Best Year Ever!! An International Disney Park PTR

[dolewhipdreams]

Hello to my fellow DISers! This is my first pre-trip report but we have a pretty special year coming up and so I thought I'd give it a try. Before I talk about what’s coming up for our small family in 2019, allow me introduce us!

We are Eric & Ariel (code names used for our protection. But if you want to know our real names just read one of my TRs. I’ll explain why we have code names later) and we love all things Disney & travel. I (Ariel) and am an engineer by trade. I’m almost constantly in the midst of planning our next adventure and at any point in any day I’m craving a dole whip. Eric works with Medicare during the day and at night turns into a guitar-playing, cake-loving fool. We both think life is too short to work ourselves to death and 96% of our date nights involve some sort of hysterical laughter.

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Right now our only children are the kind with fur. We have a golden retriever, Waffles, and a cat, Cupcake.

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They’ll be staying at home during all of our adventures (but shhh they don't know that yet).​

So – what is so special about next year that warrants a pre-trip report? Well folks next year we’re planning to visit not one, not two, but three different Disney resorts.

That’s right. We’ll be starting off the year in Orlando for our first ever DVC stay in January. Then in July we’ll be celebrating our sixth wedding anniversary with a Backstage Magic trip at Disneyland. Our Disney adventures wrap up with a trip to Disneyland Paris in September- our very first international Disney experience!

Our year originally didn’t look this way. At first our only Disney trip would be the one to WDW in January. Then we were looking for a smaller trip to take for our anniversary and I convinced Eric that the best anniversary gift for me would be a visit to Imagineering and the chance to see Galaxy’s Edge with a VIP guide (not that it was hard to convince him- he’s almost as much of a Disney freak as I am).

Each year we do an international trip and 2019 was supposed to take us to New Zealand. However, our trip next year has to be in September. We realized we might not have the best weather in NZ during early September and decided to look somewhere else. Thus, we landed on France and naturally Disneyland Paris will be part of that trip.

So there you have it! We know the who, the where, and the when. Now we just need to work through all the whats and hows and plan our most magical year yet!

 

[dolewhipdreams]

For organization’s sake, I think I’ll color code my planning. Our January WDW trip will be BLUE, our Backstage Magic trip will be GREEN, and our Disneyland Paris trip will be whatever you call this color (fuchsia?).

Most of the initial planning for January is done. I’ve got our DVC reservation, flights, ADRs, and basic park plans. All I’m waiting for is our Fastpass day to roll around (November 12!) to get our FPs and line out our days with a little more detail.

Here’s what I have so far:

January 11:

Arrive at MCO at 9:45 pm and get an Uber to the Wyndham Garden Lake at Disney Springs. We wanted to fly in on Friday night to maximize our time on site on Saturday so we just found a low-cost option at Disney Springs and used credit card points to book one night.

January 12:

Check out of Wyndham Garden and store luggage. Explore Disney Springs and eat lunch at D-Luxe burger! We’ve never eaten here but I’ve heard mixed reviews about D-Luxe. I just know we both love burgers and shakes and the photos make this food look pretty yummy. I’m open to a different spot, though! What are your favorite Disney Springs QS locations for lunch?

After lunch (and probably some shopping), we’ll go back to collect our bags from the Wyndham and get an Uber to Wilderness Lodge, where our room will hopefully be ready for us. If not, we’ll drop our things off with bell services and start exploring our new DVC home.

Fun DVC story- we actually purchased without ever staying at WL, and Eric hasn’t even seen the model rooms in person! Our first experience with a deluxe Disney resort was at Aulani in November 2017 and we fell in love with what Disney can do with luxury. We (really I- Eric was very skeptical at this point) started crunching the numbers on when and if DVC would ever make sense for us. Fast forward to this past May when I was visiting WDW with my mom and I went on a DVC tour. I got to see the model rooms for Copper Creek and decided in that moment that we needed to own DVC.

Imagine my surprise when I got back home and explained it all to Eric and showed him the math and he actually agreed! Without even seeing any of the property! I knew I wanted to stay near the Magic Kingdom because I wanted the freedom to just hop over whenever I felt like it, and points-wise the WL property has a better value per night than the other MK area resorts. We also love nature and the more rugged theming that we’ve seen of the resort. We also knew that we are easy-going enough that really any Disney resort is going to be amazing for us because HELLO it means we’re home!

