Hi! I'm Amanda, from Texas, I'm 29 mother of 1 and wife to an awesome husband. And I'm addicted to Disney! 
Howdy! This is my first ever pre-trip report. I'm still a little fresh to the DIS. Hopefully I can get some good feedback from all the DIS Experts out there.
I discovered this site while I was doing research for our trip in June to Disney. I know my title doesn't sound like a typical Disney involved title. Much More Exciting? What's that about..
I say more exciting because I went to Disney 2 summers ago (2010) with my parents, grandma, nephew, DH (Charles) and my DB and SIL. Every trip to Disney is exciting but when you are ride freak and enjoy them all and are 4 months pregnant, it's not as fun. I was usually waiting on my DH and nephew at the end of the rides. I still loved the atmosphere and everything Disney. This coming June, I will not be knocked up and can enjoy every single bit of Disney.
June 2010 was my DH first trip ever to Disney. We were both 29. I've been 4 times prior to last summer with the last trip being at Christmas of 2000 for my senior trip. My DH isn't one to show much emotion towards excitement and he wasn't pumped up about going to Disney but he went since my parents invited us and he knew how much I wanted to go back. He enjoyed himself very much and made a comment that he wanted to bring our niece and nephew from his side of the family then next year. We didn't take them last year (2011) because our daughter was born in January and when born we found out she was born with a congenital heart defect. We knew we wouldn't want to leave her to go to Disney. So we put it off for this year. Our daughter had her open heart surgery in August and has been thriving since.
In September we decided that we could take them this summer. We talked to their parents and decided to go in June not long after school was out.
This was going to be the first time I've ever put together a Disney Vacation much less a vacation besides Vegas 4 years ago. My Dad has always done all the planning and looking into things. We stayed in a Villa at Wilderness lodge in 2010 since my parents are DVC members there. My DH loved the location to the Magic Kingdom and being able to take the boats around. He wasn't much of a fan of the buses. He thought that there should be a sign on the buses to not ride if you are pregnant or may be pregnant since they seemed to be a bit more rough than some of the rides he went on.
We obviously were going to need a babysitter while we took our niece and nephew on the trip. So, I asked my parents if they would watch her for the week. I figured there wouldn't be a problem since my mom watches her during the week while we are at work. They were super glad to do that for us. My dad even offered us to use some of their DVC point to use. We declined since we wanted them to be able to vacay when they wanted to during the year and to be able to use those points. Apparently, knowing we were going, my mom began to get Disney fever. They went in October for the Halloween party for 4 days at the end of their east coast vacay. She can't gee enough of Disney. Can you blame her? So.. They asked if we cared if they came along on the trip and that they would take care of Elizabeth for us there. We were a bit hesitant at first since we were afraid of our daughter taking some of the excitement of the trip away from the other 2. We ended up telling them they could come along but we didn't want them to follow us around that we wanted them to just do their own thing with her. They excitingly agreed. So now, going on this trip is me, DH, niece (Sydnie)(7), nephew (Matthew)(9), our daughter Elizabeth, my parents and now my nephew from my side Blake(15). Blake is not a newbie to Disney. He's been about 4 or 5 times with my parents and was with us in 2010.
Now that my parents are along for the ride, their DVC points come in to play and they insist for us to use them. They asked if we wanted to get a Villa or a studio room. I asked my DH back in October which and he said which ever costs them the least amount of points so that they can still vacay elsewhere later in the year if they want. DH never went on vacays as a child and has no idea about the urgency and importance of planning ahead. He thought we were nuts starting this in October for a June trip. So, I told my dad to get 2 studio rooms. He booked them. Now, that it's getting closer, my DH wants to get a Villa so we can all be in one room. Go Figure! There are no Villas available for the entire time we are going. Just for the weekend of that week. So, now I have my dad on watch for a Villa to show up for the rest of the week or atleast the days following the weekend. We are going from June 19 (Tuesday and me and DH Anniversary) through June 26 (Tuesday). We wouldn't mind getting a Villa for part of the time but we don't want to move from a studio to a Villa back to a studio. If it was just a room change once, we are good for it. FINGERS CROSSED that a Villa open up for the rest of the time so we can get that. Next time, he'll know to request Villa first. Even getting the Villa, we will use all of my parents points for the year. We told them that we would pay them the extra money to buy 15 or how every many points they need to finalize the transaction so that they don't have to borrow from the next year. They agreed to that. If we can't get a Villa there, we'll just stick with the studios.
