NEWS FLASH: You must be 4YO to go to Disney! Oct '11 PTR, 10/24 WE'RE BACK! p 18

[mousescrapper]

Over the last couple months I've been doing some Disney shopping. Whenever I have a little extra cash or find an amazing deal I pick something up. I didn't think that I had bought very many things. I have a box that I have been keeping my purchases in. When I opened it this evening and started pulling things out it was like clowns emerging from a tiny car at the circus! OMG...where and when did I get all this stuff? I think maybe it multiplied in the box...like Gremlins in water!

I have one of those boxes too and of course i just did a little shopping for Oct and Jan and i think C-mass too last week online got myself another shirt too

And here it is outside of the cover:

I have the same bottle too, but mine has the DIS green color for the cover but you know I just set it in my DIS box and had never bothered to look at the bottle itself had no idea it was so cool on the inside too


love all the purchases...new Disney shirts is always a must!

 

[lbuzz52]

i love that water bottle! i think it was worth $6 for the cover alone! Congrats on getting your dh to wear disney shirts. i'm sure it was no small feat! i did the same thing with James and DHS tee shirts. they are just too cute and easy to find!

 

[exwdwcm]

Sounds like a little piece of heaven and a perfect Disney fix. I wish we had an outlet store nearby...that would be AWESOME!! Of course, chances are good I would spend more money there because of the deals!

I hope you guys have fun. I'll be looking forward to hearing what you score!

well i did it- we had a great time at Legoland discovery center and our visit to the disney store. I did about $50 in damage, got my visa discount! they had a ton of shirts- but i only ended up buying two for DS- one hawaiian button up with mickey for $10 on clearance for now and a pirates skeleton glow in the dark for the trip! i posted some pics in my TR of some of the other stuff i got. They had a TON of DL shirts, but i already bought a few last time, so I didn't get any for me. I know i want to buy a shirt in WDW, and i have quite a collection already, so unless i found something i absolutely love, i am trying not to buy anymroe for me.

 

[Parla]

Time for another update! This is a FUN one!

I had hoped to get this up a few days ago but this update is heavy on pics and I just haven't had time to take all the pictures and get them uploaded. I know I still have a few more days worth of trip details but I'll get back to that later!

Over the last couple months I've been doing some Disney shopping. Whenever I have a little extra cash or find an amazing deal I pick something up. I didn't think that I had bought very many things. I have a box that I have been keeping my purchases in. When I opened it this evening and started pulling things out it was like clowns emerging from a tiny car at the circus! OMG...where and when did I get all this stuff? I think maybe it multiplied in the box...like Gremlins in water!

For our trip I wanted to be sure that Caden had a new Disney shirt or 2, so awhile back I picked up this Pirate shirt at the Disney store:

It's a little hard to read in the picture. It says: Never Trust a Smiling Pirate!

Then just last week I got this on Clearance at the Disney Store. I thought it would be a good shirt for Caden to wear on our DHS day.

I was excited that Caden was going to have 2 new shirts to wear while in Disney. Well.....I COMPLETELY forgot that last year before Toy Story 3 came out I bought Caden 2 Toy Story tees in sizes that he could wear this year. Now Caden has 4 new shirts to wear while in Disney! Here's the Toy Story ones:

Of course...I couldn't let Caden be the only one with cute new shirts for Disney. So I did what any good mommy does...I bought shirts for myself too! They both came from the Disney Store and I LOVE them!

As much as I wanted Wayne to have a shirt or 2 as well I was pretty sure that he would be uncooperative and a Disney grump. A few weeks back we happened to be at Target and they had their "vintage style" men's T-shirts on sale for $8 and Wayne decided he wanted THIS shirt:

Woooohooo: I knew we were headed in the right direction now. I told Wayne that since Animal was a Muppet and there is a Muppets ride at DHS that he now had a shirt for our first park day! He just rolled his eyes at me.

Well, since he had agreed to wear a character shirt I figured I would take it upon myself to buy him another one. Hehe! I thought this shirt was appropriate for the attitude he was giving me about character shirts.

When I brought it home he actually said "I really like that shirt. It fits me well." At least he's a good sport about it!

I have just two more purchases (and a litte Disney Magic) to share tonight. Then you'll have to keep your eye out for the rest of my goodies in a future post.

Last week when I picked up the Agent P shirt and the Grumpy shirt I let Caden pick out a Vinylmation. I mentioned back on my Day 1 plans that I had picked up a Vinylmation for Caden's Welcome Package (Kaa from The Jungle Book: Villians Series). I wanted him to know what the Vinylmations were. I showed them to him at the Disney Store and let him choose what series he wanted. He chose Villians and this is what he got:

It's the Old Hag from Snow White! He was really excited about it and put it on the shelf in his room!

