Jedi, Princesses and Disney Geeks...Oh My!! The Sweet Sixteen go to Disney!6-11 New

belle8306

DIS Veteran
Joined
Mar 26, 2007
Welcome to a "Grand" pre-trip report!:cool1::thumbsup2:wizard: This will be a joint report between at least 4 Disers.
Myself, my SIL "FairyGodmotherJen", my BIL "GoofyJediMaster", and my DH "Leisure Ninja".

This trip has been in the works for 3 years. We all went together along with 5 other family members in 2007. It was a blast! We literally started planning our next trip before we left Disney property. Finally, our trip is approaching in June 2010 and we are so excited!

First of all I need to introduce who is going.
My husband and I
My SIL, BIL and their 3 children
My MIL and FIL
My DH's Uncle
My DH's cousin and her Goddaughter
My SIL's mom and aunt
My DH's grandmother and great aunt

I just started cracking up, just looking at that crazy list of people. Yes, we are all going together and it will be an adventure I am sure.

Trip Statistics (I like lists so you may see them a lot when I post):

1.We are all staying at CBR
2.Out of the 16 people going only 2 are first timers.
3.We will be on the Disney Dining Plan.
4.12 of us are from Indiana, 2 from New Mexico and 2 from Texas
5.My SIL and I are doing most of the planning and we have been blessed with a very easygoing group of people. They are content to let us plan and they are not demanding at all.
6.As you can tell from our title we have some big Disney fans in our group as well as some big Star Wars fans. We are going to be attending Star Wars weekends during our trip.


Some things you should know about my DH and I.
1.He is a graphic designer and I am a first grade teacher.
2.We have been married for 8 years and we honeymooned in Disney.
3.I have been to Disney 5 times and my DH has been there 6 times.
4.My favorite things at Disney include: Wishes, Soarin', World of Nations, Main Street USA, POTC and shopping in the many Disney stores.
5.My DH loves Rockin' Rollercoaster, Animation Courtyard, Wishes, Spectromagic, and POTC.
6.My DH is a huge Star Wars fan.
7. My favorite characters are Belle and Minnie and my DH likes Goofy.
8. We love Main Street Bakery cinnamon rolls, Kona Café, Tutto Italia and Wolfgang Puck Express.
9.We are not park commandos. We like to take breaks in the afternoon and we love to take in all of the sights, and sounds that Disney has to offer. We love all of the little details that truly make Disney a wonderful place to be.
10.My DH and I often talk about being snow birds when we retire. We can live in Indiana in the summer and live in Florida in the winter. We would love to work part time at Disney. However, seeing as how I just turned 30 we have a few more years before that will happen. :goodvibes


In 2007 our Grand Gathering included 10 people. My DH and I stayed at POR and the rest of our group stayed at ASMO. Some highlights of the trip included Star Wars weekend, a girls only outing to do the Behind the Seeds tour at Epcot, and a Wishes Fireworks cruise (so fun!).

In October 2008 my DH and I decided to see what Disney was like in the fall. We went on my Fall break and again stayed at POR (we love it there). Some highlights of that trip included “Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party”,the Food and Wine Festival and seeing all the fall decorations (not to mention it was sooooo nice to be there when it wasn’t blazing hot).

In June 2009 my DH and I took advantage of the buy 4 get 3 free plan and we went back this time staying at CSR. We enjoyed CSR but so far our heart still belongs to POR. Highlights from this trip included the “Keys to the Kingdom” tour, seeing Spectromagic and Illuminations for the first time and Star Wars weekends.

Now we are back to what my SIL and I love to do: Disney vacation planning. We love to “talk Disney” and we are true fans of all Disney has to offer. We both have Disney binders to help keep everything and everyone organized. So far, our trip is booked and we know who is going. We are working on picking our restaurants and trying to get a feel for the things that are most important for each person. We know that the trip will include a BBB experience, Star Wars weekend, Disney Quest, and golfing at Winter Summerland.

