2 DIS Princesses are Taking on the World-and They Don't Even Know It Yet! 2 New TR Links! 4/5!!

[RGirl]

Yes, we are so so so excited! I must say that reading your reports made me much more sentimental than I usually am. That and the fact that Sidney (DD) is leaving for college at the end of next month.

I can't help but think back to when she was Willow's age. Nice thing is we still share a strong love for Disney. She even says she wants a Disney wedding some day, in the far far future.

Oh, wow! That's got to be tough seeing her go off to college, and yet you must be so proud too. I LOVE that you are still doing Disney trips together - I so hope that Willow and I are still enjoying spending time together like that when she is that age.

I love everything about how this came about. If there is one thing I love more than Disney itself, it's sharing time in Disney with special friends (DISer friends at that).

It's pretty amazing, isn't it? I certainly never thought that I would make a friend like Shannon via a Disney-centric (or any other) message board! This is quite a place!

So glad that after everything that this came to be, especially when it seemed so unlikely at one time.

Thanks Rob! We are pretty darn pleased ourselves!

the Olaf gif is too perfect. That's how I felt in July.

Right?????

YAYAYAYAY that's so awesome that you went from just doing a few meals together to having a whole week together!

I know! I'm so excited!!!! I just fear that Willow will pass out with sheer joy when we finally tell her.

Alright I'm on my way over to the Disneyland Road Trip TR!!!

Thanks for joining in again with me, Courtney! I promise that I will be getting caught up on your TR and everyone else's over the weekend - that's my time to read and enjoy everyone's TRs!

 

[RGirl]

I'm glad it all worked out with dates and small changes to the cruise that you can do this trip together. You will have so much fun.

Thanks! We are really looking forward to it - SO MUCH!

I'm not looking forward to the days of not being able to go in early December anymore...

We used to go in October, and it was soooo nice. *sigh* It's a tough transition for sure. But still fun!

Nice use of Gifs.

Thanks! I didn't have any pictures, so I had to come up with something!

Although I'm sure that most of the baseball stats are Cubs related and that in itself is a bit disturbing.

Um, no comment.

 

[pkondz]

Shannon has really done the heavy lifting on this one, because, well, let’s just say she has MUCh better recall abilities than I do. Remember: Shannon is BLUE.

Aw. Poor Shan. Feeling blue from all that heavy lifting.
Don't worry Shannon, I'm sure Roni will do her fair share!



No.

Probably not.

It was a lot of fun to talk about but eventually everyone booked separate trips for next year.

Matching up times is not easy!

It WAS a lot of fun to talk about - I mean, why wouldn’t you want to be a part of this????

I was trying to think of something witty to say here....
But I just can't.

I do! I do want to be part of that!

the lack of planning going into that is a whole ‘nother story

but what are you gonna do with these dang school calendars?

Heh. Go solo.

(It’s wayyyy less expensive when you have one less adult to feed, lodge, and buy park tickets for)

It's even more affordable if you take out the excess kid! :

(I did eventually tell Bryan too, he’s happy for us LOL)

Of course he's happy.
Now he knows that he can (in the future) go to you and say,
"You remember when you and Maddie went to Disney without me? I'm thinking of going to Vegas... without you."

VERY quickly a few days quickly became a week, and a few shared meals and rides became a shared trip. We were so excited!

I bet!

I pretty much look like this all the time now!

​

 

[pkondz]

Is anyone else loving the mental image of Roni dancing like Elaine? Or teen girl freaking like Colbert?

 

[ajsary]

Joining in. Sounds like you all will have a terrific time planning the trip and even more fun on the trip together! Can't wait to hear how it all goes!

 

[shan23877]

Although I'm sure that most of the baseball stats are Cubs related and that in itself is a bit disturbing.

Well yeah! I'll always remember 2632 as well though.

Aw. Poor Shan. Feeling blue from all that heavy lifting.
Don't worry Shannon, I'm sure Roni will do her fair share!

thanks for understanding. I'm exhausted from all of the remembering!

Matching up times is not easy!

