*The Laughing Place is Where I'm Bound! SEPT 2016 PTR* Final Update 9/10- New TR Link!!!!

[DexLabDeeDee]

Enjoy your relaxing week Up North!! We did that earlier this month. Same thing: no television, no cell, no computer - just relaxation. Though I wish that it had been a little closer to our trip like yours because I've been seriously checked out since we've gotten back. I'm ready to go to WDW!!!

 

[Mollydolly334]

I bring mini packs of tissues. We always wind up with sniffles at some point. Also make sure you don't leave the mini sanitizer hanging off your carryon. DS had one on his bag the first trip we took...we got to Disney and realized it was gone. A friend from TSA told me that they remove them and discard them because they are 'unapproved' liquid. I guess if he had it in the quart bag it would have been fine. Same thing with his lip balm that I found that was on a carabiner. I thought it was the best thing in the world... and they took it....

I just realized tonight that we are at 15 days left!! I have the suitcases out and am starting to pack the bags!! It is really easy to pack vacation clothes... I only have 2 days off before the trip and 4 half days... the rest of the days (8 of them...but who is counting...lol) I will be working 10 hours... I love counting down... every which way I can...

Wow, great tip about hanging the antibacterial off your carry on! I never would have thought of that! I love counting down too Eeep, it's so close we can taste it!!!

Enjoy your relaxing week Up North!! We did that earlier this month. Same thing: no television, no cell, no computer - just relaxation. Though I wish that it had been a little closer to our trip like yours because I've been seriously checked out since we've gotten back. I'm ready to go to WDW!!!

Thank you! Up North is the best isn't it? And ahhh, that must be difficult! I know that week in between vacations is gonna be so rough for me

 

[DisneyJo]

Have a lovely non-Disney trip and as I'll be gone when you get back have a fabulous WDW vacation

 

[Neverland_Girl]

Love your PTR. Watching a different Disney movie each week is such a good idea. My mom and I are doing a mother-daughter trip in March. Have you ever done Afternoon tea at GF? It's a fun mother daughter thing to get dressed up and do if you like tea. Have a magical time on your trip. I'm looking forward to your TR.

 

[chasingthtdream08]

YAY!! So close, I can't imagine your excitement, cause I just hit my 99 day mark today and am freaking out!

Good tip on the band-aid blister guards! I always seem to get blisters no matter how many different pairs of shoes I bring. My goal for this trip is total comfort!

Love your plans so far! GF is a dream for me! And I also can't wait to checkout Disney Springs!

 

[Mollydolly334]

Have a lovely non-Disney trip and as I'll be gone when you get back have a fabulous WDW vacation

Thank you!! Have a fantastic Disney vacation as well

Love your PTR. Watching a different Disney movie each week is such a good idea. My mom and I are doing a mother-daughter trip in March. Have you ever done Afternoon tea at GF? It's a fun mother daughter thing to get dressed up and do if you like tea. Have a magical time on your trip. I'm looking forward to your TR.

Thank you!! Mother-daughter trips are so fun, everyone should try to do them at least once if they can We love tea, but couldn't fit in Afternoon Tea this time It was definitely on our list but Trader Sam's won out! Thanks for reading

YAY!! So close, I can't imagine your excitement, cause I just hit my 99 day mark today and am freaking out!

Good tip on the band-aid blister guards! I always seem to get blisters no matter how many different pairs of shoes I bring. My goal for this trip is total comfort!

Love your plans so far! GF is a dream for me! And I also can't wait to checkout Disney Springs!

I can't believe how close we are!! And yay for hitting your double digit day!! We are so pumped to see Disney Springs, I'll definitely let you know how it is

 

[Mollydolly334]

Disney Trip Plans: Days 3 & 4!!
Hey guys!! I managed to get some internet connection while Up North, so I thought I'd give you some updates I have been writing out some parts while everyone was reading/relaxing by the lake, and it felt weird not to post anything, especially so close to the trip! So, here are days 3 and 4 of our vacation



Day 3: Epcot

Back to Epcot again today! Both Mom and I felt that we didn't get enough time at Epcot last trip, so we knew that at least a full day was necessary. We also wanted to spend more time walking/shopping around World Showcase, so we made sure to book an ADR there!

Since we're going commando mode the first few days, we're not dead set on making rope drop this morning. We’ll sleep in a bit and try to monorail it to Epcot by 10:00 AM. We might also even grab breakfast from Gasparilla Island Grille if we have time! Last year, we really enjoyed having a leisurely breakfast at Old Port Royale in the CBR before taking on Animal Kingdom. It was the perfect start to our day after having busy mornings all week. So, I hope we get to do this at the GF too!

