I'm A Planning Machine....What Else Can I Make w/PICS & VIDEO

[iluv2go2disney]

OK! I am excited to say I have finally gotten over my fears and decided to start my PTR. It's a little scary to think I may write this and no one will care or they will just "lurk around" and not post anything. But I'm here now so here it goes.

THE CAST
Me- I am a stay at home mom. Like everyone else here, I'm a DISNEY FREAK. I haven't always been though. This is a newly formed disease. :rotfl2: I caught the bug during our last trip to the world (July 2007). I had been a few times before but something in me just snapped this time. So, let me tell you a little more about me. I like...no, I LOVE :lovestruc the color PINK. I like sparkle. I'm a dance mom and I'm used to rhinestoning (is that even a word?) everything. And I like things to match. You'll find out more about that later.
:goodvibes
DH - He is very easy going. His biggest love...other than me and the kids :lovestruc is Univeristy of Kentucky basketball. GO BIG BLUE. He isn't a Disney freak, but would never deny me the opportunity to go either. He enjoys all of my "over-planning" because it just makes the trip so much more enjoyable when we get there. Once he gets there he has a great time.:goodvibes

DD- She is 9 and we will be celebrating her birthday while we are there. She has become recently obsessed with Tinkerbell.And I mean obsessed. She wants it all and she wants it to match, too. ( Just like MOM). :lmao:She is a dancer and loves every minute of it. We'll call her Tink.

DS- He is 8. He likes Stitch, Test Track and Goofy's Candy Company. On our last trip he would save his snack credits to use there on the "Make your own treat" section. He isn't a daredevil. Test Track is about as wild as he gets when it comes to riding. He loves football...GO STEELERS. We'll call him Stitch.

My mom and dad - Mom went with us last July, but dad could'nt get off work. He is so excited that he gets to join in the fun this year. They love Disney, just not as much as me. They let me plan it all and say "Just tell us where we're going today and where we're eating". They enjoy going, just not the planning. The planning is the FUN:woohoo: part of it. I LOVE IT. We'll call them Donald & Daisy.

THE PLANS
We are going July 19-26 and staying at POP Century. This is where we stayed last year and we loved it. The kids loved the pool and the food court. My son kept calling it "the mall".:lmao: We are on the DDP and have already made all our ADR's. We're eating at :
1. Chef Mickey's
2. Le Cellier
3. Crystal Palace
4. O'hana's
5. Sci-Fi Drive Inn
6. 50's Prime Time
7. 1900 Park Fare
:woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: These are all the ones I wanted. So, I was very excited. We are also doing the water parks this year. The kids are real excited about that. I think we've decided on Blizzard Beach.

NEXT UPDATE: THE OBSESSION BEGINS!
I'll Make it easy to keep up with udates with this "cheat sheet".:
1. We're having a Disney Christmas ~pg.1
2. Pics from our last trip ~pg.1
3. NEW VIDEO!!! ~pg. 3

[winkers]

Hi! So do you own a bedazzler??:rotfl2: I have a dd who dances so I know all about glittery stuff!

[iluv2go2disney]

:lmao: I do have a bedazzler... but I don't think it works very well at all. You have to push way too hard. I have a little hand held "thingy" that heats up. You have to use rhinestones with glue already on them. It is sooo easy to use.
I'm glad :goodvibes to see you've joined my report. I have enjoyed reading yours. I have been trying to make a link in my signature for my PTR. Do you know how? :confused:

[iluv2go2disney]

OK I'm already off track. I hope the whole thing doesn't go like this. :lmao: I planned on telling you about how my obsession began on our last trip, but instead I thought I'd shares some pics from Christmas. You'll see why.
This picture thing may take me a few tries. Here it goes:
http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd267/iluv2go2disney/DSCI0033.jpg

[iluv2go2disney]

Let's try it again :goodvibes <a href="http://s226.photobucket.com/albums/dd267/iluv2go2disney/?action=view&current=DSCI0033.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd267/iluv2go2disney/DSCI0033.jpg" border="0" alt="Mickey tree_1"></a>

[iluv2go2disney]

AAARRRGGGHHH:scared1: :scared1: :scared1:
Try # 3:
http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd267/iluv2go2disney/DSCI0033.jpg

[iluv2go2disney]

:cheer2: :cheer2: :cheer2: :cheer2:
I DID IT !! I DID IT !!
Now here are the others.http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd267/iluv2go2disney/DSCI0034.jpg

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd267/iluv2go2disney/DSCI0037.jpg


http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd267/iluv2go2disney/DSCI0038.jpg

This was this years tree. I was fully under Disney's spell by this point. I got the idea for the ornaments from a fellow DIS'er. I took a regular Santa hat and made ears for it. Then i just added gloves out the sides of the tree. Back to my "like things to match problem", I wrapped all the gifts in red, black or silver paper, and used ribbon in those colors also. Some of the paper was solid, some stripe , and some dots (like ::MinnieMo ) It was so cute.