It's so hard. Especially since our kids' school schedules are all so different.

I was trying to think of something witty to say here....
But I just can't.

I do! I do want to be part of that!

Me too! Me too! Someday...

It's even more affordable if you take out the excess kid! :

Now that's a great idea! When they're teenagers Roni and I will need a break from them. We'll leave them both with Bryan and take our own trip!

Of course he's happy.
Now he knows that he can (in the future) go to you and say,
"You remember when you and Maddie went to Disney without me? I'm thinking of going to Vegas... without you."

I think he's saving it all up for a doozy of a golf trip, but yeah, I won't be invited.


[/QUOTE]

This is what I look like now Ponz

​

Joining in. Sounds like you all will have a terrific time planning the trip and even more fun on the trip together! Can't wait to hear how it all goes!

Welcome! Thanks so much for joining us! We are beyond excited and I think we will have an amazing time!

 

[RGirl]

Where Are We Staying and HELP US!​

Okay, so how about a little trip planning, eh? So, as you know, before Shannon made the fantasmical decision that she and Maddie would be able to join me and Willow at WDW, I had already started tentatively planning our trip. And we were going to do a week at the Wilderness Lodge (new resort for us) and then a week on the Fantasy.

Raise your hand if you’re insanely jealous of their trip. I don’t know how we’re going to get on that plane knowing they are dashing off for another awesome week of Disney fun.

Maybe everyone needs another reminder?

​

And then Shannon dropped the glorious bomb that she and Maddie would join us at WDW. And I was instantly filled with fear and dread - I mean, after the initial elation and joy. You see, I was REALLY looking forward to staying at the Wilderness Lodge. But I have known Shannon for a while now. And she seemed to have this vision of the Wilderness Lodge as being the equivalent of tent-camping. And let's just say that she is NOT a camping person.

I don’t do wilderness.
Or lodges.
Or the outdoors.
And I really don’t camp.
I can see from whence her dread came.

But my fear and dread was soon replaced with elation and joy once again, when I discovered that Shannon and fam had visited the Wilderness Lodge for dinner and that she now felt it was somewhere that she "could stay."

It looks way less rustic in person than in photos.

I don’t really do rustic either BTW

So, yes, we will be staying at the Wilderness Lodge. Seven glorious days in the parks and eight nights at the Wilderness Lodge.

​

Woo Hooo!!!! Honestly I’d have stayed just about anywhere. I’m just that excited about this trip!

Well, not the campsites. If she insisted on that we could have just met up at the parks.

Yeah, let’s get real here. If someone told me I was going to have to camp, I wouldn’t be going!

So we had a plan!

Except that then we got to chatting as we are wont to do.


Never! Hahahaha!

Which, of course, led to discussing our trip and planning our trip (which, at the time, was WELL over a year away).

I believe this was well before either of us had taken our 2014 trips!

And where did that leave us? Gosh - one of the lessons that I learned on our last trip in August was that the time change from the West Coast really does a number on Willow. Wouldn't it be nice if we had a way to counteract that? And, gosh, wouldn't it be nice if the girls had a day to just get to know each other? And, gee, wouldn't it be nice if Shannon and I had a day to just hang out before diving into the parks with both feet?

It would! It really would! And wouldn’t it be nice to have some time to visit DTD and do some leisurely shopping. And wouldn’t it be fantastic to see some nighttime entertainment that we’ve both been dying to see?

Yeah, that led to our current plan. Which is still 7 glorious days in the parks and eight nights at the Wilderness Lodge. Except we figured it would work best to come a little earlier and spend a full day and two nights at Port Orleans Riverside in Royal Rooms!!!!!

The Royal Guest Rooms came highly recommended to Roni. And this gives us the chance to hit DTD via boat and hopefully spend an evening catching Yee Haw Bob at POR!!

And that is the trip that we have both booked as of this week! This is obviously going to be a lot of trip to pull off - both in terms of leave/vacation time and moolah - but for now at least, this is the plan!

