October 2015 PTR: a “Halloweenie” and her Fearless Companion conquer their first HHN!

[DonnainIllinois]

Your dates are just before ours....we arrive October 10th.



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Thank you. Got it.

 

[sk8jdgca]

When you are at Niagara Falls try the syndicate restaurant. If you haven't been there it is a farm to table place with amazing food. They have a fixed prix menu with a three course meal starting at $22. Cheap beer flights too. The pear salad is amazing! It is on lundy's lane.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

When you are at Niagara Falls try the syndicate restaurant. If you haven't been there it is a farm to table place with amazing food. They have a fixed prix menu with a three course meal starting at $22. Cheap beer flights too. The pear salad is amazing! It is on lundy's lane.

I'm guessing we won't be stopping long enough on the Canadian side to eat (not this time, anyway) but I will definitely keep this in mind for our next vacation at the Falls. The menu looks delish! We're always up Lundy's Lane when we visit NF....Jake always wants to make a stop at the Canada One Outlet Mall....but somehow, we've never noticed this particular restaurant before . Thanks for the recommendation.....its always fun to have new places to try .

 

[Loves The Mouse]

I'm in, and from the beginning this time! Your so... Lucky and smart to have three trips already lined up before your AP expires.
October and December look like a great time to vacation in Florida. We have always wanted to go to Florida in October to enjoy the parks, but our schedule is too hectic in the fall to take a vacation. The decorations look very festive.
Great start to your pre trip report, keep it coming!

 

[AussieBritTraveller]

We are there the few weeks before you arrive, doing HHN also

 

[jm106]

Happy Pre-trip report! I love the excitement leading up and I hate post trip blues which I am deeply into at 5 days post trip. No TR for me so I need to get on my photobook before it all escapes my memory.
We really enjoyed October last year, We were there 3-12, fabulous weather. I wish you the same.
We are trying for a December Florida trip(as well as a 2016/17 relocation too Orlando area!!) but probably not central Fl. Oh how fun it is to plan

 

[toystoryduo]

Loved your last trip report, Gina! Looking forward to reading about your plans for October!

 

[Monykalyn]

Woohoo! So glad you started this! Will have to live vicariously as we have no trips to Orlando planned -so far anyway-:we have a "free" timeshare certificate for a week but it has limited availability and areas. Of course Orlando is one that has lots of options so I am tracking air fare to there (well to there and Aruba. ) Please - need details with lots of pics on HHN. And my oldest wants to go to Niagra Falls too-although she may get her wish to return to Washington DC next spring (mom and daughter trip).

Speaking of timeshares- I recall you guys own in Sheraton Vistana (Resort?)-do you belong to Timeshare Owners Group (TUG)? Someone was giving away a week 23 2 bedroom unit (Falls area I think) for just the maintenance fees (???$800 yearly-might have been much less-I was also looking at a week in Hawaii and may have mixed up the MF in my mind/recall. Actually it is quite likely I did). But anyway thought of you

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

I'm in, and from the beginning this time! Your so... Lucky and smart to have three trips already lined up before your AP expires.
October and December look like a great time to vacation in Florida. We have always wanted to go to Florida in October to enjoy the parks, but our schedule is too hectic in the fall to take a vacation. The decorations look very festive.
Great start to your pre trip report, keep it coming!

Welcome, welcome! And right from the start, no less!!

We are very blessed to have so many trips lined up......its something I am thankful for on a daily basis. Our good health, the necessary finances. I will admit I sent up a little prayer of thanks when April airfare turned out to be so affordable (cheaper than both our October and December flights.....and one of us free, one way, with True Blue points to boot!). The travel budget is getting rather stretched these days!!!

We're just in that new stage of being able to travel in the off-seasons (it still feels strange not being tied to the school calendar!), so we have A LOT of months on the calendar to conquer. We've already visited in January, May, August, and December. This fall, we'll scratch October off our Orlando Bucket List, and then in the spring we'll conquer April. Late September 2016 might be the next possibility, or perhaps early November.....so that's a good start. I can't see us ever making the trek in June or July .... too hot and too busy ... but every other month is definitely up for grabs.

We are there the few weeks before you arrive, doing HHN also

Very cool!! Are you HHN first timers like us, or have you visited before?

I just heard today that Insidious was officially announced as the 2nd of the themed houses. Heaven help me .

Happy Pre-trip report! I love the excitement leading up and I hate post trip blues which I am deeply into at 5 days post trip. No TR for me so I need to get on my photobook before it all escapes my memory.
We really enjoyed October last year, We were there 3-12, fabulous weather. I wish you the same.
We are trying for a December Florida trip(as well as a 2016/17 relocation too Orlando area!!) but probably not central Fl. Oh how fun it is to plan

Coming home is THE WORST. They were talking about the post-trip blues on this weeks The Trip podcast, and I couldn't help think how comforting it was to know other people suffer from it, too. Photobooks are definitely a good outlet, though, and a fun way to relive all those happy memories. Its one of my first forms of therapy when we return from a trip!

