Can't Plan for Baby? Better Plan for Disney! -- PTR

oboedm

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jul 26, 2009
Welcome to my second PTR! My name is Paula and I love WDW! We have been three times in the past 2.5 years, but more on our Disney history later…

In the meantime, here is a picture of my wonderful husband and me! I am 30 years old and he is almost 35. This picture was part of the photo shoot we did for our 2011 Christmas cards.

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I don’t have the greatest track record on the DIS, but I am determined to follow through! I always have so much fun reading PTRs and TRs, and I really want to complete my own!

I never finished my TR for September of 2010, never created a PTR or TR for my February 2011 trip. I may include some details from both of those trips in this PTR, who knows?

My plan is to update the PTR at least once a week. Throughout the week, I will respond to comments and read other PTRs/TRs. We'll see if that sticks!

This PTR may be two PTRs in one. I know that I am going to WDW in 2013 with my sister's family, but I am also considering a trip with my husband this December. We will see though—it all depends on when we have a baby—hence the title of my TR!

I have learned, (or I am trying to learn), that you can't really plan for a baby. Believe me, I have tried for three years! So... I might as well spend my time planning for Disney!

Stay turned for more information: introductions, our TTC experience, tentative ideas for the two trips, etc! Should be fun!
 
Joining in! You really can't plan for a baby. We tried for a little over 3 years and were starting to look into adoption and then one valentine's day....:rolleyes1:goodvibes
 


I'm here too! Thought I'd jog over to your PTR and have a read! It didn't take long! I look forward to reading about your journey! Remember, anything worth having is hard work.
 
Hi Paula! Can't wait to read about the upcoming trips! Wishing you the best with TTC!
 
Joining in! You really can't plan for a baby. We tried for a little over 3 years and were starting to look into adoption and then one valentine's day....:rolleyes1:goodvibes

That is good to know! I still hold out hope! Your girls are super cute, by the way! I have enjoyed reading your latest TR!

Hi Paula! I'm joining in! I am excited to hear about your trip details, and your TTC journey as well! :goodvibes

Thanks, Courtney! It's good to have you here! Your honeymoon TR was amazing! You two are super cute together!

I'm here too! Thought I'd jog over to your PTR and have a read! It didn't take long! I look forward to reading about your journey! Remember, anything worth having is hard work.

Welcome! I will keep reminding myself of that! I am sure I will be so thankful when things finally work out for us!

Hi Paula! Can't wait to read about the upcoming trips! Wishing you the best with TTC!

Good to see you here! I have enjoyed hearing about your trips as well... you almost have me convinced to by DVC, but we figure we should probably have a couple of kiddos first, LOL! For many people, getting pregnant is free! Such a baffling thought to me at this point.
 


Cast of Characters: December Trip and Random Ramblings

DH (Evan): Likes Goofy, Tower of Terror, Expedition Everest, etc. Turning 35 next month. Training Administrator for the same university (we carpool to work!). Loves WDW and DLR, but I don’t think he gets cravings for it like I do. He enjoys it when we go, and likes having a trip on the horizon. However, he isn’t involved much in the planning process. He will give his opinions when prompted, though, so that’s a good thing.

Here is a picture of Evan from our November 2011 trip to Disneyland:


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Me (Paula): Likes Donald, Expedition Everest, BTMRR, etc. Turning 31 in June. Staff/faculty member for a university. Please don’t hold typos against me! I don’t proofread much on the boards. I love my job, and it has enabled us to take so many Disney trips within the last few years. I do plan to quit my staff job when I have kids and only teach courses part-time. That is the goal anyway. We will see if that works out!

Here is a picture of me during out November 2011 trip to Disneyland. More on this later:


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We are celebrating our 10th anniversary this year! We started dating, got engaged and married all within a matter of months. Sure, we knew each other as friends for a year and a half, but still. We had our first date at the end of Feb, got engaged at the end of March, and got married at the beginning of June—a day before my 21st birthday! Here is a picture! Ah, to be that skinny again!

