"Santa must have heard that we love balloons!" *5/10 Update*3 - le bon temps roulet

[lsulindy]

Originally Posted by DizNee Luver

Wellllllllll, I talked with the gal last night and we ran the refund on my card. It's a debit card and it should have showed up immediately but it didn't. She sent me a copy of the refund strip from their machine....that clearly states it was "offline". She told me it would take 3-5 days for the refund to show up depending on my bank. So not sure what to think right now. I hope that's the case and it will show up......but if you ran my debit card for a purchase on those machines....it shows up immediately. I will wait until about Thursday next week and if it's not showing in my acct. by then, then I'll call again.

Good news on the bus!!

It always amazes me how a charge can go through instantly, but there's always a nice delay on a refund! Good luck!

[PHXscuba]

I've been catching up on your PTR. The Christmas morning pictures are so cute. I like the ones with the balloons (eventually) rising from the box. I think we get our minds wrapped around how perfectly it will go ... and it never quite does. But it looks like the kids still liked it and are looking forward to it.

That reminds me, I need to order a new planning DVD. Pretty sure our latest is 2011. Can never have too much mail from Mickey (especially now that my kids know too!)

PHXscuba

[lsulindy]

Originally Posted by PHXscuba

I've been catching up on your PTR. The Christmas morning pictures are so cute. I like the ones with the balloons (eventually) rising from the box. I think we get our minds wrapped around how perfectly it will go ... and it never quite does. But it looks like the kids still liked it and are looking forward to it.

That reminds me, I need to order a new planning DVD. Pretty sure our latest is 2011. Can never have too much mail from Mickey (especially now that my kids know too!)

PHXscuba

My kids are thrilled. It didn't go the way I imagined it, but they had no idea "how it was supposed to go". They thought it was great. The new planning DVD is so cute. The insert page has the "Welcome to Radiator Springs" sign, but instead of the "Gateway to Ornamental Valley" part it says "Scuba Family". Really cute. Most of the DVD is the same as the 2012, but they do have an added CarsLand and BVS section. I had received a 2012 and right after that saw that people were getting the 2013, so I reordered. I'm glad I did. The kids really like watching the CarsLand part.

[lsulindy]

Yay! Park hours are now out for all days of my trip. Friday IS an 8am opening, so hopefully that will give us time to get a number of things done before our 10:20 Minnie & Friends ADR.

Friday is also the first day that F! will be showing again after its refurb. I was leaning towards hiring Mouse Expeditions, but my parents have decided to they want to pay the money for us all to do the dessert package. Dad has Parkinson's and mom has a back injury, so I was really worried about how we were going to find/save a spot for the show.

But, now that they've decided on the dessert package, I'm stressing about them spending that much money and worried that the kids will either be tired or dd will be scared. I watched the video with her on YouTube and she did OK. She asked a few questions about the dream, and I reassured her that it was make-believe and the dragon was just a robot. But, it's not as intense on YouTube as I'm sure it is IRL, so I'm still concerned. Fingers crossed.

[PHXscuba]

Yay for having all your park hours! You know my feelings on that ....

The dessert package sounds awesome -- especially with older parents. I can't imagine my father sitting tightly packed in on the ground both to hold a spot and then see the show. That is one area that WDW's Fantasmic has an edge -- you get a seat!

We saw Fantasmic at DL a couple years ago. We'll probably try to see it again but might not sweat it so much. I am however, looking into the World of Color picnic lunches to be sure we have a spot for WoC. Since you are standing and I have two short kids, it could be a problem.

PHXscuba

[lsulindy]

Well, it's Jan 9 which means we leave in one month!!! I have nothing officially booked/planned for our 2 non-Disney days, and I just keep researching Disney, instead of looking into those. I need to secure car rentals for those days, decide on the double-decker bus, and just do general research into what we want to do. I'm a researcher, so I don't know why I keep putting this off. I also need to decide on transportation to/from LAX. Leaning towards Karmel's right now.

The more I read about DL, the more things I decide I want to see/do/experience. Starting to worry that we won't have enough time. Want to do the kiddie rides for DS2, the thrill rides for DS7, and DD5 loves to meet characters. I wanted to take this trip at a more leisurely pace and not wear ourselves out. I think we'll have to go slower with my parents anyway.

