Disneymoon 2012 Pre-TR!

[CtinaDitty]

Edit:::
Pictures are finally working! Yay!
End of Edit:::

Before I get into my pre-TR, I will introduce the starring roles! First of all, my name is Chrissy and I have been to Disney World over twenty times! It was a place my family used to get away from the real world and spend some quality time with each other almost every year of my childhood. I grew up with a fear of roller coasters. I didn't conquer my fear of Splash Mountain and Space Mountain until I was seventeen due to my fear of water, drops, and the dark... Pretty pathetic, eh? However, I absolutely LOVED Thunder Mountain. It was my very first roller coaster that my dad took me to ride instead of Splash when I was three years old. Ever since then, that has been mine and my dad's ride. It is never as fun as it is when I'm with him!

My mom is someone who would never pressure me to ride the rides I was uncomfortable with when I was younger. She and I would walk around the shops, which I loved to do, and just relax. She is an amazing woman and I am so lucky to have a mom that I am extraordinarily close to!

I am lucky that my family was given the chance to create so many memories at Disney World. I was surprised how many people I know that have never been to the World. I'm glad my parents allowed us to spend so much time there!

So, now you understand my love of WDW!

My pre-TR will be for my Disney Honeymoon with my darling fiance!! I am so excited! He has been to Disney with me twice. Once in March of 2009 and then December 2010.

I was actually hoping he would propose there, but he chickened out about asking my dad before we went so he couldn't... He ended up asking my dad for permission on Christmas Eve and proposed December 29th, 2010!

When trying to find a place to go on our honeymoon, we were stumped. Devan, my fiance, doesn't like beaches and has a hard time relaxing. I didn't want to go to some foreign country (Ireland to be exact) and backpack around and get lost. Plus, I didn't want to spend half (exaggerated, I know) our honeymoon in an airplane and airport. So, he finally made the comment, "You know... Everyone knows we're just going to end up at Disney World anyway. Do you just want to go there?" I wanted to make sure he wanted to go to obviously. When I was sure he did, we booked our trip! We are getting married July 20th, 2012 at Longview Mansion in Lee's Summit, MO! Our Disneymoon will be from July 22nd through July 28th and we are staying in a Theme Park View Room at the Contemporary Resort!!!

Stay tuned for the next chapter in our Pre-trip report!

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1: Choosing the Hotel
Managing the Wait
Sad News... This has nothing to do with Disney...
Big News!!
Ideas and Engagement Pictures!
Countdowns!​

Happy Thanksgiving!!!​

8 Days!!!​

 

[CtinaDitty]

As noted above, I have been to Disney World so many times I have lost track! I have stayed in many different hotels on-site and off. Well, I knew I definitely wanted to stay on-site for our honeymoon. We could afford it, especially since I was going to book the first night they let me! That would give us PLENTY of time to pay off whatever our bill would be.

I knew I wouldn't want to stay at a value resort for our honeymoon. We stayed at Pop Century during our December 2010 trip and it was a great resort to stay at! But, I just wanted something a little more snazzy for our honeymoon! So, I took into looking at the Moderate and Deluxe Resorts!

Well, this is where I really wanted my FI to get involved. I wanted him to have as much control, if not more, than myself just because I have been so many times. I wanted us to do things that I had never done before so it would be brand new experiences for both of us! Well, Devan was really into staying at Bay Lake Tower. But, we aren't DVC members so we knew it would be tough to get a reservation there as well as get the type of room we wanted. SO, we ended up narrowing it down to The Contemporary Resort and The Polynesian.

I have never stayed at either of these places, so either one was fine. Devan really liked the look of The Contemporary as he felt the Polynesian looked out-dated in the rooms. So, he chose The Contemporary Resort!

Now, we knew staying at the Contemporary was going to be expensive. So, we had to decide on a few things...

1. Did we want to stay for a longer time and stay at a less expensive resort?
2. Did we want to stay for a shorter time and stay at the resort we wanted to stay at?

