Double Double Disney Trouble - Two Moms of Multiples Makin' Magical Memories

[EllieBride]

Are they boys, girls or one of each?

I have a boy and a girl, miracles of IVF. We didn't find out what we were having ahead of time, but I made no secret that I wanted a girl! Well, boy did I learn something... boys are AWESOME!!! I can't imagine my life without my little guy. When I am having a bad day, all he has to do is smile at me and my troubles melt away. Although I don't get to dress them alike, at least I will get to have fun dressing them in coordinating costumes some day, probably starting with Tinkerbell and Captain Hook.

 

[Kaykool101]

I have a boy and a girl, miracles of IVF. We didn't find out what we were having ahead of time, but I made no secret that I wanted a girl! Well, boy did I learn something... boys are AWESOME!!! I can't imagine my life without my little guy. When I am having a bad day, all he has to do is smile at me and my troubles melt away. Although I don't get to dress them alike, at least I will get to have fun dressing them in coordinating costumes some day, probably starting with Tinkerbell and Captain Hook.

I wanted a girl so bad. I love my boys, but it is the later things in life I worry about missing out on. There is a special life long bond between a mother and a daughter. At some point, my boys will have to put their wives first. A girl can always get away with running to mom.

I actually have several "twin" outfits that you can tell were designed for a boy/girl set. And some that are somewhat unisex, like my onsies that say "copy" on one and "paste" on the other. Super cute.

At one sale we go to they have a whole rack of boy/girl twin sets. They tend to be the cutest. But they are alot harder to find. And matching same sex stuff isn't easy either. Even new, they frequently don't have two in the same size. Clearanced and used clothes are even harder.

We will almost definately do IVF one more time. If I get a boy girl set, I have already decided I am going to do the nursery in Mickey and Minnie.

 

[Kaykool101]

Okay, so I have managed to come up with two different touring plans for my AK day. I am very conflicted about which one to go with. Will you help me decide?

First, I feel I should tell you a little about my history with this park. I love Disney as a whole, but if I had to pick one Favorite park, it would be Animal Kingdom. My mother and sister hated this park last time (I blame the heat). I really want them to walk away from this trip with a new appreciation for AK. One of my mom's cheif complaints was that there were not enough animals. So keep this in mind when reviewing the touring plans.

PLAN A
We focus morning touring on major attractions at the cost of Rafiki's planet watch and animal trails.

8:00am – Park opening
8:15am – Triceratops Spin
8:30am – Dinosaur *child swap so we can all ride
9:00am – Adventure’s Outpost to meet Mickey & Minnie (meanwhile someone goes and picks up Safari Fast Passes)
9:20am – Kali River Rapids
9:35am to 10:20am – Tour Maharajah Jungle Trek and Pangani Forest Trail
10:25am – Ride Safari using FPs from earlier
10:55am – Tusker House Lunch (Character Lunch with Donald and Daisy)
12:45pm to 2:30pm – Rafiki’s Planet Watch
2:30pm to 3:15pm – Break for a snack and restrooms (during this time someone will go get Expedition Everest FPs)
3:30pm – Festival of the Lion King
4:20pm – Expedition Everest
4:30pm – Free Play/Break at the Boneyard
5:00pm – Finding Nemo the Musical
5:45pm – Dinner at Flame Tree BBQ
Leave park after dinner

Below is an image I made for my family to try and explain the amount of walking required to get through our AK day.

Things to take note of from Plan A:

1. We are not getting back to the front of the park to sign up for wilderness explorers. The problem is that since we are entering the park at 8am for Extra Magic Hours, we cannot sign up on the way in and the front of the park is not convenient to return to.

2. The good news is. Between Rafiki's Planet Watch and Festival of the Lion King, there is a significant break. So we might be able to squeeze in a character meet if the line isn’t too long. Or at the very least get funnel cake.

3. We are visiting Rafiki’s planet watch during the afternoon. I have never done Rafiki’s planet watch, but what I have read recommends early morning because you see more. Is this right?

4. There is not a break after Kali to change clothes. If we get soaked on Kali we do not have time to clean up with this plan. Any time we take cleaning up, is less time we will spend on the animal treks.

5. We run a risk with this plan of cutting the Animal Treks. If we miss the Treks we miss the animals. They are kind of the point and in this plan they are getting squeezed in. I just worry we will spend time after Kali getting cleaned up and have to run to the Safari in order to fit it in before Lunch ADRs

6. This is an incredibly busy morning. I have babies and this morning requires an intense pace.

7. The boneyard break is tight and might get pushed out. Especially, if we are tired at the end of the day. I could see us grabbing a frozen lemonade and hoping in line for Finding Nemo.

PLAN B:

We focus our morning touring on the Animals to ensure we get positive animal sightings. We make extensive use of the FP system to hit the major attractions in the afternoon. We get a little bit more wiggle room through out the day as far as hitting things on time. This equals greater flexibility with the babies and bathroom breaks.

8:00am – Park opening
8:20am – Safari Ride
8:50am – Pangani Forest Trail
9:30am to 10:45am – Rafiki’s Planet Watch
10:55 am – Tusker House Lunch
12:45pm – Wilderness Explorers Sign-up (someone goes and gets Kali Fast Passes)
1:30pm – Festival of the Lion King (we should have enough time to grab a Funnel Cake before the show depending on how long lunch is)
2:15pm – Kali River Rapids
3:00pm – Bathroom break and clean up from Kali River Rapids (someone should go for Expedition Everest Fast Passes)
3:20pm – Maharajah Jungle Trek
3:50pm – Expedition Everest
4:10pm – Triceratops Spin
4:20pm – The Boneyard playground/short break (someone should go for Dinosaur Fast Passes)
5:00pm – Finding Nemo the Musical
5:45pm – Ride Dinosaur
6:00pm – Eat at Flame Tree BBQ (send whoever isn’t riding Dinosaur to get seats and order food before 6:00 because the park closes.

Below is an image I made to help my family understand our touring through the park.

This is the plan I have been working to death. So I am really attached to it. And I thought I had something that would work. And then I found out I was not the only person interested in Dinosaur.

