The Extinction of the Cranky Pants: An October 2015 PTR

[Lidian]

Day 3: AK
October 3rd
Saturday
​

So it's on to day 3 of our trip! It's already flying by... and we haven't even arrived yet!

We will start the day off early. Mom has never got to ride the safari, so we will head there FIRST and do standby at park opening. We hope to be early in line so the wait isn't bad, but we'll take what we can get! It's worth it for mom!

We will also be seeking out Divine! Mom really wants to see her (who am I kidding, we all do!). We will certainly watch FotLK and Nemo. We have no plans to even venture into the DinoLand area (except to maybe spot a character). We'll be focused on rides and characters and shows this day for sure! We will definitely FP the safari so we can get multiple rides in. I love how every ride is different! I'm hoping that DS9 will conquer his fear of the Yeti again so he'll ride EE. I know DD13 won't have an issue going on EE!.

I won't force him to ride, but I do hope he'll ride willingly. He got a treat for conquering the Yeti last year (he picked it out himself!).

AK is an all day park for us ... so we plan to arrive when it opens and leave when it closes. However, with a little one, we aren't 100% certain on anything. He did great sleeping in the stroller last year, so hopefully he'll do the same this year! The park hours are 9-5, so that's not a horrible day.

What are we doing after the park closes? Well ... swimming! We'll hit the resort pool as soon as we get back and get changed. We'll swim as long as we want. If we aren't feeling the pool, we might hit up DTD this evening. We dunno. We just know that once the park closes, our night is free. No hoppers, so can't go to another park. I'm sure we'll hit the pool... unless the weather is bad. Then it may be a "what's on TV" night.

No set bed time tonight. Why? Well.... because I'm the mom and I say so?

Yeah, don't have any other AK pictures from last year ... except maybe some PP ones, but I'm not digging through 87 folders to find them. Yeah. Not happy with the new MM.

Here's a few pics from 2012 from our AK visit!

It wasn't crowded at all!

 

[DMGeurts]

Good morning everyone... Liddy sent me a message on FB last night, she had a pretty bad fall on her driveway and possibly broke her elbow. Thankfully she had the baby in the house, but Jo was trying to help her and fell as well, both of them have injuries. She wanted me to let you all know that she will check in when she can... But I am sure she will take as much pixie dust as you can send her way.

D~

 

[solana131]

Oh no! Liddy get well soon....pixie dust headed your way!!

 

[Elleshoodat]

I missed the update a couple of weeks ago, but I hope you heal quickly, Liddy! Get lots of rest and take it easy.

 

[Lidian]

Good morning everyone... Liddy sent me a message on FB last night, she had a pretty bad fall on her driveway and possibly broke her elbow. Thankfully she had the baby in the house, but Jo was trying to help her and fell as well, both of them have injuries. She wanted me to let you all know that she will check in when she can... But I am sure she will take as much pixie dust as you can send her way.

D~

Thanks for updating everyone D!

Oh no! Liddy get well soon....pixie dust headed your way!!

Thank you!

I missed the update a couple of weeks ago, but I hope you heal quickly, Liddy! Get lots of rest and take it easy.

Thank you!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
​

I'm semi-back. I'm still recovering, but doing MUCH better. I go tomorrow to be evaluated for OT. Long story short, I was taking DD13 to Girl Scouts and slid on the sidewalk. I fell and had to be taken via ambulance to ER. I live in an apartment complex and a neighbor several buildings down heard me fall from inside his apartment. That's how nasty it was. They splint my arm in the ER and sent me to ortho. Orthos X-Rays look good, but I'm still in pain and can't rotate or extend completely. They are sending me to OT to see if they can "work" out the issues. On a different note, I saw my neurologist today and the first part of my skin biopsies came back normal. So that's good, but that's bad. That means still no answers.

On a DISNEY related note ..... WE SCORED FREE DINING!!!!!!!!!

My amazing TA (Kelly) was up at 5:30 AM EST texting with me on my options. All that was available was CBR Pirate Rooms or POR RR Garden View. So.............. POR it is! Spam me with your POR resort, food, and RR pics! I'm super sad about losing the CBR pirate splash area for little Sully, but I'm stoked to try something new. So this is a big bag of mixed feelings. DS9, who begs for princess meals, is really disappointed we are in a RR. DD13 doesn't care. Mom is just happy to be going. I think she's sad she can't tell everyone she's been to Aruba, Jamaica, and Barbados.... but she'll be stoked to be at WDW with us.

