Thompsons Go To Disney

Can't Believe It!

2009-12-07T06:51:00.002-05:00

I can't believe we are only 2 days away from leaving! What else can I NOT believe? I haven't even started PACKING!?!?! I think I just don't know what to pack or something...or I don't want to do it too early maybe? I dunno, but I am starting today for sure. I can't pack for the kids until the very last minute because they only have a couple of pairs of pants! lol. They are getting a ton of new clothes for Christmas, and I really wish that we could let them have it all now because it would make packing so much easier for them!

I have continued to stay on top of the laundry and house cleaning, so I don't have that to do. All the presents are wrapped and the Christmas shopping done except for the "family" gift which we can do later.

We are excited and ready for some time away. I am not sure if I will post again or not. Probably will. ha.

TEN DAYS!

2009-11-29T15:05:00.002-05:00

Today is the ten day countdown mark! From here on out we are in single digits! YAY!
It is also the day we can do our online check-in. It supposedly makes checking in quicker and easier when you arrive. And any chance I get to REPEAT my room request (KING BED PLEASE!!!!) I will take it!
I can't believe the trip is almost here! Katie and Noah are also still very excited about "Christmas Camp" at Meme and Grandpa's house. All is well..the tree is decorated...the shopping mostly done (all the major gifts and most of the stocking stuffers) so in the words of Spongebob: "I'm ready, I'm ready...I'm ready ready ready ready!"

19 Days!

2009-11-20T08:52:00.004-05:00

We are now to our "teen" digits countdown! I can't believe it! Yesterday we purchased our Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party Tickets!!!!! THAT was SO exciting, because until that point it had really just been a just in case we have enough money kind of thing for the trip! 19 days! We will leave on Wednesday night and drive part way, then wake up Thursday morning for a VERY long first day.... So excited!

Travel Documents Arrived!

2009-11-12T14:06:00.002-05:00

These are our travel documents that came in the mail today! What an unexpected surprise! I guess time has just flown by the past couple of weeks because we are now down to 26 days until our trip! I can't believe it!!!!
The booklet that is sitting up has our confirmation details in it...our reservations, and vouchers for some things like video game time in the resort arcade, a $15 credit at Planet Hollywood, etc.
The other booklets just have details and tips for our trip. The cutest little luggage tags were included also!
I guess I really have to start putting things together around here! We've got Christmas shopping to get done, Christmas party tickets to buy, and school to finish up!

PAID IN FULL!

2009-10-22T14:24:00.002-04:00

After all the planning and all the worry about canceling...

Today, our trip is PAID IN FULL!!!!!!!

YAY!!!!!!

48 days to go!
(which means we have that long to get our Christmas shopping done as well!)

I am SOOOOOOOOO happy!

I had made $385 out of the $490 we needed. So we only had to add $105 extra to make the payoff. That was easy since I am working this weekend and will easily make up for it! I am so grateful to my friend, Laura, who told me about the job at The Pumpkin Patch, and for my mother-in-law who has kept the kids on the weekday mornings so that I could take the job. What an incredibly timed blessing!
In 48 days, Corey and I will be celebrating 10 years of being together at the Happiest Place on Earth! And, Katie and Noah will be enjoying "Christmas Camp at Meme and Grandpa's House!" ha ha...that's what I have decided to call it anyway!

October Excitement

2009-10-07T16:43:00.003-04:00

With only 63 days until our trip, I am very excited and nervous! I started my job at the Pumpkin Patch Farm last week. It put a nice little dent in the payoff amount we need, but I will be so relieved when the day has come and gone and we know FOR SURE we are going!
(after that point it would cost us money to cancel, so wouldn't be worth it since the overall cost of the trip isn't that much to begin with.)

Friday, October 23rd is the day that we have to pay off the balance of our trip. At that time we will be 47 days from going on our trip. Counting down for this trip is fun, one of the best parts. It is also a countdown, of sorts, until Christmas! When we get HOME from our trip it will be only 10 days until Christmas.

Anyway, I just wanted to post something on here because I am truly excited and anticipating THE payoff day! Only $380 to go!

Dining Day!

2009-09-11T06:59:00.010-04:00

I was up bright and early this morning to get our Advance Dining Reservations for our December Anniversary Trip!
I was disappointed at first because I couldn't get exactly what I wanted on the days I wanted, but I decided to switch around a couple of days so it is going to work out for the best!

So, here is the final itinerary!

Day One: Arrive and Check-In at Pop Century Resort

Evening: Dinner at The Crystal Palace.
This is a character meal with Pooh and Friends, but I have been told you do not have to interact if you don't want! lol. We chose it more for the food because the MENU looks delicious! And since it is a buffet, we can store up lots of energy for...

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party!

Day Two:
This is where I made adjustments. We were going to spend all day at Epcot with extra magic hours in the evening (open till 12:30am!) but I could not get the dining reservation I wanted for Epcot on this day. SO, I decided to just switch it around and instead we are going to do Disney's Hollywood Studios this day. I think it will work out great because all the advice says to avoid the parks with extra magic hours anyway...

Our lunch this day will be at Captain's Grille at the Yacht Club Resort. It is a short boat ride away from Hollywood Studios, so that will be something fun to do! The MENU here looks great also! Seafood and more!

I also made an end of the night reservation at the Sci-Fi Dine in Theater.
Doesn't it look FUN?!
We will probably just grab a snack/appetizer here.
We wanted to experience it more than anything!

Day Three:
We will spend this entire day experiencing Christmas at
Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure!
They have a "mini" Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
(with actual balloons from the parade!) and a Christmas Grinch Show. I can't wait!

Both of those parks close relatively early, so we will head over for a late dinner at Boma.
This was at the top of my list! I loved it last time we went and can't wait to do it again!
The MENU is exotic and delicious!

Last Day:
Our last day we will spend at Epcot.
I worked our day at Epcot around the availability of dining at Le Cellier (in the Canada area). It is boasted as THE best place to dine at Disney World, so I hope it does not disappoint! The MENU definitely sounds great!
I actually ate at this restaurant MANY years ago when I went to Epcot with my family, but that was a long time ago and before the Disney Dining Plan and making reservations!
Instead of posting a photo of the restaurant, I found this photo of a dessert offered there.
Doesn't it look yummy?! (and cute!)

Besides these reserved meals, we also have a Counter Service meal and a snack each day included with our FREE dining plan! From looking at the menus, it seems we will spend about $60 in tips out of pocket. Oh, plus whatever we spend on our out of pocket late night snack at Sci-Fi Dine In. NOT BAD for FOUR days worth of food at Disney World for two people!

Mickey Moms

2009-09-10T13:48:00.003-04:00

Today was the first day that Disney was accepting applications for the 2010 Mickey Mom's Panel. I submitted an application last year but did not make it through the first cut. Oh well. They sent me a magnet for my fridge and it was fun to do!

This year one of the questions was different...and way more interesting in my opinion. First they asked for me to tell a little about my family. Then they asked why I consider myself a "disney expert" and what my best tip for first time visitors would be. The last question was the one that was new. They asked what special talents I have (ie. blogging, foreign travel, speaking another language, etc) that I might find to be useful if I were on the panel. OF COURSE I mentioned that I love blogging and that I have a blog set up just for our Disney trips! I now wish that I had mentioned my degree in Early Childhood Education. Oh well.

I am excited. The next round won't be announced till next month and they do phone interviews at that point. If you are chosen you get to answer questions that are submitted to the Mom's Panel online and you get a FREE trip to Disney for the training, but your entire family gets to go! (the best part!). It is usually a trip in December.... hmmmm....

On another note: TOMORROW is ADR day! I spent last night making a chart of our days for our trip and finally nailing down where we will be and where we want to eat each day. I will share it tomorrow when I get my ADRs finalized. I hope it goes as smoothly as last time!

95 Days...

2009-09-07T00:02:00.002-04:00

5 days away from "ADR" day!

47 days until payoff day!

26 days until I start my part-time job at the Pumpkin Patch!

I would have never thought of looking for a part-time seasonal job at the Pumpkin Patch, but my friend, Laura, got a job and suggested it to me! How perfect!? I will get to work 2 mornings a week and then Saturdays and Sunday afternoons. This will give us enough cushion with our other expenses that we will most likely be guaranteed to be able to have our payoff money in time and if everything else cooperates we will definitely be going on our anniversary trip to "The World" in December!
Yay!

Now, just counting down to this Friday, when I get to wake up at 6am and start searching for those perfect dining reservations to enjoy with our FREE dining plan! Everything has worked out so perfectly! I am so happy and excited!

Excited!

2009-08-17T00:00:00.002-04:00

Just a post to say that I am excited!
It is a little over a month until our Advanced Dining Reservation Day!
(the second one I get to do! ha!)
Just 116 more days!
Everything has worked out exactly like we planned, now just to save those dollars between now and payoff day. Payoff day is the week before Katie's birthday, so I am anxious to get the money saved BEFORE then if possible so we don't have to worry about it at that time.

Anyway, just had to post my excitement.
Yay!

More Pixie Dust!

2009-08-06T09:40:00.003-04:00

I got an email from Disney Tuesday that gave me a pin for Free Dining!!!! Well...we already had free dining, right?! Well...not exactly. As I explained in my last post, it cost us a little extra to get the basic dining because only the quick service was included in that promotion and if we got the pin I had been expecting then it would only save us a little bit....

Well....THIS PIN was for FREE BASIC dining! So, we got to take about $100 off our package price and get that plan for FREE! Yay! Every little bit counts, and now our payoff is $100 less... which may make a world of difference to us right now!

Our trip payoff is now $490. Still wishing and hoping that it will happen and feeling optimistic!

Something Magical..........

2009-08-01T09:58:00.005-04:00

The email I received this past Monday morning.....

Hi Carrie,

Something Magical Has Happened!!

We always try to stay on top of the latest discounts, and today our persistence paid off…for you!

As expected, Disney released the fall free dining offer to the public today. I've upgraded your reservation to the basic dining, which is an additional charge of $10 per person per night since the value resorts include only free quick service dining, so your reservation price has increased slightly. If you would prefer to go with just the free quick service dining, please let me know.

Please review the details below and attached and let me know if everything looks good.

.......................

We hope this makes you as happy as it makes us!!

Just a bit of magic from the Magic for Less Travel.

Have a Magical Day!

Laura Bender
The Magic For Less Travel
Service Plus and Pixie Dust

Our package price increased by $80 to get the dining package, which would regularly have cost us $320. The dining plan, even if you pay for it, is an awesome value, but getting it for 1/4 price is even better! I am thrilled that we got it!

I have been hearing that many people who are traveling to stay at Pop Century Resort have been getting PINS to be upgraded to deluxe resort for free, so I guess that would be the only thing that would make it even better!

