There’s No Turning Back Now! 7/23 - Link to my new PTR!

[Victoriasmom98]

Your plans looks great!!!!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Oh my gosh, that's so exciting! I hope you'll be there! DISmeet!

I've never done a DISMEET before, you would be my first!

 

[inkedupmomma]

glad you had such great success! feels real now, doesn't it??

 

[disneychard]

I love Coral Reef Resturant, last time we sat right next to the tank, and no one bother us. I made our ADR's for August, but, I keep changing my mind.

 

[Corrine 1973]

Your ADR's look great!!! I'm getting hungry over here looking at all your great choices. 2 early entries to parks before they open, I am so jealous. I will definatly be one of those one making ADR's first thing in the morning for my DD 2013 trip.

I can't give you any advice for Coral Reef now, but will happily give you my opinion when we get back from our trip. We have dinner reservations for 6:20.

 

[Lovemy3babes]

I like your ADR choices Erin! I seriously think planning is half of the fun.

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

It has been crazy busy at work, I’m sorry I have been a bad DISer by neglecting my PTR not to mention everyone else’s! By the time I get home, I don’t even want to LOOK at a computer! But I need my Disney fix! BAD! So I’m not at all prepared to post about Coy’s birthday yet or anything else I’ve been working on or thinking about for this trip, but I do have a quick question for you guys before I reply to you all. OK, not a quick question Since when is any of my Disney research quick? That is what makes it great! So, I am curious about refillable mugs. I’m thinking about getting them, but how practical are they REALLY? The kids and I aren’t big soda drinkers when were at Disney. Usually just during lunch or dinner, so is it practical to get them to take our water into the parks? Do they close securely? Are they easy to store while they still have some liquid in them, or are they more cumbersome than they're worth? On the other hand, is it worth it to have them to take them to the food court at the resort at night to fill up on a drink? My kids are the types that like to wake up in the middle of the night for a drink, and they are sick of water by nighttime Mind you, all of these questions about refillable mugs were brought on because I read a blog entry on allears.net today during lunch about the All Star resorts They are so cute! I wish we could get them for free at POR! Since I would have to pay for them, all of these questions popped into my mind Any info you guys have would be great!

Now on to all of you nice DIS buddies I have been neglecting :

Your plans looks great!!!!

Thanks so much, Ann! I am so excited about these ADRs!

I've never done a DISMEET before, you would be my first!

Mine too!

glad you had such great success! feels real now, doesn't it??

Thanks, Jenn! It feels SO REAL! Plane tickets – check! ADRs – check!

I love Coral Reef Resturant, last time we sat right next to the tank, and no one bother us. I made our ADR's for August, but, I keep changing my mind.

Oh, that’s good to hear, disneychard! I’m going to request a table by the tank too, then. Do you think you’ll be doing a TR when you get back from your August trip? I’d love to hear how your ADRs went!

Your ADR's look great!!! I'm getting hungry over here looking at all your great choices. 2 early entries to parks before they open, I am so jealous. I will definatly be one of those one making ADR's first thing in the morning for my DD 2013 trip.

I can't give you any advice for Coral Reef now, but will happily give you my opinion when we get back from our trip. We have dinner reservations for 6:20.

Waking up early was definitely worth it for these ADRs! And I am NOT a morning person – at all! LOL But yeah, please do tell me how it goes at Coral Reef! You and Liam are going to have so much fun!

I like your ADR choices Erin! I seriously think planning is half of the fun.

Thank you! And I seriously LOVE LOVE LOVE planning!

 

[Corrine 1973]

I was thinking the same thing when I changed to the DDP. I wasn't getting one free anymore and was wondering if it was worth it. I am thinking of doing it because than I can bring it to the room while Liam is doing his breathing treatments and we can have a drink with our breakfast. But I am not sure because if it is a good idea because you can't fill it with every drink and I am not sure how big they are. I am looking foward to others oppinions are.

 

[disneychard]

I always want to do TR, but, it didn't know to start one. I think I will try one when we return.

 

[-Hope-]

We liked the refillable mugs but got them free. I'm not sure I would actually pay for them. We would fill them up on our way to the park and have something for the bus. However, they do leak and you won't be able to just toss them in your bag when they still have liquid in them. If you don't take it with you to the park then you have to walk all the way back to your room, get the mug and then walk back to the dining hall to fill it up and walk all the back. And if you do take it with you it's kind of bulky to pack around all day. We managed and did use them a lot because we had them and it seemed like a waste not to take advantage of something we already had. We also haven't used them once since coming home. The handle makes it impossible to fit in the cup holder and it also doesn't really hold much.

