May 2013 PTR ~ Flower Garden Festival ... Again! Plus staying at a NEW resort!!

[Jasperann]

Ive decided to do a PTR for our upcoming trip. Ive not done one before, so this is all new to me. Stay with me and I will get a hang of it in no time.

When: April 29th May 7th
Where: Art of Animation (Finding Nemo) w/ QS dining plan and WP&M option on our tickets --- THIS HAS CHANGED!!!
Who: DH (Eric) 35 (will be 36 3 days after we get back), DD (Brittany) 16, DD (Emily) 9, DD (Kelsey) 8 (will be 9 4 days before our trip), DS (Alexander) 6, and myself (Amy) 34
Why: Its a long story stay tuned.

Chapters:
Introductions
How/Why
Travel
Movie Nights?
Telling my step dad...
Movie Night Plans #1
A Little Shopping
1st Movie night attempt!
Resort Change!!!

 

[Jasperann]

Let me introduce you to my family:


Me (Amy) 34
I am a full time mom and a part time employee for a bank on the weekends, which allows me to be home in the morning when I take the kids to school and all evening to help with homework and cook dinner. We are also all in Karate. Eric, Brittany and myself all just got promoted to Yellow belt. It is a lot of fun. Ive been slowly losing weight. I was 290 the first time we went to Disney and didnt realize how big I was until the photopass pictures came back. After that I have been losing weight and have lost 70lbs (although I did gain 10 of those back recently, due to things you will read about in one of the updates).
Favorite Character(s): Chip and Dale, but if I had to choose between them Id go with Chip. Lol
Favorite Ride(s): POTC, Haunted Mansion, ToT
Favorite Food at WDW: Dole Whip and Ohanas
Favorite Park: MK (it use to be Epcot& sometimes it still is, but this last trip I found a new love for MK and Im not sure what it was)



DH (Eric) 35
He is a full time provider for our family. He loves spending time with family and really enjoys doing Karate as a family (it was his idea for over a year actually). He works swing shift two weeks on days then two weeks on midnights, which is pretty rough on us all, but mainly him when he has to switch his schedule.
Favorite Character: Jack Skellington
Favorite Ride(s): Rockin Roller Coaster, Space Mountian
Favorite Food at WDW: Ohanas
Favorite Park: Epcot (Because of the World Showcase)




DD (Brittany) 16
This girl is my busy busy bee. She does a little of everything. She is in Marching Band, Karate, Key Club, Drama (she runs the spotlight for all the plays and helps build sets) and a couple of other clubs I dont know the name of, and she watches her siblings every other weekend when I am at work! I dont usually get to see her unless we are at Karate. She is planning to go to college in Florida in the Orlando area because she wants to work at Disney in the College program the whole time.
Favorite Character(s): Chip and Dale, she would probably pick Dale if she had to pick one, he tried to take her with him on break last trip.
Favorite Ride(s): ToT, TSM, Haunted Mansion, Test Track, The Laugh Floor
Favorite Food at WDW: Cinnamon Bun from Main Street Bakery
Favorite Park: MK (for the evening EMH, I am sure)



DD (Emily) 9
This girl is my princess. She loves everything girly. She would wear a dress EVERYDAY if I let her. She is also a Red Gold belt in Karate (she has about a year and a half before she will test for black belt). She is also the one that is constantly asking when we are going back to Disney.
Favorite Character: Cinderella
Favorite Ride(s): Its a Small World, TSM, Soarin, Parade (I know it isnt a ride, but she cant miss a parade.)
Favorite Food at WDW: Mickey Ice Cream, Caseys cotton candy (lol)
Favorite Park: MK (All of the characters, the rides, parades, just everything)



DD (Kelsey) 9 (I will just go with that age since that is how old she will be when we go)
This girl is my drama queen. I love her to death, someday she will make big money in acting I am sure. Lol She loves helping me cook and learning all the different recipes that we make. She is also a Red Gold belt with her sister, although I think the only reason she still goes is because Emily does. Even though Ive told her she could pick something else. She is very competitive, so I think that is why she wont stop going to Karate. It does help with her self discipline though.
Favorite Character(s): Daisy and Stich
Favorite Ride(s): Test Track, Soarin, ToT, Space Mountain (Any Thrill ride)
Favorite Food in WDW: Goofys Candy Coated Marshmallows
Favorite Park: Epcot (Because of Soarin and Test Track)



