I must be crazy! A March 2012 PTR - update 3/26 - We are home!

[ksl5f123]

Let's see, what other trip related stuff have we been up to? Well, on Saturday we went shopping again. Part of our Christmas present from MIL and FIL was $150 to upgrade our camping equipment. So, we went shopping on Saturday for more new stuff. We bought a 10x10 screen house to put over the picnic table. I had been looking at a bunch of the campsite setups on the DIS camping board and it looked like having a screen house over the cooking equipment would be really helpful. I have never camped with electricity before, so the idea of taking a crockpot and such is really new to me. When you are only cooking over a campfire, you certainly don't bring something to cover it!

We also picked up some new camp chairs. We broke a couple of ours last summer and never bothered to replace them. We also got a new lantern. After much deliberation (you thought I was done with the $2 words), we went with a battery operated one. We decided there was just too much risk for a 3 year old with a propane lantern. We will just have to stock up on size D batteries!

On Sunday, we set up our tent for the first time! It is an “instant” tent that is supposed to take 1 minute, but we had some little helpers, so it took us 11 minutes. That is still pretty fast for setting up a tent! DH and I were amazed at how much space we had inside. The kids absolutely loved it and we let them play in there for about an hour before we took it back down. We were so happy that both the up and the down took less than 15 minutes. It was also easy to see how quickly a tent could get dirty. We had about 2” of rain on Saturday turning our backyard kind of swampy. We had to impose a “no shoes in the tent” rule or the floor would have been covered in mud in just a few seconds. A mat for shoe removal now goes on the packing list.

The kids were off from school on Monday for President's Day, so we decided to revive our Disney theme nights. The girls got “Lilo and Stitch” as a surprise on our drive to WDW last July, but we never had a party for the movie. The girls chose that as their first choice. To decorate, I bought a $0.97 cent green tablecloth. We printed some Lilo and Stitch coloring pages that the kids all decorated and DD8 added her seashell collection to the table along with a couple of souvenirs that we had from our 2005 trip to Hawaii. It wasn't very extravagant, but the kids were happy.

For supper, we had ham (except for DH who had a meatless chicken patty), coconut rice, and green beans macadamine (OK, I know that isn't a word. Basically, I made green beans almondine with macadamia nuts instead of almonds). For dessert, we grilled pineapple and served that over vanilla ice cream. YUMMY!

DH had never seen Lilo and Stitch before, and he said he enjoyed it. DS3 was less than interested in the movie, but I think everyone still had a good time.

In other life news, Girl Scout cookies arrived in our town on Tuesday. We unloaded 8800 cases from two semi-trucks. Luckily, only 60 of those cases made their way to my house. However, that is still over 700 boxes of cookies! The sale ends the day that we leave, so I am looking forward to having a trip as a reward for wrapping up our sales.

Also, DS3 got his first ever sting today. We had a very warm day (high of 82) and they were on the playground at preschool. His teacher thinks it was a wasp. She took him to the school nurse who put an ice pack on it and recommended that I give him some Benedryl when we got home since the sting was on his face. It happened only about 10 minutes before pick-up time. When I got him at 11:30, it was really red and a little swollen, but by 2 PM you could just see the little red dot where the stinger had been.

22 days until we leave!!!

 

[lovesdumbo]

Hi! Followed you over here from the disboutique thread. I read your girl's trip report too.

Love your new tent and Mickey lights! DH & I used to camp before we had kids. We used to bring a strip of astro turf (fake grass carpet) with us to put in front of the tent. Worked great to keep the tent cleaner.

LOVE your Lego skirt!!!

I'm taking just my youngest DD(9) to WDW in May. I also have DD(12) and DS(11). My DH isn't the Disney fanatic the kids and I are. We've been taking an annual Disney family trip since 2004 and then I take the kids one at a time when possible. It is my youngest DD's turn for a one on one trip. She's so excited. She's my Lego fanatic.

