Mike & Missy's Grand Adventure! A DCL & WDW Pre-TR w/ pics! Updated-09/18

[UGAFan0829]

congrats on becoming a DVC member!! I hope to one day join you!

Thank you. I hope that you get to one day join as well!!

Hi Missy! Just started reading you Pre-Trip report this afternoon...great job! I love to read other people's planning....LOL, makes me feel like I am not alone in questioning every decision I make.

Also wanted to say congratulations on joining DVC! WELCOME HOME! We just joined in March, it took us five really long years to finally find a way to make it work for us, and we were able to buy at Bay Lake Tower, which was a shock. When we first started looking that wasn't even a possibility, and now it's like a dream come true. It has always been my DH's favorite resort (although he never got to stay there), he just loves the look of it! We are cruising on the Wonder September 24th, and staying at Kidani Village after the cruise, September 27th - October 4th. This will be our first DVC stay...and I can't wait!

Thanks for joining in! I know what you mean about reading other's planning...I do the same thing!
Congrats on your new DVC membership as well. Bay Lake Tower seems to be really popular right now...which is understandable!
I am sure that your cruise and stay at AKL is going to be awesome. Are you doing the 3 night, or the 4 night? The Wonder is such a beautiful ship!

 

[UGAFan0829]

WOW...I can hardly believe that a mere 50 days from today, we will be in Florida! Hopefully by this time, we'll be getting ready to check-in to the Country Inn at the port! Woohooo!
Honestly, I don't think a vacation has ever "snuck" up on me so quickly. I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that this will be the longest vacation that we've taken so far...which has required a lot of planning! And from that planning have come lists...lots of lists...Lists of things to buy, things to do, things to pack, etc, etc....The list goes on and on!!
So, in keeping with lists theme, I thought I would post my final to-do list here, so that you can see how much I still have to do, or buy, I should say...
*Cheap ponchos from Wal-Mart- for use in the parks.
*Case of water- also for use in the parks.
*Dramamine/Bonine-Obviously for the cruise. Thankfully we didn't end up needing this on our other cruises, but since this one will be a little longer, you never know. I would rather have it and not need it, than to be the other way around.
*Hand sanitizer-I like to keep a bottle of this to use in the parks.
*Laundry detergent/stain stick- I'm sure that we'll end up doing at least one load of clothes on the ship. And instead of worrying about buying it on the ship, I figured it would be easier to just bring our own. I'd thought about trying those new Purex sheets, but I've read some reviews stating that they leave spots...I sure don't want to have to worry about that on vacation!
*Pop-up laundry hamper- I've seen lots of people mention using these, and after I thought about it, it probably would make things a little easier. Normally, I would just fold our dirty clothes up and put them back into the suitcase, but since we'll be wearing some of the same ones in WDW, I'll obviously need to wash them first. I thought a hamper would make it a little easier.
*Ties-Since Mike and I rarely dress up, he only has one or two ties. I would like to find some that match my dresses, so we need to go look for those pretty soon.
*Waterproof camera-Normally, I just buy the disposable kind. But, the other day when we were in Wal-Mart, I saw a waterproof digital camera. It was on clearance for $69.00, which is still somewhat expensive. I don't know how good the quality would be, but being able to use it over and over might make it worth the price. I'm not sure if we'll go for it, but I'm putting it on the list, just in case.
*Pirate costume- Of course this has already been talked about several times. I've just gotta get in gear and get it ordered already!
*Pillow cases and markers for character autographs- On one of our other cruises I took two pillow cases along with different colored Sharpies to Guest Services and asked to have them signed. Those were for my niece and nephew, but now that I have a great niece, I want to get one signed for her, as well as one for myself! I actually don't have anything with character signatures for myself, so I thought a pillowcase would be something fun to have!
*Memory card for my camera-I do have one aleady, but I'm afraid that it won't hold all the pictures from both the cruise and WDW, so I need to pick up another one before we leave. I am sure that I will take TONS of pictures this time, so I want to make certain that I have enough room!!
*Snack/breakfast food- This is for the WDW part of the trip...Since we're trying to save $, I thought it would be smart for us to pick up a few breakfast items that we could eat in the room. Not only would it save us a few dollars here and there, but it would also save us some time in the mornings. As far as snacks, I wanted to try and get some stuff that we could put in our park bag to take with us into the parks just to have something to snack on here and there if we need it. Since we'll have a refrigerator room, I'm thinking cereal for breakfast, or something quick and easy like that. As far as snack ideas, I'm stumped. We'd need something that wouldn't melt in our bag, but I can't think of anything!! Any idea/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
And the last thing on my to-do list is to pre-order our Photopass CD, and book a portrait session at the Poly! I had actually talked to the DH about maybe not doing the portrait session this time to try and save even more money, but he wants to do it. I'm hoping that they have a time open for one of the days that I'm wanting. I can't book until 30 days out though, so I will keep you posted on that once time rolls around.

