Boo to You & Turning 2! Oct 2012 PTR *NEW* 10/30 We're Back! TR Link Posted!!

[khertz]

Originally Posted by Leger13

Firstly, I'm glad y'all had a good 4th and were able to spend it together. it's a rare thing here too to be able to spend holidays together

Secondly, OMG I hate you!!!! Lol seriously though, best DH ever!!!! Taking you to DLR for your anniv! That's going to be so much fun and I'm dripping green with envy! I still can't talk DH into AP's let alone a single trip to DLR lol!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

I've got my name in the hat for the new infusion center that we are supposed to be opening at the hospital (eventually... they have been talking about it forever!), which will put me working 5 days a week 8-5 vs. 2 12hr shifts a week with rotating weekends. Once I get into that position, no more weekends or holidays! Now, if only they would actually get to work on getting it ready...

Ahh, don't hate me!!! When DH presented it to me, he started out by saying, "I want to ask your opinion on something, but I don't want to get you too excited in case it doesn't work out." I'm planning to do another short TR for that trip, so just direct your DH to the DL TR threads and maybe that will sway him!!

Originally Posted by disneybarbie

Wow that's exciting news about your anniversary trip!!

Cars Land and Buena Vista Street look incredible, definitely a reason for you to head back to the West Coast

Looks like you had a great 4th of July - I wish we had a holiday like that in England lol


Emma x

I'm so excited about it, but a little nervous at the same time about leaving Paxton. Cars Land and BVS are two major draws that swayed me to returning to DL instead of going back to WDW. I was watching some Mickey Mouse Clubhouse this morning with DS and caught a Disney 365 segment showcasing Cars Land and got even more excited!! I have kind of avoided looking at pictures because I was so disappointed that we had missed out on it by a few weeks. Now we get to see it!

Originally Posted by DDuck4Life

I like to think so.

Originally Posted by ash-n-brensmom

THAT IS AMAZING!!! So happy for you guys! We loved going to WDW on our own last year without the girls! It was so much fun! You haven't even finished your TR from DL...you better get going girl, you're gonna have two more trips to report soon!! LOL!!

I know, I thought that to myself this morning!! How am I going to juggle all these TR's and how will my bandwith at Photobucket ever keep up?! With frequent updates, I should be able to finish my first Disneyland TR before we go on our Anniversary trip. I'm almost done with the DL portion of the trip anyway!

[afwdwfan]

Jealous.

Looks like a great idea. Especially since you'll get to experience Cars Land this time.

[CandleontheWater]

Oh my gosh, what an awesome anniversary present! I, too, am very jealous, but also very happy for you!

I'm really looking to get to Disneyland next year, maybe Oct 2013. I'm going to have DH read both your TRs to try and convince him!

[KTgE]

First...I'm all caught up. Loving all your plans. I almost bought AG the Mickey shirt Paxton wore for the 4th the other night...but he picked out a new Buzz/Woody T instead.

Second...I got caught up on your May TR and am subscribed to that too. My husband appreciates your DH's research. He enjoyed seeing all the popcorn machines and weather vanes. Don't you love Disney details?

Third...I'm so excited you get to go back to DL for your anniversary! That's amazing. We are actually planning to do that next year for our anniversary. This year we went and ran the Expedition Everest Challenge since it was a few days after our anniversary. We've since been bit by the runDisney bug. We are planning to each run a half at Disney World this winter on our current APs before they run out and then I think we are going to splurge next year and do the Premier so that we can run the Disneyland 1/2! Which will fall a few months after our anniversary but who cares because we'll get to do DL solo. I'm excited since we've been there for a day but we barely scratched the surface of what all is there. We didn't even make it to CA. I can't wait to read your review of the place you're going to stay at. I'm currently torn on do we stay on property/off property for the race since there are off property places literally right next to the on property places.

Last...think of me on your 2nd day of this trip, the 21st, it's my birthday! I told DH that for my 30th bday next year I didn't want a party I just wanted to be in the MK on my 30th bday with our kids. So, if y'all do October 2013 at the same time we might just have to meet.

[mandas08]

What a great holiday you all had. Nothing beats family time. Sorry fireworks didn't work out. This was DS's first 4th. I had my doubts that it would work out but some how we pulled it off and DS got to see his first fireworks. I was in shock to see him still awake when the fireworks started at 9:45. He didnt have much of a reaction though, I think he was too tired to care about what was going on..haha. The whole experience gave me reassurance that we would get to see wishes this trip. Last trip when he was 7 months we didn't get to any of the night activities because his bed time was 6:30. Now that it is closer to 7:30-8:00 we have alot more flexibility.

