Let the planning begin! Our 2 week cruise & park vacation extravaganza

[live4christp1]

This is my rough draft of plans. Still waiting for the May & June park hours to post so I can finalize.

Monday May 25th - Heading to Florida. Arrive at SOG for a 3 night stay.

Tuesday May 26th - Disney Hollywood Studios day

Wednesday May 27th - Celebrating my birthday in the Magic Kingdom. Plan to take them up on the fast pass offer for our family as we will already have multi day tickets. Might change my mind pending reviews and feed back I find here on the DIS once the promotion has officially started.

Thursday May 28th - check out of SOG and head off to board the Disney Wonder for our 3 night cruise. This is our first ever cruise and we are super excited. Hope to be on board about 12:30 so we can enjoy the pool, etc. before we leave the port.

Friday May 29th - Nassau day - not planning any excursions, just going to get off and explore. Maybe walk over to the pirate museum and tour it.

Saturday May 30th - Castaway Cay day - fun on the beach!!!!

Sunday May 31st - Return to port . Head back to Kissimee to check in at Westgate for a 7 night stay. Hang out at resort. Get groceries etc.

Monday June 1st - Hang out at resort or do Sea World or Busch Gardens. Haven't decided yet.

Tuesday June 2nd - Animal Kingdom

Wednesday June 3rd - Epcot

Thursday June 4th - Free day

Friday June 5th - Magic Kingdom

Saturday June 6th - Disney Hollywood Studios for Star Wars Weekend (our 2nd trip to SWW)

Sunday - Time to head home

 

[live4christp1]

This will be our 6th annual trip to WDW and 1st ever cruise! This will also be our longest ever family vacation. Last year we did a 10 day trip to the World with a day at Busch Gardens. This year we have 2 weeks set aside .

The cast:

Myself - Hi, I'm Cristy, self proclaimed Disneyaholic. I love, love, love planning Disney vacations! (or vacations in generally just get more excited about Disney. For months I'd been eyeballing the Disney Cruise for May 28th, with hopes that I could work it in our trip but the price just wasn't right. So I told DH, "for Christmas I want the deposit on a Disney cruise". Not really thinking the price would come down enough that I would actually click the button and book it. Well, low and behold, out comes a "special, first time ever" offer for Disney Cruise line.....kids sail free. So we got a great deal on a cruise and I got my Christmas wish. The hard part was keeping it a secret until Christmas morning.

DH - (Keith) Also loves our annual WDW vacation but likes to leave the planning to me. I try to get him to sit down and talk about it and have some input into what he might like to do and he just sort of gets this glazed glassy eye expression. He doesn't get that half the fun is in the planning! Oh well, he's content to go along with my game plan and that's fine with me. He always points people in my direction when they mention taking a trip to WDW.

DS - (Micah) DS will be 11 on this trip and excited that we are going on the cruise while he can still go to the kids club. He has been on every ride at WDW except for the Tower of Terror and he has stated that he will ride it with me this year. (Last year I rode alone) He is our Star Wars fanatic......and boy did he have a blast last year at SWW! He took part in the Padawan Mind Challenge and made it to the final 3 before they brought all the other contestants back up for the final question and gave them all a prize.

DD - (Alicia) DD will be 6 on this trip. She is getting taller and I have hopes of getting her on some more rides but that might not happen. She is a self proclaimed Princess (Cinderella to be exact). She wants to wear her princess dress every day and still doesn't see why she would need real clothes. She cried last night when we were talking about going on the cruise ship.....she said she was afraid and didn't want to go. So, my hopes of getting her on more rides are swiftly flying away. Once convinced that the cruise ship would be okay.....she said that she was going to the princess kids club, not the boys kids club.

 

[live4christp1]

Just saw the Armed Forces Salute deal for Disney = big savings $$$$ for us (over $500 to be exact off ticket price)! Doing the happy dance!!!!

 

[live4christp1]

Okay, I'll admit it, "I am obsessed"!

It is just January and my head swims with all the information and planning and excitement. Our trip needs to hurry and get here!!!!!

