Our Celebration of a Sad Occasion...Oct 2016 PTR

[disny_luvr]

Thanks for the kind words about my family and boys, Connie. I'm glad you've been following along on my trips through FB.

 

[IowaTater]

I love that Christmas sweater. It doesn't look that bad at all! Your DH sounds a lot like my DH.

We try to plan everything around park hours & EMH. Once those come out, we plan our park days and then our ADRs. It's easiest for me that way.

I have bought different guidebooks in the past but I've come to the conclusion that they are really just a waste of money for us. We use them MAYBE once and I could usually find better information on the internet.

 

[oopsiDAISY]

I haven't bought one in years, things just change so fast anymore it doesn't seem worth it. And I only got the unofficial guide once because I didn't like the snarkyness (is that even a word?) of the book. I prefer the Birnbaum version's if I do get one. I just bought the Disneyland one so I have somewhere to start. Once I read it though, I'll head here to the DIS to fill in the gaps.

Me too! There is nothing better than MK at night to me. I was bummed this last trip because the latest night was only 12 am. I've done morning EMHs at MK, HS and AK. AK seemed to work the best without a huge increase in crowds. HS always seems crowded to me no matter when I go so morning EMH day didn't seem too much worse. Now MK was a different story this last trip. The afternoon was crazy crowded, we waited an hour for HM! But that could be somewhat to do with MVMCP. The days that doesn't run is always more crowded. So our day was morning EMH plus one of the few days without MVMCP.

True story...I like the snarkiness of the Unofficial Guide. :-D When do they post the dates for MNSSHP? We really have no interest in attending (don't want the extra expense), but I want to make sure this is NOT our MK day. We typically only do morning EMH for HS, so that we can get Gabe signed up for Jedi Academy. We are night time EMH folks, mostly.

I have been know to take the different ones out of the library. It is hard planning when you don't know the EMH . Either to avoid them or to take advantage of them. I love the EMH at EPCOT- not sure why but we do that one more than the other parks.

Let me know if that is worth taking a look at. I'm so clueless about Disneyland- I'm going to have to learn before we go in the spring.

Oh, the library is a GREAT idea! We like EMH at Epcot and MK. The others, not so much. Confession to make~ we are not Fantasmic fans at all. So, we are typically finished with our time at DHS before many folks are.

Disneyland...fun! let me tell you, we have a Disney Store outlet here in Nashville, and they carry a LOT of DL merch! I made a comment to Jillian last weekend when we were there that I wonder if they send the WDW merch to the California outlets.

Thanks for the kind words about my family and boys, Connie. I'm glad you've been following along on my trips through FB.

I love that Christmas sweater. It doesn't look that bad at all! Your DH sounds a lot like my DH.

We try to plan everything around park hours & EMH. Once those come out, we plan our park days and then our ADRs. It's easiest for me that way.

I have bought different guidebooks in the past but I've come to the conclusion that they are really just a waste of money for us. We use them MAYBE once and I could usually find better information on the internet.

So, are you usually able to get your ADR's at the 180 day mark, knowing EMH's already? That is how we plan our days, too, but I just cannot remember if I was able to see EMH's before the 180 / ADR day.

I think I will take the advice of ljcrochet and find guidebooks at the library rather than purchasing. "The internets" is indeed a great resource, but I try to stay off when I am home with my family. That is when I try to have paper books. For some reason, I am way more "present' without a gadget in my hand.

 

[oopsiDAISY]

Happy Happy Holidays, All!!! I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas! Brian and I were both off from work ALL WEEK, so yeah...we had a GREAT Christmas!! I thought, going into it, that Brian would be sick to death of all the family togetherness, and grumpy by Christmas day, but that was not the case at all. I believe he enjoyed Christmas this year more than any other time since we have been married. It was great!

On Christmass Eve Eve (that is a thing, right?) the girls and I went over to BFF's house to do some Christmas crafting. We had SO MUCH FUN! Gabe went along, too. He and BFF's son played outside all day... did I mention that we had temps in the 70's all week? CRAZINESS, but the boys were happy to take advantage. Anyhow, here is what I crafted:







I gave all of these as extra gifts to neices and nephews who are married an/or have kiddos. They really liked them. BFF and I have already decided that we want to make more of the photo hangers to give as gifts next year, too. These are inexpensive (frames from goodwill), and will make great gifts for teachers, neighbors, etc.

