April/May 2014 Surprise Trip! Birthday, Princesses and eating with Darth Vadar?!

[jcmaro]

With only 4 weeks until we arrive at my happy place I'm itching to spill the beans! So to keep me quiet for a few more weeks I'll spill it all here!

This is my first Trip Report so I hope I can complete it once we return and fall into that post-Disney depression.

A few introductions!

Me - A stay at home, homeschooling, girls group volunteer running, Scentsy selling, Disney crazy mom.

DH - A work from home, kid's chauffer, put up with my Disney obsession, but secretly enjoys it too, dad.

DS - J - an 8-year-old, 2nd grader, Star Wars loving, swimming, tell you how everything works, boy.

DD - R - a 6-year-old, Kindergartener, princess/fairy loving, artist/designer, gymnast, swimming, in her own little world, girl.

DD - N - a 3-year-old, Preschooler, spitfire, princess loving, gymnast, sweet as can be, girl.

That is our group for this trip! I'll post more about the reason for this trip, highlight a few of the special events, and talk about the surprise aspect in the next post!

 

[jcmaro]

Ok, so now that you know who is who let me tell you a little about this trip. The last time we went as a family was December 2012. It was the 5 of us and my mom. It was N's first trip and to put it nicely we were in the middle of the terrible two's. Add in that I started the trip with bronchitis, that I never got over and was really sick by Christmas, and a wonderful little stomach virus that hit me mid trip...well let's just say we needed a bit of a do over.

DH and I went back in October 2013 for a long weekend to the Food and Wine Festival for the first time. Which was awesome! Loved the food and would love to go back. But I knew I couldn't wait another year to bring the kids back, and we hadn't been in the spring since 2009, so we settled on the spring. With trying to avoid spring breaks and Easter we settled on the end of April/beginning of May, specifically April 24th-May 3rd or is it the 4th , which leads us to the Birthday part of the trip. N's 4th birthday is May 1st so that day is all centered around her and things I know she will enjoy!

Now, I had the great idea to keep this as a surprise. In fact, I've been having a little too much fun torturing the kids about how long it will be until we have enough money to go again. Originally my plan was to drive all night and just let them figure it out when they woke up in the car, but I've decided I can't drive all night and knowing my kids they would wake up at 4:00am in the car, find out where we are going, wake up everyone else and never go back to sleep. So now the plan is for it to be revealed in their Easter baskets! They have seen the commercials with the Magic Bands and know that is what you use to "get into" Disney. So I found these awesome large Easter Eggs that came 3 in a pack with 2 girl colors and 1 boy colors (so it's fate, right?) that the Magic Bands will fit in perfectly. These eggs will be in their baskets which will be filled with things they need for Disney and just kind of see who figures it out and see their reactions!

So, where are we staying? What are our travel day plans? Find out tomorrow when I post another update!

 

[ThePin Princess]

I'm in can't wait to hear more!

 

[jcmaro]

I'm in can't wait to hear more!

Yay! My first follower! Welcome!

 

[jcmaro]

Ok! Time to start getting into the fun stuff. Well, as fun as travel day can be!

We live in Virginia and it's about a 13 hour trip driving straight through, so it's doable but not a lot of fun. Unfortunately it's just not in the budget to fly so we put up with the drive.

Our trip begins on Wednesday night, April 23rd. I run a girls group at my church and we meet on Wednesday nights during the school year. I really can't miss two weeks in a row so we are waiting until the night is over to hit the road, which will be about 9:45. We considered driving for several hours and getting a hotel but it didn't seem like it was worth it when my parents live just 1.5 hours into our trip. So that is where we will be spending the night on 4/23! It will give us a decent nights sleep for the best rate ever...Free!!

Our trip really begins early Thursday morning where we hope to transfer 3 sleeping kids to the van and hit the road by 5:00am! I expect various potty stops, a couple of gas station stops, including one stop to get everyone dressed for the day after leaving in our sweats, a brunch at Cracker Barrel (gift card!), snacks, video games and movies. One of which I'm sure will be Frozen as it has been watched no less than 15 times since it came out 10 days ago.

After hours and hours in the car we will see that wonderful sign saying we have arrived at Disney World. And all the stress of the drive will wash away as we turn into our home away from home for 9 glorious nights... Port Orleans Riverside! I'm so excited to be staying here for the first time! We've stayed at several resorts including Port Orleans French Quarter but we have never stepped foot into POR!! We have a standard view room with one of the murphy beds booked since we there are 5 of us, which puts us out of several different resorts/rooms. Oh, and since I haven't said it yet we have park hoppers and we are on the regular dining plan!

