Getting Qualified and Disneyfied! March 2015 PTR

[francis6306]

Hi!! I'm BAACK! And OMG, I'm about to plan ANOTHER trip to Disney! I can't believe it! How is this happening?? Because my husband LOVES me.

Meet the players...

This is my family! Please excuse the kid trying to make bunny ears. She does that only to make me crazy when I'm trying to get a good family picture.


Hi! I'm Christen. I am DAYS away from finishing up Cosmetology school and finally realizing my dream- only 15 years late! Luckily, I have a wonderfully supportive husband that helped with my career change! I'm also a author and editor for Magical DIStractions.


That wonderful husband of mine, is Corey. He is a band director at a school here in the cornfields and does an amazing job! He loves Disney now as much as I do!!


Cortlyn is my adorable oldest daughter (The little girl in the picture. Not the sweet college kid holding her!) and she's on her way to being a Cast Member and vacation planner. OMG. This kid knows what she wants to do every second. I'm constantly finding "Disney Plans" in her piles of papers in her room.


Catie is my youngest (Again, the little kid- not the college girl!) and she loves DUMBO. And guess what? She is FINALLY 42 INCHES TALL!!!!


What's the plan!?

March 15-21, Pop Century! I'm so excited about heading back to where we FIRST stayed as a family! I'm hoping that I haven't been too spoil with my last two trips (POR and GF) to enjoy a trip at a Value- but we will see!

 

[francis6306]

So, how did this little trip come to be? Well, in 2014, I was luckily enough to go to the World TWICE! IT was pure bliss!

We stayed at Port Orleans Riverside in March. We were lucky enough to receive some extra special pixie dust from Tiana and were granted an upgrade to a Royal room! I fell in LOVE with that resort. It truly lived up to all the expectations I had for the resort. I loved the layout, I loved how the property was maintained, I loved the pools and the play areas for the kids, I loved the food, I loved the room. It was magic! I'd move right into that resort and live there forever if it was an option. (I'll share more about that trip later!)


Then in July I went with my best friend Shelley and stayed at the Grand Floridian! Yes. THE GRAND FLORIDIAN! It was suppose to be a trip for us to go to with our husbands, but then long story short- we left the men at home and just went ourselves!


Earlier this fall, I applied for the Disney Parks Moms Panel. I was one of the lucky ones that made it to Round 3 of the process, but I was not chosen for this year's panel. I was however, granted a special FastPass to skip Round 1 of the process for next year's panel.

However, I still needed to qualify, which meant I needed a trip to WDW before September of 2015. That was a problem, because I had promised my DH that we'd go to during the Holidays and stay at the Wilderness Lodge in 2015. I played around with the idea of a solo trip, but nothing really came together and honestly, I didn't want to go alone or without my family again, since I had done that in July. We talked about going in June as a family, but the chance of it being HOT didn't sit well with my husband. In the end, he said "Let's just go over Spring Break." We discussed for a few hours and then I finally sent my favorite TA a message and booked the trip in March for our whole family!

Shh! Don't tell him, but I'm hoping that I can figure out a way to maybe still make WL next Christmas a reality for us as a couple. It depends on a few things, but I'm really hoping I can make that work somehow!

 

[-Hope-]

Fun! And following along! I'm still chuckling at your DD's "Disney Plans" notes- a girl after my own heart! :lol:

 

[francis6306]

Fun! And following along! I'm still chuckling at your DD's "Disney Plans" notes- a girl after my own heart! :lol:

Thanks for stopping in!!

She cracks me, so I understand! When I asked what she thought about staying at Pop again she said "Oh yes, mommy! Catie hasn't gotten to see it yet-She needs to stat there like I have!" She also has big plans for us to stay stay at the GF, because it has a Spa. She has no idea exactly what they do at a spa, but that is her plan!

 

[Gracefulskinny]

Sounds fun. Joining in!

 

[francis6306]

Sounds fun. Joining in!

Thanks!! Great to have you along!

