One Journey of a Disney Family

[luvbeinamom]

Hi all!

Let me introduce myself. I am Amy, homemaker, mother of two girls, wife to an amazing man, Floridian, lover of all things Disney and currently planning another trip to the magic.
I went to Disney once when I was around 7 and was left with only vague memories of standing in lines, being hot and walking a VERY long way to our car to eat lunch from a cooler under the shade of a tree. My next visit was for Grad Nite. Not many memories there either. It was dark, I didn’t really care for the place and we really didn’t have that much time to explore. I remember riding a few things (Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at night was cool), shopping a little, but mainly I remember standing around a lot.
Then came marriage as they say. My then boyfriend took me on a date to Disney. I thought it was a little odd since we had to drive two hours to get there and we were only going for the day to Animal Kingdom of all places, but it was his choice, he was paying and driving, so of course I happily obliged. And wow! I fell in love. Head-over-heels, no-looking-back, love. Not with the man, but the mouse! Through no fault of my own the addiction to Disney started. (I later fell in love with the man too! :thumbsup2)
Now, after almost 9 years of marriage, two children and one tough move to North Florida, we are without a doubt an entire family addicted to all things Disney.
Our very first trip to Disney together
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y70/aebrown/8-28-98animalkingdom.jpg

To brief you on our past Disney trips, we are occasionally Florida passholders. We usually get passes every other year depending on already planned vacations and the budget. Sometimes we get the seasonal pass, sometimes, like this past year to now, we get the regular annual pass. Our first trip as a family of four was November 2005 and we’re pushing 20 visits since then. Our oldest was 2 and our youngest was just 3 months old on their first visit.
I prefer to stay on Disney property and our resorts have included all of the values (POP being our favorite), Port Orleans Riverside, Caribbean Beach Resort, Coronado Springs (CSR is our favorite Moderate), Beach Club and Animal Kingdom lodge. I haven’t chosen a favorite Deluxe resort since there’s still so many to try! :cool1:

Now, I won’t be shy, we usually go on a budget. We go during value season, get the passholder room rates, pay for meals OOP and share most meals, we get a few snacks and next to no souveniers. My kids have always been very happy with store bought souveniers outside of the parks.

That brings me to our next trip. This will be our last on this year’s passes as they expire in July and we’ve decided to experience Disney a little different. I say “little” because to a lot of you, we’re still doing it on a tight budget. I can’t help but get a twinge of jealousy when I read about these 14 night stays at the Poly with Deluxe Dining!!
On to my magical trip though…
We’re staying for 7 nights (5 nights was the longest in the past), we purchased the quick service dining (our first dining plan ever!), the kids each get $20 a day on souvenirs and I have a lot of little surprises in store for them. The only way we’re able to splurge on the other things is because we’re staying at POP Century for $63 a night ($72 for Fri/Sat) and the passes have already paid for themselves with 3 trips totaling 13 nights under our belt for the year. Living in Florida helps. We’re almost 5 hours away now that we’re in the panhandle, but we can still drive there!

Ok, so the details, right?!? I'll start with a pic of who we are and then post in a bit about the planning. As you can see we leave in less than 3 weeks!!! :cool1:


This is us
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y70/aebrown/DSC_1626.jpg
DH 33
Me 32
DD6
DD4

[luvbeinamom]

DH-he doesn't start any morning without a Mountain Dew in hand. And bless him, he's the worst morning person ever except when we're at Disney. He'll get up at 6:30 without a complaint or grumble. He can usually muster a smile then too, but the real ones start about 2 hours later.
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y70/aebrown/DSC_0271.jpg

Me-I'm a planner, I'm all about the memories for the kids and I have found Disney to be the one place the four of us let loose and live like no one is watching.
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y70/aebrown/calendar1.jpg

DD6-She only lets her nutball side show if she either knows you well or thinks you’re not looking. She’s my serious girl, huge book worm, quiet but spunky and becoming a MAJOR Disney fan since she started reading last year.
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y70/aebrown/DSC_0815.jpg

DD4-She’s that friend we’ve all had who as sweet as can be, but down right “off her rocker” at the same time! She’s prone to getting hurt and she’ll try anything once, including rides my oldest won’t even look at. If you need a good laugh, just sit down with this one for an hour.
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y70/aebrown/Chloe40.jpg

[luvbeinamom]

Ok, so we leave Friday, April 30th. The girls think we're leaving the next morning, but honestly they wouldn't sleep a wink Friday night, so we're just picking them up from school Friday and hittin' the road! My husband will just have to deal with me not sleeping a wink since there's no way to surprise me :goodvibes

The biggest change of this trip is the dining plan. We only got the Quick Service dining, but my goal is to not eat a single burger all week. As for the kids, they would live off burgers, pizza, nuggets and fries if we let them, so they’ll be golden in regards to the food.
I’ll update after the trip how I did on my no-burger goal.

