3 Caballeros, 11 nights, 4 parks, 1 world & lots of PICS!!!!

[seobaina]

Your ideas and creations are great. Your family is going to be so surprised and happy you took the time to do these wonderful things for them. Not sure what u r talking about that people are mad or upset but keep your head up.

Thank you I was just a bit down cause I posted to ask for advice on a list of secrets I'd put together and a couple of people mis-understood & thought I meant it was a 'must-do' list. I kinda got slammed as it was too much for first timers...but it wasn't intended to be a check list, just a guide to secrets if they wanted them . Anyway, I went ahead with it and I'll post it in a min so you can see. I'm pleased with it. Thank you for the nice comments.

It's some kind of combo deal with free dining and a % off a resort (I think Sarasota) I'd have to find the thread..but it looked good.

oooh, not heard anything but being a cm they don't normally email me deals

 

[seobaina]

Right, here's that little 'secrets' or 'extra magic' book I was talking about. The idea was that if they were in a park area and wanted too, they could look it up to see if there was anything 'secret' nearby, etc.

MK Page 1 -3



EPCOT



Hollywood Studios



Animal Kingdom



Other Places / EPCOT Kidcot Locations



PhotoPass Magic Shot locations
[


And this is how they look (well, this was before I put plastic on the covers)

 

[seobaina]

ooopss, forgot the covers:

 

[seobaina]

ooh, I also decided that I would try the 'pick a pearl' thing this year. I'd like to do one for me, one for my best friend and one for my mum. I found this gorgeous design on a DISigners page and adapted it for what I needed.

 

[disneyshakeygirl]

New reader! I'm so excited to read more - totally subscribing. I love all your creations.

 

[seobaina]

Aww thank you & welcome I owe all the designs used in them to the amazing Disigners though.

 

[seobaina]

Ok, so I figure with just under 8 weeks to go and designs all done, it's time for me to pull everything together. So...here's my checklist:


1. Hotel booked and paid for?
2. ADRs
3. Disney Tickets
4. Autograph Books
5. Invites, etc for the others
6. Disney Dollars
7. Spending money
8. Travel Insurrance
9. Suntan lotion, sunglasses, etc
10. Shift at least 14lbs
11. ESTA (or whatever they are called) forms & Check everyone has passports
12. Fridge Swaps & Food order
13. Mousemeets stuff
14. Magic Express booking
15. Flights (prebook seats if poss)
16. Details to meet Sarah
17. Mousekeeping Envelopes - printed and filled
18. Postcard address labels
19. Packing
20. Everything else I've forgotten (eg window decs)

Shesh, no wonder I'm tired Ok, so that's my todo list. What have I actually done?


1. Hotel is booked but I've not paid for it yet. I'm waiting & praying for the exchange rate to improve.


2. ADRs - I THINK I'm all done. I've gone for the ones I think they'll enjoy or ones where it's their fave characters (& mine). So, that means I've booked.... Chef Mickeys, CRT, T-Rex (surprise for Andy cause he really wanted it), Donald's Safari B'fast, Cali Grill, Arkershus and HBD for fantasmic package. HBD was more than I wanted to pay but it was the only one still available and everyone keeps telling me it'll be good.


3. Disney Tickets. Working on this one. We get 4 free tickets a year as CMs to use in the USA parks. We would need 11 per person for the days we're there and poss going into the parks. Thanks to some wonderful fellow cast who have given us the ones they aren't going to use and are still in date...we currently have 21 . That means that we only have to buy one 14 day ticket and one single ticket between us. BUT, I just heard that they've sent the first of this years ones in already. So that means Jen and I have a further four between us . Meaning we have two of us going in for free and we have 3 towards the final ticket . I've also been told that two of my colleagues, Em & Lisa, are giving me their new ones too , so that's another 4. So we're at 29 (and we need a total of 33). YAY!!!! Now the price on a USA Magic Your Way 4 day ticket really doesn't save us much on the UK 14 day one (on the current offer) but my boss has told me not to buy a ticket cause she's sure that we can get the missing 4 days. A number of my fellow cms can't use them within the time frame, and she's sure they'd let us have them - she's gonna ask. So fingers crossed, we might all get in for free, which would be BEYOND amazing. CMs really are the coolest people!


