YIPPEEE We are Finally Heading Home -- DVC Owners & Reservations At Last! 4/16 update

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Mary Ellen,

I don't spend much time on the boards anymore but I just caught up on your thread and wanted to spend a minute to comment.

First, congrats on your success with your surgery. I am so happy it is going well for you and you look amazing in your current license picture:)

Second, :yay: for buying into DVC! I am so jealous but so so happy for your family:goodvibes

Third, I didn't know you were going to be in Fl last week. Caitlin, my sister and myself were there last week and had dinner at 'Ohana at 5:15 Feb. 22. Too funny that we were both in the Poly at the same time. I considered staying at the Poly beach to watch the fireworks but we ended up going back to MK that night. I really do wish I had known you were there, I would have loved to meet you. I have a feeling we will be in WDW at the same time one day and will finally meet then.

-Diane
 
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Mary Ellen,

I don't spend much time on the boards anymore but I just caught up on your thread and wanted to spend a minute to comment.

First, congrats on your success with your surgery. I am so happy it is going well for you and you look amazing in your current license picture:)

Second, :yay: for buying into DVC! I am so jealous but so so happy for your family:goodvibes

Third, I didn't know you were going to be in Fl last week. Caitlin, my sister and myself were there last week and had dinner at 'Ohana at 5:15 Feb. 22. Too funny that we were both in the Poly at the same time. I considered staying at the Poly beach to watch the fireworks but we ended up going back to MK that night. I really do wish I had known you were there, I would have loved to meet you. I have a feeling we will be in WDW at the same time one day and will finally meet then.

-Diane

Diane - OH ! We WERE there at the same time! I wish I had known too.

I see you are running the Princess half next year --- Joe wants to start training for a Disney half & has been trying to talk me into running a 5K with him. I'm not quite ready to start running yet (literally, need to be faster at walking!) but soon. Maybe we will be there next year, but yes, we will meet there eventually!

We finally visited OKW last weekend - I haven't posted that yet (haven't written it yet!) but will. sneak peak: we loved it! :cheer2: (big surprise, right?)
 
Nice b-day weekend end... sounds like you had a lovely time...:goodvibes

Your new driver's license photo really is awesome...:thumbsup2

What first no Wawa's out of the area... and no hoagies? Submarine??? What is that supposed to be? :rotfl2:
 
Nice b-day weekend end... sounds like you had a lovely time...:goodvibes

Your new driver's license photo really is awesome...:thumbsup2

What first no Wawa's out of the area... and no hoagies? Submarine??? What is that supposed to be? :rotfl2:

I know, its so hard to travel to these places :rolleyes1 BUT there's hope. Wawa has started opening franchises in Florida. There is one in the Orlando area but not in the Disney area.

Wouldn't life be great if instead of yucky starbucks they served Wawa coffee in DisneyWorld? sigh:coffee: Love that wawa coffee! LOL


We had a great weekend. day two coming up :)
 


