Can we? Should we? A Spring 2009 PTR - New 5/6 - The TR has begun!

[mommytothreeboys]

Hi Amy,
First, that woman at the store was completely out of line. I'm sure you know that, but just thought I'd confirm! It is so irritating when people feel as if it is their responsibility to comment on your parenting. UGH! Good for you to handle it with such grace.

Those guidebooks are amazing! I am going to check them out right now....probably won't buy one for this trip, but it's definitely a great idea!

Your countdown calendars turned out super-cute! My boys are having so much fun with the countdown chain..I'm sure yours will have a blast putting on their stickers and seeing the day come closer! Not long now!!!

 

[Happydog]

OKAY first, the countdown calendars are JUST ADORABLE!!! and I am jealous b/c this trip is a surprise for my boys, and we can't do this together!!!! We didn't do a count down calendar last trip -- I tried the paper chain, but they were not very interested... I don't think they got it -- but a calendar they would. Oh well, since it is a surprise, no trip to HDepot for me this time!! No hovering around the paint chip display... I can't tell the difference, re colored copies, and what a great solution, and really they look so festive!

The book, I just ordered it last week for my DS6 (he'll be turning 7 and will totally get into the different pages, etc.) SO I was so glad to see someone else order one! I read about it on some PTR a few weeks back, too! They looked so cool! Glad you are happy with the purchase.

Great update, and can't wait to hear about your other topics, strollers, budget, etc....

 

[KathyRN137]

I'm too polite (as are you) to actually say it, but I remember seeing a t-shirt once that said,

I've got AUTISM, what's YOUR excuse??

Good for you for not losing your cool! Peace and Love....

Great job on the countdown calendar; I am definitely going to make one this year. Billy has recently become very focused on calendars as well....

Kathy

 

[mousescrapper]

Great photos from DHS! Especially my favorite part of The Great Movie Ride (the Wizard of Oz scene).

That's my favorite too and I love that my feet fit in Judy's outside the theatre too. I was just a big children's clothing and toy resale and bought some little Wiz of Oz dolls for me

1st sorry about the rude "lady" glad you and Alex handled it w/ grace

2nd I just love these. so cute and I can just see how the boys will love tracking the days w/ these. Great work fab DisMom

I also want to share the guidebooks I found for the kids.

These look great, I never got a chance to look at the link yet. How fun! I'd love one too.

Sometime this week... Plus the budget, car rental discussion and the last park, Animal Kingdom.

Looking forward to what is next in your planning!

J-

 

[DisMomAmy]

Hi Amy,
First, that woman at the store was completely out of line. I'm sure you know that, but just thought I'd confirm! It is so irritating when people feel as if it is their responsibility to comment on your parenting. UGH! Good for you to handle it with such grace.

Those guidebooks are amazing! I am going to check them out right now....probably won't buy one for this trip, but it's definitely a great idea!

Your countdown calendars turned out super-cute! My boys are having so much fun with the countdown chain..I'm sure yours will have a blast putting on their stickers and seeing the day come closer! Not long now!!!

Countdowns are so fun! It's definitely a great way to stir up the excitement!

OKAY first, the countdown calendars are JUST ADORABLE!!! and I am jealous b/c this trip is a surprise for my boys, and we can't do this together!!!! We didn't do a count down calendar last trip -- I tried the paper chain, but they were not very interested... I don't think they got it -- but a calendar they would. Oh well, since it is a surprise, no trip to HDepot for me this time!! No hovering around the paint chip display... I can't tell the difference, re colored copies, and what a great solution, and really they look so festive!

The book, I just ordered it last week for my DS6 (he'll be turning 7 and will totally get into the different pages, etc.) SO I was so glad to see someone else order one! I read about it on some PTR a few weeks back, too! They looked so cool! Glad you are happy with the purchase.

Great update, and can't wait to hear about your other topics, strollers, budget, etc....

