probably be close to 11pm, and I get up for work at 5:30am so I'm gonna be asleep on my feet.

We were going to stick with just plain old Magic Bands since you get them for free with your reservation... But then they came out with a Simba one and I had to have it. So I bought it through the Shop Parks app.​

Lumar decided he wanted the Limited Edition Haunted Mansion band, which looks super cool.

Except that when we got it, we found that it was not only a Series 1 band, which he didn't want, but it had also been opened.... So I called Customer Service, and of course, the rep is all "no refunds or exchanges." So I told her that this one had clearly been opened and I wanted one that was new, sealed, in the package. She asked me to take some pictures, email them to her, and she would review it with her manager and call me back.


See the tape?? And the stupid thing isn't even in the plastic the right way, it's upside down!


And that plastic part isn't even sealed within the cardboard!


More tape and someone tried to staple it closed??

The rep calls me back a couple days later and says that her manager told her that "they have to open them so that you can link it to your MDE account." I told her that didn't make any sense. I hung up and called back, and asked for a supervisor. The supervisor told me that she would let e exchange it for the same one. I told her that was fine, I just wanted one that was sealed in the packaging I mean, what if this was going to be a gift for someone, you know?? So they sent me a return label and I sent it back. We got the replacement earlier this week.




I am so not kidding.

This is exactly how it arrived.

In a ziplock bag. No packaging all all.


So I called back and spoke to a very nice rep - told him what happened and after several seconds of silence, he agreed that this was completely unacceptable and he told me he would send me another label and I could send it back and get a full refund. Which is perfect because now we can get Lumar a Series 2 band, which he wanted anyway.


In other news, I've already bought some cute stuff for our trip! I have three pairs of Minnie Ears I'll be bringing:


Haunter Mansion/Halloween



Disney Dooney & Bourke It's A Small World



And BB-8! Because he's so stinkin' cute!

And I got this super adorable Simba necklace set!



I'm a fan of the Disney Dooney & Bourke bags but I only have a few because they're expensive and I need to be picky about which ones I get. Lumar bought my a Haunted Mansion one for Christmas two years ago, and @Nermel9 helped me out with ordering a Dumbo bag earlier this year. I absolutely ADORE both bags, but now they've finally announc ed that the F & W bags for this year will have Figment on them!




The white one is only available to AP holders so I'm really hoping I can find someone on The DIS who can help me out! I like the blue one, I just prefer the white one so if anyone knows someone with an AP who will be at WDW at the same time as me, please beg them on my behalf lol!

And don't think I didn't peep those Figment ears all the way to the right of the picture.


So that's it for now, but I'll be back either tomorrow or Monday to start digging into our plans! ​

 

[Simba22]

ADR Plans!

I have to admit, booking ADRs is my favorite part of the planning process. I don't know why, and a lot of non-Disney people don't understand how I can choose something to eat for breakfast/lunch/dinner 6 months from now, but I can't decide what to eat today. I think it really is just one of those weird Disney Things!

I also have no idea how to use the new FP+ system. The last time we went to WDW, it was still in the development stage and hadn't been rolled out yet in it's entirety. So I'm really not looking forward to booking those, simply because I have no idea WTH I'm doing.

So since that's scary and overwhelming, let's talk about food instead!


Tuesday 10/17:
I have to actually work on the day we leave, so we have to take a late flight. We won't even arrive in Orlando until, I think, about 8:30pm. Which means that by the time we actually arrive at OKW, it will be late - probably 10pm, at the earliest. I'm imagining falling face first, comatose, into my pillow immediately upon entry into our room, and sleeping soundly until Wednesday morning.

Wednesday 10/18:
We opted to not get park hoppers this year, since there is going to be a ton of new stuff that we haven't seen/done. So we'll be spending all day at Epcot! I'll snag some breakfast either at the OKW QS, or at Seasons once we arrive at the park. The only FP I care about getting at this point in time is for Soarin', but I'll probably get one for LWTL as well. Other than that, I'm all set with FPs. I want to try and get here for Rope Drope so that we can hopefully ride Soarin' through the standby line once, before using our FPs.
Lunch: Rose & Crown - probably my favorite restaurant in all of WDW. I love the outdoor seating, the food is always perfect, the service is impeccable, and, perhaps most importantly, The Welsh Dragon
Dinner: We always eat at San Angel Inn but we decided to try the Hacienda this year since we've never been there. I'm looking forward to trying it out!


Thursday 10/19:
This will be an AK day, but we didn't make any ADRs. I printed out a list of all of the QS places for AK, MK, and DHS, and what they serve at each location so that we can try and eat more QS meals during our trip. There are a lot of new places that have opened since the last time we were here, but even most of the old places have new items on their menus! So I'm looking forward to playing it by ear this day, especially since we're going to be exploring Pandora with about a billion other people, I don't want to be committed to eating at a certain time in case we're stuck in a line, you know? Depending on what FPs we can get, we might either go back to OKW in the middle of the day for a break, or see if we can sneak into Yak & Yeti for lunch. I definitely don't mind eating QS, but if we have a while to wait for a FP time, why not?


Friday 10/20:
Today will be DHS all day, and again, NO ADRs! I thought about going back to Beaches & Cream, which we did last time, but after we ate we ended up going back to OKW and never went back to the park. I don't want to risk that again, but I know how we are and that's exactly what we'll do if we leave the park. So we'll hit up some of the new QS options and make sure that we stick it out for a full day because I want to see Fantasmic.


