My first PTR and my DS4's first trip to the World.

[PrincessBrideJo]

Hello everyone! My name is Joanna. This is my first PTR on the disboards so bare with me, ok? I have a biology degree, not an english degree and as MOST scientists would tell you - we are horrible at spelling and grammar.

So first a bit about us I guess is the prim and proper thing to do. So here we go.

As I said I am Joanna. I am a stay at home mom to two wonderful little boys - William (4 years) and Josiah (18 months). I have had disney world bred into me. I live and breath all things Disney, haha. I was taken first when I was in 1st grade. My mom having had a infatuation with the big mouse since she was little was bound and determined for me to have that love as well. My dad, a more rational thinker thought we should also vacation elsewhere. So we didn't take yearly trips to the world, but I still fell in love. I can remember my first trip clutching to my dad as we went through Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean. When asked what 1 ride to go on again that day (we had time for 2 more rides so mom let each of us kids pick 1) I picked...Pirates, haha. We went again when I was in 5th grade as we had a foreign exchange student and we wanted him to experience it as well. Then my 8th grade decided to take their class trip there - my year was the first year, before that it was DC...it was fate that *I* would get to Disney with all of my closest friends! I then convinced my loving husband to take me back for our honeymoon (he is not the Disney freak I am). Then his mother actually took me, my SIL, and soon to be SIL the next year. What a great family, hehe. Our last trip was for our 5 year anniversary. We had decided to leave our then 18 month old William at home (and while at Disney decided to have another baby, but that's another board, haha).

I just looked for our honeymoon and anniversary pictures on our computer to post one and my loving husband (not at home) informs me they are on a hard drive in his closet...oh so helpful.

So here is some of us...
This is me and our DS4
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t252/PrincessBrideJo/DSC00943.jpg

This is DH with both of our sons.
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t252/PrincessBrideJo/DSC00624.jpg

I think that is all I shall post tonight. So for tomorrow (since everyone seems to end with questions...)
Why do I only say it is DS4's first visit and not DS1.5?
How did this trip come into existence?
How long will we be staying? Where will we be staying?

All questions to be answered....tomorrow...hehe.

[englishrose47]

Well I folowed yourlink from the Dole WhipMeet!!Good start to you PTR!!

[PrincessBrideJo]

So I am a talker if you can't tell by past posts (if you have read them) so I will mostly likely start off each chapter with whatever is going on in my life.

Today I needed chocolate. NEEDED it. And as I was rocking my 18 month old to sleep for the 3rd time my dog ate my last two mini-candy bars i had hidden away from Valentine's day. My LAST 2. I had gotten them out right before DS woke back up and put them on the table. Grrrrrrr.....

Well the one thing that make me happy no matter what is Disney so here we are.

DH and I were planning our first disney trip with kids in 2011. For multiple reasons. First our DS1.5 would be old enough to enjoy it. And second that is when our disney rewards on our visa would start to expire. So that is when we were going next. We are selling our house currently and buying a new one so there wasn't a lot of money to be spending on vacations this year.

Then the Sunday of the 15th I was at my in law's house watching TV as usual. See we don't have cable at home so I catch up on a lot of shows at her house on Sundays. Well I was doing that and I happened to see a commercial for the buy 4 get 3 free for Disney World. When hubby came in (he was taking the boys on a walk) I teased him that we should go to Disney now because of this great deal. We both laughed and moved on.

Well I woke up on that Tuesday and suddenly remember my commercial. So while hubby was in the shower i jumped on a "booked" a trip. The deal was pretty amazing. I did all the research - booking with the meal plan, the CS meal plan, with and without airfare - I did it all. I wrote it all down and then found out how many disney rewards we had. So i then pitched it to hubby once he got out of the shower. He wanted a few more details - how many miles of a drive it was and gas $ and things like that. So we e-mailed back and forth all day asking our questions.

One question that came up was whether our very opinionated, strong willed and impatient 18 month old would do well. I just had visions of him screaming everywhere in the stroller because he hates being in the stroller, wiggling and fighting us while waiting in lines, being grouchy from lack of sleep and being too hot. So we actually decided he was still too young for all of us to enjoy the world together. He won't remember it, our DS4 will think he is hot stuff having mom and dad all to himself, and DS1.5 will enjoy being spoiled by his Nana.

Another question was whether to fly or drive. Since it was gonna be over $800 to fly (no, I didn't do research...just booking through Disney) all 3 of us down there and about $100 gas money there (and $100 back). And the fact that both hubby and I HATE to fly, we made the decision to drive. We drive to Austin, Tx every year and our son has done great with that. It is the same 17 hours in the car so we should be able to do it.

And the last question was the dinning plan. We ultimately decided to go with just the CS plan. We just figured that we will want to spend most of our time in the parks and not eating so we are fine with CS this time. I think DS won't want to sit still to eat when there is so many things to be doing anyways. And besides we like a lot of the counter services they have!

So after calling Nana and confirming dates with her we started to book our trip for May 9th -16th. But then hubby looked at his work calendar and he found out he was going to training till the 8th (and we would need to leave that day since we are driving). He thought driving home from training, basically having time to pee and then hop back in the car for 17 more hours wasn't a good idea. so he moved our trip to the 10th-17th.

That Tuesday night we booked our trip, and I haven't had a good night's sleep since!!!!

And well I am not sure wha tI am going to talk about next so come back and it will be a mystery...hehe!

[annie1995]

I'm in!!! Beautiful family BTW!

[PrincessBrideJo]

I'm in!!! Beautiful family BTW!

Thank you so much!!!

[englishrose47]

I'm still here !! I am also going in September with the family and today I found out we have FD So I am VERY Happy!! saved us about $1700!!!!

