Celebrating Kidney Function PTR -- 2 more days until we leave and SICK KIDS :(

[erika412]

I've been a long time lurker, but just recently started posting a bit more. I've been to Disney World quite a few times, but never really did much pre-trip planning (I know, I know, what was I thinking?). This time I'm all over it!

We are celebrating our youngest daughter's health. In December, the day before we were supposed to fly to DH's parents' house for Christmas, she was admitted into the hospital with kidney failure. It is a long story, but it is 5 months later and she's been in and out of the hospital 4 times. January was the worst- she was there for 2.5 weeks straight. She was on dialysis, they were talking transplant and she was down to 1% kidney function. I'm happy to say that she's now at 60% function with no transplant. She's still battling it, and will be for a while.

We decided we needed a vacation. And what's the best place to go when you need a vacation? That's right, the happiest place on earth! It will be her first time at WDW where my older two daughters have been twice already.


the cast members of this pre-trip party. (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31520468&postcount=2)
Travel Plans (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31528512&postcount=4)
Where To Stay? Oh, Where To Stay? (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31537062&postcount=5)
Random Babble (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31563849&postcount=8)
Pictures of previous trips - 2005 and 2007 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31566819&postcount=9)
Autograph Books dilemna (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31856780&postcount=13)
Travel Dates Decided (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32654481&postcount=14)
Our Tentative Schedule Somewhat In Progress, Kinda Sorta (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32663019&postcount=16)
More Pre-Trip Shopping (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32706566&postcount=20)
We got ALL OF OUR ADRS!!!!! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33095056&postcount=26)
Did some PT shopping (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33902471&postcount=30)
Megan as Minnie (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33904640&postcount=31)
Shopping Goodies (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33904863&postcount=32)

[erika412]

As promised, the cast..

Our Kidney Princess:

Megan is now 19 months old. She was 15 months when she got sick and will be 2 years 2 months when we go to Walt Disney World. She is also allergic to dairy which makes me a little nervous about our trip. We have stopped eating out as a family since she started eating solids and being more interested in what we were eating. I've read that Disney is great with food allergies but I know I'll have to include a lot of pre-planning for her.

Here's a picture from when she was sick:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b49/erika412/megan/004.jpg

And a more recent picture:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b49/erika412/megan/034.jpg

The change still amazes me.

I recently got her a Minne Mouse t-shirt at the Disney store and she is so proud when she wears it.

Our middle child is Shannon. She's our drama queen who really does belong on a stage somewhere. She'll be 5 in May and is looking forward to it. She LOVES High School Musical and Hanna Montana. For her birthday, she is telling everyone to get her anything HSM or HM. I have a feeling we are going to be overtaken by stuff.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b49/erika412/tripreportshannon.jpg



Mary is our oldest at age 6. She is one months away from finishing up kindergarten at two different schools- two half day programs. She's been in speech therapy since she was 17 months old but is in the normal range for speech now. She also has SPD and is sensory seeking. She loves Disney and is a huge princess fan. The curly hair in the following picture comes from being caught in the rain during a soccer game. How I wish it was like that all the time!

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b49/erika412/tripreportmary.jpg


DH is Brian who hadn't been back to Disney since he was a kid until we went for about 5 days a couple of months after we were married. He was a member here on the DISboards first and his account is middlepat.

I am Erika. It wasn't until one of my college friends became a cast member after he graduated and I started to visit him that I started to enjoy Disney as an adult. Sure I liked the movies, the stuff at the Disney Store was cute, but if he hadn't been down there, I'm not sure I'd be as into it as I am. My first few trips as an adult staying offsite were visiting him. Sadly to say, he has recently been let go from a management role after working there for 16 years with the recent layoffs.

Next up: Our Travel Plans

[erika412]

I found a picture of Brian and me. I'm usually behind the camera taking pictures of our girls so there aren't that many of them out there. It works out since I hate having my picture taken! This was taken last August at a wedding.


http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b49/erika412/brianme.jpg

[erika412]

The days we are booking for the trip, including travel, are

November 6-15th.

DH and I go through spurts of traveling often. First, his family lives a 3.5 hour plane ride away (in Canada) and we try to go see them every once in a while. Then of course we enjoy going to WDW. Then my family travels every winter to somewhere warm and we do try to join them as well as often as we can. We also like to do road trips every once in a while.

So, obviously, we aren't strangers to travel. But I do have to say, the more kids we have, the more I hate flying. For some reason, it stresses both of us out. We've dealt with delays - the longest two being 3 hours in the airport a year ago with all three kids, and 3 hours in a plane with a 6 month old baby quite a few years ago. DH's family used to live somewhere where it took us an entire day of travel and 3 planes to get to- more time was spent in the various airports waiting than actually being on our way.

