Waiting for the Other Shoe to Drop - UPDATED 9/27 About This Page:

[coastgirl]

So I’m thinking it might be fun to start a PTR. Can’t promise much, as I did a really detailed one for our first trip, and don’t recall doing it at all for our second trip or our DCL cruise...Ooops! Oh, and I should try to remember how to post photos...I'll try to dig up a couple of favs from our previous trips for the PTR.

The cast: Me , the obsessive planner , 45, mostly a SAHM, still working PT in continuing ed at a local university. Dh asked me why I wanted to go to Disney again and I said, in part b/c I get so much “added value” out of the planning! I’ve really enjoyed having an excuse to update my research, figure out what’s new, and what we should do this time around, now that the children are older.

Dh, a few years older (I try not to be sensitive about my age, but I don’t make the same choice for others!), loves to travel, loves to eat good food, loves to meet people and learn about how their lives are similar and different. Loves being a daddy and will do anything to make the kids smile. We were married in 1987 but didn’t have kids until 2000—too busy travelling and eating and such—but we both feel truly blessed in our children and do our best to appreciate our time with them.

Ds, 9 (as I type today is his birthday—always makes me weepy to remember the day he was born!). Currently a Lego freak, long a Stitch fan. (For years he would “speak Stitch” all the time, very puzzling to people just meeting him! But trust me, he still does a great Stitch impression.) I think his favourite thing on our previous trips was Innovations at Epcot. We did that robot race over and over! And still have an army of robot pieces in the family room. He’s a bit of a science geek, very bright and very creative. He also has sensory processing disorder, which requires support in school and good planning elsewhere, but Disney has been so “motivating” for him that IMO he’s handled it really well, only getting the over-the-top-crankies as much as any kid. But it’s something I always consider in the plans.

Dd, 6 (and a half!). My princess. She’s such a joy. A bit of a conundrum to me sometimes...she loves trying new things, until she doesn’t. But I can always count on her to do the girly stuff with me. I am already lamenting that this time, she’s probably too big to share a horse with me on Cinderella’s carousel. We rode it over and over on our first two trips. On that first trip, we eagerly lined up for Buzz, and to our great surprise, she HOWLED from the moment it started. (Fortunately she was in the seat with dh, not me! ) After that we avoided anything that could remotely be considered scary. The last day of our second trip we tried the Barnstormer, then BTMRR then Splash Mtn...and they both loved it. So, she now claims she wants to do EVERYTHING, right up to ToT and Everest. We’ll see...

We live in the burbs of Halifax Nova Scotia, “Canada’s Ocean Playground” (or so it says on the license plates). Dh and I have travelled fairly extensively in North America and not enough in Europe (dh lived in Germany for a year, so he’s had a lot more fun there than I). In 2006 we took our first trip to the World, a mega-split-stay, combo of a night at Pop, a few nights off-site in a condo, a few nights at AKL and a few at the Poly. None of us had been before, and it was lovely. The kids were 3 and 5. We went back in Jan/Feb 07 with my sister’s family, their first trip with their then 9 yo dd. My sister turned 50 that trip, and she and I spent her birthday at the Astronaut Training Experience in Cape Canaveral—we had a blast. We had two week at CBR that trip, and covered a lot more ground. Then in Dec 07 we decided to try DCL, which was nice, but I could not handle 4 people in an inside cabin, and won’t do it again until we win the lottery and can afford a bigger cabin! We also spent several days on Sanibel Island after our cruise, and that was really a lovely end to the trip--couldn't imagine two more different experiences, both wonderful in their own ways.

Last summer we did something different and spent two weeks in North Carolina and Tennessee, places we’d never been. It was a big exploring road trip kind of trip, and we had a great time. We met and stayed with “internet friends” I’ve known but not met for a decade...it was so much fun to connect with them and their kids, and to get their locals’ view of the places we visited. I almost couldn’t get the kids excited about going back to Disney b/c they’d rather go visit “Molly and Matthew and Zak and Rosie” (the former two, children, the latter, family pets!).


