Unfortunately, my family STILL thinks I'm crazy..a double PTR. *6/6-Beating the heat?

[AKL LOVER]

I have to go back and catch up but must say now that i love your opening paragraph!

Thanks! At least there aren't too many pages for you to go thru to catch up!

 

[AKL LOVER]

I'm BAAAACCCKKKKK!

No, I haven't been in Disney the entire time since I last updated at the beginning of April. Although, with everything going on around here, I wish I had been!

I entirely meant to update on here more, but life gets in the way and sometimes the DIS has to take a back seat.

I am still bound and determined to do a TR for my April trip so I started that here. Come on over and check out our EPIC trip!


In actual PTR news, we're at 23 days for our upcoming family trip!

Woot!

We're still going the whole surprise route, so my excitement has had to be contained a bit and there is not visible countdown calendar out this year. I'm relying on a tiny widget on my phone.

I've secretly gotten the kids lots of new Disney shirts so all I have to do is sneak shorts, undies and socks out of their drawers when I'm ready to start packing. Which should be very soon now!

And of course I've tweaked our schedule a bit more since I got back from my April trip, but I think I might be done, so I will share my spreadsheet soon.


Question of the day: Park Hoppers or no Park Hoppers?? Opinions?

 

[teekathepony]

Bouncing over to your TR!

Re: To hop or not to hop. That is the question isn't it? I hop, always. For me there are so many times it's convenient that I never go without. Animal Kingdom closes early so I like to hop to another park for the evening. If I have an ADR in one park but want to go to another, I can. If on my last day I want to do each of my favourite rides in all four parks, I can. So for me it's always park hoppers.

 

[AKL LOVER]

Bouncing over to your TR!

Re: To hop or not to hop. That is the question isn't it? I hop, always. For me there are so many times it's convenient that I never go without. Animal Kingdom closes early so I like to hop to another park for the evening. If I have an ADR in one park but want to go to another, I can. If on my last day I want to do each of my favourite rides in all four parks, I can. So for me it's always park hoppers.

Glad to know someone is still reading. My PTR has been really lame this year since I've been slacking with the updates.

 

[BennyFedora]

Question of the day: Park Hoppers or no Park Hoppers?? Opinions?

Joyce and I ALWAYS do park hopper, probably because we're always on the go. We're usually at a park opening, stay until lunch, take a resort break, and then head back to a park--often a different one. We just really like the flexibility of it, and I think we'd get stressed if we knew that a whole day was designated to a single park...

 

[AKL LOVER]

Joyce and I ALWAYS do park hopper, probably because we're always on the go. We're usually at a park opening, stay until lunch, take a resort break, and then head back to a park--often a different one. We just really like the flexibility of it, and I think we'd get stressed if we knew that a whole day was designated to a single park...

I never thought about the fact that touring would be less stressful if you had park hoppers. You can just go anywhere and do anything and you don't have to be limited to one park a day. Thanks!

 

[AKL LOVER]

Opps, double post

 

[AKL LOVER]

18 days!!!

We are under 20 and all I can think is....getmeonthatplane!!! At this point, school cannot be over fast enough, IMO!




For this trip I decided against making another autograph book like I have done the past 2 trips. As nice as they turn out, they are so time consuming and I just didn't have much time to spare this time around. But I still wanted the kids to have something. So I ordered one of these (and borrowed this pic from Google):

I completely forgot about ordering it until yesterday so fingers crossed it will get here before the 11th. I figured that it would be fun to have each of the characters sign their own page and it's good reading material to entertain the kids when we need it. And hopefully the kids don't mind sharing--I didn't want to lug around 2 of those puppies in the parks!



Up next: What are we actually going to do at Disney (finally!)???

 

[AKL LOVER]

15 days to go and I can now rest easy...that's because this finally came in the mail yesterday:

I have never gotten my Mickey mail so late! I was really getting worried. I knew there would be a week or so lag because I used a TA this time, but I usually get my mail about 40 days out, so that's almost a whole month behind. But at least it's here!



I've also had time this weekend to begin organizing everything I've bought for the trip, so I'd thought I'd share.

