Disney pin codes + Bill = TROUBLE *11/01 Almost time for our Happy Place*

[mrsksomeday]

Oh bless Christian how sweet of him to give his ball to Bill and I bet it was so hard keeping the Disney secret!

Too funny about Ace being jealous

If they lived in our town it would be impossible to keep the secret, they live close to an hour away so we don't see them all the time. Ace is silly.

How sweet of Christian to give Bill that ball he caught. He is going to go crazy when he finds out he is going to WDW!!! I can't wait to read/see pictures of his reaction.

I still haven't made it to the new park yet. Everytime I go home I'm always running around like a crazy person trying to see everyone.

Next time I'm home (which will probably be at the beginning of next year) we should plan a Dis Meet.

It was only the second time we have been there. First time we got free tickets through Bill's job, this time for Christian. I do like the park though and the entertainment is very interesting. I didn't post it but I have a short video of a guy dancing to N*SYNC songs before the game started . Bill said "have we been transported back in time?" I was cracking up.

I'm back Tracy!

Aren't the anyivs at minor league baseball hysterical. We (Jim did since I can't see ;-))took Jimmy to minor league game for his borthday (Camben Riversharks) for his birthday. He absolutely loved it!

Hi Janet!! I am so happy to see you. I hope your eyes get completely better very soon .

 

[mrsksomeday]

Courage is the main quality of leadership, in my opinion, no matter where it is exercised. Usually it implies some risk - especially in new undertakings. Courage to initiate something and to keep it going, pioneering and adventurous spirit to blaze new ways, often, in our land of opportunity. – Walt Disney

Well Walt, I am going to need all the courage and leadership skills I can muster this day. Waking the crew up insanely early and getting them on a plane without killing each other will be a miracle, but I will try.


Day 2 PLANS:

I will start waking everyone up after Bill and I get ready. I want us in the van by 6:15am asking them to stay on schedule

. I will be taking them and the luggage to the drop off for the airport, then taking the van back to the hotel. I will hop on an airport shuttle back to the airport. Their shuttle is NOT accessible and we are not dealing with an accessible taxi, it was a mess last time. The van will stay at the hotel for FREE while we are gone

.

Once we get to the airport I will show everyone how security works and we will find our gate. We can break out the breakfast bars if anyone is hungry. SouthWest gives us a blue pre-board sleeve for our tickets, they always let us board the plane first so I can get Bill in the seat and they can take his wheelchair down on the tarmac to load it. I am thinking that they will let Josh and family board with us, but not sure. If not, I will have Josh come with me to take things off the chair. Bill still has to decide whether to take the old chair or not, he says the turning radius for the new one would give him fits on rides and the Magical Express. While I get Bill situated, Josh can put things in the overhead bins and get seats for Abbey and the kids. (I know we probably shouldn’t save seats, but I want our family together so sue me)

Once we get to Orlando, I will see if they are ready to eat. We might grab something in the airport I am not sure, then head to the ME counter. I hope we get an ME bus, not a Mears yellow one

.

I have heard people saying they have had good luck with the online check in for the resorts, so I am going to do this too so hopefully that will not take a lot of time once we get to Pop. Maybe we will have pixie dust and the rooms will be ready, I hope so. We can go to the rooms, freshen up, see if anyone wants/needs a nap then to DTD for dinner and exploring.

GOALS

- Have everyone get up without it being like when Josh was in high school

- Hope that the airport and flight goes smoothly and we get an ME bus
- Keep everyone fed so that there are no grouchy outbursts on the first day, there is plenty of time for that later in the trip
- Explore Pop a little bit, rest
- Explore DTD
- Maybe try Characters in Flight, not sure about this
- Dinner at Planet Hollywood

Doesn’t sound too bad does it? Dinner is at 5:30pm, I hope to have us back to the room fairly early. They can swim, go to bed early whatever, Bill and I will be going to sleep and ready to be at the Magic Kingdom bus stop by 9am, it is up to them if they want to join us, I have a feeling Abbey will be ready

.

Time for Ace, it seems he likes being on the balcony:

Off topic news – It seems the Governor has been getting many complaints for cutting the program that Bill’s agency uses to pay for some employees salaries including Bill so he decided to give them 80% of that budget back. This means Bill keeps his job. Thanks to everyone that was so supportive to us when we thought he would lose it.

Next up... an Enchanted/Dis Meet in the making

 

[KathyRN137]

Well Walt, I am going to need all the courage and leadership skills I can muster this day. Waking the crew up insanely early and getting them on a plane without killing each other will be a miracle, but I will try.

