Confessions of an obsessive planner... Let the countdown begin!!

[-Hope-]

just found your PTR--our dates are overlapping--we'll be there from 9-28 to 10-9. I'm an obsessive planner too, lol. Most of it worked out and we just went with the flow when it didnt' work out, lol. your plan for the park looks great but be prepared for issues with the toy story riding in the am. We were there about a month ago at rope drop and the line for TSM was INSANE not to mention that the fast pass line was just as bad as the actual ride and by 10 am the Fast pass line was giving out return fast passes for a return time of 8pm at night--we didn't do the fast pass because it locked up all our fast passes for the day until 8pm, so that might be something you want to consider The standby times for TSM went from 45 minutes to 2 hours and that's supposed to be a SLOW season We were at HS three different days and never did get to ride it because we weren't willing to wait that long in standby or wait till the end of the night to ride it....

How does the homeschool tickets work with the free dining promotion? Do they let you have both discounts or are you paying out of pocket for the Dining plan? I know that they wouldn't let me do a double discount on our December vacation, but that was a free dining pin and discounted room rate, so is it different for the homeschool discount? I'd love to do the discounted tickets since we're considering starting GenevaClaire in Homeschool this year rather than sending her to public school kindergarten-
but we're not sure, it depends on how they transistion her from her special preschool into kindy--so we have to wait till May till they do the meeting to see what services they can provide her or if we'll do homeschool and private therapy sessions

subbing in and counting the days

First of all, WELCOME!!

Wow, that really stinks about TSM! We have already planned that one of the adults will wait in FP lines if necessary- my parents are really going more for the experience of being with the grandkids than for the rides so if we go ride something while they wait in a FP line they will be okay with that. Also we are doing the Give a day, get a day volunteer program and since we'll already have a multi-day ticket we may get the special FP. Out of curiosity was this the same time of year that this happened? And were you there on a green day according to TGM? Trying to think of all the contingencies.

As for the free dining and HS tickets- My uber organized partner in crime has found a loophole. We are buying a one day MYW ticket at full price with our room booking. Technically we aren't using any discounts and will then be eligible for free dining for every night of our stay. We'll buy the homeschool tickets seperately and use them for the rest of the week.

As for your dd you should ask them what services are available if you choose homeschooling for K. Our school district is required to provide services through age 7 regardless of school enrollment because 7 is the age of compulsory education in MO but 3 is the age that federal law says children are eligble for special services. So, from age 3-7 the kids can be brought into school just for therapy if they live in the district even if not enrolled. Every state and district has different policies so you'll have to talk with them when you meet in May- although you don't necessarily have to wait that long. (I used to be a Sp.Ed. teacher, lol) The school is required to call a meeting annually but parents can request additional meetings at any time. Good luck, whatever you decide!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Hope, are you getting my emails this morning? I'm sitting here wondering if we are walking and when!

 

[MagicMomentsMom]

First of all, WELCOME!!

Wow, that really stinks about TSM! We have already planned that one of the adults will wait in FP lines if necessary- my parents are really going more for the experience of being with the grandkids than for the rides so if we go ride something while they wait in a FP line they will be okay with that. Also we are doing the Give a day, get a day volunteer program and since we'll already have a multi-day ticket we may get the special FP. Out of curiosity was this the same time of year that this happened? And were you there on a green day according to TGM? Trying to think of all the contingencies.

As for the free dining and HS tickets- My uber organized partner in crime has found a loophole. We are buying a one day MYW ticket at full price with our room booking. Technically we aren't using any discounts and will then be eligible for free dining for every night of our stay. We'll buy the homeschool tickets seperately and use them for the rest of the week.

As for your dd you should ask them what services are available if you choose homeschooling for K. Our school district is required to provide services through age 7 regardless of school enrollment because 7 is the age of compulsory education in MO but 3 is the age that federal law says children are eligble for special services. So, from age 3-7 the kids can be brought into school just for therapy if they live in the district even if not enrolled. Every state and district has different policies so you'll have to talk with them when you meet in May- although you don't necessarily have to wait that long. (I used to be a Sp.Ed. teacher, lol) The school is required to call a meeting annually but parents can request additional meetings at any time. Good luck, whatever you decide!

