How we told the kids we're going to Disney.... update on post #25!

[DisneyMominMTL]

I am 102 days away from my Disney trip. I obsess about the whole thing SOOOO much: I am on the DIS daily, spend many hours of every day reading about Disney and planning and changing my itinerary and ADRs... so I decided to write a pre-trip report. I absolutely need something to keep me busy or I'll mess up all my ADRs many many times again :rotfl2:

So here's how the idea for a Disney trip came about:

Last May, around my birthday, my mother, who had recently moved to Kuujjuaq (check it out on a map... it's close to the North Pole!!) called me up and told me that she saw an ad for a bus trip to Disney.

Now, you have to understand that we live quite far from Disney: Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It's a 24 hour non-stop drive! So that bus trip would be 2 full days one way (they stop in Virginia overnight) AND 2 other full days back, with a mere 5 days of Disney, offsite hotel.

Bus trip?? No way. Thanks, but no thanks.

Then my mom said... she wants to TAKE me and the kids to Disney, as in paying for the trip, Happy Birthday, Merry Christmas!! A bit hard to say no to that, right? So I swallowed my pride (and motion sickness:sick: ), and got onboard with the project! This would be an amazing trip if... we had a few more days in the parks.

Come on now, we live far away, do not know when we'd have the chance to go back, and spend half the trip on a bus... not my idea of a vacation.

So I did my homework, and priced a trip with airfare, and ONSITE. The plan was to go the second week on the X-Mas holidays (it was not possible for us to get any other time off from work), so the prices were... not cheap! But we managed to find airfare, 7 nights at All Star Movies and the dining plan for about 600$ more than the original bus trip (which did NOT include food aside from continental breakfast at the hotel). I was really happy with that!

Don't get me wrong: I HATE flying! We went to Cuba in 2005 and my mom had to care for my then DD5 because I felt ill the whole time (I try to sleep). But the plane ride is way quicker than bus (and less smelly!). Plus it will be DD12 first time flying, so it will be amazing for her!

Now, on to the cast for this amazing trip:

First off, my mother; we'll call her DM. DM is 52 years young. She is my very best friend. She is more of a party girl than I am, and very fun to hang out with. She's a bit clumsy, and sometimes slow... in a very funny way. I know this trip will be a blast with her, as she is really looking forward to wearing a Mickey Ears hat for a whole week without feeling funny!

Then, DD12 (will be 13 in January). Actually, she is my husband's daughter, but we have full-time custody (for the past 3 years). She is an amazing child, and came a long way since she's come to live with us. Even though she still has her mother, she is my full fledged daughter, not my stepdaughter or whatever. I am very proud of her, and this will be her very first ''real'' trip: first time flying, first time out of Canada. This trip is a surprise for my kids... but DD12 is onto me! She's caught me surfing the Disney websites too many times, and even confronted me about it... but she swore she wouldn't say a thing to her sister :rolleyes1 Although she is a teen-in-the-making, DD12 is a sweetheart. She loves Tigger, and is crazy about High School Musical. She is a thrill seeker and has done most of the scariest rides at our local 6 Flags.

DD9 is my princess. She is a very curious, witty child, who is just too darn smart for her own good. She was recently diagnosed with ADD (attention deficit disorder). She is very loveable and cute but can be a handful (or 2 hands full!!) She is gonna go CRAZY when she finds out we are going to Disney! She is a HUGE Hannah Montana fan, and loves Sleeping Beauty (we know ALL the dialogue and songs from the movie from watching over and over when she was younger... but in French!).

Then there is me. I am 28 yo. My kids are my life. I am currently working full time but strive to be a stay-at-home mom next summer. My husband and I are building an internet business which will replace my income (at first, then he wishes to stop working too). We are currently trying to add to the family, and I am hoping to be pregnant when we go to Disney, so no booze for me, DM will have to drink for the both of us :cool1:

My husband is not coming with us. He is not a fan of Disney... especially since we have planned so many Princess-y stuff :lmao: My husband is so focused on making our business work, it drives him day and night. He works very hard to make a great life for us, and to allow me to be with the kids and not having to work. He says that when he will take his next vacation, he wants to be able to go for as long as he wants... which means when he is job-free! He is amazing and I love him!

This will officially be our first Disney trip. Actually, DM took me when I was about 6 yo, but I don't remember a thing from that trip! I do have pictures of me, wide eyed, and vaguely remember being on Dumbo... but that's it. I went back with my father when I was around 8, and remember walking around Epcot, and the HISTK playground at (then) MGM. DM and I are really looking forward to this trip, and we want to fully enjoy through the eyes of DD12 and DD9.

Next up: the planning!

[DisneyMominMTL]

Feeling itchy about Disney again this morning. Just got to work and it's not a busy day... so let's get back to this report!

