"I Can" and "I Will" Go To The World...UPDATED 10-9-10 WITH PICTURES!!..

[tyandskyesmom]

12
more
days!!!!​

 

[Peter Pan Fan 22]

WooHoo!!! I'm at 14 and I'm bursting at the seams with excitement!!

 

[tyandskyesmom]

So, on Christmas morning the kids opened their presents. They finished all of them and were ooking over their loot when I asked what the box was that was left under the tree. It was one of those decorated boxes that we always have laying around at Christmas time. So Tyler says, "It's just an empty box Mom!"...so I asked him if he was sure. So he grabs it and shakes it while he is telling me that it is empty but then hears a little shake inside. So he opens it and it is a shiny red bag...like this...



So he thinks I am crazy and wonders why this bag is in the box...he's never seen it before?!?!?! So i ask him if there is anything inside it. He tells me no. I tell him to make sure. So he looks inside, just to humor me, and finds a note. The note explains to them that they will be on a scavenger hunt and that there will be clues to more presents along the way. And on the back of this is the first clue. The clues were things like "the cat's favorite place" and things like that. There were 12 stops and each stop had a gift for one of them...they caught on to that real quick...like one would be a chicken statue (for Skye) and the next might be an Elephant statue (for Ty). The last one was four colored poster boards, a scrap book and a box. Inside the box was markers, stickers, and Mickey Head Paint Chips. The scrap book cover was this...



...and then they opened the box. They were a little confused still. Then I suggested in a sort of subtle way that Tyler look inside the book. He read the first page aloud...



...and it said...

On Christmas morning 2009 we woke to open presents. As we finished, there was one more addressed to both of us. Inside was a note in a pretty red, sparkly bag. It told us we had to find clues and collect gifts along the way. At the end was a big package. We opened it to find poster board, Mickey head paint samples, markers, Disney stickers (all the things needed to make a count-down calendar) and this book with this first page already completed. It told us…

We’re going to
MICKEY’S
HOUSE!​

We are able to bring Mommy and Grammy too.
We are flying out of Midway Airport early in the morning on April 21, 2010 and staying at Pop Century for seven nights. We have six days of passes and the Quick Service Dining Plan.

Merry Christmas!​

It took them a couple of minutes but then the smiles came and they got excited. And then they understood that the stuff in the box was for these...









Every day they take turns putting a sticker over the date number in the center of the Mickey Head. Skye is really the keeper of the date...she knows at any given moment how many days more we have to go. Grammy comes over everyday before work just to ask how many more days!

So that's how the cat was let out of the bag...and now there is nothing left to do but wait...and CATCH UP ON THIS PRE-TRIP REPORT!!!!

 

[tyandskyesmom]

WooHoo!!! I'm at 14 and I'm bursting at the seams with excitement!!

Us too!!! We are getting over or first of our last two hurdles tomorrow...Skye's party...and then it is really close. I told my cell mate, I mean my cubicle mate, at work that I only had seven more days of work before vacation and she thought I was bragging! Do you even believe her nerve!?!?!?!

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Ok...so...Skye turned 6 on Wednesday. We had breakfast out with my parents, my aunt and uncle from Dayton, their daughter and her husband, son and daughter from Atlanta, their son and his girlfriend from San Diego, and another cousin that is living in San Diego too at my parent's new favorite restaurant before they all left for home. As we were going to pay the bill we were told that a regular from the restaurant, and older mon that was sitting in a booth onthe other side of the restaurant had paid our bill...he asked the waitress whose birthday it was (he has heard us sing Happy Birthday to Skye while she pretended to blow out her home fry candles in her pancakes) and then said it would make his day to pay for our breakfast...HE PAID FOR THE WHOLE BILL including the tip!!! WOW...I have never had that happen before. That was so nice!

Well, when we got home Lou was back from taking his dad to the doctor and the kids had Chuck E Cheese tokens burning a hole in their pockets that Grammy and Pa had given them in their Easter bags...so we went there for lunch. It was pouring like crazy by then and the place was packed!

Then Skye had gymnastics for two and a half hours.

So we did celebrate a little on the actual day bit the real party is tomorrrow.

Here is the invitation I made...





After much deliberation and changing of the minds she finally decided against theme and just opted for hot pink and black.

So we have ordered hot pink and black balloons. We have hot pink and black streamers. Wehave black plastic table cloths and hot pink utensils, cups, and dessert plates. We have white dinner plates and bowls.

