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

[Charleston Princess]

The Dragonberry Coladas were my favorite part of the trip!

 

[swwake]

Thanks, ladies!

We are BOOKED!!

I am so excited!

Last night we watched a Samantha Brown special about her favorite places in WDW and Disneyland. That got us both in the spirit!

The dates are September 15-21. 6 nights with 7-day park-hopper pases. The 16th is Chris's birthday.

September 15th is a HUGE tax deadline for me, but I am just going to tell my staff that they better have them all done by Tuesday. HA!

 

[Charleston Princess]

Did you book AKL concierge? You will love it there!

 

[swwake]

Did you book AKL concierge? You will love it there!

I did, and put the deposit down. I don't know what happens next, if we are supposed to contact the IPO or they will contact us.

It was really cool how, as soon as the reservation was confirmed, I got to add a bunch of details about Chris's birthday, our interests, etc. I forwarded the email to Chris and said "Happy Birthday!". When he got the email, I told him I am excited and he said he thinks it's cool that I'm so excited. Last night he said he's starting to get excited, but that he will eventually. (He's not a big planner - just the opposite of me.) But every time Samantha Brown went to AKL, Chris was "fist pumping". HA!

 

[Native NYer]

Congrats on booking!!!

Contact the IPO. The email addresses of each resort's IPO is on this thread: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2280631

I emailed the GF and they got back to me quickly. Just include your reservation number in the subject line.

When's your ADR date?

 

[swwake]

When's your ADR date?

Thanks!
I am not sure the date. Is it 180+10? I guess I have to count.

 

[swwake]

I changed the name of my PTR. I sure hope I don't lose any of you!

 

[Charleston Princess]

I subscribed, so I am still here!

 

[Native NYer]

Thanks!
I am not sure the date. Is it 180+10? I guess I have to count.

It is 180+10. When you email IPO, just ask. They'll give you an exact date.
We arrive on 8/22 and our date is 2/23. Your date should be sometime in mid March.

Love the new ptr title

 

[swwake]

It is 180+10. When you email IPO, just ask. They'll give you an exact date.
We arrive on 8/22 and our date is 2/23. Your date should be sometime in mid March.

Love the new ptr title

I counted on the calendar today and got 3/19 for the 180. Can you explain the +10 to me again? I have forgotten all my Disney "rules". Wait - is it this? You can make your reservations 180 days in advance of your first day for that day and up to 10 days following. Is that it?

I will ask my IPO to help me by confirming the real date.

 

[swwake]

In case anyone is wondering "Dude" is my husband's nickname. I may have told the story in my other PTR/TR. Both Katie's dad and my husband are named Chris. When Katie first met Chris, she was about 20 months old. We were leaving our friends' house where he was and we told her to say "Bye Dude!" Just a casual slang, right? The next time we went to my friends' house, Katie asked me "is Dude gonna be there?" It took me a few minutes to decipher, but after that it has stuck. He likes it; she likes it; and all of her friends and cousins call him Dude. Even my mom and sister tend to call him that pretty often (probably also to distinguish from the Ex).

Dude's birthday will be September 16th. Our second day of our vacation.

I received email from the IPO twice today! I was so excited! The second email included the checklist that Jen mentioned.

I have decided to use this PTR to document my to do list, as long as that list isn't too long. I am just not creative enough to do a fantastic PTR like the rest of you are able to do!

So right now, I am trying to figure out a schedule for our trip. Mind you, Chris doesn't like to have set plans. But for all of the things we are planning to do, I think we're gonna be bound to some plans.

Here's the tentative plan, subject to change 1,000,000 times, of course:

Wed: Arrive Orlando 2:30pm. DME or rent car. Check in AKL, pick a park and head out for the evening to get our Disney sea legs back.

Thurs: We'll try the CL breakfast offerings. Chris will head out to visit customers. I will probably do a solo park morning, followed by a 1/2 day spa afternoon. I'm thinking Saratoga Springs. I have a $50 coupon! Then the two of us will reconnect at AKL for an early (5:30 or 6) birthday dinner at Jiko. Then we will take the evening as it comes. Maybe hang out at the lodge, maybe go to a park.

Fri: Park hopping and MNSSHP.

Sat: Universal - Harry Potter

Sun: Sunrise Safari. Park hopping.

Mon: Surfing lesson at Typhoon Lagoon. Park hopping.

Tues: Park hopping and/or Boma for breakfast (unless we just want to have more CL breakfast, since we will miss two days of it Sunday and Monday).

At this point, I'm trying not to get us bound to any particular parks each day or to any ADRs other than Jiko for the birthday dinner. We'd love to have Boma again, so we might end up there. It might end up being a counter-service type of trip, or we may just take it easy and if we have to wait a long time for a dinner reservation, we'll wait and find something to keep ourselves occupied. (Although, I'd kinda like to try LeCellier, and I hear their reservations are hard to get. I've also been told Narcoossees is a must-do.)

That's the beauty of the 2-person, adults-only trip. We don't have to be bound by any schedule. The more I think about it, the more excited I get. WOO HOOO!!!

