Take me back to our Happy Place - a July 2020 PTR * BRIEF update 5/27*

[kastoney]

We were doing good with walking almost every day but the weather here has been so crappy, we had like 5 days of rain, one day near 60, 2 more days of rain, today 63. Then it's supposed to rain again until Saturday and MORE rain at least Sunday and Monday which doesn't help things. My BFF feels better when it rains because she figures she can't go out anyway so no big deal staying home but I'm the opposite.

I am so in the same camp as you. We've had rain and weather in the 50s for like 10 days. I am so over it as getting out and walking is my only sanity besides wine of course. But shaping up to be a beautiful sunny day in the 70s here. Wishing it your way soon

Look at my little bubby Chris!

Forget little bubby Chris, look at Steve! The hair may have gone gray but he looks much younger now! Though I see the sleeveless shirts are not a new trend

Speaking of new trends I spy with my little eye some curly Ariane hair. Didn't realize you'd ever embraced it. Mine only comes out at the beach.

We told her we had no idea when we'd eat that and didn't plan on eating at the resort often but she insisted she would not eat out for every meal....This trip was at the super chic Liki Tiki Resort.

This sounds fantastic. I want Liki Tiki and meatballs scrapbooking photos!!!

he even threw out all my old lead paint covered Playskool Little People from the 70's!

Mine had not a sentimental bone but my mother was a bit of a hoarder. My Dad still won't let me into his basement where our "play room" was and still is but I'm 99% sure I'm gonna find some little people down there. Asbestos and all!

This will be I believe our 6th stay here, but our first time back since 2015 and our first CLUB LEVEL stay here! We had an absolute horrific stay in 2015; room cleanliness, responsiveness and attitude of staff, broken promises and it did sour our opinion of the resort for awhile. However having stayed at both the Beach and Yacht Clubs since then, we definitely decided our favorite Epcot resort is the Boardwalk.

Oh I remember all that trouble you had but I just know Boardwalk is gonna make up for all of that and more. It is our favorite Epcot resort too. Beach and Yacht clubs are way too sterile for me. And while I called Boardwalk Grandma chic on our first trip there I've come to love its charm

know the reviews are mixed but we enjoy it and when we went in Feb. 2019 for my birthday Steve had a Catfish entree he still raves about today. And of course the avocado margarita:

We haven't eaten here in a while but have always had good meals too. Plus I'll eat about anything if I can have it with a side of avocado margarita

What he doesn't rave about is the lack of social distancing that was an issue at San Angel WAY before it was a regular part of our vocabulary, and to prove it I submit Example A from our last visit:

They are gonna have to seat people in the boats to social distance here

1. Do you always do a specific park on arrival day?
2. Do you always do a specific park on departure day?
3. Do you mix up the order each trip?
LEMME KNOW!

Pretty sure you know the answer here

*Many thanks to Chris for the time and effort he put in to the photo below. It was a hard job being that you're busy every day lately; thank you for venturing 9 feet down the hall from your bedroom to mom's office for 2.5 minutes *

And the love that went into this picture just shines right on through....

 

[DLo]

Currently , I mix it up but for several years our first park day was AM EMH at MGM when you had to run for TSMM passes so we would always race over to RD there. We drove down the day before and stayed close by and in those days you had to check in at your hotel first to get your tickets . Departure day was usually varied depending on where we were staying and if we had to leave early .

 

[ArielSRL]

In fact last year during our July 4th trip the boys were able to meet our DIS friends Renee @ArielSRL and her DH Chad as well as their boys. It's not often that my DIS friends get to meet the boys since we usually leave them home, and regardless of what I say here I am proud of my guys and like to show them off. Here they are with Renee's boys last July at Nomad:

Hey! I think I might know a couple of those boys. LOL. All four, very handsome!

Before I leave you tonight here's some fun albeit useless info you didn't ask for : our very first onsite Disney resort was OKW back in 2007, when Steve could still trade his timeshare points with DVC. Not knowing any difference between that and the other Disney resorts, we loved it!