 

[francis6306]

So, we currently live in the middle of NOWHERE, IL. I'm surrounded by corn or soy fields in all directions for hours. No matter where I fly out of, it's a drive, so I'm kinda lucky that I can check several airports to find the best price. Imagine when I check the Southwest site and find flights out of CHICAGO(Midway) for less than flights out of Indianapolis or St. Louis! CRAZY! But ya know what, I'll take it! Now that we have to buy 4 airplane tickets, you have to cut whatever corners you can!

Our flight out of Midway is VERY early in the morning, so we may look into finding a hotel that will allow us to park while we're gone. The plus side of that, we get almost a full day on Sunday at WDW. We typically try to plan trips Saturday to Saturday, but since we have some auditions scheduled on the 14th, it's impossible (unless we wanted to arrive at midnight. Uhh... yeah, not happening with small kids!).

I have to decide how much planning I want to do on that first day and then I can really start to plan the rest of our trip. We ALWAYS start the trip at the Magic Kingdom. HOW can I be in Orlando and not see the Castle first? I dunno. It's hard to imagine starting somewhere else, but one of my daughters best friends will be down at the World at the same time we are and they have reservations at HS on Sunday. So, I need to decide what our Sunday will be and try and make plans with her.

 

[-Hope-]

So, we currently live in the middle of NOWHERE, IL. I'm surrounded by corn or soy fields in all directions for hours. No matter where I fly out of, it's a drive, so I'm kinda lucky that I can check several airports to find the best price. Imagine when I check the Southwest site and find flights out of CHICAGO(Midway) for less than flights out of Indianapolis or St. Louis! CRAZY! But ya know what, I'll take it! Now that we have to buy 4 airplane tickets, you have to cut whatever corners you can!

I'm really not surprised- we live in the middle of NOWHERE, MO and generally fly out of St. Louis. Once we flew from St. Louis to Chicago, then to Orlando because it was cheaper to go north before we went south...

Our flight out of Midway is VERY early in the morning, so we may look into finding a hotel that will allow us to park while we're gone. The plus side of that, we get almost a full day on Sunday at WDW. We typically try to plan trips Saturday to Saturday, but since we have some auditions scheduled on the 14th, it's impossible (unless we wanted to arrive at midnight. Uhh... yeah, not happening with small kids!).

Love doing a sleep-n-park hotel to make the most of the first day at Disney! We've also done a late flight back and done the "sleep" part at the end of our trip. Both work out great and help eek out a little more Disney time.

I have to decide how much planning I want to do on that first day and then I can really start to plan the rest of our trip. We ALWAYS start the trip at the Magic Kingdom. HOW can I be in Orlando and not see the Castle first? I dunno. It's hard to imagine starting somewhere else, but one of my daughters best friends will be down at the World at the same time we are and they have reservations at HS on Sunday. So, I need to decide what our Sunday will be and try and make plans with her.

I'm stuck in this same type of predicament... our schedule works best with saving MK but do I really want to wait for that moment when we turn the corner on MS to see the castle. Will it even feel like Disney before that? I'll figure it out I suppose...

 

[francis6306]

I'm stuck in this same type of predicament... our schedule works best with saving MK but do I really want to wait for that moment when we turn the corner on MS to see the castle. Will it even feel like Disney before that? I'll figure it out I suppose...

RIGHT?!?!?!?! How can you be on property and NOT see the Castle first?!?! It just doesn't make sense to me! LOL

I always try to do nonstop flights. I just can't stand the idea of wasting so much day in the airports! Last year, we actually ended up flying out of Nashville, but that was because my husband had a business trip there, so he was already in Nashville and I drove the girls down to meet him. It worked out pretty well for us, but I don't want to do that long of a drive to the airport again.

Missouri! Woohoo! Are you a Mizzou fan? I'm a UGA girl, so I always welcome SEC fans along!

 

[francis6306]

So, I'm working on my plans for my days so I can finally get around to booking some ADR's!