Oh yeah...and...having it paid off! :)

Good News/Bad News

2009-07-23T10:02:00.002-04:00

Always start with the bad news, right?! Well..... we had to cancel our trip to Disney World! :((((((
Things just didn't work out for us to have the money saved in time. Well, as a matter of fact, we DID have the money saved up. BUT, we had to use that money for some other things right now as we would NEVER pay for a trip to Disney World before I took care of our other responsibilities. We are thankful that we WERE saving for this trip so that we actually had the money there to use when we needed it.

It was coming up to time to make our final payment and after that time it would cost us to cancel, so we had to go ahead and make the choice now. I am very sad, but hope was soon in coming!

The GOOD news is..... we postponed the trip to December again!

I had heard that there were sometimes discounts attached to a person's account on disneyworld.com and if you call they can sometimes tell you about it. Well...I called. The person told me that there was a pin JUST sent out to me for FREE DINING for November and December!!! I was so thrilled and relieved!!!

So, we switched back to our original dates of December 10th-14th and are hoping to get the money saved back up in time to go.

Honestly...... December was our first choice for time of the year to go. The weather will be much nicer and now if we can get the free dining plan then too, there isn't any reason for us to go sooner! We get to see all the Christmas shows and festivities and the crowds will be low that time of year also.

I am very excited again and hoping for the best! The price was cheaper than the October trip also because we changed from 2 day park hoppers to 2 day base tickets. We won't get to park hop, but I think it will be fine because I am hoping TOO that we can do the Christmas party like I went to when I went with Bethany last November. It is SO fun. BUT, if we don't it will still be fine. I am excited to just still have the trip planned and not completely cancelled. It will be a GREAT way to celebrate 10 years together with Corey!

90 Days!

2009-07-03T21:15:00.003-04:00

Today is the 90 day countdown mark for our trip!

YAY! That means that when I woke up to go potty at 6:15 this morning, I also came into the living room, got on the computer and starting trying to get all those dining reservations I wanted! Disney now does online dining reservations which open at 6am before the phone line opens at 7am.

I couldn't get exactly what I wanted for Le Cellier, but everything else was perfect! I emailed our travel agent that we had everything we wanted except for dinner at Le Cellier (the only availability had been for lunch which is a different menu...).

Then, when I got up this morning around 9:30, I had an email back from our travel agent saying that she had also booked us at Le Cellier for a 7:10 dinner!

I then got online and switched things around to accomodate and also threw in a reservation for a lunch at the Sci Fi Dine in Theater at Hollywood Studios. It looks so neat and we wanted to check it out, so we may go there just for an appetizer or dessert or something.

Without further delay, here is our final dining schedule! FREE dining I might add! (we just pay tip). Click on the name of the restaurant for the Disney site and photos!

Thursday: arrive, head to Universal Studios for a little while, then Boma for dinner at 7:50pm.

Friday: Disney parks day, Le Cellier for dinner at 7:15pm.

Saturday: All day at Universal Studios, Maya Grill for dinner at 8:00pm.

Sunday: Disney parks day, Sci-Fi Dine-In at 2:20pm, Tokyo Dining for dinner at 8:20pm.

Now the sit-down meals are decided. We probably won't do much planning for our quick meals. The free dining plan we are getting includes 1 counter service (fast food) meal per day, 1 sit-down meal per day, and 1 snack per day.

ADRs and Single Digit Countdown!

2009-06-24T20:51:00.006-04:00

We have begun the double digit countdown!!!!!

AND, next Friday is our ADR day. That is the day we can call and make our Advanced Dining Reservations. I have actually emailed our dining choices to our travel agent along with requested times and she is going to do the reservations for us. We are on the dining plan which means we get 1 Table Service (sit-down) meal, 1 Counter Service (fast-food type) meal, and 1 snack per day (items like popcorn, ice cream, side items from fast food places, etc) per person. The best part about it is that since we moved our trip to October we are getting all that for FREE with our package!!!!! We just have to pay for the tips at the at table service restaurants!!!!

Here is what we have chosen. Click on the photo for a link to the menu for each place.

Our number one choice is Le Cellier. This is in the Canada section at Epcot. It is supposed to be an incredible steak house. It is a very difficult to get reservation and we are going to plan our park days around which day we can get this place!

Our other choice for our "in park" day is Tokyo Dining. This is in...guess where? ha.. the Japan section of Epcot. We love good Japanese food, so this should be a great choice for us!

The interior of Tokyo Dining at Epcot

Our other two choices have to be outside of the parks because we only have two day park hoppers. We have chosen Maya Grill for one of those. It is located at the Coronado Springs Resort (our original resort choice for the trip). It has a nice variety on the menu...ribs, steak, seafood, etc.

Interior view of Maya Grill

Our other "out of park" experience is Boma. We ate there on our last trip and I really really enjoyed all the variety of exotic foods. It was so good and I am excited to eat there again and try some things I didn't try last time.

So, there ya go. I will probably update after I hear back from our agent with our actual dining times. We have planned our trip to alternate days of Disney and Universal Studios. Universal Studios closes around 5-6pm the weekend we will be there, so we will have time to spend those days at that park then clean up and head out for a late dinner.

Can't wait!

Update!

2009-05-15T16:11:00.003-04:00

Breaking News! We just cut 70 days off our countdown by moving our trip to the first weekend of October!!!
YAY! I am so excited!
There are several reasons we did this, but the main one being that it just about cut the cost of the trip in half (which has to do with other exciting thing and plans that are not Disney related).
This means we only have about $200 left to save to have our trip paid in full, which is a great feeling!

We are now going to stay at Pop Century Resort..you can click the link in the right sidebar to read and see pictures. I am excited about the resort...it looks like a lot of fun....doesn't it look like a "Corey" hotel? Ha!

We are also timing the trip to be during the FREE dining period! That saved about $400! YAY! FREE FOOD!

So, as you can probably tell, I am very very very excited that we will be going on our trip now in 139 days! Only 49 days until I get to make our dining reservations for all those delicious meals!

Celebrating 10 Years!

2009-03-14T17:38:00.001-04:00

Read more below!
(sorry had to do this to correct a posting problem I had earlier!)

Celebrating 10 Years!

2009-03-14T13:57:00.007-04:00

Corey and I will celebrate 10 years of being together this December! This isn't our "wedding" anniversary, but it was when it all started and the day we prefer to celebrate anyway because of the time of year! ha ha!

So...how better to celebrate 10 years together than with a long weekend at...where else?!

CHRISTMAS AT DISNEY WORLD! It should be a tradition for us!

We booked our trip just last week because December fills up pretty quickly and I wanted to have it done for sure so we would make ourselves start saving! ha ha! I decided to go through a travel agency (The Magic for Less) from one of my yahoo groups. It is a big agency with tons of good references and it doesn't cost me anything to use them. They get their $ from Disney I think. Anyway, they will take care of everything for me, even our dining reservations...THEY can be the ones sitting on hold making the reservations!!!!
This will be a trip just for us, no kids this time. I actually won a pass to Universal Studios in a contest so we will be doing that one day as well. I am excited to be counting down to another trip! We decided to stay at Coronado Springs Resort. It was a tough choice, but we wanted to say in one of the moderate resorts to have a bit bigger and "nicer" room. We originally were going to stay at the Port Orleans Riverside Resort, but I found out in the process of researching dates that it is the week of the Pop Warner Football and Cheerleading Championships, so that means there will be big school groups there and where do they stay? Value Resorts OR Port Orleans Riverside!!! Thank goodness we found that out. Apparently they like to get up really early and practice their routines outside very loudly! UGH!!!!! Do NOT want to be in a hotel with a bunch of highschoolers running around at all hours!

So...this made us look at Coronado Springs, which I am excited about. They are actually in the process of remodeling the rooms and will be done by December. You can see photos of the room makeovers HERE. (left side of page has photos listed) Also, HERE is a link to the Disney website about the resort.

I am excited to finally do the "on-site" experience. We are also planning to do the dining plan. If you know us, you know we love to eat out, so this will be really fun for us to get to try all kinds of the great restaurants around the parks and resorts.

The date is set for two weekends before Christmas. We also plan to do the Candlelight Processional at Epcot and to see the Osborne Dancing Lights at Hollywood Studios. If time and $ permit, I would also love to do the Christmas party, but I did that last year so it's not a huge priority.

I honestly do not feel the least bit sorry about going to Disney without my kids. That's usually the first thing that people say when I tell them about us planning a trip....that the kids will be sad or upset. I can assure you, they will be getting PLENTY of spoiling while we are gone, and they have gone the past two years...so...they will be fine. They won't care a bit, and we have promised them the beach for next year and they are just as excited about that as they were about Disney.

So, between now and then I will be updating occasionally about our plans. I also get to help Bethany talk and be excited about going with her family in September! How fun!

Photopass Pictures!

2009-02-19T20:44:00.001-05:00

Our Photopass CD came in the mail today! YAY! That was FAST!!!! Here are *some* of the 400 photos from our trip! I am making this slideshow big so you can see the photos well...sorry it will make the blog look bad, oh well. I have about 3 different versions of each photo, so I mixed it up with putting in ones with borders, black and white, etc. Oh, one more thing...yes there are more photos of Katie than Noah in this, but all the time she was getting these photos taken he was riding rides with Corey...so you make your choices! ha ha!

For those of you who do not know what in the world I am talking about:
When you visit any Walt Disney World Park, there are photographers walking around offering to take your photo. They are all over the parks, especially in front of the big icons like the castle, Mickey hat, etc. They are even in different locations "around" those things for getting different points of view. They will also be with many of the characters you can meet and get autographs from, etc. Mainly just the "big" ones like Mickey, princesses, and people like that. They had a photographer at the Jedi training as well as in the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique.
Well, these photos are for sale, of course, for a ridiculously overpriced amount, like $12.95 for a 4x6 or something. They can add borders, you know, do the "tourist" photo thing.
OR you can purchase ALL the photos from your entire trip on a CD for $99 (pre-order price, non-preorder is $125). This may seem like a steep price, but it is WAY cheaper than buying them individually. You can get as many photos as you want on the CD for the same price. The photopass studio people told us of a family from the UK that came for two weeks and ended up with about 7000 photos on 9 CDs....same price...$99. So it can be as good of a deal as you want it to be. You do still have to pay to get the prints at your own convenience, but then you own the photos and can do what you want with them, you have the copyright release for them.
We knew before our trip we were going to get the CD...it made things much easier. Their photographers start taking photos (most of the time) as soon as you enter a character greeting area so get some candids as well as posed shots. They can also do "trick" photos where they add in a character to the photo. Many times because of lighting and the lines moving it is difficult to get a really "GREAT" shot with your own personal camera. The photographers just give you a little "photopass card" that you carry around with you or you can get new ones every time, you can add as many as you want to your account before you order. You just have 30 days from the day they were taken to order your CD or prints or other various photo gifts.
When we got home I was able to add borders from their website to many of our photos and ended up with 400. Not as many as I had hoped, but they are still great. I did not include ALL of those on the slideshow, but I think it is a great thing to include as part of your vacation budget!

