Relly, Rora, and Brelle! Mar 2012 PTR *NEW* FREAKING OUT! 4 DAYS? TOO MUCH TO DO!

[oopsiDAISY]

Awesome! I'm so excited to fly this time - a little giddy! That 1,000 mile drive isn't undoable - we've done it. But this time we would be leaving WDW at 2-3am, driving STRAIGHT through (all 1,000 miles) with two kids, and then my daughter would have school the next day. It just isn't responsible for us to do that to her, and we didn't want to cut a day off our trip.

Yeah that would have been TOUGH!!! Our kids will be on Spring Break when we get home, and DH and I have even taken 2 extra days off from work so that we can have a 4 day weekend to recoup when we get back.

 

[mom2maggie]

Oh, how I wish we could have timed it that way - if we take the week before or after any of her breaks (fall break, Christmas break, Spring break) then the absences are UNexcused. But if we take her out on a random week not close to her scheduled breaks, I can submit a form for them to be excused! Makes NO sense to me!

 

[Lidian]

Oh, how I wish we could have timed it that way - if we take the week before or after any of her breaks (fall break, Christmas break, Spring break) then the absences are UNexcused. But if we take her out on a random week not close to her scheduled breaks, I can submit a form for them to be excused! Makes NO sense to me!

Any absences due to vacation are considered UNexcused, regardless of when they are taken, or why at the local schools.

But I can see both sides to yours ... it was that way at the office I last worked in ... If you missed near a Holiday weekend when the office would be closed, you were written up. I think it's a bit much ... but some people NEED or want a jump start on their vacation. I think that as long as plenty of notice is given, it should be accommodated for ... but I don't argue the rules. I just hear them out, whine about it in my head, make happy, and move on.

(My kiddos will be missing a couple of days because their Spring Break is the following week, but they have several inservice days the week we are going -- so it's a short week for them, and it's my Spring Break. They're still young enough that I can help them with assignments and teach them missed lessons. I will be getting with their teachers and asking for lesson plans on what they'll miss -- even if they won't receive credit for the work. Just because they won't get credit for it, doesn't mean they shouldn't learn the material.)

 

[oopsiDAISY]

(My kiddos will be missing a couple of days because their Spring Break is the following week, but they have several inservice days the week we are going -- so it's a short week for them, and it's my Spring Break. They're still young enough that I can help them with assignments and teach them missed lessons. I will be getting with their teachers and asking for lesson plans on what they'll miss -- even if they won't receive credit for the work. Just because they won't get credit for it, doesn't mean they shouldn't learn the material.)

My kids will miss two days of school before Spring Break...I have checked and both schools (oldest DD goes to public Jr. High and youngest 2 go to Christian elementary) are going to let them have excused absences!!! All three kids go to small schools, so they work with parents more on these things...a great blessing!

 

[Lidian]

My kids will miss two days of school before Spring Break...I have checked and both schools (oldest DD goes to public Jr. High and youngest 2 go to Christian elementary) are going to let them have excused absences!!! All three kids go to small schools, so they work with parents more on these things...a great blessing!

That's awesome oopsiDAISY!!! I'm glad your schools are sprinkling some early pixie dust!

 

[mom2maggie]

So I'm worried! We applied for (and were approved) for the Southwest card, so we get 50,000 points to use. But we have to wait until our first statement and for them to show up in our account....which from the information that I'm getting could be anywhere from 5-8 weeks! Ack! That puts us mid-January before we can purchase our airfare. So I'm worried that A. there won't be flights that are in a decent price range and B. the flights left will be at undesirable times. Right now there is a flight that leaves Indy at 805am and arrives in Orlando at 1020am, nonstop. That is PERFECT. But I'm worried that it will be gone by the time we have the points to purchase!

I'm also worried that I won't have the flight information in time to tell Disney about our Magical Express needs for the flight back. We won't be using it for the flight there, but for the flight back we will. Do they need a lot of advance notice?

