Two Sisters, One Husband, and Four Kids – Oh My! 6/28 - 7/6 - Countdown!

[patti2533]

I have be a lurker on these boards for a long time, and I have finally decided to try a PTR/TR for our upcoming trip. I want to document all of the plans that we make so that we can count all of the times that we change our minds. :lmao: I hope that you will join me as we plan for our upcoming trip, but if not, then I will just have fun typing to myself! :laughing:

We will be at WDW from June 29 – July 6.

Here are the cast of characters for this adventure:

Me: I am 37… and a Disneyaholic :cheer2: . I have been to WDW too many times to count. We went as kids a few times in the late 70’s and early 80’s. I don’t remember to much about those trips, but I do know we went to EPCOT when it first opened because I still have the parasol that I bought in China :banana: . I then took quite a break from WDW and didn’t start going back until 1999. Since 1999, I think we have been to WDW about 12 times.

DSis: 39 (she is turning 40 this year!). She lives in CT and we don’t get to see each other that much. I thought this would be a great chance for us to do something together, and for our kids to be together at the happiest place on earth. She obviously went to WDW with me in the late 70’s and early 80’s (mom and dad didn’t make her stay home ;) ). However, she has only been to Disney once since then in 2003. We have never vacationed together as adults so this could be interesting :rolleyes1 .

DH: 38. He is the love of my life! However, he was a Disney virgin when I met him, and I have now corrupted him. He has also been to WDW 12 times since 1999. He is not as much of a Disney lover as I am, but he is coming around. He actually posts here more than me now :rolleyes1 . You may see some posts from him in here occasionally (especially if he doesn’t like my plans since he may try to get you to change my mind!).

DS15 – I have raised him right because he is just as much of a Disneyaholic as I am. He is already planning to do the CP when he gets to college. I keep reminding him that he needs to study in high school in order to make it to college… He is the one that is in charge of our schedule for this trip.

DS6 – He will be seven prior to leaving on this trip. He does love Disney (I couldn’t love him if he didn’t :rolleyes1 ), but I think he takes after his father in his love of WDW. He is coming around. He is very competitive with his brother and therefore wants to help plan the trip.

DD3Months - She will be 7 ½ months when we go on this trip. And no, it will not be her first trip to WDW. She is already a WDW veteran at 3 months. We went to WDW for New Years Eve… and then again over MLK Weekend. This will be her third trip (did I mention that I am a Disneyaholic?).

DN8 – This is my sister’s daughter. She and DS6 love to hang out together, but we don’t get to see her too often. She was at WDW in 2003 with DSis. She was only 2 ½ so I don’t think that she remembers too much.

Here is a picture of my family:
http://corjay.com///Corjays2.jpg
DD3months is there in my tummy! I will post a picture of DSis and DN8 as soon as I can find one.

I am a lurker no more :cool1: !

Up next: How this trip came to be/where we will stay?

[patti2533]

Our planning for this trip started last year. Let me give you a little history. I love WDW so much that last January (2007) I convinced DH to buy into DVC. He agreed!!! I was so shocked … and then excited :cool1: !! We got the paperwork started right away. I didn’t want to take any chances that DH would change his mind. Well, we bought enough points to stay at SSR for one week each year in a studio and to maybe have a few points left over each year to do a long weekend at WDW. We planned our trip for July 2007 as soon as the DVC paperwork was complete. :cheer2:

However, soon after the paperwork was complete and the summer 2007 trip was planned we got the news… if you read my cast of characters then you know where I am heading with this… we were going to have an addition to our family. WE WERE PREGNANT!!! Yay :goodvibes !!! As happy as we were, this posed a problem with our DVC purchase :sad2: . You cannot put 5 people into a studio at SSR (after the baby is three, that is). We didn’t buy enough points to stay in a bigger place (and I was certainly not going to cut down my number of days at WDW to stay in a bigger place) so what could I do??? Well, I was able to convince DH to buy more DVC points (I told you that he is the best!) :cheer2: . But this time, he was able to pick the resort. He decided to buy at AKV. Not my favorite resort, but it was more DVC points so I didn’t care!!! Well, after settling on the number of points to buy at AKV we needed to decide what to do for our vacations in the future. I am a planner so I needed a plan… Well, we decided that we would alternate resorts. One year SSR, the next year AKV, and so on... Since we were staying at SSR in 2007, then we would stay at AKV in a one bedroom in 2008 (you can have 5 in a standard one bedroom at AKV).

Well that was our original plan for this trip… stay in a one bedroom at AKV for this trip (just the five of us, and no DSis and DN8). But if we were to settle on that and never change our minds, then this trip report wouldn’t be any fun! :rotfl:

So DH got the WDW bug (officially) and he started making changes :scared: . I was so happy to own DVC that I didn’t care. First, he decided that he wanted to try concierge at AKV. He was able to get a few of the days of the vacation in the concierge level, so he booked them. Now, we would have a split stay between standard AKV one bedroom, and concierge one bedroom… all at AKV.

Next, he decided that maybe he would like to try a two bedroom for part of the trip, so he changed the AKV standard one bedroom to SSR two bedroom. But, he left the AKV concierge at the end of the week. So now it was a few days at SSR two bedroom and a few days at AKV concierge one bedroom.

Are you still with me??? :wave2:

However, we finally started talking about how nice it would be to invite my sister and my niece to come with us. DS6 and DN8 just love to hang out together and we only get to see them once or twice a year now. They live in CT, and we moved from MA to NC about four years ago. So, this posed a problem. We would need a two bedroom for the entire time that DSis and DN8 would be with us. The problem that we ran into was… should we change our reservations and then ask DSis, or should we ask DSis first, and then change the reservations (what if she said yes and then we couldn’t change the reservations???) I am a planner, and I just don’t like uncertainty!

Well, we decided to do the safe thing. We changed the reservations prior to asking DSis. Now, we will be in a two bedroom at SSR from Sunday, 6/29 through Friday, 7/4. We were inviting DSis, DSis’s DBF, and DN8. for this time period. We will then change to a studio at OKW from Friday, 7/4 through Sunday, 7/6. DD is still young enough that we can do that.

Next, I created a cute Mickey and Minnie invitation that I emailed to my sister. I waited :scared: … and waited :rolleyes1 . I didn’t hear from her for almost a week. I was thinking that she didn’t want to come and didn’t want to hurt my feelings. But then the call finally came. She and DN8 would be coming :cool1:, but her DBF would not.

We finally have definite plans! Will they change? Probably. Even the best plans change along the way. I have to accept this. I may not like it, but I have to accept change (I keep saying that to myself so I don’t freak out when the next change comes).

Travel related things that I know are still up in the air:

1. Where will we stay on the first night, 6/28?
2. When will DSis and DN8 arrive? When will they buy their airfaire?
3. What kind of WDW tickets will DSis buy?

This will be our first time inviting people to vacation with us, so I hope it goes well pixiedust:. Please let me know if any of you have had any experiences bringing family, and if there is anything that I should do to prepare for this.