Sunday: (Travel/MK) So, we should arrive at MCO around 11 on Sunday. I'm thinking we will be VERY ready for a nap when we get in, so we'll hopefully go straight to a room (PLEASE be kind room assignment people!!!) so that we can rest. After the nap, we will get on a bus and head straight to Magic Kingdom. We won't book any meals this night, just in case we have to scrap the whole idea. I know it's not recommended to go on this day, I'm still very much in the camp of you MUST start at MK. LOL When I suggested just making the day a "down day" my husband said "We can't be that close to the castle and not see it."

Monday: (Epcot) When we went last spring break, I really felt like we missed out on a lot of stuff at EPCOT thanks to Elsa and Anna. We were so hyper focused on getting there early for the meet and greet and spend a large part of our morning waiting (we really didn't wait TOO long, but over an hour in one spot is a LONG time!). That said, I almost feel like EPCOT is leading up to a 2 day park for us. I just feel like there is so much to see and do with the girls there. Anyway, I'm hoping we can get Fastpasses for Test Track or Soarin' but in the morning head straight to the one we don't have a FP for and ride that. My husband wants to ride test track at night, so we'll see if we can work that out for him!

Tuesday: (HS) This park is kind of a half day for us. We love the character meets there, but I'm not sure the girls will commit to doing the big rides with me. Cortlyn was all set to ride Rock'n'Roller Coaster on my last trip, but it was shut down that afternoon. There is no way I can get her on Tower of Terror. She's just too much of a scaredy cat. If we can get everything out of the way in the morning then we will leave at nap time and spend the evening at DTD.

Wednesday: (MK) this is kinda scary. LOL We've always taking a break day in the middle of the week, but we're going to attempt doing parks every day! I'm hoping that this day we can make it to rope drop and see the welcome show. We've enjoyed it in the past, so it would be awesome to see it again.

Thursday: (AK) This day will start off with a Breakfast at Tusker House. My husband just wouldn't allow it any other way! LOL Also, my daughter's friend will be in AK this day, so we are going to all eat breakfast together. This is actually my first and so far only ADR! LOL I'm wondering though, if it is socially acceptable to book the same res

Friday: (MK) This day is back to the MK for one more day of fun, we hope! LOL IF we missed Rope Drop and the Welcome show on Wednesday, then we will try and hit it this day.

Saturday: (Free Day/Travel) We will probably leave around lunchtime to go back to MCO. In the morning, we may either do another park day (I'm HOPING for a quick EPCOT visit) or just go to DTD and hang out for a little bit.

Those are our very lose plans for now. What do you think? I need to start looking at character meals and table services...

 

[-Hope-]

RIGHT?!?!?!?! How can you be on property and NOT see the Castle first?!?! It just doesn't make sense to me! LOL

I always try to do nonstop flights. I just can't stand the idea of wasting so much day in the airports! Last year, we actually ended up flying out of Nashville, but that was because my husband had a business trip there, so he was already in Nashville and I drove the girls down to meet him. It worked out pretty well for us, but I don't want to do that long of a drive to the airport again.

Missouri! Woohoo! Are you a Mizzou fan? I'm a UGA girl, so I always welcome SEC fans along!

I'm such a tightwad that in the past I've been okay with a connection as long as it saved us some $$$. However, DD is not a great flyer and take-off is the worst part so for our upcoming trip it will be non-stop for her sake.

I'm kind of a Mizzou fan by default. My brother lives in Columbia and he and his girlfriend are HUGE fans- tailgating, garden gnomes, the whole 9 yards. I'm not a big sports fan (except for Cardinal baseball) but it's hard not to be infected by Mizzou fever when you spend much time in Columbia. :cheer:

So, I'm working on my plans for my days so I can finally get around to booking some ADR's!



Sunday: (Travel/MK) So, we should arrive at MCO around 11 on Sunday. I'm thinking we will be VERY ready for a nap when we get in, so we'll hopefully go straight to a room (PLEASE be kind room assignment people!!!) so that we can rest. After the nap, we will get on a bus and head straight to Magic Kingdom. We won't book any meals this night, just in case we have to scrap the whole idea. I know it's not recommended to go on this day, I'm still very much in the camp of you MUST start at MK. LOL When I suggested just making the day a "down day" my husband said "We can't be that close to the castle and not see it."

