The Disney Finale: We're Cancelling Christmas PTR (Updated 10/4)

[pixleyyy]

We're cancelling Christmas this year and going to Disneyworld instead! We're so excited for our first ever magical Christmas at Disneyworld. But before we get into specifics, here's the cast of characters:

Me :wave2:- Annette, 35 and lover of all things Disney. I get in full Disney-planning-mode before vacation and it drives DH crazy! By day I teach preschool, by afternoon I am a professional scrapbooker and by evening I am a volunteer and chauffer. It's a busy life.

DH :cool2:- Brian, 35, ready to take multiple runs on RnR and ToT! He's a big bad policeman with a teddy bear living inside. He also loves riding his motorcycle.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_D-iZ4TjIrvc/R85LXS4fn3I/AAAAAAAAArs/YQ33CoONNFA/s400/image184.jpg
DS :music:- Chase, 13, my fellow Disney freak. Knows as much as I do, if not more. Has already asked to plan the schedule for our next trip and will be doing that with a little guideance from me. He loves drama and is super smart. He plans to produce movies someday, much in Walt's footsteps, by opening a movie studio with his brother.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v469/pixleyyy/DSC04568.jpg
DS :mic:- Tristan, 11, loves to laugh and laugh during fun rides. I love hearing that! (He'll be leaving the horns and braids home this trip. LOL) He's a Taekwondo freak and loves to play basketball too. His lifes ambitions are to be a Dad and make movies with his brother.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D-iZ4TjIrvc/R85LYC4fn5I/AAAAAAAAAr8/UWQbIdGpAdE/s400/P2020014.jpg
DD princess:- Carissa, 8, our total princess. Loves all things girly and pink. She's her own little strong-willed person but is still sweet and loveable. She loves dance, cheerleading and is excited for her first year of basketball.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D-iZ4TjIrvc/R7P-4JJudMI/AAAAAAAAAhE/CyJAowoZcnw/s400/aurora.jpg

And now to the part about the finale. We're quickly realizing how fast our kids are growing. This will be our 3rd WDW trip and we've done DL with them once too. But we all really love Disney and just have never wanted to go anywhere else. Until now. We really want to take the kids to Washington DC, to see all the historical artificats, the monuments, the museums. So we've decided that has to be our next trip. And seeing how we're not made of money and live modestly on a police officer and part-time preschool teacher salary, it will take us a few years to save up the money for another trip. Our oldest is 13 now so we'll probably be able to do DC when he's about 16. I just don't know if we'll have time to sneak in another Disney trip after that and before he moves on to college. So this could very well be the grand finale of Disney for our whole family. Oh, Brian and I will still go together once the kids are gone. And if we win the lottery that will surely change (as if! I only buy tickets 3 or 4 times a year. LOL). So we're treating this trip like it's the last one and planning and splurging like there's no tomorrow. Because for our family, there might not be a tomorrow in WDW. :guilty:

Anyhow, here's a few pic of us from our WDW trip in January 2008.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_D-iZ4TjIrvc/R8X7cJJudqI/AAAAAAAAAm0/ZS6_xWIogU4/s400/image125.jpg http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_D-iZ4TjIrvc/R85LXy4fn4I/AAAAAAAAAr0/OfPh9G-KWDg/s400/image189.jpg
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_D-iZ4TjIrvc/R8eYaX-CtyI/AAAAAAAAAp0/pSSVWP43g8k/s400/DSC04341.jpg http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_D-iZ4TjIrvc/R8X6uJJudoI/AAAAAAAAAmk/xugNkkaN2QM/s400/DSC04136-1.jpg
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_D-iZ4TjIrvc/R7P2J5JudCI/AAAAAAAAAf0/BcqhaBvOW_Y/s400/DSC03885.jpg http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_D-iZ4TjIrvc/R7P2JpJudBI/AAAAAAAAAfs/N0KQYjWwtLA/s400/DSC03908.jpg
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_D-iZ4TjIrvc/R7PmxpJuc3I/AAAAAAAAAec/hSPetpB_nwo/s400/DSC04001.jpg http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_D-iZ4TjIrvc/R6_cZZJucvI/AAAAAAAAAdc/xt_XfrEvivM/s400/DSC03801.jpg

Here's a link to that trip report, in case you're interested in reading up a little on who we are and what we like.
Jan/Feb 08 WDW Trip Report: Curiouser and Curiouser (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=23204905#post23204905)

INDEX:
Why cancel Christmas? And do the kids know? (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=31573929&posted=1#post31573929)
How do I keep it a secret from the kids? And when will I tell them? (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=31607865#post31607865)
When to go? (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=31635469#post31635469)
Here or There??? (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=32323527#post32323527)
And the Winner is... (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=32557959#post32557959)
Flying Fits (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=32644006#post32644006)
It's Official... (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=32730095#post32730095)
Sharing the Secret ... how we tell the kids. (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=32746115#post32746115)
The Big Reveal... (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=32850287#post32850287)
Obsessive Planning (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=32935023#post32935023)
Dancing and Thinking (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=33227211#post33227211)
A Dining We Will Go... (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=33443231#post33443231)
Long Time, No Update... (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=33823428#post33823428)
55 Days... (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=33890046#post33890046)

[hurleysweety]

Woohoo! I want to cancel Christmas too - but we'll see!

