We're off to see the wizards! Movie day and trip update

[-Hope-]

Originally Posted by Tink-erin-belle

I’m glad your kids liked the movie! I couldn’t get around to responding to this yesterday, but I did read it yesterday and I was so glad that I did! I was able to find Beetlejuice on TV, too, and I recorded it so that I could show my kids soon It really is a funny and crazy movie! I liked your decorations and that was smart to add the black stripes! Cute! I saw those eggs on Pinterest, too. They turned out well! The graveyard dessert was very cute. You take great pictures with your phone!

Thanks! I'm still adjusting to pics with my phone. So far I do okay with close up shots of things but everything else is only so-so. :

I'm glad you found Beetlejuice on tv, hopefully your kids like it. :

And I do the same thing- read then respond later.

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[-Hope-]

Hmmmm, I saw the announcement that the new transformers ride will be open before our trip. The movies are universally panned but I'm guessing not by mist 13yo boys. We may have to add that to our list of movie nights. popcorn:

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[Tink-erin-belle]

I saw that, too! I am excited to do a movie night for this ride

[Aussiesalad]

joining in!

I am loving your photos and family theme nights. Such great ideas!!

[indimom]

Joining!

If all goes well, we'll be spending three days at Universal at the end of July! We're booked and I'm soo excited. We haven't been to Universal since 2008. We're 254 days out and it feels like such a
l-o-n-g time. I was excited to see a PTR for a trip just as far away as mine. I'm enjoying your movie theme nights very much and look forward to the rest. You are very creative!

Happy Planning!

[-Hope-]

Originally Posted by Aussiesalad

joining in!

I am loving your photos and family theme nights. Such great ideas!!

Hurray- I'm always so excited to have more joining in on my personal brand of crazy.

Originally Posted by indimom

Joining!


If all goes well, we'll be spending three days at Universal at the end of July! We're booked and I'm soo excited. We haven't been to Universal since 2008. We're 254 days out and it feels like such a
l-o-n-g time. I was excited to see a PTR for a trip just as far away as mine. I'm enjoying your movie theme nights very much and look forward to the rest. You are very creative!

Happy Planning!

First of all,

As for a PTR so far out, what can I say, I'm a planner! I know most people over here don't jump in quite so early but I just can't help myself! For me the planning is almost as fun as the actual trip.

What are your dates? Where are you booked? Are you doing park to park? Tell me all about it! (Or link me to your PTR if you have one- I don't see it in your siggy.)

[indimom]

Originally Posted by -Hope-

Hurray- I'm always so excited to have more joining in on my personal brand of crazy.




First of all,

As for a PTR so far out, what can I say, I'm a planner! I know most people over here don't jump in quite so early but I just can't help myself! For me the planning is almost as fun as the actual trip.

What are your dates? Where are you booked? Are you doing park to park? Tell me all about it! (Or link me to your PTR if you have one- I don't see it in your siggy.)

I'm definitely a planner also, but I've never done a PTR (or a TR for that matter). It's possible that my brand of boring could lull the Dis into a coma.
I may actually try one this time, because I NEED someone to talk to. We're keeping this trip on the down low from the kids and I just about can't stand the suspense.

We're planning a split stay (that's a first for us). July 20-25 at Ft. Wilderness (tent camping unless we wimp out before then ). We're using my rewards for this dirt-cheap portion of the trip. I bought two-day tickets with water parks and more (so, no hopping here, but we'll have four full days at Epcot, DHS, Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach).

Followed by July 25-27 at the Royal Pacific! We've got park-to-park tickets for Universal. We were there last in 2008, so there are quite a few new attractions to look forward to: HP, Despicable Me, the Putt Putt courses (that I hope we'll have time for), and maybe, just maybe (crosses fingers) Transformers. Our son was too short for the Dragon ride and Hulk on our last trip, so I know he's going to be soooo excited when we get there. I'm pumped and it's nine months away!

[Alysa]

Love those movie night shots!!

