PPB's Super-Forever TR! DisDivas Trip TR Coming SOON!

[prettyprincessbelle]

Hi Courtney,
I love the last 30 days. It starts to feel so real! I do tend to panic a bit about what I have forgotten or what I have scheduled wrong. This is usually when I start calling and rearranging my priority seatings.

Speaking of which, I would make some for each day even if you don't keep them, they are in your back pocket so you can sit down and eat if you need to. That is the hardest part about the crowded days.

Hi Tracey!!

I'm starting to panic a little. No matter how many times I go, I feel and act like I've never been before. This morning I was thinking I should start packing already!

I'm going to call to make our PS's today. Just like you, even if we don't use all of them, they're there and we don't have to worry about waiting to eat!!!

Eeeek! Thats so exciting Courtney I can't wait for you to see everything and post a bunch of pictures here because I love your TRs! Woo to 30 days !!

Hi-ya Jasmine! I love your TRs tooooo!

Thirty days!! Woo hoo!! I am so excited for you Courtney!!

Thankkk youuu! I'm getting soo excited! It's been toooo long!!!

 

[prettyprincessbelle]

So I wanted to update you that we booked the Hotel Menage last night through hotels.com for $69/night!! I saw it last night (I’ve been checking hotels.com religiously for the past couple weeks) and it was priced $119 the other day and last night it went down all the way to $69. I think that’s the cheapest it ever is. Earlier this year for my birthday we got it for about $52/night. But it was actually $79/night and the third night was free. I’m really excited. We really enjoyed staying there in May. I’m going to email them later this week to request a mini fridge in our room again.

I’m going to call today to make our PS’s. We made a list, but I left it at home. From what I remember, we decided on Lilo and Stitch breakfast for Friday the 4th. I’m thinking a 8:30 or 9:00? Jesus wants to eat at Naples in DTD. I think we’ll do that Wednesday night. We’re going to eat California Pizza Kitchen and bring it back to the hotel one night. And our other dinner will be at Café Orleans. Maybe Friday night? I’ll let you guys know what the final dates and times are after I call today.

So it looks like Costco is NOT going to come out with the Deluxe APs with the $50 gift cards anytime soon. We’re just going to buy the hard AP cards at the Disney Store (they opened a new one right across the street from my work!! WOO!!) and then take those and exchange them for real APs at the bank when we get there. I’ll go do that the day before we leave. While I’m at the Disney Store I’ll get some gift cards with most of our spending money on it. As for our APs, my parents are paying for half of mine (Christmas present). I’m paying for a little less than half of Jesus’ (part of his birthday present). I think I’ll just pay for the parking on his (only he’s getting parking on his) as a little surprise.

Does anyone have any ideas for a birthday present for that kid? This trip is his present (the hotel, part of his AP) but I want to include something else for him. Anyone have any ideas?

 

[Sherry E]

I am so glad that you and Jesus are getting to go to DLR again for holiday season, Courtney! Your TR from last holiday season was SO much fun! Just in case I am unable to corral anyone to go with me again this year, I will live through your TR.....

But, I must admit, after all the hubbub over whether or not I would get to DLR to see the Halloweentime season stuff this year (and finally getting there), I was walking around 2 weeks ago thinking, "This Halloween stuff is cool, no doubt, but it does not give me the same feeling of 'magic' in every corner of the parks that the holiday season brings." It just doesn't. And I love Halloween. The Halloween decorations are nice 'visuals' to have at DLR, and it is cool to see the flowers in Fall colors and what not...but to me, it feels very much like just sticking some poinsettias in a hotel lobby and calling it Christmas - in other words, sort of a superficial Halloween/holiday feeling at DLR. YOu know what I mean? Not total immersion. BUT, when DLR decks itself out for Christmastime, I really feel the holiday magic through and through, you know what I mean? Every inch of the resort feels immersed in the holiday spirit, from the music to the food to the decorations to the lights, etc. Halloweentime at DLR just does not provide that same feeling throughout the parks.

So, if given the chance - if ever I am faced with only being able to go to DLR once in a year or once every couple of years and I have to pick one time to go - it would surely be the holiday season. I can skip Halloweentime if necessary (especially without an AP!)