Well, we chose to shorten our trip by 1 night and that saved us a good amount of change! It also allowed us to stay at the resort that Devan wanted to stay at. We ended up booking a Theme Park View Tower Room and let me tell you how excited I am to be staying there!!!! We will be able to see Wishes from our room every night... What better way is there to spend your honeymoon?!

We make a payment at the end of every month, so we will have it paid off early! Now, I don't know if it is the banker in me or what, but we have an actual "Honeymoon Fund" savings account that we put $50 into every week. It builds up really fast surprisingly! We just take money from that account and it never affects our every day spending money. Easy tip for those who are saving up for a vacation! That's $200 a month! Plus, $50 a week is really just eating out once or so and that can easily be skipped!

Now, I was anxious to book. Yes, we were over a year away when I booked our honeymoon and that is okay. I am an early planner and I find it advantageous because it allows me extra time to pay things off as I stated above! I was browsing the DIS boards one night and saw that they started booking almost two months earlier than they normally do for 2012! I cannot tell you how excited I was when I read that! I went straight to Disney's website and put our dates into their search and chose The Contemporary Resort. Our dates were available for our room! Now, being a year out I wasn't surprised, but you never know! I clicked a few buttons, filled out some information, and voila! our honeymoon was booked! Now, all I need to do is book our airfare, which I'm waiting until our dates are available to book for as well as some airfare sale through our preferred airline. Luckily, I get their emails so I'm always aware of airfare sales.

I am also anxiously awaiting January 22nd so I can start making ADRs and tour reservations! We have our eye on a couple tours as well as some restaurants we want to check out!

Almost 10 months away! Time is flying!!!!

 

[CtinaDitty]

Well, today marks almost 10 months until my fiance and I leave on our honeymoon to the happiest place on earth! 10 months and 2 days... Or as my phone says 306 days... It can be so harding to wait patiently for something you are so excited for! I know the time will go by faster than I anticipate. We are planning a wedding afterall as well as building a house! Oh, plus I've been working out and eating right! I've lost 12.4 pounds so far! So, I'm very excited about that! Can't wait to have new pictures where the weight loss is obvious!

This is what our house will look like!!

My DISNEY wedding dress! It's part of Disney's Fairytale Wedding Collection. It's based on Princess Tiana!

So, as you can see I have plenty of things to keep me occupied. I have been on full wedding mode lately, but I have nothing to do! Devan and I have so much done already that I have started doing things that really don't need to be done for awhile. Heck, Sunday night I even made a wedding chain that signifies how many weeks until our wedding. I know, I'm a little crazy, but it calmed the wedding urge for awhile... :

Less than 44 weeks to go!

Anyway, I have started researching different ADR locations. There are so many to go through, and when I've gone in the past we haven't been the type to make reservations at nice restaurants. We normally just go to the quick service locations because we liked to save our money! But, Devan and I are looking forward to trying new and different places, especially in Epcot. That's his favorite park.

So, what else is there to do 10 months ahead of time but daydream about 306 days from now when I'll be in absolute heaven.

 

[CtinaDitty]

If any of you believe that all dogs go to heaven, would you please just say a prayer for my beloved dog, Maggie, who passed away yesterday after 13 years of a fantastic life with us. We were so blessed to have her for as long as we did and we will miss her for the rest of our lives. She's been through so much health-wise and she no longer has to suffer.

I love you, Maggalicious! Hope you found Sumo and Fizzbin! Enjoy being the Queen of a different place! You will never be replaced!

 

[CtinaDitty]

Countdowns:
ADR/Tour Bookings: 91 Days
Wedding: 269 Days
Disneymoon: 271 Days

NEWLY ANNOUNCED!
Family DISNEY Vacation: 52 DAYS!

Yes, my family has announced that they are heading to Disney for the
holidays! My fiance will be staying home and watching the puppies, not to
mention earning a paycheck! I will very much miss him, but this will
most likely be my last family vacation without Devan before we tie the
knot! So, it should be really special! We always have such a good time
together! As you saw in my introductions, I have had many trips with my
family. I cannot wait to hear my Dad's "Ahh... Ahhhhh. Ah. AHHHH"s on
Thunder Mountain and Space Mountain!

