A PTR for a trip in 6 weeks? It can be done! 31 hours to go!!!

[PrncessA]

I read somewhere that kids like to play with them. Cleaner than play-doh, and you can make more things. Haven't tried yet, but I am sure we will do anything with cranky kids! I am thinking for lines and waits.

It works! My kids can play w/ them for hours!!

 

[lacrosse_lady72]

I remember when I was a kid and I'd visit my grandparents I'd always sneak some pipe cleaners from my grandpa to play with... they were the real thing so they were just an off-white color but still fun!

 

[jmkford4]

I'm in!

We are in the same boat! LOL

This is our first trip and I have one month to plan! We live in Chicago Subs too.

Which suburb? We live in Plainfield!

I went to the Disney store today and bought the Disney Halloween bags. I also bought a Winnie the Pooh bag to use as a diaper bag, a toy for Alex, a set of lip gloss princess rings and a Snow White costume for DD. I will take a pic as soon as the kids are down for a nap.

I am so excited to get the Halloween bags! They are super cute!

 

[jmkford4]

I remember when I was a kid and I'd visit my grandparents I'd always sneak some pipe cleaners from my grandpa to play with... they were the real thing so they were just an off-white color but still fun!

I hope they do like them. I am sure we will need them a few times. Usually I bribe the kids with Tootsie Roll pops, but that is bad for their teeth.

 

[PrncessA]

I'm a little north of you in Carol Stream.

I'm actually going to the Disney store in Schamburg today since ours closed last year.

 

[trickiwoo]

Great PTR!!! I love the links and tips! So helpful! Thank you so much!

I'll be leaving WDW the same day you're arriving! It will be my first time going to WDW! I'm from San Diego originally, so I've been to Disneyland quite a bit! I'm very excited about WDW!

Yay for DME packets! I got mine yesterday!

Again, great PTR! I can't wait to read more!

 

[jmkford4]

Great PTR!!! I love the links and tips! So helpful! Thank you so much!

I'll be leaving WDW the same day you're arriving! It will be my first time going to WDW! I'm from San Diego originally, so I've been to Disneyland quite a bit! I'm very excited about WDW!

Yay for DME packets! I got mine yesterday!

Again, great PTR! I can't wait to read more!

Thanks for joining!

So I was going to have Madelyn get the Snow White costume as a surprise, but I was worried it wouldn't fit. Well, it fit, but she said it was too itchy to wear. So sad-it will have to go back!

 

[jmkford4]

I just won some Disney Kooky Pens on ebay! I got a set of 7 for $15 shipped. I was so excited I danced in my head! LOL. Seeing me dance would traumatize even me. I also bought 2 autograph books: one for my 13 yo cousin and one for Madelyn. We are almost set.

I made a new list of things I still need to purchase. The biggest thing is new tennis shoes for all of us. I am not worried about breaking them in, b/c I will use them to work out in before hand, and DD will wear them for school. I will be buying them this week just to make sure we have worn them for about three weeks.

There are also a lot of little odds and ends, but most of them can be accomplished with a big trip to walmart.

As you all know from my siggy, we have three kids. Madelyn is 8, Alex is 3 and Luke is 1.5. Luke is the only one in diapers, but I still carry a lot of stuff for both of the little ones. I think I may need to get Madelyn a back pack of some sort, as I do not want to have to dig through my stroller for pressed penny tubes, autograph books or pens. I really would rather she have a fanny pack, but I don't think an autograph book will fit in them. Anyone know?

 

[jmkford4]

So I made a list last night of all the things I still needed to buy. So today I went to Dollar Tree and bought these things:

A purple shower curtain to put over the stroller in case of rain
4 cords for sunglasses
4 umbrellas
coloring books for the kids
a cheap baseball hat in case someone loses one
a night light
an extra hairbrush
2 bags of Tootsie Roll Pops for the plane and for bribes

I wanted cheap sunglasses, but they were out! I need to get about 4 pair, b/c DH always loses his glasses.

 

[kmartin555]

DH is so grateful to your PTR for causing me to add even more to the never ending shopping list. Just added pipe cleaners & sunglasses cords!

 

[jmkford4]

DH is so grateful to your PTR for causing me to add even more to the never ending shopping list. Just added pipe cleaners & sunglasses cords!

When I was younger, we went to Disneyland a lot. And of course, being a teenager, I never planned. It was really expensive when you just want a Tylenol! So this time, b/c there are 7 of us (I count my mom and cousin), I don't want to spend a ton of money there. I would rather have it and not need it, YKWIM? I am sure there will be something though!

I have 3 reg sized bottles of sunscreen and three 3oz bottles. I am wondering of that is enough? I also have two sticks for faces. Those I am sure will be enough, but I am debating on more sunscreen.

 

[jmkford4]

So I put together my planning binder. I have had all the stuff, just not in one place. So now it has our updated reservation confirmations from Disney, our DME vouchers and tags, several different printouts of touring plans, and our customized maps. Well, those maps are pretty, but they are huge! We have never been to WDW and will need maps, but huge fold out maps cannot be stored compactly when laminated. So does anyone have a nice map that is SMALL and relatively detailed?