Dinosaur is my favorite attraction. This plan basically assumed I would take all the FPs and ride as many times as I could after Finding Nemo. While everyone else went on to Dinner. I would join once the park closed and they would have my food waiting on me. However, when I was double checking what thrill rides people wanted to ride, I was shocked everyone wants to go on this one. And none of the kids can do it. So that means rider swap. And at the end of the day that gets really really tight.

Things to take note of from Plan B:

1. There are no character meets. We are doing a character lunch this day and will meet the whole gang. Aside from the fab 5, the only other characters in the park are Pochantas, Winnie the Pooh and Tigger, Dug and Russel, and Baloo. We will see Winnie and Tigger at Crystal Palace. We don’t have girls so Pochantas isn’t a must. Do we really want to see Baloo? That just leaves Dug and Russel. We can try to see them. But we are going to have to work that in based on when they trot them out. They are only out for about a few hours in the afternoon. I believe we have the flexibility to work them in. Oh, and then there is Rafiki at Rafiki’s Planet watch, but we can do that as part of our tour of Rafiki’s Planet watch so that shouldn’t be an issue. We are only spending a day in this park, I do not know how much time we want to spend waiting to see characters we can see faster elsewhere.

2. There are more small rests in Plan B than Plan A. It is hard to see, but we have some time before Festival of the Lion King, after Kali River Rapids we have a huge break, there is a small break after Triceratops Spin.

3. We get a nice size break after Kali to clean up and change clothes. HUGE plus!!!

4. The very end of the day is incredibly tight and we cannot miss Dinosaur. This is probably the biggest drawback to this plan. We risk missing Dinosaur and I would hate that since it is my favorite ride and the only one I don’t want to miss the whole trip.

5. We have ample time for both Animal Treks.

6. This is a more leisurely morning than Plan A.

7. We get to see Rafiki's planet watch in the morning, but we have very little time there because we must get back for our lunch ADR.

So there you have it. My attraction focused touring plan ensures we get on Dinosaur while my Animal focused touring plan risks Dinosaur but has a better chance of convencing my family there are animals at Animal Kingdom.

Which one do I chose???

 

[Magic2000]

I like Plan B better than Plan A. It does give you some relaxing time, which I'm sure will be great for the babies.

My only concern is if Dinosaur is your favorite ride, and the park is closing at 6:00, fastpasses may be gone by 4:20. Same thing with Expedition Everest fastpasses. Is there any way you could send someone to get fast passes for one of those rides while the rest of you are doing the Pangani Forest Trail or Rafiki's Planet Watch? Maybe even do Kali Rapid River last, since you'd be leaving the park anyway?

Animal Kingdom was never my favorite park either - definitely because of the heat. But we did a fall visit one year, and it was nice and cool outside, and we loved it!!! My daughter loved playing with the animals and it was such a nice park to walk around and see!!

 

[Kaykool101]

I like Plan B better than Plan A. It does give you some relaxing time, which I'm sure will be great for the babies.

My only concern is if Dinosaur is your favorite ride, and the park is closing at 6:00, fastpasses may be gone by 4:20. Same thing with Expedition Everest fastpasses. Is there any way you could send someone to get fast passes for one of those rides while the rest of you are doing the Pangani Forest Trail or Rafiki's Planet Watch? Maybe even do Kali Rapid River last, since you'd be leaving the park anyway?

I like this idea. I will play around with it some and get back to you with a plan C.

As to FPs being gone, that isn't a huge concern for Dinosaur in the off-peak season. It takes peak season crowds to jepordize those, lol. (I am very alone in my love for this attraction).

I use touringplans.com and they project that FPs will be available on my dates, and they have never lead me astray. But it is something to keep in mind if the park is really crowded.

Animal Kingdom was never my favorite park either - definitely because of the heat. But we did a fall visit one year, and it was nice and cool outside, and we loved it!!! My daughter loved playing with the animals and it was such a nice park to walk around and see!!

The park is huge too, which doesn't help. And basically the only air conditioned experiences are Tusker House, Yak & Yeti, Festival of the Lion King, Finding Nemo, 3D Bug show (I am blanking on the name), Restaurantasaurus and Dinosaur. When you can list all the A/C in a huge theme park, then there isn't enough. Think about how many eateries are pavillions or open air. Add heat to extra walking and people lose their patience.

I have heard rumors that AvatarLand will be inclosed and air conditioned. That would be great for this park. People can dis on Avatar all they like. But if there is an awesome E-ticket and air conditioning they will line up all the same.

 

[Kaykool101]

So my family talked to me this weekend about the two plans. I also attempted a plan C with Kali at the end of the day per Magic2000's awesome suggestion. However, I ultimately was unable to get it to work because of dinner. Both plan A & B have dinner happening during park closing. If we ride Kali and go home we are leaving the park at 6:00 instead of 6:30 or 7, so it just made things alot tighter. Too bad, as it was a really good idea.

Like I said, my family did sit down and discuss Animal Kingdom per my request and niffty map mark-ups. Unfortunately, they started the discussion without me and agreed the best course of action was to cut the safari ride!!! Luckily, I steered them back on course. I agreed if we got in the line again and we were in it for more than 10 minutes we would skip it. Their chief complaint was that the line didn't move because the animals were in the way. I assured them we were less likely to run into that in the morning. I have no idea if this is true.

We also agreed if we were going to cut an Animal Encounter it would be Maharajah Jungle Trek. Don't get me wrong, it is a cool trek, but we need room somewhere and we missed Pangani last trip so it only seems fair to switch it up.

Then this morning, my sister sent me an email with a definative pick. PLAN B!!! This is big. I usually send out a couple of detailed emails a week with questions about the trip and there is nothing but crickets. So for her to pick one was huge. And she picked the Animal focused one, YAY!!! This was big because she was really attached to doing dinoland first. She wanted to do the midway and triceratops spin, while we took turns riding Dinosaur. And that really was a highlight from our trip last year. But I think the Animal focused touring plan will be something different. If it doesn't make a huge difference in our experience of the animals, then we will go back to Dinoland in the morning next time.

