Mom's At It Again! ***Updated 4/30/2009~Trip Report Link**

[mommytothreeboys]

Ok I'm all caught up now!

First, even though I'm way behind on this, I HAVE to comment on Innoventions. I saw that you're not really planning on doing this when you visit Epcot and I truly believe in "to each their own"...but I LOVE Innoventions. (or at least I have in the past) Growing up it was always my brothers' and my favorite! All sorts of cool gadgets to play with and fun stuff like that. It's always easy to wander through and do the things that look interesting and skip the ones that aren't.

Second, I have done MK EMHs before. I know that EMHs seem to be pretty debated here...but most of the times I've gone the EMHs are worth it. Especially since the park hours are restricted a bit more than usual this time of year. We're doing MK that night specifically BECAUSE they have EMHs and the parks are closing so early during the week! It's the only night we'll get to stay there late. The only time that I've been at WDW when EMHs are a joke is at Christmas time. But whoo! Talk about CROWDS! Doesn't matter WHAT time of day!

Anyway, like I said, I'm caught up and looking forward to more. It's fun to see what your plans are since we're going so close to the same time!

Thanks for your comments about Innoventions. I'm not sure why we didn't do it last trip except that we only had a day and a half at Epcot and had so many other things on our list of must-dos. We have 2+days this time so time should not be an issue. We will DEFINITELY check it out!

And I'm with you on the EMH issue. We only did AM at MK, Epcot and DHS, and evening at AK, but I thought they were all well worth it. I am so looking forward to being at MK after dark. On our last trip we lined up for Spectro one night and Wishes the next so at dusk we were done touring. It will be so fun to experience some of the attractions in the dark!

 

[ChefMickey123]

I love a good bargain and you can't beat that price, even with the shipping. I haven't ordered it yet, but I'll post pics when I get it! Thanks for the tip!



Here's some dancing for double digits!

This is a link to Carissa's post about the hipster...hope it's helpful!

http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=29997414&postcount=876



I am SO excited about evening EMH at MK! Have you done one before?? Oh....and



Yeah....I think I am the next link in the "six degrees of Vera Bradley"' on the DIS! Now I just have to pass it on!



All I can think about is that noise Tim Allen makes when he does "manly" things. Think you can manage to type that into your report!!



Awesome.... !

I think that you type it uurheuaoccnauvdnsajkvf or something like that. We are now in the official 40 day zone-soon the word month won't even apply to us.

 

[Planning fanatic mom]

Oops! I didn't see this until Missy quoted you.

Here's the picture:

The strap is adjustable so I think it would work just fine for you.

Thank you very much. That helps a lot. I still can't decide. DH will have a fit if I pay over $30.00 for another bag.

 

[HeatherBelle614]

Your Tink bag is precious; if it goes missing, don't be surprised...

 

[mousescrapper]

Thanks so much for that info. We have never done the monorail to any resort so I had no idea what to expect! How long do you think that trip takes?

Ok it took some digging but I found this site:

http://www.ourlaughingplace.com/asp/twiz.aspx

if the link gets blocked or doesn't work just pm me.

but it's a travel wizard pretty cool huh?

Here's it's estimate:

from the POR via the bus to MK is 17 minutes (plus add in waiting and boarding times 5-10 minutes)

and then from MK to the POLY via the Monorail is 14 minutes (I assume this calculates in the stops at CR and TTC) and then add in waiting and boarding times too.

So maybe the whole travel time would be something like: 45 minutes

but it will be worth it! right? breakfast w/ Lilo, Stitch, Mickey and Pluto!

Plus as a Monorail newbie try waiting at where the pilot area is and ask one of the CM's if your boys can ride up front w/ the pilot...it's so COOL! the twins did on their 6th b-day and got honorary Monorail Pilot liscences.

Good luck and happy traveling.

 

[DisMomAmy]

Ok it took some digging but I found this site:

http://www.ourlaughingplace.com/asp/twiz.aspx

if the link gets blocked or doesn't work just pm me.

but it's a travel wizard pretty cool huh?

Here's it's estimate:

from the POR via the bus to MK is 17 minutes (plus add in waiting and boarding times 5-10 minutes)

and then from MK to the POLY via the Monorail is 14 minutes (I assume this calculates in the stops at CR and TTC) and then add in waiting and boarding times too.

So maybe the whole travel time would be something like: 45 minutes

but it will be worth it! right? breakfast w/ Lilo, Stitch, Mickey and Pluto!

Plus as a Monorail newbie try waiting at where the pilot area is and ask one of the CM's if your boys can ride up front w/ the pilot...it's so COOL! the twins did on their 6th b-day and got honorary Monorail Pilot liscences.

Good luck and happy traveling.

Awesome website Julie!! I've been checking out all of our travel times for the last 20 minutes!! Thanks!

