MNSSHP ~ We Will Miss You This Year!!! *****Update 9/12*****

[earthfaries]

Welcome!


Hello

I'm Amy~ some of you may know me from my last PTR & TR ~ If not, don't worry, I'll introduce myself and my family in just a few...

It's that time again...time to count down to WDW!!! I can't believe it's almost time to go back again!

For those of you who didn't read my very FIRST PTR & TR ~ you can check it out here...

Three Mamas & Three Angel Babies ~ Our Picture Filled, Super Fun Trip Report 1/10-1/21/08

It's full of Wonderful pictures and TONS of fun so check it out


Okay, so it's time for introductions...drumroll please...

Amy ~ (Myself) 33. I'm the planner of the family, well, my son would argue with that, he takes after mom I do all the research and planning to make our trips the best they can be. I LOVE it!

Elizabeth ~ (E for short) 31. My sister. She loves WDW as much as I do thank goodness and when it's time for vacation she agrees ~ WDW is the best!!!

**I explained our family in more detail in my first TR, but my sister and I live together and co-raise our children so they have 2 moms, 3 if you count our mom, their grammie, who joined us on our last trip, but who is not coming on this trip**

Trevon ~ (T for short) 12. The oldest of the 3. He loves to sing and act and entertain people. He's a sweetie ~ my big baby His favorite thing is Legos and video games.

Zar ~ 5. He turns 6 the day before our trip! Boy does time fly...
He loves his big bro so much ~ he's silly just like T and his favorite things are...you guessed it ~ Legos and video games! He's good at them too!
He's a sweetheart

Nara ~ 5. She turns 6 20 days after her brother. Her first birthday was spent at WDW ~ our first visit ever in 2003
She is one sweet little girl. She loves makeup, baby animals and coloring/drawing/painting. She's very artistic like her grammie which she takes after so much. She's not into princesses or girlie stuff though...

And that's our family (I'm on the right)

So, now that we've introduced the family we can talk about the trip!

We only have 50 days left until we leave!!!

If you've read the last TR, you know we do alot of extras on the way to WDW, on the way back from WDW and when we go to WDW. This trip will be totally different from the last one in Jan., this trip is more about R&R There will be lots of pin trading, swimming, hot tubbing and exploring going on. This trip is about new experiences, even though it will be our 7th trip to WDW!

We have some good plans...and could use some great ideas! This trip is going to be like none other before it...don't go anywhere!!!​

Links To All Installments In This PTR:

1.How This Trip Came To Be...

2.LGMHPC

3.A Couple of Things We'd Like To Do...

4.A New Addition To Our Family!

5.Yay! We're In The 30's & Pin Trading

6.We Got Our MNSSHP Tickets!

7.Itenerary ~ The Big Day (Day 1)

8.Itenerary

9.No WDW Afterall...

Click Here For The Next Installment​

 

[MayButterfly]

Your kids are so adorable.. What a nice family set up you have! I'll have to go and read your first report now! I can't wait until we have kids to see Disney through their eyes!

 

[earthfaries]

Your kids are so adorable.. What a nice family set up you have! I'll have to go and read your first report now! I can't wait until we have kids to see Disney through their eyes!

Thanks! It really is ~ we're so blessed to have each other

Check it out ~ it was a great trip. It's so much more special with children! Everything is! That's the great part of being a parent ~ everything is so fun!!!

 

[earthfaries]

Okay ~ so I'm like alot of other DISers...I change my WDW plans...alot... It's done changing now though, but let's start with what it was going to be...

Once upon a time...Jan. to be exact...I said " I'm not going back to WDW until 2010. This trip was so great next time we will do something different like another cruise..." How many times have you said that???

10 days AFTER we got back from WDW ~ Jan. 31st ~ I booked a condo in Kissimmee, just 1 mile from the World. What? 2 times in one year? Yes! While on our trip I really thought I had enough Disney to do me awhile, but boy was I sure wrong! Turns out the trip was so great and full of fun that we DIDN'T get to do alot of the extra stuff we like to do at Disney so we had to go back just to do it!!!

When I saw a 2 bdrm. condo at Silver Lake Resort I booked it right away. Such a nice place...we really enjoyed our condo at Summer Bay a couple of years ago ~ plus ~ we really, really missed MNSSHP. Jan. was the first time we had EVER been to WDW without going to MNSSHP It's okay though ~ the weather and lack of crowds made it better

So, 2 months after booking the condo, we decided to eat our losses and NOT go to Disney, then booked a cruise to the exotic carribben on the MSC Lirica. The kids hadn't been on a cruise since they were 1 and 7 and I really miss cruising.

Well, 2 months after that (May) we cancelled the cruise and lost $250.00 in the meantime for cancelling

We just HAD to go back to the World There's something about WDW...

