Recreating Memories- Surprise Mother & daughter trip

[princess&her4princes]

Hi Kristen!!!! I'm so excited you started this!!!

Girl you are gorgeous and you have a beautiful family

Hi Lynn!! You are SO sweet, thank you!!!! I'm so glad you came by and are reading along...hoping to update later today, so stay tuned!!! Big details to follow.....

 

[princess&her4princes]

Your girls trip sounds wonderful! Can't wait to hear all about it.

Hi! Thanks for joining in..it's going to be so much fun!! I can't believe I'm doing a trip myself (without my DH and kids!!)...it's going to be so different for me and so much fun!!!

Wow Kristen, I can't believe how much you(now) look like your mom(then) in the old photo. Your mom and sis are beautiful just like you and your wedding photos are really pretty. Can't wait for more.

I know! I get that all of time..now that I'm living back in MA and I run into people where my Mom lives, they will stop me and ask me if I'm her daughter (without her being there or even knowing me...like if they went to high school with her or something!!) it's crazy!!

Am in

Hi!! Thanks for coming along!!!! Glad you found me!!

so glad you started this one, almost all the trippies i'm reading are over. i left your old one subscribed so i could find you again, cant wait to hear all about it.

Hi! Thanks for keeping my old TR subscribed too...I kept telling you guys I would start and life got in the way so I just sat down and made myself start and I'm so glad I did...I missed "talking" with you girls!!!

How did you get them to unlock your previous thread?

Looking forward to reading more about your upcoming trip. I am so jealous of the increased traffic over here on the WDW threads. Look at all the peeps you've already got.

Yay, you're here!! I had to PM the mod on the board and asked if there was any way she could unlock it for me for one day so I could let you guys know I was starting my PTR and she did!!!!!!!! How is that for Disney magic!! Thanks again Mod!!!!

Im so excited to be writing and chatting with you all again!!!!! The DL boards are much quieter aren't they.....kind of strange since it's pretty popular, too!!! Hmm....

 

[princess&her4princes]

Hi Everyone! Hoping to update later today (probably when my boys go to bed) so stay tuned! I hope you're all having a great day today..it's nice and sunny here in MA and I can't wait to get out and play this afternoon!! Have a nice rest of your day!!!! ttys!

 

[princess&her4princes]

So I left you off with us surprising my Mom, it was so exciting to finally have the cat out of the bag, so to speak. My sister, Todd and my Dad have been talking about this for about a month before Mom knew so this now meant, I could FINALLY talk about things!!!!!!! And no one was stopping me....and they still aren't!! LOL! It's a good thing I have you guys, cause as much as Mom and Jodi love Disney, they are not addicts like myself.....but they could be in training, if I work on them hard enough.

We are going early a.m Monday, 9/14 and staying until Friday night, 9/18. It's a quick trip, but we'll make the best of it for sure. My Mom and I are flying out of Boston via Delta and Jodi is renting a car and driving to Orlando from Hilton Head. We should (hopefully) get there about the same time on Monday, Mom and I land in Orlando at 10:30ish and hope to be at POP by noontime, so we can meet Jodi and grab some lunch.

I had booked out trip late January through AAA since it was saving me just over $200 compared to Disney (or anyone for that matter!). I've never had a trip booked through anyone other than Disney so being the control freak that I am, it was bothering me somewhat but with the savings, it was worth it...until MONDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You see, I heard from my trusty friends here on DIS that Free dining would be coming out soon and it did for Disney Visa holders last Thurday. I was on top of my TA at AAA and told her rumor had it coming out for everyone else on Monday at 7 a.m. I asked her when she would be in to work on Monday and she said 8:30 a.m. That was okay but for me, the control freak, I was freaking out about that....afterall, I was staying at POP, which tends to be the most popular value resort, and since my sister and I are paying for this trip, any help we can get financially we want it! It means we can spend more money while we're there!!! So I was going back and forth with Todd (but mostly, myself!) about calling Monday morning, booking a seperate trip with Disney now and calling for Free dining on Monday....all these different scenarios going on (in my head!). I decided to see what Disney would quote me now for the same package on Sunday night (about 9:30 p.m) and it was only $50 more than AAA now (weird!!!!),so I booked it! So now I had TWO trips to Disney planned for the 3 of us for the same time at the same place...ugh! My plan was to get up early on Monday (as if I have a choice anyways with three little ones at home....lol!) and try my hardest to get free dining....

