Time for a Disney Do-Over!! It's a GO!

[disneychic2]

I AM SOOOO EXCITED!!!!!!!
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Thank you to anyone who is following along. Welcome!!! This is my first ever PTR, so I'll be winging it quite a bit. Please bear with me!

As the title indicates, this is a trip to make up for the last one we took in February. Since I spent 3 of those 9 days in bed, and didn't feel all that well for the rest of the trip, I needed to make up for it. Who's in agreement??? Yep, I knew you'd understand.


Who am I you might ask? Well, my name is Lois and I love all things Disney. My husband, Dan, is making this do-over possible and I'm so excited. As a good DIS friends would say: Squeeeeeee!! We are empty nesters, with four grown children, three of whom are married and two of whom have provided us with six grandchildren ages 7 through 10 months.

Those who know me know that Dan and I have been going to Disney World every year and sometimes twice a year for quite a while. I'm very fortunate that Dan loves Disney almost as much as I do. However, for the next several years we'll be taking our grandchildren, one at a time when they turn 5. That means no adult type of rides or fun. Which I'm good with, really, but I just need a fix once and a while. The trips with the grands are so awesome and give us a whole new perspective on the parks. We've taken two of them so far and have another one slated for April 2015…that is if Miles will get on a plane. So far, he says not. Hopefully he'll change his mind by then.


So here's my sweetie:



And, btw, that's my sunglass case on his hip, not his pocket hanging out. It took me the longest time to figure that out!


And here I am in February at HS with our DGD Charlotte before I got sick:




Okay, now as far as plans, here's what we have so far:

We are staying at POP Century. Our first choice would have been Port Orleans FQ, but they weren't included in the free dining. Next, we were going to try CBR because Tess recommended it so highly and we were excited to try it, but there were no rooms available with the FD. We do like POP pretty well, so it works for us. We love the dedicated buses and the food court. Plus, it's just a short walk to AoA resort where a really good DIS friend is staying...

Our dates are Sept 10th through the 17th. I plan to surprise Dan with MNSSHP tickets, but haven't decided which night yet. Therefore, I won't be telling him about this PTR. (Good thing he is so swamped at work, he really doesn't have time to get on the DIS)

I haven't decided if I want to upgrade to the regular dining, but have made ADRs already, just in case. We've never done just the quick service meals and I'm thinking we'd rather have table service as well. We're kinda spoiled that way!

So, Mo, how was that for a start? I need you to motivate me in the sewing room as well as on the DIS. You get so much done it astounds me!! I'll try to figure out how to link to here from my current TR. Wish me luck! And everyone have an outstanding day!!

Have I mentioned how EXCITED I am????

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[lovedonaldduck]

I am here! I am so excited for you too! You definitely need a do-over after being so sick on Charlotte's birthday trip.

I would definitely upgrade to the regular dining plan, it probably won't even cost as much as a free dining trip at POFQ or CB, had they been available. Even with 2 little ones, we very much enjoy the break a daily sit down meal gives us.

Pop will be great and the AoA food court is awesome and just across the bridge, as well as some other people we know with a big September trip!

MNSSHP will be a great surprise! As soon as my girls have a better tolerance for a late night, we'll be headed to another MNSSHP - so much fun.

So excited to see what all you will plan for your trip!

 

[disneychic2]

I am here! I am so excited for you too! You definitely need a do-over after being so sick on Charlotte's birthday trip.

I would definitely upgrade to the regular dining plan, it probably won't even cost as much as a free dining trip at POFQ or CB, had they been available. Even with 2 little ones, we very much enjoy the break a daily sit down meal gives us.

Pop will be great and the AoA food court is awesome and just across the bridge, as well as some other people we know with a big September trip!

MNSSHP will be a great surprise! As soon as my girls have a better tolerance for a late night, we'll be headed to another MNSSHP - so much fun.

So excited to see what all you will plan for your trip!

Hi Jennifer, so glad you are here! Dan said he didn't want to do the MNSSHP, but we had a fabulous time last time we did it and I'm sure it's just that he's trying to keep this trip a little less expensive since we're gong again in April next year. So I think he'll really be glad I did it. Now to just decide which day to do it. I have three to choose from.


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I came across something that I thought would be helpful for all of us:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3289788

It's a thread detailing one person's use of FP+ and how they used 11 fast passes in one day at MK. It really is informative.


Okay, I need help deciding: Do I add regular dining to our trip?? Thanks for your input Jennifer! Here's the arguments for and against.