I’m preparing to go into shock when it comes to the snack credits. We usually get maybe two snacks a day and split them! I have no doubt as to the weight I’m going to gain on this trip. And I’ve been researching all the snacks I want to try. So much so that I think I tasted a butterfinger cupcake in my sleep last night!

The girls might go into shock themselves when they ask for their first snack and we say SURE THING!

The girls also get spending money this trip. Our DD6 will have no problem budgeting her $20 a day, but DD4 might need a little help. I hear them in their rooms every so often dreaming about what they want to buy.

We were blessed with two girls who, for the most part, get along very well.
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y70/aebrown/DSC_0805.jpg


http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y70/aebrown/chloetrip4.jpg

[luvbeinamom]

Here are some of the things I’ve put together to make the trip special. And I must first say I couldn’t have done any of these without the amazing DISigners! They are so artistic and creative!

Some magnets for the inside of the hotel door
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y70/aebrown/DSC_0186.jpg

Car games
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y70/aebrown/DSC_0179.jpg

Licenses
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y70/aebrown/DSC_0181.jpg

Kiss boxes for their pillows at night
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y70/aebrown/DSC_0191.jpg

Some shirts
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y70/aebrown/DSC_0213.jpg
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y70/aebrown/DSC_0214.jpg

Travel bags
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y70/aebrown/DSC_0351.jpg

Morning goody bags
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y70/aebrown/bags.jpg

Window décor (just need to find those suction cup things)
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y70/aebrown/DSC_0349.jpg

I also made some pillow cases, an Epcot passport that I’ll get pictures of when it arrive, travel journals and some personal welcomes and invites.

[wish_upon_a_star35]

Wow! You are very organized!! I think that's awesome. You have given me some ideas to do for while we are away. Your girls are gorgeous!

Don't feel shy about going to Disney on a budget. I'm hoping to plan a trip for 2012 and it will definitely be tight but doable! I'm hoping that we can do the land and sea adventure!

Can't wait to read more!

[luvbeinamom]

Thanks!
I would love to try a land/sea adventure! We love cruising, but have actually never tried DCL.

My problem is the addiction to getting to the parks so often is killing the vacation budget to do much else :goodvibes

[luvbeinamom]

Ok, our itinerary ( I use that word lightly ) is basically just a plan of which parks we’re going to visit on which days. Even though we stay on Disney property, we don’t use the morning magic hours. Really it’s just so that we’re not rushed in the mornings and we still can get to the park at rope drop.

We have always had success getting to the park early, enjoying many rides, meeting a few characters and sitting down to a leisurely 11:30 lunch feeling like we’ve already accomplished so much! It’s always surprised us how much we can get done in 2 ½ hours at Magic Kingdom, but at home that time goes by and somedays I still feel like I'm spinning in circles. We usually head back to the hotel for nap or at least rest time by 2pm, but we’re going to try to stretch that a bit this year.

So, here’s the plan:

Friday-arrive around 4pm, check in, grab our fridge/coffee pot/toaster from the fridge swap, unpack and head to DD for some dinner at Wolfgang Puck Express. We have never been there, but we noticed many things on the menu we’d like to try.

Saturday-Epcot. We’re only going to visit Future World this day as well as take in what the Flower & Garden festival has to offer. We have an ADR for the Garden Grill (OOP) because I wanted to get at least one character meal in and this one is usually not so hectic since the service is family style, plus we get to see Mickey!
This will be the one day the kids need to make it a long day since we don't eat until 5pm. Usually we just let the kids temperament determine when we go back to the hotel.

Sunday-Animal Kingdom. No real plan here, just enjoy and save Kali river rapids until we’re good and hot!

Monday-Magic Kingdom

Tuesday-Hollywood Studios. The only plan this day is to try to ride Toy Story Mania 4 times. The kids absolutely LOVE that ride and DH and I are quite competitive with our scores. Of course we enjoy everything else too, this park is actually our second favorite after Magic Kingdom!