Our dates are unchanged 9/30-10/10. We just have a new location of POR RR Garden View rooms!

I'll be back soon to work on updating my PTR, as right now, I'd like to catch up on my PTR/TR reading.

 

[bunnyboo]

OMG a fellow gamer!! I never played WoW but I have a lot of friends who do/did. My current game is FFXIV.
I hope you get better soon! Sending pixie dust your way~
Grats on getting free dining!! and what a nice upgrade! Curious to see what you report back regarding POR RR in your TR, we're planning a split stay there later in Oct. I personally love all the pics I've seen so far and can't wait!

 

[Lidian]

OMG a fellow gamer!! I never played WoW but I have a lot of friends who do/did. My current game is FFXIV.
I hope you get better soon! Sending pixie dust your way~
Grats on getting free dining!! and what a nice upgrade! Curious to see what you report back regarding POR RR in your TR, we're planning a split stay there later in Oct. I personally love all the pics I've seen so far and can't wait!

My DH is all about the FF games, but I never got into them. I mostly play WoW. I did some time on Rift and SWOTR. I love Sims and even have some of the older simulation games on my laptop for when I travel. You should try WoW. I've even gotten some other DISers into WoW. BridgetR3 can't deny that it's an awesome game (and I have an awesome guild).

Thanks! I'm super stoked my TA scored me FD. I ran the numbers and we'd have to really give up so much if we did a RO discount to come out the same. I don't want to be on vacation and studying menu prices and telling the kids they have a certain budget to eat on and no desserts. We like going to WDW and being treated to plenty of food and sweets. I know DD13 would have a fit if I told her she had to only pick meals with a certain dollar amount or less and no desserts. So this is a huge savings and stress relief for us! We would make it work, and the way my DH spends money on games, we'd do fine, but I don't want to worry about money. I only want to worry about how long it will take to get to the parade in time to see the first float.

I had another DIS-friend share her personal pics of POR RR and it was LOVE! She said it was her favorite resort. And since she was at POP last year the same time as us, she was able to offer comparisons on room size and layout. We were hoping for a Murphy bed room at CBR. No chance now, and DD13 is already threatening to sleep on the floor. So she confirmed that our cot would fit. So that really helps. Her pics were stunning! I've seen some pics that made the room look really cramped. And I've seen others that made it look like I could fit my apartment inside it.

Did you score FD for your split stay? Also, are you in the October Facebook group?

 

[DMGeurts]

Hi LIddy... Just stopping by to see how you are doing?

Congrats on FD!!! THat is so awesome!!! I love FD! Sadly - I don't think that FD is our best discount for our upcoming trips, so I think I am hoping that Disney does the military rates again for next year...

Happy to see you back on The Dis!!!

D~

 

[Chicago Mo]

Ummmm.......

KNOCK KNOCK!

how was i NOT INFORMED ABOUT YOU HAVING A REPORT?!?!?!

Here i am searching the PTR's for november people and POOF


here you are happily writing a report!


OK Going back and catching up...





Your family is gorgeous! Love them all.. The one picture with the play set i had to take a long look to find all the kiddos!

 

[Chicago Mo]

instead of editing my last post i will start here!
Loved your intros! the plans look great. POR is BEAUTIFUL... The kids will LOVE the pools!!

Oh NO! I hope your doing OK. sounds like a really nasty fall! So sorry!!!

 

[DMGeurts]

I completely missed the part of your post about your fall., it sounds so awful.. I hope you are doing better now?

I am sorry if I shouldn't ask, but did I miss something with the skin biopsies? Is everything OK there?

D~

 

[Lidian]

Hi LIddy... Just stopping by to see how you are doing?

Congrats on FD!!! THat is so awesome!!! I love FD! Sadly - I don't think that FD is our best discount for our upcoming trips, so I think I am hoping that Disney does the military rates again for next year...

Happy to see you back on The Dis!!!

D~

Hi D!

I'm okay. How are you? I'm super behind on your PTR. And I mean like 549579 pages behind.

I had to run the numbers a million times. We just couldn't beat FD, even if I took out some of the TS meals and did some sharing and rare desserts and ... well, we might have been hungry. Honestly, I'm not sure I could have done better with a RO. I ran the numbers based on cutting down TS and I was already higher than a RO discount and I hadn't added in mom's food, snacks, or mugs. Even with the HUGE upgrade, we are still coming out ahead. And according to a website where you can estimate food costs, I was saving on the DDP anyway ... so, we're going to rock it so we don't have to worry about prices on the menus (prime rib, here I come!).