Fingers crossed our October weather turns out to be as pleasant as you experienced. I am fretting a bit about the humidity....three August vacations have me very wary. Most of all, I hope its not too rainy. So far, we have been SO lucky with little rain on each of our vacations, so I often wonder if we'll be washed out one of these days!! (and have no justification to complain, lol).

Relocating to Orlando.........that's my dream too, but probably more in retirement than now. I am jealous!

Loved your last trip report, Gina! Looking forward to reading about your plans for October!

Welcome aboard! Thanks for reading along!

Woohoo! So glad you started this! Will have to live vicariously as we have no trips to Orlando planned -so far anyway-:we have a "free" timeshare certificate for a week but it has limited availability and areas. Of course Orlando is one that has lots of options so I am tracking air fare to there (well to there and Aruba. ) Please - need details with lots of pics on HHN. And my oldest wants to go to Niagra Falls too-although she may get her wish to return to Washington DC next spring (mom and daughter trip).

Speaking of timeshares- I recall you guys own in Sheraton Vistana (Resort?)-do you belong to Timeshare Owners Group (TUG)? Someone was giving away a week 23 2 bedroom unit (Falls area I think) for just the maintenance fees (???$800 yearly-might have been much less-I was also looking at a week in Hawaii and may have mixed up the MF in my mind/recall. Actually it is quite likely I did). But anyway thought of you

Have you ever been to Niagara Falls before? If not, its a great trip....tons to do, and the Falls themselves are a sight to behold. I've never been to DC, yet but I'd love to go. New York City and San Francisco are also on my USA short-list. If I ever win the lottery, I'd sell my house in a heartbeat, invest in the fanciest set of luggage I can buy, and just start travelling from place to place until I couldn't bear to get on another plane. I'm guessing it would take me quite a while to get tired of exploring!!

We have often thought of picking up an extra timeshare week, but let me tell ya ... the declining Canadian dollar has us glad we only have the two . Maintenance fees due January 1st are gonna kill us this year with 25-30 cents on every dollar in exchange. I think you're probably right on with the maintenance fees.....fixed weeks in Falls look to be generally around that price. You should buy it, Monykalyn ... then we could meet you there and paint the town red!

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I meant to get another entry up today, but our new phones arrived by courier this morning (we've finally retired our androids and moved into the trendy world of iPhones) so I've been busy downloading apps, fiddle-diddling with all the features, and getting it all set up like I want it. I'm sure the novelty will wear off soon .

I also received the shirts I ordered for us for Halloween Horror Nights....knowing costumes were a no-no, Steve wanted us to have themed t-shirts and we found some really fun ones online. They're so darn cute and turned out spectacularly well, so I'll try and post a pic as soon as I can figure out how to do so from my fancy-schmancy new phone. Surely to goodness "there's an app for that"!!

 

[Lynne G]

Would like to see the Tshirts. I've been an iphone user for awhile. Just upgraded this past week-end. My kids are allowed to use my phone, even though they have their own. I also don't like using Siri very much. But when I used her the first time to just check her on my phone, she said hello princess. I told my DD that she should have let me set up my Siri. (Yeah, I changed it ) I still am not nearly as savvy as either kid, especially my DD,when it comes to electronics. And of course, they both needed upgraded iphones too.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Home with a migraine today. The first in a long time to knock me completely off my feet. Happy Friday to all, and hopefully I will have my bearings about me later on today and be able to chat more. In the meantime I will be hiding out in the dark and waiting for this to pass.

 

[JaxDad]

I hope you feel better soon.

 

[Lynne G]

Hope your migraine goes away soon. Hugs and quiet to you.

 

[toystoryduo]

I get migraines too and have had a couple of doozies this year. A friend of mine suggested rubbing small amounts of peppermint and lavender essential oils on the temples and on the back of the head near the neck area to get relief. I've tried it a couple of times and for me, it does seem to lessen the severity of the migraine. I hope you feel better soon, Gina.

 

[ArwenMarie]

Hi Gina, found your new PTR, yay!
Three trips on one AP, I love AP math. It's the sensible thing to do

Sorry you aren't feeling well today, hope you feel better soon and looking forward to hearing more about your upcoming trip. October is a great month to be there

 

[Monykalyn]

oh Migraines are the worst! Hope you feel better soon-and ditto on the essential oils. Peppermint fights nausea, and lavender relaxes. Caffeine will sometimes help mine if I catch it early.

 

[Loves The Mouse]

Sorry your feeling under the weather, hoping your feeling better soon. Post more when you're up to it, you need TLC for now.

