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

[luvpoohandcompany]

Oh I DO want to see pictures!

I will go hunting later and see what I can find

Of course ❤

It did become easier after they left. But our follow up visit 10 months later, just the 4 of us, was PERFECT!

All that misery was worth it just to get the follow-up trips

 

[suse66]

Room for 1 small Irishwoman? I'll bring the booze and the craic

I'll move over and make space for you in the back, Moira!

I hope you enjoyed it! We had a great dinner and awesome dessert too Quite a few of our chinese restaurants closed when all this started but are starting to open again which I'm really happy about.

It was so delicious! We went for a walk at the fishing club, I got a nice picture with Jack and then I tried to get a picture with Jamie and Stuart and the results were um......interesting! Hope you enjoyed your meal and sangria!

OMG that sounds hysterical as annoyed as I'd be!

It's funny in retrospect....the boys had so much fun with their cousins on that trip and it was nice being with my sister. My brother in law is what I refer to as a "special friend"....he's the one that pulled the plug on my Disney trip with my niece two months before we were supposed to leave. My sister is all about spending as little as possible and I am a "go big or go home" kind of Disney girl so we are not the best travel companions!

 

[Tracy161]

First off, Happy belated Mother's Day!!!

Good evening all, happy winter!

No kidding, this is ridiculous! We had a frost last night again...

YAY! Finally something "normal".

I do know we were there for a week and other than SeaWorld the boys would only agree to go to ONE Disney park ONE day.

As I said my MIL whom the boys called Mema wanted nothing to do with the parks even though she knew we were going to Disney.

I'm so confused by her thought process

now look at this picture and tell me how much happiness you see streaming from it:

Oh yeah... it's radiating out from everywhere.

they left about 4 hours into the day along with MIL

I know it's unfathomable for Disney people like us to even entertain this idea. But even for non-Disney lovers... it's a LOT of money to shell out for 4 hours!!! I made the dreadful mistake of taking an ex-boyfriend with me to Florida many years ago when I applied for a job at Disney and he insisted on only two days at the parks (we were there a week); the MK day we left after 5 hours and the EP day we left after 4. Needless to say, that relationship ended pretty soon after. I started going by myself after that

Maybe SHE'S the reason I hate planning now lol because she asked 100x each day when we were going to want her sauce?

I think this is a highly likely explanation!

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

I'll move over and make space for you in the back, Moira!

Yay! Thanks Susan!

It's funny in retrospect....the boys had so much fun with their cousins on that trip and it was nice being with my sister.

Cousins are the best fun! My kids get on brilliantly with my sister's. Even now as adults the older ones socialize together when they can

My brother in law is what I refer to as a "special friend"....he's the one that pulled the plug on my Disney trip with my niece two months before we were supposed to leave.

That was nice of him!

My sister is all about spending as little as possible and I am a "go big or go home" kind of Disney girl so we are not the best travel companions!

This is me and my sister to a tee! I'm all about the deluxe hotel and she's all about pitching a tent in a random field or renting a dingy room that she has to clean before she uses! I am slowly converting her to my way of thinking witha mix of "life's too short" and "you're a long time dead! strategies I still love spending time with my sister but not whole holidays lol

the MK day we left after 5 hours and the EP day we left after 4. Needless to say, that relationship ended pretty soon after. I started going by myself after that

 

[KathyM2]

That's pretty hilarious about the meatballs. Made me laugh. We have had similar experiences where people have different expectations of what the vacation will be, and I totally feel how infuriating it can be!! Good thing you can laugh about it now!!

 

[ariane37]

I will go hunting later and see what I can find

I hope your hunt is successful lol!

and then I tried to get a picture with Jamie and Stuart and the results were um......interesting

I saw the attempts on FB ❤ So fun and adorable!

. My sister is all about spending as little as possible and I am a "go big or go home" kind of Disney girl so we are not the best travel companions!

My sister has absolutely NO interest in Disney; my nephews have never been. She is a very laid back, let's rent a house and sit on the beach for a week vacation type and that is 100% not something I'd enjoy! So the extent of our trips have been a couple nights at Hershey Park and Sesame Place when the boys were all younger.

First off, Happy belated Mother's Day!!!

Thank you It was a really good day!

That's pretty hilarious about the meatballs. Made me laugh. We have had similar experiences where people have different expectations of what the vacation will be, and I totally feel how infuriating it can be!! Good thing you can laugh about it now!!

It can sound like a great idea vacationing with friends and close family but I think it's too much work I'll stick to the four of us with the exception of our granddaughter of course!

 

[ariane37]

Good morning! We've survived another week of quarantine! I hope everyone had a nice Mother's Day with your kids/grandkids/moms/grandmoms/anyone you consider a mom figure as best you could. My granddaughter did come over and we had a wonderful day with great weather; best of all I got this!



