The How-Do-I-Write-a-PTR PTR!

[RGirl]

Well, I'm back - at least for a moment!

My mom's friend came to visit this weekend so that we could finally book our excursions. So I did book them tonight - we decided just to book two because they are very expensive, and we really do want to enjoy the ship and have at least one port where we can just wander around a bit on our own.

So, in Skagway, we are booked for the White Pass Scenic Railway: All aboard for a round trip up the historical White Pass and Yukon Route and on to the summit! This adventure is fully narrated and contains stories of the gold rush and historic and scenic points of interest of this engineering landmark.

And in Juneau, we are booked for the Sled Dog Discovery & Musher's Camp: Learn about the lives of sled dogs and their mushers. See these dogs in action as they pull you on a thrilling and adventurous summertime ride.

I think these will be just right for our traveling party - interesting for the five year old and do-able for the mobility-challenged.

Only disappointment was that there were NO Palo reservations available. I knew this would happen - I should have just said to heck with everyone else and booked the dang thing when we first could. Oh well - lesson learned. I will try to get a ressie when we board the ship. And if we can't get one, I'm sure we will have a great time at our assigned restaurants.

 

[RGirl]

I can't wait to hear what kind of excusions y'all do on the Alaskan cruise!

I've been thinking about booking Palo for us on our cruise next year. But, I haven't decided on brunch vs. dinner. I like the idea of dinner but like you said, it's hard to know which night to schedule it for. The only thing I'm not looking forward to on a longer cruise is the formal & semi-formal nights. I'm not a big dress up girly-girl. But, maybe it'll be nice.

Well, you can see how my Palo effort went!

I too a little about the formal and semi-formal nights - that's really not my thing. But I am going to just try to go with it and enjoy - I DO like the idea of seeing Mickey and Minnie in their formal-wear.

Glad Willow (and her mom) is OK...OR sounds much better than the agony she went through at Urgent care...so sorry. But I am sure you werefreaking out waiting for your baby!!! Hopefully there will not be anymore sticking stuff in her ear, up her nose, and all those other fun things kids do

Thanks. Yes, all the nurses and doctors gave her a lot of advice about not sticking anything in any ears or noses in the future.

 

[shan23877]

Those excursions sound great! I'd love the sled dog one.

Sorry about the Palo reservation, hope you'll be able to get one once you're on the ship.

I agree about not jam packing your cruise with activities, you gotta enjoy the ship sometime!

 

[RGirl]

Well, I'm just going to keep going here!

Today we were out with Willow's BFF and her mommy (a good friend of mine - we'll call her "B"). B and I have talked a number of times about taking the girls on a trip together, but it has never worked out - BTW, they have never done Disney. Anyway, we were chatting while the girls were enjoying various bounce houses and such at this small town festival thing we were attending, and B was talking about how we keep trying to find a long weekend to go over to Portland together with the girls and that maybe she would just do that for her daughter's upcoming birthday instead of having a party. Awesome - we will have a blast! And then we started talking, yet again, about how fun it would be to take the girls to Disney together. And B said that she was still thinking that it would be perfect for 2013 because her sister lives in Florida, and she and her daughter could go visit her sister during the latter half of the trip. By then, her son will be close to two, and he could stay home with her husband.

Wellllllll, I hope this comes to be!!! We are thinking about June - I know, WAY crowded compared to our other trips! - because the girls will be in school, and we will want to be able to be gone for a week or more. So we would travel at the very beginning of summer break when, hopefully, it will be slightly less crowded. They would stay at Disney for 4 or 5 days - obviously, Willow and I would stay for 9 or 10 days! How fun would that be????? Not to mention that Willow's BFF's birthday is in July, so she would be within her rights to celebrate her birthday during the trip!

It's a long shot that it will happen, but I think it is enough to push me over the line to start planning a June 2013 trip for us regardless! And, I was just poking around on-line. Well, because that's what I do when I think there might be a trip. And I am just shocked at how much less expensive it would be for us to rent a two-bedroom DVC villa via points rental than to get two moderate hotel rooms! How tragic!

