Bringing the Magic Home for Christmas! - Update 9/6 Lots of updates!

[newtodis]

Ok is it bad that I spent the night thinking about what other lists I needed to make???

I want to find out more information on the pirate tutorial/makeover and jedi training for the boys (we girls realize we're outnumbered!). I also want to try and get more info on the Wishes cruises and make a decision if we want to do that or not. We did the Wishes dessert party last time we were there and it was ok - DH mentioned possibly doing it again if it's offered. I would do it again in a second but they didn't refill the plates during the party so things ran out very quickly which was disappointing.

I'm ready to plan my next step....come on Disney! I need my park hours and to make ADRs!

Hopefully more pictures after our Disney night on Friday night. Nothing super fun this time - just getting all on the same page. In the future we'll make a countdown calendar, make a door decoration poster and go through park maps thanks to a friend sending me some. Hopefully that will make our time go a bit more quickly.

We've also got other things coming up throughout the year to help time pass more quickly:
April 2 Easter
April 15 Our 5 year anniversary - we're having a dinner party at the house
June 9 Last day of school - should be fun!!
July 10 Corbin's birthday party complete with Star Wars cake!
July 15 Corbin and Dan's birthday!! (yup they share a birthday!!)
July 15-23 Trip to MI for my grandpa's 90th birthday party and 10 year class reunion and just visiting family and friends
Aug School starts back up!!
Nov 20 Carter's birthday and party day!
Nov 24 Leave for Disney!!!

All that along with things that just pop up, baseball practices and games and hopefully some family visits. Time will fly I know it will! It's just super hard to wait it out!

 

[newtodis]

Still planning away on the trip when I've got time...it's been a busy week and I'm sure it's only going to get busier. I'll have a much better idea of who wants to do what once we all get together on Friday night.

The boys decided this morning that they want to do the Jedi training so I've got to do some research on that. I'm also thinking about letting them do the pirate makeover thing by the Pirate ride...I know they'd like that a lot.

Just when I thought we'd be able to try out a lot of new things on this trip and spend the entire time at Disney, my hubby's now talking about spending a day at Universal or Sea World...I just can't see that happening but who knows. I guess it would make more sense - especially Sea World - if it was warmer instead of December.

 

[newtodis]

Ok tonight's the first Disney night!!! We have lots to cover tonight - all the "basics"!! It should be fun for sure to get some feedback and start planning with more of an idea of what everyone will want to do/see while we're there!

 

[newtodis]

I've decided I'm going to give making an autograph book a shot instead of using the one you can buy at the parks. So I found a thread on the Creative DISigns board with directions on how to make the books and links to tons of different autograph page styles.

Here are a few of the "blank" pages I loved (please note these are NOT my DISigns and are free for use here on the DIS. PLEASE do not take other DISigners work and attempt to sell or make a profit from it in any way!!!)

 

[newtodis]

Here are a few pictures that I might use to make t-shirts or something else with along the way (again, not my DISigns - please don't try to sell them!). You can visit the Creative DISigns board here on the DIS and get them customized for your trip if there's any you like - and if there's none you like, there are millions of other options on that board. Those people are truly amazing!!

 

[newtodis]

Ok I've made and distributed my first official spreadsheet for this trip! I'm sure there will be many more to follow!

It was basically a budget worksheet to help everyone figure out what everything costs - accomidations, tickets, meal price ideas, meals to eat at the house we're staying at - and just some notes about different things we all want to do while we're there. I don't want there to be any surprises about what we're doing or what anything costs (other than any surprises I might plan along the way!).

I guess I'm just nervous that they're going to feel like they have to follow us around everywhere and do what we're doing and that's not the case. I'd be honored to help them plan their trip but don't want them to feel like we need to spend every minute together if we don't want to.

We need to decide on a house this week. We've looked at several different options and we just need to decide. I found some really great deals on vrbo.com. I saw the website on Clark Howard so I feel pretty safe using it if we decide to go with a house from there.

I feel like I should be doing stuff for the trip but we've got so much time there's not a lot I can do right now...Once the hours come out, I can start working on days and in May I can start making ADRs. I really want to do CRT this time so I've got to be on the phone every day trying to get it....