We’ll probably start off in Future World and head over to World Showcase later in the afternoon. We have 2 FPs in Future World: Journey into Imagination with Figment from 12:20-1:20 and Meet Disney Pals at Epcot Character Spot from 2:00-3:00. After meeting the characters, we will walk or boat over to World Showcase.

What we do for lunch depends on what we have for lunch on our first day. If we eat lunch at Sunshine Seasons on our first day, then we will grab lunch in WS this day, and vice versa. But, we need to make it over to World Showcase in a timely manner, because we have a coveted FP for Frozen Ever After from 3:00-4:00!!

After Frozen Ever After, we will take this time to explore the countries. We are most looking forward to shopping at Mitsukoshi in Japan!

For dinner, we have an ADR at 6:55 PM for Le Cellier Steakhouse! Mom and I are both so pumped for their cheddar cheese soup and pretzel bread. We might even share a meal here in case we fill up too much on the starters. This is also a great opportunity to explore the Canada area, since we never paid it much attention on previous trips.

Once dinner is through, we'll probably grab some sort of exotic treat for dessert and scope out a spot for IllumiNations. This is an absolute must-do! I haven't seen this show since I was 10 years old, and we were going to see it last year it but it ended up getting delayed due to storms

After IlluniNations, the park closes at 9:00, so we’ll head back to GF. If we're tired, we’ll just hit the sack. But, if we've still got some energy, we might relax in the lobby and soak in the ambiance, or even grab a drink at Mizner’s Lounge! This would be a great way to cap off a lovely day at Epcot

Day 4: Rest Day at the Grand Floridian

It sounds odd to say this, but I think I am the most curious/excited about this day!! Probably one of my very favorite parts about Disney is all of the themed hotels you can stay at. Each hotel makes your visit truly unique depending on where you stay! I'm so excited to explore the GF as a resort guest instead of just a visitor!

Even though this is our rest day, no sleeping in for us! We want to soak up the resort as much as possible. To get us up and moving, we booked an ADR at the Grand Floridian Cafe for 8:50 AM! It will be nice to just get up and walk on over to breakfast right away. This is a perfect chance to check out dining at the GF.

Then, for the rest of the day, we will pool it, shop, and walk around the resort. We will definitely check out Summer Lace and Basin (and probably spend our money's worth)! Im also excited to get a few drinks from the Beaches Pool Bar We’ll probably grab lunch at either there or Gaspies. But, if we are feeling particularly adventurous, we may monorail over to the Contemporary to try the Contempo Cafe.

After a relaxing day, we’ll take a leisurely walk over to the Polynesian at about 6ish. Our dinner ADR at O’hana isn't until 7:25 PM, so we'll walk around the Poly and enjoy a drink a Trader Sam’s beforehand. I'm so pumped to check it out since the Poly is my favorite resort!

The Uh-Oa!!

After a delicious dinner at O’hana, we’ll either watch the Electrical Water Pageant and Wishes from the Poly or GF, depending on when we finish eating. The Magic Kingdom closes at 9 this night, so if it's still early afterward, we may even hop over to see the Wilderness Lodge. It’s the only deluxe we've never visited! We also have strict orders to report back on how it is for Haley, because she is staying here in 2017. I'm sure she won't be disappointed!!

Mom and I will probably end the night either at Mizner's Lounge or in the hot tub at the GF, then head to bed to prepare for another fun day!

Those are days 3 and 4 for you! I'll be back in a few days to fill you in on the rest of our plans Take care Disfriends! ​

 

[Raeven]

because we have a coveted FP for Frozen Ever After from 3:00-4:00!!

We are most looking forward to shopping at Mitsukoshi in Japan!

My boyfriend loves that store too.

For dinner, we have an ADR at 6:55 PM for Le Cellier Steakhouse! Mom and I are both so pumped for their cheddar cheese soup and pretzel bread.

That sounds delicious!

It sounds odd to say this, but I think I am the most curious/excited about this day!! Probably one of my very favorite parts about Disney is all of the themed hotels you can stay at. Each hotel makes your visit truly unique depending on where you stay!

Exploring the resorts is pretty awesome

Our dinner ADR at O’hana isn't until 7:25 PM, so we'll walk around the Poly and enjoy a drink a Trader Sam’s beforehand. I'm so pumped to check it out since the Poly is my favorite resort!

The Poly is our favorite too! I haven't been to Trader Sam's yet though, but we're doing Ohana dinner (and breakfast) on our trip.

