My AP-ALOOZA Continues (WE RENEWED!!) ~ NEW TR link posted!

[JulieODC]

I had a lot of catching up to do!! Love all your updates (the DCA rides look really fun! And your lunch looked really great!), and your pre-trip plans. We don't have a "next trip" planned yet...and I miss having something to look forward to, and obsess over details for!!

Dumdums are a HUGE hit in our house...I need to re-stock for occasions exactly like that one!

 

[disneygirl2785]

Our 180 opens on Friday, July 11!!! I'm excited about most of our ADRs! Especially Sanaa and Tusker House and Cali Grill for our Date Night! I have Raglan Road scheduled for our DTD evening, we're Irish (my maiden name is McGuire), So I think it will be fun, but I'm just not 100% on it yet...there are so many good resort restaurants that I feel like RR may be just eh...but we haven't been to that many TS, that I know I just have to start somewhere. I'm also planning Akershus...but again, I'm just eh on it and I think it will depend on how Camryn does with characters. We wouldn't be doing it until later in the trip, so I'll have time to change it out if needed. Ohana and BOG will be our only repeats, so, of all the repeats we could have those are pretty good ones, IMO!

By the way, your DL TR is making me want DL to be our next trip after January. We had already been talking about it, but you are definitely tipping me over. the. edge!

 

[Imagineer5]

I had a lot of catching up to do!! Love all your updates (the DCA rides look really fun! And your lunch looked really great!), and your pre-trip plans. We don't have a "next trip" planned yet...and I miss having something to look forward to, and obsess over details for!!

Dumdums are a HUGE hit in our house...I need to re-stock for occasions exactly like that one!

Thank you! I am going to finally work on another DL update having way too much fun adding stuff to my August trip! Luckily we bought a 1000-dum dum bucket to make into 3 topiaries for Aria's sweet shoppe themed 2nd birthday party! Two of the topiaries disappeared (I think andrew took them to his office?) and I brought 1 to my office, but didn't put it out in a common area LOL, so I grab a handful off of it when I need some for the next trip. And I enjoy a few each week too...

Our 180 opens on Friday, July 11!!! I'm excited about most of our ADRs! Especially Sanaa and Tusker House and Cali Grill for our Date Night! I have Raglan Road scheduled for our DTD evening, we're Irish (my maiden name is McGuire), So I think it will be fun, but I'm just not 100% on it yet...there are so many good resort restaurants that I feel like RR may be just eh...but we haven't been to that many TS, that I know I just have to start somewhere. I'm also planning Akershus...but again, I'm just eh on it and I think it will depend on how Camryn does with characters. We wouldn't be doing it until later in the trip, so I'll have time to change it out if needed. Ohana and BOG will be our only repeats, so, of all the repeats we could have those are pretty good ones, IMO!

By the way, your DL TR is making me want DL to be our next trip after January. We had already been talking about it, but you are definitely tipping me over. the. edge!

Yay!! Well good luck then!! That is exciting. Raglan Road is FANTASTIC! I actually wish it wasn't at DTD, because then I would frequent it more often! They have an AMAZING bread pudding dessert. You have a wonderful line up!

DL is really great. I will def. be planning a trip once Aria is old enough to ride Indiana Jones, unless my DH expresses interest in going sooner than that! It's a 46" height requirement though, so we have 9.5" to go - boo!

 

[Imagineer5]

Sorry for delay - spending too much time planning for August. Back to Disneyland!

So I left off after riding Screamin' - Lynda was back with Aria napping in the stroller. I came back to find Aria awake!

Lynda had even put on her Duffy dress as our next plan was to go meet Duffy! We made a quick potty stop and then headed over to where Duffy was coming out soon.

When we got there, the photopass photographer was out but no Duffy yet, so we started a line. The photographer was stunned by Aria’s duffy dress and told us that we were lucky to make it there – this was Duffy’s last meeting – potentially forever at DCA – wow! I guess he just isn’t very popular. It was really neat though as the photopass photographer genuinely loved Duffy and loved that Aria was dressed for meeting Duffy. I did use a lollipop as some enticement considering she just woke up and wasn’t exactly prepared to go run to Duffy, but she perked up after that promise.

After the cute meet, we stopped at a quick Paradise Pier photopass photographer –

Then headed over to Redwood Creek play area! We had two goals for the rest of our DCA time – check out Redwood Creek and Lynda needed to ride RSR. Since her phone wasn’t working we didn’t want to split up so we all went to Redwood Creek before going back to Cars Land. So glad I didn’t skip this - it was SO much fun! There were treehouses and rope things to climb around (Aria needed to be picked up for the ropes but she enjoyed them) and some big slides to go down.

