Hubby was right-Those 2 free tix would end up costing him a bundle 2/3 update

[999ghostslover]

Yay Yvonne! Everyone I have told loves the idea and I always give you credit. For those of you who don't know Yvonne and I live in the same area and go to the same church. We have known each other for close to 7 years. Can you believe that, Yvonne?

i love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is SO CUTE!!!! What a great, dare I say, heavenly, idea!!!!

 

[999ghostslover]

Well, the Percys went on their first beach vacation since...well,...ever. We returned last week tanned and relaxed. We had a great time and proved that we can go away sans major medical drama. Yay! Here are some pictures of this great Panama City Beach adventure.

The beach and gulf (I kept incorrectly calling it the ocean) was so beautiful. Crystal blue/green water and white sand beaches.


We took a ferry out to Shell Island with maybe 10 other people. We never saw them once we got off the ferry so it was like having your own private deserted island to yourself. Very cool. We snorkeled, collected shells and watched for dolphins. It was great.

Like all good Disers we even managed to squeeze out a little pixie dust by attending The Pirate party, Parade and fireworks night at Pier Park. Two pirate ships actually had a fireworks battle on the high seas. I mean gulf.

While Panama City Beach was not exactly the fun family beach we would probably choose in the future it was still really nice. It is definitely more a party beach place and it is a little run down. We were able to stay in a huge beachfront 3 bedroom condo for free thanks to some good friends who gladly lent it to us so we really have no complaints. And hey, the Daquari Shack that was right across the street was a fun touch.

 

[KatMark]

Erin, looks like a good time was had by all. I love going to the beach looking for shells.

And I'm so delighted it was a non-sick vacation for all of you.

 

[Lady Lallie]

Woo Hoo for a sick free vacation!!

My Mom adores Shell Island, she has been there a few times now and just loves it. I will never understand what she plans to do with all the shells she collects but whatever makes her happy.

Oh and I love the poem as well, I didn't see that before. I missed your last update somehow. Silly me.

 

[999ghostslover]

Erin, looks like a good time was had by all. I love going to the beach looking for shells.

And I'm so delighted it was a non-sick vacation for all of you.

Thank you. We really had a fun time and it furthered my notion that we should not buy DVC. As much as we love Disney there really are so many other fun trips to be had out there.

Woo Hoo for a sick free vacation!!

My Mom adores Shell Island, she has been there a few times now and just loves it. I will never understand what she plans to do with all the shells she collects but whatever makes her happy.

Oh and I love the poem as well, I didn't see that before. I missed your last update somehow. Silly me.

That is so cool. We didn't walk that far down the beach so our shells weren't that great but we found lots of sand dollars. That was really neat. Most of the shells I found while snorkeling still had critters living in them.

 

[PirateKate]

I'm glad you had a good vacation this time. Shell Island sounds awesome, as does the Pirate Festival.

I think it would be hard to leave without saying good-bye to the boys, but it might actually be easier on them to not have to say good-bye. Maybe you could leave something special for them, like a new toy or movie, so they're not completely left out of the surprise.

 

[999ghostslover]

I think you are right. The quieter we can make all of this the better.

I'm glad you had a good vacation this time. Shell Island sounds awesome, as does the Pirate Festival.

I think it would be hard to leave without saying good-bye to the boys, but it might actually be easier on them to not have to say good-bye. Maybe you could leave something special for them, like a new toy or movie, so they're not completely left out of the surprise.

 

[999ghostslover]

Here we go!
Departure Day.
Tell Abby she has to go to the dentist at 9 and that she should get dressed for school and go with Daddy to to take the boys to school. Then, I will quickly gather the Disney toys and the sign that say "Roses are Red, Violets are Blue Mommy's going to to Disney today and so are YOU" While Tom is dropping off the boys he will remember he forgot to grab the insurance card or something and then come home. The boys' preschool is less than a mile away. I'll come to the garage and tell Abby to get out of the car because a late Valentine's Card came. She will come in and we will videotape.
Then, we will have her change out of her school uniform, grab our bags and head for the airport. This is a less than 20 minute drive. The flight departs at 11:55. I would like to leave the house by 9:30 at the latest. Should be fine.
We should have time to grab a bite at our airport. Mama will have snacks packed no doubt.
After the flight we will make our way to the Magical Express area from Terminal B. Because of the time change it will be 3pm local by this time. Let's hope we get a REAL ME bus so I can check that off my bucket list.

