The Mother/Daughter Polynesian Surprise **NEW 5/1 I'm back!

[disneyaddicted]

Sorry you have been so sick, I hope you start getting better soon.

I have beenin your situation many times. I had to move in with my parents after I had been out of their house for almost 6 years, and I had to bring 2 kids with me. I just couldn't do it on my own. And I have had to cancel 3 trips in the past, I stayed away from the Dis because it was heart wrenching to read about others plans and trips and all. But I am so glad that your April trip is back on. And Yay, for having such a great big sister. She sounds so awesome!

 

[jenbear123]

Oh Billie! You should totally add on the extra night! Especially at WL. I love that resort And it's so much fun to surprise people. Another thing I live for

I think you're right. I should wait until the last night at Pop to pop the surprise on her (hardy har har) She always gets bummed when we have to leave. This will knock her socks off!


Ty, sorry to hear that you have been in a similar situation. Thankfully I don't have kids to worry about. That must've been hard, not only for you but for your kids as well. That's terrible you've had to cancel so many trips. Isn't it so depressing? You get all excited and dream about it but then, you have to go and cancel So sad. Hopefully nothing like that will happen for your next trip.



In other news, the Poly has now been added on to our vacation. We'll be staying there the day we are supposed to be leaving WDW. This means we'll be staying in Disney for a whole week! Now I just have to work on keeping this a secret. Since this will extend our stay by a day, this will also reflect on our plane ticket. Hopefully she won't notice.... If she does, I'll just say we're staying at the Pop another night than originally planned

 

[jenbear123]

Went to the dentist today, for a simple follow up after my cleaning appointment a couple weeks ago. It wasn't good news I have to get a baby toothed pulled on Nov 7th Apparently my body is "rejecting" it and things can only get worse if it isn't pulled. I tried postponing it until AFTER my November Disney trip but it was no good. I have to get it done before I go... Which should be fun seeing how I'll have a hole inside my mouth when I'm trying to chow down on all that Disney food! By that point, I will only have 12 days until my trip!!!! At least I can keep telling myself that as the dentist jabs and pulls at my tooth.

Oooooooh boy how I LOATHE the dentist.....

 

[Elevationist]

Went to the dentist today, for a simple follow up after my cleaning appointment a couple weeks ago. It wasn't good news I have to get a baby toothed pulled on Nov 7th Apparently my body is "rejecting" it and things can only get worse if it isn't pulled. I tried postponing it until AFTER my November Disney trip but it was no good. I have to get it done before I go... Which should be fun seeing how I'll have a hole inside my mouth when I'm trying to chow down on all that Disney food! By that point, I will only have 12 days until my trip!!!! At least I can keep telling myself that as the dentist jabs and pulls at my tooth.

Oooooooh boy how I LOATHE the dentist.....

Ugh, I need to go to the dentist so badly. Not for any real problems, I am just in desperate need of a cleaning. (Anybody who meets me in RL at WDW will see what I mean... I use photoshop to whiten my teeth in my photos, they are pretty awful... ) I don't have dental insurance though, and paying out of pocket would mean not having enough money to be with Ron every three months. So I keep putting it off.

 

[jenbear123]

I can see getting to the dentist a bit difficult when you don't have insurance. Costs sure do add up quickly! Although, it would be wise to go at least once a year just for a quick look. Last thing you want is to go through an ordeal like I did when I got a root canal. That was the most awful experience ever. Apparently, my previous dentist (who got fired) let a lot of problems (i.e. cavities) get worse. I didn't think anything of it at the time since I wanted to avoid as much dental work as possible. So, when he kept saying "Don't worry about it." or "We'll leave it for now" I was delighted. But boy oh boy did I pay for it a couple years later. After about a year hiatus from seeing my original dentist, I finally make the call for my annual cleaning. They tell me that my original dentist is no longer there. Okay....... I didn't think anything of it and went to see another dentist (who was ten times better, by the way). After getting x-rays done, it was not good news. I had a massive cavity in one of my molars that had spread all the way to the root. "You're going to need a root canal." I've never had one before but my goodness.... never again! Since the cavity had been left for so long, an infection had formed. Because of this, it hurt ten times more than usual, even after they froze me with at least 4 needles full of the stuff. That was probably one of the worst 2 hours of my life. Now I'm dedicated to brushing at least twice a day (with an electric toothbrush, none of this manual nonsense) and flossing as often as I can. I will NEVER go through that again. So please, take my advice Billie, see a dentist soon. Unless you are blessed with good teeth. Then you may have nothing to worry about.