Last Day: Magic Kingdom

2009-02-19T19:57:00.000-05:00

We spent the entire day at Magic Kingdom. We arrived before the park opened and saw the opening ceremony which we had never seen before. Mickey, Daisy, Chip n Dale, and Stitch came in on the steam train waving at everyone. It was cute, but I really do not enjoy the masses of people trying to get through the doors! Ugh! Worth having a reservation before the park opens I think!

We made a beeline for Dumbo, because Katie did not do it the last day, and Corey and Noah went to the Speedway. Katie saw Ariel while Mama waited in line for Dumbo...the wait for Ariel was...3 minutes! yay! Then off to Toon Town to try and see those fairies!!! You wouldn't believe the huge crowd of people and almost every single one got in the fairy line as the area opened. Mickey was just standing there waving...no one headed to his house :( If Corey had been there I bet Noah would have had some fun one on done time with Mickey!

Pixie Hollow is beautiful! SO well done! The waiting hallway is decorated to look like a forest with sparkling little "fairies" as lights shooting down the branches occassionally. Then, inside the meeting area, it is made to look like you have been shrunk down to the size of a fairy, with giant flowers, leaves, and other various fairy knick knacks. Katie loved meeting Irridessa, Tinkerbell, and Fawn. We then were off to tour Minnie and Mickey's houses and then over to Fantasyland to hit up some things we missed before. We did the Winnie the Pooh, Mickey's Philharmagic again, It's a Small World, then took the train around to the front gate to head "home" for lunch and rest.

The crowds were really heavy today compared to the rest of the week. There was a 50 minute wait for Ariel before we left, 45 minute waits for Peter Pan and Winnie the Pooh....it just seemed so much heavier than when we were here this time last year...I know this was heading into President's Day weekend and I heard several people say they had taken advantage of the buy 4/get 3 offer. The weather has been pretty warm as well. Into the low 80s during the day...not a drop of rain *which is nice* BUT we had paid for pool heat for our private pool in our rental and it has gotten too hot to even get in!!! ARGH! Last year when we came it was in the low 70s for highs. I guess I should have asked about cancelling the pool heat.

Anyway, we got back to the park around 5:30-6pm and started staking our place to watch the parade and fireworks. I wanted the tree spot in Liberty Square, but the renovations on the Hall of Presidents was really blocking the view of the castle, you couldn't really see it at all. So, we basically walked the route of the parade trying out different spots and evaluating the pros/cons. Corey LOVED this process..HA HA!!!! We ended up in a spot I had heard of before but didn't think of since we were trying to see the parade as well. We were on the Terrace of the Tomorrowland noodle restaurant. We weren't super close to the parade, but the view of the fireworks was just simply breathtaking. It could not have been more perfect so I will continue to stalk this location for every trip from now on!

About Spectromagic: This parade really didn't live up to the hype for me. Maybe it was completely because we weren't on the "sidelines" and didn't have a close-up view, but I thought it would be just totally amazing. Don't get me wrong, it was a "good" parade. The lights are cool, but maybe it is just something you have to experience up close. We could see pretty well from the terrace, esp where they crossed over the bridge, but...I don't know....I guess I could live without this one. I thought the part at the end was very good..the switching back and forth of colors. I have since heard from people in the online group, that you definitely had to experience it "up close" but I guess we don't know what we're missing..ha ha.

We did not get to see the day parade this time, but I saw the Christmas one and I loved being able to see SO MANY characters in the parade. That will definitely be a priority the next time we come...

SO...after the fireworks we hit up Buzz Lightyear (Noah's fav) and Magic Carpets (Katie's fav). Bought a balloon on the way out and rode in the monorail back to the parking lot. We requested to sit in the front of the monorail and were able to...we were with a guy who was training which kind of made me nervous, but it was interesting to hear the "trainer" ask the guy all sorts of questions...there is definitely more to that job than you would think.

We still have a day left on our tickets because we got the good deal from Undercover tourist but now we are out of days of being here....so sad and wish I could stay one more day but not sure I would hold up. We had planned to do the parade and fireworks our first night here but we were just totally wiped out and didn't feel like it. Really regretting that now!

Late night, great day! Corey can't wait to go back next year, so that makes it a huge success! I have actually since our trip, talked Corey into agreeing that he and I should take a trip for just the two of us. So, it looks like if everything gets planned out and works out, that he and I will be heading down to stay ON SITE in December for an extended weekend. We will be celebrating 10 YEARS of being together (not married, just together) WOW! Since we are planning on doing that we figured the "family" vacation next year would be a truly relaxing "beach" trip. I am very much looking foward to doing a "couple" trip though. December is a great time to be at the resort and we will also use the Universal ticket I won. Fun fun!!!!

I hope you enjoyed my trip reports. Please feel free to comment!!! I will have one more slideshow to post when I get our photopass CD in the mail. Those shots are SO GOOD! Can't wait to share them!

Day 7: Hollywood Studios 2

2009-02-19T19:54:00.000-05:00

So...on to today. The group split today. My parents wanted to go back to Epcot because they wanted to browse a little more thoroughly in the countries and they didn't really have much else they wanted to see at Hollywood Studios. We got up this morning and headed out to be there when the park opened.
On a last minute whim we asked if there were opening for the Playhouse Disney breakfast, and there were, so we went on in for that. It was cute and the kids enjoyed meeting JoJo, Goliath, but mostly they enjoyed meeting Leo and June from Little Einsteins...they love that show. I have to say that this breakfast wasn't nearly as good as the Tusker House one we had on day one. It was just basic breakfast buffet like Shoney's or something and MORE expensive than Tusker House! I hate overpaying for eggs and biscuits!
After breakfast we went over to meet Buzz and Woody....Noah wore his Indiana Jones hat today and all the characters we saw had fun playing with it. VERY cute and fun pictures. At the end Buzz and Woody were passing his hat between them behind their backs and having Noah guess where the hat was. It was SO fun! We will remember that next time we do lots of characters...they love hats!
We rode Toy Story, saw Voyage of the Little Mermaid, Playhouse Disney Live, rode Star Tours, met Bolt and the hamster (can't remember his name) Mr. and Mrs. Incredible, Frozone, Sorceror Mickey, The Sheriff of Nottingham (he was pretending to look for money on people for taxes and the kids each gave him a penny which he thought was cool and held up for a pic).....I think that is all.
It was actually kind of frustrating today because I put a lot of time into planning what days to go to which park based on crowd predictions, etc...and today there was an American Idol premiere at the park because they are launching a new American Idol attraction this weekend. They had lots of the walkways roped off and it was very inconvenient to get from one place to another. Supposedly there was going to be a motorcade/parade with all the American Idol judges and some of the winners. Corey saw David Cook playing...but that actually meant that most of the attractions were pretty empty, but getting to them was a huge pain! I saw photos of the event after we got home...I can't believe people waited ALL day on the sidelines of the parade route to see people like Chris Sligh, Phil Stacey, and that dreadlocked guy from last year. It's not like there were *really* famous people there! AND, the only judge there was Paula from what I saw....ugh.

We got to ride the new Toy Story ride twice, saw the Muppet 3D show....Corey and I took turns on The Great Movie Ride...and then it was time to go because I was finally able to get a reservation for Boma! We went out to the Animal Kingdom Lodge for that meal and it was GREAT! It is such a nice hotel...we saw a giraffe, some zebras, and other animals from the viewing areas around the hotel. The food at Boma was incredible! The first place that I believe the price competely matched the food choices! I tried watermelon rind salad (not good) and several different kinds of hummus spreads (good except one). They had sliced steak, all kinds of rices, potatoes, vegetables, and they were all "unique" in keeping with the African theme, but most every single thing I tried was really delicious. They also had some good soups, like an African stew, butternut squash soup, potato soup....and always there are good kids' choices so you don't have to feel like they won't eat "anything." (NOAH!) Anyway, that was a great meal with great service! I definitely would do that one again!
After dinner we went to find a Walmart to pick up something for Corey and then back to the room.
My parents got back from Epcot around 9-10 and we each shared what we had done that day. They had a great day exploring Epcot at a "non-kid" pace.
It was a great day, packed, and we were so tired again!

Day 6: Magic Kingdom Finally!

2009-02-19T19:51:00.000-05:00

Today we finally went to Magic Kingdom! We had an 8:40am reservation for Bibbibi Bobbidi Boutique. We checked in and were taken straight back. Corey planned to have some fun with Noah while we were getting "made-over." I warned him about Dumbo (a huge request of Noah) and that he should make that his goal, but well, they decided to go wait for Tomorrowland to open and do Buzz Lightyear.

The Bibbibi Bobbidi Boutique was SO magical! Katie LOVED every second of it. We brought our own dress and were taken right to a dressing room and given a brochure with "princess katie" on the front to look at the hairstyle choices. After we were dressed we were escorted to our "fairy godmother in training" and Katie had a seat. They started by letting her pick out her makeup and nail polish choices. Then she picked out which crown she wanted to go with her princess bun (she chose the fairy tale princess do which is a bun with a crown in front). They put her hair up using lots of glue and hair bands, sprinkled her with pixie dust with their magic wand while she make a wish, then put on her crown and BBB sash. Another fairy godmother came around and did makeup and nails while the other was working on her hair. They made conversation with her and it was really sweet. They had a photopass photographer in their the entire time rotating between girls. When it was all done they spun her around in the chair for a reveal and got pictures of her reaction. I was highly impressed with the entire experience. They are very particular, making sure the hair do is "centered" and "even" and just perfect. They are very sweet and tender with the girls. They put the combs they used (we forgot ours) and the rest of the makeup palette they didn't use and two nailpolishes in a bag with some Belle stickers (that was her dress choice) for us to take home. Then they said we could go down to the Exposition Hall and have a photo session done and those photos would be put on our photopass! I didn't know they did that, I thought that just came with the top package. This was $59.53 total. Totally and completely worth it! Getting dressed up and getting hair/makeup/nails done IN CINDERELLA'S CASTLE AT DISNEY WORLD!? MOST DEFINITELY WORTH IT!

We left the castle and right around the corner was the fair godmother herself!!!!! We got in a short line and had photos.

Then down mainstreet.Katie got lots of attention from everyone and she just loved it! I talked to Corey on the phone who said they had ridden Buzz three times in a row and if they had more time they were headed to fantasyland to ride Dumbo.

When we got to Exposition Hall we saw Mary Poppins in front. We got in line, but then saw Snow White! We missed seeing Snow White last time, so we switched lines. Wonderful meeting her but we had a stinky photopass photographer who only took two "posed" shots and people kept stepping in front while my mom was trying to take photos! boo!

Next to the photo session. There was just one person in there so when they were done we were next. She really took her time getting lots of good shots..a great photographer. You will see some of those shots when I get the photopass photos on here, still waiting on the CD in the mail.

Katie wanted to meet the princesses now in her dress so we went to the princess tent while Noah and Corey and grandpa did some more stuff now my mind fails me since I didn't get this done on the day it all happened! ha.

