The PTR-that-must-not-be-named! 1/28 - 2/6

foreverbelle · Jan 19, 2011

I too am hooked. Can't wait to read about your trip.

I agree, its a lot easier to leave knowing you'll be back sooner than you think. My husband and I always find ourselves doing that.

You will be there before you know it and I will look forward to it all the way.

.

BigTex71 · Jan 19, 2011

repost

BigTex71 · Jan 19, 2011

Chapter 2: (Title too long, see below)

June 14th or so, 2010

Chapter 2: Dr. PlanLove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Books

Back at home the excitement is building for our next Walt Disney World trip. The next several days consist of me spending nearly all my free time (and a lot of work time) creating my Excel spreadsheet for the 2011 trip. Disney planning has taught me to become a better planner at just about anything – be it a party, new project at work, taking more efficient showers… you name it. It became clear to me that my passion for Disney planning has evolved me into a *gasp* organized person! I track all my Disney trip research into my spreadsheet, “My Precious”. No one looks at My Precious except for me. I live for keeping My Precious updated with the latest information on resort rates vs off-site accommodations, rental car rates, flight numbers, ADR planning and confirmation numbers, planned park days for each day of our stay, DDP vs TiW cost analysis, how long of a bathroom break is allowed between BTMRR and HM before we get off schedule, etc. Ok, maybe not that last one… but all of that other stuff is in there and more. See why letting this file fall into the hands of the Empire could cause a Rebellion?! (Needless Star Wars reference to prove the nerd I am.)

I log in to TouringPlans to check the crowd calendars for Spring Break – OUCH! 9’s and 10’s all around. It’s like a Hawaiian Tropic Swimsuit Model contest. Is that going to ruin our fun for our trip? No way – I have my trusty TourGuideMike subscription to help me plan my touring! The crowds will be impervious to my Cloak of Ingenuity and Planning (thanks, Mike!) We will be able to get ahead of the general public and masterfully sneak by them later in the day like Harry Potter does to Professor Snape. (Another geek reference… are you keeping track?)

After a few weeks of planning, visiting AllEars, skimming my Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World and my Passporter 2010 books my DW emails me one day while at work. “What if we took the kids out of school for a week and go at the end of January through the beginning of February. That appears to be the lowest crowds and the best weather.” A tear slides down my face. I get choked up. Come a long way you have, young Padawan. Nearly complete your training is. (Geek alert – yet again.)

After recovering from my stunned catatonic state that email put me in, the excitement factor hits Warp Factor 9. [Do I need to keep pointing out how much a geek I am? Ok, I will stop. But you need to be sure to mark these in the future… there will be a quiz at the end.] Woo Hoo! Now its time to start planning the ADRs I want to get!

(Will I get the ADRs I want? Do you care? Will I stop these stupid non-thrilling cliffhangers? Find out in the next Chapter – or not.)

BigTex71 · Jan 19, 2011

foreverbelle said:
I too am hooked. Can't wait to read about your trip.

I agree, its a lot easier to leave knowing you'll be back sooner than you think. My husband and I always find ourselves doing that.

You will be there before you know it and I will look forward to it all the way.

.

Thanks and welcome!

BTW: I have submitted my next chapter about 10 times (trying to remove formatting and color, etc) but still is not posting. Keeps giving me the 'will not be visible until a moderator approves'. Man, this is frustrating! :hammer:

sweetpee_1993 · Jan 19, 2011

^^^

My niece had that happen to her several times. Try shooting a little note to the moderators. I think you can find them listed down along the bottom of the pages.

Love the start of your PTR. Fun stuff! Your son would loooove my boys. They're both little gamer geeks, too. Well, maybe not my almost-15-yro...he's almost big as me & at the rate he eats I think he's going to be bigger than me within the year....so we'll call him just a gamer-nut. Lol!

BigTex71 · Jan 19, 2011

sweetpee_1993 said:
^^^

My niece had that happen to her several times. Try shooting a little note to the moderators. I think you can find them listed down along the bottom of the pages.

Thanks - I just sent a PM to one of the moderators.

Love the start of your PTR. Fun stuff! Your son would loooove my boys. They're both little gamer geeks, too. Well, maybe not my almost-15-yro...he's almost big as me & at the rate he eats I think he's going to be bigger than me within the year....so we'll call him just a gamer-nut. Lol!

