Canadian Harmony
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 23, 2015
I just realized that as of the start of March, I will be taking 5 Disney-themed trips in 2020/2021! I'm rather excited about this, so I thought I'd start an ongoing PTR to help gather my thoughts for my after-trip scrapbooks, get ideas from those who know more than I do, and hopefully help others in the same boat (there's a pun there, just hang on for a minute). I'm not known for my brevity, so if you're going to read this, get comfy
Who we are: M - that's me. I'm approaching my mid-50's faster than I'd prefer, and have turned into quite the Disney lover (?) (Liker?). What I find extraordinary is the amount of people I meet EVERY DAY who are also DisNuts like we are! It's amazing, really. For example, I'm currently in rehearsals for our local community theatre production of Mamma Mia, and there are two other HUGE DisNuts in the show. Anyway, I digress. Where was I... oh yeah, when I was 49, we took the kids (9 and 11 at the time) to DLR for their first time (hubby's first time too, my 3rd) and I loved it so much, but missed so much, that I decided to celebrate my 50th on a Solo Trip the following October. I loved THAT so much, that I do it annually now (missing my 51st, and then swearing never to do that again!). My favourite ride in DLR is BTMRR and will make sure it's my first ride in the park every time. My favourite at DCA is Incredicoaster, which is something I never thought I'd say, but our YDD got me hooked on it (she's our thrill seeker). I'm also a Star Wars/Marvel/Harry Potter/Dr. Who/etc geek, so meeting characters is HUGE for me. As mentioned, I scrapbook too, so gathering signatures, keeping receipts, getting all the photos done on MaxPass... I'm all for it. As a military Veteran I'm a little broken, but I make do by sitting when I can, taking the train around the park, etc. I've gotten better at it, especially since I go each year and I'm a Flex Pass AP holder now.
B - that's my spouse. He's not crazy about Disney, but in his mind it's a family thing and so he needs to be there, mostly for the kids. He does however, love the corn dogs (and always tries to get me to bring some home for him) and the food in the parks. His favourite ride is Jungle Cruise because of all the bad puns. He's not much of a roller coaster guy, but will do HM, Pooh, and even the Teacups. He loves parades and fireworks and makes us attend at least one of each while we're there. He's in the Canadian Navy, and has been ashore for the past 8-9 years after sailing pretty steadily for the first 20-22 years of his career.
R - that's ODD. She's a teenager. Oy, is she ever! However, she's also a teenager with ADHD and social anxiety. But Disney is her happy place and she absolutely loves going. If she had her way, she'd grab our hands and lead us all over the place. My feet can't do that, so we start in one Land and work our way through others. She loves meeting characters, riding all the rides (but not Incredicoaster or Guardians for some reason), watching the shows... all of it. She's my treasure and my buddy.
M2 - that's YDD. She's also a teenager and has just started with the snark. Give me strength. She's neurotypical, but not 'easier' if that makes any sense. She also loves Disney, but could find something to complain about anywhere she goes. It's her super power. She does have a fabulous sense of humour though and makes us laugh all the time. Her favourite ride is Incredicoaster, followed closely by Guardians, Racers, and BTMRR (back row please!). She likes to meet the characters too and has her own ideas of what is appropriate Park wear - in the past it's been Mickey Hands, a Jasmine costume from the BBB, and a Sully Tail - all at once! She's beautiful and petite and my joy.
So - that's us. A family of four from the We(s)t Coast of Canada.
TRIP 1
Our first trip is a family trip for a week in March. My mother-in-law turns 90 on the 3rd of March, so we're headed to Calgary for a quick weekend on the 6th (the kids are more excited about skipping a day of classes than anything else) and we'll see the family on Saturday. First thing Sunday, we're on a plane headed for sunnier (and WAY WARMER) climes. We're in DLR at the Tropicana from the 8th-13th, with a day at KBF (probably the 11th) in there too. M2 saw the giant coasters a couple years ago when we went to Medieval Times and lit up like a Christmas tree, so we're going to spend a day there.
So far, I have the hotels booked, and my FlexPass (of course).
Still to do for this trip:
- book the flights (which I can do as soon as my credit card payment clears). It's a multi-city flight so slightly more expensive than usual.
- double check the passports. I think B's and the kids' expire pretty soon IIRC.
- purchase parks tickets. Turns out there's a corporate site our military has that will help us save some money on those tickets... and I can pay through Paypal!
- rent a car for the KBF day and for Calgary. It's hard thinking about TWO cities.
- book Karmel for transport to and from Santa Ana.
