Princess Caitlin pre trip August '10 costarring dawnbu40

[I Believe In Magic]

I love the smiley's. They are so appropriate!!

 

[MyMuse]

Did I know that you were staying at Coronado Springs?


Oooohhh, can't wait to hear about that!

 

[dawnbu40]

Did I know that you were staying at Coronado Springs?


Oooohhh, can't wait to hear about that!

Caitlin and I stayed there on our trip with my mom in Dec.2009 and loved it! I think it's nicer then the PO resorts and had a much better bus system since it doesn't share with anyone. Dale is really looking forward to staying there!

 

[dawnbu40]

I love the smiley's. They are so appropriate!!

Thanks Samantha!

 

[WrightFamily06]

YaY for 5 months !!!!

 

[disbugsdaddy]

Hey Dawn and Caitlin (and silent brother in blue Dale), I just finished reading your TR and PTR! All subscribed and ready to read more. We leave for WDW in less than 30 days and I just started my own PTR/Live TR, Three DISers and a Little Lady... (and some other people!)


I have to say I'm a little intrigued by the similarities in our families. Both in Michigan. Dale and I both work for the big blue box. We are a family of three, me, my DW and our Daughter, just 15 years behind you! I have Disney obsessed parents. And a SERIOUS Disney addiction of our own.

I have to say, I hope we are as close to our daughter when she is 19 as you and Dale are to Caitlin!

Tell Dale that I swear I know him but I can't place from what store, I'm a GSI 4 so I go in and out of quite a few stores, if I ever bump into him I'll be sure to say HI!

Great PTR so far, can't wait for more!

Brad

 

[dawnbu40]

Hi Brad! Wow as they say in Disney "It's a Small World". Thank you! We feel very blessed that we have the relationship with Caitlin that we do!

I'll head over to check out your ptr!

 

[dawnbu40]

If you have been with us on other family trips you know we always debate whether or not to get a car. We go back and forth on this since we like the convenience of having a car BUT Dale commutes an hour each way to work so he enjoys letting someone else do the driving when he's on vacation. Well I priced cars and found a pretty decent deal using the Entertainment Book so I just booked a car for August Since we are dining at several different hotels and plan to go offsite to IOA it makes sense to have a car. Hopefully this will prove to be a good decision and I'll keep watching for discount codes and (fingers crossed) maybe our deal will get even better

On a somber note..lets all keep the families involved in yesterday's tragic accident in our prayers. I cannot imagine the pain the boy's family as well as the driver must be feeling. My heart also goes out to all the people who were on board the bus.

 

[Queenofallthings]

If you have been with us on other family trips you know we always debate whether or not to get a car. We go back and forth on this since we like the convenience of having a car BUT Dale commutes an hour each way to work so he enjoys letting someone else do the driving when he's on vacation. Well I priced cars and found a pretty decent deal using the Entertainment Book so I just booked a car for August Since we are dining at several different hotels and plan to go offsite to IOA it makes sense to have a car. Hopefully this will prove to be a good decision and I'll keep watching for discount codes and (fingers crossed) maybe our deal will get even better

On a somber note..lets all keep the families involved in yesterday's tragic accident in our prayers. I cannot imagine the pain the boy's family as well as the driver must be feeling. My heart also goes out to all the people who were on board the bus.

We were all out for dinner last evening for our parents anniversary when my brother in law asked if we had heard about the accident. It made my blood run cold....I can't imagine how being at the happiest place on earth can turn so tragic. We were all talking about the poor bus driver and passengers too...can't imagine what they went through and will continue to go through

 

[dawnbu40]

We were all out for dinner last evening for our parents anniversary when my brother in law asked if we had heard about the accident. It made my blood run cold....I can't imagine how being at the happiest place on earth can turn so tragic. We were all talking about the poor bus driver and passengers too...can't imagine what they went through and will continue to go through

I know all of us think of WDW as our "happy place". I can't imagine experiencing something so traumatic there of all places

 

[dawnbu40]

 

[dawnbu40]

You all know Caitlin is a college student, well today we got notice from the Financial Aid Department that due to her high GPA they are increasing her scholarship! She was also notified that due to her involvement on campus she has been awarded a Leadership Scholarship! I am just so proud of her that I had to share her news!! Thanks for letting me celebrate

 

[WrightFamily06]

You all know Caitlin is a college student, well today we got notice from the Financial Aid Department that due to her high GPA they are increasing her scholarship! She was also notified that due to her involvement on campus she has been awarded a Leadership Scholarship! I am just so proud of her that I had to share her news!! Thanks for letting me celebrate

Congrats to Caitlin !

