It's our "Last" Trip to WDW, so we're going DELUXE! *We're Back After 11 Days in WDW*

[cdotla]

I'm subbing. What are you dates?

Thanks for joining in! We will be in WDW up until Mother's Day, so it looks like we will miss you by a couple of weeks. We will warm it up for you!

 

[cdotla]

Our Last Trip before Disney...

Well it's official...the kids are on their Spring Break! Their last day of school was yesterday, so we kicked things off last night with a sleepover with one of my daughter's best friends. We actually watched Johnny Depp's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I wasn't expecting much, but it was a great movie!

This morning we took our last trip before our Disney vacation. The kids were up late with the movie and sleepover festivities, so I was nervous about our plan for an early departure. But everyone was out of bed at 5:30am, and we were on the road shortly after 7am!!! Not bad for the 1st day of Spring Break!

We took a long drive and headed north to a maple syrup tree farm and lodge where we enjoyed a breakfast of pancakes and pure Canadian maple syrup. Then we worked off our breakfasts by taking a hike to a sugar shack located deep in the woods and saw the tapping process to make the maple syrup. Before leaving, we enjoyed some Sugar on Snow!

A good time was had by all!

So with that adventure out of the way, we are now all set for our Countdown to Disney! I plan on making our official countdown calendar in the next few days. Excitement is definitely building and I am sure our trip is going to be here before we know it!

 

[klacey1]

Hi, I'm joining in! You are staying at two of my dream resorts--- the Poly and the Contemporary! Can't wait to follow along

 

[Charlefours]

Santa brought my 4 year old an American Girl "bitty baby" for Christmas. I wasn't willing to spend the amount for a "real" AG doll yet! I don't know about the Disney Dolls. Maybe I could get her one for the trip....

Amanda

My DD has a BittyBaby and an assortment of the furniture and clothing that goes with the doll. : She wants the BittyTwins too, which we are considering for the holidays. I think the My Disney Girl will be a good "test" doll for the more expensive AG dolls.

Sorry - I just went back to double check, and lo and behold, the doll pictured is in fact the Disney Girl Doll!

No problem!

Looks like you had a great trip! We head off to NC in just over a week which I am really looking forward to having the little trip before Disney.

 

[SoonerGirl]

Looks like a fun day! It seems funny to me to hear that your kids are on spring break and then to see how much snow you still have! My kids are on spring break this next week too - we've got temps in the 60's......

 

[PrincessInOz]

Love your photos of the snow!

Here is Australia, it's mid 70's and sunny. We've had a wet and hot summer and it's finally cooling down for autumn.

We have a 2 week break from school over Easter. We're not planning on getting away ... so I love reading about everyone else's getaways and living vicariously through them

 

[Meg1884]

Those pancakes look yummy! Yay for being on countdown for Disney!!!

 

[cdotla]

Hi, I'm joining in! You are staying at two of my dream resorts--- the Poly and the Contemporary! Can't wait to follow along

Thanks so much for joining in!

My DD has a BittyBaby and an assortment of the furniture and clothing that goes with the doll. : She wants the BittyTwins too, which we are considering for the holidays. I think the My Disney Girl will be a good "test" doll for the more expensive AG dolls.

Looks like you had a great trip! We head off to NC in just over a week which I am really looking forward to having the little trip before Disney.

That is a good idea. I agree the Disney Girl will be a good "test" doll. But it sounds like she is definitely on her way to a full-blown AGD with her enthusiasm so far for the Bitty's!

Yes, it is nice to have a slow paced, relaxed trip before Disney! Now that it is over, it is full steam ahead to Disney!

Looks like a fun day! It seems funny to me to hear that your kids are on spring break and then to see how much snow you still have! My kids are on spring break this next week too - we've got temps in the 60's......

No one was more shocked to see snow than us!!! We read about it the website, but did not believe it until we saw it. We have been "snowless" at home for weeks. While all through the northern and eastern US people were getting pounded these last few weeks, we have been staring out on our green (ok, brown) lawns.

Anyway, who knew that once we travelled north a few hours and climbed up into the mountains, lo and behold, there was snow!

 

[cdotla]

Love your photos of the snow!

