Some people ARE worth melting for ….. 40 Disney days – the trip of a lifetime updated October 10

[dizneeat]

How sweet about the new kitten. Very exciting

It was just meant to be, I think ....... we had a "fun" sports day on Thursday and we talked about cats and when I mentioned that ours had died, one of my refugee girls said that they had kittens and she would love to give me one as a present. And there we were .........

The end of school sounded very stressful. Thank goodness you're now on holiday.

It was ..... my class being in their last year at our school had a lot of extra tests and they then needed some paperwork being done ahead of time. Last week is always "other" activities and we had all decided to spend a night at school their last weekend at school. I did not get much sleep that last week, believe me. This holiday could not have come at a better time.

What is this about Photobucket??? That sounds beyond outrageous! I use them too and haven't seen that news.

"Fun" surprise. I have been a member of photobucket for forever. And we only discovered issues when Tom told me that his free account that he uses for geocaching will be closed and all photos will be replaced by a generic photobucket pic. I told him not to worry, mine was a paid account and I had never had an issue. Only then I began to research into it and low and behold my pro account will only be allowed to post on a "third party site" like the DISboards unti Dec 2018. In light of having an ongoing TR I decided to pay them one more time (renewing time is September, always given, that they do not hike the price), but I will host the rest of my photos from a new site. You know, they will charge you $399 for third party hosting ...... but not from me, no thank you, Photobucket. Look it up for yourself on their page.

Looking forward to reading all about your plans! And most especially looking forward to seeing you and Tom very soon

We cannot wait to see you and JJ again, either. This is going to be so much fun.

So sorry to hear about your kitty.

Ah, thank you!

Love your trip reports and following along on your adventures.

Thank you for sticking with me. I will try to speed up a bit, but somehow the days don't seem to be as long as they used to be.

Oh Karen , I am so sorry about your precious fur baby. There are no words.....

Thank you for just being here. And I know that those furbabies mean a lot to you too.

I am very sorry for your loss. My hearts go out to you and Tom. Hope you will be able to find some comfort in the next few months especially on your holidays.

Thank you Su-Lynn. Our kitty was our little princess and the centre of attention, so she is very much missed. But with our vacation coming up and me not having had enough time to plan before my holiday started, it gives me something to do and keep my mind occupied.

 

[dizneeat]

I know I sent you my condolences already, but again I'm so sorry about how quickly she went. That's great you have another kitty lined up...are you sure that you don't want two kitties? Two is always better than one!

Thank you, Alison, I knew that you would understand. It was just shocking that she went from lively little furball to gravely ill within a few days. And when we got her home and she walked around like nothing had happened we were all in such good spirits, the vet included. Oh, well, guess she's playing with my mom now.
And since you mentioned the possibility of two cats ......... it might very well be. We have been thinking about two cats for a long time, but Pixie was far too spoiled and would have never had accepted a "brother" or "sister". But a young one might get along better. I guess we will see for sure after our vacation.

I can't believe the news about Photobucket! Your report was the first that I had heard anything and yesterday I went out looking for information. I was sure that you were not talking US dollars, and the the $399 was some sort of Euro conversion, but when I found out the truth I was astonished! I have found another solution and it will make posting the TRs very tedious, but it is our own website where I will host the pictures and no one will take that away unless we stop renting properties for a living!

Alison, I would not have known about it had it not been for Tom's free account. I really liked photobucket because it was easy to use and it worked at least for most of the time I was a member.
Tom offered me to get more webspace and to use our own website as well, but that is just too finicky for me. I need something easier. I changed to smugmug. I sure need to pay here too, but it is reasonable, not the 399$ photobucket wants.

 

[kittymamma]

As Alison mentioned earlier , bringing in a second kitty would be a good idea for you and Tom to toss around. Not just for y'all but for the new little one as well. When I took in my first cat after moving away from home , the Vet told me that my newly acquired fur ball would do better to have a companion and I have not had less than two since then. Whatever you decide , your new baby (babies ) will have a loving home for sure.

Enjoy your upcoming travels and being with friends...sounds as if you really need some rest and joy.

 

[dizneeat]

Okay, let's try if I can get my new photohost to work ............

Yeah, it works!!

Now we're rolling ........

Day 1

We will leave here around 9am and drive to the airport and fly to Frankfurt.
Soon after noon we'll get on another plane and fly to Orlando, where we will arrive shortly before 6pm

and after immigration and picking up a rental car we will drive to Beach Club Villas and stay there for just this one night.
(Yes, we are doing it again, moving around a lot..... )

Epcot has EMHs that night and we have FP+ for
Spaceship Earth and
Soarin
and after that we will just roam around, enjoy the atmosphere and ride whatever is available during EMH.

