Off to see Mickey MEOWS and Snow WIPE again!! A Nov 2012 PTR! W/Pictures

[reyasmommy]

I'm here!!! Ive had your ptr opened and finally got around to reading it. First your kids are so cute! Second I dunno how I would survive a drive like that. My kids wouldnt make it to the final destination.

We have only been to Disney once but caught the bug right away. In Epcot we ate at Askershus, the food was weird but the atmosphere was great. We were on the dining plan though. DBF ate at Morocco but I am picky and have a funny tummy that hates almost all ethnic foods so I hate at a very American QS, cant remember name but its right across from the boat dock to go into WS. We will be checking out some new places in Sept when we go as Epcot was DBF fave park.

And I would see about tranferring your reservation to a new TA or to yourself so you can correct everything. Make the TA pay for her mistakes. Thats such crap. I hope you get it all worked out!

Hello.....Glad you're here.! Disney can get addicting really quick! And September is a GREAT time to go. I'd go then but I don't want to take Reya out of school that soon and my husband is expecting some extra money in November so that's paying for a good chunk of our trip. He's actually getting the money the day we leave. Guess we're cutting it short. He's supposed to get his sabatical (sp) the day we get back, but I think he's going to save it for another time.

I'm heading to the TA this morning to get this mess straightened out. I wouldn't be as upset except now they have NO rooms available for the last we're there and the prices have gone up on the hotel before our cruise and right now I don't even know if that reservation exists anymore? They had no problem taking my money though. I'm hoping everything works out and I can finally relax. I've NEVER gone through a TA before and now I'm thinking I never will again. Such a mess and heartbreak right now. I'll let you know how it turns out.

 

[reyasmommy]

We have stayed everytime at westgate town center...Its the newest edition to the westgate vacation villas..Their amenties are always top when considering other places to stay..We took our first Disney Cruise Nov 2010 and I never thought it was something we could keep doing yearly due to the high cost. I too am a stay at home mom, so funds are pretty well precalculated every check lol But last Feb I started babysitting for a friend of mine and help offset the cost of the trip

Anywho, I was doing some pricing earlier today and was debating on going another route as far as booking the Disney World leg of the trip..If I could find someone to rent me their DVC points for $10 a point, I could buy the dining plan and tickets seperate and only cost about $50 more, plus it would be an animal kingdom studio! I posted on a few people's threads that were offering points at that price, so I'll see..Not totally sure how it all works since I'm new to staying onsite..

I have no idea how that works either. You should let me know when you find out. I might have to find another place to stay because of the mess my travel agent caused me.

 

[BearcatsFan]

 

[reyasmommy]

I talked to my travel agent this morning. Needless to say I’m still not happy however I’m a little more calm now. My reservations for before the cruise are confirmed. Cruise is confirmed. ((Even though they show Jayden as a girl NOT a boy)) And I’m reserved for 3 days after my cruise. Of course I’m still upset about this and don’t know who’s to blame. Instead of being mad I’m going to figure a way to make lemonade out of lemons. I need to decide what I want to do about the 21st and a couple of ideas are swimming around in my head right now. I’ll let you know after I decide.
A couple of questions for all of you though.

1. Is it hard to add an extra day to your tickets? My TA still hasn’t gotten back to me on this.
2. Do they still sell Disney Dollars at Disney World? I know they don’t do it at the local Disney stores anymore.

Well I hope everyone has a good weekend. I’m hoping to have some good news about my plans to share with all of you. Today DD and I are going to see the new pixar movie BRAVE and check out our newly designed Disney Store at the mall down the street. I’m super excited to see it. I didn’t know until two weeks ago that they even brought it back. I was so depressed when they closed it and now they have a brand new one! YAY!
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[BearcatsFan]

AFAIK, it is easy to add extra days to your tix. Just go to the front desk of the hotel and they can take care of it right there for you.

Hope you enjoy BRAVE!