And now PLEASE HELP US!!!​

Shannon and I have been really struggling with how to tell the girls about the trip. We want to do something special but something that they will "get" right away. And we are just not coming up with great ideas.

We’ve got nothin’

Please - we need your ideas, DIS friends! We implore you - share your ideas with us. We have been so excited to tell the girls for months now and had planned to do so when Willow and I returned from our July/August trip. But so far, we haven't done it because we haven't been able to come up with any great ideas!

Help!!!*

Help!!!

​

http://s9.photobucket.com/user/LoveMyBullmastiff/media/TR Gifs/crying060_zpsdc1f64cf.gif.html

 

[dizneeat]

I am late, but I am in!

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

I haven't stayed at the Lodge, but even just having visited, I think this will be a wonderful choice. And FYI, I don't do camping either.

OMG, I have no doubt you and the girls are going to go nuts with a Royal Room. Again, never stayed, but I've seen enough photos to know that the girls will probably go crazy (in a good way).

I actually becoming quite jealous of this trip, lol.

Hmm, coming up with a great way to tell the girls is certainly tough. I think it would be great if you could do it at the same time like with Skype or something. But as for the actual reveal, that's tougher. Darn, if I was in Disney now I'd get a character to do a personal video or something.

 

[courtneybelle]

Oh my gosh I am becoming soooo jealous of this trip. The Wilderness Lodge is one of my DREAM resorts, it's so unbelievably gorgeous! And POR is my favorite resort where I've actually stayed. Willow is going to love the Royal Guest Rooms (and I'm sure Maddie will love them even more this trip)!

I've never done a Disney trip reveal so I am not creative...but maybe something along the lines of a royal invite that lists all the princesses you're going to meet, and then the last princess on the list is Maddie/Willow. I'm with Rob, I wish I was in WDW so I could have a princess do it (let's be real I wish I was in WDW for many reasons )

 

[ach222]

So excited to read what you think about staying at WL - that's my dream resort I think (need to check them all out when I'm down there) - this trip sounds like so.much.fun!

No ideas off the top of my head, but will keep thinking

 

[afwdwfan]

Well yeah! I'll always remember 2632 as well though.

Ok... the level of respect I have for you as a baseball fan just increased exponentially.

And we were going to do a week at the Wilderness Lodge (new resort for us) and then a week on the Fantasy.

Now that looks like an amazing trip.

You see, I was REALLY looking forward to staying at the Wilderness Lodge. But I have known Shannon for a while now. And she seemed to have this vision of the Wilderness Lodge as being the equivalent of tent-camping. And let's just say that she is NOT a camping person.

It is Disney World. There is nothing Wild or lodgey about that that place. Shannon!!!

But my fear and dread was soon replaced with elation and joy once again, when I discovered that Shannon and fam had visited the Wilderness Lodge for dinner and that she now felt it was somewhere that she "could stay."

Thank goodness! I'm sure you'll love it there!

Woo Hooo!!!! Honestly I’d have stayed just about anywhere. I’m just that excited about this trip!

Well, not the campsites. If she insisted on that we could have just met up at the parks

Yeah, that led to our current plan. Which is still 7 glorious days in the parks and eight nights at the Wilderness Lodge. Except we figured it would work best to come a little earlier and spend a full day and two nights at Port Orleans Riverside in Royal Rooms!!!!!

This trip just keeps getting more and more impressive. Shannon, after 10 nights at Disney World, you shouldn't even have any second thoughts about the fact that they're continuing their trip and you're going home. You've had plenty of Disney time!

The Royal Guest Rooms came highly recommended to Roni.

But how are you ever going to get Maddie to move out of those rooms and over to WL???




Wow... I've got no good ideas for a trip reveal. If I come up with anything I'll share. I mean there's always the standard stuff that everybody does, but I get the sense that you want something outside the box that is fun and creative.

I've never done a Disney trip reveal so I am not creative...but maybe something along the lines of a royal invite that lists all the princesses you're going to meet, and then the last princess on the list is Maddie/Willow.

But I definitely like this idea...

