It all started with a … Missing Alien? - May 2017 PTR

[PrincessAshlee]

OK, So Here's The Plan...​

As of yesterday, I’ve now made all of our ADRs. At least all of the ones that I plan to make before we go; last time we added one and skipped one while we were there, so that’s always a possibility. I’m pretty happy with what we have chosen though, so I doubt that much will change.

Also, I talked to DH last night and we finished our list of fastpasses that we’d like to get, so now I just have to wait until Tuesday and hope that we can get the times that we want.

One of the things that we really liked about our last trip was being able to go to multiple parks per day, so we decided that it was worth it to get park hoppers again. We are also thinking of trying out the new express transportation system. I love the idea of being able to switch from park to park without having to stand in line for bag check and admission each time.

Another thing that we really liked from our last trip was taking mid-day breaks. I love naps! So most days, we will go to one park in the morning, and then take a 2-3 hour break back at our hotel around 2pm. Then we will go to a different park in the evening. Here is what I have planned so far:

Day 1 – Saturday, April 29, 2017
Flight Arrival @ MCO: 6:15pm
DME to Check-In @ Pop Century
Disney Springs?
ADR: Chef Art Smith’s Homecoming (??)

Day 2 – Sunday, April 30, 2017
AM Park: Magic Kingdom
ADR: Crystal Palace (9:55am)
PM Park: Animal Kingdom
Wanted FP+: Expedition Everest, Kilimanjaro Safari, & Rivers of Light

Day 3 – Monday, May 1, 2017
AM Park: EPCOT
Wanted FP+: Soarin’, The Seas with Nemo
ADR: Teppan Edo (12:40pm)
PM Park: ??

Day 4 – Tuesday, May 2, 2017
AM Park: Animal Kingdom
PM Park: Hollywood Studios
ADR: Mama Melrose (5:50pm)
Wanted FP+: Toy Story Midway Mania, Tower of Terror

Day 5 – Wednesday, May 3, 2017
ADR: Captain’s Grille (10:00am)
AM Park: EPCOT
Wanted FP+: Frozen Ever After
PM Park: ??

Day 6 – Thursday, May 4, 2017
AM Park: Hollywood Studios
Wanted FP+: Toy Story Midway Mania, Tower of Terror
ADR: Ohana (4:25pm)
PM Park: ??

Day 7 – Friday, May 5, 2017
ADR: Kona Cafe (9:50am)
AM Park: Animal Kingdom
PM Park: Magic Kingdom
Wanted FP+: Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Cinderella Meet & Greet

Day 8 – Saturday, May 6, 2017
Check Out @ Pop Century
Lunch at Art of Animation
DME to Departure Flight @ MCO – 4:15pm

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In an effort to plan less, I’ve left three nights open. I do have a list of activities that we might do, but I’ll list those in a separate post.

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64 Days To Go!!! I Can’t Wait!!​

 

[PrincessAshlee]

There’s So Much More Time For Activities​

Currently, I have three evenings without set plans. We will decide on that day what we want to do, but here is the list of options that I have come up with:

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(1) Visit Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto at the Polynesian Resort – we really liked this on our last trip and I would like to go back. I originally wanted to do a monorail bar crawl, but the bars at the Grand Floridian look too fancy for us and the bars at the Contemporary weren’t really a must do either. I’d rather just spend more time at Trader Sam’s.

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(2) See Illuminations at EPCOT – we missed this on our last trip, so I would like to try to see it this trip, since DH has never seen it. However, I didn’t really love it when I saw it 2014, so it’s not really a must do for me.

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(3) Visit Geyser Point Grille and explore the Wilderness Lodge – we are considering staying here on our next trip, so I’d like to look around, since I’ve never been there before.

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(4) Evening EMH at MK – I love the evening EMH at MK! It seems as though a lot of people leave after the fireworks, so the park is definitely less busy. Plus the temperature is cooler and everything looks so magical when it’s all lit up!

