Bringing Mardi Gras to Disney World - Trip Report starting on Post #203

[DisneyMom14]

In an effort to NOT drive my family crazy for the next month, I've decided to talk to all my DIS friends who understand why Disney (and this trip) is the first thing on my mind when I wake up and the last thing I think about when I fall asleep.

Cast:
::MinnieMo Me aka Mom - 32 and a total Disney fanatic - how I managed to stay away from home (wdw) this long is unexplainable and the reason for my insanity.

::MickeyMo DH 33 who likes Disney and thinks its wonderful that we can bring the kids but thinks I am way too obsessed even though he secretly appreciates all the cool info I've found out through my obsessive research and planning.

:tinker: DD6 A true Tinkerbell - sweet but sometimes with a pixie-ish streak.

:stitch: DS about to be 3 - would have loved me to put a spiderman icon for him, but he's definitely a little Stitch-in-training.

We've booked a Magic Your Way package with dining for the week of Mardi Gras 2008. For those of you not familiar with Mardi Gras, the dates change every year. I'm not even going to try to explain how to figure it out but basically you work backwards from Easter to Ash Wednesday. Mardi Gras day is the day before Ash Wednesday. Mardi Gras "season" starts on January 6th with parades and balls every weekend until the end of Mardi Gras day. We live in south Louisiana and try to make local parades. We have on occasion attended a few major Mardi Gras events like Bacchus and Endymion balls, but stay away from crowds when possible. This will be the FIRST time we miss Mardi Gras and the weekend before it. This is a very busy parade weekend and we usually make about 3 parades.

Why miss Mardi Gras? I've always heard that Mardi Gras week (depending when it falls) was a "slow" time in Disney. Several families from our area typically go during this time while the kids are off from school. My husband and I also work in the school system so it is a good time for us also. In the recent years, we've started getting the whole week off. Another really awesome reason for going during this week is the weather. I HATE the heat and the rain. We know humid, hot weather and cannot begin to imagine being around crowds of sweaty people with two fair complected little ones. :crazy2: I pretty much stay inside my air conditioned house all summer ( or the mall, the movies, etc.):cloud9:

Well now that you know when we're going and why we chose this time of the year, my next installment will be a little of our Disney History. See ya' real soon!

[DisneyMom14]

Hoping I won't bore anyone to death...

My first trip to Disney was when I was 4. My parents took me (I'm the oldest) and my grandmother (mom's mom). She died of cancer my senior year of high school. The trip is a fond memory of her.

Here's a picture of us though not at Disney World.
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/MelGrannysmall.jpg

I went back when my sister was probably 4 or 5 so I was 8 or 9 and then again when I was in the 9th grade with my whole family. (Need to borrow pics from my mom to scan in)

The next time I went back to Disney World was my honeymoon in Dec. of 1994. My husband and I love Christmas and I absolutely HAD to go to Disney for our honeymoon. I've never seen a more beautifully decorated place for Christmas. Here are a few shots. Don't laugh at the mullet and "Mariah Carey" hair. :lmao:

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/DisneyHoneymoonsmall.jpg

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/HoneymoonCastlesmall.jpg

Notice no wand
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/HoneymoonEpcotsmall.jpg

From 1994 to 2005, we both graduated college, started our careers, and had 2 kids. No Disney...just couldn't afford it.:sad2:

In 2004 we had planned to take our DD3 to Disney when I found out I was pregnant with DS. We cancelled our trip. :scared1: In 2005 my husband decided his middle school band would apply to perform at Disney world. They were accepted. :yay: I was so excited but I had just had DS in January. The trip was scheduled for Easter. I had a REALLY tough decision. I always wanted to take DD by herself and really didn't feel like I could handle her and a baby possibly by myself when DH was busy with the band. Please do not send flames because everyone has to make the decision that is right for your family, but I decided that my 3 month old would be just fine staying with DH mom while I took DD on the bus with the band. I cried a good couple hours out and felt really guilty for a while, until I got there. It was such a short whirlwind trip! It was a great short test the waters with DD type of trip. Here are some more pics:

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/CastleSmall.jpg

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/antKatieSmall.jpg

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/FamilySmall.jpg

Spaceship Earth WITH the wand
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/EpcotSmall.jpg

The band performing
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/BandSmall.jpg

I know I left DH's Disney history out. I don't have a lot details or pics, but he did go with his mom and dad when he was 4 and once again when he was 6 or 7. The next time was our honeymoon.

So there you go. This trip will be our first full family trip. All four of us will DRIVE 12/13 hours to Disney world.:drive: It is LONG over due!

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

yay, I will be the first to post on your pre-trip report!!! I'm so excited that all 4 of you will get to go!! Don't feel bad about your DS, my mom and I flew out to CA to see my dad on a business trip and she was 8 months pregnant with my brother and I was 2 and screamed/cried the whole way from Ohio to CA and she said never again.

My parents also took various trips to WDW w/o my brother as a baby bc it was hard to deal with a 3 yr old and an infant. They were lucky to have my grandparents in Ft. Lauderdale so they could leave Dbro for the night to go to WDW.

I love the pictures too!!! I bet everyone is getting excited. Are you planning on taking ur tinkerbell DD to BBB??? She would be the perfect age for that. I'll be working there for the College Program and I leave on Friday.

HAPPY PLANNING!!

[DisneyMom14]

TinkerbellLuvr7 - I thought I recognized you from the Mommy/Daughter trip report. They are too cute, huh?

Yes, I am bringing my little Tinkerbell to BBB. I'll PM you with details. Maybe you'll be her FairyGodMother. :)

I'll be posting plans a little later. popcorn::

[winkers]

No need to worry about leaving the baby behind! I always think the people with newborns at the parks are insane!:)

[Blueyed Girl]

Subscribing!! I was wondering how long before more La people started their PTR's. We are going the week after Mardi Gras. (I have a PTR too. If you have time stop by and check it out! Click the box in my siggie) We will just miss all the cajuns taking over the world.:rotfl: Great start to your PTR can't wait to read more!

[jordanyosh]

You'll be there the same time we are....:thumbsup2 BlueEyed said to stop by her PTR...you can stop by mine too...don't be afraid about the length of mine...you can just skim through....:thumbsup2

[DisneyMom14]

Thanks for reading you guys! You've made me even more excited to work on this! Besides, my DD6 has started rolling her eyes when I say the word Disney.:confused3

Last January (when we got our taxes done), we totally decided that between our refund and saving for a year, we could make it to dw the next Mardi Gras.

Exactly 1 year away, I called Disney to make a room only reservation. Yeah I knew that I couldn't book a package and then I would have to call back to rebook when packages came out and the price would of course increase. Can you believe the cast member didn't want to book us at first???!!! She realized she had a crazy person on the other end of the line - one who had done her research - and she did book us. :cutie: We took the advice of my sister (who is equally...maybe slightly more obsessed) and her husband to stay at Pop Century. They had stayed there for their honeymoom the year before and were really satisfied. I would have LOVED to stay at the Poly (my dream vacation), but we really can't afford to do that yet. Also, I have to remember that we really won't be at the hotel all that much. Since the decision to stay at Pop, I've read a lot of others' opinions and for a value resort, it sounds really great.

It was still a long way away from even making ADR's so I kept busy doing general research on what's new in the parks, what the kids would like, making itineraries, deciding what character meals we would like to go to, deciding if the dining plan was for us, etc. :scared: There were so many things to think about but don't get me wrong, I was LOVING it!

By the way, my sister, her husband, and her daughter are going also. After numerous attempts to get them to go WITH us...they are going 2 weeks BEFORE us.:confused3
Actually our birthdays fall in the middle of January and she wanted to be in Disney for hers - so she says...;) Anyway, point of telling you that is we have been planning together. I am organized and a planner but she has beat me. Luckily she loves me and has made stuff for me in all of her free time.:lovestruc

We have made some things to bring with us and I thought you might like to see them.

Homemade autograph books - which I plan to cut up and place in photo albums next to their character's picture. Thanks to a DIS friend who emailed me the pages! I only had to add a few more, print them on 4x6 index cards, and my sister brought them to a copy place to get them binded for a whole $2.17 each. Thanks Sis! Also, the binding is on the right side on purpose. Printer cut off the right border slightly and I'll just cut it off anyway.

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/IMG_1334.jpg

Homemade Epcot Passports - I got these from Pat's Disney Designs. I printed them on tagboard, cut them out, and got my sister to laminate the cover and staple them. The only thing else I had to do was double stick tape the backs together.

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/IMG_1338.jpg

The Countdown Chainlink - This one is all my sister's. She made herself and us one. She typed Disney sayings and inserted character pictures to each strip. We made our chain right before Christmas (had 40 links). As of today, we are at 31!!!

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/IMG_1339.jpg

Coming next: They do what to their windows??!!!popcorn::

[DisneyMom14]

So one day I was reading the Dis boards and I came across a thread about decorating your resort room/window. Hmmm - that sounds like FUN!!! So another project begins - well, we are bringing Mardi Gras to Disney World...

Here are my window decorations so far:

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/IMG_1346.jpg

Thanks to more Dis friends who mailed me the cricut designs!:love:

Up next - You have a disney binder...:rotfl2:

[Blueyed Girl]

WOW you've got great stuff!! Love the window decorations! Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler!! Sounds like fun to go during Mardi Gras. If I was going I'd bring beads to hand out but then again I bet 90% of the people there will be from La.:rotfl: Can't wait for the binder! You will notice there are a few of us (myself & Jordan included) who are obsessed with our binders.:thumbsup2

[DisneyMom14]

So my sister shows up at my house with a binder... a disney binder. At the time I'm thinking...ok she's getting way too into this.

Not even a month later: Meet binder #1

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/IMG_1348.jpg

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/IMG_1347.jpg
It had really cute (& expensive) 3D Disney stickers at one point. This binder has general information about the parks, the packages, the restaurants, menus, tips, articles, etc.

Now meet binder #2
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/IMG_1349.jpg

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/IMG_1353.jpg
This one has important information pertaining to this particular trip like packing lists, iten, maps, tips for this time of the year...

I'm so sorry I laughed at you, Sis.

Now in addition to the binders (cuz I am NOT carrying either one of them into the parks), we have also made "Park books."

Here they are:
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/IMG_1354.jpg

These "mini-binders" are small photo albums that contain park specific and trip specific information that we may need in that particular park. I don't plan to park hop so I should only be carrying one of these with me per day.

I also have a notebook. Ok more than one, but anyway...
In the notebook(s) are all of my thoughts and workings. For example, before I decided to pay so much for disney dining plan, I had to decide where we would eat for each meal each day. Then decide what we probably would order and calculate how much we would spend. Add in character meals and snacks. The total cost compared to the cost of the DDP was very close. I had to then show my husband so that I had his support that paying for meals in advance would be sooooooo much more convenient even if the savings weren't tremendous. At least we wouldn't stress out for under budgeting the cost of eating. Oops sorry honey we spent all of our money. We can't eat today.:eek: I also worked out my iten in there.

Maybe tonight, maybe tomorrow...ADR's and special events!

[Blueyed Girl]

I stand corrected. I think you are obsessed with your binder much more than we are.:rotfl2: Or maybe we are all just obsessed with them in different ways. :)

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

oh my goodness you are organized!!!! I wish my mom was crafty and creative like that!! I guess that way it keeps you excited and motiviated to go. Maybe I should make my mom a little binder when they come to visit me in Feb lol. Right now she has everything in a blue folder and that is depressing lol.

[jenpan]

Leaving Mardi Gras behind to go to the WORLD. Flying in on Feb.2 and leaving on the 9th. Can't wait!!!

[jordanyosh]

I stand corrected. I think you are obsessed with your binder much more than we are.:rotfl2: Or maybe we are all just obsessed with them in different ways. :)

I think she's got us beat....:thumbsup2

Nice job on the binder....or binders

[Savanah'sMom]

OMG!!! I really am obsessed. :scared1: Well if there is a 12 step program, I staying clear away from it.

Hi all :wave2: I’m DisneyMom14 little sister. I did think a lot about going to Disney with them, but I really wanted to be in Disney for my B-Day.:banana: I’m excited that they are staying at POP, the kids are going to enjoy it a bunch. DNiece is a lot like my DD, not very excitable, more of the staring in awww, but DNephew, he’s going to be a blast!!! He gets soooo excited about everything Disney.

Ok, about all the things I put together for both of us, I have a wonderful job. It’s as plain as that. I work the front desk for a boating company, do general secretarial stuff, and I prepare the billing for both the crude oil and saltwater boats. I tend to have a good bit of downtime (I hope that none of the people I work with frequent the DIS boards) I figure that since I have access to a copy machine, laminator, and a lot of ink for the printer. I can also leave on my lunch break to run to the Quick Copy. Plus, it’s really cool that I and my DSis have this in common. As far as the binder, she thought I was nuts when she saw it, humm, I wonder why she kept her’s a secret? Mine still beats her’s, I think it is 3”s and weighs enough to kick off my air bag on the front passenger seat of my car:scared1: .

Ohhh, just a little warning, when she gets the pics up from when we went years ago, no laughing at me!!!. I was going through an awkward stage that lasted at least 1 ½ decades.:sad:

Well, DSis good luck with your report and I’ll talk with you later. Bye

[DisneyMom14]

Before the ADR's, I needed to decide which parks we were going to each day. At the time I didn't plan on park hopping so it was important to get these ADR's right. As I mentioned earlier, we are DRIVING about 12 to 13 hours straight to Disney world with a 6 and a 3 year old. I know - out of my mind - right? Stay tuned to my trip report to see how that will go. :rotfl2: Here's my least torturing plan: Take 2 personal days off (Thursday and Friday before Mardi Gras). Pack up the mini-van and rest Thursday during the day with the kids at school and the sitter. Get them to bed at a reasonable hour. (I'm too excited to sleep!!!) Hopefully DH will sleep early because I need him to drive first and I want to leave at like midnight or 1:00am. You see, I am the navigator. I WILL NOT sleep the second half of the trip because I will be too busy making sure he doesn't get us lost. For that reason, he needs to drive the first 1/2 - when its the easy just stay on I10 east part. Hopefully the kids will sleep until 6:00am. We eat breakfast, watch a dvd, stretch our legs, eat lunch, take a nap??? - the kids, color, play games - BAM we're there. The more time they sleep - the more peace and quiet for us driving. I am just imagining the gates of Disney now...:cloud9:
Anyway, that puts us getting to POP at or around check-in time on Friday. Since I'm sure we will be tired, I plan to explore the resort, eat in the food court, and get to bed early. Our first day in the parks will be Saturday. I won't release specific days but basically we will do one park per day except for MK which we will do 2 days.

ADR's - After much research, we decided on some character meals for our TS. Happy to say, I called 180 days out and got all of our ADR's first choice times! Here they are:

CRT - Most importantly, I wanted to eat in the castle. I've NEVER eaten in the castle and I didn't care that it would take 2TS credits. I originally wanted to get an 8:00am ressie, but at the last minute decided that I wanted DD to get BBB fixed up before the whole 50million pictures I will take for the CRT breakfast. I made her an 8:00 BBB and a 9:00 CRT. I know that puts us getting out at 10:00 and missing that first empty hour in MK, but we are planning on 2 days in MK. Now I'm keeping my fingers crossed that all of that works out.
O'hana's for breakfast - DD and DS both love Lilo and Stitch and I would love to one day stay at the Poly so this was an obvious.
Princess Storybook Breakfast at Akershus in Norway - How could we pass up meeting that many princesses?! DS loves Snow White and DD's favorite princess is Ariel. DH thinks Jasmine is hot and well Belle is my favorite. I hope we all get our wishes to see our favorite princesses!:love:
Chef Mickey's for Dinner - This was our last one to decide on. I've heard so many good things about it and we've never been in the Contemporary except for the Monorail ride through. I also needed to include one more NON-princess meal for DS.

Because we are staying 6 nights on the DDP but only going 5 days to the parks, we have one more TS left. I'd like to eat at 50's Prime Time. Does anyone know if that's a hard restaurant to do a walk in to?

I'm really glad to have the DDP. I can't wait to really see how it works out for us. I chose more breakfasts because my kids seem to go for breakfast food. For lunch and dinner, they could live off of chicken nuggets and fries. The only thing that sucks is that DS will turn 3 like 2 weeks before we leave and he doesn't eat a lot. He could so have eaten off of my or DD's plate. On top of that, with all the excitement, I doubt if he'll eat at all. I feel like I'm only paying for entertainment. ???? oh well. The last thing I need to do for meals is to figure out how much to bring for tips now that the 2008 DDP doesn't include them anymore. :headache:

I also printed invites to all of these ADR/Special events for the kids to find each day. Thanks again to Pat's Disney Designs for the beautiful personalized invites!:lovestruc

Aside from ADR's:
I had been reading and seeing pictures of the Pirate and Princess Parties. I just have to go!!!! So I waited and waited and waited until finally they announced the 2008 dates. Yeah!!!! 2 during our stay! I ordered tickets for the day we go to Animal Kingdom so that we can do a "short" park, hopefully bring DS3 for a nap and then make it to MK for my first ever "mini" meet with some of my Dis friends!!! Then hopefully we will all enjoy our first P&P party!pirate:
Tickets came in!
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/IMG_1350.jpg

Brady Bunch Fashion:
My brother calls us the Brady Bunch so I will live up to the nickname.

I didn't buy any custom clothing for DD or DS although they are adorable and I would have loved to. Instead we (I) have decided to all match. Since we are bringing Mardi Gras to Disney World, I thought we would sport some more LA wear. We have an LSU day, a Saints day, and a Mardi Gras day. In addition to those, we have a pirate day, an Incredibles day, a Peter Pan & Tinkerbell day, and a Mickey/Minnie day. I have convinced my mom to make DD a Minnie dot jumper. Hope she finishes it in time.

[wendypooh]

LOL ~ Melanie!!!!

You are just as obsessed as ME!!!! :rotfl2: I thought I was the only nut who had Multiple binders.......... LOL

Loving your report so far!!! Cannot wait to meet you on 2/2!!!

OH, I was fiddling with your pic......... how is this??

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v357/pgawidow/alex/MelGrannysmall.jpg

[Sabrina90744]

Hi Melanie!!! Just found your pre-trippie. Havent read it completely just wanted to sub and catch up tomorrow since I am back to work tomorrow!

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

Those ADRs sound great!! I have also not eaten at the Castle either. I was thinking with my 20% discount I could go there. Joanna from disboards mentioned to me that I should go there for my birthday (3/19) but that is right before Easter so that might have to wait until late April/Early May.

The tickets are sooo cute!! I'm thinking I might have to check out that P&PP one night. Hopefully I can get a discount ticket that day (assuming I'm off) and can go!!

[DisneyMom14]

LOL ~ Melanie!!!!

You are just as obsessed as ME!!!! :rotfl2: I thought I was the only nut who had Multiple binders.......... LOL

Loving your report so far!!! Cannot wait to meet you on 2/2!!!

OH, I was fiddling with your pic......... how is this??



Wendypooh! Thanks! You put color back into that old picture! That's great! Thanks for reassuring me that I am not the only Disney-freak out there with multiple binders. Thanks for coming over and I'm sooooo looking forward to Feb. 2nd!

Hi Melanie!!! Just found your pre-trippie. Havent read it completely just wanted to sub and catch up tomorrow since I am back to work tomorrow!

Hey! Thanks for coming over! I have the opposite problem with work - I go back Friday and I will suffer from Dis-withdrawl. :lmao: I'm attempting to write as much as I can before then. I'm realizing that I should have started a PTR a lonnnnng time ago. It's hard to catch up! Thanks for subbing and good luck at work tomorrow.:hippie:

Those ADRs sound great!! I have also not eaten at the Castle either. I was thinking with my 20% discount I could go there. Joanna from disboards mentioned to me that I should go there for my birthday (3/19) but that is right before Easter so that might have to wait until late April/Early May.

The tickets are sooo cute!! I'm thinking I might have to check out that P&PP one night. Hopefully I can get a discount ticket that day (assuming I'm off) and can go!!

I hope you get to do as much as possible while you're there! I am just sooo jealous that you get to work there. Take me with you!!! J/J:rotfl: I'll be checking in to see how your traveling goes this weekend!

[lori1043]

OMG I LOVE LOVE LOVE the passports and books for each park-hoe ingenious!!! I MAY be copying some of your ideas but my time is limited after tonight!! We start school tomorrow(Iwe homeschool)!! We are doing a unti study on EPCOT countries this month.
We also have a pre-trippy for my DD10's 5 years off chemo!! It cannot come too soon!

Lori

[LizAgna]

This is great...I only have 1 binder & DH thinks I'm obsessed wait till he hears about you guys!! :rotfl: I look forward to reading more!!

[Sabrina90744]

Exactly 1 year away, I called Disney to make a room only reservation. Yeah I knew that I couldn't book a package and then I would have to call back to rebook when packages came out and the price would of course increase. Can you believe the cast member didn't want to book us at first???!!! She realized she had a crazy person on the other end of the line - one who had done her research - and she did book us. :cutie: We took the advice of my sister (who is equally...maybe slightly more obsessed) and her husband to stay at Pop Century. They had stayed there for their honeymoom the year before and were really satisfied. I would have LOVED to stay at the Poly (my dream vacation), but we really can't afford to do that yet. Also, I have to remember that we really won't be at the hotel all that much. Since the decision to stay at Pop, I've read a lot of others' opinions and for a value resort, it sounds really great.

::

Melanie you guys will LOVE POP! My kids love it, I wanted to try out another resort this trip but kids wanted to go back to POP and I agreed with them we can use the extra money for souvies!


We have made some things to bring with us and I thought you might like to see them.

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/IMG_1334.jpg

Homemade Epcot Passports - I got these from Pat's Disney Designs. I printed them on tagboard, cut them out, and got my sister to laminate the cover and staple them. The only thing else I had to do was double stick tape the backs together.::

Love your Passports, They are tooo cute!!

[DisneyMom14]

When I planned this trip, I knew I would be shopping for travel type things to bring with us. I didn't realize that before we left I would be spending a small fortune!:eek:

2 major purchases have come up. One is a new camera. About a year ago, we decided to replace our old Canon Powershot. I got a Panasonic that, on paper, was supposed to be better than my older Canon. HORRIBLE! I missed so many precious pictures like my daughter's dance recital because it took blurry pictures. I kept it for a while thinking that maybe I was using it wrong. I read the manual and practiced but it was just nothing in comparison to my old Canon. I even went back to using the Canon but it only has a 3x optical and with my kids getting older, I really wanted something that could give me great pictures of them in action! So I did what I do best, research and contemplate. :rotfl: During the summer (with Disney in mind), we purchased another Canon. This time it is an S5 IS with a 12x zoom! LOVE IT!!!!:banana: I am no expert at it but it takes WONDERFUL pictures and I found a new family on the DIS that have given me GREAT tips on using it! I also bought an 8 gb memory card cuz it takes pretty good video too. I've been practicing everywhere. When I took the kids to the zoo, I came back with mostly great pics, but some of them came out hazy. I figured out that I was catching glare on my lens. Soooo, I bought an adapter with a few filters. It seems to have solved that problem. Yeah! Last night I practice shooting firework cuz I'm sure I'll be taking plenty of those pics in DW!!!!!:wizard:

Now I'm pretty satisfied with the video this camera takes, but by no means would I completely rely on it for all our video needs. We have/had a video camera. Its an older JVC compact C. In the last couple of months it has decided it doesn't love me anymore. It is giving us so many problems that we gave in and just ordered a Sony Handycam. :confused3 I really didn't want to spend that right now but what if I really regret not having one with me at DW????? I wasn't expecting old faithful to give out right before the trip. Of course again I researched and contemplated for a good month (at least) and I hope I like it when it comes in. Supposedly, it takes great low light video which will come in handy if we video in the rides or at night.

