November 2011 Check In

Hi!

Well, Marie (above) convinced me to come on over to the Nov. thread, so here I am! I just assumed that since we were arriving in Oct. that I should be in that thread. But we are actually staying more days in Nov. than Oct. :) Our dates are 10/28 Fri. to 11/4 Fri., and it will be our first time without any friends or family. Just the three of us, which we are all pretty excited about :yay:

We leave Portland at 6:59pm on 10/28 and arrive at Long Beach airport at 9:23pm. The plan is to take the Super Shuttle to our hotel, which this time is the Desert Inn & Suites. We have stayed at BWPPI in the past, but couldn't pass up $63/nt. so we are giving it a try. It is nice to hear from Marie and others who have been to this hotel several times in the past, and I see there are some who will be staying there soon.

The first night, since we won't get to our hotel until 10:30 at best, I think we will just check-in, get settled, and go to sleep so that we are ready to be up bright and early for the parks :cool1: It will be DD's birthday, and we are planning on being at DL most of the day, but may hop a few times. We have PS at Big Thunder BBQ at 4:30, and then we will probably do the parade, fireworks, Fantasmis!, or a combination.

Sun. 10/30 we will start out in DCA for the first half of the day. At 5:00 we have PS at Ralph Brennans which we have never been to, but the menu looks yummy! After dinner, we will head to DL for the remainder of the night and again, do the parade, fireworks, Fantasmic! or a combination.

Mon. 10/31 Back to DL with lunch at Carnation Cafe at 1:00, and then stay until about 6:00pm. We are having dinner at Buca De Beppo's at 7:30, which we have always wanted to try. DD says she is fine not doing any trick-or-treating, so we will probably eat and then either swim or go to DTD and hang out.

Tues. 11/1 My B-day, and this day is not entirely planned yet. We were originally going to go to Sea World, but now given the amount of time on the bus, the cost, and only having 7 hours in the park, we may do something else. The only thing we do know is that dinner is at Tortilla Jo's at 5:00!

Wed. 11/2 This will be a DCA day mostly. We have PS for the World of Color/ dinner at Ariel's Grotto for 5:00.

Thurs. 11/3 Another DL/DCA day. We will do our MM on this day, and stay until around 4:00. Dinner will be the Pirate Dinner Adventure which we are excited about. Last trip we did Med. Times and loved it, and I've read that this is as good. When we get back, we will probably head to DTD to do some last minute shopping. That night it will be time to pack :sad2:

Fri. 11/4 Our flight doesn't leave until 6:45 so we don't need to leave for the airport until around 4:00 at the earliest. We will be able to go to the parks for some last minute rides which will be fun. I have always hated saying good-bye the night before, and waking up knowing it's right there and I can't go, crazy I know! This time we can get up, check-out, have the hotel hold our luggage, go play, and then come back at 4:00 :woohoo:

I feel like I have written a book, so if you made it this far, thank you for reading! How do our plans sound? The only day in question is the 1st, but I am sure we will figure something out. After all, we are in DL :rotfl2:

Only 11 more days (today is almost over, right?). When you've been planning since May, 11 days is nothing. I am such a planner, and I truly enjoy doing all of the research, etc., that I often miss it when I get home. Anyways, happy and safe travels to everyone!
 
I noticed some of you are celebrating birthdays, and I found a great deal that I wanted to share.

The Patina Group, which is the group that owns Tortilla Jo's, Catal, and Naples, has an offer that if you are 21yo and will be celebrating within 60 days from the date of your b-day, then they will send you a coupon for $30 off of a total bill of at least $30. So, for example, if you spend $58, with the coupon you would only pay $28. You may only spend $40 but would only pay $10. The website is below, and you just follow the steps.

http://www.patinagroup.com/joinus.php

We are doing it for my b-day and using it at Tortilla Jo's! I don't know when it will be emailed to me, but I will let you know. I hope this helps someone else who is celebrating :cool1:
 
Finally made our reservations! GCH concierge 11/18 -11/23! I booked our airfare about a month ago ( super great rate on allegiant!!) but couldn't decide on hotel! Concierge or no concierge, GCH or DLh or PPH! The fam finally said enough just book it and be done! So I settled for 4 nights at disney concierge at a ridiculous :rolleyes1 (high) ap price then 3 nights closer to the beach!