 

[Sherry E]

Oooh, Courtney, I just found out that the Guy Fieri Food Network special about Holidays at DLR is on December 5, the night you get home. It is a one-hour special version of his popular Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, and he filmed it last year during the time I was there at DLR (even though I never saw him). Nancy - YellowMickeyPonchos - met him while he was making a fresh candy cane. I like that it is one hour. Usually the one-hour shows go to WDW stuff, but this whole hour is devoted to holidays at DLR! My favorite! So what a perfect way to cap off your holiday DLR trip, Courtney! You will just be getting in from a glorious DLR holiday trip and you can flip on the Food Netwoek on Saturday night and watch one hour of Guy Fieri at Disneyland making candy canes! (By the way, he is also making gingerbread stuff, eating one of those Yule log cakes and he is riding the holiday rides too, I think I read somewhere else a while back.) I am setting my DVR!!!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/diners-drive-ins-and-dives/guys-disney-holiday/index.html

 

[prettyprincessbelle]

Yay Sherry!!

I know what you mean about Halloweentime. I was a little bummed we didn't get to go this year, but I wasn't as upset as I would have been if it was Christmas time. With Christmas time you can feel it even if you were to close your eyes. You can smell the Christmas-y at DL. When we went to Halloween time last year, I didn't feel that same magic. And I love Halloween too!

I really hope you get to go for Christmas. Hopefully Shawn and Bridgette had such a super time with you that they would want to go for Christmas. I hope you can talk them into it! That would be SUPER!

I'm excited about the Guy Fieri special! Everything on TV is always about WDW, it's going to be really nice to see something DLR with NO talk of WDW!! I'm going to set my DVR just in case I don't make it to a TV when we get home. And I'll keep an eye out for the reruns too!!

 

[prettyprincessbelle]

So you know how I booked the Menage for $69/night? Well the day after I booked it, the price went up to $107/night! YIKES!!! Good thing I booked it, huh!?!

So I wanted to post the PS's I made the other day.

Thursday December 3rd:
- Naples in DTD @ 8:15pm

Friday December 4th:
- Lilo and Stitch breakfast at the PCH Grill @ 10:am
- Cafe Orleans @ 6:30pm.

For Wednesday we're going to get California Pizza Kitchen and bring it back to the hotel for dinner. We'll probably stay at the parks from when we arrive in Anaheim at whatever time and stay until closing (9pm) and then go pick up dinner and go to the hotel and check in. Plus if you have an AP, you get 20% off your bill at CPK!!

Thursday Jesus wants to eat Naples. We really like that place. We scheduled a late dinner. The park doesn't close until 9, but we'll leave a little early to go eat dinner. The last seating for Naples is 9:30pm, but we don't know if we can wait that long to eat dinner.

Friday we scheduled at late breakfast. The park opens at 8. We'll see if we get up early, hit the parks, go to breakfast and then go back to the park. I doubt that, but I guess we'll see how early we wake up. Then we're doing Cafe Orleans for an early dinner. We normally get stuffed beyond belief at character meals, so we may either skip lunch or do something super super light. The park closes at midnight that day and Fantasmic is playing.

 

[prettyprincessbelle]

So now the Menage is on hotels.com for $109/night. Yikes. I'm so so so glad I saw it when I did. Phew.

I am sick. Sick sick sick. I can't go back to work until my fever is gone for a whole 24 hours with no medication. So no work today and absolutely no work tomorrow. Possibly work Wednesday if my fever is gone tomorrow early early morning. Like 6am early. Which I highly doubt. Right now it's at 101. Ew.

So what does this mean to our DL trip? Money! I only have enough vacation/sick time for 1 day. So that means 2 days I will not get paid (if I go back to work Thursday). That paycheck is the paycheck I get the day before we leave. With that paycheck I was planning on paying the other half of my AP (my parents are paying half as a part of my Christmas present) and the rest of our spending money. What to do? I have one more paycheck before the one I'm talking about. So with that one I can spend absolutely NO extra money at all. What I can also do (if this is possible? Does anyone know?) is put what my parents gave me as a down payment for my AP and finance the rest. Is that possible? On the DL site all it says is putting $72 down, but what if I want to put more? I'll call DL tomorrow and ask.

I think my best bet would be just not to spend any extra money. I still gotta get Jesus a birthday present.

 

[kaoden39]

Oh I am so sorry to hear you are sick. I am still getting over the last of it. I cannot remember the last time the flu got me down so bad. Take care of yourself.

 

[prettyprincessbelle]

Hi Michele!! Thank you so much! I'm glad to hear you're feeling better. I was telling my parents today I don't even remember ever getting the flu. They don't remember either. Huh.

 

[kaoden39]

Hi Michele!! Thank you so much! I'm glad to hear you're feeling better. I was telling my parents today I don't even remember ever getting the flu. They don't remember either. Huh.

The last time I had the flu I was a little girl, I wasn't even 8 years old. The flu is one of those hit or miss things.

