It's finally booked!! Our trip - June 27th - July 2nd!! PTR

[disneydarling07]

Hello!!! We are so excited to FINALLY be going back to Disney!!! It's been a VERY long 5 years and we cannot wait to be in our happy place once again!!

We are:

Wendy (Mom)
Tom ( Dad)
Jessica (20yo daughter)
Jason ( 15yo son)



We have been to Disney many times before and it just gets better every time we go. I love that my kids were raised on Disney and their excitement is just as enthusiastic as ours. The Magic never Dies!!!

We are starting off our trip with 2 days at Universal Studios and then heading to Disney for 5 more days.
We are flying out on a Friday night to get settled in at our US resort, have a nice dinner and then hit the ground running for 2 days of Harry Potter fun.

After that, we will be heading to Disney's Boardwalk Villas for 5 days! We have never stayed there before and are using our friend's DVC points. I love that we are able to stay at a resort that is new to us. Our goal is to eventually stay at every Disney resort at least once. Another one soon to be off the bucket list!



We are very new to the whole Lightning Lane and Genie+, so this will be a challenging visit for us, getting used to all the new things.
I am REALLY going to miss the Magical Express. That one breaks my heart....

We have booked our flight, hotel, park reservations, and most of our dining experiences. I am struggling to get us into Sci-Fi Diner this time. I love the character meals, and we are booked for Garden Grill and Tusker House. 2 more character meals off the bucket list!

We also LOVE any kind of scavenger hunt, so I have lists ready to go:
50 Golden statues
50 golden medallions
Every type of transportation
all of the original Opening Day attractions
Epcot topiaries for the Flower and Garden festival
and the famous "Walls of Disney" for photo ops








There are more pages to the lists, I just posted a few so you can see how my planner is set up.

As of right now, we are down to our last 30 days! The excitement is building quickly and I have so much to do!

The first plan is to keep building up the excitement and have Disney brought into our day - every day in a fun way.

Today is the start of our 30 day countdown, so today I made Mickey Brownies.



So happy to be able to have a story to tell!!

Stay tuned for more countdown fun!!!

Thanks for stopping by!!!

 

[disneydarling07]

Day 29 - We had Mickey pancakes for breakfast:



And I had some tins that I found in the dollar spot at Target



That I labeled for each park - these will be used to collect the Gold Medallions from our scavenger hunt. We will also be looking for more pressed pennies too.



Beef and veggie skewers are on the grill and then we will choose which Disney game to play tonight.

Thanks for stopping by!

 

[disneydarling07]

28 days to go!

Today was a fun day! My daughter and I went shopping and I scored big with these garden statues:



These fun Mickey lanterns:



These adorable succulent pots:



And all Seven of the Drawfs!!



For dinner I made Mickey shaped garlic potatoes:



Now if I can only figure out why my pictures are posting in all different directions...

Thanks for stopping by!

 

[disneydarling07]

A very busy day at work! I had just enough energy left to bake some Mickey sugar cookies.

I learned a bit more about the Genie+ - which is still confusing. I need to prioritize our ride choices and figure out what we want to do.

Still no luck with Sci-Fi Diner - holding on to hope!

Thanks for stopping by!!

 

[Axelrodb1]

Hi! Our trips nearly overlap, so I am excited to follow along and see what plans you and your family have made. I love all your themed snacks and treats, those potatoes look so good!

I just started a PTR and my pictures post however they want to also, while I can't offer a solution.. I can relate to the frustration!

 

[disneydarling07]

Itinerary:

June 24th -
Leave for Florida
Arrive at Universal Studios Dockside Inn via Mears
Hoping for dinner at Bubba Gump's.
Late dinner, chill at the pool, go to bed early.

June 25th -
Early entry into Universal Studios
Kids have fast passes for everything
Dad and I just chill out and enjoy what we can
Dinner at the Leaky Cauldron
Stay up as long as we can - close the park

June 26th -
Early entry into Islands of Adventure
Kids have fast passes for everything
Dad and I just chill out and enjoy what we can
Dinner at Three Broomsticks
Stay up as long as we can - close the park


June 27th -
Check out of Universal
Mears transport to Boardwalk Villas
Check out the resort - enjoy the pool
Head to Epcot
Late lunch at Garden Grill
Enjoy the Flower and Garden Festival
Dinner - undecided
Stay up as long as we can - close the park

June 28th -
Animal Kingdom - half day
Breakfast at Tusker House
Head back to the resort for a break / swim / nap
Epcot - finish up what we missed on previous day
Dinner at Coral Reef
Stay as long as we can - close the park