Here is Australia, it's mid 70's and sunny. We've had a wet and hot summer and it's finally cooling down for autumn.

Sounds like perfect weather right now in Australia! I love Autumn...it's my favourite season!

Those pancakes look yummy! Yay for being on countdown for Disney!!!

Yes, the pancakes were fantastic! We even enjoyed wholewheat tea biscuits with maple butter that they also made right there. So yummy!

 

[DrMomof3]

I'm just not ready to pay AG prices!!!

Amanda

 

[carissanboys]

What a fun trip! My dad used to tell me about putting the maple sugar on the snow when he was a boy (my family is from Canada). How neat!

 

[eandesmom]

Joining in! I would absolutely love to visit PEI on of these days...sigh. Farthest east I've made it north of the border was Montreal.

I love that you "had" to turn it into an 11 day trip, I can very much relate to that, seems to be a common theme all of a sudden! The Contemporary is my youngests dream resort, we will need to stay there someday, hopefully at BLT.

Somehow, in the last year, I think my DH has converted on his own. I have promised our next big trip will not be Disney and that we will focus our trip savings plans on other big trips. However I have gotten him to agree that we need to buy DVC in the next year or two so we can facilitate both plans. It's a win-win!

You Dining plans look fabulous. I have not had the gospel brunch but we loved our lunch at HOB last year and the brunch gets amazing reviews, I think it would be perfect for mothers day!

Loved the "last" trip before Disney, that looked like a lot of fun!

On bags, I hear you. I bought a bagallini and have never used it, it just isn't quite right. I like the idea of the hipster but not how they look on me. That said I let DH carry a daypack (or it goes in a park locker) and I either skip a bag entirely, using cargo pockets on my capri's for a small card case and a lip gloss, or go for a very small bag. As our trip will be in summer and the capri's might be too hot I am trying to plan for a small bag. I like something I can feel very securely under my arm, more of a purse than what most would consider a park bag, but light.

I just bought this Maruca bag and I LOVE it! It weighs nothing. It's a perfect spring/summer bag in general and will be perfect for the parks and it holds quite a bit, or at least what I'll need it to hold! Now that my kids are older I really don't need to carry much, the poncho's, first aid kit and sunscreen are daypack items.

http://www.ebags.com/maruca_design/millie_lu/product_detail/index.cfm?modelid=108338

I bought it in the polo black and it truly matches everything.

I also have a Vera backsack in Cambridge that will work for the days I feel I need to carry more. I'll be test driving both on our California Adventure trip.

 

[cdotla]

I'm just not ready to pay AG prices!!!

What a fun trip! My dad used to tell me about putting the maple sugar on the snow when he was a boy (my family is from Canada). How neat!

That sugar on snow is soooo good!

Joining in! I would absolutely love to visit PEI on of these days...sigh.

The Contemporary is my youngests dream resort, we will need to stay there someday, hopefully at BLT.

Somehow, in the last year, I think my DH has converted on his own.

You Dining plans look fabulous. I have not had the gospel brunch but we loved our lunch at HOB last year and the brunch gets amazing reviews, I think it would be perfect for mothers day!

On bags, I hear you. I bought a bagallini and have never used it, it just isn't quite right. I like the idea of the hipster but not how they look on me. I also have a Vera backsack in Cambridge that will work for the days I feel I need to carry more. I'll be test driving both on our California Adventure trip.

Thanks for stopping by and

Definitely put PEI on the list of places to visit one day - you won't regret it!

My daughter really loves the Contemporary too! My son keeps staying for some reason that he wants to stay at the "New" Contemporary -i.e. BLT. I have no idea why. He hasn't even seen it in person. I think it is just the concept of the latest and greatest. Hopefully he will be satisfied with our MK view from the Contemporary our 1st nite.

Good for you for your DH catching the Disney bug. I am hoping mine will too during this trip!

I also can't wait to try the Gospel Brunch!

And I am really anxious to hear how you make out with your Vera on your California trip!

 

[eandesmom]

:r

And I am really anxious to hear how you make out with your Vera on your California trip!

Well I also bought a Maruca Millie Liu which I am completely in love with. I've used it constantly since it arrived on Thursday! I think I'll be using that for all non park activity and then vera for the 2 park days but we will see. If I test drive Vera on a park day and still like Millie better, it will be Millie.

