The Aussies Are Running Wine & Dine 2019

[Sinders99]

Can you buy Disney gift cards to pay for things with instead of charging to your magicband?

If only we could buy Disney gift cards in Australia We could buy them once we land in Orlando and that might be an option worth considering as I've actually planned a relaxed morning the first full day we arrive with the intention of heading to Target or Walmart to pickup snacks and breakfast supplies.

 

[Sinders99]

WOOOOO HOOOOO!! ONLY 4 WEEKS TO GO!!

Holly cow our departure date is so close now and I'm checking and double checking our plans, Fast Passes and seeing if I can stuff a little more Disney into our plans.

Our Wine & Dine costumes are sorted out, Halloween & Christmas parties are booked and all final balances are fully paid. The training was going well until I picked up the flu that's been doing the rounds in my workplace. It's meant a week off the road but I'm happy to report that I was back out there yesterday and setting a new 5km PB and tomorrow I'll be back out completing a very slow and steady 14km's.

We're starting to consider what to pack and I have to admit that I'm finding it a little difficult. On our last trip we were very much in the late summer and it was strictly a 'wear as little as possible' dress code. This time though I'm led to believe we'll have comfortable/warm temps during the day but cooler, potentially light jacket, weather in the evenings??

Our previous WDW trip was only 8 days in the parks and this trip is 18 so the packing just seems a little more daunting and involved especially considering there's 3 race costumes, a Halloween costume and mixed weather to contend with. We've also had some difficulty with luggage. On our last trip our large suitcases were badly damaged by ground crew which has left us with only 3 medium suitcases. We stupidly should have claimed the damaged luggage on our travel insurance at the time but didn't and now we're really torn as to wether to upgrade our luggage before leaving or take the 3 medium suitcases we have and buy new luggage in Orlando? Luggage prices here are a little obscene with a large American Tourister suitcase setting you back around $200 AUD a piece. But we're not sure if luggage in the US is really any cheaper or if we should buy here before we go or wait until we arrive in Orlando?? Any advice or tips would be much appreciated as well as any packing tips/advice on all those little things that we should bring which make a trip so much more enjoyable.​

 

[Sinders99]

T MINUS 17 DAYS TO GO!!

This is going to be a very text heavy update so apologies in advance for the total lack of anything interesting to look at. Gee life has been busy! I've been pushing really hard at work these past 2-3 weeks to reach a new growth target. Hitting the target means a tidy lump sum bonus and I'm so insanely close to hitting it at the moment. With only 17 days to go before we fly out I think I'll fall just short but I know it's very attainable not long after I return so I've already decided to invest the money in a Dooney & Bourke shopping tote!! I had a chance to buy a Disney Cruise Line one on our last trip but talked myself out of it and I've regretted it ever since. So unless a new design launches between now and the middle of November I'm thinking of getting either the Food & Wine Festivate tote, the Disney Parks sketch tote or the It's A Small World tote.

I'll also be investing some of that bonus in a swag of merchandise at the Wine & Dine expo and am already eyeing off a Sparkle Skirt or two!

So we're definitely in the final throws of preparations. The suitcases have come out of the garage now and after agonising over what we should do about our suitcase situation (see last post) we decided to just take the 2 medium suitcases we have and buy 2 new large suitcases once we arrive in Orlando to bring back all our lovely goodies.

Our ESTA's have been completed. Copies of our documents made and my running training is well underway. I'm actually running another 10km race this weekend. it was initially supposed to be a half marathon distance but I had a bit of an injury flare up and decided to errr on the side of caution and downgrade to the 10km distance to give me the best chance of non injury during the wine and dine races.

I've also started to pickup all those little things that your take on a Disneyworld trip including Halloween & Christmas bunting and banners to decorate our window at POP, a small serving tray to use at the Food & Wine festival so we don't have to juggle our goodies or eat off the tops of trash cans, light up christmas light necklaces for MVMCP, a mesh wash bag for all our laundry, power banks for recharging phones in the parks, colour catching sheets for the laundry, zip lock bags, ponchos. Does anyone out there have any additional suggestions on handy items to take??

Not long now everyone and you'll be reading our trip report!!
​

 

[pkondz]

Hitting the target means a tidy lump sum bonus and I'm so insanely close to hitting it at the moment

oooh… good luck! Hope you get it!

colour catching sheets for the laundry

What is that?

Does anyone out there have any additional suggestions on handy items to take??

Large ziplock bags for wet bathing suits. Tape to hang the decorations.

 

[Sinders99]

What is that?

They're sheets that you can put in the wash to catch all the colour that runs out of dark clothing in the wash. It means that you can put a mixed load of light and dark colours in together and you won't turn all your light clothing pink or grey

 

[pkondz]

They're sheets that you can put in the wash to catch all the colour that runs out of dark clothing in the wash. It means that you can put a mixed load of light and dark colours in together and you won't turn all your light clothing pink or grey

What??? Really? I've never heard of that! I didn't even think that was possible.

