The Year of Disney - A 2018 PTR. Updated 10/12x4!

[missangelalexis]

Love the outfits! Especially that Big Al shirt!

Those mousekeeping envelopes are super cute.

Your trip is so close!! I hope you have a wonderful time!!

 

[dizneefan13]

I love your outfits! The new magicbands are awesome. Before you know it you'll be heading to The Parks and enjoying your wonderful birthday trip!
I haven't done WDW solo, but I have gone to DLR by myself and LOVED it! Love going with family too, but its just such a free feeling to be able to do whatever you want when you want... and nothing at all if you so choose!

 

[docsoliday1]

Sorry to hear about your aunt. Great that you got to see your great aunt though and she was able to most of her [great] nieces/nephews.

 

[DLo]

Sorry to hear of your Aunt passing. Never easy to lose a close family member .

I did EMM in May and enjoyed it. I did Peter Pan once then 7 dwarves like 8 times then Pooh once right at 9. I went ahead and ate breakfast @ 9:15 as I had to get DHS for some fast passes. I think you wil like it .

 

[Pluto0809]

Love the outfits! Especially that Big Al shirt!
Those mousekeeping envelopes are super cute.
Your trip is so close!! I hope you have a wonderful time!!

Thanks! Just one day now! I was excited to find those Mousekeeping envelopes since I have no talent in that area.

I love your outfits! The new magicbands are awesome. Before you know it you'll be heading to The Parks and enjoying your wonderful birthday trip!
I haven't done WDW solo, but I have gone to DLR by myself and LOVED it! Love going with family too, but its just such a free feeling to be able to do whatever you want when you want... and nothing at all if you so choose!

Thanks! Only one more day till I leave for my trip!

I definitely love my solo trips. So much less stress than when I'm planning for a group.

Sorry to hear about your aunt. Great that you got to see your great aunt though and she was able to most of her [great] nieces/nephews.

Thanks, it was a rough couple of weeks.

Sorry to hear of your Aunt passing. Never easy to lose a close family member .

I did EMM in May and enjoyed it. I did Peter Pan once then 7 dwarves like 8 times then Pooh once right at 9. I went ahead and ate breakfast @ 9:15 as I had to get DHS for some fast passes. I think you wil like it .

It was definitely a rough time for my family.

I'm really looking forward to trying out EMM. I'm not sure my stomach will be able to handle 7DMT that many times but I'm going to give it a try!

 

[Pluto0809]

One Day to Go!

Whoo! I leave for Disney tomorrow night! I'm pretty much all packed except for last minute items that I'll need to throw in my suitcase tomorrow morning.

I did figure out my Instagram account and posted a picture of my Buddy. So I may try to post some stuff during this trip. My User Id is Pluto0809 if you want to follow me there.

Since I'll be in Disney for my birthday, my Mom sent me my gifts a few days earlier. Since they are Disney related, I thought I would share them here. As you can tell Mom knows me well. First up a Stitch cookie jar.





And also a Stitch bag. I saw this at the Disney store when I was up there visiting and almost bought it then. I guess Mom went back after I left and bought it for me.





Also Disney related, I've got my Brother's gift all done for Christmas. It's going to be hard to keep this a secret until then. If you recall, his favorite attraction is Hall of Presidents. I found this reproduction poster on Ebay and then had it framed at Michael's.



And since this is a short post, I will go ahead and share some cute pictures of my doggies.

Sierra is one cool cat, oh, um dog.



Ellie is just as crazy as ever.





And Buddy and Remy are just my sweet boys as always.





And that's all for now! I'll see you on the other side of this trip.

 

[missangelalexis]

Such nice gifts from your mom! And cute pics of your pups

Have a wonderful trip!!!

 

[rteetz]

Have a great trip!

 

[Pluto0809]

Such nice gifts from your mom! And cute pics of your pups

Have a wonderful trip!!!

Thanks, I did have a wonderful time!

Have a great trip!

Thanks! I was a great trip.

 

[Pluto0809]

Hello everyone! I'm back from my trip and have started the new TR if you would like to join in.

Don't Pet the Sweaty Things

I make our FPs for October next Tuesday but it will probably be the first week of September before I start the day to day updates here. I'm going to be a bit busy at work for the next few weeks plus I would like to concentrate on getting my January TR finished. I only have one more day to go there.

 

[missjackiemcg]

OMG, these are SOO cute!!!!! Rob always teases me for wasting time and/or more money on envelopes that will be thrown out, but I like them to be cute!!!