So in short, I think we are going to go with Plan B right now. I am hopeful that the day goes smoothly, but last trip Day 2 was Epcot World showcase and the boys had a melt down. After that it was smooth sailing they adjusted to the sensory overload, but Day 2 was the breaking point. If that happens this time...then I don't see us surviving the day...

 

[Kaykool101]

TOURING PLANS

Now that we have the major topics covered, it’s time to get into the daily details, the Touring Plans.

I love touring plans. Partly because I am a type A and they provide structure. And partly, because when I am setting them up, I imagine the day in my head and it is like I get to live a little of my vacation before I leave home.

I use touringplans.com. It is a paid service on the site, and IMHO worth every penny, but to each his own.

 

[Kaykool101]

ARRIVAL DAY

I have already mentioned that today we will be getting up at 3:00am. I plan to be on the road no later than 3:30. There are a couple of things it will take to make this possible. First, we have to be packed and loaded the day before. This presents a little bit of a challenge, since the goal is to get to bed right after putting the babies to bed. But hopefully I will pack everything earlier in the week. So on Friday, I just have to load the car when I get home from work at 5pm.

Next, I have to get my husband up, moving, and get coffee in him. That will take the full 30 minutes, so I have to get him going right away.

I will get up and get dressed and ready in about 10 to 15 minutes. Once I am ready to go, I will make bottles, wake the babies, and change their diapers, and put them in their car seats with their bottles. Aaron should be ready by now and he will put them in the car while I grab my purse, the toiletry bag, and the diaper bag. That should be it. We will be out the door by 3:30am

Hopefully, the boys will fall back asleep since it will still be dark out and there is nothing to see or do and they are not use to being up at this time. I figure they will be back asleep by 4am. *fingers crossed.

They usually get up around 7am, but since they got woken up at 4am I am hopeful they will sleep till 8am.

My goal is to make it to Valdosta before our first stop. Mapquest, says Valdosta is 260 mi. and 4 hours. I would like to make it by 7am, but my real goal is just to get there before the babies wake up.

We will stop for breakfast in Valdosta, most likely at a Cracker Barrel if we can find one. YUM!

I want to take a nice long leisurely stop to try and wear the babies out a little bit. They hate being in their car seats for a long period of time. The flip side of that, is if we stop for a long meal, the 4 year olds will get restless. So we will play it by ear. But we need to be back on the road no later than 10am. Though I imagine we will be on the road closer to 9am.

We will stop again in Gainesville, FL. Mapquest says it is 110 more miles and 1 hr 45 mins. I want to make it in 1.5 hours. We will stop for a short gas, potty, and diaper break. It is after this break, that I imagine the babies will have had it with the road trip. I can easily see them crying the rest of the way until we get to the hotel and they get to crawl around.

But Disney is only 120 miles and 2 hours away.

I want to be at the resort by 1pm, no later than 3pm. 1:00pm is very doable if we leave Valdosta by around 9am.

When we get there we will check in. I sincerely hope our room is ready early. Because the babies are going to want to get down and move around. And depending on how well they slept, they will need a nap.

But I figure we will get checked in and get some lunch at Landscape of Flavors. Everyone will be happier with food in their bellies.

Then the babies will have some play time followed by a nap.

The big boys will probably hit the Cars pool for a quick swim.

Somewhere in all this we will explore the resort. But this day is really up in the air as we will use most of it to get the babies back on some semblance of a schedule so they sleep tonight. So if they sleep all day in the car it will be used as awake time, if they cry the whole way down we will let them rest. It just depends on what they need.

If we get in at 1pm or even earlier and eat lunch at Landscape of Flavor, then by dinner time we will be getting hungry again. So depending on how things are going with the babies, we may venture over to Downtown Disney for dinner at Earl of Sandwich (OoP) or Wolfgang Puck Express (QS credit). If we use a QS on this meal, we will have to share elsewhere or juggle our credits a little differently. But we should be able to do dinner for a QS if we need/want to. Aaron and I will be happy just to have a snack, as we have a late dinner planned. But everyone else may need to eat.

If we don’t want to leave the resort and everyone enjoyed Lunch at Landscape of Flavors, we may just get dinner there too. It all depends on how things are going, and how everyone’s energy levels are.

After dinner we will return to the hotel to put the boys to bed. There is no reason we cannot have the babies ready and in bed by 7:30pm, 8:00pm at the latest.

We will leave the sleeping babies with Nana and Aunt Keara in time to make our 9:10pm Jiko reservation.

I hope to be back to the hotel by 11:00pm and in bed by 11:30pm. We have an early day tomorrow!

Oops, somewhere in here we now have to get to Wal-mart to pick up supplies. I imagine we will leave the babies with Aaron for a nap after lunch. Then the rest of us (4 year olds included) will go to Wal Mart. Then when we get back, the boys will go swimming. Hopefully, it is a quick trip!

 

[Kaykool101]

So today we are heading to Myrtle Beach for the weekend. This is kind of an impromptu trip. But I see it as good practice for Disney.

In fact, I already learned a valuable lesson. I was up until 2am last night packing. I let DH go down yesterday, ahead of the babies, Nana, and I, and we were not packed yet. Next time, I get daddy's help packing. Also, I think I am going to try to have everything packed the weekend before.

I am very nervous about the beach. I realized yesterday that I have not been on a beach vacation since high school. The closest I have come is a cruise, and I have not gone to the beach to swim or layout on any cruise ever (we have shopped or done in-land excursions).

In general, I am not a beach person. I don't like salt water (I prefer clorine), and I HATE sand. Not really sure how anyone can stand the stuff. It gets EVERWHERE!!!

Then Nana pointed out that the boys are going to eat it!!! Gross. I love my babies but sometimes they are disgusting.

But, like I said, it should be good practice for Disney. I used my Disney packing list as a guide, and overall I feel pretty good. But if I miss anything then I will know to add it for Disney. Also, it should be intereseting to see if we can fit everything in the Prius Hatchback trunk. If we can get it all in this trip, we will be fine for Disney because we are brining the Stroller this trip and will not have it the next trip.