They had a little cave where you could get your “inner animal” read (I was salmon, Lynda was wolf, and Aria wouldn’t touch it LOL)

There was a cute spot to meet Dug

Not too sure about Dug...

And animal prints in the ground that Aria loved seeing. She loves to say “I’m following Mommy’s footprints” while we are walking on a beach, so today she was following animal footprints and loving it.

Then it was time to head out of Redwood Creek although we could have spent hours here! We headed over towards Cars Land – the single rider line was estimated to be about 30 minutes long, so Lynda jumped in line and we made a plan to meet at 5PM (45 minutes) in front of Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree…

 

[Imagineer5]

We left off splitting up - Lynda was hopping in the single rider line for RSR, with the plan to meet up in about 45 minutes (5PM) outside of Mater's Junkyard Jamboree. We had an ADR over at Disneyland at Cafe Orleans for 5:30 so that was our main time constraint. After wishing Lynda a good ride, we hopped in line to meet the Cars Fire Truck. Yep, no idea what his name was. And Aria thought that I was crazy for wanting to pose with another car? She has seen the movies and enjoys them, but I guess she just isn't too into them. oh well! (She refused to go up by herself!)

Then we hopped in the 15-minute line for Mater's. We had some time to kill and I didn't want to stray too far. We loved this ride, so why not!

She was being really cute in the line. Excited to watch the ride going, and people watch around us.

And in no time, we were on the ride!

Weee!

After the ride I tried to get her to pose with the Mater statue outside, but she wouldn't go near it!

So instead I grabbed the stroller and decided to relax for the next 15 or so minutes while we waited on Lynda. Aria wanted a snack and some milk, and then she had some fun dancing and twirling! Guess she liked her Duffy dress, too!

Now we were running around this pole!

Then, you guessed it, 5 came and went! Lynda's phone was dead (she had issues with her iphone dying each day!) We waited and waited, and I finally saw her up the street checking out the Lightning McQueen meet & greet area, and ran over to her! Not sure why she was looking for us there, but it was about 5:25 now, I was hot and tired, and we had to book it over to Disneyland for our dinner ADR. We got through the gates quickly and I snapped a couple balloon pics

And then we continued over to New Orleans Square where we were having dinner! Cafe Orleans was one of my favorite DL restaurants - they have some amazing beignets for dessert. Unfortunately while we were there, New Orleans Square was undergoing quite a bit of refurbishment, so in addition to Pirates being closed (and Club 33), there were walls up everywhere. That also made parking the stroller difficult as there was no clear spot to park it, but we found a spot and checked in - then had about a 15 minute wait, during which time Aria said she needed to use the potty so I took her...then we came back and waited some more.

She was playing peek a boo with her blanket

Then we were seated!

We had a perfect people-watching table outside right along the fence.

Earlier in the day, Lynda had gone shopping and picked up a gift for aria - a disney charm bracelet. She decided to give it to her at dinner tonight! Aria was just wearing this last night, so she definitely still loves it!

It was around this time that Aria said she needed to go potty. Now, she has pulled this before of going 3-4 times during dinner. With the construction in New Orleans Square, the closest bathrooms were over by Haunted Mansion, which was a good 5-minute walk. (No restrooms in the restaurant, which I don't remember if that was due to construction or if it is always that way). I said she needed to wait a few minutes, as I had just taken her and she went potty 10 minutes before! We were also annoyed that the server hadn't come over yet. I think we were all hot and tired.

The server finally came and I ordered a lemonade (I asked if they had the delicious lemonade that the Blue Bayou serves, and the waitress acted like I had three heads). We started off with some delicious parmesan truffle fries and they came pretty quickly -

Lynda got a french onion soup

continued in next post...

 

[Imagineer5]

I ordered Aria the chicken, which came with pasta, grapes, and broccoli (IMO, an awesome deal for like $6?!) and also came with some fresh milk that I poured into her thermos. She really enjoyed the grapes!

Then IT happened. Aria said she needed to go potty again - I joked with Lynda that I guess she really does, and picked her up to go to the bathroom. We got there and...she had gone #2 in her undies. I didn't even smell it at the table, and of course had left the bag with the wet wipes, spare clothing, etc at the table. Yuck. So I'll spare you the details, but we basically threw away her undies in the trash (sorry, cleaning CM's), cleaned her up as well as I could, ran back with her bare-bottomed (her dress did cover everything lol), looked in the diaper bag to find that I did NOT have a spare pair of undies, but grabbed a diaper and wipes, ran BACK to the restroom and cleaned her up some more and put on a diaper.