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We are still trying to figure out what to do for this milestone. Last night I suggested a nice dinner the weekend after our anniversary, which is probably what we will do. I really don’t want to spend the money on a trip in June, as I want to go to WDW in December. He doesn’t know about my plans yet—maybe I will keep it a surprise!

Additionally, I am training to become a labor and postpartum doula, childbirth educator and lactation consultant, so we are “investing” money into that this year. He says it is investing, which makes me feel super supportive! Anyway, with all of these upcoming expenses, I really need to do better about my spending habits, LOL! :scared1:

Maybe Baby?
– If we get pregnant this month, our little Dexter or Ramona will travel with us. We would be due on Halloween, give or take a couple of days. It all depends on when our IUI is scheduled this month. I have a day 10 ultrasound scheduled for Sunday morning, and this cycle I am taking both Clomid and Menopur. If we don't have a kid by then, that will be just fine. It can be a little babymoon for us. :lovestruc

Anyway, the kid will be about 5-6 weeks old at the time, and I think that having something to look forward to will help me in the postpartum period. I have been around babies a lot, so traveling with a small one won’t be too overwhelming (I think). I plan to breastfeed and hope to be comfortable with that by the time we leave. My sisters feed in public all the time, so I am comfortable with nursing covers and all that public feeding entails.

My sisters (all three) have nursing covers like this:
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Courtesy, kids-n-cribs.com

But I think I am going to get one like this. I will probably sew it myself, adding a little more stiffness at the top so that I can see the baby eating a bit better.
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Courtesy, yourpregnancyandbeyond.com

Additionally, I think it will be nice to put the baby in the carrier on some rides and for activities like the Maharaja Jungle Trek. I already have an Ergo Baby carrier, which I love to use with my nephew (he is 10 months old). I will either get the infant insert for that (so that it works with a smaller baby) or whole different carrier for the infant stage. I have heard that the Moby wrap is a great choice for small babies.

Here is the Ergo with the infant insert. I have a black carrier.
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Courtesy, bambinipronto.com

Here is what a moby wrap looks like.
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Courtesy, granolababies.com

Now, if we get REALLY lucky and end up with two, this trip won’t happen. I can’t imagine taking two small babies to the parks and financially we probably wouldn’t be able to make it work.

I think I would be fine with twins, though. It is like getting a two for one deal at the fertility clinic! Additionally, we think that we only want two kids, so we would be done with pregnancies in one shot. :thumbsup2

Random Ramblings-- You all need to go to the store right now and buy Ben and Jerry's Carrot Cake Ice Cream. It's AMAAHHZING (as Penny from Happy Endings would say).

Also, did anyone else see the premiere of Alcatraz on Monday? It had a LOST feel, which makes me happy. A show about a mysterious island produced by J.J. Abrams? Is it 2004 again? If you didn't watch it, what do you watch? Evan and I are Pop Culture Junkies.
 
Thanks for the sweet compliment on my girls. Congrats on 10 years. I really hope you get pregnant this cycle. I had to laugh at your comment on two for the price of one.:rotfl2:
I'm into reality shows. This winter I've been watching the Bachelor and right now American Idol. I like AGT and Big Brother is really big in my house. The Biggest Loser always inspires me to go to the gym the next day.:cool1::goodvibes
 
Great intro!

I can sympathize with the TTC journey, it took us a long time to get pregnant with my DS, so I understand your frustration. I'm hoping that this cycle is the one and you end up with the baby of your dreams!

Going with a 5-6 week old baby isn't going to be easy, but if you are determined, you can certainly make it work. I took DS to my brothers wedding (which involved a 6 hour car ride, and overnight hotel stay) when he was 10 days old, and if I can do it, anyone can!

I don't know if I would fly with a baby that little, but if you are within driving distance, then go for it!

Oh, and have you checked out the Becco Gemini carrier? Its similar to the Ergo, but it also has a front facing option. I have the Becco butterfly and really like it, but if we ever get blessed with baby #2, I'm going to sell it for the Gemini. Plus they have such cute prints! :goodvibes
 
Hey there! Love the intro! I wish you the best of luck ttc! I was blessed to have 4 kids and I recognize that... but I am a bit familiar with the frustration of ttc not working well. Our last took an extra long time to get to us (hence why there is a 10 year gap between my youngest son and youngest daughter) There were quite a few struggles along the journey to having her... so I empathize what others go through when their ttc journey is not a simple one.