We are serving hot dogs with all the fixings, chili, nachos with all the fixings, fruit salad with whipped cream (which I had to mix in a huge extra large ziplock bag there was so much of it!), flower shaped sugar cookies with a black M&M in the center and white icing covered in pink sugar around the edges, rice krispy treats, pink lemonade punch, pop, and cake. The young guy taking our order for the cake was laughing all the way through the ordering process. She ordered a white cake with whipped cream frosting. Then the funny part was a 6 year old wanting black on her cake...I wxplained that she is just too cool for 6. So she has black boarder with hot pink writing and hot pink, light pink, and black geometric swirlies...she has a pink number 6 and 6 black candles. Style is everyting for this girl!

She has a guitar shaped pinata...



....and we are doing a "Guess-how-many" game...three different sized jars with three different candies inside...closest guess to the actual amount wins the jar of candy. And we are going to have a balloon pop game...we are putting letters on a little piece of paper and putting that inside a black balloon. There will only be one S, one K, one Y, one L, one E, and one R. They will have to pop their balloons and the ones with the S-K-Y-L-E-R will win a prize (which is a small ceramic chicken bank with an outfit to make for it)...we also have a couple of giant jaw breakers for prizes in case some of the older boys win.

The best news was that it is supposed to be at least 71 degrees and sunny tomorrow which means we can have the party outside!!!! So other than the two small games and the pinata we just got a lot of outside things for the kids to do from the dollar bins at Michaels mostly...like balls, jump ropes, frisbees, chalk, bubbles, some water painting books, some balloons and pumps, and things like that.

The party is from 1pm - 6pm but Skye has ballet and Tap from 9:30am - 10:30am and Ty has football practice from 9am - 11am...and during that time Lou has to run for the cake and the balloons (which are in opposite directions).

She has around 50 people coming...friends and relatives, adults and kids. Funny enough, I have only heard from five kid' moms from her class (she invited all 17 of them - 9 boys and 8 girls)...one girl (her bestie at school) and 4 boys...just kinda odd.

So this is really the biggest hurdle left before vacation...once past tomorrow, it should be smooth sailing!!!! In fact, compared to our usual planning, this has all seemed to go too smoothly...am I missing something???

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Sorry for the sideways pictures...I completely forgot to turn them...I hate when I do that!

 

[tyandskyesmom]

10
MORE DAYS!!!!​

Ok, so if I decide to do online check in do I have to have the card we use to put on the room charge with me at check in to show? The card we I have is my dad's but he will not be there...will he have to be? Or should I just get the info from my mom's card since she will be there?

 

[tyandskyesmom]

9
more
days!!!!​

​

 

[tyandskyesmom]

8
more days!!!!​

So we now have Tyler's baseball schedule and he will be missing four games when we are gone. And then we are going to Great America for with my mom's work "party" on Saturday an djust found out yesterday that Saturday at 3pm is his first game. We gave him the choice...the tickets are already bought and we get a twicket to return sometime before June 20 but what 11 year old boy is going to pick a baseball game for maybe two hours over seven hours at Great America???? So he will be missing his first five games. And this is not like us at all! We always try to arrange things so that we are always where we need to be when we need to be there...but when you don't get a schedule until six days prior, it is kind of hard. And why do little leagues have to cram games into the end of April and all of May but then only have a few games in early June??? Our school is in until mid-June this year so Tyler will have baseball during school time only...and looks like close to three or four games a week...plus homework and football practice for part of it.

We also found out that at Tyler's level in Arena Football there is no play-off but the top two teams will play a final game at the Sears Center before a Chicago Slaughter game...that will be so cool! Skye got the cheer there last season and it is an awesome thing to watch your kid do something like that...I cannot even begin to imagine how cool it must be for those kids! And the good news is that five games into the season we are the only undefeated team...so most likely our guys will get to play it...the bad news is that is it the same day that my mom got us (her, me, Skye, Ty, my SIL and two nieces) tickets to see High School Musical put on at Durey Lane... So, once again, there may be choices to be made...but most likely just a bit of shuffling...

And, I made my normal pre-trip docotr appointment for Thursday. I have had a head cold for about a week and a half now and I really do not want to be playing with it on the trip. So I made an appointment a couple of days out so I could not be at their mercy calling at the last minute. I figured I can cancel if I don't need it but if I do, I should have enough meds in me by the time we leave to not be feeling sick anymore...I am sooo tired and I still have so much to do!!!

