13 Days of Disney – Shh-it’s a Surprise! - June 2016 PTR - Update 6/4

[Jfsag123]

Hello! I’ve never attempted a trip report before, but have enjoyed reading so many that I decided to try one myself. This is the first time I’ve planned a trip of this length, so I thought chronicling it may help me to organize everything. Bonus: I can potentially get input from the brilliant minds on The Dis.

Meet the Family!

Here we are! I’m Kelley and I’m a Disneyholic. When not obsessing over Disney, I spend my time as a Psychology Ph.D. student. I finish with coursework this semester, then just have to knock out dissertation and internship to be done. Whew! Needless to say, I often feel the need for pleasant distraction and planning Disney trips suits that nicely. I also enjoy reading fantasy and horror fiction, singing, and making really bad jokes.

DH is a recently converted Disney mega-fan. He pretends to just put up with my Disney obsessing, but I’m pretty sure he secretly enjoys it (NOTE: this is what I need to tell myself to give myself permission to continue talking his ear off about trip minutia).

DD, Cora, is 8 and celebrated her last birthday at WDW (only a little jealous of my own kid…). I originally introduced her to the idea of a trip to WDW when she was 5 by showing her the grainy 90’s Disneyland singalong video that I remembered from my childhood (complete with Roger Rabbit). About 10 minutes in, she stood up, tears in her eyes, clasped her hands together and screamed “It’s just too perfect!!!” I knew she was ready. She has gone to career day at school as an Imagineer for three years running.

DS, Alex, is 5. He is obsessed with Toy Story and, recently, Zootopia, and has become a bit of a walking Disney movie encyclopedia. His primary WDW goals include skipping down Main Street and collecting as many kisses from princesses as he can. He also insists that he will one day work for Disney.

Before we jump into the plans, I’ll share a little bit of our Disney history. I was raised a Disney kid and have been a fan all my life. I was taken on one trip to WDW when I was 8 and one to DL when I was 5. This is me at DL back in the 80’s.

DH and I visited Disneyland for one day on our honeymoon and have no pictures (!!). Our first family trip was in 2013. It was planned over the course of a couple of months in whirlwind fashion, with much help from The Dis. At first, DH didn't get my excitement. By the end of that trip, he was asking when we were coming back. We returned in March 2015 and had an amazing time. At that point we committed to trying to come back every two years, as we are fully addicted. We left vowing to return in June of 2017. However, we ended up with a little more money than we expected to have and, being the good Disney addicts that we are, DH and I decided to bump up the trip to June 2016. BUT…we never told the kids. They still believe we are not going back until 2017. I am almost as excited about the surprise reveal as I am about the trip itself.

For those of you still with me, thanks! Looking forward to going on this ride with you.

 

[Jfsag123]

Table of Contents

Plan Overview
Days 1 and 2
Day 3
Day 4
FP+ Booking
Day 5
Day 6
A (not-so) Minor Set-back
Day 7
The Costumes
Day 5 - Take Two!
MagicBands and Day 8
Princesspalooza and Day 9
Day 10
Day 11
Surgery and MagicBands
Day 12
Day 13
Finally Some Updates!
Days 14 and 15
Final Update Before Departure!

 

[Jfsag123]

The Surprise

Here’s how I see it going: we are doing all of our trip countdown stuff right now. However, instead of counting down to the actual trip, the kids think we are counting down to being one year away from going back to WDW. They believe that Mommy’s crazy Disney obsession is strong enough to make this perfectly plausible. They think nothing of me regularly asking them planning questions about ADR’s and fastpasses so far in advance of a trip because we always talk Disney in this house regardless. I’ve also been playing up my disappointment over having to wait so long and using the countdown as an excuse to “cheer us up.” Pretty soon we will make a countdown chain. When we get down to the final day, I will tell the kids that I got them each a little something to celebrate being exactly a year away, and will bring out a wrapped present for each of them. The presents will actually be our boxes of MagicBands and once they open them, we will spring on them that we’re heading to Disney that day. We drive and will already have the car packed and ready to go.