We also have been sending out a monthly newsletter to our Sweet 16 travelers and we have a special email for all Disney trip related correspondence. We even have started buying things to use on our trip. A little crazy? Just crazy for Disney!
 
Hello! I’m the SIL Shelley (Belle8306) mentioned above. Shelley and I are definitely the Disney nuts in the family, though both our husbands are catching up to us.

A little about us…here’s a group shot of our last trip in September of 2008.
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Me – Jen – 35, fourth grade teacher, a scrapbooker, and active in the music ministry at my parish. I’m also getting my masters degree as a Reading Specialist. It’s definitely cutting into my leisure time (mostly my DIS time), but I keep telling myself it’ll be worth it in the end. Really, it will….:faint: Anyway, I’ve been a Disney fan forever. My parents took us twice as kids – first it was just the Magic Kingdom, then it was MK and Epcot. We stayed at the Poly for a whole week, drove down, and loved every minute of it. I went back with friends in high school, and then Mom and Dad took us on a grown-up family vacation in 2000. Since then, we’ve taken the kids three times…we’re all hooked. It’s a bit alarming, really. My favorites include the Fairy Godmother (I was her in a musical in high school – my sad little claim to fame), Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Soarin’. I WILL ride Splash Mountain on this trip, too. This is me, DD and the lady herself -
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DH – Bryan – 35, IT guy extraordinaire, Star Wars nut (really anything sci-fi), soccer coach, and SuperDad. He went to Disney once as a kid, but didn’t stay on property. He went back on our family trip before kids in 2000, but it was the first time we took our kids (the two oldest, at least) in 2005 that he really caught the bug. We just had an amazing trip. It was one of the first free dining offers, and we were convinced it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to go. I took four days off of school and we went at the end of Sept/beginning of October. We had a total of two ADRs made, and stayed at ASMo. I can’t think of a better way to introduce the kids to Disney. Yes, we had our moments, especially with a four year old and a 20 month old in tow, but we had fun. We returned in 2007 with much of Bryan’s family, and again on our own in 2008. My kids have been waiting for 2010 ever since…and so have Bryan and I! His favorites at Disney include Sorcerer Mickey, Mission Space, Buzz Lightyear and Toy Story Mania.
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DD – Haley – 8 years old, third grader, princess and Tinkerbell fan, gymnast, and a great big sis. She was the first grandchild on either side, and so has always had a special place in the family’s heart. She’s pretty spunky and VERY stubborn. Right now, she’s a HUGE Fancy Nancy fan (if you’re the mother of a little girl under the age of 10 and haven’t read these books, you really need to!), and her Christmas list is going to have all types of “fancy” things for her bedroom on it. She goes to gymnastics every week and will eagerly show you how much her cartwheel and back bend have improved. She’s also just about to finish up her first season of soccer. She has, alas, also been corrupted by my DH and is a rabid Star Wars fan, though not nearly as much as her younger brother. She’s planning on being Princess Leia for Halloween. She loves Tinkerbelle and the princesses, and she’s hoping to see Ahsoka Tano at Star Wars Weekends. It’s a Small World has always been her favorite ride – this is her riding it in 2007…

