IF THE GATES ARE OPEN, I’M GOING!!! A USO and WDW PTR

[Whit64130]

Hi friends! It has been a little over three years since I have wrote any kind of PTR/TR. what can I say but life happens. I have recently been binging on many TR on here clinging to any hope of vacation in the near future. So without further delay let’s dive right in!

What: Universal Orlando and Disney World
When: September 6-20, 2020 (The longer this quarantine goes the longer this trip gets)
Who: This gets a little complicated because different parts of the trip involve different people!

First let me start by introducing myself....minor details...I’m Whitney, your average 30 something Disney loving baby nurse. I know it’s been awhile but if you don’t remember or new to my PTR I am a huge traveler but my husband is not. Like really not. He hates leaving home on his off days. I don’t make him go but if he wants to he is always welcomed. He did however plan a trip earlier this year with one of his buddies and @ariane37 got to actually meet him in MK. It still wasn’t his cup of tea and I don’t try to push him. Anywho I go as much as I can when it’s not on lock down. I have been a AP holder for a few years now and purchased DVC in 2019.


A little about me:
Favorite Disney Park: MK/DHS
Favorite Disney Resort: Wilderness Lodge or Poly depending on the time of the year.
Favorite Princess: Rapunzel
Favorite Character: Sully
Favorite Meal: Ohana’, Whispering Canyon, Casey’s Corner
Favorite Ride: Splash Mountain or Slinky Dog Dash
Favorite Movie: Toy Story



Next up are some of my close friends and Co-Workers Olivia and Courtney! Olivia traveled with me to Disney back in January where she actually got engaged and I got to be in on it! The wedding is in August! Also we all (plus another friend/coworker) went on a Royal Caribbean Cruise together last May. It was literally one of the best vacations I have ever been on! Here are a few pictures from those trips.






Also joining in on this trip is my friend, Kate and her family. I met her through another job. We met in 2018 and instantly clicked. Although we live pretty far away we talk almost every day. We have been on two other trips together. We did a Resort only with a few special events stay at Polynesian Club Level last year. It was one of my favorite Disney trips to date! We also were roomies again on our Royal Caribbean trip last fall. We had a crazy awesome trip planned and Corona has ruined pretty much all of those plans. She will be there with her family but we plan to meet up some. We originally were going to be at Disney together at the Beach Club but they decided to just do Universal that week. Anyways here are some pictures of us!





continued on next post!

 

[Whit64130]

Part 2 continued....

Yes we did Character Couture Makeovers: Villains Edition



Last but not least joining the trip is my family for the Disney portion! My Aunt Sherry. Her son Josh, his wife Alycia and their kids Brynli and Colin. We all went in 2018 and they went back last year but I chose not to go since I had a trip that next week.


Thanks for joining along! I look forward to writing about our plans for the trip to pass the time!

 

[tundra1]

Looks like a great start! Can't wait to read more... we will be there in November!

 

[Whit64130]

We start this day with a 9:40 am Southwest flight out of Nashville. By WE I mean Olivia, Courtney, and myself. We are set to land at 12:30pm if that doesn’t get changed again. Once we land we plan to grab an Uber or Lyft to Universal’s Aventura for the night. Originally we were going to land at 8ish PM. Our flight was changed so we decided to go for the early flight and make the most of the day. We originally had booked the hotel because it was cheaper than Royal Pacific and we were only going to be there a few hours. Even though we are getting there earlier I still wanted to stay there for the experience. I seen the Universal resorts back in 2018 but it’s a different point of view when you stay there. I wasn’t as impressed with Aventura on the tour but for the sake of traveling it is the pick since I have stayed at Cabana Bay and Hard Rock already. Also another reasoning behind this pick was because we stayed at Cabana Bay for one night And was literally in the back 40. Hauling my luggage did not sound pleasant for me especially since we want to get out the door early on day 2.



Plans are to grab some lunch and hit the parks. Aventura had some different food choices that may appeal to everybody. I’m sure we will be Hangry by this point. We may decide to grab something in the park who knows. This is a dinner option but looks super tasty and is only $18!


We won’t have the express pass for this day but I am sure we will try to do as much as we can with out it. At some point I want to get a wand. This may be a good time to get it so I can have it for the next few days. Once the parks close we talked about having a girls night at the Bar 17 Bistro if it open. It has amazing views and I imagine it is way better at night!






Hopefully we will get in bed at a decent hour. We plan to get up super early and get over to Royal Pacific to check in and get our Express Passes and drop our luggage. I am really excited to stay at this resort. The rooms are some of the prettiest on property to me.