Thank you. I think most boys nowadays are into video games - it is like outdoor sports used to be when I grew up. :ROFLOL:

sweetpee_1993 · Jan 19, 2011

^^^

I dunno about that. Here in Southeast Texas athletics totally trumps academics in school on all levels. We aren't from here, tho. My boys played sports when they were little but then lost interest. They're more the odd balls around here but that's okay. We're cool with being odd & valuing academics over all the extra-curriculars. :lol:

Hope the mods can fix ya up soon! :wave:

BigTex71 · Jan 20, 2011

The moderators took care of my next chapter and allowed them to post! See above. (I had to edit the other 7 versions so it wouldn't have a bunch of Chapter 2s all over the place.) :ROFLOL:

BigTex71 · Jan 20, 2011

Chapter 3: A Resort Is A Resort, Of Course, of Course, Unless...

Now I am armed with the ultimate touring time of the year. Time to start checking out what resort we want to stay at this time. We don’t want to spend too much on the room, to allow for more days of the trip (read: we don’t have unlimited funds, so if we want to stay the whole week we will need to pick which Value resort to stay at.) After realizing that we should get a decent AP discount on the room when they release those rates, we decide we could also include the Moderate-class resorts to our choices. Here is where I sometimes get in trouble – discounts at the resorts. And this is where DW and I differ in opinions. My theory: 40% off a deluxe room would be like staying at a Moderate resort with no discount. My wife’s theory: 32% off a value resort is a lot less than 40% off a deluxe. Guess who wins that battle? :cutie:

We have never stayed at a Value resort before, but are open to the idea. Our first trip in December 2004 was off-site at a cheap suite hotel. In 2009 we stayed at the Caribbean Beach Resort (Moderate) and 2010 landed us at Port Orleans – Riverside (Moderate.) We liked CBR well enough, but POR was really great. We decided to let the kids pick where we will stay – since these trips are really all about the kids and living vicariously through them. We want to create great family memories, and what better way than to let the kiddos be involved in some of the planning? I invite the kids over to the computer to look at the available options for our trip. (Mind you, they still think we will be going for Spring Break – but I’ll save that whole story for another chapter.) Knowing they will love the theme of the Value resorts, I show them the Moderates first. They really like POR, and that is their choice from the available options so far. DW and I loved our stay there this past June and , apparently, so did the kids. Then I show them Pop Century. You should have seen how big their eyes got! Jumping and screaming ensued (and the kids did some, too.) My wife mentions that I should let them see the All-Star resorts also. They went bonkers over All Star Movies – which is understandable, since they have seen all the Disney movies many times. They can really relate better to ASM than to Pop. I mean, how excited could you be over a huge 8-track tape, right?! Needless to say, the kids chose All Star Movies.

We have determined we will be staying at ASM. The kids are excited. I am excited. DW is excited. How exciting! Now it’s time to start checking TourGuideMike and TouringPlans to determine which days will be spent at which parks (and add all that info in a convenient location - 'My Precious'.) Then we will determine what ADRs will fit best with the parks we choose. All was going swimmingly, until...

(to be continued in next chapter)

mickeysshoes · Jan 20, 2011

OH NO...I dont like the sound of this......UNTIL?????????

BigTex71 · Jan 20, 2011

Chapter 4: Spring Break in January?!

OK, I lied. At the end of the last chapter I put ‘(to be continued in next chapter)’. I will not be continuing that part in this chapter. Sue me. I decided I should explain the whole ‘Spring Break in January’ thing that I mentioned that I would save for another chapter earlier in the last chapter; which trumps the continuance of the last chapter into this chapter. Therefore, I will continue the last chapter in an upcoming chapter, but cannot guarantee it will be the next chapter. As you can see, I get wordy sometimes and start rambling on about something and forget where I was going with the story initially. Wait… what was I talking about again?

Oh, yeah: Spring break in January. There is story behind why we want the kids (especially DS) to think we are going during Spring Break. Last year when we planned our summer vacation, we planned for my son to miss the last day of school. A bad weather day changed that and extended the school year by a day. No big deal, really, since they don’t do anything after their state testing the week before school lets out. But we found out from DS’s teacher that he was totally wired that last week at the anticipation of the family vacation to WDW. So we decided that if we keep him out of the loop and have him think we are going for Spring Break for this upcoming trip, he won’t get all unfocused the week before we leave on January 28th. This way he still gets his school work done and we are going to surprise him by taking him out of school early that Friday to head to the airport. Should make for some good video! His teacher is in on the plan, and will not let him know he will be missing school or when he will be leaving (she is so awesome!)