In other news, I'm trying to figure out my camera situation. I'm a photographer by trade - but normally I'm taking family portraits Something different that the pictures I take at Disney. The lenses I normally use for work aren't going to cut it for Disney, because I don't want to be switching out lenses or camera bodies all the time. I just don't want to carry all that equipment around. So I'm trying to decide if the one zoom I have will just be enough or what. I also need to send off my Canon 5d to Canon so it can be cleaned and checked, and so the mirror can be replaced (it was recalled).

The girls are getting excited about Disney - Maggie even said she would ride on Haunted Mansion with me....but NOT TOWER OF TERROR. She keeps stressing that. Oh, and I'm also going to be buying some noise cancelling ear protection for Maggie (and maybe Josie). Fireworks are WAY too loud for her, and she doesn't enjoy them at all. She loves to look at them, but we need a solution for the noise. We've tried the earplugs, but she didn't like the way they got caught in her hair. So I'm going the earmuff route, and I think that will work great. I'm getting these:

 

[oopsiDAISY]

So I'm worried! We applied for (and were approved) for the Southwest card, so we get 50,000 points to use. But we have to wait until our first statement and for them to show up in our account....which from the information that I'm getting could be anywhere from 5-8 weeks! Ack! That puts us mid-January before we can purchase our airfare. So I'm worried that A. there won't be flights that are in a decent price range and B. the flights left will be at undesirable times. Right now there is a flight that leaves Indy at 805am and arrives in Orlando at 1020am, nonstop. That is PERFECT. But I'm worried that it will be gone by the time we have the points to purchase!

I'm also worried that I won't have the flight information in time to tell Disney about our Magical Express needs for the flight back. We won't be using it for the flight there, but for the flight back we will. Do they need a lot of advance notice?

I am interested in the answer to the ME question as well. We too applied for the SW card, but have not gotten word if we are approved yet. Should be interesting to see if everything works out for you and for us.

 

[mom2maggie]

Well, its official! We're flying! We knew that the Rapid Rewards would only cover one way of the flight - either the flight down or the return flight. There was ONE flight that we wanted for our trip down - leaving 805am, nonstop, arriving in Orlando at 1020am - PERFECT! The rest had lengthy layovers, and switching planes - and Keith doesn't like the ascent or descent of flights anyway. So the thought of doing it double was just NOT on his happy list. So we decided that rather than risk that flight selling out for that price, or that the prices would go up significantly, we went ahead and booked - at a pretty good rate! $125/each! So we'll be arriving in Orlando at 1020am, will rent a car and then drive down to our hotel at Downtown Disney (the Wyndham Lake Buena Vista Resort). We'll check in, hopefully get into our room, and then go over to DTD for lunch. We'll have the luxury of being able to come back after playing at DTD and get Josie down for a nap, and then be able to go back to DTD for dinner! We can be well rested the day before our ACTUAL vacation starts

I'm just SO thrilled - now we just have to find a flight back. I guess staying at Disney forever isn't a option, right?

 

[Lidian]

Well, its official! We're flying! We knew that the Rapid Rewards would only cover one way of the flight - either the flight down or the return flight. There was ONE flight that we wanted for our trip down - leaving 805am, nonstop, arriving in Orlando at 1020am - PERFECT! The rest had lengthy layovers, and switching planes - and Keith doesn't like the ascent or descent of flights anyway. So the thought of doing it double was just NOT on his happy list. So we decided that rather than risk that flight selling out for that price, or that the prices would go up significantly, we went ahead and booked - at a pretty good rate! $125/each! So we'll be arriving in Orlando at 1020am, will rent a car and then drive down to our hotel at Downtown Disney (the Wyndham Lake Buena Vista Resort). We'll check in, hopefully get into our room, and then go over to DTD for lunch. We'll have the luxury of being able to come back after playing at DTD and get Josie down for a nap, and then be able to go back to DTD for dinner! We can be well rested the day before our ACTUAL vacation starts

I'm just SO thrilled - now we just have to find a flight back. I guess staying at Disney forever isn't a option, right?

for getting your flight booked! Grats!!