Getting a tooth pulled is, apparently, nothing like a root canal. It still sounds painful. I guess pulling a baby tooth won't be so bad since the root isn't as big as an adult tooth. Here's hoping.....

 

[Elevationist]

So please, take my advice Billie, see a dentist soon. Unless you are blessed with good teeth. Then you may have nothing to worry about

I do and I don't. I have good teeth in the sense that they are strong. I've never had a single cavity in my life. I have not-so-good teeth due to the fact that I haven't had a professional cleaning in almost 10 years, and it shows. My teeth have a very noticable plaque/tartar build-up, and are about as yellow as this guy: . I'm super self-conscious about it, and am hoping to find a way to get a cleaning after WDW.

 

[jenbear123]

I just realized that tomorrow is my ADR day for our April trip!!!!!!!!!! Along with 5 million other people I'm sure. That's right, Disney decided to open it's ADR booking window up to 180 days again. Not that I'm complaining, it's just that... do you really know what you want to eat 6 months in advance? Well, in my case I do but that's because I'm nuts But the NORMAL Disney goer isn't going to know until it's too late. Or that they book their trip 4 months in advance and go to try and get the coveted Le Cellier only to find it booked solid for the full week of the trip. Am I the only one who is a little spiteful of this?

Here are a few places we (and by "we" I mean "I" since I will be the one up at 6:45am tomorrow morning) intend to grab for April:

Crystal Palace - breakfast or lunch or both
Liberty Tree Tavern - dinner
Le Cellier - lunch
Chefs de France - lunch
Garden Grill - dinner
Brown Derby - lunch
Cape May Cafe - breakfast
Chef Mickey's - breakfast or dinner or both
Tusker House - breakfast
Kouzzina - dinner


Keeping in mind we won't be on the dining plan, we've got to watch how many sit-downs we do. Hopefully with my TIW card, it will cut the costs a little bit. Do you think they will frown upon sharing? (Not at buffets, but the regular a la carte restaurants) I've always heard mixed opinions on sharing. My sister and I did it when we ate at Brown Derby. The server didn't seem too pleased but they still split the food on two separate plates. We even tipped above the automatic 18% gratuity that was added to the bill because of my sister's CM discount. The server can't frown at us after that!

There's a couple there that neither of us have done before. i.e. Chefs de France, Kouzzina, and Cape May Cafe. I'm not eating at any of these places when I go in November. It will be fun for both my mom and I to be trying something new

I'm going to be doing the ADR's online so hopefully I can get on early enough before the system crashes. Honestly, all I care about is getting Le Cellier. I don't care what day or what time (although I do prefer lunch since it'll be cheaper) but just as long as I get it! Or should I call first thing at 7am? I figure the CM's will have the same sort of chance of the system crashing as does the online system. Oie. Talk about stress....

Wish me luck!

 

[jenbear123]

Woke up at 5:50am this morning to face the music of 60 million other people trying to make their ADRs today. The big bummer was that people who are going in February were jamming the internet juice and phone lines as much as the people who are going in April. So here's how it all went down. As soon as the clock struck 6am, I was into the online reservation system (both TA and public). I had both searching for Le Cellier at the same time. After watching the minutes tick by as the system searched, I knew more and more people were signing on. I had hoped that I could at least grab a Le Cellier ressie before the system crashed. Then, it happened. I saw two available ADRs - 2:20pm and 4:00pm. I tried for the 2:20pm and waited for the confirmation....and waited.... and waited.... and waited. Then the horrid error message appeared. The system had crashed It was already 6:30am by this point so I only had another 30 minutes to go until the phone lines opened for the day. After trying the online reservations a couple more times, I shuffled back to bed to recharge my energy for the next task.

As 7am rolled around, I debated if it was really worthwhile trying to call. I assumed the CMs would have the same trouble the public was having with the system crashing. But how will I know unless I try. I dialed the number (while still in my bed, mind you) and listened to the prompts. Finally getting through into the queue with a wait time of "5 minutes". Wow, that's not bad. To not disturb DBF, I left the room and waited.... and waited.... and waited.... and waited. This "5 minute wait" was quickly turning it 15 minutes, then 20, then 25. In a desperate attempt, I even called in through the TA reservation line. That's right. I had two phones in front of me, playing the all so lovely (but all so annoying at the same time) Disney hold music. It was at this point I realized how truly insane I am All this for Le Cellier? I must really want that steak! Anyway, after holding nearly 30 minutes, a lady came on the line. I almost forgot what I was calling about. Then the words spilled out of me. "Le Cellier for lunch on April 24th!" I picked a random day as I knew narrowing it down would make the whole process faster. I could tell the CM was just laughing to herself as to how crazy I sounded. In no less than 30 seconds, she had snagged Le Cellier for 2:05pm on April 24th!!!!!!! Getting a reservations should not be this difficult!