(This is two years old, but it's still one of my favorites!)
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DS#1 – Jack – 5 (will be 6 this winter), Star Wars nut, video game guru (sigh) and happy Kindergartener. He lives for Star Wars at this point…he’s a miniature of his Daddy. He’s got Jedi robes for Halloween…Bryan says we need to get Haley a pair, too, for Star Wars Weekends, but my reply was that Mommy would NOT be carrying around two sweaty sets of Jedi robes when they’re too hot to wear in the June heat! He has found Legos through the Lego Starwars sets, and is hoping for several of them for his birthday and Christmas. He also enjoys playing soccer, and this is his fourth season. My MIL dubbed him “The Executive Producer of Entertainment,” and he is described by his teachers and my principal as “a hoot.” His favorites at Disney include Lightning McQueen and Mater, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin and Toy Story Mania. He’s so excited about Star Wars Weekends he can’t stand it!
Here he is last fall on the teacups…
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DS#2 – Will – 18 months (will be two for the trip), crazy toddler that is going to cause me to grow some major grey hair before he’s three, and already a Disney fan. No, I’m not exaggerating. He went on his first trip when he was not quite 5 months old (we decided to take advantage of free dining while I was on maternity leave). Of course, he didn’t seem incredibly impressed back then…in fact, he was the cause for our first (hopefully last) trip to the urgent care at Disney. Somehow, he managed to pinch off the top layer of his finger and we couldn’t get it to stop bleeding. He spent the rest of the trip with a sock over his hand to keep him from chewing on it. Now he’s a highly mobile 18 month old who can take the outlet covers out and plug the vacuum cleaner back in, climb up the computer chair in order to stand up on the computer desk and play with the printer, and surprised us on his first birthday by climbing all the way up the stairs to the second floor when we weren’t looking and giving us a heart attack when we couldn’t find him. We have, however, done something right, because any time he sees Mickey, Mater, Lightning McQueen, Buzz, or any of the Fab Five, he goes berserk! I took the child into the Disney Store the other day and I thought his head was going to explode. He didn’t know where to look first. This is Will at Chef Mickey’s getting to know the big guy…(I’ll post more recent pictures later, since this post is already really long).
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Anyway, that’s our immediate family. Shelley gave you most of the details above – going June 13-20, staying at CBR, etc…We’re excited about Star Wars Weekends, and about being in the parks with so many people that are close to us. Speaking of those folks, we’ll take a few minutes to introduce them in the next few posts. So, please join us for our crazy ride – we’ll try to help you keep up with our crazy cast of characters!
 
Picture Time!

My DH and I.
This picture was taken at POR in October 2008. We love this resort!
:love:

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I have stayed at POR 4 times. It is beautiful!:cloud9: We stayed at CSR in June and we enjoyed the change but we still love POR. I am really looking forward to staying at CBR this trip. I have been on the resort board looking at all of the pictures and it looks wonderful. :goodvibes

I was going to add a few more pictures but photobucket is giving me problems. So, I will save those for another day. :wave2:
 
I'm here! I'm here!!

I remember you looking forward to this trip like a year ago so I'm excited to see a PTR for it.

Great introductions and pictures! :goodvibes
 


I'm here! I'm here!!

I remember you looking forward to this trip like a year ago so I'm excited to see a PTR for it.

Great introductions and pictures! :goodvibes


Welcome! And thanks...we like to look at some of those folks, too...;) I hope we don't drive everyone away with all of our introductions - there are WAY too many! But there's no quiz at the end, I promise! :laughing:

I'm here too! Now, I've got to go back and read it thoroughly since I just skimmed through the first time.

Hey there! Thanks for coming over. We'll see how well we can keep this going, since we've got a few months to go yet! But Shelley and I are already hashing out dining ideas, so I think we'll have a few things to talk about. :rolleyes: Plus, when the DH's get here, it might get a little nutty....;)
 
Whew! Went back and read through all of the details. Looks like you girls have this trip planned out really well so far. We are CBR lovers to the core. I hope you fall in love with it just like we did.

I am hoping that we will be able to catch the first of Star Wars Weekends since we will be there part of the first week of June. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Looking forward to reading more!
 


I'm here! I'm here!!

I remember you looking forward to this trip like a year ago so I'm excited to see a PTR for it.

Great introductions and pictures! :goodvibes

I am so glad you are here!:cool1::thumbsup2 Yes, we have been looking forward to this trip for quite a while. I am so glad we are finally close enough to have a PTR for it.

Whew! Went back and read through all of the details. Looks like you girls have this trip planned out really well so far. We are CBR lovers to the core. I hope you fall in love with it just like we did.

I am hoping that we will be able to catch the first of Star Wars Weekends since we will be there part of the first week of June. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Looking forward to reading more!
Welcome! :goodvibes:yay: I hope we love CBR too! The pictures I have seen are beautiful. I can't wait to see it in person. I am going to check out your TR.
 
