A Mother-Daughter Sea/Land August Trip - UPDATE! CHANGES??? (2/24)

[CandleontheWater]

Wow, two weeks of Disney vacation! I'm officially jealous!

I think your plan sounds awesome! Florida is hot in August- but its not like your skin is going to melt off or anything, its totally manageable!

I think a Royal Room sounds perfect! I LOVE POR, it is my fav moderate, so I think you made an excellent choice! It is so pretty, it has such an awesome food court and I love having the boat to DTD.

[shan23877]

AGGGGHHHHHHGGGG! I'm sooooo sorry to be so late!! I was stuck at work all weekend!

Going back to actually read now.

[shan23877]

I think your plan sounds great!!

I don't think you should worry too much about August. It will be very, very hot but you can take pool breaks and since so many ride queues are air conditioned, you should be fine. We did August last year, and it was much more crowded than April, but totally manageable. In fact, the character lines were longer in April than they were on the August trip!

Yay for POR Royal Room!! That's one of the packages that I currently have saved! If the BCV points rental doesn't work out, that may be where we end up as well. If you stay at POR, you'll almost have to go to DTD, the boat ride there is great!

I think the surprise will be amazing too! That will be so much fun!

***

I think you're right. Between the 3 of us, we should be able to keep 3 TRs or PTRs running continuously. I just though about it yesterday and realized that I likely won't finish my TR until November or December at the rate I'm going. And 6 months isn't too early to start a PTR, so I should be good!

[RGirl]

No - I have not abandoned my PTR already!

I have been struck down with the flu since Sunday. Now that my fever has come down a bit from 103 and I can breathe again (well, sort of), I thought I would check in.

I hope to get replies done tonight, but first I want to try to catch up on all of your TRs.

[shan23877]

Oh no! I hope that you're feeling better very soon. And what an awful time too, I'm sure you're very busy with back to school and such.

Feel Better!

[LittleGirlGrey]

Oh no! Sorry you've been sick!!!

[RGirl]

Originally Posted by amandaw

I really like your current plan! Please stay in the Royal Room so that I can live vicariously through you. I liked it last year when we did the parks before our cruise. Seemed to work well for us.

Thanks! I am pretty sure that we will stay there, but obviously, if some kind of great code came out, well, you know......

Yes, I think parks first makes the most sense - the cruise will be so nice and relaxing after all the craziness of running around the parks.

Originally Posted by amandaw

That's funny about Willow being disappointed about going to Disney. When we told Reid that we were going to Disney this year, he wanted to know if we would also be going on the "Mickey boat." He was very upset when I told him no. Who would have thought little kids would love cruising so much?

Isn't it hilarious????? I never in a million years would have guessed that Willow would prefer a cruise to the parks! I kind of get it though - I am positively obsessed with cruising now. I LOVED it!

Originally Posted by amandaw

I wouldn't worry about the crowds too much. I don't think the parks or boat will be empty by any means. But, I wouldn't think it would be horrible either.

You know, I am now starting to think you are right. It looks like our schools start REALLY late compared to a lot of areas of the country. So I'm thinking that our dates will be at the tail-end of most people's summer break (or even after school has started for some). Therefore, maybe the crowds won't be as horrifying as I am imagining. Honestly, knowing that I have the cruise ahead of me should help me keep myself from getting Crowd Freak Out Syndrome anyway.

Originally Posted by amandaw

As for the heat - it will be hot. We have pretty much the same weather as Florida and August is still hot & humid. July is worse but August isn't great. Take some water spritzing fans & bottled water into the parks with y'all. I'm having trouble remember from your report of last year's trip - did y'all do afternoon pool breaks? That would probably help.

I lived in Miami for a year. I remember driving across the border into Florida (pretty sure it was August), and the A/C went out in my car. I am NOT looking forward to revisiting that heat. But I think if we can maintain our usual early starts, add in a pool break, and get used to staying out later in the evening, we should be good. The late nights will prepare us for enjoying the cruise more too as we will be more likely to attend the nighttime events.

Originally Posted by amandaw

And last but not least - hurricanes. I say if those are the dates & prices that work best for you - just go for it. If there is a disturbance, they will sail away from it. This may mean a change in itinerary. But, since I know you don't care as much about the ports, that probably wouldn't be a huge deal for y'all.

Oh, that is good to know! I had no idea what they would do in the event of a storm. I would not mind at all missing the ports - honestly, I have zero interest in the Caribbean ports.