Once we arrive at Pop we will check-in and find our room.

We have a reservation for 6:30 at O'hana so we will grab a bus for MK and monorail over to the Poly. I hope that we can watch WISHES as they are 8pm that night. We will hope for some Disney magic for our first day. After that we will monorail back over to MK and catch a bus or we will bus to DTD and bus to Pop. No rush. We are on vacation. We have no strollers. We have no diapers. We can do what we want. I'll make sure to have cash that day for a cab if we really need it. But we won't.

 

[999ghostslover]

So if you are keeping track you know that we get 4 park days on this trip. We bought two for our package so we could get free dining. And we have 2 park hopper tickets each that we got for free last time (hence the name of the PTR).

So, on day 2 we will get up early fill up our mugs get on a bus and head here.

We only have a little over half a day here so we have to make the most of it. Last trip, I barely saw anything at AK. We got in the first morning knowing Brady was sick but hoping he would pull through. We left right after our breakfast ADR as the park was opening to the public. We spent a bit of time in first aid. Abby Rose, however, stayed in the park with my parents and had a great day. It seemed like they did just about everything except for EE as it was broken.
So, what to do today? Our plan will take us straight to EE at park opening where we will grab a FP for EE and ride it as well. Then we will head to Dinosaur and ride it. We will play in Dinoland for a bit and try to grab a pretzel or snack of some sort. Then we will either go back to EE, se FOTLK or do ITTBAB. After accomplishing these three rides in some order we will see how much time we have before our 2pm ADR at Y and Y and either ride the safari or we will go to the ADR.
We have never eaten at the sit down Yak. Just the quick service window. I cannot decide what I want. I love Asian inspired food like this and it all sounds so yummy. I think I may go wild and try the Malasian seafood curry, the mahi mahi or the tempura shrimp or maybe the duck. I will be staring at the food around me trying to see what looks yums. Cream cheese wontons for desert is a no brainer for me!


After that we will make our way toward the exit and get to DHS.

Our only main goal at DHS for this day is to see FAntasmic.

This will be the second bucket list accomplishment of the trip if we can get to it. And we shouldn't have a problem as long as the weather holds out. On the bus I plan to check out Rides app and see what we can accomplish with the time we have. No worries though. We will be back the next morning. I would like to knock out RnRC and ToT if possible. And a yummy at Starring Rolls sounds like a great idea to me. I'm sure Abs will agree.

 

[Lady Lallie]

I think your plans for this day sound perfect! I know it's not very adventerous but my favorite thing to eat at Y&Y is the Kobe Beef Burger....YUMMO!

 

[999ghostslover]

THat does look good. We will see what I am in the mood for. The fries look pretty lame though.

 

[PirateKate]

A trip with no strollers and no diapers and just a lot of fun with your daughter...sounds just about perfect to me!

 

[Moodyzblu]

Joining in !!

Sounds like a great trip in the making. Love the idea that you are surprising your daughter .. should make for a great video !
I have three grown children (aside from my 7 yr old twins) and have taken each of them to WDW alone and can't tell you just how special those memories are especially since they ARE now grown. I look back now and am SO happy I decided to take them each on their own. This will be such a special trip your both of you.

Sorry to hear about your trip in May.

 

[dara00]

I really want to take my girl to Disney alone at some point. so I'm reading along!
what happened to your son on your last trip? it looked scary!

 

[999ghostslover]

A trip with no strollers and no diapers and just a lot of fun with your daughter...sounds just about perfect to me!

Yes, heavenly. Bring on the crowds. Zoom zoom.

Joining in !!

Sounds like a great trip in the making. Love the idea that you are surprising your daughter .. should make for a great video !
I have three grown children (aside from my 7 yr old twins) and have taken each of them to WDW alone and can't tell you just how special those memories are especially since they ARE now grown. I look back now and am SO happy I decided to take them each on their own. This will be such a special trip your both of you.