[winkers]

Your tree is adorable! I think you do have a matching disease!!:lmao:

[iluv2go2disney]

:lmao: UPDATE TIME
SO like I said before...we went to WDW last year. DD had a dance compettion the week before in Florida so we had to drive down. :scared1: Ugh! That was a long drive. We promised the kids we would fly this year.:cheer2: My mom and dad both came down to watch her dance. Mom decided to head on down to Disney with us but Dad couldn't take any more time off from work. So we said good-bye in the hotel parking lot. He headed back to KY and we headed for WDW. :banana: When we started planning this trip, DD informed me that she wasn't a baby (she's 9, remember), she wasn't into all this princess stuff and she really didn't want to go. WHAT???:eek: So I made it my mission to educate DD on just how much stuff WDW had for "non-babies". She soon became excited, as did the rest of us. :cheer2:
We hadn't been for so long and so many things had changed. We didn't know anything about the DDP, except we had signed up for it. :lmao: After a few days...we had it all figured out. It was on this trip that I became the "Official Disney Planner" of the family. :love: This is the trip that I caught the Disney-itis. Something came over me and I just felt all warm and fuzzy inside.:cloud9: AAWWW!! I think it had something to with the fact that we had never stayed on Disney property and we had never eaten at any Disney restaurants...NONE...EVER!! This was just a whole different trip and I loved it. Here are some pics from our last trip.
http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd267/iluv2go2disney/034-Copy.jpg
Here is a picture of the whole gang, minus my mom. DS in on the far right. He really did have a great time on this trip. He just HATES to have his picture made. I had to bribe him a few times. (I know BAD mommy)
http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd267/iluv2go2disney/026.jpg
My mom with Donald.:goodvibes
http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd267/iluv2go2disney/031.jpg
SEE! He really doesn't like to be in pictures!:rotfl2:
http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd267/iluv2go2disney/037.jpg
But he did smile in some of them. I had probably just bribed him, though.

[winkers]

Your son looks so thrilled!:rotfl2:

[becca011906]

great start to the pre trip!!! your family is lovely! Can't wait to read more!

[iluv2go2disney]

Thanks. Glad to have you.

[red1der1]

Love the tree!!! TFS!!

[iluv2go2disney]

Love the tree!!! TFS!!
Thanks. I had such a good time making it all. I think it also made Christmas more fun this year. :)

[iluv2go2disney]

OT Just thought I give you an update on what happened yesterday. My DD had an academic meet at a local school. She answered alot of questions correctly.:cool1: She also tested in 2 areas and she placed 2nd and 4th out of everyone.:woohoo: I was sooo proud of her. Just thought I'd share this with you. I'll have an update in a day or so.:goodvibes

[carissanboys]

That tree is really cool :)

You're going to a lot of the same restaurants we did on our trip.

And my oldest doesn't like his picture taken either. Drives me nuts.

[iluv2go2disney]

That tree is really cool :)

You're going to a lot of the same restaurants we did on our trip.

And my oldest doesn't like his picture taken either. Drives me nuts.
Welcome. Glad to have you with us. I'm glad to see someone else has a son with a phobia of cameras. I notice our sons are about the same age. MAybe that has something to do with. At least that's what I'll tell myself.

We ate at some of the same restaurants last time that we are this time, but some are new. We've never been to O'Hana's, 1900 Park Fare, Crystal Palace or Le Cellier. What is everyones experience with these?

[carissanboys]

Last trip we went to 'Ohana and Crystal Palace for lunch. Loved them both. There were some things at 'Ohana I wasn't crazy about (I mainly liked the skewered beef, but wasn't crazy about the other meats, but the sides were all awesome), but overall I enjoyed it. I would have enjoyed it more if I hadn't been feeling sick. It's a fun atmosphere for the kids.

We've now done two character meals (CP and Chef Mickeys) and I much preferred CP. The food was better (although we ate breakfast at CM and lunch at CP) and the characters didn't seem so rushed. Mickey practically flew by us at CM. And I thought it was way overpriced at CM.