4. Autograph Books are DONE!!! Whooo hooo one thing is sorted. I've even got some pens which I think we'll be ok.


5. Invites, etc for the others are done. I'll take a photo in a bit to show you the new finished welcome packs.


6. Disney Dollars. I wanted to get a single disney dollar each (as a souvenir) and $20 for Andy for his birthday. Well, I heard that they were getting rid of them in the parks and it was only a case of 'what they had left in the parks'. I told Andy this cause he's the one who's been wanting to go to WDW the most for years and he was really disappointed. Well, I took a chance and posted on dis and a diser came through for me pampat has just been to Orlando and she VERY kindly tracked down $23 for me. She's sent them to me as soon as she got home and they arrived yesterday. I am SO SO SO SO SO SO grateful . Disers are also incrediably cool people!


7. Spending money - this one I'm waiting on. I want to get it but the dollar exchange rate keeps dropping So I'm gonna give it a bit and pray it goes back up and not down more.

 

[seobaina]

8. Travel Insurance - This one is a pain for me. I can find all sorts of deals online but because I have unexplained high bp I HAVE to phone and declare it. This means I can not get the internet deals and normally costs twice as much It really annoys me because I've had a complete MOT when they were trying to find out about the bp and my bp is under control *touch wood* so technically, I'm one of the healthiest people out there. Surely that would mean my insurance would be lower not higher
Oh well, I've not done this yet so I'll have to look into it.


9. Suntan lotion, sunglasses, etc - I've got the lotion and some toiletries but I need new shades. Nope, not cause I'm a fashion geek but because, as usual, I broke my last pair on the last day of my holiday to California. So I've got to find a new cheapish pair to take with me. I think a trip to boots, etc is in order. We were given £40 worth of High St Vouchers for Christmas from Disney, so maybe I'll use some of them. I also want a new swimsuit and there are some cute ones in Marks right now that pull you in...which I need


10. Shift at least 14lbs Yeah, this isn't going so well yet cause I'm being lazy. Starting tomorrow I need to kick my *** into gear. I have lots of dance dvds and a wii fit plus so no excuses.


11. ESTA (or whatever they are called) forms & passports - I've got mine done and printed and Andy has his but Jenni has just got her passport back...so I'll hassle her to do it. My passport is valid til 2012 and Andy's is fine too. Jen's is new so we should all be ok there.


12. Thanks to a diser I found the POP fridge swaps. So, I'm now on two. I started off on one but it went missing (found again I think) and in my hunt for a new swap I found another one. The first swap is for the 18th to 24th (only time it was available) and the second wasn't available until 22nd and I have that til 28th. So we have one day to swap things between fridges and only no fridge on the last day...which is fine. So fingers crossed both fridges are there. When I get nearer the time, if both seem to be ok still, I'm going to try placing an order with gardengrocer.com - which has been suggested by disers. Just for things like cereal, bagels, etc to help keep costs down.


13. Mousemeets stuff - Before booking the holiday we had all booked to go to Mousemeets in Manchester on evening 1st May and the full day of the 2nd. We're allowed to dress up so we've decided we're going too. Andy is going as Taren from The Black Cauldron, Jenni is going to go as Mulan and I'm going as Pocahontas. I dressed as Pocahontas in December 2008 for the store's birthday. Here's a pic of Andy at my thanksgiving party last year in his costume and a bad one of me as Pocahontas. It was freezing so I'm in multilayers. Hopefully by May I'll be slimmer and look better. Jenni was lilo during that event.

This wig became a tangled mess, which is a shame cause it was great at first, so I need to find a new one. Don't mind spending £20 or so but don't want to spend too much for one day. Also not sure what to wear on my feet. Hopefully it'll be warm by then, if not I need to find something cause the boots I have in this pic are too big and rubbed after a full day wearing them.


14. Magic Express booking - still not done this I just keep forgetting. Will try to do it in the next day or two.

 

[seobaina]

15. Flights (prebook seats if poss) - this one I'm having probs with. I can't get a number that works as reference to log in to Virgin's airline site I'm still working on it. Having similar prob with Disney. I tried to get info to do an online check-in. It's not recognising me and 3 emails later they've STILL not replied. Getting angry now. I know the res is there but it won't recognise me as a login.


16. Details to meet Sarah - I just found out that one of the daughters of a family I lived with in the USA is working at WDW on an internship. She was 6 when I lived with them aged 19. That was in 1995 LOL so she's a lot older now and I've not seen her since 2000. She's in Fantasyland so I'm gonna go say Hi. Can't wait


17. Mousekeeping Envelopes - printed and filled. Well, they're printed but I need dollars to fill them. Will sort this later when I've got my money.


