Always Let Your (Preschooler) Be Your Guide. My First Trip Report! COMPLETE

[Caretames1]

YAY For surprising Maddie! It's a great idea She'll be thrilled. I bet she'll never notice the packing with everything else going on.


That's great news about the mortgage co, I too have heard horror stories.


Can't wait to hear all your ADRs

 

[katefl]

Hi I spent the afternoon reading your TR and think you're daughter is absolutely hysterical! Really looking forward to your next one! Also, the things I remember the most (and loved the most) were when my parents surprised us with trips to Disney. Granted it was a little different for us, living only 2 hours away from the world, but still the greatest thing ever! She'll love it

 

[shan23877]

So happy to read that your going again!! I never replyed much but really enjoyed your TR and can't wait for the next one!! Have fun planning...

Thank you! and thanks for reading along too. There's so much going on that I'm not as obsessed with planning this time, but as the trip nears, I'm sure I'll go crazy

I reall yenjoyed your trip report and look forward to reading your next one!

Thank you! and thanks for joining in!

Good luck with selling the house, hopefully you will get a buyer pretty quickly! We surprised dd last year for her first wdw vacation. We got her up and went to the airport and played up the fact that she was at the airport and going on a plane. She was excited just for that lol (she was 3). When we got to our resort, we started asking her where we were and she kind of knew...but when we got to MK and she saw the castle, the surprise really sank in. Our surprise would not work for you as your dd would know something was up since she has been before lol... But I also made a shirt that read "My mom & dad just surprised me with this trip to Disney World!" which was fun. Look around on youtube..there are tons of surprise videos for inspiration!

Thanks! The house listed today, so fingers are crossed from here on out. I'll certainly check out the youtube videos, we have no idea how we'll do it. I will absolutely video tape it tho!

I think we'll have to tell Mads the day before, because we'll have to get her up at 2 am to get to the airport. She'd probably be suspicious...

As hard as a secret is to keep, it's worth it in the end! I've only pulled it off once and it was beyond amazing! I had to do what you're doing...leave everything for her until the last day! So excited to hear all about the rest of your plans!

I so hope it works out! I think she's sort of on to us because she often talks about when we go back to Disney, not if... I hope that we can keep it a secret though. I'll have to pack at the last minute because Maddie keeps very close tabs on her wardrobe. There's very little more important to her than her favorite skirts and shoes.

That is awesome news!! You know I'd love to read along with your PTR!

Thanks! I am so excited that we get to take her back so soon!

Awesome! So many great news : the new job, waiting until after bonus, good news on the mortgage, and of course all the things related to the Disney trip like the ADRs and staying at CBR! It's such a beautiful resort! And I love the idea of keeping it a surprise! Ron hopes to do that with our kids one day.

We've had a really good-news week I hope it all works out, and we're really looking forward to CBR!

Yay for another trip!!!! That's too bad that we'll be missing each other by literally 2 days!! Although nothing of mine is booked yet, and it's very possible to move stuff around I'm excited to hear all the plans!!

Darn it! But you seem to have 34 or so trips planned, so how knows, maybe we will be there at the same time!

I am glad that you got great news from the mortgage broker, and that all is well with you. Annual bonuses are very nice, so it is good he gets to receive his before swiitching. Your trip sounds awesome. Maddie will have a great time this April. It is nice that you are planning a trip amongst all of the changes for her, and that your move takes place before she starts Kindergarten. It will be a nice break for her.

I am glad you are doing another trip report. I enjoyed the first one so much that I am happy to read the next one. Yes, starting new jobs do create a lot of work. We bought our house during the boom in 2005, so we are stuck here for a while. It is worth way less than 1/3 of what we owe. Good luck selling yours. Hopefully, you are not upside down.

I am finally about to start my trip report. I will PM you when it is ready. Sorry it took so long. Life has been a little hectic but looks like things are finally slowing down. DH is enjoying his new job so far.

Thanks so much! I've already subbed and replied to the TR!

My thoughts exactly on the trip. I sort of feel like she deserves it with all of the changes afoot. She's so confused about the move-keeps asking if she gets to take all of her things with her. It'll be really nice to get away just the 3 of us before everything goes haywire.

We aren't going to do very well with the house. The only good thing is that it's 100% a starter home, so hopefully it will sell, and the % we need down on the new house is great. So, if all goes according to plan, we'll do really well on the next house

YAY For surprising Maddie! It's a great idea She'll be thrilled. I bet she'll never notice the packing with everything else going on.


That's great news about the mortgage co, I too have heard horror stories.


Can't wait to hear all your ADRs

I am really excited to surprise her! Most kids probably wouldn't notice, but my Maddie certainly would. Especially if I tried to pack her shoes She's such a little diva.

I was sooo relieved after we met with the mortgage wizard. I guess all of the stories are a little overblown.

