To Infinity And Beyond or Bust...a June 2013 PTR

[Kitkat6595]

Hello, everyone! I was inspired to start a PTR today by reading the reports of several of my fellow June 2013 travelers. I have become so Disney obsessed planning this trip, that it only seemed appropriate to dive all the way in! So, here goes nothing...

Let's introduce you to the cast.

First, me. My name is Jess and I am 32. I am a social worker for an adoption agency and run our China waiting child program. I do that part-time and just love my schedule of only working three days, so I can be home the other days with my boys! I love to scrapbook, although haven't in a long time. Perhaps Disney will spark that creative bug again! I am an avid reader. I am obsessed with Starbucks (so the addition on Main Street was seen by me as VERY positive news...). I haven't been to Disney World since 2005 and we have never taken our kids!! Favorite Disney movie is Beauty & the Beast. In a house filled with boys, I am the only girl. And I have requested lunch at BOG to fulfill my inner princess.

Dh is Derek, 33. He is a computer programmer and tolerates my Disney planning obsession. We met and started dating in high school and just celebrated our 10 year anniversary in Kauai (and it was AMAZING). He is a big Star Wars fan, loves the movie Wall-E, and enjoys Toy Story as well. He is a wonderful daddy.

Next in line is my sweet Caleb, age 5. He is in Kindergarten and is in a dual language program where he is learning Spanish. He is my kind-hearted, cautious kid. He loves math, has just discovered Star Wars, and cannot WAIT for Toy Story Mania. This kid has become obsessed with this ride, I'm not even joking. We've been preparing him for the trip by watching you tube videos, reading books and looking at websites. Because he's cautious and reserved at first, he needs to feel prepared and needs to know what to expect. I don't want Disney to be totally overwhelming, so we are preparing him ahead of time. We shall see! Favorite Disney movie - any Toy Story movie. Tolerates Cars for his brother.

And lastly, our youngest, smiley Sam, age 2. He will be 3 in March. He is a happy, easy going, spunky and humorous little guy. He is OBSESSED with Buzz and Woody, not to mention Lightning McQueen and Mater. I could recite Mater's Tall Tales and Cars if you asked. We play daily with our cars and toy story guys, so you better believe we will be going on the two toy story rides and finding as many characters from those movies as we can!! We also plan on taking a trip over to the Art of Animation Resort because I cannot, in good conscience, allow us to be that close to all of those life size cars without letting Sam SEE them. HE WILL DIE.

And that's us! This is our first family vacation that is not to visit family or going somewhere with family. I think that is another reason why we are so excited. We will just be the four of us. We are going June 1-8th and staying off-site. More on that later.

Welcome to our report!

 

[danicaca]

I am here from the FB page! Can't wait to see what you have planned! We will be there at the same time, May 28th - June 7th.

 

[Jennifer84]

woo hoo!! congrats on starting your PTR! Can't wait to hear more!

 

[AlohaAnnie]

I am here from FB also


Love that smile on smiley Sam! So very cute!


Looking forward to your plans.

 

[jackemail]

Also here from facebook...

 

[PlutoJenn]

Hey, Jess, from another FB Junie!

 

[Kitkat6595]

Thanks for coming by, everyone! Sam has been called smiley Sam from about one month of age because he is always smiling. Sweet boy. Although, he is turning into a little spunky stinker now that he's almost 3.

So, now for where we are staying! I researched every resort, room, thread on the DIS, guidebook, etc. trying to figure out where we were going to stay. I had settled on POFQ because I had fallen in love with the quaintness of it (and insist we will stay there one day still). Hubby was on board and that was going to be our choice. And then I stumbled across a thread about staying off-site.

I knew we wouldn't be using Disney transportation already, so that was not a reason for us to stay on-site. With Caleb being overwhelmed easily, I knew buses packed with people would not be a positive experience after a day in the parks. So, we definitely needed a car. We also need mid-day breaks because we have a napper. The more I researched, I knew for THIS trip, we should attempt off-site. I would still adore to stay onsite, so perhaps the next trip.

After looking at what felt like a hundred rentals at Windsor Hills, we settled on one via the vrbo.com website. We got a great deal at about half the cost of the room on-site we were about to book (this was pre 30% off deal) and it had two bedrooms, a full kitchen, laundry, living room, two bathrooms and access to a great big pool and playground. It looked perfect. I can't snatch the pictures from the website, but here is our home June 1st-8th:

Our Vacation Condo
I'm in love with the king size bed, the boys can't wait to have bunk beds and I'm already picturing a glass of wine on the lanai after a long day of walking around the parks. Ahhhhhh....