 

[missangelalexis]

Hope you are enjoying your vacation!

Your Epcot day sounds so perfect! It's great that you've planned a resort day so you can really appreciate your time at the GF! Mmm Ohana, how I miss that place!

 

[Mollydolly334]

My boyfriend loves that store too.



That sounds delicious!



Exploring the resorts is pretty awesome



The Poly is our favorite too! I haven't been to Trader Sam's yet though, but we're doing Ohana dinner (and breakfast) on our trip.

What's your fave resort to explore??? It's my goal to stay at all of them one day We've never eaten at O'hana before, so I'm really excited! It sounds amazing You'll have to let me know how breakfast is!!

Hope you are enjoying your vacation!

Your Epcot day sounds so perfect! It's great that you've planned a resort day so you can really appreciate your time at the GF! Mmm Ohana, how I miss that place!

Thank you! We really missed not having a resort day last year and felt like we needed more time to look around and take in CBR! And I'm so ready for O'hana, I've got my eatin' pants packed

 

[Raeven]

What's your fave resort to explore??? It's my goal to stay at all of them one day We've never eaten at O'hana before, so I'm really excited! It sounds amazing You'll have to let me know how breakfast is!!

We didn't get to many last year but the Poly was our favorite. That's ky goal too haha

We did the Ohana breakfast last year too and it was our favorite!

 

[Mollydolly334]

Up North 2016!

Hello Disfriends! I'm interrupting my regularly scheduled programming just to add in a few pictures from my trip Up North I'm not going to do a mini PTR like I did for my San Antonio vacation, because to be honest, we really didn't do all that much! It was a glorious week of boating, biking, board games, horseback riding, and campfires galore It was a great way to end the summer on a relaxing note. The problem is, now I have to go back to work for a week before going to Disney all that next week It will be a long week, to say the least...

We go up to the same cabin every year for the exact same week (3rd week in August)! The cabin is not ours that we purchased (sorry if that was unclear), we just rent it! The cabin we rent is at a resort just north of Minoqua, WI on Rest Lake. We've been staying here since I was five years old and couldn't think of going anywhere else!

My boyfriend and I on the bike trail our first day (His name is Tom, by the way. I don't think I mentioned that? )

Mom and her girls.

Me and the Fam on the pontoon boat (it was huge!)

Tom and I on the pontoon boat.

The whole crew at Greer's Pier Tiki Bar!

My art project for the week! I'm OBSESSED with those adult coloring books and colored a little bit every day. I love how it turned out!

The beautiful view outside our cabin.

Tom and I at the Blue Bayou restaurant. It served amazing Cajun food and reminded me SO much of POFQ

Tom, Mom and I horseback riding!

Me at the horse farm with the owner's dog (I love animals, if you can't tell.. )

Paradise.

Tom and I on our last night before dinner!

Those are just a few of the photos we took! Can't wait to go back next year

Coming up next: Disney Trip Plans Days 5, 6, and 7! One more week, you guys! Eeeeeeee!!



​

 

[missangelalexis]

You and your bf are too cute! Loved seeing all your pics, looks like a great vacation!

One more week, YAY!!

 

[DexLabDeeDee]

Welcome back!

I know I said we do the same thing but we REALLY do the same thing - rent the same cabin the same week every year!

Good luck concentrating this week. I'm hopeless!!

 

[Mollydolly334]

You and your bf are too cute! Loved seeing all your pics, looks like a great vacation!

One more week, YAY!!

Thank you!! AHHH! Your trip is coming up soon as well Miss!

Welcome back!

I know I said we do the same thing but we REALLY do the same thing - rent the same cabin the same week every year!

Good luck concentrating this week. I'm hopeless!!

Haha, that's too funny! That's how you know that you grew up in the Midwest Good luck to you too, if I was going for 2 weeks I'd be so stir crazy!!

 

[Mollydolly334]

Disney Trip Plans: Days 5, 6, and 7!!

Hello readers! I just got back on Saturday from an awesome and relaxing week up in Northern Wisconsin Now, it's 4 more days of work until my mom and I's second mother-daughter trip of a lifetime!!



We're so excited, we can hardly stand it. Every night on our walk, we do a little bit more planning and just talk about things that we want to try. Although we have a lot of activities planned, we also want to be spontaneous and try new things this trip! We usually are very fast-paced and have a "hit it hard" touring style, but this year, I'd like to be a bit more relaxed. Hey, even if we don't do everything, that's just an excuse to come back next year


Without further ado, I give you the rest of our trip plans: Days 5, 6, and 7!