So the trip was originally going to be a surprise trip for the kids because they always thought it would be fun to be surprised ~ we did good ~ didn't let anything slip for months. Then when we booked the cruise we told them we were going to go to WDW so when we cancelled the cruise they new. Oh well, maybe one of these days

So my mom and dad are going on 2 cruises in Dec. without us and we're going to WDW in Sept. and everybody is happy

Okay ~ that wasn't that bad right? Anyone else change their plans that much?



So now that we knew we were going to WDW we had to decide the itenerary...that went from US & IOA PLUS WDW to WDW for 2 weeks with free dining to what it is now. The free dining would have been great ~ and really affordable for the 2 weeks. It would have been about what we paid in Jan. for the trip ~ but that was the problem... we just spent $4000.00 in Jan. going to Disney we couldn't spend $8000.000 plus in one year on WDW!!! Plus , then we'd be back to where we started...lots of park days and no R&R...we just got caught up in the thrill of it

So we are sticking to your original plan, the plan I had when I booked the condo 6 months ago ~ our relaxing, pin trading, MNSSHParting do new things we've never done before trip to Orlando and WDW

Stay tuned ~ next installment "The Plans!"

Click Here For The Next Installment​

​

 

[kathleen27]

Planning is just so much fun! I think I am addicted to trip planning.

Beautiful pictures. The kids are adorable, love their smiles.


I noticed in one photo, where you are all wearing your pins, that you have something different than the usual lanyard. Do you like those. Did you get them at Disney? We are new to pin collecting/trading. Hannah started last trip. Jacob is thinking of starting this trip.

Its exciting to be at that 50 day mark!!!

 

[earthfaries]

Planning is just so much fun! I think I am addicted to trip planning.

Beautiful pictures. The kids are adorable, love their smiles.


I noticed in one photo, where you are all wearing your pins, that you have something different than the usual lanyard. Do you like those. Did you get them at Disney? We are new to pin collecting/trading. Hannah started last trip. Jacob is thinking of starting this trip.

Its exciting to be at that 50 day mark!!!

It is! Thanks

We LOVE those lanyards! We got them at the Disney outlet on international. They had WDW pricetags of $15.00 so they do , or did sell them at the parks. I would look in the pin trading shops. We noticed a lot of CMs had that kind.

They are great because they have the flap and display lots of your pins nicely and seem to stay on better. I highly recommend that type over the regular lanyard.

We love pin trading. We all really got into it last time and we bought 200 more official disney trading pins from a great seller we use on Ebay a couple of months ago so we all have 20 new ones to trade since we came home last time with keepers.

Thanks for joining in on our PTR and reading

 

[MayButterfly]

LOL on changing plans.. I think that is normal, although I don't think,myself personally, has changed plans.. Disney is it! We talk about going to US and IOA since we've never been.. One day we just might check those other places out..

Can't wait to hear more!

Oh and where are you from, if you don't mind me asking? Your drive is about the same as ours. We're in Knoxville, TN.

 

[Dr_Finkelstein]

Hi there, Got your post on my PTR. I love hearing from people who love WDW as much as us! None of our other friends understand - they're like 'You're going again?' I will say none of them have actually been though - they know nothing! It's good to hear from people that will be there at the same time as us - I'm trying to remember faces so I can say hello if I see anyone. I'll probably just freak people out by staring at them Keep posting, I love hearing everyone's plans!
Diane x

 

[earthfaries]

LOL on changing plans.. I think that is normal, although I don't think,myself personally, has changed plans.. Disney is it! We talk about going to US and IOA since we've never been.. One day we just might check those other places out..

Can't wait to hear more!

Oh and where are you from, if you don't mind me asking? Your drive is about the same as ours. We're in Knoxville, TN.

We've never been to Universal either. We went to SW in Jan. for the first time and it was great!

We're from Asheville, NC. It's about 600 miles from WDW. Knoxville is 140 miles from here.

Hi there, Got your post on my PTR. I love hearing from people who love WDW as much as us! None of our other friends understand - they're like 'You're going again?' I will say none of them have actually been though - they know nothing! It's good to hear from people that will be there at the same time as us - I'm trying to remember faces so I can say hello if I see anyone. I'll probably just freak people out by staring at them Keep posting, I love hearing everyone's plans!
Diane x

Hi! Thanks for coming over I love talking with people who love WDW as much as us too I don't know anyone else who does besides people here on DIS. They think we're crazy for going every year

Look for the lime green mickey heads while you're there, and don't be afraid to say hi to someone with one

 

[Dr_Finkelstein]

LOL on changing plans.. I think that is normal, although I don't think,myself personally, has changed plans.. Disney is it! We talk about going to US and IOA since we've never been.. One day we just might check those other places out..

Hi Mayflower,
We've been to US and IOA every visit and we love them just as much as WDW, Seuss Landing is fab - definately worth a visit!
bye
Diane x

 

[MayButterfly]

We've never been to Universal either. We went to SW in Jan. for the first time and it was great!

We're from Asheville, NC. It's about 600 miles from WDW. Knoxville is 140 miles from here.



We LOVE Asheville. We honeymooned there and was just there back in May for our 5th anniversary!

