For the first time in forever - I have 2 active tickers!! A Sept and Dec 2014 Trip

[MonsterWDWmom]

Hi everyone my name is Megan! I have been on the boards for a while and have finally decided to start my own PTR and TR!

For the last 2 years I have gone to Disney in the beginning of December, the first year (2012) it was just myself, my mother and my two girls. The next year (2013) my father came along. It was during this trip that we decided instead of doing Dec again in 2014 we would have a large family vacation in September and go to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party!

So it was set that in 2014 we would go in Sept and it would be: myself, my husband, our 2 kids, my mom, my dad, my brother, my sister-in-law and their 2 kids so in all 10 of us!

We (me and my family) leave on September 7th and return home on the 16th. My parents will arrive on the 6th and go home the 16th and my brother and his family will arrive on the 9th and leave the 14th.

So the players in this game are!!!


(This picture is a few years old!)
Me- Megan
My Husband- Erkki
Daughter 1- Faith
Daughter 2- Becky



My Mom- Maureen
My Dad- Joe

I dont have a picture of my brother and his family but they are
Brother- Brian
Sister-In-Law- Nicole
Nephew 1- Devin
Nephew 2- Austin

Next post I will talk about our Sept plans and how 2 tickers comes into play!

 

[MonsterWDWmom]

Okay so here are our plans so far:

Sept 7th. This day will not be a park day because our flight leaves Manchester, NH at 2:00pm and we will arrive in MCO around 5:30. This night will be about getting to bed at a normal time as we have an earlyish ADR the next day.

Sept 8th: Wake up and go to a pre park opening ADR at The Crystal Palace This isn't too early the ADR is for 8:30 while park opens at 9. I would have rather a 8:00 but my mom did not want to wake up that late. We will spend the day in the Magic Kingdom and I will PRAY that we can get a fastpass for Anna and Elsa. (I am a annual passholder so I only get to reserve fastpasses 30 days out instead of 60 which is bad because at 60 days I hear Anna and Elsa fastpasses are hard to get)

Sept 9th: I am super excited about this day as me and hubby will have the morning off for the.... Keys to the Kingdom Tour . I am so looking forward to this and have been avoiding any reading about it as I want to be able to experience it first hand. After the tour we are heading to the Animal Kingdom to meet up with my parents and the girls. My brother and his family will arrive this night.

Sept 10: The whole family will be together this day and we are heading to Epcot, that night we are eating at Chef Mickey's

Sept 11: This will be another Magic Kingdom day we have a pre park opening appointment for BBB at 8:05 and a 9:20 appointment at Pirates League and that night we are heading to Ohana for dinner. I am excited for this as I have never been there before.

Sept 12: We are heading to Hollywood Studios and having lunch at Hollywood and Vine so we can see Sofia, Doc and Jake. That night we are going to the Halloween Party!! This is my first time at MNSSHP I have been to MVMCP and have heard MNSSHP is better, I cannot wait to see what it is like!

Sept 13: This day we are in Epcot and that night we are heading to Hollywood Studios for dinner at Mama Melrose Fantasmic dining package. I have been to Disney so much and never experienced Fantasmic so I am super happy to finally do it.

Sept 14: My brother is leaving this day so they will not be at the park, but the rest of us are heading to the Magic Kingdom and having lunch at The Plaza Restaurant. This night my parents are going to watch the girls and hubby and I are going to Epcot to have dinner at Rose and Crown. I made the reservation for 7:20 hoping we can see Illuminations. This is also something I have never seen so to see it for the first time with my husband will be really nice (I hope)

Sept 15: This will be our last day and we are spending it in the Magic Kingdom! (I better be able to get Anna and Elsa fastpasses for at least 1 of the 4 days) We are having lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern.

Sept 16: We go home but the good news is I will be returning in only 76 days!

Now this trip is tentative based on what happens with my older daughters medical condition. Faith was born with a Critical Congential Heart Defect called Truncus Arteriosus. She was diagnosed at 7 days old and at 11 days had her first open heart surgery.



Since then she has had 2 caths, right now I am waiting to hear back from Children's Hospital Boston about scheduling an Cardiac MRI. The results of this test will let us know whether or not it is time for another open heart. Recently her energy has been down and she has been getting winded quickly. I just got some blood tests back that show she may be in heart failure. All signs point to the fact that it is time, but we need to wait until after the MRI to know for sure. Here is a picture from our last trip that shows how well she is doing



So our trip is all set but will it happen is the question, if we can get the surgery scheduled for July then that would give us plenty of time to recover and head to Disney, if not I am not sure what we will do. We have insurance on this trip but going to the Halloween party means so much to her (she can't wait to see Jack and Sally and the Headless Horseman!) I really hope we don't have to move it.