 

[RGirl]

Those excursions sound great! I'd love the sled dog one.

Sorry about the Palo reservation, hope you'll be able to get one once you're on the ship.

I agree about not jam packing your cruise with activities, you gotta enjoy the ship sometime!

I think the dog sled excursion will be great! You also get to meet your dogs and then play with puppies!

I just found a Palo reservation for the first night, but we decided to pass - I want us all to be together and meet our servers and everything on that first night. But that does tell me that it will pay to keep checking - obviously, people are reserving several nights and figuring out which one they really want as they plan. I will just hope to jump on someone's canceled ressie!

And, yes, I so agree. I am REALLY looking forward to the relaxing time on this vacation. it will be my first relaxing vacation!!!! I don't want to rev it up with too many "must do's"!

 

[shan23877]

How great to have another trip to plan! I hope that you girls get to go on your trip, sounds like lots of fun.

What a tragedy that a DVC villa is more affordable! I'm sure that you'll suffer through and be a good example to us all

 

[RGirl]

How great to have another trip to plan! I hope that you girls get to go on your trip, sounds like lots of fun.

What a tragedy that a DVC villa is more affordable! I'm sure that you'll suffer through and be a good example to us all

Yep - B and I have tried to plan several trips over the last year - in fact, originally, she and Willow's BFF had hoped to cruise with us in July. B's husband is not so keen on a Disney trip. He thinks that their small children will enjoy trips that are much more adult-oriented. We don't think he understands that kids need to have fun on a kid level when on vacation! Anyway, she said that he would probably object to this idea but that she was going to overrule him. I hope that happens - I think the four of us would have an AMAZING time! And I would love for Willow to be able to introduce her BFF to all of her favorite attractions! But, if it doesn't happen, it's okay because it has made me realize that it is NOT too early for me to start planning and thinking about a June 2013 trip for us!

And my boss has asked me to start planning a second trip for her in October! So excited to do that!!! She totally gets it after her last trip - she came back and was totally sold, has never stopped talking about it, etc.! AND a co-worker told me this week that he thinks that his family might finally be able to afford to go this Fall, and they want my help to plan it if they can make it happen! WOOT!!!!! Finally some trips to plan!

 

[AAshleySEG]

Just found and read your PTR! I know exactly how you feel. We are going on the Alaskan Cruise in June and it is only 25 days away from now and I finally feel like I have actually gotten the hang of planning for a DCL Cruise which we have never done either! We are big WDW people, so that is all I knew how to plan for. I did tons of research when we first started planning, and now I feel confident with the decisions we have made. We are going Whale Watching in Juneau, Flight-Seeing in Ketchikan, and Hiking/Walking City Tour in Skagway. We did manage to book Palo for Brunch and Dinner ONLY because I did it at midnight when the window opened up, but I didn't get High Tea which I really wanted, oh well there is always another time. But if you still need any planning ideas or anything feel free to pop over to my PTR/TR I have lists of stuff I am packing and what we are doing etc! I hope you have a WONDERful time on your cruise to Alaska! For that matter I hope we do too!

 

[CandleontheWater]

Your excursions sound awesome! I especially love the sled dog one, I think I'd be happy with just being allowed to pet the cute dogs, let alone going for a sled ride!

Bummer that there were no Palo reservations open, but you know what that means- you'll just have to plan another cruise!

Oooh, and I like the idea of a girls trip in 2013, that would be so much fun! I hope it works out and that you suck it up and tough it out in that two bedroom DVC, oh the sacrifices we make for our kids!

 

[pas130]

Wellllllll, I hope this comes to be!!! We are thinking about June - I know, WAY crowded compared to our other trips! - because the girls will be in school, and we will want to be able to be gone for a week or more. So we would travel at the very beginning of summer break when, hopefully, it will be slightly less crowded. They would stay at Disney for 4 or 5 days - obviously, Willow and I would stay for 9 or 10 days! How fun would that be????? Not to mention that Willow's BFF's birthday is in July, so she would be within her rights to celebrate her birthday during the trip!