 

[buzzrelly]

Well, I started at the beginning, so there was no way I could quote everything…

I'm so sorry about your little dog. Your other fur-babies are so adorable

And I'm really sorry about your aunt, too. 63 is so young…I lost my favorite uncle a few years ago and he was only 60. I wish I still had him around, he was such an awesome person

I ran two RunDisney races and I kind of thought I wrote them off. A 5K sounds nice though. Of course, that would mean I'd have to start running again. I haven't run since June when I had surgery. I'm totally healthy and fine so I can't even blame that anymore. I need some motivation!

All your plans look great! Let me know if you want to DisMeet on that DHS day that we have TOT FP at the same time!

I'll head over to your actual TR now

 

[Pluto0809]

OMG, these are SOO cute!!!!! Rob always teases me for wasting time and/or more money on envelopes that will be thrown out, but I like them to be cute!!!

I thought they were very nice and they were only around $1 a piece so not bad at all. I'm not sure if we will use any in October or not. My brother and SIL never let anyone in their room when staying at a hotel (I'm not even going to mention the random room checks to them) so I am going to have them waive Mousekeeping. Of course now my Mom wants to do it too for our room so we can get the gift card. I'm hoping to talk her out of it since we are going to be there for a full week this time.

Well, I started at the beginning, so there was no way I could quote everything…

I'm so sorry about your little dog. Your other fur-babies are so adorable

And I'm really sorry about your aunt, too. 63 is so young…I lost my favorite uncle a few years ago and he was only 60. I wish I still had him around, he was such an awesome person

I ran two RunDisney races and I kind of thought I wrote them off. A 5K sounds nice though. Of course, that would mean I'd have to start running again. I haven't run since June when I had surgery. I'm totally healthy and fine so I can't even blame that anymore. I need some motivation!

All your plans look great! Let me know if you want to DisMeet on that DHS day that we have TOT FP at the same time!

I'll head over to your actual TR now

Wow, I'm impressed you read all the way from the beginning!

I've been trying to keep up with my running but training can be hard with a busy life! I did run a 5K this past weekend and I am sore today because my training has been so lax lately! I want to try and run all 4 of WDW 5Ks. Next up is the Wine and Dine 5K in November 2019. I didn't realize it was one week after our trip this October or I might have scheduled the trip so I could do the race then.

I would definitely like to do a DIS meet if we can arrange it. I'm planning on finalizing our plans this week and starting the day by day updates here probably later this week or next week.

 

[Pluto0809]

Summer 2018 5Ks

I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to get back to updating this PTR! It’s been a busy few months at work and home. But the October trip is coming up in less than three weeks so I thought I better do some quick day by day posts. First though, I realized I hadn’t done a running update in a long while so I thought I would do a very quick one.

My training has been pretty horrible this summer but I still ran in three 5Ks and also did a fourth one on my treadmill. The reason I did the treadmill one was to complete the Disney Virtual run this year which was based on the Incredibles.



In order to complete the Virtual challenge you needed to run one race in June, one in July and one in August. In June I did a local race called the Flippin’ 5K. It benefited a local gymnastics group and I finished with a time of 42:50. Not my best but it was very hot and humid that day. Of course anything under 45 minutes is pretty good for me!



In July I ran the Woodstock Freedom Run. I can’t seem to find my results right now but I was around 41 minutes. I really like the course for this one as it’s fairly fast. I’ve had two of my best times with this race. I wish they did more here but they have to close streets for it so I guess it’s not an option.



In August, I really did not want to run an outdoor race. I did one last year and it was brutal with the Atlanta heat and humidity. So I decided just to do my final 5K on my treadmill. I totally forgot to write down the time but at least I finished the challenge.

In September I ran another repeat race from last year. It was called the Have a Nice Day 5K and was an evening race. I was really off of my training for this one and was having issues with my ankle so I finished in the 43 minute range. It was a pretty fun race and not too hot thanks to a rain storm right before the race. The only bad part was the flooded pathways in one area. My shoes were quite soaked by the end of the race! I got a cool shirt and medal for this one.



With the Disney trip coming up in a few weeks, I didn’t sign up for a race this month. But I am signed up for one on 11/11 and one on 12/1. I’m really excited for the December one because it’s an evening run through Christmas lights which should be a blast. As for my next Disney race, I’m planning on the Wine and Dine 5K in November 2019.

OK, enough of that, let’s move on to the good stuff and talk about the upcoming Disney trip!

