A Very Merry unBirthday! We're taking a stroll on the Boardwalk_A Sept 2018 PTR_link to TR

[kclark9830]

Only cheesy in a good way! It's definitely a promotion I'd be interested in, as a reader. Hopefully they love it too!

Also your date night sounds fantastic--a little bit planned, but relaxing and go with the flow. I'm rooting for you to get your funnel cake!!!!!!!!

Thanks!

 

[vleeth]

Okay, I found you from over on my pre-trip report. Reading this has gotten me super pumped up.

All three of your children are beautiful!

Hope's very first haircut was a Magic Kingdom and it's a memory I treasure. She didn't have much hair and she was almost 2.

Congrats on Miles being rid of his heart meds.

Hope loves playing Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom and Agent P. She didn't like Wilderness Explorers as much which I find odd because she loves animals.
There are a few different places in Magic Kingdom to play...maybe 4? And Agent P is in several countries.

Where did you get 10 cent glow sticks? That's a great deal.

Have a great night and happy planning!

 

[kclark9830]

Okay, I found you from over on my pre-trip report. Reading this has gotten me super pumped up.

All three of your children are beautiful!

Hope's very first haircut was a Magic Kingdom and it's a memory I treasure. She didn't have much hair and she was almost 2.

Congrats on Miles being rid of his heart meds.

Hope loves playing Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom and Agent P. She didn't like Wilderness Explorers as much which I find odd because she loves animals.
There are a few different places in Magic Kingdom to play...maybe 4? And Agent P is in several countries.

Where did you get 10 cent glow sticks? That's a great deal.

Have a great night and happy planning!

It's great to have you along! Thank you so much for your input. I'm leaning heavily toward Agent P at this point, just for logistics sake, but I haven't ruled out doing both!

I got those glow sticks at good old Walmart!

 

[kclark9830]

What Shall I Wear?​

I've been going through all of my stuff, and I've pulled out a bunch of my Disney shirts I'm trying to decide on.

Has anyone worn Lularoe in the parks during summer months? I have two shirts I'd like to wear of theirs, but I'm afraid they might be a tad too thick for September heat.

This is what I plan to wear on arrival day. It's lightweight, easy to travel in, and it has Mickey!



These are the two LLR tops that I want to wear. Maybe I'll be able to wear them in the evenings or something. One is princesses and the other is Jasmine.



Then I have a few t-shirts...I'm really proud of the black glass slipper shirt because I bought it for our last trip and couldn't wear it because it was too small. It fits now! Yay!



I also have a cute pair of Mickey shoes. I won't be able to wear these all day because my feet would be killing me, but I can wear them for shorter stints.



And here's what I plan to bring as my park bag. Emma's best friend went to Disney the summer Emma relapsed, and she brought this back for her. It'll be my way of having Emma along.



I've also got several dri-fit shirts I'm bringing, and a couple of sun dresses, along with a good pair of walking shoes and my Chacos.

 

[vleeth]

It's great to have you along! Thank you so much for your input. I'm leaning heavily toward Agent P at this point, just for logistics sake, but I haven't ruled out doing both!

I got those glow sticks at good old Walmart!

Thanks for that. I'll be sure to watch Walmart after the 4th for my trip next year!

 

[kclark9830]

Day 6 - Epcot EMH then HS
​

I'm really, really excited for today! (OK, I'm really, really excited for every single day, but I'm stupidly excited for morning EMH, hee hee!) I'm a morning person. Like, a lot, a lot. Micheal is a night person, equally a lot. While he usually humors me by getting to the park on our MK days sometime around 9:30-10AM, he definitely doesn't like it. The other parks he won't even consider going that early.

On this morning Ashlyn and I will be doing mommy/daughter time starting at 8AM, at Epcot. I'm hoping this special mother/daughter time will be a wonderful memory for both of us.

(Warning, this is a sad-happy story but I want to share it, so...)

One day, about two months before my daughter Emma's bone marrow transplant, we were in Memphis (where she was being treated) by ourselves while hubby and Ashlyn were back home. We had a rare day free from appointments at the hospital, so we went to the Memphis Zoo. We spent the entire day there, and Emma was having a really great day. We had SO MUCH FUN! Emma was in charge of taking pictures, and she took lots of them. I let her pick everything we did, and she loved animals so this was a GREAT time for her.

When we got back to our room we downloaded all of our pics onto the computer and ordered copies to be shipped to us rush. When they came, we bought a photo album and Emma decorated it. It was a prize possession of hers, and she looked at it often. We keep it now in a special chest full of her favorite things.

​

This type of feel is what I hope Ashlyn and I can experience at Epcot on our mommy/daughter morning. I hope I'm not setting myself up for disappoint by expecting certain "things," but my plan is to let her take the reins. She already knows she wants to meet Elsa and Anna, ride FEA, and Soarin'. Maybe meet Baymax, Joy, and Sadness. I'm going to suggest going to Club Cool, because we've never done that, but it'll be up to her.

I don't plan on being in Epcot more than 2 hours. Once we're all done we'll head back to the Boardwalk. Our Hollywood Studios plan doesn't start until 2PM, with our Star Tours FP.

After Star Tours I'd like to fit in Muppets, then our 3PM'ish FP for the Frozen Sing Along. After that I'd like to catch the Indiana Jones show (all three of these shows will be new to us).

We have a 5:45PM ADR for Sci-Fi Dine In Theater, at Ashlyn's request.

After that, we'll head into Toy Story Land for our 7:15 FP on SDD! YAY!!! I made it in the evening specifically to experience it in the dark.

On our last trip, in 2016, Micheal's favorite memory was riding TSM like 6 times in a row at closing because crowds were so low. That's what he's hoping to do on this night. Predicted crowd level is a 1 out of 10, so here's hoping he'll get a repeat . The park closes at 8:30PM, and we'll likely head back to the Boardwalk for the night. I don't anticipate catching any fireworks, but I'm open to it if it happens!

That'll be it for the night. Our next day will be Magic Kingdom!

 

[vleeth]

Some of my favorite Disney memories are the ones where we get to ride something cool over and over at night because the crowds are low.

 

[kclark9830]

Some of my favorite Disney memories are the ones where we get to ride something cool over and over at night because the crowds are low.

It sounds super fun! I actually had to miss that night as our daughter popped a fever. Hopefully, this year we'll have better luck!

 

[Araminta18]

I love all your clothes!

And what a *beautiful* memory you have of spending special time with Emma! I hope you are able to make the same kind of special memory with Ashlyn.

 

[kclark9830]

School starts tomorrow. I have to admit, I'm looking forward to it. I volunteer 16 hrs a week at Ashlyn's school, and I've grown...bored, this summer. Ready for some responsibilty. This fall I'll be heading up a couple of fun school things, including parts of the science fair, and field trips.

And as for Disney? Our trip begins in 17 days!!!! It needs to hurry up or the entire thing is going to get rearranged. Just today I realized I could do MNSSHP for the price were paying to do Mickey's Backyard BBQ. Tempting, but I'm actually pretty sure Micheal would enjoy the BBQ more than the party. But like I said, we need to get on with it already .

Day 7 - Magic Kingdom and Mickey's Backyard BBQ
​

Friday morning means morning EMH at MK. There's a strong possibility Ashlyn and I will do these, with my sister and her daughter. But it'll really depend on how tired we are at this point in the trip .

If we do it, Ashlyn wants to see Tink, then do the princess meets and ETwB. But my sister and her daughter aren't big princess fans, so they might influence this plan. Whatever we do I'm sure it'll be magical .

I'm not sure how we'll meet up with Micheal and Miles. I'm thinking Ashlyn and I will bring the stroller with us and park it as soon as we get into the park. That way Micheal can bring Miles without the hassle of folding and unfolding a stroller. Then, we'll just meet him wherever we park the stroller at the front of the park.

Our first FP is the Jungle Cruise at 11:30. We'll work in Adventureland appropriately, including the tiki room and the country bears, both at Ashlyn's request.

We have FP's for Splash and BTMMR at 12:30 and 1:30. Then we'll head into Liberty Square. Lunch will be qs whenever we get hungry.



We've never done HoP, and Ashlyn read about it in her Disney guide book. She really wants to do it.

I want to catch the Muppets thing there in LS, and I always NEED to stop in the Christmas shop.

At 3, Miles has his 1st haircut! I'm really excited for this. I hope it goes ok.

We'll hop on the boat to Ft. Wilderness by 4, as we need to be at the BBQ at 4:30.

Honestly, I really do think this will be a great fit for our group at this stage in life. The kids will have freedom to dance and play, there will be lots of food, and music. And Mickey Mouse, of course.

Since the entertainment doesn't start until 5:30 (we're in category 1, which arrives an hour early for private M&G's, and food), I expect we'll be done at 7. The website says the event lasts an hour and a half.

This will be our last night, but if we arrive for the morning EMH we will likely be super tired by this point.

I have no idea what we'll do. There will be plenty of time to hop to another park, but will we feel like it? I guess we will all find out in a few weeks!

Oh, and also this will be my birthday!

 

[kclark9830]

I love all your clothes!

And what a *beautiful* memory you have of spending special time with Emma! I hope you are able to make the same kind of special memory with Ashlyn.

Thank you! I'm hoping .

 

[Araminta18]

Fun day! The BBQ sounds awesome, and hopefully Miles' haircut goes ok. And Happy (early) birthday!

 

[kclark9830]

Day 8 - Hollywood Studios (?) and Departure Day (boo)
​

Today is our last day in the World. *insert sad face* We have FP's for HS for Alien Swirling Saucer, but there's a good chance we will have already ridden it at this point I think. Hence, the question mark in my title. I think this day will be a "wake up and choose" kind of day. Whatever we feel like we want to do most? Well, that's what we're going to do.

​

We do have a 12 noon ADR at Beaches & Cream, and I do want to eat here (ohmygosh I want to eat here!). However...I think it's possible we won't keep this ADR. It'll really just depend on what we think we'll want to do as that day draws closer. If we stick with Hollywood Studios or go to Epcot, we'll likely keep it. But if we go to Animal Kingdom or Magic Kingdom we'll probably cancel (which I guess means we'll need to know what we're doing the day before!)

Our flight leaves at 5PM, which means we'll leave on DME at around 2PM.

That will be that, but after a total of 9 days away counting our initial travel day I'm sure home will be a welcome sight!

 

[kclark9830]

Fun day! The BBQ sounds awesome, and hopefully Miles' haircut goes ok. And Happy (early) birthday!

I hope he does OK. He's generally pretty good, but sitting still for a haircut might be different! haha

 

[kclark9830]

WHAT GOES IN YOUR LUGGAGE?! (Update part 2, see above for #1)

On our last trip to WDW, our airline damaged our bags. They replaced them...with smaller bags. Because we're frugal (cheap), we never bought new ones.

So, packing will be a little tighter this go around. Haha! I went through our cabinets and bathrooms yesterday looking for my usual travel supplies (we moved almost around year ago. I often don't know where my stuff is!). Does anyone else feel like they pack a small pharmacy?

I'm not sure if it's just years of traveling with small kids, or if it's from having two kids who've had significant health conditions ...whatever it is, I realized I had a lot of stuff in my first aid kit.

And you know what? I didn't put any of it back!

Now I'm debating what actually needs to go in my park bag, versus in our general luggage. And with smaller luggage, what needs cut out?

I can't pack for another week because hubby travels for work and uses the luggage. But that will still give me a solid week, so we should be good .

 

[Araminta18]

Your last day sounds awesome--very relaxing. And hopefully you make it to the kitchen sink! I want to try it but with just two of us there's really no point. I'd be curious to hear your review if you end up going there!

Does anyone else feel like they pack a small pharmacy?

YES. I have a small case that permanently stays in my purse, full of sudafed and ibuprofen and tums and benadryl and so on. Not sure how much of that will transfer to my park bag! Good luck figuring out what to pack....and then re-pack as you re do it! (or maybe you're not like me and you pack and then you're done? I repack and repack and repack.... )

 

[kclark9830]

Let the 10 Day Countdown Begin!
​

Today marks the 10 day countdown until departure day!!! You can probably hear our squeals of delight where you are .

Hubby's job has scheduled a last minute out of town trip next week, from Tuesday thru Thusday...which means I can't pack until THURSDAY NIGHT for a Friday departure.

Really, it's not that bad. I can have everything ready to put into bags at the last minute, but sheesh! It's killing me . LOL

I've begun gathering my "stuff" for packing though, which is always fun.

Also, today I added Memory Maker! Hooray! This will be our first time to have it since our first trip in 2011. I'm very excited about that! My sister and I both got a pin code to do a DVC tour and get a $50 gift card. So, we're doing it early morning of our resort day. That money will go to help compensate for getting MM.

It's getting close y'all!

 

[Araminta18]

YAY so close!!!!!!!!!!!!

also Memory Maker is awesome--good choice!

 

[kclark9830]

HI everyone! We leave out for Nashville tomorrow afternoon! YAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!!!!!

We'll be staying in a beautiful suite near the airport, to get to the airport bright and early Saturday morning. I can hardly believe it's finally here.

Wish us some pixie dust!!!

 

[Araminta18]

Wishing you all the pixie dust and amazing weather and just the best vacation ever!