"What are the dates again?" A June PTR w/ pics!!

[irky416]

DSis is dragging me to a baseball game. Hopefully, I won't be too sunburned to update later!

Hey - Saw your link when you posted on my PTR. Wow, you don't have long of planning - that must be awesome!!

The hotel/condo looks so nice.

Can't wait to read more....

Thanks for reading!

I just hope the condo looks that nice in person!

 

[irky416]

The Plan

Ok, so the plan is what it’s all about right. Why we’re all here on The DIS. We’re planners. I love planning and I go overboard sometimes. I love making things on the computer and being organized, though, so it’s fun for me!

I spent some time looking at hours and making up a spreadsheet with EMH’s and parade times and park hours.

It’s the master list. I made two versions. I made the first version and then DBF said it would be better as a spreadsheet, so he helped me make this one.

My goal this week is to actually somehow get this stuff onto index cards or something small in order to carry it in the parks.

Then, I used that to make our personal park plan, the PPP. It took me awhile to look through things, and figure out what is the best day to go to which park. I tried to avoid EMH’s since we’re not staying on site. I had it all planned out, then I found out it was Star Wars Weekend when we were there. I had to do some rearranging. But it all worked out.

I’m planning on avoiding Star Wars Weekend. I hate Star Wars and so does DSis. DBF likes it, but not enough to go and participate in SWW. I doubt DBM and BD even know what SWW is and while BD may be interested in seeing the stars, I know he won’t be interested in standing in line.

So, here’s our basic plan: DBF, DSis and I have 6 day park hoppers. BD and DBM have 3 day park hoppers. It's a first for us to have park hoppers. I hope it wasn't a waste of money. They will be there one day less than us and are planning on going to Sea World for a day since they haven’t been there.

Thursday: Arrive at MCO around 2:40. Pick up rental car. Check in at real estate agency and head to Wal-Mart to pick up some supplies for the week. Head back to the condo and get settled. Wait for DBM and BD to arrive. Probably go get dinner.

DBF, DSis, and I are planning on heading to MK. DBF only agreed to MK this one night to do the parade, Wishes, and a few rides. The goal is to make it by the first Spectromagic. I would like to eat dinner at Pecos Bill, but DBM and BD aren’t going to the park that night and we may eat with them.

We’ll then spend the rest of the night at MK.

Friday: Animal Kingdom day. DBF, DSis and I have never been here. I’m way excited! BD and DBM were here once with one of their one day tickets, two years ago. They probably won’t spend the whole day, but I think we will.

I’m guessing we’ll be exhausted after AK so we’ll probably just head back to the condo. DSis and I may try to go back to MK. We’re park commandoers. Our dad trained us to spend open to close at a park. Since we have park hoppers, we’ll probably try to put them to use.

Saturday: Epcot day. DSis and I haven’t been here in 12 years. DBF doesn’t really like Epcot and BD and DBM love it. I don’t know how this day is going to go. We’ll be playing it by ear. DBF does like Illuminations, so we will definitely be seeing that.

Sunday: BD, DBM, and DSis are going to Sea World. I would assume they will spend most of the day there, but they’re not interested in plans, so who knows.

I don’t know what DBF and I are going to do. We kind of want to go to Typhoon Lagoon, but don’t really want to spend the money because of the cruise. I want to go to the Disney outlets, also. We might just hang out at the condo by ourselves, too.

We’ll probably head over to a park at some point. Put those 6 day park hoppers to use!

Monday: Hollywood Studios day. This is another park that I don’t really know how it’s going to go. I know the things I want to do, but it probably won’t take the whole day. However, I do really want to see Fantasmic. It's a ringer on my phone and I've never even seen it!

Tuesday: We leave around 8 pm. That gives us a whole day to spend in the parks. I’m not quite sure what we’ll do yet. Probably go back and hit some of our favorites. DSis and I may try to talk DBF into some more MK time! DBM & BD leave early in the morning, so it will just be the 3 of us this day. We’ll probably play it by ear.


The only day I’m not sure about is Hollywood Studios. It’s an AM EMH day. It was either that or go on SWW. I thought EMH would be better. I’m hoping I’m right!

Next update soon. Going shopping for some supplies tomorrow!

 

[kathleen27]

The condo looks amazing. What a great pool!
It sounds close to our time share (off 192), and we are minutes to the parks, so you should be very close! We always get there very quickly, but for some reason my Dad always gets lost leaving the parks. I think he tries to take shortcuts.

Love the schedules!!! Nice graphics.
I always make a spreadsheet w/hours to bring with me. Last month, I was sitting around waiting for the kids to finish an activity & I was trip planning in my head, and couldn't remember the park hours. So I printed a small version, cut it out, and now I keep it in my purse for quick reference.

Yeah for 6 day park hoppers. We have never done the park hoppers either.
Your plans sound good.

I would guess EMH day would be better than SWW. I hear they are very busy. Fantasmic is really great, definately see it if you can!

