Pre-Trip A first, a second, and a third

Hello friends! Thanks for joining me for another PTR adventure! If you don't know me, I'm Bee, an ex-Floridian now living just outside NYC with my amazing wife, M. Since 2013-2014, we have been Annual Passholders every other year and this happens to be an on-year! M's parents and brother still live in Florida so we visit them (and the Mouse) pretty frequently for holidays and such, and sometimes they join us at Disney. Here are the plans for our next trip, which is approaching fast.

DATES
February 21-26, 2018

TRAVEL
Southwest (of course) and DME

LODGING
Disney's Coronado Springs Resort-with a fantastic Disney Visa discount!

CAST
Bee (me), 29, opera singer/music teacher, the primary planner
M (DW), 28, writer/academic administrator
MIL, M's mom, perhaps more obsessed with Disney than I am
FIL, M's dad, likes Disney but not quite obsessed

Possible player: M's cousin (calling her C because her name also begins with M). Lives in the Midwest near M's grandpa and other extended family, but happens to be vacationing in Florida at the same time we'll be there

M and I will be running the Princess 5K on Friday morning and M's parents are planning to come cheer us on at the finish line. Which brings me to the meaning of the title...

First: M's first 5K
Second: My second 5K
Third: Our third stay at Coronado Springs together

I'll post more day-by-day details as I have time. I'm currently teaching seven days a week through mid-February so I will NEED this vacation!

 

[Figgy1]

Love the shirt! Sh's as much a Disney princess as any other! Just ask Iger how much she rakes in

 

[bee]

I'm a day late, but I'm doing the single digit dance!

For whatever reason we still haven't received our DME luggage tags. I called today and the CM I spoke with said they were resending them today but they take 7-10 days to arrive...so who knows if they will arrive in time. :eyeroll:

The good news is M's parents had an extra comp ticket so M's cousin (calling her C in this PTR) will get to spend TWO park days with us: Friday in Epcot (after we shower and have a bit of rest!) and Saturday in MK. MIL gave me the ticket number so I could assign it to C in MDE, and now we all have FPs for both days. I found some more BOG lunch reservations for Saturday but the parents decided they don't want to eat there after all. So it will just be the three of us.

A bit about C: She is a about a year younger than M and me and the closest cousin M has to her own age. She has a younger sister close to M's brother's age, and when the four of them were little their families would take Disney trips together. C got married in 2016, about two years after M and I did, and this past Christmas was the first time the whole family has been together since our two weddings, so for the family Christmas dinner M's mom got a big cake that said "Congratulations (our names) and (their names)." All of M's extended family lives in the Midwest so we rarely see them, so it will be a treat to have a couple of Disney days with C!

I am completely off from school next week so M and I will actually have TWO WHOLE DAYS OFF TOGETHER this Saturday and Monday. I love my job and I feel very fortunate to make a living through music, but sometimes I need a break from the kiddos at the studio!! It does help that any given day I am teaching at least one student a Disney song. Yesterday's student repertoire included "With a Smile and a Song" from Snow White and "I Won't Say (I'm in Love)" from Hercules. I am also teaching a Lion King medley to a couple of the dance classes for the end-of-year recital (sooooo many "Ingonyama nengw' enamabala"s).

 

[youngdeb]

We didn't receive our luggage tags either and we arrive February 23. I wonder if they had an issue around those dates?

 

[bee]

Happy Valentine's Day! M and I are celebrating by cooking dinner at home (including Prosecco cocktails!) after I get off work tonight.

We're just a week away from our trip!!! It still doesn't feel real!!! This time next week we'll be riding Soarin'!

We had a great run last night and I don't feel too tired today. It's going to be so weird running in just light pants and a t-shirt after running in layers in cold weather.

The Leia shirts arrived and they look great!

We didn't receive our luggage tags either and we arrive February 23. I wonder if they had an issue around those dates?

Maybe so! If I were you I'd call today and ask to have them sent again.