Thanks so much for the info about the school providing svcs I'll check NC laws and see if it's the same here. The OT we're dealing with now thru the school is a nightmare she's not doing anything that I have requested and I even took an IEP advocate in with me this December for her annual meeting. Still haven't seen much happen that was supposed to since that meeting...

that's a cool loophole, does it save a bunch of money? I'm not sure if it would help us or not, we've got 10 day park hoppers--which they told me is the cheapest ticket price possible? I need to sit down and do the math and figure it out to see which would be better if we do go the homeschooling route after her transistion meeting this spring.

About HS, yep all days were green days, DD cannot tolerate large crowds, too many sensory issues, so all days were Green in our travel plan.Plus the first part of December is really slow according to TGM and UG-- It was crazy, I couldn't believe the line for both FP and the actual ride. So we've promised DD that we'll do it this time, even if her and her daddy stay somewhere else and play while I go wade thru the crazy FP line and we'll just have to plan to come back at whatever time it is, regardless of when or she's not going to be a happy camper, lol.

We're doing the GAD program too, but DD isn't old enough to actually qualify for the free ticket/FP, but DH and I will both have a FP so we can have one at MK and then another at DHS so that may fix the problem for TSM, I can only hope.

 

[-Hope-]

Ahh, snow days leave me with too much time on my hands...

The house is clean, it's waaaaay to cold to play in the snow for very long, nothing on tv, roads are still TERRIBLE so I'm checking out the dis. Again.

Now, this can be problematic for an obsessive planner because there are so many good ideas floating around. Soooo...

I think we're going to do some Disney movie themed activities leading up to our trip. This thread is AMAZING! So, I made a list and I have 61 movies that I'd like us to watch! No way even I can pull that off! I have 37 weeks until our trip so I'm going to shoot for one a week with the themed activities. We may watch more this winter while we're stuck inside since we have lots of options on Netflix not to mention that my mom has an EXTENSIVE Disney movie library. We'll only do one theme day per week though so I'm going to try to focus on things I think they'll see at the park but haven't necessarily seen the corresponding movie... like Tom and Huck, Swiss Family Robinson, Haunted Mansion, etc. I'm going to try ot keep it simple. I might try to incorporate some learning into the themes too... just don't tell my kids!

We'll be getting UP! from Netflix in a couple of days and since my mom's house is about the only place I can get to in the weather (she lives next door) I'm going to go raid her movie cabinet.

The movie themes will be this color so easily spotted and I'll make a seperate TOC in the first post. And just when I though I'd gotten as nutty as humanly possible.

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

and the student surpasses the master.

I had thought about movie night each week, but my boys would be horrified. I said we could do this and suggested Pirates of the Caribbean. They asked what FOOD we would have that associated with it and I said tacos. Then they laughed and laughed.

Savannah & I could do it, but that wouldn't be as fun.

I think I'll keep posting in you PTR, it's much more interesting than mine!

 

[MagicMomentsMom]

I'm with you on the snow--DD has another day off from school because of snow here --it's super cold and not much fun for very long outside.
You've not lost it you've just joined all the rest of his Disney addicts, lol. We did this last trip, but I didn't get all the activities planned that I wanted--so this time we have them all planned out in advance, DD chose the "order" that she wanted to see them in and I've got the duty of planning the food and the activities to go with each of them. We had planned on them being on the weekend but we're all stir crazy from being cooped up in the house with snow this week so Our first one is tonight--101 dalmatians--I hadn't planned a "learning" activity but that would be a great idea--I think I'll figure out a counting game with dog spots for tonight. See if you think this is goofy(no pun intended) we're making personal size puppy pizzas (DD cannot do the texture of hot dogs which was a cute idea if she would eat them) Dogbone sugar cookies, Dalmatian shakes (oreo shakes) and we're making our 4 dogs some dog bones from a recipe that I got on the internet. (the cats are going to feel so left out we'll make it up to them when we do the aristocats movie)
Now I need to make up a counting game from puppy spots Plus we're going to decorate the table to match the theme for tonight I'm just waiting for her to wake up from nap and then it's time to start getting the house decorated

 

[-Hope-]

You can come and do it with us!! We're doing it during the day because Robbie already thinks I've lost it so I'm not dragging him in with me!