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(5) Disney Springs – if we don’t make it there our first night, we will have to find time to go here sometime during the week.

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(6) Carriage or Wagon Ride at Fort Wilderness – I think that a carriage ride would be nice, since it’s just the two of us, but the website says that reservations are recommended, so I’m thinking that they may not be available. Therefore, a wagon tour of Fort Wilderness might work out better, since they don’t take reservations for those.

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(7) See the Boardwalk at night – this was another thing that we had planned for our last trip that we didn’t do, so maybe we will get to it this time. I’d really like to go to the Boardwalk Bakery!

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(8) Mini Golf – I love mini golf! So much so, that it is basically a requirement for all non-Disney vacations, but I can never seem to find the time when we are at Disney, even though their courses look really fun. This may get combined with #7 if we go to Fantasia Gardens.


64 Days To Go!!! I Can’t Wait!!

 

[PrincessAshlee]

Happy Fastpass Fat Tuesday!!!​

Yummy packzis from the local bakery!​

Today was Fastpass day for us!! This meant I got up at 6:30am, while DH continued to snooze until 8:45am. Thankfully my work meeting got moved to tomorrow, so I wasn’t in a huge rush to get ready. Also, since I woke up to my first alarm (that never happens, I was really excited), I had some time before I was allowed onto the fastpass site, so I completed our online check in.

I had already called and requested that they make a note in our file that we would like a king bed, but I think there is only a slim chance that we will actually get one, since only a small percentage of the rooms at POP have king beds. I was really upset when I found out that we weren’t going to be able to get a king bed for our honeymoon in October, but having 2 beds really wasn’t that bad. It was actually kind of nice to come back and have our own space after a hot day at the parks, so I’ll be happy either way.

Since king bed, wasn’t a preference choice through the online check-in, I chose “higher floor” and “70s section”. We spent a lot of time debating the different sections, but ultimately decided to request the 70s section because both buildings are relatively close to the food court and the bus stop. The 70s section does not have its own pool, but I don’t think that will be an issue, since we only used the pool once on our last trip.

After I completed the online check-in, it was time to make our fastpass reservations! I was able to get everything that I wanted, within 5-10 minutes of my preferred time! I had originally thought that I would make all of our fastpass selections for the morning, but I ended up making half for the morning and half for the afternoon/evening. This will allow us more flexibility in our schedule; we won’t be rushed after our breakfast ADRs and we even have a day where we can sleep late, if we want to. Here are the fastpasses that I selected:

Sunday, April 30, 2017 – Animal Kingdom
5:00pm – 6:00pm Expedition Everest
7:05pm – 8:05pm Kilimanjaro Safari
8:35pm – 9:00pm Rivers of Light

Monday, May 1, 2017 - EPCOT
9:25am – 10:25am The Seas with Nemo & Friends
10:25am – 11:25am Soarin’
11:35am – 12:35pm Living with the Land

Tuesday, May 2, 2017 – Hollywood Studios
4:50pm – 5:50pm Tower of Terror
6:00pm – 7:00pm Star Tours
7:05pm – 8:05pm Toy Story Midway Mania

Wednesday, May 3, 2017 - EPCOT
9:55am – 10:55am Spaceship Earth*
11:05am – 12:05pm Disney & Pixar Short Film Festival*
12:10pm – 1:10pm Frozen Ever After

Thursday, May 4, 2017 – Hollywood Studios
9:10am – 9:25am Voyage of the Little Mermaid*
10:30am – 11:30am Tower of Terror
11:35am – 12:35pm Toy Story Midway Mania

Friday, May 5, 2017 – Magic Kingdom
5:30pm – 6:30pm Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
6:40pm – 7:40pm Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
7:50pm – 8:30pm Meet Cinderella and Elena

*These are fastpasses that we do not actually plan to use, but that I had to make in order to potentially make additional same day Tier 1 fastpasses. I feel a little bad taking fastpasses that someone else could actually use, but that is how the system works.