Wednesday-Epcot. This day we’re going to visit the World Showcase, try the Kidcot stations which we’ve never done before and have a very relaxing day taking in the sights.

Thursday-Magic Kingdom. We could really do all 7 days at MK because we love everything about it so this day will just be a day of repeat rides and finding hidden mickeys. DD6 is becoming obsessed with finding them! We may just go off alone and let Daddy and DD4 have some time together.

Friday-check out, Magic Kingdom. Sadly this will be our last day. And I hope it doesn’t seem to go by as fast as typing this did! We have a tradition of going here on our last day and getting in as much as we can before lunch. I always grab some caramel popcorn on the way out and pathetically stuff my face on the drive home in an attempt to make myself feel better.

So, basically I know what parks we’ll visit each day, but the order of rides, where we eat and when we go back to nap and swim will always be up to the feel of the day.

[JenniBB]

I'd LOVE to see the Passport you create for Epcot! Am thinking about something for that too, but since it has been 15+ years since my last visit you might have to help me! LOL!

[pinkxray]

Joining in. I love all the stuff you made for your trip. What kinds of stuff are you going to put in the goody bags?

Pop looks so cool. I would love to stay there some time, but my husband said the resort had to have a slide. That was his one request when picking where to stay. We'll see how much he actually uses it though.

[luvbeinamom]

I'd LOVE to see the Passport you create for Epcot! Am thinking about something for that too, but since it has been 15+ years since my last visit you might have to help me! LOL!

Hi! I used Donatalie's design found here (http://s143.photobucket.com/albums/r132/donatalie/Passports/Passport%202/) and I made the book through artscow.com
I've heard it takes up to a month to get it shipped, but that they look fantastic. I'll let you know how mine turns out assuming I get it in time :goodvibes

The DISigners are amazing on here!

[luvbeinamom]

Joining in. I love all the stuff you made for your trip. What kinds of stuff are you going to put in the goody bags?

Pop looks so cool. I would love to stay there some time, but my husband said the resort had to have a slide. That was his one request when picking where to stay. We'll see how much he actually uses it though.

Hey there and thanks for reading!! I went to the dollar tree and got all kinds of disney toys. Things like Pooh crayons, Mickey kaleidoscopes, Toy Story chapstick, figurines. I also picked up some glow bracelets from Michaels, ring pop candy (they love those), tatoos from Walmart. I've been collecting things for the past couple months and had fun putting them together last week.

The travel bags have things for the road though. Small dry erase boards, a new Scooby movie for each ($5), some drawing things and their travel journals.

We're going to try and get away with POP as long as we can. We think it's a really fun resort for their age, but they'd do NUTS for a slide...shhhh :rolleyes1

[luvbeinamom]

Ok, my day is starting off good! I got a shipping notice for the passport books I ordered from artscow! I heard they take a month from start to finish and I ordered them at the 29 day mark, so I was a bit worried. All is well now!

:thumbsup2

[staley7580]

Ill be there at the same time!! We even have Hollywood studios planned for the same day! Gosh... seeing all the people going at the same time we are is getting me really excited!:lmao: I feel like Im 10 planning a birthday party or something.

[luvbeinamom]

Ill be there at the same time!! We even have Hollywood studios planned for the same day! Gosh... seeing all the people going at the same time we are is getting me really excited!:lmao: I feel like Im 10 planning a birthday party or something.

VERY cool! I think I saw a post from you on another thread...going to POP too right? You're right, it's cool seeing others going at the same time and having the chance of running into them. You'll know us if you see us!

[BabyEeyore]

I'm loving your PTR so far!!! You have a beautiful family. I can't wait to read more!

[staley7580]

VERY cool! I think I saw a post from you on another thread...going to POP too right? You're right, it's cool seeing others going at the same time and having the chance of running into them. You'll know us if you see us!

Yep!! Thats where I followed you over to your trip report! All the stuff you have is SOOO cute! I wish I would have thought of doing some of it. I am making my kids all matching outfits.. Well, girls matching, and boys matching. Maybe if I have time for the other stuff... :rolleyes1 My husband would probably have a stroke if I suggested more stuff though!:lmao:

[luvbeinamom]

I'm loving your PTR so far!!! You have a beautiful family. I can't wait to read more!

Thank you for reading!! Are you planning a trip?

