Joy to the World: an offsite Christmas extravaganza at Disney, Universal & SeaWorld – Dec. 2016 TR

Gina, are you both going to get your nexus cards now? With driving home and flying you should, if you haven't already started the process :)

I thank my nexus card every time I get to use the airport fastpass line :)
 
I CANNOT WAIT to show my son the brownie sundae! Toothsome is on my list for October!

Be sure to go hungry :teeth: . You'll be glad you did!

The end, oh no ....

Delays are always frustration but it's better to get home safe. The total per day is pretty good, I daren't do mine!

Thanks for a wonderful trip report x

Thanks for hanging in there, all the way to the end (heaven knows this report went much more slowly than I like them to :guilty:).

Back from vacation just in time to catch the end!

It was a wonderful ride along as always, looking forward to upcoming reports. Thanks so much for sharing.

Congratulations on the new position; that came up very quickly! I agree with the others, third time's the charm...

Welcome home! I hope you had some spectacular (and rain-free:umbrella:) weather for your vacation. Where were you camping this time?

I can hardly believe that we're rolling around to another trip so quickly.....I am now getting regular "it's time to start planning your stay" emails from SVR. October will be here before I'm ready :crazy2:.

Thank you for the congratulations on my new job. So far, its been going well: hopefully its not beginners luck. I love the two days a week schedule....its just enough for a little mad money while still having lots of time to focus on all the other crazy aspects of our life.

Such awful language!!! :eek::eek:

That is really a good price considering everything you did and your nice lodging.

While this trip did morph from our extra "budget" vacation to a little more averagely-priced (as Orlando holidays go), I didn't think it was too awful, either. We made some pretty awesome memories and had some amazing experiences, and you can't put a price on those, right?

Gina, are you both going to get your nexus cards now? With driving home and flying you should, if you haven't already started the process :)

I thank my nexus card every time I get to use the airport fastpass line :)

Nexus is definitely on our radar......we are just in the process of renewing our passports, so once that's done, Nexus is among the next projects to be tackled.

I'm intrigued, though: Nexus allows you to use the TSA pre-check line at the airport? I had no idea! Sure makes those cards even more appealing ::yes::. I think maybe that task just got bumped up the to-do list!
 
Nexus is definitely on our radar......we are just in the process of renewing our passports, so once that's done, Nexus is among the next projects to be tackled.

I'm intrigued, though: Nexus allows you to use the TSA pre-check line at the airport? I had no idea! Sure makes those cards even more appealing ::yes::. I think maybe that task just got bumped up the to-do list!

Nexus gives you the faster border crossing, TSA precheck and global entry. It's the best deal between it, global entry and tsa precheck. But it does take a bit longer because you're vetted by both countries. Make sure to take your birth certificates with you when you get the interview. I didn't because it doesn't say but that way it stays active when you renew your passport later. Mine had to be renewed this year so I had to make a separate trip to have them add it. Now I need to make a trip to have them add my passport, it's just that the office with the hours that work for me is up near the border instead of close by in Seattle.
 


That is not a bad trip total at all!
I always put mine into a spread sheet when I get home too, to track expenses. Considering this time we added Annual Passes to Disney and stayed on property for 8 days total and spending extra at Target to get DD set up in her apartment and we did some indulgent dining (Rose&Crown, Tiffins) I think we did pretty well. ($190 PP/day all in, but I did have almost $500 in "free" reward money that I did not take off the total). Figuring out budget for next trips and it will be far lower now that park tickets are taken care of, plus we are using our TS in November.

It's fun to have another trip planned isn't it? My MiL just sent me a check for all our airfares (NOT expecting that) and for the resort! So I am definitely splurging on a MNSSHP ticket for all of us! Just haven't nailed down to go Oct 9th or 10th.
Yay to new job going well!!
 
Thanks Gina. very informative and Well done as usual. You have provided some valuable info for our Christmas trip
 
Welcome home! I hope you had some spectacular (and rain-free:umbrella:) weather for your vacation. Where were you camping this time?

I can hardly believe that we're rolling around to another trip so quickly.....I am now getting regular "it's time to start planning your stay" emails from SVR. October will be here before I'm ready :crazy2:.

Charleston Lake PP; our go to for most of our longer camping vacations. Weather was hot, wet, cool, dry, sunny, and warm. :upsidedow Well, we were gone for 2 weeks after all! As seasoned campers we like it all, except for the mosquitoes this year - it has been a wet summer in Eastern Ontario, so they were very thick until our last couple of days when nighttime temps finally dropped enough to start knocking them down.

Our next big outing is not until March, but it's back to Vistana too (only 6.5 months, or 200ish more sleeps). Not worried about being ready, I'm ready to go NOW! We'll probably do a weekend getaway in November as well to Vermont or nearby; that's becoming a tradition but I haven't started looking for a location yet.
 


I'm really slow to find this, but I enjoyed reading so much! Thanks, Gina -- I love voyeuring along on your amazing trips!

Maria :upsidedow
 
Nexus gives you the faster border crossing, TSA precheck and global entry. It's the best deal between it, global entry and tsa precheck. But it does take a bit longer because you're vetted by both countries. Make sure to take your birth certificates with you when you get the interview. I didn't because it doesn't say but that way it stays active when you renew your passport later. Mine had to be renewed this year so I had to make a separate trip to have them add it. Now I need to make a trip to have them add my passport, it's just that the office with the hours that work for me is up near the border instead of close by in Seattle.

