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

[oboedm]

I love the pin/treasure chest idea! That is so neat, and so much fun for the kids, I bet.

I'm excited for the rest of the flashback TR!

Thanks! Anything to help their parents control their behavior, LoL! We got them to pick up the house last night before dinner, and afterwards they wanted to trade pins with each other. I don't know if they did it after we left, but hopefully it didn't cause any fights!

oooh the flashback TR is a great idea. I started my PTR so early I dpn;t have so many updates, but putting in a flashback TR is a great idea and I really am enjoying yours. We get to know everyone ahead of time! Very cool.

Thanks! I will have plenty more life updates as well... We are planning lots of good activities with the kids!

I thought I had subscribed to this, but guess not. I just subbed to it now, will come back later to read it.

Welcome! I have enjoyed your TR and baby updates so much! Can't wait for Wed!

Paula called me out, so I had better comment on this thread. As she mentioned, our family was a part of the 2010 DL disaster. It actually wasn’t a disaster for us, but many in our party considered it so. I think Disneyland is a good indicator of whether or not you need professional help. If you cannot enjoy yourself at DL, you should probably consider therapy. As SIL wrote, we split into two groups: negative people, babies, and toddlers in one, happy people in the other. I stayed with the negative group to keep DW and DD’s sane.

Let me close by saying that Paula and Evan are amazing people! They have been through a lot trying to have children, and they have been a great aunt and uncle to my children. I don’t even pretend to know what they have been through. We conceived our last four on birth control through half-blocked fallopian tubes. We are looking forward to a kid-less trip and they are dying for a trip with kids. We are grateful to have them in our family, and we know that they will make great parents soon.

Welcome, Doug! Thanks for sharing your experience last year and your descriptions of the two groups. So true! I heard nothing but complaints afterwards from the other group!

Thanks for the compliment as well! Your kids are amazing, and I am so glad that you and Wendi are willing to share! . We look forward to seeinghow things go when we have all 6 at our house while you are at DL!

 

[Corrine 1973]

Paula called me out, so I had better comment on this thread. As she mentioned, our family was a part of the 2010 DL disaster. It actually wasn’t a disaster for us, but many in our party considered it so. I think Disneyland is a good indicator of whether or not you need professional help. If you cannot enjoy yourself at DL, you should probably consider therapy. As SIL wrote, we split into two groups: negative people, babies, and toddlers in one, happy people in the other. I stayed with the negative group to keep DW and DD’s sane.

This is what my group did much of the stay (adults more than the kids, but I don’t have pics of that):

Here is what I accomplished with three full days of park hoppers:

DL Park: 22 different rides--then went back for 2nd and 3rd rides on attractions like HM, IASW, POTC, and other slow movers.

DCA: 3 rides, 3 shows, and the Bakery Tour.

Needless to say, I left California hungry for more. I loved the carefree feeling of being in the parks (I’m good at ignoring others and enjoying myself). I also appreciated the attention to detail that permeates the parks, the excellent professionalism of the cast members, and the cleanliness of the restrooms. Despite the immense volume of people the cast members deal with every day, they make the resort maintain its magic. So while I am not a Disney freak, I am becoming a Disney Parks freak. The thrill of the rides, the strategy of the logistics, and the artistic atmosphere make the parks very attractive to me.

This year, my family came across some extra money, and with a hefty upcoming tax return, we were considering a trip to DL this fall with only our family of 8 or with SIL and BIL joining us. SIL convinced me to wait for Oct. 2013 and do WDW instead. Still yearning to experience the rest of DLR, I am planning an inexpensive trip for myself and DW for Oct. 2012. We will not tell the kids where we went until after the 2013 WDW trip.

I do have a lot of great memories from 2010:

My kids got to see the ocean for the first time…

…Tigger had fun playing with Sara’s “tail”…

…and one of my proudest moments as a father…

I also got the chance to sit with DW and watch the Dixieland jazz combo at the Main St. firehouse. The baritone sax player was the best I have ever seen. World of Color was also, of course, amazing.

Now that I am on Disboards, I will probably end up putting together one of these trip-report things for Kidless Disney 2012.

Let me close by saying that Paula and Evan are amazing people! They have been through a lot trying to have children, and they have been a great aunt and uncle to my children. I don’t even pretend to know what they have been through. We conceived our last four on birth control through half-blocked fallopian tubes. We are looking forward to a kid-less trip and they are dying for a trip with kids. We are grateful to have them in our family, and we know that they will make great parents soon.

