Surprising the Kids with a NYE Trip! Jan '16 PTR (Update 12/29 We're off! See ya in 10 days!)

[JoshAndEvsMom]

Daphne is adorable!!! I totally thought you meant a baby at first! I'm getting ready for work but I will totally share my fur baby pictures later! I was in color guard in high school... marching band is amazing!

Haha! I knew I would get somebody!

I was in colorgard too! Although, ours was a little different... you could say that we were "old school". We love marching band season! Its a lot of fun and they're really good & have worked really hard to be competing at the level that they are. It helps that he has an amazing staff and wonderful parents who are willing to do everything from build props at 2:00 am to sew over 100 flags!

Can't wait to see those fur babies!

 

[JoshAndEvsMom]

My 10-year-old, Fatty McFatFat, old man cat... Butters.

Awah! He found a little hidey-hole! lol!

And my 5-year-old, Fluff Bucket, mouthy brat cat... Harley.

OH MY GOODNESS! Look at that fluffer-butt!! I love him!

 

[locashaina]

Those parents sound amazing! Our band director got us to China, Italy every other year so it was pretty nice! The year we went to Italy we were also supposed to be in the Rose Bowl... we had a decision to make! Our guard was only during marching season... I know some others have winter guard... I don't know if I could have done that I'm not very graceful!

 

[locashaina]

My oldest furbaby is Libby; full name Liberty. We found the ad for her July 3, 2013 and picked her up on the 4th of July. My dad named her Liberty for the occasion but my mom and I couldn't make her suffer with that name. Her birthday is tax day so she is 12 years old now and her health is slowly getting worse

My second furbaby is Princess, we got her in 2007 and has been a handful since. Health issues galore and once we got our other two, she reverted back to a puppy who doesn't listen and never got out of it!

My third is Yoshi, he is ugly and asocial but the smartest little dog! Born July ish 2010. He is a rescue dog so was abused and neglected with his previous owners so has a serious distrust of anyone but me and my parents but he understands English fluently. He has this awesome mohawk that sometimes we dye

Last, but definitely not least here is Cujo. Born March/April 2011. Cujo technically belongs to my brother but you'd never know it if you saw him with me. He is the biggest lover of women and the fattest dog (not literally fat but eats EVERYTHING including raw broccoli).

And just for fun here is my 3 dogs together

 

[JoshAndEvsMom]

Our band director got us to China, Italy every other year so it was pretty nice!

WOW!! Awesome band director!

Your pups are so cute and what a sweet kitten!

 

[JoshAndEvsMom]

26 Days Until FastPass+
80 Days Until Christmas
81 Days Until my Birthday
84 Days Until Disney World!

...And its still a secret!!

​

Doin' the Double Digit Dance!!!

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I realize I could have done the double digit dance over a week ago but I'm a slacker, apparently, and hey... better late than never, right? I can't believe how close it is now! Its still hard to believe that we're actually going. We're actually going to be staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge. We're actually going to see Cinderella's Castle Dream Lights. We actually get to see the Osborn Lights before they're gone. We're actually going to welcome the year 2016 in Disney!! Its just still so surreal. Pinch me!!

One thing made it a little more real. These babies came!!


2015 Tickets by Lauren Parker, on Flickr

I ordered them from Official Ticket Center with a discount code from Touring Plans. I have never ordered tickets through an Authorized Disney seller before and I wasn't sure how it would go but it was totally fine and saved quite a bit off purchasing directly through Disney. We have never used any of the coupons or "perks" that come along with a Disney package so I was surprised to find out how much you can save going through third parties! Just make SURE that the third party has an excellent reputation and that you only buy from an authorized dealer. I've heard horror stories, though I've not experienced any myself. (fortunately!!) I linked our tickets to MDE without any problems; the one thing that I wasn't expecting was that I only received confirmations for my ticket and the kids' tickets. Because Eric has his own MDE account, HE got his own confirmation emailed to him. I guess that is something to consider if you are planning a surprise for your DSO, spouse, or an older kid who might have their own MDE account. Also, I can't "edit" Eric's ticket information once its assigned to him without logging into his account. I can for me & the kids but not him.