T-shirts for the kids, matched up as best as they would for each day of our trip. It's really hard to find girl and boy shirts that are similar in color (most girls are pink/purple and most boys are blue/red/black):

Then I scored this shirt for DH:

And bought these to entertain the kids in case we ever make it back into a park at night:

I have a list of things I still need to get:

*another tube of sunblock
*a new backpack if I can find one (I ordered one online and I don't like it, but it's too late to reorder another so I'll have to see if I can find any around town.)
*a couple more pairs of jean shorts for DS
*another pair of swim trunks for DH (based on the amount of time we spent in the pool last year, I think he should have at least 2!)
*gallon ziplock baggies
*quart ziplock baggies
*a new camera (the switch to turn our camera on and off would barely turn enough for me this morning to get the shirt pictures I took. I don't want it to break on us in Disney and then I have no camera!)


So on that camera note, can anyone recommend a good SLR?

 

[Lidian]

Sorry I can't assist on a camera (as I just use a P&S).

Totally love the shirts! I found a few I wouldn't mind having myself.

Sorry that it took so long with your MM. I've never used your TA company before, but I know mine said that MM was coming later and later than normal. So it may be a WDW thing. (Granted mine came much earlier than she anticipated -- but she said that she was getting some MM for guests on the day they were scheduled to check in!!!!!! When I arrived, she was sorting through them and pointed out two that were for guests -- unrelated parties -- that were checking in over the weekend and it was a Friday. She said she got one in February that came two days after the guest checked in. )

 

[teekathepony]

So on that camera note, can anyone recommend a good SLR?

What is your current camera? Is it an SLR? If yes, do you already have lenses/flashes/accessories for it? Are you looking for a certain price range? Do you want a basic SLR or something a little more pro? Is movie mode a necessity/option/non-issue?

I just bought a Canon Rebel T3i Friday. I had a Canon XT before that and wanted to upgrade for the movie mode mostly, that way I have everything in one package. I stayed with Canon because I have 5 other lenses with that mount. T3i is a little better than the T3 (More mp, bigger articulate screen, better wireless flash capabilities, and a little faster...) so I went for that but decided against the larger and slightly faster and better 60D for price reasons as well it's a bit bigger and heavier and I like the feel of the Rebel in my small hands.

Whoops! I sound like I'm at work. Hahaha!

 

[AKL LOVER]

Sorry I can't assist on a camera (as I just use a P&S).

Totally love the shirts! I found a few I wouldn't mind having myself.

Sorry that it took so long with your MM. I've never used your TA company before, but I know mine said that MM was coming later and later than normal. So it may be a WDW thing. (Granted mine came much earlier than she anticipated -- but she said that she was getting some MM for guests on the day they were scheduled to check in!!!!!! When I arrived, she was sorting through them and pointed out two that were for guests -- unrelated parties -- that were checking in over the weekend and it was a Friday. She said she got one in February that came two days after the guest checked in. )

I know, lots of people have been complaining about late MM, so to be fair, it probably isn't all the TAs fault. But I have had some other issues with her, so needless to say, I'm not very impressed with the TA route and I won't do it again!

What is your current camera? Is it an SLR? If yes, do you already have lenses/flashes/accessories for it? Are you looking for a certain price range? Do you want a basic SLR or something a little more pro? Is movie mode a necessity/option/non-issue?

I just bought a Canon Rebel T3i Friday. I had a Canon XT before that and wanted to upgrade for the movie mode mostly, that way I have everything in one package. I stayed with Canon because I have 5 other lenses with that mount. T3i is a little better than the T3 (More mp, bigger articulate screen, better wireless flash capabilities, and a little faster...) so I went for that but decided against the larger and slightly faster and better 60D for price reasons as well it's a bit bigger and heavier and I like the feel of the Rebel in my small hands.

Whoops! I sound like I'm at work. Hahaha!

We currently have a p&s. A fuji that we really love. So this would be our first SLR. The Canon Rebel T3i was one of the ones I was looking at! That and the Nikon D5100. Obviously I'm looking for one that isn't too too expesive, but also takes great pictures and has good features. I don't mind having to learn how to use the different features. But I would like something that is fairly user friendly too. I am so confused over all the lenses and numbers and stuff. I have no idea what I need and what I should get. I mean, maybe I don't even need an SLR if I'm just looking to take pictures of the kids, family vacations, etc. Is that too casual of a use for an SLR?