 

[megan511]

Your plans for your Epcot day look great! I'm sorry Reya was so scared of Crush! Poor thing, you can never tell with kids what they will like or be scared of! I love Soarin so fun, but the line is always sooo long!

What a headache about your TA! I would have been freaking out! I'm glad you have some things worked out, I hope you can get all your plans together soon.

How was Brave? I think we will go see it tomorrow. I love the Disney Store so much! It's good there isn't one too close to me

It is easy to add to your MYW tix. We have done it every trip with no problems.

As far as countdown calendars a lot of people seem to do 30 days out.

 

[reyasmommy]

We didn't get to see Brave yesterday. I think DD had/has a bladder infection because she was going potty every 10 minutes and I didn't want to sit in a movie theatre and have to get up every 10 minutes to take her to the rest room. We're going to have a fun mommy daughter day today though. Movie, lunch, Disney Store, maybe a hair cut. I'll let you know how it goes. We were going to do the zoo today, they just opened a new section for the elephants and asian animals. We've been waiting 2 years for this expansion to finish. ((We have an AWESOME zoo)) However it's 104 degrees out and I'd rather sit in an air conditioned movie theatre.

I'm still trying to iron out the details of my trip since my TA screwed it up. Everything is the same right now except the last day. However due to this mix up I think we're going to add a day and spend THANKSGIVING at Disney! This exciites me!!!

 

[BellaBaby]

Hi Neighbor!! We are in Westminster. We just returned from our most recent trip to WDW. We were there 6/2-6/14. We always fly but we drove to DL last summer which was nice. I'm interested to see where you guys will stop at along the way as we have considered the drive, but it is soooo long!!!!!

Isn't this weather crazy?!!! Just so NOT used to 104 degree temps in CO!!
And for several days at that. We went to see Madagascar 3 over the wknd so we could sit in the a/c as well. We will wait a bit on Brave, but it is definitely on our list! Just trying to do a lot of swimming, but my kiddos are older than yours. We are waiting to go to the zoo too!! It has just been so dang hot since we returned from our trip.

Anyway, just wanted to sub and also, I hope you get everything worked out with the TA!!

 

[reyasmommy]

Hi Neighbor!! We are in Westminster. We just returned from our most recent trip to WDW. We were there 6/2-6/14. We always fly but we drove to DL last summer which was nice. I'm interested to see where you guys will stop at along the way as we have considered the drive, but it is soooo long!!!!!

Isn't this weather crazy?!!! Just so NOT used to 104 degree temps in CO!!
And for several days at that. We went to see Madagascar 3 over the wknd so we could sit in the a/c as well. We will wait a bit on Brave, but it is definitely on our list! Just trying to do a lot of swimming, but my kiddos are older than yours. We are waiting to go to the zoo too!! It has just been so dang hot since we returned from our trip.

Anyway, just wanted to sub and also, I hope you get everything worked out with the TA!!

Hello We normally stop at least 3 nights along the way, but we're cutting it down to 2 this year so we can have extra time in Florida. We've stopped in Goodland KS, St. Louis, Chattanooga, Memphis,and Atlanta before. This year we're probably staying in St Louis and Atlanta. First leg of the trip is going to be the most painful, plus we'll be loosing an hour. Hopefully I'll have an update later today.

This weather is HORRIBLE.... The news today says it supposed to be 97 degrees which is going to feel amazing compared to the 105 temps we've had. I haven't even left the house to go anyway because it's soooo hot and because of all the smoke from the fires.

Brave was a GREAT movie! You should see it this weekend to keep out of the heat.

Have the fires effected you in any way? I have a ton of family and friends in Colorado Springs and am hoping everyone is okay. Can't get ahold of a few. So sad and surreal to see these places I'm so familar with going up in flames. Wish Florida would share some of that rain with us.

 

[BellaBaby]

My in laws are in boulder so we were worried about Flagstaff, but they should be fine in the area they're in. I just wish we'd get some rain to help put out these fires and cool us down!! I hope you can get a hold of your family members. We usually visit the Colo. springs area every summer and enjoy it very much; the zoo etc. It is surreal!