Tracy, I know you can do it! You go, girl!!

Off topic news – It seems the Governor has been getting many complaints for cutting the program that Bill’s agency uses to pay for some employees salaries including Bill so he decided to give them 80% of that budget back. This means Bill keeps his job. Thanks to everyone that was so supportive to us when we thought he would lose it.

Whoopie!!! What great news!! Congrats to you, Bill!


Kathy

 

[maroo]

I am glad some folks fought to keep Bill's job - it sounds like they were losing a fantastic asset!!

Your plans look great!

 

[SwansLoveDisney]

I think it is completely expected that people will save seats on an airplane, particularly when there are children involved! So I wouldn't feel a bit guilty about saving seats!

Hopefully the Disney excitement will be enough to get everyone up and out of bed that morning!

 

[jordanyosh]

Yay for Bill getting to keep his job!!!!!!!!

Yay for Pop!

Good luck with Characters in Flight. So scary!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

That's great that Bill is getting to keep his job.

 

[MRYPPNS]

Your plans look good Tracy....very doable. I wouldn't count on Abbey and the kids boarding with Bill. All depends on the gate staff but I've seen them be very strict with who pre-boards. Example: Mom and Dad pre-boarding between A and B with two little kids....they would not let the grandparents board with them at all. But either way I'm sure Abbey will be fine.

In regards to getting up and going in the morning for park days....will Abbey leave Josh behind if he won't get up?

 

[mrsksomeday]

Tracy, I know you can do it! You go, girl!!

Whoopie!!! What great news!! Congrats to you, Bill!


Kathy

I don't expect everything to go perfectly, but I do expect them to work with me. Bill is so happy about his job.

I am glad some folks fought to keep Bill's job - it sounds like they were losing a fantastic asset!!

Your plans look great!

Everyone at his job was calling and writing the Governor, Bill talked to one of his assistants too. They were going to take away a program that helped many people with disabilities. I am happy it didn't happen.

I think it is completely expected that people will save seats on an airplane, particularly when there are children involved! So I wouldn't feel a bit guilty about saving seats!

Hopefully the Disney excitement will be enough to get everyone up and out of bed that morning!

Thanks for telling me not to feel guilty about the plane issue. I think arranging for wake up calls will help too, .

Yay for Bill getting to keep his job!!!!!!!!

Yay for Pop!

Good luck with Characters in Flight. So scary!

Hi Jordan!! Maybe Characters in Flight won't be running because of wind etc . I can hope can't I?

That's great that Bill is getting to keep his job.

Thanks Lessa!

Your plans look good Tracy....very doable. I wouldn't count on Abbey and the kids boarding with Bill. All depends on the gate staff but I've seen them be very strict with who pre-boards. Example: Mom and Dad pre-boarding between A and B with two little kids....they would not let the grandparents board with them at all. But either way I'm sure Abbey will be fine.

In regards to getting up and going in the morning for park days....will Abbey leave Josh behind if he won't get up?

Hi Heidi, you must be so excited about your upcoming trip!! You are right, Abbey will be fine . I think Abbey would leave him behind, she has two kids that will be wide awake and ready to go. We will just leave a phone with Josh and GO!

 

[jcc0621]

Looks like a great start to the trip Tracy!

If I may make a suggestion for dinner. Ifyou can get a ressie at T-Rex the kids will LOVE IT! It's an OP meal (no DDP taken) but so worth it! THe food was great and the atmosphere was awesome!

 

[jordanyosh]

I hear that the Characters In Flight often shuts down due to the winds.... Did they not think of that when they were planning it?

 

[mrsksomeday]

Looks like a great start to the trip Tracy!

If I may make a suggestion for dinner. Ifyou can get a ressie at T-Rex the kids will LOVE IT! It's an OP meal (no DDP taken) but so worth it! THe food was great and the atmosphere was awesome!

Hi Janet! I thought about T-Rex, but Josh wants to take Abbey to Planet Hollywood, that was his only request for dinner, he loved it the last time. I think Bill and I will do T-Rex next time we are there .

I hear that the Characters In Flight often shuts down due to the winds.... Did they not think of that when they were planning it?

You thought have thought that, but apparently not .

 

[jordanyosh]

I wanna see pix if you end up doing it.....

 

[eandesmom]

I wouldn't feel guilty about saving seats if you can, you should be together.

Sending pixie dust that no one kills each other and for an ME bus!

GREAT news about Bills job!

 

[mrsksomeday]

I wanna see pix if you end up doing it.....

Oh you know I will, I take too many pictures and will always share!