I have another Disney Couture Tink Barrell bag that I'm taking to FL.

 

[cdotla]

Last Shopping Trip until Disney and the Quest for Comfortable Princess Shoes...

On Wednesday (St. Patty's Day) I am off for 4 days to Atlanta. While the trip is for business, I am taking advantage of the ability to do some shopping while I am there.

While I don't have to be at the hotel until suppertime on Wednesday, I decided to hop on an early flight (5:40am!) in order to get in some shopping time.

I have been invited to a Crewcuts Trunk show in Atlanta which I will be hitting first thing in the morning after I arrive. Then onto Phipps Plaza and, time permitting, Perimeter Mall.

I have also done my usual trick and mailed a bunch of online orders to my Hotel. This saves so much time and effort when there is precious little time to shop.

One of those orders is from Target for some new Princess shoes for Katie for the bargain basement price of $14.99!

I also got her this pair for $9.08!

While Katie loves to wear these type of shoes with her Princess dresses and Disney customs, we have made the mistake on past trips of not breaking in the shoes before the trip. This time, I will be getting her to wear both pairs with socks around the house before we leave. Whichever pair ends up being the most comfortable will be the pair we end up taking on our trip.

The other really great thing I discovered for our upcoming trip is these:

I complained for years about how no one seemed to make these for young girls. And finally I happened to find these at Norstroms!!! Oh happy day! I love that store to begin with, but I literally wanted to dance when I discovered these! I ordered 3 packages (3 pairs in a pack) and had them shipped to my Mom's hotel in Hawaii last month. She brought them home for us and they are already packed and ready to go. Say goodbye to blisters and hello to comfortable Princess shoes for Katie! Yay!

To round out Katie's shoe order, I also got her these fake Crocs from Target for $8! Last year she barely wore her real Crocs, so I wasn't going to buy them again for that reason. But I couldn't resist this price, even if she only wears them to the pool a couple times and a couple of time at the Lake for paddling lessons this summer. She definitely can't wear them walking in the parks as she will get blisters that way, and I put my foot down when it comes to letting family members wear socks with their Crocs!

Because of the great sales on shoes at Target right now, I actually ordered some shoes for myself. I usually don't skimp on my shoes (or the shoes I buy the kids), but these prices were too tempting! And all of the shoes got good customer reviews on the website.

I picked these ones up for me for $19.99:

On top of that, I received 50% off the price of the 2 lowest priced shoes in our order. So all in all, terrific deals!

I have a bunch of other great things I picked up for the trip which I will report on shortly.

 

[cdotla]

Well I also bought a Maruca Millie Liu which I am completely in love with. I've used it constantly since it arrived on Thursday! I think I'll be using that for all non park activity and then vera for the 2 park days but we will see. If I test drive Vera on a park day and still like Millie better, it will be Millie.

I have another Disney Couture Tink Barrell bag that I'm taking to FL.

Hmmm....I have never heard of Maruca Millie Liu. You will have to post pics!

 

[DrMomof3]

I was just saying that my daughter needs some non-sneaker shoes because she's outgrowing the ones she has. Those Target ones are awesome!!!

Amanda

 

[Charlefours]

I agree DD seems to be on her way to an AG love affair Cute shoes!! Never have seen those little socks before for little girls. I may have to get some for my DD. Of course, she will live in her Keens for the most part while we are there but she will have her flip flops, sandals and perhaps another "princess" pair if needed.

Is that all the shopping you have left to do?

 

[PNO4TE]

It looks like you had a fun Spring Break trip this weekend! And I am caught up on your PTR. Our younger DD and her best friend will be there your last weekend too. I think it is a perfect week for you all to take your final WDW trip.

 

[kschafer]

Forgive me if I sound dense...is it super expensive to ship to Canada? I was confused by the comments about shipping to hotels

I love looking at shoes but have unfortunate feet that don't fit in many shoes (very square shape) and don't look pretty in many others. I'm afraid I am stuck with "sturdy" work shoes, tennis shoes and tevas most of the time, no cute shoes for these feet.

I'm getting a kick out of you "last" reports