Happy Christmas/Merry Halloween! Two weeks Two Super Holidays! - 10/30-11/13

[Max & Sam's Mom]

Hi all! Bare with me, this is my first PTR. Very excited about planning our first trip onsite! We visited Disney for the first time last August (2011) and got hooked. We stayed at Windsor Hills that time, which was nice, but we really want to experience the extra "magic" of staying onsite. I am also hoping that Disney will offer free dining during our trip, so that will make it all the better as we want to hit a lot of character meals!
Okay so here we go!
First, what: A dream vacation to Disney World of course! We want to attend MNSSHP and MVMCP, which we can during the dates we have picked. The Food and Wine and Epcot is still going on for part of our stay as well, which DH and I are both very excited about as we love to eat! LOL!

Okay, who:
Me, 29 (will be 30 when we go). Lifelong dream of going to Disney was realized last summer and I have been a fanatic ever since. Before we even got back I was planning our next trip. As of right now I am 39 weeks pregnant and waiting for our 3rd DS to make his appearance. I am a teacher, so usually unable to travel during the non-busy Disney times, so we thought it would be a great idea to take advantage while I am off on maternity leave to take a vacation! My favorite memories from our first trip were meeting Mickey (of course) and riding Soarin' with my oldest DS.

Not many pictures on this computer, but that's me on the right! Nice to meet you!

Next is DH, 29, also a Disney fanatic, although to a lesser extent than I am. He works seasonally, so pretty easy to fit in a vacation where we can. He is also a web designer and spends too much time in front of his computer . One of my favorite things about vacation is getting him away from that thing! His favorite things from Disney are the Dole Whip Float (lol) and going on rides with DS that I was too chicken to attempt.

Here he is enjoying a butter beer last summer.

Now on to our kids.
DS1: He is 5 and LOVES Disney. His favorites are Chip and Dale and of course Lightning and Mater. He also fell in love with Tinkerbell and Rosetta on our last trip. He surprised us when it came to rides, I thought he would be afraid to try many but he turned out to be a real dare devil!

DS2: Our troublesome 2 year old! So cute and so much energy! He keeps us busy for sure. He also LOVES anything Disney related, his favorite movies right now are Up and Wall-E but he also loves all the Toy Story movies and Tinkerbell. Everyone told us we were crazy last year to take an 18 month olf to Disney but it was well worth it, he loved the entire trip! Can't wait to see his reactions this time around to the characters.

And finally, DS3: Can't say much about this little guy yet since we are eagerly awaiting his arrival, but he will be around 5 months when we go. I know he will be too young to know much, but I am sure he will enjoy all the new sights and sounds, don't worry, we will visit again when he is old enough to really enjoy it! Even though he's not here yet, I have a picture, oh the wonders of technology!

Don't you think he looks like his brothers? Tee hee!

When and Where: Hopefully October 30th-November 13th. 2 weeks! I have booked a standard room at Art of Animation for now, and booked a bunch of ADRs (more on that later) and am hoping that Free Dining will be offered for those dates. If it is, we will be upgrading to the regular dining plan since we want to try a lot of character meals and DH and I are both big fans of buffets! I haven't booked our flights yet, since we are flexible with our dates, so I can move things around a few days if needed to get free dining. Also, DH mentioned at supper tonight that he would rather pay the extra to spring for a AoA suite or a cabin at Ft. Wilderness, so that would be awesome! Hard to decide between the 2 of those though. Part of me loves the idea of "camping" at Disney, while the other part really wants to check out the newest suites! What would you do?

How: A whole lot of planning and scrimping and saving! We are coming from Eastern Canada, so flights are not cheap. This will likely be our last visit for a while, since I found August way to hot last summer and wouldn't want to brave those temperatures again with small kids. We will probably wait until our youngest DS is 5 or so until going again during the summer and this year is the only year I will be off during the Fall to take advantage!

I think that's it for now, I will update later with some of my plans and ADRs and see what you all think of them. I have been told by my doctor to put my feet up and rest for the remainder of my pregnancy, so that has led to a lot of Disney planning and dreaming! See ya real soon!

