Maps are memorized, mommy's nuts! Disney here we come!

[teekathepony]

Writing about packing for home and heading north is making me sad and we haven't even gone to Disney World yet! Oh boy, I'm in for it! Major let down when this is all done! I guess I'll just have to jump right in to my trip report to keep the magic going! Looking forward to that!

omg, isn't that the worst? After my next trip I don't have another one planned for 5 years lmao, I know I'm going to cry.

 

[jenneth79]

I am in the same boat as you with the "pre-trip post-trip depression"!

I have already packed my "journal" to jot down any ideas I have for my Trip Report, and I haven't even gotten half way through my PTR yet! Ah well...I'm already trying to talk my husband into going back next year or the year after - because we should get a few more trips in before kids!

I also only have one day planned at AKL (as well as DHS) and I'm a little worried it won't be enough time. We might have an afternoon free at some point to catch up on anything we missed, but the voice in the back of my head keeps warning me.

We made the decision to do two days each in MK and Epcot.... I hope that was the right decision!

You're plans sound awesome, though, you should have a blast!!!

 

[PixieMama]

On our trip last year, we did not have Park Hoppers... so we had 2 days at MK, 1.5 days at Epcot, and just 1 day each at HS and AK. We definitely needed the days at MK and Epcot, but 1 day at HS and AK was fine. Of course, there were some attractions/shows we skipped at both parks. But we did the majority of them and had plenty of time

 

[disneychic]

Loving your Pre Trip Report! You are getting sooo close to your travel dates! Can't wait to read some more

 

[NewlyDisneyCrazed]

I am in the same boat as you with the "pre-trip post-trip depression"!

I have already packed my "journal" to jot down any ideas I have for my Trip Report, and I haven't even gotten half way through my PTR yet! Ah well...I'm already trying to talk my husband into going back next year or the year after - because we should get a few more trips in before kids!

I also only have one day planned at AKL (as well as DHS) and I'm a little worried it won't be enough time. We might have an afternoon free at some point to catch up on anything we missed, but the voice in the back of my head keeps warning me.

We made the decision to do two days each in MK and Epcot.... I hope that was the right decision!

You're plans sound awesome, though, you should have a blast!!!

I think if I had to pick, I would choose 2 days at MK and Epcot too! Good decision! Next time, I'm going to try for 2 days at each park!!

On our trip last year, we did not have Park Hoppers... so we had 2 days at MK, 1.5 days at Epcot, and just 1 day each at HS and AK. We definitely needed the days at MK and Epcot, but 1 day at HS and AK was fine. Of course, there were some attractions/shows we skipped at both parks. But we did the majority of them and had plenty of time

I'm glad you found a day each at AK and HS to work out. That does make me feel better. I just keep telling myself that we'll have a blast no matter what and if there is anything we miss...there's always next time!!

 

[NewlyDisneyCrazed]

So with the PTR officially done, I thought about what I still had to do (besides packing) to be ready for our trip. And there were two things that needed to be accomplished:

1. Order groceries
2. Pre-order photopass CD

Done and done!!! Yay!!! (Sooooo real now!)

I guess I'll chat a bit about each of these. I haven't written any tips lately so I have a couple.

DisTip: Save time in the mornings by having breakfast food in the room.

Our decision to pay extra for a fridge at POP and to place a small order for Garden Grocer (milk, cereal, yogourt, water, juice, fruit) was not really to save $$ or because we thought we really need the extra food, it was mostly about time in the mornings. Well, the water was because I have heard that the water in Florida doesn't taste great so having some bottled water to take with us to the parks is important. (We'll refill the bottles as needed at the fountains in the parks and have Crystal Light and Koolaid singles to add to the water to mask the taste!) The other stuff, the breakfast food, is so that we can eat quick as soon as we wake up. We are breakfast eaters! You don't even want to speak to DD in the mornings until she's got food in her belly! So I couldn't imagine having to get ready then go to the food court and use a snack credit every day for breakfast. I know that the dining plan does not leave you hungry but this way we can use our snack credits for actual snacks in the parks or for a late evening treat since most of our dinners are 5ish, which is pretty early. With the heat, we'll be wanting ice cream so we'll have plenty of snack credits since we won't be using them on breakfast! I'm sure we'll be stuffed all the time, but I think this will work best for our family!