We were suppose to eat at Le Cellier this time around, but our plans changed (shhhhh...don't tell my readers as I haven't gotten to that part in my TR yet ;)). I've heard great things about it though.

[iluv2go2disney]

I'm heading to your TR now.:cool1:

[becca011906]

We ate at some of the same restaurants last time that we are this time, but some are new. We've never been to O'Hana's, 1900 Park Fare, Crystal Palace or Le Cellier. What is everyones experience with these?

We are eating at all of them except for O'Hana's on our trip and it's sooner then yours so i can give you my opinions when we get back, we're doing 1900 dinner, C.P. for b'fast, Le Cellier for lunch. :)

Can't wait to read more!

[iluv2go2disney]

We are eating at all of them except for O'Hana's on our trip and it's sooner then yours so i can give you my opinions when we get back, we're doing 1900 dinner, C.P. for b'fast, Le Cellier for lunch. :)

Can't wait to read more!
Have yo ubeen to these before or are they new to you?
42 MORE DAYS...you are so lucky!!!!!

[becca011906]

Have yo ubeen to these before or are they new to you?
42 MORE DAYS...you are so lucky!!!!!

They are all new, this is first time on the DDP before we have mostly eat CS meals, with CRT dinner (before it was a charecter meal), Garden Grill, and Sci Fi, Liberty Tree for lunch, Coral Reef, I think that's all that i can remember.

[ehstrojette]

we are eating at chef Mickey's on Weds night. It is a P&P party night so we have reservations there. I hope it is good. Subbing to your trip report.

[iluv2go2disney]

we are eating at chef Mickey's on Weds night. It is a P&P party night so we have reservations there. I hope it is good. Subbing to your trip report.
Welcome to me PTR. We really enjoyed Chef Mickeys. It's a typical buffet, nothing fancy. But we liked it. We went for dinner last year, but we're trying breakfast this year. Hope you enjoy it.

[iluv2go2disney]

I wanted to see if anyone could give me some advice. I'm trying to make my pictures smaller when I upload them and I have a videoI want to add. Can someone give me some advice?

[carissanboys]

I wanted to see if anyone could give me some advice. I'm trying to make my pictures smaller when I upload them and I have a videoI want to add. Can someone give me some advice?

I had issues with the size too. Just upload them normally to photobucket. Then, when you click on a picture, it'll take you to a page to edit it. Click on the resize button and it gives you different options. I'd either go with the email size or the message board size (sometimes the email size is too small to see good detail).

As for uploading video, click on the video tab and then just upload.

Hope that helps.

[becca011906]

I'm new to the pictures thing but starting to figure them out... what program are you using?? I've been fighting with is photobucket some pics it will resize and it will show the right size in photobucket but then when i go to post it it's still big... arrgggg. as for photos i've only seen people upload them to you tube.com and then post the link to it...

[iluv2go2disney]

I'm tryong photobucket...but I think I may need to try something new. As for the videos, I don't care to try youtube, which I never have. But I have seen people have the video directly on their page just like a picture. You just click on it to watch it.

[becca011906]

i'm going to be moving all my stuff out of photobucket to my shutterfly.com albums... thoes are a little harder (harder only that it take 3 steps vs 1 from photobucket). the photos are smaller size and i don't think you can chage the sizes at all there... but they are a decent size... lets see..http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1359157 that had a lot of tips in it and tells you how to do it from the shutterfly site too.

[mindyd]

Hi...

I love your tree I might have to steal the idea for next year!

[iluv2go2disney]

I notice that I've got lots of lurkers out there and I'd just like to say come on in and say Hi. I'm really excited to show ya'll my new project. I made a video of pictures from our last Disney vacation. Click on the link below and let me know what you think.:)
www.youtube.com/iluv2go2disney216 (http://www.youtube.com/iluv2go2disney216)

[becca011906]

Great video!!!

[iluv2go2disney]

Great video!!!
Thanks. I had fun making it.

[carissanboys]

Great job on the video! :) I love the song you used :)

[mindyd]

Hi

Great video we were there last year in June also.

[iluv2go2disney]

Hi

Great video we were there last year in June also.