I have a friend from grammer school (a very long time ago!) who lives in FL now. She's a physics professor. She usually comes to see us when I go to WDW with her DD(12). They are both Lego fanatics so the 4 of us are going to Legoland. It looks so fun. Now I've got the make DD a Lego outfit-maybe all 4 of us shirts. I might make the girls bracelets. Have you seen these:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/39990365/1x1-multi-kids-lego-bracelet

This one is a bit different:
http://someartfabrictalk.blogspot.com/2011/01/lego-bracelet-tutorial.html

And how cute are these painted shoes-the lego mini figure head shoe-
http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=326006.0

I've tried to read a bit about LegoLand. I think we'll start with the Island in the Sky to get a bird's eye view of the park but then hit the "big" rides next saving the mini land for last-I think we could spend hours there.

Have you read about mini figure trading? Some of the staff wear mini figures on their name tags and you can trade mini figures with them.

Can't wait to hear your report on LegoLand when you return!

Your poor DS. Hope he's feeling OK now.

 

[ksl5f123]

Hi! Followed you over here from the disboutique thread. I read your girl's trip report too.

Wow! Thanks for coming over and for reading the other TR! Welcome!

Love your new tent and Mickey lights! DH & I used to camp before we had kids. We used to bring a strip of astro turf (fake grass carpet) with us to put in front of the tent. Worked great to keep the tent cleaner.

That is a good tip! I will look to see if we have any.

LOVE your Lego skirt!!!

Thank you. The people on the disboutique thread are just SO helpful. I was really stuck for ideas.

I'm taking just my youngest DD(9) to WDW in May. I also have DD(12) and DS(11). My DH isn't the Disney fanatic the kids and I are. We've been taking an annual Disney family trip since 2004 and then I take the kids one at a time when possible. It is my youngest DD's turn for a one on one trip. She's so excited. She's my Lego fanatic.

Awww. That sounds like fun. I felt a little guilty going last summer without DS, but I had such fun with my girls.

I have a friend from grammer school (a very long time ago!) who lives in FL now. She's a physics professor. She usually comes to see us when I go to WDW with her DD(12). They are both Lego fanatics so the 4 of us are going to Legoland. It looks so fun. Now I've got the make DD a Lego outfit-maybe all 4 of us shirts. I might make the girls bracelets. Have you seen these:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/39990365/1x1-multi-kids-lego-bracelet

This one is a bit different:
http://someartfabrictalk.blogspot.com/2011/01/lego-bracelet-tutorial.html

And how cute are these painted shoes-the lego mini figure head shoe-
http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=326006.0

I've tried to read a bit about LegoLand. I think we'll start with the Island in the Sky to get a bird's eye view of the park but then hit the "big" rides next saving the mini land for last-I think we could spend hours there.

Have you read about mini figure trading? Some of the staff wear mini figures on their name tags and you can trade mini figures with them.

Can't wait to hear your report on LegoLand when you return!

Your poor DS. Hope he's feeling OK now.

Thanks for the links. I will take a look at those. What do you consider the "big" rides at Legoland? I can't seem to figure out what might have the most "draw" for a crowd.

I had not heard about mini figure training. That sounds like a lot of fun! I will have to look into it.

 

[ksl5f123]

OK, let's get back to the daily plans. On Tuesday, March 20, we are planning to play around Fort Wilderness. We will start the morning by making some pancakes at our campsite. Then, we will go swimming, visit the horses, and maybe do the pony rides or the cane pole fishing.

The only other time DH and I have stayed at Fort Wilderness was in October 2000. We shared a cabin with MIL, FIL, BIL, SIL, and the two nephews (who were 2 years old and 5 months old at the time). I really don't remember making much use of the cabin or the Fort. I remember sitting out at our picnic table one night chatting and I remember taking the boat over to the MK, but that is about it. If we are at the campsite for lunch, we will make quesadillas and probably have some fruit.

If it is raining or the kids get bored at the Fort, the back up plan is to go shopping in Downtown Disney. I am not a big spender or even a big souvenir type of person, but I enjoy walking around. I especially enjoy looking at these:

and I could always enjoy one of these:

the Goldrush from Ghirardelli!

