The Most Expensive Free Trip Ever - TR Link is Up! Pg. 164

[glennbo123]

Yes, one of those threads. there's usually about one a week, and they always get shut down after a couple days. Seems like a lot of stuff gets nasty. Whatever.

I almost never venture over there, so don't even know.

Hucifer?? Who knows. I check every so often, but lately, nada.

I posted on her thread today, asking her to come out and play.

NO, Theme parks Boards drama. I can only HOPE for drama while I'm in line for F! - always looking for TR fodder.

Yes, we can only hope for drama while waiting in line. I'm afraid nothing will happen on my trip and I'll have a boring TR.

LOL! So cute!

It was!

And glad the lady feigned ignorance... a litghsaber fight wouldn't be nice in a crowded bus

I'm picturing the cantina scene from Star Wars episode 4 (or, the "original" Star Wars as we like to call it.)

CREATURE: Negola dewaghi wooldugger?!?

The hideous freak is obviously drunk. Luke tries to ignore
the creature and turns back on his drink. A short, grubby
Human and an even smaller rodent-like beast join the
belligerent monstrosity.

HUMAN: He doesn't like you.

LUKE: I'm sorry.

HUMAN: I don't like you either

The big creature is getting agitated and yells out some
unintelligible gibberish at the now rather nervous, young
adventurer.

HUMAN: (continued) Don't insult us. You just watch yourself. We're
wanted men. I have the death sentence in twelve systems.

LUKE: I'll be careful than.

HUMAN: You'll be dead.

The rodent lets out a loud grunt and everything at the bar
moves away. Luke tries to remain cool but it isn't easy. His
three adversaries ready their weapons. Old Ben moves in behind
Luke.

BEN: This little one isn't worth the effort. Come let me buy you
something...

A powerful blow from the unpleasant creature sends the
young would-be Jedi sailing across the room, crashing through
tables and breaking a large jug filled with a foul-looking
liquid. With a blood curdling shriek, the monster draws a
wicked chrome laser pistol from his belt and levels it at old
Ben. The bartender panics.

BARTENDER: No blasters! No blaster!

With astounding agility old Ben's laser sword sparks to
life and in a flash an arm lies on the floor. The rodent is
cut in two and the giant multiple-eyed creature lies doubled,
cut from chin to groin. Ben carefully and precisely turns off
his laser sword and replaces it on his utility belt. Luke,
shaking and totally amazed at the old man's abilities, attempts
to stand. The entire fight has lasted only a matter of seconds.
The cantina goes back to normal, although Ben is given a
respectable amount of room at the bar. Luke, rubbing his
bruised head, approaches the old man with new awe.

WOW! That sounds like a plan out of my dreams!

We know how to vacation Tribilín.

You know, in my trip to WDW with my sister's family "Fantasmic!" was the only one attraction/show that everyone agreed was excellent... spectacular and nostalgic for the grown-ups, and magical and "not so scary" for the little ones.

You're right, good for everyone. There are some villains, but I don't think it's too scary.

 

[dd50]

Some of the threads are better left unopened.

Never go on a thread about the Disney mugs or strollers because they always turn bad really fast.

 

[All7OfUs]

Yes, we can only hope for drama while waiting in line. I'm afraid nothing will happen on my trip and I'll have a boring TR.

We're a sick breed.

 

[eandesmom]

I think I read that last summer when they reduced the number of showings people were starting to line up like 2 hours before showtime. I think I read in somebody's TR that cast members were trying to discourage people from lining up that early, but they were doing it anyway. It may be different now...you may have to post the question on the Theme Park boards. Yikes.

Thanks! I will, but very reluctantly. I was just over there an hour ago, and got sucked into a flash photo rant turned ugly. Things go sour so FAST over there; I really try to stay away. I come here to the Boards to escape life, not get riled up. Make sense?

Laying it on thick?? I was merely channeling my inner Hucifer.

Just say no...it's not safe over there!

Hope no one minds me jumping in to answer this I keep hearing that if you go on a night where there's 2 showings, go to the second showing of it and you don't really have to wait.

