Less than 24 Hours now...THE LIST! Updated 12/4!

[mickeysaver]

Sounds like you have had quite a journey in planning your trip too. Our dinner at San Angel Inn is at 6:30 PM. We might run into you there. Just look for a couple of weird pooh sized chics with a silly holiday hats on.

 

[the4princesses]

That's right, in 72 hours our plane should be touching down at wonderful MCO - Orlando Airport! It's hard to believe the trip is so close. I'm doing my very best not to think about the fact that when we return we'll have only 13 days until Christmas...and that's the time I'll have to finish my shopping in which I've barely managed to put a dent so far. I have lots of ideas...just haven't followed through on the purchases yet!

The big question right now is if my in-laws will still be joining us. My MIL's back saga continues...she is still in a lot of pain. Right now I think they are strongly leaning towards cancelling the trip. What does that mean for us? Well actually nothing...we'll still go on without them. After all, the room is booked via DVC (no pixie dust though...we will be at Saratoga Springs instead of BLT as I'd hoped) and we have annual passes that need to be used. The flights were pretty cheap and the kids are looking forward to the trip. I've already told the teachers and have the schoolwork lined up for them.

We have told the in-laws that they have until 1 hour before our flight...or until 6am on Saturday morning...to make their decision. Even if they decided to cancel the flight, if they are feeling up to it later they can still join us because they will still have a place to stay. I looked up rates to change us to a mid-sized car instead of the minivan, since that would work for just five of us, but honestly it would only save me about $12 for the week so it's just not worth it. I haven't yet rented a scooter for MIL but I know I can do that even the day we arrive or she can just use them in the parks. We'll manage.

I'm really considering placing an order online for groceries to be delivered to our room...any suggestions? Does anybody have a preference over any of the grocery delivery services there? I've never used any of them.

So the weather here Saturday morning is calling for temps below freezing and possible rain and/or snow showers...first snow of the season and it may hit while we are on a plane to Disney! Works for me! So far temps in Florida next week are in the 70s, while here it will be the 50s! I think I just may start the packing process tonight since it looks like we'll be able to get away with some layers...probably short sleeves and pants, a few pairs of shorts and sweatshirts for layering in the evening.

72 more hours...WOW!

Dollar Rental is : "Lock low a go" deal is $174.00 for 1 week. That is the total with taxs and fees. you might want to look into it!! Kathy

 

[kittylady1972]

Maggie - I didn't even notice that we had the same date for dinner there. It will be our first time there...one meal we are really looking forward to finally trying. I'll keep my eye out but we may be easier to spot being the crazy family of five...or seven if the in-laws join us!

Kathy - Thanks for the info...I checked it out and coudn't get the deal. I think the best I can do right now is a mid-size for about that same price...but I'm not sure that will work for the five of us as we'll have luggage and a rather large double-stroller to haul back and forth from the airport! If we go up to a larger vehicle...the price is still only about $20 less than we are paying for the rental minivan (about $315 including taxes and fees), so it just doesn't seem worth it. Thanks though!

FORTY-EIGHT MORE HOURS and we'll be landing in FLORIDA!!!!

 

[kittylady1972]

I just forty-eight hours, our flight will be touching down in ORLANDO!

Will there be five of us emerging together from that flight, or seven of us? We still do not know. My MIL has an appointment to see her doctor TODAY about her back pain. What will they do? We still don't know. One thing I know we don't want is for her to take the trip and get down there only to find herself in severe pain again with no means to be treated for it. We don't enjoy having to seek medical attention on our Disney trips...and it's happened before.

When? Well our first trip with two kids to Disney was in Sept/Oct of 2003 and at the time my daughter wasn't quite a year old. One morning she had a rash all over her body...and as I recall at some point I decided to seek medical attention for her at a walk-in emergency clinic there...and I think it was around 3am when I headed there with her. I think they gave me something for her though it's a blur now. Or was it even that trip? Disney has such a way of erasing any bad memories...because it was DEFINITELY that trip that my MIL become very ill and she and FIL ended up flying home on the 3rd day of our 8-day trip. That prompted us to return to Disney just four months later with them again though and that trip turned out much better...even when my MIL tripped while walking down the stairs holding Noelle (who was now 14 months) and while she did all she could to protect Noelle and she was unscathed...my MIL ended up with many bruises but NO trip to the E/R.

Yeah, doesn't that make you want to vacation with us? We've had many trips where various kids have been ill at Disney from the mystery rash to vomit and fever...and yet we still enjoy each and every trip and we keep returning!