[FONT=&quot]Saturday Joe & I were up bright & early. He got up around 5 & headed down to the gym. I got up a bit later & met up with him in the gym about 5:45. I know it sounds obscene but when you’re up that early 5 days a week, the body’s internal clock just goes off! [/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]Joe finished his run before I finished my walk so he waited out by the pool & hot tub for me. We headed up to shower & get dressed for the day. I think Joe had a “pre-breakfast” of my leftover ribs from the night before. [/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]This morning we were driving to Keke’s Breakfast Café, about 15 minutes away from the downtown Disney area. Joe loves pancakes, so I had done a little online research and found Keke’s. The menu looked awesome! We had a very pleasant drive, and found Keke’s in a little shopping center. [/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]Joe already knew that he wanted the banana pecan pancakes. When I confirmed that the pancakes here didn’t come with eggs etc as they do at many places, I asked if he wanted eggs – I would order an omelet & he could finish it for me. I am trying hard not to pass off my food on my family but I know that he would normally order pancakes with eggs & meat so I figured this would be okay. [/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]The pancakes were pretty big here, so Joe ordered one. It was a good 8” across & more than ½” thick. I found a plain pancake photo to show you the size: [/FONT]
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When he was nearly done with this, he ordered a second! [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I ordered a greek omelet – fresh spinach, diced tomatoes, and feta cheese in a 3 egg omelet. I passed on the toast, but got the home fries because I knew Joe would like them. They were made with red potatoes and very nicely seasoned. I had to taste one, right! MMMM I found a photo online [/FONT]
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–just imagine no toast and then twice the amount of potatoes. It was tasty! I stepped away to the restroom & when I came back, my plate was empty & Joe was halfway through his second pancake. He was in heaven. Till the meal was over, then he wanted a cart to be wheeled out in LOL![/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]Best of all, the meal cost us less than $20. HA! Even with tolls on the highway it was cheaper than a Disney breakfast![/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]If you have a car and feel like venturing off property, look up Keke’s. there are about six locations in Florida, and 2 or 3 in the Orlando area. There were so many yummy things on the menu, we will venture back in April I think. I could see Katie enjoying the stuffed French toast on the menu for sure!(and maybe sharing a bit or two with dear old mom)[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]After breakfast, we hopped in the car and headed to explore what we are anxiously waiting to be our home away from home – Old Key West.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]While no rooms were available for us to tour (it was early yet and people were not even checked out yet alone housekeeping cleaning) we wandered the property and checked out the community room, game room, Olivia’s, the pool area – everything. We just fell in love with the property. We walked along around a few buildings past a golf hole, just taking in the scenery and the feeling of the resort. So peaceful and calming, even though it really was very busy there. [/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]Not that we’d had any doubts, but just walking around the property cemented for us that we had absolutely made the right resort decision. I have to give thanks to Mary Ellen, Kathy & Cynthia for their fabulous photos of OKW – they really did do justice to the property, but you can’t get the tranquility until you visit. [/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]Curiosity sated for the moment, we decided to move on. Time to visit another DVC property that had been on our wish list for touring. Okay, mostly on MY wish list for touring, but Joe was happy to go! [/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]After making a great big huge circle and stopping twice to google map where we were, we finally headed in the right direction – Animal Kingdom Lodge. Now you may recall that it took three trips before Joe really fell in love with the Animal Kingdom park, where as I loved it the first time I visited. He just is not into that tribal, earthy décor, and frankly, he hates “chant” style music – any chant style – like the popular Gregorian chants too. Or some of the celtic music I listen to. Just not his thing.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]When we pulled up to the AKL gate house I just love the Jambo greeting. Its catchy! We parked outside of the main lodge. The outside of the building is structurally the same as the Wilderness Lodge (to us anyway), but of course the décor is totally different. Joe was not keen on the “stick” look to the outside , but I liked it and felt it really did make the resort feel totally different and in tune with the Animal Kingdom/African theme. Inside is just gorgeous! Joe commented that he wished he’d had crayons & a paper to do a rubbing of some of the floor “medallions” -- I could not get a good shot but here is a sample of one from flickr:
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[FONT=&quot]My favorite was the circle of live design: [/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]We were both drawn to this huge umm would you call this a statue? More like a 3D mosaic in my opinion, but very cool and interesting:[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]We wandered around inside, checked out the fire circle and some of the africaan art displayed around the lobby. Then we went out to the observation area.
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[FONT=&quot]WOW. So calm and serene to be out there just watching the animals eating, butterflies were everywhere. Did I mention that the weather was absolutely perfect? Low 80’s, low humidity, warm breeze blowing pretty consistently. [/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]We thought this was funny – we were watching the giraffes, when the wart hogs started heading in and caught our attention. I am telling you this one giraffe walked closer to us, as if to say “hey, don’t watch those wart hogs, we are more beautiful, watch us!!” and as the wart hogs got closer and headed over to eat some grass just put out, the giraffe moved close to them, trying to reclaim our attention. It just struck us as funny.[/FONT]

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[FONT=&quot]We headed back inside for some nourishment. Well, food for me, Joe was still stuffed and just wanted something cold to drink. We went down to Mara, which was pretty busy. I grabbed a yogurt parfait from the refrigerated area & a diet coke for Joe and we went outside. We were going to sit by the main pool, but every seat was filled. We found an empty table with an umbrella near the kiddie pool and sat back, put our feet up and just enjoyed the scenery. Lots of fresh air, and it was fun to watch the little kids enjoy the pool. Two little girls  Im guessing 3 and 5, were playing, and big sister was showing little sister how to dip her feet in the pool and run in a circle outside the pool to see how long their footprints would show. The girls didnt speak English, but it was clear what they were doing and when big sister was trying to give directions to her little sister. [/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]We lounged for a little while and then circled around the pool area to the other observation area. Funniest looking duck I have ever seen  red billed African duck I think it was called.[/FONT]

