They're going where....oh never mind! August PTR now with shopping pics!

[Queenofallthings]

We were tossed up between Seaworld and IOA too!! That Harry kid beat out Seaworld Jasmine is a huge HP fan...who am I kidding Peg and I have read all the books and seen all the movies too! We talked about Seaworld and Discovery Cove, but Peg felt MM was still a little young for the dolphin swim and to really appreciate that park and let's face it...that park ain't cheap!! We hit DC when Jasmine was 10 and she still talks about it to this day...and I keep saying over and over...remember when I said "once in a lifetime trip"

I'll have to tell Peg to check out mousesavers as we will be renting a car to take us to IOA....or they're using their airmiles....I can't remember off the top of my head!

 

[CanadianWDWfan]

I was wrong....you chose Seaworld over US/IOA....great choice!

Very cool to have a convertible!

We are contemplating a visit to Seaworld.

I havn't looked into those hotel pkg's...what a good deal to get free dining too!

Sounds like you will have a wonderful time pre-Disney.

 

[Disney9.9.10]

Just wanted to say hi! We are also going in August, it is definitely great for crowds!! It's too bad about Universal, I have never been, but I have been to SeaWorld, and we enjoyed it. Looking forward to reading more

 

[disneydreamingdebby]

Someday we will venture out of our beloved Disney parks. I am the only HP fan in my house, but my daughter loves dolphins. I am sure we will visit Sea World before Universal. It sounds like you got a good deal too!

 

[Jazzabelle508]

Short update time.

When we last left you Pooksma and I were looking at Universal. We considered adding days on in the beginning and staying there for the first time ever. Well let me tell you that their hotels ain't cheap! And the thought of paying extra for what could only be called Fast Passes wasn't all that appealing.

So even though Pooksma is a huge fan of that Potter kid, Universal was going to be a no go this trip. That left SeaWorld, the place we keep saying that we wanted to visit. So we started to look at SeaWorld and options for hotels. Should we stay at one of theirs or simply add some days at a Disney hotel. We did know that one way of the other, we would be staying a few extra days because we purchased plane tickets that put us into Orlando on August 16th and we didn't check into POFQ until the 19th.

In the end we booked through the SeaWorld website for one of their packages. We will be staying at SpringHill Suites Orlando at Seaworld from the 16th to the 19th. Our passes to SeaWorld will give us the second day free, early entry and free dining. I also managed to secure a great car rental (thanks to mousesavers and their codes). We will be cruising around Orlando for a few days in a convertible for just around $200.

Next up in the process would be our ADRs.

Can you believe this was our little guy on his very first day at MK.

Excited to hear about your ADR's Sad you won't be going to Harry Potter land but Sea World sounds fun 2! For me Harry would beat out sea world but i am a uber harry potter fan so it was practically a give that I go to islands of adventure. My mom doesn't like being outside of disney property in orlando unless it is traveling to and from the airport. harry potterland was a stretch for her, in fact we kept refering to universal as the place that shall not be named. so needless to say I will probably never get to go to sea world untill i start my own family in a few years (even then i might keep my mom's tradition of only doing disney in orlando with the exception of the trip to the place that shall not be named). Can't wait to hear about your sea world trip! definitely a good idea to go there early on in the trip. I also enjoyed the pic of your son on his first day at magic kingdom. he looks so happy.

 

[Jazzabelle508]

We were tossed up between Seaworld and IOA too!! That Harry kid beat out Seaworld Jasmine is a huge HP fan...who am I kidding Peg and I have read all the books and seen all the movies too! We talked about Seaworld and Discovery Cove, but Peg felt MM was still a little young for the dolphin swim and to really appreciate that park and let's face it...that park ain't cheap!! We hit DC when Jasmine was 10 and she still talks about it to this day...and I keep saying over and over...remember when I said "once in a lifetime trip"

I'll have to tell Peg to check out mousesavers as we will be renting a car to take us to IOA....or they're using their airmiles....I can't remember off the top of my head!