And from the kids I got these, which I'd heard of but never really looked at. It's a series of books about the Haunted Mansion "Happy Haunts":



They are based around middle schoolers so they remind me of the Kingdom Keepers series which I LOVED and Ricky started re-reading during all this lol. I'm still on the first one, it's an easy fun read!

In Disney news you all know DS is reopening and that made me SO happy. Then our June 6th arrival got cancelled and that made me a bit sad, although I wasn't surprised. We do have a back up June 9th arrival booked and I'm sure next Thursday will bring the demise of that too. So it's a good thing I started this as a JULY PTR, and with that let's move on to our plans for day 3!

JULY 6TH

This will be our first morning waking up at the BWI and I'm sure we'll hit the club lounge for breakfast. I think that's one of the best draws to doing CL, being able to grab a quick breakfast before you head out. This works especially well on mornings you want to leave early and we are attempting that this morning! We will be boating or walking to HS to attempt a boarding group (if that's still a thing) for our collective first ride on ROTR.

Are the boys looking forward to this? Ricky is. Am I?
Eh.
I know. But YOU know I'm not a SW fan, however I am interested in seeing what the fuss is about as it's always said how amazing the ride is. Hopefully it works out with the boarding group and then depending on crowds we'll try to hit a ride or two before going back to our resort to rest. I'm thinking MAYBE before resting we'll take a quick walk to Les Halles for some 2nd breakfast? Or just hit the lounge again.
Steve doesn't rest so he'll probably go to the pool and Chris may go with him, he has no recollection of swimming in the awesome clown pool. He was 10 the last time we stayed but still, no memory but they did swim on the day I was in the room puking He does remember Stormalong Bay on our Nov. 2016 visit though!




Best picture I got and you can't even tell it's SAB! Basically he was taking sand from the bottom and building a "sand castle" on the ledge there while I stool outside the pool freezing my butt off. Ricky and Steve had gone to HS at that point and we were waiting for them to get back and go to dinner at Narcoossee's and this kid wouldn't get out of the pool! I ended up packing our stuff up and starting to walk away, yelling "bye" to him thinking he'd get out, but he just waved to me from the water and dove back under Turnaround time to being dinner-ready was NOT quick!

After we sleep, swim, or whatever we'll go back to HS for a late lunch. Now I'm not a huge fan of the restaurants in HS but given the way FP's fell, this works best.
I thought and thought, and given Ricky's love of milkshakes I almost went with Sci Fi. However I realized he could still try a milkshake at 50's, so that's where we'll be! We haven't been here in YEARS as Chris doesn't like it. Why? Because on that last visit someone was told to keep his elbows off the table and this was his reaction:




I do love this kid, even when banging my head against the wall! One of Chris's talents is holding grudges so whenever 50's Prime Time is mentioned he yells out a bit "NOPE!" even now at 14. Therefore, this will be our secret until about 10 minutes before we eat

We then have FP's starting around 3:30 (reservation is at 2:05) for TOT, TSM, and Smugglers Run. Steve and I have been on but it'll be the first time for the boys and again Ricky is looking forward to it. I've ridden twice, first with Steve and then on my work trip and honestly, it makes me nauseous but I'll ride once again for the boys.

Oh, let me add here that I know our mid-day hanging at the resort will depend on when our boarding group is called IF we get one. Hoping it' either not long into the morning, or actually what I'd prefer is that it's after our reservation! Either way we'll need to eat again that night. I would say we won't need a big meal after what will probably be a big lunch but then again, it's us. If everyone wants a sit down we'll see what's available at Epcot and if not, I'm thinking when we leave HS a good idea would be to lounge here for a bite:



The menu if you never been here is great because you can get everything from apps to a burger to a prime rib! I myself will be ordering this thing of beauty:

'Everything' Pretzel
Beer Cheese, Yuzu-pickled Vegetables, House-made Mr. Tractor Kolsch Mustard



Last time I had this was in October when I was on my work trip and bailed on Jellyrolls because dinner was HORRIBLE and I needed to eat. My one and so far only solo meal in Disney! It was totally worth it.

Being that we will have probably been up early I don't think we'll do anything later than dinner, and our last FP starts at 5:45 so it'll most likely be at least 8 when we finish eating, later if we end up in Epcot. So swimming, BW entertainment, or what I imagine will end up being the boys chilling in the room and running to the lounge for desserts and Steve and I chilling somewhere with drinks




Go ahead and add #selfieskills to the list of things NOT to be jealous of when it comes to me

OK! Here's my fun and engaging question for today.




