Magical Memories, Creativity & Crafting, Obsessive Planning, Gluten-Free-Nov 2011 PTR

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Hi Kari!!!!! I love all your planning!!!!!! I'm subbing and can't wait to hear more!

 

[Kari-B]

Thanks for joining Corrine & Karen!!!

Corinne, I totally understand about your son. My son has gotten much better, but used to worry non-stop about tornadoes and fires. He is actually pretty brave when it comes to rides though. He is most looking forward to Expedition Everest and was disappointed when I told him the Yeti hasn't been working. Funny thing is he was terrified of a picture and description of Snow White's Scary Adventure showing the old hag that we read about in Birnbaum's Disney For Kids book. He was thrilled to hear that it is no longer there.

Candance, thank you for the sweet comment!

 

[Kari-B]

So being my obsessive self, I of course have to have a Disney Vacation Planner. I used a three ring binder and loads of sheet protectors.

Cover

It's only a little thick and bulging.

Each of the twelve sections are laminated.

Each of the park sections have a map, tips, photopass info, ride height lists, restaurants and menus, etc...

In the Epcot section I have information about the countries. I am planning on doing a week (or two) covering each of the eleven countries. I will be doing this as soon as my son is finished with school for the summer. I am going to do crafts, activities, food, music, games, books etc. for each country. My son is super excited about visiting the different countries at Epcot and "seeing the different cultures". I thought this would be a fun way for us all to get into the different countries and be more interested in them when we go to Epcot. Lots more info on this to come later.

One of my sections has lists and items of things I want to make or create for the trip.

And the last section, my favorite...

Up next our first Disney movie night...

 

[mrssmith06]

THAT is a great binder!

 

[beebeeryan]

WOW that's some serious planning binder. I love that idea of learning about each country, might have to borrow that for this summer before we go back, we didn't get to World Showcase at all, but next trip I want to.

It's going to be so much fun seeing the kids reactions, we went last August for the first time, first time for the kids anyways and their first time on a plane. It was an amazing trip seeing it all through their eyes. We loved it so much we're going back again this August. We did the scavenger hunt thing last year to tell them too. So much fun.

 

[Kari-B]

Thanks Mrs. Smith!

Beebeeryan, thanks for stopping by my PTR! I am super excited about doing the country weeks. I have already started making passports for them for Epcot. Have you thought of doing that for your trip? I know you can buy them at Epcot, otherwise the CreativeDisign board has lots of different options to make your own. We are also excited about doing the Kim Possible adventures in World Showcase, also. I think those will both be great ways to get everybody interested and excited!

 

[davebon23]

HI Kari,
I am going to Disney 1st time Gluten Free in August. I have found lots of great reviews on this site. I also was nervous about eating in Disney because most times I eat out I do get sick. But the reviews for Disney are fabulous for people that are GF or have food allergies. My DD mentioned Disney, but I didn't know if my DS or DH would be into it. We have been 5 times before as a family and my DS is now 16 and driving!

But I told my son that I could eat well at Disney with my Celiac and he agreed to go. But only for Mom, not that he would actually want to go again It doesn't matter to me why he agreed, but DD and I are excited to go back. DH likes Disney too and we were able to get free dining, so that really sold him. So I will let you know how my GF eating experiences go, since I will be going before you.

I miss the days when my kids were little and I could surpirse them with a trip to Disney. So cute, loved your Disney party and binders. I do have my trip planning folder and notebook, but it is not nearly as nice as yours. I am not that creative. Looking forward to hearing more about your planning. I can let you know some of the restaurants I am planning if you like.

Happy planning!!

 

[beebeeryan]

Thanks Mrs. Smith!

Beebeeryan, thanks for stopping by my PTR! I am super excited about doing the country weeks. I have already started making passports for them for Epcot. Have you thought of doing that for your trip? I know you can buy them at Epcot, otherwise the CreativeDisign board has lots of different options to make your own. We are also excited about doing the Kim Possible adventures in World Showcase, also. I think those will both be great ways to get everybody interested and excited!