Saturday 10/21:
I had originally planned this as a resort day, but.... We originally were only going to buy 9-day tickets. But I was able to snag 10-day tickets for like $15 less than the 9-day passes so we bought those and turned our resort day into a Magic Kingdom day instead!
Breakfast: Kona Cafe
I don't necessarily need to be at MK for Rope Drop. I want to get FPs for 7DMT for sure, since we've never been on it and then whatever else we can get I'll be happy with. And we'll stay for HEA since we've never seen it!

I'll leave off here for tonight sine it's almost 11:30 and I have to get up for work in 6 hours More tomorrow!​

 

[ariane37]

Hi Ali! I know you posted on my PTR and I just noticed you have this going

Long story short, I dislocated my knee cap and badly injured all of the meaty stuff in my knee.

Ugh, what crappy timing! Not that it would be a good injury at any time. My older son partially dislocated his knee cap in Feb. during a school basketball game so he was out the rest of the season. While not nearly as bad as your injury it sucked, was painful, and also was a big blow to him emotionally because he was having a great season on all 3 of his teams and then it just - ended. Luckily with PT he's now all mended and back to basketball and even training for the upcoming football season, but I expect at some point the injury will come back to haunt him.

staying at Old Key West from 10/17 - 10/28. We stayed here in 2012 and we had a couple of problems during check in but overall, it was a nice place.

OKW was our first on property stay back in 2007

We really wanted to go back at AKL because we fell completely in love with it

My 2nd favorite resort! Beautiful and relaxing.

I'm a fan of the Disney Dooney & Bourke bags but I only have a few because they're expensive and I need to be picky about which ones I get. Lumar bought my a Haunted Mansion one for Christmas two years ago,

I LOVE D&B bags! I have 4: a HM crossbody, the Runway Princess satchel, and older Disneyana satchel and just recently I got the PoTC satchel. I think I'll be bringing the HM crossbody on our trip next month.

I also have no idea how to use the new FP+ system. The last time we went to WDW, it was still in the development stage and hadn't been rolled out yet in it's entirety. So I'm really not looking forward to booking those, simply because I have no idea WTH I'm doing.

lol, it's not that bad! You'll get the hang of it quickly. If you want Flights of Passage at AK I do recommend starting with whatever day(s) you're looking to get it for because it's been super hard to get; many people can't find any available times for it and others do find times but for later in the day. 7DMT can also be tricky so put that day or those days after your FoP day(s). And if you want a FP for Frozen Ever After that should be made after the other ones I mentioned, too.

This will be an AK day, but we didn't make any ADRs. I printed out a list of all of the QS places for AK, MK, and DHS, and what they serve at each location so that we can try and eat more QS meals during our trip.

If anything in Harambe Market interests you in AK and you don't get in to Y&Y, I suggest eating there. The food is great and so is the atmosphere

That whole MB thing is ridiculous! So glad it's finally getting worked out because it's completely unacceptable. Disney makes mistakes yes, and it's good to see when they make right on those mistakes.

 

[Simba22]

Hi Ali! I know you posted on my PTR and I just noticed you have this going

Thanks for hopping over!

Ugh, what crappy timing! Not that it would be a good injury at any time. My older son partially dislocated his knee cap in Feb. during a school basketball game so he was out the rest of the season. While not nearly as bad as your injury it sucked, was painful, and also was a big blow to him emotionally because he was having a great season on all 3 of his teams and then it just - ended. Luckily with PT he's now all mended and back to basketball and even training for the upcoming football season, but I expect at some point the injury will come back to haunt him.

I've dislocated my left knee three times and it's always bounced back. Of course, that was before I turned 30. Everyone always says things like 30 is the new 20 but I feel like I'm 90. Once I hit 30, everything just stopped working. My knee won't heal, I can't lose weight, I'm tired all the time... The average lifespan of a female in the US is 79 years. I don't know if I have another 45 years left in me lol.

The first ortho I saw told me that the chances of dislocating again increase every time you do it, because you're hyperextending the tendons. There's a corrective surgery they can do, which will apply to my $1500 deductible... but that's half a Disney trip right there. Priorities, you know?

OKW was our first on property stay back in 2007

It was the first DVC resort we stayed at, and it was for my family trip back in 2012 with 8 people. It worked out really well, it's a cute and quiet little place, and you can't beat the rates!

My 2nd favorite resort! Beautiful and relaxing.

AKL is definitely my Number 1, but I live and breathe for animals (I've been doing rescue since 2005). I could stay there for a week and just sit on the balcony watching the animals graze, and trying to convince a CM to let me pet an Eland lol

I LOVE D&B bags! I have 4: a HM crossbody, the Runway Princess satchel, and older Disneyana satchel and just recently I got the PoTC satchel. I think I'll be bringing the HM crossbody on our trip next month.

I knew there was something I forgot to comment on in your PTR! Your pirates bag!!! I love love love that bag! There are like 4 that I want right now, including that one...plus the IASW bag, Walk In The Park, and the F & W bag. I can only get one so F & W is going to take priority since it's LE but I'm hoping to convince someone to get me with the IASW or Pirates for my birthday or Christmas.

lol, it's not that bad! You'll get the hang of it quickly. If you want Flights of Passage at AK I do recommend starting with whatever day(s) you're looking to get it for because it's been super hard to get; many people can't find any available times for it and others do find times but for later in the day. 7DMT can also be tricky so put that day or those days after your FoP day(s). And if you want a FP for Frozen Ever After that should be made after the other ones I mentioned, too.

I definitely don't need FPs for Frozen...not our thing. And I have no issues with FPs later in the day since we're not doing Park Hoppers this year. I just want to get on everything without wasting an hour (or more ) waiting in the standby line. The only line I've every waited in standby for (since we discovered FP back in 2005) was Soarin'. And that's my all-time favorite ride ever in the whole wide world. I refuse to wait longer than 45 minutes for anything else.

