Fresh Out of University and Onwards to Disney!!!An August PTR!!!(Last Update 8/26)

[dizneeat]

I love this review! I am new to the trip reports board as I only started my first pre-trippie a few days ago.
That's why I am late joining, but I definitely won't miss any more fun here!

 

[YukiPhnx]

Oh my goodness, look at all these new visitors! to everybody!

I ordered from them for our last trip too, and it was WONDERFUL having them arrive in the mail!! Super fun to tear open the envelope and see what we got. If I recall correctly, it was mostly Tinks with a few Mickeys thrown in.

Oooh, I would've loved a Tink one. I recommend Undercover Tourist to all my friends.

That is fantastic!! You guys are hilarious! I just noticed in your siggie that you are doing a ptr, so I had to come on over. I've got to go back now and read the rest. I love the way you guys say "favourite" up in Canada - so fancy!

Great to see you here, Becca! Haha, we just have an extra "u". It's odd for me because the BBC here is American. So I have to type "color" instead of "colour" and it kind of catches me off guard

Okay, caught up.

You have some great ideas for Andrew's surprises. So, he'll dress up in costume in public, but you don't think he'd wear a pirate Mickey hat? What if you got him a whole ensemble to go with it? Or, just a pirate hat with no mouse ears?

You guys will love Boma for your celebration dinner, especially since you are adventurous eaters. It one of our very favorites (unfortunately, one that we ares skipping this time).

I truly hope you NEVER have to wait an hour to ride Aladdin! Even in August, it should never be that crowded!

So, did you consider getting the QSDP now that is is free for your dates? Or is it too late since you already bought your tix? You could convert your room-only to a package with one day tickets and still probably save some cash, no?

Well, he's not embarrassed about wearing hats. He just doesn't like wearing them, other than for costumes and things. I would LOVE to do the Pirates makeover, but I think I'll save that for another trip.

WHAT????? It's come out for the genera public already? I know it came out for Visa holders. As a Canadian, we can't apply for the Disney Visa
But the general public deal does come out soon after...I'll talk to my TA.
We currently have the room-only with a CAA discount. If we choose free dining, we'll have to pay rack rate and get an extra 1 day ticket....I guess I'll do the math and go from there....

I bet the view will be wonderful on Aladdin during the evening.

I LOVE African cuisine, so I'm really looking forward to Boma!

Wow, you took your siblings to Disney alone that young?! That's like every teenager's dream, lucky girl!

Looks like you guys are going to have a great trip! I'm going to join in on the
journey!

Welcome to my journey!! Yes, we were SO lucky. But I had to look behind me every 10 seconds and say, "Stay close! Keep up!"

Hey sorry ive been crazy busy lately (its my birthday today soo... haha!!!)

heres the link:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=35787963#post35787963

it should work...hopefully haha
Yay! only 107 days until we're both in disney!!!

Hey, happy belated birthday!!!! I'll go check out the PTR asap. Wow, only 106 days left!

I think it's like $10US.

Great Pez dispenser. I think I saw a Tink one today while we were out and about. Lol.

Oh, $10 isn't so bad. Is it thick? Or thin?

I love this review! I am new to the trip reports board as I only started my first pre-trippie a few days ago.
That's why I am late joining, but I definitely won't miss any more fun here!

No worries about being late~! There's still lots of fun to be had. Great to have you joining in~!

 

[YukiPhnx]

As you all know, free dining is back and it will probably be out for the general public soon.

I'm really considering it. I just asked my TA about how much it would cost if I were to pay at rack-rate versus my CAA discount that I have right now.

Also, unlike in previous years, we now have to buy 2 DAY TICKETS I was only ok with one extra ticket, but an extra two? I don't have that many days, so I would end up wasting a day.

On the other hand, I bought tickets from Undercover tourist, so that extra ticket didn't really cost all that much, right?

I've allotted about $250 for food for my trip.....so maybe if the extra money I have to pay is less than that, then it would be worth it.

 

[YukiPhnx]

Chapter 12. Oh Noes! Itinerary dilemma due to slight park hour change!

As Danica mentioned in her PTR, park hours have changed. So I took a look at the calendar to see if they've changed for the days I'll be there. And of course, it has

FORTUNATELY, it has only messed up one (maybe) thing. My HS plans. I think...Or maybe my Epcot plans too....Ok, let's figure this out.

(PS. Andrew is watching me freak out over park hours and trying to calm me down....)

So, initially, I planned to hit Epcot as soon as I check in on my first day, so I could spend lots of time at Innoventions.

My second day, I planned to resort hop until the afternoon, then go into HS and line up for Fantasmic at 8pm.

My 3rd day was my full day at Epcot, then MK for a full day, then my free day.