The Plans

This trip will be a split stay, with 6 nights at each resort. This is another surprise for the kids. They know that we will be spending the second half of our vacation at Bay Lake Tower again on our upcoming trip, but have no idea what the first resort will be. We have booked Beach Club Villas for the first half of the trip! DH and the kids saw a video of Stormalong Bay a while back and fell in love. I fell in love with the idea of walking to Epcot. That settled it. We will not tell them which resort we will be beginning our trip at – they will see when we pull up to the resort. I did this on our last trip with our one night at POR. The kids loved getting to guess where we’d stop as we drove through WDW property, and asked to be surprised in this way again.

We are driving over the course of two days, leaving Texas on Sunday, 6/5. We plan to spend the night around Pensacola, FL, then head out early on Monday morning to arrive at BCV in the late afternoon.

This is what we’ve got:

6/5 – Head out
6/6-6/12 – Beach Club Villas
6/12-6/18 – Bay Lake Tower
6/19 – Home

My birthday is 6/20. ‘Twil be a very sad day this year. Posts going over plans day by day to follow!

 

[tortilla24]

Oh how fun! We're going in June, too. We only have 1 day at a Disney park but I'm excited to follow your PTR. I LOVE surprises, I'm sure your kids will be over the moon excited!

 

[sunshinemelody]

Yay, so very excited for your trip! Surprises are such fun!

 

[ArielSRL]

I'm here! Yay!

The Surprise

Here’s how I see it going: we are doing all of our trip countdown stuff right now. However, instead of counting down to the actual trip, the kids think we are counting down to being one year away from going back to WDW. They believe that Mommy’s crazy Disney obsession is strong enough to make this perfectly plausible. They think nothing of me regularly asking them planning questions about ADR’s and fastpasses so far in advance of a trip because we always talk Disney in this house regardless. I’ve also been playing up my disappointment over having to wait so long and using the countdown as an excuse to “cheer us up.” Pretty soon we will make a countdown chain. When we get down to the final day, I will tell the kids that I got them each a little something to celebrate being exactly a year away, and will bring out a wrapped present for each of them. The presents will actually be our boxes of MagicBands and once they open them, we will spring on them that we’re heading to Disney that day. We drive and will already have the car packed and ready to go.

This is so awesome! I wish I had the will to keep it a surprise. Maybe the next trip, though I doubt it! Lol.

The Plans

This trip will be a split stay, with 6 nights at each resort. This is another surprise for the kids. They know that we will be spending the second half of our vacation at Bay Lake Tower again on our upcoming trip, but have no idea what the first resort will be. We have booked Beach Club Villas for the first half of the trip! DH and the kids saw a video of Stormalong Bay a while back and fell in love. I fell in love with the idea of walking to Epcot. That settled it. We will not tell them which resort we will be beginning our trip at – they will see when we pull up to the resort. I did this on our last trip with our one night at POR. The kids loved getting to guess where we’d stop as we drove through WDW property, and asked to be surprised in this way again.

This is a cool thing as well. This surprise I might could keep. You'll have to let me know how you like BC. Next June we are renting points from my coworker and we are doing either BCV, BWV, or AKV.

We are driving over the course of two days, leaving Texas on Sunday, 6/5. We plan to spend the night around Pensacola, FL, then head out early on Monday morning to arrive at BCV in the late afternoon.

This is what we’ve got:

6/5 – Head out
6/6-6/12 – Beach Club Villas
6/12-6/18 – Bay Lake Tower
6/19 – Home

Sounds good! I'm envious of the length of your trip. We are splitting our drive from GA into two, as well. We leave 6/3, arrive at Disney 6/4. But you probably know this from my ptr, already.

My birthday is 6/20. ‘Twil be a very sad day this year. Posts going over plans day by day to follow!

I totally understand. I was thinking about how depressed I'd be this summer after our trip but then lucked into the trip for next year...so I get another year before the depression hits. Doing a TR will help, though!

Looking forward to more!

 

[Jfsag123]

Oh how fun! We're going in June, too. We only have 1 day at a Disney park but I'm excited to follow your PTR. I LOVE surprises, I'm sure your kids will be over the moon excited!

Yay for another June trip-goer! Thanks for following along! Which park(s) are you planning on for your Disney day?

Yay, so very excited for your trip! Surprises are such fun!

Thank you! It is taking every ounce of willpower I have to keep the surprise, but I'm hoping the pay-off will be worth it!