With those two purchases taken care of, I am now wondering if there is anything else I will need to buy. I've started collecting things with each paycheck and I have a pretty good sized plastic container with the numerous things I have decided we will NEED after reading so many others' threads. Did you know that a shoe organizer hung over the door can organize your family's stuff??? What about bringing along a pop up hamper to stuff your dirty clothes in? and if you cut up your sponges into smaller pieces and pour dishwashing detergent on them and put them in a plastic bag, you have little throw away washing sponges to clean your refillable cups! See what I mean! :laughing: Actually I LOVE all the tips I've gotten off of the DIS. I know that the tips and all of this really obsessive planning will make for a really nice trip - I hope.

The next thing I'm contemplating is a new bag. Right now I have a big pink backpack. I'm thinking there has to be a better way and I've heard all about baggalinnis & stuff so I'll be researching (quickly as I am running out of time). It has to fit all of my "necessary" items in the parks. I have 2 kids and 2 cameras! :scared:

Happy New Year everyone! See ya' real soon!

[jordanyosh]

Beware--shopping for a WDW trip can become an addiction. I can't believe how much I spent at Target today on toiletries, etc.......:eek:

[lynette j in la]

I wanted to go then...Beat the heat! But we are meeting my in-laws who are flying in from Denmark in the Summer and they planned the first week in JULY which is totally hot and way to busy a time, But at Least Granpa will take DD,11, and her Danish Cousin, sho is also 11, so I can spent as much tim I want in EPCOT! They say they like the heat...My DH has lived here now 9 years doesn't like the heat and humidity...But I could be hot at Home or Hot at Disney....I'll take Disney!

[winkers]

The next step in your shopping for DW addiction is to take pictures of everything you bought!

[LizAgna]

I LOVE my Baggallini!! It is the perfect size for park touring!! I have one and my oldest DD has one too. When I first got it I wasn't sure about it. But DD & I went to DC with her 5th grade class and tried them out there. After that trip I knew it was the right bag for WDW! The only thing is I wish I had taken it off for my photopass pictures...in every one of our pictures I have a black line across my chest...I'll know next time!

You have picked up on some great tips...I haven't read the one about the sponges. But on our last 2 trips we used the shoe organizer and pop up hampers.

I think you will be pleased with Pop...we have stayed there on our last 2 trips...we all love it...DH loves the Big Wheel...we are trying ASSp for the first time this trip.

[OrangeBlossom15]

Just found your trip report. We are going at the same time. Can't wait to read more. :thumbsup2

[Sabrina90744]

So one day I was reading the Dis boards and I came across a thread about decorating your resort room/window. Hmmm - that sounds like FUN!!! So another project begins - well, we are bringing Mardi Gras to Disney World...

Here are my window decorations so far:

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/IMG_1346.jpg

Thanks to more Dis friends who mailed me the cricut designs!:love:

Up next - You have a disney binder...:rotfl2:


Nice!!! I will be on the lookout for your cool window!! :thumbsup2 Are you standard or preferred? I still havent even gotten that stuff together. I need help!!!!

[DisneyMom14]

OMG I LOVE LOVE LOVE the passports and books for each park-hoe ingenious!!! I MAY be copying some of your ideas but my time is limited after tonight!! We start school tomorrow(Iwe homeschool)!! We are doing a unti study on EPCOT countries this month.
We also have a pre-trippy for my DD10's 5 years off chemo!! It cannot come too soon!

Lori

It must be cool to relate your lessons to what is going on at this time for your family. If they would have let me, I think I would have centered all my lessons around Disney! :thumbsup2 My first classroom was decorated all Disney. I used a projector to enlarge images and used pastels to color them. I miss that room. :lovestruc

This is great...I only have 1 binder & DH thinks I'm obsessed wait till he hears about you guys!! :rotfl: I look forward to reading more!!

One more man thinking I've lost my mind (my husband, my dad, my brother) :laughing: But if it helps your husband think you're less crazy, go right ahead. :lmao: Thanks for reading!

Beware--shopping for a WDW trip can become an addiction. I can't believe how much I spent at Target today on toiletries, etc.......:eek:

It probably was a good thing I started early and spread it out a little - hmmmm - maybe not cuz I'm not quite sure how much I've spent!:scared1:

I wanted to go then...Beat the heat! But we are meeting my in-laws who are flying in from Denmark in the Summer and they planned the first week in JULY which is totally hot and way to busy a time, But at Least Granpa will take DD,11, and her Danish Cousin, sho is also 11, so I can spent as much tim I want in EPCOT! They say they like the heat...My DH has lived here now 9 years doesn't like the heat and humidity...But I could be hot at Home or Hot at Disney....I'll take Disney!

Yeah, they THINK they like the heat. That's because they don't LIVE in the heat. ;) Sounds like a nice get together though. I'd love to take a group/family trip one day. Maybe then I could take my time in World Showcase. Thanks for reading!

The next step in your shopping for DW addiction is to take pictures of everything you bought!

I think I'll do that tonight! SEEEE I can't pass up a good idea on here! :rotfl2:

I LOVE my Baggallini!! It is the perfect size for park touring!! I have one and my oldest DD has one too. When I first got it I wasn't sure about it. But DD & I went to DC with her 5th grade class and tried them out there. After that trip I knew it was the right bag for WDW! The only thing is I wish I had taken it off for my photopass pictures...in every one of our pictures I have a black line across my chest...I'll know next time!

You have picked up on some great tips...I haven't read the one about the sponges. But on our last 2 trips we used the shoe organizer and pop up hampers.

I think you will be pleased with Pop...we have stayed there on our last 2 trips...we all love it...DH loves the Big Wheel...we are trying ASSp for the first time this trip.

Thanks for reading and thanks for the vote on the baggallini. I wish I could try one out before I buy. I want one big enough to stash away everything my toddler needs, but doesn't look like luggage! :laughing: I better hurry up and decide - 29 days!!!!

Just found your trip report. We are going at the same time. Can't wait to read more. :thumbsup2

:welcome: I think it's going to be a GREAT time to go!!

Nice!!! I will be on the lookout for your cool window!! :thumbsup2 Are you standard or preferred? I still havent even gotten that stuff together. I need help!!!!

Thanks!! I had book preferred, but when I called in with my discount code, they dropped me to standard. Oh well, I guess that just saved me a few more $$$. My only concern is carrying my probably sleeping toddler from the busses to the room everynight. He doesn't have a stroller anymore so we will be renting. Make sure you take pictures of your decorations when you get them so I can look for you too!:thumbsup2



Thank y'all for reading! I haven't been home all day and the minute I could get to the computer I felt like Golum from Lord of the Rings - "My precious!" Weird - I know, but it was great to see messages when I got to my thread. Tonight I will add more updates, but right now I'm going visit by my grandparents house for a little while.
:)

[DisneyMom14]

As I mentioned in my previous post, I haven't been home today. Well I just checked my mail and LOOK WHAT I GOT!!!

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/IMG_1391.jpg
YEAH!:cool1: :banana: :cheer2:
It's my hotel voucher, the extra vouchers you get for sea raycers, mini golf, and Planet Hollywood, and luggage tags.

By the way, it is COLD tonight. 29 degrees to be exact.:eek: Not too many days like that around here!

I also took pictures of my "secret Disney stash" in case anyone was interested. Remember I have 2 small children - hince the wipes & stuff.:thumbsup2

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/IMG_1386.jpg

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/IMG_1387.jpg

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/IMG_1390.jpg

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/IMG_1388.jpg

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/IMG_1389.jpg

[OrangeBlossom15]

Cool stash. What is the over the door organizer for?

[LizAgna]

Great stash!! One hint, I took 2 pop up hampers...one for whites and the other was for everything else.

OrangeBlossom15 - the over the door organizer is to hold all of your toiletries. It keeps them out in the open but off of the vanity. We use one and love it!!

[OrangeBlossom15]

Great stash!! One hint, I took 2 pop up hampers...one for whites and the other was for everything else.

OrangeBlossom15 - the over the door organizer is to hold all of your toiletries. It keeps them out in the open but off of the vanity. We use one and love it!!

Cool I might have to get one !:thumbsup2

[Blueyed Girl]

Thank y'all for reading! I haven't been home all day and the minute I could get to the computer I felt like Golum from Lord of the Rings - "My precious!" Weird - I know, but it was great to see messages when I got to my thread. Tonight I will add more updates, but right now I'm going visit by my grandparents house for a little while.
:)


I just spewed Diet Dr Pepper on my keyboard after reading this!!
:rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2:

I can totally relate, though.:surfweb:

[Blueyed Girl]

Wow you've SERIOUSLY got a lot of stuff!! :lmao: I'm so glad DS is potty trained now. All I have to bring for that "department" is the toilet seat covers and some Kandoo wipes. I like those little Charmin seat covers but after finding a post last year about "potty toppers", I save the Charmin one's for myself and let DS use the other one's. They are SO NEAT! They have "sticky" on the back so they won't slide and they are large enough to cover the entire seat. Here's a link: http://www.tabletopper.com/tabletopper/Products/?Name=potty_topper

[jordanyosh]

I'm glad I'm not the only one stockpiling....;)

Still waiting for my documents/ME vouchers. My friend the TA, said she sent them out so they should be here any day now....:woohoo:

[DisneyMom14]

I just spewed Diet Dr Pepper on my keyboard after reading this!!
:rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2:

I can totally relate, though.:surfweb:

Sorry! :lmao:

Wow you've SERIOUSLY got a lot of stuff!! :lmao: I'm so glad DS is potty trained now. All I have to bring for that "department" is the toilet seat covers and some Kandoo wipes. I like those little Charmin seat covers but after finding a post last year about "potty toppers", I save the Charmin one's for myself and let DS use the other one's. They are SO NEAT! They have "sticky" on the back so they won't slide and they are large enough to cover the entire seat. Here's a link: http://www.tabletopper.com/tabletopper/Products/?Name=potty_topper


Another good tip from a Disser! DS is newly potty trained and still can't stand up to #1 so now I have to bring for him as well. I like those potty toppers! My local stores don't have any, but I saw where I could order them. Better get movin'. Oh and something I read on someone elses' thread that I never thought of: With exhausted toddlers who might have fallen asleep before the last trip to the bathroom for the night, bring a water proof pad to cover the mattress. The poor family waited 5 HOURS for hotel staff to bring another mattress and bedding! :scared1: DS hasn't had an accident in quite a while but spit happens... Looks like I'm making a trip to Walmart today.:)

[Sabrina90744]

You got your docs?? Yea!!!:cool1: I still haven't gotten mine yet:rolleyes:

Wow, nice stash. I had already forgotten about the over the door hanger and the hamper. Where did you find it at?


For our window I really don't know what to get. What do you use to stick everything to the windows?

[DisneyMom14]

I took a lot of time planning this trip so that we wouldn't be stressed when we get there but alas, I have something new to worry about.

About 6 months ago, my mom fed my son a peanut butter sandwich. She didn't know he had never had peanuts before. He only took one bite when she called me to ask if he could have one. Now, DS has a history of eczema and allergic reactions to dog saliva so I was holding off on any high allergen foods, but I thought oh well guess we could try. My mom lives down the street from a doctor's office and a hospital. I told her let him try it and if anything weird happens, bring him to the hospital. Not even 5 minutes after that conversation and with only one bite of peanut butter, she calls me back to come check on DS. Sure enough he had a red rash around his mouth that was slightly raised. Good thing I thought to bring the Benedryl. I rinsed his mouth out, washed his face, and gave him the benedryl and in 15 min., he was fine. My mom also has a dog. So in the back of my mind I'm wondering if he had any contact with the dog while my mom wasn't looking. Just to be on the safe side, we have been avoiding peanuts and peanut butter. I haven't limited him from anything else - other than the dogs. Since we are off from school (and before we go to Disney), I thought it might be a good idea to find out exactly what DS is allergic to. Off to the allergy doctor and guess what...peanut allergy. Now, I've heard all the horror stories about people not even being able to be around an open jar of peanut butter because the smell can make them react. The first thing that came to my mind was the poor teenager that died after kissing his girlfriend who had eaten a peanut butter sandwich! I guess I was hoping that the one time was a fluke. The doctor procedes to tell me that although they don't know the severity of the allergy (it was a scratch test not blood work), it should be taken seriously because he could die from this. Thanks....
I've already ran through worse case scenarios in my head thank you. The rest of the day was a foggy blur. Then it hits me! How am I going to handle this in Disney world!!!???? You know me now - what do I do best? Research and contimplate...I was already on the computer looking up peanut allergies so I hopped over to DIS and low and behold....tips and information!!! On more than one thread I found the name and contact information to a lady at Disney who can help you with food allergies. I immediately emailed her with questions of what do I do at this point - if anything. Within a couple hours, she had emailed me back an already filled out form that she had sent to the chefs at each of our TS ADR's (she looked up our ressies) and another email with ingredient information. WOW!:worship: I do have to remind them when I get there, but supposedly the chef or manager should walk us around the buffet to let us know what is safe for him (or make him something safe) and if it's a regular (not buffet) meal, they should go over the menu with us at our table! Go DISNEY! :hug: That makes me feel somewhat better. I'm still probably over-worrying about everything he puts in his mouth. I don't even want to take him to eat out which we do (or use to do) quite often. Just makes me nervous. You never know - you know? Cakes and baked goods are the worst and I'm finding that a lot of companies in an effort to CYA have listed on their labels that their product MIGHT have come in contact with several allergens including peanuts. UUGH! I'm trying to keep some perspective. In reading on these boards, I've found several families dealing with food allergies much worse than just peanuts. Some kids are allergic to eggs, dairy, wheat gluten, etc. etc. I don't know what these kids can eat! Poor things!

So anyway, just thought I'd vent to you guys. I think I've done what I can for him as of this point. I even ordered him a medical alert bracelet in case of the event we become separated :scared1: . I wouldn't want some unsuspected nice CM to attempt to comfort him by giving him a peanut butter cookie or anything.

One more thing...
After all this peanut stuff, my DD6 has a new asthma regiment to follow which makes me nervous because if it doesn't work, we'll end up in the emergency room. Yuck!

Oh well, such is life right?

I promise I will try to write something more uplifting in my next update. Maybe with pictures!:rolleyes:

[DisneyMom14]

You got your docs?? Yea!!!:cool1: I still haven't gotten mine yet:rolleyes:

Wow, nice stash. I had already forgotten about the over the door hanger and the hamper. Where did you find it at?


For our window I really don't know what to get. What do you use to stick everything to the windows?

You should be getting your docs any day now I'm sure.

Walmart is my friend. I get everything there. :)

I plan to use double stick tape and just bring some alcohol wipes to take any sticky residue off the windows. (A tip from another Disser) Notice I can never take any credit. I steal all my ideas from other people. :rotfl2:

If I wouldn't be doing a Mardi Gras window, I think I would do just a Disney window with our favorite characters. I would probably do something with the family like a corner for each of us or something. ???

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

I saw hand warmers:scared1: I'm hoping to escape winter when I move down there tomorrow, not bring it with me!!

My grandma told me to bring down flannel sheets and flannel pj pants for on cold nights, I looked at her and laughed and said ya okay, what's cold, 50? 40? nothing I'm not already used to.

The weather for this weekend is high 70s and low 80s, now that sounds like good weather for me!!


Sorry bout the peanut allergy :(. My mom works at an elementary school and with me student teaching recently, you'd be amazed w/all the allergies from peanuts to milk and your right, what the heck can they eat?!!

My cousin, bless her, has 3 DDs (12, 5, 3) and the 12 and 3 yr old have peanut allergies, DD3 is allergic to milk as well and DD5 was born with a cleft lip (sp?) so she's had her hands full thats for sure! The 12 yr old knows what she can/can't have and the 5 yr old is knows as well what the 3 yr old can have/not have, it's amazing how you are basically trained now to know.

I never thought about the door organzier, I might have to get that for my apt since we don't have much storage space. I'm assuming u get those at walmarts/targets?!!

LOVES THE PLANNING!!!!

[Sabrina90744]

You should be getting your docs any day now I'm sure.

I hope so!!!! It's taking forever!!

Walmart is my friend. I get everything there. :) .

Heading there on my lunch break!:thumbsup2

I plan to use double stick tape and just bring some alcohol wipes to take any sticky residue off the windows. (A tip from another Disser) Notice I can never take any credit. I steal all my ideas from other people. :rotfl2:

If I wouldn't be doing a Mardi Gras window, I think I would do just a Disney window with our favorite characters. I would probably do something with the family like a corner for each of us or something. ???

Man this is just adding more stuff to my lil list!!

[Sabrina90744]

So sorry about DS allergy. IMO, God was looking out for you, didn't want you to find out that hard way down at the World. He was in a sense saving your vacation!! I am so happy you found an angel to help you out to.

[mindyd]

Hi....

I was looking at pretrip reports and your titel caught my eye lol. You really have a good stash of things to take I never thought of the shoe organizer and I love the mini rolls of toilet paper. I know it is scary with your son but atleast you know ahead of time and thats great the Disney is so good with letting you know what he can eat.

[jordanyosh]

Disney does know their stuff. What a wonderful service they provide to guests....

Will be praying for safe journies.....:hug:

[Blueyed Girl]

Yikes!!! About the allergies. Glad that Disney actually has a plan in action. That's really nice to know. Your last post made me cave. Today I went to Target and got a pop up hamper and visited........THE TRAVEL SIZED TOILETRIES AISLE!!!:worship:

:rotfl2:

[DisneyMom14]

So sorry about DS allergy. IMO, God was looking out for you, didn't want you to find out that hard way down at the World. He was in a sense saving your vacation!! I am so happy you found an angel to help you out to.

Yep, I'm trying to look on the bright side. Better than a horrible memory in the happiest place on earth!

Hi....

I was looking at pretrip reports and your titel caught my eye lol. You really have a good stash of things to take I never thought of the shoe organizer and I love the mini rolls of toilet paper. I know it is scary with your son but atleast you know ahead of time and thats great the Disney is so good with letting you know what he can eat.

:welcome: Thanks for reading. I plan on continuing my PTR with a trip report when we get home. :)

Disney does know their stuff. What a wonderful service they provide to guests....

Will be praying for safe journies.....:hug:

Thanks - they do do a lot. By the way, I'm making it through your report too! :)

Yikes!!! About the allergies. Glad that Disney actually has a plan in action. That's really nice to know. Your last post made me cave. Today I went to Target and got a pop up hamper and visited........THE TRAVEL SIZED TOILETRIES AISLE!!!:worship:

:rotfl2:

Hahaha! Me too......again!:laughing:

[DisneyMom14]

I have now ordered the Buxton bag which is almost exactly like the travelon bag but maybe a little bigger.
I am still waiting on my camcorder to arrive as well as a few sale items from the Disney store online.
I shopped again today....I only bought a few more items for Disney (how could I shop and NOT pick up a few things for Disney). I got a waterproof mattress pad in case of little toddler accidents in bed, a set of toothbrush covers, and a travel size germ-x. I also remembered to pack a few dryer sheets in a ziploc to bring for laundry. I already bought a few Tide single use packets. I've NEVER had to wash clothes on vacation before, but I'm just not going to have enough jeans for that many days for all of us. :mad: oh well.
The real reason for shopping today: Buy a doghouse for poor little doggy who will be spending more time outside while we are in Disney. My mil will be taking care of him for us.

I guess I'll say good night for now. I'm going back to work tomorrow!!!:scared1: All day meetings - students don't come back until Monday. Starting tomorrow my DIS addiction will only be relieved in the evenings. :sad2: It's going to be a long day.

Until tomorrow........Please keep all hands, arms & legs in the thread until it comes to a complete stop.

[Coach81]

You have to be from CLHS! Am I right?

[DisneyMom14]

What gave me away?

[lori1043]

We MUST be realted!!! Your stock is almost the very same splitting image of the pile in the corner of my room. I do have to ask though-what is with the sponges-are they cut up??? Tell me about why you have them...:scratchin :listen:

I like the pop up hamper idea-other than those items we have 99% the same stuff !!! I'll be on my way to Dollar tree this week!!


Lori

[jordanyosh]

M,

Thanks for reading my Pre-trippie.:thumbsup2

[LizAgna]

I guess I'll say good night for now. I'm going back to work tomorrow!!!:scared1: All day meetings - students don't come back until Monday. Starting tomorrow my DIS addiction will only be relieved in the evenings. :sad2: It's going to be a long day.

Until tomorrow........Please keep all hands, arms & legs in the thread until it comes to a complete stop.

I know exactly what you are going through. I had serious Dis withdrawal when I went back to work on Wednesday. I couldn't wait to get home to see what everyone had posted. At least it's only one day and then you have the weekend!! I hope you have a good day!

[Sabrina90744]

I have now ordered the Buxton bag which is almost exactly like the travelon bag but maybe a little bigger.
I am still waiting on my camcorder to arrive as well as a few sale items from the Disney store online..

Bluxton bag?? Whats that do you have a link. I was just going to use my baggalinni from last year

I shopped again today....I only bought a few more items for Disney (how could I shop and NOT pick up a few things for Disney). I got a waterproof mattress pad in case of little toddler accidents in bed, a set of toothbrush covers, and a travel size germ-x. I also remembered to pack a few dryer sheets in a ziploc to bring for laundry. I already bought a few Tide single use packets. I've NEVER had to wash clothes on vacation before, but I'm just not going to have enough jeans for that many days for all of us. :mad: oh well..

Ok.. Umm I am just going to stop reading pre-trippies. I keep reading and realize there are still other things I need:confused3. I bought our pop up hamper and door organizer yesterday. Now remembered I need detergent and dryer sheets. I have to laundry mid way or else we would have 2 bags each:eek: and with just the three of us this time it will be next to impossible.

I guess I'll say good night for now. I'm going back to work tomorrow!!!:scared1: All day meetings - students don't come back until Monday. Starting tomorrow my DIS addiction will only be relieved in the evenings. :sad2: It's going to be a long day.

Until tomorrow........Please keep all hands, arms & legs in the thread until it comes to a complete stop.

Sorry:hug: , but look on the bright side, it's almost Disney time:woohoo: . I am the complete opposite. I have more Dis time when I'm at work.:rolleyes1

[DisneyMom14]

We MUST be realted!!! Your stock is almost the very same splitting image of the pile in the corner of my room. I do have to ask though-what is with the sponges-are they cut up??? Tell me about why you have them...:scratchin :listen:

I like the pop up hamper idea-other than those items we have 99% the same stuff !!! I'll be on my way to Dollar tree this week!!


Lori

:lmao: We probably have the same stuff cuz we're on Dis too much and reading the same stuff!:thumbsup2
The cut up sponges already pre-soaked in dishwashing detergent are for washing out our refillable mugs and anything else we need to wash out.

I know exactly what you are going through. I had serious Dis withdrawal when I went back to work on Wednesday. I couldn't wait to get home to see what everyone had posted. At least it's only one day and then you have the weekend!! I hope you have a good day!

Rough day but it's FRIDAY!!!! The sad thing is I'm even thinking that prepping for DS's bday party tomorrow is going to limit me also. Can you say "get a life?":surfweb:

Tomorrow is going to be fun though. We're supposed to have a space jump for him! :jumping1:

[DisneyMom14]

Here's the link for the buxton bag. It's identical to the travelon that you can find on Lillian Vernon, but I think its a little bigger.

http://www.asseenontv.com/prod-pages/bxtbg_ontv.html

[Sabrina90744]

Here's the link for the buxton bag. It's identical to the travelon that you can find on Lillian Vernon, but I think its a little bigger.

http://www.asseenontv.com/prod-pages/bxtbg_ontv.html

Ahhhh :idea: I seen that one on t.v. the other day. Good thing I don't have 4 - 6 weeks for shipping. Guess I am using my trusty old baggalini.

[DisneyMom14]

Ahhhh :idea: I seen that one on t.v. the other day. Good thing I don't have 4 - 6 weeks for shipping. Guess I am using my trusty old baggalini.