The wait for the princesses was 15 minutes. The wait for Fairies was 75 minutes! ACK! It was only 10:20am!!!!! We saw Belle, Aurora, and Cinderella! They made a big deal out of her being dressed up. The photopass people got some really nice shots of Cinderella and Katie doing a "curtsy" together. She ate it up!

Met back up with Corey and the rest who had not seen Katie yet. (they had ridden peter pan and waited 30 minutes for Dumbo...ha.) Noah was very taken with her and wanted to hold her hand! So cute!

We headed out and had to take a restroom break which is a 20 minute ordeal with 2 kids and one in a Belle gown. :)
We rode the teacups. I don't remember having done this before. We avoided it last year....and it did make me quite dizzy. Corey was kind of annoyed because I wouldn't let him "really spin" the cup around too much! Alice was right outside the teacups and we met her and got photos. Katie asked her favorite kind of tea (English breakfast) and Alice asked her what her favorite was (mandarin orange).

Everyone was hungry by now so we went to eat while Mama and Daddy got sandwiches from locker. We ate at Cosmic Ray's...I had the half rotisserie chicken with mashed potatoes and green beans (really good!!!!) and kids had kid meals, Corey had burger and fries. We then met up with Mama and Daddy in front of the castle for the show. Katie loved it, Noah wanted to know when we could leave! We got to see the princesses WITH their princes in the show, never seen them before!

Walked around to Fantasyland and did Snow White, Philharmagic, and Peter Pan. Philharmagic is still one of my favorite things here! We then made our way around through to do Pirates twice in a row, watched the pirate tutorial (with Capt Jack Sparrow) and met Peter Pan and Captain Hook! We then went to get an Ice Cream (I had pineapple vanilla swirl-yum!)

Next, Aladdin's magic carpets, twice with restroom break in between. Then to tomorrow land to use fastpasses for buzz and do Monster's Inc. The Monster's Inc. Laugh floor is a similar concept as the Turtle Talk...interactive with the audience...animated characters in a comedy show. So good! Then we did the Tomorrowland Transit Authority (ride around the Tomorrowland area and through some of the rides) and over to Storytime with Belle. Kids are hungry and tired and it is time to go for today. We will hit up the parades and fireworks on Friday! We left around 5:30pm....stopped at Cracker Barrel on the way back to the rental. Katie got lots of attention there too in her princess-wear. Fun, but tiring day!
Whew!

Carrie in GA

Day 5: Hollywood Studios

2009-02-19T11:53:00.000-05:00

SO...it is day 5 since we left on our trip and we still haven't been to Magic Kingdom! ACK! We are following the suggested plans though, and this plan seemed to work best with our "overall itinerary" as our Tour Guide Mike planning website would say...so we finally get there tomorrow with an early morning appt. at the "boutique" for princess daughter!

Today we kind of took our time getting out the door again. We headed to Hollywood Studios and arrived around 9:40 or so. Corey went straight for fastpasses for Toy Story, which were already at 1:30pm return time. It was almost time for the first Beauty and the Beast show of the day so we went there. KATIE LOVED IT!!!! After that we tried to get to the next Indiana Jones show but it was standing room only....45 minutes with two kids? I think not. We went to wait for the next Jedi Training Academy instead. Mama, Daddy, Corey, and Katie went on Star Tours while we waited.

The crowd got big right before the Jedi show and I had talked to Noah about if he wanted to be picked and he seemed excited but apprehensive. When they came out to choose he stood up straight and tall and raised both hands straight in the air AND HE GOT PICKED! We were SO EXCITED! He looked a little "frozen" up there at first, but when it came his turn to fight Darth Vader he was just really into it and loved it! The premise is that they are going to be trained to be Jedis but then Darth Vader comes out and says that to complete their training they must fight him. I am SO happy they had a photopass photographer there to get photos of the entire thing and I am SO happy we already pre-ordered our CD!

After that we went to the next Indiana Jones show, which was long, good, but the kids got bored at the slapstick in between stuff. Next up, Star Tours for the immediate four while Mama and Daddy retrieved our lunches from the lockers. We ate around the lake and then secured a spot on the steps of the new American Idol thing for the parade. We waited almost an hour and I was not really impressed with the Block party bash. It was ENTIRELY TOO LOUD for kids. I really don't know why they make things like that SO loud. Katie and Noah sat with their fingers in their ears the entire time and we happened to be sitting in a part where just random dancers were, not really many characters, just Sully every once in a while. I was really disappointed that we spent two hours on that whole thing when we could have been using our Toy Story passes.

After the parade we went to use our Toy Story passes. It was SO FUN! I was kind of sad that we weren't waiting in the line actually, it was SO cool! It is set up to look like Andy's room from the Toy Story movies, so there are giant crayons, toys, game boards and pieces. Really cool line! The kids loved this of course. On the ride you are sitting with one other person and you have this "pop gun" type thing in front of you. You are twirled and spun around to different giant 3D screens where there are carnival type games on the screen. You use your pop gun to shoot, ring toss, throw pies, shoot arrows, just about anything at different themed games. There are different themed games for the different characters. It is really fun and it keeps score for you and gives you a "prize" at the end on your screen on the car. It is really well done, the controls work well, and it is just plain fun!

At this point it was about 4:30, so we opted to go ahead and leave for today and swim for a few minutes before dinner at the townhouse and bed. We have a very early morning for our princess at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. A lot of our day was taken with the shows we did today, but we can hit everything else on our other day here.

Day 4: Epcot

2009-02-18T21:55:00.000-05:00

Today started at 9:30...Epcot. We had a first row parking spot even though we arrive around 9:45 or so....we sent Corey straight for fast passes for Soarin while I bought a passport for the kids to stamp and we then headed over to the line. There was a 30 minute wait for Soarin so we got in line (while we were in line they announced that the wait at the end had increased to 50 min, we were about halfway through the line at that point.) Anyway...Katie loved it (6) and our son did NOT like it at all (age 4). We requested a seat that would be on the very bottom of the rows when they lift into the air, so I think that made it a little better, but he just didn't like the sensation of "flying" I guess. He didn't cry or totally hate it but when we got off he said he did NOT want to do it again.

After Soarin' we did Living with the Land, which is a boat ride through the Epcot greenhouses...actually kind of neat.... then it was time for Soarin' fastpasses. Mama, Daddy, Corey, and Katie did it again while Noah and I went to do the Circle of Life movie to kill time). It was "okay." Basically an Earth Day movie. :) After that we went to Nemo and Turtle Talk with Crush.
We had never seen Turtle Talk with Crush...it was SO cute!!!! Just adorable! The kids loved it! Turtle Talk with Crush is a really cool show that has an animated sea turtle on a real aquarium window and he interacts live with the kids and their questions. I am assuming that a person is watching via a camera or something, but it is really good the way it all works, and funny! The Nemo ride had a 10 min wait, you ride in a clam shell through scenes looking for Nemo. Cute.

We then sat in the shade and had a snack while contemplating what to do next. It was almost time for the Disney Visa character greet, so we walked around Innovations for a while and then waited in line for that. There is a special line for a character greeing for Disney Visa cardholders. They wouldn't tell us who was back there in case it "changed" but we went ahead and waited about 15 minutes for it.
We were SO SURPRISED to see that it was MICKEY AND MINNIE AND GOOFY for the character greet! WOO HOO!!! JACKPOT! Photos with the whole gang and lots of fun! While we waited for our photos to be ready we did Spaceship Earth (no wait). I had not done this since I was little and Corey never had. It was neat but I got kind of nervous on the backwards descent down. It is inside the "big ball."
After that it was time to go view our photos from the greet to pick out one for free. We picked out a VERY cute photo of the kids and the gang for our freebie then went to Guest Relations to see what we could find for late lunch reservations. YES the rest of my family decided TODAY that it would be good to sit down and have a nice meal....yeah, I could have planned that MONTHS ago people! ha ha! We decided on Rose and Crown which had a 4:40 opening.

While we waited on that we went to use fast passes for Test Track we had picked up earlier. I chickened out and the rest went on. I waited at the exit to see a very teary eyed little girl get off the ride, but a VERY excited 4 year old boy running out saying "LETS DO IT AGAIN NOW!" Who knew? He disliked Soarin and she disliked Test Track. I guess she likes heights and he likes speed! So, we grab fastpasses for that again to do later.

We head to The Rose and Crown for our reservation and get seated immediately in an empty dining room. I have never eaten here before. Mama and Daddy each get fish n chips. Corey and I share the sausage and cheese platter and Steak and Fish plate. Kids get shepherd's pie and mac n cheese. DELICIOUS FOOD!!! AWESOME! We also got the apple crumble and sticky toffee pudding for dessert. Bill was $130 with tip. *ouch* for a group that has sandwich fixings at the townhouse and had intended to do lunch at "home" everyday! ha ha! This was way worth it though! So good! Oh...Katie loved the "hat lady" on the way to the bathroom! She sang "feed the birds" while we were in there and dd sang along and danced. We also saw the Brittish Invasion band in UK. It is a "Beatles" imitation group, but Corey was quick to point out a discrepancy: Paul was a lefty. They were pretty entertaining.

We then start making our way around to the countries and getting the passport stamped. The kids enjoyed this. Each country has a kidcot station where they can get their passports stamped and something written in their passports in the language of the country. They can also make a mask and add things to it in each country.
We took some photos around the lagoon but not many of them turned out well.
It started getting dark and cool. We wanted to get back to do our rides again before we leave so we stopped around Germany and skip the rest of the Kidstops. We did stop in Mexico though and do it there and ride the Fiesta tour. It is a slow boat ride with Donald Duck and the Three Cabelleros. KIDS LOVED IT! ( I really like this one too for some reason...love Mexico)

We then head out to do Soarin' and Test Track once more....me and dd doing Soarin together with the fastpasses from earlier that son and I didn't use and the rest to do Test Track. We met up afterwards and left just as the fireworks start going off.
Oh I forgot to say that while we were in England at the Kidcot stop we saw Tigger, Pooh, and Eeyore. It was GREAT! Tigger and Noah had a jumping contest that was just adorable! NO line for them!

I would say the crowds seemed very light today. Masses of people in certain areas, but at the end of the night when we went (8:30) there was a 30 min wait for Soarin. The fastpasses were still being given out into the late afternoon.

GREAT but LONG day. Beautiful weather!

Tomorrow AM: Hollywood Studios.

Exhausted and Ready for bed...

Day 3: Animal Kingdom

2009-02-18T10:11:00.000-05:00

We got up bright and early to be at Animal Kingdom in time for our Tusker House character breakfast. We actually arrived TOO early and had to pull back out and wait in line at the parking booths. So, we sat, for about 20 minutes....la de da...got some good photos though! ha ha.