Dates and accomodations:
Flying out of Montreal early on Dec. 29, to arrive in Orlando around 1PM. We will be using Magical Express, and will rely on Disney transportation for the trip. We are checking into All Stars Movies for 7 nights. Now, we have looked into other resorts, but the Deluxes are way expensive that time of year, especially considering we will spend most of our time in the parks. Granted, the proximity is convenient, but not worth over 3000$ more :scared1: The Mods were a bit more affordable, but again, won't be spending much time there, so not worth the extra $$$ for this first trip. We are flying out of MCO early (8AM) on Jan. 5th; this will be a short night as ME picks us up about 3 hours before the flight! I tried to look for a later flight, but the prices were WAY high... and we need to be back on the 5th as DM goes back to Kuujjuaq on the 6th :sad1:

Park tickets:
We were offered the WP&M. I looked into the waterparks: Typhoon Lagoon seems interesting, but will be closed when we go. Blizzard Beach's slides seem way too scary. Aside from DD12, we're not thrill seekers. And, considering we are going in Dec.-Jan., it will be on the chilly side. Pleasure Island will be closed. DisneyQuest seems like fun, but more like something my husband would enjoy. Didn't think it was worth the time or the money on such ''short'' trip. Conclusion: declined WP&M.

At first, I considered the Hopper. I have done many (many many) different scenarios, with the AM and evening EMH, hopping or no hopping, etc. Since we are going during the Holidays the parks are opened fairly early and close fairly late, so I ended up not taking the hopper. We will upgrade to it if we feel it is necessary, but right now I figure that hopping consumes quite a lot of time and would prefer spending time in the parks than being on a bus.

So, right now we have 7 days MYW base tickets. I have to mention that I am already considering going back for Spring Break (which is the first week of March for us) and/or during the summer, so we might upgrade to AP. We'll see!

DDP. I love the convenience of not having to whip out money all the time. The DxDDP seemed not only like a lot of food, but also lots of time taken away from touring the parks, so we stuck to the basic DDP. We may end up paying OOP for certain things, but it just seems convenient. The fact that DM is dishing out for this trip is also a factor: she did have a ''budget'' for the trip, which did not include food at first (remember the bus idea??) but considering it comes out to ''only'' 600$ more for the 4 of us, she is paying for it!

When all that was set, I started reading through the DIS. That's when it dawned on me... Restaurants. Character meals. ADRs. Crowd levels. Touring plans. Souvenirs. FastPasses :scared1:

More on that... later! (Gotta at least show some productivity at work!!)

[Disneychix]

Can't wait to hear what you have planned for the girls! (both the big and little ones! :) )

The bus ride sounds aweful. Glad you found such a good deal on the flights and hotel!

[DisneyMominMTL]

The first step in all of this trip was to figure out which park to do on each day. I struggled alone,:confused: in the dark for a while, looking at hours and EMH... trying to make sense of it all.

I came up with a schedule that feels comfortable and resembles our actual patterns. I juggled with taking mid-day breaks away from the parks, but did not plan for any. My kids are older, and the time involved in taking breaks was not worth it. I'm afraid we wouldn't be able to rest anyways!:yay:

Another thing that was clear to me was that we had to make rope drop every morning. It will be crowded, so the earlier we get, the more chance we have to do the headliners early, and then take it at a slower pace. However, the earliest we feel comfortable with was an 8 AM rope drop. Earlier than that is just too early for a vacation. We are early risers, so this should be very doable for us, but we still don't want to rush in the AM. As far as latest... we'll see how it goes, but since we'll be doing early AM every day, no late late nights for us. On a regular day, I am usually in bed at 10 the latest. I know we will miss all the New Year's fireworks and parties, but we will be up bright and early next AM for EMH at MK :woohoo:

I also subscribed to the UG website. Not costly, info seems pertinent. I'll let you know in my trip report how well that worker for us ;)

I used some of the UG predictions about crowds to choose my days... but not for all of them, as I ended up making changes to ADRs a few times (more on that later). I will not say which days I followed UG advice, as I do not want to reveal any of the privvy info. So here's the tentative schedule as of today (remember, we are still 101 days out... could change quite a few times between now and then!!!):laughing:

Dec. 29: evening at MK. We'd get to the park around 4PM, and it closes at 11PM, yet we'll probably leave earlier. It is not the most time efficient choice. Rationally, I should have used that time to stroll aroung WS in Epcot or spend time at DTD, so it would be ''done'' for the remainder of the vacation. But I just cannot arrive to WDW without heading to MK and watch my girls take in the beautiful sight of the Castle. It is going to be such a magical moment :cloud9:

Dec. 30: Studios. RD at 9AM, closes at 8PM. I have a feeling my girls will truly enjoy this park.

Dec. 31: Epcot. RD at 8AM, closes at 1AM. I feel this park will be the least interesting to my kids. I am sure they will enjoy it, but not as much as the others.

Jan. 1: MK. EMH at 8AM, closes at 11PM.

