The Days Go By At A Snail's Pace *An Aug. 2014 PTR* FINISHED

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What in the what?! This sounds horrific, but at least all the CMs seemed pretty nice about things. I hope you write to Disney, maybe they will do something to make it up to you. That's awful that you had the room troubles!

I've been out of town for a few days and am enjoying catching up What was your favorite meal from the key-swap-catastrophe trip? Favorite attractions?

It was pretty horrible! But it only really marred that first day. Honestly, though the night manager was pretty awesome the afternoon manager's laissez faire attitude kind of turned us all off from Pop for a while. I'm personally pretty burnt out with all the Values and I'm really pushing us to start planning right when we get home so that we can afford a moderate.

I think my favorite meal last year was Tutto Italia. I'm a big lover of Italian food and it was definitely great! We had never been before (well, Jen and her mum had been years and years ago, before management et al changed) so it was a nice new experience. I also really enjoyed going to the Rose & Crown but that was my one request the entire trip - could we please eat at R&C on St. Patrick's Day because it was the closest I would get to being back in Ireland for the holiday.

Favorite attraction this trip (as it always ends up being) is BTMRR! We did EMH in MK and the two of us circled back at least three times! It's usually what we do with Haunted Mansion but for some reason Big Thunder was the star here. I think it had to do with it being down for refurb last time we were there.

I love your hair! But you are right, that bag is way too short for a hipster. I actually only have one bag that I love for traveling - it's a reallly realllllllly old parcel bag from urban outfitters that I've had since high school. It makes no sense to me that they make crossbody bags with such short straps. Some ladies have curves!

Thank you! And yes, it really is! It'll be a good touting around when we're going to specific places bag though I think. I just got a Disney Vera in the mail today and I think that's my parks bag. I used a regular Vera last year and it worked really well for what I wanted so hopefully this one does the same! And yeah, if you're advertising a bag in the women's section, the crossbody part should really be able to cross the body if you know what I mean

 

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PTR Part 9: New Accommodations

I've said it over and over, but I've fallen completely out of love with the Values. I think I'm burnt out on them - I've stayed in them every time I've gone to Disney in the past ten years.

So going to a different hotel has been on my mind for a while. When the summer deal came up I wanted to jump on it but Jem was hesitant. We haven't talked about it since. I've been waffling about it. Our plans include wanting to go back to the hotel when it gets really hot in the middle of the day and I know from experience that it takes forever to get back to the All Stars. By the time we got back we'd want to go back to the parks, and I knew we'd run ourselves ragged because we'd get annoyed.

This morning before work I was playing around with the website and mentioned something about the summer deal again to Jem. I don't know if it was the fact that we were both back at work after a wonderful (but too short) week off from work or if the stress of our apartment got to her but she said that if it was ultimately only a little bit more she would be willing to stay at a moderate! After a brief discussion via email whenever we had time to sit down we decided we'd go to Caribbean Beach.

Brief moment to stop and talk about a non-Disney, real-life issue here. We moved into an apartment together a little over a year ago. We got the keys a few days before we went to Disney last year in fact. In September we noticed a leak in the ceiling. Maintenance came and we all figured it was to do with our upstairs neighbor's dishwasher so he replaced it with another one. About a month and a half later we notice water marks on our ceiling in our living room. We've been fighting with the building manager about this since until about two weeks ago (after going directly to maintenance who are awesome and doing their best) when I wrote up a letter to our manager after she replied to a feedback survey I took. I was short and verbose with her and she jumped to tell me a roofer was coming this past Wednesday. We knew that because the maintenance man had told us already but whatever. Wednesday after the rain they fixed the roof and today the contractor apparently went into our apartment to inspect the damage. According to the phone call I got it'll be a 3 day project where they'll pay for us to be in a hotel (or, he's trying to force them to pay for it because they SHOULD) and we're a bit stressed. We have no idea what to do about our cat, work, etc. So needless to say today's been a gross day back to work.

After work today (she says, still sitting at her desk) I called Disney and changed our reservations. The girl was very pleasant (her name was...Corrine, maybe?) and changed us easily.