For: We have done Disney with the regular dining since they first started offering it and loved it. We really enjoy sitting down and having a nice diner and trying new restaurants. We would gain the extra cost back over two or three meals.

Against: There seems to be a certain freedom in not having to be at a certain place at a given time. It's an added expense and would require more $ for tips as well.

Now, I'll be honest, I had to really think hard for the negatives, but I would love to hear from anyone who does not do the dining and see what you think. If I add this, it would be a surprise for Dan as well. When we changed our dates, we saved just a little on our package. We also changed airports with the change of dates and where we were going to travel 2 hours and stay overnight at a hotel, we are now leaving out of the airport that is 8 minutes from our house, so we are saving that money. (even though our plane tickets cost $50 more than originally) Soooo, it would only be $211 to add the dining. What do you all think? TIA



Ok, so here's what I've been working on in my sewing room lately:

This is a pillow to go on our bed. I just love it!



Here is something I made for DGD Charlotte at her request: a hot pink sparkly skirt. After the photo, I added another tier of ruffles to make it a bit longer.



And a beach towel for DGD, Caroline:



Okay, now I really need to get to work. Today is

Have a great day everyone!

 

[DMGeurts]

Yay!!! I am here - you sneaky girl you!

So bummed that we will miss eachother, but so happy you get to meet Mo and Tess... Wish I could stay in Disney longer... Or fly down again and meet up with you all - that would be so FUN!

I agree- you totally need a do-over! This is going to be a great trip!

I've opened that thread in a new tab so I can peruse it later.

D~

 

[Iamthequeen]

I'm here too! I'm so excited that we will be there at the same time! I'm on my phone so I'll post more later...

 

[lovedonaldduck]

We don't always do the dining plan. When we don't, I always plan to put the cost of the dining plan on a Disney gift card to use towards meals. I never acutally do that, but I always mean to. Typically, I just use the dining plan cost as our food budget. I upgraded our dining plan for our AoA stay, I just can't do without the sit down meals and I think you still get a great value - even though it's not "free" anymore.

I'd avoid weekends for MNSSHP - that way you don't have to deal with the locals or semi-locals (like us!).

Love what you've been working on in your sewing room. Charlotte's skirt is my favorite! Hard to go wrong with a spakly pink skirt!

 

[DaisyDuck001]

Subscribing!

 

[Iamthequeen]

Since we are dvc now we aren't eligible for free dining, but we had decided not to get it this time anyway. We could purchase it, but honestly its just too much food for us. By the end of the week I feel like if I eat one more thing I'm going to burst.

That said, we do have adrs for each day - some for breakfast, one for a late lunch and the rest for dinner - but, I don't feel as though I "need" to eat an entrée and dessert at every meal. I can order what I want, which is not always the case if you are on the ddp. I kept track last year of the costs of our meals, and for the 2 of us, it equaled what the dining plan would have cost if we had to pay for it. That said, we probably will not get desserts at every meal, and more than likely will share at some meals, so I expect that our costs will be slightly less - plus we get a 10% discount at most restaurants.

I don't think I could eat quick service for every meal either.

Not sure if going to Blizzard Beach after the MNSSHP is such a good idea either, but I plan to spend most of our BB day floating on the lazy river anyway. And, we could change our plans and do that on Thursday. I will have to make fp+ in a couple of weeks though, so I guess I should put together some type of plan. Though honestly, we've never had to wait very long for most rides when we go early in September. I will do fp+ for TSMM and a couple of other rides - Soarin' probably and Splash Mountain.

I'm so happy we will have a chance to meet up! Are you on Facebook?

 

[disneychic2]

Yay!!! I am here - you sneaky girl you!

So bummed that we will miss eachother, but so happy you get to meet Mo and Tess... Wish I could stay in Disney longer... Or fly down again and meet up with you all - that would be so FUN!

I agree- you totally need a do-over! This is going to be a great trip!

I've opened that thread in a new tab so I can peruse it later.

D~

Hi D~! So glad you're here! Now get to work in that sewing room!

I know, it would be fantastic if you were there at the same time! What a blast that would be!!

I'm here too! I'm so excited that we will be there at the same time! I'm on my phone so I'll post more later...

Hi Tess! I'm excited too!! Can't wait to get my plans all complete so we can make a date to meet up!

