Timandlesley's ROAD TRIP TO DISNEY!! ARE WE THERE YET!?!6/28 TR is up, link on pg.47!

[timandlesley]

Looks like you had a great winter get away. Thanks for sharing. Do you think you will go to Universal to see Harry Potter? I'm sure the kids would love it.

Thanks, yes we did have a great winter get away. I would LOVE to do Universal for the two days before Disney but it's all gonna depend on finances, the tickets are SO expensive. any ideas for cheap tickets anywhere???? That would add on about 800 dollars to our trip just for two nights at a CHEAP hotel by Universal and for tickets for the two days. That doesn't even include money for food. Soooooo tempting, but just don't know if I can make it happen.

GREAT update!! LOVE the Tanger Outlets in Gatlinburg and especially LOVE the Apple Barn--YUMMY!! It looks like you had a wonderful trip!! So sorry you had to cut it short!

Sounds like Tim did a GREAT job on your Vday gift--roses and chocolate covered strawberries--perfect!! We got Ally's teacher some chocolate covered strawberries for Vday and she loved them!!

Yeah, Apple Barn is DELICIOUS, we had to wait FOREVER for a table that night but it was worth it. Yeah, Tim's gift was really good. What a nice student Ally is, I rarely get gifts for Valentines day from my students, I did get tulips this year and that totally made my day!
Lesley

What a great volunteer opportunity and nice thing to do for those families. That is great you can use them to upgrade to your APs


Gaitlingburg looks like so much.

What nice gift you got Tim for Valentines. Enjoy.

Yes, we are excited about the opportunity. All four of us will work on the meal and we will deliver it together. We are now rescheduled for the weekend of March 7th to do the meal, I'll update with pics and tell ya'll how it went. Gatlinburg is fun. Thanks for reading along/posting

Sounds like you found a great cause for your GAD, and a great way to use your vouchers! Your Gatlinburg getaway looks really fun - too bad you had to leave early.

Yes, I was happy to find a good cause close by that was family friendly. Luke wanted to volunteer at an animal shelter but Lauren was too young and I wanted something we could all do together.

LOVE IT! GREAT update Lesley!! Your hotel looked GREAT! Maybe if "We are the World" was playing, you all would have woken up sooner and not almost missed breakfast! That picture of Tim is HILARIOUS, I LOVE the lady giving him the "crazy eyes"!! MAgiquest looks so cool, I will definitely have to look into that! Luke looks very intense with his boxing gloves on! I still can't get over how thin you look! Thanks for sharing all your pics. with us!

Glad you enjoyed the update Diane, yeah that hotel was great, I should have taken more pictures. TOO FUNNY about the We Are The World!

What a fun trip! You got some great things at the Disney Outlet! Congrats!

Thanks! I was so excited to see the Disney Outlet was still open : )

That picture of Tim is awesome. So great!

Looks like you had a great time - it stinks you had to leave early, but better that than get stuck somewhere.

Glad you enjoyed it, tthat women in the picture cracked me up! I agree, just happy to be able to get away for the weekend : )

You really made me want to go to Gatlinburg now!! Sounds like you had a great time. We are planning to possibly go to Myrtle Beach this summer and if we do, I am going to check out the Magi Quest there for sure! We wanted to do it last year, but it was expensive and I just didn't know if it was worth it. Now I know! Thank you!

I hope you get to go to Gatlinburg sometime. There is a lot of NATURE stuff to do as well, we love to hike to Laurel Falls but unfortunately that was all closed because they got 14 inches of snow in the mountain. Magi Quest is AWESOME! We saw it at Myrtle Beach years ago and thought the same thing, but now that I've experienced it I know it's worth the money.

 

[Queenofallthings]

I just realized you had this PTR going....going back to enjoy my morning coffee and another timandlesley report

 

[PittypatBR]

Hi, Leslie.
As usual, I am a little late to the party but am now caught up. We are going back in June also, but the first week so we will precede you. I will be able to tell you what's new before you go!!