I still do not know what we are doing for Turkey day! One year we went to medevial times! It was fun and a good deal! One year we went to Sea World and then couldn't find anything open late for dinner and ate snacks from walgreens in our hotel! LOL! The kids will never let me live that one down!!!!:rotfl:

So if anyone knows of a good, fun but not ridiculiusly priced dinner or activity to do on turkey day semi close to Manhattan/ Redondo Beach area let me know! We are blocked out of DL on Thursday and Friday anyways! Flying home Friday night!
 
Hi!

Well, Marie (above) convinced me to come on over to the Nov. thread, so here I am! I just assumed that since we were arriving in Oct. that I should be in that thread. But we are actually staying more days in Nov. than Oct. :) Our dates are 10/28 Fri. to 11/4 Fri., and it will be our first time without any friends or family. Just the three of us, which we are all pretty excited about :yay:

We leave Portland at 6:59pm on 10/28 and arrive at Long Beach airport at 9:23pm. The plan is to take the Super Shuttle to our hotel, which this time is the Desert Inn & Suites. We have stayed at BWPPI in the past, but couldn't pass up $63/nt. so we are giving it a try. It is nice to hear from Marie and others who have been to this hotel several times in the past, and I see there are some who will be staying there soon.

The first night, since we won't get to our hotel until 10:30 at best, I think we will just check-in, get settled, and go to sleep so that we are ready to be up bright and early for the parks :cool1: It will be DD's birthday, and we are planning on being at DL most of the day, but may hop a few times. We have PS at Big Thunder BBQ at 4:30, and then we will probably do the parade, fireworks, Fantasmis!, or a combination.

Sun. 10/30 we will start out in DCA for the first half of the day. At 5:00 we have PS at Ralph Brennans which we have never been to, but the menu looks yummy! After dinner, we will head to DL for the remainder of the night and again, do the parade, fireworks, Fantasmic! or a combination.

Mon. 10/31 Back to DL with lunch at Carnation Cafe at 1:00, and then stay until about 6:00pm. We are having dinner at Buca De Beppo's at 7:30, which we have always wanted to try. DD says she is fine not doing any trick-or-treating, so we will probably eat and then either swim or go to DTD and hang out.

Tues. 11/1 My B-day, and this day is not entirely planned yet. We were originally going to go to Sea World, but now given the amount of time on the bus, the cost, and only having 7 hours in the park, we may do something else. The only thing we do know is that dinner is at Tortilla Jo's at 5:00!

Wed. 11/2 This will be a DCA day mostly. We have PS for the World of Color/ dinner at Ariel's Grotto for 5:00.

Thurs. 11/3 Another DL/DCA day. We will do our MM on this day, and stay until around 4:00. Dinner will be the Pirate Dinner Adventure which we are excited about. Last trip we did Med. Times and loved it, and I've read that this is as good. When we get back, we will probably head to DTD to do some last minute shopping. That night it will be time to pack :sad2:

Fri. 11/4 Our flight doesn't leave until 6:45 so we don't need to leave for the airport until around 4:00 at the earliest. We will be able to go to the parks for some last minute rides which will be fun. I have always hated saying good-bye the night before, and waking up knowing it's right there and I can't go, crazy I know! This time we can get up, check-out, have the hotel hold our luggage, go play, and then come back at 4:00 :woohoo:

I feel like I have written a book, so if you made it this far, thank you for reading! How do our plans sound? The only day in question is the 1st, but I am sure we will figure something out. After all, we are in DL :rotfl2:

Only 11 more days (today is almost over, right?). When you've been planning since May, 11 days is nothing. I am such a planner, and I truly enjoy doing all of the research, etc., that I often miss it when I get home. Anyways, happy and safe travels to everyone!
Glad to see I was so convincing! Maybe I should become one of those timeshare salesmen we were talking about! :lmao: Naw, It would be too much work trying to pull off the sleazy dishonest part. Glad you made it over here so we don't have to hijack your grocery thread anymore. ;)

It appears to me that you have your days well planned out. Looks really good and much like the way I plan. Decide the meals and maybe a few other details and see where the rest of each day takes you.



