Peter's Very Merry 10th Birthday PTR - Page 4 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Weren't the books addicting? My best friend got me started on it around the time book 3 or 4 came out. I figured why not, try the first book. Well, I read all the books that were out that first month! I'm looking forward to hearing how you like WWoHP!
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Thanks! Now that the family has all read the books, we refer to HP on an almost daily basis in one way or another!
Quote:
Originally Posted by stardust190
Sounds like fun at WWoHP. I'd like to go someday, but I'm thinking it will be better to wait until DS is a little older. DH and I have both read the books and we're not huge fans, but we do enjoy them. Although if people like you and Cam keep writing so many good things about WWoHP I might have to go sooner than I think!
I'll let you know what we think! If my boys were younger, we wouldn't be considering this. They're still not tall enough for the dueling dragons ride, but that's ok -- one less line we have to stand in!
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
Love the way you got into Harry Potter as a result of this trip!
It is pretty cool that this is something that the whole family enjoys. I'm very excited about our visit to Hogwarts!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Glad you're excited to go to WWoHP!
I wish I could be there now!
Quote:
Originally Posted by kingfamily1129
WWoHP is fun but gets SUPER crowded, which I'm sure you've already read about But I would def get a butter beer while you are there and maybe indulge in getting a wand, especially since your sons are really into it. They can have dueling contests!!
Plans sound great so far!!!
Yes, the kids really want to get butterbeer, though honestly it doesn't sound that appealing to me. But I'll try it just for the experience. The boys got Harry's and Voldemort's wands for Christmas last year. Peter really wanted Harry's wand, and when Jacob heard this, he asked for Voldemort's wand. We asked why (since he had not read any of the books at that time) and he looked at us like we must be idiots and said, "Well, if Peter has Harry's wand, he's going to be trying to cast spells on me all the time and I need to be able to defend myself!" We've all agreed that we'd like to visit Ollivander's, but it's not the end of the world if we have to skip it because the line is too long.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dlandmom2
Weren't the books addicting? My best friend got me started on it around the time book 3 or 4 came out. I figured why not, try the first book. Well, I read all the books that were out that first month! I'm looking forward to hearing how you like WWoHP!
Yes, I literally couldn't put them down! For a while, Jacob and I overlapped and had to share Goblet of Fire and Order of the Phoenix. He would take the book to school and I would snatch it back as soon as we got home. LOL.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
Hope you all enjoy WWoHP as much as we did!
I'm sure we will! I only hope it's not so crowded as when you were there. But I'm preparing myself for crowds that big, and if it turns out to be less crowded, then that's a bonus!
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Just a note on your plans. While you're there, it may seem like all you're doing is going from meal to meal. We did the regular DDP last family trip, and it seemed like we were always eating! It was nice to get a break, but there didn't always seem to be enough time to do all the attractions we wanted to do. Just be prepared for that.
Love how you got sucked into HP; it was similar for me. I started reading the books because my son wanted to and I got hooked!!
Originally Posted by mom to 3 princesses and 1 prince
Just a note on your plans. While you're there, it may seem like all you're doing is going from meal to meal. We did the regular DDP last family trip, and it seemed like we were always eating! It was nice to get a break, but there didn't always seem to be enough time to do all the attractions we wanted to do. Just be prepared for that.
Love how you got sucked into HP; it was similar for me. I started reading the books because my son wanted to and I got hooked!!
Yes, all those TS meals take up time! We have typically done the Deluxe Dining Plan in the past, so we know what we're giving up in park time. But the food is just as big of an attraction (pun intended ) for us as the rides, so we are ok with that. We are fortunate that we get to go to Disney often enough that if we miss an attraction on one trip, we know we'll just put it at the top of our list for next time! Also, I've been working on lowering everyone's expectations for this trip just because of the crowd level. The kids have done a good job of prioritizing what they want to do in each park, and then anything else we get done will be a bonus!
Too funny about getting sucked into HP. Peter is currently reading the Septimus Heap series, which is also about magic, and he wants me to read it too. Honestly, after I finished the HP series, I had a very difficult time finding anything that captured my interest! For the time being, I've gone back to non-fiction!
On July 26th, reservations opened for the Candlelight Processional dinner packages. When we decided to go to Disney at Christmas time, the CP was the thing I was most looking forward to.
We already had dinner ADRs at Epcot on two nights, so I was hoping to replace one of those ADRs with a CP dinner package. I got through to Disney Dining at 7:03 a.m. Eastern time (6:03 a.m. Central time). In my sleepy stupor , I wasn’t paying full attention to what the automated system told me. I thought it had told me that I would have to hold for the next available agent, but the line was silent (no Disney music or any of the other stuff you typically hear while on hold with Disney).