That trip was clouded by the end of dh’s project at work. We weren’t sure what would come of it, as the project was a huge employer at his consulting firm. He limped through the fall and Christmas securing a few little pieces of work, but the writing was on the wall and at the end of Feb he was finally laid off. He’s an IT business analyst, and he was “the last of his kind” to be let go as the work dried up, but eventually, the axe fell. It was actually a relief, as it had been up in the air so long. But Feb 09 was not a great time to lose your job, and did I mention I’m a SAHM with a teeny little PT job? It was also a terribly tough winter for me on a personal front, as my BFF died a week before Christmas, at 44, leaving 3 teenaged daughters.

So, it was a tough winter and spring, and I needed something to look forward to..started “blue skying” about going back to Disney, just to have something fun to think about. A friend of mine was thinking of a trip also, and we talked about going together for free dining. Honestly, it was the possibility of sharing a vacation with M and her family that made dh consider it. They are lovely people, with two great kids, and they live in Ohio, so the opportunity to visit with them would be a real treat. Dh, the responsible one of the family, wouldn’t book until he had a new job. I was confident it was coming soon, and if it didn’t we could always get our deposit back, right? But really, his request was a reasonable one, so I bided my time. There must’ve been three or four times we were SURE he had the job—but there are a lot of good folks out there looking, and my dh was disappointed a few times.

The original plan was to book at Pop. (I “sold” this as a bargain, remember!) But the free dining promotion had been around for a while, and I was worried we wouldn’t get a decent booking for the dates we’d picked. I had two dates in mind, one week in Sept, around a long weekend for the kids (the first PD day of the year), the second in Oct around the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend, at the very end of free dining. (With ds’ challenges in school I wanted to plan the trip around a “disruption” for everyone—after a long weekend all the kids are unsettled, and oddly, that makes the transition back a little less conspicuous.)

The first bump in the road (oh, besides the NO INCOME thing) came when my friend had to pull out. She needed a surgery, and thank heavens it turned out to be minor, but still, the co-pay ate their budget. Still sad we’ll miss them, have to find another opportunity. The second bump was the delay in booking...it was getting hard to get the dates we wanted at Pop. (I had our TA check a couple of times, but admit to checking often myself at the Disneyworld site.) And it made me cranky when I figured out even though free dining extended to Oct 3, anytime after Oct 1 you were paying “regular season” rate on the room. Did I mention I’m cheap?? When I told this to dh, he said, well, if I get the offer and Pop’s gone, we’ll upgrade to a moderate. The man knows better than to say these things lightly, b/c he KNOWS I will hold him to it.

Finally, we were less than a week out of our 90-day ADR window. I knew if I wanted to take advantage of free dining, we’d have to be able to make ADRs at 90 days. I was fretting, trying to keep it to myself, and feeling REALLY shallow , that I was so focussed on the trip when we had bigger worries. My little coping mechanism, I know, but still...

Our ADR mark is Saturday. Thursday he got the formal job offer! I made haste to contact our TA...


(You know how it comes out as this is a pre-trip report, but this is a good place to break. )

[coastgirl]

Just went looking, and apparently I didn't even post a trip report last time. Ooops. I did a pre-trip but can't find an actual trip report. My trip report from our first trip is here if anyone cares. The Enthusiastic AND Obsessive Rookies head to Disney. COMPLETE 07-05

(Actually I'm gonna go read it myself, I've forgotten so many of the details I'm sure...)

[Mickey's Princess]

cool i mean to do one of these everytime i go but poof! Its time to go and I never got to it. Good luck with yours - i look forward to reading it! You are there the same week as us!

[lissybri]

Great start. I'm so glad everything worked out and you will finally be able to go. I am so sorry about your BFF. That is so sad! I'm sorry for her daughters too. That must be horrible.

Can't wait to hear about your ADR's.

[Cam22]

Great start! So glad things are working out for you all!

[bsblady01]

more please

[chezp]

Great start. I'm glad things worked out for you.

[coastgirl]

Thanks for the encouragement everyone!

Originally Posted by lissybri

Great start. I'm so glad everything worked out and you will finally be able to go. I am so sorry about your BFF. That is so sad! I'm sorry for her daughters too. That must be horrible.

Thanks...it is an awful situation, and I still can't quite get my head around a young woman whose kids still need her, being gone.

Ok, onward...