Skye had a great birthday...I'll have to post some pictures when I get a chance! The day as beautiful and we had the party completely outside. Fun was had by all!

I am hoping to get back to you guys soon becasue I have not even told you of our plans yet!!!!

 

[tyandskyesmom]

I think we have decided not to do the on-line check in. I went back and forth about it. I really wanted to do it...but mostly so it would seem that much more tangible!

When it came down to it, I think making sure we can get a room in a section I want to be in with as little hassle as possible is more important to me. And we should be there early enough on a Wedmesday morning that there really should not be too many people checking in...right?

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Ok...so...Skye just turned 6. We measured her the other day at Dick's Sporting Goods and she is 42 1/2 inches tall....that is a WHOLE INCH TALLER THAN WE EXPECTED!!!! So she is pretty small...but she is very capable and very "old" (think six going on sixteen! ). And she likes to hang with her brother...who has been walking since he was 5 (and he was the lazy one!!! ). Skye does not use a stroller around here, in fact I cannot remember the last time we used one.

BUT...I do realize that is a lot of walking! I think she can handle it. We are not planning on running through the parks. We will do a lot of sitting on rides and shows and meals.

And I really, really, really love not having to push a stroller and wait for people to clear a path and to not have to lug a stroller on the bus...We have never gotten to actually do that on a regular basis!

HOWEVER, if we don't bring one...there is no where to put our stuff. Usually Tyler will cary our Mickey backpack (I'll post a picture once I locate it, the backpack I mean...see, I told you I am really behind!) with our imortant stuff it in and then we would leave a Mickey blanket and sweat shirts and our mugs from the hotel (that we have filled up on before leaving the hotel) in the stroller all day. If we don't bring the stroller, would we need to bring a bigger back pack??? And if we bring a bigger back pack, who is going to want to carry it??? And even though I know Skye can make it through the day and night without a stroller, and might even see more of the night time things (becasue she is prone to getting comfy in the stroller and falling asleep before the parade or the fireworks...even in the rain!!!) without a stroller, the bus is another story!!!

I know she will most likely pass out on the bus back to the hotel at night...and am I going to want to carry her??? She's little but not that little...and not after walking around all day...it will take everything I have to get me back to the room for bed!!!

So at this point, we are NOT bringing a stroller. We have decided that we will get a locker in the morning for our mugs and warmer clothes (and it looks like ponchos and umbrellas on some days! ) That was actually Grammy's idea and it shocked the heck out of me because, if you remember correctly, she is usually a bit on the frugal side and that is just something I truely did not expect! Skye said she will try not to fall asleep on the bus and we will try to keep her up...

Sound do-able????

 

[tyandskyesmom]

7
MORE
DAYS!!!!!​

​

 

[tyandskyesmom]

...we should be lounging by the pool at Pop Century..hopefully...I am hearing it might be raining that day?????

 

[tyandskyesmom]

6
MORE
DAYS
!!!!!!!!
​

 

[tyandskyesmom]

We originally were contemplating .... DRIVING !!!!

We figured we'd watch flight fares but did not hold much confidence in getting a decent fare from Chicago to Orlando. We have not been getting very many cheap fares to anywhere that flying would save you time. I mean, the only really cheap fares we have been getting have been to places that it would probably take as much time for you to drive to by the time you figure in the time you need to arrive at the airport and such.

So shortly after deciding to go and making the reservation, I was just hanging out on the Southwest web site and there were actually one way flights for $96.00!!!! Now, that's not the best fare we'e ever gotten but it was certainly below the norm of around $120.00 I had been seeing lately. So I talked to Grammy and she said to go ahead and book it...I really did not think we'd get anything better than that.

Well, within a week I was calling Grammy back to tell her she now had a $189.00 credit with Southwest becasue fares went down to $74.00...talk about being in the right place at the right time!!! Because the next day, they were up to $99.00!!!!!

That is not usually the luck I have...but it worked for me this time.

So when are we leaving you ask?

Well, our flight out of Midway leaves at 6:45am (the first flight out for the day...we like it that way, so we're not at the mercy of any incoming flights and we get more Mickey time!) and we arrive in Orlando at 10:20am. Coming home, we leave Orlando at 7:15pm (so I figure a Magical Express pick-up time of around 4:15pm) and arrive in Chicago at 9:05pm. It's a late flight but that way we make the most of our last day.

So we got perfect flights at just about the best price available (I think we got $59.00 one time but it was a l-o-n-g time ago!)...YIPEE!!!

