A Pre-Trip Report, and I Think I'll Call It the 3 Girls *UPDATE* COMPLETE! GOING NOW!

[ShannonMB]

Well, I have never posted a trip report before, let alone a pre-trip report, but I am jumping out of my skin, and I decided we're close enough to get one going!!!

First, I'll explain my title. When I was a little girl, it was just me, my sis (a year and a half younger), and my mom. One time we were going to visit our grammy, who lived a couple hours away. My sister, maybe 6 or 7 at the time, wrote a little story, "A Story, and I Think I'll Call it the 3 Girls". It went:

"Once upon a time, there were 3 girls and they were going to visit their gramma, because all of them loved her. The end. "

For some reason we all have always remembered that, so since our trip is 3 girls (2 of the originals and 1 new girl!), I thought it was the perfect title. My mom will like it!

Anyway, here's the cast:

Girl #1 -- Me! I am 37 years old, mom to one stinkerbean of a DD (see girl #2) and 2 sweet little cockapoos named Gypsy and Simon. Well, Gypsy is sweet! (Simon is a momma's boy but can be a little evil if anyone tries to horn-in on his mommy time. ) DD's dad and I have never married, but we live together as a family and we've been together FOREVER, so I usually refer to him as DH on the boards. Maybe someday we'll actually make it official and have a Disney wedding.

I work as a NICU nurse at the Children's Hospital here in Cols, Ohio. I LOVE the babies , but I also love taking a vacation from them! I work nights, so I'm chronically sleep-deprived, and of course have a million things to do all the time, the weather has been really COLD and SNOWY this year, so I'm pretty much living for this upcoming trip at the moment!

Girl #2 -- My DD Lily. She just turned 8 the day after Christmas. All of a sudden, she is like this big kid instead of a baby! How the heck did that happen? She is about the funniest person I know, and she constantly has me rolling. She is (of course) super-smart and adorable, and thank the Good Lord above, perfectly healthy. She takes dance lessons 2 days a week, and has also tried ice skating lessons and jr. drill team, and hopes for her next activity to be voice lessons. She is a big fan of Hannah Montana and High School Musical, and has a poster of Troy in her bedroom already. Her toy room is decked out in princesses, but she is already starting to say that the whole princess thing is getting babyish. WHAT? I *thought* we were doing a good job raising her! She still insisted on lunch at CRT, so they must still be a little bit cool!

Girl #3 -- My mom, Carol. I won't say her age, she wouldn't like that! She lives in Charleston, SC, and is running her own contracting business. She flew south mostly because she hates the cold, but we're hoping she'll decide she can't live without us and come back sometime SOON! Not that I don't wish her success, of course.

 

[ShannonMB]

OOPS, I wasn't done yet (believe it or not!!!)

Anyway, you get the idea of who we are. I'll post a couple pics of Lily and me, but I don't have any of my mom yet. Just got my digital camera last year (late bloomer), and haven't taken any of her yet! Don't worry, you'll see her on my TR!

 

[MAGGIED]

Shannon... wow.. sounds like we have the same pre trip reports going... I just started mine this morning also and it is just us girls going to DIsney also!! My link is in my signature!!!

 

[ShannonMB]

OKAY, SO ON WITH THE PLANS!

We're all flying in on Feb 14th . Yes, the dreaded President's week! We arrive first at 10:17am, followed by mom at 11:25.

Day 1:

ME to All Star Movies Resort!!! Lily and I stayed there in Oct 2007 and had the time of our lives, but my mom hasn't been to the World in probably 20 years, so has never stayed on-property!

DTD for a little shopping and a 3pm reservation at TRex. Lily wants to build-a-dino. While in DTD, I would like to check out Goofy's Candy Co, since we missed it last trip. We also want to spend some time in World of Disney, since we booked on the 4/3 deal AND got the $200 gift card!!

Take a bus to the Contemporary, then walk to MK for Wishes at 8pm, then Spectromagic. What a great beginning to our trip!!! So excited!!!

 

[ShannonMB]

Shannon... wow.. sounds like we have the same pre trip reports going... I just started mine this morning also and it is just us girls going to DIsney also!! My link is in my signature!!!

Woohoo! Girls only!! Not that the boys aren't fun, but you know! I'll check out your pre-trippie!

 

[ShannonMB]

DAY 2

Sun 2/15

HS day! I'd normally start with MK, but this week/weekend being so busy, and with the suckish Fantasmic situation, thought we'd go to HS this day when UG says it's a 7, and F! is showing twice. I'm sure the whole day at the park will be a zoo, but here are my hopes and dreams for the day:

Early breakfast at ASM (snack, probably -- we are on the basic DP)

TSM at rope drop

ToT and RnRC - I'm the only one who will ride these, so Mom and Lil can maybe head to the muppets 3D show or something while I do these.

