A Jan 2016 PTR-Disney is taking over my life edition *Update 12/10-MagicBands!*

[taythecray]

So in the midst of my Disney planning excitement, I forgot one huge detail.

My mom hates fireworks!!

Here I was planning our days out and placing fireworks in our plans as a must-see, but my mom hates them! The loud noises scare her and she won't be anywhere near them. This is obviously a huge problem because there is only so much we can do to make everyone happy.

Does anyone know if there are quiet places in the park that she would be able to "hide out" and not hear them as much? Devin and Macy HAVE to see them, but I doubt my mom is going to want to go back to the room by herself, and if Tony goes with her, I'm not sure they will allow Devin and Macy to stay behind with Austin and I. Plus, since the MK fireworks typically take place before the park even closes, we will probably want to do more afterwords! I definitely want to stay for Illuminations over at Epcot as well. Anyone have tips? I'm sure my mom would like to see them, just not hear them

 

[taythecray]

Well after seeing many different posts from people here and on FB about how to save for Disney, I've come across many different apps that essentially give away free gift cards, which people then turn around and exchange for Disney gift cards. Guess who finally jumped on that bandwagon

On Tuesday I downloaded Shopkicks, Checkpoints, and Swagbucks. I had a Swagbucks account from a long time ago but forgot about it. Turns out I have 2,500 points left over! Needless to say I plan on using these apps religiously over the next couple months in order to earn some nice gift cards The only problem I'm struggling with is whether or not I exchange them for Amazon gift cards and buy the things I need for my wedding, or Target gift cards so I can start buying and saving the Disney gift cards. Decisions decisions

 

[taythecray]

Well I surprised my family this weekend and came home from college for the day (I live five hours away so I don't go home very often) While I was there, I helped everyone make their own personal Disney savings jar using one of those 52 week money challenge lists I found. Devin is less than thrilled at putting his own money toward the trip, but Macy couldn't be more excited Austin and I will be starting our own jar here as well. This is the chart we're using.

I've also decided to start a little tradition that every time I do make it home, we are all going to sit down and watch a Disney movie together. Since my siblings didn't really grow up in the age of classic Disney, they only know the newer films. I don't think any of them have seen the classic Cinderella, Snow White etc. We were limited to the Netflix choices this time around though, and ended up picking Lilo and Stitch (one of my personal favorites) Stitch is so adorable and this movie makes me tear up every time (the sequel makes me full-out cry) Anyway, I figured this would be a good way to introduce them to all the characters and pick out their favorites.

OH! The last piece of good news is that our Disney vacation planning DVD came today! I feel like I know the parks pretty well already but it will be fun to watch with everyone

 

[ldadar]

Love the savings plan! I might have to use that.

We are watching Disney movies with MIL every weekend. She knows the classics but not the new movies.

I bet your family was so happy that you surprised them.

 

[taythecray]

I made a few changes to our original dining plan after looking at the options more. The new updates can be found back on the post here

I'm really sad the flipside contest has come to an end but I have been a madwoman keeping my eye out for more! I'm really glad Austin doesn't mind me always bringing up Disney because that's literally all I can think about. I've almost exhausted all the planning there is to do at this point though :/ I really need to become a travel agent because I just love looking up and fake planning things for myself

On another note, I finally jumped on the Disney Movie Rewards bandwagon! I'm also going to work on planning our upcoming trip down to Hilton Head, SC in May....mayyyybe that will help take my mind off things? If not I give up XD

 

[ldadar]

Better marry that guy. My DH is tired of hearing about Disney.

We're enjoying our Disney movie collection. Getting ready to see all those characters in person.

 

[taythecray]

Better marry that guy. My DH is tired of hearing about Disney.

Oh I am! Haha he is so use to me getting overly obsessive over things. I've already told him we need to take our way-in-the-future kids to Disney

 

[taythecray]

So this past week I sat down a put together a wishlist on MDE of stuff at each park we are going to want a hit. While doing so, I noticed a few interesting things.
1) How in the world do people manage to do Animal Kingdom in one day? There seems to be a lot to do there and even though we are planning a full day, we will still be missing some things!
2) Hollywood Studios needs help Lol in the nicest way possible...there's nothing there. We'll probably just do a couple shows, TSMM, the Art of Animation drawing class (my sister will be in heaven) and Fantasmic....that's about it.
3) I'm actually finding some cool things to do in Epcot! I haven't been yet and the park seemed boring when originally looking at it, but now I'm really excited! I'm also glad we will have two days to spend at it now when originally I was planning for one.
4) We plan on splitting up our two Magic Kingdom days into sections. Tomorrowland/Adventureland one day and Fantasyland another. Hopefully my family isn't too exhausted for the 9am openings

