1 Summer, 2 Coasts, 3 Kids...Ready, Set, Go!

[Chicago Mo]

Wow, wish the photopass cost that much at WDW ... lol

Agree!

 

[OregonMomToWDW]

Wow, wish the photopass cost that much at WDW ... lol

Agree!

I know! I have heard that the photographers can be great and some of the pictures turn out horrible. But, for $70, I am willing to risk it. It includes the following rides:
Radiator Springs Racers
California Screamin' (I know where that one takes a picture now)
Splash Mountain (hoping I can talk Chelsea onto that one)
Space Mountain (Chelsea will not go on this. )
Tower of Terror (the older kids can go...I will sit it out)

It doesn't include Buzz Lightyear ride but you can stop and email it to yourself. So that works. We are only there for 3 days, so that is $23/day for pictures. I don't know if we will take that much worth, but we will give it a try.

 

[OregonMomToWDW]

Why is it when you try to do your post early in the morning, so the kids won't see, your internet connection is slow and photobucket keeps messing up? Oh well.

I decided I couldn't wait till tomorrow for the Disneyland update. Last Sunday night, I got an email from the coordinator of the trip saying we could make our reservations after noon on Monday. So, at 1 pm (yup, I wasn't able to right at noon) I called the number and requested the group reservation woman. She took all of my information and my credit card number and said she would email me a confirmation. Thankfully, she gave me the confirmation # over the phone. They were supposed to charge 1 night to the credit card to hold the reservation. I can see why this process took so long now. I did not receive the email confirmation and my credit card has yet to be charged. No wonder it took our coordinator 2 months to work with them. Anyway, I have my confirmation # and I will be really upset if the person at the hotel messed it up.

This is where we are staying (pictures taken from Cortona Inn & Suites website):

I got the kids suite, with a King Bed, sofa bed and bunk beds:

They have free continental breakfast. They tack on a $9.95 / day resort fee. They say they are 1.5 blocks from Disneyland, but it is 2 miles. So, we will be getting our passes to the Anaheim Resort Transit.

 

[OregonMomToWDW]

Now, I don't do much customs, because I can't sew, I can't paint, I can't draw and I certainly cannot even cut with scissors straight. I barely passed art in elementary school. So, I buy Disney shirts and call it good enough...usually. Last year, I came across a woman on Dis that makes wonderful, beautiful park bags. Last year, through an auction, I won a Flik bag and coordinating wallet lanyard and another wallet lanyard with the green alien from Toy Story. We took them on our trip and we loved them. This year, we wanted some more, well, I wanted some more, because Marissa took the bag, Chelsea took one lanyard and Jacob the other, leaving me without. The bag and a wallet also made it to Disneyland and I got to use the bag for that trip and it was very nice to carry around all day and night. Can't believe I couldn't ever find Flik. I will try again.

So, last Friday (ending early Saturday morning) she had another auction. D~ (that is what she goes by here on Dis) had made a lovely Snow White bag. I was in love. I wanted it so badly. About 20 minutes before the auction ended, the bidding exploded and quickly out of my budget. It is important to have a budget with her auctions. Very easy to go on emotion. So, I went to my runner up. It was a bag of Olaf. Yup. I won that one. I knew if I won that one, that I would try to get the coordinating tween bag for Chelsea. Yup. Won that one too. I haven't taken my own pictures yet. They arrived yesterday during the dance craziness. However, I do have the ones that D~ posted for her auction.

Here is the matching tween bag:

As I said, they arrived yesterday. Now, I thought they would be nice for the Anna & Elsa meet and greet. Little did I know Disney would announce the Frozen Summer stuff at DHS!!!!!! I am so glad I got the red-eye flight and that we arrive at 5:45 am on August 31st. I had already planned DHS as our park that day. Now it seems we will get to participate in all the fun...with our very own custom Olaf bags.

We tore open the package and reverently unwrapped the tissue paper from the bags. Chelsea squealed when she saw hers. Oh my it was cute. Perfect size for her. The larger bag was just gorgeous. We went down to show Marissa. So the bargaining began. She wants it for Disneyland and for the WDW meet and greet. I can use Flik at Disneyland. She will use Flik for the other WDW days, not involving the meet and greet. I get to use Olaf for DHS! We are all so very happy.