We don't always do the dining plan. When we don't, I always plan to put the cost of the dining plan on a Disney gift card to use towards meals. I never acutally do that, but I always mean to. Typically, I just use the dining plan cost as our food budget. I upgraded our dining plan for our AoA stay, I just can't do without the sit down meals and I think you still get a great value - even though it's not "free" anymore.

Dan and I share our QS meals, one for breakfast and one for lunch. We find that is plenty for us. Then we usually each have the table service meal. This leaves us with absolutely no room for snacks and we end up taking lots of Mickey rice crispy treats home. We do enjoy sitting down and having a meal in a nice restaurant, so I probably will go ahead and upgrade. I still have time to decide. Thanks for the input.

I'd avoid weekends for MNSSHP - that way you don't have to deal with the locals or semi-locals (like us!).

HaHa! Yes, I sure want to avoid people like you!! Actually, I would do it on a weekend if you could come for it! I think two of the three options are weekdays, so it will probably be one of those. I just love that party!!!

Love what you've been working on in your sewing room. Charlotte's skirt is my favorite! Hard to go wrong with a spakly pink skirt!

I know, right? A little bling never hurt anyone! Thanks for the love!

BTW, how's your Mom doing? And how did the EMT visit go for Charlotte? Hope all is well.

Subscribing!

Hello, and welcome! I hope you'll drop by often so we can get to know you. Are you planning a trip to Disney soon or are you like most of us on the DIS, just crazy for Disney and loving spending time with like-minded people? There are some fantastic people here on the DIS! So, please feel free to join in and add your opinions or suggestions any time.

Since we are dvc now we aren't eligible for free dining, but we had decided not to get it this time anyway. We could purchase it, but honestly its just too much food for us. By the end of the week I feel like if I eat one more thing I'm going to burst.

That said, we do have adrs for each day - some for breakfast, one for a late lunch and the rest for dinner - but, I don't feel as though I "need" to eat an entrée and dessert at every meal. I can order what I want, which is not always the case if you are on the ddp. I kept track last year of the costs of our meals, and for the 2 of us, it equaled what the dining plan would have cost if we had to pay for it. That said, we probably will not get desserts at every meal, and more than likely will share at some meals, so I expect that our costs will be slightly less - plus we get a 10% discount at most restaurants.

I don't think I could eat quick service for every meal either.

That's our problem too. We feel stuffed with all the food on the regular dining plan. And we share our QS meals, one for lunch and one for breakfast. Unless of course we're lunching at BOG and we both get a meal for lunch there because I refuse to share my braised pork!!! I know we would do fine with QS and adding in a couple of ADRs here and there, but for $200, I almost HAVE to upgrade. Isn't this a good example of a 1st world problem??? I need to get a grip!

Not sure if going to Blizzard Beach after the MNSSHP is such a good idea either, but I plan to spend most of our BB day floating on the lazy river anyway. And, we could change our plans and do that on Thursday. I will have to make fp+ in a couple of weeks though, so I guess I should put together some type of plan. Though honestly, we've never had to wait very long for most rides when we go early in September. I will do fp+ for TSMM and a couple of other rides - Soarin' probably and Splash Mountain.

Oh yes, I do love me some lazy river! We usually go to TL just because we love the slide that goes uphill as well as down. Crushin Gusher I think it's called. But anywhere there's a lazy river is fine with me! Yes, the beauty of September (and the reason we put up with the heat) is the walk-on rides. We are kinda spoiled for anything else.

I'm so happy we will have a chance to meet up! Are you on Facebook?

I am so excited about meeting you and Charlie!! Can't wait till we get something firm lined up! I'll be finalizing my plans this weekend and then we'll go from there.

 

[disneychic2]

Oooops, I totally forgot to update.

Nothing on the Disney front, but wanted to let you all know I will be gone all weekend for a little get-away that I planned way back in March for Dan and I. We will be staying at a place called The Inn at Honey Run which is in the heart of Amish country. We are NOT taking any laptops and only have our phones in case of emergency (and GPS of course! haha). It's going to be so much fun to spend 2 1/2 days of uninterrupted time with my Prince and my hero. He has been working soooo hard for soooo long, so this is just the thing!

Happy Fathers' Day to all the hubs out there and I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!!

 

[lovedonaldduck]

Enjoy your weekend away! How awesome for you and Dan to have that time together.

My mom is doing ok, but to be honest, I thought she'd be improving more quickly. She said she is still getting exhausted just going to the grocery store. I'm not sure if we'll be spending time with them this weekend or not, DH is leaving Sunday afternoon to go out of town for the week so I want the girls and I to spend as much time with him as possible before he leaves.