- purchase Disney gift cards for souvies and for meals. Everyone gets $50/day to spend however they want at the parks and I estimate what we'll eat in a day and then put that amount onto a gift card, one for each day. I take only that card with me to the parks, with the day before's in case there's any left. I know that B really likes Carthay, so I'll budget in a nice meal there for us... or maybe tempt him with SH55... hmmm... decisions...
- pack stuff for TWO trips.
Now, in between trips 1 and 2 is trip 1.5 - we're headed to Australia for a month to see my mum in July. THAT will take a lot of financial assets from our Disney trips, but she's not getting any younger and we love Australia. Where she lives is quite near to two theme parks - DreamWorld (Dream Works' characters) and Movie World (Warner Bros' characters). The last time we were there, M2 was thisclose to riding a ride she wanted but was too small, so R did it for her and swore she'd never do it again. So, those two places are back on the list for sure. There's Adventure World in Perth so we may investigate that too. I'll be turning my attention to that trip in February.
TRIP 2
My usual annual birthday trip in October is for adults only. B stays home with the kids as it's during school anyway, and I take off mid-October to enjoy 4 1/2 days at the parks. I use my airmiles for the flight and for a 5 day parkhopper ticket which is then flipped into a Flex Pass, and I purchase MaxPass as I go, however this coming October I'll probably just plonk MP onto the AP for the year as it'll be more cost effective.
So far, I have the hotel (Clarion) booked and my flight paid for (thank you Airmiles!).
What I still need to do:
- save money for the gift cards
- book Karmel
In between trip 2 and 3 is trip 2.5 - B wants to explore Maui for Christmas. Yoikes! He NEVER asks to go anywhere so I'm really working hard toward this. Essentially, the only reason I come to work is to pay for our car loans and for our trips I think. I'm exploring this now as things book up quickly, so we need to book a nice condo near a beach, rent a car, and get the flight once they open!
TRIP 3
R and M2 dance at a studio which has danced in Disney before. The girls didn't do that trip, but this one R is very keen on going. So she'll be dancing and M2 will be coming with us to watch younger siblings if required... and to ride Incredicoaster and Guardians with me while R is in workshops! This takes place over our Family Day weekend in mid-February 2021. We will be doing fundraising for this trip to help with R's flight and park ticket costs, while the remainder is on me for mine and M2's flight and ticket. We're staying with the rest of the dancer at the Fairfield, which I'm not too crazy about - it's expensive and further away than I prefer - but we're obligated to stay there for the first two nights. After that we could move if we wanted to, but TBH, I'm not sure if I'll do that. I'm pretty lazy and as we only have limited time at the parks, I'd rather spend our time enjoying Disney than packing, checking out, traveling across the street with our luggage, checking in, putting our bags away, and returning to the parks. This will be just a girl's trip as B will stay home and enjoy some quiet 'man' time.
Things we still need to do for this trip are:
- work with others for fundraising
- get M2's ticket
- book flights with other dancers
- find out about transfers (and book Karmel if required)
The majority of things are a little out of my control right now, so I have to wait to find out the flights we're to book, etc. This is expensive in other ways too as we pay for the workshops on site, costumes for the performances, the classes leading up to the trip, and the regular dance classes the girls take, along with their recital costumes as the Disney performances will be added into the show but not taken away from other dances. R will be taking Modern and Broadway classes, so including Disney, I think she'll be in 6 or 7 different outfits. M2 is taking only Broadway, so that is a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 2. At $90 a pop, this is not an inexpensive year of dance for our family!
BUT! What an amazing experience for her! We're blessed to be able to afford this for her.
TRIP 4
A month later, we're going on the Disney Wonder (there's the 'same boat' pun, finally) for a 4 day Baja trip out of San Diego. This is a whole family trip. B was leery of taking a cruise but as he's been off ship for so long it should be find. Besides, he's not crew. The girls are super excited (as am I) to experience a cruise. Our ports are Catalina Island and Ensenada. I think we may end up at the Fender factory and the large cat animal rehabilitation centre. I put the deposit down on the 23rd of December and I have until the 1st of December this year to pay the remainder. We can book our excursions and on board stuff on the 30th.
So far, I have put down the deposit and downloaded the Navigator app.
I still need to:
- pay off the cruise! I'm planning on using Disney gift cards for this. It saves us the exchange fee which we'd be charged by using a credit card, and every cent helps.
- save money for souvies (yes, on gift cards).
TRIP 5
My usual October trip will take place, and as it'll be my 55th, I think I'll try to spring for GCH or DLH. Hopefully friends can come and share the cost, especially if I get a DVC room through David's (which may be super hard to do).
