PHXscuba's Club 33 Christmas

[PHXscuba]

At WDW I needed to go up to the desk were you would purchase the ride photo to add the ride picture to my PP+ card. If you are also in the park, you can go anytime that day to have it added. A couple of times the boys wrote down their number and I went later to have it added.

I guess I'm wondering if I can send it BACK to DLR with him the next week when he goes with the band? How long is it good for? I know with regular Photopass you could add pictures for a month.

PHXscuba

 

[tksbaskets]

I guess I'm wondering if I can send it BACK to DLR with him the next week when he goes with the band? How long is it good for? I know with regular Photopass you could add pictures for a month.

PHXscuba

They punched the card and I had 14 days from the first punch. You may be able to have him use it for a bit

Here is mine that I activated 12/23/12.

 

[PHXscuba]

They punched the card and I had 14 days from the first punch. You may be able to have him use it for a bit

Here is mine that I activated 12/23/12.

Thanks for the photo!! I am a visual person and that helps me understand the idea of punching it.

I suppose as long as everything is saved online after it is put on the account, there would be no downside to him taking the card. He would be there within the 14 days.

Another thing I could do that would actually have more value would be to lend it to my sister, who is going a week after us ... more about that in the next post.

PHXscuba

 

[PHXscuba]

So here's a new topic for my Trip Report braintrust, not really about my TR specifically, but Disneyland in general.

My sister mentioned in an e-mail that they might go to Disneyland for a day while they are in CA the week after us (different week of spring break). My sister likes Disney in general, but thinks I'm a bit over-the-top in Disney affection. Who, me? She took her boys (then 6 and 4) years ago. They made the mistake of going on Space Mountain for their second ride and the boys wouldn't ride anything fast or dark the rest of the day. They still had fun but didn't desire to go back for a long time.

Well, now the boys are 10 and turning 8 (her son is practically my son's twin), and joined by little sister (age 5 and over 40 inches). They would go if they can get 1-day free tickets from her BIL, who works for a Disney video-game division.

I am torn -- part of me wants to smother her with information about non-expiring FPs, choosing a non-EMH day if they want to do Carsland, hopping, entertainment options, loaning them my Photopass Plus card if I get it, etc. But I know I shouldn't. Although my sister is an overplanner like me, she sees the visit on a completely different plane than I do. Added complication: it will surely be busy because it's another week closer to Easter.

So my question to you all is: If you had to restrain yourself and only give THREE helpful tips to a casual Disney fan day-tripper with kids, what would you tell them? One of the three can be a website address.

Discuss amongst yourselves ...

PHXscuba

 

[tksbaskets]

Amongst ourselves? I'd say get there early and do the rides that don't have fastpasses. (TSMM for one with kids that age at DCA). Pirates.

Snag a fastpass for the rides you'd like to do a couple of times. TOT or Soarin' at DCA. Indy at DL. Perhaps BLAB.

I guess Carsland early too.

That's at least three....

 

[rentayenta]

www.ridemax.com

Rope drop

Midday break

 

[PHXscuba]

Amongst ourselves? I'd say get there early and do the rides that don't have fastpasses. (TSMM for one with kids that age at DCA). Pirates.

Snag a fastpass for the rides you'd like to do a couple of times. TOT or Soarin' at DCA. Indy at DL. Perhaps BLAB.

I guess Carsland early too.

That's at least three....

www.ridemax.com

Rope drop

Midday break

Thanks for the suggestions. I talked with her last night and she says if they go they will just do Disneyland proper, which de-complicates things rather a lot. With Thunder Mountain closed, there are only so many headliners, and my sis has done DL enough times to know her way around. It will be busier than she thinks, but I think they can do a lot in one day.

So far I think my list includes:

Rope drop (not too hard because her kids are earlybirds).

Fast passes don't expire.

Not sure on the third one. Maybe hitting Fantasyland first?

PHXscuba

 

[tksbaskets]

Thanks for the suggestions. I talked with her last night and she says if they go they will just do Disneyland proper, which de-complicates things rather a lot. With Thunder Mountain closed, there are only so many headliners, and my sis has done DL enough times to know her way around. It will be busier than she thinks, but I think they can do a lot in one day.

So far I think my list includes:

Rope drop (not too hard because her kids are earlybirds).