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60 Days To Go!! I Can't Wait!!

 

[Raeven]

I guess we're strange because I prefer to have the 2 beds so we can put stuff on one and then sleep on the other

 

[PrincessAshlee]

I guess we're strange because I prefer to have the 2 beds so we can put stuff on one and then sleep on the other

That is nice too. When I travel alone for work, it's nice to have the second bed to spread out all of my clothes.

But I've been so spoiled by our king bed at home now, that I can't go back to sharing a double (like we did when we first started dating). I need space for me and my 12 pillows!

 

[PrincessAshlee]

Mousellaneous Updates​

I posted an update on our fastpasses the other day, but there were a few other minor things that happened this week...

The Daytona 500 was this past weekend, so to prepare DH and I watched Cars 2. I had not seen it before. It was pretty cute, but I prefer the original Cars. I’m excited to see Cars 3 though. Before the Daytona 500, DH wanted me to pick a driver to root for. I don’t follow racing at all, so I chose Ryan Blaney, just because he is going to be in Cars 3 and then he came in second!

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Also this weekend, our local Kroger grocery store was having a promotion that you would get 4 fuel points for every dollar spent on gift cards (then you get 10 cents off per gallon of gas for every 100 fuel points). So I purchased $1,000 in Disney Gift cards to use on food and souvenirs on our trip, so I got 4,000 points! You can only use $1 off each time you fill up, but that is still about a $15 savings per fill up x 4 fill ups = $60 in savings. Plus I’ll get $20 Disney cash back from Visa for using my Disney Visa to purchase the gift cards. I love a good deal! Plus now most (if not all) of our food, drinks, and souvenirs are paid for!

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I am thinking about making a couple of changes to the ADRs for our trip, but they are just small changes, nothing major... I found an earlier reservation for our Crystal Palace breakfast, so I moved it from 9:55am to 9:25am. I had said that I didn’t want to plan anything too early, since we tend to run late, but that will be our first day in the parks and I think I will be excited to get there.

Also, I am also considering adding a lunch at Yak and Yeti to our Animal Kingdom morning. I really liked it on our last trip and I found out that if we join the Landry’s Select Club we could get a free $25 credit for DH’s birthday. His birthday is later in May, but the credit is applied the first day of your birthday month. It does cost $25 to join the club, but then you get a $25 welcome credit; so really it cancels out. With both credits, we would have $50 for the price of $25. I still have to talk to DH about this one, but I went ahead and made an ADR for 12:30pm on 5/2... Plus I really want to try the fried wontons, since I was too full to have them last time!

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My sister is at Universal today; she called me from Hogsmeade. I’m pretty jealous. We had been casually talking about going together as a sister’s trip, but then she decided that she wanted to go with her fiancé instead. I don’t know why though, because he is afraid of all of the rides. I may be a little biased, but I think she would have had a much better time if she had gone with me! Maybe someday...​

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58 Days To Go!! I Can't Wait!!

 

[Raeven]

I've never seen Cars I have to get on that!

I love a good deal too

I love the fried wontons at Yak and Yeti!

I think you would've been a better person to go on the trip with too!

 

[xlsm]

Hi!! Our dates overlap, so I'll be going back tomorrow to read through and get caught up! Looking forward to following along

 

[xlsm]

Ok, I am all caught up now!

I didn't take notes when reading through, so I'm going to miss a lot of the comments I was going to make, and they won't be in order,lol!

- I can't believe the Stitch came off of your mug in the dishwasher! But I'm glad it did if it got you back to WDW
- Homecoming in Disney Springs is amazing, so that's a good choice!
- The Wilderness Lodge is my favorite, favorite, FAVORITE resort on property, I can't wait for you to see it!!
- I think Pop looks fun, and it would definitely be my value of choice. I'm thinking about going over to see it and AoA on my own May trip.


I think you guys have some great plans! I'm kind of in a re-planning phase, because originally I was taking my mother-in-law along on this trip, but now I'm going by myself. I have FPs made (at least preliminary FPs), and am working on cancelling most of the ADRs I made and making a couple new ones for myself.