Here's me, my DH and Blake in June 2010 at AK.
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Here's Sydnie and Matthew at our wedding in 2010. I can't find recent pictures of them on my computer for some reason.
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And here's Elizabeth our daughter. She's 13 months.
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So.. To start the planning of our trip.
Day 1 June 19:
We will be flying out of Houston Hobby on June 19 at 9:20 I believe. We should be arriving at MCO around 12:30. It's about 2 hour and 10 minute flight. Blake will be flying in from Virginia and should be arriving at 12:15. Perfect Timing!
We will head over and down to ME. We are estimating roughly to be at WL around 3:30 or so. The ME stops at Poly and GF prior to WL. It could be sooner but better to over estimate than under. We will walk around the resort after check in and hopefully be able to get to our room. We'll go ahead and stop by the Gift Shop to get the kiddos their 1st visitor badge and our anniversary badge along with some snacks and drinks to keep in the rooms. We may even take a quick nap after that. Charles will be getting off nights Tuesday morning and will have no team to sleep before this. I can't sleep on planes. We have ADR at Trails End Buffet at 6:00. We will head down to the boat dock around 5:15 to wait for the boat to take us over. My parents and Elizabeth will come along with us for this meal. Depending on how Charles and the kids feel, we will either lounge around the hotel the rest of the day or head out to Epcot. We could take the boat from Fort Wilderness after we ate over the to Contemporary and catch the monorail to TTC then on the Epcot. Epcot is open until 12 this day.
Day 2:
AK has EMH from 8am-9pm.. Atleast that's the last times that I saw when I looked them up. Hopefully it's still the same. I'm sure they don't change once they are set. We have ADR at Tusker house for breakfast with Donald. (not parents and E). We will try to get to AK prior to that to ride EE and maybe get fast passes for the safari. We shall see how that works out. Charles and I LOVE AK. We are very outdoors and love nature. After breakfast we will head out to the safari. It may be easier on full bellies that EE. Then explore the rest of the park as we come up to them for the rest of the day. I want to make sure that we get to see Festival of the Lion King. I love that show. DH hasn't seen it. Sydnie wants to get autographs but not Matthew so we will find time for me and her to do that while the boys do their thing.
That evening, We had ADR at Rainforest for 6:30. My parents and E will join us for this. Then after we eat, we can either go back to the park since it's open late or head back to WL.
I've tried to plan this without us hopping all over the world to get to places. In 2010, my dad made all arrangements and we would be in a park and would have to plan ahead for travel time because ADR's were elsewhere. It seemed like we were wasting a couple of hours by doing this. I waited to plan the whole trip until the park hours came out back in December. I'm also planning dining on 3 picky eaters. So, no fancy wancy places for us. lol...
Day 3
We are going to EPCOT. EMH are for MK in the morning so I'm hoping that we avoid a big crowd. DH and I have never been on Soarin so I'm sure we will go there first or get a FP then ride TT then come back to that. We will discover the rest of Epcot at Large. I thought about doing the passport thing for the kids. I've never done it but read about it on here. Do you think this would be something interesting for a 9 and 7 year old? We have ADR for Cape May Buffet at 6:45 that evening. I figured we could walk or relax and take the boat over for that. My parents will not be there for this. I thought that by the time we finished, it would be a good time to head back and find a spot for Illuminations. Any suggestions on the best place for this? On the last trip, I staked out behind the 2 stores that are in the middle of the walkway to the entrance of World Showcase. It seemed to be a good spot. DH and Blake rode TT while I held our spot.
Day 4
We are going to MK. MK is open from 9-1 this day. We have ADR at Crystal Palace for 8:15. So glad that we get to go in while the street is practically bare for some good photo ops for the kids. It'll just be me, DH, Sydnie and Matthew. Blake didn't care to go to this and my parents have their own set of ADR's for the remainder of the trip. I figured shortly after our meal it would be about rope drop time. I think we will head over to tomorrow land and get FP for Space Mountain and then do the rest of Tomorrowland. I've liked the lines in Frontierland much better during Light Parade so I'm not too worried about getting over that way. I figured we could do Tomorrowland, Haunted Mansion and maybe the Jungle Cruise and Pirates and anything else over there. By then we will probably want something to eat so we can stop by Harbour house then go back to WL to rest and maybe go to the pool for a little bit during the big heat of the day. Then later in the evening head back to MK once it starts to cool down and we can get more things done. While the parade is going on, we'll attack the Mountains and and anything in between while we get small lines and then continue to explore the rest of the park until we are ready to drop. Depending on how hungry we were in the evening, we could either go to Cosmic Rays or Casey's Corner. DH and I had a chicken plate with garlic potatoes and green beans there in 2010 and we shared it and it filled us up. We enjoyed that meal way better than any we had at TS places that my dad picked out.