I wish we could do the surprise thing, but I think 6 weeks ahead is about as much of a surprise as they can handle. We were going to tell them about 2 weeks ahead - so this was about a month earlier than planned. They enjoyed making the countdown and I think it started building the excitment.

I was hoping the books would be good - since I bought two of them - and I was not disappointed.

I'm too polite (as are you) to actually say it, but I remember seeing a t-shirt once that said,

I've got AUTISM, what's YOUR excuse??

Good for you for not losing your cool! Peace and Love....

Great job on the countdown calendar; I am definitely going to make one this year. Billy has recently become very focused on calendars as well....

Kathy

I'd love to get Alex one of those shirts but I don't want him using it as an excuse. He pulled that once and I set him straight. But can you guess what happened on Sunday? (It was Saturday that we ran into that "lady".) After swimming I reminded him that he can't be splashing people and that he can't cut people off when they are swimming (he can't stand to lose so he cuts in front of anyone who is gaining on him...). He says, "But mom I have autism - it's hard for me"!!!!!!!! I set him straight again! Then I was just mad at the "lady" for making me say that in front of him.

Looking forward to what is next in your planning!

J-

I'd better get my car/stroller issues posted asap so you can weigh in before your trip!!

 

[DisMomAmy]

Budget:

Items already paid:
Airline Tickets: $930 (direct fights both ways)
Resort/Ticket Package w/DDP: $$2667.10 (I added on park hoppers)
Photopass share: $20

Already paid: $3617

Still to pay:
Airport Parking: $100-120 (depends on whether we park in the garage)
Rental Car: $140 – 325 (2 days vs. 9 days)
Gas/Tolls: $60?
Mousekeeping: $28 (7X4)
Luggage Tips: Not sure here – how many different people could be handling our bags? We won’t take ME to CBR but we may be taking it back to the airport depending on the rental car decision… And how much per bag? $1-2?
Dining Tips: $120
Extra TS Meal at RFC: $120
Groceries before check-in: $100
Travel money (fast food & weekend w/ DBIL): $200
Spending money: $300
Sea Raycers: $60 (we get some sort of coupon for this, but I’m not sure what it is so I’ll budget the full amount for Dniece & Dnephew’s surprise treat.)
Laundry $10 (thanks scrappie!)
Stroller: $190 (double stroller X 7 days)

Grand Total to take: $1428-1658

And this doesn’t count clothing, guide books, etc. purchased to prepare/take with us.

Our first big issue is the rental car. We can get the rental car for $140 for two days – we would check in at CBR then DH would return it to the Disney Car Care Center. If we keep it for the whole week it would be $325. ???

We were pretty much decided on just the 2 day rental until I showed DH the estimated travel times (thanks scrappie) to some of our destinations. He was a little shocked. I probably shouldn't have shown him.

Other than the cost, the problem with keeping the car all week is that we won't use ME to return to the airport. We were looking forward to putting our luggage on the ME bus and not touching it again until we got home. I tried to get the special $199 weekly van rate with pick up at MCO and drop off at the Car Care Center - but it is only offered on MCO to MCO rentals.

I suppose we could budget for a couple of taxis for the longer rides... or just in case.

The other issue is the stroller. We don’t want to bring our own or do a stroller swap because we only want the stroller in the parks. We don’t want to lug it around all over the place, on the buses and/or trams. But the prices have gone way up and the strollers have shrunk. I think a single stroller would be too small for even one kid to ride in. That leaves us with a double stroller rental or not rental… what to do???

Fatigue isn’t as much of an issue as having a safe space for the boys to hide out in if they get over-stimulated or over-heated. Plus it’s nice to have the stroller to cart around our extra stuff. I would really like to rent one, but I hope the kids aren’t too big! Alex is 8, but he is barely 50 pounds/48 inches. Zach is 5 1/2 and not much smaller than Alex.

So what do you think? When in doubt, I over-estimated the costs. I’d rather bring extra money than have to cut costs when we get there.

Please share you thoughts...

 

[MRYPPNS]

Here's my 2 cents.....