DS (Alexander) 6
This is my baby boy. Obviously he is spoiled being the only boy and the youngest. We tried so hard not to spoil him, but it just didnt happen. On top of that he is currently going through test for Aspergers Syndrome. I am pretty sure he does have it. It is just more evident now that he is in school. We always told him step by step what was going on and what was going to happen. It is just a part of our home life, so we never really noticed major things. Besides his melt downs here and there, but we wrote them off as normal tantrums. Even when we went on our Surprise Disney trip he knew we were going. He even told his sisters and they ignored him and told him to stop telling stories. So we didnt notice anything then either. But other than that, he is obsessed with Skylanders. Anytime we go into a store that has them in it and he knows that it does we can not leave with out at least looking at them.
Favorite Character(s): Goofy and Pluto
Favorite Ride(s): Winnie the Pooh, TSM, Buzz Space Ranger Spin, Parades
Favorite Food in WDW: ANY junk food
Favorite Park: MK


(Not sure what Figment was telling him but it must have been serious)

 

[Jasperann]

Now on to the How/Why:

We were not going to be going back to the World until maybe (that was a huge maybe) the Fall of 2013. If I had anything to do with it, we would have been there in November at the latest. Then I am taking Brittany for her graduation trip Easter 2014, just her and I unless she finds some friends that want to come with us.

Okay I got a little off track& so HOW/WHY exactly did this trip come to be? I must warn you all, it is a SAD story. I will probably have a hard time sharing it, because it is very emotional for me. You can skip it, because it has very little to do with Disney, it is more of a real life update.

Lets go back to November 3rd (Saturday) of this year. I received a call from my mom saying that she was at the hospital because her defibrillator had gone off a couple times and they were going to keep her over night for observation. But that she was fine and would talk to me the next day when I got off work.

A little back story: I talked to my mom EVERY DAY for at least 45 mins, she lived in Florida and the last time that I had a chance to see her was at Easter, I took the kids down to visit for 10 days. I knew it was going to be the last time that I would see her. I dont know how I knew but driving my car away from her that last morning was so painful.

The next morning I woke up for work at 4:00am and I had a voicemail from my step father, she went into congestive heart failure shortly after he left her on Saturday evening and they had her on life support. He said it didnt look good, and he would know more when he could get in to see the doctors in the morning. Well I decided that there was nothing that I could do, so I went to work. At lunch I had a ton of messages from every one that cared about me and some people that I havent talked to in years, all telling me to call my step dad. My heart sank, I knew the news wouldnt be good. I called him and he said that my mom did not have a good chance and this would be it. They gave her a day or two left to live. I broke down in the middle of my works lobby and really dont remember much after that.

My step dads brother was kind enough to get me a one way ticket to MCO, so that I could be there for my step dad and help with all the stuff that would needed to be done. When I got off the plane he was there to meet me, he seemed optimistic. He said she looked better that morning and things looked good. Later I found out that he must have been in denial because if what I seen was better I dont know what would have been worse. I was beyond mad (at the time) towards my step dad. My mom firmly said she did not want machines to keep her alive, that if it was her time to go then to let her go. My step dad was refusing to sign the DNR even with the doctors saying that she didnt have much time even with the machines. I went off at him that evening (it was Monday night at this point). The next morning my step dad signed the DNR and they took my mom off of the machines and she passed away shortly after. It was the worst thing that Ive ever had to go through. BUT I am more than thankful that I was able to be there to hold her hand.

The next day I was informed by my step father that my mom left me as a beneficiary to one of her insurances. I was in shock. I wasnt sure what exactly that meant, only that I needed to have a memorial for her (really for the family and friends that loved her here in Michigan).

