March '11 TR: My 21 + 5 Years Birthday At WDW!! (HOME SWEET HOME) 6/24

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

EPCOT DAY!!!!

HAPPY SATURDAY DIS FRIENDS!!!

It's a rainy Saturday in Cincinnati but we're going to have sun and 84 degrees tomorrow!


FRIDAY MARCH 18, 2011

When I left off, we were sleeping well in our beds at POFQ...

Did I sleep at all that night?! I have a history of NEVER sleeping the first night at WDW. Well between the 2 hours of sleep the night before + working + traveling, I slept like a baby!!!

The alarm went off just before 7am. It wasn't EMH at Epcot so we didn't have to be there until 9am. When we got up, it was 57 degrees and the high that day was 84!!

On the way to breakfast, I took some outside pics!

Our view out the door was nice. Would I pay for a "river" view..nope but getting it for free was nice!

We thought having a first floor room might be a pain and noisy but it was always so quiet. To the right of us, I don't think there was ever anyone there and to the left, it was empty till the day we checked out.

On the way to breakfast, I was beginning to have a fear of how the food court would be with mobs of people. We walked in at 8:15am and the place was pretty dead! Bro met up with us and he and mom got food.

I ate the rest of my ben's from the night before with fruit and my milk. I'm not sure what mom and bro ate?? I think they bought more bens and ate those with fruit and coffee. I really tried hard to stick with my DDP by reducing costs at breakfast. We didn't eat heavy since we had our ADR at Le Cellier!

After breakfast we got in the car and headed for Epcot!

Mom and Bro got in just fine with the free passes from GR. We made our way to the rope and bro was scouting out to see who the TT workers were to see if we could get the special car ride. He knew the one kid but they had already picked a family..oh well! When the ropes dropped, we raced with everyone else to Soarin! It was the biggest crowd I had ever seen!

The line for FP was all the way to Living with Land and then wrapped into the food court area..it was nuts! We just got in the line and it was a 20 min wait.

After that we rode Living with the Land!

We really had no agenda for the day but to do what we could, don't stress, and make time for an afternoon break!

We hit Nemo next!

The dolphins weren't out..sad day!

TT was next! Did we have to wait in the 70 min line at 10:30am?! Of course not!!! Thanks Bro!!

We headed to the hidden pottys by Test Track on the way to WS. Bro said the ones in the building are the cleanest and aren't used as much as the ones outside by First Aid! We got to WS and walked towards Japan hoping to do Pick a Pearl before our 11:15 ADR but were stopped at China. I guess they really don't open the back half until 11. We took pics and waited.

At 11 they opened!

We walked into Japan but there was only one girl working and one lady about to do her pearl so we said we'd come back after lunch! We continued with the tour of flowers/gardens to Canada!

We did stop in UK to see if they had any rings since I had lost mine a few weeks prior but they only had size 6.5 and under which wasn't going to work at all!

Finally we made it to Canada!

We checked in with the CM at the top of the hill and then made our way down to the entrance!

They opened the doors and sang their national anthem and then started to seat everyone! We were the first to be called!

BUT WOULD WE ENJOY THE MEAL?!!!


STAY TUNED TO FIND OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!


UP NEXT:
~LE CELLIER SURPRISES
~PICK A PEARL SURPRISES
~AND FINALLY MEETING DUFFY DISNEY BEAR!!!!!

 

[creativeamanda]

Firs of all, Megan, I am so tickled about you passing. I was so proud of you, my family thought I had gone nuts all of the sudden.

POFQ looked so pretty with all of the green. Going in December has its disadvantages in that you don't see any of the pretty green during that time of year!

And the topiaries at the F&G Festival are beautiful!

 

[Disneyfreak616]

Great update!!!

What a gorgeous morning at POFQ. How I love that place.

Love your Epcot pics!! They're beautiful!!!

I love all of those topiaries as well. The Aladdin one... and the Sleeping Beauty ones have got to be my favorites. I love the Snow White and Peter Pan ones as well.

