Look Out Mickey-Here Come the Princesses!!!

[brandijo5]

Hi,

I thought long and hard about writing this pre trip report because I thought no one would want to read it. But then I realized I enjoy reading other people's pre trip and trip reports and maybe someone might enjoy reading mine.

I am Brandi, a 33 year old RN, married to Kevin 35. We've been together 7 1/2 years and married for 5 1/2. We have two beautiful daughters, Ava 2 and Alice 10 months. (And no she wasn't named after Alice in Wonderland she wasn't really named after anyone, DH just loved the name. We kept it a secret until she was born, at which point my mom started crying because her grandmother's name was Alice!!)

We will heading to the World November 11-18. This trip was originally an extended family trip, but due to finances and work schedules the extended family is now arriving November 15 and leaving on the 18th when we do. The family coming is DH's mom and dad, DH's brother, sis in law, and three nephews 5, 4, 2.

DH and I spent our honeymoon in 07 at the World. Then we stayed at POR and loved it. This time, we are staying at AOA in a Little Mermaid room unless the pin gods smile on me and we receive an amazing offer for WL. DH knows that's my dream resort, and with the extended family all staying in the campground, WL would be perfect. But Princess Ava is really into the Little Mermaid right now, so the room would be perfect for her.

I have my week planned out and all my ADR's made just in case free dining is announced. If FD isn't announced, I will keep a few TS ADR's and roll with CS the rest of the time. Please feel free to critique this and I am always tweaking and trying to improve.

11/11 - We arrive at the World and have dinner at O'Hana's. I'm also hoping that we can watch Wishes from the Poly beach this night.

11/12 - EPCOT day- planned a late BF with the Princesses at Akershus and hope to do pick a pearl in Japan with my Princesses. Planning on a CS at either Katsura or Sunshine Seasons.

11/13 - 1st MK day - Planning on Be Our Guest for CS lunch and Chef Mickey's for dinner. Got Pecos Bill as a back up just in case BOG isn't open yet.

11/14 - DHS - Planning on Pizza Planet CS for lunch and Mama Melrose for dinner. My dinner ressie is at 4:35, which initially I wasn't thriiled with. I tried to link it to a Fantasmic dinner package, but the latest available they had was 2:30, which I'm thinking is gonna fall right around the girl's nap time, so I declined. However, I'm now thinking that the ADR may be perfect to allow us to eat and then head over to Fantasmic without feeling rushed.

11/15 - no park planned this day. Hoping to see some animals at AKL, and then a late BF at Boma. Maybe we'll hit DTD when the extended family arrives. Hoping also to squeeze in a trip to Beaches and Cream for a Kitchen Sink with the family.

11/16 - AK - Got Yak and Yeti planned for dinner at 5. Will busses be running after we are done eating, or do we need to have a backup plan to get back to our resort? Planning on Flame Tree BBQ for lunch.

11/17 - 2nd day at MK - Got dinner planned at 1900 Park Fare. Planning lunch at either BOG again, Pecos Bill, or Cosmic Ray's. Want to try and eat BF at Kona, but also want to spend as much time with the family today as we can. They are only going to be with us at AK and this MK day, and they won't have the dining plan, so the parks are all we are gonna be able to do with them.

I'm also working on a planning binder, which I will post pics of when I'm done.

Hope you enjoy my PTR!!!!

 

[disjenne]

Following along!!

 

[brandijo5]

So it's been a busy couple of weeks. Work has been super crazy and we have been working some long hours. DH had his 36th birthday Tuesday, and today is Father's Day.

On the Disney front, I wasn't happy with Mama Melrose as I keep reading horrible reviews. I made DH look at the menu's (which I had been begging him to do before I made the ADR's) and his exact words were, "What kind of Italian restaurant doesn't serve spaghetti and meatballs?" So with that, our reservation was changed to Sci-Fi Dine In. I was hesitant to book this because Ava is having a bout right now of monsters getting her. I was afraid, even though it's probably mild, of Ava having nightmares of the horror clips. However, I have been assured that the clips are short and she could easily be distracted from the movie screen.

My next dilemma is my AK day. I originally have Yak and Yeti, scheduled for dinner there, and we're okay with that. However, I'm hearing amazing things about Tusker House for breakfast, and I'm tempted to change for two reasons. Number one, I'm not sure we can spend a whole day here and I don't want to have to go all the way back to AK after naps just to eat dinner. I'm also still not sure busses will run after park closing to get us back to our resort.

