The Darlings Caved Already! A Sept. '12 PTR -- Sept. 26 - TR link posted!

[teekathepony]

Whoo hoo!!

Adding Universal to your trip is awesome! Another reason to look forward to this fall!
And how sweet that Johnny gave up the driving experience for both of you to enjoy some WWoHP...


That garden looks great! What a neat idea. I was invited to Pintrest before I knew what it was, and I never joined...now I see all these cool crafts and always tell myself that I need to join and try it out.

It's exciting thinking of going back to Universal. Mickey is my main man, but I am a huge Harry Potter fan too. Johnny's pretty awesome, I think I'll keep him

I love your gardening project! I like Pinterest, but I always forget to go on there for things!

Aww, that's so sweet that Johnny gave up his driving thing for you guys to do Universal! I've been trying to save up the money to surprise Brandon with that on every trip, but I always end up spending it on something else (like resort upgrades! )

I usually scroll through Pinterest and just pin anything interesting. This was the first time I actually came back to make something from there!
Johnny's a good guy, he always puts me first. But I think that he wanted to go back to Universal just as much this year. Petty is a lot of money to save up before a trip, that's for sure! Even with the $200 off coupon!

Your gardening project is so cute!! I love how it looks!

Yay for going to Universal!!! How sweet of Johnny to give up going to Richard Petty instead!

Thanks! I'm really pleased with the little garden.
I'm excited for Universal. Johnny is a real sweetheart, no doubt about it.

I think it's awesome he gave up the driving experience so that the both of you could enjoy WWoHP...now, that's love (can I just say that I'm also a little jealous......)

Also, your gardening project is awesome! I wish I could do something like that, but I have absolutely no way of hollowing out a log like that...maybe one day though...

He's going to be so pleased with me that I shared that story with my Dis friends. Now everyone thinks he's my saint husband! I'm kidding of course, he is a really genuinely nice guy, it's why I've stuck around for 10 years!
Johnny basically went all Texas chainsaw massacre on the logs and voila! Planters!

Cute planter. Love it!

Love the text messages! I felt like I was looking right at your phone.

I would definitely pick Universal over the Richard Petty Driving Experience so I think you got the better end of the deal!

Thanks! For two total non-gardners, I think we did a decent job so far!
The messages from my dad are always fun when they're away. I'll have to tell you guys a little about their day in Epcot and share some pictures!
I'm sure not complaining about our new arrangement! A whole day at two Universal parks for me AND Johnny vs. me being left alone for 3 hours! I'm very excited.

 

[IheartDDuck]

Yay for adding Universal! I have to say, the thought of Butterbeer and the Forbidden Journey is enough to get me back there. Doesn't take much convincing anymore, which, back in the day pre-HP, it took like pulling and twisting of the arm, dragging by the hair....you get the drift.

Drink a butterbeer for me.

 

[teekathepony]

Yay for adding Universal! I have to say, the thought of Butterbeer and the Forbidden Journey is enough to get me back there. Doesn't take much convincing anymore, which, back in the day pre-HP, it took like pulling and twisting of the arm, dragging by the hair....you get the drift.

Drink a butterbeer for me.

I had never been to Universal pre-Harry, but I can see how it would be a lot less exciting. I will drink a butterbeer for you... any anyone else who wants me to! I love that stuff!

 

[disprincessesmom1012]

Joining in. Better late than never right?

We will miss you by about a week or so. We dont arrive until the 29th.

Love all the cute clothes you bought for the trip. Your photography is AMAZING!! and your MIL cat looks just like my cat from when I was in high school. Down to the diamond shape mark on the nose! If you didnt live so far away and if it wasnt so long ago I would think he ran away to her. lol

 

[vikkii19]

Joining in, read you TR even though I didn't comment much. So much for waiting until 2015 We had said the same thing this last trip and we'll be there in October.

Yay for Universal, looks like you had a great time last year. I'm really hooked on Pinterest too, but so far I haven't made any crafts yet, I've only tried recipes.

 

[oboedm]

Woo hoo! Love that you changed to the Universal parks! Butterbeer here you come! Do you prefer frozen over regular? Or vice versa?

 

[teekathepony]

Joining in. Better late than never right?

We will miss you by about a week or so. We dont arrive until the 29th.