The decision then was between Copper Creek and buying resale Boulder Ridge. We ultimately went with Copper Creek mostly because of how new it is. We’re in our mid 20s so we expect to be using our contract for a long time. The BRV contracts expire so soon and we were attracted to the longer contract available with CCV.

We called the DVC agent and put the payment through a couple days later, followed closely by some paperwork and our official Welcome Home package. Needless to say we are PUMPED to hear our first “welcome home” as we check in on this day. I almost thought we wouldn’t get our reservation since we were past the 11 month mark and we were trying to book for Marathon Weekend. Initially we got all our nights except for the first, which we were waitlisted for. After about a month our waitlist magically came through!

Now that I’ve given you more back story on our DVC purchase than you probably cared to know, I’ll return to the regularly scheduled itinerary plans.

Our only other plan for our first night at WL is an ADR at Hoop De Doo- another first for us. From what I’ve read about this show we will absolutely love it (especially Eric). If it gets over in time and the MK is still open we may pop over for some night time park magic. Otherwise we’ll just enjoy some evening ambiance and a nice, early bed time (not usual for a Disney trip ).

Next up: the rest the outline for our WDW trip in January!

 

[dolewhipdreams]

Alright, continuing on with our January WDW trip pre-plans for all of you anxiously following along!



(Which is me. I’m the only one following along.)

Sunday 1/13: Breakfast ADR at Whispering Canyon Café. We’re hoping for at least a little bit of the antics we heard so much about. This will be our first time dining here so we missed out on when the antics were big and loud. But we love antics! So if the Lords & Ladies of Whispering Canyon are reading this, please bless us with your most antic-y antics.

We plan on some fun resort time for most of the day time, then we’ll head to MK for an early dinner at The Plaza (a first for us) and some night time MK shenanigans. I'm planning to grab FPs for three of our favorites:

Space Mountain
Big Thunder
Pirates​

Hopefully these involve some delicious ice cream and me crying my eyes out (for the X-teenth time) at Happily Ever After.

Monday 1/14: This is a fun day because on this day our friends Aurora and Philip are flying in! Aurora and Philip are friends of ours from college and both of them are actually former cast members. They both worked for the mouse one summer during our college years and fell quite madly in love. Fast forward five years and they’re hitched and returning for the first time since that fateful summer.

We gave them code names so they would feel comfortable with being in our reports, then Jon (oops, I mean Eric) felt left out and wanted our own code names. So there you have the reason for our code names.

One thing that is interesting about going with Philip and Aurora is that even though they were CMs for a summer, they both have only been to MK and Epcot. So while they can give us some CM insider tips about the MK (where they both worked) they’re pretty much newbies as to the rest! They’ve also never planned a trip to WDW so that’s a new experience for them, as well. It’s also the first trip that I’m planning with another couple! So this will be an exciting new experience for us all.

Annnyyyywayy, they’re flying in sometime in the early afternoon so Eric and I will have the last of our solo time that morning. We’re going to try to get some FPs at Animal Kingdom (FoP, Everest, Dinosaur) and we have a lunch ADR at Sanaa. Seriously so many new restaurants for us this trip and my tummy is READY.

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Then we want to head back to the resort and/or meet with Philip and Aurora and we’re all going to Disney Springs for a progressive dinner. Here’s what I have planned for that:

Drinks & appetizers: The Edison
Entrees: Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’ (I heard a rumor the g was added. Has the g been added?)
Dessert: Vivoli il Gelato

I had to convince Eric on this one. He thought it was excessive but I think it sounds like a ton of fun. Has anyone ever done a progressive dinner at Disney Springs? Or a progressive dinner anywhere?? This is our first one!

 

[dolewhipdreams]

And we’re back!

Tuesday 1/15: Our first park day as a group and we’re spending it at the…other…park. We’re getting one day park to park tickets for Universal so that we can introduce Aurora and Philip to the Wizarding World! (And butterbeer. Mostly butterbeer).