After about 20 minutes, I decided that I was in some kind of dead end and hung up. I redialed over and over but couldn’t even get back through until 7:55 a.m. Eastern. This time, the system did tell me that hold times were over 30 minutes (I know it didn’t say this the first time), then the line went silent again. I put the handset on speakerphone and scurried about the kitchen to fix breakfast for the kids and get everyone (including me) ready for the day.
Finally, after about 25 minutes on hold, Disney music started playing. Ten minutes later, as I was "marching down the middle of Main Street U.S.A.," an agent came on the line.
Much to my surprise, I was able to get a CP dinner package for Garden Grill at 5:15 on 12/22. Our original ADR for Garden Grill that day had been at 4:35, so this was a definite improvement! We’ll be seeing Susan Lucci narrating the 8:15 show that night. Our own PPer Gray will also be in the show that night.
I love when I get a wonderful CM on the line. The woman I spoke with was so cheerful and helpful. It just starts off my day on the right foot!
Congrats on your CP rezzie--that will make your CP experience much better--the standby line is crazy! It sounds like all of the pieces have fallen into place on this one--I know you guys are going to have a great trip!
I've been following along but haven't had time to comment yet... BTW, my DH's name is Peter (well, he goes by Pete). It's just not a name you hear anymore these days!
Sounds like it's all coming together nicely! I'm so excited for you guys to visit WWoHP! I also got into the books the same way, my daughter wanted to read them. Hook, line, and sinker. Harry Potter!
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Glad you were able to get the CP package. Sounds like fun!
Thanks! I'm reallllly looking forward to it!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
Congrats on getting your CP ressie!
Thanks! And as a long-time All My Children viewer, I'm glad the schedule happened to work out for us to see Susan Lucci (though I think I would have been happy with just about any of the narrators!)
Quote:
Originally Posted by ilovedisney247
Congrats on your CP rezzie--that will make your CP experience much better--the standby line is crazy! It sounds like all of the pieces have fallen into place on this one--I know you guys are going to have a great trip!
That's what I've heard. And getting to see the CP was a priority for me, so I wasn't going to risk going without the dining package.
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
Congrats on the Candlelight Processional reservation - that's one of our favourite things to do in the holidays!
I am really excited. I don't think anyone else in the family knows much about it, so they don't know what to expect. I hope they'll be blown away!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Congrats on the CP meal!
Thanks! The fact that it gave us an even more desirable ADR time at Garden Grill was an added bonus!
Quote:
Originally Posted by disney_duke
I've been following along but haven't had time to comment yet... BTW, my DH's name is Peter (well, he goes by Pete). It's just not a name you hear anymore these days!
Sounds like it's all coming together nicely! I'm so excited for you guys to visit WWoHP! I also got into the books the same way, my daughter wanted to read them. Hook, line, and sinker. Harry Potter!
How funny! I always get excited when I meet a Peter. When I got pregnant, we were so convinced we were having a girl. We had picked out a girl's name before we were even married. When we had the ultrasound and they told us it was a boy, we were speechless. It took us MONTHS to find a boys' name we could agree on. We finally decided on Peter because it is uncommon but not weird and because of its biblical significance.
I think I should start a club of people who got hooked on HP because of their kids!
Quote:
Originally Posted by KMB733
Congrats on getting a CP ressie!!!
Thank you! I love Christmas music and the Christmas story, so this is one of the things I'm most looking forward to on our trip.
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But I would def get a butter beer while you are there and maybe indulge in getting a wand, especially since your sons are really into it. They can have dueling contests!!
We've all agreed that we'd like to visit Ollivander's, but it's not the end of the world if we have to skip it because the line is too long.
) for us as the rides, so we are ok with that. 
We are fortunate that we get to go to Disney often enough that if we miss an attraction on one trip, we know we'll just put it at the top of our list for next time! Also, I've been working on lowering everyone's expectations for this trip just because of the crowd level. The kids have done a good job of prioritizing what they want to do in each park, and then anything else we get done will be a bonus!
, I wasn’t paying full attention to what the automated system told me. I thought it had told me that I would have to hold for the next available agent, but the line was silent (no Disney music or any of the other stuff you typically hear while on hold with Disney). 
This time, the system did tell me that hold times were over 30 minutes (I know it didn’t say this the first time), then the line went silent again. I put the handset on speakerphone and scurried about the kitchen to fix breakfast for the kids and get everyone (including me) ready for the day.
Ten minutes later, as I was "marching down the middle of Main Street U.S.A.," an agent came on the line.
Our own PPer Gray will also be in the show that night. 
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