Trick-Or-Treat & Birthday Sweets! Oct 2013 PTR *NEW* 11/4 TR Link Posted!

[skier_pete]

That's awesome that you finally got in on that. I haven't listened to the Podcast yet. You will have so much fun - the sticker shock for ABD is terrible isn't it! I assume the DIS trip must be doing some adders. I remember hearing when the "knights and lights" trip they were doing was like $7000 a person for a week. IDK if someday I will have the willingness to look past that pricing beyond BSM.

But really, doing it with the DIS will be so great for you guys and so worth it! September will be the perfect time to go, too. I'm exicted for you!

 

[mandas08]

Very cool about your dispodcast trip... I bet it will be great. No Disney will be different but what a great experience! I would love a trip like that bit doubt I could handle the flight and we wouldnt have someone to watch Zavier so that would make our flight even more interesting .

We are wanting to do one more Disney trip while he is still free but can't decide if we should splurge for Disneyland or just to WDW again.

 

[abbybeth]

Wow! That is fantastic news!!!! What an amazing trip to look forward to. I hope you do a TR on that when the time comes. I've never been to Europe, but certainly hope to go someday.

 

[amazingact21]

I actually watched that podcast episode live and thought that the Italy trip sounded really cool. I can't imagine staying at that resort in Florence that they were talking about....
So it's really cool that you guys are going on that trip!!! Sounds like so much fun. And it must be really cool, to be going with fellow DISers and podcast people. You HAVE, HAVE, HAVE to write a trip report for it.

And that certainly explains why you're having to skip WDW next year!

 

[khertz]

That's awesome that you finally got in on that. I haven't listened to the Podcast yet. You will have so much fun - the sticker shock for ABD is terrible isn't it! I assume the DIS trip must be doing some adders. I remember hearing when the "knights and lights" trip they were doing was like $7000 a person for a week. IDK if someday I will have the willingness to look past that pricing beyond BSM.

But really, doing it with the DIS will be so great for you guys and so worth it! September will be the perfect time to go, too. I'm exicted for you!

The sticker shock is TERRIBLE!! Especially considering how much more the DIS Exclusive trip is than if we were to book a regular ABD trip at another time. We actually considered that for awhile, but then we talked about it and realized that this is a trip the team has taken multiple times, and if they think these changes will make the experience better, we should trust that and go for it. This opportunity may never present again! We were actually surprised they were doing a DIS trip since they seem to be trying out some of the newer itineraries now.

We spent a lot of time looking into the best time of year to go for crowds & weather, and September seems high up there on the list, so yay for that!

Very cool about your dispodcast trip... I bet it will be great. No Disney will be different but what a great experience! I would love a trip like that bit doubt I could handle the flight and we wouldnt have someone to watch Zavier so that would make our flight even more interesting .

We are wanting to do one more Disney trip while he is still free but can't decide if we should splurge for Disneyland or just to WDW again.

I struggled a lot with whether to go now without Paxton, to wait until he was old enough to come, but then we would probably have a second child too young, etc. and decided it was kind of "now or never" so to speak. I definitely wouldn't want to attempt this kind of trip with an almost-4-year old as he would be next year! So I'm thankful my parents have said he can spend the time with them while we are away.

Have you ever taken him to DL? I think you really can't go wrong either way, but we LOVED doing DL with Paxton last year. The ease of park hopping was SUCH a great aspect. We did not have to be nearly as rigid with where we were going to be at what time because we could always just walk across the plaza and be at the other park in minutes! I can't wait to take Paxton back one day so he can see Cars Land. We actually discussed that instead of a WDW trip in 2015, we might do DL for Paxton to see Cars Land and because even with flights, it usually ends up a little cheaper of a trip for us than WDW.

Wow! That is fantastic news!!!! What an amazing trip to look forward to. I hope you do a TR on that when the time comes. I've never been to Europe, but certainly hope to go someday.

I absolutely plan to do a TR! I have been dreaming of European travel as long as I can remember, so to FINALLY be able to do so is really exciting. I hope when our kids are older we will be able to take a family trip there (to almost any country, I'm so interested in them all!). That's something that NEVER happened for me because of my mom's intense fear of flying, so I hope we can give our kids at least one experience in Europe as a family.

I actually watched that podcast episode live and thought that the Italy trip sounded really cool. I can't imagine staying at that resort in Florence that they were talking about....
So it's really cool that you guys are going on that trip!!! Sounds like so much fun. And it must be really cool, to be going with fellow DISers and podcast people. You HAVE, HAVE, HAVE to write a trip report for it.

