My first Pre-Trip Report!

[jlindemer]

After reading about mom2mek herding her cats, I decided to start my own Pre-trip report!

It will be myself, DH, DS5, and DS6 going on this trip...with the hopes of another to come home with us (I'll explain later)! We will be leaving EARLY Saturday, May 31 and will arrive back home LATE Sunday, June 8. We are driving from NW IN, and plan to take 2 days getting there and 2 days coming home.

Me (27)-Hi, My name is Jennifer, and I am a Disneyholic. Well, I have been there 3 times in my life, and if I could, I would go back to Disney about every six months! I am a student, Realtor, "Avon Lady," and a very active member of my church. My first trip to DW was between second grade and third grade. My second trip was on my Honeymoon. DH and I went for three days (2 of which were to the MK & one to MGM). Our last trip was in June of 2006. I'm not sure which character I'm most like....probably Goofy mixed with Grumpy!

DH (Jer-33)-I have been trying to come up with a good Character comparison for him, but I haven't come up with anything YET. I will update you as I figure it out. DH works with me in real estate and also at Home Depot full-time.

DS (Adam-6)-I would call him WOODY...very serious and likes things done a certain way. He remembers our trip in 2006 very well (he remembers EVERYTHING very well!), and is VERY excited about going back this summer.

DS(Brad-4 soon-to-be 5)-let's call him Jack-Jack! He gets worked up at the drop of a hat, and can spin out of control very fast!

Ok...so here's some background info on my previous 2 trips. This will also explain our hopes to be bringing an extra family member back with us!

2001 Honeymoon Trip-2 days at MK and 1 day at MGM
I remember being VERY during one of our days at MK, and having DH take me to Cosmic Ray's to sit down and have a drink of water. I felt very out of shape, and wondered why the heat was getting to me so badly. However, I found out the day we arrived home from the honeymoon that it wasn't the heat...it was our DS6! I was three weeks prego! WOO HOO! The honeymoon was officially OVER!

**So, after trying for almost 2 years to add another DS (or maybe a DD) to our family, I am hoping that DW will do the trick! Sprinkle some Pixie dust on us Tink!

2006 Trip-first BIG vacation with our sons. I took over 1000 pictures on this trip! However, I failed to save them to a CD (I just loaded them onto the computer), and about 4 months later the computer crashed! I lost EVERY picture I had of our first vacation. So, I have been IMPATIENTLY waiting to go back to relive the magic!

So, this time I will be taking the laptop, BLANK CDS, camera, and I am planning on purchasing a camcorder! Plus, I will make sure to take advantage of the photopass!


Ummm...I cannot figure out how to post pictures...can someone help? Thanks!

 

[DisneyFan83]

Great start to your PTR! I am also an "Avon Lady" Looking forward to hearing about your upcoming trip! We usually go in June also, but this year we're going mid-May. I love going in June... bet you can't wait!

As far as uploading a picture...
Try a photo hosting site such as Photobucket & sign-up and create an album. Upload your pictures to your album. Then, to post them on the boards, click the icon above that looks like a picture with a yellow background... it says "Insert Image" when you scroll over it. A box will pop-up telling you to put in the url of the pic you want to post, enter the url, and the click OK. Photobucket is pretty easy to work & it's easy to find your picture urls. Hope this helps & makes sense!

 

[jlindemer]

THANK YOU! Now, let's see if I did this right!

Here is a pic of myself with Jer.

And here is one of my two sons last summer along with my niece.

Yeah! I did it right! Thank you for your help!

 

[jlindemer]

Ok, so DS was supposed to have his last day of kindergarten on May 28....he just received a note saying that he will have to go until May 30 due to snow days. Thankfully, we weren't scheduled to leave until the 31st. However, I don't know what I'll do if they extend it again.

So, here's the plan:

Saturday, May 31--Leave bright and early (hopefully around 5 AM)! We will head south to Bowling Green, KY to stop and have lunch. I like to stop at either a McDonald's with a playland or Chuck E Cheese. It helps wear the kids out for the second half of the day. We will get to the Embassy Suites in Atlanta (by the airport) that evening. I Embassy Suites! I found a room for only $110 with taxes! This includes an awesome breakfast on Sunday and a manager's reception Saturday night ( & ). They also have an indoor pool for us all to relax in.

Sunday, June 1--Again, get up bright & early! Enjoy our awesome breakfast at the hotel, and then head off to Orlando! I am hoping to get to our check-in spot by 4 PM. We are staying at a villa through Magical Memories....more on my awesome price in a minute!

I hope to throw our bags in our villa & head to DTD. I CANNOT wait to check out the Mr. Potato Head parts! I have bought my two boys regular potato heads, a School Potato, a Surfin' Potato, a Rockstar Potato, a Pirate Potato, and a Happy Birthday Potato! I think this might be their first "collection". However, DH thinks I'm going nutso... He just doesn't understand.