With the early closure times, I hope we can still get it done. I know you can never see/do everything, but there's a few things I really hope we can do. Dancin' with Disney was one of those things, but today there's a thread that it may go away. I hope that's not true. I was hoping to see both sets of characters.

First World problems, right? We're going to DISNEYLAND!!

[lsulindy]

Originally Posted by PHXscuba

We saw Fantasmic at DL a couple years ago. We'll probably try to see it again but might not sweat it so much. I am however, looking into the World of Color picnic lunches to be sure we have a spot for WoC. Since you are standing and I have two short kids, it could be a problem.

PHXscuba

Not sure what we're going to do for WOC yet. At least with that one, we have multiple nights to try.

[lsulindy]

I'm an so darn excited! Read earlier today that they're letting the baby panda out for public viewing tomorrow. I didn't think he'd be out yet for our trip.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505263_1...-public-debut/

And, since first having the idea for this trip, I've been hoping for Bayou Bash/Mardi Gras celebrations. I've been stalking the Disney blog and Limited Time Magic page as well as other blogs. But, Susie63 posted that it was on this site today! You'd think that since we're leaving NOLA for Mardi Gras and get to experience the real thing would mean that we didn't care much. But we LOVE Mardi Gras and only leave b/c it's a non-summer heat/crowd week off of school. It'll be nice to get a little celebration. Even if it's the Disneyfied version. Plus I have a thing for characters in unique outfits, and Mickey and Minnie in Mardi Gras outfits has me feeling like a giddy kid!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bT226OexI8g







ETA: As I was typing this, DH started watching Disneyland videos on Youtube with the kids. They were almost done, and I said "Type in Disneyland Bayou Bash" It started playing and the kids looked at me with big eyes. I said, "They're doing that for Mardi Gras!" They started jumping up and down and cheering!

[lsulindy]

DH and I are both finding it pretty funny that the food offerings for Bayou Bash last year were Corn Chowder and Meatloaf. Both completely non-New Orleans/Mardi Gras foods, even if you do add some "Cajun" seasoning. Wasn't planning to order "New Orleans" food in Disney anyway. Well, except the Mickey beignets. I know they will probably disappoint in the taste department, but I just can't resist.

[PHXscuba]

Glad you'll get the Disney Mardi Gras experience. I don't think it's funny at all to want to do it at DL -- family friendly yet familiar.

I read up on the World of Color picnics and I don't think we'll do them. The food choices aren't great for my family and they're kinda pricey for takeout. It only gets you a for-sure FP, not a special area. When the WoC FP was a big run-out-quickly deal, this was probably a major plus, but now I understand you can go pull a FP pretty much anytime the first half of the day without any trouble. Read the first page of HydroGuy's World of Color superthread -- it helped me a lot.

For your DD5 that loves characters, there are plenty of them and meeting them is much more relaxed than at WDW. I found the Fab 5 back in Toontown often with just a few people casually lined up to meet them. They also hang around Town Square too. I think the only major lines are for Tinkerbell and the princesses.

PHXscuba

[lsulindy]

Originally Posted by PHXscuba

Glad you'll get the Disney Mardi Gras experience. I don't think it's funny at all to want to do it at DL -- family friendly yet familiar.

I read up on the World of Color picnics and I don't think we'll do them. The food choices aren't great for my family and they're kinda pricey for takeout. It only gets you a for-sure FP, not a special area. When the WoC FP was a big run-out-quickly deal, this was probably a major plus, but now I understand you can go pull a FP pretty much anytime the first half of the day without any trouble. Read the first page of HydroGuy's World of Color superthread -- it helped me a lot.

For your DD5 that loves characters, there are plenty of them and meeting them is much more relaxed than at WDW. I found the Fab 5 back in Toontown often with just a few people casually lined up to meet them. They also hang around Town Square too. I think the only major lines are for Tinkerbell and the princesses.

PHXscuba

Mardi Gras in New Orleans is very family friendly. The part you see on TV and Bourbon Street isn't a good representation of how the locals celebrate. I'm sure it's not as sanitized as the Disney celebration, but it's not what most people believe it to be! Growing up I really believed that it was a holiday designed for children, and my kids feel the same way. Although we'll be missing the big parades Mardi Gras weekend, we'll be hitting all the parades in the weeks leading up to our trip! DS just realized last night that we'll be missing Bacchus, even though he knew we were leaving on Saturday. I guess he'd just never really thought about it. He was pretty bummed. But, still thrilled to go to DL!

