Princess Phoebe's Pre-WISH-Trip Report (arriving in MK 4/17/10)

[maroo]

They are just gorgeous!

I am sure that Lauren wants to request some more pictures...She wanted to see the pictures posted here that she "saw before" - said something about a trampoline? And her Daddy carrying her?

I love those!

 

[yinyanggirls]

They are just gorgeous!

I am sure that Lauren wants to request some more pictures...She wanted to see the pictures posted here that she "saw before" - said something about a trampoline? And her Daddy carrying her?

I love those!

Thanks everyone. I actually was tempted to use some of the same ones, but thought people might want to see something different. I guess that was long enough ago that many haven't or won't see them on the Wish Trip thread. Good point Lauren!

 

[HeatherSue]

YAY!!! You have your dates!!!!!

I LOVE reading about your beautiful princesses!!

 

[yinyanggirls]

Just copying and pasting over from the main thread. Some pics I already shared, but compiling them now onto Phoebe's PTR.


Me and my girls, Nov. 2008

Princess Phoebe at her recent Enchanted Garden Bday party

Hurricane Tessa at the party

Me lighting the candles as excited little fairies looked on (or grabbed or blew or...note my other hand guarding one side)

My hubby kissing a fairy

Tim carrying Phoebe from the trampoline back to her chair. I'm often grateful for his muscles.

And just to throw in a little Disney, this is on our last trip (the girls' first trip) to Dland in March 09. They both LOVED it! Tessa isn't visible in this shot, but I love how my SIL, Tim and I are all looking at Phoebe to see her reaction to the teacups.

 

[yinyanggirls]

So now that we have dates, I figured I'd go through my existing ADRs. I canceled a couple and then tried to make some decisions about more but it is SO HARD TO DECIDE WHERE WE WILL BE ON ANY GIVEN DAY!!!

We are leaving on a Saturday but I don't know our flight details yet so I am not planning anything for that day. Being in AZ we will probably have a transfer and a longer flight. Even if we get there early I figure there's a two hour time change (or will it be three in April? AZ doesn't do DST) and we can relax and explore GKTW. So our plans will really begin on Sunday. According to the TouringPlans crowd calendar the early part of the week will be more crowded than mid or later. What do you all think about doing Sea World and Universal the days before Disney? I know the girls will enjoy Disney the most so it feels weird to think about putting it off. But if we are going to do all of them anyway, it shouldn't matter which days...What did I do with my evenings before all of this? (That's a happy headache, though)

 

[yinyanggirls]

Just to spread the happiness from our house to yours...And to see if I can figure out video...Phoebe was in a very giggly mood and driving home from the library today she had us all cracking up. (FYI, I had no idea if I was catching them in the camera or not, because as you can see I AM driving, but AM NOT paying attention to my phone - just hit the record button and held it backwards)

 

[yinyanggirls]

I LOVE reading about your beautiful princesses!!

Hi Heather! I'm so happy you found Phoebe's PTR. I think your experience as a fellow Tessa mom will help me in the planning. (Heaven knows I'll need help)

 

[StefaniLyn]

the video is adorable! Their laughter is contagious!!!

I think it is a great idea to end the trip with Disney days! I was hoping our last day would be at DHS but because of ressies and other stuff, we'll be going to US/IOA.

 

[Momofwishkid]

I agree the video is adorable and their laughter really made me smile . The pics of your family are also beautiful. The fairy party looks like so much fun!

 

[chrissid7]

Just to spread the happiness from our house to yours...And to see if I can figure out video...Phoebe was in a very giggly mood and driving home from the library today she had us all cracking up. (FYI, I had no idea if I was catching them in the camera or not, because as you can see I AM driving, but AM NOT paying attention to my phone - just hit the record button and held it backwards)

OMG how cute!!!! What a sweet laugh! I could eat her up!

 

[maroo]

So now that we have dates, I figured I'd go through my existing ADRs. I canceled a couple and then tried to make some decisions about more but it is SO HARD TO DECIDE WHERE WE WILL BE ON ANY GIVEN DAY!!!

