Birthday Extravaganza! First PTR

[MouseketeerKelsey]

Hi all! I am so excited to be writing my first PTR. I thought I would start with a little introduction of myself seeing as I am new to the DIS boards.

My name is Kelsey. I am 18 currently, turning 19 in December, hence the birthday trip.

This is me now.

For quite literally as long as I can remember I have been Disney OBSESSED! My parents brought me to Disney World for my 4th birthday and I have loved it since.

These pictures are from my trip for my 16th birthday and from a chorus trip. Our camera was on it's way out and not working properly. The chorus pics are better. I promise pics from this trip will be MUCH better. My beloved DSLR is coming along.

I am fortunate enough to live in Florida only two hours away from the magical land we all love so much. Because of this, we never do long trips. I have been to Disney many times but it is typically for one day at the park.

In September I did my first week long Disney marathon as I call it. I had family come in from New Jersey for a 40th Birthday and I tagged along. We stayed offsite at a condo (the right choice because it was 3 bedrooms and there were up to 11 of us at times). I had a great time, don't get me wrong, but my family didn't exactly understand the need to PLAN IN ADVANCE, so it was a little hectic.

I think that is part of the reason I am planning this so meticulously. This trip is just me and my mom for 3 days enjoying pure Disney bliss.

I know what you are thinking, "A PTR for a 3 day trip?!" Well, let me just tell you, I have put my heart and soul into researching and planning this trip and I am sure it will be the trip of my dreams! I only wish my dad could be there, he recently started a new job, which is amazing, but he wasn't able to take the two days off Oh well! Next time it will be the whole family, but for now, some mother-daughter bonding.

This is my mom and I.

And this is just a fantastic pic I found of her from our trip!

And my dad and I on the TTA.

I am a blogger and writer by nature so I am sorry if these get a tad long, I am going to try to do my best to break them up into more, smaller posts. With that being said I am going to end here and continue with intro trip details in my next post (which I am going to write now as well hehe I have the Disney bug and can't sleep, I may write the whole thing tonight, who knows!)

I hope you will read along and give me any feedback that you have!

Thanks!

 

[MouseketeerKelsey]

I was planning on posting this last night, but I fell asleep, oops!

I thought I would take this post to do a sort of who what when where why of the trip! Here we go!

Who? Me and my Mom! Should be fun to have a nice mother-daughter bonding trip!

What? A trip to Disney!

When? December 7-9! My birthday is December 22nd, but I would never go when it is so crowded. I have found that I love going to the parks the beginning of December.

Where? WALT DISNEY WORLD!

Staying at Pop Century.

Visiting Resort Holiday Displays, Downtown Disney, Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios!

Why? My 19th Birthday!!!

I figure I will post plans for each day as well as the general excitement that comes with 13 DAYS UNTIL DISNEY!

I wish I had found these boards before, it would have helped so much with early planning. Oh well, next time. I think we may be taking a short 2 day trip in January and I know I am going for at least one if not two days the first week in February so I plan to use these boards to the fullest!

Sorry for no pictures, this one was more just some info but I promise pics in the next one!

 

[MouseketeerKelsey]

Everyone....
Stop the presses.

My dad just bought me MVMCP tickets for Dec 7th!!!!!!!

This has been on my bucket list for YEARS. I have literally wanted to do this for as long as I can remember.

I cried when he told me. I am still shaking.

I just booked FastPass+ for the afternoon and I am now even MORE excited (if that is even possible.

Wow. First tears of this planning process.

What would you guys say are "Must Do's" of the party?

 

[MouseketeerKelsey]

He all! This is a quick update but I have a few more coming along today because I have the whole day off (whoo!) so I am going to try and get a bunch of my last minute planning done because, yes, I am rescheduling planned out days.....again.

ANY WHOOOOOO

I am an annual pass holder so I have had my Magic Bands for a while. My mom and I both got blue because it is both of our favorite colors. I had thought of decorating mine, but I am not so artistic.

I found a great board on here with ideas so I did mine last night!

Here it is!

I used these nail polishes!

For the whole band

For both of the Mickey's

Then I sealed the whole thing with a Polymer Top Coat which is like a gel nail top coat that makes it shinny and scratch resistant. This is a tad pricey but was something sent to me for review consideration for my beauty blog and I thought the shine would be nice on this!