I believe I read it "live" on a GB report that that in fact is what happened! Prayers for second showings....

 

[glennbo123]

Some of the threads are better left unopened.

Never go on a thread about the Disney mugs or strollers because they always turn bad really fast.

Kinda like passing a car accident or something?

We're a sick breed.

Yep. We want just the right amount of drama.

Just say no...it's not safe over there!

I believe I read it "live" on a GB report that that in fact is what happened! Prayers for second showings....

I was thinking it might have been his.

 

[FauntleroyFAN07]

You are the king of the ninja-poster's Faunt!

That is a great part of the show. I also love Mickey on top of the mountain with fireworks shooting out of his hands.

you know how sneaky i can be.

that is great as well, "some imagination huh?"

 

[glennbo123]

you know how sneaky i can be.

that is great as well, "some imagination huh?"

Don't hold me to this, but I think that's a prerequisite to be an Imagineer.

 

[glennbo123]

We’re 24 days away from our arrival at Disney World, and recently there has been a small flurry of planning activity happening, so I thought I’d give you an update.

ADR changes. Yes, ADR changes. Just dates and times, I’m not changing or dropping any particular restaurants. The impetus for the change was Hyperspace Hoopla on Sunday the 13th. From what I understand, this is a fun show of various Star Wars characters singing and dancing to music. I saw some youtube videos of characters singing to ‘70’s music last year. Apparently it’s a lot of fun. SurfinTX has mentioned it on here, and someone else mentioned it to me at church on Sunday. That was the last straw, I needed to accommodate it. Problem was, I had our Biergarten ADR for the same time, and Biergarten as you know, is at a different park than Star Wars Weekends. I had planned on doing DHS in the morning, heading back to the resort for the afternoon, then going to Epcot for dinner, looking around World Showcase at night, and taking in Illuminations. It would have made for a great day I’m sure, but we’d miss our one chance at Hyperspace Hoopla. Even with the changes I’m sure we won’t spend the whole day at DHS -- we’ll probably need a mid-day break, and then return to catch Hyperspace Hoopla.

It was easy enough to move Biergarten to the next day, which is an Epcot day anyway, and I had previously planned that we’d just eat lunch wherever we happened to be at lunchtime. So, now we have a lunch reservation. And lunch is cheaper than dinner at Biergarten.

But now I had a problem with Whispering Canyon, which was originally planned for Monday dinner. I don’t want to have a Biergarten buffet and the Whispering Canyon skillet on the same day.

So…that got moved to Wednesday for lunch, which is our MK day as we transfer from Coronado Springs to Kidani. And the skillet is cheaper at lunch than at dinner at Whispering Canyon.

So, with all of that, here is the latest Master Plan spreadsheet. We’ll pretty much have one large, sit-down meal each day, and fill-in around those with whatever we find at counter service, or Pop Tarts and granola bars.

Grocery Order. I have our grocery order ready to go with Garden Grocer, but I want to check it one more time with “the boss” before I checkout. We went over it last night, but I want her to look at it one more time before I hit the button. We’ll only be at Kidani for 4 nights, so we don’t need as much as last year. Plus, we have some nice ADRs for those dates. So we’re planning for one evening meal of pasta for all of us, pizzas for the kids on our date night, stuff for packed lunches a day or two, cold breakfasts, one large eggs and bacon breakfasts, and snacks and water for the parks. I know you’re all curious, and you look at what other people have in their carts while you’re standing in the check-out line, so let's get it over with. Here’s what’s in our cart.

Epcot Entertainment. While I was making these jpeg files I also grabbed my Epcot Entertainment pages which I updated from Steve Soares’ website a few days ago.

And last but not least, Bags. Really? Bags? Well, camera bag anyway. I did end up returning this camera bag/backpack I bought and got a smaller one.

