Even Miracles Take a Little Time -A March 2017 PTR-

[jmccoy18]

Hello Everyone! Please be kind as this is my very first PTR, but I am too excited about our March 2017 trip and I figured I would jump in and make one!

Reason for our trip (even though you never need a reason for Disney!): We will be celebrating DD2's 2nd Birthday! We went for DD1's 2nd Birthday, so now it has become a tradition to celebrate 2nd birthdays at WDW.

Everyone who will be joining us on our trip:
- Me: 30yr old, wife, mother, and Disney fanatic! I was a Kindergarten teacher until having my girls, and now I am blessed to be a SAHM, giving me more time to plan and obsess over our next trip.

- DH: 31yr old, husband, father, and newly converted Disney addict. DH never went to WDW as a child and his first trip was when we went in 2013 for DD1's 2nd birthday. He has since seen the light and now understands my love for all things Disney.

- DD1: 4yr old daughter and lover of all things Princess. People told me taking her as a 2yr old was a waste of money, but boy were they wrong! She remembers our last trip and talks about it almost daily and has already been asking about when we are going back and naming off the things she wants to do when we get there.

- DD2: 1 yr old daughter and reason for our trip! Right now her favorite is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and dancing to the Hot Dog song.

-MIL: Late 50s, wonderful Mamaw to my girls and we get along really well. Her first trip to WDW was also DD1's trip and she had a good enough time that she is willing to come back this time!

-FIL: Early 60s, fun-loving, and great Papaw to the girls. He is like a big teddy bear. His first trip was DD1's trip as well.

-Mom: Mid 50s, my mom and Mimi to my girls. She is super fun and up for anything.

-Dad: Mid 50s, my dad and Papa to my girls. He is usually good for a day or two in the parks, but usually ends up working half of the trip in his company's Orlando office.

-Sis: 18yr old college student, my youngest sister, and aunt to my girls. I'm so excited she can come during her spring break!

When we are going: Early March 2017

Where we are staying: Hopefully CBR! I have never stayed there before and I am excited about staying somewhere new. If not CBR then probably POR, just because we will need rooms that sleep 5 and both CBR and POR have the pull-down murphy bed.

Coming up next: Plans for planning/movie nights/prep


Table of Contents/Shortcuts:
Planning Progress
Movie Nights
Planning and Progress Updates

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24​

 

[Sarahh1027]

Hi!! I'm joining!!!!

Please be kind as this is my very first PTR

I totally understand, I just started my very first pre-trip report as well

even though you never need a reason for Disney!

Sooo true!!! Being at Disney is enough reason to celebrate..well..being at Disney!

I was a Kindergarten teacher until having my girls, and now I am blessed to be a SAHM

I'm in school to be an early childhood teacher Preferably 2nd grade. My 2nd grade teacher was so amazing...and I'm 22 now and still want to be just like her. No shame!

tradition to celebrate 2nd birthdays at WDW.

That sounds like an awesome tradition!

Early March or early April 2017

Although it may seem far away, the time will fly by! I'm going this May, in 2016, but it feels like it was just last June 2015 when I decided to go. Time seriously flies by. You're gonna need all that extra time to plan!

Hopefully CBR! I have never stayed there before and I am excited about staying somewhere new. If not CBR then probably POR, just because we will need rooms that sleep 5 and both CBR and POR have the pull down murphy bed.

My parents went to CBR 26 years ago on their honeymoon and LOVED it. I've seen wonderful things about it!

Coming up next: Plans for planning/movie nights/prep

YAY! I can't wait to hear all about your upcoming movie nights and plans!!

 

[jmccoy18]

@Sarahh1027

Thanks for joining! Good luck on becoming a teacher! I loved teaching; I taught 1st, Kindergarten, and Preschool with Kindergarten being my favorite by far. I just have a heart for those little ones. Since I have been a SAHM for 4 years now, I get my teacher fix in by teaching Sunday School at our church.

Your trip in May is just around the corner!!!!!!!

 

[jmccoy18]

Planning Progress: (Thanks @Elevationist for the progress checklist )

Trip Dates? Beginning of March 2017!

Resort? Caribbean Beach Resort!

Park Tickets? 5 day Park Hoppers with the military discount

Disney Dining Plan? This will be our first time using the DDP so we are excited!