 

[OregonMomToWDW]

Yesterday, I went ahead and ordered the autograph book. Last year, we ordered one through celebrations press. The Guide to the Magic and the autograph book. Chelsea loved them. So, I just placed my order for this year. I also went to Amazon and got the first 2 books from Kingdom Keepers on CD. Long drive equals lots of time to listen to audio books. My credit card gives me points I can use on Amazon, so it brought my $54 order to $17. That was very nice.

We had our first summer car seat fight yesterday. If you remember, Marissa paid Chelsea $10 if Marissa could have the front seat for the summer. Well, yesterday, Chelsea wanted the front seat and claimed she didn't know it was for the whole summer. I told Chelsea, that Marissa had made it clear it was for the whole summer and that I had tried to talk her out of it, so the deal stands. She was not happy. Lesson learned. Don't make deals with Marissa.

I need to get check in mail for the DL tickets. Have a good weekend.

 

[Denovagirl]

So many updates! Yay!

Sooooo glad you finally got to book Disneyland! Whew!

D~ bags!!! Ahhh! I didn't know that was you who won the Olafs! Love them! I am on the custom list for Sept, hoping they make it before my trip but we will see...

$23 for PP at DCL is awesome, one ride photo costs $20! Are you doing it for WDW too?

 

[OregonMomToWDW]

So many updates! Yay!

Sooooo glad you finally got to book Disneyland! Whew!

D~ bags!!! Ahhh! I didn't know that was you who won the Olafs! Love them! I am on the custom list for Sept, hoping they make it before my trip but we will see...

$23 for PP at DCL is awesome, one ride photo costs $20! Are you doing it for WDW too?

Yes we are doing Memory Maker as well. It is the only time I get pictures of all of us. I hope you get your bag too by the trip.

I am glad the Disneyland part is finally coming together. Such a relief.

 

[DMGeurts]

I fell a little bit behind here Shannon... Sorry about that. I thought I was doing pretty good - LOL Guess not...

Love the hotel for your DL trip - it's gorgeous... I just love the interior colors of the room. I hope you are able to get everything straightened out with your CC>

And thank you so much for your kind words about the bags I make... I am always so happy to hear when people love them... I put my heart and soul into each one. I hope they add a bit of magic to your trip - and I agree, they will be so perfect for DHS (I still need to research this whole Frozen thingy there).

Hahaaha... I love that your girls pay eachother for the right to the front seat... I should offer that to my girls - except, they pay ME... Since it's MY car afterall. LOL I'll start renting out my front seat... Hmmmm... Spending $$ for Disney anyone? I love this!

I haven't gotten to the last page of this PTR yet, so hopefully I am not missing much. I hope you had a nice weekend.

D~

 

[DMGeurts]

D~ bags!!! Ahhh! I didn't know that was you who won the Olafs! Love them! I am on the custom list for Sept, hoping they make it before my trip but we will see...

I am always willing to mail directly to the resort. I would never want a bag to miss a trip.

D~

 

[Chicago Mo]

The hotel looks really nice! Hope they have an awesome pool too!!!

What is the autograph book did you get?

LOVE The olaf bags!!! and too get the corresponding mini bag?! TOTAL SCORE!!!

What did you pick for the custom order from D?

 

[OregonMomToWDW]

The hotel looks really nice! Hope they have an awesome pool too!!!

What is the autograph book did you get?

LOVE The olaf bags!!! and too get the corresponding mini bag?! TOTAL SCORE!!!

What did you pick for the custom order from D?

The pool looks nice enough. I am not sure how much pool time we will have. Jacob and Marissa don't like breaks at all.

We got the Guide to the Magic journal and matching autograph book. They have it on Amazon, but I usually order from them directly (celebrationspress). The Guide to the Magic has pictures and ride details, but it has a page for each attraction and a spot for Chelsea to write how she liked or didn't like the attraction. There are spots for her to have pictures. For Epcot, there is a place for the passport stamps. The autograph book comes with some pictures of the main characters you can get autographs from and then lots of blanks. It has a thicker cover, so it held up better when things got a tad wet from rain. I wasn't going to do the journal again, but I was looking through last years and what she had written and some of her comments were hilarious. I thought it might be nice for her to have when she is older. Also, it is nice to be able to look back and see how much has changed and help remember the trips better.