Jan. 2: AK. RD at 8AM, EMH from 8 to 11PM.

Jan. 3: Not set in stone, but probably Studios. RD at 9. Break at lunch time for a stroll in DTD. Back to Studios which holds EMH from 7-10PM.

Jan. 4: MK. RD at 8AM, EMH 9-12PM. Last day!

Now, I know that evening EMH can be very busy. But, the AM EMHs at Ak and the Studios were difficult to attend because of ADRs. We'll wing it according to crowds and at my girls' whim. Again, we do not have hoppers, but will upgrade and hop our way if we feel the need.

Did I mention I have spreadsheets? Color coded with multiple scenarios. :cool2: I spend so much time on my planning, my husband is sick of it. He feels I am letting the home business down a tad. Which is not completely untrue :rolleyes1 But this is so much fun! I have built a lot of anticipation for myself as I can't wait for my girls to enjoy the trip!

I could have a much more unpleasant addiction :upsidedow

[wdwgirl03]

Your plans sound good so far! We were there around the same time last year and a couple other times as well. It's so fun going around the holidays. The parks are busy but we've always had a great time. Can't wait to hear more!

[Grace and Mickey]

Hi:wave2: I enjoying reading you pre-trip report. I stayed in ASMO in Sept 2006 I really enjoyed it there where 6 adults.I thought the rooms where clean,and that mousekeeping did a great job, all the castmembers were friendly. The themeing is cute especially if you like disney movies, makes for lots of cute pictures. If you get to MK for the rope drop, see if you can see Mickey come in on the train,it made me cry!!!
Taking your children for there 1st rip is somethingyou will always remember. It' s so nice of your mother to be able to pay for the trip, I sure she will never forget taking this trip with her daughter and granddaughters. My 1st trip was in 2006, I was 51, and took my 2 dd there where 29 and 25 We are planning a trip for Sept 2009, with my Almost 3 year old grandson. So 101 day doesn't seem long to me. I stll have about 350 days!
Looking forward to reading about more of your plans.
Hope you are having a mickey day::MickeyMo

[DisneyMominMTL]

Can't wait to hear what you have planned for the girls! (both the big and little ones! :) )

Can't wait to hear more!

Hi:wave2: I enjoying reading you pre-trip report.

I have an audience! :cool1:

Thank you all for your kind words. I'm at 100 days today :woohoo:

No time to write much this morning, have meetings until lunch... but I'll make up for it as soon as I can!

[DisneyMominMTL]

Home alone! Rare moment for me! Hubby is out doing PR for the business; DD12 at the library, and DD9 has dance class.

I should be cooking, or cleaning, or out grocery shopping... nah!

Instead, let me tell you about my food plan for my upcoming Disney trip!

The thing that really got me hooked to the DIS was the dining reviews. I decided early that I wanted to do my own dining review... which led me to want to do a trip report... and then this pre-trip report!

Now, here's a little background about my family's food habits.

We all love food. Sweet, salty, healthy, fatty, we enjoy. Spicy is great, even for my kids. We strive to eat well and enjoy veggies just as much, if not more, than meat. We love variety and exotic foods.

DM does not eat any red meat: no beef, pork or wild game. Not a religious or cultutral thing, just... because. She used to years ago, but her eating habits changed over time. She loves seafood and fish, especially salmon. Also enjoys chicken. Other than that, she is pretty easygoing with food.

DD12 loves food. She eats pretty much anything. So long as it's edible, she's willing to try it. If she doesn't like it, chances are, it tastes awful :rotfl: It's a good thing kids her age are considered adults on the plan, because I would have had to upgrade anyways!

DD9 also loves to eat, but has a few aversions. The main thing she despises: mushrooms. She is a bit more picky, but if she recognizes what's on her plate, she'll eat it. Or she'll pick at it until all the weird stuff is gone (''Mom, was that a MUSHROOM I just ate :scared: ???'') DD9 also loves seafood and fish, which is weird to me because I don't, so I never make it, yet she still developed a taste for it.

Finally, there is me. Not too picky, I like my food flavorful. As mentioned, no fish or seafood. I'm not big on pork either. I'm not into big chunks of meat... steak or roast doesn't do much for me. It's good, but gimme a plate full of pasta with Alfredo sauce, covered in Parmesan cheese, maybe with a bit of tender seasoned chicken breast, with a lot of freshly ground black pepper and a little parsley snippet on top (see me drool like Homer Simpson???). Love pasta, pizza, and the likes. Love bread. Which is really bad for me, but hey, we only got one life to live! Love all things chocolate. And also fruity desserts, cheesecakes and... well any kind of dessert is usually fine by me!

WDW has so many great dining options... but early on in my research I got hooked on the character dining! This IS our first trip, and how much more Disney can you get when you're at a character meal! I did not want to travel too much for meals. My options in Epcot were limited as 1-we only have one day at Epcot; 2-I really want to do Akershus Princess Storybook meal and 3-I want to eat around the World.

