A 2-Week Grand Villa Extravaganza! We leave tomorrow! PTR Complete...

[Duffy Lover]

I'm glad it's Sunday... I had quite a trying week, with my first school administrator panic attack, non-stop meetings, planning tomorrow's professional development day for our whole school district, planning a "Pride" Assembly for the middle school, presenting a proposed calendar change to our School Board and District Improvement Team; and then it was all topped off with poor E getting a stomach bug. Oh, and instead of chilling with my family yesterday I was supervising Basketball games at my HS all day. Whew. I'm tired just thinking about it. But my wonderful DH let me sleep in this morning. Until 10:15. It was amazing!

Ok, enough whining - onto planning! So I mentioned earlier that the original plan was to stay two nights at BCV, 10 nights in a GV at OKW and then one night at BLT possibly in a TPV Grand Villa. That plan has since been adjusted. My DH can't take two weeks off of work and then also take a week off of work just days later for his sister's wedding. So that meant for the first part of the trip we only needed a 2 BR villa at BCV for the 9 of us.

My youngest DN, R, is turning 5 on the trip, and we had originally been scheduled to leave on his birthday. What a bummer, right? So my Mom decided to stay one extra night. And then our trip got shifted, due to my new job and his birthday is now in the middle of the trip, but we decided to still stay for 14 nights anyways. So here we go...

Resort 1: BCV 2 BR Dedicated, 2 Queen Beds
Check in: 5/31/2014 - Check out: 6/4/2014

So here is some background on our choices for BCV. Since we really wanted all the beds possible we decided we needed one of the 2BR dedicated villas with two queen beds in the second bedroom:



As you see in the photo, there are 6 villas that are 2 BR dedicated with 2 queens per floor. There is also another reason for this choice... As you may notice, these villas are close the center of the building. Which I know from personal experience is awesome. My sisters, Mom and I stayed in villa 175 back in 2010, and boy was it a trek! Here is the room layout:



This was the easiest of our reservations to book. Although there were just a handful of these "2 queen" rooms, we called on our 11 month mark and were able to make this reservation without problems. It is actually a booking category, so we are guaranteed to have this layout (the non-two queen room is pictured above). I'm guessing it was easy to book because the average DVCer doesn't know that this is even a booking category. I could be wrong, though and maybe we just got lucky.

So here's the plan... Drea and her boys will stay in the master bedroom. They often sleep with Drea in her king bed at home, so that will work well. Me and my girls and Brie will stay in the second bedroom. My parents (bless them) will sleep on the pull out. So no need for a blow-up bed or anything. The expectation at DVC is with 9 in this sort of room is that the owner provides linens for the extra person, but this won't be necessary for us.



While we are there we plan on swimming lots, enjoying a "Kitchen Sink", the kids will spend an evening at the Sandcastle Club and plenty of Epcot time, including a viewing of Illuminations (should we use FP+, hmmmm...). But more on that during the day by day plans.

It is a gorgeous "blue bird" day here in NW Colorado, and I need me some sunshine. So Caz and the girls and I are going sledding in our backyard. I'll probably post about our second resort today, but that remains to be seen. My Mom and Dad arrive in less than two weeks for E's birthday, so I am super excited to plan our FP+ strategy... See you soon!

 

[Duffy Lover]

I'm now chilling on the couch after playing outside for a few hours, and boy did that vitamin D do me some good! We taped the Bronco's game (it is the only Colorado Team I like, I can't help it - I'm from Detroit), so we just started the second half... Where were we... Oh, yes. OKW!!!

Resort 2: OKW Grand Villa, Hospitality House Area
Check in: 6/4/2014 - Check out: 6/12/2014

So we are now staying at OKW for 8 nights, instead of 10. My DH will join us on Friday the 6th of June, at around 11pm. I worked very hard to secure this reservation. Back in 2012 my girls, parents, Brie and I stayed in a 2 BR in the Hospitality House Area (the map shows HH villas: 11-14 and 23-26).:



I had really wanted buildings 23-26, but we ended up with building 13, which was amazing. You got on the bus at the HH stop (the last one before leaving the resort), you could walk a very short distance to the refillable mug area, the pool, the store and the Gurgling Suitcase... For this trip 11-14 is not an option since there are no GVs in that area. So this is where the strategy came into play. We knew there were only 2 GVs in the HH area. These are in building 25, which is an excellent location. About a week before our 11 month mark hit, I was cruising the DVC website and noticed that a GV was available for a week. Since I am a teacher (and now part administrator), I had some time on my hands so I booked it. I then "walked" it for the next week (insert gratuitous photo OKW here):



I ended up calling every day for a week so that we were guaranteed to to have building 25. The benefits of it are many... We can still walk to the HH bus stop every morning to avoid a drive around the resort, but still get off the bus at the bus stop right in front of our villa. We will still be able to easily walk to all the benefits of the HH area; the drinks, shops, boat stops - you name it! It was so worth it to spend days on hold with MS!