I'v never stayed at OKW. I want to. And we may buy more DVC points there. But I think I need to stay there first. LOL

Another fun fact: I was holding Ricky in the pool, bouncing him up and down, accidentally dragged him under the water, and he threw up in the pool And to this day, if we're on DME and we pass OKW, Ricky will go "isn't that where you tried to drown me and made me throw up in the pool?"

That's hilarious.

Not their first time meeting Mickey but first time that trip:

You look exactly the same!

Thanks for continuing to read! And now answer me this, it should be interesting to see where everyone started out! Please don't be jealous of my editing skills.

I didn't remember. I started going to Disney at 3 but we stayed offsite for a long time. I can't remember when we started staying onsite but we never stayed offsite again. LOL. I asked my mom and she said she thought it was Caribbean Beach. We also stayed several times at Coronado Springs and once at Riverside. I've stayed in others but that was after I started going without my family.

They Poly was our first resort. We knew nothing, and a friend recommended it for ease with the stroller and the monorail. And it was great. But we have discovered so many more great resorts!

IMG_0013
Chilling in the room. Back then we were back in the room by 8 every night!

Our First Visit to the

Oh my goodness...look at cute little Gwen!

 

[ArielSRL]

What he doesn't rave about is the lack of social distancing that was an issue at San Angel WAY before it was a regular part of our vocabulary, and to prove it I submit Example A from our last visit:

They really cram those tables in there, don't they? We went last June and I think it was a one and done for us. Besides the food not being great, we couldn't even see to eat! I prefer La Hacienda though neither are my favorites of Epcot.

I'm guessing that even in July the tables will be spaced out differently, and that will be a welcome change all around.

You will definitely have to let us know!

I know that there are lots of folks who keep to a specific park order or at least always do the same park on their arrival day and departure day; so, what say you?

1. Do you always do a specific park on arrival day?
2. Do you always do a specific park on departure day?
3. Do you mix up the order each trip?
LEMME KNOW!

Almost always our first park is MK. We tend to arrive on Saturday and not go into a park that day, and Sundays tend to be pretty good at Mk, so it works out. That's about it. But that has even changed since we became AP holders. Last year we went ahead and went into Epcot on arrival night for a dinner and a couple rides. Also, I know a lot of people do MK the last night but I never have due to the fact that Saturday tends to be our last day and I try to avoid MK on a Saturday but I did plan for us to try it on our May 30-June 7 trip (along with MK first as well) but we will see if that one happens.

*Many thanks to Chris for the time and effort he put in to the photo below. It was a hard job being that you're busy every day lately; thank you for venturing 9 feet down the hall from your bedroom to mom's office for 2.5 minutes *

HAHAHAHAHA

 

[Terra Nova guy]

Thanks for continuing to read! And now answer me this, it should be interesting to see where everyone started out! Please don't be jealous of my editing skills.

OK, I am bit late to the party with my answer. But my first resort was CBR in 2010. My parents came since my youngest was only 3 and they were the "baby sitters". We had adjoining rooms. I liked the resort, but my wife did not, she thought it was too big.
The couple trips I took before that were an off site hotel (so long ago I can't even remember the name) and a rental home off 192 in Kissimmee which was pretty good too.

I know that there are lots of folks who keep to a specific park order or at least always do the same park on their arrival day and departure day; so, what say you?

1. Do you always do a specific park on arrival day?
2. Do you always do a specific park on departure day?
3. Do you mix up the order each trip?
LEMME KNOW!

1. MK
2. MK
3. not now. One early trip we did the princess breakfast at Epcot first and it just didn't "feel right".
Now I need to walk down Main Street on my first day just to feel the Disney magic first thing. And when leaving we have to "say goodbye" the same way.

Plus the Canadian $ was worth $1.10 USD. Those were the days!

Oh how I miss those days!

 

[suse66]

Oh how I miss those days!

You and me both, my friend!

 

[ariane37]

Just got caught up on your July plans! I think a dessert party on the 4th sounds perfect!

I'm looking WAY more forward to it than I thought I would being that I'm looking forward to absolutely everything and anything Disney right now!

We do not have a set order for the parks--it just depends on the schedules. I will say the MK first and last would be my preference.