 

[Kaykool101]

DAY 1 – EPCOT

6:30am – Rise and Shine! I have us getting up at this time most of the trip. My children usually wake up at 7am, sometimes a little earlier and sometimes later. Typically, when they wake this early we try to encourage them to go back to sleep, but not this trip.

7:00am – Leave for Breakfast reservation. I might have to get up before 6:30, but I am hopeful. I can typically get myself ready in 15 minutes if I plan the night before. And the same goes for the babies. My husband will take about 30 minutes, so in theory it all works out. You are going to see this magic 30 minute number a lot. Obviously, if I run late day 1, I will wake up earlier for the rest of the week.

7:30am – ADR at Olivia’s, I am excited about this ADR. And since Nana got a Chase Disney Debit, I think this is one of the OoP that we get a 10% discount at. I think I will order the Breakfast Cuban - Scrambled Eggs, Sliced Pork Loin, Ham, Swiss, and Tomato on a Grilled Cuban Roll served with Breakfast Potatoes $11.49

8:30am – Leave Olivia’s for Epcot. Our last trip, only allotting an hour for breakfast never worked. But then again we were typically at a theme park restaurant and those places are swamped at 8:00am. I am hoping 7:30am at a resort is a little less crowded, so service will be a little quicker.

9:00am – Epcot Park opening, we might be a little late. I doubt we will be more than 15 minutes late. But then again, I have babies now, so we will see. In theory, we changed diapers before park opening, applied sunscreen, and everyone is fed and ready to go.

Now I am going to start the actual touring plan for the day. This is one of the touring plans I feel more comfortable with. I don’t think we are going to have an issue getting to all the attractions and we have comfortable amount of room built into the schedule for a mid-day nap. This is a good thing as it will let me adjust future plans based on how today goes.

Park Hours: 9am to 9pm
We will focus our touring for the day on Future World.

9:00am – When we enter the park, the four boys and I will go get fast passes for Test Track while the other adults go to ride Sum of All Thrills. This is literally, everyone’s favorite ride but mine, so they will ride it a few times (until lines start to get bad), and the boys and I will bum around Innoventions.

10:00am – About 10:00am our Test Track fastpasses should be good. So we will head over there and the 4 year olds will get to do their first Disney Thrill Ride! From what I have read and remember of the old ride, I think the boys will enjoy this. We will do rider swap and someone will stay out with the babies. If the 4 year olds like it, then they can ride twice. At least, that is how I understand rider swap to work with older kids. After all, half the fun of the attraction is seeing with the kids. I imagine Keara, Aaron, and Nana will ride first while the boys and I get some diapers changed (theirs not mine ). Then Me, Keara, and Aaron will ride again while Nana sits out with the babies. If the 4 yr olds do not want to ride a second time or if we are tight on time, I may skip it. I want to see the redo, but the original ride was not my favorite by any stretch.

10:30am – We will head over to the Imagination Pavilion. We will ride Journey Into Imagination. I think we can all go on this, even the babies. On the way to the imagination pavilion we will stop by to see about the Chase Character Meet n Greet. Or we will get it after lunch if time is tight or the line is long or it isn't open or any number of other things that can go wrong. I haven't built in alot of time for playing at Imagination Station (or whatever it is called), but if the boys are interested we might hang out.

11:00am – Lunch at Sunshine Seasons. I picked this one because I have read good reviews. I imagine I will order Slow-roasted Pork Chop - with cheddar mashed potatoes and BBQ sauce $12.49 or Oak-grilled Rotisserie Chicken - with black beans and yellow rice $10.49.

12:00pm – Pick up Soarin fastpasses and head home for an afternoon nap. My DH (the farmer), wants to do the behind the seeds tour. This is the only place I can seem to work it in, but then the babies wouldn’t get a nap. I guess I could send the babies back to the hotel with Nana, but I don’t like that idea. I really do not want to rely on her too much this trip. I do that enough at home. But then I don't know how to squeeze in Behind the Seeds. I think it is important to try to get at least one nap today. Hmm…

3:00pm – We need to be back at the park at about this time. The Soarin fastpasses should be good starting somewhere between 3 and 3:30. We will use rider swap so the 4 year olds can go on Soarin twice. Also, we will work in Living with the Land. It all depends on when we get back, when the Soarin FPs are good, and our Dinner reservation. I might ride Living with the Land with the Babies while others ride Soarin. I wonder if I can juggle both of them on a boat. Hmm...

4:30pm – Dinner at Garden Grill - Love this place! Mostly, because it is what I think of when I think of Disney or Epcot because it plays such a huge roll in my childhood memories. I could never come to Disney and Epcot and skip this place. I have budgeted 90 minutes, here's hopin'

6:00pm – The Seas Pavilion. We will all ride the Seas with Nemo, tour the main tank and exhibits, and see Turtle Talk with Crush. Should be a lot of fun for the boys.

7:30pm – Leave the park and head over to Downtown Disney. We will all ride Spaceship Earth on the way out of the park.

8:00pm – Dessert at T-Rex, I actually couldn’t get an ADR for T-Rex any night earlier than 9:00pm. Eating at 9:00pm is way too late for our group even if it is just dessert. So we are going to try to get in. However, if we are tired, we might just head straight back to the room and call it a night. We just want Dessert at T-Rex, so we can try to squeeze it in any early night from Arrival night, Day 1 Epcot, Day 2 AK, or even Day 4 HS.

9:00pm – Return to the resort if we haven’t already. The priority will be getting bathes and getting the kids ready for bed. We can get our babies down in about 20 minutes. So hopefully….

9:30pm – Bedtime!

If we skip dessert at T-Rex then 8:00pm - Bedtime!

I think the notable misses are:

Ellen’s Energy Universe – I know I said I love Dinosaurs, but this ride is looooong, with very little actual dinos. "Stupid Judy" When I was looking to make room for a nap and early departure this attraction got cut. However, if we run ahead of schedule or things are going well and we skip an afternoon nap it may get added back in???

