Gianna's First Of Many WDW Trip March 2013!! PTR

[Dream426]

Hello everyone!!! Welcome to our pre-trip report. This is my second attempt at a pre-trip report. I had started one for our trip a few years ago and never kept up with it. I enjoy reading everyones pre-trip and trip reports that I hope to keep up with this one.

This trip is a very special one. It will be our daughter Gianna's very first trip to Disney World. We originally were going to wait until she was closer to 3 to bring her for the first time but we just could not wait that long to go back. So we decided to go when she was closer to 2.

Introductions:

Me: My name is Gina, I am 29 years old (30 in October ) and I am a Disney nut since I was a little girl. I have gone to Disney World so many times and have done the Disney cruise only 3 times. I have brainwashed my husband to love Disney just as much and I am now brainwashing my daughter to love it. Here is a picture of me. Don't mind it. I hate pictures of myself and this is from my friends bachelorette party in 2008 at 80's prom.

Jon: My husband, is 30, loves Disney just as much as I do. He loves all sports and beer. He is your typical guy so I thought I would never get him to like Disney. I brought him for the first time to Disney in 2006 where we got engaged and then we went back for our honeymoon where we also went on the Disney cruise. We went again in 2010 and we have been itching to go back.

Here is a picture from our honeymoon:

Gianna: Our daughter, who just turned 1 on July 9th, will be 20 months when we go. We just celebrated her first birthday which was of course a Minnie Mouse theme. It is very dangerous having a girl because I find myself buying too many clothes. She got so many clothes, especially Disney, for her birthday I can't wait to put them on her. Here is a picture of her and some pictures from her party.

Sorry picture overload. The other two people who will be joining us is my mom Linda and my MIL Peggy. My mom has been to Disney a few times before and she has also gone on the Disney cruise. She loves it also but isn't as crazy as me. My MIL Peggy has only been to Disney once and the Disney cruise once when we brought her a couple of years ago. She loves Donald Duck.

Here is a picture of my mom. I think she would kill me if I put a close up of her so I am putting a picture up from the morning of my wedding when we were getting ready...haha

Here is my MIL with her favorite Donald Duck:

Now down to our plans. The only thing set so far is the dates and the hotel. I knew I wanted to take Gianna for her first time when it wasn't too crowded or too hot. So I thought long and hard and decided that since we will be going closer to when she was 2 the beginning of March would be the best. It also worked out because I started a new job this past April so I would have vacation time by then.

We will be going from March 4th-March 10th. We will also be staying at our favorite place the Grand Floridian. I was considering staying at a cheaper hotel to save money but I just couldn't do it. This is our favorite hotel. We love having the monorail right there and being able to see the firework shows. Plus Magic Kingdom is so close and I think that is going to be the best park for our daughter at such a young age.

I am nervous taking an almost 2 year old for a long amount of time but I think she can handle it. This will be her first big trip as well so I am not sure how she will do on the plane, another thing that makes me nervous, or how well she will do with naps and everything. She is a really calm baby and we have been lucky with how easy she is. I just can't wait to experience this with her.

Well that is it so far. Hope you have enjoyed my introduction and all the pictures I put up from her party...haha Next up will be all the restaurants I want to make reservations at and probably pictures of outfits I already have planned to buy for Gianna. :

 

[momabaarjo]

Do I get to be first to follow....

Gianna is growing up so fast! Her in the tutti is priceless...what a great birthday party!

 

[Dream426]

Do I get to be first to follow....

Gianna is growing up so fast! Her in the tutti is priceless...what a great birthday party!

You are the first!! I can't believe how fast she has grown. It goes so fast. I remember when she was first born and following your PTR got me through the night time feedings.

 

[Dream426]

So not only did I book our trip last night but I also booked our flights as well since they just posted the dates within the last week. I like to purchase our airline tickets as soon as they go on sale because that is when they are the cheapest.