I am also a fan of Sapphire Falls. Their lobby really wowed me. I hate they don’t offer the Express Pass so for that reason I will probably never stay there for the price difference.

Thats all for tonight!

 

[missangelalexis]

Joining in! Plans sound good so far!

 

[DLo]

Following along. Looking forward to reading more

 

[Whit64130]

Days 2-4
On Monday we check into Royal Pacific. With it being Labor Day I don’t see us hitting Volcano Bay that day but instead opting for the actual parks. This will be our first full day I’m sure we will want to hit up all the major attractions. Well minus the Hulk and Rip Ride Rocket for me. I’m a chicken when it comes to that kind of stuff. Two out of the three of us are MAJOR Harry Potter Fans so I suspect we will spend a fair amount of time in the wizarding world. I recently jumped on the Potter train...yeah yeah I’m years late to the party. I actually watched the movies before my most recent visit to USO. Now I liked the movies but wasn’t hooked. Last year I was browsing through the free books on my kindle and figured I would see what all the fuss was about. Granted I am not a huge reader. If I find a book I like I read it but don’t go searching out the next right away. Well I was hooked. I read all the books in the series from November to April. As I’m typing this I could probably start reading them again. Between each book I would watch the movie and blahhh they were so disappointing after reading. Anyways being the Harry Potter fan that I am now I got a few goodies for this trip. Last trip it was sort of a pain to stuff my backpack in the locker every time so I opted for this fanny pack and cinch sack from JuJuBe.


I love the print! They had a few to choose from but the platform 9 3/4 was my favorite. I also plan on getting the shirt for us since we are nurses!

I think it will be super cute to match.

We plan on eating dinner in City Walk or at the resort every night if we can. I did have some really good meals at NBC Sports Grille and Hard Rock Cafe last time. This burger at NBC Sports Grille was phenomenal!

It was a Jalapeño burger with beef patty, fresh jalapeños, fried jalapeños, and a spicy bacon. Definitely would get it again!

We never ate at food food at Toothsomes. I know it gets bad reviews on food so we may or may not give it a try but I LOVED this milkshake from last time!


Depending on the weather will determine the day we hit Volcano Bay. (This is why I love the flexibility of Universal!) I’ve been wanting to go for quite some time now but it never irks out. The last time I was in Universal, VB was closed due to 35 degree temps. I am sure we will spend ALL day there if we can.

We will have one more day to spend in whatever park we choose for the day. I am sure we will hit all of the highlights again.

My highlights from last trip (other than Wizarding World stuff):

Men in Black Alien Attack

Mummy

Jurassic Park River Adventure

The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man



Also the things I missed out on that I want to make sure to do are:

ET(I rode this when I was little but missed it in 2018)

Transformers

All of the water rides!
Leaving you with some pictures of my last USO Adventure!


There is about 25 plus years difference between the two pictures. You can tell I was a 90’s kid through and though.


Next up....Disney Day!

 

[Whit64130]

Changes, Changes, and More Changes
It's been awhile since I have written anything and my at the changes that have happened! First of all my friend Kate and her family will not be getting to go due to travel restrictions. Second off I just got an email this week stating that Aventura was going to be closed. We chose to move to Cabana Bay for the night than to pay the upcharge for RP even though we will be checking in there the very next morning. This also allowed us to move our plans around to accommodate being at Cabana Bay. So now upon arrival to USO we will be dropping our bags and going straight to Volcano Bay. Literally wearing our swim suits on the flight. (Luckily its only 1.5 hours if that long). Then the next three days will be spent park hopping and we will have the Express Passes with our stay.
Now the Disney Version of this PTR. Originally I was scheduled to stay Beach Club, Club Level. I debated and debated on keeping it prior to the announcement that it would not be open for our dates. I ended up moving us to Riviera with a Deluxe Studio. I technically move 9/10 but my family will join me 9/11. My aunt will be staying with me for the duration of the trip while her son is at Caribbean Beach. I really thought about staying there as well but I couldn't pass up the great rate at Riviera and be that close to them. We are doing a split stay though. On 9/15 we will move to Bay Lake Tower on my DVC points. I made this way back at the 7 month mark. I would give anything if I could modify to Riviera instead but with the DVC rules in place any modification with 50% borrowed points will result in cancellation (dang you December use year). Anywho, I am going to ask upon check in if modification is possible on site without the penalty. If it is not then oh well BLT will be a first for me and I'll move on . Any DVCers ever had to modify your reservation on site before? I don't even know if this is possible but maybe since I have the extra points.