I think that goes for the majority I do like ending in MK too!

OMG those pics! SO fun, i do love Minnie blue dress there!

How things change!

I keep saying I'm going to look through the bins I have from my mom of pictures of us growing up and I have yet to get to ti. You'd think if I'm going to have time - it's now lol!

I cant wait to hear how someone likes to NBA experience!!

It's not often they're BOTH excited about something new in Disney so this will be neat

We always tend to mix it up. I only request to have time in MK. And, since I make all the plans, I always get what I want. LOL!!!!

Gee I had no idea

Love the throw back pictures, very fun!

I wish my mom had more from when I was little!

I remember reading your report on the BW troubles! I hope it is better this time.
We are staying there in August if we don’t change things up!

I'll never forget that trip but while it kept us away from BW for awhile I'm looking forward to going back because we really love everything about it including the pool Our issues were really with the staff! Plus the location is so perfect!

As a kid, I went to WDW with my aunt and cousins, and her family. We always stayed off site, idk where and it was just a full day, open to close, at MK.

I don't even remember how long we stayed in the parks or what the resorts were we stayed at, but I do remember lots of rides that aren't there anymore and being there with my grandmother ❤ Lots of good "old" memories!

We always plan parks according to the park schedules and crowd calendars, but usually just go to DS on arrival day and either do a DS or resort TS brunch on departure day before hitting the road.

I like the idea of DS on arrival day! I don't think we've ever done that, we either do a park or like July we get there too late to do anything. I do prefer being able to do a park on departure day but if we can't I at least like to be able to do a nice late TS breakfast or early TS lunch

 

[ariane37]

Yuck. Too much rain. That's a nope from me.

Luckily this past weekend was BEE-A-YOU-T-FUL! Walked both days, sat outside and did some social distance drinking with my friend, got some yard work done and BBQ'd But alas the rain returns Wednesday.....

Oh. That's not okay.
What were the broken promises?

Let's see......
extra fastpasses for the mounds of troubles like the sewer water coming through our floor
bringing some fresh towels to the room when one of us (ahem, me) was violently ill all night
moving in to a new non-leaky sewer room with no other issues like say......remnants of what someone shaved off in the shower?

Really! I did not expect that.

Yup most prefer the BC! But I find the BW a bit more peaceful and laid back and I like that. I enjoy the lobby. I like being just a bit closer to the evening entertainment!

I try really, really hard to do MK on my last day. I love that park and want that to be the last place I see. Doesn't always work out, though.

Yeah I feel better ending at MK and I kind of "feel it" when we don't so it's rare that we end in a different park.

We don’t have a set order for the parks but usually do Epcot on our last day as we usually stay in that area plus I love having a final G&T outside, in the sunshine, at the Rose & Crown.

Ooh that does sound nice! On the occasion that we don't end in MK it's usually Epcot where we end

On arrival day we usually just unpack and eat and aim to stay awake to something resembling bedtime (or at least after 9pm

Yeah how long it takes to get there definitely impacts what you do on arrival and departure day. But not doing a lot on arrival day gets you all fresh and ready for a full 1st day!

well done to Chris for your 4 maps photo at the end. Now not only do you work from home in your office, you have staff!! Lady you got it made!!

HaHa well I wonder how much you'd think I "have it made" if you saw how often he wakes me up at 2,3,4 in the morning these days! He stays up on his video games with friends and whenever he goes to the bathroom or leaves his room to get a snack he's slamming doors like crazy

More than we did.

Well there are plenty of days I do nothing lol. I like the idea of getting things done while stuck home and in the beginning I did pretty good. Now I go to sleep at night saying "tomorrow I'm doing ALL THIS" - but then tomorrow comes and I'm tired of cleaning and sprucing up

We've been walking 3-4 miles/day on the nicer days. And when the walk is over, I sit and watch Mad Men until I start dinner. Good times.

Happily we got to walk quite a bit over the weekend but the rain is back tomorrow. Almost done with season 3, lucked out and Steve really likes this show!
What?? Someone needs to tell her the best part of vacation is not cooking!