Happy to be here to read all about the coming weeks! We're getting so close!!

 

[Chelley00]

We have so many of the same plans for park days. You'll be at MK on my birthday too! I'll be the one wearing the bright pink "Birthday Girl" shirt.

And can we all just collectively gasp that Raven has never seen Cars?

 

[PrincessAshlee]

I've never seen Cars I have to get on that!

And can we all just collectively gasp that Raven has never seen Cars?

Yes, you should definitely see it. I didn't think I would like it, because I thought it was a "boys movie" and I'm more of a princess movie kind of girl, but it was really cute!

Hi!! Our dates overlap, so I'll be going back tomorrow to read through and get caught up! Looking forward to following along

Homecoming in Disney Springs is amazing, so that's a good choice!

Yes, it seems like everyone loves it, so I really want to go there. I just need to figure out where it works in our schedule. Ideally, I'd like to go there on our first night, but I am worried about making an ADR and then having our plane be delayed. I've been periodically checking and it seems that there are usually some same day ADRs available, so I am hoping that we will get lucky and I can make one once we land.

I think you guys have some great plans! I'm kind of in a re-planning phase, because originally I was taking my mother-in-law along on this trip, but now I'm going by myself. I have FPs made (at least preliminary FPs), and am working on cancelling most of the ADRs I made and making a couple new ones for myself.

I read about that on Raeven's PTR. I think you're pretty brave to even considering going with your MIL! I get along fairly well with my MIL, but I've already told DH that I don't think I would ever want to go to Disney with her, not even as a family trip. The main problem is that we are both used to being the one to be in charge and doing the planning, but she doesn't know anything about Disney. (Before our last trip, she told our niece that we were going to see Spongebob. ) She would want to plan the whole trip based on what she did when they went 25 years ago or on the recommendation of some random friend and she probably wouldn't listen to me at all. It would drive me crazy!!

Your solo trip sounds fun though!

You'll be at MK on my birthday too! I'll be the one wearing the bright pink "Birthday Girl" shirt.

I'll be sure to look for you!

 

[Raeven]

Yes, you should definitely see it. I didn't think I would like it, because I thought it was a "boys movie" and I'm more of a princess movie kind of girl, but it was really cute!

I want to! I was waiting for it to be on tv for free. They always have the 2nd but not the first so I may have to rent it.

 

[PrincessAshlee]

It's A Small Update After All
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It’s been over 2 weeks since my last update, but honestly, there isn’t much to update.

The past couple of weeks have been really busy for us. Work has been crazy and DH was in a wedding last weekend, so I just haven’t had much time for Disney. ​

I am so pale that I almost glow in the dark! ​

I have been catching up on reading a few other PTRs this week and now I want to make more ADRs. I still like the ones that we chose, but now I want to go everywhere that everyone else is going too! I probably shouldn’t make any more ADRs though, since we already have at least 1 per day. I hate running to make it to a reservation (since we’re usually running late), but I also like the stability in knowing that we’re going to have a good meal. Can anyone suggest any good QS or TS where you don’t always need an ADR?

Other than that, I bought new tennis shoes for DH and myself and I’ve tried to start walking more. Thankfully we have a treadmill, because it has been way too cold to walk outside, but it is still hard to get motivated when it’s gloomy/snowy. We didn’t get as much snow as some of you, but we still got a few inches; which is more than I care for.

My new shoes - they're more of a neon coral in person​

Other than that, I need to start working on our shirts. DH got his bonus check on Monday , so he gave me the go ahead to buy the heat press that I've been wanting. (For those that don’t know, a heat press is a large machine that uses heat and pressure to fuse vinyl or iron-ons to shirts.) Since DH has given in to wearing homemade shirts for all of our trips, I’m sure that it will get plenty of use. I got a notice that it shipped today and should be here in about a week and a half. Therefore, I should finalize my designs and order some more vinyl, so that I can play with it, when it arrives.

