Happy Birthday, Dear Dude - A Sept 2010 PTR - 9/22 Trip Report Started p34

[Native NYer]

How are your trip plans coming along?

 

[swwake]

Hi everyone. I have been such a bad DISer lately. Life has just caught up with me!

I have fallen behind on reading all the awesome TRs I am subscribed to. I will have to take a few hours soon to catch up.

I've been home this week, but only in the office 3 days, so it's all been emergencies and catch-up. My work to do list is a mile long! Ughh

This weekend we will finish packing Katie up, and we fly out Monday to take her to CU. We have 2 days of parent orientation after moving her in. Katie has 3 days of orientation. We fly back Friday morning, so I don't know if we will say goodbyes Thursday night or Friday morning. So far, I'm a little sentimental, but no tears. I will surely lose it Thursday night!

We are also working on Katie's resume this weekend so she can send it to several people who are writing her recs for sorority rush. Her rush starts Sept 10. Bid day will be our first day at WDW!

Last week I was at our annual partner advance (remember, we never "retreat") in San Francisco and Napa. It was very nice (great food, great wine, a spa day!), but also mentally draining. People don't believe me when I tell them that. I was glad to be home Sunday.

The weekend immediately before that, we were in Memphis Thurs - Monday for my 25th HS reunion. It was a great weekend and I loved connecting with old friends.

As far as our Disney plans go, the one thread I've been watching closely is the Sept 2010 Canceled ADR thread. I was looking for a Le Cellier, since I had to give ours up, as it was on the same night as MNSSHP. Well, I happened to catch someone posting for a trade before it got pulled off (against the rules), and, long story, short, we traded a 4:10pm I had somehow lucked into on the 16th for her 8:05 on the same day. That's Chris's birthday and we originally had Jiko scheduled that night, but I was able to get Jiko on the 17th. I'm pretty excited!

I emailed my reservations to the IPO and they sent me a new itinerary. I can't imagine it changing again before we leave. Here's what we have:

Tues, 14 - Arrive late morning, cab to Hard Rock Hotel, check in and hit IOA and maybe US (we have two-park tickets). Dinner at CityWalk.
Wed, 15 - Early admission to IOA for Harry Potter, then some US. Park closes at 6. Cab or town car to AKL. Dinner at Boma.
Thurs, 16 - Sunrise Safari, probably some AK, Chris may work this day and I may spa, Epcot and dinner at Le Cellier for Chris's birthday.
Fri, 17 - Tentative DHS, Chris will work today if he didn't yesterday, and I may spa if he works.
Sat, 18 - AK or Epcot, followed by MNSSHP.
Sun, 19 - MK or Epcot, or maybe both.
Mon, 20 - Surfing at Typhoon Lagoon, Boma breakfast, Epcot and Teppan Edo for dinner.
Tues, 21 - DHS or AK or sleep in and lounge around AKL morning, leave for airport at noon.

We have 7-day park-hoppers. I hope we will use them, but I've looked at the incremental cost of one or two days and I feel like it's paying for insurance in case we want the park days, rather than just lounging around. No DTD plans in there, but we will probably go over there one night, at least for a caparhina at Bongo's.

Oh yeah, and also - a couple of weeks ago I paid off both Universal and the WDW trip! We are good to go!!

 

[swwake]

How are your trip plans coming along?

AHA! I was typing my post when you posted it.

 

[MHTeacher]

Hope all goes well with taking Katie to CU! I hope you'll be a brave mom! I'll be thinking about you. I'll have to face that in just a few years.

Great luck getting your Le Cellier ressie you wanted!

 

[Charleston Princess]

Good luck moving Katie in this week! I imagine it must be exciting and bittersweet at the same time! Lots of hugs for Thursday night!

Hurray for getting a Le Cellier reservation!!! So glad you were able to grab that trade!

 

[Native NYer]

Have a wonderful week with Katie at CU.
I hope she has a fantastic first semester of college

 

[Flossbolna]

I hope you got Katie settled in at college all right and without too many tears! Your trip plans sound great and very relaxed! Congratulations on getting that Le Cellier reservation.

 

[swwake]

Hope all goes well with taking Katie to CU! I hope you'll be a brave mom! I'll be thinking about you. I'll have to face that in just a few years.

Great luck getting your Le Cellier ressie you wanted!