June 29th -
IT'S MAGIC KINGDOM DAY!!!
Lunch at Be Our Guest
DO EVERYTHING!!!
Head back to the resort for a break / swim / nap
Dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern
Stay as long as we can - close the park

June 30th -
Hollywood Studios
Oga's Cantina
DO EVERYTHING!!
Head back to the resort for a break / swim / nap
Fingers crossed for a lunch reservation at Sci-fi Diner (hoping for a walkup at this point)
Guys - hang out in Star Wars Land
Girls - character meet and greets
Dinner at Mama Melrose
Stay as long as we can - close the park

July 1st -
MAGIC KINGDOM DAY - AGAIN!!!
Breakfast at Steakhouse 71
Lunch at Casey's Corner
Head back to the resort for a break / swim / nap
Dinner at The Plaza
Stay as long as we can - close the park

July 2nd -
Check out day
Shopping day at Disney Springs
Head for home via Mears Transport

 

[disneydarling07]

Today was a busy day, so I have a few backups for our Mickey inspired foods. Today we had Mickey Mouse Ice Cream - vanilla ice cream with little chunks of Mickey shaped fudge. It tastes so much better than I expected - pricey, but worth it. I found this at our local FairPlay grocery store.


Today's planning consisted of booking all of our ground transportation. Doing lots of research and getting suggestions, I personally found it easier to just stick with a trusted name. I booked Mears Transport for everything.
Orlando Airport - Universal Studios
Universal Studios - Disney
Disney - Orlando Airport
The total was $280 for all. I'm honestly not sure where that falls in price point, but I'm just glad it's done.
One less IMPORTANT part of the puzzle solved!

For some pre-bedtime fun, the kids decided we were going to play Disney Clue. This is Jessica setting up the game.




I won the first round!
Then they twisted my arm to stay up a bit longer and play a new game called Disney Code Names. It's pretty fun and a bit challenging, but Jess and I were on one team and her boyfriend and Jason were on the other team. Girls won both games!!



Thanks for stopping by!!

 

[disneydarling07]

Another productive trip planning day!

I organized all of our trip info - dates, reservation times, confirmation numbers....
Now I need to fit it all into the travel binder.

Today, I also remembered to book our reservation at the parking garage. We drive over, park the car and the shuttle takes us to the airport. It's only a 15 minute drive, but it's always so much fun. We usually meet someone else on the shuttle heading for Disney. So fun to squeeze in our excitement in that short ride.



And today's Mickey treat is watermelon! I love these little cookie cutters!

Thanks for stopping by!!

 

[disneydarling07]

BUSY day today! Long day at work and then I took Jason shopping. He needed shoes and shorts, which we had a hard time finding. More shopping tomorrow...

The Mickey denim shorts I ordered from Hot Topic arrived today! And they fit really nicely. Love the deep pockets for my phone.



Being an avid scrapbooker, I did a little bit of online shopping today too. Scrap Your Trip is my favorite place to find custom Disney papers. They have a whole new line of goodies for the 50th and it's sooo pretty!!
I found an Etsy shop that does custom Disney stickers too. Now I just have to make sure I take enough pictures to justify buying all this stuff!

Here is today's Mickey treat - Mickey Goldfish crackers!



More printing and planning to set up for tomorrow!

Thanks for stopping by!

 

[tigerlilly]

OMG! You are absolutely the most awesome mom disney planner person ever!!! I used to think I was... alas my children live in So Cal now and DH and I will be embarking on a couple "anniversary" alone trip in September so my mom fun days are kind of over.

Truly everything you have planned looks great and I love the countdown. I may actually steal your scavenger hunt idea!!

Keep posting~ I look forward to the days!

 

[disneydarling07]

Quick post for today - so much to do before we leave!

I ordered some t-shirts for myself online and they arrived yesterday....and will be going back tomorrow. I can't stand that sizes run so differently between stores. These shirts are almost 2 sizes too small! Oh well...hoping I can get the right size in time!

Tonight, we had some steaks on the grill, some steamed broccoli and Mickey shaped biscuits!





Thanks for stopping by!

 

[disneydarling07]

22 days to go! I forgot to post yesterday!



And we had Mickey Meatloaf for dinner! Mountains of mashed potatoes with gallons of gravy and tons of green beans!

Still checking for a reservation for Sci-Fi - still no luck....

Hopefully I will have more to report tomorrow...

Thanks for stopping by!!

 

[disneydarling07]

OOPS!! Missed a day! Here we are with our Mickey Bars!! Gotta head to work - I'll post more later!

