My daughter is two and this is her third trip. Surprise Dress Up!

[jgazda]

Hey guys. I did a dining report last year and it was a lot of fun so I thought I would take a stab at an actual trip report. It’s my first one so bear with me. Here goes…

My family and I (minus my son) are eagerly preparing for our November trip to Disney. My son recently turned 11 and is now attending middle school and has decided he is WAY too cool for Disney and has opted out. Sometimes I wonder who he belongs to! So for this trip it will be:



That's me, My Husband, and my little 2-year-old princess. My mother, who is not in the picture, will also be joining us. She hasn't visited in years and I can't wait for her to see the parks through our daughter’s eyes.

We are going for 8 days from November 7th through the 14th staying at Animal Kingdom-Kidani Village. We are newer DVC members and were fortunate to stay one night there in a studio in May but this trip will be a whole week there in a one bedroom with a savannah view. I can't wait! I'm a HUGE fan of Giraffe's and hope to see them every morning when I wake up.

Part way through the trip we will be joined by 2 cousins, their kids and an aunt from my husbands side.



They typically join us for all of our Disney trips and we love going with them. Our Aunt (the one on the right) is an avid sewer and makes costumes for all of the girls. Stay tuned for pictures of the dresses...

 

[jgazda]

So did I mention how talented our Aunt is? She has been sewing for a long time and does a lot without patterns. Her first granddaughter got her started in the princess fashions and now all the girls are taking part. Here are some of the outfits she has made for our daughter:

Pocohantas


Ariel


Tinkerbell


Alice


Cinderella


Minnie


For this trip we are getting Snow White (will post a picture later), Mary Poppins, and a surprise dress that I am DYING to tell my fellow DIS'ers about but I don't want anyone to copy it so I'm keeping it to myself till we go. I'm hoping to report back live though so you can see the dress and the hopefully wonderful reactions to it.

 

[jgazda]

Here are the dining plans we have made for this trip:

Day 1: Arrival Day
Veg out at the pool and order the food from Sanaa in the bento boxes. Really looking forward to that!

Day 2: Magic Kingdom Day
Lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern. I love this place for lunch and the decor and staff have always made me feel "home".

Day 3: Mom's Birthday! and Epcot
We have breakfast plans at 1900 Park Fare and then dinner plans at Garden Grill.

Day 4: DHS
Dinner at Sci Fi Dine in Theatre

Day 5: Animal Kingdom Day
Breakfast at Tusker House. Loved this breakfast last time so we are really looking forward to it again. The juice is SO amazing.

Day 6: Magic Kingdom Day
Dinner at Crystal Palace. Only ever had breakfast here so I’m excited to try dinner. Have heard good things.

Day 7: Epcot Day and Christmas Party
Dinner at 1900 Park Fare

Day 8: Going Home
Having breakfast at Chef Mickey’s and then heading home

Some are repeats and some are new but I'm really looking forward to everything and feel lucky that I got everything we wanted when we called.

 

[jgazda]

Here is a picture of the Snow White Dress...



So far this one is my favorite. I can't wait to go so she can meet the real SNow White with her costume on. Memories!

 

[TxMickeyLover]

Jumping in! Your daughter is adorable, and what a great job your aunt does with those costumes. I can't wait to see the "surprise" one. Imagine being way to cool for Disney! It looks like you guys are going to have a great time! A 1-bedroom overlooking the Savannah, sounds heavenly!

 

[jgazda]

Jumping in! Your daughter is adorable, and what a great job your aunt does with those costumes. I can't wait to see the "surprise" one. Imagine being way to cool for Disney! It looks like you guys are going to have a great time! A 1-bedroom overlooking the Savannah, sounds heavenly!

Thanks. I saw you are staying at the Poly the same week. It is a dream of mine to stay there one day. It's just so beautiful.

It's torture not being able to tell anyone but the family about the dress. They are Disney people, but I don't think they get how cool this is! Only 50 some days until we go!