It's a long shot that it will happen, but I think it is enough to push me over the line to start planning a June 2013 trip for us regardless! And, I was just poking around on-line. Well, because that's what I do when I think there might be a trip. And I am just shocked at how much less expensive it would be for us to rent a two-bedroom DVC villa via points rental than to get two moderate hotel rooms!

I hope it all works out too. Maybe you'll get to stay at BWV again

 

[amandaw]

Definitely try to get a Palo ressie once you're onboard! I've heard people have luck with that.

Both of the excursions sound fantastic! I don't like booking lots of excursions either. 1. because of the price and 2. because I like to have free time to explore the ship or the port. Can't wait to hear about the cruise because those excursions sounds so fun!

 

[RGirl]

Just found and read your PTR! I know exactly how you feel. We are going on the Alaskan Cruise in June and it is only 25 days away from now and I finally feel like I have actually gotten the hang of planning for a DCL Cruise which we have never done either! We are big WDW people, so that is all I knew how to plan for. I did tons of research when we first started planning, and now I feel confident with the decisions we have made. We are going Whale Watching in Juneau, Flight-Seeing in Ketchikan, and Hiking/Walking City Tour in Skagway. We did manage to book Palo for Brunch and Dinner ONLY because I did it at midnight when the window opened up, but I didn't get High Tea which I really wanted, oh well there is always another time. But if you still need any planning ideas or anything feel free to pop over to my PTR/TR I have lists of stuff I am packing and what we are doing etc! I hope you have a WONDERful time on your cruise to Alaska! For that matter I hope we do too!

Welcome!! Thanks for joining in and for the great tips!!! I will be checking out your lists as we get closer and closer to cruising time for sure! How exciting that you will be setting sail so soon.

Your excursions sound awesome! I especially love the sled dog one, I think I'd be happy with just being allowed to pet the cute dogs, let alone going for a sled ride!

Bummer that there were no Palo reservations open, but you know what that means- you'll just have to plan another cruise!

Oooh, and I like the idea of a girls trip in 2013, that would be so much fun! I hope it works out and that you suck it up and tough it out in that two bedroom DVC, oh the sacrifices we make for our kids!

I feel the same way about the dog excursion!

I'm going to keep checking on Palo. I'm betting that there are people out there who reserved 3 or 4 different dinners because they weren't sure which day they would want to go. Maybe as it gets closer, people will start deleting reservations. And, if not, pfft - we will be cruising - who cares!

Well, I have pretty much decided that Willow and I will definitely be going in June 2013 - hopefully, with our friends, but if not, we'll go anyway! And I'm hoping for a two-week trip! I'm going to start socking away all that preschool tuition that I will be saving once she starts kindy!!!!

I hope it all works out too. Maybe you'll get to stay at BWV again

I hope so! I think I will try for BWV and BCV and see what we get!

Definitely try to get a Palo ressie once you're onboard! I've heard people have luck with that.

Both of the excursions sound fantastic! I don't like booking lots of excursions either. 1. because of the price and 2. because I like to have free time to explore the ship or the port. Can't wait to hear about the cruise because those excursions sounds so fun!

I think they were definitely the right excursions for us given our traveling party. There are much more exciting ones out there, but honestly, I don't need that much excitement on my first-ever relaxing vacation!

 

[RGirl]

Well, I fear I have lost everyone at this point. But life is like that sometimes! Can't help being busy and boring!!!

Anyway, as you would know if you read my last update , I did finally book our excursions. But then I was talking to my mom this week, and we realized that there is no way that she could do the dog sled excursion given the situation with her back (3 or 4 fusions in the last 10 years????) . Well, she called her friend to let her know, and we have all decided that the three of us (Willow, myself, and my mom's friend) will keep the excursion and my mom will enjoy some probably absolutely blissful totally alone time onboard the Wonder. So that has all worked out. Phew - high drama there!

