I am a "lurker" who has been reading the threads for a couple of months and I must say that I am enjoying yours immensely! I am contemplating starting my own PTR for our upcoming April trip and and trying to piece together exactly how I do this. Looks like there is lots to put together but once I actually get started I am hoping it is easier than it looks.
I look forward to the rest of your adventures!
Thank you! I'm so glad to hear you have been enjoying it.
Doing a PTR and a TR is a lot of work, but it's fun to do as well. My PTR was basically more of a spot to dump all my ideas and get advice from Disney Veterans. I know many people make all their plans, then share them in their PTR, but I kinda did it backwards and it worked great!! It's a lot of fun to re-live your trip on the TR too. I like to have this sort of stuff documented because you look back months/years later and read about little details you may have forgotten.
Let me know if you decide to to a PTR - I will sign on to read!!
Yep! If all goes as planned. Christmas is on a Friday this year, and we will be arriving in WDW the Saturday before and will stay through Christmas. I'm so excited, I can't wait to spend the holiday at WDW, see all the decorations, go to the Candlelight Processional, see the Osborne Lights, the Storytellers in Epcot - I could go on & on!!
Congratulations on getting all your credit card debt paid off!! That's fantastic!
Oh my goodness. I'm sooooo jealous. That will be FANTASTIC! We will go in early December, and hopefully take in the Osborne Lights and a few other Christmas activities too. But to wake up on Christmas day in WDW and celebrate with your family right there, that is a dream come true! You are doing a TR, right?!?!?
If feels GREAT to have that debt gone!! (and gives us way more Disney money too!)
Wasn't it fun watching it live with Dave? He's such a nice guy to do that!
Congratulations on paying so many bills. That's what I'll be doing from today (already started a few days ago, actually) until I leave on March 18th - totally paying down bills!
It was so, so nice of him to do that for us! Thank you for the link from your TR.
Paying down bills is no fun, but it sure does feel good-and it frees up so much more money in the long run. Like my favorite financial guru says "Make your money work for you, rather than you working for your money."
Hi Brook! I am finally caught up! I wanted to say that I loved Henry's haircut! He looks so adorable with his new look... too cute.
I am glad you are going to get to the Tea this month (now we can say that!) We went 2 different times and really enjoyed it. It was nice to sit down and soak in the Grand Floridian atmosphere.
Your Spectro pictures are really good! Great location with the castle in the background. Sooo pretty!
I'm happy to hear you say good bye to the Pepto!
Thank you! I love his haircut too-he does look more grown up, but in a very sweet way. His hair is getting long again already so we are probably going to another cut here in a few months!
DH and I have only been in the GF for a few minutes before, so it will be really fun to experience that atmosphere and explore the resort.
Saying good-bye to the pink stuff was so nice!
Congratulations!!!!!!
It feels so great when you finally get your credit cards paid off.
Thank you! It does feel GREAT. We thought we might get it done before Christmas, but it didn't work out due to other stuff that came up...but that's okay - here we are just a couple months later and it's GONE! Yea!
Congratulations on paying off the cards! Definitely only use them when you have the money, but use them when possible to get the perks! Sounds like you guys really have your heads on straight!
Happy New Year to all!
We learned the hard way to get our heads screwed on straight, that is for sure!!
But, it happened, and we are on the other side now. And we both learn best this way...
Happy New Year!!! I'm glad you all had a good night! Were the Disney fireworks really live on the Travel Channel? I knew nothing about that, I have to see if it's being repeated! And congrats on paying off all your debt... that's definitely a great start to the year
Your Spectro and Wishes pictures are GORGEOUS!
I love the Wishes pictures with the silhouette of the little boy in front of the castle... if he'd had Mickey ears on those pictures would've been brilliant
I can't believe you leave again so soon, you must be so excited!
Just the countdown fireworks were live, but it was really cool! I don't know if they plan on showing it again-but I imagine it would be somewhere on YouTube or something...?
Thank you for the compliments on the pictures! I said the exact same thing to DH about the kid, if he had Mickey ears on it would be perfect! I was thinking of taking it into Photoshop a bit and adjusting...
I can't believe we leave again so soon either! We are VERY excited!!!!!
Thank you! It is GREAT!!!!!!