 

[Feckless]

I'm here!! Love that someone I know IRL is as crazy for the Disney planning as I am. I don't know much about AOA or FW but I'm with your DH on getting out of a single room. We were on top of each other in a Deluxe room and were all over the BCV suite that the cousins had. We were so happy to have the balcony and the lounge to give us more space...

Dying to hear about your ADRs!

 

[BDL]

Howdy. Subbing in from the current residence of Zdeno Chara (sorry. saw the hubby's shirt and had to do it). Speaking of Boston, have you thought about travelling to Boston, Manchester or upstate NY and flying from there? Would that help offset the cost? I've seen other Canadians bus or train to Detroit or Seattle to fly to Orlando.

I'm interested in hearing your plans for MNSSHP and MVMCP. We're heading down in December ourselves and I've never been in Oct. Will the F&W Fest still be going on during your trip?

Welcome to the world of anxiety planning.

 

[Max & Sam's Mom]

Yay 2 people actually reading, that makes me happy. I felt like I would be talking to myself!

I actually have never thought of driving and then flying... Hmm...something else to research, luckily I have a lot of time on my hands right now until the baby decides to make his appearance.

On my way to bed, but will update with my ADRs tomorrow. There are rumors about free dining to cover my dates perfectly, so I am getting excited! Hoping to get a good pin or that they offer it to the general piblic soon.

 

[Max & Sam's Mom]

So here are some of my plans so far, and the ADRs I have made. Now if I don't get lucky enough to hit on a free dining pin or general offer, we are going to have to pare back our character meal plans a bit, but as of now I am keeping them because I am thinking we will be lucky enough to get free dining. These are my loose plans, I will probably add more to them as time goes on!

Day One: October 30th
So this will be our travel day. I haven't booked flights yet, but as of right now it looks like an hour and a half drive to get to the airport (I know, I live in the sticks, no airport here, but ah well) followed by a 5am flight. We would be leaving out house around 3:30am! Hopefully the kids sleep! Well last time they didn't, but that led to them sleeping the whole time on the planes so it was almost worth it anyways. We stop over a few places then land in Orlando around 1pm (which is I believe 2:30pm our time) so about 12 hours travel time in total. Not gonna be fun with a 5 year old, 2 year old and 5 month old, but it will be worth it!
So we land, get our rental van and then check in. I have a dinner reservation made for Crystal Palace for 4:50pm that afternoon (we won't be using a park day for this) assuming that we get in on time and go to MNSSHP that evening. I am planning to purchase our party tickets once we get there, so no risk if we don't arrive on time, but I am not so sure about keeping the ADR since that needs to be cancelled the day before, so I still need to think on that a little more. If all goes well, we can get into MK after 4pm with our MNSSHP tickets, have a good dinner (I doubt we will eat much before then) and then enjoy the party. We haven't decided on costumes yet, trying to decide if we want to do a whole family theme or just dress the boys up or what. The only reason I am thinking this night for the party instead of the other 2 times the party is on during our visit is that the other dates seem like they will be crazy busy. October 31st is one of the other options, which is the actual holiday so probably not good and then November 2nd, which is a Friday which I would assume will also be crazy busy. That being said, if something happens and we don't arrive in time for the party or we feel too tired to go, we will likely go on the November 2nd date instead. Hmmm...maybe I should cancel that Crystal Palace ressie after all...

Day Two October 31st
Very excited about spending Halloween at Disney! We plan to spend the early portion of this day at AK, then park hop to Epcot after a break in the afternoon for the extra evening hours. I have an ADR for lunch at Tusker house on this day, I have heard the food is great there so I am excited! We will be dressing the boys up in their costumes, once we can decide what they will be! DS1 will have the biggest say of course, DS2 and DS3 I am sure will be happy with whatever we put them in.

Day Three November 1st
Spending the day at MK, with a break in between. No ADRs made for this day, we will either have CS or I will look for a TS meal that morning if we feel like it. One thing we will be having for sure is a Dole Whip Float! Oh my, I have had dreams about it since our last trip, I swear!

Day Four November 2nd
I have planned a sleep in morning for this day, anticipating that we will be out late for Wishes at MK. We have an ADR for breakfast at Tusker House. If we feel like going to a park in the evening we will hop to HS later that night. As you can see, I am trying my best to be realistic about taking breaks, we are travelling with a baby so I don't really know how that is going to go as of now, it will be a learning experience for sure!