I didn't get a custom from D~. That would be Terri. I wish. Did you see the Nemo one?

And I loved the trick or treat bags that Tess made for your kiddos. I saw the picture on FB and was like, "Oh my, those are so amazingly cute!"

Have a great Monday.

 

[OregonMomToWDW]

Yesterday was a busy one. Our thrift store was having a 50% off sale for card members. So, Marissa and Chelsea wanted to hit that sale. Now, I haven't been a card member long, so I wasn't sure what to expect. We showed up 5 minutes early and the parking lot was packed. There were long lines out both entrances. Jacob, who needs clothes the most, refused to come. So, we were about 20th into the store. I head straight to mens shorts. Quickly grabbed 6 pair of shorts in hopefully Jacob's size. Marissa already is in dressing room. No wait yet. She has been wanting a smaller purse and I see one she might like. She loved it. $9.99 on sale for $5 bucks. We head to Chelsea's size. She scores a Hawaiian skirt that she is going to wear on one day that we will be meeting Stitch. She also got a jean jacket that has Minnie Mouse and Disneyland on the back. She was worried that it said Disneyland and we are going to WDW. I said it would be ok. She can take it on the Disneyland trip she doesn't know about yet. She also got a pair of size 5 womens sandals. She was so proud of herself for fitting into womens sizes.

What did I get for myself? Well, nothing as usual. Oh well. Chelsea had some things to try on and the line was long and people had cart fulls. We pulled a number and waited our turn. Finally, it was her turn. She ended up with the Hawaiian skirt, some dance pants, a red t-shirt and a cute bubble skirt. I love 50% off day.

We were out of the store by 11:15. Time to head home and have Jacob try on the shorts. Every single pair fit him and he was so thrilled to have shorts that didn't have holes in them.

The rest of the day was spent getting Marissa ready for her 2 day college orientation. She could check in between 6pm - 10pm. The orientation begins 9:30 am this morning. I was sort of in a funk after dropping her off. Can't explain. Just hard to see her all grown up.

So, that mood resulted in buying some ice cream and heading home to the other two. We watched some Pirate Fairy and followed that with Big Brother.

Now, I had promised myself that once dance was over for the year, I would start walking to work. So, that meant waking up earlier this morning. I did it. It took me 60 minutes to get to work this morning and I get to repeat it after work. I wore my Go Walk from Sketchers. Well, they are now crossed off my WDW trip list. I have some hot spots that should be nice blisters by the time I make it home. But, I did it and I should be ok for Disney by the end of summer.

 

[Chicago Mo]

The pool looks nice enough. I am not sure how much pool time we will have. Jacob and Marissa don't like breaks at all.

We got the Guide to the Magic journal and matching autograph book. They have it on Amazon, but I usually order from them directly (celebrationspress). The Guide to the Magic has pictures and ride details, but it has a page for each attraction and a spot for Chelsea to write how she liked or didn't like the attraction. There are spots for her to have pictures. For Epcot, there is a place for the passport stamps. The autograph book comes with some pictures of the main characters you can get autographs from and then lots of blanks. It has a thicker cover, so it held up better when things got a tad wet from rain. I wasn't going to do the journal again, but I was looking through last years and what she had written and some of her comments were hilarious. I thought it might be nice for her to have when she is older. Also, it is nice to be able to look back and see how much has changed and help remember the trips better.

I didn't get a custom from D~. That would be Terri. I wish. Did you see the Nemo one?

And I loved the trick or treat bags that Tess made for your kiddos. I saw the picture on FB and was like, "Oh my, those are so amazingly cute!"

Have a great Monday.

i ma trying all over to catch up.. So i must have these all confused!! SORRY!!!

Tess made my cry. I cannot believe she is doing all of this wonderful stuff for my children.. what an amazing thoughtful person! I am very lucky to call her a friend!!