When we went in we headed straight back to the restaurant because the rest of the park wasn't open yet. Our reservation was for 8:30am.
Immediately after we were seated, Donald Duck came in! We were all wearing our matching Donald and Daisy Duck shirts. They were very cute and I was happy that my dad and Corey went along with it just for today! Donald and Daisy really liked them too!
We got some autographs and photos, and then Corey and Daddy went to make a plate at the HUGE buffet! While they were gone, Mickey came in as well! The characters were all coming through while we were trying to get our food, which was a little hectic. I just waited until they were all through and we had pictures before I made a plate. It was really fun getting to see them all at our table.
My parents were wearing birthday buttons (since it was recently both of their birthdays, you don't have to be there "on the day" to celebrate) and they each got a birthday card signed by all the characters at the breakfast and a cupcake! So cool!
The food at the restaurant was WONDERFUL! I kind of wish our reservation had been later in the morning so it could double as lunch! They had every single thing you could imagine for breakfast....including some exotic things....all kinds of breads, bagels with many different toppings, egg casseroles and quiches, ham, bacon, mickey mouse waffles, fruits, pastries....grits, biscuits, gravy, pancakes....the list could go on and on!
After breakfast we headed straight out for the safari. We picked up fastpasses then joined the regular line. The safari was AMAZING! We got to see so many African animals up close. I could have reached out and petted the giraffe!
The kids got tired really early on bc we were up so early but we didn't really have time to go back for a rest. We saw Pocohontas on the way to the Lion King and there was no one else around and this was HIGH on Katie's priority list so we were so thrilled to get to see her right away!

The Lion King was a great show...the kids loved it!!!! The park seemed VERY crowded to me. Although none of the waits were that bad it just seemed like there were masses of people heading everywhere. I have heard that this one seems more crowded because the walkways are much smaller. The park is beautifully done though, it seems like you are really walking around in the wild...tons of trees and foliage. Birds just walk around you everywhere too.

After that we did the train ride up to Planet Watch. Got pics with Jiminy Cricket and Rafiki. they have an animal treatment facility here that has scheduled procedures everyday. We missed seeing anything that day, but there had been some kind of exam that morning on an animal..I have heard of poeple seeing surgeries on gorillas and such.
Did the petting zoo, saw a bird show. The kids loved that. Then back down to repeat the Safari with the fastpasses we picked up earlier in the morning. This time the tourguide wasn't nearly was animated...I think that highly affects your safari experience. Less animals, but some different ones.

We then headed over to do some another animal trail..the one with the gorillas...that was neat.

It was then time to see Nemo. We headed on over and got in line right as it started going in. We got in and well.....we thought Nemo was okay. The kids absolutely LOVED it, but the adults in the party were pretty bored after the initial novelty of what they were doing wore off. Corey and I decided we wished we had gone over to do Dinosaur while the my parents saw this with the kids, ha.

Then we went to Dinoland. We are all really wearing thin by this point in the day. The kids wanted to play a water shooting carnival game, but we went on to eat since we still wanted to do Dinosaur and Bug's Life. We ate at Restarauntasaurus. Burgers and fries...typical stuff...good toppings bar.

Over to Dinosaur 20 min standby....kids had to use RR, so I sent Mama and Daddy and Corey on ride to check it out for me (I am a scaredy cat) and I took them to RR. When I came out I saw that Corey was standing outside...he wanted to wait on me to ride...he is sweet. He took kids over to play the money waster game while I called Disney dining one more time to try for Fantasmic package. No luck. Parents got off, kids got back and by that time they had shut down the ride so we couldn't do it ! ARGH! Corey should have ridden it the first time around :)

Then over to Tough to Be a Bug. Again, I knew this would be to scary for kids, so I went the three of them in while we got popcorn and watched animals around the big tree. After they finished Corey confirmed, yeah, too scary for kids, so we decided to head "home." Got back to townhouse, got showers and baths, had bedtime snacks and TOO BED!!!! We are totally wiped out after this first early full day. We plan on sleeping in tomorrow and heading over to Epcot whenever. ha ha. I think I will call about a Fantasmic package before we head out for sure...tonight is one of the two nights it is showing this week.

We enjoyed Animal Kingdom on our first visit. We didn't really do any of the rides except the Safari, but since we spent a lot of time at our breakfast we didn't have tons of time to spend there anyway. Seeing the two shows took a while also. We did everything we really wanted to anyway. It was a good place to start the week...a short day and a great breakfast!

Our First and Second Days...

2009-02-17T21:09:00.000-05:00

The first day we drove to Valdosta to visit with our best friends all around....well, except Katie, but hers is coming soon I know! :)
We had such a great time! Bethany and I worked on finishing up her delicious made from scratch carrot cake (SO GOOD!) and then we played a game of Quelf. Quelf is always fun! The kids watched a movie, played, wrestled...Katie checked out the book selections...it was just a really fun night!
We headed back to the hotel around 10pm and my parents got there about an hour later. After a pretty good night's sleep we had a great breakfast at the hotel and headed out for the last 3 1/2 hour drive to the Disney area. I was also able to get our breakfast reservations for the Tusker House character breakfast changed from Thursday to Sunday, which I had been trying to do all week! I was so happy! I really wanted to start out with that since we could see all the "main" characters and see Animal Kingdom first, since none of us had ever been there.
We went straight to Downtown Disney because it was too early to check in. We had lunch at Earl of Sandwich. The Downtown Disney area was PACKED! I hadn't thought about it being a Saturday and all the locals PLUS the vacationers would be there! We got our Disney Visa rewards card, picked up a few souvenirs and got out of there! It was time to check in, so we went on over to unload and unpack. The townhouse was so nice again...very clean...cute kids room, except the "wall mural" was really like a thin plastic wall covering...kind of odd and hard to explain, but it could be torn (and was in one spot). That was the only down to our expectations. Anyway, the kids wanted to swim right away, so Corey and Katie and Noah got on in the pool. It was very nice and warm because we had paid for pool heat, but that would prove to be a bad choice later in the week!
Corey and I went out for a quick grocery stop and that was the end of our first and second nights on the road!
Tomorrow: Day 3: Animal Kingdom!!!!

And the winner is.....

2009-02-14T20:26:00.000-05:00

JILL, from Adairsville, Georgia!

Jill guessed January 16th. The actual date I started packing was January 17th, while Corey was in California at his trade show. Yes, it was early...but I was cleaning out my closet and rather then put things back in that I knew I would take, I just put them in the suitcase instead!

I don't actually know Jill, which is pretty exciting! It means I have made a new blogger friend. Congrats Jill...I will be leaving a comment on your blog as to how to contact me for claiming your prize! And just what is that amazing prize? I know everyone is on the edge of their seat to find out.....drumroll please...........................................

Jill...you have won an "authentic" and "original" Disneyland/Walt Disney World Princess Gel Pen Set. This prize was custom selected just for you by your contest host, me! Featuring Cinderella, Jasmine, Aurora, Belle, Snow White, and Ariel, these pens will be the perfect inspiration for jotting notes, writing your very own dreams in a journal, or for sharing with a friend. They could even spice up your daily routine of making a grocery list or taking a message for someone. I hope you will enjoy using these princess pens and they are yours for being the winner of my very first ever blog giveaway! Congratulations Jill, and thank you for playing!Thanks to everyone who made a guess! It was so much fun and I know I will do more giveaways in the future, it really compels people to comment, which I love!

Be sure to check back next week for an exciting day by day report of our 2nd Disney vacation! You will love it!

We have a Winner!!!

2009-02-14T07:25:00.000-05:00

Someone guessed correctly within one day and the winner will be revealed late tonight, so tune in after your Valentine's festivities to find out who won and what their *amazing* prize will be!

We are about to head out on our drive home, so we will see you later! I have been posting our daily updates on my regular blog, but this site will soon have a VERY detailed report with tons of photos!!!

See you soon!

Giveaway!!!!

2009-02-05T10:48:00.000-05:00

It is finally time for my contest!!!!

The winner will receive a prize straight from Walt Disney World, Florida!

Here's how to win:

Make a guess for what day you think I started packing for our trip!!!

The person who comes closest to the day (even if it is past the actual day) will win a prize! (And, just to prevent someone wasting their guess on something extreme like last April (ha ha!) I will tell you that it was a day in 2009.)

Post your guess as a comment. Contest closes at midnight on THURSDAY, Feb. 11th.
The winner will be announced on Valentine's Day, along with a photo of their prize!

No guarantees as to how awesome (expensive) the prize will be, it will be determined while I am there next week. How awesome your prize depends on how close you live to me :) (--mailing prices) BUT, who doesn't love getting a prize, no matter what it is?!!! You also get the prestige of being the BIG winner!

Three Hee Day Hays!

2009-02-03T17:47:00.000-05:00

To go!!!!!!! Getting a bit excited!

Sunny Weather...

2009-01-25T07:50:00.000-05:00

Two days of our trip are up on the extended forecast!
Highs 76 and 77, lows 59 and 60.

WOO HOO!!!!!!!!! Beautiful and perfect!

19, 18...more days!

2009-01-18T21:20:00.000-05:00

And......in about 28 more days we will be home, resting, and then promptly suffering from Disney withdrawal and post-vacation depression disorder!

ha ha! JK! Even Corey is excited now!!!

30 Day Countdown and Contest!

2009-01-06T19:17:00.003-05:00

We are almost to the 30 day countdown...tomorrow!!!! After that we are in the 20s...YAHOO!!!!

My mom ordered their (mama and daddy's) tickets today. We will reserve our "halfway" hotel tomorrow. This is getting super exciting!

I have a very good idea for a contest that I will be hosting in the near future. It has to do with my trip planning and there will be a PRIZE, so check back as we get closer to the trip to see what the contest will be about and for the wonderful, exciting, memorable, special prize you could win!

Absotively Posilutely....the final plan!

2008-12-31T12:30:00.000-05:00

No one could have more information about the parks on the days we go than me! Here are our final plans!!!!

Friday: Head south. Staying overnight in Valdosta.

Saturday: After a quick free breakfast, drive the last 3 1/2 hours to Orlando. Head straight to Magic Kingdom for the Spectromagic Parade and Wishes fireworks.

Sunday: Epcot - After a potentially late night at the fireworks and getting groceries, etc, we don't have to be up super early for this park since it is open the latest and has the least amount WE want to do.

Monday: Hollywood Studios- Since we will be at Epcot late, we can take our time getting here since we are spending two days in this park. We will be staying for the evening show: Fantasmic.

Tuesday: Hollywood Studios-doing whatever else we want to do here. We don't have to stay late and Katie has early morning tomorrow!

Wednesday: Magic Kingdom- Katie has 8:40am reservation for the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique.

Thursday: Animal Kingdom - 10:30am character breakfast at Tusker House.

Friday: Magic Kingdom-ending the trip with one more Wishes show!

There you have it. If I change them again I will eat my hat! ha ha! Just kidding! Now, the other members in our traveling party better get their tickets ordered!!!!
I know I don't have any "planned" rest days, but I really think we will be good. Since we plan to go back to our room for about a 3-4 hour nap/rest time each day, I think we will hold up just fine. None of the parks are open super late this time of year anyway.
Now, I will be more casually working on our daily plans. :)

Out the window...again

2008-12-30T23:47:00.000-05:00

All the plans. New info....coming soon.