I'd looked at the dining packages and picnics for WOC, but they didn't seem to address my concerns. I think the plan is to get there early and try for a spot by the rail so the kids can see with nearby bench for my dad. If that doesn't work, then we'll reassess and try something else another night. Hopefully being mid-February will make it a little easier.

Thanks for alleviating my concerns about characters. DD wants to meet everyone we see, and we spent a lot of time at WDW in character lines. DD wasn't tall enough for some of the rides at that point, so we'd wait for a character, while dh and ds went on a ride. DD still isn't tall enough for everything, so we can still do that some, but there's only a couple now that she can't do and she wants to do all the thrill rides. She's not tall enough for Indy or Cali Screamin'. That might be all. So, she may have to make some decisions. DS like the characters, but will choose a ride over a character in a heartbeat. Don't know what DD would pick if she had to choose. Also have to worry about DS2 this time. He's fearless, but not tall enough. However, watching YouTube videos the other night, he kept yelling "I ride that too!" So, I'm not sure what we're going to do with him when he can't get on a roller coaster! It was easier when he was 4 months old and had no clue! For him, going meet a character with DD will be easier than seeing brother and sister both go do a ride while he gets left behind. Oh well, I'm sure we'll figure it out!

[lsulindy]

WoW! Today is one month from the last day of our trip! And, one month from the reopening of Fantasmic! I called this morning and reserved our premium viewing with dessert package. So that's done! It's a lot of money, but we'll have chairs and won't have to fight for a spot.

DH realized that he can get a van for the week for super cheap with his business credit card, so we're going to rent a mini-van from LAX for the whole week instead of just the LA sightseeing and San Diego zoo days. We would have had to pay for 2 days rental, plus airport transfers, and we won't have to worry about what time the rental offices open/close on the single days we planned to rent. I think this will work out much better for us.

Still undecided about the double-decker tour bus vs touring in our rental.

PROS: kids would enjoy the bus, don't have to drive, don't have to find/pay for parking, will see more sights b/c we'll see things on the loop that we wouldn't see if we were driving straight to a location

CONS: cost, have to wait for bus w/ 3 kids at stops.

We did a double decker tour in NYC and rarely had to wait. It all went very smoothly, but we didn't have kids with us and waiting wasn't a big deal, and I don't know if the LA version runs as regularly. We did get to see a lot from the bus that we wouldn't have seen on our own though, and I really enjoyed it. The kids were obsessed with us sending pics of the buses and pics of us on the buses, so I know they would enjoy it.

[lsulindy]

So, there will be THREE Limited Time Magic events during our trip! Mardi Gras, Lunar New Year, and Valentine's Day.

Very excited! We've never met Mulan or Mushu, so I was excited about that. And, then I come across this:



I have a special place in my heart for meeting the Fab 5 in different outfits, which I've handed down to my daughter! So excited!

This conversation was repeated multiple times on our last trip:
DH: But we met him yesterday
Me and DD in unison: But, he's in a different outfit here!

[jaymesmom617]

Originally Posted by

I have a special place in my heart for meeting the Fab 5 in different outfits, which I've handed down to my daughter! So excited!

This conversation was repeated multiple times on our last trip:
DH: But we met him yesterday
Me and DD in unison: But, he's in a different outfit here!

:goodvibes [/b

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Make sure to check out Mickey in DCA on the walkway by Paradise Pier. He is usually in a gazebo wearing resort wear. I know that I have also seen in wearing safari clothes but, I just can't place for sure where is was....

[lsulindy]

Originally Posted by jaymesmom617

Make sure to check out Mickey in DCA on the walkway by Paradise Pier. He is usually in a gazebo wearing resort wear. I know that I have also seen in wearing safari clothes but, I just can't place for sure where is was....

Thanks for the tip. I hadn't heard of that one. I'm really hoping to get pics with 20s BVS Mickey and flight attendant Minnie.

Any other characters have special BVS clothing? I think I've seen a few with other characters, but I'm not sure if that's a regular thing or something that was special for the opening of BVS.

Oh, I'd love to see Princess Minnie too.

And, of course the Mardi Gras and Lunar New Year ones. Wonder what DD will think of seeing so many different outfits on the same characters in the same parks maybe in the same day. With WDW, it was usually in a different park on a different day than our previous meet.