As for the "room", well let's just say it is so much more:



It is over 2200 square feet and boasts three bedrooms, two levels, and four bathrooms. Brie will sleep with me and the girls in the smallest bedroom until Caz joins us, then she will either sleep in the living room or in the master with my Mom. My dad does a lot of golfing so if he slept in the living room it would be better with his early rising to golf. My sister and boys would have the larger upstairs bedroom - last time we stayed in a GV (in building 22 - Miller's Rd. Area) my girls, Caz and I had the larger room, so it's her turn now. Here's the layout if you're not familiar:




Hmmmm... We have some great plans for when we stay here, but mostly park time. We're saving our non-park days mostly for BCV and VGF. I am looking forward to Caz joining us, and my sister Brie is looking forward to the chill laid back environment that is OKW. It really is quite lovely... Here's one last gorgeous photo to wrap this post up:



I hope you don't get a case of the "Mondays." Wish me luck on my professional development day plan!

 

[Pirate Granny]

Good post...but I'm hopeing for the top floor at BCV...and hopefully you didn't jinx us and we'll end up in 478-477 ..smile...but the only far away is the walk to SAB...walk to EPCOT is almost the same to walk the bus stop! Good luck tomorrowbanana:

 

[Duffy Lover]

Well it's Monday morning and I'm not at work... Why you ask? No it is not a snow day (never happens in my part of Colorado - if we shut down every time we got a foot of snow we'd never be in school). Unfortunately my little E is sick again. Probably with Strep Throat. Ug. Less than two weeks ago it was a stomach bug. Not much you can do, right? Except wash, wash, wash your hands!

Onto the trip report... The final resort: The Villas at the Grand Floridian Resort and Spa!!!
Check In: 06/12/14 - Check out: 6/14/14



Sigh. I am so looking forward to staying here! The original plan was to stay one night in a TPV villa or two at BLT. We began our last trip at BLT in a two BR TPV for one night and it was magical. I loved, loved, loved sitting on that balcony watching the boats go by, the monorail, Wishes and the Magic Kingdom in all its glory!

But providence intervened with this resort change. We noticed that at VGF if you're lucky enough to score a 2 BR lock-off that it sleeps 10 people. We also knew that a 2 BR lock-off was probably the hardest villa to reserve, but we decided to go for it. Two days before our 7 month window opened my mom was surfing the DVC website and low and behold a 2 BR lock-off was available - and lake view to boot! So we booked it, and then walked it for two days. I don't know if we just lucked out with the walking, but what ever! We got the room we wanted!!



Once again my sister Drea and her boys will be in the master bedroom, my parents in the living room, and me, Caz and the girls in the second bedroom. We're not sure where Brie will sleep - she's not sure if she will sleep with us and we'll have one of the girls sleep in the pull down bed, or if she'll sleep in the pull down bed in the living room. My husband does tend to snore so I don't blame her for not being sure she wants to bunk with us.



I can't wait to wake up to that view! Granted maybe not early enough to see the sunrise... We have lots of fun planned for this part of the trip. The day we check in the kids are booked on the Disney's Pirate's Adventure from the GF marina - giving us adults two hours to lounge by the pool without being on children patrol! I think I'll walk over to the Poly and get me that drink that comes in the pineapple. Yum. Do they let you bring drinks on the monorail? Hmmm... What about spa treatments? Should Caz and I book a couples massage? A pedicure? We're also having the kids go to a kids club so we can have dinner at the Cali Grill with just the adults! Currently the kids are booked at the Wolf's Den over at the WL, but I'm hoping the Neverland Club will be open by then. To wrap it all up, we'll spend our last day at Disney lounging by the pool and with a breakfast at 1900 PF.