If we are in Downtown Disney, we will probably go to Wolfgang Puck Express for lunch. Here are some pics of the kids at WPE last July:

After enjoying our day, we will get cleaned up and head out to Medieval Times. We are going primarily for DS3. For Christmas this year, he asked for one thing: a castle with a knight and a dragon and a queen and a king and a drawbridge. I looked really hard for one, but never did find it. He did get a knight costume with a sword, shield, and helmet and he wears it pretty much every day. I think he will LOVE Medieval Times. The show that night is at 7 PM, so we will probably go straight to bed when we get back to the campsite.

Up next, Magic Kingdom!

 

[lovesdumbo]

Thanks for the links. I will take a look at those. What do you consider the "big" rides at Legoland? I can't seem to figure out what might have the most "draw" for a crowd.

I had not heard about mini figure training. That sounds like a lot of fun! I will have to look into it.

I read one review where they thought that laser ride would be one of the more popular ones. I would think the coaster type rides-the dragon one, the dino one, flight school and test track would all be popular. I think the driving school will be too. My DD is somewhat timid. She loves Test Track and BTMRR. She's only done Everest once (when she was 5) and she's done Space Mnt several times but doesn't like it. She won't try Tower of Terror or Splash. She said she didn't want to do a few Lego rides when looking at still photos but after we watched videos on you tube she thinks she'll try them all but isn't sold on the Lego Test Track one yet.

After enjoying our day, we will get cleaned up and head out to Medieval Times. We are going primarily for DS3. For Christmas this year, he asked for one thing: a castle with a knight and a dragon and a queen and a king and a drawbridge. I looked really hard for one, but never did find it. He did get a knight costume with a sword, shield, and helmet and he wears it pretty much every day. I think he will LOVE Medieval Times. The show that night is at 7 PM, so we will probably go straight to bed when we get back to the campsite.

Have you seen the Schleich line of toys? They have the coolest stuff. The big items get pricey but the smaller things aren't "too" bad just that you want it all. My youngest is into those too. She doesn't have any of the castle stuff-she has farm animals, safari animals and dogs. She's been collecting them for years. They are very realistic looking. I was just looking at some of the stuff online. The animals are a lot less expensive than the castle/night stuff.

 

[ksl5f123]

I read one review where they thought that laser ride would be one of the more popular ones. I would think the coaster type rides-the dragon one, the dino one, flight school and test track would all be popular. I think the driving school will be too. My DD is somewhat timid. She loves Test Track and BTMRR. She's only done Everest once (when she was 5) and she's done Space Mnt several times but doesn't like it. She won't try Tower of Terror or Splash. She said she didn't want to do a few Lego rides when looking at still photos but after we watched videos on you tube she thinks she'll try them all but isn't sold on the Lego Test Track one yet.

My oldest likes BTMRR a lot, but that is the ONLY rollercoaster she rides. The dino one looks pretty tame although there looked to be ZERO theming on the youtube video, so she might skip that too. I don't think any of my kids will be interested in the dragon coaster, the flight school or the test track thing. It sounds like the laser ride and the driving school are our biggest concerns.

Have you seen the Schleich line of toys? They have the coolest stuff. The big items get pricey but the smaller things aren't "too" bad just that you want it all. My youngest is into those too. She doesn't have any of the castle stuff-she has farm animals, safari animals and dogs. She's been collecting them for years. They are very realistic looking. I was just looking at some of the stuff online. The animals are a lot less expensive than the castle/night stuff.

The Schleich stuff looks really authentic. I think DS3 might still be a little young right now, but I bet he will like it in a couple of years!

 

[ksl5f123]

I know you were all beginning to wonder if we were ever going to make it over to a park. Well, yes, we will go to the Magic Kingdom on Wednesday, March 21. Right now, the park hours for this day are 9 AM to 10 PM, but we all know how Disney loves to change the park hours. Last year, they extended the hours from 8 AM to 11 PM just one day before we left. The current plan assumes the current hours – I will adjust if the need arises.

