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

[Duffy Lover]

Until then,

Here are some cute pictures of C.... My wonderful Mom got the girls Rapunzel rompers and C an Ariel costume (don't worry - E got a bonus American Doll outfit, so no granddaughter was favored over another). You may remember C's debate on what to wear to the BBB, and when she saw the costume the first words out of her mouth were "Ohhhhh! I'm going to wear that to the Bibbity Bobbity Boo!"



I was inspired by the size 4 Ariel costume to take a picture of all four versions of the dress we have:



A size 2/3 (too small!), the new size 4, the size 5/6 (E wore this to CRT in 2012, C wore the 2/3), and E's 7/8 (which is not her choice for the BBB). The kicker is they are all different versions. No two alike!

Finally here is C in the romper before bed last night:



Way, way too cute! I just love her little belly. I know they are meant to be cover-ups, but we figure they can wear them to AK on the day we plan on riding KRR. Good times! I hope to follow up with a report update today or tomorrow. Spring break is coming up so I plan on doing at least a few updates that week. We only have 11 weeks left! 77 days! Oh yea!

 

[Duffy Lover]

I forgot to ask earlier... Did everyone get to celebrate pi day? Just think, next year pi day falls on 3/14/15 - it will be super special, especially at 9:26 in the am! I also just noticed that this was the day 3 of 15 post on 3/15, and the post is #42. Douglas Adams fans will appreciate the 42, and I appreciate the symmetry in the numbers...

Today was a great day - I called MDE support because I couldn't see Brie's linked ticket, and I sat down expecting to spend at least an hour on the phone. To my surprise my issue was fixed in 15 minutes (maybe even less)! I never had to wait on hold to get to an agent, and was only placed on hold twice during my discussion with the IT gal. A good example of plan for the worst, hope for the best. Now I should have no trouble making our FP+ selections in 17 days! Squee!!! On to the report...

Day 3 - Monday June 2, 2014 - Resort: BCV - Park: EP

We plan on sleeping in. Perhaps... or maybe we'll get up early and try to rope drop it. Time will tell. To be honest, the only benefit of rope drop would be to get to ride Test Track. Meh - we're planning on a rope drop on a day where we'll get TT FP+ and ride Soaring at least one more time. I really dislike the tiering at Epcot. I think it really showcases the need for some new e-ticket rides, ASAP. Anyways we plan on entering through the WS and use a FP+ for:



But before that this might have to happen:



Yep. I can't wait to suck down one of those at my happy place. I love Starbucks. Haters gonna hate!

Anyways, I have my fingers crossed that C will have a major growth spurt before our trip. She's just under an inch short of 40". With the right shoes (kids Teva's, for example) she's just at that magic number, so keep your fingers crossed... E loves, loves, loves Soarin'. Here's here Soarin' smile from our 2012 trip:



I will be crushed if C can't ride. I'm sure we can distract her, but I so what her to enjoy this special first time experience this trip! Any ways, I think next I'd like to check out a great ride I haven't been on in 10 years:



(side note: Rob Thomas' Little Wonders is playing on SirusXM right now and I am taken back to so many bittersweet memories of being pregnant with C... I love that song, I love that movie!)

Back to the post... I think the girls will just love Living with the Land. I'm totally psyched! After that perhaps we'll be ready to use up some more unnecessary FP+:



and



The girls and I frequently talk about questions they'd like to ask Crush. Some are deep and some, not so much... Like C just said she'd ask him if he knew any flying turtles... so sweet!



Then maybe some Ellen... I remember this ride (minus Ellen) when we went when I was 6. I also nursed E while riding, and lost a contact. It is one of those rides where the smell of the dinosaurs just brings back the memories of earlier trips...



At that time I think it will be time for some lunch back at the villa. Followed by some quality time at SAB. Cross your fingers for sunny happy weather. I am really hoping to watch the kids splashing around while nursing a strong beverage… Sounds great, right? After our break we’ll head to dinner at Via Napoli (see the dining posts) and then it will be time for Illuminations!





Then we’ll stroll home, no busses involved, to the closest resort to Epcot. I can’t wait! After the kids are asleep perhaps we have a girls night out and my sisters and I will go to:



Sounds great, right? Up next, a resort day, mini-golfing, kids clubs and dinner with adults only…

Oh, btw, many of these pictures were downloaded from google. I just like a visual trip report, so thanks to all those amazing photographers who have provided the pics...

 

[Pirate Granny]

You go gal

 

[Duffy Lover]

Alright, alright, alright! Here we go with day 4 of 15

Day 4 - Tuesday June 3, 2014 - Resort: BCV - Park: None


Today is a resort day… I considered trying to make either day 3 or day 4 the resort day, by booking the same FP+ and ADRs for both days, but then within the allowable window cancelling one or the other day based on weather. In the end, we went with simple and day 4, good weather or bad, will be a day at the BCV.

I haven’t mentioned this before, but my dad is really into golf, and as such will be on the links about every other day for the length of this trip. On this day, my dad and my oldest DN, J, will be doing the back nine at one of the golf courses. They tried to get in on the 9-hole walking course, but it will be under refurbishment while we are there. Since they will be golfing, we too thought we would golf…

We’ve never done this before, and my girls haven’t even been mini-golfing, but it sure sounds and looks fun! Fantasia Gardens here we come!