UGH! This whole thing *could* have been only 2-3 minutes long, but with how far the bathroom was it was more like 25 minutes. Our food came and I had lost my appetite, and now don't even remember what we ordered (and I was too flustered to take a pic). I did not want to leave without ordering the beignets, considering they are the reason I wanted to eat here, so we did order those.

(there were a few more, but I forgot to take a before pic, whoops!)

Aria had a ball licking the powered sugar off

Then we paid the check and high tailed it out of there. Our server was incredibly slow, and we ended up having to ask another server to get her so we could get our check - but I'm sure our (well, my) attitude had been affected by the "incident" so I think that just made it worse.

After dinner, we felt like we needed to salvage the evening a bit, so decided to check on the Splash single rider line! We got there and there was NO ONE there at all! Woohoo! So we took turns riding that while the other person took Aria on Pooh - which also had no wait! win-win!

The Splash single rider line has you go up the exit, over a bridge over the boats, and then back down the stairs ending up at where they are loading the ride. There were maybe 3 single riders in front of me, and I was on within 4 minutes or so.

This is one ride that I had heard the WDW version far surpasses the DL ride. I can't say that I agree though, as I thoroughly enjoyed the ride, and didn't notice any fewer drops.

After the ride we switched off and Aria was thrilled to get to ride Pooh again

After the ride she was very happy to play with Goofy and run around!

And we decided to call it a night and head out of the park!

But first - we saw Pluto out with hardly a wait! And Aria yelled "pluto!" and tried to jump out of the stroller...sooo that was our next stop!

Nice way to end the day! We made the 10 minute walk back to the room, got into jammies and put on the TV - it was a girl's sleepover after all!

Aria had fun playing under the covers!

Shortly after that though, we were all pooped and went to sleep.

Coming up - our free day! Goofy's Kitchen, swimming, and Ralph Brennen's for dinner!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Our 180 opens on Friday, July 11!!! I'm excited about most of our ADRs! Especially Sanaa and Tusker House and Cali Grill for our Date Night! I have Raglan Road scheduled for our DTD evening, we're Irish (my maiden name is McGuire), So I think it will be fun, but I'm just not 100% on it yet...there are so many good resort restaurants that I feel like RR may be just eh...but we haven't been to that many TS, that I know I just have to start somewhere. I'm also planning Akershus...but again, I'm just eh on it and I think it will depend on how Camryn does with characters. We wouldn't be doing it until later in the trip, so I'll have time to change it out if needed. Ohana and BOG will be our only repeats, so, of all the repeats we could have those are pretty good ones, IMO!

By the way, your DL TR is making me want DL to be our next trip after January. We had already been talking about it, but you are definitely tipping me over. the. edge!

Not to hijack the thread, but just thought I would mention that we have done Date Night at Cali Grill and had such a great time - enjoyed sharing apps and stuff. And just being able to get a drink and take it out onto the observation deck and watch the Fireworks is pretty darn romantic

Oh, and we love Raglan Road. Another place with really good apps to share and the bread pudding there is amazing!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

wow, that's weird that they might be getting rid of Duffy at DL ... seems to be pretty popular at EPCOT and just for the sales of the toy and the clothes you would think they would keep him around to promote that - but maybe not needed

That Red Woods play area looks really fun! Seems like they don't have many play areas left at WDW

Ugh, dinner sounds super frustrating - and the heat and the slow server I am sure were not helping. Peter is just getting into potty-training and doing the whole "potty, potty, potty!" thing every 5 minutes gets annoying - it's always hard to tell when they really need to go vs. just wanting the attention or what not. I must say, that kids meal does look like quite the value!

Of course after the events at dinner Aria would want to go on Pooh (sorry, couldn't resist)

Aria seems to be doing great with most of the characters! Even if she doesn't get the posing in front of cars yet

 

[Imagineer5]

Not to hijack the thread, but just thought I would mention that we have done Date Night at Cali Grill and had such a great time - enjoyed sharing apps and stuff. And just being able to get a drink and take it out onto the observation deck and watch the Fireworks is pretty darn romantic

Oh, and we love Raglan Road. Another place with really good apps to share and the bread pudding there is amazing!

