Free Dining Here We Come - Pre-Trip Report!!! We're going back to Disney!!!

[mom2taylorandemily]

I meant to ask you where you get your DD's tops from? I think they are too cute.

Thank you!! I get most of their stuff at Justice for Girls (they have an online store, if you don't have one near you, and if you register with them, you get 40% off coupons, which I have to use buying for 2 girls). I also have luck at The Children's Place and a department store named Kohl's. I also shop at Target a great deal of the time. I start shopping for August now, and put things away as I buy them. That way they don't know its there and its like Christmas on vacation!!!

 

[Queenofallthings]

for the bonus for state taxes and for federal taxes
looks like everything is coming together swimmingly and you can book your ADR's in 10 daysI love that part....I have a problem leaving them alone once I've made them, I like to move things around especially now that we can do everything online!!!

 

[mom2taylorandemily]

for the bonus for state taxes and for federal taxes
looks like everything is coming together swimmingly and you can book your ADR's in 10 daysI love that part....I have a problem leaving them alone once I've made them, I like to move things around especially now that we can do everything online!!!

Oh Yeah!!! I'm actually going to be able to pay the whole trip off, and have airfaire already paid for, and we'll still have like 6 months until our trip.

I've already begun to pick clothes for the girls to take and shopping for DH and I, so once school is out, all I have to do is get the girls to camp and wait for August.

 

[mom2taylorandemily]

I said I'd be putting on some of our plans, so here goes!!

On Sunday, Aug. 22 we'll arrive at MCO around 9:30 am, and we figure we'll get to CBR via Magical Express by 11:00. The plan is to do on-line check in and hopefully, we'll get a good room. We've booked a preferred room and I put a request for Martinique 26. We've stayed in North Trinidad and Martinique and we like Martinique better, so we are hoping!!!

Well hopefully our room will be ready and we can go on and get unpacked and have Bell Svc. deliver our water (which I'll order from Costco) and our box of stuff (which I'll ship down a day or two before we go). Then we'll change up into bathing suits and head to OPR for lunch and then out to the pool for the afternoon!

We'll clean up around 4:00 or so and then head to DTD for dinner at Earl of Sandwich and then to Ghiradelli for desert. We'll shop at WOD and walk around that night and get to bed early, that way we will be ready to hit the park early on Monday morning.

Monday we are planning to go to Animal Kingdom.

Our Must Do's:
EE
Kahli River Rapids (we've never ridden this)
Nemo Show (we've never seen this)
Safari
FOLK
Dino
Primeval Whirl (this is one of Taylor's favorite rides in all the parks, I don't know why?)

Then the plan is to leave there when we are done seeing everything we want to see and head to the Beach Club to have a late lunch at Beaches & Cream. We'll share 2 meals and then we'll also share 2 sundaes. The plan is to pay OOP here and save 2 TS meals for later in the week.

Then we'll head back to CBR to hang out and have a CS dinner there, and swim until we hit the hay.

What do you think, should I add anything? Does this sound ok? What order should we put our must do's so we aren't jumping from 1 side of the park to the other?

Oh, and 1 other thing I forgot to mention, we'll get a Guest Assistance Card for DD Emily. She has epilepsy and she has Gran Mal seizures so, it makes it easier on her to not have to stand in lines for a long time and run the risk of her having a seizure. While we worry about her, the other issue is, if she were to have a seizure, they'd have to close down a ride and queue until help could get to her. She is completely unconscious for 20+ minutes after she has a seizure and we just can't move her until she is checked out by medical personnel. Her heart rate goes up really high, and the last seizure she had she was choking and gagging on her own tongue. She didn't come to, for a long time. So, its just easier for everyone if we use the GAC. I know when you look at her, she doesn't look as if she is handicapped and doesn't need a GAC, but just 1 seizure and trust me, everyone would understand. We keep hoping she'll out grow it, but it isn't looking good. Now the neurologist is thinking she may have this for the rest of her life. Well for now we are learning to live with it.

Next installment will have the next 2 days!

 

[Queenofallthings]

Oh Yeah!!! I'm actually going to be able to pay the whole trip off, and have airfaire already paid for, and we'll still have like 6 months until our trip.