Day Five November 3rd
No park plans for this day, we want to relax and explore our resort (Art of Animation, seems wonderful, can't wait to see the pools and splash pad and playground areas!) and then head to Ft. Wilderness for Mickey's Backyard BBQ at 6:30pm. Very excited about this! We also want to explore the resort a bit and see the trails, the campsite decorations and maybe even take in the sing along and marshmallow roast with Chip and Dale or the movie if there is time.

Day Six November 4th
This day we have another morning at AK planned, if we feel like there is more to see there. Our middle DS LOVES animals so dependin on how excited he is when we go earlier in the trip we will go back again. We have a reservation for The Garden Grill at Epcot for dinner that evening, so after that we will most likely stay at Epcot to see Illuminations as well.

Day Seven November 5th
No ADRs for this day, either CS or see what we can get for table service at a resort or at HS. Plan to see a lot of HS on this day.

Day Eight November 6th
Epcot for morning extra magic hours, then hop to HS. ADR for Hollywood and Vine for lunch this day.

Day Nine November 7th
Breakfast ADR at The Crystal Palace in MK. May hop to Epcot in the afternoon.

Day Ten November 8th
Breakfast ADR at Hollywood and Vine in HS.

Day Eleven November 9th
Another MK day (love this park). Lunch ADR at The Crystal Palace.

Day Twelve November 10th
Breakfast at O'hana, then another break day to enjoy our resort. DH has mentioned wanting to hit Universal or Legoland on this day but we are going to wait and see when we get there if we want to or not. I am thinking we will want a break by this point!

Day Thirteen November 11th
Our last park day. We have a dinner reservation for Chef Mickey's. Which parks we visit before and after will be up to our DS1 and DS2. If I have to guess I'd say it will be Epcot.

Day Fourteen November 12th
Breakfast ressie for Chef Mickey's. The plan is to attend MVMCP this night. I know a late night before we travel may not be the best idea, but our flights won't be leaving until after lunch, so we can afford a bit of a sleep in the next morning.

Day Fifteen November 13th
Time to go home! Boo! Nothing else planned for this day other than sleeping in a bit, packing up, getting something CS for breakfast and then heading home.

Like I said, very loose plans, but considering I am 5 months away I think I am doing okay! LOL!

 

[BDL]

So here are some of my plans so far, and the ADRs I have made. Now if I don't get lucky enough to hit on a free dining pin or general offer, we are going to have to pare back our character meal plans a bit, but as of now I am keeping them because I am thinking we will be lucky enough to get free dining. These are my loose plans, I will probably add more to them as time goes on!

Day One: October 30th
So this will be our travel day. I haven't booked flights yet, but as of right now it looks like an hour and a half drive to get to the airport (I know, I live in the sticks, no airport here, but ah well) followed by a 5am flight. We would be leaving out house around 3:30am! Hopefully the kids sleep! Well last time they didn't, but that led to them sleeping the whole time on the planes so it was almost worth it anyways. We stop over a few places then land in Orlando around 1pm (which is I believe 2:30pm our time) so about 12 hours travel time in total. Not gonna be fun with a 5 year old, 2 year old and 5 month old, but it will be worth it!
So we land, get our rental van and then check in. I have a dinner reservation made for Crystal Palace for 4:50pm that afternoon (we won't be using a park day for this) assuming that we get in on time and go to MNSSHP that evening. I am planning to purchase our party tickets once we get there, so no risk if we don't arrive on time, but I am not so sure about keeping the ADR since that needs to be cancelled the day before, so I still need to think on that a little more. If all goes well, we can get into MK after 4pm with our MNSSHP tickets, have a good dinner (I doubt we will eat much before then) and then enjoy the party. We haven't decided on costumes yet, trying to decide if we want to do a whole family theme or just dress the boys up or what. The only reason I am thinking this night for the party instead of the other 2 times the party is on during our visit is that the other dates seem like they will be crazy busy. October 31st is one of the other options, which is the actual holiday so probably not good and then November 2nd, which is a Friday which I would assume will also be crazy busy. That being said, if something happens and we don't arrive in time for the party or we feel too tired to go, we will likely go on the November 2nd date instead. Hmmm...maybe I should cancel that Crystal Palace ressie after all...