I am also a huge harry potter fan! My mom and I both enjoy the books but out of everyone in my family I probably enjoy harry potter the most. My mom is a fairly close second. Even though I got into harry potter fairly late (right after the 4th book came out- which incidently is my favorite of all the harry potter books). I still have seen each movie and read each book multiple times, gone to the book premires for the 5th, 6th, and 7th books, seen the midnight showings for movies # 4-7.1, oh and gone to WWOHP. I am a little obsessed actually. My love for disney and my love for harry potter are about equal. The reason I started going to the midnight showings in the first place was because we were going to disney in the early morning the day that the 4th harry potter was coming out. my options were either wait untill after I get back to see the movie or go to the midnight showing before we left. I chose the latter and I was sooooo glad I did. That was actually my favorite atmosphere out of all the midnight premieres that I went to. It was well worth being extremely tired on the drive to disney. a fun thing that my mom and i did before we went to orlando on our last trip was we sat down and watched each harry potter movie over the course of a couple of days. Granted this is a activity that takes alot of time but it was really fun and me being the harry potter nerd that I am would totally do it again.

 

[MeMom]

I don't know a thing about Harry Potter. I'm looking forward to seeing your SeaWorld pictures. We've been to both Universal and SeaWorld, but it has been a very long time!

I'm glad you got a good deal on the SeaWorld package. I am holding my breath for free dining on our October trip. They are up to deals through the end of September, I think, so we should be in the next round, if we're lucky.

 

[declansdad]

We were tossed up between Seaworld and IOA too!! That Harry kid beat out Seaworld Jasmine is a huge HP fan...who am I kidding Peg and I have read all the books and seen all the movies too! We talked about Seaworld and Discovery Cove, but Peg felt MM was still a little young for the dolphin swim and to really appreciate that park and let's face it...that park ain't cheap!! We hit DC when Jasmine was 10 and she still talks about it to this day...and I keep saying over and over...remember when I said "once in a lifetime trip"

I'll have to tell Peg to check out mousesavers as we will be renting a car to take us to IOA....or they're using their airmiles....I can't remember off the top of my head!

I managed to get a code to join there Emerald Club for free and I think that helped with the lower rate.

I was wrong....you chose Seaworld over US/IOA....great choice!

Very cool to have a convertible!

We are contemplating a visit to Seaworld.

I havn't looked into those hotel pkg's...what a good deal to get free dining too!

Sounds like you will have a wonderful time pre-Disney.

We are looking forward to SeaWorld and having a car for the first 3 days. Other than driving from WDW to Fort Lauderdale this past Christmas, we haven't been outside of WDW property.

There were some pretty good SeaWorld Packages when we booked. They were a lot better than the Universal packages.

Just wanted to say hi! We are also going in August, it is definitely great for crowds!! It's too bad about Universal, I have never been, but I have been to SeaWorld, and we enjoyed it. Looking forward to reading more

Welcome! We love going in August and this time we managed to get the Free Dining as well; a first for us.

Someday we will venture out of our beloved Disney parks. I am the only HP fan in my house, but my daughter loves dolphins. I am sure we will visit Sea World before Universal. It sounds like you got a good deal too!

I like the HP movies but I haven't read the books. I have heard the HP ride is pretty cool so hopefully when we do get there the lines will be under 2 hours.

Excited to hear about your ADR's Sad you won't be going to Harry Potter land but Sea World sounds fun 2! For me Harry would beat out sea world but i am a uber harry potter fan so it was practically a give that I go to islands of adventure. My mom doesn't like being outside of disney property in orlando unless it is traveling to and from the airport. harry potterland was a stretch for her, in fact we kept refering to universal as the place that shall not be named. so needless to say I will probably never get to go to sea world untill i start my own family in a few years (even then i might keep my mom's tradition of only doing disney in orlando with the exception of the trip to the place that shall not be named). Can't wait to hear about your sea world trip! definitely a good idea to go there early on in the trip. I also enjoyed the pic of your son on his first day at magic kingdom. he looks so happy.

He was a pretty happy little guy that day but then again, he is usually pretty happy. It still is fun to watch him make his way around the parks.

ADRs will be coming up soon. Pooksma is off to Bangor for her shopping trip this weekend so hopefully I will get them posted before that.