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[FONT=&quot]Seeing all that pool time made us wish for a little ourselves, and by now it was noon and pretty hot in the sun, so we headed back to our own hotel for a little R&R in the sun. [/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]Sorry, no phone pix in a pool. It tends to void the warranty [/FONT]J[FONT=&quot] We hung out for a little while  Joe went in the pool first, but seeing him shiver told me there was no way I was going in any further than my ankles! So I sat on the side of the pool and chatted with Joe till he headed for warmer waters. I pulled my lounge chair over next to the hot top & hung out & read for a bit there till it started to fill up (2 teens, 2 tweens & a set of parents was full here!). [/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]We changed out of our suits & decided to walk up to Downtown Disney. Traffic was really busy in this area due to the Family 5K, Princess Half AND Daytona races  but DTD was pretty close, so a walk made sense. [/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]We hit the toy store first. Oh what fun stuff![/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]We could not resist a light saber battle, and a cast member offered to snap a few photos:[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]We wandered more and made mental shopping lists for our April trip, when wed have lots of souvenir space in the car. [/FONT]
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(I actually think these last two are from the Polynesian the night before based on what I am wearing. )
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[FONT=&quot]This is where my photos end. We wandered around and stopped in a new eatery in Downtown Disney: Pollo Campero / Bodies All American. This is counter service dining  chicken but with a latin flair. The food looked and smelled so good. They had a counter of drinks  beer, wine, smoothies, a bakery whose name escapes me but they had gluten free baked goods. And a counter with milk shakes  grown up milk shakes with liquors added. MMM Joe ordered a Banana milk shake made with Baileys Irish Cream. I took one sip  it was delicious, very rich and sweet. I contemplated getting a glass of wine and suddenly realized that I had done something VERY un Disney and un magical. I walked out of World of Disney with an unpurchased pin trading case on my arm!!! OMG I looked at it for a second in disbelief, then quickly abandoned Joe to his yummy drink and scurried like a rat to pay the Mouse. The cast member at the register seemed unphased by my confession -- I was so mortified! With purchase in hand, I headed back to Joe, but alas he was all finished with his shake, so we moved on.
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[FONT=&quot]We walked back to our hotel to freshen up for dinner. We had reservations at Johnny's Hideaway, which was located in that shopping center I mentioned at the top end of the road. We were a little afraid that we were under-dressed to go in, but once inside we saw guests in varying levels from casual to dressy for dinner. Our meal (sorry no photos) was delicious.
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[FONT=&quot]Joe had filet mignon wrapped in bacon with garlic mashed potatoes. I had added a seafood side to his dinner of shrimp and scallop scampi. The waiter seemed a bit puzzled but Joe explained that I only eat small portions. The food was fabulous. I did order a mixed drink, which took quite a while to arrive -- that was disappointing to me because it meant I couldn't finish it and it was very yummy.
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[FONT=&quot]For dessert Joe ordered a slice of pina colada cake. OH MY I tasted a bite -- five torted layers of yummy moist pineapple cake with a very creamy white icing in between and toasted coconut covering the outside layer. SOOO Yummy! Joe was feeling a bit guilty eating the cake alone, so I held onto my spoon (the waiter had brought two spoons) and pretended to eat it while we chatted. :rotfl2:[/FONT]

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[FONT=&quot]Traffic getting out of the shopping center was like getting out of the Lincoln Tunnel at Friday rush hour. OMG it was nuts. after a while I got tired of a particular lane of traffic not playing fair and well, did what I would do at the Lincoln Tunnel and totally blocked them off. Joe was like :scared1: but hey, you do what ya gotta do, right?[/FONT]

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[FONT=&quot]By the time we got back to our hotel is was a little after 9 p.m. Our thoughts of heading to the Boardwalk for evening entertainment were gone. We were more thinking about how early we had to get up - 5 am.UGH! We headed to the pool/hot tub area and called it a night.
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[FONT=&quot]Sunday morning was all business - up, shower, dress & on the road by 6 am. We had a very easy, uneventful flight home and thus our weekend getaway was over.[/FONT]

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[FONT=&quot]feels like ages ago today even though its only been 10 days.
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[FONT=&quot]Next up, more April planning :goodvibes
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What a wonderful update, MaryEllen. I am going to look up at that restaurant you ate breakfast at and check it out for our week in Florida as we do the "drive across the state" business trip. Mark is a huge pancake lover too.

