Tasty Planning Time with ZeBrook! A 2 for 1 PTR - 12/24 - All our bags are packed

[wigdoutdismom]

Single digit dancing with you!

 

[rustysfr56]

Thanks for the coupon Brook! I love those Willow Tree figures they sell there and am getting one for my mom as a gift...it will come in handy!


P.s- congrats on the singles!!!!

 

[mickeysmyboy]

Wooo hoo again!!!

Great coupon!!! Thanks for sharing!

 

[wdwgirl03]

Ahhhh you are soooo close now!

As for the Princess Tiana show I think I read in my dad's AP newsletter it ends at the beginning of January. I don't understand why they'd only have it for a month!

 

[princess&her4princes]

SINGLE Digits already?!! WOOHOO!!! SO excited for you Brook! It's going to FLY by now with the holidays and all! You've got a great list going and seems your checking it twice!! Good job!!

 

[brookelizabeth]

What a great coupon! Thanks for sharing!

Your welcome!!

I find weather.com to be more accurate than accuweather.com

I love to hear that! We are now at 70 degrees for the 26th and 71 for the 27th.

Congrats on the singles! ! ! ! !

Thank you!! I can't hardly believe it.

Wow! It is coming fast!

Veryyyyyy fast!!!!

Hi!

I've been lurking for a while, but I had to post about the New Orleans weather! Don't feel too down about the projected forecast because that WILL change! Make sure you bring your winter coat, shorts, swim suit and umbrella because you will experience every season in a 24 hour period in South Louisiana! You'll love it!

I love to hear that! Really very good to know, thank you for posting! And thank you for reading along too! (any further advice about New Orleans is very welcome too!)

Single digit dancing with you!

Thanks Anita!

Thanks for the coupon Brook! I love those Willow Tree figures they sell there and am getting one for my mom as a gift...it will come in handy!


P.s- congrats on the singles!!!!

Perfect!!! I'm very glad to help with the coupon!

And thank you!

 

[brookelizabeth]

Wooo hoo again!!!

Great coupon!!! Thanks for sharing!

Your welcome!

Ahhhh you are soooo close now!

As for the Princess Tiana show I think I read in my dad's AP newsletter it ends at the beginning of January. I don't understand why they'd only have it for a month!

I never get those AP newsletters. And we won't have APs after January 20. Big bummer.

Anyway, that is strange to go to all that effort and expense just for a month! Will Princess Tiana be anywhere else I wonder? Perhaps at a dinner or something?

SINGLE Digits already?!! WOOHOO!!! SO excited for you Brook! It's going to FLY by now with the holidays and all! You've got a great list going and seems your checking it twice!! Good job!!

I know! And just tonight when Henry put another sticker on the countdown I realized tomorrow is a WEEK. Why does 9 days, or even 8, sound so much longer than a week? It excites me and scares me all in one!

That is very true about the list...except I think I'm checking it closer to 3 trillion times!

 

[brookelizabeth]

I should really should have known better than to write in my PassPorter in PEN.

Here's the scoop...

Last night I was checking PMs (finally) to arrange/figure out DIS Meet info, when I read one from Flossbolna from about 400 years ago (okay, it was December 7th) that Disney had extended the park hours during NYE week. Thinking there couldn't be that much changed, I brought up the park hours to find all of our AM EMH RDs were now at 7:00 am versus the 8:00 am it was originally.

If you read my TRs you know we are not morning/RD people. We struggle with 9:00 am because we enjoy our slow mornings...we were pushing it with the 8:00 am, but 7:00 am would be near impossible for this clan...except my MIL who is an early bird.

What to do, what to do. I spoke to Joe. He was very bummed - he doesn't like to feel rushed during vacation, and making a 7:00 am would require rushing in the morning for us.

After much thought, and some good discussion with Joe we have devised a brand new plan based off of TouringPlans.com's crowd calendar. Every park day has been changed. Every-single-one!

The Plan 2.0
Sunday, December 27
WAS: Epcot
NOW:

• DHS 9:00 am RD
• 6:00 pm Osborne lights
• 7:25 pm ADR for Joe & I at California Grill, watch Wishes from the balcony
• After, MK - Must ride Space Mountain!

Monday, December 28
WAS: DHS
NOW:

• MK 7:00 am RD (it's 7:00 am every day )
• 12:00 pm ADR at 50's Prime Time - this is the only meh part, our MK day will be cut short with this long transfer; however, we do have more MK time scheduled in below.
• AK PM EMH

Tuesday, December 29
WAS: MK
NOW:

• AK 8:00 am RD
• MK in the PM

Wednesday, December 30
WAS: AK
NOW:

• EPCOT 9:00 am RD
• 4:15 pm Candlelight Processional Package ADR at Biergarten
• 6:45 pm Candlelight Processional
• 9:30 pm Illuminations (does anyone know where the CP seating is for Illuminations? Just curious...)