The only downside is we won't be able to walk to the MK. Do you hear me WDW bean counters?!? I don't care if you have to build a draw bridge, finish that path!!! I know the monorail can be quite crowded by the time it reaches the GF, but we'll only have one stroller this trip, and it's easily folded. I think we'll also probably take the boat from the MK back to the GF at the end of our evening anyways. It really was E's first boat ride back in the day - what a great memory! We were checking out the monorail line resorts after having dinner at the Concourse Steakhouse, and we decided to take the boat to the MK from the GF. We got stopped both by the Water Parade AND Wishes. It was amazing.





So there you have it... Our resorts. I am super excited!! Even though we're doing some resort hopping, it is going to be worth it. The pool at the BCV, the space and convenience at the HH GV at OKW, and the elegance of VGF. What a trip! What should I write about next? ADRs? Input please!

 

[chattadisser]

I'm in! Any TR that references Ferris Bueller has my attention!

I started writing down all my guesses for the resorts and then you mentioned they were in your signature. Apparently I need to pay attention to the details more...

What a lovely trip you have planned. I give a big to the SAB time. I didn't know the grand villas at OKW were so big. Holy cow!

I'm not sure how much time you are considering spending in the AK area but you might consider an adult ADR at Jiko. My husband and I LOVE Jiko and there is a kids club at AKL - Simba's Cubhouse? I might be wrong on the name. Just a suggestion to throw out there.

We were at WDW a couple of weeks ago for marathon weekend and I have to say we were pleasantly suprised with the FP+. We had no problems with it and were able to reschedule rides on the fly. That was one of my biggest concerns going in, little girls don't really understand, nor care, that you are scheduled to ride Big Thunder at 5PM, they want to go sooner! Hopefully you will have no problems.

The picture of your hometown is beautiful! We went on our Honeymoon to Aspen and I did price out a ski trip -- as an alternative to WDW (you know, everyone says you need to take them other places ) and it was WAY more expensive. So, no skiing in our near future.

Can't wait to read more.

Christine

 

[Duffy Lover]

I'm in! Any TR that references Ferris Bueller has my attention!

I started writing down all my guesses for the resorts and then you mentioned they were in your signature. Apparently I need to pay attention to the details more...

What a lovely trip you have planned. I give a big to the SAB time. I didn't know the grand villas at OKW were so big. Holy cow!

I'm not sure how much time you are considering spending in the AK area but you might consider an adult ADR at Jiko. My husband and I LOVE Jiko and there is a kids club at AKL - Simba's Cubhouse? I might be wrong on the name. Just a suggestion to throw out there.

We were at WDW a couple of weeks ago for marathon weekend and I have to say we were pleasantly suprised with the FP+. We had no problems with it and were able to reschedule rides on the fly. That was one of my biggest concerns going in, little girls don't really understand, nor care, that you are scheduled to ride Big Thunder at 5PM, they want to go sooner! Hopefully you will have no problems.

The picture of your hometown is beautiful! We went on our Honeymoon to Aspen and I did price out a ski trip -- as an alternative to WDW (you know, everyone says you need to take them other places ) and it was WAY more expensive. So, no skiing in our near future.

Can't wait to read more.

Christine

Thanks for reading!

I'm sorry I ruined your guessing fun! My bad... Can you believe the size of those OKW GVs? Crazy, right? The thing is bigger than my townhouse!

I totally am open to FP+. Sure its not pre-time enforcement FP -, but it is out of our hands, so we will plan accordingly. With a few rope drops and 10 days in the parks we should be able to do pretty much every ride we'd like...

Colorado is lovely, and expensive! I am amazed at how much it costs to visit and ski... Thanks for the Jiko tip. We've never been there - and it's not planned for this trip so maybe next time.

Have a great weekend! Tomorrow's my Friday as I'm taking a day off to spend time with my parents visiting from Michigan, and my big girl who is turning 7. My, how time passes...

 

[Duffy Lover]

I'm too bummed to post a true update tonight... The Broncos lost, my wonderful parents go home tomorrow, and my little C now has a fever... Sigh. At least my Mom and I got to spend something like 4 hours planning fast pass plus choices. Seriously. Four hours... I'm hoping I have some time to post this week, but that remains to be seen. Sigh. Back to the grind. On the up side, we're less than three weeks away from double digits..

 

[Duffy Lover]

It's time for... FOOD!! I'm in a much better place today... My sister Brie is here for her annual visit, some time off my job is close and we are only 110 days away from our trip (and hence, the end of the school year)!