Great start. I'm ready for more! popcorn::

[pixleyyy]

Why cancel Christmas? Really, why would any parent of Santa-loving, holiday-cheer-giving, magical-Christmas-memories kids want to cancel their favorite holiday?

The answer is simple. Because Christmas to them is still magical and wonderful and the epitome of childhood happiness to them. And we want to make this one as memorable as we possibly can. Thus our trip to Disneyland this year.

We're a modest family. He's a police officer, I'm a preschool teacher. We both love our jobs but we're not really in it for the money, if you know what I mean. So there is no way that we're going to scrimp and save for a trip and still be able to afford a big Christmas for the kids. It was one or the other and we decided on a magical Christmas with the mouse.

Besides, the kids have 3 sets of grandparents who will fill in where Mom and Dad left off this year, providing most of the video games, music and toys that the kids put on their lists. And they're getting older and it's harder to buy for them anyways, so this helps in that respect too.

That's not to say that the kids won't get anything this year at our house. Santa will still pay them a visit, I'm sure. And we'll buy them a few books and a small gift each child, but it won't be as extravagent as it has been in previous years. They'll survive and will come out of it with some wonderful memories instead of more gifts. A pretty good trade off if you ask me!

Do the kids know? No. They don't. And they won't for a while. But when we finally get around to telling them we'll discuss how we're making the choice to enjoy Disneyland at Christmas instead of buying a bunch of gifts. They all love Disney and ask weekly when we can return, so I don't think it'll be a hard sell.

[fairykin]

What a great pre trip report!:goodvibes

You have a great family! I can't wait for you to write more!
:yay:

[DizNee Luver]

We've talked about doing this before.....doesn't seem strange to me at all!!!

We talked with our older boys (19 & 22) & they said they'd be fine forgoing the gifts to spend a week at Disneyland & as long as "Santa" comes Christmas Eve its no biggie.

Can't wait to see how this report progresses over the months leading up to the big surprise!!!!!

Great pics of the family too!!

[ukstitch]

You have no idea how happy I am to see this PTR here :rolleyes1

Hope you have a great trip - I might sit down and put together my own little PTR soon as I'm quite excited about my own December trip but didn't want to write it yet as I thought it would be too early. Having seen this one though, I no know it's not :banana:

[pixleyyy]

You have no idea how happy I am to see this PTR here :rolleyes1

Hope you have a great trip - I might sit down and put together my own little PTR soon as I'm quite excited about my own December trip but didn't want to write it yet as I thought it would be too early. Having seen this one though, I no know it's not :banana:

Never too early to start a PTR. ;) I was too excited to wait, as I'm sure you are! Now, if only December weren't half a year away! LOL

[pixleyyy]

How do I keep it a secret from the kids? That is the question. How do I plan, plan and more plan, peruse the DIS and make arrangements without the kids knowing? The answer is, I don't know.

My rather astute 12yo ds must already have an inkling in his mind. I am never on the DISboards as much as when we are planning a vaction. Yet he hasn't asked me about it yet. And when he does I'll ask him questions right back, like "Why do you think that?" or "That would be nice, wouldn't it?" without really committing either way.

Now, the beans almost got spilled when my 8yo dd looked at what I was typing (the beginning of this trip report) and went around the house saying "Mom's cancelling Christmas". :confused3 DOH! Of course, the boys didn't believe her one bit and I don't think she believed it either. Whew.

When will I tell the kids? Another good question, but one to which I don't have a good answer. I don't want to tell them too soon and worry that if something catastrophic happens that we have to un-tell them. KWIM? And as much as I'd like to make it a "hey kids, lets go to the airport and fly somewhere" surprise I know that won't happen. There has to be some middle ground here.

I did attempt a surprise to tell the kids we're going to WDW. It was a flop. Seriously! I don't know if it was the timing or what, but it just didn't work. I took all this time to make a sign that said we were going to WDW. I cut it into 3 puzzle pieces and hid them around the house where we have Disney stuff (pictures, memorabilia, etc.). Gave the kids each a clue for their piece. They had to find it and bring it back then assemble the puzzle. They did, they read it and then went "oh" (OK, all except my Disney-freak 12yo ds, who went YEAH! and jumped up and down).

Sooooo ... I'm on the lookout for a REALLY FUN way to tell the kids we're going to Disneyland for Christmas. I won't tell them until at least October, but I'm compiling ideas now. If you have one, please share!

[pixleyyy]

The dates for our Christmas trip are still up in the air. I've reserved the Hojo for two different weeks in December and now have to decide which one to go with. I want to go earlier in the month, before it gets busy, but I'm torn between two dates.

Nov. 30-Dec. 4 (give or take a day on either end)
Dec. 7-Dec. 11 (give or take a day on either end)

I know I have to keep in mind the Candelight Processional on Dec. 4 & 5. I also vaguely remember someone saying the DLR closes early a few nights for cast member parties. Does anyone know what nights those are?

Just trying to plan the right time to get the most out of our vacation.

Any tips?

[pixleyyy]

So allow me a moment to indulge myself. Trip planning is something I really throw myself into and really do enjoy doing. But it's the big decisions that are the hardest for me to make.

So, all was going well in my little trip-planning world. Our savings account has been steadily growing, a little bit at a time, and it looks like the vacation is a sure thing. Then the van breaks down. Holy cow... if I have to dip into our vacation money ... :sad2:. But we got it fixed and it didn't cost as much as we figured. Crisis averted. Whew!

