5 days on $1300!?! Did we do it? - a July 2011 TR - update 2/15: Link to new PTR!
- Thread starter ksl5f123
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ksl5f123
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Just reading that you decided on Wolfgang Puck Express made my mouth start watering! Love that place!
Me too! Everything that I have had there has been really yummy. I could go there everyday of a trip.
ksl5f123
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Monday morning (July 11) we woke up early and got ready to leave. DH decided that it would be easier on DS2 for the girls and I to slip out without waking him up. We did although I will say that was REALLY hard. 
He had overheard the girls talking about going to WDW and couldn't stop telling us how much he wanted to ride Buzz Lightyear. If I could have added an extra day to my ticket (you can't alter YES tickets after you buy them) I would have taken him the night before (since he is still free) for a couple of hours. Oh well. 
When the girls and I left the Hyatt, the parking gates were up. Apparently, they weren't charging for parking on Sunday, but if we had stayed a couple more hours we would have had to pay the $14 self parking fee.
Here is where I made a huge mistake. I should have just gone back to Downtown Disney and followed the signs to the Magic Kingdom. But, I didn't. No, I did something stupid. I printed out directions from GoogleMaps. Why is that stupid? Because they use back roads that take you through backstage areas. I followed their directions to a T, but I didn't end up at the Magic Kingdom parking lot. No, I ended up at a CM entrance near Space Mountain!
I quickly did a U-turn, went back to the Contemporary and took the road from there around to the Magic Kingdom entrance.
Unfortunately, this little detour cost us some serious time. My receipt from the parking says we arrived at 7:55 AM. Our YES program started at 8:15!!! We still had to park and get from the TTC to the MK!
Of course it was still early, so we got a very close parking spot and nearly ran to the TTC. The Magic Kingdom was opening at 9 AM this morning, so we were too early for the express monorail. Off to the resort monorail we went. The stop at the Grand Floridian was quick, but then we stopped on the track halfway between the GF and the Poly. I am now trying to put on my happy face for the girls, but inside, I am completely panicked!!!!!!!!!!! You see, if we miss our YES program, our tickets are void!!
Finally, the monorail starts moving. We pull into the Magic Kingdom at exactly 8:15 AM. I grab the girls and we nearly run to bag check (which of course has a line!). Once through bag check we head toward the left side when a CM in a blue shirt interrupts us. I am instantly irritated.
Doesn't he know I am late and don't have time for his survey?
Do you have a dining reservation? he says.
No, I reply, We are coming for the Youth Education Series program.
Follow me, he says
This is the moment when I realize that his blue shirt says Youth Education Series.
I need to work on my powers of observation. At least he couldn't hear what I was thinking. 
He led us over to our guide. We were introduced to the rest of the group. In addition to my 2 girls, there was another family with one girl and one boy and two other families with one boy each for a total of 6 kids and 4 adults. The registration had said the would be taking 12 kids and we quickly learned there were 2 groups doing the same program, but that they like to keep each group really small.
By 8:25 (probably a little late due to us), we were going through the turnstyles.
Up next, our YES program.
He had overheard the girls talking about going to WDW and couldn't stop telling us how much he wanted to ride Buzz Lightyear. If I could have added an extra day to my ticket (you can't alter YES tickets after you buy them) I would have taken him the night before (since he is still free) for a couple of hours. Oh well. When the girls and I left the Hyatt, the parking gates were up. Apparently, they weren't charging for parking on Sunday, but if we had stayed a couple more hours we would have had to pay the $14 self parking fee.
Here is where I made a huge mistake. I should have just gone back to Downtown Disney and followed the signs to the Magic Kingdom. But, I didn't. No, I did something stupid. I printed out directions from GoogleMaps. Why is that stupid? Because they use back roads that take you through backstage areas. I followed their directions to a T, but I didn't end up at the Magic Kingdom parking lot. No, I ended up at a CM entrance near Space Mountain!