Did I mention we were in Disney for Nicolas' very first trip in September of 2001? Yep...we were just walking into the Magic Kingdom when I emerged from the baby changing station with Nicolas to learn they were CLOSING the MK park because of what was happening much closer to our home. Thankfully we were staying at the Contemporary and ended up walking back to our room to watch the news unfold on tv the rest of the day...while Nicolas was thankfully oblivious. We weren't even sure we'd be able to catch our flight back home that week...and we were sorta right. Our scheduled Friday flight was cancelled...due to Hurricane Gabrielle which blew through that week in Orlando too! We rescheduled to fly out Saturday evening, the hotel put us up for another night for FREE...and we had a free day at the park due to a pass we'd recieved when they closed down the park earlier that week on 9/11...so our trip ended well.

So yeah, we keep going back! NOTHING can stop us!

 

[kittylady1972]

Just realized I posted 24-hours instead of forty-eight hours for my countdown.

Wishful thinking I guess!

I just checked in online though...so we are all set!

 

[kittylady1972]

Ok, so last night my DH asked me this question that really has me thinking...will we skip our California Grill meal if his parents aren't going with us?

My answer? Probably.

See I've alternated my plans a few times already in order to work with everybody in our group. We don't want to run his parents down and we know they enjoy some nice meals and the truth is that we do as well...but if it's just us and the kids? Well honestly, it's vacation and I'd be willing to let them have ice cream every night for dinner!

Now the truth is that we LOVE having his parents on these trips with us because we know they enjoy them. However, we have always made it perfectly clear that they are always free to go their own way and don't have to stick with us. Most of the time, they do stay with us, but our trip in May did allow for them to have some moments without us...which was fine. A few times we'd remain in the parks and they would head back to the room to rest. The one day we went to Typhoon Lagoon, they skipped that to stay at the room and shop. Again...that's fine with us. I'm wondering if it wouldn't be a bad idea to have a parallel plan for them that coincides with ours...a Disney LITE if you will! Their touring plan would allow them to head to attractions that MIL could tolerate during the times that we do some of the bigger rides. Honestly, there really won't be THAT many for us and with Noah still under the 44-inch mark, there are still times where I'll be sitting out with him.

So I JUST now realized that my daughter, who will be within the 44-inch height range for the first time, will not only get to experience Space Mountain but ALSO Mission: Space. I didn't realize that one. While I can tolerate Mission: Space I'll also be okay missing that one. So really those are the two big rides that MIL will have to skip this time around.

Of course, she won't be doing Test Track either...and I am sure I can get all three kids on that one though Noah wasn't thrilled with it his first ride last time around. Otherwise, that's about it for EPCOT, which I think is where we'll spend the majority of our park time. This is just one park we never get to fully explore, and there is so much more here for us to experience. I want to check out each of the Holiday readers around the World Showcase and I want the kids to experience a Kim Possible Mission, just to name a few.

Magic Kingdom will probably be the most difficult for her because I'm not even sure she can tolerate the smaller rides there. Buzz Lightyear and Pooh are probably out just because of the jerkiness of them. Peter Pan is probably okay, MAYBE Snow White and I'm sure Haunted Mansion would be fine. Of course, Splast Mountain and BTMRR are out for sure. We can still see the Country Bears but getting over to explore Tom Sawyer's Island won't be good for her with the ECV she'll have to use this trip. I think Jungle Cruise would be okay, probably POTC also.

Hollywood Studios is going to be pretty easy. Besides it being a smaller park, the only two BIG rides there will be TOT and Aerosmith. I can PROBABLY get the kids on TOT ONCE if I'm lucky...and they won't want to do it again. Nicolas will do Aerosmith with his dad, but I'm okay skipping that one too. Then I'd like to see Beauty with the kids...as DH and I saw it back for our 10-year anniversary trip last year and really enjoyed it. TSM is also out for her I'm sure, and that sucks as we'll probably try to get a few rides on this one. Still, so many opportunities to just sit and enjoy the street performances and shows at the park that I'm sure they could be entertained while we do that.

Animal Kingdom presents a few challenges...OMG I forgot this one TOO! What kind of Disneyholic am I? Noelle will finally be able to ride this one as well. Nicolas refused to ride it during our last trip in May...he didn't enjoy it when we took him on it in November of 2007 and just has no desire to ride it again. However Noelle...will LOVE it I think and if she rides it...well so will Nicolas. We'll probably skip Dinosaur this time around...the kids never really enjoy that one anyway, though they can all ride it. Instead we'll try to catch Nemo this time...kids and in-laws haven't seen that one. None of us have see the Lion King show either...so that is on my list of must-dos this time. Also on the list is catching Flights of Wonder again...a show the in-laws didn't see with us last time but the kids did and loved it.

So yeah, this trip is really mostly about the shows and experiences. Sure there will be rides, but I think we can manage to keep the kids entertained with other stuff besides the RIDES RIDES RIDES that they all love.