On Christmas Eve, we got something really exciting in the mail!



Our first Mickey Mail for this trip!!!

Would you like to see a few photos from our Christmas? No? Then just keep scrolling. If yes, then here ya go!

My girls and their favorite cousin:



This particular neice is a HUGE Disney fan. She is our kind of girl!





Mom and Dad got the girls some onesies for Christmas, they LOVE them. And they are so cute!!!



The biggest surprise of Christmas day was for me. Brian got this gift for me in October. Apparently, BFF found this great deal, and let him know right away. He has been SO EXCITED to give it to me. Seriously, he was like a little kid. It was so sweet. What was this gift?



A DISNEY DOONEY!!! He got this thing for $100 on a local traders post page! It is like brand new. He said he asked the lady why she was selling, and he told him she had TEN, and needed money. Our gain for sure! I love it!!!!

The day after Christmas, the girls and I decided that we wanted to brave the crowds, and head to Opry Mills to shop. Well, Gabe wanted to go too... So, Brian deicded to go along, too. It was PACKED, but we just kicked out of gear, and ended up having a really good time. We got some great deals, too. I would say we all had a productive shopping day:



We had lunch at Chuy's. I did not take a picture...but it was SO GOOD! I love that place! So, that thas been our week. I have to work only three days this week then I am off Thursday and Friday for the New Year. We have no big New Year's plans other than staying home with a nice dinner and some chocolate fondue on NY Eve, then watching the Rose Bowl Parade and football on NY Day.

How was your Christmas? Feel free to share your favorite Christmas photo here, if you want.

 

[Pluto0809]

Looks like you had a wonderful Christmas I enjoyed the photos!

When do they post the dates for MNSSHP?

Last year they posted them on April 8th. No idea when they will this year but probably around the same time. Here's the dates from last year, they should be similar this year so maybe you can use those to plan around.

• September 15, 18, 20, 22, 25, 27

• October 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 12, 13, 15, 16, 18, 20, 22, 23, 25, 27, 29, 31

• November 1

A DISNEY DOONEY!!!

Awesome, welcome to the club! There's a new one out that I want and I think I have enough gift cards saved up to get it now. I need to combine all my gift cards so I know how much I have.

 

[IowaTater]

So, are you usually able to get your ADR's at the 180 day mark, knowing EMH's already? That is how we plan our days, too, but I just cannot remember if I was able to see EMH's before the 180 / ADR day.

So far, we've been able to *knock on wood*. Hopefully our luck holds out for this trip too.

I think I will take the advice of ljcrochet and find guidebooks at the library rather than purchasing. "The internets" is indeed a great resource, but I try to stay off when I am home with my family. That is when I try to have paper books. For some reason, I am way more "present' without a gadget in my hand.

I hear you. I'm lucky (unlucky?) in that because of DH's work schedule, I'm home at night by myself 2-3 nights a week so that's when I do the majority of my online time. I think getting them from the library is an excellent idea. I have done that in the past for other trips but now that we've moved, the free library in our county stinks

Looks like you guys had a great holiday. I love those onesies! And that Dooney? So lucky! I've had my heart set on a certain Vera Bradley for a long time but I have yet to find one in my price range. Well done to your DH!

 

[DMGeurts]

It looks like you had a wonderful Christmas!!! Love the Disney Dooney, and love the girls' pjs.

D~

 

[momabaarjo]

what a great Christmas...thanks for sharing. Love the picture frame with clothes pins...I have been thinking of making one myself! Love the dooney...I am more of a Vera girl, but what a great gift (and price).

 

[Chicago Mo]

Merry Christmas!!!! and Happy new year! I love the girls in there onesies!

 

[disny_luvr]

I love the frames you and your friend crafted. Super cute! I'm totally jealous of your Disney Dooney. Your DH did an awesome job getting a good deal. Your girls look great in their onesies.

 

[oopsiDAISY]

Looks like you had a wonderful Christmas I enjoyed the photos!



Last year they posted them on April 8th. No idea when they will this year but probably around the same time. Here's the dates from last year, they should be similar this year so maybe you can use those to plan around.