I'm sure your vacation budget is stretched, but it probably feels great getting your money's worth out of your AP's!!
How is traveling to Florida in January, is it warm enough and do they have a lot of the rides closed? Your right about the summer months, we went in July and August we felt like we were melting in the heat! End of May beginning of June was not that bad. We also loved going after Thanksgiving beginning of December, love the Christmas season at WDW!
You are going to enjoy your vacation in October, can't wait to hear how you liked it! True about touring during off seasons, we get to go early January this year because our daughter is attending college now. But still can't go in October, because she is only gets a week vacation the end of October.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

I hope you feel better soon.

Hope your migraine goes away soon. Hugs and quiet to you.

Thank you both! I am happy to report that I am feeling much more human today .

I get migraines too and have had a couple of doozies this year. A friend of mine suggested rubbing small amounts of peppermint and lavender essential oils on the temples and on the back of the head near the neck area to get relief. I've tried it a couple of times and for me, it does seem to lessen the severity of the migraine. I hope you feel better soon, Gina.

Thanks for the tips ... I am always willing to try something new (and like being able to use natural treatments versus medications whenever possible). I haven't had a really nasty, knock-me-down migraine in a while, so I am a bit stumped as to what sent me off kilter yesterday. Perhaps it was something as simple as the weather (since having my brain tumor removed several years ago, I'm rather sensitive to triggers like changes in air pressure). Today was hot and sunny, and a much better head day.

Hi Gina, found your new PTR, yay!
Three trips on one AP, I love AP math. It's the sensible thing to do

Sorry you aren't feeling well today, hope you feel better soon and looking forward to hearing more about your upcoming trip. October is a great month to be there

AP Math is my favourite kind of math! (perhaps the only kind of math I do enjoy )

Have you been to Orlando in October, ArwenMarie? How did you find the heat and humidity? We are a bit worried about crowd levels too, since we were so spoiled by the low, low crowds of early May. October's predictions seem like the parks will be noticeably more full.

oh Migraines are the worst! Hope you feel better soon-and ditto on the essential oils. Peppermint fights nausea, and lavender relaxes. Caffeine will sometimes help mine if I catch it early.

Gravol turned out to be the savior of the day yesterday. It seems to work better on my migraines than even standard migraine meds.....and as an added bonus, it also helps with the nausea that comes hand in hand with the headache. It makes me all dopey and spacey, though......like I'm walking through a fog. But when my head feels like its being squeezed in a vice, dopey and spacey seems like a favourable trade-off .

Sorry your feeling under the weather, hoping your feeling better soon. Post more when you're up to it, you need TLC for now.

I'm sure your vacation budget is stretched, but it probably feels great getting your money's worth out of your AP's!!
How is traveling to Florida in January, is it warm enough and do they have a lot of the rides closed? Your right about the summer months, we went in July and August we felt like we were melting in the heat! End of May beginning of June was not that bad. We also loved going after Thanksgiving beginning of December, love the Christmas season at WDW!
You are going to enjoy your vacation in October, can't wait to hear how you liked it! True about touring during off seasons, we get to go early January this year because our daughter is attending college now. But still can't go in October, because she is only gets a week vacation the end of October.

Travelling in January, we experienced everything from summer-like warmth to uncomfortable cold (frost enough that there were days where we wore our winter jackets and mittens in the parks). Sometimes both extremes in the same week. Disney does have refurbishments happening during that time, and one of their waterparks is always closed (and along the same vein, Aquatica and Wet N Wild will close if the temperatures are not considered warm enough for swimming). All the pools at the hotels and resorts are heated, so no matter how chilly the air we still took advantage of the opportunity to swim, hearty Canucks that we are!

The only thing I really dislike about winter trips is having to pack for both extremes. We always need to take more clothes (some of them bulky ones, like hoodies and jeans) which means less luggage room for important things (like giant stuffed minions!!). But crowds were very manageable in our experience and its a wonderful break from our northern winter .

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

So....I had mentioned that I ordered t-shirts for us to wear on our HHN night (oddly enough, this was at the request of Steve.....not one to usually get to hyped up about being all matchy-matchy, he is very much in the spirit for his first Halloween Horror Nights and wants to be suitably decked out). I ordered them from a company called Spreadshirt which is based somewhere out of the USA (I would have to check the post mark to see where they were actually shipped from). They had a huge selection of Halloween designs, so picking the ones for our order was tougher than we thought.

In the end, we went with those that we thought summed up our personalities and our approach to HHN.

My fearless, you-can't-scare-me, bring-on-the-blood-and-gore, the-more-scares-the-better Steve-o chose this design:



....while this one seemed to be perfect for my anxiety-laced anticipation:



Mine is really big....I should have ordered a size smaller (its always tough to order women's clothes online, when you can't see how big or small the items run) but I will make it work.

 

[Lynne G]

Love that weenie, that can be me too. I have a scary Mickey pumpkin face that is hard to see, but may be my tshirt of choice during my trip.

Glad to hear you are feeling better.