The THEY WONT GO PTR~A first ever for Disneywifey!!

[disneywifey]

So, this is my first PTR. Woohoo!! I'm way too excited I think! However, as I sit here eating my veggie Taco bell, I think that's ok (to be excited, not so much for the taco bell...). Anyways, I don't knwo how these things normally go since this is my first and I've only really started reading TRs not so much the PTRs unless I need background info. (I promise I'm not a stalker or something but sometimes there's history you need to know about).

SO... the cast!
I'm Disneywifey aka Diana. Why Disney"wifey"? Well, my DH calls me "wifey" and I'm the in-house Disney freak. Ergo, Disney+wifey fits me well! I'm currently a pseudo=vegetarian (I'll still eat fresh seafood) who loves animals especially my dog Sophie and cat Chloe (who believes she's a dog too).

(sorry Chloe turned when I took that one)
Besides Disney, I love music, especially the Beatles and John Mayer. I'm a music-aholic and I've recently found 24/7 park radio and I'm hooked! Here's me:

My DH is not on the DIS yet so I'll be speaking for him unless he decides he wants to chime in or something. He likes Disney (not quite as obsessed as me though!) and LOVES superman! He's got the license plate, car decals, shirts, hat, boxers, movies, the WORKS! He is a graphic designer so he's on the computer a lot. He will probably be making us Disney shirts for at least one day of our trip. I'm so excited! Here he is:

I know, he's cute!

I'll add a together photo of us later. My current selection is slim.

Now, onto the trip! We honeymooned in WDW in Jan 05, had our 3rd Anniversry there this Jan (08) and are going back next year in Jan 09! This trip will be different for a few reasons.
1.) We invited my parents and little sis. I went once with them when i was 2 or 3 and then never again until 2003. When we went in 03, Mission:space had just opened that week and it was CA-RAAAAY-ZY! Hot, hot, hot and crowded, crowded, crowded!! Supposedly, the press and their families had been invited and it was just madness. So, we want to show them what a nice, peaceful Disney can be like. However, they haven't decided so that's the big WILL THEY/WON'T THEY?!? of my PTR. That will come soon.
2.) This will be the first time we will be driving and not flying. It's not a long drive, 10 hours max but probaly closer to 8 or 9 with the way i drive!
3.) This will be the first time we're going to be commando free. I was never fully a commando-style park tourer but after DH got me the Hidden Mickey guide for last trip, I'm slower.

Now then, down to the nitty-gritties:
Trip dates: depending on which days we leave, Jan 17/18-Jan 24. 2009.
Place we're gonna lay our heads: Port Orleans Riverside (although we may give FQ a try?)
Driving from MS Gulf Coast
MYW tickets with Park hoppers and the Disney Dining Plan

That's the basics. Hope you enjoy my planning mania!
Dining chaos and choices are next...

Edit: Sorry, I feel like I left out a few of our other details. I didn't mention kids because we don't currently have any. That's for a reason. We haven't started trying yet. We like Disney without children for now. I'm sure in the near future we will start trying but for now, we like our mojo. I love my family and while it will be fun to vacation with them, as we have before, we will not do everything together. However, I will tell my sister she has to take photos of everything!

I didn't tell about THE FAM! They are as follows:
DF: My father is my boss. I work for him but we get along really well and are basically personality-doppelgangers. we are VERY much alike. He has a great sense of humor but likes "relax-cations" not commando style disney vacations.

DM-My mother is hard to describe. Oddly, the first thing that comes to mind is: She threw up on the "dixie cups" (if anyone knows which theme park that was from they get a dancing "nanner" from me!). She likes rides and she's fun to be around. She is afraid my sister will miss too much school for this trip. Huh? There's no such thing. My sis is a good student.

My DS- (from here on out, DS will refer to Darlin' Sister NOT son) My sister is 9 years, 9 months yonger than me and she is currently 15 (you do the math and you know how old I am). She loves horseback riding and fashion. She is really fun and already has a car and a permit. SCARY!!! She is spoiled rotten, the baby, and pretty much the "spittin' image" of my mom.

 

[disneywifey]

So, we're really close to the 180 day-ADR mark! However, I called disney dining yesterday and she said it was originally scheduled to start shifting to 90 days advanced dining reservations (they're switching the system for a short period of time)yesterday but they pushed it back to the 21st which would be 180 from my date of arrival. She said that since things always change, I could try back and see on that date. Also, she told me that my 90 day mark is Oct 19th. She said the 90 day should still be in effect then (since it's supposed to go back to 180 on oct 24th). But she said things change often so to be safe (and since nothing is ever set in stone), for me to call often to check on their system updates and see if they're currently booking 180 or 90 in advance. So I'm just gonna start calling on the 21st of this month and let ya'll know what they say. WHEW!