HOLY #@%@!!# :headache: Is that how long its supposed to take to come in. See what you get when DH orders something for you!!!! Well, I guess we'll see if a miracle happens!:confused3

[Beana9802]

I am in!!! I love your autograph cards and your passports!...where did they come from again?! :worship:

[MEG&MINNIE]

:woohoo: Great Pre Trip report....I think planning a trip and all the anticipation that comes with it, is almost as much fun as actually being there :woohoo:
We stayed at POP 2 times and we Love it there ...the best resort for kids and for the $$$. We stayed in the 50's section (per request) both times!
I love the piped in music ,the Hippy Dippy Pool and the awesome food court !:thumbsup2
Happy Planning ...you're sure to have Magical Memories princess:

[Blueyed Girl]

Ooh that bag is nice! It does look exactly like the travelon except the travelon isn't leather. Yours does look a little bigger. I sure hope you get it in time!:scared: I'm sure you will. Things seem to be picking up since Christmas is over.

[DisneyMom14]

I am in!!! I love your autograph cards and your passports!...where did they come from again?! :worship:

:welcome: The passports are from Pat's Disney Designs. She has a website and a thread on the boards. The autograph cards came from another Disser and I added a few more. I have the file on my computer that I would gladly email someone if they were interested.

:woohoo: Great Pre Trip report....I think planning a trip and all the anticipation that comes with it, is almost as much fun as actually being there :woohoo:
We stayed at POP 2 times and we Love it there ...the best resort for kids and for the $$$. We stayed in the 50's section (per request) both times!
I love the piped in music ,the Hippy Dippy Pool and the awesome food court !:thumbsup2
Happy Planning ...you're sure to have Magical Memories princess:

Thanks for reading!!!! I've heard so many great things about POP!!! I cannot wait :banana: With my discount code, I now have a standard and not a preferred room. Do you think it's worth requesting the 50's? I'd love to be close to the busses in case I come in late carrying my soon to be 3 year old.

Ooh that bag is nice! It does look exactly like the travelon except the travelon isn't leather. Yours does look a little bigger. I sure hope you get it in time!:scared: I'm sure you will. Things seem to be picking up since Christmas is over.


Whew! I was freakin' out for a minute. Man Sabrina you really scared me!:scared1: I checked my email confirmation and here's the shipping part.

(1.) PRODUCT SALES & DELIVERY: Items IN STOCK purchased by credit card and at the time of order will be automatically processed for your convenience and charged to your credit card account immediately. Your order will process and ship within 24-72 hours from our warehouse and cannot be canceled due to automatic processing. Express Shipping is 3Day UPS. Express shipping is calculated from the next business day, once your order has been shipped from our warehouse and will be shipped 3Day UPS. UPS Ground time in transit delivery is normally 6-10 business days. Shipping is not calculated from the date ordered, it is calculated from the date it leaves our warehouse. ACH Payments (see 1a.). . . Back Orders (see 3.)

So I think I should get it in time! :thumbsup2

[DisneyMom14]

Guess what came in today while I was at work????!!!!!

My camcorder AND my 75% off Disney online stuff!!!!!

Remember how I keep saying I'm really good at researching and contemplating? So far it has paid off with my new Canon S5 IS. I absolutely love it!!!! Now I get to see if I did my homework well enough to have gotten a good deal on this Sony DCR-HC48. I heard it was worth the extra $50 to get the 48 other than the 38 which is the only ones I could find in the stores. Does anyone have Sony handycams? Do you like them? I can't believe it came in today! I'm charging it up right now. Too bad I don't have any mini-dv's to practice with it!

Now let me tell you about my good deals from disneyshopping.com. I didn't spend more than $9.00 on anything and most was around $4 - $5.00. I got myself a black long sleeve Captain Jack shirt, a pink long sleeve Tinkerbell shirt, and a short sleeve green Tinkerbell shirt. I got DH a white long sleeve Mickey shirt and a blue short sleeve Mickey shirt. DS racked up because it's his birthday. He got a short sleeve Mickey shirt, a long sleeve Buzz shirt, a Buzz action figure, a Woody action figure, and a Buzz gun that shoots little foam discs.

You know, listing it like that makes me think that Disney is not my only addiction.:rolleyes:

Thanks for listening cuz I'm REALLY EXCITED about these things coming in and I can scratch a few more things off my list for DISNEY!!!!!

27 days :dance3: :yay:

[Sabrina90744]

Whew! I was freakin' out for a minute. Man Sabrina you really scared me!:scared1: I checked my email confirmation and here's the shipping part.

(1.) PRODUCT SALES & DELIVERY: Items IN STOCK purchased by credit card and at the time of order will be automatically processed for your convenience and charged to your credit card account immediately. Your order will process and ship within 24-72 hours from our warehouse and cannot be canceled due to automatic processing. Express Shipping is 3Day UPS. Express shipping is calculated from the next business day, once your order has been shipped from our warehouse and will be shipped 3Day UPS. UPS Ground time in transit delivery is normally 6-10 business days. Shipping is not calculated from the date ordered, it is calculated from the date it leaves our warehouse. ACH Payments (see 1a.). . . Back Orders (see 3.)

So I think I should get it in time! :thumbsup2


Yea!!! I was just going by what the commercial says. It looks bigger than the baggalinni, looks like it will fit a lot more stuff!! :thumbsup2

[Coach81]

What gave me away?

Raceland + Educator... took a shot at it!

How are things at CLHS? I must say I was very impressed with Coach Callais and the job he did with the football program this past season!

But enough about that.. let's talk DISNEY!!!!

[mma800]

subscribing! Just hit Target yesterday for loads of stuff. I usually bring the dish liquid that has a pump dispenser. Doesn't leak in the luggage, and can double as hand soap or laundry soap in a pinch.
:laundy:

[Villainess]

I love your PTR! I think I may need to get the shoe organizer myself.

[DisneyMom14]

subscribing! Just hit Target yesterday for loads of stuff. I usually bring the dish liquid that has a pump dispenser. Doesn't leak in the luggage, and can double as hand soap or laundry soap in a pinch.
:laundy:

I love your PTR! I think I may need to get the shoe organizer myself.


:welcome: I love Target. Walmart is a little more convenient and closer but I KNOW I will be making it to Target before we leave. Isn't the shoe organizer a great idea? I just lent it to my sister to try it out for her trip in 9 days - lucky her! I can't wait to try it out myself!:woohoo:

[DisneyMom14]

Well, today was DS's 3 bday party. This is the last BIG thing before Disney.

We had a BLAST! He had a spiderman party. We got him a space jump with the slide and a basketball goal inside, but I think we (my husband, sister, brother, and cousin's wife) had just as much fun as the kids did!:rotfl2: Too bad no one thought to get the camera out on us! I did get some cool pics of my brother in the air leaping for the hoop! For his present from us, he got one of those Powerwheel 12volt four wheelers. He has been so excited all day today! Of course his reactions are making me wonder if they will be just as awesome when he sees Disney and the characters for the first time! Here's a pic of my little man:
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/IMG_1406.jpg

I got another package in the mail today!!!!
I hadn't mentioned this before, but I've been thinking about buying a Pal Mickey. After hearing some really nice things about it on the DIS boards, I got my husband on the look out for one on Ebay. I wanted one but I didn't know if I $65 wanted one. Well, we ended up winning an auction on a new one not in the box for only $42 plus $8 shipping so I saved $15. It came in today and it looks great and works fine! Here we are:
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/IMG_1442.jpg

My sister brought me her Disney "extras" today. She's leaving in 9 days so she has been packing. She's been collecting/buying for so long she had more than what she thought so she's passed me the extras. :banana: I wonder if I'll make it through the day tomorrow without starting to pack....

[Blueyed Girl]

Awww, look how cute ya'll look!! Sounds like you guys had a great party. :goodvibes SCORE on the extras for Disney!!:wizard:

[jordanyosh]

Cool get.

I'm sure your kids will love Pal Mickey....:thumbsup2

[coteau_chick]

I am really enjoying your pretrippie. I am inspired to write my own. I will need my dd 15 to teach me how to post pictures. We are also from Louisiana and we will also be going for Mardi Gras. I as so obsessed with planning this trip the only one who doesn't roll their eyes at me when I mention Disney World is the dog and the baby.

[DisneyMom14]

Awww, look how cute ya'll look!! Sounds like you guys had a great party. :goodvibes SCORE on the extras for Disney!!:wizard:

Yeah! Thanks!

Cool get.

I'm sure your kids will love Pal Mickey....:thumbsup2

We've been playing with him already. :smickey:

I am really enjoying your pretrippie. I am inspired to write my own. I will need my dd 15 to teach me how to post pictures. We are also from Louisiana and we will also be going for Mardi Gras. I as so obsessed with planning this trip the only one who doesn't roll their eyes at me when I mention Disney World is the dog and the baby.

Cool - thanks! You should definitely write one! Maybe we'll see each other! If you see me, make sure you say hi!

[DisneyMom14]

Just had to ask:

Is anyone's 6 year old daughter going on 16? You know what I mean?

My daughter is our oldest so we went ALL out when we got pregnant for her. We had the most beautiful Precious Moments room with all the matching bedding, blah, blah, blah. When she turned 2 or 3 we then redid her room Disney Princess with a new paint job, princess border, bedding, prints in frames on the walls, and displayed all the disney princess toddlers on stands on shelves in her room. I've always tried to pick up princess attire here and there when on sale, but all of a sudden right before Christmas......."Mom, I'm so over princesses." :scared1: I was just like "What's wrong with Disney Princesses???? I still like them and I'm 32!" I guess I should have seen it coming when Hannah Montana became a nightly ritual. (Although I like her too.) I just thought she was adding on to her Disney love. High School Musical also - watching it/singing it....So for Christmas we did NOT re-do her room, but added some High School Musical touches like bedding and pillows. I just can't take the princesses down yet. I thought I had a good couple more years of cartoon princesses, no? Oh well, I just wanted to know if any of you had the same experiences with your daughters.

I will add that in the last couple of weeks she has developed a fondness for Tinkerbell. :thumbsup2 We're watching Peter Pan right now though because of DS's fondness of Peter Pan.:laughing:
If she really IS over princesses (maybe she's just not admitting that she secretly likes them), I guess I'll find out in 25 days!!! Especially since I've planned most of my trip around our love of the princesses (or so I thought) with character meals, BBB, and P&P party. ????:confused3
I told her I don't mind taking pictures with the princesses myself.

By the way, I've stared at my Disney stash all day today and managed to NOT start packing. With our busy weekdays, I'm sure I might be able to hold off until next weekend. We will see...

[VandyFan10]

Sub'ing popcorn::

Can't wait to see all your pics when you get back

I LOVE all the things you have done....the autograph books, Epoct passports, and the individual binders for each park.....the picture book is a good idea.....and they definitely aren't to heavy!!

I wish I was crafty :)

Love the old pics.....and the Mariah hair :thumbsup2

We just went in Dec and got pics of the Epcot with out the wand....I think I like it better that way

Come visit me....I've got some old pics too :)

[jordanyosh]

Just had to ask:

By the way, I've stared at my Disney stash all day today and managed to NOT start packing. With our busy weekdays, I'm sure I might be able to hold off until next weekend. We will see...

Erin, "my niece", is 5 1/2 and still loves princesses. Thank God.

As far as packing......you'll have to stop by my PTR...:rolleyes1

[coteau_chick]

Just had to ask:

Is anyone's 6 year old daughter going on 16? You know what I mean?

My daughter is our oldest so we went ALL out when we got pregnant for her. We had the most beautiful Precious Moments room with all the matching bedding, blah, blah, blah. When she turned 2 or 3 we then redid her room Disney Princess with a new paint job, princess border, bedding, prints in frames on the walls, and displayed all the disney princess toddlers on stands on shelves in her room. I've always tried to pick up princess attire here and there when on sale, but all of a sudden right before Christmas......."Mom, I'm so over princesses." :scared1: I was just like "What's wrong with Disney Princesses???? I still like them and I'm 32!" I guess I should have seen it coming when Hannah Montana became a nightly ritual. (Although I like her too.) I just thought she was adding on to her Disney love. High School Musical also - watching it/singing it....So for Christmas we did NOT re-do her room, but added some High School Musical touches like bedding and pillows. I just can't take the princesses down yet. I thought I had a good couple more years of cartoon princesses, no? Oh well, I just wanted to know if any of you had the same experiences with your daughters.

I will add that in the last couple of weeks she has developed a fondness for Tinkerbell. :thumbsup2 We're watching Peter Pan right now though because of DS's fondness of Peter Pan.:laughing:
If she really IS over princesses (maybe she's just not admitting that she secretly likes them), I guess I'll find out in 25 days!!! Especially since I've planned most of my trip around our love of the princesses (or so I thought) with character meals, BBB, and P&P party. ????:confused3
I told her I don't mind taking pictures with the princesses myself.

By the way, I've stared at my Disney stash all day today and managed to NOT start packing. With our busy weekdays, I'm sure I might be able to hold off until next weekend. We will see...

I know what you mean. I have a 15 yr old going on 25. I guess you will learn early how uncool you really are:rotfl: . My dd is acting like our whole trip is uncool. I made a countdown board and she said it looks nerdy to have it hanging up on the living room wall, but she wanted to be the first one to mark off the first day:confused: . Little girls go through so many phases and change there mind about what they are into so many times. Just when you think you know what they love the hate it. Give her a couple of months and she will probally love the princesses again. I have two girls ages 15 and 6 months old and one son 10. I can tell you first hand that boys are easier to understand than girls. It gets so hard when they turn about 13. People are telling me to hang in there that it will get better when she is about 17. I hope that is true. Until recently I didn't realize that apparently my husband and I are stupid.:confused: Teenagers make you feel that way. Oh well I better quit venting. Enjoy your little princess while she is still little it goes so fast.

[LizAgna]

Just had to ask:

Is anyone's 6 year old daughter going on 16? You know what I mean?

My daughter is our oldest so we went ALL out when we got pregnant for her. We had the most beautiful Precious Moments room with all the matching bedding, blah, blah, blah. When she turned 2 or 3 we then redid her room Disney Princess with a new paint job, princess border, bedding, prints in frames on the walls, and displayed all the disney princess toddlers on stands on shelves in her room. I've always tried to pick up princess attire here and there when on sale, but all of a sudden right before Christmas......."Mom, I'm so over princesses." :scared1: I was just like "What's wrong with Disney Princesses???? I still like them and I'm 32!" I guess I should have seen it coming when Hannah Montana became a nightly ritual. (Although I like her too.) I just thought she was adding on to her Disney love. High School Musical also - watching it/singing it....So for Christmas we did NOT re-do her room, but added some High School Musical touches like bedding and pillows. I just can't take the princesses down yet. I thought I had a good couple more years of cartoon princesses, no? Oh well, I just wanted to know if any of you had the same experiences with your daughters.

I will add that in the last couple of weeks she has developed a fondness for Tinkerbell. :thumbsup2 We're watching Peter Pan right now though because of DS's fondness of Peter Pan.:laughing:
If she really IS over princesses (maybe she's just not admitting that she secretly likes them), I guess I'll find out in 25 days!!! Especially since I've planned most of my trip around our love of the princesses (or so I thought) with character meals, BBB, and P&P party. ????:confused3
I told her I don't mind taking pictures with the princesses myself.

By the way, I've stared at my Disney stash all day today and managed to NOT start packing. With our busy weekdays, I'm sure I might be able to hold off until next weekend. We will see...

She may be "so over princesses" at home but when she get to the World and sees them face to face she'll change her mind. I got our 11 yo DD a couple of really pretty princess shirts that look like magazine covers at the Disney Store last year and gave them to her on the trip. She loved them...until we got home. She won't wear them out around here so they have become PJ tops. But when we were down there she had to have her own Photopass card so she could have pictures made of just her with the princesses.

I don't think you have anything to worry about!! Once a princess: always a princess:!!

[Coach81]

Just had to ask:

Is anyone's 6 year old daughter going on 16? You know what I mean?

By the way, I've stared at my Disney stash all day today and managed to NOT start packing. With our busy weekdays, I'm sure I might be able to hold off until next weekend. We will see...

I know I'm missing a lot of great things, but I also know I'm not missing a lot of challenging things by not having any girls. My two boys are absolutely about to BUST with excitement for Disney!

Try to enjoy them while they're young my mom keeps telling me. I am trying.. every day and especially at Disney!!!

[Sabrina90744]

I know what you mean, my little Ms. Thang is 8 going on 20. She loves Hannah and HSM. She :love: Zac. She still has the princess room but has been bugging to switch it to Hannah. :rolleyes:

[cakesnkids]

Hey, we'll be there too!! We're from Louisiana (Northshore to New Orleans!!) Man you're organized, I need you around here girl!

[wendypooh]

Hey Mel ~

Finally catching up on your PTR - it's great, but ummmmm, I didn't know about the shoe door thingie.......... gotta get us one of those!!!! I've got a pretty good stash going on too!!

I love that you got the Pal Mickey....... adorable pic!!!

[DisneyMom14]

Sub'ing popcorn::

Can't wait to see all your pics when you get back

I LOVE all the things you have done....the autograph books, Epoct passports, and the individual binders for each park.....the picture book is a good idea.....and they definitely aren't to heavy!!

I wish I was crafty :)

Love the old pics.....and the Mariah hair :thumbsup2

We just went in Dec and got pics of the Epcot with out the wand....I think I like it better that way

Come visit me....I've got some old pics too :)

I can't wait to get reading on yours! Thanks for reading.

Erin, "my niece", is 5 1/2 and still loves princesses. Thank God.

As far as packing......you'll have to stop by my PTR...:rolleyes1

Jordan, I am LOVIN' the PTR! You along with your family and readers are definitely my nightly entertainment.:love:

I know what you mean. I have a 15 yr old going on 25. I guess you will learn early how uncool you really are:rotfl: . My dd is acting like our whole trip is uncool. I made a countdown board and she said it looks nerdy to have it hanging up on the living room wall, but she wanted to be the first one to mark off the first day:confused: . Little girls go through so many phases and change there mind about what they are into so many times. Just when you think you know what they love the hate it. Give her a couple of months and she will probally love the princesses again. I have two girls ages 15 and 6 months old and one son 10. I can tell you first hand that boys are easier to understand than girls. It gets so hard when they turn about 13. People are telling me to hang in there that it will get better when she is about 17. I hope that is true. Until recently I didn't realize that apparently my husband and I are stupid.:confused: Teenagers make you feel that way. Oh well I better quit venting. Enjoy your little princess while she is still little it goes so fast.

She may be "so over princesses" at home but when she get to the World and sees them face to face she'll change her mind. I got our 11 yo DD a couple of really pretty princess shirts that look like magazine covers at the Disney Store last year and gave them to her on the trip. She loved them...until we got home. She won't wear them out around here so they have become PJ tops. But when we were down there she had to have her own Photopass card so she could have pictures made of just her with the princesses.

I don't think you have anything to worry about!! Once a princess: always a princess:!!

Thanks for the encouragement and words of wisdom.:hug:

I know I'm missing a lot of great things, but I also know I'm not missing a lot of challenging things by not having any girls. My two boys are absolutely about to BUST with excitement for Disney!

Try to enjoy them while they're young my mom keeps telling me. I am trying.. every day and especially at Disney!!!

I wonder if its a "boy" thing. I wouldn't have thought boys would "wear their hearts on their sleeve," but my little man who is only going to be 3 Thursday, is also "busting." That must fun for you (coach) to have boys. Thanks for keeping up with me.:)

I know what you mean, my little Ms. Thang is 8 going on 20. She loves Hannah and HSM. She :love: Zac. She still has the princess room but has been bugging to switch it to Hannah. :rolleyes:

Can't wait to meet your family! Sounds like our daughters have a lot in common.princess: princess:

Hey, we'll be there too!! We're from Louisiana (Northshore to New Orleans!!) Man you're organized, I need you around here girl!

HEY!!! Welcome! Glad to have another "homie."

Hey Mel ~

Finally catching up on your PTR - it's great, but ummmmm, I didn't know about the shoe door thingie.......... gotta get us one of those!!!! I've got a pretty good stash going on too!!

I love that you got the Pal Mickey....... adorable pic!!!

Thanks for reading Wendy! You're so sweet. I let my sister borrow my shoe organizer to try out. She better bring it back!:flower3: I'll be trying out a lot of new things this trip. We're going back for a quick trip during Easter with my husband's band & I got to have a plan that works.

[jordanyosh]

Melanie,

Glad to offer up a few smiles and laughs to pass the time until we're all there. Me from the West Coast and most of Louisiana.

[DisneyMom14]

So it's not my birthday yet (Monday - 14th) but my mom decided to give my sister and I our birthday presents early.:confused3 I think my sister was worried she wouldn't get hers until she got back from Disney (hers is the 17th) so she probably bugged our mother to an early giving.:rotfl2: Anyway, I know I get my Disney addiction from her (my mom). She's always loved Disney everything and we watched every Disney movie and she brought us to Disney world whenever they could afford to. So anyway, point being, I opened my birthday present and.......


http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/IMG_1449.jpg


It's a scrapbook! Mind you I've never made a scrapbook before but when I had DD6 I bought a whole bunch of scrapbook stuff!!!:lmao:

Anyway, I can totally imagine this scrapbook being the next Disney addiction when I come home. :rotfl2:

and my sister...got a princess one. I would have liked the princess one too, but she only has a little girl and I have a boy and a girl so Mickey was quite appropriate.

Oh and I HAVE to tell my sister's little secret that she shared with me today:

My lovely little sister who has a Disney Binder, all the little photo album books we made with 4x6 index cards with all our information for all of the parks, and God knows what else she may not be telling me about has made..................

a Disney info keychain!!!!

Now, when she told me this on the phone (while I was at Walmart ---again) I'm thinking. She really has too much time on her hands. But then we met up at dance class (our daughters take class one right after each other), she showed me and you know, this is a cute little idea! OMG! She's totally making me worse than I already am.

Anyway, since she doesn't have a PTR, I'll share her little idea. She basically made some little cards (about the size of business cards - maybe a little bigger). On these cards, she has a kind of itenerary with confirmation #'s etc. She laminated them, punched holes in them, and put them on a binder ring. She's thinking that she can hook this to her bag or self and when trying to remember which ride do I need to do next (Thanks to TGM), it's really handy and she doesn't have to dig. Pretty ingenious I think.:lovestruc

I don't know if I'll have time to do one, but it was worth mentioning to any of you who do have the time.


And by the way, I was only at Walmart b/c DD was at dancing next door and I needed stuff for school tomorrow, BUT....
I bought DD a white shirt and a brown shirt that I plan on last minute making Mickey head shirts with. I also bought DS a camo one to do the same. I couldn't pass them up - they were cute and only $3.00 each!!!! I then called my mom and begged her to come help me with them next weekend - this weekend she is last minute making my sister's little girl (my niece) a Minnie dress and they leave first.

See you real soon!

[jordanyosh]

Tell your sister, she needs help...;)

I should talk.

[Sabrina90744]

Melanie,

Glad to offer up a few smiles and laughs to pass the time until we're all there. Me from the West Coast and most of Louisiana.

Hey Jordanyosh, I'm from the West Coast too.!

[DisneyMom14]

Tell your sister, she needs help...;)

I should talk.

:lmao: :rotfl2: She'll find out.....she reads my PTR too! I'm sure she'll even agree with you!pirate:

Hey Jordanyosh, I'm from the West Coast too.!


Hey Sabrina, If you haven't visited Jordan's PTR, you gotta' check it out. It'll definitely keep you smiling at work!:goodvibes I have to warn you though- It's EXTREMELY long!!!

[Sabrina90744]

What a great idea. Hope your sis doesn't mind but I might try that.

Nice scrapbook, happy scrapping.

Are the Mickey head shirts hard to make, you mean the ones with just the mickey head right?

[DisneyMom14]

What a great idea. Hope your sis doesn't mind but I might try that.

Nice scrapbook, happy scrapping.

Are the Mickey head shirts hard to make, you mean the ones with just the mickey head right?