So this is now a ‘surprise’ vacation for the kids. Well, the timing is a surprise. There is no way we could do all our planning without tipping off the kids that we are going back to WDW (with all the extra stuff I do like those matching T-shirts every year and stuff… he would catch on at some point since they don’t make themselves and I like the kids’ input on designs.) At first I was worried that they would get disappointed when we don’t go again for Spring Break, but we will explain to them at the start of the trip that this will be ‘the’ trip – we just moved the date up; not an additional trip.

Now DW and I can keep planning and not be afraid of slipping up and spilling the beans. Besides, I don’t think DW could keep the secret anyway – she would explode! So now we always refer to the ‘Spring Break’ trip when speaking of our upcoming trip. Oh, and DD turns 4 years old the Monday before we leave (we leave on a Friday.) So this will kind of be her birthday trip. My son had his 10th birthday at WDW last year, so now they will be even. And all you parents know how important it is to keep bragging rights like that even in the family – OY VAY!

BigTex71 · Jan 20, 2011

mickeysshoes said:
OH NO...I dont like the sound of this......UNTIL?????????

Ah... my hook worked! Got you waiting on the edge of your seat?!

BigTex71 · Jan 20, 2011

The moderators freed up my posting ability - so the chapters will be flowing quickly! Hold on to your hats, ensure you are buckled securely by pulling on the red tab, and hold on tight!

BigTex71 · Jan 20, 2011

Chapter 5: Which came first, the Park Day or the ADR?

Where were we… oh, yeah it’s time to make some ADRs and figure out what parks to be at on what day. I really like this part of the planning. Some people base their ADRs on what parks they will be in, while others determine which parks they will be going to based on their ADRs. I consider a Disney vacation a foodie-type vacation. I am not one to pass up a meal, if you know what I mean. But, I have come around to the theory of finding the least crowded park for each day of the trip and scheduling all the park days first. Once I have my combination of park visits added to My Precious, I can then start penciling in which ADRs I want to try to get. Now that Disney has the web-based ADR system up and running, it really makes this part of the planning really easy. You can usually get every ADR you want and the times you want them when you start checking on them at your 180-day mark. Easy Peasy.

I logged in to my trusty TourGuideMike subscription page and get a feel for the best (Green) days for each park for each day of our stay. After My Precious is providing a good home to that information, I double check with TouringPlans to verify everything a second time (these two sites usually provide similar information.) That information gets uploaded to My Precious also. Great. Now I determine how many days we will need at each park. Since we are going to Universal for one day during this trip, I come up with the following formula for our trip to maximize fun at the parks we like most: 3 days at Magic Kingdom, 2 days at Hollywood Studios, 1.5 days at Epcot, a half day at Animal Kingdom, and 1 day at Universal Studios: Islands of Adventure. That leaves the last morning free to go to whatever park we want – my only ‘ride by the seat of your pants’ day. Every other day has a planned park day scheduled. I don’t find this too gung-ho, because this is as rigid as the plan gets (besides the ADR times.) All the actual touring plans per day (order of attractions) are more guidelines than set in stone… but we rarely deviate from those guidelines anyway. But I won’t get all bent out of shape if we have to veer from the touring plan. Now if the clan wants to go to a different park on a given day – too bad, not happening!

After the park days are determined, I tentatively schedule my wishlist of ADRs. Two are at the top of my list for this trip: ‘Ohana and Le Cellier. We tried to get ‘Ohana last trip but could not get a time earlier than 9pm, so I am determined to get a decent time at my 180-day window this time. Le Cellier is my favorite place, so that one is a must do for me every time. (Notice the italicized part - this may be foreshadowing for later drama.)

Well, I get my ‘Ohana and LeCellier with no problems. Actually, I get all the ADRs I want within 10 minutes of my preferred times. It really is not that hard when you are booking these 180 days out. I know it sounds really strange to those that are not Disney freaks like us (yes, I am referring to you… if you are reading this far into my trip report you are either a Disney freak or need some professional help) to make restaurant reservations that far in advance. Speaking of the Disney freaks we are… this leads me to now think that all of this chapter is nothing new to you – you already know about ADRs and planning park days. Basically, this was a waste of typing, huh? Oh well, I put too much time into this chapter to just delete it – especially since I type so slow… it would be a waste of hours of ‘work’. So here it is anyway – the unedited, undeleted, waste of your time chapter. So there!

I would like to attach a part of ‘My Precious’ here for you to see how I planned my park days, ADRs, etc… but it would give away the resort drama I will be explaining in the next chapter. So I will attach it at the end of the next chapter for your perusal and approval (or disapproval.)