We plan on eating breakfast back at our condo every day, packing snacks for the park, eating lunch at the parks and most dinners. DS5 has asked that we have pizza delivered to us for dinner one day. So we will do that one day. Because, why not?

So, we booked through vrbo.com and the owner has been so pleasant to work with so far. We got a great deal! And the part I am most excited about is that the condo is totally paid for by using coupons!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I started putting the money I saved by using coupons aside back in March 2012 and saved what I needed to pay for the condo by October 2012. Now I'm working on saving money for the airline tickets (I know I won't get all that I need). I was quite proud of that accomplishment though!!

 

[Kitkat6595]

And now for our itinerary, as it stands right now.

We will arrive in Orlando at some point on June 1st. Tickets have not been purchased yet, but I am stalking the travel sites daily hoping prices will come down. They've come down slightly (as in a few bucks), so I'm crossing my fingers for more soon.

Here goes!

June 1st:
Arrive in Orlando
Grocery shop
Check in at condo and get unpacked
Head out for a round of mini-golf or check out DTD?
Eat dinner outside of Disney? Make a reservation at a resort?

Hmm...I literally just had the idea of dinner at another resort the night we arrive. Oh gosh, where could we go?!?! I would love to try that Beaches & Cream place. Would that be a good idea? Where would you go your first night?

Sunday, June 2nd:
Animal Kingdom day!
8am - reservation for breakfast at Tusker House. We liked the idea of starting at this park (and it had the "best park" rating on several sites for that day). We also liked the idea of starting with a character meal, so the boys can get used to seeing characters.
We will take a rest back at the condo for a few hours if Sam needs a nap. Back to AK for dinner until closing at 7pm.

Monday, June 3rd:
Epcot day!
Don't have the day extremely planned yet. We will get there for rope drop, hit Soarin' because Caleb is excited for that one, and see what else looks good in Future World for them (doing my research now!). The boys are also excited for the Perry Adventure over in the World Showcase so we will have to do that. We have lunch reservations at 11:30am at Via Napoli. I am dying to try this pizza after reading so many reviews about it...we'll take a break back at the condo and come back for dinner. We are not staying for Illuminations, so we'll be heading out earlier.

Tuesday, June 4th:Magic Kingdom day!!!
I know, we are making them wait until our third park day to see this park. We figure they have never been there and don't know what they are missing, so let's start at the other parks. That, and the crowd calendars on two different sites show these are the best days to hit the parks and avoid some of the crowds. Advice taken.

We will be there for rope drop and will stay through lunch. I am hoping to eat at BOG since my favorite Disney movie is Beauty & the Beast. In a house filled with boys, this was my one request. My oldest son agreed I could have a pick. How sweet. After lunch, we'll take a long break at the condo because this is going to be our one long, late night out all week. The boys have seen video of Wishes and can't wait to see the fireworks, so we promised them we would try fireworks one night only. So, we are hoping for a nice long break back at the condo, maybe even dinner outside of the parks, and then we'll head back for the evening parade and Wishes (which doesn't start until 10pm!? Say what!?). We are playing it by ear and if this night doesn't happen, it doesn't happen. We know Sam is young and we can always do this on our next trip. I don't want to stress about it.

Wednesday, June 5th:
Off day

I have nothing planned. No lunch or dinner reservations...hmmm...what to do...we have to check out DTD because there are a few stores we MUST hit. Caleb asked if we could go play mini-golf once, so we might do that. We also want to go stop by the AoA to admire all of the CARS guys. We'll see what happens that day. The important thing is we will sleep in and go to bed on time. Because...

Thursday, June 6th:
This day is Hollywood Studios day!!

This is the day my oldest son will be dying for all week. But due to Star Wars weekends and the crowd calendars "best picks" for other days, this was the best day of the week to hit the park. He understands he has to wait and said, "the best for last, right mommy?" Right. He has watched almost every clip of Toy Story Mania on youtube that he can find and is beyond excited to go on it for the first time. We know that we have to get there at rope drop to go on it once and then FP it for later, so he can go on it one more time. We also promised the boys we could eat at Pizza Planet (hence why I asked for BOG). We know we have to see the Disney Jr. show because my little Sam has a crush on Sofia, and I believe she is going to be added to the show next month? Along with Doc McStuffins, who I will admit, I love. Such a cute show. We will take a break and then head back to the park for a few hours after dinner. The boys are not interested in Fantasmic (think it looks scary), so this will not be a late night.