This isn't a "resort day" per se for us, just a day with some possible down time built in. We don't really do resort days although the combination the last few years of going in the summer and the boys getting older and more stubborn has led to us doing later starts or adding non park things to our days like bowling and renting water craft. I just get too bored and am too excited when we're there to spend a whole day at the resort but totally see the appeal for some! So what about you; do you always built one or some resort days into your stays?

 

[KathyM2]

This isn't a "resort day" per se for us, just a day with some possible down time built in. We don't really do resort days although the combination the last few years of going in the summer and the boys getting older and more stubborn has led to us doing later starts or adding non park things to our days like bowling and renting water craft. I just get too bored and am too excited when we're there to spend a whole day at the resort but totally see the appeal for some! So what about you; do you always built one or some resort days into your stays?

I don't think I've ever planned to spend an entire day at the resort where we are staying, but I definitely always build in non-park days with lots of downtime. Actually who am I kidding, I build downtime into every day...otherwise I just get way too tired...old soul I guess lol. But I find that if the downtime is built into the plan...then I get less antsy about it lol

 

[DonnaBeeGood]

.

 

[Jenny Sanders]

You know we love resort days in the Sperandeo house. We get to sleep in, have a yummy brunch, chillax at the pool (drink, a lot), and then enjoy an awesome dinner. That is my fav way to spend a Disney day PERIOD!!!

 

[kastoney]

❤ ❤ ❤ Presents really don't get better than this

Casey has one of those she randomly picked out on our last trip. Pretty sure she's never read it

They are based around middle schoolers so they remind me of the Kingdom Keepers series which I LOVED and Ricky started re-reading during all this lol. I'm still on the first one, it's an easy fun read!

I'd never heard of these but sounds right up Casey's alley (and maybe her Mamas). Just ordered her the first book so thanks for the heads up!

think that's one of the best draws to doing CL, being able to grab a quick breakfast before you head out.

Gonna have to disagree with ya there sister. Is clearly the best draw

owever I realized he could still try a milkshake at 50's, so that's where we'll be! We haven't been here in YEARS as Chris doesn't like it. Why? Because on that last visit someone was told to keep his elbows off the table and this was his reaction:

Is it wrong that I would like to see this happen again?

So what about you; do you always built one or some resort days into your stays?

We usually do one mid-trip. Good to sleep in, relax, then we usually make nighttime FP's somewhere

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

We definitely factor chill days into our trips as we're usually there for at least 2 weeks. Lazy lie-ins, pool time possibly followed by nap-time if some of us (ahem me) have had a cocktail or 2 at the pool and need to sleep my tipsiness off and then dinner and wine somewhere nice. I will admit I am the 1 most inclined to get bored so I sometimes head into either Epcot or MK by myself or with youngest son if he's up for it. We tend to stay at YC/BC so it's an easy stroll to Epcot and I love taking thing at a slower pace that the boys. They just don't get it! We've also done the mini-golf and water crafts from that area and I have also opted out and stayed by the pool, cocktail in hand and send the males in my life on their merry way

 

[Terra Nova guy]

So what about you; do you always built one or some resort days into your stays?

Definitely, although not usually a full day. Some down time for a sleep in and pool time is necessary after a few busy park days.
We did have a full resort day at PORS, relaxed at the pool, fishing pond, campfire, carriage ride, outdoor movie.
Depends how many days the trip is of course.

 

[buzzrelly]

. But YOU know I'm not a SW fan,

You don't have to be…you're going to love it!

Because on that last visit someone was told to keep his elbows off the table and this was his reaction:

'Everything' Pretzel
Beer Cheese, Yuzu-pickled Vegetables, House-made Mr. Tractor Kolsch Mustard

That looks so amazing right now!

do you always built one or some resort days into your stays?

It's not a vacation if we don't spend some time at the pool. We usually do mid-day breaks there

 

[disneyAndi14]

I think you will all love RotR, it is awesome! It is worth getting up early!
We usually don’t build in a specific resort day. We like to take time at our resort almost every afternoon on our trips!
We definitely like to spend time at Disney Springs and we usually pick a couple days to add this in along with a park.

 

[Wood Nymph]

My granddaughter did come over and we had a wonderful day with great weather; best of all I got this!

I love the gifts with the child's handprint. I still have a couple of the ones I got when my kids were little. Those are really old.
That was nice that you can spend time with your granddaughter during this crazy lock down. I can't wait until we are able to do that.

This will be our first morning waking up at the BWI and I'm sure we'll hit the club lounge for breakfast.

I've heard lots of good things at the CL at BWI. I can't wait to hear how you like it.

We will be boating or walking to HS to attempt a boarding group (if that's still a thing) for our collective first ride on ROTR.