Yes, we're looking forward to seeing Brave; maybe this weekend. At least it's only high 90's today. It doesn't feel so oppressive.

Well looking forward to another update...stay cool!!

 

[reyasmommy]

Sorry I’ve been MIA for so long….. It’s been so HOT, HOT, HOT here in Colorado and trying to keep two kids occupied and keeping them from killing each other has been really hard. It too hot to leave the air conditioned house and it’s advised everyone stay in due to the fires and smoke.

Speaking of which, I hope everyone will keep Colorado in your thoughts and prayers as we deal with these tragic fires.

DD and I were able to get out of the house for a few hours on Saturday though. We went shopping at the American Doll store, had lunch at the Cheesecake factory, shopping at the new Disney Store, and got to see Brave. Pretty perfect “indoor” mommy, daughter date.

***Nice little area in the Disney Store where the kids can color and watch clips of whatever Disney movie they choose.***

**Waiting for the movie to start**

I bought myself this cute tinkerbell cup. It’s my gift to myself for not drinking soda for over two weeks.

I felt bad for leaving Jayden at home, so he got some pretty cool gifts too. A new Mickey Mouse,( so he’d stop stealing Reyas Minnie Mouse.) A stuffed lightning McQueen, and a Color Wonder Cars book.

**Loving his new coloring book… Hope Reya doesn’t see him in her chair or she’ll throw a hissy.

As far as our trip goes ...............

I’ve FINALLY made a decision and made reservations for the first day of our Road Trip!
We’ll be staying at the Drury Plaza in Chesterfield MO, which is outside of St. Louis. It’s a 13 hour drive!! UGH!! Yes 13 hours!! This is going to be SOOOOOO much fun! ((Can you hear the sarcasm in my voice?))
We’ll have to leave at 1:00 am if we want to get there around 7:00 pm. So DH and I will wake up at MIDNIGHT, shower, pack up the van, then load the kids up in their PJ’s and hope they fall right back to sleep once they’re in their car seats.
We will be losing an hour once we get to Kansas and I’m allowing us a total of 4 hours of rest time along our route . (( So this includes breakfast/Lunch and potty breaks.))
Like I said, we'll be staying at the DRURY PLAZA…

we’ve stayed at this hotel before, when Reya was 18 months. They have an amazing free hot breakfast in the morning and it’s right next to a mall so we’ll have plenty of options for dinner when we arrive. I’m pretty sure I know where I want to eat though. ((Houlihans)) Mmmmmm!!

** Reya enjoying her free breakfast at the DP in Chesterfield.**

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[BearcatsFan]

Love the Tink cup! Go you on the 2-weeks soda free!

I have heard good things about Drury Plaza. I think that's where we were looking into staying when we were going to go to St. Louis this year (which ended up being our WDW trip) ...

 

[megan511]

Keeping Colorodo in thought/prayers. Hope the fires stop soon.

Your mommy/daughter date day looks so fun! We loved Brave too.

 

[Leger13]

coming over from my PTR. Your kids are so so so cute!!! I need to go back and read what I missed but I wanted to go ahead and sub!

 

[reyasmommy]

Love the Tink cup! Go you on the 2-weeks soda free!

I have heard good things about Drury Plaza. I think that's where we were looking into staying when we were going to go to St. Louis this year (which ended up being our WDW trip) ...

Thanks.... And it was on sale for only $4.99. I love it!!!

Keeping Colorodo in thought/prayers. Hope the fires stop soon.

Your mommy/daughter date day looks so fun! We loved Brave too.

Thank you!!
Brave was great!! It's not my favorite pixar but it was a wonderful movie!

coming over from my PTR. Your kids are so so so cute!!! I need to go back and read what I missed but I wanted to go ahead and sub!

Thank you. And welcome to my PTR.