Then I realized she put us in a preferred room!

While we were emailing back and forth about this issue Jem mentioned that I should ask to be close to the front of CBR because I have a heart condition that, while open heart surgery did solve it mostly, I still am very prone to the heat and while we've never stayed there we know from maps and TRs that we've read here that it's pretty big so she thought we should ask. When I used the phrase "I would prefer" I wasn't thinking and didn't realize until I was off the phone and back on MDE.

After starting some copies for tomorrow's classes I called back and got the loveliest CM ever on the phone. I think her name was Faith. It sounded like that but I was on speaker phone while doing some stuff in my classroom and I'm not 100% sure. She's a retired teacher and a writer so we were chatting about work while she fixed our reservation back to a standard room with the requests attached. She even said that she was giving us "I'm Celebrating" pins with our reservations!

So, I've never stayed at a Moderate before, especially not CBR! I'm actually kind of excited. I know it's not everyone's favorite (my Moderate goal still is to stay at POFQ but that has to be planned) but I love the idea of trying something new!

Now...my one concern is our ME tags. I have them but they say ASMovies on them. Should I redo them or should I be okay? Anyone with any experience on the matter got some insight?


On another note: Bribery Works Wonders!

When Jem was young (I think ten) she went on Splash Mountain. It scared her to no end and in the past six years that we've gone on vacation together she has refused to go on Splash. I haven't cared much; I adore Splash but I don't mind not going on it.

This year she has been trying to convince herself to go back on it. She knows that it's not that bad a drop, it's just the memory that makes her dislike it so much.

So....this week I may have bribed her. I used the same bribe my mother used to use with me in Disney when I was a kid: if you go on the ride you're scared of, I'll buy you a pin. We shook on it and everything.

So there's something to look forward to in the TR: Jem's first visit to Splash in sixteen years!

 

[DISNEY180]

Following Along

 

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PTR 10: The Newness Continues!

I have a little story to tell that accompanies this decision.

On our first ever trip together Jem and I thought that we were smart and savvy and eschewed the meal plan. My parents had used it but we thought that it was dumb and didn’t do it. We ate decently but we didn’t have much planned food-wise.

While we had fun, that trip was horrible for us energy-wise. Paying out of pocket for everything and only having dinner meant we were going until we collapsed. We even fell asleep on the steps of Japan one day!

We’ve gone with and without a few times since, but have always made sure to plan our food better than that time. This year, we had the meal plan because we knew off the bat we wanted some signature meals and didn’t want to have to worry about paying for them there. If we paid for them beforehand we would be good.

I know a lot of people have issues with the Dining Plan. That now that it’s more expensive it doesn’t pay for itself. For us, it does. We would end up spending the equivalent amount in a day and we have. We’ve budgeted to keep ourselves doing well when we weren’t on it but we were never full.

We’ve been wishy-washy about upgrading our dining plan. We’ve had a few reservations (Plaza, Sci-Fi, Kona) that we were going to have to pay for out of pocket and we were okay-ish with that. Since we were going back and forth on it we figured out what we would get at each place were we to have the Deluxe plan for it and sent the amount plus what we would have to pay to upgrade to Jem’s mother to crunch some numbers. Since we love trying new restaurants and wanted to eat at a bunch she suggested that we spend the extra money and just go with it.

Yesterday I finally got through to someone (of course, being us, we made the decision the DAY free dining opened to the general public and then we had party tickets come out so every time I called after work it was a massively long wait time!) and upgraded us. Once I did it was time to add more meals and get rid of the Plaza, which neither of us could justify using a meal credit for.

