It's My Birthday Trip... Or Our "We Have APs Let's Go!" Trip Or Whatever PTR June 2017

Disney_Alli

DIS Veteran
Joined
Nov 4, 2010
Hello all! First I'd like to say welcome! I swear I will do my best to actually finish this report - please don't judge me if you've read either of my others!

Last August my hubby and I decided to cancel the Disney Alaskan Cruise we'd booked for our first wedding anniversary and head to Disneyland instead! We decided we wanted to go for a little over a week and after pricing out some options we decided it made the most sense to get APs because of how many days we were going to be in the parks. In the end I got a Premier Pass for photopass and bigger discounts and Hubby got a Deluxe pass. We were looking at taking another summer trip somewhere and decided to head back to Disneyland since we still had APs. We had a bunch of restrictions for when we could take the trip - it had to end before August 17th because that's when we bought out passes last year, it couldn't be the 10 days of July following the first Friday (confused yet?) because we are from Calgary Alberta and both work in Casinos and those 10 days are among the busiest of the year due to the huge influx of tourists for the Calgary Stampede (plus I try as get to the rodeo on as many of my days off as I can during the Stampede). In addition due to my... unique schedule (4 "days" on, 4 "days" off working all overnight shifts 6pm to 6am) and my limited amount of vacation hours we wanted to schedule the trip over my 4 days off and just add 1-2 days before or after to give us a week, because hubby's pass is blocked on Saturdays we wanted our trip to start on a Saturday and end on a Friday to take advantage of as many days in the park as possible. Hubby took a look at my schedule and wouldn't you know the only week that fit that bill was June 10-June 16 and June 16 just happens to be my 32nd birthday! I quickly declared this to be my Birthday Trip!

We bought into DVC in 2014 and were lucky enough to get 3 nights at GCV in a studio on our last trip. This time I completely forgot which morning our 7 month window opened on and by the time I remembered the first day we wanted for sure (we were looking at doing at least 3 nights the 13th to the 16th) was booked. I waitlisted it and low and behold a few weeks later it cleared! I moved some waitlists around and it looks like we might have cleared a waitlist for the 12th as well so we'll have two nights elsewhere to start. Right now I have both the Tropicana (where we stayed in August and really enjoyed it) and the Best Western Pavillians Plus (a little cheaper) booked once I make a final decision we'll cancel one of the reservations. A major selling point on both was that we could reserve a King room which I love.

Two days ago our airline of choice WestJet was having a seat sale and happened to cover our June dates and our favorite airport SNA I was able to book both of us on our perfect flights roundtrip for just $588 CAD! We leave Calgary at 830am land at SNA - after a slight detour to Vancouver just long enough to clear customs and have a sit down breakfast - just after 2pm. We love this flight! Coming home we don't leave Anaheim until a little after 2pm so I get to spend my birthday morning in the park!

In my next post I'll tell you a little more about us and use a computer that isn't at work and include some photos for you too! Plus I'll talk about our plans so far and in a couple weeks I'll also throw in some pictures from our upcoming two night stay at Aulani (did I mention yet how much I love our DVC points?)
 
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I swear I will do my best to actually finish this report - please don't judge me if you've read either of my others!
:rolleyes1 May or may not have a couple of "stalled" TRs myself...

I quickly declared this to be my Birthday Trip!
Woohoo! Our Disneyland/Aulani trip is my birthday trip too (30) albeit a full two months before my actual birthday. My partner can't travel in August as he's a teacher and I'm thinking we'll have better weather in June anyway.

I get to spend my birthday morning in the park!
Whoop whoop!

In my next post I'll tell you a little more about us and use a computer that isn't at work and include some photos for you too! Plus I'll talk about our plans so far
Looking forward to it

in a couple weeks I'll also through in some pictures from our upcoming two night stay at Aulani
Jealous! Also it appears my wish is your command haha :flower3: can't wait to see what you think & recommend!

did I mention yet how much I love our DVC points?)
Me too! Still waiting on my final night of waitlisted nights. Send some luck my way please!
 
:rolleyes1 May or may not have a couple of "stalled" TRs myself...


Woohoo! Our Disneyland/Aulani trip is my birthday trip too (30) albeit a full two months before my actual birthday. My partner can't travel in August as he's a teacher and I'm thinking we'll have better weather in June anyway.