Finally made our reservations! GCH concierge 11/18 -11/23! I booked our airfare about a month ago ( super great rate on allegiant!!) but couldn't decide on hotel! Concierge or no concierge, GCH or DLh or PPH! The fam finally said enough just book it and be done! So I settled for 4 nights at disney concierge at a ridiculous :rolleyes1 (high) ap price then 3 nights closer to the beach!

I still do not know what we are doing for Turkey day! One year we went to medevial times! It was fun and a good deal! One year we went to Sea World and then couldn't find anything open late for dinner and ate snacks from walgreens in our hotel! LOL! The kids will never let me live that one down!!!!:rotfl:

So if anyone knows of a good, fun but not ridiculiusly priced dinner or activity to do on turkey day semi close to Manhattan/ Redondo Beach area let me know! We are blocked out of DL on Thursday and Friday anyways! Flying home Friday night!
Lucky you! Grand Californian AND a place closer to the beach. I am so jealous! Hope you enjoy both.

Your Thanksgiving meal ordeal sounds like something we would end up doing. Guess it really doesn't matter if you have snacks from Walgreens or the full blown turkey dinner as long as you get to spend the day with your family. :thumbsup2 Hope you get lucky this year and find something that's open.
 

Figured I should check in here as well since part of my trip is in November. My husband and I will be there from Oct 27th-Nov 4th at Paradise Pier for our honeymoon (we delayed it so we could go at Halloween time), both of our birthdays (mine is today, his is a few days after we get back), and the fact that he has never been to a Disney park (I haven't been since I was 8)
 
I noticed some of you are celebrating birthdays, and I found a great deal that I wanted to share.

The Patina Group, which is the group that owns Tortilla Jo's, Catal, and Naples, has an offer that if you are 21yo and will be celebrating within 60 days from the date of your b-day, then they will send you a coupon for $30 off of a total bill of at least $30. So, for example, if you spend $58, with the coupon you would only pay $28. You may only spend $40 but would only pay $10. The website is below, and you just follow the steps.

http://www.patinagroup.com/joinus.php

We are doing it for my b-day and using it at Tortilla Jo's! I don't know when it will be emailed to me, but I will let you know. I hope this helps someone else who is celebrating :cool1:

Thanks for this! My BDay (a big one) is coming up. We're taking DGD to DLR 3 1/2 weeks after my BDay. This will come in handy!

-Bob
 
Sorry I never came back to update. We had to cancel our nov trip but we are now going in Dec!! So excited. Thanks for updating. :)
 
Today I was looking for coupons for our trip in 12 days and thought of you OregonMickeyLover. If you have not gotten your tickets for the Pirate Dinner already there is a coupon on the Anaheim COC site, http://anaheimoc.org/coupons#dining, for buy 1 get 1 free! Thought I'd post it here in case any other November travelers are considering going to the show. They also have some other good printable coupons on the website too.
 
Thanks for this! My BDay (a big one) is coming up. We're taking DGD to DLR 3 1/2 weeks after my BDay. This will come in handy!

-Bob

I'm glad it will help! I keep checking my email everyday for my coupon and will let you know when it comes. Have a great time with DGD and a Happy BIG B-day :rotfl: (I'm celebrating my 42nd :upsidedow

Today I was looking for coupons for our trip in 12 days and thought of you OregonMickeyLover. If you have not gotten your tickets for the Pirate Dinner already there is a coupon on the Anaheim COC site, http://anaheimoc.org/coupons#dining, for buy 1 get 1 free! Thought I'd post it here in case any other November travelers are considering going to the show. They also have some other good printable coupons on the website too.