Here are links to the returned one --> Outside View Inside View

And links to the new one --> Outside View Inside View

I really liked the first one, but the “non-camera” portion of the backpack was just too small to hold much, and I never could configure the camera portion to hold my camera well. I wanted to use it for the parks, but I didn’t think I’d be happy with such a big bag and so little in it. I’m not sure that I’ll take the new bag I got into the parks. It may just be my camera bag for storing all of my camera stuff together. I think that for the parks I’ll just carry the camera on my shoulder or put it in a backpack.

Link to next chapter

 

[winkers]

I can't believe how close your trip is!

As I looked through your garden grocer order I couldn't believe the cost of some of it! I had some major sticker shock going on!

Now that I've recovered and my head is no longer spinning, I guess it must still be cheaper than paying for all of your meals at the parks. but a dollar for an apple?????

 

[dd50]

Sounds like you are all set, grocery list and all. I drive as I live in FL and go to BJ's the night before.

Last year I bought so much stuff I thought I may need a uhaul. I brought about 1/2 back so this year I will not bring so much.

 

[All7OfUs]

I was thinking the same thing, Cherie!! Yikes!! But, like you say, MUCH cheaper than paying Disney prices on food.

OK, you threw a bag in there, Glennbo! I"m impressed- you kept it manly-man by making sure it was a utilitarian type. Much better than a man-purse. Or is that what this really is, in disguise?

Moving on... I still have the EPCOT spreadsheet thingy you PM'd me, but am waiting until the last week before I go to update and print it. I think that the Entertainment schedule may look quite different from May in September.

Lunches are a better deal than dinner, for sure!! I also like the idea of having lunch ADR's cuz it gives you the entire evening free to cram in more park hours or other fun stuff. (ie. getting to YeeHaw Bob on time.) It being cheaper as a bonus goes without saying. The only drawback, from what I hear, is that they compensate with a more limited menu. Biergarten is one of those examples. But, that's just hearsay... not from firsthand experience.

And lastly, I see you got the CORRECT flavor of POP Tarts!! Nothing but the best!

 

[Flossbolna]

Wow, your trip is so close now!! And once you have returned, it will be only a matter until I meet Liesa in Nuremberg in August and then she is on her way to WDW as well! And before anyone has realized, it's Christmas!! (Christmas always seems to happen so fast, once September is there, the year is nearly over it always seems).

But you seem very prepared! Your date night will be at the Wave? Have you eaten there before (I know that I should know since I read your TR, I am sorry that I don't remember)? I somehow really want to like this restaurant, but something seems to keep me away. Katharina and I were discussing about it a lot, but finally eliminated it... Which reminds me that I really need to get our TR going again to tell everyone about the wonderful meals we had!!

 

[onelilspark]

It just makes me happy to see that I'm not the only one with a spreadsheet. I think all DIS'ers have them.

I also can't believe June is right around the corner!

 

[glennbo123]

I can't believe how close your trip is!

It's getting close!

As I looked through your garden grocer order I couldn't believe the cost of some of it! I had some major sticker shock going on!

Now that I've recovered and my head is no longer spinning, I guess it must still be cheaper than paying for all of your meals at the parks. but a dollar for an apple?????

Most of the items are the same price as last year, but there were a couple that went up significantly. I can't remember what they are right off-hand, but I remember that one was up 33% and another about 25%. The apples are the same expensive price. They're for Judy, I love veggies but can take or leave fruit, and usually leave it. They seem to have a better deal on Red Delicious apples, as you can buy them by the bag rather than "each", but Judy hates Red Delicious apples. I, on the other hand, probably couldn't tell the difference between Red Delicious and Yellow Delicious if I were blindfolded. I asked her last night if we could switch to the cheaper Red Delicious and she was all "No, I will eat them I tell ya." (Gotta keep her happy.)

Sounds like you are all set, grocery list and all. I drive as I live in FL and go to BJ's the night before.

Last year I bought so much stuff I thought I may need a uhaul. I brought about 1/2 back so this year I will not bring so much.

Last year I thought about renting a car and hitting a grocery store rather than using Garden Grocer, but that'd be the only reason I'd need one and the savings on grocery items and delivery wouldn't be worth it. I don't mind using the Disney bus system at all to get to the parks.