Hmmmm.... maybe one of our walking days could be a movie day too! Then maybe we'd actually start.

 

[-Hope-]

I'm with you on the snow--DD has another day off from school because of snow here --it's super cold and not much fun for very long outside.
You've not lost it you've just joined all the rest of his Disney addicts, lol. We did this last trip, but I didn't get all the activities planned that I wanted--so this time we have them all planned out in advance, DD chose the "order" that she wanted to see them in and I've got the duty of planning the food and the activities to go with each of them. We had planned on them being on the weekend but we're all stir crazy from being cooped up in the house with snow this week so Our first one is tonight--101 dalmatians--I hadn't planned a "learning" activity but that would be a great idea--I think I'll figure out a counting game with dog spots for tonight. See if you think this is goofy(no pun intended) we're making personal size puppy pizzas (DD cannot do the texture of hot dogs which was a cute idea if she would eat them) Dogbone sugar cookies, Dalmatian shakes (oreo shakes) and we're making our 4 dogs some dog bones from a recipe that I got on the internet. (the cats are going to feel so left out we'll make it up to them when we do the aristocats movie)
Now I need to make up a counting game from puppy spots Plus we're going to decorate the table to match the theme for tonight I'm just waiting for her to wake up from nap and then it's time to start getting the house decorated

Those are cute ideas! I love the Dalmatian shakes.

I'm pretty sure it was your PTR that gave me this idea and sent me in search of the movie theme thread.

As for the learning activities we homeschool and I sneak it in everywhere I can.

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

You can come and do it with us!! We're doing it during the day because Robbie already thinks I've lost it so I'm not dragging him in with me!

Hmmmm.... maybe one of our walking days could be a movie day too! Then maybe we'd actually start.

works for me!

BTW, I won't completely be convinced that you are officially a Disney nut until much later, I'm guessing a few days into the actual trip...when you start talking about the NEXT trip! I know, I know, once-in-a-lifetime...just keep telling yourself that. There's no way to do it all and you'll find yourself wondering about just coming back once more to do those things you missed or get those shots that didn't come out right. Mark my word!

 

[-Hope-]

You may be right... I don't think I am a Disney nut just yet... more like an obsessive planning nut and there is just so much info (and so many pushers, lol) out there for Disney that it fuels that obsession.

I do find myself looking at pics of the castle all decorated up for Christmas and thinking it would be so great to see that... but you know I love to go to new places too so we'll see...

 

[jodi90]

Hi Hope,

I just found your PTR and I'm enjoying is very much. My trip in 2009 was the same time as yours will be. We were there from September 26th through October 3rd. It was wonderful. Be prepared to want to go back. I thought it was a once in a liftime kind of trip too. But now we are planning on going back in either December 2010 or January 2011.

I love all your t-shirt ideas. I could only convince my family to wear matching t-shirts on one day. One thought on your t-shirt plans.....the weather in Orlando for September and October is really hot and humid. The darker colors might be really uncomfortable.

 

[-Hope-]

Hi Hope,

I just found your PTR and I'm enjoying is very much. My trip in 2009 was the same time as yours will be. We were there from September 26th through October 3rd. It was wonderful. Be prepared to want to go back. I thought it was a once in a liftime kind of trip too. But now we are planning on going back in either December 2010 or January 2011.

I love all your t-shirt ideas. I could only convince my family to wear matching t-shirts on one day. One thought on your t-shirt plans.....the weather in Orlando for September and October is really hot and humid. The darker colors might be really uncomfortable.

WELCOME!!!

As for the dark colored shirts- the guys are picky so some of their shirts are darker- I've tried to make ours lighter colors unless we are wearing them at night. The guys I've tried to convince them they need lighter colors but they don't listen well. Good advice though- I'll keep working on them!