I'm hoping it won't be as cold
as our last December trip to Disney. We went this past December, one week
before Devan proposed. Yes, I'm sure you remember how I was wishing
he would propose... Oh well... Anyway, we were leaving Kansas City, MO
which was victim to two blizzards and lots of snow and ice last winter, not
to mention the coldest temperatures we've had in a long time. We were
very much looking forward to the "warm" (50s to 70s) weather. Well,
when we arrived in Florida a surprise cold front came the second day we
were there! We were wanting our winter coats and had to purchase gloves
and scarves to stay SOMEWHAT warm. Florida was FREEZING.

Normally,
we always have a good laugh at the locals for wearing their cold weather gear
because we are so used to much colder weather. Well, we fit right in.
That cold front turned out to be the coldest temperatures Florida had since
1989. Of course, we were there for that. My coworkers back home were
having a good laugh at my expense.

I love seeing Holiday Wishes as well as the BEAUTIFUL decor Disney puts
up to honor the holidays. You can bet after Thanksgiving comes around
I will be changing my work background to display the castle lit up in beautiful
lights.

One thing I regret not getting to do on my last winter trip was seeing the Osbourne
Lights.

I had planned to see those, but some how we didn't end up getting to go back.
We also didn't get to see Fantasmic because it was only playing on certain
days. Let's just say, I was not as organized as I normally am for that trip.
I will be making sure to see both of those this December. I am a sucker for
pretty lights. Yes, I did just spend the last 9 minute watching a video depicting
the Osbourne Lights. Haha!

This is getting pretty long so I'm going to end this update. Things are going
to start getting interesting! I realize I don't have many readers, but that's okay.
It gives me something to do at work when we're slow as well as get me
excited for my now TWO trips!!

 

[CtinaDitty]

It's very exciting knowing that my vacations are coming so close, especially the one the week before Christmas! 51 days!! I'm hoping by going then, it will give me some fantastic ideas for our honeymoon!

Before I get into some things I'm looking at incorporating for our honeymoon, I'd love to share some of my favorite engagement pictures! We just got our CD from our photographers, who were a blessing to work with, and I just love them! Here are a few...

Now, here are some of the ideas that I've come across that could make great additions to our honeymoon!

Idea #1: Fireworks Cruise
Wishes is always a highlight of my Disney vacations. It always brings a tear to my eye. The music… the fireworks… the anticipation… Gosh… It’s just a beautiful, wonderful time. I figure what better way to make our honeymoon special than by booking a Fireworks Cruise! I know it can be expensive. I think the last thing I saw showed it between $290 and $350 depending on the type of fireworks cruise you book (music/no music). I’ll have to look into what the rates are but I think it could be such a fantastic experience! If anyone has done the fireworks cruise, please let me know how it was! I’d love to hear your thoughts and opinions of it.

Idea #2: Around the World Epcot Segway Tour
Devan's favorite park is Epcot. He just loves the cultural aspect of it and
it's different than any place you're going to find around the US. Plus, Devan
has always wanted to ride on a segway. Well, I was browsing around the DIS
boards after I remembered seeing something about Segways the last time
I was at Disney. I came across the Around the World Epcot Segway Tour
and thought it would be a perfect surprise. Well, turns out I'm terrible
at keeping surprises (I act as if this is something new I have discovered...
Haha!). I just get so excited to see their reaction! So... I blabbed... Ah, I know!
It could have been so great to surprise him with that! Oh well, we know we
are wanting to do this so it gives him something to really look forward to!
I'll just have to come up with another surprise!

Idea #3: Try some signature dining.
Devan and I are very frugal when it comes to dining on vacation. We figure
we spent enough money to have a vacation so why spend more on the food?
Well, I think we might change that up some this time. He's looked through
a lot of the restaurants and has become excited about a few. I think we will
book some ADRs and really just enjoy ourselves! We have never really been
into ADRs. I really just found out about them this past trip. But, this will
make this trip more special. Hopefully, it will still have enough "go with
the flow" time for him even with scheduled eating times... Haha!

