Memories that will live on forever! Oct. 17-24, 2010-UPDATED 10/7/11 and New TR Link

[LoveMyTwoPrincesses]

Welcome readers! I am looking forward to sharing our adventures with you!

The Who:

DH aka Stuart: Stu is a test engineer with a manufacturing company. He is a Disney fan because with a house full of princesses he doesn't really have a choice. His first trip to Disney was in April of 2008. We went for our tenth anniversary without the kids because he thought the girls were too young. The second that he walked onto Main Street in Magic Kingdom he said we needed to come back with the kids.

DD7 aka Erin: Erin is a first grader and she loves school. She is a fun person to be around because she is willing to try anything. There isn't a ride that she won't try if they are willing to let her on it. She received an early birthday present before we left. We gave her a camera to use on our vacation and I can't wait to share some of the pictures that she took!

DD4 aka Ava: Ava is excited to be a preschooler this year. Ava is tiny, but spunky. We measured Ava weekly going into our trip because we weren't sure if she would make the 40 inch mark yet again. Ava is also the most difficult child in the world to photograph! It is few and far between that you get a picture of Ava where she is looking at the camera and smiling.

Myself aka Heidi: I work two days a week as a Dental Hygienist so I can talk to people about brushing, flossing, and Disney! It has been an adjustment for me this year having both girls in school at least part-time. I have enjoyed being able to have the opportunity to be more involved in their schools.

The What: Our second annual trip to Florida with all four of us! This years adventure includes stops at Disney World, Islands of Adventure(for two of us), and Cocoa Beach.

The When: October 17-24, 2010

The Why: Because I LOVE Disney!!

I will put a table of contents with links in the second post.

 

[LoveMyTwoPrincesses]

Table of Contents

Today is the day!
The Holiday Inn SunSpree
Epcot-Here we come!
Am I Big?
Will Ava Soar Over California?
Are we going to Pick a Pearl now?
Our Italian photo shoot
All about Ava
What's next Ava?
My little bubble chaser
Alice, hey Alice!
Time to keep some promises!
Magic Kingdom Take Two
Naveen sure is easy on the eyes!
Erin meets her twin
Grown-ups behaving badly
Will I finally get to see Wishes?
My sunscreen tastes icky
Ava conquers a biggie
Erin's picture tour of the Backlot
...and the lady in the pink shirt!
Block Party Bash
You want to do THAT?
How many characters can we meet in 20 minutes?
Wrapping up another great day!
What is the matter?
Could that baby elephant be any cuter?
I really don't want to get wet
Stuffing our faces 'Ohana style
Souvenirs

CALIFORNIA LINK:
California, Here We Come!

 

[laashley]

I'm here. Great intro. So glad we were able to meet in Disney. Can't wait to read all about your trip!

 

[claryche]

Yay. I'm the 2nd person. Can't wait for your trip report. I'm sure you guys had a blast.

 

[LoveMyTwoPrincesses]

I'm here. Great intro. So glad we were able to meet in Disney. Can't wait to read all about your trip!

Hi Ashley! I am so glad that we ran into you at Epcot! We ended up having a great week. Let me know when you start your report so I can follow along.

Yay. I'm the 2nd person. Can't wait for your trip report. I'm sure you guys had a blast.

I'm glad that you found me and thanks for joining in! I wasn't sure if this years trip would be as fun, but Stu and I agree that we had an even better time this year.

 

[disney<333]

I was looking for your TR! Joining in!!!

 

[CW4DW]

I'm in - looking forward to reading about your adventures. Your girls are too cute!

 

[Deon.Newmankgyxc]

hope you can post more pics

 

[LoveMyTwoPrincesses]

I was looking for your TR! Joining in!!!

Hi Barbara! I'm glad that you are here!

I'm in - looking forward to reading about your adventures. Your girls are too cute!

We had a great trip and I can't wait to share about it. Thank you for the kind comment about the girls!

hope you can post more pics

I have many pictures to share in upcoming posts!