Always.​

Wednesday 1/16: We’ll be starting off the day at Magic Kingdom because I think every good Disney trip starts on Main St, USA. We’ve got a lunch ADR at Be Our Guest, which had just opened when P & A were CMs. I’m trying to get FPs for 7DMT, Space Mt, and BTMRR. We’ll probably head to Pirates at rope drop and if we have any luck, I’d like to get day-of FPs for Jungle Cruise and/or Buzz.

In late afternoon we’ll hop to DHS! I usually don’t spend much time at DHS but since P&A haven’t been, I want to make sure they have enough time to explore and ride all the rides (all four of them). We’ll probably try to watch Fantasmic since Eric and I haven’t seen it in a few years. We usually skip it in favor of Happily Ever After. Or we’ll try for the Star Wars fireworks, since I’m the only one who has seen it.

Epcot is scheduled for evening EMH so if we still have energy I think we should grab a boat (or walk) and explore the World Showcase by moonlight.

Thursday 1/17: This morning we’ll be going to my second favorite WDW park- Animal Kingdom! I remember after my first WDW trip (as a teenager when I was stupid and knew nothing) I described AK to one of my friends as an overhyped zoo. Oh how wrong I was.

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Anyway, I’m hoping to get us FPs for Flight of Passage, Everest, and the safari. Then we can wander and explore (and take 1000 photos of the tigers) until early evening! We have an ADR at Liberty Tree Tavern in the MK at 5:30pm so we’ll grab a bus and head to Liberty Square. Then we’ll finish out the night in the Magic Kingdom at Disney After Hours!

I’m seriously so excited for DAH. We went last January for the first time and it was incredible. Walking onto rides, eating my weight in Mickey Bars, empty park photos…just magical.

Friday 1/18: This day should mainly be for Epcot because it’s the opening for the Festival of the Arts. I want to get FPs in the morning for Test Track, Mission Space, and idk maybe the character spot (I feel like half the FP rides at Epcot have no need for a FP). Then it’s festival time!!

We’ll explore the festival, then we have separate lunch ADRs. Eric and I are going to Via Napoli and Philip and Aurora are going to Chefs de France. Apparently Philip remembers eating there and really liking it when he was a CM.

In the evening I want to pop over to the Magic Kingdom to watch HEA. We probably won’t have a great spot for it on the DAH night since don’t want to be trapped in the crowds and delay the DAH awesomeness. So this is our one night to get a stellar spot and properly introduce P&A to the show.

 

[dolewhipdreams]

Hello and happy whatever day of the week it is!

Just two days left here on our January WDW portion of the PTR so let’s just get to it, eh?

Saturday 1/19: I’m excited for this day because it’s our DHS FP day which means Slinky Dog Dash! I’m hoping to score one of those, as well as Rockin Roller Coaster (Eric’s favorite ride) and Tower of Terror. Then we’ll spend some time exploring Toy Story Land and riding any other rides we can!

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In the early evening we’ll walk over to Epcot (and grab some Ample Hills on the way) to spend the rest of the evening. I want to get AP seats for the Disney on Broadway concert that night and then a good spot for Illuminations, since it will probably be our last time to see it before it gets replaced. Which I’m on the fence about. On one hand, Illuminations has had a great, long run and is definitely ready for something new. On the other hand, I really love Illuminations.

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Sunday 1/20: Sadly this is the day that always must come- our last day at Disney. We’ll spend the morning once again at Animal Kingdom and I’ll try to get FPs for NRJ, Everest, and Dinosaur.

We need to leave for the airport by around 4pm so if we get done with everything that we want to see at Animal Kingdom then we’ll hop over to another park to spend the rest of the day. I’m leaving the afternoon open so that we can fit in any last minute re-rides (or snacks probably in my case).

Then we’ll go back to our resorts and get Ubers back to the airport! I used to be a hardcore MDE rider (and I still love it for going from MCO-WDW, but I don’t like having the set time for the return trip. I’ve gotten used to just budgeting for an Uber so we can decide when we want to leave.

And there you have it! That’s the rough plans for our first stay in our DVC resort AND our first trip with another couple! It should be a great one

 

[dolewhipdreams]

I guess since we’re through with the rough plans for January and there’s not much I can update until I get our FPs, I can give what info I have on our second Disney trip of the year!