 

[declansdad]

I am also a huge harry potter fan! My mom and I both enjoy the books but out of everyone in my family I probably enjoy harry potter the most. My mom is a fairly close second. Even though I got into harry potter fairly late (right after the 4th book came out- which incidently is my favorite of all the harry potter books). I still have seen each movie and read each book multiple times, gone to the book premires for the 5th, 6th, and 7th books, seen the midnight showings for movies # 4-7.1, oh and gone to WWOHP. I am a little obsessed actually. My love for disney and my love for harry potter are about equal. The reason I started going to the midnight showings in the first place was because we were going to disney in the early morning the day that the 4th harry potter was coming out. my options were either wait untill after I get back to see the movie or go to the midnight showing before we left. I chose the latter and I was sooooo glad I did. That was actually my favorite atmosphere out of all the midnight premieres that I went to. It was well worth being extremely tired on the drive to disney. a fun thing that my mom and i did before we went to orlando on our last trip was we sat down and watched each harry potter movie over the course of a couple of days. Granted this is a activity that takes alot of time but it was really fun and me being the harry potter nerd that I am would totally do it again.

Wow you are a big fan. Do you dress up for the movies as well?

I don't know a thing about Harry Potter. I'm looking forward to seeing your SeaWorld pictures. We've been to both Universal and SeaWorld, but it has been a very long time!

I'm glad you got a good deal on the SeaWorld package. I am holding my breath for free dining on our October trip. They are up to deals through the end of September, I think, so we should be in the next round, if we're lucky.

Fingers crossed.

 

[CanadianWDWfan]

I wanted to thank you for sharing the details of the SeaWorld pkg's with me.

I looked into it and I think we will add a Seaworld stay/day to our trip!
I am thinking we will stay at the Fairfield Inn. (a little cheaper )

Now I just have to convince my boss to let me take an extra day or I will just check into POP a day later than planned.

My DMom and Lexi are very excitted to go to SeaWorld.
I've been teasing Lexi that there aren't any gift shops....her face was priceless........

Pooksma ....I hope you enjoy your shopping trip this weekend!
Is it just a girls trip?
Bring home many good bargains!!!
There is a Disney Store in Bangor right?
A perfect way to spend the Queen's birthday!!

MeMom my fingers are crossed for you too! come on free dining for October!!!

 

[pooksma]

Pooksma ....I hope you enjoy your shopping trip this weekend!
Is it just a girls trip?
Bring home many good bargains!!!
There is a Disney Store in Bangor right?
A perfect way to spend the Queen's birthday!!

I hope I enjoy my shopping trip as well My girlfriends have already vetoed plans to stay Sunday night (party poopers) but we'll make do I am sure. The plan right now is to hit Target (or as we call it-Tar jay a la francaise)
Friday night and have a late supper at 99 steakhouse. Saturday will be a combo of Kohls, Old Navy, Burlington Coat Factory and maybe the mall. Sunday is for returns, revisits and whatever else we think is needed. declansdad is picking up my US$ Thursday so hopefully the dollar will still be above par

 

[Queenofallthings]

They don't want to stay Sunday night Silly girls I would stay Sunday night with ya....no questions asked!!

Your lineup sounds great! I can't wait to hear all about it...you'll be getting home and I'll be leaving! I've booked Tues night in Fargo, but I decided to book Wed night in Grand Forks. Jas has to be at work by 330pm on Thursday, so I figured it's not so long in the car for her on the drive home...and I can spend all morning in Super Tar-Jay!!!!

 

[CanadianWDWfan]

Sound great! Enjoy!

You seem to have the same list of stores I like to visit.

I've got some great things at Khols, Burlington Coat Factory & TJ Maxx.

Shame the girls don't want to stay over Sunday night.

Any restaurant with the name steak in it sounds awesome!

Pixies that the dollar will be the same if not better!

Looking forward to hearing how you make out.

 

[declansdad]

They don't want to stay Sunday night Silly girls I would stay Sunday night with ya....no questions asked!!

Your lineup sounds great! I can't wait to hear all about it...you'll be getting home and I'll be leaving! I've booked Tues night in Fargo, but I decided to book Wed night in Grand Forks. Jas has to be at work by 330pm on Thursday, so I figured it's not so long in the car for her on the drive home...and I can spend all morning in Super Tar-Jay!!!!