I've already begun to pick clothes for the girls to take and shopping for DH and I, so once school is out, all I have to do is get the girls to camp and wait for August.

More money for shopping.....

 

[Queenofallthings]

I have a very good friend who has MS...and when she's good she's great and you would never know...however, when she gets overtired or has an episode, she needs an ECV...people have made comments and it infuriates me. I have learned to never judge because you never know!!

Only you know what your daughter needs....don't forget that....doesn't matter what anyone else thinks...sometimes these people don't think and that's their biggest problem.

Ok, now I feel better.....your plans are great We always start with FP's for EE, then go ride Kali, back to EE use FP's then back to Dinosaur, Primevil then over to FOLK. Can't wait to hear about Nemo, we've never done it either!!!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

*squeal* I'm so excited to join your PTR! Loved your mini-trip report too! Your girls are beautiful! We are going in Sept. and I have a PTR too!

 

[3princesses+aprince]

Hi! The title of your PTR caught my eye! We are going in September for free dining. I got the pincode So we are super excited about that too!

I also have a 10 yr old Emily!! Your girls are very pretty! I loved your DHS pictures, that is the one park we did not spend enough time in on our May 09 trip! So, we can't wait to go back!

 

[mom2taylorandemily]

I have a very good friend who has MS...and when she's good she's great and you would never know...however, when she gets overtired or has an episode, she needs an ECV...people have made comments and it infuriates me. I have learned to never judge because you never know!!

Only you know what your daughter needs....don't forget that....doesn't matter what anyone else thinks...sometimes these people don't think and that's their biggest problem.

Ok, now I feel better.....your plans are great We always start with FP's for EE, then go ride Kali, back to EE use FP's then back to Dinosaur, Primevil then over to FOLK. Can't wait to hear about Nemo, we've never done it either!!!

Thank you so much!!!! I'm getting ready to add my next 2 or maybe 3 days.

You know you are right, I am the only one who can recognize what Emily needs, but I do know that having that GAC has been a life saver for us. She has been saved from having to stand in lines when it is so hot. Can you imagine if she was to have a seizure standing in line at EE, oh my, they'd have to close the ride until help could get to her. It would be awful and she'd be mortified by it.

I'm so glad you are still coming by my PTR!!!

 

[mom2taylorandemily]

*squeal* I'm so excited to join your PTR! Loved your mini-trip report too! Your girls are beautiful! We are going in Sept. and I have a PTR too!

I am so glad you stopped by!!! I'll stop by yours in a bit. I'm going to add 2 day update on plans.

Thanks for saying my girls are beautiful, I think that they are too, but I'm a bit partial (or so my husband says!!)

Thanks for hopping on!!!

 

[mom2taylorandemily]

Hi! The title of your PTR caught my eye! We are going in September for free dining. I got the pincode So we are super excited about that too!

I also have a 10 yr old Emily!! Your girls are very pretty! I loved your DHS pictures, that is the one park we did not spend enough time in on our May 09 trip! So, we can't wait to go back!

Thanks a bunch!!! Don't you just love Free Dining!!! This will be our 3rd trip with Free Dining!!! We went last year in August for the 1st time and we loved it so much, we booked our bounceback for this year. Then in Sept. they offered Free Dining in Dec. so we booked that too. And we just love eating at Disney for FREE!!!!!

Thanks so much about my girls!!! They are so much fun! and it is so cool that you have a 10 yr. old Emily too!!! Mine keeps me on my toes, she is a bird!!! She moves to the beat of her own drummer!!! Have you decided on where you are going to book your ADRs?

Have fun planning!!!

 

[purplepixiedust]

I loved reading your trip report! Your girls are just beautiful and it looks like you had so much fun.

 

[mom2taylorandemily]

Well, I'm back to add the next 2 days of my trip plans. Let me know what you think......