Yeah - the mickey head silouette with maybe a ribbon running across the ribcage area for hers. This will be my first attempt at "custom" Disney clothing. I wish I could afford to buy some on ebay, but I go to Walmart too often! :rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2:

[coteau_chick]

I hope your shirts come out. I bought some zebra print fabric and a pattern to make dd 7months old a dress. She will hopefully wear it to AK.:wizard:

[mysticks1]

Melanie - love the PTR I need to do one myself. We will be flying down Mardi Gras day for 5 nights:cool1: - early flight to get through town before the parades start(Mobile, AL). It will be myself, daughter (13) and my mom. Our last trip was Summer of 2006. I am hoping for some nice cool weather for all of us. Great ideas you had - love the binders ( I thought I was bad with my spreadsheets and hints list) . I ordered the Buxton bag myself tonight - I had seen it before. Looks like it will be better than a fanny pack or larger tote. We have a 7 day cruise during Spring Break so I plan to use it then as well. We will be at POR but I will be sure to yell out if I see LSU colors in the parks!! :cheer2:

[coteau_chick]

:yay: Melanie - love the PTR I need to do one myself. We will be flying down Mardi Gras day for 5 nights:cool1: - early flight to get through town before the parades start(Mobile, AL). It will be myself, daughter (13) and my mom. Our last trip was Summer of 2006. I am hoping for some nice cool weather for all of us. Great ideas you had - love the binders ( I thought I was bad with my spreadsheets and hints list) . I ordered the Buxton bag myself tonight - I had seen it before. Looks like it will be better than a fanny pack or larger tote. We have a 7 day cruise during Spring Break so I plan to use it then as well. We will be at POR but I will be sure to yell out if I see LSU colors in the parks!! :cheer2:

Oh, you will see LSU colors. I promise. My dh is planning to wear LSU shirts everyday. I think you will really evjoy the weather there in Feb. Last time we went it was for Mardi Gras 2006 and we LOVED the weather. I don't ever want to go back in the summer heat again. I have a fun little tip for you and your dd. Sally's beauty supply has some nail polish called "You Glow Girl" it glows in the dark. We used it for our last trip and it was so fun on the dark rides when your fingernails glow. DD and I applied about three coats for it to work good. We would apply a coat of polish and then go in the closet to see if it worked. We kept doing that until we had gotten it right. The polish doesn't show at all on your fingernails but when you get in the dark it glows.:yay: :cool2:

[Coach81]

For one day at least.. we will be sporting our LSU t-shirts while we are there during Mardi Gras!!!

[winkers]

I love the scrapbook! Which reminds me......I need to buy one for my last vacation.

Buying disney scrapbook suplies is part of my Dis sickness!;)

[paulahov]

Add us to the list of Louisiana families escaping Mardi Gras! I live in Ponchatoula but grew up in Norco. My great grandparents had family in the Raceland area (Brady/Gaudet were the last names). In fact, my favorite cookbook is from Raceland.

We are leaving after school on 1/31 and go as far as we can then we will drive the remainder in on 2/1. After check in at Pop we will head to DTD and Disney Quest for the kids. We are having a combo Disney/Universal trip. I have 4 days for Disney and 3 for Universal but I am sure we will end up at Disney with the extra magic hours.

I am soooooo excited ~ it is getting so close! Our last trip was Christmas of '05 and it was sooooooooo crowded and miserable so this will hopefully make up for what we missed out on.

Oh I am sure you will be able to find us, my dad ALWAYS wears LSU something. They have jackets, shirts, the works! :cheer2:

[cakesnkids]

Hey Paula, you dont' live far from me at all, we're in Folsom!!
I'm so enjoying all these posts~ I love that so many LA people are going to be there, I'm going to TRY and make mickey tye died shirts in the purple and gold for the whole family to wear. My DH is about to kill me making him wear matching shirts with everyone.:lovestruc

[jordanyosh]

Hey Jordanyosh, I'm from the West Coast too.!

I live in Garden Grove....

[DisneyMom14]

Melanie - love the PTR I need to do one myself. We will be flying down Mardi Gras day for 5 nights:cool1: - early flight to get through town before the parades start(Mobile, AL). It will be myself, daughter (13) and my mom. Our last trip was Summer of 2006. I am hoping for some nice cool weather for all of us. Great ideas you had - love the binders ( I thought I was bad with my spreadsheets and hints list) . I ordered the Buxton bag myself tonight - I had seen it before. Looks like it will be better than a fanny pack or larger tote. We have a 7 day cruise during Spring Break so I plan to use it then as well. We will be at POR but I will be sure to yell out if I see LSU colors in the parks!! :cheer2:

Hi! My husband's niece lives in Mobile! I have a best friend that lives in AL. She used to live in Gulf Shores but recently moved to Montgomery. Between the two, we try to make it to "Sweet Home Alabama" when we can.
Sounds like you have a fun "girls" trip to the world planned! This is the first time I've planned this much for any trip. My sister and the Dis boards have contributed to my sickness........:rotfl2: I'm still waiting on my bag so I hope we both get it in in time. I'm thinking of wearing my dis name on a LGMH somewhere on my, by bag, or stroller. I'd hate to think that I would pass up someone I've been talking to for months or weeks cuz we don't know what the other person looks like. Thanks for reading!

Add us to the list of Louisiana families escaping Mardi Gras! I live in Ponchatoula but grew up in Norco. My great grandparents had family in the Raceland area (Brady/Gaudet were the last names). In fact, my favorite cookbook is from Raceland.

We are leaving after school on 1/31 and go as far as we can then we will drive the remainder in on 2/1. After check in at Pop we will head to DTD and Disney Quest for the kids. We are having a combo Disney/Universal trip. I have 4 days for Disney and 3 for Universal but I am sure we will end up at Disney with the extra magic hours.

I am soooooo excited ~ it is getting so close! Our last trip was Christmas of '05 and it was sooooooooo crowded and miserable so this will hopefully make up for what we missed out on.

Oh I am sure you will be able to find us, my dad ALWAYS wears LSU something. They have jackets, shirts, the works! :cheer2:

Not sure about Brady, but definitely Gaudets! Would your favorite cookbook happen to be from the Sauce Picante Festival or St. Mary's Nativity? I hope to run into you guys at Pop or the parks!

[DisneyMom14]

Well guys, sorry I wasn't here last night. I was hoping to post every night until the trip, but man was I tired!!! My DH said I fell asleep before 8:00 with the laptop on me in the living room with all the kids and commotion!:lmao:
Thank goodness he just let me sleep and did the nightly stuff with them.:lovestruc

Today is DS3's birthday! I cooked him his favorite - spagetti and baked him the "Funfetti" cake he picked out at the store. I saved one present from his party for him to open tonight and now we are all getting shot with Buzz light year disk & dart guns. Here he is opening it:
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/IMG_1452.jpg

So now I'm finally getting a little Dis time:surfweb: but I'm feeling really tired again. I guess its just been a long get back in the swing kind of week after the holidays.

As far as telling everybody some really cool stuff about our trip.................... I got nothing. :confused3

My sister however is leaving in 3 days!!!!!!!!!! Go her!:woohoo:

I am planning to work on some other items for the trip tomorrow or this weekend and my mom and I will work on some custom shirts for DD and DS. I will, of course, post pics for all of you to see.:thumbsup2

Hope everyone's Friday is a great one! :)

[wendypooh]

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/IMG_1449.jpg


It's a scrapbook! Mind you I've never made a scrapbook before but when I had DD6 I bought a whole bunch of scrapbook stuff!!!:lmao:





OMG Mel ~ I have that exact same book - look at this!!!!
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v357/pgawidow/Scrapalbum/

That is the album I made - before all the pics went in!!! LOL

[coteau_chick]

Well guys, sorry I wasn't here last night. I was hoping to post every night until the trip, but man was I tired!!! My DH said I fell asleep before 8:00 with the laptop on me in the living room with all the kids and commotion!:lmao:
Thank goodness he just let me sleep and did the nightly stuff with them.:lovestruc

Today is DS3's birthday! I cooked him his favorite - spagetti and baked him the "Funfetti" cake he picked out at the store. I saved one present from his party for him to open tonight and now we are all getting shot with Buzz light year disk & dart guns. Here he is opening it:
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/IMG_1452.jpg

So now I'm finally getting a little Dis time:surfweb: but I'm feeling really tired again. I guess its just been a long get back in the swing kind of week after the holidays.

As far as telling everybody some really cool stuff about our trip.................... I got nothing. :confused3

My sister however is leaving in 3 days!!!!!!!!!! Go her!:woohoo:

I am planning to work on some other items for the trip tomorrow or this weekend and my mom and I will work on some custom shirts for DD and DS. I will, of course, post pics for all of you to see.:thumbsup2

Hope everyone's Friday is a great one! :)

Your son is sooooo cute. I miss when my ds was little. He is 10 now. The time goes so fast. I hope your shirts come out cute.:thumbsup2

[DisneyMom14]

OMG!!! Wendy that came out soooooooo cute!!!! Do mine for me!! J/J I sure hope mine comes out 1/2 as nice. Awesome job! Where did you find all the cute insides? Michaels/Hobby Lobby....????

[wendypooh]

OMG!!! Wendy that came out soooooooo cute!!!! Do mine for me!! J/J I sure hope mine comes out 1/2 as nice. Awesome job! Where did you find all the cute insides? Michaels/Hobby Lobby....????


Oh Lord, I found that stuff everywhere - but yes, some did come from both!! I love scrapbooking. Some of the stuff I actually made myself - the tree of life, I made by paper piecing a drawing I copied - that took forever and was SOOOOOO tedious, but it turned out awesome!!! A few other things I had to make cause I couldn't find what I wanted. I'm sure yours will be great!

[DisneyMom14]

Oh Lord, I found that stuff everywhere - but yes, some did come from both!! I love scrapbooking. Some of the stuff I actually made myself - the tree of life, I made by paper piecing a drawing I copied - that took forever and was SOOOOOO tedious, but it turned out awesome!!! A few other things I had to make cause I couldn't find what I wanted. I'm sure yours will be great!

You are sooo crafty!!!

This trip is definitely making me explore my "artistic" side. Never would I have ventured into making custom shirts, corker bows, trying scrapbooking again....etc. My mom is teasing. I am not the "crafty" type. :laughing:

[jordanyosh]

Well guys, sorry I wasn't here last night. I was hoping to post every night until the trip, but man was I tired!!! My DH said I fell asleep before 8:00 with the laptop on me in the living room with all the kids and commotion!:lmao:
Thank goodness he just let me sleep and did the nightly stuff with them.:lovestruc

Today is DS3's birthday! I cooked him his favorite - spagetti and baked him the "Funfetti" cake he picked out at the store. I saved one present from his party for him to open tonight and now we are all getting shot with Buzz light year disk & dart guns. Here he is opening it:
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/IMG_1452.jpg

So now I'm finally getting a little Dis time:surfweb: but I'm feeling really tired again. I guess its just been a long get back in the swing kind of week after the holidays.

As far as telling everybody some really cool stuff about our trip.................... I got nothing. :confused3

My sister however is leaving in 3 days!!!!!!!!!! Go her!:woohoo:

I am planning to work on some other items for the trip tomorrow or this weekend and my mom and I will work on some custom shirts for DD and DS. I will, of course, post pics for all of you to see.:thumbsup2

Hope everyone's Friday is a great one! :)

Never too tired to:surfweb:

Your son is getting in good practice for Buzz at WDW...:thumbsup2

[winkers]

Your son is adorable!

[Sabrina90744]

I live in Garden Grove....
Not to far from you, Lynwood!

[jordanyosh]

Not to far from you, Lynwood!

I'll be at Pop 1/31-2/3 and then i move to BCV w/ family. We'll have to try and meet.....I'm flying red-eye are you?

[Sabrina90744]

I'll be at Pop 1/31-2/3 and then i move to BCV w/ family. We'll have to try and meet.....I'm flying red-eye are you?

No we did the red eye the last two trips. We are trying the morning American Airlines flight. Are you flying out of LAX, United or Delta?

Really. I'll keep my eye out for you!

[Sabrina90744]

Today is DS3's birthday! I cooked him his favorite - spagetti and baked him the "Funfetti" cake he picked out at the store. I saved one present from his party for him to open tonight and now we are all getting shot with Buzz light year disk & dart guns. Here he is opening it:
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/IMG_1452.jpg

I am planning to work on some other items for the trip tomorrow or this weekend and my mom and I will work on some custom shirts for DD and DS. I will, of course, post pics for all of you to see.:thumbsup2

Hope everyone's Friday is a great one! :)


What a cutie!!! Can't wait to see the shirts!!

[DisneyMom14]

I know some of you have been struggling with illness either in yourself or your kids probably from the crazy weather we've been having (70's one day, 50's the next). My kids have been sick off and on since beginning of December. Nothing serious, but enough to go back and forth to the doctor. Add in that I got them both allergy tested during the holiday break. I feel so broke and frustrated! DD6 never really got rid of her cough from last month but she's more likely of my two to catch a cough. Everyone has been saying that the cough has been lingering, but geez. Went to bed last night, DD was fine. Woke up this morning, headache and sore throat. I thought she felt a little warm so I gave her tylenol - figured that would help everything. She just wasn't herself today. Around 3:00, I took her temp and it was 101.4. Yuck... Doctor's office is closed so either I take her to an after hours clinic, the ER or try to wait til Monday. I decided not to wait until Monday cuz I remembered DC (cousin) had strep last week.:sick: I also decided not to try the ER. I get to the after hours clinic and they tell me that they have stopped taking my insurance!!!!!:scared1: Because she is a new patient, it would cost me $150! After thinking about it, I figured I would suck it up and pay it because the ER would cost me probably the same amount between the copayment and deductible and on top of the $, you never know how long it will take you to get seen.
At least here, we were next to be seen. Once we were in the room, I think it took like a whole 20 seconds for the doctor to see her throat and prescribe her an antibiotic. Why in the world should it cost me $150 for that!!??? Don't get me wrong, sadly I would of course pay that for the convenience of quickly being seen in that particular environment, but it frustrates me that costs have gone to that extreme. So within an hour we were seen and on our way. I got her a Frosty from Wendy's to cheer her up and help her throat and got her medicine filled. I hate that this is the 2nd antibiotic she's been on in less than 1 month, but we got to kick this before Disney. I'm starting to worry about any of us getting sick while we're there. I'm making a list of medications to take with us and a good tip I saw was to bring your doctors' names and phone #'s with you. Of course, I'll be bringing the nebulizer and all just in case.....

I hope to work on Disney stuff tomorrow. :woohoo:

[wendypooh]

I know some of you have been struggling with illness either in yourself or your kids probably from the crazy weather we've been having (70's one day, 50's the next). My kids have been sick off and on since beginning of December. Nothing serious, but enough to go back and forth to the doctor. Add in that I got them both allergy tested during the holiday break. I feel so broke and frustrated! DD6 never really got rid of her cough from last month but she's more likely of my two to catch a cough. Everyone has been saying that the cough has been lingering, but geez. Went to bed last night, DD was fine. Woke up this morning, headache and sore throat. I thought she felt a little warm so I gave her tylenol - figured that would help everything. She just wasn't herself today. Around 3:00, I took her temp and it was 101.4. Yuck... Doctor's office is closed so either I take her to an after hours clinic, the ER or try to wait til Monday. I decided not to wait until Monday cuz I remembered DC (cousin) had strep last week.:sick: I also decided not to try the ER. I get to the after hours clinic and they tell me that they have stopped taking my insurance!!!!!:scared1: Because she is a new patient, it would cost me $150! After thinking about it, I figured I would suck it up and pay it because the ER would cost me probably the same amount between the copayment and deductible and on top of the $, you never know how long it will take you to get seen.
At least here, we were next to be seen. Once we were in the room, I think it took like a whole 20 seconds for the doctor to see her throat and prescribe her an antibiotic. Why in the world should it cost me $150 for that!!??? Don't get me wrong, sadly I would of course pay that for the convenience of quickly being seen in that particular environment, but it frustrates me that costs have gone to that extreme. So within an hour we were seen and on our way. I got her a Frosty from Wendy's to cheer her up and help her throat and got her medicine filled. I hate that this is the 2nd antibiotic she's been on in less than 1 month, but we got to kick this before Disney. I'm starting to worry about any of us getting sick while we're there. I'm making a list of medications to take with us and a good tip I saw was to bring your doctors' names and phone #'s with you. Of course, I'll be bringing the nebulizer and all just in case.....

I hope to work on Disney stuff tomorrow. :woohoo:

OHHHH ~ I hope she starts to feel better soon!!!! I've been watching DS like a hawk - I thought the other day he was sick, he came home feeling bad, but he was fine. I'm so worried he's going to get sick, I'm probably jinxing myself. I've had this cold/cough since before Christmas, I cannot shake it, it has gotten a little less often when I cough, but it's still lingering. I hate it, it's like I'm constanly trying to hack up a lung!!!! LOL

I just hope we all get well and are good while we're there!!! Not too much longer now........... I'm so excited, I'm checking the boards all day!! :confused3 :rolleyes1 It's crazy!!!

OH ~ and don't get me started on the cost of the dr.!!!!! ARRGGG my pirate will come out!!!

[jordanyosh]

Welcome to the Health Care Crisis in America. Such a sad condition to be in....:sad2:

Hope your daughter feels better.

[DisneyMom14]

OHHHH ~ I hope she starts to feel better soon!!!! I've been watching DS like a hawk - I thought the other day he was sick, he came home feeling bad, but he was fine. I'm so worried he's going to get sick, I'm probably jinxing myself. I've had this cold/cough since before Christmas, I cannot shake it, it has gotten a little less often when I cough, but it's still lingering. I hate it, it's like I'm constanly trying to hack up a lung!!!! LOL

I just hope we all get well and are good while we're there!!! Not too much longer now........... I'm so excited, I'm checking the boards all day!! :confused3 :rolleyes1 It's crazy!!!

OH ~ and don't get me started on the cost of the dr.!!!!! ARRGGG my pirate will come out!!!

Now we don't want any swashbuckling pirate: :lmao: :rotfl2:

I hope you get to feeling better real soon Wendy! Thanks for the well wishes.

Welcome to the Health Care Crisis in America. Such a sad condition to be in....:sad2:

Hope your daughter feels better.

Thanks Jordan!

[DisneyMom14]

I haven't had much to say lately, but I need to vent so hope you're ready....

DD6 has been sick with headache, fever, stuffy nose, and sorethroat since Saturday. As I posted early, I brought her to an after hours clinic and they gave the typical antibiotic, cold medicine stuff. Well, the fever is still high. Sometimes I have to give her Ibuprofen & tylenol and it still gets up there. Last night she registered 103.1 axillary!! I was freakin' out! I had already made her an early morning appointment for this morning because the doctor's office said to give her 3 days on the antibiotic which was last night. So just came back and here's the news so far: they think DD has mono!:scared1:
Add some really not nice words here.

They did send us to the hospital to get lab work: nose swab, throat swab, blood work. Yuck! They're pretty confident that it is mono, but they wanted to find out for sure. If it is mono, she should hopefully feel better by the time we leave. BUT now what about everybody else????? Holy Crud!!!! Now I will be a complete wreck until we leave and the whole vacation. I almost feel jinxed. Last time I booked our DW family vacation, I had to cancel it because I got pregnant. Oops. I did get a wonderful DS out of it, but the canceling of the trip was disappointing all the same. Now, I've really gone all out for this trip with the planning, the ADR's, etc. and to think that one or more of us at the very least might be miserable on the trip....:sick: We've had a pretty rough year with the illness and loss of DH's father and I was so looking forward to this trip to get away from everything. Now not only do I have DD with new asthma meds, DS with a newly discovered peanut allergy, I have DD with mono and the possibility of us catching it too.

PS - just found out buxton bag is on back order. :headache:

Sigh,,,,,,OK - off my chest, pity party over. If any of you have words of encouragement, I could use some right now. Thanks for being there for me.:grouphug:

[jordanyosh]

I'll be praying for a speedy recovery.:grouphug:

Mono requires alot of rest....

So perhaps your WDW vacation is meant to be done at a different pace....it'll still be vacation, but just a different vacation. i would look at your plans and adjust them to include lots of down time.

[Sabrina90744]

:hug: Melanie:hug: I'll be praying for a fast recovery! Hang in there!!

[nolacindy]

Joining in! Your kids are adorable! I ordered a pack from the animal rescue site, it was only $20 with shipping and came within 4-5 days. It was called a mini satchel.

DH and I are live in Hammond (used to live in new orleans till that pesky storm) and are checking in on 01/28/08 and out on 02/02/08 at AS Movies so we might see some of ya, we were going to try for Mardi Gras but I wasn't sure if I could get off work. Even though we'll be down the weekend before I think l'll still decorate the window with Mardi Gras decorations.

Have a great time!

[GoofyaboutMickey]

So my sister shows up at my house with a binder... a disney binder. At the time I'm thinking...ok she's getting way too into this.

Not even a month later: Meet binder #1

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/IMG_1348.jpg

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/IMG_1347.jpg
It had really cute (& expensive) 3D Disney stickers at one point. This binder has general information about the parks, the packages, the restaurants, menus, tips, articles, etc.

Now meet binder #2
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/IMG_1349.jpg

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/IMG_1353.jpg
This one has important information pertaining to this particular trip like packing lists, iten, maps, tips for this time of the year...

I'm so sorry I laughed at you, Sis.

Now in addition to the binders (cuz I am NOT carrying either one of them into the parks), we have also made "Park books."

Here they are:
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/IMG_1354.jpg

These "mini-binders" are small photo albums that contain park specific and trip specific information that we may need in that particular park. I don't plan to park hop so I should only be carrying one of these with me per day.

I also have a notebook. Ok more than one, but anyway...
In the notebook(s) are all of my thoughts and workings. For example, before I decided to pay so much for disney dining plan, I had to decide where we would eat for each meal each day. Then decide what we probably would order and calculate how much we would spend. Add in character meals and snacks. The total cost compared to the cost of the DDP was very close. I had to then show my husband so that I had his support that paying for meals in advance would be sooooooo much more convenient even if the savings weren't tremendous. At least we wouldn't stress out for under budgeting the cost of eating. Oops sorry honey we spent all of our money. We can't eat today.:eek: I also worked out my iten in there.

Maybe tonight, maybe tomorrow...ADR's and special events!

Oh my goosh! How creative :thumbsup2

[DisneyMom14]

I'll be praying for a speedy recovery.:grouphug:

Mono requires alot of rest....

So perhaps your WDW vacation is meant to be done at a different pace....it'll still be vacation, but just a different vacation. i would look at your plans and adjust them to include lots of down time.

:hug: Melanie:hug: I'll be praying for a fast recovery! Hang in there!!

Thanks you guys - I knew I could count on you! :hug:

Joining in! Your kids are adorable! I ordered a pack from the animal rescue site, it was only $20 with shipping and came within 4-5 days. It was called a mini satchel.

DH and I are live in Hammond (used to live in new orleans till that pesky storm) and are checking in on 01/28/08 and out on 02/02/08 at AS Movies so we might see some of ya, we were going to try for Mardi Gras but I wasn't sure if I could get off work. Even though we'll be down the weekend before I think l'll still decorate the window with Mardi Gras decorations.

Have a great time!

Welcome! Sorry to hear you were displaced after the storm and hoping your life is getting back to some sort of normal. I'll be putting up an iten later. Maybe we might bump into each other. Thanks for reading.

Oh my goosh! How creative :thumbsup2

Can't take credit - my sister and many dissers have lent me their incredible ideas! Glad you like them though!

[winkers]

I'm so sorry about your dd!:hug:

If she's still tired during vacation get a stroller for her to rest in.