I quickly did a U-turn, went back to the Contemporary and took the road from there around to the Magic Kingdom entrance.Unfortunately, this little detour cost us some serious time. My receipt from the parking says we arrived at 7:55 AM. Our YES program started at 8:15!!!
We still had to park and get from the TTC to the MK!Of course it was still early, so we got a very close parking spot and nearly ran to the TTC. The Magic Kingdom was opening at 9 AM this morning, so we were too early for the express monorail. Off to the resort monorail we went. The stop at the Grand Floridian was quick, but then we stopped on the track halfway between the GF and the Poly. I am now trying to put on my happy face for the girls, but inside, I am completely panicked!!!!!!!!!!! You see, if we miss our YES program, our tickets are void!!
Finally, the monorail starts moving. We pull into the Magic Kingdom at exactly 8:15 AM. I grab the girls and we nearly run to bag check (which of course has a line!). Once through bag check we head toward the left side when a CM in a blue shirt interrupts us. I am instantly irritated.
Doesn't he know I am late and don't have time for his survey?Do you have a dining reservation? he says.
No, I reply, We are coming for the Youth Education Series program.
Follow me, he says
This is the moment when I realize that his blue shirt says Youth Education Series.
I need to work on my powers of observation. At least he couldn't hear what I was thinking. He led us over to our guide. We were introduced to the rest of the group. In addition to my 2 girls, there was another family with one girl and one boy and two other families with one boy each for a total of 6 kids and 4 adults. The registration had said the would be taking 12 kids and we quickly learned there were 2 groups doing the same program, but that they like to keep each group really small.
By 8:25 (probably a little late due to us), we were going through the turnstyles.
Up next, our YES program.
Now I'm really intrigued. Just learned about the YES and Homeschool Days Programs recently and am hoping for a class next February when my daughter and I plan to take my oldest granddaughter on a surprise trip to celebrate her turning 13.
Can't wait to read what you thought of the class. (The tickets are an awesome enticement!!)
LadyBeBop
DIS Veteran
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- Feb 28, 2009
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Coming in a little late. Have a couple of comments on your earlier posts.
We're getting a Disney outlet store? That's the first I've heard of it. I'm in Northern Kentucky, just south of Cincinnati. That makes up for us losing the Disney Store in our local mall about five minutes from here. However, the new outlet store will still be a hike for us. It's in Monroe, about an hour south of us. I'll still find an excuse to get up there.
They are doing bridge work during the weekend. 45 minutes to go 12 miles on a Saturday isn't bad. I've heard horror stories of two hours to go three miles.
That was the Saturday after the Fourth of July, right? We were in the middle of that mess coming home from outside Knoxville. Took us six hours to make a trip that's normally about 4 1/2 hours. Bad thing about it...there's two routes we could take home, I-75 all the way or US 25E from outside Knoxville to Corbin, then pick up I-75. We decided on I-75 all the way since we thought it would be a little quicker.
Looking forward to getting some more budget tips. We're going in a little over two years for my DGD's 5th birthday. However, the YES program is out for us...unless, through some miracle, they offer the "How Things Move" program on Oct 31 or Nov 1, 2013.
We're getting a Disney outlet store?
That's the first I've heard of it. I'm in Northern Kentucky, just south of Cincinnati. That makes up for us losing the Disney Store in our local mall about five minutes from here. However, the new outlet store will still be a hike for us. It's in Monroe, about an hour south of us. I'll still find an excuse to get up there.They are doing bridge work during the weekend. 45 minutes to go 12 miles on a Saturday isn't bad. I've heard horror stories of two hours to go three miles.
That was the Saturday after the Fourth of July, right? We were in the middle of that mess coming home from outside Knoxville. Took us six hours to make a trip that's normally about 4 1/2 hours. Bad thing about it...there's two routes we could take home, I-75 all the way or US 25E from outside Knoxville to Corbin, then pick up I-75. We decided on I-75 all the way since we thought it would be a little quicker.