Thursday, December 31
Plans stay the same, no parks

• 9:45 am Boma breakfast (woot!)
• 8:00 pm Meet MeMom, Jill and crew at Kona Cafe to stake out NYE DIS Meet Fireworks Spectacular! spot
• (perhaps purchase a Dole Whip on the way to the beach...)

We are much more comfortable with this touring schedule. We have one early morning, one 8:00-er and two 9:00-ers.

That also means I need to re-PM a couple DISers and configure new plans.

As I mentioned in a reply, tonight Henry put a sticker on the count down and I realized tomorrow marks ONE WEEK until we leave!

Tomorrow we have Christmas with Joe's immediate family. We will be gone all day.

The 23rd we will celebrate Christmas here-just us three! We keep it very low-key, so I'm sure I'll be busy as a bee this day packing, etc.

The 24th we have half a day to pack/finish up things, we will load the car up because that evening we have Christmas with Joe's whole family, and that night we drive to my Aunt & Uncle's house.

The 25th we have Christmas all day with my whole family, we will sleep at their house and leave early on the 26th for the airport!

So that means technically I have about 4.5 days to finish this:

Life

1. Clean house week before we leave
2. Finish September Trip Report!!!!
3. Wrap Christmas gifts - DONE
4. Return library books - DONE
5. Send Christmas cards - DONE
   
6. Finish Christmas shopping - DONE!
7. Write Christmas letter - DONE! WRITTEN, FOLDED, PRINTED!!
8. Stop mail - DONE!
   

Disney

1. Pack - I've pulled a bunch of shirts for Henry and have an idea of what I'm bringing...
   
2. Buy a bunch of non-perishable items, send box to resort - stuff is starting to accumulate on our kitchen table. I MUST mail the box MONDAY.
   
3. Clean out stroller and car seat
4. Charge electronics - I will assign this to Joe.
   
5. Make the inevitable 838 trips to Target for last minute things - I think I've made about 833 so far.
6. Get DIS meet info organized and into PassPorter - DONE
7. Reserve parking spot at Park N Fly - Joe's to do list, I just have to make sure he does it! - DONE
   
8. Figure out how much and get cash for tips - DONE
   
9. Organize travel toiletries - DONE
   
10. Print basic trip plan for in-laws (written, but not printed, having printer issues!) and fill in Passporter - DONE
    
11. Get basic touring plan done for parks, "must do's" - DONE
12. Research scooters for Poppa - DONE
13. In-laws need to buy tickets - DONE
    
14. Plan in-room meals - DONE
15. Set up details of NYE meet with MeMom - DONE
    
16. But Passporter inserts - DONE
17. Make grocery list - DONE
    
18. Put in WeGoShop order - DONE
19. Get countdown calendar ready with stickers for Henry - DONE
20. Make budget so I have a clue what we can expect to spend while there - DONE

NOLA

1. Go back to early pages of this PTR and re-read all NOLA advice given, take notes, commit to memory!
2. Buy wedding present for the happy couple! - DONE
   
3. Research cheap/free things to do - DONE
4. Try to find a cheaper hotel - DONE
5. Get a basic map of the area, walking map? - DONE

 

[jordanyosh]

EVERY PARK???????

WOW!

At least you have a plan that works for you and is realistic for your family.

I will be very interested to see how the crowd levels are.

 

[Flossbolna]

Wow, what a lot of change, but it sounds good to me! I am glad that you could find a way to work around the new opening times. Have you tried to change the Prime Time ADR? You never know wether you might not get lucky!

 

[Charleston Princess]

I can't believe you changed your entire touring plans at the 11th hour, so to speak. I am glad you are all much happier with it, though.

Looks like a busy time of it between Christmas and getting ready to leave! Good luck with everything! You will probably let out a huge sigh of relief when you get on the plane on the 26th.

 

[MeMom]

Single digit dancing with you!

You don't have time for dancing. You are supposed to be busy packing!!!


Yes, Brook, be sure to meet us at Kona before we eat. They might not appreciate me coming to the table with a blanket.

Sorry you can't make it to the very famous Wigd Out Christmas Tree Meet on Sunday! You will stop and think of us in the midst of your romantic meal, right?

 

[princess&her4princes]

WOW....I'm SO impressed that you could change your plans so close to the trip, I think that would stress me out! But good for you and they look great!!! Sounds like you've got control over thing...and you are at just a week now!! WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!

 

[Lady Lallie]

Your new plans look great. I love it when you come up with a park plan and it just feels right.

 

[kschafer]

WOW! I am a fan of rope drop and I am looking forward to trying the AM EMH in May (we didn't have park hoppers last year so we avoided them) but I'm not sure I would ever drag myself to the parks for a 7 AM opening!! (I'm sure I wouldn't do it more than once at least) I think your strategy is a great one!

 

[MEK]

WOWSA! You are one super organized person!!!!! With less than a week to go you have almost everything crossed off your To-Do list. I am quite impressed!

I hope you guys have a great Christmas and an awesome trip!

 

[tiggrbaby]

7AM?!? That would take a lot of dedication! New plan looks super!