[coastgirl]

...And darn it, we couldn’t get Pop! Dh is a good sport and CSR was a fairly easy sell. I’ve been watching the threads about the CSR reno, and the fresh rooms and queen beds really looked lovely. And the pool...and look, we could get CSR! (Well, not entirely...we could get the Friday to Friday we wanted, but we weren’t planning to come home until Saturday. I figured that would work out.) So we booked 7 nights, free dining package, at CSR.


This was within the first two weeks of the general release of the online dining booking engine, and it was still not available to those with ressies through a TA. (Is it yet? They were “working on it” but of course I lost track once I got mine set up.) We live in the Atlantic time zone, so morning comes an hour earlier here. Which means it’s 8 am when the dining line opens, and my 90 day mark was a Saturday, so it was a pretty leisurely call. We really wanted to try some new things, and most of our wish list was new. Not nearly as stressful as that first time I called trying to get CRT, free dining notwithstanding. I was up and ready, with my tea in dh's Mickey mug for luck, and was the first person to get through to the CM I reached, right on the dot at 7:00. DH of course couldn’t get too excited having just gotten his head around the idea of the trip, so he looked over my plans briefly, said “looks good” and left it at that. Got everything we wanted and was off the phone in 17 minutes. We’re not getting hoppers this time so the in-park restaurants had to coincide with park days.

• Sat Sept 19 Garden Grill 4:25
• Sunday Sept 20 50's Prime Time 5:35
• Monday Sept 21 1900 Park Faire 5:35
• Tuesday Sept 22 Tusker House 4:25
• Wednesday Sept 23 Olivia's 6:00 (dh's one choice, I MADE him make a pick. )
• Thursday Sept 24 (cue the trumpets) Le Cellier 5:00
• Friday Sept 25 7:45 am Ohana's Best Friends Breakfast

Since then I’ve monkeyed plenty. Looks more like this now...

• Sat Sept 19 Teppan Edo 12:10, Garden Grill 5:40
• Sunday Sept 20 50's Prime Time 5:35 (keeping this for now but will probably cancel)
• Monday Sept 21 1900 Park Faire 5:35
• Tuesday Sept 22 Tusker House 4:25
• Wednesday Sept 23 have a 2:30 at Sci Fi Diner to try it out, probably will only nibble to supplement CS lunch...
• and what dh and I are looking forward to the most, 5:00 booking at Simba’s for the kids, and 5:30 at Sanaa for the grown-ups.
• Thursday Sept 24 Le Cellier 5:00
• Friday Sept 25 7:45 am Ohana's Best Friends Breakfast

Now, backing up a little. First I have to say, the job offer dh got was terrific, and it’s working out really well. It felt to us like this was the one he was waiting for...which makes it easier to move ahead. We gave it a few weeks and then he asked for the week off. (He did mention a family vacation in the fall in his interview, but it seemed a bit forward to ask for the dates at that point!) No problems there, so we went to our airline points program (Airmiles for any Cdns). I was pleased to get the days we wanted for flights, and we could even get out after work/school on Friday, flying home on the following Saturday in the afternoon. The only problem is, we arrive really late, 11:40 pm, so that kind of messes up our sleep and I had hoped for a full day at Epcot the next day. I am resigning myself to a later start, and hoping the adrenaline of the first day will help.


The other problem with our plans is that ‘Ohana breakfast on the morning of our last full day. I still haven’t been able to secure that last night at CSR, the best I could do was a night at Pop. So while Disney will move our stuff, we’ll still have to check out of our room first thing if we don’t want to have to interrupt our morning. Plus getting there on bus...we are renting a car for a few days, but at the start of the trip. So at this point I am fairly pleased with the plans but still checking daily (usually more than once!) for the last room night, and a breakfast at Ohana on the Sunday or Monday.

