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

[DrMomof3]

Funny story that DISers will appreciate!
I, once again, printed out lots of activity/coloring pages for my kids. For those who "knew" me last summer, I did a similar thing last summer and took the pages to Staples for binding. These 2 lovely ladies at Staples helped me figure out what I needed and made beautiful books for my kids. Today I returned to Staples with 3 books worth of travel activities for the kids. Same women at Staples. The one helping me is looking at me like she remembers me (it's been A YEAR!). I totally know it's the same woman because she's just as nice as helpful. So I tell her I was here last year and you helped me.... She says I thought it was you but then I thought maybe it was someone different so I didn't want to say anything.
Traditions are nice because they give you nice memories.

Amanda

 

[natebenma]

I think the concern for me is that our flight is landing around 2-ish and we need to redeem our AP vouchers and buy a new TIW card before our 5:20pm ADR. I'm not even sure where we need to go to get our APs and TIW. I still need to figure that out! If we can do it at the resort, we won't be in a rush. Otherwise we might have to go to the TTC. Right?

Amanda

Hmmm- time crunch. You may be better off, stress-wise, just doing Garden Grocer.

I don't know about the purchase of the APs or TIW. Have you posted over on the CR/BLT board? Also, CRFanforLife is staying at the BC/YC in August and posts on our thread, so you could try asking there. Also, T's husband worked as a greeter at the Contemporary, so he/she may know, too...

Funny story that DISers will appreciate!
I, once again, printed out lots of activity/coloring pages for my kids. For those who "knew" me last summer, I did a similar thing last summer and took the pages to Staples for binding. These 2 lovely ladies at Staples helped me figure out what I needed and made beautiful books for my kids. Today I returned to Staples with 3 books worth of travel activities for the kids. Same women at Staples. The one helping me is looking at me like she remembers me (it's been A YEAR!). I totally know it's the same woman because she's just as nice as helpful. So I tell her I was here last year and you helped me.... She says I thought it was you but then I thought maybe it was someone different so I didn't want to say anything.
Traditions are nice because they give you nice memories.

Amanda

GREAT story!!!

 

[DrMomof3]

Hmmm- time crunch. You may be better off, stress-wise, just doing Garden Grocer.

I don't know about the purchase of the APs or TIW. Have you posted over on the CR/BLT board? Also, CRFanforLife is staying at the BC/YC in August and posts on our thread, so you could try asking there. Also, T's husband worked as a greeter at the Contemporary, so he/she may know, too...



GREAT story!!!

I figured that my worst case scenario is taking the monorail to the TTC. I'm sure I can get my APs and TIW card there. When we first got our APs, we upgraded from convention park tickets so we had to do it at Guest Services in the park. Then we redeemed Jessica and Nathaniel's voucher at the IG last August. Speaking of which, I need to renew their APs this weekend....
We get to check 5 suitcases for free so I can stock up on non-perishables and then just use Garden Grocer for perishables (eggs, milk, break, yogurt/gogurt, etc.) and heavy things (apple juices, water, etc.). Hmmm. I think I need to get Tom to discuss this!

Amanda

 

[DrMomof3]

A few corrections.
As per Nathaniel's request I have changed our Sunday night dinner ADR from Kona Cafe to T-Rex. There is no doubt that the food at Kona is better but Nathaniel really wants to eat at T-Rex. I had to call the restaurant directly (Disney gets very few of the reservations) but we got in at 6pm.
I'm pretty sure we'll do DHS on Sunday, AK with am EMH on Monday, and Epcot with am EMH on Tuesday. I'll let Tom sleep in and meet us if necessary.
I didn't realize there is a Guest Services window directly at MK. For some reason I thought I'd have to go to the TTC. So I'll walk over there to redeem the APs and get our TIW card. I am having trouble renewing Jessica and Nathaniel's APs (issue with Disney website - big surprise there) so that may wait until we get to Disney or until I find time to call them.

Amanda

 

[DrMomof3]