Marie,

Thanks for thinking of me! We actually were able to get my admission free using the b-day offer :thumbsup2 So we are only paying for DH and DD which allows us to do some extras which is always fun! I am looking into making my own LGMH (did I say it right :lmao:) I can also PM you our room and ph. # when we know it. How about we let the kids swim, and we eat coldstone, lol!

I can't believe we only have 9 left! Of course I'm am counting today as being over, and not counting the day we leave/arrive :confused3 Whatever it takes to get that number smaller I say!

Still deciding on the rental car and what to do on Halloween. DD has been wanting to go to Ripleys Believe It Or Not, and since they're open until midnight, maybe we'll go there. The other option is to come back from Buca and swim or go to the mall. We've never been to the Gardenwalk before. What are others doing on Halloween if you aren't at the DL party?

It is getting so close I can hardly stand it :cool1: I teach kindergarten/first grade, and the kids know that I am going to DL so we have been talking about all things Disney. The day we leave I have to work, and I can't imagine being able to do any teaching.

Happy waiting and planning!
 
I hope you have a great day at the park for your BIG birthday too, GrandBob! :bday: Don't forget to pick up your birthday button!


OregonMickeyLover, maybe getting in for free for your birthday will make your visit extra special like they do at DL sometimes. Either way, I am glad you were able to take advantage of a good discount on the Pirate show.

Oh boy! You will have to post your LGMH when you get it made! Now I will be able to spot you unless you are like me and forget it about half the time. :lmao: You ARE making it really hard to resist taking DD swimming. Not sure if my menfolk would join us cause they tend to just like to keep to themselves (social butterflies they are not) :laughing: BUT, if there is any chance of convincing them to come along, a trip to Coldstone's just might be the bribe to do it. Looks like we only have a few days we are both at DL so between both our schedules it might be kinda tricky to pull it off. Go ahead and PM me with your info when you get it and I will try to see if at least us girls can make it work.

As for what to do on Halloween..... I am not really very good for commenting on this one since we don't participate but I do want to throw in a little input on a couple of things. Gardenwalk is a really lovely place. There are some shops and quite a few good places to eat. They also have a big movie theater and a bowling alley. For Halloween they have a haunted house. You can check it out on the Gardenwalk website if you like. Looks pretty scary to me so I wanted to mention it. My DD is going through a stage right now where she is scared of stuff like that. Even though your DD may be braver than mine I thought it might be worth mentioning just in case there are all sorts of creepy dressed people hanging around in the area.

No fair! You shouldn't have to work the day you leave BUT I bet you will be dancing as you are heading out the door that day! We homeschool so we are fortunate enough that "the teacher" planned our calendar around our vacation. :thumbsup2


In trip preparation news...
Don't tell but I have a surprise for my DD. :ssst: She has been wanting an MP3 player so I got her one and have been loading it for our trip. I am VERY electronically challenged so this has been no easy task for me but I think I have just about finished gathering media, converting and transferring enough files to keep her busy.

I'd gotten a LivingSocial deal for a limo ride to the airport when we head home. I got my confirmation a few days ago and just for the heck of it I got a quote for a full price pickup when we arrive. A little expensive but DH said it would be worth the little extra it would be over cab fare so we now get to arrive in style! We have done it once before and had a blast. Keeping this one a secret too so the kids are really going to be surprised!

I get to transfer our Disney Visa Rewards over in the next couple days. I think we will have about $300 to add to our funds. I love my Disney Visa! :love: Also been pre-ordering gift cards to cut down on our out of pocket expenses. Mimi's is the last one and it should be arriving any day now. I've got quite a stash built up for us to spend! Can't wait!

DD had a tummy bug about 2 weeks ago. DS had it this week and now DH is feeling queasy tonight. Praying that I don't get it at all but if I have to that it is over with BEFORE we leave for our trip.