I was up at 6 a.m. sharp, turned my computer on to see if any codes had been posted by my very special DIS friends, checked out the Disney website and saw NOTHING! But by 6:45 a.m with rumors flying, it was finally out there. I called at 6:49, no answer, again at 6:52, no answer, and then at 6:59 a.m. I was connected,on hold, but connected!!!! Woohoo!! In the meantime, each boy was getting up slowly but surely....uh oh...the house would not be so quiet by the time I connected.....

I got a not very excitable CM on the line (maybe he hadn't had his coffee??) and asked to have free dining applied to my (newest!) ressie, and sure enough, I GOT FREE DINING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I actually let out a scream of delight! We're saving almost $450 by getting this, that's huge!!!! Yay me!!!

So, what did my TA at AAA find out for me? Well, by 10:15, I hadn't heard from her, so I sent her a quick email asking what she found out, she got the same quote as me, as since there were no advantages of keeping AAA now, I asked that that trip be cancelled. I felt kind of bad, but I was saving no extra money by staying with AAA and now I felt more in control of things, especially now that I had free dining and wanted to be sure come the 90 ADR window, I could call myself and get what I wanted or make decisions on the phone instead of waiting to hear back from her. Plus, the last two trips were booked through Disney direct and I'm confident with how things work. So I'm a very happy camper to say the least and for the record, Jodi and Todd are thrilled, too!!!!!!!!!!!

Stay tuned to see what our plan of attack (as of now!) will be....

 

[Lady Lallie]

I don't think I could give up control of my Disney reservation, which is why I have never rented DVC points either. Good for you for getting Free Dining! That is so exciting, what a great savings too!

 

[SoonerGirl]

I'm with ya Kristen! I have to have control too, I'd be a nervous wreck letting someone else take care of things for me

Congrats on getting free dining! I have a friend who also called Monday morning and booked her trip, the CM she talked to said that online ADRs should be up and running by the time her 90 day window opened up, so keep an eye out for that. It would be so much easier to make them online instead of having to sit on hold forever, and ever, and ever, and ever........

 

[princess&her4princes]

I don't think I could give up control of my Disney reservation, which is why I have never rented DVC points either. Good for you for getting Free Dining! That is so exciting, what a great savings too!

Thanks, LL, glad I'm not the only one with control issues...lol!! I'm psyched that I got FD!! It's a huge savings....the reality of it is, it will most likely go back to Disney one way or another, right? LOL!!

I'm with ya Kristen! I have to have control too, I'd be a nervous wreck letting someone else take care of things for me

Congrats on getting free dining! I have a friend who also called Monday morning and booked her trip, the CM she talked to said that online ADRs should be up and running by the time her 90 day window opened up, so keep an eye out for that. It would be so much easier to make them online instead of having to sit on hold forever, and ever, and ever, and ever........

Thank you!!! Hmm....online ADR's..never heard of that!! How did I miss that? Fill me in when you get a minute...haven't even head of that on the boards...I'm missing out on something good!!!!!!!!!

 

[SoonerGirl]

Thank you!!! Hmm....online ADR's..never heard of that!! How did I miss that? Fill me in when you get a minute...haven't even head of that on the boards...I'm missing out on something good!!!!!!!!!

I don't know any specifics, I think it's just something Disney has "in the works". I've seen it mentioned a few times on the Restaurants board, although I don't know how it's going to work or when it's going to be up and running. It's something to watch out for though

 

[Dylan_&_Blake's_mom]

Yay on the free dining. Glad that it worked out for you. Sound like you had a lot going on in your head with the different scenarios like I did. Maybe we an relax a little bit more now and plan all the fun details. Can't wait to hear more about it. Congrats on saving the money...that is a huge difference.

 

[kimmylaj]

i too am a disney control freak...about 5 trips ago my dh and i booked a trip to disney (first trip my mom didnt book for me) and i went to a travel agent. we booked port orleans well i had just started my true info seeking obsession online and i saw that it was going to be partially closed for renovations (this was right after 9/11). anyway i said if they are doing construction i dont wan to stay there so i started researching and found out that swan and dolphin offered a teacher/nurse discount. since we are both teachers i called to check the rate and they said 109 a night. now i knew it was not true disney but it was a good deal for boat transportation and e ride nights were good there so i went to travel agent and asked her to change ressie. she insistedc there was no such thing. i asked her to look into it and call me back. she did and said it did not exist. i became annoyed and went in with my internet printouts. she said this was rumor and not true. i insisted she call while i was there. she refused and told me that she could no longer handle my travel plans since i was so controlling ( me controlling haha she should see me now with my disboard knowledge) the thing that was terrible is the airfare was still thru them since we didnt want to cancel and pay rebooking fees so when our tickets came in like 3 days before we were to leave the flight was changed from 7:00 am to noon. that was horrible for an overplanner like me i was ballistic. i drove to the airport that day to fight with the ticket agents and convinced them to change me to a flight the night before and not pay a rebooking fee. sure it cost me an extra hotel night but in fuzzy disney math it was more than worth it for a full day in the park. so the moral of this long and very convuluted story is good for you, those of us that are controlling just do better doing it on our own. sorry for hijacking your thread cant wait to hear more

 

[catherines_mama]

I'm here! I'm here! Cannot wait to read more.

