Whats Better Than Champagne and OJ? A May '18 PTR COMPLETE 5/12

[iheartbelle87]

Whats Better Than Champagne and OJ?

Welcome- this is my third PTR!

BUT I promise there will be lots of firsts, so buckle up and lets go!

​

Chapters:

Introductions

Who/What/When/Where/Why

The Nephews Have Spoken: Rules for Gram & Grandpa

Pre Planning/Making Everyones Dreams Come True, One Request At A Time

ADRs!

Pre Travel Day

I Made A Spreadsheet

An Update.

The Trip is On!

Another Trip In The Making?

5/13 Magic Kingdom, LTT, + Yachtsmans

Happily Ever After or Illuminations

And Then There Were Four

Ever Changing ADRs

Morning in Epcot

Pool/World Showcase

Finishing MK

Hollywood Studios

Animal Kingdom... last day

Fastpasses are Booked!

To BOG or Not?

Countdown: 45 Days

40 Days!

29 Days!

I'm going BACK to WDW

Mickey Mail, etc.

So Close I Can Almost Smell the Disney Water

Disney Outfits​

 

[iheartbelle87]

First of All... Who Are You?



I thought you’d never ask!

If you’ve read my previous PTRs/TR, you know that I usually travel to the Happiest Place on Earth with either my mom or DH. But… we’re changing it up this time!

Name: Ashlee aka the narrator of this TR aka Aunt Ashlee
Favorite Disney Park: Epcot
Favorite Disney Resort: Grand Floridian
Favorite Disney Movies: Beauty & The Beast
Favorite Disney Character: Marie
Favorite Ride in Magic Kingdom: BTMRR
Favorite Ride in Epcot: Soarin’
Favorite Ride in Hollywood Studios: Toy Story Mania
Favorite Ride in Animal Kingdom: Kali River Rapids
Favorite Disney Restaurant: Boma

I'm Ashlee, I'm 30 years old and live in a suburb north of Boston with my husband and fur baby. I work as a nurse practitioner in a gastroenterology office by day and by all other times I'm into planning vacations to anywhere! But lets be real- the only place I ever really want to go to is Disney



Name: Tammy aka Mom aka Gram
Favorite Disney Park: Epcot
Favorite Disney Resort: Disney's Beach Club Resort
Favorite Disney Movies: Beauty & The Beast
Favorite Disney Character: Piglet
Favorite Ride in Magic Kingdom: Haunted Mansion
Favorite Ride in Epcot: Soarin'
Favorite Ride in Hollywood Studios: Toy Story Mania
Favorite Ride in Animal Kingdom: Kilamanjaro Safari
Favorite Disney Restaurant: Biergarten
Misc: Milk & Shellfish allergy

She works at a local hospital in billing but would much rather be planning a trip to Disney world/Charleston/US Virgin Islands/NYC. Oh, and she loves her cat (my former cat) and of course, Dad aka Granpda aka Rob. Her favorite color is red. She loves waking up at 4:30am and is known to wake up everyone else at that time.. But we love her just the same!


Name: Rob aka Dad aka Grandpa
Favorite Disney Park: Hollywood Studios
Favorite Disney Resort: Port Orleans Riverside
Favorite Disney Movies: None... I don't think the man has ever watched a Disney movie in his life. If it doesn't star Chuck Norris, he isn't watching
Favorite Disney Character: Mickey
Favorite Ride in Magic Kingdom: He likes the afternoon parade the best...
Favorite Ride in Epcot: The Land
Favorite Ride in Hollywood Studios: Beauty & The Beast Live On Stage
Favorite Ride in Animal Kingdom: Kilamanjaro Safari
Favorite Disney Restaurant: Le Cellier

He works for an excavating company 60+ hours a week, but when he's not working he enjoys beer, time with the family, hunting deer and the occasional Sunday afternoon football game! He hates thrill rides and even freaked out on Spaceship Earth once because he thought we tricked him into a roller coaster! hahaha!




Name: Shawn aka grandson to Tam/Rob aka nephew to Aunt Ashlee aka brother to Adam. He's 16 and just got his drivers license one week ago! He's a junior in high school and has been to WDW once before, with my parents around age 10. He enjoys 80s hair bands, dislikes steak and thrill rides. Loves scallops. This is him and his girlfriend.