The fluid in Charlotte's ears is impacting her hearing. I believe the audiologist told us she should be hearing in the 20-25 decibel range and right now she is hearing in the 30-40 decibel range. The doctors think that with the tubes she will recover that hearing without any issue. Her surgery is scheduled for July 14th.

No MNSSHP for us this year. We went when Peyton was 3.5 and it really just wasn't worth the cost for us. By the time Hallowishes was done, she just wanted to go back to the hotel and sleep. Luckily we were staying at BLT, so DH walked her back to the hotel and my parents and I stayed for the parade and did a bunch of rides walk on before calling it a night. I'd like to wait until I feel like the girls will at least be interested in trying to stay up until midnight - maybe in a couple years when Charlotte is 5?

 

[disneychic2]

Enjoy your weekend away! How awesome for you and Dan to have that time together.

Thanks! It was so awesome! We had a fabulous time and the weather was perfect. Couldn't have been better unless it was for a longer period of time.

My mom is doing ok, but to be honest, I thought she'd be improving more quickly. She said she is still getting exhausted just going to the grocery store. I'm not sure if we'll be spending time with them this weekend or not, DH is leaving Sunday afternoon to go out of town for the week so I want the girls and I to spend as much time with him as possible before he leaves.

It seems to take so long to fully recover from a hospital stay of any duration. I certainly hope and pray that your Mom is getting stronger every day. And I do hope that you got to spend lots of time with your little family before hubby had to go. That is so important.

The fluid in Charlotte's ears is impacting her hearing. I believe the audiologist told us she should be hearing in the 20-25 decibel range and right now she is hearing in the 30-40 decibel range. The doctors think that with the tubes she will recover that hearing without any issue. Her surgery is scheduled for July 14th.

Oh, bless her heart. I can see how much it helped our little guy next door, so I'm hoping it will help Charlotte's hearing and the infections. I think the surgery will be harder for you than her. I'll keep you both in my prayers for sure!

No MNSSHP for us this year. We went when Peyton was 3.5 and it really just wasn't worth the cost for us. By the time Hallowishes was done, she just wanted to go back to the hotel and sleep. Luckily we were staying at BLT, so DH walked her back to the hotel and my parents and I stayed for the parade and did a bunch of rides walk on before calling it a night. I'd like to wait until I feel like the girls will at least be interested in trying to stay up until midnight - maybe in a couple years when Charlotte is 5?

Yes, I can see where the little ones would need to get to bed long before the party was over. Probably when Charlotte is 5 would be much better. Even though it's an awesome party, the tickets are so expensive that you'd definitely want to get your full value. I know I would. When Dan and I went (and our grown son Jeremy) we stayed until it was over and it was just so special to be there with hardly anyone there.

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So, we are back from our get-away weekend that was all we'd hoped it would be. We even got some pixie dust in that we were booked in just a regular room in the inn but we were upgraded to a room away from the main building to what they called the honeycombs. I'll post pictures later. Dan is downloading all my photos right now, so it will be tomorrow. But you guys have to see this place! It was very secluded and we didn't know it, but no one under 21 was even allowed to stay there. It was very posh and I had a little too much to drink one night (which for me is anything beyond 1 1/2 glasses of wine haha). We only saw another couple once and that was on our last day there. It was heaven.

We returned home yesterday and our daughter Emily and her DH Josh and Charlotte and Caroline arrived a few hours later to stay for a week. Sooo much fun!! So I'll be on here sporadically while they are here since I want to spend as much time as possible with them.

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Disney update: So, while we were together this weekend, we discussed our trip and Dan said to go ahead and upgrade to regular dining. He was surprised I had already booked our ADRs….just in case, you know. I like the ones I have, but they are all subject to change if I happen onto something I like better. We all know how that goes, right? I still haven't decided on a date for our MNSSHP, but will soon.


Hope everyone has a good evening and a great day tomorrow!!

 

[lovedonaldduck]

Glad you had a nice weekend away - can't wait to see pictures.

Enjoy your time with your family while they are in town!

Glad you officially decided to go with the regular dining plan - I'm sure it will be worth the cost to upgrade!

 

[Iamthequeen]

You need to come down one day early and go to MNSSHP with Mo and me.

 

[disneychic2]

You need to come down one day early and go to MNSSHP with Mo and me.

I would sooo love to do exactly that!! Dan is a little constrained at work with dates, so it will have to be what we have.