More pictures! I hope Photobucket is in a better mood today!

This is my SIL Jen and I in June 2007 on the Behind the Seeds tour. It was a lot of fun!:hippie:

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Here is my DH outside of MK before Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. We had a blast!:yay:
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This is a group photo from our trip in June 2007.:grouphug:
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A picture from POR.:cloud9:
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I love this picture of the castle.:wizard:
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DH and I at POR.:goodvibes
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I can't believe it is almost November already! That means one month closer to Disney!:woohoo: There is a lot to look forward to during this month which usually makes it go quickly. Here is run down of what I am looking forward to during November (and yes, some of them are Disney related).

This movie looks really good::happytv:

A Christmas Carol

I can't wait to get this soundtrack::cool1:

Glee

This movie comes out on DVD::happytv:

Up

I love Thanksgiving!:thumbsup2

Charlie Brown

The adventure that is Black Friday. Last year we went to the Disney store at midnight and didn't leave until 2 a.m.! It was a lot of fun!:yay:

Black Friday

Also Jen's b-day is in November. :bday:

Lots of things to look forward to !!:cool1::wizard::goodvibes
 
Our next big decision will be our dining. So far these are some ideas that we have:

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Disney Dining Ideas

Epcot
Tutto Italia (TS)
Cantina de San Angel (CS)

Animal Kingdom
Flame Tree BBQ (CS)

Magic Kingdom
Columbia Harbor House (CS)
Cosmic Rays (CS)
Crystal Palace (TS) *Breakfast*

MGM
Sci-Fi Dine In (TS)
Toy Story Pizza Planet (CS)

Resorts
CBR Food Court (CS)
Poly-Kona Café (TS)
Poly-Ohana (TS)
Contemporary-Chef Mickey’s (TS)
The Grand Floridian-1900 Park Fare (TS)

Downtown Disney
Wolfgang Puck Express (CS)
Earl of Sandwich (CS)

Alternates:

Epcot
Le Cellier (TS)
Chefs de France (TS)
Garden Grill (TS)
World Showcase (many CS options)
Sunshine Seasons (CS)

MGM
Mama Melrose (TS)

Animal Kingdom
Pizzafari (CS)


Magic Kingdom
Liberty Tree Tavern (TS)
Pecos Bills (CS)

We know that traveling with 16 people will mean that we won't be sitting at the same table and we are O.K. with that. We are flexible. We won't be making ADR's until December so we still have time to make our final decisions.

I have also been collecting a list of snack options. I always see these great snacks on the food review board. Sometimes I forget which park or restaurant they were at so I thought I would start my list now.

Snacks
Main Street Bakery: Cinnamon Rolls, Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches
Sleepy Hollow-Cappuccino Floats, Funnel Cakes
Aloha Isle-Pineapple Dole Whip
Goofy’s Candy Co.
Other: Soft Pretzels, Fudge, Cream Cheese Pretzels, Frozen Lemonade
France Bakery: Pastries, Chocolate Mousse
Norway Bakery: Sweet Almond Pretzel


Here are some pictures from June 2009. This was our first stay at CSR. We really enjoyed it.

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Hello Everyone, this is DH of Belle8306. I've read quite a few posts, but this is one of my first replies. I hope you find these little tid bits interesting enough to keep you coming back.

Ever since the first time I stepped foot in the MK, I've been hooked. I was too young to really realize the actual magnitude of things that can be done, experienced and remembered. As our group plans our next trip to the world, I find myself thinking of more and more things I want to do. Toy Story Mania, Star Wars Weekends, Rockin' Rollercoaster, Wishes and I think I can hear a Main Street Bakery Cinnamon Roll calling my name.

I'm a big fan of pin trading. There is a great excitement when you approach a CM with a pin trading lanyard. You don't know what they are going to have, but also, for some reason it doesn't seem to be that easy to ask to look at their pins. I know the pins don't really belong to them, but in my mind I have the feeling that they have some sentimental value. I know that they won't tell me no, but I am still nervous about hearing them say it. Maybe some day that will go away.