The CM i talked to was really helpful even though she couldn't give me specifics since they keep changing the dates. She said regardless, i'd be able to make them for sure (based on availability of course) on the 90(+10) day mark in october. I just am hoping that if I call on the 21st of this month that they won't have it switched over yet. Plus 21's my lucky number! We'll see!

Now, on this trip we want to try some different restaurants below are some places we've been before and enjoyed: (so you know our tastes)
Nine Dragons
Le Cellier
San Angel Inn
Liberty Tree Tavern (CD-which it will no longer be when we go )
Crystal Palace Buffet (CD for late lunch)
Cinderellas Royal Table for Breakfast-liked but that's not something we're wanting to do again for awhile
Sci-Fi Dine in Theater
Places we've been and NOT enjoyed: (So you know what our tastes AREN'T)
Raglan Road-food was ok, but service was HORRENDOUS
Chef Mickeys but it was overrun with children and madness so it was a little too much for us to handle.

Below are our table service meal choices that we need to whittle down:
Hoop Dee Doo
California Grill for Wishes
Narcoossee's
Spoodles
O'hana
Coral Reef
Nine Dragons
Rose & Crown
Brown Derby
The Wave

things to note:
1.) The fam has still not told me whether they're going to go. I mean, don't they know how OCD i am and that I HAVE to know these things? I guess I'm gonna make some of the reservations for 5 people and change them if they back out?!
2.) I'm still waiting on Disney to release the jan calendar so I can decide which places which night. Hopefully it'll be before the 21st! If not, I'm wingin' it (or else I'll base it on last year's calendar which i still have from my last trip!)

One thing of note for me: I am NOT normally a good patient person. I am a self confessed control freak and have been diagnosed with OCD tendencies. However, I can normally control my anxious-ness but this will they/won't they is getting to me. I mean, WHO NEEDS TO THINK ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT TO GO TO DISNEYWORLD?? Weirdos!

 

[njdisneyfreak]

Hi! I'm your first poster!!!

I like your PTR so far. My DH and I are going in December for our anniversary and the holidays for the second time in a row, though we've gone during the summer a couple of times, as well. Since we're both going in the winter for our anniversaries, I am hopping on board. We can compare notes.

I wouldn't book dining for 5, if they're not absolutely certain. What if they don't come? You may not be able to switch your ADRs to a table for two and miss out on all the places you want to eat. Do they know there's a deadline for calling in for dining? Maybe you can tell them that if you don't know by then, you'll have to book your dining without them, and it's possible that they might have to eat separately and even at different times than you. Do you think that would understand if put that way?

I understand the OCD when it comes to WDW. I just don't understand when people don't want to go to WDW. If it's money or not having the time available, that's one thing. But, to just not know if they want to go? What's up with that?

Your pets are cute. I included a picture of my Shih Tzu on my PTR. It only seems right to include the entire family, whether or not they get to go, right?

I'll keep checking for updates.

 

[Native NYer]

Joining in!!

Great start!!! Can't wait to read more.

 

[disneywifey]

Hi! I'm your first poster!!!

We can compare notes.

I wouldn't book dining for 5, if they're not absolutely certain. What if they don't come? You may not be able to switch your ADRs to a table for two and miss out on all the places you want to eat. Do they know there's a deadline for calling in for dining? Maybe you can tell them that if you don't know by then, you'll have to book your dining without them, and it's possible that they might have to eat separately and even at different times than you. Do you think that would understand if put that way?

I understand the OCD when it comes to WDW. I just don't understand when people don't want to go to WDW. If it's money or not having the time available, that's one thing. But, to just not know if they want to go? What's up with that?

Your pets are cute. I included a picture of my Shih Tzu on my PTR. It only seems right to include the entire family, whether or not they get to go, right?

I'll keep checking for updates.

Hi! yay my first reader!! Yeah, if I haven't heard a yes or nea from them by this weekend (which conicides perfectly with the days before the 21st!) I'm gonna only book 1 ADR for all 5 of us and then just do the rest for just me and DH.

My notes are your notes!