 

[MRYPPNS]

May I suggest (if you haven't already planned it this way) taking a taxi to your ADR with Joe at the Cali Grill. I'm assuming that you would be coming from DHS and that 20 bucks might be the best $20 that you spend all vacation.

Plans look good! Don't forget that there is nothing wrong with sitting by the resort pool all day too!

Happy Holidays

 

[wigdoutdismom]

Hey Brook! Your plans look great....
Flexibility and Disney go hand in hand!
I hope we get to say hi over at the MK after your romantic dinner!

 

[brookelizabeth]

EVERY PARK???????

WOW!

At least you have a plan that works for you and is realistic for your family.

I will be very interested to see how the crowd levels are.

I know! I think we are nuts! But, I really do feel better about this plan. It's still late enough that we aren't all dragging, and early enough for my AM-lovin' MIL.

Wow, what a lot of change, but it sounds good to me! I am glad that you could find a way to work around the new opening times. Have you tried to change the Prime Time ADR? You never know wether you might not get lucky!

I haven't tried...but you are right - people cancel stuff at the last minute all the time...it's worth a shot!

And it worked!!!

I just went online and booked us at Sci-Fi for 11:05 on our December 27! Not the perfect lunch time, but it's just fine, we'll take it!!!

Yahoo! Thanks for encouraging me to do that, I really truly would never have bothered...

That was also my first time trying the online ADR system. Slick.

I can't believe you changed your entire touring plans at the 11th hour, so to speak. I am glad you are all much happier with it, though.

Looks like a busy time of it between Christmas and getting ready to leave! Good luck with everything! You will probably let out a huge sigh of relief when you get on the plane on the 26th.

I know, we are crazy. But, we are all much more comfortable with it. When I told Joe's sister (KK), about the 7 ams, she just did this:

I will let out a sigh of relief on the plane! It's been a busy time these past few weeks, but a lot of fun too!

You don't have time for dancing. You are supposed to be busy packing!!!


Yes, Brook, be sure to meet us at Kona before we eat. They might not appreciate me coming to the table with a blanket.

Sorry you can't make it to the very famous Wigd Out Christmas Tree Meet on Sunday! You will stop and think of us in the midst of your romantic meal, right?

Can I dance while I pack?

Can you imagine the looks you would get at Kona with a blanket?

I am bummed about not making it to the Wigd Out Christmas Tree Meet (love the name!), but, am very much looking forward to the meal with Joe! We will most likely not only think of you guys, but wonder out loud how it's going and what fun you are up to!

WOW....I'm SO impressed that you could change your plans so close to the trip, I think that would stress me out! But good for you and they look great!!! Sounds like you've got control over thing...and you are at just a week now!! WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!

It actually makes me more relieved to change all these plans, they were stressing me out! And now that my PassPorter is full of Write-Out, it's even better.

Your new plans look great. I love it when you come up with a park plan and it just feels right.

That's exactly it. Those 7ams were haunting me. This feels really good, it clicks with us.

WOW! I am a fan of rope drop and I am looking forward to trying the AM EMH in May (we didn't have park hoppers last year so we avoided them) but I'm not sure I would ever drag myself to the parks for a 7 AM opening!! (I'm sure I wouldn't do it more than once at least) I think your strategy is a great one!

I know, 7 am is BRUTAL! I was thinking we could make it for the first day since we would be all excited and roaring to go, but after that we would quickly fade.

WOWSA! You are one super organized person!!!!! With less than a week to go you have almost everything crossed off your To-Do list. I am quite impressed!

I hope you guys have a great Christmas and an awesome trip!

I have been workin' hard!! It feels VERY good to get that To Do list done. Of course I think of little things to add to it all the time...

Thank you Mary Ellen! I hope you have a great Christmas as well!!

7AM?!? That would take a lot of dedication! New plan looks super!

For those that could make the 7 am, I bet they will have the park to themselves! I can't imagine that many people can do it. We are going to TRY for MK....!

May I suggest (if you haven't already planned it this way) taking a taxi to your ADR with Joe at the Cali Grill. I'm assuming that you would be coming from DHS and that 20 bucks might be the best $20 that you spend all vacation.

Plans look good! Don't forget that there is nothing wrong with sitting by the resort pool all day too!

Happy Holidays

I really like your suggestion here. I was thinking we'd bus it, but I do believe the CR shares buses at certain times with the GF...plus, doing a cab is more relaxing and it would give us more time at DHS/Osborne Lights.

Nice catch on the plans - THANK YOU for your suggestion!

I am hoping the weather cooperates enough to do some pool time. Or if the parks are insane, do just what you said...relax poolside and take advantage of that beautiful resort!

Hey Brook! Your plans look great....
Flexibility and Disney go hand in hand!
I hope we get to say hi over at the MK after your romantic dinner!

I am really trying to be flexible with it all, considering the expected crowd levels. If we miss something, all well - a good attitude usually makes for a good time anyway.

I hope we get to meet up too! I will text you!