It's My Birthday and I'll Go Back If I Wanna! PTR: 12-17 Oct 16 Updated 7 Oct

[Canadian Harmony]

I vowed not to start my PRT until I bought my flight. Well it's bought! Thank you Airmiles for allowing me to turn 50 in my happy place! Round trip, insurance and fees only cost me $230!

I'm booked to fly out on my birthday from my local airport, 2 hours in Vancouver, then down to Santa Ana just after 2pm. I should be in my happy place by 3 if all goes well! On the way home, my flight leaves just before 3, so if I'm lucky, I might be able to spend 3-4 hours in the park before I have to leave for the airport

I have invited all my adult friends to come along. They'd need to pay for their own stuff, of course, but I'm the type of person who enjoys eating with friends and sharing good times. I also want to be able to do as I please without going back to the hotel early because the kids are tired.

I need only about 1100 more Airmiles and I'll have a 5 day PH ticket paid for. Then I'll upgrade to an AP when I get there so I don't have to worry about the PP+ (or lack thereof), and it'll still be good when my DH and I bring the kids back in June of 2017, and we'll save a ton of money that way.

So, on my check list I have:

1. Book hotel - probably one of the three closest ones. I'll have to see who is the best deal in August.
2. Book a shuttle - once I get the hotel chosen, I'll reserve Karmel and get that out of the way.
3. Get tickets - 5 day PH with Airmiles and then I'll upgrade to a Signature AP at the gates.
4. Save money for spending - souvies, meals, incidentals. The exchange rate is killing me.
5. Reserve a birthday meal on the 13th somewhere nice in the parks.
6. Get a MHP ticket for the 14th once they're released.

I'm so excited! My kids won't be too happy, but they know they're going back next year, so it's not too bad for them. My DH is not impressed that I'm going away for my birthday, but he understands why I am. He's worried about something bad happening to me. Sweet, but completely uncessary.

 

[Canadian Harmony]

Getting started on #1: the hotel.

I know I want to stay close, so I'm narrowed down to PVI, BWPPI and DI&S. Whichever I choose will most likely get us again in June 2017 so I'm considering this a recce of sorts.

I qualify for a Military Rate and next year we'll qualify for an AP rate, so I'm checking out prices with that in mind. So far, two adults in 1 room with two queen beds shape up like this:

1. PVI $776USD total
2. BWPPI $796USD total
3. DI&S Deluxe $580.40USD total
4. DI&S Executive $627.20USD total

I think I'm going to go with DI&S once I have some money on the card to hold a room and once I know how many people are coming along with me. Even the suites for families aren't that bad in price, so that's probably where we'll go.

 

[Canadian Harmony]

So over in the AP thread I found out I will get a MM with my 5 day PH from Airmiles. Well... doesn't that just change things?

So I'm going to call Airmiles and change my flight to a day earlier so I can get into the park for MM on my birthday.

Easier said than done. Over a 2 hour wait on hold with Airmiles to change the reservation, and the automatic call-back has one slot for MONDAY!!

I'll keep trying from home and hopefully the wait won't be as long, especially if I call first thing in the morning.

Holy smokes - 2 hour + wait time!!

 

[Canadian Harmony]

I called on Saturday and got straight through this time! It'll cost me $141 to add an extra day onto the flight.

I'm going to do that.

My friend who lives in San Diego is going to pick me up and spend the Wednesday night with me and all day Thursday and leave on Friday. I'm so excited to see her! We met years ago on a chat board similar to this one, but have never met in real life, so this will be awesome!

We are going to have dinner at Napa Rose at the Chef's Counter on Thursday. I'm thinking about the WOC Dessert thing for another night. And of course, the MHP on Friday night.

Now I just have to convince more friends to come along with me because I'm a social type of person and find I have more fun with friends along.

I think we're going to stay at Desert Inn & Suites. I looked at all the nearby places and it seems to be the best deal for us.

 

[Canadian Harmony]

I made it!! 3651 Airmiles!! I spent 3600 and got my 5 day Park Hopper and it's on its way to me!! YAYAYAYAY!!

So - flight - CHECK
Ticket - CHECK

Still a few more things to do, but they aren't a screaming hurry. I do need to change my flight still but I'll do that next week.

I'm just so happy my PH is done! That took 3 months!

 

[Canadian Harmony]

Got my PH ticket in the mail on Friday - signed for it at the Post Office. SO excited! It's "Mater" with the 60th Anniversary front. Now I just save for the hotel and plan my special things - the MHP, dinner at Napa Rose, stuff like that.