So your really like the Rebel? I think that's the one I'm leaning towards. But if you have any suggestions for me I could really use them! I've been researching the 2 models online for a good part of today (reading all sorts of reviews and comparison write ups) and I'm still no closer reallly to making a decision. I think I'm hesitant because of the $$ it will cost. DH says: 'You don't bat an eye when booking a trip to Disney, yet you can't commit to an $800 camera?!?' Ha.

 

[teekathepony]

We currently have a p&s. A fugi that we really love. So this would be our first SLR. The Canon Rebel T3i was one of the ones I was looking at! That and the Nikon D5100. Obviously I'm looking for one that isn't too too expesive, but also takes great pictures and has good features. I don't mind having to learn how to use the different features. But I would like something that is fairly user friendly too. I am so confused over all the lenses and numbers and stuff. I have no idea what I need and what I should get. I mean, maybe I don't even need an SLR if I'm just looking to take pictures of the kids, family vacations, etc. Is that too casual of a use for an SLR?

So your really like the Rebel? I think that's the one I'm leaning towards. But if you have any suggestions for me I could really use them! I've been researching the 2 models online for a good part of today (reading all sorts of reviews and comparison write ups) and I'm still no closer reallly to making a decision. I think I'm hesitant because of the $$ it will cost. DH says: 'You don't bat an eye when booking a trip to Disney, yet you can't commit to an $800 camera?!?' Ha.

Ohhhh I have a Fuji, so does my DH, my mom and my dad! Hahaha I love them, most of them are great little cameras for the price.

Ok so not having an SLR currently obviously opens up your options a whole lot. I would stick with Canon or Nikon. I'm not personally a Sony fan, and although Pentax makes a beautiful camera, their accessories can be hard/expensive to get.

As far as do you need an SLR? No, but almost no one NEEDS one haha, it is awfully nice to have though. They're faster than any P&S so you get the picture you wanted, not one from a split second too late. The ability to later upgrade your lenses is nice. You can get wide angles, telephotos or portraits lenses depending on what you like to do most. However along that line, the lenses can be more restricting than having a high end P&S (Like, let's say the Fuji HS30 or Canon SX40).

When you buy your first SLR, it comes with an 18-55mm lens usually. To put that into perspective, that's about a 3x zoom. To get more zoom than that, you have to spend another ~$200 on a telephoto lens. You can watch for package deals though, where the camera comes packaged with a zoom lens. Other advantages to an SLR that would affect the average parent-on-vacation picture taker.... The zoom is manual (you twist the lens) so zooming is faster than pushing a button or lever and waiting for the mechanics, focusing is usually faster, built in flash is brighter, ISO speeds are better and result in less noise in low light pictures, and I can't honestly leave this out, it makes a very satisfying noise when the shutter fires.

When you buy a high end P&S there are a lot of advantages. 30+x zoom built in, no need to buy added accessories, the same HD movie mode, high quality pictures, easier to use, beginner friendly picture modes, almost as fast as an SLR, ability to add a hotshoe flash to many, etc. And they're lighter and easier to carry around WDW

Not meaning to talk you out of an SLR here, but I know in my store a lot of people end up very surprised at how restricting the lens is with an SLR, and end up blowing their budget to buy a zoom lens. I always say that entry level SLRs are made for hobbyists, high end P&S are made for people who just want it all in one package.

So having said that, if you do decide on an SLR I can't honestly answer which is better -- Canon or Nikon. I like both equally and for different reasons. I shoot Canon because a Rebel came with my photography course so I got accessories and was stuck in the brand. (Not complaining! I love my Canons!) Canon used to do better in low light than Nikon but I think lately they've evened it out a bit better. Some Canon accessories are cheaper, that might be a consideration.

Don't forget, the Rebel T3 is a nice little camera too if you don't want/need video, and a lot cheaper.

Oh dear, I've done it again! Written a novel! I could talk cameras all day. My apologies, but feel free to ask if you have any more questions!

 

[Joyciemc]

I have a Canon Rebel T3. I love my camera, but mostly only use it at work (to take pictures of the animals in the shelter for our website) because I usually leave it there instead of treking it back and forth. I am lazy. Haha

I don't often bring it into the parks because I don't want to carry it around- that is something to consider.