And... doula? I have not practiced in some time, but I was certified as a doula... it was very rewarding work. I cherish that time. I wish you the best of luck with that as well. I wish I had been more successful with it. With a young child of my own and moving outside of where most of my clients lived it just became too difficult to continue and be the kind of doula that I wanted to be.:sad2:

And...your random ramblings... :rotfl: Just got done watching Happy Endings... LOVE that show!!! Missed the pilot of Alcatraz though...so have that set to record the next time it airs.:thumbsup2
 
I'm joining too! Sounds like a fun year ahead. I'm interested to hear about your TTC story. We tried for almost a year for this LO, and now I'm 2.5 weeks away from my due date. :goodvibes It royally sucked and I definitely understand what you're going through, I hope this is the cycle for you!! I had a m/c in March and then got preggo on my first try of Clomid after that in May, but we were definitely planning on an IUI if a couple more months went by.

I was also secretly hoping for twins :cutie: hehehe and we're taking our first trip to WDW in October when she's about 8 months old. But actually our first trip will be in April sometime (probably) to visit my grandparents in Texas, so her first flight will also be around the 6 week mark. You should be fine!! (from what I've ready anyway...LOL...).

Anyway good luck with it all and let us know how this cycle goes & the ultrasound sunday!
 
Hello! I followed you here from Courtney's PTR... being a bit of a PTR/TR addict I said hey why not?!?!? That was a great shot from your wedding!

I hope this is your cycle, and I hope you get you 2 for 1 deal; even if it means no Disney! ;)

Those BF covers look very pretty! I never really found one I liked so I did the pump and carry, my how things have changed in what 3 years! :eek:
 
Hey, I am joining you for your ride. Wishing you all the baby dust out there as you TTC.

Hope you def. make it out to Disney in December. We are going then too with our 26months (by then) for her first real trip.

Was looking at the products you posted. We love our Ergo. It's awesome. The moby wrap was great too, but I loved the ergo even more.

Awesome you hope to nurse. It's a great experience. I hear the baby center at MK is awesome and has some nice nursing areas. I didn't care about nursing in public either. Baby has to eat. (When you get to that point, there is a thread on the family boards here on the Dis about nursing at Disney.)

Ok, looking forward to hearing about your plans. We are just starting down the planning road as well.
 
I'm joining in. We are also ttc and I am having a hard time trying to fit my Disney trips in without knowing when it will happen. Right now we are giving Disney a break until Nov. 2013 but if we haven't gotten pregnant by fall of 2012 I am going to take our DD7 for a girls only trip.

DH thinks I am crazy for wanting to take a (hopefully) 1 year old to WDW, I can't imagine what he would say if I wanted to take a small baby. We waited until DD was 5 for her first trip and once we went I said we are starting earlier with any future kids.

Best of luck ttcpixiedust:
 
Hehehe, love the 2 for 1 deal! Here's hoping that you'll have a little one joining you on your trip! I will be very interested to see how you handle traveling with such a little baby if you get pregnant soon. We are hoping to have a baby soon, too (working on it ;)) and I know the smart thing would probably be to wait until he or she is about 2 years old to go to Disney, but I can't stay away that long! Right now we're going about every 8 months, so I have a feeling that we will one day be traveling with a small baby as well.

Good luck with your ultrasound! If we're not pregnant by Spring I'm going to start Clomid as well (found out I have PCOS a few months ago :sad1:) I hope it is successful for you! :goodvibes
 
I saw your link in Courtney's PTR and now I'm along for the ride here as well! I hope you get your BFP (big fat positive :woohoo: ) this month! I think the Ergo is a great choice for a newborn or young baby at WDW, but the Moby Wrap would work as well. It's really easy to nurse a baby wearing a Moby! Plus there are so many different carrying styles, you would get a lot of mileage out of it (though the same can be said for the Ergo). They are both great imo! Of course, if you have twins, you might just end up getting a Moby so that you have one for you and one for your husband to wear! :goodvibes
 
Joining in! I love your wedding picture, You two look like fun people! I'll be sending positive baby vibes your way and looking forward to your planning details, as well as your baby details since pretty soon we'll be trying for our first too!
 