AH! We're Set!

2008-12-30T09:15:00.000-05:00

After feverishly consulting the charts and hours, etc....We have a plan!

2/6 Friday: Leave for Orlando, stop halfway overnight.

2/7 Saturday: Arrive early afternoon, check-in, head to park (Magic Kingdom)

2/8 Sunday: Hollywood Studios

2/9 Monday: Magic Kingdom, Katie at BBB 3:30pm

2/10 Tuesday: Magic Kingdom

2/11 Wednesday: Epcot

2/12 Thursday: Animal Kingdom, Tusker House 10:30am

2/13 Friday: Hollywood Studios

2/14 Saturday: Head home!

Starting Over....

2008-12-30T00:47:00.001-05:00

Well, I finally decided it was worth $7.95 to sign up with an expert touring guide website. You get a "year" of sign up time.

www.touringplans.com

It gets great reviews. The site provides a detailed description of different "touring guides" for each park. Just suggestions on the most efficient way to see the parks and characters. Different guides are available for families with young children, older children, just adults, etc. It's not like it is a written in stone kind of plan, but just a guide for using throughout the day and ways to avoid the more popular rides at the heaviest time of the day, etc. The website has some free samples if you would like to see one....

Another thing it has is a crowd calendar. The people at this website have people who visit the parks ALL the time, every day of the year. They then compare all the data they gather like people who are in the park (they count them, not sure how), estimated wait times, and actual wait times for all the rides. They also take into consideration holidays and other special events. Very long and complicated process later, they actually have a calendar that tells you which park to visit (less crowds, short wait times) and which park to avoid (larger crowds, long wait times). For EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR!

WELL...my beautiful little plan is being stepped all over now. I had some good "general" info about the best days to visit each park, but now their data does not totally coincide with what I had planned and the reservations I had made.

THEREFORE....ha ha ha.....I get to spend some more time.....PLANNING!

Detailed FINAL plans TBA!

Touring Plans

2008-12-28T19:46:00.000-05:00

We have been so blessed this Christmas to receive some gift cards and money to use for our trip. Our food budget is pretty much ready and the kids have plenty of spending money for their extra little things. I have, though, again....changed the touring plans. This is to fit in some extra things we wanted to do on certain days and with the days that are best for each park. I got a travel book with my Barnes and Noble gift certificate I got for Christmas, so I have had fun transferring all my "digital" plans and reservation numbers to our paper and pencil book. Here are the modified plans....with 40 days and counting!

Friday 2/6: Depart at some point in the day. Drive to Valdosta, GA, to visit with friends overnight.

Saturday 2/7: Arrive in Orlando, pm, visit Magic Kingdom to see fireworks and ride a few rides, see characters maybe?

Sunday 2/8: Animal Kingdom! Character Breakfast at Tusker House, 10:30am

Monday 2/9: Epcot!

Tuesday 2/10: OFF day. Relax at Resort. Downtown Disney 4:40pm reservation at Boma for Corey and me. Perhaps visit park for a few hours that first thing in the morning.

Wednesday 2/11: Magic Kingdom, 8:40am reservation for Katie at BBB

Thursday 2/12: Magic Kingdom

Friday 2/13: Hollywood Studios

Saturday 2/14: Head home, maybe revisit a park in the morning because we can? ha.

WOO HOOOOOOOOOOO!

2008-12-12T08:40:00.000-05:00

How awesome is it that in the "post-Christmas letdown" we will just be starting our final countdown for our trip?!

A gift update:

For Katie and Noah's "something they need" gift for Christmas, we got them big nice Disney storybook collections to use for autographs. We also have small autograph books in case the big books end up being too much of a hassle to carry around. I do hope to do the books though because it will be a nice collectible item they can keep for years that won't get messed up. We also got them each a t-shirt for the "something they need" box. Who doesn't need a new t-shirt when they go on a vacation?

HERE is the book we got for Katie, and HERE is the book we got for Noah. Pretty cool!

Tickets!!!!

2008-12-08T13:09:00.000-05:00

Our tickets arrived in the mail today!

I am going to wrap them up and put them under the tree!

YAY!

We ordered from:

www.undercovertourist.com

Rental: PAID IN FULL!

2008-11-25T08:34:00.000-05:00

Woo hoo!!!! We PAID the balance on the rental yesterday....so if nothing else we have a 3 bedroom/2 bath, full kitchen, with a private pool paid for 7 nights!!!!

Next: ordering tickets! 73 days, 22 hours to go!

On the same topic...we actually decided to skip getting park hoppers and just go for a longer, regular ticket. For the price of a 3 day park hopper we can get 7 day regular passes and save $200 by not getting the park hopper option! So, this means we can only visit one park per day, but the money we save can help us do more for the donations we wanted to do for Christmas gifts. If we happen to have an extra $200 after we get down there, we can add park hopper if we want (maybe even just for me and Corey so we can park hop some at night and do some things we wanted to do) or just take the chance to rest after seeing the stuff we want.

Anyway, because of this change in ticket plan, we are going to have to slightly alter the itenirary somewhat. Here's what I propose:

Saturday 2/7: Arrive in Orlando, pm, visit Magic Kingdom to see fireworks and ride a few rides, see characters maybe?

Sunday 2/8: Animal Kingdom! Character Breakfast at Tusker House, 10:30am

Monday 2/9: Hollywood Studios (hopefully adding an ADR for 50's Prime Time Cafe)

Tuesday 2/10: OFF day. Relax at Resort. Downtown Disney 4:40pm reservation at Boma for Corey and me. Perhaps visit park for a few hours?

Wednesday 2/11: Magic Kingdom, 8:40am reservation for Katie at BBB

Thursday 2/12: Epcot

Friday 2/13: Revisit a park?

Saturday 2/14: Head home, maybe revisit a park in the morning because we can? ha.

Double Digit Countdown!!!

2008-10-29T19:10:00.000-04:00

We are now down to 100 days until our trip! Woo hoo!!!!

I made our dining reservations today....we only have 2, but maybe if it gets closer and we have done well on saving up money we can add another in...but I wanted to at least get these two in. I have also devised a tentative plan for what parks for which days. I also made a reservation for Katie's Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique Makeover. I chose the boutique located in Cinderella's castle!!! Won't that be awesome?! So, here is our plan so far:

Saturday 2/7: Arrive in Orlando, pm

Sunday 2/8: Animal Kingdom! Character Breakfast at Tusker House, 10:30am

Monday 2/9: Hollywood Studios (hopefully adding an ADR for 50's Prime Time Cafe)

Tuesday 2/10: OFF day. Relax at Resort. 4:40pm reservation at Boma for Corey and me.

Wednesday 2/11: Magic Kingdom, 8:40am reservation for Katie at BBB

Thursday 2/12: Epcot

Friday 2/13: Split up between anything we didn't get done that we want to do.

Saturday 2/14: Head home

I am so excited! If you haven't heard of the boutique for little girls you should click on that link and see the video. Katie is going to LOVE it!! I just wish there was something comparable for boys to do. I guess he can go build a lightsaber or two. ha ha. I am also VERY excited about eating at Boma. Click on the link to check it out, but the food is supposed to be awesome! Corey and I plan to do that just the two of us because I am not sure it would be worth paying for the kids for adventurous type food, plus my parents aren't the most adventurous when it comes to food either, plus, hey, date night on vacation! woo hoo! It is located at the Animal Kingdom Lodge which I would love to see also! We chose the Tusker House character meal because our friends just visited with free dining and did pretty much every character meal and said for the money this was one of the nicest and Animal Kingdom is a pretty low key park so we don't have to worry about using our time eating there. We got the latest breakfast time available so it can be brunch!

Even though I only listed one park each day, we will have park hoppers, so any given day we may end up at Magic Kingdom watching the fireworks! I have also planned around the fact that Sundays and Mondays are the worst days for visiting Magic Kingdom so that is why it iw Wednesday before we end up going there. I have also taken into account which parks have morning and evening extra magic hours, since resort guests will take advantage of that and it may be more crowded at a park at that time. So, we will see...it is fun to at least be planning a bit more.

Change of plans!

2008-09-24T15:33:00.000-04:00

So, if you are reading this blog, you probably read my other blog where I posted our Superbowl interruption! BAH!
We had to postpone. But I am glad we are going to avoid the crowds!

Countdown...

2008-03-27T15:08:00.000-04:00

I downloaded a countdown clock for my desktop. We currently have 309 days, 15 hours, and 30 minutes, 25, 24, 23, 22,...etc seconds until our next trip.

I can't decide whether the countdown clock is fun....or annoying!

By the way, this is where we are staying next time. Same owners, different townhouse. This one had a bigger dining table which will come in handy one way or another. Everything else is basically the same except the children's room is a little different decor.

Countdown to Disney 2009!

2008-02-27T15:01:00.000-05:00

Well, we're booked for next year! YAY! Moving it a week earlier, now there are 339 days to go! I really won't be posting much till later, but check out these adorable shoes!!! I think I know what we're getting for Christmas! (It won't be much 'cause Disney is going to be our present too :)
Katie's, I like the pink!
Noah's, so cool!

and maybe even some for mommy! I love the pink and brown ones! Any testimonies about these? Are they REALLY as comfy as people say.....or is it just a trend?! My feet KILLED me this last trip, so I am willing to go along with the trend if it will really save my feet! I don't count on daddy getting any, but if he did I think these would be cool! oh, but I just noticed they don't come in his size! I know he will be SO dissapointed! ha ha!

I will probably be posting again in August when our 180 day date for making dining reservations hits! I am hoping maybe for a castle meal or something!

Jolly Holiday!

2008-02-12T14:46:00.000-05:00

Let's see if I can sum it all up: Katie and Noah did NOT want to leave the Mickey Mouse house! I call that success! We had so much fun! We are already planning our trip same time of year, same place, MORE DAYS!

We spent our day of rest playing in the pool and at Downtown Disney. They had a really neat Lego display and we ate lunch at Rainforest Cafe. We hit up the $10 or less Disney souvenier store and the kids found some fun stuff. Meme and I found the Disney Memories scrapbooking store (fun!) and then Noah and Corey made custom lightsabers while Katie and I filled up a box with as much My Little Pony stuff as possible for a flat rate! Fun times!

The next day we were at Hollywood Studios bright and early before the park opened. We saw the Playhouse Disney Show...it was really cute. Then we saw the Voyage of the Little Mermaid, greeted LOTS of characters (which Noah loved!) and then headed over to Epcot. We had planned to spend the rest of the day there, but we got done finding princesses there pretty quickly. Noah was NOT interested in seeing a lot of the characters, so if you see a lack of him in the pics, just know that he just didn't want to see them! After we found all the people in Epcot we thought it would be a more fun idea to go back to Magic Kingdom for the evening. We were right! Katie got to meet CINDERELLA and BELLE (in her fancy yellow dress) and Noah got to ride the "pirate" (peter pan) ride again with Daddy. We were in a perfect spot to see the fireworks this time and I cannot even describe how amazing they were! I have never been so impressed with fireworks. This time we could hear the story and music that was playing and there is no other way to describe it than just "magical!"