 

[Mrs. Bradbury]

Ok here are my ramblings about refillable mugs . . .

Whether or not they are convenient or not depends on how far away your room is to the food court. On the other hand, sending your kids to fill the mugs provides you with a few sweet moments to collect your thoughts and just breathe.

They're in the neighborhood of $15 each now. Would you bring $45 worth of soda to WDW? Probably not! On the other hand, your options are very limited if you don't have a car, and even if you do, unless you're going off property for something else, you're eating up precious Disney time. We don't go off property in general, we like the Disney Bubble.

As others have said, they're not completely leakproof so if they were to lay on their side they would be apt to leak.

However, the new design is so darned cute.

If I were you, especially knowing that you are getting APs, I would buy them and use them on your next trip too if the mugs are the same design. Yeah, I said it. I worked in corporate purchasing for a restaurant company and based on my experience, I personally think that WDW is getting their syrups for free or close to it. Heck, we weren't that big of a restaurant company and our price was like 2¢ per 16 oz, and they gave us cups for free and other rebates & incentives too, like paying for our menu printing. Most places are making out like highway robbery by selling soda at the prices they do. What can I say, I'm a rebel. It's very hard for me to whine, "But you didn't pay for that!" when a) oh yes I did and b) I know WDW most likely didn't.

We have several mug series and we do use them fairly regularly; I'm not big on drinking out of plastic, nothing to do with health concerns, it's just my personal preference. And those blue ones were butt ugly IMHO. I really liked it when each resort had it's own theme.

Ours do fit into our car cup holders, so I guess it varies from car to car.

 

[Victoriasmom98]

So, I guess I'll weigh in on the refillable mug issue as well....

I LOVE THEM!!

And we did have to buy them since we were on the DDP and I intend on buying them again this year. We are BIG soda drinkers....(ok Peter and I are) and for us, they are well worth it! Yes, they do leak if not in an upright position, but there is usually none left by the time the bus got to the parks. I'm one of those weirdos, too, that cannot take my meds with water....they just won't go down, but they do with soda! So I made sure we filled them right before bedtime so that we'd have some for night time drinking if we got up and for me to take my pills before we head out the door. As for putting them in the backpack --- I didn't. I had 3 caliber clips that I attached the cups by the handles to the backpack.

 

[Corrine 1973]

So, I guess I'll weigh in on the refillable mug issue as well....

I LOVE THEM!!

And we did have to buy them since we were on the DDP and I intend on buying them again this year. We are BIG soda drinkers....(ok Peter and I are) and for us, they are well worth it! Yes, they do leak if not in an upright position, but there is usually none left by the time the bus got to the parks. I'm one of those weirdos, too, that cannot take my meds with water....they just won't go down, but they do with soda! So I made sure we filled them right before bedtime so that we'd have some for night time drinking if we got up and for me to take my pills before we head out the door. As for putting them in the backpack --- I didn't. I had 3 caliber clips that I attached the cups by the handles to the backpack.

I love the clip idea, might just have to steal that.

 

[micandminforever]

I always buy the mugs and considered it a souvenir. I get my money out of the cup because I drink a Coke every morning with breakfast. I don't drink coffee. My DH and I usually eat breakfast at the resort then walk back to the room to finish getting ready for the park, so leaving the mug behind is not a problem. I love my mugs as a reminder of my latest trip. I have never had a problem fitting the mug in a car cup holder.

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

I was thinking the same thing when I changed to the DDP. I wasn't getting one free anymore and was wondering if it was worth it. I am thinking of doing it because than I can bring it to the room while Liam is doing his breathing treatments and we can have a drink with our breakfast. But I am not sure because if it is a good idea because you can't fill it with every drink and I am not sure how big they are. I am looking foward to others oppinions are.

Yeah, I like how I can ask a question on the DIS and people are more than willing to give their opinion

I always want to do TR, but, it didn't know to start one. I think I will try one when we return.

That’ll be great!