Whoop whoop!


Looking forward to it


Jealous! Also it appears my wish is your command haha :flower3: can't wait to see what you think & recommend!


Me too! Still waiting on my final night of waitlisted nights. Send some luck my way please!

I'm totally pretending this is my 32nd birthday trip. I told hubby he could call our Hawaii trip his birthday trip since it was just his birthday on the 7th.

I have had amazing luck with DVC so far so I will definitely send some pixie dust your way! Tonight when I'm home (I'm currently in a movie theater waiting for Moana to start) I am definitely going to post some pictures!

I'll let you know what we think from our Aulani weekend for sure! Maybe I'll even try and get my dad to send me some pictures he's sure to take with his very fancy DSLR camera so you have something better than my iPhone pictures to look at too!
 
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So I fell asleep for 6 hours when I got home and I decided to download *all* our photopass photos from Disneyland... which has taken over 3 hours... once they're finally downloaded I'll post some pics... Otherwise all I've got are our WDW wedding pics which I don't need to spam you with lol.
 
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Okay so a little about us...

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We - Alli (31) and Cole (28) - made our last trip towards the end of the Diamond Celebration. We went for our first wedding anniversary (though technically we arrived a few days after as Cole is a Pit Boss/Pit Supervisor at a casino here in Calgary and couldn't leave while a big poker tournament was going on - although after his vacation was approved they changed the dates of the tournament and he missed the last couple days anyway, he tried!) We got married in August 2015 in WDW (yes August in Florida VERY HUMID!!!!) and had originally booked an Alaskan Disney Cruise for our first anniversary but with our dollar dropping we figured we could do Disneyland a bit cheaper and once our DVC cleared for a couple nights that might have been true... but I'm not entirely sure that it was. Either way we had a total BLAST in Disneyland once again so it was well worth it!

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This is me - Alli - I'm a huge Disney fan! I started travelling to WDW when I was 12 (back when we lived in Ottawa and WDW made the most sense) with my family and have been back every two years or so ever since! When I moved across a good chunk of the country and was suddenly closer to Disneyland I decided I needed MORE Disney in my life and started venturing to the west coast park on the years in between our family trips to WDW. I've done 4 of these trips so far - one girls trip with my twin sister, one solo birthday trip for my 26th birthday, one family trip with my parents, my sister and brother-in-law and my then boyfriend (now husband) and last year my anniversary trip with Cole. I work surveillance in a different casino from Cole and work straight overnight shifts 6pm to 6am 4 days on and 4 days off. Our schedules aren't particularly compatible so Cole and I don't get to spend a lot of time together at home. When we do have time off together we love to go see movies together! I'm also a huge tattoo fan and have 5 Disney tattoos mixed in to my collection of 14 pieces. I have two Harry Potter tattoos and a Lord of the Rings one too.

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Cole grew up on a cattle ranch in small town Alberta (really, REALLY small town - his high school graduation class was 7 people!) with his parents and three younger brothers! He took exactly one big family vacation growing up and it was to southern California where they spent a week doing a whirlwind trip of most of the theme parks including Disneyland, Knott's and Magic Mountain. He and his brothers were all big fans of Disney movies though having grown up watching all the classics. Before our first trip to Disneyland together in December 2013 we made a deal he'd watch the modern Disney movies he hadn't seen (Tangled, Princess and the Frog, etc.) and I'd watch all the Star Wars movies as I'd only ever seen Episode 4. We didn't actually make it through all the Star Wars movies before that trip but I've since watched them all a couple times. Since Cole is such a big fan we were really excited that Season of the Force was still going on when we were there! I've even started to really enjoy Star Wars even going to see Force Awakens at 2am on opening day (which for me is a completely normal time to watch a movie so I had an advantage there!) and seeing Rogue One within the first week it was out (guess who had to work all weekend and didn't have a day off until that Monday - this girl!)
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We're just a couple of dorks who love our park time and getting to spend days together in the sunshine (it's not something I see often - or really at all in the winter!) since we never see each other at home the only pictures of us together are in Disney Parks!
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Sometimes we let a character or two join us (actually we LOVE meeting characters but I can only fit so many pictures in this post!)
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I think I mentioned we're just a couple of big goofballs! We love magic shots too!