The thought of flying with all three kids and their stuff does not excite me even though it is a pretty quick easy flight once you deal with all the waiting. We live close to O'Hare and it is direct flight. But, that would be 5 tickets we need to buy for potential delays, luggage costs, extra stress, etc.

I think it is the waiting that gets to me. You sit and wait to finally leave. Then you arrive and wait for your bags. Then you go to the Magic Express and wait there to check in. Then you go wait for your bus. Then on your bus you wait to leave. One time we had to wait a half hour on the bus to leave. So, we've decided to drive. The girls are good, little riders and I think they will be ok. I'm actually looking forward to the drive.

We're still talking about how exactly we are going to get there, but we are leaning towards...

53 to 290 to 294 to 57 to 24 to 75 to 429.

We are talking about leaving at 3 in the morning on a Friday but are concerned that it will get us to Atlanta at less than an ideal time.

Ideally, we'd like to do the bulk of the driving on day 1 and stop someplace close to Florida. That would get us to Disney about noon-2pm on Saturday and we'd have 7 day park hoppers starting on that Saturday.

Does that sound good? Any changes you'd make to the route?

[erika412]

When DH and I were first tossing around the idea for this trip, we decided we would go back to the POFQ. We loved our last trip there. It was small, not crowded, quaint. Just perfect for us.

We've stayed at All Star Music pre-kids and had decided, finances providing, value resorts would not be a good fit for our family once we had kids.

Our first trip with our oldest two, we stayed at WL. It was perfect- a short boat ride to MK where we spent most of our time. The younger one was napping so DH would take her back for a nap while Mary and I would stay at MK and go on Goofy's barnstormer multiple times.

As much as we loved WL, we didn't want to do a repeat visit there when we planned the next trip. We ended up at POFQ which I said we loved. In chatting, we once again started to wonder if POFQ was a good choice for this trip. There are so many other resorts that we'd like to experience. Then, since there are 5 of us, POR sounded promising. I thought we settled on it... until we started talking about Poly.

Poly seemed great. Monorail access, beautiful resort, great location. We've been talking about it for a couple of weeks now and it seemed like the resort of choice.

Until tonight.

We'll have our car. Does the monorail matter? Does proximity matter? If the baby needs to nap, DH can just drive to wherever with her while I stay with the older two.

So, AKL came up in conversation. And it is sounding more and more appealing.

What to do? Where to stay?

If you're lurking, please come vote (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2160335) on my DH's poll. Or just post here what you think. We're open to all suggestions.

[theweave]

Wow! Kudos to your youngest for surviving (and quite well judging by her recent picture) her kidney failure etc! You have a beautiful family!!!!

I am in on your trip report (okay pre-trip)!

I think you will do fine with your DD's allergies... from what I have heard, they are wonderful with that kind of stuff!

[erika412]

Thanks Chris!

I hope you're right about the allergies. I've read some conflicting stuff- since she's under 3 I've read we do need to pay for her food to have it more customized for her, then I've read we don't have to pay for it. I do plan on contacting Disney closer to our trip and see what they suggest. Reading here, it seems as if TS is the way to go.

That resort thread that DH started is now making me think Poly again. AKL sounds great, but it might be good when they are all a bit older.

[erika412]

Did I mention that we will be at the parks on November 7-13? We found out last night that the 8th is the last day of Jersey Week. I'm not too thrilled about that. But crowd levels go down a lot on the 9th.

So, do we take a chance and keep the same schedule? Or do we shift the day off from school from Friday the 6th to Monday the 16? I don't know. Shifting would have us there on 11/8-11/14. For the kids' school schedule, I really liked taking Friday off and then the next whole week to return to school on Monday. But how bad would switching to the next Monday be?

I did a little shopping today for the trip. I know, it is 6 months away. But in my defense, Shannon has strange little hands that need the aloe version of Wet Ones or they break out horribly. Because of Megan's allergies (she'll break out if you have dairy on your hands and touch her) we wash our hands often. Wet Ones work well when we can't get to a sink- like when we are driving. I can't find the aloe version every time I go shopping so when I saw them today, I went ahead and bought 6 bottles.

I wonder if I could get someone on the DISign forum to make a cute cover for them- Disney wipes or something like that.

I also bought a large tub to store stuff I've bought specifically for the trip. I read someone else did that. I think it is a good idea because knowing me, I'll have one bag of stuff here, another shoved in a closet, another in the van, and another somewhere else. I'm bound to either lose something and have to repurchase it when we get closer to the trip.

[erika412]

Because I've been thinking of our last trips there- here are some pictures from September 2005.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b49/erika412/Disney/disneyrez24.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b49/erika412/Disney/disneyrez9.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b49/erika412/Disney/disneyrez48.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b49/erika412/Disney/disneyrez27.jpg

And some from January 2007. I was pregnant with Megan at the time.