I'm all for people picking the best discount to suit their vacation style. So I'll cross my fingers for a great military rate or at least an awesome RO discount!

Also, please don't kill me that I'm 65448478974564685 pages behind. Odds are, I won't get caught up, but I have tried to peek. I'll probably just have to force you to talk to me on Facebook to catch me up.

Ummmm.......

KNOCK KNOCK!

Who's there?

how was i NOT INFORMED ABOUT YOU HAVING A REPORT?!?!?!

"How was I not informed about you having a report, who?"

Okay, I'm not funny, but I think I am.

Here i am searching the PTR's for november people and POOF


here you are happily writing a report!


OK Going back and catching up...

Your family is gorgeous! Love them all.. The one picture with the play set i had to take a long look to find all the kiddos!

Honestly, I thought you were here already. I don't remember what I have for breakfast. How am I to remember if you were here?

Thank you for the kind words. We all have gorgeous families! I'm a bit attached to mine, so I'll probably keep them. I had no clue all three kids were in that one picture until I posted it... and I was like, Hey! Where did they come from?

instead of editing my last post i will start here!
Loved your intros! the plans look great. POR is BEAUTIFUL... The kids will LOVE the pools!!

Oh NO! I hope your doing OK. sounds like a really nasty fall! So sorry!!!

Thank you! I wanted to stay at POR last year, but excluded from FD. And then I had my heart set on CBR this year. I can't win for losing. At least I finally get to try it out!

I told D to tell you that I had a nasty fall and I'd be away. I'm 56787974654 pages behind on your PTR too. Please don't hurt me. I'll eventually catch up or something...

<~~~~ me (But not really)

I'm waiting to see if OT gets approved with my insurance. Who knows. But I can use my arm, and I'm back.

I completely missed the part of your post about your fall., it sounds so awful.. I hope you are doing better now?

I am sorry if I shouldn't ask, but did I miss something with the skin biopsies? Is everything OK there?

D~

D, what am I going to do with you? I sent you the PM on Facebook about the fall and asked you if you'd let everyone here know. You're such a goober. Dory brain has kicked in.

As far as the skin biopsies go ... I have neuropathy (nerve damage) in my left arm and both legs. They have run a million tests to find out what has caused it and how to keep it from spreading. If I'm on my feet for more than a bit, they start to tingle and then go numb. It's one of the reasons I require an ECV to do Disney (the other is my breathing still hasn't been diagnosed and I get short of breath just walking from the couch to the fridge, but at least my O2 is better so no more cans of oxygen to carry around!). The last pregnancy really tanked my health, but it's all been worth it.

 

[Lidian]

Day 4: FREE DAY​

October 4th
Sunday​

Today, we will sleep in. Ahhh... nice and relaxing! It's why we didn't have a set bedtime after AK. And honestly ... some of these park plans will change since we now have hoppers. After AK, we might go to another park.

Anyway ... back to our FREE DAY! What are our plans? NOTHING! We aren't making any set plans for this day. (Well, except a few things, but we'll get to that later.)

I'm not exactly sure what we will do this day ... except Kouga is supposed to meet up with us! Akki may or may not join us, who knows. But Kouga said his store is closed on Sunday and would be free to hang out. Some possibilities of things we could do are as follows:

• Waterpark
• Swimming (prior to Kouga arriving or after he goes home)
• Mini Golf
• Disney Quest
• Shopping
• Lounging at the resort
• Going somewhere offsite

We don't have a clue what's in store for us this day ... just that we'll hang with Kouga. Since he's a local and not staying at POR, we can't go swimming, but we might do something else. And he may just hang out at the resort with us. The only thing I do know is WE ARE NOT GOING TO A PARK! (Outside of what could be used as a WPF&M option.) No park at all this day, as we will be lazy.

I'm not sure what time Kouga will join us, or what time he'll leave ... but we may see what kind of family-friendly entertainment is available on a Sunday, too. I'm all for any other recommendations or suggestions for lazy-day stuff!

