Wait, weren't you just at Disney World? An August '14 Pre-Trip Report *updated 8/24*

[TheMaxRebo]

Loved the DISmeet update. Sounds like an amazing time!!! Too bad Pennsylvania isn't really any closer than WDW for us, otherwise I'd be convinced to join you guys next year. And what a cool story about the allusive Elsa dress. Love that you got a fair deal AND contributed to the cause at the same time

It was a really fun time Matt - worked out quite well all-in-all. There are meet ups in other cities as well - closest to you is probably the Indianapolis one ... or you could start one in St. Louis

I was just glad to win something

I'm here! Thought I'd wait for my picture to make my official debut! Here I am, out of Lurkdom.

hi Leah! Thanks for joining and coming out of Lurkdom - that sounds like part of the the title of the no so exciting Kingdom Keepers book Oh, and the first post is always the hardest

It was so nice to meet you and your family. The DisMeet was so much fun. As you said, it's nice to talk to people who have Disney in common with you! After talking with our table mates, my husband said he felt better about our two trips in one year since one couple we talked to was going at least three times! I am so happy the meet went well and raised so much! Very exciting to be able to contribute to GKTW. You are right, our table was strangely lucky. I won, Brian next to us won and Holly across from us won 2 baskets! One of my prizes is sitting next to me as I type!

I really cannot thank you enough (and the others at the table) for making us feel welcome. I think Judi was definitely not as into the whole idea as I was and when we showed up and saw no seats she wasn't really a happy camper - but she felt so much better after being welcomed to the table and I think made the entire weekend more positive.

That is true - spending time on the boards or with a crowd like that definitely makes one feel better about their Disneyness

Congrats on winning your basket! It was funny that it seemed like your table and then one or two tables on the other side of the room seemed to win like everything. Oh well, was definitely for a good cause which is the important thing!

I'm following along with your FP adventures hoping to glean tips for our September trip. Luckily, I have the day off the night/morning of my FP day, so hopefully it goes smoothly!

Good luck - and hopefully things open when they are supposed to if you are planning to stay up to/past midnight. Hopefully September won't be as bad as we had it for August - I was hopeful with Free Dining not being offered the week we are going that it would lessen the crowds that week, but I guess not.

I'm glad you enjoyed the Hershey Gardens. We are definitely lucky to live in a town with lots of great stuff to do. Although we still prefer Disney most of the time! Lol
-Leah

Yeah, I like Hershey - it's a really nice mix of small town-ishness but still with a ton to do and a lot of nice restaurants ... and a lot of breweries - one of which will be featured in the next update!

Sounds like a really cool DISmeet event! I have to admit that I've never checked out the DISUnplugged podcast, but still very cool! Looking forward to hearing about your date night!

It was definitely a fun event and just nice to be in the "Disney Bubble" again. I enjoy the podcasts - I think they are usually very fun ... don't always get a tone of new info vs. what one gets from twitter and the DISboards, but usually very entertaining and they get some good guests often as well - related to Disney Art or from local newspapers, etc. One episode they had Jess from the Frump DCP Trip Report talking about her trip report and the DCP, etc. which was cool as well.

 

[missangelalexis]

I'm glad the event was such a success and that you won the dress! (I'm sure a few years from now Peter will kill you for taking that picture ) And hooray for the unexpected Dismeet

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I'm glad the event was such a success and that you won the dress! (I'm sure a few years from now Peter will kill you for taking that picture ) And hooray for the unexpected Dismeet

well - Olivia often dresses Peter up in princess dresses so we have a lot of pictures to tease him with when he gets older. Actually, every now and then I get home from work and hear Peter yell "Daddy!" and come running in from the play room in full on princess outfit and my only response can be "Peter, you look so pretty!"

Yeah, having an unexpected DISmeet was really cool! So glad Leah introduced herself

 

[Marsheliz]

Yay for an unexpected DIS meet!!! And yay for date nights! We very seldom- get those!

I'd love to do something like this- Disney friends are the best!!!

 

[KatMark]

Great update. The Meet looks awesome and love the video of the podcast.

Great to see so much money raised.