Number two, the extended family will be here and they will have to do something for dinner. I've tried talking to them about dining plans, and all they'll say is, "We'll figure it out".

The problem is also going to be how I explain to my three nephews that my kids are going to be able to do things and get things they won't. Their parents are going on a very limited budget. DH and I are of the opinion this is vacation and, especially with us being on DDP, if the girls want an ice cream bar or rice krispy treat, we will probably get them one.

Anyway, just a little update. Happy Father's Day to all the dad's out there!!!

 

[brandijo5]

Sorry

 

[brandijo5]

Another litte update...

Nothing really new to report on the Disney front. No FD for us yet, I'm anxiously awaiting the announcement for the general public. I have yet to make a payment on the balance, but once I get FD I will probably pay the whole thing off!!!

On the home front, I've been busy making DD1's birthday invites. Her birthday is July 21, which is a Saturday this year!!! We are doing her birthday in cupcakes, probably because I spent long hours drooling over the DIS and reading all the amazing things about Disney's cupcakes.

First of all, this is what the precious birthday girl looks like,

This is what her birthday invites look like,

Also, since I had the cricut out and a few minutes to play around, I started working on the planning binder. I've been making pages in word with iteneraries. This is the front of the binder which is a planner I found on Target's clearance aisle. I got it for like $4, which I thought was very odd since the planning pages in it were able to be customized to whatever date you wished.

I really didn't want pink, but I didn't like the black ones they had in stock and I certainly didn't want to pay $25 for one!!

Side view

Inside view

I plan to have a "cover page" with an index tab

I'll post more as I work on it!!!

Happy Planning!!!!

 

[BearcatsFan]

The planning binder looks awesome so far!

I'll be reading ...

 

[disjenne]

Love the binder!

 

[brandijo5]

Ok so I've caught the change-my-ADR's-itis from Mommyof3princesses27 and I've added the Tusker House breakfast to our AK day at 8. I'm not sure we can spend a whole day at AK and if we are done by the time the girls are ready for a nap I don't want to have to go all the way back to AK for dinner.

 

[emksmama]

I just started my first pre trip report and thought I'd check yours out! Love the planning binder...I wish I were that organized, I have a steno notebook I've been writing things in, but nothing as pretty as that!

 

[vleeth]

I'm reading along too. BTW, I live in St Amant.

 

[DalmationGal29]

Subbing! Your plans look great and the binder is precious!

We will be there the same time, arriving on the 11th and departing the 16th though! We chose All-Star Movies since my DD5 is all about the Dalmations!

 

[brandijo5]

I'm so sorry that I haven't updated in a while, work has been madness, and my precious little angel turned 1 yesterday!!! When I wasn't working, I was busy planning her party. Also, I'm thrilled to see all the peeps following along!!!

On the Disney front, I GOT FREE DINING!!!! I called very early on July 9, my dear grandmother's birthday, and since I have a Disney Visa, voila!!!!

Originally, I we were staying at a LM room at AOA, which was excluded from this promotion. I thought about upgrading to a suite, but then decided by the time I upgraded to a suite, and then upgraded to regular dining, it'd be cheaper to upgrade to a moderate. So I got a royal room at POR!!! Apparently I got the last one available, as several people her on the DIS have commented that there were no royal rooms available when they tried.

I can not wait to see the look on both my daughter's faces when we get to our rooms!!!

 

[BearcatsFan]

Oooh congrats on the FD and the Royal room - how exciting!

Happy Birthday to your little one, also ... they grow up so fast, huh?

 

[Nemo32]

Love the binder! So crafty! Ready to read along

 

[brandijo5]

So all is pretty quiet on the Disney front. I have everything planned out to a tee, so what's left to do? Like a true DISer, second guess all my decisions. I am having the hardest time trying to decide if I want to keep Kona the same morning we do MK and Chef Mickey's for dinner. The problem is that I want to try BOG for CS this day if it is open. I feel like a heavy breakfast, lunch and dinner will be too much.

So I got a ressie for Kona on our down day, Thursday, which is also the day I had Boma scheduled for a late breakfast. I figured we could sleep in, have a late breakfast, maybe check out some of the animals at AKL, then hit DTD and maybe the resort pool.

I really want to keep Boma, but I really want to try Kona. If I keep Boma on Thursday and Kona on Tuesday, our MK day, then I'll have to pay for Kona out of pocket, which isn't a problem at all. However, if I cancel Boma and move Kona to Thursday, I won't have to pay for Kona.

