A Disney-addicted mom: 2nd annual August trip and Marathon Weekend *Update 10/7*

[-Hope-]

Let me try to do a bit of a trip/life update. Things are CRAZY right now. I've been working about 55 hours per week recently. This is definitely NOT what I signed up for and I sincerely hope my holiday bonus reflects the fact that I'm getting killed at work!!!
In happier news Jessica graduated pre-K on Friday. I bought her a cute shirt off Etsy that had Mickey Mouse ears with a graduation hat. It had her name on the graduation cap (in pink, of course) and the on the Mickey head it said, "Kindergarten here I come." There was some drama with the post office but we finally gave it to her yesterday. Each child led a song at graduation (in pairs or trios) and Jessica's song was "Zippity Doo Dah" which seemed very appropriate. Everyone knows that we're Disney regulars and Jessica LOVES Splash Mountain. She was definitely made for the stage!!! I took Friday off and after graduation Jessica and I went to Build a Bear (she had a gift card from her birthday and I paid the extra). It was really fun.

Too cute that she got to sing Zippity Doo Dah! Kya and I love Build-a-Bear! It really is a great value considering you get a cute toy AND a great experience.

We also bought Tom an iPad for Father's Day. In addition we stopped by Gymboree and found a cute outfit for less than $10. A good day overall! Graduation dinner was at our local Hibachi place. The kids were super excited and the Chef lived up to expectations. I think they appreciate a good audience and my older two were great!
Thursday night was the graduation dinner for my residents. It's always held at the New York Botanical Garden. It's a beautiful setting with excellent food. The residents always make a video which makes fun of the full-time faculty. They did a hilarious job of mocking me for my Disney-addiction and routine Facebook updates. I was honestly crying from laughing so hard!!! Tom has a Mickey Mouse tie and I made him wear it to the dinner (I suspected the theme of my mocking) so that was great. It was a fun night out!

Sounds fun!

Wednesday night we scored 4 free Yankee tickets. Poor Zachary was left home with the nanny (we had her take him out to California Pizza Kitchen before we left so he wouldn't feel bad). I don't know that the kids watched the game at all but we had a blast! The guys sitting around us were great (sometimes the Yankee game can be a tough crowd so we were very, very lucky). This was Jessica's first Yankee game. She was dressed in head to toe pink Yankee gear and was a huge hit with everyone. She and I bought Zachary a Mickey Mouse wearing a Yankee uniform. Too cute! she really wanted a Minnie Mouse Yankee hat but we had already spent a small fortune on food/snacks/drinks so we declined.

You know you're a good DISer when even a trip to the ball game turns Disney themed.

Friday morning was also Nathaniel's end of the year school concert. I was at Jessica's graduation so I missed it. He's usually pretty shy but did well. He didn't look at the audience but said his lines. He showed Popsie (my step-dad) his computer artwork which is amazing! He's really a talented artist! I love that his computer-generated artwork is every bit as good as his hand-drawn stuff. His 7 year old dream is to be an architect (combining building with artwork) but I harbor hopes of animation or Imagineer.

Too funny! Jace is quite a good graphic artist as well and talks about becoming an engineer and I keep trying to talk him about being an Imagineer instead.

Saturday was Nathaniel's first violin recital. He was SO nervous but rose to the occasion. We were SO proud of him!!! He was freaking out before his turn but stood up and played like a champion. I'm so proud of him (and the other kids - we're very blessed!). Jessica had her interview for the music school in the fall and was accepted to start piano lessons. Next year I imagine we'll have 2 recitals!
After a few weeks of poor effort on my part, I'm back on track with my running. I also told Tom that his half marathon training is starting in 2 weeks - ready or not! I'm determined to see him finish this time around. He's pretty set on staying Club Level at the Grand Floridian. It's only a 4 night trip and I've heard great things so that's fine. It's a bit ironic because he's usually the one telling me to spend less $$$. I haven't made our reservation yet but I'll do that soon.