So I'm on my merry little trip-planning way again when another bump in the road comes along. But this one is a bigger bump for me. You see, last night I got an email from Disney with a PIN code for free dining in December at WDW. Ugh! Seriously?!? Do I really need more to think about? But think about it I do and eventually I call and get prices and now I'm sitting here entirely undecided.

Option 1: Go to Disneyland. By my calculations we'll spend roughly $3500 for 6 days and 6 nights of Disney fun. That includes all the transfers and some spending money, as well as a small sum each day for food. The small sum will buy us mostly counter service meals with only 1 or 2 table service meals the entire trip.

Option 2: Go to Disneyworld. Stay onsite (I've never stayed onsite), eat all their yummy food (one table service, one counter service and one snack each day) and take the sting out of our last almost-disaster trip there (my MIL has health and bad attitude issues and made the vacation nearly disastrous because of them). Spend about $4000 for 7 days and 7 nights of fun at the world.

Option 3: Stay home, save the money and just go on with life as normal. Right, like I'm even entertaining that though. :rolleyes:

So, here's my pros and cons.

Disneyland
Pros: Closer to home (no time change/jet lag), haven't been since 2006, we really liked it then and had a great time, love how close the parks are to one another.
Cons: Smaller, less to do (though we get to do our faves lots and lots of times), walking to and from hotel, no Christmas party to attend, eating counter service the whole time (I am soooo tired of burgers, chicken and pizza by the time I go home! LOL).

Disneyworld
Pros: Huge - lots to see and do, Mickey's Very Merry Christmas party (I've never been), the fabulous dining plan (we almost always eat counter-service while on vacations, so this would allow us to eat table service and enjoy several character meals), getting to enjoy it without MIL (who I truly love but has too many issues to vacation with), Rockin' Rollercoaster (yes, it deserves it's own pro mention).
Cons: Jet lag and spending most of a day flying to and from (we're in Oregon ... it's a long flight!), were just there in Jan. of 2008, hotel we could afford offers only bus service to the parks (not as good as the rest of WDW transportation), more money ... even if it is only slightly more, no California Screamin (again, deserves it's own mention).

So now I'm at an impasse. DH isn't much help deciding, just keeps telling me we need to decide. Sheesh, lots of help there! Of course, it doesn't help that it's summer and the kids are always around when we try to talk about it. Talking in code around a 12yo doesn't work so well anymore, so we really haven't been able to talk about. The kids don't know yet, as I don't want to share anything until it's set in stone, so they are no help either.

Soooooo ... what do you think? I'd love to hear opinions. Maybe I'm missing something here...

HELP!!!

[kandyk]

I love this idea of cancelling Christmas. I just haven't been brave enough to do it...yet! Our DS is also 12 and I think he is almost to the age where he would be OK with skipping Christmas. Maybe another year or two and we will take the plunge.

Decisions, decisions...

I am leaning towads Disneyland for you for a couple of reasons. First you haven't been there since 2006, there have been several changes. We live in Washington so I know how you feel about traveling cross country and jet lag. Almost two whole days will be lost to it, but from Oregon its only a couple of hours flight...easy and you still have most of the days to play. Also $500 is $500, maybe you can add something special to the Disneyland trip like doing the Christmas tour or even adding an extra day or a Character meal or two?

If you were really looking forward to your Disneyland trip, I say stick too it! I am sure you won't be disappointed.

[bumbershoot]

I know I have to keep in mind the Candelight Processional on Dec. 4 & 5. I also vaguely remember someone saying the DLR closes early a few nights for cast member parties. Does anyone know what nights those are?


The parties tend to be the Mon and Tues after the CP weekend. The CP tends to be either the first weekend, or the weekend after the first full week, of December (I cannot remember which one).

But it's only Disneyland that closes early for the parties; DCA is kept open later. And since your big draw is Screamin', well, I doubt that "having" to go to DCA more will be that painful. :)



I'd stick with DLR!


Now, about the pricing, are you looking at packages only, or a la carte? Have you thought about having one person get an AP, to get the discounts? With an older group of kids and a family of 5, that discount could add up! Then there might be a great rate onsite, or the AP 20% discount at HoJo (or even the special entertainment book rate for HoJo Anaheim).

Anyway, if you've only looked at packages, be sure to price it a la carte as well.

[pixleyyy]

Now, about the pricing, are you looking at packages only, or a la carte? Have you thought about having one person get an AP, to get the discounts? With an older group of kids and a family of 5, that discount could add up! Then there might be a great rate onsite, or the AP 20% discount at HoJo (or even the special entertainment book rate for HoJo Anaheim).

Anyway, if you've only looked at packages, be sure to price it a la carte as well.
Nope, that's not a package it's a la carte. I booked the hotel with the entertainment rate (spending the extra $$ for Disney view), flight is through the special on JetBlue and then we have transfers, food, park tix and spending. I don't think we could do it any cheaper than that, with the exception of giving up the view.

[pixleyyy]

After much consideration, much back and forth and debate with the family (stealthily with the kids, as they still don't know - I just proposed the hypothetical "which one is your fave") we still couldn't make a decision. The kids were leaning towards Disneyland. DH liked it too. I think I was the only one secretly leaning toward WDW. What it ended up coming down to was the fact that there is so much renovation happening at DCA right now and that we'd miss some of the big stuff by a few months (namely the "World of Color" show). In the end we decided to book ...
DISNEYWORLD!