More details:

May 25th leave very early AM from Tennessee and drive around 8 hours. We should be at Shades of Green by 1:00/1:30ish. Go ahead and check in even if our room isn't ready. Plan to pack the kids swim suits in a small bag so we can go on over to the pool and let them play around for a while. Just relax and enjoy being on vacation. Grab a light dinner at Shades of Green after our pool time and getting cleaned up. Then we plan to head of to Fort Wilderness for the campfire and movie time. This will be a first for us.

I am so excited about all the firsts I am planning for this trip. Isn't it amazing that no matter how many trips to Disney there seems to always be something new or something that you've never gotten around to doing to look forward too. It's magical . People ask me over and over why we keep going back to the same place year after year (we do visit other places to) and it's hard to explain.....but there is just no other place like it.

May 26th - I guess our plan has changed from Sea World to Busch Gardens. DH actually did have some input on this. I was planning Sea World as we will be driving to the port on the 28th and thought, well, we will just do Sea World this year, it's closer and didn't know if we wanted to make an hour drive to Busch Gardens and back just before going on our cruise. Also, Sea World is open until 10:00 PM and Busch Gardens is only open until 7:00. But DH said he liked Busch Gardens better so if he is going to offer some input I'm happy to change plans. Still thinking of something to do at Busch Gardens that would be a first.....I know there are lots because we didn't come anywhere near doing everything last year.

Busch Gardens might work to my advantage though as that would put us back to SOG earlier than Sea World so no one has an excuse for being tired the next morning. Will see if I can get them all up and off early in the morning to the MK gate well before park opening. Wouldn't it be great to get picked to open the park on my birthday!

May 27th - Yeah, it's my birthday and we are celebrating at the Magic Kingdom. After reading about the FP and talking to DH I think I'm going with the fun card and look for a purse or something. This year I have decided that I need to try a Dole Whip at the MK (this will be a first) and of course we need to see Tink and the fairies. Looking at menus and trying to decide something different to have. We always enjoy Cosmic Ray's for our evening meal though. Tomorrowland just looks so cool after dark and the kids love to sit up front and watch Sonny (I hope that's right). This will be a late night staying until park close.

Really wish Disney would post the May hours so I could be absolutely sure of how I want the trip to play out. So please be advised that all plans are subject to change pending the arrival of May/June hours.

 

[live4christp1]

DH just shakes his head at my obsession. Went home the other day and looked at him and said, "guess what?" He replied with, "What?" To which I said, "I just want you to know, I have our Florida vacations planned for the next 3 years."



So do you all agree? Am I obsessed or what?

Told him that since we were doing the cruise and all, I wasn't planning for any character meals on this trip. But in 2010 we will definately be doing Cinderella's Castle for breakfast. Then in 2011 when DD is a little bigger I want to do Discovery Cove (sorry, not Disney but will plan a long enough trip to get plenty of WDW time in too). Looking at the excursions for the cruise, I know that DS would love to do the dolphin encounter but then looking at the Discovery Cove and what you get with it......(the first time I looked I thought wow! to expensive.....but then when I read it was all inclusive with meals, snacks and you get a 7 day pass to Sea World or Busch Gardens.....now that is a good deal!)

 

[live4christp1]

Yeah, May hours. Still need June.

 

[live4christp1]

So today I paid off our cruise!!!!! Now we are getting really excited. Rooms at SOG paid for. Week at Westgate taken care of.

We are 93 days out from our cruise so we have a few more days before we can prebook our shore excursions. Think we are just going to do our own thing in Nassau......and probably DH & DS are going to do the stingray thing at Castaway Cay, so not a lot to book but I love to plan.

 

[live4christp1]

75 days and counting!!!!

 

[live4christp1]

So I'm busy planning away our days and I keep changing my mind....what to do?????