 

[Pluto0809]

October Trip – Day 1 & 2, Thursday 10/18 and Friday 10/19

Just as a reminder since it’s been ages since I last wrote about this trip, the dates for the trip are Saturday 10/20 through Saturday 10/27. So why the heck am I doing a post about 10/18 and 10/19? Because as you all know, I can’t leave well enough alone when it comes to my Disney trips. I’m going to have to blame this change though on Jim because he started the whole thing…….

Let’s flash back about a month or so ago when Jim came to me and said he was bummed because he didn’t realize that the Detroit Red Wings would be playing the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday 10/18 and he really wished he could have gone to the game since we would be down there a few days later. You see, Jim is a huge hockey fan and also plays in 2 leagues here in Atlanta. The Red Wings are his team (for me it’s the Pittsburgh Penguins) and he really misses going to games. We used to go all the time to see the Atlanta Thrashers before they moved to Winnipeg and became the Jets.

When he mentioned this to me I said well, why not? We had our flights through Southwest which you can change anytime without a fee, you just pay the difference in cost if necessary. But he was worried about taking more days off of work so I forgot about it till a few days later when he came back and said he really wanted to do it. We spent the next few nights rearranging his flight and booking tickets and hotels for him. So here’s the first plan we came up with for him (notice I threw in that “first” there, ).

He flies into Tampa sometime on Thursday. He never forwarded me his new flight info so I’m not sure the exact time. He got a hotel for the night near the stadium so he will head there before going to the game. He’s renting a car but thinks he will probably Uber to the game so he doesn’t have to worry about parking near the stadium.

Then on Friday, he’s going to visit some work colleagues in Tampa and then drive up to Orlando. I originally tried to get him Friday night at All Star Music but there were no rooms available so I booked him next door at All Star Sports. Would you believe I don’t have one picture from Sports that I can post for you? I stayed there a whole week in 2014 and apparently didn’t like the resort enough to take any pictures.

On his way to the resort, he’s going to stop in at Walmart and pick up a cheap coffee pot for the week. My Mom, Jocelyn and John all like coffee in the morning and rather than pay Disney prices, we are going to get one for around $9 at Walmart and then just leave it there at the end of the week.

He plans on returning his rental car on Friday afternoon about a mile from Disney Springs. He will then walk to Disney Springs for the afternoon/evening. After reviewing all the restaurants there, asked me to make him a dinner ADR at House of Blues. That was easy enough and I booked him a 6 pm ADR. And just to break up all this text, here’s a few food pictures from HOB. The Lobster Mac and Cheese was one of my favorite dishes at WDW but it’s no longer on the menu.





On Saturday morning, he will check out of All Star Sports and walk next door to All Star Music to meet up with the rest of us.

All of this did cause some chaos with my MDE account. I booked the one night at Sports through his MDE account so the reservation would be in his name and then tried to link his account with mine. I ended up on the phone for over an hour with Disney because I had him as “James” under my account and he had “Jim” in his. The poor CM had to manually move every reservation (ADRs and Fast Passes) from James to Jim before she could link the accounts. I believe this caused several other problems later on but I’ll talk about that once we get there.

Once all that was settled I started to stress big time about my travel day. I was really happy that Jim decided to do something like this on his own (he’s a pretty big homebody and rarely goes anywhere on his own) however this left me taking the dogs to the boarders on my own and also driving to the airport in the middle of the night to catch a 6:10 am flight. I did that drive back in July on my own and it was extremely stressful because I don’t see all that well at night with my glasses on. I’m fine with contacts in but there’s no way I can put them in that early. Also, if you’ve read my past TRs, you will know what a fiasco it was the last time I took the dogs to the boarders on my own.

I solved the dog dilemma pretty quickly. I talked to the ladies at the boarders and they said to just call when I got there and they would come out and help me bring them in. But I was still very worried about the flight. I thought and thought about the flight situation and in the end I said heck with it, I’m just going to fly down a day early on Friday and join Jim at All Star Sports. I will drop off the dogs that morning and then head to the airport. I have a 1:40 pm flight and land in Orlando at 3:05 pm. I was able to add myself to the HOB ADR and also move the time a little later to 6:30 pm so I have a bit more of a cushion between my flight and dinner.

Alright, that concludes day 1 and 2. Hopefully I will have a few more pictures for the next updates. Oh, I might as well show you our magic bands for the trip. For our one night at All Star Sports, I got purple and Jim got yellow.



On the same day those came I got a second Magic Band box but very quickly discovered a problem.



Yep, only one Magic Band when there should have been three. I spent another hour on the phone with Disney to get the order resent. I don’t know for sure but I suspect this had something to do with the issues I had linking mine and Jim’s accounts. I think the CM may have deleted two of them by accident because she had to mess with the Magic Bands to have Jim’s show up.