 

[Jennifer48]

WOW...I can hardly believe that a mere 50 days from today, we will be in Florida!

Yay for 50 days!! That means my wedding is also that close, EEK!

I'm a huge list maker too. They are just so handy and helpful!

If you don't want to purchase a waterproof camera, there are great waterproof bags out there that you can put your digital camera in. I bought one for my last cruise and it worked great. Its much cheaper than buying a waterproof camera. Might want to look into that option as well. Just my opinion!

 

[UGAFan0829]

Yay for 50 days!! That means my wedding is also that close, EEK!

I'm a huge list maker too. They are just so handy and helpful!

If you don't want to purchase a waterproof camera, there are great waterproof bags out there that you can put your digital camera in. I bought one for my last cruise and it worked great. Its much cheaper than buying a waterproof camera. Might want to look into that option as well. Just my opinion!

Now why is it that I didn't realize your wedding was happening around the same time?? How exciting, and CONGRATS! I knew that you were cruising for your honeymoon, but I never realized that it was so close! Are you ready?

Thanks for the info on the waterproof bag. I had seen something a while back about waterproof cases, but I couldn't ever find one for my camera. And, when I mentioned it to my DH, he wasn't too fond of the idea. He was too afraid that the case would leak and ruin the camera. Maybe I'll tell him that you used one and that it worked for you! Is there a website that shows them?

 

[Jennifer48]

Now why is it that I didn't realize your wedding was happening around the same time?? How exciting, and CONGRATS! I knew that you were cruising for your honeymoon, but I never realized that it was so close! Are you ready?

Thanks for the info on the waterproof bag. I had seen something a while back about waterproof cases, but I couldn't ever find one for my camera. And, when I mentioned it to my DH, he wasn't too fond of the idea. He was too afraid that the case would leak and ruin the camera. Maybe I'll tell him that you used one and that it worked for you! Is there a website that shows them?

Thank you! I'm ready! Just a few little things still left to purchase.

I bought a bag for my camera which is just a small Canon Powershot and I also bought a larger bag for our money/IDs to go in. One was made by Water Pak and the other was a Dry Pak. They tell you to soak it in the sink before you use it to make sure there are no leaks. I was deathly afraid of that happening too but I took the risk and it was great! If you browse through my cruise trip in my siggy (the friends TR), you can see some of the photos.

Here is where I bought them Waterproof cases

 

[Mickey's Goofy Gal]

I have missed so much while I have been away on vacation plus I stopped getting emails indicating that a new post had been added. Last email was mid-June!

It is getting so close to your vacation time and congratulations on becoming DVC members. I would love to do that one day!!!! OMG - Boardwalk for your WDW stay is wonderful!!!!! I can't wait to hear more and I hope I start getting the emails again so I can keep up with your reports better.

We need to meet and you can tell me all about the DVC!!!!!!

 

[UGAFan0829]

Wow...I can't believe that it's been so long since I last updated this thing! To those of you who are/were reading, I apologize. This trip has definitely snuck up on me a lot faster that I was expecting. The fact that this trip is so close is hard for me to believe!!

There hasn't been a whole heck of a lot going on in the way of updates lately, but I will let ya know what has happened...

First of all, I ended up buying another dress for formal night. I really liked the one I had, but I just didn't think I would be very comfortable in it. So, we went to JC Penney a couple weeks ago and found a pretty good deal on this dress:

I really like it as well, and I think I'll be a lot more comfy in it! Thankfully the shoes I already have will match it as well!

We've also started buying the little things that we need--travel size stuff, hand sanitizer, Clorox wipes, etc. Most of this stuff is for the WDW part of the trip.

And the most recent thing that we got was a new suit for Mike. He pulled his old one out of the closet a couple of weeks ago just to try it on, and I am so glad that he did. The last time that he wore it was to a wedding well over a year ago. He's lost so much weight since then that it looked terrible on him!! We tried to take it to be altered last weekend, but the lady told us that by the time we paid to have it all altered so that it looked decent, we could just go by a new one. So that's what we did. I had a 15% off coupon for JC Penney for a survey that I did when I had bought a few things for my niece and nephew a couple of weeks ago, so I figured that we could at least save a little. Thankfully, they were having a pretty good sale, and we ended up getting him the jacket, pants, 2 dress shirts and a tie for under $200. I hated that we had to spend the money since it came out of our savings for the trip, but he had to have it. He was pretty bummed about it at first, but after he saw how much we saved, I think he felt pretty good. I was excited about being able to buy something new for him.