Here we go... Disney Dining! As of right now we are not getting the DDP. We plan on eating all but one breakfasts in the villa, and many of our lunches in the villa as well. Since we are staying at three different resorts, my Mom has tossed around the idea of doing the DDP for either the first or last resort, but I feel the TiW will be a better option for us.

Overall we have ADRs at 12 different restaurants over the span of the trip. One is specifically for dessert, one is for lunch, one is for breakfast and the rest are for dinner. My Dad will be making three dinners at the Villa (one will be his famous spaghetti on our arrival day. Yum!). Every member on the trip picked one restaurant, and then we added two bonus ADRs. So without further delay... Our ADRs!

Bonus Selection - Dessert - Day One



Since we are staying at the BCV, we knew we must go to Beaches and Cream so that the kids can enjoy....



The Kitchen Sink!!!! The kids are so, so excited for this! We arrive in the evening on the first night, and after dinner and swimming we have two reservations at 8:30 and 8:20. We couldn't get one for 9, we couldn't even get one for 4 and 5. So we're hoping for the best and we will arrive with 5 for the 8:30 reservation. I will put C on my lap if need be... I'm not sure I'll partake in the sink, some of their other choices sound much tastier! I've never eaten here except for a quick takeout sundae but that doesn't count... One last pic to whet your whistle:



E's Choice - Dinner - Day 2



So this restaurant is E's choice... Earlier on day 2 the girls will be visiting the BBB, so we thought it would be fitting to go see a whole slew of princesses. We have ADRs at 5:15pm. Here are some pics from our last two visits to this eatery:




It is a lovely place, and I am already excited for the salad bar and princess interaction!



Papa's Pick - Dinner - Day 3



This just takes me to square in Italy, or how I imagine it would look as I've never been to that part of Europe...



It looks so warm and inviting here! I've never eaten here before and I'm pretty excited. I think we'll get the kids a cheese pizza to split and skip the kid's menu. Sadly Caz will miss out on this since he doesn't arrive for four more days, but what can you do? Can't win them all! Dinner is scheduled or 5:45, and will be followed by Illuminations!!

Buszia's Choice - Dinner - Day 4



The kids will be going to the Sandcastle Club this evening at 6pm, and our reservations are for 6:15. I've never been here either, and I hear some of the best steaks on property can be had here at this low key signature restaurant.



It will be nice to have dinner with my parents and sisters. I can't remember the last time we did that - no kids, spouses, or friends. Crazy, right?

C's Pick - Dinner - Day 5



BE OUR GUEST!!

We have early dinner ADRs at 4:20 and 4:30. The strange thing about these reservations is that they wouldn't let us do 7 and 2, but would let us do 8 and 1. Strange, right? We figure we'd be happy with two tables near each other, or maybe we'd even be able to squeeze 9 in at a table for 8.



We're flexible. Either we can squeeze or my parents will sit at a two top. I can't imagine they actually have tables for one only?! Everyone is excited to eat here. I don't think we're going to ask for the West Wing, though. C gets frightened easily and I'd rather sit in the ballroom anyways...

R's Pick - Dinner - Day 6



It is R's 5th birthday and this was his choice. I am good with it - it's a great chance to meet the characters, which is kind of a double header (much like Akershus). You have to eat, why not see the fab five, too? It means we won't have to do it during our precious touring time at the parks. The last time we were here Goofy tried to steal C, and she still talks about it (I posted that pick in my mini-pre-trip reports... check it out there). Here we are at the group photo point back in June of 2012:



And then WAYYY back to 2008:







Our reservation is for 5 pm, and afterwards we plan on getting FP+ for MSEP and then watch Wishes. What a great end to a fifth birthday!!

So there is the first half of our dining plans. I may be back later today with the second half... Time will tell!

 

[Pirate Granny]

Great job...almost double digits

 

[Duffy Lover]

Hi there friends! My darling sister has gone back to Michigan, I had my time off and now it is time to continue this report!

Guess what?!?! It's double digit time!!! Yep, today marks 99 days until our trip! Oh, yea! And with those double digits comes... Another trip report update. I was going to do two to honor the double digit thing, but I'm a bit tired, so hopefully I'll put out a few more updates this weekend. This update will focus on our second week's worth ADRs.

Brie's Selection - Dinner - Day 8



Yet another restaurant I have yet to visit. I'm pretty excited about this location, despite it's mixed reputation. I love Mexican food, authentic or not. Caz (my dh) will finally be with us (he arrives late on day 7), and I know he will enjoy this restaurant too. I've always loved the Mexican pavilion, the perpetual twilight is just lovely. I'm hoping to hit up the Tequila Cave (as I refer to it) and get me a jalapeno margarita as an "appetizer".