Day Two October 31st
Very excited about spending Halloween at Disney! We plan to spend the early portion of this day at AK, then park hop to Epcot after a break in the afternoon for the extra evening hours. I have an ADR for lunch at Tusker house on this day, I have heard the food is great there so I am excited! We will be dressing the boys up in their costumes, once we can decide what they will be! DS1 will have the biggest say of course, DS2 and DS3 I am sure will be happy with whatever we put them in.

Day Three November 1st
Spending the day at MK, with a break in between. No ADRs made for this day, we will either have CS or I will look for a TS meal that morning if we feel like it. One thing we will be having for sure is a Dole Whip Float! Oh my, I have had dreams about it since our last trip, I swear!

Day Four November 2nd
I have planned a sleep in morning for this day, anticipating that we will be out late for Wishes at MK. We have an ADR for breakfast at Tusker House. If we feel like going to a park in the evening we will hop to HS later that night. As you can see, I am trying my best to be realistic about taking breaks, we are travelling with a baby so I don't really know how that is going to go as of now, it will be a learning experience for sure!

Day Five November 3rd
No park plans for this day, we want to relax and explore our resort (Art of Animation, seems wonderful, can't wait to see the pools and splash pad and playground areas!) and then head to Ft. Wilderness for Mickey's Backyard BBQ at 6:30pm. Very excited about this! We also want to explore the resort a bit and see the trails, the campsite decorations and maybe even take in the sing along and marshmallow roast with Chip and Dale or the movie if there is time.

Day Six November 4th
This day we have another morning at AK planned, if we feel like there is more to see there. Our middle DS LOVES animals so dependin on how excited he is when we go earlier in the trip we will go back again. We have a reservation for The Garden Grill at Epcot for dinner that evening, so after that we will most likely stay at Epcot to see Illuminations as well.

Day Seven November 5th
No ADRs for this day, either CS or see what we can get for table service at a resort or at HS. Plan to see a lot of HS on this day.

Day Eight November 6th
Epcot for morning extra magic hours, then hop to HS. ADR for Hollywood and Vine for lunch this day.

Day Nine November 7th
Breakfast ADR at The Crystal Palace in MK. May hop to Epcot in the afternoon.

Day Ten November 8th
Breakfast ADR at Hollywood and Vine in HS.

Day Eleven November 9th
Another MK day (love this park). Lunch ADR at The Crystal Palace.

Day Twelve November 10th
Breakfast at O'hana, then another break day to enjoy our resort. DH has mentioned wanting to hit Universal or Legoland on this day but we are going to wait and see when we get there if we want to or not. I am thinking we will want a break by this point!

Day Thirteen November 11th
Our last park day. We have a dinner reservation for Chef Mickey's. Which parks we visit before and after will be up to our DS1 and DS2. If I have to guess I'd say it will be Epcot.

Day Fourteen November 12th
Breakfast ressie for Chef Mickey's. The plan is to attend MVMCP this night. I know a late night before we travel may not be the best idea, but our flights won't be leaving until after lunch, so we can afford a bit of a sleep in the next morning.

Day Fifteen November 13th
Time to go home! Boo! Nothing else planned for this day other than sleeping in a bit, packing up, getting something CS for breakfast and then heading home.

Like I said, very loose plans, but considering I am 5 months away I think I am doing okay! LOL!

You certainly have the details in place. WOW!!! I have to wait to figure out when We'll be doing Candlelight Proc. before I can even hope to be that organized.

Here is the Canadian sub-topics on Disboards. They have threads that deal with travel, phone calls, customs and other things from the GWN point of view.

http://disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=19

 

[Max & Sam's Mom]

Here is the Canadian sub-topics on Disboards. They have threads that deal with travel, phone calls, customs and other things from the GWN point of view.

http://disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=19

Thanks!


Just called and changed from the Little Mermaid room to the Finding Nemo Suite. DH and I talked through the pros and cons of both (AoA Suite vs. Cabin) and decided on the new AoA, couldn't resist! We picked Finding Nemo because it seems to be most centrally located at the AoA resort and frankly I thought those rooms were the prettiest. LOL. Both boys love all the movies so they will be impressed either way!