Nikki and Tom take on F&W and MNSSHP-Take 2! LINK TO TR pg. 55

[exwdwcm]

i would also think not doing online check in is better for your chances of connecting rooms too.

hopefully you'll get off work a bit early and won't have any delays this time!

have you rented a car yet? I need to look- in fact i might do that tomorrow. I like to rent with National, since I have an emerald aisle card and you just walk out, pick out a car, get in and go. no stopping at a desk or waiting in line. Alamo might offer similar. National is now on the first floor of the garage too- so very convenient! check mousesavers for the best car rental codes and discounts!

i would say just settle in, unpack and relax. You might be tired from travelling and you want to get a good night's rest for the busy days ahead!

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

i would also think not doing online check in is better for your chances of connecting rooms too.

hopefully you'll get off work a bit early and won't have any delays this time!

have you rented a car yet? I need to look- in fact i might do that tomorrow. I like to rent with National, since I have an emerald aisle card and you just walk out, pick out a car, get in and go. no stopping at a desk or waiting in line. Alamo might offer similar. National is now on the first floor of the garage too- so very convenient! check mousesavers for the best car rental codes and discounts!

i would say just settle in, unpack and relax. You might be tired from travelling and you want to get a good night's rest for the busy days ahead!

Funny you should ask because I actually JUST reserved the rental car tonight! I checked Alamo and the rate went down significantly since the last time I checked. It was less than $100 for Wed night through Sun night so I don't think that's too bad.

 

[Stefy]

Ooh arrival day's, just glimpsing the ME gets your all excited for whats to come.

Yay for being at 6 weeks Be here before you know it

 

[disneybarbie]

Looks like a great day first day Nikki! Hope that day at school goes really quickly for you, bet you'll be watching the clock

Hmmm... Epcot could be tempting if it's EMH, bit worried you might be quite tired though if you've been at work all day? Steve and I went to the Studios EMH on our first night one trip, and when we got there we realised just how tired we were (but then we have the 5 hours jet lag as well as travel time hehe!)

Btw have you signed up for the loyalty programme for your car rental company? I heard on WDW Today podcast that's a good thing to do as you can get some perks and there might be an express queue for members at MCO


Your trip is coming up sooo soon!



Emma x

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

Excellent deal on the car!!! And I believe Alamo is one of the car rental agencies next to the terminal. I rented a car for the first time in Orlando in May and it was awesome to just cross the 'street' to get to your car. Good choice!

As for your first night, you should just play it on how you feel. But if you are up for it, definitely go to Epcot!

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Ooh arrival day's, just glimpsing the ME gets your all excited for whats to come.

Yay for being at 6 weeks Be here before you know it

It really will be! I love that ME bus! Will be sad not to use it this time but might be an extra hour in the parks on departure day so that's a plus...

Looks like a great day first day Nikki! Hope that day at school goes really quickly for you, bet you'll be watching the clock

Hmmm... Epcot could be tempting if it's EMH, bit worried you might be quite tired though if you've been at work all day? Steve and I went to the Studios EMH on our first night one trip, and when we got there we realised just how tired we were (but then we have the 5 hours jet lag as well as travel time hehe!)

Btw have you signed up for the loyalty programme for your car rental company? I heard on WDW Today podcast that's a good thing to do as you can get some perks and there might be an express queue for members at MCO


Your trip is coming up sooo soon!



Emma x

Oh I will definitely be watching the clock that day!! You're right...I'm sure we'll be exhausted the first night. Probably best to just turn in early and be ready for the action-packed weekend!

Yes, I actually joined the Alamo Insiders club so there are some perks to that.

Excellent deal on the car!!! And I believe Alamo is one of the car rental agencies next to the terminal. I rented a car for the first time in Orlando in May and it was awesome to just cross the 'street' to get to your car. Good choice!

As for your first night, you should just play it on how you feel. But if you are up for it, definitely go to Epcot!

Oh great! I'm hoping we can use the kiosk and just pick our car and GO!

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Guess what I just did?


Brought up my suitcase from the basement!!

Haha! Still 40 days away but tonight I had a thought...not taking Magical Express means getting out own luggage, which is always a pain! So I was thinking...since it's just a 4-day trip, maybe I can get away with using a carry-on sized suitcase. Well of course, I had to check immediately! So I looked for the dimensions allowed for carry-on on the Continental website, then had to check the smaller suitcase inside my bigger suitcase so I just brought it up! Turns out, it's exactly the right size so I'm thinking carry-on is the way to go!