Fast passes don't expire.

Not sure on the third one. Maybe hitting Fantasyland first?

PHXscuba

Alternate #3
If her kids are interested in FL that first for sure. If they are like mine - hot foot it to TL for Space Mountain, Star Tours, and Buzz then after quickly head to NOS/Adventureland for Indy, Pirates, and HM.

As an aside - at WDW over Christmas the strict adherence to the return FP time really changed the plan of attack.
TK

 

[PHXscuba]

Alternate #3
If her kids are interested in FL that first for sure. If they are like mine - hot foot it to TL for Space Mountain, Star Tours, and Buzz then after quickly head to NOS/Adventureland for Indy, Pirates, and HM.

As an aside - at WDW over Christmas the strict adherence to the return FP time really changed the plan of attack.
TK

The first time they went, Space Mountain was the ride that ruined it, so I'm not sure I'd recommend that plan to her. I will tell her to send her husband for some FPs for SM or ST first thing so they can ride later if the kids are up for it. I know they both love Buzz so I could see them going there first.

PHXscuba

 

[kaoden39]

Since they have a little girl I think they night want to divide and conquer. Mommy and daughter do FL. I think it is much more a little girl thing. Especially if she wants to see the Princesses as most little girls do.

 

[PHXscuba]

Since they have a little girl I think they night want to divide and conquer. Mommy and daughter do FL. I think it is much more a little girl thing. Especially if she wants to see the Princesses as most little girls do.

I don't know if they will want to split up. I think I will just stick to giving them a couple tips they might not know already, and let them have the day they have without large expectations.

And yes, my niece is VERY into princesses. She know them alllllll. We took her with us to Disney on Ice this week and she was thrilled. I don't know if my sister is willing to wait in a monster line to meet the princesses. That might be the splitting-up point -- boys to Indiana Jones and girls to Fantasy Faire or wherever they have them . I guess that's one thing I can do for them -- figure out where the princesses are.

PHXscuba

 

[PHXscuba]

Oh, and I just have to say this:

TWO months until our first day in the parks (and DS' birthday!!)

I have a minor to-do list running and the current crop is:

1. Arrange boarding for our Labrador (and figure out who's in town to feed the turtle)

2. Decide on character meals (Surf's Up is the current frontrunner for Stitch-loving DS), maybe book one!

3. Apply AAA discount to our PPH reservation (DONE). I also got in on the HoJo 25 percent-off sale a couple days ago, which would save us another $50 over our previous discount (this is my backup res in case I blink on the PPH)

I promise some pictures next week!

PHXscuba

 

[kaoden39]

You're trip is coming up quickly now. I think that the holidays slow things down so much that when they are over time flies.

 

[PHXscuba]

OK, I am putting up photos next but just have to share a couple things that warmed my little Mickey-shaped heart this weekend.

With two teens, I sometimes wonder if they still like Disney. Of course they won't turn down a trip to Disneyland, but do they really still feel the "magic" in their daily lives?

DD13 is taking a sewing class this term (another way to bankrupt me buying fabric, but not as fattening as last semester's cooking class!) We were picking out fleece for a class project. I pointed out a red one with Mickey and she thought it was cute, then started looking pretty much only at the Mickey selections. She found a great black/white/gray pattern with red accents featuring Mickey and Minnie. I was so proud!

DS16 is too cool to admit he likes ... anything. Getting more than a neutral reaction to anything but band, video games, or food is near impossible, so I don't expect jumping up and down. He is taking ASL at school and they have to sign a song for class. Without ANY input from me, he is going to do "I'll Make a Man out of You" from Mulan. I think it will be awesome and I am begging to see it when he finishes "choreographing" it.

So maybe there's hope ...

PHXscuba

 

[PHXscuba]

So this week is "Photo Series" week. I will share some watch-them grow photos and short explanations of the shots. Today is definitely the goofiest.

On DS' (now age 16) first trip to Disneyland at age 4.5, we took lots of photos and stuck them in a mini album for him (this was pre-digital). One shot was him on DH's shoulders in front of the ToonTown sign.

My kids LOVE photos and look at their albums frequently, so they remember certain poses.