My step dad and I drove home the Friday after my mom had passed. On the drive, I started thinking trying to keep my mind busy because the drive is 20+ hours. I was thinking of ways that I could honor my mom. I now had money that I didnt have and I knew that I could do something that I could honor her with. She LOVED Christmas. So much so that she sent us presents in July this year as a Christmas in July. So the first thing I decided to do was adopt a family in her memory. My kids school has a tree with bulbs on it with familys and how many kids with ages and things. So I went in and picked out the biggest family on the tree! They had five children between the ages of 5 and 12. I hooked them up!! It was so fun and helped me with part of my grief. When I dropped off the stuff this morning the secretary had tears in her eyes, so I hope that it helps the family that was in need have a Merry Christmas this year!

The other thing that my mom LOVED was Family vacations. She always said that she wished that she could have taken me on more vacations when I was younger. She also loved it when I took my kids to Disney or other places. She would come out for a day or two on those vacations and spend time with us at a park or by the pool. So that is where the Disney vacation idea came about. I think she would have loved it and it is something that my family will remember for years. Someone on one of these boards had an amazing idea of carrying around a notecard and writing down all the things that you wish that you could tell them (my mom) or that you wish they could have been there doing with you and then at the end of your vacation buying a balloon and attaching the card to it and letting it go. It is sort of like sending mail to heaven. I think that I will do that on our vacation.

So now that is explained let me move on to Tuesday of this week. (I think it was Tuesday at least&lol) Eric and I were going to stop at AAA to book the trip through them so that we could have some kind of discount, but we didnt make it there during our day of shopping. I was bummed out that we didnt make it to AAA because I really wanted to get the trip set in stone. But that evening I got a e-mail with a PIN in it!! It was up to 35% off on select hotels for the dates that we wanted. We wanted to book AoA for the kids and since we need a family suite anyways it was perfect for us. The PIN got us 15% off a room discount, which saved us about $500. So I was pretty happy with that so far. Although, if Im being honest I am hoping for free dining or kids play and stay, because for us those are better deals.

This is my beautiful mom:


I will be back in a little bit to add travel details. Got to get the kids from school.

 

[Jasperann]

The next day I started pricing plane tickets. I found that if I signed up for Spirit’s $9.00 club that Spirit was the cheapest by at least $400 from the other carriers for the same days and times (that included picking our seats and paying for luggage). I went to check out and pay for the plane tickets and my debit card was denied. It turns out that my credit union has a maximum amount that you can spend per day ($500) and my tickets were $1286 for all six of us. I was upset. I called my credit union to see if they could raise it, because I’m pretty sure they did it for me last time I bought tickets. They told me they no longer do that… Seriously?!?!?! How was I going to get to Disney now?

We decided to pull the money out and go to the airport ourselves to purchase the tickets. We got up to the ticket counter and found out that they don’t accept the $9 club at the airport that it is only online. Could nothing go our way?!?! I said okay, thank you for your time, I guess I will figure out some other way of getting the tickets. (insert Grrr Argh here) I went to walk away and the lady called me back and said that although they didn’t accept the $9 club that they tickets should still be cheaper there then with it online. I was wary, but agreed to have them run the numbers. It turns out the lady knew what she was talking about. It was cheaper by at least $100 and I could book my luggage online and still get the discount on that. She also talked me out of prepaying for my seats. She said that they have a travel lady that will put families together even if they don’t pay the extra, so she said as long as we arrive at the airport 2 hours before the flight we will be good. So that saved another $168. In total after baggage and tickets our tickets were $1040 for 6 of us to fly round trip!!! I think my mommy was looking out for us! Serious pixie dust with all of that!

So what times did we get for the flights??

Departure going to Disney April 29th: 8:55am – 11:21am
Departure leaving Disney May 7th: 6:30pm – 9:13pm

Awesome times! Now we just need to keep our fingers crossed that the times stay the same. The ticket lady told us that they change them sometimes. I pray that it doesn’t happen to us.