Thanks for the good wishes. We made it through. (More later)

Good luck moving Katie in this week! I imagine it must be exciting and bittersweet at the same time! Lots of hugs for Thursday night!

Hurray for getting a Le Cellier reservation!!! So glad you were able to grab that trade!

Thanks - and yes, bittersweet.

Have a wonderful week with Katie at CU.
I hope she has a fantastic first semester of college

We did have a great week! I know you're enjoying your time at BLT right now - following your adventures on Facebook. So jealous!

I hope you got Katie settled in at college all right and without too many tears! Your trip plans sound great and very relaxed! Congratulations on getting that Le Cellier reservation.

She is settled, but we did have tears.

 

[swwake]

Well, we got Katie all settled in. Three Target trips in 3 days and I'm so tired of Target! It was a whirlwind week. We learned quite a bit about Generation Y at the parent orientation, and lots about the school at teh Heritage museum. We found time to drive by the Greek houses, stopping at Chris's house to chat with the Brothers. We got to spend some time alone eating and walking around Pearl Street. And most importantly, we got to spend a good bit of time with Katie.

Her room is on the 8th floor of a 13-floor tower, with a gorgeous view of the mountains beyond overlooking the campus. Her roommate, Claire, shares a name with Katie (Katie is Katherine Claire) and is a wonderful Seattle girl. Katie registered and has all afternoon (after 1pm) classes on Monday - Thursday with Fridays off. So spoiled for a Freshman!

I have learned about Skype and have talked, texted and/or Skyped with Katie every day. It makes it feel like she's not so far away. We do get to go back to visit for Family Weekend in October.

On a different note, we are now less than 3 weeks from our trip! It is getting so close I can just taste a Grey Goose Slushie! Since I last posted, I have reserved the rental car for Chris's work day on Thursday from Alamo. They will pick him up at the resort and take him to the Car Care Center for the rental, after our Sunrise Safari. I have decided not to schedule a spa service that day, but plan to hang out at AK for awhile, followed by probably an afternoon at DHS, watching Beauty & The Beast and the American Idol show.

I also ordered 2 pair of board shorts last night from Swell at a good price. I will see how they fit and use one for our surfing day at Typhoon Lagoon.

I was looking at trading pin lots on eBay last night, but can't decide what, if any, to buy. Chris really got into pin trading on our last trip and has a nice3 lanyard full of favorites. My idea was to buy him a bunch of cheap ones that he can trade away for ones he really likes. He told me not to stress over it, but I told him I'll REALLY stress if he decides he doesn't want trading pins to take now, but then goes and buys them at retail when we get to WDW, just to trade! Anyway, still thinking on that one - any advice?

Oh, and after listening to one of the podcasts, I booked a car service to pick us up at the airport and take us to Hard Rock Hotel. It appears to be a little more expensive than a taxi, but I decided for $15, I wanted us to ride "in style"

I think we will still take a taxi from HRH to AKL on Wednesday (3 weeks from today!!!). This one is a little tough to coordinate, because I'm not sure what time we'll be ready to leave US/IOA. We may stay until closing (6pm the last I checked), but what if we are waiting in line at that time and don't leave the park until 7pm? We have Boma reservations at 8pm that night also, so I'm hoping to be checked in at AKL by at least 7:30. Or what if we are pooped and/or tired of US/IOA by mid-afternoon and are ready to move on over to AKL? A town car is less expensive ($40 vs $55 for a cab), but you have to have advance reservations, and they may charge for waiting time, or leave us there, and will likely charge the full amount if we end up canceling. So at this point, we're just planning to check our luggage with the bell man at HRH and grab a cab from there when we're ready.

I am finally finding time to read the DIS boards again, and I need to go catch up on all the great TRs and PTRs. We are both getting so excited about our vacation!

 

[2_Eagle_Mom]

Looks like everything is falling into place.

I think your decision to take the car service from the airport and then the taxi from US to AKL are good ones. The first for the "style" then next for the "timing".

 

[Dancegrl624]

I think you should just go ahead and start bidding on pin lots. We have gotten so many great deals on ebay and have received tons of good pins for trading.

 

[swwake]

Looks like everything is falling into place.

I think your decision to take the car service from the airport and then the taxi from US to AKL are good ones. The first for the "style" then next for the "timing".