We have absolutely no plans for that evening except to unpack, grab dinner somewhere (probably just the food court there), check out the resort and go to bed early to recuperate from our travel day and so we will be ready for our first day in the parks!! So, where are we going first? Any dining plans for the first day? What about fastpasses? Tune in for the next update to see what Friday, 4/25 has in store for us!

 

[DexLabDeeDee]

Hello!

I think the magic bands in the Easter basket is a great idea! I can't wait to see how that turns out.

We LOVE POR! We love the quiet and the trees and the lights along the path as you walk to your room at the end of the night. I'm not sure if you'll be using Disney transportation or your car, but when we're coming back on the bus from the park at the end of the day, we like to get off at the first stop, which is the lobby stop. Then, we walk through Fultons and out to the marina and then past Ol Man Island and to our room. It's so pretty at night! It's probably longer than just riding the bus around to the other stops but I get motion sick on those buses and it's so crowded that I would rather keep walking than stay on the bus a minute longer. We're renting a car this year. I'm way too miserable in those darn buses!

We were going to stay there this year but my DDad wanted to try out a deluxe so we'll be at AKL Kidani. DMom and I were against this at first because we love POR so much! Who turns down the opportunity for a deluxe, especially since we've never done one?? We were crazy. We are really excited to be staying at in our suite - 5 of us too! - but there is a little twinge of sadness that we're going to miss out on our Fultons and Ol Man Island and Alligator Bayou.

 

[jcmaro]

Hello!

I think the magic bands in the Easter basket is a great idea! I can't wait to see how that turns out.

We LOVE POR! We love the quiet and the trees and the lights along the path as you walk to your room at the end of the night. I'm not sure if you'll be using Disney transportation or your car, but when we're coming back on the bus from the park at the end of the day, we like to get off at the first stop, which is the lobby stop. Then, we walk through Fultons and out to the marina and then past Ol Man Island and to our room. It's so pretty at night! It's probably longer than just riding the bus around to the other stops but I get motion sick on those buses and it's so crowded that I would rather keep walking than stay on the bus a minute longer. We're renting a car this year. I'm way too miserable in those darn buses!

We were going to stay there this year but my DDad wanted to try out a deluxe so we'll be at AKL Kidani. DMom and I were against this at first because we love POR so much! Who turns down the opportunity for a deluxe, especially since we've never done one?? We were crazy. We are really excited to be staying at in our suite - 5 of us too! - but there is a little twinge of sadness that we're going to miss out on our Fultons and Ol Man Island and Alligator Bayou.

Welcome!

I'm really excited to stay at POR! We will have to make sure we walk around at night to appreciate the beauty then too. Thanks for the tip!

We do drive our car to the parks most of the time. With 3 kids and a stroller it's easier, and usually quicker, to just drive! Especially since we are rope drop, early breakfast kind of people. I like being in control of my timing and not having to rely on the buses. The only exception is Magic Kingdom. That's the only park we tend to take the bus too since you have to park so far away and still take some form of transportation.

 

[jcmaro]

We interrupt your regular programming to bring you this special report. MAGIC BANDS have arrived!! Lovely little nondescript brown box waiting in my mailbox today. Woohoo!! We return you to your regular programming and another update coming later today!

 

[jcmaro]

Ok! Let's get on with some fun stuff! Friday, 4/25 is our first day in the parks! Yay!! And we have decided to start our trip at...the Magic Kingdom!

Let me take a minute here to expand on me for a minute. I'm a planner. Disney works great for me because everything is planned out and I know exactly what I am doing when. However the downside of being a planner is I'm not very good at leisurely touring or going with the flow. I'm trying to be better at that since I want my kids to have fun and if they want to ride the train for an hour or stop and get an ice cream I want to be able to do that. Not be so rushed, rushed, every minute planned.

With that said I have planned (see I said I was a planner!) to have a slower morning since I don't know how we will be feeling after our travel day and I have built in afternoon rest/swim time. So without further ado here are our plans for the day!

Fast Passes!

Enchanted Tales with Belle - 11:05 - 12:05 pm
(I did this with the girls right after it opened in the fall of 2012 and R left extremely upset because she didn't get a picture with Belle since she wasn't part of the show. She is determined to redo this and be a part of the show. Will she do it?)

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad - 6:00 - 7:00 pm
(Both J and R LOVE this ride and this is only the first of many times I'm sure we will be riding this!)

Space Mountain - 7:00 - 8:00 pm (DH, J and R)
(First time for R. She's excited!)

The Barnstormer - 7:00 - 8:00 pm (Me and N)
(Since N is way too short for Space Mountain her and I will be enjoying a coaster more her speed!)