Anyway, this was supposed to be about the FOOD. What will we skip and what will we keep? I'm determined to try Mama Melrose, Tony's Town Square, Chef de France AND San Angel Inn this time, so as far as I'm concerned as long as we do those four, I'm good. Three are lunch ADRs and San Angel Inn is the dinner ADR for the Candlelight Processional evening. We'll also probably hang onto our Chef Mickey's Breakfast ADR...tradition you know. Otherwise, any others can be skipped. We will definitely have one off-property dinner with my high school friend on Sunday night at a fun sounding Greek restaurant - Opa Taverna. Other than that, I could miss all the other ADRs and be just fine, including California Grill. We can always go back another time.

 

[kittylady1972]

So last night I packed up all three kids and myself. Since we have to pay to check our bags, I managed to pack all three kids into one rolling duffel! This is where the toiletries will also go, so I don't have to deal with that hassle at security. DH and I will each have our small rolling carry-on bag with us for the flight. I can't believe I've packed this early...I am a HUGE procrastinator but Disney requires planning ahead and so I guess it motivated me!

Here in Maryland we've just has a solid week or two of mostly rainy and cold days. The sun has peeked through TWICE I think in those two weeks. One was this past Sunday, and I took advantage of the beautiful weather to help my 7-year-old daughter learn to finally ride her bike...SUCCESS!

Then this morning the sun peeked through...and now it's overcast again. They are calling for the first possible snow of the season on Saturday morning...and I am hoping we are well on our way or already IN Florida when that happens! Weather is looking GREAT for our trip. Kids have packed mostly shorts with 2 or 3 pairs of pants for the evenings!

So though the clothing is packed, there are still things to do and here is my TO DO list for myself:

• Video Camera - Charge battery and pack
• Superzoom Camera - Charge batteries, pack camera, spare batteries and battery charger
• Canon Elph - Every day camera - pack and charge battery
• Netbook - Charge and pack, make sure updated Disney spreadsheet is saved locally
• MP3 Player - Charge mine and the three kids' and pack
• Electronic Entertainment - Pack Gameboys for the boys and LeapFrog Didj - charge batteries for all
• Ponchos - Looks like a few rainy days possible next week, find my Mickey ponchos and pack
• Stroller - Need to pump up the tires on our double jogger and prepare it for travel - we haven't use this stroller in a LONG time but don't want to pay to rent one this time
• Snacks - Put together some fruit snacks, crackers and other small snacks for the airplane for the kiddos
• Toiletries - Still need to finish packing most of mine and store that in the kids' bag
• Carseats - I need to get out two booster carseats and pack them in a bag for travel
• Cat Preparation - I think I'm going to purchase one additional cat litter box and set that out for our cat to use instead of making him deal with one all week long
• Dog Preparation - I need to pack dog food, dog vitamins and some treats for our puppy; still so unsure as to how much damage we'll do as this will be her first boarding experience - she's only 6 months old, we've had her for 2 months, and she's SPOILED ROTTEN; DH is making ME drop her off at the kennel so I look like the evil mom...but I will be the one to pick her up and SAVE her again too!
  
• House Preparation - Put a few indoor lights on timers for while we are gone, cancel the mail and paper for the week

I think that's it...though I will probably think of other things. I may have my SIL come by the house a few times to check to make sure we don't have packages or other stuff sitting in front of the house...or maybe I'll just ask the next door neighbor to do that. I might at least have SIL come by ONCE or TWICE to check on Micki the cat. I usually just leave plenty of food and water for him for our time gone, but it can't hurt to have her come by once or twice and maybe give him some wet food, which I usually do every other day.

 

[kittylady1972]

So I got a call from my FIL this afternoon. The first thing he asked me was if we were checking bags...and so I asked if that meant they were going...and YES THEY ARE! Yippee! I know DH will be excited to learn the news as well. I think my in-laws have been anticipating this trip just as much, if not more, than we have and so it was good to hear they can attend. The doctor they saw today encouraged them to go, and in fact said the pain my MIL is experiencing is normal, is mostly muscle spasms and she has been given some extra drugs for that!

That also meant my next mission was to get a scooter rental lined up, and I've just done that. The doctor did say she needs to try to do some walking as well, but for those longer park days, she'll need the scooter. That's okay, since we'll most likely be bringing our stroller. I sure hope we can fit them both into the back of that minivan!

I can't tell you how excited we are about this. The best part is my FIL said, next to the lights and holiday decorations, the thing he is most looking forward to there: breakfast at the Main Street Baker!! We ate there for the first time during our last trip and we are STILL talking about the food there. The pastries...Oh my goodness! Yeah, the food at Disney is just awesome!

So I've given him the information so that tomorrow morning he can checkin online for the flight. He didn't even realize the reservation was booked with their credit card as I'm sure DH did it for him, but now he has the info. I was hoping that they would have the chance to do possibly upgrade to business class, but looking at the flight right now it looks like those seats are already booked. Oh well. Worst case they can trade with one of us and sit next to a kid or two if they are too crowded in their seats, or at least MIL.