We plan on doing this earlier in the morning, and then spending the rest of the day at SAB, perhaps lunch at:



And then some quality time in the pool:



I think little C will really like that slide… and maybe this slide:



I have a hard time wrapping my brain around the scope of this pool:



The pool is going to be amazing! This is our last full day at BCV as the next day we will rise early for rope drop at the MK and then not return to our old stomping grounds. Four days goes fast at Disney! After the pool we will get the grown-ups and kids ready for a 6 pm reservation at:



I hope they have fun… I’m not too worried as they have each other and the wonderful CMs at the kids club. While the little ones are having their fun, the adults will be enjoying a grown up meal at:



It looks very elegant and refined...



Sadly this is our last night at BCV, but no worries OKW and a Grand Villa at the Hospitality House awaits... Not to mention the VGF. See you soon, folks!

 

[Duffy Lover]

Day 5 - Wednesday June 4, 2014 - Resort: OKW - Park: MK

We will rise early this morning and head out for the Welcome Show at the MK. I’d like to get there at least a half hour before opening, so we’ll leave BCV about 8am. I’m planning to have everything packed except for the essentials the night before, and my wonderful Dad is staying behind to manage the switch from BCV to OKW. I’m super excited to stay at a GV at OKW, in particular in building 25.



As you can see building 25 is in an excellent location, with great bus access. Sigh. GV living at its best! So how do I know we’re staying in building 25 you ask? Well, there is only one building that has a GV that is in the Hospitality House (HH) area and that is where our reservation is. For those unfamiliar with OKW, HH is a booking category, not a request. My Mom and I had to work our butts off to make sure we got that booking!

My Dad will see that all our stuff is safely on its way to OKW and we will get to MK in time for this:



I don’t know if I’ve made it clear enough how much I love the Welcome Song. It can bring me to tears in moments. Happy ones, of course, but my girls think I am crazy! I typically play this on days when we get snow, so I am especially excited to get out of the mountains. I’ve been reading a trip report where the family was selected as the MK family of the day, and I’ve been dreaming of that happening to us. Any ideas how best to get selected?

After that I can’t wait to see this again:



Along the way perhaps we will have Brie stop at:



Where she can pick us up some icy coffee goodness… Perhaps My mom or I will run into the place where you can get the Sorcerer of the Magic Kingdom cards for later in the day but for the most part the plan is to head back to:



We'll try to hit up Barnstormer, Dumbo, the new Ariel ride (is that passageway officially open?), the Teacups, Winnie the Pooh, Small World, Philharmagic, and maybe the Haunted Mansion. I would also love to meet Gaston… Regardless, I am really excited to see this in person:



I’m hoping that will take us right around 2-3 hours… Based on what time it is after all that we may use some of those magic cards and then have some lunch. The Pinocchio restaurant? CHH? After that we’ll have our three FP+. Number one will be ETWB, then the new Mine Ride and then… From there originally we’ve planned for the afternoon parade, but what I’ve read about it and FP+, you need to arrive as early as you would want to arrive if you were watching it Frontierland, so really it could be a waste of a FP+ unless you are set on seeing it in the Hub. I think I’d rather use it on another ride… Splash? BTMRR? Anna and Else MnG? I think the latter is most likely…

What should we do? I only have 10 more days to decide… Help!! After all that fun filled day we will head to dinner at:



Yep, Be Our Guest! For more details on these dining plans, see my earlier post on our ADRs. I am looking forward to this experience, in particular having some wine with dinner in the MK!!! Oh yeah!

After dinner we’ll head home, at least our home for the next week. It sure is gorgeous in the evening light:



We’ll probably go for a swim and then get the kids to bed early, as tomorrow is another rope drop day. Where you ask? Stay tuned for the next post to find out! After the kids go to sleep, my dad will hop in his car and go grocery shopping and along the way drop one of us girls off back at the MK to get balloons for little R’s birthday tomorrow… He is so excited to have “Firework” Mickey balloons for his 5th birthday. What a sweetie!

I will leave you with what will probably be my last same-same dress purchase for the girls. I check the Disney Store website and Etsy pretty frequently, looking for Frozen summer clothes. Look what I got on Wednesday:



Sigh. Now they have 10 same-same outfits. 70 days people. 70 days!!!

 

[Duffy Lover]

I had a downer of a day today... Gotta keep the eye on the prize. 68 more days

 

[Duffy Lover]

6 hours later and our FP+ are booked for the whole trip! Yep, it took me just over 6 hours to get all 10 park days squared away. In the end we did some switching (we have a new ADR we added - here's a hint it's during a Star Wars Weekend) and that forced a change.

I was really surprised I was able to make them for all of our days. For some reason I thought it was going to be like ADRs (10 days based on hotel reservations) and I would not be able to make selections for the days that we are at OKW and VGF. But we did them all! I'm still going to have to go back in and make reservations at 30 days for MSEP, and switch two FP+ to the Seven Dwarves Mine ride, but other than that, I got everything we wanted, pretty much exactly when we wanted it. We were even able to get Anna and Elsa! That one ended up being in groups of 2, 2 and 5, but the arrival times only vary by 10 minutes, so really our window is from 3:35 until 4:25 if we want to go in together, which we do.