BigTex71 · Jan 20, 2011

Chapter 6: Stay outside the Disney bubble? Seriously?!

There is something to be said for staying at a Disney resort. You get to stay within the Disney ‘bubble’ with non-stop Disney fun the whole trip. The busing system works great also. We really love it. But, as many of you already know, you pay a lot per square foot for the Disney resorts. When I do my trip planning, I like to exhaust all avenues; which includes pricing out all levels of the Disney resorts, DVC point renting, and vacation homes and condos near The World. During my planning this time, I started looking more heavily at the off-site options. I listen to a few Disney planning podcasts and they always seem to mention off-site vacation homes that are very close to the parks. I looked into them and checked out recommendations for condos in Windsor Hills. After discussing the possibility of an off-site stay, DW and I found a couple great condos that were recommended by members on boards within the Disney Community. We really liked them, but there was one caveat to these particular condos: they only rent them Saturday – Saturday. Since our trip starts on Friday and ends on a Sunday, we would have to find a different place to stay the first and last night of our stay. We considered keeping a ressie with ASMo and then checking in to the condo, but that cuts in to our touring day having to get everything moved. So we decided against a split stay.

I did more research and found a great 3 bedroom condo in Windsor Hills that got many recommendations on a few different boards I frequent. DW really liked it and we decided to let the kids decide. We showed the kids the All Star resorts again, which they still loved; but when I showed them the pictures of the 3 bedroom condo, their eyes got really big! “Wow, it is like a whole house!” DS asked just to clarify: “So we can stay at All Star with everyone piled into one little room or have a whole house with 3 bedrooms?!” (Can you guess what they chose?) And by taking advantage of our APs, we will get free parking at the parks anyway - that is over $100 saved right there.

So we are now staying at ‘Mickey’s Hideaway’, a 3-bedroom condo at Windsor Hills. It was about the same price as ‘rack rates’ at the All Star Movies Preferred rooms. We figured we will be renting a car anyway for our Universal trip to WWoHP, so this could help us save some money by eating most breakfasts and a dinner or two at the condo or off-site somewhere. Which leads me to a little ADR drama… popcorn::

DW decides we should cut back on some ADRs to take advantage of our off-site stay. We cancel some breakfast ADRs, since those are easily replaced with a trip by McDonald’s on the drive to the park in the morning. We also pare down a dinner and a lunch. After much drama (which I will not hash out here) I reluctantly give up my beloved LeCellier dinner ADR at 5:30pm, January 30th. (Notice the italics again?) popcorn::

I realize this PTR is really dragging on forever, so I will spare some details to move on (I know, too late, right? Well, it could be worse so just be happy I shortened this next part.) We decide to take advantage of our APs and use the Tables in Wonderland card. I order it and decide we could now keep the Le Cellier ADR. Wait… I check My Precious… I no longer have an ADR at Le Cellier - I canceled it. Now I am without my beloved LeCellier ADR, even though we can go after all. Dag-nabbit! So now I am continuing to check every day for a Le Cellier dinner on January 30th. I will continue to try up until the 30th arrives. Then, if I still don’t have an ADR, I may try a walk-up at 4:30pm or so. I can’t believe I gave in and gave up my Le Cellier ADR! Argh! :headache:

Here is my current ‘Park Days’ tab from the bowels of My Precious so you can see what type of planning and stuff I do. I am sure there are better and nicer-looking ways to do all of this, but this seems to work for me.

***Sorry, I had to remove this because it had proprietary information.

***

BigTex71 · Jan 20, 2011

Chapter 7: Mom’s Story

DW and I had thought about asking my DM(om) to join us on our upcoming trip. She wouldn’t have much money saved up for the trip, since it is a last minute-type deal, but we figured she wouldn’t have to pay for too much anyway. We have pre-paid for the condo (which gives plenty of room for all of us), we are getting a rental car anyway (which I will have to look into a larger-sized vehicle to rent with all of us, but shouldn’t be too expensive), and she gets to fly really cheap since she works for American Airlines. So she would only have to pay for her park tickets and food. But, since we will be using the TiW card for food, we figured we could just pay for her food (at least the TS meals). So that would allow her to go with us and not break the bank. How could anyone say no to that, right?