Mission Space – My mom actually liked this attraction, no one else did and I don’t think the 4 year olds are tall enough (they are exactly 40”), and even if the height requirement was lower I don’t think they would like it.

Epcot Character Spot – This one was a hard one to cut, but with all the character meet n greets, the new refurb on this one just wasn’t inspiring. We can always do it on our second EPCOT day if we change our minds. Or even on this day if there is time. But since Nana got a Chase Debit Card, I think we will do the Chase Character meet.

Captain EO – I hated this as a child. It scared me to death!!! This and Gremlins haunted my childhood!!! I am not going to do that to the kids. I cannot wait for Disney to change it. All I remember is the scary woman with long nails and being TERRIFIED!!! So if the movie is actually not scary, you may laugh at me, but I am still not going in it again.

Well that is it for Day 1. A long post, I know. I told you I love to live the trip before it happens! I just hope you were able to imagine along with me.

 

[Magic2000]

I like your arrival day plans!! We always try to not do too much that first day after a long drive. And we always leave between 2:00 and 3:00 am. For me, having the bags packed and waiting by the back door (or loaded in the trunk) the night before is key.

A few weeks ago, my daughters Amy (27) & Allison (18), granddaughter Cady (2), and I went to Atlanta to see One Direction in concert. (only Amy & Allison went to the concert) That morning, we loaded up the car and the last thing we did was get Cady. We thought for sure she'd go right back to sleep because she usually sleeps til at least 7:00 or 7:30. As we walked to the car, she noticed the big moon and wanted to show PawPaw the moon. Once she was buckled in, she was up. She wanted her juice, then her pacifier, then to watch a movie. She quietly watched the Piglet movie, before finally falling asleep.

Your plans for Epcot sound great!!!

 

[Mommy2BnB]

Looks like your plans for touring are coming together. I hope everything works according to your plans.

Have a great time at the beach! *in spite of the the sand*

 

[emmysmommy]

Hi Kristin! Sorry I've not been by sooner to check out your PTR.

I completely admire your detailed planning, packing and all the details. I suppose you must be organized with the adorable little guys.

How exciting that you don't have long before your trip!

Oh, and your snack photos... very dangerous for me to see those this late at night!

 

[Kaykool101]

I like your arrival day plans!! We always try to not do too much that first day after a long drive. And we always leave between 2:00 and 3:00 am. For me, having the bags packed and waiting by the back door (or loaded in the trunk) the night before is key.

A few weeks ago, my daughters Amy (27) & Allison (18), granddaughter Cady (2), and I went to Atlanta to see One Direction in concert. (only Amy & Allison went to the concert) That morning, we loaded up the car and the last thing we did was get Cady. We thought for sure she'd go right back to sleep because she usually sleeps til at least 7:00 or 7:30. As we walked to the car, she noticed the big moon and wanted to show PawPaw the moon. Once she was buckled in, she was up. She wanted her juice, then her pacifier, then to watch a movie. She quietly watched the Piglet movie, before finally falling asleep.

Your plans for Epcot sound great!!!

Nice to know someone else has left this early in the day with success. On our trip last weekend to Myrtle Beach (7 hours), we left about an hour before the babies' bedtime. I thought they would conch out and go to sleep around their usual bedtime and we would be fine. That didn't happen. They cried until 9:30 at night before falling asleep, then they woke periodically through out the trip to cry some more. We got in at 1 am, at which time they woke up completely and it was 2am before we could get them back to bed.

They hate being trapped in their carseats. I kind of feel bad for them, because they don't understand why they are strapped down and unable to move around, so I feel like I am torturing them.

We drove home during the daytime and they actually did a little bit better. But some of that could be that Nana or Daddy sat in the back with them and entertained them the entire trip.

The end results? We are getting a car DVD player to play shows for them for the Disney Trip. I think I have mentioned this before, by Bryan LOVES watching kids tv shows. They were happiest when we were streaming netflix on our phones.

Looks like your plans for touring are coming together. I hope everything works according to your plans.

Have a great time at the beach! *in spite of the the sand*

I know I seem a little like a Disney Commando, but I will actually roll with the punches fairly well when we get there. I am not claiming to be as flexible as a type B or anything, but I won't melt down if things don't go the way I ahve planned either. I know posting times makes it seem like I will freak out if we don't make them, but really they are there more so I know how to adjust when things go sideways.

Hi Kristin! Sorry I've not been by sooner to check out your PTR.

I completely admire your detailed planning, packing and all the details. I suppose you must be organized with the adorable little guys.

How exciting that you don't have long before your trip!

Oh, and your snack photos... very dangerous for me to see those this late at night!

I am just glad you stopped by. I have really enjoyed reading your adventures with your daughter. She seems like such a wonderful girl.

When the babies were first born I was really strict about schedules and feedings, and naps, and bedtime, and everything was really organized. Yeah, that didn't last. They have minds of their own (as I expect every new mom eventually learns, it just might have taken me longer than some). So, no, we pretty much have the usual kid chaos at our home. And as much as I would love to take credit for what organization does exist in my home, that credit rightly belongs to Nana, my mother, I would be lost without her.

 

[Kaykool101]

Day 2 - Animal Kingdom

I wanted to get up another day of touring. But Day 2 is Animal Kingdom which we have already discussed. So I will try to recap briefly (yeah, I know, I am never brief! )


We decided on Plan B, so here it goes...

Animal Kingdom
Park Hours: 8am to 6:00pm (EMMH)

6:30am – Rise and Shine

7:00am – Quick Breakfast in room, possibly send someone for food from Landscape of Flavors or not (most likely we won’t want the expense).

7:30am – Leave for Park, it is only a 15 to 20 minute drive and since we are getting there so early parking should be favorable, so we will take the car rather than the Disney bus. This will put us there 10 to 15 minutes before EMH opening.

8:00am – EMH Park opening

8:00am – Safari ride. We will make a be-line for the safari ride. I am hopeful since it is early that there will be lots of animals and that the heat won’t be unbearable yet. Also, that the line won’t be too bad.