I wish there was a way to copy a single FP+ experience. We had some splits, in particular at HS. In order to ride RnR and ToT we had to do some smart planning. For example, I will only ride TSM once on the trip but the group as a whole has it planned twice with FP+. So on the day that I don't get to ride TSM, I will ride RnR solo, and then get baby swap passes so that my Dad and sisters get to ride it, while also riding TSM. We did something similar with ToT and EE over at AK and then Space Mnt. at MK. I think we'll need a separate spread sheet just for our FP+ on those days, as in some cases we have 9 different slots for FP+.

So there you go. I'm OK with FP+. I'm not thrilled, but now we have a game plan. I can't imagine how families who are not in the know are going to do this. My mom and I have probably spent almost 40 hours planning ADRs, which parks to visit, when to rope drop and what rides we'll do, and finally FP+. It was pretty intense. I didn't mind it, but then again, I love, love, love planning trips.


I plan on posting day 6 update soon, and hopefully day 7 and 8 will follow quickly. I am on Spring Break, after all! Only 60 days until I'm in my happy place!

 

[Duffy Lover]

Hi Ho, Folks! I have to tell you, I’m wondering if I’m the only one (besides my mom and maybe sister) who is reading… Any kind words, readers? Any comments? How do our plans sound? I’m feeling a little lonely. Regardless, I shall push on. My E has been requesting I read parts of the trip report as her bedtime story, and then we talk about our trip before bed, so to be honest, I’m writing this for them, not anyone else – you know? Enough of that…

Day 6 – Thursday June 5 – Resort: OKW – Parks: Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom

Originally we had planned to go HS this morning and do rope drop so we could ride TSM, RnRC and ToT among other things, but an additional ADR has made this plan change. We are now headed to:



where we will hopefully ride the Safari:



and EE:



Then do pretty much whatever we want. Conservation station, Boneyard, FoTLK (crossing my fingers it will be open) we’ll either have lunch in the park or head back to our Villa and eat there. During the shank of the day, (as my Mom likes to say) we’ll enjoy the lovely pool at OKW’s HH area (and to be honest some drinks – I’m so having my Dad pick up the stuff to make yummy adult beverages) and then head out for our 5 pm ADR at:



This was little R’s request as it is his 5th Birthday!! How exciting that he gets to spend his special day at Disney World. Little C is very excited, but nervous too, as she still remembers Goofy trying to “steal her away.” Too cute!

So after dinner we’ll walk over to the MK for the first of three FP+



BTMRR looks so pretty in the evening! Hopefully all the kids are ok with the ride… You never know – perhaps after riding the Great Goofini RC and the new Mine Ride the littles will decide they don’t like roller coasters. Crossing my fingers they do! Depending on the time we may do some easy on/off rides or attractions like the Country Bear Jamboree or HM or maybe even the Hall of Presidents. Time will tell. Literally – it depends on the time, because we do have to make our way to the other end of the park to:



Good times. Another favorite of little R’s. At this point I am planning on switching the FP+ for Splash Mountain to the MSEP:



From what I understand you can only make that reservation a week out. From there we’ll hang in the hub and wait for my favorite (and rumored to be on its way out) Wishes!



I’ve been singing the chorus of this song to my girls since they were newborn babies, and I can guarantee that I will be in tears. That’s a given. Then we’ll mosey on home – most likely pretty late. Which should be ok given our destination the next day….

I may have time to write another post today. I was planning on taking the girls into town (we live about 30 minutes outside of Steamboat Springs) to work out, swim and then have dinner, but sadly we’ll be going to the doctor instead. It seems that E has strep throat. AGAIN. I had it last week, so it is only right that on spring break she gets it too… Oh well.

 

[Duffy Lover]

Hi Ho! We saw the new Muppets movie last weekend. I sure do love me some green frogs that talk… The movie, though – eh, I wasn’t too thrilled. It sure made me want to see the first one again, which I promptly did. I really missed Amy Adams and that guy that plays Gary (Jason S something). I really want to make a trip report video for this upcoming trip, and I’ve been trying to find some good songs that we can lip sync to and dub into our movie… I think I’ve settled on “Life’s a Happy Song” (most of the song, at least) and “In Summer” from Frozen.

While I’m off on a tangent, I might as well talk about the latest news about FP+. So apparently you will (eventually, a timeline would be nice) be able to get more FP+ after you’ve used your original three up. Hmmm…. Solid information on this would’ve been great before I spent hours planning and scheduling our FP+. I guess there’s not much you can do about changes to something that is in testing phase. In general all our FP+ have been no earlier than late morning and the majority are early afternoon and evening. Regardless, I don’t think I will change anything major. We will go forward with our touring plan and do rope drop on key days.