We did pretty well last year gauging how much we'd need, so I went by that list and scaled-it back a little because of the fewer days we'll be in a suite this year. I went with a 24-pack of water rather than last year's 32. Less granola bars, less Pop-Tarts , no coffee (Via has been purchased in advance!), less bread, etc.

I was thinking the same thing, Cherie!! Yikes!! But, like you say, MUCH cheaper than paying Disney prices on food.

Exactly. All of those groceries probably equal the cost of 1 meal for the five of us.

OK, you threw a bag in there, Glennbo! I"m impressed- you kept it manly-man by making sure it was a utilitarian type. Much better than a man-purse. Or is that what this really is, in disguise?

There's really only enough room in it to hold the camera stuff. The one I returned was intended to do double-duty, but I didn't think there was enough room for non-camera stuff.

Moving on... I still have the EPCOT spreadsheet thingy you PM'd me, but am waiting until the last week before I go to update and print it. I think that the Entertainment schedule may look quite different from May in September.

I updated it a few months ago with the current schedule (at the time) and was surprised to see that most of the changes I had to make now brought it back to where it was last year, so I kind of wasted my time updating it earlier. I guess it makes sense, the show times probably correspond to the daylight hours and park crowd levels and things.

Lunches are a better deal than dinner, for sure!! I also like the idea of having lunch ADR's cuz it gives you the entire evening free to cram in more park hours or other fun stuff. (ie. getting to YeeHaw Bob on time.) It being cheaper as a bonus goes without saying. The only drawback, from what I hear, is that they compensate with a more limited menu. Biergarten is one of those examples. But, that's just hearsay... not from firsthand experience.

Yes, I meant to mention that in the update. From looking at the menus, I think Biergarten has a few more options at dinner that they don't have at lunch. But, I don't think I'll go hungry, if you know what I mean.

And lastly, I see you got the CORRECT flavor of POP Tarts!! Nothing but the best!

Funny you mention that -- I almost accidentally clicked on "cinnamon roll" flavor rather than "brown sugar cinnamon"!

And before I move on, I gotta mention that I love the picture you've put in your avatar. I remember it from your TR. It was one of my favorites.

Wow, your trip is so close now!! And once you have returned, it will be only a matter until I meet Liesa in Nuremberg in August and then she is on her way to WDW as well! And before anyone has realized, it's Christmas!! (Christmas always seems to happen so fast, once September is there, the year is nearly over it always seems).

It's a whirlwind, I tell ya!

But you seem very prepared! Your date night will be at the Wave? Have you eaten there before (I know that I should know since I read your TR, I am sorry that I don't remember)? I somehow really want to like this restaurant, but something seems to keep me away.

No, I haven't eaten there before. Jenbear123 recommended it in a previous TR of hers, so it better be good! All the pressure's on her. I think I read some other good reviews about it elsewhere also. Oh, I think Jordan, Winkers, Rosie, and BlueyedGirl met up there. And it'll be fun trying a new restaurant.

Katharina and I were discussing about it a lot, but finally eliminated it... Which reminds me that I really need to get our TR going again to tell everyone about the wonderful meals we had!!

Yes yes! You'll probably post several updates while I'm gone and I'll have all kinds of catching up to do.

It just makes me happy to see that I'm not the only one with a spreadsheet. I think all DIS'ers have them.

All hail Dan Bricklin! (co-inventor of the first spreadsheet software) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Bricklin

I also can't believe June is right around the corner!

It's like a sprint to the finish line.

 

[All7OfUs]

Cinnamon roll- NO WAY!

yeah, I like that picture too! I was thinking I would play around with my Avatar until I leave some. Just to mix it up a bit. Also need to change my desktop wallpaper, but am waiting to see just the RIGHT photo as I read TRs. Currentely it's the waterwheel at POR. The laptop has the POLY, so I guess I need a little POP in there somewhere. Hmmmm... somehow, I'm still just not sold on the garishness of it. I hope I like it.