• September 15, 18, 20, 22, 25, 27

• October 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 12, 13, 15, 16, 18, 20, 22, 23, 25, 27, 29, 31

• November 1

Awesome, welcome to the club! There's a new one out that I want and I think I have enough gift cards saved up to get it now. I need to combine all my gift cards so I know how much I have.

Thanks so much for sharing those dates wtih me! I am loving my Dooney!!!

So far, we've been able to *knock on wood*. Hopefully our luck holds out for this trip too.

I hear you. I'm lucky (unlucky?) in that because of DH's work schedule, I'm home at night by myself 2-3 nights a week so that's when I do the majority of my online time. I think getting them from the library is an excellent idea. I have done that in the past for other trips but now that we've moved, the free library in our county stinks

Looks like you guys had a great holiday. I love those onesies! And that Dooney? So lucky! I've had my heart set on a certain Vera Bradley for a long time but I have yet to find one in my price range. Well done to your DH!

Haven't made it to the library yet to see if they have any Disney guidebooks. I had a TON of books on my Kindle that I need to knock out first. I am reading the last one right now. I love the VB Disney bags, too! I really want the Midnight Mickey hipster. Maybe I can get that with birthday money...then I will have it for our trip!

It looks like you had a wonderful Christmas!!! Love the Disney Dooney, and love the girls' pjs.

D~

It was a great Chritmas...and I love my Dooney!

what a great Christmas...thanks for sharing. Love the picture frame with clothes pins...I have been thinking of making one myself! Love the dooney...I am more of a Vera girl, but what a great gift (and price).

Oh, I love me some Vera, too....but if Brian wants to get me a Dooney, who's gonna say no?

Merry Christmas!!!! and Happy new year! I love the girls in there onesies!

Merry Christmas. Happy New Year's. And now.... Happy Valentines!

I love the frames you and your friend crafted. Super cute! I'm totally jealous of your Disney Dooney. Your DH did an awesome job getting a good deal. Your girls look great in their onesies.

Thanks!!! Brian has always been a fantastic gift giver! Me...not so much when it comes to him. But I do try, I always try. And sometimes I do hit a homeroon.

 

[oopsiDAISY]

Well hello out there, anybody left? I just completed a 21 day social media fast, hence my absence. So many fun things have happened! At the start of January I made up a countdown activities jar. We will be doing an activity once a week.

The first week we picked out restaurants we would like to get ADR's for. Want to know what we picked? Wait for it....

We are staying five nights, so we get five table service credits. We are doing F&W at Epcot, so we will not be using a TS for that day. So, we decided to use the extra to book a 2TS meal. Of our choices, we have three new to us restaurants, and one repeat that we really loved. It was fun to make our choices together. The last time we had an on-property stay, it was a surprise for the kds, so Brian and I made all the choices. This time we brought up allears.net on our big TV in the living room, and had fun checking out menus and making choices together. We allowed Jillian to give the final Yay or Nay on our choices since this is HER trip.

Disclaimer~ These restaurant photos have been "borrowed" from the internets.

So, without further ado...

MK day we will be trying this one out:





This was the one choice we did no research on, and we did not choose together.We had a reservation for Tony's when we went in 2011, and we ended up canceling it to do something else. Apparently, this had a profound impact on little 11 year old Jillian, because she wanted to finally do it this time. She told us right away that this is what she wanted to do on MK day. I have not really heard anything great about Tony's at all, and could care less about eating there. BUT, this is Jilian's trip, and this is the one place that she REALLY wanted to try, so we are going to Tony's.

We do plan to go to BOG for lunch. Has anyone used a FP to do this one at lunch? Is getting the FP for it recommended? I have also heard you can place your order ahead of time. That would be great to maximize our time in the park. We will only have one day per park, and there is a TON we want to do and see in MK...but more on that at a later time!

Our next choice is another first time try. I have not heard a lot from my Dis~friends about this one, but I have read on many of the other Disreports that I follow that it is pretty good. We pretty much chose it due to the variety of menu choices. Everyone found something they wanted to try. So, for HS day we will be trying this place:





I am kind of excited to try Hollywood Brown Derby. We debated leaving the park for dinner, because we have had not so great experiences at the other two more popular TS places in the park. We were swayed from that decision, because we really want to stay at the park to see the new SW fireworks show. Otherwise, we probably would have made this a short day park and left to have dinner elsewhere. Have any of you every gone to the Brown Derby?