We liked the refillable mugs but got them free. I'm not sure I would actually pay for them. We would fill them up on our way to the park and have something for the bus. However, they do leak and you won't be able to just toss them in your bag when they still have liquid in them. If you don't take it with you to the park then you have to walk all the way back to your room, get the mug and then walk back to the dining hall to fill it up and walk all the back. And if you do take it with you it's kind of bulky to pack around all day. We managed and did use them a lot because we had them and it seemed like a waste not to take advantage of something we already had. We also haven't used them once since coming home. The handle makes it impossible to fit in the cup holder and it also doesn't really hold much.

OK, so that sounds like a “no” to me as far as taking them in the parks. I don’t like feeling like I am lugging something around for nothing. They probably won’t fit in my cupholders either but that is because my car is so weird that the cupholders only hold cans of soda and 16oz bottles of water. Forget about 20oz sodas or any cups from a fast food place! That is really the only thing I don’t like about my car, though, other than the fact that it isn’t a 2011 model

Ok here are my ramblings about refillable mugs . . .

Whether or not they are convenient or not depends on how far away your room is to the food court. On the other hand, sending your kids to fill the mugs provides you with a few sweet moments to collect your thoughts and just breathe.

They're in the neighborhood of $15 each now. Would you bring $45 worth of soda to WDW? Probably not! On the other hand, your options are very limited if you don't have a car, and even if you do, unless you're going off property for something else, you're eating up precious Disney time. We don't go off property in general, we like the Disney Bubble.

As others have said, they're not completely leakproof so if they were to lay on their side they would be apt to leak.

However, the new design is so darned cute.

If I were you, especially knowing that you are getting APs, I would buy them and use them on your next trip too if the mugs are the same design. Yeah, I said it. I worked in corporate purchasing for a restaurant company and based on my experience, I personally think that WDW is getting their syrups for free or close to it. Heck, we weren't that big of a restaurant company and our price was like 2¢ per 16 oz, and they gave us cups for free and other rebates & incentives too, like paying for our menu printing. Most places are making out like highway robbery by selling soda at the prices they do. What can I say, I'm a rebel. It's very hard for me to whine, "But you didn't pay for that!" when a) oh yes I did and b) I know WDW most likely didn't.

We have several mug series and we do use them fairly regularly; I'm not big on drinking out of plastic, nothing to do with health concerns, it's just my personal preference. And those blue ones were butt ugly IMHO. I really liked it when each resort had it's own theme.

Ours do fit into our car cup holders, so I guess it varies from car to car.

You make some good points too. We will have a car, but I don’t like to leave the Disney Bubble while we are there either. We usually do our Target run in the beginning of the trip and then we don’t leave the property. Since we’re flying this time, we won’t have sodas and water left over from the road trip so it will be useful to have the mugs to fill up on drinks before going to the room. The design is cute! That was what made me want them! But, as usual, I have to justify everything to myself Oh, and I can’t believe you suggested I use them twice! You rebel! Just kidding! You are right that at about $15 a pop, I would have more than paid for the right to use them twice

So, I guess I'll weigh in on the refillable mug issue as well....

I LOVE THEM!!

And we did have to buy them since we were on the DDP and I intend on buying them again this year. We are BIG soda drinkers....(ok Peter and I are) and for us, they are well worth it! Yes, they do leak if not in an upright position, but there is usually none left by the time the bus got to the parks. I'm one of those weirdos, too, that cannot take my meds with water....they just won't go down, but they do with soda! So I made sure we filled them right before bedtime so that we'd have some for night time drinking if we got up and for me to take my pills before we head out the door. As for putting them in the backpack --- I didn't. I had 3 caliber clips that I attached the cups by the handles to the backpack.

I have a pill that I take that tastes so nasty that I can’t take it with water either! As far as filling up at night, I think that is what we’ll use them for the most too. I think we’ll have to stick to the bottled water in the parks. The kids and I will just have to get our fill of soda during our meals. That is a great idea about the clips! I’m trying to think of what else I could hook to our backpacks because I really like that idea! I’m thinking of those insulated bottled water holders – maybe I can clip those to the outside of the backpacks just in case the kids don’t close their bottled water tight enough and that will ensure their cameras won’t get wet

I always buy the mugs and considered it a souvenir. I get my money out of the cup because I drink a Coke every morning with breakfast. I don't drink coffee. My DH and I usually eat breakfast at the resort then walk back to the room to finish getting ready for the park, so leaving the mug behind is not a problem. I love my mugs as a reminder of my latest trip. I have never had a problem fitting the mug in a car cup holder.