I am so glad that you liked your visit to Old Key West; I can't wait until you actually stay there and you let us know what you thought.

I LOVE the AKL and we really hope to be back there in 2014 to celebrate the kids one year anniversary with them.

I love the hat shots and the saber fight. I think a good majority of us have probably done that walk out without paying mistake once in our lives.

Dinner sounds yummy...if not slow.

I know it wasn't a long trip, but so glad you were able to celebrate together.
 


What a wonderful update, MaryEllen. I am going to look up at that restaurant you ate breakfast at and check it out for our week in Florida as we do the "drive across the state" business trip. Mark is a huge pancake lover too.

Mark will not be disappointed. They have some yummy looking french toast and stuffed french toast options -- I want to take Katie so I can just taste off of her plate!!:lmao:

www.[B]kekesbreakfastcafe[/B].com

I am so glad that you liked your visit to Old Key West; I can't wait until you actually stay there and you let us know what you thought.
Having walked around we cannot wait to stay there. Fingers crossed that we can find a room there on short turn around when our DVC sale finally does close.

I LOVE the AKL and we really hope to be back there in 2014 to celebrate the kids one year anniversary with them.
I thought of you when were were watching the animals from the observation area. I so totally understood your love for the AKL having visited there. We spent quite a while just enjoying the quietness out there.

I love the hat shots and the saber fight. I think a good majority of us have probably done that walk out without paying mistake once in our lives.
I was shocked when I found that bag hanging on my arm. And of course for the rest of the day Joe would make comments like "now try not to steal anything" :sad2::rolleyes:

Dinner sounds yummy...if not slow.

I know it wasn't a long trip, but so glad you were able to celebrate together.
Dinner was just that - yummy (and slow) ;)

That short little weekend was just perfect -- it was a re-charge that Joe and I really needed.

Thanks for sticking with me.
 
I love that "The ladies think I'm fly" shirt. I really want to buy that one for my 13 year old, who is a swimmer, to wear atswim meets! (Now if only he would fly as fast as Dumbo!)

Aaaaccckk! Not paying the mouse? I bet your heart stopped! I know mine would have! But it was cool that the cashier was nonplussed by it. I wonder how often that happens at Disney? I bet a lot.

Well, all in all I would say it was a good weekend. My only complaint is that it wasn't long enough! Haha! I really enjoyed your report. But your right, now its time for more planning!
 
What a wonderful weekend getaway!!! Thank you for sharing it. I hope our weather in a couple weeks follows suit. :cloud9:

after a while I got tired of a particular lane of traffic not playing fair and well, did what I would do at the Lincoln Tunnel and totally blocked them off. Joe was like :scared1: but hey, you do what ya gotta do, right?

:rotfl2: Yes! You gotta do it sometimes!
 
I love that "The ladies think I'm fly" shirt. I really want to buy that one for my 13 year old, who is a swimmer, to wear atswim meets! (Now if only he would fly as fast as Dumbo!)

Aaaaccckk! Not paying the mouse? I bet your heart stopped! I know mine would have! But it was cool that the cashier was nonplussed by it. I wonder how often that happens at Disney? I bet a lot.

Well, all in all I would say it was a good weekend. My only complaint is that it wasn't long enough! Haha! I really enjoyed your report. But your right, now its time for more planning!
That shirt cracked me up.

I was so stunned about the bag, I seriously hightailed it back to the store to pay for its!

You're right, the weekend wasn't long enough but it was so perfect that it is holding us over till a real trip.

What a wonderful weekend getaway!!! Thank you for sharing it. I hope our weather in a couple weeks follows suit. :cloud9:



:rotfl2: Yes! You gotta do it sometimes!

You're there now!!!! Joe (mine) tells me several times a day what the weather is in Orlando. I think he has Orlando set as the default for his weather app! have a great time Brooke!:goodvibes


So many wonderful memories and Pics Mary Ellen...LOVE your smile!​




Thanks Judy! I was cooking up some Irish traditions all weekend for my polish/Italian/Portuguese hubby and family. They were all very glad to share a touch of my Irish yesterday -- corned beef, colcannon, soda bread, salad and whiskey cake with good Irish whiskey. mmmmm I had some leftover corned beef for dinner tonight too. love that stuff!

Hope you all have better luck than the Irish this year Judy (because I swear we Irish are all named Murphy!)


planning update coming, hopefully tomorrow if it stays as quiet at work as it was today. Now I promised my little girl I'd snuggle up with her for the night.
 