This night, we need a decent bedtime, as we do have to be up early the next morning. Also, I've hit up my TA for hopping tips, but if anyone has any hopping tips they want to share, I'm open to read them! I feel like if we don't use the hopper function, then I wasted our money (that Disney forced out of us). However, we've never used them, and I'm a bit intimidated on how to make good use. I'm a bit thankful that with the night entertainment, we only have ONE shot to see them, and now we have multiple chances with hoppers. But what if we get to see them on the nights we picked? Hoppers are too stressful. How do you people manage?

 

[DMGeurts]

I did the post above telling everyone about your fall, I remember that. Lol. The part I missed was your update, it was in the same post as your FD announcement, but I was so excited about your FD, I missed your fall update.

Didja get that. <---- even I am confused. lol

I thought I told mo, but my message to her is missing... Now that I will claim dory brain on. lol

D~

 

[bunnyboo]

My DH is all about the FF games, but I never got into them. I mostly play WoW. I did some time on Rift and SWOTR. I love Sims and even have some of the older simulation games on my laptop for when I travel. You should try WoW. I've even gotten some other DISers into WoW. BridgetR3 can't deny that it's an awesome game (and I have an awesome guild).

Thanks! I'm super stoked my TA scored me FD. I ran the numbers and we'd have to really give up so much if we did a RO discount to come out the same. I don't want to be on vacation and studying menu prices and telling the kids they have a certain budget to eat on and no desserts. We like going to WDW and being treated to plenty of food and sweets. I know DD13 would have a fit if I told her she had to only pick meals with a certain dollar amount or less and no desserts. So this is a huge savings and stress relief for us! We would make it work, and the way my DH spends money on games, we'd do fine, but I don't want to worry about money. I only want to worry about how long it will take to get to the parade in time to see the first float.

I had another DIS-friend share her personal pics of POR RR and it was LOVE! She said it was her favorite resort. And since she was at POP last year the same time as us, she was able to offer comparisons on room size and layout. We were hoping for a Murphy bed room at CBR. No chance now, and DD13 is already threatening to sleep on the floor. So she confirmed that our cot would fit. So that really helps. Her pics were stunning! I've seen some pics that made the room look really cramped. And I've seen others that made it look like I could fit my apartment inside it.

Did you score FD for your split stay? Also, are you in the October Facebook group?

I've been tempted to try WoW, but when I think about the amount of time that's needed to really play the game seriously I tell myself not to get sucked in. I'm scared I'll end up spending TOO much time playing. Maybe in the future when I have a more predictable work schedule I'll give it a try. I love great guilds they're usually the main reason I continue playing a certain game.

I agree, when vacationing it's best not to worry about prices and just enjoy everything you can. Lots of food & sweets is the way to go! I didn't do FD for our stay. Our first resort was booked by renting DVC points. We were going to try FD for our second resort, but since they added the PH requirement it wasn't worth it. It's only going to be 2 of us so a RO discount coupled with Orbitz discount would save us just slightly more than FD. We're definitely planning for a very substantial food budget though, so no worries.

So glad your cot will fit! I love hearing good things about POR RR, makes me that much more excited to stay there myself! I'm in the FB groups titled "DIS'er OCTOBER 2015" and "Oct '15 WDW Planning!" if those are the ones you're referring to. I've only been reading/lurking though, haven't posted anything yet.

Day 4: FREE DAY
Today, we will sleep in. Ahhh... nice and relaxing!]

So jealous of your free day! I wish our trip was longer so I could sneak in a free day too. Sleeping in sounds wonderful plus the freedom to do whatever you want whenever you feel like it. No plans = best plan!

 

[Chicago Mo]

free days are great. POR has YEEHAW Bob you can catch the bike thing. I believe a horse?? not too sure on that one. Have you checked out the unofficial web site for them?

http://www.portorleans.org/

love this site.
As for park hoppers? Go where the wind takes you my friend! if you want to see wishes then pop on over there same as illuminations or frozrn fireworks (are they still there?) After AK you can go somewhere else too since they close early!

 

[KatMark]

Good to see you back on the boards!!!! Your family is beautiful.

 

[Lidian]

I did the post above telling everyone about your fall, I remember that. Lol. The part I missed was your update, it was in the same post as your FD announcement, but I was so excited about your FD, I missed your fall update.

Didja get that. <---- even I am confused. lol

I thought I told mo, but my message to her is missing... Now that I will claim dory brain on. lol

D~

Ooooohhhhh! I get it. Lightbulb went off. Sheesh! Also, wanted to let you know, the kids were missing your girls the other day. Out of the blue, they were "I miss V & A, can they come in October with us?" Give your girls and yourself hugs from us!