 

[tyandskyesmom]

772 views and no one has anything to say?!?!?!

It is so much more fun writing, and reading along, when there are other people contributing...

Please join me!

 

[Leleluvsdis]

We originally were contemplating .... DRIVING !!!!

We figured we'd watch flight fares but did not hold much confidence in getting a decent fare from Chicago to Orlando. We have not been getting very many cheap fares to anywhere that flying would save you time. I mean, the only really cheap fares we have been getting have been to places that it would probably take as much time for you to drive to by the time you figure in the time you need to arrive at the airport and such.

So shortly after deciding to go and making the reservation, I was just hanging out on the Southwest web site and there were actually one way flights for $96.00!!!! Now, that's not the best fare we'e ever gotten but it was certainly below the norm of around $120.00 I had been seeing lately. So I talked to Grammy and she said to go ahead and book it...I really did not think we'd get anything better than that.

Well, within a week I was calling Grammy back to tell her she now had a $189.00 credit with Southwest becasue fares went down to $74.00...talk about being in the right place at the right time!!! Because the next day, they were up to $99.00!!!!!

That is not usually the luck I have...but it worked for me this time.

So when are we leaving you ask?

Well, our flight out of Midway leaves at 6:45am (the first flight out for the day...we like it that way, so we're not at the mercy of any incoming flights and we get more Mickey time!) and we arrive in Orlando at 10:20am. Coming home, we leave Orlando at 7:15pm (so I figure a Magical Express pick-up time of around 4:15pm) and arrive in Chicago at 9:05pm. It's a late flight but that way we make the most of our last day.

So we got perfect flights at just about the best price available (I think we got $59.00 one time but it was a l-o-n-g time ago!)...YIPEE!!!

So excited you decided to fly! Let me know what you think about DME. We are using them for the first time in Sept.

 

[tyandskyesmom]

So excited you decided to fly! Let me know what you think about DME. We are using them for the first time in Sept.

We love DME...for us, as soon as we are at Midway waiting to board our plane we are on vacation. We have never had a bad experience with DME other that one ride not having a movie (but it was from MCO to the hotel so it wasn't that huge a deal) and one time being told that I couldn't take our stroller on the bus with us even though it folds really small and we had done it before. We were made to put it under the bus which cost us time waiting for the driver to get all of the other luggage out first, becasue of course our stroller was the last thing he pulled out! And it ended up to be our longest wait in line ever to check in. But even that was not too big a deal. The kids love riding the bus and I love not having to know where I am going and being able to relax.

 

[tyandskyesmom]

5
more
days!!!​

And I have a sinus infection. I went to the doctor yesterday after work and got an antibiotic for ten days (which means another thing to make sure I pack in the carry on).

I am hoping to get to packing tonight and to get some plans up here too. This may be my only free moment until Wednesday.

Tomorrow Skye has ballet and tap from 9:30am - 10:30am and they are getting their costumes for the recital in mid-May. Then we are heading right up to Great America for the rest of the day. It is Tyler's opening day for baseball but he elected to go to Great America instead...we did not know about the game until five days ago! He is also missing football practice but so will the other 6 kids or so that are also on his baseball team because practice overlaps the game time some. Then Sunday Tyler has baseball pictures at 10:30am and then has to be at the metroplex by 11am for a noon time football game...I think we (and the other boys on the baseball team that are also on the football team) are going to be a little late! Then Skye has open gym for gymnastics from 6pm - 7pm. On Monday Tyler has baseball practice and Skye and I are going with our friends to get our nails done, although I am thinking about saving money and just letting Skye do hers). On Tuesday Tyler has football practice. So I have a few small periods of time in there where I can pack and update you guys but time is a fleeting! And that's a good thing...

So if I can keep the kids healthy and get us all packed, we'll all be in good shape!!!

 

[tyandskyesmom]

So I have a plan...of course I have a plan...I am a DISer!

But my plans are mostly not set in stone. I have an idea of the park times, the show times, the places to eat, etc. I don't plan rides or shows or even so much meal times (unless it is a table service that needs an ADR). SO keep that in mind when reading along...

DAY 1 - April 21, 2010

I will be up around 3:30am ...maybe! to get ready and get any last minute things packed. The van will already be packed with most of the stuff, it will just be a carry on or so that will come with us. After I get out of the shower I will wake the kids and Lou. They will get up willingly today!