18. Postcard address labels. Probably sounds sad but I like to print out address labels that I can just stick on the postcards. Saves me having to write them out. But I've gotta wait cause mum's moving and I need her new address.


19. Packing
20. Everything else I've forgotten

These two things I've kinda gotta wait for

So, I've still got lots to do! Oh well, 54 days to go!

 

[seobaina]

Ok, so I figure I have my timetable done, so it's probably time to check it out with you guys and see what you think. Feedback is welcome


Day 1 - Sunday 18th April
Flight out to Orlando. I figure that it's safer not to plan anything. We're due to get in at 2:30 but the last time I flew with Virgin we were delayed by 2 hours each way and we might be tired. If we're not, we can go to DTD or look around the hotel.

Day 2 - Monday 19th - Welcome to Disney World!
EPCOT. We have 8:05 breakfast at Akershus with the Princesses. I figure as we're here already, we might as well take a look at World Showcase. Maybe get some rides in first in Future World. And then watch Illuminations that evening.

Day 3 - Tuesday 20th
Hollywood Studios. I'm thinking all day at the park. We can catch the 3pm parade (if poss) then we've got a 3:45 diner at Hollywood Brown Derby (Fantasmic! Package). Then we're free til Fantasmic, which that night is at park closing of 8:30pm.

Day 4 - Wednesday 21st
Animal Kingdom. We have breakfast at Tusker House with Donald at 9:25am. The park opens at 9am so I'm hoping we can get fastpass for the safari that morning before we go in to breakfast and then ride straight after (hope we're not on the back or we'll be ). As we're here I figure we'll spend the day here. The parade is at 3:45 and it's EMH's til 9pm.

Day 5 - Thursday 22nd
Magic Kingdom. Later than I planned holiday wise but we had ADRs on the other days. Spend the day at the park and if we're awake, watch Spectro and Wishes that night.

Day 6 - Friday 23rd
Sleepy start I'm sure but we have ADRs for CRT at 8:25am. Might spend the day here or might pop over to EPCOT in the afternoon. I think you can spend longer wandering around EPCOT but we'll see. Nothing set in stone. If we're tired we'll chill out. Epcot is open til midnight on EMHs and it's grad night at MK.

Day 7 - Saturday 24th - Andy and My BIRTHDAY!!!!
We have a totally free daytime. I figured we'd see what we wanted to do. It's a sat and grad night so prob very busy. We do have diner booked at Chef Mickey's at 7:35pm. YAY!!!

Day 8 - Sunday 25th
Magic Kingdom day. It's open til 2am this day so lots of time. We have a Cali Grill booking at 9:05pm, so fingers crossed we can eat and watch Wishes. I'd like them to have seen it in the park before now if poss though, to get the full experience.

Day 9 - Monday 26th
Chill day. Either our second Hollywood Studios Day or total Chill. Maybe a waterpark. Maybe Harry Potter if it's open, but I think it'll open in May. Maybe also some EPCOT time.

Day 10 - Tuesday 27th
Another chill day. If we didn't do HS the day before then this is our second HS day. Depends how sleepy we are that day.

Day 12 - Wednesday 28th
Animal Kingdom's 2nd day. It's open late this day, so it makes most sense. But it is our last night so we'll see.

Day 13 - Thursday 29th - Last Day
Chill morning. We're not flying til 8:30 that night so I figure we've got til about 4. I'm thinking we use the morning to do the things we wanna repeat most. Then I've booked, as a surprise for Andy, a lunch at T-Rex (DTD). It's at 12:30 so we've got time in the morning but aren't panicking as we eat.

Day 14 - Friday 30th Arrive home, sleep and prepare for Mousemeets.

And that's it. So....whatcha think?

 

[seobaina]

Ok, here's the pics I said I'd post.

This is the package for at the airport (Sorry it's a bad quality pic):

And this is the one for when they arrive at the hotel:

Oh, I forgot that they'll also be one of these in their welcome packs ($1 each and Andy's $20):

And finally, I forgot that I made these. They contain a packet of opal fruits/starbursts each. I figured we could have some UK sweets while out there...but with a Disney twist:

 

[jenseib]

I love all your stuff. I want to go on a trip with you!!!