POP is so much fun! And you HAVE to request the decade that your mom most misses from growing up. I think that'd be fun for her.

Congrats on Free Dining, I'm SO jealous!! But they'll never make it avail for June, that's for sure! LOL

can't wait to hear more planning!

 

[Lynn5700]

WOO HOO!! YAY for free Dining!!!!!

 

[princess&her4princes]

I don't know any specifics, I think it's just something Disney has "in the works". I've seen it mentioned a few times on the Restaurants board, although I don't know how it's going to work or when it's going to be up and running. It's something to watch out for though

Thanks for giving me a heads up, I will keep my eyes open for that, sounds great!!!

Yay on the free dining. Glad that it worked out for you. Sound like you had a lot going on in your head with the different scenarios like I did. Maybe we an relax a little bit more now and plan all the fun details. Can't wait to hear more about it. Congrats on saving the money...that is a huge difference.

Hey Tracy, thanks!!! Yes, you can totally relate to the scenarios you have going on in your head....but it worked out and yes, we can relax some and work on all the fun planning now. Yay!!!!!

i too am a disney control freak...about 5 trips ago my dh and i booked a trip to disney (first trip my mom didnt book for me) and i went to a travel agent. we booked port orleans well i had just started my true info seeking obsession online and i saw that it was going to be partially closed for renovations (this was right after 9/11). anyway i said if they are doing construction i dont wan to stay there so i started researching and found out that swan and dolphin offered a teacher/nurse discount. since we are both teachers i called to check the rate and they said 109 a night. now i knew it was not true disney but it was a good deal for boat transportation and e ride nights were good there so i went to travel agent and asked her to change ressie. she insistedc there was no such thing. i asked her to look into it and call me back. she did and said it did not exist. i became annoyed and went in with my internet printouts. she said this was rumor and not true. i insisted she call while i was there. she refused and told me that she could no longer handle my travel plans since i was so controlling ( me controlling haha she should see me now with my disboard knowledge) the thing that was terrible is the airfare was still thru them since we didnt want to cancel and pay rebooking fees so when our tickets came in like 3 days before we were to leave the flight was changed from 7:00 am to noon. that was horrible for an overplanner like me i was ballistic. i drove to the airport that day to fight with the ticket agents and convinced them to change me to a flight the night before and not pay a rebooking fee. sure it cost me an extra hotel night but in fuzzy disney math it was more than worth it for a full day in the park. so the moral of this long and very convuluted story is good for you, those of us that are controlling just do better doing it on our own. sorry for hijacking your thread cant wait to hear more

Hi! Wow, I can't believe that TA treated you like that!!! But you're right, you need to stick to your guns and do what you think is right and we DIS'ers have a lot of info so we're a bit more knowledgable than some TA's think!!! I'm with you, I would have thought that the extra day in Disney was worth the savings, too!!! Good for you!!!!!

I'm here! I'm here! Cannot wait to read more.

POP is so much fun! And you HAVE to request the decade that your mom most misses from growing up. I think that'd be fun for her.

Congrats on Free Dining, I'm SO jealous!! But they'll never make it avail for June, that's for sure! LOL

can't wait to hear more planning!

Hi!! Thanks for coming on over!!!That's a great idea about seeing what decade Mom misses most and see if we can request that. She did mention something today about being close to the computer pool (she's doing her research, yay, Mom!!!) so I'll have to check it out when time gets closer. I didn't get a preferred room this time, didn't want to put out the extra money this time since we're all healthy and can walk just fine but not sure where we should request now!!!

Thanks for the congrats on FD! That is huge!!!! I'm so excited I got it!!!!

WOO HOO!! YAY for free Dining!!!!!

Yay, free dining is right, thanks Lynn!!!!!!

 

[princess&her4princes]

Hi everyone!!