If anything in Harambe Market interests you in AK and you don't get in to Y&Y, I suggest eating there. The food is great and so is the atmosphere

Yes! I have their menu printed out and it's definitely a possibility. We're just gonna wing it and see what happens, although I am obsessed with Y & Y so if we can't get in for a walk-up I'll probably be boring and predictable and go to Y & Y Local Foods lol Just because that honey chicken is so dang good. But I'm trying to convince myself that I'm going to branch out this year with my food choices.

That whole MB thing is ridiculous! So glad it's finally getting worked out because it's completely unacceptable. Disney makes mistakes yes, and it's good to see when they make right on those mistakes.

OMG The conversation I had with the first rep in Customer Service was so ridiculous. She told me that her supervisor told her that "they have to open them so that we can link them to your MDE account." Which I told her only made sense if I was actually at WDW and I asked a CM to link it for me (which they won't even do anymore, I read). Then she tells me that they ship out from a warehouse that isn't owned by Disney, and the employees there are not Disney employees. At which point, I asked her why a non-Disney employee at a non-Disney warehouse was opening my merchandise prior to shipping it? And then I asked her how, even if what she had mentioned earlier about them having to open it to link it was true, they intended to link it to my MDE account without any of my MDE information. She just kept repeating herself and it sounded to me like she wasn't even believing what she was telling me, so I hung up and called back and spoke to a supervisor. I made it abundantly clear that I wanted a new in-package item. She confirmed that they still had them in stock (and I asked because it's a LE design), and then I get one in a freaking ziplock bag. The poor kid I talked to last Monday when I opened that box...he was amazed at the absurdity of my story lol! But it's going back today and we'll either order him another one or just wait until we're there and he can pick one out from a store. Just such an unnecessary headache!

 

[Simba22]

ADR Plans - continued



Moving forward with my current ADR/park plans:

Sunday 10/22:
This will be an Epcot day, with NO ADRs! Absolutely ZERO. We wanted an entire day to devote to the F & W Festival so I'm really looking forward to this day. There are so many booths this year, and so many things I want to eat and drink! I'm not a beer person and I think I'm probably the only person in existence who does NOT like the Grey Goose/Grand Marnier slushies... So I look forward to F & W when they have more of a variety of adult beverage that I can try. I usually really like the frozen coladas so I'll be on the lookout for those.


Monday 10/23:
We'll be spending another full day at DHS, with hopefully another Fantasmic viewing, and we only have one ADR scheduled.
Lunch: Sci-Fi Dine In Theater
We have weird reservation time..it's too late to really be considered lunch but it's too early to be dinner. I thought about trying to change it but I figured it might actually work out in our favor, because we might be able to snag FPs for something before we head to the cattle pasture also known as the Fantasmic Queue Area Rosie's used to serve breakfast in the mornings but according to most recent menu I have, they don't anymore. I'll check for updated menus again before we leave...I'm hoping they start offering it again.


Tuesday 10/24:
Today is another MK day and once again, we have NO ADRs! I'll probably get breakfast at Main Street Starbucks, eat at least one meal at CHH, and then pick up dinner at either Tomorrowland Terrace or Pinocchio's (which has had surprisingly good food in the past).


Wednesday 10/25:
Today is our actual anniversary, we'll be spending the entire day at Epcot again, and I have a really big surprise planned for Lumar! We have two ADRs scheduled for this day:
Breakfast: Garden Grill - which we have never been to before and are super excited about. Like, I'm REALLY hyped for this one!
Dinner: Le Cellier - which we HAVE been to before and I'm only kinda sorta excited about. We ate there in 2013 on our last trip and it was PHENOMENAL. Absolutely, hands down, culinary perfection. But... I do NOT eat steak. I had the Alaskan Halibut on our previous visit and it was so freaking good that my mouth literally waters when I remember it. But they've taken it off the menu and as it currently stands, nothing else really appeals to me. However, I have read in several places that because it's a Signature Restaurant, the menu changes frequently and it's highly likely that by October, there will be something on there that I want. So I'm sticking it out and I know I'll enjoy whatever I get. I was considering getting us a cute little cake to celebrate our anniversary but I'm thinking I'd rather go somewhere else and jut get small dessert...like gelato or a canoli from Italy, or maybe something from Germany...decisions, decisions....


Thursday 10/26:
Today will be an Animal Kingdom day again, but we'll be heading over to Disney Springs for our one and only ADR...
Dinner: Raglan Road
I was considering going to one of the new restaurants like the Boat House, maybe, but there's a reason I picked Raglan Road...I just can't share it yet Lumar does have a DIS account and I know he never ever uses it...but it will be my luck that I'll spill the surprises here and he'll get curious and login to read it. So nothing will be revealed until we come back, just in case!


Friday 10/27:
This is our last official day in WDW. We'll spend most of the day at DHS, again, no ADRs, then it's FINALLY time or MNSSHP! I'm didn't want to do it on our last night, but again, there's a reason. I'm trying to convince him to let us buy tickets for a 2nd party earlier in the week but at $100 a piece, he's at a good solid "no" at this point. And since I can't tell him why I want to do another one, without ruining the surprises I have planned, he's not feeling too enticed to change his mind. We do have one ADR scheduled for dinner before the party starts.
Dinner: Be Our Guest
We ate here in 2013 and had an OK time. There are reasons involving my anniversary surprises that we are going back, but also, a lot of reviews have said that things had gotten better over the last couple of years. When we went in 2013 they had literally JUST opened and I think they were just still trying to get their crap together. Hopefully, this time will be much better.