Our repeat that we loved will be on AK day. We visited this place in 2013, and it remains one of our all time faves for many reason. We love the views, we love the service, we love the food...





We debated trying other places, namely Tusker House or Boma. But, our final decision came down to the fact that no one really wanted to go to a buffet. Jiko seemed a little to "artsy fru-fru" for us, so Sanaa won out pretty quickly. Very excited to enjoy it again!

Our last choice is the 2 TS restaurant. This one we will have on our day off from the parks. We plan to dress up a bit, like we did for dinners on the cruise. We are all excited about having one "fancy" dinner, I am sure it will be reminiscent of our cruise in many ways. We are headed over to the Yacht Club to try this place:





One of the ways we budget for our trips is to have a pretty low grocery budget each month. We eat cheap at home, so we can indulge on vacations. Needless to day, STEAK is always on our wish list when it comes to vacation. I have ready many rave reviews of the Yachtsman, and I have seen many drool-worthy photos. We are looking forward to this one, for sure.

So, what do you think of our choices?

 

[oopsiDAISY]

Well hello out there, anybody left? I just completed a 21 day social media fast, hence my absence. So many fun things have happened! At the start of January I made up a countdown activities jar. We will be doing an activity once a week.

The first week we picked out restaurants we would like to get ADR's for. Want to know what we picked? Wait for it....

We are staying five nights, so we get five table service credits. We are doing F&W at Epcot, so we will not be using a TS for that day. So, we decided to use the extra to book a 2TS meal. Of our choices, we have three new to us restaurants, and one repeat that we really loved. It was fun to make our choices together. The last time we had an on-property stay, it was a surprise for the kds, so Brian and I made all the choices. This time we brought up allears.net on our big TV in the living room, and had fun checking out menus and making choices together. We allowed Jillian to give the final Yay or Nay on our choices since this is HER trip.

Disclaimer~ These restaurant photos have been "borrowed" from the internets.

So, without further ado...

MK day we will be trying this one out:





This was the one choice we did no research on, and we did not choose together.We had a reservation for Tony's when we went in 2011, and we ended up canceling it to do something else. Apparently, this had a profound impact on little 11 year old Jillian, because she wanted to finally do it this time. She told us right away that this is what she wanted to do on MK day. I have not really heard anything great about Tony's at all, and could care less about eating there. BUT, this is Jilian's trip, and this is the one place that she REALLY wanted to try, so we are going to Tony's.

We do plan to go to BOG for lunch. Has anyone used a FP to do this one at lunch? Is getting the FP for it recommended? I have also heard you can place your order ahead of time. That would be great to maximize our time in the park. We will only have one day per park, and there is a TON we want to do and see in MK...but more on that at a later time!

Our next choice is another first time try. I have not heard a lot from my Dis~friends about this one, but I have read on many of the other Disreports that I follow that it is pretty good. We pretty much chose it due to the variety of menu choices. Everyone found something they wanted to try. So, for HS day we will be trying this place:





I am kind of excited to try Hollywood Brown Derby. We debated leaving the park for dinner, because we have had not so great experiences at the other two more popular TS places in the park. We were swayed from that decision, because we really want to stay at the park to see the new SW fireworks show. Otherwise, we probably would have made this a short day park and left to have dinner elsewhere. Have any of you every gone to the Brown Derby?

Our repeat that we loved will be on AK day. We visited this place in 2013, and it remains one of our all time faves for many reason. We love the views, we love the service, we love the food...





We debated trying other places, namely Tusker House or Boma. But, our final decision came down to the fact that no one really wanted to go to a buffet. Jiko seemed a little to "artsy fru-fru" for us, so Sanaa won out pretty quickly. Very excited to enjoy it again!

Our last choice is the 2 TS restaurant. This one we will have on our day off from the parks. We plan to dress up a bit, like we did for dinners on the cruise. We are all excited about having one "fancy" dinner, I am sure it will be reminiscent of our cruise in many ways. We are headed over to the Yacht Club to try this place:





One of the ways we budget for our trips is to have a pretty low grocery budget each month. We eat cheap at home, so we can indulge on vacations. Needless to day, STEAK is always on our wish list when it comes to vacation. I have ready many rave reviews of the Yachtsman, and I have seen many drool-worthy photos. We are looking forward to this one, for sure.