Monday: (Epcot) When we went last spring break, I really felt like we missed out on a lot of stuff at EPCOT thanks to Elsa and Anna. We were so hyper focused on getting there early for the meet and greet and spend a large part of our morning waiting (we really didn't wait TOO long, but over an hour in one spot is a LONG time!). That said, I almost feel like EPCOT is leading up to a 2 day park for us. I just feel like there is so much to see and do with the girls there. Anyway, I'm hoping we can get Fastpasses for Test Track or Soarin' but in the morning head straight to the one we don't have a FP for and ride that. My husband wants to ride test track at night, so we'll see if we can work that out for him!

Tuesday: (HS) This park is kind of a half day for us. We love the character meets there, but I'm not sure the girls will commit to doing the big rides with me. Cortlyn was all set to ride Rock'n'Roller Coaster on my last trip, but it was shut down that afternoon. There is no way I can get her on Tower of Terror. She's just too much of a scaredy cat. If we can get everything out of the way in the morning then we will leave at nap time and spend the evening at DTD.

Wednesday: (MK) this is kinda scary. LOL We've always taking a break day in the middle of the week, but we're going to attempt doing parks every day! I'm hoping that this day we can make it to rope drop and see the welcome show. We've enjoyed it in the past, so it would be awesome to see it again.

Thursday: (AK) This day will start off with a Breakfast at Tusker House. My husband just wouldn't allow it any other way! LOL Also, my daughter's friend will be in AK this day, so we are going to all eat breakfast together. This is actually my first and so far only ADR! LOL I'm wondering though, if it is socially acceptable to book the same res

Friday: (MK) This day is back to the MK for one more day of fun, we hope! LOL IF we missed Rope Drop and the Welcome show on Wednesday, then we will try and hit it this day.

Saturday: (Free Day/Travel) We will probably leave around lunchtime to go back to MCO. In the morning, we may either do another park day (I'm HOPING for a quick EPCOT visit) or just go to DTD and hang out for a little bit.

Those are our very lose plans for now. What do you think? I need to start looking at character meals and table services...

Your plans look great- I'm glad to see I'm not the only person on the DIS who doesn't do hoppers. It's not even the $$ it's that I'm not a mid-day break kind of DISer. We go to the park we want, stay until we're ready to drop then go relax by the pool or for a nice meal. No time, need, or desire to hop. Weird, I know.

And I would be FREAKING out if I hadn't made ADRs yet for a trip in March! I have a client who's going in May and she's making me a nervous wreck because she won't make up her mind about dining plans. Of course when you're trying to get the ressie for someone else it's a whole new level of anxiety.

At any rate, with all that time in MK and two mornings where you hope to make rope drop I vote for a breakfast at CP. If you can still get one.

 

[francis6306]

I'm such a tightwad that in the past I've been okay with a connection as long as it saved us some $$$. However, DD is not a great flyer and take-off is the worst part so for our upcoming trip it will be non-stop for her sake.

Bless her heart! I love flying... and luckily my kids haven't had any issues so far!

I'm kind of a Mizzou fan by default. My brother lives in Columbia and he and his girlfriend are HUGE fans- tailgating, garden gnomes, the whole 9 yards. I'm not a big sports fan (except for Cardinal baseball) but it's hard not to be infected by Mizzou fever when you spend much time in Columbia. :cheer:

Oh no. Cardinals?? Sigh. I think we just ended our friendship. GO CUBS!

Your plans look great- I'm glad to see I'm not the only person on the DIS who doesn't do hoppers. It's not even the $$ it's that I'm not a mid-day break kind of DISer. We go to the park we want, stay until we're ready to drop then go relax by the pool or for a nice meal. No time, need, or desire to hop. Weird, I know.

LOL! I know, I feel like I'm one of the only people who don't do the park hoppers. It's just a time eater that I'm not interested in. I went on a short girls only trip and I did use the park hoppers, since we literally had TWO days in the parks.

And I would be FREAKING out if I hadn't made ADRs yet for a trip in March! I have a client who's going in May and she's making me a nervous wreck because she won't make up her mind about dining plans. Of course when you're trying to get the ressie for someone else it's a whole new level of anxiety.