Any ways, about a week later I did get our correct order which means I ended up with two blue ones! And yes, my goofy husband ordered pink for himself because he wanted something “different" this time.



And one more Disney related real life update. A few weeks ago, we went and saw Aladdin on Broadway. All I can say there is if you ever get a chance to see it, GO!!!!! It was amazing, magical and every other good work you can think of. The Magic Carpet scene just blew my mind and the talent of the guy playing the Genie was out of this world. I think I sat there with a big grin on my face the entire show. And here’s what I brought home to put in my Pluto room if I ever finish putting it back together.



Up Next: Day 3, Saturday October 20th

 

[missangelalexis]

Those Incredibles medals are really cool!

Wow, lots of additions- but good ones! It's nice that Jim will get to go down and enjoy the game and that you will be there a day early!

LOL I can't wait to see Jim in the pink magic band!

 

[missjackiemcg]

But I am signed up for one on 11/11 and one on 12/1. I’m really excited for the December one because it’s an evening run through Christmas lights which should be a blast.

That sounds like an awesome run!!! I will ALSO be doing a run on 12/1....however, ours is the Santa Hustle, along the lakefront in the morning, and will likely be freezing!

I ended up on the phone for over an hour with Disney because I had him as “James” under my account and he had “Jim” in his.

We have this problem every trip!!! JIMMY, JAMES, ugh!

 

[dizneefan13]

Glad you could rearrange your schedule for your next trip to make it easier for you. And an extra day at Disney is always a plus! Sounds like your plans are coming together just great, minus the couple screw-ups with the magic bands and MDE.
I am SO EXCITED to be headed to The World very soon! I think we have everything pretty well planned, as much as possible. I just hope it doesn't rain as much as some reports say it will.
And congrats on the races you have run.... it all sounds major to me! but running is pretty out of the question for me. I do LOVE my bike, though! lol

 

[buzzrelly]

Good for you for keeping up with the running and races! Those medals are really cute!

Sounds like getting in a day early was a really smart decision, plus, you'll be getting the WDW a day early

 

[Pluto0809]

Those Incredibles medals are really cool!

Wow, lots of additions- but good ones! It's nice that Jim will get to go down and enjoy the game and that you will be there a day early!

LOL I can't wait to see Jim in the pink magic band!

Disney definitely does their race medals right! They are always detailed and heavy duty.

I'm happy to get there a day early mainly so I don't have to deal with the 6 am flight. It was a good idea when Jim was with my but not by myself.

I'm honestly wondering if he really will wear the pink one. He's also taking his Donald Duck and Boba Fett MBs plus the yellow one above and his purple one from January. He couldn't decide which ones he wanted to use so he's taking them all.

That sounds like an awesome run!!! I will ALSO be doing a run on 12/1....however, ours is the Santa Hustle, along the lakefront in the morning, and will likely be freezing!

We have this problem every trip!!! JIMMY, JAMES, ugh!

Brrrr, I can imagine how cold it will be in Chicago! I have no idea what the weather will be like here on that day. December can be a bit of a crap shoot weather wise. We've had temperatures in the 80s before but also freezing and snow.

Now I'm having issues because for some reason Jocelyn's ticket is not showing up in my MDE. She and John are on the same package so I have no clue what's going on. Got to call again! This will be the fourth time I've called with technical issues for this trip.

Glad you could rearrange your schedule for your next trip to make it easier for you. And an extra day at Disney is always a plus! Sounds like your plans are coming together just great, minus the couple screw-ups with the magic bands and MDE.
I am SO EXCITED to be headed to The World very soon! I think we have everything pretty well planned, as much as possible. I just hope it doesn't rain as much as some reports say it will.
And congrats on the races you have run.... it all sounds major to me! but running is pretty out of the question for me. I do LOVE my bike, though! lol

MDE has given me fits this time! I've got to call again this weekend for another issue and it will be the fourth time relating to this trip!

Well, I say run but I should put that in quotes because I probably fast walk at least 2/3rds of every race! I also have an exercise bike I try to get on sometimes to help strengthen my legs without the pounding you get on a treadmill.

Good for you for keeping up with the running and races! Those medals are really cute!

Sounds like getting in a day early was a really smart decision, plus, you'll be getting the WDW a day early

My goal is to do all four Walt Disney World 5Ks so that keeps me motivated. Once I complete those I may reevaluate the whole running thing and decide if I want to keep up with it.

I was definitely relieved once I made the decision leave a day early. I really didn't want to take the extra vacation day but I think it will be for the best.