Mike & Missy's Grand Adventure! A DCL & WDW Pre-TR w/ pics! Updated 09/18

[UGAFan0829]

**This Pre-TR originally started as a cruise-only report...However, since we decided to extend our vacation by spending a few nights in Disney, post-cruise, I thought that it would be okay to copy and paste my report here for anyone who may be interested!


Hello fellow DIS'ers!
I am so excited to finally be starting my Pre-Trip Report. It seems like I have been waiting for this for a long time! Even though we won't be sailing until September 5th, I decided that now would be as good a time as any to get started on this...Especially being the obesessive compulsive planner that I am, I couldn't wait to start sharing my plans with y'all. (Plus I think it helps to pass the 234 more days until we set sail.)

So now to explain the reason behind our "celebration". We are actually celebrating for 2 different reasons. The first is that the DH and I will be celebrating 10 years of "Happily Ever After" on September 11th (which will be the last full day of our cruise). Ever since our very first cruise (a 3-nighter on DCL back in 2005), we knew that we wanted to spend our 10 year anniversary on a 7 night cruise. We took another cruise (4-nights) in January of '06 and fell even more in love with DCL and cruising. Even though we knew that we would be cruising for our 10th, we didn't know that we wouldn't cruise again until then! So we saved enough money for the deposit and shortly after the rates/dates were released I went online and booked! I'll get to the second reason for our celebration a little later.

Now, a little about us. I'm Missy, now 29, but will turn 30 exactly one week before the day we set sail. My DH is Mike, who just turned 32 TODAY! Here's a recent pic of us from the top of Stone Mountain:

In the past couple of years both of us have fallen in love with most all things Disney. Even though we took two cruises, we didn't fall completely in love with Disney until we visited the World in September of 2006. Ever since then we want nothing but Disney for our vacations. Both of us (but especially me), love any chance that we get to talk about Disney!!! One day we hope to renew our vows in Disney AND join DVC...but we've got some major saving to do before then!
Aside from Disney, we both love to travel in general, and if not to Disney, then to the beach (especially Panama City Beach) and the mountains (Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge). Another big part of our lives is dirt-track racing. I grew up in it, and Mike has come to love it, too. (A quick shout-out to my good friend Mickey's Goofy Gal, who is also a dirt-trackin', Disney lovin', Georgia girl).
Mike and I are very best friends, and we pretty go much go everywhere and do everything together. I honestly can't imagine my life without him, and he has made so many of my dreams come true. Just today, when my Dad called to wish him a Happy Birthday, Daddy told Mike that he was like the son that he never had...talking about making you tear up but also be proud!!

Okay, so back to the real reason that you're reading this--the cruise! So, back at the beginning of fall, Mike and I were talking to his sister (Gayle, who is 40-something) about our plans for the cruise. She and her husband have cruised before, on Carnival, but she told us that she would love to take her daughter, Brandi (23), on a Disney cruise...so of course, we told them they should come along! I think she thought we were just being nice at first, but we were really serious! She told us that they wouldn't want to intrude since it was for our anniversary, but we told her that we really would love for them to join us. So that was it, a couple of weeks later they came over and we got them all booked to join us! I was very super excited!(For the longest time, we'd been trying to "sell" them on a Disney cruise by telling them how much fun 2 adults can have, so I guess we did a pretty good job! ) Other than going over to one another's house for special occasions/Holidays, I've never spent a lot of time with Mike's sister or niece, and we've never been real close, so I saw this as an opportunity to bond with them a little. This will be Brandi's first cruise, and though she is excited, she is nervous about cruising during hurricane season. I admit that I'm a little nervous too, but I know that we'll be fine!! What's even better is that Gayle will also be celebrating her birthday while on board!! So there ya go, that's the second reason for our "celebration"!
Sorry that I don't have any pics of Brandi or Gayle to post right now, but I will try and get some put up later. (I always like to put pictures/faces with names.)

So that's the beginning in a nutshell and the history of how our cruise came together! Now it's time to get down to business with planning and getting everything together. I made myself a checklist the other day of things that I need to get done soon...getting our passports, reserving a hotel for the night before the cruise, finding something to wear for Pirate Night, etc...so stay tuned for all the details!

