Boys rule, girls drool!

[disneywithboys]

This is my first pre-trip report! The countdown in our house is on- 16 days!
We will be in Walt Disney World Tuesday, September 23 through Sunday, September 28 staying at the Beach Club. We are so excited!

So who is we? I am the mom to three crazy boys- Jack, Joe, and Harry. We first took all three to Disney World back in 2009. This is what the boys looked like then:



We had taken our two older boys before #3 had even arrived. It was a short trip to the Yacht Club with my dad and step-mom. We loved the YC and it reminded me how much I loved Disney. I immediately wanted to return to WDW and begin planning a trip my way! Well DS #3 arrived and we decided to try and vacation with just our family of five. We decided it would be best to go before #3 was mobile, so we went in December 09 with a 7 year old, 4 year old, and 7 month old. I nursed my way around WDW! We stayed at Coronado Springs. A moderate resort was all that our budget allowed and we also scored free dining. It was a lot of fun to have a trip for just the 5 of us around the holidays.

Fast forward five years, two moves, DH's broken leg, and the craziness that is having three boys and we were ready to make a Disney trip again. Stay tuned as I share all about my decisions and planning. The next 16 days can't come soon enough!

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This was us last Easter- can't ever get everyone smiling. We are not usually this spiffied up, but I rarely make it into the pictures these days!

 

[disneywithboys]

I am a social studies teacher so I had to start with the 5 W's of our trip: who, what, when, where, and why!

Who: me, DH and our 3 boys


Jack (age 12)

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Joe (age 9)

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and Harry (age 5)


So with three boys, we are not going to be lining up to see Cinderella or singing "Let it Go" at the top of our lungs, but everyone is SO excited! Jack wants to finally ride Space Mountain, Joe is excited for Star Tours, and Harry says he won't talk to any characters but I think he will love it all!

What Our first trip in 5 years!

When That was a big decision to make. We definitely did not want to hit the crowds of the summer and really wanted free dining. Getting free dining allowed us to stay at a Deluxe resort. Since DS#1 is now in middle school, he couldn't afford to miss too many days. Luckily, when our local school system posted its calendar, there was a teacher workday on a Thursday in September (9/25) so I kind of revolved our timing around that. We are flying out after school on Tuesday and should be there after dinner. Then we will have all day Wednesday-Sunday with the kids only missing 2 days of school. Our flight home actually isn't until 8:30 Sunday night so we should have a full day Sunday too. Now, Monday morning it will not be easy to get up!

Where: we decided to stay at the Beach Club. It was one of the less expensive deluxe resorts and we loved the YC last time. The location was hard to beat. We decided to spice it up and stay at the BC this time. Loved being able to walk to Epcot or take the boat to HS. And of course the pool! We have a garden view room- would love any suggestions or thoughts about the BC!

Why I don't think I really need to answer the "why" part to fellow Disboard-ers. I love planning it as much as being there. I am excited to have 6 days of family fun without the outside world dictating our lives! And I won't have to cook or do laundry for almost a week!

That's all for now- off to a church youth group event. Will post more about our ADR and FP+ later. I hope I get some followers!

 

[disneywithboys]

We were originally going to keep the trip a surprise. DH wanted to wait until we hit the airport to tell everyone. But for various reasons, we ended up telling the boys with about 27 days out. Now we have a countdown chain in the kitchen.

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All three boys have gotten into it. Today I added a Disney Dollars chart. Since school has started it has been tough getting everyone in the school routine again. We are getting up and out the door much earlier than summertime. So i started each boy with 10 Disney dollars and every day between now and Dday they can earn a disney dollar (souvenir money) for making their bed and picking up all of their clothes. I live with three boys- whatever it takes to get them to pick up their dirty socks! We don't tend to go overboard with souvenirs. And I have found when we have traveled elsewhere it really helps to give them a fixed amount to spend and then the ownership is on them.

I haven't decided how to go about the disney dollars...if I will get gift cards at the local disney store or if I will simply allot them a certain amount to charge with their magic bands. Thoughts?

Anyone else doing some fun incentive things for the trip?

 

[disneywithboys]

Help! I was just about to list our itinerary for my pre-trip report but now my fastpass for Be Our Guest lunch counter service isn't showing up. Where should I look????

 

[disneywithboys]

Found it! The Be Our Guest Fastpass reservation is not linked to anything in MDE. To make a reservation, go to:

www.beourguestlunch.disney.go

There is a great thread about FAQ for Be Our Guest lunch fastpass. I have a fastpass booked for our first full day in the Magic Kingdom.

We have the Disney Dining Plan (1S, 1CS, and 1TS per day).So here are our basic itineraries:

Tuesday: arrive at airport around 6:30 pm. Hoping to be at BC by 8:30. Is that realistic?

Wednesday: Magic Kingdom all day
- planning on using one snack and 2 counter service
- have Be Our Guest Lunch fastpass for 12:30-1:30
- planning on Columbia Harbour House for dinner

Thursday: Hollywood Studios (day)
- counter service for lunch
- Hoop Dee Doo Revue 6:15

** I am so excited for the HDDR- we have never been!

Friday: Animal Kingdom (day)
-Epcot for dinner 6:15 at San Angel Inn

Saturday: Epcot (day)
- HS for dinner at Hollywood and Vine Fantasmic dinner package (I haven't read rave reviews about the H&V but I am excited to see Fantasmic. We have never seen that show either!)

Sunday: 9:15 at Cape May character breakfast

We have several new things in our itinerary (HDDR and Fantasmic) as well as a few favorites (San Angel Inn). Would love some suggestions for counter services in Epcot and HS.