Paxtons Mickey shirt is adorable. I think I saw it at Target and was tempted but DS is still small for his age and I think the smallest they had was 12months. Every time I see your pool pictures I smile. Paxtons reaction to the water and hose is adorable.

Your anniversary trip sounds amazing! Disneyland twice...you are too lucky!

[Imagineer5]

Aw so excited for you guys! And jealous too! That's going to be such a funt rip. I was so mad not to go anywhere for our 5 year anniversary. You're going to have a blast.

[khertz]

Originally Posted by afwdwfan

Jealous.

Looks like a great idea. Especially since you'll get to experience Cars Land this time.

Yes, I'm SO excited about Cars Land! That was one of the things that kind of tipped the scales. Yes, WDW has a lot of new stuff too, but we will get to see that in October. Otherwise, it might be a very long time before we had ever been able to check out Cars Land!

Originally Posted by CandleontheWater

Oh my gosh, what an awesome anniversary present! I, too, am very jealous, but also very happy for you!

I'm really looking to get to Disneyland next year, maybe Oct 2013. I'm going to have DH read both your TRs to try and convince him!

Sounds like a plan! Honestly, DH I don't think ever would have been onboard for a DL trip had he not had time to go there by himself for a day last year. Sometimes it's those little things that make them think planning for DL is "their idea." (Sorry to all the men reading this thread! )

I think DL in October would be fantastic! You'd get to see the holiday overlay at HM and maybe try the Halloween party at the park. Isn't it free there? Plus I'm sure the weather will be fantastic that time of year.

Originally Posted by KTgE

First...I'm all caught up. Loving all your plans. I almost bought AG the Mickey shirt Paxton wore for the 4th the other night...but he picked out a new Buzz/Woody T instead.

Second...I got caught up on your May TR and am subscribed to that too. My husband appreciates your DH's research. He enjoyed seeing all the popcorn machines and weather vanes. Don't you love Disney details?

Third...I'm so excited you get to go back to DL for your anniversary! That's amazing. We are actually planning to do that next year for our anniversary. This year we went and ran the Expedition Everest Challenge since it was a few days after our anniversary. We've since been bit by the runDisney bug. We are planning to each run a half at Disney World this winter on our current APs before they run out and then I think we are going to splurge next year and do the Premier so that we can run the Disneyland 1/2! Which will fall a few months after our anniversary but who cares because we'll get to do DL solo. I'm excited since we've been there for a day but we barely scratched the surface of what all is there. We didn't even make it to CA. I can't wait to read your review of the place you're going to stay at. I'm currently torn on do we stay on property/off property for the race since there are off property places literally right next to the on property places.

Last...think of me on your 2nd day of this trip, the 21st, it's my birthday! I told DH that for my 30th bday next year I didn't want a party I just wanted to be in the MK on my 30th bday with our kids. So, if y'all do October 2013 at the same time we might just have to meet.

That would be cool to not only visit both parks but run a race in each one too! And yes, as small as DL is compared to WDW you still definitely need a few days to really get into it and see what all there is. We decided against the on property because it was just too expensive and we were trying to keep costs down as much as possible since we are taking a big vacation right after we come back, pretty much. While we were searching, there seemed to be some really amazing looking off-site hotels within walking distance to the parks. One that we were strongly considering was Red Lion but the parking fee there was kind of outrageous and I think they charged for internet access.

That will be awesome if you get to go to MK on your birthday! We just might be there at that same time because I want to squeeze in one more trip before Paxton turns three. I'm not sure if we'll travel over the week of his actual birthday again or not, but we will see how it goes this year. Yes, we would definitely need to plan a DIS Meet if our days overlap next year though!!

Originally Posted by mandas08

What a great holiday you all had. Nothing beats family time. Sorry fireworks didn't work out. This was DS's first 4th. I had my doubts that it would work out but some how we pulled it off and DS got to see his first fireworks. I was in shock to see him still awake when the fireworks started at 9:45. He didnt have much of a reaction though, I think he was too tired to care about what was going on..haha. The whole experience gave me reassurance that we would get to see wishes this trip. Last trip when he was 7 months we didn't get to any of the night activities because his bed time was 6:30. Now that it is closer to 7:30-8:00 we have alot more flexibility.