 

[AKL LOVER]

Ohhhh I have a Fuji, so does my DH, my mom and my dad! Hahaha I love them, most of them are great little cameras for the price.

Ok so not having an SLR currently obviously opens up your options a whole lot. I would stick with Canon or Nikon. I'm not personally a Sony fan, and although Pentax makes a beautiful camera, their accessories can be hard/expensive to get.

As far as do you need an SLR? No, but almost no one NEEDS one haha, it is awfully nice to have though. They're faster than any P&S so you get the picture you wanted, not one from a split second too late. The ability to later upgrade your lenses is nice. You can get wide angles, telephotos or portraits lenses depending on what you like to do most. However along that line, the lenses can be more restricting than having a high end P&S (Like, let's say the Fuji HS30 or Canon SX40).

When you buy your first SLR, it comes with an 18-55mm lens usually. To put that into perspective, that's about a 3x zoom. To get more zoom than that, you have to spend another ~$200 on a telephoto lens. You can watch for package deals though, where the camera comes packaged with a zoom lens. Other advantages to an SLR that would affect the average parent-on-vacation picture taker.... The zoom is manual (you twist the lens) so zooming is faster than pushing a button or lever and waiting for the mechanics, focusing is usually faster, built in flash is brighter, ISO speeds are better and result in less noise in low light pictures, and I can't honestly leave this out, it makes a very satisfying noise when the shutter fires.

When you buy a high end P&S there are a lot of advantages. 30+x zoom built in, no need to buy added accessories, the same HD movie mode, high quality pictures, easier to use, beginner friendly picture modes, almost as fast as an SLR, ability to add a hotshoe flash to many, etc. And they're lighter and easier to carry around WDW

Not meaning to talk you out of an SLR here, but I know in my store a lot of people end up very surprised at how restricting the lens is with an SLR, and end up blowing their budget to buy a zoom lens. I always say that entry level SLRs are made for hobbyists, high end P&S are made for people who just want it all in one package.

So having said that, if you do decide on an SLR I can't honestly answer which is better -- Canon or Nikon. I like both equally and for different reasons. I shoot Canon because a Rebel came with my photography course so I got accessories and was stuck in the brand. (Not complaining! I love my Canons!) Canon used to do better in low light than Nikon but I think lately they've evened it out a bit better. Some Canon accessories are cheaper, that might be a consideration.

Don't forget, the Rebel T3 is a nice little camera too if you don't want/need video, and a lot cheaper.

Oh dear, I've done it again! Written a novel! I could talk cameras all day. My apologies, but feel free to ask if you have any more questions!

I have a Canon Rebel T3. I love my camera, but mostly only use it at work (to take pictures of the animals in the shelter for our website) because I usually leave it there instead of treking it back and forth. I am lazy. Haha

I don't often bring it into the parks because I don't want to carry it around- that is something to consider.

Thanks for the advice! I did go with the T3i (I really wanted video capability so we didn't need to carry a camera and a video cam!). In addition to the lense it came with, I also got a 55-250 cannon lense for $100 since i bought it with the camera. And a 16 GB card. But I have 30 days to return it if I change my mind. I have thought about the weight of it in the parks, but DH has said he wants to carry it and use it some too, so I don't always have to be the one doing all the lugging! Now I just have to learn how to use it...in less than 2 weeks!

Joyce, weren't you talking about getting a camera bag? I remember that someone posted a pic of that sling bag for SLRs. I saw it at best buy and really liked it. I'm thinking about going back and getting it.

 

[AKL LOVER]

Have you noticed lately that my little Mickey eared M is almost at the end of my ticker?!? Woot!


Tomorrow is online checking day and Saturday I'll be doing the single digit dance. I'm getting my dancing shoes on in preperation!


And also tomorrow, I'm really going to update with some park plans. Honest!

 

[teekathepony]

Thanks for the advice! I did go with the T3i (I really wanted video capability so we didn't need to carry a camera and a video cam!). In addition to the lense it came with, I also got a 55-250 cannon lense for $100 since i bought it with the camera. And a 16 GB card. But I have 30 days to return it if I change my mind. I have thought about the weight of it in the parks, but DH has said he wants to carry it and use it some too, so I don't always have to be the one doing all the lugging! Now I just have to learn how to use it...in less than 2 weeks!