Our new ADR plans are:
Aug. 4
6:45 pm: Be Our Guest (MK)

Aug. 5
8:55 am: Cape May Cafe (Beach Club)
2:05 pm: Sci-Fi Dine-In Cafe (MGM)

Aug. 6.
11:50 am: San Angel Inn (Epcot)
5:45 pm: Cinderella's Royal Table (MK)

Aug. 7
9:05 am: Tusker House (AK)
6:00 pm - 7:30 pm: La Nouba (DTD)
8:00 pm: Raglan Road (DTD)

Aug. 8
2:00 pm: Le Cellier Steakhouse (Epcot)
8:20 pm: 50's Prime Time Diner (MGM)

Aug. 9
5:30 pm: 'Ohana (Poly)

Aug. 10
5:50 pm: Hollywood Brown Derby (MGM)
9:000 pm(?): Fantasmic (MGM)

Aug. 11
12:45 pm: Kona Cafe (Poly)

EDIT: Now that we've gotten rid of Liberty Tree I'm glad (though I'm a bit sad; I love Liberty Tree but there's always next time!) that we're going to Raglan Road. It may not bee 100% authentic it does make me feel a bit at home.

That said, I’m not a huge fan of Mexican food, but we both just want to eat in San Angel Inn so badly. It’s been one of our goals. So we can’t pass it up when the opportunity presents itself. I know there’s more on the menu that’d I’d be willing to eat at night but lunch was the only option. I’m sure I can manage to find something. I’m not a picky eater but lime makes me ill and the use of lime so liberally in Mexican food makes me steer clear of it.

And it gives us another excuse to go back to Prime Time, which is one of our favorite places and a staple of our trips. We originally weren't going because we felt like we had to choose between it and Sci-Fi and Jem reallllly wants to eat at Sci-Fi so it wasn't even a question which we'd choose this year. And now we don't have to choose! Huzzah!

So we'll see if we change anything else

To summarize this massive wall of text:
- Original plans: ASMovies Aug. 4-11, Regular Dining Plan
- New plans: Caribbean Bveach Aug. 4-11, Deluxe Dining Plan


Discarded Meal: Plaza (Sat. Aug. 9)
Added Meals: 'Ohana, San Angel Inn, Prime Time, Liberty Tree, Cape May

I'm sure we'll add two more meals before the day is out


In real-life news: our ceiling hasn't been fixed yet, they haven't given us a date to get out so they can fix it. In minor good news my 99 Volkswagon Bug is on its way out - it goes through gas like water, shakes when it shifts (if it wants to shift), the driver's side window won't go back up if it goes down, and no matter what we do the check engine light has been on for a year. So right now I'm just waiting for the bank to get back to me re: when I can come sign the paperwork for the loan so I can pick up a '12 Honda Civic Econ, the one car that a year ago when I started looking I said I would never be able to afford!

 

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Following Along

Yay! Welcome!

 

[DISNEY180]

Great start to your trip..

I to would be concerned with Liberty Tree after La Nouba as it will be a mass exit so very crowded and then having to go to a Resort to get on to MK so 40 mins I don't think is enough time Why not try something DTD and then head back to MK?

 

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Thanks

I'm glad you feel the same! I passed your idea of eating at DTD to Jem this morning and we decided to switch from trying to rush to MK and instead we're staying in DTD and eating at Raglan Road since we haven't been there in four years. I fixed my new ADR list in the post to show it

 

[pepperandchips]

So right now I'm just waiting for the bank to get back to me re: when I can come sign the paperwork for the loan so I can pick up a '12 Honda Civic Econ, the one car that a year ago when I started looking I said I would never be able to afford!

How fun!!! Post pics when you get it! That's so exciting. I wish I could afford a new car AND a Disney trip! Welp, ok, maybe I should've scaled back on the Disney trip a little and I could've... haha. PRIORITIES!

(Mine are the mouse, obv )

 

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How fun!!! Post pics when you get it! That's so exciting. I wish I could afford a new car AND a Disney trip! Welp, ok, maybe I should've scaled back on the Disney trip a little and I could've... haha. PRIORITIES!

(Mine are the mouse, obv )

My priorities are 99% to The Mouse most of the time lol. But my current car is 16 years old and has very little life left in her. I'll definitely post pictures once I get her (hopefully tomorrow or Friday)

 

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An Aside 3: Life Update

I mentioned in my last update that I was getting a new car. For the past six years I've driven around a 1999 yellow VW bug. It's gotten me through countless beach trips, road trips (including one round trip to Disney and back) and has gotten me to work, but it was becoming too expensive to take care of anymore.