 

[jgazda]

I'm thinking of taking my daughter to the Bippity Boppity Boutique on our trip. She'll be a fresh 3 with shorter hair. Just doing the crown package. What do you think? Worth it or not?

 

[TxMickeyLover]

I think it's a great idea! That said, if she is tender-headed, she may not enjoy it. I've heard they pull your hair very tight into those hairstyles.

And it's 55 days to be exact!

 

[jgazda]

So on our last trip I decided to do something different with autographs and went with the following:



and here are a couple of examples of the characters signing their stories:









And this one:



more examples:





I thought this way it would be a really nice keepsake for her as she gets older and can hopefully one day pass them down to her kids. For the characters that didn't have their own story in the book we had them sign the front and back inside cover.

For our November trip we went with this book:



There are 10 stories in the new book that have the potential to be signed. Can't wait!

 

[jgazda]

So my sister just called and said she is expecting in May. Woo Hoo. Get to be an aunt for the first time! Another little one to bring to Disney!!

 

[cascarlet]

Your princess is adorable. Love the autograph book. I look forward to reading about your trip!

 

[TxMickeyLover]

What a GREAT idea for collecting autographs!

I'm doing autographs for the first time this trip, and I'm trying to decide what to do. I didn't want to use just a plain autograph book, but I don't really have time to put together a scrapbook-type autograph book. Something like this might be fun!

 

[jgazda]

Your princess is adorable. Love the autograph book. I look forward to reading about your trip!

Thanks! I can't believe how fast it is approaching.

What a GREAT idea for collecting autographs!

I'm doing autographs for the first time this trip, and I'm trying to decide what to do. I didn't want to use just a plain autograph book, but I don't really have time to put together a scrapbook-type autograph book. Something like this might be fun!

The characters really seemed to like the idea too. When we met Snow White she signed her name and then flipped through the pages with my daughter on her lap saying this is me with my red bow and this is me with my blue bow. Priceless. I can't wait to do it again. We also have a Playhouse Disney book I am considering taking along to DHS to have all of those guys sign it. They are only $10 at amazon so it is a great price that turns into an amazing souvenir.

 

[jgazda]

Only 50 more days! Hope to be booking the flights this week.

 

[TxMickeyLover]

Only 50 more days! Hope to be booking the flights this week.

I just posted the same thing on my PTR!!

 

[jgazda]

I just posted the same thing on my PTR!!

Awww how funny. I can't believe it, all of a sudden the trip seems so close. I remember booking it at the 11 month mark and thinking we had forever, now it's 7 weeks away. Gotta start packing almost.

 

[TxMickeyLover]

Awww how funny. I can't believe it, all of a sudden the trip seems so close. I remember booking it at the 11 month mark and thinking we had forever, now it's 7 weeks away. Gotta start packing almost.

I know! I'm ready to start shopping for all those fun little travel toiletries. DH keeps steering me away from that aisle!

 

[jgazda]

I sewed!! I know it is practically done, all you have to do is make a seam and throw on some straps but hey it's a start. The pooh fabric was on clearance too so that was even better. They were all I could find in the Disney prints but I'm on a mission to find more. Woo Hoo!!

 

[jgazda]

So I have been pricing out airfare and it is much cheaper to fly out Friday instead of Saturday so we have decided to bump our trip up a day. Yee haw! One more day in Disney. Tried to make a ressie for T-Rex but it is booked solid. Any thoughts on wether a walk up would be worth it? We'll be at SSR that one night so it is a nice short bus ride to Downtown Disney.

 

[jgazda]

The past two times we flew to Disney, American was far cheaper than United. Like $600 cheaper. So I have been checking both airlines as usual and I found $79 fares on United today so I grabbed them. Nonstop and almost the exact time I wanted. Only problem was it was only on the way home. So far I don't have a way to get there but I know how we're getting home. Guess I'll be spending lots more time surfing the airline websites!