Sounds like you all got a great deal on your rental car , keeping my fingers crossed that an even better deal comes up than what u have now ! Who dosen't love a great deal

Can't wait to read more about your September plans

 

[LilAnn]

Hey gals, I had a question for you. I am ramping up again in my Disney planning as our trip is getting closer. I remember that you had purchased a bunch of Disney gift cards to use on your trip. Do you mind my asking how that worked out for you? I really liked that idea and am unsure of how I want to order them. Do you think it is best if I order one gift card with one large lump sum on it? Or should I order a bunch of smaller denominations?

I am leaning towards the smaller amounts since I am afraid that we may lose them and because there are so many cute designs. We'll also be getting the gift card for booking our stay there, but I am working out a way to put in some extra spending money (i.e. for tips and souvies, and whatnot).

Also, what do you think is a good amount to put on one card? The smallest amount is $25 that can be put on a card, but I wonder if I go too big, if it will be a pain to cover tips for our meals on it since we are on DDP?

 

[dawnbu40]

Hey gals, I had a question for you. I am ramping up again in my Disney planning as our trip is getting closer. I remember that you had purchased a bunch of Disney gift cards to use on your trip. Do you mind my asking how that worked out for you? I really liked that idea and am unsure of how I want to order them. Do you think it is best if I order one gift card with one large lump sum on it? Or should I order a bunch of smaller denominations?

I am leaning towards the smaller amounts since I am afraid that we may lose them and because there are so many cute designs. We'll also be getting the gift card for booking our stay there, but I am working out a way to put in some extra spending money (i.e. for tips and souvies, and whatnot).

Also, what do you think is a good amount to put on one card? The smallest amount is $25 that can be put on a card, but I wonder if I go too big, if it will be a pain to cover tips for our meals on it since we are on DDP?

I love using gift cards since I don't like carrying around a lot of cash on vacation and I am big on creating budgets I figure out how much spending money I want per day and if we are paying oop for any meals and then get gcs for each day based on that criteria. Then, I make an envelope for each day of our visit and stuff it with that day's gift cards. I keep the envelopes in the room safe until their assigned day. (this might sound more complicated then it is it's actually really simple!) When we are on the DDP I don't get gift cards for tips since they have to be signed and can take a little longer so I just use cash in that instance.

We've found the gift cards really easy to use and have never had a problem using them. Have fun picking them out!

 

[dawnbu40]

Congrats to Caitlin !

Sounds like you all got a great deal on your rental car , keeping my fingers crossed that an even better deal comes up than what u have now ! Who dosen't love a great deal

Can't wait to read more about your September plans

Thanks Angie!

 

[Queenofallthings]

WOO HOO CAITLIN

 

[dawnbu40]

We decided it's time to start sharing our plans for our trip. For those of you who are with us again, you may notice that our plans are much more laid back this time. I anticipate it being crazy hot and don't want to overdo it. (we prefer the temps of April or May but booked Bounceback so we could do MNSSHP and Harry Potter) So let's begin with Day 1:


Depart Detroit- 7:05am: Yes another early flight! You know I like to get going early when I'm heading to WDW!

Arrive MCO-10am: I am so glad it's a direct flight!

When we arrive at MCO we will head to National car rental and pick up our car. It will be a little strange not taking the ME but I think having a car this trip is the right decsion for us.

I anticipate we'll be at CSR around 11 unless something catches our eye and we stop somewhere along the way.

After checking in we will spend the afternoon at that gorgeous CSR pool. The other time we stayed there it was December and never was warm enough to use the pool! We're looking forward to enjoying it this time!

After lounging at the pool we will get cleaned up and around 4:30 drive over to the Beach Club for dinner.

5:00 adr at Cape May. We all love seafood and can't wait to try the all you can eat crab legs!

After dinner we'll look around the BC and YC and of course check out the gift shops

When we finish we plan to drive over to Winter/Summerland and try our hand at some mini-golf. (we've done both Fantasia and W/S and prefer W/S)

After minigolf we'll probably call it an early night and head back to CSR. We have an early adr the next morning so we'll need our beauty sleep.

 

[yinyanggirls]

Sounds like a fabulously casual day. What a teaser to not have been able to use the pool last time.

 

[dawnbu40]

Sounds like a fabulously casual day. What a teaser to not have been able to use the pool last time.

Thanks! The last time we were there Caitlin and I sat near the pool all bundled up, just so we could say we had been there