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Sadly this is one of the major reasons I splurged for the higher level pass was to include photopass photos because at the time the only option was the single day option and since we were spending 8 days in the Disneyland Parks we needed APs anyway... Plus buying them then made this extra trip possible!
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I fell in LOVE with the nighttime entertainment. When I was younger we never stayed for the nighttime shows but when I started planning my own trips we started staying and I fell in love with all of them! I can't wait to see the Main Street Electrical Parade in it's original home in June! I have some awesome memories from watching it in WDW! I'm interested in seeing what fireworks will be showing then too - will it still be Remember Dreams Come True?

Anyway this is now long and I've maxed out on pictures so I'll end it for now.
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Yay! It's fun to put faces with names. Glad you got some photos posted from what looks like a very-well-worth-it photopass bonus on your AP!

I work surveillance in a different casino

Oh that's a very interesting career to us outsiders! I bet you have some interesting stories

I'm also a huge tattoo fan and have 5 Disney tattoos mixed in to my collection of 14 pieces. I have two Harry Potter tattoos and a Lord of the Rings one too.

Very cool. I'm a chicken so I don't have any myself but I love tattoos and have seen some really cool Disney and Harry Potter ones in the parks!

We're just a couple of dorks who love our park time and getting to spend days together in the sunshine (it's not something I see often - or really at all in the winter!) since we never see each other at home the only pictures of us together are in Disney Parks

Well as 1/2 of a couple that does share (mostly) the same work schedule, I will confess that 99% of the photos of us together are also taken on vacation. Photopass really does make it so much easier to stop and grab a few photos - if they don't turn out well you can always stop at the next one!

I couldn't get my quote to work but I love the photo of you guys waiting on paint the night! I have those glow with the show ears too but I've only worn them once or twice since they are so heavy and tight :faint: I am sad that we won't get to see paint the night this summer but oh well. We've seen MSEP at Disney World enough times that I think we'll devote parade time to other pursuits - if we happen to catch a bit, that will just be gravy. Seems like on a first time trip you have to compromise somewhere unless you just have unlimited time so it's nice of the entertainment folks to make that choice for me :laughing:
 
Yay! It's fun to put faces with names. Glad you got some photos posted from what looks like a very-well-worth-it photopass bonus on your AP!

Yeah we definitely used the photopass a lot! We were going to pay for it almost every day anyway so it basically covered the upgrade.

Oh that's a very interesting career to us outsiders! I bet you have some interesting stories

I also used to watch cameras in a mall. I've seen lots of interesting things though I always say my job is either the most interesting job in the world (5-10% of the time) or the most boring (90-95% of the time) and there is very little in between :laughing:


Very cool. I'm a chicken so I don't have any myself but I love tattoos and have seen some really cool Disney and Harry Potter ones in the parks!

A lot of mine are visible in my pictures my hubby isn't a big fan of tattoos and doesn't have any. He never will either I'm sure. I will say most fleshy parts aren't that bad... I will suggest staying away from feet and ribs until you've had a couple lol


Well as 1/2 of a couple that does share (mostly) the same work schedule, I will confess that 99% of the photos of us together are also taken on vacation. Photopass really does make it so much easier to stop and grab a few photos - if they don't turn out well you can always stop at the next one!

My sister and her hubby seems to at least manage a selfie or two together now and again - I don't think a picture of us together exists if it wasn't paid for somehow :rotfl:

I couldn't get my quote to work but I love the photo of you guys waiting on paint the night! I have those glow with the show ears too but I've only worn them once or twice since they are so heavy and tight :faint: I am sad that we won't get to see paint the night this summer but oh well. We've seen MSEP at Disney World enough times that I think we'll devote parade time to other pursuits - if we happen to catch a bit, that will just be gravy. Seems like on a first time trip you have to compromise somewhere unless you just have unlimited time so it's nice of the entertainment folks to make that choice for me :laughing:

We loved Paint the Night for sure! We watched it almost every night if we were in Disneyland including camping out for the first parade for an hour or two 2-3 times. Funny story about those ears - I saw them and wanted them the first day in DCA and NEEDED them for our reservation for Blue Bayou with the PtN package but then I couldn't find them anywhere in Disneyland they only seemed to have the new version with the pink plastic ears that lit up and I didn't like them. Finally on our way back to the park we stopped at World of Disney in DtD and I spotted ONE pair in their Made with Magic display and grabbed them! For the rest of the week I only ever saw one more pair of them! I wore them almost everyday when we went back in the evenings. I'm desperate for hubby to get a wand or paintbrush this trip so he can adjust my colours lol. They are super tight though! I had to be careful how long I wore them or I got a really bad headache.
 