Our current plan is to get up Wednesday morning and have some waffles for breakfast (reminder to self, pack the toaster). We will then take the boat over to the Magic Kingdom arriving for rope drop. When the park opens, we will make a beeline for Rapunzel. I didn't let DD6 see her in July because it was just too difficult, but I told her we would try again this trip. She did get to meet Rapunzel last March and it is one of her favorite memories.

Of course, back then they were doing the “dancing with the characters” thing and she got to hold Flynn's hand

But it really is Rapunzel she cares about

While we are meeting Rapunzel, I will probably send someone off to get fastpasses for Peter Pan.

Hopefully, we will make the first group with Rapunzel at 9:15 and be finishing up there at 9:30. If so, our next stop will be the Tomorrowland Speedway. The height requirement on this is very confusing. It says they must be 54” to drive alone and 32” to ride as a passenger. What if they want to drive with an adult in the car? I am pretty sure that both of my girls drove (with DH and I in the car) in July 2010 and neither one of them is 54” even now. Hopefully, all 3 kids will get to drive and DH, MIL, and FIL will ride with them (I am not allowed since I am pregnant). I think I will still wait in the queue with them because I really want pictures of DS3 driving!

From here, we will head over to Dumbo.

It drives me a little crazy that I won't know for a couple more weeks how the new queue is going to work out. Right now, all the predictive sites have my wait at about half an hour at this time of the day. I want to try the new ride, so we will just have to wait and see.

At this point, it should be about time to use our Peter Pan fastpass.

Using fastpasses in the window is going to be a little bit of a challenge. I really liked being able to use them late. It was just less stress. Oh well. I can follow a rule.

After Peter Pan, we will send someone off to get some Splash Mountain fastpasses while the rest of us head to it's a small world.

I am guessing that this will take us to about 11 AM. If not, we will ride the carousel.

or see Mickey's Philharmagic. By about 11:10 AM, we want to be leaving Fantasyland and heading over to our 11:30 ADR at Crystal Palace! This is the 3rd trip where we will be eating at CP at the first lunch seating. We just LOVE it!

After lunch, we will make a decision about the weather. If the weather is good and nobody is acting like they need a nap, we will head over to Tom Sawyer island. I have never been here and DH has great memories of playing here as a kid. We will have somebody leave early to go grab a fastpass for Buzz Lightyear.

Once we are done playing at Tom Sawyer island, we will head back and people who want to (probably only DH, MIL, and FIL) will go ride Splash Mountain while the rest of us head to the Tiki Room. I am VERY excited that it is back to the original show. “In the tiki, tiki, tiki, tiki room, in the tiki, tiki, tiki, tiki, tiki room, all the bird sing words and the flowers croon...”

We will then see how the wait looks at Aladdin's Magic carpets. If it is under 15 minutes, we will ride. We might also reverse the order and do Aladdin and then the Tiki Birds depending on the wait time at Aladdin.

Leaving Adventureland, we will make our way over to Tomorrowland. If it is time to use our Buzz Lightyear fastpass, we will do that and maybe grab another depending on the return time. Otherwise, we will ride the Carousel of Progress and visit the Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor.

At some point, we will try to work in a meet and greet for DS3 with Buzz Lightyear.

Throughout our time in Tomorrowland, I will be keeping an eye on my Lines app because we will still want to send someone over to get fastpasses for Winnie the Pooh before the return time gets to late. If we have to sacrifice a set of Buzz fastpasses to get Pooh, we will do that.

Hopefully, this will put us at about 4 PM. I am going to encourage DH to take DS3 and FIL and head out of the park. I think DS3 will need a break. Meanwhile, MIL, DD8, DD6 and I have a 4:10 ADR at Cinderella's Royal Table! Once she found out that Big Thunder Mountain was closed, DD8's only request for the trip was to eat with the princesses in the castle. Unfortunately, she didn't tell me this until the end of January. I have been trying every day to get a good time at CRT for all 7 of us, but so far, this is the ONLY ADR I have been able to find. I am going to keep trying, but for now this is the plan.