Now I have to get to dinner but next post I will get into our December trip!

 

[MonsterWDWmom]

Okay so quick update on Faith's MRI, we can't get in until July 15th! Hopefully it is not time for another open heart because that could mean we will have to push our trip back (or have the surgery after the trip). Like I mentioned earlier my parents did get trip insurance so if we have to cancel its not that big of a deal financially, it would just stink to have to tell her we need to cancel because she needs surgery.

Okay okay I know I am getting ahead of myself but I just can't help it, my mind naturally goes to the worst case scenario.

I promise I will update later on the Dec Trip, I just can;t concentrate on it right now

 

[MonsterWDWmom]

Awesome News!!!! Last night the hospital called and they had a cancellation for June 17th a month earlier!! So I of course took it, I am so glad as a month can make a big difference if surgery happens.

Okay now that I have calmed down here are the tentative plans. Our ADR's opened today or yesterday but we wont make them until tonight or tomorrow as I will be at my Mom's house.

Day 1: December 1: Arrive at MCO around noon, once we land and get our luggage we will pick up our rental car. From there we will leave and be on our way to check in at Saratoga Springs! This is my first time staying on site for more than 2 nights so I am super excited. Once we check in I think we may head to Hollywood Studios, we have been in Dec before but every time we have managed to miss the Osborne Lights, this year I really want to see them so I think heading there for a 1/2 day will be perfect. We will be on the dining plan so maybe we will eat at Hollywood and Vine (so my girls and see the characters) or 50's Prime Time. After the lights we will head back to our room and get ready for a full next day!

Day 2: December 2: This will either be a Epcot day or a Magic Kingdom day. I would rather Magic Kingdom because Epcot has extra magic hours and I know that crowds tend to go to the park with the extra hours. Magic Kingdom also should not be as crowded as MVMCP is that night so it closes at 7, so this should also help deter the crowds. If it is an Epcot day we will eat at the Garden Grill or Akershus (for breakfast) if Magic Kingdom then probably Liberty Tree Tavern (Lunch) The Plaza (Dinner) or maybe a resort restaurant.

Day3: December 3: This will be either Animal Kingdom or Epcot Animal Kingdom has extra magic hours in the AM so I know the crowds will go here. Animal Kingdom isn't a must for us since we will be there in Sept, if we go to Animal Kingdom we will eat at either Tusker House or Yak and Yeti. If Epcot I am unsure what we will do for dinner.

Day 4: December 4: This night we are at MVMCP so for the day we either be in Epcot or Animal Kingdom

Day 5: December 5: I think we will try for Magic Kingdom as long as the parade taping is over for the day. I know on Friday's they usually have the performances in the morning so we will just try to avoid those.

Day 6: December 6: I'm confused about this day we want to avoid the Magic Kingdom but might have already gone to Epcot a few times, I guess I will have to see what my mom thinks.

Day 7: December 7: This will be our last park day so it will be a Magic Kingdom day.

Sorry about not definitive plans but I haven't spoken to my mom much so I am unsure what she wants to do.

I will update again after all our ADR's are made!

Please also give me ideas on different places to eat I would like to try some new restaurants!

 

[emmysmommy]

Hi Megan! How exciting to have 2 trips to look forward to. And December is awesome! I was so glad to finally see all the Christmas decorations when I visited last December. When we were there for the parade taping they had a lot of activity/crowds by the castle one day and then along Main Street for different taping the next. It wasn't too bad as far as getting around.

That's great to look forward to the Keys to the Kingdom tour. Hope you passed over my update about that one. I wouldn't want to spoil it for you.

 

[MonsterWDWmom]

Hi Megan! How exciting to have 2 trips to look forward to. And December is awesome! I was so glad to finally see all the Christmas decorations when I visited last December. When we were there for the parade taping they had a lot of activity/crowds by the castle one day and then along Main Street for different taping the next. It wasn't too bad as far as getting around.

That's great to look forward to the Keys to the Kingdom tour. Hope you passed over my update about that one. I wouldn't want to spoil it for you.

Thanks Brenda! Yes I did skip over your tour (but I was very tempted to keep reading)

We are going to be in the MK on the day they tape the performances so hopefully we can avoid the crowds by staying away from the castle.

I love the christmas decorations and can't wait to see the Halloween ones!

 

[MonsterWDWmom]

Okay so December ADR's are done!

Dec 1: Arrival day, check in at Saratoga Springs then dinner at Mama Melrose. After Mama Melrose we are going to check out the Osborne Lights!

Dec 2: We are in the Magic Kingdom and have an early morning ADR at the crystal palace.