They DEFINITELY have the moolah its just a timing thing since my grandmother needs more constant supervision these days and my sis would have to miss school.

Pets are great! My dog and cat get along so well. They're rotten too.

Thanks and glad you're here!

 

[disneywifey]

Joining in!!

Great start!!! Can't wait to read more.

Hi to you too! Thanks for joining me! I have an audience now!

 

[disneywifey]

Ok. So a few updates:I got up early this morning, (never fun) and made SOME ADRS. They are still not on the 90 day system yet so I was able to make my ADRS for the first few days. I went ahead and made the following:
17th-Biergarten (we may not go here, much less arrive on this day, but better to be safe than sorry!)
18th-Le Cellier for WTWT clan (Will they/won't they)
18th-Le Chefs de France for me and DH
THEN I tried to make ADRS for the 19th and she said I couldn't. I'd have to have a reservation number to make more. Is this true? Last trip I called each day since I didn't knoww about the 180/10 practice. But I didn't know there was a reservation # stipulation. so now, I have to get up early on Wednesday morning and call again.
I'm thinking I may just go ahead and book room only today if that's the case. Or is that being too OCD? The packages won't be out until end of August more than likely. I just really want to get ADRS for Rose & Crown during Illuminations and California Grill during Wishes. What to do?

Secondly, here is my list of must-do's by park:
MK:
Exposition Hall to see the old cartoons, DH LOVES them!
Swiss Family Treehouse
Magic Carpet? Eh not a huge deal but never done them
Tom Sawyer Island-I've done it but not DH
Liberty Square Riverboat, see above item
Fairytale Garden storytime with BElle
Cinderellas Carousel-Never done it! I really wanna do this!
Dumbo
Mickey/Minnie's House-I've done but not DH
Epcot:
School Bread from norway
Reflections of China
American Adventure-is normally in refurb during jan but this year we found out it was actualy open on the last day of our trip and i was bummed
Impressions de France
Kaki Gori at Jaan
DHS:
Lights Motor Action
Voyage of the Little Mermaid
Magic of Disney Animation
Beauty and the Beast
IF WE DO NOTHING ELSE THIS TRIP WE WILL DO FANTASMIC. Got it? Good!
Last trip, we got 2 times guides since we came over the weekend. I looked at the wrong one and we MISSED it. I came THIS CLOSE to crying hysterically but DH cheered me up enough to have me keep my cool.
AK:
Festival of the Lion King
Conservation Station and all its little spots, affection section, habitat habit so on
Finding Nemo the Musical

Now,I'll show you my photos from this weekend!

Yay Dollar store stickers and more yay to the Unofficial Guide/Bible!

Note: These are my park maps/times guides from my jan 08 trip that I'm using for cross-referencing. I find it interesting that not all of these mapes have the YOAMD banner. Notice the 2 from epcot, one each way.

My Dining Plan handout, note, the torn-worn-outed-ness of it!

Next, my Walle run in:

This was me and the little guy while I was waiting for the Thursday midnight showing of the Dark Knight (I blame DH!)

And lastly, these were my 2 choices from best Buy for small tripods:

One was teeny tiny one was "small" but still seemed big to me! I didn't get one, I want to look at reviews first and get opinions.

Now, as I mentioned, fantasmic is a must do this trip and according to the new Disney calendar, it will be playing 2 nights while we're there. One is the 19th, MLK day, and the other is the 22nd, a Thursday night. The touring plans site says the best park bet for MLK day is DHS BUT the Disney calendar says DHS will be a EMH day. uh oh, what to do?! Follow the website blindly or make my own rules? I ask because, whichever night I see Fantasmic, I'll need to make some sort of ADR and none of them will be at DHS. So I'll need to factor in show time & transport. Ugh, another road bump! However, I'm so pumped up that I already made 3 ADRS and it's really REAL now, as in, my name is now in Disney's system for next year!!

 

[disneywifey]

Alrighty then! I've pretty much got it all mapped out. I know, I know, compared to some of ya'll I'm lagging behind on all this but waiting for the Jan 09 schedule took a while.