Well, you have certainly convinced me. As soon as we receive our renewed passports (we just submitted our renewal applications today), we will apply for Nexus :thumbsup2. It was always a bit of a pain when we were living in Ontario (and at least an hour and a half from the closest border crossing), but now.....we have no excuses!!

Great trip report, as always!! :flower:

Thank you!! :goodvibes I appreciate you reading through all the way to the end!

That is not a bad trip total at all!
I always put mine into a spread sheet when I get home too, to track expenses. Considering this time we added Annual Passes to Disney and stayed on property for 8 days total and spending extra at Target to get DD set up in her apartment and we did some indulgent dining (Rose&Crown, Tiffins) I think we did pretty well. ($190 PP/day all in, but I did have almost $500 in "free" reward money that I did not take off the total). Figuring out budget for next trips and it will be far lower now that park tickets are taken care of, plus we are using our TS in November.

It's fun to have another trip planned isn't it? My MiL just sent me a check for all our airfares (NOT expecting that) and for the resort! So I am definitely splurging on a MNSSHP ticket for all of us! Just haven't nailed down to go Oct 9th or 10th.
Yay to new job going well!!

Oh, WOW!! :eek: What a generous gift! You have some wonderful in-laws....I'm lucky if mine remember to send me a card on my birthday :rotfl:.

Don't you wish you had a crystal ball and could forecast crowds and weather? That would make picking party dates so much easier :rolleyes:. I was excited to snag a Crystal Palace reservation for our party date.....we had previously been holding a Diamond Horseshoe ADR but the reviews for that restaurant are less than stellar. We got the rest of our costume pieces delivered yesterday, so we're pretty much ready for our MNSSHP too! Will you guys dress up for your party day?

Thanks Gina. very informative and Well done as usual. You have provided some valuable info for our Christmas trip

Thank you :goodvibes. It was a very festive vacation! I hope yours is equally as enjoyable :).

Charleston Lake PP; our go to for most of our longer camping vacations. Weather was hot, wet, cool, dry, sunny, and warm. :upsidedow Well, we were gone for 2 weeks after all! As seasoned campers we like it all, except for the mosquitoes this year - it has been a wet summer in Eastern Ontario, so they were very thick until our last couple of days when nighttime temps finally dropped enough to start knocking them down.

Our next big outing is not until March, but it's back to Vistana too (only 6.5 months, or 200ish more sleeps). Not worried about being ready, I'm ready to go NOW! We'll probably do a weekend getaway in November as well to Vermont or nearby; that's becoming a tradition but I haven't started looking for a location yet.

You totally made me laugh with the '200 more sleeps' comment :laughing:. That place really is like an addiction, isn't it?
Jake arrives at SVR in just 16 days, and is SO incredibly excited. I think he's got his countdown right down to the second :hourglass ..... and his girlfriend is equally giddy about their week in the south (her first trip to Florida, and only her second foray across the border). I will help him submit his Diamond Lane requests this weekend.

We are down to 6 (!!!) weeks. This summer has simply flown by.

I'm really slow to find this, but I enjoyed reading so much! Thanks, Gina -- I love voyeuring along on your amazing trips!

Maria :upsidedow

Aw, thank you Maria! I am glad you dropped in and said hi! :goodvibes
 
Well, you have certainly convinced me. As soon as we receive our renewed passports (we just submitted our renewal applications today), we will apply for Nexus :thumbsup2. It was always a bit of a pain when we were living in Ontario (and at least an hour and a half from the closest border crossing), but now.....we have no excuses!!

I think I've decided that when I finally get around to going to the border office to update my passport I'll pop across the border for lunch. There's a Boston Pizza not too far from the border and it seems silly to be so close to the border and not go across. And any excuse I can get to go to BP and probably Timmy's :goodvibes
 
I ordered stuff of etsy yesterday for the party- a haunted mansion (wallpaper) skirt, haunted mansion ears, and haunted mansion decals for MAgic bands. Im more doing a theme vs costume but I'm pretty excited about it!
 
Thanks so much for the report, Gina! As always I learned a lot about off-Disney choices. And I appreciate the budget info, too. It helps when we are planning.
 
I think I've decided that when I finally get around to going to the border office to update my passport I'll pop across the border for lunch. There's a Boston Pizza not too far from the border and it seems silly to be so close to the border and not go across. And any excuse I can get to go to BP and probably Timmy's :goodvibes

That's a good enough excuse for me!! :teeth:

I ordered stuff of etsy yesterday for the party- a haunted mansion (wallpaper) skirt, haunted mansion ears, and haunted mansion decals for MAgic bands. Im more doing a theme vs costume but I'm pretty excited about it!

That sounds adorable!! We need pictures! ::yes::

We have finally picked up the last of our costume pieces. Now, all I have to do is find someone to do the alterations to my dress.....and honestly, I should probably make that a priority this week or next. I hate leaving stuff to the last minute.

Thanks so much for the report, Gina! As always I learned a lot about off-Disney choices. And I appreciate the budget info, too. It helps when we are planning.

Thank you!! :goodvibes I am grateful for everyone who reads and follows along.
 
Awesome trip report! Thanks so much for sharing!!

Hope your new job is going well!
 
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Hi Gina,

We're all jonesing for a new trip report! Hope you're getting well prepped for the next trip.

Thought I would ask how Jake's trip went (think he's back now?). Did he get impacted much by Irma?
 
Just popping in to wish Gina and Steve a Bon Voyage. Pretty sure this weekend marks the beginning of their next adventure. Bring us back lots of fun stories!
 

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