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I'm home from Hawaii :( but eagerly planning our Disneyland trip now!
I have a couple of pictures from the trip but they're on my phone and I write my big updates on my laptop so I'll have to add them in later. I didn't take a lot of pictures this trip - I decided to take advantage of hubby being snap happy and my dad having a DSLR to really experience the trip instead of staring into my phone. We had an enjoyable two nights at Aulani with two delicious meals at MonkeyPod across the street a great breakfast at the character buffet (though we only got to meet Mickey, Minnie and Goofy) and an AMAZING dinner at Ama Ama. (There's an interesting story here about a private event I can tell later if anyone is interested) Our visit to Pearl Harbor was on a STUNNING sunny morning and it made the day just a beautiful and moving experience. Our time on Kauai was very low key and relaxing. I'm back home in the snow and so incredibly ready to be done with the snow that keeps falling!

I almost can't believe that our trip is just a tiny hair over 3 months away that's so close to being able to make reservations! :cheer2: I'm not 100% sure how many we're going to make this time - we're leaning towards trying more of the counter service places that always sound so good! If I hate not having lunch scheduled I can always book some meals while we're there.

While we were gone I remembered I had some SPG points saved up from an unfortunate experience at a Sheraton in Edmonton where they gave me enough points for a free night so we decided to make our entire hotel stay a clean sweep and stay free everywhere so we booked a King room at the Sheraton at the Park for our Saturday night. We'll land at 2pm ish and then Lyft/Uber over to the Sheraton and drop our stuff to hit up Downtown Disney we check out the Uva Bar and hit up Trader Sam's. In the morning we'll leave the hotel by 5:45 and head around the back way to get to the Grand Californian's main entrance (with luggage in tow) if we're feeling lazy we may grab a ride. We'll check in and get Bell Services to hold our bags and then hit the parks for MM at 7am Sunday morning. Monday will be a mini repeat as we're moving from a one-bedroom to a Studio and we'll need to get our bags out of the room before we hit the parks, and we'll need new room keys and the whole kit and kaboodle. (Packing smart is going to be a key for this trip I think, otherwise all the moves will take forever!) We'll hit MM every morning with some afternoon breaks to offset the fact that I intend to see fireworks or WoC most nights too. Hopefully the pool at the Grand will be finished at the beginning of the month and we'll be able to take advantage of it on some of our afternoon breaks. Otherwise I guess I'll hit the pool at the Disneyland Hotel at least one day (maybe on Sunday or Monday when we're liable to "homeless" until 4pm both days)

We're strongly leaning towards doing the Dessert Party to see World of Colour again. We loved it last time and being that we don't have any out of pocket expenses for either the hotel or our tickets this time and that we're leaning towards more CS meal options we can afford to splurge on a couple of items. We're also considering doing the Walk in Walt's Footsteps Tour. Anyone here ever done it? I'd love some opinions on it!

I think that will do for now. More pictures soon I swear!
 
Sooooo remember how I said we could afford to splurge this trip?

My twin sister starting talking to my parents on their trip to Hawaii and now they're all booked to go to WDW December 5th to the 12th for my nephew's "first" trip to WDW. Technically he was there for my wedding but he was 7 weeks old so this trip he'll actually be able to experience things since he'll be 2.5 years old. Hubby and I are invited as they have rented a big house off property - they'll switch to a smaller house if we don't go. We'd only need money for flights, tickets and lunches as we'd eat breakfast and dinner in the house.

So now I'm slashing our DL meal budget to the bone to try and get us down to $700 to give us more room for the WDW trip. Hubby's a little concerned about 3 big trips in one year but I think it's manageable if we're careful. We'll have to decide by May 20th if we're going because that's the day the Canadian resident discount ends for the tickets.
 