It's a dreary day here in MA, pouring down rain and just icky....not sure what happened to the gorgeous Spring like weather we had earlier this week.....my yard is turning into a mud pit!!! Not completely the rains fault, we had 17 trees taken out last week and today they started fencing the backyard in so I can keep my boys in the yard to play. I'm SO excited....slowly but surely, things are coming together!!! It will make my life SO much easier with the fence so they kids can play and if I want to just run into the house fast to throw dinner in the over or whatever I don't have to worry about them. Yay!!!

Anyways, I wanted to let you know it's going to be a few days before I update again, most likely. I'm heading to VA to see a very old and dear friend for the weekend, ALONE!!!! If any of you are stay at home Mom's, I know you will appreciate that!!! I go once a year to see my friend, Maria, and we do all sorts of girly things...lunch, manicures, pedicures, shopping...none of which any of the men in my life enjoy!! So it's wonderful, plus Maria and I have been friends since we were 12 so we have lots to chat about. It's really fun!!! I may have a chance to update a bit tomorrow, but not sure, depends on how the day goes here and I still need to pack!! It's going to be close to 70 there this weekend, a huge difference from the 40 & 50's here!! So I have to dig out some clothes and get that done, too. If I can, I'll do a quick one but in the meantime, I hope you stick around with me and I promise there is more to come and soon!!!

Have a great weekend!!!!! ttys!
Kristen

 

[ckdsnynt]

Oh my gosh! you and your sister look so much like your mother! Especially comparing how you look today to how she looked in the picture taken back in the 80's! I can't wait to read about your trip! It sounds like so much fun! I only have one daughter but what a fun time it would be to have a girls trip only. Not that I don't enjoy having my DH along!

 

[Dylan_&_Blake's_mom]

Hey Kristen! I know what you mean about the fence in the backyard. We did that a few years ago and I couldn't be happier about it, especially since I had a daycare at the time. It really does make it so much more relaxing when you are out there. Now that we have Coley I'm loving it even more cause I don't have to worry about him darting off around the house.

Have fun on your trip. I can imagine how much fun that would be. I've never done anything like that. All I've ever really done is a meal out with a friend or like yesterday I went out for lunch w/my mom, her sister (and her daughter), my grandma (and her daughter). It was really nice to have some alone time to catch up with girl talk. We'll be here when you get back.

 

[A's Princess]

Okay now I have fence and girls weekend envy! LOL! Have a great time!

 

[LaurenMic]

Hi Kristen! I'm so happy I found your PTR, I'm sorry I am behind but life gets in the way of my Dis addiction lately Your trip sounds like it is going to be so fun! I love the wedding pictures, you are gorgeous!! That is awesome about free dining. Can't wait to hear all about your plans

 

[princess&her4princes]

Oh my gosh! you and your sister look so much like your mother! Especially comparing how you look today to how she looked in the picture taken back in the 80's! I can't wait to read about your trip! It sounds like so much fun! I only have one daughter but what a fun time it would be to have a girls trip only. Not that I don't enjoy having my DH along!

Hi!! Thanks for joining along!!! I know, it's pretty scarey how much we all look alike, isn't it? People have always said that.....good, bad and indifferent, I"ll know what I'll always look like in 23 years!! LOL!! There is NO mistaken that we're family!!!! As much as I'm looking forward to this trip alone with the girls, I'm seriously feeling guilty about leaving all my boys home, trust me, I"ll get over it the second I get there...but pretty sure I'll have some moments where I'll wish they were with me!!! But what a dream come true....this trip is SO special in so many ways for all of us...it's been years since we've had this much down time together and my Mom is turning 60....10 years from now, she may not be able to make a trip like this, you know? These memories will be priceless for me!!!! I hope you'll get to do something like this with your DD someday....

Hey Kristen! I know what you mean about the fence in the backyard. We did that a few years ago and I couldn't be happier about it, especially since I had a daycare at the time. It really does make it so much more relaxing when you are out there. Now that we have Coley I'm loving it even more cause I don't have to worry about him darting off around the house.

Have fun on your trip. I can imagine how much fun that would be. I've never done anything like that. All I've ever really done is a meal out with a friend or like yesterday I went out for lunch w/my mom, her sister (and her daughter), my grandma (and her daughter). It was really nice to have some alone time to catch up with girl talk. We'll be here when you get back.

It's almost done, I can't wait for it to be done and then we can have peace of mind. The boys are SO good, but you know when you need to run in to get a tissue or something (or change a diaper!), I hate having to make everyone come in and they don't like it either. It will make a huge difference in my life, my neighborhood is very safe and my street is pretty quiet (minus the teenagers and buses), it's nice to have boundries for these monkeys!!!!