 

[Canadian Harmony]

Thanks to a nice tax refund, I have now changed my flights and added another day onto the trip. This means I can go Magic Morning on my birthday and then upgrade my 5DPH to an AP that afternoon. Airmiles made it really easy to change it too, even if it did cost me $160 to do so.

I just booked into the Del Sol hotel. I looked REALLY closely at the Desert Inn & Suites, but I can get a better rate at Del Sol and we're only there to sleep, not to swim or anything. Next year with the kids I might change to someplace else, but I think we'll like it for our adult trip.

Now I just save up and save up and save up. I want dinner at Napa Rose Chef's Counter and a WOC Dessert Party. And a Brazillian Blowout one day too - that's $150 easy. And with the exchange rate... yoikes!

 

[DisneymoonJess07]

Looking forward to seeing your plans!! We are heading to DLR next month, so I'm so interested to see everyone planning!

 

[Canadian Harmony]

Thanks! I think I'm mostly going to go with the flow, but there are two things I want to experience for sure: the WoC Dessert thing and PTN reserved seating (probably through Aladdin).

My friend from San Diego won't be able to meet me til the afternoon of the 13th, so I'll be booking a shuttle from SNA to the hotel and back. We'll enjoy a fancy birthday dinner and if I can time it right, we'll have lunch that day from Oasis, hit Napa Rose, then watch the parade after dinner.

 

[Canadian Harmony]

MHP tix have been announced, so I think what I'm going to do is one on the Wednesday I arrive and another on the Friday. This way I'll get the autographs I want and the photo ops I missed out on last year. I don't plan on doing another MHP for a long time, so I'll make these ones count.

I will probably get my hair done on the Saturday when the park is super busy and just go in the morning and the late afternoon and hope to miss the majority of the crowds.

I'm so looking forward to this! I think we'll have an early-ish dinner (4:30ish) on the Thursday and then try for the WOC dessert seating afterward too. Of course, if the Chef's Table is only at a certain time, then I'll push the WOC dessert over to Sunday as I'm leaving on Monday.

I'm so excited!! My saving hasn't been going well, but I'm trying to set aside money for our trip to Saskatoon in September too, so it's hard. I'll probably have about $300CAD free in September to use at least. At least the dollar is hovering around 77cents so not as bad as I had thought it would be.

 

[DisneylandDarling]

Hey @Canadian Harmony! Our trips overlap!

I'm a little ashamed to say we still don't have our flight booked! lol But, we usually get a good deal in August so are holding out for that. If all else fails, we're going to have to drive through the desert to get to Disneyland because there's no way I'm missing Mickey's Halloween Party! I might have missed where you said, but are you planning a costume for MHP? I'm trying to decide between Cinderella and Belle. Maybe I'll make both! My family is still trying to decide as well. I think so far we have one Fairy Godmother and a Cruella de Ville, but the rest aren't sure what they're doing.

Sounds like your plans are coming along great!

 

[Canadian Harmony]

Hi! I haven't decided. Probably go as Merida like I did last year - the costume needs a bit of sewing, but it works and follows their rules. I'm not a dressing up person usually but this is one time I really like to.

 

[Canadian Harmony]

So I was reminded about the Happiest Haunts tour!! I'm totally going to do that too! So now I have a little something for each night:

• Wednesday: MHP (I arrive at 3ish, and I'm upgrading my 5DPH, so I'll probably use my PH that night).
• Thursday (BIRTHDAY!): MM at DLR for rides like Peter Pan and then upgrade to Signature AP for the discounts and the PP+. That night will be Chef's Table at Napa Rose with my friend.
• Friday: MHP again. More for the characters than for the ToT Trails.
• Saturday: Going to get my hair did at a local place - we can't get Brazillian Blowouts in Canada anymore, so I'm getting one done after I hang out in the park a little in the morning. I figure I'll avoid the busiest time of day by heading out for the middle of the day. That night I'll take a Happiest Haunts Tour (gotta remember to book on the 15th of September or I'm sure it'll be sold out by the time I get my AP on the 13th). I'll suck up the extra 15% I'd have saved with an AP, I'm okay with that.
• Sunday: WOC Dessert that night.
• Monday: I'll only have til noon in the park before I'll have to leave, so nothing planned.