So yesterday I got the keys to my new 2012 Honda Civic!

Isn't she pretty?

I have a tendency to name everything (my last car was Bee, my first car was the Tink Mobile because it was all decked out in Tinkerbell stuff), so this one needs a good, solid name. Don't know what yet.

 

[DISNEY180]

Congrats on the new car Nice colour too. I have named some of my past vehicles too and funny all female names..

 

[coloredimage]

Thank you!

My one complaint is with myself. After six years in my Volkswagon I've become very used to driving standard and this is an automatic so I keep reaching for a gear shift that's not there!

 

[SnoWhiteRabbit]

Joining in...I have an August trip planned, too!

 

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Joining in...I have an August trip planned, too!

Thanks for following along When is your trip?

 

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PTR Part Eleven: Going a Little Stir Crazy

I've got the Disney Doldrums, folks!

These are the times when I'm not planning anything, want to plan something, and am not in the park. So basically it's about 70% of my time

What I've been doing in that time is slowly transferring this PTR to my new blog and trying to make lists.

Oh lists. What are you doing to me?

I'm a lister. I list everything. I'm also a big spreadsheet-er. Yesterday I made a nice color coded spreadsheet of our ADRs with their times and reservations numbers just to be on the safe side. We've also got a notebook with lists of snacks and QS restaurants just so we always have an idea of where we can head to since we have some places we want to try that we never think to because we're always too hungry to decide and just go to old standbys.

I also had a minor Disney dilemma. I had gotten a second set of ME tags, but they still say ASMovies on them. This kind of freaked me out considering, uh, we're definitely NOT staying there anymore. And after last year we are really leery about our stuff being lost or something (anything, at this point) happening that'll put a damper on our trip. So Sunday I called and after a few minutes on hold (twenty) the nice CM named Garfield promised that they'll scan the bar code and make sure it gets to the right place.

I hope so! I also hope WE get to the right place with everything saying ASMovies. C'mon, Magic Bands, I'm counting on you!

We've also been having an issue where MDE does not ever want to take money from Jem. Every time she tries to pay for her share it gives her an error message. Last night we came up with a solution where the money will be deposited into my account and I'll in turn make a payment to Disney, so hopefully that helps it out. This is just the first time all the planning pressure is solely on me and in my name so I'm all sorts of everywhere.

We have about two weeks until we have to make our FP+ reservations and can do online check-in. Wah! For me that looks like a sane time to begin packing! Of course I won't, but the biggest thing stopping me is honestly just the fact that I don't start vacation until the 19th.

BUT! What I did do to ease my Disney craving was get some nice, light jewelry for Disney along with some essentials for vacation! Target always has wonderful cotton dresses so I bought a maxi and a knee-length dress, some headbands, a big floppy hat (with short hair my neck gets wicked sunburnt), a tech wallet, aaaaand.....

Disney goodies!

I didn't get any pictures of my shirt as I had to order it but Hot Topic (of all places) had a really pretty Jasmine shirt that I fell in love with. They also have a horde of Disney jewelry right now. This is what I caved on during Sunday's shopping trip:

These are my favorites:

They also had some Little Mermaid bracelets that Jem got. I can't wait to wear them around the parks! And I promise that later on today I'll do a REAL introduction to myself and Jem - I just realized it that I totally forgot all about doing one!

 

[DISNEY180]

Thank you!

My one complaint is with myself. After six years in my Volkswagon I've become very used to driving standard and this is an automatic so I keep reaching for a gear shift that's not there!

I drove standard for 30 yr so I totally know what you mean...especially when I use to gear down to pass. The worst was when I lived in a city that would takle me 20 mins in the morning to get to work and over an hour to get home. I was constantly in 1st gear and my left foot and leg would start to shake after awhile. So know I have an automatic and while I do miss my standard I won't go back.

 

[DISNEY180]

I get the stir crazy..I am about half way though my ADR's so I really should post mine and start adding more to my spreadsheet. I want to be there instead of work but know once I get there it will be the begining of the end... just never satisfied..