We finished off the night with another visit to the honeypots (winnie the pooh ride) and Mickey's Philharmagic. On the way back to the parking lot we got to ride in front of the monorail with the driver! It was really cool! We had seen some people ask about it and when we saw them get to do it, we tried each time as well, but apparently everyone knows about that already so each time it was full (they can only allow 4 at a time). So we were so exicted when we were able to do it! After the ride was over the driver gave us "co-pilot" cards as a keepsake! FUN! What a great way to end the night!

Again, I want to say, as I look back over the slideshow, I realize that there isn't much proof that Noah was with us at all! I assure you he was! His favorite things were riding the Peter Pan and Buzz Lightyear rides....meeting HIS fav characters...etc. Katie was much more into seeing the characters. You can't take pictures on the rides really well, so therefore there are many more pictures of Katie on here!

We had a pretty good trip home, except for the last hour! We stopped at steak n shake for some fries and milkshakes and as we were leaving I closed my thumb in the car door. Yes, it completely closed on it, I had to open the door with my other hand to get it out. It hurt....VERY badly as you can imagine. A waiter from the place was outside and he went in to get some ice. By the time we got home it was feeling much better, though it is bruised pretty badly. It is healing very well though...only hurting when I touch it now :)

We are just hanging out and resting today. There are so many more fun things I could share, but I know it is long already. Enjoy the pics!

Also, I do realize that a couple of the pictures are sideways. I did all I could but I couldn't get them to load correctly but they were so good I wanted to include them, so just give your neck a stretch!

354 days to go till Disney '09! Ha ha!!!!!!!

(If you want to see the pictures bigger, then click on "view all images" below the slideshow.)

"This is what I dreamed about!"

2008-02-09T20:27:00.000-05:00

exclaimed Katie. Yes, that is what Katie said as she watched the "Wishes" fireworks at Magic Kingdom last night. And Noah gave it a resounding, "This is incredible!" It was so awesome to see them enjoying everything so much!

We were refreshed when we went back to the park after our rest. We started out with the Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin, which Noah LOVED! Then we ended up watching the fireworks from a not so great view, but the kids 0bviously still loved it. Then we watched Mickey's Philharmagic again. It is a 3-D show with great effects and songs from some of the best movies. This is the first 3-D thing they have done before and it was so cute watching them "reach out" to try to touch the things coming at them from the screen. After that we ate at a place called Pinochio's Village Haus, which has a view of the boats leaving for "It's a small world" so Katie and Noah loved waving to all the boats while we ate. Then we rode that ride again, then we headed down to the Jungle Boat Cruise. It was okay....the kids liked it. Then Meme and Daddy rode the new Pirates of the Carribean while Mommy and the kids took a bathroom break. So, when they were done Meme and Katie went on the Magic Carpets of Aladdin. It is an outdoor "flying in the air" round and round type thing. Katie LOVED it and they ended up riding three times! By then it was 11:00 and the park was getting ready to close, so we headed up to the front of the park where as we were walking by the castle there was a "Goodnight" annoucement over the loudspeakers with pretty music and special effects lights and sparkling lights over the castle. It was so sweet standing there with the kids watching the castle say good night! Perfect timing. So we picked up Mickey and Minnie balloons on our way out to top off the day. It was so much fun! I have to add that Katie and Noah were AWESOME during the day! They didn't complain except a couple of times about walking so much. I really think the break in the day helped! And they didn't have any breakdowns of crying! I was so proud of them for their first theme park experience!

So, by the time we got back to the resort, took baths, and had a snack, it was 1am before they got in the bed. They were out almost instantly and slept LATE this morning! We all did, so I am even happier that we decided to take a day in between park days to hang out and rest.

This morning we hit up the private pool! It is small, but perfect for a family our size with young children! It is only about 5 feet deep! We got the pool heat on for us so the water was PERFECT! Both Katie and Noah were paddling around and having a blast (with their arm floaties on) in no time. They didn't want to leave, but today was our designated "buying" day so we took the afternoon to go to Downtown Disney and spend our souvenier money and have lunch at Rainforest Cafe. Downtown Disney was a lot of fun and they both found PLENTY to spend their money on (and then some!). I think that setting a day aside for the shopping was a good idea too because we didn't waste any of our park time fiddling around in the gift shops....

On our way back from Downtown Disney we decided to look for the resort playground. It was so cool! It is a huge castle playset and they also had swings, a seesaw, a merry-go-round, bouncy ride on things, sand...it was so much fun!

Our day of rest didn't turn out to be exactly that, but we still got to sleep in and go to bed early, which is what you DON'T do on a day you go to a park!

We are already talking about reserving this townhouse for this time next year! ha ha. We are having a blast!

Tomorrow is Disney Hollywood Studios in the morning and Epcot for the evening! Another long day! The picture above is of the family watching the fireworks! FUN TIMES!

OH WHAT FUN!

2008-02-08T17:17:00.000-05:00

We got in last night around 8:30pm. The townhouse is SO NICE! I would HIGHLY recommend it to anyone who is planning a trip!

I don't have long because we are about to head back out for part two of day one at Magic Kingdom, but I will give a brief summary.

When we were driving into town we got to see some fireworks from one of the parks! What a perfect welcome! That was so special to the kids...and mommy, daddy, and meme of course!

We were all pretty tired this morning, but we got on up and made it to the park by about 9:15-ish. Katie got sprinked with some "pixie dust" when I mentioned to the lady at the turnstiles that she was a "first-timer!" So cute! It was little Mickey shaped confetti!

Then, first thing in the door we saw two characters which Katie knew but we didn't: Clarabel the cow and Horace. The lady gave us stickers because Katie recognized them! lol.

So, we took the train to Fantasyland and saw them open that part of the park with Mickey, Minnie, Daisy, and Goofy! Then we went through Mickey and Minnie's house and took pictures! We saw Mickey and Minnie first thing of the day! We were so excited and we weren't rushed. It was great! Noah wouldn't hug, but he gave a high five! At least he didn't cry!

So we spent the rest of the morning riding the Winnie the Pooh, It's a Small World, Mickey's Philharmagic (AWESOME!), and TheFlight of Peter Pan. By then after the lack of sleep it was TIME to leave for lunch.

So, a meal, a nap, and a snack later we are about to head back out! Maybe I will have time to blog more tonight, but no guarantees! Here's a picture of everyone with Mickey.... I will make a slideshow at some point but we really need to head out!

Who was I kidding?

2008-02-07T07:27:00.001-05:00

Of course I have time to post before we leave! I was awake at 4:45am! The fireplace is completely covered with "stuff" ready to go out the door.

I didn't mean to get up at 4:45. About that time my husband kicked something off the chest at the foot of our bed and it woke us both up. It was a stack of board games that I hadn't put back up in the closet. He immediately, amazingly almost instantly went back to sleep.

So...at that point I started thinking about all the stuff I had left to do. We were at church last night and I was tired, so I didn't get everything all ready to go last night. Therefore, finally at 5:15am I gave up trying to go back to sleep and got up to finish cleaning the bathrooms, kitchen, and finish packing.

We plan on putting the kids straight in the car....I dressed them in some sweat outfits that would be comfy in the car today. Then, maybe we will hit up Cracker Barrel on the way out. YUM!

See you in approximately 12-14 hours or maybe tomorrow night. It depends on how quickly and successfully our search for a Walmart goes this evening. Hopefully we will get there in time for a quick dip in the pool!

If you are reading this, please say a prayer for easy and safe travels for us today!

Status Update:

2008-02-06T16:04:00.000-05:00

Just found out the resort offers FREE highspeed internet access, so YES I can update my blog while we are gone and post pictures!!!! So, check in daily for updates!

I doubt if I will have another chance to update before we leave, since we have church tonight and loads to do to get ready!

TOMORROW! TOMORROW!

2008-02-06T08:09:00.000-05:00

I love ya! Tomorrow!

Tomorrow we hit the road! Today will be cleaning and packing day! I will be washing last minute things we want to take, making my list and checking it twice! Orlando, here we come!.....well...tomorrow.

I am one of those people who have to have the house all cleaned up before we leave on a trip. Some people, I have learned, are not like that. They just leave in a whirlwind ready to get out on their way. I couldn't do that. I have to have the house totally cleaned before we go. There is nothing better to completely ruin a trip than to know on your way home that you will be greeted by a cluttered, messy house. It would negate all the happy fun I had on whatever trip I was on. I don't want to be greeted by chores. I hope to even have all the kids bedtime stuff layed out before we leave so when we get home it will be all be ready for us!

Corey is gone now to get the oil changed and pick up a couple more things for the trip. I have also gotten supplies to make surprise bags for the kids for the car. It is the neatest idea, you can read about it on my regular blog.

We have church tonight. Then we hope to leave out by 8:00 in the morning. We talked about leaving earlier, but we would just hit traffic in Atlanta, so maybe leaving at 8 we will miss most of it. Surely most people arrive to work between 8-9?

Not much else to say. I may or may not have time to blog in the morning! If I can find free wireless while we are gone and have time I may have pictures up while we are gone, but I am not sure of that.

We're going to Disneyworld!

The final stretch!

2008-02-04T11:20:00.001-05:00

GREAT NEWS! Corey is feeling much better today, so it looks like we are all coming out of the cold fog we had going on the past week and a half or so. We will, however, be taking our entire medicine tote with us! I am attempting to avoid having to visit a pharmacy while we are gone. It never fails that on every trip Corey and I go on we end up HAVING to find somewhere to buy: fill in the blank medicine product. I have always been tempted to just bring the whole medicine tote, so this time I AM!

We are now down to TWO days. I do optimistic counting by the way....I don't count the day we are in right now. So, two more days, then the next day we leave! yay! I started this with the kids because Daddy is usually home from a trip when they wake up. He actually comes home the night before, but we say two more days and when you wake up Daddy will be home! So, therefore, two more days to mark off, then when we wake up we will go to Disney!

Here's the final, set in sand final, intinerary: lol

Thursday: drive down, maybe stop for lunch with our Valdosta friends.

Friday: Magic Kingdom ALL DAY with a break for lunch and nap approx 2-5pm. (This park is open till 11, so we can take a longer break and not miss much.

Saturday: REST, swim, shop, hopefully eat at Rainforest Cafe.

Sunday: AM: Disney's Hollywood Studios, break for lunch and nap approx 1-3pm. PM at Epcot.

Monday: drive home

Tuesday: blog about trip and post pictures! lol!

Wednesday: still talk about it, maybe get postcards in the mail that I will mail to the kids while we are gone...postcards from the princesses and Mickey thanking them for coming! (I KNOW!)

