Happy Birthday, Dear Dude - A Sept 2010 PTR - 9/22 Trip Report Started p34

[swwake]

Welcome home! Looking forward to seeing pictures and hearing all about the cruise!

Thank you!

Welcome back!
I can't wait for the mini tr.

Thank you! Trying to figure out how to do it over here on the DIS.

 

[swwake]

Should I post my cruise trip report here, put it on another section of the DIS (because it's a bit off-topic), or just direct y'all to my report over on Cruise Critic? I was just planning to copy/paste that report. Waht do y'all think?

 

[Flossbolna]

Hi Susan, welcome back!

I would love to read your cruise TR here in your PTR.

 

[swwake]

My cruise trip report is getting a little wordy, so I decided to put it on its own separate thread. You can find it HERE. I hope you'll follow along!

 

[jeremysdisneymom]

I'm here! Subscribing and going back to read! Now, I have to go check out your cruise report.

Erika

 

[swwake]

I'm here! Subscribing and going back to read! Now, I have to go check out your cruise report.

Erika

You may not have time to read my PTR and cruise TR in the next 3 days! I'm excited that your trip is so close!

 

[swwake]

Now that we're back from our cruise, Chris is really getting excited about our Disney trip. He mentions it every day. I am looking forward to it, but, I'm sad to say, I'm not excited about it right now.

I've been busy writing the trip report on the cruise (in my signature, if you haven't been following - and there are lots of pictures!). I'm also working with a couple of friends trying to plan for a 2011 cruise with them. We are simply addicted to the Flow Rider and we have to go back.

I'm sure that I'll get excited about our Disney trip soon enough. I need to read a Disney book. I have the Kingdom Keepers books and I'm thinking about starting the first one. Have any of you read them?

We have so much going on. Today, Chris and Katie went to Houston to look at a new car for her. They are bringing back a nice little '01 BMW. (I may not have reported that Katie had a car accident the night before graduation and pretty much totaled her Eclipse.)

I'm looking out into the next few months, honestly dreading all of the travel. Here's what I've got:

Sometime in July - take the twins to Six Flags in Dallas. We might try to spend the night and ride the Flow Rider they have up there one afternoon. We have tickets from April when Six Flags was snowed out and closed. They have to be used by the end of the season.
July 26-28 - conference in downtown Austin for work
July 30-31 - (plus a couple of days) - Memphis for my 25th high school reunion, and to visit friends with a new baby and an adopted daughter I haven't met, along with other long-time Memphis friends. (This trip is unconfirmed. I might just have to drop it to keep stress levels down)
August 3-7 - San Francisco/Napa for Partner Advance (sounds like fun but it is pretty stressful)
August 16-21 - Student/Parent orientation and move-in at CU Boulder
August 31 - court trial in Houston (may be postponed for a 4th time)
September 14-21 - Universal and Disney!!!!!
September 22-23 - Conference in Las Vegas (trying REALLY hard to get out of this one)
September 30-Oct 1 - San Francisco conference - speaking (can't get out of this one)
Oct 21-22 - Washington DC - conference
Dec 2-3 - Las Vegas - 2 conferences coincide - Chris usually comes and we make a weekend of this one, since my birthday falls so close

I am also going for a consultation about some possible surgery I may need for my eyes, per an eye doctor appt a couple of weeks ago. I need 3+ weeks of recovery before I attend any marketing/speaking conferences, and I don't want to have "bad eyes" or black eyes when we go to Disney World, so I am trying to figure out where the heck to squeeze those in.

Anyway, if I can just relax about all of that, I think I will start looking forward to the Disney trip. Of course, getting a reservation at LeCellier might cure it all! But I try almost daily and there are no cancellations.

 

[Native NYer]

You're super busy!
I hope you post a review of the Kingdom Keepers.
What ship are looking at for your 2011 cruise?

 

[swwake]

You're super busy!
I hope you post a review of the Kingdom Keepers.
What ship are looking at for your 2011 cruise?

I will let you (y'all) know how the book is.
We are looking at Oasis again or Allure of the Seas. May or June (tentatively).

Obviously, I have to plan everything a freakin' year in advance! Otherwise work gets in the way.

 

[Charleston Princess]

You do have a lot of traveling to do!

I have read all three of the Kingdom Keepers books and enjoyed them! It's fun to read a novel set in my favorite place!

 

[Native NYer]

I will let you (y'all) know how the book is.
We are looking at Oasis again or Allure of the Seas. May or June (tentatively).

Obviously, I have to plan everything a freakin' year in advance! Otherwise work gets in the way.

I Royal Caribbean.
My brother and SIL are sailing on Serenade of the Seas on August 22nd.
I'm thinking of booking a Mediterranean cruise for next year.

 

[swwake]

You do have a lot of traveling to do!

I have read all three of the Kingdom Keepers books and enjoyed them! It's fun to read a novel set in my favorite place!

I am on about Chapter 6 of the first book and it is doing its job in getting me excited. It goes fast!