Here are my plans (for now!):
17th- (IF the WTWT clan come with, they may not arrive on this day with us)
*Arrive at WDW by 3 , hopefully earlier since we'll be driving.
*Check-in to POR, unload the baggies.
*Visit either MK (depending on time) or Epcot
*ADRS for Biergarten
18th- (IF the WTWT clan comes, it's most likely they'll arrive this day.)
*Get up at the buttcrack of dawn for Ropedrop at AK. (we've never done this other than a CRT ressie it'll be hard for me but I WILL DO IT!)
*Lunch at one fo the following: FlameTree/Pizzafari/Yak &Yeti cafe
*Stay until either exhausted or kicked out.
*ADRS for Chefs De France for DH & I
*ADRS for Le Cellier for WTWT Clan (if they come at all!)
19th-
*Wake up early for ropedrop at Epcot
*Lunch at Sunshine seasons or World Showcase CS
*Stay until either exhausted or until ADR time nearby on Boardwalk
*If we stay until ADR time, take boat from INTL gateway over to ADR at Spoodles
*Look around Boardwalk
20th-
*Make ropedrop for MK
*Lunch at one of the following: Pecos Bills/Noodle Station/Village Haus
*We'll most likely take a rest during this afternoon as we'll have a late night
*Return to MK for Wishes and then take boat to FW for ADRS at Hoop Dee Doo late showing
21st- (My lucky #, maybe this will be a extra special day!)
*Make ropedrop for DHS
*Lunch at either: Pizza Planet or Backlot Express
*Not sure we'll stay full day here either, depending on the wait for Toy Story Mania
*ADRS for Rose & Crown (haven't made these YET dur to the 180 mark, am hoping for Illuminations seating time, we'll see!)
22nd-
*Make ropedrop for either EP or AK, if we don't make rope drop, it's ok we could sleep in this day if need be
*Lunch ADRS for 9 Dragons
*Return to DHS early enough to get CS food and an AWESOME SEAT FOR FANTASMIC *Note: the only other time Fantasmic is scheduled to be performed is the 19th, MLK day. I will be watching the weather religiously and we may change plans to see it on the 19th if need be due to weather. We could cancel Spoodles if need be.
23rd-
*Make ropedrop for MK
*Lunch at whichever MK CS we didn't do on Tuesday the 20th
*Return to room rest, get bags readied and then get gussied up for California Grill
*ADRS for California Grill (hopefully can get a Wishes seating)
*Maybe hang out at the lounge for a "last Disney night" chat and drinks
24th-
*Make sure bags are good to go, then check out early
*Probably won't make ropedrop at Epcot but get there as early as possible without being drained for a safe drive home
*Catch whatever we can without tiring ourselves out
*ADRS for Kona cafe lunch
*Head on home...

That's all I have so far, parks/ADR wise. I'm sure we'll make changes here and there, especially once I find out for sure if the WTWT clan is coming or not. However, I feel good about it. I'm excited about trying to make rope drop and then resting during the afternoon. We don't tire easily but with being the first time we will drive to the world, I want to make sure we're not exhausted for the drive home. I want SAFE travel.
It's highly likely I'll call today and inquire about making a room only ressie since I'm so OCD about getting R&S and CG fireworks seatings. Sad, i know... I'll let you know later on, whether I follow through or not.

 

[Hyonlyf]

Hi! I'm in Ocean Springs too!!! Small world (good pun)!

Looking forward to following your TR My family is going down this December but next choice would have been January/February dates b/c it is soooo much cooler.

Joyce

 

[Native NYer]

The UG is so great!! It's my fav.

And I have maps and things from Jan 08 too.

 

[Alysa]

Hello fellow vegetarian! Love your report so far! Your Westie is adorable (dog person, allergic to cats, sorry!) And your DH looks like my brother. Is he Irish? My Dad's Mum is...
Looking forward to hearing more about your trip!

 

[njdisneyfreak]

You've done a lot since I last checked in. Great start. I loved seeing how you are using all of last year's maps to help. I always think of bringing them home and never end up doing that. Good idea! Do you know yet if your extended family will be joining you?

 

[disneywifey]

Hi! I'm in Ocean Springs too!!! Small world (good pun)!

Looking forward to following your TR My family is going down this December but next choice would have been January/February dates b/c it is soooo much cooler.

Joyce

Hi fellow OS-er! It IS a small world! That's so neat! Thanks for reading!

The UG is so great!! It's my fav.

And I have maps and things from Jan 08 too.

I'm glad now that I kept them!

Hello fellow vegetarian! Love your report so far! Your Westie is adorable (dog person, allergic to cats, sorry!) And your DH looks like my brother. Is he Irish? My Dad's Mum is...
Looking forward to hearing more about your trip!