After our meal, we will probably head out of the park for a while. I actually can't guess who will want to go back for evening entertainment. On our past two trips, I had scheduled afternoon breaks only to have no kids nap during the break but at least one fall asleep during dinner when we returned. What a waste! So, I have not planned a break in the afternoon, but we will leave after our ADR and only those who want to will return.

Those who return will use the Winnie the Pooh fastpasses. DH and I both want to ride Haunted Mansion. It has been YEARS since we have been on this and I really want to see the new queue! Then we will watch MSEP and Wishes from where ever we happen to be. We have seen them enough that I don't feel the need to get a “prime” spot. From there, we will shop our way out of the park, grab a boat back to Fort Wilderness and look for some Mickey lights to guide our way home!

Up next, Epcot!

 

[ksl5f123]

On Thursday, March 22, we are going to Epcot. I LOVE Epcot! It might be my favorite park. What I don't love is touring plans for Epcot. There is never enough time for what I really want to do. Basically, what I really want to do is spend all day wandering around the World Showcase looking at all the little details, having snacks, and browsing the shops. I especially love this idea when it is the Flower and Garden Festival. I love my garden. In fact I discovered my first little crocus blooming yesterday!

However, that is not a good plan with small children. Kids want to DO something. I have unfortunately conditioned my family to look to me for the plan. This led to a minor meltdown on my part last March when everybody kept asking me every 2 minutes what we were going to do next, we were WAY behind schedule, I couldn't decide what to skip, and I ended up with a bunch of blurry pictures taken as we ran by everything interesting. Ugh! Anyway, I am trying really hard to come up with a plan that keeps the kids entertained and lets me relax. We'll see how that goes...

I have a secret hope that once the World Showcase opens I can ditch the children with MIL and FIL (and maybe DH) and just go exploring. I doubt it will work, but I think I am going to try. We have been to WDW 4 times in the last 20 months and there is really nothing new to see on the Nemo ride. My kids enjoy it. I think they could enjoy it without me.

Anyway, here is the current touring plan. On Wednesday night, I will put some oatmeal in the crockpot and we will wake up to baked oatmeal in the morning. After breakfast, we will head to Epcot arriving for rope drop. Someone will grab a fastpass for Soarin while the rest of us ride Spaceship Earth.

We will then head for the Land Pavilion where we will ride Living with the Land and then use our Soarin' fastpass.

It should now be about 10:30. We will probably head to Nemo and explore the Seas pavilion. I would love it if we could catch one of the animal feedings or talks from the workers. We might also stay for Turtle Talk.

By this time people will probably be hungry. We will likely head back to the Land to eat at Sunshine Seasons.

Personally, I really enjoyed the fish and chips from the England pavilion last July. It was fresh and hot and yummy! If I abandon my family in the Seas pavilion, this is where I will go!

After lunch, we will go to the Imagination pavilion and visit with Figment.

Finally, we will stop in Club Cool for a quick drink before heading into the World Showcase.

It will probably be about 1 PM at this point. I don't really have any plans for touring the World Showcase other than making sure DH and DS see Miyuki. The girls and I saw her last July and she was simply AMAZING!

I might even try to convince other adults to stay with the kids and repeat Futureworld attractions or take the kids to the play areas set up for the Flower and Garden festival while I wander – Can you tell I really want to do my own thing on this trip?

Our tour of the World Showcase will end in Italy with supper at 5:45 PM at Via Napoli. I have wanted to try this place since it opened and Tutto Italia being closed for refurbishment made this ADR possible.

Personally, I would then like to find a bench and people watch for a while until it was time for Illuminations. I doubt my family will make an open to close day, so at least some of us will leave after supper.

 

[TinksThree]

Seriously...I keep missing updates and it is bumming me out!

