Where in the world did this ticker come from? UPDATE NEW TRIP REPORT STARTED!!!!!

Isn't it aggrevating when life stuff gets in the way of Disney? ;) Hope your new job is working out fine.

Can't wait for some ADR updates! :)
 
Woo hoo for being less than two months away from your trip!!!

Hope the new job is going well and looking forward to an update this weekend.
 
I LOVE wrinkle releaser! I buy the huge bottles at dollar general (off brand) they're tons cheaper and work just as well.

I hadn't thought about this, but I will be checking it out and hoping they have it at our Dollar General. I'm sure Trent would appreciate a big bottle of it to take with him on his new journey. :)



Sorry I have been gone but just wanted to pop in and let you know that I have been super busy with starting a new job this Monday, buying a new car, and just the usual craziness of life! I will be on this weekend with an update as I have made a few changes to our ADR's. I also found some old pics from my 2nd visit to Disney in 1978! I was trying to find the ones from my very first visit in 1975 but they must be at my mom's....


And.........I am less than 2 months away!!!!!:cool1: nut! I hope everyone is having a great week! Be back soon.

It will be so fun to see the 70's pictures! :yay:

New car, new job...sounds like life is treating you well right now. :thumbsup2
 
I just got caught up on your PTR! I love all the pics of POR. I can't wait to see it in person. It looks gorgeous! We will only miss you by a day!

They loved POR, my husband kept grilling Andrew when he got home about the resort, asking him if he would rather stay there on our trip. Andrew was on to him though, and told him that although POR was great, his dream is to sta at AKL. that's my boy! :thumbsup2

too bad we wont be there at the same time, I have never had a Dis meet!

Isn't it aggrevating when life stuff gets in the way of Disney? ;) Hope your new job is working out fine.

Can't wait for some ADR updates! :)

I know! I am sure it has been said before, but if only we could all get paid to Dis! I would be rich from clocking in all this over time!

Update coming right up!

Woo hoo for being less than two months away from your trip!!!

Hope the new job is going well and looking forward to an update this weekend.

The job is going good,thank you for asking, it was a crazy first week though as we had lots of after school activities and things to keep us busy right up to bed time! By Friday I was wiped!

I hadn't thought about this, but I will be checking it out and hoping they have it at our Dollar General. I'm sure Trent would appreciate a big bottle of it to take with him on his new journey. :)





It will be so fun to see the 70's pictures! :yay:

New car, new job...sounds like life is treating you well right now. :thumbsup2

you need to check out the Downy Wrinkle Release- they have it at Target in the travel binds and I think the small ones are about $2.00. I haven't tried the dollar store version yet but I am sure it is just as good.

70's pics coming right up!
 


I thought I would share a little bit about me and how my love for the mouse all began.

I have been going to Disney since I was 2 years old- with my first trip in 1975…I feel ancient! We went every year with my aunt and cousins (who were like my sisters). My aunt worked for the now defunct Eastern Airlines, she only had to pay the taxes, and we paid full airfare.

Here are some old pics that I was able to dig up- I could not find the ones from my first visit in 1975-, which makes me sad, but my mom thinks that they may be in storage somewhere?

Now keep in mind that these babies are over 30 yrs old! They are not the best, but those of you following along should be grateful that my mom took any at all!

Warning…Pic overload!

These are from our trip in October of 1978- classic!

Here is my mom in all her 70’s glory posing in front of the castle

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This one is of my cousin ( she would die if she knew I posted this, she happens to be drop dead gorgeous now!)

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If you hold the computer screen flat to your face and squint, you may be able to see my family in this pic, I am in the stroller next to my aunt in the red tank top

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Some retro looking Disney Parade pics….


It must have been the Big Cheese’s Birthday!

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My mom, my cousin and me, posing with Donald in front of the firehouse near the entrance….