Considering the above, I ended up booking 5 character meals, out of 6 ADRs (We have 7 TS, but will use 2 for CRT). The only reason why we don't have all character meals is that the food at Tusker House seems yummy for lunch or dinner so we booked that instead of the character breakfast! I also tried to get a Fantasmic! dinner package at Mama Melrose, but nothing available.

I will spare you the many many changes I have made until now to my ADRs. The last time I called (which was 2 days ago:rolleyes1 ) the lady said ''WOW there's a lot of ADRs here... but you canceled the ones you didn't want, so we thank you for our other guests that may want them'' (or something like that). I felt a tad ashamed... but got over it quickly! The ADRs I have right now seem right by me, but there may be changes... we'll see. And I will keep an update of any changes I make, I promise!

So here is my dining plan:

Dec. 29: MK: CS dinner, probably Pecos Bill's or Cosmic Ray's

Dec. 30: DHS: CS lunch and dinner at ABC, Backlot or Toy Story Pizza

Dec. 31: TS lunch at Norway's Akershus (Princess Storybook) @ 1:20PM. Dinner will be eating snacks around the WS. So far I have: (alcohol is included, but still hoping to be preggers by then!!)
Mexico: nachos, churros and margaritas (from the stand!);
Norway: probably the almond pretzel. We are not fans of coconut, so schoolbread doesn't seem so interesting to us!
China: egg rolls;
Germany: maybe the bratwurst, but more likely pastries and beer;
Italy: Gelato, Bellini, or someone mentioned something about Pink champagne served with dark chocolate?? Anyone??
USA: Funnel cake, although I read somewhere the one in MK is bigger/better?? We might just skip that one!
Japan: Tonosama platter, sushi for DM et DD9, kaki gori;
Morocco: shawarma platter, baklava
France: pastries, or crepes. Grey Goose and Grand Marnier slushie. (If I don't get to taste those, I WILL be planning another trip for when I am able to drink again!)
UK: fish & chips. Beer.
Canada: nothing interesting. Maple syrup is much cheaper at home. We could bathe in the stuff here :lmao:

Jan. 1: Lunch at some CS in MK. Dinner at 1900 Park Fare @ 5:05PM

Jan. 2: Lunch at Tusker House @ 1:40PM. Dinner at a CS, probably Pizzafari (the beans served at FlameTree just don't seem that yummy to me). Might try Yak & Yeti CS. We'll see then!

Jan. 3: Brunch at Chef Mickey's @11:55AM. Dinner at Wolfgang Puck Express in DTD.

Jan. 4: Lunch at CRT @ 1:10PM; Dinner at Crystal Palace @6:30PM

Now I do think that my CRT and CP are very close on Jan. 4, so might push my CP for later. As you can see, there are no early ADRs as I felt it took too much time away from the parks. Although we love breakfast foods, it is kind of redundant from one place to the next. Most of my ADRs are buffets, not only as they are character meals but also to give DD9 a greater variety of foods. The choices were made more for the Disney experience than for the food itself, but most of the foods I've seen looked good enough for me to eat, even those weird looking piles of food people get at buffets :rotfl:

I am so excited about eating with the Princesses! I think my girls are gonna have an overdose of Princesses, but I am just ecstatic! We should see Cinderella 3 times! Found out a few weeks ago (while probing the kids innocently :rolleyes1 about all things Disney) that Cinderella is their least favorite princess. Please, she is, like, the worst Princess of all, like, ya know? She's soooo wack. Well too bad girlies! Mommy loves her! And I know they'll love it too!

As far as breakfast is concerned, we'll probably use a few snacks credits to get some yummy looking pastries from the Main Street Bakery, Starring Rolls, the French Bakery in Epcot... to eat the next morning. Might get a cheese plate a few times for protein. And some of the b-fast stuff from the food court (pay oop).

I made arrangements for a fridge swap (Thanks Oceana!), so we can have a few things cold and fresh. We'll bring in some juice from home, and buy milk. We'll also bring in a small coffeemaker.

As far as snacks, I really want to try that Dole Whip Float. We'll probably have one between the 4 of us (and go back for more if needed, but those things look huge!) Figaro fries also seem interesting. We are also going to stop by Goofy's in DTD to make our own snacks.

Well that seems to cover the food part. My husband still does not comprehend how I can figure out 6 months in advance what I will want to eat. He hasn't been on the DIS boards!

[DisneyMominMTL]

As I was expressing my joy today at work about being 100 days away from my Disney trip, and mentioned the fact that I was writing a PTR, a colleague (not sure I want to call her that anymore :upsidedow ) told me to get a life!!!

I replied to her that my kids were my life and that this trip was mostly for their enjoyment! And that I felt so blessed to be able to go on such a trip with the people I love most, and to create magical memories for all of us!