Originally Posted by rpcvpanama

So glad you started a new pre-trip report. Loved reading along for the last one. Have you thought about a June trip? Less chance of hurricanes and the weather in Florida is just a little bit better. Not nearly as humid as August. If not, you should still be fine. In the event of a hurricane the ship will usually reroute to a different area to avoid the hurricane. Nice thing is the hurricanes tend to be slow moving and they will know way in advance where they are heading. Cruises are rarely cancelled for hurricanes you just may end up on an island that you hadn't intended to visit!

So glad you have enjoyed the TR! Yes, a June trip would be nicer probably, but our schools get out VERY late - summer vacation in WDW will be in full swing; I think our crowd issues will be less in late August, and it gives me a couple of extra months to save money. Most importantly, though, the idea of doing our big vacation as soon as summer break starts doesn't appeal to me that much - I really like the idea of ending the summer with a bang before heading back to school.

I am so relieved to know that they just alter the course of the cruise. I have no problem at all with that - I have no interest in the Caribbean ports (other than Castaway Cay), so I will not be put out if the route changes.

Originally Posted by rpcvpanama

Also, love the idea of a Panama Canal trip. I spent 2 years in the Peace Corps in Panama and loved every minute of it. Just know that it takes about 6-7 hours to transit the canal so it is really an all day affair. The locks, on both ends, are neat and the area called Culebra Cut (near the Pacific side) is definitely worth spending time to see. That is where most of the actual "digging" took place and continues to this day. Most of the canal resulted from a river damn flooding low lying valleys.

Thanks for the info! It is so neat to hear about the PC!!!! It really is a dream trip for me, and I hope maybe we can do it in 2014. The 6 to 7-hour transit sounds very interesting - plenty of opportunity to see things. Tracy Arm in Alaska was pretty much an all-day affair, and it was awesome. There was more to see by-the-minute on Tracy Arm, I'm sure, but I love the idea that you know you can't miss it because it will be going on all day. You don't happen to know of any good children's books about the canal, do you?

Originally Posted by rpcvpanama

Whichever you chose i will enjoy reading along.

Thanks so much! I love being able to relive trips with my DIS friends!

Originally Posted by LittleGirlGrey

YAY! That sounds like such a great plan!!! She is going to love it!!! I too want to travel on the Fantasy, but only because of Pepe the King Prawn!!! I love him. So I will be VERY excited to hear your TR on the Fantasy! That will be SUCH a great suprise for her, thinking she's going back to the airport and instead going to the ship. Seeing the ship from Disney Transportation is AWESOME!

I really hope the surprise works - I mean, can you imagine???? I have never had a surprise like that in my life! And, seriously, cruising on the Fantasy is her greatest dream in life right now.

Originally Posted by LittleGirlGrey

My mom and I have done the Western Cruise 3 times, but before the new ships of course. I would say you should stay onboard at least one day while at port. That way you can see things on the boat with less people. I'm so excited to hear more!!!!

You know, I have no interest at all in the ports. The excursions don't appeal to me that much, and having to transport my child to them without a carseat really doesn't appeal to me. I will research more obviously, but I am pretty sure that we will spend more than one port day on the ship - I am looking forward to those days as our opportunities to enjoy the pools and Aqua Duck (if Willow is tall enough) without HUGE crowds.

[RGirl]

Originally Posted by CandleontheWater

Wow, two weeks of Disney vacation! I'm officially jealous!

I still don't know if I can really swing it, but I think I can! Two weeks is a long vacation, but it will be our only true vacation for the year, and WDW is so far away from us. It just seems like the right thing to do!

Originally Posted by CandleontheWater

I think your plan sounds awesome! Florida is hot in August- but its not like your skin is going to melt off or anything, its totally manageable!

Well, as long as my skin isn't melting, all should be well!

Originally Posted by CandleontheWater

I think a Royal Room sounds perfect! I LOVE POR, it is my fav moderate, so I think you made an excellent choice! It is so pretty, it has such an awesome food court and I love having the boat to DTD.

Oh, I didn't realize you had stayed there. Any suggestions on things to do there or special things about it? I am reading up on it, but I don't know much yet.

We have never been to DTD! So I think this will be incentive to carve out some time to do that!

Originally Posted by shan23877

AGGGGHHHHHHGGGG! I'm sooooo sorry to be so late!! I was stuck at work all weekend!