[colinsdad]

Subscribing!

Can't wait to read more about the planning. :surfweb:

[PrincessBrideJo]

I'm still here !! I am also going in September with the family and today I found out we have FD So I am VERY Happy!! saved us about $1700!!!!

FD is ALWAYS NICE. When we went in '06 we got free dinning and we ate GOOD. Yummy!!!

[PrincessBrideJo]

So after reading about Jason's spreadsheets last night I was inspired...haha.

I made a spreadsheet for the days we are there that have each park and what is going on and what time at each park. So I can see which day there is a parade, a fantasmic, etc.

It helped me so much mentally! Whew. I still haven't decided which parks when. I really am leaving this trip much more open than past trips since it is DS's first trip there. You know if we go and he just falls in love with MK, then we will spend more time there. If he loves AK, the we spend more time there. It will be totally up to him really. Now in saying that, I am a planner to a fault sometimes so this is really hard for me!!!

I did however make some decisions based on this. We will be arriving Sunday the 10th and leaving Sunday the 17th. We have 7 day park hopper passes.

I really wanted MK to be our first park. It is just something magical about it. And DS associates the castle with disney world, so it will be good for him. AND I thought it would be the perfect place to start gauging how he will do with rides. The barnstormer for example will see if he can do other rollar coaster rides. Haunted Mansion and Snow White will show me if he can deal with the pretend scary stories.

So in saying that we were really contemplating just heading to MK first on that first Sunday. But then with my super duper spread sheet I see that Wishes is on Monday, so that is perfect. So Monday the 11th will be our first day in parks.

Well then I was looking around and found the T-Rex restaurant. Perfect! So I made an ADR for that on Sunday at 5. So we can get in town and then just chill out after our all night drive. If we can get in our hotel (which I am not expecting at all considering Saturday night was BOOKED when we booked our trip) we can go swimming or just sit and watch the Disney channel! If not we can go to DTD and go to the lego store and goofy's candy company and what not.

DS will be so ecstatic to eat at T-Rex (not to mention me and hubby!). This, I hope, will also ease him into animatronic dinosaurs for the Dinosaur ride (still not sure if he will ride it though).

With my super cool spreadsheet I also decided on Thursday(the 14th) we are gonna go for the morning extra hours at MK (might wait to ride dumbo till then too, we will see!) and then hop to DHS when it gets too busy so we can do Fantasmic that night.

So gonna start a semi-schedule that I will be adding too as it gets closer!

S - 5:00 reservations at T-Rex, check in, DTD shopping, get to bed early!
M - MK wishes at 10
T -
W -
Th - MK Magic Hours at 8, DHS fantasmic at 9
F -
S -
S -

[colinsdad]

Wow you got a lot done in a day!

I'm a bean counter by trade, so I can't do anything without my spreadsheets. :lmao:

T-Rex looks great from the pics I've seen. We're not doing DTD this trip, but will definately try it in August. I definately want a report on that one when you go. :goodvibes

I think the CS dining plan you got takes off some of the pressure of where to be and when too. Planning is fun, but flexibility is pretty cool too.

[PrincessBrideJo]

Wow you got a lot done in a day!

I'm a bean counter by trade, so I can't do anything without my spreadsheets. :lmao:

T-Rex looks great from the pics I've seen. We're not doing DTD this trip, but will definately try it in August. I definately want a report on that one when you go. :goodvibes

I think the CS dining plan you got takes off some of the pressure of where to be and when too. Planning is fun, but flexibility is pretty cool too.

I think if I hadn't gone into biology I would have gone into math and prolly ended up a bean counter as well! haha.

There will definitly be a TR and include ALL about t-rex!

Flexibility is so not cool to me, haha. I have a touch of OCD (don't we all?) and I love to plan. Hubby laughs so hard at me as he is much more a live in the moment kind of guy. I guess he really does complete me....ok that was sickening sweet, wasn't it...yuck! :sick:

[PrincessBrideJo]

So I need some help and I have some serious DISers who read my PTR so I need your help, k? guys? :worship:

So as you know my plan is pretty non right now, here is it so far.

S - 5:00 reservations at T-Rex, check in, DTD shopping, get to bed early!
M - MK wishes at 10
T -
W -
Th - MK Magic Hours at 8, DHS fantasmic at 9
F -
S -
S -

We of course are going to hit all 4 major parks and will not be doing any water parks. We have the CS dining plan so we are looking for CS for meals. It is, of course, totally flexible but I still want to eat the best even if I only got CS! haha.

Yesterday (or maybe the day before, I have lost a day this week...do you know where it went? :confused:) I made a list from allears and wrote down all the CS that they had listed for the dining plan. From that list I wrote down the ones that *I* really want to try or think would be awesome for DS4. So here they are (and there are not many!)

AK - Flame Tree BBQ
Epcot - ???? (really clueless on this one!)
DHS - Pizza Planet
MK - Noodle Station (if it is open), and Cosmic Rays (hubby and my fav hamburger joint)

Ok, so yeah that is it. Any other ideas of what is good?

I can't believe I go to disney NEXT MONTH!!!!! :woohoo::cool1::dance3:

To let you on other news of my disney planning I have been working on a stroller decision. Jason - do you stroller Collin? What do you like/dislike in a stroller for Disney? Anyone else with kids - feel free to answer too!!!