I asked her what she meant by ''having a life'' and she replied something like going out to party and having fun. Do I seem unhappy planning my trip? I'm having a BLAST! And how is going out and getting drunk, setting a good example for my kids?

Some people have a very funny of expressing jealousy :cool1:

[DisneyMominMTL]

Yesterday we spent the day at our local Six Flags.

DD9 is such a wimp! And so am I!!!!!

I hate most rides: high rides (vertigo), rides with sharp turns, rides that go around and around (motion sickness), coasters... not my thing.

DD9 is just the same, but actually tried a few more things than expected and liked some. She doesn't like surprises, or the unknown.

DD12 is a thrill seeker, but wouldn't do some of the bigger coasters alone, even if she's already been on them in previous visits, so she skipped them. Considering we got end of season passes (it closes for winter the last weekend of October), DD12 said she's do them next time we go.

The waits were manageable, but we had about 45 minutes to wait for 2 rides we really wanted to do. My daughters were really good, and we struck up conversation wit the people around us. There is a fast pass system (but it is not available for the rides we waited for) but it costs around 13$ more per person. Considering we were not gonna do most of the big rides, we didn't take it, but I might consider it next time for DD12 alone.

My main issue with the park is the lack of ambiance. You pretty much just go from one ride to the next, nothing strikes attention in between. Sure, there are those booths where they charge 5$ to win a trinket, but there's nothing... magical!

We will go again in the next weekends... we'll see how DD9 evolves with getting on scarier rides. It will be our way of rehearsing the ''ride'' part of Disney. But OH, how I long for the MAGIC!!!

[DisneyMominMTL]

I couldn't resist... I got antsy about the CP on the same day as CRT. I am NOT happy with CRT on the last day, tried to change it but nothing available, bad CRT time is better than no CRT! (The purpose is to eat in the Castle, not necessarily Cinderella).

So I made my CP on arrival day. DD12 is gonna be so happy about that one! Still couldn't get a Fantasmic! package at Mama Melrose. I would have went with a package, but other than that... it'll have to wait fo next trip ;)

97 days away! :dance3:

[Grace and Mickey]

As I was expressing my joy today at work about being 100 days away from my Disney trip, and mentioned the fact that I was writing a PTR, a colleague (not sure I want to call her that anymore :upsidedow ) told me to get a life!!!

I replied to her that my kids were my life and that this trip was mostly for their enjoyment! And that I felt so blessed to be able to go on such a trip with the people I love most, and to create magical memories for all of us!

I asked her what she meant by ''having a life'' and she replied something like going out to party and having fun. Do I seem unhappy planning my trip? I'm having a BLAST! And how is going out and getting drunk, setting a good example for my kids?

Some people have a very funny of expressing jealousy
iI have not finished reading the rest of your PTR but I wanted to say I totally
Agree with your second paragragh:thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 This is the way I feel about my family too.!! Please see the title of my PTR.
You just go ahead and made all those wonderful memmories together with your familiy, they will live in your heart always. There is not a day that I don't think of our 1st trip to WDW and and the magic that we all had.

[Grace and Mickey]

HI it's me again:wave: Did you try for a Fantamic package at Hollywood and Vine? It's a buffet lots of choices!! What meal are your eating at CRT?We had dinner, daughter#2 got engaged at dinner:bride: We loved Chef Mickey's lots of fun. Have you thought about 1900 Park fare? It's a meal with CInderalla, and the wicked stepmother and the sisters, Prince Charming is there too. Again enjoy making plans and memories, looking forward to reading more:thumbsup2

[DisneyMominMTL]

You just go ahead and made all those wonderful memmories together with your familiy, they will live in your heart always. There is not a day that I don't think of our 1st trip to WDW and and the magic that we all had.

Thanks for reinforcing my feeling about the whole trip!

Did you try for a Fantamic package at Hollywood and Vine? H&V was available, but I really wanted to ty the food at MM and it comes with appetizer with the Fantasmic! package. But it was not a priority on our list...
What meal are your eating at CRT? We are having lunch... the timing for TS lunches are great, it's always our biggest meal for the day, and as there are more people in the parks, it will allow for a little downtime
Have you thought about 1900 Park fare? We are having dinner there January 1st!!!!

[DisneyMominMTL]

I was sick with a bad cold the last few days. I was feeling so out of it that I didn't even think about Disney!!:scared: On top of it, I attended a 2-days workshop at work (which was very interesting... it was on how to care for patient's with Alzheimer's disease--I am a social worker in a nursing home, mostly with elderly).

Fear not, my DIS friends, I am back to my addiction. I was starting to experience symptoms of withdrawal... :rotfl2:

My husband is curently in the process of getting DD12 her passport. It is darn complicated (I am not the mother, remember??). First, getting the mother to fill out and sign the paperwork; now, getting the pictures right (we've been 2ce already... hope they accept them this time!), then we have to have notarized statements from both Mom and Dad for DD12 to travel with me... UGHH!