Nope, he's kinda Heinz 57. Mom's side is German, dad's side is i'm not sure but there's American Indian in there somewhere on his dad's side I think. Thanks for reading! Hi fellow veggie lover! Yeah, my dog's a sweetie but I'm biased!

You've done a lot since I last checked in. Great start. I loved seeing how you are using all of last year's maps to help. I always think of bringing them home and never end up doing that. Good idea! Do you know yet if your extended family will be joining you?

Nope, no update yet on my fam, but see below for my latest update!

 

[disneywifey]

So, I've called and made all our ADRS except for our last day, which i'll make tomorrow AM. Yay! I got all the times and places i wanted! That's the joy of going in january ya'll! However, for Hoop Dee Doo, last time I made ADRS for here, I didn't have to prepay I just had to put a credit card on file to hold it. Oh well, we're going and I'm fine with paying for it now just was surprised by it. We got tier 3. We were there last time and we really liked it. Ive sat in all 3 tiers and none of them was particularly better than the others. On our honeymoon, one of the performers came to our table and asked where we were from, turns out he lived 45 mins away. We chatted for a few seconds and then he turned his mic back on and they sang to us. It was fun.

DH loves the "country buffet" kind of fare so this is right up his alley. I may call ahead and see what the veggie options are. We'll see how I'm doing veggie wise in Jan!

Also, DH said he doesn't want to be "disneyhubby". To explain, I made a notebook cover that says "Disneywifey and Disneyhubby are going back to WDW" and he doesn't like that it says disneyhubby. What am I supposed to call him? Haha! If I'm Disneywifey isn't he automatically Disneyhubby? I guess he'd rather be "hubby" period. I told him I'll call him, Just Hubby...

Now then, here's a more non-official list of things I want to do this trip.

*Take more pictures!
*Make rope drops (we'll see how DH holds up. He's normally the early riser so I think it'll be me having the issues though.)
*Journal at least twice each day(for a TR here and for journaling purposes)
*Try to swim at least once. Haven't swam at Disney since 2003, maybe not even then; I honestly can't remember!
*Try new things. Whether it's food (I'm normally good about this anyways), rides, stores.
*Slow down! I want this to be my Disney detail discovery trip.
*Take photos of things I find from the above point.
*Try to watch at least one parade. If I like it, try to see another one.
*Maybe bring the laptop and do a quasi TR, maybe only post a couple teaser photos each day...
*Pack even LESS than last time. I've become quite the queen of packing light(other people have said so too!) and I want to keep it up without being unprepared.
*Bring "happies" as I call them to hand out to unhappy kids in the park. (Like happy meal toys and such; I eat a lot of kids meals)

And lastly, here's some more about info about me:
I'm a little unorthodox. I look like a "girly girl" but I LOVE cars, don't know how they run but I love em! We have an event down here called "Cruisin' the Coast" where thousands or antique cars have meets and shows every October (except after Katrina of course! Ugh!). I LOVE IT! I go home smelling like exhaust and it's just magical! Also, I love computers/gadgets/technology as much as any guy-nerd might. My DH loves this! He thinks it's funny that I compare the size of our 47" flat screen TV to other peoples -but only in the privacy of out own home. He thinks it's such a guy thing to compare gadgets but he loves that I do it too. (Believe me, that's the only nice thing we have. We used all of our Christmas bonus to buy it after we closed on our house as a gift to ourselves! That's why I'm so proud of it! Haha!) I didn't start to love Disney until i was in my Senior year of HS. I went when I was 2 or 3 as previously stated. However, since I didn't remember it, I really wanted to go again so i went with the Senior Trip to Grad Nite. Here are my memories:

Grad Nite 2001:
The bus ride was really fun. Basically everyone that went had been before. I was the first real newbie and all of my friends kept telling me what we had to ride and try. They got me so pumped I couldn't wait!
We got there early morning and checked in to some offsite hotel. It was really pointless because we only went there MAYBE 3 times during our trip and we never got the chance to sleep. It was basically like 5 days with NO sleep. Always fun when you're a teenager!
I don't remember the exact sequence of things but I remember pulling into Disney property and getting a feeling of, this is gonna be big.
I think we went to Islands of Adventure first. I think the first park we did was Epcot. I loved it! I remember we rode El Rio Del Tiempo a bunch of times and ate at San Angel Inn, ahh mexicano food! Cheese dip is always a must!
Then I'm pretty sure we did MGM(at that time). I LOVED rocknroller coaser! My purse almost fell out of the bottom during one of the corkscrews but luckily my friend felt it move and stepped on it until the ride was over! Whew! Imagine losing all your money on senior trip. Not fun!
I know one day we went to Blizzard Beach. Eh, whatever. It was hot so it was fine.
Then there was grad nite. Whoa! Sensory overload. First of all, it's MK. At night. With a bagillion teenagers. All asked to dress up for some un-godly reason?
The wait times were horrible. But I didn't care! I cut in line, I'll admit it! I saw my friends asleep on park benches. It was so fun! There were concerts going on in various locations. I didn't want to see ANY of them, I wanted to see Disney! I, knowing nothing about navigating the parks then, wanted to ride Pirates and was just getting off Space Mt. So, I walk directly in front of the castle, right? Well yes, except that there are 9 million girls trying to watch Tyrese perform. Naive as I am, I just try to walk thru them. Pretty impossible, and they all think I'm trying to get in front of them to watch the concert. Well, unbeknownst to me, Tyrese decides to JUMP INTO THE CROWD and he literally lands 2 feet from me. I was ATTACKED by crazed fans foaming at the mouth trying to touch him, grab him, whatever it was they wanted to do to him. I was SCARED TO DEATH! I thought I was going to die, get trampled, smothered, any or all of the above. It was horrifying! I almost started crying but instead I pretty much crawled away, it was easier to navigate the teeming mass lower to the ground.
After all that, I was pretty shaken. I just wanted to ride Pirates after all. Nothing huge! Well, I finally got over there and I got to ride it. I loved it! THAT hooked me. Space mt was great but Pirates did it. We got kicked out of the park eventually at the crack of dawn and then we went on to do something else. We never did AK. No one wanted to go there when we voted before we left.
I don't remember what we did the last day. But, we spent our last evening before leaving at the jousting place/dinner show. I can't remember what it was called but it was entertaining enough. Our knight lost and we were all WAY beyond tired and sunburnt and just basically zombies. Funny pictures from that night, I have.
So, those are my memories from my first trip to Disney World. In less than a month, my family had already planned and LA trip with a trip to DL too. I was now pumped about MORE disney and NO grad-nite-mobs! I'll elaborate on the DL trip in my next installment...

 

[disneywifey]

Well, the WTWT clan, also known as my mom, dad, and lil sis, are not coming. I'm bummed because I really would have been able to show them a good time but I'm gonna be a big girl and just let it go. My dad said he's getting too old for amusement parks. What? Disney is not an amusement park, it's a state of nirvana!!! He said my mom and sis could go without him, but my mom said she didn't want to go without him. I suspect my sister would still like to go with or without him, so I'm going to start scheming for a girls only trip next year!!! We could all share a room so it'd be less expensive, look at me planning it already!!
Anywho, now I have to call Disney again and cancel the ADRS I made with them in our party and re-make them for just us. Oh well. I know we'll have fun without them, but I just wanted to share the Disney magic. Is that too much to ask?

Well, moving on, some more info about me:
I'm an emotional basket case sometimes! Case in point, The wonderful world of Disney came on the other night, showing Peter Pan. They played a short intro showing classic cartoons and Disney stuff. They played an audio clip by Walt and I lost it! I went, Awwww and DH went, oh gosh! Plus, I went to see walle again this weekend and when I saw the opening Disney sequence, all I can think was, I'm going there soon! And then I had to fight back the happy tears again! 9 times out of 10, it's a sappy, happy cry, not sad crying. So, be prepared for more happy crying as the trip gets closer!
I don't know that I have a "favorite" Disney character, but I have "favorites". They would consist of, in no order, Mickey, Mary Poppins, The Muppets esp. the Fraggles(not 100% Disney but they are now right?), Walle, Chip and Dale, Aristocats & Eeyore. I really love them all, but those more than others.
My other favorite non-Disney things:
TV Shows-
The Office
Jon & Kate Plus 8
Heroes
Music-
John Mayer-Met him, love him!
The Beatles-DYING to see Love in Vegas!
Soundtracks of any type

So, I asked DH yesterday what his favorite Disney trip was before we started dating and he said, although he went with his fam much more than I ever did, that he didn't really like it that much until we went for our Honeymoon. Aww! Sappy cry!