I Royal Caribbean.
My brother and SIL are sailing on Serenade of the Seas on August 22nd.
I'm thinking of booking a Mediterranean cruise for next year.

Where does the Serenade go?

Oh, I think we're looking at a Med cruise for our 15th anniversary in 2013. I am reading another cruiser's trip report and drooling over the pictures of Italy and Spain. If you go, let me know how the cruise is!

 

[swwake]

I have been tossing around the idea of taking my 15-year-old niece to Disney World for a long weekend sometime in 2011. We've talked a little about her 16th birthday weekend, which would fit nicely with a Miami conference I chair in January. I logged on today, and they aren't booking dates after 12/31/10! Does that seem weird to anyone else?

 

[Charleston Princess]

Unfortunately, that's how Disney has always done it. They will release 2011 tickets, packages, and room rates around the first week of August, so you won't have to wait too much longer before you can check out prices.

 

[cdotla]

Wowza! Your travel schedule the next few months looks absolutely insane!!!

No wonder you are considering another trip in January - you are gonna need another vacation after all of that travel!

 

[swwake]

Unfortunately, that's how Disney has always done it. They will release 2011 tickets, packages, and room rates around the first week of August, so you won't have to wait too much longer before you can check out prices.

I'll keep watching for August. Thanks Jackie!

Wowza! Your travel schedule the next few months looks absolutely insane!!!

No wonder you are considering another trip in January - you are gonna need another vacation after all of that travel!

Yes, it's nuts, and believe it or not, we're thinking about adding another short cruise I always need a vacation from my vacation. But travel is my addiction, I must admit.

 

[swwake]

I was telling Chris last night that we are just over 2 months out and it is killing me not to make detailed plans for our trip. Our goal is to just go with the flow, but that's gonna be tough for me. Chris doesn't like when I become the kamikaze planner, because when things don't go just according to plan, I freak out. So, with just the two of us, I'm trying to take it easy.

But it is oh so hard.

So Chris says last night "I know you're not planning the details, but at least you WILL know which parks are green and which are red, right?" (Have I taught him well or what?)

I said "Nope. Not planning. Low crowds in September, short lines, no planning."

Oh, was he disappointed. I can't believe it! So today, I checked the crowd calendars and put together a tentative plan. You don't know how excited I am to be able to plan!

Tuesday - arrive HRH and hit IOA first. If lines for FJ are reasonable, ride that one. If not, grab a butterbeer and explore WWOHP and the rest of IOA. Probably ride some of the big thrills.

Wednesday - Early hours - FJ at IOA first, then hit the headliners at both IOA and US. Grab a cab (or town car?) to AKL and Boma at 8pm.

Thursday - Sunrise safari, then AK (green day). Chris might leave and visit clients this day, or he may wait until Friday. If he visits clients Thursday, I will take a solo day at AK or another park and have a spa treatment at AKL that afternoon. Birthday dinner for Dude at Jiko. Relax at AKL that evening (enjoying our CL benefits).

Friday - not sure yet. If Chris visits clients, I will probably do DHS commando and be sure to see American Idol, since Chris isn't interested in that. If he doesn't, we may do DHS, or another park (anything but RED Epcot).

Saturday - Epcot, then MNSSHP.

Sunday - not sure yet. It's a red day for DHS.

Monday - Early morning surfing at Typhoon Lagoon, followed by a big breakfast at Boma. Change and head to a park (anywhere but RED AK that day).

Tuesday - a little time for a park, then catch a flight home.

Our crowd calendars range from 1 (Wed, Saturday, and Tuesday) to 5 on Friday. I'm pretty excited about this!

I still have to arrange (or plan if taxi) transportation from the airport to HRH and from HRH to AKL, along with renting a car for Dude's work day. We have Magical Express back to the airport, but I'm thinking we may change our mind to get an extra hour in the parks. We will see.

 

[Charleston Princess]

Hurray for being able to plan park days!!!

 

[Flossbolna]

I would have a real hard time not to plan as well! I think checking the best days for each park makes a lot of sense even in slow season. During my January visits, I always noticed a huge difference between the recommended parks and the avoid parks. The recommended ones had wait times like 10 minutes for Space Mountain at 2 pm!!

For the rental car: Do you know that Alamo at the Car Care Center comes and picks you up from your resort if you rent from them? We did this once and it worked great.

 

[Native NYer]

I am on about Chapter 6 of the first book and it is doing its job in getting me excited. It goes fast!

Where does the Serenade go?

Oh, I think we're looking at a Med cruise for our 15th anniversary in 2013. I am reading another cruiser's trip report and drooling over the pictures of Italy and Spain. If you go, let me know how the cruise is!

Serenade leaves from San Juan, Puerto Rico and stops in St. Thomas, Curacao, Dominica, and Aruba. When I went on Serenade, it left from San Juan and stopped in St. Thomas, St. Martin. St. Lucia. Antigua, and Barbados.

If I go, I'll definitely send you a cruise report! I really like Royal's Med itinerary.

I love your plans! I can't wait to hear about HRH and WWOHP.