Day 7 – Friday June 6 – Resort: OKW – Parks: Blizzard Beach and HS

I know, you’re probably reading that header and thinking “WHAT!?! Why would you go to HS on a Star Wars Weekend day?!" Well, a certain character dinner was offered and we couldn’t say no. More on that later…
So the night before was R’s birthday (Anyone see the movie Warm Bodies? The name R is growing on me.) and we were up late watching Wishes, so we’re not too set on being at our first destination right at rope drop:



Hopefully we’ll get there sometime between 9 and 10 am… We’ve tossed the idea of renting some chairs, but apparently you can only have 4 people per two chairs, so we’d have to rent 3 (since there are 9 of us) and at $40 a pop that’s not going to happen (right Pirate Granny)?

I think we’re going to have to divide and conquer at this park. E and J will be too big to go to Tike’s Peak, but I know R and C will love it… At this point we have 5 adults, so we should still play some man to man defense. One ride we will all enjoy has a local tie for my family:



Get it? Teamboat Springs, we live in Steamboat Springs? Right?! Anyways… We’ll stay here most of the day, have some lunch, enjoy the sun (please?) and then make our way to HS for our 4 pm FP+ at:



And my 4 pm FP+ at:



So I’m sure you’re wondering why everyone is riding TSM except me? Well this is where serious FP+ consideration came into play. At this point of the trip there are a total of 4 adults who want to ride RnRC, so if I ride with a FP+, I can get a baby swap and my Dad, Brie and Andrea can pretty much ride right away after me, but they can still ride TSM. And then later in the trip, I will get to ride TSM with a FP+ and others will get the FP+ for RnRC. Get it? In fact I ended up using this strategy multiple times in this trip. This is why I wish I could’ve figured out how to copy single FP+ events. I could do it one day, and then the second day I was making our selections I couldn’t figure it out. Onto our next FP+:



I’m hoping I can find a good motion sickness prevention thingy and I can ride. Ever since I had C, I can’t seem to stomach these motion simulator rides. Heck, even the carousel can make me nauseous if I’m not careful. This ride will lead perfectly into our next special event and the reason we braved HS on a day of the Star Wars Weekend. Dinner with these guys:



When this was announced we jumped on an ADR and we decided to do the Fantasmic Dinner package! Good thinking, right? Except that it costs *cough* $60 for adults, and $40 for kids (in that neighborhood). Whoa. Regardless, I think this is going to be a hit with the kids, J and R in particular. I think riding Star Tours right before can’t hurt, either… After dinner I scheduled us one more set of FP+ for the group. I picked the Muppets show for the kids, but I strongly feel that everyone should do whatever seems best at this point. I don’t believe these second tier FP+ really matter… For my Dad and I, I’ve reserved slots at:



Where we once again will employ baby swap to allow 5 people to ride this ride. I made it for my Dad and I so that J can ride if he wants to. He has expressed interest, so we shall see… Another note on FP+. Since I couldn’t copy single reservations, I had to make some side by side selections. For example my Dad’s FP+ to TSM is for 4:05-5:05, while the main group is from 4-5. Same with ToT. I have a FP+ at 7:40 and my Dad’s is begins at 7:35. No biggie. Our FP+ spread sheet needs to reflect that, though…
After our last rides we’ll mosey into:



I think the kids will like it, C might get a bit scared, but nothing that a Mommy’s shoulder can’t fix. And then off to bed! Another late night, but the next two days are particularly chill, and there is NOTHING, and I really mean nothing, we have planned for the next morning.

I have a confession to make. I’ve been listening to “Life’s a Happy Song” on repeat the entire time I’ve written this report. I can’t stop smiling. Good times.

 

[Disney Khaleesi]

I'm usually a lurker-however I'll pop in and say hello!

 

[Leleluvsdis]

Hi Ho, Folks! I have to tell you, I’m wondering if I’m the only one (besides my mom and maybe sister) who is reading… Any kind words, readers? Any comments? How do our plans sound? I’m feeling a little lonely. Regardless, I shall push on. My E has been requesting I read parts of the trip report as her bedtime story, and then we talk about our trip before bed, so to be honest, I’m writing this for them, not anyone else – you know? Enough of that…

Day 6 – Thursday June 5 – Resort: OKW – Parks: Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom

Originally we had planned to go HS this morning and do rope drop so we could ride TSM, RnRC and ToT among other things, but an additional ADR has made this plan change. We are now headed to:



where we will hopefully ride the Safari:



and EE:



Then do pretty much whatever we want. Conservation station, Boneyard, FoTLK (crossing my fingers it will be open) we’ll either have lunch in the park or head back to our Villa and eat there. During the shank of the day, (as my Mom likes to say) we’ll enjoy the lovely pool at OKW’s HH area (and to be honest some drinks – I’m so having my Dad pick up the stuff to make yummy adult beverages) and then head out for our 5 pm ADR at:



This was little R’s request as it is his 5th Birthday!! How exciting that he gets to spend his special day at Disney World. Little C is very excited, but nervous too, as she still remembers Goofy trying to “steal her away.” Too cute!