 

[sjs314]

Well, its official! We're flying! We knew that the Rapid Rewards would only cover one way of the flight - either the flight down or the return flight. There was ONE flight that we wanted for our trip down - leaving 805am, nonstop, arriving in Orlando at 1020am - PERFECT! The rest had lengthy layovers, and switching planes - and Keith doesn't like the ascent or descent of flights anyway. So the thought of doing it double was just NOT on his happy list. So we decided that rather than risk that flight selling out for that price, or that the prices would go up significantly, we went ahead and booked - at a pretty good rate! $125/each! So we'll be arriving in Orlando at 1020am, will rent a car and then drive down to our hotel at Downtown Disney (the Wyndham Lake Buena Vista Resort). We'll check in, hopefully get into our room, and then go over to DTD for lunch. We'll have the luxury of being able to come back after playing at DTD and get Josie down for a nap, and then be able to go back to DTD for dinner! We can be well rested the day before our ACTUAL vacation starts

I'm just SO thrilled - now we just have to find a flight back. I guess staying at Disney forever isn't a option, right?

Congrates on booking your flights down!

 

[oopsiDAISY]

YAY!!! Congratulations on booking your flight!!!

 

[mom2maggie]

Now we have to choose where to eat at DTD that first night. We've never eaten table service at DTD before, except for Wolfgang Puck Cafe - any recommendations?

 

[Lidian]

Now we have to choose where to eat at DTD that first night. We've never eaten table service at DTD before, except for Wolfgang Puck Cafe - any recommendations?

I'm an avid fan of WGP.

(Granted, RFC is delish, but not currently on the DDP.)

 

[oopsiDAISY]

Yeah, the ones I have heard are good are: RFC, T-Rex and Ragland Road. None are on the DDP YET, but maybe that will change at the first of the year... Another suggestion would be to take the boat to POR to try out Boatwright's Dining Hall.

 

[Lidian]

Yeah, the ones I have heard are good are: RFC, T-Rex and Ragland Road. None are on the DDP YET, but maybe that will change at the first of the year... Another suggestion would be to take the boat to POR to try out Boatwright's Dining Hall.

Raglan Road is on the DDP. My mom and aunt ate there in 2009 and had a blast (i.e. they boozed it up). We originally had ADRs for RR for our May trip, but changed it to ... something. I forgot.

But there is a rumor that RFC and T-Rex could make their way onto the DDP ... but it's just a rumor. Nothing more, nothing less. And quite frankly, I don't recall where I heard it from ... so it could have been my cat who told me.

 

[mom2maggie]

Got our return flights booked! On a hunch I checked Southwest's site, and saw that THE flight we wanted (nonstop, in the afternoon) had come down in price - enough that we have the points to cover it in full. So we booked! I'm glad that all the flights are booked now...one less thing to worry about. We do still have a rental car situation to figure out.
Here is our dilemma!

From Orlando MCO, we have to figure out a way to get to our hotel in DTD, and then a way to get to Coronado Springs the next day. We have very early reservations at Crystal Palace our first day, so we will have to check into CSR very early so we can get our KTTW cards. We thought about renting a car at MCO, then keeping it until the next day after we check into CSR - I am going to leave our hotel at DTD early in the morning, drive over to CSR and check in and get the KTTW cards, drive back to DTD and get the fam, drive BACK to CSR and get on a bus for the MK to get to our Crystal Palace breakfast. We then have reservations that night for Whispering Canyon Cafe, and thought having a car would make it easier to get there, so we thought about keeping it until the next morning. But we don't want to spend a lot of money on a rental car that will just sit there either - we primarily use Disney Transportation.

We thought about renting a taxi from the airport to our DTD hotel, but then we would be stuck with no way to get to CSR to check in and get our KTTW cards for our Crystal Palace breakfast. Decisions!