Great job on the video! :) I love the song you used :)

Thanks for the compliments.:flower3: This was my first time and it was really fun to do.:)

[iluv2go2disney]

I just thought I'd stop in to tell everyone what happened today. I have been reading the menus for all the restaurants we're going to, trying to decide what I'm gonna order.:lmao: When I saw them, I remembered the food problem we had last year. My DS has a ton of food allergies, no really "a ton". He was on the childs plan last year and he couldn't eat most of the food. Some places he couldn't eat anything. I would eat kids meals so he could eat something he isn't allergic to. Most TS places are more than happy to fix something different, but our problem was CS. Since there were things on the adult menu he can have, I called today and decided to pay the extra to get him adult meals. He has an appetite so eating it shouldn't be a problem. I'll just feel better knowing he has options. If you're wondering what he's allergic to, here's the list:
Peanuts
Corn
Shellfish
Potatoes
Beans (all kinds)
Oranges
Sesame
Oats
Bananas
Carrots
Soy
These are the worst ones. There are others that aren't as bad.
I'm glad I made the call. I feel alot better about his dining choices.

[becca011906]

so they let you upgrade the dinning from childrens to adults but leave the ticket pricing at childs... that's awsome, there's some people on the dinning board that are always wishing you could get say a 2.5 y/o the children's dinning plan but i guess you can't w/o buying them atleast a 1 day park ticket... which kinda loses all the savings of the DDP for kids. haven't 3 kids i can't believe how much we are going to save on the DDP since the the kids will save on one buffet meal alone pre day then they get a cs and snack too! We don't even mind the tipping and apt. i'm all for sweets! LOL

[carissanboys]

Sounds like a good plan (getting him the adult meals). I can imagine it's difficult with so many things he's allergic to. I have a friend who's allergic to bananas (among other things) and I had never heard of that before!

[iluv2go2disney]

so they let you upgrade the dinning from childrens to adults but leave the ticket pricing at childs... that's awsome, there's some people on the dinning board that are always wishing you could get say a 2.5 y/o the children's dinning plan but i guess you can't w/o buying them atleast a 1 day park ticket... which kinda loses all the savings of the DDP for kids. haven't 3 kids i can't believe how much we are going to save on the DDP since the the kids will save on one buffet meal alone pre day then they get a cs and snack too! We don't even mind the tipping and apt. i'm all for sweets! LOL
I wasn't clear. I paid an increase on his ticket also. But for a week with the ticket and his dining plan it wasn't that much. At least now I'll know he can eat. And it's not like he's 5 or 6 and we're jumping him to an adult. He's 9 and an adult meal is 10. I think it's money well spent.:) I showed him the menu and he's already excited about what he's gonna pick at each place. Before he was kinda worried.

[iluv2go2disney]

Sounds like a good plan (getting him the adult meals). I can imagine it's difficult with so many things he's allergic to. I have a friend who's allergic to bananas (among other things) and I had never heard of that before!
It's so difficult. At home and school we get into out own little schedule so I don't have to worry as much. but whenever we go somewhere new it's really hard.

[becca011906]

I wasn't clear. I paid an increase on his ticket also. But for a week with the ticket and his dining plan it wasn't that much. At least now I'll know he can eat. And it's not like he's 5 or 6 and we're jumping him to an adult. He's 9 and an adult meal is 10. I think it's money well spent.:) I showed him the menu and he's already excited about what he's gonna pick at each place. Before he was kinda worried.

oh that's to bad you had to increase both... oh well like you said the $$ was still worth it to upgrade plus i know my younger child wouldn't like it if the older sibling was able to get ALOT more choices off the adult menu... i hope my almost 8 y/o will be ok eating off the kids menu... if not he'll end up sharing with me i guess. we do have a few buffets in there though...

[Eeyore Excitement]

I love fellow wild planners! Definitely subbing.

That is terrible about your son, but it is wonderful that you upgraded him to be able to have adult meals, MUCH more variety! =D

Waitin' for more. :goodvibes

[iluv2go2disney]

I love fellow wild planners! Definitely subbing.


That is terrible about your son, but it is wonderful that you upgraded him to be able to have adult meals, MUCH more variety! =D


Waitin' for more. :goodvibes

Welcome. I'm glad you've joined us.:cheer2:

[iluv2go2disney]

Tomorrow my family is going to see the Hannah Montana 3-D movie. We had tickets to the show but my daughter got the FLU 2 days before and we had to sell the tickets to her best friend & her mom. She was sooo bummed out, so this is the next best thing. I really thought about taking her to the concert anyway because I didn't want her to miss it. She was so sick that she is the one that said "I think you need to find someone else to go. I feel way to bad." I knew she was sick. So, we are all looking forward to seeing the 3-D concert. My DD, DS and DH are all going. Hope its good.

[CarolynMink]

I love you thread. Great pics & video.