We booked December 3 - 10 at the POR. We've got free dining, 8 days of park passes (no hopper option this time - that was money we wasted last trip as we didn't park hop) and 7 nights in the hotel.

We're planning on either flying a very early flight or the red-eye. The very early flight leaves 6am our time and gets us there 4pm EST. But after DME, checking into the hotel, etc. we might not get anything done that day. And we'd still have to adjust to the time change.

The advantage of the red-eye is that we get in at 9am EST and have a whole day to spend at the park. We also adjust to the time change quickly because our sleep schedule is so messed up from the start. The disadvantage is that we just don't sleep on the plane. Brian and I were so exhausted after our last red-eye flight that we vowed never to do it again. Yet here we are, thinking about it... that extra day at Disney makes all the difference.

Beyond that, we're doing good on getting prepared. Our savings account keeps growing and we're optimistic that we'll have the financial part taken care of.

Now, as a little side-note, we've kept our ressies at DLR just in case a financial issue comes up and we can't afford the extra money for WDW. I don't anticipate that coming up, but it's our backup plan.

[Sherry E]

I think if this is now a Pre-TR for a WDW excursion, we have to move this over to the WDW Trip Reports section.....unless DLR is still on the table??

[pixleyyy]

I think if this is now a Pre-TR for a WDW excursion, we have to move this over to the WDW Trip Reports section.....unless DLR is still on the table??
I messaged a moderator earlier today asking them to move the thread, but if you want to do it instead I would appreciate it. DLR is still on the table but I think it's unlikely at this point, so the WDW PTR forum would be best. Thanks!

[Sherry E]

I messaged a moderator earlier today asking them to move the thread, but if you want to do it instead I would appreciate it. DLR is still on the table but I think it's unlikely at this point, so the WDW PTR forum would be best. Thanks!

I'll move it. Although I didn't see a WDW Pre-TR forum. Did you see one? I ony saw the regular WDW Trip Report section.

[Sherry E]

Oh, I saw the Pre-TR section - finally! Okay - I will move you!

[pixleyyy]

Thanks!

[eandesmom]

I have to admit, for $500, staying ON property, with FREE dining...I'd pick WDW in a heartbeat. I always price out DLR...we could drive if we really wanted to and it would cost us as much to stay there as it would WDW. I don't know, I guess I expect b/c it's close, and smaller, for it to be less. And staying on property is so incredible, and the food options are amazing versus DLR.

Don't get me wrong, I love DLR, but to me it's a shorter, smaller trip. I kept looking at it with the kids fly free and it still didn't cost any less if I stayed at a DLR property.

I like your choice :)

[pixleyyy]

I have to admit, for $500, staying ON property, with FREE dining...I'd pick WDW in a heartbeat. I always price out DLR...we could drive if we really wanted to and it would cost us as much to stay there as it would WDW. I don't know, I guess I expect b/c it's close, and smaller, for it to be less. And staying on property is so incredible, and the food options are amazing versus DLR.

Don't get me wrong, I love DLR, but to me it's a shorter, smaller trip. I kept looking at it with the kids fly free and it still didn't cost any less if I stayed at a DLR property.

I like your choice :)

That's nice to hear! I keep thinking I've made the right decision and then doubt myself a little, thinking that we should go to DLR. But honestly, a week at WDW beats the heck out of 5 days at DLR.

[pixleyyy]

Last time I left you we had just decided to book WDW. Much hemming and hawwing in that decision but I think DH and I are happy with the decision.

I've been watching flights like a hawk and it's giving me fits. Flights are running about $238 from here to Florida, which I think is pretty good considering we're clear on the other side of the country. But I haven't yet plunked down the money for those tickets, hoping some big sale would come up and save us a little extra money.

We're watching 2 airlines in particular - Delta and Frontier. Both offer early-morning flights that get us into FL by mid-afternoon. They also both offer a red-eye that gets us in first thing in the morning the next day. Those are the two flight schedules we're considering. Went back today to check and Frontiers rates had gone WAY up... an additional $500 for the 5 of us. OUCH! So now I'm debating whether to just suck it up and buy the tickets from Delta or give it time and see if they happen to go down. But then if Delta tickets go up my budget is going to suffer. *sigh* Why does it have to be so difficult?

On a side note, I think I need a little pixie dust today. I'm teaching dinosaur camp this week and all the roaring is draining my happy-happy-joy-joy.

[pixleyyy]

We bought our plane tickets so there's no turning back now, we're headed to Disneyworld!!! Making the vacation ressies was fine but buying the non-refundable plane tickets make is so real, especially considering we nearly decided to cancel (I had a panic moment about pulling so much money from our savings up but I got over it ;)).

We did decide NOT to do a red-eye. Hate that night of flying so we're leaving very early in the morning and arriving in the afternoon FL time. Because we're giving up a day flying we decided to add a day onto our reservation. Now we'll have 1 evening when we arrive, 7 full days in the park and 1 half day the day we leave. I think we can make that work.

Right now I'm trying to plan our days. I want to see the crowd calendar to help decide which park to go to which day, but I hate to buy the 2009 Unofficial Guide, especially since I have the 2008 book. I'm still deciding on that one.