It's bigger than it looks - the square surface is 15 x 15 inches and it weighs 50 pounds ​

I also need to get serious about making a packing list, so I can make a list of what we still need to get. I don’t think that there is really that much, but I do know that DH and I both need some new shorts and socks and probably a few other things. I also need to clean and organize my guest room, since that is where I dumped everything after our last trip.

I almost forgot the best part! DH’s work is renting out one of the local movie theater screens tomorrow for a screening of Beauty and the Beast and he got free tickets for me, my mom, and my sister. (It’s also possible that he wanted to get rid of me, so that he can watch March Madness, but either way, I’m so excited!!) We saw the preview a couple weeks ago when we went to see Logan and it’s just so much more amazing on the big screen!!

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45 Days To Go!! I Can't Wait!!

 

[Raeven]

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I have been catching up on reading a few other PTRs this week and now I want to make more ADRs. I still like the ones that we chose, but now I want to go everywhere that everyone else is going too! I probably shouldn’t make any more ADRs though, since we already have at least 1 per day. I hate running to make it to a reservation (since we’re usually running late), but I also like the stability in knowing that we’re going to have a good meal. Can anyone suggest any good QS or TS where you don’t always need an ADR?

DLuxe Burger is always my go to QS suggestion. (We haven't tried a lot of QS). I'm not sure of any TS that don't take reservations except Big River Grille and Brewing Works on the Boardwalk and we've never been there. I always want to make more adrs after reading people's trs but we can't fit any more in

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I almost forgot the best part! DH’s work is renting out one of the local movie theater screens tomorrow for a screening of Beauty and the Beast and he got free tickets for me, my mom, and my sister. (It’s also possible that he wanted to get rid of me, so that he can watch March Madness, but either way, I’m so excited!!) We saw the preview a couple weeks ago when we went to see Logan and it’s just so much more amazing on the big screen!!

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45 Days To Go!! I Can't Wait!!

Yay sounds awesome!

 

[iheartbelle87]

my name is Ashlee. I’m 29 and I love all things Disney! My traveling partner for this trip is my wonderful husband

Um hello did I write this? Twinning!

We were last at Disney World in October for our honeymoon! We had a wonderful week and are really looking forward to going back

Yay!! So glad you had a great honeymoon... and btw, did I write this too?! We're basically the same person lol!

We are not morning people. I knew this, but thought that being at Disney World would be an exception. It’s not!

I agree with you, I like to get up early and enjoy my coffee, lounge around the pool/beach areas, THEN get to the parks

As a result, I have decided to plan a lot less this trip. I still want to make at least one ADR per day, since we did really enjoy the TS meals that we had, but this time half of them will be for breakfast.

Yum, can't wait to see what you decide!

Also, there will be no plans before 9:30am.

Love this.

Unfortunately, Southwest did not have any direct flights from any of the airports near us, so it will take us a little longer to get there.

BOOO. DH usually insists on direct flights after a treacherous flight delay situation we had coming back from Jamaica in 2013.... but I got the 'ok' to book a non direct flight via SW for our return flight this time b/c it was significantly less money.

We still haven’t completely unpacked our bags from October!

Again, same. You ARE my spirit sister.

I came across the Captain’s Grille at the Yacht Club. I don’t know why I hadn’t come across it before, but quick look at the menu and I decided that this was the restaurant for us. What’s better than waffles with the espresso mascarpone? Dark chocolate waffles with the espresso mascarpon

YUMMMY! I need to look into this, you'll have to report back how you liked it before I leave

They also have Mimosas!!

Ok, I'm in.

last time we added one and skipped one while we were there, so that’s always a possibility.

This was us on our honeymoon! We had so many meals planned and we normally have a smaller breakfast and lunch and bigger dinner we ended up canceling some ADRs b/c we were just SO full

I was able to get everything that I wanted, within 5-10 minutes of my preferred time!