[jordanyosh]

Melanie if it makes you feel any better, I threw out my back yesterday and cannot really move too well at all w/o excruciating pain....:headache:

Misery loves company...;)

So now you may be looking for me being wheeled around in a wheelchair....;)

[DisneyMom14]

Melanie if it makes you feel any better, I threw out my back yesterday and cannot really move too well at all w/o excruciating pain....:headache:

Misery loves company...;)

So now you may be looking for me being wheeled around in a wheelchair....;)

OMG Jordan! I have lower back issues so I definitely sympathize with you!!! I never know when it's going to act up so here's hoping that both of us don't have to use EVC's while we're there! I'll be visiting my chiropractor just before we go to get me "straight" before we leave. I hope you feel better soon. That's totally no fun!

[DisneyMom14]

The doctor's office called and flu test was negative but the mono "spot" was also negative.....but "that doesn't mean she doesn't have mono." Her white blood cell count was slightly elevated???? Have to wait 3 days to find out if she has strep and 7 days for the other mono test to come back. Looked up symptoms for mono and to me - not a doctor or nurse - boy that sure sounds like it was describing her! I guess we'll just have to wait and see. One good thing, her fever has stayed away a little longer than it has been. I'm going back to check on her now - she's sleeping, but here's hoping that this is an upswing! :) Thanks for hangin' with me.

[cakesnkids]

Oh I sure hope she gets to feeling better!!
I'm amazed how many people on this thread live so close to me!

[OrangeBlossom15]

Hi Melanie. I have been lurking on and off. Just wanted to say I hope you DD is feeling better.

[jordanyosh]

The doctor's office called and flu test was negative but the mono "spot" was also negative.....but "that doesn't mean she doesn't have mono." Her white blood cell count was slightly elevated???? Have to wait 3 days to find out if she has strep and 7 days for the other mono test to come back. Looked up symptoms for mono and to me - not a doctor or nurse - boy that sure sounds like it was describing her! I guess we'll just have to wait and see. One good thing, her fever has stayed away a little longer than it has been. I'm going back to check on her now - she's sleeping, but here's hoping that this is an upswing! :) Thanks for hangin' with me.


Hmmm....hopefully she is getting better....:grouphug:

[DisneyMom14]

I'm so sorry about your dd!:hug:

If she's still tired during vacation get a stroller for her to rest in.

Thanks for the well wishes. I was going to get a stroller for DS3 anyway, but I'll definitely get a double now in case.

Oh I sure hope she gets to feeling better!!
I'm amazed how many people on this thread live so close to me!

Thanks, yeah me too (about all these LA people). I guess we're just going during a popular Louisiana time huh?

Hi Melanie. I have been lurking on and off. Just wanted to say I hope you DD is feeling better.

Thanks, I'm glad you posted. :)

Hmmm....hopefully she is getting better....:grouphug:

I think she is finally. Thanks.

[DisneyMom14]

No fever since yesterday afternoon!!!!:cool1:
My mom said she played all day. Her throat feels better also. Now she is just congested and tired. A much better day today! Yeah!!!! We're on the road to recovery.:woohoo:

[jordanyosh]

No fever since yesterday afternoon!!!!:cool1:
My mom said she played all day. Her throat feels better also. Now she is just congested and tired. A much better day today! Yeah!!!! We're on the road to recovery.:woohoo:

What good news. I'll say great when she's feeling 100%.

We'll play dueling ECVs when we're at WDW....;)

[DisneyMom14]

ok so yesterday when I was having a pity party, I decided that I needed some Disney therapy soooooooo I worked on my pocket itinerary - yeah go ahead and laugh, I laughed at my sister when she showed me hers - and started "pre-packing." I'll post pictures of my little LGMH tags I made (thanks for the idea Jordan :thumbsup2 ) and my pocket itinerary this weekend and maybe our custom shirts if my mom shows up to help me. I'm not brave enough to attempt it by myself. I don't want to be too ambitious BUT I may even attempt some korker bows - thank you to Heather for the directions - where has she been anyway?

Pre-packing (packing before the clothes go into the suitcase) - I just HAD to start. Now, all of our toiletries are all packed in each of our little toiletry bags. The first aid kit is packed/made for the room. The kids' goodie/fun bag for the ride is packed and the big container is now the "room container." It includes the room decorations, food for the room, paper products, pop up hamper, over the door shoe organizer, etc.

I did all of this on my bed with my kids watching Mary Poppins for the umpteenth time this week. It did put me in a pretty good mood.

Tonight I will make my FINAL (yeah right) grocery/walmart list as I get my January paycheck tomorrow. That means that I get to SHOP tomorrow or at the latest this weekend. Everything else I need for this trip MUST come out of this paycheck! I'm so excited and by the way, two weeks from today, I will have the van packed up and DH better be sleeping cuz we will be driving all night!!!!! :cool1: :dance3: :yay: :cheer2:

Get ready for more packing and planning and creating!!!:scared:

[DisneyMom14]

I'm so sorry about your dd!:hug:

If she's still tired during vacation get a stroller for her to rest in.

Hey! It's flat winkers!!!! You're too funny! Jordan's TR has entertained me so much!:rotfl2: :lmao:

[jordanyosh]

Hey! It's flat winkers!!!! You're too funny! Jordan's TR has entertained me so much!:rotfl2: :lmao:

Remember Melanie, it's still a PTR. I haven't even left yet.:eek:

[DisneyMom14]

Remember Melanie, it's still a PTR. I haven't even left yet.:eek:

You're absolutely right! My bad. Can you imagine how many posts your actual TR will have?!?!:eek: I can't wait to read about it though. I'll have to balance my time between reading yours and writing mine. :)

[jordanyosh]

You're absolutely right! My bad. Can you imagine how many posts your actual TR will have?!?!:eek: I can't wait to read about it though. I'll have to balance my time between reading yours and writing mine. :)

Can you even imagine how many Feb TRs we'll be reading....It'll be cool to read TRs of people who were there at the same time...to compare notes.:thumbsup2

[Blueyed Girl]

I agree, there will be MANY Feb TR's to read. It's going to be so much fun seeing everyone's pic's and reading stories.

[cajunrose]

I'm from Morgan City! We are going in May. Just wanted to say hi and subscribe!

[lori1043]

hey Disneymom14!!

If I were you, even if DD is well, get a DOUBLE stroller-it is worth it even if she never sits her little hiney in it- you can put YOUR stuff in it and your other child can extra padding to sleep on-if he falls asleep!! We have gotten a double every time and I am splitting it w/ SIL this year-her DD is 3 and my youngest is 8-but I KNOW she'll curl up in there if she is tired. PLUS if they don't use it, we can put our stuff there!!
Even if I had ONE kid-I'd rent a double! My friend did that for our MAW trip and it was sooo worth it!

Lovin' the PTR!!

Lori

[DisneyMom14]

I'm from Morgan City! We are going in May. Just wanted to say hi and subscribe!

Hey neighbor! Welcome! Thanks for reading and have fun planning your May trip!

hey Disneymom14!!

If I were you, even if DD is well, get a DOUBLE stroller-it is worth it even if she never sits her little hiney in it- you can put YOUR stuff in it and your other child can extra padding to sleep on-if he falls asleep!! We have gotten a double every time and I am splitting it w/ SIL this year-her DD is 3 and my youngest is 8-but I KNOW she'll curl up in there if she is tired. PLUS if they don't use it, we can put our stuff there!!
Even if I had ONE kid-I'd rent a double! My friend did that for our MAW trip and it was sooo worth it!

Lovin' the PTR!!

Lori

Yep, I think that's what we'll do! :thumbsup2

[DisneyMom14]

So I went to do my usual buy everything for the month grocery shopping trip and you know I had to come home with goodies for disney! I know I'll be back but here's what I came home with:

Camera bag - check
more snacks - check
more batteries - check
dowel rod to attempt to make dd korker bows - check
first aid kit for van - check
minidv tapes for camcorder - check
assorted meds - check

Funny (to me): As I was pondering over whether to get Airborne or not, I spoke to the pharmacist. She is ALSO going during Mardi Gras week. Seems like EVERYONE I meet up with is going!!!:lmao: I think that's so cool. I've never had any vacation where I knew that many people all going to the same place.

Also went to bank:
money for mousekeeping - check
$1 for misc. - check
quarters - check

I'll go back for more money later. Lovin' my Disney Gift cards from Christmas!!!

Last night, my sister came back from dw! They flew so its so crazy to me that she was at Disney in the morning and home in the evening! Anyway, of course I went over to see her and hear all about it and see pictures!!!!! I'm so glad to have her back but I'm so glad it'll be my turn in 11 more days!!!

She brought me back a special souvenir. She left on my birthday so she brought me back a birthday message and autograph from my favorite princess, Belle. Awww!:lovestruc

They said that a lot of rides were pretty much walk ons or very minimal waits (10 min), but they still had to wait about 30 min. for Peter Pan and Winnie the Pooh.:confused3 No slow season anymore? Although I'll take that any day compared to the 1 1/2 hours we waited for Winnie in 2005 for Easter break!!! :scared1: I'll definitely use those FP anyway. I absolutely loved the pics from Magic Kingdom before it opened - they had adr's for CRT. I cannot wait to see that as I stroll down a pretty much empty Main Street!

Next installment..... Will my mom show up to help me make our custom shirts????? Will they turn out????

Until next time...popcorn::

[DisneyMom14]

This week as DD has been suffering from mono. I decided to rent Mary Poppins for her to watch. I had been playing some of the songs from that movie and she really liked them. Now this was a very old VCR tape that weighed a ton. It costed me $1.00 to rent it and I had it all week. :) DD and DS have watched it EVERY DAY! I'm tickled about this as it is an old favorite of mine, but I didn't think they would get into it as it wasn't "Pixar" quality like they've gotten used to. I also brought out Sound of Music since DD liked the songs from that one too.

Friday, when I went on my mini-shopping spree, I asked DD if there was anything mommy could get her that would help her feel better. She said "Mary Poppins and Sound of Music." :cool1: :banana: A girl after my own heart.:love:
So OF COURSE I looked at Wallyworld and they had it. So I picked up both of them. Here's a picture of them watching Mary Poppins this morning:
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/ryankatierecliner.jpg

They've also been watching Monsters Inc, Peter Pan (another of my all time favorites), the Incredibles, etc. Between DD being sick and the nasty, cold, wet weather, we've been watching many Disney movies! :thumbsup2

[Sabrina90744]

Melanie wow sounds like you are getting things together! We have been watching Disney movies all week to! Today after Church we are doing a Disney movie marathon. Kids are so excited.

[Blueyed Girl]

Not much longer for you!! We've been watching a ton of Disney movies too. I tried to get DS to watch Mary Poppins but he just wasn't that interested. I tried twice.:confused3 Oh well. We also bought him It's tough to be a bug since he didn't have that one yet and loves it. We will give it to him on the road.:thumbsup2 That's a surprise that should bring quietness for mom & dad for almost 2 hours. :lmao: I sure hope your DD gets to 100% by your trip. They look so excited!:goodvibes

[winkers]

I'm going to have to pull out my old video tape of Marry Poppins!:lovestruc

this reminds me of when I made my ds who was 12 at the time watch 7brides for 7 brothers. At first he acted as though he were being tortured but at the ended he admitted to enjoying it!:rotfl2:

[lori1043]

ooh I wish i could call you-I make korker bows!!! I have SOOOOO many dowels. I suggest cutting the one you got in half so you can have one for white and one for darks. I have like 30 rods. The dark will bleed onto the white if you do white after a dark color-even yellow does it so have one JUST for white. I made our Disney bows-red, black, white, different sizes and polka dots. I also suggest NOT cooking any sheer ribbon, it smells the house up like formadehide(sp??) and it can't be healthy either-it was an awful experince. i got some cute Easter bows for the kids, but never will ever do it again!! I only have those b/c the smell happened and i hurried and took them out and they actually curled that fast.
I used to make the bows but now I make the spirit ribbons with half corker and half flat ribbon of varying sizes and colors/patterns.

I am checking for a picture....one I made about 3 years ago!! In Disney!!


Here they are...
LSU, Saints, Disney, Mardi Gras....
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a381/laph93/IMG_3782.jpg


http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a381/laph93/100_0117.jpg

I am going to take a picture of the recent ones I made and come back here to show you!!

Good luck!

Lori

[coteau_chick]

I am glad your children are enjoying Mary Popins. I wanted my son to read Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn . He just wouldn't do it. I kept telling him he would enjoy the books and that the books would make going on Tom Sawyer Island more fun. He wouldn't have it. Then he did something to get himself punished and guess what the punishment was. He had to read Tom Sawyer and he was not allowed to watch tv again until he finished the book. He was so mad. He started reading the book and he loved it. He even read Huck Finn without me making him. I knew he would love it.:thumbsup2

[DisneyMom14]

ooh I wish i could call you-I make korker bows!!! I have SOOOOO many dowels. I suggest cutting the one you got in half so you can have one for white and one for darks. I have like 30 rods. The dark will bleed onto the white if you do white after a dark color-even yellow does it so have one JUST for white. I made our Disney bows-red, black, white, different sizes and polka dots. I also suggest NOT cooking any sheer ribbon, it smells the house up like formadehide(sp??) and it can't be healthy either-it was an awful experince. i got some cute Easter bows for the kids, but never will ever do it again!! I only have those b/c the smell happened and i hurried and took them out and they actually curled that fast.
I used to make the bows but now I make the spirit ribbons with half corker and half flat ribbon of varying sizes and colors/patterns.

I am checking for a picture....one I made about 3 years ago!! In Disney!!


Here they are...
LSU, Saints, Disney, Mardi Gras....
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a381/laph93/IMG_3782.jpg


http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a381/laph93/100_0117.jpg

I am going to take a picture of the recent ones I made and come back here to show you!!

Good luck!

Lori

OOH! Thanks for the tips. I had no clue!!! I'll pm you.

I'm going to have to pull out my old video tape of Marry Poppins!:lovestruc

this reminds me of when I made my ds who was 12 at the time watch 7brides for 7 brothers. At first he acted as though he were being tortured but at the ended he admitted to enjoying it!:rotfl2:

The things we do to "torture" our children!:lmao: :rotfl:
My sister's little girl took a picture with Mary Poppins this week and when we saw it, my DS3 said "Mary Poppins!!!"

I am glad your children are enjoying Mary Popins. I wanted my son to read Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn . He just wouldn't do it. I kept telling him he would enjoy the books and that the books would make going on Tom Sawyer Island more fun. He wouldn't have it. Then he did something to get himself punished and guess what the punishment was. He had to read Tom Sawyer and he was not allowed to watch tv again until he finished the book. He was so mad. He started reading the book and he loved it. He even read Huck Finn without me making him. I knew he would love it.:thumbsup2

That's so funny! It's quite amusing how they don't trust that we might actually know what they will probably like. During the summer, we went to Missouri to visit family and brought the kids to one of these little fair/park type things. They had go-carts (kiddie and adult). My DD6 has had a Barbie jeep since 2 or 3 years old and LOVES it. Would you believe she DIDN'T want to go on the go-carts??!! My husband said if she didn't get in one, he would physically put her in one. The first lap was slow, then zoom! off she went. Of course she rode it again and again with a little smirk on her face every time she passed us. I can't wait to start making her read good classic books like that, but then again, I am a librarian...:rolleyes1

[jordanyosh]

Melanie, how's your DD feeling?

Man, you have been BUSY getting ready for the trip...you must have some extra energy....:thumbsup2

[Barqs]

I just found this thread! Noticed you were from Raceland.. I am in Lockport! Then I saw your pics and realized my husband knows your husband... they were in band together! We will also be at the POP for Mardi Gras!
I am going to PM you.

P.S. You all are sooo organized... I have 2 weeks to get everything together!!

[Blueyed Girl]

popcorn::

[Barqs]

popcorn::

Was it something I said? :confused3 :confused3

[DisneyMom14]

Melanie, how's your DD feeling?

Man, you have been BUSY getting ready for the trip...you must have some extra energy....:thumbsup2

She is doing MUCH better. Thanks for asking. She made it through a major shopping day with us with only a slight nap. I'm shipping her off to school tomorrow for a test run.:)

extra energy maybe but more like.....to quote blueeyedgirl - I'm too excited to sleep!!!

I just found this thread! Noticed you were from Raceland.. I am in Lockport! Then I saw your pics and realized my husband knows your husband... they were in band together! We will also be at the POP for Mardi Gras!
I am going to PM you.

P.S. You all are sooo organized... I have 2 weeks to get everything together!!

Hey! It'll be here before you know it!!! Hope we meet up! Maybe we can plan to meet at Pop one day.

[jackdis]

You have me excited! Can't wait to hear about your trip!

[DisneyMom14]

Yes, I have gone shopping again!!!!! I had an appointment to get our van checked out for the big trip! So since I was in the "city" I figured I should finish up on anything else that was left on the list. :thumbsup2

No pictures yet but here's the loot list:
2 more luggage tags (cuz four just isn't enough for me :rotfl: )
6 luggage locks (so when we check in early, I'll feel better about leaving my luggage)
1 LSU National Championship shirt for DH - only one without an LSU T-shirt - although he has a jersey
Long johns and undershirts for the kids in case it gets cold
an extra camcorder battery
more jeans for me and dd (I decided I wasn't going to do laundry every other day):laundy:
ribbon and clips to make dd some bows, spirit ribbons, headbands, etc.
a clip for Pal Mickey

I also looked EVERYWHERE for a bag to replace the buxton bag which I ordered Jan. 3. I called today and they are backordered!!!!!:headache: Did NOT find one - well yeah found something similar at Dillards but NOT paying what they were asking (3x's the price). So going to borrow my sister's bag - a little smaller but better than carrying a big backpack. She said she saw some bags at the gift shop at POP so if I find a bigger one there that I like, I can always buy one there. At least I won't be stressed that I HAVE to find one.

AND last night I finally gave in and started really packing!!!! Sorry again no pics yet.
The kids' suitcases are filled and I'm not even finished :eek: All of our planned clothes is in its place (except for the custom shirts that my mom hasn't finished stitching for me) so as far as clothes, I'm done until next weekend. I also packed the extras & room stuff in another suitcase and packed snacks & stuff in a luggage bag. I feel sooooo much better that I won't be as stressed next weekend. I already had our toiletry bags packed so that's out the way too.

Today, I start the official count down:

10 days left :dance3: :yay: :banana: :woohoo:

[coteau_chick]

Yes, I have gone shopping again!!!!! I had an appointment to get our van checked out for the big trip! So since I was in the "city" I figured I should finish up on anything else that was left on the list. :thumbsup2

No pictures yet but here's the loot list:
2 more luggage tags (cuz four just isn't enough for me :rotfl: )
6 luggage locks (so when we check in early, I'll feel better about leaving my luggage)
1 LSU National Championship shirt for DH - only one without an LSU T-shirt - although he has a jersey
Long johns and undershirts for the kids in case it gets cold
an extra camcorder battery
more jeans for me and dd (I decided I wasn't going to do laundry every other day):laundy:
ribbon and clips to make dd some bows, spirit ribbons, headbands, etc.
a clip for Pal Mickey

I also looked EVERYWHERE for a bag to replace the buxton bag which I ordered Jan. 3. I called today and they are backordered!!!!!:headache: Did NOT find one - well yeah found something similar at Dillards but NOT paying what they were asking (3x's the price). So going to borrow my sister's bag - a little smaller but better than carrying a big backpack. She said she saw some bags at the gift shop at POP so if I find a bigger one there that I like, I can always buy one there. At least I won't be stressed that I HAVE to find one.

AND last night I finally gave in and started really packing!!!! Sorry again no pics yet.
The kids' suitcases are filled and I'm not even finished :eek: All of our planned clothes is in its place (except for the custom shirts that my mom hasn't finished stitching for me) so as far as clothes, I'm done until next weekend. I also packed the extras & room stuff in another suitcase and packed snacks & stuff in a luggage bag. I feel sooooo much better that I won't be as stressed next weekend. I already had our toiletry bags packed so that's out the way too.

Today, I start the official count down:

10 days left :dance3: :yay: :banana: :woohoo:

I started packing today too.:thumbsup2 I wish I knew what the weather will be like when we go. Last time we went in Feb. it was hot enough to wear shorts durning the day and we just put on sweatshirts at night.

[Blueyed Girl]

Was it something I said? :confused3 :confused3

:rotfl2: Nope. I'm sorry. I was just wondering if anyone could see me posting.:confused3

[Blueyed Girl]

Ah-HA!!!!!! I'm so glad to see I'm not the only one packing the Long John's! I was getting picked on by everyone from up north on my PTR for packing them.:rolleyes1 I can't help it...I get cold if a bird flies by too fast.:lmao:

[jordanyosh]

So glad to hear your DD is doing much better. I guess we'll know tomorrow...

Man, you are a shopping machine...However, I will say that you didn't seem to buy anything frivilous.

10 MORE DAYS

[Savanah'sMom]

Ok, I feel like a bad DSis. I haven't posted in quite a while, but I swear I'm reading. (and we've talking alot) I've been having a nice laugh at my DSis b/c everything she has picked on me for she then turns around and does the same thing (it's ok b/c I know she loves me :love: )

Well, like she wrote earlier, I got back Saturday evening, man was it cold over here. We came home in short sleeve shirts, and had to dig around for our jackets. And man, talk about the rain ya'll got down here, we could see all the standing water as we were landing, glad I missed all that.

OOOOHHHHHH, I saw The Rock!!!!!! He was at the MK in Adventure Land, he's a lot smaller in person, but still just a good looking. I know ya'll are all going really soon, so I can give ya'll a few pointers if ya'll would like? Woody's Roundup was cute and the kids really enjoy it and I think they anounce it before it starts, the Woody & Jessie both do meet & greets by Splash Mountain. Stitch was out by the exit of Buzz Space Ranger Spin. DD really enjoyed Laugh Floor and I pretty sure that the adults enjoyed Turtle Talk more than the kids (well, we laughed more :rotfl: ) The Beast was out with Belle in Epcot, we saw alot of charters in Epcot, but we could never seem to catch Aroura in France. Don't do the mad rush out of the MK after Wishes, sit back and let everyone else go, trust me, you'll thank me.

Ok, I've highjacked her PTR enough. If ya'll want to know anything else just ask, I'll answer as much as I can.


P.S. Barqs, I live in Lockport, just moved there in August 2007, & my DH graduated a year before DBIL, so they might know each other too.

[coteau_chick]

Ok, I feel like a bad DSis. I haven't posted in quite a while, but I swear I'm reading. (and we've talking alot) I've been having a nice laugh at my DSis b/c everything she has picked on me for she then turns around and does the same thing (it's ok b/c I know she loves me :love: )

Well, like she wrote earlier, I got back Saturday evening, man was it cold over here. We came home in short sleeve shirts, and had to dig around for our jackets. And man, talk about the rain ya'll got down here, we could see all the standing water as we were landing, glad I missed all that.

OOOOHHHHHH, I saw The Rock!!!!!! He was at the MK in Adventure Land, he's a lot smaller in person, but still just a good looking. I know ya'll are all going really soon, so I can give ya'll a few pointers if ya'll would like? Woody's Roundup was cute and the kids really enjoy it and I think they anounce it before it starts, the Woody & Jessie both do meet & greets by Splash Mountain. Stitch was out by the exit of Buzz Space Ranger Spin. DD really enjoyed Laugh Floor and I pretty sure that the adults enjoyed Turtle Talk more than the kids (well, we laughed more :rotfl: ) The Beast was out with Belle in Epcot, we saw alot of charters in Epcot, but we could never seem to catch Aroura in France. Don't do the mad rush out of the MK after Wishes, sit back and let everyone else go, trust me, you'll thank me.

Ok, I've highjacked her PTR enough. If ya'll want to know anything else just ask, I'll answer as much as I can.


P.S. Barqs, I live in Lockport, just moved there in August 2007, & my DH graduated a year before DBIL, so they might know each other too.

Are you going to write a TR? Let me know if you do because I will subscribe.:thumbsup2

[Savanah'sMom]

Probably not, I'm not the writer in the family, that would be DSis. I always feel like I'm rambaling (sp?) and use the same words way too often. But if DSis (can I please just start using your name? you can use mine, I let :flower3: I'll be good, I promise) doesn't mind I'm more than answer any questions ya'll have. Like, get to Ariel's Grotto early, the line is very slow moving but she is sooooo worth the wait. She talks a lot and is very good.