I am going to try the pillow cases for autographs this year...

 

[Denovagirl]

Whoooo! Score at the thrift store! I absolutely LOVE going thrifting! How exciting! We have one near us that is only clothes, shoes and purses and the price for everything in the store is the same and goes by day! The highest is $1.75 and it goes down a quarter each day! I usually go on 75 cent day, I've learned to NEVER go on quarter day it's way to nuts!

So glad you found some fun stuff! You should take a pic of the jean jacket, id love to see it!

 

[OregonMomToWDW]

Whoooo! Score at the thrift store! I absolutely LOVE going thrifting! How exciting! We have one near us that is only clothes, shoes and purses and the price for everything in the store is the same and goes by day! The highest is $1.75 and it goes down a quarter each day! I usually go on 75 cent day, I've learned to NEVER go on quarter day it's way to nuts!

So glad you found some fun stuff! You should take a pic of the jean jacket, id love to see it!

Wow, we don't have any thrift stores like that, but we have the Value Village that had the 50% off sale and sometimes our Saint Vincent de Paul's will have 50% off sales as well.

I will post a picture of the jacket soon. Marissa says it is flower power Minnie. The jean jacket has flowers on the front and then Minnie is on the back with what looks to be bell bottom pants and platform shoes. Chelsea loves it, she doesn't care.

 

[Denovagirl]

Wow, we don't have any thrift stores like that, but we have the Value Village that had the 50% off sale and sometimes our Saint Vincent de Paul's will have 50% off sales as well. I will post a picture of the jacket soon. Marissa says it is flower power Minnie. The jean jacket has flowers on the front and then Minnie is on the back with what looks to be bell bottom pants and platform shoes. Chelsea loves it, she doesn't care.

Flower power Minnie sounds awesome!

 

[OregonMomToWDW]

I walked to work again today. I finally went to Map My Run to see how far it really is. It is 3.58 miles one way. So, I am logging about 7 miles per day. I am jealous of the people riding by on a bike, but I don't want to spend the money on a bike, so my feet will just have to survive.

Marissa had her Freshman Orientation and for the most part, she had a good time...until time to register for classes. All of the advisors told her since she had college credit for her Japanese courses, she wouldn't have to take the Japanese placement test. So, they didn't sign her up to take them. That is true for all foreign languages except Chinese and Japanese. So, she had to take it unprepared and then stressed. She doesn't do well under pressure, so we are waiting to know the results. So, she is a Japanese major but they won't allow her to register for a Japanese class yet. Seems like someone there should have known that before the last 2 hours of orientation. Oh well, she didn't cry, so that is an improvement. She also found out she is the only Freshman that signed up to do flag team for the marching band. So, she is in. Band camp is for 2 weeks in September from 9am-9pm. Guess who will be picking her up daily at 9 pm. But, she gets to go to all the football games for free. They travel to one away game, to the Civil War game against OSU and any bowl games...it has been years since they didn't get a bowl game. The UO athletic department pays all the costs too for the travel. She is so excited.


Day 5 Plans:So, after talking to her for awhile and cooling off (it was 95 degrees yesterday!), it was time to sign on to my computer and My Disney Experience to select Fast passes. Finally, one of the reservation times works in my favor. 9 pm! I got to the fast pass selection to screen that tells you to select people...and Marissa isn't there. I call the number, but of course, they close at 11 pm (EST). I remained calm and decided I would book the fastpasses for the three of that were there, and worry about Marissa later the next morning. So, my first day to select was our MK day. We got Anna and Else, Seven Dwarfs, and Space Mountain (Jacob) and Tomorrowland Speedway (me and Chelsea). Then I went and changed all the times to better times. I always picked the option with the latest times. That way I could move them around to earlier times without worrying about overlapping. After I had all the times the way I wanted, I saved. Then a screen came up that gave me an option to copy a day's fast passes to another person in our group. So, I was curious and clicked on that. I selected Jacob's to copy. The next screen then showed Marissa. So, I copied and she had her fastpasses too. From then on, she showed up as our group and I didn't have to do that again.