YESSSS

DH’s work is renting out one of the local movie theater screens tomorrow for a screening of Beauty and the Beast and he got free tickets for me, my mom, and my sister.

Are they hiring?

 

[PrincessAshlee]

DLuxe Burger is always my go to QS suggestion. (We haven't tried a lot of QS). I'm not sure of any TS that don't take reservations except Big River Grille and Brewing Works on the Boardwalk and we've never been there. I always want to make more adrs after reading people's trs but we can't fit any more in

I've decided that DLuxe Burger is going to be our backup in case we cannot get a same day reservation for Homecoming on our arrival day. It is a Saturday night, so I'm worried that DS is going to be crowded, but I don't want to make and ADR now because I'm worried that our flight will be delayed.
I'm less concerned about not having enough TS, now that I've started to make my list of snacks that I want to have. There's just too many yummy choices and not enough time (or stomach space )!!

Um hello did I write this? Twinning!

I agree with you, I like to get up early and enjoy my coffee, lounge around the pool/beach areas, THEN get to the parks

Last trip, I was really concerned about fitting everything in, because I didn't think we would be back until 2020, but now that we were just there, this trip is going to be a lot more relaxed.

BOOO. DH usually insists on direct flights after a treacherous flight delay situation we had coming back from Jamaica in 2013.... but I got the 'ok' to book a non direct flight via SW for our return flight this time b/c it was significantly less money.

So I made the mistake of looking at other flights after I had already booked ours and now DH is annoyed that we have layovers. He wanted to know what the price difference would have been to fly first class. I assumed it would be a big difference, but then Delta had direct flights in first class for only about $200 more total, but our other flights are non-refundable. Oh well, maybe next time. We were supposed to be saving money this trip anyways.

 

[PrincessAshlee]

Expedition Update – Legend of the Lost PTR​

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So I haven’t been on in a while, but in less than 4 weeks, we will be at WDW!!! Our MagicBands shipped the other day and I’m now stalking the USPS website trying to figure out when they are going to arrive. They only took a couple of days to get here last time, so I’m hoping that they will be here this week!

I am so excited, but I also feel really unprepared. I started to write daily itineraries, but they were really long and boring; full of we may do this or we may do that. It is hard to really say what we are going to do, since I told DH that I would plan less. I still have a plan of course, but there are so many things that could change.

Plus, since we were just there six months ago, there are a lot less “must do” things for us. Because of this and also because I am worried that it is going to be really hot, I am considering adding the Water Parks to our tickets. We already have Park Hopper tickets, so I don’t think that it will be too much to add the “Plus” option, but I’m not sure since we booked our package before the February price increase. I’ve looked on a couple different threads and have found conflicting information. We do have 3 pools at our hotel, but I thought that if it wouldn’t be too much more, it might be more fun to check out the water parks too.

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Back to the PTR plans, I may try to post daily itineraries, but more than likely I will just do one post with a brief outline of our days. I also want to finish my TR from our last trip before we go, so I’ve got a lot to do!

I haven’t done much for the last few weeks, because I’ve had a head cold and DH has been working crazy hours (3am-1pm - which also throws off my sleep schedule); add in cold rainy weather and all I want to do is sleep. I actually did start packing a little yesterday and DH thought I was crazy.

Non-Planning Disney Updates…
It was a few weeks ago now, but Beauty and the Beast was amazing! Plus we got free popcorn, slushies and Disney Princess PEZ!! DH’s company said that they plan to do more movies this year; maybe Star Wars and Wonder Woman. Neither of those movies interest me much, but free movies are always great!!

Reminder to Self - Don't wear my hair pulled back; I look bald.

They had Belle and some other princesses too, but I wanted Rapunzel, because she's my favorite.
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Also, I’ve been trying to get DH to watch more of the Disney movies. Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve watched Moana, Monsters Inc., and Monsters University. Moana was new for me too and I really liked it! The soundtrack is so catchy, I find myself randomly singing it.