DisTip: Bring flavour crystals if your family is picky about water.

DisTip: All Disney resorts will hold groceries for you if you haven't arrived yet.

DisTip: Pre-order a photopass CD to save $50!!

I've really scoured all the threads on PhotoPass because I didn't know much about it but now I'm totally sold! We'll have our own camera too but the fact that there are photographers that will take creative shots with our whole family is awesome. It took awhile but I found the link to the previsit ordering on the photopass website and for $99.95 we can get a CD with unlimited pics on it! Not a bad deal in my opinion. I'm excited to get the photographers to do "magic shots"! I have lots of advice for getting the best value out of PhotoPass.

PhotoPass DisTips (summary of what I have learned):
- seek out as many photographers as possible, some might be better than others, some pics may turn out better than others
- they won't come to you, you have to find them
- order the CD in advance ($100 vs $150)
- tell them you already ordered the CD so they know you are serious (and might take extra pictures!)
- ask for magic shots (special effects, ie. Tinkerbell in your hand!)
- get pics in the day and night (night-time shots are often really cool!)

All that is left now is shopping and packing. I don't think we need to buy too much for our trip. I've already got the Crystal Light, Koolaid, rain ponchos, sunscreen, bathing suits clothes and shoes, etc. I might purchase a bag for the parks. I'm thinking of something small to have my money and phone close to my body and then a larger bag (backpack?) for drinks, change of clothes, etc. Oh, and I really really want to find Misty Fans! I've checked our Walmart here and they didn't have any. I'm going to visit my sister near Toronto so will check there too!

 

[disneylovin24]

WOW, you do have a lot of your trip planned out already!

Ive eaten at both Kona and Ohana's and personally liked Ohana's better but Kona was fine too. Im glad to hear that you want to try Ohana's next trip You'll enjoy Kona's because the atmosphere is there around you (I love the Poly's atmosphere).

I love your tip about spreading your stuff throughout different bags! Ive always made sure to have enough stuff in my carry on to last me one day without my suitcase but I like the idea of putting everyone's stuff in everyone's bags!

 

[teekathepony]

I like having a little food in the room too, I usually bring granola bars with me and have one and some hot chocolate from my refill mug for breakfast.

I didn't pre-order the Photopass CD last time because I was under the impression that it then had to be shipped to my home, and that shipping to Canada was fairly expensive and almost makes up for the money you save by pre-ordering. I'll have to check into that though. Do you have to get it shipped? Or can you pay for it ahead of time and pick it up in the park at the end of your stay?

 

[NewlyDisneyCrazed]

I like having a little food in the room too, I usually bring granola bars with me and have one and some hot chocolate from my refill mug for breakfast.

I didn't pre-order the Photopass CD last time because I was under the impression that it then had to be shipped to my home, and that shipping to Canada was fairly expensive and almost makes up for the money you save by pre-ordering. I'll have to check into that though. Do you have to get it shipped? Or can you pay for it ahead of time and pick it up in the park at the end of your stay?

Oh no! I did read something about shipping but thought, "It can't be that much to ship a tiny CD." I wasn't even thinking about the US/Can thing! Ooops! Live and learn I guess. Why didn't I think to look into shipping costs ahead of time? Too excited, perhaps! I guess the pre-ordering tip is for our American friends!

Good news though! My back seems to be improving day by day! I'm going to work up my walking stamina to be ready for all those long park days I have planned in less than a month!!!

 

[t_daniels]

Wwe didn't preorder a cd either. turns out, they got some awesome shots.

Figures.

 

[teekathepony]

Oh no! I did read something about shipping but thought, "It can't be that much to ship a tiny CD." I wasn't even thinking about the US/Can thing! Ooops! Live and learn I guess. Why didn't I think to look into shipping costs ahead of time? Too excited, perhaps! I guess the pre-ordering tip is for our American friends!