A little back-story (OK, you know me by now, this could turn into a LONG back-story): when I was young my big sister and I always wanted to go to WDW. We would ask every year, and every year we would get the same answer: “maybe next year.” Since Six Flags Over Texas was a few miles down the road, we usually settled on going there every year. When I was 10, along came my younger sister. Being the kids that we were, we didn’t realize how much money it costs to raise a child – and adding another to the family did not help the case of going to WDW. I know my parents tried hard to save and take us one day, but something always would come up. A few years later, my older sister moved out of the house when she turned 16. One less mouth to feed… maybe we could go now! Then my little brother was born. I knew by then (I was 14 at that time) that adding another member of the family meant no Disney World anytime soon.

After graduating from high school and attending a few semesters at the local junior college, I enlisted in the U.S. Air Force. The year after I left home my parents took my younger sister and brother to Disney World. Wow, what timing. At the time I first heard about it, I was quite upset. But after reevaluating the situation, I realized that my parents came into a lot of money when the teenage boy that was eating them out of house and home left home. It was like a huge promotion and raise for both of my parents – and they were then able to afford to take a nice vacation finally. I was at peace with that whole situation, but I didn’t let my mom know that. I would bring it up all the time about how I had always wanted to go the Disney World, then right after I left home they took my brother and sister there. I gave her grief over that for years. (Yes, I am evil sometimes.)

So now, by inviting my mom with us on our trip, I could show her that I am over the "Disney Fiasco of ’92". It could bring peace to the universe. This can be my ‘family’ trip I always wanted. When DW first mentioned it to the other week, she said she had too much to do at work and couldn’t join us. Until…

DW emailed me the other day to let me know that DM might be able to go after all! She has a big board meeting she has to prepare for on the 31st, but she could fly in on the 1st of February and will stay with us until we leave on the 6th. Yeah! I finally get a chance to experience Disney World with my mom! And I am so happy she can experience it with her grandchildren, since DW’s dad has been on two Disney trips with us before. There is nothing like experiencing Disney with kids – it’s like being a kid yourself. (Who am I kidding, going to WDW anytime makes me feel like a kid again, no matter who I go with.)

Now the fun starts up again… more planning! I need to check in to ADR adjustments, a bigger rental car, and find her some cheap park tickets. I get to do more planning – I love it! (Maybe I should become a Disney Travel Planner someday.)

BigTex71 · Jan 20, 2011

Chapter 7 addendum

*NOTE* This was originally written in my PTR journal on 1/06/2011

I found out today that we will not know until next week if DM can come on the trip for sure. But I am am still prepping My Precious with all the pre-planning extras, if needed.

On another note - let's say B-flat - I had a cool thing happen at the dentist office yesterday. The technician who would be cleaning my teeth mentioned that she liked my Disney watch. This spawned a conversation about Disney. It turns out she is a huge Disney freak also (and is an independent Disney Travel Planner.) So we had a lot to talk about during my cleaning session. As you may have guessed, she did most of the talking... but I was able to add to the conversation here and there while she took a few breathers (I ate a whole package of Oreos in the car on the way to the dentist office... ok, not really, I just needed a LOT of cleaning!) It was cool to find a person to talk Disney with (besides DW and in cyberspace) without them looking at you like you have a Boggart growing out of your head.

I inquired about the host agency she uses for her home travel agent status and stuff. Hmmm... light bulb!

BigTex71 · Jan 20, 2011

Chapter 8: (title too long to fit here... see below)

Chapter 8: If I Woke Up Tomorrow With My Head Sewn To The Carpet, I Wouldn't Be More Surprised Than I Am Right Now.

We are looking at ways to surprise DS and DD on the day we leave to go to The World. As mentioned in an earlier chapter, the kids know we are going to WDW – but they think it is in March for Spring Break. We leave on Friday, January 28th. (Evil laugh)

The current plan is, around the 25th, we mention (in front of DW) that he has an orthodontist appointment on the 28th at 1pm and DW says that she can take him. On the 28th DW picks up DD from her preschool, then picks up DS around noon… telling him that she figured he wouldn’t go back to school after the appointment. DW will tell them that I called and I am going to take a half day off and meet at Bosses Pizza* (see footnote for story about why Bosses Pizza) for lunch. We meet at Bosses and eat pizza for lunch. Then I pull out the dessert - a huge chocolate chip cookie with “We’re Going to Disney World” (or something to that effect) written on it. Calamitous excitement ensues - it will be like the Naboo celebration at the end of Episode I.

Any feedback, suggestions, other ideas?

Bosses Pizza – a great pizza place near our house that we ate dinner at on the way back from the airport from each of our last two trips to The Happiest Place on Earth. So it has a relation to Disney trips for us. (And it has really good pizza.)

