But We're Ready to Go Already! (Summer 2017 PTR)

Finally Making Headway!

It's been quite a month for me. My motto recently has been "get through to summer vacation then everything will calm down." The end of the school year closed with some major waves in my district so I haven't been able to focus much on Disney or anything else related to summer. I'm seriously looking at things in baby steps - step one, a weekend away in Ossippee, step two, camp, etc.

But we have been making headway on the Disneyland front!

1. Reservations

There were two meals that we knew we wanted to do so I went ahead and booked those early because it just made more sense in the long run to know that we would have those two meals. Of them, only one really needed to be booked this far in advance, but that's okay.

Our first full day in Disneyland we're going to get lunch at Cafe Orleans. Liz really wanted to do this, and I can't pass up pomme frites so I was okay with it. This was her "must do" sit down so since we did my "must do" last trip I happily obliged. Our second day, we have a lunch reservation (I like sit-down lunches and I have control, can you tell?) at Carthay Circle. We got the WoC package to go with it because it made Carthay's pricing a bit more reasonable for us.

2. Tickets

Well, at the very least, I got my ticket. I had put $230 aside on a card for the possibility of doing a dessert party for another trip, but the idea got kiboshed due to time restraints. So, I used it to buy my park ticket. Liz has to buy hers and Jen has an AP so she's all set.

Our one issue is the day we arrive. We're not sure yet if we want to get a one day, non-park hopper pass for Liz and I for that day. And as far as I'm aware (please correct me if I'm wrong!) you can't add a day to a 5 day ticket, right? so we'd have to pay the $110+tax. Liz has never left the timezone before, so she's not sure how jetlag will affect her, if it will affect her. (I've never really been jetlagged, except once, and it was only an hour difference from Kerry to Paris. I was also sick.) So we're going to play that by ear. Our other option is Downtown Disney or possibly something else. We haven't figured that something else out yet.

3. Plane tickets

Yes, it took us a long time to get plane tickets. At first, after starting her new job, Liz wasn't sure she'd manage to get the time off. Then I started getting super stressed about my job (admittedly I still am - fingers crossed, guys!). Finally Liz and I just sat down and figured ourselves out and bought our plane tickets today while I was at work. We got a 7 am flight out of Logan. It's a nonstop, so we'll get to LAX by 10:15 in the morning. Liz's boyfriend has already offered to drive us to the airport that morning, which is awesome of him!

Jen will more likely than not meet us at the airport. She has our information so if her plans change she'll either book on our flight or try to get there around the same time. However, her plan of action as of right now is to go to California the week before us to spend time with her aunt and meet us once we get to the airport. I'm going to guess we'll take the bus to Anaheim from there, but Jen's going to let me know in a couple days once she finalizes her plans. Last time, we booked the bus but her aunt just decided to drive us instead so it all depends on how everything works out on her end.

We have three different ideas depending on what we want to do:

a - if we have access to Jen's aunt's car we'll do something in the LA area (this is the least likely outcome)
b - head to Anaheim, drop off bags (since check-in won't be until later in the day), get a 1 day ticket and spend the afternoon/evening in Disneyland (possible)
c - head to Anaheim, drop off bags, then spend the afternoon in Downtown Disney, get dinner, walk around the Disney hotels, possibly go to Trader Sam's for a drink (also possible)
 
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Ahh, I've seen you all over the August check in boards, I didn't realize that you had a PTR going...following along so I can stay up to date on your trip!

~Meg
 
Just caught up with your planning, glad to hear you are getting some things nailed down, especially the flight. And I'm in the camp of getting the direct flight when I can, even if it costs a bit more. It gets you there faster and leaves less variables for delays or lost luggage. We are coming in at about the same time of day when we fly and just plan on walking the resorts & DTD :thumbsup2

I can empathize on your issues at your district, I work in Higher Ed and our next biennium is pretty bad. We had to do some layoffs to get us thru the 17/18 year :sad2: All the best to you on that front.

Cafe Orleans always smells so good when we walk by but we've never actually eaten there. Hard to go wrong with good pomme frites - worthy carbs for sure! We're finally going to eat at Blue Bayou this trip for one of our lunches :goodvibes Also contemplating the WoC dinner thing, we will either do that or just get FPs for it early on that day.

Looking forward to seeing more details as you get them nailed down - hope you are enjoying your weekend in Ossippee!
 
We arrive the same day as you & we are staying at Camelot too :-) It is me. my DH and our DS (13). We arrive at LAX at 1:40, so we are thinking by the time we get the rental car:drive:, stop to get water and snacks for the room, and then check in it will be late afternoon/early evening. We have a reservation at Rainforest Cafe, but we decided to skip the parks on that day. Actually, the way our schedule is we won't hit a park until the 11th. :scared:
 


Just caught up with your planning, glad to hear you are getting some things nailed down, especially the flight. And I'm in the camp of getting the direct flight when I can, even if it costs a bit more. It gets you there faster and leaves less variables for delays or lost luggage. We are coming in at about the same time of day when we fly and just plan on walking the resorts & DTD :thumbsup2

I can empathize on your issues at your district, I work in Higher Ed and our next biennium is pretty bad. We had to do some layoffs to get us thru the 17/18 year :sad2: All the best to you on that front.

Cafe Orleans always smells so good when we walk by but we've never actually eaten there. Hard to go wrong with good pomme frites - worthy carbs for sure! We're finally going to eat at Blue Bayou this trip for one of our lunches :goodvibes Also contemplating the WoC dinner thing, we will either do that or just get FPs for it early on that day.

Looking forward to seeing more details as you get them nailed down - hope you are enjoying your weekend in Ossippee!