I understand why they make it so complicated, but it's still a hassle. Fortunately the passport lasts 5 years, so DD12 will be close to her 18 b-day when it expires, so we won't need to go through all that charade anymore!!. Then again... I will still require statements signed by both parents. Silly me for loving a child that is not my own!! :upsidedow

[DisneyMominMTL]

Well, the packing is far from being over, but it's well on its way!

The warm weather is coming to an end up here (it will be snow soon :scared: ) so we'll take some time in the next few weeks to sort out DDs' clothing. I'll try to figure out what will still fit them in December that they can wear in Florida (these kids grow like weeds!) Then we'll go shopping!

On my end, it'll be a little harder. I haven't shopped in MONTHS for new clothes in planning for pregnancy, and my weight has been... inconsistent (+/- 10 lbs) so I have a lot of clothing that don't fit well anymore (some too big, some too small) and other pieces I just can't stand anymore! (We'll find out this weekend about being pregnant. It is our last month trying for this year... we'll try again next summer if need be!)

MEANWHILE....

One of the very first things that caught my attention about planning a trip to Disney was the packing list(s). I got overwhelmed very quickly with the number of tips the good folks on the DIS were sharing. Most of the ideas are plain GENIUS!

So I made a list of what not to forget: extension plugs, pop-up hamper, over-the-door shoe holder (2--1 for toiletries, the other for... SHOES!!), hangers, toothbrush holder, pillow cases, coffemaker, snacks (cereals, granola bars, juice boxes, water??), laundry soap and $$, laundry soap pen and clothespins.

I went out and bought: baby wipes, napkin wipes and disinfectant wipes, huge ziploc bags (to pack each day's outfit in!), extra toothbrushes, a first aid kit with moleskin (and extra POOH band-aids!), cheap ponchos from the dollarstore (bought 10 of them. It is unlikely to rain, mostly for wet rides!), index cards and big Sharpie markers for autographs. Glow sticks!

I will pack a bit of everyone's stuff in each suitcase, in case we end up losing one! I will also bring extras of meds, contact lenses, and the likes ''just in case''.

We are going in cool weather so many of the tips won't apply... but many did mention bringing a warmer jacket (or dress in layers), even mittens and a hat! Although the average weather seems very comfortable to me, the lowest lows could be very cold... so we won't be taking any chances!

I also got a kick out of buying souvenirs in advance! The kids won't really know the difference... and I saved a bundle! My plan is to have DDs either wake up or come in to the room with a bunch of stuff on their bed as surprises... since we won't be shopping for souvenirs during the day, I'll say it comes from Mickey himself. I do realize they are a bit old for that, but I want them to wonder... isn't that what the MAGIC is about :wizard: !

So I got a bunch of trinkets from the dollarstore: pens, keychains, notebooks, etc. (all Disney themed, of course), that they can either keep for themselves or give to their friends.

I found a photo album that came with a nice box (one Pooh, one Princess) that will be their keepsake box and we'll do a scrapbook with the album, pics, autographs, etc.

I shopped Disneystore.com (no Disneystore close to us!). Although shipping in Canada was somewhat expensive, it really made up with 5$ shirts and other bargains! So I got: TinkerBell matching shirts for the 4 of us; 2 matching shirts for DM and I (love my mama!); Personalized HSM pillow cases for both DDs, HM cologne for both DDs; HM outfit for DD9, Pooh and HSM T-shirt for DD12; HM PJs for DD9 and HSM PJs for DD12.

From Ebay, I got a BUNCH of beanie babies: classic characters, Lion King, Pooh and Lady and the tramp. About 20 in all! Also got lanyards for all of us, and Mickey bags for DDs.

I will prepare envelopes for Mousekeeper tips (I will tip everyday... no debate please!!) :grouphug:

I will need to shop for a new camera... lost mine over the summer when we went to a animal-themed park in our area. So sad, we took great pics that day! I might consider getting each DD their own camera (Disney themed, of course... they didn't seem so expensive when I last checked!)

Did I mention that all those things were bought even BEFORE I was able to make ADRs (more than 180 days away...) A little nuts, are we?? :cool2:

[xoktenox]

wow I'm really enjoying readying your PTR!! We're going and staying at Pop in April and its sooo far away that reading all these great PTR's helps to make the time go faster :goodvibes All your ADR's sound really good, I want to try and get a Fantasmic dinner package at Mama Melrose's too but my 180 isn't quite here yet. We opted to not get the park hopper as well but like you am thinking we can always upgrade when we get there if we need to. I can't wait to read more, don't let anyone tell you to "get a life" either, they just don't understand the excitement!:banana:

[DisneyMominMTL]

Just found out today!!
I am about 4 weeks and 5 days into the pregnancy.
We have only been trying for a month, so I feel truly blessed!:wizard:
Granted, baby will not actually be there on our trip... but still with us!