And that certainly explains why you're having to skip WDW next year!

The resort looks amazing, and I think that is what drove the price up so much from the regular ABD trips offered. Honestly though, I'm happy about that because listening to a previous review of the Viva Italia, I was not too impressed with the renovated barn they stayed in while in Tuscany. It didn't sound like something I would be happy to spend thousands of dollars for! So I'm excited about the change, as that was my biggest reservation about taking the ABD trip vs. planning it on our own.

I definitely want to write a TR! There seems to be a real lack of ABD TR's so hopefully I can change that.

 

[missangelalexis]

That is awesome, I'm excited for you guys! As much as you will miss Paxton, it's an awesome opportunity for you & DH to go..I will definitely be following along to that TR

 

[khertz]

That is awesome, I'm excited for you guys! As much as you will miss Paxton, it's an awesome opportunity for you & DH to go..I will definitely be following along to that TR

It's going to be REALLY hard to be away from Paxton for almost 2 weeks, but I'm still really excited about going and you're right, it is a great opportunity for us! DH expressed interest in doing a TR himself, so maybe we can do a kind of combined one to share our experiences.

 

[afwdwfan]

That trip looks like a lot of fun. Congratulations to you guys for getting to do that. It should be an incredible experience.

I certainly wouldn't worry about being the new people with a group that has prior travel experience. I think especially in a set up like this, you should fit into the group just fine. And if not... well the two of you are going to be in Italy having a good time anyway, so who cares?

 

[skier_pete]

I definitely want to write a TR! There seems to be a real lack of ABD TR's so hopefully I can change that.

Links to ABD Trip Reports

 

[khertz]

That trip looks like a lot of fun. Congratulations to you guys for getting to do that. It should be an incredible experience.

I certainly wouldn't worry about being the new people with a group that has prior travel experience. I think especially in a set up like this, you should fit into the group just fine. And if not... well the two of you are going to be in Italy having a good time anyway, so who cares?

Both DH and I are a little awkward around new people, so I hope being in this kind of like minded group will help us relax a little easier. And if not, we will just say peace out and head out to explore Italy on our own.

Links to ABD Trip Reports

Thanks for the link! I just went through the thread and found a few interesting ones for other European trips I'd like to take in the traditional TR format. I wonder why so many posters doing ABD TR's make each day into its own thread? I noticed that a lot! And a lot of ones all text and no photos, more like a review of the trip. I want all the details and especially pictures!!!

 

[skier_pete]

Both DH and I are a little awkward around new people, so I hope being in this kind of like minded group will help us relax a little easier. And if not, we will just say peace out and head out to explore Italy on our own.

Thanks for the link! I just went through the thread and found a few interesting ones for other European trips I'd like to take in the traditional TR format. I wonder why so many posters doing ABD TR's make each day into its own thread? I noticed that a lot! And a lot of ones all text and no photos, more like a review of the trip. I want all the details and especially pictures!!!

Trust me, you won't have a problem, especially if participate in chat. It's a bit awkward for about 15 minutes and then it becomes hanging with friends. By day 2 you'll be fine. By the end you'll probably have a few lifelong friends.

As far as TRs go, I don't know why people do that or why they don't have pictures. But my ABD tr has about 500 pictures, so I clearly agree with you.

 

[khertz]

Trust me, you won't have a problem, especially if participate in chat. It's a bit awkward for about 15 minutes and then it becomes hanging with friends. By day 2 you'll be fine. By the end you'll probably have a few lifelong friends.

As far as TRs go, I don't know why people do that or why they don't have pictures. But my ABD tr has about 500 pictures, so I clearly agree with you.

Yeah, we both said we will have to make sure we get to know our fellow travelers through chat and threads on the ABD boards before the trip to make it easier to assimilate to the group.

I feel like I'm going to be so overwhelmed with pictures after our trip, especially now that DH has taken a much more serious interest in photography!

 

[disneybarbie]

Hi!

You're Italy trips sounds amazing - excited for you! I've heard nothing but good things about those tours

Emma x

 

[khertz]

Saturday October 26th

Although we are doing a 3-parks-in-one-day-and-stay-through-10pm-IllumiNations the night before, we are sure to be up and moving really early the next day! Why? TOY STORY MANIA! Yep, we are headed back to DHS this morning, planning to be there well before opening to take advantage of the early opening procedure.