Looking forward to getting some more budget tips. We're going in a little over two years for my DGD's 5th birthday. However, the YES program is out for us...unless, through some miracle, they offer the "How Things Move" program on Oct 31 or Nov 1, 2013.
ksl5f123
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 7, 2009
- Messages
- 1,299
Now I'm really intrigued. Just learned about the YES and Homeschool Days Programs recently and am hoping for a class next February when my daughter and I plan to take my oldest granddaughter on a surprise trip to celebrate her turning 13.
We loved our YES program. Since your DGD will be 13, you will have a lot of choices for a class for her. Some of them look really great.
ksl5f123
DIS Veteran
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Welcome! Glad to have you reading along!
We're getting a Disney outlet store?
We drove past the outlet mall they are putting it in on our trip. You could see the building and the sign so it should be ready soon. I will probably find an excuse to get there too.
Well, that explains it. I am originally from the Dayton area, so I knew about all of the construction up that way. We took all backroads around that area. I might have lost my mind if it took us 2 hours to go 3 miles.
That was the Saturday after the Fourth of July, right? We were in the middle of that mess coming home from outside Knoxville. Took us six hours to make a trip that's normally about 4 1/2 hours. Bad thing about it...there's two routes we could take home, I-75 all the way or US 25E from outside Knoxville to Corbin, then pick up I-75. We decided on I-75 all the way since we thought it would be a little quicker.
Yep! I-75 was just nuts that day. I have never seen it that bad for such a long distance (outside of a couple of winter storms where the KY didn't clear the roads). The road we got off on in KY was US-25. It was moving, but you couldn't do 70 mph or anything.
That sounds like it will be an awesome trip. Five is a fabulous age at Disney!
ksl5f123
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When I left off, we were in the Magic Kingdom at 8:25 AM. There were a few people heading to dining reservations, but Main Street was still really empty. Our YES program was called How Things Move, so we were instructed to look for things that were moving as we walked down Main Street.
I'll be honest I never take my time walking down Main Street. I am always in a hurry to get into the park. I certainly never take time to look at all of the windows but I really should!!!!!!! They are amazing. Almost every window has motion dancing princesses, waving Mickey, etc. If we did nothing else this morning, the experience of taking our time walking down Main Street and looking in the windows made the program worth it. 
We walked over to a tree near the teacups and found some shade. Our guide then talked about all of the different things that we saw moving. The kids had fun shouting out all of the things they had seen: the things in the windows, other people walking, some ducks, etc. The guide then explained that everything that moves gets energy from somewhere. We talked about how people get energy and she asked what everyone had for breakfast. Let's just say that most of us skip the health food on vacation.
The guide then pulled out some little toys and gave one to each family. She asked us to figure out how it moves and then share with the group. One family had a top so we talked about how the energy from the child transferred to the toy. One family had something which was powered with a battery. Someone had a pinwheel which could be powered either by the child or the wind. My girls had a set of gears that they had to arrange so that they would all turn. The coolest one was one family had this little gadget that you had to pump up and then flip a switch and a little robotic arm would move. This allowed us to talk about pneumatic pressure. Fancy words for a group of 5-8 year olds!
We then walked over toward Winnie the Pooh. The guide handed DD7 a little car and asked her to hold it up. When she did the wheels started turning. Then the guide asked her to lower her arm the car stopped. She repeated this exercise a few times until DD7 figured out that the car was solar powered.
DD7 holding up the solar car:
We spent a little time watching this cute little solar car drive around Fantasyland and casting our shadow over it to make it stop.
A really empty Fantasyland at 8:45 AM!
At this point, it was about 8:50 AM. Our guide explained that to really understand how things move, we needed to do some more research. The topic of our research? Winnie the Pooh. We got to ride 10 minutes before the park opened!
Once again, we were told to watch for things that were moving as well as to try to figure out what was providing the energy to our honey pot. With a goal like this, you really do notice different things. It is amazing how many things are moving on that ride.