It was super hard to tell her anything lol

See! I used to love scrapbooking. I was a Creative Memories consultant for a little bit and then Close to my Heart, but really only did it for the discounts. I still have so much stuff in my basement.

Oh wow I remember Creative Memories! I went to a party or whatever when a friend of mine was selling that and I thought I'd be a big time scrap booker lol!

still go by the TP Crowd Calendar and choose park days from there. But we almost always end our last day in the MK

I look at KtP all the time too. I don't necessarily stay away from the "worst" suggested park but I usually do and I at least take into consideration where EMH's are

I really hope to meet Chris someday after years of descriptions

It will certainly be your lucky day

No kidding! I went here on my last trip and couldn't believe the... proximity. I think I was nearly in the lap of the stranger to my right.

Right? We were lucky on that visit that the table on one side emptied out before our entrees came and nobody was seated there again until we were ready to leave, but it was rough on the other side lol

I usually end with a MK/EP combo on my last day too, come to think of it.

Right now any park combo would work just fine for me......

I would love to do the Rhino tour one day! I had the caring for Giants tour booked for Jack and I but will book it again for next summer.

It's awesome! If they like it then next trip I'll probably do the elephant one.

So cute! Ricky is really great with younger kids, isn't he?

He is Even my youngest nephew (my sisters son) they bonded to each other as soon as my nephew was old enough to "like" people and to this day Trevor runs and says hi to Ricky before anyone else ❤

Our first trip was in 2009 and we stayed at the Grand Floridian! This was post recession when there was a buy 4 nights get 3 free deal

Man you can't get any better than the GF for a first onsite stay! And what a great deal!
Wonder if we'll see anything like that in the future

I am the same....I feel so much better when I get out for a walk or bike ride.

Saturday and Sunday were perfect - almost 80 yesterday - and for this not really an outdoor girl it was so great. We walked both days and saw friends on our walks (from afar) did yard work, had windows open. Ricky took a long bike ride with a friend and Chris hung out on the lawn of a friends house who just moved to our neighborhood. It was almost like a normal weekend!

 

[pkondz]

Luckily this past weekend was BEE-A-YOU-T-FUL! Walked both days, sat outside and did some social distance drinking with my friend, got some yard work done and BBQ'd

Good! Glad you had some nice weather.

But alas the rain returns Wednesday.....

Well... poop.

extra fastpasses for the mounds of troubles like the sewer water coming through our floor

Yikes!

bringing some fresh towels to the room when one of us (ahem, me) was violently ill all night

Wait... they didn't deliver on that?
Sorry you were sick, too.

moving in to a new non-leaky sewer room with no other issues like say......remnants of what someone shaved off in the shower?

Ew!!!

Yeah I feel better ending at MK and I kind of "feel it" when we don't so it's rare that we end in a different park.

 

[ariane37]

That is QUITE a story!!! I'm dying to know if she actually cooked that meal, and if it was eaten!!

LOL she DID. I'll save the answer to the 2nd part of your question because I think I may do a little tiny TR within this PTR on that trip since I brought it up!

I forgot how much I enjoyed scrapbooking, and how it was stress relief for me back in the day!

Glad it's giving you some stress relief now AND also serving as a way to preserve your awesome 12/19 vacation memories!

Your guys will LOVE the NBA Experience. I skipped out on it to meet up with a friend from high school, but Rob and Jimmy raved about it! I got a ton of pics with his stats loaded into my Memory Maker, too. I bet your guys will like that.

This is good to hear, I know lots of folks thought it was a stupid thing to go in there and you don't really read many reviews of it. A # of agents have done it and all enjoyed it so I have high hopes

I am too Type A to mix it up, LOL. I must start and end my trips in MK. I like to stay as long as I can on my departure day, which usually leaves me cutting it close getting back for the Tragical Express!!!

I am EXTREMELY type A so it's really weird that I'm lax in the Disney planning for our personal trips! I think it's because of all the planning I do for other peoples' trips, as much as I love doing that I do also prefer taking a later flight home and getting some departure day park time but unfortunately with airlines messing up their flights these next few months it isn't working that way for July currently.

my mom saves everything so that can probably be arranged!

lol! Does she have any Little People saved? Of course by the time you played with them they'd gotten rid of the led paint!