BigTex71 · Jan 20, 2011

Chapter 9: Almost There!... (I can't hold them.) *

It is now official: my DM WILL be joining us at The World! She will be flying in on the day we will be at Universal. She is going to try to get a later flight, so not to interrupt our plans too much since I will pick her up at the airport. That is DM for you… always thinking of the kids. We have an ADR for Boma that evening, but I am not sure if we will make it or not. It depends on the time DMs flight arrives.

Now that I know for sure DM is coming, I head on over to look into changing our ADRs from 4 people to 5 people. Of course there was no availability for 5 this close to the date for Ohana, Crystal Palace, and Tusker House. We figured we would just leave those at 4 and try to get a 5-top when we check in for the ADRs. (I will continue to check for them each day until we leave, but I at least have that as a backup plan.) DW and I look over the ADRs again and decide we may have made a few too many. (Well, DW decides- I could eat at a TS place for every meal, every day at WDW - even second breakfast – without thinking twice.) So we decide (there is that darn ‘we’ again)…. DW decides we should cut back on some of the ADRs. So we drop Tusker House, since we are debating whether we will even go to AK on this trip. I also drop Chef Mickey’s dinner. To make up a little for my losses, I add a Biergarten lunch. DM loves German food and so do I (OK, you got me… I like ALL food, just look at my pictures!) But seriously, Biergarten is seriously good food, seriously.

After all is said and done we have a bit of a new look for ADRs. Here is a sneak peak at a page from My Precious again:
*** Sorry again, it had to be removed ***

As you can see (if you can see, actually), I added a nifty shirt column to My Precious’ Park Days tab. This was instrumental in facilitating proper alignment and construction of the torso coverings we will be brandishing for our journey. (Translated from engineering tech manual speak: I needed this to help plan our t-shirts for the trip.) This helps in several ways: 1) we can determine how many different shirts we need, 2) what color shirts I will need to order for DM to allow us to have matching shirts (if you remember, we are reusing last June’s shirts), 3) determine what day would be best for washing the shirts (I will love having a washer/dryer in the condo), and 4)add more colors to make that tab look flashier. (Man, that was one long sentence – but I believe I warned you about my excessive use of commas and semicolons… but should have also gave sufficient warnings for parenthesis and the three periods together.)

Great segue way (for once) – now it was time for me to order the t-shirts I need so DM will be able to have matching DG (DisneyGeek) t-shirts. {plug} Being the research hound that I am, when I was ordering my t-shirts a few years ago for DG shirts, I found JiffyShirts.com. Great place to order cheap, name-brand t-shirts cheap that don’t cost too much. (Did I mention they are easy on the wallet?){\plug}

{AnotherPlug} I order the shirts I need and then surf on over to the world-famous iron-on transfers home: AmyMickey.com. These are hands down, the best transfers you can find short of silk-screening prints right onto the shirts. If you couldn’t tell, I highly recommend her transfers for making your own DG shirts. {\AnotherPlug} But, seriously, folks – they rock!

Enough serious business, let’s get back to the mental ward. I have my shirts delivered to my work (I hate having packages left at my home doorstep – especially in this economy.) When my first package arrived a few days ago, I chatted for a few minutes with the lovely lady who is our receptionist. She is really cool and a great person. (OK, you got me, I may give her a link to this PTR one day so I wanted to be covered.) I explain the concept of the matching DG shirts and she ‘gets it.’ I also mention that I am training to become a certified Disney travel agent on the side (did I mention that yet?) She gets all excited and explains that she is looking at taking her grand-daughter to WDW soon. Sweet! A potential client already! We go back to work and all is fine.

The next morning, she calls me on my office line and says she mentioned me and my Disney travel agent status to some of our co-workers (I think it was co-workers… maybe friends of hers instead) and they want my business card when I print them out. So I am not quite ready to start booking yet (I want to finish my online certification first) and I already have some potential clients. She is so sweet to help out like that. (The Force is strong in this one.)

Once I finish making the shirts, I will be sure to post the pictures for proof that I am not just making all of this stuff up (just most of it.)

BigTex71 · Jan 20, 2011

On a side note (but not lost in the text like a footnote): I became a Disney-specialized travel agent! Actually, I will need to do the online training from the College of Disney Knowledge to earn my ears first - but I have been accepted by a host agency. WooHoo! Now I can help friends, family, acquaintances, and strangers book a trip to Disney while getting them a great deal. I can now extend my trip planning to others and live vicariously through their trips.

The PTR-that-must-not-be-named! 1/28 - 2/6

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