Labor Day Weekend, a labor of love?

[mom2shayleeandlogan]

Just found you PTR! We will be there sept.7-14th and hoping for good weather. We were there last aug and the lack of crowds made up for the heat

 

[dizneeat]

Hey, Oboedm..looks like we will be in WDW the same time. First week in September? I have never gone during this time of year. I am kinda worried about the heat and the hurricanes. What are your thoughts? Have you gone during this time of year before?

Actually, I think most of you who have posted on this thread are going during this time frame. Do any of you worry about the weather? I am a pale North westerner...

So it is done and here are the pics. I have been working long days, so really was hard for me to get any of it done. I had really hoped to make it more elaborate, but... time and energy were not in my favor. I did get Zoe to help.

This is what is under the entire calendar. If you look closely there is one image a week that is a disney character. I plan to make that a special day each week and give the girls a gift that will be trip related. I will post pics and descriptions of the gifts as I dole them out.

And, this up close at those last few days before we leave.

Don't worry about Hurricanes. We went through two of them at Disney in the years past. One was Hurricane Charlie where the eye hit WDW smack on, the other one was Fay I think 2 years ago.
Disney coped very well - lots of information and they relocated people if they were on ground floors or the campground. It was quite an experience but I did feel safe and Fay didn't worry me all that much after that - lots of rain but it made for empty parks!

Oh, and I just LOVE your countdown calendar. You are one gifted lady!

 

[oboedm]

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the calendar! Now I feel bad for my nephew! I just sent him paper to make a chain/link countdown! You are so much more creative!

I especially love the little Mickey in the corner. Perfect touch!

 

[chunkymonkey]

So it is done and here are the pics. I have been working long days, so really was hard for me to get any of it done. I had really hoped to make it more elaborate, but... time and energy were not in my favor. I did get Zoe to help

The calendar is really cool! Such a wonderful project! I think it makes countdown that much more special. When I have kids that is definitely something I want to do too! Great job!

 

[annmarieda]

I forgot to add that I won't blame you for the weather! Even if it is rainy, there's plenty of fun to be had!

Thank you!

 

[annmarieda]

Just found you PTR! We will be there sept.7-14th and hoping for good weather. We were there last aug and the lack of crowds made up for the heat

Thanks for joining in! You will be arriving just before we leave. I wish we were going just a bit later. I have never done MNSSHP and so this trip seems like a missed opportunity to do that. Oh well, there is always another fall, eh? Other people have wrote about the crowds being low. I hope so. We were there in February and it was pretty packed.

 

[annmarieda]

Don't worry about Hurricanes. We went through two of them at Disney in the years past. One was Hurricane Charlie where the eye hit WDW smack on, the other one was Fay I think 2 years ago.
Disney coped very well - lots of information and they relocated people if they were on ground floors or the campground. It was quite an experience but I did feel safe and Fay didn't worry me all that much after that - lots of rain but it made for empty parks!

Oh, and I just LOVE your countdown calendar. You are one gifted lady!

That is good to know. Dh worked with someone who was evacuated from one of the resorts and then just hung out the duration of their trip at the shelter. I think that is the kind of story that worries me. I mean...what good is fd if we can't go to the parks to enjoy the food?

Thanks for the compliment on the calendar. It is the first one I did. I really never thought of doing one until I read about other people doing them. In having so much time before this trip, I have had WAY too much time to plan. In most ways, that is a good thing....

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the calendar! Now I feel bad for my nephew! I just sent him paper to make a chain/link countdown! You are so much more creative!

I especially love the little Mickey in the corner. Perfect touch!

I think that a chain/link would be perfectly acceptable...and you should not feel bad. I feel bad because I had every intention of having Zoe help me with the entire project. She did help a bit here and there..but it was little things like erasing pencil marks, picking out ribbon, cutting ribbon...oh, and I even let her use the hammer to set the eyelet while I held the tool in place. (very quickly I found that to be a bad idea ) I think she is excited to tear off days, but really got bored with my idea of what the calendar would look like. Point to my rambling...I am sure that your nephew will have a greater sense of pride in completing the chain.