 

[seobaina]

I love all your stuff. I want to go on a trip with you!!!

LOL Then come along You'd be very welcome!

 

[elizablake]

Everything looks soooo cute. Your friends are very lucky!

 

[seobaina]

Everything looks soooo cute. Your friends are very lucky!

Awww, thank you

 

[seobaina]

Ok, I have finally done some more things

Have booked my insurance. It was £26 online so, naturally, to me it was £52 *rolls eyes* oh well, it's less than I was worrying about and it's booked. Just waiting for the paperwork now.

Also phoned up and booked the magical express. Everyone has been panicking about the dollar exchange rate dropping (me included) so I bit the bullet and paid off the remainder of the hotel.

Also, taking advice from dis, I have put most of my holiday money on a FairFX card. Never used one before but it's arrived already and looked straight forward. Fingers crossed. Still got a bit of money to get but I'm gonna get that in dollars cash...and had to wait cause my car MOT was due this week (it came in at £120 which was less than I was worried about so YAY).

However, I've just found out that Virgin only allow one bag per person at 23kg. Do they no know where I'm going? How can I possibly get all my disney shopping in ONE Bag? Esp with clothes too . So, we're now debating on the best way to sort this. Whether to prepay for another bag, etc. Waiting to hear back from Virgin about some questions to do with this.

Think that's it for now. Oh wait no...some fellow cms have said that they have tickets for us I am still waiting on 2 one-day tickets, but we've been promised them...just not seen the cm in question. So....fingers crossed that means we will have enough tickets for all three of us to get in free *touch wood* I love my disney cm friends

 

[seobaina]

Also forgot. I've got a new camera card - so now I have three LOTS of pics!!! I've also ordered some tapes for the camcorder and I'm borrowing my friends cause hers is smaller and lighter. We have a film business together, so it's not like she won't trust me

 

[flea1267]

Jenni (26) is actually called Jennifer but when she started working with us we had another Jennie already. So I called her JennI and it kinda stuck


so ..... funny thing my daughter who's a seasonal CM...her name is Jennie...and they call her IE....LOL

 

[seobaina]

Jenni (26) is actually called Jennifer but when she started working with us we had another Jennie already. So I called her JennI and it kinda stuck


so ..... funny thing my daughter who's a seasonal CM...her name is Jennie...and they call her IE....LOL

LOL love it! At our place the other Jennie has since left but everyone still uses the JennI...everyone except me, who tends to slip back into just a normal Jenny type pronunciation during a shift. The odd thing about that is that it was ME that started the 'I' thing and JennI even refers to herself that way too now Btw, glad your daughter is loving it there so much...and that your cm friend in scotland did too (other thread)

 

[seobaina]

Ok, I figure with less than 3 weeks to go I should update my status. Here's my checklist again, with where I'm up too.



1. Hotel booked and paid for? - YES!!

2. ADRs - YES!!

3. Disney Tickets - YES!! My colleagues came through I've even made little wallets/envelopes for them. Will post later.

4. Autograph Books - YES!!

5. Invites, etc for the others - YES!!

6. Disney Dollars - YES!! BIG HUGS to the Diser who helped me

7. Spending money - I've got most of it. Money on my FairFX card, $80 cash dad found. So just need some more dollars cash

8. Travel Insurance - YES!!

9. Suntan lotion, sunglasses, etc - Pretty much YES!! Got some new shades (£5 - last of the big spenders I am ), have some lotion and been gathering things like shampoo etc ready. Almost set.

10. Shift at least 14lbs - hummm, still working on this.

11. ESTA (or whatever they are called) forms & Check everyone has passports - YES!!

12. Fridge Swaps & Food order - one fridge has gone missing but have info for swaps sorted. Not done food order yet though.

13. Mousemeets stuff - nope, must sort

14. Magic Express booking - YES!!

15. Flights (prebook seats if poss) - YES!! Well, they'd already done it, I just checked they were ok.

16. Details to meet Sarah - Nope, not yet Will do though.

17. Mousekeeping Envelopes (printed and filled) - printed but not filled. Need small dollars.

18. Postcard address labels - Nope, might do that later.

19. Packing - last min thing

20. Everything else I've forgotten (eg window decs) - Kinda done. Still working on some window bits and Jenni's asked for a Stitch 'badness level' chart for the hols


Well, I'm getting there!