Nice choice!
Excellent, you'll have fun with that lens on the Safari!
Don't forget that renting a locker is cheap and so much easier than carrying the camera around after you get too tired of it.
Green auto mode is your friend! It will do all the thinking for you

Have you noticed lately that my little Mickey eared M is almost at the end of my ticker?!? Woot!


Tomorrow is online checking day and Saturday I'll be doing the single digit dance. I'm getting my dancing shoes on in preperation!


And also tomorrow, I'm really going to update with some park plans. Honest!

So exciting! So close!!

 

[AKL LOVER]

Online check in is done! Woohoo! But it wouldn’t let me add a room request. Boo. So I called and of course I can’t add it since I booked thru a TA. Great. But the CM did say that if it’s noted on my original reservation then they will see that along with my online check in information. So fingers crossed that my TA added the request to my reservation like she said she did!

The kid’s encyclopedia of Disney Characters arrived yesterday , but I haven’t had a chance to open it and check it out yet. I’m doing that the first chance I get tonight!

Also, I got a new camera the other night and found a new backpack too. Now I just have to send back the other one I ordered that I didn’t like and learn how to use my new camera in 10 days!

On to our park days…I’ve been trying to figure out how to post a copy of my spreadsheet. But I can’t, so here’s a run down of what we’re doing:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Monday 6/11
Arrive at MCO around 3
Check in at BC
Try to snag a walk up at Cape May
Head to MK—we don’t really have any plans on what to do this night, I figure we can just wander around the park and do whatever there isn’t a long wait for.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tuesday 6/12
Morning—MK
Lunch—The Plaza
Afternoon—Pool Break (with my family, this should be obvious)
Evening—Flying Fish & check out the boardwalk area

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wednesday 6/13
Morning—HS
Lunch—Mama Melrose’s
Afternoon—Characterpaolooza at 4:45
Night—kids at the Sand Castle Club; date night at California Grill, wishes at 10!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thursday 6/14
Morning—Epcot, FW then head to WS
Lunch—Via Napoli
Afternoon—more WS and pool (of course!)
Night—later Garden Grill dinner and Illuminations

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Friday 6/15
Morning—AK, Pre RD breakfast at Tusker House
Lunch—late at Yak and Yeti
Afternoon—pool (Yes, again)
Night—Dinner at 1900 Park Fare; After dinner—movie on the beach at the resort or back to the Boardwalk

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Saturday 6/16
Morning—Sleep in! Breakfast at Cape May
Rest of the day—Pool (as if a pool break each day isn’t enough!); I’m going to sneak off to Epcot for a bit by myself
Lunch—Hurricane Hannahs
Dinner—Hoop Dee Doo

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sunday (Fathers Day!) 6/17
Morning—MK, Pre RD breakfast at Crystal Palace
Lunch—Columbia Harbor House
Afternoon—pool and naps
Dinner—Ohana; after Dinner—EMH at MK; Wishes at 10

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Monday 6/18
Morning—Sleep in and check out L; Head to Epcot or HS
Lunch—Via Napoli if we don’t make it on there on Thursday
Afternoon—More of World Showcase, ME @ 4
Dinner—at the airport

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

You can see from my plans that I decided to skip the PHs for now. Just one park a day for us at this point—it was easier to plan it that way and then if we need them while we’re there, we can upgrade. But I just couldn’t justify the extra $150 when I didn’t think that we’d really park hop that much. I think we only did it 2 days on our last trip and that was because I FORCED them to!

Besides, I have my AP so I can park hop and go to whatever parks I want in the afternoons after I get tired of all the swimming. And that’s all that really matters, right?

 

[Lidian]

Eeeek! So close! Can't wait to hear your next update!!! And looking forward to that single digit dance!

Have you ever noticed the DISers are amazing dancers?

 

[BennyFedora]

Then I scored this shirt for DH:

Haha, I love this shirt! I actually got it before our last trip and found it amazing that only 2 CMs "got it" the entire day I wore it. The CM at the FP line on RnRC asked me if I got my flippie floppies, and a CM in Epcot smiled and laughed knowingly. Then an older CM at a gift shop in Epcot asked me about, so I told her she could just type it in Youtube...but not at work. She was like, "Oh, viral, huh?"

Have fun in a week!