Wednesday starts off as our mellow day. I haven't decided if we should have a sit-down breakfast somewhere (I'm dying to try breakfast at Kona, especially since I just gave up my dinner ADR there but we might be better off eating at The Wave).
At 10am we have to meet at the dock of the Contemporary for our fishing excursion. I'm pretty excited about this! My kids, especially Nathaniel, are very interested in fishing. Tom and I are NOT fishing people. At all! When I read about the fishing excursions at Disney, they sounds right up my alley. Someone else does all the work and we get to sit and catch fish. It's catch and release and it sounds like most people catch quite a few fish. My kids will be thrilled. It isn't cheap but I think it'll be a nice change. I believe the excursion is 2 hours so we'll get back in time for lunch.
I don't have any specific lunch plans for this day. I guess we'll either make something in the room or grab something at the Contemporary. Or maybe even eat at the pool? It'll be flexible. And we might head over to MK and eat there....
At 3pm we have a very important date!!! Jessica has an appointment with a fairy godmother to become a princess. Yes, that's right. BBB in the Castle. I'm really very excited for this. I offered to do this in January with my mom and she was really negative about the whole idea. It really bummed me out. So I'll get to have some one-on-one girl time with Jessica and enjoy the experience. At the same time Tom will be taking the boys to Pirate League to become Pirates. I think they'll really enjoy this, especially since Zachary is pirate-obsessed!
Our dinner ADR is at 5:35pm at CRT. Jessica doesn't even know that you CAN eat dinner in the Castle. So this will be a HUGE surprise for her. I really hope it's a nice experience. And the boys will get to greet the princesses while dressed like pirates. I think it'll be great for everyone.
If everyone has some energy after dinner, we can try a few rides. Or head back to sleep. We'll play it by ear.

Amanda

 

[DrMomof3]

I just realized that I totally forgot to post about our dinner plans on Tuesday! After a day at Epcot, we'll feed the kids in the room and wait for KNO to arrive. Tom and I will take a cab to AKL and enjoy dinner at Jiko. And also enjoy Jiko's famous wine list (hence the cab!).

Amanda

 

[beebeeryan]

How exciting, getting to do BBB! I don't have a girl, but maybe I'll spot you guys in the crowd at MK that night and get to see a little BBB princess in person! That's our last day/night there so I know we'll be at MK. We're doing AK on Monday with the EMH too and Epcot on Tuesday as well. Our plans our similar. Wednesday is out last day so I have nothing planned, I'll let the boys decide what they want to do. Enjoy the fishing excursion, that sounds fun as long as you don't have to touch any worms or do any work! I need to fit in TREX as well, the boys loved that place. I was gonna play it by ear, but maybe I should book something. I did last year, but didn't think it was so busy that we wouldn't be able to just walk up and get in. I don't know now.

 

[natebenma]

A few corrections.
As per Nathaniel's request I have changed our Sunday night dinner ADR from Kona Cafe to T-Rex. There is no doubt that the food at Kona is better but Nathaniel really wants to eat at T-Rex. I had to call the restaurant directly (Disney gets very few of the reservations) but we got in at 6pm.
I'm pretty sure we'll do DHS on Sunday, AK with am EMH on Monday, and Epcot with am EMH on Tuesday. I'll let Tom sleep in and meet us if necessary.
I didn't realize there is a Guest Services window directly at MK. For some reason I thought I'd have to go to the TTC. So I'll walk over there to redeem the APs and get our TIW card. I am having trouble renewing Jessica and Nathaniel's APs (issue with Disney website - big surprise there) so that may wait until we get to Disney or until I find time to call them.

Amanda

Love both Kona Cafe and T-Rex. T-Rex is much more fun for the kids! Food is pretty decent, too.

Yes, there is definitely a Guest Services window at MK. We picked up our tickets there a couple of weeks ago. Line was not bad at rope drop. We were either first or second at the window.

 

[natebenma]

Wednesday starts off as our mellow day. I haven't decided if we should have a sit-down breakfast somewhere (I'm dying to try breakfast at Kona, especially since I just gave up my dinner ADR there but we might be better off eating at The Wave).
At 10am we have to meet at the dock of the Contemporary for our fishing excursion. I'm pretty excited about this! My kids, especially Nathaniel, are very interested in fishing. Tom and I are NOT fishing people. At all! When I read about the fishing excursions at Disney, they sounds right up my alley. Someone else does all the work and we get to sit and catch fish. It's catch and release and it sounds like most people catch quite a few fish. My kids will be thrilled. It isn't cheap but I think it'll be a nice change. I believe the excursion is 2 hours so we'll get back in time for lunch.
I don't have any specific lunch plans for this day. I guess we'll either make something in the room or grab something at the Contemporary. Or maybe even eat at the pool? It'll be flexible. And we might head over to MK and eat there....
At 3pm we have a very important date!!! Jessica has an appointment with a fairy godmother to become a princess. Yes, that's right. BBB in the Castle. I'm really very excited for this. I offered to do this in January with my mom and she was really negative about the whole idea. It really bummed me out. So I'll get to have some one-on-one girl time with Jessica and enjoy the experience. At the same time Tom will be taking the boys to Pirate League to become Pirates. I think they'll really enjoy this, especially since Zachary is pirate-obsessed!
Our dinner ADR is at 5:35pm at CRT. Jessica doesn't even know that you CAN eat dinner in the Castle. So this will be a HUGE surprise for her. I really hope it's a nice experience. And the boys will get to greet the princesses while dressed like pirates. I think it'll be great for everyone.
If everyone has some energy after dinner, we can try a few rides. Or head back to sleep. We'll play it by ear.