The other thing I'm deciding is what to do that first night. I was thinking a nice sit-down dinner might be in order, sort of a "Welcome to the Magic" dinner. I was thinking Chef Mickey's. Or something in Downtown Disney. Or a place we could see the fireworks from (though they would have to pipe the music in too). We could go to MK that night for dinner and then fireworks too. Lots of options and I'm not sure which to do...

[pixleyyy]

I've been struggling with how to tell the kids that we are going to Disneyworld. I know we can't keep quiet forever, as I'm on the DIS ALLLLLL the time lately and they have to be thinking that something is up. So I figure we should just break it to them sometime soon.

Last time we went to WDW I made a little treasure hunt with clues to Disney things around our house. At each item was a piece to the puzzle. Once the kids put it all together it announced that we were going and the dates. Sounds fun, right? It was a huge flop! The oldest was excited, but that was probably moreso because he knew that was the expectation. The other two just wanted to go back to whatever they were doing before we rudly interrupted them with said treasure hunt. So I've really been giving this a lot of though in hopes of having a better outcome than the first.

Yesterday I finally hit on an idea that I think would be great. Since this is our Christmas gift to the family and it is July, I was thinking about doing a "Christmas in July" party. Maybe get out the Santa hats, watch "The Santa Clause" (one of our fave Christmas movies) and then present them with a big present (wrapped in Christmas paper, of course). Once unwrapped they would find 3 small presents, one for each kid, inside. The little presents would each contain 5 trader pins (I just ordered these and hope they arrive in enough time), a personalized Disney t-shirt and a note announcing that we're going to WDW.

Soooooo ... that's the plan. Any other ideas of what I could put inside their little boxes? Any hints on ways to make this more fun? I'm all ears...

[VroomVroomLightning]

Soooooo ... that's the plan. Any other ideas of what I could put inside their little boxes? Any hints on ways to make this more fun? I'm all ears...

I read part of your trip report and just now finsished up when I saw you had an update. I think your way of telling them is going to be so great! I am sure you have checked out the DISigns page. They have so many different invitations and shirt designs there. I am sure someone would be able to help you if you posted about your idea! Not only am I fan of all Disney but I am also a huge Christmas fanatic..lol..It drives my family crazy but I love it! So when I saw your idea I was so excited for your kids! I can't wait to hear more!!

[pixleyyy]

I read part of your trip report and just now finsished up when I saw you had an update. I think your way of telling them is going to be so great! I am sure you have checked out the DISigns page. They have so many different invitations and shirt designs there. I am sure someone would be able to help you if you posted about your idea! Not only am I fan of all Disney but I am also a huge Christmas fanatic..lol..It drives my family crazy but I love it! So when I saw your idea I was so excited for your kids! I can't wait to hear more!!
Yes, I've posted a few requests on the DISigns board and can't wait to get them! I've been searching for solid colored t-shirts for us all so I can do iron-ons and I'll be printing out the invites too. I can't wait! Suddenly, it seems REAL!

[DisneymoonJess07]

Hi! First off, yay for WDW! We are staying in POR in (checks ticker) 44 days! So great choice!

Anyway, I think your way of telling your kids will work great. If nothing else, you'll have fun with it and that's a chunk of it.

BTW, try to authenticate your account on touringplans.com with your 2008 book. I have heard it works for some people.

[pixleyyy]

Hi! First off, yay for WDW! We are staying in POR in (checks ticker) 44 days! So great choice!

Anyway, I think your way of telling your kids will work great. If nothing else, you'll have fun with it and that's a chunk of it.

BTW, try to authenticate your account on touringplans.com with your 2008 book. I have heard it works for some people.
Thanks for the tip. I'll give it a try with my 08 version. (crossing my fingers that it works!!!)

[cmfranklyn]

Yesterday I finally hit on an idea that I think would be great. Since this is our Christmas gift to the family and it is July, I was thinking about doing a "Christmas in July" party. Maybe get out the Santa hats, watch "The Santa Clause" (one of our fave Christmas movies) and then present them with a big present (wrapped in Christmas paper, of course). Once unwrapped they would find 3 small presents, one for each kid, inside. The little presents would each contain 5 trader pins (I just ordered these and hope they arrive in enough time), a personalized Disney t-shirt and a note announcing that we're going to WDW.



LOVE this idea! Sounds great!

[pixleyyy]

Hi! First off, yay for WDW! We are staying in POR in (checks ticker) 44 days! So great choice!

Anyway, I think your way of telling your kids will work great. If nothing else, you'll have fun with it and that's a chunk of it.

BTW, try to authenticate your account on touringplans.com with your 2008 book. I have heard it works for some people.

Holy moly, it worked!!! Didn't work the 1st time I tried but the 2nd time it gave me the whole calendar. YEAH!!! Thanks for the tip. I'm anxious to get started planning which days we'll be spending at which parks and mapping out which meals we'd like to make ADR's for. THANK YOU!!!

[DisneymoonJess07]

You are totally welcome! I am so glad it worked for you! Can't wait to see what you decide - we definitely used it to plan our trip!

[pixleyyy]

Well, today was the big reveal. We finally told the kids we are going to Disneyworld.