Up next: Must Do’s at WDW

[patti2533]

Must Do’s at WDW
OK, before we finalize any itinerary for this trip I did want to get a sense of what each person attending feels is a “must do” on the trip. I started with DSis and DN8. Here is what they said:

DSis
BATB Show
POTC

DN8
HSM2 Show
Teacups
Mickey and Minnie’s Houses in Toontown Fair
Princess Breakfast in the Castle (Cinderella's Royal Table) princess:

This was all that DSis said that they must do (chalk it up to inexperience :rotfl2:). She did mention that she wasn’t too excited about AK and EPCOT. I am hoping to change her mind on both of those…

Then on to my family:

Me
I want to do a lot of things that we have not yet done on any WDW trips, so here are some things that I am thinking (let me know your opinion if you have done any of these):

Captain Jack Sparrow Show – I hope this is still going on during our trip. The “good” Jack walked right past me when we were there on New Year’s Eve. Wow is he cute! Now I want to see the show! We will talk about this more later! pirate:

Miyuki – We usually don’t spend much time in the World Showcase, but I am hoping to change that this trip. I am hoping one of the kids will get picked to have their animal made. DS6 wants a brown dog…

Grand Fiesta Tour in Mexico

Toy Story Arcade at DHS – I need to beat DH at this game too (we are very competitive at Buzz Lightyear)

Disney Animation – I want to try to draw one of characters. It will be funny because I have no talent whatsoever! Do any of you think that this is a bad idea with the ages of our kids?

DH
1900 Park Fare for dinner with Cinderella and Prince Charming
Fantasmic

DS15
Space Mountain
Everest
ToT
RnR
Splash Mountain – It was dry when we were there over MLK weekend.
Test Track
Soarin’

Can you tell he is my thrill-seeker? I am more than happy to accompany him with all of these…

DS6
Swim, swim, swim… and use the waterslide at OKW. He loves the castle slide.
HSM2 Show
Teacups
Buzz Lightyear
Corn dog nuggets at Casey’s
Dinosaur
Star Tours
TTA (People Mover as we call it!)
POTC

He honestly would have gone on forever and named every ride (except the thrill rides...), but I had to cut him off :lmao:

DD3Months
You would think that a 3 month old could not possibly have any “Must Do’s”. But you would be wrong… :banana:

Playhouse Disney – we are so excited that they have added Micky Mouse Clubhouse, since DD watches this every day with DH and she kicks her feet along with the music. I think this means that we have another budding WDW lover in the family!!



I am sure that all of us will come up with a lot more "must do's" prior to our trip, but this list really does sum up my family. Please let me know what you think of our must-do's. Do you have any suggestions for us? Most importantly, do you think we will get a reservation for Cinderella's Royal Table? You will have to wait for the next installment... :rolleyes1

Up next: ADR's

[Magic Kingdom Rocks]

I see all of your "must-see's" and i agree with most. One thing i would have to add is the Finding Nemo show at AK. That is the best show Disney has I think. The rest of them i think are pretty solid. I think you DS15 has great taste in rides also, i am a thrill seaker also and love every one of those rides.

[patti2533]

Quick Side Note!

I have been in Tampa for business for the last few days. I was supposed to have a late flight today out of Tampa to come home. Yesterday, I found out that the meeting that I was attending was going to end early today. All of a sudden, I had a brilliant idea! I could get a direct flight out of Orlando and get home before I would have left Tampa! I had a friend that could drop me off in Orlando. It was a perfect plan. :woohoo:

It actually worked well, and I made it to MCO wihout issue. However, it was torture for me to get sooooo close to WDW and not get to even go to DTD. :worship: I could see the Swan and Dolphin, and I could see the signs for the parks... but I couldn't get any closer because we didn't have time to spare. Then, I saw the Magical Express bus, and I wanted to jump on.:love: It really made me homesick for WDW :sick:. I want to go to WDW now... But then, once I was at the airport and I heard all of the kids whining that they were leaving WDW, it brought me back to reality and I just wanted to get home :rotfl:.

Up Next: ADR's

[patti2533]

ADR's

OK, I might be just talking to myself here, but I am going to continue on... Although we haven't finalized our schedule yet, we wanted to make sure that we got some specific dining reservations... as you are probably aware, some can be very hard to get as you get close to the trip :headache: (I remember a time when this wasn't so difficult). So, here is what we have so far:

June 29 -1900 Park Fair (dinner)
July 1 - Princess Story Book at Norway (breakfast)
July 2 - Cinderella's Royal Table (breakfast)
July 4 - Chef Mickey's (breakfast)
July 4 - 1900 Park Fair (dinner - a second option for this one depending on our schedule)
July 5 - Crystal Palace (dinner) - this is one of our traditions - to eat here on our last night, right before Wishes begins.

Can you see a theme?? We seem to like buffets at WDW... which is weird since we never go to buffets away from WDW :confused3. We think that it is just very convenient and the kids love the character interaction (even DS15, although he may not admit it :rolleyes1). Also, I want to make this clear... we will cancel the 1900 Park Fair that we do not choose. We are good WDW vacationers (I keep repeating this to myself). :thumbsup2

I am looking for a good sit-down option for our trip as well. Do you have any suggestions? It needs to be something that the kids will like.

[stagemomx3]

DH
1900 Park Fare for dinner with Cinderella and Prince Charming


princess: I love that this is on your DH's must do list. :)

[patti2533]

princess: I love that this is on your DH's must do list. :)

Thanks for reading my PTR. I am glad that I am not alone here! :cool1: My husband says that he likes the "food" at this buffet, but I think he secretly has a crush on Cinderella. :rolleyes1

[stagemomx3]

Thanks for reading my PTR. I am glad that I am not alone here! :cool1: My husband says that he likes the "food" at this buffet, but I think he secretly has a crush on Cinderella. :rolleyes1

:rotfl:

[patti2533]

Quick TR From June/July 2007 Trip to WDW

Before I continue with the planning for this trip, I thought that I would do a quick TR with pictures from our trip to WDW last summer. We were there from June 30 - July 6.

Day 1 - June 30
We are off! Everyone is happy!
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00628.jpg

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We arrive at our hotel about nine hours later... We stayed at the Holiday Inn Sunspree on our first night. Because of the picture below, there was a big milestone this night...
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00633.jpg
Our DS15 (he was 14 at the time) shaved for the first time! :lmao: He finally admitted that he needed to after seeing the picture!

Day 2 - July 1
The next morning, I ran over with the boys to check into our hotel. We were staying at SSR for the rest of our trip.
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00637.jpg

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After this, we went back to the Sunspree to get DH and check out and head to AK since our room at SSR wasn't ready at 7:30 AM :rotfl:
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00640.jpg

Here is what I did a lot of on this trip... sit :thumbsup2
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00643.jpg

After a few rides:
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My son drove us... :rotfl:
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00655.jpg

Over to the AKV to take a peek and to have lunch since we were in the process of adding on points for DVC at AKV.
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00662.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00663.jpg

DH really likes this resort. We then called and found out that our room was ready at SSR so we headed over... I was so excited that we were in Congress Park and had a DTD view :cheer2:
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00670.jpg
and I took a nap :cool1:
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00674.jpg

We hung around the resort and had dinner at Captain Jacks at DTD
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00675.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00678.jpg
and then went to bed!

[stagemomx3]

Love the pictures, and the story of your son's milestone!

[patti2533]

Day 3 - July 2
We started day 3 with a character breakfast at Cape May Cafe. I mentioned earlier that we like character meals, and I really meant it! :banana:
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00683.jpg

DS6 really loves Minnie Mouse! :love:
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00688.jpg

We then headed to EPCOT!
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00692.jpg

I love Figment!
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00701.jpg

We spent some time at Innovations
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http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00708.jpg

And then DS6 tried to see if we could take this with us :rotfl2:
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00709.jpg

But after all the fun in Future World, we decided to head to DHS (or MGM as it was called then...). Here is my son trying to look like he was working
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00714.jpg

He was doing this while DH was getting me a wheelchair since I couldn't walk anymore. :confused3 I was miserable most of the trip. I was only about 18 weeks pregnant... A woman actually gave us her pre-paid wheelchair receipt (she had gotten one at the hotel) because she said I looked terrible. :rotfl: I was not sure how to feel about her saying that... but it was definitely true!