 

[Lidian]

Got our return flights booked! On a hunch I checked Southwest's site, and saw that THE flight we wanted (nonstop, in the afternoon) had come down in price - enough that we have the points to cover it in full. So we booked! I'm glad that all the flights are booked now...one less thing to worry about. We do still have a rental car situation to figure out.
Here is our dilemma!

From Orlando MCO, we have to figure out a way to get to our hotel in DTD, and then a way to get to Coronado Springs the next day. We have very early reservations at Crystal Palace our first day, so we will have to check into CSR very early so we can get our KTTW cards. We thought about renting a car at MCO, then keeping it until the next day after we check into CSR - I am going to leave our hotel at DTD early in the morning, drive over to CSR and check in and get the KTTW cards, drive back to DTD and get the fam, drive BACK to CSR and get on a bus for the MK to get to our Crystal Palace breakfast. We then have reservations that night for Whispering Canyon Cafe, and thought having a car would make it easier to get there, so we thought about keeping it until the next morning. But we don't want to spend a lot of money on a rental car that will just sit there either - we primarily use Disney Transportation.

We thought about renting a taxi from the airport to our DTD hotel, but then we would be stuck with no way to get to CSR to check in and get our KTTW cards for our Crystal Palace breakfast. Decisions!

I dunno taxi prices ... but if it was me, I'd probably just taxi my way the first couple of days. You can get a taxi from your DTD hotel to CSR (just ask the front desk to call you one, or tell them you need one there at a certain time -- or call one yourself from your room). But honestly, I'd just get a taxi and make one trip instead of the back and forth. (But that's just me.)

Maybe you should call and get some quotes and see which one is cheaper?

OH!! And grats on getting all your airfare booked!

 

[DMGeurts]

I can't believe I've missed your PTR! I am totally in... Not to mention, we are in the same parks on 3/7, 3/8 and 3/9... even have some of the same ADRs! So, we totally need to meet!

I have to work today, so I am in a rush to get moving, but I will take the time to go through your PTR tomorrow and post my comments... LOL I am sure Liddy will tell you they aren't worth much - but oh well.

Super excited to have another PTR to follow from March 2012!

D~

 

[Lidian]

I can't believe I've missed your PTR! I am totally in... Not to mention, we are in the same parks on 3/7, 3/8 and 3/9... even have some of the same ADRs! So, we totally need to meet!

I have to work today, so I am in a rush to get moving, but I will take the time to go through your PTR tomorrow and post my comments... LOL I am sure Liddy will tell you they aren't worth much - but oh well.

Super excited to have another PTR to follow from March 2012!

D~

Oh noes! It's D! Everyone hide!

 

[mom2maggie]

I dunno taxi prices ... but if it was me, I'd probably just taxi my way the first couple of days. You can get a taxi from your DTD hotel to CSR (just ask the front desk to call you one, or tell them you need one there at a certain time -- or call one yourself from your room). But honestly, I'd just get a taxi and make one trip instead of the back and forth. (But that's just me.)

Maybe you should call and get some quotes and see which one is cheaper?

OH!! And grats on getting all your airfare booked!

Do taxis run 24hrs/day? I've only used a taxi once in my life - so I'm pretty clueless. The back and forth was so that Keith could get the girls ready while I was checking in, so they could sleep a little more. Otherwise I'd be waking up my 2 year old at 4am so she could go sit in the lobby while I check in, which might be pretty ugly for the other guests.

I can't believe I've missed your PTR! I am totally in... Not to mention, we are in the same parks on 3/7, 3/8 and 3/9... even have some of the same ADRs! So, we totally need to meet!

I have to work today, so I am in a rush to get moving, but I will take the time to go through your PTR tomorrow and post my comments... LOL I am sure Liddy will tell you they aren't worth much - but oh well.

Super excited to have another PTR to follow from March 2012!

D~

YAY! Hi! We totally need to meet up - it is destiny!