A newbie, a nana, two princess, and......the Planner! (Updated 1/4--DTD & head home)

[disneymom1980]

Well, this will be my first trip report as well as my first trip in almost 10 years. My DH and I will be taking our two beautiful daughters who will be 14 months and 5 years and my mom. I am an obsessive planner, and I already have my notebooks and spreadsheets going. I am stil waiting for the EMHs to come out for October before setting our schedule. We will be going October 20-27 and we'll be attending MNSSHP for the very first time.

My husband and my girls have never been to Disney before, and the last time my mom was there was when I was 8. She does a lot for us, so we're treating her to this trip. It will be her first real vacation in about 20 years.

We're also going to be on the Deluxe Dining Plan. I decided it would just be nicer to not have to worry about the cost or anything while we're there. This way we can order what we want and try some signature restaurants without stressing about the cost. We're also planning several character meals.

Any tips are welcome!

[disneymom1980]

A little background info:

Nana~My mom.....finally getting into the thought of going. She took me when I was 8, and it was really the only real vacation we ever went on. She says she's going to ride all the rides, but I'll believe it when I see it. She is a purists and feels the real Disney spirit is with Mickey and Minnie. She greatly indulges DD #1 in her princess love and contributes to the massive amount of Princess merchandise in our home.

DH~A Disney newbie. At first he didn't understand my love for Disney, but since he's seem some of the books and the planning dvd, as well as some specials on the travel channel, he's gotten more excited. He is a big kid at heart, and while he loves cartoon, he was more into Saturday morning cartoons (smurfs, alvin and the chipmunks, scooby doo) and not Disney. He has, however, become very knowledgeable on all of the princesses since DD is obsessed.

DD #1~Will be 5 when we go and will be in kindergarten. Yes, we are taking her out of school to go. I am a teacher, and I will make sure she keeps up. She is already starting to read, so she's pretty advanced for her class. She is a to the max! She and I will both be going to the Bibbiddi Bobbiddi Boutique, hopefully before the Halloween party. She has been Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Belle (in that order) for past Halloweens. She says she wants to be Hannah Montana this year, but I'm trying to change her mind.

DD #2~Will be 14 months old when we take our trip. She is a mover and a shaker and has never been still, even in the womb. We're hoping that she'll have some teeth by then (she's almost 8 months now and shows no signs). Luckily, she does enjoy riding in the stroller, and that is where she'll probably spend most of her time. She too is engaged with princesses, mostly because she shares a room with DD #1.

The Planner~That me! I'm 28 and have been to Disney twice before. The last time was in 1999, and I know a whole lot has changed since then. I can't wait to share the magic with my girls and DH. I am basically making all of the decisions on the trip, and have been told multiple times that I should be a travel agent. I tend to get obsessed with whereever I'm going (not just Disney). I especially enjoy the dining reviews, and I'm hoping to do one of those too.

These are the restaurants we are looking at so far.......I haven't made ADRs yet because my 180 days is April 23.

Crystal Palace, Dinner
Cinderella's Royal Table, Breakfast
Ohana, Breakfast
Tusker House, Breakfast
Hollywood & Vine, Breakfast
Akershus, Breakfast
Chef Mickey's, Dinner
Cape May Cafe, Breakfast
1900 Park Fare, Dinner
Coral Reef, Dinner
Yak and Yeti, Lunch or Dinner
Sci-Fi Dine In, Lunch
Brown Derby, Dinner
Tony's, Dinner before MNSSHP
California Grill, Dinner

Dh would like to go to Fulton's, but they aren't on the dining plan, so we might just go for drinks or something. What do you all think?

[JKMJ441724]

Originally Posted by disneymom1980

She greatly indulges DD #1 in her princess love and contributes to the massive amount of Princess merchandise in our home.

We have an incredible amount of Disney Princess stuff at our house. When I was pregnant with my son (our second child) we moved our dughter out of the nursery into her "big girl" room. It was beautiful, chair rails, pink wallpaper and some EXPENSIVE furniture. About a year later, we were walking through Walmart and they had a "bedroom in a box" with princess stuff. It cost about $80. My daughter said, "I would sleep in my own room if you got me that."

Originally Posted by disneymom1980

At first he didn't understand my love for Disney

Gasp! I hope you schooled him on the finer points.

Originally Posted by disneymom1980

He has, however, become very knowledgeable on all of the princesses since DD is obsessed.

Men and their daughters. I love to see him husband holding baby dolls.

Originally Posted by disneymom1980

She has been Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Belle (in that order) for past Halloweens. She says she wants to be Hannah Montana this year, but I'm trying to change her mind.

Sounds like my family. I bought my daughter a great Dorothy costume for MNSSHP. I thought it would be perfect for Florida. It was lightweight and short-sleeved. But she pitched a fit. She wants to be Wonder Woman.

Originally Posted by disneymom1980

We're hoping that she'll have some teeth by then (she's almost 8 months now and shows no signs).

Awww. My daughter is 6 1/2. She lost her first tooth on Easter Sunday. The next day, my sister noticed that her new daughter had a tooth. I told my daughter that the tooth-fairy took her old tooth and gave it to her cousin. My daughter lost her second tooth today. Maybe your daughter will get it tomorrow.

