When you wish upon a star...a very HAPPENING PTR SEP 13

[areweindisneyyet]

How exciting. The trip has come together so fast-travel planner extraordinare that you are. Your business should be booming and good you have family/friends to help. Love your itinerary-curious to hear how you find the cruise and interested in your thoughts on POFQ as its on my most likely place to stay next visit to WDW. Keep up the good work as we enjoy the planning with you.

Oh shucks Wendy. Life is great right now and yes I am blessed with a great family and wonderful friends. I can take my work on the road with me which is great and shut the doors and still work BUT it is great to keep the doors open. They did a great job while we're were in Europe in November. Just need to leave Valium apparently :lmao

POFQ has always appealed to me. I am really looking forward to it. I shall share my thoughts indeed. I am also very curious about the cruise. It looks fantastic in theory. Mind over matter. Again doing the shortest option so that if we hate it's. OT a big part and if we love well we shall plan longer next time. Would love to do a New England cruise and an Alaskan cruise and the one between all the islands in Hawaii. OK and since I'm being honest either Antartica or the Articl Circle. I so want to go to Iceland and Greenland but that is some serious seasickness me thinks.

 

[areweindisneyyet]

I'm also excited to hear how all the planning is coming along, and can't wait to hear how everything turns out.

Thanks aussie Shaz. Glad you are enjoying my planning. We are so looking forward to it and I am sooooo loving keeping it from the kids.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Not you too! You are far more Saintly I think.

Blue and White all the way.....with claws out.


DH is the saint.

 

[gogo65]

So I'm reading along but have no idea about AFL, it's all gobblygook to me
BUT I do understand all that other stuff about WDW, and trip planning so better keep reading

 

[Miss Red]

Sounds like a great trip

I am a Pies fan, and always plan something else to do on grand final day sine the draw with the Saints, less heartbreak if I miss the game.

I can't wait to hear all about Washington and New York.

 

[hjd0411]

That is all coming together well! I like the sound of your plans - and I like the idea of the train Washington to NYC. Anything to get away from the awful airport security!!
Looking forward to reading more!

 

[craxyfox]

All these plans sound so great! I've just been a tourist around Bangkok for the past few days and yet I can't help but keep trying to think of what plans to make for my wdw trip next year :rotfl I'm a wee bit jealous of you all!

 

[WAMUMOF4]

I love that you are doing all new stuff this trip that's so exciting

Just for the record we are 1 collingwood 1 Melbourne and 4 Richmond in this house and when there was the double GF DH tought I would like to fly him from Perth for the game the price of flights doubled within minutes of the game finishing

 

[areweindisneyyet]

Blue and White all the way.....with claws out.

DH is the saint.

That's right. All people with excellent taste marry Saints supporters. ROFL

 

[areweindisneyyet]

So I'm reading along but have no idea about AFL, it's all gobblygook to me
BUT I do understand all that other stuff about WDW, and trip planning so better keep reading

That's the spirit gogo65.

 

[areweindisneyyet]

I have been a very busy little bee but amongst the chaos I have managed to lock in all of our accommodation for the trip.

So we have 10 nights at the POFQ at WDW
1 night At Loews Pacific Resort at Universal in a Club level room
1 night at Country Inn and Suites at Port Canaveral
3 nights on the Dream
2 nights at the Liaison Capitol Hill in Washington
3 nights at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square.

So airport transfers done, train done, flights done, seats booked.

Just need to get my theme park tickets and organize a hire car for a couple of days in Orlando.

I have been playing with the September hours and trying to come up with a little plan so that I can book dining from next weekend.

In all four of my visits to Disneyland I have never seen the Electrical Parade so I am a bit excited about that. Trying to work out when to see Fantasmic, Illuminations and Wishes and time meals around them.

We also want to catch a baseball game along the way.

I feel like I could walk out now and enough is done but I am the uberplanner. These are the essentials. Now for the fun part, the extras.

Have to get new esta visas. They expire the day after we fly out. Man. Passports are good.