Not butting in at all! I meant to say I love California Grill too, and have it planned for both August (with just Aria) and October (with everyone!). It's one of my ALL TIME favorites!

wow, that's weird that they might be getting rid of Duffy at DL ... seems to be pretty popular at EPCOT and just for the sales of the toy and the clothes you would think they would keep him around to promote that - but maybe not needed

That Red Woods play area looks really fun! Seems like they don't have many play areas left at WDW

Ugh, dinner sounds super frustrating - and the heat and the slow server I am sure were not helping. Peter is just getting into potty-training and doing the whole "potty, potty, potty!" thing every 5 minutes gets annoying - it's always hard to tell when they really need to go vs. just wanting the attention or what not. I must say, that kids meal does look like quite the value!

Of course after the events at dinner Aria would want to go on Pooh (sorry, couldn't resist)

Aria seems to be doing great with most of the characters! Even if she doesn't get the posing in front of cars yet

I wish they would put Duffy as a main character in Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, or something along those lines. I love him? IDK why? And Aria does too. She has two teddy bears - Duffy and one from the Steiff factory in Germany.

Yes - this was my first trip with a potty "trained" Aria, so it was bound to happen ( ha ha, i can do the puns too ) but still, at dinner of all places? when the bathroom was a mile away? And yes I was probably still mad about waiting around for a cell phone-less Lynda haha!

She did GREAT with the characters. She did even better in June! Can't wait to do the TR for that, once Dugette and I figure out how we are going to do them? Separately? on one post together? Alternating? IDK. She is truly a girl - would choose hugging a princess over standing next to a car any day.

 

[Dugette]

Ouch, looks like you got a bit of sunburn!

I love Aria's Duffy dress! So cute! Wow, I'm surprised they'd take Duffy away. Out of any character, he's probably the one that directly drives the most merchandise sales as a result of meet-and-greets. I know, for us, we mocked Duffy until the trip where Izzy met and loved him - then we had to buy her a Duffy, of course!

Glad the meet-and-greet went well and the Dumdum motivated Aria!

Cute Duffy borders, by the way.

That playground looks like lots of fun!

Okay, the Dug meeting in the Duffy dress got me thinking...do you have any Dug or Up dresses for Aria? If not, get on that! Actually, the fact that Duffy is holding a bunch of balloons is quite appropriate for Up anyway.

Wow, you can really see how much storage you have in that stroller in the pic where Aria is twirling. I can see why you like it!

Glad I brought that phone charger along on our trip to avoid the splitting up problems!

Aw, that charm bracelet is a sweet gift!

Oh no on the potty accident! And, of course, at the worst time and location. Glad you at least had the spare diaper, though. You didn't mention this incident at all when we discussed potty training over margaritas. (TR spoiler right there, folks! )

However, the fries, kid's meal, and beignets look great! I have heard those beignets are a special treat! Mmmmm. I can see how you lost your appetite during the meal, though.

Ah, I suppose Aria loved licking the powdered sugar off because it was like licking the salt and pepper off her hands! Silly kiddo!

Yay for no wait on Splash! Love that it has a single rider line too. Do you have to sit right next to someone then, since it's a side-by-side? I suppose so, huh? We were watching Winnie the Pooh tonight...really makes me want to go on Pooh again now with it fresh in my mind.

Aw, that's sweet that she got so excited for Pluto. Cute pictures! I also like the one with you all and the lit up castle in the background.

Look forward to hearing about your free day...you don't do that too often!

 

[Dugette]

Can't wait to do the TR for that, once Dugette and I figure out how we are going to do them? Separately? on one post together? Alternating? IDK. .

Yes, we need to figure this out! I've been meaning to ask what you thought. Anyone out there with suggestions - fire away. I'm thinking we probably start a new thread, rather than burying it in either of ours. For the travel days, we probably will want to write separate posts, since we had different experiences. However, the time together I'm not sure what's best. I don't think it makes a lot of sense to each write up a post on the same things, but we each probably do have different memories and things to share. Maybe one of us (you? since I'm still working on the Dec. TR...) writes up the entry and the other either a.) adds stuff before it's posted or b.) adds a separate post with additional thoughts. Yeah, I don't really have an answer. I'm sure someone has done this before, but I sure don't know where to look.

Dug and I did go through the Photopass pics and try to pick out TR-worthy ones, by the way. We haven't gotten through any of the others yet, though.

 

[khertz]

Since I'm unwillingly an expert in all things Cars, I'll let you know that the fire engine's name is Red. We had a hilarious conversation at Christmas when Paxton got a Red as a gift and proclaimed, "It's Red!" when he opened it. My mom said, "Wow, what's his name?" to which Paxton answered, "It's Red!" Imagine that happening a couple more times before I let her in on the fact that his name is Red and that Paxton wasn't just telling her the color over and over.