 

[Jasperann]

So I think that we are going to do some movie theme nights leading up to the trip. Every other Saturday night Eric has the night off, so I was thinking that although I work on the weekends I could plan some themed nights. But I'm not the most creative person in the world, so any ideas? I read a PTR a while back and the mom was so creative, but I can't find it. She did things like round tater tots for wheels and chocolate covered prentzel sticks for dip sticks for a Cars themed night and Pizza for Toy Story (because of pizza planet).

Anyone have any cool ideas? Here are some of the movies the kids decided on right off the top of their heads:

Mulan
Cinderella
Toy Story 1, 2, 3 (one of them)
Cars
Lion King
Little Mermaid
Pocahontas
Bugs Life

And two other movies not yet thought of, because we will have 10 chances for movie nights. I'm not counting the weekend right before we leave because I think it would be to hectic, unless we do Toy Story that night and have Pizza.

 

[Jasperann]

So, I told my step dad about our plans. I wasn't sure how he was going to react, and I was a tiny bit scared that he would be judgmental, because he sometimes is...

But he was HAPPY that is what we decided to do with the money. He said it was exactly what my mom would have wanted. He is even going to come and visit us for a day!! I need to figure out where we should eat dinner the night he comes, we were thinking about going to T-Rex, but now that my step dad is going to join us I might change it to Ohana's. Since it has a special place in all of our hearts. We went there the first night of our first trip and my mom and step dad came along as well. We had a late ADR and were able to watch Wishes from our table. It was so magical!

We are not planning very many ADRs, maybe two. I wanted to go to Tusker House for Breakfast one morning, because our whole family loves the food and Daisy is one of the characters.

I've been researching park days all morning. I think we are going to follow easywdw recommendations this time, because we will not have Park Hoppers and DH gets irritated in large crowds (although I think it will be better this year without a stroller). Has anyone else followed easywdw? Did it work out well for you?

Hope I get some readers, I promise this report will not be full of depressing stuff.

That reminds me ~ I have a funny story to share with you. Alexander my 6 year old was told that we are going to Disney in May (along with the rest of the kids), I'm not sure he understood how far away May is because that evening there was a pile of his clothes and other stuff on the kitchen table. Shorts, Shirts, bathing suit, beach towel, bubble bath... I was like Xander what are your clothes doing on the kitchen table? He says "I am all ready and packed for when we leave for Disney the next day." I said we are not leaving the next day we are leaving in 150+ days... He says "I know, but I'll be ready" Poor kid, I think the wait is going to be a long one for him.

 

[TJDisneymama]

So I think that we are going to do some movie theme nights leading up to the trip. Every other Saturday night Eric has the night off, so I was thinking that although I work on the weekends I could plan some themed nights. But I'm not the most creative person in the world, so any ideas? I read a PTR a while back and the mom was so creative, but I can't find it. She did things like round tater tots for wheels and chocolate covered prentzel sticks for dip sticks for a Cars themed night and Pizza for Toy Story (because of pizza planet).

Anyone have any cool ideas? Here are some of the movies the kids decided on right off the top of their heads:

Mulan
Cinderella
Toy Story 1, 2, 3 (one of them)
Cars
Lion King
Little Mermaid
Pocahontas
Bugs Life

And two other movies not yet thought of, because we will have 10 chances for movie nights. I'm not counting the weekend right before we leave because I think it would be to hectic, unless we do Toy Story that night and have Pizza.

Hello, fellow April Dis'er here.

What about Finding Nemo since you're staying at AoA? And then Peter Pan is one of my favorite park-related movies.

 

[Duzzygirl]

Good morning! Another April DIS'r here. I haven't read anything yet, but didn't want to forget to sub.

 

[Jasperann]

Hello, fellow April Dis'er here.

What about Finding Nemo since you're staying at AoA? And then Peter Pan is one of my favorite park-related movies.

Finding Nemo would be a good one! I think we are going to add on Star Wars too, but I'm not sure which one. Kesley wants to fight Darth Vader but I'm not sure she knows who he really is. I'm not sure if Xander would do it though, he isn't very big on being put on the spot and will freeze up, especially with the crowd.

I am trying to figure out which movie to watch first. Our first Movie night will be this Saturday and I haven't even started planning what to eat with it.