She asked me if I had anymore ADRs. I said no, and that I would let her go as I knew how busy she was this morning. I think she appreciated that. Poor girl. The other ADRs on my list aren't as hard to get as Le Cellier and I knew there was a madhouse of people waiting in the phone queue. To be considerate, I just got the one that I absolutely had to have.

It was now pushing 7:45am. I had snagged one, ONE, ADR but it was the most sought after ADR, which satisfied me enough to retire to my bed once again. I knew the online reservation system was still crashing and the phone was now estimating a 30 minute wait. After my "5 minute" wait, this "30 minutes" could only be doubled.

I eventually got up and did my usual routine in the morning to get ready for work. Before I left, I thought to give the online reservations one last try. I went to the TA site and, to my surprise, it was working! Trying to remain calm, I started searching. Crystal Palace, LTT, Chef mickey's, Garden Grill, Donald's Safari Breakfast, they were all showing up! At this point I was supposed to have left for work 5 minutes ago This forced me to end my search and push through to the confirmation numbers. All went very smoothly and I scored pretty much ALL the ADRs I wanted!!!!

At the end of the day, here are the results of this morning fiasco:

4/22 - Chef Mickey's (D)
4/23 - LTT (D)
4/24 - Le Cellier (L)
4/25 - Garden Grill (D)
4/26 - Crystal Palace (B)
4/27 - Donald's Safari Breakfast
4/28 - Cape May Cafe (B), Chefs de France (L)

The only one's missing are Brown Derby and Kouzzina, which I figure can be snagged once this whole thing blows over. Phew, it was a successful day but now I'm dead tired at work. I feel like a zombie. And all for Disney!

 

[starling]

Your PTR is lovely! I'm going to be starting one soon, my first time to WDW but I've -always- wanted to go. I noticed you just chose your ADR's and I'm kind of asking everyone who has an active PTR up~ Of all the restaurants, which are the ones you absolutely MUST eat at?

 

[jenbear123]

Your PTR is lovely! I'm going to be starting one soon, my first time to WDW but I've -always- wanted to go. I noticed you just chose your ADR's and I'm kind of asking everyone who has an active PTR up~ Of all the restaurants, which are the ones you absolutely MUST eat at?

Thanks for reading along

You should definitely start one! Not only is it a way to share your plans with other crazy Disney fanatics but it's a great way to document all the plans that went into your trip.

You're first time to WDW? It can be overwhelming, can't it? If you need any advice, we're all here for ya

The restaurants that we absolutely can't bypass on a trip to WDW are:

Table Service
Crystal Palace
Le Cellier
Chef Mickey's (more for characters than food) &;
Donald's Safari Breakfast at Tusker House (AK)

Counter Service
Sunshine Seasons (Epcot)
Columbia Harbour House (MK)
Earl of Sandwich (DTD)
Main Street Bakery (MK)
Main Street Ice Cream Parlour (MK)
Aloha Isle for Dole Whips (MK)

This is not to say the other restaurants aren't good, these are just the ones that have been constant in quality of food, service, and atmosphere. Keep in mind I still have MANY other sit down restaurants to try. Who knows, I might find another gem. Hope this helps!

 

[disneyaddicted]

Dentists ugh! after reading your post about the root canal I had the uncontrollable urget o go brush my teeth, so I did, I flossed too!!!
Congratulations on getting your ADR's for April, I hate the gut wrenching feeling you get when you're on hold and you just know that people ahead of you are taking all the good ADR's, but then the feeling of floating that comes over you once you get all your ADR's confirmed is totally worth it.

 

[jenbear123]

Dentists ugh! after reading your post about the root canal I had the uncontrollable urget o go brush my teeth, so I did, I flossed too!!!

Glad I was able to scare you into taking care of your teeth! It really is a terrible experience. Take care of your teeth. You'll thank yourself in the end. So will your bank account....