Can't wait to hear about Le Cellier!!

 

[Trentmom]

Love the landscaping at hotel. So gorgeous

Flower and Garden Festival is the best. I hope to go in May again one of these years

Did you see the cars topiaries? I don't think I saw any in your pics.

 

[Wonders10]

Great update and pictures! I have always wanted to eat at Le Cellier and everytime I try to get an ADR, they are booked. Someday...

As far as your hotel dilemma for the summer...I would hands down choose POR. Yes it is large, but I still think its not quite as large as CBR. Or at least doesn't feel as big. I was surprisingly please with the food court at CBR, but POR will always be one of our "home" resorts.

 

[wdwgirl03]

Great pictures of both the resort and the F&GF! Looks like a beautiful day. Too bad about the dolphins not being out at the Seas. It's always fun to see them.

Can't wait to hear about your surprises!

 

[Queenofallthings]

That was some line at Soarin Never seen it that bad!

Gorgeous pics in WS...those topiaries are stunning...I can't pick a favorite...ok wait ....Lady and the Tramp!!

Can't wait to hear about Le Cellier....

 

[Nermel9]

If I had to choose between POR and CBR, I'd pick CBR. Nothing against POR, it's a beautiful resort, but CBR just looks so nice and tropical, and I love that they have hammocks...if for some reason, I have to downgrade to a mod for October, I'm going to go with CBR.

Love the pics of POFQ!

OMG I can't believe that line for Soarin FP's! I love the Flower and Garden festival, makes me really want to go back that time of year!

Can't wait to read about Le Cellier!

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

Firs of all, Megan, I am so tickled about you passing. I was so proud of you, my family thought I had gone nuts all of the sudden.

POFQ looked so pretty with all of the green. Going in December has its disadvantages in that you don't see any of the pretty green during that time of year!

And the topiaries at the F&G Festival are beautiful!

Thanks!!!!! Your comment made my day!!!

Great update!!!

What a gorgeous morning at POFQ. How I love that place.

Love your Epcot pics!! They're beautiful!!!

I love all of those topiaries as well. The Aladdin one... and the Sleeping Beauty ones have got to be my favorites. I love the Snow White and Peter Pan ones as well.

Can't wait to hear about Le Cellier!!

Thanks! I'm going to try and put out another update before my surgery on Thursday since I most likely won't be able to post this weekend!

Love the landscaping at hotel. So gorgeous

Flower and Garden Festival is the best. I hope to go in May again one of these years

Did you see the cars topiaries? I don't think I saw any in your pics.

Thanks! We love WL for it's "home" feeling and POFQ made us feel the same way which was great!

I did see Cars but I have to be honest..I've never seen the movie and I think I might have taken one pic of them later in the day but I can't recall at this point!..sorry!

Great update and pictures! I have always wanted to eat at Le Cellier and everytime I try to get an ADR, they are booked. Someday...

As far as your hotel dilemma for the summer...I would hands down choose POR. Yes it is large, but I still think its not quite as large as CBR. Or at least doesn't feel as big. I was surprisingly please with the food court at CBR, but POR will always be one of our "home" resorts.

You have to keep stalking for that ADR! I did a ton of stalking multiple times a day and got what I wanted and even switched it too! I think it will be harder now with dinner being 2 credits.

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

Great pictures of both the resort and the F&GF! Looks like a beautiful day. Too bad about the dolphins not being out at the Seas. It's always fun to see them.

Can't wait to hear about your surprises!

Thanks! I love seeing them. I did the Dolphins in Depth tour in 2007 and loved it!!!

That was some line at Soarin Never seen it that bad!

Gorgeous pics in WS...those topiaries are stunning...I can't pick a favorite...ok wait ....Lady and the Tramp!!

Can't wait to hear about Le Cellier....

Thanks!! The line for Soarin was nuts! Just wait till I tell you about TSM ugh!