Amanda

With all the back and forth that we all do about where to stay the truth is that I just don't think you can go wrong with a Disney resort. I bet GF will be just as fab as any other place and whatever convenience you're giving up will be replaced by something else that will be unique to GF.

 

[klacey1]

Early summer is always a fun/busy time! Congratulations to all of your kids on their various accomplishments! What instrument is Jessica going to play at music school? Nathaniel must be great-- the violin is hard to play!
Glad you guys enjoyed the Yankee game! I am a Yankee fan but HATE when they're playing in town-- I take the #4 subway to/from work after I get to Grand Central and HATE sharing the train with obnoxious fans!
Club level at GF sounds amazing! I've given myself the realistic deadline of July 5th to start running again, haha. The next couple of weeks are way too crazy!

 

[DrMomof3]

WOW, losts of great things going on in your neck of the woods! Too funny about the residents. Your post reminded me that starting July 1st, all the 'fun' begins with the newbies....grrrrr, just in time for me to return from maternity leave!

So excited for all your trips....I'm still working on DH to plan one for next year. I think if I can bonus at work (which will be harder, as with the Medicare reimbursement cut backs, the number of patients we HAVE to see a day is increasing, yet our pay is not, so more work, the same money!) I can stash that money away and plan our trip. I'll have a better idea once my boss figues out our bonuses next month.

My mom kept saying she wants to take al lthe grandkids and stay at GF... I told her only if she takes me!

Yup! July 1st is soon. We're lucky because 1st year urology residents are already in their 3rd year of residency. And on peds we get 4th year residents.
It's hard coming back from having a baby. And it's easy to forget how expensive a baby is!!!
I wish one of the grandparents would take my kids to GF!!!

With all the back and forth that we all do about where to stay the truth is that I just don't think you can go wrong with a Disney resort. I bet GF will be just as fab as any other place and whatever convenience you're giving up will be replaced by something else that will be unique to GF.

I'm not sure if Jessica picked her song or was assigned but everyone knew that it was right for her. I bet she'll like Splash Mountain even more now!
Too funny that Jace is like Nathaniel!
I agree that I would enjoy any resort as long as it's Disney!!!

Early summer is always a fun/busy time! Congratulations to all of your kids on their various accomplishments! What instrument is Jessica going to play at music school? Nathaniel must be great-- the violin is hard to play!
Glad you guys enjoyed the Yankee game! I am a Yankee fan but HATE when they're playing in town-- I take the #4 subway to/from work after I get to Grand Central and HATE sharing the train with obnoxious fans!
Club level at GF sounds amazing! I've given myself the realistic deadline of July 5th to start running again, haha. The next couple of weeks are way too crazy!

Nathaniel is very good with fine motor. He's quite artistic and musical. He also sings beautifully. Unfortunately he hates performing! he started violin in kindergarten so he's played for about 18 months already. Jessica is starting piano. They both will go to Hoffman-Barthelson in Scarsdale.
Mo Teri re is on the 4 train and lots of people park in the area and take the train down. We drove because we had the kids. Parking at the stadium was $35!!!
Tom is starting his half marathon training in the next 2 weeks. I'm his trainer!

Amanda

 

[beebeeryan]

Aww sweet on Pre-K graduation, Eric had his on Friday too and they all sang songs. His mouth moved a little but he's shy and quiet. He did better than a few of the other kids though so I was happy with that. Kindy here we come!!!

Sucks you're getting slammed at work right now, I would think dealing with kids that vacation time might be a bit busier. Makes sense. You'll earn that Disney vacation at the end of the summer for sure!

If DH says Club Level GF, I'd jump on it!

Yankee game sounds fun, but expensive, DH went down for a game a week or so ago luckily with a friend who had tickets so he didn't have to pay, but the beer tab alone!!! We just took the kids to a local Minor League game Saturday night and with tickets and then the constant food requests it cost $100. Luckily parking was free and the fireworks show at the end was pretty darn good. I was surprised.

 

[DrMomof3]

Aww sweet on Pre-K graduation, Eric had his on Friday too and they all sang songs. His mouth moved a little but he's shy and quiet. He did better than a few of the other kids though so I was happy with that. Kindy here we come!!!