 

[tigerlilly]

Good luck with the Sci Fi reservations hope you get it (then you can write about it in a trip report and I can read it lol)

 

[disneydarling07]

Today I managed to find time (at work) to make a packing list, shopping list, last minute tasks to be done (need a sitter for Hubert the Tortoise), and spent some time on Pinterest looking at photo op ideas.

I've been reading some trip reports and have come to the conclusion that Genie+ may not be worth it. Now that we have to wait to purchase it until the day we are going to use it anyway, we will just wait until we get there and check out the crowds.

I am SO HAPPY that the Minnie Vans are coming back!!! They are not making trips to the airport (YET!) but I so hope we can do this at least once! We have a breakfast reservation at Steakhouse 71 at The Contemporary Resort and this would be the perfect way to get there. FINGERS CROSSED!!!

Today we are 19 days out!! Mickey Pineapple pieces! Dole Whips will be coming soon!




Thanks for stopping by!!

 

[Mskia]

Day 29 - We had Mickey pancakes for breakfast:

View attachment 672652

And I had some tins that I found in the dollar spot at Target

View attachment 672653

That I labeled for each park - these will be used to collect the Gold Medallions from our scavenger hunt. We will also be looking for more pressed pennies too.

View attachment 672654

Beef and veggie skewers are on the grill and then we will choose which Disney game to play tonight.

Thanks for stopping by!

I really love this idea!

 

[disneydarling07]

Day 18 - more Mickey ice cream!



I spent most of the day busy as hell at work trying to wrap up some projects so I don't have to worry about them while I'm off.
Things seem to be moving along smoothly....so far.

I made a list of lists that I need to keep track of. I broke down my scavenger hunts and things into notebooks for each park. Small pocket notebooks that I can keep in my bag. I will post pics of those later as I finish putting them together.

Everyone is set with their swimwear now. Today we will be putting daily outfits together just to make sure we have enough.

Treats are starting to get tricky, although I still have a few more ideas. This weekend should be fun!

Stay tuned as I gather some goodies and post more pics for our trip!

Fingers are starting to cramp being crossed for so long hoping for a Sci-Fi ressie...

Thanks for stopping by!

 

[disneydarling07]

Busy busy busy! so many things to get done before we leave!! Work has been insanely busy and we are trying to get work around the house done too.
So I missed a day of posting:



Not a Mickey shape but our local grocery store has lots of Donald Duck orange juice! And there is a Hidden Mickey challenge on each carton. So fun!!

Today is Day 16:



Mickey shaped chocolate chip cookies! YUM!!!

After a busy day of working on the house, I found a bit of time to sit and work on projects for the trip. I have a main notebook with all the fun scavenger hunts and games we are going to play.
Here, I broke the main book down into a smaller notebook for each park. Along with the tins I decorated, each set is in it's own ziplock bag to protect it.



These will fit nicely into whatever bag I plan on carrying that day - haven't gotten to that planning yet.

The notebooks also give me room to jot down a few highlights from each day for when I scrapbook the whole trip.

There will also be space to make notes for our next trip too.

Tomorrow, I REALLY HOPE to get some outfits planned - we never made it to the storage unit to get our luggage...ugh!!!!

Thanks for stopping by!!!

 

[disneydarling07]

15 days to go!!! Today's treat = Mickey Mouse Jelly Belly Jellybeans!

Another very busy day,, so not much vacation prep done today. We did manage to get to storage for our suitcases and realized we either tossed one due to age, lent it someone and never got it back, or we just lost it! I guess shopping for another one is now on the To-Do list!

Thanks for stopping by!!

 

[disneydarling07]

Wow! Did this get away from me!

When life kicks you in the butt, it kicks really hard!

I won't go into detail and try to focus on the most important part - planning our trip!

A quick trip to a few stores yesterday - we needed some snacks, luggage locks, ziplocks, a few other clothing items, first aid kit items and of course, a new pair of ears:





I have also added the park hours to my park notebooks, sorted out all my other ears, and found my Mousekeeping envelopes. Not sure how many (if any) will be used, but it's better to have them. If not for Mousekeeping, then probably for some awesome cast members along the way.


Last night, after a Father's Day brunch, a quick visit with my daughter to pick up the suitcases we needed, shopping and a quick dinner. it was time to break out a new Disney game.
This time it was the Haunted Mansion. It took quite a while to get the hang of this one, but once it all clicked, we really enjoyed it.






We are now 5 days out until we leave for our trip - 8 days until we get to Disney!! Single digit dance every day now!!!
I will be back later with today's update, snack of the day and more planning pics!

Thanks for stopping by!!