We will be dining at 6pm this evening, and the plan is to have my parents take all the kids home so the grown-up kids can enjoy Epcot after dinner! I only wish that the World Showcase was open past 9 pm...


J's Pick - Dinner - Day 9



I've never been here either. Little J is a boy's boy and really loves this place. He, his brother and his mom and Drea's ExDH went here during our 2011 trip. I'm not sure how C will handle this, as she scares easily. I think I'd be scared of this:



This ADR falls on one of our non-park days and currently is the only day we're scheduled to go to DTD. Our scheduled dining time is 6:30. I hear the food is plentiful and the atmosphere deafening. Good times.



I do think that the "ice room" (I think that is what is depicted in the previous picture) would be a lovely place to not be terrified of giant dinosaurs....

Drea's Pick - Late Lunch - Day 10



Yum! Here's another location I have yet to dine at. I am keen to see if it lives up to its hype. I know their poutine is not authentic to the "street" poutine I grew up eating (I grew up in Ottawa, Ontario) but I'm still intrigued.



This place really looks like a cave! Our ADR is at 1 pm, and we're planning on it tiding us over for most of the day, and potentially just snacking for dinner.

Caz's Pick (ok, it was influenced by me) - Dinner - Day 12



I bet you thought I missed a day! Well as it turns out day 11 we are planning on eating "at home". The beauty of a villa can be a full kitchen (it can also be four bathrooms, and a larger space than my house, but I digress). We are also eating "at home" on days 14 and 7.

Anyways, I've had breakfast at Ohana back when I was pregnant with C, and it was just my Mom, E and I. I've really wanted to go back at night, even though it is a very different experience. Who wouldn't want to visit this place:



This reservation is set for 5pm, and I certainly wouldn't mind picking up one of these whilst I wait:



Mmmm... topped off with Bacardi 151. Yum!

My Choice - Dinner - Day 13



We're pushing on with restaurants I haven't visited... I had a hard time settling on the CG. I almost picked the Brown Derby and Citricos, both places I've never eaten before. In the end, I went with the Cali Grill because it seems the most grand of the three.



The kiddos will be going to either the Wolf's Den over at the WL (where our reservations are for them currently) or The Neverland Club at the Poly (which is my preference). So we will enjoy yet another child free dinner. Dinner is scheduled for 6 pm. By this point we'll be staying at VGF (squee!) so getting home should be a snap. Hopefully we'll get a view like this:



And now, our final ADR...

Bonus Selection - Breakfast - Day 15



Our final day, our final ADR. At this point everyone has had their choices, but my darling Mama has decided that we shall do breakfast this lovely restaurant. Our flights are later that day, and besides my Dad, who will be driving to Atlanta, we are all going to lie around and enjoy the resort until our ME arrives around 3:30pm.

We went to this restaurant for breakfast back in 2011:





The characters here are amazing, although I would have liked to see Cinderella's step family and Prince Charming (at dinner). The food is nothing special but I think seeing Pooh, Tigger, Alice, The Mad Hatter, and Mary Poppins is amazing! We'll be eating at 10:35, which gives up plenty of time to pack before checkout. One last pic of our fun visit back in 2011:



So there you have it! Twelve restaurants in 15 days... Not too shabby! I will be sure to report on how these yummy restaurants work out for us.

Stay tuned for our day by day plans, and possibly a post about things I haven't done but plan on doing (amazing things like Tom Sawyer Island - I've never been there), and perhaps a post about the same-same outfits I've gotten for the girls... Good times!

 

[Pirate Granny]

Great job!!!! Can't wait 99 sleeps and counting

 

[courtneybelle]

Just read through the entire PTR! You have such a cute family, and I love that your parents still go with you to Disney seeing that always gives me hope that my family and I will still be going to Disney together years down the road!

I am extremely envious of your resort choices, we were upgraded to a 1BR at OKW (from Port Orleans!!) a few years ago and I loved that resort. I think the Grand Floridian villas look incredible, especially that penguin fountain in the lobby!

ADRs look awesome! Via Napoli is one of my new favorites. That's so weird about BOG; we had to book two tables of 7 and 6, but not letting 7 and 2 is a little odd . I love 'Ohana dinner too!