Good morning! Another April DIS'r here. I haven't read anything yet, but didn't want to forget to sub.

Yay! Another reader!


I've bought some things for the plane ride down and for our actual trip. I am going to take some pictures to share it with you all.

 

[Duzzygirl]

I'm back and I read your planning so far.

I am SO sorry for your loss. I think you made a wise choice. Your Mom left you that money for a reason. That's so awesome of you to *adopt a family*. Fantastic idea.

My vote for a movie night is Lady and the Tramp. My favorite. One of my nephew's favorites too as he watches it repeatedly when he comes over.

 

[Jasperann]

I'm back and I read your planning so far.

I am SO sorry for your loss. I think you made a wise choice. Your Mom left you that money for a reason. That's so awesome of you to *adopt a family*. Fantastic idea.

My vote for a movie night is Lady and the Tramp. My favorite. One of my nephew's favorites too as he watches it repeatedly when he comes over.

Lady and the Tramp would work!! We actually have stuff for spaghetti so I wouldn't need to buy any food for this one. Eric makes amazing Meatballs too. I need to go to the Dollar store and see if they have any Lady and the Tramp stuff for decorations, maybe even the party store. They should have something. Thank you for the idea, because I'm not sure any of my kids have seen Lady and the Tramp. (the first one at least)

When we first made the choice to use the money for the Disney trip after adopting the family I was a little afraid that everyone would be upset with me for using it for that purpose. But my family all seems really excited for us. So that makes it much easier to be excited about the trip.

 

[Jasperann]

Okay so we settled on a Disney movie for this weekend. It wasn't even on our list, and we haven't seen it in years. It is .....

Lilo & Stitch


Lilo & Stitch Movie Dinner Menu

*Hawaiian Luau Roasted Pigs in a Blanket: For this Lilo and Stitch party recipe, you'll need hotdogs, cheese and refrigerated crescent rolls in a tube.

Slice hotdogs lengthwise about halfway through, making sure not to cut apart. Cut cheese into strips. Unroll crescent rolls into individual triangles. Place a hotdog, with a slice of cheese inserted into cut, onto roll. Roll up crescent and bake as directed, or until golden brown.

*Tropical Fruit Kabobs: You'll need a selection of tropical fruit (pineapple, melon, star fruit, kiwi, banana, mango, papaya and seedless grapes), lemon or lime juice, honey and kabob sticks/skewers.

Cut fruit into large pieces and slide onto kabob sticks. Sprinkle with lemon or lime juice and then brush with honey. Grill for a few minutes. For older guests, serve the kabobs on the sticks, but for younger guests push the fruit off the sticks onto their plates.

*Gelatin Graham Cracker Island: For this Lilo and Stitch party recipe, you'll need blue gelatin mix, graham crackers, gummy fish and a clear bowl.

Crumble graham crackers, and sprinkle some crumbs in the bottom of the bowl to look like a sandy ocean bed. Prepare blue gelatin according to package directions. Mix in gummy fish before gelatin completely sets. When the gelatin has set, add the remaining crumbled graham crackers to the top to form an island.

We will probably do some Chips or Mac and Cheese and Hawaiian punch of course.

Not very healthy, but it is suppose to be fun so I'm not worried about it. I have to think up some fun names for the foods that tie them into the movie. Like Lilo's Punch...

I picked up some flower napkins and a yellow table cloth for the table. I now need to go to the party store and see if they have lay's.

 

[Monkey96]

Okay so we settled on a Disney movie for this weekend. It wasn't even on our list, and we haven't seen it in years. It is .....

Lilo & Stitch


Lilo & Stitch Movie Dinner Menu

*Hawaiian Luau Roasted Pigs in a Blanket: For this Lilo and Stitch party recipe, you'll need hotdogs, cheese and refrigerated crescent rolls in a tube.

Slice hotdogs lengthwise about halfway through, making sure not to cut apart. Cut cheese into strips. Unroll crescent rolls into individual triangles. Place a hotdog, with a slice of cheese inserted into cut, onto roll. Roll up crescent and bake as directed, or until golden brown.

