Momma, is it summer yet? (Aug. 29 - Sept. 5, 08)

[shelbecat]

This is my first attempt at a pre-trip report. I've read so many on here and love the idea of having a place to store all the fun plans!

My partner and I are taking our 3 1/2 year-old daughter to WDW for the first time this summer. We booked our trip over 2 months ago and told our little girl about it right away.

Big mistake!

Well maybe not a mistake, but ever since she has constantly been asking "When are we going to 'Dis-en-nee' World?" Or even demanding, "I want to go to 'Dis-en-nee' World right NOW!" Very cute

We finally explained to her that we weren't going until summer-time. So now she asks...you guessed it from the title, "Momma, is it summer yet?" LOL! (I really wish it was summer, and trip time, already!)

Our basic plans include staying at POP Century and a 6-day park pass. We have reservations for Cinderella's Round Table breakfast and Akershus. Also Mickey's Backyard BBQ and The Cyrstal Palace. I'm trying to ride a fine line between booking all the things a 3-year-old will love, and not planning too much of our days.

We also splurged and bought tickets for Cirque du Soleil on Saturday, Aug. 30th. And now I'm worried our daughter won't want to go! Has anyone ever taken a young child to the show? We went by ourselves a few years ago in Las Vegas and loved it. So we really wanted to go again. But I don't want to risk having spent all that money and having to leave halfway through. Not to mention how hard it will be to actually try and get up to leave the show!

I'm considering selling these tickets but not sure how to find someone interested, or if I should sell them at all. Any advice is welcome.

We live in Canada and have two 3.5 hour flights to get to Florida. We are buying little things to keep our daughter occupied on the plane and I've started buying some travel-sized toiletries. Other than that I haven't really bought much...just my Idiot's Guide to Walt Disney World that I have devoured! I think that the planning is almost as much fun as the trip will be (I said "almost")!

I'll try to add more about the details we already have planned soon.

 

[PrincessEeyore]

I think that the planning is almost as much fun as the trip will be (I said "almost")!

Actually, for me at least, it is safe to say that planning is most definetly
as much fun as the trip!

First off, to the DisBoards! You have to rack up that post count somehow, so where better than your own PTR?

Your daughter sounds adorable!!! And I love her pronunciation of Disney! And she's going to have so much fun at CRT and Akershus, what a little princess !
Your trip sounds like its going to be so much fun. Looking foward to the next update! And again, welcome to the DisBoards!!!

 

[Zeebs]

OK am waiting for the next installment, but I understand that you are probably quite busy, how many Mums do you know with a 3.5 year old that aren't busy eh?

Can't help with the Cirque tickets, I would say at that age there would be enough to keep her attention but maybe you could show her some stuff on the internet and ask her if it is something she would like to see.

Kirsten

 

[shelbecat]

Sorry for the delay in posting! I am still planning though

To tell this right, I have to go back to how we decided to book this trip in the first place. My partner wanted to surprise me with the trip all planned and booked for my birthday back in April. Then we would go at some point in the future, whenever she had vacation, etc. But it seemed too overwhelming for her to make all the decisions on her own. So she finally confessed and told me what she was planning...

And then how could I say no!?!

I resisted for a few days, actually I think it was more like only a few hours!, but then we went online to start looking...and found the free dining plan option! Now I've heard some negative things about this plan, and the crowds that will be there in Aug/Sept, but it was the option that made the trip affordable for us at this time.

We booked a 5-night/6-day package online with free dining (Aug. 29 - Sept. 3). I have to jump ahead to explain the difference in those dates and the dates we are actually going now. We planned and planned and planned and were so excited about all the things we wanted to do, then we started thinking about all the things we wouldn't have time to do! In June, I asked my partner what she thought about extending our vacation by two days. She replied, "Well, I'm not going to say no!" LOL!

I called Disney that day, and thank God I did. Turns out, somehow we didn't have the free dining option that had been the selling point of the whole trip! I almost cried on the phone. I don't know how it happened! We booked online, and logged in through the URL that was specifically for the free dining promotion. I guess in between going back and forth and choosing different options, at some point we didn't choose free dining. The lady on the phone told me that she could give us two more nights at Pop Century without having to change rooms or anything, but the dining plan wasn't available.

I think I was just stunned and shocked on the phone. She put me on hold and was gone FOREVER! I was on MSN with my partner typing fast and furious about what was going on. It's not like we could cancel everything at this point. Aside from really wanting to go, and how could we possibly tell our daughter, our plane tickets were non-refundable (we could get a credit, but who knows if we could have used it before it expired). We were just going to have to pay so much more for our food down there. Not a happy thought.

Finally the lady came back on the phone and told us "I was able to get you the free dining plan!" WOO HOO!!! She said, "There must have been a little magic working for you today!" Now I now they say corny things like that all the time, but that is when I actually started to cry! Thankfully our conversation was over and I could hang up to celebrate the return of our beautiful trip.

I quickly filled those days with more plans so that now our trip itinerary looks like this:

Friday: Arrive ~3:00 PM (possibly try to go to a water park that evening)

Saturday: Animal Kingdom, Tickets for Cirque du Soleil (still wondering if this is a good idea with a 3-year-old and may sell these tickets if possible)

Sunday: Magic Kingdom, The Crystal Palace for Dinner

Monday: Possible off-site shopping if we can figure out the best way to get to a mall. I was thinking of Lake Buena Vista but not sure how to get a cab that provides a car seat. Otherwise we will go to Hollywood Studios or Typhoon Lagoon.

Tuesday: Magic Kingdom, Cinderella's Round Table for Breakfast, Mickey's Backyard BBQ for Dinner

Wednesday: Epcot, Restaurant Akershus for Breakfast, possible water park in the afternoon/evening

Thursday: Possibly Hollywood Studios or back to MK, Chef Mickey's for Lunch

Friday: Depart ~ 11:00 AM

We figure that our 3 1/2 year old will stay in the parks until after lunch, and then need a break. So we will head back to the hotel, possibly go to the pool or a Water Park. Some days we will go back to the same park at night for fireworks, or a parade. We are leaving those plans open.

Less than 7 weeks to go and more plans to come!