A Monkey wrench thrown into my plan....

[la79al]

So you are/were thinking about changing your plans because of your DDs announced shyness but then you were planning on trying to put her in the kids club on the cruise ship? I would stick with hanging out at DW for the week. Look into changing your ADRs, I was just able to get a Crystal Palace for the end of April with no problems. Let your sister hang out in the park a bit by herself and take your mom along to the castle. You might be surprised by how your DD ends up reacting once you get to the parks.
And yes, it's highly possible to get burnt out on planning (especially if you think you have everything set and then have to change up) and then not even feel like you want to go. Tweak your ADRs, add your mom (we took my mom in December and it was great to get to see her watching DD have fun), and then lay off the planning for awhile. It will get more exciting again as you can check the 15 day weather, start to pack and do online checkin.

 

[Ericandjenng]

Also remember everyone has cabin fever right now because of the colder than usual weather....what happened to global warming? You'll get excited again when things start getting back to normal...so will your daughter.

Have a great trip

 

[DrRae2B]

So you are/were thinking about changing your plans because of your DDs announced shyness but then you were planning on trying to put her in the kids club on the cruise ship?

Well, that's the weird part-- When we first booked the trip (back in Aug),she seemed excited to meet the characters, but now she says she will be "too shy" to talk to Mickey and Pooh, etc. On the other hand, she says that if we go on the ship, she WANTS to go the kid's clubs to play with all the other kids.

We certainly weren't basing a possible change entirely on the preferences of the 4 yr old... please bear in mind that we're new to this whole thing (a typical vacation to my family is chilling at the beach for a week-- the only experience we've ever had with Disney was a quick 3 day trip, in which ONE day was spent at Sea World, and we ate fast food the whole time). I saw that we could replace the extra 3 days with the cruise for an extra $300 and thought it sounded like a no-brainer. My sister went nuts when I mentioned that we thought we could do the cruise, too (which is what she wanted to do from the beginning), and my husband read some guy's trip report on here and was talking about how much fun the cruise looked.

I guess since we've never had the "fully immersed" experience with WDW, we just don't really know what we would be missing if we don't do a full 8 days there. Lol. I know it sounds silly, but I find myself surprised when someone on here says something like, "Why only 4 days?", because in my mind, I'm thinking, "Well... there are 4 parks, so why NOT 4 days?" Haha. I guess I just can't wrap my head around how much there is to do.

So you all don't think we'll get bored after 6-7 days at WDW? Or worse yet, burnt out on Disney stuff (sorry.... but I suppose it's possible). I don't want to leave with a sour taste in my mouth (I already hate that Imagination song.. hearing that thing the first time was enough for me-- and I was 10 the last time I heard it!).

I know all of you who are reading this are doing head-smacks right now. Haha! Sorry... I'm a little tough to get through to. (My husband always says that for someone who's so smart, I'm really stupid sometimes, Lol).

And thanks again for everyone's input. I know I'm a tough nut to crack.

 

[ndfi78]

Like la79al said, you are probably just burnt out on the planning.

 

[ndfi78]

Believe me, you will not run out of things to do.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Tell the Mom you are already booked and ready to go, but maybe she can come next time.

Stick to original plan.

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

Putting five in a POR room will be tight, and it will require a trundle room in the alligator bayou section. I don't know how many of those there are, so you probably need to add Mom to the reservation in advance instead of when you arrive. That means adding tickets and dining plan for her as well, which might not work out very well if she can't eat with you. Otherwise, you might arrive at POR and there won't be a room to accommodate all of you. Disney won't let you put more in a room than fire codes allow, even if your DD could sleep in the bed with you. I'd book two rooms at a value or the family suite instead - you will be awfully tight with three adults, an almost adult and a child in a POR room. Doesn't sound like fun for a week.

If I were in your shoes, I'd plan to stay at WDW for the week and get tickets for 7 days. If you decide you want the hopper, add it when you need it. You'll probably prefer to spend part of the day at the parks and part at the resort anyway.