 

[youngdeb]

Happy Valentine's Day! M and I are celebrating by cooking dinner at home (including Prosecco cocktails!) after I get off work tonight.

We're just a week away from our trip!!! It still doesn't feel real!!! This time next week we'll be riding Soarin'!

We had a great run last night and I don't feel too tired today. It's going to be so weird running in just light pants and a t-shirt after running in layers in cold weather.

The Leia shirts arrived and they look great!

Maybe so! If I were you I'd call today and ask to have them sent again.

I called last week, because it was right around 2 weeks and they are sending them so *fingers crossed* we get them before we leave!

 

[riverside]

Happy Valentine's Day! M and I are celebrating by cooking dinner at home (including Prosecco cocktails!) after I get off work tonight.

We're just a week away from our trip!!! It still doesn't feel real!!! This time next week we'll be riding Soarin'!

We had a great run last night and I don't feel too tired today. It's going to be so weird running in just light pants and a t-shirt after running in layers in cold weather.

The Leia shirts arrived and they look great!

Maybe so! If I were you I'd call today and ask to have them sent again.

Happy Valentine’s Day to you & M!! Isn’t it the greatest feeling to be able to say “A week from now I’ll be doing ______ in Disney”!!

 

[bee]

FOUR DAYS!!!

After stalking the Disney site for MONTHS for ADRs, I managed to get a reservation for...


...


...


...California Grill brunch!

I initially wasn't sure about this but @dizfan917 's endorsement tells me it must be good!

This means we cancelled the dinner reservation for Sunday night. As much as I love CG I don't need to eat there twice in one day

 

[MinnieM123]

FOUR DAYS!!!

After stalking the Disney site for MONTHS for ADRs, I managed to get a reservation for...


...


...


...California Grill brunch!

I initially wasn't sure about this but @dizfan917 's endorsement tells me it must be good!

This means we cancelled the dinner reservation for Sunday night. As much as I love CG I don't need to eat there twice in one day

Wow. I'm dying to hear about the California Grill brunch. We sometimes hear about dinner in other TRs, but I don't recall hearing about brunch. I'll bet it will be awesome.

 

[bee]

Wow. I'm dying to hear about the California Grill brunch. We sometimes hear about dinner in other TRs, but I don't recall hearing about brunch. I'll bet it will be awesome.

I will take lots of pictures! All the reviews I've read have been very positive and we can't wait to experience it for ourselves!

We finally started packing today. It's soooo nice to have a little time off before a trip instead of working up until the very last second like we usually do. M works tomorrow but I'll be off (I was supposed to teach one student but she woke up sick today and cancelled tomorrow so I'm off!!! It was just one student but factoring in all the commuting time it would have taken up valuable vacation prep time) so I'll be able to finish up the packing and cleaning.

As far as trip planning goes, we have changed around a few dining reservations, so now our plans look more like this:

Wednesday
5:00 Lyft to EWR
7:20 flight
10:10 land
DME
Check in
Lunch at Pepper Market
Epcot
FP: Soarin', LWTL, SSE
8:00 Spice Road Table
9:00 IllumiNations

Thursday
Epcot EMH (if we can get ourselves up haha)
FP: Nemo, Soarin', LWTL
1:00 Tutto Italia
To the Expo!
Maybe park time, maybe back to Coronado for the rest of the night
6:00 Maya Grill

Friday
RACE DAY!!! Up early, to the race, party!
Possibly Epcot with parents and cousin
Lunch at QS probably
FP: LWTL, Soarin', SSE
To AKL
7:50 Jiko
Possibly some park time somewhere, but more likely an early night

Saturday
MK day with parents and cousin
11:20 BOG
FP: Pirates, HM, BTMR
To Poly
7:30 Kona Cafe

Sunday
Sleep in probably!
To Contemporary
12:05 California Grill brunch
Maybe to MK, maybe to Coronado to chill, maybe straight to Epcot
FP: Soarin', LWTL
No dinner plans yet

Monday
We don't talk about this day...