Day 1 Plans:
Then, I went to our arrival day and selected fastpasses for Hollywood Studios. I know I reserved Toy Story Mania and Star Tours for all of us. I did Tower of Terror for Jacob and Marissa and I think I did American Idol? for me and Chelsea. I knew it would be hot, and I would be tired from an overnight flight, and it is closing soon, so I though air conditioned theater was worth my fast pass selection.

Day 2 Plans:
There are no fast passes reserved for this day. It is our Water park and then MNSSHP day.

Day 3 Plans:
This is Epcot Day. We got fastpasses for Test Track, Mission Space and Spaceship Earth. This has morning EMH, so we are hoping to get a couple of rides in on Test Track before our fast pass times.

Day 4 Plans:
We are Animal Kingdom today. I got Fast passes for the Safaris, Festival of Lion King, Expedition Everest (Jacob and Marissa) and Primeval Whirl (me and Chelsea). This is also a morning EMH day. So, we are going to head straight to Expedition Everest and ride a few times (we have to take turns because Chelsea won't ride). We usually ride together until the line is too long and then switch to the single rider line. Then we will do the Safaris. Then our Fast passes. Hopefully we won't get rained out like last year. I want to be able to see the shows, go to Rafiki's planet watch, meet characters.

Day 5 Plans:
I posted those up top. We do have an ADR to Plaza Restaurant at 6:30pm this day. Again, I wanted less expensive and air conditioned. Also an EMH morning, so we are going to try Big Thunder maybe first and then Space Mountain. I don't know which direction we will head first. I know it seems like a lot of morning EMH's which usually aren't recommended, but the crowd levels range from 1-4. Animal Kingdom has the highest. I figured we would try it.

Day 6 Plans:
We were going to do a full day of Epcot, but the kids couldn't decide on which water park to go to, so I decided that we would do the other water park today and then go to Epcot in the evening...maybe. Jacob and Chelsea want to go to DisneyQuest, so we may just have a non park day. I did some fast passes just in case. There are evening EMH hours at Epcot, so we will see. I did Test Track again. The Character spot and I can't remember the last one. I will have to look it up. Probably Spaceship again? I was tired by this point.

Day 7 Plans:
Another Hollywood Studios day with morning EMH. I think I chose Toy Story Mania again. Tower of Terror for the older 2 and Star Tours. I don't know what I picked for the 3rd fast pass for Chelsea and myself. It had been about an hour and I was ready to be done with the entire fast pass process. We do have a lunch reservation at 50's Primetime this day.

We leave bright and early...or I should say dark and early (3am Magical Express pick up).

Good luck to everyone making their fast pass selections.

 

[Denovagirl]

Glad the FP+ situation worked out with Marissa! WHEW!!!

How nice to have it all DONE! I can't wait to do mine, just so I know it's done and I can stop dwelling on it so much!!

Bummer on the whole test situation with Marissa, that really stinks! But yay for flags! I did that in high school too!! How fun to continue it in college! I loved getting to go to all the games and stuff!

Oh, and all the walking to work! I think that is awesome, and you're lucky! Your feet will be prepared for Disney! I need to get walking more!

 

[OregonMomToWDW]

Glad the FP+ situation worked out with Marissa! WHEW!!!

How nice to have it all DONE! I can't wait to do mine, just so I know it's done and I can stop dwelling on it so much!!

Bummer on the whole test situation with Marissa, that really stinks! But yay for flags! I did that in high school too!! How fun to continue it in college! I loved getting to go to all the games and stuff!

Oh, and all the walking to work! I think that is awesome, and you're lucky! Your feet will be prepared for Disney! I need to get walking more!

Hopefully, we hear good news about the test and letting her register for the class. There are only 3 spots left in the class.

I am hoping my feet will be prepared, but as I walk, I keep thinking I should have gotten the Thorlo socks.

 

[OregonMomToWDW]

Just a quick update. I made Marissa call her Japanese advisor because she hadn't heard from her and she still couldn't register for the class. The woman said she had done very good on the test and that she could take the class and that she, the advisor, had forgotten to email registration. She got one of the last two spots.

Oh...and it felt hot on my trek home from work.