This PTR needs a name!!! Hope to see you real soon!! Well, not too soon!

[ash-n-brensmom]

This is our first attempt at a PTR or even a TR so PLEASE bear with us!!! This trip almost didn't happen!! I bet you've heard that one before, in fact I KNOW you have because I have been lurking in the TR threads for a couple of years But, really this trip almost didn't happen!!

But first, DH is back seat driving right now and telling me to give you some history about us!!!

Our first trip was in Sept 2008 for Free Dining. Here we are on that trip:

We took that trip with my cousin, her DH and DD. They had been to WDW a few times each before DD came along and they were going to be our tour guides for that trip. We figured it was such an expensive vacation it would be our once in a lifetime chance. We learned a lot about ourselves on that trip. Most importantly, that we need to travel ALONE. Now, don't get me wrong...I love my cousin , she and her DH have my girls sleep over almost every other weekend, and they treat them like their own. We are actually more like sisters than cousins!! What we realized is that we like to do things our way, we just needed that trip to teach us what our way was!!

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

When we left from that trip, I had no idea that my DH had booked a bounceback for 2009!! Gotta love him!!!

He finally let me know so that we could do some hardcore planning to make that trip our once in a lifetime dream vacation! We tweaked and tweaked even changing our dates two times along the way. It went from a bounceback, to buy 4 get 3 free in June, back to a Free Dining and staying in a Moderate instead of a value. We were determined to make this the perfect vacation, and it was.
Here we are that year Aug 2009:

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

Then, our once in a lifetime trip made us want more...I know you are all as surprised by that as we were So in February we were doing our taxes and realized we had enough for another trip But, when did we want to go? Are we going to sweat in Aug or Sept again? What about spring time? How about the Flower and Garden Festival? But do we have time to make the ADR's we want? Can we afford the dining plan or do we pay OOP? Wait, here's a PIN for FREE DINING!! In the spring? OMG!!! Here's the ADR's we wanted!!! OKAY!!! Press the button and make it happen!!!

We decided to make that one a surprise trip!! We have video of it, if we figure out how to upload that we will. It was funny, we woke them up at 4 AM and had balloons and they were looking at us like, What? But it finally sank in and DD 9 said "Pinch me", so it was all good. Again, great trip and we loved every minute of it. We came home saying, that's gotta hold us for a long time...we can't keep doing this. Three trips in two years is ridiculous.
Here we are on that trip April 2010:

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

So, now you have a basic overview of our Disney history. Lets get to the cast of characters, shall we?
Me:

I keep trying to think of a catchy name for myself..so far DH wants to call me snow white because of how pale I am, but in these pics I have the Florida sun on my skin, so not so pale! So, now I am thinking of Mary Poppins, because I love that character..still thinking...

DH:

He wants to be called Ferb, which is appropriate in the sense that Ferb has a british accent and DH is from the UK.

DD 10

We will call her Stitch. No, I know it's not a good name for a girl, but if you knew DD and how much she loved and emulated Stitch, you would understand

DD 6:

We will call her Ariel, that's her favorite so far!!

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

So, now onto this trip!!
I told you earlier that this trip almost didn't happen. Here is the nitty gritty on that: Although, for privacy's sake, not too nitty and not too gritty

We have been having some stress lately..marital stress is all I'm gonna give you on that account...sometimes you realize that things aren't going the way you had planned and you need to re-evaluate. We have been getting some help with that, going deep into our souls and histories and learning some things we never thought had affected us so profoundly. As a result, we think we will be better parents and hopefully better partners.
So, where does that leave us with vacation planning? Ironically, we had both vocalized a need to avoid Disney and all of it's financial trappings for a couple of years, while we were both secretly trying to plan for 2011.

Ferb's therapist suggested a Disney trip to help us, but she had an adults only trip in mind. Sorry, but I'm not going to Disney and leaving behind my little girls!! So, I secretly went online and checked to see if we could get the ADR's we would want, I had a feeling that if we couldn't we would both poo-poo the idea of a trip altogether. Then I priced out a couple of scenarios including a Pin code for room only, Undercover tourist tickets; Free dining with full price room and tickets; Value vs. Monderate...all so much info as you all know, but an informed decision is always the best decision. I showed everything to Ferb and he loved it

Decisions, decisions....where do we stay, who do we fly with, what dates do we travel, where do we eat, do we pay for dining, do we use a pin code? Here are some pics of the hotels we've stayed in so far.

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

As promised we figured out how to post the video we made surprising the girls with our April 2010 trip..it really is too funny...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYqIFaNa57s

Edited to add that we will be surprising the girls with this trip as well, but not the morning of...we will be surprising them on Christmas morning by wrapping up a countdown calendar!!

 

[torsie24]

Count me in on your PTR and hopefully TR!

Yay for March 2011!

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

Count me in on your PTR and hopefully TR!

Yay for March 2011!