Day 2

Most likely we will pick up breakfast from Marketplace and after that we will hand over luggage to be transported to our home for the next 5 days, the Grand Floridian Resort. (Side note: When we were planning I priced out different resorts and a friend pointed me towards a TA and their discounts. I checked, read reviews on the TA and finally gave in ...... this is a nearly 50% discount and is less than staying in a garden view room at POR)
And while our luggage travels to the GF, we will head over to Epcot

where I have FP+ for
Spaceship Earth
Living with the Land and
Soarin

We will most likely leave around 1pm and head over to the GF

where we will have lunch and then go shopping offsite.
After returning to the resort we should be able to explore our room and chill for a bit.

In the early afternoon we will ride the Monorail over to the MK, explore for a while and then check in for the Happily Ever After Dessert Party.

MK has EMHs that evening and we fully intend to stay until closing.

Day 3

I guess we will sleep in today (given we have managed to stay through EMHs), grab breakfast from Gasparilla Grill and just take it slow. Around mid morning we will head to HS

to meet up with our friends Pamela and Jeanette

(stole this from your TR, Pamela, hope you don't mind)

where we will have an early lunch at the Brown Derby Lounge

After lunch and catching up on each others' lives we have FP+ for
Toy Story Mania
Tower of Terror and
Star Tours

I hope we will be hungry again then, because we have a reservation at Mama Melrose using the Pixar Package

after lunch we will have a bit of time to kill before we will enjoy The Music of Pixar Live!

After that we will most likely leave the park, as Pamela has to drive home and we will feel a bit of jetlag.

Day 4

Again, we want to take it easy in the morning and might just chill by the pool

until Pamela and Jeanette arrive again. They are going to stay at a Monorail Resort too for the next two nights.

All of us will then monorail over to Epcot

where we have FP+ for
Spaceship Earth
Disney & Pixar Short Film Festival and
Soarin
and we might even have a break at the DVC lounge.

Later we will return to our resorts and get ready for the event of the evening.

We will enjoy rides, go trick or treating, watch the parade and the fireworks and just enjoy each other's company.

After the party we will monorail back to our resorts for a good night's sleep.

To be continued .........


​

 

[dizneeat]

As Alison mentioned earlier , bringing in a second kitty would be a good idea for you and Tom to toss around. Not just for y'all but for the new little one as well. When I took in my first cat after moving away from home , the Vet told me that my newly acquired fur ball would do better to have a companion and I have not had less than two since then. Whatever you decide , your new baby (babies ) will have a loving home for sure.

Enjoy your upcoming travels and being with friends...sounds as if you really need some rest and joy.

To be honest ..... it looks a lot like we might be getting two. Somehow it is hard to imagine ......... we have always only had one. But then they could keep each other company when we are not around, so it is definitely something to consider and I guess it will be the way to go.

Yes, planning and looking forward to our vacation keeps us both sane at the moment - we really need to get away.

 

[MeghanEmily]

Oh yay! Vacation plans! So you have vacation coming up VERY soon, then! Like us!

ost likely we will pick up breakfast from Marketplace and after that we will hand over luggage to be transported to our home for the next 5 days, the Grand Floridian Resort. (Side note: When we were planning I priced out different resorts and a friend pointed me towards a TA and their discounts. I checked, read reviews on the TA and finally gave in ...... this is a nearly 50% discount and is less than staying in a garden view room at POR)

I wouldn't be surprised if this is the same travel agency we went with as well. I won't try to say the name or anything since it goes against Dis rules to advertise, etc., but the deals were amazing and that's the only way we could afford to stay at Poly for a few nights.

Later we will return to our resorts and get ready for the event of the evening.

We will enjoy rides, go trick or treating, watch the parade and the fireworks and just enjoy each other's company.

If this is the August 25th party, we'll be there, too! Maybe we'll see you! There's also a chance we may end up at MK the evening of Aug. 23rd, which seems like a night you might be there if I've calculated the dates right. Maybe we'll cross paths.

 

[nycdisneygal]

Wow this is the most amazing trip!!

 

[dizneeat]

Oh yay! Vacation plans! So you have vacation coming up VERY soon, then! Like us!

YES! Thankfully. It is what keeps me sane these days.

