**A YEAR in the Making of a Disney Trip-Sept. 2011**9/28 TR Link Added!**

[Fantasyland Mom]

Sophia and I love to join any other diser who is planning a Sept trip! So few of us have decided to just go all out and start the PTR's

I love to plan early though! especially this year since I had to cancel this years trip Planning will give me a enough of a fix to get by! and before I know it, next September will be here!

Pop looks awesome too though,and I definitely would have went with the 50's theme as well!

I have to say, your children are gorgeous, and that latest picture of the baby..OMG could eat him right up! So precious! God I miss my babies

September is OBVIOUSLY going to be an awesome time to be there because we'll all be there. And we're just blazing the trail for others to start their PTRs by beginning this early, right!?! We love the 50's theme, though we stayed in the 80's section once and it was also pretty cool. Thanks for complimenting my kiddos; that's the way to my heart, for sure!

I'm in, your kids are adorable

THANKS! Glad you're joining in!

 

[inkedupmomma]

September is OBVIOUSLY going to be an awesome time to be there because we'll all be there. And we're just blazing the trail for others to start their PTRs by beginning this early, right!?! We love the 50's theme, though we stayed in the 80's section once and it was also pretty cool. Thanks for complimenting my kiddos; that's the way to my heart, for sure!

September is gonna rule! I I have a dis meet to look forward too, it will be even better! Are you guys doing MNSSHP?? Hope so, it is awesome sauce! It's part of the reason I live and breath lol!

80's would have been my next option after 50's

And have a thing for kids! I'm a nanny and have worked with kids forever!! Babies especially seal my heart though! I've been having the baby fever BAD lately! But, I refuse to have any more babies until I am married LOL I'm so classy sometimes!

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

September is gonna rule! I I have a dis meet to look forward too, it will be even better! Are you guys doing MNSSHP?? Hope so, it is awesome sauce! It's part of the reason I live and breath lol!

I'm hoping for MNSSHP on the 17th. We'll be arriving that day, and I think we'll try for a 4 o'clock entry...you gonna be there??

 

[inkedupmomma]

I'm hoping for MNSSHP on the 17th. We'll be arriving that day, and I think we'll try for a 4 o'clock entry...you gonna be there??

not sure which one yet! If I hve my way, we will go two times.. BUT, I also have so much other stuff I want to do on this vacation..so much so, that I am considering downgrading resort..but idk, I think passing up AKL ight kill me

 

[onescgirl]

Hi! Congrats on booking your trip for next Sept! I am also going on our 2nd WDW trip in less than 2 weeks!

Your family is beautiful! The girls curls are to die for & little Bubba is just too precious!

I LOVED being a Stay at Home Mom!!! That is the best job in the world! I loved playing & teaching my kids everyday. I now work 2 day/week as an Instructor at a college. I feel like I stay at the kids school on my days off. Never anytime to myself, I love my life!

Why did you have to say that you like Pop more than CBR? I'm kind of bummed now. You need to read my PTR.

I'm going to enjoy reading your planning for the next year!

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

Hi! Congrats on booking your trip for next Sept! I am also going on our 2nd WDW trip in less than 2 weeks!

Your family is beautiful! The girls curls are to die for & little Bubba is just too precious!

I LOVED being a Stay at Home Mom!!! That is the best job in the world! I loved playing & teaching my kids everyday. I now work 2 day/week as an Instructor at a college. I feel like I stay at the kids school on my days off. Never anytime to myself, I love my life!

Why did you have to say that you like Pop more than CBR? I'm kind of bummed now. You need to read my PTR.

I'm going to enjoy reading your planning for the next year!

Thanks for joining in and for the nice compliments! I love being a SAHM, too, though I must admit that I think teaching 90 kids a day was easier than teaching/guiding three of my own all day long.
And about Pop vs. CBR--I loved CBR, so don't get me wrong! It's just that my kids are so young that they need a hotel to basically slap them in the face that it's Disney--loud colors, Disney figures, Mickey, etc.--and I just love seeing them get excited about it, which makes me LOVE Pop. I *NEEDED* CBR last time, though! It is very relaxing (and it has hammocks, darn it!), which is what I needed when I was 31 weeks pregnant. I'll spare you the photo of me in a hammock with that huge belly, but trust me, I enjoyed it. Also, their breakfast quesadilla is delicious! YUMM-O!

 

[onescgirl]

Thanks for joining in and for the nice compliments! I love being a SAHM, too, though I must admit that I think teaching 90 kids a day was easier than teaching/guiding three of my own all day long.
And about Pop vs. CBR--I loved CBR, so don't get me wrong! It's just that my kids are so young that they need a hotel to basically slap them in the face that it's Disney--loud colors, Disney figures, Mickey, etc.--and I just love seeing them get excited about it, which makes me LOVE Pop. I *NEEDED* CBR last time, though! It is very relaxing (and it has hammocks, darn it!), which is what I needed when I was 31 weeks pregnant. I'll spare you the photo of me in a hammock with that huge belly, but trust me, I enjoyed it. Also, their breakfast quesadilla is delicious! YUMM-O!

You are right about the hotels. Last time at WDW, we stayed at All-Star Sports & went out to eat one night at the Grand Floridian resort. I asked Lexi & Levi, "Do you like this resort"? I was thinking they would say yes. But they said, "NO!!! We don't like this resort, ours is so much better"! I asked them why & they it was because it didn't have any Disney characters at the pool or anywhere else like ours did.


I think you need to post the picture with you in the hammock!

 

[999ghostslover]

I'll spare you the photo of me in a hammock with that huge belly, but trust me, I enjoyed it.

I think you need to post the picture with you in the hammock!

Hammock picture, please! That sounds like a great shot!

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

Hahaha! Okay, ladies, but you asked for it!! (And I am NOT including this as one of my update links, so someone will have to stumble upon it to see it!)
Me, 31 weeks pregnant (acually almost 32 weeks at this point) with baby #3. CBR in a hammock. Notice that I am paying no attention to Juju in the background and Bebo is not in the shot. That's because I warned DH that this was MY time and he was in charge!

And on a side note, I feel the need to say that my kids really do have BEAUTIFUL NAMES! Their nicknames sound like backwoods hicks, but in reality their names are gorgeous and classy...I just don't want to post them here in case some wierdo is lurking...I dunno, I'm overprotective! If I ever meet you in person, I promise to share their wonderful monikers.

 

[999ghostslover]

Thanks! You look very relaxed.

 

[ptcrn]

Joining in! Your kids are beautiful!

September is a great time to go to Disney! We are leaving in a little over 2 weeks for our trip and I can't wait!

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

Joining in! Your kids are beautiful!

September is a great time to go to Disney! We are leaving in a little over 2 weeks for our trip and I can't wait!

Welcome! Have fun on your upcoming trip, and think about those of us who have to wait a whole year!!

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

Good morning, all! And happy weekend!
I have to begin this update by saying that I do realize that it is completely silly that I've already run into a dining dilemma when we still have a year and six days until we're at WDW. It is even sillier that I thought about it and worried about it every time I woke up last night (okay, so I woke up to nurse a baby, not really specifically to think about it!). The only way I could sleep soundly was when I convinced myself that I should do what anyone does when in doubt...ask my DIS friends!

So here's the deal. As I mentioned earlier, we applied the free counter service dining plan towards upgrading to the regular dining plan and paid the difference. We like having snacks, a CS meal, and TS meals. We like to use our TS meals mainly for buffets. Why, you ask? Small children! We are going to try to do CRT if we get the illusive ADR, but other than that we mostly do buffets. It's quick, everyone gets their pick, and they don't lose patience waiting for the food to be delivered. It's really a win-win situation for us and for those who are stuck dining next to us.

So I made the mistake last weekend of asking Mamie if there was a specific restaurant she wanted to visit again. She said 50's Prime Time, which I know is an odd choice, one I really would never have picked myself. But here's the thing. She was born in the 50's (one of the reasons we picked that section at Pop Century) and enjoys the atmosphere. Mostly she wants to return because this is how Juju acted the whole time we ate there a year ago:

Note the scowl. Note the knife with which she is stabbing at the table and Mamie trying to keep her from hurting anyone. NOT a happy camper at all. She was just done. And it almost ruined the meal completely, if not for this smiling baby:

See the fingers in the mouth?? It was during this meal that we discovered Bebo had gotten not one, not two, but THREE new teeth while we'd been at Disney that week!! (And on a side note, look how little she is in this picture! A year sure does change them.) She kept on smiling and ate a ton, despite the pain...or because of the Motrin. Whichever one works for ya.

So, needless to say, with the anger and the teeth, Mamie didn't feel she got the full experience and asked to go back. Which would be fine, except:
1) That would mean we'd have to stay til dinner at DHS, which we never like to do (we're probably planning on Play-n-Dine for lunch...more on that later)

and

2) I started thinking about Tusker House for Donald's Safari Breakfast. Dilemma ensued.

We've never been to Tusker House. We've never had breakfast at AK, unless you count that jalapeno pretzel I had when I was hugely pregnant, and I don't think we should. I started wondering about how the day would go if we ate here before park opening and were able to go on the safari ahead of the throngs of crowds. And I liked that thought. I started getting a bit excited about the prospect and did my little happy dance.
But on the DDP, you only have so many TS credits. In our case, we each have 8. And if we did this AND 50s Prime Time, that'll make 9 (if we get each ADR we have planned, and I promise to go into more detail on those very soon...probably once this dilemma is solved!). So, we've got to drop one or pay OOP, which I really don't want to do.

Help me out here, people! WHAT SHOULD WE DO!?!?!

 

[inkedupmomma]

I would drop Hollywood and Vine faster than you can say inkedupmomma! I do recall you saying you enjoyed it there, but I think 50's will be much m ore fun now that the kiddies are older, and if you schedule it in place of Hand V then you won't run the risk of tired, cranky kids! It will be fun for all!

Hope that helps! If you wanna keep both and do OOP, the maybe split meals to cut down on cost?

 

[999ghostslover]

If it was the only thing your MIL requested then you should probably do it. But I would do it for lunch and skip play and dine (I know that we are considering it but I could drop it easily) or a later dinner if you can get away with it. I would plan to come back. We did Sci-Fi last year and came back for dinner after a nap and it worked out better for us. Although, for us, SciFi was a been there done that kinda place. I really really want Tusker House before the parks opens too BUT if you don't get it then you could probably skip that. We always get in for EMH morning, ride the safari and get breakfast at pizzafari which is delicious and that place is so cool when it is empty. Very yummy breakfast. If you don't do prime time just explain to MIL that you have horrific memories of that place with the young kids and buffets just work better. Maybe she and your DH can go into the lounge while you sit through Ariel with the kids. I've heard that the bartenders are great and the lounge looks really fun. You can always book them all and decide that day.

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

Hmmmm...lots to think about! I didn't even know Pizzafari had breakfast!

 

[999ghostslover]

it is counter service. All of the rooms are different themes of animals and it is fun to have you family guess what they all are. Don't forget to get your extra drink in the AM for CS credit. The breakfasts are very big.

 

[onescgirl]

We like buffets the best too with kids.

We are eating CRT brkfst since it's the cheapest CRT meal & paying OOP so we don't have to use 2 TS credits.
That gave us more meal options.
If you did that, you could eat at both 50's & Tusker's.

Do your kids eat much? I'm asking because mine hardly ate anything at that age. You could split a plate at 50's & pay OOP. We split a couple of meals at WDW because I cannot eat all the food you get on the TS meals.

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

Okay, I THINK I've come to a conclusion on my dilemma. I was looking at my park days, and it's nearly 100% certain that we'll be at DHS before we go to AK. I think we'll go ahead and get ADRs for all, but if the kids are not doing well by dinner time at DHS, we'll skip out on it and let Mamie stay if she wants. If we end up using that TS credit, we'll pay OOP for Tusker House (assuming we get the ADR we want). If not, we'll just use the DDP for it. Does this sound like a good idea? Does that even make sense??? I'll be honest, I'm exhausted today!

On a side note, I went to the book store today to see about buying some new guidebooks. I saw the Unofficial Guide to WDW for 2010, but I didn't see the 2011 one, though it's on Amazon already. Has anyone seen it in stores? Have you read through it? Is it updated well? Or do any of you have other favorite books you like to use in planning?

And here's some happy news: we were able to barter with some people from our church! Brandon's going to build and host a website for their business, and they are going to come and paint our downstairs, stairwell, and upstairs landing area while we take the kids out of the house for the weekend (didn't want them breathing the fumes or touching the wet paint, so we're going to visit my parents when they come in a few weeks!). An even trade means no money spent and more money for Disney! YAY!

Okay, get to work telling me your opinions of my dining decision and book choices!

 

[Charleston Princess]

I am here! I will be back to catch up, but I just have to say, your three children are adorable!!!