We have family coming into town for Easter so we're moving up our anniversary dinner to Good Friday night and having Easter dinner Saturday night or Easter brunch Sunday morning before the family leaves. The lady making our cake is going to make a "nicer" Disney themed cake. I'm excited to see what she comes up with. I gave her a link to the cake gallery here on the DIS and told her what I liked/disliked so I'm excited to see what she comes up with based on that. It will be a super small dinner party with about 17 people there so it will be nice to be able to spend some time with everyone. We're just ordering dinner from Jim and Nicks (a local chain place) so I won't even have to cook much!

Then we'll move on to planning our MI trip and Corbin's birthday party. Hopefully that will keep me busy for the next couple of months. Once we get back from MI in July, that gives me four months to fininsh working on Disney. That should be enough time to shop for all my stuff, make the autograph books, stock up on some pins to trade and some other fun little stuff. I'm thinking about getting this book (http://www.guidetothemagic.com/shopping.htm) for Corbin to keep track of his trip in and have something kind of educational to take back to school and share about his vacation.

 

[ethansmommy]

Just joining in!! We are also going to Disney in November, our dates are the 13th-20th. We actually went the same week you are going this year last year. Like you I love lists so I am eager to see all of the stuff you plan. I find myself constanly needing to plan something, it keeps me busy. I have already booked and started planning my son's birthday party In Aug. Most people think Im crazy but I like to think I am just really on top of things. Looking forward to reading more.

 

[ethansmommy]

Snacks

*Cannoli dip and chips
*Popcorbin

Okay so you have to tell me what Cannoli dip is. We love cannoli's!! Also what is "Popcorbin"? My son did the pirate makeover when we were there last november and he LOVED it!! It is kind of said because they recently made changes to the makeover and you can no longer do the Captains Package(included the costume) (what we did). I wish they hadnt changed it, there are so few things for boys at disney as it is.

 

[newtodis]

Just joining in!! We are also going to Disney in November, our dates are the 13th-20th. We actually went the same week you are going this year last year. Like you I love lists so I am eager to see all of the stuff you plan. I find myself constanly needing to plan something, it keeps me busy. I have already booked and started planning my son's birthday party In Aug. Most people think Im crazy but I like to think I am just really on top of things. Looking forward to reading more.

Welcome! I spent about two hours last night putting data into a spreadsheet, saved it, tried to reopen to make sure it was there (because I get nervous like that) and it was all gone!! So now, I have to reenter everything....ugh!

How was it when you went last year?? In 2008 we went about a week later for a long weekend over my birthday and it wasn't too bad. I know Thursday and Friday will be "bad" for Thanksgiving but other than that...I'm hoping no lines!

I'm a constant planner too! I've always got something going on...Right now it's Easter and the anniversary dinner. I've started on this trip obviously and my son's birthday in July because we have to have everything figured out before school's out.

Of course you're on top of things! It's the only way to be!

Okay so you have to tell me what Cannoli dip is. We love cannoli's!! Also what is "Popcorbin"? My son did the pirate makeover when we were there last november and he LOVED it!! It is kind of said because they recently made changes to the makeover and you can no longer do the Captains Package(included the costume) (what we did). I wish they hadnt changed it, there are so few things for boys at disney as it is.

Cannoli dip is a Pampered Chef recipie...here's what I found on google:
Ingrediants
1/4 cup plus 1 tbls semi-sweet chocolate morsels, divided
1 container (15 oz) ricotta cheese
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 container (8oz) frozen whipped topping, divided
Possible Dippers:
Strawberries
Graham cracker sticks
Sweet tortilla chips

Directions:
Reserve 1 tablespoon of the chocolate morsels for garnish.

Chop remaining chocolate morsels using a food chopper or knife.

Place in large bowl.

Add ricotta cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla and mix well.

Set 1/2 cup of whipped topping aside for garnish.

Gently fold remaining whipped topping into ricotta mixture.

Spoon dip into medium serving bowl.

Sprinkle remaining chocolate morsels over dip and pipe rosettes around edge of dip.

Serve with your choice of dippers.


I serve it with tortillas cut up, brushed with water and sprinkled with sugar. You bake them at 400 degrees for like 5 minutes - until they're brown and crunchy. It's super yummy!!

As for the "popcorbin"...that was a typo. My brain was obviously thinking about Corbin my son and not what I was doing.