Day 5
I have us taking a rest on this day. We can hang around WL most of the day and be lazy. I have ADR set up for Trails End again. Not sure if we will go through with that or just eat from Roaring Forks in WL or maybe even go to MK that evening and eat Caseys or Cosmic Rays or Harbour House then catch the parade and fireworks that night. It's not EMH for MK so maybe the crowd won't be as bad. If we get there early enough maybe we can stake out on the top of the Train Station for a bench to watch parade and Wishes from. My parents love sitting up there for these. Once it's over, you can walk out and be ahead of the rush to get out.
Day 6
DTD. We know Sydnie and Matthew will love DQ. So, we are planning on spending this day down there doing that. We have ADR at TRex for 12:30, Matthew has been obsessed with Dinosaurs since he was 2 so we thought they would enjoy this. Especially him. We've never been so it should be a good experience for all of us. I'm hoping to get our souvenir shopping done this day as well while we are down there.
Day 7
HS. I believe it's EMH for HS. We will get there at rope drop. Head to Toy Story and either do it or get a FP then head over to TOT and RnR. From there on, we'll wander and do as we go and not rush. I want to see Fantasmic. I've never been. As many times as I've been, I've never seen it. So, I'm determined to do it. The only plan is to eat at Pizza Planet. I'm not to fond of HS TS choices.
Day 8
Our fun will go away
Our flight back home will leave MCO around 12:30 and return to Houston around 2:30. DH has to be at work at 5 that evening. 
So, I'm assuming ME will pick us up around 9:30 or so. We will wake up and have breakfast either at Whispering Canyon or Roaring Forks. We haven't quite decided. Then off to the airport. Hopefully the kids will never forget this trip.
I'm sure we will return in another 5 years or so when Elizabeth and the other niece and nephew are old enough. The other niece is currently 18 months and the other nephew is 4.
Let me know what you think about my plans so far. Do you have any input or advice for me?
.
Howdy! This is my first ever pre-trip report. I'm still a little fresh to the DIS. Hopefully I can get some good feedback from all the DIS Experts out there.
I discovered this site while I was doing research for our trip in June to Disney. I know my title doesn't sound like a typical Disney involved title. Much More Exciting? What's that about..I say more exciting because I went to Disney 2 summers ago (2010) with my parents, grandma, nephew, DH (Charles) and my DB and SIL. Every trip to Disney is exciting but when you are ride freak and enjoy them all and are 4 months pregnant, it's not as fun. I was usually waiting on my DH and nephew at the end of the rides. I still loved the atmosphere and everything Disney. This coming June, I will not be knocked up and can enjoy every single bit of Disney.
June 2010 was my DH first trip ever to Disney. We were both 29. I've been 4 times prior to last summer with the last trip being at Christmas of 2000 for my senior trip. My DH isn't one to show much emotion towards excitement and he wasn't pumped up about going to Disney but he went since my parents invited us and he knew how much I wanted to go back. He enjoyed himself very much and made a comment that he wanted to bring our niece and nephew from his side of the family then next year. We didn't take them last year (2011) because our daughter was born in January and when born we found out she was born with a congenital heart defect. We knew we wouldn't want to leave her to go to Disney. So we put it off for this year. Our daughter had her open heart surgery in August and has been thriving since.
In September we decided that we could take them this summer. We talked to their parents and decided to go in June not long after school was out. This was going to be the first time I've ever put together a Disney Vacation much less a vacation besides Vegas 4 years ago. My Dad has always done all the planning and looking into things. We stayed in a Villa at Wilderness lodge in 2010 since my parents are DVC members there. My DH loved the location to the Magic Kingdom and being able to take the boats around. He wasn't much of a fan of the buses. He thought that there should be a sign on the buses to not ride if you are pregnant or may be pregnant since they seemed to be a bit more rough than some of the rides he went on.