Name: Adam aka grandson to Rob/Tam aka nephew to Aunt Ashlee aka younger brother to Shawn. He's 14, in 8th grade, and enjoys all things hunting/fishing/ATVing/snowmobiling. He's also been to WDW once before with my parents around age 8. He's very quiet, likes roller coasters, and cheeseburgers.


​

 

[Mollydolly334]

AH I CAN'T BELIEVE I CAUGHT YOU THIS EARLY!

I was wondering when you'd wander back over to the DIS! I missed you

Yay for a May trip!! That's so exciting.... can't wait to hear the deets!

 

[Raeven]

Following along!

Although I’m still sad we're missing each other by a day

 

[iheartbelle87]

AH I CAN'T BELIEVE I CAUGHT YOU THIS EARLY!

I was wondering when you'd wander back over to the DIS! I missed you

Yay for a May trip!! That's so exciting.... can't wait to hear the deets!

Aww girl I've missed you! I had some serious post Disney depression going on after my last trip but I'm happy to be BACK! Plus, hip surgery recovery was no joke and a lot more difficult than I thought it would be... oh, and a new job. haha! Can't wait to catch up with you <3

Following along!

Although I’m still sad we're missing each other by a day

YAY!! Seriously one day... I think you need to convince Josh to let you stay just one more day lol

 

[Raeven]

YAY!! Seriously one day... I think you need to convince Josh to let you stay just one more day lol

He wouldn’t mind staying another day! But I work on Sundays so we have to leave on Sat.

 

[iheartbelle87]

The Basics

Hi everyone! So happy to have my two trusty readers @Mollydolly334 and @Raeven back for more PTR shenanigans! If you're in hiding, c'mon out and say hey!


Now that we've all been properly introduced, let's get into the details of the trip... or I call them, the 5Ws

WHO

Well, we covered this in the introductions but for a recap... Me (Ashlee, 30) Mom (53), Dad (61), Shawn (16), Adam (14)

Mom and Dad are my mom and dad. Shawn and Adam are my nephews (my brother's kids. they're brothers) and my parents grandsons. I will lovingly refer to my parents as the 'investors' throughout the TR as they are, indeed, investing in our happiness by paying for this trip! #thanksmomanddad #foreverindebttoyou. I will also refer the 'kids' as 'the nephews' once in a while.


WHAT

A 5 day, 4 night trip to Walt Disney World


WHEN

May 13-17, 2018

HELLO Flower & Garden Festival

WHERE

Disney's Beach Club Resort - Garden/Woods View



side note: Is this the front of the hotel? NO. Is it of any significance? Also no. But that, my friends, is a picture of stairs from the second floor on the Beach Club that leads into the lobby. AKA: the best smelling place in all of Disney. OH, and the breakfast buffet (pronounced buff-unt) is jusstt beyond those stairs and if you're like me, I follow where my stomach (er... heart) tell me to go.

WHY

Because why not? In all seriousness, my parents have been talking about taking The Nephews back to Disney World for a few years now. They took them when they were 8 and 10 and overall I think everyone had a good time... but there were lots of tears. And tantrums. And not just from the kids, either. I volunteered to join the trip to

help plan and manage everyone and my parents happily agreed that this would be great... plus, a free trip? Yes please.

​

 

[Raeven]

Hi everyone! So happy to have my two trusty readers @Mollydolly334 and @Raeven back for more PTR shenanigans! If you're in hiding, c'mon out and say hey!

#Shoutout

Disney's Beach Club Resort - Garden/Woods View

Ooo yes!

plus, a free trip? Yes please.

Of course!

 

[iheartbelle87]

The Nephews Have Spoken


Yep, thats right, the nephews have spoken and they have laid out some ground rules for Gram and Granpda to abide to during our trip

As I briefly mentioned before, my parents took The Nephews on a WDW trip in 2012 and it did not go well. For example, my mom wanted to watch Impressions de France, but The Nephews did not... and things escalated quickly. The end result was my mom handing everyone their tickets (back when Disney had credit card type tickets) , crying, and leaving my dad with the kids for the rest of the day and did her own thing. I'm guessing amnesia has set in and thats why we're all going back! (clarification: I was not on this trip with them. I have a feeling I'll need a lot of wine to get through this one!)