Thanks for the feedback on the pirate thing. That's crazy that they changed it so you can't get an outfit now....I was planning on looking for something on clearance after Halloween anyways but now I guess I need to make sure I really do.

 

[ethansmommy]

Welcome! I spent about two hours last night putting data into a spreadsheet, saved it, tried to reopen to make sure it was there (because I get nervous like that) and it was all gone!! So now, I have to reenter everything....ugh!

How was it when you went last year?? In 2008 we went about a week later for a long weekend over my birthday and it wasn't too bad. I know Thursday and Friday will be "bad" for Thanksgiving but other than that...I'm hoping no lines!

I'm a constant planner too! I've always got something going on...Right now it's Easter and the anniversary dinner. I've started on this trip obviously and my son's birthday in July because we have to have everything figured out before school's out.

Of course you're on top of things! It's the only way to be!



Cannoli dip is a Pampered Chef recipie...here's what I found on google:
Ingrediants
1/4 cup plus 1 tbls semi-sweet chocolate morsels, divided
1 container (15 oz) ricotta cheese
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 container (8oz) frozen whipped topping, divided
Possible Dippers:
Strawberries
Graham cracker sticks
Sweet tortilla chips

Directions:
Reserve 1 tablespoon of the chocolate morsels for garnish.

Chop remaining chocolate morsels using a food chopper or knife.

Place in large bowl.

Add ricotta cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla and mix well.

Set 1/2 cup of whipped topping aside for garnish.

Gently fold remaining whipped topping into ricotta mixture.

Spoon dip into medium serving bowl.

Sprinkle remaining chocolate morsels over dip and pipe rosettes around edge of dip.

Serve with your choice of dippers.


I serve it with tortillas cut up, brushed with water and sprinkled with sugar. You bake them at 400 degrees for like 5 minutes - until they're brown and crunchy. It's super yummy!!

As for the "popcorbin"...that was a typo. My brain was obviously thinking about Corbin my son and not what I was doing.

Thanks for the feedback on the pirate thing. That's crazy that they changed it so you can't get an outfit now....I was planning on looking for something on clearance after Halloween anyways but now I guess I need to make sure I really do.

Oh no, that stinks about the spreadsheet . Things like that always seem to happen to me when I am in a rush trying to get them done, it never fails.

Last year when we went the crowds were pretty low, we arrived the sunday after Thanksgiving so we missed most of the holiday crowd. The only time we really had an issue was at DHS, it just seemed so busy that day and it was a green day according to TGM. All the other parks most rides were either walk ons or 5-10 min waits. One thing that Im sure you will do anyways is bring clothes that can be layered because it got chilly in the morning and nights. I am hoping for nicer weather this year so that I can try and go in the pool. My husband and son went in but unless my body is really warm and toasty from the sun it just isnt going to happen.

With the pirate makeover you can still get a costume but its no longer part of a "package". I would just look for the costumes after Halloween like you said, that way you can save money and put it towards something else. I know last year after Halloween they had the pirate skeleton looking costume on clearance for like $15, that would be perfect for the makeover. Thank you for the recipe, I cant wait to make it. My mouth is already watering.
~Jen

 

[newtodis]

Oh no, that stinks about the spreadsheet . Things like that always seem to happen to me when I am in a rush trying to get them done, it never fails.

Last year when we went the crowds were pretty low, we arrived the sunday after Thanksgiving so we missed most of the holiday crowd. The only time we really had an issue was at DHS, it just seemed so busy that day and it was a green day according to TGM. All the other parks most rides were either walk ons or 5-10 min waits. One thing that Im sure you will do anyways is bring clothes that can be layered because it got chilly in the morning and nights. I am hoping for nicer weather this year so that I can try and go in the pool. My husband and son went in but unless my body is really warm and toasty from the sun it just isnt going to happen.

With the pirate makeover you can still get a costume but its no longer part of a "package". I would just look for the costumes after Halloween like you said, that way you can save money and put it towards something else. I know last year after Halloween they had the pirate skeleton looking costume on clearance for like $15, that would be perfect for the makeover. Thank you for the recipe, I cant wait to make it. My mouth is already watering.
~Jen

Yeah...I managed to squeeze my spreadshett "reupdate" into my morning this morning so I think I'm back in action. I'm sure there was stuff I added last night while I was working on it in "Disney mode" that I forgot about this morning but I'm sure I'll remember later.