I am still looking for our Disney volunteer opportunity. It is tough to find one that the whole family can do, but I'm sure we will manage.

We are staying off-site this time for the first time because my DD has a time-share and is covering it at the Marriott Grande Vista. We are also driving down for the first time in years, so we will have a car.

I am just now getting into the pre-planning mode, so guess I will have to start my pre-trippie soon. Reading yours will definitely get me into the mood, though!

Glad y'all had such a fun time in Gatlinburg, even with shortening the trip. Of course, y'all have fun where-ever you go! I'm looking forward to keeping up with you again this year.

 

[timandlesley]

I just realized you had this PTR going....going back to enjoy my morning coffee and another timandlesley report

So glad you found us again, WELCOME!!!

Hi, Leslie.
As usual, I am a little late to the party but am now caught up. We are going back in June also, but the first week so we will precede you. I will be able to tell you what's new before you go!!

I am still looking for our Disney volunteer opportunity. It is tough to find one that the whole family can do, but I'm sure we will manage.

We are staying off-site this time for the first time because my DD has a time-share and is covering it at the Marriott Grande Vista. We are also driving down for the first time in years, so we will have a car.

I am just now getting into the pre-planning mode, so guess I will have to start my pre-trippie soon. Reading yours will definitely get me into the mood, though!

Glad y'all had such a fun time in Gatlinburg, even with shortening the trip. Of course, y'all have fun where-ever you go! I'm looking forward to keeping up with you again this year.

Hi, welcome back! I have heard that Marriott is wonderful, we have friends who own there and are hoping they come down one time with us. I hope you find a volunteer opportunity, I would do it sooner rather than later, they are only giving out 1 million vouchers and have already given away 600,000. Thanks for reading along/ posting
Lesley

 

[natale1980]

If you upgrade your get a day tickets to APs do you still get your $100 savings for being DVC?

-nat

 

[timandlesley]

If you upgrade your get a day tickets to APs do you still get your $100 savings for being DVC?

-nat

Yes, I called Disney to clarify this and they told me the answer was yes.
For all four of us to renew our annual passes (and they will be good for 15 months instead of 12 it will only be 1130!!!
Lesley

 

[mylag1rl]

Looks like you had a great trip. I wil have to take my family there someday. Glad you made it home safely before all the snow.

 

[sharonW]

Are you guys getting hit with yet another snow storm?????

 

[Native NYer]

Looks like you had a fantastic weekend in Gaitlinburg.
And thank you again!!!! It was one of the best decisions I've ever made and Derek is fantastic

 

[cdotla]

Why...this thread has been flying!

Great recap of the Gatlinburg adventure! Looked like a lot of fun! And what great deals at the Disney outlet! Sounds like a good time for sure!

 

[Nicole786]

Can't wait to see your guys dining plans! We hit out 180 tomorrow!

Have you seen the Official Hidden Mickey app for the iPhone? Its amazing!

 

[timandlesley]

Looks like you had a great trip. I wil have to take my family there someday. Glad you made it home safely before all the snow.

Yes, we did have a good time, hope you make it there someday : )

Are you guys getting hit with yet another snow storm?????

No, Thank the good Lord! It was too warm here, so it's just rain, I'll take it

Looks like you had a fantastic weekend in Gaitlinburg.
And thank you again!!!! It was one of the best decisions I've ever made and Derek is fantastic

We had a good time. Sooooooooooooooo happy for you, one of the best decisions we made too, I knew Derek would take GREAT care of you

Why...this thread has been flying!

Great recap of the Gatlinburg adventure! Looked like a lot of fun! And what great deals at the Disney outlet! Sounds like a good time for sure!

Yes, it is flying isn't it. Glad you enjoyed the Gatlinburg recap. Yes, the Disney outlet was great, wish it was closer to us!