I wouldn't feel guilty about saving seats if you can, you should be together.

Sending pixie dust that no one kills each other and for an ME bus!

GREAT news about Bills job!

I want them to be as close as they can on the plane, not sure who will sit with us, I hope it is Christian . Thanks for the pixie dust, I think we will need it . Thanks about celebrating Bill's job news .

 

[jordanyosh]

One can never take enough pictures.

 

[mrsksomeday]

One can never take enough pictures.

That is very true!

 

[mrsksomeday]

When we do fantasy, we must not lose sight of reality. – Walt Disney

Now as many of you have seen from past reports and this one Bill and I are prone to altering dates. We really wanted to do Ip Dip and another trip this year, but with the other things we did this summer and deciding to take Josh and family that changed everything. I had lost sight of reality - wanting the fantasy of being in our favorite place with great people in October and November, but sadly something had to give.

When we decided to take Josh’s crew we wanted it to be a surprise, we also wanted to see if we could find a way to limit the amount of days Christian would miss school, so we started looking at dates. We were going to go the first week or so in December, then we looked at November. We had been 3 previous times in November and loved the crowd level and the weather. It is comforting to me to know how things normally are in that time frame. I am a creature of habit. There was another plus to going at this time:

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KathyRN’s family

!!!

As some of you reading along remember I didn’t reveal the dates for a bit when I started this PTR, the day I said when we were going I got a PM from Kathy calling me a “STINKER”

, I had surprised her. I used that as an experiment to see if I could keep a secret and I am pleased with myself that Abbey’s kids still have no idea that we are headed to Disney.

There were a flurry of PM’s back and forth between Kathy and me deciding when to meet. I really can’t express how much I adore this woman; she is kind, caring, funny, just a lovely person. Bill and I are honored that she wants to share a bit of their vacation with us.

So we decided Thursday was the day, we are having dinner together and heading to Magic Kingdom to watch Wishes. It will be Josh and family’s first time seeing Magic Kingdom’s fireworks. I hope I remember to take some pictures. I am going to warn Kathy now, I will probably cry watching Wishes, it always seems to overwhelm me that I am actually there in our happy place and it will be even more magical sharing it with Josh, Abbey, the kids, Kathy, and her family. I can’t wait!!

Day 3 PLANS

Get up, breakfast in the room, and be at the Magic Kingdom bus stop BY 9am (I am hoping for earlier, but we will see how much sleep everyone gets). My philosophy is to get to Magic Kingdom, have them oohhh and ahhhh over the castle, get some photopass pictures in front of it, and make our way to Pixie Hollow. Hopefully by doing this we won’t spend too much time in Tinkerbell’s line. We might hop in the princesses line afterwards. I think Christian will be a good sport about it especially when I hand him a map and ask him to help guide us to Tomorrowland. We are spending more than one day at MK and I am going to TRY to just go with the flow. See how the kids fair with the walking, eat a counter service for lunch, and see if anyone needs to go back to Pop and rest. We need to be at the Poly by 4:30pm.

GOALS

- Meet Tinkerbell and possibly princesses
- Go on Buzz Lightyear
- See Monsters Inc and Carousel of Progress
- See what Fantasyland attractions we can do
- Eat a counter service (letting them decide where, can you believe that?)
- Keep everyone hydrated and not worn out (I know this is not always possible but hopefully on the first day it can happen)
- Poly for dinner with Kathy and family
- MK for Wishes

I am going to keep an eye on Hannah and make sure we go at her and Christian’s pace. I am still debating the stroller issue, Abbey and well anyone that has never been to WDW has no idea how huge it is. That is a lot of walking for a 4 year old. I want them to have fun and not be just going from attraction to attraction. I know there is no way to do everything and it is good memories we want everyone to have.

I still worry a lot how Josh and I will get along on this trip. We are both stubborn, but I keep telling myself that I am going to pick my battles wisely. I just want to have a good first day and a fun meet with Kathy and family!!

Acey time: He can sleep on anything (of course hearing the camera he opens his eyes):

Next installment…time to turn my family into crash test dummies!

 

[jcc0621]

Tracy - Talk Abbey into getting the stroller for the kids We used one for Jimmy, and he is 6. Trust me...it's a life saver and really lets him last a little longer in the park. He didn't ride in it the whole time, but it was there for when he needed. It's also great for holding stuff

 

[jordanyosh]

Great plans!

So jealous that you guys get to hook up yet AGAIN!

So proud that you are letting them choose where to go for lunch. I would have printed menus of their choices handy so they can make an informed decision.