 

[mommytothreeboys]

Ok it took some digging but I found this site:

http://www.ourlaughingplace.com/asp/twiz.aspx

if the link gets blocked or doesn't work just pm me.

but it's a travel wizard pretty cool huh?

Here's it's estimate:

from the POR via the bus to MK is 17 minutes (plus add in waiting and boarding times 5-10 minutes)

and then from MK to the POLY via the Monorail is 14 minutes (I assume this calculates in the stops at CR and TTC) and then add in waiting and boarding times too.

So maybe the whole travel time would be something like: 45 minutes

but it will be worth it! right? breakfast w/ Lilo, Stitch, Mickey and Pluto!

Plus as a Monorail newbie try waiting at where the pilot area is and ask one of the CM's if your boys can ride up front w/ the pilot...it's so COOL! the twins did on their 6th b-day and got honorary Monorail Pilot liscences.

Good luck and happy traveling.

Julie that website is INCREDIBLE!!! I had given us 50 minutes to make that trip...I guess my "guesstimation" was pretty close! (And...yes it will be SO worth it....we are very much looking forward to breakfast with Stitch!) I've bookmarked it so I can figure out the rest of our travel times. Thank you so much!

We actually did ride the monorail last trip and the boys got their co-pilot licenses....we only did the Epcot loop though, no resorts. We're planning to ride in the front again though, because they can only take 4 people so my DH had to sit in the regular seats....he want's his turn!

Can you believe you leave in 2 weeks!!!! Woo-Hoo!

 

[mousescrapper]

Awesome website Julie!! I've been checking out all of our travel times for the last 20 minutes!! Thanks!

Julie that website is INCREDIBLE!!! I had given us 50 minutes to make that trip...I guess my "guesstimation" was pretty close! (And...yes it will be SO worth it....we are very much looking forward to breakfast with Stitch!) I've bookmarked it so I can figure out the rest of our travel times. Thank you so much!

We actually did ride the monorail last trip and the boys got their co-pilot licenses....we only did the Epcot loop though, no resorts. We're planning to ride in the front again though, because they can only take 4 people so my DH had to sit in the regular seats....he want's his turn!

Can you believe you leave in 2 weeks!!!! Woo-Hoo!

Amy- I know after I got the times for missy I jotted my times too. I was slightly suprised by a few but overall everything looked good!

missy Yes it is crazy only 14 days away..wow it's gonna fast! The monorail is so fun, I will actually miss it this trip after staying at the POLY in June, we got so spolied.

 

[mommytothreeboys]

I have been very patiently awaiting Mickey Mail since I paid off our trip balance. I know the package info and ME stuff comes about 30 days out from the trip, but I have been hoping every day I'd check the mail and find something good. Today, it happened! I checked the mailbox and the packet with my ME information had arrived! I got luggage tags so bags can go to the right resort and all the vouchers to ride the ME bus. Not all that earth shattering, but exciting nonetheless!! This is what my mailbox had for me today....

I also completed the boys' autograph books. I had made them books for our 2007 trip and they were still serviceable. Except for Jonah's which was just too small. So....I added new pages and new retractable Sharpies to Dan's and Isaiah's books and I made Jonah a new one. Here are the results!

Keep in mind that last year I took out their autographs and put them in our scrapbook along with the picture of them with the character. This year I told them they could keep their books intact as souvenirs. They were pretty happy about that!

The other project I did was to turn my awesome DISign into a t-shirt. My plan was to only make one for myself as I really did not believe the rest of my family would be interested. Boy was I wrong. As soon as the boys saw my shirt they all wanted one. Then Jeff decides that if everyone else has one he certainly isn't going to be odd-man-out. So....looks like I'm making more shirts! It remains to be seen if we will all wear them on the same day!

Well that's it for today. I will be gone all weekend to a ministry retreat for my church. It is being held at a local abbey...I'm not Catholic, but the abbey hosts retreats for any local group. Anyway.....apparently there is a strict code of silence at meals and in the retreat house except for in the conference room. I am in SO much TROUBLE!! Me and silence do not do well together! Wish me luck! Have a great weekend everyone!

 

[nu2wdisneyw]

I have been very patiently awaiting Mickey Mail since I paid off our trip balance. I know the package info and ME stuff comes about 30 days out from the trip, but I have been hoping every day I'd check the mail and find something good. Today, it happened! I checked the mailbox and the packet with my ME information had arrived! I got luggage tags so bags can go to the right resort and all the vouchers to ride the ME bus. Not all that earth shattering, but exciting nonetheless!! This is what my mailbox had for me today....

I also completed the boys' autograph books. I had made them books for our 2007 trip and they were still serviceable. Except for Jonah's which was just too small. So....I added new pages and new retractable Sharpies to Dan's and Isaiah's books and I made Jonah a new one. Here are the results!