Now the last "big" thing left on my list is my pirate costume. I STILL haven't ordered it, but I'm determined to get it before this weekend is over!! I feel a lot better now that he has a new suit and we've started getting most of the little things taken care of. I still need to put my binder together with all our info in it, and print our door signs. Of course I still need to pack, but I think I'm okay on that.

A couple members from our cruise group have started getting their docs, so hopefully ours will be here soon. I think that will definitely make it seem more real! I'll try and start taking pictures of everything once we start getting it a little more together! I can't believe that in 21 days we will be in Florida getting ready to set sail on the Magic!! I think I'm actually starting to feel a little excited instead of panic! Woo hoo!!

 

[Mickey's Goofy Gal]

Well you know that I think the #21 is a wonderful number so 21 days is a wonderful amount of time! It will be here before you know it. I love the dress and am glad ya'll found Mike a suit. Don't stress - you are a great planner and a very organized person and I know you have everything handled! Keep us posted and the count down begins.....20, 19, 18, 17.....

 

[UGAFan0829]

Well you know that I think the #21 is a wonderful number so 21 days is a wonderful amount of time! It will be here before you know it. I love the dress and am glad ya'll found Mike a suit. Don't stress - you are a great planner and a very organized person and I know you have everything handled! Keep us posted and the count down begins.....20, 19, 18, 17.....

Thank you, Kim!
You're right 21 is a good number!!!
And by the way, don't you need to change your siggie so that 2009 shows for Universal?

 

[Mickey's Goofy Gal]

Thank you, Kim!
You're right 21 is a good number!!!
And by the way, don't you need to change your siggie so that 2009 shows for Universal?

What would I do without you - it has been added! I will be glad when I can add another year to my WDW too! Still earning those Mickey Points!!!!

 

[Jennifer48]

Yay for your cruise being so close!

Tell me about how quickly it came. That means I'm getting married in a little over 3 weeks!

So good to hear that you've started getting things together. That always helps early. Do you have an over the door shoe organizer? I can't remember if you said you did or not. Its a must in my opinion!

Cute dress!

 

[UGAFan0829]

Yay for your cruise being so close!

Tell me about how quickly it came. That means I'm getting married in a little over 3 weeks!

So good to hear that you've started getting things together. That always helps early. Do you have an over the door shoe organizer? I can't remember if you said you did or not. Its a must in my opinion!

Cute dress!

Hi, Jennifer!!!

Yep, your wedding is getting closer as well! Are you ready?? I'm really excited for you!

I don't have a shoe holder, yet. It was actually on my list of things to get, but I just haven't got around to getting one yet. To be honest, I was wondering if we really needed one. I looked at one at Wal-Mart, but it was like $15...I guess I thought they would be a little cheaper! I wonder if they have them at the Dollar Store??

 

[Jennifer48]

Hi, Jennifer!!!

Yep, your wedding is getting closer as well! Are you ready?? I'm really excited for you!

I don't have a shoe holder, yet. It was actually on my list of things to get, but I just haven't got around to getting one yet. To be honest, I was wondering if we really needed one. I looked at one at Wal-Mart, but it was like $15...I guess I thought they would be a little cheaper! I wonder if they have them at the Dollar Store??

I'm just about ready. Thank you!

The shoe holder is definately worth it but $15 is way too much. I found mine for $5 at Target but I have seen some at the Dollar Store as well. I hope you find a cheaper one!

 

[UGAFan0829]

I'm just about ready. Thank you!

The shoe holder is definately worth it but $15 is way too much. I found mine for $5 at Target but I have seen some at the Dollar Store as well. I hope you find a cheaper one!

I found this online at Wal-Mart for $8.64. Is it anything like what you're talking about:

I'm kinda partial to it since it's pink!!! But I wasn't sure if it was too big or not.

 

[Jennifer48]

The size just depends on your toiletries really. That is a good size for things. Mine is clear but thats exactly what I have! Thats a much better deal than $15. I say get it!

 

[UGAFan0829]

It's official...I'm doing the doc dance!!:banana: We finally received our docs in the mail last Friday!