I am still probably going to do something for my mom's, so I would LOVE to see pictures of anyone else's decorated Magic Bands!

Next up I am going to be doing the daily breakdowns which I can not WAIT for!

Today is 11 days.....so close to single digits!!!!

 

[MouseketeerKelsey]

So last night, just for fun, I was reading through this that was sent to my house a long while ago.

And in the back cover it says "Last Day to Customize Magic Bands- 11/26/14"

Well considering I already have magic bands I was very confused. So I right away took to the Dis to find out.

Turns out I get another set just for this vacay! I got Green for my mom and Red for me and I have AMAZING christmas plans for them since we are going to MVMCP and just overall celebrating christmas. I can't wait! It gives me an excuse to decorate another set! All I can say is LOTS of glitter and gold paint are needed

I've nailed down my schedule for resort hopping on Sunday morning/early afternoon. I also have Tuesday at Hollywood Studios TOTALLY planed to the T in order to see all of the shows we want, hit our FP+ and our ADR which I am so excited for.

I had Monday's MK plan totally done but then I changed some FP times, found out about the parade taping and added an extra 8 hours of MK time.

I am thinking of fully planning the night of MVMCP so I fit everything in and then just making a checklist, and possible ideal order, of things I want to ride/do in each land. This way I have a plan, but nothing firm enough it could work my anxiety up if anything gets out of place.

What do you think? I am thinking laminated cards for each land with a sharpie and we can mark off each thing as we go.

How would you do it? I would LOVE so feedback from fellow Dis'ers!

Thanks! More updates coming today!

 

[stephm0188]

Hi Kelsey! Welcome!

MVMCP can be a very fun time. What are you most interested in? For us, the parade and fireworks are on our "must see" list. We met the seven dwarfs a few years ago at another MVMCP and it was a fun experience.

I would suggest picking a few things that are "must-do" for the party, and then anything beyond that would be icing on the Mickey cupcake.

Have a great time! We'll be at WDW at the same time

 

[MouseketeerKelsey]

First of all, happy happy turkey day to all of those celebrating. For the first time in many years my parents and I are doing Thanksgiving at our house, just the three of us.

With Thanksgiving also comes Black Friday and now that they start the sales INSANELY early, I was up all night to buy a new camera. It was a doorbuster online so I was worried I wouldn't get it, BUT I DID. Something you all might not know about me is that I am a camera nut. My mom was a professional photographer for almost 20 years and that love has been passed to me. I have my Nikon D3200 which I love and bring everywhere, including Disney. I also a have a Canon Elph 330s which I use for vlogging (video blogging). I have a GREAT GE point and shoot that doesn't focus right or take video anymore as well as a Dual lensed front and back video camera, a small ge point and shoot and an old canon.

I know....camera geek.

Well I wanted a point and shoot with great zoom for concerts but that also shot video in at least 720p hd. AND I GOT ONE! It was also on sale for 57% off! Score! It will be coming to Disney with me for sure! I will only have that, my D3200 and Elph 330 hs.

Back on topic now....I started thinking about trying to have dinner somewhere nicer than Cosmic Ray's on the Monday we are at MK. There are a few ADR's open for LTT which I have eaten at and so has my mom so it wouldn't be my first choice. I would LOVE to treat my mom to dinner at The Crystal Palace but I didn't plan far enough in advance so it may just not be in the cards.

Right after this goes up I am posting what my plan is for the first half of our first day, 12/7, before MVMCP!

Then I have Tuesday, 12/9, at HS ready to go up. Monday is still up in the air a little. Hoping to have it put together better by the end of this weekend.

I was up all night for that dang camera and now I have to stay up because it is PARADE DAY! I love the parade. And the dog show. And the fact that Christmas music is now socially acceptable. Yikes I am tired.

I promise the update coming right after this will be totally Disney centric, this can be blamed on my lack of sleep.

I also have been addicted to reading people's PTR's and TR's for days now. And each time I read one it messes with my schedule because it adds something new I want to do! Ugh!

I hope you all enjoy your family, food and don't forget to give thanks for the most important thing....Mickey Mouse! Obviously a joke.

OH! I ordered a set of 25 random pins to trade and they arrived today! I am super happy with them and will post pics in one of my next updates!