[PrincessBrideJo]

Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't updated in awhile but it has been a bit crazy. I went to the Dentist on Monday and found out I need 2 fillings and 1 crown replaced, yuck! I am hoping to get the important filling done monday, and the rest done after Disney as they are not bothering me because I know from past experiences that crowns can be a pain in the butt for a few weeks after getting it done. Anyways....then Tuesday I went to the dr and I just happen to step on a nail that morning so they gave me a tetanus shot which also had pertussis in it. I thought nothing of it till the next day when i was on my death bed! It was horrible. I called my mom to whine about it and she told me "That is exactly what happened to you when you got your pertussis shot, we stopped giving it to you because you reacted so poorly". Oh great, that would have been nice to know before hand. So this week has not been fun.

I haven't done much planning as of late. I went through the snacks and found what people said were wonderful or what I thought looked good.

No one has answered my CD questions from my previous post or my stroller questions. No opinions?

[My2Qtz0205]

I have not yet visited WDW with a child, but I am going with my 2 young children (6 and 3) in October.

We are DEFINITELY doing a stroller. Even for the 6 y.o., that is a lot of walking! It will just cut down on the whining, IMO. My in-laws are driving down, so they will take our double stroller down with them so we don't have to load it onto the plane. The stroller rental rates have also gone up. I think a double is $31/day, not sure about a single.

[colinsdad]

I made a list from allears and wrote down all the CS that they had listed for the dining plan. From that list I wrote down the ones that *I* really want to try or think would be awesome for DS4. So here they are (and there are not many!)

AK - Flame Tree BBQ
Epcot - ???? (really clueless on this one!)
DHS - Pizza Planet
MK - Noodle Station (if it is open), and Cosmic Rays (hubby and my fav hamburger joint)

Ok, so yeah that is it. Any other ideas of what is good?

To let you on other news of my disney planning I have been working on a stroller decision. Jason - do you stroller Collin? What do you like/dislike in a stroller for Disney? Anyone else with kids - feel free to answer too!!!

Hi Jo! :wave2:

My favorites for CS are the following:
AK: Flame Tree - very good choice. I almost exclusively eat here and get the Ribs. Pizzafari is a close second and has an excellent Italian sandwich which is huge.

Epcot: Sunshine Seasons (at the Land by Soarin' is one of the best CS at WDW). They have food stations, so there is a huge variety. They even have sushi here. I personally love the pork chop with the mashed potato side, and get a huge rice krispie treat for dessert.

MK: I also like Cosmic Rays because they have Ribs. The chicken and rib combo is one of the best CS deals at WDW. Columbia Harbor House in Liberty Square is great too, because it is more laid back, and has an upstairs dining area that is a good place to get away from the crowds. Not many people know the seating area exists.

DHS: By far my favorite is Starring Rolls. Again, this is a place for those "in the know". Most people think they only serve pastry and coffee (which they do) but at 11:30 you can get some of the best sandwiches you'll find on a CS credit. My favorite is the Turkey Foccacia. :thumbsup2 I also sometimes eat at Planet Pizza because my DS likes it.

As pp noted, a stroller is a must at WDW and 6 isn't too old with all that walking. Most people who rent wish they brought one because when the kids fall asleep in it, and your heading back to the resort you have to return it and wake them! :scared1:

[PrincessBrideJo]

So I have been reading a thread with pictures of snacks on the DDP (from 2008) and oh my goodness....mmmm. It is good thing you walk around so much at disney. Crazy Crazy!

So the ones I must try....(not necessarily in this order!)
Ice cream sandwich
mammoth cashew pattie
cappuccino float
Dole Whip float (I think this is the only one I have had before and I can't wait to have it again!)
spicey cheese pretzel
chocolate croisant
school bread
sweet pretzel
And of course the make your own stuff...not sure what to get - oreo, pretzels or rice crispy treat...maybe 1 of each, haha!

We are on the CS dinning plan which includes 2 snacks a day....:cool1::cool1::cool1::woohoo::woohoo::wooho o: How awesome is that!? We are there for 7 days, and have 3 people...that is like 42 snacks, right? :eek::dance3: And DS and DH aren't much of snack people. Although I know DS will be ordering but not finishing them...mmmm...hehe. We bring in our water bottles and fill them up at water fountains and just get our soda fill from the hotel and CS's so it snack credits will be ALL for actual snacks....WOWEE. Can you tell I am excited for the snacks? My mouth is water right now thinking about it...... popcorn::popcorn::

[Diamondintheruff]

Where have I been that I have not heard of a mammoth cashew pattie? Please tell. I need to know of this.

I'm piping in on the stroller question. Just take it. If you find you're not using it than leave it in the hotel. It's better to be safe than sorry. They are so expensive to rent now and if you do rent you can only use them in the parks. Not from your hotel bus stop to your hotel room which might I add a four year old can be pretty heavy coming home from the fireworks when you have been walking all day and still have half a mile before you get to your hotel room door.

Plus for my family, my kids get overwhelmed and really apreciated having a "safe" spot to be in that reminded them of home.

Then there is the issue of crowd control. So much easier to manoever the stroller through large crowds than a small child who will get pushed aside by the crowd.

There there is safety. If your child is in the stroller than he is not getting lost. I'm fearful of my kids wandering away.

So in my opinion, and you did ask, take your stroller. Better safe than sorry.

[PrincessBrideJo]

Where have I been that I have not heard of a mammoth cashew pattie? Please tell. I need to know of this.

I'm piping in on the stroller question. Just take it. If you find you're not using it than leave it in the hotel. It's better to be safe than sorry. They are so expensive to rent now and if you do rent you can only use them in the parks. Not from your hotel bus stop to your hotel room which might I add a four year old can be pretty heavy coming home from the fireworks when you have been walking all day and still have half a mile before you get to your hotel room door.

Plus for my family, my kids get overwhelmed and really apreciated having a "safe" spot to be in that reminded them of home.

Then there is the issue of crowd control. So much easier to manoever the stroller through large crowds than a small child who will get pushed aside by the crowd.