Yes, it is falling into place. I am glad to get confirmation on the taxi.

I think you should just go ahead and start bidding on pin lots. We have gotten so many great deals on ebay and have received tons of good pins for trading.

Thanks Meghan. What's a good price to pay for trade-aways? I have found 35 for $30 or so.

 

[swwake]

WHOAAAA My AKL ticker is missing!

ETA - whew! Ok it's back.

 

[Dancegrl624]

We've paid all different prices for pin lots. I think the last one we got was 30 pins for around $20 or so...we were lucky! I would just pick a few lots and click the "watch" button. That's what I usually do. And, I don't like to wait a long time so I typically bid or watch the auctions that are ending relatively soon.

 

[swwake]

We've paid all different prices for pin lots. I think the last one we got was 30 pins for around $20 or so...we were lucky! I would just pick a few lots and click the "watch" button. That's what I usually do. And, I don't like to wait a long time so I typically bid or watch the auctions that are ending relatively soon.

OK I got my pins! I got a lot of 50 for $43 plus shipping - under $50! That should be plenty for Chris. The seller seems to be well-rated and I've paid, so she should ship today and I should have them by next week. Should I worry about whether they're authentic?

 

[Dancegrl624]

OK I got my pins! I got a lot of 50 for $43 plus shipping - under $50! That should be plenty for Chris. The seller seems to be well-rated and I've paid, so she should ship today and I should have them by next week. Should I worry about whether they're authentic?

Awesome! That is a great deal for $50 pins. In the listing, it should say something about the kind of pins you'll be receiving. I've bought quite a few pin lots and never received anything except for official Disney pins.

You actually just inspired me to go check out the pin lots and I bought another one!!! I got a lot of 20 pins for $20 with free shipping! Madison actually liked a lot of the ones we got in the 30 pin lot and wants to keep them. I keep telling her that's not the point of ordering them online. You're supposed to trade for the ones you want!

 

[swwake]

Awesome! That is a great deal for $50 pins. In the listing, it should say something about the kind of pins you'll be receiving. I've bought quite a few pin lots and never received anything except for official Disney pins.

You actually just inspired me to go check out the pin lots and I bought another one!!! I got a lot of 20 pins for $20 with free shipping! Madison actually liked a lot of the ones we got in the 30 pin lot and wants to keep them. I keep telling her that's not the point of ordering them online. You're supposed to trade for the ones you want!

Oh gosh, I love inspiring people. But I don't like the be the catalyst for spending money! So sorry about that. But glad you got a good deal. The seller I bought from seems to have a store where that is her only business. 99% positive feedback.

 

[Dancegrl624]

Oh gosh, I love inspiring people. But I don't like the be the catalyst for spending money! So sorry about that. But glad you got a good deal. The seller I bought from seems to have a store where that is her only business. 99% positive feedback.

Hahaha...I've been thinking about buying another pin lot for awhile now. It was a great deal! Sounds like you bought from a great seller.

 

[swwake]

I can't believe we are just over 2 weeks from our trip! I am pretty sure we have everything in line. We have not decided on whether to wear costumes for MNSSHP. Since it is so early in the season, we may just go without. Chris's best costume is his Jack Sparrow, but that requires growing a shaggy beard, and he is planning to visit clients on our trip, so that's probably out.

Today's plans are to pay bills, file and organize. I will have my whole Disney travel trip folder (no binder this year) together by the end of the day today. I found some coupons for 20% off at most of the City Walk restaurants and 2-for-1 drinks over there too. So I think we'll be good on dinner. My vote will be Margaritaville, but we will have to see about timing, hunger levels, and wait time.

Last night we went to a beautiful wedding. It was bittersweet because the bride (who works for me) just found out last Monday that her dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer (at 45!). I'm sending my prayers for their family, and hoping that she is able to enjoy her honeymoon in St Lucia with all that weighing on her mind.

This week is a regular work week. over the next two weekends, my goal is to finish all the tax returns I have that are due 10/15. There are 6 of them, including my own. But if I can get them all done, I will go to Disneyworld with a clear mind!

Anyway, just checking in and sharing my excitement!

 

[Charleston Princess]

Hurray for two weeks!!!

It will be hot, so it might be fun just wear a Halloween t-shirt that night at MNSSHP!

Prayers for your co-worker's dad!

Your trip will be here before you know it!