[winkers]

9 days!!:banana: :banana:

[DisneyMom14]

You have me excited! Can't wait to hear about your trip!

Yeah!:love: I will definitely be writing a TR after the trip! Hope to see you posting!

I started packing today too.:thumbsup2 I wish I knew what the weather will be like when we go. Last time we went in Feb. it was hot enough to wear shorts durning the day and we just put on sweatshirts at night.

Every night I check accuweather.com and EVERY night the forcast changes! It's driving me crazy!!!!!! I would love "shorts" weather during the day but I would still wear my jeans.;)

Ah-HA!!!!!! I'm so glad to see I'm not the only one packing the Long John's! I was getting picked on by everyone from up north on my PTR for packing them.:rolleyes1 I can't help it...I get cold if a bird flies by too fast.:lmao:

They can pick away!!!! :rotfl: After my kids being sick since December......I'm going to be prepared for it all!
Love it!!! when a bird flies by too fast!!! You're killing me!:lmao:

So glad to hear your DD is doing much better. I guess we'll know tomorrow...

Man, you are a shopping machine...However, I will say that you didn't seem to buy anything frivilous.

10 MORE DAYS

Yeah, I kinda' have been a shopping machine, but you're right - all necessary items. ;)

9 days!!:banana: :banana:

FINALLY joining in the single digit dance ba-by!

9 more days!!!!!:banana: :woohoo: :yay: :dance3: :cheer2:

[DisneyMom14]

Soooooo, blood test results are in (drum roll please)




NEGATIVE?????!!!!! What the poopoo did she have if it isn't MONO??????

I mean I'm glad but at least it would have been an explanation!!!!!

Some good news: DD went back to school today. She made it all day long. It is 5:45 and she has not passed out from exhaustion! She is actually playing away! Thank the good Lord. :worship: She had a follow up appointment with her asthma & allergy doctor this afternoon and even when I told him everything from the last week, he gave her the thumbs up :thumbsup2 . He even stocked us up with emergency meds! Yay!
He agrees with the pediatrician that maybe it was just some weird viral thing. I think I will still bring her in to her pediatrician one last time for a re-eval before we leave.

Some not so good news (can't catch a break):
DS who has been suffering with sinuses since the weekend started coughing this morning before getting out of bed. Not taking any chances, we started the breathing treatments this morning. DH has been fighting sinus and sore throat and feels really yucky right now. He might as well go to the doctor too. Lastly, I have been having a pain above my eye since Sunday night, but that's also the side I'm starting to feel some sinus stuff going on.
STUPID, YUCKY, EVERCHANGING LOUISIANA WEATHER!!!! Gotta' blame it on something right!?

I have not given up. We ARE going to Disney in 9 days and we WILL enjoy ourselves!

Vent over.

My mom said she is working on our shirts tonight. Maybe I'll have pics for everyone tomorrow! I have a couple of errands to run still (inspection sticker, costumes from the cleaners, jeans hemmed), but it'll all get done (hopefully) by Friday.:yay:

[winkers]

I'm so glad she doesn't have mono! That is an awful thing to get over!

[jordanyosh]

What great news about your DD.....:woohoo: :woohoo:

Sorry about everyone else....:grouphug:

Hopefully everyone is better in......

NINE DAYS

[Beana9802]

Soooooo, blood test results are in (drum roll please)




NEGATIVE?????!!!!! What the poopoo did she have if it isn't MONO??????



1. I had mono junior year of college...it was horriffic! (My 21st birthday was spent in bed...poo!)

2. I am glad she's clear, and made it to at least 5:45...maybe it was just a fluke....

3. 9 days...I am jealous. Are you using fuzzy Disney math:teacher: ...if you don't count today, that's 8 days, then don't count that day, that's 7 days....so..really it is just a week away! (hehe)

[coteau_chick]

Yes, I have gone shopping again!!!!! I had an appointment to get our van checked out for the big trip! So since I was in the "city" I figured I should finish up on anything else that was left on the list. :thumbsup2

No pictures yet but here's the loot list:
2 more luggage tags (cuz four just isn't enough for me :rotfl: )
6 luggage locks (so when we check in early, I'll feel better about leaving my luggage)
1 LSU National Championship shirt for DH - only one without an LSU T-shirt - although he has a jersey
Long johns and undershirts for the kids in case it gets cold
an extra camcorder battery
more jeans for me and dd (I decided I wasn't going to do laundry every other day):laundy:
ribbon and clips to make dd some bows, spirit ribbons, headbands, etc.
a clip for Pal Mickey

I also looked EVERYWHERE for a bag to replace the buxton bag which I ordered Jan. 3. I called today and they are backordered!!!!!:headache: Did NOT find one - well yeah found something similar at Dillards but NOT paying what they were asking (3x's the price). So going to borrow my sister's bag - a little smaller but better than carrying a big backpack. She said she saw some bags at the gift shop at POP so if I find a bigger one there that I like, I can always buy one there. At least I won't be stressed that I HAVE to find one.

AND last night I finally gave in and started really packing!!!! Sorry again no pics yet.
The kids' suitcases are filled and I'm not even finished :eek: All of our planned clothes is in its place (except for the custom shirts that my mom hasn't finished stitching for me) so as far as clothes, I'm done until next weekend. I also packed the extras & room stuff in another suitcase and packed snacks & stuff in a luggage bag. I feel sooooo much better that I won't be as stressed next weekend. I already had our toiletry bags packed so that's out the way too.

Today, I start the official count down:

10 days left :dance3: :yay: :banana: :woohoo:

What kind of clip for pal mickey did you buy? :confused:

[DisneyMom14]

I'm so glad she doesn't have mono! That is an awful thing to get over!

What great news about your DD.....:woohoo: :woohoo:

Sorry about everyone else....:grouphug:

Hopefully everyone is better in......

NINE DAYS

Thanks for the well wishes. DD is doing MUCH better and just about 100% already! :cool1:

1. I had mono junior year of college...it was horriffic! (My 21st birthday was spent in bed...poo!)

2. I am glad she's clear, and made it to at least 5:45...maybe it was just a fluke....

3. 9 days...I am jealous. Are you using fuzzy Disney math:teacher: ...if you don't count today, that's 8 days, then don't count that day, that's 7 days....so..really it is just a week away! (hehe)

8 days today, but here's my fdm...
I won't be going to my normal job tomorrow as it is a training day -1
Sat and Sun are just days to pack and prepare for disney -2
Next Wednesday is only a 1/2 day with kids then professional development so I can't count that day -1
and
Thursday I took off to pack the van, last minute errands, and rest because we leave that night -1

so I figure 3 days??? :lmao:

What kind of clip for pal mickey did you buy? :confused:

Oh, I got this belt hook attached to a key ring (easy on and off a belt loop or whatever we hook him to. I'll post a picture later.

PS Update soon to follow as I have my shirts ready and working on hair accessories right now!!! :cool1:

[Blueyed Girl]

I hear ya about the weather down here!! It's making a mess of things. I've been drinking Airborn like crazy. And when we leave the house this is me.....

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2353/2172465546_9a5e63d936_o.gif

[DisneyMom14]

My mom finished stitching my custom shirts today. I could trace, cut, and iron on but don't ask me to actually sew! :lmao: Anywho...here they are:

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/IMG_1477.jpg
I am working on 2 korker bows to go with this shirt instead or in case we do pigtails.

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/IMG_1478.jpg
Animal Kingdom shirt with wrapped headband

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/IMG_1479.jpg
DS3's only custom shirt - will wear to AK. He's got plenty of Disney-themed store bought clothing. No hair accessories :rotfl:

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/IMG_1480.jpg
For me - just cuz.

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/IMG_1481.jpg
Clip I bought for Pal Mickey.

I ain't that creative so I tend to "borrow" ideas and thought that the mickey head shirts were simple enough for me to attempt and cute enough to wear.
I am working on some spirit ribbons and korker bows but just too tired to finish tonight. I baked all my ribbons though!

Thanks again for all the well wishes. DD has gotten her personality back - good and bad, but we are so happy to see her feeling back to normal. It was a rough week. DS is on breathing treatments for a cough that can't make up its mind - dry-hacking, then wet-yucky. We'll deal with that as we need to.

One other small obstacle to fix before the trip:
Planned on getting my inspection sticker updated today (its due this month), but when I get there, the lady says, "Did you know your registration sticker on your license plate says Nov 07?'' :scared1: I KNOW/remember taking care of that like months ago, but I don't remember getting the sticker in. :confused3 Never realized til I was there and she said something. I have the top 1/2 of the paper they mail you with the date 9-21 written on it, but no sticker. Of course this was after 4pm so now I have to wait to go to the DMV to take care of it. Tomorrow will be impossible as I don't get out in time to make it over there. That has to be done before they'll give me the inspection sticker. Like I said, a small obstacle - pain in the hoohoo but it will get done.

I did get other things done today like picking up DD's emergency stash of meds for the trip, picking up our custom shirts from mommy-dearest, and picking up the kids' costumes from the dry cleaners. Everything is slowly coming together.

I can't believe that tomorrow I can say "We're leave 1 week from today!" :cool1: :rotfl: :dance3: :yay: :woohoo:

But for tonight the countdown continues:

8 more days:woohoo: !!!!!:dance3: :cheer2: :cool1:

[jordanyosh]

Nice shirts.....:thumbsup2

Almost 7 more days.

[coteau_chick]

My mom finished stitching my custom shirts today. I could trace, cut, and iron on but don't ask me to actually sew! :lmao: Anywho...here they are:

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/IMG_1477.jpg
I am working on 2 korker bows to go with this shirt instead or in case we do pigtails.

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/IMG_1478.jpg
Animal Kingdom shirt with wrapped headband

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/IMG_1479.jpg
DS3's only custom shirt - will wear to AK. He's got plenty of Disney-themed store bought clothing. No hair accessories :rotfl:

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/IMG_1480.jpg
For me - just cuz.

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/IMG_1481.jpg
Clip I bought for Pal Mickey.

I ain't that creative so I tend to "borrow" ideas and thought that the mickey head shirts were simple enough for me to attempt and cute enough to wear.
I am working on some spirit ribbons and korker bows but just too tired to finish tonight. I baked all my ribbons though!

Thanks again for all the well wishes. DD has gotten her personality back - good and bad, but we are so happy to see her feeling back to normal. It was a rough week. DS is on breathing treatments for a cough that can't make up its mind - dry-hacking, then wet-yucky. We'll deal with that as we need to.

One other small obstacle to fix before the trip:
Planned on getting my inspection sticker updated today (its due this month), but when I get there, the lady says, "Did you know your registration sticker on your license plate says Nov 07?'' :scared1: I KNOW/remember taking care of that like months ago, but I don't remember getting the sticker in. :confused3 Never realized til I was there and she said something. I have the top 1/2 of the paper they mail you with the date 9-21 written on it, but no sticker. Of course this was after 4pm so now I have to wait to go to the DMV to take care of it. Tomorrow will be impossible as I don't get out in time to make it over there. That has to be done before they'll give me the inspection sticker. Like I said, a small obstacle - pain in the hoohoo but it will get done.

I did get other things done today like picking up DD's emergency stash of meds for the trip, picking up our custom shirts from mommy-dearest, and picking up the kids' costumes from the dry cleaners. Everything is slowly coming together.

I can't believe that tomorrow I can say "We're leave 1 week from today!" :cool1: :rotfl: :dance3: :yay: :woohoo:

But for tonight the countdown continues:

8 more days:woohoo: !!!!!:dance3: :cheer2: :cool1:

You did a great job.:thumbsup2

YEA!!! I am getting soooooooooooo excited.:yay:

[Sabrina90744]

The shirts look great!! Isn't it exciting, a week away!! Gotta love that Fuzzy Disney Math, I think in FDM:teacher: we shouldve left yesterday:rotfl2:

[DisneyMom14]

Nice shirts.....:thumbsup2

Almost 7 more days.

The shirts look great!! Isn't it exciting, a week away!! Gotta love that Fuzzy Disney Math, I think in FDM:teacher: we shouldve left yesterday:rotfl2:

Thanks for the compliments on the shirts. I finished the hair accessories tonight. Boy, those korker bows.....not something I'll be trying again soon. I did them but they aren't the prettiest things I've made. I will take pics of them and post them, but not tonight. Even though I am excited and anxious about the trip, I am having a woman moment and hormones are not cooperating. Normally I can handle all of those little life stresses, but not tonight. TGIF and then I will be in full Disney packing/checking mode. One week from tonight I will be about to drive away to Florida!!!

7 days!!!!!

[Blueyed Girl]

LOVE the shirts. They are so cute!!!!:love:

[winkers]

The shirts are adorable! I want one!

[jordanyosh]

:woohoo: :woohoo: 6 more days!!!!!:woohoo: :woohoo:

[DisneyMom14]

LOVE the shirts. They are so cute!!!!:love:

The shirts are adorable! I want one!

Thanks - won't be doing any for a long time now. :) Not my cup of tea...

[DisneyMom14]

:woohoo: :woohoo: 6 more days!!!!!:woohoo: :woohoo:

:dancer: party: :jumping1:

[DisneyMom14]

Insomnia has definitely kicked in. I'm definitely getting too excited to sleep!!!!! I NEVER get up at 7:00 on a Saturday and start doing clothes - gotta' pack!

It's 5 days away!!!!
:dancer: party:

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

oh my goodness I feel so far behind and left out!!!! I can't believe you leave in only 5 days!! You should just leave now and get a head start on the whole trip!!!

Happy packing, I love the shirts!!! I see homemade creations all the time bc now i know to look for them and I love it!! :)

[jordanyosh]

Insomnia has definitely kicked in. I'm definitely getting too excited to sleep!!!!! I NEVER get up at 7:00 on a Saturday and start doing clothes - gotta' pack!

It's 5 days away!!!!
:dancer: party:


I've been getting up early myself....:woohoo: For me it'll work to my advantage as the time change usually kills me.

[DisneyMom14]

oh my goodness I feel so far behind and left out!!!! I can't believe you leave in only 5 days!! You should just leave now and get a head start on the whole trip!!!

Happy packing, I love the shirts!!! I see homemade creations all the time bc now i know to look for them and I love it!! :)

Hey!!! I know - I should just get in the car and drive!:car:
We have reservations at BBB for next Sunday. Is your schedule out yet?

I've been getting up early myself....:woohoo: For me it'll work to my advantage as the time change usually kills me.

You have a big time change. That must be rough. We only have 1 hour. Are you packed yet? I've been packing, washing clothes (to pack), and watching Travel Channel Disney shows simultaneously. Just decided to take a break and check in.:hippie:

[jordanyosh]

You have a big time change. That must be rough. We only have 1 hour. Are you packed yet? I've been packing, washing clothes (to pack), and watching Travel Channel Disney shows simultaneously. Just decided to take a break and check in.:hippie:

It's not to bad other than the fact, I usually feel pretty tired the first few days. The fact that I'm staying 14 days will actually help with the jet lag....:banana:

I'll have an update up sometime today...

[DisneyMom14]

Whew - been crazy busy!!! Sorry haven't posted. I know you are all busy too. I hope to post again soon to tell you all the craziness but for now I wanted to share something with you. Sunday we took the kids to their only Mardi Gras parade they'll make this season. We ended up seeing 2 crews roll back to back because of Friday's bad weather. Here's a video of all the pics we took Sunday put to Mardi Gras music. This is Mardi Gras on the Bayou - hope you enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGLZkawL0G8

1 more day!!!!!
:dance3: :dance3: :woohoo: :yay: :banana:

[Blueyed Girl]

Hey great video!!! Our parades don't start until Sunday. I was thinking of taking DS to the children's parade but that's the only one. Now I think it may rain. We shall see.:confused3

I CAN'T BELIVE YOU ONLY HAVE ONE DAY LEFT!!!!!!!:cool1:

[lori1043]

I LOVE the shirts!! Mine are rookie looking to THAT!!

Hoping to see korkers after you get back as tomorrow will be BUSY!!!

Tomorrow I'll be MOVIN' QUICK as my house isn't like i want it before we leave. Packing the car tomorow. Taking out the third seat in the morning to pack all the STUFF we are bringing!

Happy day before Disney!!

Lori

[OrangeBlossom15]

Great video ! We took our kids to their only parade Sunday. Too spread out and we bailed a little more than half way through. Oh well.

[DisneyMom14]

Hey great video!!! Our parades don't start until Sunday. I was thinking of taking DS to the children's parade but that's the only one. Now I think it may rain. We shall see.:confused3

I CAN'T BELIVE YOU ONLY HAVE ONE DAY LEFT!!!!!!!:cool1:

Me either!!!!:woohoo:

I was worried the kids wouldn't see a parade either with all this crazy weather, but luckily it worked out. Hope you get some sunshine.

I LOVE the shirts!! Mine are rookie looking to THAT!!

Hoping to see korkers after you get back as tomorrow will be BUSY!!!

Tomorrow I'll be MOVIN' QUICK as my house isn't like i want it before we leave. Packing the car tomorow. Taking out the third seat in the morning to pack all the STUFF we are bringing!

Happy day before Disney!!

Lori

Believe me - my shirts wouldn't look nearly that cute without my mom's sewing ability. I just helped :cutie: I'm soooo not crafty. Yours are going to be really cute I'm sure. The korkers......not my best creation, but she's wearing them anyway!:rotfl: Can't wait to "meet" you!

Great video ! We took our kids to their only parade Sunday. Too spread out and we bailed a little more than half way through. Oh well.

Thanks. I know about spread out parades. That's why we try to catch them as close to the start as possible. I HATE waiting for broken down floats, toasting at the reviewing stand, etc. Have a safe trip!

[winkers]

1 Day!!!!:banana: :banana: :banana:

[DisneyMom14]

WE LEAVE IN 9 HOURS!!!!!

[winkers]

I'm so excited for you!!:banana: :banana: :banana:

[mindyd]

Have a nice trip!

[Beana9802]

WE LEAVE IN 9 HOURS!!!!!

jell-o! :) So excited for yas!

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

Have A Great Trip!!!!!!!!!

[avic77]

Looking forward to reading your trip report. We were there the same time. Im trying to figure out if you are the family we met on one of the buses. My family had matching shirts that we made from the Disign boards.

[DisneyMom14]

Looking forward to reading your trip report. We were there the same time. Im trying to figure out if you are the family we met on one of the buses. My family had matching shirts that we made from the Disign boards.

YES!!! That was us! It was so nice to meet you and your family! This is my first post since we've been back (last Saturday night). Trying to recouperate, catch up, and get over being sick. Thank God I waited until I got home to get sick!

I'll be starting my TR soon!!!!!

[DisneyMom14]

Well guys, I needed the last week to recouperate. We got home last Saturday night, but it feels like a million years ago already. I've edited my photopass pics and cleaned up my personal pics (which we took over 1000!!!:eek: ). Then I got a really bad head cold. Yuck!

Anyway, let's start on January 31st. We took the day off to wrap up last minute things and load up the van while the kids were at school and the babysitter's house. Hubby slept a good nap while I continued to run around because I couldn't keep still and kept thinking of more things that HAD to be done before we left. We got the kids to bed and set the alarm for midnight. I did sleep a couple of hours and managed to get up with the alarm. Everyone was loaded up and we drove away at 12:40. FINALLY we were headed to Disney World. It had been 13 years since we were there on an extended vacation and 3 years since DD, DH, and I brought the school band on a short 3 day trip. Traffic was GREAT at this time of the night. It was probably even better that we were following a strong line of thunderstorms that kept everybody off the roads. We left late enough to not catch up with it. We entered Mississippi by 1:50am (wow!), Mobile by 3:10am (double wow!) and Pensacola by 3:45am! We gassed up at 5am and ate breakfast at a Waffle House between 7-8am. We hit I75 by 8:50. I have to admit that I did not drive before this because I was sooooooo tired! I had been planning and packing and excited, but now I couldn't keep my eyes open even if I couldn't exactly fall asleep. Once the kids were awake (and boy was it peaceful as they slept) they entertained themselves:
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/a52c7d98.jpg http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/1c19543f.jpg
We hit the FL turnpike by 10:40 and arrived at POP by 11:40.
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/8d542c82.jpg
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/c49861f9.jpg I think we made GREAT time. We were soooo excited and much earlier than expected. We checked in and moved our vehicle closer to our building. I had called and requested a room as close to the busses as possible since I had to forego my preferred room with the discount. We got a corner room right next to the big rubix cube in the 80's building. http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/9f653ec5.jpg There was a bellhop walking our direction with an empty luggage cart. My husband went to ask him for it, but he offered to help us with all of our luggage. He loaded it up, brought it to our room and unloaded it. I totally wasn't expecting this at a value resort. We brought a King Cake with us to give to the first cast member who showed us a little pixie dust and he won hands down! We did tip him also and he seemed pleased when I told him what the cake was and represented. We moved right in unpacking and decorating the window. The kids DID NOT want to do all of this but I felt a whole lot better having everything squared away.
Here's a picture of our window:
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/5a6e9f6a.jpg

We were starving at that point and decided to eat at Pop's foodcourt. I had the chicken pasta alfredo (yummy). DH had the shrimp lo mein which was also yummy and the kids split an adult pepperoni pizza. We also bought 2 refillable mugs that came in mighty handy during this trip!

We still had a lot of time left so we wanted to DO something! Check back to see what we did!

[OrangeBlossom15]

Great start and very cute window! Can't wait to hear more!:thumbsup2

[cajunrose]

Can't wait to read more Neighbor!!! (we live in Morgan City) How wonderful that you brought a king cake. I'm sure he loved it.

I think I saw a picture of your window posted by somebody else on another thread. Something about fun to see mickey magic. Let me see if I can find it.

Stephenie

[mindyd]

Great Start and I love the window we are staying at POP so am looking forward to see what you think about it

[winkers]

I'm so glad you've started!!!

[mrsbert]

Well guys, I needed the last week to recouperate. We got home last Saturday night, but it feels like a million years ago already. I've edited my photopass pics and cleaned up my personal pics (which we took over 1000!!!:eek: ). Then I got a really bad head cold. Yuck!

Anyway, let's start on January 31st. We took the day off to wrap up last minute things and load up the van while the kids were at school and the babysitter's house. Hubby slept a good nap while I continued to run around because I couldn't keep still and kept thinking of more things that HAD to be done before we left. We got the kids to bed and set the alarm for midnight. I did sleep a couple of hours and managed to get up with the alarm. Everyone was loaded up and we drove away at 12:40. FINALLY we were headed to Disney World. It had been 13 years since we were there on an extended vacation and 3 years since DD, DH, and I brought the school band on a short 3 day trip. Traffic was GREAT at this time of the night. It was probably even better that we were following a strong line of thunderstorms that kept everybody off the roads. We left late enough to not catch up with it. We entered Mississippi by 1:50am (wow!), Mobile by 3:10am (double wow!) and Pensacola by 3:45am! We gassed up at 5am and ate breakfast at a Waffle House between 7-8am. We hit I75 by 8:50. I have to admit that I did not drive before this because I was sooooooo tired! I had been planning and packing and excited, but now I couldn't keep my eyes open even if I couldn't exactly fall asleep. Once the kids were awake (and boy was it peaceful as they slept) they entertained themselves:
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/a52c7d98.jpg http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/1c19543f.jpg
We hit the FL turnpike by 10:40 and arrived at POP by 11:40.
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/8d542c82.jpg
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/c49861f9.jpg I think we made GREAT time. We were soooo excited and much earlier than expected. We checked in and moved our vehicle closer to our building. I had called and requested a room as close to the busses as possible since I had to forego my preferred room with the discount. We got a corner room right next to the big rubix cube in the 80's building. http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/9f653ec5.jpg There was a bellhop walking our direction with an empty luggage cart. My husband went to ask him for it, but he offered to help us with all of our luggage. He loaded it up, brought it to our room and unloaded it. I totally wasn't expecting this at a value resort. We brought a King Cake with us to give to the first cast member who showed us a little pixie dust and he won hands down! We did tip him also and he seemed pleased when I told him what the cake was and represented. We moved right in unpacking and decorating the window. The kids DID NOT want to do all of this but I felt a whole lot better having everything squared away.
Here's a picture of our window:
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/5a6e9f6a.jpg

We were starving at that point and decided to eat at Pop's foodcourt. I had the chicken pasta alfredo (yummy). DH had the shrimp lo mein which was also yummy and the kids split an adult pepperoni pizza. We also bought 2 refillable mugs that came in mighty handy during this trip!