*Tropical Fruit Kabobs: You'll need a selection of tropical fruit (pineapple, melon, star fruit, kiwi, banana, mango, papaya and seedless grapes), lemon or lime juice, honey and kabob sticks/skewers.

Cut fruit into large pieces and slide onto kabob sticks. Sprinkle with lemon or lime juice and then brush with honey. Grill for a few minutes. For older guests, serve the kabobs on the sticks, but for younger guests push the fruit off the sticks onto their plates.

*Gelatin Graham Cracker Island: For this Lilo and Stitch party recipe, you'll need blue gelatin mix, graham crackers, gummy fish and a clear bowl.

Crumble graham crackers, and sprinkle some crumbs in the bottom of the bowl to look like a sandy ocean bed. Prepare blue gelatin according to package directions. Mix in gummy fish before gelatin completely sets. When the gelatin has set, add the remaining crumbled graham crackers to the top to form an island.

We will probably do some Chips or Mac and Cheese and Hawaiian punch of course.

Not very healthy, but it is suppose to be fun so I'm not worried about it. I have to think up some fun names for the foods that tie them into the movie. Like Lilo's Punch...

I picked up some flower napkins and a yellow table cloth for the table. I now need to go to the party store and see if they have lay's.

i love the idea

 

[Duzzygirl]

Wow. Movie theme nights on steroids. lol

Great ideas. I never would have thought to do that kind of thing.

 

[pwdebbie]

Wow, you are very creative! I love your dinner and a movie plans.

We went to WDW at my mil's request. She lived with us for her last eight months and told me often, "Debbie, when I die, I want you and Jimmy to go to Disney." In her last days, when the hospice nurses thought she would surely be gone, she lingered on. One nurse asked me if there was any unfinished business. I immediately thought of her telling us to go to Disney, so the next time dh was out of the house, I got on the computer and ordered park tickets. Then I went to her and told her (even though she had been unresponsive for two weeks, the nurses said she might still be hearing), "I just bought our park tickets for Disney." To my amazement, her head went up and down one time. Within an hour she had passed. I am absolutely convinced that the unfinished business was that we hadn't made plans yet for a Disney trip. She simply wanted to know that we would be ok.

We went on that trip a few months after her passing and thanked her several times while we were there for looking out for us while she was alive and gifting us with that trip. She had known we were planning to go in April 2012 but she told me, "You never know what the future will bring, I want you to go after I die." That was in 2010. And she was right, because we had to cancel the 2012 trip.

So, I think it is wonderful that you are using your mom's money to make this trip a reality for your family. It will be bittersweet (as ours was) but it will also be special. I'm real glad you are able to maintain your relationship with your step dad and that he will be joining you for part of the trip. Tears will come for all of you, but they will be good tears, healing tears.

I'm looking forward to following along on your PTR.

 

[Jasperann]

i love the idea

This is what it will look like on our couch BB.

Wow. Movie theme nights on steroids. lol

Great ideas. I never would have thought to do that kind of thing.

I got the idea for Movie Nights from another very creative DISer a while back. I'm a big lurker with PTRs and Trip Reports, so I don't know who it was... But I loved it so much I had to copy after them. Although I found the ideas for this dinner menu online with a search. My Brittany (BB for short) suggested Peanut Butter Sandwiches, since Lilo fed the fish them when she went surfing. I think I might add those in too. Maybe cut them in cute shapes or something.

Wow, you are very creative! I love your dinner and a movie plans.

We went to WDW at my mil's request. She lived with us for her last eight months and told me often, "Debbie, when I die, I want you and Jimmy to go to Disney." In her last days, when the hospice nurses thought she would surely be gone, she lingered on. One nurse asked me if there was any unfinished business. I immediately thought of her telling us to go to Disney, so the next time dh was out of the house, I got on the computer and ordered park tickets. Then I went to her and told her (even though she had been unresponsive for two weeks, the nurses said she might still be hearing), "I just bought our park tickets for Disney." To my amazement, her head went up and down one time. Within an hour she had passed. I am absolutely convinced that the unfinished business was that we hadn't made plans yet for a Disney trip. She simply wanted to know that we would be ok.