Amanda

Sounds like an AWESOME day. As much as I like dinner at Kona, the breakfast...





My favorite thing to eat in the World (and maybe the world) is their Macadamia Nut- Freakin'- Pineapple Pancakes.

Don't make me post a picture for you!!!

Have Tom check out the Big Kahuna!

This would keep you all pretty satisfied for quite awhile, maybe just some snacking and sharing at the pool.

Although I can understand the ease and convenience of eating close by. Can't wait to hear what you finally end up doing.

 

[DrMomof3]

How exciting, getting to do BBB! I don't have a girl, but maybe I'll spot you guys in the crowd at MK that night and get to see a little BBB princess in person! That's our last day/night there so I know we'll be at MK. We're doing AK on Monday with the EMH too and Epcot on Tuesday as well. Our plans our similar. Wednesday is out last day so I have nothing planned, I'll let the boys decide what they want to do. Enjoy the fishing excursion, that sounds fun as long as you don't have to touch any worms or do any work! I need to fit in TREX as well, the boys loved that place. I was gonna play it by ear, but maybe I should book something. I did last year, but didn't think it was so busy that we wouldn't be able to just walk up and get in. I don't know now.

It would be totally fun to run into you! I usually have a lime green Mickey head with my DIS name on our stroller and diaper bag.

Love both Kona Cafe and T-Rex. T-Rex is much more fun for the kids! Food is pretty decent, too.

Yes, there is definitely a Guest Services window at MK. We picked up our tickets there a couple of weeks ago. Line was not bad at rope drop. We were either first or second at the window.

Thanks Dee! I really like the food at Kona but I want the kids to feel like they have a say in our trip. He asked for T-Rex out of the blue so I'm happy I can do it!

Sounds like an AWESOME day. As much as I like dinner at Kona, the breakfast...





My favorite thing to eat in the World (and maybe the world) is their Macadamia Nut- Freakin'- Pineapple Pancakes.

Don't make me post a picture for you!!!

Have Tom check out the Big Kahuna!

This would keep you all pretty satisfied for quite awhile, maybe just some snacking and sharing at the pool.

Although I can understand the ease and convenience of eating close by. Can't wait to hear what you finally end up doing.

Tom's been a little grumpy about the early morning thing. The irony is that our kids are early risers. And 2 of the 3 are truly morning people (not Nathaniel!). I am also a morning person (as you may note some of my 6am posts). Our kids do NOT do well with sitting around the hotel room waiting for something to happen. This leads to fights and unpleasantness. They do much better if we get up, get dressed, and get moving.
I'm hoping we make it to Kona for breakfast but there's always next trip!

Amanda

 

[DrMomof3]

Thursday is scheduled as MK day. It's am EMH at MK. I love, love, love the opening show at MK so I will be pushing the kids out the door this morning to make sure we get there on time!

Must do's:
Space Mountain - Jessica loves this ride! I think Nathaniel is a little scared but won't admit it.
Splash Mountain - I'm excited for Zachary to get to ride this for the 1st time
Big Thunder Mountain (I haven't ridden this in over a year because I was always the one with Zachary and we didn't have time for baby swap)
Pirates - Zachary is terrified of this ride but agreed to go on it anyway
Buzz Lightyear - I love this ride. Almost as much as I love TSM.
It's a Small World - Kids love this ride.
Winnie the Pooh - One of my favorites! Can't wait to see the new queue.
Peter Pan - Another classic.
Astro Orbiters - Called "The Rocket Ride" in my house. A surprise favorite amongst my children.
Dumbo - Jessica LOVES this ride. One of her absolute favorites.

Maybes:
Tea Cups - Tom will not ride this but the rest of us love it.
Magic Carpets - My kids really like this but I don't consider it mandatory.
Haunted Mansion - We've avoided this because I worry about the kids getting scared.
Snow White - It'll be nice to get one last ride (if it's still open?).
Carousel - Totally optional.
Tomorrowland Speedway (Stinky Cars) - I hate this but my kids love it so I imagine we'll do it.
Monsters Inc.

Unlikely but not avoid:
Tom Sawyer
Swiss Family Treehouse
River boat

Avoid:
Stitch

We usually have lunch at Liberty Tree in MK. I also like the Plaza but think LTT offers more choices. I absolutely HATE the bathroom at LTT. For the record.
I don't really care one way or another about shows and parades. If we catch some, great. If not, no biggie.
I love wandering around Main Street. I love the stores. And I have some purchases in mind....

Dinner on Thursday night is at Le Cellier. This will be our first time eating there and I'm pretty excited!

Amanda

 

[natebenma]

Looks like a great itinerary!

I see your family skips some of the same stuff we do- definitely Stitch. Never tried it, but I still advise people to avoid this.