Well, I hope this has entertained you thus far. Until next time...
 
we liked CSR on our last trip as well, for christmas 08! but we thought the food court was alot pricier than the other resorts.

maybe cause it is a convention hotel and they charge the business guys more cause they dont pay it themselves.

:confused3
 
we liked CSR on our last trip as well, for christmas 08! but we thought the food court was alot pricier than the other resorts.

maybe cause it is a convention hotel and they charge the business guys more cause they dont pay it themselves.

:confused3

I agree with you about the prices at Peppermarket. If we weren't on the quick service plan we wouldn't have eaten there. The food was good but it was pricey.

I love the pictures of CSR! It looks really beautiful. :goodvibes


It is beautiful! Especially at night seeing all of the fountains and buildings lit up across the lake.
 
Well, since we don't have much to update I figure I will show you more pictures.


This is DH at DHS. He was really excited to see all of the signs for Star Wars weekends.
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They had a lot of these photo areas set up around the park.
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This is me at the CSR bus stop. The grounds at CSR are beautiful!
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DH at the Muppets store. Being a child of the 80's I love the Muppets. The 3D show could use a refurbishment but I still see it every time.
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More random thoughts to pass the time until we can make our ADR's.


First, I love this picture of the castle.
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Here is the "Ultimate Disney Survey". Feel free to respond with your own answers.


Which of the Fab Five is your favorite? Minnie
Who's the prettiest Disney Princess? They are all pretty. But I will go with Belle (no surprise, check out my screen name).
Who's the greatest Disney Prince? Prince Charming
Who's the best villain? Ursulla and Cruella DeVille
Have you ever dressed up as a Disney Character? No, but I did dress up as Strawberry Shortcake once and I won a contest to be in my town's parade. But that is a story for another day.
Are there any Disney Characters that you simply cannot stand? I am sorry to those that like him, but Wall E's voice drives me crazy.

Which movie was your favorite? So many!! Pixar:Finding Nemo, Animated: The Little Mermaid Live Action:Enchanted and Pirates 1
Which movie made you cry? Again, so many! Two that stand out Bambi and Pollyanna (when she fell out of the tree).

Have you ever been to Disneyland? No, but I would like to visit it someday.
Have you ever been to Disney World?Yes, 5 times.
Which park is the best? The Magic Kingdom
What's your favorite ride? POTC
What's your least favorite ride? Star Tours made me feel sick.

Would you ever work for Disney? YES!! Someday, I want to retire and work there part time.
Which is the best show at Disney? Wishes .
Which is the best restaurant? Kona Cafe and Tutto Italia
Which is the best hotel on Disney property? Port Orleans Riverside:love:
 
These pics are from June 2007.

POR:cloud9:
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My DH and his DB on the boat to POR. :rolleyes:

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Jen and I on the boat to POR. Pretending not to know the 2 guys pictured above.
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I'm back!! I'm sorry, Shelley - I've left you to keep this up on your own! But I'm doing better (antibiotics and steroids will do that for you...of course, they'll also give you heart palpitations and insomnia, but, hey...;)) and my classwork is done, and the Boards aren't down - so here you go!

First, I promised more up-to-date pictures of the kids. Here are a few from Halloween.

Leia, Obi-wan, and...their dog?? :) Will's costume is actually one that both the other kids wore (much cheaper). We told everyone he was Chewbacca...
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Jack really got into the action.
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And this is the two boys hamming it up...
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Finally, this is Will realizing that people were actually putting CANDY in his bucket - hey, this holiday might be pretty cool!!
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Here are a few of my favorite Disney pics in general.

This is actually after Disney in 2008 - we reused costumes last year, too, I guess. :rolleyes1
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All of us in 2007 (pre-Will) with Mater
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Jack after learning that breakfast with the princesses at Akershus could actually be kinda fun...:rotfl:
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And Miss Haley with Aladdin and the Genie - we'd never seen these guys before!
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Finally, another group shot from 2007.
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