It worked perfectly cause I had 2 half days, 2 full days, 1 free day, and 2 full days, IN THAT ORDER.

BUT, Disney had to go mess that up. Now there is no Fantasmic on my 2nd day. They only have it on my 1st day and my 3rd day. My Epcot days basically.

All the other park hours are fine and PRETTY PERFECT if you ask me.

So what should I do? If I choose to....

OH WAIT! I think I figured it out! Yes, I AM planning this as I type it!

Ok, as I was saying, I was thinking of changing my plans so I watch Fantasmic on my first night, then 2 half days at Epcot, then resume my schedule with MK the next day. But that would be 3 days spending a lot of time in the parks.

There's actually an itinerary in the UG for splitting Epcot over two days. With options of going in the morning or the afternoon.

But just now, I thought of something even better. Switching my 2nd day and my 3rd day. Sure, I planned to have evening EMH on my full Epcot day, but I'll be getting eve EMH on my 1st night instead now, so might as well use that?

ALRIGHT, if this has been confusing so far , lemme sum it up for y'all.

Day 1
-check into Pop
-head to Epcot and tour Innoventions
-head to DTD while Illuminations is showing
-go back to Epcot after Illuminations and ride the available Future World rides

Day 2
-full day at Epcot according to the UG

Day 3
-resort hopping
-head to HS in the afternoon to line up for Fantasmic

And the rest is the same as my original plans.

What do y'all think of the changes?

 

[ZeroToHero]

Looks good!

I bet, since you're going in August, you're going to find it's a lot more dead than you're expecting, and what might normally take a day doesn't take as long, so if you're worried about over-doing it, you might be okay.

 

[YukiPhnx]

My last trip was in August too, so I have a good idea. But on my last trip, I didn't go on all the rides I wanted. Guess I'm just preparing for those more popular rides?

 

[YukiPhnx]

Oh hey, I just realized. I can thinking of buying those extra 2 day tickets as an investment for my next trip.

I know I'll definitely be going back in Aug. 2013 with my siblings and 2 of my cousins.

Hm...if I look at it like that, then the price of the tickets shouldn't be much of a problem at all.

Does anybody know if I can use my snack credits to buy candy from the countries in World Showcase? If I can, I can use some of my snack credits and save some money on souvenirs.

 

[Ted in Halifax]

I do know that you can buy Candy at the POP store (we brought bags of candy home as gifts), but I am not aware of anything like that at World Showcase.

Check out this thread ... especially the part about goofy's candy store

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2381706

 

[YukiPhnx]

Yeah, I know you can use your snack credits at Goofy's for candy. Hop I can find out about the WS candy soon.

 

[YukiPhnx]

Ok, I just found out from my TA that my trip will cost me $1124.52.

That's paying for the room at rack rate, as well as adding on 2 MYW for the both of us.

Right now, with the room discounts, I'm paying $550.49.

Which means, I'll be paying an extra $574.03.

Split that in half and it's definitely more than the $250 I saved up for food.

The upside is, I'll have 2 tickets to use for my next trip and free dining of course.

The downside is, this extra money cuts into my souvenir funds. I've already booked 2 TS meals for us, and we plan to drink around the WS, so that will all be OOP. The money I saved up encompassed all those costs.

Also, I only saved enough money for this trip. If I go for this package, I'll essentially be paying for a bit of my next trip with this trip's money. It sounds ok now, but I'll just have a lot less money to buy the souvenirs I've been saving up so hard for.

I kind of knew the free dining would come out, but I didn't prepare for it because I didn't think I would choose it. I don't eat that much anyways, so we would be wasting some CS credits and even some snack credits since the QSDP gives you 2 a day.

Gwarrrrr

Ok....I don't think I'll go for free dining after all. I'll save that for another trip, so I can better plan for it. This wouldn't have been too bad if I didn't already buy my tickets from Undercover.

 

[ZeroToHero]

I think you're making the right choice - definitely not worth it.

By the way - snack credits can be used around the WS, just for further reference (maybe next August, if you do the dining plan then?)

 

[*Seanaci*]

The notebook is thick.

Lol. Your dining plan delima is most likely something I will be hesitating about in my PTR.

I think not doing it this timer is a wise choice. The DP will most likely always be an option when going to the World.

 

[All7OfUs]

The way I understand it, with them only giving FD with 2 tickets, a lot of folks aren't going for it- it's just not worth it, if you plan well. I think you've made the right choice given the way you've done up your math.

 

[jordanyosh]

Oh hey, I just realized. I can thinking of buying those extra 2 day tickets as an investment for my next trip.

I know I'll definitely be going back in Aug. 2013 with my siblings and 2 of my cousins.