Yeah, you just confirmed my thoughts for sure on dinking around with the EPCOT schedule. I'll wait til I"m in Bowling Green, and stay up late one night doing it. Or when I'm up at 4 AM suffereing from severe jet lag.

 

[Blueyed Girl]

The lists look great and remind me that I STILL haven't placed our Garden Grocer order!! I will go now and at least start putting things in the cart and then finish later. I re-printed your schedule because there is no way I will remember yours plus Dan's plus my own. Ask Jordan and Cherie, they remembered my schedule better than I did last trip!

 

[glennbo123]

Cinnamon roll- NO WAY!

yeah, I like that picture too! I was thinking I would play around with my Avatar until I leave some. Just to mix it up a bit. Also need to change my desktop wallpaper, but am waiting to see just the RIGHT photo as I read TRs. Currentely it's the waterwheel at POR. The laptop has the POLY, so I guess I need a little POP in there somewhere. Hmmmm... somehow, I'm still just not sold on the garishness of it. I hope I like it.

Yeah, you just confirmed my thoughts for sure on dinking around with the EPCOT schedule. I'll wait til I"m in Bowling Green, and stay up late one night doing it. Or when I'm up at 4 AM suffereing from severe jet lag.

Don't forget to check YeeHaa Bob's schedule --> link (near the bottom of the page)

He doesn't post it too far in advance; he still doesn't have June up yet.

The lists look great and remind me that I STILL haven't placed our Garden Grocer order!! I will go now and at least start putting things in the cart and then finish later.

That's funny because you mentioned somewhere about doing your Garden Grocer order and it kind of spurred me on.

I re-printed your schedule because there is no way I will remember yours plus Dan's plus my own. Ask Jordan and Cherie, they remembered my schedule better than I did last trip!

I'm glad you're printing it. That way if I need to know where I'm supposed to be, I can just text you.

 

[FauntleroyFAN07]

Don't hold me to this, but I think that's a prerequisite to be an Imagineer.

i have always wanted to do that but dont think it is in the cards.


good list, looking at your park days we were scheduled to hit AK and the epcot on that monday with you, but i think we are just doing AK all day now.



wow that grocery price is salty, i kept thinking i can get that cheaper that cheaper but then again it is the convinence and the ease of it.

plus you are vacation splurge a little there so you dont get slammed with the park meal prices.

The lists look great and remind me that I STILL haven't placed our Garden Grocer order!! I will go now and at least start putting things in the cart and then finish later. I re-printed your schedule because there is no way I will remember yours plus Dan's plus my own. Ask Jordan and Cherie, they remembered my schedule better than I did last trip!

dont print mine, i have a few changes to make before we go

 

[PrincessV]

We’re 24 days away from our arrival at Disney World...

Hooray, it's almost here! And, rather selfishly, if your trip is almost here, then MY trip is almost-almost here, so that's makes me happy, too!

So, now we have a lunch reservation. And lunch is cheaper than dinner at Biergarten.

And just as tasty-fun!

And links to the new one --> Outside View Inside View

Hey, I have that bag! For my SLR. It's a good one!

 

[glennbo123]

i have always wanted to do that but dont think it is in the cards.

Wouldn't that be a great job?!

good list, looking at your park days we were scheduled to hit AK and the epcot on that monday with you, but i think we are just doing AK all day now.

It'll be interesting to see where our paths cross. Gotta meet Parker.

wow that grocery price is salty, i kept thinking i can get that cheaper that cheaper but then again it is the convinence and the ease of it.

Exactly. And you can't get this stuff cheaper in the Disney convenience stores in the hotels either, that's for sure.

plus you are vacation splurge a little there so you dont get slammed with the park meal prices.

Right-o.

dont print mine, i have a few changes to make before we go

Changes? Who makes changes this close to arrival-time?

Hooray, it's almost here! And, rather selfishly, if your trip is almost here, then MY trip is almost-almost here, so that's makes me happy, too!

At least you're honest! But that's why we all DIS, right?

And just as tasty-fun!

Yep!

Hey, I have that bag! For my SLR. It's a good one!

I knew you had good taste! Glad to hear you like yours.