September 2011 - We are going to Disney World {THIS MONTH}! (Third Thread)

[janabananas]

Maelstrom, with PoC second. Actually, 2 of my favorite rides as a kid aren't there anymore--20,000 leagues under the sea and my absolute favorite, Horizons. Yes, I am a nerd.

Those were two of my favs before they were replaced/shut down. Taking a mini walk down memory lane now. My uncle took me on all of my Disney trips as a kid and he is a huge science nerd (he is a science teacher) and he introduced me to my love of science and all things sci fi as well. Thank for the reminder of times past.

 

[mickeymouseclubhouse]

ThereYouSeeHer: Welcome Back!!!!

Your girls are gorgeous and it looks like you had a wonderful time!

The Dream looks A-Mazing! We would love to do a cruise sometime!

 

[haven_alise1997]

I can not imagine riding the Teacups 40 times.... or TOT
but I'm doing the Ride Counter and going to keep track! I think 40x
I would do Soaring at Epcot, The Safari at AK, HM at MK and TSM at DHS.

Awesome pic's of your trip and hope to hear more updates soon!

 

[MamaJessie]

ThereYouSeeHer

Our first report back!!

Your girls are beautiful Can't wait to read more about it.

 

[sparks19]

We're at 19 days also. Just ordered a router off Amazon to try and set up a wireless connection in our room. We're there almost 2 weeks and as DVC owners we get free internet. (I know we've already paid for it but it will seem free at the time.)
I think the rides we would go on again and again would be Soarin, Test Track, Haunted Mansion, and TOT. Of course we like most all of the rides and will go on them again and again depending on the wait time.

Wait.. what? really? DVC gets free internet? I did not know that LOL we are DVC

 

[L-Harper]

We just got home about 2 hours ago, and the trip was amazing!

Welcome back!!! I can't wait to hear more about your trip! It looks like you guys had an amazing time!

 

[BorkBorkBork]

Welcome back, ThereYouSeeHer!! Your first few pics look amazing & your girls so happy! I'm glad you had a fabulous trip and can't wait to hear/see more about it.

 

[Smile4Me]

Just remembered another souvenir I am going to get and it is free!! I have had the Disney Visa for many years but keep forgetting the special Meet and Greet at Epcot. This time I am not going to forget! The meet and greet is at Epcot in Innovations West from 1:30-4:30 pm and you get a free 5 x 7 picture. This time I am getting my free picture!

Thanks for the reminder! Tomorrow or Wednesday I will be getting the update of rewards I have and putting them on my rewards card too!

It's crazy because I'm typically a big over packer, so this shocked me. I just didn't want to have to pay another $40 for another checked bag.

Don't forget to make sure it meets the weight requirements too ! That is a big challenge for us and the charges for extra weight are ridiculous as well!

At the risk of being flamed, I have got to ask a question that no one on the DISboards seems to speak.... what the heck is so special about Toy Story Mania? I see on the Lines app that there is a massive wait for this ride every day, and all of the FPs are normally gone by noon. But, when I watched the YouTube ride video, I just kind of went, Is that it? The cue looks more interesting than the ride to me! Is it really good enough to send everyone at RD running for the back of the parK?

Do you like video games of any kind? It is an interactive videogame that takes the form of 4D carnival games like popping balloons, throwing darts, ring toss etc. You can compete against your neighbors score or against yourself each time you play! I love this game!!

Funny story that this talk about line waiting times has made me think of...

On our first trip in 06, pre disboards/guidebooks/experience or advice, DH, dd ds and I were fortunate and had no waits at AK,DHS and most of our time at MK. We came across a ride with a 20 minute wait (which we found long because we had been spoiled ) but we wanted to try it, it sounded good. So we waited for the Jungle Cruise. We had no idea it was animatronics and that the jokes were intentionally corny, we just thought we had a snarky kid on a bad day. DH and I couldn't get over that we had no wait for a real safari at AK the day before, and waited 20 minute for some snotty teenager. Joke was on us when I finally got my hands on a guide book

MamaJessie, your story reminded me of when my boss brought his family a couple years ago. They went to AK first and then MK and had been on the real safari before Jungle Cruise. They were really disappointed with the Jungle Cruise after the fact...which I completely understand but there are parts of the Jungle Cruise I just love like the elephants playing in the water! To each their own!

Lol that makes me think of a fun question for everyone to help pass the time - being the 40th anniversary, if you could, which ride would you ride 40 times - mine would be the Teacups!

Toy Story Midway Mania for me and my bf said Splash Mountain.
Great question!

Can't believe we are so close, I haven't been on since midlast week due to school, going to hte opening college football game at UW-Madison, and we had our housewarming party this last weekend. It rained all day Saturday,,,but has been beautiful the rest of the weekend!! We had a great party despite the weather! The morning of the party, I got a call from the president of our local community college with information about a job opening he wants me to apply to! Very exciting so I'm getting my resume updated! Its good news all around because my boyfriend just accepted a position in the town we live in, eliminating his 30 minute commute each way! After being away from the boards I had 13 pages to catch up on and soo many people have left on their trips! So excited for everyone! Can't wait to hear all about the trips!

Gotta get all my school work done in advance, packing done (cleaning it out of the way since we did it all for the party!), drink orders in, and gonna do online check in the next couple days! Have a great week everyone!!

 

[RFrank9504]

T minus 2 hours 30 mins!

I wanna thank Ms. Harper for keeping up and starting and continuing this amazing thread! This was by far the best thread I've ever been on! You have all been so supportive helping me plan, plot, and post things for my trip! I thank you all my Dis September friends.