Idea #4: Explore other resorts.
I have never thought of exploring other resorts as something to do at Disney!
Everyone knows each resort has its own unique charm and I would love to
experience that! Plus, it gives us an excuse to find out what the other resorts
are like for our next trip!

Idea #5: Eat a Dole Whip!
I have heard of these through reading the DIS boards but have never seen nor
had one in real life! I've got to try one of these!

Coming up with ideas like these gets me excited...

Before I end this I'd love to point out that I've been working really hard these past 73 days and have lost 22 pounds!! *Pat on back*

 

[CtinaDitty]

Countdowns:
Disney Family Vacation: 32 Days
ADR/Tour Reservations: 71 Days
Wedding: 249 Days
Honeymoon: 251 Days

In a little more than a month I will be spending a glorious 4-5 days at the
happiest place on earth! It’s starting to hit me how close my family
vacation is coming up. It seems like we booked it so long ago. Frankly, I
can’t believe it’s November! This year is moving by so fast. Before I know
it, our wedding day will be upon us and we will be on the plane to Orlando
for hopefully the most magical honeymoon!
I am in a strange position when talking about my family vacation. I
haven’t been on a Disney trip that I haven’t planned in a very long time.
I want to have some control, but I really don’t have much! I feel like I
want to make us some ADR’s. I just don’t know if my family would be
up for it. It seems we always have the hardest time finding a place to eat
at Epcot so maybe I could talk with them about scheduling an evening at
Epcot so I could book us an ADR. Ah, I miss being in control! Lol.
I’m going to be sending out my save-the-dates next month! That just
seems so strange to me! How can it be time to let our guests know?
You see, we've been engaged for almost a year now, so now that it's
almost 2012 it seems so surreal! I mean, we were engaged in 2010 (Yes,
only for a few days, but still!) I love how close it is getting! I cannot wait
to be married and I cannot wait to go on our honeymoon!

Okay, enough wedding stuff for now. Back to the honeymoon! Devan
and I sat down on Saturday and went over our ADRs more seriously
this time. We had browsed through all of the restaurants before but hadn't
made any actual decisions. Well, we ended up making four columns. One
for "Breakfast", "Lunch", "Dinner", and of course "Possbilities". Devan
isn't normally a breakfast person and I don't normally eat big breakfasts
due to my "diet" so being able to splurge a little bit on breakfast will be
a welcome change! When I'm back home I will have to create a new post
with our definite places because I don't have the list with me at work.

Also... BIG NEWS!!!!

Devan and I decided to extend our honeymoon a day! So, now we will be
there July 22nd through the 29th! I cannot tell you how excited I am to
be there for an extra day! We also just booked our flights last night!!
Our departing flight to Orlando will be at 5:50 A.M. Now, that
might sound outrageously early but we want to get the most out of our
money so we figure getting to Orlando by 9:30 A.M. that will give us
almost a whole extra day! Plus, we will be driving to our Kansas City
Airport Marriot the night before so we won't have to get up AS early. We
are getting married on a Friday, then we'll have Saturday to run errands
and drive to the Marriott for our flight EARLY Sunday! Our departing flight
(sadness ) isn't until 5:15 P.M. the day we leave, I believe, so we will be
able to hopefully get some park time the day we leave. If not park time,
at least something fun!

Stay tuned for the restaurants we have chosen so far for our ADRs! You'll
have to let me know if you've been to any of these places and what you
think of them!

 

[Jessica527]

I am in! So glad that I could join and find your PTR! It is very exciting to plan, as you can see below I am planning once myself for May 2012!!!

We were in the same boat as you, do we do the less expensive hotel and extend our honeymoon...or do we get the most expensive hotel and stay for a shorter time. We went with the 1/2 at Moderate resort and 1/2 at Deluxe so we could make it 10 nights!