[-Hope-]

Originally Posted by indimom

I'm definitely a planner also, but I've never done a PTR (or a TR for that matter). It's possible that my brand of boring could lull the Dis into a coma.
I may actually try one this time, because I NEED someone to talk to. We're keeping this trip on the down low from the kids and I just about can't stand the suspense.

Definitely chat us up- I need more people planning a UO trip this far out so I don't feel so crazy!

We're planning a split stay (that's a first for us). July 20-25 at Ft. Wilderness (tent camping unless we wimp out before then ). We're using my rewards for this dirt-cheap portion of the trip. I bought two-day tickets with water parks and more (so, no hopping here, but we'll have four full days at Epcot, DHS, Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach).

You are definitely more adventurous than me- I don't know if I could do tent camping in Florida in July! But with all of the waterpark fun you'll prob be okay.

Followed by July 25-27 at the Royal Pacific! We've got park-to-park tickets for Universal. We were there last in 2008, so there are quite a few new attractions to look forward to: HP, Despicable Me, the Putt Putt courses (that I hope we'll have time for), and maybe, just maybe (crosses fingers) Transformers. Our son was too short for the Dragon ride and Hulk on our last trip, so I know he's going to be soooo excited when we get there. I'm pumped and it's nine months away!

Woohoo! I'm pretty sure our onsite time will also be spent at RPR. If we stay onsite- I'm still debating and keep changing my mind- but I'm going to have to make a decision soon!

Originally Posted by Alysa

Love those movie night shots!!

Thank you! My plan is to do at least on per month and, since I have most of the week off next week for (American) Thanksgiving, I'm going to try to do another soon. Stay tuned!

[indimom]

Looking forward to your next movie night!

On a similar note:
I just have to share my excitement, because I can't give any clues at home....
I'm so glad...DS is FINALLY starting the HP series. Just in time! Yeah! He'll be able to catch all the fun little tidbits in WWoHP that he would have missed otherwise.
I've been trying to entice him to read the books for at least two years (he's 12). He finally reached the point where there were no more (smaller) books he was interested in for the school reading program so he was "stuck with"... "those huge books."
I know he'll love them once he gets started. I think he just when he sees a book with 700 pages.

[-Hope-]

Originally Posted by indimom

Looking forward to your next movie night!

On a similar note:
I just have to share my excitement, because I can't give any clues at home....
I'm so glad...DS is FINALLY starting the HP series. Just in time! Yeah! He'll be able to catch all the fun little tidbits in WWoHP that he would have missed otherwise.
I've been trying to entice him to read the books for at least two years (he's 12). He finally reached the point where there were no more (smaller) books he was interested in for the school reading program so he was "stuck with"... "those huge books."
I know he'll love them once he gets started. I think he just when he sees a book with 700 pages.

That's so great! I really think being a fan will make a huge difference. The whole reason I do movie nights at all is because I think each ride/land is more fun if you know the back story.

I have to confess that I'm a recent HP convert myself. My mom read the books when they were first published, waited impatiently for new ones to be released, etc. but I just wasn't into them at the time. My mom is also a big Tolkien fan and I'm not so when she was raving about this book of magical things I think I thought it was going to be too much like The Hobbit, which is her favorite book.

Anyway, when the last movie came out and Pinterest was exploding with HP related pins I decided to give it another try. Sooooo glad I did! DS13 and I are actually reading together. He still enjoys being read to even though he also reads on his own so I'm happy to share the experience with him- although sometimes he doesn't want to read and I don't want to wait. DD12 is enjoying the movies but has no interest in reading the books or me reading to her. Ah, well. I didn't listen to my mom either.

[indimom]

Originally Posted by -Hope-

That's so great! I really think being a fan will make a huge difference. The whole reason I do movie nights at all is because I think each ride/land is more fun if you know the back story.