We obviously were going to need a babysitter while we took our niece and nephew on the trip. So, I asked my parents if they would watch her for the week. I figured there wouldn't be a problem since my mom watches her during the week while we are at work. They were super glad to do that for us. My dad even offered us to use some of their DVC point to use. We declined since we wanted them to be able to vacay when they wanted to during the year and to be able to use those points. Apparently, knowing we were going, my mom began to get Disney fever. They went in October for the Halloween party for 4 days at the end of their east coast vacay. She can't gee enough of Disney. Can you blame her? So.. They asked if we cared if they came along on the trip and that they would take care of Elizabeth for us there. We were a bit hesitant at first since we were afraid of our daughter taking some of the excitement of the trip away from the other 2. We ended up telling them they could come along but we didn't want them to follow us around that we wanted them to just do their own thing with her. They excitingly agreed. So now, going on this trip is me, DH, niece (Sydnie)(7), nephew (Matthew)(9), our daughter Elizabeth, my parents and now my nephew from my side Blake(15). Blake is not a newbie to Disney. He's been about 4 or 5 times with my parents and was with us in 2010.
Now that my parents are along for the ride, their DVC points come in to play and they insist for us to use them. They asked if we wanted to get a Villa or a studio room. I asked my DH back in October which and he said which ever costs them the least amount of points so that they can still vacay elsewhere later in the year if they want. DH never went on vacays as a child and has no idea about the urgency and importance of planning ahead. He thought we were nuts starting this in October for a June trip. So, I told my dad to get 2 studio rooms. He booked them. Now, that it's getting closer, my DH wants to get a Villa so we can all be in one room. Go Figure! There are no Villas available for the entire time we are going. Just for the weekend of that week. So, now I have my dad on watch for a Villa to show up for the rest of the week or atleast the days following the weekend. We are going from June 19 (Tuesday and me and DH Anniversary) through June 26 (Tuesday). We wouldn't mind getting a Villa for part of the time but we don't want to move from a studio to a Villa back to a studio. If it was just a room change once, we are good for it. FINGERS CROSSED that a Villa open up for the rest of the time so we can get that. Next time, he'll know to request Villa first. Even getting the Villa, we will use all of my parents points for the year. We told them that we would pay them the extra money to buy 15 or how every many points they need to finalize the transaction so that they don't have to borrow from the next year. They agreed to that.
If we can't get a Villa there, we'll just stick with the studios. Here's me, my DH and Blake in June 2010 at AK.
Here's Sydnie and Matthew at our wedding in 2010. I can't find recent pictures of them on my computer for some reason.
And here's Elizabeth our daughter. She's 13 months.
So.. To start the planning of our trip.
Day 1 June 19:
We will be flying out of Houston Hobby on June 19 at 9:20 I believe. We should be arriving at MCO around 12:30. It's about 2 hour and 10 minute flight. Blake will be flying in from Virginia and should be arriving at 12:15. Perfect Timing!
We will head over and down to ME. We are estimating roughly to be at WL around 3:30 or so. The ME stops at Poly and GF prior to WL. It could be sooner but better to over estimate than under. We will walk around the resort after check in and hopefully be able to get to our room. We'll go ahead and stop by the Gift Shop to get the kiddos their 1st visitor badge and our anniversary badge along with some snacks and drinks to keep in the rooms. We may even take a quick nap after that. Charles will be getting off nights Tuesday morning and will have no team to sleep before this. I can't sleep on planes. We have ADR at Trails End Buffet at 6:00. We will head down to the boat dock around 5:15 to wait for the boat to take us over. My parents and Elizabeth will come along with us for this meal. Depending on how Charles and the kids feel, we will either lounge around the hotel the rest of the day or head out to Epcot. We could take the boat from Fort Wilderness after we ate over the to Contemporary and catch the monorail to TTC then on the Epcot. Epcot is open until 12 this day.Day 2:
AK has EMH from 8am-9pm.. Atleast that's the last times that I saw when I looked them up. Hopefully it's still the same. I'm sure they don't change once they are set. We have ADR at Tusker house for breakfast with Donald. (not parents and E). We will try to get to AK prior to that to ride EE and maybe get fast passes for the safari. We shall see how that works out. Charles and I LOVE AK. We are very outdoors and love nature. After breakfast we will head out to the safari. It may be easier on full bellies that EE. Then explore the rest of the park as we come up to them for the rest of the day. I want to make sure that we get to see Festival of the Lion King. I love that show. DH hasn't seen it. Sydnie wants to get autographs but not Matthew so we will find time for me and her to do that while the boys do their thing.