I'd change some of your ADRs to add Mom. If she is going to be with you, I'd include her as much as possible. For ADRs you are unwilling to change (CRT), let your sister hang with Mom or do her own thing while Mom comes along. Now that the princesses are at all three meals, you might be able to change your reservation, especially since the dinner just changed and people might not have booked it yet.

We have done a four night and a three night Disney cruise. They were both fun, but I wouldn't bring Mom along then leave her in a hotel for three days. Also, even though there are only four parks, you could spend 6-7 full days there and still not do everything you want to do.

 

[Magic Mom]

Will you need passports for the cruise and do all of you already have them?

Because if you don't, you may find that even with a rush you may not have the time to get them.

Last I checked the post office was still recommending at least 6 months to get passports out.

EDITED
looking at the cruise line page it doesn't say whether or not you need a passport except that you would if you have an emergency and need to leave the ship (like to fly home or get special medical treatment), so you would need to call Disney to ask.

We got passports last spring and the post office told us 4-8 weeks. We got them in 4.

 

[DrRae2B]

We got passports last spring and the post office told us 4-8 weeks. We got them in 4.

So what do you think of my current sitch?? If you had the chance to do an 8 day WDW trip, or a 4/3 land/sea trip, which would it be? .... Do you think it would be selfish of us to choose the land/sea trip, even if my mom stayed behind (even though she won't be participting in the 8 day WDW trip either?)? ... Just checking for someone else's opinion.... Thanks!

 

[LuvBaloo]

Adding my thoughts to your situation.

If you switch to the cruise, will you be upset if its time to leave WDW and you haven't done everything you want to? Because you won't get everything done in 4 days, but you will get a good taste of it.

For a 3-night cruise, its a great test to see if you enjoy cruising.
If you all really like cruising, it will feel short, and you will be eager for another one.

We did a 4 night cruise for our first one in 2006, when my DD's were 20months and almost 5. My oldest DD was very shy, but enjoyed certain activities in the kids club (her favorite was learning the Dance of the Seven Dwarves and then having Snow White come to see the kids all dancing).

If you go with the cruise, I wouldn't bother trying to do excursions. Just enjoy the ship.

 

[DrRae2B]

Adding my thoughts to your situation.

If you switch to the cruise, will you be upset if its time to leave WDW and you haven't done everything you want to? Because you won't get everything done in 4 days, but you will get a good taste of it.

For a 3-night cruise, its a great test to see if you enjoy cruising.
If you all really like cruising, it will feel short, and you will be eager for another one.

We did a 4 night cruise for our first one in 2006, when my DD's were 20months and almost 5. My oldest DD was very shy, but enjoyed certain activities in the kids club (her favorite was learning the Dance of the Seven Dwarves and then having Snow White come to see the kids all dancing).

If you go with the cruise, I wouldn't bother trying to do excursions. Just enjoy the ship.

VERY good points for me to consider. That is EXACTLY the kind of advice I needed! Thank you, thank you!

 

[clutter]

ok, I'm confused.

First, your option #1. I thought everyone in the room had to have the same tickets and meal plans. Option #2, you must be driving so that you're mom can't go home ahead of you all?

And you're doing all of this so your mom can see you all have fun, but she'll be staying alone in the room most of the time? Would your mom join you for one meal a day?

I'd move to a family suite, and get the DDP. See if you can get Askerhaus for everyone instead of CRT. Find alternatives for using the TS credits that will work for everyone. There are SO many fun options out there! Hopefully, your mom could join you for whatever meal is planned that day. Buy the 4 day tickets, and upgrade however many need to be upgraded there, assuming your mom won't go to a park every day.

As for the 'shy' 4 year old, I had a real one of them. Seriously shy. The characters at the character meals are pretty good at waving from a distance to them. If it is for attention, it'll go away pretty quick. (Btw, my dd was ok with face characters and eventually did like the others. I have the best picture of her first character hug, with Tigger!)

