Christmas all year long!

[Monknmom]

I totally understand busy...so don't worry about falling behind.

ridemax...well... I wouldn't go without it..even if I only use it as a guide rather than an EXACT plan.. So I do recommend it.

The upgrade to adult on the dp will be nice for Zoe because while I know she will not eat all that food...she will definitely enjoy the option to choose something different. (ie not eat chicken nuggets at each meal) I wonder if Damien would feel the same way? I think part of what made me decide to is that we have the dp for 11 nights. If it were even a bit less I might think she could just deal with kids meals...but almost 2 weeks

I am checking out ridemax today!

 

[shocky5]

So I did some number crunching... we are definitely better doing the 40% off so I'm sticking with that. However, I'm considering doing the bump up, too. I know it will increase his park tickets to adult also, so it may not be worth it... I don't know. I tried to pick places where he could eat mostly what the rest of us were... but there are a few he will be stuck with nuggets, mac n cheese, pizza.... wonder if it would be cheaper if I just pay out of pocket for an adult dessert... that's where his discontentment is going to come from... when his brother and sister are getting elaborate chocolate flowing dishes smothered in sprinkles and whip cream and he has cookies or something... my kids are all about dessert! That might be more cost effective... Will they let me do that or will they be strict about having anything extra???

Of course... I could give him my dessert.... so not going to happen. I might share though...

 

[annmarieda]

So I did some number crunching... we are definitely better doing the 40% off so I'm sticking with that. However, I'm considering doing the bump up, too. I know it will increase his park tickets to adult also, so it may not be worth it... I don't know. I tried to pick places where he could eat mostly what the rest of us were... but there are a few he will be stuck with nuggets, mac n cheese, pizza.... wonder if it would be cheaper if I just pay out of pocket for an adult dessert... that's where his discontentment is going to come from... when his brother and sister are getting elaborate chocolate flowing dishes smothered in sprinkles and whip cream and he has cookies or something... my kids are all about dessert! That might be more cost effective... Will they let me do that or will they be strict about having anything extra???

Of course... I could give him my dessert.... so not going to happen. I might share though...

When I called, the cm was sure that my 40% was a better deal. However, I knew through my own that fd would save us a whopping $7. It was then just a matter of how much it would cost to get Zoe that age 10+ /10 day ticket. It seriously was surprising to me. I expect $50 or so. $17.25 is what it cost to upgrade her for the full 11 nights. Like you, it is more about the dessert that has my child give the sad puppy dog eyes. It is hard to just get some ice cream while everyone else gets to elaborate desserts. I know you could order an extra dessert here and there. Given that I think most desserts are any where from $6 to $8 (approximately) That $17 would cover itself in just a few desserts. Course, that is assuming that the upgrade would only be that much. It might be worth a call. See...even when I ran the numbers on the site, I wasn't getting what I got when I called. On the site, I couldn't get a courtyard view and would have had to move or go with a higher category room. Then again... you are club level...right? Hmmm... that 40% off does equate to more off total. Oh... yes... now I am thinking it might not save you as much. Course??? If I stayed with the pin and upgraded Zoe the cost would have been $600..so for me..the savings is like the 40% off pin + $600 - the $17.25. I still might call...

I am checking out ridemax today!

I don't think you'll have any trouble. If you are worried about it, you could bring something to prove she is her age.

 

[annmarieda]

I had to change this day around a bit more than I did 12/12.

12/13 - Tuesday

Today will be our first time to enter Epcot. Just like MK, we are planning a total of 3 days in this park. So again, we will not have to be at rope drop.

We will probably eat a breakfast bar that I have brought from home. Coffee will be on the agenda, so we will probably stop by Roaring Fork to fill up on what will have to pass as coffee. I may bring Starbucks via packs though and if so, we will just get hot water in our mugs.

Away we will go and head to

Once in Epcot the first thing we will do is head to get fast passes for

Then we will let Alex take Zoe on

I am not sure how comfortable I am with it, so this may change. I won't be going on it and it is doubtful that Steve will.

Next, we will go on a ride that I find a lot of people don't bother with. I like it. Not sure why, but I do.

By now, it will be time to use our fast passes! Yay, I love that ride!! So does Zoe.


After we go on TT, we will need to get our DV picture taken so we will head to Innoventions East. I plan to go here each day we go into Epcot just to get a picture. Is that sad?

After this, we will be a bit thirsty. Where would the best place to get a quick (and free) sip to drink?

Now, next up ridemax is telling us we should get our fast passes for

However at noon, I wonder if they will be out? Will ridemax fail me here? It would be a first.

So we will attempt to grab those passes and then we will eat at

I am sure we will all be quite hungry but with so many choices, everyone will be able to find something they like.