So... that's the trips planned so far! I'm pretty excited to get cracking and get so many amazing experiences knocked off my to-do list!
First up: Calgary/DLR March 2020!
Who we are: M - that's me. I'm approaching my mid-50's faster than I'd prefer, and have turned into quite the Disney lover (?) (Liker?). What I find extraordinary is the amount of people I meet EVERY DAY who are also DisNuts like we are! It's amazing, really. For example, I'm currently in rehearsals for our local community theatre production of Mamma Mia, and there are two other HUGE DisNuts in the show. Anyway, I digress. Where was I... oh yeah, when I was 49, we took the kids (9 and 11 at the time) to DLR for their first time (hubby's first time too, my 3rd) and I loved it so much, but missed so much, that I decided to celebrate my 50th on a Solo Trip the following October. I loved THAT so much, that I do it annually now (missing my 51st, and then swearing never to do that again!). My favourite ride in DLR is BTMRR and will make sure it's my first ride in the park every time. My favourite at DCA is Incredicoaster, which is something I never thought I'd say, but our YDD got me hooked on it (she's our thrill seeker). I'm also a Star Wars/Marvel/Harry Potter/Dr. Who/etc geek, so meeting characters is HUGE for me. As mentioned, I scrapbook too, so gathering signatures, keeping receipts, getting all the photos done on MaxPass... I'm all for it. As a military Veteran I'm a little broken, but I make do by sitting when I can, taking the train around the park, etc. I've gotten better at it, especially since I go each year and I'm a Flex Pass AP holder now.
B - that's my spouse. He's not crazy about Disney, but in his mind it's a family thing and so he needs to be there, mostly for the kids. He does however, love the corn dogs (and always tries to get me to bring some home for him) and the food in the parks. His favourite ride is Jungle Cruise because of all the bad puns. He's not much of a roller coaster guy, but will do HM, Pooh, and even the Teacups. He loves parades and fireworks and makes us attend at least one of each while we're there. He's in the Canadian Navy, and has been ashore for the past 8-9 years after sailing pretty steadily for the first 20-22 years of his career.
R - that's ODD. She's a teenager. Oy, is she ever! However, she's also a teenager with ADHD and social anxiety. But Disney is her happy place and she absolutely loves going. If she had her way, she'd grab our hands and lead us all over the place. My feet can't do that, so we start in one Land and work our way through others. She loves meeting characters, riding all the rides (but not Incredicoaster or Guardians for some reason), watching the shows... all of it. She's my treasure and my buddy.
M2 - that's YDD. She's also a teenager and has just started with the snark. Give me strength. She's neurotypical, but not 'easier' if that makes any sense. She also loves Disney, but could find something to complain about anywhere she goes. It's her super power. She does have a fabulous sense of humour though and makes us laugh all the time. Her favourite ride is Incredicoaster, followed closely by Guardians, Racers, and BTMRR (back row please!). She likes to meet the characters too and has her own ideas of what is appropriate Park wear - in the past it's been Mickey Hands, a Jasmine costume from the BBB, and a Sully Tail - all at once! She's beautiful and petite and my joy.
So - that's us. A family of four from the We(s)t Coast of Canada.
TRIP 1
Our first trip is a family trip for a week in March. My mother-in-law turns 90 on the 3rd of March, so we're headed to Calgary for a quick weekend on the 6th (the kids are more excited about skipping a day of classes than anything else) and we'll see the family on Saturday. First thing Sunday, we're on a plane headed for sunnier (and WAY WARMER) climes. We're in DLR at the Tropicana from the 8th-13th, with a day at KBF (probably the 11th) in there too. M2 saw the giant coasters a couple years ago when we went to Medieval Times and lit up like a Christmas tree, so we're going to spend a day there.
So far, I have the hotels booked, and my FlexPass (of course).
Still to do for this trip:
- book the flights (which I can do as soon as my credit card payment clears). It's a multi-city flight so slightly more expensive than usual.
- double check the passports. I think B's and the kids' expire pretty soon IIRC.
- purchase parks tickets. Turns out there's a corporate site our military has that will help us save some money on those tickets... and I can pay through Paypal!
- rent a car for the KBF day and for Calgary. It's hard thinking about TWO cities.
- book Karmel for transport to and from Santa Ana.
- purchase Disney gift cards for souvies and for meals. Everyone gets $50/day to spend however they want at the parks and I estimate what we'll eat in a day and then put that amount onto a gift card, one for each day. I take only that card with me to the parks, with the day before's in case there's any left. I know that B really likes Carthay, so I'll budget in a nice meal there for us... or maybe tempt him with SH55... hmmm... decisions...