We were picked by Mickey to have a special tour of his house.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b49/erika412/Disney%202007/Disney2007073.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b49/erika412/Disney%202007/Disney2007072.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b49/erika412/Disney%202007/Disney2007074.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b49/erika412/Disney%202007/Disney2007047.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b49/erika412/Disney%202007/Disney2007079.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b49/erika412/Disney%202007/Disney2007089.jpg

Tired from a day at the parks.

[lizet313]

Am in popcorn:: Thanks for all your help with the emails. Your daughters are so beautiful. Megan is such a dtrong baby :worship:. I think I am in the same boat when it comes to where to stay. All your pictures are beautiful. Picked by Mickey wow :love:.

[erika412]

Hi Lizet! No problem, let me know if you need help again.


As I've been reading every thread I possibly can read, I've been copying and pasting things that I found interesting into a text file.

It makes more sense to post it here. Then I can edit or add to this post as necessary. A lot of it might not make sense because it is just random things, but it will help me in planning.

blanket to block sun
little pillow for Megan to sleep
CARES harness
rubber drawer thing for Megan to sit on on plane
notify cc we are traveling
program disney resort/dining in cell
pop up hamper
clear jumbo bag to cover stroller
clear shoe organizer

I buy those thin little wipes- I think they are called Handy-wipes or something. I cut them into smaller pieces and put dish soap on them and leave them on the counter to dry. When they dry I pack them in a ziplock. In the room, just add water and I have a little disposable dish wipe with soap to clean up a sippy cup or a refillable mug. They work great!

sharpie click pens
allergy meds


I make up a bunch of goody bags to bring to dinners:

In a Ziplock bag

1. Printed sheets of coloring pages, go to http://coloringbookfun.com/ and pick your childs favorite disney characters
2. Crayons - Just picked up a four pack on disney themed crayons today at the dollar store.
3. A couple sheets of stickers in disney characters. You can find them at dollar stores, craft stores, etc.
4. Disney figurines or cars from the dollar store. I just went today and they have pooh and princesses. Put one or two in a baggy.
5. Pipe cleaners
6. Little snack (small pack crackers, croutons, goldfish, pretzels) to keep hold them over until their food comes.

glo sticks for night
disney figures

Magic Kingdom - Get a milkshake (ok so its not free but still) at Pinnoccio Village Haus, and check out the cool, dishwasher safe cup it comes in. We use them at home and LOVE THEM
-Get to the MK early, by 8:40 AM, to see the Opening Ceremony. This is not advertised in any of Disney's materials that I've seen--it is a very Disney way to start your day. Also, there are many Streetmosphere characters that wander around Main Street during the day--they are never advertised. One day the Mayor sat down right next to us at Casey's and started talking to us about how he was running for reelection. Many times you will run into the Dapper Dans, riding in the back of the first horse-drawn trolleys of the morning and serenading the passengers.
Bob Jackson – a piano player - does a family friendly show at the Port Orleans Riverside resort in the River Roost lounge. There are sing-alongs, boogie-woogie and ragtime music. You can see his schedule at: http://yehaabob.com/Page5.asp
mousekeeping envelopes
http://www.wdwinsiders.com/character_finder.php

read #405

I'm thinking possibly getting a sketchbook with cardstock pages, customizing the cover, and every other page with Disney stickers. That way, the character knows where to sign... Then the opposite side I'll put a photo of the child with the character. I found an autograph book at the dollar store, but the pages are regular weight paper. The covers are cardboard and sturdy, so I'm playing around with that and seeing if I can doctor it up for cheap.





http://www.wdwinsiders.com/character_finder.php





autograph book
-jolees
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2005132
wdwautographs.com

http://www.wdwinsiders.com/character_finder.php

Poly Fax Number: (407) 824-3174

Also some great info on faxing your requests here:

http://allears.net/acc/cro1.htm

Monistat's Chafing Relief Powder Gel.


Character Breakfasts
1900 Park Avenue
'Ohana Character Breakfast
Tusker House

[erika412]

duplicate post

[erika412]

I can't decide if I want to make autograph books or just buy them. I'm not creative at all. But I keep looking at books other people have made and they are so cute.

I know that some DIsers have shared pages you can print out and bin to make your own book and they are SO cute. Then I know some other people have made them with pictures from previous trips- that would be adorable too. I just don't know.

I'm most worried that if I try it, they will look horrible. Then I'll just buy the Disney version anyway.

[erika412]

Wow, has it been that long since I checked in here? I haven't done much more planning for the trip.

We have decided a few things for sure. We're leaving here on Friday, November 6th after school. Or we might take the girls a little early from school- maybe 2-3 hours earlier. It will get us through rush hour easier if we plan to take 94 into 65. We're still deciding that.