Dec 3: We are in Epcot this day and have an ADR at the Garden Grill for dinner. I am thinking we will leave after dinner and head to the MK to see the Electrical Parade and Wishes.

Dec 4: This day we are in AK and have an ADR at Yak and Yeti for lunch. I am excited for this as I have heard great reviews about this restaurant but have never been there. This night we are attending MVMCP

Dec 5: We are in MK again (our most visited park) and are having lunch at the Liberty Tree Tavern. This was a must because my mother loves the Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake.

Dec 6: We are again in Epcot and are eating Chefs de France. This is another new restaurant for me!

Dec 7: This is our last park day and will be spending this at the MK, we do not have an reservations for this day as we are assuming we will have some left over quick service credits to use.

Dec 8: We have breakfast at Chef Mickeys so the girls and can the fab 5 one more time before we head home. Our flight is in the afternoon so after breakfast we might head to Downtown Disney to kill some time.

I am excited that we will be able to make fatspasses 60 days in advance so maybe we will have a chance at getting Anna and Elsa passes!

Faith has her pre op one week from tomorrow so we will hopefully have answers as to what is going on soon. T

Thanks for reading!

 

[MonsterWDWmom]

Not to much news to post on, Faith had the MRI this week and we find out Thursday what the results are. It is killing me waiting but at least the results are in and if intervention is needed we can get the ball rolling.

As the weather gets warmer here I am getting more excited for Disney! My girls are also going to have a HUGE surprise at their birthday party Anna and Elsa are going to come!!! It is killing me trying to keep the secret but it will all be worth it that day.

I hope you are all enjoying your summer so far! I will post again when I have the results to the MRI.

Have a great weekend!

In just 79 days I will be seeing this

 

[MonsterWDWmom]

Okay so the results are back. Her heart looks fine but it still does not explain why she is having symptoms . Our cardiologist here in NH wants us to wait until fall until we decided the next move in case this is all psychological, but I also put in a call to her Children's Hospital Boston cardiologist to see what he thinks. I am still waiting for him to call me back but I am really in no rush.

The other possibility is that she may have developed lung disease, she consistently has not had enough blood flow going to her left lung. The percent should normally be in the 40-50% range and she is usually in the upper 20s or uppers 30s. They have tried different methods to fix this and so far nothing has worked for long term.

So hopefully within the next week I can talk to her other cardiologist and see if he agrees with the NH one.

On a happy note in just 68 days I will be landing in FL (at about this time!!) and then the next day in 69 days I will we walking down Main St USA!

Up next I will talk about how the December trip came into play.

Thanks for checking in!!

 

[KatMark]

Joining in; be back to read when home and not on my phone.

 

[KatMark]

Megan, back and caught up.

Your daughters are precious.

How fun to have a big family vacation. And you yourself are getting two.

We miss you by about three days for our September trip (we don't arrive until the 19th). We have done December the last two years in a row, but we have to skip this year (good thing too since my husband lost his job two weeks ago).

Love some of your ADR choices.

Did I miss where you are staying?

I'm glad the cardiologist says that your oldest DD's heart is fine and hope you get the same news from your other cardiologist.

 

[MonsterWDWmom]

Megan, back and caught up.

Your daughters are precious.

How fun to have a big family vacation. And you yourself are getting two.

We miss you by about three days for our September trip (we don't arrive until the 19th). We have done December the last two years in a row, but we have to skip this year (good thing too since my husband lost his job two weeks ago).

Love some of your ADR choices.

Did I miss where you are staying?

I'm glad the cardiologist says that your oldest DD's heart is fine and hope you get the same news from your other cardiologist.

Hi Kathy thanks for joining in!

A big family vacation will be nice and I am so excited about going down for both Halloween and Christmas.

Too bad we will miss each other! One year I would love to make it down for F&W, its just not in the cards yet.

I can't believe I forgot to mention where we are staying Saratoga Springs! I have been there once before but that was only for a weekend trip so I spent no time at the resort. We checked in on Sat at around 1am and then left Sunday at around 2pm. So this will really be my first time staying onsite.

Okay now to get into how December came into play. So last year when we were down in Disney Faith was talking about how she really wanted to expirence the Halloween party instead of the Christmas Party. This gave my dad the idea that we would all go down in September instead of doing separate vacations.

Usually my parents, brother and his family would go in the fall and me and the girls would go in winter my dad figured that by having one large trip it would save him money.

So March came around and we made our ADR's. A few months passed and my mother calls me and asked if I wanted to go down in December before my passes expire, I asked her if my dad was okay with this and she assured me he was so we began booking the trip. Well about 4 days later I get a call from my dad who is very very angry that we have scheduled another trip to Disney! Turns out my mother did ask him and he told her no but she went ahead and scheduled anyway, AND told my dad it was all my idea, that I asked her to take me down!! To say the least I was and just told my dad to forget the whole thing its not worth it.