I wouldn't be surprised if this is the same travel agency we went with as well. I won't try to say the name or anything since it goes against Dis rules to advertise, etc., but the deals were amazing and that's the only way we could afford to stay at Poly for a few nights.

I guess it is! Their deals were too good to be true. I did quite some research on them because I was not sure their offers were for real. I never use a TA, for once because I like to be in charge and not have to ask someone to tweak a reservation and then we are DVC so we don't book that many regular rooms nowadays. But for last year's summer vacation I used up whatever points I could get my hands on, so I knew I had to pay out of pocket for some days this summer. When I realized that it would be more to stay waterview at Riverside than GF, then, the deal was sealed.

If this is the August 25th party, we'll be there, too! Maybe we'll see you! There's also a chance we may end up at MK the evening of Aug. 23rd, which seems like a night you might be there if I've calculated the dates right. Maybe we'll cross paths.

YES, it is the August 25 party. Maybe a short DISmeet is in order ............ And yes our first MK dessert party night is the 23rd. It would be awesome to see you on one of these days.

Wow this is the most amazing trip!!

Thank you! We love sharing our trips as much as we love living them.

 

[MeghanEmily]

YES, it is the August 25 party. Maybe a short DISmeet is in order ............ And yes our first MK dessert party night is the 23rd. It would be awesome to see you on one of these days.

Absolutely! When it gets a little closer we can coordinate and see if it will work for both of us! I'd love to say hello in person

 

[dromio42]

I am very sorry I have not been here in a long time. A lot of things happened and I just did not feel like posting. But let me begin at the beginning ..........

Shortly after I had posted the last update there was a wave of big tests that needed to be prepared and then marked. Now, I have three English groups and it was a lot of work, filling my weekends. Then there was preparation for the next days and so on ......... I was so tired and that we had a heatwave which prevented me from sleeping well did not help either.

Then 4 weeks ago we lost our furbaby. She was 16 years old and had lived with us for the last 15 1/2 years. She didn't look sick, but was just sleeping all the time. When she was eating less we took her to the vet, who told us that she needed emergency surgery. I don't want to go into too much detail, but it was heartbreaking having to leave that furball in a cage at the vet's. Surgery went well and we were able to take her home the next day. We were on cloud 9 when she just walked out of her basket and ate and drank and went to her favourite spot for a nap.
During the following night Tom woke me up because Pixie was acting strange. She was not moving much and seemed to sigh a lot. Around 5am while we were checking on her she took her last breath. Needless to say that it broke both our hearts to let her go, but at least she is no longer in any pain.
I was distracted while being at work, but poor Tom who is already retired and at home has missed and still misses her greatly and so do I.
We did discuss getting another cat and have agreed to do so, but will wait until we return from our vacation as to not have the cat getting used to us and then being taken to the "cat hotel". On the last but one day of school last week one of my girls offered my a kitten and we are now looking forward to picking up our new housemate when it is 3 months old. (Talked to the vet and she told us that this would be a good age to remove the kitten from its mother.

I took to vacation planning to distract me from missing my kittycat and we have now finally decided on what we are going to do. I'll post our plans lateron.

On Saturday my holiday started and I spent the first two days trying to sleep off the stress of the last week. On Monday I was ready to update here, when Tom told me that Photobucket now wants a whopping 399$ if you want to use it for "third party sharing" which includes posting photos on here. I am a Pro member of photobucket and have a paid account which they will support until Dec 31 2018, but I am not paying 399$ for photobucket's services, especially since it was more than just wonky lately.
Tom and I have decided to pay for one more year (my renewal date is late September) but I was looking for another photohosting site. I have now found one and need to get a bit more organized, but I should be able to update/post plans for this summer tomorrow.

I have a few days all typed out so expect a few more updates in the next few days.

And that concludes my real life updates ...........

Talk to you all tomorrow (it's already 10pm here).[
So sorry for your loss. I understand how painful that can be. We lost our baby after 19 years and we miss her every day. New kitty is a joy, but we think of our lost cat all the time. I'll warn you we were shocked by how much time and energy it took to bring up our crazy kitten. It's a very good thing that Tom is retired! By the way, I love you trip reports. My husband and I have no kids and love Disney, we are also close in age to you, so your reports are my dream trips!!

 

[Pinkocto]

These plans sound FANTASTIC!!!!!





Very exciting about maybe two new kitties. Double the fun

 

[dizneeat]

Absolutely! When it gets a little closer we can coordinate and see if it will work for both of us! I'd love to say hello in person

Wohoo! Looking forward to it.