Wow, really REALLY bad timing on that potty accident. Been there, done that! That can definitely change the mood of the evening. But I'm glad y'all were able to get it back on track and have some fun instead of that being the sour ending note on your day.

 

[disneygirl2785]

Oh.Em.Gee...This is a beautiful, precious photo

Not to hijack the thread, but just thought I would mention that we have done Date Night at Cali Grill and had such a great time - enjoyed sharing apps and stuff. And just being able to get a drink and take it out onto the observation deck and watch the Fireworks is pretty darn romantic

Oh, and we love Raglan Road. Another place with really good apps to share and the bread pudding there is amazing!

Aww, thanks! We are really excited about Date Night at CG! We will have just celebrated our 2 year anniversary And we stayed at BLT for our wedding and honeymoon, so I think it will be a great evening! (Grammy and Papaw will no doubt enjoy their evening spoiling DD while Momma and Daddy are away! ) Also, thanks for both of your positive comments for RR, you have definitely convinced me that's one we need to try!

Of course after the events at dinner Aria would want to go on Pooh (sorry, couldn't resist)

Bahaha!

Not butting in at all! I meant to say I love California Grill too, and have it planned for both August (with just Aria) and October (with everyone!). It's one of my ALL TIME favorites!

You know, maybe if I could ever actually do a PTR of my own I wouldn't have to hijack yours!

Yes, we need to figure this out! I've been meaning to ask what you thought. Anyone out there with suggestions - fire away. I'm thinking we probably start a new thread, rather than burying it in either of ours. For the travel days, we probably will want to write separate posts, since we had different experiences. However, the time together I'm not sure what's best. I don't think it makes a lot of sense to each write up a post on the same things, but we each probably do have different memories and things to share. Maybe one of us (you? since I'm still working on the Dec. TR...) writes up the entry and the other either a.) adds stuff before it's posted or b.) adds a separate post with additional thoughts. Yeah, I don't really have an answer. I'm sure someone has done this before, but I sure don't know where to look.

Dug and I did go through the Photopass pics and try to pick out TR-worthy ones, by the way. We haven't gotten through any of the others yet, though.

My vote is to start a new thread with each of your comments in different colors ...and maybe have Lauren start off since she got there first, and then Dugette multi quote in your comments (kinda like you did for the PTR section here!) Then the next day, Dugette you write out that day and have Lauren multi quote your comments...and back and forth like that?!? Again, ?

 

[Imagineer5]

Ouch, looks like you got a bit of sunburn!

I love Aria's Duffy dress! So cute! Wow, I'm surprised they'd take Duffy away. Out of any character, he's probably the one that directly drives the most merchandise sales as a result of meet-and-greets. I know, for us, we mocked Duffy until the trip where Izzy met and loved him - then we had to buy her a Duffy, of course!

Glad the meet-and-greet went well and the Dumdum motivated Aria!

Cute Duffy borders, by the way.

That playground looks like lots of fun!

Okay, the Dug meeting in the Duffy dress got me thinking...do you have any Dug or Up dresses for Aria? If not, get on that! Actually, the fact that Duffy is holding a bunch of balloons is quite appropriate for Up anyway.

Wow, you can really see how much storage you have in that stroller in the pic where Aria is twirling. I can see why you like it!

Glad I brought that phone charger along on our trip to avoid the splitting up problems!

Aw, that charm bracelet is a sweet gift!

Oh no on the potty accident! And, of course, at the worst time and location. Glad you at least had the spare diaper, though. You didn't mention this incident at all when we discussed potty training over margaritas. (TR spoiler right there, folks! )

However, the fries, kid's meal, and beignets look great! I have heard those beignets are a special treat! Mmmmm. I can see how you lost your appetite during the meal, though.

Ah, I suppose Aria loved licking the powdered sugar off because it was like licking the salt and pepper off her hands! Silly kiddo!

Yay for no wait on Splash! Love that it has a single rider line too. Do you have to sit right next to someone then, since it's a side-by-side? I suppose so, huh? We were watching Winnie the Pooh tonight...really makes me want to go on Pooh again now with it fresh in my mind.

Aw, that's sweet that she got so excited for Pluto. Cute pictures! I also like the one with you all and the lit up castle in the background.

Look forward to hearing about your free day...you don't do that too often!

I think it was just hot, I don't remember having a sunburn? The first two days were mid-90s though which coming from 50/60's at home was just hot!