We're stopping on Friday and Saturday nights with trying to get as close as possible to WDW so on Sunday we can just wake up and head there. Brian is working on a spreadsheet of which parks to hit which day and where to eat at said parks. At first, I did some changing because I do want to spend our first day or so at the MK. TourGuideMike has that a busy day at the MK because it is the last day of Jersey Week, but I think we are going to chance it. We'll be packing up and leaving sometime on the 14th. It makes me sad to even think about now.

We did contact Brenda about Megan's allergies and she sent us some information. I'm feeling very good about this trip and being able to handle her allergies. I usually get nervous dining out - which we've probably only done less than 10 times since she started solids - but it sounds like the Disney Chefs are wonderful. Why should I be surprised? :lovestruc

I still have yet to fill out the forms because they want to know where we will be dining. I did talk to someone via another forum who has done the DDP with a "free" child and liked the deluxe aspect to get a little bit more for the free kid. I have no problem paying extra for Megan's meals because she can't just eat off our plates and we will need to be treated a bit differently.

We have yet to tell the kids. I'm so excited and want to tell them, but I don't know if they could handle a 4 month countdown. I do want to make them the countdown chain and each day rip off a ring- got a really cute one here actually. But I'm a bit afraid of Megan getting a hold of it and just ripping away.

Next Up- our tentative calendar of which park to visit when.

[erika412]

http://www.magicalkingdoms.com/timers/tickers/cvgusdwgnrvfkt8h.png (http://www.magicalkingdoms.com/timers/)

I wanted an ADR ticker because even though Brian has one courtesy of TGM, I wanted to be aware of it too. Our date falls on a time when we will be out of town, but we'll just work around getting that phone call in. Priorities you know.

[erika412]

Last night, instead of sitting on our own couches ten feet from one-another, turning on the TV, watching random TIVO'ed shows and not talking at all aside from "do you want a drink" or "wake up, it is a commercial and you've got the remote", we decided to plan a bit for the trip.

I think we have a definite, I mean tentative, schedule in progress. I say this because once Magic Extra Hours come out, it could change slightly. But I honestly don't see it changing.

We have decided to go ahead and upgrade to the DDP. Mostly because of Megan's allergies, we are more confident in going to a sit down restaurant and talking with chef there about her. At counter-service, we would most likely have to wait in line with people behind us, get to the order place, mention the allergies and then they'd get a manager and we'd have to get out of line and talk with them. It seemed a lot of effort when you are waiting in line and have hungry kids. So, deluxe plan here we come. And honestly, who doesn't like to eat through The World? It sure seems like a lot of food and it also seems like we'll be spending a lot of time in restaurants instead of on rides, but the downtime might be good for the kids.

* indicates we've eaten there on previous trips

Sunday
Arrive as early as possible and check in.
Talk to chef at Captain Cook's
Spend the rest of the day at MK
Lunch: Counter service depending on where we are- Poly or MK or god forbid on the road still.
Dinner: Captain Cook's

Monday
Breakfast: Crystal Palace
MK
Lunch: Tony's Town Square
MK
Dinner: 1900 Park Fare

Tuesday
Breakfast: Tusker House
AK
Lunch: Yak & Yeti
AK
Dinner: O'Hanas *

Wednesday
Breakfast: Chef Mickey *
EP
Lunch: Land Food Court
EP
Dinner: Coral Reef *

Thursday
Breakfast: Kona Cafe
DS
Lunch: Mama Melrose
MK
Dinner: Whispering Canyon *

Friday
Breakfast: CRT *
MK
Lunch: Plaza
MK
Dinner: Kona Cafe

Saturday
Breakfast: Main Street Bakery *
MK
Leave :sad1::sad1::sad1:

Because of the ages of our kids, we do know we are going to spend a lot of time at the MK. We're ok with that. On our last two trips, we seemed to end up at MK no matter which park we started at. We have plenty of future trips scheduled in our minds to do other things. This will be the first trip where we have kids tall enough for Big Thunder. They also want to try the Tower of Terror, but I think the middle child will at least freak out and change her mind. Brian doesn't like that ride so he's letting me ride it with them.

[cel_disney]

Hi Erika!!

Havent been able to really look over your ADR plans yet but I will have more time in a day or two - lots of family visiting this weekend!

Just wanted to say that DS has a mild lactose intolerance and the disney chefs are AWESOME!!! We dont need to be as picky now, but last year there were a few times when we did have it on file that we wanted something milk free for him - the chefs new ahead of time but they would come out to talk to us when we got there anyway to discuss a menu. It was truely awesome to not have to worry - they really do take allergies seriously and are very supportive!!