I just learned about these passports the other day on the boards here. We skipped WS last year since we didn't think the kids would be too into it and the day we had planned to maybe do it, we got done with the rides they wanted at EP so quick since nobody was there they requested to head to MK and it was before 11am so WS wasn't open yet. I was just gonna buy the passports there, but who knows, if a creative streak hits I might make them. Those Creative Disigners are great, I've seen lots of stuff I love. We cancelled our ADR at Rose & Crown last year too, that was my excuse to get into WS. Didn't work. This year I have an ADR there again so hopefully we make it.

 

[Kari-B]

Davebon23, thanks for stopping in. I'd love to discuss gluten free dining and can't wait to hear about your reviews. The thing I am probably most nervous/not looking forward to is having the chefs come out and talk to me. I hate having attention drawn to me and being "difficult". I have never once requested to talk to a chef at a restaurant (not that we eat out often), and have never had anything specially made for me. The most difficult I will be is requesting no croutons on a salad. Are you planning on going to 50's Prime Time Cafe? I really excited about the possibility of fried chicken!!!

 

[davebon23]

Davebon23, thanks for stopping in. I'd love to discuss gluten free dining and can't wait to hear about your reviews. The thing I am probably most nervous/not looking forward to is having the chefs come out and talk to me. I hate having attention drawn to me and being "difficult". I have never once requested to talk to a chef at a restaurant (not that we eat out often), and have never had anything specially made for me. The most difficult I will be is requesting no croutons on a salad. Are you planning on going to 50's Prime Time Cafe? I really excited about the possibility of fried chicken!!!

Kari, I don't usually ask for a chef or anything at a restaurant either. I like to go to Outback because they already have a gluten free menu, and the one that is local even orders GF bread from a nearby baker. They also have the GF beer. But I am not a real beer drinker anyway, but they seem to really care and try to accomodate us GF people.

I am DEFINITELY going to 50's prime time. I cannot pass up a chance to have GF fried chicken!! I have made my ADR's but I haven't faxed my form yet because I still have to narrow it done a bit of where we are definitely going. I know that they said they need some advance notice for the chicken as it takes at least an extra 30 minutes. So I will email special diets and ask them to tell the chef that I definitely want to have the fried chicken so they will be aware.

The restaurants we are planning to try(not all are definite yet, still tweaking my plans for each day) are:

Chef Mickey's(dinner and breakfast)
Crystal Palace(breakfast)
50's Prime time
Mama Melrose(Fantasmic package)
Tusker House(breakfast)
Via Napoli
Tutto Italia(maybe only one of these rest. in Italy)
Tony's Town Square
Plaza Rest. (if not for a meal, at least for the ice cream, YUM)

For counter service, I will try to give my family some choices that
I can go to and let them choose. I am the only GF one.
But I am hoping to try:

Columbia Harbor House
Sunshine Seasons
Pizzafari or Flametree BBQ
Cosmic Ray's
Wolfgang Puck Cafe Express

We'll see how that goes. If family wants Pinnochio's, I'll just go there. I wont
be as picky at CS because I pretty much chose all of the sit down meals.

I already got the list of who has the chicken tenders, rolls, etc. So I'll just wing it when we are there.

I'm not going to make it to all of these places, I don't think. But I will let you know which ones I do go to.

I may try to eat at the counter service when they are on a ride that I don't go on because it does take a little longer for the GF food. So if we think we may have lunch soon, I may go over and order mine and they can get there's when they are done. Just an idea that might help. But my kids are older.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

 

[davebon23]

Also I am definitely going to go to Babycakes bakery in DTD. Have you heard of it yet? All of their stuff is GF and Allergy Free. I am going to go on our first day to DTD and go to Babycakes and get some stuff. I am going to use it for a quick breakfast on the days my family may grab a bagel or muffin. I have heard that they are pretty good for GF. I may get the donuts, cupcakes or brownies. Don't remember if they had muffins. I have heard that they accept snack credits also, which is a bonus because we will be on the dining plan. Do a search on babycakes if you haven't already seen anything about them.

 

[Kari-B]

Davebon23 Yes, I have heard about Babycakes and I am excited to try it out. Thanks for mentioning it, though! Your restaurant choices look great. I'm probably planning on making ADRs for about half of the ones you listed. I'm also curious to how much extra time it will add to CS. Not complaining about it, just would like to know roughly to plan as I have young kids. Loving chatting with you about this!!!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Ooooh, I'm so excited about Babycakes as well!!! I emailed to make sure they were all gluten free and vegan and was so excited to find out I can have these! I don't remember the last time I had a cupcake(but I surely got sick), I'm thinking about buying a dozen if I like them! I wonder if they would freeze and I could have them as a special treat every so often?!? Who am I kidding? I would eat them all within days!