Now back to our regularly scheduled PTR/TR

First, the DVC update:

Last Friday, 3/15, we FINALLY received an e-mail with our closing paperwork.:cool1::cool1: Happily, it came before lunch, so I was able to print everything out, sign it & take it home to Joe at lunch time. He went to the bank, got the cashiers check & mailed everything express mail. (We could have done a wire transfer, but I wasn’t sure what was involved, and if it was complicated it would frustrate Joe.) :cheer2::cheer2:

I tracked the package & know it was delivered on Monday (the title company was closed on Saturday).

Naturally I followed up with our broker, who reminded me that first we had to wait for the seller to sign his end. :faint:DOH. This freakin guy is KILLING ME. It’s Wednesday now and I STILL don’t know if he returned his paperwork. AAAAAGGGHHH.:(

Have I mentioned that in 6 weeks we will be heading out in the car & driving to Disney World? :drive: With no idea where we will be sleeping yet? OMG its killing me! :scared:



Some housekeeping/planning stuff:

Parks: for our impromptu spring trip, we will not be buying park hoppers. Actually, we will not be buying park passes at all.

WHAAAAT? :confused3

Well, some of you may recall that Wilderness Lodge and then Disney Customer relations botched Joe’s birthday trip in 2011. Four different rooms, and our final one had some maintenance issues, and a few other things that didn’t happen that really should have. The final result was that Disney Customer relations sent Joe an email with three 7-day park passes for us, valid until 2032. YES! While Joe and I did go to the world in June, we didn’t have Katie with us, so we used military passes courtesy of my BFF Lesley (she & her hubby are both veterans).

So for the spring trip, we will use our comp passes. For the fall, we are planning to buy annual passes and get the full benefit by planning a ’14 trip that allows us to use the same passes.

I tried explaining some of the fuzzy Disney math to Joe about all this vs buying non-expiring passes but his eyes just sort of glazed over, and he said he knew I'd do the homework & make the best choice. LOL

Dining Plan or No??

Since our family eating style has changed quite a bit in the few months, I sat down one day and created a big old spreadsheet to help me get a grasp on what would be the most cost effective way to plan our Disney dining. I mean, who does not LOVE all the yummy goodness available at Disney? For sure, we do! But we also don’t need to spend money on big food plans when I for one can’t eat enough to justify the cost. So I needed to determine what would work best for our whole family – Joe and Katie as well as me. Plus we will be traveling with another family – whose dietary needs are not the same as ours, but close. I ran numbers for the QSDP, DDP, TIW + OOP – the works.

Here’s what I determined: TIW + OOP is the best bet, hands down with one exception. Character meals. That’s the big if. All of the character meals except CRT are buffet meals. A huge waste for me. But a huge source of enjoyment for the rest of the family. And they are expensive. About $100 for each meal for our family of 3. And we do have a tradition of visiting Akershus Banquet Hall to breakfast with the princesses. And while we love seeing characters, we (okay, Joe and Katie—I would totally wait in line) hate waiting in line to see them so seeing them at a meal is a win win.

Several dining experiences recently gave a great learning experience as to how much leftovers there are, even when I only order an appetizer. At least for now, it make sense for me to share (which means eat a few bites of) someone’s (like Katie) meal, or to order an appetizer as my entrée, and share that with the table.

I ran my whole spreadsheet past our friends (I was informed that I have a problem :rotfl2::rotfl2:) as we discussed our upcoming trip. I let them know that Joe & I would defer to their preferences for this trip, but happily everyone agrees that TIW + OOP is the way to go. I’m going to see if I can stock up on Disney gift cards in advance to pay for most of our food using them. Then we can all go to a nice sit down and I can order an appetizer and be satisfied.

I am also hoping to score a 2 BR villa instead of 2 studios (although that will force me to borrow from next year's points) -- then we will have a kitchen and will definitely not need the DDP as we will breakfast in the room and possibly do a few dinners there as well. Or at least have a place to store & re-heat leftovers! (Even with a DVC studio we’ll have a microwave so can make some in-room light meals & leftovers.) Our recent trip showed us a whole host of “off site” options for dining that really emphasizes the relaxation part of the trip. I don't feel a huge need to cook and do "housework" on my vacation, but also know that even having breakfast & some lunches in-room saves a whole lot of money and can basically "fund" the dinners out.