 

[jmkford4]

So I have some issues.

On Monday, 9/21 our schedule is pretty open.

noon TRex
7pm Raglan Road date night with DH

We are planning on doing EMH at MK the night before, so a day to sleep in would be fine. However, the rest of the day is pretty empty. I feel like we are wasting a day.

Our overall schedule looks like this:

9/18 Flight arrives at 10:35am, Epcot
9/19 DHS
9/20 MK
9/21 ? DTD
9/22 Epcot and MNSSHP
9/23 ?
9/24 Flight leaves at 7pm, maybe AK?

This being our first trip, I am not sure what we will like, so I am not sure if we should go back to Epcot or DHS. I figure we will get a lot of MK from Sunday and MNSSHP. I was thinking MK also for 9/24, to be a farewell day, but IDK.

The worst part is that no one has ant comments, b/c no one else has been either!

What to do?

 

[disneygirlinnj]

I'm here! I definitely recommend another day at Ecpot, especially since it's your first visit. It's HUGE and the attractions take a lot of time to do. We spend two days there every trip and still can't get everything done. We do though like to stop and enjoy things so we're not going commando. We really enjoy the World Showcase and take our time going through all of that.

I might have missed it...but no AK? I actually like AK better than DHS. It closes early so maybe you could do that on your free day and then head to another park later (dont remember if you got park hoppers or not though).

 

[jmkford4]

I'm here! I definitely recommend another day at Ecpot, especially since it's your first visit. It's HUGE and the attractions take a lot of time to do. We spend two days there every trip and still can't get everything done. We do though like to stop and enjoy things so we're not going commando. We really enjoy the World Showcase and take our time going through all of that.

I might have missed it...but no AK? I actually like AK better than DHS. It closes early so maybe you could do that on your free day and then head to another park later (dont remember if you got park hoppers or not though).

I think I decided to go to AK on 9/21. It has emh in the morning, so that way we can go for a little while and then make our TRex ressie at noon.

I am debating about park hoppers. It would be an extra $200 for us, but it may be worth it. I am not sure.

 

[disneygirlinnj]

Hmm...$200 is a lot for hoppers. I just noticed that you're going to DTD the 21st... that would be perfect with AK during the day, especially with the extra hour. Also on the 23rd you could just play it by ear and see what you guys really liked and go back and take your time. Then you could always go back to DTD later on in the day? Or if you got a Magic Your Way Package, go play mini golf. And there's always pool time too

 

[jmkford4]

I think we may use the hoppers. I am planning on touring in the morning, going back to SSR for nap and then going back out. Sometimes it would be nice to go to another park to catch the rides and shows that are not things we have to do first thing in the morning. Still deciding!

So I went back to the Dollar Tree. I bought:

*4 pairs sunglasses (DH loses them often!)
*zip ties
*3 magic washcloths (the ones that expand from a tiny circle) in Disney characters
*candy for the kids
* a calendar
* numbers for the calendar
* l'oreal kid's shampoo (couldn't resist the smell!)
*address labels (for everything!)
*page protectors for my binder

I also went to Home Depot and got some Mickey Head paint chip samples for the countdown calendar I am going to make. I also got a bunch of the alien green color to put on bags and such so people know we DIS!

I will take a picture of the calendar after I make it.

The other thing I am debating on is child ID. I was thinking of the safety tats for my kids, especially b/c the littlest are 1.5 and 3. I don't think they would keep ID necklaces on. And they are waterproof. I just think I made my decision!

 

[jmkford4]

I started on the countdown calendar. Not done yet, but should be tonight!

I am thinking of getting down my luggage and starting to pack some stuff. The only reason I don't like to pack early is that if I don;t have everything on my list, I will remove, recheck, and repack. It is a PITA.

 

[lacrosse_lady72]

So I made a list last night of all the things I still needed to buy. So today I went to Dollar Tree and bought these things:

A purple shower curtain to put over the stroller in case of rain
4 cords for sunglasses
4 umbrellas
coloring books for the kids
a cheap baseball hat in case someone loses one
a night light
an extra hairbrush
2 bags of Tootsie Roll Pops for the plane and for bribes

I wanted cheap sunglasses, but they were out! I need to get about 4 pair, b/c DH always loses his glasses.

Oh... good ideas!

I don't have kids or a stroller but that's a good idea on the shower curtain, I need to keep that in mind for the future.

And a nightlight? I never would have thought of that... those lights in the hotel room can be so bright so when you gotta pee in the middle of the night, unless you want to step on something you have to turn on one of those bright lights

I just found some cheap sunglasses at Old Navy... I had to get 2 pair becuase I always lose mine too like DH, lol.

 

[lacrosse_lady72]

I started on the countdown calendar. Not done yet, but should be tonight!

I am thinking of getting down my luggage and starting to pack some stuff. The only reason I don't like to pack early is that if I don;t have everything on my list, I will remove, recheck, and repack. It is a PITA.

Woo hoo! I hope you post some pictures of your countdown calendar on here!