Saturday 10/28:
Today is our check out day sadly. But we have a late flight back home so we'll spend the day at Disney Springs. I'm fairly certain we'll eat breakfast at Olivia's at OKW and then grab lunch at EoS before heading back to the resort to catch our DME bus.


So that's it on ADR and park plans - less than a month to go until we can make our FP reservations! ​

 

[Luna_Belle]

Hey Ali! This is my first real post on this site and your PTR really stood out to me!

So on Monday, October 19, I got up super early and headed out of our apartment to my car to leave for my first day. We have a steel disabled ramp leading from our building to the parking lot and as I stepped onto it, I noticed that all the cars in the parking lot were covered in frost. Before I could finish the thought that "I wish I started my car", my foot slipped out from under me and I went down HARD on the steel ramp, which was coated in about half an inch of ice. In mid-October. Long story short, I dislocated my knee cap and badly injured all of the meaty stuff in my knee. A week before my wedding. On the first day of my new job. I'll spare you the pictures.

I had a very similar injury in December 2016 where I dislocated my knee and had some sort of tear that I (thankfully) didn't need surgery for so I feel your pain! I really hope it doesn't affect anything on this lovely trip you're planning!

But here's a pic from the wedding! It's one of my faves!

These wedding photos are absolutely beautiful!

This year, we're renting DVC points and staying at Old Key West from 10/17 - 10/28. We stayed here in 2012 and we had a couple of problems during check in but overall, it was a nice place. I actually really liked it quite a bit and for this year I've actually requested the same room. I was thinking about retracting that request and asking to be somewhere else entirely, so we can see what other parts of the resort look like, but I haven't decided yet. The room request isn't guaranteed anyway so if we aren't getting our requested room when we check in, I might see if they can put us in another section. We'll see, I guess.

OKW is my familys home resort and I don't think we've stayed anywhere else since we were toddlers lol. We always request the area near the Hospitality House since the resort is so big and we love being close to the main pool area. It's such a beautiful resort and I can really go on and on about how much I love it lol.

I'm really looking forward to reading along!

 

[chunkymonkey]

OK all caught up now!

First of all, so sorry about your photographer story. As a former photographer, that does not sound like good customer service at all. He probably had no idea what he was doing, which is unfortunate. But looks like you got some beautiful pictures. Your wedding colors are so pretty!

All I want to do, is pack our suitcases and get on a plane. Like, right now. Once we hit double-digits, I was a goner. My brain has checked out of reality and I'm just ready to be in WDW. Anyone else go into Vacation-Mode this earlier??

Oh I've been on vacation mode for like, a year. LOL.

This year, we're renting DVC points and staying at Old Key West from 10/17 - 10/28. We stayed here in 2012 and we had a couple of problems during check in but overall, it was a nice place. I actually really liked it quite a bit and for this year I've actually requested the same room. I was thinking about retracting that request and asking to be somewhere else entirely, so we can see what other parts of the resort look like, but I haven't decided yet. The room request isn't guaranteed anyway so if we aren't getting our requested room when we check in, I might see if they can put us in another section. We'll see, I guess.

We really wanted to go back at AKL because we fell completely in love with it when we stayed there in 2013, but to upgrade from OKW to Savannah View AKL (which, let's face it, is the only way to stay at AKL), would have been an extra $700 and we just didn't have it this year. We did a split stay in 2013 (AKL for 4 days then BWV), but we were there for like 12 days or something and this year I couldn't take that much time off from work so doing a split stay wasn't really worth it to us. And again, we like OKW well enough (and, if I'm being blunt, it's the cheapest DVC property to stay at).

I've always wanted to stay at OKW. Last time I stayed at AKL but not a Savannah-view but it was the same price as POFQ so we decided to go with that. I like how you're so close to Disney Springs! It's so much easier when Disney Springs is easy to get to.

Except that when we got it, we found that it was not only a Series 1 band, which he didn't want, but it had also been opened.... So I called Customer Service, and of course, the rep is all "no refunds or exchanges." So I told her that this one had clearly been opened and I wanted one that was new, sealed, in the package. She asked me to take some pictures, email them to her, and she would review it with her manager and call me back.

That's crazy. I can't believe they would deem it ok to send out.

I am so not kidding.

This is exactly how it arrived.

In a ziplock bag. No packaging all all.

OMG that is ridiculous, I'm glad you finally got your refund!

Haunter Mansion/Halloween



Disney Dooney & Bourke It's A Small World



And BB-8! Because he's so stinkin' cute!

And I got this super adorable Simba necklace set!

Such cute ears! I should maybe get some ears too but every set of ears I buy falls off my head. I have a weird shaped head I think. So maybe no ears for me.

I'm a fan of the Disney Dooney & Bourke bags but I only have a few because they're expensive and I need to be picky about which ones I get. Lumar bought my a Haunted Mansion one for Christmas two years ago, and @Nermel9 helped me out with ordering a Dumbo bag earlier this year. I absolutely ADORE both bags, but now they've finally announc ed that the F & W bags for this year will have Figment on them!

So cute! I had a figment bag last year from flower and garden but I sold it to another DISboarder. I felt like it was such a pretty bag but it wasn't really me. I ended up with a princess bag from the 1/2 marathon weekend this year. Which is too small for me to use as a park bag LOL.

I have to admit, booking ADRs is my favorite part of the planning process. I don't know why, and a lot of non-Disney people don't understand how I can choose something to eat for breakfast/lunch/dinner 6 months from now, but I can't decide what to eat today. I think it really is just one of those weird Disney Things!