As I write this I am 19 days out but I haven't even started packing . That is soooooooooooooooooo unlike me! I do have things piled on the guest bedroom bed and I have made a few things plus purchased! Since this is a word heavy update I will add some decoration!

This action cam was a gift from my hospital for my 10 Year of service anniversary. They had many neat gifts to pick from but I went with this since I thought it was something I could use but probably wouldn't buy for myself.


Not sure why these are sideways, I tried to adjust them before I uploaded but .I made this with my Silhouette Cameo along with the others below. This tank is called a festival tank and I am obsessed! It has a little bigger arm holes than most tank but the neck is higher up which I appreciate unlike most of the racerbacks that are out now.


Next is the new Vera pattern Vera tote! I am a huge Disney VB fan. This actually arrived in the mail today. I already have a few other pieces I had purchased awhile ago but with the 30 % off AP discount I couldn't resist.


On another update I had posted this shirt but they are official now! I LOVE the way they turned out!


Last is another festival style tank that I think turned out super cute! I realized before making these I had plenty of character stuff but I was lacking in the Mickey/Minnie department.


That wraps up my update. Hopefully I will have time to do another this week!

 

[KEK1]

Nice update, Super cute VB bag!

 

[pepperandchips]

Just binge caught up. What an amazing plan! Now you made me want to get back to Uni ASAP. I feel like I “know” you through Ariane and am so glad you and your friends and family are getting to return.

The shirts you made are SO cute. Do you sell them? I love that Mickey and Minnie one. I’m not trying to get anyone in trouble so please feel free to ignore that question

Such a bummer Aventura, Sapphire, and my favorite — PBH - are not opening. I really want a PBH resort stay but am so sad that’s not an option. CBBR looks like a great alternative though! Hopefully you don’t end up out in east Timbuktu this stay.

Not sure why these are sideways, I tried to adjust them before I uploaded but .I

I read someone else said that the disboards platform automatically rotates all pictures you upload to be landscape orientation. So we have two choices basically - take them in landscape or upload them to another photo server to post. I use imgur and like it enough.

We stayed at Riviera in July and I think we would have loved it more if CBR had been open. That gives you more dining options and more to walk around and see. Banana Cabana is on my to do list!

Where did you go with your girlfriends on royal other than Coco Cay? Just Bahamas or something else? I miss cruising even though I’m a recent convert.

Enjoy your countdown! You are so close.

 

[Whit64130]

I know! I’m so glad she added me to the small group and hopefully I will get to know everyone over time like I have her!

The shirts you made are SO cute. Do you sell them? I love that Mickey and Minnie one. I’m not trying to get anyone in trouble so please feel free to ignore that question

This is kind of a joke between @CruellaNY and myself. She keeps telling me to open an Etsy shop but I have no spare time. I just make them for fun!

I read someone else said that the disboards platform automatically rotates all pictures you upload to be landscape orientation. So we have two choices basically - take them in landscape or upload them to another photo server to post. I use imgur and like it enough.

Good to know!

We stayed at Riviera in July and I think we would have loved it more if CBR had been open. That gives you more dining options and more to walk around and see. Banana Cabana is on my to do list!

I really think we will dine at CBR a few times especially since family is there. I’m excited to check our CBR as well since I haven’t stayed there yet myself.

Where did you go with your girlfriends on royal other than Coco Cay? Just Bahamas or something else? I miss cruising even though I’m a recent convert.

It went to Nassau as well. Literally my first cruise/trip out of the country and I hadthe best time. We really enjoyed our ship!

 

[Lilias]

It looks like you're going to have an awesome trip!

I also think you should definitely try Toothsome food food! We went to Toothsome like...at least 3 times back in December and I never got a bad thing. My favorite thing was the country fresh french toast from the brunch menu (but you can have it anytime, I think). SO. FRIGGIN. GOOD. I made three meals out of it somehow, lol. HUUUUUUGE.

 

[pepperandchips]

5 (???) days?!



Safe travels and have so much fun! Can’t wait to read all about it!

 

[Whit64130]

It looks like you're going to have an awesome trip!

I also think you should definitely try Toothsome food food! We went to Toothsome like...at least 3 times back in December and I never got a bad thing. My favorite thing was the country fresh french toast from the brunch menu (but you can have it anytime, I think). SO. FRIGGIN. GOOD. I made three meals out of it somehow, lol. HUUUUUUGE.

That sounds tasty!!

5 (???) days?!



Safe travels and have so much fun! Can’t wait to read all about it!

Thanks!! 4 days now! I wish I had time to properly finish this PTR. Oh Well.... Maybe it will be one good TR!