Now DH is the kind of person that just can't keep a secret, can't hold a present until a holiday, just can't wait. So I knew we'd be telling the kids soon. And now that I've we've bought our plane tickets and emptied our bank account and sent it to Disney, we knew the vacation was a "sure thing". That's all it took --- he couldn't wait any longer!

We just got back from a few days away at the beach so we decided to take the kids out for ice cream and have a "talk" with them about Christma. DH explained about the recession, how it's hitting our country hard, how that makes it harder for some people to afford things, etc. (We have been very lucky and haven't had any economic issues to contend with personally, but it was his little "get their attention" tactic.) Then we explained to them that they wouldn't be getting many presents for Christmas this year, that it just wasn't going to be possible for us (true, since we're spending our wad on WDW) so we wanted to give them a little something now.

I had a big box that said "Merry Christmas" on it and they tore it open to find 3 identically wrapped boxes with their names on them. On the count of 3 they opened their boxes to find some trading pins and a little invitation that invited them to spend a magical Christmas vacation in Disneyworld.

Well, we know how these things go. They just don't get it right away. They're like "Oh, we're going to Disneyworld. But these pins are COOL! Thanks!!!" Yes, the pins were the high point. We went to the park afterwards and the kids starting talking about WDW, how cool it was going to be, how much fun, etc. Then they started getting excited and thanking us. That was nice.

So, now they know. And now my Disney-obsessed 12yo is already reading his Disney travel guides trying to figure out the best places to have meals together. LOL

Let the detailed planning begin...

[DisneymoonJess07]

That's so great that your kids are getting excited! Can't wait to hear your detailed plans!!

[DWGal210]

What a neat way to tell the kids! I think that is a great idea. I also think switching to DW was a great choice! I would love to visit DLR soon, but with free dining, you can't beat that!

Sounds like a fun time!

[KGH]

Hey there, hopping over to your PTR :thumbsup2

What a geat way to tell the kiddos. I've always wondered what happens when the big suprise reveal doesn't go as planned... I love watching youtube videos of parents suprising their kids, and every once in a while I stumble across one where the kids hear the big news, give their parents a blank stare, and ask if they can go play. :rotfl2:

And I love your daughter's name... it's always been one of my favorite names! :)

[pixleyyy]

Welcome to my PTR. Thanks for stopping by!

I really wasn't expecting a huge, screaming thing from the kids. That's just not how they react. But it was nice to see the slow progression ... the realization of what was going to happen, how it would be fun for us all, how we were going to get to spend Christmastime in WDW. So they are excited, just not screaming with it. It's very much what I expected so there's no diappointment.

I will say that the kids have talked about it 10 or 15 times today. They have lots of questions, lots of requests, lots of hopes for our trip. Now if December would just get here already...

[pixleyyy]

I'm an obsessive planner. Always have been when it comes to Disney. Since the moment we paid for the plane tickets and I was assured that this trip was happening I have been obsessed with the DISboards. It's not like I couldn't figure it out on my own, but that the DISboards get me so excited for our trip! I just love spending hours on the boards reading about parks, rides, restaurants, etc.

I love it so much that I really given up my other pasttime, scrapbooking. I used to scrapbook hours each day and made about half of our trip money by selling rights to my designs to scrapbook magazines. I sure could use more of that money to start my next vacation account, but I just can't make myself scrap right now when I'm so excited about WDW.

I can't entirely blame this all on WDW or the DIS though. It's summer and therefore harder for me to scrap with the kids around. Plus I'm teaching summer camps this summer (this week it's science camp :3dglasses) so my time is a little harder to come by. Yet when I have free time I find myself here on the DIS or writing, analyzing and rewriting our park and ADR schedule for the trip (I've written it 4 times already - and park hours aren't even released yet! LOL).

The obsession will pass, won't it? Eventually? Someday???????

[pixleyyy]

OK, I take it back. I have done something scrappy this summer.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v469/pixleyyy/disneypins.jpg
Oh wait, that's Disney too! I just can't get away!!!

[pixleyyy]

Today I'm doing my little happy dance. See...
:cool1:
... because I just paid off the rest of our trip! We have airline tickets, room and free dining taken care of. Now we just need spending money. I have 3+ months to get that in order and I'm sure it won't be a problem. I am sooooooooo looking forward to this trip!

Now I'm looking forward to planning. Which park for which day... which ADR's do I need to make... when are we taking down time... what are we doing the day we fly in and the day we fly out? I've been mulling all of this over, planning and replanning, thinking and rethinking.

Yet in the end I know it all comes down to what the schedule says and it won't be out for a few weeks yet. I only have 16 days until my ADR date, so I'm hoping the schedule comes out soon!!!

[pixleyyy]

Just a quick post to celebrate that we're finally in the double digits. Only 99 days left until our trip! I'm soooooooo excited!!!

[KGH]

Just a quick post to celebrate that we're finally in the double digits. Only 99 days left until our trip! I'm soooooooo excited!!!



WHOO HOOOOOO!!!!