I did a little Christmas shopping last week. Got these dresses for Ev & Goldie Locks. A friend of mine makes them and I got them for $20 each which I thought was a pretty good deal considering the work that went into them.


Frozen dresses by Lauren Parker, on Flickr

If you remember from a while ago, I want to try Family Disneybounding. Ev has an Elsa-ish dress, I have an outfit that could pass for Anna and Josh just needed an Olaf shirt. Well, I found this one on clearance! (Eric can dress in grey and be Kristof ) I also found this little swimsuit on clearance for Ev. I was hoping to find a Disney one but what can I say? I waited too long and there were only a few suits left! See... slacker.


Olaf shirt by Lauren Parker, on Flickr

This weekend we went to Seattle again to see the band competition, celebrate my step-dad's birthday, and visit a friend who's little girl has been very sick. It was a VERY busy weekend! The kids & I didn't get home until around 9:30 last night so they were super sleepy getting up for school today but it was worth it. We had a great time! AND the band won their competition! Yay!


CVMB Oct 3 by Lauren Parker, on Flickr

I haven't made ANY headway on what FastPasses to get. Can you believe it? Our window opens up on Halloween!! There couldn't be a worse day!! Dang it! I think the FP+ window opens up at Midnight, Eastern unless the MK is open until 12:00 am, in which case the FP+ window would open at 1:00 am, Eastern. 10/31 is a MNSSHP night so it is only open until 7:00 pm for regular guests but open until 12:00 am (I think?) for party guests. SO! Anybody got an idea as to what time the FP+ window will open? I'm hoping for later because if it opens at 12:00 am, it will be 9:00 pm for me and we'll probably just be back from trick-or-treating. If it opens at 1:00 am, for me that's 10:00 pm and should be adequate time to get the kids showered & settled so I can hop on the computer ready to grab FPs for 7 Dwarves Mine Train and Anna & Elsa! Anyhow, I really need to start making my itinerary so I can be ready for FP selections. For some reason, this part gives me anxiety! Eric's much better at this part but he doesn't have the time this month so yah. Its all on me! Yikes!!

 

[skier_pete]

So - I did a quick search for you - the 1 AM booking window is no more apparently as of June. Regardless of when the park closes, the booking window opens at Midnight eastern time.

I myself found it odd that people have trouble. I did all my FP+ the next morning after the 60 day mark, and had no problem getting everything we wanted. The one piece of advice I would give is try and push those potentially hard to get FP+ to slightly later in your trip. We had no trouble booking 7DMT (we didn't try for Anna and Elsa) but we got 7DMT for the 2nd and 5th days of our booking window.

 

[NJlauren]

How did I miss this post!

Double digit dance!

I think your FP window will be midnight.... So while its 9pm be happy your not saying up till midnight on a school/work night

I agree with @skier_pete plan the hardest FP to get at the end of the trip.... Though for my May trip I had no problem getting A&E for day 2, I just booked them over lapping not at the same time 5-6, 515-615 and 530-630 and we call all go in at 530 together. I couldn't get 3 at the same exact time.

 

[Elevationist]

Yaaaaaaaaaaaay! Belated double-digit dance time!!!

 

[JoshAndEvsMom]

o - I did a quick search for you - the 1 AM booking window is no more apparently as of June.

Oh my gosh! Thank you for looking that up for me!! That's very kind of you!

he one piece of advice I would give is try and push those potentially hard to get FP+ to slightly later in your trip. We had no trouble booking 7DMT (we didn't try for Anna and Elsa) but we got 7DMT for the 2nd and 5th days of our booking window.

Oh GOOD! That was actually my plan anyway with A&E on our last day. That will be the day with BBB & CRT so I figured I'd try and do all the princessey stuff on the same day. If we don't get a FP for them, we'll just watch the standby wait times. I hear it's actually not that bad any more (at least not 7 hours bad), especially if you plan to go during parades or fireworks.