Pre Annual pass, we always used to go to Downtown Disney on arrival day to not "waste" a day ticket on arrival day and our departure day was usually AK since they closed at 5! Now, we mix it up!

Wow I remember when AK closed t 5, seems like so long ago!

(road trips are fun!)

Wait.....is someone forcing you to say this Steve always said if we attempted driving to Florida with the boys when they were younger we'd return with one less kid
ember: 121475"]
Really enjoying reading your trip plans! My niece is scheduled to start her DCP in August, and all our fingers and toes are crossed that she's still able to have this opportunity.

[/QUOTE]
I'm so glad you're enjoying reading! And I hope your niece can do her DCP; I know my friend Jenny @Jenny Sanders son is hoping to do his again in August also as he was supposed to be there in a couple weeks

And we have a few fall/winter trips planned. Hoping we all get back to our happy place soon - I think we'll appreciate it all the more!

I think every day that I'll never again take for granted the fact that we get to visit WDW so often I think I mentioned in the beginning that we also have a Sept. trip planned and I know Steve wants to go for all the Xmas decor again. We need to just move forward as if they'll all happen!

2. No - sometimes we don't go to a park at all. We usually fly out of Orlando around 4pm, which means we would have to be back at the resort by 1pm. So if we decide to do a park it is because there was a special ride we wanted to do.

I really like doing a park on departure day and we try to get a flight that's at least 5-6 so with our AP's, going for just 3 or 4 hours is fine. But sometimes the flights just don't work out that way so I like to just do a nice good-bye meal

It was very relaxing because it was a gentle rain that sounded nice on the umbrella.

That does sound nice!

This must have been very stressful. Did your MIL end up cooking the Italian meal?

I tried not to let it bother me - not my mother lol! And yes she did...........................

I am so over it as getting out and walking is my only sanity besides wine of course. But shaping up to be a beautiful sunny day in the 70s here. Wishing it your way soon

Luckily the weekend was perfect but now Wednesday back to rain and I'll be back to just my Although actually Steve made me sangira the last 2 weekends and that was a nice change.

Forget little bubby Chris, look at Steve! The hair may have gone gray but he looks much younger now! Though I see the sleeveless shirts are not a new trend

LOL! He's been rocking the sleeveless shirts since we met. Must be a Bronx sanitation thing.

peaking of new trends I spy with my little eye some curly Ariane hair. Didn't realize you'd ever embraced it. Mine only comes out at the beach.

I used to wear it curly ALL the time. Before I had Chris the curls were almost perfect with no frizz. They fell as beautifully as Nellie Olson's. Then I gave birth to my 2nd child and the curls along with my sanity slowly lost any semblance of decency and both became what we see today.

Mine had not a sentimental bone but my mother was a bit of a hoarder. My Dad still won't let me into his basement where our "play room" was and still is but I'm 99% sure I'm gonna find some little people down there. Asbestos and all!

Ooh, bring on the lead paint! I'll take the asbestos if it's free! Our attic was filled with asbestos years ago and I remember my dad going up to remove it and getting a ferocious rash all over his arms and chest from it. Unless that's where mom stashed my toys and it was a lead pain rash.............

It is our favorite Epcot resort too. Beach and Yacht clubs are way too sterile for me. And while I called Boardwalk Grandma chic on our first trip there I've come to love its charm

I agree it has the most charm, modern or not. Not a fan of Yacht's decor or feel and while I like BC it just seems a little too chaotic at times.

Pretty sure you know the answer here

As I added those questions to the post I was going over your answers in my head

Currently , I mix it up but for several years our first park day was AM EMH at MGM when you had to run for TSMM passes so we would always race over to RD there.

MGM And I remember those TSM runs! Steve would do that while I walked slowly with the kids lol

 

[ariane37]

Almost always our first park is MK.

I try to avoid MK on a Saturday

I try to but if it fits for whatever reason I'll do it.