Woo hoo!! Got a follower!! Thanks for joining us! I see that you are from Surrey, not too good with my UK geography, but Ferb is from Somerset, originally Wales, but moved down when he was a lad, then moved to Canada when he was 17. I am from the US originally so we are a bit of a melting pot in our home!! Glad to have you along for the ride!!
GO MARCH!!!

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

Right, so on with the planning...
I had shown Ferb a few scenarios, and I have them here in front of me while I type. Ferb wanted to wait until October, and while I do hope to do MNSSHP again and try it our way, I wasn't willing to wait that long for this trip. I told him we have been through so much we need this trip!! And I needed it NOW!!!!

I had already gotten ADR's for a couple of March dates and wanted him to pick between those two. March 24-31 was my first pick because of the weather and it falling the week after our March break here in Ontario. It would be nice for the kids to not miss school, but we work in Travel and Tourism and can't get that week off. If we went that week we would have to fly with Airtran to get a good price, the hotel was going to cost a little more because of Spring Break starting, and it would start to get busier then too because of that.

Now I checked into the first week of March. We could fly with Southwest for a slightly cheaper sum, stay at a moderate for a better price with the pin code, and the crowds would hopefully be a bit better as well. I also took the time to price out a free dining stay that week as we could get within the deadline of that. Plus, just to make things even more complicated, I priced out staying off site for both dates. We have never done this, but if the price was right we would consider it.

All in all, we decided to stay March 3-10 at POR with a pin code instead of free dining, and use Undercover Tourist for our tickets. When we called to book the hotel with the pin code the reservation agent said "OH, oh.." I thought oh, no we left it too long...but no..she was exclaiming over the fantastic price we got!!! WOO HOO!!!! Gotta love a good pin code!!!

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

A little info about our decision making may be in order at this time.

I mentioned "having " to fly with Air Tran...we have never flown with this airline and hope never to do so in the future. I have heard nothing but trouble when it comes to this airline and their flight schedules. We like to fly direct and I keep hearing how a direct flight gets changed to a connection with these guys, plus the thought of having to pay charges to take my luggage is absurd...of course I am going to have luggage...I'm going on VACATION!! Do you expect me to go naked for a week or wear the same 2 outfits from my carry on for a week?!?!?! The nerve... We have been spoiled by Southwest, it's pretty obvious. We live in the Niagara Region of Ontario and always fly out of Buffalo for everything. I dread the day we need to fly overseas and have to use the airport in Toronto

As for our hotel decision, well, we stayed at POP our first trip and loved it. We would have stayed there for our second trip but with the money we "saved" from moving our trip from the buy 4 get 3 free package to the Free dining package we upgraded to CBR. We LOVED it!! But when the time came to plan the third trip we were on a tighter budget, and went back to POP. We weren't disappointed by POP at all, but we missed the extra room and the fancier pools at CBR. The kids really loved the slides. So this time around, I kind of figured we would be at POP again, being that we are planning this one with such short notice and no time to save extra cash before we leave. But when I priced it out, a mod was actually not too bad. Thanks again to the pin code fairy
We tried to get CBR again, but couldn't get a standard room for our dates. I looked into CSR but again, wasn't available...it looked like POR was the only way to go. I was a little bummed, I'll admit. But when we saw all the activities available it got us excited

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

I've got more itinerary info here to post...so much is getting posted in these two days that I think I will go into withdrawal when I have nothing left to say?

So the itinerary reads like this:

March 3: Fly out of BUF on SW at 6:30 AM If all goes well we land at 9:15 AM

Our plan this day is to slowly travel on ME to the hotel and enjoy the experience of Disney transportation. We missed out on this the last two trips because we rented a car in '09 and we had to take a Mears bus in April. We were VERY disappointed. No welcome video for us that trip

Since we aren't on the dining plan this time we might grab a bite to eat at the airport that morning. All depends on how hungry and how eager we are feeling that day. But the rest of the day is pretty low key. We hope that the weather is pretty decent so the kids and I can swim a little. We also want to try the carriage ride they have available at POR. And we read that there is fishing as well. So a pretty relaxing day is what we are hoping for. Maybe nap before we head over to DTD for dinner. I'm looking forward to the boat ride they have to DTD. It looks like a nice relaxing change from the buses. And being that we aren't in any hurry it will be a good day to try it.
Dinner will be at Raglan Rd that night, it's become a tradition for our first night and we hope to see the entertainment again this year, we enjoyed it in April.

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

More itinerary:

Fri March 4: MK day!! Love that our first park can be MK and not have it be on a Monday..we were there on a Monday once
We have reservations at Kona Cafe at the Poly for dinner that night. We found that restaurant by accident and we really enjoyed it!!

Sat March 5HS and dinner at Sci- Fi. We ate there in April and liked it better than 50's Prime time. I understand that this falls during ESPN weekend, but I am taking a chance on what other Disers are saying about the little impact on rides..

Sun March 6:Epcot and dinner at Rose & Crown and hopefully Illuminations seating, which I know is not guaranteed, but we can be ever hopeful

Mon March 7: Free Day Gonna hang out at hotel and then DTD to shop and eat...nothing planned for food, gonna take it as it comes!