There there is safety. If your child is in the stroller than he is not getting lost. I'm fearful of my kids wandering away.

So in my opinion, and you did ask, take your stroller. Better safe than sorry.

Mammoth Cashew Patty is at the Main street bakery. Actually I haven't heard anyone talk about it but I just read it on the confirmed snacks and thought...that is gonna be mine! I love just about anything cashews!

Yeah I am definitely taking the stroller. I was just second guessing myself because hubby (And from your trip report I know you understand that my husband doesn't understand all the planning!) said "You are taking a stroller?" when I mentioned buying a new one. He thought I was insane. I don't think he remembers how much it is to walk. Our DS is a VERY good walker, but I KNOW, like 100% KNOW, he will fall asleep on some rides and then if we didn't take the stroller hubby would be exhausted because he would have to carry him. Not to mention like you said falling asleep on the bus on the way home, there is NO DOUBT IN MY MIND that this will happen every night. The boy can sleep, and fall asleep anywhere! So anyways, not second guessing myself and not buying a new stroller either. We are borrowing my best friend's that she bought specifically last year for her Disney trip with her older (and therefore heavier) boys. Although I think with my b-day money (in July, so after the trip) I am going to buy a new stroller anyways as I would really like a nice light weight stroller for my DS1 too!

[PrincessBrideJo]

so today I decided to start my still to do list and my packing list. I don't know why I waited so long for this! But here we go...Let me know if I have forgotten anything, k?

Disney To Do List

1.Buy...
sunscreen
hats
shampoos, conditioners, soaps
flushable wipes (DS will NOT poop in a potty unless he knows they are available)
bag (I want to take 2, one for me and one for DH in case we split up.)
water, juice, ?non-refrigerated milk?
snacks for the trip/room – lunchables, chips, bread
Cooler stuff for the way down – lunchmeat, cheese, mayo
pull ups (DS still uses them at night)
little hair spray

2.Pack for the car...
leapster
DVD player and DVD's
pull-ups
PJ's for William
clothes for William
cooler – sandwiches, lunchables, water, juice
ipods and chargers
phones and chargers
GPS's (yes this is plural, you have to know my DH)
maps (this is for me, in case of GPS failure which usually happens)
pillows and blankets
Camera and charger

3.Pack for the trip
9 outfits for me and PJs
9 outfits for Chris and PJs
9 outfits for William (extra clothes too) and PJs
swimming suits and gear
shampoo, conditioner and soap for each of us
deodorant for both of us
hair dryer and brush
medicated powder
aloe
pony tail holders and hair spray
PAL Mickey
laptops and chargers (once again, yes...plural)
extra shoes for everyone
crocs, sandals and tennies for William
crocs and tennies for me.
Sandals and tennies for Chris
medicines -
William's meds including nebulizer
My meds
tylenol (children and adult), ibuprofin, asprin, pepto
bandaids and ointment

ziploc baggies and walmart sacks
Stroller

4.Pack for Josiah...(he is staying with Nana while we are gone)
10 outfits
PJ's
meds-
nebulizer meds
tylenol

pacis
blankies

[colinsdad]

So I have been reading a thread with pictures of snacks on the DDP (from 2008) and oh my goodness....mmmm. It is good thing you walk around so much at disney. Crazy Crazy!

So the ones I must try....(not necessarily in this order!)
Ice cream sandwich
mammoth cashew pattie
cappuccino float
Dole Whip float (I think this is the only one I have had before and I can't wait to have it again!)
spicey cheese pretzel
chocolate croisant
school bread
sweet pretzel
And of course the make your own stuff...not sure what to get - oreo, pretzels or rice crispy treat...maybe 1 of each, haha!

We are on the CS dinning plan which includes 2 snacks a day....:cool1::cool1::cool1::woohoo::woohoo::wooho o: How awesome is that!? We are there for 7 days, and have 3 people...that is like 42 snacks, right? :eek::dance3: And DS and DH aren't much of snack people. Although I know DS will be ordering but not finishing them...mmmm...hehe. We bring in our water bottles and fill them up at water fountains and just get our soda fill from the hotel and CS's so it snack credits will be ALL for actual snacks....WOWEE. Can you tell I am excited for the snacks? My mouth is water right now thinking about it...... popcorn::popcorn::

I subscribe to the jjohnson 2009 Confirmed Snack Credit post. OMG there are some great choices.

Sleepy Hollow in the MK has excellent funnel cakes, and I always love to hit the Patisserie in Epcot to have a Napoleon. I've also had the Ham & Cheese croissant there which was a great snack (and could even be had for a breakfast or lunch).

If I'm ever by Cookes of Dublin in DTD (and remember) I'd have to try the "doh-bars". I've never had a fried candy bar, but have had a fried twinkee, fried whoopie pie, and fried oreos at our local county fair. They were soooooo good.

[Diamondintheruff]

Since you were talking packing here's a couple of things I like to take just incase or just for fun.

-pop up hamper for dirty clothes
-rain ponchos from dollar store
-clothes pins to hang wet bathingsuits on clothes line in bathroom
-hanging rack for bathroom door to put all my toiletries in it.
-plastic cup to store my toothbrushes in so they don't lie on the sink
-disney window clings for the hotel window

I cracked up over your multiple GPS and map comments.

[PrincessBrideJo]

Since you were talking packing here's a couple of things I like to take just incase or just for fun.

-pop up hamper for dirty clothes
-rain ponchos from dollar store
-clothes pins to hang wet bathingsuits on clothes line in bathroom
-hanging rack for bathroom door to put all my toiletries in it.
-plastic cup to store my toothbrushes in so they don't lie on the sink
-disney window clings for the hotel window

I cracked up over your multiple GPS and map comments.