Oh yeah... almost forgot to mention...... it's only 11 days til our trip! :dance3:
 
Marie,

The Gardenwalk sounds fun, so I will be checking out their website. I don't know about the haunted house though. It wouldn't just be DD who is running down Harbor scared. I would be right in front of her :rotfl: And your are right, you never know what kind of creepy might be wearing a costume.

The more I think about it, dinner at Buca and a swim, might just be it. Maybe I could make swimsuit costumes :lmao:

Your DD is going to be so excited about her MP3 player and everything you have downloaded. DH has to take care of anything technology related, so I am impressed!

Great idea on the limo! DD was just saying a few months ago that she wished she could ride in a limo. Well, I looked into it, and it ended up only being $30 more than the shuttle to the airport so we booked it :cool1: She doesn't know yet, and she won't until she walks out the door with her suitcase! Can't wait to see her face :yay: I didn't expect them to be so reasonable.

Good for you for getting those gift cards! Anything to spread out the money really helps. I don't know what made me check, but I went to Jet Blue today to check our flights, and it just so happened that our flight going, was $30 less per person!!! So I called, and I now have a credit to use next time. I am going to keep checking to see if the return flight also goes down. This happened last time but with Alaska, so it really is worth it to keep checking the airfare prices.

I had to chuckle (not really) when you brought up the tummy bug. That is my biggest fear right now. I have had two to three students gone each day for the last week. They weren't all for tummy's, there were some colds too, but I want to part of being sick or DD or DH getting sick. Not gonna have it! I think as a teacher I have built up some immunity, but you just never know. I just keep praying for health, and I know that The Lord wouldn't do that to us. It helps teaching in a Christian school, because the kiddos and I can get in lots of prayers :littleangel: I will say some prayers for your family as well :goodvibes

Only 8 more days:dance3: We are having our family birthday party for DD and I this Friday, and then the weekend will be spent packing, cleaning, packing, and...making my very first LGMH :yay:

Happy Thursday!
 
I'm glad it will help! I keep checking my email everyday for my coupon and will let you know when it comes. Have a great time with DGD and a Happy BIG B-day :rotfl: (I'm celebrating my 42nd :upsidedow

Happy Birthday, Traci! You youngster, you!

I hope you have a great day at the park for your BIG birthday too, GrandBob! :bday: Don't forget to pick up your birthday button!

Thanks for the birthday wishes, from both of you! :hug: Today's the big day! And I'm sitting at work, reading the DIS. :headache: Marie, we're not going to DLR for another 3 1/2 weeks, so I don't think I'll ask for a BDay button, so long after my actual BDay. But who knows? Maybe I'll feel capricious and do it anyway. In any case, thanks again for the heads-up on the Patina Group birthday promo, Traci. I think I'll call today to make my reservation. Which do you think would be better for 2 adults and an 8 year old -- Tortilla Joe's or Catal? We're not big on pizza, so Naples is probably out. Though we do love pasta. Hmmm.

-Birthday Boy
 
Happy Birthday, Traci! You youngster, you!



Thanks for the birthday wishes, from both of you! :hug: Today's the big day! And I'm sitting at work, reading the DIS. :headache: Marie, we're not going to DLR for another 3 1/2 weeks, so I don't think I'll ask for a BDay button, so long after my actual BDay. But who knows? Maybe I'll feel capricious and do it anyway. In any case, thanks again for the heads-up on the Patina Group birthday promo, Traci. I think I'll call today to make my reservation. Which do you think would be better for 2 adults and an 8 year old -- Tortilla Joe's or Catal? We're not big on pizza, so Naples is probably out. Though we do love pasta. Hmmm.

-Birthday Boy

party::bday:party:...... And if it were me, I'd still get a Bday button 3 1/2 weeks after my birthday! :goodvibes:laughing:
 
Happy birthday, Bob!!!



Anyway, since this is a check-in thread.....I have to, sadly, remove myself from the list (dates are 11/28 -12/5).