Interesting tidbit: www.allears.net

A VITAL website for planning a Disney trip. They have all the restaurants in every park with a menu and ratings. So we also have tentative plans for where we will eat dinner in the parks each day. We are thinking Pinnochio Village Haus at Magic Kingdom (they have booths with views of It's a Small World) or Cosmic Rays. For Epcot we are going to do the San Angel Cantina which is Mexican food (Noah LOVES chips and cheese).

I will probably blog one more time before we leave. Maybe more. We'll see.

Maybe the support group isn't such a bad idea...

2008-01-31T17:03:00.000-05:00

Seeing as I have already changed the itinerary I so well planned just yesterday! LOL!

I am now considering scrapping Animal Kingdom and doing Epcot instead. I have been thinking about Animal Kingdom, and the only "big and exciting" thing there for us to do with the kids at their age is the safari. There are some other time wasters there if you had unlimited time, but when you get right down to it, the safari is the main draw. They have a roller coaster (not for us) a petting zoo (done that) and some shows.

At Epcot, they have these new "Kidcot" stops in each country area. The kids get to make some sort of project or art thing and they get a "passport" stamped. Katie is really interested in other countries: believe it or not we went through a phase where when we were in the car and saw any kind of big hill or mountain she would ask if we were going to Canada. I have no idea where she would have gotten that thought, but that's Katie.

Another thing they have at Epcot is a really cool Nemo ride. Corey and I did the Nemo ride this past summer when we went to Orlando and we really enjoyed it, so I know the kids would.

Another plus to Epcot is that they have an awesome (from what I hear) night fireworks show.

Another plus to Epcot is that the grownups would get to ride Soarin', a really cool simulated hanglider ride. Breathtaking.

So, I think the decision is made. Though you know I have said that before! lol.

They have a sort-of safari ride at Magic Kingdom, it is a boat thing. That could suffice for this trip.

Now I have new planning to do! Our half-day at Epcot!!!

Thanks for reading!

Mu husband's rebellion...

2008-01-30T22:42:00.001-05:00

So, my husband has decided that HE needs to start an online support group for husbands whose wives are driving them insane by their obsessive planning of a Disney trip.

Maybe he should then....

I had to start a blog to share my thoughts and planning because my husband doesn't care to discuss making plans AT ALL until we are already there! He simply does not realize the state of despair I would be in if we showed up at the park only to discover the very thing we had talked up to our kids (playhouse disney show) was CLOSED the day we decide to come! In fact, had I not reserached all disney websites, compared schedules, talked to a live chat representative from the Disney.com website...that VERY thing would have happened! The playhouse Disney show was "closed for refurbishment" through jan 28th, then it only is offered on Friday and Saturdays! We....well let me change that "I" had originally planned for us to visit Hollywood Studios (the new name for MGM) on Sunday, which means after preparing and getting our kids all excited to see a show with Handy Manny, Mickey Mouse clubhouse characters, etc, it would not have been on!
I say you MUST make your plans before you arrive....whereas he thinks you should just relax....decide what to do whenever after you get there, etc. I am not against relaxing and taking our time....I AM however against not doing any research and thus being disappointed that just a little bit of "looking into" would have saved the disappointment of his children (um...and his wife :)
I hope this doesn't sound mean. I know he is tired of hearing about my plans. I haven't gone overboard! I just visited the disney.com website and printed out custom maps that highlight all the attractions that WE want to see. It is simple prioritizing and maximizing of our time.
My friend from church has also been planning a trip online now for a couple of years now. She said they just haven't gone and her husband is also tired of hearing of all the "options" and "plans" and "possibilities." This is why Corey thinks there should be a support group.
So...in case any of you care at all or would like to put in your two cents about whether or not I have overplanned, here is the itinerary so far:

Day one: drive down

Day two: Magic Kingdom in the morning (take the train to fantasy land first thing and see characters, do kiddie rides, etc), go back to rest/lunch, go to Hollywood Studios in the evening.

Day three: Rest at resort/play in the pool/hit up downtown disney for shopping (they have a super cheap outlet store that is good I hear for souveniers)

Day four: Animal Kingdom in the morning, lunch and rest at room, back to Magic Kingdom for the evening (see the rest of the stuff we didn't see before) and see the night parades and fireworks.

Day five: drive home

Among these plans are specific things I have researched such as parade times, show times, etc. I think this will save us valuable time when we arrive a the parks. We won't have to stand there and make a decision about which show to do when or realize that we should have come the alternate day or something.

I know that Corey secretly appreciates the research I have done. I just had to share my plans with someone since he doesn't want to talk about it until we are in the car on the way. lol.

The only thing I haven't planned is our evening meals. We plan to eat in the park wherever we are in the evening, so that will be a "spur of the moment" thing...that's all I am comfortable with though! lol. :)

9 days and counting...

2008-01-28T16:15:00.000-05:00

Another consideration and rejection: Disney's Pirate and Princess party.

A really cool event...but as in the Disney tradition: EXPENSIVE!

It would cost us $175 to go to the after hours pirate and princess party, and as much fun as it would be (special "princess and pirate" themed activities of course), they are already getting over $700 from us JUST for 2 day park hoppers! They must make a billion gazillion dollars a day at that place!

But, we are still excited...just looking forward to leaving sometime....we're in the single digits now! I couldn't be one of those people who planned a trip a year in advance...I would be crazy!

On another note, we have found out that the Buzz Lightyear ride IS going to be something that Noah can ride, so that will be fun! I haven't even done over half the stuff at Magic Kingdom before...I am looking foward to it as part of my first time as well!

Sad news: my dad probably will not get to go. He will be working. blah.

Good news: The temps are looking good so far: 70s!

Good news: The crowds shouldn't be bad, I found a really cool website through the yahoo group that predicts crowd conditions, and the outlook is good!

Yay!

sigh

2008-01-25T13:56:00.001-05:00

Nothing new to report...except...I made reservations for a character breakfast at Disney's Hollywood Studios (MGM with a new name). I am thinking of cancelling it though...I haven't heard great stuff about it from the yahoo group. Several of them had a bad experience there, and really I am thinking that in February, surely it won't be THAT hard to get to see some characters! Another thing, the cost is pretty high and the characters are playhouse Disney...not Mickey or Minnie or princesses. Probably going to cancel it.

12 more days to go! Not sure how to pack...which is frustrating! It is crazy that Florida seems so close, but the weather is so drastically different than here! I don't know whether to pack capris, shorts, pants and t-shirts...or what...I guess we will just layer!

Countdown...

2008-01-23T12:01:00.001-05:00

The countdown is 14 days to go.....
I have joined this group for people planning Disney trips on yahoo. Yeah, another yahoo group...I am crazy...
It is crazy that there is a yahoo group for EVERYTHING!
So, the group is actually pretty cool...people ask questions about the best way to plan seeing the parks, questions about current shows, how to get discounts, just all kinds of stuff. I even found someone who has stayed at the same place we are staying and she gave it VERY positive reviews, so that was good to hear!
Another thing they have is a countdown email that goes out everyday. People send in when they are going on their trip and they post it in a countdown with the person leaving first at the top of the list. For example, it would say "Kline family, 1 day", "Johnson family, 15 days," etc...
The funny thing, is that there are people on there with "360 days" and even some with more than one countdown!!! These people go to Disney A LOT! ha ha.
So...I enjoy and despise countdowns. On one hand, it is fun to do with the kids, on the other hand, it sort of makes it take longer to get here....
Noah is getting more and more excited. He is looking forward to seeing "the real lightening mcqueen" though they have always been wary of life size characters thus far.
Also, my parents are going to be going with us! We are excited about having them along, to take pictures for us and help us keep an eye out for the kids! ha ha. My mom is going for sure, and hopefully my dad will be able to work out going also.

We're going to Disney World!

2008-01-22T10:48:00.000-05:00

So, it's final! We're going to Disney World!!!!

We told the kids this morning...it was fun and odd...

I gathered up some of their little Disney characters and put them in a Cars gift bag we had. Then we brought them in the living room and told them that in the bag there were clues about their "surprise." They each took turns taking out one of the characters...there was Snow White, Woody, Cinderella, Piglet, etc...
We asked "Do you know what your surprise might be?"
Blank looks....
"Well, where do you think we might go to see these characters?"
Katie's eyes got HUGE and she shouted "DISNEY! WE'RE GOING TO DISNEYWORLD!!!!!!"
She ran around and started jumping up and down! It was great!

Well...Noah...Noah is another story. He was sitting by me on the couch. He shrank down next to me....his eyes WELLED up with tears and he said very quietly "I don't want to go there."

HUGE letdown here!

"Noah....why don't you want to go?"

He said, "I just don't want to go."

Here is the difference....Katie went to three year old pre-k and has heard all the ins and outs of Disney World. On the other hand, I don't think Noah has ever heard of the place. We have avoided every talking about it really because we wanted to wait until we were actually GOING before bringing it up.

We told Noah about seeing Lightening McQueen, Woody, Captain Jack Sparrow.....he was softening a little. I said we will go on a safari, which he REALLY thought was cool. Then we told them that we were getting a place with a Mickey Mouse room for them to sleep in, and it has a BIG playground. Now THAT was what he wanted to hear: a big playground.

Here's the place we've reserved...it is so cool! And such a bargain!

http://www.themagicorlandorental.com/villa3.html

So, we're going to Disney, and Katie is thrilled. Noah wants to see the big playground. Maybe he will enjoy it after all :)

More updates to come. 15 days to go!

Thompsons Go To Disney

Can't Believe It!

TEN DAYS!

19 Days!

Travel Documents Arrived!

PAID IN FULL!

October Excitement

Dining Day!

Mickey Moms

95 Days...

Excited!

More Pixie Dust!

Something Magical..........

Good News/Bad News

90 Days!

ADRs and Single Digit Countdown!

Update!

Celebrating 10 Years!

Celebrating 10 Years!

Photopass Pictures!

Last Day: Magic Kingdom

Day 7: Hollywood Studios 2

Day 6: Magic Kingdom Finally!

Day 5: Hollywood Studios

Day 4: Epcot

Day 3: Animal Kingdom

Our First and Second Days...

And the winner is.....

We have a Winner!!!

Giveaway!!!!

Three Hee Day Hays!

Sunny Weather...

19, 18...more days!

30 Day Countdown and Contest!

Absotively Posilutely....the final plan!

Out the window...again

AH! We're Set!

Starting Over....

Touring Plans

WOO HOOOOOOOOOOO!

Tickets!!!!

Rental: PAID IN FULL!

Double Digit Countdown!!!

Change of plans!

Countdown...

Countdown to Disney 2009!

Jolly Holiday!

"This is what I dreamed about!"

OH WHAT FUN!

Who was I kidding?

Status Update:

TOMORROW! TOMORROW!

The final stretch!

Maybe the support group isn't such a bad idea...

Mu husband's rebellion...

9 days and counting...

*sigh*

Countdown...

We're going to Disney World!

sigh