Rules for Gram & Granpda

By: The Nephews

No adult temper tantrums

Granpda has to remember to close the bathroom door

Gram cannot blow dry her hair until 7am

Adam (14) sleeps on the day bed/cot

The kids have some valid points


I'm hoping to get another post in tonight... be on the lookout for an ADR filled update! ​

 

[iheartbelle87]

Pre Trip Planning/Making Everyone Happy, One Request At A Time


Since this trip was booked after the infamous 180 mark, I knew it was going to be important for us to get together a plan for our trip so we could hurry up and make ADRS.

But let’s back up to the process of even booking this trip. ​

The Parents and I had gone back and forth for about a week oh how many days/nights we were going to be vacationing.

I would be purchasing everything with my credit card and then The Parents would write me a check for the total. They don’t trust using their credit card online (??) and I get the “points” on my card... so win win.
​

I really wanted to stay for 5 nights. I wanted use the TA DH and I used for our trip last May, as the cost for 5 nights at the Beach Club through them was $300 LESS than the price for 4 nights booked through Disney.

Mom really wanted to go for 4 nights and started talking about staying at a moderate resort. She only wanted to book through Disney directly.

Dad would not entertain the idea of booking a standard view anywhere (apparently he heard delivery trucks beeping one night in 2002 when we stayed at CSR and he isn’t over it yet ). He was turning out to be quite high maintenance.


After some snapping and cheap shots at each other, we settled on a 4 night stay at the Beach Club. Garden/Woods view. Booked through Disney. We’re just your average family that drives each other nuts, ya know?

Next up, deciding which DDP we wanted.

Dad made the executive decision that he wanted the Deluxe DDP. This will be a first for all of us!

Not because he wants to enjoy signature meals. Nope. He just wants to eat TS three times a day.

Remind me to pack extra stretchy pants.

Mom and I didn’t even try to argue this, because Dad has been know to also have adult temper tantrums (can we start calling these ATTs?) regarding food, so if he was willing to pay for it, it was fine by us.

(Thanks to Google Images for this photo)


Now the flights.

I live 20 min from Logan Airport, but MHT in New Hampshire is much easier to park at so we were open to either airport.

DH and I usually fly out of MHT because of the ease of security and parking, plus Southwest has direct flights to MCO there. For some reason there is no direct flight from Boston to Orlando via SW. Seems so silly.

Dad informed us that he hasn’t been none too happy with flying Southwest (he’s flown a total of 4 round trips in his life) in the past and is not open to them.

He also wants to take the first flight in the morning. The earlier the better.

Literally, if there was a 1:30am flight, he’d be on it. I don’t blame him tho! I love a good morning flight.

I found flights from Boston (Jetblue) for us and tried explaining that we could either

a) purchase the airfare category that includes one checked bag per person

or

b) chose a lower price now, and pay $25 per checked bag each way.

Dad said he and The Nephews would share a bag so we only need to check 3 bags. But you can’t purchase five tickets in two different categories at one time (does that make sense??).

I ended up buying all five tickets that didn’t include checked bags and we’ll pay for our bags at the airport.

Then Dad said just one more thing.... He wants to sit in the front row of the plane. Not the second row. No. Only the front row.

I was worried I’d have to buy our plane tickets and then get to choose our seats... only to find out the very front row was already booked.

Fortunately that was not the case. Crisis averted. PHEW!


Me: ok Dad so ugh... it’s another $50 per ticket each way to sit in the front row. No one else cares about sitting up there. Do you want to sit by yourself or do you want to pay for all of us to be there with you?


Dad: oh you and your mother are on your own. Adam and I will sit up front, so get two tickets up there and then you guys can figure out the rest

Me: mmmkay!

At this point I kind of wanted to strangle my family (in a loving way) so I was happy to be 12 rows behind my dad in the peasant section


So Mom, Shawn and I will be in row 12. For a flight that leaves Boston at 6:19am.


I tried explaining to Dad that even though he gets to get off the plane first he still needs to wait for us before getting on the faux monorail. He said he understands and doesn’t care he will wait in the terminal for us.

Next Up... ADRs!

But first...