Day 3 Epcot:
We plan to eat Breakfast at CBR
Hit the park at Rope Drop

Must dos:
Test Track
Spaceship Earth
Soarin'
Ellen's Adventure (ok, I know but I've never seen it all the way thru, I'm usually taking a nap when we ride this, and so is Emily, so I'd like to try and see the whole thing)
Sum of all Thrills (we did this in Innoventions last trip but DH and built our ride easy for us, DH gets motion sickness, so we decided to start slow and build it, so now we ready to try a bit more risky ride)

Then we'll have lunch at Electric Umbrella and head back to CBR for a break and swim.

Then that night we will eat at Tutto Italia, we loved our meal here in Dec. and it was definitely one of the 1st choices on this years trip. Then we'll stay for Illuminations (and yes, this will be another 1st for us, we are so bad, but by the time we finish dinner we are usually so tired that we don't stay and see Illuminations, but I made DH promise that I could stay and see it this trip.) Its pm EMH that night so we'll stay and ride rides until we are tired!! Yay!!!

Day 4 DHS
We love to eat Breakfast at Starring Rolls so we'll hit that first

Our Must Dos:
TSM (this goes without saying we'll try to ride this at least 2 times while we're here)
Lights Motor Action (we've tried to see this the last 2 trips, we've seen it once, but it was in Dec. and it was so cold, no one really enjoyed it, so we want to try again.)
RNRC
TOT
Indy
Star Wars
Beauty & The Beast

We plan on eating lunch at Fairfax Faire, they've got ribs on their menu, so we thought we'd share 2 meals.

Back to CBR for a swim. Then later that night we'd like to go to Cape May Clam Bake for dinner. They are serving crab legs and we love seafood, so this is a great place to eat for us. After we plan on going back to DHS for pm EMH. We love EMH at night. In the summer its a great way to enjoy the parks with a lower crowd level and cooler temp. We'd like to get back in time to make it to the final of American Idol. We are huge Idol fans, so we really enjoy this.

Well that's all I've got for this installment.

I'll be back tomorrow with the next 2 days.

I get to make ADRs in 4 days, I'm so excited!!!!

 

[mom2taylorandemily]

I loved reading your trip report! Your girls are just beautiful and it looks like you had so much fun.

Thank you so much!!!! I'm so glad you joined me on this crazy ride that I call my plan to the perfect trip!!!! I hope you'll stick around!!!!

 

[ChaMakay1923]

We are so excited to be able to go again and to go for 10 nights and 11 days!! That will be the longest trip to WDW we've ever been on. This trip will also be special to DH and I, as this will be our 15th Anniversary in July, so we are going to celebrate our anniversary while we are there. We went there for our honeymoon in 1995, well our late honeymoon, we didn't take one right after we were married.

Mary

Hi Mary... I just have to say.. how scary this is for me.... our next trip we are planning is Feb 5th-15th 2011... (11 days/10 nights). My husband and I will be celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary next year.. so the trip will be special for us... especially since we met on Valentine's day.. and we will be in Disney to celebrate it as well. I'm also graduating college this year and my graduation ceremonies are taking place down in Miami on the 4th, 2011. The other scary thing is we too went to Disney for our honeymoon, a late one as well, back in August of '93. That's the last time we have been there... so 15 years is a LONG time to wait to go!!! (this next year is gonna drag, I just know it!)

Can you see the similarities?? Now you know why I said your post is scary? LOL. I'm going to follow your PTR's and hope to also see some exciting new things when you return! I'm SOOO addicted to this DISBoards.. I'm surprised my husband hasn't killed me by now demanding me off the pc!

Well, Good Luck planning.. as I will need it too.. haha! Looking forward to reading more......

~~Brandy~~

 

[mom2taylorandemily]

One thing about our trip I forgot to mention, both girls are in need of getting braces!!!! So, DH and I are taking both DDs to an orthodontist appointment in the morning. We've had consults with 2 already in town and after our insurance, our costs will be $7,000 for both. So, we called Medical College of Virginia, I knew that they had a Dental School, so I thought Hmmmm I wonder if they do orthodontics, well they do!!!! So, both girls are being seen tomorrow and the person who booked our appointments said that they are considerably less expensive than others we've seen because students do the work with professors in attendance. We are so hoping that it will be a lot cheaper. We just can't afford $7,000 for braces, if not we'll have to give up our trip, or see about doing 1 kid at a time, but both need them now. So, if y'all can send us some pixie dust and good thoughts / pray for us that the prices are much better so that I don't have to give up my trip!!!! Thanks!!!