 

[JoshAndEvsMom]

Double digit dance!

Yay!! Thank you!!

So while its 9pm be happy your not saying up till midnight on a school/work night

Uugh. Totally true. But I'll probably be up anyway.

ugh for my May trip I had no problem getting A&E for day 2, I just booked them over lapping not at the same time 5-6, 515-615 and 530-630 and we call all go in at 530 together. I couldn't get 3 at the same exact time

Thank you!! Good tip! My SIL has still not made any firm plans about going so I think I'll make all 4 FP+ for A&E. If they show up, I'll use the boys' FP for Mamma Bear & Goldie Locks and tell her to get different ones for the boys to do at the same time. Maybe Buzz or something since Baby Bear can go on that one too. If they don't show up, the boys are just going to have to sucks it up and meet the Snow Sisters!!

BTW... how did I miss YOUR NEW TICKER!! How exciting you get an Osborne Lights trip!!

 

[JoshAndEvsMom]

Yaaaaaaaaaaaay! Belated double-digit dance time!!!

I love my page bling!! Thank you Billie!!

 

[JoshAndEvsMom]

**56 Days until Disney!**

Update time!! Kind of a lot has been going on lately so I'll try to break it down. I may need some advice along the way as well... I have no idea how long this post will be so, yah. Here 'goes.

FASTPASS+
I did it! And guess what? It wasn't that hard! Also, I almost messed up on the day. So yes, our FP+ window opened up on October 31 so I had that in my head, not thinking that midnight of October 31 is actually 9:00 PM on October 30 for me! I just kept thinking 9:00 on October 31! So the whole trick-or-treating thing was a non issue. Good thing I realized that at, like 8:45 PM on the 30th! It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be at all. People always talk about how hard it is to get certain FP+s (like Anna & Elsa and 7DMT) but those were still choices on ALL our days. I still booked them for our last day since that's our "Princess Day" but still, it was sort of silly for me to worry about it. (In fact I wasn't "worried" about it at all, its not like you can FP EVERYTHING but you guys know what I'm talking about.) A couple things I wanted were gone. Illuminations wasn't available on 1/5 and the Christmas Parade wasn't available on 12/30 but I really don't think we'll have a problem with finding a place to watch. I've also heard some people say that the reserved parade viewing is kind of crazy anyway so maybe that's not such a bad thing.

INLAWS
They're coming! MB booked their stay at SoG from 1/2-1/6 and they'll be doing park days with us on 1/3, 1/4, & 1/5. I'm SO excited! I'm not sure what time they'll be showing up on 1/2 but I'm hoping we'll be able to meet up for dinner... maybe at Disney Springs?... then lounge around the resort a bit. We'll also have my niece stay the night with us that night as I'm sure the kids will want to be together. I had to change some of our dining reservations to accommodate them but I think I got it all figured out. We will probably have to shift some of our FP+ around too but we cant do that until 30 days out. Since SoG isn't a Disney Property they have to wait to make their selections. MDE is kind of messed up. MB can see our park days but not our dinner reservations and when I added them to our reservations it added them as "Guest 1, Guest 2, etc." so I have to go in and change that so she can actually view it on her account. Also, MB created an account for PB instead of him creating his own so if he wants to be able to view everything on his own app we'll have to delete him, then add him back in once he's created his own account. MB also needs to create accounts for GL and BB so we can get FastPasses for them. It sounds like a headache but we'll get it done.

FLIGHTS
Oh Yes, this is changing too!! Eric received a HUGE honor and was one of 12 band directors in the COUNTRY to be asked to be a part of the U.S. Army All American Marching Band! But guess what the dates are? January 7-9! Yup, he has to be in San Antonio the same day we are supposed to fly home! At first when he told me about it he said something along the lines of :

Him: "Hey, so I was one of 12 Band directors selected to be a part of this thing in San Antonio but it starts on the same day as we leave Florida. Too bad I'll have to tell them no."