I'm here! Yay!

This is so awesome! I wish I had the will to keep it a surprise. Maybe the next trip, though I doubt it! Lol.

This is a cool thing as well. This surprise I might could keep. You'll have to let me know how you like BC. Next June we are renting points from my coworker and we are doing either BCV, BWV, or AKV.

Sounds good! I'm envious of the length of your trip. We are splitting our drive from GA into two, as well. We leave 6/3, arrive at Disney 6/4. But you probably know this from my ptr, already.

I totally understand. I was thinking about how depressed I'd be this summer after our trip but then lucked into the trip for next year...so I get another year before the depression hits. Doing a TR will help, though!

Looking forward to more!

Glad you're here! It's nice to see someone else that understands the road trip aspect of Disney trips. Do you have plans for keeping the kiddos occupied on the drive?

We stay with rented DVC points as well. We decided on the super long trip because none of us have to be back for anything. DH works as a speech pathologist in the school system, so won't have work, I'm finished with classes for my Ph.D. in May and so won't have summer class for the first time in years, and the kids are, of course, out. We decided to take advantage of this small window of having leisurely summers, as once I actually graduate and start working full-time again that'll be gone. We are actually tentatively planning to return in June 2017 as well for the same reason, but I know I'll still have the Disney blues when we leave. Maybe the knowledge that we'll likely be back in a year will keep me from crying on it's a small world on my last day, though. Went through that one with sunglasses on last time...

 

[tortilla24]

Yay for another June trip-goer! Thanks for following along! Which park(s) are you planning on for your Disney day?

Just Magic Kingdom. I wish we had more time/budget to extend and do everything but I'm going with an 8 and 14 year old who live overseas and have much more of a character connection to those at Universal vs. Disney. Plus, we want to spend some time at the beach. I'm excited to see your plans unfold! We too are driving and would love to read what tips you may have. I plan on bringing snacks, laptop with movies, road trip games and some drawing/coloring material. I also think (HOPE) the boys will be jetlagged and will be plenty tired

 

[soniam]

Oh good. You just started today. I thought I was going to be late to the . I don't have the willpower at all for a surprise, but I think yours will work really well. Our son is named Alex too 12 days is exciting, especially 12 days at deluxes. I would love to stay that long. I think 9 is the longest we have stayed at Disney. I have become obsessed with Disney planning too. Luckily, DH and DS put up with me. Can't wait to see the plans.

 

[Jfsag123]

Just Magic Kingdom. I wish we had more time/budget to extend and do everything but I'm going with an 8 and 14 year old who live overseas and have much more of a character connection to those at Universal vs. Disney. Plus, we want to spend some time at the beach. I'm excited to see your plans unfold! We too are driving and would love to read what tips you may have. I plan on bringing snacks, laptop with movies, road trip games and some drawing/coloring material. I also think (HOPE) the boys will be jetlagged and will be plenty tired

That makes total sense. And those seem like great ages for Universal. DH and the kids have no desire to try Universal at this point, but I'll bet the tune will change a bit as the kids get older. We will have to share road trip tips! We're also planning on movies and coloring, and we got Snackeez cups to hopefully help manage snacks/drinks without spills. I have a couple of Melissa & Doug travel games, but they seem better suited for younger kiddos.

Oh good. You just started today. I thought I was going to be late to the . I don't have the willpower at all for a surprise, but I think yours will work really well. Our son is named Alex too 12 days is exciting, especially 12 days at deluxes. I would love to stay that long. I think 9 is the longest we have stayed at Disney. I have become obsessed with Disney planning too. Luckily, DH and DS put up with me. Can't wait to see the plans.

I think I'm late to my own party Getting a late start with this. Love that our sons' names match. Glad you're here! It is my hope that, come actual trip report time, I will be able to talk about my experience of seeing the new Star Wars fireworks. I still feel like Disney needs to make canceling SWW up to me.

 

[Min Min]

I also have a surprise trip planned for June 25-July 1. I just told my kids yesterday that we were going to Gainesville Fl to see their great grandmother. They have no idea that we are only staying one night and getting up the next morning for Disney.

 

[ArielSRL]

Glad you're here! It's nice to see someone else that understands the road trip aspect of Disney trips. Do you have plans for keeping the kiddos occupied on the drive?