Great intro!

I can sympathize with the TTC journey, it took us a long time to get pregnant with my DS, so I understand your frustration. I'm hoping that this cycle is the one and you end up with the baby of your dreams!

Going with a 5-6 week old baby isn't going to be easy, but if you are determined, you can certainly make it work. I took DS to my brothers wedding (which involved a 6 hour car ride, and overnight hotel stay) when he was 10 days old, and if I can do it, anyone can!

I don't know if I would fly with a baby that little, but if you are within driving distance, then go for it!

Oh, and have you checked out the Becco Gemini carrier? Its similar to the Ergo, but it also has a front facing option. I have the Becco butterfly and really like it, but if we ever get blessed with baby #2, I'm going to sell it for the Gemini. Plus they have such cute prints! :goodvibes

I haven't checked those out yet, but I will! I do like the front facing idea... I worry about other carriers because the front facing options look so uncomfortable. I wouldn't want to be dangling from that part of my body, LOL!

We aren't within driving distance, so we will see. The direct flight would only be 3.5 hours, I think, which isn't too awful. I found this awesome plane/baby thing (I'll post about it at some point) and I am thinking about trying to make my own (as opposed to paying $50 for it).

Hey there! Love the intro! I wish you the best of luck ttc! I was blessed to have 4 kids and I recognize that... but I am a bit familiar with the frustration of ttc not working well. Our last took an extra long time to get to us (hence why there is a 10 year gap between my youngest son and youngest daughter) There were quite a few struggles along the journey to having her... so I empathize what others go through when their ttc journey is not a simple one.

And... doula? I have not practiced in some time, but I was certified as a doula... it was very rewarding work. I cherish that time. I wish you the best of luck with that as well. I wish I had been more successful with it. With a young child of my own and moving outside of where most of my clients lived it just became too difficult to continue and be the kind of doula that I wanted to be.:sad2:

And...your random ramblings... :rotfl: Just got done watching Happy Endings... LOVE that show!!! Missed the pilot of Alcatraz though...so have that set to record the next time it airs.:thumbsup2

Wow! It's nice to meet another doula... I am glad that you enjoyed the work so much. I only plan on taking a few clients each year-- something to fund a small Disney trip, LOL!

I'm joining too! Sounds like a fun year ahead. I'm interested to hear about your TTC story. We tried for almost a year for this LO, and now I'm 2.5 weeks away from my due date. :goodvibes It royally sucked and I definitely understand what you're going through, I hope this is the cycle for you!! I had a m/c in March and then got preggo on my first try of Clomid after that in May, but we were definitely planning on an IUI if a couple more months went by.

I was also secretly hoping for twins :cutie: hehehe and we're taking our first trip to WDW in October when she's about 8 months old. But actually our first trip will be in April sometime (probably) to visit my grandparents in Texas, so her first flight will also be around the 6 week mark. You should be fine!! (from what I've ready anyway...LOL...).

Anyway good luck with it all and let us know how this cycle goes & the ultrasound sunday!

Thanks for your support! I always love hearing success stories. It helps me keep my hopes up! I am glad you are taking yours on a flight at 6 weeks. I can learn from your triumphs and such!

Hello! I followed you here from Courtney's PTR... being a bit of a PTR/TR addict I said hey why not?!?!? That was a great shot from your wedding!

I hope this is your cycle, and I hope you get you 2 for 1 deal; even if it means no Disney! ;)

Those BF covers look very pretty! I never really found one I liked so I did the pump and carry, my how things have changed in what 3 years! :eek:

I am a TR, PTR addict as well! I was a lurker for a long time, but came out of the shadows a year or so back. Thanks for your support!

Hey, I am joining you for your ride. Wishing you all the baby dust out there as you TTC.

Hope you def. make it out to Disney in December. We are going then too with our 26months (by then) for her first real trip.

