I am ready for a wild ride...am I??? PTR

[topdog]

Hello to my fellow Disers. I've been MIA for a while.

My last trip died as soon as it got out of the gate. Things happened. Lots of changes at work required me more focus on my job. I just couldn't find the time to think and let alone write.

Fast forward to present. We haven't been back to Disney since then. Finally, it time to plan for another trip to the mouse house. We have not set a date yet but we know it will be fall 2014. This one will be a different kind of trip with different kind of planning. Not like anything we've done before. I will have more detail later.

Beside writing how I plan for this trip, I will try add in some of our last trip experience in between. Not sure how often I can update but I will do my best to keep this in a good pace. No picture yet but there will be more coming up. So stay tune…

 

[dznybound]

Looking forward to another trip report from you....especially all your beautiful pictures.

 

[topdog]

Thank you for joining in dznybound. I took close to 10,000 pictures from the 2010 trip. This PTR will definitely showcase as many as I can.

 

[topdog]

For this trip, we will have 7 cast members. Beside DW and I, her niece & husband and their daughter (12 yrs old now), sister-in-law plus another grand niece (11 yrs old now). This will be their first trip to Disney. However, this will be our first trip with children at Disney since it is always only DW and I. There was only one trip we went with our close friends back in 2005. DW has already warned me about this this trip will be all about the kids. We will ride whatever they like including the tea cup. I better get my barf bag ready.

DW's niece family are living at central part of NC. Sister-in-law and the other grand niece are living at eastern part of NC. So travel arrangement will be very challenging so that's one obstacle I will have to figure out since we won't be flying and some of them never left the state. Let alone flying.

The idea about this trip came to my mind a couple of years ago but I wasn't sure where to start and I was submerge to my work. Then late last year, I thought about this again but the 12 yrs old grand niece had open heart surgery last summer (11 yrs old then) so she wasn't ready for anything too active. Finally, I got my act together this year and start planning for next year. Hopefully, that should give the little one enough time to heal and recovery.

Believe it or not, I don't have pictures for all the cast members yet but in time, they will appear at some point.

However, here is me from my 2009 TR

Here is me from the 2010 Christmas trip

Since there will be 7 of us, I propose to both side of the family…I will take care of the resort as long as they can come up with the money for park tickets and dining plan. However, I will cover the park tickets and dining plan cost for the grand niece who lives on east side of NC since her parents isn't going to this trip because they have a very sick child that prevent them travel far. We won't be having deluxe dining plan like DW and I used to but we will have the standard dining plan for this trip, 1 QS, 1 TS, 1 Snack & 1 refillable mug.

For resort, I am looking to rent DVC points for Villa of Wilderness Lodge with a 2 bedrooms villa. So far, I was able to find a friend who has over 300 DVC points and willing to let me rent them. My plan is to rent 5 days of the 2 bedrooms villa within the October timeframe which it should take about 190 points. However, we won't able to make reservation until 7 months out so we still have plenty of time to figure things out.

 

[topdog]

It's been a while since I did any update.

Well...the roster has grown to 8 guests all together now. So far, DVC reservation is done and pay for. ADR is almost complete but we won't add the dining plan until July or Aug. There are a couple of days we weren't sure which restaurant to go to. MDE is all linked up. I already bought 3 five days tickets from Underground tourist, just haven't link to the MB yet. I will wait until the other members get their tickets and do it all in one sweep.

The fun part now is how to break the news to the two little one. I want to wait until the last moment but DW wants to do it sooner because she want to do some planning with them. We shall see.

Other thing we haven't done is FP+ but I am not in a hurry since the trip isn't happen until Oct anyway. Since we will be driving down, DW already reserve 2 rooms at Hampton Inn by Jacksonville area. We will stay there the night before then we won't have such long drive the day we arrive Disney.

Only thing we'll be missed out is MNSCHP. I just can't swing it but I might be willing to buy the Memory Maker. This will be a different kind of trip for us since we never went with kids. I have to experience this with a little different perspective. One thing I won't change is bring in every camera gear I own plus more.

 

[MarbleBob]

Sounds like a fun trip! I can relate to wanting to wait to the last moment to surprise the kids. We did that once and it was great. However, since the girls are a little older, they'll probably want to have a say in what they do, and the new FP+ system really requires you to plan things out in advance. I think your DW might be on the right track

We are going in June with lots of cousins and nephews. 19 of us in all. This will be our first time using FP+ too. It's been quite the challenge coordinating the FP+ reservations, especially at times when everyone wants to ride the same rides at the same time. After a few more hours on MyDisneyExperience, I think we got it mostly sorted out last night.

We are stopping in Jacksonville too. We drive from St. Louis and usually stop somewhere in Georgia, but we decided to make a detour to the beach and Kona skatepark before we make it to WDW this time around.

Looking forward to following along and seeing your photos

 

[topdog]

We are going in June with lots of cousins and nephews. 19 of us in all.

That's beyond my comprehension.

 

[topdog]

This is just a test. I switched to Flickr account recently. Just want to test and see how's their album work.

This was taken from our 2010 Christmas trip. The most beautiful Christmas decorate resort at the World, IMO.

 

[topdog]

Just want to refresh my memory. This little video clip was from our 2010 Christmas trip when we arrived at WL. Seems like it was yesterday.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ea5HbQzHcac&feature=youtu.be

 

[MarbleBob]

That's beyond my comprehension.