When we got off Winnie the Pooh, we talked about all of the things we had seen moving. We also talked about all of the different ways we moved forward, hopping with Tigger, floating in the rainwater. We talked about how quiet the honeypots are and we thought back to the toys we had played with earlier. It took a few minutes, but we eventually came to the conclusion that Winnie the Pooh is powered by electric motors.
It was now 9 AM and we went over to Dumbo where we made the 2nd cycle. The kids were told to pay close attention to the sounds of the ride. When we came off, we discussed what we had heard and the kids quickly realized that the up and down motion of the ride is powered with pneumatic pressure! It was really awesome for this physics professor mom to hear her kids make such a discovery!
Our research then took us to it's a small world. Again, there are a LOT of things moving in here. Not only all of the dolls, but balloons going up and down, Ferris wheels going around, and lots of other stuff. The kids realized quickly that the boats were moving, but it took them a little while to figure out that the motion of the boats was caused by the motion of the water. The guide explained that this type of ride was called a flume and that there were electric motors pushing the water which caused the boats to move.
Next, we went inside Pinocchio's restaurant (which isn't open for breakfast) and each child was given a piece of paper. They were asked to design their own ride and then explain to the group how it moved. DD5 was immediately in her element and quickly began to design her ride. DD7 felt put on the spot and couldn't immediately think of anything, so she had a minor meltdown before she finally started drawing.
The other children all drew various types of roller coasters. The coolest one was a phase 2 of Big Thunder Mountain rail road. My girls both drew boat rides. DD7 drew a ride that she would put in Animal Kingdom named Jaguar world. It was a boat ride through a rainforest filled with jaguars. DD5 drew a boat ride like the boat scene from Rapunzel with the room filled with lanterns. I can't find DD5's drawing right now, but when I do I will post pictures of them.
Then the kids were told to work as a team to build a ride. They were given some tubing of various sizes and shapes and a marble. It took them several tries to put the tubing together in an arrangement where the marble wouldn't stop at a low point.
After some experimenting with building a ride, they were then each given a little car with magnets on both ends. They quickly discovered that magnets have two poles and they could attract or repel each other's cars based on how they turned theirs. They spent several minutes using both attraction and repulsion to move the cars back and forth across the table from a partner.
Finally, we headed out for our last ride of the program the Peoplemover. The kids were given a tip to look at the back of the cars and to look down at the track. It only took them a few minutes to figure out that the Peoplemover is powered by magnets!
With that, our program was over. Would I recommend the YES program? Absolutely!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The kids learned a lot about how things move. It was very interactive with the drawing and experimenting. We got to ride 4 rides and see stuff that we never noticed before. I can't wait to do another program and would even be happy to do this one again when DS2 is old enough.
Up next, BBB!
I'll be honest I never take my time walking down Main Street.
I am always in a hurry to get into the park. I certainly never take time to look at all of the windows but I really should!!!!!!! They are amazing. Almost every window has motion dancing princesses, waving Mickey, etc. If we did nothing else this morning, the experience of taking our time walking down Main Street and looking in the windows made the program worth it. We walked over to a tree near the teacups and found some shade. Our guide then talked about all of the different things that we saw moving. The kids had fun shouting out all of the things they had seen: the things in the windows, other people walking, some ducks, etc. The guide then explained that everything that moves gets energy from somewhere. We talked about how people get energy and she asked what everyone had for breakfast. Let's just say that most of us skip the health food on vacation.
The guide then pulled out some little toys and gave one to each family. She asked us to figure out how it moves and then share with the group. One family had a top so we talked about how the energy from the child transferred to the toy. One family had something which was powered with a battery. Someone had a pinwheel which could be powered either by the child or the wind. My girls had a set of gears that they had to arrange so that they would all turn. The coolest one was one family had this little gadget that you had to pump up and then flip a switch and a little robotic arm would move. This allowed us to talk about pneumatic pressure. Fancy words for a group of 5-8 year olds!