I love your story, and it is so exciting that you will be going to Disney soon! We also booked the Segway tour (shhh surprise for DFi) and we have all of our ADRs picked out and booked too!!

I can't wait to read more

 

[CtinaDitty]

I am in! So glad that I could join and find your PTR! It is very exciting to plan, as you can see below I am planning once myself for May 2012!!!

We were in the same boat as you, do we do the less expensive hotel and extend our honeymoon...or do we get the most expensive hotel and stay for a shorter time. We went with the 1/2 at Moderate resort and 1/2 at Deluxe so we could make it 10 nights!

I love your story, and it is so exciting that you will be going to Disney soon! We also booked the Segway tour (shhh surprise for DFi) and we have all of our ADRs picked out and booked too!!

I can't wait to read more

Jessica, you are my first follower that I know about! You just made my day! Hopefully we can help feed off of each other's ideas! I was really happy to extend our honeymoon by one day. I've been doing well at work and getting a little bit of extra money so I figure, why not?

I'm so excited you're going to be there in May! You'll have to let me know how your honeymoon goes and how your Segway tour was! What resorts are you staying at?

 

[CtinaDitty]

Happy Black Friday, everyone! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that you reflected on all that you are thankful for! Here are some of the things I am thankful for:

*My fiance - He is the sweetest, funniest, most caring man I know. He loves me for who I am and supports me in everything I do. He is my best friend and I cannot wait to marry him in 238 days!!

*My family - I have one of the greatest families anyone could ask for! We get along so well and always have the best time together. I am very lucky to be able to have a family that is so supportive and willing to help out with anything.

*My pets - This might sound funny, but I don't know what I would do without my pets. They bring a smile to my heart every single day. Our pets even have stockings! My family has always had more pets than most people, but we wouldn't have it any other way. They are a huge part of us. Unfortunately, we lost one of our pets a little over a month ago. This will be our first Christmas without her in 14 years and it definitely won't be the same. Miss you, Maggie!!

*My job - With the economy like it is today, anyone who has a job is lucky. I was lucky to get a job in the midst of our depression (March of '10) and get a promotion this past June. I have great coworkers and managers and work for a great place.

*God - God has blessed me with so much in my life. Without him, none of what I have would be possible. I know everything happens for a reason and through him I can better myself and learn from tough times.

Okay, enough of the mushy! Here are the updated countdowns!

Disney Family Vacation: 21 Days
ADRs: 60 Days
House Closing: 195 Days
Wedding: 238 Days (or 34 weeks!!)
Honeymoon: 240 Days

As you might have noticed, I added a new countdown! That's right! Devan and I just signed the contract to start building our house! We have pictures of us signing our life away and everything! Haha! They said we should have a roof and frame up in 30 days! That is so fast, I can't believe it! It's finally becoming real! Our closing date is tentatively June 7th. I think that's perfect because it will still give us about a month and a half to get moved in and settled! I'll, of course, be documenting all of it so expect to see some boring pictures of construction that excite me like none other!!!

Speaking of pictures, I just updated the background of my work desktop to Devan and me in front of the Castle draped in lights. It's getting me so excited for my family trip!

One last note before I end this. I am now down 26 pounds and over 14.5 inches!! It is just so exciting for me to be having great results! I've been working so hard and it's really starting to show! Here is a picture of me from when I volunteered in Joplin, MO August 10th to help clean up tornado damage and next to it is a picture from last week!

Have a fantastic day, everyone!

 

[Jessica527]

Jessica, you are my first follower that I know about! You just made my day! Hopefully we can help feed off of each other's ideas! I was really happy to extend our honeymoon by one day. I've been doing well at work and getting a little bit of extra money so I figure, why not?

I'm so excited you're going to be there in May! You'll have to let me know how your honeymoon goes and how your Segway tour was! What resorts are you staying at?

As you saw on my PTR, we are staying at POFQ for 5 nights and then AKL for 5 nights! I can't wait

So how are you doing the weightloss?? While I feel comfy where I am at, I think I could tone up in some areas What are you secrets????