Going back to actually read now.

No worries!

Originally Posted by shan23877

I think your plan sounds great!!

I don't think you should worry too much about August. It will be very, very hot but you can take pool breaks and since so many ride queues are air conditioned, you should be fine. We did August last year, and it was much more crowded than April, but totally manageable. In fact, the character lines were longer in April than they were on the August trip!

That is great to hear that August wasn't terrible! I am feeling better and better about it. Still worried about hurricanes though..... (We are kind of used to perfect weather at WDW, so even the usual Florida rain storms will be an adjustment for us. )

Originally Posted by shan23877

Yay for POR Royal Room!! That's one of the packages that I currently have saved! If the BCV points rental doesn't work out, that may be where we end up as well. If you stay at POR, you'll almost have to go to DTD, the boat ride there is great!

Yes - I don't think we can avoid DTD if we stay there!

I hope the points rental works out for you - I loved our awesome rental experience.

Originally Posted by shan23877

I think the surprise will be amazing too! That will be so much fun!

I really hope it works. I just can't imagine how awesome it would be to be surprised like that!!!

***

Originally Posted by shan23877

I think you're right. Between the 3 of us, we should be able to keep 3 TRs or PTRs running continuously. I just though about it yesterday and realized that I likely won't finish my TR until November or December at the rate I'm going. And 6 months isn't too early to start a PTR, so I should be good!

6 months is certainly not to early! Eleven months, well......

Originally Posted by shan23877

Oh no! I hope that you're feeling better very soon. And what an awful time too, I'm sure you're very busy with back to school and such.

Feel Better!

Thanks. MUCH better today. And kind of excited that I made it through something like this with no ER visit, no steroids, no antibiotics - that is the first time I have managed to do that in over a decade. So that is actually pretty cool!!!!

Originally Posted by LittleGirlGrey

Oh no! Sorry you've been sick!!!

Thanks. Definitely better today.

[amandaw]

Originally Posted by RGirl

No - I have not abandoned my PTR already!

I have been struck down with the flu since Sunday. Now that my fever has come down a bit from 103 and I can breathe again (well, sort of), I thought I would check in.

I hope to get replies done tonight, but first I want to try to catch up on all of your TRs.

I am so sorry to hear that you're sick! Take good care of yourself & I really hope you feel better real soon!

[RGirl]

Wow - I have really been neglecting this PTR. But I don't think anyone noticed.

In real life news, we survived the first week of kindergarten. (I think I will try to upload some pictures tonight to post. ) It was kind of crazy because the schedule was nuts. The first week of September, Willow had no school on Monday (holiday), no kindergarten on Tuesday (so she went to preschool), a 45-minute evaluation with her kindergarten teacher on Wednesday, a half day of kindergarten with half her class on Thursday, and no kindergarten on Friday (so she went back to preschool). This week, she had a full day of kindergarten with half the class on Monday, no kindergarten on Tuesday (so she went back to preschool for one last day), and finally full days with full class on Wednesday through the rest of the week. CRAZY!

Anyway, it has gone well. She is really enjoying it, but I did not expect that we would both be so totally exhausted. I can't believe that it is so different from preschool - I mean, she has been doing all day preschool/daycare for years. But different it is! The greatest news, however, is that we have finally worked out a schedule that should work for us. You see, I usually get to work very early, but kindergarten doesn't start until 8:20; after-school care ends at 5:30. I hate to leave her in that late, but I know it would happen a LOT if I can't get to work until 8:30. So I had arranged to take her to her friend's bus stop and drive to work from there (that would allow me to get to work at about 8:00, which is better but still not great). We did that on Monday and Wednesday - I have to say, watching her go off on the bus was a bit much for me. I dealt quite well with her starting kindergarten because she is SO ready, but the bus really kind of freaked me out. ANYWAY , my wonderful father, out of the blue, offered to have me drop Willow off at their house every morning at 7:00 and he will then drive her to school. We have done that the last two days, and it has been great! I pack her a breakfast to eat at my folks' house, she gets extra time with her Poppy, she is being driven to school, and I get to work by 7:15, which means that I can leave as early as 3:45 (or work a little extra, earn extra leave, and still pick her up before 5). I am SO grateful to my dad!