So after dinner we’ll walk over to the MK for the first of three FP+



BTMRR looks so pretty in the evening! Hopefully all the kids are ok with the ride… You never know – perhaps after riding the Great Goofini RC and the new Mine Ride the littles will decide they don’t like roller coasters. Crossing my fingers they do! Depending on the time we may do some easy on/off rides or attractions like the Country Bear Jamboree or HM or maybe even the Hall of Presidents. Time will tell. Literally – it depends on the time, because we do have to make our way to the other end of the park to:



Good times. Another favorite of little R’s. At this point I am planning on switching the FP+ for Splash Mountain to the MSEP:



From what I understand you can only make that reservation a week out. From there we’ll hang in the hub and wait for my favorite (and rumored to be on its way out) Wishes!



I’ve been singing the chorus of this song to my girls since they were newborn babies, and I can guarantee that I will be in tears. That’s a given. Then we’ll mosey on home – most likely pretty late. Which should be ok given our destination the next day….

I may have time to write another post today. I was planning on taking the girls into town (we live about 30 minutes outside of Steamboat Springs) to work out, swim and then have dinner, but sadly we’ll be going to the doctor instead. It seems that E has strep throat. AGAIN. I had it last week, so it is only right that on spring break she gets it too… Oh well.

Hi Ho! We saw the new Muppets movie last weekend. I sure do love me some green frogs that talk… The movie, though – eh, I wasn’t too thrilled. It sure made me want to see the first one again, which I promptly did. I really missed Amy Adams and that guy that plays Gary (Jason S something). I really want to make a trip report video for this upcoming trip, and I’ve been trying to find some good songs that we can lip sync to and dub into our movie… I think I’ve settled on “Life’s a Happy Song” (most of the song, at least) and “In Summer” from Frozen.

While I’m off on a tangent, I might as well talk about the latest news about FP+. So apparently you will (eventually, a timeline would be nice) be able to get more FP+ after you’ve used your original three up. Hmmm…. Solid information on this would’ve been great before I spent hours planning and scheduling our FP+. I guess there’s not much you can do about changes to something that is in testing phase. In general all our FP+ have been no earlier than late morning and the majority are early afternoon and evening. Regardless, I don’t think I will change anything major. We will go forward with our touring plan and do rope drop on key days.

Day 7 – Friday June 6 – Resort: OKW – Parks: Blizzard Beach and HS

I know, you’re probably reading that header and thinking “WHAT!?! Why would you go to HS on a Star Wars Weekend day?!" Well, a certain character dinner was offered and we couldn’t say no. More on that later…
So the night before was R’s birthday (Anyone see the movie Warm Bodies? The name R is growing on me.) and we were up late watching Wishes, so we’re not too set on being at our first destination right at rope drop:



Hopefully we’ll get there sometime between 9 and 10 am… We’ve tossed the idea of renting some chairs, but apparently you can only have 4 people per two chairs, so we’d have to rent 3 (since there are 9 of us) and at $40 a pop that’s not going to happen (right Pirate Granny)?

I think we’re going to have to divide and conquer at this park. E and J will be too big to go to Tike’s Peak, but I know R and C will love it… At this point we have 5 adults, so we should still play some man to man defense. One ride we will all enjoy has a local tie for my family:



Get it? Teamboat Springs, we live in Steamboat Springs? Right?! Anyways… We’ll stay here most of the day, have some lunch, enjoy the sun (please?) and then make our way to HS for our 4 pm FP+ at:



And my 4 pm FP+ at:



So I’m sure you’re wondering why everyone is riding TSM except me? Well this is where serious FP+ consideration came into play. At this point of the trip there are a total of 4 adults who want to ride RnRC, so if I ride with a FP+, I can get a baby swap and my Dad, Brie and Andrea can pretty much ride right away after me, but they can still ride TSM. And then later in the trip, I will get to ride TSM with a FP+ and others will get the FP+ for RnRC. Get it? In fact I ended up using this strategy multiple times in this trip. This is why I wish I could’ve figured out how to copy single FP+ events. I could do it one day, and then the second day I was making our selections I couldn’t figure it out. Onto our next FP+:



I’m hoping I can find a good motion sickness prevention thingy and I can ride. Ever since I had C, I can’t seem to stomach these motion simulator rides. Heck, even the carousel can make me nauseous if I’m not careful. This ride will lead perfectly into our next special event and the reason we braved HS on a day of the Star Wars Weekend. Dinner with these guys:



When this was announced we jumped on an ADR and we decided to do the Fantasmic Dinner package! Good thinking, right? Except that it costs *cough* $60 for adults, and $40 for kids (in that neighborhood). Whoa. Regardless, I think this is going to be a hit with the kids, J and R in particular. I think riding Star Tours right before can’t hurt, either… After dinner I scheduled us one more set of FP+ for the group. I picked the Muppets show for the kids, but I strongly feel that everyone should do whatever seems best at this point. I don’t believe these second tier FP+ really matter… For my Dad and I, I’ve reserved slots at:



Where we once again will employ baby swap to allow 5 people to ride this ride. I made it for my Dad and I so that J can ride if he wants to. He has expressed interest, so we shall see… Another note on FP+. Since I couldn’t copy single reservations, I had to make some side by side selections. For example my Dad’s FP+ to TSM is for 4:05-5:05, while the main group is from 4-5. Same with ToT. I have a FP+ at 7:40 and my Dad’s is begins at 7:35. No biggie. Our FP+ spread sheet needs to reflect that, though…
After our last rides we’ll mosey into:



I think the kids will like it, C might get a bit scared, but nothing that a Mommy’s shoulder can’t fix. And then off to bed! Another late night, but the next two days are particularly chill, and there is NOTHING, and I really mean nothing, we have planned for the next morning.