We went on that trip a few months after her passing and thanked her several times while we were there for looking out for us while she was alive and gifting us with that trip. She had known we were planning to go in April 2012 but she told me, "You never know what the future will bring, I want you to go after I die." That was in 2010. And she was right, because we had to cancel the 2012 trip.

So, I think it is wonderful that you are using your mom's money to make this trip a reality for your family. It will be bittersweet (as ours was) but it will also be special. I'm real glad you are able to maintain your relationship with your step dad and that he will be joining you for part of the trip. Tears will come for all of you, but they will be good tears, healing tears.

I'm looking forward to following along on your PTR.

Your story brought a few tears to my eyes. But it really explains how I feel about this trip. It is very bittersweet. I did tell my mom that I would do something to honor her and something to remember her with shortly before she passed. It is so hard to explain to someone that has no clue. I had an insensitive co-worker this weekend that said "Must be nice being able to go to Disney again". I responded with "Yeah, but I would rather have my mom back". Which shut her up.

My step dad and I have had a very rocky relationship. He married my mom when I was 12 or 13... so I was a little brat to him for my teen years. In my adult years I was very thankful my mom had someone that cared so much about her. Especially after she had all the health issues. So our relationship has kind of evolved. He is really the closest that I have to a father. My real dad was unbalanced and committed suicide 8 years ago, and before that he wasn't a really good dad, so I'm thankful that I've had my step dad in my life. Like I always say, 'Everything happens for a reason, you just need to find your reason.'

 

[Jasperann]

As I mentioned before I wanted to share with you the stuff that I've bought for our Disney Trip for the kids. Mainly my middle girls, because Disney Princess stuff is so easy to find and it is usually very cheap.

A look at all the things together. Now let me get you a closer look at some of the things.

These are little change/makeup purses with some sparkly spray (I will tell them it is like pixie dust), Press on nails (they are so cute), a lip gloss container that looks like a cell phone. They both wanted to do pressed pennies, so I figured if they are still interested in doing that then the little purses will have a duel purpose.

Some cute Princess dolls for the plane ride. They still love their Barbie dolls so this should keep them occupied at the airport and on the plane. I got them for $3 each on Black Friday. That was before we had officially planed our trip, so they were going to be Christmas presents, but now I'm holding them back for the trip. They are getting tons of stuff for Christmas and I think they will enjoy them more for our trip. Especially since they ALWAYS want to buy one of these dolls when we are there.

I found these charm bracelets at Walgreens for $5.99 on sale. Last time they both really got into buying the charms and the bracelet. So this time they have a head start AND they don't need to spend extra on the bracelet. I was so happy when I found this!! I only got one though, I should have got two now that I'm thinking about it. But it will be okay, because I am positive they will end up buying more if this doesn't satisfy them.

Obviously this is for my little guy. He loves his baths, so it is a good start. I think I will be buying him a new DSi Disney game for the plane ride. He is a video game nut, and I know it will keep him pretty busy. That and watching out the window. He loves it!! Last time on a plane (his very first time) at take off he threw his arms up in the air and went "WooooooHooooooo!!!!!!!" It was so funny and had people all around us laughing. I think it helped with a couple peoples nerves during take off actually.

This is really for one of our family fun nights before the trip. I really want to try to do the Mickey head shrits for us all. I think it would be fun. A few weeks ago the kids school had a school wide reward for positive behavior for the month of October and I went in and helped tye dye the shirts for the kids. It was a learning experience for sure. But lots of fun as well. I think doing just six shirts would be a piece of cake. I will just have to see if Eric is up to creating the Mickey head area for us to tye dye.

Oh and notice that the kit has Lime Green as one of the colors! I am so making a Lime Green Mickey Head shirt for me.

I will be back with more as I get it. I really need to make an ADR and figure out what parks we will be in on which days.

 

[Jasperann]

Our first attempt at a Disney Dinner/Movie Night went .... okay...