We still had a lot of time left so we wanted to DO something! Check back to see what we did!


Hi DisneyMom14 !
We were the family right next to you. I never heard ya'll in your room or I would have asked how your vacation was going. We had a few people ask us if we were together since our door was decorated too. We also stratigically planned having our room close to the busses as well. We rarely ate in the main building. It worked out GREAT for us. I hope your kids had a magical time.:wizard:

[lori1043]

hey, I love your window, I can always come lok at your picture and It will remind me of our trip as we saw it every day multiple times-as i have said so many times before!!!
Wish i could have caught up with you all!

Lori

[DisneyMom14]

Great start and very cute window! Can't wait to hear more!:thumbsup2

Thanks!:)

Can't wait to read more Neighbor!!! (we live in Morgan City) How wonderful that you brought a king cake. I'm sure he loved it.

I think I saw a picture of your window posted by somebody else on another thread. Something about fun to see mickey magic. Let me see if I can find it.

Stephenie

That would be sooo funny if someone else would take a picture of MY window! :rotfl: Especially since everyone here laughs at me for decorating it!

Great Start and I love the window we are staying at POP so am looking forward to see what you think about it

I really liked POP but we did not fully take advantage of everything. We did not visit the pool or do anything special and we avoided the food court during busy times. I can't complain though!:)

I'm so glad you've started!!!

Hey!!!! Thanks for reading!

Hi DisneyMom14 !
We were the family right next to you. I never heard ya'll in your room or I would have asked how your vacation was going. We had a few people ask us if we were together since our door was decorated too. We also stratigically planned having our room close to the busses as well. We rarely ate in the main building. It worked out GREAT for us. I hope your kids had a magical time.:wizard:

You never heard us cuz we were probably NEVER there!!!:lmao: Seriously though, we were rarely there and I'm glad that the times we were there that my DS was not throwing any temper tantrums or things against the walls, etc. that would have bothered y'all! We really enjoyed our time at POP and I'm glad y'all did too!

hey, I love your window, I can always come lok at your picture and It will remind me of our trip as we saw it every day multiple times-as i have said so many times before!!!
Wish i could have caught up with you all!

Lori

I know - I'm so bummed about not seeing y'all. It's cool that you passed by our room. :)

[DisneyMom14]

Why shop of course!!!!

Since we arrived earlier than expected, we decided we would go to Downtown Disney. Our first bit of Disney Magic :lovestruc

First we turned into West Side but after driving around, I said "Wait this isn't what I was thinking." So we asked a really nice security person how to get to the Marketplace (duh - keep going a little further). After snagging a pretty good parking spot, I think the first shop we walked into was World of Disney. WOW!:love:

Here are some pictures because I don't have any good words to describe this fantastic store.

Here's Stitch - who spits on you!
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/Disney/7cc48135.jpg

Some obligatory weird hat pics:
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/Disney/29fdbf98.jpg

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/Disney/6494bb88.jpg

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/Disney/a99df1e8.jpg What a good sport!

Beautiful scenery
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/Disney/4718e3da.jpg

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/Disney/07efb6fc.jpg

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/Disney/4deeb878.jpg

and some not so beautiful scenery:
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/Disney/6157547e.jpg

We LOVED this store!!! It was huge, had EVERYTHING, and the cast members were GREAT. The cashier told me to go to the information desk and they would give my DS a first trip pin for free. So of course I had to go get him one.

Then of course we could just SMELL the chocolate across at the Ghiradelli store so we had to buy some.

The Christmas store was beautiful, but we since we will be building, we didn't know what theme/colors we would be going with so we didn't buy anything. More reasons to go back later!

The team store was also cool. This is where I found my brand new little nephew a Mickey dressed in a baseball outfit. Soooo cute! DD also found something for her - a Cheerleader Minnie.
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/Disney/d2f24d34.jpg

We made a quick trip through Goofy's Candy Co. - by the way, I'm sure I will say this a million gazillion times but I'm so stressed when it comes to food - especially sweets because of DS's peanut allergy!

We passed by the Rainforest Cafe. One day, I will eat there. It looks so cool!

Then we went to the Lego store even though I had NO intention of buying any. Too many little pieces for a little boy who doesn't have a room of his own yet and all of his toys are in my living room.:rolleyes1
Here's a pic or two:
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/Disney/30530f3c.jpg

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/Disney/13834c0c.jpg

This is when we decided we needed to eat. I (in the back of my head) had always known I wanted to eat at Planet Hollywood. I should have made reservations a long time ago. When I called from POP before we left for DTD to see if we could make reservations, we were told that they do not make same day reservations. C'est la vie. I took my chances and the wait actually wasn't all that bad. There's so much to look at and we took turns taking the kids to the bathroom, etc. You gotta' like this kind of place though. It's loud and overwhelming. We LOVE to go to Hard Rock Cafe in New Orleans, but that was nothing compared to the loudness of Planet Hollywood. When we got to our table, we did the usual "What is safe for DS to eat" and had a really nice meal. DH and I split the potato skins (yum) and a BBQ bacon cheeseburger (no diet on this trip) and the kids split spagetti and meatballs. After DS and I were finished eating (and while waiting for the ticket), we walked around our seating area looking at the memorabilia (and taking pictures). DS was busy entertaining people by dancing to the loud music. I wish I could have caught him on video, but he seems to have camera radar. Anywho - here's some pics:
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/Disney/733d07ad.jpg

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/Disney/bfbf5ebf.jpg

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/Disney/3ae8c399.jpg

We wanted to get back in to have a good night's rest so we drove back to POP. I decided that the bag that my sister so graciously lent me was not going to work for us and when we got to POP, I bought a drawstring Disney bag and DS bought......a football - like he doesn't have 50 million at home;) but this one was a DISNEY football. So finally, we got in and went to bed.

Side note:
In the year before this trip, it's been the running joke/argument/whatever that I will not be able to get DH and kids up and out the door to make it to the parks before rope drop. It has also been said that we will be late to most of our ADR's. Did we make a good start on our first day in the parks? :eek: What park did we go to first? popcorn:: Come back tomorrow and see! :surfweb:

[lori1043]

Ha love your cliff hanger... we did NOT make it to rope drop until our LAST day-it was just too much with our mostly late nights!!

Lovin' it!!

Lori

[DisneyMom14]

We woke up after a great night of sleep to a Disney wake up call. Well ok I woke up to the alarm because I take longer to get ready, but everyone else woke up to Mickey and Stitch. :mickeyjum :stitch2:

The kids ate cereal and milk before we left. Let me interject that the fridge swap I was on somehow lost the fridge. I won't go into details because it is a really sad story, but I had a small fridge in my library so I just packed it up and brought it with me. Back to the story, we not only made rope drop.....we were EARLY!!! I did not want to get excited at this point because it might just be beginners luck or too early in the trip or just excitedness. Anyway, it was DS's first trip on the bus and he was so happy.
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/f48da8a0.jpg

My husband did make a few comments about waiting in line that early but I said "Rather wait at the front of the line than wait longer in the back of the line." As soon as we were let in, DH went left to get a locker and fastpasses for Kilamanjaro Safaris while we went right to get our stroller and tried to see the opening show.

I'll take this time to talk about our decision to rent a stroller because it is a decision every family with small children has to make. I paid like $80 for a length of stay stroller rental which is just tickets not torn apart with your receipt stapled to it that cast members will stamp each day you get a stroller. My sister paid $80 for a stroller she gets to keep........The difference is she has one tiny little girl while I have a 3 & 6 year old. Even though I had to leave my stroller at the gate every night and lug a sometimes sleeping toddler all the way to the LAST bus stop (Why is POP's bus stops sooooo far from the gate????), all day long in the parks, I had a double stroller to use with BOTH kids and all our stuff and if someone took it, I used my receipt to get another one. So in my opinion, I felt like I got my money's worth.
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/7407c433.jpg

Back to the story, again. Since DH and the rest of us split up, we were meeting at Dinoland. On the way there, we went against some very awesome Tourguide's suggestion about leaving the characters for later and succumbed to the intense excitement of seeing our first characters. We stopped to take pictures with Pooh and friends.

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/8071ba21.jpg

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/c881b120.jpg

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/aabb018f.jpg

DH found us there and we went on to Dinoland. I wasn't impressed. We rode Triceratop Spin - very Dumbo like so the kids really enjoyed it.

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/fc702917.jpg

We did not ride Primeval Whirl or Dinosaur because of the age of the kids. The rest of this land was like any carnival and I wasn't into spending more money on carnival games sowe left and made the 10:00 Nemo show which was not crowded at all. We really enjoyed this show. I wasn't sure about seeing the puppeteers but this was a really good show.

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/melaniefolse/3ee92bfc.jpg

By now it was already lunch and we really wanted to eat at Flame Tree BBQ. We had the 1/2 chicken and the ribs which came with beans and dessert. Again DS couldn't have the baked goods (peanut allergy) but then he didn't eat much of anything anyway. We sat in this little isolated area full of greenery and ducks. I gave up trying to keep my kids from feeding the animals and let them throw a little. Attack of the birds began. :rotfl:

We left and went to "cash in" our fast passes on Kilamanjaro Safaris. DH took LOADS of pictures on this ride. I think he was afraid they wouldn't come out because of the bumpy-ness. Let's just say.... I deleted LOADS of pictures - even some ok ones. It was interesting but if my kids had been older, I would have used my FP's on Expedition Everest (which I didn't ride :sad2: ).

We saw King Louie and Baloo from Jungle Book:
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We had not planned on going to Conservation Station, but DS LOVES trains so I was convinced to go. We didn't spend a lot of time there but got to meet Jiminy Cricket, Pocahontas and Rafiki.
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The kids walked around the Affection Section (petting zoo) for a little while then we rode the train back to Harambi where we saw HER. Devine! She was so beautiful and it took me a second to see what everyone was staring at!
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We stopped at Camp Minnie-Mickey to take a picture with Donald, decided to see Festival of the Lion King, then went back to take pictures with Goofy, Minnie, & Mickey.

FOTLK was really nice even though I hated our seats. The big "float" type things they rolled out with the huge animated characters on them were cool, the singers were awesome and the other entertainers were great too.
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Camp Minnie Mickey was really nice. Even though you are outside, it is really shady and there are fans on the line. The lines weren't very long when we went.

At this point, we were getting to the point where we needed to go back to POP to get a rest before the big event tonight - PIRATE & PRINCESS PARTY!!!!!

On our way out, we see a line waiting to see......Lilo & Stitch! Knowing we were going to be eating at O'Hana's, I rushed by hoping the kids wouldn't see them. They didn't.

We took the bus back to POP at 3pm. We took baths (it was going to be a late night) and a short (45 min) nap. Ok-THEY did. I'm always too excited to sleep. I also had to wash DD's hair as she had a special appointment to make in the morning.;)

If you want to know how the Pirate and Princess Party went and find out what type of emergency we had, you'll have to check back later. :scared1:

[lori1043]

I wasn't sure about the Nemo show. We saw it but the people were distracting(actors) to me. the kids enjoyed it. More in my trip report when i can get the c to work that has my pictures on it!!! they are not on photobucket yet!

Looks great!! lori

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

hi!! I'm tryin to catch up on ur TR :) I'm sorry I was not there when you came to say hi :( That means u will have to come back to visit me :) I can't wait to read through all of this :) Glad to see you made it home safely!!!

[coteau_chick]

I am enjoying your trip report so farpopcorn:: . What night did you go to the p&p party? We were there on Feb 5 (Tuesday). Your kids are soooooo cute.

[Blueyed Girl]

Enjoying the TR. You kiddo's look so cute in the T-shirts you made.:thumbsup2

[OrangeBlossom15]

Love the update! Your kids are very cute. We went to the P&P party on the 5th also. Can't believe you saw Devine. Very cool!:cool2:

[DisneyMom14]

I wasn't sure about the Nemo show. We saw it but the people were distracting(actors) to me. the kids enjoyed it. More in my trip report when i can get the c to work that has my pictures on it!!! they are not on photobucket yet!

Looks great!! lori

Yeah, I think it's hard to predict whether someone will enjoy this type of show or not. It's different from what we're used to.

hi!! I'm tryin to catch up on ur TR :) I'm sorry I was not there when you came to say hi :( That means u will have to come back to visit me :) I can't wait to read through all of this :) Glad to see you made it home safely!!!

Glad you're coming by to visit! I WISH we could go back but I doubt that it will happen so soon. The band trip we're going on probably won't give us the time for ANY type of reservations. I wish I could just stick my head in and say hi though. Do you think they'd allow that if you're working?

I am enjoying your trip report so farpopcorn:: . What night did you go to the p&p party? We were there on Feb 5 (Tuesday). Your kids are soooooo cute.

Glad you're enjoying it! We were at P&P on the 2nd. Can't wait to tell y'all about what happened!

Enjoying the TR. You kiddo's look so cute in the T-shirts you made.:thumbsup2

Thanks!!!! I don't make many things so I am quite proud of them. :-)

Love the update! Your kids are very cute. We went to the P&P party on the 5th also. Can't believe you saw Devine. Very cool!:cool2:

Thanks! We were there on the 2nd but had a FABULOUS time (for the most part - will explain later). Devine is soooo cool! I took at least 5 pics of her and kept 3.

I plan on another update tonight!

[jordanyosh]

Great start to the TR...I'm thinking we must've crossed paths those first few days......

[DisneyMom14]

Great start to the TR...I'm thinking we must've crossed paths those first few days......

You would think we would have???? So sorry I missed you!

[avic77]

Great trip report! Cant wait to read more
Dh and I are coming to NOLA in March for an anniversary get away =)

[WDW Poly Princess]

Aww, Pop Century! It's a sentimental favorite now because I "lived" there the first 4 nights after I moved to FL!

Can't wait to hear about the P&P Party! I think I was working that one!

[DisneyMom14]

Good thing I saved this from last night when I couldn't get it to go through. I would have screamed if I had to retype this:

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By 5:15 we were off to Magic Kingdom for the Pirate & Princess Party. We all had on our pirate shirts and do-rags. We planned to eat supper in MK before the party started. We were soooooo excited as this was our first trip to Magic Kingdom this trip and DS's very first visit there at all. IMHO Magic Kingdom IS Disney World. It is the most magical of all the parks. When we got there, we used our P&P tickets to get in and were given arm bands to wear. We were also given little black satin drawstring pouches to collect our booty and a "treasure map." As we walked through the archway, they were REALLY fogging it up. I guess they wanted it to be mysterious. We used our stoller ticket to get a stroller and went straight to the Jungle Cruise for a mini-meet. I was really hoping to meet some of my friends I had been talking to for the last year. We got there right at 6:30 which was the time of the meet, but it was getting dark, there were a lot of people there, and I was trying desparately to remember what they looked like. I didn't want to go up to random people who might think I was nuts so by 6:45 we left to go eat. I was really bummed. We were close to Pecos Bill's so we went there to eat. When we got inside I looked at my DD and she looked "weird" like something was wrong. I asked her what was wrong and I got a shrug. We had been kind of rushing and I knew they were hungry so I started with the usual questioning trying to pull out what was wrong with her. Somehow I got that she wasn't feeling well. At this point, I always ask "Can you breathe?" because she has asthma. I got a shrug again. I got really close to her and asked her to breathe in deep. CRAP! She was having an asthma attack! Look for her inhaler.....looking for her inhaler......where the heck is that inhaler????? Dump EVERYTHING out of the bag into the stroller - thinking ok, do we run to first aid, is it bad enough or do we go back to the room (can we make it back to the room) to do a breathing treatment, I CAN'T BELIEVE WE JUST GOT HERE AND I PAID HOW MUCH AND WE ARE GOING TO HAVE TO LEAVE!!!!! WHERE IS THE STUPID INHALER????? Mine, my inhaler!!!!!! Thank God in heaven there was one inhaler in our bag! I gave her one puff of mine - not being sure if the strength was the same - sent DH to get food and went sit down. SIGH. The whole time DH is thinking and asking DD if anything else was wrong, was she scared, etc. Come to find out, she WAS scared of meeting up with Captain Hook. ?????? I don't know if this was on top of the asthma or what. DH talked to DD about it and combined with the medicine working she eventually ate supper (although I had trouble eating) and we left the restaurant. I was still coming down from the panic and was not sure what to do or where to go. We passed a sign:
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and decided to wait for the Royal Guard Training. Waiting for it to start, I started talking to a very nice lady with 2 cute little girls. It came up in conversation about DD's asthma and she asked if we walked in when they were fogging up the entrance. Yes. She said the special effect fog and smoke irritates her bronchitis and that maybe that was why DD had asthma. I had been really wondering why in 4 years would her asthma decide to act up NOW? Maybe this was the explanation because I had no other. By the way, this lady's husband was behind us talking to my husband. It's one of the doctors that my kids have seen at our clinic - not her main pediatrician but an associate. What chances, huh?

The show was very cute. It had music, comedy, interaction with the kids, and Aladdin & Jafar. I wish you could have seen my kids jump out of the stroller and hide behind me when Jafar showed up!:lmao: Priceless!!!

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We were going to wait for Captain Jack's Pirate Tutorial, but the doctor's wife told us not to miss the parade so we went to find a spot. We weren't close to the front row, but as I've found, most adults are more than willing to let small children stand in front of them if you don't mind letting your kids be a few feet away from you. I had DH keep an eye on them (just in case DS decided to run for it) as I took pictures. These were the worst pictures by far. The parade was REALLY cute and the only opportunity to see Tinkerbell in person. Most of my pics came out blurry. I really wanted a good picture of Tinkerbell who was so cute and animated. Couldn't catch a good (non blurry) pic.

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After the parade, we decided that we would rather try to ride some rides than see more shows. Peter Pan, Small World, Buzz Lightyear, Monster's Inc all walk ons! We only had a 5 min. wait for Winnie the Pooh. This was GREAT!!!! I've never had that experience before! Let me tell you about riding Peter Pan. Peter Pan is my little boy's absolute favorite movie. We watch it at least 4 times a week. I sat him on my lap so he would have a better view as you kind of look down from your boat. I couldn't see his face, but he was sooo excited. He was waving and calling "Bye Nana!!" as we passed over her and pointing and calling out to Peter and Wendy. I teared up. I knew that right here, right now was it. This is worth the planning, the money, everything. He will never be 3 again and LOVE Peter Pan like he does right now. :lovestruc I'm all veclemped again. I did get a great picture of his face while riding Small World for the first time.
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He loved Buzz Lightyear also.
After Buzz, we passed the dance party in Tomorrowland. This was another very cute memory. It was sooo funny because my kids would dance on the way there, but if we got too close they would stop. Cute if you wanna' see: Click here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGs6aOVWYlA).

Therefore we didn't stay. DH wanted something to eat or drink so he stopped at the Lunching Pad while we walked a little further to see the fireworks from Tomorrowland. I know, not the castle but oh well. I couldn't leave because DH was having some kind of glitch with the register they used or something and it took FOREVER!

The last thing we did that night was wait in line for 35 minutes to see Ariel at her grotto. This seems long but I've seen it longer and the last time DD was at Disney World, we missed her. We were really tired and at least this was one thing we wouldn't have to do when we spend the day there. Ariel was very nice and she tried to interact with DS but he wasn't having it. Ariel asked DD "You have your own little brother!?!? I wish I had a little brother, "etc. To DS - "What is your name? (no response) "Well I'll just call you guppy!"
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It was now around 11pm and we were tired. Tomorrow was going to be an EARLY morning so we (all 4 of us) walked to the busses.

Wanna' find out what was so important that we had to wake up at 6am the morning after the P&P party? Come back tomorrow to find out!

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[OrangeBlossom15]

Most excellent ! Sorry your pictures came out fuzzy but great pic of the castle at night. I'm so glad your daughter is ok. :thumbsup2

[winkers]

The party looks like alot of fun! I'm so excited to go to it!

[lori1043]

Love the Chicken Dance! I am sorry we missed you-but it was just by moments. I so wanted to meet you all. We got there at 6:45 and stayed till 7pm. I was bummed too.

Love your "moment"-there is always one. Mine was DD8 sitting on DH shoulders watching the parade. There was no one around in the back by me and I was just watching DD10 on Pecos Bills brick wall watching it and DH and DD8. Watching thier faces.

Lori

[2poohbears]

I'm really enjoying your TR! I live in Thibodaux, neighbor! My boys love Peter Pan as well...they wore the costumes this year, too. The chicken dance is adorable...love your son's expression at the end. We took our kiddos about a week before Mardi Gras this year, but we had friends that went the same week as you. Next year we'll go during Mardi Gras break from school.

Sorry about your daughter's asthma attack, but I'm glad you posted about it. We're hoping they do P&P next year, and are planning to attend. Mine don't have asthma, but they do have respiratory issues at times due to allergies. I'll have to remember to bring meds with us to the park just in case.

BTW - it's good to see someone else around here also has a binder. Well - okay - you've got me beat, as I only have 1! :rotfl: DH and his friends laugh at me, but we always manage to see everything we want to because I PLAN. Oh - and I have exactly the same silver bin for all of my disney stuff that I pack all year long. I never thought of the shoe organizer---I think I'll add that to my box!

[coteau_chick]

It sounds like you had more fun at the p&p party on Sat. than we had on Tues. It was very crowded Tues. I love your pictures.:goodvibes

[DisneyMom14]

Great trip report! Cant wait to read more
Dh and I are coming to NOLA in March for an anniversary get away =)

Very cool - what are your plans? Relaxation or seeing the sites?

Aww, Pop Century! It's a sentimental favorite now because I "lived" there the first 4 nights after I moved to FL!

Can't wait to hear about the P&P Party! I think I was working that one!

You lucky dog - you work at DW? What do you do?

Most excellent ! Sorry your pictures came out fuzzy but great pic of the castle at night. I'm so glad your daughter is ok. :thumbsup2

Thanks

The party looks like alot of fun! I'm so excited to go to it!

We enjoyed it very much after the drama.

Love the Chicken Dance! I am sorry we missed you-but it was just by moments. I so wanted to meet you all. We got there at 6:45 and stayed till 7pm. I was bummed too.

Love your "moment"-there is always one. Mine was DD8 sitting on DH shoulders watching the parade. There was no one around in the back by me and I was just watching DD10 on Pecos Bills brick wall watching it and DH and DD8. Watching thier faces.

Lori

Shux, man we were so close to meeting! I wonder what my moment will be this time around.

I'm really enjoying your TR! I live in Thibodaux, neighbor! My boys love Peter Pan as well...they wore the costumes this year, too. The chicken dance is adorable...love your son's expression at the end. We took our kiddos about a week before Mardi Gras this year, but we had friends that went the same week as you. Next year we'll go during Mardi Gras break from school.

Sorry about your daughter's asthma attack, but I'm glad you posted about it. We're hoping they do P&P next year, and are planning to attend. Mine don't have asthma, but they do have respiratory issues at times due to allergies. I'll have to remember to bring meds with us to the park just in case.

BTW - it's good to see someone else around here also has a binder. Well - okay - you've got me beat, as I only have 1! :rotfl: DH and his friends laugh at me, but we always manage to see everything we want to because I PLAN. Oh - and I have exactly the same silver bin for all of my disney stuff that I pack all year long. I never thought of the shoe organizer---I think I'll add that to my box!

