Like...They are Going with STRANGERS?!?! Sayonara Part 1- Join Us on the new thread!

[that's nice]

But...for the BIG news............


These three words....

Just may....

Help the three of us on this trip............

It covers our dates...... (and almost every other date in 2010! )

I booked 2 trips today........should it be three?? Liesa...Liesa...where are you??



Got A PIN!!!!

Congrats on the PIN!!!!!

So your PO ressie could be changed? Is there a deluxe in your future? Or are you ladies just going to pocket the savings? I can't wait to hear what ya'll have planned!!!!!!!

 

[shannn]

I can't wait to see the pictures of Lauren! How exciting for her to go on her first date!!

Congrats on the pin!!

For the food, I'm going to go with:

La Catina de San Angel ??

 

[disney<333]

I'm here. Now I have to get caught up. That may take a while with your 90 pages. I was just skimming real quickly and heard you may upgrade to deluxe.
have a good day.
subbing.

 

[jordanyosh]

Cantina de San Angel or San Angel Inn..

 

[tinkgurl]

Oooh it's either the CS or TS place in Mexico at Epcot!

 

[eandesmom]

ok my guess is

what I guessed last time!

 

[jenb1023]

Woo-hoo for a pin! Is it better than free dining?

My guess is Cantina de San Angel

 

[kimmylaj]

holy cow i didnt think i was gone that long.
i missed all of the ridiculous drama surrounding the photopass. congrats maroo. job well done. i am proud to say i know some (even if it isnt in real life) who fights so hard to help others.
prayers for maroo william and lauren.
awesome job on the little lime green mickeys.
no guesses on the food, i am a pizza and hamburger kinda girl.
now if we could play a game about where are you shopping. i might do well lol
hooray for a pin code

 

[Sandy321]

Kim great recap!

sending more prayers and positive vibes for Lauren, William, mom and dad - and you too Maroo! hope you hear some positive news with the sleep study - so you can get some sleep!!

Liesa you know in my mind I have a perfect score on the quizzes! I cant imagine where my posts have gone tho my guess this time is definately Mexican - Cantina, you seem to be doing CS! Love the Moroccan CS - I kinda want to try the TS in Morocco

A PIN CODE!! I didnt get no stinkin PIN CODE!! I want to plan a trip back for a food and wine festival!!

WTG Maroo!

 

[that's nice]

I jumped on here because I couldn't take the drama of the Yankee game. They won BTW I wanted to get my vote in before the voting closed. Your picture looks like the Cantina Burrito from Cantina de San Angel.

They probably serve this food in more than 1 place on property but that is my answer and I'm sticking to it!

 

[All7OfUs]

Fellow Soldiers, we are gathered here tod..... oh wait, wrong page;

Fellow Soldiers, it has come to our attention that our fellow compatriot, maroo, has a secret weapon up her sleeve that will bring amazing results in the TC3 Quest for Freedom!!! Replete with coded information, ready and armed, she unveiled this most wondrous, most discombobulating, most worthy and capable instument of vacation warfare- the all-encompassing....

PIN CODE!!!!


But, you already knew that, didn't you Fellow Soldiers?! You also already knew that when you signed up for this PTR, NOTHING would stay the same, didn't you?? When maroo is on your side, who can stand against you? And who can rest in the knowledge that their vacation plans were tidily sewed up and socked away, just needing a cute little ticker (which was very difficult to make, might I add maroo!) to ticky-tock away the days and months. HA! NEVER!

So, maroo calls using the wireless communicator to make the all-important field call to Soldier #1 (me) on Saturday night, all in a dither, (Well, it wasn't quite that dramatic, but I do love that word) and tells me she has a PIN. I already knew, without her having to say it, that she was wondering if we should go changing our battle tactics to staying at the POLY (which is like officer's base housing vs. enlisted digs) for part of our stay. I think all the "better" outweighs the "good" of the hot tub in this case. Who can resist soft Tahitian drumming on the pathways, the view of MK from the beach, hammocks, soft sand, and Lapus right around the corner? WHO, I ASK YOU!!?

So, the new battleplan is this: (Remember, in my very first post, I told you we'd take you into our confidence, as you deemed yourselves worthy- consider yourselves highly capable and worthy compatriots!)

