Many Adventures to Come! Over Twenty Days of Disney Parks PTR! :)

[dmlovullo]

June 15, 2017 - Where Have I Been?

Hello everyone! Happy almost summer! It is good to be back!
In case you forgot what I look like...

I know it has been awhile since I started writing my TR from October 2015...which I will admit, I failed at.
But, I am determined to finish a TR successfully! I really enjoyed writing what I had written, and I was still committed to finishing it up. Then I sat down to write and go through photos and I could not remember things anymore from that visit. I could explain the photos, but without a fun tale behind them all, what fun is that? We have been to WDW on many adventures since then and a lot just seems to blend together. We also have been vlogging our visits so if that is something that you may be interested in, check us out on YouTube! Our channel is called Ears to Disney and Beyond.

So, to sum up what we have been up to...
In December of 2015, we took a weekend visit to WDW to see the Osborne Lights one last time before they were retired from DHS.
In April/May of 2016. we spend 10 days in WDW! We stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge - Jambo House in a Studio and the Polynesian in a Studio. This was our fist visit using our new DVC contract, which we purchased in May of 2015. We also became AP holders for the first time!
In August 2016, we took a long weekend getaway to WDW, we stayed 4 nights in a Studio at Boulder Ridge Villas (then, VWL).
In November/December of 2016, we knew we couldn't get through a year without WDW at Christmas time, we spent 5 nights at Animal Kingdom Lodge - Kidani Village Studios.
And last, but not least, in January 2017, I took my first solo trip ever to WDW for what ended up being 5 nights since my flight got canceled due to tornados nearby. So I had a bonus Disney Day! This visit I saved points and stayed at ASMovies and ASSports.

And here we are...getting ready for a good chunk of Disney coming our way! ...and hopefully your way, because I want to share with you all! We will post the videos on YouTube as well, but it may also help me to write some good reports with video evidence!

YAY!!!

So Welcome to the Many Adventures of Dawn PTR!



First up - we have a non-Disney trip! In July we are visiting Scotland for two whole weeks with good friends of our family! They have family there and we will be traveling with them and staying with their family and friends as well as staying a week in the Highlands all in the same house that we rented! I had visited Scotland with my best friend (of the same family) when she graduated High School in 2007, the year after I had, and we had a great time. I look forward to seeing some new things as well as revisiting some of the same places!

The second adventure of the year we are heading back to the World! We will be in WDW for My 30th Birthday!!! I finally get to spend a Birthday in Disney and where we are staying makes it even more special. I have always been reluctant to go visit WDW on my Birthday because it is 3 days before Christmas. Crowds will be insane...I am fully prepared...but there is no other place in which I would want to spend my 30th Birthday! We are going December 20th - December 23rd. The first night we are staying in a Studio at Boulder Ridge Villas at Wilderness Lodge. The next 2 nights, we will be staying in a 1BR Villa at.......................................................................................................................................................

DISNEY'S GRAND FLORIDIAN RESORT!!!!!!!!!!

I Cannot wait! This is like a dream come true!

The next adventure we have planned is sure to kick off our new year in the right fashion. We are taking on a whole new world...erm...land...DISNEYLAND!!! We are going from January 1st - 6th 2018! We are super pumped, we have never been to Disneyland and we look forward to experiencing DL and DCA. We do not have much planned for this visit yet as it still is quite far out, but since we have never been, we will feel like newbs so I will be researching like crazy this year. We are staying at an off site hotel that is just across the street on Harbor Blvd so we will not be renting a vehicle, but taking a SuperShuttle from LAX.

The next will be the BIGGEST adventure we set out on! We will be returning to WDW, for SIXTEEN DAYS!! We are driving down to Orlando, from Buffalo, NY...which is a looooooooooooong drive. About 17 hours! Since we are staying for so long, we thought it would be the perfect time to make a road trip! Also, while we are there we are going to do some shopping at the Character Warehouses I always see, we may also get food to cook ourselves to cut down some costs. There is one day that we are even going to head over to Universal for some Harry Potter fun! Dan has never been to Universal, and the last time I was there was in 2009 - pre-WWOHP. We are looking forward to taking a trip to Hogwarts! This visit will take place some time in late October to mid November 2018 (we have not nailed down exact dates yet) so we can experience both Halloween and Christmas in the same visit. I have always wanted to see the changeover and they are both our favorite times in WDW!