My last purchase is one with a little Disney Magic and Pixie Dust. On one of my trips to the Disney Store a few weeks back, one of the things I was considering purchasing was one of the aluminum water bottles. They were priced around $10 I think and I was trying to be frugal... so I decided NOT to buy one. I got to the checkout counter with my other purchases and noticed behind the counter they had the aluminum water bottles with the neoprene "bottle koozie" with carrying strap for $6 with a $25 purchase. Unfortunatley, I didn't have $25 in purchases. I asked the cashier if the bottles were only with a purchase or how much they were regularly (I was simply curious since they had the cover included). He said "You can get it for $6...I've had enough people say no to the offer today!" Yeeehaaaa....how AWESOME! I was really excited and could feel the Disney Magic. Here's the bottle:

And here it is outside of the cover:

I think it's just adorable...and for $6 it was a steal!

Thanks for stopping by for another update. Let me know what you think of my obsession/purchases! Stay tuned for more!

Aww, your post kind of made me sad. I've spent entirely too much on new shirts for us all. DD wanted that water bottle but I wouldn't buy it when she first saw it. Then when I went in while she was at camp I decided I was just going to get it for her bag and they were out. They had done the $6 thing the weekend before. They had some on their website and I was going to order one but I forgot and just checked. They don't have them anymore.

 

[momabbate]

Sorry I haven't comented more. Still here, I got way behind or never caught up. Sounds like a very fun trip. Can't wait to hear more. Love all your Disney purchases. I shouldn't buy any for this trip. I have so many disney shirts that I pick up here and there. Think all my tshirts are disney. Love your bottle. Had the idea to look on line too but guess thats not going to work. Also need to start my ptr soon or it will be to late.

 

[Pixiedust530]

I have the same bottle too, but mine has the DIS green color for the cover but you know I just set it in my DIS box and had never bothered to look at the bottle itself had no idea it was so cool on the inside too


love all the purchases...new Disney shirts is always a must!

Too funny! Glad you like the bottle on the inside too. I'm willing to bet that the DIS green cover never comes off of yours though!

Since I haven't been to Disney since 2006 I didn't have ANY Disney shirts for me so those purchases were DEFINITELY a must!

i love that water bottle! i think it was worth $6 for the cover alone! Congrats on getting your dh to wear disney shirts. i'm sure it was no small feat! i did the same thing with James and DHS tee shirts. they are just too cute and easy to find!

The closer the trip gets the more Wayne is starting to come around! We actually went to the Disney Store today and I picked up a Mickey shirt and nonchalantly said "I might pick this one up for you too!" He just said "Okay, that's cool!" I couldn't believe it! I may just have him converted...MAYBE!

well i did it- we had a great time at Legoland discovery center and our visit to the disney store. I did about $50 in damage, got my visa discount! they had a ton of shirts- but i only ended up buying two for DS- one hawaiian button up with mickey for $10 on clearance for now and a pirates skeleton glow in the dark for the trip! i posted some pics in my TR of some of the other stuff i got. They had a TON of DL shirts, but i already bought a few last time, so I didn't get any for me. I know i want to buy a shirt in WDW, and i have quite a collection already, so unless i found something i absolutely love, i am trying not to buy anymroe for me.

YEY for Disney purchases....they're so much fun! I will head over and check out your PTR! I'm sure they are cute!

Aww, your post kind of made me sad. I've spent entirely too much on new shirts for us all. DD wanted that water bottle but I wouldn't buy it when she first saw it. Then when I went in while she was at camp I decided I was just going to get it for her bag and they were out. They had done the $6 thing the weekend before. They had some on their website and I was going to order one but I forgot and just checked. They don't have them anymore.

Awww....sorry to make you sad! There have been a few things I wanted and waited too long and now they don't have them anymore either. Grrrrrr! Although, it seems like the next thing they come out with I love even more. Who knows, maybe they'll have another bottle with a cover! and for you!

Sorry I haven't comented more. Still here, I got way behind or never caught up. Sounds like a very fun trip. Can't wait to hear more. Love all your Disney purchases. I shouldn't buy any for this trip. I have so many disney shirts that I pick up here and there. Think all my tshirts are disney. Love your bottle. Had the idea to look on line too but guess thats not going to work. Also need to start my ptr soon or it will be to late.

No worries! Glad you're still on board. I know what you mean about getting way behind or never caught up...I'm guilty of the same!