Was looking at the products you posted. We love our Ergo. It's awesome. The moby wrap was great too, but I loved the ergo even more.

Awesome you hope to nurse. It's a great experience. I hear the baby center at MK is awesome and has some nice nursing areas. I didn't care about nursing in public either. Baby has to eat. (When you get to that point, there is a thread on the family boards here on the Dis about nursing at Disney.)

Ok, looking forward to hearing about your plans. We are just starting down the planning road as well.

Thanks for your carrier opinions! They are appreciated. Can't wait to hear about your plans and how the trip goes with a two year old!

I will have to check out that thread. I can only imagine what people say and how heated things can get. Honestly, I have heard great things about BF, and some not so great things. That is one of the reasons why I want to learn as much about it as possible as I become a doula. I need to talk myself into doing it... for reasons other than, "It is free, and I want to be a SAHM, so we need to save money!"

I'm joining in. We are also ttc and I am having a hard time trying to fit my Disney trips in without knowing when it will happen. Right now we are giving Disney a break until Nov. 2013 but if we haven't gotten pregnant by fall of 2012 I am going to take our DD7 for a girls only trip.

DH thinks I am crazy for wanting to take a (hopefully) 1 year old to WDW, I can't imagine what he would say if I wanted to take a small baby. We waited until DD was 5 for her first trip and once we went I said we are starting earlier with any future kids.

Best of luck ttcpixiedust:

Best of luck to you too! We planned a trip last December, but that didn't work out, and we planned a trip in Oct 2012 (cruise and WDW), but that wouldn't have worked because the baby would have been too small for a cruise. I am determined to go in Oct 2013, and the December trip is just a bonus! If we have to push it to Jan, that is fine, I just need an excuse to start planning something.

Hehehe, love the 2 for 1 deal! Here's hoping that you'll have a little one joining you on your trip! I will be very interested to see how you handle traveling with such a little baby if you get pregnant soon. We are hoping to have a baby soon, too (working on it ;)) and I know the smart thing would probably be to wait until he or she is about 2 years old to go to Disney, but I can't stay away that long! Right now we're going about every 8 months, so I have a feeling that we will one day be traveling with a small baby as well.

Good luck with your ultrasound! If we're not pregnant by Spring I'm going to start Clomid as well (found out I have PCOS a few months ago :sad1:) I hope it is successful for you! :goodvibes

Good luck with your TTC journey as well! I know several people with PCOS... some have been lucky, others are still waiting. There is a lot of hope for PCOS patients these days! It's nice that you kind of "expect" it to not come easy. We got pregnant three times our first year/year and a half, but no luck for the last two. I don't know what is wrong with my body!

We took a 7 month old with us to WDW in Sept of 2010 and it wasn't bad at all! I think it would be easier to do when they are 6 months or less, as you don't have to worry about solid foods. Around a year could be tricky (and/or when they start wanting to get mobile), as I am sure they want to get out of the stroller and move around!

Joining in! I love your wedding picture, You two look like fun people! I'll be sending positive baby vibes your way and looking forward to your planning details, as well as your baby details since pretty soon we'll be trying for our first too!

Thanks! Trying can be a lot of fun! I am especially glad that we have moved to IUI-- because it makes things fun again. We know we won't get pregnant that way, so it takes the pressure off! =)

I saw your link in Courtney's PTR and now I'm along for the ride here as well! I hope you get your BFP (big fat positive :woohoo: ) this month! I think the Ergo is a great choice for a newborn or young baby at WDW, but the Moby Wrap would work as well. It's really easy to nurse a baby wearing a Moby! Plus there are so many different carrying styles, you would get a lot of mileage out of it (though the same can be said for the Ergo). They are both great imo! Of course, if you have twins, you might just end up getting a Moby so that you have one for you and one for your husband to wear! :goodvibes

Thanks for your support! Good to know that the Moby works well with nursing! Maybe I will have to get three mobys-- one for me and two for DH (sewing them together). He is a big man! :thumbsup2
 
Thanks for all the well wishes everyone! My ultrasound went well this morning. I have to wait a couple of days and then take a shot to trigger ovulation (@ 1:30 a.m. Wednesday morning). We then have our IUI scheduled for Thursday. Then another two week wait! Good thing we are taking a small weekend trip to Anaheim the first weekend in February. We plan to see Evan’s best friend’s staging of Avenue Q @ Theatre Out on Friday. Saturday is a Disneyland day! Yay!