I'd get the rental car for the full time you are down there......this is your first time staying on property.....one step at a time me thinks. And I'd do MCO to MCO. I think handling your own bags at the airport will be less of a hassle then trying to return it to the Car Care Center.

Stroller.....I can't image paying $200 for renting one for the week. Don't take this the wrong way please.....maybe this is the trip to work on a new strategy for when the boys get over-stimulated instead of using the stroller. You could always get one later if it really wasn't working out.

 

[Hedy]

I thought you could still do resort airline check-in even if you don't use DME. It used to be that way.

 

[mousescrapper]

Budget:

OK this is what me thinks....

Rental Car: $140 – 325 (2 days vs. 9 days)

see below

Luggage Tips: Not sure here – how many different people could be handling our bags? We won’t take ME to CBR but we may be taking it back to the airport depending on the rental car decision… And how much per bag? $1-2?

I usually figure at least $2.00 per bag for anytime you get help...and anything oversized a dollar more


Sea Raycers: $60 (we get some sort of coupon for this, but I’m not sure what it is so I’ll budget the full amount for Dniece & Dnephew’s surprise treat.)

The coupon in your package reads: "....get 90 minutes for the price of 60 minutes. Offer valid up to 5 people. This offer is avaiable 1 time during your stay...." hope that helps

Stroller: $190 (double stroller X 7 days)

see below:


We were pretty much decided on just the 2 day rental until I showed DH the estimated travel times (thanks scrappie) to some of our destinations. He was a little shocked. I probably shouldn't have shown him.

sorry about that

I suppose we could budget for a couple of taxis for the longer rides... or just in case.

I'm thinking that too...but mainly for the 2 late nights. I just didn't budget it in (whoops)

I agree w/ Heidi and I think I mentioned this before too earlier...I'd go w/ the whole rental and ease into the whole on-property thing but with that said....

The other issue is the stroller. We don’t want to bring our own or do a stroller swap because we only want the stroller in the parks. We don’t want to lug it around all over the place, on the buses and/or trams. But the prices have gone way up and the strollers have shrunk. I think a single stroller would be too small for even one kid to ride in. That leaves us with a double stroller rental or not rental… what to do???

Fatigue isn’t as much of an issue as having a safe space for the boys to hide out in if they get over-stimulated or over-heated. Plus it’s nice to have the stroller to cart around our extra stuff. I would really like to rent one, but I hope the kids aren’t too big! Alex is 8, but he is barely 50 pounds/48 inches. Zach is 5 1/2 and not much smaller than Alex.

I wouldn't want to pay almost $200 on stroller rental super crazy...so hey what is more importnat the car for to/from the resorts or a stroller for in the parks. What is more usefull or helpful to you, your boys and touring style?
I'd crimp and pick just one of these do the whole week rental and no stroller or bring one from home OR do the 2 day rental and rent the stroller for the week....


So what do you think? When in doubt, I over-estimated the costs. I’d rather bring extra money than have to cut costs when we get there.

Always smart!

Please share you thoughts...

Ok I don't know if I helped or made matter worse...looking forward to what you decide

 

[DisMomAmy]

Here's my 2 cents.....

I'd get the rental car for the full time you are down there......this is your first time staying on property.....one step at a time me thinks. And I'd do MCO to MCO. I think handling your own bags at the airport will be less of a hassle then trying to return it to the Car Care Center.

Stroller.....I can't image paying $200 for renting one for the week. Don't take this the wrong way please.....maybe this is the trip to work on a new strategy for when the boys get over-stimulated instead of using the stroller. You could always get one later if it really wasn't working out.

I can always count on you for your honest opinion! And I won't take it the wrong way.

We have to talk about it, but $200 for a stroller is steep. Especially if we rent the car all week... I think I'm avoiding finding a "new strategy" because sticking them in a stroller and moving on is so easy.

I thought you could still do resort airline check-in even if you don't use DME. It used to be that way.

I think you can do airline check-in as far as boarding passes go, but I don't think they will take your luggage unless you go on ME. But I'm not positive...