I'm sure that I'll want to go back! What I'm waiting to see is if I'll want to go back more than I'll want to go other places. I love to travel and love to go new places- the kids and I have a goal to visit all 50 states and I have my own goal to visit all 6 inhabitable continents. So far I've only been to two continents and nine states (drive throughs don't count!) and the kids have also been to two continents but only six states. I KNOW we are going to love WDW and will want to go back but I don't know if I'll love it enough to give up EVER seeing some other places, KWIM? It is a BIG world out there and I want to see as much of it as possible!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Cute smiley!

Jodi, you'll have to tell us all about that week! How busy were the restaurants? How about the parks? Wait times? Did you use TGM or UG? How busy was F&W? (we will be there on opening day so I know it will probably be crazy, but it's our last park day and my dh loves f&w) Where did you stay? Were the buses long waits? Do you think that is enough questioning?

 

[-Hope-]

Cute smiley!

Jodi, you'll have to tell us all about that week! How busy were the restaurants? How about the parks? Wait times? Did you use TGM or UG? How busy was F&W? (we will be there on opening day so I know it will probably be crazy, but it's our last park day and my dh loves f&w) Where did you stay? Were the buses long waits? Do you think that is enough questioning?

 

[-Hope-]

We have our first movie day planned! Tuesday Karen and I are (FINALLY!) going to be able to start walking. We found an indoor place to walk near her house and were supposed to start this week but the snow came and has had me trapped! But this week we get to start walking and we will do our first movie day after our first walk!

I'm super excited because I haven't seen UP! yet and have been just dying to. I found some fun snacks and activities to go with the theme and will share those pics with you guys after our party. If you read Karen's PTR you may already know that we both also love amateur photography so I'm sure we'll both have some great pics to share!

I found all of the ideas on the family fun site. We'll be having cupcakes arranged to look like a bunch of balloons, piercing a balloon without popping it and making adventure books to earn 'badges'. I can hardly wait!

 

[Mommy2LittleVols]

We have our first movie day planned! Tuesday Karen and I are (FINALLY!) going to be able to start walking. We found an indoor place to walk near her house and were supposed to start this week but the snow came and has had me trapped! But this week we get to start walking and we will do our first movie day after our first walk!

I'm super excited because I haven't seen UP! yet and have been just dying to. I found some fun snacks and activities to go with the theme and will share those pics with you guys after our party. If you read Karen's PTR you may already know that we both also love amateur photography so I'm sure we'll both have some great pics to share!

I found all of the ideas on the family fun site. We'll be having cupcakes arranged to look like a bunch of balloons, piercing a balloon without popping it and making adventure books to earn 'badges'. I can hardly wait!

The kids got UP! for Christmas and we watched it last night for the first time. It was really good! But had a lot of sad parts in it that I wasn't expecting....

 

[-Hope-]

The kids got UP! for Christmas and we watched it last night for the first time. It was really good! But had a lot of sad parts in it that I wasn't expecting....

I've found that most cartoons, especially Disney, have sad and/or scary parts and I'm okay with that. Usually the kids just accept it as part of the story and on the rare occasion that they were uncomfortable/upset we just talked it through and they were fine.

I went through all of mom's movies and she has a lot... I just have to hunt down a vcr to watch them on!

 

[-Hope-]

Woohoo! I finally got my shoes and they are the right color! Sierra Trading Post is being mildly irritating with the return but nothing terrible. They said I wouldn't be charged return shipping since it was their error. I got my refund yesterday and they'd charged me return shipping. No big deal, I sent them an email last night and figured it would get resolved. They were quick, I had an email waiting for me when I woke up this morning. They apologized and gave me a refund of $2.20- the only problem is that they charged me $5.75. I've sent another email and hopefully it will get taken care of. It wouldn't even be an issue except we only pay bills with our checking account and deposit EXACTLY what is needed to cover our checks and automatic withdrawls (we pay for everything else with cash). They are messing up my account balances and it's getting on my nerves!

Anyway... I got my shoes and love them! And just in time too since Karen and I are going for our first walk today!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

 

[MagicMomentsMom]

UP is an awesome movie We loved it! Can't wait to see the pics!