 

[UGAFan0829]

In my last post I mentioned Passports being on my list of things to get done soon. Now keep in mind that neither the DH nor myself have ever had a Passport, so I know very little about them except that you need them to travel outside of the US-or so I thought. So I decided to get online this morning and do a little research to find out what we needed to do to apply for one. I actually learned a lot, mostly thanks to the super smart people here on the DIS. What I didn't know is that there are now 2 different types of Passports-One being a card, and the other being a book, which is what I always think of when I picture a Passport. So in reading about this "new" card, I find out that it is good for sea travel, and crossing certain borders, but it is NOT good for international air travel. Since applying for the card is almost half the cost of applying for the book, I told the DH that we would just go with the card since we probably won't be flying out of the country anytime soon. Then after posting a question about the passport cards here on the DIS, someone pointed out to me that until June 1 of this year, you don't actually need a Passport to cruise! DUH! I had no idea! BUT...then the thought of an emergency happening and needing to get home struck me, and without the Passport Book we couldn't go anywhere! So I talked to the DH about it again...he called the DSIL, and we decided to go ahead and get ours. Yes, I know some of you may think that it's $$ wasted, but I think it will definitely give us peace of mind. Not to mention, since we aren't cruising until September, the laws regarding Passports could very well change! So, after all this blabbering, I'm happy to report that we have an appointment on Saturday to apply for our Passports! Yippee!!!! I know it's a minor detail, but it's another thing crossed off my list!

 

[UGAFan0829]

Woohoo! We finally went and applied for our Passports this morning! It was a lot easier than I thought!! We all had an appointment at 10:30 this morning, and we were all 4 in and out within a matter of 20 minutes or so! One thing I will tell anyone who is planning to get a passport...If you decide to go through the Post Office, go somewhere else to have your photo taken. The post office charges $15 per person, in addition to the $100 that the actual Passport costs, and we were able to get ours done at CVS this morning for $7.99. So we were able to get it for almost half of what the Post Office charges! The clerk told us that we should have ours within 2 1/2 to 3 weeks!! We were all a little relieved to hear that it shouldn't take that long as one of my niece's co-workers told her that it took 8 MONTHS to get theirs ...We would be in major trouble if it took us that long!
So anyway...we're almost official now! I'll make sure and let ya know as soon as we recieve them so that you'll know exactly how long it took! I know this probably isn't major news to anyone, but it's very exciting to me...It really makes the cruise seem that much closer!

 

[UGAFan0829]

Soooo…Another one of the “to-do” items on my checklist is to book a hotel for the night before the cruise. All along, the DH and I had planned on staying at the Hampton Inn in Titusville for 2 reasons. One being that we stayed there before our last cruise and loved it, and the second being that since I’m a Hilton Honors member, I may just have enough points to get the room for free. Big bonus!!!
The Hampton Inn in Titusville:

After talking to the DSIL and DN, we decided that we would leave early that Friday morning and drive down. That would give us the afternoon and evening to do whatever. And since the DN wants to check out Cocoa Beach and Ron Jon’s, we figured then would be the perfect opportunity! So of course this is when my OCD kicked in and I went in search for hotels closer to the port and Cocoa Beach. I need to also mention that I am very picky about hotels. Why, I don’t know, I guess just another part of my OCD. Anyways, I didn’t have much luck finding anything that I liked that was anywhere closer than the Hampton Inn in Titusville. So I go online this morning with plans to go ahead and book the HI, but decided to do one last check for something closer. Of course, what do I find, but the Country Inn right there at the port!
The Country Inn & Suites in Cape Canaveral:

From what I’ve read, it’s pretty much the closest hotel to the terminals! Wow! So I went to my trusty Trip Advisor to check the reviews, and it’s pretty much in line with the Hampton Inn! By this time, I’m starting to get really excited at the thought of being so close to the ships that we could even see them from the hotel!! So then I check the rates to see what the difference would be…$176.00 after taxes and everything for a 2 queen room. Not bad, but even if I ended up paying for the room at the Hampton Inn, it’s still $50 more. So now I can’t decide…imagine that! Should we stay with the Hampton Inn, but have to drive 30 minutes or so over to Cocoa Beach after we check-in and then 30 minutes back to the hotel that night with another 30 minutes to port the next morning, or should I go with the Country Inn and pay $50 more, but yet be 5 minutes to everything??
I’m sure this is a no-brainer for some of you, especially considering the fact that I may even be able to get the room at the Hampton Inn for free. But, because my DSIL and DN will be with us, I really want to do what’s going to make it a better experience for them. If it were just the DH and I, I would go with the HI. But the thought of being 5 minutes from the ship AND being able to see them from the hotel…well, that’s worth $50 to me! Not to mention the gas that we’d save driving from the hotel to Cocoa and back, and then to port the next morning! So, what do y’all think? I really need some input here. I know that there will probably be rooms available at both hotels for a while, but I really wanted to go ahead and get something booked! I know that there are probably things that I’m not thinking about in deciding on one or the other, so I wanna know what y’all think. Help a girl out here!!