No Monsters, Inc Laugh Floor, Carousel of Progress or Hall of Prez for us, either.

Does your family like Philharmagic? We hadn't been since 2004, but got a bonus FP for it (that happens frequently) and it fit into our plan of taking an airconditioned, seated break. Mark and I enjoyed it. The boys claimed they did not, but we didn't hear too many complaints, so...

I haven't been to Liberty Tree or The Plaza, so I can't offer any comments here.

 

[DrMomof3]

Looks like a great itinerary!

I see your family skips some of the same stuff we do- definitely Stitch. Never tried it, but I still advise people to avoid this.

No Monsters, Inc Laugh Floor, Carousel of Progress or Hall of Prez for us, either.

Does your family like Philharmagic? We hadn't been since 2004, but got a bonus FP for it (that happens frequently) and it fit into our plan of taking an airconditioned, seated break. Mark and I enjoyed it. The boys claimed they did not, but we didn't hear too many complaints, so...

I haven't been to Liberty Tree or The Plaza, so I can't offer any comments here.

We've never been to Hall of Presidents. I just think my kids would be bored silly. They might surprised me but I've been waiting a few more years. I totally forgot TTA and Carousel of Progress. My DH insists on CoP every trip so that's on the must-do....
We like Philharmagic but it's not necessary. I would put it on the maybe list.
This is what happens when I do this by memory instead of checking the attraction list!

Amanda

 

[DrMomof3]

Our Guide to the Magic books arrived for the kids. They look awesome (way too old for Zachary but I got him one anyway). I was a little surprised by how large they are. I'm not sure I want to carry all 3 books around all day. I could see bringing the to dinner as an activity (the waiting for food to arrive distraction) but maybe not dragging them around the parks. The kids could even look at them in the car when we drive to and from the parks and then leave them hidden in the car during the day. Does anyone think it would be worth it to get a small autograph book that I can keep in my purse instead of using the Guides as autograph books? Thoughts? Opinions?

Amanda

 

[natebenma]

Our Guide to the Magic books arrived for the kids. They look awesome (way too old for Zachary but I got him one anyway). I was a little surprised by how large they are. I'm not sure I want to carry all 3 books around all day. I could see bringing the to dinner as an activity (the waiting for food to arrive distraction) but maybe not dragging them around the parks. The kids could even look at them in the car when we drive to and from the parks and then leave them hidden in the car during the day. Does anyone think it would be worth it to get a small autograph book that I can keep in my purse instead of using the Guides as autograph books? Thoughts? Opinions?

Amanda

Yes, the books are way too big to be lugging around the park.

My suggestion is to maybe use loose sheets of paper (maybe colored paper) for autographs and then paste them into the book. You could even add a picture from the meet and greet to the large autograph pages in the book.

Or a simple autograph book (notebook) where you wouldn't mind removing the pages.

 

[-Hope-]

Your plans look great! Any trip with Kya would have us doing Stitch (he is her absolute favorite character), you're so lucky to be able to avoid it!

I think a small notebook that you can remove the pages from later sounds like a great plan. They have tons of the older, retired autograph books on eBay super cheap.

 

[DrMomof3]

Yes, the books are way too big to be lugging around the park.

My suggestion is to maybe use loose sheets of paper (maybe colored paper) for autographs and then paste them into the book. You could even add a picture from the meet and greet to the large autograph pages in the book.

Or a simple autograph book (notebook) where you wouldn't mind removing the pages.

Thanks for ideas!

Your plans look great! Any trip with Kya would have us doing Stitch (he is her absolute favorite character), you're so lucky to be able to avoid it!

I think a small notebook that you can remove the pages from later sounds like a great plan. They have tons of the older, retired autograph books on eBay super cheap.

Tom and I did Stitch once - on our child-free trip - and hated it. I didn't get it at all!!!
I never thought of looking for older versions of autograph books on eBay. Interesting...

I had made an autograph book on shutterfly so I could just order that, too.

Amanda

 

[-Hope-]

Yep, Robbie and I hated stitch as well. Especially Robbie... he has a calcified place on his collar bone from a break several years ago and when Stitch 'jumped' on the shoulder harness he said it really hurt! Other than that it was just super boring... but Kya loved it and says when we go back it's a must do for her. :

 

[DrMomof3]

Yep, Robbie and I hated stitch as well. Especially Robbie... he has a calcified place on his collar bone from a break several years ago and when Stitch 'jumped' on the shoulder harness he said it really hurt! Other than that it was just super boring... but Kya loved it and says when we go back it's a must do for her. :

Isn't that the joy of Disney? There is truly something for everyone!

Amanda

 

[DrMomof3]

I went overboard....again.

Zachary's yellow shirt front and back.

Jessica's

Nathaniel's is easiest to see.

Sadly, mine is very, very hard to see.

And Tom's.

All of them!

Amanda