 

[Sherry E]

Yay Sherry!!

I know what you mean about Halloweentime. I was a little bummed we didn't get to go this year, but I wasn't as upset as I would have been if it was Christmas time. With Christmas time you can feel it even if you were to close your eyes. You can smell the Christmas-y at DL. When we went to Halloween time last year, I didn't feel that same magic. And I love Halloween too!

I really hope you get to go for Christmas. Hopefully Shawn and Bridgette had such a super time with you that they would want to go for Christmas. I hope you can talk them into it! That would be SUPER!

I'm excited about the Guy Fieri special! Everything on TV is always about WDW, it's going to be really nice to see something DLR with NO talk of WDW!! I'm going to set my DVR just in case I don't make it to a TV when we get home. And I'll keep an eye out for the reruns too!!

Yes, it is probably an over-used word when it comes to DLR, but 'magic' is the key ingredient that seems to be abundant during the holiday season at DLR, and that Christmas-y experience can be felt, or smelled, or heard, even if you close your eyes. You may not see the beautiful lights and decorations, but you can smell the gingerbread or smell the peppermint and the hot chocolate. You can hear the Christmas music as it changes styles from Adventureland to Frontierland to New Orleans Square. The holidays are just everywhere you look, every corner of the Resort, in all the restaurants and shops and hotels. Halloweentime doesn't offer that same sort of immersive holiday feeling, even though I love it. It is more of a superficial makeover of the parks (with the exception of the Haunted Mansion Holiday, which is very detailed), and not a very intensive one.

Courtney, when did you get sick? I don't recall you saying that you were starting to feel sick, but then all of a sudden you posted and it sounded like it was already pretty bad, with the fever and all! You got sick last year, but it seemed to be during your DLR holiday trip (wasn't that when Jesus set you up by the window to watch the fireworks?). At least this way, you can knock it all out of your system and be healthy and strong for your upcoming DLR trip. I hope you feel better soon and don't lose too much time (and money) from work.

I seem to be hearing about several people getting whomped with some nasty cases of flu this year, but only one of the people I know was claiming their relative has the swine flu. I said, doubtfully, "Are you sure it is swine flu....or just a really bad case of the flu?" I mean, I think a lot of extra-paranoid people forget that sometimes people do just get bad bouts of the flu and it is not "swine flu." But I fear that if anyone like that gets any kind of flu this year, they will be running to the ER, claiming to be dying!

 

[julianh]

Hi,
I'm one of troughs lurkers, I thought that I would jump in and say that, I enjoy your posts

 

[prettyprincessbelle]

The last time I had the flu I was a little girl, I wasn't even 8 years old. The flu is one of those hit or miss things.

How long did it take for you to start feeling better? Your fever going down and everything? My fever has been gone since last night, but about 30 minutes ago I started feeling weird again and my dang fever is back! The flu is a terrible, terrible thing!

Yes, it is probably an over-used word when it comes to DLR, but 'magic' is the key ingredient that seems to be abundant during the holiday season at DLR, and that Christmas-y experience can be felt, or smelled, or heard, even if you close your eyes. You may not see the beautiful lights and decorations, but you can smell the gingerbread or smell the peppermint and the hot chocolate. You can hear the Christmas music as it changes styles from Adventureland to Frontierland to New Orleans Square. The holidays are just everywhere you look, every corner of the Resort, in all the restaurants and shops and hotels. Halloweentime doesn't offer that same sort of immersive holiday feeling, even though I love it. It is more of a superficial makeover of the parks (with the exception of the Haunted Mansion Holiday, which is very detailed), and not a very intensive one.

Courtney, when did you get sick? I don't recall you saying that you were starting to feel sick, but then all of a sudden you posted and it sounded like it was already pretty bad, with the fever and all! You got sick last year, but it seemed to be during your DLR holiday trip (wasn't that when Jesus set you up by the window to watch the fireworks?). At least this way, you can knock it all out of your system and be healthy and strong for your upcoming DLR trip. I hope you feel better soon and don't lose too much time (and money) from work.

I seem to be hearing about several people getting whomped with some nasty cases of flu this year, but only one of the people I know was claiming their relative has the swine flu. I said, doubtfully, "Are you sure it is swine flu....or just a really bad case of the flu?" I mean, I think a lot of extra-paranoid people forget that sometimes people do just get bad bouts of the flu and it is not "swine flu." But I fear that if anyone like that gets any kind of flu this year, they will be running to the ER, claiming to be dying!