Love all the cute clothes you bought for the trip. Your photography is AMAZING!! and your MIL cat looks just like my cat from when I was in high school. Down to the diamond shape mark on the nose! If you didnt live so far away and if it wasnt so long ago I would think he ran away to her. lol

Hello and welcome!! You're never too late, I've got a little over 100 days to go and haven't gotten in to the day to day planning yet!
We were originally going to go the week later but bumped it up to be with my aunt and cousins.
And thank you!

Joining in, read you TR even though I didn't comment much. So much for waiting until 2015 We had said the same thing this last trip and we'll be there in October.

Yay for Universal, looks like you had a great time last year. I'm really hooked on Pinterest too, but so far I haven't made any crafts yet, I've only tried recipes.

Welcome!! Glad to have you!
It's just too hard to wait to go back to Disney! Also, I'm all for living in the moment. You never know how many opportunities you'll have right?

Woo hoo! Love that you changed to the Universal parks! Butterbeer here you come! Do you prefer frozen over regular? Or vice versa?

I love the regular, the frozen is nice and cold on a hot day so I like that it's more refreshing, but the regular tastes better. My favourite part of butterbeer is the wonderful silky foam on top which you don't get when it's frozen.

 

[Darragh]

Hi! I'm tardy to this party, but loved reading your updates so far. I'm also a Pinterest addict with over 14,000 pins. I have a board with Pins that I've made - helps me keep track of stuff. If I'm reading right, you're going to be at WDW about two weeks before we get there. Sorry we'll be missing you.

 

[teekathepony]

Hi! I'm tardy to this party, but loved reading your updates so far. I'm also a Pinterest addict with over 14,000 pins. I have a board with Pins that I've made - helps me keep track of stuff. If I'm reading right, you're going to be at WDW about two weeks before we get there. Sorry we'll be missing you.

Hey hey! Welcome aboard!
Having a pin board for ones you've done is a good idea.
Aww too bad we'll miss each other!

 

[MEK]

Update?

 

[teekathepony]

Update?

Look at you, Ms. Two days Away -- still has time to check in on friends. I've honestly had one in the works for like two weeks now! I've been really busy for once, hahaha, not keeping up with my Dis as much as I'd like. I got a ton done around here today, Johnny's birthday is tomorrow so I'm getting everything ready, we're having a small family party here tomorrow night. But I'm ahead of schedule, so perhaps this afternoon!

 

[NancyLuvsMickey]

Tell Johnny Happy Birthday!!!

 

[teekathepony]

Hello everyone! The weekend is almost here. After a week of cold, rainy weather, the sun has poked through the clouds today and it's a beautiful day!

More than ever I am looking forward to our trip. Phase one of Disney's Art of Animation resort, the Nemo suites opened just over a week ago and I've been reading everything I can about it. It looks and sounds amazing and I am so very very excited to get there!

I am also very excited to say that...

Today is my last day in the triple digits!



And tomorrow is a doubly good day -- double digits and Johnny's 26th birthday! (<--- that's kind of like a party hat, right?)

To celebrate this day in Disney countdown history, I'm going to begin to share my day to day plans.

Day 1
Sunday, September 16

Start time: 4:00am local time (3:00am Florida time)

Wake up and shake off the sleep! We're going to have our bags packed and be ready to go the night before. My parents will probably give us a lift to the airport.

The J.A. Douglas McCurdy Airport (better known as the Sydney airport) is our destination:

Yup, it's that big. Two whole gates -- one in, one out. And the same people who check you in run to do security on your bags and also check your boarding passes as you walk out the door and onto the tarmac to walk to your plane. I love my small town with my small airport.

Our flight leaves at 5:55am so we want to be at the airport around 5.

It's been posted before, but here's our flight path:

Sydney to Toronto, Toronto to Orlando. We land in Orlando at around 1pm, Fl time.

So hoping and wishing that all goes well and we land on schedule, we will be hopping over to the Magical Express counter and for the first time ever, getting in the Art of Animation bus line!

Being generous, we're hoping to get to AoA by 2:30. Get checked in, probably some lunch at the really awesome Landscape of Flavours food court:

And get to our room!

And in the interest of keeping this thing going for 99 more days, you'll have to wait for the rest!

Enjoy your weekend everyone!

 

[teekathepony]

Tell Johnny Happy Birthday!!!

Ninja post! I love those.
I will tell him Thanks!

 

[ZehnJahren]

Ha, 100 days from now I will be at O'Hare Airport, waiting to get in a plane to take me to Orlando; getting my rental car and heading straight to BC, and then off to MK for EMH!!!