I don’t drink coffee either and I used to get my daily dose of caffeine from Mountain Dew – until I realized how much sugar I was drinking every day Then I switched to Coke Zero about six months ago and now I HAVE TO HAVE a Coke Zero in the morning Thank goodness that Disney carries Coke products and that Coke Zero is at the Port Orleans restaurants – oh yes, I checked LOL So yes, I think I will be getting the refillable mugs because I think they will be a nice souvenir that we will use on the trip and after

 

[Victoriasmom98]

You really got a lot of good, different opinions on the refillable mugs --- I'm glad it helped with your decision.

So, we need to start making lists for our trip with Karen and Hope in 2013!!! Goodness, I better start our countdown calendar!! The Poly is going to be so nice!!! Wow....no kids on that trip. I'm going to miss my Victoria!!!

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

You really got a lot of good, different opinions on the refillable mugs --- I'm glad it helped with your decision.

So, we need to start making lists for our trip with Karen and Hope in 2013!!! Goodness, I better start our countdown calendar!! The Poly is going to be so nice!!! Wow....no kids on that trip. I'm going to miss my Victoria!!!

I know! We better get a move on! I wish I could really take a girls only trip, but I’m pretty sure the kids would strangle me if I went to Disney without them! LOL

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

So today has been one of those wonderful rainy Spring days. It’s a little cold and it has been grey outside all day, but it smelled like Springtime when I went outside. It is about to thunderstorm and I can’t wait! I love a good thunderstorm. My kids are with their dad and they had their Laser Tag birthday party with him today. I hope it went well So since today has been a cloudy, rainy day without the kids, it has been the perfect day to be lazy Well, I wasn’t totally lazy… I did shamelessly steal this idea from a PTR (thanks, Karen!) I wanted the kids to earn their souvenir money for the trip, so I asked them yesterday how much money they wanted to earn. True said $100 which I thought was reasonable because I honestly thought she was going to say something like $300 Then I asked Coy and when he said $50 I was surprised he wasn’t asking for more. I asked, “How about $100?” and his eyes lit up! Of course I wanted them to earn the same amount and I explained to them that it was a goal that they would have to reach, not a guarantee, and they would have to earn it with chores and good behavior.

I went on the DISign boards and found a blank Mickey head and I played around on the computer all day making these:








They aren’t perfect, but I’m proud of them If Coy was here to help me with the graphics, they would be better. I used a program similar to Photoshop called GIMP (which is free ) and Coy was the one who taught me how to use it in the first place. So I had to remember how to do everything again because it’s been a long time since I tried to design anything. It is a very simple design, but it was HARD! I think I’m going to have to have Coy help me with the t-shirts I want to do for the trip. I have all of these ideas in my head but I’m having a hard time translating them into anything real So anyway, I’m going to print out these charts and have the kids color them in as they make progress toward their goals

Sorry there still isn’t an update on Coy’s birthday yet – I spent HOURS on GIMP - but the pictures are uploading to Flickr as I type this, so hopefully I’ll get the post up tomorrow. Also, I’m starting to feel like a need a separate PTR for my sibling trip! My sisters have been asking me questions about the trip all week. I asked them about how they felt about driving down to WDW next Summer and they both said there was no way they were taking a 14 hour road trip So I guess it’s decided that we’re flying! I can’t say I blame them because realistically, a 14 hour road trip with 9 people would probably be closer to a 16 hour trip. Yeah, I don’t want to do that either So I was teasing about doing a PowerPoint presentation before, but now I’m thinking that I’m really going to do one! That’ll be the first step for us to look at all of the different options for accommodations, dining, transportation etc. I’ll need Coy’s help creating it since he was also the one who taught me how to use PowerPoint and I can have True help by picking out pictures so that she can be involved too. Is it sad that I have to have my kids help me with these programs?

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

OMG, those look FANTASTIC! Way better than my drawn ones! I think I may have to steal them and photoshop out your kids names and replace them with my own!

Yes, driving with that many people might be problematic! I would fly if we could afford it, I think it saves SO much time, and once you add up all the gas and extra meals (b/c you are on the road longer than when you fly) sometimes it's around the same price!

 

[-Hope-]

Those Mickey graphs look great!! I love charts and graphs so I just get all excited when I see them. I know, I'm a big ol' nerd.

We did a road trip with 7 to Dauphin Island, Alambama a few years ago. It really wasn't too bad but if I could have convinced everyone else to fly I would have done it in a heartbeat! It's always good when someone else makes those executive decisions and then it's just out of your hands, lol!