The only thing that worries me is that I'm going to have to bring my sneakers for the race and that will take up a lot of room. I could always wear my sneaks on the plane but I'd really rather not....if I have to, I will though.

But anyway, the suitcase is up! Wonder how long I will wait before I start packing it......

 

[knewton64]

Guess what I just did?


Brought up my suitcase from the basement!!

Haha! Still 40 days away but tonight I had a thought...not taking Magical Express means getting out own luggage, which is always a pain! So I was thinking...since it's just a 4-day trip, maybe I can get away with using a carry-on sized suitcase. Well of course, I had to check immediately! So I looked for the dimensions allowed for carry-on on the Continental website, then had to check the smaller suitcase inside my bigger suitcase so I just brought it up! Turns out, it's exactly the right size so I'm thinking carry-on is the way to go!

The only thing that worries me is that I'm going to have to bring my sneakers for the race and that will take up a lot of room. I could always wear my sneaks on the plane but I'd really rather not....if I have to, I will though.

But anyway, the suitcase is up! Wonder how long I will wait before I start packing it......

...is just 1/2 the fun.

It's the "hey am I under the 50 bl weight limit?" is the other half the challenge.

Me?


I usually am 43 lbs w/a 26 inch suitcase.



UH OH!!!!!


AM I hearing the word "race" from you??? (the comment about the sneakers).

Are u running some sort of a race??

Am I fallin down in NOT reading yer Pre - tr?????

fully???????



Ok, if u r running something, can ya give me a hint on what page forward I need to go back and read????

Me thinks I need to get some quiet time and read yer blog .

OOPS!!


But hey, it was the Adams Family section of yer ptr that really caught my eye is my weakkkkkkkk defense.



T.T.F.N.

 

[anjalee6]

I feel like we made similar plans minus the race part. We are leaving on the 28th too as you know. We have debated renting a car, but I just don't want to spend the extra money. Our school has a half day so I am glad about that we can get to the airport for our flight which leaves at 6:10. I am like you. I hope there are no delays with our flight. I want to get to AkL by 9:30 at the latest. I hope I am not expecting too much. I also wondered if we should head out to Epcot, but that means making my mom stay with the kids the very first night so I think we are going to skip it. I like comparing schedules. It's fun to see what you are doing since we will be there the same dates. Like your plans so far though.

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

I think it's smart to test out the luggage and see if you can get by with a carry on! Time really will fly by, especially with school back in session.

 

[exwdwcm]

Funny you should ask because I actually JUST reserved the rental car tonight! I checked Alamo and the rate went down significantly since the last time I checked. It was less than $100 for Wed night through Sun night so I don't think that's too bad.

woo hoo- sounds like a great deal and i love Alamo- National and Alamo are my favorites.

Guess what I just did?


Brought up my suitcase from the basement!!

Haha! Still 40 days away but tonight I had a thought...not taking Magical Express means getting out own luggage, which is always a pain! So I was thinking...since it's just a 4-day trip, maybe I can get away with using a carry-on sized suitcase. Well of course, I had to check immediately! So I looked for the dimensions allowed for carry-on on the Continental website, then had to check the smaller suitcase inside my bigger suitcase so I just brought it up! Turns out, it's exactly the right size so I'm thinking carry-on is the way to go!

The only thing that worries me is that I'm going to have to bring my sneakers for the race and that will take up a lot of room. I could always wear my sneaks on the plane but I'd really rather not....if I have to, I will though.

But anyway, the suitcase is up! Wonder how long I will wait before I start packing it......

hey, it's never too early! carry on is always good especially with all the fees today. I just have a hard time fitting all my toiletries in the smaller sizes for carry on if it is more than 3-4 days or more than just me going. I did just pack for our 4 day trip to San Diego/anaheim on Wednesday. I managed to get all 3 of us packed in my one big checked bag. That is a big accomplishment. lol- plus i have to pack at least 1-2 beach towels and light jackets too.

 

[jenseib]

Nikki, it was just me and I had a carry on and checked bag...and had to buy a bag at disney to bring extra stuff home. there is no way I could ever do just carryon. I had thought about it, but I just can't get all I "need" in there. LOL

 

[photographymom517]

Nikki! I can't wait to hear your minute by minute plans! After all the girls get back from the AEP it will be up to you and Hope to keep me distracted while I wait for my trip! That and extensive DLR research!