I have the freaking swine flu!! Well I went to the doctor yesterday and she said that in our county (so it varies where you live?) that they (county medical officials?) are telling doctors to tell all their patients who have the flu and flu symptoms that they have the swine flu. The regular flu isn't going around in our area, just the swine flu. But, she told me not to freak, because for a regular healthy person (like me!), it's just like the regular flu. So she didn't give me Tamiflu or anything because my regular healthy immune system will fight it off. But if I wasn't a regular healthy person, pregnant or elderly, then I would have to worry. And those are the people who are dying (just like from the regular flu!!).

I really think it's the media making it such a huge deal. Yeah, I feel super sick, but I doubt this feels any different than the regular flu.

I did hear on the news that just the strain of the swine flu is going around and not the regular flu, in the whole country. But I don't know how true that is.

Hi,
I'm one of troughs lurkers, I thought that I would jump in and say that, I enjoy your posts

Hi!!! Thank you!!!! I feel so special your first post is in my TR!!

 

[prettyprincessbelle]

Okay, so this is more useless budget chatter from me.

So a good change of plans for our AP buying. DizMe posted a site for the TSA (teachers, not airlines) and they have a discount for Deluxe APs. Jesus Mom works for administration for a private school and I called and asked her and she would call and order them for us. This will save us $26 each AP. Wonderful! They charge $2.50 per AP for processing, so in total we will be saving $47!!!

We need to call and order them soon. And it takes 3 days for them to come in the mail. So HECK YES for saving money!! That's dinner right there!

 

[prettyprincessbelle]

OKAY! So, I'm going to call the TSA place on Monday November 30th to get 2 Deluxe APs overnighted to me to arrive on Tuesday December 1st. I'll have to pay $15 shipping, but whatever, they'll get here on time and no crazy budgeting and we'll all be happy.

 

[prettyprincessbelle]

For those of you who either have Verizon wireless or internet capabilities on your cell phone and don't have Verizon, have you checked out the DLR mobile site?

With Verizon wireless and certain phones you can download the app and it tells you wait times for rides, maps of the parks, where the potties are, eateries, etc. (Of course you gotta pay!)

I have AT&T, so on my phone I went to m.disneyland.com and it gives you a site with a list of all the eateries, attractions, ATMs, potties, lockers, first aid, etc. It even gives you what the times are for the parks to open and close, parades and F! It's really hand if you don't want to carry a Times Guide around or you can't remember where an ATM is. I saved it to my favorites on my phone. Really neat idea, Disney!!

We leave in 2 WEEKS from tomorrow! I have a couple things to do before we go:

- Pack
- Call the hotel and reserve a mini fridge and a pool view **
- Buy a little bit of snacks
- Call to buy our APs

** Last time we stayed at the Menage, I emailed them to their email that's on their website and a worker named Tiffany emailed me back to confirm we would have a mini fridge upon check-in and a pool view. She did awesome because we had both and I didn't even have to ask when we checked in.

So when I booked the hotel this time, I emailed the email that's on their website to request the same again, and a couple days later I got no response. I found the Tiffany girl's email in my email and I emailed her. Did I get a response from her? No. I don't know what's going on, but I'm going to just call tomorrow and do it the old fashion way.

Oh and after we started going over our PS's, we realized we are planning to eat at Naples and California Pizza Kitchen and it's the same dang food. So I made birthday boy pick and he chose Naples. We decided to have room service again from the hotel, last time it was really good!

 

[Leggyb]

I just wanted to let you know that I love your trip report(s)! I like your style! Oh and thanks for all the Hotel Menage tips and pictures.. I really want to stay there now!

 

[prettyprincessbelle]

I just wanted to let you know that I love your trip report(s)! I like your style! Oh and thanks for all the Hotel Menage tips and pictures.. I really want to stay there now!

Aww, thank you so much! And thank you for reading!

We really enjoyed the Menage. I probably wouldn't pay more than $70/night for it, but we're cheap when it comes to what we pay for hotels anyways. I'll take more pictures of the room again!!

 

[prettyprincessbelle]

Oh yeah, I called the Menage earlier this week and requested our pool view and fridge. So that's taken care of.

I was going to order our APs through the TSA, they were selling the Deluxes for $263, well they sold out and are not getting new ones until December 4th! The day after we leave. So we're just buying ours with no discount. Boo. I'm going to go to the Disney Store by my work on my way home and pick up the APs they have there. And load up a gift card. I'll do that the Monday before we leave. I'm kind of bummed because we're not getting that discount. And I wish Costco would come out with those APs with a gift card, but no, they won't.

 

[Yakety76]

You are getting so close! Have a wonderful time. I cannot wait to read all about it.