OK, I am bit late to the party with my answer. But my first resort was CBR in 2010. My parents came since my youngest was only 3 and they were the "baby sitters". We had adjoining rooms. I liked the resort, but my wife did not, she thought it was too big.

No such thing as being late and it's always good to see you Jeff We had the grandmothers on those first 2 trips for the same reason but it only worked out with my mom My first time at CBR wasn't until this past October so I don't know what it looked like back then but I do think it's very pretty now with a great vibe. Ugh but like your wife that size isn't for me.

Now I need to walk down Main Street on my first day just to feel the Disney magic first thing. And when leaving we have to "say goodbye" the same way.

Love it! And what all of us here wouldn't do do walk down Main St. ASAP

 

[Jenny Sanders]

Gee I had no idea

LMBO!

 

[Jenny Sanders]

I'm so glad you're enjoying reading! And I hope your niece can do her DCP; I know my friend Jenny @Jenny Sanders son is hoping to do his again in August also as he was supposed to be there in a couple weeks

It's just so depressing!!!

 

[DonnaBeeGood]

.

 

[jdd]

It's just so depressing!!!

I know, and I was so sorry to hear that they cancelled the programs for the fall advantage! I hope they're open by August and I hope they keep her in the program. Or, if they have to cancel it this year, I hope they give all these kids first shot at spring or fall 2021. Keep us posted if your son gets any updates.

 

[Steppesister]

We had an absolute horrific stay in 2015; room cleanliness, responsiveness and attitude of staff, broken promises

Finally and surprisingly I know, I have dinner reservations booked too! The kids will get to try San Angel Inn. Steve and I have been twice by ourselves. I know the reviews are mixed but we enjoy it and when we went in Feb. 2019 for my birthday Steve had a Catfish entree he still raves about today. And of course the avocado margarita:

1. Do you always do a specific park on arrival day?
2. Do you always do a specific park on departure day?
3. Do you mix up the order each trip?
LEMME KNOW!

1) I always start out my trip with DTD, but in terms of PARK, I love to head to AK first being my favorite. But, as others have said, depends on EMH a lot of the time.

2) No, not really, by the end of the trip I am winging it and usually go to whatever park I don't feel like I've gotten quite enough of.

3) The MIDDLE orf trips is always a mish-mash and I go by EMH, usually. But also by Festivals and DO use the crowd calendars. But I always try to give each park equal time except DHS, my leasts favey.

 

[suse66]

He is Even my youngest nephew (my sisters son) they bonded to each other as soon as my nephew was old enough to "like" people and to this day Trevor runs and says hi to Ricky before anyone else ❤

If he wasn't set on going in to engineering, I would say he would make a wonderful teacher!

Man you can't get any better than the GF for a first onsite stay! And what a great deal!
Wonder if we'll see anything like that in the future

It was an awesome deal and the parks were SO quiet. We had deluxe dining (we had no idea how much food that would be) for $39 each for adults and $9 per child!!!! So our total was $110/day for food for five people! That was the trip we went to bed full and woke up full. We left 43 snack credits and 11 meals on the table and we didn't even care. I remember going up to families and asking if we could pay for their meals. Needless to say that was the last time we ever did deluxe dining.

 

[ariane37]

Well, it's been about a week now and we have no new info from Disney than the last time I posted I mean my Memorial Weekend trip is off and I assume tomorrow or shortly thereafter the rest of May will be shut down too. Given all that if you take another look at my updated ticker, we are still planning on going in June! Hopefully we'll have the definitive answer on that asap and hopefully then I can do a July PTR prequel here with details of June Until then.....

Figure I'll give you guys a little NY quarantine geography update/lesson because you're here, lots of you have nowhere better to be, so why not?

Yesterday our Governor announced a rather detailed plan for reopening NY, phases and all. As you all probably know NY has been one of - if not the most - hardest hit state by far. We doin' better tho! Not "Let The Sun Shine In" Woodstock redo party better but better. So first he did this, with the yellow "low risk regions" being ready for a phase 1 opening:



Now if you look way down on the bottom you'll see "Mid-Hudson" - that's us I know you are all going "Wait; she's not in NYC but she's not UPSTATE?" That's right, because there's more NY than NYC and Upstate NY! You're now probably saying "ah, no phase 1 for you!" and that's because we are too %#**^ close to the city. So while it LOOKS like those lucky yellow areas will be going into our phase 1 later this month we personally are still unknown.