 

[reyasmommy]

130 Days till VACATION TIME!!!
11 Pounds GONE!!
3 weeks without a soda!!
Yay me!!



Anyway, there have been major changes to the road trip portion of our trip.
It's been decided that 13 hours in a car with the kids just isn’t practical. So, we’re going to add an extra day of driving. We’ll be leaving on the 9th after DH gets off of work. We’ll also be taking DD out of school an hour early( give or take.)

Reya knows we’re going to Disney World, but she doesn’t know when exactly. We’re going to tell her we’re going at Christmas time, that way she'll be surprised when we pick her up from school a month early to go to our happy place. Hopefully her reaction will be better than it was when we told her we were going to Disneyland.

New Plans:
November 9th
2:00pm- Will gets off of work.
2:45pm- Pick up Reya
3:00 pm- On the Road
Drive 5 ½ hours to Hays Kansas where we’ll be staying at the Holiday Inn Express.

11:15 pm- Estimated arrival in Hays.

We'll lose an hour due to the time zone change once we get into Kansas. I also expect us to stop for dinner somewhere and to have several potty breaks.

November 10th
6:00 am- Wake up
7:30 am- Free breakfast at hotel
8:00 am- On road
Drive 8 ½ hours to Fairview Heights Illinois, where we’ll be staying at Holiday Inn. (15 mins east of Gateway arch )
7:15 pm- Estimated arrival in Fairview Heights.

Depending on how tired we are we’ll either order room service for dinner that night or go to a local restaurant. Our hotel is surrounded by at least 2 dozen to choose from.

I’m still working on where we’ll be staying the 3rd night of our road trip. Originally we were staying in a city not far from Atlanta, but I’m thinking its best that we find somewhere past Atlanta so we don’t have to deal with bad rush hour traffic the next day. Also the closer we get to Disney the better so we don’t have such an exhausting day before when we arrive.
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[starbound25]

congrats on the 11 pounds!! and cutting out soda that is fantastic
Good idea adding the extra travel day sounds like the best choice and if you have the time then might as well do it.

 

[mnrhannah07]

Plans sound good! Our first few trips down to Disney we drove as well and stayed outside of Atlanta..We would stay in Marietta, which is before Atlanta and I would hate driving through the city the next day..GREAT idea to drive past the city, it should only only a half hour or so..

 

[reyasmommy]

congrats on the 11 pounds!! and cutting out soda that is fantastic
Good idea adding the extra travel day sounds like the best choice and if you have the time then might as well do it.

Thank you.

Plans sound good! Our first few trips down to Disney we drove as well and stayed outside of Atlanta..We would stay in Marietta, which is before Atlanta and I would hate driving through the city the next day..GREAT idea to drive past the city, it should only only a half hour or so..

We usually stay in the Marietta area too.. The last time I had to drive through rush hour traffic in the morning and it was terrifying!! I drove white knuckled the whole time. I find it funny that EVERYONE we came across in Georgia were super friendly and just lovely people, then they get in their car and turn into CRAZY people.

 

[reyasmommy]

November 11th

5:30 am- Wake up
**Pick up some items from the free breakfast area and bring them to room while we get ready. We don’t want to fill up bellies to much since we’re stopping for breakfast later on.

7:00 am- On the Road
We will stop in Metropolis Illinois … Want to eat at a nice little Mom and Pop diner or doughnut shop. We also have to get pictures taken with the giant Super Man in the middle of town. ((Dorky I know, but come on HOW FUN!!??!)) These are the types of things I like to do on our road trips.

9:00 pm- Estimated time of arrival in McDonough Georgia where we’ll be staying at the Courtyard Marriott.

Once again we’ll be surrounded by a ton of restaurants. Depending on how tired we are we’ll most likely bring something to our hotel room for dinner or walk somewhere nearby.

Hit the hay early since we’ll be at Disney the next day!!!


Hope everyone has a great weekend… I’m celebrating my birthday all weekend! So excited, and we’re finally getting some rain. Thank the Lord! Everyone have a safe and fun weekend.
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