Hey neighbor! DS has made Peter Pan one of MY favorite's also. I always favored it but now it is so much more sentimental. Hahaha - I love his expression at the end also! Definitely have some kind of emergency meds with you - it had been 4 years since she had an actual "attack." I fully appreciate the binder (both of them). :)

It sounds like you had more fun at the p&p party on Sat. than we had on Tues. It was very crowded Tues. I love your pictures.:goodvibes

Aw - I thought Saturday would be busier. Sorry it was crowded.

[DisneyMom14]

I woke up at 6am to the alarm clock to start getting ready. At 6:30, Mickey and Stitch woke up everybody else. We rode the "early reservation" bus to Magic Kingdom. We arrived early enough to wait in line to be let in for an 8am reservation. Yeah! Today was to be my DD's special day. :lovestruc She was dressed up in her Tinkerbell outfit and DS was dressed up like Peter Pan. When they let us in, DH went to rent our double stroller as DD and I walked up to the castle together. We got in the castle "tunnel" with a few others and had to wait a few more minutes for someone to open up. DH and DS strolled up right before it was time to go inside. DH had taken a few nice pictures of the nearly empty MK.
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Then we were invited in to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. It was very beautiful. There were crowns in glass cases surrounded by a beautiful padded bench for observers to sit on. The rest of the decor was regal just like the rest of the castle.
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DD's Fairy God Mother in Training was a very sweet older lady. She was very nice. There was another FGMT that came a little later into the hair styling to do DD's make up and nails. For the most part, DD was her usual quiet - shy in front of strangers. DD also doesn't wear her emotion on her sleeve so most of our pictures she just has a blank look on her face. For the big reveal, I had to remind her that she could smile. She did - here are the pics:
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I was hoping to see a fellow Diser who is in the College Program but sorry to say she must have not been working this morning. Sorry I missed you Megan!

We got out in time for our next appointment right across the tunnel. We had about a 10 minute wait to get in but soon we were in line waiting to meet Cinderella at Cinderella's Royal Table. princess: Each family got a turn to take pictures and meet Cinderella downstairs and waited a very short time to go upstairs to the resturant.

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As we walked into the restaurant, DS spots HER - Mary Poppins.
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The kids had been so into watching Mary Poppins before we left. He spotted her from across the restaurant and yells out her name! Once upstairs at our table, we reminded our server of DS's peanut allergy and she sent out the chef who informed us that everything was safe except for the pastries. He offered to bring us out some safe biscotti and we agreed. They were delicious! Very soon we were brought our breakfast which included the usual eggs, bacon, sausage, and potatoes I believe. The kids did eat a little which was better than I expected for any of our character meals. I was expecting that they wouldn't eat at all because of the excitement. We had some time to eat before the characters made their way to our area. There was Mary Poppins, Aurora, Snow White, and Belle (in blue).
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Each princess made their way to our table, engaged the kids in small talk and took a picture with them. We made sure to get autographs. The kids' favorite was......Mary Poppins! They got the biggest kick out of her conversation. I think I mentioned that we had been watching her on TV a lot lately and she said that DD and DS reminded her of another little boy and girl she knew (Jane and Michael). When she was ready for the picture she said "Come on now, Spit Spot!" :lmao: :rotfl2: The kids jumped to it. We laughed and laughed and now they tell everyone how Mary Poppins told them Spit Spot! It's in the movie, if you're not familiar with it. Our pictures came soon after and also our ticket. CRT is the only character meal that your tip IS included by the way. We "paid" with our room key/DDP and left right at 10.

Where do we go from here? I'm too tired to tell you right now, but I'll be back tomorrow!:thumbsup2

[Beana9802]

I was just wondering if you were going to see Megan at the BBB....your kids are SOOO cute!:goodvibes

[DisneyMom14]

Forgot to mention this in the previous post:

When packing to go to Disney world, I accidently/on purpose left Peter Pan's dagger at home. We get to CRT and what do they give DS? A sword. :scared: More about that later.

There was also a cute little "Wishing Ceremony" when the kids use their sword or wand(for girls) wave them over their wishing star (they all received) then made a wish and kissed their star...... you get the idea.

Just thought I'd add this in before I forgot about it.

[coteau_chick]

I am so jealous you got to take your dd to bbb. I tried with dd 15 and it almost worked. Now I will have to wait until dd 7months old is old enough to go to bbb. I can't wait. Your children are really cute. Your dd is beautiful I love her tinker bell costume. I like tinker bell.

[ProudMommyof2]

I just finished your posts to date. Your family is beautiful! Signing on and so nice to know I am not alone in my planning fanaticism!!!

[2poohbears]

Your pics all came out so good! Love the castle without any people in the shot, too.

Your daughter is adorable at BBB. I only have boys, so I don't get to enjoy the fun girly stuff.

[OrangeBlossom15]

Oh love the Spit Spot! True Disney moment!pixiedust:

[DisneyMom14]

I am so jealous you got to take your dd to bbb. I tried with dd 15 and it almost worked. Now I will have to wait until dd 7months old is old enough to go to bbb. I can't wait. Your children are really cute. Your dd is beautiful I love her tinker bell costume. I like tinker bell.

It was a cool experience. Yeah - not sure the 15 year old would think it is cool enough, but at least you have another one to look forward to!:)

I just finished your posts to date. Your family is beautiful! Signing on and so nice to know I am not alone in my planning fanaticism!!!

Thank you and welcome!

Your pics all came out so good! Love the castle without any people in the shot, too.

Your daughter is adorable at BBB. I only have boys, so I don't get to enjoy the fun girly stuff.

Thanks! I think Disney needs to do more for boys. My DS is 3 and I would love a Pirate themed or Toy Story type of meal for him to go to.

Oh love the Spit Spot! True Disney moment!pixiedust:

I thought that was great too!!

[Blueyed Girl]

:rotfl: I was nervous about them giving DS a sword too. I had to keep reminding him not to wave it around. :eek: I thought he would knock someone out!

[DisneyMom14]

We just missed the rope drop going into Toontown because of breakfast. We went there anyway hoping a lot of people wouldn't be there. There was a good amount already there. I knew DD wouldn't keep the Tinkerbell costume on all day so I had packed a set of clothes for both of them. We stopped at Pete's Garage for her to carefully change without messing up the new do. DS kept his costume on but it was more comfortable than hers was. Remembering how good the character interaction was at Toontown Hall of Fame, we decided to go in to see what the line looked like and who was there. Like every line in Disney world, it LOOKED shorter than it actually was. We waited to see Pluto, Goofy, and Donald mostly because we hadn't seen Pluto and when we saw Goofy and Donald the day before, they were in their Safari gear. It was a nice experience, but DS decided he didn't like Pluto????
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After our pictures with the characters, we spent a little time in the store. There was a nice selection of Mickey ears here and they embroidery. DD picked out a pink princess set and DS got the original black set. The lady who stitched their names was really talented. If you've never seen them do this, the person actually moves the hat in such a way that the machine "writes" the name by stitching. The writing came out beautifully! I put the hats in the bag to discourage the kids from wearing them today as DD had a very expensive hair do and DS had a Peter Pan costume on with a hat already. (Mean mommy) Upon leaving the store, I encouraged my kids to ride Goofy's Barnstormer but neither one wanted to. ???? So we passed by Donald's Boat which they spent like 5 minutes in and decided to wait for the train which we would ride to Frontierland. Walking up to the train, we looked to the left of the station and saw.....more characters! Different characters!!! Jafar, Perla & Suzy, and a few others. We decided this was too good to miss so we walked over there and who do we meet up with first?

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Captain Hook and Mr. Smee! Notice there are no children in the picture. Both of my chickens would not go NEAR them. DH and I got their autographs and took this pic. At this time, all the characters started going in and we were told they would be back in 30 min. I didn't want to wait so we got back in line for the train. While waiting for the train, we were informed that the first train we would see would be rolling in but backing up for maintenance. Another train would be coming up almost immediately behind it. The first train did roll forward, some people looked at different areas of it and then it backed up. We saw more characters come out and started feeling like we should have waited out there, but then here comes the train. We probably could have walked to Frontierland by the time we waited and rode there, but DS loves trains and the ride was nice and scenic.

When we got to the other side of the park, DH got FP for Jungle Cruise and we all went inside to see the Tiki room. I've always liked the Tiki room and I thought the improvements were nice additions.
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We were going to go find lunch when DS started throwing a fit. He didn't want to eat. Ok melt down started so let's go back to POP. He didn't want to leave. He threw a screaming, kicking fit all the way from Frontierland to the gates. Yes, EVERYONE was staring. They either hated us or sympathized depending on whether they had kids or not. Oh well. I knew he was just extremely tired from the full day and the late night before and just needed to sleep. He fell asleep on me riding the bus around 1:30. We got to Pop and DD and I went to the food court to get lunch while DH waited in the room with Sleeping Beauty (DS). There was a very nice surprise for us.
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I got the Sloppy Joe and DD got the mac n cheese. The sloppy joe was DELICIOUS!! We brought our meals to the room to eat so that DH could go and find himself something to eat. He came back with a pepperoni pizza. DD and DH laid down to rest and everyone slept......except for me. I'm always too excited to sleep. I sat outside the room and made phone calls to family members.

We got back to MK between 4-4:30. We rode Pirates and were pleasantly surprised at the little drop we had forgotten about. DS sat on my lap during the ride and we all enjoyed it very much. One of the most important goal of the day was to find Peter Pan. We kept passing the area he was supposed to come out of and we kept missing him. Captain Hook and Mr. Smee was out EVERY time we passed. I got desparate and asked a cast member to make a call to find out when we could catch Peter. Unfortunately, he would not be coming back out today :sad1: but she asked if we would be coming back to MK another day. I said yes - Wednesday. She told me to come there first and someone would call and let me know exactly when he would be there. So we left a little disappointed but I knew that this was one dream I knew I would have to make come true. We were passing the Dole Whip stand and I HAD to have one. I have never had one and I LOVE pineapples. I had heard so many good reviews from fellow Dissers! It was absolutely delicious! :thumbsup2

I am at the point where I didn't write in my notebook so I will now be going off of my memory - not good. I noticed that I'm missing my pics from this evening so I'm going to look for them and post again later with the conclusion of our day. You can expect Spectro and Wishes as well as an extra magic hour! popcorn::

[jordanyosh]

I too loved the Sloppy Joe....Your little Pan looks great.....Sorry you didn't get to see Pan....I hope there's a happy ending to the story.

Great pix by the way.

[coteau_chick]

I loved the pictures of the towel animals. My kids waited for one everyday and we were never left any. Oh well. I sure hope you got to see Peter Pan. I can't wait to find out.

[DisneyMom14]

I too loved the Sloppy Joe....Your little Pan looks great.....Sorry you didn't get to see Pan....I hope there's a happy ending to the story.

Great pix by the way.

Hmmm you'll have to keep reading to find out. ;)

I loved the pictures of the towel animals. My kids waited for one everyday and we were never left any. Oh well. I sure hope you got to see Peter Pan. I can't wait to find out.

I'm sorry y'all didn't get any towel animals. We must have had a really creative housekeeper. ???? I can't wait to share the rest of the story with everyone. It takes so long to get it all out.

[DisneyMom14]

Located the missing pictures! I guess I was so tired after the EMH that I forgot to upload them. The next day I only uploaded the ones from that park skipping the ones from the night before. They were fortunately still on my sd card.

Here are pictures from Pirates including Captain Jack who was giving his tutorial which we saw a little of:
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Since we knew we wouldn't be missing Peter Pan as he wasn't coming back tonight, we used our FP from earlier this morning to ride the Jungle Cruise.

Here are the infamous lions babysitting the sleeping zebra:
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We got our EMH bracelets while in Adventureland.

Here's a gorgeous shot of the castle that night:
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I know that we wanted to be in front of the castle for Wishes but we got there way too late for a good spot. We were in the hub and a cast member was keeping a walkway open. I was told that if I stood along the walkway, I would be able to see the parade. So we waited then all of a sudden loads of people came and stood in the walkway in front of us and they LET them!!! I was sooooo angry because there was no way my kids could see. I had heard that Frontierland had less people so I went scouting. I found an area that was less crowded and not too far away. I then had to rush back to get the rest of the family. It was getting incredibly close to parade time and by the time I got back to them - the lights went out. We rushed through loads of people and got to a corner close to the spot I saw. We left the stroller and walked the kids behind those who were already there. Thankfully the standing adults stood to the back and the ones in the front were sitting down. The kids got an upfront seat and we stood to the back. Thank God!!! I was hoping my rushing and stressing everyone out and making everyone leave the other spot would be worth it and it absolutely was.

Before the parade, we had told DS that Peter had to get ready for the parade which was why he was able to meet him today. During the parade, Peter waved at DS. :lovestruc That was a nice touch.
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I was determined to get a spot in front of the castle for Wishes. We strolled back to the castle and ended up stopping before the street circle and parked against the railing. It wasn't quite in front of the castle, but it was close enough. I left DH with the kids and walked to Casey's Corner for supper. I got there with 4 people in front of me. 10 minutes later the lights went down and there was still 4 people in front of me. I left so that I didn't miss Wishes. I got back after Tinkerbell flew, but I saw the rest.

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We sat and waited while the crowds dissapated. Then we strolled back to Casey's Corner where we ate hot dogs as our late supper.

We left to take advantage of our EMH. DD wanted to go on the Tea Cups. She LOVED it of course. DH and DS rode in a separate Teacup b/c DH wasn't sure what he could handle and DD and I were ready to spin!
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Since we were relaxed and knew we had a whole other day back here in MK on Wednesday, I had no problem sitting and watching the kids play at Pooh's playground.
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We walked to Tomorrowland and DS wanted to ride Buzz again....so we did.
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By this time, we were tired and thinking of leaving but then we saw Chip & Dale.
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It was around 11pm and thought we would leave ahead of the crowd. By the time we got to our bus stop, the crowd was quite heavy. It took 6 busses for us to get on one. When we looked behind us, there was at least just as many people in line as there was when we walked up. That meant that they were probably going to need another 6 busses to bring them all back to Pop! wow!

DS was sleeping on DH by the time we got on the bus. We had to stand and NO ONE offered him a seat. I couldn't believe it. DS is 35lbs and yes we were all tired by that time of the night, but how was DH going to hold on to a sleeping toddler and a bar????? I was just so disappointed.

We did safely make it back to Pop and I offered to carry DS back to the room. We didn't have an early morning so we looked forward to a good night's sleep.

Tomorrow is a new park and another character meal popcorn::

[Blueyed Girl]

LOVE the pictures from Wishes!!

That stinks that no one offered DH a seat! When DH and I went in '97 these 2 elderly ladies got on the bus and were the first ones to have to stand. DH got up to offer his seat and we were thinking these 2 other guys right next to us would do the same for the ladies but NOPE!! No one made their kids stand and no other men got up for them so I did. Very sad if you ask me! My parents would have made us stand (assuming we were old enough) so that the elderly could sit. You just don't see that very often anymore. :sad2:

[lori1043]

That stinks about some people not giving up thier seats for your DH. We my DH and DD10 stood on most busses and when no one NEEDED a seat, like your DH, DD8 sat on my lap. It is amazing to me how many people have thier little ones taking up a seat when an older person or someone with a sleeping kid is STANDING. Urks my nerves. Is it entitlement b/c they got on the bus first?? I mean, WTH??!

LOVE the Wishes pics. I got some video of it and loaded it on photobucket, not sure how to post it. I esp like the one that lights up the crowds so well- it really shows how amazing that show is!

Lori

[jordanyosh]

Your Wishes pix are great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[DisneyMom14]

Thanks for the compliments. I'll pass it on to my DH who took the pics. :)

[DisneyMom14]

We got to Epcot before rope drop hoping to make use of the time before our ADR's at 10:20. First stop for me - strollers. First stop for DH - FP for Soarin'. I was so aggrivated when I realized I had left our length of stay stroller passes back at Pop and had to purchase an additional day. One good thing was that I had only purchased 5 days and we actually had park tickets for 7. The last few days were iffy whether we would use the strollers - Now it looked like we would use one at least one extra day. You'll see later that the stroller came in very handy today.

We again succumbed to the temptation of the characters. DH and kids HAD to stop at the Character Connection. The lines were very short but in my opinion we had seen enough characters. This was supposed to be all about the kids so we stopped and did get some really nice pictures.
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After coming out, we rode the Living Seas with Nemo and Friends, but had to pass up Turtle Talk with Crush for now so that we could make our ADR's.

We strolled over to Norway to check in at Akershus. We planned to eat a small breakfast in the room and use our big breakfast at 10:20 as a lunch. World Showcase looked so funny with hardly anyone there.

We were called into the restaurant and while waiting in line we had a little Disney Magic. We somehow found out that the princess taking pictures with guests before the meal was Belle. The cast member in charge of bringing guest to her overhead DD say that she wondered if Belle would have her blue dress on again or her yellow. He asked if we had met her before and we told him that we had breakfast with her yesterday and she had her blue dress on. He told us we would just have to be surprised when we saw her as to whether or not she was in her yellow gown, but then he walked away. We were called up next to see Belle and she had her.........
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yellow dress!!!!!

The best thing was that she saw us and said it was so nice to see us again. She said it was very nice to have had us for breakfast yesterday. The kids were smiling ear to ear. Either DD or DH kept saying "Mommy tell her who your favorite princess is." So of course Belle looks at me and kind of embarrased now I said, "Why you of course." Belle then asked me to take a special picture just her and I. Awww!She was very sweet and princess-like.
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The breakfast was normal except I believe it was here that I didn't care for the potatoes. I didn't like them cheesy. My BIGGEST complaint is that I reminded the server about DS's peanut allergy, she said she would get the manager or chef and he or she NEVER came. I took my chances eventually and let him eat the things that are normally ok for him, but it kind of stressed me out. I didn't even make a trip to the "buffet table" because I knew there would be pastries which can be dangersous for DS. We ate only the eggs, sausage, and bacon that had been brought to us. The princesses made their way to our table. We were able to see Snow White and Aurora again. DS got a special kiss from Aurora which we missed on camera, but here is his reaction right after.
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We also received a visit from Jasmine who I asked to take a picture with my DH. I just knew he'd love that one. She made him stand like a Sultan! Too funny! Poor girl probably has to do that to keep men from grabbing her around the waist.

Last but certainly not least for me was Mulan.
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I had never met Mulan and was very excited to meet her. She was very sweet and affectionate with the kids. DS also received a kiss from Mulan although her lipstick didn't make as much of a mark. Here's his reaction:
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When we left the restaurant, there was no wait for Maelstrom so we walked right on. DD loved it so much we walked out and walked straight back on. We also started our Kidcot stations. The kids loved coloring the mask. Before we left, I really wanted to taste a school bread. I had heard a lot about these. It was rather large - we (DH, DD & I) all ate off of one as we had just eaten at Akershus. Still nervous about feeding DS pastries. It was rather regular bread in the shape of a roll with a cold vanilla custard inside and topped with coconut icing. Pretty tasty.

Next we walked back to Mexico and rode the ride there but not before taking more obligatory hat pictures.
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We also tried to talk to the cast members at the Kidcot station using a little spanish when we could. Again, I couldn't leave without a favorite food of mine from WS - churros. We did ask about peanut ingredients but DS wasn't interested anyway.
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Next we went to China. I was on a mission to buy my mom a fan per her request and ended up liking one so much I bought one for me too. At the exit of the store, the kids sat down at the kidcot station. The cast member wrote the kids names in Chinese and even gave them a stamp of the animal that symbolized the year of their birth. I laughed when I found out that DS's was the year of the monkey. I ALWAYS call him a monkey because he acts like one most of the time. DD's was the snake and she can be sneaky. Made me wonder what mine would have been. Anyway, we had a very special visitor during this kidcot activity.
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She remembered us from breakfast and was just about to walk out to her greeting area when she saw us and wanted to say hi. DS was trying hard to ignore her. I'm not sure if was trying to act coy or if he was still embarrased from this morning's kiss.

While in Germany, we stopped to buy Gummy Bears and do Kidcot. We met up with another familiar face who also remembered us from breakfast and I could swear this was the same Snow White from CRT the day before too which really helps DD to NOT ask questions when looking at pictures.
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We passed through Italy, took some pictures, and did the Kidcot station.
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We went to the Kidcot station at the American Pavillion but had just missed my DH's favorite thing about Epcot - Voices of Liberty. We decided to go to Japan and come back for the next performance. We saw a little of the drummers and went inside to find the Kidcot Station. We talked to the cast members and learned hello and thank you which I will not even attempt to spell. They were very nice. DH knew he had heard Aragato (sp?) before and mentioned that it was familiar. The cast member smiled and sang "Aragato Mr. Roboto." We laughed and laughed together. That was it. We also went into the store and bought some chop sticks for us and a Hello Kitty pair for DD.

We went back to the American Pavillion in time to watch the Voices of Liberty who were absolutely wonderful. DH is a music teacher and also directs choirs on occasion. He loves this group so much. I on the otherhand just really appreciate the talent this group has. DS fell asleep on me during the performance so we decided to go into The American Adventure so that we could all rest a while. He was so heavy to carry back to the stroller. I ended up having to give him to DH.

Here's the stroller being put to good use.
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The next country was Morocco. Mo'rockin was playing so we stopped for a while. The cast member in the kidcot station wrote in Arabic which is a very beautiful language when written. We also looked around the store a little and at the request of another shopper smelled the inside of a sheep leather coin purse! :crazy2:

DD also got to meet a few people while her brother slept.
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We walked around France looking forward to a few things. One goal of mine was finding Belle's library (the librarian in me).
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Another was eating something from the patisserie. I had the Napoleon which was like layers of flaky but not salty crackers and vanilla custard between the layers and dusted with powdered sugar. Yummy.

And of course going to the kidcot station where we knew more of the language and tried to talk in French to the cast members as much as we could.

We passed through the United Kingdom doing the kidcot station, but passing on pictures with Pooh and friends. I know - can you believe it!?! DD and I stopped to take a picture.
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We met up with Kenai in Canada and then walked around the gardens and did the kidcot station.
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As we were walking away from the World Showcase, DS woke up. A 3 hour nap and boy was it quiet and peaceful watching him sleep like that. :goodvibes
We stopped at the Cool Spot. I had some dark intentions.
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The Beverly was not a hit. :rotfl:

We walked back to The Land. Since we had 4 fastpasses and DS is too little to ride, DD got to go on with her dad and then walk right back on with me. She came out with the biggest smile on her face! While DD and I were riding Soarin', DH took DS on Living with the Land. We were hungry and it was very convenient to go ahead and eat at Sunshine Seasons. By the way, the noodles were GREAT! We of course had to ask a chef what would be safe for DS, but he had quite a few choices.

When we left, we saw a five minute wait for Spaceship Earth so we went on it. DS was a little nervous about going up in the big ball, but it turned out just fine. I was nervous for a little while when we passed through the fake smoke smell wondering if DD in the car behind me with DH would start with her asthma again. Luckily not.

We then walked back to the Seas. We parked our stroller and walked in through the exit so that we just walked into the waiting area for Turtle Talk with Crush. It was fairly empty. The show was cute and very funny. Most of the kids were very quiet and Crush kept having to say "Dude???" - long and drawn out like he does.
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We finished in time to walk over to World Showcase and watch Illuminations. I haven't mentioned this before but anytime we watch fireworks we have to first put earplugs into DS's ears and most of the time he's holding his ear anyway and hiding his eyes. He has tubes and maybe it makes him more sensitive to loud noises. I held him for most of the show and when that last big boom shook us - he couldn't stop shaking. It was funny and sad at the same time.
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We knew as we were leaving that we would be making an unplanned visit back to Epcot one of our last days. After all, we were leaving without having done Test Track!

Tomorrow is Mardi Gras Day! We plan on showing Disney World how we roll.

[OrangeBlossom15]

Most excellent update! Guess what ? We were Incredibles on our Hollywood Studios day. And guess what? We were at Epcot the same day you were. Small World eh?:thumbsup2