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Here is one of just my cousin and I ( and a strange boy) posing with Donald:

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Some from the Jungle Cruise ( I could have posted ones from our last trip in 2009 and you probably wouldn’t have know the difference! Ha)


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Disney Stroller- the 70’s version……


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Waiting for the evening parade- this one is not so great but I loved the expression on my face! ( which did not scan too well)


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One of the evening parade-I don’t think they did the Electric light parade back then but they must have had a special night parade?

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Ok here is one from our 1975 trip I just realized – it is one of my cousin and Tigger over by the TTA- her hair is shorter and she looks younger than the other pics

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Again she is making the goofiest face!

And Tigger looks free- no handler with him! Look at how you were able to crowd around the characters back then- insane!



Mainstreet, circa 1978

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I have a few more, and although these are not from the MK they are from our Florida trip.

Back then there was no EPCOT, no Animal Kingdom, No MGM aka Hollywood studios, but there was….

Weeki Wachi..

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and of course Sea World…

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and another staple on our visits was to the Kennedy Space Center…

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Oh and I stuck this one in- if you look close I am wearing my very first Disney Souvenir Tee….

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Oooh and I one from.... The Electrical Light Parade...taken in 1988. since this parade is making a comeback this summer I thought it would be fun to post these....


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Okay back to the story.... back then we never ever, ever stayed on property. It was almost taboo for my parents to pay that kind of money! As I got older I started to envy the resort guests with their Magical Keys to the Kingdom that seemed to do soooo much more than our lousy non-disney resort room keys. I vowed that when I was old enough ( didn’t say grown up cause I don’t think I ever will!) to take my family- that we were definitely, no matter what, staying on property! After I got married I soon realized that Grumpy was not a big fan of flying. Since we lived in NY at the time- driving with a young child was not really an option. My mom could not let her only grandchild miss out on Disney, sooooo every year- starting in 2000 my mom and I took Andrew to Disney. He was 8 months old at the time. We had fun, but I always felt bad for Grumpy missing out on things like the first time Andrew saw the castle, met Mickey, etc… Since my mom always treated us to Disney, we would of course stay off property. She always found great, mostly time-share type, resorts so that we could have a kitchen. We didn’t do the dining plan back then either, but hey, who was I to complain! We went every year, sometimes twice a year and had the best times!

In 2006 we made a move to NC and of course the first thing I thought was we are now within driving distance my most favorite place! I had booked free dining trip for the summer of 06 but had to cancel due to the move and something about $$$$$ ( that little detail seems to always get in the way) - that was so sad, I think I actually welled up with tears on the phone. The CM kept saying “are you sure you want to cancel, because once I do the offer is gone for good” ugh that was a horrible conversation. I knew eventually we would go, but it felt like it would take forever.


Finally, finally in 2008 I convinced Grumpy that we could take a trip to Disney without breaking the bank! I booked us at the All Star sports since Grumpy and DS are both sports nuts- I thought this would be perfect! We stayed for 9 days and had a great time. It was one of those exhausting versions of a Disney vacation, you know the ones that start with morning EMH and end with closing the parks every day!. When we got home Grumpy said he needed a vacation from that vacation! He had a good time but was not keen on the Value resorts. While we were there we toured other resorts, and I let him know how I had always dreamed of staying at the Beach Club. When we started planning our 09 trip he told me to go for it and book The Beach Club. We stayed there for 10 days – we used 4/3 deal and that saved us a good chunk of $$$. That trip was more laid back- not crazy touring, lots of time by the pool and leisurely evening strolls to Epcot. There was a heat wave while we were there and the temps stayed above 90 every day. Having SAB was the best! The drive home stunk, I hate going back to reality. That was also when Grumpy let me know that we would definitely not be doing Disney again next year and that he needed a break! Hahahaha….well here we are, less than 2 months away from our next Disney vacation!

Ok I will stop here and let you all absorb the magic of retro Disney. When I see you all again I will let you know about a few changes that have been made to our dining plans. Also our final payment date is coming up on March 9th- woohoo! Once I do that I will feel like we are good to go!