 

[BecsBunch]

Following along I'm loving your past trip mini-reports and your PTR. It's so much fun to plan a Disney Trip. The wait, on the other hand, is killer!

Rebecca

 

[Duffy Lover]

Just read through the entire PTR! You have such a cute family, and I love that your parents still go with you to Disney seeing that always gives me hope that my family and I will still be going to Disney together years down the road!

I am extremely envious of your resort choices, we were upgraded to a 1BR at OKW (from Port Orleans!!) a few years ago and I loved that resort. I think the Grand Floridian villas look incredible, especially that penguin fountain in the lobby!

ADRs look awesome! Via Napoli is one of my new favorites. That's so weird about BOG; we had to book two tables of 7 and 6, but not letting 7 and 2 is a little odd . I love 'Ohana dinner too!

Glad to have you along for the ride! It is pretty amazing to travel as an extended family - we feel very blessed. What an up grade - from PO to OKW! Bonus!

Following along I'm loving your past trip mini-reports and your PTR. It's so much fun to plan a Disney Trip. The wait, on the other hand, is killer!

Rebecca

Rebecca, I've been waiting for over 1000 days for this particular trip, so 97days is nothing! Thanks for reading my report!

 

[Duffy Lover]

Day 1 - Saturday May 31, 2014 - Resort: BCV - Parks: None

And now begins our daily plans. I don't know how you plan, but we are an excel spreadsheet kind of family. My hubby always asks when our bathroom breaks are planned for. Silly man - we don't go into THAT much detail! Close, but not quite.

Anyways, day one is May 31st, only 96 days from today. My girls and I are flying out of Denver International Airport at 11am. Typically we like to leave earlier, but that was the first non-stop flight that Southwest offered. Although it gives us a later arrival time, it also has its benefits. Since we live about 3 hours from the airport, if we stay the night before in Denver we can sleep in, hopefully allowing the girls the opportunity to be well rested. Our typical SW flight is at 6:30am MST, which makes for a pretty early wake-up call!

Have I mentioned how much I love SW? If SW is an option for our travels, we don't hesitate. They are by far the best airline in my opinion. And besides, who wouldn't want to get a chance to fly on the TinkerBell plane?



Anyways, the tickets cost $177 each, out the door. They came in $23 under budget each for a total savings of $69 (hey, that's not chump change on a WDW vacay - it's a quick serve lunch for four)! And you can't beat the free luggage, the free drinks, and the free snack. But mostly the free luggage...

So we arrive at 4:35pm EST, with the rest of my family getting there at 12:42pm. I can't wait to see this sign:



I estimate that if we arrive on time, we should arrive at BCV and be greeted by this sight no later than 6:30 pm EST, which is still only 4:30 MST to our bodies...



My wonderful Dad will be cooking up some yummy spaghetti for us in the Villa, and we'll arrive, eat, and slip into some swim suits which will be strategically placed in our carry-on luggage. Stormalong Bay awaits!



Love that afternoon light! It may only be a short swim, because we have other plans for this evening besides swimming. Although I don't think the kids would be opposed to swimming in the evening light...



And it only gets better! At 8:30 and 8:20 pm we have ADRs at Beaches and Cream!



Yes, we have a date with the Kitchen Sink. To be honest, I think I'd like something other than the that massive pile of sweetness, but time will tell. We had to get two reservations as there wasn't a 9 person ADR. And even then we couldn't get one for four and one for five. So the plan is to ask if little C can sit on someone's lap or in a high chair. She's pretty petite (cross your fingers she can grow that extra inch to make it to 40 inches in 96 days) and typically ends up on my lap anyways.

After this, we'll see how the kids are doing and perhaps they could have one more dip in the pool or watch part of the movie on the beach before they get a shower. They have to be clean for day 2 where they will be going to the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique!

I don't know about you, but to me this sounds like an amazing first day at the "World". I can't wait for more!!!

 

[Leleluvsdis]

Love love love day 1!!! With a day 1 like that, I can't wait to see the rest!!!

 

[Duffy Lover]

So right after I posted the last update my computer froze up and had to be rebooted manually.... And it appears that the hard drive may be done for. Hopefully we can get some pictures off of it because it has been months since we've backed it up to our external hard drive. Shame on us.

Since then I've tried to post an update because I was on a roll, but my other device, a Microsoft Surface, also froze up and ate my post. I also am having trouble with the photo sharing. I like my Surface to a certain degree, but overall it is pretty glitchy and annoying. I'm going to try and upload a picture using my Sky-Drive... Let's see how that goes...