We watched HSM
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00715.jpg

Then we ate at Mama Melrose
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00717.jpg

Then the boys enjoyed Star Tours... although DS6 left his lanyard and pins on the ride and it was never found.:sad2:
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00719.jpg

Later, we went back to SSR and looked around outside. This is the view from outside our room
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00734.jpg

Here we are enjoying the night, but then it was time for bed!
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00739.jpg

[patti2533]

Day 4 - July 3rd
Originally, we never intended to go to WDW over the 4th of July. The crowds are terrible and the weather is so hot! However, we had an issue with our kids' schools. My DS15 started high school this year and it on a traditional school calendar. However, DS6 is in the first grade, and during Spring 2007, we were notified that his school was changing to a year-round schedule. If you don't know what this is, I will explain. The new grade starts the week after the 4th of July week. Kids go to school nine weeks and then have three weeks off. They go to school all year until the week before July 4th. Therefore, they have their summer vacation split out throughout the entire year. Each kid is assigned to a track (1 through 4) and that track decides when the student has that 3 week vacation. We wanted him to get Track 4 which wouldn't start until July 30th (instead of right after July 4th), but we couldn't be sure until it was too late to change our vacation. That was how we decided on this week for vacation.

I will continue on with our TR now, so you can see if we liked the July 4th week at WDW (however if you read the beginning of my PTR, then you will know the answer since you will see when we are going again this year...:laughing: )



OK, on with the TR... I wish I could remember why we are on the Monorail, but my memory has failed me! :confused3 I am assuming that we may have decided to drive to MK but I don't remember why (we do usually take the bus). However, on this lovely morning, we were lucky enough to get the front car! :cool1: That's right, we were your conductor if you were riding that morning...
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00741.jpg

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Of course, we were heading to...
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00749.jpg

the Magic Kingdom!!!
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00746.jpg

Can anyone guess our first ride...
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00750.jpg

Yep, it is Buzz Lightyear! Dh and I are so competitive. You may ask who usually wins. I think it is pretty split... about 50/50. I can hold my own :banana:

Then we headed over to the Indy Speedway
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00753.jpg

Then we saw Alice and the Mad Hatter at the Teacups
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00758.jpg

So, of course, we had to meet them
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Then we went and did something that we had never done before... we rode the Liberty Square Riverboat! I thought it would be a good chance to sit down, but who knew that there are not too many seats!
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00766.jpg

Then it was time for lunch. We ate at Casey's! Boy do I love those hot dogs! But then the boys started horsing around. Do you think he threw him over??
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00767.jpg

Of course he didn't! We are at WDW so even the boys need to get along. :yay:

Next, we did something else that we had never done...
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00772.jpg

We went to the barbershop and DS6 got his hair colored with gel and confetti. Can you guess what colors he got...
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00775.jpg

Red, White, and Blue... of course! It was July 3rd! DS6 felt like such a celebrity! People kept stopping us to talk about his hair, and some people actually asked to take a picture with him. :cool1: He didn't want to wash it out, but I wasn't letting him sleep on the pillow with that stuff. It takes longer to get it out than it did for them to put it in. :laughing:
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00780.jpg

After a break to go back to SSR to swim (and rest my feet :lmao: ) we went back to MK. Then, this was our chance to see the July 4th fireworks in the MK. We weren't crazy enough to be at the MK on July 4th. We knew that they previewed the July 4th fireworks on July 3rd, so we wanted to see them tonight. They do them all around the MK, so you have to keep turning to appreciate the entire show.
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00786.jpg

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And then we stayed for the Electric Lights Parade... I am only including one picture because I had the setting wrong on my camera and they all came out blurry...
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00812.jpg

While we watched the parade, DH and DS15 went on some of the thrill rides (BTR, Splash Mountain). After this we were really tired (at least I was. lol), so we went to bed.

Up Next... What will we do on July 4th? Will we go to a park?

[stagemomx3]

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00786.jpg


WOW! The castle looks awesome. :thumbsup2

[patti2533]

Day 5 - July 4th
So did we go to a park on July 4th? Nope. But we did go to TL! It was great to get there for EMH since it is practically empty at 8 AM, and also we were able to get a spot with an umbrella... This was very important since it was July and it rains constantly. Unfortunately, it even rained too much for us under the umbrella so we only stayed until mid-morning.
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We then went over to WL to check out the resort and to have lunch at Roaring Fork.
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We then went back to SSR for a while to rest. I was really miserable on this vacation and I just wanted to lay down. :sad2: But then we were off to have dinner with Prince Charming and Cinderella at 1900 Park Fare.
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00837.jpg

My DS6 absolutely loves Cinderella. :love: He swears that he will marry her. He was actually stalking her during dinner. He was following her around and taking pictures of her with other guests... I had to keep going to get him so that she wouldn't call the police... :rotfl2:
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00843.jpg

Although I wasn't feeling well, I certainly wasn't going to pass up the chance to have my picture taken with Prince Charming... :rolleyes1
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00844.jpg

After dinner, we went outside and found a spot on the ground near the lagoon to watch the fireworks at MK. We had a perfect spot at the GF, and we knew from the night before that they do fireworks all around the MK, so it would be a perfect location to watch them. There was a small crowd that gathered near the lagoon, but it was not too bad and it was a very nice way to see fireworks on July 4th. Sitting there that night, I certainly remember thinking that it was a perfect way to spend July 4th with my family. Here are some pictures of us waiting for the fireworks to begin.
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00847.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00849.jpg

After the MK fireworks, we headed back to SSR. SSR has a pool party on July 4th in Congress Park at night where you can also view the Pleasure Island fireworks (I think at 11 PM). So we sat at the pool and let the boys swim, and then we watched the Pleasure Island fireworks. They also were amazing, and the best part was that our room was right there so I could fall straight into bed as soon as they were over. Unfortunately, we don't have any pictures from these fireworks, but they were a great way to end our July 4th!

[Magic Kingdom Rocks]

Nice Picture TR from last year. Looking forward to more of this PTR.

[patti2533]

OK, now that I am back from a business trip, I want to get this TR done and to get on with the planning of our upcoming trip... I have four more days to report on from last summer's trip. Here is the first one.

Day 6 - July 5th
DH had to get back to work, so he got up really early this morning to catch the ME. This was not something that we had set up prior to arriving at WDW, but he was able to call a few days prior to leaving and got this all set up. I was very happy because it meant that I could sleep in a little late before needing to get to our 10 AM reservation at Chef Mickey's. :thumbsup2

When the boys and I got up, we took the bus to MK, and then took the monorail to the Contemporary.
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00853.jpg

Here are some pictures from Chef Mickey's...
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00857.jpg

I think that I may be able to use this one against DS15 someday :lmao:
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00858.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00865.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00866.jpg

After Chef Mickey's, we made good use of our park hoppers. Since it was very busy during this holiday week, we knew that they would run out of Fast Passes at Space Mountain very early. So.... we took the monorail over to MK for the sole reason of getting fast passes at Space Mountain to use later in the day. This worked well because the return time for the fast passes was already late in the day. Then we left the MK. Where did we go???

We were off to Narnia... Brrrrr.... they should be cold :rotfl:
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00869.jpg

Actually it was MGM. ;) We headed over to the Narnia exhibit once we entered the park since it was something that we had never done before... and I am not sure it was even worth our time.