So, what do you think of our choices?

UH OH!!!! Some little nagging feeling told me to check the dining plan...and now I realize Brown Derby is signature! Back to the drawing board on where to eat for HS day. Any suggestions outside of the park? Somewhere at Boardwalk or Beach, maybe? Has anyone tried Captain's Grille or heard anything about it? Beaches and Cream could be another possibility. Do they take reservations?

 

[jedijill]

I love Yachtsman! The onion rolls with roasted garlic are too die for!

How about ADR's for Beaches and Cream? It's super tasty!

Jill in CO

 

[oopsiDAISY]

The second countdown activity that we did during the third week of January was to watch THIS together:



We love parades. BUT, at the parks, we do not go to the daytime parades. We are just typically in a different part of the parks, and just do not make it a priority to make it. We DO make it a priority to make it to the night time shows and parades, just not the daytime ones.

I have to say....we got a really great Black Friday deal on a smart TV last year, and we LOVE it. We watched the Mickey's Very Merry Christmas parade on it when Disney Parks Blog live streamed that. We used it to choose our restaurants, and we used it to watch the Festival of Fantasy parade. It is just amazing to sit in your recliner and watch these parades from the comfort of your living room, parades that are NOT shown on TV.

This past week, we had a Disney movie night as our countdown activity. This is the first one we have done since last October, I believe. The holidays are just busy enough without trying to throw one of these into the mix. I must preface this to say that we have decided to scale down the movie nights from here on out. This decision was based on a few factors.

1. The busy-ness of our lives has made it difficult to make the time for all the careful planning and preparation.

2. The girls have gotten older, and sadly between jobs, sports, and social functions we do not see them as much as we would like to on the weekends. This is a great time in their lives, and we will not make them feel guilty for enjoying it.

3. A little under a year ago we started our journey to becoming debt free. These movie nights were beginning to take a bigger chunk of our monthly budget each time we did it. This was MY fault. I just made each one a bit more "elaborate' than the previous.

4. We love having friends join us, but now that the girls are gone so much, we chose to use our movie nights as quality family time for US.

All of that being said, we will contuinue our movie nights, just on a smaller scale. I did not decorate for this latest one, but we still had themed food, and an activity...and of course, I took pictures!



Our hazelnut soup became "almond" soup since the grocers do not sell hazelnuts anytime other than the holidays. I thought the soup was DELICIOUS. It is basically a Butternut Squash soup, and I loved it. HOWEVER, my family did not like it at all. Guess I won't be making it again anytime soon.



Jillian made the braid, and she did such a great job. It was stuffed with a mixture of Italian Sausage, Garlic, Spinach and Parmesean Cheese. Everyone loved the braid. It was not Gluten Free, so I had to eat in moderation, but it was very tasty.



Desserts were easy, cute, and yummy.



The lanterns were a simple but cute activity.



It was a fun movie night. Brian had never seen Tangled, and I had only seen it once before. We are already working on our next countdown activity. It required input from everyone in the family. Can't wait to share it with you when we complete it...

 

[oopsiDAISY]

I love Yachtsman! The onion rolls with roasted garlic are too die for!

How about ADR's for Beaches and Cream? It's super tasty!

Jill in CO

Beaches and Cream was actually one we had talked about. Do they take reservations? We also discussed Cape May, but just like AK day...a buffet just did not appeal to anyone.

 

[jedijill]

Beaches and Cream was actually one we had talked about. Do they take reservations? We also discussed Cape May, but just like AK day...a buffet just did not appeal to anyone.

.

Beaches and Cream now does ADRs (they didn't in the past). It's good soda fountain fare...burgers, hotdogs, ice cream.

Jill in Co

 

[oopsiDAISY]

.

Beaches and Cream now does ADRs (they didn't in the past). It's good soda fountain fare...burgers, hotdogs, ice cream.

Jill in Co

That sounds like a good place that we would all like. Have you tried Captain's Grille or heard anyting about it?

 

[jedijill]

I've eaten breakfast at Captain's Grille and it was delicious. I've heard good things about lunch and dinner as well.

Jill in CO

 

[snowwhitesmom]

Can I jump in? You will LOVE The Yachtsman! Our favorite restaurant on site. I love your movie night idea - we have two girls as well - but both in their mid twenties and off on their own enjoy EVERY minute..........