SURPRISE! (I Hope He Didn't Want to go to Chattanooga)-Dec. 2012 PTR-MEGA UPDATEx3

[Caretames1]

Are we twins! You have planned the exact same day that we had the last 2 times we stayed at POR! (minus Raglan Road)

The boats to DTD is HUGE for us! My DH videoed to whole ride from POR to DTD last January. Kadence watches that video and I get sucked in every time!

We hit EOS, and then the stores.

This trip we'll have a whole day to roam, so EOS, is a plan, maybe HOB or PH. I saw the P&F experience announcement a couple weeks ago and knew that Kadence will want to do that.

My tip on surprising him would be make sure somebody has the camera rolling. Maybe a recordable card saying we're going to WDW? A t-shirt he can slip on that says it.

 

[marDgreen88]

Omg, I didn't know that! I've seen pictures that the faucet is of the lamp from Aladdin! Maybe there's two different ones you can get! That would be so cool.

Your first day sounds like so much fun! And goodness, I would love to do 'Ohana twice! YUM.

 

[sunnysideup3]

Ok I'm in! We are staying at POR also... in mid November! It is such a beautiful resort! Can't wait to hear more about your trip!

I just popped over to your PTR! Great start! I really hope you can get your RO discount! I know how much the free dining discount helps us eat at the places we really WANT to go to! Can't wait for you to get back to POR! I love it there!

Are we twins! You have planned the exact same day that we had the last 2 times we stayed at POR! (minus Raglan Road)

The boats to DTD is HUGE for us! My DH videoed to whole ride from POR to DTD last January. Kadence watches that video and I get sucked in every time!

We hit EOS, and then the stores.

This trip we'll have a whole day to roam, so EOS, is a plan, maybe HOB or PH. I saw the P&F experience announcement a couple weeks ago and knew that Kadence will want to do that.

My tip on surprising him would be make sure somebody has the camera rolling. Maybe a recordable card saying we're going to WDW? A t-shirt he can slip on that says it.

Thanks for the surprise tips! I might get one of those "I'm Going to WDW" T-shirts while they are 25% off online.....

Refresh my memory...how are you surprising Cadence again this year?

Omg, I didn't know that! I've seen pictures that the faucet is of the lamp from Aladdin! Maybe there's two different ones you can get! That would be so cool.

Your first day sounds like so much fun! And goodness, I would love to do 'Ohana twice! YUM.

You're right. I got the Aladdin faucet and the bench chair/dog thing mixed up! Whoever wrote this review of the POR-Royal Rooms did a good job "finding" things in the room (POR ROYAL ROOM REVIEW)

You'll get to read all about our 'Ohana adventures... just wait! With all the times we'll be at the POLY, we should just stay there (I WISH!)

 

[Caretames1]

Thanks for the surprise tips! I might get one of those "I'm Going to WDW" T-shirts while they are 25% off online.....

Refresh my memory...how are you surprising Cadence again this year?

I was going to check out some t shirts for John there later. He says he needs new Disney wear. LOL

We are going to send her to school like any other day. I'm going to tell she has a dentist app and she have to get out of school for it. Once we get to the truck, John will be waiting there with his" We're going to Disney World" shirt on. She'll put it together quickly I think. The video camera will be a giveaway.


I'm getting so excited just to get to that point!!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[sunnysideup3]

Day 2: Let the Memories Begin!
​

So we left off with our arrival to the magic and our evening at DTD! We will waste no time diving right into our vacation. We'll get up and head to MK to catch the monorail to Poly for this:





Breakfast at Ohana!
(Okay, so I couldn't find any good photos on the internet with characters in them that didn't have random children in them, and I wouldn't want my kid to end up in some random trip report, so you get a picture of Eli and Stitch!) As this trip is a surprise, he won't know about anything, so we'll keep the characters of this breakfast a surprise until he sees them. He's become obsessed with Lilo and Stitch this past year. We went to the Disney Store on Tuesday and he chose a bit Stitch as his present.....

Anywho, we'll dine and character-ize there and pop over on the monorail to a fun day at Magic Kingdom. Now, apparently there will be parade taping that day, so I hope our arrival shortly after rope drop avoids the chaos of that. If I remember right, once you get past the madness of that, the rest of the park is pretty quiet, and we care nothing about being on TV, so....

I have to digress for a second. I'm sure you've all heard me talk about how un-planned our 2009 trip with my in-laws was. It was still great, but very ...disorganized. We arrived at 11:30am to MK on parade taping day...with the Jonas Brothers performing....talk about CHAOS. I don't know if it was fate or the grace of god, but we were able to get a walk up lunch reservation at Tony's and my MIL being herself, asked for a window seat, and we got it. We watched a bunch of the taping from there. It was crazy! We did depart MK and went to EPCOT after that, however


I will probably cry the first time I see the castle again. I always do. It's just so magical!!