 

[UGAFan0829]

Just wanted to post a quick update...
We are officially booked for our night before the cruise at the Country Inn & Suites at the port! Yahoo I'm excited about staying there, especially since we're going to be so close to the ships! I reserved a room with 2 queens, so hopefully there will be enough room for the 4 of us.

I think we'll all be so excited that it really won't matter anyway! I read that this is one of the hotels that will allow you to leave your car there and take their shuttle to the port, but I think we're just gonna park in the DCL lot. I know it's extra $, but I feel more secure leaving it in a gated lot that has 24-hour security!
Well, sorry this is so short for now, hopefully I'll have more to update on later.
Hope everyone has a great weekend!

 

[UGAFan0829]

Just wanted to post another quick update...
We received our Passports yesterday! Mike got home early and called me at work to tell me that we had gotten them! They got here a lot faster than I thought they would. The lady at the Post Office told us about 2 weeks, but it wasn't even that long! So now we are official!
I do have a quck question about them though...On the page where our picture and info is, there is a signature line there...Are we supposed to sign them now? Just wanted to ask just in case we were suppose to sign them in front of someone!
Hopefully I'll be back later with more updates! I hope everyone is having a great week!!

 

[UGAFan0829]

Well, I'm finally back from my hair appointment at the "new" salon! I have to say that I'm not really happy with the results. I guess I'm expecting a miracle! I just want normal hair for once! And if that wasn't enough to make it a bad day, 2 people at my branch were told that their jobs were being eliminated today. The worst part is that one of the girls is my co-worker. We actually have the same job title and work in the same office together. We've worked together for about 5 years now. The decision to get rid of someone from our department was between she and I. Talk about hard. On top of that she's a single mother who gets no child support. My heart is really breaking for her. I knew that times were hard for a lot of people, but this really hit home. I honestly think I took the news worse than if it had been me that was being let go. Anway...enough about that...let's talk about some happy stuff!!!
Soooo...as I said earlier...I think I've found the dress for semi-formal night. DH and I were both off yesterday (I work at a bank, so it was a holiday for us, the DH took the day off to spend it with me). I had some things to exchange at Bath & Body Works, and I wanted to check out some stuff at the Disney Store, so we decided to head to the mall. We always go in through JC Penney, so I mentioned to the DH that since we were there I wanted to look around at the dresses. I really didn't expect to find anything, much less buy something...just wanted to get an idea of what I might want. So as we were browsing the racks, there were several that I liked. I think I picked out all but one, and the DH picked out one. I went to try them on, and guess which one I liked the best...the one DH picked out! It really is cute, and in my opinion it does look the best on me. So, without any further delay...Here is my semi-formal dress:

It's nothing fancy, but I never pictured myself wearing something like this. I really like it though. And I think I got a decent deal on it...It was on sale for $45, regularly $80. The one thing that worries me is that it's a print instead of a solid. I guess I always associate formal with solid color dresses. So what do y'all think...will this be okay for semi-formal??
I'm thinking that since the dress that I have for formal night is solid black that maybe this will be okay...Here's what I have for formal night as of right now:

Believe it or not, I've had this dress stuck back in the closet for about 3 or 4 years now. Remember when I said that we always knew that we wanted to do a 7-night cruise for our anniversary? Well, I was in Macy's one day, and I saw this dress...it was on clearance, and I thought it would be perfect for formal night, so I bought it...crazy, I know!! Now I just hope that I really wear it. It shows a little more skin that I'm used to showing, but I think it's a really pretty dress, so maybe I'll get the nerve up to actually wear it!!
Alright...so there they are...I wanna know what ya think!!

 

[UGAFan0829]

Alright...So here is what we decided on for our shore excursions...I'm pretty happy with what we picked, and I'm really excited now that I know what we have to look forward to...

KEY WEST: Actually, we aren't doing an excursion for this port. Since everything seems to be within walking distance, we thought that we would save the money that we would have spent on an electric car, and just tour Key West on our own. From what I've read it should be pretty easy. The plan is to hit the town as soon as we're allowed off the ship and get everything in that we can, and then try to be back onboard by lunch.