 

[bee]

Went out for a final full-length run and look what was waiting for us when we got back!

Disney sent them via UPS instead of USPS so we actually got them on time!!!

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Went out for a final full-length run and look what was waiting for us when we got back!

View attachment 265483

Disney sent them via UPS instead of USPS so we actually got them on time!!!

Yay! I'm excited for your trip because soon after you go on your I'll be going on mine! So your report will be a warm up for me. But seriously I hope you all have a great time.

 

[LisaBelle]

So excited for your trip! I’m sure you will have a blast running the Princess 5k! Love the Leia shirts. Have a great run and enjoy every minute of your vacation. Can’t wait to hear all about it, but I will be patient so as not to make your Disney days move too quickly!

 

[Tiggerlovr90]

Have a great time. Can’t wait to hear the details when you get back. Thanks for sharing.

 

[bee]

I would like to thank whomever cancelled their 8:00 dinner at Rose and Crown for tomorrow night, allowing me to swoop in and take it today! We have only eaten there once before, over three years ago, and never around IllumiNations time. We don't mind if we don't get a great view as we've seen the show MANY times from various locations, but we're excited for the possibility nonetheless!

We had a little dramma this morning over our flight and boarding positions. As you may know, Southwest doesn't assign seating, but assigns individual boarding positions based on online checkin time beginning 24 hours before the flight. I set an alarm for 7:15 to check in right at 7:20. First I couldn't sign into my mobile app or my mobile browser so I went to the living room to try my computer. When I tried to check in right at 7:20 I got an error message that this part of the site was down for maintenance! ACK! I kept trying and eventually called the number listed for help to see if someone could help. The agent who answered said there was no way for her to check in for me and to keep trying on my end. I hadn't intended to wake up M as she didn't have to be up until 8:00 but I did and she got on her computer to try as well. She was the one who was eventually able to check in and we got B2 and B3. Not the best but not bad! At least we weren't trying to check in for a 5:00am flight!!

Yay! I'm excited for your trip because soon after you go on your I'll be going on mine! So your report will be a warm up for me. But seriously I hope you all have a great time.

Thank you! Happy to be a warm up!

So excited for your trip! I’m sure you will have a blast running the Princess 5k! Love the Leia shirts. Have a great run and enjoy every minute of your vacation. Can’t wait to hear all about it, but I will be patient so as not to make your Disney days move too quickly!

Thank you! We're so excited!

Have a great time. Can’t wait to hear the details when you get back. Thanks for sharing.

Thank you! We can't believe it's finally (ALMOST) here!!!

 

[Figgy1]

Safe travels and have a magical time. ps congrats on R&C last time we were there the chef made me a veggie curry not quite Tiffins good but

 

[dizfan917]

oh, the pressure!! I hope you'll enjoy BRUNCH AT THE TOP! The food is amazing... but that price tag is a little intimidating. save room for and pace yourself with the complimentary (as if) MIMOSAS!! the whole vibe is cool with the live music and all. I'm crossing my fingers that it will be a meal you guys will LOVE!!

 

[bee]

Safe travels and have a magical time. ps congrats on R&C last time we were there the chef made me a veggie curry not quite Tiffins good but

Thank you! That sounds delightful!

oh, the pressure!! I hope you'll enjoy BRUNCH AT THE TOP! The food is amazing... but that price tag is a little intimidating. save room for and pace yourself with the complimentary (as if) MIMOSAS!! the whole vibe is cool with the live music and all. I'm crossing my fingers that it will be a meal you guys will LOVE!!

No pressure! We have Tables in Wonderland which makes the price a little less intimidating. I know we'll love it!

 

[TheMouseFan]

I'm very jealous, I could really use a vacation right now and there is nowhere I would rather be going! Have a fantastic trip!

 

[becca_]

Have a great trip!!

It wouldn't be vacation without a little drama, now would it?

 

[riverside]

Have a wonderful time!!