The daytimes I'll spend trying to find characters to fill out the rest of my autograph sketch book like Olaf (still can't believe we missed him!), Jasmine, Jafar and the Genie, Jack and Sally, finally catch Mickey & The Magical Map, and hopefully Tangled and/or Beauty & The Beast at the theatre (still have to find THAT location). Oh, and try for Frozen as well at the Hyperion. And find Tianna at the riverside.

I'll try to cram in a few rides too, the ones I missed last time around for sure: PP, Winnie the Pooh, Mater, the new one in Carsland, Casey Jones, Alice ... I was hoping Tarzan's Treehouse would be open but it looks like it's down the whole Halloween Time. I've NEVER been on it: when I was 9, it was Swiss Family Robinson's and we didn't go; when I was 30, it was transitioning to Tarzan and was closed; last year it was closed for HT, so I'm expecting I won't be able to go on it til next summer when we take the girls again. I want to relive RSR and walk down the boardwalk at the Pier... I might need more days... LOL.

 

[Canadian Harmony]

I'm going to throw a bit of a side-PTR regarding our summer. I mean, October is SOOOOOOO far away....

So far, it's been a great summer for going places. I am waiting for some money to come my way from Veteran's Affairs (so a quick "please let her claim be approved" wouldn't go amiss to whatever deity or universe you believe in), and then I can take the family to Australia to see my mum. We were supposed to go in June, but that fell through. Now we're aiming for the middle of August. BUT, seeing as how I'm not one to waste a summer, here's what we've accomplished so far:

On the 18th of June I went to see Carol Burnett over in Vancouver. I took a friend as her birthday/Christmas present (so I'm good this year!). We had a blast! She's so funny and it was my friend's first time in the Big Smoke. Too bad it rained the WHOLE time (June-uary), but I think she had fun anyway.

Two weeks later on the 7th of July I took my kids over to Vancouver to see a friend of mine from high school. My kids hung out with her kids and husband, while she and I went to the Dixie Chicks concert! My friend's husband got some BC Lions (football) tickets, and we hit the game for the first bit right on the 50-yard line, before heading across the street to the concert. It was awesome. We had such a great time, and those Chicks can PLAY!! While I was at my friend's house, I won tickets to a local (to them, not to me) water & adventure park which are good til September. My friend had won tickets to Playland - a VERY small version of DLR - enough for all 6 of us, so we went on Friday. It was the perfect day - kids were still in daycamps and it was overcast (but not rainy) and we had the park nearly to ourselves. My kids rode the Hellevator (smaller version of ToT) 6 times in a row! The rickety wooden roller coaster 4 times in a row. Etc etc etc. It was great fun for the day and really made me miss the rides at DLR/DCA.

Last Sunday, we went to a friend's annual bbq/outdoor country jam. So much fun seeing friends, hearing great music (and I got to sing too!!).

Coming up:

This Saturday an adult-only version of last week's bbq. I'm going to have a blast! Then the long weekend (the 1st is a holiday for us), I'm at SunFest - a giant country music festival from the Thursday night til the Sunday afternoon. Might be home Monday. Heh.

The weekend of the 6th, we're up Island at my old Sea Cadet camp celebrating it's 60th anniversary (hee hee) and we're camping on the beach. I'll be introducing a huge part of my teen years to the kids. Hope they want to join.

Then, the weekend of the 13th, I just booked us camping near the water and adventure park that I have those passes for.

But then... I'm hoping to take the family to Australia the 16th or 17th for two weeks! I have the whole time planned too - the first week in the Gold Coast (near my mum's), doing Movie/Dream/Sea/White Water World(s), Paradise Country, Outback Spectacular, and Wet N Wild, then three days up to 1770 and back (reef stuff), then five days in Brisbane before flying to Vancouver and then instead of going home, we fly to Saskatoon for our niece's wedding!! We'll be home the 4th of September and the kids start school on the 6th!

So exciting! BUT, if the money DOESN'T come through in time, then we'll probably go camping or visiting up island those last two weeks of August, and still go out to the wedding in September. We'll try for Oz next spring/summer.

And then it'll be Disney time before I even know it!

 

[Canadian Harmony]

I had to wait to get my MHP tickets. Turns out my firewall at work won't allow me to even see the link to purchase tickets, then my cell phone didn't work for it, as it kept showing me error messages.

Over the long weekend, I was at a local country music festival with no wifi... well, they had it, but it was $5/day! Plus, we weren't in serviced sites, so I just waited til Monday.