Ok I don't know if I helped or made matter worse...looking forward to what you decide

Thanks!! Yes - helpful.
I think DH definitely wants the car, but we'll see.

DH & I are going away overnight Saturday without the boys.
We are going up north to an Inn. Plus we'll have 2 hours in the car each way. We'll have plenty of time to talk Disney.

I'll keep you all posted. Thanks for your input.

 

[Hedy]

I can always count on you for your honest opinion! And I won't take it the wrong way.

We have to talk about it, but $200 for a stroller is steep. Especially if we rent the car all week... I think I'm avoiding finding a "new strategy" because sticking them in a stroller and moving on is so easy.



I think you can do airline check-in as far as boarding passes go, but I don't think they will take your luggage unless you go on ME. But I'm not positive...



Thanks!! Yes - helpful.
I think DH definitely wants the car, but we'll see.

DH & I are going away overnight Saturday without the boys.
We are going up north to an Inn. Plus we'll have 2 hours in the car each way. We'll have plenty of time to talk Disney.

I'll keep you all posted. Thanks for your input.

Disney's site says you can http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/common/helpFAQ?id=HelpFAQDMEPage&bhcp=1#s7

 

[DisMomAmy]

Disney's site says you can http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/common/helpFAQ?id=HelpFAQDMEPage&bhcp=1#s7

Awesome!! Thanks for taking the time to check that for me!!!

 

[Happydog]

Hi! Hard to weigh in with much experience, but would say if you don't want to rely on the ME for all transportation between parks, etc. then a car for the week is good on the sanity, etc... We had a pretty good experience in Nov on ME... it was Jersey week, and busy but I didn't think too bad. I would be worried for me this time in June hot weather, standing around waiting for busses if I had my kids.... younger than yours and possibly impatient with the whole navigating the busses... We will have a car, but it is our own b/c we are taking the car train down... re the stroller, again I was there with a double and mine are 6 & 3... we are not sure about it this time, they'll be 7 & 4, but I hear you in terms of being able to navigate crowd, down time, waiting, etc. makes it easier on them, too! But the $$ this is the question. $200.00 is a lot for the stroller... We are bringing our own. I wouldn't want to mess with the rental, and we have one, so I haven't any excuse. I know you said you didn't want to fuss with the stroller on the busses, etc. But if you are renting your own car, you won't have to worry about that too much? Meaning wouldn't you have it in the car? Were you planning to use ME more between the parks and resort area? Someone suggested waiting to see once you get there -- this seems reasonable, but I would worry that they might run out of a double at a park before I decided I wanted one, and then I wouldn't have the option (plus taking the time to stand in line to get the rental)... These are hard decisions! Sorry to ramble but you brought two good topics up! You should just decide what makes best sense for you, depending on your style of touring in the parks... Whatever you choose -- Good luck!

 

[DisMomAmy]

Hi! Hard to weigh in with much experience, but would say if you don't want to rely on the ME for all transportation between parks, etc. then a car for the week is good on the sanity, etc... We had a pretty good experience in Nov on ME... it was Jersey week, and busy but I didn't think too bad. I would be worried for me this time in June hot weather, standing around waiting for busses if I had my kids.... younger than yours and possibly impatient with the whole navigating the busses... We will have a car, but it is our own b/c we are taking the car train down... re the stroller, again I was there with a double and mine are 6 & 3... we are not sure about it this time, they'll be 7 & 4, but I hear you in terms of being able to navigate crowd, down time, waiting, etc. makes it easier on them, too! But the $$ this is the question. $200.00 is a lot for the stroller... We are bringing our own. I wouldn't want to mess with the rental, and we have one, so I haven't any excuse. I know you said you didn't want to fuss with the stroller on the busses, etc. But if you are renting your own car, you won't have to worry about that too much? Meaning wouldn't you have it in the car? Were you planning to use ME more between the parks and resort area? Someone suggested waiting to see once you get there -- this seems reasonable, but I would worry that they might run out of a double at a park before I decided I wanted one, and then I wouldn't have the option (plus taking the time to stand in line to get the rental)... These are hard decisions! Sorry to ramble but you brought two good topics up! You should just decide what makes best sense for you, depending on your style of touring in the parks... Whatever you choose -- Good luck!