We’ve already booked our Backstage Magic ABD for the week of our wedding anniversary. The ABD portion starts on a Sunday evening and ends on a Friday morning, but we’re also going to use the bordering weekends to add some extra fun!

Here’s what I have so far:

Friday: Fly in to LAX in the evening. Stuff our faces with In-N-Out then crash at whatever cheap accommodations I can book for the night.

Saturday: Still not sure about this day. We’re thinking of maybe doing a different theme park. If we do, we would choose between Magic Mountain or Universal Hollywood. The reason we would choose Magic Mountain is because we both love thrill rides. As awesome as Disney is, the thrill ride capital of the world it is not. We would choose Universal just because it’s always been on our list of theme parks to check off.

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What do you guys think? If you had to choose an LA-area non-Disney theme park to spend one crazy busy July Saturday in, which would you pick?

Alternatively we could just explore some things around Hollywood/LA that aren’t on the ABD itinerary. Maybe see some museums or wander some cool neighborhoods.

Once again, do you have any input? What are your favorite things that you’ve done in the LA area?

Sunday: I want us to do the Warner Brothers Studio Tour in the morning. I’ve done that solo and I just know Eric would love it! Then later that evening we’ll head to our Hollywood hotel for ABD and begin the ABD adventures!

Monday-Thursday: ABD time!!! Our very first ABD! We picked this ABD for two reasons: One is so that I can see Imagineering, which is very high on my bucket list (I’m already mentally preparing Eric for how much I’ll spend at Mickey’s of Glendale).

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The second reason is that Galaxy’s Edge should be open by then and our ABD guides might be able to get us backstage/front of line access! Even if it isn’t open or they can’t do that, it will still be a fantastic trip.

Friday: Our last ABD day, but our trip comes with park hoppers for this day so we’ll stick around and spend that day at Disneyland. We’ll switch hotels that night (probably to a good neighbor) since an extra night at the Disneyland Hotel or the Grand will be a little outside our budget. We don’t need anything super fancy, that night will just be a bed and shower kind of place.

Saturday: Saturday is beach day! I’m playing around with the idea of going to Laguna Beach because it’s absolutely stunning and so much fun. Are there any other LA beaches we should consider? Whichever beach we choose, we’ll spend Saturday night in that area.

Sunday: Our last day and another beach day. Since we’re from the Midwest we don’t get too many opportunities to explore the beach. This could be our only time this year.

I haven’t booked flights yet but we’ll fly home that evening and thus end our second Disney trip.

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[Cloe Colton]

Joining in on your PTR! You and your hubby sound a lot like me and my DH! Our anniversary is in July too haha

I don't have much input on things to do in LA since I've never been but we're going for the first time next November! ABD will be awesome though, I've never done one. I imagine doing one that includes Disneyland HAS to include some pretty spectacular perks! I'll keep my fingers crossed for you that SWL will be open by then!

You are also going to LOVE DLP! We were able to squeeze it in for an afternoon on our family European vacation last year and it was just pure magic!

 

[dolewhipdreams]

Joining in on your PTR! You and your hubby sound a lot like me and my DH! Our anniversary is in July too haha

I don't have much input on things to do in LA since I've never been but we're going for the first time next November! ABD will be awesome though, I've never done one. I imagine doing one that includes Disneyland HAS to include some pretty spectacular perks! I'll keep my fingers crossed for you that SWL will be open by then!

You are also going to LOVE DLP! We were able to squeeze it in for an afternoon on our family European vacation last year and it was just pure magic!

Yay thank you for joining in!! Yes for July anniversaries

This is our first ABD also and I feel like I'm about to get hooked on them. We already know we want to go to China and Italy with them whenever we get around to it!

Oh em goodness I'm sooo excited for DLP!! I've heard it's just like stunningly beautiful <3

 

[Micca]

You've got some big Disney in your 2019! DLP...I really want to see it...and Tokyo. Looking forward to all the details.

 

[dolewhipdreams]

You've got some big Disney in your 2019! DLP...I really want to see it...and Tokyo. Looking forward to all the details.

Yes we are so excited!! Tokyo is definitely on our list as well. We're looking at going in 2023, after the second phase of their big expansion is done

 

[dolewhipdreams]

Welcome back everyone!