 

[earthfaries]

We've never been to Universal either. We went to SW in Jan. for the first time and it was great!

We're from Asheville, NC. It's about 600 miles from WDW. Knoxville is 140 miles from here.



We LOVE Asheville. We honeymooned there and was just there back in May for our 5th anniversary!

It's a great place. So beautiful What did you guys do when you came? Biltmore Estate?

 

[MayButterfly]

yeah we always do biltmore.. this past may, we skipped going inside though LOL.. we've seen it already and we were more there for the gardens/winery. I LOVE the winery.. and we got some awesome flower shots at the gardens.

On our honeymoon, we stayed at a B&B..did Biltmore (and the behind the scenes tour), and took another tour around the city...then we hung out downtown and window shopped. Like I said, we really,really like it there. I don't know why we don't go more!

 

[earthfaries]

yeah we always do biltmore.. this past may, we skipped going inside though LOL.. we've seen it already and we were more there for the gardens/winery. I LOVE the winery.. and we got some awesome flower shots at the gardens.

On our honeymoon, we stayed at a B&B..did Biltmore (and the behind the scenes tour), and took another tour around the city...then we hung out downtown and window shopped. Like I said, we really,really like it there. I don't know why we don't go more!

We love Biltmore. We have annual passes and go there almost every weekend to walk around in the gardens, hang out at the barn area and visit the farm animals and stop at the big lake and feed the geese. We rarely go inside

Asheville is a great place to window shop and hang out. Downtown is a neat place. You should come more often!

We used to come to Knoxville before we got a Chuck E Cheese here. We would drive there just for that

 

[earthfaries]

Yesterday E went to Home Depot and got a bunch of Mickey paint chips. In Jan. I didn't know about them so we cut out of construction paper mickey heads for our countdown calendar It was time consuming but we had fun. We decorated them, drew on them and numbered them from 1-30. Actually the kids did pretty much all the cutting and decorating ~ they LOVED it! Then we put it on our basement door and took one off everyday. It was really fun. Here is a pic of our countdown calendar for our last trip ~

This time I decided to use the paint chips. It's alot easier and less mess! We gots lots of colors and we will start decorating them in the next couple of days so we can be ready for our 30 day countdown

I still have the LGMHPC I made in Jan. still attached to my camcorder bag, camera bag and backpack. There weren't too many people there and I didn't get approched by any other DISers Maybe next month since it will be busy I will see some and people will see ours!

Click Here For The Next Installment​

​

 

[kaysmommie]

Hi Earthfairies, Glad to see you are doing another trippie. Your plans sound great. I have changed resorts about 5 times so far. Now we are booked at Beach Club and meeting up with some friends that are also staying there. We are going to MNSSHP too on our trip.

LOL on changing plans.. I think that is normal, although I don't think,myself personally, has changed plans.. Disney is it! We talk about going to US and IOA since we've never been.. One day we just might check those other places out..

Can't wait to hear more!

Oh and where are you from, if you don't mind me asking? Your drive is about the same as ours. We're in Knoxville, TN.

Hello we are 5 mintes from West Knoxville too. Our drive is 10 hours. We would love to try IOA and US on a future trip since my kids love Dr. Suess.

 

[earthfaries]

Hi Earthfairies, Glad to see you are doing another trippie. Your plans sound great. I have changed resorts about 5 times so far. Now we are booked at Beach Club and meeting up with some friends that are also staying there. We are going to MNSSHP too on our trip.



Hello we are 5 mintes from West Knoxville too. Our drive is 10 hours. We would love to try IOA and US on a future trip since my kids love Dr. Suess.

Hi Kaysmommie Thanks for coming over!

I don't know what it is about changing our WDW plans! I think we just want to make it the absolute best we can

The Beach Club sounds great ~ and MNSSHP you will LOVE

We REALLY contemplated getting the week pass to US and IOA this time since we don't have too much actual WDW parks planned, but we just wanted to enjoy the other parts of Disney for once. We WILL do it in the future though ~ it looks very fun

​

 

[scottny]

Ok I am here. Sorry not posting much these days. I am putting together a website so it is time consuming. But did not want to lose you.

 

[earthfaries]

Ok I am here. Sorry not posting much these days. I am putting together a website so it is time consuming. But did not want to lose you.

Hey Scott ~ nice to see you

I checked out your website a few months ago, I'll have to see how it's coming along.

Thanks for coming by!!!

​

 

[earthfaries]

I would really like for us to do some different things on this trip. One of those things would be an airboat ride. Has anyone been on an airboat ride in/around Orlando before? Any suggestions? I know there are a couple of different ones available...

Also I'm really thinking about Gatorland. Any input on Gatorland would also be greatly appreciated

Any other ideas are also welcome

*Has anyone ever bought the Orlando coupon book? I see it's $30.00 ~ was wondering if there are any good deals in there for mini golf, food, etc. I'm looking forward to your replies! Thanks!!!

Click Here For The Next Installment​

​