We are flying Jetblue because it is the only airline I will go on since I am not the best at flying. We got Gianna her own seat in between us because I just think it will be too much to hold her the whole time. I think she will be coloring by then so it will be nice for her to have her own tray and tv.

We will be leaving from JFK on a 9:15am flight. We will be getting into Orlando at 12:13pm. Our flight home will be at 12:05pm and we will be getting into JFK at 2:37pm. That is the earliest flight we have ever taken leaving Disney. Hopefully Gianna will do well on the plane.

Still working on the list of restaurants we would like to make reservations for. We already started a list last night while going to get dinner. So hopefully I can update that tonight along with some outfits I pinned to my Pinterest to get Gianna for her first trip to Disney. I also have to get my countdown ready that we do every trip. I want to start Gianna young with that even though she probably wouldn't understand.

 

[Dream426]

Ok so far on our list of places to eat are:

Breakfast:
Chef Mickey's
Cinderella's Royal Table
The Crystal Palace
Ohana: This is not definite.

Lunch:
Sci-Fi
50's Prime Time Cafe

Dinner:
Coral Reef
Biergarten
Teppan Edo
Raglan Road
Be Our Guest (it is suppose to be open by the end of this year)

I will be adding more but that is what we have decided to at this point. I need to decide soon though because my 180 days are almost here.

These are some outfits I have pinned to my Pinterest to purchase for my daughter for the trip.

Is this too much..haha The shoes she has already but I don't think they will fit her for the trip so I am going to have to order another pair.

I have printed out our countdown. I will probably set it up this weekend. I will make sure to take a picture to show.

Hope everyone has a great day!!

 

[Dream426]

So I know it is so early but I am in planning mode. This always happens when I first book a Disney vacation. I look into everything right away and then calm down a little as time goes on. I don't start planning what days we are doing what until we get closer. That comes when I decided on our reservations for the restaurants. I usually plan around that. But I have started to look at the attractions that dd will be able to go on. First was Magic Kingdom:

Haunted Mansion
Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
It’s a Small world
Dumbo
Astro Orbiter
The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Peter Pans Flight
Prince Charming Regal Carrousel
Tomorrowland Transit Authority Peoplemover
Walt Disney World Railroad

I am so excited for her to see the parades and everything. Hopefully she will sit through everything. As for the other parks I am still working on them to see which attractions she will be able to go on. I knew Magic Kingdom would be her park though that she can enjoy the most.

I have already started to listen to my Disney's cd's to get into the magical mood of Disney. If anyone is interested these are the cd's I have and they are great!! They are music from the parks and rides.

So only 222 days left until the trip and 42 days left until I can make reservations for the restaurants. I have to finish deciding on what restaurants to eat at.

Hope everyone has a great day!!

 

[Kristi391]

Great start!!!

Gianna is absolutely adorable! I love all her clothes...they are so cute!

Can't wait to hear more!

 

[Dream426]

Great start!!!

Gianna is absolutely adorable! I love all her clothes...they are so cute!

Can't wait to hear more!

Thank you and welcome!! I didn't think anyone was reading...haha But I like that I can document and have everything in one place for her first trip.

 

[tangled up]

Hey Gina, fantastic start to your PTR!! your DD is so adorable, her birthday party looked so much fun. Just showed my younger two children, the outfits from Wee Whimsy and they love them. I will see if I can make them first before paying the price they want....lol

~Looking forward to more xx

 

[mommys3]

Joining in! Thanks for bringing up the Four Parks, One World CD...looking forward to buying it in August Your daughter is adorable Check out Etsy (if you haven't already) for Disney outfits...I've already purchased a few for my 2 girls!

 

[Dream426]

Hey Gina, fantastic start to your PTR!! your DD is so adorable, her birthday party looked so much fun. Just showed my younger two children, the outfits from Wee Whimsy and they love them. I will see if I can make them first before paying the price they want....lol

~Looking forward to more xx

Thank you!! I am sure you would be able to make them with your creativity. You will def. have to show me if you do. I would love to see them.