So as of today here's the game plan:

May 25 - drive down, check in SOG, eat, swim, go to campfire/movie at Fort Wilderness

May 26 - Hollywood Studios - all day - see Fantasmic

May 27 - Still my birthday - all day at the Magic Kingdom - see Wishes

May 28 - head to our cruise

May 29 - Nassau - pirate museum, shopping

May 30 - Castaway Cay - Stingray encounter

May 31 - back to port - check in at Westgate for one week

June 1 - Undecided - probably Magic Kingdom again but may be off day

June 2 - Animal Kingdom - all day

June 3 - Epcot - all day

June 4 - off day - hang out at resort

June 5 - Busch Gardens

June 6 - Hollywood Studios - Star Wars Weekend

June 7 - head for home

Hopefully other than the decision for the one Monday this is my final draft.

 

[live4christp1]

So what else is there to do when waiting for your trip date to finally roll around? Start dreaming up another trip.

Booking free dining for September.

 

[live4christp1]

As we are quickly approaching our vacations it's time to take a look and see what I've gotten done and what still needs to be done.

Got our room assignment for the cruise and round out we got an upgrade - booked catagory 12, got a 9 . The magic is already working.

Our cruise documents have arrived.

Got our gifts for the fish extender exchange.

Still need to make a fish extender for the door.

Printed our transfers for shirts and they look great!!!!!!

Got the shirts and they are washed and dried. Just need to iron them and apply transfers.

Magnet graphics all done, saved and ready to print.

Magnetic paper arrived yesterday so I guess I know what I'm doing this weekend.

Shades of Green booked and paid for.

Westgate Town Center confirmation came. Paid in full.

Have been buying things here and there for the trip, sun screen, bonine, dramamine, goggles, pocket wipes (nice for cleaning up messy mickey bar faces).

Still need to get some ponchos and other odds and ends.

 

[live4christp1]

We are down to 1 week!!!!!

Was very busy this weekend. Running around trying to find last minute odds and ends. Plus DD has K5 graduation this Tuesday and they told us Friday they needed to wear either a white, red, or blue dress. DD wants white....so looked and looked for white dress to no avail. Why don't they tell us these things several weeks in advance????? There were all kinds of white dresses at Easter.

Still have some things to do and get. I've yet to make my Fish Extender. I have all the gifts done and packaged and bagged.

Have made lots of tshirts for the kids, magnets, and thank you cards for CMs.

Have two tubes of pressed penny money ready.

DH's transmission went out last week, had to take a chunk of vacation money to pay toward that so this week it's work like mad for overtime to replace part of if.



We have been trying to decide if we want to add the water parks and more for $25 to our military special tickets. Part of me says yes, that is a great deal and might not see it again.......almost 1/2 off the regular price of one day admission to Disney Quest or a water park. Then part of me says no, lets just have a few days to enjoy the resort.......seems like we don't ever have much time to do that. Still undecided.

Any opinions on the above matter are greatly appreciated. Let me know, what would you do?

 

[shordiebecka]

Hey! So i just stumbled upon your PTR, a week before you go! I wish i was having 2 weeks of Disney Fun, but alas, my 10 days is coming soon.

I would totally add the water park fun and more! The water parks are a great 1/2 day trip- on a free day, just go over, spend some time there, then go back! Can you add it once you get down there?

Things I want to know: what is a fish extender? are you eating anywhere special?

 

[live4christp1]

Hey! So i just stumbled upon your PTR, a week before you go! I wish i was having 2 weeks of Disney Fun, but alas, my 10 days is coming soon.

I would totally add the water park fun and more! The water parks are a great 1/2 day trip- on a free day, just go over, spend some time there, then go back! Can you add it once you get down there?

Things I want to know: what is a fish extender? are you eating anywhere special?

Fish extender is for our cruise. It hangs on the door and DIS members sign up to participate and you leave little gifts in each others Fish Extender. We have 12 rooms of DISers on our 3 night cruise signed up, plus several more just planning to meet at the Mickey pool. We aren't doing any character meals this year as it is such a big trip. We usually only do one per trip. Don't like to use all our park time sitting at a table and the excitment at a character meal usually doesn't result in to much food going into my kids stomachs. Now I do have my list of want toos if we do the Free Dining special!

When is your trip scheduled? We did 10 days last year. If I hadn't gotten such a great deal on the cruise that's what ours would probably be this year. We drive though so 2 days are basically just drive days there and back.

Can't wait until next Monday. By this time we should be getting close to Shades of Green!