If I had to choose between POR and CBR, I'd pick CBR. Nothing against POR, it's a beautiful resort, but CBR just looks so nice and tropical, and I love that they have hammocks...if for some reason, I have to downgrade to a mod for October, I'm going to go with CBR.

Love the pics of POFQ!

OMG I can't believe that line for Soarin FP's! I love the Flower and Garden festival, makes me really want to go back that time of year!

Can't wait to read about Le Cellier!

Thanks! It was pretty nuts. I think some crowd calendar had predicted a high number but we didn't stress and didn't even really use FP but then again we only rode each ride once so that is why!

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

JUNE TRIP IS BOOKED!!!!

Happy Sunday Dis Friends!!!!!

I can't believe how hot it is today! 85 I think was the high and broke the record of 82! It's hard to believe it's as hot here as it was 3 weeks ago in FL

Well yesterday we did it, we finally booked the JUNE TRIP!!! I was going to wait a few days to share all the details but I can't contain myself so I'll share them now! I'll also be posting a TR update before Thursday since Thurs is my surgery and I'm not sure if I'll be able to post this weekend or not!


JUNE TRIP DETAILS:

WDW, UNIVERSAL ORLANDO, AND VERO BEACH..OH MY!!!


DATES:

Thursday June 16-Thursday June 23rd.
I wanted June 16-24 but Dad has to be back for work and it would have been another resort room cost + I'm hoping to head back down after the trip or before the trip to job hunt so I'll be spending $$ then. So after my minor melt down and a change in schedule, I gave in and said I would go the same dates

TRAVEL

Well, NEVER SAY NEVER!! We ended up booking with Southwest. It's a 2 hour drive from our house in Cincinnati but we couldn't pass up the price + 2 free checked bags. We paid $259 a person which is pretty high but it is summer travel plus we're booking 2 months before departure so it's not shocking but we're going to keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't drop! We didn't pay for the Early Bird Check-in. As long as we get seats close to each other, it doesn't matter. Since mom doesn't work, she can get on right at 5:10pm to check us in and between Dad and I we can check in with our Iphone and Blackberry from FL. We figured we'd try it and if we don't like the drive to Columbus then we'll try to stick with Airtran or Delta (Dayton and Cincinnati) next time and book earlier! We're hoping that eventually SW will fly out of Dayton since they bought Airtran!

June 16: 5:10pm-7:20pm

June 23: 6:10pm-8:25pm

I'll probably work till noon on the 16 and then on Friday the 23, I'll put in to start work at 12pm instead of 9am.

To and from our resorts, we'll use:

Since we're going for a full week including the beach we'll have 2 checked bags for sure and all that won't fit into bro's car so even if he is off, we'll probably still take DME just for our bags!


RESORTS

June 16-19:

I got a great rate with my friend's CM discount 40% off. For the 3 nights it was $496 standard room. Maybe we'll get another upgrade! We won't be on the DDP.

June 19-22

We were in a Studio room but I'm paying the extra $168 to upgrade to an Ocean View Inn room so we'll get 2 queen beds and a great ocean view hopefully! We're paying rack rate so for the 3 nights it was $1,032 Hopefully it's worth it!!!

June 22-23

HAHA. I know what you are thinking..what happened to CBR or POR?! Well, we were going to pay rack rate for POFQ and then when we priced out the one night RR with a CM Discount at WL, it was $20 more so for $20 more, we'll stay in our fav resort in a standard room! It was $265 total. It will be nice to have the boats and monorail to kill time since we won't be going to the parks. I'll hope again for late check out since our flight isn't until at night.

SCHEDULE:

We really don't have a huge schedule at this point but this is what we have so far:

JUNE 16: TRAVEL DAY/CHECK IN/UNPACK/DINNER AT POFQ

JUNE 17: Universal Orlando all day/night

JUNE 18: WDW day/DTD/Pool/Perhaps Cirque if there's a discount??