Question for you readers - Is it permitted to bring something akin to a hot plate with you? We have a big electric griddle that we use while camping. Great for eggs, pancakes, grilled cheese, burgers, all sorts of stuff. If we can't get a 2 BR, I am planning to bring this to use in our studios. Is this breaking any rules?


ADR’s
So even though we are not doing a dining plan, in the interest of planning for the "just in case", I made ADRs for each day that we are in the World. These plans may (and likely will) change, but its nice to have a plan in case you don’t want to change it!


Saturday – Rose & Crown, Epcot

Sunday – 50’s Prime Time Café

Monday – Tony’s Town Square (this one is most likely to be canceled. We ate there in '07 and remember not being wild about it. )

Tuesday – The Captains Grille

Wednesday – Yak & Yeti (this may end up being changed to the Rainforest Café, which is Katie’s favorite place to eat.)

Thursday – The Plaza (after reading all of KatMark’s reviews, we have to try it!)

Friday- Coral Reef

I have not pored over all of the menus, so haven't pre-decided what we will order. Actually, its a little shocking that I haven't done that, and I see that I have some work to do. Any suggestions???

 
I don't know how it happened but I somehow got unsubscribed. :confused3 With me....who knows? Anyway, I'm caught up and promptly forgot what all I wanted to comment on. Again...with me...who knows? :rotfl: So, I'll just comment on what I do remember which is UGH! for having to wait on the seller. Doesn't that guy know that you're anxious to see where you'll lay your head when you go to Disney? :sad2:

I used to do the whole "do we buy the dining plan or not" debate with myself but finally stopped. John likes to have a nice sit-down meal every night and likes knowing that everything is paid for ahead of time even if it would work out better if we didn't have the dining plan. For us, it cuts it pretty close so I'm good with that.

I like the looks of your ADRs. We really enjoyed our meals at 50s Prime Time, The Plaza and Coral Reef. The only one on your list that was just a "so-so" meal was Rose & Crown. To us, it was a little bland but we are from Louisiana and like our stuff spicy or covered in gravy. :p
 
I don't know how it happened but I somehow got unsubscribed. :confused3 With me....who knows? Anyway, I'm caught up and promptly forgot what all I wanted to comment on. Again...with me...who knows? :rotfl: So, I'll just comment on what I do remember which is UGH! for having to wait on the seller. Doesn't that guy know that you're anxious to see where you'll lay your head when you go to Disney? :sad2:

I KNOW!!!! Its just driving me nuts and I am really nervous that we won't be able to get any of the resorts that we want and we'll have to "blow the budget" with points and get into an ugly "borrow from next year into eternity situation. " I guess when you're buying a DVC you're so much more anxious than when you're getting rid of it. :confused3 But I seriously want to go knock on the man's door - he is only in the next state!!

I used to do the whole "do we buy the dining plan or not" debate with myself but finally stopped. John likes to have a nice sit-down meal every night and likes knowing that everything is paid for ahead of time even if it would work out better if we didn't have the dining plan. For us, it cuts it pretty close so I'm good with that.

This will be hard for Joe,too. He loves having everything taken care of and on one KTTW card. But cost wise its just crazy. It would take me a week of meals to eat the portions of one dinner. and I am trying very very hard not to have my family continually finish my meals - because they dont' need the calories, either!

I like the looks of your ADRs. We really enjoyed our meals at 50s Prime Time, The Plaza and Coral Reef. The only one on your list that was just a "so-so" meal was Rose & Crown. To us, it was a little bland but we are from Louisiana and like our stuff spicy or covered in gravy. :p


Good to know about Rose & Crown. I'll have to take a look at the menu more carefully because Joe and our friends all like their meals with more of a kick. Because it will be Flower & Garden show, who knows, maybe we will just grab "snacks" at the new kiosks & fill up that way.

Can you tell I'm having a quiet week at work? SHHHH I love being able to catch up! Lisa, I started back in on your TR again last night too - but sadly am only up to reading your October updates *though they totally made me giggle* & didn't get to post because I once again fell asleep with my finger on the keyboard!:joker:
 
I KNOW!!!! Its just driving me nuts and I am really nervous that we won't be able to get any of the resorts that we want and we'll have to "blow the budget" with points and get into an ugly "borrow from next year into eternity situation. " I guess when you're buying a DVC you're so much more anxious than when you're getting rid of it. :confused3 But I seriously want to go knock on the man's door - he is only in the next state!!