 

[DisMom1981]

Pre Trip Report: Part 1 - Introductions Hello everyone - welcome to my first Pre-Trip Report! I just finished up my first ever trip report and figured with idle hands being the devil's workshop it was my moral obligation to do something with them ... and thus this Pre-Trip Report was born Brief introduction, here are a couple of picture of the family from our last trip which was this past October: Those pictures represent the last trip the four of us will take by ourselves ... because we are currently expecting child number 3! This upcoming trip came about because of my deft logic I used with my wife, Judi. Here is how I laid out the arguments in my head (sorry to those who have read this story before): A) We always try to get the new child down to Florida to meet Judi's family, especially her grandmother who doesn't travel to cold weather locals anymore B) Given (A) it would be weird to go to Florida and not go to Disney World C) So if we assume (A) and (B) then it definitely makes sense to go while my Annual Pass and TiW are still valid ... so before mid October D) Well, taking (C) into account and combine with the fact the past few years they have had good room only discounts for mid August through the end of September, and knowing that Olivia starts Kindergarten after Labor Day, the end of August through Labor Day Weekend makes the most sense E) I actually am taking off a lot of time when the new baby is born as last year I hit 10 years with my company and when that happens I get an extra one time use 4 weeks of vacation to use (I actually realized I have 48 days of vacation to use this year including carryovers from last year). The last week of August would be the last week I was thinking of taking off So A + B + C + D + E = we would be foolish and irresponsible NOT to go And here is how the conversation with Judi actually went: Me: So I was wondering if you were planning on bringing the new baby down to Florida to meet your grandmother Judi: Yeah, definitely will want to at some point Me: Well, if we are going down anyway, maybe we could fit in a quick Disney Trip? Judi: Oh yeah, that totally makes sense, sounds good Me: Do you want to hear my other 4 points of argument or should I just quit while I am ahead? So with that it was agreed Next post: Details of the trip so far

I love this intro. Also an August Diser and sending my baby to kindergarten this year!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[Li Li]

I really cannot thank you enough (and the others at the table) for making us feel welcome. I think Judi was definitely not as into the whole idea as I was and when we showed up and saw no seats she wasn't really a happy camper - but she felt so much better after being welcomed to the table and I think made the entire weekend more positive.

Aw, no thanks needed! I, myself, was overwhelmed at how welcoming everyone was there too! Disboard people really are the best!

For date night...I'm assuming Troegs?! Can't wait to hear!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Yay for an unexpected DIS meet!!! And yay for date nights! We very seldom- get those!

I'd love to do something like this- Disney friends are the best!!!

I know - planning Date Nights now feel as complicated as planning a land war in Asia ... so we are thankful when we get them

It really was a ton of fun and recommend going to a Meet or similar if you get the chance!

Great update. The Meet looks awesome and love the video of the podcast.

Great to see so much money raised.

Thanks! The meet was a lot of fun and glad you enjoyed the Podcast. I was very glad to see how much money got raised and hopefully next year will be even bigger!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I love this intro. Also an August Diser and sending my baby to kindergarten this year!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

Thanks for joining Ann - just posted on your PreTR as well. Looks like our trips just miss overlapping.

yeah, we do have Olivia going off to Kindergarten this year. It is kinda scary but she is so ready for it that I think we are fairly calm about it ... either that or we are just choosing to not think about it

We also met each other in college (got married on campus too) and had to deal with the crazy winter in the Northeast so definitely have some things in common

Aw, no thanks needed! I, myself, was overwhelmed at how welcoming everyone was there too! Disboard people really are the best!

For date night...I'm assuming Troegs?! Can't wait to hear!

It really was great how welcoming and inclusive the group seemed to be. I think a lot of people were nervous heading into it, especially with it being the first time and just a lot of unknowns, but people opened up pretty fast!

Well, Troegs was definitely part of the evening but not exactly for date night ... you'll see

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Pre Trip Report: Part 22 - Hershey DISmeet: Part 4​

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As mentioned in the previous update, following the DISmeet Judi and I were going to have Date Night as Olivia and Peter were spending the night at Judi's parents house. And this wasn't just any Date Night - this was also our anniversary!

So what did we do first! Why we split up of course!

Prior to our trip I arranged as an anniversary gift to Judi for her to pay a visit here:

That would be The Spa at the Hotel Hershey. She had an appointment for a Herbal Meadow Sea Salt Scrub followed by a Pre-Natal massage ... plus just time in the relaxation rooms to, um, relax I guess.

In response, as a gift to me, while she was was at the spa she let me go here:

That would be Tröegs Brewing Company which makes some of my favorite beers and is probably my favorite brewery to visit (at least of the ones I have been to so far).

I went up to the bar to see what they had - you can see the menu below. They have their standard beers and then what they call their "Scratch" beers which are the experimental ones ... and clearly the ones I wanted to try:

... so I tried all 6

They were all quite good - especially the middle back one (which was their medium IPA) and the front left one (which was a Rye Ale).

I sat a bit off to the side as it was a bit crowded that day, as you can see:

After consuming said beers I thought a snack would be good ... and fortunately they have a snack bar in the brewery. Actually, a really good one with all homemade food, mostly organic. Here is the menu they had that day:

So what did I go with? I went for something I never get but sounded good: Pork Rinds!

These were clearly very freshly made and came with a rhubarb sweet and sour dipping sauce that was great. Oh, and of course I had to get another beer to wash it down. This one was called the "Naked Elf" which is an unseasoned version of the popular "Mad Elf" beer.