Yes, I was very surprised too. I think it was mainly due to zero interest in people meeting him? The PP said that he never has a wait. Maybe they need to move his location, not remove him. I was so glad to see EPCOT's Duffy still there.

NO I do not have a Dug dress! I joined Cutie Pie Creations dress of the month club, because you know, Aria needs MORE, and I have a short list of characters I want (I chose Minnie for the first month, because I decided I needed another Minnie...) but Dug is on there as well.

I do plan to talk a little about the strollers once we get to the June TR. I REALLY really missed having the city select, it has spoiled me. I haven't figured out what I want to do for the August trip now that I will have a car - I am considering selling that City Mini, and sticking with the big one. Though if I go in 2015 it'll prob just be for long weekends and I would use ME for that...hmm...

Hahahha I have a selective memory, i guess. Tried to forget it - but it came back in full force after looking at the photos from the evening and I couldn't just skip that part, because it's what made dinner not so great.

On Splash I sat in the rear seat, which is narrower than the others, so I was by myself.

The free day was forced, or else I would have made my way into a park for sure... but it was a great day anyway!

Yes, we need to figure this out! I've been meaning to ask what you thought. Anyone out there with suggestions - fire away. I'm thinking we probably start a new thread, rather than burying it in either of ours. For the travel days, we probably will want to write separate posts, since we had different experiences. However, the time together I'm not sure what's best. I don't think it makes a lot of sense to each write up a post on the same things, but we each probably do have different memories and things to share. Maybe one of us (you? since I'm still working on the Dec. TR...) writes up the entry and the other either a.) adds stuff before it's posted or b.) adds a separate post with additional thoughts. Yeah, I don't really have an answer. I'm sure someone has done this before, but I sure don't know where to look.

Dug and I did go through the Photopass pics and try to pick out TR-worthy ones, by the way. We haven't gotten through any of the others yet, though.

Well since we are both still working on TR's we can let it sit for a while more. My only hesitation is I do have this thread for my whole year of AP's, so I would like to write it up here, but that is not sharing with you at all LOL so I guess we can just start a new thread. Either way I want to finish up DL (two more days to write about!) and I'm sure you want to finish up Dec before switching gears, so we can reconvene then.

Since I'm unwillingly an expert in all things Cars, I'll let you know that the fire engine's name is Red. We had a hilarious conversation at Christmas when Paxton got a Red as a gift and proclaimed, "It's Red!" when he opened it. My mom said, "Wow, what's his name?" to which Paxton answered, "It's Red!" Imagine that happening a couple more times before I let her in on the fact that his name is Red and that Paxton wasn't just telling her the color over and over.

Wow, really REALLY bad timing on that potty accident. Been there, done that! That can definitely change the mood of the evening. But I'm glad y'all were able to get it back on track and have some fun instead of that being the sour ending note on your day.

Hahhaha that is a cute story! Thank you! I couldn't remember. Funny enough, Cars 2 is the only movie on my iphone (try to keep Aria stuff off of it so she won't play with it).

I knew SOMETHING had to happen like that with a newly potty trained 2 year old, but yeah the timing really sucked!

Oh.Em.Gee...This is a beautiful, precious photo



Aww, thanks! We are really excited about Date Night at CG! We will have just celebrated our 2 year anniversary And we stayed at BLT for our wedding and honeymoon, so I think it will be a great evening! (Grammy and Papaw will no doubt enjoy their evening spoiling DD while Momma and Daddy are away! ) Also, thanks for both of your positive comments for RR, you have definitely convinced me that's one we need to try!



Bahaha!



You know, maybe if I could ever actually do a PTR of my own I wouldn't have to hijack yours!



My vote is to start a new thread with each of your comments in different colors ...and maybe have Lauren start off since she got there first, and then Dugette multi quote in your comments (kinda like you did for the PTR section here!) Then the next day, Dugette you write out that day and have Lauren multi quote your comments...and back and forth like that?!? Again, ?

Hahaha I don't mind! Ask away on anything, I love hearing about other trips! (you never know, I might just try to come along... )

Thank you for the input!

 

[Imagineer5]

Just wanted to share some fun we had yesterday! It was our 7-year anniversary! We both worked all day and Andrew unfortunately hit a ton of traffic on the way home, so while we waited I put on some make up (Gasp!) and a dress, and Aria enjoyed getting a little pampered too. She got a little lip gloss though I think it was gone before we snapped a pic

We hightailed it out of the house once Andrew got home, as we were heading to the boat, to take us to a fun waterfront restaurant in Tiverton, RI! It was called the Boat House.