How fun to do a Hawaiian theme with Lilo and Stitch but what is a meatless chicken patty? Just curious how a chicken patty is meatless (I know it must be something vegetarian!). And the grilled pineapple w/ ice cream sounds so good! I need to try that one out sometime!

I have looked at the Medieval dinner and wondered if it was worthwhile. It sounds like fun!

On the new Fastpass rule...I am not a rule breaker but always gathered and used later if it fit our schedule better...because they allowed it. I think it will be more difficult to retrain but retrain I will! I am not overjoyed about the new rules though. I am with DD8 and disappointed on BTMRR being down.

Finally Epcot is my favorite park too!! And while I am loading up on a bus to head to WDW you will be enjoying it! I cannot wait to see the F&G festival! Sorcerer Mickey will be at the entrance!!

I have 19 days today!! So yours is much shorter! Can you feel the excitement!?

 

[pinkxray]

I'm with you on Epcot. I would love to have a day to just wander by myself. Snack, drink, and take in all the details of World Showcase. Next time we take a family trip, I am going to send DH and DD to the waterparks so that I can have a whole day to myself. There is so much to see and so little time. I hope you get a little alone time

 

[sherylcin]

I saw you post on another trip report and remembered you were doing a Pre-Trip so I came over to find it. Going back to read now. Can't believe it's coming up so fast!! I've never been much of a camper so can't wait to hear how it goes.

 

[ksl5f123]

Hey all! I am just popping in to say that I still exist. I have another update almost ready to go. Hopefully that will get posted later today. I really intended to give this PTR more attention, but selling/delivering/distrubuting almost 1200 boxes of Girl Scout cookies can really take up a lot of a person's time!

 

[ksl5f123]

OK, so much for getting back Friday night.

Here is the final day's plan:


Friday, March 23 will be our last Disney day. We are calling this our “resort hopping day”. We have never done anything like this before and I hope the kids think it is fun. We will wake up that morning and head over to a 9 AM ADR at Chef Mickey's. I enjoy Chef Mickey's and we have nowhere to be this day so we can take our time and enjoy the food and the characters.

We will then explore the Contemporary. Look in the gift shops, look out the windows. We haven't spent much time in this resort, so I don't know if there is anything else to do. Any suggestions?

From here we will make our way to the monorail and ride around to the Poly. We will walk out to the beach, look in the shops, look at all of the plants, search for hidden Mickeys, etc. There seem to be some great kids activities here, so we might see if any of those are going on. Any suggestions for things to do here?

Finally, we will complete the monorail resorts and head to the Grand Floridian. We will have lunch at Gasparilla Grill. We will then explore this resort. The shops here are really different from anywhere else on property – not that I can afford anything. Any suggestions here?

BTW, I know these aren't in the order that the monorail stops at them, but I know MIL would prefer to eat in the GF for lunch so this is the order that makes sense.

At this point, we will either return to Ft. Wilderness and go to the pool or head to DTD depending on what the kids most want to do.

We will end our resort hopping day with a 5 PM ADR at Boma in the Animal Kingdom Lodge. I will admit that I am a little nervous about this meal. I have a lot of food aversions when I am pregnant and add on that it is a Friday in Lent and we are a Catholic family (i.e. I can't just have some chicken) and I really don't know if I will enjoy this meal. But, I didn't pick it for me. This was DH's choice. After supper, we will explore this resort and then go out and do some animal watching.

Again, this evening is wide open. We might return to the Poly or Contemporary to watch the fireworks. We might head to the movie at Ft. Wilderness. Now that the schedule has been released (yeah!), I know they are showing The Lion King on this night. That's a good one!

And that will be all she wrote. We will get up the next morning, pack up the minivan, and spend 2 days driving home.

 

[ksl5f123]

Seriously...I keep missing updates and it is bumming me out!

It's OK. I keep forgetting to post so I guess we are even.

How fun to do a Hawaiian theme with Lilo and Stitch but what is a meatless chicken patty? Just curious how a chicken patty is meatless (I know it must be something vegetarian!). And the grilled pineapple w/ ice cream sounds so good! I need to try that one out sometime!