I've been tempted to try WoW, but when I think about the amount of time that's needed to really play the game seriously I tell myself not to get sucked in. I'm scared I'll end up spending TOO much time playing. Maybe in the future when I have a more predictable work schedule I'll give it a try. I love great guilds they're usually the main reason I continue playing a certain game.

I agree, when vacationing it's best not to worry about prices and just enjoy everything you can. Lots of food & sweets is the way to go! I didn't do FD for our stay. Our first resort was booked by renting DVC points. We were going to try FD for our second resort, but since they added the PH requirement it wasn't worth it. It's only going to be 2 of us so a RO discount coupled with Orbitz discount would save us just slightly more than FD. We're definitely planning for a very substantial food budget though, so no worries.

So glad your cot will fit! I love hearing good things about POR RR, makes me that much more excited to stay there myself! I'm in the FB groups titled "DIS'er OCTOBER 2015" and "Oct '15 WDW Planning!" if those are the ones you're referring to. I've only been reading/lurking though, haven't posted anything yet.


So jealous of your free day! I wish our trip was longer so I could sneak in a free day too. Sleeping in sounds wonderful plus the freedom to do whatever you want whenever you feel like it. No plans = best plan!

The one thing I like about WoW (and my guild) is that you can put as much or as little as you want into it. Yes, it takes time to max level and then get awesome gear and farm rep and all that jazz ... but you can go at your own pace. And if you're into RP (not adult-content, just casual PG kind), you can even level that way. Currently, I have a few characters at max level, but am leveling another character 100% RP-style. She's always IC and never does anything that's OOC. She's still pretty low level and I've had her for MONTHS. It's truly a good game that you can play at your pace. Plus, with good guildmates, you have conversation to help you along the way (and people to help you with group quests, dungeons, gold, materials, etc.). If you ever decide to give it a try and want to join the guild I'm in (it was formerly my guild, but I took a leave of absence and now I'm 2nd in command), I'd be happy to share Bnet info and get you set up. You can use my name as a RAF or one of your friends -- we'd take you either way (but totally do RAF with someone so everyone can reap benefits!).

Totally use the best discount for you! I'm all for numbers and what works! I seriously crunched them for all types of scenarios so I could be on the ball when discounts hit, and I was ready! I told my TA Kelly what I'd be paying for a standard room, no PH, and food with a 20% discount, and FD still saved us money adding in the dumb PH option. lol Plus, now I don't have to worry about splitting meals or cutting out the 5487 TS ADRs I booked.

I think I'm in both of those ... but I admin in Disney October 2015 Planning Group (is there a third?). And searching in FB, there is another one! Well, the BIG one is the one I just stated with over 1,000 members. Come join us! And apparently I was removed from the DIS'er group. Well, that's okay. One October group is plenty to follow.

I'm super thankful we can do a Free Day. We used to not have them, but one year, we had a longer stay, and was able to add one in and fell in love with it. Now I'm not so sure I can do WDW without a free day.

free days are great. POR has YEEHAW Bob you can catch the bike thing. I believe a horse?? not too sure on that one. Have you checked out the unofficial web site for them?

http://www.portorleans.org/

love this site.
As for park hoppers? Go where the wind takes you my friend! if you want to see wishes then pop on over there same as illuminations or frozrn fireworks (are they still there?) After AK you can go somewhere else too since they close early!

I love the Unofficial POR website! I saw Yeehaw Bob was there, but didn't check to see what his schedule was like. I think I read he was only there select nights, but don't recall which ones. I'd have to go check it out. I think that might be fun, but not sure if we'd be able to visit while being entertained. Who knows.

I'm not sure what we will do about hopping. We enjoy our down time. We like parks that close early, so that we can swim or relax. But it is good to be able to go watch something that was missed earlier in the stay. So that does make me feel a bit better. We originally only had one shot at the night entertainment in the parks ... and this frees us up for multiple shots! And I guess I can say, "What do you kids want to do tonight?" And if they answer with another park, we could do it.

 

[Lidian]

Good to see you back on the boards!!!! Your family is beautiful.

Kathy!!!! So nice to see you! I hate that we're missing.... AGAIN! Thank you for the kind words!

 

[KatMark]

I know...we are starting that trip (my third) in Marco this year so we can do Food & Wine with Nicki and Todd. One of these days...one of these days. I'll come back and read here when I'm back from my trip.