Memory Maker? YAY! Disney just released a military discount for MM for 2017! We will have to wait until we get there to purchase it, but we can do that on our arrival day before or after dinner at CMs.

Booked Package? AFS came out and we were able to book 3 rooms at CBR, 2 with the DDP!!
Package Payment Progress? 100% of money saved and package payed off!

Additional Savings Progress? 100% of money saved!!!!

Airplane Tickets? Super early flight out, but get into MCO at 11:30am! We also got a good flight out that doesn't leave until 3:30pm, so we can have an easy last morning.

Magic Express? booked!

Stroller Rental? We are renting a Double City Mini from Kingdom Strollers. I am so happy to not have to lug our huge double stroller around at the airport. Plus the City Mini folds way easier than our City Select.

Itinerary? I finally have everything figured out, and now that we have our ADRs and FP+ I can go ahead and print out our touring plans.

ADRs? YAY! We got all the ADRs we wanted! Dinner at CM, Lunch at BOG, Dinner at CRT, Lunch at Akershus, Lunch at H&V, Dinner at Ohana, and Lunch at Tusker House (which we may change if ROL ever comes out to the ROL dining package for dinner.)

FastPasses? We got everything we wanted!!! PP, ETWB, SDMT, Nemo, FEA, RnR, Frozen sing along, BTMR, Jungle Cruise, Splash, KS, EE, and Dino!

Packing? Yikes, I need to start packing! We are only 10 days out!

 

[Angiea1114]

Haven't been on Disboards for quite some time as our last trip was in April of 2013. I jumped on to re-familiarize myself with the site and maybe do a PTR and thought I'd look at other people who are looking to go around the same time as us!

I have no definite plans or even dates but our trip will hinge around the High school Band trip, and that is tentatively March 13-17, 2017.
Looking at your progress list - I thought I'd give you a couple suggestions. My kids are older now but back in 1998, we went in April with our family of 5 (husband, me , 10 yo daughter , 2 yo daughter and 9 month old daughter) and also my inlaws. I wish so badly the internet was as accessible then as it is now!! But over the years, we have went to Disney in many different types of trips, mostly hinging upon an event the kids were involved in.

The last trip in 2014 was on property again with in-laws, husband, 12 yo son and 5 yo old son, Two of the daughters were their with the high school program so not with us.

So to my suggestions from comparing these trips, I wouldn't miss the Memory Maker package. The last trip we used it (as we figured it may be the last trip the inlaws go with us). The girls picked up Photopass cards when they took pics with their friends and we added the photocard number to our account so those pics showed up too, the ride pics are there and I have several "unposed" shots from the photographers while the kids visited the characters. I ended up with over 700 pics alone, and now I hear they link videos of you when it locates you on a ride from the Magic bands! I'm a scrapbooker, and this was invaluable!

The stroller - When the girls were younger we rented from the park and brought one. Ended up buying another in Florida !! This past trip with my son in 201e, he was heavy, husband insisted he could walk - that lasted a day!!! I called to one of the rental places (I think it was Apple Rentals) while we were on the bus to the park - and I had a stroller and wheelchair , delivered in just a couple of hours to the hotel, and when we checked out we left at the front desk and they picked up!!! So convenient and no hassle!!!

Lastly, I did a Disney countdown chain for my sons on the last trip. Trivia question and packing tidbits to earn extra spending money.

Didn't mean to ramble but hope you find this useful!

 

[jmccoy18]

Welcome @Angiea1114

Thanks for the suggestions! I know we will have a stroller while at Disney, but the question is do I want to rent one (not a Disney one, but one were I can get a nice city mini double) or take our city select with double seats.... I think the city mini double is easier to fold up and may make getting on and off busses more painless, where as ours is easy to fold, but you have to take off one of the seats first.

As for MM, I think I will just feel out how everyone else in our crew feels about it and if they are all willing to split it, then I think it is a no brainer. It would be nice to not have to worry about taking lots of pictures and being able to actually be in some of the pictures is a plus too!

Good luck starting to plan out your upcoming trip!

 

[dglilbit]

Hi, I found your pre-trip report! Elevationist is starting to get a following!

Y'all are a lot more planned out than us so I'm enjoying reading your report!!! Our little girl is 4, soon to be 5, so it will be helpful for me to see what y'all are interested in since for all intents and purposes this is my first trip to WDW.