 

[KatMark]

I like that you've added days and that you will be staying at POR in a royal room for two nights to "get to know each other." I think this is a perfect solution.

By the way, I don't camp, do rustic, etc., either.

Do you girls Skype? Or have Facetime on your phoens? Perhaps all four of you can be on and Roni and Shannon announce it and then everyone can see the surprise and thrill on each other's faces?

 

[scholastica]

Oooh how exciting! I am so with Shannon though on the no rustic resorts rule. That said I do think Wilderness Lodge looks amazing!

Isn't it funny how a short trip can so quickly turn longer.

I love the letter of saying which princesses you will meet and have the other girl's name on it.

My idea would be have Skype on at each of your houses then do a scavenger hunt of sorts. Take a piece of yellow yarn and string it through the house ending at the computer. On the yarn have the words taped "We are going to Disney world in (month or days left) with" then have them end up seeing each other on the computer at the end of the trail of yarn.

 

[pkondz]

Okay, so how about a little trip planning, eh?

Well, if you insist...
No, wait. I insist!

And we were going to do a week at the Wilderness Lodge (new resort for us) and then a week on the Fantasy.

Yes, I recall. Terrible. Absolutely terrible (that I'm not doing the same.)

Raise your hand if you’re insanely jealous of their trip. I don’t know how we’re going to get on that plane knowing they are dashing off for another awesome week of Disney fun.

Maybe everyone needs another reminder?

You're cruel, woman. You're a cruel woman!

I don’t do wilderness.
Or lodges.
Or the outdoors.
And I really don’t camp.
I can see from whence her dread came.

You sound like my DW.
Her idea of "roughing it" means only one jacuzzi in the suite.

Woo Hooo!!!! Honestly I’d have stayed just about anywhere. I’m just that excited about this trip!

Well, not the campsites. If she insisted on that we could have just met up at the parks.

So not that excited, then.

Except that then we got to chatting as we are wont to do.

Never! Hahahaha!

Except we figured it would work best to come a little earlier and spend a full day and two nights at Port Orleans Riverside in Royal Rooms!!!!!

Oh, and totally jealous, BTW.

The Royal Guest Rooms came highly recommended to Roni. And this gives us the chance to hit DTD via boat and hopefully spend an evening catching Yee Haw Bob at POR!!

Catching the boat to DTD from POR was a highlight of the trip when we stayed there.
But we never did take the time to see Bob. Kidlets were just too little.

Shannon and I have been really struggling with how to tell the girls about the trip. We want to do something special but something that they will "get" right away. And we are just not coming up with great ideas.

We’ve got nothin’

Here's some thoughts.
Others have mentioned Skype, but how about both moms Skype when the girls are both around and introduce them to each other?
"Oh, she's the daughter of a friend of mine."
You could break it to them after that... or during...

Or...

Each of you sends a letter addressed to their own daughter... but with the other's mailing address.
When the letter(s) arrive show it to your daughter and explain how weird it is that a letter came to your house... but addressed to your friend's daughter.
Open the letter to "check" it, might be important. Or have them open it.

"Oh my gosh! It's a Princess letter (or whatever you want to do) saying that your friend's daughter is going to WDW! Wow! She sure is lucky. I wish we could go. Blah, blah, blah."

Shannon: "Hey! I've got an idea. I'm supposed to call/Skype/whatever my friend on (agreed to time and date). How about you tell her daughter that she's going to WDW!"

Roni: "Hey! My friend is calling/Skyping/whatevering on (agreed to time and date) How about you tell her daughter that she's going to WDW!"

Both girls (hopefully) would be excited to tell another girl her age that they're going to WDW.

Confusion, followed by merriment ensues.

 

[hstrickland]

Hi there, you two And wow!!! How much fun is this?!!! While people outside the Dis might think this weird...I totally love it and totally get the whole 2000 mile friendship thing. Awesome!!!! My longtime Dis friend Erin (DisneyDoc5) and I just met for the first time in August...at Disney, of course. She and her son were there for a week, so Stephen and I drove down for the weekend to meet them. Had a blast!!!! Y'all will have the time of your lives, and it will be a trip your girls won't forget. Exciting that you're staying at the Lodge...one of my favorites The pool area construction will be finished when you get there, so the pool should look fabulous!!! Y'all should get matching American Girl doll outfits for Willow and Maddie's dolls. (Doesn't Willow have one?) Would be fun to have them bring their dolls to the World.