We are leaving on a Saturday but I don't know our flight details yet so I am not planning anything for that day. Being in AZ we will probably have a transfer and a longer flight. Even if we get there early I figure there's a two hour time change (or will it be three in April? AZ doesn't do DST) and we can relax and explore GKTW. So our plans will really begin on Sunday. According to the TouringPlans crowd calendar the early part of the week will be more crowded than mid or later. What do you all think about doing Sea World and Universal the days before Disney? I know the girls will enjoy Disney the most so it feels weird to think about putting it off. But if we are going to do all of them anyway, it shouldn't matter which days...What did I do with my evenings before all of this? (That's a happy headache, though)

That video is SOOO cute!

As far as your days....

It depends...If the crowd scores are about all the same, then I would just go in whatever order makes sense. The big thing to me...is to make sure you schedule your "short" days on the days of the parties that you want to go to... Like Thursday is Christmas - so I usually try to schedule a short day park (maybe Universal) on that day...and keep my "full" days for Disney. Then it depends on what night activities are must dos for Disney - you will have to schedule around Spectro and Wishes, for example.

It is a puzzle, really.

If you want to send me your dates, I can do a planner for you. Maybe that would be a starting point.

 

[yinyanggirls]

That video is SOOO cute!

As far as your days....

It depends...If the crowd scores are about all the same, then I would just go in whatever order makes sense. The big thing to me...is to make sure you schedule your "short" days on the days of the parties that you want to go to... Like Thursday is Christmas - so I usually try to schedule a short day park (maybe Universal) on that day...and keep my "full" days for Disney. Then it depends on what night activities are must dos for Disney - you will have to schedule around Spectro and Wishes, for example.

It is a puzzle, really.

If you want to send me your dates, I can do a planner for you. Maybe that would be a starting point.

I am worried about crowd levels (worried meaning, going to try and avoid them as much as possible, but not dwell on it if we need to arrange the schedule differently for other factors). Those other factors being the ADRs that I have already been able to secure, based on nothing but hope that our dates would get confirmed by MAW (hurray that they did!). And also the GKTW activities. Maroo, I'd love to see what you come up with, so I'll PM you.

When I map out GKTW to the parks this is what it says:
to Epcot - 20 mins
to DHS - 19 mins
to AK - 23 mins
to MK (or TTC) - 28 mins
to DTD - 19 mins
to SW - 20 mins
to US - 28 mins

Has anyone had a very different experience or does this sound reasonable? What kind of time should I plan for in terms of getting parked, entry, stroller rental (if we rent one), etc before we are actually enjoying the parks? When we went to Disneyland we got a GAC from Guest services for Phoebe's wheelchair - it allowed her to enter through the exits and thereby take her chair all the way to the ride, rather than leave it with the strollers outside. Do you get this with the packet at GKTW or do you still need to go to Guest Services when you arrive?

 

[yinyanggirls]

Hehehe. I think even DH is getting excited now. He called me from the store to ask about our current memory card and go over options that they sell there. I informed him that if buying another card is necessary we could wait until we are there to do it.
Can anyone give a little detail as to what GKTW can do in terms of pictures? I think I remember from various TRs that they take some pics with their own cameras/photographers while you are there and give you a disk of them when you leave. Could they also make a disk off of your own camera's memory card? Or move pics from a memory card over to a memory stick? And, as long as I am on the subject of pictures, do I need to preorder a Disney photopass? Or buy it when we are there? Who do I buy it from???

 

[yinyanggirls]

So when DH gets home I start going over ideas and plans with him and I just had to share one of his comments.
He said that he is prepared to skip all of the roller coasters since the kids probably can't go on them. I mentioned that surprisingly, most of them should be okay for both girls to ride and if not there is always the "kid swap". His eyebrows went up and I immediately clarified that "kid swap" did not mean that we could trade one of our children for someone else's. He then asked if they would expand it to include a "wife swap". He then defended himself by saying, "you know I'm not the first person to suggest that...maybe out loud, but not the first".