I have a confession to make. I’ve been listening to “Life’s a Happy Song” on repeat the entire time I’ve written this report. I can’t stop smiling. Good times.

I am still here!!!! I don't normally post because I normally read from my iphone, and it is a pain to post through the app.

I love love LOVE all of your plans!!!! I haven't seen the muppet movie, but I want to. We are watching Saving Mr. Banks tonight!!!

 

[Duffy Lover]

I am still here!!!! I don't normally post because I normally read from my iphone, and it is a pain to post through the app.

I love love LOVE all of your plans!!!! I haven't seen the muppet movie, but I want to. We are watching Saving Mr. Banks tonight!!!

I'm so glad you think we have good plans... Isn't Saving Mr. Banks a great movie? I can't remember how many times I cried when I saw it...

I'm usually a lurker-however I'll pop in and say hello!

Thanks for stopping by! I don't feel so alone anymore...

I spent about two hours last night putting pictures back in my older posts... For some reason I thought I could clean up my Photobucket directory and tried to move some pics around and I ended up deleting some of the daily plan photos. Oh well... I think they are all almost the same, and some are even better photos!

Less than 8 weeks left to go! And 8 more days to dive into. I'll probably post one later today, but right now I need a nap. I played 4 hockey games in just over 24 hours, so I'm a little worn out...

 

[Duffy Lover]

Well, I’ve been slacking, so I’m going to do TWO days in one! We’re less than 6 weeks from our trip…

Days 8 and 9 – Saturday and Sunday June 7 and 8 – Resort: OKW – Parks: EPCOT, Typhoon Lagoon

So we’re just past the midpoint of the trip at this point, and we’re coming off of two late nights. Granted, we planned the mornings so that we didn’t have to be at rope drop, but we really will take it easy on the morning of Day 8. We will sleep until we can’t sleep no more, then well swim and soak in the fun at the pool:



I love that we’ll be able to mosey over to the HH, get drinks and what not in no time. I also think that going to the HH to catch the bus in the mornings we do go to parks lets you get more connected to the resort. It becomes more than just a condo that lets you escape the hustle and bustle of the parks, but a destination unto itself. Any ways, this is Caz’s first full day at WDW! Yippee! My darling hubby will finally be there! I’m glad we have such a chill day to begin his vacation…



I wish this pool had a zero entry, though. It would make pool lounging so much better. Oh well… After we lay about for most of the morning and early afternoon we’ll make our way over to Epcot for our first FP+ at:


E was frightened of the noise when we went in 2011 and it was under refurb in 2012, so this will be a first for both girls. I’m interested to see the upgrades and make me a car:



Next up will be:



Green of course. I see no purpose to the spinning. C is too little for this ride anyway, but for simplicity’s sake I kept her and my Mom on the FP+ reservation. I really feel there is so much to do in Epcot that there was no need to change up and make things complicated. Then I think the plan is to cruise on over to the World Showcase and do pretty much whatever until our dinner at one of my favorite pavilions:



I just love this place… Maybe it’s the perpetual twilight, the romance, but really it’s probably the tequila. Caz and I plan on hitting up some quality shots (not really shots, the last time we were there we learned you should sip all tequila, even traditional “shots”) before dinner at:



I’ve never eaten here and I’m pretty excited! I have heard some mixed reviews, but I’m sure it will be delish.. After dinner we have our last FP+ for the day:



The adults will ride with the littles and the grandparents, but then we will be set free. And right now the plan is to experience “Epcot After Dark Wind Down”. Currently we’re not sure where – just not the tequila bar… I’ll keep you posted. Regardless, it is a night on our own! I don’t want to party too hard, but if I do we have some more laying around at a pool the next day:



Yep, we’re heading to a park I haven’t visited since 1991! Caz and the girls haven’t been here before, either (duh). My wonderful Mom is going to splurge on:



A cabana! Woo Hoo! I am looking forward to this perk. We’re going to spend the whole day here, heading off to home to cook dinner that night. We were going to have dinner at DTD, but little J’s dinner choice at T-Rex has been nixed so we could stay longer at TL and because we have the ADRs for the Jedi dinner at DHS. We may still head to DTD, but honestly I don’t know if that is necessary with all the construction. It’s not exactly a must do, at least for me… Back to the water park. I think E may reach 48” before the trip so she’ll be able to ride this:



I think it will be an epic day. Topped off with a cozy dinner “at home”. Sigh. I bet those babies will sleep well that night! Hope you have a good week folks! Hopefully I’ll get day 10 up this weekend. Until then, happy trails!

 

[Pirate Granny]

Gre. Repor...a be a nice night for the gals to go see malicifant.