How great that another part of the trip has joined in. I have been trying to get the other party going with us next year to com on here to at least comment on my PTR with no luck yet.

I can understand how much it is needed to get away childless once in awhile. And how wonderful it is that you have someone who is whiling to watch all 6 kiddos. I sometimes have problems finding someone to watch all of mine and I only have 4

 

[annmarieda]

I absolutely love the treasure chest idea!!!


How cool that your bil found dis (and btw)

How exciting another family trip!!! The girls are so cute.


I have been seeing more people with lines at DME. I have never experiences any... I hope that is not becoming the norm.


The lobby at WL is quite impressive, isn't it? I can't wait to see how your room looks. I liked our lodge room well enough... but it was a bit dark. I have read they are going to be doing an refurb soon.


I really hope your migraine went away! There is nothing worse that feeling ooky while on a trip.

Paula called me out, so I had better comment on this thread. As she mentioned, our family was a part of the 2010 DL disaster. It actually wasn’t a disaster for us, but many in our party considered it so. I think Disneyland is a good indicator of whether or not you need professional help. If you cannot enjoy yourself at DL, you should probably consider therapy. As SIL wrote, we split into two groups: negative people, babies, and toddlers in one, happy people in the other. I stayed with the negative group to keep DW and DD’s sane.


Here is what I accomplished with three full days of park hoppers:

DL Park: 22 different rides--then went back for 2nd and 3rd rides on attractions like HM, IASW, POTC, and other slow movers.

DCA: 3 rides, 3 shows, and the Bakery Tour.

Needless to say, I left California hungry for more. I loved the carefree feeling of being in the parks (I’m good at ignoring others and enjoying myself). I also appreciated the attention to detail that permeates the parks, the excellent professionalism of the cast members, and the cleanliness of the restrooms. Despite the immense volume of people the cast members deal with every day, they make the resort maintain its magic. So while I am not a Disney freak, I am becoming a Disney Parks freak. The thrill of the rides, the strategy of the logistics, and the artistic atmosphere make the parks very attractive to me.

This year, my family came across some extra money, and with a hefty upcoming tax return, we were considering a trip to DL this fall with only our family of 8 or with SIL and BIL joining us. SIL convinced me to wait for Oct. 2013 and do WDW instead. Still yearning to experience the rest of DLR, I am planning an inexpensive trip for myself and DW for Oct. 2012. We will not tell the kids where we went until after the 2013 WDW trip.

I do have a lot of great memories from 2010:

let me close by saying that Paula and Evan are amazing people! They have been through a lot trying to have children, and they have been a great aunt and uncle to my children. I don’t even pretend to know what they have been through. We conceived our last four on birth control through half-blocked fallopian tubes. We are looking forward to a kid-less trip and they are dying for a trip with kids. We are grateful to have them in our family, and we know that they will make great parents soon.

How cool that you will be going with Paula in 2013!!! Your family is so adorable! You have been blessed for sure. And...looks like you got a lot done in DL... but I think the craving to always do more is just a fact of disney trips. I was in WDW for about 2 weeks and I didn't get everything done I wanted. I never do. OH..and the 3 shows you watched in DL... what were they? I have not been to DL in years and I really am thinking of going back sooner rather than later...

 

[Leger13]

Argh! I had a lovely update written about day one of our last WDW trip, but MS Word decided to “Force Quit” and failed to recover my document! I will be re-writing that tonight/tomorrow and will post it then!

However, in other news, we had my nieces and nephews decorate “treasure chests” last night. They each received a large file box (which they painted and decorated with stickers) and a small plastic box (which they decorated with stickers).

We bought a bunch of Disney Pins from eBay. The kids can earn pins for good behavior, or have pins taken away for bad behavior. The earned pins will be housed in the small “treasure chest.” They can spend their pins in a little shop I am creating. They will be able to purchase things for the trip. For example, a new shirt costs 15 pins. Dinner in Cinderella Castle will cost 35 pins.

Once they have “purchased” the item, the pins go back into the communal pot so they can re-earn the pins. The purchased item goes into the large treasure chest for safekeeping before the trip. For the activities we plan to do, they will receive a picture of that activity. For example, a picture of Cinderella's Royal Table, a picture of Pick a Pearl, etc.

