The One Before the Trip

[plutofan0902]

Hi my name is Carrie and this is my first ever trip report of any kind. I've been a lurker on the boards and figured since we talk about our trip all the time I might as well write about it.

The Cast:


Me (41 and a kid at heart). My favorite character is Pluto, but Sulley is a close second. My favorite park is Animal Kingdom. My favorite attraction is Toy Story Mania. My favorite princess is Rapunzel.

My Mom, Ruth, restrasz on here (I get my love of Disney from her). Her favorite character is Mickey Mouse. Her favorite park is Magic Kingdom and her favorite attraction is Soarin'. Her favorite princess is Cinderella.

That's my little sister in the middle. She is a soon to be graduate of Grand Valley State University and will be attending a year long nursing program at U of D Mercy in the fall so she won't be able to join us this year.



This year my brother, sister-in-law and my will almost be 9 year nephew will be joining us for a few days. I will refer to them as J, C and B. It's B's first time at Disney World and I can't wait to experience it with him.




We will also be joined for part of our trip by an aunt and uncle and their family.

We will travel in October and will be staying at POFQ right now. If a discount comes out we will switch if need be. Mom and I will be there for 10 days and have some firsts planned.

In just 5 days we can make our ADR's and they consist of: Chef Mickey's for dinner, O'hana's for dinner, Primetime, Tutu Italia, Tusker House for b'fast, Boma for b'fast., The Crystal Palace for lunch, Askerhaus for b'fast, Tepan Edo, Brown Derby, and Liberty Tree Tavern.

Mom and I are sure to have some adventures... she takes a scooter and that always provides many comedic moments like the time I had to leave for the Wild Africa tour and was getting the scooter out of the room for her and she let the door close with our keys in the room. Did I mention she was in her pj's? Or that same year when literally every ride we went on broke down at some point in the ride. That was the first year we used a scooter and we should have had to take a test or something because we sure had no clue what we were doing.

 

[plutofan0902]

Can anyone tell me how to put pictures in a post? Do you have to have a photobucket account?

 

[plutofan0902]

Like I said before, we've pretty much talked of nothing else for quite some time now. We have several calendars with information. Every time we go out to eat, we talk about Disney. When we are in the car, we talk about Disney. Needless to say, we had our desired ADR's ready to go. Nerd that I am, I got everything ready and set on Friday night before I went to bed.

Fortunately my dog Phoebe, is a creature of habit and wanted to get up and eat at 5:30 so when the clock hit 6, I was ready.

We got everything we wanted for the times we wanted including the Dessert Party at the Magic Kingdom. It took less than half an hour to get it all done. Then I had to wait till 7 so I could call and make our "Keys to the Kingdom" reservation. During my 30 minutes of waiting, I perused the Disney Store site for pins.

My nephew B, is a collector. He is currently obsessed with Pokemon cards and I'm hoping I can get him to pin trade with me. I dug out all of my lanyards from previous trips when I went way overboard on pin purchases to see what I could give him to start with. I don't think he will have a problem trading princesses. Getting him to wear them on his lanyard to trade - that's gonna take some bribery.

Now we are counting down the days till we can make our fastpass+ reservations. Let the planning continue!

 

[Luvchefmic]

CARRIE after talking to your Mom I have been looking for this report So good to " see" you again Now I'm guessing you know how to post the pictures Easy Peasy right ? They look great perfect size & quality GREAT job !


I'm first ! See how little it takes to make me happy I don't think I have EVER been first on a TR to post ( well except my own woefully in need of an update one )


Only unsolicited advice I would give you is put something else as a link to your report in your signature line "pre-trip report" the way it is now is not really being noticed ....brighter color, different font, KWIM ? so many people can come along for the ride


Get my number from your Mom would love to talk to you and hey great user ID and picture You know my heart is with Pluto too

So happy you got the ADRs all straightened out ! They are wonderful Have you ever had breakfast at Boma's ? It is a fabulous buffet My favorite is the scrambled eggs with spinach and goat cheese I was leery to try it and then kept going back for more YUM !

Looking forward very much to reading along with your plans

Ruthie

 

[plutofan0902]

Ruthie, Thanks for joining! It was easy to figure out how to put pictures in once I was sure it was through photobucket .

Great advice on the link for the pre-trip report. I'm newer to the whole "dis" blog thing so help is always welcome.