Next he did this:



In order to be given the all clear to begin phase 1 each area needs to meet 7 metrics and Mid-Hudson, my area, currently meets 5 out of 7. Not bad being that the city is 3 and Long Island is 2. So right now it means we are not ready to begin phase 1 on May 16th but there's always the chance we hit 6 or 7 out of 7 by then!

I know this isn't really Disney related and depending on your feelings and where your state stands possibly not interesting and/or aggravating, but it did make me feel a bit positive. Just talking about reopening and having a plan, and seeing that we aren't the worst off in NY lol, combined with the beautiful weather we had this weekend and the announcement that Shangai Disneyland is opening the 11th, this week seems a bit brighter than the last few weeks



Back to July real quick! I made our FP's yesterday and while they aren't Memorial Weekend trip perfect I did get 7DMT, FOP, MMRR, Millennium Falcon, TOTx2 and BTMRRx2 so I feel good! I also made a couple more ADR's to fit around those FP's and I feel like it's just so out of character but as was suggested by a good DIS friend, should Disney start to limit the # of guests they allow to make dining reservations I don't want to be eating lots of QS if I can avoid it.

Before I go, a couple of you asked if my MIL actually made her sauce and meatballs on that WDW trip back in 2007 at the funkily named Liki Tiki Resort. The answer is

And if you don't mind, when I return I think I'll do a little retro TR within this PTR!

 

[ariane37]

Wait... they didn't deliver on that?
Sorry you were sick, too.

Thanks. It was like a big not fun comedy of errors, the whole trip. Maybe after I do a little PTR on our grandmama's meaballs in WDW I'll do a 2015 BW throwback recap

Nice that you've been able to get out for a bit of walking. I'm enjoying walking the dogs still when it's not crazy windy or raining, or meeting up with DD26 to see the baby in the stroller (still no touching allowed here, and probably shouldn't even be walking together but that's the ONLY cheating I've done with our area recommendations for 7.5 weeks so far!).

It was so nice and today was 4 days in a row for walking! It's a definite rain situation for the next 4 days thought and Mother's Day is up in the air. I'm glad you get to see the baby! I do feel lucky we see our granddaughter every Sunday. It all has to be about what each of us are comfortable with; I still haven't seen my mom but from afar 3x since the beginning of March

Last trip I actually did Disney Springs for 2 days before even going to a park,

I remember that!

but so far it is always MK for my first and last park days. Hoping to follow that trend again next year

❤ so glad you plan on returning next year, I know you'll get there!

I always start out my trip with DTD, but in terms of PARK, I love to head to AK first being my favorite. But, as others have said, depends on EMH a lot of the time.

I really like your DTD arrival day plan and would do that if the family would agree I had it in there for June without anyone knowing lol but then they changed our flight and now I don't think they'll want to go by the time we get down there.....

But I always try to give each park equal time except DHS, my leasts favey.

This is so sad since MGM used to be my favorite. However with the removal of so much of the original glitz and glamour even my beloved TOT doesn't move this park up the fave ladder anymore.....

If he wasn't set on going in to engineering, I would say he would make a wonderful teacher!

Before he had a decision I suggested this many times

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

Ach Ariane I’m feeling all positive for you too now that I’ve read the charts (and learnt some geography to boot). Your district really isn’t so far away from phase one and seems headed in the right direction which definitely gives hope!
Yesterday we got word back from Disney that they were refunding our deposit for our cancelled July trip. Have to hand it to them they were brilliant, very quick and efficient. It was cancelled due to non covid issues but covid certainly sealed the deal on that decision. Still waiting on our insurance company regarding the flights which is both annoying and unreasonable give that there is no way to travel to the US from here regardless!! I want my money back so I can look at traveling next year instead if we ever get to leave the house again!!!
Looking forward to the mama’s meatballs trip report