Can't wait to see your guys dining plans! We hit out 180 tomorrow!

Have you seen the Official Hidden Mickey app for the iPhone? Its amazing!

Hi Nicole, dining stuff coming soon. 180 days, exciting! Hope you get everything that you want!!! I just searched it, is it the 5.99 one? Is it worth it?

 

[timandlesley]

Hi Everyone!!!
Well, Tim and I did a LOT of thinking last night and we made a big change to the trip. We are very blessed to have a lot of vacations coming up this summer which requires a lot of budgeting. Well, as I was budgeting things I realized that if we went from Deluxe dining to Regular Dining we would save over $600.00 That's a lot of cash.
Plus if you listen to the Dis unplugged Podcast they've been talking about the Delish Bakery with awesome New York bagels, Tim and I have been drooling over those podcasts and wanted to stop on our way into Disney and get some. So................. we decided to downgrade from deluxe to regular dining. I had to tweak our plans last night, move some things around, etc. Bottom line is we still get some GREAT meals and we have $600.00 in savings.
We'll probably end up driving down on the 14th and staying somewhere in Georgia that night. Then on the 15th (my b-day) drive all the way down to Orlando, stock up on groceries for the room (milk, bottled water, wine, juice boxes, cereal, etc.) Then we will stop at Delish bakery and load up on bagels and cream cheese and check into a hotel in the Disney area that night. Then on the 16th load up the car and head to Animal Kingdom lodge loaded up with groceries Should save a lot of money that way. We'll probably still do a character breakfast (Crystal Palace) out of pocket and probably a Boma breakfast as well.
I promise, my next update will have our dining plans, can't wait to share with you what we have. We did have to forgo Narcosse's, California Grill and the Luau, but we still have some great meals planned, and heck we're in DISNEY!!!!
Hope you guys area all having a GREAT day!!!!
-Lesley

 

[Nicole786]

For me, it was worth it because Hidden Mickeys is something my brother and I love to search out, but in the past weve always been "i forgot the book in the room" or "I dont feel like getting out the book" having the app on my phone was really convenient since i had it on me anyway. I follow the author on Twitter and have inquired about the lack of resort/downtown disney hidden mickeys he said this is coming soon! I was skeptical at first but i figured its $15 every time theres a new book edition, but the app updates are free!

As for your savings: well done! We have always wanted to try the deluxe plan, but each time we try to come up with our touring plans, it never works out well! We will stick to Basic, and as you know from the past it works well! I've heard of that bakery too. We are bringing bagels in August for sure! saves so much $$ on breakfast! Being from NY though, I have a hard time believing in "NY Bagels" so i'll be looking out for your review on them!

 

[Trentmom]

Thats sounds like a good plan

What an awesome amt you are saving by doing this

 

[lmillercrew]

I'm all for saving money! And, $600 IS a lot of money. Can't wait to see where you want to eat. Where is this bagel place you mentioned. Is that on Disney property somewhere, or just in the area?

 

[Native NYer]

Saving money is always a good thing!
And groceries for the room definitely saves a ton. Plus, it saves time. More time in the parks
I have to call tomorrow to make ours.

 

[jenniferkeala808]

Wow!! $600 in savings?? that's crazy! Well, I'm on the regular dining plan and we still are able to have some nice sit down dinners. And paying OOP won't be a problem since you'll be saving $600!! Can't wait to hear your dining plans!!

 

[tiggrbaby]

That's almost enough $$ to do Universal!

 

[mylag1rl]

Sounds like a good plan to me ... $600 is a good amount of savings to use for other things. Can't wait to hear about the Delish bakery ... now I am craving a bagel for breakfast. Having breakfast items and snacks in the room is nice so you don't have to rush out of the room in the morning if you don't want to. It's also nice to have snacks for the afternoon breaks back at the room or at the pool. I have to tease you I like how you listed wine among your other food staples. A girl after my own heart.