~Celeste

[palavra]

, It's Lee Ann from SE. I love your photos. The girls are just adorable!

Your pre-trip report is great. I'm getting some good ideas already. We are definitely (well, if i get ADR"S) doing Crystal Palace for breakfast on one of our MK days, Sci-Fi Theatre for lunch at DS because Hannah really wants to eat there. I want to do one more character meal, but my 6 year old isn't really excited about the princesses anymore. In fact, she picked Crystal Palace. Since we are paying OOP, we are only going to do two more TS restaurants, but I have no idea which ones.

Too bad we aren't going to be there at the same time. I would love to meet you and your family.

[erika412]

Hi Erika!!
It was truely awesome to not have to worry - they really do take allergies seriously and are very supportive!!

~Celeste

Hi Celeste! Thanks for the info on the chefs. That's pretty much what I've been reading which is so great!

, It's Lee Ann from SE. I love your photos. The girls are just adorable!

Your pre-trip report is great. I'm getting some good ideas already. We are definitely (well, if i get ADR"S) doing Crystal Palace for breakfast on one of our MK days, Sci-Fi Theatre for lunch at DS because Hannah really wants to eat there. I want to do one more character meal, but my 6 year old isn't really excited about the princesses anymore. In fact, she picked Crystal Palace. Since we are paying OOP, we are only going to do two more TS restaurants, but I have no idea which ones.

Too bad we aren't going to be there at the same time. I would love to meet you and your family.

Hi Lee Ann! My 6 (and 5) year olds are still really into the princesses and now Megan is following their footsteps. That would have been very cool to be there at the same time. I've been to Sci-Fi once years ago pre-dh even- it was fun. I think Shannon would get scared from the movies though- she's a bit of a scaredy-cat.

[erika412]

We ran to the mall this morning to get a birthday present. The party is at the pool and the invitations were Ariel themed, so I of course needed to see what the Disney store has. I picked up a few cute things for the birthday girl, but found some other items for my girls.

They had sunglasses for 75% off. They came to like $2 a pair. So I let the girls pick out two pairs each. Right now, it is out of sight, out of mind with them so I'm going to put them in my WDW bin.

I also got them the pvc Fairies. We don't have the Tinkerbell movie, but I plan to get it for the ride down. I thought this would help the girls learn their names.

Megan will be turning 2 in September, so I *needed* to get the cute long sleeve Minnie shirt for her. She loves Minnie. The problem I have taking her to the Disney Store is that Megan wants to hug every single stuffed animal in the store. The last time we were there for almost an hour with her just hugging. I didn't let it last as long this time.

[Vacation Lover]

Clicked over from my PTR. Glad to hear your daughter's health is better. Sounds like you've got some good plans together.

[erika412]

I haven't updated this PTR for a while because we had out of town guests for the last 8 days. Right before they arrived, I decided to try to find a poodle skirt for Shannon. Last year, when Mary was in kindergarten, they had a 50 day of kindergarten party. They were allowed to dress up like the 50s. I didn't have anything so she went with a white polo shirt and rolled up jeans. A few girls had poodle skirts so this year, I decided to buy one for Shannon since I"m sure they will have the same party. I'm also convincing her that it would be a fun Halloween costume. Or maybe I can convince Mary?

Anyway, while I was on ebay, I decided to search for Disney jewelry and ran across some cute stuff that someone was selling. I think she makes them. There was a necklace for each princess in a set. We decided it would be fun if tinkerbell leaves a present each day for Mary and Shannon- a different necklace every day. They are going to be so excited! I haven't received them yet, but I'll post a picture when I do.

[erika412]

The necklaces came in the mail yesterday. They are so cute! I'll take a picture tonight and post them. I'm so excited for Tinkerbell to give them to the girls.

I need to come up with someone for Megan to receive though. I didn't want to give a 2 year old a necklace.

A little over a week and we make our ADRs!

[erika412]

Oh my.

Brian and I just starting talking about our next trip after this one. Time TBD, but we're thinking of staying offsite in a 3 bedroom house with its own pool for longer. We'll give up the Disney resorts (might be very hard to do after staying at the Poly) but we'd be able to go for longer. And since longer means when the kids aren't in session, it will be summer and hot, hence the need for a pool.

We've never been to the Disney waterparks or even the resort pools. Our trips have always been all about the theme parks. It might be nice to have a slower paced trip since we'd be there for longer.

Anyway, does anyone have any favorite places to stay offsite?

[MomTo4+more]

Just checked out your PTR and saw that you are from Chicago suburbs. We are in Chicago. Our trip dates just miss each other. We will be there November 1-7th! I am glad your daughter's kidney fnction is better. That is truly something to celebrate!

[middlepat]

Hooray... we got all the ADRs that we wanted. I guess getting up early today has paid off. Having our little alergenista we wanted to get more TS dining so here is the list of what we got.

