shebaxric
Disaholic Since 1980!!!
- Joined
- Feb 18, 2009
- Messages
- 467
I know, the title seems more like a punishment than a treat, but thats how I had to catch your attention!
My name is Sheresa, and I am a lover of all things Disney, and have been ever since I could remember. I grew up in Southern California, so an annual trip to Disneyland was a must (sometimes, there was more than one!). My parents love Disney, and instilled that magic in my sisters and I. Something about the happiness that radiates from most people while you are there, its infectious! This is my first time writing a PTR or TR for that matter, so I hope you enjoy it!Okay, enough about why I love Disney, lets meet the cast of this PTR!
Me Lover of all things Disney.
DH Rick, DH, loves me and all things Disney.
DSIS Relly (nickname), 38 and lover of Disney, but never been to WDW!
DBF My sisters boyfriend, we will refer to him as Mickey. He has also never been to WDW and is going to be the go with the flow guy! (I will upload a picture of Relly and Mickey shortly, I need to get one!)
DMIL will be referred to as Daisy, her favorite character. I dont think I couldve asked for a better mother-in-law. We have taken several trips to WDW together.
DFIL will be referred to as Donald, his favorite character, which fits him to a tee! Just like DMIL, we have taken several trips together.
The plan was set in motion after talking about it since we returned from our last trip. DH and I have gone to WDW several times since we moved to NKY (abbreviation for Northern Kentucky that will be used from now on). DHs parents live in Jacksonville, FL, so it's easy to get to Jacksonville and simply drive to Orlando. I think my sister has always been interested in going, but Mickey was never that enthusiastic.
Because Im a Disney Freak, I was trying to plan a trip this year because the last time we went was December of 2007, and frankly, thats just too darn long for me to go without a Disney fix!
It started out with just DH, DFIL, and DMIL deciding on a trip. I wanted to try and go the least expensive route because, hey, its that kind of climate right now
I brought up the Shades of Green website to see if they had any availability (this was in JANUARY) and of course, nada. BUT, I did happen to see this: 
HUH??? Really, is that possible?? A FREE FIVE DAY TICKET? So, I clicked on the link to check it out. Sure enough, it stated that members of the armed services (and retired service people) were entitled to a free five day ticket, and were able to purchase up to five additional five-day tickets for only $125!!!!! This seemed too good to be true. I read all the fine print, re-read it, and then did it again for good measure.
The only real stipulation that I read was that the tickets would only be good through December 23rd. No problemo, we usually like to go in between Thanksgiving and Christmas, so we were okay there. I emailed DFIL with the link to this offer, and I think he almost fell out of his chair! We were really seeing the possibility of this trip coming to fruition!! I would finally get my Disney fix!!! I called DH because I couldnt contain my excitement, and he was easy enough to convince! DFIL checked with DMIL, and it was in the stars (and the budget) to make this trip a reality! The next step was finding a place to hang our hats while we were down there. DMIL and DFIL took us to WDW in December of 2007, which was a wonderful surprise. The only downside to this trip, we stayed off site. Now, I know there are people that feel strongly either way. DH and I are Pro on-site. We just factor in all of the amenities you get, and it makes sense to us. DFIL is all about price. If he can get the best deal, hell stay anywhere. Im really not on board with that, so I said that I would do some digging and make the hotel reservations. As you know this is no easy task. I searched and searched on Disneys site, but finding two rooms (yes, we need to have two rooms because Ive done the sharing a room route once and it went terribly wrong) at a decent price was not going well at all. Then, in my quest I came across The Ultimate Disney World Savings Guide by Beth Haworth, a former CM. I figured I might find some tips in there to help with the room struggle, so I paid the $20 to get the online book. Well, it didnt turn out to be the fountain of knowledge that I thought it would; most of the information I already knew. The one piece that I did find was on renting DVC points from a member. She has a step by step process for renting points, which I never knew you could do. She also has a link to the DIS boards in her book. To make a long story short (I know, too late
), I signed up on DIS, weeded through the posts on the DVC Rent/Trade board, and was able to rent points from a wonderful woman and her husband. We were very careful, we used a contract, and her payment terms were very reasonable. Hurray!!! We have a reservation for the Saratoga Springs Resort!! We will be checking in November 21st for 5 nights!! Up next, dragging my sister to WDW kicking and screaming!
Thanks for reading,
S
I'm in!!
for getting the room! You are going to enjoy SSR, it's a beautiful resort. Did you make any building requests?
We requested the Grandstand since it is the first bus stop, we really like to take advantage of that service!
I am so excited you are doing a PTR and a TR!!!! can't wait to read more and learn more about your family...
When I first started it, I kept looking at the count that tells you how many views you receive, and then I'd look and there would be no posts!
Now I've got a few and it makes me happy. I know, it's really shallow, but it makes the time go by until my trip much faster!!
) thought that because we were driving down together we should try to check in around the same time. So, I emailed my DVC renter and asked if we could sneak in one more night. It was available, so a four night trip turned into five!!
) for TSDP instead of CSDP because hey, the TS restaurants at WDW are good!!! When we made our reservation, I told our renter to sign us up for the TSDP. DH’s biggest complaint is that the tips are no longer included in the plan, and it would be an extra $50 for the week. Once you add in the tips, you’re looking at $100 or more than CS, which I was willing to pay. DH, not so much.
The Grey Goose Slushie is a must since I’ve heard so many yummy reviews of it. CS is going to be very hard to pick here. So many choices, so little room in my tummy! And, we’ve also got a ressie at Chefs de France!!! Okay, so here’s another conundrum. I was sneaky and made two ressies, one for 5:20 and the other for 8:00 p.m. Illuminations starts at 9:00, will we be able to see it from the restaurant? If not, then the 5:20 will win out!
We have a very early 7:20 ADR at Chef Mickey's. This day is penciled in for Epcot, but this may change, depending on what everyone wants to do that we may have missed