Have fun shopping!

 

[RachelNinja]

The condo looks great! I'm sure you'll definitely appreciate the extra room in comparison to a hotel room.

That spreadsheet is INSANE! Haha, it reminds me too much of like, charts and graphs for school so I'm going to pretend that I don't see it.

Looking forward to your visit to the parks that you haven't been to yet! Those first time perspective pictures and comments are the best, in my opinion. Since I've only been to AK once when I was younger and since I haven't been back to MGM/DHS in FOREVER, I like eating up as much as I can via trip reports.

Haha, you're gonna do a TR for the cruise, right

 

[PISCESANGEL]

Wow! Great planning!! I can't wait to hear how it all plays out...

 

[irky416]

The condo looks amazing. What a great pool!
It sounds close to our time share (off 192), and we are minutes to the parks, so you should be very close! We always get there very quickly, but for some reason my Dad always gets lost leaving the parks. I think he tries to take shortcuts.

Love the schedules!!! Nice graphics.
I always make a spreadsheet w/hours to bring with me. Last month, I was sitting around waiting for the kids to finish an activity & I was trip planning in my head, and couldn't remember the park hours. So I printed a small version, cut it out, and now I keep it in my purse for quick reference.

Yeah for 6 day park hoppers. We have never done the park hoppers either.
Your plans sound good.

I would guess EMH day would be better than SWW. I hear they are very busy. Fantasmic is really great, definately see it if you can!

Have fun shopping!

I hope we are close! I'll be doing the driving, so I don't think we'll be getting lost on this trip! (Of course, I probably just jinxed myself!) Note to self: Don't try shortcuts!

There have been times when I wish I had the schedule with me! That was pretty smart printing it out in advance and carrying it with you. I never think of those things until it's too late.

I've heard mostly good things about Fantasmic. I'm excited to finally see it!

The condo looks great! I'm sure you'll definitely appreciate the extra room in comparison to a hotel room.

That spreadsheet is INSANE! Haha, it reminds me too much of like, charts and graphs for school so I'm going to pretend that I don't see it.

Looking forward to your visit to the parks that you haven't been to yet! Those first time perspective pictures and comments are the best, in my opinion. Since I've only been to AK once when I was younger and since I haven't been back to MGM/DHS in FOREVER, I like eating up as much as I can via trip reports.

Haha, you're gonna do a TR for the cruise, right

Here's a secret... The spreadsheet is a little too much for me as well! It was mostly DBF's doing and since he was getting into the planning I let him be. I just keep pretending that I love it so he doesn't get annoyed at me. It is useful, but most of the time it is information overload for me!

Even though I've been to the parks before, when I read abotu them now and see pictures, I barely recognize anything because so much has changed. I do almost feel like it will be my first time there.

The cruise isn't a Disney cruise ( ), so I'm not too sure the mods would like it here!

Wow! Great planning!! I can't wait to hear how it all plays out...

Compared to some people, I don't feel like there was much planning at all!

 

[roxannensteve]

Well....we have quite a little planner here. I like both thingys you made but yours looks less complicated to me. But DBF is involved so that makes a world of a difference. You've got your act together.

Shopping for supplies today....that never seems fun unless its for a trip

 

[irky416]

The ADR’s

I only made a few ADR’s. DSis doesn’t want to spend a lot of money and is very picky about where she’ll eat. DBM & BD just say they’ll do whatever we want. DBF isn’t into spending a lot of money on food in general, but more specifically at Disney.

We definitely wanted to go back to Ohana for breakfast. That was the only thing he really requested.

Here’s our ADR list.

Thursday: Nothing

Friday: Rainforest Café at AK for breakfast. I love Rainforest Café for breakfast and we do it every time we’re in Vegas, so I thought it would be fun to do here. I’m just a little concerned that the earliest time is 8:30 and the park opens at 9. I don’t want to miss any valuable morning hours!

Saturday: O’hana for breakfast before we head to Epcot. DSis isn’t really looking forward to this, since she hates Lilo and Stitch. I hope it’s as good as last time because we’ve been raving about it to DBF’s parents.

Sunday: LTT for dinner for just DBF and me. This is really the one I’m debating. I would love to go, but there’s going to be holiday pricing in effect and just for the 2 of us with tip, dinner is going to be almost $100. I don’t know if it’s worth it. I have a feeling this one will be canceled.

Monday: 50’s Prime Time Café for lunch. I really want to do this one, but every single other person keeps saying, “Well, why do I want to be yelled at while I eat!?” Haha. I don’t think they want to go. I don’t know if DBM & BD will appreciate the atmosphere. I think it will be fun, DBF absolutely does not.

I showed him a YouTube video of someone not eating their greens and then the waitress brought it back out with whipped cream and sprinkles on it. He found it amusing, but I think he’s terrified of having it happen to him. So, I guess we’ll see what my persuasive powers will turn out to be.