We stay with rented DVC points as well. We decided on the super long trip because none of us have to be back for anything. DH works as a speech pathologist in the school system, so won't have work, I'm finished with classes for my Ph.D. in May and so won't have summer class for the first time in years, and the kids are, of course, out. We decided to take advantage of this small window of having leisurely summers, as once I actually graduate and start working full-time again that'll be gone. We are actually tentatively planning to return in June 2017 as well for the same reason, but I know I'll still have the Disney blues when we leave. Maybe the knowledge that we'll likely be back in a year will keep me from crying on it's a small world on my last day, though. Went through that one with sunglasses on last time...

As far as the drive, we'll have the DVD player in the car. The boys have an iPad and iPhone to play games on. And then I'll go to the dollar store and get stuff to put in "activity bags" for the boys. I'm thinking about getting these portable activity tray tables for use in the car (from Amazon) but I'm not sure. I'm thinking I could use broken down cardboard boxes and save myself $30...lol. Honestly, though, my biggest saving grace is that we are doing most of the trip on Friday night. So I'm really hoping the boys sleep most of it. Originally we planned to eat around 5ish and leave at 6, but we were talking yesterday and we are gonna leave at 5pm, stop around 7pm for dinner and to put the boys in pjs, then go about 2.5 to 3 hours more (to Lake City). We'll only have about 2.5 to 3 hours left for Saturday.

Sounds like a good reason to have an extended trip! I'm a teacher so I'm off every summer so we just do a week's trip somewhere almost every summer. We'll do Disney for the next two and then probably won't be back til Star Wars land is open.

Looking forward to more. I had planned to update mine last night but I can't get my work laptop to connect to the internet here at home. I really don't want to use my iPad so I may have to wait til hubby us home from work with his laptop.

 

[Jfsag123]

I also have a surprise trip planned for June 25-July 1. I just told my kids yesterday that we were going to Gainesville Fl to see their great grandmother. They have no idea that we are only staying one night and getting up the next morning for Disney.

So exciting! Do you have plans for how you'll tell them?

As far as the drive, we'll have the DVD player in the car. The boys have an iPad and iPhone to play games on. And then I'll go to the dollar store and get stuff to put in "activity bags" for the boys. I'm thinking about getting these portable activity tray tables for use in the car (from Amazon) but I'm not sure. I'm thinking I could use broken down cardboard boxes and save myself $30...lol. Honestly, though, my biggest saving grace is that we are doing most of the trip on Friday night. So I'm really hoping the boys sleep most of it. Originally we planned to eat around 5ish and leave at 6, but we were talking yesterday and we are gonna leave at 5pm, stop around 7pm for dinner and to put the boys in pjs, then go about 2.5 to 3 hours more (to Lake City). We'll only have about 2.5 to 3 hours left for Saturday.

Sounds like a good reason to have an extended trip! I'm a teacher so I'm off every summer so we just do a week's trip somewhere almost every summer. We'll do Disney for the next two and then probably won't be back til Star Wars land is open.

Looking forward to more. I had planned to update mine last night but I can't get my work laptop to connect to the internet here at home. I really don't want to use my iPad so I may have to wait til hubby us home from work with his laptop.

I hadn't seen the activity tray tables. May have to look into that! On past trips we just packed a tote bag for each kid, but they struggle to find things in them and things have ended up getting dumped out. Cardboard boxes would probably work just as well lol.

We have talked about planning trips to other places until the new lands open up, but then end up saying we think we'd rather be at Disney. We'll do these next couple of years (hopefully!) and then re-assess. Looking forward to your next updates!

 

[Jfsag123]

The trip is feeling closer! As of yesterday, it’s completely paid off. Today we made our countdown chain. The kids think we’re counting down to being one year out, but we’ve said we’ll have a special Disney day that day so they feel like they are actually counting down to something they can look forward to. WDW here we come!

Day 1 - Sunday, 6/5: Departure

We hope to be up by 7:00am. I am not naturally an early riser (like, at all), but I think the excitement will get me up this day. We’ll get up and get dressed then spring the surprise on the kids. Ideally, this will happen around 8:00am so we can be on the road by 8:30 at the latest. We plan to have the car packed the night before, but I’m sure the kids will want to grab a few books/toys for the road.