It is! I can't tell you what I had for breakfast but I can tell you what I ate at CHH two years ago...
and same with planning out ADRs. It's just something we DISers do!

Breakfast: Garden Grill - which we have never been to before and are super excited about. Like, I'm REALLY hyped for this one!

LOVED our breakfast here. That cinnamon roll bake thing-y was sooo good!

Dinner: Le Cellier - which we HAVE been to before and I'm only kinda sorta excited about. We ate there in 2013 on our last trip and it was PHENOMENAL. Absolutely, hands down, culinary perfection. But... I do NOT eat steak. I had the Alaskan Halibut on our previous visit and it was so freaking good that my mouth literally waters when I remember it. But they've taken it off the menu and as it currently stands, nothing else really appeals to me. However, I have read in several places that because it's a Signature Restaurant, the menu changes frequently and it's highly likely that by October, there will be something on there that I want. So I'm sticking it out and I know I'll enjoy whatever I get. I was considering getting us a cute little cake to celebrate our anniversary but I'm thinking I'd rather go somewhere else and jut get small dessert...like gelato or a canoli from Italy, or maybe something from Germany...decisions, decisions....

I haven't been here for a while! But I did not know you didn't eat steak! Do you not eat red meat at all?

We ate here in 2013 and had an OK time. There are reasons involving my anniversary surprises that we are going back, but also, a lot of reviews have said that things had gotten better over the last couple of years. When we went in 2013 they had literally JUST opened and I think they were just still trying to get their crap together. Hopefully, this time will be much better.

Can't wait to hear what this anniversary surprise is...
I'm sure it'll be fabulous! My anniversary surprise to Steve is that he'll be paying for our dinner at Victoria and Alberts.

 

[Simba22]

Hey Ali! This is my first real post on this site and your PTR really stood out to me!

OMG thank you so much!! I'm so honored!! Welcome to The DIS!!

I had a very similar injury in December 2016 where I dislocated my knee and had some sort of tear that I (thankfully) didn't need surgery for so I feel your pain! I really hope it doesn't affect anything on this lovely trip you're planning!

Ugh it suuuuuuccccks!!!! I'm sitting here right now with ice on it because it's super swollen. All because I stood at the kitchen sink for 15 minutes washing dishes. So annoying! If it's not better by the time we come back from Florida (which I doubt since it's been almost 2 years at this point...what's another 2 months gonna do?) then I'll make an appointment to see the ortho again basically demand an arthroscopy. Something is definitely wrong in there.

These wedding photos are absolutely beautiful!

Thank you so much! That day was definitely the prettiest I've ever felt in my life!

OKW is my familys home resort and I don't think we've stayed anywhere else since we were toddlers lol. We always request the area near the Hospitality House since the resort is so big and we love being close to the main pool area. It's such a beautiful resort and I can really go on and on about how much I love it lol.

I really do like OKW a lot. It's just so mellow and peaceful! I've been dreaming about "my balcony" for months now lol

I'm really looking forward to reading along!

Thank you so much for joining in!

OK all caught up now!

First of all, so sorry about your photographer story. As a former photographer, that does not sound like good customer service at all. He probably had no idea what he was doing, which is unfortunate. But looks like you got some beautiful pictures. Your wedding colors are so pretty!

He was soooo obnoxious. He literally told me about 14 times during all of my conversations with him, including via email, that he's been "doing this for over 20 years," and that "he always makes sure to tell everyone what his policies are and how he works with part of a team," and how "no one has ever brought anything like this to his attention." Which is complete BS because I read reviews online that were IDENTICAL to mine. I told him he was a liar and he said to me "I'm sorry that you feel that way." Yeah. Right. I'm sure you do. Such a jerk!

Oh I've been on vacation mode for like, a year. LOL.

LOL!! I swear, all I think about is WDW. I made a list of stuff I have to remember to buy (like sunscreen and bug repellent) and when I ran out of things to do for THIS trip, I started planning next years. I'm super excited because my department at work is moving to another location next week, and where I sit at the new place is soooo secluded. I'm against a wall/windows so people can only approach my desk from one side and no one can sneak up behind me. So I can basically do all the Disney planning I want and no one will know lol Oh man I have a serious problem lol

I've always wanted to stay at OKW. Last time I stayed at AKL but not a Savannah-view but it was the same price as POFQ so we decided to go with that. I like how you're so close to Disney Springs! It's so much easier when Disney Springs is easy to get to.

It really is super nice. The BW felt very fast-paced to me, AKL just has a lot of energy in the air, neither of which are bad things! But OKW has almost an "island time" feel to it. No one is ever rushing anywhere, the colors are super relaxing...it's just so chill.

That's crazy. I can't believe they would deem it ok to send out.

OMG that is ridiculous, I'm glad you finally got your refund!

Seriously...I don't understand what was going through their minds. I really feel like the original got returned to the warehouse, the notes in the system said "customer complained about packaging" and they just opened it completely, put in the ziplock and sent it back to me. Just completely absurd. I mailed it back to them yesterday so hopefully the credit will show up on the credit card in a day or two. I just can't get over how ridiculous this entire situation was.

Such cute ears! I should maybe get some ears too but every set of ears I buy falls off my head. I have a weird shaped head I think. So maybe no ears for me.

I went crazy looking for those Halloween ears in 2013 and couldn't find them anywhere. Halloween 2014 rolls around and they pop up on the Disney Store website lol I always have a problem with ears being too tight so I usually have to take them off for a little while and give my head a rest lol

So cute! I had a figment bag last year from flower and garden but I sold it to another DISboarder. I felt like it was such a pretty bag but it wasn't really me. I ended up with a princess bag from the 1/2 marathon weekend this year. Which is too small for me to use as a park bag LOL.