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I’m hoping to get him to watch a couple more movies before our trip. I DVR’d the animated Alice in Wonderland, when it was on the other day. It’s not really my favorite (the story line is so crazy ), but the characters are so iconic and DH doesn’t get it because he’s never seen it, so I want him to watch it. I wanted to make Alice themed shirts for us and mine was going to say “It’s my very merry un-birthday” and he was confused and concerned that people would think it was actually my birthday. Hopefully he’ll understand more after he watches it and will be more open to the Alice shirts for our next trip.

Also, exciting news… we found pineapple dole whip at our favorite local, seasonal ice cream shop!!! It was really good and definitely got me in the mood for our trip, but it’s not quite as refreshing when its only 45 degrees outside.

DH Cheesy Smile - I always tell him how it reminds me of that scene in the animated Beauty and the Beast, where the Beast tries to smile. ​

Back to Planning...
I’m also working on making a list of “must have” snacks. Last trip I got the refillable popcorn tub and ate like a tub a day. I love popcorn!! But then I wasn’t really hungry for other snacks. This time I want to make a point to try a lot more snacks. However, right now my list is just basically every bakery at Disney World. I love the fancy bakeries with the glass display cases showing all of the yummy goodies! We don’t really have any around where we live, so they always seem really special to me.

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26 Days To Go!! I Can't Wait!!

 

[iheartbelle87]

So I made the mistake of looking at other flights after I had already booked ours and now DH is annoyed that we have layovers. He wanted to know what the price difference would have been to fly first class. I assumed it would be a big difference, but then Delta had direct flights in first class for only about $200 more total, but our other flights are non-refundable. Oh well, maybe next time. We were supposed to be saving money this trip anyways.

Its so tempting to keep 'checking' flight options! haha! Well if DH is annoyed I would say to just fork over the $200 if he is okay with it ... nothing is worse than dealing with a grumpy gills I've found with DH he's more willing to let me spend more $$ if it's his 'idea' lol.

I still have a plan of course, but there are so many things that could change.

I'm right there with you!! Its so nice to not have a plan but I totally get the FOMO of not getting everything in

I am considering adding the Water Parks to our tickets. We already have Park Hopper tickets, so I don’t think that it will be too much to add the “Plus” option, but I’m not sure since we booked our package before the February price increase.

I say GO for it! Our package for May included the Water Park as an 'extra' and now I'm very excited to use this! Altho just a 'warning'... DH and I went to a water park (I think Typhoon Lagoon) and got there mid day when it was super busy. I think if you and DH up and at the park when it opens you'll have a more relaxing time there because you can get ideal chair locations and do some attractions without too many lines... just a thought. #imrambling

It was a few weeks ago now, but Beauty and the Beast was amazing!

AHHH I need to watch this!! I'm hoping it comes on demand soon!

Moana was new for me too and I really liked it! The soundtrack is so catchy, I find myself randomly singing it.

I NEED to see Moana!!

I’m also working on making a list of “must have” snacks

YES!! Can't wait to see your list I need some good ideas!!

 

[PrincessAshlee]

Its so tempting to keep 'checking' flight options! haha! Well if DH is annoyed I would say to just fork over the $200 if he is okay with it ... nothing is worse than dealing with a grumpy gills I've found with DH he's more willing to let me spend more $$ if it's his 'idea' lol.

Well it would cost us a lot more now, because our SW tickets are non-refundable. I think we could get a credit for future flights, but we don't currently have any other trips planned for the future and I know the credit expires after a certain period of time. I'm also worried that once he got a taste of first class, he would never want to use the credits and we would just be out all of that money. I'm the accountant, so really I'm in charge of when we spend more and when we don't. I love my husband, but if it were up to him, we'd splurge all the time.
It's just not in our budget this time. I think we're going to need a new A/C unit and with installation, that can cost up to 10K. I'm happy to be going on vacation this year at all.