Our FP day came and went a few weeks ago and I had a little bit of an adventure getting everything set. As I mentioned, this is our first time traveling with another couple and it’s my first time organizing a trip with people who are on a separate MDE account and in separate rooms. Past trips I’ve taken with others I’ve just had them listed under my account and we shared a room so it made booking a lot simpler.

Well Philip and Aurora bought their tickets through a reputable third party that I’ve used numerous times while they were having a great sale. This was way back over the summer, so long before the date-based tickets went into place. Then they booked their hotel once the discounts came out and we got our accounts all linked up.

I thought I had everything in place but when I went to make our FPs (at 6am central time on the dot!) it said that P&A didn’t have valid park admission for the day! I checked and I could see their tickets on the app so I wasn’t sure what was wrong. By this time I had to get to work so I called Disney customer service and asked what the heck was going wrong. It took him a while to find it but eventually he saw some fine print on their tickets that said they weren’t valid until sometime in February!

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I was getting a little panicky at this point because I had suggested that they used the third party and I thought maybe I had steered them wrong. I hung up with customer service and let P&A know what was going on, then I called the third party. I explained the situation and the woman on the phone had to talk to her manager.

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When she got back on the line she said that when they sold the tickets they weren’t aware that Disney had placed a date restriction on them, so they were sold like normal tickets that would have expired at the end of 2019. She was super apologetic and put a new set of tickets with the correct dates for our trip in the mail right away for no extra cost. She did request that they send the original tickets back to them so they could try to sell them back to Disney. Not sure how that works but at least they got the right tickets!

[Uh oh, I'm running out of redhead gifs]​

So while we were relieved that they were getting tickets that would let them into the park when we got there, it still meant we had to wait for them to arrive, which was going to be another 4 days. I started to worry about the FoP and Slinky Dog FPs I was hoping to get and just crossed my fingers that they would be available by the time the tickets came in!

Anyway, the tickets finally came in and I was able to make most of the FP times that I wanted. I threw together more detailed plans for each day which I’ll bore you with in the next post!

 

[Cloe Colton]

Oh wow, what a ticket fiasco! Im glad they were able to make it right for you though and send you new tickets!

 

[dolewhipdreams]

Oh wow, what a ticket fiasco! Im glad they were able to make it right for you though and send you new tickets!

Yes I was so relieved! It's stressful being the Disney guru and then things go wrong when you give your friends advice. So thankfully it didn't cost them any more money to get their tickets fixed!

 

[dolewhipdreams]

Wow I'm so behind on this PTR! We're only a few weeks away from our first trip of the year and I've nailed down our daily plans. My first few trips I would do almost minute-by-minute plans for each day but now that we’ve gone several times I feel more comfortable having guidelines for the day and just going off of those. It’s much less stressful.

Also, since this is a very text-heavy post, I’m gonna sprinkle my favorite Disney gifs throughout so your brain can have a break.



Eric and I will arrive a few days before P&A to spend some quality time in our new DVC digs so the first 3-ish days are just us:

1/11: Nothing has changed. Late arrival and a one-night stay at the Wyndham Garden at Disney Springs

1/12: Morning and early afternoon at Disney Springs, then check into Copper Creek for a resort day!

Meals:
Breakfast- snacks
Lunch- D-Luxe (most likely)
Dinner- Hoop De Doo

1/13: Resort during the day with the evening at MK

Meals:
Breakfast- Whispering Canyon Café
Lunch- probably just snacks
Dinner- early ADR at The Plaza

FPs: POTC, BTMRR, Space Mtn

My priority this night is seeing Happily Ever After and just soaking in some MK ambiance.



1/14: Resort morning and AK in the afternoon, followed by dinner at Disney Springs

Meals:
Breakfast-snacks
Lunch- Sanaa (hellloooo bread service)
Dinner- Progressive dinner at DS! (Drinks/apps @ The Edison, entrees @ Homecomin, dessert @ Sprinkles)

FPs: Dinosaur, FoP, Everest

P&A arrive in the late afternoon and we’ll leave the AK to meet them for dinner. I’m super excited for this progressive dinner!

1/15: A day at the dark side

Meals:
Breakfast- snacks
Lunch- Three Broomsticks
Dinner- Not sure yet. May try for the Emporium if my friend is working there that night.