I can't wait to share! The ADR part was actually the easiest part, it was the resort that kept me up nights!

Hi I spent the afternoon reading your TR and think you're daughter is absolutely hysterical! Really looking forward to your next one! Also, the things I remember the most (and loved the most) were when my parents surprised us with trips to Disney. Granted it was a little different for us, living only 2 hours away from the world, but still the greatest thing ever! She'll love it

Thanks and welcome! She is such a funny kid, cracks us up all the time! I really hope that we can pull off the surprise. It'd be so much fun, and a great memory...

 

[kmedina]

Thanks so much! I've already subbed and replied to the TR!

My thoughts exactly on the trip. I sort of feel like she deserves it with all of the changes afoot. She's so confused about the move-keeps asking if she gets to take all of her things with her. It'll be really nice to get away just the 3 of us before everything goes haywire.

We aren't going to do very well with the house. The only good thing is that it's 100% a starter home, so hopefully it will sell, and the % we need down on the new house is great. So, if all goes according to plan, we'll do really well on the next house

I am glad that you will do well on your upcoming home. We have outgrown our starter home. Some day, I hope to upgrade. We want to try for a third kid soon (hopefully a daughter). Five people in this tiny house may not be a good idea.

 

[TanzUnited99]

on another trip and yay on surprising DD!

 

[nebo]

Shan, how cool everything seems to be working out, and you get to sneak in an extra trip as well. Too bad we check in the day you check out, but we will be over at Coronado this time, it was almost CBR but CBR came up tails. ( I also wante Royal Pacific at Universal but the coin would have had to land on it's edge,,,, and stayed there!
Good luck on all fronts, congrats to your hubby on the new job, but, I think this time it should be,, "Always let your Mommy be your guide...."

 

[katt789]

Hey!! I have some Exciting news! Thanks to a dance competition in may, I had to rearrange the trip, and Tanessa & I will actually be going down April 22-28th & most likely staying at Cbr!!

 

[partyof2]

Yipee for the new trip!

Can't wait to hear about your dining choices either.

 

[denvergirl]

I just found your TR off of a post you made on Fantasyland Mom's page! So many exciting things going on for you. . .I can't wait to hear how it all goes!

 

[shan23877]

on another trip and yay on surprising DD!

I'm having one of those days where I'm really, really excited about the trip. And, I think that we've figured out how we'll surprise DD!

Shan, how cool everything seems to be working out, and you get to sneak in an extra trip as well. Too bad we check in the day you check out, but we will be over at Coronado this time, it was almost CBR but CBR came up tails. ( I also wante Royal Pacific at Universal but the coin would have had to land on it's edge,,,, and stayed there!
Good luck on all fronts, congrats to your hubby on the new job, but, I think this time it should be,, "Always let your Mommy be your guide...."

Thanks Nebo! It does seem like things are working out better than I could have hoped I feel very blessed. Too bad that we're going to miss you guys! We thought about Coronado too, but by the time I looked into CS I was already excited to try CBR.

Thanks again. We'll see if mommy gets to be the guide this time, if I guide us toward princesses, I bet I'll get to!

Hey!! I have some Exciting news! Thanks to a dance competition in may, I had to rearrange the trip, and Tanessa & I will actually be going down April 22-28th & most likely staying at Cbr!!

Yay!!! I'll bet we'll run into each other at the resort at least! You'll soon see how packed our schedule is going to be with DxDP, but we'll have to see if something works out closer to!

Yipee for the new trip!

Can't wait to hear about your dining choices either.

Thanks! We're getting excited! I'll get to dining very soon...

I just found your TR off of a post you made on Fantasyland Mom's page! So many exciting things going on for you. . .I can't wait to hear how it all goes!

Thanks for stopping by! It is a very exciting time for our family, why not plop a WDW trip right in the middle of everything? I really hope that everything works out well!

 

[shan23877]

Today I'm having one of those days when I'm just really, really excited about the upcoming trip. I'm feeling pretty confident that everything will work out, and starting to have fun planning and preparing!

I was going to do a Day One update tonight, but today I did some more shopping for DDs Easter basket, and for the big surprise (!) so I thought that I'd share some that instead.

DH and I did decide how we think we'll surprise Maddie. She can't read, so any sort of sign or letter was kind of out. We also tossed around the idea of not telling her until we got to the airport, but since we'll be leaving in the middle of the night, we didn't want to freak her out or have her not really understand what was going on.