Sorry to hear about your trip in May.

That is so fantastic. Hmmm, maybe I'll convince my husband that I should take each of the boys by myself too. We'll see!

I really want to take my girl to Disney alone at some point. so I'm reading along!
what happened to your son on your last trip? it looked scary!

He got rotavirus. It was awful. He was so sick and the first hospital made him sicker and the second one cured him but it took two days and I got it during that time. It was a nightmare BUT we know we are blessed and it was one hiccup in the road of life. Still, I'm ready for a trip report worthy trip!

 

[999ghostslover]

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy Thanksgiving...Well, it has been awhile. We traveled to SC for Thanksgiving and as soon as we got home we got back in the car and traveled to NYC for a fun trip to...my grandmother's funeral.
Actually, we were expecting her death. She had cancer and a long battle over the last year. Her home that she had lived in forever was destroyed by Hurricane Irene in NJ and she just sort of gave up after that. While we were there we tacked on some fun in NYC with the kids.
We got to go to the new Times Square Disney Store. It was pretty cool. Very crowded that day. It was a Sunday in Manhattan in early December and it was like nearly 70 degrees. Everybody and their momma was out. Here are some pictures. Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral.

Brady thought the buildings were really big (and Roll Tide)

Ice skating in Rockefellar Plaza. My dad used to work in the building behind here. It was great.

The tree.

Midtown fun.

The Toys R Us store. I gotta say: Better than the Disney Store.

And the few shots of the Disney Store we got. It was very crowded.

We did get some cute stuff though. A NYC vinylmation, a Nightmare Before Christmas ornament, and a cute outfit for the trip for Abby. Shhh. She doesn't know!

 

[Moodyzblu]

Great NYC pics ! I keep saying I'm going to bring my guys there but have yet to. Maybe this summer.

(sorry about Grandma )

 

[999ghostslover]

Great NYC pics ! I keep saying I'm going to bring my guys there but have yet to. Maybe this summer.

(sorry about Grandma )

Thanks. It is a great store, but shoot for a less crazy time. A 70 degree Sunday afternoon 3 weeks before Christmas. Not a great idea. They really needed fast passes at the checkout.

 

[999ghostslover]

Our second day in the Parks will bring us right back to HS. I really want to enjoy this park with Abby--well, as much as we can with a 4 day trip. I find this park less than fun with a lot of little kids. 3 small ones all want to go in different directions. There aren't a lot of rides for them and it is hard to get 3 bodies to sit well during a performance. I think I could really like this park with just me and my girl. I really want to start the day by seeing if we can get her name down for Jedi Training. She has always wanted to do that but last time we were here it was SWW and that made it impossible to do anything more than ride. She settled for being the Rebel Spy. Which was pretty awesome.

We will also do anything we didn't do the previous day and redo anything else. I hope that she will ride Tower of Terror or Rock N Roller Coaster. I know she will love them. I also want to see Indy or Beauty and the Beast and would love to do Magic of Disney Animation or One Man's Dream. And we want to get a cupcake to split at Starring Rolls.

After we are finished here we will head over to Magic Kingdom. Yay!

I think this would be a great day to grab a fast pass for something good and play Sorcerer's and try to catch the parade. We have dining reservations at Crystal Palace for dinner. I have only eaten here once and it was for lunch. Should be pretty similar at dinner.

Of course the baby girl who was sitting with me then will now be a 7 year old. Sniff. After fireworks we will bus it back to Pop and hit the sack.

 

[Moira222]

wElCoMe!!!
Great bucket list item!! That would be so cool. With no car and a short trip we probably won't do it this trip. I'm hoping our next Family vacation to WDW will be in the fall at FW cabins. They do them there too, right? Maybe that would work well.

I forgot about the carriage rides at FW...making a note. And I think I am going to copy your idea of a disney bucket list!

Sorry I subbed in Sept and have not made it back over till now...but here i am and have read up to your DHS day!

