Princess Billie & Her Royal Court ~ A Feb 2017 PTR ~ Update 7/24: That's A Wrap... Finally!

Elevationist

Princess No-Pants
Joined
Oct 17, 2004
::MickeyMo:butterfly::MinnieMo
princess: Princess Billie and Her Royal Court princess:
(Counting Down Until a 2017 Family Reunion and the Princess 5K!)
:cutie:
A February 2017 Pre-Trip Report



Hey, ya'll! Thaaaat's right, it's time for another @Elevationist pre-trip report!

So for those of you playing at home, I have me a group of NINE people this time (including myself). That's just one person away from double-digits. I need a drink just thinking about it. Don't get me wrong, I'm totes excited and thrilled that everybody is coming! But for my little introverted only-child single-lady solo-traveling self, it's definitely going to be different, and I'm not entirely sure what to expect! It'll certainly be an ADVENTURE, though!

WDW planning is my life. I work as a travel agent and my favorite part of my job are my Walt Disney World clients. I live in South Carolina, a mere 5-hour drive from WDW, but despite that fact I typically can still only do 1-2 trips each year. Because, like, bills and responsibilities and adulting and stuff. I am a single gal (bordering on old cat lady status), but I don't let that hold me back from going "home" and enjoying the one place on the whole planet where I feel truly content and in my element... DISNEY WORLD! :hyper:

I've been putting off starting this PTR for a while now, primarily because everything about this trip has been so overwhelming! I've never planned a personal trip for such a large group before, and it's been an eye-opener, that's for sure! I'll do my best to get "cast" profiles together for everybody on this ride! And I do hope you'll join me, and keep me company as I while away the months, weeks, days, and hours until my crazy Family Reunion and Princess 5K trip to Walt Disney World!


THE DETAILS:

Who: Myself, my Aunt Debby and Uncle Mark, his sister Cheryl and her Fiance Larry, my Cousin Nick and his wife Alex and their daughter Ryann, and family friend Dorethea.
What: My 13th visit to Walt Disney World!
When: February 20-25, 2017
Where: Disney's All-Star Movies Resort (in five Preferred Rooms)
Why: To lead my wacky family on a Disney adventure, and to accomplish my fitness goal of completing a 5K without dying.


THE CAST:

princessday.jpg


ME: Billie, 35 years old princess:
A little background: On January 1st, 2016, I was 6'0" and 370 lbs. Well, I'm still 6'0", but I'm nowhere near that weight anymore. My New Year's resolution was to drop some weight and get healthier, and one of my motivating factors was that I decided that I wanted to be able to complete a 5K, and that I wanted that 5K to be a RunDisney event. So I chose the 2017 Princess Half-Marathon weekend at Walt Disney World as my venue for said 5K, cut the carbs out of my life, and took my big butt to the gym!

So basically, this trip started as a quick solo outing for me to accomplish my 5K RunDisney goals. I'm a frequent solo traveler... I often admit that I actually prefer it to traveling with companions! That being said, the biggest group I'd ever done WDW with was 3 people including myself. Normally I'm all about being on my own or with small groups...


smaller2.jpg


AUNT & UNCLE: Debby and Mark :hug:
...And so then my Aunt Debby and Uncle Mark, who accompanied me to WDW in December 2015 and had a fabulous time, they announced that they were ready to go back with me. So I told them about the little trip I had planned for the Princess 5K, and they loved it, and wanted to come and cheer me on. Excellent, let's do this!...


dorethea-cancelled.jpg


FRIEND: Dorethea :cutie: (CANCELLED ON 11/15/16)
...And so THEN my Aunt Debby tells me that her friend / surrogate-daughter would like to join us, as she's a huge Mickey Mouse lover, has never been to Disney, and wants to do the Princess 5K with me. Sure, bring her along, sounds fun!...


nick.png


COUSINS: Nick, Alex, and Ryann :hug:
...And THEN Aunt Debby tells me that her son and his wife and their daughter (her only grandbaby who she hadn't seen in years) would like to join us! Oh, and that my cousin's wife wants to do the Princess 5K with me and Dorethea. Yep, okay, let's do that too!...


cheryl-cancelled.png


FAMILY: Cheryl and Larry :hug: (CANCELLED ON 10/4/16)
...And THEN my Uncle Mark's sister and her fiance ask if they can get in on the fun, and join us! Yeah, sure, why not?! Let's make it a big ol' family reunion!