I am a bit OCD when it comes to my dirty clothes in hotel rooms. What I do is I unpack the first night I get there. I "move in" to the hotel. I hate "living out of a suit case" feeling. I make it home (I even say things like "I'm ready to go home" which means I want to go to the hotel. Home is where you lay your head is really my philosophy). So anyways with the dirty clothes is every morning while hubby showers (I must get up first, he is NOT a morning person) I pack our dirty clothes. So that way the last night there, there isn't much to do to pack up and leave! Although I am thinking a dirty clothes hamper might not be bad this time since we are staying so long and I think I will end up doing some laundry while there!!!

I must go get our rain ponchos...putting that on the list now!

Forgot they had a clothes line, great idea! I usually bring plastic hangers to hang stuff up too! Since we drive we can spare room for that kind of thing!

Oh and I definitely want to bring a cup for the toothbrushes! I always put them on plastic baggies, cup is a great idea!


I am reading your trip report from your 08 trip. I am enjoying it so much, just FYI!

[Diamondintheruff]

Thanks, I'm glad you are enjoying my TR. If you haven't already you'll be stumbling on how I feel about laundry. I love doing it at Disney. It's my chance to get away from the family. But since the family isn't coming I guess I won't be doing laundry this trip.

[PrincessBrideJo]

Thanks, I'm glad you are enjoying my TR. If you haven't already you'll be stumbling on how I feel about laundry. I love doing it at Disney. It's my chance to get away from the family. But since the family isn't coming I guess I won't be doing laundry this trip.

Well your family is a lot bigger than mine. Well technically you only have one more child than I do, BUT we aren't taking any grandparents and we are living the one behind. So I really think there will be a lot of breaks for each of us. We are already planning on some nights and/or afternoons one of us taking DS back to the hotel and the other getting to play at Disney by themselves. And I plan on doing a lot of shopping while DS sleeps in the stroller. I know lots of people will say he won't sleep, but that boy falls asleep anywhere so I know he will.

I crack up on your laundry breaks. Oh I think that would be heaven too if I had the stressful trips you have had (minus the alcohol, i hate the taste of any of it! but maybe with some chocolate and a diet cherry coke since we are staying at ASmovies).

[PrincessBrideJo]

Ok so not seriously but life has just been too painful the past few weeks.

I think I posted that I got a tetanus shot that happened to have pertussis in it. Of course after I got the shot my mom told me I reacted badly to pertussis and they never finished my course of pertussis when I was little. So I was in bed for days from that. Then I had a tooth filled and haven't been the same since. It has hurt so bad and been on constant pain meds. I am getting a root canal on it tomorrow, thank goodness! Never thought I would look forward to a root canal. And then yesterday I went to the oral surgeon to have a "tongue skin tag" removed so I have a stitch in my tongue and can't eat anything more than pudding and applesauce.

Not to mention a busy life with two boys, cleaning up after said 2 boys and hubby after each sicknesses, and all the time spent at doctors, dentists, and surgeons! I also have to get my house spotless before I leave in case they want to show it while we are gone (we are trying to sell).

so needless to say right now I am a feeling way overwhelmed and way behind schedule. But tomorrow night I think I am taking me and my DS19month (DH and DS4 go to church on Wednesday nights but it is too late of a night for other DS so i stay home with him) and buy all the stuff I need besides food for the trip.

OH and since I am just whining in the post I will also mention that we leave not this Saturday but NEXT saturday and DH (and MIL - she is going to Orlando - who is my only baby sitter during the days) will be gone starting this Sunday till the Friday before we leave. So yeah, no help for me. :scared1:

Ok I am going to go lay down now...again...ugh! Hope I am feeling 1005 by the time we leave!

[PrincessBrideJo]

So I was just planning on borrowing my best friend's Volo for Disney. I thought it would work perfect for us. But there have been multiple times in the past few months that I wish I had a better stroller. I either have the clunky one you get with the baby car seats, the sit'n'stand or the umbrella stroller that you have to bend over to push and hurts your back. So anyways i have been drooling over the baby planet ones FOREVER. My best friend just found it for $99 and I was so excited that I bought it. I got the lemur frog one and I just hope it come in time for Disney. I will also cry if it gets stolen in Disney. But I am so excited!

[Diamondintheruff]

Oh my goodness! That is alot you are dealing with right now. Girlfriend you need some help. It isn't great to start a Disney vacation so overtired you can't even push the new stroller (great decision by the way!).

This is the time to call in favors with friends and family. Loan those boys out to others. Do not make meals from scratch. Heck I'm a tree hugger sometimes but perhaps you'd like to buy some paper plates and cups. Buy some plastic tubs that fit under the beds, throw everything in them, dust with diaper wipes and voila you are show ready. You need to cut back and conserve your energy. Take time for yourself. You are worth it.

Wish I was closer. I'd come over and do some laundry for you.

Take care of yourself.

[colinsdad]

So I was just planning on borrowing my best friend's Volo for Disney. I thought it would work perfect for us. But there have been multiple times in the past few months that I wish I had a better stroller. I either have the clunky one you get with the baby car seats, the sit'n'stand or the umbrella stroller that you have to bend over to push and hurts your back. So anyways i have been drooling over the baby planet ones FOREVER. My best friend just found it for $99 and I was so excited that I bought it. I got the lemur frog one and I just hope it come in time for Disney. I will also cry if it gets stolen in Disney. But I am so excited!

Great news on the stroller. It is soooooo much help having a good one at WDW. I'm going to google it so I can get a look. Sounds like a great deal.