 

[pipersmom]

LOL! Gotta love funny hubbys! I can't answer your questions about GKTW, memory cards, etc..but I do know about the photopass thing. When you see your first photographer, he'll give you a card with a number on it. Every time you get another photo taken, you have the photographer scan the card. Then when you get home you can go through the photos on a website, edit them, etc. I think the usual cost of the actual CD is $149, but my understanding is Maroo may have a discount code for Wish Trippers. Hope that helps!

 

[StefaniLyn]

I just wanted to add something to the photopass comment. The first thing you should do with your photopass is take a picture of the number on the back. Or write it down if you do not have a camera. This way, even if you lose the photopass, you will still be able to access the photos.

And you are correct, Maroo does have information on a discount for Wish Families if you are going in the very near future. Hopefully, by the time many of us go on our Wish Trips, the discounted photopass information will be part of the GKTW orientation.

 

[yinyanggirls]

I just wanted to add something to the photopass comment. The first thing you should do with your photopass is take a picture of the number on the back. Or write it down if you do not have a camera. This way, even if you lose the photopass, you will still be able to access the photos.

And you are correct, Maroo does have information on a discount for Wish Families if you are going in the very near future. Hopefully, by the time many of us go on our Wish Trips, the discounted photopass information will be part of the GKTW orientation.

Good idea to record the number!
And just to clarify - we do not need to order one or pay for in advance? I thought I read that somewhere, but that's not how they did it when we went to DL last spring. Just checkin'!

 

[StefaniLyn]

Good idea to record the number!
And just to clarify - we do not need to order one or pay for in advance? I thought I read that somewhere, but that's not how they did it when we went to DL last spring. Just checkin'!

You could also text the number to yourself if you do not have a camera.
And yes, you are correct. With the discount for Wish families you will not need to pre-order the photopass cd in advance as there is no advantage to doing so (I believe there is currently a discount for guests staying onsite but GKTW is not a Disney property so it does not qualify). You would simply order it after you return and enter all of your photopass numbers and make any edits you want.

Once I return, I will let you know whether the discount is presented at orientation or if I needed to get a discount code from Maroo.

 

[yinyanggirls]

Once I return, I will let you know whether the discount is presented at orientation or if I needed to get a discount code from Maroo.

Thanks!!!

 

[yinyanggirls]

I wanted to get some opinions about the sit-down restaurants and ADRs. I always knew that at Disneyland the Blue Bayou (overlooking Pirates) restaurant required reservations but I had no idea there were character meals etc. I would probably never splurge on them normally, but I figure this is a once in a lifetime trip so why not?

What does everyone think about getting reservations? Do you feel like they are too restricting on time? Maybe just one special meal is enough for the week? One a day? Which meal? I'm just wondering how each of you decide whether or not to do a reserved restaurant meal and if so which ones and why.

Dh is thinking lunch would be too early, and we won't want heavy tummies when we go on rides. I am thinking lunch is a bit cheaper, and getting the reservation over with early frees up the rest of the day for the inevitable change of plans.

Here are the ones I think our family would like -

Cinderella's Royal Table (in the castle) - just to add to the once in a lifetime experience. Tessa loves the princesses, and Phoebe truly is a princess.
(if not in the castle, then also 1900 Park Faire or Askershus with the princesses)

T-Rex (DTD) - Casual, places for Phoebe to get out of her chair and move, Tessa's fave show right now is PBS' Dinosaur Train.

Tusker House (AK) - might sound silly, but I'd love to experience Africa in a more "human" aspect to expose our whole family to a little African culture. Tessa is half black and although she's very young I hate to pass up the opportunity.

Biergarten (Germany) - the band would really be fun for Phoebe, who loves music and normally falls asleep during meals because it takes so much energy to eat! Also, DH and I both have German ancestry and I'm obviously a sucker for the whole "family history" aspect of World Showcase. The one problem is that the band only plays during dinner I believe, and I don't know if we will be at Epcot the entire day.

House of Blues (Sunday Gospel Brunch at DTD) - again, the music aspect for Phoebe, and the southern gospel aspect for Tessa, and just think it would be so cool in general.

Other thoughts are -
Teppan Edo (in Japan, where they cook right in front of you)
Ohana ? (is this the luau?)
Coral Reef (where you are sitting by the aquarium)

Share your experiences and thoughts please!!!