 

[LoveMyTwoPrincesses]

I never imagined that we would be going back exactly a year to the day of our last trip. Stu wasn't really hot on the idea of going back so soon, but he said that Erin and I could go if I found a good deal. The thing that really holds us back is the cost of flying. I scoured airline sites for about 6 months and one day a deal so good came up that I couldn't believe my eyes! We have a regional carrier called Allegient Air. If you booked a hotel package with them you received buy one, get one free air tickets and if you stayed at least three nights at the hotel the fourth night was free! I quickly brought the computer to Stu and he said that wasn't a bad price for Erin and I. When I told him that would be the price for ALL of us he said the sweetest two words-BOOK IT!

Since we booked with Allegiant it also meant we would have a DIRECT flight from our city. There were a couple of negatives. The first meant we would not be staying on-site. I got over this pretty quickly because I was still going to Disney World! The second negative is that the flight would be coming into Sanford, which is about 50 miles from Disney. We decided to rent a car and this actually turned into a postive for us.

On the morning of the 17th I was up at 5:30. Who can sleep in when they are leaving for Disney World! We did not need to be at the airport until 8 am, so we were able to take our time getting ready. My parents arrived around 7:30 to bring us to the airport. It was nice to not have to leave a car at the airport.

Before leaving we had one last thing to do. We had to remove our tag from our count-down calendar!

We arrived at the airport right at 8 and we were the first in line to check-in! After check-in we headed to the lone resaurant in the airport for some breakfast with my parents. I had mentioned before that we gave Erin a camera for her birthday. It was great entertainment for her while we waited for our flight. She was ripe with power!

She needed a picture of herself-

The lobby-

Pictures on the wall-

Light fixtures-

I think you get the idea!

Security went smoothly. I was a little concerned because the girls had all of their pins in their carry-ons, but they didn't blink an eye. My parents stuck around to watch us go through security because they thought it would be entertaining with all the stuff we had, but the kids did great!

On the plane Stu was on one side with the girls and I sat across the aisle. I had a really nice guy next to me who happened to be from Cocoa Beach. I told him we were headed there later in the week and he gave me great tips about what beaches we should go to and where to eat. When we were flying in we came in along the Atlantic coast. It was fun to have him tell me what cities and beaches that I was seeing. It was like he was my own personal tour guide!

Erin had to get a couple of pictures on the plane-

I think the one she took out the window is awesome!

Our plane arrived about 20 minutes early and we made our way to the baggage claim. Our stroller and car seats made it safely, so we headed to Avis. There was nobody waiting at the desk, they had our keys waiting, and the car was literally waiting for us across the street! I have to say that the Sanford airport was a breeze.

 

[Northern Disney Girl]

Hi Heidi!!!

Glad to see your trip was as wonderful as last years!!! Great Start! Can't wait to hear some more!

 

[dismagiclover]

I'm joining in! Your girls are just adorable. Can't wait to hear about your trip. We were down there for a few days the end of October as well

 

[LoveMyTwoPrincesses]

Hi Heidi!!!

Glad to see your trip was as wonderful as last years!!! Great Start! Can't wait to hear some more!

Hi Kim! It is nice to see you here! We didn't have the crazy big pixie dust that we received last year, but there was still plenty of pixie dust placed upon us. It was easy to just be laid back this year because there wasn't the pressure to try to see everything.

I'm joining in! Your girls are just adorable. Can't wait to hear about your trip. We were down there for a few days the end of October as well

Welcome! Isn't October just a great time to be there? We couldn't have asked for better weather. I had a friend text me while we were there to check if we had turned on our furnace back home because it was so cold. Glad I missed out on that!

 

[MickeyisBeast]

Joining in on your report
Your daughters are too cute!
I can't wait to hear all about your trip

 

[claryche]

I agree, that picture your daughter took of the airpline wing and the sky is awesome. Great great picture.