 


I have never had a Dis meet!



you need to check out the Downy Wrinkle Release- they have it at Target in the travel binds and I think the small ones are about $2.00. I haven't tried the dollar store version yet but I am sure it is just as good.

70's pics coming right up!

I hope you are able to have plenty in the future. We have met only the nicest of people!





I have been going to Disney since I was 2 years old- with my first trip in 1975…I feel ancient!



We lived in St. Pete when WDW opened, so we went in 1971. It was like the most exciting thing in the world! Little did I know where the Disney love would lead. I grew up watching Wonderful World of Disney, my kids grew up immersed in Disney, and now I am walking my grandchildren along the same paths I walked on that 1971 visit.

I love the 'old' pictures! I wish I had some from our trips. No telling where the few we probably took are.

Our church in St. Pete used to go to a camp at Weeki Wachee for retreats. We took innertubes and rode down the river in them in groups. You could see all the way to the bottom - crystal clear water! Those were fun times. :goodvibes
 
I love all your retro Disney pics. Isn't it funny to look back at them and see the changes? When I think of the Magic Kingdom it always seems to be completely unchanged, but then when I look at photos, I realize how much it has changed.

Had to laugh at the character pic with Donald and the strange boy. I have a similar one around the same time with Mickey and a strange boy. Like you said, those were the days when there were no handlers, and everyone just crammed in for a picture. :rotfl:

Hurray for the Main Street Electrical Parade!!! Oh, how I loved Alice on top of her mushroom!!! :lovestruc
 


The retro pics of Disney are fantastic! I love seeing Main St. and all the parade pics. Those parade floats sure have gotten a little more elaborate, haven't they?

Glad to see that "Grumpy" seems to have finally seen the light ;) On property is the way to go! :thumbsup2

Waiting to hear what sort of dining changes you've made......popcorn::
 
I hope you are able to have plenty in the future. We have met only the nicest of people!


I am looking forward to it- NC is pretty central as far as the East Coast goes :thumbsup2





We lived in St. Pete when WDW opened, so we went in 1971. It was like the most exciting thing in the world! Little did I know where the Disney love would lead. I grew up watching Wonderful World of Disney, my kids grew up immersed in Disney, and now I am walking my grandchildren along the same paths I walked on that 1971 visit.

I love the 'old' pictures! I wish I had some from our trips. No telling where the few we probably took are.

Our church in St. Pete used to go to a camp at Weeki Wachee for retreats. We took innertubes and rode down the river in them in groups. You could see all the way to the bottom - crystal clear water! Those were fun times. :goodvibes

I wish I remembered Weeki Wachee but I got nothing??? :confused3 Just pictures. My mom said we had fun times there though, and Circus world, and there was also something about an indian reservation recreation type place that we would go to also. I have to ask my mom what that was.


I love all your retro Disney pics. Isn't it funny to look back at them and see the changes? When I think of the Magic Kingdom it always seems to be completely unchanged, but then when I look at photos, I realize how much it has changed.

Had to laugh at the character pic with Donald and the strange boy. I have a similar one around the same time with Mickey and a strange boy. Like you said, those were the days when there were no handlers, and everyone just crammed in for a picture. :rotfl:

Hurray for the Main Street Electrical Parade!!! Oh, how I loved Alice on top of her mushroom!!! :lovestruc

I love looking at those pictures- they make me :).

That's funny that you have a strange boy in your character pics too!:lmao:

You are very lucky to that you are going to be able to see the Electrical Parade! I know I have more pics but it is killing me that I cant find them argghhh

Love all the flashback pics and stories!

Wow-the strollers have come a LONG way, haven't they?!?! :laughing:

OMG - they looked almost like little torture devices! Can you imagine how hot that metal must have gotten on a blazing August Florida day! And the vinyl! oh my, parents were probably peeling there kiddies out of those things! ouch!