Looks like you have a plan. How long does it take you to drive to your shopping destinations?

 

[declansdad]

Sound great! Enjoy!

You seem to have the same list of stores I like to visit.

I've got some great things at Khols, Burlington Coat Factory & TJ Maxx.

Shame the girls don't want to stay over Sunday night.

Any restaurant with the name steak in it sounds awesome!

Pixies that the dollar will be the same if not better!

Looking forward to hearing how you make out.

I think she made out all right exchange-wise

Pooksma is off later today; leaving from school. Declan tells me that we are sleeping on the air mattress on the floor of the family room, woohoo! Hopefully I will get an update about the ADRs later tonight.

 

[declansdad]

Got a text couple of hours ago, they made it across the border so I'm guessing they are getting close to Target. If I hear anything I'll let you know.


So back to the pre-trip.

It was time to start thinking about our ADRs. We had a look at the park hours for August but we don't let that be a big factor in our planning. The only thing we may look at is Early EMH times at MK. We like to get into before the opening when we can.

Usually Pooksma and I sit down and come up with a list with the times and decide that way. This year we decided to share the task with Declan. Apparently at WDW you become an adult at 10 so he wasn't going to be limited to chicken fingers, mac'n'cheese, and pizza anymore. He is going to eat from the big kids menu now. So we thought it might be a good idea for him to have a say in the restaurants. We looked through the menus at allears and each of us come up with our list. We then negotiated it down to our 7 choices. Initially we each got to pick two and we agreed on the seventh choice. There were some intense negotiations going on, lasted for minutes.

With our list complete, we waited for the 180 day mark to arrive so we could get our choices. As luck would have it, I was going to be away at that time (Canada Winter Games - 18 days in Halifax) so it was up to pooksma. Well really it was up to our trusty agent Liz after pooksma sent her the list. In true Liz fashion, we had everything in short order and we were set to eat. So here is what we got:

August 19th - Rose and Crown for dinner. This is becoming a tradition for us, hopefully we will be outside again and watch Illuminations from their deck.

August 20th - Crystal Palace for breakfast. Another tradition, we have been there every trip except for the one we can't talk about until declan turns 30.

August 21st - 'OHana for dinner. Another favourite but this is the first for dinner in awhile.

August 22nd - Yak and Yeti for lunch, a first.

August 23rd - Restaurant Marrakesh for dinner, another first. No really.

August 24th - Boma for dinner, another first There is something else happening with this one. hmmmm oh well it will come to me.

August 25th - Whispering Canyon Cafe for breakfast. We have never been here for breakfast before; I wonder if you can get the canyon skillet at breakfast?

Sometime on this afternoon we are planning on visiting Beaches N Cream for a little treat.

Well that's the list but for the life of me I know I'm forgetting something. Can someone help a guy out?

Later all.

 

[Queenofallthings]

Looks like you have a plan. How long does it take you to drive to your shopping destinations?

3 Hours from Winnipeg to Fargo...but then again that all depends on how busy the border is....but driving time is 3 hours!!

 

[Queenofallthings]

August 24th - Boma for dinner, another first There is something else happening with this one. hmmmm oh well it will come to me.

Let me help you.....you're meeting some old friends and we're going to have a fabulous evening sharing a meal and a couple of cocktails.....is it all coming back to you now? See what happens when pooksma goes away

 

[declansdad]

Let me help you.....you're meeting some old friends and we're going to have a fabulous evening sharing a meal and a couple of cocktails.....is it all coming back to you now? See what happens when pooksma goes away

Aah that's it. We are meeting some friends from Winnipeg for a lovely dinner at Boma. And I understand there may be one more joining us.

Can't wait!

 

[MeMom]

August 25th - Whispering Canyon Cafe for breakfast. We have never been here for breakfast before; I wonder if you can get the canyon skillet at breakfast?

All you can eat scrambled eggs, oven roasted red potatoes, bacon, sausage, waffles, biscuits, and gravy - that's the $15.99 Canyon Skillet Breakfast that is listed as of April 2011.

Actually, it says all you can enjoy. Whenever you get so full that you are not enjoying it any more, I guess you are supposed to stop.