Our End-of-the-Summer Celebration! *TR LINK ADDED!!*

[OhMari]

So we leave for Disney World in 49 days. AKA 7 weeks. 7 WEEKS!! That means there are only 7 more Thursdays until we are on a plane to Orlando. WOOT!

I suppose since we are getting so close I could share some more plans.

Emma and I still need to get our park tickets (Dad has an annual pass). On our past few trips we've gotten the 10-day park hoppers with the no-expiration option which we plan on doing again. That way our tickets will get us through this trip and another trip.

As for which parks we'll go to each day, that' still to be decided. Because we'll have park hoppers we'll visit one park in the morning at opening, take a mid-afternoon break, and then go back to another park later in the day. Usually we try to visit each park twice: the first visit is for our favorite attractions and then the second time we do what we missed the first time or just do our favorites once more. I'll get more into favorites/must-dos in a later post.

We also still want to go to Blizzard Beach. I don't know if we'll add the waterpark option to our tickets since we're only planning on going there once.

Something else I've got to do before this trip is get a new pair of shoes. The ones I have right now are pretty worn out...I don't want to end up sore from not having a decent pair of shoes.

Oh yes, and of course I need to start gathering quarters and pennies so I can add to my pressed penny collection!

That's all I've got for now. Have a great night!

I just placed my order with mousesavers, she out a e-mail Thursday, that Undercover was having a sale. I got the 10 day non expiring ticket with the Water Park option. I didn't need the hopper, because we never hop, and if it ever did happen, I would add it. I ordered a bunch of times with UndercoverTourist and they send your tickets Fed Ex. They say it can take up to 10 days, but I always get mine within 3 days. If you want the e-mail, let me know, I can forward it to you. I looked at everyone that sells tickets, and they are the cheapest, even cheaper than WDW. if you don't like the paper kind they send you, you can have it changed at the resort when you check in.

 

[wdwgirl03]

Happy Fourth of July, everyone!

 

[wdwgirl03]

Wow, just 7 weeks away!

I'm loving your magical memories. So cute!

I can't believe how close it's getting!

Love your Disneyland pics, make me more excited for my trip in september and woohoo at you leaving for Disneyworld next month

You are going to have so much fun in Disneyland. It's really different from WDW but it's still great.

I just placed my order with mousesavers, she out a e-mail Thursday, that Undercover was having a sale. I got the 10 day non expiring ticket with the Water Park option. I didn't need the hopper, because we never hop, and if it ever did happen, I would add it. I ordered a bunch of times with UndercoverTourist and they send your tickets Fed Ex. They say it can take up to 10 days, but I always get mine within 3 days. If you want the e-mail, let me know, I can forward it to you. I looked at everyone that sells tickets, and they are the cheapest, even cheaper than WDW. if you don't like the paper kind they send you, you can have it changed at the resort when you check in.

Hmm, I might have to consider that. I've heard of a lot of people using them...so I am assuming they're reliable? We've never gotten tickets from anywhere other than through Disney.

 

[Dr_Finkelstein]

Hi Sarah,

Happy 4th of July!

Sorry not posted so much - have been reading! I've not been on the DIS so much lately, so really just reading to catch up and run!

Great news on the trip at Easter to SSR - it looks lovely!

Your Disneyland pics are great - but SB castle looks so...small and petite in comparison to Cindy's!

You're so close now!!! Will be single digits before you know it!

Di x

 

[xoktenox]

Hey Sarah, hope you had a happy 4th!

Your trip is in less than 50 daysss!! Too cool! I wish we would have bought the 10 day no expiration tickets when we went! We're kicking ourselves now for not doing it!

 

[tinkerbell87512]

Wohoooo next month, next month, next month!!!!!!! So excited for you!!!! Love your DL post. Paradise pier looks beautiful all lit up. Hope you had a great 4th yesterday.

 

[wdwgirl03]

Hi Sarah,

Happy 4th of July!

Sorry not posted so much - have been reading! I've not been on the DIS so much lately, so really just reading to catch up and run!

Great news on the trip at Easter to SSR - it looks lovely!

Your Disneyland pics are great - but SB castle looks so...small and petite in comparison to Cindy's!

You're so close now!!! Will be single digits before you know it!

Di x

Hey Diane! Glad to see you again.

I am really excited to have a second trip planned for Easter. It'll be nice because we might be there for a couple more days than our past few trips.

Sleeping Beauty Castle is soooo small. It's cute but I definitely think Cinderella Castle is way better.