:yay: :banana: :yay: :banana: :dance3: :banana: :yay: :banana: :yay:

[pixleyyy]

It's been a few days since I made our ADR's and I'm finally rested enough to post. ADR's open online at 3am our time so I stayed up to make them. Of course, then I couldn't get exactly what I wanted so I had to reorganize which days we're going to which parks and make more ADR's. Then I called at 4am our time to see if I could get a F! package (no luck there). In the end it took a little over an hour to get it all over and done with. I'm pretty happy with what we have. Here's our list:
Dec 3 Plaza lunch
Dec 4 Sci-Fi lunch
Dec 5 nothing... (wanted Le Cellier lunch or early dinner but no luck - I'm going to keep looking)
Dec 6 Akershus breakfast, Le Cellier lunch
Dec 7 Mama Melrose lunch
Dec 8 Chef Mickeys dinner
Dec 9 Plaza lunch

[pixleyyy]

I realize that it's been a while since I've updated - partly because the mods but this in the "completed TR" forum (which doesn't allow you to post) and partly because life is busier again.

School started for the kids, which means school started for me. I have 24 new preschoolers to keep up with and am even hosting a 2's playgroup once a week at the preschool. Add that to the kids activities (Taekwondo, swimming, cheer and scouts) and time is just flying past.

The boys have also recently celebrated birthdays. Tristan turned 11 and was excited to receive a Flip Video Camera for his birthday. Yes, there was an ulterior motive here. He wanted the camera but I wanted him to have the chance to take videos at WDW.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_D-iZ4TjIrvc/SrMYdwvsv7I/AAAAAAAABpA/fDTnWktpX-0/s400/DSC_0031.jpg
He also just earned his green belt in Taekwondo, a big accomplishment for him.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_D-iZ4TjIrvc/SrMeEBht_OI/AAAAAAAABqQ/BSwPATZpJlk/s400/DSC_0230.jpg

Chase turned the BIG 13 last month and he is SOOOOOO excited to be a teenager! He also started middle school so it's been a big transition, especially since he has the pressure of taking high school Algebra, (he's my super-smart-TAG kid) which will go on his high school transcript. But he's taking it all in stride and loving middle school. Oh, and he's buried in homework at mid-school so we got him a laptop for his birthday. Hopefully it will be useful and taken care of. So far so good.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_D-iZ4TjIrvc/SrMeFEO0giI/AAAAAAAABqg/JMdumuMIKeE/s400/DSC_0242.jpg

Brian and I celebrated our 15th anniversary last month. We really wanted a big getaway for our 15th but decided WDW with the family was more of a priority. So we just snuck away for a night at the beach - just the two of us. We usually camp when we go to the beach but did splurge for the luxury of a hotel.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_D-iZ4TjIrvc/SrMdQoTzomI/AAAAAAAABp4/kTId9KGd9qs/s400/DSC07559.jpg

Oh, and not to leave Carissa out I should mention that she and two good friends got free tickets to see Miley Cyrus. It was the first concert of her new tour and it was pretty great. Yes, I went with them even though I know only one Miley song. But it was great to watch them all enjoy their first concert. Carissa is the one on the left, not in a Miley shirt (they cost $35 there!).
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D-iZ4TjIrvc/SrMdPYC9e5I/AAAAAAAABpo/bjPdavwLo14/s400/Copy+of+DSC07609.jpg

Now, on to the Disney news. DH and I had a chat the other day about my plan for WDW and he surprised me by wanting to discuss some changes to our itinerary. I had originally planned on doing a long (open to Illuminations end) day at Epcot and then sleeping in the next day. But he reminded me that even though I planned that it's likely that we wouldn't sleep in. So we made different plans, shifted things around and changed some ADRs. So now we have a schedule we can live with.

Our new ADR schedule is:
Wednesday: Arrive and relax. Maybe hit DTD
Thursday: MK AM EMH, lunch @ Plaza
Friday: AK, no ADRs
Saturday: DHS AM EMH, lunch @ Sci-Fi
Sunday: Epcot, late breakfast @ Akershus, late lunch @ Le Cellier, stay for Illuminations
Monday: DHS, lunch @ Mama Melrose, dinner @ Planet Hollywood
Tuesday: our open day. Whichever park we feel we need more time in (I'm thinking Epcot but we'll see). Dinner @ Chef Mickey's
Wednesday: MK, lunch @ Plaza, stay for Spectro and Wishes
Thursday: Magic Kingdom until noon, when we'll have to leave to catch DME about 1pm. :(

Oh, and the other fun thing is that we bought RideMax for this trip. It doesn't have December hours added yet, but we've had fun just playing around in the November hours and seeing how it works. I'm excited to try it for the first time.

[KGH]

Ridemax... I forgot about that! I was thinking about trying that out. Do you find that it is easy to use?

[pixleyyy]

Ridemax... I forgot about that! I was thinking about trying that out. Do you find that it is easy to use?

Yes, it's very easy to use and I like that it figures it out for me. I've been on here enough that I'd have a really good idea of when to do what but this saves me the time and effort. So far I really like it, but we'll see exactly how it works when we're there.

[Disneychix]

Hi! I just found your PTR. I love how you did the trip reveal to your kids! Soo cute!

Wow, you have a teenager now! And you went to a Miley Cyrus concert! Can't say I envy you ;)

Your itinerary looks good. Will you be attending any MVMCP while you are at WDW?

[pixleyyy]

Hi! I just found your PTR. I love how you did the trip reveal to your kids! Soo cute!