GRAND CAYMAN: This was probably the hardest one to decide on for us. We all really wanted to do the island tour, so after looking into all of them, we chose the Island Tour & Butterfly Farm. This one's supposed to last 3.5 hours, which seems to be a decent amount of time. And we get to visit several different places including Hell, the governor's residence, the turtle farm and the butterfly farm. And of course there's the extra bonus of stopping to sample some rum cake before the end!! I am a little sad that we won't be going to Stingray City, but there's always next time!!

COZUMEL: This one was definitely the easiest one of all, as we pretty much already knew which one we wanted...The Jeep Exploration! This one sounds really fun! Not to mention the included lunch sounds really yummy...just glad that they offer bottled water! LOL

CASTAWAY CAY: Since this will be our last stop, and our last day on the cruise, I think we're just gonna take it easy on this one. Probably hang out at Serenity Bay, and maybe take a bike ride around the island...This will probably be our R&R day!!!

So that's it...that's what we have planned. Now we just have to wait until it's time for us to actually book! And I do have a question about that...since the DSIL and DN are first time cruisers, will they have to wait and book their excursions seperately, or will I be able to book them with us even though they aren't staying in the same cabin as us? Anyone know how that works? I didn't know if I could make our reservations for 4, or if it can only be for the number of people in our room! Hopefully someone will know the answer to this. I also have to call and have our dining linked so that we are seated together...Anyone know when and how I need to do that?

Well, I suppose that's it for now! Thankfully that's a couple more things checked off my list. Still have to find those pirate costumes though!

 

[UGAFan0829]

Well, I finally have some exciting news to share! The DH and I decided to take advantage of the free dining offer, so I called this morning and booked a package for us for 4 nights after the cruise at Pop Century!! I am totally excited. As if going on a 7-night cruise wasn't enough, and now we're going to WDW too!!!
Actually, when we booked the cruise, we had also booked a whole week at the Wilderness Lodge for after the cruise. But after a lot of thought, we didn't think we could swing both the cruise AND a week in Disney. We've been really sad about it ever since we cancelled, so when free dining was announced, it was too hard not to go for it!!!

I still have a few things to get done cruise wise, but now I get to make plans for Disney World as well!!

 

[UGAFan0829]

I know that the new D23 thing has really been a much debated topic since it's announcement, so I realize that everyone feels differently about it. But of course, I had to take part in it, especially since this is the charter year. I've been "patiently" awaiting the arrival of my "stuff" for a couple of weeks now. So, as you can imagine, I was super excited when the mailman brought it today! According to the letter that was included my mailing, the "special surprise" from the Disney Archives will be mailed later. Here's what was included:

I was sad that I couldn't include both mine and Mike's name on the certificate, so I just went with mine.

I really like this quote that's on the back of the magazine:

Mike and I also visited the Disney Store a few days ago to pre-order Bolt. They had their shirts on sale, so I picked up a couple that I had been eyeing online:

Of course this one is my favorite, and the one I wanted the most:

There was a Donald shirt that Mike had seen on a previous shopping trip that he liked, but of course they didn't have it this time.

Next on my list is to get our Pirate Night costumes ordered! Hopefully I'll get to do that soon...there are a couple on e-Bay that I've been eyeing that are a decent price.

 

[UGAFan0829]

Mike's pirate costume arrived yesterday! I'm so excited that he finally has it. I actually ordered it off e-Bay, and it didn't take long at all to get here. Of course I took some pics so you could get an idea...
This is what the "model" looks like in the costume:

And this is the actual costume, minus a few of the accessories:

I was a little worried about the boots since the costume only came with covers, but Mike has a pair of black dress shoes that work perfect with the covers. I talked him into trying it on yesterday as soon as we got home and he is so darn cute in it. He's not crazy about the headband though, so I doubt he will wear that. I wanna get him an eye patch and a hook for one of his hands, and then he will be all set.
Now, I've just gotta get my costume. I had found several on e-Bay in the style that I liked when I was looking for Mike's, and now there isn't a single one on there. Almost all of the ones that are listed are very short, and definitely not anything that I would feel comfortable wearing. So I did a google search and found the one I was looking for:

I'm not sure how it will look on me, but it's about the only one that I could find that I think I would feel okay wearing. I just hope the skirt is long enough. It will probably be a few weeks before I order it, but at least I already know what I want!!!

 

[UGAFan0829]

My D23 "surprise" arrived in the mail yesterday. I was expecting some kind of figurine, so when I saw a tube in the mailbox from Disney, I was a little surprised! I wasn't sure what to expect as I opened it, but I was pleasantly surprised. Here's what I got:

I love it! I can't wait to get it framed and hung in my Disney room!!!