Hey Sarah, hope you had a happy 4th!

Your trip is in less than 50 daysss!! Too cool! I wish we would have bought the 10 day no expiration tickets when we went! We're kicking ourselves now for not doing it!

Thanks Kristen. My 4th was alright, I had to work which sucked but atleast I was able to go to the fireworks.

I know, it is so crazy that this trip is coming so quickly. The 10-day tickets work great for us. I'd get an annual pass but not knowing what my job situation will be, I'd hate to end up not being able to use it.

Wohoooo next month, next month, next month!!!!!!! So excited for you!!!! Love your DL post. Paradise pier looks beautiful all lit up. Hope you had a great 4th yesterday.

Glad you liked the DL stuff. Paradise Pier is pretty cool. Ahh I want to go back so badly! LOL. Hope you had a good 4th too.

 

[wdwgirl03]

Hi everyone! Hope you all had a good 4th of July. My cousin and aunt had a barbecue up in Madison but unfortunately my sisters and I all had to work so we couldn't go. Kinda didn't seem like the 4th, but atleast I got to go to the local fireworks with Mom and Dad. It was pretty funny because this one guy who was sitting right behind us kept saying how great they were and how it was like Disney World. So if you want to see Disney-caliber fireworks, come to our town (ok, they're not QUITE Disney fireworks but they were awesome).

Oh yes, the other day Dad, Claire and I went to see Up! Wow, it was really good. I like all the Pixar movies but this one is definitely now one of my favorites. There were some sad parts, a lot of funny parts, and some touching parts. Very cute movie.

Now I need some input. We just found out that my aunt and uncle are going to be in Disney World the same time we are (visiting my cousin, who's doing the internship). Dad said that they suggested we all meet up for dinner at Tutto Italia in World Showcase. We've never eaten there before so I'm just curious to hear if any of you have been there and what you've thought of it: Was it really fancy? What was the food like? I'm not even sure if we're going to do it for sure but feel free to share your stories/thoughts!

 

[wdwgirl03]

I thought I'd go ahead and finish up my mini-TR too.

Princeton Reunion!
We were up early so we could leave the hotel around 8:00 for the drive to New Jersey. We first stopped at McDonald's to get some breakfast and were on our way. It took a little over an hour to get from Philly to Princeton. I was looking forward to seeing the school since the last time I was there I was 4 years old (and clearly don't remember anything!) Once we arrived on the campus, we found a place to park and Dad started showing us around. He first showed us the sports complex.

Basketball court...doesn't really compare to the Bradley Center where Marquette plays.

Football stadium

And outside the stadium

Then he showed us more of the campus. There were a lot of tents set up for all the different class reunions. But it was such a pretty campus!

It was also really funny because once you got onto the campus you could see all the alumni in their class outfits. More on that later! As we continued on our way we found the area where Dad's class was meeting. Then we headed over to the bookstore because Emma and I wanted to get Princeton t-shirts. With everyone dressed in orange and black, we looked a little out of place! We got our shirts and then Dad showed us some more buildings.

This was one of his old dorm buildings.

As we were walking, Dad spotted one of his classmates. He said that they were starting to gather for a class picture (hehe!) so we hung around while they did that. It was fun meeting some of Dad's college friends.

Here they are!

I think we walked around for a little longer and then went to find something to eat before the P-Rade. Basically the P-Rade is...well, a parade! All of the alumni and their families walk in it, so as you can imagine it took a LOOOOONG time. It was about an hour and a half before Dad's class even joined in! Like I said, each class has their own theme and an outfit to go with it. Some of them were so crazy but it was so much fun. We got to see them all in the P-Rade.

The P-Rade starts off with the class celebrating their 25th anniversary so the Class of 1984 kicked it off. Then they started with all the other classes. The oldest returning alumnus was from 1925!!!!!!

This guy was so cute!

haha!

And some of the great outfits:

Poor dog!

Then it was finally our turn to join in. Dad's class theme was Rock Stars in Stripes so some of the people carried signs with lyrics from songs that were popular when they were in school. There were also some kids who wore big heads of some of the singers which was hilarious.

Love the Class of 2004 outfits.

After a few minutes we reached the end of the route. We met a couple more of Dad's classmates and talked to them for a bit.

Since it had a been a pretty long day we headed back to Dad's old eating club (kind of like a fraternity) to get some dinner. Then it was time to head back to Philadelphia. It was such an exhausting day (lots of being outside in the beautiful weather) but tons of fun. The P-Rade was definitely one of the highlights of the reunion but it was also neat meeting some of Dad's friends/classmates. I think when I finally go to one of my college reunions it's going to be boring, haha. It was amazing how many people came out for it. I don't think many colleges can say they have reunions like that. Overall it was a great day.