Maybe because I'm weird or maybe because I want to add more to the PTR, but I may post our potential plans for each park in the next few posts. It's funny because I know once we get there we are just going to be leisurely walking around and doing things we just come across, but I feel like if we take the parks section by section we can still hit everything and have a rough outline of a plan (even though my mom is against planning)

 

[taythecray]

Made some updates to the sleeping arrangements post here I have no idea why I originally excluded the other moderate resorts from our planThinking about taking those youtube virtual tours of each resort to see which ones stand out. It's nice that my siblings don't care about the room themes.

Well if you haven't caught on yet, I'm going a little planning crazy Over the past few nights I've sat down and made a basic itinerary for our trip, fastpass options included. I do realize things will change but it's fun to dream right? This also gave me reassurance that it will be possible for us to get everything done that we want to (minus swimming but then again it will be January) I'll post the days plans next.

On a final note, I finally got to see Big Hero 6 and BAWLED like a baby Seriously that was a really sad movie! It was cute and we figured out a few things ahead of time, but man that was a tough one to get through. Not sure if I will be able to sit through it again when my siblings watch it I wish we were going down in time to do the meet and greet at Hollywood Studios with them but.....oh well. Maybe they'll keep them longer since they need more to draw people in

 

[ldadar]

I didn't know Big Hero 6 is sad! I was planning to see it before our trip. Maybe not...

 

[taythecray]

I didn't know Big Hero 6 is sad! I was planning to see it before our trip. Maybe not...

Oh still see it! It's good and cute but just seemed extra sad to me. I mean 95% of Disney movies involve something tragic happening to the parents, but this one kept piling on on top of that (and I just get really emotional)

 

[taythecray]

Hooray for park plans (and me liking to plan things super early even though I know things will change many many times) I'm still going back and forth on arrival day plans so for now I will leave that alone and share my fun ideas for our first official full day at the parks! Starting with the best of course
MAGIC KINGDOM
I figured it would be best to start our vacation off with a bang, and what better way to do that then by going to the biggest and best park?! I also figure Tomorrowland and Adventureland will have a much bigger wow-factor and appeal to everyone, so we're going to start there first. I don't care if I have to drag my parents out of bed or leave them behind, but my siblings and I are doing rope drop! So, in ideal order of attack:

Haunted Mansion-detouring to do a wrap-around of Fantasyland on our way to 7DMT

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (FP?)- made this our first roller coaster since Devin and Macy still are newbies and want to "warm up" before the big rides

Tomorrowland

Buzz Lightyear

Stitch’s Great Escape

Monster’s Inc Laugh Floor

Space Mountain (FP?)

Adventureland

Meet Aladdin & Jasmine

Magic Carpets of Aladdin

Jungle Cruise

Enchanted Tiki Room

Pirates of the Caribbean

Big Thunder Mountain (FP?)

Extras

Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom-will probably pop by in the morning and grab the cards/map and play throughout the day

Main Street Electrical Parade

Leaving park for Whispering Canyon lunch

Celebrate the Magic-my favorite

Wishes


Too much? The good news is that my siblings are troopers. Devin walked an entire day around the city of Chicago once with Austin and I, and Macy lives for the outdoors and exercising so I don't think it's too much to ask. We can also head out early and catch Celebrate the Magic and Wishes another night if they really want to, but something tells me the Disney magic will keep them going

 

[taythecray]

I'm interrupting the park plans to bring you all this crazy announcement

Holy updates batman! I talked to my mom today about Disney and found out a lot of news! I first texted her about plane ticket deals I found for our dates. Round trip Detroit to Orlando for $150! She of course said "we don't even know when we're going yet" but little did she know that I have had a pretty good idea of our trip dates for quite some time now I told her the first week of January, she responded with Spring Break and I laughed even though she couldn't hear me
1) It's more expensive
2) We all have different spring breaks
3) It's way busier

So! I won her over! I told her I had looked into January 4-10 and she said that seemed fine she just needs to confirm with Tony tonight!

Then she threw a curve ball...
...my step brothers are joining us.

