The Spontaneous 40th Birthday Bonanza - 8/7-8/14 - PTR/TR - Page 2 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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The Spontaneous 40th Birthday Bonanza - 8/7-8/14 - PTR/TR
[FONT="Comic Sans MS"]Hi all!
Well, I'm making my first attempt at a TR, and starting with a PTR for our upcoming August trip. I'm determined to finally do one and finish it, because I enjoy reading everyone else's so much and I also think it's a great way to relive your trip! Let me start off by saying that we were just at WDW in June, for 9 glorious days and 8 nights. It was a wonderful trip and I had every good intention of doing a TR for that trip when we got back. Except for one little hitch I hadn't counted on - we left our digital camera, with most of our Disney photos, at my in-law's condo in Florida ! Can you even imagine? So, the bad news is, that trip report will have to wait. Fortunately I took some pretty good notes, so hopefully I'll still be able to do one when my sister- and brother-in-law bring it back home with them next month. Thankfully they are visiting down there and can retrieve it for us! I'm not sure what I'd do if it was there til we go back next summmer
So let me start by introducing ourselves!
First, there's me - Samantha or "Sam", a 39 year old total Disney freak who is constantly scheming a way to fit in an extra trip, or two, or however many our pocketbooks and schedules can accommodate. I'm turning the dreaded 4-0 on August 24th, and this upcoming trip is my present to myself and my family! It's all I want and the best gift a girl could ever ask for, don't you agree? Oh, and my favorite Disney characters are Stitch and Donald Duck.
Next is Dean, my 40 year-old hubby, who loves Disney as well - just not quite as much as his wife. We have to allow him some time to decompress each trip and get into Disney mode, where as we joke, you take the "real-world" price of something, multiply it times 2, then add a few dollars for good measure. He grouses about the expenses but it's all done as a joke - he loves it as much as we do. I'm lucky to have found someone as tolerant of repeat WDW trips as he is!
Next is ds, Alex, age 8 3/4 - a miniature Disney fan who loves it as much as his mom. How could he not, with all the propoganda he hears from me day and night? He's not a thrill-ride kind of kid, which is actually OK with me ( I can enjoy them, but don't miss them). Ask him for his favorite part of Disney, he'll say World Showcase in Epcot, which I think is a little unusual for a kid his age - but I'm happy for it because I love it too! Alex's favorite Disney character is the main mouse himself, Mickey, which is why Chef Mickey's is an annual stop for us.
Last but not least is dd, Deanna, age 5, who adores Minnie, all the princesses (but Ariel most of all), Stitch, Chip and Dale, Tinkerbell, and on and on. She is also a Disney fanatic, and is making her 6th trip to WDW! We started going when she was just 22 months old and ds was 5.
So why are we headed back after having just visited in June, you may ask? Well, our June trip was fabulous - albeit HOT and CROWDED, all to be expected for June, but somehow this time just a little more HOT (record temps) and CROWDED (Touring Plans 8 and 9s rather than 6s or 7s we've had before in early June). We had a wonderful time and as usual, wished we could've stayed longer - who wouldn't, right? As a sidebar, I think I've got dh just about convinced we need at least 10 days at Disney to be able to enjoy everything and build in some R & R, too
It all started the day we came home from Florida in late June to find the weather pretty much as we'd left it 2 1/2 weeks before in early June - overcast and chilly. Depressing to say the least. In the ensuing weeks, it didn't improve much. We're having one of our coldest, and I believe (although this is not scientifically proven) cloudiest summers on record. While trying to make the best of it, I started plotting how we could get back down to Florida. I didn't start off even dreaming of visiting Disney again. I was trying to get us back down to my in-law's condo, on the Gulf Coast of Florida, where we can stay for free. Unfortunately, the two weeks in August that we could actually get away schedule-wise, my sister-in-law and her hubby were already booked to go down there for a christening in his family. Dates couldn't be changed, plane tickets were purchased and the condo was a big no-go. So then I started looked into alterative Florida destinations, and as usual, ended up playing the "what if we" game on the reservations page of the WDW site. I pitched it to dh, who seemed lukewarm (and why wouldn't he be, when the ink on our credit card bill from our last trip wasn't even dry yet). Eventually, through perserverance, I pretty much got him to agree with could drive down and stay at WDW for a five-day getaway , staying at a value or moderate. Long story short, through repeatedly checking flight and car prices, plus using the "this is all I want for my 40th birthday (which is at the end of August)" tactic, we are now going to be flying down on Allegiant Airlines, renting a car and splitting our stay - two nights at Pop Century, ds' favorite resort, and thanks to the 40% off rooms deal, five nights at the Poly! to me!!
Next up: Can I get any remotely desirable (to us) ADRs two WEEKS out? And other preparations for our next trip to the World!
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15 total family trips with stays at the Poly, AKL, Wilderness Lodge, Beach Club, Swan, Dolphin, POFQ, Pop Century, All Star Music, Movies & Sports, and Coronado Springs.
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! Can you even imagine? So, the bad news is, that trip report will have to wait. Fortunately I took some pretty good notes, so hopefully I'll still be able to do one when my sister- and brother-in-law bring it back home with them next month. Thankfully they are visiting down there and can retrieve it for us! I'm not sure what I'd do if it was there til we go back next summmer
He's not a thrill-ride kind of kid, which is actually OK with me ( I can enjoy them, but don't miss them). Ask him for his favorite part of Disney, he'll say World Showcase in Epcot, which I think is a little unusual for a kid his age - but I'm happy for it because I love it too! Alex's favorite Disney character is the main mouse himself, Mickey, which is why Chef Mickey's is an annual stop for us. 
, staying at a value or moderate. Long story short, through repeatedly checking flight and car prices, plus using the "this is all I want for my 40th birthday (which is at the end of August)" tactic, we are now going to be flying down on Allegiant Airlines, renting a car and splitting our stay - two nights at Pop Century, ds' favorite resort, and thanks to the 40% off rooms deal, five nights at the Poly! 
to me!! 
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