1/16: MK & HS

Meals:
Breakfast- snacks (I’m tired of writing this every time. Aside from the one morning we have the ADR at WCC, we’ll just eat snack bars and fruit for breakfast).
Lunch- Be Our Guest
Dinner- open

FPs: BTMRR, Jungle Cruise, Space Mtn

Before we leave for HS we’ll also try for some of the other Tomorrowland attractions like Buzz and the PeopleMover.

At Hollywood Studios we’ll do our best for day-of FPs but we’ll also try to check in on some of the Star Wars shows/Launch Bay/characters then catch Fantasmic that evening.

1/17: AK & MK & DAH

Meals:
Lunch- Satu’li Canteen
Dinner- Liberty Tree Tavern

FPs: Everest, Safari, NRJ (none available for FoP by the time I got to book)

We’ll do some animal watching and exploring before we have to leave to get to the Magic Kingdom.

Once at MK we have our dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern but then only a short time until DAH starts! It’s our second DAH and their first and I’m SO excited. I had such an amazing time last year at it!



1/18: Epcot & MK

Meals:
Lunch- P&A @ Chefs de France, E&A @ Via Napoli
Dinner- Festival of the Arts snacks

FPs: Test Track, Mission Space

This is opening day of the Festival of the Arts- something else I’m majorly looking forward to. We’ll spend most of the day exploring the festival but then leave in the early evening to get to MK so that P&A can watch HEA for the first time.



1/19: HS & Epcot

Meals:
Lunch- Woody’s Lunchbox
Dinner- open (probably in Epcot)

FPs: Alien SS, RNRC, ToT

Alas by the time P&A got their corrected tickets there were no more SDD FPs available. We’ll just rope drop and hope for a short line! Our priority this day is exploring Toy Story land before heading to Epcot for their evening entertainment.

I’m definitely looking forward to catching the Disney on Broadway show then watching Illuminations (and most likely stuffing my face with more festival food).

1/20: AK (and our last day)

Meals:
Lunch- open
Dinner- probably at the airport

FPs: Everest, Dinosaur, FoP

I think we’ll also try to catch FotLK and Finding Nemo this day. It’s a bummer that we have to wait til the very end of our trip for P&A to ride FoP (unless they feel like hitting RD on our other AK day) but I’m just happy we got any FPs for it at all!

We’ll need to leave the park at around 3:30 to go and collect our things and head to the airport. And that will end our trip!



It feels so good to have daily plans lined out. Now all that’s left is picking outfits and packing!

 

[Cloe Colton]

Sounds like a great plan! I think I may copy you and do a progressive dinner in Disney Springs for DH and I's trip in December. I really want to try the cheese board at Wine Bar George so I feel like thats the only way Ill ever really get to do this!

 

[dolewhipdreams]

Sounds like a great plan! I think I may copy you and do a progressive dinner in Disney Springs for DH and I's trip in December. I really want to try the cheese board at Wine Bar George so I feel like thats the only way Ill ever really get to do this!

Words cannot describe how excited I am for this meal

 

[dolewhipdreams]

We are just 9 days away from our first Disney trip of the year! Itineraries are done, packing list is made, and outfits have been planned!



We're having a Disney movie night with Philip & Aurora on Friday to get everyone in the spirit.

What are your favorite Disney movies to watch before a trip?? I'm thinking maybe the Lion King & Pirates of the Caribbean.
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[DLo]

Hopping aboard a little late. Followed link from your current TR. sounds like an amazing year ahead. Can’t wait to read all about your adventures

 

[dolewhipdreams]

Hopping aboard a little late. Followed link from your current TR. sounds like an amazing year ahead. Can’t wait to read all about your adventures

Hello and thank you for joining! We are so excited for this year that it's actually hard to find words to describe it. Hope you enjoy following along!

 

[amberdc1987]

Came over from your Solo TR. I cannot wait to hear how everything goes for this year! I'm so excited. And I can't wait to hear about y'alls experiences...especially with Copper Creek and then later in Paris!!! I'm so glad whatever third party company it was on that sold those tickets made right on it. That was really great of them. Have fun this weekend and safe travels!!