I finally found a way to get DH excited about Disney! - ADDED LINK TO TRIP REPORT

[MinnieLovesMickey]

I do hope I can hype him up about the race & party enough to help keep him awake. I am truly happy to know everyone here would do the same in keeping their child up for this event. Even if there is someone out who thinks we're all bad parents for doing so - well then, at least I have great company!

I guess we'll have to form a bad parent support group, we can hold out meetings at WDW.


I bet he'll have so much fun in the swimming pools! I've always called Reid my "little water baby". The child is just drawn to water.

I was so excited to go buy his first pair of swim trunks and swim top plus a big beach towel. I was even excited to buy him swim diapers.


I love having our weekly Disney movie night! So fun to cuddle on the couch all together & watch a good movie. I'm so OCD though - I made a list of the order we'll watch the movies in: from least favorite to most favorite. I know...I have issues.

Don't feel bad, I've thought about doing them in order of release date.

 

[amandaw]

I guess we'll have to form a bad parent support group, we can hold out meetings at WDW.

I like the way you think!

I was so excited to go buy his first pair of swim trunks and swim top plus a big beach towel. I was even excited to buy him swim diapers.

That is so exciting! There really are some cute swim trunks & tops out there for boys. I always have a hard time deciding which ones to buy for Reid.

Don't feel bad, I've thought about doing them in order of release date.

Love it! And this is why I love the DIS - people here "get me".

 

[tinacaplan]

Sorry I missed this! Your race day plans sound great. I'm especially looking forward to hearing about the Villain's Bash! And, no, it does not make you a bad mom to try and keep Reid up that late. Sounds like you're going to be preparing him adequately beforehand, so it should be OK.

 

[amandaw]

Sorry I missed this!

No worries!

Your race day plans sound great.

Thank you! With this being our 1st Disney race experience, I'm finding it a little hard to plan for/around. Hopefully, I'll plan well enough.

I'm especially looking forward to hearing about the Villain's Bash!

I'm so excited to see who all is at the Bash! I only hope I'm not building up my anticipation so much that I'll be disappointed.

And, no, it does not make you a bad mom to try and keep Reid up that late. Sounds like you're going to be preparing him adequately beforehand, so it should be OK.

Thanks! I really do want to try & prepare him so that he can enjoy this special event. I really am going to try some different things with naps & bedtimes before we head down there. That way, maybe I'll at least have an idea of how long he can last & how long he may need to sleep in the next day.

 

[RGirl]

You're so right! I think I may do a few sleep experiments on the weekends leading up to our trip. College football will have started back, so I can see how late he can stay up watching games with us (without a nap, nap after lunch, nap after dinner).

That is so cute about the college football. As you might imagine, there is not a whole lot of football going on in our house. I feel like DD misses out a little in not learning about that stuff, but I am NOT the person to teach it!

I'm so evil making y'all wait! Patience grasshopper - the 1st one will come soon.

Hmm, well, um, I am not really the most patient person. WHEN????????

I think he will! We took him on his 1st beach vacation when he was 15 months. When he saw the water, he completely took off from us, headed straight into the water!

Oh, he will love it!!! That no-fear thing is very frightening for us as parents, but it really is a good thing, I think. Learning appropriate fear is obviously an important thing, but I think it is easier to parent when you luck out with a kid who doesn't have a lot of fears. Water can be a big one, so YAY!!!

 

[amandaw]

That is so cute about the college football. As you might imagine, there is not a whole lot of football going on in our house. I feel like DD misses out a little in not learning about that stuff, but I am NOT the person to teach it!

If she ever needs to know about football, just message me!

Hmm, well, um, I am not really the most patient person. WHEN????????

Well, our 1st ADR is on the Monday night. Sooooo.....probably in about 3 or 4 updates.

Oh, he will love it!!! That no-fear thing is very frightening for us as parents, but it really is a good thing, I think. Learning appropriate fear is obviously an important thing, but I think it is easier to parent when you luck out with a kid who doesn't have a lot of fears. Water can be a big one, so YAY!!!

I have found that he has gotten a little more fearful with each year that he gets older. I am really glad that he's never had a fear of being in water. But, I am worried that he'll be too scared to even try some of the "big boy" rides this year, like BTMRR.

 

[vikkii19]

Joining in, looks like we'll be there at the same time. Congrats on the house, we just built our house last year, so I know how much work that is.