Friday, June 7th:
Our last park day. We will be heading back to Magic Kingdom to hit our favorite rides again. Its an EMH night, so we are expecting the afternoon/night to be crowded. We will see how things go and play this day by ear. Nothing planned yet.

Saturday, June 8th:
Leave. Sad day.

I would love any advice you may have if you have done this with young kids. We are trying to not overplan. I don't want a million ADRs with a 3-year-old. I want to plan daily breaks for swimming and a nap, if he is still napping by then. I know we can't do fireworks and night shows every night. Heck, we probably won't see any of the parades during the day because of nap time. But, they are sacrifices we are making for this. We already know we will go back in a few years, when both boys are 1) old enough and tall enough for all of the rides and can stay up for the shows and 2) understand how amazingly cool Harry Potter is so we can add a day at Universal. Hubby and I LOVE Harry Potter, but don't want to take the kids there until they "get it". So, this trip is more low-key. And I'm ok with that!!

 

[AlohaAnnie]

And now for our itinerary, as it stands right now.

We will arrive in Orlando at some point on June 1st. Tickets have not been purchased yet, but I am stalking the travel sites daily hoping prices will come down. They've come down slightly (as in a few bucks), so I'm crossing my fingers for more soon.

Here goes!

June 1st:
Arrive in Orlando
Grocery shop
Check in at condo and get unpacked
Head out for a round of mini-golf or check out DTD?
Eat dinner outside of Disney? Make a reservation at a resort?

Hmm...I literally just had the idea of dinner at another resort the night we arrive. Oh gosh, where could we go?!?! I would love to try that Beaches & Cream place. Would that be a good idea? Where would you go your first night?

Since you are going to DTD I would make a reservation there, maybe T-Rex for the boys. Food is similar to Chilis, Fridays, those kinds of places. They also have build your own Dino.

Sunday, June 2nd:
Animal Kingdom day!
8am - reservation for breakfast at Tusker House. We liked the idea of starting at this park (and it had the "best park" rating on several sites for that day). We also liked the idea of starting with a character meal, so the boys can get used to seeing characters.
We will take a rest back at the condo for a few hours if Sam needs a nap. Back to AK for dinner until closing at 7pm.

Monday, June 3rd:
Epcot day!
Don't have the day extremely planned yet. We will get there for rope drop, hit Soarin' because Caleb is excited for that one, and see what else looks good in Future World for them (doing my research now!). The boys are also excited for the Perry Adventure over in the World Showcase so we will have to do that. We have lunch reservations at 11:30am at Via Napoli. I am dying to try this pizza after reading so many reviews about it...we'll take a break back at the condo and come back for dinner. We are not staying for Illuminations, so we'll be heading out earlier.

Tuesday, June 4th:Magic Kingdom day!!!
I know, we are making them wait until our third park day to see this park. We figure they have never been there and don't know what they are missing, so let's start at the other parks. That, and the crowd calendars on two different sites show these are the best days to hit the parks and avoid some of the crowds. Advice taken.

We will be there for rope drop and will stay through lunch. I am hoping to eat at BOG since my favorite Disney movie is Beauty & the Beast. In a house filled with boys, this was my one request. My oldest son agreed I could have a pick. How sweet. After lunch, we'll take a long break at the condo because this is going to be our one long, late night out all week. The boys have seen video of Wishes and can't wait to see the fireworks, so we promised them we would try fireworks one night only. So, we are hoping for a nice long break back at the condo, maybe even dinner outside of the parks, and then we'll head back for the evening parade and Wishes (which doesn't start until 10pm!? Say what!?). We are playing it by ear and if this night doesn't happen, it doesn't happen. We know Sam is young and we can always do this on our next trip. I don't want to stress about it.

Wednesday, June 5th:
Off day

I have nothing planned. No lunch or dinner reservations...hmmm...what to do...we have to check out DTD because there are a few stores we MUST hit. Caleb asked if we could go play mini-golf once, so we might do that. We also want to go stop by the AoA to admire all of the CARS guys. We'll see what happens that day. The important thing is we will sleep in and go to bed on time. Because...

If you want to make a reservation for a resort, I would make it this day!

Thursday, June 6th:
This day is Hollywood Studios day!!