We’re coming from North Texas and I’m still trying to decide on the route we will drive. The past two trips, we have driven on I-20 through Jackson, MS, then taken the small highways down, eventually meeting up with I-10 in Mobile, AL. This is the route recommended by Google Maps. The alternative is to head down to 10 in Shreveport, LA, and take 10 all the way across. Google says this is longer, but it’s freeway the whole way, which is attractive as I very much enjoy speeding.

Anyway, we hope to only make two stops for food/gas on our way to Clearview, FL, where we will spend the night. Google puts the drive at about 10 hours, 15 minutes. With stops, we hope to be in by 8:00/8:30.


Day 2 – Monday, 6/6: Arrival at Beach Club Villas

We want to be up and on the road by 8:30 again, as this will be 9:30 Eastern time. Google says this drive should take about 5 hours, 45 minutes. We only plan to stop once and the goal is to be looking at this by 4:00pm.

Fingers crossed our room will be ready by that time! If not, we’ll walk around for a bit until it is. Once we get into a room, we will unload, unpack, and then plan to spend the evening here.

So. Friggin. EXCITED.

We’ll probably grab dinner from Hurricane Hanna’s if I can drag the children (and DH, who is likely to be even worse than them when it comes to pool excitement) away from the water long enough to get them to scarf something.

Details for our first park day are up next!

 

[ArielSRL]

I hadn't seen the activity tray tables. May have to look into that! On past trips we just packed a tote bag for each kid, but they struggle to find things in them and things have ended up getting dumped out. Cardboard boxes would probably work just as well lol.

We have talked about planning trips to other places until the new lands open up, but then end up saying we think we'd rather be at Disney. We'll do these next couple of years (hopefully!) and then re-assess. Looking forward to your next updates!

Yeh you can search for them on Amazon but they might just be made to go around car seats. Are your kids on boosters or just sitting on the regular seats now? Not sure if it works for that. But yeh, a broken down box would lay flat across my boys' car seats for them to bear down on just like those fancy tray type things...lol.

 

[Min Min]

So exciting! Do you have plans for how you'll tell them?



I hadn't seen the activity tray tables. May have to look into that! On past trips we just packed a tote bag for each kid, but they struggle to find things in them and things have ended up getting dumped out. Cardboard boxes would probably work just as well lol.

We have talked about planning trips to other places until the new lands open up, but then end up saying we think we'd rather be at Disney. We'll do these next couple of years (hopefully!) and then re-assess. Looking forward to your next updates!

No I have no idea! Do you have any suggestions? The main reason for not telling them is because we are driving from Arkansas and I dont want to be driven crazy.

 

[Min Min]

The trip is feeling closer! As of yesterday, it’s completely paid off. Today we made our countdown chain. The kids think we’re counting down to being one year out, but we’ve said we’ll have a special Disney day that day so they feel like they are actually counting down to something they can look forward to. WDW here we come!

Day 1 - Sunday, 6/5: Departure

We hope to be up by 7:00am. I am not naturally an early riser (like, at all), but I think the excitement will get me up this day. We’ll get up and get dressed then spring the surprise on the kids. Ideally, this will happen around 8:00am so we can be on the road by 8:30 at the latest. We plan to have the car packed the night before, but I’m sure the kids will want to grab a few books/toys for the road.

We’re coming from North Texas and I’m still trying to decide on the route we will drive. The past two trips, we have driven on I-20 through Jackson, MS, then taken the small highways down, eventually meeting up with I-10 in Mobile, AL. This is the route recommended by Google Maps. The alternative is to head down to 10 in Shreveport, LA, and take 10 all the way across. Google says this is longer, but it’s freeway the whole way, which is attractive as I very much enjoy speeding.

Anyway, we hope to only make two stops for food/gas on our way to Clearview, FL, where we will spend the night. Google puts the drive at about 10 hours, 15 minutes. With stops, we hope to be in by 8:00/8:30.


Day 2 – Monday, 6/6: Arrival at Beach Club Villas

We want to be up and on the road by 8:30 again, as this will be 9:30 Eastern time. Google says this drive should take about 5 hours, 45 minutes. We only plan to stop once and the goal is to be looking at this by 4:00pm.