I'll keep an eye out for your PTR....would love to hear more about your trip.

 

[Pixiedust530]

Hello everyone! I hope everyone has had a nice weekend. Mine was busy but fun. It's time to share our Day 5 plans....the most anticipated day of our trip (at least for me)! Magic Kingdom!

Day 5 - Magic Kingdom - Wednesday, October 19

We will be up bright and early to get over to MK about 30-40 minutes before Rope Drop. I have never seen the opening ceremony and I REALLY want to be there for it. From what I have read, it sounds adorable!

Our day is JAM-PACKED and I think I have reworked our Touring Plan 5 times for this day. It's driving me batty. I have used several of the pre-made touring plans from the Unofficial Guide as well as the plans on their site and tweaked them for our family. I think I have a good plan in place, but we'll see. I have never used a touring plan (or any plan for that matter) in the parks and I really hope this will help us achieve as much as possible on our To-Do list.

At RD we'll head straight to Tomorrowland, grab a FP for Space Mtn. for Wayne and I, ride Buzz's Space Ranger Spin and then head to Fantasyland.

In Fantasyland, we'll kinda fly by the seat of our pants. We'll check wait times, utilize FP if necessary or skip something if it puts too much of a wrinkle in the touring plan. On the agenda in Fantasyland is Dumbo (only if the line is short and Caden is interested), Snow White, Peter Pan, Pooh, and Small World.

Next we'll be heading to Liberty Square to ride one of my FAVORITES... The Haunted Mansion.

Moving right along to Frontierland, we'll ride Big Thunder Mountain railroad if the wait is less than 15 minutes, otherwise it will be a Fastpass!

Next it's off to Adventureland to ride Pirates of the Caribbean....another one of my favorites!

By this time I am sure we will be ready for a break with our fast-paced morning touring plan. We have a 12:45 ADR for lunch at Crystal Palace with Pooh & the gang.

After lunch it's time for more touring. The plan is to grab FP for the Mickey Meet & Greet and then head back to Tomorrowland. We'll slow down a bit for the afternoon, but basically do another "lap" around the park starting in Tomorrowland again. We'll ride the People Mover while our lunch settles and then Wayne and I will use our Space Mtn FP while my grandparents and Caden wander around. We'll catch Mickey's PhilharMagic in Fantasyland, hit anything we might have a FP for (Peter Pan or Pooh) and then head on to Frontierland. We'll use our BTMRR FP (if we have them) and then hit anything else that interests us.

The general idea is to get our MUST do's out of the way in the morning (or at least have FP to do them later) and then do our other stuff after lunch. Things we might do include Jungle Cruise, Tom Sawyer's Island, Tiki Room and Liberty Square Riverboat. We'll grab a CS meal when we're hungry, probably at Columbia Harbour House or somewhere on the west side of the park. After dinner we'll hop on the WDW Railroad in Frontierland and ride it around to Main Street.

When we disembark on Main Street we'll hopefully use our FP to meet Mickey then spend some time in the shops on Main Street before finding a spot for Main Street Electrical Parade at 8pm and Wishes at 9pm.

It will be a SUPER LONG day, but we do have a FULL day at the resort the day before. I also plan to bring a stroller for Caden this day. He doesn't use a stroller at all at home anymore, but I think he'll definitely need it this day! Heck...I might need it for ME by the end of the day!

 

[newmommy_2010]

Hello! Just finding your PTR! Great so far! So jealous of all your goodies you find at the Disney Store...The closest one to me is 3 hours away! Can't wait to read more!

 

[Pixiedust530]

Hello! Just finding your PTR! Great so far! So jealous of all your goodies you find at the Disney Store...The closest one to me is 3 hours away! Can't wait to read more!

to the party! Better late than never! Glad to have you on board....even with that silly wildcat avatar to the left! I happen to be partial to Cardinals but I'll let it slide since you're a Disney fanatic!

Sorry you don't have a Disney Store closer! Not sure if you're much of an online shopper, but I have found few good deals on the Disney Store website. You might try there! I'll send you some Pixiedust!

 

[Parla]

So, your plan sounds good and has made me realize that I really need more pictures in my PTR. Let me get right on that.

 

[Pixiedust530]

So, your plan sounds good and has made me realize that I really need more pictures in my PTR. Let me get right on that.

Thanks! As I was typing out the plans I got a little worried that I was trying to cram TOO much into one day! As I was typing I also convinced myself (and hopefully my readers) that it is a totally doable touring plan!