 

[Duffy Lover]

Let’s put two more days into the record book, yes? We are at t-minus 34 days until our dream vacation, and the winds of change are blowing. We’re looking to change up our lives quite a bit this summer and it includes a new teaching job for me- hopefully (with less responsibility, a little less pay, but a great location) and a new house for the whole family! We currently live about 25 minutes outside of Steamboat Springs, CO and an opportunity has come up that might enable us to buy a home in town. No more commute for my hubby, no more long drives to town. Sigh. I’ll keep you posted on how that goes. Back to Disney!

Days 10 and 11 – Monday and Tuesday June 9 and 10 – Resort: OKW – Parks: Epcot, HS and DAK

We will have had an early evening the night before, as we’ll have spent the day at TL in our Cabana (Pirate Granny booked it on Friday!). So hopefully we’ll be up early and off to Epcot for rope drop. If we do get there for rope drop, I think we’ll go straight to Soarin’ then hustle over to TT. From there we can do whatever we so desire until our 1 pm ADR at:



Yet another restaurant I have yet to frequent. Should be yummy from what I’ve heard. After lunch we’ll hop over to a pool that has been made a family joke for quite some time:



My little sister is quite afraid of clowns. The kids have come up with many ideas on how they plan on getting their aunt to the clown pool and the clown slide. E even got Brie a creepy clown doll as a joke for Christmas. The latest plan is that they will wait till their auntie is asleep and then Papa will carry her up to the slide and put her on it. After we lounge at the pool for the afternoon (remember we’re not breaking any rules, we’ll follow the DVC pool hopping rules and check in first) we’ll head over to:



This was the plan all along, but we were supposed to do Fantasmic tonight. Since we are now going to DHS on 6/6 for the Jedi character meal and Fantasmic we will not be repeating that evening spectacular this night. We will again do the headliners with a combination of FP+ and babyswap. I arranged it so that everyone gets to ride TSMM at least once (the kids twice) and that the adults will get to ride TT and RnRC twice on the trip. I’m sure glad they didn’t make TT a tier one FP+. Our last set of FP+ are at no later than 7:10. My husband is abhorred that we were actually planning on using a FP for the Great Movie Ride, and I agree. DHS and any park but MK, the FP+ choices are pretty lame.

So we’ll get home, and hopefully the kiddos will be asleep by no later than eight thirty. In the morning we’re off to:



as close to rope drop as possible. It is the only park we plan on visiting, and we have FP+ scheduled for late morning and then after the parade. We had originally planned on doing an afternoon at DAK (on 6/6) but with the Star Wars dinner and Fantasmic, we had to change. I really had my heart set on that afternoon, I’m a hug fan of easywdw.com, and Josh has really demonstrated the benefits of DAK after the parade. Regardless, a whole day at DAK will be had. Caz has never really spent more than a morning there and he’s really excited about our day there.



We’re all excited about the parade… After some FP+ (Kali for some, EE for others – along with babyswap) we’ll head back for some dinner at the Villa, some swimming and some good sleeping. At this point we only have three full days and one partial day left! Eek! Two weeks goes so fast… Up next, a day at the MK with some pool hopping followed by a day off from the parks. Oh, and a new resort! See you soon(ish)!

 

[Pirate Granny]

Actually you have been to the Canadian restaurant, but many years ago! it was a cafeteria style dining place...you were very young...

Almost only one month to go...less than five weeks!

Great Post

 

[LoreoR]

Hi,
I've really enjoyed reading your trip recaps and seeing all the beautiful pics! I leave for Orlando in two weeks and one day. I have been to Disney once, when I was 12. I am getting so excited and trying to soak up everything Disney that I can. I have ADDisney.

My boyfriend and I are headed down for a one-week stay. We're splitting time between Disney and Universal. He grew up in Daytona and was a bit spoiled as far as Disney goes. I was able to use Universal's WWoHP to rope him into a trip. I am an Eeyore girl at heart but I love all things Disney.

Your family reminds me a bit of my own, also one of three girls, and I have a beautiful nephew and niece. I keep trying to talk my parents into a trip down to Orlando. Maybe some day

Anyway, super excited and I was thrilled to check out all your amazing recaps and pics so thanks for the posts. Hope you have a wonderful vacation with your family!

 

[Duffy Lover]

Hi,
I've really enjoyed reading your trip recaps and seeing all the beautiful pics! I leave for Orlando in two weeks and one day. I have been to Disney once, when I was 12. I am getting so excited and trying to soak up everything Disney that I can. I have ADDisney.

My boyfriend and I are headed down for a one-week stay. We're splitting time between Disney and Universal. He grew up in Daytona and was a bit spoiled as far as Disney goes. I was able to use Universal's WWoHP to rope him into a trip. I am an Eeyore girl at heart but I love all things Disney.

Your family reminds me a bit of my own, also one of three girls, and I have a beautiful nephew and niece. I keep trying to talk my parents into a trip down to Orlando. Maybe some day

Anyway, super excited and I was thrilled to check out all your amazing recaps and pics so thanks for the posts. Hope you have a wonderful vacation with your family!