After lunch it will be time for a break. Ridemax has us not doing anything for a VERY long time. So we will meander over to see this at BW..

This at the YC...

and this at the BC...

I imagine it will be time for a snack of some sort. We could stop at Beaches and Cream take out window and get a single scoop ice cream, but I am not sure that it will a. be warm enough for ice cream and b. where is the fun in a plain ole scoop of ice cream.

No, instead I think we will head back to WS where depending on our mood we will pick up a pastry or a drink somewhere along the way. We will most likely share two snacks between the four of us to make up for the extra credits used the day before.

After our little snack we will head back to FW where it will be past time to use our fast passes.

After Soarin we will go on a bit of a boat ride to see somethings like this...

Next we will go to

After we will spend some time in the aquarium. I think in all our trips we have only really spend time here during our 2008 trip. Zoe loves things like this as does Steve so this is a must that can not be missed. This also will be great at filling up the time until our dinner ADR.

Dinner will be here

I hope we luck out and get some pixie dust. It would be nice to be seated at an aquarium table just like on our last trip.


We probably will not be able to do much after dinner since the park closes at 9:30 pm.

We will stay until park closing. I really hope this doesn’t cause problems. Steve really doesn’t want to do a “Disney commando trip” I am hoping that the diversion after lunch will be enough of a theme park break.

Before leaving the park we will have to stop at the photo place to pick up our free 5x7 pictures. Both DH and I have a DV so we will get the one from the photo shoot and then pick out one other (I think we are allowed to pick any pic we want and that it doesn't have to be the one at the photo op.)


We will not be staying up late since the next morning we a pretty early start to our day.

This day we will use 2 snack credits (leaving 36), 4 quick service credits (leaving 36) and 4 table service credits (leaving 36)

Ridemax gives us a total wait time of 85 minutes with 30 minutes of walking between rides for the day. (of course, walking to the BW area will be outside of that time)

 

[Monknmom]

I like those plans and it's good for you to take advantage of the free photos that they offer you with your card! It's there for that and so many people probably pass it by that it wouldn't make a difference!
I want to wonder to a few resorts too to look at those gingerbread buildings and decorations! I have to fit that in somewhere!
Damien likes the aquarium stuff too! He wants to study sharks when he's older! I guess that it's just a relaxing thing to do, I hope to get in there too!
I will keep my fingers crossed that you get your pixie dust for tank seats at dinner!

 

[lilpixiebabe101]

Sounds like a very nice day for y'all. A slower paced day, to relax and just go from place to place!

 

[KatMark]

Ann, the plans sound great. I've never used a Touring Plan or RideMax and I'll be curious as to what you think about it.

Does Zoe want to go on Mission? If so, I say let her go for it. I personally will never go on it again...but that's just me.

 

[veggiemama]

Hi Ann,

Just had a chance to read your newest day plan. Sound great! I haven't started planning my days yet and I'm not sure how organized I will be when it comes down to what ride when. I'd like to say I will do that because I find it much less stressful but we'll have to see if I find the time.

I'm going to have to try to go back a few days and read your other days. I love how organized you are in all this.

 

[shocky5]

Awesome day! You leave me hope that we can truly fit in resort touring time into the trip!! Will be great downtime away from the parks!!

 

[annmarieda]

I like those plans and it's good for you to take advantage of the free photos that they offer you with your card! It's there for that and so many people probably pass it by that it wouldn't make a difference!
I want to wonder to a few resorts too to look at those gingerbread buildings and decorations! I have to fit that in somewhere!
Damien likes the aquarium stuff too! He wants to study sharks when he's older! I guess that it's just a relaxing thing to do, I hope to get in there too!
I will keep my fingers crossed that you get your pixie dust for tank seats at dinner!

Thanks, I am anxious to get that pp pic as it is one of my favorites from last trip.

And I hope we all get lost of pixie dust in December!

Sounds like a very nice day for y'all. A slower paced day, to relax and just go from place to place!

I think Epcot is often a bit more low key for us. There isn't that many rides so there is less to fit in.

Ann, the plans sound great. I've never used a Touring Plan or RideMax and I'll be curious as to what you think about it.

Does Zoe want to go on Mission? If so, I say let her go for it. I personally will never go on it again...but that's just me.

I have used ridemax for every trip except the first one to DL. That trip, we sat in line to ride dumbo for 2 and a half hours (I KID YOU NOT) Never again, I vowed. The kids were all much younger then...I think Alex was younger than Zoe is now. And by the time we got on the ride no one was happy and we were all tired and hot. I have found I can get away with using Ridemax as a guide more than an exact itinerary. It does tell you to be at places at EXACT times (like down to the minute) I don't want to stress about it. I make sure we follow the order of things and watch to make sure we are not falling too behind schedule. If we do fall behind, I will just jump us ahead (yes, skipping over some things that had been planned) to get us caught up. The thing I like is that I can have hours a day that are breaks and still get lots done. During those breaks, we have sometimes gone back to things that we missed earlier in the day. It is a good system for us... mostly so I can see what I can reasonably fit into a day and thus plan ahead.