I'm thinking that if we save up, in a couple years we can take our "Dream Trip". We can fly first class and stay at a deluxe resort. DH wants to take a day or two to go to Tampa Bay for a Buccaneers football game and I want to do the Keys to the Kingdom tour... Yes, I'm already planning our next trip and we haven't even taken this one yet.

I say GO for it! Our package for May included the Water Park as an 'extra' and now I'm very excited to use this! Altho just a 'warning'... DH and I went to a water park (I think Typhoon Lagoon) and got there mid day when it was super busy. I think if you and DH up and at the park when it opens you'll have a more relaxing time there because you can get ideal chair locations and do some attractions without too many lines... just a thought. #imrambling

When we booked through the TA for our last trip, we had the Water Park extra too, but we never ended up using it because they changed the refurbishment schedule and Blizzard Beach closed the day before we had planned to go there. Because of the shared buses and our other plans, it would have taken a lot longer to go to Typhoon Lagoon, so we just didn't go. I think I'll just wait and if we decide that we want to go this trip, we can add it that day.

I am a little concerned about crowds, because we probably wouldn't go until afternoon (we have ADR or FP reservations for all of our mornings), but we would probably stick to the wave pool and lazy river, so maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

I NEED to see Moana!!

Yes!! It is really good! I wanted to see it in the theater, but we never got around to it and then it took forever for it to come out on video/on demand.

 

[PrincessAshlee]

So Much to Do and So Little Time to Do It​

Life has been so busy lately! We’re trying to get our house and yard cleaned up, before we leave in less than 2 weeks. There’s so much to do and I keep getting distracted. I start one project and then I find something else that needs done, so I start that. Pretty soon I have a dozen projects started and none of them are done, so our house looks worse than when I started!

Other than that, since I last updated, we celebrated our 6-month anniversary on the 8th. We started the day by running errands and ended up buying a new car! Our lease was going to be up on our CR-V in November, but we were already at our mileage limit, so we decided to go talk to our dealer about our options. We were able to trade in the old lease and leave that day with our new car. It’s not really a new car, just new to us, but it is only a 2016, so it still feels new.

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I’ve also been trying to get everything together for our trip. DH needed new shorts and I’ve been waiting for them to go on sale and luckily, last week they did! JcPenney had his favorite shorts on sale for $24.99 and then they had a $10 off $25 coupon. You’re supposed to have to buy something else to go over $25, but in store, the coupon works as long as it is over $25 including tax. So I got him 2 pairs of shorts for $32!

I also did a big shopping trip this past Saturday to pick up all the little things that we needed: aspirin, suntan lotion, trial size shampoo, conditioner, etc. Last time I packed full size bottles and we maybe used a quarter of the bottles. Then we had to just leave it, so that we would have room in our bags for souvenirs. (I even had half of the souvenirs mailed to our house ). So this time, I’m really trying to pack as little as possible, so we have plenty of room to bring fun stuff home!

This looks just like me packing for our last trip!​

So I’ve officially started packing - 2 weeks early!! Things are actually in suitcases and not just laying all over our guest bed (although there is quite a bit still on there too ). I finished making half of our shirts today and I will finish the other half tomorrow. So hopefully everything will be packed (except the last minute essentials) by next Wednesday. Next Thursday, I have an all-day meeting with a co-worker and then I have a big work project that I have to turn in on Friday, before my 2:30pm mani/pedi appointment (my reward for finishing the project ).

In other news, my cousin is at Disney World today! She is marching in the parade tomorrow at the Magic Kingdom with her high school band! I knew that she was going, but forgot that the dates were so close when I went to schedule my trip. I kind of wish that I had planned to be there to see her perform, but I also know that this week is supposed to be a lot more crowded than the week we chose. Plus she probably doesn’t want me there following her around anyways. (I just realized, she is now the same age that I was when she was born! I am so old! )

I gave her these ears on Sunday. She is still my baby cousin in my mind!!
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11 Days To Go!! I Can't Wait!!