Fast forward to our summer 2010 "bonus day that we earned doing the Give A Day, Get a Day service project. We were on our way into ToonTown so younger DS could ride the Gadget Coaster that was closed the previous fall.

I *may* have been the one to make the mistake of saying, "Do you remember taking a picture with R on Dad's shoulder's when he was little?" My intent might have been to have DH do the same with DS5, but that's not what DH heard.

​

DH got the hare-brained idea to put the SAME son (now age 14, 5-foot-11 and about 120 lbs.) on his shoulders so I could take the same picture. Did I mentioned DH is nuts?!

So they were using the railing along the path for DS14 to climb on DH's shoulder while I am giving them what-for about it. When they actually got him up there I felt obligated to take the photo, at least so I had photographic proof. I told DH that if they both survived I would kill them.

DH is strong (and nuts), but this was only a little over a year after back surgery to repair a herniated disc in his lower back. NOT smart. Thankfully there was no damage.

I will not be mentioning this photo when we go in March.


PHXscuba


Next up: Our favorite repeatable character photo!

 

[tksbaskets]

I love the then/now (or then/then as the case may be) with your DH and DS. Literally made me LOL.

 

[PHXscuba]

I love the then/now (or then/then as the case may be) with your DH and DS. Literally made me LOL.

Glad we could give you a laugh. I may have to include more zany photos; heaven knows I've got them!

Tomorrow I will put up the next set; it's a little more traditional.

PHXscuba

 

[tksbaskets]

Glad we could give you a laugh. I may have to include more zany photos; heaven knows I've got them!

Tomorrow I will put up the next set; it's a little more traditional.

PHXscuba

Looking forward to it!

 

[PHXscuba]

So I apologize for keeping everyone in suspense over my next set of photos. Life has a way of getting in the way of Internet playtime!

To really understand this series of photos, you have to know my DH a little better. First, he is someone who loves Disney while he's there, and knows it makes me and the family happy (see my tag for something I said about it awhile back). I usually run a few of the big decisions by him -- where we stay, how many days, character meal? -- but he happily leaves the maneuvering to me.

The other thing you should know about him is that he absolutely LOVES tigers. He and I went to Puerto Vallarta a few years ago and I found a zoo there that would let you play with a baby tiger for an extra $10! He framed a set of these to go with the other tiger decor at our office.

So one of his very few requests for a Disney trip is a picture with Tigger, his (obvious) favorite Disney character.

With DS on our first family trip 12 years ago.

This picture was his screensaver for quite awhile, and our family Christmas card photo for 2009.

One of the main reason we did the Crystal Palace character meal at Disney World was to recreate the same photo (I had it on my phone for reference). Holy cow, can you believe how much my older kids grew in two years?! ... and DD13 has added a couple inches in the last 15 months since!​

Needless to say, a trip to Critter Country for a Tigger photo is on my must-do list for the trip in March!


One more set of pictures to share this week ... I promise I saved the best for last.


PHXscuba

 

[lsulindy]

So I apologize for keeping everyone in suspense over my next set of photos. Life has a way of getting in the way of Internet playtime!

To really understand this series of photos, you have to know my DH a little better. First, he is someone who loves Disney while he's there, and knows it makes me and the family happy (see my tag for something I said about it awhile back). I usually run a few of the big decisions by him -- where we stay, how many days, character meal? -- but he happily leaves the maneuvering to me.

The other thing you should know about him is that he absolutely LOVES tigers. He and I went to Puerto Vallarta a few years ago and I found a zoo there that would let you play with a baby tiger for an extra $10! He framed a set of these to go with the other tiger decor at our office.

So one of his very few requests for a Disney trip is a picture with Tigger, his (obvious) favorite Disney character.

With DS on our first family trip 12 years ago.

This picture was his screensaver for quite awhile, and our family Christmas card photo for 2009.

One of the main reason we did the Crystal Palace character meal at Disney World was to recreate the same photo (I had it on my phone for reference). Holy cow, can you believe how much my older kids grew in two years?! ... and DD13 has added a couple inches in the last 15 months since!​

Needless to say, a trip to Critter Country for a Tigger photo is on my must-do list for the trip in March!


One more set of pictures to share this week ... I promise I saved the best for last.


PHXscuba

Those darn kids and all their growing! I fuss mine about it all the time.