Those of you who are actually reading this and happen to have eagle eyes may have noticed something new in my ticker. Yep - I have decided to heck with it - regardless of whether our friends go, Willow and I are going to hit The World HARD in June 2013 Awesome - right? Um, yeah, but we have only visited in October before. Are the crowds going to be so out of control that WDW will be ruined for us????? Will it be so hot and humid that we will want to catch the first plane home???? Speak to me prior June travelers!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[shan23877]

That's too bad that your mom won't be able to do the dog sled excursion. Maybe she should treat herself to a spa day instead!

Yay!!! for a new ticker! We've only done March (twice), April, and August, but one of my girl friends takes her family in late May/early June every year. It'll be crowded, but you girl know what you want to do and how to make it happen. I think it'll be fine. As for the weather, it'll be hot, but that's what afternoons in the pool are for right?

So glad that you've got 2 trips to look forward to!

 

[pas130]

Well, I fear I have lost everyone at this point. But life is like that sometimes! Can't help being busy and boring!!!

Anyway, as you would know if you read my last update , I did finally book our excursions. But then I was talking to my mom this week, and we realized that there is no way that she could do the dog sled excursion given the situation with her back (3 or 4 fusions in the last 10 years????) . Well, she called her friend to let her know, and we have all decided that the three of us (Willow, myself, and my mom's friend) will keep the excursion and my mom will enjoy some probably absolutely blissful totally alone time onboard the Wonder. So that has all worked out. Phew - high drama there!

Those of you who are actually reading this and happen to have eagle eyes may have noticed something new in my ticker. Yep - I have decided to heck with it - regardless of whether our friends go, Willow and I are going to hit The World HARD in June 2013 Awesome - right? Um, yeah, but we have only visited in October before. Are the crowds going to be so out of control that WDW will be ruined for us????? Will it be so hot and humid that we will want to catch the first plane home???? Speak to me prior June travelers!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Alone time sounds great fo your mom!

Congrats on your new ticker!!! I don't think ANYTHING could ruin WDW for us DIS fanatics! I have done July, I have done it pregnant, and it was fine. Swimming, breaks, all good. Not unmanageable with crowdlevels either. It WILL be great

 

[RGirl]

I hope everyone is having a great Saturday!!! We stayed home today! Seems like we are always running around to different things on the weekend, and I am loving this day at home. I made frozen yogurt, did some laundry, and I'm currently working on some photobooks because I am woefully behind - I have a 50%-off code, so I want to make a bunch of them! What's everyone else doing today???

That's too bad that your mom won't be able to do the dog sled excursion. Maybe she should treat herself to a spa day instead!

Yay!!! for a new ticker! We've only done March (twice), April, and August, but one of my girl friends takes her family in late May/early June every year. It'll be crowded, but you girl know what you want to do and how to make it happen. I think it'll be fine. As for the weather, it'll be hot, but that's what afternoons in the pool are for right?

So glad that you've got 2 trips to look forward to!

I am guessing that my mom will find a chair somewhere and do her bead-knitting all day!

Yeah, I think we will be fine - I will just have to have a good plan! And part of that plan is already fomenting in my DIS-brain. I am thinking it would be awesome to stay for two weeks!!! That way, if it is so crowded that we can't do something we love more than once at any given time, we will know that we will have another opportunity!

Alone time sounds great fo your mom!

Congrats on your new ticker!!! I don't think ANYTHING could ruin WDW for us DIS fanatics! I have done July, I have done it pregnant, and it was fine. Swimming, breaks, all good. Not unmanageable with crowdlevels either. It WILL be great

Oh, this is great news! I just know these people who come back from WDW and have had a terrible time, crowded, hot, miserable. But I truly believe that it is purely because they don't know what they're doing. There has to be a way that we can bypass waiting hours for anything - well, we will have to because I WILL NOT stand in a line that long!

 

[CandleontheWater]

Congrats on the new ticker! June is hot, and it is more crowded than Oct, but I think you'll do just fine. You are a rope drop family, so you can take advantage of lower crowds then, and Willow is older, so she can go in the evenings, and you can take advantage of the EMH evenings.