I have moved out of November territory and totally into December dates. I am still getting the same super-sweet deal at the PPH:thumbsup2:thumbsup2, and I am still planning to catch one day of the Candlelight Processional, but I moved my reservation over by about one week so there are no November days to keep me on this list!

But, alas, my November DLR friends will still be in my heart!:rotfl2:
 
Grand Bob: Happy Birthday! In our family it is a tradition to celebrate all month long! LOL! I say go for the button, if only for the free tortillas!!:thumbsup2

Marie: Thank you for the nice welcome to this thread! We are getting really excited about our trip! Even though we have been many times before and even twice this year already, Disney is a special place for our family to just be together without school, work and extra curricular activities to get in the way. So really just being together as a family is special to us! I still need to work on Turkey day reservations. DD8 said she would gladly do the medieval times again... so maybe with the coupon deal you mentioned. We'll see!
 
Grand Bob: Happy Birthday! In our family it is a tradition to celebrate all month long! LOL! I say go for the button, if only for the free tortillas!!:thumbsup2

You sound just like my DW! :thumbsup2 When she and I got together, I found out that I was required to sing "Happy Birth Month" to her every day for the entire month of September. Which I still do, to this day (I'm not dumb!). But to turn it around, she's required to sing to me for the entire month of October. And I get one more day than her!

So I wouldn't feel bad at all in getting the button any time in October. But we're going in November :confused3

Thanks for all the good wishes, everyone! Sherry, sorry you have to delay your trip, but I know you'll have a terrific time in December!

-Bob
 
You sound just like my DW! :thumbsup2 When she and I got together, I found out that I was required to sing "Happy Birth Month" to her every day for the entire month of September. Which I still do, to this day (I'm not dumb!). But to turn it around, she's required to sing to me for the entire month of October. And I get one more day than her!

So I wouldn't feel bad at all in getting the button any time in October. But we're going in November :confused3

Thanks for all the good wishes, everyone! Sherry, sorry you have to delay your trip, but I know you'll have a terrific time in December!

-Bob

Thank you, Bob!:goodvibes Actually, to be honest, my new all-December dates will work better for me than the original dates I had booked...and I am used to the majority of my holiday trips being in December so it will be fine. I just hope I am able to catch the CP on 12/4 - it looks really lovely and Christmasy. Wonder who the narrator will be this year?


Oh! I almost forgot! I suppose I shouldn't take myself off of the November list entirely - Liza/funatdisney and I were planning on heading to DLR on 11/14 to check out the opening day holiday festivities (as we did for Halloween Time). Even though it seems like much of the merriment is beginning on 11/11, we want to be there on the official first day!:cool1:
 

:rotfl2::rotfl2:

Believe me, I thought of you too, Jenny! When I was weighing the pros and cons of changing my dates - IF it was even possible to change them - I considered the fact that moving into an all-December trip would mean that my trip would not overlap with yours at all, and I was hoping to meet you! That was one thing that kind of bummed me out about moving into December.

But, alas, I had to go with dates that worked better for me. I am hoping I won't have to change too much else in my plan from here on out and can just proceed with the usual planning mayhem and madness!:rotfl2:
 
:rotfl2::rotfl2:

Believe me, I thought of you too, Jenny! When I was weighing the pros and cons of changing my dates - IF it was even possible to change them - I considered the fact that moving into an all-December trip would mean that my trip would not overlap with yours at all, and I was hoping to meet you! That was one thing that kind of bummed me out about moving into December.

But, alas, I had to go with dates that worked better for me. I am hoping I won't have to change too much else in my plan from here on out and can just proceed with the usual planning mayhem and madness!:rotfl2:



I was hoping you'd be my parade buddy! I am glad though that your dates work better. And you are getting such a long stay; it's going to be amazing! I can't wait to see all of your photos. I already told DH that I have a responsibility to those who have posted so many and that's to give back. He's thinks I'm crackers. :crazy2:
 


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