 

[UGAFan0829]

I can't believe how fast the days are ticking down! I'm starting to get nervous now! I feel like I still have a lot to do, but most of it is the WDW portion of the trip that I still have to plan for.
I was reminded of just how close it actually is when this came in the mail earlier this week:

It's a cool little booklet with lots of info about the cruise. Included was a letter that also contains our important dates. We can make our reservations for shore excursions and Palo starting on June 7th! That's not too far away! And our final payment is due by June 27th, which seems REALLY close!
I think we've gotten this same mailing before our other cruises, but I think I must have been a lot more prepared then!!
I hope everyone is doing well, and I hope everyone is still hanging in here with me despite my lack of updates. I really planned on having more when I started this thing, but things just haven't happened as fast as I'd planned!

 

[UGAFan0829]

I found Mike the cutest pair of swim trunks on e-Bay the other day, so I had to order them for him. He's been wearing the same couple pair for the past few years, so I thought he deserved a new pair. Not to mention they're Mickey, so we couldn't go wrong, right! When I showed them to him, he loved them!!! I can't wait for him to wear them...

The Mickey's everywhere are just too darn cute. Check out the detail...

And that wasn't all that I got in the mail! When I checked our box today, there was some sort of magazine in there, but I couldn't tell what it was. But guess what...it was the first issue of my subscription to "Celebrations"! I had actually forgot about even subscribing, so it's a good thing that it actually came, or I may have never noticed!
I haven't got a chance to read it yet, but you can bet that's what I'll be doing shortly! Here's the cover...

And they even included a lithograph of It's a Small World as a welcome gift, which I thought was pretty cool too...

Yeaaa for Disney mail!!!

 

[UGAFan0829]

Well, with very little cruise planning left to do, I guess it's time to start with the WDW plans!! This is the exciting part for me because there seems to be so much more to plan for! Now my OCD side really will start to kick in!

So for anyone who cares to check them out-here’s a rough draft of our plans for the trip:

Friday 9/4-We'll be leaving for Florida in the A.M. I'm not sure yet just how early it will be though. But-as of now, our plan is to check into the hotel (Country Inn at the Port) and then head over to Cocoa Beach. I know that Brandi wants to check out Ron Jon's, so I'm sure we'll do that, and hopefully check out the beach as well. I was also thinking that it might be fun to find a place to eat close to or on the beach, if anyplace exists. Does anyone have any recommendations for me? If not, I'm sure we'll find something.

Saturday 9/5- Of course my plans for this day include being up very early! Its cruise day and we plan to be at port as early as possible. I know that this gets debated over on the main boards, but we really like getting there early. Not to mention it will give us a chance to check out the terminal a little more-especially since this is Brandi and Gayle’s 1st time. And of course there are a couple of fellow cruisers who I hope to be able to meet before we board the ship! I’m so excited about meeting them in person as we’ve all talked for months about each other’s plans and such!

Saturday 9/12- This is going to be a sad, but exciting day! Even though the cruise we’ll be ending, we’ll be heading to WDW! I can’t think of a better way to end a cruise! As of now, Brandi and Gayle will be heading back home after we disembark the ship. But, we have asked them if they would like to join us in one of the parks that day. Gayle has been to Disney before, but Brandi hasn’t, so we thought it would be a cool way to end the trip with them. At first we had planned to try to do a character breakfast with them, but after we thought about it, we decided it was probably a bad idea. For one, we’ll have breakfast on the ship. Secondly-once we actually get off the ship, then drive to Disney, we will probably have already wasted too much park time. Hopefully they will decide to join us, but if not, we plan to head over to Pop to check-in and grab our park tickets then head straight for a park!

Of course, I can't really plan any of the rest of the days in Disney until the park hours are released. I'm a big fan of Tour Guide Mike, and love his crowd’s calendar, but he can't publish those until Disney puts out the park hours. I'm hoping that it won't be too much longer, but I'm guessing that it will probably be around the first of June. Once those are out, then I can plan the rest of my days and figure out our ADR’s. I do know where we want to eat-it's just a matter of figuring out when. I plan our ADR’s along with the park that we’ll be in that day.

So here's what I have for our list of ADR's:

Chef Mickey's for breakfast-We've had dinner here on both our trips, so now we want to try breakfast. I've read some really good reviews and seen some really yummy pics, so I'm excited about it! Here’s a picture from our last trip:

'Ohana for breakfast-We've never been to 'Ohana at all! I really like Lilo and Stitch, and the food looks so yummy! I can't wait to try some of the potatoes there!!