Anyway, back to present day....We will be hitting up our favorites, and some newbies at MK this day. I really want to try to do the MK rides I haven't done this trip... COP, Astro Orbiter, Hall of President's, Tom Sawyer's Island, New Fantasyland, Tiki Room.. WOW, there's a lot we HAVEN'T done! I'm sure there will be old favorites like Pirates, Splash, BTMRR, Haunted Mansion, PPF, Tea Cups, Monsters Inc, etc.

If we are hungry after our big breakfast, I have Pecos Bills down as our preferred CS lunch spot. Has anyone eaten there before? Thoughts? Other recommendations? We really loved Casey's and CHH last time, so I'm sure there are no shortage of options.

We will return to POR late afternoon for some down time, swimming, Stacey-watching, all that fun Disney stuff. We will then head back to MK for the ride over to Poly (AGAIN--I KNOW!) for dinner at 'Ohana. I know what you're thinking? Twice? In one day???? We're crazy... but in our defense, breakfast and dinner are totally different.. and eating here was a must for DH. (We will have our final dinner here, too...don't judge). I really love the meal here.. it's a meat-fest. And who can resist that ooey-gooey bread pudding...




Our original plans were to have CRT this morning, but I couldn't justify the $137 cost for breakfast for three people who aren't princess obsessed.

So, after our filling dinner, we'll roll out of there and depending on how full we are... we'll head to EPCOT for EMH. Eli is obsessed with Spaceship Earth, so I'm sure I'll watch that man paint the ceiling and thank the Phoenicians multiple times that night...





That should conclude Day 2!

As always, thoughts and opinions are always welcome! ​

 

[Caretames1]

Again, Have you been looking at my plans?? We LOVE Ohana's, I think if it was up to Kadence, we'd eat breakfast there may times each trip.

I have picky eaters so we've not done dinner there, but I want to sooooo bad. I found a recipe for the Bread Pudding in a Disney cookbook, but I haven't made it yet.

Peacos Bill is AWESOME! The burgers were good, and the Taco salads were good as well and the Topping Bar WAS AMAZING! And it's huge, we've always found a seat even at it's most busiest.

I have CCH on my to do list this time around, I'm glad to keep hearing good things about it.

 

[marDgreen88]

Yeah, I'm guessing it would be a splendid idea to avoid the parade taping at all costs! Do you know who's performing this year?

AHHH, 'Ohana. I wouldn't be mad going there three times on my trip. Not at all.

 

[mnmrmustard]

Howdy Jillian! Gotta jump on this PTR for a couple of reasons. First being my younger daughter is also a Gillian ....I know, we spelled it wrong Second is that we are going on exactly the same dates - 11/29 - 12/8 to take advantage of the free dining and the opening of the 2nd phase of Fantasyland on the 7th. I noticed you weren't going to try and brave the crowdfest Going for 1/3 of a month rocks doesn't it?

Don't feel bad about the early start for your travel day, we have to get up at 4am and won't get in to MCO until 4:30pm! The Royal Room looks very cool, I know your little guy will enjoy it. We're big fans of POP and are going back there *tips hat to WendyBelle* and will also be paying for the DP upgrade from quick service.

Great job getting in at Be Our Guest - I made a token effort but being west coast I just couldn't get up at 3am to secure a reservation. Plus I am a big fan of Tony's and Liberty Tree Tavern and were able to secure both of them Looks like your fam and mine will both be at EPCOT on Dec 1st!

I look forward to hearing more about your plans!

 

[sunnysideup3]

Again, Have you been looking at my plans?? We LOVE Ohana's, I think if it was up to Kadence, we'd eat breakfast there may times each trip.

I have picky eaters so we've not done dinner there, but I want to sooooo bad. I found a recipe for the Bread Pudding in a Disney cookbook, but I haven't made it yet.

Peacos Bill is AWESOME! The burgers were good, and the Taco salads were good as well and the Topping Bar WAS AMAZING! And it's huge, we've always found a seat even at it's most busiest.

I have CCH on my to do list this time around, I'm glad to keep hearing good things about it.

I'm glad that others share our love for 'Ohana. I remember getting the bounceback offer last year and we'd just had breakfast at Kona on our departure day, and we were sitting on the beach of Poly just relaxing and wanting to go back already. DH said it was too soon, etc, etc. Then I think he started missing WDW, mainly 'Ohana, so he said he'd be in if we could go to 'Ohana the first and last dinner meal of our trip. I was in. It just worked out that we had a breakfast and dinner in the same day after the cancelled CRT ressie.