Tues March8: MK day 2 This park is too big to do in one day. Dinner will be at The Plaza. First time for us...

Wed March 9:Epcot day 2 Gotta get my WS touring in..and need to eat at LeCellier this trip..got lunch ADR's. Hopefully won't be too pricy for lunch, and not being on the dining plan we will only order what we will actually be eating...this is our plan for the whole week, actually, hope to save money and wasted food that way.

Thur March 10: Last day Leaving the park destination open on this day. Since we haven't been to AK so far this trip, the no-brainer is to hit this one. But, with Primeval Whirl being refurbed and the weather being iffy for a ride on Kali..not too sure if it would be worth it. However, if it's not too hot we may finally be able to tour the whole park without feeling like puking on the bus ride back. Kid you not, a couple of our touring party felt that way in '08.
We have all day, our flight home isn't until 7:35 that night so we can go to any park and do what we missed, and we can hang out at the hotel and relax and swim if the weather cooperates. It's a free day.

 

[Ferb]

I love the picture of my DW and King Louie, forget about naming her Snow white or Mary poppins, just call her Queen Louie! hehe!

I also would like to add the my DW, is doing a great job on this PTR, I am so excited to do this with her and I hope to stop being a backseat driver and try to add some of my opinions and details in the posts to follow. Also I can't wait until we go the disney for the 4th time yay! and I can't wait to do a bounceback!

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

One of the things that we use to plan our days is the WDW calendar. You know the one that shows Magic Kingdom's hours and the times for scheduled events like parades and fireworks? Well, when I pull this calendar up on the Disney site it only shows the park's open and close hours. No fireworks, no parades. How are we supposed to schedule our Magic Kingdom day to coincide with the new light parade? I know it doesn't run every night and we want to see it, we've only seen Spectro on our trips. So I scoured the internet, well I scoured the DIS , and found a link to the travel agent's sight and it has all that info on it!!!
Here is the link for March:
http://www.disneytravelagents.com/StaticFiles/DTA-Domestic/pdf/ParkHours/WDW_Operating_Calendar_Mar.pdf

 

[Ferb]

I was wondering if anybody has any info about the Mardi Gras celebration that takes place at POFQ. We will be there during the Mardi Gras date, and I looking for any experiences, info, or photos of the event? Thanks

 

[wdwgirl03]

Joining in...yay for March '11 people! Though I'll be there at the end of the month.

Can't wait to hear more of your plans!

 

[Colleen27]

Joining in from the March planning thread. Your plans look great so far!

We're going to be at Raglan Road for dinner on the 3rd too, after the spring training game at Wide World of Sports. We're hoping to catch the entertainment too; we've only eaten there for lunch in the past and while the food and service were very good, I'm sure the atmosphere is more fun in the evening.

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

Joining in...yay for March '11 people! Though I'll be there at the end of the month.

Can't wait to hear more of your plans!

Thanks for joining us!! It was starting to get a little lonely with only me, Ferb and one follower!! I'm hoping that the more people that join us, the waiting won't seem so painful!!

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

Joining in from the March planning thread. Your plans look great so far!

We're going to be at Raglan Road for dinner on the 3rd too, after the spring training game at Wide World of Sports. We're hoping to catch the entertainment too; we've only eaten there for lunch in the past and while the food and service were very good, I'm sure the atmosphere is more fun in the evening.

Thanks for joining in! We are so excited for this trip!! And yes, Raglan Rd is even better with the entertainment!! When we were there in April we sat right next to the platform where the dancer did her routine. The girls loved it!

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

So, I mentioned earlier that we are not going to surprise DD's on the morning we leave, but on Christmas morning by wrapping up a countdown calendar. We have it mostly complete, just need to add a couple of pics to make it purdy!!

When it's finished we will post a pic of our masterpiece!!

Not much happening here, I mentioned that Ferb and I both work in Travel and Tourism, what I didn't say was that while we work together for the same employer, we work opposite shifts. Ferb is on days and I am on midnights. It works for childcare and I make it work with little sleep, but with little sleep sometimes comes stupid brain. My days off are Tues and Wed, but what that really means is that I am awake and coherent on Wed and Thurs during the day. So, you will be seeing a pattern of posts here..they will mostly come on Wed and Thurs. Right now, I am waiting to go back to bed for a nap before heading in to work at 11:45 tonight. Normally I would hop on the computer tomorrow, but we have some visiting to do at a nursing home and then I will be CRASHING!! You may hear from me once or twice more this week but more than likely not until Wed.

Right now I am just catching up on my DIS reading and listening to MrThemeParkAudio's collection of Animation Courtyard area music on youtube. Does anyone else here do this? I lurk on the boards and listen to Disney music in the background. When I don't have a trip in the works it's torture ( not that it stops me). But right now with the March trip to look forward to, it's bliss!!

That's all for now!! We are so excited to have a few followers, especially the one's who have made a few posts. I know there are more out there just lurking, I'm usually doing the same. But don't be afraid to say hi
I'll be back soon to keep up with the planning and the waiting!!!