We have done Boma for breakfast and love it. It's just so fun and different. I did forget to include B in the reservation and had to call back but it's all good.

My avatar is a picture I took during the parade the last time we were there and Pluto is my most favorite.

 

[cogero]

okay I am joining in.

 

[DMGeurts]

I am here too!

I am so excited to see you doing a PTR! This will be so much fun. I know that you and your mom have followed my PTRs/TRs for a couple of years, so I am very excited to get to know you and your family better~!

I am also excited to see you staying at FQ - I know that may change if discounts come out, but my girls and I just love staying there - so I know you will enjoy it!

Anyways - super excited to be here and follow along!

D~

 

[BellesLibrary]

I can't wait to hear more about your trip!

My family is just like yours--no matter what we're doing, somehow the topic of Disney comes up. Talking about the trip is almost (almost!) as fun as going on the actual trip.

 

[plutofan0902]

okay I am joining in.

Yay! Welcome!

I am here too!

I am so excited to see you doing a PTR! This will be so much fun. I know that you and your mom have followed my PTRs/TRs for a couple of years, so I am very excited to get to know you and your family better~!

Thanks for joining in D! We are really excited about POFQ. We loved it there last year.

I can't wait to hear more about your trip!

My family is just like yours--no matter what we're doing, somehow the topic of Disney comes up. Talking about the trip is almost (almost!) as fun as going on the actual trip.

Welcome Belleslibrary. We drove to the other side of the state on Friday and literally talked of Disney most of the way and much of the way home last night

 

[plutofan0902]

My sister, Emily, is 20 years younger than I am. She was the bonus baby in the family. She has been working towards a BS in Nursing. This week she graduated from Grand Valley State University with a B.S. in Allied Health Sciences and a minor in Psychology. I am so proud of her. She is the first one to graduate with a Bachelor's degree in our immediate family and she worked hard through some really tough stuff. Her final GPA will be a 3.5 or a 3.6 which is awesome!

Her best friend has been living with us for the last 4 years and is one of the family. Ashton graduated with a B.A. in Marketing. They are crazy.

Mom and I did talk about Disney for most of the ride there. In fact, we talked about what we would do if we got a bounce-back offer. Does anyone know if we do get one, if both of us could book a separate trip? I'd like to take Emily over her Spring break next year (She is going for her second bachelor's in nursing) and mom wants to put a deposit on another trip for us. My aunt and uncle who will travel with us also came for the graduation and at dinner that as the subject of conversation. To say we are obsessed is quite an understatement .

I'm working on planners for us, my brother and sister-in-law and a special one for my nephew to fill the time.

 

[BellesLibrary]

Congrats to your sister! Graduating cum laude is definitely a wonderful accomplishment!

You taught me something today--I hadn't ever heard of a bounceback offer before I read your last post! I'm not sure how this is possible, as I am no stranger to WDW visits, but I will definitely keep my eyes open for those when we go next time. Yay for learning something new about Disney!

Also, I can't wait to see your planners. I love decorating things, but I've never made a Disney planner. (This needs to change immediately.) Will you share yours when they're done so I can oooh and ahhh over them?!?!

 

[plutofan0902]

Allow me to introduce you to Phoebe, my 3 year old Laboradoodle. She is my baby. At the moment she is looking out the window while sitting on my shoulder. Yes, you read that right, she is sitting on my shoulder. She has quite the personality. She is known as Phoebe, Pheebs, Bobbins, and The Bully.

The bully is because she doesn't let the other dog do anything without going after her in some way.

Her favorite things are toilet paper, receipts, wash cloths, expensive purse straps and shoes and most recently a sweatshirt.

In spite of all of her badness, she is mine and I love her.

 

[plutofan0902]

Also, I can't wait to see your planners. I love decorating things, but I've never made a Disney planner. (This needs to change immediately.) Will you share yours when they're done so I can oooh and ahhh over them?!?!

I will totally post pics of the planners when they are done. I'm really having fun creating them and making them special. Last year I laminated them and bound them with ring clips but this year I think we are going to get them bound. The printer I use for work gives me a great deal for that type of thing.

 

[DMGeurts]

Congratulations to Emily and her BFF - such an amazing accomplishment!!!