We loved CCH! We were supposed to go to LTT last year, but had a big breakfast at Chef Mickey's and didn't feel like eating at our ADR time, so I cancelled it. A couple hours later we ended up at CCH and I had a salad and that warm apple pie dessert and it was one of the best CS meals I'd had all week.

We liked Casey's too, but the only complaint I would have is that they have to do something with their buns. There's way too much bun for the hot dog and it's really dry...believe it or not, that has to be one of the only complaints I had about any meal I'd had the entire week there

DH will love Pecos Bills, then. He likes to load things down with toppings, so it will be perfect!

I know you'd appreciate this, since you're surprising Cadence, but Eli is sitting right next to me right now, 1/2 watching Phineas and Ferb and 1/2 watching me type. I'm glad he can't read yet, because I can do lots of things, including leaving things laying out, and he has no idea. He just saw a banner add (the cute one with the vampire/holiday Mickey) and asked 2 things: "Can we go back when I'm bigger?" and "maybe when we're done with this house we can go live at Disney World.." SURE, buddy...anything you want!

Yeah, I'm guessing it would be a splendid idea to avoid the parade taping at all costs! Do you know who's performing this year?

AHHH, 'Ohana. I wouldn't be mad going there three times on my trip. Not at all.

I don't know who's performing this year. If my memory serves me right, last year Mariah Carey was there in her pregnant splendor. Thank god I'd actually planned this trip and we were nowhere near MK that day, so I had really no contact with it. I remember the Jonas Brothers because our main clue on the way to MK from the TTC should have been the throngs of teenage girls pre-screaming about them....

Again, you all make me feel less of a gluttonous crazy person for us eating there a lot

Howdy Jillian! Gotta jump on this PTR for a couple of reasons. First being my younger daughter is also a Gillian ....I know, we spelled it wrong Second is that we are going on exactly the same dates - 11/29 - 12/8 to take advantage of the free dining and the opening of the 2nd phase of Fantasyland on the 7th. I noticed you weren't going to try and brave the crowdfest Going for 1/3 of a month rocks doesn't it?

Don't feel bad about the early start for your travel day, we have to get up at 4am and won't get in to MCO until 4:30pm! The Royal Room looks very cool, I know your little guy will enjoy it. We're big fans of POP and are going back there *tips hat to WendyBelle* and will also be paying for the DP upgrade from quick service.

Great job getting in at Be Our Guest - I made a token effort but being west coast I just couldn't get up at 3am to secure a reservation. Plus I am a big fan of Tony's and Liberty Tree Tavern and were able to secure both of them Looks like your fam and mine will both be at EPCOT on Dec 1st!

I look forward to hearing more about your plans!

Wow, the same time! That's awesome! And I love how Jillian is spelled with a G. If I could change my parent's decision 31 years ago, I would have asked to have it that way, so good job!

Do you have a lot of layovers? I couldn't imagine having to travel for that long and not end up in Bali or something, but WDW is better, hands down!

I don't know if I would have gotten up for BOG at 3am, so I don't blame you. I got up at 5am on our ADR day because they're available at 6am ET, and that was rough, because you get so excited about getting your ADR's that you don't want to go back to bed. Same with the day I was up for Free Dining.

I love this time of year we're going. I REALLY want to go to MNSSHP next time, but will be sad that it isn't during the holiday season/low crowds/free dining. I always laugh when I read other's TR's and there are things that are so different about going during other times of the year. I realized the other day, I've never seen the park maps without the holiday pictures on the front. Nerdy, I know, but it's the little things!

Hopefully we can keep in touch over the next 81 days! Thanks for joining in!

 

[danimaroo]

Okay, how in the heck did I not come here and comment yet?! I have a ton of catching up to do but I just thought you should know that I am here, finally, because I somehow didn't realize you had a PTR going on for your trip. Don't mind me, I've just been in Lala land!

 

[sunnysideup3]

Okay, how in the heck did I not come here and comment yet?! I have a ton of catching up to do but I just thought you should know that I am here, finally, because I somehow didn't realize you had a PTR going on for your trip. Don't mind me, I've just been in Lala land!

Glad you're here. I promise this is the most riveting stuff...EVER

 

[sunnysideup3]

A Little Disney-Provided Anticipation


How cool/mysterious/exciting is this little snippet of a promo??


www.findingfantasyland.com


I signed up for the email....I will await the surprise!! ​

 

[danimaroo]

Yo! So in terms of something to give Eli at the airport, my vote is for Mickey ears! You just can't get more DISNEY WORLLLLLD than that!