So excited for y'all!! Wish I had an idea for the surprise...but nothing pops out. Not good with that kind of stuff.

Looking forward to following along!!
Heather

 

[Gracefulskinny]

I don’t do wilderness.
Or lodges.
Or the outdoors.
And I really don’t camp.

It sounds like you and I are a lot alike. I am SOOO with you there!

As for the reveal... That's a hard one. what about a game of hang man or some other fill in the blank puzzle over facetime or something so that the girls could figure it out together?

 

[RGirl]

I am late, but I am in!

Hi Karin!!! Thank you SO much for joining in here too.

I haven't stayed at the Lodge, but even just having visited, I think this will be a wonderful choice. And FYI, I don't do camping either.

I am really excited to stay at WL - I was very impressed when we dined there in 2013.

to camping! I actually made the effort to take Willow camping twice in two summers because I had this idea that every kid should get to go camping. BLERG!!!!!!

OMG, I have no doubt you and the girls are going to go nuts with a Royal Room. Again, never stayed, but I've seen enough photos to know that the girls will probably go crazy (in a good way).

Maddie is definitely a HUGE fan of the Royal Room. Willow has only ever stayed at the Boardwalk, so she is going to PASS OUT when she sees all those royal touches.

I actually becoming quite jealous of this trip, lol.

Sounds pretty darn good, doesn't it?

Hmm, coming up with a great way to tell the girls is certainly tough. I think it would be great if you could do it at the same time like with Skype or something. But as for the actual reveal, that's tougher. Darn, if I was in Disney now I'd get a character to do a personal video or something.

Oh man, that would be SO COOL!!!!! I agree - something Skype/FaceTime-related will likely be the way to go.

Oh my gosh I am becoming soooo jealous of this trip. The Wilderness Lodge is one of my DREAM resorts, it's so unbelievably gorgeous! And POR is my favorite resort where I've actually stayed. Willow is going to love the Royal Guest Rooms (and I'm sure Maddie will love them even more this trip)!

Well, hopefully you will be living there by then!

I am super-excited about the WL! And I know the girls will be so excited for the Royal Rooms - I imagine Maddie will have a lot to show Willow.

I've never done a Disney trip reveal so I am not creative...but maybe something along the lines of a royal invite that lists all the princesses you're going to meet, and then the last princess on the list is Maddie/Willow. I'm with Rob, I wish I was in WDW so I could have a princess do it (let's be real I wish I was in WDW for many reasons )

I wish I was in WDW too!

I LOVE your invite idea though!!! I am really thinking something that incorporates that would be VERY cool.

 

[RGirl]

So excited to read what you think about staying at WL - that's my dream resort I think (need to check them all out when I'm down there) - this trip sounds like so.much.fun!

Thanks - I think we are both really excited to stay there too. Well, I know I am!!!

No ideas off the top of my head, but will keep thinking

Let us know if you think of something - it's a real challenge to come up with the best way to do it and have it be something that the girls will "get," you know?

Ok... the level of respect I have for you as a baseball fan just increased exponentially.

Not going to pretend this means anything to me, but I sure do like Shannon too!

Now that looks like an amazing trip.

Super-excited about it. We did a week at the BW and then the Fantasy in 2013, and it was just amazing.

It is Disney World. There is nothing Wild or lodgey about that that place. Shannon!!!

I could not agree more!!!! She doesn't trust me because I'm from the Pacific Northwest, and she thinks we all live in tree stumps or something.

Thank goodness! I'm sure you'll love it there!

I know I will!

This trip just keeps getting more and more impressive. Shannon, after 10 nights at Disney World, you shouldn't even have any second thoughts about the fact that they're continuing their trip and you're going home. You've had plenty of Disney time!