The calendar is really cool! Such a wonderful project! I think it makes countdown that much more special. When I have kids that is definitely something I want to do too! Great job!

I think it is a wonderful idea. I glean so much info from everyone. I wish I had joined these boards before our first Disney trip so that I could have done these things when my older ones were young. At least I have Zoe to enjoy these things with.

 

[flamestarrdust]

So it is done and here are the pics. I have been working long days, so really was hard for me to get any of it done. I had really hoped to make it more elaborate, but... time and energy were not in my favor. I did get Zoe to help.

I LOVE your calendar! It looks so great. What did you use to make the little images underneath and for the punch outs? Your idea of giving the girls gifts each week sounds so fun. Can't wait to hear more about the weekly gifts once you give them.

 

[flamestarrdust]

Just found you PTR! We will be there sept.7-14th and hoping for good weather. We were there last aug and the lack of crowds made up for the heat

When in August did you go? We are going August 21-28 and hoping for the low crowds you mentioned. Nevermind I see it in your signature.

 

[annmarieda]

I LOVE your calendar! It looks so great. What did you use to make the little images underneath and for the punch outs? Your idea of giving the girls gifts each week sounds so fun. Can't wait to hear more about the weekly gifts once you give them.

Thanks so much. I have a set of stamps that are Disney images. They are all the same size and shape (circle). Made that quick and easy...just ink and press. Zoe was able to help with that, so it was good. As for the punch out, I think it is a 2" scallop circle punch that I used for the circle and scallop scissors to edge a square I had cut out.

 

[annmarieda]

So I had to make a revision to my deadline list. I was so excited to get ridemax going I didn't even stop to think that it would still be a bit to far out to settle on days.

So here is the revised copy of my list...

7/18 have supplies purchased for countdown calendar. I know...a count down to show the count down. I am ridiculous

7/21(6wks from departure) have countdown calendar finished and start on that day!

7/25 have purchased items needed to make tip envelopes

7/28 (5wks from departure) complete and stuff tip envelopes.

8/1 have purchased and installed ridemax

8/4 ( 4wks from departure) purchased remaining items to complete planner.

8/8. settle on schedule for all days.

8/11 (3wks from departure) complete planner.

8/15 have purchased everything needed for personal bags to go on plane

8/18 (2wks before departure) have purchased everything needed for room (storage, decorations etc.).

8/22 have purchased everything needed for girls and I (snacks, clothing etc.).

8/25 (1wk before departure) have packed personal bags for the trip


8/29 (3days before departure) pick up mom from bus station

8/30 (2days before departure) have packed bags to be checked.

8/31 (1 DAY until departure) have packed carry on luggage.

9/1 DEPARTURE DAY !!!!!

 

[annmarieda]

7/25 have purchased items needed to make tip envelopes

So I have stuff...I just am not sure what I want to do. I might post a pic of a previous trips envelope. It is an actual envelope and I am leaning toward doing something more like a cash card. I only need 7 of them I should be able to crank those out in the next couple of days.

 

[annmarieda]

Oh yeah...and the girls tore off a day of the calendar with a character. So in keeping with my plan, they get a gift. Now, these are not meant to be big...just some little tid bit to keep us all excited. (like we need something to keep us excited about our trip ) Anyway, total cost this week was little more a few dollars..which is totally good for the budget!

What they got... Kira got a pair of panties with Mickey heads all over them. Zoe got a bubble wand necklace that is pink and has the Disney Princesses on the front. (matches all the other disney princess items we have found for this trip) I am sure you can picture what these items look like so I will skip the pic this time. (plus, I doubt Kira would appreciate a picture of her panties being posted )

 

[tinacaplan]

Super cute! That's funny that you mention the picture. My middle school's yearbooks just came out and someone's parents put in a picture of their kid on the toilet, when they were about three! How horrible!

Let us know what you think of Ridemax, as I also am probably going to use it for our upcoming trip.

 

[annmarieda]

Let us know what you think of Ridemax, as I also am probably going to use it for our upcoming trip.