Okay, so that Royal Room looks AMAZING! We're thinking about if we do another trip and it's without DVC points, we'd love to stay at POR... and that Royal Room is lookin' mighty worth it!

OH HEY EARL OF SANDWICH, only the best sandwiches around! Seriously, my love for that place is infinite.

Um, your husband totally gets it... with Raglan Road. It has my favorite dessert in all of Disney, that bread pudding. That is the stuff dreams are made of! Matt got the Shepard's Pie last time and loved it. I'm happy with Fish ' n Chips OR the Lobster Sandwich with Onion rings. Basically, I love the restaurant so much.

Totally a good call on taking it easy on day one! That's basically our plan since we'll be arriving at around 5pm.

I'm betting you guys will be heading to MK!

 

[reyasmommy]

Hello.

I just happened upon your ptr and I’m glad I did.
First of all, I have to thank you for posting that video. It’s good to know that I’m not the only one that has a crazy kid that doesn’t bananas after being told their going to Disney. The same thing happened to me last year. I went a whole year without telling my DD that we were going to Disneyland. A VERY LONG STORY SHORT ….. She thought we were going to a hotel up in the mountains for the night to use the indoor pool. We stopped for lunch, pulled out the video camera, and told her the good news that we were on our way to Disneyland. …… I was expecting her to jump up and down, crying in excitement, hugs, kisses galore. BUT NOOOOOOO ….Iinstead she was upset because she wanted to go swimming, she didn’t want to go to Disney. I thought I was going to start sobbing. Saying I was sad is an understatement. Of course once she arrived at Disney it was an amazing trip and we all had fun, but still it kinda was a let down. This year she KNOWS we’re going to Disney World, we’re just surprising her on when. We’ll be leaving sooner then she thinks.
Eli is absolutely adorable…. Such a cutie.
We’ll be staying at POR for the first time in November and will be staying in the Royal Guest Room too. This will be a nice surprise for DD.
We like to hit DTD on our arrival day too… Like to save our energy and time for a full day the following day.
So far your plans sound great. I look forward to reading more.

 

[reyasmommy]

I wanted to add...... right before I starting reading your PTR I was going to get on expedia to start looking at hotels to stay at in Chattanooga for our trip back from Disney. Thought that was kind of funny, cuz that's what caught my eye when seeing your PTR.

Also..... I'm now looking at more videos on youtube with videos on WDW surprises.... Some of them are so sweet and have brought a few tears to my eyes.

 

[sunnysideup3]

Yo! So in terms of something to give Eli at the airport, my vote is for Mickey ears! You just can't get more DISNEY WORLLLLLD than that!

Okay, so that Royal Room looks AMAZING! We're thinking about if we do another trip and it's without DVC points, we'd love to stay at POR... and that Royal Room is lookin' mighty worth it!

OH HEY EARL OF SANDWICH, only the best sandwiches around! Seriously, my love for that place is infinite.

Um, your husband totally gets it... with Raglan Road. It has my favorite dessert in all of Disney, that bread pudding. That is the stuff dreams are made of! Matt got the Shepard's Pie last time and loved it. I'm happy with Fish ' n Chips OR the Lobster Sandwich with Onion rings. Basically, I love the restaurant so much.

Totally a good call on taking it easy on day one! That's basically our plan since we'll be arriving at around 5pm.

I'm betting you guys will be heading to MK!

Hey! Glad you're here! Good call on the ears. He has a cute pair of Woody ears, but I might get him something special from the website.

I'm so jealous you have DVC. Some day I will rent points and stay at BLT or BC. But the Royal Rooms look fun. I love the firework headboards.

And Earl of Sandwich.....OMG. nom nom nom... I salivate thinking about it. To me, there's nothing better than a toasted sandwich. Do you guys have Potbelly's out by you? They're one of my favorites.

When I told Nate we'd be eating at Raglan Road again, he was floored. I thought it was good last time, but I also remember the "mom" part of it and I remember Eli got sick there, so we are the proud owners of 1 Raglan Road T-shirt.

Day 2 updates are up!

Hello.