Nov 9:
8:10 Crystal Palace
11:50 Tony's Town Square
6:15 Cinderella's Dinner @ 1900 Park Fare

Nov 10:
8:00 Donald's Safari Breakfast @ AK
11:30 Yak & Yeti
5:25 O'hanas

Nov 11:
8:15 Chef Mickey
Lunch - Sunshine Seasons (CS that is supposedly a good place for alergenistas)
6:05 Coral Reef (one of our favorites)

Nov 12:
7:45 Kona Cafe
12:30 Mama Melrose
5:25 Whispering Canyon Cafe

Nov 13:
8:05 Cinderella's Royal Table
11:45 The Plaza
5:35 Kona Cafe

[erika412]

How funny. I was just coming here to post about the ADRs. We are out of town at my inlaws home and my dh Middlepat is golfing with his father right now. He got up at 4am to use the online ADR system. I woke up and my mil was at her water aerobics class. I looked around for a note from Brian saying what he got but couldn't find anything. When my mil came home she told me my fil told her we got them all. Then I went to take a shower and found the confirmations printed out on my luggage! I hadn't bothered to check our room at all.

So I was all excited and came here to update and it looks like middlepat has already been here. I could have just checked here!

Btw, "Allegenista" is cute Brian.

As soon as we get home from this trip and the girls start school (aug 26) the real planning begins! I have a countdown chain to make, shirts to make and order, autograph books to make, pressed penny containers to make, and probably other stuff I can't think of right now. I CAN'T WAIT!

[erika412]

We're back from visting my inlaws. School started Wednesday. I only have the baby at home now. That means more Disney planning time!!! We've submitted our ADR's to the allergy people and we're all set.

DH and I were discussing movies we'd like to bring for the way down-

Tinkerbell- brand new, the girls don't know we have it
Lilo & Stitch
Cinderella (all)
Little Mermaid
Monsters
Toy Story
Nemo
Alladin
HSM 1, 2, & 3
Space Dogs
Sleeping Beauty
101 Dalmations
Beauty and the Beast
Mickey classics
Beverly Hills Chihuahua
Cars
It's a Bug's Life
The Incredibles
The Lion King
Mary Poppins
Ratatouille


That's 24-ish movies. They should have a lot of options. Now I just have to make sure they all are working and maybe look into getting the ones that are broken repaired if possible.

[erika412]

5 1/2 x 4 1/4 for the large tubes

[erika412]

It is hard to believe that in 4 weeks we will be on the road on the way to Disney World!!!

I've been trying to do some planning. I bought paper for and printed the girls trip journals. I just used the ones on themouseforless.com but put them on light card stock so that they can write and erase and rewrite to their hearts content.

Then today we picked up a pop up hamper, a shoe rack to store toiletries, a cd wallet to organize the cds for the road, some crayons, rain ponchos, and a HSM themed night light. Tonight I finally plan to take pictures of a few things when the girls are in bed. I'll post those later.

Yesterday I also finally made a countdown chain. The girls love it. We're at 27 days until we leave. (then two days driving.)

Now that we are in within a month, it seems so much more real.

Yay!

[erika412]

Another thing I remembered- Megan has really been into Minnie Mouse lately. For her birthday in early September, my sister and her kdis gave Megan a Minnie Halloween costume. We can bring it with us on our trip too!

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b49/erika412/DSCN0571.jpg

[erika412]

I went through my box of goodies tonight.

Since around the time we decided we were going to Disney World, I have been putting random stuff in a big bin in the garage. I've mentioned some of it here, but I took a few pictures tonight.

I bought the following clothes a while ago on sale at the Disney store online.

For Megan:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b49/erika412/DSCN0594.jpg

For Shannon: (yes I have two things for her and no one else at this point)

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b49/erika412/DSCN0597.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b49/erika412/DSCN0596.jpg

And for Mary:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b49/erika412/DSCN0595.jpg

tbc

[erika412]

One thing I'm most excited about is the Princess Necklaces. I've mentioned them before, but finally took their picture. The quality isn't that great, but our plan is to have Tinkerbell leave them for the oldest two each night while we are there. I can't wait. They are going to love them!

That reminds me, I have to go to the DISign board and ask for a Tinkberbell gift tag.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b49/erika412/DSCN0598.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b49/erika412/DSCN0600.jpg

[palavra]

Hi Erika,
I haven't checked in for a while, but i see your plans are well underway. Glad you got the ADR's you wanted. I'm sure you guys will have a great trip. We are going for week of Thanksgiving and staying at All Star Music with the DDP. We were able to get all the ADR's we wanted as well.

I hope you will post pictures after your trip. I love to see your cute girls!