Still here! I had just been having issues since I usually check the Dis on either my phone or iPad but recently the forums have been really buggy and either cause popup/malware problems on my phone or have an issue with reloading/scrolling on my ipad so that I can't see what I'm typing. It's pretty irritating but I am on my laptop now so I wanted to respond!

I decided to take advantage of hubby being snap happy and my dad having a DSLR to really experience the trip instead of staring into my phone.
That's the best. I am our designated photographer (and admittedly love it sometimes) but it's nice to just put the phone/camera down and just be

We had an enjoyable two nights at Aulani with two delicious meals at MonkeyPod across the street a great breakfast at the character buffet (though we only got to meet Mickey, Minnie and Goofy) and an AMAZING dinner at Ama Ama. (There's an interesting story here about a private event I can tell later if anyone is interested)
Since I am your most vocal audience member I vote YES! I want to hear about the event. What did you have at Ama Ama? I'm trying to decide whether to keep the reservation I made for our last night at Aulani.

Our visit to Pearl Harbor was on a STUNNING sunny morning and it made the day just a beautiful and moving experience. Our time on Kauai was very low key and relaxing. I'm back home in the snow and so incredibly ready to be done with the snow that keeps falling!
I have an admission... we're not planning on going to Pearl Harbor. I went when we visited Oahu in the late 90s and it's not high on R's priority list - based on the legwork required to do the Arizona we're not going to see it. I know that's an unpopular decision but we have a limited amount of time.

Did you do the Na Pali coast on Kauai? Trying to decide if we should just do the first part of the hike, or whether I should schedule a helicopter or boat tour...

I almost can't believe that our trip is just a tiny hair over 3 months away that's so close to being able to make reservations! :cheer2: I'm not 100% sure how many we're going to make this time - we're leaning towards trying more of the counter service places that always sound so good! If I hate not having lunch scheduled I can always book some meals while we're there.
Woo hoo for closing in on countdown milestones! It's interesting that you were already leaning more toward CS and then you got the big WDW invite. Sounds like it was meant to be!

opefully the pool at the Grand will be finished at the beginning of the month and we'll be able to take advantage of it on some of our afternoon breaks.
Yeah, have you heard when they're supposed to reopen? From what I gather we will have lobby construction but hopefully at least the pools will be open.

Hubby and I are invited as they have rented a big house off property - they'll switch to a smaller house if we don't go. We'd only need money for flights, tickets and lunches as we'd eat breakfast and dinner in the house.

So now I'm slashing our DL meal budget to the bone to try and get us down to $700 to give us more room for the WDW trip.
Hello, cheaper Disney trip calling, please answer... YES! I would definitely make some sacrifices at DL to be able to get another trip out of the year. We stayed offsite in January and I can definitely see it being a great option for your extended family especially with the little one. You guys can always bring lunch in with you at WDW as well.

Hubby's a little concerned about 3 big trips in one year but I think it's manageable if we're careful. We'll have to decide by May 20th if we're going because that's the day the Canadian resident discount ends for the tickets.
Good thing you have a voice of reason! But I would definitely scrimp to get another trip together. Especially since you have the opportunity to see your nephew experience the magic!!

Unrelated: I saw on the Aulani DB thread that you got one of the totes for a song - was it the original colorful "large print" bag with the image of the resort and Mickey and Minnie on it? I love that one. Hoping a few more turn up between now and my trip.
 
Since I am your most vocal audience member I vote YES! I want to hear about the event. What did you have at Ama Ama? I'm trying to decide whether to keep the reservation I made for our last night at Aulani.

I had the catch of the day and it was fantastic. We were all extremely pleased with our meals. The Ama Ama story is that there was a private event going on on the lawn next to the restaurant which was extremely loud and had a very short playlist of about 6 songs that included Katy Perry's Roar a Bruno Mars song I hate and a couple others. The duo that usually plays during dinner at Ama Ama were drowned out and gave up after a few songs. We were speaking with our server at the end of our meal and mentioned how sad we were that we couldn't hear them and how annoying the dance party thing was. She said she'd try and at least find the duo to come over and play us a song or two. Just as we got our bill the duo came out so she waved them over and we told them how much we'd tried to enjoy their music and they mentioned that it had been pointless to play as they couldn't compete with the dance party. They said they'd play us a song and as a special treat our server who was also apparently an amazing hula dancer would dance. The three of them picked a song and performed an AMAZING piece of music with our server/personal hula dancer performing the most mesmerizing slow hula dance I have ever seen - I used to dance as a kid and still routinely watch A LOT of dance and this was just absolutely stunning to watch! It was the most amazing end to what otherwise would have been a nice dinner destroyed by the annoying private event on the lawn right beside Ama Ama.