8:30am – Pangani Forest Trail, last trip my mother said she didn’t feel like there were any animals in Animal Kingdom. I think she just wasn’t paying attention, but I am hoping that seeing some gorillas will be more memorable than the Tigers were last trip. Plus I like the naked mole rats. Or I am just a Kim Possible fan, lol. Those mole rats look nothing like Rufus.

9:00am – I do not know when we will finish the Forest Trail and how long we will have to wait for the train. So we might have some down time. If we finish by 8:50am we can make tracks to see Mickey and Minnie at Adventure’s Outpost. If not, we might just grab a snack from the bakery and enjoy Africa.

9:30am – All aboard for Rifiki’s Planet Watch, we need to be back in Africa by 11:00am for our ADR. I am a little worried that 1.5 hours isn’t enough time??? But since the train doesn’t start running till 9:30, there is no way to get more time unless I go after lunch, and from what I have read, it is best to go in the morning.

11:00am – Tusker House, I think the ADR is actually for 10:55. So we might have less than 1.5 hours at Rafiki's. Worst case, I figure I can hop on the train ahead of everyone else and go check-in at the restaurant. As part of our Lunch break we will make sure everyone uses the restroom and the babies get a diaper change.

12:30pm – The fastpass running starts, Aaron or I will go get Kali FPs while the crew makes their way up to the front of the park to sign up for Wilderness Explorers.

1:00pm – Register for Wilderness Explorers

1:30pm – See festival of the Lion King

2:00pm – Grab a funnel cake and make our way towards Kali River Rapids

2:30pm – Ride Kali River Rapids, Nana doesn’t want to ride, so she will wait with the babies.

3:00pm – Bathroom Break/clean-up and clothes change from Kali River Rapids. Since this ride gets you soaked, I am building in time to change the boys clothes, also to change the babies diapers. The one time I rode Kali, I changed into flip flops and wore a poncho, so when I got off I was pretty much dry. We might do the same thing again. But as a kid, I liked to see the adults get drenched, so for Adam and Ben, I might go without the poncho. In that case, the adults will also be in need of a costume change. Also during this break, Aaron or I will go grab EE FPs.

3:30pm – Maharajah Jungle Trek

4:00pm – Time to go see a frozen Yeti (The ride was a lot better when he moved, it really added something). Nana doesn’t want to go on this one either, so she and all four boys will give the gift shop a once over or if they are up for it, they can go on to DinoLand USA and play in the Boneyard.

4:15pm – Someone goes and gets FPs for Dinosaur while the kids play in the Boneyard and Ride Triceratops Spin. Now will also be a good snack time. Maybe some Ice Cream or frozen Lemonade or ice cream sandwich.

5:00pm – Finding Nemo the Musical, I love this show. I know most people prefer Lion King, but this is my favorite.

5:45pm – The adults head to Dinosaur while Nana takes the kids on to Flame Tree BBQ for dinner. Nana wasn’t interested in this ride either. So I figure she can go and place our order and find us seats.

6:00pm – Eat while the park empties. The park closes at 6:00. I have never closed a Park without a nighttime show. But from what I have read, it is more like places start to close, as long as we already have our food, I think they will let us finish it before running us out of the park.

6:45pm – head on out, we will probably need another potty break, seeing as diapers haven’t been changed since 3:00 (I am joking about diapers, I will change them whenever they need a change, which will probably be before Nemo). Hopefully, the bathrooms aren’t closed!

7:00pm – If we didn’t do T-Rex the day before because we were tired or couldn’t get in. We might head to Downtown Disney to see about getting dessert. But I imagine we will all be exhausted from a full day in the park and we will just go home and get to bed early.

7:30pm – Get back to the Hotel

8:00pm – Bedtime!!!

Notable misses:
It’s Tough to be a Bug – This attraction, while amazing, is just too good. I don’t like bugs and it gives me the serious hee-bee-gee-bees. So I figure it might be too intense for the 4 year olds, so why risk it, when we have so much we are trying to cram in already.

Primeval Whirl – I just don’t care for this coaster. It is slow and there isn’t enough dips or spinning to compensate for how slow it is. I don’t think the 4 yos are tall enough to ride either.

So there you have it. The last part of the day is crammed. If we are running tight, I might do standby for Dinosaur while the kids play in the bone yard.

Other options include, dividing up the tickets when we grab FPs so that we grab 3 for Expedition Everest and 3 for Dinosaur. Since the 4 year olds and Nana aren't riding either that would work. Then when it is time to ride both we take Nana and the boys to the Boneyard or Restaurantasaurus (if A/C is needed) for a snack and rest.

 

[Kaykool101]

PHOTOPASS QUESTION & other random stuff

I know, at this point I am going to be on the vacation before I finish this PTR. But I wanted to talk photopass and give everyone an update today on my paid-in-full deadline.

Yes, we did make it! We are going and staying in an AoA Cars Suite with free dinning as planned. I don’t know if anyone is actually aware of how nervous I was about making this date, but I did it. Yay!

And now we are seriously discussing a SeaWorld/Busch Gardens/Aquatica trip for Christmas. As a child, my family always went somewhere to be with extended family for Christmas. And we really celebrated Christmas! It is some of my best memories. Because I had just had twins last Christmas, and Nana and my sister were in the middle of a move, we didn’t really go anywhere. It was awful. I have said all year, I am not spending Christmas at home again. Even if it means we are in a tent out in the woods.

We have kicked around several ideas throughout the year (including upgrading to annual passes and returning to Disney, but that is a lot of money). My husband was a fan of going down to Sea World, so I have been doing some pricing and it is actually reasonable for a Christmas vacation, so we will see.

Now back to this vacation. It is getting close, only 45 more days to go!!! Also, since I have paid off the vacation package, now it is time to start worrying about all the extra miscellaneous expense, such as stroller rental and photopass.

So that is my reason for the post. Do I photopass, photopass +, or skip it all together. I really want some magic shots, so I think I should go ahead and pre-order my photopass CD. Photopass + is $149. While the pre-ordered CD is only $119.95. That is a $30.00 difference.