Not sure what else will be priority this morning, but probably the Disney Jr. show because it's updated since we last saw it and DS loved it last year. I'd also like to do some fun character meets, like Buzz & Woody, Phineas & Ferb, and Lightning McQueen & Mater (not because they are fun but because DS is obsessed). I also REALLY hope Wreck It Ralph & Vanellope have not been replaced yet by the time we go because we missed them by just a day last year.

We will squeeze in whatever else we can before our 11:10 lunch at Sci-Fi.

My wish list includes many things, like Muppet Vision, Rock & Roller Coaster, ToT, and Great Movie Ride, but realistically speaking, we are not going to fit everything into this morning before we leave for our break. Which is why I'm slowly twisting DH's arm to add a day to our tickets once we get there and spend our departure day at DHS because I think we will need more time. But that's a different discussion for a different day.

After our break, we will be going to Mass at a new church for us, Church of Corpus Christi in Celebration. We usually go to the Basilica, but this church has an earlier mass time at 4:30 so we can actually head to a park after.

After church, we will be headed for an evening at Magic Kingdom!

Since it's a Saturday night during party season, I'm sure the park will be PACKED. But hopefully we can grab a quick bite to eat and check out some of those attractions that are very rarely crowded even when the park is, like TTA and the Tiki Room. We won't be watching the parade or Wishes this night either, so hopefully we can ride a few other attractions while everyone else is lined up on the parade route.

​

 

[wdwgirl03]

Wow, the Italy trip sounds awesome!

DHS plans sound good. Hopefully Wreck-it Ralph and Vanellope will still be there for you! They were fun to meet. And lunch at Sci-Fi sounds good too. I have only ever been there for dinner but I love the theming there!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Great plans for Day 5! Or as I like to call it, Day 1! I'll try to wave from the plane as we make our landing at MCO while you're in Sci Fi.

I'm going to guess you should have lower than usual crowds at DHS because it's scheduled for an early closure at 6pm that day. So hopefully you can go on TSMM back to back to back!

 

[eandesmom]

Italy looks amazing!!!! Congratulations, that is very exciting. I would have a hard time convincing my DH to do an ABD trip...and even harder a Podcast one. I am sure you guys will fit right in, I wouldn't even worry about it at all.

Day 5 looks good and what a pretty church!

 

[khertz]

Wow, the Italy trip sounds awesome!

DHS plans sound good. Hopefully Wreck-it Ralph and Vanellope will still be there for you! They were fun to meet. And lunch at Sci-Fi sounds good too. I have only ever been there for dinner but I love the theming there!

I am getting really excited about it now and listening to podcasts, etc. to get me familiar with some of the things we will see and give us ideas for things to do on our free time.

All three of us would love to meet Ralph & Vanellope! I so hope they have not switched out by the time we get there. Sci-Fi is one of those places that has just become tradition for us. DS was so loud that first year we went that we said we would skip it last year, but we ended up there anyway. Luckily he was much quieter and more well behaved. Hopefully he repeats that this year.

Great plans for Day 5! Or as I like to call it, Day 1! I'll try to wave from the plane as we make our landing at MCO while you're in Sci Fi.

I'm going to guess you should have lower than usual crowds at DHS because it's scheduled for an early closure at 6pm that day. So hopefully you can go on TSMM back to back to back!

I really hope that is the case! Last year we got on TSM a couple of times before the park was even officially open at 9 am, so hopefully we can repeat that success and spend the rest of the official park morning doing everything else (with low crowds!).

Italy looks amazing!!!! Congratulations, that is very exciting. I would have a hard time convincing my DH to do an ABD trip...and even harder a Podcast one. I am sure you guys will fit right in, I wouldn't even worry about it at all.

Day 5 looks good and what a pretty church!

I thought it would be harder than it was, honestly. DH was never really excited at the thought of European travel, much less with a group that is more expensive than the other ones out there. Luckily, he listens to the podcast and they made it sounds so wonderful that I think it pushed him over the edge. Now he is doing a ton of research and getting into it. It took some time, but I got him there.

It's a new church for us and from the website it looks very pretty inside as well. As hard as it can be sometimes to break away from the parks to go to church, we have seen some really beautiful ones in our travels to different parts of the country.

 

[missangelalexis]

Sounds like a good day to me! Hopefully DH will agree to adding the extra day at DHS

 

[MEK]

Wow - I just read about the Italy trip. Sounds lovely! Congrats!

Your day 4 plans look great. I really need to figure out what my actual plans are every day. I have my ADRs but I haven't really firmed up my daily plans.

That church in Celebration looks lovely. I toured the Basilica when I was there in June. We were shopping at the nearby outlets and decided to stop by. I really enjoyed the museum there. I was impressed at the art work.