Day 5: Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios

We are going to be up early today because we have a jam-packed day ahead of us! According to the MDE, Animal Kingdom opens at 9:00 AM this morning, so we'll probably be up at 7:15 and try to do rope drop!

We chose to just plan on half-days for both Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios this year, for a few reasons. 1. We wanted a resort day to enjoy the GF, 2. We are used to only staying at Animal Kingdom until 4:00 PM and feeling fulfilled, and 3. We weren't impressed with DHS last year and feel that the park is in a "transition stage." Honestly, we only really want to hit a few things at each park, so we just decided to do both in one day!

I don't have any fast passes planed for AK because this park usually doesn't have terrible lines! Plus, Dinosaur's going to be down, so that's one less ride we have to worry about. You guys, we are so sad about Dinosaur being closed It's in both my mom and my top 10 Disney rides and we usually like to do it 2-3 times per trip! But, life goes on. Now, if Splash Mountain was closed during our trip, this would be a whole different story

We're going hit up all of our favorites, like Expedition Everest, Kilimanjaro Safaris, the Pangani Falls Exploration Trail, Primeval Whirl, etc. I think we'll skip on Kali River Rapids this time, you get sooooooo drenched on that ride

For lunch, we're just going to play it by ear and see what looks good. My mom wants to explore the Harambe Market for a bit, so that might be our choice. But, if we're in the mood for less exotic fare, Flame Tree BBQ or Pizzafari may be the winner instead! We want to get an early lunch, since our dinner ADR is earlier than we are used to eating!

Around 2:45, we are planning to leave Animal Kingdom and take a bus straight to Hollywood Studios. From there, we are going to hit our must-sees for DHS. We have a fast pass for Tower of Terror from 2:50-3:50 PM and a fast pass for Rock n Roller Coaster from 4:00-5:00. I'm sure that in the middle, we'll squeeze in The Great Movie Ride and look at One Man's Dream. We have an ADR at 5:35 PM for Sci Fi Dine in Theatre, A.K.A, my favorite restaurant in all of WDW Seriously, a large factor of our day revolves around this meal. If it weren't for Sci-Fi, I'm not sure if we would even go to DHS!

After our lovely meal, we have a little while before Fantasmic, which starts at 8:30 this night. We'll try to do Muppetvision and Toy Story Midway Mania before heading over to the show! I love this show so much, it makes me cry all of the happy tears

After Fantasmic, the park closes at 9:00, so we'll take our time heading out, explore the park, and shop a bit. Instead of taking a bus back to the GF, however, we're taking a boat! Where, might you ask?

Ohhhhh yessss. We ate here for the first time last year and haven't stopped thinking about it since. You may notice that this restaurant was not on our original ADR list. On our walk a few nights ago, my mom suddenly asked, "So, what day are we getting ice cream at Beaches and Cream?"

I was like

.......

Well, she was not pleased with this, and ordered me to start scouting for ADR openings! Luckily, I found one pretty quickly for 10:20 PM. It's perfect, because we'll be right across Crescent Lake at DHS and the late time gives us a chance to look around the Boardwalk first! We looove the Boardwalk; it is one of our favorite areas of WDW and being here brings back memories of staying at the BC/YC on trips past. We're not eating dinner here; the sole purpose of this ADR is to get ice cream! We loved the Milky Way Sundae last year and will maybe get it again to share; but the No Way Jose Sundae sounds amazing as well!

After we stuff ourselves with ice cream, we will either take a cab home to GF or walk to Epcot and monorail it back!

Day 6: Magic Kingdom, La Nouba, and Disney Springs

Our last full day We're going to try to make the most of it and be up early, but not necessarily do rope drop at Magic Kingdom. It will be so nice to be just a quick monorail stop away!

On this day, we have fast passes for Splash Mountain from 10:00-11:00, Pirates of the Caribbean from 11:05-12:05, and Seven Dwarves Mine Train from 1:05-2:05 PM. We'll fit in a QS lunch sometime in between there! I'm really hoping that we will get to try the Friar's Nook and their amazing Pot Roast Mac and Cheese. Since we're from Wisconsin, we are total cheese freaks! This sounds right up my mom and I's alley. We'll probably snack a lot on this day as well, since Magic Kingdom has so many delicious snack options! We don't have a lot planned for this day; mostly just to do the things we felt that we missed on our first MK day!