I've only read the first couple of pages, so I'm off to read the rest.

 

[annmarieda]

I had to pop over and check out your plans! I do have to go back and read... but wanted to say hi first

 

[amandaw]

Joining in, looks like we'll be there at the same time. Congrats on the house, we just built our house last year, so I know how much work that is.

I've only read the first couple of pages, so I'm off to read the rest.

Welcome and Thank You! Building a house is definitely lots of work but so worth it in the end, right?

Too fun that we'll be there at the same time. Seems like there are lots of people from the boards who are going to be there during that time. I hope it's only us DISers & not lots of others.

I had to pop over and check out your plans! I do have to go back and read... but wanted to say hi first

Hi!

So glad to have you over! We'll definitely have to compare plans & notes!

 

[fi46re129]

There are no rules in Disney! Especially bedtime!

I hope you get a great picture at the finish line!!! That would be a awesome memory to capture.

I love the tickets! So cute!

 

[amandaw]

There are no rules in Disney! Especially bedtime!

Thank goodness! Especially since it looks like we'll have a couple of late nights.

I hope you get a great picture at the finish line!!! That would be a awesome memory to capture.

Thanks, me too! I'll be so sad if I can't see him finish.

I love the tickets! So cute!

Thanks! I was just so excited when they arrived & I just thought they were the cutest things.

 

[pas130]

We are doing really well. I think we have both come through the bumpy patch we had with the switch in preschools etc., and we are both enjoying each other and life. And we are really looking forward to cruising in 30 days!!!!!!

Under a month!!! Nice

Me, too! I will be so bummed if we can't see him. I've been talking to Reid about the race & staying up late to watch Daddy finish. He's very excited to see Ed finish the race so I do hope he can stay up.



Thank you! And I do usually keep Reid up at the parks until we're ready to go. Sometimes, he'll fall asleep in his stroller but that was very rare on our trip last May. I don't know why it feels different for me keeping him up for this event. I guess maybe because it's not like a party. I don't know - I guess I just worry like that and thought people would think I was crazy.

It is a party Daddy ran a marathin party Disney style You are not crazy & not a bad mommy...I think it's great!

 

[amandaw]

It is a party Daddy ran a marathin party Disney style You are not crazy & not a bad mommy...I think it's great!

Thank you!! So glad to have you back from vacation! I just read your mini trip report on the RC thread. Sounds like y'all had a really nice time despite of a few bumps.

 

[pas130]

Thank you!! So glad to have you back from vacation! I just read your mini trip report on the RC thread. Sounds like y'all had a really nice time despite of a few bumps.

It was fantastic...one of our best

 

[tinacaplan]

I have found that he has gotten a little more fearful with each year that he gets older. I am really glad that he's never had a fear of being in water. But, I am worried that he'll be too scared to even try some of the "big boy" rides this year, like BTMRR.

Tell me about it. I can just see us down there in July and Max will have finally made the height requirements, but decide he's too scared.

 

[amandaw]

Tell me about it. I can just see us down there in July and Max will have finally made the height requirements, but decide he's too scared.

That's my exact fear! Well, that or this scenario:

He finally decides he'll brave a ride but screams bloody murder & cries the whole time & we get looks like we're the worst parents in the world. Like we chained our child to the ride & he had no choice. Someone call Child Protection Services!!!



I've been trying to talk to him about the big boy rides & show him videos. But, you just never know how they'll react. I wasn't even going to try getting him on ToT. But, he knows that ride is Ed's favorite. So, he wants to try it. I told him, "Let's see how you do with the spooky stuff with Haunted Mansion & if you can ride BTMR & then we'll talk about ToT."

 

[megan511]

We are back and I just got caught up!

The Villains party sounds so fun! I would be right there with you bringing my kids along It is vacation after all!

My son has gotten more fearful as he's gotten older too. He chickened out of HM the first time even though he had rode it before and the last day randomly decided he was scared of Splash Mountain even though he had been riding it all week My daughter on the other hand is not scared of any rides, just the characters! she loved HM and we put her on BTMR for the first time and she loved it too!

Looking forward to hearing more of your plans!

 

[amandaw]

We are back and I just got caught up!

Welcome Back! I hope y'all had a great trip! Will you be starting a trip report?

The Villains party sounds so fun! I would be right there with you bringing my kids along It is vacation after all!