Here is what that $30 gets me.
1. Dining photos
2. Ride photos
3. Unique photopass + photo card thingy

I don’t think #3 has any real value. That only leaves 1 and 2.

Of the participating attractions we will ride all of them except for maybe Space Mountain. The flip side of that is that we have never bought attraction photos. However, that is largely because they are ridiculously expensive. There was a priceless one on our last trip of Dinosaur, I don’t quite remember what it was. But we really wanted it. And they wanted something like 40.00 for a few prints. It was crazy. So $30.00 for all of them from the trip doesn’t sound outrageous to me.

Of the participating restaurants we are only eating at Tusker House. If Tusker House alone was 30.00, I wouldn’t purchase it. But do the ride photos make it worth it? And why does 30.00 before my trip sound like so much less than 30.00 while I am on my trip?

Maybe I shouldn’t even pre-order the CD. I didn’t on our last trip. Last trip our vacation package included a memory book. So I did it up. It was really cool, but we ended up using more of our photos than the photopass photos.

I LOVE that book though. It turned out soooo nice. I am planning on doing one again this year. I have been following “Capturing Magic” and they recommend some non-disney sites where I could do it cheaper. But what I loved was all the Disney stuff that the photopass site had to offer. The flip side, is that it is limited to what Disney offers. Capturing Magic has instructions for adding Disney Stuff for digital scrapbooks, but it requires photoshop which I don’t have and don’t know how to use.

So do I splurge for $120, 150, or just not bother.

I am leaning towards the $150 option. If we don’t feel we get our money’s worth then we know to skip it next time.

Any thoughts? Have any of you ever purchased Photopass +?

 

[emmysmommy]

I think for the photopass options that if you will actually purchase 2 or more ride photos you will save the $ by just upgrading to photopass+. I usually just get photopass (no +); however, last summer we did photopass+ and it was definitely cheaper than if I had paid for all the ride photos out of pocket (even with an AP discount) BUT... I wouldn't have purchased all of those anyway since they weren't that great!!

This time I went back to photopass+ because we'll be doing enough of the character dining that it made sense to add those photos to my photopass. Plus we can take as many dorky ride phtos as we want!!

One day I may just see if it works out to just hand over my camera to a photopass CM and see how that works to not pay for it at all. I don't really use the borders or extras since it takes me all of the time allotted to actually get my order in.

 

[Mommy2BnB]

No experience with photopass, so I can't really advise you there. I did hand my camera to the PP photographers and got nice shots from them. Most of them took multiple shots with camera to make sure I got a good picture. Of course you don't have access to the dining or ride shots with this option.

 

[Kaykool101]

I think for the photopass options that if you will actually purchase 2 or more ride photos you will save the $ by just upgrading to photopass+. I usually just get photopass (no +); however, last summer we did photopass+ and it was definitely cheaper than if I had paid for all the ride photos out of pocket (even with an AP discount) BUT... I wouldn't have purchased all of those anyway since they weren't that great!!

This time I went back to photopass+ because we'll be doing enough of the character dining that it made sense to add those photos to my photopass. Plus we can take as many dorky ride phtos as we want!!

One day I may just see if it works out to just hand over my camera to a photopass CM and see how that works to not pay for it at all. I don't really use the borders or extras since it takes me all of the time allotted to actually get my order in.

It is good to know that you purchased the photopass+ in the past. Especially, since you get to Disney so often. Right now I think I have the whole expense on my "nice to have" list. Basically, I will get the photopass+ if I have enough money left over after paying bills. If not, we will do without Photopass or Photopass+.

No experience with photopass, so I can't really advise you there. I did hand my camera to the PP photographers and got nice shots from them. Most of them took multiple shots with camera to make sure I got a good picture. Of course you don't have access to the dining or ride shots with this option.

Yeah, last trip we got the PP photographers to take a Photopass photo and had them take our picture with our camara too. There were some that we grabbed while out an about when we didn't have a camera. I remember Nana and I going to get snacks before Fantasmic and getting a photo with Tower of Terror, but since we didn't have the camera we only got a photopass photo.

I am hopeful we will get it. But I bought Disney clothes instead this week. So if we have the room I will buy it before we go. I have until the end of this month to work it out.

 

[Kaykool101]

DISNEY STORE part 3?

Sorry it has been so long since I posted. I have not bought the Photopass or the Photopass + that is on hold for the moment. If I buy, I am leaning towards Photopass +. Since it will be the boys first time riding things like Splash Mountain, Test Track, etc., I think the Photopass + is nice to have. So I am going to splurge if I can get the budget together. 

But right now I wanted to talk about my shopping this weekend! Nana’s new Chase Disney Debit card has proven to be dangerous. They give you 10% off if you spend 50.00 at the Disney Store. So what did I do? I spent $50.00 at two different Disney Stores and again online. But that’s not nearly as important as what I bought!!!

For my boys, I bought the kids size 2/3 Oozma Kappa Tee shirts. Yeah, they are for 2 year olds and my boys are only going to be one. But I tried it on Alex. It was big, but still very very cute. So we are going to pair it with some knit kakhi shorts and they will look super cute! That of course meant we had to buy the big boys a shirt each as well. And they have the same tee in men’s sizes so we got my DH one as well.

Over at the ladies’ t-shirt table they had the cutest pink Oozma Kappa Shirts. Unfortunately, they didn’t have the sizes Nana, Keara, and I needed. So genius that I am decided to get them online. After all they were on sale for $12. (On a side note, I do not actually think $12 for a t-shirt is a good deal, but it was a Disney shirt, and if you haven’t noticed, I am kind of a crazy person about Disney, lol).

So the next day I get online to find our pink Oozma Kappa shirts so we all match. Well, online the price is now 2 or more for $15 each. I am shocked, I don’t typically see different pricing at the store vs. online. But I got my Winnie the Pooh cuddly bodysuit (picture here – this thing is too cute), for 5.99 each and they are 12.99 online so stranger things have happened.

So I scourer the site for the pink Oozma Kappa shirt and come up empty handed. Minnie and the chat help box pop up offering assistance. Sure, maybe she can find it. Minnie directs me to Trina in Pixie Hollow (not kidding) for help. I describe my problem to Trina and she sends Fawn and her forest friends to look for the shirt for me.