Crystal Palace for dinner-This one is just the opposite of Chef Mickey's-We've had breakfast here on both our trips, but never dinner...so we're going to give it a shot this year. I'm not real sure about the menus that I've seen, but with Pooh there, who really cares about the food! And another pic from our last trip:

Sci-Fi for either lunch or dinner-Mike has wanted to try Sci-Fi out for some time now, so we are actually going to give it a go this time. I have read some good reviews on this one as well. I’m thinking that we will more than likely end up here for lunch so that we can grab something quick for dinner in order to see Fantasmic.

‘Ohana for dinner-Of course everyone knows how popular this place is for dinner. Everything I’ve ever read or seen on this place has been great. Actually, I didn’t think we were going to make it here to begin with, as we had planned to eat at Coral Reef on our Epcot day. Unfortunately, some of the reviews that I read wasn’t so good, so we decided against it for this trip. I’m a little disappointed though, because staying the park to eat would save a lot of time. I’m wondering how long it will take us to get from Epcot to the Poly and back, or if maybe we should try and find some place else in the park. We had Le Cellier last trip, and really enjoyed it, but there’s no where else that I’ve really thought of trying. If anyone has any recommendations, I’m definitely open!!

Since character breakfasts seem to take a little longer, I’m thinking about saving one of those for the day we leave. Our dining credits will still be good until midnight, so I think we’re going to try and get a late character breakfast. That way we won’t be so rushed to get out of the resort and can take our time. After our breakfast, wherever it may be, we plan to head over to Downtown Disney for the rest of the morning and afternoon. I’ve always wanted to check out Disney Quest, so I’m hoping that we’ll get to do that this time, too.

So that’s what we have planned so far. Of course it could all change at any time, and especially after the park hours are released. And I’m sure that our dining choices may change as well, especially if anyone has any good suggestions that we might like to try! And if time allows, we may even check out some of the resorts that we’d like to stay in on future visits.

In other news, I was very excited to get a DisneyShopping.com from my boss last week for Administrative Professional’s Day! He knows me pretty well, I guess! So I used it to order a shirt for Mike and myself that we’d been eyeing for a while. I’d planned on ordering them when we had a little extra $, so the gift card came in quite handy for that! I’ll try and post pics of them later!

Hope everyone is doing well, and thanks again for reading!

 

[UGAFan0829]

It looks like I won't have to go out and buy new shoes for semi and formal nights after all!! A few days ago, I was working in my closets putting away some of our winter clothes when I remembered that I actually have some dress shoes that could work for what I needed. So I pulled out the boxes, one of them I've never worn. I tried both pairs on with each of my dresses, and guess what-they work! I really kinda wanted to find one pair that would go with both dresses for the sake of saving room in our suitcases. But, if taking two pairs instead of one means that I won't have to go spend money on a new pair, then so be it!
Here's the pair that I've never worn that go best with my semi-formal dress:

It's kinda hard to tell from the picture, but the straps are actually black satin. They're very cute, but I'm just a little nervous about walking in them with nothing around my heel. I hope that the seas aren't too rough on semi-formal night...If anyone hears a loud thump on the ship-then you know who it was and what happened!
And here's the pair that I will be wearing with my formal dress. I actually wore these to a wedding last year, and they weren't bad at all. I like the sequins across the one strap since it adds a little pizzaz to them:

What's even better about these shoes is that they are the perfect height for my dress. I thought I was going to have to have it hemmed, but when I wear the shoes with it, it's the perfect length!

So, that's one more thing off my list! Now, I need to work on getting my pirate costume ordered!

 

[UGAFan0829]

So this morning, I was playing around with our "budget" a little to see how much we were going to need for expenses for the trip (parking, hotel for the night before, souvies, etc.), and I came up a little short. So, in trying to cut some of the stuff, I was trying to figure out an alternative for the gifts that we had planned to get for the DSIL and DN.
This is what we actually had planned to get them...
For the DSIL:

And for the DN:

I love both of them, but the problem is that they are $75.00 each, plus tax and delivery!! I really want to get them both something since the DSIL will be celebrating her b-day on board. And since this will be the DN's 1st cruise, we wanted to do something special for her as well. I love the fact that they both come with something that they can keep forever. But since the budget is kinda outta whack I was trying to think of something else that we could do for them that might be a little cheaper, but that would mean just as much. Does anyone have any ideas?