Keep in mind that last year I took out their autographs and put them in our scrapbook along with the picture of them with the character. This year I told them they could keep their books intact as souvenirs. They were pretty happy about that!

The other project I did was to turn my awesome DISign into a t-shirt. My plan was to only make one for myself as I really did not believe the rest of my family would be interested. Boy was I wrong. As soon as the boys saw my shirt they all wanted one. Then Jeff decides that if everyone else has one he certainly isn't going to be odd-man-out. So....looks like I'm making more shirts! It remains to be seen if we will all wear them on the same day!

Well that's it for today. I will be gone all weekend to a ministry retreat for my church. It is being held at a local abbey...I'm not Catholic, but the abbey hosts retreats for any local group. Anyway.....apparently there is a strict code of silence at meals and in the retreat house except for in the conference room. I am in SO much TROUBLE!! Me and silence do not do well together! Wish me luck! Have a great weekend everyone!

Okay...I am really dancing for your Mickey Mail!!! Yours is more exciting than mines!! Time is winding down and you will soon be in The World!! I love the autograph books and the t-shirts. I may to an make autogragh books for my boys. I've always wanted to get into scrapping...this will be a great trip to start with. I've seen the Cricut on TV and REALLY thought about ordering one...

 

[Tiger.Lily]

Oh my goodness that website is AMAZING!

Thank you SO much! I was just trying to figure out how reasonable it was going to be for us to get to DTD from some of the parks and THIS is what I needed!

You're my hero!

 

[mousescrapper]

Missy I love the autograph books they are so special. And how exciting about your family loving the shirts. I really hope you guys all wear them together!

That would be an awesome PhotoPass pic op in front of the castle or w/ Mickey!

Yay on getting your DME stuff.

Have a good retreat and I hope you don't get kicked out

 

[HeatherBelle614]

Ten thousand WOHOs for Mickey mail! That means you're getting so close! Yayyy!!

I love your t-shirts; did you say you did that DISign by yourself? I love it!!!

 

[Planning fanatic mom]

Excellent Update!! Have a good retreat!!

 

[carissanboys]

Your autograph books are awesome Missy! You're very talented.

Your shirt came out great too! I just tried mine on the other day and realized it's a bit too small. Stupid me - I should have tried it on before I washed it and ironed on the graphics.

 

[ChefMickey123]

I have been very patiently awaiting Mickey Mail since I paid off our trip balance. I know the package info and ME stuff comes about 30 days out from the trip, but I have been hoping every day I'd check the mail and find something good. Today, it happened! I checked the mailbox and the packet with my ME information had arrived! I got luggage tags so bags can go to the right resort and all the vouchers to ride the ME bus. Not all that earth shattering, but exciting nonetheless!! This is what my mailbox had for me today....

I am so jealous. Mine didn't come yet and we are going at the exact same time, to the exact same place. Oh well, maybe today

I also completed the boys' autograph books. I had made them books for our 2007 trip and they were still serviceable. Except for Jonah's which was just too small. So....I added new pages and new retractable Sharpies to Dan's and Isaiah's books and I made Jonah a new one. Here are the results!

I think it is cool your boys, esp 14yods still want to do the autograph thing. I like your shirt too.


Keep in mind that last year I took out their autographs and put them in our scrapbook along with the picture of them with the character. This year I told them they could keep their books intact as souvenirs. They were pretty happy about that!

The other project I did was to turn my awesome DISign into a t-shirt. My plan was to only make one for myself as I really did not believe the rest of my family would be interested. Boy was I wrong. As soon as the boys saw my shirt they all wanted one. Then Jeff decides that if everyone else has one he certainly isn't going to be odd-man-out. So....looks like I'm making more shirts! It remains to be seen if we will all wear them on the same day!



Well that's it for today. I will be gone all weekend to a ministry retreat for my church. It is being held at a local abbey...I'm not Catholic, but the abbey hosts retreats for any local group. Anyway.....apparently there is a strict code of silence at meals and in the retreat house except for in the conference room. I am in SO much TROUBLE!! Me and silence do not do well together! Wish me luck! Have a great weekend everyone!

You don't strike me as the strong, silent, monastic (especially w/3 kids) type. Once you are there, you will realize what a calm place it is, and the silence at certain times will come naturally. If you feel you have to burst out laughing-just leave the room and handle business. I hope that helps (there are no Jesus smilies on this board).

 

[DisneymoonJess07]

I'm sure you'll be fine not talking. Or, if you've ever seen the Frisco Kid you'll be like Gene Wilder at the monastery. He didn't do too well in the silence either.

Anyway, I love your Mickey Mail and your t-shirt! I am hoping to do a few of those before I leave as well...we'll see how it goes!!