This is the day my oldest son will be dying for all week. But due to Star Wars weekends and the crowd calendars "best picks" for other days, this was the best day of the week to hit the park. He understands he has to wait and said, "the best for last, right mommy?" Right. He has watched almost every clip of Toy Story Mania on youtube that he can find and is beyond excited to go on it for the first time. We know that we have to get there at rope drop to go on it once and then FP it for later, so he can go on it one more time. We also promised the boys we could eat at Pizza Planet (hence why I asked for BOG). We know we have to see the Disney Jr. show because my little Sam has a crush on Sofia, and I believe she is going to be added to the show next month? Along with Doc McStuffins, who I will admit, I love. Such a cute show. We will take a break and then head back to the park for a few hours after dinner. The boys are not interested in Fantasmic (think it looks scary), so this will not be a late night.

Friday, June 7th:
Our last park day. We will be heading back to Magic Kingdom to hit our favorite rides again. Its an EMH night, so we are expecting the afternoon/night to be crowded. We will see how things go and play this day by ear. Nothing planned yet.

Saturday, June 8th:
Leave. Sad day.

I would love any advice you may have if you have done this with young kids. We are trying to not overplan. I don't want a million ADRs with a 3-year-old. I want to plan daily breaks for swimming and a nap, if he is still napping by then. I know we can't do fireworks and night shows every night. Heck, we probably won't see any of the parades during the day because of nap time. But, they are sacrifices we are making for this. We already know we will go back in a few years, when both boys are 1) old enough and tall enough for all of the rides and can stay up for the shows and 2) understand how amazingly cool Harry Potter is so we can add a day at Universal. Hubby and I LOVE Harry Potter, but don't want to take the kids there until they "get it". So, this trip is more low-key. And I'm ok with that!!

I think your plans are great. It is nice and slow and just right for the boys.

 

[Kitkat6595]

Thank you for the advice! I think you are right about doing a resort on Wednesday. Now to pick a place...

As for T-Rex, that is also a good idea. We have a Rainforest Cafe here that we've been to several times. However, the lightening storm scares the crap out of my oldest. He does not like low rumbly sounds (something sensory there...), so that is not a hit for him. Does T-Rex have a similar storm? They would love the dinosaurs, though!!

 

[AlohaAnnie]

Thank you for the advice! I think you are right about doing a resort on Wednesday. Now to pick a place...

As for T-Rex, that is also a good idea. We have a Rainforest Cafe here that we've been to several times. However, the lightening storm scares the crap out of my oldest. He does not like low rumbly sounds (something sensory there...), so that is not a hit for him. Does T-Rex have a similar storm? They would love the dinosaurs, though!!

T-Rex is similar to Rainforest Cafe, so that may be a no go. You can wait for a table if you go at off dinner times. So if you want to take him in to check out make a dino and you see if he can handle it, this may be an option. You can ask to be seated and the wait usually isn't long from what I have read here on the DIS.

 

[Kitkat6595]

T-Rex is similar to Rainforest Cafe, so that may be a no go. You can wait for a table if you go at off dinner times. So if you want to take him in to check out make a dino and you see if he can handle it, this may be an option. You can ask to be seated and the wait usually isn't long from what I have read here on the DIS.

More excellent advice. Thank you!!! We will have to do that.

 

[lsenquiz]

I'm in. We will also be ther May 25th - June 8th. I am curious about the FB page people keep talking about.

 

[Kitkat6595]

Welcome!

There is a facebook group for June 2013 people. Try this link: June 2013 Facebook group

You have to be approved by an admin. Hope to see you there! I'm Jessica A. over there.

 

[lsenquiz]

Welcome!

There is a facebook group for June 2013 people. Try this link: June 2013 Facebook group

You have to be approved by an admin. Hope to see you there! I'm Jessica A. over there.

Thanks I made a request to join the group.

 

[Kitkat6595]

Great! I look forward to seeing you over there as well.

 

[dutchdisneyfamily]

I also requested to join the group. We will be there June 6-14th. I'm looking forward to hearing how your trip goes. The plans look great!

 

[Alysa]

What cute boys! Your itinerary sounds great. Looking forward to hearing more about your trip!

 

[Kitkat6595]

I also requested to join the group. We will be there June 6-14th. I'm looking forward to hearing how your trip goes. The plans look great!

Thanks for stopping by!

 

[Kitkat6595]

What cute boys! Your itinerary sounds great. Looking forward to hearing more about your trip!

Thank you so much. I think they are cute too.