I feel so honored that your first post is in response to my pre-trip report! I hope your upcoming trip is amazing! I think having ADDisney is a pretty wonderful affliction... Hopefully your DBF will become enchanted with Disney as an adult and you can enjoy years of good vacations at the "World" together. My DH is not a big Disney fan, but he's of the mind that a vacation is a vacation and he's down for fun... Maybe if you show your parents and sisters some great trip videos they'll get excited for a trip! When and if that happens, feel free to pick my mind about DVC and renting points so that you can all stay together. Though in some situations that's not the best option... I think there were times during our last big vacation we wished we had our own spaces, but that was mostly due to my horrible ex-brother in law.

We only have 30 more days until our trip... It feels great that I can say we're going to Disney THIS MONTH!

 

[Duffy Lover]

Happy Mother’s Day! I hope all you wonderful mothers are having lovely days… Here is a pic of my mom and me, circa 1979(?):



And a pic of the girls and me, from our 2012 trip:



I only have 20 days until we leave for our trip, so here’s another double report, the next to last one! I also want to do a final post right before we leave. So here we go!


Days 12 and 13 – Wednesday and Thursday June 11 and 12 – Resorts: OKW and VGF – Park: Magic Kingdom

Wednesday the 11th is our last night at OKW. That will be a total of eight nights in Margaritaville. Ironically although it is our last full day there it is also when they will come and replenish our towels and take out the trash. You’d think we could request it in the middle of our stay provided we’re staying the minimum number of nights to earn such a service. Oh well. The plan is to be up nice and early and hit rope drop at MK once again and then head right back to:



Let’s hope that the littles will have enjoyed their first run on this ride so that they will be eager to ride again. We are banking on short lines during the first two hours as we have our FP+ scheduled for 11:30 and later. We plan on doing BTMRR then heading towards:



And most likely ride the Jungle Cruise, Pirates, Aladdin:



and then head over to a place I've never been:



At this point, I’m sure we’ll be ready for our first FP+ at 11:30 for Splash. After that we’ll do lunch, use our HM FP+, and then me, Caz and Papa will do Space Mountain. The kids, my mom and my sisters will ride the Tomorrowland Speedway, and then we’ll use baby swap so that my sisters and maybe J can ride Space. Good use of baby swap and FP+, right? Speaking of smart use of FP+, this plan was one of the changes I made when Disney announced that you could get more FP+ after using your initial three. I had originally placed our Splash FP+ after our dinner, but we decided to move it earlier give us the option of more than three FP+ for the day. I’ll keep you posted on how that worked. So this last FP+ is at 1:30-2:30 and at this point we will be ready for a break. Since we’re not going back OKW as our dinner is at the Poly, we plan on swimming at:



Remember as DVC members we can pool hop. We’ll check with the front desk and the life guards of course, but hopefully there won’t be a problem. I’m relishing the opportunity to have another Lapu Lapu! By the way, have you seen the pictures of the proposed new lobby for the Poly?



I am hoping they haven’t started tearing out the old lobby. I know it is a possibility, but I would love one more chance to see this:



After swimming we’ll put our gear in Papa’s car (good thing we have a vehicle this trip – it really is going to come in handy for pool hopping and grocery shopping) and head to dinner:



I’m really looking forward to the yummy meats and noodles, but in particular dessert!



I’ve only been to breakfast here, so this technically is a new experience for me! After dinner we’ll head back to the MK and do pretty much whatever we want. We won’t stay late as we did rope drop, but I’m guessing the children will let us know when they are ready to go. Our next day is going to be a glorious one, and the more prepared we are for our move, the easier it will be. After the kids are asleep it is time to pack. I’m thinking I will pack so that we only have one suitcase that needs to be accessed for the last resort.
Our last location is (as you know):



So the boys (Caz and Papa) will be packing all our luggage into the car and moving us, while we pack the kids in a taxi to head over the GF early so they can go on their Pirate Adventure:



I plan on laying at the beach pool and enjoy some serious kid free time while they are searching for treasure:



We got my mom a pedicure at the GF Spa for Mother’s Day, and she’ll be enjoying some serious pampering! It should be epic. I hope Caz and Papa are able to move us easily so they can enjoy some kid free relaxing too. The rest of the day should also be pretty laid back. We’re hoping to get into our room early as we have a family photo shoot at 4 pm. Isn’t this lobby gorgeous?



If we can’t get into our villa (a 2 BR lock-off, lake view; something we worked very hard to secure as they are very hard to reserve) then we’ll have to primp and prep in the locker room that the pool bar building shares. The boys will be wearing Hawaiian themed Mickey shirts and khakis and the girls are all wearing white. There are so many beautiful places to be able to take these photos. Any good ideas?



We actually scheduled a photo shoot at the BCV earlier in the trip as well. I think that happened after I posted that detailed plan for that day, but that photo shoot will be focused on the kids only. So this photo shoot will focus on the whole family and then the individual family groups. I am super excited! While us ladies work with the photographer on what we want in our download, the men folk will take the kids (most likely via monorail and boat) over to:



I’m sure they will have a blast, it looks like fun and they have each other!



While the kids spend the evening playing, the adults have dinner at:



I am super excited to try:



I’m thinking it would be a great appetizer for us to all share. I know my mom would not be interested, but I think everyone else would be jazzed. After dinner we’ll head home as the next morning is a people’s choice. Where will we go? Time will tell. Literally.

 

[Pirate Granny]

So close, but so far...hurray up the 31st!!!!