POR- Sat., Sept. 4th- Wed. Sept. 8th

Move to POLY Thurs., Sept., 9th- Sun., Sept. 12

NOW, here's what I originally thought I'd be posting today: Remember, last Friday, before my "weekend hiatus" (good one, Cynthia! ) I told you there'd be a big update, and change of plans?? Well, honestly NEVER, EVER, EVER in my wildest dreams did I EVER think I'd be able to stay at the POLY, EVER. I just figured I'd have to wait until Heaven to get something that wonderful. Here's what I thought I'd be telling you right now:

It turns out that the conference in Thailand doesn't start until the 18th. That's Saturday- a whole week after I'd originally planned on leaving (well almost, anyway). Basically, I have no-where to go in FL, and I'm certainly NOT going to go to meet up with my family and be alone in Bangkok for 5 days. Hmmm.... what to do, what to do?? Oh, wait, let me see, I'm at WDW. IT suddently comes to me. (Yeah, that took about 3 nano-seconds) I could check into POP for 3 nights and do a little solo time.

But, can I just bare my soul for a just a little?? Indulge me. Having 3 days all to myself brings a multitude of conflicting and weird feelings. I am an extrovert- to the max. I love people. I love being WITH people! Disney, just feels right with people. But is it only this that makes me want a touring partner?? I think not. If I were really honest with myself, I'd have to confess that being alone kind of scares me. Will I really have fun? Will I feel weird eating all alone? Can I stand it riding BTMRR all alone and not have someone to turn to and scream, "That was totally wicked!" I just don't know.

I am so torn!! Part of me says, "Do this, it will help you grow as a person", other part says, "Find someone to go with you". First off, it will help with the costs! And that's no small potatoes. But who? I did actually ask a couple of you- you know who you are... So, here's what I'm thinking... if those ladies can make it, I will be so thrilled. We can hang out, do a very relaxed pace of hanging out, (Cynthia, you know that drink card you made?? We could knock off a few more from it) see whatever I didn't from the first days, etc... But if they can't make it, then I will have to make peace with that part of me that has been lost over the years of being mom and wife.

Well, there you go. The new, improved ultra-plussed, super-sized battle plan. The only thing that could get any better is Free Dining AND the 40%. Do I need to remind you that this is still a PTR with maroo involved, don't be surprised....

 

[jordanyosh]

solo is bliss to an extrovert. take it from one who lives for others.

it takes a full day to transition from having so much fun with friends and family to fully enjoying the solo time. However, once you are in the solo zone, you experience WDW in a completely different way. For instance, at Pop early in the morning or late in the evening, a walk along Hourglass Lake takes on new meaning by yourself. Thankfulness is a word that immediately comes to mind. Thankfulness for all that I have. Thankfulness for all that our Father has allowed us to enjoy.

Theme park touring is not so frenzied. You only have yourself to please. You find yourself sitting on benches and just enjoying the view and people watching. Fun places to find solace--Behind Club Cool and the Character Connection at Epcot there is an indoor hallway, there are only a few benches but its a great place to sit when it's hot and it's usually very quiet.

There is a TR by MARYPPNS that is all about her solo stay at WDW. She just finished day 1 with 4 more to go. You might want to check it out.

 

[All7OfUs]

Thanks for the encouragement, Jordy!! Really, I think the Father can and will use this trip to do some growing in me. Yes, I really believe that He can use delightful circumstances to do a work in a heart.

I'm actually following Heidi's report, and Crissy's too. They really do sound like they're having a ton of quiet "fun", and have perfected the art of solo touring.

Anyhow, I knew I could count on you to give me some much needed perspective on this new groove.

 

[jordanyosh]

Thanks for the encouragement, Jordy!! Really, I think the Father can and will use this trip to do some growing in me. Yes, I really believe that He can use delightful circumstances to do a work in a heart.

I'm actually following Heidi's report, and Crissy's too. They really do sound like they're having a ton of quiet "fun", and have perfected the art of solo touring.

Anyhow, I knew I could count on you to give me some much needed perspective on this new groove.

No worries! I've now done WDW solo a few times now and I am learning the art of enjoying the company of me.

 

[All7OfUs]

With every job that must be done, there is an element of fun. Mary Poppins

Okay, so we get to luxuriate ourselves in a little slice of heaven on earth; all in a good day's Quest for Freedom. Unfortunately, this diversion will also cost us. Hence, this next update...