- pack stuff for TWO trips.
Now, in between trips 1 and 2 is trip 1.5 - we're headed to Australia for a month to see my mum in July. THAT will take a lot of financial assets from our Disney trips, but she's not getting any younger and we love Australia. Where she lives is quite near to two theme parks - DreamWorld (Dream Works' characters) and Movie World (Warner Bros' characters). The last time we were there, M2 was thisclose to riding a ride she wanted but was too small, so R did it for her and swore she'd never do it again. So, those two places are back on the list for sure. There's Adventure World in Perth so we may investigate that too. I'll be turning my attention to that trip in February.
TRIP 2
My usual annual birthday trip in October is for adults only. B stays home with the kids as it's during school anyway, and I take off mid-October to enjoy 4 1/2 days at the parks. I use my airmiles for the flight and for a 5 day parkhopper ticket which is then flipped into a Flex Pass, and I purchase MaxPass as I go, however this coming October I'll probably just plonk MP onto the AP for the year as it'll be more cost effective.
So far, I have the hotel (Clarion) booked and my flight paid for (thank you Airmiles!).
What I still need to do:
- save money for the gift cards
- book Karmel
In between trip 2 and 3 is trip 2.5 - B wants to explore Maui for Christmas. Yoikes! He NEVER asks to go anywhere so I'm really working hard toward this. Essentially, the only reason I come to work is to pay for our car loans and for our trips I think. I'm exploring this now as things book up quickly, so we need to book a nice condo near a beach, rent a car, and get the flight once they open!
TRIP 3
R and M2 dance at a studio which has danced in Disney before. The girls didn't do that trip, but this one R is very keen on going. So she'll be dancing and M2 will be coming with us to watch younger siblings if required... and to ride Incredicoaster and Guardians with me while R is in workshops! This takes place over our Family Day weekend in mid-February 2021. We will be doing fundraising for this trip to help with R's flight and park ticket costs, while the remainder is on me for mine and M2's flight and ticket. We're staying with the rest of the dancer at the Fairfield, which I'm not too crazy about - it's expensive and further away than I prefer - but we're obligated to stay there for the first two nights. After that we could move if we wanted to, but TBH, I'm not sure if I'll do that. I'm pretty lazy and as we only have limited time at the parks, I'd rather spend our time enjoying Disney than packing, checking out, traveling across the street with our luggage, checking in, putting our bags away, and returning to the parks. This will be just a girl's trip as B will stay home and enjoy some quiet 'man' time.
Things we still need to do for this trip are:
- work with others for fundraising
- get M2's ticket
- book flights with other dancers
- find out about transfers (and book Karmel if required)
The majority of things are a little out of my control right now, so I have to wait to find out the flights we're to book, etc. This is expensive in other ways too as we pay for the workshops on site, costumes for the performances, the classes leading up to the trip, and the regular dance classes the girls take, along with their recital costumes as the Disney performances will be added into the show but not taken away from other dances. R will be taking Modern and Broadway classes, so including Disney, I think she'll be in 6 or 7 different outfits. M2 is taking only Broadway, so that is a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 2. At $90 a pop, this is not an inexpensive year of dance for our family!
BUT! What an amazing experience for her! We're blessed to be able to afford this for her.
TRIP 4
A month later, we're going on the Disney Wonder (there's the 'same boat' pun, finally) for a 4 day Baja trip out of San Diego. This is a whole family trip. B was leery of taking a cruise but as he's been off ship for so long it should be find. Besides, he's not crew. The girls are super excited (as am I) to experience a cruise. Our ports are Catalina Island and Ensenada. I think we may end up at the Fender factory and the large cat animal rehabilitation centre. I put the deposit down on the 23rd of December and I have until the 1st of December this year to pay the remainder. We can book our excursions and on board stuff on the 30th.
So far, I have put down the deposit and downloaded the Navigator app.
I still need to:
- pay off the cruise! I'm planning on using Disney gift cards for this. It saves us the exchange fee which we'd be charged by using a credit card, and every cent helps.
- save money for souvies (yes, on gift cards).
TRIP 5
My usual October trip will take place, and as it'll be my 55th, I think I'll try to spring for GCH or DLH. Hopefully friends can come and share the cost, especially if I get a DVC room through David's (which may be super hard to do).
So... that's the trips planned so far! I'm pretty excited to get cracking and get so many amazing experiences knocked off my to-do list!
First up: Calgary/DLR March 2020!