As for the pictures....yeah, after reading other's PTRs I thought mine was a little dull and needed pics. Everyone loves pics right? I LOVE Google Images....however the pic of It's A Small World is MINE from my 2006 trip!

 

[Parla]

Thanks to google images a lot of PTR pictures look familiar.

Do you save the images to your computer and use a hosting service? I wish there was a way to post the pic without saving it first. I may be really ignorant and missing an easy step here.

 

[mousescrapper]

MK thoughts...


I think it is a doable plan you should be well rested from your resort day and ready to go...here's a couple ideas/tips!

* RD stay toward the right side entrance don't be to far up though

* once enter park decide who's going to "run" for the Space Mt FP ahead of time and go as fast as you can...others will be too...the rest of your party can meander down Main Street to meet at Buzz. If you cut to the right right by the Ice cream Palor you'll cut through sitting area and CS area. They have another rope there and will let you in to TL area shortly

* for Fantaslyland...Peter Pan line will grow the fastest besides Dumbo you may want to go there next! allow extra time in the WTP queue area it is most fun!

* for eve parade...keep in mind Main Street is always the most crowded location to watch...allow extra time for that

* visit the hat shop for custom ears too! be fun first trip memory for caden and "welcome back" souvie for you

* if you eat at CHH eat upstairs always more quiet !

Have a great DAY!

 

[stephielela]

All caught up!! I love your shirts! I do the same thing, I buy stuff and put it away and then nd up having way too much. For our Christmas trip last year I had a few small presents for Jack everyday. Some days I ended up holding one back (they were all small stuff) and consequently came home with a few still wrapped... which are still in my basement. I need to dig them out and add them to the rapidly growing pile for this trip!

Your plans look ambitious, but doable. I think it's always better to have too much planned and have to skip a couple things than to not have enough and then not know what to do next.

I need to start on my touring plans...

 

[Pixiedust530]

Thanks to google images a lot of PTR pictures look familiar.

Do you save the images to your computer and use a hosting service? I wish there was a way to post the pic without saving it first. I may be really ignorant and missing an easy step here.

Haha...yeah Google Images Rocks!!!

I do save the pics to my computer first and then I use Photobucket. What I have been doing is typing up my post (without the pics), then Google searching all at once the pics I need for my post, then I upload them all at once to Photobucket, do a quick resize and then copy the IMG code and place in the PTR where necessary. It is a little time consuming, but I found that doing the pics all at once saved A LOT of time!

MK thoughts...


I think it is a doable plan you should be well rested from your resort day and ready to go...here's a couple ideas/tips!

I'm glad someone thinks my plan is doable!

* RD stay toward the right side entrance don't be to far up though

* once enter park decide who's going to "run" for the Space Mt FP ahead of time and go as fast as you can...others will be too...the rest of your party can meander down Main Street to meet at Buzz. If you cut to the right right by the Ice cream Palor you'll cut through sitting area and CS area. They have another rope there and will let you in to TL area shortly

Excellent advice! Thanks! RD is a new experience for me but totally up my alley! Tips are MUCH appreciated!

* for Fantaslyland...Peter Pan line will grow the fastest besides Dumbo you may want to go there next! allow extra time in the WTP queue area it is most fun!

I had forgotten about the new queue are in WTP! Thanks. I'm kind of hoping we can bypass Dumbo altogether, but if Caden wants to ride I won't say no!

* for eve parade...keep in mind Main Street is always the most crowded location to watch...allow extra time for that

I'm not yet sure exactly where we will watch the parade/fireworks from. It might be Main Street or somewhere else. We'll probably just meander up Main Street and see!

* visit the hat shop for custom ears too! be fun first trip memory for caden and "welcome back" souvie for you

Much to my dismay, Caden has seen pics of Mickey ears and he says he doesn't want them. He has properly informed me that he wants a Goofy Hat! We'll see I guess!

* if you eat at CHH eat upstairs always more quiet !

Have a great DAY!

I know we will have a GREAT day! I am the most excited about MK....which is part of my reasoning for scheduling it midweek and also the day after a break!

Thank you SOOOOOO much for all the wonderful tips and advice. It's people like you that make the DIS Awesome!

All caught up!! I love your shirts! I do the same thing, I buy stuff and put it away and then nd up having way too much. For our Christmas trip last year I had a few small presents for Jack everyday. Some days I ended up holding one back (they were all small stuff) and consequently came home with a few still wrapped... which are still in my basement. I need to dig them out and add them to the rapidly growing pile for this trip!

Your plans look ambitious, but doable. I think it's always better to have too much planned and have to skip a couple things than to not have enough and then not know what to do next.