 

[VeronicaMarie]

Ooh how exciting! I was eyeing up the Cats Dooney and Bourke bag this summer, but ultimately could not commit to the price point. Especially with the CAD to USD exchange. Can’t wait to see which one you end up getting!

So close now. Sounds like you have all your ducks in a row for packing. Best of luck with the rest of your training.

 

[Sinders99]

T-MINUS 6 DAYS AND COUNTING
A FINAL POST BEFORE WE DEPART

So as the title says this will be my final update before we jump on that big steel bird and fly out to Orlando on the 26th Oct. I'm so unbelievably excited! I have no idea how I'm going to sleep in these final few days.

My boss and coworkers have decided to go for a second round of the flu and of course they didn't stay at home so guess who's been fighting off the flu again?? Still at least it's this week and not the coming week right before we leave. I also dropped my last long run this weekend before we fly out to be on the safe side and not run myself down - literally!

Everything is pretty much packed and we're pretty organised which is astonishing. In the end we decided on only bringing 2 medium suitcases and buying 2 large ones once we arrive in Orlando. We're also carrying a lot of things over that we probably won't bring back with us including goodies to dress up our POP Century window for both Halloween & Christmas. Literally on the 1st Nov we'll be switching our window display over to Christmas We dressed our window up last trip as well and it's just a super fun thing to do. We always love checking out everyones windows around the resort. We're also bringing some super cute clip on koalas to hang off a card on our door along with a note for people to help themselves to a little piece of Australia.

Half of my suitcase is full of Australian candy, biscuits and gifts for our Orlando based friends who have been such a help acting as our postal depot for the past month. They also tracked down a set of the rare Star Wars charms in the parks for me as well so we definitely wanted to bring something to show our gratitude. I'll be bringing back just as much US candy with me. Half my bag coming back will be filled with Gihradelli's Dark Choc & Rasberry squares. I LOVE THOSE!! You just can't get them here.

We wisely decided to take 1 small trolley suitcase on the plane with us and pack our toiletries and an extra change of clothes just in case our luggage is delayed or lost. We've schedules a trip to the Walmart Supercentre the first full day we're there so if the worst happens we'll have 1 day of clothes to get us through.

We also invested in a couple of pairs of Sony MX1000M3 noise cancelling bluetooth headphones. Every time we've flown to the US (twice previously) we've struggled to sleep and these babies have some of the best noise cancelling out there. They've got a 30 hour battery life so we figure we'll run the noise cancelling while we sleep on the plane so that we actually do sleep.

So this is it. The last of my pre trip report updates! Thank you all for following along and joining me on this planning journey. Goodness knows this trip has worked out so very different from the one we originally thought we were going to take. There's been bumps along the way but the second WDW trip has been much less stressful to plan even with SWGE opening, Wine&Dine race weekend, Veterans Day Holiday & Jersey Week to take into account. Keep an eye out on the pages for my trip report once we're back.

THANK YOU EVERYONE AND SEE YOU ON THE FLIP SIDE!!​

 

[VeronicaMarie]

YAY! Safe travels and have the best time. Can't wait for your trip report!

 

[pkondz]

So as the title says this will be my final update before we jump on that big steel bird and fly out to Orlando on the 26th Oct. I'm so unbelievably excited! I have no idea how I'm going to sleep in these final few days.

So close now!!! How did that happen???

My boss and coworkers have decided to go for a second round of the flu and of course they didn't stay at home so guess who's been fighting off the flu again??

Why can't people stay home? Do they think we want to breathe in all their germs????

Half of my suitcase is full of Australian candy, biscuits and gifts for our Orlando based friends

Very nice of you.

Half my bag coming back will be filled with Gihradelli's Dark Choc & Rasberry squares. I LOVE THOSE!!

We also invested in a couple of pairs of Sony MX1000M3 noise cancelling bluetooth headphones. Every time we've flown to the US (twice previously) we've struggled to sleep and these babies have some of the best noise cancelling out there. They've got a 30 hour battery life so we figure we'll run the noise cancelling while we sleep on the plane so that we actually do sleep.

I'd be very curious to see how you find them. I have noise cancelling headphones too. (Not the same ones. Sorry, not sure what brand they are.) I found that having them on really muted background noises like the sound of the jets, but... voices came through actually more clearly and more... shockingly. However... if I had something on (I was watching a movie), I can't hear anything at all. I might suggest that if you have the same issues, you download some soft music that you enjoy and can sleep to.

THANK YOU EVERYONE AND SEE YOU ON THE FLIP SIDE!!

Have a great trip!!!!