***************************************************

Update - 11/15/16: Down to 6 people total now!
 
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princess: {PROGRESS} princess:

Trip Dates? :thumbsup2 February 20-25, 2017

Resort? :thumbsup2 Disney's All-Star Movies Resort, 5 nights, Preferred Rooms (5)

Park Tickets? :thumbsup2 Annual Pass! Woooo!

Disney Dining Plan?
:thumbsup2 Always!

Memory Maker? :thumbsup2 Don't need it this time because unlimited PhotoPass downloads are included with my Annual Pass!


Booked Package? :thumbsup2 Locked in and good to go... with discounts!

Package Payment Progress? :upsidedow 42%

Additional Savings Progress? :sad2: 0%

Scooter Rental?
:headache: Still need too book these, as three in our party need them.

Princess 5K Registration? :thumbsup2 All three of us got ourselves registered on opening day!

Itinerary? :thumbsup2 Built and planned out, and the spreadsheet is complete!

ADRs? :thumbsup2 Booked! I got almost everything I wanted for all of us. And the one thing I couldn't get I was able to grab an acceptable alternative, so I'm happy!


FastPasses? :surfweb: On 12/22/16.

Packing?
:laughing: I still need to finish unpacking from the last trip!
 
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Wooooo! I'm looking forward to following along. I've read a bit of your other PTRs and I'm excited to see you accomplish your fitness goals! :yay: Planning a trip for a large group sounds crazy. I can't wait to see how it all shapes up.
 
YAY!!! I'll be there for the Half Marathon, but I'm planning to volunteer for the 5K - hopefully handing out medals at the finish!!!
 


Following! I'll be there that weekend too! princess:

Getting yourselves registered for the 5K is half the battle...well done! :thumbsup2
 
Following along! Found your Oct PTR too, but I'm way far behind. We get in on the 25th so I feel like I'm planning right along with you (less spreadsheets though). Yay for you doing the 5k! My goal is to one day do a RunDisney event.
 
Yay! I finally made it onto the first page of one of Billie's PTR's!

Congratulations on the fitness stuff! I'm also currently working on training for my first ever 5km (during Marathon weekend at Disney in January). I am NOT a physically active person at all (mainly due to health issues), so I know how hard it was just to get motivated to start - so even though I don't know you, I'm proud of you for working towards your goal :)

Wow, planning for 9 people! Sounds scary and amazing all at once!
 
Yay, still the first page :thumbsup2:thumbsup2
Whew! Planning for 9! It's enough for me planning for my little group of 4! As much as I like the idea of friends/family joining us down there IN THEORY, if I think about it too much I get a little :crazy: So I'll leave that to you.....
Also just an FYI your arrival day is my birthday. I would love to be there for my bday and we actually checked flights but being as it's Pres. day/weekend/lots of schools' breaks, flight prices are crazy! Wishing I had that drive that you do!
 
I'm here! I'm excited to follow along with all of the insane planning!! (And hopefully lend some of my "expertise" to the runDisney parts if necessary)
 
I'm excited to see your progress as you move closer to the marathon date. I've toyed with the idea of doing one, but never actually got serious enough to train for one.

On a different note, you are a very brave woman planning a trip with that many people! I can only imagine planning & traveling with my family. I'd be a mess!
 
I'm here!! I'm so so excited about this trip - I can't believe you've ended up with so many people, but I know it will be fun, and I always love reading about the planning process :)
 
YES! FIRST to post on this PTR too!
Well done, Su-Lynn!