Well...that is probably all the reading you will want to do for now. It is almost ADR day for my Birthday trip, so I will get an update in when we choose where we are eating. For my Birthday dinner, only one restaurant will do...I will give you a hint...

"MORE CHICKEN! MORE CHICKEN! MORE CHICKEN!!"

Until next time...See ya real soon!



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[chunkymonkey]

Following! Looking forward to your adventures and welcome back to the DIS!

 

[dmlovullo]

Update - July 27, 2018
December ADR's (Advanced Dinning Reservations) Chosen


Hello everyone! Hope you are well! Today I bring you an update to share where we will be dinning on my Birthday trip in December! As of today we are 146 days out, I had booked all of our ADR's at the 180 day mark to make sure we got the ones we really wanted. For anyone booking a trip to WDW, I most definitely recommend booking your ADR's at the 180 mark, especially if you have your heart set on eating somewhere special or really want a coveted dining experience. So where will we be eating this visit? Lets get to it!

We will be traveling to WDW Christmas week, so I was fully prepared that restaurants may be booking up quickly, so I made sure to plan out all of our preferred dining locations so that I could book right when I was able to. We arrive Wednesday, December 20th and are there until Saturday, December 23rd.

Wed. Dec. 20th - We will be arriving to WDW around 9:30AM so there will be no reservations on this day.
Thurs. Dec. 21st - We are going to return to one of our staples. A restaurant we have to eat at on every WDW visit...

Trail's End Breakfast Buffett! This is one of our favorite restaurants on Disney property. The quality of food and the affordability is just great. We love the selections at the buffet and the food is always good. We even know a few of the CM's there because we return every visit. Our reservation is at 9:45AM, and we can take a nice walk over from WL.

Fri. Dec. 22nd (My Birthday!!) - We will be starting the day with breakfast at a place we have never tried before, but we have heard a lot of good things about it. Since we will have moved over to the Grand the day before, we will be strolling over to the...

The Grand Floridian Cafe! (Photo credit to disneyfoodblog.com - Thank you! ) Our reservation is at 9:05AM and we are excited to try this dining location.
And for my birthday dinner, we will be going to have a laughing good time at.....

The Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Review! We saw this show last April for the first time and completely fell in love with it. The food is very noteworthy as well and I cannot wait to get some "More Chicken" and the corn bread, which is to die for, and who could forget the Strawberry Shortcake! Our report time is 4:00PM for the 1st show of the evening, which will open our night to lounging around the Balcony of our room at the Grand!
Sat. Dec. 23rd - This is the day we depart, but we are not leaving till late. Our flight is not until 9:55PM so we will have a good chunk of the day to ourselves. We will start the day off with taking a walk over to the Poly for an 8:15AM reservation at...

Kona Cafe! We dream about the 100% Kona coffee served in a French Press! Delicious coffee and it pairs well with our two favorite dishes - the Tonga Toast and the Big Kahuna! Deep fried French Toast with Bananas and Pancakes with Pineapple and Macadamia Nut butter, whats not to love?

That concludes our dining reservations. I know they are mostly breakfasts, but we enjoy breakfast reservations rather than dinner reservations because we love nights in the parks. We also want to spend some time at the resort because we are wanting to enjoy the Grand.

Thank you for reading! Leave a comment with what your favorite WDW restaurant is. Also, do you have a restaurant that you find yourself booking every trip because you enjoy it so much?

Until next time, see ya real soon!
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[dmlovullo]

Update: August 8, 2017
PIXIE DUST!

For our December 2017 visit to WDW, our plans were to check into Boulder Creek Villas on December 20th and then check in to the Villas at Grand Floridian on December 21st. When going into "My Disney Experience the other day, I noticed that our Boulder Creek reservation was no longer there. I found this odd. I had not remembered that I WAITLISTED December 20th for the Grand so that we could stay there the whole time. So I signed into the Disney Vacation Club page, looked at my waitlists, and there it was! "One Waitlist Confirmed"!! I COULD NOT CONTAIN THE EXCITEMENT! A waitlist actually came through...for the GRAND! WOW!!! Talk about Pixie Dust! So very excited for my 30th Birthday Celebration at the Grand for all 3 nights!!

Hope everyone is well and that there were not too many tears shed last weekend. I was very nostalgic watching the final rides on TGMR and Universe of Energy. I am going to miss Stupid Judy and taking a spin through the movies.

What is a D23 announcement that you are most looking forward to? What is a D23 announcement that you are not looking forward to? Comment and have a chat!

See ya real soon!
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