I need to start on my touring plans...

AMBITIOUS! Yes...that's exactly what I was going for! I know we will probably have to skip some things, but my hope is that our travel dates, combined with Rope Drop and an executable plan will help us to achieve as much as possible! I wish we could add a few more days on but it's just not in the budget.

 

[Pixiedust530]

Before I get back to our daily plans...I have a short life update.

If you've been following along from the beginning you know that I mentioned that my mom may or may not be able to go with us on the trip. She has known since January that we were going and has had all this time to save up the money for her portion (which is only like $700)...that's park tix and dining plan and her portion of the room she will share with my grandparents. She would save a little $$ and then dip into it and spend it. Anyway...end of May/beginning of June rolled around and she basically didn't have any $$ saved. She told my grandma to let me know she wouldn't be able to go (she didn't have the guts to tell me herself). My mom has some addiction problems and is also bipolar, so a part of me never really expected her to get her butt in gear and save the $$. I am used to being let down by her, but I had hoped for Caden's sake that she could do this for him. So, while I wasn't surprised by her cancellation I was still a little disappointed.

Fast forward about a week down the road and there were some drastic changes. My mom finally got away from her abusive boyfriend (after about 13 years), she went to a week long Christian Women's retreat/program to help get to the root of why she makes bad choices, and started going to AA meetings again. Tomorrow marks 60 days clean and sober. In that short time she has already saved almost $450 for the trip. It's still unclear if she will have enough by Aug. 20, which is when the trip has to be paid in full, but more on that in a minute. Meanwhile...my older brother travels for his job a ton and has miles/points saved up on SW. He decided to get my mom airfare to Disney for her birthday, which was July 28. He managed to get her on the same flights as my grandparents. The airfare wasn't really necessary because she had planned to ride down with us, but he said the miles expired 12/31 and he didn't have anywhere he was traveling to use them, so it was no loss to him. He also said that if my mom didn't have enough $$ saved by the time the final payment is due that he would cover her portion and she could earn it by cleaning his house and do other odd jobs for him.

So......long story short, it looks like my mom will be going with us after all. The best part is that not only will she be going with us, but she will be clean and sober, is on medication for her bipolar disorder and is in the BEST place she has been in over 15 years.

I got lucky on our package prices also. When my grandma told me my mom wouldn't be going I had her removed from the reservation and then of course had to add her back on last week. Even though Disney raised ticket prices back in June, the changes I made (both removing her and re-adding her) didn't change our prices. We are still locked in at the old price. YEY!


One more little update:
I got tired of waiting to see if The Pirates League was going to extend their hours for MNSSHP nights. I had booked Caden a 3:15pm appt. on the day we are going to MNSSHP just in case, but the only way I could get us in the park before 4pm (party entry time) was to upgrade our park tix to hoppers. I really hate to upgrade JUST for this reason since we won't likely hop otherwise, but I bit the bullet and did it! We now have 5 day park hoppers! Of course, you know me, now that I have them I am trying to figure out how we can maximize our use of the hoppers and maybe hop on another day or 2. IDK!

Keep your eyes peeled for more daily itinerary updates!

 

[Parla]

That's great news about your mom!

I'm glad you decided to park hop since it is what will work best for you. I love my schedule which doesn't need hopping but know I can add it when we get there if something changes.

 

[mousescrapper]

Thank you SOOOOOO much for all the wonderful tips and advice. It's people like you that make the DIS Awesome!

awww that is so sweet, thanks


that is a huge Praise and wonderful news about your Mom and how nice of your brother to make this happen for her and you all...I hope her road to full recovery and a new peace continues

 

[DisneyMom14]

It is so great to hear the good news about your mom!!!

 

[Pixiedust530]

That's great news about your mom!

I'm glad you decided to park hop since it is what will work best for you. I love my schedule which doesn't need hopping but know I can add it when we get there if something changes.

Thank you! She's doing great!

We don't really NEED hoppers....except of course for that Pirates League appt...but I really want Caden to have that experience so for me it's worth the cost!

awww that is so sweet, thanks

that is a huge Praise and wonderful news about your Mom and how nice of your brother to make this happen for her and you all...I hope her road to full recovery and a new peace continues

You're welcome!

Thank you! My brother is wonderful, and he has the financial ability to be able to make things like this happen....I don't! This trip took A LOT of financial planning to be able to make it work! My mom has been to AA meetings and even inpatient rehab before, but it seems different this time! I hope THIS is the time that she stays strong and doesn't give up!

It is so great to hear the good news about your mom!!!

Thank you so much!