I had a DL Disneyana bag that I bought from someone on the DDB FB group and I never used it so I ended up selling it. And I have the small balloons bag that I also bought from the FB group and I think I've used it twice. It's way too small for me but I bought it used so it's a little worn out and I'm having a hard time selling it. I need the money to put towards the Figment bag though so I think I'll work on trying to clean it up this weekend.

It is! I can't tell you what I had for breakfast but I can tell you what I ate at CHH two years ago...and same with planning out ADRs. It's just something we DISers do!

OMG seriously! I can't remember things that Lumar and I talked about earlier today but I can tell you what restaurants I have scheduled, and at what times, for almost 3 months from now for a 10 day period. Priorities, right!?

LOVED our breakfast here. That cinnamon roll bake thing-y was sooo good!

Everyone I talk to says that it's fantastic so I'm REALLY excited about this one! Plus we'll get into the park before it opens!

I haven't been here for a while! But I did not know you didn't eat steak! Do you not eat red meat at all?

I like ground beef...burgers, tacos, meatballs, etc...but even those things I can't eat a lot of. Lumar will eat 2 dozen meatballs in one sitting if he has his way. I have like just 2 and I'm all set. I've just never been a fan of steak, ever since I was a kid, or pork for that matter. I can eat bacon and sausage, or shredded pork, but not pork chops. I'd rather have chicken or fish. Or pizza lol. And I honestly know that I will thoroughly enjoy whatever I get, I just want it to be that Halibut again because it was SO FREAKING DELICIOUS.

Can't wait to hear what this anniversary surprise is...
I'm sure it'll be fabulous! My anniversary surprise to Steve is that he'll be paying for our dinner at Victoria and Alberts.

OMG that literally made me laugh out loud! Poor Steve hahahaha! It's not a crazy surprise...he's not getting a Ferrari or anything lol There's just some things happening that he doesn't know about! The good part is that it won't cost us any extra money!

 

[chunkymonkey]

He was soooo obnoxious. He literally told me about 14 times during all of my conversations with him, including via email, that he's been "doing this for over 20 years," and that "he always makes sure to tell everyone what his policies are and how he works with part of a team," and how "no one has ever brought anything like this to his attention." Which is complete BS because I read reviews online that were IDENTICAL to mine. I told him he was a liar and he said to me "I'm sorry that you feel that way." Yeah. Right. I'm sure you do. Such a jerk!

What a jerk. Sorry you had to go through that. Hopefully your negative review made him rethink his ways and other brides won't book him for their wedding.

LOL!! I swear, all I think about is WDW. I made a list of stuff I have to remember to buy (like sunscreen and bug repellent) and when I ran out of things to do for THIS trip, I started planning next years. I'm super excited because my department at work is moving to another location next week, and where I sit at the new place is soooo secluded. I'm against a wall/windows so people can only approach my desk from one side and no one can sneak up behind me. So I can basically do all the Disney planning I want and no one will know lol Oh man I have a serious problem lol

They have bug repellent at the parks for free. It's around the area of guest services, and I've also seen it around mousegears and international gateway. Just an FYI. Although I do bring my own, because there were these giant bugs at AKL that terrified me. I have a bug phobia.

I always have a problem with ears being too tight so I usually have to take them off for a little while and give my head a rest lol

Yeah me too, and I've lost ears that way because I take them off and forget where I put them!

I had a DL Disneyana bag that I bought from someone on the DDB FB group and I never used it so I ended up selling it. And I have the small balloons bag that I also bought from the FB group and I think I've used it twice. It's way too small for me but I bought it used so it's a little worn out and I'm having a hard time selling it. I need the money to put towards the Figment bag though so I think I'll work on trying to clean it up this weekend.

That's cool, I've always loved the Disneyana purse. I have The Force Awakens satchel. I really wanted the all black Star Wars but before I knew it, they were all sold out and I don't want to pay more for it on ebay.

OMG seriously! I can't remember things that Lumar and I talked about earlier today but I can tell you what restaurants I have scheduled, and at what times, for almost 3 months from now for a 10 day period. Priorities, right!?

Yes, for sure! Someone has to remember all the important things, right?

Everyone I talk to says that it's fantastic so I'm REALLY excited about this one! Plus we'll get into the park before it opens!

OMG that is the best! The PPO breakfast at GG was awesome. I do have a GG breakfast in a few weeks but not PPO because I don't think my family wants to wake up that early (they obviously don't have their priorities straight).

I like ground beef...burgers, tacos, meatballs, etc...but even those things I can't eat a lot of. Lumar will eat 2 dozen meatballs in one sitting if he has his way. I have like just 2 and I'm all set. I've just never been a fan of steak, ever since I was a kid, or pork for that matter. I can eat bacon and sausage, or shredded pork, but not pork chops. I'd rather have chicken or fish. Or pizza lol. And I honestly know that I will thoroughly enjoy whatever I get, I just want it to be that Halibut again because it was SO FREAKING DELICIOUS.

Ah ok, you have me intrigued with this Halibut! I hope it's back on the menu or something similar will be offered. At least Lumar will be happy he has a steak! I don't eat a lot of red meat, but I do like ground beef and there was one point I didn't actually eat steak. (Pre-college) but after I tasted my first real good steak, it was a game-changer.

OMG that literally made me laugh out loud! Poor Steve hahahaha! It's not a crazy surprise...he's not getting a Ferrari or anything lol There's just some things happening that he doesn't know about! The good part is that it won't cost us any extra money!