​

 

[Raeven]

Gram cannot blow dry her hair until 7am

That's still very early!

Dad would not entertain the idea of booking a standard view anywhere (apparently he heard delivery trucks beeping one night in 2002 when we stayed at CSR and he isn’t over it yet ). He was turning out to be quite high maintenance.

Then Dad said just one more thing.... He wants to sit in the front row of the plane. Not the second row. No. Only the front row.

Only the front row of the plane

 

[iheartbelle87]

That's still very early!

Right?! If The Nephews and I stay out for EMH I won't feel bad for waking her up when we return

Only the front row of the plane

I cant. lol

 

[Victoriasmom98]

Your trip sounds awesome so far so I'm joining in. I'll miss you by one day as we are flying home on the 12th! I look forward to reading more!

 

[xlsm]

I'm here!! I will probably get behind at some point, but I am IN! Girl, I will personally hand you that drink - you're very brave planning this! But I have a feeling that you will have a great time with your nephews. I'm with your mom on one point, though...they should watch Impressions de France

 

[iheartbelle87]

ADRS

48 hours after booking our trip Mom and I set aside a few hours to make ADRs. Yes, hours.

I should clarify that The Parents live 4 hours in Northern NH, 4 hours away from me. The Nephews live in More Northern NH, 4 1/2 hours away from me. All of our planning has been over the phone/facebook messenger/snapchat.

We knew that any exotic foods would be out of the question. Shawn doesn't like steak, so we will need places that offer at least something else besides that. Adam and I will eat anything. Mom has allergies to milk and shrimp. Dad loves steak and wants to eat TS three times a day.

Here is what we have planned ... for now! I'm sure some of these will change once we book our FP+!

And, actually, as I look at our ADRs and compare them to our plans we already need to make changes!



5/13





5/14




5/15




5/16




Critiques, comments and suggestions welcome! I am aware that we won't be able to eat at Biergarten at 7:30pm AND see ROL in the same night, so I need to do some adjusting... ​

 

[iheartbelle87]

Your trip sounds awesome so far so I'm joining in. I'll miss you by one day as we are flying home on the 12th! I look forward to reading more!

​

Thankyou for the kind words! Missing each other by one day?! ugh! Do you have a PTR? Where are you staying?!

I'm here!! I will probably get behind at some point, but I am IN! Girl, I will personally hand you that drink - you're very brave planning this! But I have a feeling that you will have a great time with your nephews. I'm with your mom on one point, though...they should watch Impressions de France

I'm really looking forward to spending this time with The Nephews! Shawn will be graduating high school next year and DH and I will (hopefully) be adding a little Minnie or Mickey to the family within the next year or so, so it'll be nice to have this time with them.... ya know, with wine and hiding in the bathroom as needed! hahahah!! ​

 

[absolutmey]

Following along!

I felt a lot of feelings after reading your posts ... foreshadowing, maybe ... but not for your family b/c you guys are going to have a wonderful, food-filled time!! My family is also - ahem - lovingly difficult. I just know (foreshadowing) that when the time comes to plan our next trip, there will be hour-long ADR planning sessions and itinerary questioners. LAST WEEK (and we have no trip planned right now) my FiL says, "next time we go to Disney, I'm staying in a cabin at Fort Wilderness. I don't care where you guys stay." We weren't even talking about Disney. I think we'd been talking about golf carts and he connected the dots!

Ah, family. What can you do??

 

[fallonkendra]

Joining in! You definitely need that drink after planning this trip! Can't wait to read more!

 

[Raeven]

My math might not be right because I've never used the dining plan, but I think you're a credit over unless you get rid of Biergarten too. Maybe you could move TE or CMC there because 3 meals will be really filling. Other than that it looks good! We're planning to try the Yachtsman too. And I'd like to fit in the Garden Grill sometime soon.

 

[klacey1]

Hey lady! Excited to follow along with your plans I have taken many an insanely early flight out of Logan, and know the pain! If you don't want to park in Central Parking, there's a really good offsite lot I like that's much less stressful to navigate than Logan!

Your ADRs look great--and seem to balance everyone's special requests!

That's a bummer your mom only wanted to do four nights/book through Disney, but maybe if there's a little drama to be expected, a shorter trip is for the best