 

[CtinaDitty]

As you saw on my PTR, we are staying at POFQ for 5 nights and then AKL for 5 nights! I can't wait

So how are you doing the weightloss?? While I feel comfy where I am at, I think I could tone up in some areas What are you secrets????

Well, I'm down 31pounds now! I have an app that I've been using called "MyFitnessPal" and it helps me make healthier food choices. Really, I'm counting my calories which I swore I'd never do. It just seemed too tedious and daunting. But, it's been really easy with this app. I'm also just working out at least 5 times a week. See, I used to be this all-star athlete. I was all-state, 2 time state champion, ect... Then, I needed surgery on my shoulder due to a softball injury. When I was almost done with physical therapy for that my fiance and I got in a car wreck and I broke my wrist. Yay! Plus, when I finally got started on working out again I messed up my elbow. I was just a mess. I wasn't eating well and not working out. So, of course, the weight piled on. But, after I tried on my wedding dress, which I still looked beautiful in. The dress was very flattering something clicked and I just changed right on the spot. This app logs how many days in a row that you log in and I'm at 116 days in a row today. That starts the day after I tried on my wedding dress. I'm on a role! That log in counter is a source of pride for me. I will post pictures on facebook periodically because I really need that positive reinforcement. This is a big deal for me and that keeps me motivated. Losing weight is a tough journey, so any help that I can get I will take!!

 

[CtinaDitty]

Countdowns:
Disney Family Vacation - 8 Days!
ADR/Tour Reservations – 47 Days!
Tentative House Closing – 182 Days!
Wedding – 225 Days!
Honeymoon – 227 Days!

Hey everyone! I hope you had a fabulous past weekend! I know I did! We brought home a new puppy this weekend for my Dad after going to Joplin to visit a store and our favorite restaurant, Casa Montez! It just reopened November 1st after completely losing its roof and part of the inside. It’s authentic Mexican and has been a favorite of my family for as long as I can remember.

Seeing the destruction in Joplin is always hard because I’ve seen it at its best. It’s also just crazy to see the path of the storm. Right across the street, off of Pennsylvania, the high school is completely destroyed. It looks like a war zone. Yet, my cousins’ grandparents’ house (literally right across the street) looks to have been almost completely untouched. We did volunteer work over in that area back in August (that’s where I was in the left side of the picture on the last update). You wouldn’t believe the destruction. Tornadoes are absolutely fascinating for that fact alone. As quoted in the movie “Twister”, “You've never seen it miss this house, and miss that house, and come after you.” It’s definitely hard to see, but Joplin is rebuilding fast and will come out so much stronger!
In case you didn’t know, Joplin, MO was hit by a F5 tornado back in May. It came on a day when they had a 10% chance of precipitation. Welcome to Missouri. The weather is rarely ever what it seems. Many lives were lost and it was found that it was the most destructive tornadic storm ever to hit Missouri, if not the United States. They actually think that the tornado was bigger than an F5, there is just no rating for tornadoes that large. Here is another quote from Twister before I get back to the fun stuff!

“Joey: No, that was a good size twister. What was it, an F-3?
Bill: Solid F-2.
Melissa: See, now you've lost me again.
Bill: It's the Fujita Scale. It measures a tornado's intensity by how much it eats.
Melissa: Eats?
Bill: Destroys.
Lawrence: The one we last encountered was a strong F-2, possibly an F-3.
Beltzer: Maybe we'll see some F-4's.
Haynes: That would be sweet!
Bill: 4 is good. 4 will relocate your house fairly efficiently.
Melissa: Is there an F-5? [silence falls over the group] What would that be like?
Preacher: ...The Finger of God. “

Pretty intense stuff right there…
So, we brought the puppy home and her name is Samurai Sue, better known as Sami Sue! She is an eight-week old yorkie who is quite adorable!