The kids were SUPER excited about decorating the boxes and had a good time. I will post pics as soon as I get them from my dad’s camera! =)

In other news, my BIL (bakerudall) has joined the DISboards! He found them independently of me, I promise! I think Evan and my sister want to start a self help group for people who have lost their spouses to Disney trip planning.

Anyway, BIL is now following this thread, and hopefully he will comment one day!

As stated before, I will be back later with Day 1 of our last trip!

Love the treasure chest idea!!

Also love the flash back TR.

 

[ronnmel]

Welcome! I have enjoyed your TR and baby updates so much! Can't wait for Wed!

Ok, just got through all the updates. I'm really enjoying the read so far! Good luck with the pregnancy.

 

[disney<333]

The girls are so cute! The Christmas reveal sounds like so much fun!!

 

[bakerudall]

How cool that you will be going with Paula in 2013!!! Your family is so adorable! You have been blessed for sure. And...looks like you got a lot done in DL... but I think the craving to always do more is just a fact of disney trips. I was in WDW for about 2 weeks and I didn't get everything done I wanted. I never do. OH..and the 3 shows you watched in DL... what were they? I have not been to DL in years and I really am thinking of going back sooner rather than later...

Hi, Annmarieda. The three shows I saw were:

1. World of Color. We stood close to the front and it was amazing! We got wet a couple times and felt the heat from the flamethrowers. The only negative was that I held one of my daughters on my shoulders the whole time, so after the show my neck was killing me. I think next time I will watch from higher ground at take in the "widescreen" view of the show. I have heard that is a totally different experience.

2. MuppetVision 3D. I love the muppets, so I naturally enjoyed this show. I was a little surprised that a few of my kids were scared by the 3D effects and took their glasses of for the duration of the movie.

3. Turtle Talk with Crush. This show was extra cool because Evan's best friend was at the working as Crush at the time. He tried to poke a little fun at my FIL (Paula's dad), but ended up giving him gave him a bad case of the giggles, so FIL couldn't answer any questions.

DL has changed a lot in the last few years, so you should definitely go again. As of our next trip, they will have added 5 new rides to DCA since our last trip, and Star Tours TAC will be open, which I am totally pumped about.

 

[annmarieda]

Hi, Annmarieda. The three shows I saw were:

1. World of Color. We stood close to the front and it was amazing! We got wet a couple times and felt the heat from the flamethrowers. The only negative was that I held one of my daughters on my shoulders the whole time, so after the show my neck was killing me. I think next time I will watch from higher ground at take in the "widescreen" view of the show. I have heard that is a totally different experience.

2. MuppetVision 3D. I love the muppets, so I naturally enjoyed this show. I was a little surprised that a few of my kids were scared by the 3D effects and took their glasses of for the duration of the movie.

3. Turtle Talk with Crush. This show was extra cool because Evan's best friend was at the working as Crush at the time. He tried to poke a little fun at my FIL (Paula's dad), but ended up giving him gave him a bad case of the giggles, so FIL couldn't answer any questions.

DL has changed a lot in the last few years, so you should definitely go again. As of our next trip, they will have added 5 new rides to DCA since our last trip, and Star Tours TAC will be open, which I am totally pumped about.

I really do want to see World Of Color.... I assume the other two are much like they are in WDW. My all time favorite show between the two (DL and WDW) is the Alladin show at DL... I have not taken the time to see if it is still there... but I suspect not.

 

[oboedm]

The lobby at WL is quite impressive, isn't it? I can't wait to see how your room looks. I liked our lodge room well enough... but it was a bit dark. I have read they are going to be doing an refurb soon.

I did find the rooms a bit dark as well, but overall we liked staying there, especially being so close to the MK. I forgot to get pictures of the room, though! Crazy me!

I refurb is needed. I like the theming of the resort, but the bedspreads are just too much for me. New ones would be great!

Love the treasure chest idea!!

Also love the flash back TR.

Thanks! I am glad you liked both ideas! Hopefully the kids don't lose interest in the pin thing a few months from now... I figure that if I can keep the "store" stocked with new things every month or so, their interest will hold.

Ok, just got through all the updates. I'm really enjoying the read so far! Good luck with the pregnancy.

Thanks! Only 9 more days of the two week wait! We will be going over to CA this weekend, though, so that will take my mind of things! Gotta ride all the coasters before I know I'm pregnant, LOL!

The girls are so cute! The Christmas reveal sounds like so much fun!!