Dining!
Liberty Tree Tavern - 12:30
(DH and I ate here at our fall trip for the F&W festival but we haven't brought the kids here yet. We both enjoyed the food and I loved the Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake so I figured a return trip would be great. I just hope we have a different server as the one we had last time was pretty grumpy and was pretty absent most of the time.)

One more note.

N is a petite little girl and is currently about 39 1/4" with shoes on. Which means some of our fast passes may end up changing if we can't get her to stretch out 3/4" in the next 4 weeks. LOL! Seriously though there's several great rides that she may end up being literally 1/2" too short for which would be extremely disappointing. But if that happens then I guess we just have to plan a return trip even sooner!

That's all for Friday! Where will we spend Saturday? What's on the dining list? Stay tuned for another update tomorrow!

 

[anniebabymu]

Following along! We'll be heading to Disney about a month after you! You guys will love POR! We stayed there on our last trip and I fell in love! The grounds are beautiful, the girls had so much fun at the pool and our oldest with the water slide, the food court was awesome (you must try the create your own pasta!) and we loved the overall "vibe" of the resort! If we weren't heading back with my in-laws this trip, and wanting to make it a bit more budget friendly for everyone, we would have totally stayed there! In fact, on our non-park day I'm planning on taking the in-laws over there to show them around where we stayed last time and then taking the boat to DTD! So fun!!

I think your plans look wonderful so far and I can't wait to hear more! I too am quite the planner!!

 

[anniebabymu]

Oh, and we surprised our girls with our last trip and it was so much fun!! I love your Easter egg idea and I'm sure your kiddos will too!

 

[jcmaro]

Following along! We'll be heading to Disney about a month after you! You guys will love POR! We stayed there on our last trip and I fell in love! The grounds are beautiful, the girls had so much fun at the pool and our oldest with the water slide, the food court was awesome (you must try the create your own pasta!) and we loved the overall "vibe" of the resort! If we weren't heading back with my in-laws this trip, and wanting to make it a bit more budget friendly for everyone, we would have totally stayed there! In fact, on our non-park day I'm planning on taking the in-laws over there to show them around where we stayed last time and then taking the boat to DTD! So fun!!

I think your plans look wonderful so far and I can't wait to hear more! I too am quite the planner!!

Welcome! The create your own pasta is on my list to try. I've seen pictures and it looks so yummy! That may be my meal our first night!

 

[jcmaro]

I just lost my whole post. My laptop battery died while I was upstairs investigating a loud thump, which was N falling out of bed. Ok, I'll try to do this again.

Saturday, 4/26 is our Hollywood Studios day! I LOVE HS! My two favorite rides are there. Tower of Terror and Toy Story Mania! I could, and have, rode ToT over and over again in a row. And I'm a bit of a competitive person so I love TSM even if I've only beat my husband one time! Will either of these make it on our list? Of course!!

Fast Passes!

Toy Story Midway Mania! - 11:00 - 12:00 pm
(Loved by all! No further explanation necessary!)

The Great Movie Ride - 2:00 - 3:00 pm
(A classic! The kids just watched Mary Poppins for the first, and second, and third, and...time so I know they will like seeing that scene. It's also a great, long, sit-down, in the a/c, relaxing ride.)

The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror - 3:00 - 4:00 pm
(YAY!! I may steal N's magic band to take an extra ride on this! )


Dining!

Hollywood & Vine - 8:00am
(This wasn't originally on our plan since we did it with the kids last time, but once they added Doc and Sofia I had to add it!)

50's Prime Time - 12:10pm
(This may or may not make it on the final list. We have more reservations currently than our credits, but we may pay out of pocket for one or two. Although this may be a good one to share meals because of the large portions. You all may have to help me out narrow down my decisions after I list all my reservations!)


I'm not sure if we are going to try to catch Fantasmic this night or do it a day when we plan a nap/rest and return for the evening. We will see!

That's all for now! Two parks down, where do you all think we are heading next?

 

[deedee2177]

Following along! Our trips overlap just a bit. Your first day at MK will sadly be our last day, and we have decided to spend the last day at MK.

We are staying off-site this time because there are 6 of us and on a budget so it worked out better for us to rent a 4 bedroom condo for 6 nights. I was a bit disappointed after all the info came out about FP+, but luckily they just opened up pre-selection to off-site guests as well . So, as soon as my tickets from Undercover Tourist arrive I will be making my selections...I think I might have to steal some yours...they look great and I keep struggling on what to pick!

I have 18 days to go...I can't stand it!!!

 

[lilmama]

Following as well. We will be headed there in September.

 

[jcmaro]

Following along! Our trips overlap just a bit. Your first day at MK will sadly be our last day, and we have decided to spend the last day at MK.