A meatless chicken patty is kinda like a veggie burger. It is a soy patty, breaded in this case, and flavored to remind you of chicken. The grilled pineapple sundaes were great!

I have looked at the Medieval dinner and wondered if it was worthwhile. It sounds like fun!

That one is entirely for DS3. I really hope he likes it.

On the new Fastpass rule...I am not a rule breaker but always gathered and used later if it fit our schedule better...because they allowed it. I think it will be more difficult to retrain but retrain I will! I am not overjoyed about the new rules though. I am with DD8 and disappointed on BTMRR being down.

Yeah, it doesn't really matter to me one way or the other, but it is just something that now I have to think about whereas I didn't before.

Finally Epcot is my favorite park too!! And while I am loading up on a bus to head to WDW you will be enjoying it! I cannot wait to see the F&G festival! Sorcerer Mickey will be at the entrance!!

I have 19 days today!! So yours is much shorter! Can you feel the excitement!?

The pictures of F&G are looking pretty good this year! I am really excited! We leave in 6 days!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[ksl5f123]

I'm with you on Epcot. I would love to have a day to just wander by myself. Snack, drink, and take in all the details of World Showcase. Next time we take a family trip, I am going to send DH and DD to the waterparks so that I can have a whole day to myself. There is so much to see and so little time. I hope you get a little alone time

Exactly! I see no need to rush from point A to point B in Epcot. I want to explore the details. I think your plan of sending DH and DD to a waterpark is brilliant!

 

[ksl5f123]

I saw you post on another trip report and remembered you were doing a Pre-Trip so I came over to find it. Going back to read now. Can't believe it's coming up so fast!! I've never been much of a camper so can't wait to hear how it goes.

Thanks for stopping by! I have neglected this PTR pretty badly. Oh well. Only 6 days to go!

 

[ksl5f123]

So, I already did the official post I was planning for tonight. Now, I have some rambling to add. First, as I mentioned in a couple of replys:

WE LEAVE IN 6 DAYS!!!!!

That has me both very excited and sort of panicked! We really need to do a practice run of packing the minivan. I really don't think everything is going to fit. If it doesn't, we will have to run out and buy one of those carriers that you put on top of your car. I hate doing that kind of stuff last minute because I can't get the best deal.

Speaking of not having time to get the best deal, our DVD player that the kids use in the car broke on our last trip. We got the girls tablet computers for Christmas thinking they would serve as the replacement – yeah...not going to work. So, we are going to have to go out tomorrow and buy a new portable DVD player.

Oh, and DH has informed me that he doesn't have any good walking shoes. So, we need to buy those tomorrow too. Ugh! Tomorrow is going to be an expensive day!

In other news, I have previously shown you the skirt I made for Legoland. Well, I finally finished the shirts today. Here is a picture of the whole outfit:

And a close-up of the shirt

I think these are going to look really cute in the parks.

Anybody want to play a guessing game? We find out on Wednesday if baby #4 is a or a . Any guesses?

Speaking of my expanding waistline, I am trying to decide if I can wear some of my shirts from last July to the parks. I am 20 weeks pregnant now, but not too big. I will have to post a couple of pictures of myself tomorrow. I can't decide if they look OK or if they look too tight. I'll just wear maternity shirts if I have to, but I have all these homemade Disney shirts I would love to wear.

Speaking of shirts, we packed all of the girl's clothes yesterday! They had the day off from school for teacher in-service day, so we decided on all of their outfits and packed everything! In doing so, we discovered that DD8 only had one swimsuit that still fit and DD6 didn't have any appropriate pajamas. Oops! Luckily, a quick trip to Walmart fixed both problems, but it made me happy that we started packing early. I would have been even more stressed if we learned this Thursday night! We also discovered that both girls outgrew some of the skirts that I made for them for last summer. They were both sad, but that is what happens. So, this trip some of the t-shirts will be worn with regular shorts or jeans. I was also surprised that most days they decided to match. I'm not sure how much longer they will want to do that, but I love it that they do now.