…while I wait, I look at Baby stuff. Why not? It can’t possibly be dangerous. Yeah, so a few minutes later I have added a Buzz and Woody costume tee to my bag as well as a couple of Lightning onsies. In my defense, the Lightning onsies are actually a great price. $4.95! New granimals at Wal-mart are 3.88 a piece. So I typically try not to spend more than that on onsies, but to pay only 1 dollar more for a Disney onsie is fantastic! So those are a must, but now I have two problems. 1) I have a $10.00 shipping charge staring me in the face, 2) I am just 20.00 shy of my 50.00 minimum for the 10% discount.

No worries, when Fawn and friends get back I will add the t-shirts and all will be well.

Fawn comes back empty handed and Trina delivers the bad news. I have to call parks and resorts because they don’t offer it online.

Now I am really bummed. Because 15.00 was higher than the 12.00 I had planned on paying and ordering it from parks and resorts it was going to be even higher!!!

I thank Trina and disconnect. I don’t bother to call parks and resorts, I know I can’t afford them now 

So I throw the Disney 2013 onsies I want so badly into the online cart (actually they were already there they have been for months now). They aren’t on sale. They are a stupidly expensive price at $15.00 each. And had I not spent 30.00+ on their mickey swim outfits. It would be one of the most expensive things I have every bought them.

But that little 10% discount is smiling at me from the page. So I decide I just have to get free shipping somehow and I will buy all three (total of 6 because I have 2 babies) outfits.

So I resolve to head back to the Disney store to pick up a free shipping coupon. For those of you unaware of this secret, if you cannot find what you are looking for, the Disney store can give you a slip for free shipping from the online Disney Store. It is very nice.

The next day, I decide, if I have to go back to the Disney Store, I am going back to one with Pink Oozma Kappa shirts in the sizes I need. So, I call around to see which of the stores in the area have them. Yay! The Disney Store on the site described as having the “New Magical Design” has it. I am excited to check out this “Magical Design”. So we load up and head out.

I live in the Atlanta area. And Atlanta is huge! So it is a solid 30 to 40 minute drive to my destination. Oh the things I do for Disney.

When we get there I collect my shirts and start to look around. But quickly I notice we have a problem. Their shirts are also 2 or more for 15 each!!! Not the $12 I was expecting to pay. I tell the cast member about the issue and how my Disney store has them for $12, after all we were just there two days ago!

She kindly informs me the sale has ended. I, a grown woman, pout. Yes, it is bad. But I roll out my lower lip and give her the sad eyes. “I would have bought them for $12 on Sunday, but they didn’t have my sizes. I tried to buy them online and Fawn couldn’t find it.” Add in quivering lip and big teary eyes. The cast member caves and offers them to me at the $12.00 price.

In all seriousness, if she hadn’t I might have walked away and I would have been ticked. In the back of my mind I was running through options of how to get the t-shirts to my store so they would sell them to me at the $12 price (I don’t know why I thought that would help, I was just desperate).

She asks if I am ready to check out. No, of course not, 3 t-shirts at 12.00 is only 36.00 of the 50.00 I need. I pick up a Rapunzel shirt that I wanted on Sunday too but didn’t get because they were out of the pink shirts so I was planning to buy it with the pink shirts online to get me to that glorious 50.00. But wait, we are only at 48.00. No problem, there are some Mickey earbuds for 13.00 and my current set of earbuds has a short so that I have to tape it up. Why not get some new ones for 13.00 shaped like Mickey?

Ta Da! 10% off. Well, not yet. I still have to pay.

So now we are ready. She rings us out. But I haven’t shown her the card yet. I am afraid she will take away the t-shirts for 12.00 discount that she is very kindly giving us. She gives me the total. I show her my Disney Visa. She laughs (a kind laugh). Obviously realizing how awesome I am at stacking discounts. Gives me 10% off and I breathe a sigh of relief. I got the shirts for the 10.80 I wanted to pay.

Now I am faced with a new dilemma. Do I ask for the free shipping coupon? I anxiously debate this while she finishes the transaction, bags my items, and hands them to me. At the last possible minute, I go for it. “I want to buy the boys something online, can I have a free shipping coupon.” “Sure.” She responds and hands me a coupon.

Seriously, I love Disney. I am so pleased with my experience at the Disney Store. Yes, in the parks you expect Disney to bend over backwards to make you happy. After all, every person there is worth thousands of dollars to them. Add in the insane mark ups and they can afford to be a little generous to aid in guest satisfaction. But to see that same customer care policy at the Disney store is truly magical!

I would also like to add that they exchanged a pair of swim trunks for me earlier this year as well even though I had lost the receipt. Not many retail stores are as good or as customer service focused as the Disney Store.

Free shipping coupon in hand, I go home to order my Disney Store online purchase. Mom asks me to look for a purple tink shirt that I bought earlier in the year. She likes mine so much she wants one of her own. So as I am flipping through the women’s tees, what do I find…

?

The Pink Oozma Kappa t-shirt. Seriously? Where did this come from? Oh well, I got mine for 12.00 and I am very happy. No luck on the Tink shirt for Nana though. They must have sold out.

Finally, I place my order.

For good measure I also order some cheaper Mickey and Jake outfits from Wal-mart.com. I had seen the Mickey outfits at Walmart but never in my kids' sizes.

That brings my baby Disney outfit count to…

11! Which should be enough to survive our 8 day trip.

I will try to post pictures of them later (especially since half are in the mail). But for this post I will leave you with one of my nephews. This is from our Disney Store trip a few weekends back.

I told you they wanted the Sophia dress.

In all seriousness, their birthday is this week and what did they ask for? Doc dress up and Izzie dress up. I think they are getting Jessie dress up and Doc dress up. Who knew Izzie would be so popular with them(but she was expensive!!!) They love dress up. And at this point they own every age appropriate male hero, so it is only natural they would move on to the girls.

But I can’t wait to pull out this picture when they start dating!!!

Until next time.