Me: "Wait. Like 12 band directors in Washington were selected?"

Him: "No, 12 in the country. Its for the Army All American band. They pay for everything too... flight, hotel, meals... everything's covered." (He's had a student audition before so I knew what he was talking about.)

Me: "Why can't you go, then? Couldn't you just leave from Florida?"

Him: " 'Cuz that'd leave you to fly home with the kids by yourself!"

Me: "I think we can manage. You really need to do this!" Him: "Really?" Me: "Yes! Make sure there's no penalties for canceling your flight on Delta first but YES! DO IT!"

So that means I'm going to be flying across the country with the kiddos BY MY SELF! I told him we will manage... I KNOW we will, its not like I'm the first woman to fly with a couple of kids by herself... but I'm not gonna lie. I AM sort of nervous. The actual flight itself isn't what bothers me, its getting through security that gives me anxiety. I know it will be fine but just thinking of those security lines in MCO gives me the heebie-jeebies.

DINING
A few minor changes. Nothing too big.

• Had to change the time of our Crystal Palace reservation from 8:15 am to 10:25 am in order to add the Bear Family. At first I was just going to add Goldie Locks since her parents & brother weren't interested in getting up that early but even to add one tiny little 5 year old we'd have to change the time to 10:25 so I just added everybody. I think Baby Bear will love the Pooh characters! And I've heard rumors that MK might extend their hours that week to open at 8:00 am instead of 9:00 am and if that happened our 8:15 time would be moot anyway.
• Because of this, though, I'll have to either change or cancel Josh's Pirates League reservation. I'm kind of leaning toward canceling it and letting him choose something else while we're there... like a hair style at Harmony Barber or face painting at Animal Kingdom or something along those lines. Pirates League IS cool but it takes up so much time... I don't know. What do you guys think?
• Added the Bear Family to Whispering Canyon and Mama Melrose with no problems! No time changes or anything. Perfect!
• Had to change the time of our Teppan Edo reservation from 7:00 PM to 8:20 PM. Which isn't great. 8:20 is pretty late for the Florida kiddos to eat so I don't know if we'll keep this one. On one hand, I was really looking forward to this reservation as it looks like a really fun place with yummy food! The kids LOVE this type of restaurant and have really gained a thirst for the Japanese culture after we had our exchange student. On the other hand, if we keep it we'll probably miss Illuminations and I'm not sure the Bear Family would be up for such a late dinner. Being together with them is way, WAY more important than some silly restaurant reservation so I'm trying to get Mama Bear's input on where they'd like to eat. Its their vacation too, after all! I know they joined late but I don't want them to feel like they're tagging along.

Well, I think that's it! What do you guys think about changing that Teppan Edo ADR? Where would you eat in Epcot to please 4 adults, 1 (*almost* and SO acts like one!!!) tween boy, 2 princesses and a 1 year old?? How about Pirate's League?

Thanks again for following along! You guys are the best!

 

[tabrizia]

Flying solo with a 9 and 5 year old shouldn't be bad, even security though it seem scary should be fairly easy. They will get to go through the regular x-ray machines which is nice. I'd have your 9 year old go through, then the 5 year old and then you. Once you are through it should be super easy. It really seems scarier then it is, most of the time the TSA people are at least semi-helpful and friendly especially when you are travelling alone with kids. Really they want you to get through and on your way as quickly as possible too.

 

[locashaina]

I had to do my FP+ late, like 3 or 4 days late due to ordering tickets late (Originally I was going to do a Premier Passport until they raised prices, boo). Anna and Elsa was open almost everyday for us too. Congrats to your hubby!!!!!!!! Also, will he still be with you going through security if you're both flying out of MCO?

 

[SimplyGoofy]

I'm glad you got the Fastpass+ selections you wanted! Hooray!

How fabulous that most of the reservations were easy to update. As for Teppan Edo, I would keep the one you have but keep stalking the dining site. Plans change all the time and you never know what you'll find! Even check the day before! If it doesn't seem like it will work, cancel or switch it out the night before.