So sorry for your loss. I understand how painful that can be. We lost our baby after 19 years and we miss her every day. New kitty is a joy, but we think of our lost cat all the time. I'll warn you we were shocked by how much time and energy it took to bring up our crazy kitten. It's a very good thing that Tom is retired! By the way, I love you trip reports. My husband and I have no kids and love Disney, we are also close in age to you, so your reports are my dream trips!!

Thank you! You are right, about thinking about lost cats all the time. We still laugh at the antiques of the cat we had had for 19 years, before we took in Pixie. It means they are not forgotten and since they shared such a huge part of our lives they shouldn't be.
I am glad you enjoy our trip reports - part of the fun of travelling is sharing our experiences with our DISboards family.

These plans sound FANTASTIC!!!!!

Most exciting part of the plans is sharing time with you and JJ. Can't wait!

Very exciting about maybe two new kitties. Double the fun

It looks more and more like two kitties. I hope they won't take over our lives completely.

 

[dizneeat]

Summer 2017 planning

Day 5

Guess another day where we will sleep in, pick up breakfast at Gasparilla Grill and chill with Pam and JJ for a while before we all make our way over to the Animal Kingdom.
We all have FP+ for
Expedition Everest
Kilimanjaro Safari and Na'vi River Journey

Since this is our first time to Pandora, we will check out the area a little before heading to Tiffins for our Rivers of Light Package

After our dinner we will take in the atmosphere, maybe ride a ride or two, depending on FP and finally find a good seat for Rivers of Light.

And after that we will return to our resorts, maybe sit and chat for a while before falling into bed.

Day 6

I hope we will be able to have breakfast today with Pamela and Jeanette, who will drive back home that day. I have planned for a late start today to spend time with them in the morning and maybe even have a resort lunch with them.
Around noon we will head back to Animal Kingdom

as I got FP+ for
Expedition Everest
Kilimanjaro Safaris and finally (only day for the first part of our trip)
Flight of Passage (we'll see if we will fit)
And then we will return to our resort to pack up things and get ready for the event of the night.
We will enjoy Sip Savor and Sparkle at the Contemporary's California Grill.

And after being so spoiled we will return to our resort for a final night at the Grand Floridian.

Day 7

We will need to be up early today, as we have a breakfast reservation at the Grand Floridian Cafe.

After that we'll just store our luggage with bell services and head over to the MK for two more rides ...
We have FP+ for
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

before heading back to the resort, picking up our car and luggage and get on our way to Port Canaveral.

There we'll put the car in the garage and head over to board the Disney Dream.

Once on board we will happily head over to Enchanted Garden for lunch

And after checking if our dining request has gone through we should be able to head to our stateroom.
Time to relax and enjoy the view from our room before heading to the safety drill.
We will then get ready for sail away and maybe enjoy a drink on the open deck.
I am pretty sure we will skip the show and just enjoy and explore the ship and shops.
Then it will be time to head to dinner to one of the rotational restaurants.

And after dinner we will retreat to our room and chill on the balcony before calling it a day.


To be continued .........
​

 

[MeghanEmily]

We're also going to be at AK on your 5th day, but only for the morning, so we'll probably miss you. (We thought we might get there for EMH, but it's possible we'll miss them because of the party the night before! But we have a late breakfast at Tusker House I won't want to miss either way!)

We will enjoy Sip Savor and Sparkle at the Contemporary's California Grill.

This looks amazing!! How wonderful to spoil yourselves on vacation

How exciting to be headed off on a cruise! I don't think I'd ever try one because I'm very prone to sea sickness, but my fiance's entire family loves cruises! I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time!

 

[rndmr2]

Found your TR the other day - Followed you from Pam's TR, although I have seen you around on other TR's over the years. and I have read the whole thing. Granted, I did skip a lot of the chatter but I have enjoyed hearing about your trip and looking forward to hearing more. Your plans for this coming trip sound fun too.

I wanted to say I am sorry for the loss of your Kitty, too. I had to make the sad decision to let my little guy go back just after Thanksgiving 2014. They just wrap themselves around your heart, don't they? I miss him a lot and miss having a pet but my Hubby wants to hold off on getting another one for now.

Too much to comment on from the rest of the report but I will say I am enjoying the Vegas parts, I have been twice with my parents (as an adult) and we really had a great time. Would love to go back someday.

 

[Pinkocto]

Yes please lets do breakfast and or lunch on Sunday. We just need to leave about 2 to get the boys from the kennel.

Any breakfast plans on Saturday before AK?

Tiffins looks so yummy

Oh, what time should we get to HS on Thursday?