I have an admission... we're not planning on going to Pearl Harbor. I went when we visited Oahu in the late 90s and it's not high on R's priority list - based on the legwork required to do the Arizona we're not going to see it. I know that's an unpopular decision but we have a limited amount of time.

Did you do the Na Pali coast on Kauai? Trying to decide if we should just do the first part of the hike, or whether I should schedule a helicopter or boat tour...

I totally understand skipping it with such a limited visit -being the huge WWII buff that I am I couldn't imagine being so close and not heading over there to finally see it but it's not an experience that calls out to everyone. I wish we'd had longer to spend going through the exhibits before heading over to the memorial. I did get us tickets online in advance which was super easy and made for a streamline experience on our arrival.

Woo hoo for closing in on countdown milestones! It's interesting that you were already leaning more toward CS and then you got the big WDW invite. Sounds like it was meant to be!

Yeah once I was punching in numbers I realized since we were already leaning towards counter service it wasn't too bad.

Yeah, have you heard when they're supposed to reopen? From what I gather we will have lobby construction but hopefully at least the pools will be open.

Last I heard it was supposed to be done the beginning of June but I know that the HUGE amount of rain out there has delayed some of the projects and I wouldn't be too surprised if the pool was one of them.

Hello, cheaper Disney trip calling, please answer... YES! I would definitely make some sacrifices at DL to be able to get another trip out of the year. We stayed offsite in January and I can definitely see it being a great option for your extended family especially with the little one. You guys can always bring lunch in with you at WDW as well.

I got our current budget for food down to $573 for the week and hubby has put in the time off request for December - though he says he's still only a 7 on a scale of 1-10 on whether we're going or not. I might still tweak the budget around some more as right now I still have two TS lunches in DL and us eating in 3 lounges in DCA. I might drop one TS lunch and one lounge and see if I can get the WoC DP in there and keep the budget sub $600. If I do that it'll probably be a surprise for my hubby - even though it'll be for MY birthday :rotfl: I really like surprising people with fun things probably more than I like getting gifts.

Good thing you have a voice of reason! But I would definitely scrimp to get another trip together. Especially since you have the opportunity to see your nephew experience the magic!!

Haha yes he'd definitely the voice of reason but eliminating the big costs of a hotel and most food for the week certainly help to keep the costs down for the second trip and having already paid a shockingly low price for our airfare and having hotel and tickets covered on this trip mean our big expense is food - and apparently I can slash that budget down really well too haha. Plus in the summer when it's warm and we're doing a ton of walking my appetite vanishes so I usually spend even less than we budget - which might leave room for me to order a birthday cake so we can have it for breakfasts in the room (and really when else can you eat cake for breakfast for most of a week?)

Unrelated: I saw on the Aulani DB thread that you got one of the totes for a song - was it the original colorful "large print" bag with the image of the resort and Mickey and Minnie on it? I love that one. Hoping a few more turn up between now and my trip.

Yes that's the bag I bought - aside from the colourful sketch which has been gone for eons it's my favorite bag they've done. I was shocked that not only was it back it was 50% off! I haven't carried it yet but it's definitely going to be my spring purse this year!
 
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The three of them picked a song and performed an AMAZING piece of music with our server/personal hula dancer performing the most mesmerizing slow hula dance I have ever seen - I used to dance as a kid and still routinely watch A LOT of dance and this was just absolutely stunning to watch! It was the most amazing end to what otherwise would have been a nice dinner destroyed by the annoying private event on the lawn right beside Ama Ama.

Okay THAT is a cool story. And how amazing of your server to turn the night around for you! (Needless to say, boo on the lame playlist, I can't believe Aulani let them do that RIGHT next to their signature restaurant. Absurd.) nevertheless it's very cool that you had an amazing end to what could have been a disappointing meal!

but I know that the HUGE amount of rain out there has delayed some of the projects and I wouldn't be too surprised if the pool was one of them.
Nooooo don't say that! Can't easily put in emojis from my phone but imagine the crying guy...