I am going to help train her with my mom before I move out in June. Also, we went past our lot the other night and found out that they have staked it out!! That means we should have a foundation within the next week or two!!! I’m so excited! Hopefully these two tiny spouts of snow we’ve had won’t cause a delay… We had about a dusting to a half an inch on Tuesday and we’re expecting about the same this evening… BOO! Devan and I took a picture together on our “front porch”. We also managed to get a short break in the rain to see how big our yard would be from the back of our house to the back of our yard. It’s still pretty large which makes me happy! We are going to have a great yard and our puppies are going to be so happy! Speaking of puppies, which I’ve done a lot of this update… (Haha!) Indiana Jones, aka Indi, my blonde long-haired chihuahua turned 8 years old this past Sunday! She is still just as beautiful as she was the day we brought her home. She’s my baby girl, even if she is no longer a baby…

So, I leave on my family vacation a week from tomorrow! Yay!! I think I might start packing or at least getting most of my stuff together tonight! Though, I do have a work meeting tonight so who knows what will happen… It still hasn’t hit me that I leave in practically a week. Maybe it’s because these past few weeks have been nothing but stressful! I was finishing up my second to last semester of college (finished Tuesday), they staked our lot to start building, and we have been crazy busy at work! I’ve just had so much going on that I haven’t had the chance to get excited yet… I know once Monday comes along I am going to be giddy with excitement!
As I mentioned in another update, I used to be quite the ride wimp. I am not a fan of Tower of Terror. I’ve ridden it maybe… twice? The third time I went to ride it I figured I should just ride it again so I could get over my fear. Well, the ride broke down at the very top with the windows open. I took that as a sign that I just wasn’t meant to get over my fear of that ride. Well, my little sister LOVES that ride and I told her I’d ride it with her this trip… EEK! Also, my fiancé is quite the thrill seeker so I know he would like the chance to ride it when we go on our honeymoon in July! I might as well try to get over my fear of it now (even though I secretly know a new wave of fresh fear will overcome me then too). LOL!

I am going to be incorporating a few tips and tricks into my packing this trip. I LOVED the idea I read about putting dryer sheets in your suitcase so your clothes smell nice and fresh when you get to your destination! Ingenious!! I will also be bringing a power strip. It is such a struggle with 4 people in the room with laptops, phones, ect… to fit into the provided outlets. I don’t want that struggle so I will be thinking ahead! I also am glad that I’ve been working out so much because when I go with my family I always seem to be the designated fast pass runner. I can’t decide if I’m going to try to workout while I’m at Disney or not. I mean, I’ll be getting plenty of walking in so I’ll be burning plenty of calories. I just don’t want to get out of my rhythm of working out! I’m down 31 pounds now and over 15 inches!! I’m so happy and proud of myself for sticking with it.

I’ll update at least one more time before I leave next Friday! I remember when the countdown was 52 days for that! Now, it’s only 8!!! Wow, time sure has been flying and I’m sure it will only keep speeding up. Before I know it, we’ll be on our disneymoon!!​

 

[CtinaDitty]

Well, I leave for my family Disney vacation tomorrow evening!!! I am so excited! I still don't think it has quite hit me yet. It might not even hit me until I arrive in Orlando tomorrow evening! We aren't staying onsite. We got a free deal at the Hotel Marriott Harbour and so we are staying there. It's a BEAUTIFUL hotel with gorgeous two-bedroom villas. I'm secretly hoping I don't have to share a room with my sister. I might have to ask in case I need to bring an aerobed. I seem to always end up being the one on the aerobed. This trip, as I mentioned before, has been strange for me. I haven't had to plan really much of anything! The only thing I did was get my family tickets for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party! We are going on the VERY last night that it's showing, December 18th!

So, in honor of leaving tomorrow, here are some of the things I am looking forward to doing on this family trip!

*Being in warm weather. Surprisingly, we've had a pretty mild winter so far (yes, I know it's not TECHNICALLY winter). In fact, it was 63 degrees yesterday. Today it's only going to be in the 40s, but that's still a LOT better than where we were last year. We have only had one week or so of brutally cold weather. It's been very nice. Even so, the 70s are going to feel AMAZING!