Oh, I'm freaking out! Usually I'm up on day 180 making those all important ressies! However, I booked last week and then have had finals for school and a sick baby. I've just not had the time to think about it. But my hubby and I talked about days now, so I'm ready to get these ressies booked!

At any rate, with all that time in MK and two mornings where you hope to make rope drop I vote for a breakfast at CP. If you can still get one.

LOL CP is certainly one of the things I am considering. We usually do breakfast at 1900 Park Fare- the Lobster Eggs Benedict are to die for!- and Pooh and Tigger meet at that place in the mornings. I'm trying to convince (myself!) that we need to at least TRY CP! But I'm a creature of habit! LOL

 

[francis6306]

Good news! I had pretty much NO issue making ADR's! This was way easier than I expected! Maybe this is a good sign and that the crowds won't be crazy? Ooor maybe, they are all gonna book at the last second and I'll still be dealing with gobs of people? LOL

Anyway, my ressies are as followed!





I'm pretty excited about this! Of course, as well all know... this is totally subject to CHANGE! My husband may look at this and say "Nope!" We shall see! Any advise or suggestions?

 

[Gracefulskinny]

Hope that the Room Assignment fairies are with you on arrival day. I can't imagine the stress of sleepy kids and no where to put them!

Your overall plans seem good to me.

Good set of ADRs. ( At least I hope they are because I've got adrs at some of the same ones! )

 

[-Hope-]

Your ADRs look great! I'm glad it was so easy- Cubs fans really need a win every now and then.

 

[francis6306]

Hope that the Room Assignment fairies are with you on arrival day. I can't imagine the stress of sleepy kids and no where to put them!

Your overall plans seem good to me.

Good set of ADRs. ( At least I hope they are because I've got adrs at some of the same ones! )

Thanks! I have never had a problem with a room being ready, but I'm nervous since I'm traveling with kids.

Your ADRs look great! I'm glad it was so easy- Cubs fans really need a win every now and then.

LOL! Aren't you just so funny! haha!
Actually, I'm only a Cubs fan by marriage. I'm not a huge baseball fan- I enjoy going to games in person, but I can't stand to watch on TV, so it's not a huge deal to me. My husband is a MAJOR Cubs fan, so I just adopted his team when we got married. Live games are a ton of fun- even when we lose!

 

[-Hope-]

LOL! Aren't you just so funny! haha!
Actually, I'm only a Cubs fan by marriage. I'm not a huge baseball fan- I enjoy going to games in person, but I can't stand to watch on TV, so it's not a huge deal to me. My husband is a MAJOR Cubs fan, so I just adopted his team when we got married. Live games are a ton of fun- even when we lose!

Glad you're a good sport about it! When I told DH what I'd posted he was HORRIFIED that I'd poked fun at someone's team.

I'm not a HUGE fan either but if hubby's watching a game or I'm at my parent's house and they're watching I enjoy watching with them. And the playoffs/series games are always fun. But I don't seek it out on my own, more of a family fun thing for me.

 

[francis6306]

Glad you're a good sport about it! When I told DH what I'd posted he was HORRIFIED that I'd poked fun at someone's team.

I'm not a HUGE fan either but if hubby's watching a game or I'm at my parent's house and they're watching I enjoy watching with them. And the playoffs/series games are always fun. But I don't seek it out on my own, more of a family fun thing for me.

That is how I feel! It's family time. :group hug:

And if you can't take good-natured jokes about sports, you are just wound too tight! Now, if we were talking football, I'd be smack talking with the best of them!

 

[francis6306]

I have been having some problems uploading pictures to photobucket, so my next update is taking me longer than I wanted!

I wanted to share about about my trip this past July, so until I can get the pictures to work, I'll share this blogpost about the EPCOT Wine Walk! I had such a fun time on the walk and since I've already typed all of that up, it's easier to share that than retype here!

In case I don't get back on here until next week....

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

 

[-Hope-]

How have I never heard of the wine walk?! I MUST DO THIS!!