Although, I've told him multiple times I'm the one that eats with my elbows on the table!

Tuesday: Nothing. I wanted to eat at CP for lunch, but again with the holiday pricing, I think it just might be too much. And DSis isn’t fond of buffets anyway.

I told you I didn't have much in the way of ADR's.


DSis is going to have a fit about the prices, I think. My dad raised us so that we never ate in parks. We either brought food in or went hungry. He was one of those dads that when we said we were thirsty his response was “Swallow your spit!” (I hope he wasn’t the only one!) She is still in this mindset where it’s terrible to buy any food anywhere.

She yells at me when I buy ice cream with my own money (and refuses when I offer to buy her some because “it’s ridiculous!”) at the baseball games. I broke that habit awhile ago, but she still is convinced you can’t spend money on food while out at a park.

Last year, we had to force her to eat and buy a drink at Universal because she was getting sick from being in the heat and not eating or drinking.

So, I would like to have more ADR’s, as there’s more places I would like to try, but I’m trying to ease these people into life after the DIS boards!

 

[wdwgirl03]

Ohhhh, you've never been to AK before? I love it there!! I think it's my second favorite park, but then again I love animals. Have fun!

What is the Rainforest Cafe like for breakfast? We ate dinner there for the first time in May and enjoyed it! And the PTC is definitely fun! I hope you're able to convince everyone that it's worth a shot.

 

[irky416]

Ohhhh, you've never been to AK before? I love it there!! I think it's my second favorite park, but then again I love animals. Have fun!

What is the Rainforest Cafe like for breakfast? We ate dinner there for the first time in May and enjoyed it! And the PTC is definitely fun! I hope you're able to convince everyone that it's worth a shot.

Nope, never been to AK. I'm excited about it! I love animals, too.

I really like Rainforest Cafe for breakfast in Vegas. I hope the one in WDW is similar. I'll be sure to let you know. I think I'll be able to convince everyone to do PTC. I'm glad I have yet another person who thinks it fun. I really want to try it, as I've heard mostly good things about it!

 

[irky416]

Finally in the single digits!!!!!!!!


DSis dragged me to the baseball game yesterday and I did get a little burnt since it was like 95 degrees with no shade to be found. We had front row seats, though, so it was actually pretty nice.

I thought I would post a few pics since I promised them and haven't delivered yet.

DSis is absolutely in love with Jack Wilson. It borders on stalkerish. She's met him so much, he knows who she is. She always has a birthday party for him where she forces her friends and family to make him birthday cards and then she gives them to him at a meet. He's come to expect them, I think!

My man: Zach Duke

DSis and I enjoying the game

One pirate enjoying more Pirates!

And I just learned how to work the stitching feature on my camera. So, I tried to do a panorama shot. Here's the two that turned out the best. I think it would have worked better if the bar wasn't right in front of us.

I hope these don't turn out too big.

Maybe I'll practice some more and try to get a panorama of the castle.

 

[PISCESANGEL]

Cool pics! Thanks for sharing!

 

[roxannensteve]

No, your dad wasn't the only one with swallow you spit comments. Thats how my family raised us too, my sisters & I. And to be honest, I was sorta like that too but DH wasn't. For a while though, he'd go with it cause thats what I wanted & thought I was saving money. But as you can see in my PTR, when I got a taste of something different - I loved it!!!

 

[irky416]

Cool pics! Thanks for sharing!

Thanks!

No, your dad wasn't the only one with swallow you spit comments. Thats how my family raised us too, my sisters & I. And to be honest, I was sorta like that too but DH wasn't. For a while though, he'd go with it cause thats what I wanted & thought I was saving money. But as you can see in my PTR, when I got a taste of something different - I loved it!!!

I'm glad to know I wasn't alone!

I was very similar to you, in that I kept that up for awhile and DBF went along with it for a little bit, but obviously that has all changed.

I think DSis will have to spend some time with people other than family for her to grow out of it or at least accept it from others.

 

[irky416]

Here's our countdown calendar!

Only 8 days left!!!

 

[RachelNinja]

I like the picture of the little pirate! Is that Jack?

 

[wdwgirl03]

Very cool panoramic shots of the stadium! But I don't like the Pirates because the Brewers can never beat them.

YAY for single digits!!

 

[irky416]

I like the picture of the little pirate! Is that Jack?

Thanks! It most certainly is!

Very cool panoramic shots of the stadium! But I don't like the Pirates because the Brewers can never beat them.

YAY for single digits!!

Thank you. Wow. I'm amazed...a team the Pirates can actually beat!

 

[irky416]

I just had to update this real quick....

DBF just told me something will be delivered to our house the 17th. The next words out of his mouth were, "When are we leaving again?" Oy!

8 days buddy! A week from tomorrow! He still can't remember.

 

[roxannensteve]

Ok....is he seeing that calendar??

Its getting so close!!!!