So, new to us stuff this trip:

• DDP. Really having fun planning that to see if we can meet most of our needs through the plan. We will buy some snacks and breakfast stuff for the room to supplement, but I’m looking forward to being able to order any entree or dessert I want!
• Lots of new restaurants. Most looking forward to Le Cellier and Sanaa, as well as the 1900 PF and Garden Grill character meals. (Though someone’s recent review is making me consider swapping GG for Cape May—are the chipmunks regulars there?)
• Trying to do better with CS. We’ve generally regarded CS meals as “fuel”, and this time I’m trying to think ahead more as to what we’d like.
• CSR! Really looking forward to trying this out. I love the idea of the deluxe perks like the queen beds, at a mod price. Plus that pool looks awesome, and I love that the conventioneers will NOT be using the things we’ll want, like the pool and the buses.
• A full schedule. 7 days is our shortest vacation yet, and we decided to skip hoppers, so we’ve got two days at each park (one at AK, but that evening at AKL extends that in a way). I don’t know when we’ll fit in DTD. And I’m really hoping to spend some time with a high school friend who lives in Orlando with her dh and FOUR daughters. And then there’s that pool, and the potential mutiny if I try to keep the kids away from it for too long...
• Using the buses. We are renting a car for a few days, but not the whole trip as we usually do.
• A different take on the parks. Will the thrill rides actually work for my 6 yo? She really wants to try... I am not that thrilled, as coasters tend to make me sick, and the thrill rides tend to be high demand (longer waits). Looking forward to having so much new stuff to try, but I’m really thinking dh will be taking them and I’ll be waiting at the chicken exit!

I’m definitely getting that “value added” out of the planning, and have discovered the fun of all the “disigns” out there...planning on doing a couple of sets of t-shirts and making our own autograph books and such for the kids. Plus I have 6.5 weeks more to monkey with our ADR’s.

Today is actually our 45 day mark. I know really all it means is money out of our account, but being PIF makes it seem significantly closer.

[chezp]

Great plans - and nice dining choices. I'm so glad the job is working out.

[Mickey's Princess]

We pd ours last night - its just another milestone you pass on the way to a little slice of heaven on earth...enjoy the road to your trip - its one of my most favorite parts!

[lissybri]

Great plans. I love Garden Grill. We were there in 2007 and we really missed it. The restaurant itself is so cool and the character interaction is the best. Chip and Dale were there at the time. Also, if you have to get to the 'Ohana Best Friends Breakfast from Pop Century, why don't you consider taking a cab? We took a cab from SSR to Kidani Village this year (we were transferring hotels) and it was less than $20 with the tip and all. Most importantly though it saved us a lot of time. It really takes a while to get from one resort to another using the Disney buses. Don't miss the Best Friends Breakfast. It is our absolute favorite. Stitch was so much fun and the food is delicious.

[Principessa_di_Fata]

Your plans look great! I'm excited to hear how they pan out, and I really hope you get the last night at CSR! It's an absolutely lovely resort! Swoon!!!

[coastgirl]

Originally Posted by chezp

I'm so glad the job is working out.

Thanks, dh is really pleased and so am I...sometimes it feels like things happen for a reason. (Ok, I often feel that way...and it helps when you have no clue yet what the reason might be!!)

Originally Posted by Mickey's Princess

We pd ours last night - its just another milestone you pass on the way to a little slice of heaven on earth...enjoy the road to your trip - its one of my most favorite parts!

Yes, I really love the planning part...I used to think last minute trips would be fun, but now I'd feel like I missed out!

Originally Posted by lissybri

Great plans. I love Garden Grill. We were there in 2007 and we really missed it. The restaurant itself is so cool and the character interaction is the best. Chip and Dale were there at the time. Also, if you have to get to the 'Ohana Best Friends Breakfast from Pop Century, why don't you consider taking a cab? ...Don't miss the Best Friends Breakfast. It is our absolute favorite. Stitch was so much fun and the food is delicious.

Thanks for the endorsement, I'm a little iffy about the GG b/c dh wasn't thrilled by the menu, but it looks fun. The cab may be what happens...we can't miss Stitch. It's the ONLY meal we're repeating, I just realized...we've been 3 maybe 4 times in 2 trips (ok, I think we went before we went on our DCL cruise, we didn't visit the parks that trip).

Originally Posted by Principessa_di_Fata

Your plans look great! I'm excited to hear how they pan out, and I really hope you get the last night at CSR! It's an absolutely lovely resort! Swoon!!!

Oh, I'm glad you liked it. I started reading your PTR but didn't have time to get through it--have you decided where you're staying in the fall?

[Principessa_di_Fata]

Oh, I'm glad you liked it. I started reading your PTR but didn't have time to get through it--have you decided where you're staying in the fall?

We chose POFQ, finally. I'm excited to stay there!