[luvbeinamom]

Yep!! Thats where I followed you over to your trip report! All the stuff you have is SOOO cute! I wish I would have thought of doing some of it. I am making my kids all matching outfits.. Well, girls matching, and boys matching. Maybe if I have time for the other stuff... :rolleyes1 My husband would probably have a stroke if I suggested more stuff though!:lmao:

Thank you! I do all that stuff so I have an outlet for my excitement. DH enjoys hearing all about it and he loves all things Disney, but he would prefer to be the passenger on these vacations. It works out VERY well! :banana:

You're making the kids outfits....as in sewing them???

[kschafer]

Yay for more May trippers!! :yay: Maybe I'll run into you

[staley7580]

Thank you! I do all that stuff so I have an outlet for my excitement. DH enjoys hearing all about it and he loves all things Disney, but he would prefer to be the passenger on these vacations. It works out VERY well! :banana:

You're making the kids outfits....as in sewing them???

:lmao:I totally understand! My husband sits and listens to me go on... and on.. and on!! I told him the other day that if we had to wait for him to plan a vacation.. we would never take one! Not that I would actually be able to sit back and let him take over the planning!:scared1::lmao:

Yep!! Here are the Minnie dresses I made for my girls. I have princess fabric dresses.. monkey dresses.. and actual princess gowns I made them. Plus for the boys I made them 3 button up shirts, and short sets.

http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r37/staley7580/babies174.jpg

[luvbeinamom]

Oh good grief!!!! Those are so stinkin' adorable! You are very talented and your kids are so lucky to have outfits handmade like that. Way to go! :cheer2:

[staley7580]

Oh! Thank you so much!! I am new to sewing.. those dresses are really simple. Thank goodness!! :lmao: The stuff you did is so creative.. I dont know that I could do it all!

[luvbeinamom]

Got my vacation package today!! I guess that's what it's called. We've never done the package, but because we added dining we got the book with all the coupons and luggage tags in it. It made it seem more real today! :cool1:

The kids are thrilled about the arcade points. I'm not an arcade fan so this year they were going to have to go piggy bank fishing if they wanted an arcade card. Man, that mouse always seems to find a way to make everyone happy! :thumbsup2

[wishin' on a star]

I'm so sorry that it's taken me forever to make my way over here!! All of your plans sound great, and I love all of the things you've made. I'm trying to do many of those things for my kids, when we go in May! Where did you find the pattern for the cute Kiss boxes?! :goodvibes

[luvbeinamom]

I'm so sorry that it's taken me forever to make my way over here!! All of your plans sound great, and I love all of the things you've made. I'm trying to do many of those things for my kids, when we go in May! Where did you find the pattern for the cute Kiss boxes?! :goodvibes

Hey! Thanks for reading!! I found the kiss boxes from one of the DISigners (jtanddolly). This (http://www.4shared.com/dir/18428241/4b39460d/sharing.html) is her 4 shared file. It's under Candy Wrappers and then Miscellaneous wrappers.

I got all of my designs from various DISigners, they are sooo creative!!

[Mouse's Shadow]

I love the PTR. I can identify with the Mountain Dew addiction. On our first trip to WDW, 14 years ago, we didn't realize that WDW was coke only property. After about 3 days, DH was going through withdraw. We came out of Epcot one night and you could see a gas station across the street. DH decided we should take a cab to the gas station for some Dew. The cabby asked why we wanted to go to the station. When DH told him he laughed and said, "you won't get any at that station, it's on Disney property." So he took us to the nearest 7/11 to get a case of Dew. By the time we got back to CBR that 12 pack of Dew cost us over $20.00:lmao:

I'm very impressed with all the great things you've prepared. We're going in Oct. I'm going with 2 friends, one is taking her 12 year old son. It will be his first trip. I'll have to come up with some special things for him.

[luvbeinamom]

I love the PTR. I can identify with the Mountain Dew addiction. On our first trip to WDW, 14 years ago, we didn't realize that WDW was coke only property. After about 3 days, DH was going through withdraw. We came out of Epcot one night and you could see a gas station across the street. DH decided we should take a cab to the gas station for some Dew. The cabby asked why we wanted to go to the station. When DH told him he laughed and said, "you won't get any at that station, it's on Disney property." So he took us to the nearest 7/11 to get a case of Dew. By the time we got back :wave2:to CBR that 12 pack of Dew cost us over $20.00:lmao:

I'm very impressed with all the great things you've prepared. We're going in Oct. I'm going with 2 friends, one is taking her 12 year old son. It will be his first trip. I'll have to come up with some special things for him.