Sucks you're getting slammed at work right now, I would think dealing with kids that vacation time might be a bit busier. Makes sense. You'll earn that Disney vacation at the end of the summer for sure!

If DH says Club Level GF, I'd jump on it!

Yankee game sounds fun, but expensive, DH went down for a game a week or so ago luckily with a friend who had tickets so he didn't have to pay, but the beer tab alone!!! We just took the kids to a local Minor League game Saturday night and with tickets and then the constant food requests it cost $100. Luckily parking was free and the fireworks show at the end was pretty darn good. I was surprised.

CONGRATS to Eric on graduating pre-K!!! We're excited for Kindergarten!
I wish we had a minor league team a bit closer. Ironically, Yankee Stadium is the closest stadium of any kind! Very pricey but it was fun.
No doubt I'll earn my vacation!

Amanda

 

[DrMomof3]

I've decided that I need to start updating about our Marathon Weekend trip, too! So much going on with that. This is now a 2 for 1 PTR (plus the birthday cruise in October!).
I booked us at the GF for January. As of now we're staying Club Level. There are 2 different CLs at GF: one of Sugarloaf which is an outer building and the other (can't remember name this instant) is in the Main Building. We're staying in Sugarloaf because it's a bit less outrageous. I'm sure when January discounts become available, this will be subject to change.
JetBlue expanded their flight schedule until February 15th so I booked our January flights. We're paying about $220 per person, including taxes, fees, and insurance. We'll be flying out of White Plains which is much more convenient for us. I decided that we're leaving at 4pm on Thursday afternoon. This way the kids will only miss 2.5 days of school. I don't know if the teachers will care at all but I'm trying to be a good mommy!!!
I also signed up the kids for the kids' races on Friday. I think the races are around 11am. I figure we'll get up, eat breakfast, and just head over to WWoS. Tom and I can pick up our race packets, get the children's race packets, and let the kids make signs and stuff. Then we'll stay for the races. Afterwards we can either go to a park for a little while or hang out at the GF and enjoy all the amenities that we're paying a small fortune to have! I emailed my TA for an ADR at Le Cellier that night so we could do a few rides at Epcot.
Saturday will be the half marathon. Tom is starting his training THIS WEEK and I think I've become his coach. I'm doing an easy Galloway plan with him. This week he has to do two 15 minute runs and then a 1 mile "long run." His walk/run ratio is run 15 sec/walk 45 sec. Tom has a tendency to start off with too much training and get injured. I think this will be manageable for him. I'm going to require us both to keep track of our runs on the family calendar. The kids and I will grab breakfast, probably from the Club Lounge, and then head to the street to watch him run. Tom and I have agreed that there will be no "meeting at the finish" for either race. It's too crazy getting over there, especially for a single parent with 3 kids. If Tom's up to the parks, we'll all go. Or else I'll take the kids (probably MK) and he can meet us or not. Dinner Saturday night will be Narcoosee's. (Assuming we get the ADR.)
Sunday is my race. There are 2 small problems. The marathon is much longer than the half (twice as long, to be exact ) and Tom will definitely be sore from his race. Anyway the kids will presumably watch me run by. I'd love for Tom to then head to AK to see me again but don't know if they'll be up for it. Or they could head over to Epcot. Or hang out at the resort. We'll see. Dinner Sunday night should be at La Hacienda.
Monday we'll go to a park. Which one? I have no idea! I guess we'll see what everyone feels like doing (maybe DHS?). We have a 7pm flight home.

Amanda

 

[disneydreamingdebby]

What a fun Oct. weekend planned! GF should be fun for the kids. Will you have time to book a breakfast or dinner for 1900 Park Fare? Isn't it hard to plan out days at the end of your trip...I seem to always say, "and we will see what everyone wants to do..." I can only imagine it will be so much harder with sore legs in the mix! (When you said maybe dh will hang out at the resort with the kids - I instantly thought - the pool would be easiest to manage.)