One of the perks of staying at an Epcot area resort is the ability to walk to HS ahead of the crowd in order to get a boarding group. I'm curious to see how things change when WDW reopens.

I am interested in seeing what the fuss is about as it's always said how amazing the ride is.

I hate when people say that a ride is amazing or a resort is amazing, or my absolute least favorite - the club lounge is amazing. I think it only sets people up for disappointment when they find out that it isn't amazing at all. But it is a good ride.

We haven't been here in YEARS as Chris doesn't like it.

Dana has absolutely no interest in ever going there again. There may have been some teasing going on then we were last there 20 years ago.

Oh, let me add here that I know our mid-day hanging at the resort will depend on when our boarding group is called IF we get one.

The whole boarding group thing disrupts the day and messes with fastpasses and ADR's. The Hollywood Studios cast members of aware of this and are pretty flexible about it, though.

The menu if you never been here is great because you can get everything from apps to a burger to a prime rib!

We have ordered the prime rib a few times. The server goes into the Yachtsman for the meat and potatoes. Crew's Cup is a favorite of ours, although I do miss them being open or lunch.

do you always built one or some resort days into your stays?

We have made plans to spend many hours at the pool, but never dedicate an entire day to it. We find that the less time we spend in the parks, the more enjoyable our trip becomes. But we do like to head to a park first thing in the morning.

 

[partofthatworld]

We have done resort days on days that we switch from one resort to another and just want to chillax. We do usually visit DS or another resort for a meal or two, but no parks on resort days. We have also just done water parks on resort days and DS for dinner on those days. Back in the day it was DisneyQuest and/or a movie or Cirque on a down day.

 

[kittylady1972]

Sounds like a great plan...haven't done Prime Time in a few years myself but have always enjoyed it...even the one time I had one of the waiters doing the "airplane" and feeding me when I didn't finish my food. Yes I do have that photo.

As for your question, we don't usually have "resort days" built in either, though I just try to factor in more and more flexibility in our trips the more we take. Our last trip to Caribbean Beach we didn't have much of a schedule and I let us just do whatever, so the boys went off to a movie one day while the girls chilled at the pool...but then we did the parks later. Now our actual last Disney family trip we didn't have annual passes so on our final day instead of visiting a park we planned that as a day to chill by the pool until our flight. I got some flack about it from my kids initially but it turned out to be one of the best ways to finish off our trip. We chilled at the pool, had lunch there after checking out of our treehouse villa, and then ended up showering and changing before heading to the airport.

 

[missjackiemcg]

I'm so excited you're going to 50's Primetime! That's one of our favorites. I love the PBJ milkshake (sounds kind of gross, but is so delicious!!) and the pot roast. Rob's go to is the meatloaf. I hope Chris doesn't run screaming from the park when you tell him where you're heading to eat!

Go ahead and add #selfieskills to the list of things NOT to be jealous of when it comes to me

Just ask Mr. Selfie to teach you!

So what about you; do you always built one or some resort days into your stays?

I usually like to go, go, go! But, Rob does not! So, when he is with me, there is always a break in the day for swimming at the pool. I am not a swimmer, but I am great at lounging!!

 

[pkondz]

I hope everyone had a nice Mother's Day

It was busy. I spent most of it cooking. Belgian waffles for breakfast with whipped cream, maple syrup and peaches with a side of thick slice bacon. Dinner... huh. Don't remember what it was now! But it was good.

And from the kids I got these, which I'd heard of but never really looked at. It's a series of books about the Haunted Mansion "Happy Haunts":

Cool!

We will be boating or walking to HS to attempt a boarding group (if that's still a thing) for our collective first ride on ROTR.

Are the boys looking forward to this? Ricky is. Am I?
Eh.
I know. But YOU know I'm not a SW fan, however I am interested in seeing what the fuss is about as it's always said how amazing the ride is.

I am very curious to see what you think of it.

Basically he was taking sand from the bottom and building a "sand castle" on the ledge there while I stool outside the pool freezing my butt off.

given Ricky's love of milkshakes I almost went with Sci Fi. However I realized he could still try a milkshake at 50's, so that's where we'll be!

PB&J milkshake for the win!!

We haven't been here in YEARS as Chris doesn't like it. Why? Because on that last visit someone was told to keep his elbows off the table and this was his reaction:

Oh, dear.

'Everything' Pretzel
Beer Cheese, Yuzu-pickled Vegetables, House-made Mr. Tractor Kolsch Mustard

That looks great!
I've never been there, though. Might have to.

So what about you; do you always built one or some resort days into your stays?

Oh, you were serious.
Actually, no. My time in Disney is usually fairly short (4-6 days), so I don't really have the time.