A funny semi-Disney-related story: Willow's preschool does not allow clothing with any characters on it. Willow had chosen some character shirts when shopping for kindergarten. On Tuesday, she asked if she could wear one of her new kindergarten shirts to her last day of preschool (I had not allowed her to wear her new clothes there because everything gets stained). I looked up, and the shirt had Curious George on it, so I said no.

Willow: WHHHYYYYYYYYY???????

Me: Willow, it has a character on it. You know you can't wear a character shirt to preschool.

Willow: MOM! Curious George is NOT a character!!! I have NEVER seen him at Disney World!!!



Okay, enough of all that. For now anyway. On trip news, well, there isn't much obviously - I mean, it's a million years from now. However, I am already getting pretty excited about it! I am thinking that we may try some totally new things for us - new dining, shows, etc. Could be great! I will need to talk specifics with all of you who have already done these things that we have missed so far. Also, my mom has given some little hints that she might be thinking about joining us on the cruise again, so there is a remote possibility that I would get the chance to write another Two Judies Report!

[LittleGirlGrey]

HAZAA! Good days for school! She's going to have a blast. I can't for the life of me remember my Kindergarden experience, but I know she'll have a blast!

What will be her first Character Shirt then on Monday? Mr.George?

YAY for Two Judies! Can't wait to hear more!!!

[RGirl]

Originally Posted by LittleGirlGrey

HAZAA! Good days for school! She's going to have a blast. I can't for the life of me remember my Kindergarden experience, but I know she'll have a blast!

What will be her first Character Shirt then on Monday? Mr.George?

YAY for Two Judies! Can't wait to hear more!!!

So far, she has worn mostly Minnie/Mickey shirts and Hello Kitty. George as well. Hmm - not sure she has worn anything except character shirts at this point!

[LittleGirlGrey]

Originally Posted by RGirl

So far, she has worn mostly Minnie/Mickey shirts and Hello Kitty. George as well. Hmm - not sure she has worn anything except character shirts at this point!

I have quite a few character shirts myself! From Disney though, mostly Tinker Bell. And then I love Doctor Who and Star Wars and this awesome artist likes to mesh Star Wars and Doctor Who and other awesome things with Disney. So I have a Boo dressed as Leia and Mike dressed as Chewbacca. Then I have Dory "forgetting" who she is and where she is going because of this alien race from Doctor Who who makes you forget...SO Dory! SO cute!

[megan511]

I'm finally here Roni!

Your plans sound amazing! The POR Royal Rooms are so cute! I want to stay in one whenever Tessa gets into princesses. I think that Willow will love it.

A week in Disney then a week on a cruise? that surprise sounds fabulous if you can pull it off. I don't know if I could keep the secret. Willow's face will be priceless!

We went the last week of August through Labor Day last year. I didn't think it was too bad. We had afternoon showers everyday but they didn't last long. Most of the time we would get off a ride & see that it had rained while we were inside. We only had 2 days where the rain lingered, but one of those was in the evening when we were done with parks. Crowds were I thought very manageable. Of course I have never been to Disney during really slow times. The only thing I have to compare it to was early May which the crowds were about the same & Memorial Day week which August was less crowded. Schools here start after Labor Day & finish well into June so August is going to be our best bet for future trips too.

As far as the heat, yes it is hot. But Disney has so many indoor attractions that hopefully you will be able to stay cool. We always bring lots of water in with us too.

I'm so sorry you have been sick but I'm glad you didn't have to go to the ER! How scary, I'm happy you made it through fighting the flu on your own.

I'm glad everything is going well with Willow & school & you were able to work out a schedule that works out for everyone. How sweet tht your dad can help out. I love having my parents close by for reasons like that.

I'm sorry I'm so late but I'm excited to read about all your plans!

[shan23877]

That sounds like a crazy week! I can see the logic in getting the kids used to the new setting, but WOW! is that tough on the parents trying to figure out the logistics of all of that. We're finally getting into a groove here, but mostly because the districts here are all half day. For the first 3 weeks, the teacher sent home daily communication listing another little something that the kids should be working on from home each day (my guess is that it's in order for them to keep up with the rest of the state-which is full day- for testing purposes). So now we do kindergarten in the mornings, and mommy school in the afternoon for about 2 hours.

Yay! for you dad! That sounds like a perfect solution. What a relief that must be to you.

Love the Curious George story. She had a good point...

***

You know I can't wait to start talking dining/show options! I'm already sketching out our next DxDP adventure for the possible next trip.

And by the way-I noticed.