YAY!! I hope we have super short wait times!! I think that's what I'm most looking forward to! The year we were there for my birthday it was so super cold the one night. I remember waiting to see Santa and FREEZING! I've already got winter coat, hat and gloves on my list! I'm a big 'ole sissy when I get cold so I always do layers. Thankfully with the house we're renting, we'll have a heated pool and it will be a short jog from the pool to the house (it's in the backyard). I'm sure the kids would all swim either way - they don't seem to care much about the cold when they're having fun.

Thanks - I'm adding looking for a pirate costume to my list! I'm already waiting for after Easter to buy a couple of the cute Mickey Easter baskets I've seen to use as gift baskets for our trip! I'm a super coupon user/saver so I'm always looking for a great deal!

 

[newtodis]

Alright....here's my list of things I think I'll need to cook for 10 days while in the World. I always forget something so tell me what I'm missing!

Pantry Tote
Fruit snacks
Pop
Egg noodles
Salt and pepper
Seasoning salt
Italian seasoning
Rice
Mushroom soup
Fried onions
Lettuce
Tomatoes
Taco sauce
Peppers
Onions
Mushrooms
Mashed potatoes
Green beans
Stuffing
Chicken stock
Rice a Roni
Hamburger helper
sugar
Cinnamon
BBQ sauce
Bread crumbs
Bread
Mac and cheese
Goldfish
Chips
Teddy grahams
Pop tarts
Cereal
Spaghetti
Spaghetti sauce
Pancake mix
Syrup
Cooking spray
Peanut butter
Jelly
Graham crackers
Chex mix
Chocolate chips
Tortillas
Muffin mix
Oil
Kool aid
Pretzels
Nilla wafers
Ice pops
Plastic wrap
Aluminum foil
Water bottles
Brownie mix
Hot dog buns
Hamburger buns
Sloppy joe mix
Marshmallows
Chocolate bars
Mini pitas
Pizza sauce
Coffee
Hot cocoa
Tortilla chips
Cheese wiz
Veggies
Fruit
Juice boxes
Jello
Ketchup
Popcorn
Creamer
Mustard
Mayo
Gatorade
Granola bars

 

[newtodis]

Alright....we're starting to get the pieces of this puzzle put together here.

Our family's leaving Wednesday, 11/24 after work. Marcia, Randy and kids will be leaving Saturday morning, 11/27.

11/24 I plan on working until about 11 (hopefully I'll be able to work this out...thankfully I work for a great place and they're pretty flexable). Then I'll run and get Carter from "school" before they have lunch at 11:30 and take a nap (no pick ups from school from 11:30 - 2:30). From there, I'll go get Corbin from school and hopefully Dan will be able to be home from work by noon. Ideally we'll be on the road by 1:00 so they can eat lunch/snack in the van and maybe take a little nap. I'm guessing travel will take a little longer because of the impending holiday on Thursday...Hoping to be in Orlando by 7 (that would add an extra hour to our normal time) and into the house and settled in by 8. That would give the boys a little time to at least put their feet in the pool before they have to go to bed! I can't see a full out swimming session that late at night but we'll see...

11/25 Happy Thanksgiving! I think we're going to try, against all better judgement, to head to the Magic Kingdom this morning for a couple of hours - until it gets crazy busy. Then it's back to the house for a mini - Thanksgiving dinner and swimming - weather permitting.

11/26 We're going to try and hit the parks again this morning - maybe DHS this morning for TSM (our family's favorite ride!!!!). Again, we're only gonna stay until it's busy - maybe a couple of hours. Then it's back to the house again for swimming and relaxing.

11/27 I think we're going to hit AK first thing this morning and do the safari ride. Randy says they'll be at the house by noon today so we'll need to be back at the house to meet them, get their gate pass to get into the community and get into the house. Depending on what tickets they buy and how busy things are, we'll either head to the park or hang out at the house for awhile. If we do the parks, it'll be MK for sure - that's "Disney" to so many people and a great place to start and end the trip!!! If no park, we're going to the Poly, riding the monorail and watching Wishes from the beach.

11/28 Not sure where we'll head today - depends on park hours and "good" parks to be at today. The "plan" is to be at each park in the morning and a different in the evening each day for the next four days.