 

[Native NYer]

I counted on the calendar today and got 3/19 for the 180. Can you explain the +10 to me again? I have forgotten all my Disney "rules". Wait - is it this? You can make your reservations 180 days in advance of your first day for that day and up to 10 days following. Is that it?

I will ask my IPO to help me by confirming the real date.

That's the 180+10 rule

 

[Native NYer]

I love your no plan plans! It is easier not to have a plan when it's just adults.

Are you doing the dining plan?

 

[swwake]

I love your no plan plans! It is easier not to have a plan when it's just adults.

Are you doing the dining plan?

No dining plan for us. We don't usually find ourselves eating 3-course meals. I priced it last trip and figured out it wasn't worth it for us on that trip. Knowing me, I will price it again at some point before this trip, just to see. Plus, everything I read on the Club-Level thread says that if you eat breakfast in the CL, you don't really need the dining plan. If you also supplement with other CL offerings during the day, it just gets to be too much food.

I don't think we'll be in and out of that CL during the day a lot, just because AKL is so far away from everything. But who knows?

 

[Native NYer]

No dining plan for us. We don't usually find ourselves eating 3-course meals. I priced it last trip and figured out it wasn't worth it for us on that trip. Knowing me, I will price it again at some point before this trip, just to see. Plus, everything I read on the Club-Level thread says that if you eat breakfast in the CL, you don't really need the dining plan. If you also supplement with other CL offerings during the day, it just gets to be too much food.

I don't think we'll be in and out of that CL during the day a lot, just because AKL is so far away from everything. But who knows?

That makes sense. We booked the dining plan because we want to do some character meals with my two nephews. And it's easier for that. But you have a MUCH more flexible plan. Your ptr has made me really look forward to my adults only July trip.

When we were at the Poly CL in 2008, we used the lounge mostly for drinks. We were really never there during the day for most of the food. But being able to grab a Coke and head to the room was nice. You definitely do not need the refillable mugs when you stay CL.

 

[swwake]

But being able to grab a Coke and head to the room was nice. You definitely do not need the refillable mugs when you stay CL.

Great tip, Jen! I was wondering - do they have bottled water in the CL? I don't want to sound like a cheapskate after splurging for the Club Level, but we drink a ton of water, and if they have it in the CL, I won't have to worry as much. If not, I might have some delivered from Garden Grocer.

 

[swwake]

I think I just found out how we're gonna get to/from Universal. I want to post myself a link so I don't forget.

http://www.disboards.com/announcement.php?f=16&a=237

It looks like we'd only be paying 99c (over the regular price of a 1-day, 2-park ticket) for the round-trip transfers on Mears. Am I reading that right?

 

[Native NYer]

Great tip, Jen! I was wondering - do they have bottled water in the CL? I don't want to sound like a cheapskate after splurging for the Club Level, but we drink a ton of water, and if they have it in the CL, I won't have to worry as much. If not, I might have some delivered from Garden Grocer.

I remember large bottles of water at the Poly lounge. I don't recall individual bottles.

I think I just found out how we're gonna get to/from Universal. I want to post myself a link so I don't forget.

http://www.disboards.com/announcement.php?f=16&a=237

It looks like we'd only be paying 99c (over the regular price of a 1-day, 2-park ticket) for the round-trip transfers on Mears. Am I reading that right?

That's fantastic! What a great deal. I may need to consider heading over to Universal as well.

 

[swwake]

Yep, that's me!

Today, I went on Amazon.com and ordered the following books:
The Unofficial Guide 2010 - I have the 2008 version, and I doubt much has changed, but it's pretty cool that I have one for each year we've been to WDW.
Unofficial Guide to Universal Studios, Sea World and the Best of Central Florida - I only want the Universal part, but it's a whole package, so I'll take it. I have a lot to research on Universal, since we haven't been since IOA opened.
The Hidden Magic of Walt Disney World: Over 600 Secrets of the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney's Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom - This one got mixed reviews on Amazon, but I thought it might be cool to pick up and put down in the months leading up to our trip. Dude may enjoy it too, because he seems to like WDW trivia.
Universal Orlando 2010 Edition - I just felt like I needed this.
Color of Money/Cocktail DVD - (Completely unrelated) We were talking about Cocktail the other day and we only have it on VHS. I was going to order this anyway, so I added all the WDW research books to get up to free shipping!

Current To Do List:
- Solidify dates and send requests to IPO. Need to ask them to confirm the 180-day mark
- Research car rental from Swan/Dolphin, find a code, reserve
- Research fastest way to get to Swan/Dolphin from AKL
- Reserve the Universal tickets and transportation
- Decide whether to order a case of bottled water and other snacks
- Watch for Southwest to open flights through our dates
- Research what to see/do at Universal
- Research the weather (do we pack shorts or jeans/pants?)

 

[Charleston Princess]

Don't you love ordering Disney guidebooks? I have the Hidden Magic one and really like it! I think I will order the new Passporter at some point.

If you are going in September, you definitely want to pack summer clothes -- when we were there in October it was still hot, and we wore shorts the whole time.