Wow, you have a teenager now! And you went to a Miley Cyrus concert! Can't say I envy you ;)

Your itinerary looks good. Will you be attending any MVMCP while you are at WDW?
Welcome to my PTR! I'm so glad to have you. :)

Miley Cyrus was sort of a fluke thing. My DD and 11yo DS go to a tiny school of 70 kids (grades K-6) and the school was given 100 free tickets. So last minute we were offered tickets and ran with it. Let me say, it was a mass of kids and was quite an experience!

As for the teenager, my 13yo DS is the best kid ever. Kind and caring and responsible. He's just fabulous! I only hope that can hold on through his teenage years. So far no change, but it's only been a few weeks. LOL

I'm really torn on MVMCP. I'd like to go because I LOVE the special parades and fireworks (our only experience being MNSSHP in 2001). But we haven't heard such great reviews of MVMCP, hearing that it's overcrowded and such. DH doesn't think it's worth the $200-$250 it would cost for us to attend for 4 hours and I agree that is an exorbidant amount. We thought we could always add it on once we were there, for a day where the weather is going to be decent, if we want. So that's the plan. Though I have a feeling we won't be going. :( That would really eat into our souvenior money.

[pixleyyy]

55 days... that's how long we have. Seems like I'm just sitting her twiddling my thumbs for the next 55 days. Sure, we'll have to pack, but beyond that I think I have it under control.

I purchased Cinderella Carriages charms off ebay for Carissa and I to display our Pick-A-Pearls from Epcot's Japan.

ADR's were made, then changed but now I'm happy with the plans so they're pretty set in stone.

Just put a little more money in the savings account for spending on our trip. We now officially have "enough" money for spending while there and the trip is paid off, so anything extra we save now is just bonus money.

I do still have to prepurchase the PhotoPass CD, but can't do that just yet as it expires in 60 days. Another 2 weeks and I'll order it.

I'm sort of bummed because my family vetoed the idea of family shirts this year. You can see here that I made us all matching shirts:
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_D-iZ4TjIrvc/R6_cZZJucvI/AAAAAAAAAdc/xt_XfrEvivM/s400/DSC03801.jpg
Well, we wore them once or twice on our vacation and they have collected dust ever since. Apparently it's not "cool" to wear your "Pixley Family Disney Vacation" shirts and hoodies to school, so they kids never wore theirs. My big, bad, I'm-a-burly-cop DH wouldn't be caught wearing a shirt with a huge Mickey head on it (at least not where people know him) so his was never worn again. I wore mine, but I'm a Disney freak anyways, so I don't worry about what people think of it.

Anyways, this trip was coming up and I asked for some specialty designs to be made on the DISigns board. With a flourish I showed them to my family... who tried to be into it but really weren't. So I surrendered and have now settled on having plain colored matching shirts. So I think the boys will all have polo shirts and Carissa and I will have t-shirts that are the same color. I think us girls will have pink and the boys maybe blue or green. Compromise, you know. But either way, that's on my shopping list for some time soon.

Am I missing anything? Anything left that I must do? C'mon, I'm dying to do something!!!

[mandy2012]

:santa:

[pixleyyy]

Ooooo... Ridemax December touring plans are available. I've been busy making different plans. Some parks are easier than others to plan using Ridemax. DHS is particularly difficult because it has TSM, ToT and our all-time fave RnR. I want to ride them multiple times each day and it keeps telling me there isn't enough time. *grump*

[pixleyyy]

The excitement is building and our Disneyworld vacation is quickly approaching. I was giddy when I picked up the mail today and received our very first Disney vacation documents - our luggage tags and boarding passes for Disney's Magical Express. Wahoo!!!
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_D-iZ4TjIrvc/SuPMBa3Si8I/AAAAAAAABrQ/8TJHA2620Z4/s400/magical+express.jpg

[pixleyyy]

33 days and counting...

[mandy2012]

Joining in! Me and my boyfriend will be at POR 11/30-12/7 and doing MVMCP on 12/6. Your adr's look yummy!

[hollybearsmom]

Joining. Anxious to see your daily plans and know if you get to do your favorites multiple times!

[pixleyyy]

Hello hollybear! Thanks for joining in.

DS13 is coming home from visiting his grandparents today so tomorrow we're finally going to put together all our Ridemax plans. I'll let you know how it's looking for our daily schedule and whether we get to do all our faves over and over again!

[pixleyyy]

We're finally in the teens! Only 19 more days to go until we leave dreary, rainy Portland and fly across the country to (hopefully) sunny Orlando. The preparations are in full swing!!!

We did sit down as a family a few nights ago and made our Ridemax plans. We got everyones input on what rides they want to ride, which we need to do more than once, which we can skip, etc. Then we made printed the plans and are going to use them as a guideline for our days.

Our ADR's have been finalized for a while and we pretty much got what we wanted.

We did decide to purchase early-bird check-in for our flight home on Southwest, so we don't have to worry about online check-in while we're trying to enjoy our last full day at Disneyworld. But I'll be online checking us in 24 hours before our flight leaves Portland. Not paying for that one!

Today I started packing our first suitcase! I'm washing clothes and then pulling out those that are "mommy approved" for the trip. This means cute things, things that don't have huge skateboarding skulls on them or giant dragons. Things that will photograph well and keep us in the spirit of Disney and the holidays. Carissa's clothing was a bit more difficult than I imagined it would be, with trying to resist all those graphic shirts. I imagine the boys will be even harder! But I'll keep working on it...