I know, I'm so nice, huh?
Can't wait to hear the big reveal!

 

[Raeven]

Hi Just found your PTR and caught up!

Long story short, I dislocated my knee cap and badly injured all of the meaty stuff in my knee. A week before my wedding. On the first day of my new job. I'll spare you the pictures.

Oh no!

So I missed that entire first week of work, then we got married and I could barely walk but I survived (our wedding hashtag was #AliFellForLumar haha!

At least you got a cute hashtag out of it

Here's another wedding pic because...well...why not lol

Aw that's a nice picture. You look so pretty!

This is when he tells me that the CD will cost $500.

what?! No way!

So after stewing about it for the next 4 hours, I get home and I call him back and I let him have it. From the failure to listen to my wishes about the engagement session, to asking me THREE TIMES afterwards if we had had one, to having the NERVE to CHARGE ME for the pictures. He said "well you weren't forced to buy the pictures." I think my exact reply was "But you never {bleeping} told me that they weren't {bleepng} included! We told you from Day {Bleeping} One that we were on a tight budget and we picked you because you had the best price. Why the {bleep} would I waste my {bleeping} time driving all the way the {bleep} down there, then waste another {bleeping} hour taking {bleeping} pictures that I then couldn't {bleeping} use? And by the way, I've contacted several other photographers who all told me that 'of course the prints are included with the engagement session, because that's the point of the engagement session.' Additionally, the point of the engagement session is for the photographer and the client to get to know each other so that they are more comfortable on the wedding day. And now you're telling me, for the first {bleeping} time in a year and a half, that you're {bleeping} sending someone else to photograph my wedding?!"

I think this was necessary. He wasn't listening to you at all. And for something you pay for, for such a special day that's unacceptable. He sounds like a nightmare.

Since then, other people have told me that the photographer, being the professional, is supposed to weed out any "bad" pictures, or any duplicates, and then edit everything else before they send them to you. I finally got "edited" pictures about a month later, and I honestly believe that the ones I edited myself came out better.

I thought that's what they did. Anyone can edit photos nowadays too so you think they'd offer something extra special. I'm sorry it turned out so badly.

I ended up leaving a terrible review for him, he emailed me about it, and after a weeks worth of arguing, he agreed to refund me in full if I took the review down, and I had to promise not to write negative reviews of him anywhere else either (which is why I can't say his name here). I didn't want to accept it, on principle alone...because I know he is going to continue to take advantage of people like he did to us (and before I posted mine, I actually went back through the reviews and found MULTIPLE that were all identical to what we had experienced!). So the refund he sent us of $2400 paid for the Disney Trip that you're going to read about in this PTR. So since it's technically "wedding money" we;re considering it our "Honeymoon Do-Over," but it's also to celebrate our 2nd wedding anniversary. So I guess something good came out of it.

I think it's very tacky/uncomfortable when people ask you take down negative reviews. A real business would never do that. Still if he was offering a refund that's enough to cover a vacation I think you made the right call.

Anyone else go into Vacation-Mode this earlier??

Yes

I am so not kidding.

This is exactly how it arrived.

In a ziplock bag. No packaging all all.

That's pretty weird.

And don't think I didn't peep those Figment ears all the way to the right of the picture.

I took a screenshot of them they're so cute!

 

[Simba22]

What a jerk. Sorry you had to go through that. Hopefully your negative review made him rethink his ways and other brides won't book him for their wedding.

Well I had to take down my review in order to get my full refund, which part of me regrets but the other part is like "screw that, WE'RE GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!!" There were a lot of other negative reviews up, that were identical to mine, so I hope people just read far enough back. I took the money so I can't do anything to help them now lol!

They have bug repellent at the parks for free. It's around the area of guest services, and I've also seen it around mousegears and international gateway. Just an FYI. Although I do bring my own, because there were these giant bugs at AKL that terrified me. I have a bug phobia.

Ohhhh yes I remember hearing about that! Thanks for the reminder. I will probably still bring my own, just so I have it. Mosquitos love me so I have to make sure I'm fully cloaked in Eau de Off lol And yeah, I have a bug phobia too! I was sitting on one of the benches in the Italy pavilion last time we were there, waiting for Lumar to come back from the restroom, taking selfies and there was some kind of huge bug that appeared out of nowhere, it was like on the ground behind the bench and tried to jump straight up, bounced off the wall of the building behind me, hit me in the back of the head.... OMG it was horrible. It was like a huge grasshopper or something...IDK. It had wings and it was crunchy looking, and then it flew away. Traumatizing.

Yeah me too, and I've lost ears that way because I take them off and forget where I put them!

Oh no! Thankfully I've never done that!

That's cool, I've always loved the Disneyana purse. I have The Force Awakens satchel. I really wanted the all black Star Wars but before I knew it, they were all sold out and I don't want to pay more for it on ebay.

I bought the DL one on an impulse from someone on the DDB FB group, and I've never even been to DL so I just never had any attachment to it. I think I would've liked the WDW better. And yeah, I can't afford eBay prices! lol

OMG that is the best! The PPO breakfast at GG was awesome. I do have a GG breakfast in a few weeks but not PPO because I don't think my family wants to wake up that early (they obviously don't have their priorities straight).

When we did our family trip, I only did one super early breakfast and it was on the last day of our trip so no one could complain. Plus it was at CP and everyone was actually really excited to see a mostly empty MK. It worked out really well!

Ah ok, you have me intrigued with this Halibut! I hope it's back on the menu or something similar will be offered. At least Lumar will be happy he has a steak! I don't eat a lot of red meat, but I do like ground beef and there was one point I didn't actually eat steak. (Pre-college) but after I tasted my first real good steak, it was a game-changer.