After looking it up, Wow! Nice stroller and super excellent price you got! It even looks like it has a Dole Whip holder on the side. :rotfl:

http://www.baby-planet.com/images/products/prod_im_101402-LL_34left.jpg

So many people bring strollers I think they're pretty safe at Disney. One thing I don't like though is if you don't park it exactly like they want you to, a CM will move it. The first time I brought a stroller to Disney, a few times my heart skipped a beat thinking it was gone :scared1: but it was just moved.

Just something you should be aware of because they do it all the time, especially if you drop it off at a ride like Kiliminjaro Safaris (where they sometimes even take it and park it for you). You end up having to search for it when you get out.

I hope it arrives in time for your trip, and home you're feeling better too! :goodvibes

[PrincessBrideJo]

Oh my goodness! That is alot you are dealing with right now. Girlfriend you need some help. It isn't great to start a Disney vacation so overtired you can't even push the new stroller (great decision by the way!).

This is the time to call in favors with friends and family. Loan those boys out to others. Do not make meals from scratch. Heck I'm a tree hugger sometimes but perhaps you'd like to buy some paper plates and cups. Buy some plastic tubs that fit under the beds, throw everything in them, dust with diaper wipes and voila you are show ready. You need to cut back and conserve your energy. Take time for yourself. You are worth it.

Wish I was closer. I'd come over and do some laundry for you.

Take care of yourself.


You are the sweetest thing ever! Come do my laundry for me, now that would be awesome. So after your e-mail I decided to do the things we mom's hate the most.....ask for help. I e-mailed my sister-in-law who is a wonderful, but busy person. I told her everything I had to do along with Chris being gone and if she could come watch the boys, take the boys away, or even come help me clean after they go to bed even just one night that I would be eternally grateful. She said she would love to help but couldn't give me exact times as I said she is really busy. Then she said her co-worker/secretary type person would also love to help. Yippie! And my mom offered many moons ago to help if her back wasn't flaring up. She is coming over on Friday to see my babies so I will be whispering that in her ear then! All of these people work, but if I could get 2 of them one night - 1 to watch the boys and one to help me clean that would BE AWESOME. And even if I get 1 person for 3 nights....I can do a lot in 3 nights!!! So thanks for bumping my butt to ask for help! :worship:

And then tonight I also asked my hubby to take our youngest son to church with him. This makes him leave early as he has to get him to bed, but he said sure. I got ALL my errands run. I took back clothes to 3 stores (technically 4, but one wouldn't take it back), and got all the little things for my trip - soaps, bandaids, sunscreen, antibacterial hand soap and spray (gota be careful with the swine flu!), etc. Oh and I ran to my soon-to-be-new house (we are storing stuff there) and found my summer clothes and ran to my mother-in-law's house (where we are also storing stuff) and found our hats (my husband must wear a hat or risk a serious burn on his head!) and my Figment bag. so whit whoo on getting things done!

So now all I need to BUY is food for the ride down there and I plan on doing that the morning we leave (like I am gonna sleep anyways!:rotfl:)

And just in case you were all wondering my root canal went wonderfully. I can now chew (mostly, don't forget I do still have that stitch from my tongue skin tag) on both sides of my mouth! Just in time for disney! whoo hoo! My dentist even decided to do a temporary filling instead of a temporary crown because they said that will last a lot longer and won't fall out while we are in Disney World. He has been very understanding of our impending trip!

[APB513]

Hi Joanna -

Just joining your PTR. Glad to hear that all went well with the root canal and glad to hear that you will have some help.

Looking forward to meeting you and your family at the Spectromagic Meet!

[DisneyTiger]

I'm in too. We're going on 5/25! Glad you are feeling better:) Can't wait to hear more about your trip. I'm going to have to check out the snacks thread. Do you know where it is?

[PrincessBrideJo]

Hi Joanna -

Just joining your PTR. Glad to hear that all went well with the root canal and glad to hear that you will have some help.

Looking forward to meeting you and your family at the Spectromagic Meet!

Thanks for joining Angela. Sorry I don't have more to plan and talk about. I feel like a dis failure, haha! It is just SO HARD to plan when I have no idea what DS will like and what he won't like. This trip is about him and I am really trying to make it.

[PrincessBrideJo]

I LEAVE IN 7 DAYS!!!!!!! Whit whoo. 7 days from now I will be on the road. :sick: Gonna have to get me some dramamin (sp?), gota put that on the list! I get altitude sickness REAL easy. Like when we drive from IL to TX, I get altitude sick, have you see that park of the country? THERE IS LIKE NOTHING THERE. :laughing: So I know from IL to FL it is gonna be scary. My MIL said that the dramamin will help my altitude sickness even though it is for motion sickness. I figured I might as well try it!

I really had hoped my hubby would have our old Disney pictures on a computer I could access (it is in his closet currently :confused3) so I could show you some of our old trips. He leaves for business tomorrow so that prolly won't happen. Maybe I will beg him to do that tonight....we shall see....

[PrincessBrideJo]

I'm in too. We're going on 5/25! Glad you are feeling better:) Can't wait to hear more about your trip. I'm going to have to check out the snacks thread. Do you know where it is?

Here is the thread, LOVED IT! It is last year snacks so some might not be on there this year!

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1850418

I am reading your PTR right now! Your family is ADORABLE!

[PrincessBrideJo]

Ok so my wonderful hubby searched our spare computers (I know that is NOT normal! :surfweb:) and found our last vacation pictures. So to start off let me tell you that my husband and I are HORRIBLE picture people. We always forget to take pictures. It is one of the things I hate about myself. Looking back at these pictures I didn't even take 1 picture at MK,what is up with that? I promise,this trip will be better since we are taking our son. I will prolly have to leave mid day just to dump the camera memory! :rotfl2: I also am not going to be as detailed as this was 3 years ago and I have no idea. It is going to be a definite summary!