Rumor is that DVC is building at GF, so we will be able to stay there one day.

 

[natebenma]

Hey Amanda! I hope your summer is off to a fun start!

I can't imagine how you handled the end of school year activities and your work pace these past few weeks, plus the other life things thrown in just for fun like the game and Father's Day! These past couple of weeks have been a blur in my household!

How are things going with the house?

Thanks for sharing your marathon plans. Have you stayed at the GF before? You probably know, Disneymomx7 loves the resort and just changed her pre-BC stay from the Poly to GF.

I'm not doing a ticker for my "Trip Which Must Not Be Named" out of respect for Teena, but it is less than 2 weeks away! It is so weird not mega-planning for a trip to Orlando. I don't have a single dining reservation!

We are almost 99% sure we will go to the MK for one day/night of our trip. I have been charging up the Disney Visa like crazy for the past few months and have earned $165 in rewards dollars- almost enough for 2 single-day admissions. We pay off our cards each month, so this is "free money" for us.

 

[DrMomof3]

What a fun Oct. weekend planned! GF should be fun for the kids. Will you have time to book a breakfast or dinner for 1900 Park Fare? Isn't it hard to plan out days at the end of your trip...I seem to always say, "and we will see what everyone wants to do..." I can only imagine it will be so much harder with sore legs in the mix! (When you said maybe dh will hang out at the resort with the kids - I instantly thought - the pool would be easiest to manage.)

Rumor is that DVC is building at GF, so we will be able to stay there one day.

We probably won't eat at 1900 this trip. We ate there a different time and enjoyed it. I feel that the Marathon Weekend trip is about the grown-ups! My only concern about the pool is that it's January. This year it was in the low 70's and the kids went swimming. I wasn't there in 2010 but I heard that it was sleeting. Not exactly pool weather!

Hey Amanda! I hope your summer is off to a fun start!

I can't imagine how you handled the end of school year activities and your work pace these past few weeks, plus the other life things thrown in just for fun like the game and Father's Day! These past couple of weeks have been a blur in my household!

How are things going with the house?

Thanks for sharing your marathon plans. Have you stayed at the GF before? You probably know, Disneymomx7 loves the resort and just changed her pre-BC stay from the Poly to GF.

I'm not doing a ticker for my "Trip Which Must Not Be Named" out of respect for Teena, but it is less than 2 weeks away! It is so weird not mega-planning for a trip to Orlando. I don't have a single dining reservation!

We are almost 99% sure we will go to the MK for one day/night of our trip. I have been charging up the Disney Visa like crazy for the past few months and have earned $165 in rewards dollars- almost enough for 2 single-day admissions. We pay off our cards each month, so this is "free money" for us.

Hi Dee!
The end of school has been insane, to put it mildly! Nathaniel's school event was the exact day/time as Jessica pre-K graduation. Zachary's end of the year event was rained out and moved to last night. Nathaniel had a violin concert (at the same time as his baseball team party) and then we had to race out to Long Island to celebrated Father's Day with my step-dad. Saturday was my mom's birthday. Just insane!
I've seen a few BC/YC people over on the GF thread. So I'm not the only one "cheating" on BC. Tom just decided that he wanted to try it there and he's not as big a Disney fan as I am so I was happy to humor him. I think we really need to stay monorail for the races - just for the ease of spectating - so we might as well try GF. And it's a short trip so the outrageous cost is slightly less outrageous!
We have a signed contract. The buried oil tank in the front yard has been removed - which destroyed the front patio. We have an estimate on the repair so we're going to see if they'll just give us a credit at closing. I *think* the final mortgage paperwork is in so hopefully we'll finally get our mortgage and we can close. Soon. It's been even more stressful than I imagined and that's without moving or selling a house.
I'm glad you're getting an MK day. I would eventually like a Disney visa for the rewards but obviously I don't dare open a credit card right now. Your trip sounds like fun! Once my kids are tall enough for the HP rides, we'll definitely check out Universal.