All caught up, Brook! Thanks for all the amazing photos (loved Henry's haircut) and your commentary. I have to find time to do my TR too. Just not sure when it will get done. I just got my photos uploaded! Happy New Year to you and Joe and Henry!
You are welcome!! I look forward to your TR too - I think uploading the pictures is sometimes the longest part, esp. when Photobucket is having a mind of it's own.
Happy New Year to you as well!!
Congratulations on the credit cards! We did that several years back, and it is such a liberating feeling!
Happy 2009!
It frees up so much extra
(Disney) money, doesn't it? I can't believe just a short while ago how we were living. Never again will we go back to that!
Thank you-Happy 2009 to your family as well!
Happy New Year!
The pictures from Spectro and Wishes are SO great! Um, I have no idea why anyone would think they could put their child in someone else's stroller?? What the heck??
Congrats on paying off the credit cards! We're doing that now that I'm back to work and it feels really good. Slow progress - but we will get there.
In the teens for your January trip already? You'll be there before you know it!!!
Thank you!! The whole kid in the stroller thing was a bit flabberghasting...who knows.
You will get there with the CC's! Ours took quite a while, but it was well worth the time and work.
Yes, just 18 days away until we are at WDW again! YEA!!!!
I enjoyed reading your TR.
Thank you! More to come!
YAY for the retirement of the credit cards!!! We had ours retired, but I recently got the Disney Visa, so we have a little balance. Oh well, at least we are earning Disney points!! We'll have it paid by refund time!!
I can't believe you all are already in the TEENS for the next trip! Take lots of pictures and prepare to tell us everything......you've spoiled us all now with your wonderful story-telling!
Hope all is well with you and your family,
Alan
I love that you can earn Disney points on the Visa. We had about 25 bucks on it this last trip, so all our bottles of Pepto were "free".
I will be sure to take LOTS of pictures (and hopefully we will remember we own a video camera this time too...) and report back with a new TR. Thank you for your kind comments about this TR - it's been so much fun to write and re-live the trip!
Congrats on paying down debt! It's one of the hardest things to do.
It is hard, but SO worth it! I hope our house sells sometime soon and we can say good-bye to that loan and become renters.
We aren't house people. I long to live in a building where I can call my Super and ask him to come fix our fridge and we don't have a driveway to shovel!
Happy New Year Brook and family! Sounds like you had a nice and quiet New Years Eve. DH and I headed into London and watched the fireworks...we were right in front of the London Eye and had a great view! It was amazing night and TONS of people. I took mostly video of it b/c the pictures weren't coming out that well but oh well.
Congrats on getting rid of all or your credit card debt. if I get accepted back into the Air Force I will get a sign on bonus and we will be able to pay off all of our credit card debt also. That will be a great feeling and then all we will have left is my college loan and car. DH's car will be payed off in Feb and then we can start saving for a down payment on a house.
The picutres from Spectro and Wishes are AMAZING!!! They are so good! I will have to use your settings in the future for pictures. I love the picture of Henry looking at the parade. He looks so amazed and has the perfect first trip to Disney face! I can't wait to see how the rest of your trip.
Oh wow! Your New Years sounded incredible!!! I bet that was beautiful.
You are very close to being debt free! Congratulations! The college loans are such a pain. I have been graduated for what seems FOREVER and still paying on that thing. It will be gone someday though...thankfully it's at a very low interest rate.
Henry LOVED Spectro - all those lights were just facinating. In December 2009 we will hit the Osborne Lights - I really look forward to capturing his reaction to that!
It's a whopping 10 degrees here today, so it's a heat wave and Joe, Henry and I have to get out to enjoy it! We are off to Minneapolis in a bit to do a bit of playing and shopping. Not really sure where the day will take us. I think we are going to go to Ikea (thewesterberg-Junior's favorite hang out! ) and most likely the Mall of America since it's across the parking lot. Who knows where else...I have a JCPenny gift card that is telling me I need a new outfit too...
Hope you all have a great day! I hope to be back tomorrow with an update.
), I found him quickly and gushed about the front row and the Dream Team. As we were chatting, I saw the Dream Team and the family walk out together. I bet they won something! I was bummed that I was SO STINKIN’ CLOSE, but really happy for that family too. I hope it was something GREAT – like, oh…a night in the Castle?! 