And DH, God love him, is NO help at all. When I ask him what he thinks, he says, "How am I supposed to know what I'll want to eat three months from now?" And to be honest, he's got a point. I really wish Disney would leave some tables open for those of us who want to wing it. I remember our last trip, we were defined by our ADR's and I guess the QSDP gives you more flexability, but I like to have a nice sit down meal and I know DH would eat nothing but chicken fingers and hamburgers and be sick of it all by the second day.

Okay, I am through with my rant. The good news is we are now in double digits and my oldest princess will have her 3rd birthday party next weekend. And then I HAVE to buckle down and study for a test for a certification for work. The certification means a pay raise, so it will behoove me to pass this test. After that, Disney will get my full attention.

I have been working on the planning binder, but it's the planning pages I've been designing. I plan to post more pics soon.

Happy Planning!!!!

 

[BearcatsFan]

ITA with you on the TS/ADR thing. Why there can't be some room for walk-ups is beyond me. I have been reading of people having luck using the hotel concierge to score last-minute stuff, but you can't count on that. Your DH sounds like mine ... really, who knows what they want to eat 6 months out?

As far as BOG goes, I think I remember reading on the Restaurants board today that it is set to open 12/06 - too late for either of us.

 

[brandijo5]

So it's been a while since I've updated. Between birthday parties, studying for a certification for work, and Ava's new dance classes, I was busy enough. Then along comes a little hurricane named Isaac and boom, it's been a week from you know where!!!

I've ordered the photopass plus and rented my stroller, so I'm good to go there. We've also assigned Ava some tasks to do and she gets Disney money. She now wants to do everything she can!!! She's so much like me it's scary.

Today was kind of a lazy day, so I made this:

I cut out Mickey heads on my cricut and will use them to cover the days as we countdown!!! Ava is so excited she can't wait until tomorrow to put the first Mickey head on the calendar!!!


I trust any and everyone affected by Isaac is well. We were without power for a few days, but that is nothing compared to the safety of my family and our home.

Will update again soon, I promise!!!

 

[vleeth]

Yep, everything is a little off for me after spending an entire week in hurricane mode.

 

[brandijo5]

Ok so I know I promised I would update soon and I'm sure some of you are wondering if I fell off the face of the earth. The truth is I've been busy between studying for a huge test to earn a certification for work (which I passed thank you very much) and life in general, it's been pretty hectic.

Now I'm sort of in semi panic mode. We have less than two weeks!!! Exactly two weeks from tonight we will be in Disney either totally exhausted and passed out, getting ready for our first full day at Disney, or we will be totally keyed up and watching fireworks on the Poly beach!!! Either way, I'll be happy.

Later on this week I'll post pics of the goody bags for my kiddos that will be waiting for them each morning when they wake up. It is all hidden in a closet right now and I don't want them to see it, so I'll ship them off the grandma's for the day and organize it all.

This weekend, with no LSU football, I spent most of my time getting my planning binder together. I've been creating the sheets in Word, and saving them so all I had to do was print them and cut them to fit right? That was the hardest and longest part. It took me most of the day yesterday and part of the day today to put it all together.

This is the spine of the book. I got the book on the clearance aisle at Target for like $3 and the stickers from Walmart for $1. After looking everywhere for Disney stickers that said "Disney World" or even "Disney" these stickers were the closest I could come to a Disney feel. I love them

This is the front of the book. I really wanted a black book with red and black stickers like someone elses I saw on the planning binder thread, but for $3 I happily settled for pink.

This is my quick glance ADR page.

This is my home page, and 1st day at a resort. I used the Disney Font cartridge on my cricut to cut the heads out and make tabs.

This is the next page just a journal type page that I can scribble down things about the day that were good or bad, the meals, fun things that happened or that the kids said or did. I hope to use these in my scrapbook that I'm planning on making after the trip.

This is a sample of what a park page looks like. A journal page follows it, and then a page with ride height requirements and counter service options for each park follows it.

This is a sample of what a ride height requirements and counter service options page looks like.

There's a park page for each day, except first day which had the resort page, and 5th day which is a Downtown Disney day. There's a journal page behind that, and a ride height requirements and counter service options page after that. The Downtown Disney day only has the cover page and journal page.

At the end of the binder I made a reference page regarding the stroller I rented and a photopass page where I can jot down numbers of our photopass cards. Although we hopefully won't need more than one!!!

Happy planning!!!

 

[TQH1022]

Wow, that is so cute! I love the idea of somewhere to jot down the 'moments' of the day... I keep all kinds of stuff but really its those little stories that make a difference years later.


I will be following your pretrip and trip report - we're there the same week!