11/29 See above

11/30 See above

12/1 See above

12/2 Today and tomorrow will be "redo" days for everyone - if there's anything you want to go back and do, you should speak up now! We'll probably do MK one morning and DHS the other morning. As for evenings, it will depend on what everyone likes and wants to try and do "one last time" before heading back to reality.

12/3 See above

12/4 Marcia and Randy and family leave - right now the plan is for them to leave first thing in the morning. I don't know how early that will be - they'll probably be tired from their travels this week with us! We'll also be packed up and headed to an undisclosed location (not sure where yet....) for our last rides. We usually end in MK since that's where most of the stuff for the boys is right now. From there, we'll probably head to DTD. That's always our "last stop" before heading home - I think every trip but one we've done that. That's when we buy our junk from our trip instead of buying stuff every time we're at a park. Since it's a Saturday, if Dan can handle it since I hate driving, we'll probably stay as late as we can last and just "recover" on Sunday. I'm hoping to stay on top of laundry and stuff while we're there and come home with as many clean things as possible to help cut down on my stuff to do when I get home.

I'm also hoping that Corbin doesn't get a ton of homework to bring with him. We'll have to pack up whatever he's got and he'll have to do it while we're there. I'm not sure how the teachers handle trips like this but I know his teacher this year wasn't concerned with other kids missing. Hopefully we'll have the same luck next year too!! Either way, we'll make the trip educational (we usually always do!) so Corbin will be able to go back and share some of the things he learned on his trip.

While we're there, I want to find something cute for the boys to take back to their classes. It will have to be something small and pretty inexpensive since they'll both need 20 - 30 of them. I'm not sure what yet but I'd like something that's truly Disney and not something you could go get at Walmart.

 

[newtodis]

Ok I started trying to come up with some motivational things to get some of our group out of bed and moving in the mornings if I needed to. I was thinking about a scavenger hunt or hidden Mickey hunt. I'm looking for suggestions on things for both the scavenger and hidden Mickey hunts...easy for the little ones, a bit harder for the teenagers and super hard for DH and Randy!

I was thinking about giving each of them a matte from a picture frame (probably like 5x7) one day while we're in a park and the goal being how many signatures you can get on the frame before lunch or something like that. Something fun and easy that we can all do together or seperate.

I'm also thinking I'm going to give each of them several options as far as collecting autographs. I'm going to make a pillow case, t-shirt, canvas tote and a bigger photo frame matte and take them all with us. Between the 8 of us, I'm sure they'll all get some signatures on them!

The picture frame would also be super cool for something like CRT where you can put the picture from breakfast into the frame with the matte of the character's signatures on it. See?? I can sometimes be creative!!

I also need to come up with some small "prizes" for our winners. Since we'll be there first, I'll stock up on some Disney dollars (also use these as rewards for good behavior throughout the the trip). I'm also going to try and look for stuff over the next few months before we leave.

 

[newtodis]

We have used Memories by Betsy (http://memoriesbybetsy.com/Memories_by_Betsy/Welcome.html) many times in the past and always love her baskets!! We'll either use her again this year or I'll use some of my Disney magic and get Mickey to drop the baskets off the first night we're there....I'm just not sure if she can deliver the baskets to the house we're renting since no one will be there to get them.

Currently, my "plan" is to have a basket on everyone's bed when they arrive. Since we'll be there first, I might sneak back in and put baskets on the boy's beds while Dan's loading them into the van or something. This wouldn't be weird since I'm usually the last one out anyways and typically have to run back in for something I forgot - or someone else forgot...

Here are my ideas for the baskets so far:

Marcia and Randy - Disney dollars to spend while there, invitiation to one meal with us (this will be our Christmas gift to their family - Randy's already aware of this). I'm not sure what else to include. It's their first Disney trip together (he's been before with his previous wife and his daughter Elyssa) so I want to do something fun for sure but not get more stuff that they've already got. I'll probably have to wait until much closer to figure out what they have and what they need.

Brett and Elyssa (two seperate baskets but pretty much the same thing) - EPCOT Passports (I plan on making these before we leave), Disney dollars, disposable camera, autograph book (I plan on making these too), meal invite for whatever meal we decide on, mister fan, pins for trading, lanyard. Again, not sure what else. I don't want to overload them with stuff but want to make it special since it will be their first trip the four of them traveling together.