OK - about the bounceback... Anyone staying within your room reservation over the age of 18 can book a bounceback. Bounceback offers depend on what Disney is offering at the time... Sometimes it's free dining and sometimes it's a % off of rooms, and sometimes its nothing. All bounceback offers have a time frame they are valid for - most often it's done for the same time period the following year. So, for instance, when we went last August, Disney had JUST came out with a free dining offer for this year - valid for any trip booked before we checked out for the tiime frame of August and Sept 2014. So, from any resort room phone, you need to dial extention 8844 - then you can talk to them and see which bouncebacks are offered for you... THere should also be a flier of some sort in your room, but keep an eye on The Dis too - because sometimes different rooms have different offers, and you can take advantage of any of them. Hope that wasn't too confusing.

Phoebe is precious! I love puppies... However - the fact that expensive purse straps are in danger scares me a little bit.

D~

 

[BellesLibrary]

Allow me to introduce you to Phoebe, my 3 year old Laboradoodle.

Her favorite things are toilet paper, receipts, washclothes, expensive purse straps and shoes and most recently a sweatshirt.

In spite of all of her badness, she is mine and I love her.

I have a dog named Phoebe, too! She's a mutt (maybe part german shepherd? We have no idea) and she loves to eat random stuff, too!! The worst thing that she's taken down would be my $500 Nikon camera--she actually ate the flash off of the top so that the light sensor doesn't work anymore. Why do dogs find stuff like that edible?!!?!?

But, like you, I love her in spite of her penchant for eating non-edible things. Your Phoebe is so cute!

 

[Luvchefmic]

I have a dog named Phoebe, too! She's a mutt (maybe part german shepherd? We have no idea) and she loves to eat random stuff, too!! The worst thing that she's taken down would be my $500 Nikon camera--she actually ate the flash off of the top so that the light sensor doesn't work anymore. Why do dogs find stuff like that edible?!!?!?

But, like you, I love her in spite of her penchant for eating non-edible things. Your Phoebe is so cute!

Hi BellesLibrary good grief she ate the flash ! They can be quite nuts glad she wasn't hurt We have " lost" quite a few things in our home too The most memorable was a rosary God forgive that dog and so glad it was never found again It's a story though

Congratulations once again to Emily ( and her friend ) amazing accomplishments you should be proud

Really liking the way you are doing your posts Carrie ( ie: The one before.. ) very unique

How cute is that baby of yours and at 3 she is a baby Anxious to see your planners to the family

Ruthie

 

[plutofan0902]

Really liking the way you are doing your posts Carrie ( ie: The one before.. ) very unique

How cute is that baby of yours and at 3 she is a baby Anxious to see your planners to the family

Ruthie, the inspiration for my titles come from my all time favorite comedy "Friends". All of the episode titles start with "the one..."

Yes, Phoebe is a baby still and she knows it. She went for a ride in the car tonight to pick up dog food and was intent that all cars around us paid attention to her and was extra cute.

 

[Luvchefmic]

Ruthie, the inspiration for my titles come from my all time favorite comedy "Friends". All of the episode titles start with "the one..."

Yes, Phoebe is a baby still and she knows it. She went for a ride in the car tonight to pick up dog food and was intent that all cars around us paid attention to her and was extra cute.

Well from one of my all time favorite comedies......wait for it......wait for it....your trip I predict will be " legendary and awesome " Now on with the planning

 

[plutofan0902]

We've been waiting and hoping that either a room discount or free dining would come out for the time when we are going to b at Disney. Alas, FD came out and completely misses our dates. We were willing to switch resorts if we needed to but now our hope is that they will open up either a room discount or free dining during our dates and that so many people will hop resorts that it will also open up at POFQ.

Today we've been checking out the magic band covers on ebay and etsy. We also cleaned our basement or at least started. It's now proven that we are Disney freaks - we have literally boxes of Disney ornaments and decorations. So fun!!!

 

[DMGeurts]

So sad for you that you were not able to get free dining... I love that discount, and it just seems so rare to have it these days. I hope something pulls through for you.

LOL about all the Disney stuff... I leave for Chicago in a few weeks - which means I have to clean all of the Disney stuff out of my suitcase (I leave it packed all the time now, it's just eaiser)... I am a little nervous about the inventory I will have to do when I get back. LOL

Have a great weekend Carrie!

D~