 

[UGAFan0829]

According to the little countdown clock that I have on my desk...

ONLY 100 MORE DAYS...Until we leave for Florida! Wow...It's amazing how fast time has flown by. Back when we booked the trip, I remember thinking that it would take forever for this trip to get here, and tomorrow we'll be in double digits!

 

[UGAFan0829]

Hello everyone!
My how time is flying! I can’t believe that our trip is only 90 days away! I know that I haven’t had any “good” updates lately-but that’s about to change…Yesterday we added another night to the end of our Disney World stay! I am so very excited! I know it’s only a day, but it really takes a lot of stress away since we were wondering how we were going to be able to make it to all the parks and not feel totally rushed!
Mike and I were talking, and I brought the idea up. He agreed that it sounded like a good idea, but of course the first question that came up was “How much is it gonna cost?” So, I hung up with him and called Disney right away. I had my hopes up, but I really didn’t know what to expect. I knew that being able to add another night would depend on availability at our resort, and even then I wasn’t sure that we would be able to simply add another day of dining. I spoke to a wonderful CM named Jamie who probably thought I was crazy! I told her what I was looking for, she got all my info and then pulled up our reservation. She checked to see, and then told me that yes, we could do it! I was sooooo excited that I actually cried when I hung the phone up. Can you believe that we were able to add another night at Pop, an extra day of park tickets for the both of us, AND another day of dining all for only $116.00??!! I was shocked! Free dining really does pay off. We probably would have taken it even if it didn’t include the dining, as we were planning to pay for some a couple meals out of pocket anyway, but actually getting those extra meals is just icing on the cake!
Now, to make a long story even longer, Mike and I sat down last night and went over the Least Crowded Park charts from Tour Guide Mike and Touring Plans. I’ve never used Touring Plans before-I’ve always used TGM. And I was very surprised at how much they differ. I’m just hoping that we are making smart decisions on our park days. I think I’ve pretty much got the days figured out as to which park we’re going to on which day. Here’s what I have so far, and hopefully it won’t change, but you never know:

Saturday-9/12-Epcot-World Showcase-Since we will actually be getting off the ship on this day, I’m really not sure what time it will be before we are able to actually get into a park. Since I’m thinking it would definitely be too late to try and make it to any of the other parks by opening, I figured it would be a good day for World Showcase since it doesn’t open until 11 anyway. This way we can have breakfast on the ship, then make our way to Disney without feeling too much pressure about getting there by a certain time. More than likely, we’ll pick up lunch at the counter-service place in Mexico. We ate lunch there on our last trip and it was awesome. We’ve talked about it ever since, so that one’s a no brainer for us. Since we don’t spend a whole heck of a lot of time in World Showcase, the plan is to try and have dinner at the Wave, then make it back in time to see Illuminations. But I will just have to wait and see if we’re able to get anything once our ADR window opens up. If nothing is open at the Wave, then I’m going to try for ‘Ohana. I thought about eating somewhere in Epcot, but there is just no where that sounds good to us. I looked at all the menus on All Ears, but I couldn’t find a thing that both Mike and I would want. Hopefully getting to and from the Wave won’t be too bad.

Sunday-9/13-Animal Kingdom-There is so much in this park that we missed last trip, and I hope to be able to see most of it this year. We’d really like to try and see Festival of the Lion King, but we’ll see. We saw Nemo last trip, and I have to admit-neither of us cared for it. I really want to check out the character trails this time, too! As for food-we’ll probably just have breakfast at the resort, and a counter-service lunch in the park. I’m thinking Flame Tree BBQ again since we liked it so much last time. And since the park closes at 5, I’m hoping to be able to get a reservation at ‘Ohana for dinner on this evening. We’ve been wanting to eat there for a while now, but it just hasn’t worked out for us. I’m hoping that it does on this trip, but if not, then I’m going to try and go with the Wave as our backup.

Monday-9/14-Epcot-FutureWorld-I’m hoping to try and get either Chef Mickey’s or ‘Ohana for breakfast on this morning. Either one will be fine for us. And since we’ll hopefully be doing a breakfast, I doubt that we’ll be able to make it to park opening, and that’s okay if we don’t. I’m guessing that we will either have lunch in the park at some counter-service. I don’t have any dinner plans for this evening, as I hope to be able to schedule a portrait session at the Poly. We did a session at the GF last time, and it was a lot of fun. We ended up using one of the photos on our Christmas card. I’m not sure what we’ll do for dinner, probably grab something in the food court at the resort, or maybe even head to Downtown Disney. I’d love to eat at Earl of Sandwich again!