I know we can talk about this when we get together but any chance we can see you September 1 when you get off the cruise? We don't fly until the next day.

Of course the kitties will take over that's what's so fabulous about fur babies

 

[chunkymonkey]

So excited to hear about your new epic plans! BTW, we are definitely going to be in WDW on the evening of Sept 3rd to the afternoon of Sept 5th. I hope to see you both, even if it's for a moment! We're staying at the Yacht Club for 2 nights and most of the time we'll be at Epcot probably just snacking around the world.

 

[dizneeat]

We're also going to be at AK on your 5th day, but only for the morning, so we'll probably miss you. (We thought we might get there for EMH, but it's possible we'll miss them because of the party the night before! But we have a late breakfast at Tusker House I won't want to miss either way!)

Well, the blessing of youth - going to the party and getting up early the next morning. Won't work for us any more, at least not while on vacation. Believe it or not, but we have never been to Tusker House. Not a huge fan of buffets, even less if they include characters.

This looks amazing!! How wonderful to spoil yourselves on vacation

It was something I wanted to do from the moment I first read about it. Love me some special events.

How exciting to be headed off on a cruise! I don't think I'd ever try one because I'm very prone to sea sickness, but my fiance's entire family loves cruises! I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time!

Not to talk you into something, but if you don't sail in a Hurricane, you barely notice being on the ship. And there are some really good meds to help you prevent seasickness. Cruising, especially with Disney is a lot of fun and very relaxing.

Found your TR the other day - Followed you from Pam's TR, although I have seen you around on other TR's over the years. and I have read the whole thing. Granted, I did skip a lot of the chatter but I have enjoyed hearing about your trip and looking forward to hearing more. Your plans for this coming trip sound fun too.

Welcome to my TR! I am very happy to have you here. Happy to hear that you enjoyed the TR so far - there is A LOT of fun still to come. And the plans for our upcoming trip just got even better!

I wanted to say I am sorry for the loss of your Kitty, too. I had to make the sad decision to let my little guy go back just after Thanksgiving 2014. They just wrap themselves around your heart, don't they? I miss him a lot and miss having a pet but my Hubby wants to hold off on getting another one for now.

Thank you. It is so hard to let them go. I called our 16 year old Pixie my baby and she acted like one, snuggling up to me at night (and taking over most of the bed ) I hope your husband will rethink his idea of holding off. We need a little furry love in our lives.

Too much to comment on from the rest of the report but I will say I am enjoying the Vegas parts, I have been twice with my parents (as an adult) and we really had a great time. Would love to go back someday.

We have visited Vegas a few times and always loved our stay there, the only thing is that we always went in the summer and it was SO hot. But even though it is an awesome place to enjoy life.

 

[dizneeat]

Yes please lets do breakfast and or lunch on Sunday. We just need to leave about 2 to get the boys from the kennel.

Any breakfast plans on Saturday before AK?

I sent you a PM about that.

Oh, what time should we get to HS on Thursday?

Brown Derby Lounge opens at noon and I guess we won't be there much earlier than 11.30. Is that okay with you?

I know we can talk about this when we get together but any chance we can see you September 1 when you get off the cruise? We don't fly until the next day.

SURE we can get together on the 1st. We are meeting some cruise friends at Epcot, so this is where we will be at. I actually just added you to our FP+ We are doing MNSSHP that night with Teresa and Mick (they will be at Epcot as well) and are having dinner at Kona - care to join us for that? I just checked and I can snag a table for 6.

BTW, we are definitely going to be in WDW on the evening of Sept 3rd to the afternoon of Sept 5th.

I hope to see you both, even if it's for a moment! We're staying at the Yacht Club for 2 nights and most of the time we'll be at Epcot probably just snacking around the world.

There is quite the chance that we might bump into each other (better to know where and when to meet ) as we are staying at ............... the Yacht Club Sept 1 - 5 before moving to the Beach Club. And we will spend a lot of time at Epcot as well. F&W, F&W, F&W

 

[Pinkocto]

I sent you a PM about that.

Got it

Brown Derby Lounge opens at noon and I guess we won't be there much earlier than 11.30. Is that okay with you?

We'll be there!

SURE we can get together on the 1st. We are meeting some cruise friends at Epcot, so this is where we will be at. I actually just added you to our FP+ We are doing MNSSHP that night with Teresa and Mick (they will be at Epcot as well) and are having dinner at Kona - care to join us for that? I just checked and I can snag a table for 6.

Absolutely, that sounds fantastic!!!