*The Christmas decor. The Christmas decor at Disney over the holidays is absolutely beautiful. I love walking into MK and walking down Main Street under all of the wreaths and bows and lights! It's one of the most beautiful sights you can ever see.

*Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. I absolutely LOVE this event. The lines are shorter, you get free hot chocolate and cookies, the parades are great, and Holiday Wishes is gorgeous!! Plus, I love the fake snow that falls on Main Street. I'd much rather have fake snow than real snow! Especially when I'm trying to build a house!

*Not having to "actually" work out. I figure I will be walking so much over the next 5 days that I should be burning enough calories to not have to work out. Who knows? I might go for a run at some point, but really there probably isn't a need for it.

*Trying a dole whip. I know I said I wanted to do this on my honeymoon, but really, what's the harm in trying it early? It will only give me (hopefully) one more thing to be excited for!

*Riding Thunder Mountain with my dad. As I talked about in my introduction, Thunder Mountain was my very first roller coaster. My dad and I always ride it together and we just have the best times. It brings us back to the days of when I was a little kid and there's nothing better than to share something like that with your dad. I love all of his sound effects (he does them on Space Mountain too). They really make the ride THAT much better!

*Being at Disney with my family (minus my older sister). My fiance isn't going on this trip with us unfortunately, but it will give me some great quality family time. My family is extremely close. We get along so well and always make time for each other every week. My little sister is back from college so it'll be nice to have that time with her.

*Facing my fear and riding Tower of Terror. I've stated before that I'm somewhat of a wimp when it comes to rides. Well, Tower of Terror is a ride I've never been fond of. I'm not good with drops and that's all this ride does. I've ridden it three times. That's it. Three times. The third time we got stuck at the very top and I haven't ridden it since. It's just not a ride I normally have to ride. BUT, I'm trying to be a good sister and ride it with Kate. She normally rides it with Sarah, but Sarah isn't going so it's all up to me! It's one of the highlights of her trip and I don't want her to miss out on it. Eek! Plus, it would be nice to be able to ride it with my fiance so I can bribe him into riding Splash with me. He's not too fond of that ride. He doesn't like getting wet. What a baby, right?

*Seeing Fantasmic! I absolutely LOVE Fantasmic. It's one of the best shows out there and I didn't get to see it on our trip there last December. In fact, I haven't seen it since March of 2009 and that is WAY too long in my opinion.

*Being a kid. I don't get the chance to just let my hair down and act silly very often anymore. I'm graduating from college in May, I work full-time, we're building a house, and planning a wedding! I've been a busy girl! At Disney, you don't have to worry about any of that. You can just be yourself and have fun. You can wear all of your Disney gear and silly hats and no one judges you. I am so excited to not have to wear heels and dress pants for a few days. It's going to be so nice and such a relief!

*Go through the shops. I love going through the shops there. My mom and I can spend hours just walking through all of the shops that Disney has to offer. I'm especially looking forward to going through their cooking shop. I love so much of what they have in there but I've never had my own kitchen before so it didn't do me any good to purchase any of it. Well, now having a kitchen is a reality. I'll have my very own kitchen in June and I want to have some Disney stuff in my kitchen! We're having a red kitchen and a lot of the stuff in their kitchen store works well with red!

*Listening to my dad sing "Yo, ho, yo, ho, a pirate's life for me!" Pirates of the Caribbean is my dad's all time favorite ride. He gets so excited to ride it! We will sit in line and he will start singing "Yo, ho, yo, ho, a pirate's life for me!" He will also do it on the ride. It's just the cutest thing you could ever imagine. I love seeing my dad so happy and this ride makes him as giddy as a school girl!

Those are just a FEW things that I am looking forward to on this family vacation. I will, of course, miss my fiance! He is on PTO that entire week so he will probably be playing Call of Duty the entire time.

So, I will see you when I get back from vacation! I get back the 21st, so I'll try to update before Christmas, but if not... MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!