Thanks for weighing in! If we have a rental car, we'll probably rely on that more, but there is still the ride on the tram to contend with... but I think we've come up with a solution!

 

[DisMomAmy]

DH & I talked about it a little tonight and I think we've come up with an answer to the stroller issue... for now at least!

We're going to check them out when we get there and hope that the boys will fit in a single stroller. They won't be sprawled out or anything, but I'm guessing they can fit with their knees bent. If that works, we'll go with a length of stay single stroller rental. If we find ourselves needing a second stroller for our Spectro/Wishes night we could always rent a second stroller and still spend less money than a double would have cost.

We'll see... it's really going to depend on how well they can fit in the single stroller. I need to look at some more pictures.

No decision on the rental car yet. Stay tuned!

Coming up next... Animal Kingdom!

 

[DisMomAmy]

Here are our goals for Animal Kingdom:

• Safari
• Expedition Everest
• Dinosaur
• Kali River Rapids (depending on weather)
• Festival of the Lion King
• Walking trail(s) - Zachary loved this last year
• Tree of Life Garden
• Character Meet & Greet trails - we'll see how busy it is...
• Find DiVine – pathways between Africa & Asia
• Photopass opportunities
• Primeval Whirl (Amy & Alex - a first for us)
• Arcades? (Depending on Alex's mood - we might never get him out of there!)

On our first AK day (half day), DH really wants to have lunch at rainforest cafe. I'm mixed about it... we could easily get CS lunch and be able to take a mid-day break before heading to DHS for the late afternoon/evening. Plus it isn't on the dining plan and there is one about an hour from our house (though we've never been). Maybe I should plan an outing to the "local" RFC prior to our trip... We know Zach would love it, but I'm already worried about 7 TS meals - I really don't think we need to add an 8th!

Mid-week we'll visit AK for a little while with DBIL & family. His girlfriend has never been and really wants to. Alex was talking with her this weekend (on the phone) and asked her if she would ride EE. She said she doesn't like roller coasters. He said, "Oh don't worry, I'll sit with you." We don't have any ADRs set up at AK for that day - we'll be going to Whispering Canyon that night for dinner. Depending what time DBIL & family arrive, we'll either go to AK early with a mid-day break before WCC or go to AK later and go straight to dinner.

On our last day, we will start the day at AK and go to Donald's Tusker House breakfast - 8am!! I don't think we'll spend too much time there that day since it will be our third morning at AK. The breakfast just didn't work out on any of the other days and we knew Alex would want to revisit EE before our departure.

 

[Charleston Princess]

Your AK goals sound good!!! Love that Tusker House breakfast! I can't wait to eat there again in June! Yummy!

Too cute about Alex telling BIL's GF that he would ride with her. I don't really care for roller coasters, but I love EE!

I also didn't get a chance to comment on your countdown calendars -- I studied them very intently and plan to copy them for the most part -- and the Guide to the Magic for Kids -- we got one for Chelsea and Connor last year and they had such a good time filling it out!

 

[mommytothreeboys]

The AK list looks great! I love Animal Kingdom!

A pre-trip trip to the Rainforest Cafe sounds like a great idea. The boys would love that! There is one in Niagara Falls...only about 1 1/2 hours from here and we've never been. Maybe I'll have to think about doing that...I bet my boys would enjoy it!

We did the Donald's Breakfast when it was in Dinoland and really enjoyed it. Do you know if it has changed much? Just curious!

 

[Happydog]

Your list for AK looks great! I have never done the Tusker House Breakfast, it seems very popular! :thumbsup: I hope to spy DeVine too!

 

[mrsksomeday]

Great AK plans, you make me want to go to WDW now!! I want to get that guide book for kids, thanks for showing it to us!