If I do that it'll probably be a surprise for my hubby - even though it'll be for MY birthday :rotfl: I really like surprising people with fun things probably more than I like getting gifts
We do experiences instead of gifts too which definitely helps our travel budget. From all accounts it sounds like the dessert party is worth it so I hope it works out for you!

We love lounges... what were your 3 picks for DCA? I'm guessing Carthay Circle, Cove, and...?

Plus in the summer when it's warm and we're doing a ton of walking my appetite vanishes so I usually spend even less that we budget - which might leave room for me to order a birthday cake so we can have it for breakfasts in the room (and really when else can you eat cake for breakfast for most of a week?)

This sounds logical AND economical, not to mention convenient. Mm hmm. Cake is very nutritious!

Yes that's the bag I bought - aside from the colourful sketch which has been gone for eons it's my favorite bag they've done. I was shocked that not only was it back it was 50% off! I haven't carried it yet but it's definitely going to be my spring purse this year!
Wow, major score!!
 
Okay THAT is a cool story. And how amazing of your server to turn the night around for you! (Needless to say, boo on the lame playlist, I can't believe Aulani let them do that RIGHT next to their signature restaurant. Absurd.) nevertheless it's very cool that you had an amazing end to what could have been a disappointing meal!


Nooooo don't say that! Can't easily put in emojis from my phone but imagine the crying guy...


We do experiences instead of gifts too which definitely helps our travel budget. From all accounts it sounds like the dessert party is worth it so I hope it works out for you!

We love lounges... what were your 3 picks for DCA? I'm guessing Carthay Circle, Cove, and...?



This sounds logical AND economical, not to mention convenient. Mm hmm. Cake is very nutritious!


Wow, major score!!

I don't know it for a fact about the pool but it wouldn't surprise me. I still have my fingers crossed that it will be open for our trip. I know the lobby will be closed off/under construction and that's fine with me.

Especially with my parents it's definitely much more about experiences vs gifts. Or say hubby will promise to buy me a new Dooney in Disney instead of buying me something while we're home.

You got the first two and then the third is the Alfresco Tasting Terrace. I'm thinking about dropping at least one of them and I eliminated one of the TS in DL too (I'm just keeping Cafe Orleans) We loved both the DP and the BB with reserved seating for the parade in August I'd love to try and add one of those two things back into our plans. I definitely can't get both in and keep us on budget but I'd like to do at least one special thing for my birthday trip plus that cake. The one we got in August was delicious and we had to eat it twice a day to finish a 6" cake in 3 days in the room so with 6 days it should be perfect for breakfasts on the days we won't eat it in the park (and I only have two on my must do list Flo's and Gallactic Grill) and a snack on those days.

Yes it was an awesome deal - and I didn't even notice right away! We bought the purse and the matching wristlet for my sister and while the number sounded really low to me I just figured it was our DVC discount. I saw someone else post on one of my Purse boards that they'd got it 50% off and checked my receipt and realized that I did too! Funnily enough the wristlet was still full price so $88 for the wristlet and $114 for the tote! If I'd realized it then I probably would have forked over the additional $26 to get my sister a tote too. OOPS!
 
We're just 75 days away! I can't figure out how to put my lovely chart in here so I'm going to post dining plans one day at a time

Arrival day (Saturday June 10)
Breakfast Home
Lunch YVR 40
Dinner Uva Bar 50
Snacks Trader Sams 40
Total 130

Sunday
Breakfast Room
Lunch Café Orleans 35
Dinner Harbour Galley 25
Snacks Village Haus (?) 25
Total 85

Monday
Breakfast Flo's V8 Cafe 20
Lunch
Dinner Paradise Garden Grill 30
Snacks (maybe lunch) Cove Bar 25
Total 75

Tuesday
Breakfast Galactic Grill 20
Lunch Jolly Holliday 10
Dinner Blue Bayou with MSEP 130
Snacks Tiki Juice Bar 10
Total 170

Wednesday
Breakfast Room
Lunch Carthay Circle Lounge 45
Dinner Alfresco Tasting Terrace 45
Snacks Ghirardelli 12
Total 102

Thursday
Breakfast Room
Lunch French Market 30
Dinner Rancho del Zocalo 20
Snacks Bengal Barbeque 20
Total 70

Friday
Breakfast Room
Lunch Corn Dog Castle 20
Dinner YVR ???
Total 20

Grand Total 652

If Village Haus has returned from being Red Rose Tavern that will be dropped and some of the beverages at Gallactic Grill will be added in as I LOVED the lightside lemonade on our last trip.