I am planning on picking up dinner at the Earl of Sandwich, maybe a light dessert at Ghiradelli, and then heading off to MK to see the parade and fireworks OR try to ride some rides while everyone else is watching them. My favorite thing to do at MK is watch Mickey's Philharmagic! I can't wait!

After two days in the car everyone will enjoy being out in the warm air and walking around feeling the magic!

Stay tuned for the plan for the rest of the week!

Only 72 days to go! Oh, did I mention I'm trying to lose 50 lbs before we go?!?!?!?!?! I started Weight Watchers January 2. So far, I've lost 13.6 pounds! So, fellow "losers" join in and help keep me accountable!

 

[michellem1118]

Congrats on the weight loss! DF & I are going to WDW this summer for our honeymoon, so we already have something in common, LOL. Your plans sound good so far.

Since you said you're worried about them extending school again, here's my advice as a teacher... your boys are young enough that missing the last day or two of school shouldn't matter much - they shouldn't have any major exams or anything that day. Don't change your vacation plans, and if the boys miss the last day of school, then oh well. The memories at WDW will be much more valuable at their age than 1 day worth of fluff that'll likely just be cleaning out their desks and doing art projects.

Here's some for you as well! Hope WDW does the trick for ya, again!!!

 

[DisneyFan83]

Definitely congrats on the weight loss... WW is awesome! Also, glad I could help with the picture posting

 

[jlindemer]

Here's some for you as well! Hope WDW does the trick for ya, again!!!

Thanks! It's been quite a process! The docs said that I had a tube blockage on both sides. Went through A LOT of testing, and four months later a different doc said, let's do the test again and see if we can open it this way instead of surgery. So, DH and I traveled 1.5 hours one way to have the test done again....AND THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG! What's up with these doctors????!!! So, now I'm hoping the happiest place on earth will help do the trick!

 

[jlindemer]

Monday, June 2--Today we are going to sleep in! We have 10:30 AM ADR at Chef Mickey's. I loved going there in 2006! Then at 12:30 PM DH has plans to go to the Richard Petty Driving Experience! He is obsessed with nascar. He Jimmy Johnson! So, I surprised him and told him that I budgeted the money for him to do the Rookie Experience. I plan to take the two sons to the MK for an hour or two, and then head over to the race track to see him live his dreams. We will have dinner at Cosmic Ray's . I am hoping to ride quite a few rides during the evening. The boys are finally tall enough to ride Thunder Mountain Railroad and Splash Mountain!

Tuesday, June 3--Today is completely dedicated to Epcot. I have never really experienced Epcot. We skipped it completely on our Honeymoon, and in 2006 we traveled the world in 20 minutes. DH was on a mission to find some grub. We did get to watch Illuminations, but the people in front of us stood most of the time Why do people do that??? Everyone else is sitting down, as were they, until the show started. Then they stand! GRRR!

So, the plans for Epcot this time include Spaceship Earth, Mission Space, Test Track, The Seas with Nemo & Friends, & Soarin'. We have ADR at Biergarten for 3 PM. I am hoping that with a 3 PM ADR we can get by with breakfast at the hotel and a few snacks that we bring from home.

Plus, I am going to take my time looking at the countries.

Wednesday, June 4--THE BEST DAY OF THE TRIP!

We are going to par-tay with !!! We will be going to the Princess & Pirate Party! Ok, I'm getting ahead of myself here....the party doesn't start until 7....So what will we do that morning???

Play with Mr. (& Mrs...of course I got myself one!) Potato Head! I also hope to hit AK early and check out Dinoland. We will head back to the hotel for lunch/rest/Mr. Potato Head around noon, and then head to the MK for our ADR at Liberty Tree Tavern at 4:20. Of course, this will also be my time to catch up on We will then transform ourselves into Pirates & Princesses. I'm considering a tiarra, but not sure.

Any ideas for what the DH should wear?

Then we'll go ride some more & then line up for Captain Jack! I've never seen any of the Pirate movies, but plan to educate myself before the trip. This will definitely be a late night, but I'm hoping with the afternoon downtime the boys will be ok.

Of course we'll have my favorite snack during the parade....



Typing the part about the laundry reminded me that I never shared my good deal with you on the hotel! I found a two bedroom villa ten minutes away from for $73/night...But wait...that's not all! I googled Orbitz Promotional Codes & got another $75 off the stay! So, for 6 nights we only paid $454! My husband me now too! We'll be able to have breakfast there each day (except for Monday).

 

[DisneyFan83]

I love all of your plans! Ya'll are going to have a great time! Congrats on your awesome savings!