Ok so we arrived in Disney on 8/13/06. There are no pictures of this day. This was our travel day. Getting the extra ticket to Disney was not that much more so we bought it anyways. We had free dinning and LOVED it. We went with a family that we are friends with though we left our DS4 who was 18 months at the time at home. So anyways we went into Epcot that day and ate at Italy. WE LOVE this place. It was the only fancy place that we ate on our honeymoon so it is a bit special to us. Then we just walked around the world for awhile and went back to our hotel. We stayed at all star Music.

Hubby and I were also not rope drop people (though we will be this time) so we got up when we got up and went to the parks. The next day we went to MGM and it was still called MGM then, haha. I know we ate at SciFi. Oh and I guess we did eat there on our honey moon as well, but it didn't feel as fancy as Italy did. So here are some pictures (I actually took a few!) of our time at MGM....
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t252/PrincessBrideJo/Disney%202006/DSC02491.jpg

I have a biology degree so I LOVED this picture (it is from muppets)
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t252/PrincessBrideJo/Disney%202006/DSC02499.jpg

WE also ate at Mama Melrose. Wasn't impressed but it got us the seats for Fantasmic.

It was the first week of free dinning and the lines were horrendous and it was HOT, very HOT. When we got there we went to Beauty and the Beast (one of my favs) and then to the RNRC. We didn't do this last time on our honeymoon so wanted to do it. First ride, all excited. Get on and i get whiplash. Not even kidding. I was in so much pain that day. We had gotten fast passes to TOT on our way and I told hubby there was NO WAY I was riding TOT today with how much pain I was in. So we had to miss it this trip. I did suck it up for Star Tours (hubby's fav) and rode that. I actually do think we missed the movie ride, because I don't remember even seeing it! But we did Indy, was disappointed that it was the SAME EXACT show as it was when I little. Will they ever change it? We did light, motor, action and loved that. It was newish that year and we really did enjoy it even in the heat.

So I just want to apologize for my poor trip report this time. I promise if you come back for this trip we are taking in 7 DAYS :dance3: it will be better.....WAY better....WAY detailed with food pictures and kid pictures and everything!

Next day - Animal Kingdom!

[jana616]

I've been enjoying your PTR. Hope you have a wonderful trip! Do you mind telling me where you found the stroller for $99? I love that one, but haven't seen it that cheap!

Thanks!

[PrincessBrideJo]

I've been enjoying your PTR. Hope you have a wonderful trip! Do you mind telling me where you found the stroller for $99? I love that one, but haven't seen it that cheap!

Thanks!

greenbabybargains.com

They sold out and are not selling it anymore. They have specials like every day on different baby products. This was the second time in the past month they have had those strollers so if you watch it, they might come back!

[jana616]

greenbabybargains.com

They sold out and are not selling it anymore. They have specials like every day on different baby products. This was the second time in the past month they have had those strollers so if you watch it, they might come back!

Thanks so much! I signed up to receive alerts from them, so hopefully I'll catch it if they get them again! Have a great trip!

[PrincessBrideJo]

So on this day we headed over to Animal Kingdom. It is so true that it is the hotest park. ugh!

We left our hotel around 9 and it was already steamy....here is proof...
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t252/PrincessBrideJo/Disney%202006/DSC02503.jpg

The Little Mermaid is my FAV movie and this little beauty of a statue was right by our pool. So I wanted my picture with her. I ran up and sat down and told hubby to take a picture. Well he pulled the camera out and this is what he got. And the camera wouldn't de-steam either. All the condensation on the lens...ugh so we had to try again another morning!

Off to Animal Kingdom we went to sweat. Lion King was new-ish and I really wanted to see it so we went there first. I loved it. DH LOVED it, it was his fav thing I am pretty sure. He is such a funny man sometimes...haha. Here are some picture from the show....
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t252/PrincessBrideJo/Disney%202006/DSC02508.jpg

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t252/PrincessBrideJo/Disney%202006/DSC02512.jpg

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t252/PrincessBrideJo/Disney%202006/DSC02514.jpg

I swear we have more pictures of this show than we do of ourselves. :sad2: Hubby was just so entertained by it

So after that we went to the safari. It was pretty much a bust. We went in the morning because I read it was too hot in the afternoon for the animals. well it was too hot that morning for the animals too. Although our vehicle did have a stand off with an antelope or something. It was pretty amusing. No picture of course. We wondered up to Rafiki's place because #1 - IT WAS HOT (they have air, but the train ride was the hotest thing of all to get there, you can see hubby's shirt with sweat from the backpack, poor guy I made him carry it the entire time....remember the whiplash incident? Well I played that one up. Shhhh...don't tell hubby...:rolleyes1) and #2 - I am really interested in Veterinary work (I wanted to be one but decided to become a mom instead) so I wanted to see the place. I really did enjoy it and learned a lot. I know most people say this is boring and that is prolly true, but I enjoy that kind of stuff! Guess I am boring :rolleyes: I decided on our honeymoon that we would have an animal that every time we went there we would take our picture by it. Well these are the two animals we picked then and so here we are by them...

Excuse how I look....remember the HEAT! (I just wanted to lay my entire body and face against this wall. It felt SO GOOD in there away from the heat!)
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t252/PrincessBrideJo/Disney%202006/DSC02519.jpg

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t252/PrincessBrideJo/Disney%202006/DSC02521.jpg

And here is a random of me by a Tiger....once again...IT WAS HOT.
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t252/PrincessBrideJo/Disney%202006/DSC02522.jpg

So after that we did Everest which we waited for FOREVER, it was crazy. Then went to Dinosaur. There was like NO WAIT for dinosaur which was so odd because it was sooooo busy while we were there. So we rode it like 3 times in a row just cuz we could. haha. We ate at Flame Tree BBQ for lunch in between all of this (not sure when) and loved it. We are going there again for sure.