Here are the pictures of our weekend place I promised a week ago!! Sorry they're so big, photo bucket was not cooperating!

Our room was the next to the last one on the bottom. There are only 12 rooms in the honeycombs, six on top and six on bottom.



We did turn the fireplace on briefly, just to say we did!



This is our very private patio. We spent early mornings and evenings here.



This was the walk to reach the main building and the restaurant. It was very steep!



My cutie:



So, probably more pics than you wanted, but there you are!

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DISNEY….I keep having this nightmare where I totally forget my 60 day window and we end up with FP for things like It's a Small World or Captain Eo!! I have it marked on my calendar and my phone, so I should be ok.

I'll be back tomorrow or Monday with an update on our plans for each day. What they are as of now, anyway. I am still thinking about what Tess said about coming a day earlier….can't seem to get that out of my mind. But I'm 99% sure Dan can't make a change at this point. We'll see.

Hope all of you have a wonderful weekend, what's left of it. And I'll probably be back Monday to update.

 

[Iamthequeen]

That weekend place looks awesome. Where is it? I didn't go back to read ...

It would be great if you could come a day early, but don't stress about it. We will still be there at the same time!

 

[lovedonaldduck]

That patio is amazing! What town was that in?

You will not forget to make your FP+ reservations - if you even start to, I'm sure someone here will remind you!

 

[disneychic2]

The Inn at Honey Run is in a little town south of us called Millersburg. It's about an hour away from us, but it is so off the beaten path, it seems like it's in another world. It was great!

I am slowly getting used to the empty house again. Although our neighbor brings her little boy over (he's Caroline's age) and that's fun. She's going to have another baby in January, so we are really excited for them! We borrow their baby and little dogs and they borrow Dan's tools! Works out great!

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HOLD THE PHONE…………….BREAKING DISNEY PLANNING NEWS

I was playing around with flights, as I tend to do, and we ended up changing our flights again. What??? Yep. We are not flying from the airport that is 8 minutes away from us any longer. The best flight we could get from there stopped at Atlanta and (after leaving at 6:10 AM) got us to Orlando at 5 minutes before noon! By the time we got to a park, it would be fairly late (to us), sooooo

We are now driving down to Columbus as originally planned, staying in a hotel and flying out the next morning at 7:10 AM and arriving (non-stop, baby!) at 9:15 AM. Much better arrival time and only a little over 2 hours instead of well over 5 hours spent getting there! Dan wasn't crazy about driving the 2 hours to Columbus at first, but he thought about it and he was the one who said to change it. We also saved $92 by switching. The cost of our hotel is right around what we would have paid for parking, so it's a win win.

Okay, so our first day will start at Magic Kingdom. It is always how we start our trips if possible. We plan to have lunch at BOG, but beyond that, we'll play everything by ear. We probably won't stay for the parade and fireworks the first night because it will have been a long day and I won't have slept much for being so excited. On the other hand, if we feel like it, we'll stay. I just love the fireworks and parade!

Now then, here's where I could use a little input. Or a lot. MNSSHP dates we have to chose from are: Friday, Sunday or Tuesday. I was thinking Tuesday would be the best choice since it's middle of the week. What do you all think? I've heard the crowds can get pretty big on the weekend, but this is early in the month and may not be as crowded. Any thoughts would be welcome!

I haven't even started thinking about what to wear or what I need to buy. I did see some swimsuits on D~'s report that I would love to look into. I got some Thorlo socks and have been wearing them the last couple of days and they are working out great! (Thanks Terri!)

That's it for now. I should be doing something other than DISing right now, so gotta scoot. Hope you all have a great evening!

 

[Iamthequeen]

on getting a non-stop flight! and getting to Disney earlier in the day. I usually plan on getting an early flight out too. We are planning to drive this trip, so I don't have worry about flights.

We always start out at the MK too on the first day and end there on the last day, although when we went in March we were only there for 4 days and there was not an opportunity to get back to the MK on the last day.

Sounds like a good trade off with your neighbors - kids and dogs for tools!!!!

 

[Chicago Mo]

How have i NOT replied on this report?!?!

i swear i have?!? I know we were messaging back and forth but DANG IT i haven't posted here??? Geesh what a bad Dis'er! SORRY!!!

I cannot believe we will all be in Disney TOGETHER!!! I AM SO SO HAPPY!!!

Sorry D~ i know your upset about this...
Yet you did do Disney with Suzi...

I think a Tuesday for the party is a great idea!!!