I am glad we got the non-stop flights because it means far less stress for us! One less thing the worry about. I don't mind transfers because it means we can stretch our legs but I'm just glad we'll get there without hassle. It will be interesting though because honestly the last time I flew to California was the first time I ever flew over land for any real long stretch of time.

We're kind of in a similar situation. It's insane. Hopefully a resolution happens soon.

I really enjoyed Blue Bayou when we went there last trip! I haven't been to Cafe Orleans yet because we really usually only do one or two sit downs a trip because we find quick service so much easier so I'm excited to try it!

And thanks!! My weekend up to Ossippee was great! Cut a little short because I have to go to work tomorrow so we came home but we had a great time hiking, swimming, and exploring!

Ahh, I've seen you all over the August check in boards, I didn't realize that you had a PTR going...following along so I can stay up to date on your trip!

~Meg

Hi! Welcome! To be fair, my PTR has been severely lacking because Disneyland has been getting the shaft. Poor trip happens right after my busiest schedule but we're definitely getting the ball rolling again!

We arrive the same day as you & we are staying at Camelot too :-) It is me. my DH and our DS (13). We arrive at LAX at 1:40, so we are thinking by the time we get the rental car:drive:, stop to get water and snacks for the room, and then check in it will be late afternoon/early evening. We have a reservation at Rainforest Cafe, but we decided to skip the parks on that day. Actually, the way our schedule is we won't hit a park until the 11th. :scared:

Oh man! Small world! :) If you see us say hi!

I don't know what our plan is going to end up being for arrival day, I think we'll just have to play it by ear.
 
Anyone Else Do This?

I'm about three weeks out and I'm going into panic/excitement mode. I'm such a planner I need to plan outfits out beforehand. Also, if I didn't I would probably overpack, let's be real.

So, these are my outfits, without pictures because I'm lazy.

Day One:
- For traveling, I'm wearing:
* leggings
* Disney Vibes Only tank
* Walt Disney World sweatshirt
* knit cap​
I'm always cold (I'm freezing right now - it's unseasonably cold today because of all the rain we've been having but omg I'm frozen!), so I have to layer in an airplane.
- Once we get there my park/DTD outfit will be:
* shorts
* "I Want Adventure" tank top​

Day Two:
* shorts
* Jack Sparrow's Rum shirt
* We Wants the Redhead button (bought well before the recent changes because, well, I'm a redhead lol)
* Dead Men Tell No Tales summer plaid
* Pirates Magical bow​

Day Three:
We're going to eat at Carthay Circle this day so I want to look fairly decent.
* skirt (not sure which yet, I need to get the shirt in first to figure it out)
* Disney California Adventure camp shirt
* fireworks ears
Day Four:
* DunBroch archery team shirt
* green skirt
* Merida ears
Day Four:
* Powerline shirt
* yellow skirt
* Powerline snapback
Day Five:
* Dole Whip shirt
* floral skirt
* Disneyland ears
Extras:
* Haunted Mansion outfit
* Rope Drop to Forever shirt
* Disney Starbucks shirt​
 
We are not that detailed other than trying to simlar-themed shirts on our trips. But if you have that together I can see how it would make packing easier! :thumbsup2
 


We are not that detailed other than trying to simlar-themed shirts on our trips. But if you have that together I can see how it would make packing easier! :thumbsup2

I've done it where I don't pack like this and then I over pack. Which is what I do when I go to non-Disney places, like Virginia Beach (believe me, I overpacked for that! lol).
 
Single Digit Dance!

It seems crazy to me to think that I'm down to the single digits! I've been planning this vacation since April 2016 (Liz and I are extreme planners, what can I say? We started planning our July trip already too) so it feels so insane that it's really about to happen!

So, what do I have to do?

1. Pack! I have my shirts that I'm wearing in a packing cube already since I've already put them through the wash. My shorts are kind of all over the place because I wear them far more frequently while the majority of my toiletries are still packed in my toiletries bag from April I have some things that I've taken out for weekend trips away from home (tooth brush, sunscreen, etc.) or things that I bought to add in (Advil, band aids, etc.) and get my suitcase from my parents’ house. I figure I can get it later this week.

2. Get my hair done. I have an appointment on Thursday and I cannot wait! It’s also just one of those things that I seriously need to get done

3. Same with nails. Mine all broke so I just want to get them done before we leave just so I don’t have to worry about them.

4. Figure out what’s going on with the construction on the Mass Pike, to figure out if we need to leave earlier than 4 to get to the airport. I’m super worried after my last trip to California when we got stuck in over an hour’s worth of traffic from Braintree to Logan (it’s supposed to be a 15 minute drive at most) because of construction.

5. get transport from LAX


It’s kind of a weird week because I don’t have a lot but I do have some stuff. I’m moving to a different school in district so I have to clean up my old classroom and move to a new room, we have a birthday party, I’m helping a friend with some things, it’s super busy, but it means the time will go by faster for Disney!!!
 
The Panic Is On!

In five days I'll be on my way to Disneyland! I'm so excited!

And also having about 20 million panic attacks a day.

So, for those of you who are in the August check in thread, you saw one of my panic attacks already - I'm changing banks and hadn't gotten my debit card yet. It's been 13 days and I was supposed to get it in 10 (that'd be Monday).

I ended up going to the bank and was able to get a new card printed so yay!

While I was leaving the bank Jen had a panic attack of her own in text form - she was having a work related issue and thought we'd be super upset that she'd be getting in later than we had all planned. Honestly from the size of the text I thought something really bad had happened and/or she couldn't come with us anymore so when I read everything I was so glad that was the only thing wrong! I assured her we were fine and honestly I'm soooo not worried as long as we're on vacation! It's so close guys, so close!
 

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