The unfortunate thing, and the reason you're probably stressing, is that half of your trip-mates have now decided they want to cruise. If you decide to go that route, I'd still do the above for the land portion.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Trash all the plans, rent a condo on the beach on the Gulf Coast of FL and spend the entire time there.

 

[MickeyMomOfThree]

Being your first trp I can understand the second guessing, but go with your plans, add mom to as much as you can and she wants. (Never know what may happen between this trip and the next, life is short.) You will have a great time no matter what---it's Disney World with your little girl!

CRT, what time of day is that? If it is morning could you leave your sister at the room and let your mom go instead since she wants to go and sis doesn't? If it's later in the day, our last trip our oldest was 14 and we let her go do rides for a while on her own (she was a phone call away.) Maybe your sister could go ride some rides while you all enjoy CRT.

I have never done a cruise, but DH really wants to. We have though about adding a 3 day to the end of our trip to see if we'd even enjoy it. We figure if we do we know for next time and if we don't then we'll know that too. I don't know if this works for you, but it might.

Whatever you do, enjoy your first trip and enjoy every second of the magic though your little girl's eyes. There is nothing like it!

 

[la79al]

Somebody else may have more experience than me but when we went to Nassau (granted it wasn't on a Disney cruise), the beaches were all a crazy taxi ride away, not what I would consider a nice relaxing day at the beach.

 

[Pumbaa_]

I think you need to recheck with Disney. If you have a package plan, then adding anyone to the package would require them to have the smae tickets nad dining plan., which is much more than $15 a day

Have to ask, your DH is fine with sharing a small room with your mother for an entire week? Cuz I know that would be a deal breaker in my house

You have been Disney obsessed for a very long time. Now that everything is planned, you are in a slump. Understandable, it happens. Pack the plans away, focus on the now and when you are closer you will be excited all over again

 

[DrRae2B]

The CM named Rusty assured me that I can just add her to the room reservation and she doesn't have to be added to the dining plan or package. He said if she wants park tix, she can just add them once we're there.

Honestly, I don't think my DH really cares either way. His response to all this (EVERY question) is, "Whatever you want". Ummm, ok.

I'll be honest with you-- we've gone over the park maps and can only find a handful of "must-do's" in each one. And I've had my heart set on a Disney cruise for YEARS now (it was actually our original plan... but then we decided on the 7 night WDW one), and I guess the thought of the cuise is just waaay too exciting for me. Plus, my DD keeps talking about the "giant Mickey boat", now.

.... I hate to say this, but I can't even really see the point of my mom even going at ALL, if the only thing she's gonna do is sit at the resort. (She says she'll go to MK with us, but not much else.). She said she doubts she'll even be eating with us most of the time. Ugh. I don't get it....

Anyway, we're still talking about it... but we'll probably just stick to the plan we have (for simplicity's sake). We can always do the cruise later on.

 

[Pumbaa_]

I would ask on the resort board about this. I am not an expert on DIsney packages by any means, but this does not ring true on Disney policies historically
Never heard addint another adult to be 'just$15' and does not have to be added tothe package

just hate for you to be surprised later

 

[Magic Mom]

So what do you think of my current sitch?? If you had the chance to do an 8 day WDW trip, or a 4/3 land/sea trip, which would it be? .... Do you think it would be selfish of us to choose the land/sea trip, even if my mom stayed behind (even though she won't be participting in the 8 day WDW trip either?)? ... Just checking for someone else's opinion.... Thanks!

In your case, I would keep our current plans. Don't worry about your DD being shy of characters. They aren't that hard to avoid. I think it's great that your mom wants to tag along, and that you are close enough to her to be OK with it. The memories you have of Grandma with your kids at Disney will be priceless. Don't stress over the ADR's. See if you can switch one or two to include her, and take her word that she doesn't mind being on her own for a few meals. I can tell you, that my mom would enjoy a quiet meal away from us.