The retro pics of Disney are fantastic! I love seeing Main St. and all the parade pics. Those parade floats sure have gotten a little more elaborate, haven't they?

Glad to see that "Grumpy" seems to have finally seen the light ;) On property is the way to go! :thumbsup2

Waiting to hear what sort of dining changes you've made......popcorn::

Up until this past Thursday he was still saying that we should down grade. ahhhh by I love my little man, he chimed in at just that right moment and said "but Daaaaad, that is where I have always wanted to stay, how cool will it be to go down at night with the night vision goggles and see the animals. "yadda, yadda, yadda, I loved it, Grumpy melted like butter in his hands! SOOOO as of right now we are still on for AKL- final payment is due on the 9th, right around the corner.

Love all the pics! I rode in one of those blue strollers when I was a kid!! :laughing:

we should start a "Disney Strollers Through the Years" thread!
 
I am still here, this is the PTR that is slowly chugging along! Not much to report these days, just a few ADR changes.

I have posted the changes in red next to the original ADR's:

Friday 4/23: Drive- leave NC at 6:00am and hopefully arrive by 3:00pm
Check in and head to DTD
Dinner: Raglan Road
6:00 pm
Disney Quest – closes at 11:00pm

Saturday 4/23:
Epcot 9:00 am- 9:00pm
Back to Hotel for Afternoon Swim
Dinner: Tutto Italia’s Epcot
6:25pm

Sunday 4/25:
Magic Kingdom 9:00am- 2:00am EMH
Lunch: Columbia Harbor House MK
Hotel Swim
Dinner: Ohana’s
7:15 pm
Wishes- 10:00pm

Monday 4/26:
Hollywood Studios 9:00-10:00pm EMH
Breakfast/Lunch: Starring Rolls
Dinner: Brown Derby 2 Credits DHS [COLOR="Red"switched out Brown Derby for 50's Prime Time- I hemmed and hawed over this one and eventually thought that I would rather do a 1TS credit so that we could add another one to another day. One day we will get to Brown Derby- I need that salad![/COLOR]
5:15 pm

Tuesday 4/27:
Typhoon Lagoon 10:00am- 5:00pm
Lunch: Leaning Palms TL- Grilled Cheese Pretzel
Snack- Donuts
Dinner: Counter Service at Hotel or Disney Quest
Disney Quest if Andrew wants to: Closes at 10:00pm

Wednesday 4/28:
Animal Kingdom: 9:00-8:00pm
Dinner: Bomas AKL
7:30pm

Thursday 4/29:
Hotel Pool
Afternoon: Magic Kingdom 9:00-11:00
[COLOR="Red"]Lunch: Plaza Restaurant 1:05pm- I added this one in because we have never eaten here and it is going to be a long day with dinner being so late[/COLOR]
Dinner: California Grill CR
9:05 pm -2 TS Credits
Watch Wishes at at 10:00pm from restaurant

Friday 4/30:
Typhoon Lagoon or Hotel Pool
Dinner: Shulas –The Dolphin Hotel We are now going to do Rose & Crown Epcot at 7:15pm instead of Shulas because-after calculating what we are spending on the vacation, Grumpy did not want to pay for any meals OOP. We all love Rose & Crown, so although this one is a repeat- it is a favorite of ours! Oh and I have a little story coming up about this place for you.
Epcot- EMH Closes at Midnight


Sat: Animal Kingdom
Dinner: ? Still undecided- any suggestions? The boys are not character friendly ANY Suggestions???????
Spend the evening by the pool soaking up the resort for our last night
I hate the last night- I wish there a way to bypass and just skip the last night.


Ok, a little fun little story to share.