We then headed onto a water ride... actually the backlot tour. Again, not one of my favorites but it was something we had not yet done on this trip.
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00877.jpg

Next we went to see MuppetVision. This one also is not my favorite, but you can see below how wet the kids were. It was pouring outside and so this was better than the water show outside... :rotfl:
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00878.jpg

After a few more rides, we left MGM and headed back to MK to ride Space Mountain. This was a big event for us because DS6 was going to ride for the first time...:cheer2: It was just going to be the two boys (obviously) since I couldn't ride. Did DS6 do it???? See for yourself...
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00880.jpg

There he was coming off the ride. He seems happy, right??? Not really. :confused3 He says he will never do it again.:headache:

We then headed over to BTM and Splash Mountain. However, after the Space Mountain adventure, DS6 wasn't going on anything else, so DS15 had to ride alone... Here are some pictures of DS6 waiting for DS15 to be done...
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00881.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00886.jpg

After this tramatic day, we all decided that we had enough and it was time for bed. Where will we go on our last two day in the parks? You will have to wait to find out...

[patti2533]

Day 7 - July 6th
Today, we decided to really use our park hoppers and to see how many parks that we could get to. How many do you think that we managed??? Well, let's see...

Park 1 - AK
We started out with a little drumming...
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00887.jpg

We then went to see the Nemo Show again. We saw it earlier in the week with DH and we were all the way in the back in the bleachers. DS6 couldn't see a thing and it wasn't very good from back there. But... we did want to see if it would be any better from up front. So we waited in line for a long time to get a decent seat, and we ended up in the 3rd row! I panicked, just for a second, thinking that now we may be too close. :lmao: However, the seats turned out to be perfect and the show was amazing this time. :cool1:
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00890.jpg

Here is what DS15 thought about seeing it for a second time...:rotfl2:
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00892.jpg

I believe that DS15 may have also went on Everest, but I cannot remember (I think my memory is starting to go...). We then left. Where did we go????


Park 2 - EPCOT
We went to EPCOT to do a few rides in FW. First, DS15 went on TT. I think that DS6 was really tramatized by Space Mountain, because now he wouldn't even go on TT (which he previously loved). :rotfl: Here is DS6 trying out the cars while waiting for his brother.
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00897.jpg

I then took a few pictures of the ball with Mickey's arm. It was already starting to come down. I knew it would be the last time we would see it this way. Not that I would really miss it, though. ;)
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00900.jpg

Then we rode SE (of course this was prior to the changes...)
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00902.jpg

After a few more rides, we left EPCOT. Do you think we could have made it to another park??? Remember, I am pregnant and hating walking at this point :sad1:

Park 3 - MK
OF COURSE WE DID! I will do anything for my boys (even be in pain). :rotfl: It was EMH at MK, and we decided to go. So, after resting for a little while at the resort, we headed back to MK at 11 PM. :confused3 Yes, you heard it right. 11PM! We were the only ones on the bus heading to MK. I started questioning whether I had the day right (and the bus driver had no idea if there were EMH). But we arrived at MK and, sure enough, EMH were getting ready to start. We got our bracelets and off we went. Where did we go?

Buzz Lightyear, of course! If you read the first part of this TR, you would have been able to guess that. :cool1:
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00904.jpg

I don't remember all the rides that we went on, but I do remember that it was pretty crowded. We did go on the carousel.
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00905.jpg

Then, DS15 wanted to go on some of the thrill rides, but this is what DS6 looked like:
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00906.jpg

So I think I let him ride one ride, and then we left before DS6 had a total meltdown! It was time for bed!

[patti2533]

I am hoping to get some more DIS'ers to join me as I plan for our trip... But until then, I will finish my TR from last July, and I will continue to plan for our upcoming trip this July!

Come join me for another day from last year's WDW trip...

Day 8 - July 7th
This was our last day in the parks. We have a tradition for this day, so I will let you know what that is later in this post. Also, we did something really fun today... even DS15 thought so. Just wait to see what that is. :cool1:

We started the day off at MK. As many times as I have been to WDW, I have never made it to the rope drop at MK.... and we still didn't on this trip. :rotfl: We need to add that to the must-do list for our upcoming July trip. Please remind me of this as I continue to plan...

From these pictures below, you would actually think that the boys get along :rotfl2:
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00912.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00913.jpg

Where did we head first... I hope you have been paying attention to the rest of my report. Can anyone guess????
*
*
*
*
*
*
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00914.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00919.jpg

I knew you could guess it this time!! Buzz Lightyear!! :cool1:

Before we had gone on Buzz, we went and got three fastpasses for Space Mountain... now I cannot go because I am pregnant, and you know that DS6 certainly wasn't going to go again :lmao:, so DS15 got to use them all and go three times in a row! He was so excited. But, what would DS6 and I do while he was going on Space Mountain???? See what we did...
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00920.jpg

We walked on the back path to go over to Toon Town! This is one of DS6's favorite places. Who do you think we saw in Toon Town??
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00928.jpg

Mickey, of course!! Can you believe that there was absolutely no line to see Mickey? That was amazing since it was July 4th week. We were celebrating! Then we went to see Minnie's house. Boy is DS6 in love with Minnie! :lovestruc
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00929.jpg

Now, since we went to both Mickey and Minnie's house, we went to the next logical place... Donald's boat.
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00935.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00936.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00940.jpg

We then left MK and went back to SSR to have some fun. What did we do that was so much fun, you ask? It was something that I never thought we would do... we rented a surry bike!
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00944.jpg

Look at how much fun DS15 had!
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC00947.jpg

However, there was a surry bike tragedy... We didn't crash... We didn't drive into the lake... but, in order to save us from driving into the lake, I let go of the camera to grab the steering wheel! And the camera fell to the sidewalk and crashed!!! It was dented and no longer would close. So, our super fun surry bike ride cost me many hundreds of dollars to buy a new camera. But it was worth every dollar to see that smile on DS15's face.:banana:

Luckily, we had brought an old digital camera for the kids to use, so I took it over for the rest of the trip. :cool1:

OK, now you are asking what our tradition is... on the last night of every trip, we always have dinner at the Crystal Palace and we schedule it so that we will finish dinner right before the fireworks start. We then will stand out on the porch of the Crystal Palace to watch the fireworks. This is always such an amazing ending to each of our trips to WDW. Here are some pictures from the Crystal Palace.
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC03089.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC03090.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC03091.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC03093.jpg

We did have an interesting encounter with Winnie the Pooh thanks to DS15. One that Pooh will probably remember for a long time. I will just say that the picture with Pooh above was not the first one that we took. When we reviewed the picture to see what it looked like and noticed that it didn't come out, the attendant nicely went to get Pooh and brought him back to take another picture. It was very nice of the CM's to do this.

After the fireworks, we did some shopping on Main Street, and then we said goodbye to MK for this trip. It is always sad to leave...

[patti2533]

I am going to finish this TR from last July right now!!! Then I can get back to the important stuff... planning for our upcoming trip! Actually, at some point prior to the start of our trip, I will probably also do short TR's for our two weekend trips that we took in January... but not now. ;) I have already bored you enough with last year's TR. :lmao:

Day 9 - July 8th
Unfortunately, our WDW trip had come to a close. After checking out of SSR, we decided to try to get a little more magic by spending a few hours at DTD before heading home. We also had a few CS credits left from the dining plan, so we got some sandwiches from the Earl of Sandwich. Here is a picture from DTD. DS6 needed to see Cinderella one more time...
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC03100.jpg

Also, I took a picture of our SSR room across the way from DTD. Here it is...
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC03102.jpg

We then needed to say good-bye to WDW. Here is DS15 in the car after we left.
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC03103.jpg

But we still had a little fun planned for today. We were stopping at my friend's house in Palm Coast, FL to spend some time at the beach. DS6 had a great time. Here are the pictures...
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC03113.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC03115.jpg

We then drove eight hours home, and it was back to regular life.:rolleyes:

Up Next... I am back to trip planning! :yay: The 2007 TR is Done!