Corbin and Carter (again, two baskets, pretty much the same stuff) - autograph books (I plan on making these before we go), Christmas ornament to replace the ones that were broken this year.

I can't put Dan's ideas here because he's a DISser and sneaky and nosey....

I'm also going to make a couple of t-shirts for our group to wear. Hopefully we can convince everyone to wear them or at least put them on for a couple of pictures. I'll also be bringing the pictures the kids make to "decorate" the doors to their bedrooms to kind of "mark their territory" and help us remember where everyone's at.

I'm not sure what else to stick in there. I thought about "time waster" for the kids to play with when we're standing in line like Rubix Cubes, bubbles, that kind of stuff. I don't want big huge things but something nice for each of them to find when they get there and start the Disney magic off on the right foot.

Since we're not celebrating the typical Thanksgiving (we'll have a turkey breast, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green bean cassarole and rolls), I'm also bringing a special cake with us to celebrate. Our little family's been through some ups and downs this year and hopefully will still be on an "up" while we're in Disney. It's also super close to Carter and my birthday so we'll probably celebrate that while we're there. Our friend of a friend who's making our dinner party cake is willing to make it for us. My only requirements to her were something that could travel safely (it can ride on my lap if it needs to! ) and something Disney. Other than that, it's up to whatever she comes up with.

We'll do a custom cake at one of our meals (probably wherever we invite them as their gift) - hopefully a lunch or dinner so we can take it right back to the house with us and snack on it the rest of our time there. Ideally we'll do it early in the week since we'll have to order a pretty big cake to have it personalized. I've been looking at the cake photo gallery. I love the snowflakes, sugar flowers and the piped Mickey heads and silver stamps on the cake. That's pretty much what I'm going to tell the CM when I place my order. Just a very general "celebration" cake (my birthday, Carter's birthday, their first trip as a family, our first trip together somewhere, lots of things!) with a "winter" theme.

If we can get them to eat at CRT with us, I'm thinking about ordering Marcia the mini castle cake and Elyssa the chocolate slipper. Their faces would be so worth it!! (Disney is the one place I can spend money and honestly not think too much about it!)

So what meal should we all eat together and get a cake for??? We're hoping for breakfast ADRS at Chef Mickey's, Donald's breakfast, CRT and Ohana. I think though after all of those places we'll be heading to a park. Dan and I both really like the Grand Floridian Cafe's food and we've had a custom cake from their before and liked it a lot. We normally don't eat lunches at the park because we're back at the house/hotel/condo/whatever resting. It would be an early lunch if we did lunch so we could still go back and rest. GFC would also be fun for dinner and walk out back and watch Wishes after dinner.

We haven't eaten at many places on site as far as table service. We kind of find something we like and stick with that. Corbin's got a LOT of allergies - we call him "Bubble Boy" - so once we find a "safe spot" we tend to stay with that. Marcia's also allergic to pepper so I will really need to stay on top of allergies this trip!! The chefs have always been amazing so I'm not too worried.

The other option for the cake is if we do a Wishes cruise. Dan and I have been talking about that. Possibly the first night we're there if they have Wishes that night??? So much right now depends on when they're arriving and what they're going to do once they get there. I don't want to plan out too much but some things, like the cruise, need to be planned out well in advance.

Every day it seems like I think of something new to work on or try and figure out... At least I'll be busy until we leave! It makes the time pass more quickly that's for sure!!

 

[ethansmommy]

I just read your pantry list and now Im starving!!

I think your plans look good so far and you are mighty brave to takle the world on a holiday.

I have a couple of ideas for gifts for the kids classes: erasers, pencils, small candies. I think the erasers or pencils would be practical because they would be able to use them at school.

I really like the idea of bringing the photo matte and getting the signatures, I hope you dont mind if I steal this from ya...

~Jennifer

 

[ethansmommy]

We have used Memories by Betsy (http://memoriesbybetsy.com/Memories_by_Betsy/Welcome.html) many times in the past and always love her baskets!! We'll either use her again this year or I'll use some of my Disney magic and get Mickey to drop the baskets off the first night we're there....I'm just not sure if she can deliver the baskets to the house we're renting since no one will be there to get them.