Since you are leaving the day after Valentine's. Why not a card with a poem like this:
Roses are red.
Violets are blue.
Mommy's going to Disney tomorrow
and so are YOU!!!!
You could decorate the card with a Disney Theme. :
Shhh don't tell Father Phil this idea came to me at church when I was praying after Communion. Think of it as a message from God.

Yvonne!! I could kiss you the next time I see you and come to think of it have not seen you in a while. That is PER-FECt. I'm doing it. Thank you God, thank you Fr. Phil, Thank you Yvonne. Was that at 11:30 mass? We were at 8:30 with Fr. Roy. PS-This is perfect.

This is a GREAT way of telling her and am ROFLOL that you received inspiration in mass.

Well, the Percys went on their first beach vacation since...well,...ever. We returned last week tanned and relaxed. We had a great time and proved that we can go away sans major medical drama. Yay! Here are some pictures of this great Panama City Beach adventure.

yay for a fun family vacation and everyone staying healthy

Here we go!
Departure Day.
....

We have a reservation for 6:30 at O'hana so we will grab a bus for MK and monorail over to the Poly. I hope that we can watch WISHES as they are 8pm that night. We will hope for some Disney magic for our first day. After that we will monorail back over to MK and catch a bus or we will bus to DTD and bus to Pop. No rush. We are on vacation. We have no strollers. We have no diapers. We can do what we want. I'll make sure to have cash that day for a cab if we really need it. But we won't.

Your departure day sounds fun! If you find your self finished with dinner & heading to MK close to sun set, take the ferry, not the monorail. The ferry ride at sunset is just beautiful.

yay for ak! I love this park!

So, what to do today? Our plan will take us straight to EE at park opening where we will grab a FP for EE and ride it as well. Then we will head to Dinosaur and ride it. We will play in Dinoland for a bit and try to grab a pretzel or snack of some sort. Then we will either go back to EE, se FOTLK or do ITTBAB. After accomplishing these three rides in some order we will see how much time we have before our 2pm ADR at Y and Y and either ride the safari or we will go to the ADR.

will dd be tall enough for EE? If the weather is hot go for Kali River Rapids. Last year there was no line and DD and I rode it twice and it was a blast. it was a good ending to our park day because we could go back to our room and change out of wet clothes

We have never eaten at the sit down Yak. Just the quick service window. I cannot decide what I want. I love Asian inspired food like this and it all sounds so yummy. I think I may go wild and try the Malasian seafood curry, the mahi mahi or the tempura shrimp or maybe the duck. I will be staring at the food around me trying to see what looks yums. Cream cheese wontons for desert is a no brainer for me!

mmmmmmm yummy

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy Thanksgiving...Well, it has been awhile. We traveled to SC for Thanksgiving and as soon as we got home we got back in the car and traveled to NYC for a fun trip to...my grandmother's funeral.

I am sorry for your loss, even when you are expecting it, its still hard.

Your NYC photos are nice. Did you really think TRU was better than the D store?

Our second day in the Parks will bring us right back to HS. I really want to enjoy this park with Abby--well, as much as we can with a 4 day trip. I find this park less than fun with a lot of little kids. 3 small ones all want to go in different directions. There aren't a lot of rides for them and it is hard to get 3 bodies to sit well during a performance. I think I could really like this park with just me and my girl. I really want to start the day by seeing if we can get her name down for Jedi Training. She has always wanted to do that but last time we were here it was SWW and that made it impossible to do anything more than ride. She settled for being the Rebel Spy. Which was pretty awesome.



We will also do anything we didn't do the previous day and redo anything else. I hope that she will ride Tower of Terror or Rock N Roller Coaster. I know she will love them. I also want to see Indy or Beauty and the Beast and would love to do Magic of Disney Animation or One Man's Dream. And we want to get a cupcake to split at Starring Rolls.

I do envy your trip just with your girl. If you are at DHS late, do you know about the dance party? I have never been but have seen quite a few pics and stories here and it looks like a lot of fun for DD!!

After we are finished here we will head over to Magic Kingdom. Yay!

I think this would be a great day to grab a fast pass for something good and play Sorcerer's and try to catch the parade. .

oooh can't wait to hear about the new sorcerer's game!