 

[Lady Lallie]

The reunion looks like so much. I actually just finished reading a book where one of the characters went to a Princeton reunion and even though it was a fiction book, it's just like you described.

 

[AlohaPolynesian]

Aw that parade looks so cool! And I cried SO much at the end of Up! during the little boy scout thing...you know what I'm talking about? I also teared up when they were helping Kevin!

PS I went to Tutto Italia and it was super expensive and not that good for what we paid. If you are on the dining plan then it will be worth it, but otherwise I'd choose somewhere else. We also felt very rushed while there - they brought our food out RIGHT after we ordered it. Literally, they brought it to the table with our drinks!

 

[Goofy22]

Wow! That looks really cool! I still ahve to find out if my uncle went! I know when the first granddaughter was born she had lots of princeton gear! LOL!

 

[xoktenox]

Wow Princeton is such a nice campus! I like the P-Rade idea too. So cool how each class had their own theme. I have a feeling my college reunion will definitely be boring and nothing like that LOL You had some great weather there too. Looks like a great time

 

[wdwgirl03]

The reunion looks like so much. I actually just finished reading a book where one of the characters went to a Princeton reunion and even though it was a fiction book, it's just like you described.

LOL, no way, what was the name of the book?

Aw that parade looks so cool! And I cried SO much at the end of Up! during the little boy scout thing...you know what I'm talking about? I also teared up when they were helping Kevin!

PS I went to Tutto Italia and it was super expensive and not that good for what we paid. If you are on the dining plan then it will be worth it, but otherwise I'd choose somewhere else. We also felt very rushed while there - they brought our food out RIGHT after we ordered it. Literally, they brought it to the table with our drinks!

Oh yes, I know what you are talking about. There were a lot of parts where I started tearing up.

Yeah, after they mentioned going to dinner we looked at the menu and Dad said it seemed really pricey. Not that we're trying to be cheap or anything...I don't know. We'll just have to see what all comes of these big plans.

Wow! That looks really cool! I still ahve to find out if my uncle went! I know when the first granddaughter was born she had lots of princeton gear! LOL!

The reunion was so much fun! It was also kind of fun seeing some of the younger classes and all their kids. So cute!

Wow Princeton is such a nice campus! I like the P-Rade idea too. So cool how each class had their own theme. I have a feeling my college reunion will definitely be boring and nothing like that LOL You had some great weather there too. Looks like a great time

It is a really nice campus. And the weather was great, sunny and 80! Can't beat that!

 

[brookelizabeth]

Isn't it great when you can finally say "I'm going to Disney World next month!"?

I can't help with Tutto, though from the reviews I have read-people seem to like it!

The P-Rade looks like a total blast!!!!!!! And what a beautiful campus, wow. I would have been snapping so many pictures of that detailed architecture. Just stunning. What a fun day you all had!

 

[OneTreeHillAddict]

Girl you guys are always going somewhere! I bet you have some serious frequent flyer miles! That dog in his tiger costume had me LOL.

 

[wdwgirl03]

Isn't it great when you can finally say "I'm going to Disney World next month!"?

I can't help with Tutto, though from the reviews I have read-people seem to like it!

The P-Rade looks like a total blast!!!!!!! And what a beautiful campus, wow. I would have been snapping so many pictures of that detailed architecture. Just stunning. What a fun day you all had!

Yes, it is awesome knowing we're going next month. I seriously can't wait!

The gothic architecture was amazing. I didn't take a ton of pictures...but my sister did!

Girl you guys are always going somewhere! I bet you have some serious frequent flyer miles! That dog in his tiger costume had me LOL.

LOL, trust me, we don't usually take that many trips. The reunion thing was kind of last minute. But like I said, getting to go on the NY trip and then this one was one nice thing about not having a job.

 

[Lady Lallie]

The book was called "American Wife".

 

[wdwgirl03]

The book was called "American Wife".

Cool, maybe I'll have to check it out.

 

[wdwgirl03]

Just wanted to share this with everyone...

The other day I somehow got invited to this group on facebook called "WDW Memories." Apparently they are going to be making a book filled with people's memories from Disney World. It doesn't give a ton of details but it sounds like it could be kind of neat. I'm trying to think of a really good story to submit. haha!

So if you're on facebook and want to join, here's the link:

WDW Memories