Now...I love my step brothers don't get me wrong. But they definitely aren't Disney people. They are 20 year old constructionist/farmer/non-cartoon loving people. Which means it is going to be VERY hard to find things to entertain them with at Disney. This also means that they aren't going to want to do half the things I have planned out for us to do. Heck, I'm not even sure they'll want to go to the same parks! This also throws a big wrench in our room plans since the suites are now out, so I'm basically back to square one I'm still looking at the 2 room ideas, and maybe now we can have all the early-risers in one room (AKA Austin, Devin, Macy and I) so we can hit rope drop and do everything we want, then have my brothers and parents in the other room so they can sleep in and meet us later (I wonder if mom will go for that)

Oh, and I'll introduce them in the next post or so.....today has been a crazy day 0_o

 

[taythecray]

Introducing the newest travelers on this Disney excursion!

The one on the left is Carter and the one on the right is Ethan (this picture is a couple years old so they look a tad different now) They are my soon-to-be 20-year old stepbrothers that will be tagging along on what will hopefully be the best vacation ever! Let's see......they are pretty much identical personality-wise on top of looks. They are both builders and do a lot of construction/yard work for family friends. They aren't movie watchers or computer people but they love the outdoors, and will pretty much go along with everything. I have a feeling we will end up splitting up when it comes to meeting the princess and everything, but I'm okay with that. I've decided I'm going to make a plan for my little siblings and I, and then everyone else can do what they want (I swear I treat Devin and Macy like they were my own kids)

So now that our 6-person vacation turned into 8, I am definitely all about the Disney deals and making this vacation affordable. The good news is everyone is pitching in (well, I haven't talked to the boys yet) but I feel like it won't be too bad. Right now we're looking at about $6,500 for 2 rooms at a moderate with 6 day tickets (no hopper) and the discounted dining plan (assuming play, stay, dine is offered again) If not we will just pay for food out of pocket and try not to eat as much Oh and just for good measure, here is our most recent family picture to see exactly who is all going (well minus Austin because he wasn't there for pictures) I've also updated the room arrangements post for (hopefully) the last time here

 

[taythecray]

More park plans coming up! They are a little out of order at the moment but I will fix them later. Hollywood Studios doesn't have much now sadly...

Hollywood Studios

Meet Phineus & Ferb

Honey I Shrunk the Kids set

Meet Mike & Sully

Toy Story Mania (FP?)

Voyage of the Little Mermaid (FP?) (Boys can do Indiana Jones or Stunt Show)

Beauty & the Beast (Boys can do Indiana Jones or Stunt Show)

Tower of Terror (FP?)

Fantasmic!


Ohmygod it's so small

 

[taythecray]

Day four of our trip will take us back to Magic Kingdom. This will be a very Macy-centered day to hit all the princesses and rides that may be a little too boring for the guys. That way they can choose whatever they want to do for the day. We also have a girls date for lunch in the castle (hopefully) ^_^

Magic Kingdom Part Dos!


Fantasyland

It’s A Small World

Mickey’s Philharmagic

Meet Anna & Elsa (FP?)

Meet Cinderella & Rapunzel

Peter Pan's Flight

Enchanted Tales with Belle

Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

Journey of the Little Mermaid

Meet Ariel

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train-only if requested again

Extras

Meet Tinkerbell

Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom

Meet Peter Pan-where does he meet? I've heard adventureland and fantasyland 0_o

Meet Tiana

Dream Along with Mickey

Festival of Fantasy Parade

Cinderella's Royal Table Lunch

 

[sahm2two]

Following along! I'm planning our family's trip for October of 2016, so I don't judge you at all for planning in advance

 

[taythecray]

Following along! I'm planning our family's trip for October of 2016, so I don't judge you at all for planning in advance

Awesome! Glad to have another person tagging along Honestly planning is almost as fun as the actual trip for me (okay not really but I do love it) I like experimenting with all the different possibilities and imagining all the things we can do. My mom is trusting me to be the family's travel agent so I am (impatiently) waiting for deals and prices to come out I love your countdown by the way! I think I'll have to make myself one now that we officially have the dates confirmed

 

[sahm2two]

my countdown is an estimated guess because I know we'll go over fall break for my kiddos, but they haven't released the school calendar for that year yet

 

[taythecray]

my countdown is an estimated guess because I know we'll go over fall break for my kiddos, but they haven't released the school calendar for that year yet

Shhhhhh, it still counts! When I was trying to figure out our dates I just used my sibling's last year schedule. Of course our second and third week options were during exam time so we decided not to risk it.