Today I thought that I would introduce the Cast of Characters for our October 2013 trip! Evan and I will be making the trip with my sister and her family. The reason why we wanted to make this trip is because our trip to Disneyland in October 2010 was kind of a disaster.

I tried to make plans for each day (so a group of 20+ wouldn’t be standing around after each ride trying to figure out what to do next). My dad didn’t follow my plans, my sisters followed him, and DH and I followed the touring plan with my cousin and her family. My sister and her family missed out on A LOT. They didn’t even get to ride Soarin’! Meanwhile, our group rode Soarin’ four times!

Anyway—here is the rundown on their family, as well as a couple of pictures taken during their Christmas Card photo shoot this year.

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Doug (BIL)—Turning 36 this year. Has recently become obsessed with Disney Parks. I think he watches one of the Disney Parks programs each weekend on Netflix. He didn’t used to care, and wasn’t too excited about the trip in 2010. However, that trip, disastrous as it was, resulted in him catching the Disney bug. He wanted to go back right away and do it “right.”

Wendi (Sister)—Turning 33 this year. She is an amazing person. She has her struggles, as we all do, but she is the most supportive sister and my best friend. I don’t go more than a day or two without talking to her, and if I don’t see her (and her kids) for a week or so, I start going through withdrawals. She is super excited about Disney World. She has been to Disneyland a few times (1990, 1999 and 2010), but she has only been to Disney World once (1996). It has changed so much since then and I want her to have the full experience.

Picture of the happy couple:

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Emma (11)—Emma is great. She gets into these moods, as all teenagers do, and doesn’t smile when you ask her to. However, she is quick to smile in real life, and she loves those around her. She really likes animals and crafting. Math? Not so much...

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Bryant (8)—Bryant is the most loving kid you will ever meet. The second he sees you, he will run up to you and practically knock you over by his big bear hugs. He gets ornery sometimes, and he and Emma fight like cats and dogs. He did great at Disneyland last year. Evan and I took him around the parks with our group because he loved my cousin’s kid so much. He LOVED Soarin’! That was by far his favorite ride. We even got him to try Tower of Terror!

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Alyssa (6)—Alyssa is a girly girl. She loves princesses and has the attitude of a 13 year old at times. She is super, super funny. Wendi was talking to the kids one day about how we couldn’t go to Disney World in 2012 because we were trying to have a baby. Alyssa asked about it the next time she saw us. She wanted to know if it was a boy or girl, what we were going to name it, etc. I told her some of the names we were thinking about, then she suggested naming the kid Porky (if it’s a girl) and “just Pork” (if it’s a boy). She is hilarious.

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Sara (4)— Sara has what we lovingly refer to as “alien eyes.” They are huge and beautiful. Sara is one of those people who does her own thing, but she is happy to interact with others when she wants to. She is a pretty cool kid, actually. She was the child who made me realize that I was ready for kids of my own!

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Kaelyn (almost 3)— Kaelyn is just as lovable as Bryant. Wendi refers to her as the “star” of the family, since she is the center of attention so often. She has wanted to go back to Disneyland ever since the trip in 2010. If her mom asks what she wants to do that day, she will say, “Go to Disneyland.”

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Benjamin (10 months)—Benjamin is my buddy. Seriously, whenever I am hanging around him, he is usually in my arms. He smiles whenever he sees me. I like to think that he knows when my babies are scheduled to come, and that is why he smiles at me like he knows something I don’t. I wish he could talk though—I would really like to know that information!

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You will see a lot more of them throughout the next year or so! We plan to have Disney Movie Nights with activities, as well as nights where we learn about each of the countries in Epcot (food, customs, etc.).

Next up— a few pictures from the first day of our last WDW trip!

 

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