I believe since Animal Kingdom closed early that this was our downtown disney night. We ate at Rainforest (one of hubby and my's fav restaurants) and shopped. Like I said it was 3 years ago and everything is a little fuzzy. I think this was the night that my best friend, Nicki, came and shopped with us after her kids went to bed (her hubby stayed with them at the hotel). That was a lot of fun. She and I LOVE to shop!

So that was our animal kingdom day in a nutshell. I think I have decided to go and buy a journal to take with us to Disney each time we go. Then I can write down what happens everyday so I can remember it forever and ever!

Next up will be my pictureless day at Magic Kingdom :sad2: and our day at Epcot.

[Diamondintheruff]

Yay for you for asking for help! I know it's hard to do sometimes.

I'll have to look for my pictures with ariel at the pool too. I know I have some somewhere. I think they are of my daughter.

I also have "spare" computers. Dh used to be in IT and we had to have different computers for different things. Of course each one has something that needs "fixing".

I'm glad your packing and planning is coming along nicely. It seems you're back on track.

[PrincessBrideJo]

Yay for you for asking for help! I know it's hard to do sometimes.

I'll have to look for my pictures with ariel at the pool too. I know I have some somewhere. I think they are of my daughter.

I also have "spare" computers. Dh used to be in IT and we had to have different computers for different things. Of course each one has something that needs "fixing".

I'm glad your packing and planning is coming along nicely. It seems you're back on track.

The spare computers are out of hand at our house. My husband is a system administrator and always has been since he started working at age 18! You could say he is a computer geek, haha. So anyways I counted not too long ago and we had 7....yes 7 towers, just towers. And that is just at this house. I know he has some stored and/or borrowed at his dad's house, his friends' houses, and we have some stored at my dad's house (we are buying his house from him once we sell this one). That doesn't count all the totes of spare computer parts, I am sure we even have a floppy drive around here somewhere. I guess I am lucky as his dad was into computers when they took up a room, or half a room and he still is saving some for "nostalgia", haha. Of course they live on 6 acres and have a HUGE barn to store it all!

[DisneyTiger]

Hi! Enjoying all the pics. And you're going to be there again before you know it:cool1:

Thanks for sharing the snack thread with me earlier! I have made notes about which ones I want to try! I've never paid that much attention to the snacks!:scared1:

[PrincessBrideJo]

So yeah, life has gotten in the way of my disney planning, again. Everyone is sick here and hubby is out of town all week. All of my helped I had planned out for the week all canceled or forgot about me. My youngest son (19 months) took him to the dr last friday - he has bronchitis. My DS4 who is going to FL with us is now hacking up a storm and has a pink eye (he gets pink eye almost every time he gets sick). I am also now coughing although I think yesterday was worse than today so I don't think i am going to hit the doctor. I am taking both boys back to the doctor this afternoon. Problem is my DS4 has a hair appointment an hour and a half after the dr appointment. Their dr always gives them a breathing treatment before we leave and that takes forever and to do it for both boys and not to mention the waiting you inevitably do at the doctor's office I am afraid we are going to be late for the hair appointment. I am going to try to be early to the doctor and maybe they will get us in early, who knows. Also going to be asking the doctor if DS4 should be on an antiviral to go to FL with all this swine flu going on. The CDC is recommending children under 5 who are traveling should be on it while traveling and well...that is us! So we will see what she says.

So all that to say sorry I haven't updated in awhile. DS4 is getting so stinking excited to go. Every time he wakes up, or is away from me for more than 5 minutes he says "Is daddy coming home today?" Cuz we told him when daddy gets home the next day we will leave for Disney World. He tells everyone we meet that he is going to Disney World and he is going to be an astronaut. It is so fun to see his excitement! It makes me all the more excited though! haha. :dance3::yay::woohoo::cool1::love::cheer2:

[Diamondintheruff]

I'm so sorry to hear you haven't had the time to enjoy getting ready for your vacation. I often overschedule myself as well. It's easy to do in this day and age.

It's still exciting that you are leaving so soon!

[PrincessBrideJo]

Oh yeah....leaving today!!!!!! I can't believe it is finally here. That means it will prolly pass by too quickly also. I need to make sure to enjoy every minute of it.

Most of the packing is done, still have a little bit to go. Have to go to the store this morning (not looking forward to grocery shopping on a Saturday!) to get our cooler food for the trip and the room. And also other odd and ends that I have forgotten up until now.

So much to get done, hope we can get it all done. Guess that means I should get off here. See ya when I get back everyone!!!

:wave2:

[Diamondintheruff]

I'm stuck at home with a miserable head cold. The good news is that it means Dh will have to face the mob at the grocery store today.

I was thinking about you and wondering what time you were leaving. Hope my post makes it to you in time.

Have a great time!

[PrincessBrideJo]

I'm stuck at home with a miserable head cold. The good news is that it means Dh will have to face the mob at the grocery store today.

I was thinking about you and wondering what time you were leaving. Hope my post makes it to you in time.

Have a great time!

Hope you are feeling better now!

We made it there and back wonderfully. It was a great trip, but exhausting. I should be starting my trip report soon though!!!! Oh I was reminded so much of your trip reports....the screaming, kicking, dragging children on rides....I now totally understand! luckily no body got puked on in our trip...and no one puked - EVEN BETTER!!!!:rotfl2: