After 7 Trips We're Finally Staying At the BC! May 2012 PTR: New TR Started!

[cinderella crazy]

Joining in! Glad to hear you're returning to Disney. We took a two year break too and returned this past Christmas. Your kids are getting so big. You will fall in love with the Epcot resorts. It's the only place I stay now.
Cute countdown calendar!!

Hi Barbara! Thank you! It was a lot of fun for me to make the calendar. I was looking at pictures from the old PTR and I was shocked at how much both the kids have grown. I can't wait to walk out of the BC and take a nice stroll to Epcot! It's going to be so great!

Oh, Lawsy... the dreaded ATL traffic. Ugh, can you imagine living there and dealing with that EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. I have some friends who live in that area. One lives less than 10 miles from work but it takes her OVER AN HOUR EACH WAY to get there and back home. Oy!

On our first family trip back in '07, we drove straight through to WDW in one day. I think we made it there by 7 p.m. or so. The next time, in 2010, we left the day before and drove most of the way. Not sure where we stopped for the night... it may have been Ocala (Oak-ah-lah). Even though we had to spend extra money on a hotel for the night, it was definitely easier to drive most of the way and stop for the night. Especially with having the kids along. Your plans sound great... grab some dinner and get some sleep, then you're refreshed and ready for Disney!

No, I can't imagine living there. A long time ago I lived in a burb of Chicago and I would rather go through Chicago traffic than Atlanta traffic. There was one trip down to Disney where it took us (I think it was 3) hours to drive through Atlanta. After that trip or departure time revolves around "How can we avoid rush hour traffic in Atlanta?"

We used to stop in Ashburn, Georgia on our way down. It was a little more than half way but it was kind of depressing to wake up in the neverending state and realize that we still had to drive in the neverending state. So on our 2009 trip Mike decided that we should try driving to Gainsville so we could wake up the next morning and be at Disney in the morning. This year he suggested Ocala and I just couldn't pass up the chance to stay in Oakahlah, now could I?

Count me in!! Can't wait to hear more. I love Disney but my second favorite vacation place in Tennesse (Pigeon Forge).

We love going to Dollywood and Splash Country in Pigeon Forge! Have you been to Gatlinburg? Our spring break is this week and we're planning on going to Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg.

I hear you about the drive through the entire state of Georgia! There was one trip where we decided to drive to Montgomery,then head east into Georgia---I remember going through Plains, GA...and I felt like we were in that state forever---and that was only half of the state! I can't imagine how long it must feel when you start at the top!

We will make our drive down in one day, and it gets easier to do that when your kids are older.

The first half of Georgia isn't too bad. Atlanta and its burbs go on for awhile so there are things to look at. After Atlanta is Macon (or as I call it, Bacon) and it provides stuff to look at too. But after Macon there's not much to Georgia. I think the second half is much harder to go through just beacuse there isn't as much to look at.

Our 2004 trip we drove down in one day. We spent one night at the ASMovies so we wouldn't have to pay for one more night at the WL. We were all pretty tired the next morning so after that trip, we started breaking up the trip down. The last couple of trips we've started to break up the trip back too.

 

[PixieMama]

No, I can't imagine living there. A long time ago I lived in a burb of Chicago and I would rather go through Chicago traffic than Atlanta traffic. There was one trip down to Disney where it took us (I think it was 3) hours to drive through Atlanta. After that trip or departure time revolves around "How can we avoid rush hour traffic in Atlanta?"

I'm originally from D.C., and still have family that live in the area. It's a tough call as to which traffic (and drivers!) is worse... ATL or the Beltway! I'm glad my DH doesn't mind driving the whole time and we don't have to take turns!

 

[cbcrockett]

I'm here, I'm here! We'll be picking up where y'all leave off. We'll be getting to WDW on June 3rd. We'll almost pass each other in the never ending GA!

So glad you finally get to stay at the Y&B Club! I think WL is next on my Disney Resort bucket list!

 

[cinderella crazy]

I'm here, I'm here! We'll be picking up where y'all leave off. We'll be getting to WDW on June 3rd. We'll almost pass each other in the never ending GA!

So glad you finally get to stay at the Y&B Club! I think WL is next on my Disney Resort bucket list!

Hi Brittany! Maybe the trek through Georgia will be better for both of us knowing that someone else is sharing in our pain.

We may be staying at the WL on our next trip. We haven't stayed there since they rennovated the rooms several years ago and we'd really like to go back.

 

[MelMel11]

We love Gatlinburg too!! We are head to pigeon forge at Easter!! Have Fun!! We go so much we have season passes to Dollywood and Splash Country!! I wish we lived closer to Disney World. We are heading to Disney in July!!!

 

[cinderella crazy]

We've already had 8 Disney Nights this year in celebration of our upcoming trip. As I'm typing this I'm preparing to have our ninth. My plan is to post the first eight as shorter posts and then have lengthier posts starting for our ninth. Of course the way I can get off topic who knows if the short posts will actually be short. Hopefully I'll get to the posts soon.

So far we've had:
Chef Mickey Night
Princess Night
Pirates of the Caribbean Night
Tower of Terror Night
Star Wars/Star Tours Night
Test Track Night
Haunted Mansion Night
Toy Story Night

And tonights will be: Animal Kingdom Night!

 

[natebenma]

LOVE your choice of resorts!!! I'm in!

If you haven't checked out the FAQ forum for the Y&BC yet, I formally invite you to come on over. We are a fun, friendly bunch and there is a ton of information on the first page to satisfy any obsessive planners who may be lurking around here. You can click on the link in my signature.

I love your countdown calendars- so creative! Your theme nights sound like a lot of fun, too.

My favorite picture that you posted is the two kids in front of the fountain at the poly. Too cute!

My DH and I just got away for the first time without our boys (ages 13 and 10) last week, to celebrate our 25th anniversary in Puerto Rico. Anniversary trips are fun. BTW- my DH is an EE, too.

Look forward to reading more!

Dee

 

[Spaceship Tigger]

I'm just sad that we won't be stopping in Ashburn, GA again this year.
The hotel there was near the Zaxbys, after all.

 

[StitchIsOurHero]

I just found your trip report from the resorts board! We are in Maryville, so we are just down the road! love the countdown calendar! We are fast approaching 70 days (75 today) out. We are at Wilderness Lodge for the first time (yes, my ticker says AKL, but we switched at like halfway there, and I couldn't stand to move it back to the beginning!!)

I may have to break the Cricut out and do a countdown calendar, too!!

 

[cinderella crazy]

Disney Night #1 – Let’s Go To Disney!

We started doing Disney nights in January so I have a lot of catching up to do posting about our Disney nights. So here’s the first one:

We always have breakfast at Chef Mickey’s. And it’s usually the first day we arrive at Disney. So for our first night we had food you’d find at Chef Mickey’s.

The Invitation:

The Table:

The food:
Scrambled Eggs

Mickey Pancakes

Bacon

Toast

Cinnamon Rolls

Orange Juice
Chocolate Nesquick
Coffee


The Activities:
Decorate a Mickey head:
Mike’s:

Alex’s:

Lauren’s:

Mine:

Play Disney Headbands game
Play Magic Kingdom game
Watch a previous trip video


It was a really fun way to kick off our Disney nights!

 

[cinderella crazy]

Disney Night #2 – Princess Night

This was Lauren’s choice. I was even able to convince Alex that even though it was “princess night” it was still fun. Unfortunately, or fortunately, we had such a fun time, I didn’t get many pictures.

The Food:
Tiana’s Turkey Burgers with Belle’s Buns
Snow White’s Salsa and Chips
Cinderella’s Carrot Fries
Ariel’s Apple Pies

The Table:

The Activities:
Make a crown

Activity and coloring pages
Watch “Princess and the Frog”

 

[cinderella crazy]

Disney Night #3 – Pirates of the Caribbean Night

This was Alex’s choice. I found some cute pirate masks which made for a really fun time.

The Invitation:

The Table:

Pirate Mask Fun:

The Food:
Pizza Ships
Seaweed Salad
Skewered Fruit
Yo-ho Ale

Buried Treasure Dessert

The Activities:
Search for treasure
Watch Peter Pan

 

[cinderella crazy]

Disney Night #4 – Tower of Terror Night

My pick. My favorite ride at Disney so I had to have a night dedicated to it.

The Invitation:

The Table:

The Food:
Tower of Terror Chicken Nuggets (cause they go up and down when you dip them in sauce)
Hollywood Tower Bellhop Bowtie Pasta
Movie Star Medley of Vegetables

Ritzy Red Velvet Cupcakes


The Activities:
Make a star for your door
Play Jenga
Watch Mommy scream on ride
(We had make keys as an activity but it was a busy night and we didn’t get to this activity)

 

[cinderella crazy]

Disney Night #5 – Star Wars/Star Tours Night

Mike’s pick. This was soooo much fun! We are all big Star Wars fans and Alex has a ton of Star Wars toys.

The Invitation:

The Table:

Boba Fett?! Boba Fett?! Where?! On my mug!

Fun with Darth Vader Mask:

The Food:
Boba –Fett-ucine
Yoda’s Yummy Veggies
Alderan Apple Juice
C-3PO’s Cheesy Toast

Hoth Chocolate

Ben’s Brownies

The Activities:
Play Lego Star Wars
Jedi Training

Watch Star Wars

 

[cinderella crazy]

Disney Night #6 – Test Track Night

This was Lauren’s pick. Too bad it might be closed when we’re there.

The Invitation:

The Table:

The Food:
Fast Food – McDonald’s

Motor Oil Sundaes

The Activities:
Watch “Cars”
Watch video of ride
Decorate cars
(And once again we ran out of time. This was happening partially because we were waiting till Mom got off work on Fridays and it was pushing the start of our night back. So we decided to try Saturdays for a little while)

 

[cinderella crazy]

Disney Night #7 – Haunted Mansion Night

This was Alex’s pick. One of his favorite rides.

The Invitation:

The Table:

The Food:
Mummy Dogs
Grim Grinning Ghost Potatoes
Madame Leota’s Meatballs
Master Gracey’s Grand Nachos
Ramsley’s Rice Krispie Treats


The Activities:
Scary Activity Pages
Watch “Tonight All the Monsters Gonna Dance”
Watch “Haunted Mansion”
(Once again we ran out of time so we didn’t get to all of the activities)

 

[cinderella crazy]

Disney Night #8 – Toy Story Pizza Planet/Toy Story Midway Mania Night

My pick. I thought it would be a fun night and it was!

The Invitation:

The Table:

The Food:
Pizza
Salad
Andy’s Apple Turnovers with Ice Cream


The Activities:
Watch “Toy Story”
Play Toy Story Kerplunk
Play Toy Story Mania on the Wii
Activity Pages
(We had so much fun playing Toy Story Mania we didn’t play Candy Land. But since we moved it to Saturday night instead of Friday, we had plenty of time for a

 

[MHTeacher]

I always enjoy reading about your Disney nights. My favorite part is always Mickey, sitting down at the head of the table, all dressed up in character for the evening!

 

[PixieMama]

Hoth Chocolate

Your Disney nights sound like so much fun!

 

[cbcrockett]

Love love LOVe your Disney nights! We might have to do some of those when DD is a little older. So much fun!