Joining in! Thanks for bringing up the Four Parks, One World CD...looking forward to buying it in August Your daughter is adorable Check out Etsy (if you haven't already) for Disney outfits...I've already purchased a few for my 2 girls!

Thank you for joining. I listen to the Four Parks cd every day on the way to work and on the way home. It is my favorite. All the outfits I posted are from Etsy...haha I am obsessed with that website. I have purchased so much from that website since she was born.

 

[tangled up]

Aww thank you! and I will do xx

 

[potc]

I'm joining! Your DD is so adorable! She is going to have so much fun at Disney! Great PTR so far

 

[Dream426]

I'm joining! Your DD is so adorable! She is going to have so much fun at Disney! Great PTR so far

Thank you and Welcome!! I hope she will enjoy it. I keep stressing over little things that I have to keep reminding myself that she will be a little different at that point and that she changes everyday. She is constantly on the move right now and is not really happy when she is in her carseat so I am nervous with the plane ride and her sitting in the stroller a lot. I just keep saying though she will be 7 months older then...LOL

 

[Dream426]

Well I haven't had too much planning going on this weekend. I am STILL working on the ADR's trying to pick the best times that I think would work good for my daughter. It is hard though because I know she will be on a different schedule at at point. I think the hardest is making the lunch reservations. I think what I will have to do with that though is make them a late lunch and not do dinner reservations those days. Still working on it though.

I did not get to put together the Disney Countdown this weekend like I wanted to. I did print it out last night though. I just have to cut them out and then hang them up on the string. When that is going to happen? Hopefully this week and def. by the weekend. Here is a picture after I printed them out last night.

I am also going to rent a stroller instead of renting from Disney at every park. It is sooooo much cheaper. I am going to rent the City Mini for $55 for the whole week. I couldn't believe how cheap it was.

I also ordered my daughters Thank You Cards for her birthday party yesterday. I am really happy with how they came out. Here is a picture of them.

Now I was reading some things last night and got a little upset. Who says the first week of March isn't crowded and who says it is. I thought we were beating the spring break crowd by going the first week of March. I am not expecting Disney to be empty but I wasn't expecting the spring break crowds. I kept reading mix reviews on this. I will be used to it though if it is since we usually go in the summer.

Hope everyone has a great day!! Happy Monday Morning. Off to work in a few hours. Why does the weekend go so fast all the time.

 

[momabaarjo]

Those outfits are so dang cute for Gianna and WDW! It makes me wish Ab was little again!

 

[Dream426]

Those outfits are so dang cute for Gianna and WDW! It makes me wish Ab was little again!

Thank you. I can't wait order them. I will probably place an order at the end of the year to make sure I get them on time.

They grow too fast. I don't like it...haha

 

[Dream426]

No new updates. My job offered overtime until the 15th so I have been working so much and haven't had a chance to plan anything. I am exhausted but I keep thinking of having that money for the trip. I did run errands last night after work and saw this for Gianna and had to get it for her to wear on the trip.

Tonight, if my husband isn't exhausted from doing overtime also, we are suppose to go to the mall and I will probably stop in the Disney store which will be very bad. I do too much damage in that store purchasing too much.

I am hoping to get the countdown up this weekend so hopefully my next update will show that and have some sort of ADR plan. If you don't mind I might also post some things from our last trip. It turned out to be a very special and memorable trip which I would love to share.

Hope everyone has a great day!!

 

[momabaarjo]

Cute outfit!

 

[Dream426]

Ok so I finally got the countdown up. Here are a couple of pictures. It goes across the room.

I have sent out Gianna's thank you's for her birthday party. I am really happy with how it came out. Here is a picture of it:

Just realize I already posted her thank you card. You really become out of it when you work overtime and then come home to your baby.

I am STILL working on the ADR's. I haven't had time to really focus on them. I am putting Gianna in for her nap in a few minutes so my next update will be from our trip in 2010. I hope you will enjoy it.