JUNE 19: Check Out FQ/Check In Vero Beach

June 20-12: Vero Beach

June 22: Check out VB/Check in WL

June 23: TRAVEL HOME

It doesn't seem like a lot but it will be nice to have a relaxing trip to FL for once! My Co-OP teacher from my student teaching will be in WDW with her DD for our post VB stay so I'm going to try and meet up with them at either a park or DTD on the 22nd.

FOOD

We won't have the DDP but I'm still debating if getting TIW is a good idea or not. I had it when I lived in FL but I used it a ton since we ate at WDW a ton but didn't always stay there with the DDP..WHAT DO YOU THINK??



***Thanks again for all the congrats from my test!!! My mom mentioned to me today that for the first time, I WON'T HAVE TO STUDY BEFORE WE GO TO FL!!!! She told me I can plan as much as I want Although this won't be as fun because we won't have much dining to stalk but I want to do my VB research before we get there..including restaurants!!!!!!



THAT'S IT FOR NOW!!!! STAY TUNED AS MORE DETAILS COME INTO PLAY!!!

 

[Wonders10]

Your plans sound great! I love that feeling when vacations are just booked - makes it seem real.

 

[Queenofallthings]

That sounds like a great summer trip....Vero Beach looks gorgeous!!

 

[Trentmom]

Your trip sounds great

 

[Disneyfreak616]

Your trip plans sound great!!!

Congrats on WL!!!

I have never used TiW so I can't give an opinion, but I'm sure someone will have one!

Congrats on your exam by the way!! And hooray for no studying before FL!!

Good luck with your surgery, we'll all be thinkin' of ya!

 

[wdwgirl03]

Boy, you sure are going to get good use out of your annual pass. Mine just expired a few days ago. Sad to not have one anymore...but hopefully once we have a better idea of when we're going.

 

[creativeamanda]

This actually sounds like one of the most relaxing trips ever! I can't wait to see your pictures of Vero Beach!

 

[Nermel9]

Congrats on booking your trip! Sounds like it's going to be very relaxing, Vero Beach sounds amazing!

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

Your plans sound great! I love that feeling when vacations are just booked - makes it seem real.

Me too!!! I put my request in at work with 70 days out so we'll see, it will either be approved without a problem or considered my 70 days notice

That sounds like a great summer trip....Vero Beach looks gorgeous!!

I can't wait to share it with all of you!!!

Your trip sounds great

Thanks! It will be nice to shake things up a bit. We'll of course still see the fireworks from the outside looking in but it will be a good change!

Your trip plans sound great!!!

Congrats on WL!!!

I have never used TiW so I can't give an opinion, but I'm sure someone will have one!

Congrats on your exam by the way!! And hooray for no studying before FL!!

Good luck with your surgery, we'll all be thinkin' of ya!

Thanks! We wouldn't have stayed there if stayed another day but for one night it will be nice! We shelled out enough to stay there in Dec w/free dining so I was surprised that it was even in consideration but the 40% off helps

Boy, you sure are going to get good use out of your annual pass. Mine just expired a few days ago. Sad to not have one anymore...but hopefully once we have a better idea of when we're going.

I know! If I go it will only be for a day but I've already got my use out of it between Oct, Dec, and March! I'm hoping that my dad will sit down for the DVC talk if they have one at Vero

This actually sounds like one of the most relaxing trips ever! I can't wait to see your pictures of Vero Beach!

I can't wait!!!! It will be like Beach Club but the actual beach We debated about spending the extra $$ to do one night at BC/YC post VB but the only thing Rack Rate was CL at BC and there was nothing with my friend's CM Discount.

Congrats on booking your trip! Sounds like it's going to be very relaxing, Vero Beach sounds amazing!

Thanks! I can't wait to share all my pics with you !!!

 

[eecteacher82]

Your trip sounds great!!!! I must say, I'm totally jealous that you are going to Universal! I love HP and have been dying to go! Toby and I went when they were building HP land, but that was when Olivia was about 9 months old. Right now I just can't justify the cost for me to go for the day (since we have passes to Sea World, Busch Gardens and Disney), but I'm dying to go!! Can't wait to hear more details!!