I can't wait to start making dining reservations! (plus before we leave I'll be able to book most of our WDW dinning reservations which is slightly crazy lol)
 
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You've got a really great sampling of different restaurants in your itinerary! Your trip is going to be here before you know it!!
 
Looks like a FABULOUS line up!!! 75 days is so exciting. We're at 68 I think. Trying to nail down the last few missing pieces. Can't wait to make a few dining reservations and figure out where we're staying that last night. I wish we had a whole week but I didn't want to cut any time from Hawaii!!
 
You've got a really great sampling of different restaurants in your itinerary! Your trip is going to be here before you know it!!

Some are old favorites (Cafe Orleans, Flo's and GG for breakfast) but a couple like French Market and Harbor Galley are ones that have been on my list for a couple trips and we haven't made it to yet. I can't wait to try them out!

Looks like a FABULOUS line up!!! 75 days is so exciting. We're at 68 I think. Trying to nail down the last few missing pieces. Can't wait to make a few dining reservations and figure out where we're staying that last night. I wish we had a whole week but I didn't want to cut any time from Hawaii!!

I totally understand wanting as much Hawaii time as possible! I'm sure the Sheraton Park will be a great place for your last night, I even stayed there on my solo trip and quite enjoyed the walk back as a way to wind down from the excitement of the parks.

I hope your trip is awesome! It sounds super fun!

Thanks!!!
 
So when I'd brought my cake idea up to my hubby he kinda poo pooed it which bummed me out for a bit until I had a thought - maybe he wanted to surprise me! A few days ago I was hanging out with my sister and - in between discussing our WDW trip which is 100% a go now I booked airfare and we even tacked two solo adult days on the end where we'll stay DVC - she oh so casually told me not to bring up the cake again so I instantly said yay he's going to surprise me! (I'm a terrible person lol - I hate being surprised but I love surprising other people) I then sent her the inspiration picture I was going to send them so she could casually mention to Cole what I want my cake to look like lol.

We're just 65 days away now so soon I'll book our few ADRs and then the trip countdown will really be on!
 
Well...we're 57 days away from our arrival! I've booked our Uva reservations for our arrival day through OpenTable (no cancelation fees if we don't make it - unlike with Disney) plus our two other sit down meals for the trip.

So far our trip is shaping up like so:

June 10: land just after 2pm grab lyft/uber to the Sheraton Park. Beg for a fireworks view King room even though we're just booked in a standard King. Drop bags off in room or with bell services. Walk to DtD the back way around and grab a bite at Trader Sam's. Soak up some atmosphere then grab a bite and a drink at Uva watching the crowds. Hit the hay early.

June 11: Walk to the Grand Californian with our luggage at 6am, check in and go to Main Gates for EMH at DCA. Ride either Mission Breakout or RSRs and then probably head over to rope drop DL. Have lunch at Cafe Orleans. Hope to see fireworks and maybe MSEP.

June 12: Have Bell Services hold bags and issue new keys at Grand (swapping from 1 bedroom to a studio) make DCA EMH. Enjoy DCA.

June 13: Finally leave our stuff in a hotel room. EMH at DL. Enjoy park. Dinner at Blue Bayou with MSEP package at 7:10 so second parade I believe. Hopefully see fireworks first

June 14: EMH at DCA repeats as much as we want. Possibly hop to DL but return for WoC at least 90 minutes early for awesome spot.

June 15: EMH at DL repeat favs. Soak in atmosphere. See fireworks and MSEP again.

June 16: Bring bags to Bell Services (cry a little) hit EMH for DCA repeat favs. Soak in atmosphere. Leak parks by 1030am to pick up bags and uber/lyft back to the airport. Fly home.
 

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