OMG it was sooooo good. Like, it was literally melt-in-your-mouth texture, and so buttery... I swear I could eat it every day. I keep trying to like steak and every time I get I spend the whole time wishing I'd ordered something else. Just not for me I guess!

Hi Just found your PTR and caught up!

Thank you so much for joining!!!

Oh no!

Only me.

At least you got a cute hashtag out of it

True!

Aw that's a nice picture. You look so pretty!

Thank you! That was the prettiest I've ever felt in my life lol

what?! No way!
I think this was necessary. He wasn't listening to you at all. And for something you pay for, for such a special day that's unacceptable. He sounds like a nightmare.
I thought that's what they did. Anyone can edit photos nowadays too so you think they'd offer something extra special. I'm sorry it turned out so badly.
I think it's very tacky/uncomfortable when people ask you take down negative reviews. A real business would never do that. Still if he was offering a refund that's enough to cover a vacation I think you made the right call.

He was horrible. A liar and just a straight up jerk. He's definitely perfected the technique of taking advantage of people.

That's pretty weird.

The entire situation was weird. The original opened package, the absurd response from customer service, and then the follow up shipment in a ziplock bag.... I'm just so confused by the entire ordeal.

I took a screenshot of them they're so cute!

OMG those are adorable!!! Thanks for sharing! I hadn't seen the full image of what they look like!

 

[Simba22]

Hey everyone! ​

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Sorry I've kind of been neglecting The DIS for a couple of weeks! My job moved to another building, which is further away from home...I leave my house at 5:45am and don't get home until around 6pm most nights so I've been exhausted!​

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But I return to you today with the following message:​

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IT'S FASTPASS DAY!!!!


And I remembered yesterday.... but do you think I remembered this morning when I was running out of the house at 5:45am?

The answer is no. No I did not.



So at 9:50am when I saw '60 DAYS!!!!!' written on my work calendar, I completely panicked. I've never had to make FP+ reservations before so I thought they were going to like....sell out or something right at 7am.


Well, since I had forgotten that today was Fastpass Day, I naturally didn't have my planning binder with me. And since Lumar and I made it a point to not have ADRs for every single day of this trip, I only knew for certain what parks we were going to be at on 4 of our days. But there was nothing I could do about it so I just did what I could and tried to not worry about it.

So I just got home a few minutes ago and after a trip to the great outdoors for my doggo, I got to work making more FP reservations. And I'm super happy because I got everything we wanted!


So this is what our FPs look like:

Wednesday 10/18:
Soarin'
Spaceship Earth
Mickey & Friends Meet & Greet (I don't even know if I need a FP for this ).

Thursday 10/19:
Na'vi River Journey
Expedition Everest
Dinosaur

Friday 10/20:
Toy Story
Tower of Terror
Star Tours

Saturday 10/21:
Haunted Mansion
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (FIRST TIME EVER!!!)
Pirates of the Caribbean

Sunday 10/22:
Soarin'
Nemo
Figment
(I doubt we'll actually need FPs for Figment, and I'm not happy about the time but I got it just because there was nothing else we needed and I figured what the heck.)

Monday 10/23:
Tower of Terror
Star Tours
Rock N Rollercoaster
I really thought about getting FPs for Fantasmic instead but something keeps telling me that's a waste of a FP+ and we won't need it. Am I wrong??

Tuesday 10/24:
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
Space Mountain
Big Thunder Mountain

Wednesday 10/25:
Soarin'
Nemo
Living With The Land

Thursday 10/26:
Flight of Passage
Expedition Everest
Kilimanjaro Safari

Friday 10/27:
Tower of Terror
Rock N Rollercoaster
Star Tours

On Thursday 10/26 and Friday 10/27, we'll be leaving the parks a little early. Thursday we're going to Disney Springs for dinner and Friday night we have the Halloween Party. I'm still trying to convince Lumar to buy tickets for another party earlier in the week... The prices are high but I'm worried we won't have enough time for everything with just one night. Especially if they have a special character meet & greet like they did the last time we were there. We lined up for Jack and Sally at 5:30pm, they started meeting guests at 7:30 and we didn't actually get done with that until around 8:30pm. This year, we have dinner reservations at BoG for 5pm, so that means that we won't be able to do whatever the meet & greet is. I've been trying to change our dinner reservation to 4pm but I haven't had any luck yet. My paycheck next week will have a little bit of overtime in it so I'm hoping to just be able to use that extra money to get party tickets for the 18th or the 24th (I don't even know off the top of my head if the party is even scheduled for those nights.)


So that's all I have for right now but I promise I won't stay away too long! I'm thinking I may reveal The Big Surprise, just because it will make sharing my plans easier.... but we'll see!

Have a great weekend!




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[Raeven]

I've never had to make FP+ reservations before so I thought they were going to like....sell out or something right at 7am.

The good thing is they don't! I always worry about things running out too, but I've started to do my FPs a bit later in the day too.

Mickey & Friends Meet & Greet (I don't even know if I need a FP for this ).

Sometimes the line can be kind of long, and there's not a lot of choices for the 3rd Epcot FP.

Figment
(I doubt we'll actually need FPs for Figment, and I'm not happy about the time but I got it just because there was nothing else we needed and I figured what the heck.)

That's usually how I make Epcot Fps, sometimes I don't even make a 3rd.

I really thought about getting FPs for Fantasmic instead but something keeps telling me that's a waste of a FP+ and we won't need it. Am I wrong??

I was able to get one shortly before the show after using our others. Not sure if it's always like this, but you could try that.