[patti2533]

OK, I am officially back to trip planning and I have a question to anyone reading this (hopefully there are a few of you out there and I am not just talking to myself :goodvibes). Have you ever made matching t-shirts for your family/party to wear? What did your family think about the matching t-shirts? I am looking to do something a little different for this trip and I thought this would be fun. However, I am not sure if I can get DH and DS15 to join in the fun... or if they will just think I am nuts (they probably already think that). :rotfl:

If you have made matching t-shirts, did you use designs from the "Creative DISigns" section or did you create your own? I have looked at the different designs on that board, but I cannot figure out what we would want to do. I am just not an extremely crafty person, but I am trying...

[scottny]

Hi,
just read your report and it is good.

I had t shirts made up thru a website for the P&PP party.

The kids I took loved them but they were 13, 11 and 9.

I will pimp you out so maybe you can get more readers. I really enjoyed reading it.

[mkluvsmickey]

Scott's pimpin' worked - I found you! I don't have time to read right now but will be back. Looks like lots of great pictures. :)

[patti2533]

Hi,
just read your report and it is good.

I had t shirts made up thru a website for the P&PP party.

The kids I took loved them but they were 13, 11 and 9.

I will pimp you out so maybe you can get more readers. I really enjoyed reading it.

Thank you so much for joining me... I will take your pimpin' :lmao: I know that if you are reading, then they will follow. Actually, I have been a faithful lurker on your TR and your new PTR, but I always seem to be about five pages behind and therefore you have all moved on to a new topic before I catch up. I may need to look at some online sites to have t-shirt made. Can you PM me the site that you used?

Scott's pimpin' worked - I found you! I don't have time to read right now but will be back. Looks like lots of great pictures. :)

Thanks for joining me. I am so glad to have more readers. :goodvibes

[Native NYer]

I followed the link from Scott's ptr. Love all of your photos. Can't wait to read more.

[carissanboys]

Another reader of Scott's that found their way over here. Scott's good at pimpin' ;)

First, I see y'all are Sox fans (well, your sons are anyway ;)). Big Sox fan myself :thumbsup2

Next, we were lucky enough to be picked by Miyuki on our last trip. Here's the blue dinosaur she made for my DS5:

http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee163/carissanboys/Disney%20January%202008/Disney2/IMG_3438.jpg

You asked about t-shirts. On our first trip, I purchased shirts from a website (begins with a Z - anyone remember the name?). In my signature, I'm wearing mine. We each had our favorite character and our first name on the front and on the back it said Magical Memories.

For this last trip, I made matching t-shirts for my boys and parents. They were a spiral Mickey head. I saw it somewhere on the Dis and my husband just looked it and drew me a template to use (I used fabric spray paint). They came out pretty good. Here's a picture:

http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee163/carissanboys/Disney%20January%202008/Disney2/IMG_3403.jpg

Looking forward to more of your plans! Oh, and your boys are handsome :) We need a picture of your little girl!

[mkluvsmickey]

You asked about t-shirts. On our first trip, I purchased shirts from a website (begins with a Z - anyone remember the name?). In my signature, I'm wearing mine. We each had our favorite character and our first name on the front and on the back it said Magical Memories.


Was it zazzle.com? We ordered shirts there for our October trip and they had a great selection. You can pretty much design whatever you want on the front and back.

Ok - I am all caught up now.

I am so jealous that your husband agreed to DVC. My husband is not a Disney fan at all. In fact, my daughter and I usually go alone. I'm not sure I could ever get him to agree to DVC.

Great idea to get the "must do's" from everyone. It can be a bit stressful sometimes going with more than your immediate family - just trying to make everyone happy. This way you will be sure that everyone gets to do their favorites. And don't be afraid to split up for a while if need be.

I love the picture of the castle from July 4th! (or 3rd)

Regarding ADR's - have you ever tried Garden Grill? We recently discovered this and it is now a tradition on each trip. The food is served family style which is nice so you don't have to keep getting up - especially with little kids. The character interaction is fabulous also.

Looking forward to more! :)

[carissanboys]

Was it zazzle.com? We ordered shirts there for our October trip and they had a great selection. You can pretty much design whatever you want on the front and back.

:thumbsup2 That was it.

My two suggestions for sit down (non-buffet and non-character) TS meals are 'Ohana and Whispering Canyon Cafe. Both are great choices with kids. Or were you looking for non-buffet character meals?

[patti2533]

I followed the link from Scott's ptr. Love all of your photos. Can't wait to read more.

Thank for joining. I am so thankful to Scott for posting my PTR link!

Another reader of Scott's that found their way over here. Scott's good at pimpin' ;)

First, I see y'all are Sox fans (well, your sons are anyway ;)). Big Sox fan myself :thumbsup2

Next, we were lucky enough to be picked by Miyuki on our last trip. Here's the blue dinosaur she made for my DS5:

http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee163/carissanboys/Disney%20January%202008/Disney2/IMG_3438.jpg

You asked about t-shirts. On our first trip, I purchased shirts from a website (begins with a Z - anyone remember the name?). In my signature, I'm wearing mine. We each had our favorite character and our first name on the front and on the back it said Magical Memories.

For this last trip, I made matching t-shirts for my boys and parents. They were a spiral Mickey head. I saw it somewhere on the Dis and my husband just looked it and drew me a template to use (I used fabric spray paint). They came out pretty good. Here's a picture:

http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee163/carissanboys/Disney%20January%202008/Disney2/IMG_3403.jpg

Looking forward to more of your plans! Oh, and your boys are handsome :) We need a picture of your little girl!

Thanks for joining me! I love that dinosaur that you got from Miyuki! I really hope my family wants to see her with me and I hope we get picked!!

I love the simple design that you did for your t-shirts. I am not sure that DH or I would be able to draw a template though... Your kids are adorable. I actually read your last TR, but I was a lurker then...

I will post a picture of our baby tonight!

Was it zazzle.com? We ordered shirts there for our October trip and they had a great selection. You can pretty much design whatever you want on the front and back.

Ok - I am all caught up now.

I am so jealous that your husband agreed to DVC. My husband is not a Disney fan at all. In fact, my daughter and I usually go alone. I'm not sure I could ever get him to agree to DVC.

Great idea to get the "must do's" from everyone. It can be a bit stressful sometimes going with more than your immediate family - just trying to make everyone happy. This way you will be sure that everyone gets to do their favorites. And don't be afraid to split up for a while if need be.

I love the picture of the castle from July 4th! (or 3rd)

Regarding ADR's - have you ever tried Garden Grill? We recently discovered this and it is now a tradition on each trip. The food is served family style which is nice so you don't have to keep getting up - especially with little kids. The character interaction is fabulous also.

Looking forward to more! :)

I am going to check out zazzle.com later today. Thanks for the website. I thank DH as much as I can (without annoying him :lmao: ) for agreeing to DVC. My goal is to make him love Disney as much as the rest of us, even if it take the rest a lot more trips to accomplish this. :yay:

I agree that it can be stressful with more than the immediate family. I am already feeling the stress as I talk with DSis about what she wants to do. I think it is a great suggestion to maybe plan to split up for part of the time.

We have thought about the Garden Grill, but I wasn't sure on the family style serving. But it would be nice not getting up with the baby there...