That evening, We had ADR at Rainforest for 6:30. My parents and E will join us for this. Then after we eat, we can either go back to the park since it's open late or head back to WL. I've tried to plan this without us hopping all over the world to get to places. In 2010, my dad made all arrangements and we would be in a park and would have to plan ahead for travel time because ADR's were elsewhere. It seemed like we were wasting a couple of hours by doing this. I waited to plan the whole trip until the park hours came out back in December. I'm also planning dining on 3 picky eaters. So, no fancy wancy places for us. lol...
Day 3
We are going to EPCOT. EMH are for MK in the morning so I'm hoping that we avoid a big crowd. DH and I have never been on Soarin so I'm sure we will go there first or get a FP then ride TT then come back to that. We will discover the rest of Epcot at Large. I thought about doing the passport thing for the kids. I've never done it but read about it on here. Do you think this would be something interesting for a 9 and 7 year old? We have ADR for Cape May Buffet at 6:45 that evening. I figured we could walk or relax and take the boat over for that. My parents will not be there for this. I thought that by the time we finished, it would be a good time to head back and find a spot for Illuminations. Any suggestions on the best place for this? On the last trip, I staked out behind the 2 stores that are in the middle of the walkway to the entrance of World Showcase. It seemed to be a good spot. DH and Blake rode TT while I held our spot.
Day 4
We are going to MK. MK is open from 9-1 this day. We have ADR at Crystal Palace for 8:15. So glad that we get to go in while the street is practically bare for some good photo ops for the kids. It'll just be me, DH, Sydnie and Matthew. Blake didn't care to go to this and my parents have their own set of ADR's for the remainder of the trip. I figured shortly after our meal it would be about rope drop time. I think we will head over to tomorrow land and get FP for Space Mountain and then do the rest of Tomorrowland. I've liked the lines in Frontierland much better during Light Parade so I'm not too worried about getting over that way. I figured we could do Tomorrowland, Haunted Mansion and maybe the Jungle Cruise and Pirates and anything else over there. By then we will probably want something to eat so we can stop by Harbour house then go back to WL to rest and maybe go to the pool for a little bit during the big heat of the day. Then later in the evening head back to MK once it starts to cool down and we can get more things done. While the parade is going on, we'll attack the Mountains and and anything in between while we get small lines and then continue to explore the rest of the park until we are ready to drop. Depending on how hungry we were in the evening, we could either go to Cosmic Rays or Casey's Corner. DH and I had a chicken plate with garlic potatoes and green beans there in 2010 and we shared it and it filled us up. We enjoyed that meal way better than any we had at TS places that my dad picked out.
Day 5
I have us taking a rest on this day. We can hang around WL most of the day and be lazy. I have ADR set up for Trails End again. Not sure if we will go through with that or just eat from Roaring Forks in WL or maybe even go to MK that evening and eat Caseys or Cosmic Rays or Harbour House then catch the parade and fireworks that night. It's not EMH for MK so maybe the crowd won't be as bad. If we get there early enough maybe we can stake out on the top of the Train Station for a bench to watch parade and Wishes from. My parents love sitting up there for these. Once it's over, you can walk out and be ahead of the rush to get out.
Day 6
DTD. We know Sydnie and Matthew will love DQ. So, we are planning on spending this day down there doing that. We have ADR at TRex for 12:30, Matthew has been obsessed with Dinosaurs since he was 2 so we thought they would enjoy this. Especially him. We've never been so it should be a good experience for all of us. I'm hoping to get our souvenir shopping done this day as well while we are down there.
Day 7
HS. I believe it's EMH for HS. We will get there at rope drop. Head to Toy Story and either do it or get a FP then head over to TOT and RnR. From there on, we'll wander and do as we go and not rush. I want to see Fantasmic. I've never been. As many times as I've been, I've never seen it. So, I'm determined to do it. The only plan is to eat at Pizza Planet. I'm not to fond of HS TS choices.
Day 8
Our fun will go away
Our flight back home will leave MCO around 12:30 and return to Houston around 2:30. DH has to be at work at 5 that evening. So, I'm assuming ME will pick us up around 9:30 or so. We will wake up and have breakfast either at Whispering Canyon or Roaring Forks. We haven't quite decided. Then off to the airport. Hopefully the kids will never forget this trip. I'm sure we will return in another 5 years or so when Elizabeth and the other niece and nephew are old enough. The other niece is currently 18 months and the other nephew is 4.
Let me know what you think about my plans so far. Do you have any input or advice for me?
.