Good news though! My back seems to be improving day by day! I'm going to work up my walking stamina to be ready for all those long park days I have planned in less than a month!!!

I just emailed them to see. It might be possible that you could pick it up in the park on your last day... I'm really not sure. I know the down side to that is that you don't get to use the preset frames and icons and such though. I'll let you know what I hear when they get back to me!

Glad your back is getting better!

 

[NewlyDisneyCrazed]

Wwe didn't preorder a cd either. turns out, they got some awesome shots.

Figures.

I've heard they do some great things! Did you end up buying any pics anyway??

I just emailed them to see. It might be possible that you could pick it up in the park on your last day... I'm really not sure. I know the down side to that is that you don't get to use the preset frames and icons and such though. I'll let you know what I hear when they get back to me!

Glad your back is getting better!

Thanks! You're the best! If the shipping cost is high I would probably pick it up before we go if I can. Thanks for looking into it for me!

 

[teekathepony]

Thanks! You're the best! If the shipping cost is high I would probably pick it up before we go if I can. Thanks for looking into it for me!

Ok here's what I found out.

Disney emailed me back and told me that if you pre-order the CD, you are not able to pick it up in the park, you must wait until you're back home and order it from the website, then have it shipped to your home.

International shipping is $10.95 for a CD.

Therefore you are right to pre-order it! It's still almost $40 in savings. I'll be pre-ordering too! The last time I got some photopass stuff shipped was a while ago, and I had some other things besides the CD so perhaps my shipping was just really high then.

 

[NewlyDisneyCrazed]

Ok here's what I found out.

Disney emailed me back and told me that if you pre-order the CD, you are not able to pick it up in the park, you must wait until you're back home and order it from the website, then have it shipped to your home.

International shipping is $10.95 for a CD.

Therefore you are right to pre-order it! It's still almost $40 in savings. I'll be pre-ordering too! The last time I got some photopass stuff shipped was a while ago, and I had some other things besides the CD so perhaps my shipping was just really high then.

Thanks so much! $10.95 is fine! Phew! I'm so glad it worked out!

Oh my goodness! In three weeks from today we will be packing up our van to drive to Detroit! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!

 

[*tinker*bell*]

You must be so excited it's getting really close!!! all those tips are really good and I'm glad to hear about the Canadian shipping being just $10.95 I'm still contemplating that for my trip but it's good to know!

 

[NewlyDisneyCrazed]

Don't know if anyone is still checking up on this thread as I totally let it slide, but just in case....

We got our vouchers and DME tags/tickets in the mail today!!!!!!! I'm SOOOOO excited now! 2 weeks till we're there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[teekathepony]

HOORAY!!! Mickey Mail is the best!! 2 weeks, wow I'm jealous! hahaah

 

[NewlyDisneyCrazed]

In exactly 1 week we will be getting into the car to head to the Detroit hotel that we're staying at the night before we fly to Orlando!!!!!

My DH now wants to stop at an outlet mall on our way (yes, I know that it's weird that the man wants to stop to shop) so that makes next Tuesday slightly less leisurely and more time-constrained, but still fun!

You would think that I'm going to spend the entire week on Disney-prep but the kids and I are actually going camping with my mom for two nights and then staying at my sister's for a night. Packing for all of that, then doing the laundry again and packing for Disney will make this week absolutely FLY by!!!! Yay!!!

 

[teekathepony]

In exactly 1 week we will be getting into the car to head to the Detroit hotel that we're staying at the night before we fly to Orlando!!!!!

My DH now wants to stop at an outlet mall on our way (yes, I know that it's weird that the man wants to stop to shop) so that makes next Tuesday slightly less leisurely and more time-constrained, but still fun!

You would think that I'm going to spend the entire week on Disney-prep but the kids and I are actually going camping with my mom for two nights and then staying at my sister's for a night. Packing for all of that, then doing the laundry again and packing for Disney will make this week absolutely FLY by!!!! Yay!!!

Holy cow! That's quite a busy week for you! Glad you'll be keeping busy! I'm already excited for the TR!!

 

[PixieMama]

Hurray for only one week!

Sounds like you'll be busy this week... should definitely make the time go by faster!