Got up 45 min early to finish the very last of the house chores before we get the kids up and off to school.

Until next week....

I'm off to Disney World......

 

[JewelsG]

Thereyouseeher - looks like you had a blast - can hardly wait to leave for our trip... kids still don't know... don't know how we've managed it since January... DD is back to school today... less than 3 weeks for us....

 

[amandals2007]

2 days!!!! =)

 

[janabananas]

2 DAY BANANA DANCE!!!

Today will be my "clean everything (house, car, laundry) day."

Tomorrow will be my "do nothing but relax and get my mani-pedi and pack last minute stuff day."

I doubt it will work out like this but here's to hoping.

Have a great trip RFrank9504!!

 

[ShhhQ]

ps thankful for Musinex DM!!!!

 

[peachydreamyxx]

ThereYouSeeHer loved the pictures! I hope to one day go on a Disney cruise, but right now I just cant justify the price Your picture of Magic Kingdom done up in the fall decorations made me so anxious to go! I cant wait!!

 

[ThereYouSeeHer]

ThereYouSeeHer loved the pictures! I hope to one day go on a Disney cruise, but right now I just cant justify the price Your picture of Magic Kingdom done up in the fall decorations made me so anxious to go! I cant wait!!

We totally thought the same thing about price, but we were able to manage our costs a number of ways. First, we cruised in September which is one of the cheapest, if not THE cheapest time to travel due to hurricane season and back-to-school. Two, we did a 3-night Bahamian cruise, which is the shortest and cheapest itinerary. Three, we booked 1.5 years out, which is also the cheapest time to book (the cost goes up as bookings increase closer to the sail date). We were also fortunate to have a 2 year old (whose cost is greatly reduced) and a 6 year old (whose cost is also reduced).

We were determined not to spend additional money, since all food and onboard activities are already included. So we didn't purchase any port excursions and, really, our only extra expense were tips.

The only splurge we made was on getting a room with a balcony. Since I get motion sickness, we thought having some fresh air would help. We also figured that while our children were still young and relatively cheap, now would be the time to upgrade. As they get older, they will get more expensive, and any future cruises will probably be a non-balcony room. All in all, the booking cost for our family of four with a Verandah stateroom was $1400 plus tax and vacation insurance (if you want it). As I mentioned, we held really close to that number by not making other purchases or adding expenses. We also received a $25 onboard credit for booking online, which we applied to tips for the cruise.

A WDW vacation is priced more reasonably (especially when there are special offers like free dining), so we will still consider WDW to be our annual vacation spot. However, we loved the cruise so much that we will be looking to return in the next few years or so. We will just keep our eyes open for any special offers or affordable itineraries in the future!

 

[peachydreamyxx]

We totally thought the same thing about price, but we were able to manage our costs a number of ways. First, we cruised in September which is one of the cheapest, if not THE cheapest time to travel due to hurricane season and back-to-school. Two, we did a 3-night Bahamian cruise, which is the shortest and cheapest itinerary. Three, we booked 1.5 years out, which is also the cheapest time to book (the cost goes up as bookings increase closer to the sail date). We were also fortunate to have a 2 year old (whose cost is greatly reduced) and a 6 year old (whose cost is also reduced).

Thats great advice! We love to travel in September, but for some reason I never priced out a cruise during this month. Ive done a Royal Caribbean and a Princess cruise and loved them both but the Princess one was not very child friendly.. so I really want to take DS on a Disney Cruise! We do need a balcony room though, I get clastraphobic (cant spell that for the life of me! ) Thanks for the tips!! Im going to do a lot of research today!!

 

[MamaJessie]

I wanna thank Ms. Harper for keeping up and starting and continuing this amazing thread! This was by far the best thread I've ever been on! You have all been so supportive helping me plan, plot, and post things for my trip! I thank you all my Dis September friends.
I'm off to Disney World......

I agree, LHarper is great and this is the best countdown thread ever

Have an amazing time!

Smile4me - that is great about your bf's job.

Look at all these small numbers, 2 and 3 days left So jealous!

 

[ThereYouSeeHer]

Thats great advice! We love to travel in September, but for some reason I never priced out a cruise during this month. Ive done a Royal Caribbean and a Princess cruise and loved them both but the Princess one was not very child friendly.. so I really want to take DS on a Disney Cruise! We do need a balcony room though, I get clastraphobic (cant spell that for the life of me! ) Thanks for the tips!! Im going to do a lot of research today!!

We booked around April 2010 for a September 2011 cruise. So, for a similar booking window, you would need to start researching September 2013 travel dates as soon as they open up (potentially at the end of this year or beginning of 2012). We looked into cruising in December, but for about the same cost, we would get an inside stateroom in December or a balcony room in September. So that's why we chose September. I am also claustrophobic, but all of Disney's staterooms were sized generously. Our room was just like a hotel room and we had no lack of space!

After cruising Disney, I would highly recommend it to anyone. We had never been on a cruise before, and I'm so happy we did!

 

[skater]

We leave tomorrow !

 

[mickeymouseclubhouse]

T minus 2 hours 30 mins!

I wanna thank Ms. Harper for keeping up and starting and continuing this amazing thread! This was by far the best thread I've ever been on! You have all been so supportive helping me plan, plot, and post things for my trip! I thank you all my Dis September friends.

Got up 45 min early to finish the very last of the house chores before we get the kids up and off to school.

Until next week....

I'm off to Disney World......

Have a safe and magical trip!!!!

2 days!!!! =)

2 DAY BANANA DANCE!!!

ps thankful for Musinex DM!!!!

Another awesome picture! You are so talented and your pictures always put a smile on my face!