Fingers crossed our room will be ready by that time! If not, we’ll walk around for a bit until it is. Once we get into a room, we will unload, unpack, and then plan to spend the evening here.

So. Friggin. EXCITED.

We’ll probably grab dinner from Hurricane Hanna’s if I can drag the children (and DH, who is likely to be even worse than them when it comes to pool excitement) away from the water long enough to get them to scarf something.

Details for our first park day are up next!

Love your paper chain.

 

[ArielSRL]

The trip is feeling closer! As of yesterday, it’s completely paid off.

Wahoo!! Great feeling, I'm sure.

I have the money to pay off my part of the trip (I'm splitting with my parents) and I want to use my Target red card to get Disney gift cards bc I get them at 5% off, but I'm being overly cautious I guess, in case we would have to cancel for some reason. I'm wondering if I pay with gift cards and had to cancel, how would they refund me....so I'm dragging my heels.

Today we made our countdown chain. The kids think we’re counting down to being one year out, but we’ve said we’ll have a special Disney day that day so they feel like they are actually counting down to something they can look forward to. WDW here we come!

Yay! So cute!

Day 1 - Sunday, 6/5: Departure

We hope to be up by 7:00am. I am not naturally an early riser (like, at all), but I think the excitement will get me up this day. We’ll get up and get dressed then spring the surprise on the kids. Ideally, this will happen around 8:00am so we can be on the road by 8:30 at the latest. We plan to have the car packed the night before, but I’m sure the kids will want to grab a few books/toys for the road.

Even though I get up at 5:30/6am for work, I'm a night owl/late riser by nature so I'm not looking forward to rope drop at Disney!

We’re coming from North Texas and I’m still trying to decide on the route we will drive. The past two trips, we have driven on I-20 through Jackson, MS, then taken the small highways down, eventually meeting up with I-10 in Mobile, AL. This is the route recommended by Google Maps. The alternative is to head down to 10 in Shreveport, LA, and take 10 all the way across. Google says this is longer, but it’s freeway the whole way, which is attractive as I very much enjoy speeding.

Speed demon here, too!

Anyway, we hope to only make two stops for food/gas on our way to Clearview, FL, where we will spend the night. Google puts the drive at about 10 hours, 15 minutes. With stops, we hope to be in by 8:00/8:30.


Day 2 – Monday, 6/6: Arrival at Beach Club Villas

We want to be up and on the road by 8:30 again, as this will be 9:30 Eastern time. Google says this drive should take about 5 hours, 45 minutes. We only plan to stop once and the goal is to be looking at this by 4:00pm.

Sounds like good plans!

Fingers crossed our room will be ready by that time! If not, we’ll walk around for a bit until it is. Once we get into a room, we will unload, unpack, and then plan to spend the evening here.

So. Friggin. EXCITED.

Looks so good! May have to try it next June!

We’ll probably grab dinner from Hurricane Hanna’s if I can drag the children (and DH, who is likely to be even worse than them when it comes to pool excitement) away from the water long enough to get them to scarf something.

Details for our first park day are up next!

Looks great! Waiting patiently for more!

 

[soniam]

Crossing the Mississippi in Baton Rouge is always slow. Plus, you have to drive on I10 through the swamps. If there's an accident on those bridges, then you are stuck there. Also, there is no getting off those bridges for miles, so you really need to make pitstops, gas and bathroom, before you get on the long stretches. Last times we have driven to NOLA from Austin, the I10 swamp bridges really weren't bad. They road was in good shape, and traffic wasn't bad. However, we have been stuck on those bridges before for what seemed like forever, due to an accident. DH and I think Google is right to take I20 and meet up to I10 in Mobile. That part of Alabama is really pretty. Traffic can be bad on I20 in Shreveport too, but you have to go through there no matter what.

The surprise is going to be great. It's really an awesome plan.

 

[ariane37]

Hi there Kelley I'm so glad I decided to take a look at this PTR, I had no idea this was you! I recognized you and your family from FB Didn't know you guys had a trip planned, awesome!

We're going again for Thanksgiving and just booked BCV today, so excited to stay there! We've had 4 stays at BWV but this will be our first time at BC. Looking forward to following along with you!