I have to confess that I'm a recent HP convert myself. My mom read the books when they were first published, waited impatiently for new ones to be released, etc. but I just wasn't into them at the time. My mom is also a big Tolkien fan and I'm not so when she was raving about this book of magical things I think I thought it was going to be too much like The Hobbit, which is her favorite book.

Anyway, when the last movie came out and Pinterest was exploding with HP related pins I decided to give it another try. Sooooo glad I did! DS13 and I are actually reading together. He still enjoys being read to even though he also reads on his own so I'm happy to share the experience with him- although sometimes he doesn't want to read and I don't want to wait. DD12 is enjoying the movies but has no interest in reading the books or me reading to her. Ah, well. I didn't listen to my mom either.

[-Hope-]

Okay folks, big, big, BIG news!
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Just a few short weeks after our trip to Universal Kya and I are doing a girls only trip to WDW!!!!

As I do with most of my Disney related decisions, I blame Karen for this. Our daughters are just as good of friends as Karen and I so when Savannah talks to Kya about going to WDW it, of course, makes Kya beg to go back. At first I said no because I'd have to do something for Jace as well and I can't afford that!

HOWEVER... my mom is looking for a new job so her vacation time is up in the air at this point. I started thinking about what a trip without her would look like. Recently, thanks to Karen, I discovered that a nearby regional airport sometimes has really cheap flights to Orlando. So, I thought what if we just did Universal in this trip, Jace and I did Legoland on our own later on and then the next year Kya and I do Disney on our own?! Seemed like a really great plan.

Then I talked to Jace... and he thought flying to Florida to do LL for two days was ridiculous. He said he'd rather just include it with a day on our Universal trip and if Kya and I wanted to go to Disney that was fine with him. I am still floored and have trepidations about this idea. He keeps insisting that he won't feel left out and it will be fine for us to go without him but I'm worried that when the time comes he'll feel differently. I guess I'll just have to be prepared to take him somewhere the following year if he really seems bummed about it when the time comes.

So, anyway since I don't have to plan the trip with Jace first I told Kya we could go in 2013 and asked her when she'd like to go. She really wants to see the Christmas decorations (and so do I!!!) so we decided on November. I warned her that it might mean one less night or not getting hoppers/making it to every park because there are times that are cheaper than November but she said she doesn't care. She wants to see Disney dressed up for Christmas.

I don't have exact dates yet and will have to just watch for the cheap airfares. Frontier is the airline doing the cheap flights and they don't have rates released for next fall yet. I think I'm going to end up buying tickets for both trips at the same time. It will be fine and I have the budget all worked out. My work schedule is changing next month and I'll be doing more hours so I have the money- but I always feel nervous about spending until it's actually done.

I have some ideas about where we'll stay as well but I'm not sure if I should just modify this PTR and duplicate it here and on the Disney side of the boards or just wait and start a new one for the second trip... thoughts???

[Twoboysnmygirl]

You withholder!!! You knew this yesterday and didn't tell me?!?!? For shame!!!!!!

NEW PTR!!! You have to have two, trust me, trying to do a PTR for two trips is a mess. I'm making a new one for Savannah & I as soon as I'm done with my Anniversary TR.

Christmas will be AWESOME! I got a taste of it last week and it was FAB!!!

Still cannot believe you sat next to me for nearly 2 hours on that picnic bench and didn't spill the beans. I mean, I knew you were planning to go, but not in 2013 for Christmas!

[Tink-erin-belle]

I am so excited for you!!! November is my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE month to go to WDW!!! You are going to have a blast! The parks are so pretty with all of the Christmas lights, trees, decorations…everything! My recommendation is that if you really want to see everything done up for Christmas, go the week after Thanksgiving. It was gorgeous! If you go in early November, most of the stuff is up for Christmas, but not all of it. That is really sweet and mature of Jace to let you and Kya have the mother/daughter trip. If it was Coy, I would be a little concerned that he might change his mind, too. Hopefully Jace won’t, but even if he does, that was a really nice gesture Oh, and I vote for a second PTR, too