 

[mom2taylorandemily]

Hi Mary... I just have to say.. how scary this is for me.... our next trip we are planning is Feb 5th-15th 2011... (11 days/10 nights). My husband and I will be celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary next year.. so the trip will be special for us... especially since we met on Valentine's day.. and we will be in Disney to celebrate it as well. I'm also graduating college this year and my graduation ceremonies are taking place down in Miami on the 4th, 2011. The other scary thing is we too went to Disney for our honeymoon, a late one as well, back in August of '93. That's the last time we have been there... so 15 years is a LONG time to wait to go!!! (this next year is gonna drag, I just know it!)

Can you see the similarities?? Now you know why I said your post is scary? LOL. I'm going to follow your PTR's and hope to also see some exciting new things when you return! I'm SOOO addicted to this DISBoards.. I'm surprised my husband hasn't killed me by now demanding me off the pc!

Well, Good Luck planning.. as I will need it too.. haha! Looking forward to reading more......

~~Brandy~~

Brandy!!! OMG!!!! That is so cool that we have so much in common!!! 15 years is a long time to not go to Disney, but we had 11 years between our honeymoon and when we took the girls!!! Boy have I learned a lot since that trip. I learned to not over schedule my kids!!!!! They need down time, and they are so much happier when I give it to them!!!

I am so glad to have you join me!!! If I can help you with your planning in any way let me know!!! Stay tuned!!!

 

[ChaMakay1923]

Brandy!!! OMG!!!! That is so cool that we have so much in common!!! 15 years is a long time to not go to Disney, but we had 11 years between our honeymoon and when we took the girls!!! Boy have I learned a lot since that trip. I learned to not over schedule my kids!!!!! They need down time, and they are so much happier when I give it to them!!!

I am so glad to have you join me!!! If I can help you with your planning in any way let me know!!! Stay tuned!!!

I have been learning SOOO much on the DISBoards... it's a great help! This will be my son and daughters FIRST trip there!!! I have a DS that is 6 and a DD that will be almost 2 next year (May 23rd is her birthday). I'm a bit scared that we may not enjoy ourselves as much with having such a young child with us, but reading everyone's trips there with young'ins has helped to lighten the fear. I'm thinking about creating my own PTR thread to get idea's from people. I really haven't sat and thought much about planning my days out, just where to stay, how to go...fly or drive... and which airports to fly into and out of. So much is in my head about Disney... I feel like I'm neglecting my normal life. I'm planning this for my family and another family that is joining us. We have to make a special stop right at the beginning of our trip to attend my graduation ceremony in Miami, Fl. So I have to figure out what will work best for us adding that into the trip. UGH!! Deep down it's stressful, but I'm trying NOT to let anyone know I'm stressing over it all because it is a year away! Though from what I read here on the DIS.. it's best to plan early! I would love if I could get some sort of a discount for the trip to help save us some money, we are a VERY limited funds family.. living off of unemployment at the moment with hopes that I can find a job before I graduate in August. I would love to get in with a doctor's office before graduation, since that is what my major is.. Medical Office Management. Though most require a degree and certification to be hired. Very little allow an office person to be hired without those credentials. Hopefully things will pan out for us and the stress will lighten, lol. Until then... I will plan one day at a time and go from there.

 

[CanadianWDWfan]

I agree, you do what you think is best for your DD and take all the precautions you need.

I got all of my ADR's this week!

I am so excitted for your turn, it's so fun!

I'm enjoying looking at your plans, they look great!

and ....I hope it all works out with the braces and you can save some $$$$.

I know how finances can interfear with Disney plans, I've had to cancel many trips because life got in the way...

 

[dmoore718]

Love it!! Just subbed!! I have 3 little girls (4,3 and 6 mo). We took them last year and it was so magical, they loved it! We are going next Jan. when the baby will be 18 months...so I don't have to carry her all day! They older ones loved the princesses last year!! I love reading all about it! Wish we could do free dining in August but baby will be too young and it would be too hot for her....maybe the trip after next!!