Thankfully some smart DIS'er in our cruise group let us know that you can actually track your docs through UPS using your reservation #! How cool is that!!! I was lucky enough that the first time I checked on ours the status was "on truck for delivery!" It doesn't get much better than that!! I'm terrible about tracking things once I've been notified that something's been shipped. I go online a zillion times a day until it's been delivered!

It seems as though the arrival of our docs was the beginning of a very productive weekend. Though I didn't get my pirate costume yet (plan on working on that tonight), I did manage to get a lot of my to-do list marked off in the way of purchases.
Thanks to the advice of Jennifer, I went ahead and ordered the over the door shoe holder from Wal-Mart. It should be here shortly, as I received a shipment confirmation just this morning!
Along with the shoe holder, I also managed to pick up the following from Wal-Mart, as well:

I'm sure it doesn't look like a lot, but it sure did take care of a lot of things that were on my list..pop up hamper, pillow cases (I'm going to try to get these signed-one for my great niece, and one for me), markers for the pillow cases, Tide, stain stick, ponchos, Wet Ones, hand sanitizer, toothpaste and mouthwash.

I've also been working on a binder that I created to help keep things organized for the trip...

I used dividers to make 3 sections...One for Port Canaveral, one for DCL, and the other for WDW. In each section, I'm printing out the directions to each place (home to hotel, hotel to port, port to WDW, etc.) I've also got our cruise confirmation, shore excursion confirmation, ADR confirmations, etc, etc, etc. I used page protectors to try and keep the pages from tearing.

I figured this would be a great way to keep all the important info handy. I still have several things to add, but it's getting there.

I can't believe that the countdown is now in the teens...That's just shocking to me. Well, that's all the updates that I have for now. Keep your fingers crossed that I'm successful on my shopping trip tonight. Headed to JC Penney to exhange something that I ordered that's the wrong size, then headed to Party City to see what they have in the way of pirate costumes. If I can't find anything there, then it looks like I'll be ordering one off e-Bay. After Party City, I hope to make it to TJ Maxx...I'm still trying to find one more outfit for one of the Cruise Casual nights, and I really want a causal dress to wear. I'll make sure and post my results in the next few days!!

 

[cakesnjammom]

wow loving your pre-tr! 2 wks and some days out - exciting. we are 32 days out from sailing the magic too. I will be lurking for your TR. have a blast. you will appreciate the shoe organizer...mine is clear too so you can see where things are in the pockets....hope you like your pink one...too cute.
looks like you got it all under control from your shopping trip!
thinking of you and wishing you a great trip!!!! keep us posted when you return!

ps great dress!

 

[kileybeth]

Hi Missy! I got an update on my subscription list and thought I better pop over and see what only 19 days to go looked like! I still lurk on your meet thread and am so sad not to to be cruising with you all but have found a lovely home over on the 9/19 thread and some great mates there as well.

You are so stinkin' organized! I mean to be but it all just sits here and I get overwhlemed by it instead! HA! I totally related to your post title though, PANIC MODE! hehe

I am committed to the shoe organizer, really wondering how helpful it will be, guess I need a plan! At least I found a really nice canvas one for $2 on clearance at TJMaxx last week. I have my cheapie clear one from the dollar store also though, but we do have two cabins with the kidlets along so maybe we will use both!

Love all the pictures you include in your report. Expecially exciting to see the infamous documents! We are sailing GTY so no room assignments yet, getting very hard to wait at 33 days out!

Can't wait to see trippie photos of you and Mike in all your finery. I broke down and bought a new formal night dress too. My two little kiddos had nice stuff and I wanted us to all look dressed up. The DH is wearing one of his dark suits, he just doesn't know it yet,

If I don't get back over, have an awesome anniversary trip!!!

 

[UGAFan0829]

wow loving your pre-tr! 2 wks and some days out - exciting. we are 32 days out from sailing the magic too. I will be lurking for your TR. have a blast. you will appreciate the shoe organizer...mine is clear too so you can see where things are in the pockets....hope you like your pink one...too cute.
looks like you got it all under control from your shopping trip!
thinking of you and wishing you a great trip!!!! keep us posted when you return!

ps great dress!

Hi, cakesnjammom! Thanks for joining in and posting! I really appreciate it!! Please feel free to lurk away, as long as you promise to post every now and then!! Thank you for the well wishes! I will definitely be writing a TR when we return, so you'll be able to read all about it if you'd like!!

Hi Missy! I got an update on my subscription list and thought I better pop over and see what only 19 days to go looked like! I still lurk on your meet thread and am so sad not to to be cruising with you all but have found a lovely home over on the 9/19 thread and some great mates there as well.