 

[mdsouth]

Hello Everyone! Please be kind as this is my very first PTR, but I am too excited about our March 2017 trip and I figured I would jump in and make one!

Reason for our trip (even though you never need a reason for Disney!): We will be celebrating DD2's 2nd Birthday! We went for DD1's 2nd Birthday, so now it has become a tradition to celebrate 2nd birthdays at WDW.
Coming up next: Plans for planning/movie nights/prep

I am joining in and following! My DD's first trip was when she was 2 and a half so I know what it is like to go with a toddler. She will 14 when we hopefully return in 2017. No definite plans yet.

Haven't been on Disboards for quite some time as our last trip was in April of 2013. I jumped on to re-familiarize myself with the site and maybe do a PTR and thought I'd look at other people who are looking to go around the same time as us!

I have no definite plans or even dates but our trip will hinge around the High school Band trip, and that is tentatively March 13-17, 2017.
Looking at your progress list - I thought I'd give you a couple suggestions. My kids are older now but back in 1998, we went in April with our family of 5 (husband, me , 10 yo daughter , 2 yo daughter and 9 month old daughter) and also my inlaws. I wish so badly the internet was as accessible then as it is now!! But over the years, we have went to Disney in many different types of trips, mostly hinging upon an event the kids were involved in.

The last trip in 2014 was on property again with in-laws, husband, 12 yo son and 5 yo old son, Two of the daughters were their with the high school program so not with us.

!

Hi Angela! I saw your post in a 2017 thread. I too am hoping to head back to Disney in 2017 centered possibly around a high school band trip. I was last there in 2014 same as you with my son's high school band trip. My DD is in 7th grade now. The band goes on a trip every other year, so her freshman year in 2017 might be a trip back to Disney.

 

[jmccoy18]

@dglilbit
I'm glad you found me! It will be fun planing our trips around the same time!

@mdsouth
I'm glad you will be getting a chance to go back to Disney! It will be much different going with a teenager rather than a toddler!

 

[jmccoy18]

Movie Nights!
I am really excited to start having family movie nights in anticipation of our upcoming trip! It is a great way to spend some quality family time and give my girls a good background on things they'll see once we get there. We will probably have about 2 a month, sometimes less and maybe sometimes more depending on what is going each month. Below is a list of all the movies we will watch and once we have had a movie night, I will update on here and link the movie to the post for easy reference (Also, these are not in any particular order. I am letting DD1 pick the movie we watch, so I have no idea what order we will watch them in.)

1. The Little Mermaid
2. Cinderella
3. Alice in Wonderland
4. Beauty and the Beast
5. Frozen
6. Tangled
7. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
8. Sleeping Beauty
9. Aladdin
10. Dumbo
11. Toy Story
12. Finding Nemo
13. The Lion King
14. Peter Pan
15. The Incredibles
16. Lilo and Stitch
17. Pocahontas
18. Mulan
19. Lady and the Tramp
20. Mary Poppins
21. Monsters Inc.
22. The Princess and the Frog
23. Robin Hood
24. The Jungle Book

Pink=waiting to be watched Blue=watched and linked to post

 

[sahm2two]

Joining in! We just set our dates for our next trip, and we'll be going over Spring Break 2017! (March 25-April 1). Looking forward to hearing more about your movie nights! We plan on doing that too, but will wait until we tell our girls we're going. +1 year is a LONG time for 5-7 year olds to wait, so we're waiting until this summer probably to tell them. Maybe even longer lol. We're also waiting until we've paid for the trip 100% so there's no chance it won't hapen after we tell them!

 

[jmccoy18]

@sahm2two
Thanks for joining! I agree a year+ is a long time to wait, even for me!!!! But atleast I have the DISboards to distract me! I honestly would wait to tell my girls if they were older, but DD1 just turned 4 and has known we are going since her little sister was born. She also still hasn't quite grasped the concept of time (weeks, days, etc...) so it isn't too big of a deal. I think she enjoys the planning as much as I do because I try and involve her. We have a jar in the living room that we are going to decorate that we have been putting all our spare change into that we call our Disney fund and she likes finding change and filling the jar. I look forward to hearing about your movie nights too!