Sooooo, what we've decided is that we'll give her a package (possibly telling her it was sent by the princesses/Mickey) to open the afternoon before we leave. By telling her earlier in the day, it will give me the chance to pack her stuff because as I've mentioned to some of you, she'd certainly notice if any of her clothes were missing. The package will contain the following...

and 3 of these (we used 3 last trip, and have 2 more days and even more character dining this time around. I'll be shocked if we don't have to buy another one at WDW)

Our hope is that since she wouldn't be able to use any of these things in April in Illinois, that will open up the discussion to us telling her that we should go somewhere where she could use them. WDW!!!! We'll video the whole proceeding for sure

I also bought a few things for her Easter basket since I was on Disney Store's website (free shipping! it would have been irresponsible not to)

I know that this is a bit much for an Easter basket, but she is our only kid, and with every thing that's going on around here, we're feeling a little guilty. Plus, I figured we'd take it with to WDW (along with her BBB Arial dress from last year) and she'd have some princess options to wear while in the parks

I also got

to match the dress of course

Barbie sized, she now has all of the princess and prince dolls, so we're making our way through the supporting casts. What can I say, she's the first grandchild on both sides, and she's very blessed.

If there's one thing that DD likes almost as much as princesses, it's brides

and, this was on sale. Santa brought the Belle one for Christmas, and it is the most adorable doll I've ever seen. Seriously, if you've ever thought about getting one for your daughter (or yourself-I kinda want one) get it. They are too, too precious. And, DD doesn't have any Jasmine dolls

I think that I'm getting picture heavy, so in the next post I'll share some more of the things that I've been squirreling away!

 

[PirateKate]

How exciting to have another trip planned! I hope the surprise turns out well. Using the Deluxe Dining plan for character breakfasts is an interesting idea...lots of potential for great lunches and dinners that way. Can't wait to hear about the rest of the details!

Good luck with the move!

 

[shan23877]

Now, our Maddie is a kid who loves a character T. Over the last few months I've been picking some up here and there (some for her birthday presents earlier this month) knowing that if the trip didn't happen, she'd wear them any where. I thought that I'd share some of the outfits that we've got so that when I outline our plans I could also share the outfit she'll likely where, and you'll have a visual. Not sure if anyone really cares, but this will help me plan

I picked up this dress at Target (I seriously, seriously love Target. People at work actually tease me about my devotion to Target. I buy lots of DDs clothes there, and find the quality to be just fine!) She'll wear it for Easter with a white cardigan, and to the Mother's Day Tea at preschool. I am also hoping that she'll wear it to our fancy dinner at WDW

​

Another Target find, not my favorite, but Maddie HAD to have it. There's sparkles on it you see.

front view

back of the shirt

​

All of the skirts were already in her closet and she has several more. Those skirts are her favorite thing in the whole world to wear. She has many, many more character Ts, but those are the new ones. When I mentioned to DH how much I planned to pack he freaked out a little. But, then I reminded him that he is the one who was eager for more resort time in the afternoons. And, I asked him if he would want to put the same sweaty clothes that he'd been wearing all morning back on after a shower. Also, I reminded him that we'll likely fly Southwest and that bags fly free on Southwest. He backed off

In the next update--Day One

I promise!

 

[shan23877]

How exciting to have another trip planned! I hope the surprise turns out well. Using the Deluxe Dining plan for character breakfasts is an interesting idea...lots of potential for great lunches and dinners that way. Can't wait to hear about the rest of the details!

Good luck with the move!

Thanks! We're very excited. We are eaters for sure, so I'm not concerned about DxDP being too much food, and I think that the breaks will be nice. We'll be focusing our character meals on breakfast, and DH and I get to pick the (hopefully) more satisfying meals for lunch and dinner I think that it'll be nice, but I don't know if we'll do it every time.

ADR posts starting soon!

 

[WDWCPALUM03]

Love the Rapunzel Wedding dress, I just placed an order this evening for my daughters Easter basket too. Did you get the Limited Edition Dress?

 

[shan23877]

Love the Rapunzel Wedding dress, I just placed an order this evening for my daughters Easter basket too. Did you get the Limited Edition Dress?

No, I just got the regular wedding dress. Just couldn't justify the cost of the limited edition (to DH )

They're such pretty dresses though, and my DD LOVED the Tangled short. I bet the girls will love them!

 

[kmedina]

Your idea on how to surprise her is awesome. I love the stuff she is getting. Girls stuff is so much cuter than boys stuff. Maddie will be happy. When Xander was my only kid, we used to buy him a lot too. I get the only child thing. It is okay if you want to spoil her a little in my opinion.

 

[katt789]

Yay!!! I'll bet we'll run into each other at the resort at least! You'll soon see how packed our schedule is going to be with DxDP, but we'll have to see if something works out closer to!

Heck yes!! I'm excited!!

 

[dara00]

my dd would love the rapunzel dress but we can't afford it! (well we could, but dh would be so mad!) she loves playing that she is getting married.

 

[ronnmel]

Love all the clothes, and the princess dress, and the dolls, but my favorite are the sunglasses. Very pretty!