I also hit up the gift shop, getting a tank top for Judi, temporary tattoos for Olivia and Peter, and a onsie for Emma that says "Home Brewed" on it:

After this I picked a very refreshed Judi up from the spa and we went back to the hotel to get ready for dinner.

coming up ... the actual date part of Date Night

TTFN

 

[KatMark]

You get hubby of the year award. Such a nice treat for Judi to have a prenatal massage and a scrub.

The brewery looks nice. We've not been to one in years (I think the last one was in Milwaukee, Wisconsin).

Love the little gifts you picked up for the family.

 

[Imagineer5]

What a fun time with just the two of you!! So nice how it worked out to give you the anniversary evening together. Love the day you planned for Judi. The brewery you went to looks fantastic - loved the snack bar! And the little gifts for everyone was super sweet!

 

[MEK]

So I haven't done such a great job getting caught up, but that brewery looks wonderful. I love stuff like that. Craft beers are so fun to taste, so I would pick that option of the prenatal message anyway (particularly since I don't NEED a prenatal massage).

Love the onesie. That is too cute!

 

[missangelalexis]

Nice treats for the both of you! Sounds like you both enjoyed your respective activities And love the gifts you picked up for everyone!

 

[DisMom1981]

How far is the brewery from Hershey? DH would love something like that and we are Hershey Park fans though we haven't been with the kids yet.

Excellent anniversary gifts!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[TheMaxRebo]

You get hubby of the year award. Such a nice treat for Judi to have a prenatal massage and a scrub.

The brewery looks nice. We've not been to one in years (I think the last one was in Milwaukee, Wisconsin).

Love the little gifts you picked up for the family.

Thanks! Not always easy to come up with gift ideas, but I thought that one worked out well!

It is a nice brewery ... I just think it is a fun time and I love trying all the extra-crafty beers that you can usually only get at the breweries

What a fun time with just the two of you!! So nice how it worked out to give you the anniversary evening together. Love the day you planned for Judi. The brewery you went to looks fantastic - loved the snack bar! And the little gifts for everyone was super sweet!

It's funny in that at first it was weird asking Judi to spend our anniversary at at DISMeet but then getting the "Date Night" out of it is really worked out. They have a lot of fun gifts there and kinda found one thing, and then another, and then, well, can't leave the other kids out, etc.

So I haven't done such a great job getting caught up, but that brewery looks wonderful. I love stuff like that. Craft beers are so fun to taste, so I would pick that option of the prenatal message anyway (particularly since I don't NEED a prenatal massage).

Love the onesie. That is too cute!

We always hit up Troegs when we go out there - and there are always families there too which is great, especially earlier in the day. So Judi has been there plenty ... and I think, given her current situation, she much preferred the massage vs. watching me drink

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Nice treats for the both of you! Sounds like you both enjoyed your respective activities And love the gifts you picked up for everyone!

Thanks! It really did work out well that we each got to do something fun individually and then had a really nice dinner out together ... though that is still to come next update

How far is the brewery from Hershey? DH would love something like that and we are Hershey Park fans though we haven't been with the kids yet.

Excellent anniversary gifts!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

The Brewerey is basically right next to the park. If you come out of the park and make a right you go past an entrance for the outlet mall and then the brewery is right there - you could probably walk from the park to it. Here's a map to give you an idea where everything is:

 

[MidnightParade]

Oooh to the spa time! What a lovely gift!! And ay for brewery time too! Okay I don't actually like beer but I love the brewery type atmosphere and how fun getting to try their experiments!!

That onesie is adorable!!

 

[DisMom1981]

Thanks! It really did work out well that we each got to do something fun individually and then had a really nice dinner out together ... though that is still to come next update The Brewerey is basically right next to the park. If you come out of the park and make a right you go past an entrance for the outlet mall and then the brewery is right there - you could probably walk from the park to it. Here's a map to give you an idea where everything is:

Thanks! I know where that is. We literally went to HP every summer growing up and all of those outlets and restaurants were not there. We stopped at Chocolate World on the way home from Disney last year (my brother lives in MD so it was a slight detour from easiest path 95- a pretty route, but too of the beaten path I think). Anyway, I couldn't believe how built up the area was since I'd last been there like 10 years ago.

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[Leshaface]

I heard that at the spa, they incorporate chocolate in to their products, is this true?! That's so nice and i'm sure Judi loved the spa! Good job

Man, if I were given the option between the spa and a beer tasting, it would have been a very tough decision. I probably would have tried the majority of their scratch list too, along with their double bock.

Can you believe i've never tasted pork rinds before?! Not sure why, guess I've just never had the opportunity.

Love the home brewed onesie! Perfect!