Hm...if I look at it like that, then the price of the tickets shouldn't be much of a problem at all.

Does anybody know if I can use my snack credits to buy candy from the countries in World Showcase? If I can, I can use some of my snack credits and save some money on souvenirs.

you aren't coming in 2012...?

 

[YukiPhnx]

I think you're making the right choice - definitely not worth it.

By the way - snack credits can be used around the WS, just for further reference (maybe next August, if you do the dining plan then?)

The notebook is thick.

Lol. Your dining plan delima is most likely something I will be hesitating about in my PTR.

I think not doing it this timer is a wise choice. The DP will most likely always be an option when going to the World.

The way I understand it, with them only giving FD with 2 tickets, a lot of folks aren't going for it- it's just not worth it, if you plan well. I think you've made the right choice given the way you've done up your math.

Yeah, thanks guys. I was tearing up over the issue. I'm planning on getting QSDP for my trip with my sibs and cousins anyway during Aug, so I can prepare for FD then.

you aren't coming in 2012...?

I'm still crunching the math. The only dates that are good for me are the ones for end of June, start of July.

If I can't make the June Peepfest, I'll most likely be able to make the Feb one. I'm still in school so am still unsure of the dates when I'll be available...

 

[TokyoDina]

I think you made the right choose with the dinning plan. We can never take advantage of it when we go. We always miss it or we plan on only having on ADR and then QS otherwise or eating at the resort.

 

[YukiPhnx]

Chapter 13. Back at school

So my classes started up again yesterday.

What am I doing back at school you ask? Didn't I just finish my exams?

Well....The University of Waterloo's school schedule is split into 3 terms per year, 4 months a term. Unlike most other schools, we offer full-time courses in the summer.

I've been fast tracking since I started school in Jan 08 and haven't taken a summer off yet. Been in school for 7 full terms and am entering my 8th term!

A standard "year" for a regular student is 2 terms. So from that math....I'm in 4th year and should be graduating! But I've decided to spend an extra "year" to complete my Psychology minor.

Also, I'll be applying to get into the Bachelor of Social Work program in Waterloo, which starts up every Sept. Cross your fingers that I'll get into the Fall '11 year!

My BSW is a 10-month course. So essentially, if you're counting, I'm actually completing 6 "years" of school in 4.5! Woohoo!

Yes, I really DO love school.

So, the point of this post was to talk about the English class I have enrolled myself in for this term. It's about American Literature and Pop Culture. For the course, we have 5 novels to read, 8 films to watch, and 2 essays to write, including our final exam which is made of short essays.

Ok....Even though I'm in social work and most of what we do are essay-writing....I HATE WRITING ESSAYS. I mean, I love doing the research for my research papers. But having to write them out in a way that demonstrates my essay writing skills? My mastery of the English language?

I wish we could just give small lectures on what we find. That would be so much better for me. Every essay I write, I just feel like I'm filling the pages with BS and references that have nothing to do with the work, just because of the min. 5 references per paper.

So. I just went to the English class tonight and even as interesting as the course sounds, the prof is kind of boring....He tends to ramble on things that aren't related to what he was talking about before. He asked us questions, then he answered our answers with something unrelated....

I'm considering dropping this class and picking up something else. I have till next week to do this. What do you guys think? I have a feeling I won't be able to do too well in this course, even though I know I'll enjoy the class material.

Oh ya, he showed us a clip of Strongbad to demonstrate montages. Which is straight up win


EDIT: Ok, I have dropped the English class and picked up a Sociology class.

 

[YukiPhnx]

I think you made the right choose with the dinning plan. We can never take advantage of it when we go. We always miss it or we plan on only having on ADR and then QS otherwise or eating at the resort.

Yeah...free dining seems really cool but for this trip, it's not worth it. I wouldn't have been so bad if I hadn't already bought my tickets. Then it wouldn't have felt like spending an extra $250. It would just be what I would've spent anyways. I definitely want to get this next time though. I think the QSDP is a great idea and should've happened sooner

 

[TokyoDina]

I agree!

Oh I'm so glad I'm done with all my English classes! I hate writing papers! But now all that is left is one math class and then all my cooking classes! I can't wait! Haha! But that sounds great I hope you get in the 2011 program!

 

[bellebookworm9]

We also have full time summer classes, but they are not mandatory. They basically go for 3 hours/day for 4-5 days/week for 4-6 weeks. The classes tend to be ones that fulfill general education credits, and I know the speech path grad program has classes over the summer and those are mandatory. This summer they are offering an American Sign Language class for the first time in many years. I really think that would be interesting, but because I'm working here, I can't take classes. I hope they offer it during a normal school year! Good luck with your Sociology class.