[erika412]

Oh, you'll have to let me know how crowded it was then. I really want to go sometime over Christmas to see all the decorations and festivities, but the crowds scare me.

That's great that you got your ADRs too. I was nervous with all the complaints and problems I've heard/read about.

I've been printing coloring pages this morning for the girls at restaurants. They'll have about 10 pages each and then can use the back to draw on if necessary.

[erika412]

I'm starting to feel a little overwhelmed and stressed. I started my planning early and am still waiting to close to the last minute to have anything complete.

So here is all I can think of for my to do list:

print and iron on transfers on 8 tshirts. Probably need to wash shirts first?
Figure out paging for third main autograph book
Print covers for all three main autograph books
Finish Fairy autograph book layout and print
Check on fairy cover request
Get all books (6 autograph books, 2 journals) covered and bounded at Staples.
Cut out mileage countdown chain links and assemble.
Laminate stroller tag and hole punch.
Put on pressed penny covers.
Print and put on wet-ones covers.
Put adrs in iPhone app
Print driving maps for the girls
Find shipping box and send DVDs to be fixed
cut out tinkerbell tags

[erika412]

Also need to clean pack and play.

[erika412]

I accomplished a lot tonight! Off to bed.

[erika412]

I am getting so excited for our trip, I can't stand it!!!!

I have an online friend, not from the Dis, making some shirts for the girls and they should be coming soon. Once they are here, I'll post them. She does custom embroidery and did shirts for my older two girls saying "What Happens At Nani's House, Stays at Nani's House" a few years ago. I'm so excited to see these.

We also bought some Princess dresses from littledressupshop.com This is the first year that we will have so much Disney themed items to wear, use etc. I think my girls - at least Mary and Shannon - are at a perfect age to make this a special trip. They didn't wear their princess dresses the last time we were there or have special autograph books or tshirts. I'm really looking forward to them experiencing all of it!

To Do List - updated since I've been working pretty hard on getting it done!

print and iron on transfers on 8 tshirts. Probably need to wash shirts first?
Get all books (6 autograph books, 2 journals) covered and bounded at Staples.
Cut out mileage countdown chain links and assemble.
Laminate stroller tag and hole punch.
Put on pressed penny covers.
Print and put on wet-ones covers.
Print driving maps for the girls
Also need to clean pack and play.
Buy glitter hair spray

Done
cut out tinkerbell tags
Find shipping box and send DVDs to be fixed (done on 10/19 to track)
Put adrs in iPhone app
Figure out paging for third main autograph book
Print covers for all three main autograph books
Finish Fairy autograph book layout and print
Check on fairy cover request

[erika412]

Ugh! I taken the autograph books to staples to bind them. They screwed them up! Not so bad that they are unusable or that the girls will notice, but I KNOW. They aren't how I wanted. :mad:

But at least that is another thing off the list!

[sisaaliyah]

Hi there! Just came across your pre-trip report and having a child with a Kidney problem the title caught my eye. DS is 4 and has MCDK. He was diagnosed 20 months ago and it took about 15 months before that of going to different doctors until they discovered both his kidneys never fully developed and are small with cysts. It's our job now just to keep him growing and the longer he can keep his own kidneys the better.

Your daughter in her mickey mouse costume is absolutely adorable! Hope you have an AWESOME trip. All your planning will pay off. We'll be heading down the day after Thanksgiving, and grandma's going with us this time.

[erika412]

Hi sisaaliyah. Thanks for stopping by! I'm sorry that my title caught your eye for personal reasons. Megan will eventually have to deal with a transplant as well in the nephrologists opinion, but it could be years from now. Right now she's doing very well actually. She had post infectious nephritis, but a pretty bad case of it and they do expect there will be some scaring. She's having an ultrasound in January and I'm pretty nervous about that. Her blood pressure has been improving and her latest echo showed signs of improvement too so hopefully the u/s will as well.




The shirts I had made for the girls arrived today:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b49/erika412/IMG_0343.jpg

The picture quality isn't that great since I took it with my phone, but they are adorable and I'm so happy with them.

Shannon, in true middle child form, is a little pissy that her shirt didn't say anything, but I explained to her that this trip is because of everything we ALL had been through with Megan's illness and we're celebrating that she's healthy enough to go and that we're all together. (holy run-on sentence)

I finished the pressed penny money rolls and the covers on the wet-ones. This weekend I'm starting the shirts. And hopefully finishing them!

[erika412]

Here are some pictures of some of my creations. I made these with a lot of help from the very talented people on the Disign board.

First a countdown chain: Not too much longer!!!!!