:thumbsup2 That was it.

My two suggestions for sit down (non-buffet and non-character) TS meals are 'Ohana and Whispering Canyon Cafe. Both are great choices with kids. Or were you looking for non-buffet character meals?

Thanks fo the suggestions. I will check both of these out more. I do love the Poly so it might be nice to have dinner there! We did the Lilo and Stitch breakfast there in January and I was very impressed.

[lilpixiebabe101]

GREAT tr. (Scott's on the loose again.) We're going to bth be doing our Pre-TRs at the same time, sadly you get to go first :guilty:

Family is um.... interesting..... to bring to Disney. Since you seem to be a very plan oriented person, you really need to ask DSis what her plans are because although ya'll are sisters, your plans with GREATLY differ. We used to go with my dad, mom, little brother and I, and my Dad's Dparents (my Dgrandparents) would come along to watch us enjoying Disney.

Even then, we had to plan our own seperate things.
Cause we definitely ALL wanted to do different things.

Very excited to hear more on your pre-trip

[scottny]

glad some came over.

I ordered the p&pp shirts from zazzle. I really liked how they came out.

[TiggerMan2007]

Another reader of Scott's that found their way over here. Scott's good at pimpin' ;)

Looking forward to more of your plans! Oh, and your boys are handsome :) We need a picture of your little girl!

Hi there!!! This is patti2533's DH......As you requested......here is our beautiful daughter from our NYE trip this year.

Oh and Yes, the boys love the Red Sox but Dad (me) is a yankee Fan.......it makes for lots of fun throughout the baseball season!

Anyways......Here's DD3mos.!!!!!

http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg56/rcorjay/DSC02069aa.jpg


And here is a more recent shot.............................


http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg56/rcorjay/DSC02941a.jpg

[lilpixiebabe101]

Awe TiggerMan.... you and DF would get along well! He loves Tigger AND loves the Yankees! Still trying to get him on the Dis. (he's still a Disney virgin)

[carissanboys]

Your kids are adorable. I actually read your last TR, but I was a lurker then...

Well, thanks for reading then! :) You should have posted - the more the merrier.

Thanks fo the suggestions. I will check both of these out more. I do love the Poly so it might be nice to have dinner there! We did the Lilo and Stitch breakfast there in January and I was very impressed.

'Ohana has lots of fun activites for the kids and I love the food. Plus, you could always watch Wishes from the beach afterwards (we've been to the beach, but not watched Wishes from there -although I really want to!).

Hi there!!! This is patti2533's DH......As you requested......here is our beautiful daughter from our NYE trip this year.

Oh and Yes, the boys love the Red Sox but Dad (me) is a yankee Fan.......it makes for lots of fun throughout the baseball season!

Anyways......Here's ZOE!!!!!

That most recent picture is so precious!! She's beautiful! :cutie:

How did you manage to not bring your sons over to the dark side? :confused3 I guess growing up in Mass. probably affected them, eh? My boys have been brought up well to dislike the Yankees ;) So we have no issues in this house, thank goodness!

[Disney Brat]

Well Scott sure has been busy!! I'm here too from Scotts TR! Loving your PTR and TR!! Great job! Love the pics!

[lovebuzzandwoody]

:wave: I came over from Scott's too! You are off to a great start here!

Funny thing... I live up the road from you... well not literally up YOUR road... up 55 is what I meant! ;) We were switched to year round this year too. We chose track 2 specifically for when we thought we'd want to go to Disney! My DD moves to middle next year and my twin DS's to 2nd grade. So, 3 more years of matching schedules and then it's onto chaos! How are managing the 2 schedules?

Oh and I wanted to also recommend the Garden Grill! We love it! Not having to get up and head to the buffet every 5 minutes with a different kid wanting something else is wonderful. And the character interaction there is like no other place we've been! Two thumbs up! :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2

One more thing... I made shirts for our last trip. I got the designs off the design board. We only matched one time and that was for MVMCP. If you have any questions about the process, ask away!

[scottny]

Hi there!!! This is patti2533's DH......As you requested......here is our beautiful daughter from our NYE trip this year.

Oh and Yes, the boys love the Red Sox but Dad (me) is a yankee Fan.......it makes for lots of fun throughout the baseball season!

Anyways......Here's DD3mos.!!!!!

http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg56/rcorjay/DSC02069aa.jpg


And here is a more recent shot.............................


http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg56/rcorjay/DSC02941a.jpg

what a happy little girl. so cute.

Nice to see you on here too Tiggerman 2007

[carissanboys]

Just realized that you guys are in the Raleigh area. I lived there for 2 years (back in 94/95). I was the manager of the cleaning crew at the Sears store. Raleigh's a great city. Used to love to go for a walk around a manmade lake - was the Lake Lynn??

[patti2533]

GREAT tr. (Scott's on the loose again.) We're going to bth be doing our Pre-TRs at the same time, sadly you get to go first :guilty:

Family is um.... interesting..... to bring to Disney. Since you seem to be a very plan oriented person, you really need to ask DSis what her plans are because although ya'll are sisters, your plans with GREATLY differ. We used to go with my dad, mom, little brother and I, and my Dad's Dparents (my Dgrandparents) would come along to watch us enjoying Disney.

Even then, we had to plan our own seperate things.
Cause we definitely ALL wanted to do different things.

Very excited to hear more on your pre-trip

Thanks for joining me here! :goodvibes I am going to check out your PTR tonight! I may be going first but it still seems so far away! I am going to keep good thoughts about the extended family. My niece and my son love to see each other and we currently live far away. This will be great for them to spend some time together. I will hope for pixie dust for the rest. pixiedust:

glad some came over.

I ordered the p&pp shirts from zazzle. I really liked how they came out.

I went back and looked at your pictures from the p&pp and saw the shirts. They came out really nice! Thanks again for bringing readers over here. I was starting to think that I was just going to be talking to myself. I like the company! :thumbsup2

Well, thanks for reading then! :) You should have posted - the more the merrier.



'Ohana has lots of fun activites for the kids and I love the food. Plus, you could always watch Wishes from the beach afterwards (we've been to the beach, but not watched Wishes from there -although I really want to!).



That most recent picture is so precious!! She's beautiful! :cutie:

How did you manage to not bring your sons over to the dark side? :confused3 I guess growing up in Mass. probably affected them, eh? My boys have been brought up well to dislike the Yankees ;) So we have no issues in this house, thank goodness!

Thanks for the nice comments about DD3months. I bought her a princess dress when we were at WDW at New Year's. I am going to try it on her in the next week or so. I will take a picture and post it here.

Regarding the Red Sox, we need to convert DH over to the Sox (not the boys over to the Yankees). :cool1: However, that will be harder than getting him to love Disney. It is always interesting when we go places because DS15 is wearing his Red Sox clothing, and DH is always wearing something Yankees. They get lots of comments from strangers...

Well Scott sure has been busy!! I'm here too from Scotts TR! Loving your PTR and TR!! Great job! Love the pics!

Welcome! :goodvibes Thanks for coming over here! I am very thankful to Scott for helping me out. I was getting used to talking to myself. :rolleyes1

:wave: I came over from Scott's too! You are off to a great start here!

Funny thing... I live up the road from you... well not literally up YOUR road... up 55 is what I meant! ;) We were switched to year round this year too. We chose track 2 specifically for when we thought we'd want to go to Disney! My DD moves to middle next year and my twin DS's to 2nd grade. So, 3 more years of matching schedules and then it's onto chaos! How are managing the 2 schedules?

Oh and I wanted to also recommend the Garden Grill! We love it! Not having to get up and head to the buffet every 5 minutes with a different kid wanting something else is wonderful. And the character interaction there is like no other place we've been! Two thumbs up! :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2

One more thing... I made shirts for our last trip. I got the designs off the design board. We only matched one time and that was for MVMCP. If you have any questions about the process, ask away!

Welcome neighbor! We actually do live in a sub-division right off of 55. It's a small world. :banana: It is tough with the two different school schedules, however we need to work around the traditional schedule since DS15 needs to be in high school every day possible to try to get decent grades. :rolleyes1 I wish that we could go to WDW during DS6's track out times (other than July), but that isn't possible right now.

Regarding the Garden Grill, we have never eaten there yet, but DH keeps mentioning it. Since a few people have recommended it here, I may need to make an ADR for it.

Was it easy to print out the design from the design board and iron it on to a shirt? I am not very crafty, and I keep thinking that I may mess up one or two... (or seven :rotfl:) and it could get costly to keep buying t-shirts. I may need to go with the online ordering site.
Just realized that you guys are in the Raleigh area. I lived there for 2 years (back in 94/95). I was the manager of the cleaning crew at the Sears store. Raleigh's a great city. Used to love to go for a walk around a manmade lake - was the Lake Lynn??

We do love the Raleigh area. We have lived here for about four years now. It is a very family-friendly area and it is only about nine hours from WDW. :yay: There is a Lake Lynn in North Raleigh, but I haven't been there. We live SW of Raleigh. This area has grown SOOOOO much since the 90's.

[SingingMom]

Hi there!!! This is patti2533's DH......As you requested......here is our beautiful daughter from our NYE trip this year.

Oh and Yes, the boys love the Red Sox but Dad (me) is a yankee Fan.......it makes for lots of fun throughout the baseball season!

Anyways......Here's DD3mos.!!!!!

http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg56/rcorjay/DSC02069aa.jpg


And here is a more recent shot.............................


http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg56/rcorjay/DSC02941a.jpg

Oh how PRECIOUS!!!!!! LOVE the pictures! I would enter the "Million Dreams" photo in a contest somewhere! She is beautiful! :cutie:
I came over to read your TR at Scott's suggestion! :goodvibes

[mkluvsmickey]

Hi TiggerMan2007! Thanks for posting the pictures of your beautiful daughter - she is adorable. :lovestruc
Glad you are posting here too - nice to hear both sides of the story. :rolleyes:

[patti2533]

Oh how PRECIOUS!!!!!! LOVE the pictures! I would enter the "Million Dreams" photo in a contest somewhere! She is beautiful! :cutie:
I came over to read your TR at Scott's suggestion! :goodvibes

Thanks for joining us! Now that you mention it, maybe she should be the poster child for YOAMD. :cool1: If anyone knows who to contact about this, let me know. ;)

Hi TiggerMan2007! Thanks for posting the pictures of your beautiful daughter - she is adorable. :lovestruc
Glad you are posting here too - nice to hear both sides of the story. :rolleyes:

My side of the story is always right though. :lmao:

[patti2533]

I don't have any update today on our trip planning, but I came across a picture from Christmas of DS6 and DN8 (who will be joining us on the trip). They love hanging out together, so this trip will be great for them.
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/pcorjay/DSC02030.jpg

[Native NYer]

Great pic! They're going to have a great time.

[lovebuzzandwoody]

Was it easy to print out the design from the design board and iron it on to a shirt? I am not very crafty, and I keep thinking that I may mess up one or two... (or seven :rotfl:) and it could get costly to keep buying t-shirts. I may need to go with the online ordering site.


It wasn't hard at all. You just right click and save the design to your PC. Then you buy the iron-on transfer paper ~ I like Avery brand ~ and print the design onto it and iron them on. You need to have a good iron that gets HOT and you have to pre-wash the shirts w/o fabric softener. We did about a dozen shirts and they all turned out great! Just follow the directions on the package.

[patti2533]

Wow, looks like I have been gone for a while! I hate it when work gets in the way of DIS'ing! :rotfl2:

It is now time to get back to trip planning. I checked my countdown today, and we are down to 104 DAYS! In five days, I will be doing the double-digit dance. :banana:

DS15 has been putting together our itinerary for this trip, but I think it is going to be changed a lot as we get closer to the trip. I will be posting our current schedule here soon. However, right now I am trying to figure out what our plan of attack will be...

Should we plan to go to the EMH in the mornings?

Should we plan to go to the EMH in the evenings?

Should we avoid the parks with EMH at all costs? (and go to a park with no EMH that day?)

Our strategy will definitely include going to a park in the morning and then going back to SSR every afternoon (at least most) to swim and relax and then return to a park in the evening. DSis has confirmed that she will get park hopper tix, so we could go to a different park at night. Remember, we will have a 7 month old baby with us, so I don't want to overwhelm her. But, DH has said that he is fine staying at SSR with the baby sometimes if she is not having fun in the parks. :worship: DH is usually happier just hanging around the hotel rather than going commando.

We usually don't go to the rope drops at the parks, but I would like to go to the rope drop at a few parks during this trip (at least at MK). Do they have a show if there are EHM in the morning? Do they do it at the real park opening (not at the start of EHM)?

[patti2533]

I just realized... We only have 103 days until we leave... not 104! I just checked the date that I had the countdown starting and it was wrong!!! I cannot believe that I have one less days to wait!

I would like to make a countdown calendar with the kids. I am hoping to get inspired to do this in the next three days so we can start at 100 days... Does anyone have any pictures of what you did??? I am not extremely creative so I am not above copying someone else's creative ideas. :rotfl:

[scottny]

I don't plan on EMH. I definitely do not do mornings to early. So I guess I cannot really help you. :rotfl2:

I have done one EMH at MK and it was busy. That was at night.

[lilpixiebabe101]

If I had my work laptop I was making the months for my countdown. I had April and May done already, and I would send them to you if I could. But sadly, my work computer has a hiccup and is in the shop for who knows how long. Definitely wont be ready to send it to you for your 100 day mark. I'm sorry!

[cjstarr]

patti2533 we are glad to see someone from the area going down the same week as we will be going, 6/29/08--7/05/08. We live over in Hope Mills (Fayetteville area) and this will be our first ever stay in WDW. We are booked for CBR for that week,(yes we know that the main pool is closed :sad2: so if there is any thing you can suggest we can use the help for the trip.
Our cast of characters in this trip are: DH55 (thats ME!!!) DW39, DD18, DS14, DS4 & our DD's BF20. The last time we went was the 3rd week in July in 2001 and we stayed off resort:sad2: I told my DW that if we had to do this again I would rather stay home. Our DS4 looks in our Disney photo album and keeps asking why he is not in any of the photo's:confused: I told him he was to little to remember;) though I'm not sure that he's buying it.:laughing:
We are wanting to do some of the Magical Gatherings, the
Safari Celebration Dinner, Magical Fireworks Voyage, & Good Morning Gatherings and was wondering if you have ever been on any of these. I read that you have to have a group of 8 or larger and wanted to know if they evey let a family of 5 or 6 attend?
Sooo many question and sooo little time to find out all the answers!!!

[carissanboys]

Here's a couple of pictures of our Countdown Calendar. It's not the nicest looking by far, but I used what I had around the house. I do like my idea of having a trivia question or a question for everyone to answer for each day - such as "What do you think is the scariest ride?" etc.

http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee163/carissanboys/IMG_1141.jpg

http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee163/carissanboys/IMG_1142.jpg

http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee163/carissanboys/IMG_1144.jpg

As for EMH, we did the early ones a couple of times on our first trip and it was great. MK was pretty dead for that first hour.

[lovebuzzandwoody]

Here is the calendar I made.

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd90/mom2aeo/IMG_0522.jpg

Of course the MHPC (Mickey Head Paint Chips) are from Home Depot! Don't forget to get some extra lime green ones!! ;) I had the numbers stuck to the MHPC with 2 sided tape and we pulled one off every day. I only did 30 days... you'd have to swipe, er, I mean liberate, a lot of MHPC's to do 100 days! :laughing:

[mkluvsmickey]

Great calendars guys! Love the idea of a question under each number. I'm not very crafty - we ususally make a paper chain to count the days. Last time we decorated each link with Disney stuff.

[patti2533]

I don't plan on EMH. I definitely do not do mornings to early. So I guess I cannot really help you. :rotfl2:

I have done one EMH at MK and it was busy. That was at night.

I'm not usually a morning person either (especially on vacation) but I have been saying for many trips that I am going to get to rope drop... and I never do :lmao:, so I am determined to do it this year. Regarding the EMHs at night, I agree that they are usually busy so I may stay away.

If I had my work laptop I was making the months for my countdown. I had April and May done already, and I would send them to you if I could. But sadly, my work computer has a hiccup and is in the shop for who knows how long. Definitely wont be ready to send it to you for your 100 day mark. I'm sorry!

I hear ya on the work computer issues! I am completely lost without my computer when it is in the shop.

patti2533 we are glad to see someone from the area going down the same week as we will be going, 6/29/08--7/05/08. We live over in Hope Mills (Fayetteville area) and this will be our first ever stay in WDW. We are booked for CBR for that week,(yes we know that the main pool is closed :sad2: so if there is any thing you can suggest we can use the help for the trip.
Our cast of characters in this trip are: DH55 (thats ME!!!) DW39, DD18, DS14, DS4 & our DD's BF20. The last time we went was the 3rd week in July in 2001 and we stayed off resort:sad2: I told my DW that if we had to do this again I would rather stay home. Our DS4 looks in our Disney photo album and keeps asking why he is not in any of the photo's:confused: I told him he was to little to remember;) though I'm not sure that he's buying it.:laughing:
We are wanting to do some of the Magical Gatherings, the
Safari Celebration Dinner, Magical Fireworks Voyage, & Good Morning Gatherings and was wondering if you have ever been on any of these. I read that you have to have a group of 8 or larger and wanted to know if they evey let a family of 5 or 6 attend?
Sooo many question and sooo little time to find out all the answers!!!

You are the first group that I have seen that will be there when we are!! And you are from NC as well! We like the July 4th week, but you will find that it is busy and you have to plan in advance to get the most out of it. I am sorry that the CBR pool will be closed. we stayed there many years ago and the DS15 (he was 9 at the time) loved the pool. You may need to add the waterpark option to your MYW tickets so you can go to TL or BB.

We have never done the Grand Gatherings yet either, and this trip we currently do not have 8 people (yet... and I will talk about that in my next post).

Here's a couple of pictures of our Countdown Calendar. It's not the nicest looking by far, but I used what I had around the house. I do like my idea of having a trivia question or a question for everyone to answer for each day - such as "What do you think is the scariest ride?" etc.

As for EMH, we did the early ones a couple of times on our first trip and it was great. MK was pretty dead for that first hour.

Your countdown chart was the one that I was thinking of when I posed the question! :yay: I couldn't remember where I saw it, though.

Here is the calendar I made.

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd90/mom2aeo/IMG_0522.jpg

Of course the MHPC (Mickey Head Paint Chips) are from Home Depot! Don't forget to get some extra lime green ones!! ;) I had the numbers stuck to the MHPC with 2 sided tape and we pulled one off every day. I only did 30 days... you'd have to swipe, er, I mean liberate, a lot of MHPC's to do 100 days! :laughing:

I love yours, but I may feel bad taking that many paint chips! I have started creating one on the computer and I will post a picture once it is done.

Great calendars guys! Love the idea of a question under each number. I'm not very crafty - we ususally make a paper chain to count the days. Last time we decorated each link with Disney stuff.

I know what you mean about not being crafty.:confused3 But, I am definitely going to give it a try and see what comes of my calendar. I do like the paper chain idea, too, though.

[patti2533]

We are getting ready to head away for Easter weekend, but first I had a project to do...:thumbsup2 I needed to create the 100 day countdown calendar. And, not only one calendar... but two so that I could bring one to DSis and DN8 (who we are going to see for Easter). :banana:

I took a picture of one of the calendars and I am posting it below. This ended up being a lot more work than I thought and it didn't come out exactly as I planned...

http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg56/rcorjay/DSC03134.jpg

Here is what happened. First, I had to download the Disney font... which took a little while since I am not all that good at that type of computer stuff. :lmao: Then I used the font in my calendar, including the numbers. Now, when you look at the picture above, you will see that the numbers are no longer in the Disney font... that is because I had to print it from a different computer. After it all printed, I realized that I did not have the font on that computer so it printed out in a regular font. :headache: Then, I had to download the font on that computer, but I didn't have the heart to waste all of that paper and ink to print it all again (trying to save at least one tree), so I only printed out the title again in the correct font. So, it is not perfect, but it is at least done, because....

We are at the 100 day mark, and we can now start using the calendar!! :cool1:

Up next: A discussion on whether we should expand the group by one... or two.

[scottny]

it looks nice and it serves it's purpose. :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2

[lilpixiebabe101]

ooohhh more peoples. Who might also be only to see Mickey?

[carissanboys]

Your calendar came out great!! :)

[lovebuzzandwoody]

And you said you weren't crafty! It looks awesome! And how cool that you made one for your sister too! :thumbsup2

[scottny]

I would not have the patience to make one. I have an electronic countdown on my computer and that is good for me.

I think they came out very nice.

When do leave for the weekend? or did she?

[patti2533]

it looks nice and it serves it's purpose. :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2

Thanks! It will serve it's purpose. We hung it up this morning. DS6 was so excited to cross out the first day. :cool1:

ooohhh more peoples. Who might also be only to see Mickey?

You are going to have to wait until after the weekend for this. I will not get to it before I leave. However, I may get more information to include when I go see DSis tomorrow.

Your calendar came out great!! :)

Thanks!!

And you said you weren't crafty! It looks awesome! And how cool that you made one for your sister too! :thumbsup2

Thanks! It was as crafty as I get. I just printed everything out from my computer and glued it together. I wanted to make one for DSis and DN8 since I want them to be as excited as we are!

I would not have the patience to make one. I have an electronic countdown on my computer and that is good for me.

I think they came out very nice.

When do leave for the weekend? or did she?

I didn't have the patience for it in the middle of making it. :rotfl: I actually had to "step away from the calendar..." so that I wouldn't get so annoyed with how time-consuming it was becoming. And... DS6 said he wanted to help, but he really just wants to cross the days out. He wanted it to be all together immediately.

We are leaving right now for the weekend. DH is actually standing here looking at me and telling me to stop DIS'ing. :rolleyes1 So I gotta go... Happy Easter everyone!

[mkluvsmickey]

Love the calendar! Great job. :thumbsup2
Have a nice Easter weekend. :)

[scottny]

We are leaving right now for the weekend. DH is actually standing here looking at me and telling me to stop DIS'ing. :rolleyes1 So I gotta go... Happy Easter everyone!

HAPPY EASTER!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g134/scottny/apmmeaster2.gif http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g134/scottny/pooh-easter-bunny.gif

Have a great weekend.