Congratulations on getting your ADR's for April, I hate the gut wrenching feeling you get when you're on hold and you just know that people ahead of you are taking all the good ADR's, but then the feeling of floating that comes over you once you get all your ADR's confirmed is totally worth it.

Thanks! I've already did some shuffling around , which I'll post about later on today. You're so right about that feeling you get. The suspense is enough to make you faint! Especially getting up at the crack of dawn. All for the sake of Disney!

 

[jenbear123]

Once the online dining reservations was back up and I was actually able to compare the park hours with what I had, I started doing some shuffling. I realized that we may be getting into Disney in the later afternoon with our flight. We haven't booked a flight yet for April but I figure we shouldn't book anything too early... just in case. That meant Chef Mickey's at 5:30pm on our arrival day was out. There were a few other ones that just didn't feel right, and so, the shuffling began. Here's where we're at right now:

4/22 - Kouzzina 6:35pm
4/23 - LTT 4:30pm
4/24 - Le Cellier 2:05pm
4/25 - Garden Grill 5:35pm (this is actually a new time, the last one was a bit later than I wanted at 6:55pm)
4/26 - Crystal Palace 8:05am (If the park hours stay the way they are, this means early entry into MK!!!), Chef Mickey's 6:30pm
4/27 - Donald's Safari Breakfast 8:20am (Early entry again, I think)
4/28 - Chefs de France 2:00pm
4/29 - Cape May Cafe 7:30am

ADRs subject to change**

Two buffets in one day might be a bit much but hopefully since they are so far apart, we should be able to find room to pack it all in. I also figured we'll be getting up early on our departure day and end out trip with a Character Breakfast, one neither of us have done before.


Oh and my West Jet flight times changed AGAIN for November. I'm not getting into Orlando until well passed 1 o'clock. This makes me mad My flight when I leave Orlando is now leaving later as well, which isn't quite so bad, just means more time in Disney!!!! I've been looking to see if a later Le Cellier ADR is available EVERY day for the last couple of days but no luck It's going to be a mad dash... One of my sister's friends from work has kindly offered to pick me up from VWL and drive me over to Epcot. That should shave 20-30 minutes off my travel time. I could still potentially make it. I really hope I do as I'd love to have Bubba be my server! That would be so much fun! Come on West Jet. Be on my side, just this one time? Oh, and Mother Nature, that means you too! Last thing I need is a huge blizzard to roll through the airport, delaying my flight even more **knock on wood**

I'm off to bed. Off to work tomorrow. Yup, working on Halloween. I'm thinking I'll go to work dressed as a Disney tourist. What do you think? I'd say it's quite fitting!

 

[Elevationist]

Wow, grats on your ADR success! I figured it was going to be nuts. I think the 180-day booking window for ADRs is absolute garbage, personally. I myself usually don't plan a trip more than 6 months in advance, because living paycheck to paycheck, it's hard to know until closer to the date if I'm going to be able to pull it off or not. Not to mention you can't truly settle on an itinerary until the official park hours are released. I'd love to know what bonehead decided to make it this way!

 

[jenbear123]

Wow, grats on your ADR success! I figured it was going to be nuts. I think the 180-day booking window for ADRs is absolute garbage, personally. I myself usually don't plan a trip more than 6 months in advance, because living paycheck to paycheck, it's hard to know until closer to the date if I'm going to be able to pull it off or not. Not to mention you can't truly settle on an itinerary until the official park hours are released. I'd love to know what bonehead decided to make it this way!

Tell me about it. Disney has been making a lot of stupid mistakes lately (i.e. raising prices during an economic downturn) but what can we do... other than not go to Disney and pay these ridiculous prices (which I don't, since I get a discount lol) but who wants to do that!?! Darn it Disney, why do you have to be so addictive!!!

The 180 days booking window is very stupid. They should've left it at 90 days. I really wonder what made them switch it back. Were they getting complaints? I can't imagine they would have. There's not much point to having the park hours out 180 days in advance either because they end up changing them anyway!

 

[disneyaddicted]

Maybe we need to start running Disney since we seem to have it all down. I would change alot of things. I myself also do not get why they would raise prices when the economy stinks, but then again they did offer us some good money savers, like free dining. Problem is they know Disney is addicting and that we will keep coming back again and again, even if it means dressing in rags and eating poor man stew every day in order to afford it.

 

[jenbear123]

even if it means dressing in rags and eating poor man stew every day in order to afford it.

So true!

 

[jenbear123]

Yes, it's official. It's concrete! It's the November itinerary finally complete!