We then walked over toward Winnie the Pooh. The guide handed DD7 a little car and asked her to hold it up. When she did the wheels started turning. Then the guide asked her to lower her arm the car stopped. She repeated this exercise a few times until DD7 figured out that the car was solar powered.
DD7 holding up the solar car:
We spent a little time watching this cute little solar car drive around Fantasyland and casting our shadow over it to make it stop.
A really empty Fantasyland at 8:45 AM!
At this point, it was about 8:50 AM. Our guide explained that to really understand how things move, we needed to do some more research. The topic of our research? Winnie the Pooh. We got to ride 10 minutes before the park opened!
Once again, we were told to watch for things that were moving as well as to try to figure out what was providing the energy to our honey pot. With a goal like this, you really do notice different things. It is amazing how many things are moving on that ride.When we got off Winnie the Pooh, we talked about all of the things we had seen moving. We also talked about all of the different ways we moved forward, hopping with Tigger, floating in the rainwater. We talked about how quiet the honeypots are and we thought back to the toys we had played with earlier. It took a few minutes, but we eventually came to the conclusion that Winnie the Pooh is powered by electric motors.
It was now 9 AM and we went over to Dumbo where we made the 2nd cycle. The kids were told to pay close attention to the sounds of the ride. When we came off, we discussed what we had heard and the kids quickly realized that the up and down motion of the ride is powered with pneumatic pressure! It was really awesome for this physics professor mom to hear her kids make such a discovery!
Our research then took us to it's a small world. Again, there are a LOT of things moving in here. Not only all of the dolls, but balloons going up and down, Ferris wheels going around, and lots of other stuff. The kids realized quickly that the boats were moving, but it took them a little while to figure out that the motion of the boats was caused by the motion of the water. The guide explained that this type of ride was called a flume and that there were electric motors pushing the water which caused the boats to move.
Next, we went inside Pinocchio's restaurant (which isn't open for breakfast) and each child was given a piece of paper. They were asked to design their own ride and then explain to the group how it moved. DD5 was immediately in her element and quickly began to design her ride. DD7 felt put on the spot and couldn't immediately think of anything, so she had a minor meltdown before she finally started drawing.
The other children all drew various types of roller coasters. The coolest one was a phase 2 of Big Thunder Mountain rail road. My girls both drew boat rides. DD7 drew a ride that she would put in Animal Kingdom named Jaguar world. It was a boat ride through a rainforest filled with jaguars. DD5 drew a boat ride like the boat scene from Rapunzel with the room filled with lanterns. I can't find DD5's drawing right now, but when I do I will post pictures of them.
Then the kids were told to work as a team to build a ride. They were given some tubing of various sizes and shapes and a marble. It took them several tries to put the tubing together in an arrangement where the marble wouldn't stop at a low point.
After some experimenting with building a ride, they were then each given a little car with magnets on both ends. They quickly discovered that magnets have two poles and they could attract or repel each other's cars based on how they turned theirs. They spent several minutes using both attraction and repulsion to move the cars back and forth across the table from a partner.
Finally, we headed out for our last ride of the program the Peoplemover. The kids were given a tip to look at the back of the cars and to look down at the track. It only took them a few minutes to figure out that the Peoplemover is powered by magnets!
With that, our program was over. Would I recommend the YES program? Absolutely!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The kids learned a lot about how things move. It was very interactive with the drawing and experimenting. We got to ride 4 rides and see stuff that we never noticed before. I can't wait to do another program and would even be happy to do this one again when DS2 is old enough.
Up next, BBB!
cappucinno
Earning My Ears
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- Jul 12, 2010
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- 23
That YES program sounds very cool. My Dd would love that. Sadly i've never heard of it before
and we will be there in a few weeks so I don't see us participating...
looking forward to BBB story.
and we will be there in a few weeks so I don't see us participating...looking forward to BBB story.
teekathepony
DIS Veteran
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Sounds really neat! I had never heard of the YES program before!