Amanda

 

[DrMomof3]

Exciting news that only Disney geeks will appreciate! Zachary measured 39.5 inches at his annual physical this week. Without shoes. He'll probably be able to ride Soarin' and Splash and Test Track and Big Thunder and, and, and....


Amanda

 

[cdotla]

Hey Amanda! I am just getting caught up on all your recent news!

Congrats that Zachary is about to hit 40 inches. Shoes will add 1-2 inches, so he is in for sure!

Jessica's ballet recital looked adorable!!!

Too funny about the residents mocking you about the Disney addiction!

I am really jealous of your Sugarloaf reservation at the Grand. I had my first and only nite there last month and loved it. But I definitely wasn't concierge!

Sounds like you are a good Half Marathon trainer....Can you train me too?

We are also trying the waterparks this trip. I look forward to hearing your reviews.

Sounds like work has been crazy for you lately...good thing your vacation is just over a month away!!!

 

[beebeeryan]

Congrats on booking GF! It's nice Disney opened up reservations a bit earlier this year. GF doesn't seem my personal style, but I want to try it someday regardless, I didn't think WL would be my style either and I loved it. It'll be super convenient for you guys with the kids on a trip where you'll both be getting tired out from the races.

I hear you on the end of school. I've gotten nothing done this first week of summer, but running around with the kids, whether going from place to place or chasing them on their bikes since they just aren't old enough to go outta sight on their own yet. Today after golf camp we're planting ourselves at the pool and I'm not moving!

 

[-Hope-]

Exciting news that only Disney geeks will appreciate! Zachary measured 39.5 inches at his annual physical this week. Without shoes. He'll probably be able to ride Soarin' and Splash and Test Track and Big Thunder and, and, and....


Amanda

That's so exciting! It's going to be so much fun for you to see his reaction to all the new rides.

 

[DrMomof3]

Hey Amanda! I am just getting caught up on all your recent news!

Congrats that Zachary is about to hit 40 inches. Shoes will add 1-2 inches, so he is in for sure!

Jessica's ballet recital looked adorable!!!

Too funny about the residents mocking you about the Disney addiction!

I am really jealous of your Sugarloaf reservation at the Grand. I had my first and only nite there last month and loved it. But I definitely wasn't concierge!

Sounds like you are a good Half Marathon trainer....Can you train me too?

We are also trying the waterparks this trip. I look forward to hearing your reviews.

Sounds like work has been crazy for you lately...good thing your vacation is just over a month away!!!

I'm totally happy for Zachary! It's nice that my only "short" child is my eldest.
Jessica's recital was great. They danced to Snow White songs and just looked so cute.
The annual skit is usually funny but the part about me was hilarious. Some years there are some mean-spirited skits (never about me, thank goodness) but this year was just funny!
I'm totally excited to check out GF!
We'll see if I'm a good coach! Tom has a tendency to over-do things and then give up. I'm making him give me days for his runs and I'm telling him exactly what he is allowed to do. No more!
We aren't 100% on waterparks yet but I'm trying to do less running around and more relaxing!!!

Congrats on booking GF! It's nice Disney opened up reservations a bit earlier this year. GF doesn't seem my personal style, but I want to try it someday regardless, I didn't think WL would be my style either and I loved it. It'll be super convenient for you guys with the kids on a trip where you'll both be getting tired out from the races.

I hear you on the end of school. I've gotten nothing done this first week of summer, but running around with the kids, whether going from place to place or chasing them on their bikes since they just aren't old enough to go outta sight on their own yet. Today after golf camp we're planting ourselves at the pool and I'm not moving!

GF isn't really my style either. It seems a bit formal to me but if Tom's excited about it (and he isn't quite the Disney-addict that I am!), then I'm happy. I'm sad that we can't stay at WL or AKL without either getting 2 rooms or staying in the villas now that Zachary is 3. I think I would like both!
It's hard to find time to relax when you're chasing the kids all day!!!

That's so exciting! It's going to be so much fun for you to see his reaction to all the new rides.