Here we are on the boat:

We are still learning how to dock (and un-dock? IDK the term haha!) and as we were leaving it turned out that one of the ropes was still tied to the boat. WHOOPS! (Totally Andrew's fault, I had the forward two ropes and he was dealing with the back ones and missed it, though he tried to blame it on me!). That made for an interesting attempt at leaving. Luckily we made it to the restaurant unscathed, were able to dock there easily (with the two of us - the first time we did it without help!). Aria is SO good on the boat, and knows to just sit out of the way when we are doing stuff like that.

We then had a rough start to the dinner, as Aria got her finger smushed in a door (thankfully, NOT broken) and then we were seated outside but it was super windy and everything was blowing all over. We asked to be seated inside so once we finally got to the other table, took a deep breath and tried to start over!

I had a grapefruit martini to start with, Andrew had a gin and tonic, and we ordered some yummy appetizers - calamari for Andrew

And lobster fritters with chipotle dipping sauce for me. YUM - these were so good we agreed we would return just for bags of these.. MMM

Andrew took a quick pic of our view - the middle boat is ours

As of two days ago, Aria started giving hilarious "cheese" smiles. Here are a couple...

I ordered swordfish, which unfortunately I mistakenly forgot to say "well done" and it wasn't cooked as much as I'd like. I only ate half. It was ok.

Andrew got the seafood stew and loved it

Aria had a kid's plate of grilled chicken with steamed carrots, and ate all her carrots and half her chicken! (in fact, she skipped out of the restaurant with her two remaining carrots!)

It was a super fun evening. Also pretty late, we didn't get back to our dock until nearly 9PM, and quickly headed home where we all went right to bed. I slept in a little this morning, but poor Andrew is the driver in a van pool so he still had to get up at 4:30!

 

[disneygirl2785]

Thank you for the input!

I do totally understand wanting to document all your trips on one thread, too. Maybe, briefly give your take here as well? Whatever you choose, I can't wait to read all about it!

Your anniversary evening looks so fun! Even if you tried to take the dock with you! I love the screened in canopies across the back, I bet those will come in handy with kid(s)! As you can tell the boat in front of you at the dock at dinner doesn't have that capability!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Well since we are both still working on TR's we can let it sit for a while more. My only hesitation is I do have this thread for my whole year of AP's, so I would like to write it up here, but that is not sharing with you at all LOL so I guess we can just start a new thread. Either way I want to finish up DL (two more days to write about!) and I'm sure you want to finish up Dec before switching gears, so we can reconvene then.

Couple of thoughts I had for yours and Dugette's combined trip

1) I know Amberg93 and Marielightening are doing a TR together and they are basically taking turns with the updates - but that is a new/separate TR

2) Since you wanted to keep the TR as a combined effort for your AP year maybe you could just do your updates in this one and then Dugette can do a separate TR and you can have links to each others - like a direct link from one persons update to the corresponding update in the other TR? This way people who want to get both perspectives can get it and you can maybe avoid any duplicative information and just reference the other TR?




Though, I kinda thing TRs are like drinking wine ... there isn't really any wrong way to do it - just some are messier than others

 

[Imagineer5]

Thanks to Dugette's PM via Facebook, I just booked the Frozen Premium Package for 8/31!! EEK! TheMaxRebo you might want to check it out.

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/bl...premium-package-at-disneys-hollywood-studios/

Info here:

The Frozen Summer Fun Premium Package, available daily from July 5 – September 1, 2014 (with the exception of August 23), will offer guests reserved viewing for three of the park’s most anticipated new experiences. This package is a great way to see Princess Anna and Queen Elsa. Guests who book the package will check in at Min and Bills Dockside Diner starting at 10:30 a.m., then enjoy refreshments and reserved viewing for Anna & Elsa’s Royal Welcome procession at 11:00 a.m. Later on, they’ll experience reserved seating at one showing of For the First Time In Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration, which takes place between 12:30-7 p.m. The evening will end from 8:30 – 10PM with an exclusive dessert party in a reserved area for viewing of the nighttime Frozen fireworks spectacular. (Note: Anna and Elsa’s Royal Welcome procession and the dessert party offers a reserved viewing area, no seating is available. Wheelchairs and ECVs will be accommodated).

Packages cost $59 for adults and $34 for children (including tax and gratuity). Discounts do not apply. Park admission is required. Subject to restrictions and change without notice. Book this package now by calling 407-939-1939.


I'm basically doing it for the reserved seating. I can see hour+ long waits esp for the sing along show, and I don't want to have to stake out spots for the fireworks and the procession at 11am, so super excited they are offering this. Totally work 59 IMO, (Aria was free)!