I used one card but it kept getting the error message that something was wrong with the payment. So I switched to another credit card and it went through! Plus I was able to defray the cost a little by using a $25g/c I found lying around (yay!), so that probably took care of the exchange rate.

Now I have two tickets - one for the 12th, and one for the 14th. I can concentrate on seeing villains and other characters, enjoy the pre-party meet & greet, and stay for some fireworks and the parade at least one of the nights.

YAY!

 

[Canadian Harmony]

Another real-life update. My money came through and we're leaving TOMORROW for the land of Oz! We leave quite late - quarter to midnight - and arrive at 7:15am... THURSDAY! It's a 13 1/2 hour flight, but due to the International Date Line, we miss a day. Because it took longer than I thought to get the finances cleared up, we missed the cheap seats going home, and our flight cost increased by $1600 ($400 each), so I decided to turn lemons into lemonade by throwing in a road trip. Here's our schedule for the next 2 1/2 weeks:

• Depart Vancouver on the 16th, arrive on the 18th.
• Drive from Brisbane to Surfer's Paradise (my Mum lives there) and check into our resort. Get groceries and settle in.
• The 19th is DH's birthday, so we're going to a theme park there and I'm treating him to a Pit Pass for the Stunt Drivers, then that night we're taking my mum out to the Aussie Outback Spectacular (dinner & show) with us.
• 20th we're hitting Sea World.
• 21st we're going to an animal sanctuary and getting a photo with a koala.
• 22nd we leave REALLY early on a tour bus and head up to the Town of 1770 via the Australia Zoo.
• 23rd we snorkel the Great Barrier Reef and watch sea turtles.
• 24th we return to Surfer's.
• 25th - 28th we visit another theme park or 2, get in a river cruise, climb a tall tower, shop the mall, and hang out at the beach.
• 28th we start our drive to Sydney, overnighting in Port MacQuarrie.
• 29th we arrive Sydney and explore the Opera House and Rocks.
• 30th we are going to the Manly Aquarium.
• 31st we are going to the Zoo and Sea Sanctuary in town.
• 1st we drive out to the airport for a 1010 departure to Vancouver.
• 1st we arrive in Vancouver at 7:30am local time (so cool, like we're time travelers!) and wait for our next flight to Edmonton then onto Saskatoon.
• 2nd we hang out in Saskatoon visiting family and friends.
• 3rd is our niece's wedding.
• 4th we fly home FINALLY, landing around 6:30pm, home around 8.

The 5th is going to be sleeping and laundry. Lots and lots of laundry, since we won't have done any since probably the 28th.

I'm taking the 6th off to take the kids to their first day at their new school and to get some errands done. I'm back to work on the 7th.

I'll be making my WOC dessert and Napa Rose Chef's Counter reservations either tomorrow or when we arrive.

 

[Canadian Harmony]

Our Aussie trip was awesome!! We were busy every.single.day and had a blast! Spent WAY too much money - it's REALLY expensive to eat anywhere but groceries were affordable - and I thought I had uploaded a day and a half of photos so I deleted them and then emptied the deleted folder... only to find they HADN'T uploaded after all! I was heartbroken.

Then off to a wedding we went and it was great seeing family again.

We got home Sunday night and my husband did NOTHING on Monday. Tuesday he went back to work and the kids went to school. I'm back to work today, already dreaming of my DLR trip!

 

[Canadian Harmony]

Well I was excited for about 14 hours - my friend was looking into coming with me - but she can't justify the cost for only one day (she has to work the weekend and would need to fly home on Friday).

I'm still hoping another friend will join me for longer. My local San Diego friend will come up on the 13th for dinner at Napa Rose and spend the majority of the 14th with me, but I was hoping she'd spend more of the 13th with me too.

I know it will be what it will be, but it would be nice to share the experience with one other person (as well as sharing the hotel cost!) at least.

 

[chunkymonkey]

Your birthday semi-solo trip sounds great! I went on a DCL cruise and to WDW this year to celebrate my 40th, but I had my DH and sister in tow for part of it.
We just returned from 5 days at DLR, it was amazing, so much fun, but I had to go back to work and I'm still exhausted from my trip!
Your Australia trip sounds amazing. I have relatives in Australia (Sydney). I've been there about three times when I was younger and can't wait to one day go back again!

 

[Canadian Harmony]

I'm reading your TR and love it!

We had a lot of fun in Oz but its nice to be home.