I can only imaging how hard it is to feel safe taking your son out to eat. My son's best friend has many allergies too, I have to pack my son's lunch to match what his friend can eat. I know the CM are great trying to work with you on the DDP. My fussy eating DD, age 12, often eats off the kids menu despite the fact I pay an adult rate for her.

Also, we have loved eating at all the resturants you have listed. We go back to many of the same ones each trip home.

I will keep checking to see how yor planning is progressing!!!

[iluv2go2disney]

I love you thread. Great pics & video.

I can only imaging how hard it is to feel safe taking your son out to eat. My son's best friend has many allergies too, I have to pack my son's lunch to match what his friend can eat. I know the CM are great trying to work with you on the DDP. My fussy eating DD, age 12, often eats off the kids menu despite the fact I pay an adult rate for her.

Also, we have loved eating at all the resturants you have listed. We go back to many of the same ones each trip home.

I will keep checking to see how yor planning is progressing!!!

Welcome. I'm glad you've joined us.:cheer2: :banana: I'll report tomorrow evening on how the 3-D movie was.

[iluv2go2disney]

Today we went to see the Hannah Montana/ Miley Cyrus: Best Of Both Worlds 3-D movie. As I mentioned earlier, we had tickets to go to the concert, but DD got the flu.:sick: She was heartbroken so this was the next best thing. We got there an hour before the show started and I'm glad we did. We were able to get a good seat in the middle about halfway up. But it got packed really quick. I thought it was a really good show. There weren't alot of 3-D effects but you really did feel like you were there, if that makes any sense. :goodvibes There was a guitar pick that looked like it was flying into the audience and was coming right for you. :scared1: It showed alot of backstage stuff: interviews, rehearsals, stuff like that. We all really enjoyed it. I even did a review of it for Expo before we left.:cool1: Woo Hoo!!

[MommyBuzz909]

Where did Cody get the name badge from?? :o)

[iluv2go2disney]

In the back of the christmas store at DTD. They will engrave them there for free while you wait. It was pretty inexpensive...maybe 7.00?

[collcass]

Love your video. great report.

My DD is 10 (turning 11 while we are in WDW) so I'm glad to hear she will hopefully catch the bug and have a grand time.

Subscribing

[iluv2go2disney]

Love your video. great report.

My DD is 10 (turning 11 while we are in WDW) so I'm glad to hear she will hopefully catch the bug and have a grand time.

Subscribing
Has she been before?

[collcass]

Has she been before?


No. We have priced it out every year and I always come up with "some reason" not to spend the money. We have had 27 weddings over the past 3 years (in 21 of them) so that has taken a huge chunk of DI.

Both my husnband and I were there as children but it will be the first trip for all four of our kids. We are very excited. Well, dh hasn't exactly hit the excited point but I figure he will when we are about a month out!:thumbsup2

[iluv2go2disney]

No. We have priced it out every year and I always come up with "some reason" not to spend the money. We have had 27 weddings over the past 3 years (in 21 of them) so that has taken a huge chunk of DI.

Both my husnband and I were there as children but it will be the first trip for all four of our kids. We are very excited. Well, dh hasn't exactly hit the excited point but I figure he will when we are about a month out!:thumbsup2
He'll get excited. It just takes them a little longer to come around. Your kids are gonna love it. Just take the time before you go to plan some things out, like where things are, what you really want to see and do, times of shows or parades you want to see. You can't do it all and you'll wear yourselves out and not have a good time if you try. But it will make your trip much more enjoyable if you're ready before you get there. I'm guessing you will be though since you're on the Disboards gathering all this info.:)

[collcass]

i think if I plan anymore my head just might explode :O). It's going to be a ton of fun.

DIS boards have been a great help answering all my crazy questions. Not too mention that I've quickly beocome addicted to these trip reports and find myself "ignoring" other things I need to do in order to read them. OOOOPS

[iluv2go2disney]

Join the crowd. You're one of us now.:rotfl2:

[lovesdumbo]

I notice that I've got lots of lurkers out there and I'd just like to say come on in and say Hi. I'm really excited to show ya'll my new project. I made a video of pictures from our last Disney vacation. Click on the link below and let me know what you think.:)
www.youtube.com/iluv2go2disney216 (http://www.youtube.com/iluv2go2disney216)

Great job on your slide show!

I'm sure you'll have a blast this year!

[iluv2go2disney]

Great job on your slide show!

I'm sure you'll have a blast this year!
Thanks for the compliment. Glad you've joined us.