I just happened upon your ptr and I’m glad I did.
First of all, I have to thank you for posting that video. It’s good to know that I’m not the only one that has a crazy kid that doesn’t bananas after being told their going to Disney. The same thing happened to me last year. I went a whole year without telling my DD that we were going to Disneyland. A VERY LONG STORY SHORT ….. She thought we were going to a hotel up in the mountains for the night to use the indoor pool. We stopped for lunch, pulled out the video camera, and told her the good news that we were on our way to Disneyland. …… I was expecting her to jump up and down, crying in excitement, hugs, kisses galore. BUT NOOOOOOO ….Iinstead she was upset because she wanted to go swimming, she didn’t want to go to Disney. I thought I was going to start sobbing. Saying I was sad is an understatement. Of course once she arrived at Disney it was an amazing trip and we all had fun, but still it kinda was a let down. This year she KNOWS we’re going to Disney World, we’re just surprising her on when. We’ll be leaving sooner then she thinks.
Eli is absolutely adorable…. Such a cutie.
We’ll be staying at POR for the first time in November and will be staying in the Royal Guest Room too. This will be a nice surprise for DD.
We like to hit DTD on our arrival day too… Like to save our energy and time for a full day the following day.
So far your plans sound great. I look forward to reading more.

Thanks for joining in! I'm so sorry your surprise didn't go as planned . That's one of my biggest fears of doing it the way we're thinking is that he won't be as excited as I want him to be, or that I don't get it on video. I'm thinking more and more of telling him at home so I can control the environment, have his shirt on, give him the ears and suitcase and we head off. Like, we're going to Disney.....RIGHT NOW!

I started on your PTR, about 1/2 way through. Can't wait to hear more and see how you end up liking the POR Royal Rooms!

And PS-I also watch the surprise videos on You Tube. They make me so happy...

 

[Caretames1]

A Little Disney-Provided Anticipation


How cool/mysterious/exciting is this little snippet of a promo??


www.findingfantasyland.com


I signed up for the email....I will await the surprise!! ​

I signed up too! I really am hoping something happens for our trip!

 

[levenhopper]

I'm subbing! Sorry it took me a few days to get here, but I wanted to be sure I had time to read the PRT. And it looks AWESOME! I wish I'd be there to see DS' reaction when he figures out where he's going.

Glad you liked my PRT, too. Having it be my first trip and I'm doing all the planning makes me worry sometimes that I'm missing something/doing too much. So the vote of confidence is well welcomed

I can't wait to hear the rest of your plans.

 

[mnmrmustard]

Wow, the same time! That's awesome! And I love how Jillian is spelled with a G. If I could change my parent's decision 31 years ago, I would have asked to have it that way, so good job!

Do you have a lot of layovers? I couldn't imagine having to travel for that long and not end up in Bali or something, but WDW is better, hands down!

Yes, same time and the days seem to be flying by! The only downside that Gillian has is the occasional person pronouncing it with a hard "G" sound. Only one layover in Salt Lake City there and back and neither are long layovers. It is just a lot of time in the air and in airports. But WDW is certainly worth it

I don't know if I would have gotten up for BOG at 3am, so I don't blame you. I got up at 5am on our ADR day because they're available at 6am ET, and that was rough, because you get so excited about getting your ADR's that you don't want to go back to bed. Same with the day I was up for Free Dining.

Yes, we'll try BOG some other time - there's always an excuse for another trip, right? I got really lucky with our ADRs overall - got everything else we wanted even though I committed to our travel dates after the ADR window had already opened. But I can understand getting up to get them and being successful being enough to keep you up for the day

I love this time of year we're going. I REALLY want to go to MNSSHP next time, but will be sad that it isn't during the holiday season/low crowds/free dining. I always laugh when I read other's TR's and there are things that are so different about going during other times of the year. I realized the other day, I've never seen the park maps without the holiday pictures on the front. Nerdy, I know, but it's the little things!

Hopefully we can keep in touch over the next 81 days! Thanks for joining in!

This is our first time going around Christmas so it is extra exciting! We have done the DCA version of MNSSHP and it was a lot of fun - I highly recommend making it down to either park during that season. Of course any holiday is a good holiday if you spend it with Mickey and friends

And going back to time flying by - only 68 more days!!!

I have a PTR going now - I'll get a link in my siggy for it soon if you want to join in

 

[sunnysideup3]

I'm subbing! Sorry it took me a few days to get here, but I wanted to be sure I had time to read the PRT. And it looks AWESOME! I wish I'd be there to see DS' reaction when he figures out where he's going.

Glad you liked my PRT, too. Having it be my first trip and I'm doing all the planning makes me worry sometimes that I'm missing something/doing too much. So the vote of confidence is well welcomed

I can't wait to hear the rest of your plans.

I'm so happy we have such a wonderful group in December! I've enjoyed getting to know people so much!

Hopefully I will get back to updating in the next couple days!

We're getting so close!