Currently, my "plan" is to have a basket on everyone's bed when they arrive. Since we'll be there first, I might sneak back in and put baskets on the boy's beds while Dan's loading them into the van or something. This wouldn't be weird since I'm usually the last one out anyways and typically have to run back in for something I forgot - or someone else forgot...

Here are my ideas for the baskets so far:

Marcia and Randy - Disney dollars to spend while there, invitiation to one meal with us (this will be our Christmas gift to their family - Randy's already aware of this). I'm not sure what else to include. It's their first Disney trip together (he's been before with his previous wife and his daughter Elyssa) so I want to do something fun for sure but not get more stuff that they've already got. I'll probably have to wait until much closer to figure out what they have and what they need.

Brett and Elyssa (two seperate baskets but pretty much the same thing) - EPCOT Passports (I plan on making these before we leave), Disney dollars, disposable camera, autograph book (I plan on making these too), meal invite for whatever meal we decide on, mister fan, pins for trading, lanyard. Again, not sure what else. I don't want to overload them with stuff but want to make it special since it will be their first trip the four of them traveling together.

Corbin and Carter (again, two baskets, pretty much the same stuff) - autograph books (I plan on making these before we go), Christmas ornament to replace the ones that were broken this year.

I can't put Dan's ideas here because he's a DISser and sneaky and nosey....

I'm also going to make a couple of t-shirts for our group to wear. Hopefully we can convince everyone to wear them or at least put them on for a couple of pictures. I'll also be bringing the pictures the kids make to "decorate" the doors to their bedrooms to kind of "mark their territory" and help us remember where everyone's at.

I'm not sure what else to stick in there. I thought about "time waster" for the kids to play with when we're standing in line like Rubix Cubes, bubbles, that kind of stuff. I don't want big huge things but something nice for each of them to find when they get there and start the Disney magic off on the right foot.

Since we're not celebrating the typical Thanksgiving (we'll have a turkey breast, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green bean cassarole and rolls), I'm also bringing a special cake with us to celebrate. Our little family's been through some ups and downs this year and hopefully will still be on an "up" while we're in Disney. It's also super close to Carter and my birthday so we'll probably celebrate that while we're there. Our friend of a friend who's making our dinner party cake is willing to make it for us. My only requirements to her were something that could travel safely (it can ride on my lap if it needs to! ) and something Disney. Other than that, it's up to whatever she comes up with.

We'll do a custom cake at one of our meals (probably wherever we invite them as their gift) - hopefully a lunch or dinner so we can take it right back to the house with us and snack on it the rest of our time there. Ideally we'll do it early in the week since we'll have to order a pretty big cake to have it personalized. I've been looking at the cake photo gallery. I love the snowflakes, sugar flowers and the piped Mickey heads and silver stamps on the cake. That's pretty much what I'm going to tell the CM when I place my order. Just a very general "celebration" cake (my birthday, Carter's birthday, their first trip as a family, our first trip together somewhere, lots of things!) with a "winter" theme.

If we can get them to eat at CRT with us, I'm thinking about ordering Marcia the mini castle cake and Elyssa the chocolate slipper. Their faces would be so worth it!! (Disney is the one place I can spend money and honestly not think too much about it!)

So what meal should we all eat together and get a cake for??? We're hoping for breakfast ADRS at Chef Mickey's, Donald's breakfast, CRT and Ohana. I think though after all of those places we'll be heading to a park. Dan and I both really like the Grand Floridian Cafe's food and we've had a custom cake from their before and liked it a lot. We normally don't eat lunches at the park because we're back at the house/hotel/condo/whatever resting. It would be an early lunch if we did lunch so we could still go back and rest. GFC would also be fun for dinner and walk out back and watch Wishes after dinner.

We haven't eaten at many places on site as far as table service. We kind of find something we like and stick with that. Corbin's got a LOT of allergies - we call him "Bubble Boy" - so once we find a "safe spot" we tend to stay with that. Marcia's also allergic to pepper so I will really need to stay on top of allergies this trip!! The chefs have always been amazing so I'm not too worried.

The other option for the cake is if we do a Wishes cruise. Dan and I have been talking about that. Possibly the first night we're there if they have Wishes that night??? So much right now depends on when they're arriving and what they're going to do once they get there. I don't want to plan out too much but some things, like the cruise, need to be planned out well in advance.