You are so stinkin' organized! I mean to be but it all just sits here and I get overwhlemed by it instead! HA! I totally related to your post title though, PANIC MODE! hehe

I am committed to the shoe organizer, really wondering how helpful it will be, guess I need a plan! At least I found a really nice canvas one for $2 on clearance at TJMaxx last week. I have my cheapie clear one from the dollar store also though, but we do have two cabins with the kidlets along so maybe we will use both!

Love all the pictures you include in your report. Expecially exciting to see the infamous documents! We are sailing GTY so no room assignments yet, getting very hard to wait at 33 days out!

Can't wait to see trippie photos of you and Mike in all your finery. I broke down and bought a new formal night dress too. My two little kiddos had nice stuff and I wanted us to all look dressed up. The DH is wearing one of his dark suits, he just doesn't know it yet,

If I don't get back over, have an awesome anniversary trip!!!

Hey, kileybeth! Thanks for sticking with my report. It's good to see you posting here. I'm sad that you won't be cruising with us either, but very happy that you will still be cruising! And it's good to hear that your cruise
mates are as nice as our bunch!!

Honestly, I don't feel organized one bit! It's funny, but normally I feel more in control of our vacations, but this one is making me crazy! I'm just glad that I've been able to accomplish the things that I have!

I'm glad that you like my pictures. I try to include as many as I can since I love reading reports that include them as well!! I will make sure to keep posting them, just for you!

I hope that you get your cruise docs soon! And congrats on getting a formal dress! I like that your DH doesn't know that he's wearing his suit yet! LOL

I will definitely be posting lots of pics from our trip once we get back. I'm a photo fanatic, so there's no need to worry about a lack of them in my report! I wish that I had more to add here, and sometimes worry that people reading my report are thinking, "Why did she take a pic of THAT?!"

 

[UGAFan0829]

wow loving your pre-tr! 2 wks and some days out - exciting. we are 32 days out from sailing the magic too. I will be lurking for your TR. have a blast. you will appreciate the shoe organizer...mine is clear too so you can see where things are in the pockets....hope you like your pink one...too cute.
looks like you got it all under control from your shopping trip!
thinking of you and wishing you a great trip!!!! keep us posted when you return!

ps great dress!

Hi, cakesnjammom! Thanks for joining in and posting! I really appreciate it!! Please feel free to lurk away, as long as you promise to post every now and then!! Thank you for the well wishes! I will definitely be writing a TR when we return, so you'll be able to read all about it if you'd like!!

Hi Missy! I got an update on my subscription list and thought I better pop over and see what only 19 days to go looked like! I still lurk on your meet thread and am so sad not to to be cruising with you all but have found a lovely home over on the 9/19 thread and some great mates there as well.

You are so stinkin' organized! I mean to be but it all just sits here and I get overwhlemed by it instead! HA! I totally related to your post title though, PANIC MODE! hehe

I am committed to the shoe organizer, really wondering how helpful it will be, guess I need a plan! At least I found a really nice canvas one for $2 on clearance at TJMaxx last week. I have my cheapie clear one from the dollar store also though, but we do have two cabins with the kidlets along so maybe we will use both!

Love all the pictures you include in your report. Expecially exciting to see the infamous documents! We are sailing GTY so no room assignments yet, getting very hard to wait at 33 days out!

Can't wait to see trippie photos of you and Mike in all your finery. I broke down and bought a new formal night dress too. My two little kiddos had nice stuff and I wanted us to all look dressed up. The DH is wearing one of his dark suits, he just doesn't know it yet,

If I don't get back over, have an awesome anniversary trip!!!

Hey, kileybeth! Thanks for sticking with my report. It's good to see you posting here. I'm sad that you won't be cruising with us either, but very happy that you will still be cruising! And it's good to hear that your cruise
mates are as nice as our bunch!!

Honestly, I don't feel organized one bit! It's funny, but normally I feel more in control of our vacations, but this one is making me crazy! I'm just glad that I've been able to accomplish the things that I have!

I'm glad that you like my pictures. I try to include as many as I can since I love reading reports that include them as well!! I will make sure to keep posting them, just for you!

I hope that you get your cruise docs soon! And congrats on getting a formal dress! I like that your DH doesn't know that he's wearing his suit yet! LOL

I will definitely be posting lots of pics from our trip once we get back. I'm a photo fanatic, so there's no need to worry about a lack of them in my report! I wish that I had more to add here, and sometimes worry that people reading my report are thinking, "Why did she take a pic of THAT?!"

I hope to see you here again before I trip, but if not, I hope to see you on my TR once we get back!!! Thanks for the sweet wishes!