I'm joining in! Sounds like a great trip so far!
I'm joining in! Sounds like a great trip so far!
GrammyJudy
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How do you find out about the YES program? I never heard of it either
LadyBeBop
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This thread explains it all.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2332767&highlight=yes+program
ksl5f123
DIS Veteran
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That YES program sounds very cool. My Dd would love that. Sadly i've never heard of it before
looking forward to BBB story.
I think the YES program is really one of Disney's best kept secrets. I would never have known about it if it weren't for the DIS.
ksl5f123
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Welcome! Glad to have you reading along. The YES program was wonderful. LadyBeBop posted the link to the DIS thread above. Here is the link to the official YES site
http://www.disneyyouth.com/youth-education-series/
ksl5f123
DIS Veteran
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Thanks for such an awesome review of the YES class. It sounds like it was lots of fun. My 6-year-old DGS would think it was very cool! Hoping we can get them all in a class or two next time we do our big "Grand" family trip.
I am sure your DGS would love it. We had a great time.
ksl5f123
DIS Veteran
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ksl5f123
DIS Veteran
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- Messages
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Our YES program ended at 10:45 AM and DD5 had an appointment at BBB at 11:10 AM. I had hoped we would have time to grab an ice cream before heading off to our appointment, but since the program ended in Tomorrowland, we needed to head straight for the castle.
We arrived slightly early at 11 AM, checked in, and sat down to wait. There were 3 other families there when we arrived. They all got called back. Then 3 more families arrived and they all got called back. I was starting to get irritated when DD5 was finally called at 11:30.
Despite having washed DD5's hair the night before and combing it that morning, it was a tangled mess by the time we got to BBB. Three hours out in the Florida heat and humidity did a number on that curly hair. Our poor FGIT literally spent 30 minutes just combing DD5's hair. It was awful and it took forever. I felt really bad. While this was happening, DD7 was bored so she was our official photographer. All of my BBB photos were taken either by DD7 or by the PhotoPass guy.
Alright, let the pictures begin!
I told you DD7 had the camera.
Time for some over the top pixie-dusting! This poor child literally had blue hair by time her FGIT was done!
Getting ready to reveal:
The reveal:
We arrived slightly early at 11 AM, checked in, and sat down to wait. There were 3 other families there when we arrived. They all got called back. Then 3 more families arrived and they all got called back.
I was starting to get irritated when DD5 was finally called at 11:30. Despite having washed DD5's hair the night before and combing it that morning, it was a tangled mess by the time we got to BBB.
Three hours out in the Florida heat and humidity did a number on that curly hair. Our poor FGIT literally spent 30 minutes just combing DD5's hair. It was awful and it took forever. I felt really bad. While this was happening, DD7 was bored so she was our official photographer. All of my BBB photos were taken either by DD7 or by the PhotoPass guy.Alright, let the pictures begin!
I told you DD7 had the camera.
Time for some over the top pixie-dusting! This poor child literally had blue hair by time her FGIT was done!
Getting ready to reveal:
The reveal:
teekathepony
DIS Veteran
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Great update, I wish I was young enough to go to the BBB! lol!
TinksThree
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- 2,518
I thought I had responded right before the YES post... Maybe I am going crazy!! 
I really have been reading along...Promise!!! 
The YES program sounds so awesome!! I think it is so cool to combine fun vacation stuff with learning experiences! We try to do this all of the time although we are more like major history buffs and that is usually the route we take. Sorry it isn't science!
Maybe you won't be too disappointed in me!!
Love the BBB pictures! What a beautiful little princess!!
Maybe I am going crazy!! I really have been reading along...Promise!!! The YES program sounds so awesome!! I think it is so cool to combine fun vacation stuff with learning experiences! We try to do this all of the time although we are more like major history buffs and that is usually the route we take. Sorry it isn't science!
Maybe you won't be too disappointed in me!! Love the BBB pictures! What a beautiful little princess!!
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