It was tons of fun! I think they were a bit shocked at first... it took them a good 3-4 minutes for it to sink in. I was really hoping for one of those YouTube Disney reveal moments, but no luck!

Hi, Annmarieda. The three shows I saw were:

1. World of Color. We stood close to the front and it was amazing! We got wet a couple times and felt the heat from the flamethrowers. The only negative was that I held one of my daughters on my shoulders the whole time, so after the show my neck was killing me. I think next time I will watch from higher ground at take in the "widescreen" view of the show. I have heard that is a totally different experience.

2. MuppetVision 3D. I love the muppets, so I naturally enjoyed this show. I was a little surprised that a few of my kids were scared by the 3D effects and took their glasses of for the duration of the movie.

3. Turtle Talk with Crush. This show was extra cool because Evan's best friend was at the working as Crush at the time. He tried to poke a little fun at my FIL (Paula's dad), but ended up giving him gave him a bad case of the giggles, so FIL couldn't answer any questions.

DL has changed a lot in the last few years, so you should definitely go again. As of our next trip, they will have added 5 new rides to DCA since our last trip, and Star Tours TAC will be open, which I am totally pumped about.

Doug, don't know if I could consider Turtle Talk and Muppets "shows"-- they are more like "attractions." Don't worry, you'll get it down eventually!

Ann, Disneyland is pretty good. It's no WDW, though. I can't wait for Doug to see that!.

Anyway, they have made some improvements and I hope the changes they are making to DCA are good. I would wait to go until 2013, though, just so everything at DCA is open.

I really do want to see World Of Color.... I assume the other two are much like they are in WDW. My all time favorite show between the two (DL and WDW) is the Alladin show at DL... I have not taken the time to see if it is still there... but I suspect not.

Yes, the other two are exactly the same. WoC is great! I don't know if it is better than Fantasmic, though. I really like both shows-- and I like that there is seating for WDW's Fantasmic! I have heard that Disneyland's is better though. I will have to check that out sometime. Maybe when I am there on Saturday...

 

[tofubeast]

Love your idea with the treasure chests!! I might have to steal it when DD is old enough in the future. LOVE IT!!

And I sure hope you got to go to CRT. Crossing fingers!

 

[oboedm]

Love your idea with the treasure chests!! I might have to steal it when DD is old enough in the future. LOVE IT!!

And I sure hope you got to go to CRT. Crossing fingers!

glad you liked the idea!

 

[sl_underwood]

Just found your PTR, kind of a PTR stalker here, lol. My hubby and I TTC for years and after two rounds of invitro and way to many months of shots and meds, we decided it most likely wouldnt happen and then we met our children. Thankfully, God had a plan for us (even if we werent aware of it at the time) and He chose the perfect kids for us (even if they grew in another moms tummy) and for us that was the right choice. I hope that you get your baby. I know the struggles and the pain involved. It still hits me at times when I read about a bad mother who abuses her child. I would have loved to have conceived but I know that if I had I would have missed out on my amazing kids! I look forward to reading about all your plans. We will be taking my brother and his family on our next trip so any tips would be appreciated.

 

[oboedm]

December: Where to Stay

If we do make this trip in early December (I find out if I am pregnant on Thursday, but I am thinking about testing on Tuesday, since I got positives the last few times two days before the "official" day)...

Anyway, if we do make this trip in early December, I am thinking about staying off-site. GASP! Isn’t that sacrilegious or something?

Off-site is calling me for three reasons:

1. I want to rent a car to see how annoying it is to drive around the world, to investigate this option for 2013.
2. It’s cheaper
3. If we go in December, it would make sense for us to get annual passes, as opposed to purchasing a package. Because we will have APs, we can purchase the TIW card to save on dining. I haven’t been to WDW without a dining plan since I was a teenager, and that doesn’t really “count.” I am interested to see how much I like it.

The ideal situation would be to purchase a DVC resale sometime this year, use some for December and bank/use/borrow points for the 2013 use year. My second job is unpredictable, so how much I make each year depends on how many classes I teach.

I figure that if I am going to spend thousands of dollars on a Disney resort in 2013, I might as well spend $10,000 more, buy a DVC resale, and have vacations for the next 30 years paid for. Additionally, if we purchase around 250 points, we will have enough for our family and our extended family to take a few trips over the next 30 years. For example, if Wendi and Doug want to go back, it will be easier for them to do so because they can just borrow points and pay us a few dollars per point (to cover the dues on those points that year).