Paxtons Mickey shirt is adorable. I think I saw it at Target and was tempted but DS is still small for his age and I think the smallest they had was 12months. Every time I see your pool pictures I smile. Paxtons reaction to the water and hose is adorable.

Your anniversary trip sounds amazing! Disneyland twice...you are too lucky!

I did notice that DS was a lot more flexible this trip with staying up past his bedtime and not being entirely awful when he did vs. last year when he would just fall asleep in the stroller and go right into the crib back at the resort. I think the heat also played a major role in him not wanting to stay up for the fireworks this week. Hopefully it will be a little cooler in the evenings in October so he can actually stay awake for Wishes and experience them. He slept through them with his earmuffs on last year!

I really am so lucky, and I keep reminding myself of that! I will likely NEVER have an opportunity to visit 2 Disney parks 4 times in the span of 12 months again, so I'm enjoying every moment of it!

Originally Posted by Imagineer5

Aw so excited for you guys! And jealous too! That's going to be such a funt rip. I was so mad not to go anywhere for our 5 year anniversary. You're going to have a blast.

We went to Las Vegas for our 1 year anniversary and then after that we haven't really done anything until last year when we spent a couple of days in New Orleans. So I figured we'd better do it up big for 5 years since we have been kind of lax about it up until now! I'm so excited! I keep forgetting it's only a little more than a month away!

[debrapagliasotti]

Glad to hear you had a great 4th of July!

So excited to hear about your anniversary trip. Sounds like fun

[skier_pete]

Nice bonus trip! And probably by then the lines for Carsland won't be as crazy as they are now. I'll have to return the favor and let you know the secrets to success in Carsland! At least if the AP/EE is still going on, you can use it, and if not, you won't have people already in the park in front of you!

As far as leaving Paxton, we left our DD for overnights pretty young, and she was about 3.5 when we left her in Arizona with my mom while we flew to Colorado for 4 days. Now we send her to my MIL for a week or two each summer. It's nervewracking the first time, but remember, your parents successfully raised you without anything too bad happen - they can handle Paxton for a few days! It's probably worse for you than for your child.

Funny story, a close friend of ours let her daughter, who's going to be 7 in August, sleep over our house. She was very nervous about it and said this is the first time her daughter had ever slept away from them overnight. When she said that I thought "Holy Cow, am I a bad parent for wanting to dump my kid off every chance I get?" Then I decided, nope, I'm not.

Skierpete

[tofubeast]

Yay for your anniversary trip!!!! Now you can do some of the stuff you missed at DLR!!

[khertz]

Originally Posted by debrapagliasotti

Glad to hear you had a great 4th of July!

So excited to hear about your anniversary trip. Sounds like fun

I'm so excited about it!! Starting to look at what we want to do each day, but it's so frustrating. Our trip is in 48 days and we still don't have park hours for that weekend available!! Soooo different from planning WDW, but at least this time, I have an idea of what to expect.

Originally Posted by skier_pete

Nice bonus trip! And probably by then the lines for Carsland won't be as crazy as they are now. I'll have to return the favor and let you know the secrets to success in Carsland! At least if the AP/EE is still going on, you can use it, and if not, you won't have people already in the park in front of you!

As far as leaving Paxton, we left our DD for overnights pretty young, and she was about 3.5 when we left her in Arizona with my mom while we flew to Colorado for 4 days. Now we send her to my MIL for a week or two each summer. It's nervewracking the first time, but remember, your parents successfully raised you without anything too bad happen - they can handle Paxton for a few days! It's probably worse for you than for your child.

Funny story, a close friend of ours let her daughter, who's going to be 7 in August, sleep over our house. She was very nervous about it and said this is the first time her daughter had ever slept away from them overnight. When she said that I thought "Holy Cow, am I a bad parent for wanting to dump my kid off every chance I get?" Then I decided, nope, I'm not.

Skierpete

Thanks for the tip about the AP Early Entry! I just looked on the DL website, and it says we can register for it up through the middle of September! I'll have to discuss this with DH tonight and figure out how many days we want to be getting up THAT early. Definitely will do it for at least one day at DCA to get onto the Cars Land attractions early in the day before the crowds arrive. I was really nervous about it being that we are there over a weekend only and DL is such a big locals park. I know we will have fun though even if it is crowded.