Your lunch sounds great! I'm looking forward to flying off tonight to see my friend, I always have reservations traveling alone without my family (I should say fear!!), I'm always afraid something will happen to me and we won't be all together, so I'm a little nervous. But it's so nice once I get there and have that down time (and girl time, too!!).

Thanks for sticking around...may do a quick update this a.m. We'll see....ttys!!

Okay now I have fence and girls weekend envy! LOL! Have a great time!

LOL!!! Sorry.....aren't I a lucky girl this week or what!!!? Thanks!!!!!!

Hi Kristen! I'm so happy I found your PTR, I'm sorry I am behind but life gets in the way of my Dis addiction lately Your trip sounds like it is going to be so fun! I love the wedding pictures, you are gorgeous!! That is awesome about free dining. Can't wait to hear all about your plans

Yay Lauren! Thanks for finding me!!!!!I hear you, DIS can take up a lot of time in your life....don't worry about it, we're not going anywhere but it's nice to hear from you every once in awhile, too!! I know, yay for FD!!!

Hope to update again this a.m....no promises, the laundry is going , the bills are up to date this a.m. and I just did some cleaning....oh and the boys are playing SO nice....so we'll see.....

Have a great weekend if I dont' get a chance to write.....ttys!!

 

[princess&her4princes]

So, I stole this idea from my friend (with her permission, of course!!), LL, she did this with her Mom and I thought it was a great idea....so, thanks again, LL!!

I've marked Jodi as "J" and Mom and "M" for the answers, Jodi assures me she is excited but by her comments, by reading them, you would never know that, lol!! She's obviously not as big a talker as I am!! Mom did her research..she may be a DIS'er in making!!!!! Enjoy!!

Are there any attractions that you would like to do for sure?

J:I would love to do the classics in the Magic Kingdom. Anything you can think of... In Epcot there is not one specific thing... I just want to do it all.

M:In the Magic Kingdom, I’d like to see Hall of Presidents, Small World (of course!!) Splash Mountain, Big Thunder, the Haunted Mansion (?), and maybe Peter Pan’s flight -Not really sure, but the book says it’s good.

In Epcot-I’d like to do ‘Soarin', Spaceship Earth, Mission-Space, and I”ve never done the Test Track, and would maybe like to give that a try, though I know it’s very popular. I”d also like to do the Energy pavilion, and some countries-maybe Canada, Norway, and just poke around in some shops, etc.

-In MGM, I would like to do the Tower of Terror, the Great Movie Ride and not sure what else is there that caught my eye, but maybe you guys have some things?? Is that where the Brown Derby is??


Are you interested in fireworks?
J:If we happen to be in the area it would be nice maybe once.

M:As far as fireworks go, I”ve seen them a couple of times, but I’m game if you want to see them again. I’m not sure I have to see Illuminations, and every light show there is, but if you wanted to do that one night, that’s fine.

How late do you want to stay out in the parks??
J: Until we're tired???

M:Not sure how late I want to stay at the parks, guess it depends on what we get covered, right?? I wouldn’t mind also wandering around the Boardwalk one night, or the Grand Floridian, Downtown Disney, etc.- and doing stuff like that early evenings, too

Are you going to want to get up early for rope drop (9AM)?
J: Does rope drop mean when the park opens? If yes, I could care less but I do want to get there not much later than that.

Moes this mean mass hysteria breaking down the walls?? LOLL I could pass on that, but do want to get our day going so we cover whatever it is is important to each of us, and all of us. 9 a.m. isn’t so bad.

Is there anything else you would like to see/do/avoid?
J:No
M:A couple of things I noted when going through the book (again) Seems if we request a room near the lobby, we are closer to the bus stop to come and go, rather than a building further away. Is that a done deal already? There was also a comment about being nearer the ‘computer’ pool, that it was a bit quieter than other areas with small children and families, so maybe that might also be a consideration for us? As mentioned, I wouldn’t mind wandering around the Boardwalk, maybe taking a Wagon Ride at Fort Wilderness (anyone do this before??), eating at Raglan Road, taking a ferry boat ride across the lagoon, and even just riding around the monorail to see the sights and go have a drink somewhere. I’m easy (I think!!) and just enjoying some balmy nights with my girls, relaxing after a busy day walking around in the heat, something like that might be fun, too??

I've got lots to plan....I've come up with a plan of attack for each day, along with dining....I"ll post that next time, I need some help with it, so will be looking for some good input then!!! Have a great weekend everyone!!!!