I actually think my favorite time to tour the parks is late evening in the summer. I love it around 10 or 11 when the major heat of the day has dissipated but it is still warm, and the parks are so magical late at night.

I'm also glad that everything worked out with the dog sled excursion. Your mom can have some solo time, and you guys can enjoy the doggies!

 

[pas130]

I hope everyone is having a great Saturday!!! We stayed home today! Seems like we are always running around to different things on the weekend, and I am loving this day at home. I made frozen yogurt, did some laundry, and I'm currently working on some photobooks because I am woefully behind - I have a 50%-off code, so I want to make a bunch of them! What's everyone else doing today???



Oh, this is great news! I just know these people who come back from WDW and have had a terrible time, crowded, hot, miserable. But I truly believe that it is purely because they don't know what they're doing. There has to be a way that we can bypass waiting hours for anything - well, we will have to because I WILL NOT stand in a line that long!

Swimming to cool off then a nap to refresh before dinner & the parks...Laundry then work for me yesterday....I'd rather do laundry all day

Congrats on the new ticker! June is hot, and it is more crowded than Oct, but I think you'll do just fine. You are a rope drop family, so you can take advantage of lower crowds then, and Willow is older, so she can go in the evenings, and you can take advantage of the EMH evenings.

I actually think my favorite time to tour the parks is late evening in the summer. I love it around 10 or 11 when the major heat of the day has dissipated but it is still warm, and the parks are so magical late at night.

Perfect plan!!!!

 

[ag73]

Hi,

Stop by to say hi and see how to "chat" but I can't manage to know what to do or where to look..??? Hope you can read this...

So I have been talked into writing a PTR for our upcoming cruise in July. And I have no idea what to write about because I have NOTHING planned!!!!!

So I will start with who the heck we are and why we DIS!

I am a 42-year-young woman. I am an only parent by choice to my amazing daughter, Willow. She just turned 5 this January. How did we celebrate? With a surprise trip to Disneyland, of course!!!!

Here we are last October in WDW:

We made our first trip to WDW in October 2010, and we were sold on Disney long before then when a good friend introduced me to the DIS - I spent at least a year on this board learning everything I could about Disney and feeding my new-found obsessions.

We enjoyed a wonderful first trip to WDW in 2010, bringing along my mom and a friend of mine, which resulted in the need to stay off-site and rent a house. Come 2011, and DD and I made our first just-the-two-of-us major vacation. And we chose WDW, of course! This time we stayed on property, renting DVC points for a one-bedroom villa at BWV! We spent 9 nights there, enjoyed all the parks, walked over to Epcot and DHS whenever we wanted, learned that Mommy loves MK but DD prefers DHS to every park in the World because of an obsession with ToT.

And then came DD's 5th birthday in January and my surprise gift - her first trip to Disneyland. Holy cow - we had an amazing time!!!!

And now we are going on a cruise!!!! To Alaska!!!! Honestly, I don't know how to plan for this. I am kind of mourning the fact that I don't have a WDW or DL trip to plan, and I'm not sure how to translate that into a cruise. I know that I could be booking excursions, but honestly, I am not sure that I can afford to spend a lot of money on excursions, so I need help here. What kind of plans should I make? What do I need to pack for? Is it cold in Alaska in July??? Seriously, I have never been less prepared!!!!!

 

[amandaw]

I'm still here! I promise! Life has just been crazy busy.

So glad to hear that y'all were able to keep the sled excursion. That really does sound like a lot of fun. And your mom will definitely enjoy her time on the Wonder!

And a new ticker! Don't worry about the crowds or the heat: you have a year to plan around that stuff. Is it early June when y'all will be there?

Sounds like y'all had a very nice Saturday. We spent Saturday afternoon & Sunday morning building Reid's new swingset. I have a nice sunburn on the back of my shoulders to prove it! Note to self: let Ed do your sunscreen on your back - that's what he's here for.