I just have a few things to share. We watched Lilo and Stitch, which I watched before, but I didn't remember almost anything that happened in the movie. So it was basically all new for me as well. Xander (DS 5) LOVED it, with it being his very first time watching it he has become obsessed with how mean the big alien was. My middle girls also enjoyed it, I don't think they really remembered watching it because they would have been about 2 or so when they watched it the first time. My oldest quoted almost the whole movie, but then it was her favorite movie when she was a little girl. But even after all that my kids are not interested in Stitches Great Escape. I've not been on it, and I've heard it really isn't worth it. But in the name of riding every ride in every park, I think I'm going to be doing it with only my teen this next trip. We will see.

About the Dinner part.

We had pigs in a blanket, I didn't get any pictures of those. But they were so good! A little messy with the cheese in them, but I really liked them. We also had Sea Shells and Cheese, pretty basic mac and cheese really. I just gave it a fancy name.

For desert I made the Jello with the fish and island. The kids and I made that the night before... We had some technical difficulties while creating it. The crushed graham cracker on the bottom that was suppose to be sand did not stay on the bottom while pouring the jello into the bowl. So if you attempt anything like this for your self, leave the 'sand' out. Then you are suppose to put it in the fridge to cool down 'a little' and then add the fish to the still not set jello. Well I decided to sit down and watch some DVR'd shows and promptly forgot about the jello in the fridge for about 2 hours. When I remembered I ran to the fridge, like those two seconds it would have taken me to walk made any difference... The jello was set. But I didn't let that stop me, nope not at all... I stuck those little fish into the top of the jello like they were dancing around the island. And here is a picture of the creation:

It looked ... ummm.. appetizing?!?!?! Okay so not really, the fish had lost their color and Eric said it tasted not so good. Guess I will never be making that again. But it was cute and worth a shot.

The real winner of the whole night was the fruit kabobs. The kids helped me make them and they absolutely loved them and took left overs (the fruit we didn't use) to school for their snack the next day. They even looked good!

Now those were yummy!!

We also had some Ohana Fruit Punch and Raspberry lemonade. My kids enjoyed this as well, since dinner is usually served with water or milk, never sugary drinks.

Here is a final picture of our pretty table, I never did find any lays maybe it is a seasonal thing.

We are holding off on the next family movie night, but we may have another one on New Years Eve. That night is specially reserved for our family game night, we usually bring in the new year playing board games. It is a family tradition. But I'm sure we could add in a Disney movie and dinner.

 

[Jasperann]

Okay I would like to get some opinions. I know that they vary, and that honestly is the best part of the DIS is you get such diverse opinions.

Here is a little background:

I originally booked AoA in Finding nemo, however, I am spoiled rotten by my DH and I've been pricing rooms for Club level at Wilderness Lodge or the Boardwalk. Wilderness lodge we will need two rooms and it is about $2800 more than Boardwalk deluxe room (which with my discount is only really $2000 more than AoA). The price really isn't the issue... Since this is a trip to remember my mom I am not truly worried about the cost.

So basically what I am asking is WHICH resort would you stay at? We have 4 kids 16, 9, 9 and 6 at the time of travel. We do swim a lot in the afternoons. I enjoy the boat rides, but both resorts have that option... We really love Epcot and MK so that isn't a factor either. I can find pros and cons for each of them, so how about you guys that have actually stayed at these resorts chime in? Thanks a ton!!!

 

[Jasperann]

We have officially changed our resort!! We changed to BWI Deluxe CL We have never stayed at a Deluxe resort let alone CL, I am looking forward to it!

Now I have so much more planning to do!! It is really going to change our whole trip being that close to Epcot. Eric is going to want to go to Epcot everyday/night!

I also changed our park tickets to Park Hoppers instead of the WPM option!

Changing from AoA to the BWI CL is only costing us an additional $1700 with the discount code that we have!!! Seriously?!?!? I can not believe that the price is so similar. If you break it down it is only $35.00 more per person per day to stay Deluxe CL and the location is amazing!! I've always wanted to stay at the BC but the BWI is really close to the BC so now I will be able to explore the other resorts to see what one we want to stay at when it is just me and my oldest.

Have I mentioned how EXCITED I am?!?!?!?!?!