Yeah, it's pretty crazy. We have a few meals planned for the entire group, but I think for the most part, we'll all be going our separate ways and maybe meeting up at the pool in the afternoons. I've never visited WDW with such a large group before, so we'll see how it turns out. Most everyone is pretty laid back (luckily, not a lot of drama on this side of the family ), so I'm optimistic that it'll be more fun than not.

Love your photo and video of WL. Brings back great memories from our past stays there. I agree, that WL is top notch at Christmas. Hard to imagine that it gets any better than that!

 

[GreatBiscuit]

Hey Top Dog!

Looking forward to seeing your pics from this time around. (And some retro pics on your PTR!)

 

[topdog]

Hey Top Dog!

Looking forward to seeing your pics from this time around. (And some retro pics on your PTR!)

Welcome GB! I have plenty of pics to share. I recently switched to Flickr so it'll take me some time to get use to it before I can add pics here.

 

[MightyGitis]

Hey how's Flickr treating you? I've been posting my Disney pics exclusively on Instagram for a few years but recently have wen thinking about getting a Flickr to post the full versions on. If it makes it easier to post them here even better!

 

[topdog]

I am still around. Unfortunately, my health has a scare recently.

Skipping all the detail, I end up going for my first surgery. I was all bandage and tape up from waist below for over a week. It was so uncomfortable. I am still in recovery mode and still have some pain but at least all the bandage and tape are gone.

Something funny happen during pre-op. Nurse ask me all kind of question about my medical history. All I can answer is no for every question. Don't know if I am allergic to any antibiotic or medicine. Never have admit to the hospital for anything. Never remove anything from my body. Doesn't take any daily medicine, not even a vitamin.

Disney planning is in semi-full force now. There are so still many things to do. ADR is almost there. Tickets needs to link up with MB. Dinning plan still needs add to the reservation. Transportation haven't figure out yet and we won't be flying.

One more thing, DW is wearing me out so we might be reveal the trip next month to both grand nieces at the same time even they live at different part of the state. Thank goodness for FaceTime.

Of course, the most important part of the trip is my camera gear. There a few more thing I want to add to my collection but I have to be selective. A new camera strap is a must. I bought one a long time ago but didn't really like it. So I want some thing a little more diverse and heavy duty. Second thing I am considering is a GoPro. I heard they are releasing the GoPro4 this summer. I know it will be pricey but if it can record in hi speed, it might be worth it. A light weight tripod is also on my hit list. A close friend of mine bought one recently, it's light and can fold down to 16". Fully extend can go all the way to 5'. Yet, it feels solid. As for a new lens, it really depends. I would love to pick up a wide angle lens like a 24 mm but it depends on the price and specs. We shall see.

I will be going to Virginia Beach this Sept for an airshow with my friend. I will use some of his lens to evaluate how some of his equipment works out. Standing in the heat for over 10 hours staring at the sky. You can't get better than that.

 

[topdog]

Hey how's Flickr treating you? I've been posting my Disney pics exclusively on Instagram for a few years but recently have wen thinking about getting a Flickr to post the full versions on. If it makes it easier to post them here even better!

So far Flickr is great. You get 1 terabyte of space just by signing up. Image doesn't get reprocess after upload so it stay exactly the same as how I set the image. Also Flickr do rescale to multiple size of the image so you can pick and chose which size your like to post here. Very convenient.

 

[topdog]

Well...decision has been made. We will reveal the trip to both kids next weekend. Each kid will receive an "official" letter from Mickey to invite them to the mouse house. This will be some what epic since it will be first trip for both kids. One reveal will be on location. The other reveal (since they live another 3 hours away) will have to rely on Facetime.

DW has been shopping for the trip already. She went to SAM's club and bought matching lime green mickey PJs for herself and all the girls. SMH...

I also start shopping for my camera gear. So far, I only picked up a 64 gig CF. There are a few more items I want to get but it depends on the cost. Camera strap and possibly a ultra wide angle lens. I really want a Hero 4 camcorder but not sure if it will release before the trip.

Dining plan will be add within the next month or so. Only thing left is should I or shouldn't I add the Memory Maker. Next thing on the to do list is FP+ which I have no clue where to begin. I guess there will be a little learning curve.

 

[topdog]

There must be a curse for this trip. I was just about ready to pay for the meal plan at the end of this month. Then something suddenly happen to one of the two families I am bringing along to this trip.

Last Friday, I received a phone call from DW during work telling me we are in a family crisis. Her nephew's home, one of the two families, is on fire. The house and the car were total loss. I was in disbelieve. The mother and their six years old daughter who has special need plus the nurse were in the house at the time. They were all got out okay. Rest of the family members weren't home at the time. I frantically search the Internet and there it was...it made it to the local news.

Now they are scatter between families and friend's home until they can reconstruct everything back together when the insurance come thru. That will take a few months. The 12 years old who is going to this trip was devastated. The parent took her back to the wreck to salvage some of her belongings and she wouldn't leave. It was just heart broken. She took some pictures at the wreck and create this slide show. It was had to watch even it only last 21 second. http://flipagram.com/f/Fgvf05rgQ7

The little six years old is a Minnie fan so I ordered Mickey & Minnie plush from the Disney store yesterday and ship directly to her name. Hopefully, it will get there before or while we are there. We are going to visit them this weekend even just for a few days to see what we can do to help. At the ver least, we want to take the 12 years old to back to school shopping.

 

[topdog]

Unfortunately, DW's nephew has to back out from this trip. It's too much to deal with at home front.

In another note, all tickets has been linked. Next up, FP+ reservation and debate MemoryMaker or not. Then add in dining plan and we are set.

 

[Tiki Room Fan]

Does anyone know what happened to topdog/Peter??