So, onto the DL trip. I graduated HS and my fam went to LA. We did the LA stuff, saw Shrek at the Chinese Graumann Theater right after its premiere, it was SO neat there! Now, when I go to DHS, I say that I've been to the REAL one! I met Tom Arnold on the sidewalk, first ever celebrity meeting! Then we went to DL. It was SO much different that WDW and it was actually daytime! I loved the quaint feeling that it had. At that time, I liked DL more. I really liked Mr. Toad's Wild Ride and Indiana Jones the best at DL. It was pretty hot but it was still so much fun.
Then we went to CA, I loved the Pier and the atmosphere. We got to ride Soarin then and I LOVED it then and I still do! I remember my dad trying on silly hats at the big Dinosaur store. We took a bunch of pictures and he bought one, a bucket hat with dreadlocks. Those are some of the funniest pics of my dad! Well, after that, we were going to do universal. That morning we received a call, my grandfather had died. My mom's dad had been battling with his health for a long time and he died of congestive heart failure. We ended up not going to Universal and headed home the next day. So, that trip was really fun but it's hard for me to remember a lot of it due to his death and dealing with those emotions. But I remember liking it a lot more than I had liked WDW but I still loved them both and that started my Disney love. I never knew what I was missing, but after that, I was hooked.

Lastly, all of my ADRs are made! Yay! No more waking up early! You can tell where my priorities lie! They are as follows from my previous post:
17th-
*Arrive at WDW by 3 , hopefully earlier since we'll be driving.
*Check-in to POR, unload the baggies.
*Visit either MK (depending on time) or Epcot
*Dinner ADRS for Biergarten
18th-
*Get up at the buttcrack of dawn for Ropedrop at AK. (we've never done this other than a CRT ressie it'll be hard for me but I WILL DO IT!)
*Lunch at one fo the following: FlameTree/Pizzafari/Yak &Yeti cafe
*Stay until either exhausted or kicked out.
*Dinner ADRS for Chefs De France
19th-
*Wake up early for ropedrop at Epcot
*Lunch at Sunshine seasons or World Showcase CS
*Stay until either exhausted or until ADR time nearby on Boardwalk
*If we stay until ADR time, take boat from INTL gateway over to dinner ADR at Spoodles
*Look around Boardwalk
20th-
*Make ropedrop for MK
*Lunch at one of the following: Pecos Bills/Village Haus/Columbia Harbour House
*We'll most likely take a rest during this afternoon as we'll have a late night
*Return to MK for Wishes and then take boat to FW for dinner ADRS at Hoop Dee Doo late showing
21st- (My lucky #, maybe this will be a extra special day!)
*Make ropedrop for DHS
*Lunch at either: Pizza Planet or Backlot Express
*Not sure we'll stay full day here either, depending on the wait for Toy Story Mania
*Dinner ADRS for Rose & Crown-asking for the patio so we can see Illuminations!
22nd-
*Make ropedrop for either EP or AK, if we don't make rope drop, it's ok we could sleep in this day if need be
*lunch ADRS for 9 Dragons
*Return to DHS early enough to get CS food and an AWESOME SEAT FOR FANTASMIC *Note: the only other time Fantasmic is scheduled to be performed is the 19th, MLK day. I will be watching the weather religiously and we may change plans to see it on the 19th if need be due to weather. We could cancel Spoodles if need be.
23rd-
*Make ropedrop for MK
*Lunch at whichever MK CS we didn't do on Tuesday the 20th
*Return to room, rest, get bags readied and then get gussied up for California Grill
*dinner ADRS for California Grill
*Maybe hang out at the lounge for a "last Disney night" chat and drinks
24th-
*Make sure bags are good to go, then check out early
*Probably won't make ropedrop at Epcot but get there as early as possible without being drained for a safe drive home
*Catch whatever we can without tiring ourselves out
*lunch ADRS for The Wave-This was gonna be Kona but I changed last minute. I like the sustainable menu idea
*Head on home...

I'm so glad I got all the ones I wanted!

BTW, has anyone eaten at the following in World Showcase? I've never eaten at Liberty Inn, Kringla Bakeri or Yakitori house; I've eaten at all the other CS restaurants in WS. I'd be eating lunch there. Thanks for any help!
Next up, the good/not so good 2003 trip...