I am thinking of surprising my mom and making custom shirts for one of the days at Disney. I am typically not into stuff like that and she is and I think it will mean a lot to her!

Any suggestions, let me know!

I am off to get the paper, I love looking at Black Friday Ads even if I am saving all money for disney.

Enjoy your holiday!

 

[MouseketeerKelsey]

My turkey is in the oven and I thought that gave me a little time to sit down and write up a fun one!

First is our overall schedule

Sunday 12/7:
Holiday Resort Hopping
Lunch at Capitan Cook's
More Resort Hopping
Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party!

Monday 12/8:
Magic Kingdom (8am-12-am, possible mid day break)

Tuesday 12/9:
Hollywood Studios
Dinner at 50's Prime Time (4:10 pm ADR)

I figure I will do a post for each day with more breakdowns, Sunday probably getting two posts.

My email from Disney this morning says 10 days....but MY PHONE SAYS 9!

SINGLE DIGITS BABY!!

Clearly I am extremely excited.

My Magic Bands shipped today. Tomorrow I am going to ask to go to the craft store for decorating supplies. Pray my mom says yes, braving Black friday crowds is not a favorite in our family.

I'm not even looking for sales, it is just our only free day!

Up Next: Holiday Resort Tour Plan!

 

[MouseketeerKelsey]

Oh my goodness gracious has this morning been eventful!

Should I start with the FP+ update or the ADR update?

FP+ it is.

As some of you may know I have been DYING to get my hands on a 7DMT FP for my mom and I for Monday, December 8th when we are at the Magic Kingdom. I was literally checking 5-6 times a day. WELL....I subscribe to touringplans.com and I found out that they had a tool that showed when open fastpasses were for each day. I checked and there was one from 2:50-3:50. I had a FP for Belle at that time, I switched the time to later that night, changed my Pooh FP to it's a small world because it showed an opening at 2:50-3:50 and then was able to switch the small world FP to Mine Train! It was for 6:10 (odd) but I was then able to move my Belle FP back to the original time! So excited!!!!!!

MINE TRAIN HERE WE COME!!!

On to ADR update. As you may know from my last update I had been deciding (incredibly late) that I wanted to try and have a Table Service dinner to give us a nice meal and a nice rest. Well....the only one open was 8:30pm at LTT. I have eaten there many times and while I like the place, I really wasn't feeling it. I really wanted to eat at the Crystal Palace but there was nothing available. I checked many times a day and nothing.

Then today I woke up at 4 am and decided to check and.......7:35pm at Crystal Palace was open! I booked that so fast. And then my weird side kicked in. I didn't know if I wanted it. It is pricey and I was reading lots of reviews of people saying not to go for dinner. I want to pay for this one myself and treat my mom and $80 just seemed a little high for me.

Everything I was reading said to go for lunch or breakfast, but alas, no lunch or breakfast reservations were available.

And then the world blessed me with even more pixie dust. I got a lunch reservation for 1:20pm! I am so excited. I canceled the dinner ADR right away and promptly bounced around telling my dad all about it.

I am so excited. Lunch there accomplished three things. 1, I will stop stressing over getting into Be Our Guest for lunch. 2, I get to surprise my mom with a special meal. 3, we get a nice meal and a break half way through the day!

I now have to TOTALLY redo my plan for the day but I don't mind one single bit.

I feel so blessed with pixie dust today! I hope anyone planning their own trip has a much luck as I did today!

Anyone have any Crystal Palace lunch items that are must tries? I have never been there and I don't want to miss anything amazing!

 

[MouseketeerKelsey]

Just a real quick update.

Even though I know exactly how many days until my trip, I like to ask Siri.

I have always asked her how many days until December 7th and she will reply with something like "38 days"

Well,

I just asked her "How many days until December 7th?" and she replied

187 HOURS!

Siri understands the excitement. She is counting the hours right along with me. I figure we have to add about 6 hours to that because we are leaving at 6am, but I am still going to go with her countdown because it is more fun!

 

[MouseketeerKelsey]

It's official....I now have a winter Magic Band fit for a (very sparkly) princess.

I got red for me and green for my mom, I am about to start hers. Ours are both going to be done the same. Honestly I love my mom. She knows how happy stuff like this makes me so she goes along with all of my crazy plans.