I won't be at WDW until about 4 p.m., though; I didn't do the math, how long are the flights altogether? And you'll be there so early in the day! And at AoA! That will be very cool. I am definitely going to drive over and check it out; maybe have a meal there or something. I want to see what a brand-spanking-new resort at Disney looks like!

 

[pinkxray]

last day of triple digits. Once double digits hit, the trip comes in no time.

 

[amazingact21]

Happy early Birthday to Johnny!

Almost down to double digits!!! Talk about exciting! Now, to get through these last few months and then you'll be on (what I still think of as a crazy long) plane rides and be stepping foot inside AoA!

 

[teekathepony]

Ha, 100 days from now I will be at O'Hare Airport, waiting to get in a plane to take me to Orlando; getting my rental car and heading straight to BC, and then off to MK for EMH!!!

I won't be at WDW until about 4 p.m., though; I didn't do the math, how long are the flights altogether? And you'll be there so early in the day! And at AoA! That will be very cool. I am definitely going to drive over and check it out; maybe have a meal there or something. I want to see what a brand-spanking-new resort at Disney looks like!

From lift off in Sydney to touch down in Orlando is 8 hours, but actual air time is 5 hours, 29 minutes to quote my itinerary! 2 hours, 44 minutes to Toronto and 2 hours, 45 minutes to Orlando. It's actually much better than some times of the year when the Sydney to Toronto flight doesn't run and we have to go Sydney to Halifax and then Toronto and Orlando!

last day of triple digits. Once double digits hit, the trip comes in no time.

Double digits today!! It's true though, especially now that summer is here and the days are nice, the time flies by!

Happy early Birthday to Johnny!

Almost down to double digits!!! Talk about exciting! Now, to get through these last few months and then you'll be on (what I still think of as a crazy long) plane rides and be stepping foot inside AoA!

It's definitely a long flight for some, I'm just thankful that we get to go right out of Sydney. Most people drive to Halifax and fly from there, but it's a 4.5 hour drive I'd love to avoid!
I can't stop thinking... 100 days from right now I'll be getting up for my first full Disney day!!

 

[Charleston Princess]

Happy Double-Digits and Happy Birthday to Johnny!

 

[teekathepony]

Good morning! It's early and the birthday boy is still asleep, and so are the doggies and kitties and ponies and fish. Saturdays! But the sun is up and it woke me up too so I'm going to finish off the Day 1 plans.

But first, I'm officially doing the double digit dance!!

99 Days to go!!

[Not normally a huge celebration, to the girl who wasn't supposed to be going back until 2015 a double digit countdown deserves a banana dance!]


So as you remember (or not, just look up a few posts!) I left off just getting to our room.

After a long day of traveling we're both going to want showers. I hope I can get mine first and then take my camera out exploring AoA! After two showers we'll hit the bus stop and it's off to...

Where we will officially...

In the past I've drawn up an in-park schedule for us to follow, which rides to ride and when. When we get to the parks, it all goes out the window and we do whatever we want, so this year I'm not scheduling our in-park time. I have made a list of our must-do attractions (list to come later!) and as long as I hit those, I'm good!

I definitely want to do a little kitchen shopping for sure.

(That's my mom from our 2007 trip!)

and take some MK shots with the new camera!

Catch a parade, if we're early enough:

Visit some of our absolute favourite attractions:

At 8:00pm we have a plan to do something we've never done before;

I can't wait! I'm bringing my camera and tripod and hope to get some really spectacular fireworks shots.

After the fireworks, MK has EMH until 12 midnight so we're going to hang around as long as our eyelids stay up, doing a few more of our favourite things:

And hopefully meeting some old friends:

After that day we'll be heading back to AoA and crashing on our brand new bed and hopefully getting a good night's sleep!

[ETA: I had this all typed out, almost finished when Johnny woke up. I promised him a whole day of being spoiled starting with breakfast in bed. I left this post and started breakfast only to get totally sidetracked. When I came back to the computer -- horror of horrors -- Johnny had closed this tab! No others, just the Dis with my mostly finished post. Luckily it was in the history and it came up with all my writing still here. To this he bashfully replies "It's my birthday..."]

Also... I made Johnny chocolate chip Mickey pancakes for his birthday breakfast:

Have a good weekend (again) everyone!