 

[disneywifey]

Yay!! The prices for 09 are out!!! I called Disney travel and AAA. I also already got my quote from Magic for Less yesterday. Guess which one was the cheapest, by far? The AAA one! The lady was really nice and called me back very promptly! It was 300.00 less than Magic for Less or Disney! She also said that if I receive an offer in the mail from Disney, I can still call AAA and they'll make changes to reservation to reflect the lower prices! Yay! So, I'm hoping I get some good deals from Disney! One question though, does anyone know if having a reservation/quote on the books will hurt my options/chances of getting deals in the mail? I hope not cause all of the 3 places said all the standard rooms are already booked up at PORR for that week! Wowwwza!
I hope that's just for the 1st weekend, which will be MLK day!
So, it's almost official, I'll book in the next week for sure! YAYYYYYY!!!!!

Okay, so, I promised my 2003 trip, so here goes!

I don't remember whose idea it was to go, but my sister had never been and she was 10 at the time. I had been dating my DH for a few months at the time but we were already really serious (we got engaged after 6 months). He wasn't invited so it was just me and my fam. We stayed at the Yacht Club and it was really nice. We went in October and it was still hot. We didn't know that Mission:Space had just opened to the public, ohhhh big mistake. (We were disney novices obviously) The crowds were horrible everywhere we went. My mom had bought a Frommer's guide to Disney but looking back, I swear she must not have read any of it because there were no strategies, we were just trying to survive!

The most fond memory I have of being there was eating at Nine Dragons for dinner one night. Whenever my family gets together, we CRACK up! My dad is SOOO funny and I remember we were all laughing so hard, we seriously thought they might come ask us to quiet down! My DH, boyfriend at the time, is a big Chinese food fan so we took silly pictures of me eating Chinese food for him. To this day, that picture is on his desk Awww!

Anyways, I think we had 7 days, 5 full days in the park. I was not near enough since it was so crowded. We did most of the big stuff but not all that I wanted to do. My favorite photo from while we were there is a photo of me and my lil sis at the start of Main Street with a bunch of people in the background and the castle. It rotates in and out of a frame in my office every so often. It was 5 years ago almost but it's really cute. I remember the day we wanted to ride Mission Space, that I got up at the butt crack of dawn and had to go get FPs for it. I got them at around 9 or so in the morning and they weren't for use until 3 or 4 in the afternoon!
It was worth it though, the ride was really awesome! I've only ever done the "real" ride, not the easy one, and I love it! Gary Sinise is so funny to me for some reason in the video. All I can think about is him as "lewwteenant Daaan". (Like how Forrest says it).

Another funny memory was my sister trying to watch It's Tough to be a Bug. Oh my goodness, she made it all the way to the spiders and she LOST it! Poor thing ran SCREAMING from the theater with my mom running behind her! My dad and I stayed. I love that one! She was scared for quite a while after that! Also, this is where my OTHER love comes into play. See, I LOVE TILTAWHIRLS! I don't mean I like to ride them; I mean, if there's a fair within a 30 mile radius, I HAVE to go and find a TILTAWHIRL! ANY fair I attend is rated on its tiltawhirl. If it doesn't have one, I am close to tears. DH knows that, even if it's raining, I'm gonna ride it. I laugh so hard, DH gets embarrassed! Not joking either! I'll ride by myself, with DH, with strangers, I do no care. I just wanna ride it; over and over again if possible! So, Primeval Whirl is about as close as one can get to a tiltawhirl on Disney Property. The teacups come close but there's no up and down motion. SO, Primeval Whirl is always a must do. Well, 2003 was my first trip to AK and I didn't know they had a ride like this. My mom and I had ridden a ride just like it the year before at Paramount's Great America in CA and we rode it about 4 times. We were obsessed! So, when we saw Primeval Whirl we almost peed our pants! Another fun spinny ride! We loved it! Ahhh, good times!

So, all in all, I was a fun trip. I got to see MK during the DAY for the first time and there were not bagillions of crazy teenagers around but instead, there were bagillions of press members, their families, and excited Disney fans all trying to visit at the same time and ride Mission Space.

So, fun times, but hot and crowded and I think maybe that's why my dad's a little wary of going now. He's 52, he's not old. He's in good shape, he's just more of a lazy vacation kind of person. I am too and that's why I love going in January. It's so slow and un-crowded. It's about as peaceful as Disney can be, in my book! I'm still hoping that my sis will try to talk my mom into coming along, but if not, I know me and DH will still have a awesome time!

Next up, my phone call from............................................................................





DISNEY!!!!

 

[reelmom]

Hey,
Remember me? I am the crazy one who vacations in Gautier. Just found your Pre TR and looking forward to reading more.

I will be praying for you this week and hoping that Gustav will weaken.

Prayers are for you too,Hyonlyf.