This will be hard for Joe,too. He loves having everything taken care of and on one KTTW card. But cost wise its just crazy. It would take me a week of meals to eat the portions of one dinner. and I am trying very very hard not to have my family continually finish my meals - because they dont' need the calories, either!




Good to know about Rose & Crown. I'll have to take a look at the menu more carefully because Joe and our friends all like their meals with more of a kick. Because it will be Flower & Garden show, who knows, maybe we will just grab "snacks" at the new kiosks & fill up that way.

Can you tell I'm having a quiet week at work? SHHHH I love being able to catch up! Lisa, I started back in on your TR again last night too - but sadly am only up to reading your October updates *though they totally made me giggle* & didn't get to post because I once again fell asleep with my finger on the keyboard!:joker:

As far as Rose & Crown goes, we did enjoy sitting outside to eat our meal and the fact that they had a roped off area where we could watch Illuminations. If it weren't for that, we would have been disappointed. But, then again, we like food with, like you said "a kick" to it. Or at least some flavor.
 
First of all - please forgive me for missing so many updates. I really enjoyed reading about your b-day weekend trip. What a great time!

Second - wow - big change in your driver's license photo. You are one of the few people I know that looks good in their license photo.

Congrats on getting the paperwork for your DVC resale. I hope it goes really smoothly.

Your ADRs look great.

Thanks for the updates!
 
First of all - please forgive me for missing so many updates. I really enjoyed reading about your b-day weekend trip. What a great time!
Oh no apologies necessary! I have turned into a DIS lurker on so many tr's, catching up when I can on my phone & nook in lines and waiting for basketball games. Life is busy and little trips to your online happy place shouldn't involve guilt or stress!:goodvibes

Second - wow - big change in your driver's license photo. You are one of the few people I know that looks good in their license photo.

I think the last time I took a photo that I really really like was in ninth grade. that's saying something! :dance3:

Congrats on getting the paperwork for your DVC resale. I hope it goes really smoothly.

UGH can you believe I still have not had confirmation that the seller returned his paperwork? :sad2:

Your ADRs look great.

Thanks for the updates!

thanks for popping over Mary Ellen!!:wave2:
 
As far as Rose & Crown goes, we did enjoy sitting outside to eat our meal and the fact that they had a roped off area where we could watch Illuminations. If it weren't for that, we would have been disappointed. But, then again, we like food with, like you said "a kick" to it. Or at least some flavor.
Maybe I should have planned dinner later so we could linger over fireworks. but the Flower Power Concert that night is members of Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) and so we adults are planning on hightailing it over to catch the last show, though sadly it was mutually agreed by all (well 3 of us anyway) to leave the gold lame shorts &roller skates at home. I"ll leave it to you to guess who was pushing for the shorts.:rolleyes1 (hint: not me)
 
AAGH Just a DVC update before I post my last bit of planning. I'm a bit grumbly about this I have to admit.

So the Friday before last (March 15) we received our contract. woohooo:cool1: we signed it, and immediately sent it back with our cashiers check for the DVC purchase. I immediately emailed the title insurance lady and my broker with the tracking number & let her know its to be delivered the next day (Saturday). No response.

On Saturday I see (from the USPS) that the title co office was closed. Okay, people are off Saturday.
On Monday I see that the package was delivered (love tracking numbers) but no message or email from the title lady confirming receipt. humph.

On Tuesday I email my broker, who in his reply to me copied the title lady and the seller's agent, letting me know that we were still waiting to hear from the seller, and had yet to receive his paperwork. He copied the other two so that they could follow up with an update.

On Thursday I follow up with all of them, asking if there was an update. Finally I hear back from the title lady saying she still hadn't heard from the seller, had called earlier in the week and would call again. Ok, I am not liking that bit at all!

On Friday evening I send an email to all of them, rather annoyed at this point, asking what is taking so long with getting this closed? I know that I used the word "ridiculous". I think I touched a nerve. :furious: On Saturday the title lady emailed me a long and detailed message about how much more complicated the seller's paperwork was, and that he'd told her that he sent them back on Thursday. Hmm, ya think that perhaps a bit of proactive messaging saying "paperwork is on its way" would have been nice?

So now Monday is nearly over. I don't know if they got the paperwork or not. still waiting. ergh. I will be so happy when this is finally all settled and we have our title and member number.

In related news, I had someone check on room availabilities for that week so at least I know that there are rooms available. That's a small relief to be sure!

coming next, our "want to do" list
 

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