 

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I drove standard for 30 yr so I totally know what you mean...especially when I use to gear down to pass. The worst was when I lived in a city that would takle me 20 mins in the morning to get to work and over an hour to get home. I was constantly in 1st gear and my left foot and leg would start to shake after awhile. So know I have an automatic and while I do miss my standard I won't go back.

I hated how shaky my foot got in traffic! The worst was when I was stuck for hours in traffic on the George Washington on Dec. 30 (I had meant to take a different bridge and missed my exit and had to deal). I cheered when we were finally in New Jersey and I didn't have to hover anymore! It's a lot of fun driving an automatic now which makes driving way more enjoyable for me honestly.

I get the stir crazy..I am about half way though my ADR's so I really should post mine and start adding more to my spreadsheet. I want to be there instead of work but know once I get there it will be the begining of the end... just never satisfied..

I need to go back to reading your PTR to see what ADR's you DO have the musical at the school I work in got pushed back a month due to snow so I barely have any time to do anything other than work stuff (in fact I'm putting off doing senior grades right now shhh). I definitely can't keep up with anything lol.

I have the same feelings! Jem and I email at work (usually "do we need x,y,z if I stop for groceries" or the like) and our email titles have been countdowns. Lately everything has just been "Disney now?" I just want the days to go by so I can BE there, but once I'm there I never want to leave! I think there needs to be a special Disney warp machine made to keep us there as long as we want (without the cost rising)!

 

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PTR Part Twelve: Or Oops I Forgot to Introduce Ourselves!


Everything you’ll know about me is going to revolve around my ten year friendship with Jem, my roommate, partner in crime, and the best friend I’ve ever had.

Aww, I’m a sentimental putz, I know.

Here you’ll see an elusive picture of the two of us together. Most of them, surprise surprise, are of us in Disney together.

We met when we were juniors in high school, though we’ve been in many places together before that without knowing it. Jem and I are related in that strangely Irish way in which anyone with shared blood is a cousin. In this case, her aunt is married to my cousin. But as I said we met in high school when Jem transferred schools and ended up sitting behind me in math class. We hit it off at the start (I have to admit that when I first saw her in Spanish class I really, really wanted to be friends with her but doubted I would be because I’m prone to being shy and only ever talked to her because of a mutual friend at the time).

When we were eighteen we took our first trip together – an eight day trip to London, Sterling, Edinburgh, and Glasgow with our AP English teacher. By this time we already knew that we shared a love of Disney and that summer after I went I bought her numerous little trinkets that I thought she’d like.

At nineteen we started planning our first Disney vacation and at 20 we took our first trip together – a week long trip right after we finished finals, just before SWW. We were in heaven. Of course we made rookie traveler mistake number one – we barely ate and ended up falling asleep on the steps of the Japan pavilion in Epcot out of sheer exhaustion.

Ever since we’ve become much more savvy travelers and have traveled together every years since. Every trip has been different either because other people are involved or we’ve changed things up a bit, but we always have a blast together.

Jem loooooooooves all things Alice in Wonderland, the Little Mermaid, or Mickey. Her favorite part is probably a toss up between MK and Epcot (depending on the day!) and she's a big Carousel of Progress, Spaceship Earth, and Star Tours fan. Also Figment is a childhood favorite.

Then there's me. I'm a Daisy Duck fan. She's my favorite. I also love Minnie Mouse, Sleeping Beauty, the Princess and the Frog, Peter Pan (especially Hook; I adore Hook), and The Lion King. I also really love Aladdin as it's the movie that brought The Sitcom (my friends from college and I) together. I love Magic Kingdom and could spend every day there if I could (in fact we spent WAY TOO MUCH TIME in Epcot last year and as much as I love Epcot it was too much - if you notice our plans we really don't have too many days planned there because we burnt ourselves out on it). My favorite rides are Haunted Mansion, Expedition Everest, Pirates, Star Tours, all the Mountains, and Small World.

 

[VBelle68]

Joining
I will be there the same dates as you! We are staying at AofA!