Wooooo! I'm looking forward to following along. I've read a bit of your other PTRs and I'm excited to see you accomplish your fitness goals! :yay: Planning a trip for a large group sounds crazy. I can't wait to see how it all shapes up.
It's going to be a disaster, hahaha. But hopefully at least a fun disaster!

YAY!!! I'll be there for the Half Marathon, but I'm planning to volunteer for the 5K - hopefully handing out medals at the finish!!!
Yay, maybe I'll get my 5K medal from you!

I'm in too Billie!
Hooray!

Following! I'll be there that weekend too! princess:

Getting yourselves registered for the 5K is half the battle...well done! :thumbsup2
Yeah, now just to get myself back on the treadmill, I've gotten SUPER lazy this summer!

Following along! Found your Oct PTR too, but I'm way far behind. We get in on the 25th so I feel like I'm planning right along with you (less spreadsheets though). Yay for you doing the 5k! My goal is to one day do a RunDisney event.
I love reading PTRs from people traveling the same time-frame as I am, so I know what you mean!

Team Tiara reporting for duty Your Majesty!
Hooray! I shall roll out the red carpet for the princess parade!

What is this and why wasn't i told about it?
It's a PTR and you WERE told about it in my other PTR, the one for next month's trip. So neener. I'm glad you're here. :)

Sounds like a big adventure.
It should be! A big CRAZY adventure!

Yay! I finally made it onto the first page of one of Billie's PTR's!

Congratulations on the fitness stuff! I'm also currently working on training for my first ever 5km (during Marathon weekend at Disney in January). I am NOT a physically active person at all (mainly due to health issues), so I know how hard it was just to get motivated to start - so even though I don't know you, I'm proud of you for working towards your goal :)

Wow, planning for 9 people! Sounds scary and amazing all at once!
Thanks! I've never been physical active, also due to health reasons, and a 5K is truly the most I can reasonably ever aspire to. No marathons for this girl! But I'll feel really good about myself if I can do a 5K, though. :)

Yay, still the first page :thumbsup2:thumbsup2
Good job!

Whew! Planning for 9! It's enough for me planning for my little group of 4! As much as I like the idea of friends/family joining us down there IN THEORY, if I think about it too much I get a little :crazy: So I'll leave that to you.....
Also just an FYI your arrival day is my birthday. I would love to be there for my bday and we actually checked flights but being as it's Pres. day/weekend/lots of schools' breaks, flight prices are crazy! Wishing I had that drive that you do!
Yeah, I don't think I could ever move away further than a reasonable driving distance to Disney World. Unless I won the lottery and was filthy stinkin' rich so the cost of airfare wasn't a concern. Otherwise, nope, staying the Southeast!

Sounds like a fun trip! But for sure crazy planning!
I'm gonna need a lot of cocktails for this trip too, I think.

I'm here! I'm excited to follow along with all of the insane planning!! (And hopefully lend some of my "expertise" to the runDisney parts if necessary)
Hooray! My favorite runDisney guru is here! Hi, Sarah!

On a different note, you are a very brave woman planning a trip with that many people! I can only imagine planning & traveling with my family. I'd be a mess!
Brave, or insane? Because I don't feel very brave!

I'm here!! I'm so so excited about this trip - I can't believe you've ended up with so many people, but I know it will be fun, and I always love reading about the planning process :)
YAY! Hi, Lindsay! Of course, you're PART of the planning process for this trip, so I'm very glad you're here!

...And THEN ALEXandFAB asked if you could pretty please take her too :rolleyes:
Oh sure, why the hell not, let's just make it an even 10 people!

You've SO GOT THIS :cheer2:
I hope so. Right now, I do not got this. Summer heat as killed my energy levels, and I've been blowing off training forever. I really need to get back to it!

:eek: THAT is quite he accomplishment!! :worship:
Actually, I just remembered it's not entirely accurate. There was ONE restaurant I couldn't get, Tutto Italia, but I found an acceptable alternative: Teppan Edo. I figure the whole hibachi style thing should be fun with such a large group!
 

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