Will write more in the next few days, right now, gotta get ready for work:upsidedow

:grouphug:

[Grace and Mickey]

:banana: :cool1: :yay: :dance3: :cheer2: :dancer: party:

WOW Great news!!!
I am very happy for you!!!
Take care of your self.

[X and G's mom]

Congratulations!!! Babies are so awesome!
I'm enjoying reading your report, as I too am planning on surprising my kids. We will be there 12/19 - 12/25. I originally planned on telling my kids 12/7, but am now considering telling them this month. I'm just way too excited not to let them in on it! Plus, then they will know what I am making them save their allowance for :) My DBF doesn't want me to tell them this early though... (We have 79 days left)

My kids are also my life, so I know where you are coming from! If it's not dance classes for my DD10, it's Soccer, Football, or Basketball for my DS11 :)

[xoktenox]

Congratulations!! :dance3:

[DisneyMominMTL]

It's been a few days (week??) since I took the time to write...

I am feeling a bit overwhelmed right now with everything that is going on!

We've been having the bathroom done over (from scratch!) for the past 10 days... and it is not finished yet! :headache: We have a toilet, but no bath or shower, so we have to go to MIL to shower. I love my MIL but I can't wait to be in my stuff... I am used to taking 2 showers a day, so I go to the gym for my other one, but it ain't my stuff!!! It SHOULD be finished by this weekend. :rolleyes:

I am now 5 weeks and 3 days pregnant :woohoo: Found a doctor close to home (my previous doctor was at the far end of the city, where we used to live until June).

As you may have seen in my first post, we had been planning to get pregnant, so we're very excited about it! It does bring about a few changes in my Disney planning, however...

1- I won't be able to ride some of the thill rides I was willing to do, such as Kali River, Splash, ToT, and maybe even the Safari (I'll ask my doctor about it). I'm not sure DD9 will want to do them either, nor DM. And if no one does them, it seems DD12 won't do them either. As soon as we tell the kids we are going, we will look at videos and descriptions of the rides so that we can plan accordingly (I want to avoid, as much as possible, spending time in a queue or wasting a FP if they decide not to ride at the last minute--that would be like DD9 princess: ) On the flip side: now I have the bestest excuse not to do the scary rides :rotfl2:

2-No drinking around the World. I was looking forward to the Margaritas and other goodies in WS. On the flip side: $$ saved from alcohol=more $$ for baby stuff (hopefully I'll know the gender by then, will be in my 17th week).

3-Might be more tired (read: cranky). Especially with the Holiday crowds... On the flip side: Darn good excuse to go back to Disney!!!

I haven't had time to go through the kids' clothes yet, to figure what they need for Disney. We have a 4-day weekend, so will do that then (hopefully). My house is also a huge mess b/c of the bathroon do-over, so lots of cleaning ahead... or should I wait for DM arriving on the 17th for 3 weeks :rolleyes1

The trip is only 84 days away! :cheer2: So long... yet so close!

[xoktenox]

Good luck with the bathroom re-do. It sounds like alot of work and alot of mess but I'm sure it would be worth it. I would wait until DM shows up to clean, after all you are pregnant and need to rest! :angel: It stinks that you can't ride all the rides you were going to or drink all those tasty margaritas but like you said, I guess that means you'll just have to go back soon after the baby is born. And another trip to WDW is DEFINITELY not bad now is it?:laughing:

[DisneyMominMTL]

It's already been 2 months since I last wrote :scared1:

I am SO excited about my trip... 13 days :yay:

I have yet to figure out how I'm going to announce it to the kiddos...
We received a postcard from our Fairy GodMailer last night, but I hid it in my room. I don't want to give it to them just yet. Probably for X-Mas.

Mom is flying down tomorrow night from Kuujjuaq. She'll be caring for the kids until I get off work on the 24th, then it's off to Disney on the 29th!!!

I'm starting to really think about packing now. But my kids grew so much in the last few months, I think 3/4 of their clothes don't fit anymore. Guess we'll go shopping before we leave! As for me, I just got a bunch of maternity clothes. I don't feel so big yet, but that belly is starting to show. My regular pants were starting to feel tight, and maternity clothes are so comfortable, notwithstanding that they allow me to eat a lot without feeling squeezed in my pants :rotfl: Aside from clothes, I'm pretty much organized with traveling stuff. I have made my packing lists so long ago, just have to refresh it a little.

Passports are done. I have yet to get that notarized letter from DD12's mother, but I should have it this weekend. My husband got his done. I have been harassing my TA to get my plane tickets (electronic) and my Disney pakage--I have been having issues with that TA from the beginning. She assured me the tickets were going to be sent this week by email :rolleyes: , but said the Disney stuff has not been received yet :confused: I WANT MY STUFF LADY!!! I am sure we will get everything in time, but it is still stressing me a little!