 

[LoveMyTwoPrincesses]

Joining in on your report
Your daughters are too cute!
I can't wait to hear all about your trip

Thanks for joining in! It's hard because the girls like to use that cuteness to their advantage with Mom and Dad sometimes!

I agree, that picture your daughter took of the airpline wing and the sky is awesome. Great great picture.

She did a nice job on that one. It was fun for her to have her little camera on the plane so she could take some pictures. I bet she had about 100 pictures between the airport and the flight!

 

[MeMom]

Stu is a test engineer with a manufacturing company. He is a Disney fan because with a house full of princesses he doesn't really have a choice.

DD7 aka Erin:She is a fun person to be around because she is willing to try anything. There isn't a ride that she won't try if they are willing to let her on it. She received an early birthday present before we left. We gave her a camera to use on our vacation and I can't wait to share some of the pictures that she took!


DD4 aka Ava: Ava is excited to be a preschooler this year. Ava is tiny, but spunky.
Ava is also the most difficult child in the world to photograph! It is few and far between that you get a picture of Ava where she is looking at the camera and smiling.

I think you and Jill have quite a bit in common - engineer husbands, girls with similar qualities, and a love for Disney.

I am glad you found us at The Seas on our last trip, too. Maybe we'll cross paths again and the girls can spend a little time getting to know each other. If the two engineers start talking, they may have plans for a whole new area of Epcot to be built by the time they part.

Can't you just see them sketching out ideas on the back of a Disney napkin? I bet they would make good Imagineers.

I am glad Erin enjoyed taking pictures. I am very excited about seeing things from her view.

 

[MaryAz]

Jumping in from MeMom's report. I also have 2 princesses same ages and similar personalities to yours. Avery also brought her camera in May and got some good pics. My Hiubby is an accountant not an engineer though....I also work 2 days a week.
Great score on the air tickets!! Travel day seemed pretty smooth! Looking forward to more!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Hi! I'm also joining in from MeMom's report. Your trip sounds like it is off to a great start - amazing deals, smooth sailing through security, no line at rental car, camera to amuse DD.

I'm looking forward to hearing more!!

 

[LoveMyTwoPrincesses]

I think you and Jill have quite a bit in common - engineer husbands, girls with similar qualities, and a love for Disney.

I am glad you found us at The Seas on our last trip, too. Maybe we'll cross paths again and the girls can spend a little time getting to know each other. If the two engineers start talking, they may have plans for a whole new area of Epcot to be built by the time they part.

Can't you just see them sketching out ideas on the back of a Disney napkin? I bet they would make good Imagineers.

I am glad Erin enjoyed taking pictures. I am very excited about seeing things from her view.

Now that you mention it, Jill and I do have quite a few similarities.

I was very surprised that we happened to see you. I think I knew that you would be at Epcot that day, but the odds of just running into someone in a place the size of Epcot is pretty amazing. Maybe I should start playing the lottery!

I do think that Stu tolerates Disney pretty well because he can marvel at all of the engineering behind it. It is very impressive what the Imagineers create.

There are plenty more of Erin (and my) pictures to come.

Jumping in from MeMom's report. I also have 2 princesses same ages and similar personalities to yours. Avery also brought her camera in May and got some good pics. My Hiubby is an accountant not an engineer though....I also work 2 days a week.
Great score on the air tickets!! Travel day seemed pretty smooth! Looking forward to more!

Thanks for jumping over! It sure is fun to have princesses, isn't it? It is amazing how similar they can be in so many ways and on other things they can be complete opposites!

I was surprised at some of the shots that Erin got. I was teasing her about taking so many, but she really had fun with it.

The air sale really sealed the deal. I was glad my persistance paid off!

Hi! I'm also joining in from MeMom's report. Your trip sounds like it is off to a great start - amazing deals, smooth sailing through security, no line at rental car, camera to amuse DD.

I'm looking forward to hearing more!!

Thanks for joining! Our travel day could not have gone any better. It sure was nice to have a direct flight.