By changing our POR ressie WITH Free Dining to only 5 nights, we will go from having 9 credits of gastronomic delight to only 5!! This is severely limiting, I must say. There are actually 9 places I really wanted to try, and 2 are 2 TS credit places. This is now going to mean we'll be having to pay OOP for some and simply skipping several others.

Now because this has become so incredibly confusing, I'm going to put long pause into our game of Rations Drop for awhile until we make some final decisions on some things. So, I'll just tell you now, EVERYONE scored in the last round with guessing the Cantina. Yum!! I love me some combo plate- I've eaten here every trip, and have never been disappointed yet.

So, without further anticipation, maroo and I talked at length this AM and decided that here's how we'll be spending those 5 precious TS credits and which ones we'll go with paying OOP.

Hoop do Doo (2)
'Ohana (1)
Teppan (1)
Boma (1)

OOP will be Sanaa, Cali Grill, and maybe Biergarten.

We had to drop Crystal cuz although it sounds wonderful, we just couldn't fit it in, and since one morning we'll be doing an AM EMH, we'll be getting to the park plenty early anyway. For me, it was all about getting in early, not the breakfast or the characters.

For my 5 CS credits, I'm going with: Wolfgang Puck Express or Earl's (both sound great), Pecos, Morocco, Mexico, and Col. H. House.

OOP CS will probably end up being: Casey's (once or twice)? and maybe a POR counter service breakfast??

Snacks: Goofy's Choco Rice Krispy, Minnie's Str. Bar, Dole Whip Float, Frozen Banana, and either Creme Brulee at Sunshine Seasons or Crepes from France?

So, although the Poly is wonderful, we do lose a fair amount of flexibility on the dining end of things. Luckily, all of us are on the whole quite light eaters and can do a lot of splitting (Cali Gr., Sanaa no problem!) Even if we split Teppan, we could do one more place and split, but I'll have to think on that.

However, the biggest thing we've lost, which may actually cause stress induced trauma to maroo is the lack of hot tub!! I know!! Scary!

So, we'll have to make sure there's plenty of time to hot tub time at POR before the move. Now, we'll just make sure that the water stays IN the hot tub, right, maroo?!

 

[shannn]

OH, you know I'll cheer at the thought of the Poly!! That is fabulous news.

I wish your trip was in the summer. I'd jump right in and offer to join your solo time. Unfortunately, I think my principal would have something to say!

 

[that's nice]

WOWZERS!!!
There is so much to comment on! First off the POLY!!!!!! I'm jealous!!!! Although you do lose the FD, with splitting meals and not eating everything that comes with these meals (like dessert) you will still end up making out I think. Who needs chocolate cake with every lunch?

I still CANNOT believe that POLY doesn't have a hot tub! Can you use GFs or CRs hot tub? Who knows maybe it will be a million degrees and a hot tub might be the last thing on your mind.

I'm sad that you have revealed the rest of your ADRs. The game was really fun! Your ADRs do look really good though!

Finally 3 more days? This seems like my upcoming trip... one day added here another there... you might end up staying for 2 weeks!!!! As much as I would love to give you company, once again, I don't think it would go over too well with the DW. LOLOL I think you will have a great time by yourself!!! No one to please, make some new friends, tour at your own pace... sounds good to me!!!!

 

[KathyRN137]

Talk about Ying and Yang!

Staying part-time at the deluxe Poly is awesome, but it does come with a price... reduced dining credits. Hmmm. I honestly can't say which I would choose...

Sounds like you're working it out to the satisfaction of all parties, though.

Congratulations on your good fortune!


Kathy

 

[MKBekka]

this is cool. for me it means figuring out how I am going to stay out of Mom's way until she gets her own schedule worked out. otherwise I'll be the one doing the dirty work.

 

[MRYPPNS]

I really think you will enjoy your 3 solo days. And coming at the end of your stay with friends will be perfect for you since you have a bit of fear about it. Believe me when I tell you no one even notices that you are alone. I have always had no problem eating alone...and Disney was no exception...I think I even felt more comfortable!

My only suggestion would be for you NOT to plan out your 3 solo days ahead of time. What? No plans? Yes no plans ahead of time.....don't hold yourself down with plans months and weeks ahead of time. It's really freeing! Just ask yourself "what would make me happy today" and go for it! Your answers might surprise yourself.