Or she should just come on the cruise too.......

But how are you ever going to get Maddie to move out of those rooms and over to WL???
I have a feeling this may become an issue for both girls.

Wow... I've got no good ideas for a trip reveal. If I come up with anything I'll share. I mean there's always the standard stuff that everybody does, but I get the sense that you want something outside the box that is fun and creative.

We would like to do something really special and memorable. But, well, not easy.....

But I definitely like this idea...

Me too - I am pretty crazy about this one.

I like that you've added days and that you will be staying at POR in a royal room for two nights to "get to know each other." I think this is a perfect solution.

We were pretty pleased with ourselves when we came up with that one. But, really, I do think it's a good idea; too much pressure if we just immediately start out in the parks with no time to hang out together.

By the way, I don't camp, do rustic, etc., either.

Such things don't seem to be too popular with anyone on this PTR!

Do you girls Skype? Or have Facetime on your phoens? Perhaps all four of you can be on and Roni and Shannon announce it and then everyone can see the surprise and thrill on each other's faces?

I like it - the girls have talked to each other on FaceTime a couple of times, so I think we will definitely utilize that - they are always VERY excited just to talk to each other.

 

[RGirl]

Oooh how exciting! I am so with Shannon though on the no rustic resorts rule. That said I do think Wilderness Lodge looks amazing!

If it was truly rustic, you can bet I wouldn't be choosing that for a Disney vacation either.

Isn't it funny how a short trip can so quickly turn longer.

It's a little horrifying when you think we still have a year to go - the dang trip is going to be a month long by the time we actually go.

I love the letter of saying which princesses you will meet and have the other girl's name on it.

I am loving this idea too!

My idea would be have Skype on at each of your houses then do a scavenger hunt of sorts. Take a piece of yellow yarn and string it through the house ending at the computer. On the yarn have the words taped "We are going to Disney world in (month or days left) with" then have them end up seeing each other on the computer at the end of the trail of yarn.

Ooooh - this is good too! Would definitely take some careful coordination, but it sounds really fun!!! Thank you!!

Well, if you insist...
No, wait. I insist!

Phew! Thank goodness!

Yes, I recall. Terrible. Absolutely terrible (that I'm not doing the same.)

That really is a pity.

Sorry.....

You're cruel, woman. You're a cruel woman!

I've heard this before.....

You sound like my DW.
Her idea of "roughing it" means only one jacuzzi in the suite.

So not that excited, then.

That Shannon......

Oh, and totally jealous, BTW.

It just gets better and better, doesn't it?

Catching the boat to DTD from POR was a highlight of the trip when we stayed there.
But we never did take the time to see Bob. Kidlets were just too little.

Seeing Bob's show has been very high on my I-really-want-to-do-this list for quite a long time now. I'm so excited that we have added POR, thereby making it that much easier to accomplish this goal.

Here's some thoughts.
Others have mentioned Skype, but how about both moms Skype when the girls are both around and introduce them to each other?
"Oh, she's the daughter of a friend of mine."
You could break it to them after that... or during...

Or...

Each of you sends a letter addressed to their own daughter... but with the other's mailing address.
When the letter(s) arrive show it to your daughter and explain how weird it is that a letter came to your house... but addressed to your friend's daughter.
Open the letter to "check" it, might be important. Or have them open it.

"Oh my gosh! It's a Princess letter (or whatever you want to do) saying that your friend's daughter is going to WDW! Wow! She sure is lucky. I wish we could go. Blah, blah, blah."

Shannon: "Hey! I've got an idea. I'm supposed to call/Skype/whatever my friend on (agreed to time and date). How about you tell her daughter that she's going to WDW!"

Roni: "Hey! My friend is calling/Skyping/whatevering on (agreed to time and date) How about you tell her daughter that she's going to WDW!"

Both girls (hopefully) would be excited to tell another girl her age that they're going to WDW.

Confusion, followed by merriment ensues.

Oh, I like the letter idea - they would be baffled, which is always extra-fun!