As for Mission... yes, Zoe wants to. She went with Kira last trip and loved it. They did the tamer side...but really, Kira is more of a caregiver to her and more mature. I can safely assume that if Kira has Zoe she will make sure that all goes well. Alex... well, he can watch her...for short periods of time... but he is still her brother and while Zach and Kira don't sink to the level of "sibling" with her, Alex certainly does. And one thing Alex likes to do most with her is torture her by either teasing her (telling her he has something of hers or the last seems to set her over the edge) or scaring her (he loves to jump out from behind corners and startle her). Just tonight Zoe did not want to go to Alex's room to get him for dinner because she was afraid if she was the only one going upstairs he would be sure to scare her. So... the two going alone on a ride concerns me a bit.

Hi Ann,

Just had a chance to read your newest day plan. Sound great! I haven't started planning my days yet and I'm not sure how organized I will be when it comes down to what ride when. I'd like to say I will do that because I find it much less stressful but we'll have to see if I find the time.

I'm going to have to try to go back a few days and read your other days. I love how organized you are in all this.

I wish there was a smilie that showed someone standing dumbfounded in awe...see that is me when I get to the parks. I am so thrilled to be there that I am left stunned. With a plan in hand it keeps me moving. Other wise I would stand in awe of it all and never do anything. As much as I have recently talked about ridemax, I am sure you can guess this is where I get a lot of my plans organized. I feel like I am going overboard with it though... everyone has their own way of doing things and what works for one family does not necessarily work for another. Suffice it to say... I do like ridemax.

Awesome day! You leave me hope that we can truly fit in resort touring time into the trip!! Will be great downtime away from the parks!!

I am surprised at how much free time I have those first few days. I think I am getting a lot crammed in..yet hours and hours will be set aside for resort touring.

I bet you too will be able to fit it in!!

 

[KatMark]

As for Mission... yes, Zoe wants to. She went with Kira last trip and loved it. They did the tamer side...but really, Kira is more of a caregiver to her and more mature. I can safely assume that if Kira has Zoe she will make sure that all goes well. Alex... well, he can watch her...for short periods of time... but he is still her brother and while Zach and Kira don't sink to the level of "sibling" with her, Alex certainly does. And one thing Alex likes to do most with her is torture her by either teasing her (telling her he has something of hers or the last seems to set her over the edge) or scaring her (he loves to jump out from behind corners and startle her). Just tonight Zoe did not want to go to Alex's room to get him for dinner because she was afraid if she was the only one going upstairs he would be sure to scare her. So... the two going alone on a ride concerns me a bit.

Ah, yes...the sibling thing...I remember it well. Only it was my middle brother (I am the oldest of three) who pulled that on me ALL of the time.

 

[Monknmom]

Hey how are you feeling? Weren't you having cramps the other day? How's Zoe?

 

[annmarieda]

Ah, yes...the sibling thing...I remember it well. Only it was my middle brother (I am the oldest of three) who pulled that on me ALL of the time.

I am sorry you went through all that too. Brothers can be such pains.

Hey how are you feeling? Weren't you having cramps the other day? How's Zoe?

I am doing ok. I actually went to the doc today. She wanted to run a bunch of tests. I let her know that if it involved anything where I could not drive myself it was a no go. I told her that basically, I understand we would be looking for a. or b and if we just treat as though it is a. and it doesn't work then we can look at more invasive tests to check for b. So she gave me a script and off I go to hope that fixes it. It better cause I don't have time for it.

And I removed Zoe's folley last night. Other than some bleeding issues all seems to be good with her. (keeping my fingers crossed)

 

[KatMark]

Ann, you are unbelievable. I LOVE my goodie box (I sent you a PM).

Thank you so much.

 

[annmarieda]

Ann, you are unbelievable. I LOVE my goodie box (I sent you a PM).

Thank you so much.

You are quite welcome.

 

[ladytink75]

Your day at Epcot sounds so cool.. Just looking at those pictures makes me want the time to go by faster.. I really can't wait to see all the cool things that DW has to offer during Christmas time.

Keep up the good work on the plans everything looks good so far

 

[Monknmom]

I am doing ok. I actually went to the doc today. She wanted to run a bunch of tests. I let her know that if it involved anything where I could not drive myself it was a no go. I told her that basically, I understand we would be looking for a. or b and if we just treat as though it is a. and it doesn't work then we can look at more invasive tests to check for b. So she gave me a script and off I go to hope that fixes it. It better cause I don't have time for it.