Tomorrow we'll finalize our plans and make the decision as to when we'll leave for the airport and those details. Walt Disney World here we come....ALL SEVEN OF US!!!

 

[kittylady1972]

Work in progress...BOLD items are done or working on them

So though the clothing is packed, there are still things to do and here is my TO DO list for myself:

• Video Camera - Charge battery and pack - IN PROGRESS
• Superzoom Camera - Charge batteries, pack camera, spare batteries and battery charger - IN PROGRESS
• Canon Elph - Every day camera - pack and charge battery
• Netbook - Charge and pack, make sure updated Disney spreadsheet is saved locally
• MP3 Player - Charge mine and the three kids' and pack - IN PROGRESS
• Electronic Entertainment - Pack Gameboys for the boys and LeapFrog Didj - charge batteries for all
• Ponchos - Looks like a few rainy days possible next week, find my Mickey ponchos and pack
• Stroller - Need to pump up the tires on our double jogger and prepare it for travel - we haven't use this stroller in a LONG time but don't want to pay to rent one this time
• Snacks - Put together some fruit snacks, crackers and other small snacks for the airplane for the kiddos
• Toiletries - Still need to finish packing most of mine and store that in the kids' bag
• Carseats - I need to get out two booster carseats and pack them in a bag for travel
• Cat Preparation - I think I'm going to purchase one additional cat litter box and set that out for our cat to use instead of making him deal with one all week long
• Dog Preparation - I need to pack dog food, dog vitamins and some treats for our puppy - IN PROGRESS (We ran out of dog food tonight, so I'll be picking up another bag tomorrow morning)
• House Preparation - Put a few indoor lights on timers for while we are gone, cancel the mail and paper for the week

 

[kittylady1972]

Everything I've done or is in progress is now in BOLD!

• Video Camera - Charge battery and pack - IN PROGRESS
• Superzoom Camera - Charge batteries, pack camera, spare batteries and battery charger - IN PROGRESS
• Canon Elph - Every day camera - pack and charge battery
• Netbook - Charge and pack, make sure updated Disney spreadsheet is saved locally
• MP3 Player - Charge mine and the three kids' and pack - IN PROGRESS
• Electronic Entertainment - Pack Gameboys for the boys and LeapFrog Didj - charge batteries for all
• Ponchos - Looks like a few rainy days possible next week, find my Mickey ponchos and pack
• Stroller - Need to pump up the tires on our double jogger and prepare it for travel - we haven't use this stroller in a LONG time but don't want to pay to rent one this time
• Snacks - Put together some fruit snacks, crackers and other small snacks for the airplane for the kiddos
• Toiletries - Still need to finish packing most of mine and store that in the kids' bag
• Carseats - I need to get out two booster carseats and pack them in a bag for travel
• Cat Preparation - I think I'm going to purchase one additional cat litter box and set that out for our cat to use instead of making him deal with one all week long
• Dog Preparation - I need to pack dog food, dog vitamins and some treats for our puppy - IN PROGRESS (purchased another bag of dog food today along with several doggie treats so she will know we still love her! )
• House Preparation - Put a few indoor lights on timers for while we are gone, cancel the mail and paper for the week

I went out today to Target (to purchase a new coffeemaker since the kids broke ours this morning...and I don't even DRINK coffee but DH does and we always make it for family dinners) and I totally FORGOT to look for lights that are battery operated for the scooter. I checked at WalMart...nothing there. I may swing by Target again tonight and check for them. I'd love to have a few cute decorations for the scooter for my MIL.

Oh, and I'm a little bit concerned that I have yet to receive a confirmation email about my scooter rental. I got an email initially last night saying I would get another email...that hasn't shown up yet. It says I can call to request one since I was supposed to get it within one business day...and I made the ressie last night around 5pm. If it doesn't show up in my email by the time I get home from work today, I will call.

What else...oh yeah I did NOT check-in for our flight yet. I supposed I should do that now.... since I told my FIL to make sure he did it this morning. I am wondering if he ended up changing his seat assignments. I told him if he has the chance to upgrade himself and MIL to business class today, he should do that. Then I realized last night that I had assigned the seats and had Nicolas (DS 9) sitting in the middle of the two of them. That means at least they would have plenty of space since he's small. However, I wonder if FIL saw the seat assignment, noticed he wasn't next to MIL, and tried to move them to two seats together. That would leave Nicolas sitting in the middle of strangers on the flight. He'd be fine with it...I'm not sure about the people stuck with him since he'll probably talk their EARS off!

Oh well, we depart for the airport in about 15 hours! For those wishing to keep up with us, I will try my best to update Twitter since I've opened it up to the public for now.

twitter.com/disneyholic