We still haven't told the kids. All is well with that little secret. It makes it even more fun.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Sounds great.

Just one night at PRH? Does that give you one full day in UA or two?

I wasn't sure which way I was going to jump.....but I'm now thinking HRH.

 

[areweindisneyyet]

Sounds great.

Just one night at PRH? Does that give you one full day in UA or two?

I wasn't sure which way I was going to jump.....but I'm now thinking HRH.

One full day and the next morning before heading to Kennedy. I am wondering if we should make it two full days and take a night from WDW. When i finish planning out the days a little I may look at that. Want to get some shopping in too and thought that would be easier when we have the car.

It's my only sticky bit, DH asks are we going to SFO as well. NOOOO. You only gave me three weeks.


Or do we do Kennedy from WDW one day, say the day of Halloween Party and just go from Universal to the cruise. I was trying not to head out there twice.

At the moment check out of POFQ. Go and check in at Universal and hit parks for the day. Overnight there. Do early entry for Harry Potter and then head to Kennedy before catching the cruise the following day.

I was tossing up with the HRH as well. I was told we can use the facilities there as well. I may change when I get the final budget in place. Trying to keep under a magic number which is part of my own personal challenge. We shall see

 

[PrincessInOz]

I'm nearly under my magical number. Its the excursions that are killing my budget right now.

Okay. So I think I might stick with the two nights in the UA area then. I get at least 1.5 full days there.

We'll check out of the World and check into UA. Full-ish day in the park. And another full day the next day. Stay two nights; check out and then fly back to LA on day 3.

 

[WAMUMOF4]

for your magical number I am envious of you being completely booked already I am not coping not being able to be paying of stuff yet.

 

[PrincessInOz]

for your magical number I am envious of you being completely booked already I am not coping not being able to be paying of stuff yet.

I haven't quite fully booked yet. I think I have (2+1) nights in LA/Anaheim and 2 nights at Universal left to work out.

And booking is not the same as paying for stuff. But I have prepaid deposits for most.

 

[areweindisneyyet]

OK

At 9 weeks out we are getting a little excited. Still have not told the children we are going. We had promised by daughter a weekend away for her birthday last September and we just haven't got around to it with work and sporting commitments. Last week she started reminding us that there are three months until her birthday and we still have to finish last years.



We shall go away the weekend of the 7th and 8th of September I told her. We have netball until then, and we dont want to go Fathers Day weekend.

Then on the Thursday night after dinner we are going to tell them our real destination. Most of the plans are still the same except we have decided to spend two nights at Universal and go straight to the ship from there. We will do NASA as a day trip from WDW

In the last 24 hours I have finished paying for WDW and our free dining
Paid for our cruise and tomorrow morning I can start online checkin. Or later this afternoon.

I have also arranged for photopass plus. We have Halloween Party tickets and I have made dining reservations at Cinderella's Royal Table, Le Cellier, Be Our Guest, Tusker House, 50s Prime Time, Sci Fi Dine In, Raglan Road, T Rex and the Biergarten.

Very excited.

Yesterday I have arranged for a Capitol Hill Tour in Washington and thanks to the amazeballs Ms Shuttergirl an evening walking tour of the Washington Monuments.

For New York I have reserved a time to go to the Crown of the Statue of Liberty, the 911 Memorial, Yankees Tickets and I just scrapped in to get New York City Passes on special on a 4th of July sale. Got one ticket free

Now I just need to get our Universal Tickets, work out how to do Kennedy, estas and any cruise excursions.

I have always been excited but it is now starting to seem very real.

Oh happy days.....

 

[PrincessInOz]

Happy Days indeed! That's a lot to have organised and worked out. Well done! Here's to an action packed 9 week countdown and surprising the kids!

 

[WanderlustNZ]

Your plans sound fantastic.

 

[Caroline NZ]

Your children are going to be over the moon when you tell them AWIDY

I agree with everyone else, your trip sounds AMAZING