I bet Josh will be fine with skipping Pirate's League and he'll be happy to find an alternative that he's excited about.

Congratulations to your husband on the great honor! Your kiddos are a bit older so I have no doubt that you can make it through the airport by yourselves!

 

[NJlauren]

I've never done Teppan Edo, but I love Rose & Crown or one of the Mexican places. Via Napoli is supposed to be good but I haven't been (I do frequent their NJ location and love it).

Love how accommodating you are to your family I'd be like you booked late find your own reservations.... I'm not as nice ..

Congrats to your husband!!! That's amazing traveling may be a little hard but you'll be fine, your kids will hopefully be relaxed from all the excitement of the trip am they will be easy going' (I'm freaking about traveling alone with DD too).

52 days!!!!

 

[skier_pete]

We've eaten at Teppan Edo. I wasn't that impressed. It pretty much is your standard Teppenaki (Hibatchi) style restaurant, so if you've been to one of them in your hometown, you basically get the exact same experience at Disney except at a premium price. Admittedly our daughter loves these restaurants, and she loved Teppan Edo, but I definitely think you can miss it without it being a big drag.

My suggestion for an alternative in Epcot:
Biergarten in Germany. Nice large tables that will sit 8, and an atmosphere like an outdoor (at night) German beer hall. The food is good if not great. The best part is the Oktoberfest show that goes every once in a while. I listed the scheduled times below. Usually its not tough to get into. Time your ADR about 20-30 minutes before a show is scheduled to start so you have time to get seated and start getting your food. The show has music and even you can get up and dance with the kids. Keeps the kids entertained while the adults enjoy the food & beer. And the beer is really, really good.

The biggest negative is the price - which runs high twenties during lunch, and around $36-$38 for dinner, kids are $16 for lunch, $20 for dinner - except the 1 year old of course is free. (Note lunch and dinner are the same food/show, so you pay a premium for dinner as is normal at Disney.)


Oktoberfest Musikanten

Experience the excitement of Oktoberfest with a festive dinner show in the Biergarten.
Daily at 12:30, 1:20, 2:20, 3:20, 4:45, 6:00, 7:15 & 8:15pm

 

[JoshAndEvsMom]

Merry Christmas everyone!! I know I'very been majorly, majorly slacking and have completely ignored my PTR. I have no good excuse. I'm sorry!!

We leave in 3 days!!! Aaaaaakkk! Let the freaking out begin!

So, here's the short & sweet lowdown on what's been going on:

1. The surprise went off without a hitch! It was awesome. I did a scavenger hunt where the last clue was outside. While the kids were out searching we placed a huge washingmachine box under the Christmas tree that was filled with helium ballons. The ballons were tied to a sign that said "Surprise! In just 4 days we're going to Walt Disney World!" They were SO surprised!

2. My SIL's husband can't make the trip. He couldn't get the time off work....

3. So my Mother-in-law will be replacing him! This development only came about a week ago when I was talking to my SIL while I was up at the crack of dawn for my son's hockey tournament. (He had to be on the ice at 6:30 am!! What better time to call the East Coast, amiright?)

4. We had a fabulous Christmas! Today's my birthday and we're going sledding, watching Inside Out, and having dinner at Red Robbins per my request.

5. It's 23 degrees here with a foot of snow on the ground. It's 80 in Orlando!!!! Enough said.

Sorry for the lack of photos. I have them but I'm posting from my phone so it won't let me. I'd like to do a TR when we get home so i'll probably post them then.

Thanks everyone for following along! And if you want to follow our trip on Instagram i'm laurenkp80 there! I'm set to private right now because I was getting some "interesting" people following me for some reason but I'll approve your request.

Happy New year!

 

[Elevationist]

AND HAPPY 3 DAYS UNTIL DISNEY!!!!

It's 80 degrees in my office right now, the A/C is busted. I'm sweating. Your 23 degrees sounds AMAZING to me right now!!!