There were a few changes since the last time I updated our plans for this trip. My flight times changed (again) and Disney decided to take away any EMH at Epcot while I'm there I'm disappointed, Disney. How could you! Fine, be that way! I'll just have to change plans, AGAIN!

Here is the complete November itinerary:

Sorry the text is tiny. I'm fairly satisfied about these plans. Oh! And in case you missed it, one of Bubba's friends will be picking me up from WL to take me over to Epcot. This will speed up the process tremendously. I was almost tempted to rent a car to get me from the airport to the resort quicker. Then when I saw how much it was going to cost, I fluffed off the idea pretty quickly I like ME anyway. Makes you feel like you've finally arrived in Disney World. I just hope WL doesn't end up being the last stop. I'll be using ME's luggage delivery as well. Hopefully I will clear customs here so I don't have to claim my luggage again in Orlando. It defeats the whole purpose when you still have to go to baggage claim, get your luggage, clear customs, then hand off your luggage to ME again.

I still have a few things to knock off on my To Do list:

• Confirm ME Transfers DONE
• Get later time for Le Cellier ADR (Yes, I'm still trying)
• Create packing list
• Make sure one suitcase will fit inside the other DONE
• Take inventory on travel size stuff
• Stay healthy SO FAR SO GOOD!
• Order calendar for Bubba's x-mas present DONE
• Grocery list for Bubba for when we'll be in VWL
• Decide on a nice outfit to bring
• Print out resort confirmation with addresses for customs
• Confirm flight times with West Jet

Some of these things will get done in the next few days. The whole suitcase worry has been lifted from my shoulders. Another friend of Bubba's had a giant suitcase that she did not need so she gave it to Bubba. This means I only have to bring down one giant suitcase. The one her friend gave her is already full I better bring my luggage weight measurer thingie to make sure it's not overweight. Going down is going to be the easy part. Bringing everything home is going to be another thing. I guess this means I better pack light Good thing West Jet has generous baggage allowance.

3 days until I get my tooth pulled I'm not looking forward to it. Every time I think about it, I look like this guy Everyone that I have talked to so far, who have had teeth pulled, said it's quick and painless. I sure hope they're right. I'm a big baby when it comes to pain. I'm not afraid to admit it either! Seriously, when I had my root canal, I was literally shaking from the pain. I couldn't control it. My body was a bucket of nerves. Same thing happened when I came to after getting my appendix out. The nurses thought I was having seizures or that I was cold. So they wrapped me in several blankets. My sister and DBF hardly recognized me I was so cocooned in blankets. DBF was able to explain to the nurses that my uncontrollable shaking was just my nerves and was nothing to worry about. I would've told them but was still recovering from the anesthetic Strange how my body reacts to things. I should really practice zen or meditation or something. I know it's all in my head. I'll just think DISNEY as I hear the snap of the bone when the tooth is pulled on Saturday

 

[jenbear123]

I know this is completely off topic but I'm going to mention it anyway. I called my dentist again today in regards to my tooth extraction appointment this Saturday. After thinking about what I was told about my tooth, I was skeptical if this tooth really, in fact, had to be pulled. It isn't hurting me in anyway. It's not causing any problems (as far as I can tell) It seemed odd that it had to come out so soon.

Anyway, I spoke to the receptionist there and explained that I didn't really understand why I needed to get the tooth pulled. It isn't loose, it doesn't hurt, it's not in the way of other teeth in my mouth.... She said that eventually the tooth will become loose or fall out but failed to mention anything that would be detrimental to me if this tooth was to just stay in my mouth. Why pull it out if it's going to eventually fall out anyway? The whole thing felt a bit fishy to me. And I'm not about to go through on a major procedure like this until I know all the facts. So now, instead of my tooth being pulled on Saturday, it will be a consultation session. This will allow me to go over all the figures as to how much it will cost and whether or not this tooth really needs to be pulled. In my opinion, it sounds like a money grab to me. I'm happy my mom questioned this as I might have just gone through with the procedure without even thinking.

If my dentist is still insistent that the tooth should come out, I'm getting a second opinion at my mom's dentist. I'm sorry but I've heard too many things about dentists and money gouging. If my mom's dentist says the same thing, then I'll really consider the procedure. But I'm not letting anybody touch my tooth until I'm 100% sure of everything! Did I mention I hate dentists?

Sorry to bore you with this. Thanks for letting me vent.

 

[jenbear123]

14 MORE DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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