Star Tours

Beauty and the Beast or Voyage of the Little Mermaid (didn't do either on last trip, not sure which to pick, hope to do both, but you know )

Big Movie Ride -- I really want to try this one this year. (I know, what DID we do there last trip? I've been wondering that! Wandered around like amateurs, I'm sure!)

We have ADRs at Sci-Fi for lunch at 2:35pm. That means we'll miss Block Party Bash, but I'm not so sure about all that stopping anyway. Priorities. I loved Stars and Motor Cars, BTW.

Fantasmic, 2nd show, at 8:30pm

CS Dinner either before F! if we're hungry yet, but most likely back at ASMo.

 

[ShannonMB]

DAY 3

Mon, 2/16

AK day! Also known as President's day . We'll do our best!! I'm planning on rope drop...

Early breakfast snack at ASMo

SAFARI -- first stop. Love it, can't wait!

Head over to Asia, and Kali River Rapids (depending on the weather, but it's supposed to be a warmish day. Ponchos?)

EE -- the other 2 girls will not ride this, so I was thinking single rider line, and they can do the bird show while I'm riding. Hey, maybe I'll even get in 2 rides!

Early CS lunch at Pizzafari, Yak and Yeti, or Flame Tree BBQ, depending where we are.

Dinoland, and Dinosaur for me! Hopefully Mom will take Lil on Primevil Whirl while I'm on Dinosaur, but we'll see.

Not sure about timing, but hopefully/maybe the Nemo show. Lily does not seem the slightest bit interested, but I think it'll be cool. We'll see where we are on time.

Mickey's Jammin' Jungle Parade at 4pm.

It's Tough to Be a Bug.

I am all for FP, and depending on what crowds are like, I'm keeping the option open. We aren't commandos, and I can't be running all over the parks more than once. We'll just do what we can.

Park closes at 6pm (according to DIS calendar).

ADR at BOMA for 7:20!!!! WooHoo!! This is Lily and my only repeat dinner from our 2007 trip. We loved it so much!

 

[ShannonMB]

Day 4

Tues, 2/17

Epcot day! Once again, planning on rope drop!

Early snack at ASMo.

First stop, Soarin'! Woohoo, we'll all do on this -- Lily loved it last trip.

Living with the Land -- Found this a pleasant surprise last time!

Nemo -- thank goodness Lily didn't care for Turtle Talk w/Crush, so we'll skip it. I found it, meh .

Spaceship Earth

Early lunch/brunch either at Sunshine Seasons before SE, or in Mexico, depending on how quickly we bust out of Future World. We also need to find that "club cool" so I can try some Beverly. hehee

I think we might skip Test Track this time, because Lil hasn't committed to it, and if she's not dying to try it, it'll be easier to skip it. I'm not dying for it either, and I didn't really care for Mission Space.

On to World Showcase!!! We'll start in Mexico and work our way around.
Gran Fiesta Tour in Mexico and
Maelstrom in Norway (FP if needed) and
Pick a Pearl in Japan are my only must-do's in the WS. I'm hoping to soak it all in, and we'll catch whatever else we feel like/have time for.

ADR at LeCellier at 7:20pm. Don't you love how we'll end our WS tour in Canada, with dinner at LC? I do!!!

Illuminations at 9pm -- I've been dreading this, because of the hellish bus situation afterwards. But, I got a tip from the DIS that if I walk through the International Gateway between UK and France over to the BC, we can get a cab easily from there. I think that might be the way to go. So we'll likely try to get a spot for Illuminations over by UK/France.

 

[ShannonMB]

Day 5

Wed, 2/18

Finally, our first MK day!!!! Sheesh!

Early snack ASMo

Rope drop, then straight to Fantasyland!

Peter Pan's Flight!! WooHoo!!! Lily and my fave!
Pooh
Snow White's Scary Adventure
Philharmagic
Small World

Liberty Square
Haunted Mansion

Frontierland
Splash mtn (or FP for it)-- I'm trying to *make* Lily go on this, but I don't know if it's gonna happen.

Early lunch, at whatever place we are close to, Pecos Bill, Columbia Harbor House or something. Not sure when early lunch will fall/where we'll be, but we're eating as early as CS opens to beat the crowds.