Originally Posted by disneymom1980

I am basically making all of the decisions on the trip,

I make most of the decisions in our life!!!

I can't wait to read more.

[Native NYer]

Coming over via Scott's ptr.

Great start

[disneymom1980]

We have an incredible amount of Disney Princess stuff at our house.

Us too......DD #1 got her princess bedroom for Christmas two years ago, and DD #2 is sharing her room. The crib set was Pooh, but we just happened to find a princess crib set at Walmart, so now they match!

Gasp! I hope you schooled him on the finer points.

I've been working on it. He's definitely getting better about it now. He's actually listing when I read stuff in the books and is looking at the dining reports with me.

Men and their daughters. I love to see him husband holding baby dolls.

It is very cute to watch them. He's still learning how to play the barbies . DD #2 is very much a daddy's girl though, and he's loving it.

My daughter could use some teeth. All of my friends with babies her age are picking on her because she is the only one without any teeth yet. She isn't crawling yet either, and her sister was walking at 9 months! She gets so mad because she wants so badly to get to things and she just can't.

Thanks for reading!

[disneymom1980]

Hi Native NYer !

[scottny]

Hi,
I saw you pimping yourself on Scott's pre tr and decided to come over.

looks like a great start. I just checked and EMH r posted.

the adr's look great, hope u get them all.

looking forward to hearing all the plans.

[disneymom1980]

Scott~Yep, I'm using you . I hope we get all the ADRs too. The only one I'm really worried about is CRT, but I know DD #1 would just love it. I think we're going to book at the BBB at the castle too, just in case we can't get breakfast there. Unfortunately, DH and I aren't very adventurous eaters, so the lunch and dinner menu just don't appeal to us.

[scottny]

Originally Posted by disneymom1980

Scott~Yep, I'm using you . I hope we get all the ADRs too. The only one I'm really worried about is CRT, but I know DD #1 would just love it. I think we're going to book at the BBB at the castle too, just in case we can't get breakfast there. Unfortunately, DH and I aren't very adventurous eaters, so the lunch and dinner menu just don't appeal to us.

good luck with CRT but I am pretty sure that time of the year u should get it.
I took the girls to BBB in January and Tiny loved it, the older one was ok with it. I did it the day of P&PP and it worked out great.
Hope u get them all.

[disneymom1980]

Scott~Thanks. I hope we do get them all. I'm pretty sure DD will love the BBB. She did a Hannah Montana makeover at Libby Lu over spring break and thought it was the greatest thing ever! I'm getting the top package so that she can pick out her princess outfit for Halloween this year too. I'm going to make myself an appointment too . Too bad DD #2 will be too young and doesn't really have much hair.

[scottny]

Originally Posted by disneymom1980

Scott~Thanks. I hope we do get them all. I'm pretty sure DD will love the BBB. She did a Hannah Montana makeover at Libby Lu over spring break and thought it was the greatest thing ever! I'm getting the top package so that she can pick out her princess outfit for Halloween this year too. I'm going to make myself an appointment too . Too bad DD #2 will be too young and doesn't really have much hair.

I bought a Cinderella dress off of Disney shopping for $30 and with the package ($45) it is about half of what the most expensive package there is. U may want to consider that.

[disneymom1980]

Ok everyone, here is my tentative itinerary. Let me know what you think. I'm open to any suggestions.

Our Itinerary
October 20 (Monday)
*Chef Mickey’s---5:00 pm

October 21 (Tuesday)
*Magic Kingdom*
*CRT---8:00 am
*Cystal Palace---6:00 pm

October 22 (Wednesday)
*Animal Kingdom*
*Tusker House---8:00 am
*Yak & Yeti---4:30 pm

October 23 (Thursday)
*Magic Kingdom*
*Ohana---Breakfast 8:30 am
*BBB---4:30 pm Anna, 5:15 pm Tristin
*Tony’s---6:00 pm
*MNSSHP---7:00 pm-midnight

October 24 (Friday)
*Epcot*
*9:00 am---Askershus
*6:00 pm---Coral Reef

October 25 (Saturday)
*Morning at Epcot or park hopping
*1900 Park Fare---4:30 pm
*California Grill---9:00 pm (Adam & Tristin)

October 26 (Sunday)
*Hollywood Studios*
*Hollywood & Vine---8:00 am
*Sci-Fi Dine In---1:00 pm
*Brown Derby---7:00 pm
*Fantasmic---8:30 pm

October 27, (Monday)
*Departure Day (flight at 1:15)
*Cape May Cafe---8:30 or 9:00 am

This leaves us to use the 7th days of our passes either in the evening on the 20th or the morning of the 27th. Satuday would be a Downtown Disney/misc. park day. They tickets are park hoppers, so that could be done on some days too. Do you think we will be okay doing the Cape May breakfast on our departure day?

[scottny]

it looks fantastic.

[disneymom1980]

I hope it all works out. I guess we'll see on the 23rd when I can make my ADRs.

[stagemomx3]

Fine I'll come out of lurker mode.