Hey!! :wave2: Thanks for stopping by!!

My DH would have thought that was a well spent $2 :thumbsup2 I really never knew about the "Coke only" situation on Disney property until this week on the boards. We've always brought our own because we drive and we try to save money where we can so we just throw it in the car when we pack.

If you haven't already, you should take a look at the Creative DISigns thread, they have some incrediby creative people over there thinking up all kinds of extra magic stuff!! :banana:

[luvbeinamom]

Well, I started packing today. Not because of excitement (although yes, I'm incredibly excited!), but because my days feel overwhelming lately and packing helps me feel a bit more in control of things.

I went to the doctor today with an incredible fear that I had the start of chicken pox with just a little over 2 weeks until our vacation. It ends up it's just dermatitis folliculitis (that's his educated guess anyway, go figure). The curious thing is how I got it. I haven't been in a hot tub since I was like 12 and I wouldn't swim in a lake or pond if you paid me to. So, I started an antibiotic and I'm covered with unscented deoderant to help the spots dry up. An hour after my appt (and after I threw up the first dose), my daughter's teacher called saying she was sick. We have a lot of pollen issues around here so I wasn't surprised. Soooo, I decided to start packing some things for Disney. And it has cheered me up! :cool1:

I also volunteer at my daughter's school a lot and their annual fundraiser is the weekend before we leave, so I've been busting my butt to help get things ready for that.

Anyway, I certainly don't mean to sound whiney. I'm planning a Disney for vacation for cryin' out loud! Just wanted to share that I'm making today a happy day by packing for the trip. :banana:

[staley7580]

Yay for packing!!! I need to start, its not like we are going to need any summer clothes here before we leave.;):lmao:

[luvbeinamom]

I got to check in online this morning!! :banana: I really cannot believe how fast the last month has gone by. My parents used to make me go outside and run around the house until I was too tired to annoy them with all my excitement about an upcoming trip. I think my husband may soon ask that I give it a try this week. I am OVER THE MOON EXCITED!!! :cool1:

[staley7580]

I got to check in online this morning!! :banana: I really cannot believe how fast the last month has gone by. My parents used to make me go outside and run around the house until I was too tired to annoy them with all my excitement about an upcoming trip. I think my husband may soon ask that I give it a try this week. I am OVER THE MOON EXCITED!!! :cool1:
:lmao::lmao: Awesome!

[BabyEeyore]

Yay for being able to check in!!! How exciting that it is so close! :cool1:

[loveysbydesign]

lovin this report do far!

[Mouse's Shadow]

hmmmm.... running around the house. I'm going to have to make sure my husband doesn't see this thread, or he'll have me running laps.:rotfl2:

Yea for check in!:cheer2:

[luvbeinamom]

Hey!! :wave2: Thanks for stopping by!!

My DH would have thought that was a well spent $2 :thumbsup2

Ok, I'm sure you knew this already that I meant $20, but I just saw this error and it really bugs me when I do that!!

[luvbeinamom]

Wow, I can't believe I'm only 5 days away from vacation!! Last week was rough. Not bad, just busy. My DD6 had her school festival and I spent a lot of time at her school helping them get ready for it. I was able to get a lot of our trip stuff ready before I knew that would all happen, but I still found myself getting a bit depressed knowing I wasn't spending my time on Disney things. The festival was yesterday though and this morning I woke up dancing around the house again. :dance3: I made my list for the week and I can't believe how fast it has come around!

Still feeling a bit down, or maybe just a bit of stress. Since it's so close, my fun planning is all done and now I have the details and logistics to work on only and that's not really fun.

Totally not complaining though.....we're goin' to DISNEY!!!

:banana:

[Al and Kate's Mom]

Joining in - your goodies for the girls are AWESOME!!!:thumbsup2

[brinalyn530]

Ill be there at the same time!! We even have Hollywood studios planned for the same day! Gosh... seeing all the people going at the same time we are is getting me really excited!:lmao: I feel like Im 10 planning a birthday party or something.

How funny, my DS and I will be at WDW from May 1st to the 8th and our DHS day is... Tuesday! We may run into each other in line for TSMM - I have a feeling this will be a multiple repeat ride for us (can anyone say competitive ;))! We've been known to ride Buzz back to back about 8 times in a row (that was in January though, I don't know if we'd be willing to wait in line for a ride eight times in a row - but we'll see).

Here's hoping we all have supercalifragilistic vacations :thumbsup2!

Bree