It's been like that with the trip too. "Mom I think I am going to have us skip lunch since we have an early ADR and we will have a good breakfast before we leave the hotel, is that okay with you?" "Anything you want." "Mom I am thinking of switching the time of our Thunder Mountian fastpass and starting on the other side of the park what do you think?" "Whatever you want to do" Bless her for dealing with my Disney planning insanity.

That being said, here is my band!

I even decided to bling out Mickey!

 

[MouseketeerKelsey]

It's official.....

I AM GOING TO DISNEY WORLD TOMORROW!!!

I am so excited! I have a lot to do today, like pack, but I am still so excited. Also I got an email from touring plans saying they changed the estimated crowd level from 4 to 6. I am hoping that doesn't impact things too much. I am also possibly running into an issue with the scooter company....again. This one I guess would fall under my fault, although it is because of an issue with their system.

Plus I am at work right now. Oops! It's just my dads office, I run the front desk on weekends. It's nice pay towards Disney. I thought that I would walk you through my plan for tomorrow.

We are going to be leaving home around 6:30 am if all goes as planned. It takes around 2 hours to get to Disney from home. We are going to go to Pop Century and (try to) check in. If nothing else we have to stop their to pick up my scooter. I'm not sure if I have ever touched on that in this report, I am unfortunately disabled and require a scooter to be able to do the parks and resorts.

After this we are going to take the bus to the Magic Kingdom. The bus is easier with the scooter than attempting to put it in my moms car. From the Magic Kingdom we are going to take the Monorail to the Contemporary and look at holiday displays. Then take the Monorail to the Poly and see whats there and possibly eat at Captain Cook's, then we are taking the Monorail to the Grand Floridian to see the Gingerbread House!! Then after that we will take the Monorail to the Magic Kingdom!

Assuming it is still fairly early (since we can't go into the park until 4pm) we are going to take a bus to the Boardwalk. We figured we could see the Boardwalk, which I have never seen, and the Yacht and Beach club before heading back to the Magic Kingdom. I figure as long as we are back at the park by 3:30pm we are good.

We have Fastpasses for Buzz that end at 4:20pm. I am keeping them, but I am not sure I am going to rush us to use them. It is one of our two MK days and the other is planned from the start so I thought we may want the chance to just take in Main Street and the Castle.

Next we plan to head back to Fantasyland and use our FP that starts at 4:20 to Meet Cinderella (!!!) and Rapunzel. From there I think we are going to do Under the Sea and let mom take in some of New Fantasyland before heading to our 5:20 Mine Train FP! I am very excited for this. I have already ridden it but my mom hasn't and I loved it!

After that the plan is to grab a ride on the Teacups before heading to get a spot to see the Castle lights turn on and the show for it at 6:15! This is where my plan is pretty chill. The only other ride I want to try to get in that night is Buzz at some point. My main focus is the MVMCP and I want to make sure to see the show, parade and fireworks. I may even want to see both Parades. Also we will need to grab something to eat at some point. I figure we will stick me in my wheelchair somewhere to have a spot for the parade and have my mom go grab something for us to eat.

I am so excited. I can't believe it is finally here!

Maybe if I am not to crazy busy today I will fill you in on Monday's plan if not you will just have to wait for the Trip Report!

Thanks for reading, if you have any tips for a spot for wheelchair viewing of the MVMCP show and parade I would appreciate it. I would love a spot where we could see the show at the castle, the parade and the fireworks because navigating the crowds in the chair can be hard sometimes.

 

[MouseketeerKelsey]

Hi guys!
Long time no see! Holiday season is always insane with me. My parents surpised me with a gift for my birthday that literally made me burst into tears because I didn't think I would get a thing because Disney was my present.

The morning of my birthday they surprised me with concert tickets to a show that night (Jingle Ball in Tampa). Music is the most amazing thing in my life and when my health gets really bad (as it is now but hey that's life) it is what brings me joy. Two musical acts specifically, Fall Out Boy and Demi Lovato have forever changed my life and both of them were playing that show.

Needless to say I was in my seat basically sobbing at the amazing show.

Sidenote aside, I plan on starting the TR for the very soon if not tonight!

Also I just found out I am going to Disneyland and California Adventure in July! Only a single day at the parks but you best believe I will be planning that out FULLY!