Now, it's been 2 months since I haven't written, but does anyone think I left the DIS in that time?? NO WAY! I have been here every day. Reading through posts, questioning my day plans, ADRs, hop or not, rental car or bus, etc. You know what it's like, fellow DISers. ;)

UG crowds and best parks have changed. Have my parks days changed? Slightly. I got :scared1: to death when I saw pictures of Epcot on NYE.

How many times have I called (407) WDW-DINE? Too many to count. Has it paid off? A-B-S-O-L-U-T-E-L-Y.

So here was my plan, with updates in blue.



Dec. 29: MK: CS dinner, probably Pecos Bill's or Cosmic Ray's We only have the afternoon as we are landing around 1PM. We have a 5:05PM ADR at Crystal Palace for if we go to MK. I might consider going to Epcot for that half day, in order to split Epcot in 2 half-days, which could be less tiring than a full day. We'll let the kids decide.

Dec. 30: DHS: CS lunch and dinner at ABC, Backlot or Toy Story Pizza Still DHS. Lunch will be CS, still don't know where. We have a 4:55PM ADR at Mama Melrose's, which would be paid OOP if we go. There are 3 showings of Fantasmic!, the latest being at closing time (10PM). We'll probably go to that one.

Dec. 31: TS lunch at Norway's Akershus (Princess Storybook) @ 1:20PM. Dinner will be eating snacks around the WS. Not Epcot! The sea of people I saw in pictues really threw me off! We are not going to stay up until midnight for fireworks anyways... so I made this day an AK day. It is AM EMH, so it opens at 7, and we want to be there for rope drop, and the park closes at 8--if we still feel like being up, we can always go to DTD. If not, a quiet evening at the resort will be just fine. We have a 5PM ADR at Tusker House, and will probably have lunch at either Pizzafari or Yak & Yeti CS

Jan. 1: Lunch at some CS in MK. Dinner at 1900 Park Fare @ 5:05PM This will now be our Epcot day. We will get there at RD (9AM) and try to squeeze in as much of FutureWorld as we can. I have read many times that early NY day is a good touing time, so we'll take advantage of that. Then, we have a 1:05PM ADR at the Princess meal in Norway. After lunch, we'll either stroll around WS to visit the countries (no eating around the World) OR, if we've done that the 1st day, we'll go to DTD for shopping. I kept that 5:05 ADR at 1900 Park Fare because the other date/time I got is not that great, but we might cancel it. Either way, we are going to be back at Epcot to see IllumiNations at 9PM, and maybe stay a while for evening EMH.

Jan. 2: Lunch at Tusker House @ 1:40PM. Dinner at a CS, probably Pizzafari (the beans served at FlameTree just don't seem that yummy to me). Might try Yak & Yeti CS. We'll see then! MK! If we don't go on arrival day, this would be our first time in MK. I managed to get an ADR for CRT at 1:25 PM, which was PERFECT for me (it took me at least 2 weeks of calling everyday to get it. I started calling around 45 days prior as people started cancelling their trips). This will be a full MK day.

Jan. 3: Brunch at Chef Mickey's @11:55AM. Dinner at Wolfgang Puck Express in DTD. CM is still on. We have no set plans for a park, but I'm guessing the kids will either want to go back to MK or DHS; I would say we'd do DHS on this day (even if it's evening EMH), with the afternoon in DTD if we haven't gone or if we want to go back.

Jan. 4: Lunch at CRT @ 1:10PM; Dinner at Crystal Palace @6:30PMOur second full MK day. It is evening EMH. We have a 6:55PM ADR at 1900 Park Fare, but might cancel it if we have gone on our Epcot day.


And we leave early on the 5th :sad1:

I will try to keep an update of any changes, and also of how we will tell the kids.

I'm going to Disney :banana:

[DisneyMominMTL]

So we finally told the kids yesterday (X-mas morning). We spent the morning watching the Disney parade on TV, telling them how expensive it was to go to Disney, and that maybe one day...

After breakfast, we had them open their gifts. We had wrapped a bunch of Disney Beanie Babies I got off eBay with the postcards we got from our Fairy GodMailer. They opened the box, pushed aside the postcards and went straight to the toys... I had to tell them to look behind the postcards and read it out loud :upsidedow

The puzzled look on my girls' faces was priceless! We had to spell it out for them: We're leaving in 4 days! They both started yelling and crying... it was beautiful, even my husband was teary eyed (well, not quite, but we were that close!!!).

We spent the day looking at the attractions and making the MUST-DO list. Many of the big headliners are out of the way... DD12 won't do them alone. This will ease the flow for touring, so we're good with that.

So we will be spending a full day at each DHS, DAK and Epcot, and 2.5 days at MK. There is an extra day to do over a park which we'll leave free for the kids to choose, with some time at DTD.

I plan on doing a trip report and dining review when we get back. I won't be writing until then because we have a few parties to attend, plus we need to get ready. I may write while we're there... we'll see!

Happy holidays to all!