We have let him have a couple of short overnights with my mom in the last couple years, but this is our first "big" trip away from him. We were always at the most a couple of hours away if anything happened. Now we will be on the other side of the country! But I figured we needed to do something like this soon because we are planning a BIG Italy trip in 2014 just me and DH and I definitely don't want that to be the first time I have to leave DS for an extended period of time! I will just have to make sure my parents know how to Face Time so I can see my little guy even though we are away. I know it will definitely be much worse for us than it is for him. He will love spending a few days at Nonni & Poppi's house!

Wow, 7 is pretty old to have never spent the night away from home!! I would have been worried about the little girl crying all night missing her parents. Definitely doesn't make us bad parents to need some time away from the kids. Like my friend always tells me when I share my nerves with her over leaving DS, "You need it for your marriage!" So true!!

[khertz]

Originally Posted by tofubeast

Yay for your anniversary trip!!!! Now you can do some of the stuff you missed at DLR!!

That's exactly the plan!! I figured in the future, we'd be much more likely to take a weekend trip to WDW since it's so close, but an opportunity for a weekend trip to DL might never come up again. The more I think about it and start planning, the more excited I get!!

[jenny105]

Wow, you lucky girl! I want to see tons of pictures of Cars Land. TONS!

Glad you had a great 4th!

[Leger13]

Originally Posted by khertz

I've got my name in the hat for the new infusion center that we are supposed to be opening at the hospital (eventually... they have been talking about it forever!), which will put me working 5 days a week 8-5 vs. 2 12hr shifts a week with rotating weekends. Once I get into that position, no more weekends or holidays! Now, if only they would actually get to work on getting it ready...

Ahh, don't hate me!!! When DH presented it to me, he started out by saying, "I want to ask your opinion on something, but I don't want to get you too excited in case it doesn't work out." I'm planning to do another short TR for that trip, so just direct your DH to the DL TR threads and maybe that will sway him!!

That's great!!! I hope you get it!

Haha well he's a great hubby! My DH wants to go to DLR but he wants to wait until Alex is a bit older. Same with the Disney Cruise. I think we'll have some big trips planned for when Alex is in middle/high school I can deal with WDW till then

[khertz]

Day 3: Monday October 22nd

We will start off our second full Disney day at Epcot!



Priorities for the morning will be all of Future World: Journey Into Imagination, Seas with Nemo & Friends, Character Connection, Mission Space, and Spaceship Earth. Yes, you read that correctly, Soarin' is not on my list! It could possibly be on my parents' must-do list, but I'm not sure. DH and I are not big fans.

We have an early lunch planned at my new all-time favorite Disney World restaurant Via Napoli!



Lunch is for 11:30, so I know there is no way we will have all of those Future World attractions accomplished before then, but I don't really have a priority of which ones I want to do first. Since we are sticking with the fairly low-level attractions, I figure we will just do what we can until our ADR and save the rest for later.

I'm SO looking forward to this lunch! I have been craving that Quattro Formaggi pizza since last November. This is also the one ADR that will be for only the three of us. My parents are going to try their luck for a Le Cellier ADR that day, but I don't know how successful they will be. Not that they did not want to try Via Napoli, but we wanted just one meal to be our little family, and I knew they wouldn't want to miss out on the character meals, so I gave them the choice of VN or 50's Prime Time and they would rather join us for 50's.

After lunch we will probably spend a little time wandering the World Showcase until we are ready to head back for a little break in the afternoon.

Hopefully either before we leave for break or by the time we come back, we can stop at the Visa Meet & Greet in Innoventions



After our break, we will be heading back to Epcot for just a little while so I can catch the first or second performance of...


HANSON!!!

Can't even describe how excited I am by this, and by the fact that I can take Paxton with me! He loves dancing to their music with me, so hopefully he will enjoy the show. We will probably bring his earmuffs though just in case. I'm more worried about the crowd screaming than I am about the music being loud though!



I'm thinking for the afternoon, we will park at the TTC and monorail over to Epcot, so that once we are finished in Epcot, we can monorail to MK for the evening.

My main goals for MK that evening are to see (maybe) MSEP...



...if Paxton is up for the waiting & spot holding involved. But definitely want to see Wishes!



I'm hoping Paxton will enjoy his first actual viewing of fireworks since up until now, he has always slept right through them! If not, well, at least we will have those earmuffs with us.

Once Wishes is over, we will head out with the masses to get back to Bonnet Creek for the night.