I'm so happy for him! I think he'll like Soarin' and Splash. I'm not sure about Big Thunder and Test Track. It's just fun that we can stick together as a family. He tried to tell us that he was going to ride Space Mountain but I had to tell him that he's not quite tall enough for that! But how funny is it that my 3 year old knows enough to talk about Space Mountain!

Amanda

 

[DrMomof3]

Here's what I have left to do for the trip in August:
1. Order Guide to Magic for Kids x 3.
2. Order chocolate slipper dessert for CRT. Thinking about ordering a special cake for our 1st dinner Chef Mickey but I haven't decided yet. Opinions?
3. Consider making coloring/activity books for the kids again. Need new ink in my printer first!
4. Renew Nathaniel and Jessica's APs (this can be done when we get there).
5. Do more surveys so I can get at least 2, if not 3 gift cards. I already have enough for 1 gift card. Otherwise I'll order gift cards online.
6. Design family t-shirts. I had a great idea for a Jake and the Neverland Pirates shirt but I can't find the graphic on zazzle or cafepress. We might get Mickey tie dyes instead. Or something else. Hmmm....

I'm also starting to think about a trip for Spring Break. I really wanted to do a Southern California trip - San Diego, Legoland, maybe even Disneyland - but Tom doesn't think we should do another "big" trip since we already have Marathon Weekend and Podcast Cruise planned for 2012. I know he's right so we'll save that trip for another year (or maybe for the Disneyland 1/2 marathon???? ). Now we're considering a beach trip to Florida. Any suggestions for nice resorts? I'm actually considering the Disney property in Vero Beach because it gets better reviews than many other places I've been looking into. I've also heard good things about Captiva Island but the resort is just as pricey - or more - than Vero Beach. We'd definitely take advantage of the kitchen since Passover starts at the very end of Spring Break. It looks like we'll fit in a one bedroom villa.... Opinions? Ideas?

Happy 4th!
Amanda

 

[marie049]

Also flying out of white plains august 31-sept 7th to Disney.last year me and my boyfriend flew out of laguardia and loved it we have never been to white plains airport but its cheaper so that is the only option =) what are their food options before getting on the plane?

 

[DrMomof3]

Also flying out of white plains august 31-sept 7th to Disney.last year me and my boyfriend flew out of laguardia and loved it we have never been to white plains airport but its cheaper so that is the only option =) what are their food options before getting on the plane?

The "gate" area (there is only one large gate area) has minimal food options. We haven't flow out of White Plains in over a year but, as I recall, there was basically one "counter service" type place. Before security there are more options. I *think* there's a restaurant upstairs and more counter-service type places in the ticketing area. The last time we flew out of White Plains we had a really early flight and we brought pre-made bagels and cream cheese. We then bought beverages after we got through security. (And then had a 3 hour flight delay due to mechanical problems. Ugh.) It's a very, very small airport which I prefer.

Amanda

 

[marie049]

yea...i did hear it is a small airport,but i found a package deal on travelocity which includes the room/plane tickets for $486 and we'll have to buy the disney tickets seperate.at JFK and Laguardia it comes to $500 im thinking what's a $4 difference? we like to at least get a good breakfast in before the flight (my stomach is very sensitive in the air ) what do you recommend?

 

[DrMomof3]

yea...i did hear it is a small airport,but i found a package deal on travelocity which includes the room/plane tickets for $486 and we'll have to buy the disney tickets seperate.at JFK and Laguardia it comes to $500 im thinking what's a $4 difference? we like to at least get a good breakfast in before the flight (my stomach is very sensitive in the air ) what do you recommend?

According to the airport website the coffee shop opens at 5:30am. I think it's before security so you just need to get there a little early. How early is your flight?

Amanda

 

[cdotla]

Hey Amanda...drop me a line if and when you decide to do a CA trip next year. We are planning a trip out there as well, but haven't finalized a date. Like you, I am thinking about timing it with the DL Half Marathon.

When are you thinking of doing Vero - 2012? It is on my radar for 2013 following our Disney cruise.

Would love to one day have our trips coincide with one another!