I will definitely try to hold up my end of that!!!

Although I think I'm more excited to hear about your DL plans than to talk about mine -- you know, the grass is always greener just like we said before!!!

So sorry for the lack of update on this boring PTR!! I promise, my TRs themselves are actually very entertaining. But to spice this up a bit, I'm going to start sharing our minute-to-minute plans! And trust me, they practically are minute-to-minute!!

First of all, last night was the 6 week mark! Can you believe that?! Makes it seem so soon!

But due to the jam-packed activities of this short weekend, I've decided to forgo Magical Express this time and rent a car.

So anyway, if all goes according to plan, I'm (unrealistically) hoping to get to POR by 10pm. Now this is where I might be getting a little crazy but Epcot happens to have EMH that night until midnight. Would it be completely insane to try to go to that, even if just for an hour? Or would it be better to just unpack, settle in and call it a night to be up bright and early the next morning?

I can definitely vouch for the fact that your TR's are extremely entertaining!!!! I love following along with your reports!!!! It would be a ton of fun to go on a trip with you & Tom!!!!

My dad uses Alamo every trip & swears by them. He says they are the best at MCO (he's used others & wasn't happy at all with their policies or customer service). He says that the customer service reps at Alamo are awesome every trip! So I hope you have the same experience!!!

I am in the same boat as you & honestly don't know what to do! On our arrival day, MK is open until 1am. The rational side of me is saying to relax on arrival day -- but how can I rest at the resort knowing MK is open?!?

We do arrive at MCO by 10am, so assuming we arrive to our resort by noon and the room is ready, we have until our 5pm dinner ressie to relax. I'm sure we could head over to MK for a few hours & not be exhausted. But on the other hand, we have to wake up super early to be at our airport by 6am (its an hour drive to our airport). I honestly don't know what to do! So I apologize that I can't help you out more! I can say that every trip, we relax at the resort the first day...and every trip, I go home regretting it.

You already know this but I just packed our luggage this past week too! I had my carry-on mostly packed but finished Luke's suitcase last night as well as what I could put in mine. I feel soooo far behind -- the past few trips, I've started packing suitcases before making ADR's at 180 days!

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

I feel like we made similar plans minus the race part. We are leaving on the 28th too as you know. We have debated renting a car, but I just don't want to spend the extra money. Our school has a half day so I am glad about that we can get to the airport for our flight which leaves at 6:10. I am like you. I hope there are no delays with our flight. I want to get to AkL by 9:30 at the latest. I hope I am not expecting too much. I also wondered if we should head out to Epcot, but that means making my mom stay with the kids the very first night so I think we are going to skip it. I like comparing schedules. It's fun to see what you are doing since we will be there the same dates. Like your plans so far though.

Wow, we might just cross paths at MCO! Funny we could've been on the same ME bus. I actually got a great deal on the car....less than $100 for Wed. night - Sun. night.

I think it's smart to test out the luggage and see if you can get by with a carry on! Time really will fly by, especially with school back in session.

Haha! Thanks for the support!

woo hoo- sounds like a great deal and i love Alamo- National and Alamo are my favorites.

hey, it's never too early! carry on is always good especially with all the fees today. I just have a hard time fitting all my toiletries in the smaller sizes for carry on if it is more than 3-4 days or more than just me going. I did just pack for our 4 day trip to San Diego/anaheim on Wednesday. I managed to get all 3 of us packed in my one big checked bag. That is a big accomplishment. lol- plus i have to pack at least 1-2 beach towels and light jackets too.

Wow, you did good!! I'm definitely not bringing a big jacket, maybe a very light sweater but hoping to buy a new sweatshirt while there.

Nikki, it was just me and I had a carry on and checked bag...and had to buy a bag at disney to bring extra stuff home. there is no way I could ever do just carryon. I had thought about it, but I just can't get all I "need" in there. LOL

Jen, how much did you buy!?! Actually, we usually ship all the stuff we buy home at the end of our trip so we don't have to pack it in our already stuffed suitcases! Plus, it's fun to get a box from Disney after we've already been home a few days.

I can definitely vouch for the fact that your TR's are extremely entertaining!!!! I love following along with your reports!!!! It would be a ton of fun to go on a trip with you & Tom!!!!

My dad uses Alamo every trip & swears by them. He says they are the best at MCO (he's used others & wasn't happy at all with their policies or customer service). He says that the customer service reps at Alamo are awesome every trip! So I hope you have the same experience!!!