DD6 has also decided that she wants princess hair again, but chose to just let me do it rather than trying to squeeze in an appointment at BBB. Whew!

Oh, and I am a little disappointed that Dumbo now won't be open while we are there. I made a new touring plan, but it isn't too different from the last one. Basically, we just put it's a small world in where we had Dumbo before.

One last thing – have you seen the new Rapunzel's wedding collection at the Disneystore? Oh my, are those new dresses pretty! I would love to get DD6 the limited edition one – well, if money grew on trees - $150 for a dress is a little ridiculous. I really ought to stay off of the Disneystore website – way too much temptation.

OK, that is all for now.

Don't forget to spring forward!

 

[lovesdumbo]

Have you see this thread on LegoLand? Seems like lots of negative reviews but I'm still looking forward to going. It sounds like you'll be OK with more adult than kids.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2851738

If so, our next stop will be the Tomorrowland Speedway. The height requirement on this is very confusing. It says they must be 54” to drive alone and 32” to ride as a passenger. What if they want to drive with an adult in the car? I am pretty sure that both of my girls drove (with DH and I in the car) in July 2010 and neither one of them is 54” even now. Hopefully, all 3 kids will get to drive and DH, MIL, and FIL will ride with them (I am not allowed since I am pregnant). I think I will still wait in the queue with them because I really want pictures of DS3 driving!

You have to be 54" to drive alone without an adult. When those over 32" ride with an adult they can sit in any seat. I've been on more than once with my kids with them in the "drivers" seat and me reaching over to put my foot on the gas pedal.

Anyway, here is the current touring plan. On Wednesday night, I will put some oatmeal in the crockpot and we will wake up to baked oatmeal in the morning.

Baked oatmeal sounds yummy! How do you keep the animals from getting into it if you're tent camping?

We will then explore the Contemporary. Look in the gift shops, look out the windows. We haven't spent much time in this resort, so I don't know if there is anything else to do. Any suggestions?

BTW, I know these aren't in the order that the monorail stops at them, but I know MIL would prefer to eat in the GF for lunch so this is the order that makes sense.

We will end our resort hopping day with a 5 PM ADR at Boma in the Animal Kingdom Lodge. I will admit that I am a little nervous about this meal. I have a lot of food aversions when I am pregnant and add on that it is a Friday in Lent and we are a Catholic family (i.e. I can't just have some chicken) and I really don't know if I will enjoy this meal. But, I didn't pick it for me. This was DH's choice. After supper, we will explore this resort and then go out and do some animal watching.

At Contemporary they have a cool metal Mickey Head sculpture outside somewhere (I've never actually seen it) that might make for some cute photo ops.

That is the order of the monorail. I've never been to Gasperillas but have always read good reviews.

Boma has great soups and salads! I could make a meal out of those! Be sure to arrive early so you can spend some time seeing the animals before your ADR.

And a close-up of the shirt

LOVE your Lego shirt! I washed an ironed my fabric for DD's skirt. I am going to make her a mini head shirt and maybe shirts for the rest of us too.

Doens't it stink when kids grow? None of my DDs that I've made her fits-except a backpack. I had her try on shorts last weekend because I was afraid she didn't have anything that fit but she's all set for our trip.


Your trip is so close!

 

[TinksThree]

What a fun and relaxing last day! We did a resort hopping/monorail tour in 2010 and it was great! Sorry, though, that I can't assist with any helpful hints at the resorts. We usually just wander around!

We really liked Boma but then I had no food aversions and tend to not be too picky. From what I recall the choices were pretty extensive. That was in '09 though so the memory wains! I adore this resort though! After reading pinkxray's TR when they stayed here it is in my top 2 if I ever get to a deluxe! The animal guides are a great source of info too!

It is almost time for you trip!!! And tomorrow you will get big news! I guess a girl....50/50 chance, right?!

 

[TinksThree]

I forgot to add that Storybook Circus soft opened yesterday so maybe we will get lucky on our trips!