We will leave for Midway at about 4:30am...we live about 5 minutes away at that time of day. Even though the Southwest counter will not open until 5am, it is good to get there early enough to get a good spot in line. Although they are usually pretty quick at getting people through. Lou will just drop us and leave. I think we will only have three checked bags (although since I am not done packing, I could be wrong!) and I expect each of the four of us to have a carry on...but no stroller so we should do ok.

Usually we will grab McDonalds near our gate but the last couple of times we have flown, the kids have not wanted anything so we just grabbed a drink somewhere to take on with us...so we'll play that by ear.

I will have pulled boarding passes exactly 24 hours ahead of time so hopefully we have an early boarding number. I don't really care where we sit but I'd like us all together...and I do prefer the front of the plane. And that is only because I truely do not understand what takes people so long to gather their things and GET OFF THE PLANE!!! And it is not even that I am in a hurry but it just does not make sense to me that it takes people that long to grab a bag, make sure your kids are with you, and walk!!!! So if we're in the front of the plane, it does not take so long. We are scheduled to land at MCO at 10:20am but in my experience, Southwest usually arrives early (even when leaving late...how does that happen?!?!?!). We'll head right to the Magical Express counter after riding our first non-Disney monorail...the kids always have to be in the front by the window and they will wait if there is someone already there! I guess they just love to see the dinosaur trees...that is what Tyler used to call the palm trees because all of his toy dino sets came with little plastic trees that looked just like that. So we still call them Dinosaur Trees...Skye thinks we're crazy!

I am watching two different places for weather and so far on one of them it looks like they are calling for rain on our arrival day. It is not very descriptive though so I cannot tell what time of day or how long or how strong...I am still crossing my fingers that we miss it!

I am hoping to be on board a bus and on the way to Pop Century by 10:40am or so...and arriving at Pop around 11:10am. Most of the times we have gone, we have been on a bus with Pop and it has usually been the second stop, behind Coronado Springs.

We'll check-in and hopefully get a room on the first floor near the main pool. It would be nice if it was ready but not a big deal because we will have our swim suits in our carry-ons. Before swimming, or at least before heading out to the pool, we will stop at Everything Pop for our mugs and our first crack at the dining plan. Now this is where I feel that I am sort of boardering on obsessive but then again, it is really just an educated guess and necessary if we are going to 1.) maximize our Quick Service Dining Plan and 2.) not have to pay for too much food or snacks out of pocket. In my expert opinion, we will order an adult's cheese pizza, ice cream sundae, and a powerade (Tyler loves 'em and we'll save it for later), a parmesan crusted chicken & pasta, a tie-dyed cheese cake, and a bottle of water (for later), and a kid's beef & broccoli stir fry with a cookie, grapes, and a water (for later) for the four of us to share. With the mugs, that should bring our total used to around $90.00. Not a bad start, eh? And we will have used our alotted mugs and two adult meals and one kid's meal. If it is nice out, we may take the food out by the pool to eat, otherwise, we'll eat inside and then head out to the pool.

We'll hang out and do whatever we want at the hotel until around 5pm when we will head over to Downtown Disney for dinner at Wolfgang Puck Express. There we will have rotisserie chicken with garlic mashed potatoes, a creme brulee, and a bottle of water, four cheese mac-n-cheese, a frozen yogut with one topping and a bottle of water, and an adult's order of crispy chicken with fries, a frozen yogurt with one topping and a water. The total on that should come to around $62.00 for us all to share...and we will have used three adult meals.

After dinner, since this is a budget trip and we do not need to be tempted into buying stuff at Downtown Disney, we are planning to head over to Animal Kingdom for Extra Magic Hours...it is open until 9pm. I am hoping to at least get to the Festival of the Lion King and Tyler will ride Primeval Whirl until we pull him off! Maybe Dinosaur depending on if they are still both willing. Anything else is just gravy!

Then we'll head back to Pop and crash!

At this point we will have used our mug credits, five adult credits, and one kid's credit...and we probably will have bought a bucket of popcorn. We always buy the first bucket because snack credits are only good on the box. The kids collect the buckets and it is much easier to lug along the bucket than the box and you lose less of the popcorn from the bucket than the box. We'll lug it with us every other day and just dump our box into it. I am sure the kids will want at least one box a day!

I will be beat by now but the kids will have slept on the plane. Grammy works overnights at the hospital so it might not have caught up to her yet. If it ends up that we just don't feel up to it (because I really doubt that we will nap in our free time after arrival) we can skip Animal Kingdom and just have the one full day later in the trip. But we won't know that until we get there!