We are staying off-site this time because there are 6 of us and on a budget so it worked out better for us to rent a 4 bedroom condo for 6 nights. I was a bit disappointed after all the info came out about FP+, but luckily they just opened up pre-selection to off-site guests as well . So, as soon as my tickets from Undercover Tourist arrive I will be making my selections...I think I might have to steal some yours...they look great and I keep struggling on what to pick!

I have 18 days to go...I can't stand it!!!

Welcome! Steal away! Some of the picks I've made were just random, some were really thought out! Once we are there and I can see what we end up accomplishing earlier in the trip I'm sure our Fast Passes will end up changing for the end of the week.

 

[jcmaro]

Following as well. We will be headed there in September.

Welcome!

 

[jcmaro]

Sunday, April 27th is our first Epcot Day! I'm going to duck but...Epcot is my least favorite park and it's kind of boring to me and the tiering of the fast passes is really annoying. But I'm hoping to explore this park a little more and I'm hoping to see some things that we normally just pass right by. And maybe one of the new changes with park hopping and fast passes will happen before our trip so I don't waste fast passes! Here are our current plans for the day!


Fast Passes!

Soarin' - 11:00 - 12:00 pm
(I love this ride. It's just so peaceful and I love to breathe deep and enjoy the smells. I'm really hoping N will be tall enough for this!)

Mission: SPACE - 12:20 - 1:20 pm
(This is a maybe. DH is not a fan but I don't think it's that bad on the non spinning side.)

Living with the Land - 4:25 - 5:25 pm
(I don't know if we will even need these but I do enjoy this ride.)


Dining!

Akershus - 8:05am
(Love this meal and character interaction! A must do for us!)

Teppan Edo - 5:20pm
(This is another one of those, may get cancelled because we don't have enough credits, meal. We have enjoyed the food in the past, and I know we can get it anywhere, but we don't take the kids because all the local places are so expensive. Again, it's a maybe.)


A few things that are on our maybe list of things to do at Epcot -

-Agent P? We've never done it and I think the kids would enjoy it.
-Pick a pearl. The kids would probably get a kick out of it.
-And there's several characters here that we will have to see.
-Have to stop in the Karamel shop!
-And check out the Flower and Garden booths.

Anything else that might be interested? Little things that aren't well know? That's all for Sunday!

We are heading offsite on Monday! Would anyone like to guess where? I'll be back soon with another update!

 

[anniebabymu]

Sunday, April 27th is our first Epcot Day! I'm going to duck but...Epcot is my least favorite park and it's kind of boring to me and the tiering of the fast passes is really annoying. But I'm hoping to explore this park a little more and I'm hoping to see some things that we normally just pass right by. And maybe one of the new changes with park hopping and fast passes will happen before our trip so I don't waste fast passes! Here are our current plans for the day!


Fast Passes!

Soarin' - 11:00 - 12:00 pm
(I love this ride. It's just so peaceful and I love to breathe deep and enjoy the smells. I'm really hoping N will be tall enough for this!)

Mission: SPACE - 12:20 - 1:20 pm
(This is a maybe. DH is not a fan but I don't think it's that bad on the non spinning side.)

Living with the Land - 4:25 - 5:25 pm
(I don't know if we will even need these but I do enjoy this ride.)


Dining!

Akershus - 8:05am
(Love this meal and character interaction! A must do for us!)

Teppan Edo - 5:20pm
(This is another one of those, may get cancelled because we don't have enough credits, meal. We have enjoyed the food in the past, and I know we can get it anywhere, but we don't take the kids because all the local places are so expensive. Again, it's a maybe.)


A few things that are on our maybe list of things to do at Epcot -

-Agent P? We've never done it and I think the kids would enjoy it.
-Pick a pearl. The kids would probably get a kick out of it.
-And there's several characters here that we will have to see.
-Have to stop in the Karamel shop!
-And check out the Flower and Garden booths.

Anything else that might be interested? Little things that aren't well know? That's all for Sunday!

We are heading offsite on Monday! Would anyone like to guess where? I'll be back soon with another update!

This new FP+ business has thrown me for a loop! I'm just thankful we're going at the end of May so I have some time to get my ducks back in a row (hopefully) after they roll it out!

We plan to do Pick-a-Pearl this trip! Never done it, but I think my oldest will get a kick out of it! And it will be something fun to do with just us girls... me, my MIL and my oldest! I think our 3 year old might just be too little to "get it" so we'll save hers for another trip!

 

[mblc14]

Following along. Super excited for you guys. And what a great idea for your surprise. We are going in Dec and it will be a surprise for our kids, if I can wait that long, and we are trying for the last minute surprise....gonna be hard.

Your plans look great!! Can't to hear more about it.