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b49/erika412/009-1.jpg

Next a countdown chain for the trip there. 50 miles equals one ring of the chain. We have one for the way there and one for the way back.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b49/erika412/018-1.jpg

Pressed penny containers:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b49/erika412/019-1.jpg

Wet One Containers: (we have to be obsessive about handwashing/wiping because of Megan's allergies. If we have dairy on us and touch her, she will get hives.)

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b49/erika412/020-1.jpg

Disney Trip Journal. I saved this a while ago from Mousesaverrs (I think), but I would have much rather had one from here. Next time :lmao:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b49/erika412/014-1.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b49/erika412/015-2.jpg

[erika412]

Autograph Books. I did the covers, can you tell? This was part of what Staples messed up.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b49/erika412/012-1.jpg

Some sample pages.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b49/erika412/013-1.jpg

And the other part of Staples mess up was the dedicated Fairy autograph books:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b49/erika412/016-1.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b49/erika412/017-1.jpg

Even with the problems with Staples, I'm so excited to use everything!!!

[erika412]

I now have ink again. But we have a Halloween party this afternoon so the shirts are going to have to wait.

Megan is going to wear her Minnie costume and Shannon is wearing her Belle dress that I bought for the trip. She was going to wear her 50s skirt I got her for the 50th day of kindergarten for Halloween, but has recently decided she wanted to be a princess. I can't say no to that! Although it is a little annoying because I think the 50th day of Kindergarten is now going to fall when we are gone! Oh well, I rather be in Disney World!!

[erika412]

Here are some pictures of the preschool Halloween party. As you can tell, Megan didnt end up wearing her Minnie Mouse. She had it on for about 10 minutes and then wanted to take it off before we left. I decided to try the "Cinderella" dress we got for the trip. She was so happy so she wore it there.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b49/erika412/002-1.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b49/erika412/001-2.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b49/erika412/003-1.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b49/erika412/004-1.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b49/erika412/007-1.jpg


In the first pictures, behind her is a cardboard cut out of Cinderella. They also had Mickey, Minnie, Pooh and a couple others. Throughout the party, she'd pick them up and bring them to me. I thought it would be fun if she had her picture taken with Minnie. She decided to lean on Minnie instead.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b49/erika412/IMG_0348.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b49/erika412/IMG_0349.jpg

Shannon was wearing Belle like I said and in her pictures, I made her say "Beautiful Belle!" It didn't quite make her smile. LOL

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b49/erika412/005-1.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b49/erika412/006.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b49/erika412/IMG_0347.jpg

Mary went with Brian to pick out her costume. She came home with a Star Wars thing-a-ma-jig. She thinks she's Princess Leia. We went with it.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b49/erika412/IMG_0346.jpg


We are leaving in 11 days!!!!!

[erika412]

Bringing this over from page 3. Completed Items are photographed on page 3 if applicable.

To Do List

print and iron on transfers on 8 tshirts. Probably need to wash shirts first? SHIRTS WASHED
Laminate (done) stroller tag and hole punch.
Also need to clean pack and play.
Buy glitter hair spray


Done

Get all books (6 autograph books, 2 journals) covered and bounded at Staples.
cut out tinkerbell tags
Find shipping box and send DVDs to be fixed (done on 10/19 to track)
Put adrs in iPhone app
Figure out paging for third main autograph book
Print covers for all three main autograph books
Finish Fairy autograph book layout and print
Check on fairy cover request
Cut out mileage countdown chain links and assemble.
Put on pressed penny covers.
Print and put on wet-ones covers.
Print driving maps for the girls

[erika412]

Another to do. One of the Dis Dad's put this idea in to my Dh's head. A present for each state crossing. So, shopping I go.

[erika412]

I have bronchitis. Hoping everyone else stays healthy.

8 more days until we pile into the van and go!!

[erika412]

I made Megan a tutu last night.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b49/erika412/DSCN0755.jpg


We're leaving Friday. And my nephew with whom we carpool just came down with the flu. AUGH!!!!!! Mary, Shannon and I just got h1n1 shots today. Hopefully we can stay healthy.

[erika412]

Two more days!!!!!

And I've had Megan sick with a cold all week. We were at the pediatrician today. Chest Xray was clear. She gave us an rx for tamiflu because of Megan's exposure to my nephew. If it wasn't for her kidneys, she wouldn't have gotten it. The kidney doctor freaked a bit and wanted her on it.

So, Megan is on the mend. I'm feeling good about the trip. She'll be protected from the flu while we're down there. We get clearance from the nephrologist and the pediatrician to take her. Things are looking good.

Then at 2:30pm, I get a call. Shannon has a fever. 100.8 please come get her. I get her, she's warm. I give tylenol. It brought the fever all the way down again. She's playing happily and hyperly as always.

Things are good.

For now.

[dvczerfs]

great ptr mrs. middlepat!! cute girls!!! i wish mine were still little.:thumbsup2 have a nice trip!!!