Nope, looks like it doesn't work. Back to the drawing board. Any ideas?

 

[Duffy Lover]

Love love love day 1!!! With a day 1 like that, I can't wait to see the rest!!!

I know, what a day, right? I was so jazzed to share more, but technology has got me down... At least I've gotten the Photobucket website to realize this is not a phone and now I have access to the full site. I'm going to try a pic again....

Ahhhh, that's better!

 

[Duffy Lover]

Sadly, our computer is still fried, so I'm updating from my Microsoft Surface. On the upside, it is sort of like a mini laptop, but there are so many other glitches, it can be pretty annoying...

So where were we? Oh, yes day 2!

Day 2 - Sunday June 1, 2014 - Resort: BCV - Parks: MK and EP

After a late night the plan is to sleep in. Ahhh... Since our bodies are on MST, we can stay up a little later than usual (my sister's boys don't have to get up as early as my girls on any typical day and as such they stay up later anyways), and we planned accordingly for the next day. We'll let the kids sleep as late as 9am and then we'll get ready for the day in our lovely 2 BR Villa. My dad is going to go grocery shopping twice, a small trip on the day we arrive and then a larger trip when we transfer to OKW. We don't want too much perishables to cart from one room to the next! At about 10 am we'll hop on a bus to the MK so that the girls can go to:



And the boys to:



They all have 11 am appointments. Let's look at the boy's options first:



My sister is not keen on the whole face paint and I think she's going to steer the boys to one of the Captain Jack options. We got the boys shirts from the Disney Store that look like pirate costumes but actually are t-shirts:



Cool, huh? The Pirates League looks really fun! E is hoping to go and get the pirate treatment on her next trip (more on that another time - must focus on the present).



I'm sure the boys will have a blast! Onto the girls... here are their choices:



I really want them to get the "Fairytale Princess" look, but I'm not sure I want to tell them the other looks are off the table. We'll get them the Crown package, and they'll be wearing their princess dresses. E will be wearing the following Sleeping Beauty Dress (which in this photo reboot I was able to get a picture of):




And C can't decide yet... Either Jasmine, Sophia or Cinderella:

**Unfortunately I lost these photos in a very tragic Photobucket accident, and currently I do not have access to these adorable pics...***

Brie took these photos when she was visiting and we tried to poll our friends on Facebook... The results were inconclusive... The BBB looks really neat, and I think this trip is really the best time for the girls to go being almost 5 and 7. The next BIG family trip won't be for three more years and when E is 10 she may not be into princesses much anymore.



When we're done we'll get some lunch (Casey's Corner? CHH?) and then we'll have our FP+ ready... We are going to get some that aren't the best choices as they are not big ticket rides, but we don't want to do roller coasters or SM so we went with dark rides/character MnGs. We'll have on FP+ for:



C has already told me she's going to hide her head in my shoulder during the yucky pirate part, but she'll like the other parts. Captain Jack makes her laugh:



Then the girls will then use their FP+ to go to:



Rapunzel is one of the few princesses the girls haven't met yet, and they are super excited!



In the mean time, the boys might go for a cruise:



Here's to hoping for a truly funny captain...



We're not totally set on this FP+ decision, though... We only have 29 days to decide, I just can't handle the pressure! I think I need a drink.... must focus.

Finally we are going to go for a flight:



I love this part:



I collect Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls, and this part has always been special to me...

With all these FP+ perhaps we can fit in some other quick rides like Small World... I guess time will tell. We need to be on our way to Epcot no later than 4:15 as our ADR for Akershus at 5:15 (see my dining plans for picutures of Akershus). If time allows, perhaps we'll go for a ride back in time on Spaceship Earth, or as C calls it "the big cotton ball"." I am really looking forward to the girls meeting all the princesses after their BBB make-over. Hopefully we can get C to look at the camera for pictures - she's going through a camera shy phase (if you couldn't tell from the dress pictures).

After dinner the plan is to head back to BCV and enjoy roasting some marshmallows and perhaps watching a movie on the beach:



I imagine everyone will be pretty worn out after the first day in the park, so I'm not sure how late we'll want them to stay up, I don't want cranky kids! So there you have it... Day 2!

Next up, a full day at Epcot and Illuminations. See you soon!

 

[Pirate Granny]

Can't wait! Luv ya!