I'm so excited to check out the Villains party! I really am so happy to hear that everyone here would do the same & bring their kids to the party. I was so worried that maybe I was making a mistake by doing it with Reid. But, y'all have definitely set my worries to rest.

My son has gotten more fearful as he's gotten older too. He chickened out of HM the first time even though he had rode it before and the last day randomly decided he was scared of Splash Mountain even though he had been riding it all week My daughter on the other hand is not scared of any rides, just the characters! she loved HM and we put her on BTMR for the first time and she loved it too!

Isn't it funny how they just change their minds like that? Reid will do that with food. He'll eat 3/4 of something & then be like "I don't like this." Uh....yes you do! You just ate almost all of it! That's funny that your daughter is opposite. I bet your son will start to like those rides again though. Especially if his sister keeps riding them.

Reid wanted to watch Disney videos this afternoon. So, we watched many YouTube videos of rides that will be new for him. He was extremely excited about BTMR. I just hope that excitement remains once we're there.

Looking forward to hearing more of your plans!

Thanks! Stay tuned....I'm going to try to do an update tonight!

 

[amandaw]

Okay, so I last left y'all on the night of the race. Ed just got done running 10 miles. PHEW! That exhausts me just saying it. I was a horrible mother & kept Reid up until the wee hours of the night to experience the Villains Bash. Hopefully, we got to ride at least a couple of rides and meet some awesome villains. I'm not sure if I said this in my last update or not, but my plan is for us to leave the party by 2am & all be in bed by 3am.

Soooo.....that brings us to Sunday, Sept. 30th.

My plan for this morning is for us to sleep!!! Now, the only way this will actually work is if Reid stayed up some the night before. If he did indeed party it up at DHS with us, then I would like for us to get up between 9 & 10am. If we're in bed by 3am, that should give us 6-7 hours of sleep. I usually need more....okay, much more....but not in Disney!

Once we're up, we'll get ready for the day. I'll give Reid a quick bite for breakfast while Ed loads up the car. And between 10am & 11am, we should be checking out of POFQ.

But, don't fret! This trip's not over yet!

So, where are we going? Here:

Yep, we'll be checking into Old Key West for the next 7 nights. This will be our first time staying at this resort. We own a timeshare with Hilton & it allows us to trade into other timeshare properties (like DVC) through another timeshare system called RCI. Got all that? Don't worry, it's useless info!

Anyway, I was able to book us a studio at OKW. I'm excited to hear that the studios are very large & that resort recently underwent a refurb (or at least I think I read that). But, I am completely overwhelmed about what type (if any) room requests I should put in. Every time I look at a map of this resort, I get completely overwhelmed. There just seems to be so many buildings & different areas. I tried to read about it on the DVC board but that didn't help me too much.

So, I'm going to turn to you good people here for help. If any of you (I know you have, Ms. Kathy!), have stayed at OKW, please help me on what area would be best for us to request. Here's what's important to me:

Close to a bus stop (this is my major concern); decent view; I don't mind stairs as long as we're not above the 2nd floor; not too far from the main building & the QS location.

Any thoughts/suggestions/warnings?

Ok, so we'll drive to OKW from POFQ & get checked in. Hopefully, our room will be ready & we'll get settled real quick. Once we're settled, we plan on taking a nice little boat ride to here:

And why are we going to Downtown Disney? Because I am determine to eat here:

For those of you who didn't read my TR from last year & those of you who don't remember (it's been a while), I really wanted to eat here on our last day last year. It was Mother's Day. But, my child decided to throw a full blown tantrum on the mat right inside the door for the millions of people inside to witness. I walked out & told Ed he could handle his child.

But, this is my year! Oh yes, I WILL eat at Earl of Sandwich!

Oh, and Reid wants to go here after lunch:



We didn't have time to go to the Lego store last year. In fact, this is the whole reason behind the tantrum. Evidently, he's still bitter about it because he's already asked me if we can please go to the store with the block toys this year. I guess I better oblige him before this turns into a need for him to go to therapy.

So, after lunch we will visit the store with the block toys. In fact, I might let him & Ed visit that store while I visit World of Disney!

We won't have too long to shop though! We'll have to get back to OKW.

Why you ask?

Because we have another big night ahead of us! After all, who needs sleep?!?

 

[dizneeat]

Amanda, we LOVE OKW. It is a beautiful resort. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to PM me.