And I removed Zoe's folley last night. Other than some bleeding issues all seems to be good with her. (keeping my fingers crossed)

Well I hope that it's A then so that it just clears up with medicine and no tests!
I will keep my fingers crossed too!

 

[annmarieda]

Wednesday, 12/14 - day 6 (revised on 12/28)

This day will be our first day in

After much debate, I decided to cancel our ADR at WCC. I was concerned that I would not be able to get us to ride TSM if we stuck around in the morning to have breakfast. I think when it really comes down to it, paying out of pocket for Mickey waffles at WCC and forgoing TSM this day isn’t worth it. We can go to Roaring Fork and pick up a quick breakfast, making it easier for us to get to the park.

So we will start our day early and pay out of pocket for what I hope will be wonderful. Mickey waffles with strawberries and orange whipped cream. YUM!

We will have to hustle to make it to the park by 9am. Once inside the park, ridemax has us running first to

Originally we were going to go to TSM first so this kinda surprises me...but after years of ridemax never failing me... I guess I won't second guess it now.

Next we will go see something we never have before. Walt Disney: One Man's Dream. Is this worth it? Between wait time and ride/attraction time it will take 35 minutes.

NOW we get fast passes for

Continuing on, we will go to

Steve has not gone on this ride so this is a must do for us. I wish it didn't have the walk through part, but all in all it is fun! It reminds me a bit too much of US though.

After the tour, we will go have some lunch. If memory serves 11:30am is exactly when a certain restaurant opens up and offers sandwiches. Sandwiches that often times have been known to run out. Add in a yummy dessert option and you have one of (IMNSHO) the best cs options on property.

Lunch can be very relaxed since we have a bit of time before moving on to the next item on our itinerary (at 1pm)

This next thing is TOTALLY for Zoe. I know you all have heard a lot about Zoe this last year, and I am sure that you all know she is a princess. However, she is also beginning to be a bit of a diva as well. She strikes a pose each morning in front of the mirror once she has picked out her ensemble. She also sings... all ... the.. time. Have any of you seen the show "new girl" Ya know how she has her own "theme song" going much of the time? Well, that is Zoe. Zoe walking down the stairs "IIIII'm walking...just a walkin..down...the stairs" (with no particular melody) She puts EVERYTHING to song.

Ok, so back to this plan. What might I have on the itinerary that would cater to such tastes/behaviors?

This will no doubtedly make Alex's ears bleed.

Probably will Steve's too.

Something I have added to this day is next. Also for Zoe, but also a nice escape from weather for the rest of us.

We will have a bit of free time at this point and I think we may have to find a bit of a snack since we ate an early lunch and will be eating a late dinner.

Next up will be the 3pm showing of Pixar Pals Countdown to Fun Parade. I love parades and I never get to see the ones I want. I will be getting to see some this trip!

Now, we will be catching a 4:30pm showing of

Then a bit of down time while Zoe plays in the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Play Area.

It will now be approaching 6pm. When do the Osbourne lights come on? I hope to be able to see this next.

Before leaving the park we will ride on TSM. I am super excited to ride this with Alex since he never has been on it.

After we leave, we will head to DTD and will be we will be having dinner at

The question will be what to eat. Will it be pizza or salmon or maybe even pasta or meatloaf. I guess I can think about that for the next 7 weeks.


Originally we were going to be going to watch the American Idol finale, but this just won't fit in to our plans so this trip we will be missing. Oh well, it is very quickly getting outdated...

This day we will use 4 snack credits (leaving 32), 8 quick service credits (leaving 28) and 0 table service credits (leaving 36)

Ridemax gives us a total wait time of 120 minutes with 55 minutes of walking between rides for the day. (yep, lots of back and forth)

 

[annmarieda]

Your day at Epcot sounds so cool.. Just looking at those pictures makes me want the time to go by faster.. I really can't wait to see all the cool things that DW has to offer during Christmas time.

Keep up the good work on the plans everything looks good so far

Thanks! I can't wait till December. I can't believe how close it is getting...almost close enough to start thinking about packing some items.

Well I hope that it's A then so that it just clears up with medicine and no tests!
I will keep my fingers crossed too!

Thanks so much! I will be diligent with some lifestyle changes and taking the medication and hopefully I will be in tip top shape come december. See... really, I am coping with it all...but going to WDW in December motivated me to try and take care of it cause i don't want to spontaneously get sicker in FL!

 

[shocky5]

I love your DHS plans! I may have to copy them a bit! Even though I've subscribed to ridemax, saved the plans it gave me... yours seem even more organized.

Glad you got Zoe's foley out! Hopefully, it will all be good.