This is from our trip in 2005, Andrew was about 5 at the time. It was just my mom, Andrew and I, and we were having dinner at Rose & Crown. This one is a must for my mom as I may have mentioned before, but she was born and raised in Scotland, so she really enjoys this restaurant a lot. We did not have an ADR as I don't think things were as crazy as they are now-you could walk up and put your name down and wait for a table. We requested an outside table as it was late, probably about 8:00pm is so we thought we would just stay and watch the fireworks from the table. Our waiter, his name was Fraser, and he was adorable! The irony is that Fraser is my mom's maiden name, and the waiter was named for his mom's maiden name, Fraser! Anyhow, he was young and adorable, I think I may have said that already, but he really was. He took a liking to Andrew and was just really sweet to all of us. About 8:45 he comes over and kneels down next to Andrew and asks him if he would like to start the fireworks at Epcot. OMG! :worship::cool1::thumbsup2:worship:
of course he would! Now we had no idea what the heck he was talking about, start the fireworks? :confused3

Fraser told Andrew that he would come get him in about 5 minutes or so. How exciting, we kept telling Andrew that he is going to start the show!
Ok so he comes and gets us, escorts us down towards the water and hands Andrew this red light saber looking thing. He told Andrew at 9:00pm the lights will dim, he will here the drums beating slowly then speeding up, and then he will give Andrew the cue to light the saber wand, and that signals the start of the show. I was able to snap a pic of that exact moment, here it is:


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He just thought he was the man that night! He also got a certificate that said he was just part of a magical Disney moment, I put it away for safe keeping, soooo safe that I cant find it :confused3:lmao: otherwise I would have posted that too.

Sooo here is a fun thing to do- next time you are at Epcot, look over at the UK pavilion right before the fireworks start and you will see a red wand out by the water. I did it last time and saw it and reminded Andrew of that special Disney moment that he was sooo lucky to have!
 
the changes to your ADRs look good! I love that pic of your son! That's so cool that he got to start the show!!

p.s. we probably will hit up the Epcot EMH on 4/30: friday. Might see you there! Other than that, our plans don't coincide! We never know...our plans may change!! My plans have changed sooo many times already! I'll let you know!
 
For that dinner on your Animal Kingdom day, what about Boma or Sanaa? Have you tried either of those before? Boma is my favorite buffet on the entire property!

What a neat story about Andrew starting Illuminations! I love it! :lovestruc
 
He just thought he was the man that night! He also got a certificate that said he was just part of a magical Disney moment, I put it away for safe keeping, soooo safe that I cant find it :confused3:lmao: otherwise I would have posted that too.

Sooo here is a fun thing to do- next time you are at Epcot, look over at the UK pavilion right before the fireworks start and you will see a red wand out by the water. I did it last time and saw it and reminded Andrew of that special Disney moment that he was sooo lucky to have!

I have hidden so many things from myself. :upsidedow It's nice to know I am not alone in that.

I hope you do get to stay at AKL, but if you don't, the trip will be every bit as fabulous. You could always do the last two nights there or just spend extra time visiting, since you have a Boma ADR anyway. Just getting to go and staying anywhere is a blessing.

Going to DTD is a nice way to spend the first night of a Disney trip, I think. It sort of gets the excitement going for what lies ahead.
 
That is so cool that Andrew got to do that in Epcot!:goodvibes

On your last night, since you want to hang around the resort, how about just eating at Mara? Or eat at Rainforest Cafe-there's the one at AK or you could head into DTD. That place is fun but not characters.
 
I second the Boma choice! :thumbsup2 Lots of variety for picky or not-so-picky eaters!

Love the story about Andrew "starting" Illuminations! It's little things like that that prove Disney cast members are the best!
 
Just thought I would pop in to say ................




















WE ARE PAID IN FULL!!!!! AKL Here we come! Woohoo!!!!!! :woohoo::yay::dance3::cheer2::banana:
 
Just thought I would pop in to say ................







WE ARE PAID IN FULL!!!!! AKL Here we come! Woohoo!!!!!! :woohoo::yay::dance3::cheer2::banana:

How very, very nice! :dance3:

I can't wait until the income tax comes back and I can say the same thing about Pop.
 

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