Adventureland
Pirates
Aladdin if not TOO crowded
Jungle cruise (we'll probably FP this as soon as we get to Adventureland if we can, because the line always seems SO long! Slow-loading, I guess)

Also not sure where the afternoon parade will be fitting in, but we want to see it, so we'll keep our eye on time. Parade at 3pm.

If we are still okay on time, we'll head to future world. We have 2 days at MK, so we'll start there the next day if need-be.

Dinner at CP at 7:50pm. Can't wait for this! Wishes is at 8pm, but we already saw it on day 1. Park closes at 9pm. I'm expecting the busses to be ridiculous again, maybe a cab from the Contemporary? I hate to spend $ on cabs with the free transportation, but I also hate waiting an hour to get back to the resort when we have EMH the next day!!! We'll see.

 

[ShannonMB]

Day 6

Thur, 2/19

Another MK day! One is never enough!

Early snack at ASMo

Future World (depending on what we got done the day before)
Buzz Lightyear
Laugh Floor

haha, I guess that's all we care about in FutureWorld. Lil and Mom won't go on Space Mtn, and I don't care about it because I think it's kinda rough (but I do like Dinosaur, so go figure )

The rest of this day is a pick-up day, whatever we missed or want to see again. I think Mom might want to see the Country Bears or Tiki Room since she will probably be nostalgic for them (I hate the new Mgmt). So much more of a play-it-by-ear day.

Lily's not big on waiting in line for characters (thank goodness), but she will want to go thru Mickey and Minnie's houses in Toontown. Maybe Barnstormer?

Lunch at CRT at 1:35pm

Dinner at Chef Mickey's at 7:35pm. So we'll be leaving the park for good before our ADR. And that's our last day in the parks It went so FAST! heheheheh

 

[MAGGIED]

Wow... you have more done than I do....

 

[ShannonMB]

Wow... you have more done than I do....

.

hehe, yeah, trip report, started and finished on the same day! I just had to get it all out! I should be sleeping right now since I have to work tonight, but I'd rather talk about my trip!

 

[ShannonMB]

Okay, let's try photobucket! Gotta get this mastered before my actual TR!

This is Lily and me. As you can see, I'm *trying* to hide my pooh size behind Lil. You'll probably be seeing a lot of this in my TR!

Here's the beautiful and talented Miss Lily.

Let's see if that worked!

Well, that will work for now, but I need to make the food pics bigger in my dining report. I love big food pics!

 

[ShannonMB]

So, I've been scouring the disboards for awhile, and I have discovered some snacks that I'd like to try while at WDW. I know I've used lots of snacks for my breakfasts, so I might just have to pay OOP for a few of these. Whatever I don't try this time, I'll get next time!

School Bread from Norway
French Toast Loaf or Cinnamon roll at Main Street Bakery
Dole Whip Float
Kaki Gori from Japan (Lily loves snowcones!)
Strawberry shortcake from Sunshine Seasons
Funnel Cake from Sleepy Hollow (well, we did try this one last time!)
Premium Mickey Bars (Lily did have a couple of these last time, too!)
A homemade ice cream sandwich from somewhere

 

[msce2]

Wow! I'm so impressed with your plans!!!

I hope you have a wonderful trip! Looking forward to hearing how it went!!!!!

 

[ShannonMB]

Wow! I'm so impressed with your plans!!!

I hope you have a wonderful trip! Looking forward to hearing how it went!!!!!

Thanks so much! I hope you'll join me for my TR when we get back. I'm looking forward to doing it (not as much as the actual trip, of course ).

 

[Disneyfan71]

I'm here too *waves* and looking forward to hearing about your TR when you get back. Looks like you've got it all planned out which is a good thing. We're going in June and I have NO clue as to which parks we'll go to which day

 

[ShannonMB]

I'm here too *waves* and looking forward to hearing about your TR when you get back. Looks like you've got it all planned out which is a good thing. We're going in June and I have NO clue as to which parks we'll go to which day

Thanks for stopping by! By tomorrow at this time, we'll be almost getting on our plane. Hard to believe. It seems like I've been waiting forever for this trip! Funny, I honestly didn't realize how in-depth I was planning my trip till I wrote it all down here. Now I'm like, hmmm, I guess I'm one of those planners. hehe

 

[Disneyfan71]

Have fun and I can't wait to read your TR when you get back

 

[ShannonMB]

Well, today's the day!!!! It's 5am and I'm having some coffee before I wake up DD and start getting ready. I'm all packed, just gotta remember the cell phone/charger and my blow dryer/makeup, and I'm good to go!!

WOOHOOOOO!!!!!!