 

[sahm2two]

We have a similar jar! I just told my oldest (she's a big planner like me!) that we were saving to go on a vacation in a year, so she knows we're going somewhere (we haven't been on a real vacation in a while! just family trips), she'll love helping plan, so I do plan on telling them before we go. My husband wanted to do a surprise trip, but I hate surprises and she's just like me so I was afraid she would be mad! lol

 

[jmccoy18]

Dumbo Movie Night

I'm so excited!!!! Tonight is our first family movie night and my daughter has picked Dumbo!

Dumbo holds a special place in my heart. It always makes me cry and "Baby Mine" is the lullaby I sing to both my girls. Also, it is first ride I truly remember riding as a little girl with my Grandfather. He waited in line for hours with us to ride it! Let's see if I can find a picture......
AHHH here it is in all it's 1990 glory:

Anyway, back to movie night-
Since it is our first one, we are just going to keep it pretty simple with a themed meal and then watch the movie. No games or anything this time, but maybe in the future. DH did set up the projector in our basement, so we will have a big screen viewing!

Our Menu:
Jumbo Dogs (Brats)
Timothy's Tots (Sweet potato tots)
Clown Ice Cream Cones

Movie Snacks:
Peanuts
Popcorn

I hope our Clown Ice Cream Cones turn out as cute as this:

Edit: Picture Update!

Our first movie night was a success! Here are a few pics from our night:



DD1 Really loved making the clown ice cream cones. Those were the hit of the night. It was also really nice watching it on the "big screen" (or sheet on the wall!) She told me her favorite part of the movie was when Dumbo learned how to fly

 

[Sarahh1027]

Cuteness overload!! Great job with movie night!!! Dinner looks delish and your ice cream cones came out way cuter than the example pic!!! I just love your movie list! Good luck!!! I also love your progress check-list. It'll fill so quick!!

 

[jmccoy18]

Cuteness overload!! Great job with movie night!!! Dinner looks delish and your ice cream cones came out way cuter than the example pic!!! I just love your movie list! Good luck!!! I also love your progress check-list. It'll fill so quick!!

Thanks! I think our first movie night was a success!

 

[jmccoy18]

It has been a little bit since my last update because things have been a little crazy around here. Last Saturday my Grandadddy passed away very unexpectedly. We are all still in a little bit of shock and it is hard to believe he is actually gone. There aren't enough words to describe how much my Grandaddy meant to me and what a wonderful man he was. He is one of the many reasons I love Disney as much as I do. In an earlier post , I shared a picture of him waiting with us (my sister and I) as little girls to ride Dumbo. He took us on a few trips when we were younger, but when we were in high school his company had an exhibit in Innovations at Epcot and he got free/discounted tickets as part of it and we went with him a couple years in a row. It was really awesome and we made some great memories during those trips that I will cherish forever.

So here is to my Grandaddy: I love you and miss you so very much.

Before all the craziness of last week started, here is what I was going to update with:
Our disney stickers came in and DD1 really enjoyed decorating our spare change jar that has now become our Disney Fund jar

Also... DD1 picked our next movie: Alice in Wonderland!!!!!
I'm super excited about this one! We will be having it next week, so I will post about it later this week as I finish up planning our menu!

 

[jmccoy18]

Planning Update
I was thinking the other day, that the majority of our plan is contingent on the Armed Forces Salute (AFS) being renewed for 2017, and what if it didn't get renewed. So, I came up with a back-up plan, just in case

Plan A: Stay at CBR using AFS discount, get DDP, use AFS park tickets (4 day park hoppers)

Plan B: Stay at SOG, no DDP so only 3 character meals instead of 4, use military discount on 5 day park hoppers

The difference in cost between the 2 plans is minimal, so really either one could work. I love SOG, but would really like to stay somewhere new and have the DDP for this trip. But, if we have to use Plan B, there will be no tears shed.

 

[MochaDrinker]

We're planning five day park hoppers using the military discount, and want to stay at Caribbean Beach on the military discount as well so I'm following along. Amd hoping for a 2017 hotel discount because my sister is meh on Shades of Green.

 

[jmccoy18]

We're planning five day park hoppers using the military discount, and want to stay at Caribbean Beach on the military discount as well so I'm following along. Amd hoping for a 2017 hotel discount because my sister is meh on Shades of Green.

Why is your sister meh on SOG? I loved staying at a deluxe resort for a value price and being able to take a quick walk to the Poly to hop on the monorail!