I am in the same boat as you & honestly don't know what to do! On our arrival day, MK is open until 1am. The rational side of me is saying to relax on arrival day -- but how can I rest at the resort knowing MK is open?!?

We do arrive at MCO by 10am, so assuming we arrive to our resort by noon and the room is ready, we have until our 5pm dinner ressie to relax. I'm sure we could head over to MK for a few hours & not be exhausted. But on the other hand, we have to wake up super early to be at our airport by 6am (its an hour drive to our airport). I honestly don't know what to do! So I apologize that I can't help you out more! I can say that every trip, we relax at the resort the first day...and every trip, I go home regretting it.

You already know this but I just packed our luggage this past week too! I had my carry-on mostly packed but finished Luke's suitcase last night as well as what I could put in mine. I feel soooo far behind -- the past few trips, I've started packing suitcases before making ADR's at 180 days!

Thanks for vouching for my TRs!! I wish I could meet up with all my Disney friends on our trips. We really would have so much fun!

It really is so stressful trying to decide what options are best. We usually take the first flight out in the morning and used to always head straight to the park and stay there until closing. Then finally on our last trip, we made the decision to (still taking the first flight in the morning) head to DTD for lunch and then hang at the hotel for a nap before heading to Epcot for dinner and Illuminations. It was the best decision because we were relaxed and it made such a difference in our exhaustion level for the whole week!

 

[Tracy161]

Knowing me, I'd be bursting at the seams in anticipation of getting to a park... so I'd probably have to try for EMH on arrival night!

Wow! Can't believe how close you are now!!!

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Knowing me, I'd be bursting at the seams in anticipation of getting to a park... so I'd probably have to try for EMH on arrival night!

Wow! Can't believe how close you are now!!!

Right!? It just came so fast!! Wednesday will be 5 weeks!

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Life Update!

Sorry to post Day 1 and then leave everyone hanging! I've actually been pretty busy. This weekend my sister had a garage sale so I was there helping her. PLUS, as of today, my master's courses are OVER!!!!!!! I thought I would be totally done once the coursework was complete but I found out last minute that I have one extra 2-3 page paper to write about all the previous papers that I've submitted to my portfolio so I just have to bang that out and THEN I'm done!!

This morning, I am on my way to Long Beach Island to meet up with my four best friends from college. It's unbelievable that we all met almost 12 years ago! We became friends instantly and stuck together throughout college. We had the time our of lives and now that we're all married and 3 out of the 5 of us have children, it seems that the only time we can all get together is for wedding/baby showers and big events like that. And even then, it always seems like one person is missing for some reason or another. SO since 3 of us are teachers, one is on maternity leave and one is a stay-at-home-mom, summer is the perfect time to get together!


Cassie lives an hour north of me, Lori lives in Jersey City (30 minutes east), Gabby lives in Bethlehem PA (which is where we all went to college.) Lauren has a beach house on Long Beach Island and we used to go there for the weekend every summer during college. It will be fun to kind of relive that...although there will be 5 small children with us this time! I'm driving down with Lori, who just got married and, like me, does not have children so I am anticipating her and I with a lot of sangria in our future!!

This is a terrible picture (because my photographer SUCKED!) but here are the 5 of us at my wedding.

Anyway, the purpose for this long-winded explanation was to say that we're leaving this morning and not coming back until tomorrow night. Then Wednesday I'm going to watch my niece because my sister and her husband are (supposedly) going to get tattoos with of her name! (Their daughter's name, not my sister's name.) We'll see......

THEN, Wednesday night, I'm going to my cousin/clients house to help her plan her Disney trip! She is having a quickie wedding at the courthouse with her boyfriend of like 12 years and then they are honeymooning in WDW for 9 nights!! I was able to book her with the free dining plan in November, which they upgraded to the deluxe dining plan which immediately made me nervous about making ADRs!! So she agreed that making an itinerary would be a good idea and she is excited to start planning, which makes me very happy!!

BTW, I was able to save her over $800 on the original price of the same package because of free dining!!

Soooo.........I will TRY to update with Day 2 plans either tomorrow night (depending when I get in) or Thursday.....

 

[lbuzz52]

Hi Nikki. It's Lauren Z. I have to go back and catch up now!

 

[basketkat]

That is so awesome that you were able to save your cousin so much money with free dining!!! Congrats to them on their upcoming marriage!

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

The photo isn't that bad at all! Have fun!!