As stated in a previous post, I plan to quit my full-time job when I have a kid, so that I can be a SAHM. At the end of March we plan on trying to live off of one income. Using his income we will still be short a few hundred a month, but I hope to make up the difference using the classes I teach. The money from my classes will also be used to save towards the December trip and the 2013 trip, which is going to be expensive… we will have 11 people with us!

The money I save during the “one income” time period and the time I quit will be used to pay down student loans, so we have fewer expenses when I do finally pop out a child. =)

I would also do December cheap by eating at some of the counter service places around the parks (which we haven’t done all that much).

Anyway, has anyone stayed off site and/or driven around the parks? I would be able to park at the resorts for meals using my TIW, correct? I am leaning towards the “Buena Vista Suites” for our trial run. Sure, we don’t need a suite for three people. However, they have a free breakfast buffet every day, and that might be good to check out as a possibility for 2013.

Thoughts?

 

[oboedm]

Just found your PTR, kind of a PTR stalker here, lol. My hubby and I TTC for years and after two rounds of invitro and way to many months of shots and meds, we decided it most likely wouldnt happen and then we met our children. Thankfully, God had a plan for us (even if we werent aware of it at the time) and He chose the perfect kids for us (even if they grew in another moms tummy) and for us that was the right choice. I hope that you get your baby. I know the struggles and the pain involved. It still hits me at times when I read about a bad mother who abuses her child. I would have loved to have conceived but I know that if I had I would have missed out on my amazing kids! I look forward to reading about all your plans. We will be taking my brother and his family on our next trip so any tips would be appreciated.

Welcome! Thanks for sharing your story and for your support! We will be looking into adoption in a few months if nothing happens. My church has a good adoption program and my employer gives you $5000 to adopt, which is wonderful (especially on top of the government tax break). Definitely cheaper than "upping" the treatments and with adoption you are guaranteed a baby if you pay the money.

My SIL and her husband adopted their two girls, (this was the family we took to WDW that I am writing the flashback TR for). Those girls were definitely meant to be with my SIL/BIL. I think my FIL was worried that he wouldn't love the girls as much as he loves the biological grandchildren, but I think he loves them more, LOL! They are such cool kids!

 

[Nermel9]

Hi I'm finally here!

I've never stayed off-site, but it sounds like it would make sense for you...driving around the world is no problem, then again, we always stay on-site so we always have those helpful purple Disney signs to point us in the direction of where we're going!

Buying a DVC resale sounds great, I wish I could do that someday!

Good luck with your testing this week, hope everything goes well!

 

[BMC423]

your sister's family is adorable! And Awww your nieces for this TR are also very cute! That treasure idea is a great one! Can't wait to hear more!

 

[annmarieda]

You sound like you have a solid plan! We stayed off property once. What we liked most was the space we had. We stayed at Floridays. It was also a beautiful resort.

What I didn't like was -
Paying for parking however, if you have an AP though, you don't have to right?

Not having the dinning plan. We spent waaay more not having it but that is because my dh just gets what he wants anyway. If you have TIW and you don't get the most expensive item on the menu then I am sure it could be a much lower amount and a great way to save some $$ too

Believe it or not, not using the Disney buses. Having people who all wanted to be somewhere at different times, it is hard to say ALL of us have to go to the parks now or ALL of us have to leave the parks now. Letting my teens (and dh) travel by himself is much easier for us.

Floridays did not have a breakfast (not that on property hotels have breakfast included)and I think that is definitely something that would have been a plus for us. Just to be able to grab a pastry and go would have been nice.

Good luck on tuesday/thursday!!!!

 

[francis6306]

Sending some Baby dust your way!

I have a friend who is a Doula. Amazing work! I wanted to use one when I had my YDD, but there just wasn't anyone in my area at the time! I LOVE babywearing, with my fake Moby wrap! Word of warning though… some babies don't like to be worn! My oldest is HIGHLY independent and HATED it. Broke my heart, but my second LOVES it! We snuggle up and go anywhere!

I had a friend that took her 6-8 week old (I don't remember how old he was at the time) and they did it in JUNE! I think you would be going at a better time.

 

[disney<333]

Hoping for positives results this week!! Are you going to go this Dec if you do have a baby?
December is such a great time to visit the world!! I love the Christmas season!!

 

[ronnmel]

I just can't get over how courageous you are to want to travel with a few weeks old baby!

I think your reasons for staying offsite make sense, though I do hope you can somehow buy DVD instead.