Every day it seems like I think of something new to work on or try and figure out... At least I'll be busy until we leave! It makes the time pass more quickly that's for sure!!

We have also used Betsy before and she did a great job!! Where are you finding disney dollars?? My local store stopped having them last year, now the only option is a gift card which is not nearly as magical!! I also like your "time waster" ideas, again hope you dont mind if I steal them
I agree with you 100% on this statement: (Disney is the one place I can spend money and honestly not think too much about it!) I feel like I save all year for disney so when we get there its like a free for all!!
As far as the cake goes I have read on the dis that the best places to get a custom cake are either the grand floridian or the contemporary. I think if I was you I would try for the GFC dinner and then watch wishes after or try and get the cruise. The cruise is one thing we still have not done but is very high up on our list of things to do.
~Jen

 

[newtodis]

I just read your pantry list and now Im starving!!

I think your plans look good so far and you are mighty brave to takle the world on a holiday.

I have a couple of ideas for gifts for the kids classes: erasers, pencils, small candies. I think the erasers or pencils would be practical because they would be able to use them at school.

I really like the idea of bringing the photo matte and getting the signatures, I hope you dont mind if I steal this from ya...

~Jennifer

LOL Sorry about that! I always forget something so I'm hoping another set of eyes will help me out!

Yeah I don't have high expectations for Thursday or Friday...if it happens, it happens. If not, that's ok too! We'll just head back to the house and hang out there or find something else to do with our day.

Thanks for the ideas!! I'm going shopping Friday night while the boys are at open gym so hopefully I can find some good stuff!

Don't mind at all!

We have also used Betsy before and she did a great job!! Where are you finding disney dollars?? My local store stopped having them last year, now the only option is a gift card which is not nearly as magical!! I also like your "time waster" ideas, again hope you dont mind if I steal them
I agree with you 100% on this statement: (Disney is the one place I can spend money and honestly not think too much about it!) I feel like I save all year for disney so when we get there its like a free for all!!
As far as the cake goes I have read on the dis that the best places to get a custom cake are either the grand floridian or the contemporary. I think if I was you I would try for the GFC dinner and then watch wishes after or try and get the cruise. The cruise is one thing we still have not done but is very high up on our list of things to do.
~Jen

We'll have to get them at DTD when we get there. There are tons of pictures of them on line that you can print of like an "IOU" to trade them in when you get to Disney.

Don't mind if you steal them! I'm hoping to come up with some more time wasters too. I just don't know how they'll all do in line if we have to wait and will not tolerate any whining. I'm all for kids having to learn to wait for things and I can make my kids understand that but not someone else's.

That's a good idea! We could eat dinner at GFC then leave for the Wishes cruise with the cake. I hadn't thought of that! I've got to spend some time (one of these days when I don't have a ton of other things going on) figuring out how we're going to fit all of this in and come up with a budget so I know what we need to save up.

 

[ethansmommy]

I'm not sure if you use this or not but one thing I dont see on the pantry list is butter. Oh and have you thought of bringing any utensils (flippers, spatulas...etc) that you think they might not have like a shreddar or something less common??
~Jen

 

[newtodis]

I'm not sure if you use this or not but one thing I dont see on the pantry list is butter. Oh and have you thought of bringing any utensils (flippers, spatulas...etc) that you think they might not have like a shreddar or something less common??
~Jen

Butter is on my cooler list - I'll post that probably tomorrow. (I have a freaking list for everything!) I'm not sure about utensils. I hate to pack stuff and have it already there. We're renting a house and I have an idea of what's there but was told if something breaks and they can't fix is before we get there, we're just out of luck. I'm ok with that if it's stuff like a wisk (which is what we were talking about - small kitchen utensils).

I just know my van's gonna be full of stuff to take. We've never been for more than like 5 days so this is a HUGE trip for us! I also know myself who will be throwing stuff in at the last minute that I'd previously convinced myself I was not taking (I always do this....) Thankfully, if I do forget something, we're close to Walmart and Publix I believe so they should be able to make up for whatever I forget.

Another "bonus" is that Marcia and Randy are coming down a couple days after us so I can call and ask them to bring some things with them too if they're too expensive or silly just to go out and buy to use once. Marcia's got my back like that!