 

[Kari-B]

I have been doing movie nights with my kids for the past couple of years. Once we decided we were going to go to Disney I started a list of all the Disney movies I wanted to cover. I wanted to make sure the kids saw all the movies that are either rides, attractions, or characters they are sure to see when we go there.

The first movie Disney movie night we did was Robin Hood. This is not a movie I would have chosen, since there isn't really a connection to the parks. But my son asked me if we could watch it, so that is how it was picked.

I have been posting my Disney movie nights on a thread in the Disney Family message boards. Instead of reposting everything I am just going to link it. Hope you enjoy!

Robin Hood Movie Night - Click Here

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

LOVE the movie night! I'm glad to know I'm not the only one that loves these things! I think I have as much fun planning it and taking pictures as my dd does! I LOVED the hidden coin pudding, that was a GREAT idea! I'll have to find a way to incorporate that into one of our Disney days!

 

[Kari-B]

Thanks Karen!!!

 

[mrssmith06]

Cute movie night!

 

[davebon23]

Ooooh, I'm so excited about Babycakes as well!!! I emailed to make sure they were all gluten free and vegan and was so excited to find out I can have these! I don't remember the last time I had a cupcake(but I surely got sick), I'm thinking about buying a dozen if I like them! I wonder if they would freeze and I could have them as a special treat every so often?!? Who am I kidding? I would eat them all within days!

I haven't had a cupcake in ages either. I don't know if they will freeze well, but you can give it a try. I know I will definitely buying a box full of all of their goodies when I go. I'm gonna have to do a lot of walking to burn off all of those calories!

 

[davebon23]

First off Kari, I have to say you are very creative. Your kids are gonna be so spoiled they are going to want everything they do to be so wonderful and fun. They are very lucky to have you. Very, very cute and it looked like a lot of fun. I know I did lots of fun things like this when my kids were young(I miss those days so much now!) but never as clever and creative as you. Very, very nice job!!

Also I haven't gone yet, as you know. But I hear that you should give at least an extra 20 minutes for GF food at the counter service. Maybe you can order your food first. Then separately order for the rest of your family or have your DH order for himself and the kids. Of course, they will get their's sooner. Which you may want, because they are young and may be hungry. But then they will have to wait for you to get your food and eat. Whatever you think will work best for your family and their eating habits. If you think your kids are starving, you may want to go ahead and let them eat. Which is what I would have done if I knew about my Celiac back then. Maybe if you are still eating your DH can take them into a nearby shop to keep them busy if they are getting antsy. Just a suggestion.

I have heard that most people have decent experience with the
CS food, just that it does take longer. Not necessarily their fault they are probably just being careful and trying not to have any cross-contamination.
Most other food is already cooked or mostly prepared, where the GF will have to be made fresh. That is why it takes longer.

Can't wait to see how the rest of your adventure goes. I know my friend is going in May for the first time and I rented for her the sing a long songs Disneyland Fun on DVD for her 4 year old. I got it from Blockbuster for her. This really helped my kids got used to seeing areas of Disney and the characters so they wouldn't be scared when they approached. I use to have the VCR tapes, but I gave them away to someone else so they can enjoy. These are really catchy and show a lot of Disney. Even some of the rides. I don't know if you have ever seen these. It's really good, especially for the little ones that may be intimidated by the characters, because they are so big in real life. When they see the other kids on the dvd aren't scared, I think it helps them to see they shouldn't be afraid.

Hope this helps.

 

[Kari-B]

Thanks so much, Davebon23!! That comment means a lot to me.

My son in particular is really enjoying watching the History Channel Disney World DVD we borrowed from the library. It may be weird that we all enjoy it so much, but it is so full of cool info. We have read tons of books and it is really cool to see video covering many of those same things. One of my favorites is how the imagineer came up with how to make Soarin work using his old erector set.

Karen & Davebon23, excited to have a cupcake!! (I've made my own, but it's always fun to be able to eat something you don't have to make yourself.)