Tuesday-9/15-Hollywood Studios-This is the one park that I’m sort of disappointed with this year. We’ve really wanted to see Fantasmic this go-around, and they are only offering it ONCE during our trip, which is on the 13th. I’m betting that it’s going to be super crowded because everyone else is going to want to see it as well. So, I think we’re going to skip trying to see it again…I really don’t want to wait in line for an hour and a half just to try and see it, and I also don’t want to spend 2 credits on the Fantasmic dinner package either. That’s okay though because it only gives us one more thing to put on our list for the next trip! I hope to be able to get an ADR for Sci-Fi on this day. I’m going to try for dinner, but if I can’t get it then I’m going for lunch. And if I can’t get that, then I’m going to try for 50’s Prime Time. Breakfast will probably be in the resort food court and lunch will likely be counter-service (IF I can get Sci-Fi for dinner).

Wednesday-9/16-Magic Kingdom-This will be our last day in the parks, and I really can’t think of a better park to end our vacation with. Not to mention, I’ve heard that Wednesdays are great days to visit MK. I don’t have any plans for breakfast or lunch on this day, so it will probably be like some of the rest-food court for breakfast and counter-service lunch in the park. I am hoping to get Crystal Palace for dinner though. And if I can’t get it for dinner, then I’m going to try for lunch. And if I can’t get either of those, then we decided to try Tony’s Town Square backup. There is no Spectro on this night, but there is a Wishes, so I hope to catch that before ending our night in the MK.

Thursday-9/17-We’ll be heading home on this day, but I’m hoping to be able to get a later breakfast for either Chef Mickey’s or ‘Ohana…whichever I’m not able to get on the Monday that we’re in Epcot. We’ll probably head to Downtown Disney after breakfast to do our last shopping before we head home. And if I’m not able to fit it in earlier in the week, then I hope to do the Characters In Flight ride and hopefully Disney Quest since that’s another place that we’ve been trying to get to, but haven’t made it yet!

So there ya go-those are our plans-for now!! I hope they don’t change, and I really feel so much better now that we have this part planned and figured out. The last challenge will be calling to get our ADR’s. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we’re able to get most of it!! I’d love to hear what y’all think about everything. I’m sure there may be some minor details that I’ve forgotten, so if you see anything wrong, let me know!

 

[UGAFan0829]

Guess what today was???? The day that I could make our ADR's! Yeaaa!
Making ADR's is definitely stressful for me...being the OCD person that I am when it comes to vacation planning, it always worries me that we won't get something that we've planned for, and it will totally mess things up.
I was definitely sweating it this morning, as I didn't get on the phone to call Disney Dining until a few minutes after 7. By the time I got through to the cue, the hold time was 30 minutes! I was a little scared, to say the least! I logged on to the DIS, and found lots of others who were on hold right along with me. I think I ended up waiting for about 45 minutes before I finally got a CM. It was a little nerve racking going through each restaurant and then waiting for him to tell me if it was available, but in the end WE GOT EVERYTHING THAT WE WANTED!! How awesome is that! So...here's where and when we'll be eating...
Saturday 9/13- Dinner at the Wave for 6:45. I was excited about getting this one since it's a new restaurant. I was a little worried when I first asked him about this one, because it took a little while to find any availability.
Sunday 9/14-Dinner at 'Ohana for 9:45. This one is a little later than I would have liked, but I'm just happy that we got something. There's still a little time for me to call and see if we can get anything earlier, but even if we have to stick with 9:45, I'll still be happy!
Monday 9/14- Breakfast at 'Ohana for 7:50. I was excited to get this one as well. I can't wait to eat with Lilo and Stitch!!!
Tuesday 9/15- Dinner at Sci-Fi for 5:55. I'm really glad that we got this one because Mike has wanted to eat here for a while now, and I'm kinda excited about it myself!
Wednesday 9/16- Dinner at Crystal Palace for 6. We've had breakfast here on our last two trips, so this will be a first for dinner here.
Thursday 9/17- Breakfast at Chef Mickey's for 9:10. This one is just the opposite of CP-We've only had dinner here and not breakfast, so I'm excited about this one as well.

I was really surprised that we got it all! I had some back-up restaurants just in case, but thankfully we didn't have to use them! I am really excited to be trying 3 new places that we've never eaten at before, and 2 new meals at places that we have been! Wooohoo! Making ADR's is definitely a lot of stress relieved, and it means that the trip is getting that