Well we would have except for the fact that my mother had already booked the airfare bought the MVMCP Tickets and rented out the DVC points.

So the december trip is in the books and is going to happen. My mom will always get her way especially when it comes to Disney. My dad and I have since talked and he now knows that this trip was not my idea but I do know one thing I will never never trust my mother again when it comes to Disney I will ALWAYS check with my dad before I commit to a vacation

I will leave you with a pic from our last vacation:



Happy 4th of July everyone!

 

[KatMark]

probably shouldn't laugh, but it is funny. I'm glad you made up with Dad and I'm with you...no trusting Mom until it's confirmed with Dad.

Love the pic of your girls with Aurora.

Have a great 4th.

 

[LB1122]

Your trip I mean trips sound like a blast. How fun to have 2 planned right now.

I love the MNSSHP and a excited about going back to it this year. I have not done the Christmas one either, but have heard like you that Halloween is better so??? yeah!!

Good luck with the FP - I have heard sometimes it helps to split your party up 2 at one time/ 2 at another and get times that over lap for example
You and one daughter get 11-12 and your hubby and other daughter get 1145-12:45 you have a 15 minute overlap when all of you can get in line together.

That might work for you guys.

Following along.

Glad the results came back and hopefully you can figure it all out.

 

[MonsterWDWmom]

probably shouldn't laugh, but it is funny. I'm glad you made up with Dad and I'm with you...no trusting Mom until it's confirmed with Dad.

Love the pic of your girls with Aurora.

Have a great 4th.

Kathy, I completely understand it is funny, now that it is behind us I can get a good laugh at it too! Yeah when it comes to Disney and my mom all common sense goes out the window, it does not matter you cannot tell her no. I swear she would still go down even if all of us didn't join her. But lucky enough for her I am as crazy about Disney as her I just do not have the finances to go whenever.

Your trip I mean trips sound like a blast. How fun to have 2 planned right now.

I love the MNSSHP and a excited about going back to it this year. I have not done the Christmas one either, but have heard like you that Halloween is better so??? yeah!!

Good luck with the FP - I have heard sometimes it helps to split your party up 2 at one time/ 2 at another and get times that over lap for example
You and one daughter get 11-12 and your hubby and other daughter get 1145-12:45 you have a 15 minute overlap when all of you can get in line together.

That might work for you guys.

Following along.

Glad the results came back and hopefully you can figure it all out.

Thanks for joining in! Yes two trips are awesome I am going to enjoy the whole time as I do not know when I will get this opportunity again.

I am so excited for Halloween! Faith is determined to meet Jack and Sally so I know that will mean lining up 1 1/2 to 2 hours BEFORE the party starts if I want to see them right away and not waste any party time on it. But to pass time I think I will just bring a book and enjoy the time crowd watching.

Thanks for the advice with FP for Anna and Elsa, I have also heard this and so far I think it works for most people. I know they have also gotten ridden of the other princess so because of that they have been able to offer additional fastpasses. As we get closer it seems that seeing them may be doable!

Haven't heard for the Boston Cardiologist yet, but we are hoping we can make it through summer and Disney then have any intervention we need after. My husband agrees that he symptoms most likely will not go anywhere and if that is what happens she will have a cath sometime in the fall so they can get a good look at her lungs.

But for now we are all happy and healthy and only 67 days till we are in Disney!!

 

[KatMark]

But for now we are all happy and healthy and only 67 days till we are in Disney!!

 

[annegirl]

Joining in!

 

[MonsterWDWmom]

Joining in!

Thanks for joining in! Sorry there hasn't been much action planning is kind of paused right now.

 

[annegirl]

Thanks for joining in! Sorry there hasn't been much action planning is kind of paused right now.

No worries!

 

[MonsterWDWmom]

Okay so we are now 59 days away from Disney and I am super excited! Last night I started to customize our bands so far I have Faith and Becky's done:





Faith has the sorcerer Mickey one and Becky has the princess Minnie. I also have added an extra reservation to our trip!!

Right now we have reservation to eat at Askersus in Epcot for breakfast I made this for Sat the 13th but might try to move it to the 10th.

This meal will just be the 4 of us, so I am very much looking forward to it.

Sorry about the crappy pictures when my the bands are done (I still have some things left for the girls) I will take a picture of all of them with my real camera.

Speaking of bands I still have no idea the theme I want to do mine, I saw a beauty and the beast rose on a thread and might try that but it looks really complicated.