I have used ridemax for years. I first started using it when we would go to DL. I have used it for all three of my WDW trips. I love it. I do not think it is for everyone though. The fact that in order for it to work you have time sensitive ride times... it isn't for everyone. This time, I plan to have back up plans. Not only will we be going at a slow pace (we found this to work better for us and give us more free time), but I am going to have contingency plans for if we dont get to the park on time. (arriving later than the start of your days plan can throw the whole day off and then the plan wont work quite right) I will be sure and post a sample of what I have set up for us once I get it.

 

[flamestarrdust]

So I had to make a revision to my deadline list. I was so excited to get ridemax going I didn't even stop to think that it would still be a bit to far out to settle on days.

So here is the revised copy of my list...

7/18 have supplies purchased for countdown calendar. I know...a count down to show the count down. I am ridiculous

7/21(6wks from departure) have countdown calendar finished and start on that day!

7/25 have purchased items needed to make tip envelopes

7/28 (5wks from departure) complete and stuff tip envelopes.

8/1 have purchased and installed ridemax

8/4 ( 4wks from departure) purchased remaining items to complete planner.

8/8. settle on schedule for all days.

8/11 (3wks from departure) complete planner.

8/15 have purchased everything needed for personal bags to go on plane

8/18 (2wks before departure) have purchased everything needed for room (storage, decorations etc.).

8/22 have purchased everything needed for girls and I (snacks, clothing etc.).

8/25 (1wk before departure) have packed personal bags for the trip


8/29 (3days before departure) pick up mom from bus station

8/30 (2days before departure) have packed bags to be checked.

8/31 (1 DAY until departure) have packed carry on luggage.

9/1 DEPARTURE DAY !!!!!

I love that you have created little deadlines for things. I need to do the same thing. I kinda have already but it is all in my head, not written down. I think I would have a better control of things if I did the same as you and set deadline for myself in writing/typing.

 

[Joyciemc]

Can you tell me more about Ridemax? Is it a personalized touring plan for the parks? Sounds interesting...

 

[annmarieda]

I love that you have created little deadlines for things. I need to do the same thing. I kinda have already but it is all in my head, not written down. I think I would have a better control of things if I did the same as you and set deadline for myself in writing/typing.

It seems to be helping me pass the time too. I can see how close we really are to going. It is kinda exciting!

Can you tell me more about Ridemax? Is it a personalized touring plan for the parks? Sounds interesting...

if you go to ridemax.com you can look at it more in depth. However, basically... it is a computer program. You decide what park you are going on what day. Then you set your arrival time. You choose options like "member in party will or will not run to get fast passes" and speed at which your party will walk. Then you pick times for breaks and duration. (it will put in some auto times unless you change it) We put in only the times we plan to eat at ADRS and the amount of time we think those will take us. Then you choose what attractions you want to see/do. You click set up schedule and it set is up...down to the minute and how long it should take you to walk between rides. It will show you wait time at the rides. (and they turn out to be pretty accurate) Usually, at that point you see that you have free time...those are the times we use for snacks or cs meals. If you have picked too many items for the day, it will tell you...and you have to remove/shuffle things around. If you don't want to run from one side of the park to the other...you have to 1. not put in that you will walk fast. and 2. not put in attractions from different areas. This works well for us. I like not having to think.."hmm, it doesn't look busy over there, maybe we should head there" or "what should we do today". We have a pretty clear picture of how our days will be laid out before we even go. As you can tell, I am a big "pro ridemax" person.

 

[annmarieda]

got some mail today!! It is the DME tags and vouchers. Kinda threw me though... inside the mickey head it has AK for the abbreviated area. I didn't know that Pop's location was in the AK area. I thought it was wild world of sports. At first, I thought they sent me the wrong tags. I could have sworn last time our tags had POR in the mickey head...I must have been wrong there too.

 

[tinacaplan]

got some mail today!! It is the DME tags and vouchers. Kinda threw me though... inside the mickey head it has AK for the abbreviated area. I didn't know that Pop's location was in the AK area. I thought it was wild world of sports. At first, I thought they sent me the wrong tags. I could have sworn last time our tags had POR in the mickey head...I must have been wrong there too.

YAY! Always an exciting day when you start to get all of your documents in the mail!