And related, as she PM'd me that, I was working on a clothing post...so continuing to that now:


Since I like to jump all over the place... I am working on my mental packing list for August!! (for Aria of course, you've all seen my shorts & tops that I'm sure i'll be packing, nothing special!)

Here's what I'm thinking

August 22nd - afternoon @ Universal

I am having this tee made into a shorties set

August 23rd - full day at Universal

I am having this HP tee (sorry for the awful pic) turned into a dress

This Lorax outfit for the Seuss area

August 24th - morning at Universal, lunch at Fort Wilderness, evening at MK

This HP dress-

I have this Dr. Seuss dress

This for lunch and a pony ride (making into a dress)

We have dinner planned at Tony's

August 25 - CP, MK

Crystal Palace, this is on the way - if it fits she can wear it, if too big then she has a Pooh & Eeyore dress she wore in June.

We have a FP to meet Cinderella & Rapunzel, so she can wear this dress (dress is being made with the left-tee and into the right-hand style)

Also having this made into a dress

We have a FP to meet Ariel too...

If i didn't have enough for MK already, also having a dress made out of this

8/26 - EPCOT

This is going to be a ruffled shorties set

We may try to meet Jasmine

And I'm sure we will go to the Character spot

continued in next post...

 

[Imagineer5]

Clothing continued...

8/27 - Chef Mickeys, then MK, then EPCOT, then Akershus

For CM - this will be an over the top ruffled dress

We are having this Alice tee made into something

Also having this made into a dress (we STILL haven't met Marie, so that is a must-do!)

We have a FP to meet A&E

For Akershus -

8/28 - AK

We have this for Dinoland

I love this too, for in case we meet Chip and Dale again

Having this made into a dress for FotLK

8/29 - H&V, DHS, then DTD (T-Rex)

Aria will wear this to H&V to meet her favorite, Jake!

Since we already have FP's for TSMM, I won't have to run straight there, instead we'll try to meet buzz and woody!! (Buzz is actually another character on my to-do list for dresses, Aria loves him!)

8/30 - AK then MK

Possibly this Rio dress at AK?

For Tusker House

We have a FP at MK to meet Tink

8/31 - DHS extra day (for all the Frozen fun!)

We'll try to meet Sofia today

we will also try to meet Mike & Sulley, so I have this set for her to wear!

And I am sure we will do a little Frozen fun too, Olaf needs to make his appearance

I'm sure there will be more, but I am already thinking I'll need 2 suitcases. 10 nights is a long time and a LOT of clothes, esp if you're packing like 5 outfit changes per day for your kid.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Thanks to Dugette's PM via Facebook, I just booked the Frozen Premium Package for 8/31!! EEK! TheMaxRebo you might want to check it out.

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/bl...premium-package-at-disneys-hollywood-studios/

Info here:

The Frozen Summer Fun Premium Package, available daily from July 5 – September 1, 2014 (with the exception of August 23), will offer guests reserved viewing for three of the park’s most anticipated new experiences. This package is a great way to see Princess Anna and Queen Elsa. Guests who book the package will check in at Min and Bills Dockside Diner starting at 10:30 a.m., then enjoy refreshments and reserved viewing for Anna & Elsa’s Royal Welcome procession at 11:00 a.m. Later on, they’ll experience reserved seating at one showing of For the First Time In Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration, which takes place between 12:30-7 p.m. The evening will end from 8:30 – 10PM with an exclusive dessert party in a reserved area for viewing of the nighttime Frozen fireworks spectacular. (Note: Anna and Elsa’s Royal Welcome procession and the dessert party offers a reserved viewing area, no seating is available. Wheelchairs and ECVs will be accommodated).

Packages cost $59 for adults and $34 for children (including tax and gratuity). Discounts do not apply. Park admission is required. Subject to restrictions and change without notice. Book this package now by calling 407-939-1939.


I'm basically doing it for the reserved seating. I can see hour+ long waits esp for the sing along show, and I don't want to have to stake out spots for the fireworks and the procession at 11am, so super excited they are offering this. Totally work 59 IMO, (Aria was free)!

I saw this and looked into it - the issue for us is that is our arrival day and weren't planning on getting to the park before 3pm (though I might push to get there a bit earlier to try to get to a few more things).

Also, we have the Fantasmic! Dinner Package for that night and the dessert party is at the same time as Fantasmic! ... so while a cool thing I just don't think it will work for us

I might check out the ice skating with Olivia though - I think she might find that fun

Thanks for the note though!