We'll probably leave MK around 3:45 PM to shower and get ready for our big night ahead. The, we'll bus it to Disney Springs and head towards:

La Nouba! Ok, so we actually don't have tickets for this yet, but we are planning on buying them either this week or while we're in Disney. Both my mom and I are so pumped for this! We are theatre nerds and love seeing Broadway shows when they come to Milwaukee, so this will be a treat. Neither of us have seen a Cirque du Soleil show, so we are interested to see how it is. The show starts at 6:00 PM. Since our dinner ADR is pretty late, we may either grab a snack right beforehand or have some popcorn during the show!

When La Nouba is over, we will shop for a bit before our dinner ADR at Raglan Road for 9:00 PM. The atmosphere here looks so fun and lively, and we will definitely be craving some nice, hearty food!

I'm guessing that we'll shop a bit more until Disney Springs closes! I'm not sure what I want for souvenirs yet! I'm the type of person that knows what they want exactly when they see it. Like last year, as soon as I saw that Thomas Kinkade print, I knew that I needed it! I'm hoping to at least get a new phone case from the Marketplace, and definitely another piece of art for my room! After shopping till we drop, we'll head back to GF for the night.

Day 7- ???? And Departure

Wah.... Our departure day I'm sure that this morning, we'll get up and shed some tears while finishing up packing.

We are going to be up and out of the room early, since we have a breakfast ADR at Boma for 9:00 AM. My mom LOVES AKL, so I'm assuming that we'll explore the resort after we're finished eating. I told her that if we go next year, we're staying here. Hopefully that will bribe her into letting us come back

Keeping up with our theme of spontaneity, this day's plans are completely up in the air! I think we will enjoy having a buffer day like this to relax us and still keep us looking forward to the last day!

I have a few predictions of what I think we're going to do this day...

Option #1- Blizzard Beach

Our travel agent is super awesome and gave us free one-day waterpark passes with our park hoppers! We enjoy Blizzard Beach more than Typhoon Lagoon, so that's where we'll pick if we decide to use these. This is the option that I am pulling for; I haven't visited a Disney waterpark since I was 10 and I really want to try Summit Plummet!

Option #2- Visit Another Park

Pretty self-explanatory We'd do whichever park we felt that we didn't see enough of.

Option #3- Resort Hopping

This is also a great idea if we don't feel like going to a park! We've never been to a Value Resort before, so we'd probably check out Pop/AoA! If we don't visit Wilderness Lodge prior to this day, we'll head over there too and maybe even check out the Fort as well!

What we do for lunch/snacks really depends on where we are. Lunch will be definitely be QS, though!

Our flight to Milwaukee leaves at 7:50 PM, so I'm guessing that DME will pick us up at about 4:45. Then, it's back home

Well Disfriends, that's the last of our daily Disney plans! In a day or two, I'll be posting some packing progress pics and the outfits I have planned for each day we are there

Ta-Ta for Now!
​

 

[missangelalexis]

Day 5 sounds great! I'm glad you were able to get an ADR at B&C to enjoy some ice cream!

Day 6 will be so nice- MK for part of the day and then doing something new by going to La Nouba!

Last day, booo But it sounds like it will be fun, whichever option you end up choosing! I can't wait to find out!

 

[DexLabDeeDee]

I just went through and re-read your whole week's plans. They all look great! I think you are going to have a wonderful time with your mom!!

We'll be in Epcot too on Day 3 (if I'm doing the counting right - Labor Day, correct?) AND we have practically the SAME ADR - we have a 6:50pm Le Cellier. CRAZY, huh??

 

[Mollydolly334]

Day 5 sounds great! I'm glad you were able to get an ADR at B&C to enjoy some ice cream!

Day 6 will be so nice- MK for part of the day and then doing something new by going to La Nouba!

Last day, booo But it sounds like it will be fun, whichever option you end up choosing! I can't wait to find out!

Thanks!! I was so excited to get an ADR for Beaches and Cream, the Boardwalk is our fave! La Nouba looks spectacular, I can't wait.

I just went through and re-read your whole week's plans. They all look great! I think you are going to have a wonderful time with your mom!!

We'll be in Epcot too on Day 3 (if I'm doing the counting right - Labor Day, correct?) AND we have practically the SAME ADR - we have a 6:50pm Le Cellier. CRAZY, huh??

Thank you! And OMG no way!! That is awesome!! I'll be on the lookout for you, please say hi if you see us!

 

[DexLabDeeDee]

Thank you! And OMG no way!! That is awesome!! I'll be on the lookout for you, please say hi if you see us!

Same here! Come say hi if you see me first. (I usually have tunnel vision but I'll remind myself to look for you!) We'll probably bump into you as we are waiting to be seated! Or I'll come and stalk you during your dinner....