 

[DisMomAmy]

Cute shirts & autograph books! I made books last time but I think I'll have them buy books this year. We'll either get them at CBR or Epcot on our first day. Unless I find some spare time... I tried to buy them at the Disney Store but I guess they are exclusive to WDW.

Yay for Mickey mail!! I should be getting some soon!!! Although we aren't using ME to get to CBR - and we haven't decided if we'll use ME to get back to the airport or not... depends how long we keep our rental car - so as of now, no ME mail for me.

 

[3princesses+aprince]

I have been very patiently awaiting Mickey Mail since I paid off our trip balance. I know the package info and ME stuff comes about 30 days out from the trip, but I have been hoping every day I'd check the mail and find something good. Today, it happened! I checked the mailbox and the packet with my ME information had arrived! I got luggage tags so bags can go to the right resort and all the vouchers to ride the ME bus. Not all that earth shattering, but exciting nonetheless!! This is what my mailbox had for me today....

I also completed the boys' autograph books. I had made them books for our 2007 trip and they were still serviceable. Except for Jonah's which was just too small. So....I added new pages and new retractable Sharpies to Dan's and Isaiah's books and I made Jonah a new one. Here are the results!

Keep in mind that last year I took out their autographs and put them in our scrapbook along with the picture of them with the character. This year I told them they could keep their books intact as souvenirs. They were pretty happy about that!

The other project I did was to turn my awesome DISign into a t-shirt. My plan was to only make one for myself as I really did not believe the rest of my family would be interested. Boy was I wrong. As soon as the boys saw my shirt they all wanted one. Then Jeff decides that if everyone else has one he certainly isn't going to be odd-man-out. So....looks like I'm making more shirts! It remains to be seen if we will all wear them on the same day!

Well that's it for today. I will be gone all weekend to a ministry retreat for my church. It is being held at a local abbey...I'm not Catholic, but the abbey hosts retreats for any local group. Anyway.....apparently there is a strict code of silence at meals and in the retreat house except for in the conference room. I am in SO much TROUBLE!! Me and silence do not do well together! Wish me luck! Have a great weekend everyone!

Awesome autograph books!!!!!!! They came out great.

I have never seen the Magical express tags, I'm so excited I can't wait to get mine, even though I know I got alittle wait. I'm at 58 days out. You must have been thrilled

 

[mommytothreeboys]

So I survived! Just to recap, I spent the weekend at a local abbey/monastery for a ministry leaders retreat for my church. (not a Catholic church, but the abbey allows local groups to use their facilities for retreats) Anyway....the retreat house itself is what they call a Silent House. Silence is observed in all parts of the house except in the Speaking Room. NO lie! I was a little concerned because as one of my DISfriends has observed, I don't think anyone would refer to me as the strong, SILENT, type! In fact, I was a little freaked out to be honest. Silence just intimidates me....maybe because it gives me lots of time for introspection...YIKES! We were allowed to conduct leadership training sessions in the Speaking Room, so that was a relief! But all meals were taken in silence, the halls were silent, and we were "technically" supposed to turn off our cell phones. So I cheated a little...I did text home a few times! That DOES qualify as silent, but it definitely skirts the rules!! LOL! So did I learn anything??? Of course...I learned that silence definitely has its place and its time. It allows you to get rid of all outside "input" and really spend some time in solitude. I appreciate the concept, but am truly glad that I, unlike the monks, was not called to a life of it!!

Back to Disney Planning! The family and I went shopping last night to get some luggage. We purchased a 4 piece set for our last trip, and we used an old wheeled suitcase I had and a very small child's suitcase for Jonah. This trip we just needed more pieces. So we purchased another 4 piece set with 3 good-sized wheeled cases. We should be set in the luggage department. I also purchased several "DIS" green bandannas to tie on our luggage so they can be easily distinguished from all the other similar looking bags...mainly for our return home as DME will do that job upon our arrival in Orlando.

I also purchased sneakers for DH and DS11, Disney Crocs (Walmart style) for DS11, new socks for everyone, new bathing suits for all but myself and DS14, new cargo shorts and a new casual button up shirt for DH, some stickers for our Tipping envelopes, and 2 new shirts and 2 new pair of capris for myself. YAY....vacation shopping is so much fun!!

Still on the to-do list:

*purchase snack and breakfast items to take with us

*finish up touring plans (almost done, I'll post soon)

*put budget for spending money on paper!

*find suction cup soap holder for toothbrushes (I've had no luck finding what I want)

*make tipping envelopes with the boys

*make packing list

*look for misting fans

*make T-shirts for the rest of the family!

I'm sure there is more, but that covers quite a bit! I am so looking forward to starting to pack!

Also, I did purchase my Vera Bradley hipster and am waiting for it to arrive. I'll post pics when it gets here! Also, I ordered a grab bag of trading pins for the boys to put in their Easter baskets. I'm looking forward to seeing what they get!

I guess that's all for now. I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!